When baking a cake you can gather all the ingredients and mix it yourself or you can buy a cake that is already baked. Starting a home business offers the same options. You can build your business from scratch or buy a fully formed business. You just have to decide which option is the best For you.

Consider the following pros and cons and some things to consider when deciding what business to start and whether you should go it alone or buy an existing business.

Advantages of starting a business from scratch

When you start a business from scratch you are developing the idea of ​​creating a product or service and bringing all the pieces together to get it up and running.

There are many benefits to turning your idea into a business including:

  • Get more control over what you think and how you manage your business.
  • Ability to be more creative.
  • An opportunity to use your unique intellectual skills and passion to create your vision.
  • Low startup especially for service-based businesses.
  • Easier time recouping loss or expenses.

Disadvantages of starting a business from scratch

Just like everything else in life starting a business from scratch has some downsides including:

  • You are responsible for all aspects of your business including product or service development developing marketing plans and distributing promotional materials for your products.
  • You need to create your own systems and plans to organize and run your home business.
  • It may take longer to be successful due to the longer learning curve and starting from scratch.

Pros of Buying a Home Business

If you’re not sure about starting from scratch you can buy a business in a number of different ways including buying an existing business to join a business opportunity or dropshipping company or buying a franchise. Buying a business has many benefits such as:

  • Brand recognition especially when buying a dropshipping or franchise business.
  • Products and services already exist as do marketing plans and promotional materials.
  • Operating systems are already in place.
  • Provides expert help and training to teach you what you need to know and do and answer questions.
  • Because the business has a history of success it can make profits faster and reduce the risk of failure.

Cons of Buying a Home Business

There are some disadvantages to consider when buying a home business such as:

  • The cost of purchasing a business. While dropshipping can be affordable buying an existing business or franchise can cost thousands of dollars. In addition any special equipment inventory and marketing materials can be purchased.
  • Less control over how the business operates. While it’s helpful to have an existing plan to follow it can also limit the way you run your business. Many dropshipping companies and franchises have rules and restrictions that you must follow. Some even have territorial restrictions on where you can be do business.
  • There may be hidden issues especially buying an existing business. For example an existing business may be struggling financially. The first time I tried a home business I bought a business opportunity that went out of business the following month.

Decide which home business option is best for you

When it comes to a home business there is no single best option. You can only decide what is best for you. Some things to consider include:

Interest

Choosing a business idea should first come from finding an option that you understand and/or are interested in. Too many people are looking for what pays the most but you should always choose passion over profit. Running a business that doesn’t excite you or that you don’t like is will definitely fail.

Once you have an idea you need to research how to start it including whether you should start from scratch or invest in a business. If there is no business to buy can answer for you.

For example if you are passionate and interested in chocolate you can start a chocolate blog sell homemade chocolate or teach chocolate cooking from scratch. Alternatively you can buy an existing chocolate blog or join a dropshipping company that sells chocolate.

Cost

How much money do you have to invest in your business? Starting from scratch or selling directly is often the most affordable while buying an existing business or franchise can get expensive. But your expenses are not just startup. You need to calculate the continuous running of your business As well as marketing inventory and other expenses related to the business.

Control

Do you like to make rules and do what you want? Then it is best to start a business from scratch or buy an existing business. If you prefer to leverage your existing business structure and systems buying a dropshipping or franchise business may be a better option.

Training

You can get books to take courses and/or get mentors to start a temporary business but usually buying a business provides training that is included in the deal. Dropshipping goes a step further giving you coaches (sponsors) and access to others who are successful in your organization. Business.

Operation

In the end you need to decide how and where to work. Do you want to run your business 100% online? Would you prefer to meet with clients in person? You can create or buy an online business from scratch but many dropshipping and franchising require in-person work even if they have an online presence resource.

Time

Do you wish to run your business part-time or full-time? Do you need to follow a schedule such as homeschooling? Most home businesses even the ones you buy offer flexibility but not all. When researching business options you need to consider startup and management time.

There are many decisions to make before setting up the Open for Business shingle. In addition to having a great home business idea you also need to decide whether you want to build a business from scratch or invest in an existing business or business opportunity.