Working for yourself isn’t all plusses. Sometimes there are huge minuses. It’s up to you to determine whether the plusses outweigh the minuses. But, it’s good for you to know in advance what the pros and cons of working for yourself are so that you can be realistic about what you’re getting yourself into.

Cons:

* Work and Home Life Often Collide – Due to the lack of regimen, and no clear delineation of work versus time off, you’ll find yourself working odd hours to accommodate the needs of your family; thus feeling as if you never have a day off.

* You’ll Do a Lot of Work for Free – Much of the work you do for your business is not billable, therefore will feel like free work until you start making a profit. It can be hard to push yourself to do things that aren’t producing income right now, but you must push through so that you can keep your business running smoothly.

* Family Will Ask You to Do Stuff (since you’re not doing anything) – Not just family, but sometimes friends will start to depend on you being there for them for everything. They’ll ask you to do their chores like watching their sick kid so they can go to work. Your spouse and children will stop helping out around the house as much, since you’re there anyway. It never ends.

* You’ll Crave Being out of the House – Sometimes, when you go out, as you’re on your way home you’ll get the distinct feeling you’re going to jail. You will want to do anything but go home, even grocery shop.

* Stuff Will Distract You – Without supervision, even the most studious and organized individual can go off the rails due to the internet, television and stuff that is around to distract you from work. It’s up to you and only you to set up a good working schedule to help you avoid this.

Pros:

* No More Living by the Clock – If you arrange your business right you can wake up naturally without an alarm forcing you to get up when your body isn’t ready. You can also go to bed when you want to as well. It’s freedom not to always live by the clock.

* No More Traffic Jams – One of the best perks is not having to be caught in a traffic jam during rush hour when you need to pee. You won’t have to do that anymore and it will be a relief, most especially on bad weather days when everyone else has to trudge through the snow or the heat wave.

* Fewer Work-Related Interruptions – Office chatter can get overwhelming at times and it can be difficult to get work done due to it. Not to mention office meetings. Be honest, did you ever really get work done due to a meeting? During the meeting you’re thinking about how you could be getting work done right now instead of talking about it.

* You Really Can Work in Your PJs – Oh yes you can. You can wear PJs, yoga pants, or a moo-moo; no one cares. You can even get inspired right out of the shower and work naked if you want to. It’s your business and your house.

* A Flexible Schedule – If you have a parent-teacher meeting you don’t have to ask permission to go. If you want to get your hair done, go for it. Whatever you want to do during the day is up to you as long as you find time to also get your work done so you can get paid. Your schedule is your own.

* You Can Eat Healthier – Going out to work often causes everyone to eat out for lunch five days a week. That can not only be super expensive, but it is also very unhealthy for everyone to do it. Now you can prepare healthy lunches for yourself or eat leftovers from dinner the night before. Save money, and save your life.

Working from home offers many benefits and even a few drawbacks. It’s up to you to determine if you have the personality for it. You’ll need to rein in family and friends who want to take advantage of you, as well as yourself, to stay on track for creating a healthy and profitable home business.

One thing about trying to find a work-at-job or business opportunity that turns people off or frightens them away from the idea, is the prevalence of scams. One thing you have to realize is that work-from-home scams have been around long before online work-from-home scams existed. They were often advertisements in various magazines that promised millions for doing nothing, just send in your money to find out how.

Here are some ways to tell whether a business opportunity is real, or simply too good to be true.

* No Way to Contact the Business – If the opportunity is real, they’ll have a real business website with a real business email address at the minimum, not a Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail address. You should easily be able to look up the people and the name of the business to find out more information.

* Promises of Riches Overnight – Any plan that claims you’ll become rich overnight is a scam. It’s just not going to happen. Working from home at a job, or running your own business, requires skill, work, and more work to make money. You’re not going to just set up a business and do nothing and get paid.

* They Ask for Money Up Front (and Now) – Many MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing) do ask for money up front, which is a business investment. Even if you do not like MLMs, some of them are legitimate companies with real opportunity. However, some jobs or opportunities only want your money. You should have plenty of time to do research before giving anyone money. Never pay for a job, although an investment in a business opportunity is considered normal.

* You Feel Pressured to Act Now – If you’ve been contacted by someone making a lot of promises to you about making tons of money and claiming you must act right now or lose out forever, it’s a scam. A real opportunity is going to be there tomorrow.
* It Has Anything to Do with Western Union – Sorry to name a place like this but it’s true; if you need to use Western Union to send money to anyone, run. In fact, any type of money-changing, bank-involved delivery system is usually a scam and it’s not only that; it’s illegal and you could end up in jail.

* It Sounds Too Good to Be True – You know it in your gut that it’s just too good to be true, but you are tempted. Stop. Take some time to research the company and not just the people and places they give you to research. Do your due diligence and walk away if you can’t prove they’re legitimate.

* Random Email Offering Position You Did Not Apply For Directly – This happens sometimes when you apply for or fill out real job opportunities online. They get the information online and then they send you unsolicited jobs or offers of advice for a fee. It’s no different than a phone call during dinner making you promises. Delete.

* They Offer Outlandish Pay for Low Wage Position Titles – This is a common sign of a scam. You’ll see the advertisement on a seemingly legitimate website that promises a lot of money for many different positions that just do not earn that kind of money. Be realistic. You’re not going to make $45 dollars an hour as a receptionist.

Above all, pay attention to your gut. If it feels fishy, it probably is. Some of these scammers only want you to fill out their applications so they can steal your identity. To protect yourself if you’re in the USA, get a free employment identification number (EIN) from the IRS so that you don’t give out your social security number. Other countries may have similar set-ups, but you’ll have to check. Otherwise, don’t blindly give out this information to strangers.