Now is a good time to start up your work at home business

NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO START UP YOUR WORK AT HOME BUSINESS

By

Gaynor Paynter
Owner: Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services CC.
gaynor@typewritetranscription.co.za

Gaynor Paynter is a writer and transcriptionist living in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Many people will ask how it can be true that now is a good time to start up a work at home business from home, given the fact that there is a world wide global economic crisis, and jobs are beginning to be lost both in South Africa and internationally.

Let’s take a closer look at the scenario. From the employer’s perspective, they can no longer afford to keep full time staff. That means that many support staff will have to be let go. However, the employer still has a business to run. He is busy trying to keep his clients happy – but he has let his secretary and all his support staff go, and now he is sitting with all his administrative tasks on his lap and no time to do his core business. He has bookkeeping that needs to be done, typing that has to get out, his reports need to be transcribed or lunch to be prepared for his client – and there is nobody to do it. The answer lies in outsourcing his work. This is one reason why now is a good time to start up your work at home business.

From the employee’s perspective, he is not sitting in a pretty position at all currently. Companies are downsizing, short time is being brought in country wide, staff are sitting idle at companies doing nothing. Futures are very uncertain. All the while there is the employer above who needs his administrative tasks done. There’s a variety of options for the employee. Businesses can be started up on a part time basis – I began mine at nights while working full time during the day. Employees could sit down with their bosses and discuss potentialities – if there is going to be short time implemented, then you could start your business on the days that you are not going to be at the office, or if the boss foresees retrenchment in a month or two’s time, then wheels must be put into motion to start your business now.

Decide carefully what type of industry you want to get into. We’ve discussed briefly above what services employers are going to require. I believe that some services are more essential than others and that these are the ones which businesses will flourish in. For example, everybody needs their accounts done, but while flower arranging may be nice, it’s perhaps not the most necessary of services. Depending on your experience and what you wish to do, fields that you can start businesses in include:

- Bookkeeping
- Catering
- Virtual Assistance
- Proofreading
- Writing
- Transcription

I have written an ebook, “Working From Home in South Africa as a Transcriptionist” which retails for R120, and explains the ins and outs of how I started my transcription business.

Gaynor Paynter