The Small Business Success Index (SBSI), compiled by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, estimates that there are approximately 6.6 million homepreneurs in the United States. While small home businesses are often perceived as glorified hobbies, the SBSI points out that they comprise a successful and growing economic force – not only do small home businesses provide their owners with incomes, but they’re engines of job creation, too, employing over 13 million people in the United States. While statistics on homepreneurs in South Africa are sketchy, it’s estimated that more than 1.5 million self-employed people constitute the Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector in this country. Clearly, homepreneurship is both a global and local trend to watch…
What is a Homepreneur?
A homepreneur is an entrepreneur who creates and manages a work-from-home business.
Why Homepreneurship?
When millions of people found themselves out of work, a result of the global economic meltdown, many took the opportunity to start their own businesses. Reasons for becoming a homepreneur include:
- A lack of corporate jobs
- To create stability – starting a small business is increasingly seen as less risky than remaining in corporate employment
- To lower start-up and operating costs of a new business
- To be your own boss
- To achieve work-life balance.
Who’s been a Homepreneur?
Did you know that these rich and famous entrepreneurs started their business empires at home?
- Fraser Doherty – started his jam confectionary business, Super Jam, from his parents’ home in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Martha Stewart – her work-from-home catering company grew into a multi-million dollar lifestyle brand, Martha Stewart Omnimedia
- Sergei Brin and Larry Page – founded Google in the garage of a house in Menlo Park, California.
