There are so many out-of-works, underemployed, or just would be entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to work from their homes and make money. Rest assured, be it a part-time job to earn extra income, or running a small, full-time business, people are working from home and succeeding. The key to working from home is to 1) adhere to the law of Supply and Demand, and 2) treat your work-from-home job like an office job. If you follow these rules rigidly then there is absolutely no reason why you cannot get out of the job you are doing now and work for yourself.

The law of Supply and Demand

The first test in any Economics 101 class will cover the law of "Supply and Demand". Basically it is this: if there is a demand, there will be a supply. If there is a want or need someone will step up to fill it. How this effects you is quite simple. You need to fulfill a community demand. Where it gets less simple is in defining "demand". "Demand" is also relative to the supply. What that means is that while people may want Mary Kay cosmetics, there may be too many suppliers in your region for that particular demand. So your work from home business must:

Meet a known demand

Be either a unique supplier, or one of a few suppliers.

The trick is in accomplishing this. Here is a step-by-step approach to coming up with your work from home business idea:

1.Make a list of products or services that you need. If you need them, chances are someone else does, too.

2.Scratch off those ideas that cannot either be done in your home, or performed from/run out of your home

3.Do some research, asking yourself: who else is supplying this product or service, what are their rates, what do they give you for the price.

4.Scratch off those products or services that have more then four suppliers in your region

5.Scratch off those products or services that are too costly in start up or maintenance.

6.Pick from the list of what’s left.

Treat your home office like it’s in a fancy high rise.

One mistake that lots of people make when they work from home is to work at the kitchen table, the sofa, their bed, etc. If you want your business to work (and for you to receive tax deductions) create an office space and work in it. Keeping a home office allows you to deduct:

Some of your monthly mortgage or rent

Some of your utilities

Some of your phone or broadband bill

Computers, fax machines, phones, etc

Office supplies

Without a separate office space you cannot utilize these deductions, and they are very good deductions come tax season so if there is no other incentive, think about that one.

Keep regular office hours. Treat your work from home business like any other legitimate business enterprise. Invest in office equipment and proper software. Show your customers and the IRS that you mean business. Thousands of people have successful people have run businesses out of their home and you can, too. Just be following these steps and keep the faith.