For many would-be entrepreneurs, the idea of starting a home-based business is undeniably attractive. You’ll have the freedom to work as and when you see fit, your commute will be non-existent, and your working environment will be comfortable and familiar – win/win/win.

However, home-based businesses are not without their downsides; such a venture still might be the right choice for you, but you have to know about the potential pitfalls and complications you may experience if you choose this route to entrepreneurship. Below, we’ve listed three difficulties that are unique to home-based businesses, as well as a few ideas as to how they can be overcome.

#1 – Interruptions and distractions

When working from home, the risk of interruptions and distractions is constant. You’ll find yourself tempted to give the kitchen a quick clean, or have friends pop-in for a chat because they know you’re home; all of which can be a nice way to break up the working day, but inevitably disrupt your workflow. To prevent these issues, you’ll need to be extremely structured and focus on improving your self-discipline to maintain high productivity levels.

#2 – Privacy and security concerns

When you run a business from your home, your business address is also your personal address. This means that you’ll have to list your home address on business literature, such as business cards, and your website; which is far from ideal in terms of security and privacy. It’s, therefore, best to use services such as https://physicaladdress.com to allow you to shield your personal address details from business use. Similarly, it’s also helpful to invest in a second phone line, which stops you having to ensure your personal number remains personal-only.

#3 – Difficulties transitioning back into “domestic” mode after working at home all day

Running a business from home means that you’re always at work, which can be hugely problematic when it comes to achieving a healthy mental rest after a long day. Many home-based business owners deal with this problem by only ever working in a specific part of their home – such as a dedicated office – but often, even this measure is not quite sufficient enough to create a true mental separation of business and domestic life. You may well find that to really switch off after work, you’ll need to leave the house for a half-hour or so. As a result, it’s worth planning to save errands until the end of the workday; errands are the perfect excuse to get you out of the house and allows you to transition back to seeing your house as a home rather than a place of work.

In conclusion

It’s important to note that the above is not designed to discourage you from pursuing a home business; for many people, running their own business from home is truly a dream come true. However, it is vital that you enter into such a decision with the full knowledge of what is involved, and how you can overcome some of the complications you are likely to experience if you opt to start a home-based business in future.