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More and more of us are working from home nowadays. With fast broadband and mobile phones, we’re no longer tied to an office. Employers are becoming increasingly willing to consider remote working arrangements, and you may well have taken advantage of these yourself.

Alternatively, your whole job may be home based. Perhaps you’re a freelancer or you run a small business. Maybe you’re fitting in some part time work or even studying around looking after your family.

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Image courtesy of W. Kozak

Starting your own small business can seem like a daunting task at first. This is why many people never attempt it. However, if you break up your duties into smaller tasks, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, if you follow these steps to starting a small business you may find that you’re a profitable entrepreneur in no time.

While you may not have to complete all of these steps, or complete them in this exact order, the following list should give you a better idea about the things you should be thinking about and planning for your business start up.

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If you’re unhappy with your current job, there’s no reason that you have to stay there the rest of your life. At the same time, you don’t want to make any rash decisions and just storm out of the office one day without a plan. There are a few things you should consider before you quit your job.

Here is a list of things to consider before you fire your boss:

1.    Have a Plan. When you’re unhappy with your current situation, you may be tempted several times a day to just storm off and say “I quit”. However, you need to avoid letting yourself get to this point of burnout.

    First you’ll want to do a thorough evaluation of your life and why you’re unhappy. Are you struggling because you hate this specific job and would like another one, or are you struggling because you don’t like the idea of working for someone else? The answer to this question will help you to determine your next steps.

    Next you need to decide what you’re going to do if you’re no longer working at your job. You should shoot for doing something that you enjoy that also makes money in the process. Remember that you can always start your own business. The best way to fire your boss is to become your own boss!

    Think about what you’ll do if everything doesn’t go according to plan. It’s always a good idea to have a back up plan too. It’s difficult to muster up the courage to leave the security of a job, but if you plan properly and have a back up, you should be in good shape.

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Have you ever thought about quitting your job and working for yourself? Maybe it’s an idle whim that you have from time to time – or perhaps a much more serious intention. Whether it’s your two-hour commute, your gossiping colleagues, the office politics, the boss, the boring work or the inflexible hours, your job just isn’t much fun. It’s definitely not your true passion.

If “quit the day job” is one of your resolutions for 2010, you’ll find lots of encouragement around the internet. I’m a fan of plenty of freelancing and self-development blogs, and many writers can’t wait to extol the virtues and pleasures of being your own boss and working for yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy working for myself; I get to work in the comfort of my home, doing what I love. But I’m going to be brutally honest in this post and offer you six reasons to reconsider working for yourself – before you end up making a move that you might regret.

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