Home-based businesses are a growing form of business. The Houston Business Journal argues, in fact, that home-based businesses create more than 8,000 new jobs a day in the US alone, and that they generate nearly $400 billion in revenue each year. There are even a number of well-known companies that began as home-based businesses: Domino’s Pizza, Ben and Jerry’s, Hallmark, even Nike. Things aren’t very different in Canada, either. As economies shift and become more challenging, home-based businesses create opportunities that may be shifting the business work front, but that potential for success doesn’t necessarily mean home-based businesses are at an advantage in the business world. In fact, home-based businesses are unique and individualistic business constructions—this is what tends to make them successful; however, it also exposes them to a unique array of challenges that need to be taken into consideration if that business is going to be successful.
There is one key factor that has enabled home-based businesses to come into existence, and to compete with even big business in the marketplace: technological innovation.
Advancements in technology have led to an increasing availability of powerful, efficient, and affordable home computer systems that are equipped with all of the capacities for business communications, data transfer, research, and even advertising, in addition to an increasing accessibility of business programs, applications and software—all of these advancements have created a portability that has allowed the workplace to shift to the home space. However, technological advancements pose one challenge in particular: they cost money—not just in the initial purchase and maintenance, but also in their power consumption needs.
The key to successful home-based business operations is the ability to separate business from personal—even when they share the same space.
However, unless your home-based business is run out of a separate space that can have its own meter attached, it can be difficult to separate business-related energy consumption from personal energy consumption. That inability to separate expenses alone can make tax claims and business write-offs a challenge, but there is also the matter of the increased expense. Your home-based business is going to cause your energy consumption to increase, and the extent of that factor may not have been taken into consideration when creating the budget for how much the business endeavor is going to cost. That increase may make maintaining profit margins difficult, especially as your business is starting up, and especially when a stressed economy threatens to introduce spikes and fluctuations in your energy rates.
Is there a solution?
Comparing energy rates with the specific needs of your unique home-based business in mind can help. The key to finding the best energy rate isn’t in finding the lowest energy rate itself, but in finding the rate plan that works best with the specific needs of your business, whether that means looking for a fixed or regulated rate option. There are a lot of different energy providers out there, and many specialize in offering programs specifically structured for different business ventures, from large corporations to small businesses and start-ups. Comparing gas and power rates to find a provider that can offer you secure rates that actually address your unique combination of business and personal energy consumption needs is the key to success for your home-based business venture.
Energyrates has the tools and resources to help home-based businesses manage their energy consumption. Contact us to learn more.
