Archives for April 2013

Demand for Home Based Businesses

In a recent post I asked if you have you been thinking about starting your own home based business? I suggested that there may never be a better time to do it than there is today. Yes, even in this unstable economic environment. I want to explore some of the reasons for that thinking a little further.

In the last decade the number of employed people working from home has increased over twenty percent, but at the same time the number of people working in home based businesses has increased over twenty-five percent. Regulatory pressures on employers are anticipated to cause home based business growth to accelerate over the next few years.

Why a Home Based Business Now?

At the end of this year businesses across America will face a huge dilemma. The new health law will force them to make some serious decisions about how they will try to pay the increased insurance costs.

Many, perhaps most, do not have enough income to absorb this cost so what will they do? Several options are being seriously considered by many businesses.

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How the Financial Crisis Changed America

Today I read an article from the folks at Fidelity Investments. They completed a study in February called The Fidelity Five Years Later study—referencing five years after the financial crisis began. The participants represented adults over twenty-five years of age, financial decision makers who have investments so they were above average in their financial commitments, as I am sure are those reading this blog.

The Crisis and Financial Attitudes

Here are some of the results I think you will find interesting:

  • 42% have increased participation in workplace retirement and health savings plans
  • 55% feel better prepared for retirement
  • 42% have increased emergency fund savings
  • 80% have a better understanding of their finances
  • 49% have purposely decreased personal debt
  • 72% have less debt now than before
  • 78% say they have made permanent behavior changes

What Do These Results Mean?

As you look through this list I think you will see many reasons to be hopeful for the future, at least among the people surveyed.

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