Taking your career in your own hands by working from home can be a liberating and lucrative experience to workers feeling disillusioned or trapped in their dead-end jobs. However, there are comparative advantages and disadvantages to both work at home jobs and running your own business from your home office that need to be carefully considered before making your decision. Generally speaking, work at home businesses offer more opportunities to make money and work on your own terms than jobs that allow employees to work from home, but workers may not be ready to make the leap to self-employment. If you are happy with your salary and simply enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with your family, pets and other home conveniences, a work at home job can be just the thing - but more ambitious types will seriously want to consider the advantages of setting up their own home business. Thanks to the internet, it's now easier than ever to set up and succeed in a business from your bedroom or home office, as long as you have carefully considered the potential risks. Starting any businesses is a risky endeavour, especially in the current economy, but if you have a niche product or idea you could earn a fortune. You only have to look at the explosive growth of relatively new industries such as price comparison websites and social networking sites to see what can be achieved with a little foresight and initiative. While a steady salary can provide financial security, being free from its constraints can lead to even higher income further down the line, though entrepreneurs will need to account for their expenditure too. There are many savings to be enjoyed in a home office, from setting up your internet and phone line to enjoy low call rates and superior service to the money you'll save every day by not having to commute back and forth from a workplace. To succeed in a home business or work from home job, employees need to consider their reasons and motivations for doing so. Whether it's for the convenience, the ability to spend more time with loved ones than co-workers or the ability to be in control of their financial future, there are many valid reasons but only a few that will be of particular importance to each individual. Just remember that setting up a home business does not have to be a long-term venture, as many people create and grow businesses with the express purpose of selling them further down the line.