The home business has undergone a radical shift since the days of the cottage industry in which entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing out of houses, employing workers on a part-time basis. Today’s home business is likely to be high-tech, with computers, high-speed internet, and cell phones as the main tools for reaching out to the target market. And the concept of “part-time” is no longer applicable these days: with the internet connecting the entire world 24/7, the home business is usually operational at all hours of the day.

Many successful businesses today started out as home businesses. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, for example, built their first Apple computers in 1976 out of a garage workshop. And Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook out of his dorm room in 2004. Today Apple and Facebook are two of the biggest businesses in the world, and while they are no longer home-based, their roots tell us just how important it is to start small.

Many people, of course, will want to keep their home business small and manageable. Not all of us have the desire to rule the world, and we are content with living simply and earning modest incomes from the labor of our hands. Fortunately, this is a very real prospect today with all the advances in technology. One who has a good product or service can readily have a global presence through a website, a blog, or by the use of the aforementioned Facebook or any other social networking site.

The key is having a niche, no matter how obscure. Many home business owners have found success selling products like fruit juices, dolls made of twine, obscure parts for guitars, and other such esoteric fare. Others have offered writing services, film editing, website creation, song composition, even virtual tours — you name it, there are people who need it. And people all over the world are willing to pay for such products and services, making the home business a real livelihood with global reach.

There are some disadvantages to operating a business out of the home; some have reported being afflicted with depression and feelings of isolation. » Read more: Home Business