Home sweet home?

If you’re looking to escape the 9-to-5 grind and stress of the rat race, starting a home-based business might seem the perfect solution.

You can work hours that suit, save on travel and keep your overheads low in those crucial early months. You’ll see more of the family and enjoy a better work/life balance, right?

Wrong. According to research out today by BT, 45% of people running home-based businesses struggle to separate work from home life. In many cases, they actually work longer hours and enjoy less quality time with their families.

It simply doesn’t work for some businesses, either. Asking clients to hurdle trainsets, hold the baby and throw the dog a bone isn’t especially professional.

Now the illusion’s nicely shattered, let’s look at the upside. The home can be a great place to start a business and many of the UK’s finest companies started on the kitchen table.

It’s just start-up businesses themselves that aren’t great for escaping stress and freeing up your time.

Okay, in theory being your own boss let’s you pick your hours. But if you’ve any intention of growing a successful business probably the best you can hope to swap ‘9-to-5’ for is ‘7-to-10’.

Before you ask, no, that’s not a three-hour shift…