Or -

Sometimes it is a combination of both.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE?

One of the key differences is whether you base yourself at home, but actually do your work outside of the home.

Or whether you base yourself at home and do your work at home.

Who Does What?

What will matter are the reasons you have chosen to run your business from your home, and the benefits you subsequently gain by doing that.

Which category you fit into really depends on what you do, and how you want to run your home business.

EXAMPLE - Tradesman

It would be fairly typical for a tradesman to base their business at home.

If they work mostly on their own, or perhaps have only 1-2 staff, it can be really cost-effective to use their home as a base for their business.

This is particularly true if all of their work is done off-site.
e.g. A builder would be doing all of his work at the building site.

There would generally be a requirement for storage for vehicles and tools of the trade. A home office would also be of great help.

But in general, this would be considered a WORK FROM HOME business.

If a physiotherapist ran a home based business, you would typically expect this to be a work at home business.

They would use a part of their home as premises, and their clients would come to the house.

A designated area for clients, and a home office would be two of the most likely requirements for this type of WORK AT HOME business.

Is Home Still the Best Place for Your Business?

At various times during the creation and growth of your venture you will be challenged to justify working from home.

You may be challenged by many different factors, including:

These are just a few situations where you may need to re-ask the question:
"Is a home based business the best option at this time?"

Never take this as a sign of defeat.

Re-visit the reasons why you chose this path in the first place.And decide if those reasons still apply.

Take the opportunity to learn from the experience gained already - and keep moving forward - home based or not.

Go from Work From Home to Work At Home