Home based business ideas have undergone an extreme transformation since the late twentieth century. Prior to the computer revolution, there were many ideas, many of them successful. They ranged from making homemade sweets to flower growing.

Prior to 1990, two characteristics of domestic businesses usually set them apart from bigger organizations. In the first place, they tended to be ‘low technology’, since capital was limited and equipment expensive. In the second place, they tended to be fairly small scale. This was because manufacturing capacity and markets were limited in size.

The computer industry has developed from its infancy in the nineteen nineties to an economic force that has changed the world quite as much as the combustion engine or the printing press did. In respect of domestic entrepreneurs, the computer has made a timely entrance. Unemployment has become an uncomfortable, unpleasant fact as other technologies such as mechanical loaders, appliances and robots have destroyed jobs. Fortunately, the computer industry has filled many of the gaps caused by technological changes.

A laptop computer is not an insurmountable capital expenditure for someone wishing to set up a new enterprise. There may be some costs such as software packages and connection fees but these are slight when compared with heavy equipment. Despite these low costs, the range and capability of a computer with its connection to the world wide web exceeds that of much heavier and more expensive equipment.

Through his home computer and the World Wide Web, the domestic entrepreneur has access to a potential audience of millions. For example, a Bed and Breakfast establishment with a unique site or service to offer may attract visitors from right across the world. The size of markets now available to owners of websites is truly phenomenal because such massive markets have never before existed.

Home based business ideas may be considered in two categories. In the first place, an enterprise might seek to use a website belonging to someone else, such as a bank or trading site. Secondly, an entrepreneur might run a business from his own site. In such a case, he will need the assistance of an expert in Web design, and that is yet another cottage industry.