Home-based business owners must have "the ability to focus" and prioritise, according to BT Business.

The provider of communications solutions explained that the success of a business using homeworkers will be determined by how clear it is in setting objectives.

"Your attitude to your work, your ability to focus when you are on your own, being able to prioritise well and being able to say 'no' – it's those skills that are important [for a homeworker]," said Mick Hegarty from BT Business.

He added that having these characteristics is more important than an employee's circumstances and noted that a teleworker should be "realistic" about the benefits of running a business from home.

Research conducted by BT business revealed that 65 per cent of people who start businesses do so from home in order to increase the flexibility of their working day.

Furthermore, 57 per cent of those polled in a London-based survey said that the desire to achieve lower overheads was one of the key reasons they would wish to run a business from home.

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