Home-based businesses are quickly becoming the fastest growing form of business start-ups in America. In fact, over half of the 600,000 new businesses founded each year are grown out of someone's home office of basement.

Operating costs are the expenses necessary to run a business or maintain assets. These costs include expenses like rent, utilities, salaries, and equipment maintenance. Operating costs are essential for day-to-day operations and are subtracted from revenue to calculate a business’s profitability.