Low overhead, a flexible schedule and the freedom of being your own boss — those are the benefits some local business owners are finding with home as company headquarters.

“The beauty about a home-based business is you can demonstrate a product or service and business model with low risk,” said Shawn Winkler-Rios, the executive director of eDev, a Lane County-based organization that helps prospective business owners.

That enables entrepreneurs to test the market before making any major financial investments.

With mass layoffs across most sectors, more people are beginning to explore the idea of starting a business at home.

There are nearly 30 million small businesses in the country and more than half are home-based, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. Of those, about 43 percent provide more than half of the business owner’s household income. That’s according to a new report from Emergent Research, a home-based research and consulting firm in California.

“The success rates are a lot higher, in our view, than starting a traditional storefront business,” Winkler-Rios said. “If a person has a marketable skill, it’s an interesting time to consider this as an option.”

Home-based business owners work in a variety of industries. Some perform most of their services from home; others, like Lakeside’s Rob Kutch, make service calls.

“I’m not making any money when I’m at home,” said Kutch, owner of Plugged In Technology.

He performs computer network repairs for clients throughout the Bay Area and serves as a subcontractor for a national service provider. Kutch started  his business after cutbacks forced him out of a job about 18 months ago.

This isn’t his first time he’s been in business. He used to own a company with an office and several employees.

“In the end, honestly I was working more hours to support the people working for me,” he said.

This time around, he plans to keep overhead low.

“It saves a tremendous amount of money on office space,” he said.

Technology has eliminated the need for many entrepreneurs to lease commercial space. With a laptop and smart phone, Kutch can do office work from Kaffe 101 in downtown Coos Bay.

“I live on my Blackberry,” he said.

But working from home isn’t for everyone. Just ask Julie Stoddard. The travel agent did it for seven years, operating All Aboard Travel while raising her kids.

Business matters were frequently interrupted.

She opened an office on Bayshore Drive in Coos Bay earlier this year.

“I actually like it a lot better because I have common ground to meet people,” she said. “I’m not having to run around and meet (clients) at home or The Red Lion.

“Plus, I get walk-ins,” she added. “That’s nice.”

Still, others prefer the solitude of work at home.

Margie Ryan has no intention of owning a quaint, downtown bakery. After earning her baking certificate from the San Francisco Baking Institute, the former veterinarian upgraded her kitchen to commercial bakery standards, certified by the Department of Agriculture.

“Baking bread has been a passion and a hobby,” she said.

But Oven Spring Breads isn’t a hobby; it’s a business.

Four days a week, Ryan starts the day at 5:30 a.m. so she can make afternoon deliveries to Coos Head Natural Foods and Sozo’s Tea and Coffee, among other Bay Area businesses.

“I like the idea of a home-based business,” she said. “It’s very small, very manageable.”