A home-based business (HBB) is a small business that operates from the business owner's home office. In addition to location, home businesses are usually defined by having a very small number of employees, often mostly immediate family of the business owner, in which case it is also a family business. Home businesses generally lack shop frontage, customer parking, and street advertising signs. Such businesses are sometimes prohibited by residential zoning regulations.

The prospect of working from home has gained credibility over the years. Home offices can now compete with small commercial businesses and save on rent in the process. Faxes, high speed internet connections, dedicated home telephone lines, and cell phones help to make a home-based business a reality. Earlier home businesses had been where families lived on the second floor of their house while converting the first floor into a store, whereupon close of business they would secure the first floor and retire to the upper floors. This type of home business is still done in some areas.