Now I know that maybe I am making this sound like finding work from home is overwhelming, and it can be, but it really doesnt have to be. Once you have figured out whether you are looking for a job or business rest just takes time, patience, and knowing where to go.

Here are a few steps I used.......

1) Have A Goal.... Even if you haven't decided whether to pursue a job or business, you should still go ahead and set a plan for how you intend to get there. Besides being a great source of motivation, knowing where it is you want to be lets you create a plan for reaching it.

2) Find Support.... Enthusiasm is contagious. Avoid those who say you can't. Try to find others who are doing what you want to do. Message boards and online communities are a great way to meet with others to find ideas, information, and to help you stay on track. (Real-Home-Employment.com)

3) Be Informed.... When you have either inadequate or inaccurate information your chances for failure are much higher. Talk to people who have started similar businesses or are working from home. Subscribe to ezines. Ask questions. Visit discussion boards. The more informed you are, less risk becomes.

4) Get started..... To keep from feeling overwhelmed, make your larger goal into a few manageable steps. Plan to take at least one action a day. As you start to do smaller steps, phone calls, jotting down ideas, contacting employers, sending out resumes, you may actually feel like something is being finished, and it may be hard to stop after you get going. If you’re already in workforce find out if your position can be performed from home. If not you’ll need to search for a position that can. Narrow your search down by your skills and experience, for example, data entry, telemarketing, customer service, transcription, etc.

Should you choose a home business, test waters. If you're already working, stay there and run your business part-time. There is no need to create more stress when you can ease your way in to it.

Most importantly never ever give up, if you fall down, pick yourself up and start over, persistence and determination will pay off.

DO -- Read, read, read. By frequently continuing to increase your skills and your knowledge of your profession, end result is a more confident satisfied you. Every tip you get from a book can be a new tool in your business. I recommend highlighting areas from several books and adding them to your library. Keep in mind that you might not use that idea today, but it might apply to specialties you might add down road.

DO -- Enjoy!! There’s no greater feeling than landing that first client or finishing your first big project. Plus, wait until you get opportunity to tell someone you own and operate your own virtual assisting business. It sure beats I’m a secretary at .... Plus, when you enjoy your business it shows. Your clients will sense your positive attitude and want to be a part of your team.

DON'T -- Underprice your services. The average virtual assistant today makes $25 to $70 an hour, depending on their skills, services offered, location, and years of experience. Don’t make mistake of assuming if you charge lowest prices, you’ll get most work. You won’t. Instead, you’ll end up working outrageous hours for peanuts! Clients will pay more for professional services. When a potential client discovers you’re charging a lower rate than standard, they often feel they will receive a quality of services that is also lower. You are a professional service and you want to charge accordingly.

DON'T -- Overextend yourself. One of common mistakes many virtual assistants make is to accept too much work and then not be able to accurately complete it. Learn to say no or have a back-up helper who can assist you with any overflow work. Remember one of most important ingredients for success is keeping your clients satisfied. If you overextend yourself and make a lot of errors, it will jeopardize your business.

DON'T -- Get discouraged. It takes time to get a business going. Plan ahead and have money saved in reserve. Don’t buy items until you have found best possible price and there is an absolute need. This advance planning takes pressure off of having to make money NOW. If things are slow and phone just isn’t ringing ... MAKE IT RING!! There’s plenty of work out there, you just need to aggressively pursue it.

Finally, most important ingredient for success is your belief in yourself. If you believe that with your skills and experience, you can own your own business, then there’s nothing stopping you. DREAMS DO COME TRUE. SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN. ************* Diana Ennen, Author, Virtual Assistant: The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Words From Home, How to Start & Operate a Successful Word Processing Business www.virtualwordpublishing.com, diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Copyright, 2004 - Diana Ennen -- May be republished in its entirety as long as author’s signature block is included.