Another important tip for keeping your two worlds separate is to have separate business telephone, modem and fax lines. Do NOT allow your children to answer your business phone. You may think it's adorable but trust me, it isn't. It's annoying. Arrange for a voicemail service to take your business calls during your non-business hours. Similarly, when you're working, try to ensure your children are otherwise occupied when you make business calls. The last thing you need when trying to convince that prospective new client that you should win his account is a screaming five year old right next to you.

If you have very young children, hire a sitter for times of day or week when you know you'll be conducting business on telephone. If you have older children, deputize one or more of them to occupy younger siblings. You might want to pay your 'deputy' for this service as a way for him or her to earn some income or pocket money. The money you spend on sitting services will be more than offset by new business you'll win as a result of professional image you will be able to project to prospective and existing clients and customers.

As important as it is to choose for your business something you love to do, don't allow your business to take you away from your family. After all, your family was likely one of primary reasons you decided to work from home in first place.

It is one thing to be present physically. It is quite another to be present mentally and emotionally. The more rounded you are as a person, more you bring to table both personally and professionally. The enjoyable activities you engage in in your non-business hours can energize your business life. So, instead of thinking about work you could be doing on Sunday when you're at beach, think of fun you have on that day as an investment in your business for coming week.

Give 100% of yourself to work during time allocated to work. Then shut door on it. Your family deserves 100% too.

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Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com

Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ... practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com

Once you know how you want to position your company in marketplace and you have updated all of your materials, only thing left to do is present yourself to people who want what you have to sell. This may be a very different group of people than ones you've spent last year with. Many of us cut our marketing teeth at local chamber of commerce, but they can be full of small, one-person businesses that may not have need for services you want to provide.

The best thing to do is to identify what types of companies are going to be attracted to what you are providing. Are they of a certain size, a certain geographic location, a certain industry? Once you've identified parameters, it's time to determine how you are going to reach them. What associations do they belong to? Can you write articles for that association's newsletter? What networking groups do they attend? Can you join? Do they usually find their vendors from advertisements, referrals, or direct mail? Who else already provides services to them that could potentially provide you an opening into companies in exchange for a finder's fee or reciprocity (these are called Centers of Influence)? Develop contacts with marketing companies who could potentially bring you in as a subcontractor for their clients' marketing campaigns. Although, they will generally take a cut or mark up your services, perhaps, you'd enjoy focusing on building these relationships so in future you could focus just on graphic design aspect of your business, not client-building part.

This may seem like you are starting from ground zero as you pull away from those groups that you've been networking with during past year and begin again as a new member in new groups, but soon you will be reaping rewards of a thriving business working with people you like and doing what you want to do. What could be better?

Once you've established yourself in these new communities, you can't continue to spend half of your week trolling for new clients or you'll cap your income in relatively short order. Your next line of attack should be meeting some Centers of Influence. Read more about how to do this at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ezines/061802gettingclients.htm

Download a free copy of *50 Ways to Win New Clients* at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/freebies.htm