Planning, planning, and more planning.

Before jumping head-long into a new business, you must lay foundation for long-term success. A good foundation is rooted in a solid plan.

Many new businesses skip what is perhaps most important part of a solid business plan... assessing individual strengths and weaknesses.

But does a self-assured, go-getter such as yourself really need to do a self-analysis?

Research has shown that many businesses collapse in their first year because of inadequate planning. A thorough self-assessment is first step in planning a business which lasts well beyond first year.

What happens if you skip this first step?

Picture yourself standing on a grassy knoll looking out upon a desert - a sea of sand. You must cross this desert to reach cool, refreshing waters on other side.

You begin your journey in brisk, night air. The warm sand feels good between your toes. But then, you feel a nip at your feet. It is a creepy creature of night which has mistaken your curly little toe for a frisky, hopping snack.

A thought... should have planned for boots.

It then occurs to you that your little toe will become quite curly tomorrow when sand heats up from blazing sun.

Not a pretty picture, is it? Ya gotta plan. Bare feet at first... great for comfort. Boots for later on... that's thinking ahead.

The questions below will help you to prepare yourself... for business.

A. Why Do You Want To Start Your Own Business?

Understanding your motivation helps you to see past romantic notions of being self-employed. The questions below have no correct answer. They are different for everyone. Just look at your answers critically and evaluate how important they are in choosing to start a business.

1. Do you want better work hours? If so, what hours do you want to work?

2. Do you want to be your own boss? If so, why do you want to be your own boss? e.g. creative freedom, current boss is a Neanderthal, better use of your skills...

3. Do you want to improve your financial condition? If so, by how much? How much income do you want every week? Every month? Every year?

4. Does your current job leave you unfulfilled? Why? Can your desire to be self-employed fill this need? In what ways?

If you are working from your home, it is easy to "loose control" and slip into bad habits. You must exercise same discipline that would exist in an office, where you had to arrive at a certain time in morning, and work a full day.

While you can basically start your day, and end it when you wish if you work from home, you must maintain some semblance of order in your workday. Simply being there for a certain number of hours is not answer, if those hours are not productive. But beauty of working from home is that you do not have to have a regular schedule.

If your business is people oriented, you have to be available when your prospective clients are available to you. If it is product oriented, it really makes little difference when you work. Some people are morning people and achieve their best productivity then - so do it then. Others are "night owls" and that is their best time.

If you aren't in a situation where you have to be available during certain hours, pick whatever works best for you. A better way is to establish goals to meet. If you meet your goals each day, it doesn't matter when you accomplish them. Personally, I prefer to meet all of my daily goals in morning when I'm fresh, and then, do what I wish for rest of day.