Copyright 2004 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos. There are many reasons why people choose to start a home-based business. Some of these are:
1. Dissatisfied with your present employment situation. 2. Out of work due for whatever reason. 3. You need to be home to care for young children. 4. You need to be at home to care for an infirm family member or aging parents. 5. You really want to be your own boss. 6. You really could use an additional income source. 7. You wish to have more time to spend with family or friends.
Over
years I have learned to recognize two of
most important factors in recognizing people who should not be starting a home based business. If a prospective entrepreneur says something like...
"I'm broke -- I need to make some fast money!"
or,
"I really want to start a home-based business but I don't want to spend any money on
business until I start making some money."
...it is certain that they have not addressed reality and, with that mindset, they will most certainly fail.
First, It takes a lot of time to successfully market and promote a new business and, if it is an internet business, a whole lot of “savvy” and information and resources you have probably never heard of. For a pretty good “first start” effort at setting up your internet business, see my article Tips For A Successful Internet Business.doc, also available through this resource – GoArticles.com. If you are planning a home-based business in order to spend a lot of time with young children or care for
elderly, a full-time business (and income) may not be a realistic objective.
Second, spend some time researching your business idea. The internet is a great source of information.
Third, learn as much as you can about small business. go to http://www.sba.gov/ and navigate to
sections dealing with home based businesses.
Fourth, write a business plan. Beyond my own eBook on starting a Homebased Business, here are a couple of Small Business Administration website locations that should prove useful:
http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs.html