I work at home, full time over Internet. I have a business that most people just plain do not understand. I work in a field that most people do not even know exists. I stay home all day. I often stay up all night working and sleep in very late.

This looks very bad to 'regular' folks.

It's of no concern to me. I'm literally immune to other people's opinions. I've always been a bit of a loner anyway.

What I'm wondering, though, is how does my wife deal with this? I mean, she's not really sure just exactly what it is I'm doing here anyway, and yet she backs me up. For that, I'll have to reward her someday.

It's tough on her at times, though, and it's especially tough on her when talking to others.

I've seen her try to handle questions before. I remember specifically what it was like when my wife's aunt and uncle first met me. We were just starting to look into moving to Montana, and we stopped by their house to let them know we would be coming to area.

"So, what does your husband do for a living?" her aunt asked, as I sat across room talking to her uncle.

"He works over Internet," my wife answered. This is where Aunt gave my wife one of those looks that's easier to read than a 10 foot neon sign.

Her look said, "But Internet is a just a play toy for computer geeks and college students. He can't be making any money from that --- unless he's a scam artist."

"What does he do over Internet?" Aunt replied politely in spite of her thoughts.

"He sends out newsletters," my wife answered. (That's her take on what I'm doing here. For a better explanation, see my web site. It's actually just a LITTLE more complicated than that!)

"Uncle," Aunt called to her husband in return to my wife's simplistic explanation of my business, "Joe there is looking for work."

I can only imagine what my wife was feeling at that moment. Wives like to be proud of their husbands. Heck, wives like to BRAG about their husbands. So having a job that leaves people thinking I'm, well, basically a bum and a thief is probably a just little hard on her ego.

She tries to explain that yes, I do make money, and that no, I won't be going to jail for it, and that yes, I do actually accomplish something, and that no, I'm not just trying to get out of having a real job and...

It doesn't really work, though, and I feel for her. Someday I'll have to reward her for her loyalty.

It probably doesn't help when Aunt comes to visit at 11:30 a.m. and I'm still in bed asleep either. She doesn't know that I was up until 5:30 a.m. working away. She doesn't know that I usually end up working at night because during day I like to do things with my wife and kids.

All she sees is a bum that "sleeps in 'til Noon!" Of course, relatives wouldn't dare say anything to me about their opinion. Instead, my wife gets blasted with it.

Starting a new business venture can be an exciting yet risky project. Our survival guide details steps to take to ensure your business not only survives but indeed thrives.

1. Determination - "ARE YOU INSANE?"

Implement your plans with total commitment. Don't give up even when obstacles seem overwhelming. Starting your business will instantly make you an outcast. People whom you love will openly question your sanity. The anticipated competition will be least of your worries, you'll be fighting your friends and family to get your business going. They will sit and wait expecting you to fail. Now that doesn't mean they don't love you, but there's no way to prevent this, it just happens. So be forewarned.

2. Devotion -"THE LOVE AFFAIR"

Your business should be something that you love to do, It's this love that will sustain you when going gets tough. And it's love of your product or service that will make you effective at selling it. Don't attempt to become an affiliate or sell a product that you have not used or assessed for its merits. At best you will be unable to answer legitimate concerns of purchasers and worse case scenario is that you will appear to be a fraud.

Now this does not discount fact that only business idea that will ever succeed is one that fulfills a need...preferably a *considerable* need. Therefore if no one wants your product your business will never get off ground.

3. Dollars- "OOOOH SWEET MONEY" Getting rich should NOT be your PRIME motivating factor. Persons who have that mindset will inevitably make short term decisions for immediate financial gain at expense of long term health of their venture. You will also have a difficulty motivating employees who don't stand to profit as much as you do.

Invest all that you can in your business, but be frugal with what you have at your disposal. Keep in mind that your business could either triple in size or go belly up within six months. So it would REALLY be wise to avoid that TEN year lease you've been considering.

If you are running an Internet based business you may even dispense with expending money on office space. Several online businesses are operated successfully from a spare room or basement.

4. Dedication- "100 HOUR WEEKS?"

You will have to make some adjustments to your life when starting up your business. You'll need to work tirelessly just to keep up with competition. Twelve hour days and seven day work weeks are not uncommon when an entrepreneur is striving to get a business off ground.

5. Doers- "THE BIG MISCONCEPTION"

Perhaps biggest misconception about an idea for a new business is that idea must be unique. Chances are that almost any ideas you can think of also occurred to others. When Einstein was developing his theory of relativity, another scientist, Poincare' formulated a similar theory around same time. History is full of examples like these.