=== 1. Research Your Market.

Don't try to force a new product or service on an unwilling market. Research your intended market first, then create a product or service to fit that market.

Put another way, you can't force people to want what you have to offer... but you can offer them what they want.

Your research should also include an in-depth look at your competition. Is there too much competition for area that you plan to service? Can you offer something that your competition cannot, while still making a profit? By analyzing your competitors, you'll be able to learn from both their successes and failures.

=== 2. Don't Try to Be Everything to Everyone.

You will never make everyone happy, no matter how hard you try. So don't; instead, focus your efforts on one particular segment of population.

For example... let's say you run some sort of business related to gardening. Gardeners range in skill from rank amateur, who can barely manage to keep even most robust houseplant alive; to serious professional who is able to nurture and coax exotic and fragile flowers to bloom.

Instead of attempting to offer every type of plant or information to all types of gardeners, you could instead narrow your focus to one specific group: for example, amateurs who are interested in colorful, low-maintenance and easy-to-grow plants.

Focusing on a niche market allows you to more easily build a unique and solid reputation for your business.

=== 3. Keep Your Spending Under Control.

Keep overhead costs low, and don't spend frivolously. There will always be necessary expenses - for example, if you're running a business online, you'll need a good computer and a reliable Internet connection. But would you also need new, top-of-the-line home office furniture?

On other hand, don't balk at spending money when you need to. Figure out which expenses are true necessities, and which are luxuries. As cash flow improves you can look into purchasing other items you may need.

=== 4. Keep Growing.

A business can't be successful unless people know about it. That's where marketing comes in. All businesses require hard work - and even after you've established your business, you will need to continue to work hard in order to make it grow. At times, hard work may be necessary just to sustain your current level of profitability.

=== 5. Have a Contingency Plan.

Why? Simply because when both parents work outside home full time, additional expenses will expand rapidly. In fact, their financial stability will diminish instantaneously, leading to financial ruin, even bankruptcy. This article will cover what one young mother decided to do to improve her income.

I will use my good friend Sandy as an excellent example. Sandy is a married woman with a three year old son. She recently returned to work after being a stay-at-home-mom.

Please Note: All expenditures are on conservative side. Sandy is frugal and watches every penny she spends. Please adapt examples to your own situation to weigh your choices.

Sandy earns a respectable $24,000 per year, which she considered a good second income for her family. Wrong! Sandy discovered other expenses were consuming her new income. To begin, she had to deduct about 40 percent for fed, state, local, social security taxes, pension plan. She is down to about $14,400 extra. Yikes!

Daycare dwindles a large portion of her earnings. In many large urban cities daycare cost around $6,000 for one child. Sandy considered herself lucky to find a center charging about $4,800 per year. That reduces her extra income to $9,600.