Before you venture beyond the idea of your dream of a home business, you need to ask yourself some serious questions and determine if you are ready to operate a home business. This has to be something that you are willing to do with the same loyalty, devotion, and zeal that you would extend if you were working away from home doing the same thing. You cannot take the attitude that you can work whenever it suits you rather than when your customers need you to be available. You cannot treat a home business like a hobby and simply devote only those hours that you choose to devote. There are some home businesses where this is possible to a greater degree than others, but if you have a product-oriented business or a service-oriented business where you deal directly with your customers (accountant, hairdresser, builder/contractor, cleaning service); you cannot set your own hours. If you are a freelance creative artist, you can set your own hours as long as you meet the deadline for the project.

You have to be certain that you have both the time and the desire to work at home. Some people are not goal-oriented enough to work at home and must be in an environment where they know they have to work certain hours and complete a certain amount of work within that time frame. If you are that kind of person, a home business is not going to work for you because there is not going to be anyone to tell you that you must work certain hours nor is anyone going to give you work and expect you to have it finished by the end of the day. You are the only one who can set these goals for yourself in a home business, and if you are unable to do that, it won't work for you.

The thought of working at home and not having to report to an office or shop every day is appealing, especially during the winter when the roads may be bad because or the weather or during the summer when you want to be outside. It takes a special person to work at home and be able to prioritize projects so that work, family, and leisure activities all take their rightful places. If you do not feel that you are able to devote the time that you need to a home business, take some time to work on learning how to do that. If you aren't goal-oriented enough to work a home business, you would be doing yourself and potential customers and disservice by pursuing it. Knowing this doesn't mean you can never operate a home business, but rather that you aren't ready now. Keep these thoughts in mind, and when you are ready to commit to working at home, you are ready.

posted by Chris Simpson