Is a Home Based Business Really For Me?

​Before you embark on starting a home based business, it’s important to do some self-evaluation to ensure that you’re on the right track for your business idea. Being brutally honest is part of the process of getting started. Answer the following to help you make your decision. Don’t hold back; be honest.

1. Are You Self-Motivated? – Are you able to set schedules for yourself and get things done on time without having someone else set the schedule for you? When you work for yourself you are going to have to determine the processes by which things get done. Can you handle doing that? If that’s a weakness for you, can you get help and hire a business coach?

2. Discover Your Why – Figure out why you want to start a home based business. If it’s to be rich, to be able to sit on the beach all day, or to “have more time,” then you’re fooling yourself and you need to find a different type of job. Sure, eventually you may have more flexibility and control over your time, but when you first start you’ll work harder for free than you’ve ever imagined you could.

3. Be Realistic – You may not have a boss technically anymore, but depending on what type of business you start, you may suddenly feel like you have many bosses. For example if you become a virtual assistant, you’ll likely have 8 to 10 clients who all think they’re your boss. You’ll have to find a way to balance this fact with your expectations.

4. List Your Resources – Before starting a business, list all your current resources, whether it’s software and tools or people who can help you. This resource list will help you to ask people to help you, and will help you know what you have going for you right now.

5. Do You Play Well with Others? – You might think a home business means you don’t have to deal with anyone else, but often times the opposite is true. If you know that you have difficulty with others, you may want to choose a home business to start where you don’t have to deal with people as much.
 
6. You’ll Need to Wear Many Hats – When you start a business you may have to be the bookkeeper, the laborer, and the marketing expert. This is how it is when you own your home based business; you do what needs to be done at the moment it needs to be done, even if it’s something you hate. Sure, you can outsource but when that falls through, you must do it.

7. Do You Have Enough Experience? – When you think of the type of business you want to start, are you truly experienced enough to do it or should you start at a different level to move up to what you really want to do? For example, if you’ve never had a successful home based business, you can’t coach others to have one.

8. Do You Have a Good Relationship with Money? – When it comes to making your own money in a home based business, you’ll have to become an expert at money management. Sometimes you will feel as if you’re working for free; other times the money will seem to be on autopilot.

9. Do You Understand the Competition? – One aspect of choosing whether you’re right for a home based business is to look at your competition. Determine whether or not you can deliver at least as well as them, with your own twist.
Not everyone is cut out for having a home based business. Some people need the structure of a place to go each day in order to be successful. It’s imperative that you are real with yourself during your self-evaluation.
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2016!  Excited for this year!  Thank you for your feedback and suggestions.  Please keep them coming.  My direct email is doreen@doreendilger.com.   Wishing you a productive day!