If you are seriously considering starting a business at home you should think about a few things before you waste your time or your money. While the skills and experience you have acquired during your working career can definitely be a benefit to you when starting your own business, there are additional elements that are important to your success.
For one thing, structure and discipline are necessary to run a business. We may have taken these for granted while working because we went to work for a company that already had procedures and all we had to do was learn them. We were also provided with a job description that let us know what was expected of us. We were given a schedule which told us when to show up, when to take breaks and when we could leave each day. To reinforce this we had a supervisor or manager who would keep us in check.
When you are starting out on your own you have to create all this structure for yourself. You need a plan that includes goals, you need to schedule your time and to stay motivated to do the work that is necessary. Regardless of whether it is your only job or adds additional duties and responsibilities to your already busy life, you have to have a plan. The key is since you don’t have anybody to hold you accountable like a manager, you need to have lots of discipline to remain focused in doing what is necessary to run a successful business. When you are your own boss, it is all too easy to procrastinate.
One of the most critical things when we have a job is the fact that we know how much money we are going to take home and when we can expect our paycheck (weekly, bi-weekly, etc). This enables us to create a budget and a schedule for paying our bills, etc. This can definitely be a challenge when you are working for yourself because there are no schedules or guarantees in this regard. You never know how much you will make or by when, as that depends on many different factors, the primary one being how much time and effort you are willing and able to invest in your business.
Obviously being able to survive while you are building your business is paramount, so this should be your first consideration. Hopefully you still have an income from a job, or severance pay or unemployment insurance to cover your living expenses. You must never speculate on your survival. NEVER spend the rent, food or utilities money, gambling that you will have it back by the time it comes due. You absolutely have no way to know for sure if you will or not and it is critical not to end up without shelter or food when you realize that it is going to take a bit more work and more time to see any return on your investment.
Something that is also very important with regard to all of this is your mindset. Will you be able to remain undaunted when you don’t see results right off the bat? Do you really understand that nothing will happen instantly or without a good deal of effort to promote your business over time? You really need to ask yourself if you will be able to stay focused and motivated without seeing any tangible results. It requires faith and self-confidence as well as the right information about how to do what you need to do to succeed.
