Title: 
Tips And Advice When Starting Your Home Based Business

Word Count:
651

Summary:
Starting a home based business, particularly if it is your first time, can often be a daunting task.


Keywords:
home based business, work at home


Article Body:
By Kirk Bannerman


There are a great many types of home based businesses and there 
are numerous reasons why people choose to start a home based 
business. Some of those reasons include: 

1. Dissatisfied with their present employment situation. 

2. Out of work due to being laid off or downsizing by their
   employer.

3. A need to be home more with young children, an infirm family 
   member, or aging parents.
   
4. A yearning to be their own boss. 
 
Whatever your particular reason for exploring a home-based 
business, there are a few common steps you need to take in order 
to launch your business. 

First off, you need to come to grips with reality...be realistic 
in your expectations. Far too many folks read advertisements 
that are hype and imply quick money, and lots of it, from a 
home-based business start-up. It will certainly take a year, and
in some cases it may take up to three years, before you begin to 
truly make a significant profit from your business. 

I have helped a large number of people start up their own 
home-based businesses using the Internet.  Over time, I have come
to recognize two of the most important factors for identifying 
people that should NOT start a home based business.  If a 
prospective entrepreneur says something like...

"I'm broke and need to make some money, fast!"

or,

"I want to start a home-based business, but I don't want to spend 
anything on it until after I start earning some money."

...it is certain that they have not addressed reality and, with
that mindset, they will most certainly fail.

It takes a lot of time to successfully market and promote a new 
business. If you are planning a home-based business in order to 
spend a lot of time with young children or care for the elderly, a 
full-time business (and income) may not be a realistic objective. 

Second, spend some time researching your business idea. Make sure 
there is truly enough of a market for your product or service. 
It's easy to fall into the trap of having a hobby or passion for 
something that you like to do and just assuming that you can turn 
it into an economically viable business.

Third, learn as much as you can about small business.  There is a
wealth of information available on this topic and the US Small
Business Administration is probably as good a place to start as 
any.  Just go to http://www.turkiyespot.com/sba.gov</a>/ and navigate to the sections
dealing with home based businesses.

Fourth, write a business plan. It is your roadmap to reaching 
your objectives. There are numerous articles on the Internet
and in libraries that can assist you in developing your business 
plan as well as addressing the many other issues involved with 
starting and operating a business from home.  As a starting 
point, here are a couple of Small Business Administration
website locations that should prove useful: 

http://www.turkiyespot.com/sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html</a>
http://www.turkiyespot.com/sba.gov/library/pubs.html</a>


And last, but not least, seek the advice of a tax professional.  
Your first reaction may be that you can't afford such expenses 
right now; but, in reality, you can’t afford not to seek such 
advice from the very beginning of your home business start-up.  
They can advise you about ways you may be able to reduce the 
amount of taxable business income at the end of the year. 
Paying for an hour or two of consultation with a tax professional 
at the beginning will probably save you much more than that 
amount later on down the road. 

I never cease to be amazed at the number of people that seem to
think that some magic is somehow created when you put the words 
"home based" in front of the word "business".  It's still
business...it just happens to be based in the home.