Hello Ladies,

Have you ever thought about starting a home business? Well, I started thinking about creating a home business as soon as I got engaged to my husband. I knew we would start a family, and I knew that I wanted to stay home with my children. However, I also know that if all I did was clean the house & take care of the kids all day - I would go BONKERS!....and that's what lead me to become a Life Coach & eventually to create this website...

Since those early days, many friends have approached me wanting information on how to pick a good home business...I found myself repeating myself so many times, that I eventually wrote this article. I thought I'd share...If you have any follow up questions, please feel free to post them here or send me an email.

I remember when I was looking into starting a home business; I had a brief conversation with a Career Counselor about my skills. (Of course I didn’t think I had any, at the time.) Then he sent me to Barnes and Nobel to look at the ‘bazillion’ books with titles like “5001 home businesses to make you rich” or “43 home businesses for women….”  I felt totally lost and overwhelmed.    There are so many possibilities. With today’s technology, almost any job can be done from home.  There was everything from pet sitting to accounting to network marketing. How was I supposed to choose?  It would have made my research and choosing a lot easier if I had gotten clear about what I wanted from a home business, before I even opened a book or searched on the internet. 

This article contains six questions that will help you find the right home business for you. I recommend that you answer these questions BEFORE you spend your precious time researching the myriad of home business possibilities. You may be thinking, “How can I know what I want from a home business, if I don’t know even know what kind of businesses are available yet?” I think you know more than you think you do.  In fact, I think that if you answer the questions I am going to give you – you will greatly reduce your time and anxiety trying to find the right home business for you.

The Key

Now, one more thing before we go into the questions.   I want to say three little words that will make a world of difference in this process. You Ready? Here are the words: WRITE IT DOWN. Writing things down is almost magical in its ability to transform an idea into reality. Brainstorm with pen and paper. Don’t edit and judge your writing – this list is for you alone to use in finding the right business for you.     I don’t care where you write it down – write in a notebook, write on napkins, on your computer – anywhere. Do it all in one sitting or over a period of time.  Just write it down and keep it all in one place.  The answers to these questions will not only help you to choose the right business for you right now, but if they are periodically referred to will also shape the way your business develops and help you to maintain your original vision of success.


The Questions:

1) What do you love to do?

Notice, I didn’t ask for your skills first. While your skills are important, I think your passions are even more important when choosing a home business.  It has been my experience that if someone is passionate about the business they are building, they can learn almost any skill they need to succeed. But if they are building a business they don’t really enjoy, they end up avoiding many important tasks, especially things they are not skilled at doing.

Therefore, consider your passions first.  List things you really enjoy doing and could get lost in for hours. List things you would do if no one ever paid you for them.  Don’t worry if they don’t seem related to any kind of future job, list them anyway.  Answer the following questions: what gives you energy? Satisfaction? Pride? Joy? If you are having trouble naming your passions, try to remember what you loved to do at different stages of your life. What did you love to do when you were eight? Fifteen? Twenty-Five?  Want more exercises on finding your passions? Try the book I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher.

2) What are you good at doing?

Next, consider your skills.  Look at old resumes, letters of recommendation, volunteer work, and perhaps most importantly, personal projects.  Don’t forget, if you are a parent, you are also the manager of a household – that job takes plenty of skills. List the things that don’t sound “marketable.”  You don’t have to show this to anyone, it is just a list to guide you in picking a home business.  Make sure to ask your friends and family what they think you are good at. It is imperative to ask others about your skills because your friends and family often see strengths in you that you don’t see in yourself. Don’t forget – write it all down – it will help you get clear about your skills and make you feel great!

3) What do you need to get from your business?

What does your business absolutely have to accomplish in order for it to be successful for you?  Answer this question on many levels. Financially – What is the minimum amount of money you need to make to make your business worth your time and effort?  Socially – Do you need to have daily interaction with people, or work independently?  Intellectually – Do you need an intellectual challenge or do you want work that doesn’t require much brainpower?   Globally – Must your business make an impact on the world, or on causes that are important to you?  Family – what impact must this business have – or not have - on your family life.  Creatively – Must your business be an opportunity for a creative/artistic outlet or not? The answers to these questions will help you eliminate the home business options that are not right for you.

4) What do you want to get from your business?

Question #3 is about the minimum standards your business must meet.  This question is your place to go wild and fantasize about the best success you could achieve.  Answer this question as it relates to areas discussed above (i.e. Financially, Socially, Intellectually, Globally, Family etc). The answer to this question will guide you to the right kinds of businesses for you. 


5) What do you have to give to your business? 

Building a home business is much like raising a newborn baby. It’s fun and challenging. It requires a lot of time, patience, energy and money to do it right.  Take the time to work out exactly what you have to give to your new business venture.  How much time per day or week do you have to spend on it? (Don’t forget to account for the time you spend preparing for Shabbat and holidays). How much money do you have to invest in it?  How long are you willing to wait until you see a profit?  How much energy do you have to give to it?  How much space do you have in your home for your office? Is your family willing to give time, space and energy to your business too? Do you have a support network to support you in giving the business what it needs to grow? Get crystal clear about what you have to give. It will help you narrow down your home business choices.

6) What is success to you?

Now is the time to capture the picture of your ideal home business that is in your head.  Take some quiet time and visualize how your perfect home business fits in with the rest of your life and write down every detail you can think of. Come back and tweak this vision as often as you like, but use it to guide you toward creating the home business you REALLY want!

Want an example? Here’s my original vision of success from when I was just starting my coaching practice. Many things have changed since this original vision statement.   Nevertheless, I have found it to be very helpful.

THE PICTURE IN MY HEAD

In my ideal practice I work Tuesday and Wednesday in my home office while Yosef (my son) is happily playing nearby with the fabulous woman I hired to watch him while I work.

The Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be focused on three things - being totally present with my clients, finding creative ways to market myself that don’t require large investments of money, and any minimal administrative work that cannot be done by my virtual assistant. (I may need to add an extra half-day to accomplish all this.  I will see as my practice fills up.)

I have ten clients – five per day.  They will be scheduled at least a half-hour apart so that I can be relaxed both with my clients and my home life.  This way we can run over if we need to and I can check in with my son between clients.


THE CLIENTS

I want ten clients – five per day. My clients are “ordinary women with extraordinary (untapped) gifts.”  I coach them to balance their lives and live their dreams. They will mostly be (but not limited to) home business owners facing the challenges of balancing family and work life while making their business profitable.

THE BUISNESS OF BUISNESS
 
I will have a virtual assistant do most of the administrative tasks of business so that I do minimal paperwork. After taxes, charity, childcare, virtual assistant and other expenses I may not have a lot left – but it will be good as a supplemental income and my practice will fulfill my need for having a “grown up” project while being a stay-at-home mom. (Note: You will want to be more specific about your financial projections – this was my first draft.)

I will also devote 5-7 hours/week to marketing. This will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday – as well as sometimes when my husband is home for the evening.
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THE FUTURE:

As the practice develops it may also include: specialized group coaching and giving workshops and teleclasses – but right now I need to focus on getting individual clients.

PRIORITIES

No matter how my practice develops I must always remember that YOSEF COMES FIRST (before the practice). And I also come first, sometimes before Yosef, so that I the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual energy to be fully present with him and enjoy our time together.

Note: Until I have more clients, Tuesday and Wednesday will be devoted to developing marketing tools and I will not hire a virtual assistant.

If you’ve answered the above questions you know what you love to do, what you are good at doing, what your business must achieve minimally to be successful, what you want your business to ultimately achieve, what resources you have to give to your business, and your own vision of success.  Now it is time to start your research.   Here are some great resources for you:

Home Business Books – General

I LOVE MY LIFE: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home by Kristie Tamsevicius

Home-Based Business for Dummies by Paul and Sarah Edwards

Momprenerus: A Mother’s Practical Step-By- Step Guide to Work-At-Home-Success by  Ellen H. Parapiano, Patricia Cobe

The Stay-At-Home-Mom’s Guide to Making Money from Home: Choosing the Business That’s Right for You Using the Skills and Interests You Already Have by Liz Folger

Working From Home: Everything You Need to Know About Living and Working Under the Same Roof by Paul and Sarah Edwards

The Everything Home-Based Business Books: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Run a Successful Home-Based Business by Jack Savage


Books about Specific Home Businesses

• The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to the Best Home-Based Businesses by Robert Spiegel
• Starting an Ebay Business for Dummies by Marsha Collier
• Mompreneurs Online: Using the Internet to Build Work at Home Success by Patricia Cobe, Ellen H. Parlapiano
• Home Businesses You Can Buy: The Definitive Guide to Exploring Franchises, Multi-Level Marketing, and Business Opportunities Plus: How to Avoid scams by Paul Edwards, Sarah Edwards
• The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century: The Inside Information You Need to Know to Select a Home-Based Business Right for You -- by Paul Edwards, Sarah Edwards
• Making Money With Your Computer at Home: The Inside Information You Need to Know to Select and Operate a Full-Time, Part-Time, or Add-On Business by Paul and Sarah Edwards

Websites:

• http://www.internetbasedmoms.com - A great resource for learning about how to start an online business.
• http://www.wahm.com - A wonderful, all-in-one website for work-at-home-moms.
• http://www.bizymom.com - This site contains lots of information on various home businesses to start from scratch.  Women running home-based businesses give you the “inside scoop” on what their work is really like.
• http://www.entrepreneur.com - This site has valuable information on how to research and pick a home-based business opportunity.  Also, this sites reviews and ranks home-based franchises.
• http://www.mommyco.com/wah/links.htm - A page with links to and reviews of various sites that list “work from home” jobs and business opportunities.
• http://www.dsa.org - This is the site of the National Direct Selling Association. Research network marketing opportunities here.