You think, "It will be great being home for my kids and having the time to do all the things I never have time to do now". Wrong! Chances are you will have less time and you will be running around like a chicken with his head chopped off if you are not properly prepared. Why is this? Very simply it is because there are too many distractions when you work from home.

It is imperative that you have a plan and a schedule to follow before you start working at home. Be sure to write a business plan and a schedule. In fact, you will want to write out a schedule for each week and each day once you do get started working from home. Believe me, you want to be organized and in my experience when you actually write it on paper you are more likely to make it happen.

When writing your business plan, keep it simple and write down all of your goals. Decide what you want to achieve and set a time frame to all of your goals. Remember to be REALISTIC but also do not make it too easy - You want to challenge yourself to always do better and more. Be sure to review and revise your business plan and goals at least every three months or so. It will help you to keep track of how well you are doing and where you need to work harder.

Create a budget for your business. You will need to spend some money on your office area, supplies, and you will need to advertise. FREE advertising will not make you successful. At the very least, you will have to use paid advertising to place your ads in pertinent e-zines.

In choosing where you will set-up your home-office be sure to do all of the following:

• choose a place that is (preferably) quiet and private (tell family members it is off limits during your working hours to help prevent unimportant interruptions)

• has enough space for a chair, desk, computer & file cabinet

• a second phone line (if you can't afford it right now the bare minimum would be an extension or cordless phone

• a roledex (physical or computerized)

• an accounting system (physical or computerized - you will need to track all your expenses and sales for tax time)

• organize your work area

Once you create your business plan and schedule make sure you stick to it. You are the BOSS now - you will only be accountable to Yourself. If you are too easy on yourself your business will fail but if you are too hard on yourself your family and relationships will suffer. Try very hard to find a happy medium - Both areas will always need your attention.

To prevent potential problems with your family, sit down with them beforehand to explain how very important your new business is to you and that you will need them to understand that just because you work at home does not mean that you are always available for them. This will make it easier when you have to say, "No, I am working right now." Always be gentle but firm.

After you start making money, plan to take a fixed percentage of your earnings to funnel right back into your business. This will ensure that your business will steadily grow.

Be sure to schedule time for acquiring more knowledge. You will want to study what is working for other Entrepreneurs and Internet Marketers. Due to the nature of the Internet, It is Imperative that you do this regardless of the amount of understanding and experience you have right now. With the number of resources available for learning the correct mechanics, startegies and tactics to market successfully on the Internet there is no real excuse for not having this knowledge and using it.

You will have to put some of your earnings aside to access some of these resources. Many of the better tutorials and courses are not free but will save you precious time and money in the long run. (Since these are learning tools for your business they are also tax deductible).

Below I have listed some resources that will quickly and easily provide you with a Goldmine of Information and Knowledge in Internet Marketing if you just put it to use:

DISCOVER E-COMMERCE IN PLAIN ENGLISH by Ira Marxe Ira shows you, in easy-to-understand English, what he has learned in 50 years of successful business, and how he has applied it to develop several successful Internet businesses. http://www.successhelp.com/store/593/index.html Aolers Click Here

THE AMAZING FORMULA by Marlon Sanders Marlon's specialty is developing marketing strategies and writing killer copy. He shows you how to produce information products in 2 to 4 hours, from information that you already have. http://www.higherresponse.com/track/t.cgi/8203 Aolers Click Here

WINNING THE AFFILATE GAME by Declan Dunn Declan's expertise in how to market affiliate programs. http://www.activemarketplace.com/store/1237 Aolers Click Here

THE INSIDER SECRETS TO MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET by Cory Rudl This is the Absolute Bible on Internet Marketing. Cory explains exactly how to become as successful as he has by giving you all of his secrets. http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/7403/ Aolers Click Here

Now that you know what is needed to get started working from home are you still thinking it will be a wonderful vacation? Maybe, you should plan to take that vacation and catch up on all the things you haven't gotten done because of your busy schedule before you start working from home.

**********************************************************
Betty Ann Wilkins, Publisher/Webmaster
"At Home Working News" - Your Doorway to Joining the
Work-at-Home Revolution. Fresh, Up-to-date, original
content to help you prosper in the home-based workplace.
To subscribe: mailto:AHWNews-subscribe@onelist.com
Sample issue: mailto:sample-issue@the-work-at-home.com
Archives at http://www.the-work-at-home.com/archives
**********************************************************

To HomeEmpZone