by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Thinking about starting a home-based business? Millions of people are. This could be the smartest thing you've done.... or the most stupid. It all depends on how you approach the matter.

FACT: The failure rate for home-based businesses is astronomical

FACT: Many of those starting home-based businesses do so not because they want to run a business at home, but rather because they want to be home and out of an office.

FACT: Too many people launching home-based businesses have done so with inadequate planning and consideration, with the result that they're simply another failure statistic waiting to happen.

Don't let this happen to you! Start planning your home- based business at least one-year in advance of your launch date

Because you're most vulnerable to failure in the early days of your home-based business, do what it takes to maximize early profit and success. This means rigorous, hard-headed planning... the very thing too many home-based business owners eschew.

1. Do a budget

How much money will you need to work at home? This is where a good, honest budget comes in.

You must factor in your salary, your health insurance (don't stint here), and all the usual costs of running any business. This is the moment for hard-headed realism. Towards this end, once you've finished your budget, multiply it by an additional 30%, this being a fund to cover all unforeseen and miscellaneous expenses. ONLY those who are realistic about all the costs of running a business stand any chance of success.

2. Look at what you intend to sell. How many units of this must you sell to cover your financial requirements?

Again, you must be entirely realistic here as you contemplate the number of sales you must make to profit.

3. Start diversifying at once

Successful businesses develop product lines; that is, they don't just sell one thing or another. They may start with a single product, of course, but as soon as possible they begin to add additional products to their repertoire, products which enable them to make multiple sales to their customers and develop a reliable, income-producing following.

4. Develop your prospect lists

As I have frequently said, "Your list is the business; the business is your list." Thus, you must start developing your all-important customer list right from the get-go... and you must NEVER stop developing it until the day you retire.

At this point you are well advised to consult a technician who can assist you in the set up and easy accessing of your list. It is money well spent since you will be working with this list every single day you're in business.

5. Work on your offers

What differentiates successful home-businesses from the also-rans? In a single word, "offers." Successful businesses make it a point to review offers from other companies (particularly competitors)... and improve them to facilitate more and faster sales.

Note: The whole point of making offers is to get people to respond faster than they would then if just the product or service was being sold alone. Towards this end you may well, in the first days of your home-based enterprise, make offers you may never make again. Remember, you are at your most vulnerable in your earliest days; prepare, then, to make (quite literally) "one-time only offers" during this period, in order to bring in much needed cash. There is nothing wrong about doing this to get off to a successful, cash-plenty start. But don't give away the ranch for too long!

6. Make arrangements with suppliers

If you are selling other people's products (and you probably will be doing at least some of this), start working with your suppliers as soon as possible. Gather all the information you need about them, including order details, contact names, email address, phone, fax, shipping requirements, etc. Make it a point to introduce yourself to supplier contacts and develop good business relations. These people are part of the essential network helping you get rich. Treat them accordingly.

Start a year in advance, preferably while you are still employed elsewhere

I said it above... but this important advice bears repeating here. Rigorous planning starting 365 days before you open your doors (when you still have a job) is the key to ensuring an opening day with orders and profits.

Last Words

There's no reason under the sun why your home-based business cannot become the vehicle that makes you a millionaire. There are plenty. Why aren't there even more? Because too many home-based entrepreneurs didn't follow the steps above... thereby torpedoing their own success. YOU, however, know what to do. Begin today. You've got a profitable home-business in your future!