Key Attributes of A Homebased Business Owner

Any entrepreneur, and especially any homebased entrepreneur,must bring these attributes to their business:

1. Independence -- You need to be able to work wellindependently. Much of the support found working for someone elsewon't be found at home. You can't turn to a supervisor orco-worker and ask for help. Therefore, it is very important thatyou are a self-starter that can critique and provide feedbackregarding your own work.

2. Risk-taking -- Without the ability to take risk, youwon't go very far with your homebased venture. There are noguarantees that your business will succeed. If you want thesecurity of a guaranteed income, stay as an employee of anothercompany.

3. Innovation -- Most people associate theentrepreneurial spirit with the ability to innovate. Entrepreneursare willing to try something new, to look at things differently, tofind a niche and fill the void.

4. Motivation -- Just because you work for yourselfdoesn't mean you can work less. Many times it means workinglonger hours and wearing more different hats than you did workingfor someone else.

5. Experience -- You're going to need the necessaryexperience in the field of business you choose to start as well asa background in general business basics. There are a great manyentrepreneurs that have great ideas and a lot of talent, butdon't know the first thing about running a business.

Remember, most homebased businesses are run by one or twopeople, so you generally won't have the convenience of turningto someone in your business for the answers, and there won't beanybody hanging over your shoulder making sure that you do things.It's up to you, and if you don't know about the basics ofrunning a business, you'd better get a quick education.

6. Organization -- You need to plan your time andorganize your activities efficiently so that you develop a scheduleand adhere to that schedule.

7. Ambition -- You don't have to be ambitious to thepoint of greediness, but you should have enough ambition to keepgoing in the face of adversity. Remember, many people won'ttake you seriously because you operate from your home, but youcan't let that get you down. You have to be persistent enoughto get around their prejudices regarding homebased businesses.

Some of these attributes are inherent. Others can be learned.Successful homebased entrepreneurs strongly suggest joiningassociations, subscribing to as many magazines and reading as manysmall-business books (especially in your area of concern) aspossible. Ask other people in the same type of business aboutsituations they've encountered and what they did. Learn fromtheir mistakes so you won't make them yourself.