Tip #1) When you start a home business, be sure that it is actually a business. Choice is in abundance here - there are many opportunities you could take advantage of. When considering your choices, you must first ask yourself if it's really a business you're evaluating.



As you search for options, you'll likely run into mystery shopping, data processing, surveys, traffic exchanges, and various other work from home opportunities. These are not businesses at all, these are work at home jobs.

So what is the difference? If you've ever read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kyosaki, you know the answer: leverage. When you stop filling out surveys, clicking on ads, or shopping at new stores, will you still get paid? Not likely. If you are a business owner, you will earn money even while you sleep.

Tip #2) Know your budget. You will need money in order to start a home business. Regardless of what you might hear or read online, a cost free home based business does not exist.

Budget funds for marketing expenses. Will you be writing articles like this one, using pay-per-click advertising, or maybe even run classifieds in your town's paper? These things cost money and time.

Tip #3) You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Someone new to home-based computer businesses should stick with what works and not try to create a totally new system. Starting a home business can be easy if you build on the work of others and start with a proven system.

You're probably familiar with franchises. Instead of starting from scratch in the fast-food business, purchasing a McDonald's franchise is much more simple. From their real-world experience they've created an operations manual. You'll succeed if you follow each step.

This is the same with creating a home business. Follow a proven system and succeed with it, first. After that, make new things using your new skills. But, seriously, don't make it harder than it needs to be.

Tip #4) Build relationships. Your home based business will go nowhere without the participation of other people. On the simplest level, you need customers. But, starting a home business takes more than just customers.

You need mentors to teach you the ropes. You need joint venture partners to cross-promote your business. It is important for you to find a supplier or manufacturer who will produce the goods or services that you are selling. The list goes on and on. Like it or not, even your computer home based business is going to involve playing nice with others.

Tip #5) The importance of understanding how to market your business cannot be overstated. Unless someone else is going to do the majority of your marketing for free, you need to understand marketing or your budget, system, and contacts won't matter.

The key to a successful home business is your ability to find your target market and present them with an offer they can't refuse. If you really understand marketing, it almost doesn't matter which business opportunity you choose, you'll make it work. Thus, the old proverb, "she could find a way to sell ice to an Eskimo."