Don't deceive yourself. Having business equipment in your home office doesn't make you an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must be visionaries. The mindset of an entrepreneur is always focused on the future. Instead of defining themselves by where they are at present, they define themselves by where they know they'll be in the future.



Today is the time for you to become the visionary for your own business- to take one small, tiny step toward the company you dreamed of having when you were sitting in that cubicle working for your overbearing bosses and that soulless corporation.

Before you can begin to cure your ailing business and become a thriving entrepreneur, you must know who you really are and what you really want. Your business has to match you. The first thing you have to decide is whether you want to stay small or build an empire. No need to write a whole business plan that only you and your mother will read. Just picture yourself having the perfect business-what does it look like? How are you living your life?

I've discovered two very different types of home-based entrepreneur. I call them the 'Growth Maven' and the 'Lifestyle Guru'.

'Growth Mavens' know how to dream big, and have the ambition to match. A typical Growth Maven runs her business from home to cut down on overhead, but she dreams of the day when she'll be sitting in a suite on the top floor of her own office building. She believes in a future where she's the next mega-star like Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, or Martha Stewart - people who started their companies as a home-based business and turned them into multi-billion dollar empires. She knows that there is no limit to how much money she can make, and she has the drive to constantly innovate her business. But first she needs to move the business out of her house.

The 'Lifestyle Guru' saw his dream come true the day he didn't head back to his little cubicle. His goal was simply to leave his miserable job behind and finally become his own boss. He hates commuting back and forth, the endless and useless meetings and working for little-minded people who can see only as far as their next progress report. He wants to feel like his work is more than just pushing paper until 6 o'clock. He wants to feel pride and accomplishment in doing something he truly enjoys. And he wants to do it his own way.

The Lifestyle Guru wants to trade his suit and tie for a bathrobe and slippers and his morning commute for a relaxed breakfast with his wife and maybe the daily crossword. He never wants to miss his kid's softball game or school play. He's perfectly fine with taking care of customer emails at night after his wife and kids are asleep. Some weekends he works on his business, and some weekends he takes off. He fits his work schedule around his leisure time, and puts his loved ones first. He knows there's a limit to how much money he'll make, but he's comfortable with his six-figure income and he gets to enjoy his life. When it all comes together, it really feels good.

You probably already have some idea whether you are a Growth Maven or a Lifestyle Guru, but if you are sitting on the fence and not sure in which direction you'd like to go, then I have a quiz available online and in my book that should help you figure that out.