It is a statistically-proven fact that over 95% of all home-based businesses will fail miserably within the first year of operation. The single most prevalent reason for this massive failure rate is that people jump in blindly without having a good plan for business in place. Home-based businesses are real businesses. They are real in every sense of the word. Ask yourself how successful you believe a brick-and-mortar business would be if an entrepreneur just opened the doors one day without any planning.

Here is a helpful flow chart to get your thoughts moving in the right direction:

1) You have to develop a solid business plan. That includes the following:

o Asking yourself what product or products that you will sell.

o Researching your demographics. Who will you sell to and is that a feasible endeavor?

o Do you know anything about business in the first place? If not, you need to start studying. Educate yourself about business. There are proven techniques that will work for you, but they cannot if you are unaware of them.

o Consider the issues of: insurance, health care, funding, advertising, accounting, employee issues, merchant accounts and business-based legalities to name a few.

2) How will you fund your new home-based business endeavor? It is going to take some capital to invest. At a minimum, you will need phone lines, a fax machine, a computer, a printer, a desk and other office furnishings.

3) How will you advertise? You can promote your business in both online and offline fashions. For new businesses, you should consider some of the free advertising methods available online. These methods include: article marketing, newsletter publication, viral marketing techniques and frequenting forums.

4) Will you elect to employ the services of a home-based business mentor? Mentors can be invaluable. They have been where you are and have overcome the obstacles that you are experiencing now. Take your time in searching for a mentor. There are a lot of fakes out there in cyberspace.

5) Will your home-based business require any special licensing from the local government? Check with your local Chamber of Commerce and see.

6) Will you require the services of a bookkeeping agency or a CPA? Most likely, at the beginning you will not. But if your business grows the way that you would want it to, it will be a future consideration.

There are many more issues that you need to consider as well before beginning a home-based business. It’s not all just about being your own boss, setting your own schedule and raking in cash. You will have to work hard day after day, month after month and year after year. Being in business is not a game; it’s a business. Take your time while planning out your new business endeavor. Careful planning is the first step to not being one of the 95% that fail.