In order to make a fully informed decision, you should conduct a thorough and honest appraisal of the following issues:
Do I have sufficient knowledge of my product or service?
Richard Bolles strongly recommends the A-B=C approach: First, write out exactly what kind of business you are thinking about starting. Then identify a minimum of 3 similar businesses at least 25 miles away (so you don't appear to be the "competition"), and go interview the owners. Find out what obstacles they encountered and how they overcame them. Ask what skills or knowledge they believe are necessary to run this kind of business successfully. Make a list of all the skills the different owners agreed were necessary. This is your "A" list. Inventory your own skills into your "B" list. Finally, subtract "B" from "A" and this gives you list "C", which contains all the skills or knowledge you don't yet have, but need to acquire, through taking courses, volunteering or by hiring someone with those skills.
Is my personality style consistent with the requirements of running a home-based business?
The traits most consistent with successful self-employment include loving your work, independence, self-confidence, willingness to work in isolation at times, good written and oral communication skills, attention to detail, a capacity for hard work, resourcefulness, organization, self-discipline to start and stop each day, honesty, enough extroversion to market your business aggressively, and a commitment to provide a product or service of excellent quality. A qualified career guidance counselor can help you assess your personality style.
Do I have a space in my home and family cooperation so I can work without interruptions?
Is there a separate room with a door that shuts? Will customers or clients be coming into your house? Will other family members recognize that you are "at work" even though you are "at home"? You will need to discuss your business needs and expectations in detail, and solicit their ideas of how to make this business work while meeting family needs as well.
