Your personality is also a determining factor in whether or not you should start a home-based business. While many people start home-based businesses because they see it as a natural extension of the hobbies they love, having a hobby is not the key to running a successful home-based business.
Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have the qualities an entrepreneur needs to have to be a success? Research shows that successful entrepreneurs share certain traits and attitudes, such as perseverance, the desire and willingness to take the initiative,competitiveness, self-reliance, a strong need to achieve, and self-confidence (William Jennings, "A Profile of The Entrepreneur").
Number one on my list of the personality traits you need to be a successful entrepreneur is determination. Enthusiasm is a great quality, but you won't get far with your plans to start a home-based business if you don't have the determination to put your plans into action.
In fact, there are so many adjectives starting with the letter "D" that are associated with the attitudes shared by successful business people, that I've coined the phrase "Type D Personality" to summarize them. Besides determination, you need drive, discipline, and desire to run a successful home-based business. You also need to be adaptable and flexible; each day will bring new challenges you may or may not have planned to meet, and often, a multitude of tasks that all seem to need to be done at once!
Test your entrepreneurial potential with these articles and quizzes about being a successful entrepreneur. Or read Thinking of Starting a Small Business to determine if you "have the right stuff" to run a successful home-based business.
Feeling daunted? Don't be. To help you decide whether a home-based business is right for you, I've created a Home-Based Business Checklist that summarizes all these considerations. With the Checklist in hand, take a hard look at your neighbourhood, your house, and your personal circumstances and see if you could run your business successfully out of your home. You might also want to get a second opinion; ask a friend to do an appraisal for you using the Checklist and compare the answers.
Deciding to run a home-based business isn't a snap decision. But if you do decide to locate your business in your home, it can be the most satisfying, exhilarating thing you've ever done. And know that you're not alone. Thousands of others small business people are doing exactly the same thing - and operating successful home-based businesses.
