When you're starting a home business, it's all too easy
to make mistakes -- after all, you've never done this
before. Fortunately for you, though, you can learn from
others' errors, by making sure you don't do any of these
things.

Thinking Skills You Don't Have Aren't Important.

So you have no idea how to keep records and accounts, or
you don't know how to maintain a mailing list. You need to
learn these things! Too many home business owners just do
the things that they know how to do, and assume that they
can probably get by without everything else.

You need to realise that when you're running a home
business, you're going to need to do as much as you can
for yourself, especially when you're starting out. This
means that you can't get by if your business skills are
lacking. I always say that everyon'e who is thinking of
starting a business should take an inexpensive and quick
local business course, and I stand by it -- even if you
think you'll be fine, it can't hurt, can it?

Not Managing Your Time.

When you're used to working nine to five, an easy trap to
fall into is not managing your time effectively. Your home
is full of distractions, and there won't be anyone there
to tell you to get on with it. If you're prone to
daydreaming or procrastinating then this can be disastrous
-- whole days can go by with only tiny amounts of work
getting done.

You need to be sure that you have a schedule, and you stick
to it. Draw a clear line between work and non-work time, and
don't cross the line in either direction. Apart from that,
the word to remember is 'prioritise': appreciate that you
won't always be able to do everything, but make sure you
get at least the important things done.

Making Clients Think You're a Joke.

There are many home businesses where clients might need to
visit your home -- but make sure it's fit for visiting!
You can't lead them into a messy office, or be holding
your dog back from barking at them when you first meet.
Remember that professionalism is important, and it's too
easy to end up looking silly if you don't plan how you're
going to make a good impression when you invite people to
your home.

If you can't afford a 'business annex' to your house,
then consider hiring someone to look after your dog or
children for a few hours while you have a business meeting
there. It might also be worth paying a cleaner to give the
place a quick once-over, if you haven't had time to clean
up for a while.

Not Specialising.

Too many home businesses, when asked who their target
market is, say 'well everyon'e, silly'. Your target market
is never everyon'e -- if it is, you will fail. You can't
just choose an industry and advertise your new-found
profession to everyon'e, in the hope that someone will work
out that the fact you're an electrician means maybe they
should ask you about re-wiring their house.

The key to success is this: think about what you can do,
and then market that to people who will want it. Advertise
in places where these people are. If your business has no
target market, then you have no business, period.

Making Start-Up Costs Too High.

Finally, too many people overestimate how much money it's
going to take to start a home business. Do you really all
brand-new equipment? If you're spending thousands of
dollars before you've made any sales at all, you're
setting yourself up for a disappointment.

Start your business on a shoestring, work hard, and expand
gradually -- otherwise you're setting yourself up for a
big fall. However much you might think you ought to do
things 'properly', you need to make sure that you're
minimising costs and maximising profit every step of the
way, otherwise you're failing yourself as a home business
owner. It's when you start to get some bigger clients and
better cashflow that you can start paying a little extra to
make your business life more comfortable.