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Now that you have decided to start a home based business, I want to start off by saying, 'congratulations' and welcome to the wonderful world of being your own boss. While there is a lot to learn, your effort will be well worth it. The freedom and flexibility to set your own hours, the possibilities of ever-increasing financial security, the wonderful feeling of self accomplishment, and many more great rewards are all super reasons to start your home based business.

Those are just a few of the many thrills of owning your own home based business!

Now that you have decided to start your home based business, you might be wondering "How can I get it off to the strongest possible start?"

These seven tips will help you on your journey...

1) Set up a separate working space in your home. It doesn't matter if this is a spare bedroom, a part of the garage, a corner of the living room, or some other area away from the rest of the household activities. The important thing is to have some space that you can designate as your own working area. This will give you the space and room you need to craft your dream.

2) Stock your working space with proper materials. This may sound basic but one underlying element of success is that you have easy access to the tools, materials, and other resources you need. Gathering everything close by keeps you from wasting time searching for it, so this step can also be considered a time management strategy as well.

3) Speaking of time management, your third step is to define the parameters of your home based business. What days and hours will you work? When and where will you market? How will you provide services or products to clients? How will you keep all of this in order?

4) Balance action with planning. One of the most common pitfalls to a successful home based business is getting caught up in action without enough planning. Stated another way, this means that you confuse "being busy" with "working on important projects." The best approach is to plan your next couple of goals and then work backwards to create step-by-step action plans to reach them. Once you have the plan, it is now time to take the action.

5) Network like crazy. One of the fastest ways to grow any home business is to make connections with other people. Be sure to share your passion and enthusiasm with others at every opportunity you get. Let people know who you are and what you offer. Remember, people can't buy if they don't know you're selling.

6) Present a professional image. If you want to be treated professionally, present a professional image at all times. Set up a separate bank account for your home based business. Install a separate telephone and fax line. Create professional marketing materials. Be courteous and pleasant in all your customer interactions. Basically, just be someone people want to do business with.

7) Automate your business as much as you possibly can. I know you are just one person (right now) and might have a lot of extra time to take care of all the details. This might work for now, but it won't work into the future as your home business gets bigger and much busier. It's best to set up automatic systems and processes right from the start to help free up your valuable time in order to concentrate on the most profitable activities.

Following these seven tips will work wonders in getting your home based business started (and growing) in the right direction.

Now get out there and start building your home based business!