A Home Business is just that – A Home Business!Starting your own business – from home, storefront or office – can be one of the most rewarding and satisfying things you will ever do, BUT, make no mistake about it – starting a successful business may be one of the hardest things you will ever do. So, are YOU ready to get started?Here is the kind of person it will take:Someone with a big “WHY” – we’ve talked about your “WHY” in prior articles, but to sum up; your “WHY” is the reason, or reasons, you want to be in business for yourself. What are your goals? What will your lifestyle, your reputation, your relationships be like once you achieve those goals? That is your “WHY”. Do you have that picture firmly in mind? Is it big enough to motivate you and keep you going through the tough times that are sure to come?Someone who is extremely Self Disciplined – working for yourself from home you do not have the imposed discipline of working for someone else. There are constant distractions, other things you want to do or must do. It is very difficult to stay focused on the task at hand and finish anything to a completion. For instance, my phone just rang (it was a personal call), I need to get the mail out to the mail box before the mail person comes, and I’m feeling in the need of an energy snack. Picture a stay at home mom with those same distractions plus the demands or a sick child who is home from school. Wow! It would be very hard to get this article finished & posted on schedule without being extremely self disciplined.A Master Planner / Organizer – as a business owner (of a one person business) you wear many hats. Too many hats. You are in charge of Planning, Marketing, Accounting, Customer Service, and everything else you can think of. Yes you can out-source some tasks, but even then you have to set it up and monitor the service provided. If you are not good at planning and organizing, you will be pulled in so many directions your head will spin (and you will probably get frustrated and quit).Must be able to create Space and Time – can you create a quiet and private spot in your home to conduct your business? If you believe the images you see in the “work from Home” advertisements where someone sits on the couch with a laptop and phone while children play quietly in the background, I can tell you – it’s not going to happen that way. My wife and I run two separate businesses from a one room office in our home (separate desks, separate computers and printers, common fax, filing cabinets and bookcase) and I’m good at organizing, but right now there are six piles of paper on the floor connected with unfinished projects that I’m unable (or unwilling) to put away. Clutter – if you don’t have space to store and file – you won’t believe what a home business can generate. As for Time, I tried to create a big enough block of time to write, edit and publish this article before a meeting scheduled for 43 minutes from now (and 15 minutes away from here) and it is obvious I’m not going to make it (not even close). Think YOU can handle it?Must have a dream (your “WHY”) but not be a dreamer – dreams don’t become reality until you get off your backside and take some action, so you’ve got to be an action oriented self-starter. Don’t kid yourself, nothing is going to happen until you make it happen.Must be a “People Person” – is one of the reasons you want to work from home because you find it hard to get along with others? Well, perhaps the best advice I could give comes from one of my mentors, Jim Rohn, who says “Don’t wish things were different – Wish you were better”. Working from home usually involves social networking. Social networking depends on interacting with other people. And even marketing on the internet requires the ability to write good copy and communicate with people in many ways (this article for example). Using myself as an example, I’m a pretty good marketer and good enough with people and public speaking that I give great seminars, but I don’t (or didn’t) consider myself a good salesman so I developed an elaborate system of internet marketing for my main business, but guess what – very few people become customers without that personal phone call and follow up. Not good with people – I’d say work for someone who is.Well, if you still think you are right for a Home Business, look for the next article in this series “Home Business 101 – Is Your Home business Right For YOU?”