Copyright 2005 Ron LeBlanc

So you're there at that webpage again. Looking at all the smiling faces and all the people telling how they started with five minutes a day and no money down and now they have a vacation home in Aspen. Is it real? Can average Joes and Janes really make it that big?

Yes and no. I have personally met many average people who have made many hundreds of thousands of dollars each in home businesses. Some of them had impressive educations and backgrounds. Some were pretty unimpressive before. I've met a tattoo parlor owner, a bouncer, a college coach, and a homemaker. All of them have made multiple six figure incomes. They were average in terms of their education and work background, but there are also some things about them that aren't average at all.

Did they have to train for years and listen to a home correspondence course of hundreds of CD's? No. Did they go get another degree? No. Did they just get lucky? I don't think so. The reason I don't think so is because they all had a few things in common. Logic tells me that if the things they had in common produced the same result, then maybe that's not luck.

I have known all of these people personally, and I can show you some of the things that they had in common. If you have/do these things then you also have a great chance at success. If you don't do these things, then your chances of success are slimmer.

Firstly, each one of them treats their home business like a real business. If you don't put your business near the top with family and your current job, then guess what – you will continue to have that job. What that comes down to is making decisions like your whole future depends on it. Don't feel like calling that last contact? Can't attend that company function? That $2000 for marketing could be used for those new curtains or that new stereo. Those are the key decisions and all these people made them with their business in mind first.

Secondly, they all had a very pressing “why” to their business. For some it was the heartbreak of dropping off their 2-year old in day care. For others it was a divorce or separation and they would have lost everything. In every case these people had a “why” that gripped them like a grandmother who hadn't seen them in three years.

I have seen people who were asked about why they are doing a business or what their goal was and they were vague such as, “I want to get financially free”, “I want more time at home”, you get the picture. Worse yet some people have a negative reason such as “I want to be out of debt”, or “I hate my job”. Those are NOT going to carry you through the hard times.

If you can't tell me right now exactly WHY you want to do a business, then you may want to consider figuring that out before you get started. Get really specific and positive. What do you want to accomplish? When do you want to have it by? What are you going to use the $30k in the next month for? How much will you give away?

Once you have concrete answers to these questions, then you are ready to start looking at the how-to. I will discuss the process of figuring out your why in my next article. Don't miss it!
Ron LeBlanc, PE spent 20+ years in science and engineering when woke up to his true potential and began working from home. He lives in Boulder, CO and works out of his home. He enjoys helping other people learn to do home based businesses. Get his tip-filled newsletter and some special offers at http://www.be-do-have.com