It is very important to have goals and to have a plan on how
you will go about achieving those goals. It is known that
one of the traits of successful people is that they have a
plan of action and they stick to it. The best way to create
a plan is to ‘brainstorm’. Just get out a couple pieces
of paper and write things down as they come to mind. Don’t
worry about organization so much at this stage; just
articulate your ideas in writing so that you can visualize
your thoughts more clearly.

Since there is more to your life than only business, some of
your goals may involve your personal life. That is why it
is good in the next step to make a separate sheet – you want
a successful home business because you need extra cash for a
trip you want to take and maybe a few other things like
paying off some bills. So these would clearly be apart from
your business plan, with business being the means to an end.
Before you get the money, you will need to have a plan and
decide how you will accomplish your goal. What will be
discussed here is the business plan to achieve your goals.

Obviously saying ‘I want $10,000 a month’ is a goal – but
is it a realistic goal? It could be, but it is more logical
to have short-term, mid-range and long-term goals. You
should make your goals achievable so that you are not
disappointed if you do not achieve them, for example by
being too optimistic and hence unrealistic. So using this
example, your short-term goal would be to earn $1000 a month
within 6 months. That is realistic. Your mid-range goal
is $5000 per month in one year, and $10,000 per month in 2
years.

Now it is time to plan how you will achieve your goals.
Here comes another sheet of paper. First make a list of
your business-related skills. What have you done in your
career to earn money? What did you excel at particularly?
If different than what you did well, what tasks did you
really enjoy doing? If you had any business education or
training, what did you learn? Do you have any hobbies or
interests that might translate into a business opportunity?

New sheet of paper: What are some of the ideas you have
about starting a home business? Do you want to sell
products? Do you want to design websites? Do you want to do
network marketing? Do you want to perform business services?
It’s a lot more complicated, but do you want to create your
own product, for example software, or even make something to
sell such as baked goods, candles, soaps, stained glass, or
‘memorabilia’? Write all your ideas down.

More paper: one sheet per idea. Think about what each of
your ideas would entail to make it happen. Think about the
materials and equipment, how you would deliver them to your
customers, etc. Where ideas sound feasible, consider the
cost to begin. Do a little research. Then keep breaking it
down into things you will need to take care of in order to
start the business. Take some time with this step so that
you will not leave anything out and be surprised when there
is something that is not possible. Consider how you would
advertise your business.

You may need a way to create operating capital if you do not
have any to begin with. A good way to do that is network
marketing. The reason being that affiliate programs already
have the products and the systems in place for you – all you
need to do is promote what has already been created to earn
commissions. The only thing you would be doing is marketing
and advertising and you only need a little money to pay
membership fees. You don’t have to love it and it doesn’t
have to be your dream business. Remember you just need the
money so that you can execute your plan for your home
business down the line.