Despite what you may have heard, launching a home based business is easy.
  Launching one that is successful, profitable, and can be maintained over a long time frame is a little trickier.
  Here are five steps to making sure your business is in it for the long haul.
1.
    Be interested.
  Build a business around something that you enjoy.
  There is nothing worse than running a business that turns you off.
  You'll have clients who are depending you to provide them products or services.
If you don't like the work, you'll hate every minute you're in business.
2.
    Know the numbers.
  Know how much starting capital you'll need to get off the ground, and how much you'll need to get profitable.
  Understand how long it will take to become profitable, and plan accordingly.
  If the numbers don't make sense, figure it out before you launch.
3.
    Plan your business.
  Not having a business plan is grave mistake.
  Getting a plan, even a rudimentary one-pager that lists out exactly what your business is, what it does, and how you're going to make money, is important for keeping you on track.
4.
    Selling and Marketing.
  The primary reason most businesses fail is lack of sales.
  Even if you have a great product, a perfect business plan, and a hungry market, you'll still crash and burn if you can't close a deal.
5.
    Hang in there.
  The success rate statistics for new businesses are grim.
  Understand that you will encounter setbacks, and sometimes you'll feel like throwing in the towel.
  Stay positive and keep working.
  You'll eventually make it.
Creating a thriving home based business is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
  It can be hard and require a lot of composure and dedication, but once it's going strong, you'll be happy you made the effort.