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HOW TO START A BUSINESS : What Home Business Should I Start? - Service, Retail, or Product Based

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Any successful home business begins with a good idea. As you brainstorm, plan and prepare to start your new home-based business, you must first understand what kind of business you will run. There are three basic types of home-based business models:

- Service Business: selling your personal services
- Retail Business: operating a store
- Product based business: selling something you make or design

In order to find out which model is right for you, you should consider 4 factors: your personal ability, your training or experience, your situation and your style.

Understand Your Personal Ability
Take an honest look at yourself to determine how your ability will grow in a home based business. Ask yourself, "What am I good at?" Everyone is good at something. Sometimes the only challenge is figuring out what that is. Do you have a skill or talent that you can offer for sale to others?

Second question to ask is, "What do I like to do?" No one wants to be stuck in a business that they hate doing. If you despise cleaning homes, don't open a maid service business of mopping, dusting and washing. Chances are, you'll be unhappy. If, on the other hand, you love kids, babysitting may be more in line with what you should be doing. A stay-at-home mom who has a penchant for producing stunning watercolors may want to consider selling her artwork to others.

Leverage Your Training and Experience
It is also important to consider the training and/or education that you have received. Did you go to college or a technical school? Maybe your strength lies in the work experience you've had in the past. If you have a 10 year background in selling insurance, you could use that knowledge to operate a business using those skills. Others may not have a formal education or work experience, but in-depth reading on gardening coupled with an avid pursuit of the hobby may give you the chance to sell your knowledge in a garden consulting business.

Know Your Current Situation
Take a careful look at your current situation to determine which of the 3 types of business would be the best fit.

- How much capital do you have? Starting a retail business takes a good deal of money, but a service business such as writing, takes little to no capital.
- What will you do with the your children? For the work at home mom, juggling business with family is a constant challenge. Deciding what to do with the kids obviously depends on their age. Teenagers can function without the constant gaze of a caretaker, but 2 -year olds require a bit more maintenance.
- How will your home do as a business location? Many of today's work at home moms use their computer and Internet connection to operate a service business. If product based or a retail business is what you choose, understand the limitations of your livingspace.

Any situation -- whether you are rich or poor, kids or none, trailer or mansion -- can work well as a home business site. Take what you have and run with it.

Go with Your Style
After you go through the necessary checklist of your skills, training, and financial situation, the decision comes down to this: what's your style? With a bit of passion, and a desire to make it work, you can launch a successful business built on your style. The type of business you begin is important, but the most important factor is the person who's starting it. Which is you!

Launching a home business is thrilling, exhilerating, and a lot of hard work. To make sure that you have fun while at the same time enjoying great success, choose a business model that suits your ability, experience and situation.

source: http://www.wahm.com/articles/choosing-between-a-service-retail-or-product-based-home-business.html

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