Most companies have motivational training. Those who have been in Amway (who hasn’t?) know all about motivational tapes and conventions. Motivational training helps you “want” to succeed. But, it often leaves you with only a strong desire.

You need to be able to transition from a 9-to-5 mentality to think of your “part time” or “spare time” opportunity as a BUSINESS. Yes, you are a BUSINESS PERSON now. You’ve got to think, act, and perform as a business person.

The average person comes home from work, sits down in an easy chair, pops open a favorite beverate, clicks the remote control, and asks “What’s on next?” The average person wants a home based business that “Works for them.”

Unfortunately, no home based business is going to “work for you”. You have to do the work. WOW! What a concept.

Helping a person change their thinking and acting habits is one sign of a successful home based business. For many people, this is a difficult transition.

Once you have made this transition, you can then apply the “tools and techniques” to become a producer.

Julie-I especially liked your comment “a successful home-based business shouldn’t be any different than that for a business which is out of the home” and that it truly needs to be making “more money than I spend or it’s just a hobby”…great point! How many of us are not at break-even yet! It’s ok to be investing in a home-based business as long as there’s a plan, a strategy of when income will replace personal savings and sacrifice.

For StartUp Princess, the plan is to become profitable with our October conference in Utah–but it’s taken a year to figure out “what our home-based business plan is” and how to make money at this! Sometimes it takes awhile, but how much better off would the company have been if I had figured it out earlier. Regardless, I knew I had something here…so I kept at it until I figured it out! To win a home-based business plan competition however, you have to have it all sorted out and prove to angel investors and judges that you’re solid and prepared!

Ironically when I entered my Princess Sweet business plan in 2005 and won 2nd place nationally I was ready with the plan and strategy. You can see my video pitch at http://www.princesssweet.com Ultimately I decided to NOT do that business further because StartUp Princess was thriving and I could do it from home as a home-based business! So for me, home-based is the way to go for this time of my life. Now I have to not only figure out how to do it well,but develop a competition that rewards great plans. Fun challenge!

Thanks for your input!! Any one else??? We need your ideas!!

I started my business to gain flexibility to spend more time with my children, but I still had to be able to make more money than I spent or it would have truly been just a hobby.

Income replacement is a fine goal. You can try to measure a business plan based on perceived ability to achieve the entrant’s goals (whatever they are) but I think some of those would be hard to judge objectively.

Defining a successful home-based business: I agree with Julie’s comment, but would like to add that often times women who start a home-based business have additional goals in mind. They might have children they don’t want to leave and other demanding and important responsibilities in the home. They might be disabled or without a 2nd car, or divorced and in a bad situation. Maybe they are sick of commuting. Maybe their husband works but doesn’t make enough income or maybe their husband lost his job or is disabled, requiring her to care for him all day. The reasons for starting a home-based business are endless. So success for those people may just be the fact that they have the freedom to bring in some income FROM HOME.

In looking at growth potential, it is the job of the entrepreneur writing the business plan to convince the reviewer that there is growth potential. Any business can have growth potential if it is serving a new and growing market of if it has some clever way to grow market share.

As for angels, they want to see what any other investor wants to see: a potential to make back their money with interest. They are different because they are more patient than VCs, more apt to take risks on earlier-stage companies (those without customers yet) and don’t generally require such outrageous returns.

Whether or not you provide for a home-based business to grow out of the home (like mine did!) depends on what you’re really trying to promote! If you’re trying to encourage hobby-businesses that supplement’s a families income, then perhaps the business should not have tremendous growth potential. In my opinion, those types of businesses would not necessarily be writing a business plan and entering a competition. I don’t think there are any negative messages when you reward a company with a great idea that starting at home and plans to grow into something bigger someday. After all, for those of us who start businesses to have more flexibility to be with our kids, they don’t stay little forever. And as they do get older, they can become more involved in the business. Case in point: my 11 year old “baby” is coming with me this weekend to a book signing event so she can help me. I’m even paying her. Being able to teach our kids about the world of business is one of the great advantages of being a ParentPreneur!

Off my soap box…I hope this helps!

Julie Lenzer Kirk
Entrepreneur and Author, “The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building a Successful Business”