“Questions
to
Ask
Yourself
When
Starting
a
New
Home
Business”
By
Topher
John
I
love
the
excitement
of
starting
up
a
new
home
based
business.
I
enjoy
trying
out
new
ideas
and
approaches
with
the
new
venture.
I
dream
the
big
dreams
and
hope
to
obtain
some
of
them
(if
not
all
of
them).
I
am
sure
you
have
those
same
feelings
as
well.
Organization
is
imperative
when
starting
any
business.
Some
say
that
a
well
funded
business
has
the
best
chance
to
sustain
losses
until
it’s
profitable.
However,
if
you
are
on
a
shoe
string
budget
like
me,
money
management
is
the
key.
The
place
you
need
to
start
with
your
home
business
is
with
the
pen
and
paper
or
word
processing
software
and
a
PC.
One
thing
I
learned
about
starting
businesses
is
there
are
so
many
variables
involved
it
is
not
possible
to
“keep
it
simple”
if
you
try
to
run
the
entire
business
without
some
type
of
plan.
Not
knowing
or
not
being
able
to
prioritize
your
needs
with
your
business
can
result
in
bad
money
management
and
eventually
failure.
Writing
down
what
your
business
is
about
helps
put
your
business
into
perspective
and
helps
you
define
your
immediate
needs
and
hold
off
on
spending
on
items
you
don’t
need
right
away.
Most
recommend
you
write
a
business
plan.
You
can
buy
software
to
write
a
plan
and
go
through
a
set
of
questions
to
write
one.
You
could
always
research
how
to
write
a
business
plan
online.
Whether
you
use
software
or
not
to
write
a
business
plan
you
could
always
ask
yourself
the
basic
questions.
Getting
to
the
basics
means
a
lot
to
me.
It
provides
a
foundation
to
your
ever
evolving
business
plan.
If
you
are
starting
your
own
home
business,
try
asking
yourself
these
questions.
They
may
help
you
in
the
same
manner
as
they
help
me:
1.
What
is
your
business
name?
2.
Is
your
business
registered
as
a
“Doing
Business
As”
(DBA)
or
Corporation?
–
This
is
very
important
for
tax
purposes
and
banking.
2.
Explain
what
you
business
does
in
one
short
paragraph.
–
Describing
your
business
in
a
few
sentences
helps
define
the
main
focus
of
your
business.
3.
What
products
does
your
business
sell?
–
List
any
product
your
business
is
selling
and
any
variations
of
its
availability.
4.
Who
does
your
business
sell
to?
–
This
will
help
you
define
your
market
(if
any)
Try
to
describe
the
personality
of
the
market
and
why
they
would
want
to
buy
your
product.
It
may
provide
a
starting
point
for
your
business’s
marketing
strategy.
5.
How
do
you
want
prospects
and
customers
to
contact
you
in
regards
to
the
product
your
business
is
selling?
–
You
may
decide
that
you
don’t
want
prospects
to
call
your
home
number
and
you
may
need
a
separate
phone
line
or
a
toll
free
number.
This
is
part
of
defining
your
daily
operations
and
costs.
6.
Does
your
business
need
a
web
site?
–
If
the
answer
is
“Yes”,
then
you
will
want
to
think
about
what
type
of
site
you
want
and
how
you
are
going
to
build
it.
7.
How
is
the
business
to
receive
money?
–
A
very
important
question!
Do
you
have
a
business
checking
account
to
receive
checks?
Does
your
business
accept
Credit
Cards?
Pay
Pal?
8.
How
does
your
business
make
money?
–
You
should
know
how
you
can
make
a
profit
on
the
product
you
sell.
You
should
know
all
of
your
costs
to
run
the
business.
This
way
you
know
how
much
product
you
need
to
sell
each
month.
9.
How
much
money
are
you
going
to
spend
on
marketing?
–
Marketing
your
business
should
be
the
priority
and
you
should
realize
that
you
will
need
a
budget
to
market
your
product.
You
cannot
sell
your
product
if
your
market
does
not
know
about
it.
Also,
you
may
want
to
start
out
with
a
very
small
amount
and
try
different
methods
until
you
learn
how
to
market
your
product
correctly.
Asking
yourself
these
basic
questions
may
help
you
shed
light
on
areas
of
your
business
that
you
may
have
not
taken
into
account.
After
all,
it
can
be
overwhelming
running
a
home
based
business.
Asking
basic
but
tough
questions
about
your
business
can
help
you
identify
the
immediate
and
long
term
focus
of
your
business
and
most
of
all
sustain
your
business
until
it
reaches
profitability.
Topher
John
is
a
webmaster
for
http://www.mybenefitsavings.com
and
http://beinbusiness.net.
He
specializes
in
building
internet
small
businesses.
His
interests
are
the
healthcare
industry,
specifically
how
it
relates
to
the
family
and
physical
fitness.
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