Picking the right accountant for your small business is similar to choosing the right doctor for your health care.  You want someone who is skilled and qualified and with whom you feel comfortable.

When you choose a CPA, you are putting your financial security in the hands of a person who is supposed to be certified and up to date on every rule and regulation that applies to you and your business.

So, how can you choose the right accountant for your business needs?  Let’s take a look at a few items to get you started:

Interview Yourself

You need to find out who you are and what you want. Put yourself in your prospective accountant’s office chair. What will you expect from your accountant? What kind of things will be deal makers and deal breakers? It is a good idea to know who you are and what your expectations are before you begin the next step.

Ask Friends and Family for Recommendations

Friends and family are often a good resource, so why not ask them? Find out if their tax professional is taking any new clients or if they have time to give you advice. Be honest with them.  If Uncle Al says his accountant is still using paper spread sheets, tell Uncle Al you need someone with a computer.  Then move on to the next opinion.  Get at least three good recommendations of accountants to interview.

Don’t just ask friends and family for a recommendation, ask them why with a few specific questions like:

• Why do you like using this accountant?  Be specific.
• What kind of business advice and tax advice have they offered you recently?
• Was their advice helpful in saving money?

Interview the Accountants

Twenty or thirty years ago, accountants were often considered bookkeepers. Today, they are much more involved with business rules and regulations and many have specified training in small business and taxes to help set them apart from other CPA’s. The trick is to figure out exactly what you should look for in an accountant.

What kind of questions should you ask your CPA to keep yourself out of trouble come tax season?

• What kind of creative business advice will you offer me? – Sure they can crunch numbers but can they offer creative ways for you to save money now?
• Is your business tech-savvy? – Staying on the forefront of technology, as a business, is a great indicator of keeping up with the times. As technology is able to produce info faster, your accountant should be the first to know.
• Who are your other clients? – This indicates whether or not your accountant has dealt with businesses like yours and how busy they will be during tax time.
• Are you active in the local business community? – Can your accountant introduce you to people who can help make business changes they suggest?

Make Your Decision

After you have done some soul searching, asked people you trust for recommendations, and interviewed at least three accountants or accounting firms with the questions you needed to ask, it is time to pick your accountant.

Sit down and go over the qualifications of each accountant or team of accountants.  Weigh all the pros and cons and come to a decision on who would be the best accountant to hire.

Don’t forget to write each one you rejected a simple thank you note with one or two reasons why you did no choose their firm. This will show them that, although you appreciated their time, your decision was based on specific facts.  Don’t burn bridges – you never know when you could be back in their office.  Most professionals appreciate honesty, so don’t be afraid to tell an accountant why you didn’t choose their firm.

Now that your accountant has been hired, it’s time to get to know each other.  With the difficult part over, take a few minutes to visit your accountant and find out what he or she will expect over the year, leading up to tax time.  Maintain a close relationship with your accountant and you, and your small business, will benefit nicely for years to come.

So you had that fantastic business idea, the one that’s going to be wildly successful and make you a fortune – and even better, you actually did something about it and started your own business. Good for you! Not everyone gets even that far. Most people sit and day dream about what they might do if only ….

“The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision” – W. Clement Stone

But you got over the biggest hurdle, you took that first step and you actually created something.

Well done – you already did more than most. But once you’ve got started and you’ve maybe lost that first flush of enthusiasm with the day to day details of running your business how do you keep going?

There are several things to look at here:

1. What are you really good at and what do you enjoy doing? Make two lists – one of all the jobs you like and/or are good at, and one of all the jobs you hate and/or really don’t do very well. Take the second list and have a look at what you might outsource or automate. Do you really love doing those accounts or would your time be better spent in forward planning while your accountant does the sums? Must you personally reply to every last enquiry or could you create a FAQ which you can post on your website and refer people to by autoresponder? Obviously in the early stages of your business you might find you don’t have the money to pay someone to do the jobs you hate but you’ve got to think about what is best for you and your business long term. Be creative – could you swap skills to get the help you need? The more routine jobs you can outsource or automate the more time you have to plan and to market your business, and to think about even more ways to bring in all that lovely cash – not to mention you get to spend more of your time doing the things you really enjoy doing.

2. Why are you doing this? You really need to be motivated to start a business and keep it going and the best way to do this is to know what all that effort is for. What really moves you to get up in the morning and do what you need to do even when you don’t really feel like it? Write your reasons down and stick them on your wall. Even better find pictures of that house in the country, the Lamborghini or that ‘must have’ holiday and put them where you can see them every day.

3. How do you deal with those inevitable bumps in the road? Not everything you do will be perfect – sometimes things you’ve tried will be a total disaster – but it’s the way you react to problems that matters. If you curl up in a ball and give up at the first sign of failure you’d better not be in business. “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” – John Quincy Adams. It’s all about attitude.

4. Have a plan and stick to it as far as possible but always be prepared to be flexible and open minded. Sometimes the most unexpected opportunities come up and you need to be ready to seize them with both hands – as Joe Vitale says ‘Money likes speed’.

5. Get yourself a mentor – learn from someone who has done it before. Having someone to bounce ideas off and someone who can encourage you when things get tough is invaluable.

And most importantly, never let anyone put you down and never be afraid of failure:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Don’t ever forget that!

Today’s economy is characterized by is a lot of insecurity in the workplace. People are becoming aware of the fact that job security is now really a thing of the past. Some have replaced job security with the idea of employment security. Employment security is a concept that states that if you concern yourself with being a valuable person and employee, someone that is of value to an employer, you may not be guaranteed to keep your job but you will most certainly be able to get another one. To a large extent this will probably hold up in many situations. However it still assumes an employer – employee relationship.

The original relationship between the employer and the employee will probably be around for a long time. However in the future it will not be as commonplace as it is today. People who used to work in a single department in a single function for most of their professional lives are now getting used to working more on a project by project basis. In most situations they are still on the same company’s payroll, however this is already starting to change.

Many employers are starting to outsource some of the work that was traditionally performed by employees to freelancers and small businesses. The disadvantages of having people on the payroll are starting to weigh in on their hiring decisions. With today’s high speed of technological change the necessary expertise to perform certain functions can literally change from year to year. In some areas it’s even more extreme. In many of these cases it’s simply easier and cheaper to hire different people on a limited time basis instead of continuously having one employee trying to keep up with all the different tricks of the trade.

This trend will have far reaching consequences for today’s workforce. Even the more experienced employees will have to stay sharp. They can’t sit on their laurels anymore because they will continuously have to prove their worth in new situations, more now than ever before.

Some consider this a huge threat to their career. The truth is, they probably should. Then again, some seem to be adapting to this phenomenon by looking at the opportunity that this brings them. More and more people today are starting their own part time businesses. Many do this while still working on their day job, either full- or part time. Scott Adams, author of the famous Dilbert comic, identifies this trend in his book “The Dilbert Future”. He claims this trend will become more prevalent in the years to come. Many of these newborn entrepreneurs start businesses that perform a function that was formerly performed by an employee. Sometimes people even come back to their original employer who has now become their customer.

Everybody knows running your own business can make you more money. There are a number of reasons for this. Of course you are probably more motivated and more results oriented than you would be working for someone else. You can also control your overhead better. Larger companies are not as efficient as they should be in many areas. Company policy sometimes drives up operating costs significantly. Certain companies hand out cell phones and laptops to all employees without taking proper notice of the need for such items. Also employees are less aware of many costs and business expenses. The bottom line is simply not a priority for them. If they had to pay for everything out of their own pocket this would probably be very different. The fact is: when you are in you’re own business you have to keep a very close eye on your bottom line or you’ll probably be out of business in no time.

This raises questions for many people who currently hold a job as well as the people they work for. Which functions will continue to be performed by employees and which jobs will be outsourced? It would be hard if not impossible to make an easy distinction at this point. Some companies may choose to retain employees for the same jobs that are outsourced by other companies. Each may have their reasons and who’s to say what’s right. It will depend on many different factors like: the importance of the job for that particular business, the ability to attract the right people and the company’s culture. Nobody could accurately predict what the situation will be ten to fifteen years from today.

Multi-tasking is a natural aspect of business for women business owners, especially those with families.

The fact is if you are a woman business owner, you are most likely already a multi-tasker of epic proportions. You know how to combine family, childcare and business tasks as a matter of course. Whether it’s carpooling, deliveries, and business errands, or phoning clients, babysitters and arranging multiple schedules, you think in terms of multiple areas of impact most of the time.

When your business is in your home you have additional challenges and benefits which your multi-tasking abilities can make work for you. You can handle household chores and meal preparation in between appointments, phone consultations, or writing that new piece for your monthly newsletter. You routinely make decisions which involve multiple areas of your life more or less simultaneously.

Taking that next step of how to apply your natural ability to enhance your business success is not so difficult, but it does require a new focus. You have to start thinking in terms of the various areas of your business the same way you think of the various areas of your life. You have to step back and get a little wider view of things.

The best way to do this is to set aside some quiet time when you will not be disturbed and really take a look at what it is you want your business to accomplish, in what time frame. Using the backward planning approach works very well.

Once you have developed your general goals, rework them into specific targets. In other words, take the generalized goal, say of “X number of new clients by X” and develop the set targets you’ll need to accomplish to reach that goal.

A project plan (target list) and work chart can be a very helpful tool for the next process of breaking down each target into the associated tasks required to fulfill each objective. Using these two tools, you can create the work chart for each specific area, and then see how the various targets are related. For instance, a new promotional pack for your business will have various components: brochure, logo, support materials, testimonial letters, perhaps a multi media presentation. Each of these items becomes a block in the project work chart, and completing portions of any one may provide materials for the others.

Once you have accomplished this you will have a clear picture of all the tasks required for each area of your business. Now the process of checking in on the larger picture as you work each day becomes a simple matter of using these tools to keep you on track.

Target lists and project work charts are tools often used by engineers as they develop a new piece of equipment, hardware, firmware, or software. First the targets or functions of each piece are defined and then the steps to creating each working component are laid out. By following this method, the relationships between the various targets, or, in this case, components of your business plan, are visible and easily identified.

This avoids getting the cart before the horse, or working on portions of the plan that cannot be implemented without other components also being in place.

The next step is to integrate the project work charts into a daily system of self check as you naturally group your work according to like tasks which can be accomplished in clusters of multi-tasking events. In this way you can significantly increase your progress and your business will thrive.

Once you have clearly charted targets for the business you can start to apply the multi tasking skills you aridly have to what needs to be done to make the targets happen.

The next step to optimizing your multi-tasking is to ask yourself where you do your best work. What gives you the most energy and creativity? What is the most difficult for you to tackle of the things that require your attention?

A professional counselor, in the midst of changing her business from one based on individual clients to seminars and group events met the challenge of having to think in ways unfamiliar to her by relocating her new event planning activities to her kitchen! She recognized that her most relaxing and enjoyable activity was preparing fresh foods for family and friends. When she moved her event planning to the kitchen, her natural confidence and creativity in that environment enabled her to expand her event planning thinking much more easily than she could in her office.

The food and her pleasure in its preparation, as well as her sense of well being and confidence in this environment gave her the creative energy she needed to expand her thinking and create new and different events for her clients. By providing herself with the support of her naturally creative environment, in this case cooking, she added to her creative power in an area where she had less strength and experience.

Often, by breaking up more mundane tasks with those which are more creative or inspiring, it is possible to keep your energy level higher than if you were to attempt to force yourself to do the “boring” task alone.

Learning your own personal rhythm and areas of your own natural creativity and enthusiasm and thinking in ways which allow you to tap into those parts of yourself you can greatly enhance not only the results of your work, but the sense of well being you find in your work.

Finally, as a multi-tasker, there is some danger that you can become too diversified and lose the focus and clarity of knowing what is most important in your business and in your life. By implementing target lists and project work charts as a guide to daily actions and updating them as each new target is complete you have a simple and effective system for starting each new day, and for meeting all your business objectives.

The daily action of a quick review of the target list and work chart also provides the added benefit of stimulating new ideas and inspirations to continue enhancing your multi tasking skills, keeping your work fresh, interesting and exciting.

Any business will cringe at the thought of what the banks put them through to use credit cards. If you do not know what I mean, then this article is for you!

The fact is that everyone online wants to use a credit card or debit card to process their order. It is very true in our society that the credit card is a way of life, and if you do not offer that ability to accommodate them, customers will move on to another website that does allow them to use their cards. This society has become driven by instant gratification and expects to receive their products immediately, either by a download or a short shipping duration. Taking credit cards as a form of payment on the internet or offline should be thoroughly understood. Read on to see what I mean and how to protect yourself.

The fact is that any merchant taking in payments is immediately at risk for whatever amount is charged and MORE. The banks will take the charge disputed along with a “charge back” fee right from your merchant account, and you better have enough in there that has cleared to pay your own bills or you will be charged more for “overdraft charges”. Some banks are waking up to the fact that it is not always the merchant at fault and most merchants are more than honest in their dealings. There is so much credit card fraud out there and since the merchants are ALWAYS liable, you need to realize this and take action to prevent as much disaster for your business as possible.

First, if you have your own merchant account, then you have a lot of work to do when you receive a credit card order. You must verify as best you can that the card, the name on the card, the address, the cvv number verification, and the quantities are all in order. You need to verify the IP address of every order and see if it is within the location of the card holder. A person living in Toronto, Canada, probably would not be in Las Cruces, New Mexico, charging products. This is a red flag but not a deal breaker, some people DO travel. Caution needs to be taken to protect your cash flow. As a merchant you must get money safely into your account for any goods or service you provide, so that you can become a larger or more substantial independent business.

Do not just take in cards and believe that everything is going to be just fine now that you have the money in your account, because it can come out just as fast, or faster, than it went in. There is a real need for you to understand a lot more than can be mentioned in this article.

The best way to receive all the tools and services you need to protect yourself and to make your voice heard is to check this website: http://www.merchant911.org This is a group of dedicated individuals who have been working for years to try to change banking and processing company rules and regulations as relative to merchants, both large and small. If you need any more proof of their dedication, just read some of the press releases and look at the tools they have assembled for merchants to use.

Right now is the time to start to protect yourself from credit card fraud. If you have read any of the newspapers or listened to any of the news reports, then you already know you are at risk. There are reports of over 40 million cards in the hands of criminals and thieves and they will sell these cards or will use them in various illegal methods. It’s not hard to imagine that some day soon you will be approached and asked to spend your time and money to ship a product or provide a service with these fraudulent cards.

In today’s society we often put a lot of emphasis on how things are done. Present a plan with lofty goals to the board of directors of any company and surely they will ask you how you suppose those goals will be met. Apply for a mortgage and you will be asked to demonstrate how you plan to pay it off. Give a professor the correct answer to a complex question and you might be asked how you arrived at your conclusion.

The How is often so predominant that the Why is sometimes completely forgotten as if the Why is of less importance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Why you want something is infinitely more important than how you think you’re going to achieve it.

To find out what your Why is start with identifying what it is that you want. After all, if you can’t visualize what you want how could you ever hope to realize it?

This seems easy enough but apparently it’s a bit more challenging than one would think. Ask an adult to write down everything they want on a list with a minimum of 50 items and you will find that for most it turns out to be quite difficult. Stating that you want a certain amount of money, want to quit working or just want a bigger car than your neighbor can cause people to experience discomfort. After all it may make them appear greedy or lazy and that’s not generally considered positive.

So they try to come up with something that’s socially acceptable and in doing so make what they want subject to the opinions of others. Kids on the other hand have no problem here. They’ll come up with 50 items and more in no time, listing things you didn’t even know exist. They don’t worry about what others may think of it, whether it makes them look greedy, lazy or whatever. All they know is that they want it.

After you have identified what it is you want, then you get to the Why. Why do you want all those things?

Again, kids have the upper hand here. They’ll be quick to point out why they want it all: mostly the fun they will have and the popularity it will give them. Ask an adult why they want something and you’ll enjoy watching the expression on their face. You’ll see them searching for an answer. Why would you want to be rich? Why would you want to quit working? What would you do if you no longer had to go to a job every day?

You may decide you want a bigger house than anyone in your family before you ever had. But what does that do for you? Would you sleep better? Would it make your life better? Or is it because you just love cleaning house all day? Whatever it is, it’s important that you know.

Exactly how you plan to achieve your goal is far less important, especially in such an early stage. Too much focus on the How early in the process can have a devastating effect. It could paralyze you. If your financial situation is so bad that you are actually below broke, achieving financial independence can seem so far fetched that reaching it appears impossible. You might sell yourself on the idea that it’s so far out of reach that you couldn’t possibly make it happen in this lifetime.

As much as that may seem true at the time, it doesn’t have to become your reality. However in order to get there you will probably have to overcome some serious hurdles. And for that to happen you need a reason to get up and take the necessary action. That reason needs to be strong enough to pull you through the tough times that inevitably will come. That reason is your Why.

History is packed with unbelievable stories of accomplishment. People facing seemingly insurmountable odds who overcame obstacles you wouldn’t believe. Individuals with relentless determination who decided to push on in situations where most people would give up.

Why is that so many people throw in the towel when things don’t go their way and only a small number of people seem to persevere? It’s not because they’re genetically stronger and it’s not because they’ve been dealt a better hand in life. What sets them apart is their Why.

That’s what keeps them in the game. Their Why is so strong that whatever gets in their way they will find a way to deal with it. They don’t have all the answers, but what they do have is an inner conviction that they can and will find them.

Working on your Why is one of the best ways to improve the chance of reaching your goals. So make sure that you know what your Why is. Find it and refine it over and over again. Make it so strong that achieving it becomes an absolute must for you and the How will magically reveal itself to you over time.

Are you planning to start a new business? Or are you considering expanding your current business and require a bank loan or investment from outsiders?

If you are going to look for an investment of capital it is quite likely that you will be required to have a business plan. If you are starting a business, despite the work involved, a business plan can prepare you for the obstacles ahead and help ensure your success.

A business plan is something that many small businesses fail to create, however, many business owners are adamant that having a written business plan is one of the keys to their present success. Creating a business plan forces you to contemplate possible obstacles to your business and prepares you to find solutions that will help you to overcome them.

To find investors or get a bank loan, they will want to see that you have the experience or resources to run the business. They will want to see your projected income as well as your suggested repayment plan already laid out. Taking the time to do this is not only important for them, but it gives you a measuring tool to verify if your business is growing properly. You can gage your success on how close to the plan your business has actually performed. Perhaps you’ll do worse, or perhaps you’ll do better, either way it helps you determine how well your business is getting on.

If you have never seen a business plan before you may be concerned that is is too difficult a proposition for you to manage on your own.

While there are services available where you can hire someone to write a business plan for you, depending on your needs it may be wise to familiarize yourself with a business plan’s layout. This will not only help you to provide the necessary information, but may encourage you to try your own hand at it.

There’s a free tool at www.bdc.ca which will assist you in creating a business plan. Some of the topics you will be required to explain are your Market, Customer, Competition, Marketing Plan, Research & Development along with financial forecasts. You may consider hiring someone to help you with your financial sheets after completing the written part of the Business Plan.

Your Business Plan will become your guide and silent business partner – indicating where you need to improve and helping you stay one step ahead of your competition. Make it a priority to have this crucial road map for your business.

So, you want to be in business for yourself. That decision is a great first step! How do you go about choosing a business to start? What is it that you love? What is your biggest passion? You need Really you need to decide what will get you out of bed every morning excited to work on your business.

Here are 6 things to think about:

1. What is your passion? Is it crafting, health, real estate, children, history, or something else? Within those subjects, what specifically are you enthusiastic about? Is it scrapbooking, exercise, buying foreclosures, kids’ birthday parties, or the Civil War? Make a list of all your interests.

2. How can you use your passion or talent to build a business? How can your enthusiasm for this be helpful to other people? The key here is to think about how your knowledge or skill in this area can help others. If you begin by focusing on how this will benefit you financially, you are almost doomed to failure. The key to success is to find a way to help other people. . .then, the money will follow.

3. How much time and energy do you have to devote to your business? Are you going to do this part time or full time? Online or offline? This will make a difference in the size of your business. For instance, if you want to open an accounting firm with several employees, you will need to devote some full-time effort. However, if you just want to publish some information about exotic pets, then you could probably get away with a small website and some part-time effort. Think realistically about the time and energy you have right now. In the future, you may be able to set aside more time, but do not expect more from yourself than you can reasonably give or you will be frustrated and discouraged.

4. When choosing a business, determine what your strengths and weaknesses are. Do you need a partner or can you go it alone? Do you need someone to keep your books for you, handle sales, create graphics, or design your website? Make a list of what you are best at and what you are not. Decide where your efforts are best spent and delegate the rest. Come together with people who complement your own abilities by contributing what you lack.

5. What resources do you have available? Of course, money is your most fragile resource. Are you starting your business on a shoestring budget? Are you going to take out a home equity loan? Are you going to bring on an investor? Whatever your financial source is, determine what your limits are. Do not leverage everything you own on your business no matter how successful you think it will be! If you plan well, then you will know how and when to spend the money that is available to you. Don’t forget also to take stock of all your non-monetary resources also.

6. Now, you are ready to consider if the idea is financially viable. In order to do that, you will need to do some homework. You MUST put together a business plan (even if it is just a rough, non-detailed version) to determine thoroughly whether or not your idea will actually make some return on your investment. After some analysis, you may have to tweak your initial idea. Whatever you do, do not skip this step… do your research!

When deciding what business to choose, your idea does not have to be original. However, you do need to give it that extra little “something”. You need to provide a more user-friendly solution or improvement that others aren’t offering. If you choose a business that you are familiar with, you will know what things currently frustrate or annoy users of that service or product. Supply a great solution, and people will flock to buy from you!

You’ve decided to start your own home business, perhaps because you hate your current job and loathe getting up early in the morning to travel to work every day, or maybe because you regret not being there to see all the milestones in your children’s growth. You could be approaching retirement and worrying about the lifestyle you will be forced into.

Whatever your reason, starting your own home business will give you flexibility and if done well, will bring in that extra income you are after. Even if your funds are very limited, you can still get going by starting part-time while you work your regular job. The important thing is to plan, know what you want to do and then get started. Plenty of other people have built a very profitable online business working from home and so can you!

Be aware that almost half of all small businesses fail in the first five year of operation and that your profits may not come as quickly as some advertisements would have you believe, but if you plan well, are committed to action and just keep following the steps, you will make it happen.

The following are basic steps to follow that will help you keep on the path to success with your own home business:

1. Vision

Know the big picture of where you want to go, what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it. See it in your mind, imagine that you have already reached your goal and feel how that would feel. The more emotion you put into your vision, the more likely you are to succeed. Most entrepreneurs have had such a clear vision.

2. Planning

This is where you set your goals; make them:

(a) specific

(b) measurable

(c) achievable

(d) timely, meaning they must have a deadline

3. Options

Consider all your options then decide on one course of action that suits you best right now. Some things to consider are:

(a) What kind of work can you do from home?

(b) Suitability – What fits with your skills and your interests?

(c) Costs – Work out what you can afford to spend to get your new business established and then see what home business model fits within this budget and your interests.

(d) Business structure – You can be a sole trader, form a partnership, a company/corporation or perhaps just start out as a hobby. Some of these structures cost money to set up, but may suit your personal circumstances better. As always, understand the options, then decide what is best for you.

(e) Registrations, tax and other legalities – These will depend on local regulations and the business structure you choose, but whatever they are, you need to make yourself familiar with them.

(f) Personal and family issues – It’s always best to discuss your business plans with your family, even when they will not be involved in the business side. You may need to share resources, such as computer/internet time, perhaps desk or table space if you will not have a separate office, you will probably have family commitments, but you also need to make sure you will be able to have quality time to work on your business and not be expected to drop it for other family matters just because you are at home. It’s important that everyone in the family acknowledges that you are running a business and not just toying with it.

(g) Enjoyment – You have to like this work! You will appreciate (and studies have proven) that when people really enjoy their work, are even passionate about it, they willingly put more time in, are less likely to give up and therefore are more likely to succeed.

4. Action

Consistent ongoing action, small steps + consistency = success

(a) Do something on your business every day for 21 days. This will form a habit of doing it and make it easier for you to commit your time.

(b) Prepare a brief outline for each day of the week. This lets you start right in on the task planned when you might otherwise be tempted to spend time reading emails or web surfing. The outline can be very brief, just one line for each day is OK. Your list will depend on your business and the time you have available, but could be something like this:

i. Monday – write a draft for an article

ii. Tuesday – post to your blog, send an email follow-up to your list or submit comments on someone else’s blog or a forum

iii. Wednesday – polish your article and submit to article sites

iv. Thursday – list another product on eBay or on your website

v. Friday – research for new products, articles etc

(c) The weekly planning session is also a good time to evaluate how the previous week went. If things did not go as well as you hoped, don’t be disheartened, see how you can do it better next time.

5. Repeat this cycle over and over. You do not always have to have the same business model, but the steps will apply to any model you choose.

6. Success will come inevitably when you follow this pattern.

To make it easy to remember, these steps are labelled WHY, WHAT, HOW, NOW steps (where Now means Action or DO IT!)

The importance of planning sufficiently or effectively cannot be stressed enough. If you want your business to be successful (and you do, or else why bother to start at all?), make sure you plan well and then keep taking action based on your plans.

Stop and reassess your progress periodically, make changes where you can see a better way, but keep the momentum rolling and your home business will be a success.

Do you have any dream killers in your life? Dream killers are those people who discourage you when you are trying to change your life. It’s amazing how many people tell their friends and family that they cannot succeed. This is especially true when you are trying to do something “outside of the box” like making money online or starting your own business.

The main argument these dream killers have is that your goals are unrealistic. They will advise you to be more “practical”, and pretend they are offering you sound advice.

Many of them believe they are doing a favor by discouraging you. They think they are helping you live a life in “your best interest”. But really, they are encouraging you to a live a life without vision.

If you are really motivated toward success, doing anything less than your ambitious goals will be unfulfilling for you. You end up wondering what could have been. You continue to live your life for other people, instead of yourself.

Your friends and family who discourage you from trying something new are only giving you insight into what they would do in your position. They do not have the vision and the drive that you do. They are only reacting out of their own fear.

Other people take the path of least resistance, but that does not mean that you have to. Your goals are important to you for a reason. You will only be happy when you achieve them. Giving up on your goals because other people think they are unrealistic is no way to live your life.

How do you overcome the dream killers in your life?

You may want to start with choosing who you spend your time with. If you want to be self-motivated, you’ve got to spend time with other people who are self-motivated. The same goes for the other aspects of success.

If the dream killers in your life are close relatives, and long time friends, try keeping your business goals to yourself for a while until you get going. By the time you’ve had a little success, they will probably be a lot more supportive.

Finally, the best way to overcome the dream killers in your life is to be confident in yourself and your goals. If you are truly confident in yourself and your ideas, then no one can stop you.

Keep your goals and dreams in front of you all the time. They will be your motivation, when some of your “well-meaning friend” try to discourage you.

Don’t let anyone steal YOUR DREAM!