Before setting out looking for the perfect home based business use these 7 considerations as a checklist to ensure you're ready to embark on this journey.

1. What are you passionate about? If the business idea that you're contemplating doesn't keep you up at night excitedly thinking of all the possibilities then it probably won't sustain you in the future. In fact, a few months from commencing you'll feel like it's just another job. Find an opportunity that enthuses and energises you, one that will kick your brain into gear.
2. Does the business idea have residual income? This is not the most important but if you can find a home based business that does have residual income then the business merely becomes a means to end. If you truly are excited about the business idea and could see yourself still doing that 20, 30 maybe even 40+ years from now then having a residual income isn't that important.

   If the business does have some ongoing royalties then it frees you up long-term to engage in other activities.
   



3. Are you able to have multiple income streams? This is the same consideration as one might ponder when investing in stocks and that is to not "put all your eggs in one basket." Finding a business with multiple income streams such as online affiliates or multiple products or even supplementing the sale of products with backup service. If the sale of products were to slow then you might still have the maintenance component bringing in some much needed dollars.
   


4. Does the business idea have longevity? "Will this business outlast my enthusiasm?" is the question you need to ask. Is it based on a current trend but 12 months from now will be a nostalgic discussion point? The business idea doesn't need to have been around forever but it does need to show that it will stay around for many years to come.
   


5. Are your skills and abilities useful in this type of business? This isn't entirely important but being able to learn the skills and enhance your abilities is. If you already have the skills then you have a head start on your competition and should be able to reap rewards faster than your competition. If you don't it will take some time to learn and the speed at which you're willing or able to glean the knowledge you need will, in effect, shorten or lengthen the time it will take you to be successful in this business.
   


6. Have you thought about your marketing strategy? Very important. No matter what business you are in if you don't have a marketing strategy then expect your business success to take a considerable amount of time to eventuate.

   In my younger years I started a magazine on the back of some current trend (where was this list back then?) and thought that as long as I could get them into newsagencies I would be laughing all the way to the bank. Eight issues later I could no longer sustain the expenses and had to walk away from it. Not enough people were hearing about it.
   



7. Are you willing to commit to it? This is the question that could supplant all the others. After our magazine foray we headed off into a tomato drying business. Two years later I was still spending 3-4 hours every morning cutting up and preparing these tomatoes to be dried and I eventually asked myself the question, "Do I really want to be doing this for the rest of my life?" - the answer was no.

   While I didn't expect to physically be preparing the tomatoes for ever, I knew there would still be a couple of years before I could employ others to do it or pay for the machinery needed.

   If you can't answer this question with a resounding "YES" then you are wasting your time. As soon as some hardship comes along you'll find it to easy to bail on your business idea and go searching for another.
   

Take the time to consider your options. If it's a good idea that you're looking at then it will still be there tomorrow and you will be better prepared to handle it.

This post was inspired by this article.