Children move home, husbands are slow on renovations, and mom finds herself with a traveling laptop.

Trust me, it’s not the best way to do business.

As young children, we learned that there should be a place for everything and everything in it’s place. That establishes order in our environment and makes our lives easier.

The same is true for your home office. You must have a dedicated space in which to work. It helps you and others take what  you’re doing seriously and it vastly increases your productivity.

So how do you find office space when you don’t have a spare room to devote to one?

Well, that’s the question I’ve been struggling with myself.

Here are some ideas:

Despite magazine articles and decorating columns telling you so, you’re not going to be happy in a closet. Sure, if you completely re-do the closet, add electrical outlets and good lighting and if the chair you sit on isn’t going to be in the way of household traffic, you might be able to pull it off and actually like it.

For those of us who can’t muster up that kind of do it yourself skills, forget the closet.

You might consider a hutch or armoire.

This might be a little more practical since you can close the doors when you’re done.  Just make sure that the writing surface is the right height for you and that you have lighting.

I actually have a hutch I am considering as temporary space.

There are some people who love the freedom of the laptop and like being able to work from anywhere.  If you’ve got a special spot where you like to sit, maybe this idea would work for you.

In addition to good lighting and comfortable seating, make sure you locate near the family but not so close that they are distracting.

Keep working on finding your ideal office space. Try different spots until you find one you like.

In the meantime, I’ll be doing the same.

Here are 5 tips that will make working from home a lot easier.

1. Get your own space. It doesn’t have to be an entire room or office, although that would be nice. What it does have to be is a place where you can go to work, where the only thing that takes place there is work.  A place that doesn’t have to be cleared when someone wants to eat a meal or play a game. I cannot stress the importance of this enough;  I know from experience.

2. Get a routine. You need a dedicated time each day to devote to working, just as you would for a “real” job.  Again, I know how hard this can be. My family is the biggest reason that I want to work from home and the biggest obstacle in my way.

3. Take yourself seriously. What do you say when people ask you what you do for a living? Do you mumble something, make light of what you do, or not mention it at all?  Words are powerful, more than you know. Be proud. Stand up and tell them what you’re doing.

4. Get the t00ls you need. Your own computer is top of the list. It doesn’t have to be expensive.  Right now, I’m using a netbook – a tiny little computer that cost me about $300 and does everything I need it to. A good internet connection, maybe a telephone, and whatever software you need for what you do are also must haves.

5. Get a group. A group doesn’t have to be something that you pay for, although there are a lot of great masterminds out there.  What you need is a group of like minded women who are somewhere in the process of starting their own business too.  You can share ideas, be each other’s support, maybe even trade services.  A group can be one of the best things you can do for yourself.  Hmmm….. I just got an idea.

Be sure to start putting these 5 tips to work for your business.

In other words, do you have a plan for your business?

Oh wait.  I know what you’re going to say.

“Yes, I do have a plan for my business. I’m going to start it, and have a blog and a newsletter, and make lots of money.”

Um, can you be more specific, please?

For instance, how much money do you intend to make the first 6 months?  And when you subtract operating costs, how much profit will you have?  do you know what your operating costs are?

OK, so you’re going to sell a product or a service.  How much are you going to charge for it?  How did you determine that number?  Is it reasonable?

What if someone approaches you and offers you some money to advertise on your site or add some code to it?  What do you say?  How do you decide who can advertise on your site?

All of these decisions and more can be answered with a business plan.

Sounds pretty boring, doesn’t it?  Like something you can just skip.

Even if you never plan to make a million dollars, take out a business loan, add a partner or employees, or advertise on your site, you still should have a business plan.

But don’t worry.  It doesn’t have to be boring or mind numbing to do.

Stay tuned. I’ll walk you through it.

If you don’t, maybe you should rethink things.

Your heart needs to be attached to your business in order for you to not only succeed but to, as Oprah would say, “live your best life”.

When your heart is attached, then you have a story to tell. You tell your prospective customers why you do what you do.  It lets them know that you are a real person and that you have been where they are, that you understand and can help.

Once you have your story, you can begin to polish the way that you tell it.  You need the short version for people who ask what you do, and the long one for your website and people who are interested in hearing more.

Like most things, it’s a work in progress.  Put one together now and then polish it as you see fit.

Need an example?

Why I started Moms Biz Kit, short version:

I started Moms Biz Kit in order to help other moms start their own successful online business without making the costly mistakes that I did when starting out.

Why I started Moms Biz Kit, long version:

I’ve been in business online for many years, and along the way I have learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes, and wasted too much money.

I started Moms Biz Kit when I realized that I was constantly reaching out to other moms to offer them advice and assistance in getting their own business going.

I knew that by starting a business I could help more people than I could just by randomly reaching out when someone asked.

It is my goal to help as many moms as possible realize their dreams of owning a successful online business, bringing money into the family budget, and still stay home with their kids.

I think that most of us who dream of a business online can spend hours doing it. For me, it’s all about the name and what the site looks like. Oh, and of course, how my life will change.

Dreaming is an important part of starting your own business.

The important thing is to make it productive dreaming.  And no, that’s not a conflict in terms.

The Wright brothers dreamed of men flying long before they built their first airplane.  And Henry Ford dreamed of horseless carriages before he built his first Model A.

You have to dream, too, but you need to be specific.

A dream to start some kind of business doing something undefined and making millions at it will get you nowhere.

You have to dream your business into being and the way you do that is to experience it first in your mind.

What exactly will you be doing?

Who will your customers be?

How will you serve them?  What will you serve them?  Products, coaching, ebooks?

What do you want your website to convey about you and your business?  What colors will you use? How will you make it look like yours and not someone else’s?  (That’s called branding and it’s important).

The more thinking and dreaming you do now, the more specific you are, the more you work out problems that don’t exist yet, the sooner you will actualize your business and be on your way to success.

Oh, and it’s a good idea to record these dreams.  Use a journal, make a business plan, collage it with pictures.  Do whatever you need to do to make it real and concrete to you.

This isn’t just a fun thing to do, even though it is fun.  It’s a good way for you to get absolutely clear on what you want from your business and how you will run it and make it grow.

So don’t wait – start dreaming!

I have known of this woman for many years and highly respect her. I own two of her books, which I have read over and over.  I would love to get an opportunity to work with her and I especially love the fact that she combines her glorious colorful art in this program about business.

So why haven’t I signed up for the program?

Well, it’s not her, it’s me.

There is a reason that Moms Biz Kit’s motto is

Take Action     Be Consistent     Never Give Up!

It’s that “take action” part.

You see, I’m better at giving other people advice than I am at taking it.

There. I’ve confessed.

I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent on the next great program that I never actually put into action.

I get excited and I get started and then somewhere down the line, I start to lose interest.  Or I get stuck on a step and can’t get unstuck.

I’m sure that every program I have ever purchased was a good one with the potential to make a difference in my business.  I didn’t get the results I wanted because I didn’t put in the consistent action.

I started Moms Biz Kit in order to help other women who wanted to start a successful online business but didn’t know where to begin.

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I do know that I’ve made enough mistakes and done enough things right that I can share those things with you.

Hopefully you can learn from that.

Anyway, my point here is twofold:

1. Don’t let one more great, shiny new program distract you from your daily work on your business.  Sometimes we feel that we have so much to learn that we don’t get started at all.  Jump in!  You can learn as you go.  That’s the way life is.

2. Never underestimate the power of action, especially consistent action. I know that I have not demonstrated that well on this blog, but perhaps my inconsistent action can be a lesson for you. It isn’t lost on me, believe me.

While there’s nothing wrong with this – I’ve done it myself – it can make things more difficult for you, depending on what you want to accomplish.

Here are a few of the reasons that I think you’re better off with WordPress and your own hosting:

Some free sites use their name as part of your domain name – www.yourdomain.ourname.com. It can make it harder for your visitors to find and remember you if they have to add that extra part.

Some free sites and some package deals put their ads on your site.  Whether or not you want ads on your site is a personal decision, but if you don’t mind them, shouldn’t you be making the money from them instead of someone else?

You are limited in design choices (even though using a template might seem easier for you).  Sure, WordPress offers what they call themes, which means that someone else could have the same theme as you, but most of them are easily customized.  With customization, you can create your own unique look and begin to brand your site.

Package sites can be more expensive than WordPress and your own hosting. WordPress is free, and you can get hosting from Moms Web (what I’ve used for over 3 years) for $5 a month.

If you start with a free or packaged site and decide at some point to switch to WordPress, you’re going to have a really hard time migrating everything over from the old site.  In addition to transferring all of your content, you will need to make sure your readers are aware of the change and can find the new site.

WordPress is considered the standard for blogs and websites (and has been for years).  At $5 per month for hosting, why would you consider anything else?

Still worried about the design element?  Email me at brenda@momsbizkit.com. I’m sure I can help.

Profitability is definitely a good thing, but it shouldn’t be the only thing.  If you’re going to start a new business based just on potential profits without any thought as to whether or not you will enjoy it, forget it.

You might as well stay at that job you hate working for someone else.

Growing a successful business takes time, energy, and a lot of work.

When you’re doing something you love, you don’t mind the time or energy you invest.

When you’re trying to build a business doing something you have no interest in, then it quickly becomes just another J-O-B.  Except that now you can’t even expect a regular paycheck.

Figuring out what you are passionate about and how you might make money from it are two of the most important steps in starting a successful business.  The third is defining your target market.

Take your time on these steps. You’ll be glad you did.

You should.  Otherwise how will you give them what they want?

Figuring out your target market is hard.  It’s also extremely important.

My main business, ADD Moms, has been online for over 3 years now, and I’ve been in that kind of business for well over 10 years.  And yet recently I’ve found myself re-evaluating my target market.

I think that your target market can always be refined. There is one online marketer who says that you should know everything about your target market, including their hair color and name.  A little extreme, maybe, but you get the point.

So how do you figure out who your target market is?

If you make snuggies for babies, your market might be moms.

A little too broad.  I’m a mom, but I have no babies.

OK, so moms with babies.

Better.

But  moms with more than one baby might have a snuggie already.

How about first time moms?

From there, you could go even further – fashionable moms who want a chic snuggie.  Or corporate moms who want something more conservative.

Do you see how you can continue to refine your target market until you find just the right people to call your own?

It’s a process, and it takes some time.  I think it’s a good idea to take a look at your idea of your target market at least every 6 months, maybe more when you first start out.

Another way that you can refine your target market is to get to know your readers as people.

Connect with them on social networks, read their comments, and find out who they are.

Finding your target market isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile in order to make your business a success.

And remember, even though you may always be making it better and more concise doesn’t mean that you had your target market wrong to begin with. Just like a friendship, it’s something that grows over time.

Some people will tell you that you need to learn to sell and others will say that that you have to be over the top in personality to do well. I always think of Billy Mays when I hear that.  My personality will never be that big!

Here’s my advice.  Keep in mind that I have yet to make my first million dollars, I don’t have a staff of employees or a subscriber list numbering in the thousands.

In other words, I’m real.

That’s not to say that you can’t learn from all of those people who make the millions and have the followers.  I have and still do learn from many of them.

But as my dad always says, “You have to learn to walk before you can run.”

So here’s my advice for beginning success that can lead to even bigger success.

Be authentic.  Be who you are, not someone else.  People can tell the difference, even online.

Project confidence, even if you’re not at the moment.  Presumably you got into business thinking that you had something of value to offer. If you still believe in that, even if you’ve lost some of your confidence, try not to let it show.

Don’t be afraid to sell, but do it in a way that’s authentic to you.  For instance, right now I’m not selling anything on Moms Biz Kit because I’m working on making my Tool Kits the best that they can be.

But when they are ready, I won’t have a problem sharing that with you because I truly believe that they can help you.  That’s what I am all about – helping.

You can take the same attitude.  If you’ve got a product that really can help someone, don’t you owe it to them to let them know about it? Wouldn’t they want to know?  You don’t have to try to pressure them into anything, just let them know.

I’ve always said that marketing is not about selling, it’s about telling.

Be who you are and be sincere.  The rest will follow, as long as you work at it.