• Technology allows anyone to work at home.
• Starting a home-based business without experience in the field is risky.
• Before you start a home-based business, you must have your sales channels in place.
• A home-based business may not provide the right positioning for your business.
• A home-based business may not be conducive for you to produce your best effort.

What do you think? Is the type of technology you use important? 

Possible answers: It depends. Sue Coffman has an older, small computer, but she only uses it for word processing and for accessing the Internet. However, Greg Steckler and Brett LaSorella have state-of-the-art systems. In fact, they purchased new computers three years in a row. Greg's one employee, Kevin, wanted to work for Greg just to get his hands on the sophisticated equipment. 

Brett LaSorella is definitely a power user and must be because his customers expect him to be on the cutting edge. When it comes to technology, Cary Balzer said it best: you must have what your customers expect you to have. You can't compete if your customers perceive you as ill-equipped. 

Key Idea #2  Starting a home-based business without experience in the field is risky.

You think back: What preparation should a person have for starting a home-based business? 

Possible answers: First and foremost, all four of these people have extraordinary skill in their particular field. Greg spent 18 years building log homes before he started doing log home design from home. 

Earning a PhD., Sue spent 30 years teaching in academia before she decided she could have more control over her destiny by working for herself. She was teaching writing at the college level but believed her skills would win the attention of the business world and they would pay her for her specialized knowledge. 

Brett has a master's degree in engineering and worked for 20 years in and around Silicon Valley. Most of his experience was working in big companies, but he and a partner started a mail-order business which was successful (sold for a nice profit). 

Along with honing skills comes the experience of seeing how business works. If you never work for a big company, you may have difficulty understanding how big companies function. Then, if you want a big company to be your customer, you are in the dark about how to approach them. 

Working for someone else can be a learning experience you shouldn't miss. In fact, if you want to start a business, go to work for someone who is already doing something like you want to do. Be open and honest if you are asked to sign a non-compete clause when you take the job! 

What do you think? Other than skill and experience, what else should a person need before starting a home-based business? 

Possible answers: Know yourself. To work at home you must have a huge amount of discipline. Brett calls it drive. When working on a deadline, Brett will work 20 hours a day for days in a row. Even in the normal flow of work, you must be able to ignore the household responsibilities when you are working in your business. 

Key Idea #3  Before you start a home-based business, you must have your sales channels in place.

What do you think? What is a sales channel? 

Possible answers: This is the way you get your product to your customer. Some manufacturers sell their products to retail stores while some have a field sales force that calls directly on customers and others have dealers. The sales channel for Kellogg's Rice Crispies is grocery stores, for an insurance company, it is a field sales force, and for automobiles it is dealerships. 

Greg Steckler's sales channel is all the people who worked for him during the 18 years he was a log home builder. Many of these former employees are now builders who come to Greg for plans. 

Joel Greene's sales channel is Ernesto Mayans' art gallery in Santa Fe. Sue Coffman started when a friend asked for editing help. Sue joined a networking group to increase her sales by "word of mouth," and she does her newsletter to keep her name in front of her customers and prospects. 

Brett LaSorella is writing software today for many of the people he worked for in his former jobs. Brett has become the recipient of contracts to out-source software development. He also has built a reputation after 20 years, and people come to him for very particular solutions to very specific problems. He is almost like a software doctor. He is called upon to fix an existing product or take that product to a new level. 

Key Idea #4  A home-based business may not provide the right positioning for your business

What do you think? What is positioning? 

Possible answers: There are books written on this topic, but simply, it is the way the marketplace sees you in relation to your competitors. Avis built its business by positioning itself as #2 in the car rental business. 

Gail Cooksey, a public relations consultant, never officed at home because she believes her customers and competitors would not see her as a serious player. This is not low self-esteem -- this is strategic thinking on Gail's part. She had built a reputation as a public relations specialist in the world of banking. Most bankers do not office at home. Also, she had done much work with a number of the local area Chambers of Commerce. They usually do npt office at home. As an employee of several large banks, Gail had 18 years of experience, and when starting her own business, it would have been foolish to throw away her greatest asset: contacts with the people who could hire her. 

She rented space near her customers and prospects and has always made profits. 

Key Idea #5 A home-based business may not be conducive for you to produce your best effort.

What do you think? Why would working at home inhibit results? 

Possible answers: Many people work better in an office than in their home. Commercial space actually make some people more secure and it improves the quality of their work. Also, often you can be physically closer to working colleagues -- other professionals photographer where ideas get stimulated in spontaneous ways. This wouldn't happen as often one were in a home office. 

Topic for discussion: What about loneliness? Is this a problem? 

Possible answers: Yes, it can be. Sue belongs to the National Association of Women Business Owners. Each month she meets with about eight other members of NAWBO, and they informally serve as a board of advisors to each other. Brett LaSorella is also in a networking group that meets once a month. Generally, however, you must enjoy working alone for long periods.