So you have decided to start your home based business. Great! Working from home is a great way to be in charge of your own life and make the kind of money you’ve always dreamed of. It’s been life-changing for me. I work when I want to work and relax when I want to relax. Of course, that caused problems of its own when I first started working from home. When you start working from home, especially if you are working in network marketing or MLM, people will not consider it a real business. When I first started and was struggling to make a living, my own husband would ask me how much longer I was going to stay home and play instead of finding a “real” job. You have to remind everyone that you are serious about this. It IS a real business! And you have to be sure you treat it that way if you expect others to take you seriously. Don’t think you can invest in a business, pay the startup fees or enrollments fees, and then just sit back and watch it grow. You have to work your business you would a “traditional” business.

There are some ways to be sure you do this. First, make yourself a schedule each week. Having set hours for working your business will help ensure you actually work on your business. It doesn’t have to be 9-5 Monday through Friday. I’m an early morning/late evening person so I do a lot of work between 5:00 – 8:00am and 9:00pm – midnight.

Second, let everyone know what you are doing. You have to promote your business. If you are uncomfortable telling your friends that you are doing network marketing or MLM, or writing a travel blog with your dog, or selling crafts online, perhaps you need to take a second look at your choice of home businesses. If you believe in your business, don’t be ashamed of it.

Third, dress to go to work. Every morning before I go to my home office, I shower, dress, put on makeup, fix my hair – all just to walk down the hall from my bedroom to my computer. I feel much more professional when dressed for “work” and that attitude of professionalism comes across in my phone calls and other interactions. When you have a meeting with a potential client or downline member, be sure to dress appropriately then also. Too many times I’ve gone with downline members to presentations and have been surprised at their appearance. They’ve invited all their friends to tell them about their wonderful opportunity and so they show up in jeans and a tee shirt or scuffed shoes and stained pants. How are you going to convince your friends that this is the opportunity they’ve been looking for if you still look you always did? How will you convince a potential client to take a chance on you if you don’t look clean and polished and put together? You don’t have to wear designer suits or expensive jewelry. Just be neat, clean, professional, and confident.

Treat your home b...