Top Five Things Baby Boomers Must Do Before Starting A Home Business

Patty Gale of Baby Boomer's Today has useful suggestions for those fantasizing about starting a home based business. Since LifeTwo started out as a home-based business we feel comfortable confirming the importance of Patty's list (and we've added an important #6 below).

First off, Patty reminds readers to not "quit your day job just yet." We'd like to take that a step further and to not quit the day job until the last possible moment and certainly after the plan is done and ideally only after the concept has proven itself out.

Patty's list:

Analyze Your Exit Strategy

At the time of this writing, the youngest of the baby boomers are turning 42 and the oldest are turning 60. No matter where you fall into this group, analyzing and preparing your exit strategy from your job will be crucial to your long-term success as a home business entrepreneur.

Create a Financial Plan

How much is your salary now? What are your fixed, variable and frivolous expenses? Creating a solid plan so that you and your family will know exactly what the financial picture will be until your business gets off the ground.

Choosing a Business Model and Legal Entity

There are several business models to choose from; home party plans, consulting, and affiliate marketing to name a few. Choosing a legal entity for your business should be discussed with a tax accountant or your attorney.

Set Business Benchmarks

You wouldn't travel across the country without a road map, your business is the same. Setting benchmarks will help you to create a focused plan that will help you to reach your success.

Get a Physical

What does getting a physical have to do with your business? Once you leave your job, most likely your health insurance will change. While pursuing your dreams of a home business is something you are probably very passionate about, it you do not have good health to enjoy the rewards of your efforts, then not much else is important.

As promised, here is LifeTwo's additional point, which we'll call "get real." What we mean by this is that there is the temptation to plan and plan and plan. Of course planning is good, see above. But at some point one needs to go out and see if anyone wants to actually write a check for what you are selling. Talking to friend and neighbors and hearing from them that it's a great idea is fine but far more important is seeing if someone wants to fork over $25 (or whatever) for your killer product. If no one does then you need to rethink the product, the packaging, the marketing, and everything else. And preferably you haven't yet left your day job (see above).

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