Before you get started, make sure you're headed up the right path. In other words, make sure you're working with the right company. You're going to spend a lot of time and effort in this endeavor so you'll want to have the deck stacked in your favor as much as possible. In a nutshell, you'll want to work with an established company that has a proven system to success and a product or products you can feel good about. Absolutely don't move ahead with your plan until you've found a company that meets all these criteria.

When you have, follow these seven steps to make your home business a success from the start:

1. Let your people know your plans. Though it's not essential that everyone in your household be on the same page with your new endeavor, it certainly helps if they are. Include your partner in your idea from the very start. After that, let your kids know your plans. Allow them all to see your excitement and sense of expectancy. A little shared enthusiasm goes a long way.

2. Dream, Dream, Dream. If you haven't done so before, focus on some dreams for yourself that can be crystallized into life goals with actual projected dates of accomplishment. Do this exercise first by yourself and then later brainstorm as a couple, if applicable, in order to mesh your future plans. You'll want to be clear on what is motivating you or in other words, what is your BIG WHY behind this idea?

Make your own dream board. It's easy - just gather some photos and cut pictures out of magazines that represent your newly created goals. Get out the paste, stick them all on a piece of poster board and voila, you've created your first dream board. Stick that dream board up where you'll admire it many times a day. You'll want to have a clear visual of what success looks like to you. Don't skip this simple, yet essential step to success.

Next, have your children make their own dream boards and explain them to you. Share your board with them as well. This way the dream board can become a great tool to refer to when your children are inclined to interrupt your work. If your children need a reminder of why you're working, show them your board again. Have Mickey Mouse beckon from Disneyworld.

3. Carve out an office space with a door. If you don't have the luxury of having an entire room to call your own for this purpose, don't despair. You can be very successful without one. If worse comes to worse, put a desk and a file drawer in your bedroom and work there. Kids screaming in the background of your business phone call won't convey professionalism.

4. Let your children know when you're going to be wearing your work hat and when you're not. This will not only enable you to know when you'll be able to go to work but also allow your children to know when you'll be done. It might be tempting to work "overtime" but just don't do it. That way your family will see you honoring your time commitments to them as well as to the business. Make this a habit from the start so you won't have to try and mend broken promises later.

5 Work different time zones. If one of your challenges is having to work your business around your family obligations, focus your advertising efforts in different time zones. That way, you can do business before or after your local time activities. For example, Pacific Time Zone inhabitants are still awake and waiting for your phone call after your Central Time Zone kids are fast asleep.

6. Put your children on the payroll. Create a winning system by encouraging your children to help you. Teenagers might be motivated to handle the internet portion of your business. Encourage big brother and big sister to work their magic with the younger ones. If you have traditionally done all the cooking, cleaning and laundry, now is a great time to start sharing that work load. Perfect housekeepers need to consider loosening their standards in order to accommodate the ability of their new helpers. You probably already know what motivates your children, so start there for payment options. You don't necessarily need cash up front. Pay them instead with earned privileges or set up a point system that culminates in attending a special activity or event when so many points are earned. The most important thing is to make it something special. Most of all, let your children know how much you appreciate their help. This goes for spouses, too.

7. Celebrate your success. Be sure to make a big deal out of the arrival of those first checks. You don't have to blow it all in celebration (unless you want to) but do something out of the ordinary so the whole family can share the excitement of your accomplishment. This really helps reinforce just why you're doing what you're doing.

You've avoided some serious pitfalls by utilizing these seven tips. By including your loved ones in every step of your home business, from the "what if" idea planning phase to the celebration of that first check, you can very successfully raise your income as you raise your family.

Copyright (c) 2008 Annie Thomson