Driven By Your Business Or Just Driven?

"Drive thy business or it will drive thee," states
Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac. Every
great business started in the heart of a hopeful
individual and then at the meeting table of important
people, be they a husband and wife at the dinner table
or a group of business people at a bar with cocktails.
Eventually the idea blossomed into a genuine business,
usually in a small office in the back of a home and
eventually into a separate building in the heart of a
business district. The successful business, though,
first began as a successful home business. Those who
created made it successful with a few basic skills.

First and foremost, hard work characterizes the successful
home business. Just because an individual now works from
home does not mean he has the right to sleep in until noon.
The most successful home businesses owners distinguish
themselves with their work ethic. They wake up early and
maintain a strict schedule of opening their "office" at a
specific time and even closing it at a specific time. The
discipline that characterizes a successful business also
characterizes the successful home business.

The strong desire for success also characterizes the
successful home business. The driven individual will
succeed at a home-based business adventure because his
desire to succeed will lead him to basically do whatever
he must to make his business succeed. His desire comes
from the drive to simply succeed at whatever he does and
prove to the world that he can make this business venture
work. Furthermore, if he truly believes in his product,
he has the drive to make the business work because he
indeed believes he will contribute something great to the
world.

The drive or desire leads to the willingness to sacrifice
to make the home business a success. Many individuals are
willing to sacrifice time and finances to make their home
business work. Some empty their savings account because of
their belief in the home business idea, and others work
tirelessly, giving up previous recreational pursuits for
the sake of the business. They see a glorious picture at
the end of the hard road they are treading, and they thus
willing sacrifice just about anything to reach that glorious
end.

Prudence pairs itself with desire and sacrifice in the heart
of a successful home business owner. This aspiring entrepreneur
understands that in order to become wise, he must listen to
wise people and do what wise and successful people do. This
means growing his business slowly. Those businesses which grow
too fast often crumble because they lack that solid foundation
that only the business owner can build. Thus a successful home
business will grow steadily but slowly, never jumping ahead by
leaps and bounds. Instead, the business owner will strive to make
wise business decisions everyday and stick with whatever short
term and long term growth plans he has established.

Ultimately, the home business owner determines the success of his
company. His desire, willingness to sacrifice, and even acquired
wisdom will either help him to grow a successful business or hinder
him from succeeding. He must establish disciplined habits early on
and keep his eye on the end product, and in the end, he will find
himself the owner of a successful company.