Working from home can be a wonderful thing and can provide you with a great sense of accomplishment, but it is no easy feat to create a home business and succeed at it. Take a look at 9 essential steps that can help you along your way from Simple Mom, who has started 3 home businesses to date:

1. Figure out why you want to start the business. What do you want beyond the money? Want to feel proud? Contribute to household finances? Change the world? Figuring out your true reason for starting a home business will help keep you focused during particularly tough days.
2. Create a business that utilizes your work experience, talents, personality and passions.
3. Get support from your family and friends.
4. Build a family-centric calendar. You want to build your business around your own and/or your family’s activities, goals and dreams.
5. Create a schedule and adhere to it. Make time for things like checking and answering emails, networking and training employees.
6. Build a realistic budget. Figure out what you’ll need (i.e. business cards, domain registration, etc.), determine how much it should cost and figure out where the money will come from.
7. Be sure to eat well so you have the energy it takes to work hard.
8. Take 15 minute breaks when you can to do something just for you, i.e. sipping tea by the fire or doing a lap around the block. It’s important to keep yourself happy.
9. Set your quitting time, which will be the time when you need to “punch out” at the end of the day.

If you’re looking to start your own business, be sure to head over to Simple Mom’s very helpful and extensive post for many more tips: 9 Essential Tips For A Home Business That Works.