Many people have the viewpoint that creating a home business is difficult and complex. This could be true in certain cases, depending upon the type of business you choose to start. However, many home businesses are fairly simple, and one of the most important ingredients they require is good time management. Read on for some simple steps to starting your own home business.

1. Formulate your business plan. A business plan is essentially a projection of the revenues and expenses that you expect your business to have in the next one to three years. You can scratch this out on a piece of paper, use business plan software or build your own complex spreadsheet model. The most important thing is support for each of the numbers in your business plan, such as market research that shows your customer demand and demographics to support your projected revenue. You also need to estimate costs for supplies, equipment, employees, taxes and other items so that your revenue and expense numbers are meaningful estimates.

2.Use the Internet as much as possible for home business functions. There are many free or low-cost applications available that can save you time, effort and money. For example, Wave Accounting is a free double-entry accounting system that can easily help you track your financial data until your business grows large enough to warrant purchasing a more robust accounting software package. Use sites such as Vista Print to get free or low-cost business cards, stationery and branded promotional materials. Use a contractor site such as Elance or Rent-a-Coder to have a low-cost website built. Just about any resource you need is available in one form or another on the Internet.

3. Check the laws and regulations with your local zoning commission. This is especially important if you intend to do any kind of production or manufacturing in your home business. Cities have certain restrictions regarding business operations taking place within residential zones.

4. Perform regular, ongoing research. Staying informed on your competitors, consumer trends, the industry and the economy are critical to helping you guide your business efforts. Additionally, the more current knowledge you have, the better you can respond to changes in the business environment, such as difficult financial times that might keep consumers from spending as freely as they have in the recent past.

5. Do not allow yourself to become discouraged. Building a home business is not for the faint of heart; it requires a consistently high degree of dedication and hard work. It takes months or years to build a strong, solid business, despite the overnight success stories that always seem to be floating around. If you love what you are doing, though, there is no better way to spend your time!

As you can probably see, the basic tasks to start a home business are not difficult. They do, however, require commitment and follow-through. If you can prioritize tasks, get past the human desire to procrastinate, and are willing to work on your business for at least the next one to two years, you may just have the necessary ingredients for a wildly successful home business.