Many among us have contemplated having a home based business. If you have one now or in the midst of setting one up, let me share with you my personal experience and those of successful home based business owners. While at home you have the freedom to work when you want, here are 5 steps to help you ensure your success.1.      Be professional and treat your home based business like any other jobAs a professional you will not want to mix your personal life with you business, right? Most successful home business owners recommend that you equip your home business with a certain structure by setting up the following items.

An email account preferably with your own domain name or a Gmail email account which I personally find useful as a start
A separate bank account
A separate room or a dedicated space as a home office
2. Set specific work hours for your home based businessYou need to set a strict schedule that works for you and stick to it. In the course of a day, you should not take unplanned breaks just go to the store or hang out with your friends. It is critical that you set a good schedule, work during the designated work time and then you take your breaks.3. Self-discipline is key when maintaining a successful home based businessYou must commit to your goals, approach it seriously and work hard. You need to have the self-discipline to work even harder than when you are working for a company especially at the early stages. One very successful Internet marketing business owner I interviewed started by working on his business everyday from 11pm to 3am while holding a day job. Once your home business starts to yield positive results, you may take it easy a little bit and start to really enjoy the freedom of having a home based business.4. Develop good habitsOnce you decide on a schedule that works for you, take consistent action and stick to it for at least 30 continuous days. That is how long our mind and body take to adjust to a new habit or routine. I have tested this and I’m happy to report that after crossing the 30-day mark, the activity flows easily as part of my daily routine. But the key is sticking to your activity for 30 continuous days. Should you break the routine before the 30-day period is up, you have to start all over again.5. Educate yourself in marketingOnce you have created a home business, you must learn how to market your business. Fortunately today we have the Internet, one of the most effective means to reach potential customers for your home business. Learn all about advertising on the Internet, such as pay-per-click advertising on search engines like Google and Yahoo, advertising on ezines, newsletters, forums and many more. Invest in your education and soon you will reap the results.Starting and maintaining a successful home based business is challenging. But once you have created a successful one, it is well worth it. These five steps should help you along the way to achieving your dream of having a successful home business.