So, you’re finally going to follow your dream to work at home, but before you quit that day job there are a few things you might want to think about first.

It’s a great idea, don’t get me wrong. For me, it was one of best things that I did for myself and my family. But those heady work-for-myself ideas often run smack into a wall. There are so many things to think about and I don’t mean just what you’re going to do as a way to make money.

The three ideas below are just baby steps, but they can make the transition from full-time employee to work at home a whole lot more successful.

1. Get Your Financial House in Order

You’ve read all the stories about people making gazillions of dollars from home. It’s so easy it takes no more than four hours a week. But here’s the reality, it does take some time to make money. Sure if you work hard enough, take all the right steps, and keep with it, you’ll reap those financial rewards. In time.

So the first thing you need to do before you head off to this new adventure is to make sure your current finances are okay before the last day at a steady job. That means you want to have credit cards paid off, a little cushion in your savings account, and the pantry filled up with food.

You don’t always get the opportunity to do that. Sometimes a job change comes from out of the blue. I know all about that with my share of layoffs. In fact, that’s how I started my work at home career. But if you’re just starting to think about working from home, it might be also a good time to think about getting your financial house in order.

2. Determine if You’re a Doer

By that, I mean, are you the type of person who can get out every morning, determine what needs to be done, and actually get it done? Or, do you find you need a little push from somebody like a boss? That’s a big factor in if you’re going to be able to work from home successfully.

It’s easy to complain about bosses and supervisors and hate how they push. But for some people, those pushes and deadlines are what propels them to finish their jobs. Working from home, by yourself, with no one to be responsible to is a big task. Can you honestly say that you can do that?

Don’t worry, if you think that’s a problem, there’s still a few things you can do. It might mean determining the kind of work at home job you do. That is, do you work for yourself or do you work for a company that would require accountability. You can also learn those motivational and management skills that you’ll need to work for yourself before you quit your job.

3. Plan, Plan, and Oh, Plan Some More

I should also add research, research, and even more research. If you have time and are still working, use it to study, to research, and to plan on how you make this new work from home opportunity successful.

Create action steps to get you through the first week, the first month, the first six months, and even the first year. Breakdown everything that your research has told you to expect. The better prepared you are is the set up you need success.

Starting a new venture, especially one that gives you the opportunity work from home, is exciting. You might want to get going just as soon as possible but this is what I can tell you: don’t!

From experience, I can tell you the exciting turns into frustrating which turns into panic when money doesn’t come in on a regular basis. So many things can go wrong. That extra bill you didn’t comes in and you to have no money in your savings account. You didn’t get enough work done for the week because You wasted more time on a volunteer project for your son’s school then you expected. Sales are slow because you didn’t realize the amount of promotion that would be needed. And that’s only the start.

If you are not smooth transition from full-time job to work at home, and you have the time, then put the three baby steps above into motion. As soon as you can.

Learning from Others

I think learning from others is always a good way to start research on whatever new endeavor I try, from making crafts (thank you, Martha) to learning how to create an at-home career. Turn Your Computer Into a Money-Making Machine is a good book if you have some writing talent (and I’m not talking Hemingway here). It’s one of the cheapest and fastest ways to make money that I know of. And I do know because I’ve had a long career as a writer of one sort or another, including Internet ghostwriter.

Whatever choices you make for your future, please consider the three steps I mentioned above before quitting that day job to work from home. I can promise it will save you some stress in the long run.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back soon,