The reasons for starting a home based business vary from one individual to another, but making sure new businesses succeed is in the best interest of every American. Small businesses employ six out of every 10 American citizens. Small businesses add to the economy and they pay a large percentage of taxes. These reasons make the success of the small or home based business key to the prosperity of the country.

Aspiring entrepreneurs and work from home business owners share some basic characteristics. The shared characteristics are:

*Independence
*Visionaries
*Dreamers

However, there are some significant differences in the perception of running a business that exists between these two groups.

People who dream of becoming entrepreneurs want to do something they love. Many dreamers have a hobby or a skill that they want to turn into a business venture. Another reason that dreamers cite for owning their own business is being their own boss. Interestingly enough men more than women cite this reason.

Women regard flexibility and time at home as the major reason for exploring the idea of starting a home based business. The number of women who participate in work at home opportunties is growing at an astounding rate. Work at home moms have found their own special niche on the Internet and are exploiting this business opportunity.

Business owners agreed that being their own boss was the major reason that they started a business. However, the flexibility was not the main concern after a few months. Actual business owners stated that in the first years of owning a business, flexibility was just a concept. Being the only person working a business in the initial stages requires a huge commitments of time.

"Not to discourage home business ownership" stated a respondent to a home business questionnaire, "But there is a huge learning curve when you start a small home based business just as it would be if you buy a McDonald's franchise. There are areas of business that the average person does not have to learn when they are working for someone else. However, in your own business, you need to learn to read a balance sheet and how to put one together, you have to learn how to market your business. There is a lot to learn"

The dreamers in the survey wanted to leave their children an estate worth millions of dollars. People who already owned a business did not consider this as important. The owners of businesses did feel a commitment to giving back to their communities by donating both time and money.

An interesting observation was that the dreamers thought it would take less than 1 year to show a profit in their business while business owners specifically those who had Internet type businesses, stated that within 6-months their business was profitable.

Many of the dreamers have an idea for a product or service that they envision as a way to create a profitable business entity. The people who already own a business state they took the plunge first by deciding on a name and the business set up. People who owned Internet businesses stated that they found a product that interested them and then set up the business.

Working from home is a dream for millions of would be business owners. The good news is that the Internet makes it incredibly easy to start run and build a business empire. the only thing holding anyone back who wants to work from home is fear. This is the perfect time to start your own business. Nike tells you how - Just Do It!