Your Business Plan
Once you've gone through the above process and identified what appears to be the right business for you, the final "gut check" is to write a business plan for your business, much as you would for a presentation to a bank for financing. Include sections for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and set goals for what your business needs to achieve for you, by when and how you are going to get there.
There are plenty of good resources online about how to prepare a thorough business plan. A great place to start is at About.com (http://www.about.com). Just type "business plans" into the search box.
Although it may seem like a waste of time and effort to complete a business plan if you don't intend to seek outside financing, taking the time and exercising the discipline needed to really focus your mind on the important issues facing your business, you will be forced to take a long hard look at your idea through very objective and realistic eyes.
If your idea passes the business plan test, then you can be reasonably confident that this is the right business for you. If you come away from this exercise feeling hesitant, uncertain and unsure, either do more research (if the reason for your hesitancy and uncertainty is lack of information) or discard the idea (if it's because you don't think your idea is going to fly). If this happens, just keep repeating Steps above until you end up with an idea and a business plan that you're confident is going to work!
Although it's frustrating to wait once you've made up your mind to start a business from home, this really is one situation where the tortoise wins the race. By taking a methodical, systematic and disciplined approach to identifying the right home business for you, you give your business the best possible chance for long-term survival, hopefully avoiding some very expensive mistakes along the way.
Some people spend years dreaming about starting their own business. Many are simply unsure of the direction that they'd like to pursue if they took the chance and ventured out on their own; others are simply unable to separate themselves from the comfort associated with receiving a regular paycheck - even if it is for working at a job that's less than fulfilling to them.
There's no doubt that making the ultimate decision to be self-employed can be both liberating and frightening at the same time. When you go the extra mile and take the time to identify the line of work that will work best for you, you'll be able to appreciate the fact that, for every day you invest in making such an important decision, you'll potentially be adding quality years to the life expectancy of the business you've given birth to.