Many people are also running successful Internet-based home businesses. Many more want to start and run a home business the old-fashioned way. Where do you start?

Deciding upon running a home business is easy. Choosing the type of business proves more difficult.  The keys to unlocking this dilemma are listed below.

1. Inventory your skills, interests, training and education, personality, and work and volunteer experience. Make a tangible list of these qualities to examine. These factors hold the necessary information that make up what you know and where your talents lie.

2. Weed out what you do not enjoy doing or what you feel your personality is not suited for.

3. Next, match your interests with marketable activities. If Steps 1 and 2 still haven't suggested feasible home business ideas, review the following activities that have proven marketable for others and weigh them against your list of interested fields. Some ideas may include craft fairs, pottery, cleaning homes, professional shopping, floral arranging, gift baskets, hairdresser, bookkeeping service, candle making, dog grooming, real estate, web design, home daycare, home party plans, direct sales, etc. By the time you're done, you will have a list of possible matches with your skills and interests on the one hand and home business ideas utilizing those skills and interests on the other.

4. In creating marketable potential, your idea must satisfy the following criteria:

a. It must create a need in the market.

b. Is your idea trendy? Will it go out of style in a short time? Substance and longevity are the keys here.

c. Is your idea unique? This doesn't mean you have to invent something completely new, but it does mean that there has to be some aspect of your product or service that sets it apart from the competition.

d. It must not be in an oversaturated market. What you want is healthy competition where it's possible to differentiate yourself from competing businesses.

e. If you can't compete on uniqueness, you must compete on price or convenience. If you're forced to compete on price alone, that drives down your profit margin. Not smart business.

f. You must be able to price competitively yet profitably. The price you set for your product or service must allow you to compete effectively with other businesses in your market, it must be acceptable to consumers and it must return a fair profit. If any one of these is off, move on.

g. Your business must fit with your lifestyle. Will your business require you to be out of the home a lot? This may not work if you have young children. If this is the case, you will need to choose a business that allows you to work completely from home or perhaps around your spouse's schedule. Home parties would be an excellent choice here. Similarly, if your business idea would involve having clients come to your home, you're not going to want an unruly toddler underfoot as you're trying to conduct business.

h. Your financial resources must be sufficient to launch and carry the business until it becomes profitable. No business is profitable from day one, of course. But some are quicker to break even than others. If your business requires considerable capital to start, it will take longer to see profit. If your financial situation is such that you can't afford to quit your day job until your business is paying its way, this, too, will mean it will take longer to break even.

5. Once you've identified the right business for you, write a business plan for your business. Include sections for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and competition, and set goals for what your business needs to achieve for you, by when, and how you are going to get there.

6. If your idea passes the business plan test, you can be reasonably confident that this is the right business for you. If you come away from this exercise feeling hesitant and unsure, either do more research or discard that particular idea. If this happens, repeat the steps above until you are confident that your business idea is viable.

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. By taking a disciplined approach to identifying the right home business for you, you will be giving your idea the best possible chance for long-term survival, hopefully avoiding expensive mistakes along the way.