2 Types of home-biz owners(entrepreneurs)

Don't deceive yourself. Having business equipment in your home office doesn't make you an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must be visionaries. The mindset of an entrepreneur is always focused on the future. Instead of defining themselves by where they are at present, they define themselves by where they know they'll be in the future.

Now is the time to start realizing your dreams - to take that first baby step toward having the business you envisioned back when you were slaving away for a thankless boss at a company that couldn't care less about you.

If your business is just treading water, the first thing you need to do before you can transform your home-based business into everything you dreamed it would be, is to figure out what type of entrepreneur you really are. To be successful, your business ought to match your personality. Do you only want a small business that meets your needs and provides a decent livelihood? Or do you want to build it into a mini empire? Try to visualize the perfect business for you.

I have found two particular and extremely different styles of successful entrepreneur, the 'Growth Maven' and the 'Lifestyle Guru.'

'Growth Mavens' are fiercely ambitious. They do not think small. The Growth Maven starts her business in her home office to keep expenses low, but is chomping at the bit to raise the company to new heights. Her dream is to grow from a single person company to a multi-employee company and maybe even larger. She thinks someday she will be like the mega-stars who originally started their companies as home-based businesses: Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell. She knows there is no limit to the amount of money she can make, and she is dedicated to constantly innovating her products and services. But she has to get out of her house first.

The 'Lifestyle Guru' just wants to be his own boss. He was sick of the office politics, the rush hour commute, the aggravating boss and spending far too much of his life in a windowless cubicle. What he wants is the chance to do things his own way, and to take joy in doing work he's good at and likes doing.

The Lifestyle Guru wants to wear pajamas to work and knock off at 3 p.m. for a few hours so he can catch his kid's soccer match. He doesn't mind clearing out his e-mail in-box after his wife and kids are in bed. Sometimes he works on the weekends, sometimes he doesn't. He knows there is a limit to the amount of money he can make, but he is bringing in a comfortable six-figure income and he has more leisure time to spend with his family and friends. When it works, it all feels pretty good.

You may already know which type of home-based entrepreneur you are, but if you still are not certain if you are a Growth Maven or a Lifestyle Guru, then I have a little test available online and in my book that could help you figure it out.