Starting a business, whether it be from home, or in an office somewhere, may sound like the perfect solution to your working blues, but unless you're committed to making it work, you can find yourself on the losing end real quick.

Businesses fail for many reasons. It is important to understand those reasons so that you can decide whether or not you are up to the challenge. Those reasons include:

1.Fear—Whether it is the fear of success or the fear of failure, fear of stepping out of one's comfort zone to try something new, or the fear of trial and error. Fear can freeze a person dead in his or her tracks.

2.Failure to plan.

3.Lack of funding.

4.Procrastination

5.Excuses. Especially making an excuse for any and everything that causes you to stumble.

6.Doing busy work. Keeping busy doing unimportant tasks.

7.Inability to delegate tasks. Sometimes delegation saves your business. If you have a weakness, hire someone who could turn that weakness into a strength. Use others to complete simple time consuming tasks so that you can do other things.

8.Failure to Research.

9.Failure to Market.

10.An inconsistent advertising campaign. It is better to have a ton of small ads on a regular basis than one large ad on a monthly or yearly basis.

11.Your pricing is too low, thus resulting in a negative cash flow.

12.Bad accounting practices.

13.Choosing quantity over quality. Cutting corners is bad business sense.

14.Dishonesty.

15.Not fixing mistakes.

16.Not completing tasks in a timely manner.

17.Inability to follow-up. You should always follow-up by email, snail mail, or phone.

18.Not listening to client or customer. Talking too much.

19.Spending too little. It takes money to make money.

20.Spending too much. Purchasing items when you don't need them, upgrading when the older version will do, letting suppliers talk you into things you cannot afford, and not budgeting.

21.Being unprepared for fluctuations in business. Boom times when demands are high as well as slow times when you are struggling to get by. (Put money away during boom times to prepare for slow times.)

22.Lack of diversification. If you only offer one product or service, losing it can destroy your business.

23.Reputation. While a good reputation will gain you tons of business, a bad reputation could close your business.

24.Cockiness. There is nothing wrong with feeling great about your products, services, or accomplishments. Just don't let pride and arrogance destroy your customer relations.

25.Discouragement. Giving in to your feelings of discouragement, when things do not work out the way you planned or succeed as fast as you thought. Also allowing others to feed on any discouragement you may already feel.

About the Author

* This has been an excerpt from Work At Home or Stay At Home, You Can Do Both! Available for only .99 at http://thedabblingmumpress.com

Alyice Edrich is the author of several work-from-home e-books, including Tid-Bits For New Signing Agents—where parents earn an hour without party plans and MLM programs. She invites you to stop by http://thedabblingmum.com/books/index.htm to order a copy today!