What do most people lack, becoming the number one reason many home-based businesses fail? Customers.My rule number one? Never buy leads, and only buy customers.This is only one of five topics discussed here so that your home-based business can achieve optimal success.First, I would like to list the top five reasons most home-based businesses fail:1. Lack of a business plan.Just because it is a home-based business does not mean you do not need a business plan. You should be taking your home-based business just as seriously as if you were heading into any other type of business, so you need to make sure that the business plan you have is sound and that it has already worked for someone else who has used it.2. Lack of motivation.It is easy to become distracted. A home business should be run in the same manner as an office-based business. You need to motivate yourself to go to work in the morning and maintain that motivation during the course of the day in order to succeed. Discipline is a must. I have witnessed many smart people who are totally capable of being successful in their own home-based business, but failed because they didn’t have the discipline and motivation to answer to themselves. Some personalities require direction and management from others in order to be successful, so it is important to know if you properly motivated before starting your own home-based business.3. Lack of space or proper environment.If you are fortunate and your home-based business is successful, you may need to expand, so it is important while setting up a home business environment to anticipate growth. Not all businesses can realistically succeed in a home-based location because they need room for equipment, work space, storage, inventory, and employees, so it is important to determine if it is simply too difficult to run your business from your home. Many people learn the hard way by not being realistic upfront.4. Ignoring a budget.Too many home-based business owners justify spending money on all sorts of equipment, advertising, leads, and promotional tools because they are not paying overhead. This can result in dangerous overspending which will strip your business of capital needed to succeed and thrive. It is important to spend money wisely on only what is necessary to see growth and success, and not get caught up in unnecessary spending.5. Lack of customers.This is quite obvious, of course. Without customers purchasing your products or services, you have no home business. This is the number one reason many home businesses fail because this is what most people lack when starting a business. Of course, there are companies that offer leads or you can go to a third-party source to purchase them, but if you talk to people who have used leads, they are usually a far cry from a constant stream of actual buying customers who could be supplying your home-based business with what it takes to thrive, grow, and become successful: sales.So, what is a home-based business owner to do to avoid these pitfalls?1. First, align yourself with a company that will provide you with a steady stream of buying customers to whom you have permanent rights, instead of mere leads.With customers who are already purchasing being continually generated by the company itself, success will be attained and will continually grow and thrive because you will have all the customers you will ever need. With this, the front-end work of your business is already achieved. However, I know of only one company that does this.2. Next, make sure this company is debt-free, reputable, and has a proven business model.This company should have no start-up costs, no hidden fees, and be free to join. You want to avoid a business that starts strong and disappoints later, and instead opt for one that provides ongoing residual income for life. Talk to someone who is already working this business and see how it has worked for him or her.3. Then, make sure you have the proper environment to work your business from home.Align yourself with a company that will simply require an internet connection and a phone, and will allow you to be mobile, so you can take your home-based business anywhere you want to go. This company should do all of the back-end work for you as well by supplying you with your own free website and an easy to use back office on your laptop. They should be shipping the product to each customer, and supplying them with catalogs, e-mail alerts, monthly magazines and catalogs, and toll-free telephone customer support, all at no cost to you or the customer. Align yourself with a company that is willing to do all of this heavy lifting for you at no charge that normally weighs others down in their home-based businesses.4. Next, stick to a budget by duplicating what someone else has already done to become successful in this business.Resist temptation to reinvent the wheel which could result in needless spending. A great company has affiliates who have already figured out how to bring your business to the next level without spending needlessly, so just follow their lead.5. Finally, make sure you are motivated to be in business for yourself in a home-based business.Expect guidance from others, and duplicate what they have already done to be successful, but realize that the bottom line is YOU. If you treat a home-based business like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby; and if you treat it like a business, it will pay you like a business. Treat it with the commitment and dedication it deserves and it will pay you back many times over.How do I know this works? I have proven to myself that it does.The successful interior design business I owned and operated for eleven years took a hard hit when our economy started to fail a few years ago because people no longer had the disposable income they once had. Let’s face it, custom design is neither inexpensive nor a necessity, so I have seen a lot of interior design studios go out of business during this tough economy. I had the choice of either reinventing myself in a home-based business, or go to work for someone else. Being my own boss has rather spoiled me, so I did not want to change that by working for someone else. Why make someone else successful when I could build something for myself?So, almost three years ago, I aligned myself with a company to start another stream of income. This business is exactly what I described in the five detailed points above as what you should look for in a home-based business. I duplicated what someone else was already doing with the company, so naturally, it worked for me as well. I want to reach out to others to help them to build a successful home-based business of their own, by avoiding the common mistakes people often make. People who are already aligned with this company include individuals with corporate jobs, business owners, parents raising children at home, wellness professionals and students, retired persons, and individuals who simply desire an extra stream of income. There is no better time than in today’s tough economy to start your own proven home-based business by acquiring buying customers, and do it in a way where you will find optimal success.

Traditional schooling options are limited for students that are unable to take time from work to enter full time education. For this reason many accredited colleges offer online education in many areas. Students can gain an education in health care administration online and train for several different careers. All levels of education can be completed through online specific study. The delivery system of health care is learned as students explore the many facets that go into supporting the business. Career goals will ultimately determine what educational level is needed. Lower-level and entry-level positions are available for students that successfully complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program. Upper-level managerial and executive positions are available to students that continue education past undergraduate study at the master’s and doctoral level.Another factor that will determine what type and level of education is required is the concentration. Many students enter online training and gain their desired career. Concentrations in the field allow students to learn how to focus in on one area of the industry. These areas most commonly include:Health ManagementHealth Services AdministrationHospital Unit CoordinatorEvery educational concentration under health care administration has the same goal of teaching students how to work as a leader inside the field. Students can expect to examine medical terminology, medical coding, business, social economy, nutrition, global health, and much more. Inside these different concentrations students may learn how to transcribe a doctor’s report, manage an insurance claim, and maintain the financial aspect of the business. All areas prepare students for the professional workplace.Health care administration programs with a general focus explore the management and business side of the industry. Take into consideration the general education requirement of a bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position. Coursework centers on teaching students how to efficiently organize and maintain the services offered inside the field. Marketing, medical group management, administration law, and personnel management are all course topics that prepare students for many careers inside the field. Advanced training is widely available online at the master’s and doctoral level. Leadership is taught in regards to quantitative analysis, health care legislation, strategic management, and ethical environment of business. Online studies prepare students to organize the policies and methods used to administer care inside health facilities. The work completed in a program prepares students to transition into the field with ease.The skills to properly manage the health care industry and its employees are learned in an online health care administration degree program. Students interested in this professional industry should explore the accredited online options and become an administrator for the health care industry. Fully accredited programs can provide students with the best quality education available. Agencies like the Distance Education and Training Council (http://www.detc.org) can fully accredited qualifying educational programs. You can start by enrolling in the accredited career training program of your choice.DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.Copyright 2010 – All rights reserved by PETAP.org.

Several forces are coming together which will expand the home health care industry in Connecticut.Governor Malloy is expanding the MFP ( Money Follows the Person) program. This is a federal reform program that aims to reduce the number of patients on Medicaid in expensive institutional healthcare settings. It focuses on moving people out of long-term care facilities and placing them back into their homes where most elderly people prefer to reside. The Connecticut legislature has approved new regulations for the home health care industry that will allow nurses to delegate medication administration to home health aides that are working with patients in their homes. All of these changes are designed to benefit the elderly and to improve quality of life and expand the elderly population that can reside at home with assistance. These are all positive things for health challenged individuals, providing the proper community support is available. This was not the case when the state decided that mental health patients belonged in the community and not in chronic care facilities. Community support was grossly inadequate in the 1980s when the state deinstitutionalized patients from psychiatric hospitals, producing disastrous results for many communities and individuals. Hopefully this most recent plan to transition people into the community has taken into account the need for expanded home health care services.A second shift in the state’s public health policy that has started to effect the home health care industry is in the area of informed risk. Informed risk is basically a policy stating that a person who may not be deemed safe to stay at home is allowed to remain at home as long as patient and family acknowledge that the patient is at greater risk of injury at home as opposed to a facility. It is an honoring of the patient’s wishes as opposed to what the agency may feel is the best plan of care for the individual. Up until recently if a person was deemed unsafe in their home environment the home care agency would not support the person remaining at home. In other words they would refuse to provide services. Now the state is promoting keeping people at risk in their homes, providing that they are mentally sound, and they have acknowledged the fact that they are assuming greater risk by staying at home.Even with good agency oversight it is inevitable that these shifts regarding informed risk and allowing non nurses to give medications will lead to an increase in injuries, accidental overdoses, misuse of medications as well as negligence and/or abuse. Agency staff will need to carefully document risk assessment and delegation of duties. Careful monitoring and good case management will help minimize errors and limit abuse and neglect in this population however the home care industry is certain to have an increase in liability hence the possibility of increasing nursing malpractice claims.With the first wave of baby boomers starting to retire, the number of senior citizens in Connecticut continues to expand. The need for experienced home health care experts will continue to grow as well.