Many of the most successful entrepreneurs who have made big money in their own home business will tell you that they failed many times before finally making it. The difference is they simply refused to give up. They kept trying and refining their marketing and business strategies until they efforts paid off and their business took off.

It is not easy to succeed in home based business. If it were they would be no value in it. That is why those who succeed big time in home business are those who have simply refused to accept defeat. Even if they failed once or twice or even many times they learned from each failure and tried again. They tried again and again until they achieved the success they were looking for.

The following are some simple tips to help you stay motivated and on track even when failure seems to follow you around.

1) Write down why you want to succeed in your home business. Maybe you want to be able have more time with your family or maybe you want to be able to retire early and travel the world. As you go along in your journey read over this vision again and again to remember what it is you seek.

2) Keep a journal of what has worked for you and has not worked. Refer often to this journal often so that you don’t make the same mistakes again.

3) Dream Big! Even if your dream is only to make $100,000 a year in your home business decide that you are going to go after an income of $500,000 per year and your chances of making $100,000 are even greater. Think big and you will achieve more than you ever imagined you could.

4) Make the deliberate decision that you will never give up no matter what happens. This is the type of commitment that makes dreams happen.

You don’t have to accept defeat and give up your dream of owning a profitable home business. Even if you have failed 100 times you can learn something from each attempt and that increases your chances of success the next time. It is about considering that your glass is half full instead of half empty. Consider it this way. Each time you try and fail you have learned what doesn’t work and that means you are one step closer to your dream than you were before. Read – The Magic of Thinking big

Do you have money sitting in the bank or stuffed in a mattress for that “rainy day”? Well, if you’re in debt, it’s raining! If you have a debt that’s in collection, credit card debt or high balances that need to be paid down, go ahead and use the money now to get out of this mess. Unless you are earning huge interest on it, you are better off to pay some of these bad debt and make them go away.

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You may be afraid to dip into that “emergency” fund, but it may only be paying 2% or some low interest rate. Your credit card debt is costing you way more than that. You may not have a savings account to dip into but it is still critical for you to pay off these bad debt items. If so, borrow it! Borrow money from friends and family to pay down your bad debt. What goes on between family and friends is private and wont show up on your credit report. Most people you know would charge you a lower interest rate than a bank, or if you are really lucky, no interest at all.

1. Embrace the adventure.
Looking at a career change as an opportunity for an adventure instead of a defeat or a failure is a crucial first step.

2. Identify your passions.
That could be just about anything, from cooking to computers. It should be something you are familiar with, but if not, allow yourself time to learn about it. Find someone who is doing what you want to do and ask for their insight about what it takes to be successful.

3. Allow yourself a transition period.


Don’t expect it to happen overnight. In the case of a layoff, you may need to take another job while you’re identifying your new direction. That transition could be three months, or more or less, depending on the situation, but expect it to include some pain, confusion or frustration.

4. Don’t overanalyze.
Avoid the urge to go over your plan again and again.

5. Take action.
Go to a class to learn about the field that you are interested in. Volunteer for an organization that fits with your passion. Everybody wants to figure everything out to the “nth” degree, but taking one step will lead you to the next step.

There’s a difference between “bad” and “good” debt. “Bad” debt is any debt you can’t afford. It carries high interest rates, and finances things you could go without. Undisciplined use of credit cards, for example, could lead you into “bad” debt. “Good” debt, in contrast, finances productive assets or assets that appreciate in value. Using a mortgage to buy a house is a classic example of “good” debt.

When you borrow to buy non-registered investments, or to invest in your business, you get the best of all worlds – asset growth with interest deductibility.

Borrowing money to fund business operations or buy capital assets for business use can be a shrewd move. While your business benefits from having operating capital or a new piece of equipment, you get to deduct the interest costs from your taxable income.

Because interest is deductible when used to borrow funds for earning income, many people turn to “cash damming”. What does that mean? Say you’re a sole proprietor of a business with a $100,000 home mortgage and $100,000 in business income. One option is to use the business income to pay for business expenses. But it can make more sense to use the income to pay off the mortgage, and get a home equity loan (i.e. using your house as security) to finance the business expenses.

Why? Because with an investment or operating loan, the interest is tax deductible; it isn’t on a mortgage used to purchase your home. Basically, you use the equity to buy assets that aren’t used for income-earning activity, and buy income-earning assets with the borrowed money.

Another useful strategy, especially in light of low interest rates, is borrowing money to invest, known as leveraged investing. Leveraging makes sense when:

• You have a long term plan – enough time for the investment to grow beyond the loan amount plus interest costs.

• You invest rather than speculate, concentrating on investments that pay interest, dividends and trust income, to get compounding working for you.

• You diversify your portfolio, distributing investment risk among equities, fixed-income and cash.

• You have surplus cash flow, with the ability to cover increased interest costs down the road.

Cautious and prudent leveraging can accelerate asset growth – but you must make sure that you understand, and can afford, the risk. In the business world or in your personal life, debt used in appropriate amounts, for appropriate purposes, can be a sound financial tool.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) sets the postal rates, so there’s no wiggle room there. However, you can save on the cost of gas and lost productivity from sending an employee to the post office by printing all your postage at work or home with online postage service.

USPS offers its own online postage service, Click-N-Ship, that lets you print Priority, Express, Media Mail and even international labels from the website. Click-N-Ship also offers delivery confirmation and insurance. Once the postage is printed and on the package you can have a mail carrier pick it up for free.

The postal service also has four vendors approved to sell online items and services that the Postal Service sells. They are: eBay, Endicia, Pitney Bowes and Stamps.com.

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CHOOSING A BANK to any small business owner is very important. I can’t express enough the importance of separating your personal from business finances. I suggest you use a bank that you can trust, one that is close to the location where you do business, offer competitive rates and one that allows the processing of credit card through the internet (if that’s where you do business). A bank that is fast and accurate with their information is key to online banking and bill management. I would also look at banks offering good start-up programs, like free business checking and credit cards with low or no monthly fees.

You may consider the bank that you use personally, especially if you have a long term relationship with them. Once again, if you use the same bank for personal transactions as well as business it is very important that you keep the accounts separate from each other. Don’t allow balance transfers of draft protection across business and personal accounts. This is a huge mistake that many start-up small businesses make and often results in failure including the draining of their personal accounts. You may also want to consider a bank that is a Small Business Administration (SBA) lender, which guarantees small business loans; and get a referral from and attorney or a local chamber or commerce.

BUSINESS GETS PERSONAL while considering the menu of small business services a bank offers; get to know its people, especially at the branch you expect to visit regularly. It’s important that your prospective banker wants a full relationship and will be able to help your businesses down the road.

As a business grows, it needs change. Good bankers invest the time to understand their clients and their needs. Your banker can save you money in fees, grant you a line of credit, and increase your credit via loans, performance bonds and letters of credit. With their extensive connections in the community, bankers can also provide introductions to potential customers, suppliers, employees and investors.

DOES SIZE MATTER? Many small and medium banks cater specifically to small businesses, while some larger institutions have small business divisions.

Small business owners should place a premium on personal service. This means connecting with a banking representative who will take the time to get to know you and your business. Most small businesses don’t need a bank with national presence. A community bank offers strong pros to a small-business person-proximity to the business, knowledge of the marketplace and local ownership. In addition, local banks tend to have more employment continuity. Often, a corporate banker looking to advance does a tour of duty and moves on.

Large banks, such as Wachovia and Bank of America, often employ specialists who are tuned into small business issues and offer access to the people who get things done. Also, if you require regional and national representation or branches outside of the community, a large bank might be a better choice.

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The stress from deepening debt is becoming a major pain in the neck — and the back and the head and the stomach — for millions of Americans.

Take Edward Driscoll, 38, of Braintree, Mass. He blames debt — $10,000 worth — for contributing to his ulcers and his wife Kimberly‘s panic attacks. “Just worrying, worrying, worrying, you know, where the next payment of this is going to come from,” he says.

That finding is supported by medical research that has linked chronic stress to a wide range of ailments.

Among the people reporting high debt stress in the new poll:

· 44 percent had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 percent.

· 23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent.

· More than half, 51 percent, had muscle tension, including pain in the lower back. That compared with 31 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

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But medical research suggests that most of the symptoms reported in this poll are indeed typical of chronic stress. The body reacts with a “fight-or-flight” response, releasing adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol. That helps you react fast in an emergency, but if the body stays in this high gear too long, those chemicals can wreak physical havoc in numerous systems — everything from a rise in blood pressure and heart rate to problems with memory, mood, digestion, even the immune system.

And no, stress doesn‘t cause stomach ulcers — most are caused by bacteria — but stress can worsen the pain.

Regardless of the health implications, Americans are taking on more debt as tough economic times — slowing economic activity, job losses, soaring energy and food prices, slumping home values and record home foreclosures — strain many people‘s budgets.

Revolving consumer debt, almost all from credit cards, now totals $957 billion, compared with $800 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve.

Average car loans are up, too, to $27,397, from $24,888 four years ago. Home mortgages total $10.5 trillion, compared with $7.8 trillion in 2004.

No wonder people are feeling stressed. So, why do they let debt spiral out of control?

A significant life crisis like a major health problem or the loss of a job drives many people into debt. Others build up bills “trying to keep up with the Joneses” — according to Patricia Drentea, associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who studies debt and stress.

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For the middle class and beyond, it could be a push for a bigger house, an SUV, high-tech TVs, computers and other electronic gadgets, gym memberships, nicer clothes and restaurants. The list goes on and on.

Indeed, the survey found that upwardly mobile, middle-class families were among those who had the most debt stress. Others were women, couples with small children, low-income working families, Democrats and those who graduated high school but haven‘t taken college courses. Those least likely to be stressed from debt include men, retirees, empty nesters, college graduates and Republicans.