The home business model has found a lot of success with people, but many of us still look to avoid it because of all the risks that it entails. The reason why so many people are hesitant to move ahead is because most of them have no idea how to start a home based business.Are you in the right business?When people think of having a business from home, most will think in terms of the current hot trends in order to minimize the risks of losing money. They fail to see the big picture and forget that what is valued highly in the market right now is not as popular some time ago and there is someone who set a trend. Moreover, a hot market today may fail tomorrow in such a fast-changing market place.The first step towards leading your home business towards success is to choose the right field. This means you will do what you like. Maybe you are good at writing software or you are a gifted communicator or you enjoy gaming and are well-versed with the industry trends. Your strengths, enthusiasm and interest are what will help you succeed and not the market trends.Research, research and research some moreHow will you meet with success if you do not know what you are getting into? Ask any successful person about how to start a home based business, he will tell you that thorough research is of utmost importance. If you want to minimize the risk of losing money, you should find out about each and every detail involved in the business.If you want to be a writer on gaming, read as many websites that serve such content and look at how they write. Stay current with all the existing trends as well as with the history of gaming. Figure out how you can be different from all the other people in providing valuable content to readers and, of course, play a lot of games. The same rings true of any other field.Realistic goal setting and planningWhen learning about how to start a home based business, how you plan and set your goals will largely determine the chances of your success. Most small businesses fail because they do not accept their limitations and set lofty goals and overwork themselves beyond their capacity. More often than not they fail to achieve their goals and thus lose credibility.All successful businesses start small and then slowly climb up the ladder. Don’t expect to earn $10,000.00 in the first month itself. Since you are just starting up, you will need time to establish yourself and make yourself known. As you keep on working hard, you will keep picking up new skills and with time, you will be able to increase your income to the desired level.The above tips will serve you as a good starting point on how to start a home based business and then prepare strategies so that it actually helps you earn a good income. Making the right decisions and being patient is the key to succeeding in your business.