10 Commandments for Home-Based Business Owners Published by Information Strategies

Information Strategies, Inc (ISI) on Monday released its top 10 listing of what to do and what not to do if you want to have a successful home-based business.

ISI's President and CEO, JoAnn Laing, said, "Working from home makes for longer business days actually spent in the office space. Therefore, learning how to deal with daily family issues and running a business at the same time is critical."

The "10 Commandments" were derived from information gathered from more than 200 home-based business leaders.

"Thou shall not work from the dining room table but rather from a separate space. A spare bedroom or den is best but the key is having it separate from the general traffic area of the home." This is very important psychologically. If you just have a computer and a cell phone set up on a card table or in the eating area, you are not psyching yourself up for success. You are setting yourself up to be distracted.

"Thou shall not trespass on the work place. The workplace is out-of-bounds to those that would interfere with good work habits and leave things about." Related to the previous commandment, this is away of drawing firm lines, giving definition to your space for accomplishment and making money.

"Thou shall have a separate phone line. A customer needs to feel that he or she is dealing with a company, not a family." Again, defining that which is professional and preparing for success instead of preparing for distraction. It also shows courtesy and respect for your clients, which keeps your relationship with them strong.

"Thou shall have a separate computer. Having only one computer in the house can be a disaster for a home-based business." The computer that maintains the business should not be the one that maintains the iPod collection, the video games, the personal e-mail accounts, the YouTube, and all the other stuff that can not only distract but also be in high demand by the family.