Many of us wish we are working from home, in front of our computers in pajamas, spared from traffic congestions, and all other hassles of going to the weekday 9-5 grind outside the comfort of home.

Believing that one of the most affordable ways to start a business can be working from home, my mind quickly streamlined a SOHO startup thought, accordingly, what we should do first.

Planning The Business

Foremost, planning is important. While a home business venture offers some benefits, as in any business, there are a number of issues which need serious, careful consideration. These should be identified in the earliest planning stage.

The Strategic Plan

Even if you are talking small and home business, just like any business, global or small, it is of utmost importance to plan a strategy. Remember, there's no perfect way to do it and different people may vary their steps in the process. What's important is you set the direction of your strategy, in terms of how your goals will be accomplished.

Effective Advertising

An important component of a strategic plan is effective advertising. Talk to a friend in business, a consultant, research online or grab some of those reliable business books, if only to learn ways that teach to get the attention of potential or prospective clients.

Contingency For Financial Crisis

Last but not least, here's something begging me to be included: coping with a financial crisis in case it happens. To do this, you should include a contingency plan for this inevitable event. Well, it's worth a think.

Concerned with winning competitive battles and obtaining global leadership, strategic intent implies a significant stretch of an organization's resources, capabilities, and core competencies. When established effectively, strategic intent can cause people to perform in ways they never imagined possible. Strategic intent exits when all employees and levels of a firm are committed to the pursuit of a specific (and significant) performance criterion. Strategic intent has been formed effectively when people believe profoundly in their product and industry, when they are focused totally on their firm's ability to out perform its competitors.

Strategic mission comes from strategic intent. Strategic mission is a statement of a firm's unique purpose and the scope of its operations in product and market terms. A strategic mission provides general descriptions of the products a firm intends to produce and the markets it will serve using its internally based core competencies. An effective strategic mission establishes a firm's individuality and is exciting, inspiring, and relevant to all stakeholders. Together, strategic intent and strategic mission yield the insights required to formulate and implement the firms' strategies. Basing their decisions partially on a firm's strategic intent and mission, top executives develop a strategic orientation and predisposition to adopt a certain strategy or strategies over others.