What most of us don't, at first, know is that there can be drawbacks to working at home as well. Now you, as someone who wants to start your own home based business, should really be aware of these pitfalls, so that you can prepare in advance for whatever bumps on the way to your success they may pose.

Lack of financial security.

Working at home and starting your own home based business carries risk. Unlike a salary, you will not be receiving a fixed amount each month. There's a large possibility that the compensation you receive will be small in comparison to your regular job, especially at the beginning. So you just start small, one step, to begin this long lifetime business journey. A step will become a stride and then a mile and then longer distances yet.

The upside, of course, is that you also stand to gain much. Most of the biggest, most successful businesses today were small home start-ups in the beginning. Companies like Microsoft, AOL, The Body Shop, Yahoo and Coca-Cola are examples of companies that were first run from the proverbial garage or desk in the basement.

Having to take charge of your own time.

Time can either be put to good, profitable use, or it can be wasted. Focus like crazy. You must be your harshest disciplinarian. Keep wasted time and resources to a minimum. If you are not a disciplined person, then you might have a tough time making the venture work. After all, being at home means that you are comfortable ? perhaps too comfortable.

You can surf the net, watch TV, fix dinner, play with the kids, shoot some hoops, talk with your friends, read a book, take a nap ? there are so many things that threaten to eat up your time when you're at home. If you really want to work at home, you should first make sure that you can carve up a good amount of time to spend on your business.

Allot family time for the whole family, including pets, and your battle will be half won. Unscheduled items are not allowed. You should have the ability to set a schedule and stick with it while being sure to put the whole family in your schedule because this is the reason you want to be home in the first place. Right? Otherwise you might be heading for financial and personal ruin.

However, if you are the kind of person who is willing and able to set your goals and work towards them, then having control of your own time is an incredible advantage. You will be able to set your priorities, manage your tasks, and minimize the waste of your time and money ? things that are difficult to accomplish when you are in someone else's employ.

Potential isolation.

Because you are not forced to interact with other people, you might fall into a tendency to cut yourself off from most daily interactions. This is a serious no, no. You have to get out of the house at least one hour everyday. You have to let the business go for one full day every week so you don't get burned out.

This is a danger that those with more conservative or shy personalities face. To counteract this, you simply have to allot a portion of your time to meet friends and meet new people. People like you who will help you build personally.

Negative people are never a building block for you so avoid them as much as possible. Can you imagine what Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Pierre and Madame Curie or Albert Einstein would of amounted to if they had, nobody has a chance to make it, attitudes?

Never get too engrossed in your work to the detriment of your social life; you'll just suffer in the end and lose the purpose of being independent and your own man or woman.

Don't let this little list discourage you from taking the plunge! Just be sure to include all the details above and have friends, family and pets on your everyday consideration goal list.That's exactly what most people do, which is why you don't see a whole bunch of truly rich or independently happy people in your neighborhood.

Scan down this list above and fix in your mind how you intend to overcome these obstacles on your path to riches. Knowing your weaknesses is strength ? never forget that.