The experts say to write a business plan.
That seems like an awful lot of unpaid work.

Cherilyn Lester has written an article you might enjoy entitled "Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Starting a Business."

Her Start Up Mistake # 2: ... Although the planning process may seem long and tedious now, it will benefit you more than you could imagine in the future... Your plan should guide you, but not constrain you."

Wondering what her Start Up Mistake # 1 is? It's choosing too general a field. We will talk a lot about finding your niche as we go along.

Have you decided on how much money you are willing to commit to this venture? I suppose that ideally you could get started with no out-of-pocket cost, but your time is worth something, even if you are just working the new business in your "spare time."

A tougher hurdle to overcome, if you're trading a paying job for an attempted startup, is the "opportunity cost," that is the loss of that paycheck that you could be earning instead.

In "Work-at-Home Success," Donna Fenn cautions us about another factor to consider: "Remember that whether you're offering a service or selling a product, you'll need to market yourself to customers, complete the job, and then wait to get paid (30 to 90 days)."

Even if you are trying to start up "on a shoestring," the best strategy for getting to profitability may involve some investment in "how to" guides, software, or advertising.