With the current recession people need a hedge against the rising cost of living. Home businesses are becoming more and more popular. Network Marketing is a particularly good home business model.

With so many people looking to start a new businesses there is a lot of confusion on what needs to be done; and how to do it. Too many people have been misinformed on what it takes to run a successful home-based business. It's not just a matter of joining a company, getting a website, and BAMM! You're in business.

Yes you have a business, but is it profitable? How do you overcome the fifty percent failure rate of start up businesses? These are seven of the biggest mistakes a home business owner can make, and how to avoid them.

1. They Build Their Business Like It's A Hobby.

A hobby is something you do in your spare time, if you feel it. A hobby is fun and costs money to do, and gives nothing back. If you want to run a business you must treat it as such. You have only so much time to build your business, use it wisely. Give yourself a work schedule, and stick to it.

An hour of work is just that, work. Don't spend your hour reading emails and hoping it will all work out.

Invest your time in acquiring the skills necessary to operate a business, and then use them.

2. They Don't Follow A Proven System

How can you tell if a system is proven? Results, check to see if people have become successful following it. A proven system will take you from start to finish in an orderly fashion.

Find a system that works and follow it. As the saying goes 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

3. They Don't Get The Right Training

Just like when you get a new job you need to be taught how to do it. You can't jump in with a lot of enthusiasm and expect long term results.

Motivation and self-help are key factors in running a business. Motivation gets you out the door, or in your home office, to implement your training. But being motivation alone is not enough if you don't have the proper training.

You need to be taught what you need to do and the order in which to do them. You need specific training from some one that has done it successfully before.

4. They Don't Build Relationships

Relationships are vital to your business. Without a relationship at best you have a one shot customer.

How do you build a relationship with your customers and prospects? Ask them what they need or want. Then listen to them and try fill their needs. Give them what they want and they'll come back. Fail to fill their needs and they're gone.

5. They're Not Their Own Best Customer

You must believe in your product and use it. Would you dine at a restaurant if you repeatedly saw the owner eating some here else? If the owner won't eat there why would any one else?

Your product fuels your business, if you don't believe in it find something you can believe in.

6. They Don't Spend Enough Time Prospecting

If you're not prospecting for customers or business leads your business won't grow. Instead it will die a slow death.

The methods you will want to use vary with your industry. You can take out ads. You can write short articles relating to your product or business. You can even just talk to people about your business.

All three of these methods work, each has it's pros and cons. You need to find out which way or combination of ways works best for you.

Seventy five percent of your time should be spent on prospecting, twenty percent on training and five percent or less on fixing problems.

7. They Don't Reinvest In Their Business

Yes, you're in business to make money. Take some of that money and reinvest. You must spend some money to make a lot more.

Invest in advertising, you need more leads. Invest in training tools the world is always changing you need to change with it. And reinvest your time with your down-line, the more you help them build their business the stronger yours will be.

Those are seven of the biggest mistakes a home business owner can make. Learn to overcome them and watch your business grow.