Apple Computer, Mary Kay and The Hershey Company all started as home businesses. In fact, half of all businesses begin out of someone's home. Starting a home business has many potential benefits: no commuting, flexible work hours and the satisfaction of being your own boss. It also provides an outlet for your creative and unique talents.

But that's not all. Kimberly Seals-Aller, author of The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion Into Profit, says, "You want to create a life of financial freedom based on doing what you love on your own time instead of on a cycle of trading time for money in the 9-to-5 world. You want to wake up every day with a smile and a zest for whatever possibilities the day will bring.

"You crave a life where your creativity and talents thrive without limits. You want to fly. I used to get up and go to work every day; now I get up every day and go to life."

Are you ready for that, too? If so, then it's time to take stock of your resources, interests and abilities to help you prepare for a home business of your own.

1. Take a Personal Inventory. Consider your career as a sequence of jobs, each providing skills and experience needed for the next opportunity. What has your career prepared you for next? Alexandra Levit, author of New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career, encourages people to sit down and do a self-assessment. "They should write down (or type) what their values are, how they prefer to work." And then, she says, they need to make an inventory of their skills and work out what they have accumulated that is transferable to other areas. The idea is to "build a profile of themselves," to see how they can transition easily to a field that is new to them.
   
   Check with trusted friends and family. Ask them what they think you are really good at, or what they think from their observation makes you happiest when you are doing it.
    
2. Take a Passion Inventory. Besides having the necessary skills, you're going to need passion to get you through the challenging startup phase. When you come home from work, what do you do? Is there a hobby you love, a topic you passionately research? Do friends or family members consistently ask for your help on their taxes, their website or their business? If so, consider those the seeds of your new business.
    
3. Take a Resource Inventory. Knowing what you are good at and what you enjoy doing leads to the last step--given the resources you have, what can you do? Obviously, if your dream is to be a race-car driver, the $100,000 minimum investment might be a stumbling block. Though important, however, don't just consider your financial resources. Consider what you have and what you need in terms of:

• Office space
• Business equipment (computer, fax, printer, telephone lines)
• Cash
• Child-care or other family needs
• Time
• Physical stamina and energy

The results can be surprising and enlightening, and they could open the way for a new--or at least a re-shaped--career or business.