Buying and owning a business opportunity, franchise or other small business and working from home as you build it into a successful and profitable enterprise, especially over the long haul, is as much about who you are as it is anything else. While relatively superficial factors that may influence your decision—like not having to commute or being able to skirt the skirts or suits, so to speak—may hold a ton of appeal, it’s not that simple. Far from it in fact.

See for yourself…

Here are the top eight traits that we think any home-based business owner needs to be successful, and they’re mostly about what’s on the inside:

1. Motivated—When you are a small business owner, especially when there’s just you and only you, no one else is going to get up every day and do the job for you, and no one is there to kick you in the butt either. You’ve got to be self-driven, independent and willing and able to muster the drive to move forward, even when you don’t feel like it.

2. Organized—Being a small business owner means wearing many hats. Multi-tasking is your middle name, and that takes organizational skill and determination. Thankfully, organization is something that can be learned and even mastered, but if it doesn’t come to you naturally, you may want to do some active skills building in this area.

3. Goal-oriented—Are you capable of sitting down and giving serious thought to your goals and objectives and then crafting various measurable strategies for executing them? If not, you may want to rethink the idea of becoming a small business owner altogether, let alone one who works out of a home office where it’s all too easy to let days and even weeks fly by without much to show for your efforts.

4. Flexible—Much like life in general, the only constant in business ownership is change. That and taxes anyway. Everything else is up for negotiation to some degree. You’ve literally got to be ready for anything. That means planning the best that you can and preparing to make the best of whatever may come your way.

5. Determined—Sometimes the only difference between those who make it in business and those who don’t is some magic combination of how badly they want to succeed and how optimistic they are. True entrepreneurs know that setbacks are an inevitable part of business ownership and that things oftentimes get worse before they get better. They also have the work ethic, courage and perseverance to soldier on, even when times are tough.

6. Disciplined—Discipline is all about knowing what’s good for you and doing it whether you feel like it or not. It’s what drives home-based business opportunity and other small business owners to get up each day, make a list of what they need to achieve and by when, and then get to it one painstaking step at a time…all when there’s no one else to inspire, cajole or threaten them.

7. Communicative—And no, we don’t mean that you know how to talk a lot. That’s too easy. There’s got to be a certain level of professionalism in not only what you say, but how you say it. Even knowing when to stop talking and listen is critical. As for the whole idea of dressing down when working from home, if there’s even the slightest chance you’ll be seen by anyone that matters, it’s best to err on the side of caution. How you look also communicates volumes about who you are as a professional.

8. Confident—Knowing you are capable and being able to assert yourself in a reasonable manner is critical if you want to be a successful home-based business owner. Let’s face it, it’s just you and maybe an employee or two if you’re lucky. Ultimately, you’re in charge. If you’re not your own most reliable cheerleader, then who will be?

We’d like to hear your thoughts!  What traits do you think are most important when evaluating a home-based business opportunity for sale?