Over the past few years, many people have made the decision to start a new home based business of their own. The tough economy has left many people suddenly finding themselves out of work through no fault of their own or those in jobs earning less because of salary cuts.It is important to remember that starting a new home based business does involve work. It is not all plain sailing and it can be confusing to know where to start and what to do to become successful. Here are five steps that you can follow to help you get started.1. Get Some Ideas Down On Paper.This is where you start to be creative. Make three separate lists. First, write down everything you ever wanted to do with a new home based business. Second, make a list of all your interests and skills. Make a third list of the talents that you have that others might need and which you could sell. Remember that a new home based business does not have to physically be based in your home. Your home business is about you working for yourself and it’s where you manage your business.2. Do Some Online Research.When you have written your lists, go onto the internet and look for websites that help people with new home based business opportunities. There are websites that will give you more ideas and help you to refine some of your ideas into more precise categories. If you enjoy writing for example, there are a number of opportunities for writers like copywriters and content writing for website or magazine articles.3. Chose One Or Two Possibilities.Now you should be able to narrow down your new home based business idea to one or two that really interest you. Your next step is to see what you need to get started in that type of business and how much you might reasonably expect to earn from that kind of business.4. Determine Your Budget.This will help you to decide whether or not you should pursue that kind of business, and also what you have to work with for a budget. Setting up a new home based business will involve some money and some funds should be kept aside in the event that things do not go as planned. Plainly speaking, not every new home based business is a success.5. Take Action And Get Started.Once your business is selected, and you know what is needed, then you need to take action and actually get started. You will need a website and marketing to bring in the customers. These are skills that you will need to learn because if nobody knows about your business, your business will not survive.