By Julie Frost

I think the most important factor in choosing a home based business is finding work you love. Not just like, but love. I feel so blessed to have found work I love. I searched for 5 long years for the perfect business, and I wasn't going to settle for less. Of course, 'perfect' is different for everyone.

I started out designing my own, personal web page in the spring of 1996. It was so much fun, and I was always adding more 'stuff'. Then a friend asked for help, and then a family member. Next thing I knew I was "Webmaster" for a nonprofit agency. I had a background in graphic design and marketing, so at that point - January of 1997 - starting a Web design business sure made sense! I loved it, and it called on my experience! So I got my business license and DBA and got to work!

To get started as a Web designer, you should start out by learning HTML. Even with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, you will need to know this language. Software is not always perfect, but you want the sites you build to be! There are some great tutorials on the Web, and you can learn the basics within a couple of hours, a week or so to be fluent in HTML. You should also be talented in graphic design, or be prepared to contract someone to do that work.

The next step is the more technical stuff - CGI scripting, JAVA programming, ActiveX, etc. Because my firm focuses on marketing and design, I contract out this work. If you want to do the same, plan on paying the programmers between $60 and $100 per hour - and charge you client accordingly.

To be honest, before I started my business, I really doubted I would find work I loved so much. Even when I thought about starting a business related to one of my favorite hobbies in the world - horseback riding - I never thought I could be this happy! In fact, sometimes my husband calls me (lovingly, of course!) a "workaholic". An adjective I never thought would be used to describe me! But it's true, I work harder than I ever have before, and reap the rewards - and it feels GREAT!

Good luck!