If you have never run you own business before it might be better to start small with something that doesnt require a lot of outlay to begin with just so you can gain some experience of working from home and fitting it round your family.

A good place to start is with running your own website such as the ones advertised at www.webvolume.co.uk. There is very minimal outlay - approx £50 and it doesnt cost anything to keep it running, just a couple of hours a week promoting it - which could all be done on free sites

Working from home takes a lot of discipline its so easy to get distracted with normal household chores, kids, pets, the TV! you have to have some kind of commitment otherwise it will never work, set aside a couple of hours an evening when the kids have gone to bed and all the ironing is done, its the best way of making sure you are suited to a home based job.

I Have been working from home for 6 years now and its taken me a while to get the right balance but its worth it just to not have to worry about childcare during the holidays!!