Not long after that, my clients asked for a book about keeping their home office in shape and their homebased business on track. After I did some research and found out that a home office book that would help my clients didn’t exist, I listened to my clients.

I wrote a book outline and then contacted a literary agent who had a home office, and she agreed to represent my book.  (This is a simplified version of events, but you get the idea.) She sold the book within three weeks and four books later I credit my clients for directing my business.

If I hadn’t listened to my clients, I wouldn’t have changed my business focus as soon as I did. Also, I wouldn’t have a series of books under my belt and a blog that gives me the opportunity to share home office advice and tips for working from home.

Are you listening to your clients?

You don’t need to have a business adviser in your back pocket when you start a business—although it doesn’t hurt to have one—but you can take advantage of the many resources out there to get your business started. The post “20 of the Best Resources to Get Your Startup Off the Ground” lists a range of sites to help you start a business.

Some of the best sites are:

• The Entrepreneur.com Startup Kits. Their kits range from starting a restaurant to starting a consulting firm. Throughout the years I’ve followed and written for Entrepreneur. They never have a shortage of solid business ideas.

• About.com Starting a Business Hub. Their advice includes checklists, detailed articles and a small business startup kit among other business tools.

• Vator.tv. This site takes a different approach to the traditional business pitch by inviting entrepreneurs to upload video pitches about their businesses. In case you haven’t noticed, business videos are becoming the norm, not the exception.