The Holy Trinity of Home Entrepreneurship

I had a very interesting discussion with my husband this weekend about "drive": that little something inside of us that pushes, propels and urges us forward, that won't take no for an answer. Over the past two years as editor and publisher of WHY magazine, I've had the opportunity to speak with many people who run home businesses, and there are a few commonalities among them, including what I like to call the Holy Trinity -- if you'll allow me to steal a term from Louisiana cooking -- of Home Entrepreneurship:

• Drive
• Belief in yourself
• Optimism

Not everybody has these traits, but if you're running your own business, you really need to. Home businesses are difficult, frustrating, exhilarating, challenging and often lonely enterprises. There are good days, and there are bad days -- sometimes mostly bad days -- but somehow there are those who continue to get up every morning motivated and excited, thinking, "I can do this." I'd like to think that I'm one of those people, and I have met so many others who are too, who try and squeeze a home business into an already chaotic life and do it willingly and enthusiastically. Where this kind of "drive" comes from, I'm not entirely certain, but, for me, there's almost no doubt in my mind: it comes from my mother.