If you’re like most home business owners or future home business owners, you’ve done your homework. You’ve probably been hanging around here for a while and you’ve probably read a lot of the posts and comments. Maybe you read Entrepreneur magazine. Maybe you have a Delicious profile full of resources and home business tips. You have researched and planned yourself to death.

Just to overwhelm you, I’d like to add one more piece of advice. This is probably the most valuable advice I could ever offer anyone in your spot.

First, some background. When I started offering the IttyBitty package, one of my first customers was Selene Bowlby from iDesign Studios. She’s does custom website design, and she’s pretty damn good at it. But in addition to being a highly cool web designer, she is also possibly the most prepared home business owner I have ever worked with. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so set to succeed.

We started talking in January. She was working in a day job that allowed her to work from home. She was running her home business at night. And she had a two year old. Her plan was to quit her day job the following January.

Selene (and I hope she doesn’t mind me writing this, although there’s piss all she can do about it now, isn’t there?) was scared. Prepared, but scared. She knew she had a rock solid service and she had received nothing but good feedback from her customers. She had a medium sized salary she had to be able to replace, and her calculations brought her to the realization that it would take her about a year to transition to full time self-employment.

She hoped she’d be able to do it a month early and quit just in time for Christmas.

When we started working together I was blown away by both her designs and her business savvy. Yes, I was her marketing coach, but I also really identified with her as an individual. We became friends and have supported each other. My support usually consisted of emails that read, “You have fuck all to be afraid of.” (Because I’m supportive like that.)

Three weeks ago, I got an email from Selene that was similar to many emails I’ve received in my home business marketing career. It’s my favorite kind of email to receive but it was especially wonderful from someone who has become my friend.

Tomorrow is Selene’s last day at work.

Seven months ahead of schedule, Selene’s going out on her own.

If you become friends with Selene, you’ll realize she can teach you a lot. She can teach you about dedication and hard work. She can probably teach you about design. (Check out her web design portfolio for that.) She can teach you about staying calm in a crisis and keeping some balance and dealing with toddlers and home business. I would argue that those are important, but not the most important. Here’s the most important lesson you can learn from her.

Do not get sidelined by fear.

Not once did she let fear stand in her way. She charges more than some designers because she’s worth it. She did not let her fear that people wouldn’t pay her stand in her way. She didn’t let her fear that everyone wanted free templates stand in her way. She didn’t let her fear of losing a steady paycheck stand in her way. She was scared shitless and went full steam ahead.

Friends of IttyBiz will know that I’m releasing my first ebook on Monday. Very close friends will know that I’m terrified.

I’m scared that I don’t have a sales funnel. (For non-marketing types, creating a sales funnel is what internet marketers do to get you to pay ever increasing prices for ever expanding products by selling you on something free first and then upselling you later.) I didn’t release a free ebook first. I don’t have an email list other than my subscriber base. I haven’t gone all Stompernet and sent out sexy videos. I have not created fear based sales copy saying that if you don’t buy, the puppy gets it. (I don’t even have a puppy.)

I’m scared that people won’t pay for something they think they could get for free. Recent comments on this blog have indicated that there are people who believe that in the age of the internet, nobody should have to pay for anything, ever. (Does this include food? Rent?) I’m afraid that all two thousand or so people reading this blog have all the time in the world to do the research and read everything there is to know and won’t need what I’m selling.

I’m scared that I’m going to let my family down. I believe that what I’m offering is insanely useful and pretty damn inexpensive. I believe that it will help the people who have emailed me saying “I wish I could afford you but I’m not making any money yet!” I believe it will take months off the home business learning curve. But what if other people don’t agree? Jamie and Jack rely on the income from this website, and I’m terrified I’ll let them down.

Cue big ass red text.

But I will not let that stop me.

I will continue to be terrified, but I will release my ebook anyway and let the chips fall where they may. I will tell myself what I tell my clients — your product is good, your price is good, you have a great group of people who trust you. I will channel balls and go for it. (Then I’ll write some crazy link bait post with my sales figures in the title and get rich.)

Anyway, that’s all. That’s my advice. Don’t be afraid of being afraid. Be afraid, but get on with it.