Where do you start when looking for home based business ideas? Sometimes this very thing stops home business seekers in their tracks. I know it did me. Years ago, when I first started thinking about starting a home based business, I couldn’t get past the “what can I do?” question.A good place to start is to take inventory of the following.o Interests – what interests do you have that could be turned into a business?o Knowledge and skillso Education and experienceWrite down all that comes to mind in all of the above categories. Then see if there is an overlap in anything. Maybe one of your interests is photography and you have done some courtesy photographing of family and friends. Could you take your experience and interest and turn it into a business?Next, you need to do some research on your home based business ideas and find out if what you would like to offer is something people need and are willing to spend money on. There are some areas that lend themselves to people who are seeking free things – stay away from those.If you want to offer your services/products locally, think about what group of people would be interested in your business and where you would find them.If you are thinking of an online business, check out how many online searches there has been for what you want to offer. You can use a free tool, Google Keywords to check this out. Join some online groups or forums in your niche and be aware of what people are talking about and looking for answers to. Yahoo groups are a good place to start. You can also go to Google, type in your niche + forums and join some of them that are active.When looking for business ideas, be a good listener. Notice what others are talking about and the concerns and challenges they have. Can you provide a solution? If so, you just might have a winning home based business.One of the keys to finding home based business ideas that you will really enjoy and profit from is to put to use your assets (interests, skills, gifts, knowledge, experience, etc.) to solve problems or challenges for people. None of us like problems or challenges, and will gladly pay to have them taken away.