It’s harder to succeed in a home-based business than the Internet hype might have you believe. If you’ve decided to go back to work for someone else after some months or years at home, it can be quite an adjustment. Not only must you give up the dream, but you have to accommodate to some real changes.

If not always lucrative, the advantages of working from your home, and for yourself, are legendary, and the adaptation to a 9-5 (ha!) can be monumental.

Here are some ways to prepare yourself:

1.Use the week before to get caught up on household repairs, errands, and groceries. Get up and go to bed on the new schedule. 2.Assemble a workable wardrobe. Gone are the jeans and flip flops. Check on the dress code at your new office, as you may be out-of-touch. Then assemble a wardrobe that’s comfortable. If you haven’t worn heels all day for a while, don’t try it the first day. You don’t need blisters! Wear loose-fitting but smart-looking clothes, and layers. The temperature in the office is sure to be different. Bring a sweater you can leave at the office.

3.Do something about your hair. If the joys of home employment included scrunchies or a do-rag, some changes are in order. Get a haircut if need be, or a new hairstyle.

4.Think about your diet. They say every new job is worth 10 lbs, and you don’t need that. Whether it’s eating lunch out, “Wednesday is Breakfast Taco Day,” or the jar of KitKats on the receptionist’s desk, you’re going to be tempted. Be prepared!

5.Brush up on your people skills, aka Emotional intelligence. While homeworkers often lament the loneliness of working at home, you may have forgotten what it’s like to be with others, and accommodate to other wills. Just as you prepare your child before they head for a birthday party, go over your “manners.”

6.Get caught up on your rest. It’s not that you weren’t working hard and long hours at home, it’s that it’s going to be different. This is stressful. Resist all urges to party like there’s no tomorrow on your last days at home, and rest up instead. You may be entering one of the many understaffed offices in the work place today.

7.Talk to your family and friends. You have a big adjustment coming, and you need support and encouragement. If you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it. And be specific!

8.Manage your attitude. If your home-based business failed, or failed to live up to your expectations, or simply wore thin, put it behind you. Don’t attribute it to anything personal, permanent or pervasive. Focus on what’s good in the new situation – structure, camaraderie, a steady paycheck, benefits, and a simpler tax return. There are many successes you’ve had and will have, and a positive attitude will help you make a success of your new job.