First of all you need to know WHY you want dreads. Whether you already have them or not, the first thing people will ask you when you tell them you want or are getting dreadlocks is, “why?”. Know what your answer will be!
Moreover, during the first 4-6 weeks of having dreadlocks things can get, pun intended, a little hairy and crazy. If you don’t know your own reasons there is a good chance that when things start to get frustrating you’ll give up. You need to know how to motivate yourself by knowing what drove you to want them in the first place.