I started looking for viable work at home opportunities back in 2001.  It was a time consuming process, but in retrospect, I give myself a pat on the back every month when I cash the check from my home based business.  The purpose of this article is to perhaps help others make their selection with a little less time and effort than I had to expend.

Having spent many years running traditional “bricks and mortar” type businesses, I didn’t buy for one second the numerous heavily hyped, or worse yet, scam operations that touted the instant and fantastic riches that could be achieved (often with little or no effort required).  While doing my research as to which business I would eventually pursue, this type of claim became an instant trigger for me to move on to check out some other “opportunity”.

I mean, give me a break, if those claims were close to being true, why would they share their “secret” with anyone else? They would just execute their “magic system” and in short order would have made all the money that exists in the world…yeah, right!

In the course of my investigations, a few other natural filters surfaced to help me narrow down the realistic and legitimate opportunities from among the far too numerous unfounded offers. Early on, I determined that the “get in on the ground floor” offers were essentially smoke.  After all, if I wanted to take a chance on the lottery, I would have purchased a ticket. Because of my business management experience, it soon became clear to me that three of the primary factors that would influence my choice would be:

* successful longevity (how long has this particular company been successfully doing business?)

* reasonable income expectations touted by the top management of the company offering the opportunity.

* support systems and training resources available to help the participants succeed.

One thing that really struck home with me was a statement made by the founder of the company that I eventually selected for my home based business.  It went something like the following:

“Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear from an affiliate questioning why he or she is not seeing a big check yet. More times than not, the person asking hasn’t even been involved for more than 90 days and is only barely beginning to even understand how the whole system works. And frankly, even if the number was six months, it’s still much too early to be expecting a significant income stream to have developed.

I always say that if you’re not willing to give a business at least a year, don’t even bother getting involved. You need to understand that it takes time to get to know all the nuances of the compensation plan. It takes time to determine which products you want to lead with. It takes time to develop a game plan. It takes time to figure out what marketing activities deliver the biggest bang for the buck. Anything worthwhile takes sustained effort. If you’re not thinking long term, you’ve set yourself up for failure.”

To sum it up, the selection process should focus on reality (there is no “magic” in home based businesses) and reject any so-called “opportunities” that seem too good to be true.

About The Author

Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and resides in California.  For more details, visit his website at http://business-at-home.us

7 Basics to Look for in a Work at Home Business

We live in the age of the internet. No where has the internet made a bigger impact than in the area of the “work at home entrepreneur”. You want to start your own home based business. But, there are so many different ones. Some are legitimate, some aren’t. Since the purpose of your starting a business is to make money and free up some free time eventually, you certainly don’t want to waste your time and money on a scam. So, therein lays the problem. What do you look for when starting your own work at home business? The following is a list of just a few things to look for in a home based business opportunity.

Stability – With so many scams out there, one thing to look for is a stable opportunity.
 
What I mean is this: Look for a business that has been around for a while. I’m not saying that there aren’t new opportunities that are not worthwhile but I always like to know the business has been successful. Also, a stable company will usually let you join for free so that you can take a more detailed look at it before you invest your time and money into it.

Product – What product(s) will you be offering to others? Is it something that most people need, use, or would want? More importantly, is it something you need, would use, or want? It is impossible to market a product that you don’t use, because if you don’t use it, how can you convince anybody else to use it? Also, keep in mind that most times, you will be selling the opportunity as well, so you need to be convinced that it works before you can convince others.

Investment – How much does it cost to join this opportunity? How much is it going to cost to market your product? How does the compensation plan work? How long does it usually take before I at least break even? Compare what you will be spending to the money making potential of the business.
 
Training – So, you find a stable company with a product and opportunity you really like. The next step is to make sure you will get the training you need to get the word out that you have that product and opportunity. Nothing is more discouraging than having something to sell, a business to promote, something that will benefit others, and not know how to advertise it. Make sure your business gives you ideas on how to market your product. It’s even better if they show you how to do it.  Look for ways to get people to join you while your business is growing, like Guaranteed Sign-ups, or an advertising co-op.

Up-line – This goes along with the training you will get from your business. Can you get in contact with others in the business that have been successful? It’s nice to know the path others have taken to become successful in your business. They can give you helpful ideas and they can help you avoid some of the pitfalls they have encountered. It is really nice if the opportunity has a chat room or message board so that you can get ideas on how to start, how to promote and advertise, and how to respond to others as they join your business.

Potential – All the above leads to this last quality I look for in a home based business. How great of a potential is there to make money in the business? After all, that is the bottom line, isn’t it, to make money?

Your Gut Feeling – Don’t forget your most important tool-your common sense. If something doesn’t seem right, you need to back away until you get all your questions answered. First and foremost, you have to believe in the opportunity and what it offers before you can sell it to others. Make sure to get a handle on what is going on before you commit to it. Once you make that commitment, give yourself some time before you decide it won’t work.
 
Obviously, there are other things that you can look for. These are just some basic things to look for when trying to find just the right work at home business to place your time and money into. But, I believe if you will use these basics as a starting point, you will be in good shape on making a decision.

About The Author

Donnie Baird has been involved with work at home businesses for 4 years and is the webmaster/owner of http://internet-work-at-home-opportunity.com. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two children.