by Mike Henderson
With this failing economy, rising unemployment, corporate scandal, high gas and food prices, skyrocketing foreclosures, and no end in sight, the desire to be your own boss and work from home on a flexible schedule is likely sounding more appealing all the time. And the work-from-home opportunities are so numerous, but this can be both exciting and daunting - you're almost sure to find something that will be the right fit for you, while the myriad choices can simply be overwhelming. You've got to filter through and separate the good from the bad, the legitimate from the false promises, the honest from the scams.
So where do you begin? Well, right here is a good starting point, because here I'll lay out for you practical steps to steer clear of the glossy, sugar-coated business opportunities, and to use sound judgment on the rest. So let's get started!
BEGIN WITH YOURSELF. Before you waste your time sifting through the endless opportunities out there, first decide what type of home-based business you would enjoy doing. You can even begin by examining your hobbies. If, for example, you enjoy drinking wine, then perhaps you could write articles on wineries and specific wine recommendations to be published in wine magazines in print or online. The point here is to eliminate the vast majority of home-based businesses that are out of your sphere of interest so you can focus on the few the really appeal to you. This first step in your decision process is absolutely vital, as it's the foundation of finding the right opportunity for what you'll ideally be doing for the rest of your life.
DON'T LET MONEY BE THE DECIDING FACTOR. Let's face it - it just doesn't make sense to do something for several hours a week if you don't enjoy it. Sure, making good money is wonderful, but you have to REALLY enjoy what you do if happiness is going to exist. Keep in mind when you're starting out in a new business venture you can bet that those initial days and weeks will be spent getting through the learning curve, and making little or no money. It doesn't matter how glossy and sugar-coated the business makes itself out to be, things will very likely be "slow 'n go" at first. But if you enjoy what you do you'll feel passion for it, even excitement, and it's that enjoyment, passion and excitement that will get you through those first few weeks and keep you motivated.
BE SURE YOUR BUSINESS IDEA CAN BE RUN FROM HOME. Just because an idea sounds ideal doesn't necessarily mean it's a good work-from-home business. If it's a business that required employees showing up to your home office, then it may be a business better run from an actual office, not from your home. Also, consider the amount of work that will be required of you, the hours you'll need to put in on a daily and weekly basis, office supplies and overhead costs. You obviously do not want to get in over your head, as this will only bring you stress and perhaps even kill your passion and enthusiasm, and eventually your business as well.
AVOID ANYTHING THAT PROMISES GREAT REWARD for little or no work, as you can be sure these are outright scams. Reward comes with hard work, and nothing less. The ONLY ones who will make money from that type of "business" are the ones who've devised it and run it, and it's your money that makes them rich. If you're looking for a big, quick payoff you're far better off playing the lottery (and good luck with that) than gambling on one of those a get-rich-quick schemes. Steer clear of them. Remember, you're investing your money. Don't throw it away!
DON'T EXPECT SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. Accept and expect that a legitimate business will require an investment on your part, even a home-based business. Just because you're starting a business to be run from your home and on computer doesn't mean you're going to get a free ride. If it's a successful, established business then why would someone give it to a stranger for free when he or she can and should make money from selling it? If someone is offering you a turn-key business blueprint that's already in place then the groundwork has already be laid out, making it easier for you to become successful. And that's if you invest in an existing business. Obviously, if you're starting your own business from scratch you're going to likely be investing even more money. Pay for a legitimate business or get ripped off.
DECIDE IF YOU'RE LOOKNG FOR A FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME BUSINESS. Will this be a full-time business that will pay your bills and allow you to live the life you want, or a part-time income stream to supplement what you earn through your job? If it's a full-time venture will it produce the income you expect? If so, you'll certainly want to research what similar products sell for in the market so you will get a good idea what you should charge and how much you'll need to sell on a weekly, monthly and annual basis, bringing us to our next step.
HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN. This really isn't as complicated as it sounds. Really, it's a simple process - decide what you want your annual income to be, divide by 12 to determine what your monthly income should be, and divide that by 4 to know what your average weekly income should be in order to meet that annual income level. Now, take what you learned from researching the market for your product and you can determine how many sales you will need to make on a weekly basis to get where you want to be. For example, let's say you're a painter and your business idea is to sell your paintings. You want to make $100,000 per year, which works out to $8,333 per month, or roughly $2,000 per week. Obviously, this requires a lot of work on your part to constantly produce enough inventory to market. No inventory = no products to sell, resulting in no income. Are your income goals realistic? Don't let your dreams become a fantasy. Remain true to yourself always.
DON'T SKIMP ON MARKETING. You have no market for your products or services if people don't know about them. You have to get the word out that you're in business and why yours is the one to fill a buyer's needs. There are endless ways to market your business, including many cheap and free ways that can be extremely effective. Online marketing can reach to the far corners of the earth if that's what you want, or you can market online to specific countries and regional markets. Google is the king of online marketing, commanding by far the largest share of global internet searches. It's even a great place to research other types of marketing to consider. Keep in mind that effective global marketing is not cheap, however. But depending on your product or service, perhaps only local advertising is what you need. Marketing your business effectively will likely require the largest portion of your budget, again depending on your product or service. Do not skimp on marketing, as it is your lifeline to profits.
Following these steps and using them as your "pathway" will get you pointed in the right direction and guide you to finding the business venture for yourself. Nobody else can make these decisions for you. Use common sense and do not get lured in by empty promises that guarantee quick, easy, bigtime profits. Everything looks great on the surface, because they are being marketed effectively.
To your success and prosperity!
