Monday, October 30, 2006

How to Start Work at Home Business and Make a Living

It is no more the phase of national depression. Conditions have improved and employee poaching at maximum remuneration is becoming the trend. But still at personal levels discontentment and depression resulting from overwork, less payment, workplace harassment is common. Work from home is one of the many consequences of the merging workload, job outsourcing and the need for flexible work hours.

When Should You Start Work at Home?

Though there is no dearth of home business careers, but you should not plunge directly. It has been seen that the successful home business owners have made it big after considerable exposure to the works in the office.

Be it marketing, content development or business processing, you are facing a global clientele where sub-standard does not fetch anything. So, it is believed that couple of years experience in a particular job will power you with the industry standards and make you market-ready.

Should Start Work at Home?

There are many popular work at internet home business opportunities (http://www.milanodirect.biz/start-home-business.asp) such as business processing, website promotion, medical billing, online marketing and direct sales, etc. But, to make it to the top you must be prepared for the particular work and should be aware of the conventions of that job.

Say for you are taking the job of online promotion at home, but you don’t meet the deadline. In this case you might loose your money and someone else will bag that job.

Work at home idea (http://www.milanodirect.biz/stay-at-home-business.asp) should not be just a rebellion against your boss or for more monetary benefits is not worthwhile. No doubt, there is freedom, fun and financial benefits in home businesses, but the condition is that your creative self should be interested in that job.

Never be moved by the tall claims of ‘Making millions’ without doing anything. Plan for a successful home based business based on your experience, expertise and resources. Only then you will be able to turn your hobby/expertise into dollars.

Inside Story of Work at Home

Well, you can put your talent work for you, but as per clients’ specifications if your work is something like medical billing or any type of business processing. Sales is a different ball game altogether. Irrespective of the nature of your business, it’s always better to work under a perfect mentor.

Ideas alone do not make anything. It’s people who make things happen. Suppose you planned a robust system of online direct marketing where you don’t need to do the marketing, your system does everything for you. Even then you have to manage the system and check/reply the leads.

So, a decision to start a home business by superficial motivation might make you worse off. That home business is worth considering where you have a track record so that you can evaluate and investigate and evaluate.

Remember, 90% of work at home based businesses are pure gimmicks, outright scams. First, check the authenticity of the source, credibility of the opposite party before taking any job online.

5 Tips for Your Own Home Business

1. All home based businesses, especially direct sales opportunity (http://www.milanodirect.biz/direct-sales-opportunity.asp), are changing rapidly. Make yourself and the system ready to adapt/respond quickly.

2. Share information freely, be always in touch.

3. Experiment with new ideas but tolerate the mistakes of others.

4. Be aware of your objectives.

5. Update yourself with home based business literatures.

About The Author

Alice Nero is a consultant emeritus in small online home businesses : http://www.milanodirect.biz/start-home-business.asp

alice@orientinfosolutions.com

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Work at Home Is A Reality…Don’t Give Up!

Have you considered working at home? It really has major advantages:

· You don’t need to buy expensive work clothes. They are uncomfortable and nothing at all like wearing a warm robe and slippers!

· You don’t need to pay for gas to get to work every day.

· Depending on where you live, you don’t have to scrape your windshield in the freezing cold.

· You don’t have to put up with tons of daily traffic.

· You don’t have to pay for a sitter for your kids, pets, etc.

· You can take a break and work out or take a walk without punching a time clock.

· You won’t have a nosey boss breathing down your neck!

Sounding good so far?

Isn’t working at home really what you would like to do? Or is it just a dream that might not ever happen? No…it isn’t just a dream! For example, think about celebrities or athletes that grew up very poor, and then turned their lives around. Do you think they ever had doubts? Sure they did, but they kept on working toward what they wanted and after much dedication and hard work, achieved their dream.

First of all, in order to get an online business going you will need to find your niche. Have you considered what you would enjoy doing? Take a subject or product that you have some knowledge and/or interest in. You wouldn’t want to be selling pet supplies when you can’t stand animals and have no knowledge of their care. Or your hobby is daily target practice at the neighbor’s cat! It really is difficult to sell something you know nothing about or don’t care about.

I remember sitting in a job interview where I would be a sales rep for a major cigarette company. Things were going great, the income they promised was very appealing, the signal I was getting was very positive. Then they asked me when I was able to start the job. All of a sudden it hit me…I can’t do this! All of these “don’ts” came into my head. I don’t smoke and I don’t want to sell something that I don’t agree with. So I politely told them that I had changed my mind and I couldn’t accept the position. I left the interview and actually felt great relief instead of regret…I knew it was the right thing to do! I wouldn’t have been a very effective sales person for them anyway.

Once you have figured out your niche, you may want to get a website. If you don’t know HTML, there are websites like Godaddy.com that will allow you to manage your own website without HTML knowledge, as well as numerous others. There are web designers that will also design a nice SEO website for your business; www.AffiliateWebsiteDesign.com is a great source! Once you form your website, start marketing it each day. Try to get noticed in chat rooms, forums, and article sites. Be sure the link to your website is always included in the signature file or in your article.

Very important! Don’t give up too soon if things don’t start moving along as fast as you might want them to. A “want it now” attitude has wasted a lot of my efforts simply because I just didn’t give my business enough time to develop. When I look at the past, just as I was on the brink of really making something successful, I got impatient and gave up and tried something else! If you keep working on your business, in due time it will flourish.

With brick and mortar businesses, supposedly you are doing well if you break even after the first year! I think that old analogy is outdated for online businesses though. If you allow time each day to work on marketing and stay focused on your goals, you will be successful with “working at home,” and maybe sooner than you think. You won’t “get rich quick” immediately, but you will be able to earn a substantial income over time depending on how much effort you put into it. Be patient and work hard…you will get results!

About The Author

Verona Raymond
“Living Life with God’s Purpose in Mind”

Verona maintains Christian websites, and work at home websites filled with expert articles and tips for home business opportunities and more. She currently enjoys writing her own articles available for publication.

This article may be reprinted freely as long as all links remain active.

http://workathome.christianrhapsody.com

http://christianarticles.christianrhapsody.com

http://christianrhapsodyblog.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Work At Home Using The Internet

If you want to work at home, start a home based business on the internet. Basing a business on the internet broadens your client . It also has the advantage of low or no overhead.

Home based businesses on the internet abound. To find one that suits you, work within a field you enjoy. The internet increases your client base, but because of the competition you will have to work hard to make your product or site stand out.

Home based business on the internet can be started in almost any field of interest. If you want to offer services, writing web content and designing websites can provide good opportunities. Artists can offer services ranging from graphic design to pet portraits. You can offer advertising services on the internet. Think of any field you are interested in and search the web. You will probably find somebody offering services in that field. If the competition is too much, you narrow your services to a specific group. For example, instead of offering pet portraits you could offer dog portraits.

Most people think of selling products online when they think of home based business on the internet. You can sell through a website, but first learn about website promotion. If you promote your website well you can also sell other people's products through affiliate programs. If you don't want to build a site or don't know how to promote, consider selling your products an an auction site. Many people have found internet auctions work well for them.

If you are interested in working for yourself, consider a home based business on the internet. It works for others. Research well, know what you are doing, and it should work for you.

Copyright 2006 Chris Stirling

About The Author

Chris Stirling is the owner of Top-Work-From-Home-Directory.com. His website is geared for people who are interested in finding an online work at home opportunity. If you would like to learn more visit his website at: http://www.top-work-from-home-directory.com.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Supporting Your Work at Home Wife

The new trend in our society is working from home. Many women are leaving the corporate world to come home and care for their families, but they still desire to contribute financially. It can be challenging to work from home, especially for women who have children to care for as well.

Is your wife is one of the growing number of work at home moms? Here are ten key tips on supporting her:

1. Encouragement is key

Sometimes all that your wife needs in order to be successful with whatever she is working on is a little encouragement. Often times she won’t have anyone else around to give her the encouragement that she needs and you may be the only person that can give her the encouragement she needs.

2. Help with whatever she is doing

Depending on the business there may be extra work that could be done by you. For example, with my wife’s website, Christian Work at Home Moms (www.cwahm.com), she will often need someone to write a script, setup an email account, or proofread a document. Some of the tasks aren’t going to be the most glamorous but 5 minutes could save your partner hours of time and added stress.

3. Be positive

It's easy to be a positive influence on your wife and her business. Listen to her when she talks about her business. Don't put down her ideas for business growth - help her think of new ideas to help her business grow. Remember that just because she is working from home, that does not make her business any less important or legitimate. If you are a positive influence on your wife and take an interest in her business, there's no telling how big the business might grow! As wives, we need our husband's support and encouragement!

4. Watch the kids

Your wife is at home with the kids all day every day. Sometimes she is going to need a chance to work with no distractions. If the kids are constantly asking questions and bugging your wife she can’t get anything done. Don’t wait to be asked. Be proactive and offer to watch the kids.

5. Listen

Your wife might not have a large support system or other co-workers to bounce ideas off of. She is going to need someone to talk to and more importantly listen to the ideas she has. I think this goes hand in hand with encouragement. You will need to listen and encourage, sometimes that is all she needs.

6. Let her run the show

This is her job her business she gets to call the shots. I know that the way my wife and I handle the business decisions is that she runs all of her ideas by me and we mutually make the decisions. A lot of the decisions can be costly and take a lot of time. Those decisions should be made together but ultimately it isn’t your decision.

7. Be a part of the business

Many wives want their husbands to take part in their home business even if it's just helping to stuff envelopes. Taking the time to do even small things like this will encourage your wife and show her that you support her. If there isn't a way to be directly involved with your wife's business, pick one day a week and do the dishes or another chore that will free up some time for your wife to work at her business.

8. Don't let her give up.

Most work at home moms will tell you that it takes 3-4 years to build a successful business. It doesn't happen overnight. When your wife feels discouraged, listen to her and ask if she would like your input on the situation. She will need your encouragement to stick with it. We wives do not like to fail our husbands and we sometimes feel like failures when our businesses are not doing well. Remind your wife of the time that it takes to grow a business and that EVERY business has times during the year when sales are slow.

9. Surprise her

This may not sound like a business tip, but a great way to help your wife stay motivated is to bring her little “surprises” – flowers, her favorite candy, a business supply that she can’t bring her self to spend the money on. All of these are great ways to remind her of your support.

10. Pray

Most importantly, this business is going to need prayer. Never underestimate the power of prayer to help you get going and keep the whole project rolling. If you aren’t talking to God on a regular basis it will be very hard to stay on track.

By following these ten simple tips, you can help strengthen your wife’s home-based business. She will appreciate your efforts and your marriage will benefit as well. Supporting your work at home wife is one of the best ways to show you care.

About The Author

Allen Hart is the founder of CWAHD.com, Christian Work at Home Dads. CWAHD.com was designed to assist dads in their quest for a work at home job or business. For more information and additional articles, visit www.cwahd.com or contact Allen at info@cwahd.com. This article free for reprint as long as bio stays intact.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The Difference Between A Work At Home Job And A Home Business

Sometimes people get confused by the terms work at home job and business opportunity. They are two different ways to work at home. Some people think they are interchangeable, but they really each have their own characteristics.

A work at home job is most like an job outside the home. The person works for a company. They are assigned work and often have a schedule to follow that is set by the company. While most work at home jobs do not hire on people as employees, they are still basically working in the role of an employee. Most work at home positions are as an independent contractor, which basically means the company does not withhold taxes and do not have to guarantee work for the person. The person is also paid by the company like in an outside job.

A home business is like any other business. The person is generally responsible for every aspect of the business from customers to products to administration. A home business owner can work with a company and sell their goods, so they do not have to worry about products and in some cases orders. However, the main point to a home business is the person is not given work to do. They are responsible for managing their business. Sometimes a company may send them a commission check, but often the business owner handles their own pay.

The two terms, work at home job and home business, are often a cause for someone to get wrapped up in a work at home opportunity they do not understand. Many people mistake a home business for a work at home job and are disappointed they have to handle so much work. Others get a work at home job and are not happy at having someone give them work to do. That is why it is important for anyone wanting to work at home to understand the difference between the two.

About The Author

Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides home business tips on http://www.home-business-land.com.

Monday, October 16, 2006

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"- Surprising Lessons for Work at Home Moms

I've unearthed some surprising bits of wisdom for new wahms by listening to Johnny Cash lately. I thought I would share some of these tidbits from the Rockabilly legend.

1) Understand Your Man ...er, target market!

That's right. Do you understand your target market? Are you aware of her needs, desires and driving ambitions? Does your website speak to your target audience? If not, perhaps you should make some changes or your website visitor or customer will be "as gone as a wild goose in winter" too!

2) A Boy Named Sue

Life ain't easy for a boy named Sue...and life ain't easy for a wahm either. In your business you will have those confidence killers, dream stealers, fun suckers...whatever you want to call them. You will have people who try to tell you that you can't achieve your goals, that what you try won't work. Don't let them get you down!

Sue's father told him, "This world is rough, and if you're gonna make it, you've gotta be tough."

How can you get tough in your business?

3) Man In Black- or Branding 101

J.R. Cash didn't don the all black suit because he didn't have anything else to wear. It was his trademark. He wore all black for a reason.

What about you? Are you working on your brand? In a world full of Elvis Presleys and Jerry Lee Lewises, how will you stand apart? And remember, your target market doesn't have to be just like you- Johnny Cash wrote Folsom Prison Blues and connected with inmates when he had never yet step foot in jail!

4) The Legend of John Henry's Hammer

This song has two bits of wisdom:

a) Learn your business and you will succeed

John Henry's Daddy told him to: "Learn to a turn a jack, learn to lay a track, learn to pick and shovel too." Are you learning all you can about Internet Marketing so that you can succeed in your business? Do you reinvest in ebooks, coaching and mentoring, and software like John Henry's hammer?

b) Technology has its place but it can't take the place of humans.

When the steam engine threatened to take the place of men, Johnny proved that in the end, humans are more valuable. Learn to use technology (like autoresponders) but remember that your website visitor is a human and inject some of yourself into your marketing efforts.

5) One Piece at a Time

This ballad is about a man who decides to build a Cadillac. He steals one piece at a time from the assembly line "and it didn't cost him a dime". But in the end, it didn't work out exactly like he planned!

Does your website look like a pieced together jalopy? Are you unwilling to spend any money on your own domain and hosting, content with a free site cluttered up with ads?

6) In The Jailhouse Now

Please don't throw away your hard work by doing one of the following things:

Spamming

Copying other people's articles or content

Stealing graphics

Clicking on your Adsense ads

Not keeping records and neglecting to pay taxes

It just isn't worth it, and you may find yourself in the jailhouse. Much better to Walk the Line so you can sleep at night.

7) Ring of Fire

Maybe you've made a bad choice... entered into a shotgun romance with a business that's not right for you. Don't be afraid to realize this, chuck everything and start over! Don't beat your head against the wall if, after working hard on a project, you decide it's just not profitable. Better to find your match and pour your energies into that.

In this song, June Carter Cash chronicles her growing attraction to John. Though they were both involved with other people, they were obviously soul mates and ended up making music and growing old together for the next 40 years.

May you make beautiful music with your business!

About The Author

Carrie Lauth is a work at home Mom of 4 who offers the free "No Fluff" marketing mag for moms in business. Claim yours free at http://www.business-moms-expo.com and get the free report "How To Make Money With Your Newsletter".

Friday, October 13, 2006

Work At Home Moms And Stress

How stressed are you really? Take this quiz to find out. Mark as many of the items below that you identify with.

_ Calgon! Take me away!

What would you give for a vacation right now? If you named a body part, then you’re feeling too stressed.

_ I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.

Is this how you feel in the morning when the alarm goes off?

_ Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz…oh what a relief it is.

Are you experiencing stomach aches, headaches, or other physical signs of stress?

_ Take my kids, please!

Are you enjoying your children, or are you ready to sell them on eBay?

_ To the Moon, Alice!

Is your love life giving you warm fuzzies or cold pricklies?

_ I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

Are you overeating to try to feel better about yourself?

How’d you score?

1-2 – Not too bad. You’re feeling kind of overwhelmed, but it looks like you’re handling things fairly well. Take some extra time for yourself during the holidays to stay in balance.

3-4 – You’re walking a fine line right now. Add another stressor to your life and you risk heading toward big time stress. It’s time to tackle it now.

5 – 6 – Uhhh…. You’d better keep reading.

Stress Reeks Havoc

Even low levels of stress can exacerbate or possibly cause these physical illnesses: Heart Disease, Stroke, Susceptibility to Infections, Gastrointestinal Problems, Diabetes, Muscular and Joint Pain, Headaches and Migraines

As well as these psychological conditions: Memory and Concentration Difficulties, Sleep Disturbances and Depression

And, yes, some days I feel like I’m suffering from all of those! That’s when my body is trying to tell me, “Nicole – you’re way out of balance!”

So, if you’re just not feeling as well as you should, then really reassess your stress levels and visualize what that stress is doing to your health.

Spending Time on Yourself is NOT Selfish. Working Yourself Sick Is.

I know, I know. You’ve heard it 100 times before and you’ll hear it another 100 times. You know why? Because it’s true. You need to have balance in your life. And, believe me, I battle this on this a daily basis, so I know it’s hard to find balance when you are driven to succeed at being a WAHM. But, even when your ‘to do’ list seems insurmountable, you still need to take care of your health (both physical and emotional).

But, you know what? You can do it. Start by choosing a hobby. Scrapbooking, guitar playing, belly dancing, reading, pampering, wood working, gardening, poker. Just find something outside your work that makes you happy.

Yadda yadda. I can hear you brushing me off. Hang on a second and keep reading….

Think of the example you are setting for your children. If you have little interests outside of being a WAHM and are feeling stressed and unhappy, your children will follow in your footsteps.

Strive to treat yourself as you’d hope your children would treat themselves. You’re teaching them every day how to grow up to be happy adults, but the words will mean nothing if the example isn’t there. Try to have a night out with your sweetie or with some girlfriends every few weeks. They deserve a happy Mommy.

Meds: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Doctor-prescribed medication and self-medication are two methods of stress management.

Neither of these options is good or bad. Just like everything in life – take it in moderation. If you enjoy an glass of wine after a long stressful day, then enjoy it guilt free. (cheers!)

If your doctor prescribes a medication that you need to get through a difficult time, then by all means you do what is best for you.

Or, if you enjoy herbal remedies, teas and aromatherapy for relaxation, then go for it!

However, one of the common effects of stress is over-medicating or self-medicating. So, if you find yourself relying heavily on alcohol or medication (either doctor prescribed or self-prescribed) or you begin taking illegal drugs, then talk to your doctor about it as soon as possible. You deserve to enjoy your life – not miss out on it.

Sometimes we have to be Sneaky

Sometimes the best thing for your business is to get away from it for a bit. Seriously, I have my best inspiration when I’m NOT at my computer – which is a little scary since my businesses are online.

Treat yourself to 15 minutes to yourself – even if you have to tell your husband you’re having ‘bathroom issues’ in order to get undisturbed time. (shhhh… I’ve done this.) I wonder how surprised my husband would be to find me sitting on the floor of the bathroom wrapped in a blanket, reading a book? I know, it’s too much information, but I’m trying to show just how important it is to have that time to yourself. I’m not promoting deception in marriage, but if you have to stretch your time in the bathroom, don’t feel guilty about enjoying the freedom.

So, make an effort today to start stealing moments of happiness. Life is not a dress rehearsal, enjoy every second that you can!

About The Author

Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom behind http://www.ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative resource for Work at Home Moms. She invites you to sign up for her free ShowMomtheMoney 101 Tutorial at http://www.showmomthemoney.com/free-tutorial.htm * This article was originally published in the WC http://www.showmomthemoney.com/wc.htm *

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Types Of Work At Home Jobs

There are many options for someone wanting to work at home. The many types of work at home jobs means there is something for everyone. A person must first define what type of work at home job they want to find. This will make finding a work at home job easier.

Sales jobs are one of the biggest work at home options. There are direct sales jobs where a person maintains an inventory and sells the items. A good example of this type of sales job is cosmetic sales Then there are sales jobs where the person sells products that are then shipped from the main company. Most often these types of jobs are referred to as affiliate programs. There are also opportunities to sell through online auctions. A different type of sales job is on the phone. The typical telemarketing job is becoming a popular work at home option. Sales are not for everyone, but those who work in sales find there is amazing money making potential.

Another work at home job type is customer service. Many of these jobs are on the telephone. The typical work at home customer service phone job involves answering incoming calls from people wanting to order from catalogs or off a television ad. Customer service can also cover such niche jobs as psychic reader positions or adult phone line work.

Writing is becoming a great market for work at home jobs. The market for website content is booming and many people are finding this type of work at home job suits them well. There are also resume writings positions and advertising writing. Writing work at home jobs cover a large range of industries and open up many possibilities.

Typing jobs are becoming popular as well. For many of these positions experience is required because they are in set market areas like medical or law. Typing jobs are most often called transcription. There are not many opportunities in a work at home typing position for someone without training.

These are four great examples of types of work at home jobs. Almost any job can be done from home with the technology available today. There are so many choices that a person having a basic idea of what they want to do is going to have an easier time finding a work at home job.

About The Author

Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides home business tips on http://www.ezhomebusinessideas.com.

Saturday, October 7, 2006

Choose the Work at Home Business for You

When your office feels like a prison and the boss is really getting you down, working from home seems to be the ideal. You can work from home by starting a business from scratch or joining a legitimate work at home business opportunity, affiliate program or franchise. Working at home means you can do something you enjoy, "sack" difficult clients, put difficult bosses behind you, and avoid a lot of the daily stress faced by employees. The home based business industry is expanding rapidly and research suggests that revenue from home-based businesses will increase by up to 17% a year for the next five years. Home based business can mean a consultancy, franchise, affiliate program, network marketing, party plan, internet sales, and many more.

It's a big step from being employed to working for yourself, so plan as far ahead as possible. You will need to think about the effects on all areas of your life to prepare yourself, before you actually leave your job. With corporate cutbacks, redundancy can be the trigger for starting a home based business, and in this case you may have no scope for planning ahead. If you are made redundant try to negotiate as many extra benefits as you can from your employer: for example pay in lieu of notice, use of company equipment such as mobile phone or computer. Also see if there is any training your employer could pay for, to help you in your business, such as internet skills.

If you have no other income, you will need some savings to carry you through your business start-up period: work out basic living expenses for six months and try to put at least that sum aside. Don't forget that you will need to provide for benefits you may have received from employment, such as health insurance, pension contributions or a use of a company vehicle. Of course, if you have a spouse or partner who is employed and is willing to provide these necessities during your start up phase, you are buying yourself extra startup time.

Of course you will want a comfortable and quiet work area, ideally away from the rest of your household. This is important not only to reduce noise, but also to create the psychology of being "at work" and not "at home" when you need to concentrate. While some lucky people do manage to start their home business from the kitchen table, you'll find the separation will help you run your business much more efficiently. Don't forget to allow space for storage and meeting visitors, if your business involves this.

When you are working from home to help your business succeed, sometimes long and unusual hours, it is easy to ignore both your physical and mental health. The usual advice applies - proper diet and exercise, and even if you don't have a family at home, don't work all the time. Entrepreneurs often report that the one aspect they miss in home working is the contact with colleagues, so be sure to maintain a social life, possibly through a business networking or support group. Try to surround yourself with positive, supportive people, and be sure to explain your business idea fully to your family. They will be a critical part of your support system. Those who love you the most aren't usually trying to stand in your way - it's just that starting a home business may be something unknown to them, and like everyone, they tend to be fearful of something they don't understand.

Benefits of a home based business

Working from home is a different way of life from 9-5 employment and offers benefits - monetary or lifestyle – that can far outweigh those found as an employee. Whether you work at home already, are thinking about it, or your life circumstances now make working from home necessary or possible, be sure to think these benefits through as you choose your employment options.

Financial benefits are not always the prime motivator. Many people are willing to take a reduction in income to enjoy the lifestyle benefits of working from home. There is a huge sense of freedom in being able to plan your own timetable. You can make appointments, do your shopping, and run other errands without trying to fit everything into a lunch hour or on the way home from work when everyone else is doing the same thing. You can take advantage of a glorious day to take your dog for a long walk, or stop to watch sport for an hour in the afternoon. You may need to start earlier or finish later to compensate - but the point is that you have this freedom when working for yourself.

In addition to time freedom, another big benefit of working at home is a reduction in stress. Of course, any business will bring its own pressures, but there are certain stressful situations that can be avoided by working at home. and the less stressed you are, the more energy and enthusiasm you have, energy that can be spent on your family or business! The daily commute can literally be a few feet to an office or other work area. You can avoid the stress, time and wear and tear involved in the traditional daily commute, and literally add two hours to your working day.

Choosing the right business for you

Many escapees from the corporate world don’t have a clear, transferable set of skills that they can use in their own business. For example, an engineer can see a number of uses for the skills used in their former job. For the rest of us a little more imagination may be needed.

The key to success is to keep an open mind and do not dismiss an opportunity because it is different form things you have done before. Look around at the opportunities available for online and offline businesses, surf the net, visit sites that offer advice. Also remember that you could be involved in more than one business.

There is a wide range of business opportunities to consider, including Affiliate programs, Internet based businesses, retail sales, network marketing, party planning. Many are highly reputable companies with successful track records. It's important to find out as much as possible about the company and to contact those already involved so you understand any risks you may be taking, how long before you can reasonably expect to make serious money, and what amount of work is required to make that money.

Be practical in your expectations of a homebased business: enormous income in a very short time is unrealistic, and a legitimate home business will not promise this. However, many offer a steady income stream that can increase gradually. It takes a certain amount of time to build any successful business. By starting and maintaining a legitimate home-based business, you can achieve your dream of being your own boss.

About The Author

Adrienne Davis runs www.homebusinessadvisers.com and has extensive experience in marketing, business start up, training and employment law. She publishes a regular FREE newsletter, and you can sign up at http://www.homebusinessadvisers.com. Adrienne offers unbiased advice from on working at home, business ideas and affiliate programs. See which ideas work and how to get free advertising. Learn about buying a franchise, hiring and firing staff, network marketing, and business investment. Don’t miss the website and newsletter, or contact me with any questions at adrienneadrienne@btinternet.com.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Stay At Home Mom's Need To Work, Too

It is just about every mother's dream to be able to stay home and care for their children. Unfortunately, this dream is becoming harder and harder to obtain. Within every minute of every day the price of our necessities is rising. It's not just the fuel that we use in our cars and to heat our homes, but every other utility, household product, and now more than ever, the food that we eat.

Because of this, many stay-at-home-mom's are now scrambling and searching for a "perfect" home-based business. They don't want to lose their dream. They finally managed to cut-back to the bare-minimum, they have learned how to frugally cook and thrift shop like the pros, there is no way they can trim the budget any further; and yet, after all their hard work they are finding themselves in a panic over their finances once again.

The variety of home-based businesses is much larger than it used to be, and according to my research a new online business is created every 10 seconds. You can imagine how confusing this can be for someone with very little business experience. Because so many mothers are now looking for online businesses I have pin-pointed some questions you may want to ask yourself before deciding on a particular business.

1. How much do I have to invest?

2. On top of the initial investment, do I have to purchase a certain amount of product each month?

3. Do I have to sell anything? If so, how do I go about selling my products? Will anyone be available to help me when I have questions?

4. How will I be paid? How often will I be paid? Who will pay me?

5. Am I paid on commission? Is the company considered to be an MLM? What is an MLM? If it is an MLM, how many levels will I be paid for?

6. How do I advertise? Do I have to pay for advertising? How much will I be able to budget for advertising? Is it possible to "successfully" use free advertising?

7. Do I have to have long-distance available on my phone? Can I afford to pay for extra fees on my bill? Do I need call-waiting, DSL or three-way calling? Will I be able to keep my children quiet while I'm on the phone?

8. How long will it take before I start to see a profit?

9. Do I need a website? Does the company supply a website? If not, who will help me create a website?

It's important to understand that ANY business online can be successful as long as you learn it, practice it, and master it. Whether it's a business that requires 12 hours of your time a day or just 2-3 hours, you will have to commit to learning it inside and out. An online business is still a business and it should be taken seriously.

If you're thinking about starting your own online business I suggest you do your homework. Explore as many areas as you can and most importantly ask questions. Decide what's most important to you, is it the amount of hours you'll need to work each day or how much you will have to invest just to get started? It may be confusing, but it's actually a good thing there are so many business opportunities available to us, it means there really is a "perfect" business out there for each of us!

About The Author

Gena Biem is a stay-at-home-mom who specializes in everything FREE. For more information and for links to some great free ebooks follow this link http://allaboutfree.topcities.com.

Sunday, October 1, 2006

The Number One Work At Home Scam Explained

Working at home is very popular. As with anything that is popular there are people out there who like to try to scam those looking for work at home jobs. Scams can sometimes be hard to recognize, but if a person knows what to look for they can raise their chances of not being caught in a work at home scam. A popular way to get taken by a scam work at home company is when they ask a person to pay them money.

The first key that a work at home opportunity may be a scam is that the company asks for money up front. This is also something that can be confusing because some legitimate companies ask for money, too. The main rule abut paying money is that if the job were not work at home would it be reasonable to pay money up front to work with this company. If it is a job where the person is required to keep an inventory of products than it is reasonable to pay something upfront for the inventory. However, if the payment is for administrative fees that is a red flag. A work at home job is like any other job. Nobody would pay a company to process their employment papers, so it is unreasonable for a work at home company to request payment for this purpose.

What usually happens when a company is running a scam by asking for money up front is that the hopeful work at home employee loses their money and gets no real job in return. Many scam companies try to use the trick that they will refund the money after a person has worked for them for so long. Once a person pays the money and begins working for the company they learn there really is no refund. In these cases the work at home employee usually also finds out the job duties are completely different from what they were originally told. The whole concept is the scam company makes their main income off potential work at home employees, not through a real business.

Almost any good reference on working at home will mention not to ever pay money for a work at home job. It may seem like common sense, but can be confusing for someone who is new to the work at home industry. Many of these scams seem real and also come across as a way to make big money fast. This type of money scam is the biggest of all work at home scams.

About The Author

Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides home business tips on Home Business Roundup http://www.home-business-roundup.com.