So, you've made the momentous decision to change your life,
establish a home based business, and make lots of money – just
like all those online ads you read. You know, the ads that have
pictures of people smiling and doing all sorts of relaxing and
fun recreational types of activities, with bags of money around
their feet. Yeah, that'll happen!
It CAN happen, and it does, but not overnight, and it certainly
is not indicative of the `average' home based business
entrepreneur. Most online/home based business owners start
small, test the waters, make mistakes, throw out the
opportunities that did not turn out to be winners (or even
possibilities), learn from their mistakes, and forge on with the
business(es) that are providing some type of financial return.
Here is some advice for you as you begin your search (just my
opinion, but I have found it to be true for me): the more
pictures of smiling people on vacation, bags of money, big
boats, resorts, etc. that are on the webpage enticing you, the
more I would stay away from that particular opportunity. There
is a reason all that stuff is taking up space on the web
advertisement – they want you to make a quick, emotional
decision.
That's probably not how you make other really important
decisions in your life, so why do it with something as
significant as a home based business?
Second piece of advice, and this one is just me, I think, but I
tend to make poor decisions early in the morning when I am just
starting my day, reading emails. Everything looks good to me at
6 a.m. for some reason. So, make sure you are awake, alert, and
thinking clearly before making any decisions, whatever time of
day it is!
I would advise you to do some searches using keywords such as
`home based business', `work from home ideas', `how to start an
online business', etc. Look through some of the responses, and
don't just choose the number one or two results. Take some time
and scroll through a few pages, to get a better feel for what is
out there.
Also, check out some traffic exchanges – these are a fantastic
source of home based business opportunities, and almost all of
them are free. (You can upgrade at any time, but it's usually
not required or necessary at first).
I have found that Traffic Swarm is a great traffic exchange,
well respected, and will give you some variety in the types of
businesses offered. Go to this site, register, and look around:
When you identify a business that interests you, be sure and
check out their policy regarding payment, cancellations,
refunds, and the like. You certainly don't want to go into
something with the thought that you will cancel it, but
particularly when you are first starting out, your decision
making skills in the online home based business world have not
yet been honed. So, be sure to give yourself an `out'.
And, by all means, make sure there is a contact name, email,
phone number, or something in the copy. I got stung on my very
first online home based business because I made a poor choice,
and the company purposely did not provide any means to
communicate with them. So don't make the same mistake I made.
In the end, there are no absolute right and wrong ways to go
about this process, although I will say that it is a process,
and takes time. Be patient, be enthusiastic but realistic, and
go have some fun!
C. G. Randolph: Candi Randolph owns several businesses,
including two online netmarketing websites. Please visit them
for more information on this and other related topics at http://www.myownonlinemarket.com.
