Finding The Best Home Based Business – Part 1
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Image by fensterbme via Flickr
So you want to find the best home based business to start? Well, before we look at some great home based business possibilities, we need to make sure we’re on the same page here.
Now I’m going to assume that you’re not trying to start an accounting or law practice from home (or something similar, requiring a professional degree/certification). Because if you are you probably already know what to do, as there are plenty of stuff out there teaching you how to get clients, work referrals, etc. You are trading your professional time for money. There are pros and cons to this type of business, but that is another topic for another time.
Chances are, if you are here on this site, you were probably searching for ideas on the best home based businesses you can start and run from home, meaning you are open to new ideas and possibilities. You are probably a regular guy or gal looking for some ideas of businesses you can start from home. Ideally, one which you do not need a large capital to start with, nor require a professional degree.
Perhaps you still have your job but just need something to supplement your current income. Perhaps you are unemployed and finally got the motivation to start a business. Whatever it is, you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to show you some good possibilities that can become reality.
Here are a few things I look for when looking to start a viable home-based business (not an exhaustive list, but some very important points). Whenever I come across an interesting business idea, I’d pit it against these guidelines and make sure it qualifies, having at least three of the qualities below, if not all four. Helps me to fight a winning battle, if you will.
Here are the questions to ask when considering a potential business idea:
1) How many widgets do you need to sell or how many accounts do you need to acquire before you reach your income goal? Can you see yourself get to that number? Can you project how long that might take with reasonable effort? Be optimistic, but be honest and a bit conservative.
2) Does the product/service you are aiming to sell have residual characteristics? In other words, will it keep selling itself even if you are not constantly acquiring new customers? Imagine not having to sell to new customers every month in order to survive, but rather, have customers keep coming back to you due to the nature of the business and or what you are selling.
3) Does it require more than a few hundred dollars to start? Ideally, none of us want to risk any money on a business we have no control over. So unless you know you have a sure thing, a home business should not require much capital to get started. You can always start with no more than a few hundred dollars and use the money you’ll make in to further fuel the business. In the beginning, it’s more about your time and effort rather than some lump sum cash you don’t know what to do with. Visualize yourself doing certain activities that will directly result in revenue.
4) Is it scalable? This basically means once you get it going and start making some money, can you keep growing it? Can you eventually hire/outsource someone to do most of the work for you and walk away while the money keeps coming it? Let’s face it, none of us want to be stuck in a “business” where we are a slave of, and cannot get away from, because we’ve created a situation where no one can do what we do. Perhaps you don’t know all the details involved in the business yet, but do think in this direction and when the time comes, you’ll have created a business that you can scale up and up, even without you having to be there all the time.
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In the next section I will explore some legitimate home business ideas that meet the above criteria and even show you some examples of real businesses that either I started in the past or have observed. If you are really serious about starting a viable home business, I hope this has warmed you up a bit. Part 2 coming up in the next week or so, so stick around.
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Great tips for people that want to start a home based business but feel unsure and insecure on where to look at first of all. With so many scams on the internet and the “get rich quick” claims of many supposedly gurus, starters should make a thorough research and go for only legitimate home based business opportunities that will adhere to their budget, mindset, lifestyle and ethics.
I can’t wait for the next parts of your initial post.
Good day to you
Going for a swim at a near beach, it’s relaxation time, as you said, if people become slaves in their own business, well; this is an unwanted side effect for someone that wants to start a business from home with the desire to have more free time for themselves and their family/personal interests.
Though it is crucial that people who decide to start a business from home, understand that succeeding online, is not a simple walk in the park.
It takes some form of “sacrifice’ that will be either a great deal from someone’s personal free time, or funds to outsourcing some of the tasks needed for faster professional growth. Or both whenever this is possible.
Also having a right mentor and coach is VERY important Andy. If starters do not have the right guidance and they are not instructed by a reliable and knowledgeable person that can really teach them things, it is unlikely that they will manage success by themselves. It can happen but it is unlikely.
Most people need 1,2,3,4,5 etc blueprints and clear plans to follow, plans that have been tested and have been successful. The reason for that is “lack of constant motivation” that most people have for themselves alone.
I am sure here on this site, people and near future home based business owners will find both
Cheers!
Joanna
In the end i guess the best home business is the one that fits the person. Sure there are certain businesses that return high profit, but they may also require a lot more work, and some people start under the impression that if they work from home they\’ll only need to work for 2 hours a day. These people might just be satisfied with smaller businesses that bring low and constant profits and are not, let’s say, that scalable.
@Joanna: Thanks for dropping by! Yes, blueprints are definitely good, especially if one’s just starting out. Although it has been said that all the information is already out there if you look hard enough, it will still take some trial and error, and sorting through useful & useless information, etc., before one discovers a workable blueprint of their own. Of course, if the blueprint comes from someone they can trust, who has a good track record of success, then that would be ideal, and a great time saver.
@Martin: Good point, I suppose not everyone wants an ultimate home business they can retire with after some dedicated hard work. And like you said, perhaps if they just want to supplement their income for the time being, scalability isn’t a must…Trading some hours at home for extra pay really isn’t bad if that’s what pays the bills. However, I do hope that my readers always keep an open mind about financial freedom and go after it with all their heart. =)
Another important consideration when planning to start a home business is to ask yourself why you want a home business and how much work are you willing to put into it. It is easy to say “I want a full-time income working from home so I can take care of the kids” but reality is, it doesn’t work quite as easily as that.
A home-based business requires a different kind of discipline. You’re basically on your own which can be both good and bad. If you have good working habits then you’re off to a good start. But if you are a procrastinator or just plain lazy then you’re in for a rude awakening.
Working from home entails a lot of work. If you want to earn big while working from home, then you have to invest the necessary hours to make that dream a reality. Your success is commensurate to the amount of work you put in.
For any home based business, first you need to evaluate, judge your own personality & skills. Like, what are your plus points, negative points, are you good in writing, any additional skills etc. if you are able to identify either one of these, just move in that direction, have patience and most important ‘Self Belief’.. sooner or later you will get success
Lot of people are thinking of opening business. I think it is a good idea because the word ‘job security’ doesn’t exist nowadays. I agree with you that a business should be scalable and we should be able to outsource work to someone else. Only then we will be able to take advantage of the business. Other wise it will be just like doing a job that we own.
James – You are absolutely right. Without understanding your strengths and weaknesses it’s difficult to work efficiently and it would be a much less effective way to work. “self belief” which leads to determination and persistence is also a must. So many people stop when they are so close to that break through and don’t even know it (inches away from the gold). Never quit the pursuit! The plans and methods may need to change over time, but the end-goal needs to be visualized and pursued passionately until it becomes reality. That’s the only way to win.
Sarah – Good point. Get rich quick without disciplined work is not the right mentality, but unfortunately many people have it. A realistic assessment of one’s situation and willingness to work consistently is a must in order to not get disillusioned down the line and give up.
Hi Andy,
The four points you make are all valid. Point number 2 about residual capabilities is something which I feel one should aim to work towards during the initial stages of your business to ensure that the nest egg continues to grow over a longer period of time with minimal or no continual hard work to ensure that it does.
Point 3 is also something to evaluate carefully. Very few are prepared to invest large sums into an online business for fear of scams or failure but strangely huge sums are required when one opens a brick and mortar business. My feeling is to budget a certain amount which you wish to set aside for investment in your online endeavour and then to find creative and cost effective ways to promote your business effectively until your income starts to grow.
Like with anything worthwhile in life, one has to plan effectively, take continuous positive action and maintain the passion for what you do to ensure that your business is truly successful.
Even when things are not going exactly as planned it is crucial to remember that persistence indeed does pay off at some point, provided the hard work and dedication is always there. That is what truly motivates me to keep going.
Thank-you for the insight.
Kind Regards
Carmen@HappyHomeBusiness
It isn’t an easy task to find the best and the most suitable home based business. When it comes to a business there are plenty of challenges that needs to faced. By reading this article I got some very useful hints and tips when making the correct choice. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for sharing your advice. Home-based businesses sound appealing, but they can be really hard. I work from home and love it, but having my own business sounds like it would be a lot different. Maybe someday!
@Carmen – Yes, I must stress that persistence and consistency is the key. In everything worthwhile!
I think it’s also very important to check the market. How many competitors are there? Are they huge companies? How long are they already in the business? and so on…
It makes no sense to open the next online shop for electronic devices. This market is so crowded that it’s really hard for newcomers
I think even with the economic problems the world is facing there has still never really been a better time to start up a business. It is possible to setup a business with virtually no money and little risk thanks to open source software, internet marketing and outsourcers. I would say the best way to just to start doing something and see what happens even if you don’t make any money at first your time will not be wasted as your bound to learn heaps on the way!
For me, the idea of considering scalability really resonated. I used to do a lot of eBay selling (and really enjoyed it), but as things picked up, I found myself dreading the packing and shipping that were consuming way too much time. No matter what you decide to go into, I think it needs to be something that you have enough passion for, that poor quality (in service or actual products) will never even be a consideration. I look forward to your next post.
This is a good post. Anybody who is thinking about starting a home based business should reread this post. It’s amazing how many people think that all you have to do is put up a website, make it look good, and people will find you and buy from you, the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Getting on the internet is easy, but making money is very hard and requires a lot of time and hard work. The most overlooked step is to sit down and come up with a plan, answering the questions you laid out.
It is possible to put a company with almost no money and little risk, thanks to open source software, Internet marketing and outsourcers. Like, what are your strengths, the bad, you are in writing, additional skills, etc. If you are able to identify one of them, just go in that direction, have patience and greater “self belief” before .. or later you will succeed
Your post is very informative and interesting. I had learned a lot since i’m new on online business. I have my job but just need something to supplement my current income. Thanks!
I found most people dreaming about working from home thinking it will benefit their life more then they do, there must be some interesting psychological review about it but I can say from past experience of myself and friends that not all is pink, if you get my meaning.
You must get ready for times you cannot separate your work and your private life. it get mixed together and you found yourself working in the strangest hours and neglect important things. The key is to have an office at your home with a lock on its door, preventing you from getting inside not in working hours which you must previously decide on.
and this is one hell of a tip for you my friends.
@sarah: thank you I agree with that 100%. a little separation is very beneficial. unless your business is already in maintenance mode and in semi-auto pilot, then it doesn’t really matter. =)
Yes, the business needs to be scalable so that you can delegate part of your responsibilities and have time to actually grow it. Otherwise, it can get boring, and when you don’t see your income growing with the continuous effort that you put in, it can get demotivating.
I hear you on the scalable thing. That would be the ideal business. I don’t intend to sell to new people all the time. Backend revenue is the only way to have a sustainable business IMHO.
I think part of the challenge is knowing which home based businesses are scams. You see SO many listings on Kijiji, Craig’s List, etc.. and most of them sound way too good to be true.
Honestly, question ONE ought to be “Is this a scam!?”
Do your research and avoid getting burned.
An interesting article.
I’ve been running my own home based accountancy based business for 3 years now and can certainly recommend working for yourself though it can be a bit stressful !!
Many actually think that starting a business always need a start-up capital. However, I know some few people who were so creative for them to come up with an interesting technique for them to be able to start their own business. So I don’t really agree that it needs dollars to make one’s dream home based business possible.
Thanks for another great article Andy. I think finding the best home business depends on what you want from it. I think if you asked 100 people if they would be happy earning less money but having more time at home with the kids or just overall free time then they would bite your hand off for it. I agree with Jo on people becoming slaves to their own, and often other peoples businesses. I always think of a quote from the film Con Air where a convict describes the word insanity:
“What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn’t you consider that to be insane? ”
In regards to the start up capital point, I think if you can find a niche or become a thought leader then you don’t necessarily need that much capital. On the other hand, if you want to go into a business that is already quite saturated you need to penetrate by having available finances.
This is a great article. I’ve always wanted to start my own home based business as I would love to be able to stay home with my daughter and watch her grow up. I don’t have a lot of startup capital and I don’t have a degree, but I’m hoping with some hard work I can make a success of a home based business.
I think you make a great point about startup costs. Its very easy to get hung up on the idea of an income goal, or needing few “widgets” to reach it, but if it takes way too much to even produce said widgets it could still be a losing proposition.
If you are going to start a home based business. You need to find one that you will enjoy. if you are not happy with you are doing you will end up hating it. But you did bring up some great points on how scalable it is and how much money will it require to start it up. I think a lot of people don’t think about things like this.
This is really appreciable the way how you presented to find home based jobs. I found useful information from your post. Thanks for sharing your nice post.
These are some great tips on what to do before starting your own home based business. I think pursuing strategies that would generate residual income, be scalable, and have low risk are definitely the ways to go!
Loved your guidelines and the questions you provided. There’s no doubt planning is important when it comes to Home Businesses, else you just end up being aimless. The questions you’ve shown here seem do one main crucial thing IMHO: Increase the clarity.
Home Based business will help you to earn extra income for your expenses. Many home based business are available that recession proof too such as online marketing.
I think the scalability of a business is one of the most important aspects. If a person truly wants to make money the business must have the option to expand outside of its current city and then nationally and potentially worldwide. These are the kinds of businesses that will truly make money. A great example would be any type of online business.
I really like simple questions that prove the viability of a home based business which is great to use when consulting for other small businesses and start ups that I offer database solutions to. Looking forward to part 2.
Andy, I think that the most important thing that you mentioned is that “residual characteristics” idea. That is one idea that I definitely go out of my way to find. Thanks for sharing your biz perspectives.
The scalability factor is something very important to consider. You must think that even if you start up small, you are building up to something very big. It’s not really worth one’s time to invest time in a business that is limited in value, and would not be expandable in terms of income and scope. I started an online business with the big ideals in mind, and it’s what makes you keep working hard.
Internet business are the best home based businesss. They are subject to the same business principles of a birck and mortor business, but if you do it right there is much less of a risk of loss. One does have to understand how the internet works in order to play the game. But there is more than enough information available, literally at the tips of your finger. So…..let your fingers to the walking.
Well, I agree with you. Many of todays great companies like Apple or Microsoft (as the best examples) were started as a home little companies, placed in garage etc. Thats the best way I think, you even shouldn’t allow the situation where you have to put much money in the start, w/o any income. The biggest possible income with the lowest possible costs for the begining. Ofcourse scalability is very important then, you want your company to grow and improve your products.
These are all important questions. Many of us rush into a niche because we just “know it will work”, without having done all the hard necessary research.
While it’s important to do stuff we enjoy, it’s gotta pay the bills too.
Figure out these details upfront and save yourself potentially months or years of spinning your wheels.
Residual opportunities and scalability are so very important to think about. Unless of course, you just want to “buy yourself a job”.
i agree, we need to learn and research for our capacity before jumping to the real world
Research is the most important thing to do. Make an extensive researching of the company extensively while choosing a business opportunity, how long they are in business, etc.
Working at home is excellent, but sometimes finding the inspiration and motivation can be more difficult.
Well according to me the best home business is Content Writing and SEO and Becoming an Virtual Assistant!
I mostly agree. I would consider the startup costs to be directly related to the commission size. If there’s a large startup cost involved, then your commissions are going to be higher. So it’s give and take.
All that you need to do is make sure that you take the time to check out the opportunities that you have available to you to figure out which one is best suited for you.
Hmm, the home based business that many can start off is online marketing. In many cases, it does not require few hundred dollars, unlike some online MLM stuff I’ve seen around. However, many people tend to use money to buy ebooks or books that are being sold on the subject with the hope they can increase their earnings but most of the times, it’s all in our determination and effort.
Work at home must be something you love to do, if you choose it just because it’s a good business it won’t be easy.
Home based businesses are good, because it is easy to start, higher investment is not require, anyone can easily start their home business. But it totally depends on that what type of business you should want to start at home? The Most favorable thing is we can start home based businesses by investing few hundred of dollars.