Archive for October, 2008

What is the best home-based business to join?

Friday, October 31st, 2008
home based business
diana303luv asked:


I’d like to do start a home-based business. Which one has brought you the most success?

Ferdinand

Are You Legal? What You Need to Know About Legitimate Home-Based Businesses

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
home
After the heady feeling of finally being able to decide on which business to go to, there are few reality checks you need to make. One of the more serious ones is the legitimacy of your business. Why bother? Because if you want to stay long in the industry and continue your happy days far from jail, you truly should bother in ensuring that your home-based business is legit. But what exactly is a legitimate home-based business? We examine the important points.

What makes you illegal?

First of all, let’s define what makes something illegal. When a business is considered unlawful, it:

- operates without a license

- sells illegal, unapproved or dangerous products

- sells or promotes illegal activities

- operates a scam

In general, there are only three types of home-based businesses you can start: one that you build on your own so you can work independently, one wherein you buy into an established business model such as a franchise and another where you join a structured business such as an MLM or network marketing company. Whichever one you choose, it is important to consider whether these opportunities are legitimate or not. Here’s how:

When starting your own home-based business, consider the following:

Your products or services

When you promote and sell your products and services, consider if you will be breaking any state or federal laws. Selling health supplements, for example, a very popular home-based business product, can be illegal if these supplements are not approved by a health agency. If you will be promoting these products with false claims, that is illegal as well.

Fabricating reports and studies just to increase the appeal of the products is also unlawful. Furthermore, using other people’s names, business entities, studies or reports just to promote your product will also send the police banging on your door.

Your business entity

If you will be running a home-based business, you need to obtain the necessary licenses and registrations for it. Consider local zoning and health laws, particularly those that impact your products and services. Home-based businesses are subject to certain restrictions, especially if you will have your production and inventory in the same place.

And yes, there is the matter of taxes. Make sure you’re duly registered and that you report your income.

How you earn your income

Another important consideration for the legitimacy of a home-based business is the manner with which you earn your income. For this, honesty is the best policy. Make sure you don?t cheat your customers of their money. If you sell fakes and charge for them as the real stuff, for example, can get you into trouble. So will conning people of their money, such as when you charge more than you ought to.

When joining or working with another company (whether a franchise or MLM), consider the following:

The legitimacy of the business entity

If your parent company is illegitimate, so is its business and so is yours. Before joining or signing up for any franchise or network marketing company, always check for legalities. Go to the Better Business Bureau or check the company’s legal identity to make sure it has not and does not do anything against the law. Claiming your innocence due to ignorance will not excuse you.

Its products or services

Review the company’s products or services to check if they have passed the necessary tests or are truly what they claim to be. Do the products really exhibit the quality that the company claims they have? Were there complaints about the products in the past and what were they? How serious were these claims and were there legal actions filed? What was the result? How did the company react to the complaints?

The method of sales and product distribution

Consider how the company sells its products or services. One of the most common ways of selling that you will encounter is one where they encourage you to pay a set fee to cover for your membership and some inventory. Turns out, this inventory becomes impossible to sell, either because it doesn?t have a market or its quality is suspect. In the end, you are stuck with stuff you cannot sell for a profit and end up losing your money.

Another is that all income is derived from fees paid by recruited members, a practice known to many pyramiding victims. Pyramiding is considered illegal and should you encounter a company promoting it, best go in the opposite direction.

Legitimate is fair

A legitimate home-based business encourages fair trade and all aspects that require compliance with legal and ethical requirements are covered. When starting or joining a business, always keep this in mind.

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Ian

Is anyone interested in a Home based business where its low start up cost anymore?

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
home based business
Heather R asked:


I started one that has a start up free of $170 and I only have to do MY PART for about 10/15 min. Then the product sells its self. I just sit back, eat yummy food, visit and enjoy myself. I walk away with money that day.

I am wondering if anyone besides myself is interested in starting up something like this that sells itself? Or has home based businesses stopped being a fad? I want to grow my business, help people see how fun and easy it is without being a pressure upline person. I only want to do a couple of parties a month but want to be encouraging of someone who signs up under me wants to do 20 a month or 40 a month. Do you think that there are people out there frustrated with the one they are in or ready to jump ship and hit a fresh new idea?

Esmond

Are you looking for a home-based business but not sure where to go?

Saturday, October 25th, 2008
home based business
Cecille M asked:


I’m a mom of two who loves to stay home but still wants to earn money. After a long search of a legitimate home-based business, I’ve finally found it, thank God. If anyone out there wants to know and interested in what I have to offer, I’m looking for serious people who want serious business and earn legitimate money. If you want a get-rich quickly kinda thing, please don’t reply here. Thanks.
I’m a mom of two who loves to stay home but still wants to earn money. After a long search of a legitimate home-based business, I’ve finally found it, thank God. If anyone out there wants to know and interested in what I have to offer, I’m looking for serious people who want serious business and earn legitimate money. If you want a get-rich quickly kinda thing, please don’t reply here. Thanks.

Email me at ces_savegas@yahoo.com

Adley

Evaluating home business opportunities

Sunday, October 19th, 2008
home
When trying to start a home business, look into fields that interest you. You must enjoy what you are about to embark because you will be spending a lot of time in this field. Just because you love something doesn?t mean it will sell though. Make sure that what you pick is has a market. You want paying customers to come to your site and buy what you have to offer. So where can you go to find out some great business opportunities? Well you can go into your browser and type in different subjects and see what other people are doing with them. You can also look on marketing sites for the hottest trends in business. Remember that these sites are also businesses and will offer you products as well as information. Make sure you know all the tools that available to you before purchasing the first book or start up kit you see.

Most people want to see money and not spend it. Lets face it you will have to do some investing if you really want to succeed. But you don?t have to spend thousands. Books can be a great tool and a very inexpensive way of learning how to run your own business. Not only will these books give you a step by step way to start your business they will give you ideas of what type of businesses you can have. You can get books real cheap on Amazon. You can even use your local library but it would be better to have the books constantly at your disposal. You might even want to consider such markets like eBay. You can sell products there very easily and everyone can readily find you. There are many people making an awesome living off of selling on eBay. Here are some quick tips for being a good eBay seller.

* Sell a product you know about. You will not be able to answer people?s questions if you have very limited knowledge about what you are trying to sell. This will also get you a bad name and no more bids. The more familiar with what you are selling and its potential uses the better off you are. You are the one trying to get people to buy, know your stuff.

* Use eBay as your purchasing guide for what you plan on selling. Look up what people are charging for similar items. Don?t pay more than 65% of what the eBay sales history tells you. You want to buy in bulk and wholesale and know what you are being charged for per item to see if any money will be made off of it.

* Ship your paid orders on the same day they buy. Buyers want fast shipping that doesn?t take three weeks to get there. Companies like Fed Ex offer online shipping and will give you an immediate 10% discount. They will also increase you discount the more volume you get.

There are also tons of little tricks to selling on eBay that make life good. Listing your product Auction on a Thursday for 10 days will close out all bidders on a Sunday. Sundays are great days because people are home.

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Alton

What is the best place to advertise my home based business?

Friday, October 17th, 2008
home based business
Teasa asked:


My daughter and I have a home based business we just started, and we are looking for the best places to advertise online and offline. We have one ad on Craigslist, but they only let you run one ad, per city, per category. Help!
Here is the web address of our business.

http://happyhealthywealthy.drinkactweb.com

Axel

Laying the Right Foundation: Starting a Home Business on a Budget

Friday, October 17th, 2008
home
Why a Budget is Important

Striking out on your own can be a very tricky proposition. Starting your own business may be exciting, but it is also inherently full of risk. Unless you get yourself going from the right foot, then the chances of achieving success are very small. Conversely, however, as long as you have the right foundation, and keep working on that foundation, success is almost an automatic thing. It is vital that you run your home business on a budget, if you aspire for long-term success.

One of the most important parts of running a business is operating on a budget. Many people (mostly unsuccessful ones) prefer ?going with the flow? than with actually setting goals and budgets. For the most part, this attitude is a mistake. Unless you have an incredible memory and unnatural clear-sightedness, planning for both the present and the future is a prerequisite to success, no matter how you define that elusive concept.

Because this is an article about home businesses, then we will begin by defining success as the growth and eventual profitability of your particular business. By ?growth? we mean that the business will expand, hopefully outgrowing your home and eventually participating in the corporate arena. By ?profitability?, we mean that the business will become a cash-generating machine, so much so that you attain financial freedom, and never have to work a single day again if you don?t feel like it. This article argues that in order to achieve growth and profitability, discipline is needed, and plans must be made and acted upon.

Crafting a Budget

One of the most important plans you must conceptualize is that of your budget. Many businesses, even if they have great ideas and wonderful products, still fail for lack of proper planning and efficient allocation of resources. Avoid this mistake. Only a home business on a budget can ever be truly successful.

First, make it a habit to write down, on paper, both what you earn and what you spend, on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. This is the least that you can do. Look over what you have written down and you will easily see the areas that can be improved upon, especially in the expense column. It is astonishing how many expenses we never notice until we get them down in paper. As the business grows larger, accounting knowledge might be needed. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to acquire the knowledge yourself, find someone who does.

Second, analyze the figures and determine the areas where you can cut costs, and where you should add capital. Every business has areas that generate above-average returns, as well areas that under-perform. As much as possible, redirect your resources to the projects and ideas that give you the most return. This is common sense.

Lastly, stick to your budget. A plan not acted upon is essentially useless, and a budget not followed is as useful as a page of doodles. Once you?ve written down and finalized your budget, do not make any departures from it unless absolutely necessary. Be disciplined ? it?s the only way you?ll get anywhere. By running your home business on a budget, you are securing your future at a small expense to the present.

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Rhett

Thursday, October 16th, 2008
home
Profitable Home Business

It goes without question that anyone who wants a home based business also wants to have a profitable one. After all, what is a business for, but to make a profit? However, the sad truth is that many who start a home based business find that it is not what they had supposed. Oftentimes, the promises of some companies are thick with lies and inaccuracies. At other times, disappointment comes when individuals fail in some way to really look into it.

There are different ways to go about finding a profitable home business. With some businesses, you may choose to be entirely independent, or, you may work as a subcontractor for a larger brand-name company. Here, the first choice will be what is looked at. This article will tell you how to go about finding a profitable home business for yourself.

Do Your Research With Open Eyes

There are a lot of programs being offered to people who want to work at home – that are simply not true. It usually is the same ones that promise that you will make a lot of money within a rather short time. In selecting your business, be discerning, because this will be seen often – but this is not reality. It is not a good idea to join some program without doing more research. Decide whether or not the promises are real, by looking at support from other groups and individuals.

Research the Opportunity Well

There are many ways to go about finding a profitable home business. The list of such opportunities probably has no end, but each of them should be examined carefully to see if all is what it seems.

Extra care should be given if you are looking into an opportunity that a web company is offering. Learn all you can about the company from different sources including the Better Business Bureau. Many scams abound on the internet – simply because they are rather easy to start up, operate, and disappear when convenient. Especially be wary if there are large start up fees. It would be a good idea to read some of the scam reports, too.

Many Profitable Home Businesses Are Available

The list here is growing rapidly as people get more inventive. Just about anything can be done from home, all you need is either a service or a product (s), that is in demand. The possibilities, range from pet-grooming, to catering, to writing resumes, or being an accountant, and many more. Who knows, after you look around, and spend the necessary time finding a profitable home business, you might be the first in your chosen business field.



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Kenway

Avoiding Work at Home Employment Scams

Thursday, October 16th, 2008
home
This article is not aimed at discouraging people from starting Home based business through the Internet, but to guide the people about the Business opportunities available on the net that are bogus and illegitimate. These are more popularly termed as Scams. There are numerous opportunities available on the Internet for starting a home-based business successfully. Some of these opportunities are really success oriented. However all these business strategies require hard work and dedication besides thorough knowledge about the market.

Some of these opportunities are quick and easy way of making money. Before getting involved into any business opportunity through the Internet, people must make themselves cautioned against the fraudulent scams. They should not get carried away by people who try to fool others using fake testimonials, documents, guarantee cards, and offering huge income potentials in short period of time.

There are many reliable work at home jobs on the Internet. These jobs do not claim to give easy money in short period of time. These jobs are based on hard work and open-minded communication between the employers and trusted employees through telecommuting. These jobs are more or less similar to the regular jobs in many ways. The employee must first qualify for the job that is offered. He must then develop trust with the employer through dedicated work. Most of these telecommuting jobs are treated as part time opportunities. Another way of working on the Internet is to work as freelancer or on independent contract. You can work as article writer, consultant, editor, designer and numerous other ways. With all these type of opportunities the risk of getting involved in scams is less.

The Internet business opportunity scams are more common in sales endeavors. The scrupulous people who run the Internet scams are always on the look out for a na?ve wishful and desperate surfer. Many homemakers, and elderly people become a prey under these scams. Before getting it to any business option, people must get a thorough knowledge about these scams. They can get all the necessary information from the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. These organizations help you to keep away from the Internet based scams and also help to verify the offers on the net and file complaints if necessary. Another way to avoid scams is to start up the home based business after getting the necessary information from the Small business Administration.

It is essential for people to come forward and report the scams however small be the money involved. Scams have proliferated through Internet because of the access to millions of customers. The most commonplace for Internet scams is through the auction sites. Fraudulent merchandise sales sites are on the rise. The scammers try to allure customers by offering hard to find goods such as electronic gadgets. Thousand of shoppers who whisk their money have never received their goods. The people are advised to be skeptical of sites, which offer the goods at incredibly low prices.



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Bevis

Does anyone know of any home based business that doesn’t have a large start up fee?

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
home based business
kardawnc asked:


I’m a single Mom with a deadbeat ex. I work full time, but it’s still very difficult to make ends meet. I don’t want to punch another time clock. I’d love to have a home based business. Something to do with primitive home decor, etc. Someone please help me!!

Karen

Atwater