Starting a home business has become a wonderful and attractive alternative for parents across country. With advent of Internet, email and cell phones, working at home has been a very viable option. No other alternative allows parents opportunity to create their own hours and work around their children's schedules while earning an income. But before investing in any home business opportunity, it is wise to take appropriate steps to research opportunity and company. Unfortunately, there are deceitful businesses ready to take advantage of parent's deep desire to be at home with their children. These steps will help you to avoid potential problems:

1. Research company and always check them out with Better Business Bureau (http://search.bbb.org/search.html) located in their city.

2. Ask for at least three references of people they have worked with. Call each person and ask about his or her experiences with company.

3. Be cautious of any company that asks for money for a work-at-home job

4. Don't be fooled by ads claiming you can make large amounts of money in short periods of time. And be cautious of companies that require you to sign up immediately. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

One of most common obstacles many home-based working moms face is trying to start or run a new business on a limited budget. The first few years of a business are usually hardest financially. Some moms leave full-time careers and substantial salaries to start a new business. Others start a home business as stay-at-home moms wanting additional income to support their family as well as a professional outlet to balance their diaper-changing days.

In either case, starting and running a home-based business takes money. How much money, will depend partly on you and type of business you choose to run.

Below are our top 10 tips to save you and your home business money:

1. Do your own market research by talking to potential clients or customers. Many new home business owners skip this step only to come back to it later (or wish they had). Those who start businesses without doing any type of research risk possibility that their target market doesn't need or want their particular product or service. The competition may be too fierce. There may not be enough potential customers to support business. Or product isn't priced correctly. It is just as important not to price your product too low as it is not to price it too high. Talk to others in similar businesses as yours to see how much they charge and what they offer for that price. 2. Team up with other non-competitive businesses that target same market to do some co-marketing. For example, desktop publishers and print shops can do a direct mail campaign together advertising both of their services or buy an ad in a local publication and split costs. Neither is in competition with other. They also can hand out business cards or flyers for one another as well as give word-of-mouth referrals. It's a great way to double one's marketing efforts while splitting any advertising costs.

3. When you have a satisfied customer, don't be afraid to ask for referrals. People like to help others especially new businesses trying to succeed. Show pride in your work and people are sure to notice. And when they do, ask if they know any others you can send a brochure or sample to. Another great way to encourage referrals is to offer a discount or special offer for any customers who are referred to you.