Third, learn as much as you can about small business. There is a wealth of information available on this topic and US Small Business Administration is probably as good a place to start as any. Just go to http://www.sba.gov/ and navigate to sections dealing with home based businesses.

Fourth, write a business plan. It is your roadmap to reaching your objectives. There are numerous articles on Internet and in libraries that can assist you in developing your business plan as well as addressing many other issues involved with starting and operating a business from home. As a starting point, here are a couple of Small Business Administration website locations that should prove useful:

http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs.html

And last, but not least, seek advice of a tax professional. Your first reaction may be that you can't afford such expenses right now; but, in reality, you can’t afford not to seek such advice from very beginning of your home business start-up. They can advise you about ways you may be able to reduce amount of taxable business income at end of year. Paying for an hour or two of consultation with a tax professional at beginning will probably save you much more than that amount later on down road.

I never cease to be amazed at number of people that seem to think that some magic is somehow created when you put words "home based" in front of word "business". It's still business...it just happens to be based in home.

10. How well known is business opportunity? Whether it's online or offline, some business opportunities are "household" names and are easier to promote and sell as a result.

11. What is turnover rate in business opportunity? Those that have a large turnover rate among members are usually poor choices. Turnover means simply number of members that leave biz op within each month. A large turnover usually indicates that members are not happy with their experiences.

12. How much overall does it cost? You need to be able to comfortably afford fee of business opportunity, or you will start out "in red" which is not a good way to start any home-based business.

13. How much control does corporate entity have? If everything is controlled by corporate entity (the "home" office of business opportunity, so to speak), your creativity and way you market may be hampered severely.

There are many business opportunities from which to pick. Everything from larger scale offline ventures, to smaller scale online ventures exists. Research into all above is necessary when choosing an appropriate business opportunity. Fees are sometimes necessary to cover costs of shipping and handling, or costs of marketing materials. Others charge fees simply because their "name" is important to them as they have spent years building their reputation, and they only want "serious joiners".

There also exist many free opportunities that cost nothing to join and can be a good way to experiment with marketing and world of home-based business. But very best business to get into as a home based business is a product driven business where you purchase only amount of product you will consume every month and it’s a product that will benefit you. Such a business is Organic Greens. For details on business side, email Loring Windblad directly. For product information go to organic greens.

The choice of whether to pay or not is an individual choice that should only be made when weighing all possible factors. If in doubt, simply research and patiently wait a while. After all, biz op will always be there tomorrow (if it's a good one)!