- The average cost of one product

- Your profit margin on each product

- Your expected break-even point

- Cash flow projections

Here is a good book on business plans:

http://www.home-business-association.com/rd/bplans/

A Mentor System

A mentor is someone who you admire, someone in your line of work or business that is already having success you dream of, and can teach you exactly how to achieve same success yourself when you start your own home business. In reality however, most people could care less about your business or you. We are all selfish by nature, and who would want to impart seasoned business skills to a competitor, who will be a threat to their business.

This mentor will help you in a win-win way that is mutually beneficial. Almost all business books will tell you that in order to be really successful, you MUST associate with those you are already having success, and duplicate their actions.

Starting from Scratch Vs Ready Made Business Opportunities

All these factors need to be considered when starting your own business. The absence of any one aspect can mean trouble, either when starting up, or later on as your business develops.

Considering these factors, it is no surprise that many are turning towards business opportunities and systems such as network marketing. In these systems, all above factors are taken care of, and you can start your own business without any worries.

These systems are especially attractive if you are broke and have no business experience. You are in fact buying a proven system, which with your effort, can be turned into a thriving business.

Here's to your success. Cheers.

When you first sign up with Ebay, you'll have zero feedback. Most buyers will shy away from an Ebay newbie with zero or very low feedback. Start building your feedback rating by selling personal items from around house that you no longer want. This is a good way to get feel of using Ebay and to build positive feedback. You should invest in a good digital camera. Good clear pictures are an important selling feature on Ebay. Remember to describe your items accurately and honestly. Do not try to trick or deceive buyers in any way. You can't afford receiving negative feedback this early in game.

I came across a perfect example of a deceptive seller on Ebay a while back. The seller had sold a pair of slightly used shocks for a 2003 Chevy pickup. He used Ebay's Buy-It-Now feature to sell shocks for just one cent. Wow! What an incredible deal! But wait a minute. The unwary buyer forgot to read entire auction. The shipping charges were a whopping 60 bucks! The result was a pissed off buyer and negative feedback for seller. This was an obvious attempt on part of seller to make money on shipping costs. He was banking on fact that buyer would not read entire auction and would simply assume shipping charges would be reasonable. Do not use deception in your auctions or try to make money on shipping costs. If you treat your customers way you expect to be treated you will never go wrong and you'll be well on your way to building a reputation as an honest top-notch seller.

If you happen to get a few non-paying bidders, resist temptation to leave negative feedback for these individuals. Leaving negative feedback will only result in possible retaliation by non-paying bidder and negative feedback for you. Once again, you do not want any negative feedback this early in game. Buying items off of Ebay is another great way to build positive feedback. When you win an auction, pay for item promptly. The result will be positive feedback for you. Most buyers will not care whether your feedback came as a result of buying or selling as long as it's positive.

After you've built a feedback rating of least 25, you'll be ready to start purchasing wholesale merchandise to sell on Ebay. Remember what I said about doing your homework before buying merchandise. If you have your eye on a particular item you think might sell on Ebay, first do a search of that item on Ebay to find out what people are bidding if anything on item. If it looks hot, at least 7 or 8 bids, then it's probably a good bet. If it doesn't appear to be getting many bids, you should steer clear. You can also do an advanced search for auctions that have already ended. It's a great way to find out final bid price for a particular item. A few extra minutes of research can save you from a giant headache down road.