If you are going out on your own for first time online, I suggest choosing a business where a team is incorporated. There are a multitude of programs where you can still have your own home business but will also work as part of a team. Here if rough times strike, at least you will have more than one head to tap into to solve problem. When you are more experienced and would like to do something off your own back, you can always start another venture where maybe risk in start-up period would be greater.

Nobody says that online business is easy. Like everywhere there is alot of competition and alot of marketing work must be done in order to drive potential customers to your web site. Don’t expect big returns in this period and don’t let lack of income affect your drive for your business. It’s imperative in these times to keep working diligently to your plan believing that your present work is for future investment. The real question that each individual must ask themselves internally is how far you will go and how determined you are to succeed in creating YOUR OWN business. If answer is positive, believe me you are half way there already.

Author Jack Foley works from home in Ireland For more articles and information about Jack's home business, visit his website: http://www.residual-income-home-based-business.com

Not to mention that not all employee time is productive (think breaks, sick leave, vacations and other downtime). With Virtual Assistance, clients pay only for time VA spends working on their behalf.

That's 100% productive time; you can't get more efficient than that! The Virtual Assistance profession has been around well over 10 years now, and has its own industry associations and certification programs.

Virtual Assistants operate their businesses as professional service providers. They come from a variety of business backgrounds, but common denominator is that they are typically overachievers with extensive administrative experience and superior skill sets and training.

Virtual Assistants are not temps. They are highly-skilled entrepreneurs who love what they do and in business to provide consistently top-quality work to clients to whom they are committed.

Virtual Assistants are commonly interested in establishing long-term partnerships with their clients. As VA learns about owner and his or her business, supporting client becomes more intuitive.

The ideal is to achieve a very simpatico working relationship where VA's support not only instills more efficiency and productivity, but is key to helping client create more time to concentrate on roles they love most while growing their business successfully. Although Virtual Assistants are able to serve clients from anywhere in world, you can find a VA near you by referencing your local Chamber of Commerce directory, or searching Internet using keywords Virtual Assistant or Virtual Assistance + your city or state.

There is also a great Virtual Assistant directory sorted by country and state located at:

http://www.mediamage.com/links/pages/United_States/