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.

5. How long will it take? Take a long hard look at their compensation plan and compare it to your own goals. Is it cost effective on an hourly basis for final outcome. You may have to make a decision by balancing time for outcome. You may consider it worthwhile putting in 20 hours work over and above a regular 40 hour job for a small return initially, if final outcome is say 10 hours per week total for a 5 fold income. Of course you will have to decide first of all exactly how much time you are willing to work on proposal then ask yourself is their program sufficiently automated to be worth your while?

6. Do they want your success as much as their own? What is their commitment to you in terms of training and support? If they are not willing to train and support you for your success, are you willing to carry responsibility of training yourself and dealing with product problems? In my opinion you must have online support and training for whatever you need to do for mutual success of both you and company. This can be in form of email support, forums and a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on their website.

7. What are hidden costs? Ask yourself, "What do I need over and above their proposal in order to achieve my goals", then factor this in to your decision making process. In this you should include things like further study, tools, web hosting expenses, stationary, travel expenses, accommodation etc. It is also important with some businesses to find out if you have a minimum purchase requirement, frequency of compensation and time period between sales and commission. All these will affect your cash flow. You should then work out exactly what it takes to firstly break even, then become profitable and finally achieve your goals.

8. Is their a lead generation system ? What assistance is given for approaching potential customers through to closing deal? This is often non existent with you left to do it all. The best opportunities are fully automated for efficiency but flexible enough to have essential personal touch. It can be hard work sifting through opportunities to find your "Ticket2Success".

9. Do they have a money back guarantee? Whether product is digital or hardware people will expect a guarantee. Are you able to return and refund products quickly and easily with out problem? Is it clear who handles finances and complaints in event of an unhappy customer? You don't want to be left with egg on your face after creating a good online reputation!

Ray Burton is an internet marketer specializing in affiliate programs, business opportunities, joint ventures and resources to create your online success. He has paid special attention to online training programs for new marketers. You can visit his store at http://www.cyberchoices.net The mini site - mega store.