Many Americans dream of being able to make their own schedule, spend time with family, and make a steady income all while staying at home.

With technology of today that dream has come true for many. The internet keeps us free from paperwork and punching a clock. It makes business portable and less complicated.

The Home Business Manual shows that 33 percent of small business owners are women, with 47 percent operating from a home base.

Home-based businesses are now being recognized as a viable source of new jobs and economic growth, according to msucares.com.

People are choosing to create their own jobs at home rather than seek employment elsewhere. Now home-based businesses make up 62 percent of all small businesses, according to manual.

Several of these work at home opportunities being advertised are said to be misleading by those who have tried them, such as myself.

Stuffing envelopes, online surveys and assembling crafts are just a few of business telling people they will make hundreds of dollars a week just filling out surveys or mailing brochures.

Then there are those such as AVON, Mary Kay, Mellaluca, Tupper Wear and so on, that promise high incomes when in actuality you only receive a small percentage of your sales.

These types of business schemes obviously do not work or everyone would be pretty well-off money wise.

Some of these companies never even send materials promised, after they have received payment. These are scams! People are making money off of individuals trying to make money to provide for themselves and/or their families.

Part One of Series: Discovery

Next Week: Development

Have you ever had opportunity to watch construction of a large building? The daily progress from foundation to top floor is truly amazing, and if you’re like me, you wonder “how does it all happen?” The answer: it takes a lot of planning.

The Planning Phase

A complex construction job clearly requires planning in excruciating detail to orchestrate materials and manpower. Inadequate planning can result in waste, delays and a shoddy end-product.

Building an effective management system is equally dependent on executing a strong planning phase. This article is second of five that describe how to build such a system in your organization.

Writing Procedures

The planning stage is arguably most important step in any large-scale project. If you fail to plan properly, everything else will likely follow this failure.

Just as a construction contractor wouldn’t dare start ordering materials or pounding nails without a plan, your firm must avoid moving too quickly into actual development phase of writing procedures that are basis of an effective management system.

Business Assessment