1. Dissatisfied with their present employment situation.

2. Out of work due to being laid off or downsizing by their employer.

3. A need to be home more with young children, an infirm family member, or aging parents. 4. A yearning to be their own boss. Whatever your particular reason for exploring a home-based business, there are a few common steps you need to take in order to launch your business.

First off, you need to come to grips with reality...be realistic in your expectations. Far too many folks read advertisements that are hype and imply quick money, and lots of it, from a home-based business start-up. It will certainly take a year, and in some cases it may take up to three years, before you begin to truly make a significant profit from your business.

I have helped a large number of people start up their own home-based businesses using Internet. Over time, I have come to recognize two of most important factors for identifying people that should NOT start a home based business. If a prospective entrepreneur says something like...

"I'm broke and need to make some money, fast!"

or,

"I want to start a home-based business, but I don't want to spend anything on it until after I start earning some money."

...it is certain that they have not addressed reality and, with that mindset, they will most certainly fail.

It takes a lot of time to successfully market and promote a new business. If you are planning a home-based business in order to spend a lot of time with young children or care for elderly, a full-time business (and income) may not be a realistic objective.

1. Is it legal? Do they have a product? Many programs on net are simply "money movers" with no real products. If this is case then it's probably illegal simple as that. If you are serious about developing an online reputation for quality and reliability, then don't even entertain idea of quick easy money. It will catch up with you! Do they know and follow law concerning matters such as CAN SPAM and other website legalities? There is no excuse for ignorance on net! Do your home work and check out: http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt9/canspam_comply.htm http://www.ipcgold.com/ad/112/CD996 Do a search on names of owners and founders of products.

2. Does their product have value and advantage? Is product something that people want with potential for repeat sales giving value for money at a competitive price? Do your homework. Search net for equivalent products and do a price comparison. Does it offer a marketing advantage of some kind? What are selling benefits of product over their competitors? If they don't have a marketing advantage why would anyone buy their products?

3. Is it residual? The best opportunities are ones that have a growing industry and ideally repeat sales. Make sure if you are marketing a product that you get benefit of repeat sales. This is called residual income. If you are expected to find customers but only get benefit of first sale, this is unethical and unfair. It is a good idea to evaluate what % is paid back in commissions for cost of product or service. All good opportunities pay back an absolute minimum of 20%. Decide you are worth at least that much to them.