Which Home Business Idea Do I Choose?
With a sea of home business ideas out there, it may feel like an overwhelming task in choosing the one that’s right for you. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s kind of like that old saying How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to break your decision making process down to bite-sized pieces to find the home business idea that's right for you!
What are you passionate about?
Everyone is passionate about at least one thing. Think about what you enjoy. It could be; auto racing, needlepoint, reading, writing, baseball, walking, parenting, cleaning, gossip, the environment, painting, helping the elderly, museums, dirt biking, sumo wrestling, basket weaving, cooking, accounting. I could go on and on here but I think you’re getting the point.
Get yourself a pen and a paper and write along the top, Home Business Ideas. Now start jotting down everything you enjoy doing (remember we’re trying to find a legitimate and legal business for you that you would be proud to tell your mother about). Try to write down at least 25 things you enjoy. Once you get started, you’ll be surprised at your list of home business ideas.
What are you good at?
Now look at your home business ideas and put a checkmark beside all the ones that you are knowledgeable about and are good at doing. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to sell e-books about rockets, sell model rockets or write and publish short stories about rockets. However, you do need to be passionate and knowledgeable on the subject in order to have a profitable home business idea.
What do you want from your business?
Write down what you’re looking for in a home business.
It could be;
Look at your list of home business ideas and cross off anything that does not fit with what you want in a home business. For example, if one of your home business ideas is selling African artifacts yet your desired result is residual income, I think it would be safe to cross off the artifacts off your list.
Be realistic!
How much time can you realistically invest in your business?
How much money would you realistically like to make and in what period of time? Hint: if you just answered $10,000 in your first month, you’re not being realistic!
How much money can you afford to invest? By the way, I have yet to see a legitimate business that does not require an investment. It could include the cost of supplies required to produce your own needlepoint for sale, the cost of computer software to have your own accounting business…whatever the case, there is a cost if it’s legitimate.
Read over your home business ideas list again and cross off any that don't relate to your realistic expectations. As an example, if one of your ideas is selling your own needlepoint creations yet you can only spare 3 hours a week, creating and marketing them and your desired monthly income is $5,000 within a year, you may have to scratch that idea as well!
Narrowing your options.
The next step is to look at your remaining check marked home business ideas and spend some time searching those ideas on the search engines (MSN, Yahoo!, Google, etc.) to look at the availability and content of the sites listed. This should give you some indication what that market's supply is like. For example, if you searched for gardening, you’ll quickly realize that there are thousands of sites on that subject and a lot of them have excellent content. However, if your passion is xeriscaping or English gardens, the market is not as saturated.
Next, go to www.alexa.com to complete the same searches for the same home business ideas. You will find valuable information including each site’s ranking and visitor statistics. This will give you some indication as to the demand for each of your ideas. If there is only one website about xeriscaping that ranks high with Alexa that should tell you that there is room for competition, there is interest in that topic and therefore that may be your best home business idea!
Remember, you're looking for low supply and high demand. Again, scratch off any of your home business ideas that don't meet that requirement.
Choosing your home business idea and your money-making vehicle.
Your home business ideas list should be drastically reduced by now. Look over the remaining profitable ideas and choose the one that most appeals to you. You've figured out the WHAT...
Now you need to decide HOW. Let’s assume that you’ve decided on English gardening as your home business idea. Will you provide landscaping services, landscape designs, e-books, publish a book, sell gardening tools and books as an affiliate, partner with a direct sales seed company, form a membership website? This decision involves more your personal preference rather than dictated logic.
MLM’s and Direct Sales Companies
There are many questions you need to ask the company you’re considering partnering with and then compare those answers to your own personal requirements.
Speak with more than one person within the company. Ask to speak with someone who’s been successful. Find out how long they’ve been at it, what range of income they receive, what they like best and least about the company. What was the most difficult thing they’ve dealt with.
There are a number of MLM and direct sales companies to choose from and there definitely is money to be made in that field. However, make sure you do your homework first. The added time it takes to thoroughly research your options means the less chance you will have of getting scammed.
Affiliate Marketing
Regardless of whether you're new to affiliate marketing or an experienced marketer, I have one major suggestion - get this indispensable affiliate how-to book! I have read this book front to back twice and will read it again many more times. The resources alone that are provided in this book are worth 3 times the cost of the entire book! This handbook teaches you affiliate marketing from beginning to end. It leaves no question un-answered. It's easy to understand format and personal suggestions from the author are undoubtedly the best you will find anywhere!
Another suggestion I have for affiliate marketers is to purchase an affiliate link cloaker . Why would you want one of these? Simple! A lot of people out there will remove your affiliate id before placing an order. Why they do this, I'll never understand. After all, the work you put in to providing an informative website along with paying the costs involved in hosting your site really shouldn't be overlooked by those that appreciate your site. However, for whatever reason, there are those out there that don't feel that you deserve to be paid for your hard work. So, in order to protect your livelihood, invest in a link cloaker. It's a small price to pay to protect your income.
Congratulations!
If you followed this step-by-step process, you should have found a profitable home business idea that's right for you! Still not positive? Take a look at this list of home business ideas and see if one of these strike a chord with you!
What's the next step?
Determining WHY you want a home business! This is an integral part of your business and the driving force to your success.
What are you passionate about?
Everyone is passionate about at least one thing. Think about what you enjoy. It could be; auto racing, needlepoint, reading, writing, baseball, walking, parenting, cleaning, gossip, the environment, painting, helping the elderly, museums, dirt biking, sumo wrestling, basket weaving, cooking, accounting. I could go on and on here but I think you’re getting the point.
Get yourself a pen and a paper and write along the top, Home Business Ideas. Now start jotting down everything you enjoy doing (remember we’re trying to find a legitimate and legal business for you that you would be proud to tell your mother about). Try to write down at least 25 things you enjoy. Once you get started, you’ll be surprised at your list of home business ideas.
What are you good at?
Now look at your home business ideas and put a checkmark beside all the ones that you are knowledgeable about and are good at doing. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to sell e-books about rockets, sell model rockets or write and publish short stories about rockets. However, you do need to be passionate and knowledgeable on the subject in order to have a profitable home business idea.
What do you want from your business?
Write down what you’re looking for in a home business.
It could be;
- tax advantages
- time freedom
- extra spending money
- replacement income
- residual income
- better lifestyle
- raising your children
- home schooling, etc.
Look at your list of home business ideas and cross off anything that does not fit with what you want in a home business. For example, if one of your home business ideas is selling African artifacts yet your desired result is residual income, I think it would be safe to cross off the artifacts off your list.
Be realistic!
How much time can you realistically invest in your business?
How much money would you realistically like to make and in what period of time? Hint: if you just answered $10,000 in your first month, you’re not being realistic!
How much money can you afford to invest? By the way, I have yet to see a legitimate business that does not require an investment. It could include the cost of supplies required to produce your own needlepoint for sale, the cost of computer software to have your own accounting business…whatever the case, there is a cost if it’s legitimate.
Read over your home business ideas list again and cross off any that don't relate to your realistic expectations. As an example, if one of your ideas is selling your own needlepoint creations yet you can only spare 3 hours a week, creating and marketing them and your desired monthly income is $5,000 within a year, you may have to scratch that idea as well!
Narrowing your options.
The next step is to look at your remaining check marked home business ideas and spend some time searching those ideas on the search engines (MSN, Yahoo!, Google, etc.) to look at the availability and content of the sites listed. This should give you some indication what that market's supply is like. For example, if you searched for gardening, you’ll quickly realize that there are thousands of sites on that subject and a lot of them have excellent content. However, if your passion is xeriscaping or English gardens, the market is not as saturated.
Next, go to www.alexa.com to complete the same searches for the same home business ideas. You will find valuable information including each site’s ranking and visitor statistics. This will give you some indication as to the demand for each of your ideas. If there is only one website about xeriscaping that ranks high with Alexa that should tell you that there is room for competition, there is interest in that topic and therefore that may be your best home business idea!
Remember, you're looking for low supply and high demand. Again, scratch off any of your home business ideas that don't meet that requirement.
Choosing your home business idea and your money-making vehicle.
Your home business ideas list should be drastically reduced by now. Look over the remaining profitable ideas and choose the one that most appeals to you. You've figured out the WHAT...
Now you need to decide HOW. Let’s assume that you’ve decided on English gardening as your home business idea. Will you provide landscaping services, landscape designs, e-books, publish a book, sell gardening tools and books as an affiliate, partner with a direct sales seed company, form a membership website? This decision involves more your personal preference rather than dictated logic.
MLM’s and Direct Sales Companies
There are many questions you need to ask the company you’re considering partnering with and then compare those answers to your own personal requirements.
- How long have they been in business?
- Are they a member of the Better Business Bureau?
- Have they won any awards?
- Do they have a support system?
- What are the TOTAL up front costs?
- Are there additional costs along the way?
- Do they have training available? If so, is there a cost involved?
- Is the system relatively simple to use or complex?
- Does the system make logical sense to you?
- Are they a legitimate company with ethical practices?
- Do you have to attend meetings, seminars or conferences? If so, what are the costs?
- How much time is realistically required to develop your desired level of income?
- If selling is involved, do you believe in the product or service?
- Are they easily marketable?
- Are you required to inventory products?
- Is door-to-door selling involved or picking up and delivering products?
- Do they have documented sales figures available to you?
- What is their re-order or customer retention rate?
Speak with more than one person within the company. Ask to speak with someone who’s been successful. Find out how long they’ve been at it, what range of income they receive, what they like best and least about the company. What was the most difficult thing they’ve dealt with.
There are a number of MLM and direct sales companies to choose from and there definitely is money to be made in that field. However, make sure you do your homework first. The added time it takes to thoroughly research your options means the less chance you will have of getting scammed.
Affiliate Marketing
Regardless of whether you're new to affiliate marketing or an experienced marketer, I have one major suggestion - get this indispensable affiliate how-to book! I have read this book front to back twice and will read it again many more times. The resources alone that are provided in this book are worth 3 times the cost of the entire book! This handbook teaches you affiliate marketing from beginning to end. It leaves no question un-answered. It's easy to understand format and personal suggestions from the author are undoubtedly the best you will find anywhere!
Another suggestion I have for affiliate marketers is to purchase an affiliate link cloaker . Why would you want one of these? Simple! A lot of people out there will remove your affiliate id before placing an order. Why they do this, I'll never understand. After all, the work you put in to providing an informative website along with paying the costs involved in hosting your site really shouldn't be overlooked by those that appreciate your site. However, for whatever reason, there are those out there that don't feel that you deserve to be paid for your hard work. So, in order to protect your livelihood, invest in a link cloaker. It's a small price to pay to protect your income.
Congratulations!
If you followed this step-by-step process, you should have found a profitable home business idea that's right for you! Still not positive? Take a look at this list of home business ideas and see if one of these strike a chord with you!
What's the next step?
Determining WHY you want a home business! This is an integral part of your business and the driving force to your success.
About the author
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