If you have a burning desire to work from home you are not alone. I joined the almost 4 million Americans who successful make a living working home based businesses about a year ago. It was literally overwhelming to look at the endless possibilities in the home based business arena. To make matters worse 99.9% of the folks you are going to run into will surely try to sell you on their “amazing” opportunity. Choose wisely my friends. Over 95% of home based entrepreneurs fail. I believe this is because they jump into a business that does not fit them. Read this article to get started.If you are looking for specific ideas, I have hundreds listed in some of my other articles. In this article I am going to stick with a critical overview of the five basic structures of business that cover about 99 percent of home based businesses. By choosing a category to look into, you can narrow your search and hopefully start to hone into what is going to work for you.The question to ask is not how good an opportunity looks, but does it really fit you? Does it fit your time? Does it fit your skills? Does it fit your passions? Does it fit you realistic investment money and needed income? You must put on your critical thinking hat and look at the process as a type of reverse job interview. There are over 2,700 MLMs currently n the US and over 10,000 home based franchises, affiliate opportunities, and other home based businesses. Anyone can find a business that will make them a decent living from home- if they do their due diligence to find a truly “good fit!”Below are the 5 main categories that home-based businesses fall under. I have listed them with the main pros and cons of each structure. 1) Affiliate Marketing Pros: Good income potential: Previous proven and somewhat branded productsCons: Some have little to no ongoing training or mentorship: Affiliate Marketing is just that “marketing”2) Home Based Franchise Pros: Franchises usually have very well-developed products, services, and marketing plans: Many leave a lot of room for individuals to run their business in the way they choose to: Some provide comprehensive trainingCons: Start-up cost for franchises are significantly high than other forms of business: Many franchises require a set of specialized skills to run effectively3) MLM (network Marketer) Pros: Compared to other forms of business MLMs have a low cost to join: They have very flexible hours: Almost all have a pre-existing plan to followCons: Most MLMs have ongoing financial commitments: Only about 1% of folks in MLMs make a living in the industry: It normally takes several months to build a large enough down-line to see a significant ongoing cash flow: Out of the more than 10,000 MLMs that have been created over the last 60 years only 50 have lived to see their 10 year anniversaries4) Online Business (all other forms can be worked online) Pros: Working online provides an unlimited income opportunity: Flexible hours: Can be easily worked around current employment in needed: Fits almost any nicheCons: 97% of folks who attempt to make a living fail because of a lack of ongoing training and mentorship: There are specific skills and knowledge that must be learned to make money online5) Unique Original Ideas Pros: Started a business from scratch can be a very personally rewarded experience: If a new business is created, marketed, and branded it can create significant wealth for the ownerCons: There are many skills needed to successful run a business as a startup: There can be large startup costs: Many underestimate the time commitment needed to get a new business off the ground
Take a good look at the pros and cons of the different structures. I have successful owned and operated a number of businesses over the years; however, it was honestly an affiliate that allowed me make enough money to quite my “day job” and work completely from my home office. That being said, I know many folks who successfully run home based businesses. Many work in the MLM industry, own franchises, and some have started their businesses from scratch.
What Kind of Business Can You Run From Home: An Expert Review of Home Based Business Structures
How to Get Started With Real Estate Investing
One of the first things that you must do to get started as a real estate investor is to know what is taking place in your market. You must know what is happening in your market so that you can tailor your investing strategy to your market. You need to approach your real estate investing business as a business. Think about this idea for a moment…
When a new major retailer (Walmart, Home Depot etc.) is looking to open a brand new facility in the area, they will do market research beforehand. They are going to do some demographic research to see if the store would be able to sustain itself before they move forward. In a similar manner, you are going to need to do a little bit of research to ensure that you are using the right techniques with your real estate investing business.
Once you know what is happening in your market, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Based on what is going on in your area, will seller financing be a good strategy? What about wholesaling or lease options? Each of these strategies are more effective under certain market conditions and when you align your strategy with your market conditions, you will increase your success significantly.
So, the real key is to know which indicators will provide you with the most useful information.
Key Indicators
Jobs – Employment s a key factor that drives the real estate market. Generally speaking, people will want to live nearby their employment. So, as jobs are moving into an area, this will increase the demand for housing and rentals. If the area does not have many jobs coming in, you will also see a decreased demand. Since the real estate market is controlled by supply and demand, the number of jobs coming in to an area gives you a very good idea of the demand. You have to know this to know what is going on in your area.
You can obtain a lot of information from the city planner. They can tell you about new companies that are moving into the area, how many jobs they are creating, and the income range for those jobs. This is valuable information to have as a real estate investor.
Occupancy Rate – A factor to understand the demand for rental properties in the area is the occupancy rate. Vacancy is a key factor to know whether rental properties are in demand in your area or not. This is another perfect example of why you must know your market prior to investing. If vacancy rates are very high for your area, investing in rental properties is probably not the best idea for you. You would have a harder time finding a tenant. The property would be vacant for a while and you would continue to make mortgage payments. This is why it is critical for you to start your investing business by knowing your market. This will save you a lot of time, money, and heartache later on.
Property management companies are a good place to obtain occupancy rates. Call them and let them know that you are an investor and considering several properties in the area. They will see you as a potential client and they will usually be happy to provide you with the information that you are seeking. Another alternative is to look in the newspaper each week to see the homes for rent section. Over time, this section will give you an idea of what the demand for rentals is for your market.
Rent Incentives – Rent incentives can be a key indicator of the balance between the supply and demand for rental properties. As a general rule of thumb, the fewer rent incentives you see, the more demand there is over the supply. When the supply of rental properties is greater than the demand, you will see many landlords offering some sort of incentive or promotion. They are trying to give a potential tenant a reason to choose their property over the rest of the competition. So, when you see a lot of rent incentives, it means that the supply of properties is greater than the demand for rentals. You will see incentives like a low deposit, a few months of free rent, cash towards buying a home, or some other sort of offer to get them in the property.
Incentives are easy to spot as you are looking at properties on the Internet, in the newspaper, or any other method where you can find them. The important part is that you see a lot of incentives. It will not just be one here or there.
New Units Permitted – When someone is going to build a home, they must obtain a building permit from the city. Your city will have information on the number of new building permits that have been issued over the last month and the last year. Every home that is built adds to the inventory. Since supply and demand are the factors that are driving the market, the building permits add to the supply.
As an investor, if you see that there are a lot of jobs coming in (demand) and there are not very many units permitted (supply), then that means that you have found a hole in the market. You could start looking at developing some land and building new houses to meet the incoming demand. See how this information can help you get started on the right foot and see the opportunities in your market?
The city planner has the information on the number of new units that have been permitted. As you might have noticed, the city planner is an extremely valuable resource for you as an investor. Most real estate investors overlook the value of what the city planner can offer. It is highly recommended that you spend a little time with your city planner to know what is happening in your area. You can make a lot of money using their market knowledge coupled with your investing strategy.
Inventory for Sale – This indicator refers to the existing homes that are currently on the market. We are trying to measure the supply and demand in the area. The supply is going to be the total of new units that have been permitted and the existing homes for sale.
The existing homes for sale are an easy indicator to measure. Any real estate agent with access to the Multiple Listing Service can tell you how many homes are currently for sale in the area. I highly recommend tracking this on a monthly and yearly basis. This will help you measure whether inventory is rising or falling.
Average Days on Market – The days on the market will tell you how long (on average) it is taking for homes to sell in your market. This will give you an idea of the activity taking place in your area and how quickly a home will sell. Market activity affects the balance between the supply and demand. The days on the market (DOM) can help you know how long it will take for the demand to catch up to the supply and vice versa.
The days on the market can also be obtained from your real estate agent that has MLS access. Let them know the areas that you want to focus on and it can give you that information. You will also want to track this monthly so that you can see changes going on in the market.
Summary
Now you can use this information to begin your real estate investing business. To be successful, you must know what is taking place in your area. These key indicators will help you understand supply and demand in your market. You will also be able to see opportunities in your market.
If you are tracking these indicators over time, you can also see changes that are occurring in your market. You will then be able to adjust your strategy to match the changing trend. Doing this research is very profitable, and it will make the difference between an average investor, and a great investor.
Considerable Factors Involved in Product Creation & Marketing
The niche you have chosen should allow creation of more than one product or service. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts, to complete turnkey solutions; there is no need to worry about spending time on the real products sold to the customer. The main ones are keyword selection, sales copy principles, graphics, affiliate programs, product creation, online payment processing, auto responders, and search engine optimization.
Once you’ve earned money from this type of information product business, you can invest in the creation of your own products if you want, or start offering more informational products that allow you to sell your knowledge. But the creation and production costs of a similar big ticket in sequence product, although higher, are still pretty low. A key by-product of this process will be the creation of 3-D, Computer Assisted Design art.
The Association for Financial Professionals permits the following activities for repatriating funds: Research and Development activities, advertising and marketing programs, hiring and training new recruits, acquiring patent and other rights to intangible property, improving transportation, funding capital investments with the purpose of job creation and job retention & funding product responsibility or environmental claims.
It prohibits certain activities like: Tax payments, Payment of executive recompense, Payment of dividends, Redemption of stocks, Debt investments and Portfolio investments. Therefore, before repatriating the money, you must consider whether it is worth or not.
Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate includes: Exceptional vocals, musicianship and/or songwriting skills, Continued education and enhancement of musical skills, Quality equipment, Performance ability, Image creation and maintenance, Plan of action, goal setting, excellent promotion materials including photographs, press releases and artwork, Business management skills, Marketing, Publicity and Promotion knowledge, Online and Offline Professional management, Basic knowledge of recording, producing, engineering, and mastering, Basic knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, and sales online, brick and mortar and air-play, Good choices in members, staff and advisors, Physical and mental preparedness, Basic knowledge of finances, accounting Law and legal issues etc.
The goals for doing so are for the product owner to: Communicate the whole, Determine and communicate when releases are needed, Determine what functionality is sufficient for each release & focus on business value derived from the releases. The delivery team on the other hand will see the whole, learn about the steps to realize the vision, learn the business priorities, provide technical input to the roadmap and provide estimates for the projected features. The salesperson must lead the prospect through the various decision criteria needed in order to secure a sale. Whether your idea is the development of a product, launch of a service business, or even the creation of an event or program for a non-profit, creativity is the root of all entrepreneurial efforts starting with the vision itself.
People quickly learn to spend their time on marketing and product creation, rather than repetitive tasks. Apart from empowering companies and individuals, there should be a particular focus on identifying labor intensive businesses that have the potential to make a significant and positive impact on employment creation as well as those businesses that have a product or service offering for export markets with the final objective of booming local economies.