As a personal development coach and counselor, and former investment advisor I have people asking me for my advice all the time. So I’d like to spend a couple of minutes here to give you my opinion regarding what to look for in a home based business. There are five things I look at when trying to find a quality home based business.
The first one is you need to know about the product - Is this a product you would buy even if there was not a business opportunity behind it. Something you would be comfortable telling other people about and not be embarrassed, something that stands alone, that you would use on an ongoing bases.
The second thing you need to look at is the pay plan. The pay plan is very important, especially if you are going to be putting 20-30 hours in, maybe extra hours over and above what you are doing for your job. You want to be able to make some real money and be able to make it quickly.
If I make $20 dollars a month out of the gate and I have to keep buying more and more products to make more money - that’s not what I consider a good pay plan. I want to be able to make money right away and it has to be big money. I don’t want to be making $15, $20 or $100 dollars a month. I want to be making thousands. I think I am worth it and the business opportunity needs to be worth it.
The third important factor is the company. It can’t be a fly-by-night company or a brand new company that no one has ever heard of before. You don’t want a company that just came out with some lotion or health potion. It needs to be a viable business and a viable company that you know is going to be around if you are going to be putting all that energy into it.
The fourth important factor is personable automation. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to leave my 9-5 job by starting a business that required 40 hours a week or more. I wanted something I could automate. Something that I could put on autopilot once I got things set up. What good is a lot of money if I can’t get away to enjoy it. So the business needs to have a system to make sales even when I am vacationing in Hawaii.
Having said that, I add a big caution. There are some businesses out there that say that they have a system that puts everything on autopilot. You never have to speak to anyone, you don’t need to know the product, and you don’t need to do any work. The system will do all of it. Well that’s just not going to happen. The greatest strength about automation is also its Achilles heal. At some point you do need some personal contact. And that brings me to my last point
There needs to be real people available to help you build your business. A lot of people go into a business only to discover that the person who brought them into the business is hiding behind an internet site. You don’t really know who they are. Or maybe its somebody who is not really in business. They just joined something and in thirty days they’re gone. And you are left asking yourself “Who the heck is going to help me?” Make sure there is a real person who you can call and email who will be there to support you. Know that there is someone who is willing to invest in you to help build your business, someone who will be there for you.
Those are my five “Must Have” Factors for a Profitable and Dynamic Business Opportunity I hope this has been helpful as you think about which home based business you would like to get into. And if you ever have any questions or want to find out more about what businesses I recommend, contact me and I’d love to discuss it with you.
Greg is a successful entrepreneur, business coach and licensed counselor. Currently he is dedicated to mentoring others to success one to one. He is the author of “Your Goal Mind” and is currently collaborating on a project at http://www.ForwardThrive.com