How To Select the Best Work At Home Business For You

Have you ever been approached by a friend or colleague at work to about joining their “at home business” or marketing company? If so, join the club! Especially now during recessionary times, people are seeking alternatives to their usual jobs and many “work at home” opportunities are available. How do you research and select the opportunity that is best for you? Read on for solid common sense and astute suggestions. With proper due diligence and most importantly, execution of a good, replicable plan, you too can choose the elite group of self-employed, work at home individuals living the lifestyle you thought you could only dream about! 

Step 1: Dealing With Perception and Image Concerns If you have ever been to an opportunity meeting, or been “pitched” by a friend, then you already know you are not the only person seeking a work at home opportunity. We have all heard stories about “multi-level marketing” or MLM as it is called. Over the years, MLM has garnered an image of desperate people begging friends and family members to buy from them or join their business. The perception of “sales pressure”, desperation, and eventually being avoided by all at the neighborhood barbecues and cocktail parties does not have to be your reality. It is not surprising that “fear of what people will think” is often the reason people do not forge ahead with work at home opportunities they are otherwise quite enthused about. Your first action item is: Recognize and embrace that multi-level business models can be the most appropriate structure for many products and services. Your belief in what you represent and the resulting confidence will speak volumes and will help you attract rather than scare people away. Going forward, the best candidates for the business you eventually select will be making their decision by their belief and confidence in you, more so than the name of the company or the products offered 

Step 2: Attend meetings of a few different “opportunities”. You may or may not be surprised regarding the number of opportunities you become aware of once you have made the conscious decision to seek out the best work at home business for your skill set and lifestyle. In addition to your friend, coworker, or family member, local as well as on-line networking groups are the best places to become aware of what is out there and flourishing. Your second action item is to think about products your services you value and consider if demand will likely increase, decrease or stay level looking forward to the future. Attend a meeting or research online the businesses that cater to your favorite topics. 

Step 3: Evaluating the opportunity. After attending opportunity meetings of various companies or having researched your favorites online, it is now time to compare. As an absolute minimum the companies you are considering should include the following in their business model, a.) The ability and tools to create immediate cash flow, 2.) The ability and tools to generate long term residual income, c.) Mainstream essential services offered such as telecom, energy, wireless services, d.) Leadership philosophy from the top of high integrity and a passion for their representatives to” win at every level” It is now time to compare the compensation from the programs you are considering. In order to make the best “apples to apples” objective comparison, make a grid. Using a piece of paper separate from their promotional materials or an Excel spreadsheet, create columns for each of the opportunities you are considering. Along the left side of the page create rows listing the following: Initial investment or purchase required, monthly fees or requirements, product sale commission, targets to hit to receive first paycheck, residual or “ongoing” commissions, leadership or “business building” bonuses”, recognition rewards (travel, car allowance, etc). Your third action item is to complete the comparison grid by reviewing one company at a time. After fully completing the grid, objectively copmpare the information, working from left to right for each of the compensation topics you had listed in the left margin. Highlight or circle the most favorable, top 1 or 2 descriptions for each row and set this paper aside for now. 
By Thomas Kelly O'Connor