Even before the economy started to collapse millions of people all over the world were looking for the best home based business.

In the first 10 years of the 2000′s working people throughout the world have had a massive paradigm shift. The new belief is that when it comes to career issues, true security is only attained by those who escape the corporate jungle and fire their bosses.

This up-surge in the entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in many people trying to identify the best home based businesses that would fit with their interest and their lifestyle and budgets.

The first question a person should ask themselves is this: “Am I really looking for a business?” and if so ” Why”

What is going to drive you to do what it takes to succeed?

Often, people are enamored with the “idea” of a business and make the deadly mistake of not getting themselves to answer these questions!

In a lot of cases, it is just lack of forethought. To embark on any business venture today you will be required to have some level of start up capital.

In reality, if you constantly find yourself in the situation where you are worried about money and have trouble meeting your obligations. The last thing you need at present is your own business. You have to adjust your priorities and resign yourself to generating income from paid employment. The only exception to this would be if you do have savings, or access to capital through your good credit or generous family or friends.

If you still see yourself as a home based business candidate after that assessment, what I am going to say next is crucially important for you. I know from decades of personal experience that it can be disastrous to ignore this important recommendation.

Here goes; do not quit your job until your home based business has matched or exceeded your regular job income for at least 6 months!

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in, Direct sales, affiliate programs, MLM or Internet marketing the same rule applies and it should never be ignored.

Obviously, you want to tell your boss you are leaving the corporate ladder. However, unless you want to be looking for another job in a few months time, make sure that you really take this piece of advice to heart. If there is one mistake that is common among home based business owners, it is leaving their paid employment too quickly.

Doesn’t this make sense? If you can’t make money on a part time basis, just adding more “time” into the mix is not likely to change things. In reality you can make great progress in building a good income stream as a part timer working 15 to 20 hours per week with consistent effort. it is not difficult for a committed person to find that much time by maybe easing up on watching TV or putting non income producing hobbies on the back burner.

Look, wouldn’t your sacrifice something for twelve months for a lifetime of freedom?

You have to say yes to that, right?

Right, so you are still on course. You can get the necessary money from somewhere, you are prepared to “pay the price” by making the time available and will keep your revenue stream from work until you have seen enough success. The next thing is to reduce your choices down to the ones that make the best sense for you.

Next, select a type of business. Internet and affiliate marketing are not a good fit if you are a “people person” or if you are not too hot on the computer, you will end up frustrating yourself. Meeting one on one with prospects or working on the phone a lot fits well with Direct sales and MLM programs. In the same vein, the “Premium product” elite direct sales programs should be avoided unless you know that you have adequate money to enable you to participate as well as doing the lead generation and marketing.

If you have computer skills and want to avoid talking to people at all, you will want to focus on learning Internet marketing and selecting some affiliate marketing programs. There is a myriad of information available on these subjects which you can access with a simple Google search. be warned though, it is definitely a ‘buyer beware’ environment. You are encouraged and advised to do some serious research before getting in to deep.

MLM or Multi-level -marketing represents the best choice for most people because of the low start up costs. Do not be fooled though, you will still need resources to do the marketing side, without which there will be no sales and consequently no income

Make sure that whoever you choose can demonstrate to you a ‘system’ that has proved to be successful and that there is adequate training.

in the past few years, Networking Direct sales has emerged as a popular hybrid business model because it offers the best of both MLM and Franchise business but does not have the high start up costs of franchises and can be run form home.

The programs have the social networking aspect that attracts people to Network marketing. People do tend to take the businesses more seriously because of the higher incomes generated by the direct sales of the high end products which include things like travel programs and personal development seminars at magnificent destinations.

When a person has the necessary resources to not only acquire these products, but also, to fund the advertising and marketing that is required. The income level and the lifestyle that it makes possible is such that these programs are usually on the short list for the best home based businesses.

At the end of the day this is never an easy choice for anyone to make and it should not be done in a hurry. If you ever find someone trying to ‘push’ you into making a quick decision before you have had time to do a full due diligence- run! They are NOT the people that you want to be working with.

You have to find YOUR business, the one that feels right to you. If you answer out loud to yourself the question “What is it that you do?”How does describing the business you are considering make you feel? Is it a positive emotion that is created? If you don’t get the warm fuzzies, keep searching.

Look at the products that you will need to sell, make sure it is legitimate. Remember if there is no bonafide product it is likely an illegal program so avoid it!

Do you feel committed to the product? Can you feel good about showing it to anyone?

If there is any level of discomfort in the connection with the product it is a clear sign that you do well to heed. Don’t make the mistake of compromising on this issue.

“It will pay well so the product is not important”

Look, if you consider the pay plan before checking out the other boxes you are setting yourself up for failure.

Just make sure that you really do believe in what you choose to do. You can’t get by “pretending” that are passionate about something, that is just silly.

At the end of the day, most people just jump into the first thing that comes along because their friend said it was good or they saw someone else making money at it. This is an emotional decision, not an business decision. If you are going to have ANY chance , you really do have to evaluate the business to be as sure as possible that it is the right one for you

Go through the check list and make 100% sure that all of these ingredients are in place.

1. Is the product something I will be proud of and will it deliver the value to others?

2. Is is my kind of business? Does it suit me? Do I feel good about it and excited?

3. Does the management/ownership of the company have a proven track record? It does not matter if it is a new business but you don’t want to be the guinea pig

4. is there a system in place? It is systems that make businesses work. Ask to see what tools are available and what level of support and training you have access to. Beware though of the “we do it all for you” claims. This is a big red flag. Any business that claims that you will not have to work will turn out not to be a business so rather then just gamble in the stock market or on real estate. Real business always require some work, end of story.

5. Is there a fair and rewarding compensation system? This is left until last because if all the others are in place , the money will usually take care of itself. Do not fall into the trap of wanting to become a compensation plan expert. Doing that, often causes people to focus on the money above everything else and as we have discussed, that is dangerous . It is easy to make a compensation plan look lucrative , but if the other factors have not been properly addressed, the company will not survive and your efforts will be wasted.

If any of these 5 ingredients are not in place keep searching until you find a situation where they are. Then you have a starting point.

Action is then the next requirement and remember this important point. You have to be prepared to work diligently on your business for a minimum 1 to 3 years and refuse to think about quitting. Only quitters fail!

If you are not prepared to make that commitment, do yourself a favor- do not even waste your time getting started , you will just end up frustrating yourself.

Use the benefit of someone else’s mistakes so that you don’t have to make them. A bit of common sense now will save you from making big errors later.

Want to find out more about The Best Home based businesses, then visit Frank Atkins’s site and find out why Frank is uniquely equipped to help you to select thebest home business for your needs.