What Is A Home Based Business?

Definition (as defined in Wikipedia):
A home business (or "home-based business" or "HBB") is a small business that operates from the business owner's home office. In addition to location, home businesses are usually defined by having a very small number of employees, usually all immediate family of the business owner, in which case it is also a family business. Home businesses generally lack shop frontage, customer parking and street advertising signs. Such businesses are sometimes prohibited by residential zoning regulations.[1]

The prospect of working from home as gained credibility over the years. Home offices can now compete with small commercial businesses and save on rent in the process. Faxes, high speed internet connections, dedicated home telephone lines, and cell phones help to make a home-based business a reality.

A home-based business is not to be confused with a work-at-home scheme. A work-at-home scheme is a get-rich-quick scheme in which a victim is lured by an offer to be employed at home; very often doing some simple task in a minimal amount of time with a large amount of income that far exceeds the market rate for the type of work. The true purpose of such an offer is for the perpetrator to extort money from the victim, either by charging a fee to join the scheme, or requiring the victim to invest in products whose resale value is misrepresented.[1]
For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-at-Home_scheme

Advantages of a home-based business:
• Work from home
• Low overhead
• Flexibility
• Tax advantages
• Be your own boss (this can be good and bad)

Disadvantages:
• Requires self-discipline
• Can have more distractions


Types of home-based businesses
There a two basic types of businesses, conventional and non-conventional. A conventional business might be providing services such as catering, wedding planning, accounting, private investigation, window washing, car detailing, real estate, house cleaning, consulting…the list goes on. Or you might sell health products, beauty products, candles, gifts, etc. through a direct sales company. There are many reputable direct sales companies to choose from. An excellent resource is the Direct Selling Association’s website: www.dsa.com and www.directselling411.com where you will find lots of information on direct sales and a list of reputable Direct Selling companies. Be cautious if a company that you are considering is not a member of the DSA.

The other type of business is a non-conventional type called Network Marketing, which literally is “social networking.” It is also known as “Relationship Marketing” or Multi-level Marketing (MLM). Several of these reputable companies are members of the DSA. Network Marketing is the most misunderstood industry and is quickly becoming mainstream for several reasons. I will discuss these reasons in my next post.

Home Based Business Solutions

The economic climate has forced people to consider additional sources of income.

The purpose of this Blog is to educate people who are looking to start a business from home to supplement and/or replace their income due to one or more of the following reasons:
• Cost of living
• High unemployment/loss of one or more household incomes
• Downsizing/Off-shoring
• Pay reductions
• Increased cost of medical benefits
• Loss of retirement benefits/Loss of IRA and 401K values
• Rising cost of college education for children
• Foreclosures/Short-sales
• Excessive credit card debt

I’m going to share my fifteen years of experience in Home Based Business with you. I hope that you find this information helpful in making the best choices for you and your family.

Here are the topics I will be covering over the next weeks and months:

What is a Home Based Business?
Advantages of a Home Based Business
Disadvantages of a Home Based Business
Types of Home Based Businesses
Deciding on what type of business to be in
• Conventional
o Services
o Products
o Direct sales
• Non-conventional
o Relationship/Network Marketing

About Network Marketing
• Why we chose Relationship (Network) Marketing
o Low entry/start-up cost
o Low overhead
o Tax advantages
o Duplication
o Set your own schedule
o Give yourself a raise
o Build in your spare time (if you have a job and family)

• Common misconceptions
o Pyramid
o Cult
o MLM

• Marketing plans (types - pros/cons)
o Stair Step
o Binary
o Matrix
o Unilevel
o Hybrid

• Critics on the internet
o Who are they?
o What are they trying to accomplish?

• Resources
o http://www.ibofacts.com/qanda.htm
o http://www.dsa.org
o http://www.directselling411.com

Our experiences
I am going to be very transparent here. I hope to minimize your fears and show you that you can do it too.
• Why and how we got started
• How much time does it take?
• Our Challenges
• Our victories
• Our mistakes
• Why some people quit
o Other Business Opportunities
o Unrealistic Expectations
o Lack of Confidence/Belief
o Lack of Effort
• Why we didn’t quit
• Where we’re headed