Great Ideas for a Home Based Business

The prospect of operating a home based business is appealing on a variety of levels. Reducing expenses, avoiding traffic and long commutes, enhanced family interaction and eliminating office politics are all driving motivations for pursuing the freedom provided by home based business alternatives.

Driven by high unemployment, layoffs and salary reductions, entrepreneurs are starting hundreds of thousands of new home based businesses every year across a wide variety of industries. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that nearly 70% are still viable after two years.

The escalating interest in work at home businesses has created a separate industry whose primary function is to identify

opportunities. Unfortunately, many of these “services” provide nothing of tangible value and at worst, lure unsuspecting people into expensive fraudulent schemes.

When examining programs advocated through aggressive advertising campaigns, it is important to maintain a degree of skepticism, particularly if the benefits and income potential seem unreasonable.

Among those opportunities that should be carefully scrutinized are the following:

• Any company that is providing a home based business program that expects payment prior to revealing the exact nature of the business.
• Companies that require continuing fees for vague additional “services.”
• Companies that promise excessive profits with little or no work involved
• Companies that sell lists of users for the services they are promoting
• Business opportunities that include unwittingly laundering money through a personal account

Any home based business should be evaluated on the difficulty of its learning curve, the availability of a clearly defined and accessible customer base, investment requirements, the disruption to the neighborhood and its income potential. These businesses as outlined have demonstrated a proven track record in providing reasonable incomes while being operated primarily from the home.

1) Manufacturer’s representative: Many industries have experienced steep revenue declines resulting from the current economy. As these companies look for ways to reduce operating costs, factory sales people are often eliminated due to their substantial overhead.

The independent sales company will represent several complimentary but non competing manufacturers and present their products and services to a specific customer base. For each sale, the company will receive a commission typically paid monthly. There are numerous opportunities available in the automotive, retail, construction, pharmaceutical and service industries among many, and there are several websites such as Rephunter.net that provide job listings and subscriptions free of charge.

Potential customers by industry are easily identifiable, and start up costs are minimal. It is important to recognize that there will be some travel involved as part of the selling process.

2) Bookkeeping business: The rapid growth of new entrepreneurial endeavors has created a considerable demand for bookkeepers. Most new business owners are quite proficient at operational responsibilities but struggle with the financial aspects. For small businesses that don’t require a full service accountant, bookkeepers offer a lower cost alternative and more personalized attention.

Although not a requirement, certification from the American Institute of Bookkeepers is advantageous in attracting new customers. Certification includes taking an accredited secondary education bookkeeping course as well as 2 years practical experience. Many new bookkeepers have started their business and used their subsequent experience to become certified.

Customers are abundant and easily identifiable through published city business license application lists. This is also a business that receives significant activity through positive word of mouth recommendations.