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The Silver Lining
from: Donna Schwartz MillsThe nation's economic forecast has been gloomy. Stocks are
down, lay-offs are up, and consumer confidence is at its
lowest point in years.
It's a great time to start a home business.
If job worries are getting you down, a business on the side
can serve as insurance against a bumpy economic ride. And
the low overhead of launching your business from home means
that you can do it even if you're short on cash.
If you're also short on ideas, here are a few:
Direct Sales
We're not talking about pyramid schemes where all you sell
is an opportunity. You can find dozens of reputable
companies with quality product lines which follow a
multi-level compensation model. These are especially
appealing to home-based entrepreneurs because (a) they
require very little upfront investment, (b) their offerings
are known and trusted and (c) placing an order will not break
the bank... so it's possible to find eager customers, even
if you are new to sales.
Of course, making big money in MLM comes from commissions
you make off the sales of your 'downline' - the people you
recruit and the people they recruit. Again, your timing for
trying this out could not be better: The same job and money
insecurities that are inspiring you to look for a little
income insurance are driving others to do the same. This
is a good economy for building a downline.
You do need to investigate any opportunity before you sign.
Start your research at NOBOSS < http://www.noboss.com >
which offers extremely detailed descriptions of over 100
different low-cost businesses you can start at home.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
(1) Is this a product you would use yourself and recommend
to others? If you're not familiar with their offerings,
buy some for yourself and use them. If you're not wild
about the product, you won't have an easy time selling it.
Keep on looking.
(2) Large commissions are great, but big ticket items don't
sell well in this kind of nervous economy. You may do better
to choose a low-cost line that will appeal to a wider
audience and plan to earn your commissions on volume.
(3) While it is customary to charge a new rep a start-up
fee (those sales kits do cost something to produce and often
contain samples of a company's best products), be wary of
any MLM company that requires a huge investment or that you
keep a lot of inventory on hand. On the other hand, an
opportunity that costs nothing to get into may not offer
much support -- or may not even have an actual product to
sell!
Online Sales
If the idea of starting a low cost home business is
appealing to you but direct sales is not, you might want to
try selling products online. The Internet has made it
possible for thousands of home-based entrepreneurs to earn a
solid living from home -- with little investment and
flexible hours.
Hundreds of large corporations pay hundreds of thousands of
online entrepreneurs commissions to sell products from their
websites. These 'affiliate programs' are easy to join and
most are free:
< http://www.quinstreet.com >
< http://reporting.net >
< http://www.commissionjunction.com >
< http://www.linkshare.com >
Be aware that many of the headlines proclaiming lay-offs
and poor stock performance have come out of the technology
sector. (The spectacular demise of eToys is an example!)
The affiliate model is young and evolving. Many programs
are being discontinued on a daily basis, so once again,
research is essential.
You should also understand that your income potential with
affiliate programs is directly in proportion to the number
of people you are able to reach online. If you explore this
route, you will probably spend a lot of time learning about
website promotion and ezine ad placement before you start
earning a substantial income from affiliate programs.
However, *it can be done* -- in your spare time -- and at
very little cost.
The Service Option
Your third option for starting a low-cost home business is
to offer a service that others will need. And once again,
with so many people starting businesses on the side, it
should not be too difficult to fill this niche.
Even with the tumult in the Internet economy, having a
website is becoming a necessity for everyone in business.
Web design, site promotion, advertising copywriting and
newsletter editing are all services you can offer to other
home-based entrepreneurs. So are classic services like tax
preparation, bookkeeping, errand running, bulk mailing,
secretarial (virtual assisting), desktop publishing and
more.
You'll find some great books to help you get started here:
< http://www.parentpreneurclub.com/bookreviewz.html >
Like I said, it's a great time to start your home
business... so what's keeping you?
About the Author
Donna Schwartz Mills is the Editor/Webmaster of the NOBOSS ParentPreneur
Club http://www.parentpreneurclub.com.
Get the latest home business tips
and tools by subscribing to ParentPreneur Weekly at mailto:subscribe@parentpreneurclub.com .
Donna also edits NOBOSS Online, the newsletter for home-based entrepreneurs
doing business on the web. To subscribe, send a blank email to
online-subscribe@noboss.com.
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