Women's Work

Work From Home - Tips on picking the best business for you

It never fails. At least a dozen people each week email me about wanting to start a home-based business. Their queries range from whether I know of any financing available for small businesses to what home-based business should they select. In addressing the latter question, my answer is always..."it depends."

And their next question is always, "Depends on what?"

First, what are your interests? What do you enjoy doing? Do you have a passion that you can turn into a business? Do you want to:

do the same type of work you're doing now (or have in the past) or get into something entirely different?
have a product-based business or a service-based business?
serve a local market or a universal market?
work full-time or part-time?
supplement an income or provide a primary income?

As you can see, these are important questions that, once answered, will begin to narrow down your options. However, understand these are just the tip of the iceberg.

There are many books offering help with home-based businesses. A good one to start with is Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century by Paul and Sarah Edwards. It provides a description of the most popular businesses run from home and includes start-up costs, what kind of income you can expect to earn and additional resources. Another good book is The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to the Best Home-Based Businesses by Robert Spiegel featuring 200 "hot" work ideas. A helpful online resource is Entrepreneur Magazine's Homebased Business Opportunity 400, a guide to more than 400 hot start-up homebased business opportunities.

And be careful. The world is full of business opportunities... some legit, others are not. Before making any overtures on a home-based business, make sure you try out the product or service yourself. Do some online research. The Internet is full of information - ripe for the taking. Look into the financial stability of the company. Many companies provide that type of information right on their website. Check with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau for any information either might have on the business. Talk to other business owners/distributors. Are they happy with the performance of the business? What don't they like?

Most important, do not invest a dime in a work from home business until you have thoroughly researched it. Good luck!