What is the Right Home Business for You?

Early in my work-at-home career, I started several home businesses, most of which could have been successful, but they weren’t because they were the wrong home business for me. In my years of helping others find success in working at home, I’ve had people tell me they’ve had the same experience. Some businesses just weren’t for them. While there can be some benefits to trial and error in staring a home business, it also wastes time. It’s much easier to do a little research and evaluation to make sure you’re picking the right home business for you. To do that you need to:

1) Determine if you’re knowledgeable about the product or service. While you don’t have to know every little detail, you should have a cursory knowledge of the business you want to start. How can you expect to market your business and provide quality service if you don’t know what it is you’re selling?

2) Decide if you’re interested in the product or service. Just because you have a knowledge, doesn’t mean you have an interest. You may know about gardening, but if you don’t like gardening, it won’t make a successful business. Some people choose home business options based on what they think will be the easiest and most profitable, but again, if you’re not into the product or service, then it will become a tedious chore to turn it into a business. Starting a home business takes time and work so you might as well choose something that peaks your interest.

3) Research to make sure it’s a viable business option. Is there a market for your product or service and do you know where they hang out so you can market to them? Will the market pay enough to make it worth your while? If no one is buying what you got, you won’t have a business.

4) Be willing to do what it takes. Sometimes people tell me a business isn’t for them, not because the product or service isn’t a match, but because the work required to build the business isn’t a match. Despite what the scammer and schemers say, you can’t sign up and get profits on autopilot. You have to work. You have to learn about building a business and marketing or hire someone who knows about it. You need to work on your business daily, even the stuff that isn’t fun (or hire someone to do the un-fun stuff). You’ll need to learn new things and step out of your comfort zone. So before you get started, evaluate all the tasks that are required to succeed, and determine whether or not you’re willing to follow through on them.

5) Make a commitment for the long haul. It’s unlikely you’ll be making a living let alone a million dollars next month in a business start-up. Most experts say it can take six months to two years to build a profitable business. The results rest almost entirely on you and your commitment to your business. That means not quitting when you get discouraged or hit a bump in the road (which you will). It means being smart about how you invest your time and money. It means treating your business like the asset it is.

Starting a business is one of the fastest and most profitable ways to earn an income from home. But it’s not something you can simply jump into based on ease and income potential. While there are many reasons for home business failure, in my experience it’s often because people choose the wrong business for the wrong reasons, and don’t do what it takes. Before investing time and money in an opportunity that sounds good, research and evaluate whether or not it’s really the best option for you.
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About the Author: Leslie Truex is the author of The Work-At-Home Success Bible (2009 Adams Media). She has been telecommuting and running home businesses for over 15 years and helping others to work at home since 1998. Get work-at-home jobs and other resources with her free newsletter at http://www.WorkAtHomeSuccess.com.

Proven Insider Tips To Get More Web Visitors Quickly And Easily

Believe me, in spite of the current financial turmoil, there has never been a better time to generate an online income stream!

And yet it seems that so many budding Internet marketers are finding it hard to break through VNB - the "Visitor Numbers Barrier."

When I started, I thought there was some magic elixir or secret technique that would transform my visitor numbers! If only I could find THE ONE successful method!

Well, this article is to let you know that while there may be hundreds of ways to get visitors to your website - I've selected some of the techniques that work best for me.

And they can work for you, as well.

Because, if there IS a secret of success, it is this: "Don't rely on ONE way to generate traffic. Become familiar with MANY." Better to have many visitor doors to your website, rather than just one, don't you think?

I'm still surprised how many serious Internet marketers neglect the basics. And one of the most basic ways to increase your visitor traffic is to me absolutely certain that your website is listed by the search engines.

Don't trust the search engine spiders to do your work for you. All the major search engines have detailed and easy-to-follow instructions on site submission, as well as how to create and submit site-maps. 
I don't think Facebook needs a great deal of introduction, does it? But you can mine value for Facebook if you look for opportunities to include your website on information that you provide.

Then, there is what I call the secret power of blogging: search engines LOVE blogs. The search engine spiders thrive on novelty and change, and if you write or post a new entry to your blog every day - or every other day - the search engines will recognise what is going on and begin to rank your website blog higher than a website that doesn't change its content from month to month. And a high ranking means visitors to your site.

Don't forget that you can leverage your signature in online communities or discussion groups. If your product is specifically niched, then you know that there are loyal and relevant online communities or discussion groups who want to hear from you.

And, your forum signature could be a goldmine once you have thought through the best way of expressing your product's unique feature so that readers find your website irresistible.

Would you like your web address to be seen by ten million people in ten minutes? Well, it's possible - if you're careful! Because there are three kinds of people: those who love Google Adwords, often known as Pay Per Click, those who hate it - and those who haven't tried it.

Many people just go nuts trying to get their advertisement absolutely perfect. And, if you don't read the small print, you could find that your budget is exhausted quickly. But if you follow the guidelines and budget sensibly you could attract many, many hundreds of paying visitors on a daily basis.

Do you remember those kid's stories where the fairy Godmother tells the child to repeat a word three times for magic to happen? Well, here's that word: "eBay", "eBay", "eBay".

There - I've said it. eBay is perhaps THE most underestimated visitor generating resource. Ignore eBay at your peril.
 There are many, many resources available on the web where you can discover how to sell products on eBay. Until recently you could sell digital products (i.e. eBooks, which you can download) but the rules have changed and you can now only sell physical goods, so your eBook will have to be on a CD. Personally, I think it's a good move, and opens up many possibilities.

Don't forget that Ezines and Newsletters are the Grand Daddy and Grand Mommy of all website visitor attraction and list building activity. The thing is this - Ezines and Newsletters work!

If you love your niche product, you'll have LOTS to say about it, and there will be people who want to hear what you have to say. I built an opt-in subscriber of almost 3,000 with a business coaching Newsletter.

Another way to get visitors to your websites is to write your own ebook. I'm not embarrassed to say that we're not talking great literature here. We aren't talking about the Pulitzer Prize. We're not even talking more than, maybe, 30 pages, double spaced, and size 12 font.

But the fact is this: your eBook will attract visitors to your website single-handedly.

Later, you can offer your eBook to affiliates so that they send visitors to your site as well! If you're more of an audio expert than a novelist, whay not create your own podcast? Uh? Well, a podcast is a series of audio files that is distributed over the Internet to iPods and other music players and personal computers. This is the future - and it's fun!

The fact is, everyone loves information but don't always find printed pages the best way to get it. If you can provide the same information that can be played on an iPod or similar media player, or a mobile phone, you're offering a higher value product.

You needn't start from scratch - you can plug your product or service almost immediately by converting your existing articles or eBooks into .mp3 recordings. (.mp3 is the industry standard audio format that is widely accepted for iPods, mobile phones etc.) Remember, you have, on your hard drive, stuff that you have written, or will write, that you can add value to by converting it into an .mp3 recording.

Again, it's the basics that are often the key to increasing your visitor traffic, so you might need to shine your light on your meta tags. (To put it briefly, a "meta tag" is used by search engines to allow them to more accurately list your site in their indexes.

To be honest, it works most of the time, but not always! Search engines are always changing their methods, and some use the Meta tags a lot, while others don't, but I would not want to neglect this technique. It is a small piece of the mosaic that completes the whole visitor traffic picture.

How many times have you wanted to speak your mind? Well, now you can - and it'll help drive visitors to your website. How? Leave testimonials on other people's sites. This won't take you a second, but your web address will be around for years. Go for it. It is so simple, and so little done.

Another technique I used to attract visitors was to write a priority email to opt-in customers with an attention-grabbing subject like such as "The Top Ten Myths In Your Industry." Or, offer something like this as a freebie. Make certain that there are clear links to your website, and a compelling reason for the reader to visit.

Finally, I don't think YouTube needs much introduction! It's simply one of the largest websites devoted to online videos covering every single subject you can think of - and more! So how can you use the power of YouTube to get more visitors? Simply this: upload a video of you talking about your niche.

Many cheap digital cameras have a video option - and you do not need a high end movie camera. You could get a friend to film you. Or, you could use a built in camera on your PC or Mac, if your model has one. Aim to talk for not much longer than 10 minutes maximum, and - sign off with your website address. Again, this is much easier than you would think.

Remember, so many people focus on one traffic building technique, and one only. I hope I've shown you that there are many ways - and you should have fun with all of them. My best to you. __________________________
About The Author

Did you find these suggestions helpful? Is your website making you money? Go to http://www.ultrasimplewebtraffic.com/ to find out more and claim your free visitor traffic mini course by James Gladwin.

Malcolm "Mac" Russell 1953-2008

In loving memory of a very near and dear, amazing person. Mac was so special to so many people and much to our dismay, passed away suddenly on Christmas Day. The world has lost one of the most thoughtful, selfless, caring people I know and will be missed terribly. I still can't believe you're gone. We will always love you and will keep your memory alive everyday until we meet again. Until then, keep a spot open for me at the poker table Macky. Gone but NEVER forgotten.