Three Home Based Business Ideas for Work at Home

Finding a way to create extra income from home can be confusing and overwhelming. There are dozens of work-at-home web sites with thousands of different money making ideas. Sorting through them all, you may soon decide that many work-at-home schemes are just that — a scheme. Most of the truly legitimate home based business ideas will fall into one of three categories: Direct Sales, Network Marketing/MLM and Service businesses.

Are you a good organizer? Charge clients for closet organization services. Are you a musician? You could teach private lessons on a part-time basis from your home. Other ideas would be baby sitting services, dog sitting, bookkeeping, housekeeping and landscaping. Word of mouth advertising will keep satisfied clients coming your way. The cost to start up may be less than fifty dollars.

If you choose to enter into a direct sales opportunity, be aware that many of these companies are those that encourage home parties for presenting the products to groups of interested people. Examples of direct sales parties that you may have have heard about or participated in would be costume jewelry, sterling silver jewelry, kitchen gadgets, travel discounts and pet supplies. Start-up costs for most direct sales companies will be less than $300. A small segment of direct sales, sometimes referred to as ‘top tier’, will have higher price points of entry. (Examples would be Liberty League, Wealthmasters and Global Resorts.)

Network marketing companies enroll independent associates, sometimes referred to as distributors or consultants, to market their products and services, in exchange for commissions. In addition, residual income can be earned off the sales volume in a down line sales organization. Learn how to use the internet to leverage your prospecting efforts and it is possible to build an organization of thousands. Typically, you will receive 4-8% of the monthly sales volume, plus most compensation plans reward associates for bringing new people into the business. Internet-based network marketing makes a large organization more attainable than in years past. With proper training, and execution of the techniques, internet marketing can replace the ‘friends and family’ approach.

Network marketing business opportunities are available in many different flavors: nutrition/supplements, beauty/skin care, electricity providers, travel, pet food and related products, financial services and debt reduction plans, health insurance discounts — there is even a healthy chocolate MLM company! The majority of the businesses do not require that you maintain an inventory; remember, though, that the income is based on sales and sales volume. Most will require that you maintain a monthly purchase amount of your own, in order to remain qualified for commissions. This monthly amount varies by company, but usually ranges between $50 and $150. Start up costs for most MLMs are less than $100.