Best Home Based Business Opportunity Ranking

Best Home Based Businesses

You want to start up a small business. You want to work at home on the Internet, or find one of the work from home businesses that represent a legitimate home business idea that operates without a great deal of online presence.

There are a lot of options out there. A great many promising easy, overnight wealth. Of course, it doesn't work that way. HomeBET is here to help you successfully find a legitinmate home business idea, and turn it into a long term success story. So let's see how the options shake out.

Before we list some of our favorites, its important that you realize you are looking for the best home based business for you. In the list that follows we'll tell you about the home based business opportunities we like, and why we like them, but the best home base business for you to open is the one that most interests you and which best fits your experience and qualifications.

To successfully start up a small business you have to be doing what you love, so that you can love what you do. Doing what other people think is best is not the way of the entrepreneur.

The possibilities are endless, of course, so we can't list everything. Rather than pretend we knew what was best for you, we decided to present categories rather than specific businesses. Look over our suggestions and the reasons we offer for each. If one of them resonates with you follow through on it and look for specific businesses within that category.

One more important point. In putting this list together we analyzed three criteria:

1. Easy to start. Our criteria for "easy" were; low start up cost, low ongoing operating expense, and reasonably quick cash flow relative to non-work from home businesses

2. Mom Entrepreneur friendly. This boiled down to flexibility. The ability to make money working at home and to control how, when and where time outside the home was spent.

3. Has significant income potential. Not everyone who starts up a small business in their home wants, or needs signficant income. We felt it was still a good criteria, however, because work from home businesses with good income potential always outperform those with limitations. The decision to put in the time and effort to realize the full earning potential, or operate with less, is then a matter of choice rather than necessity.

Best Home Based Business Opportunity Categories

1. Home Based Internet Businesses

Hands down Internet based work from home businesses offer the best combination of desirable features.

No other home based business opportunity will offer more control of your time, or take less resources to start up and maintain. On the down side this type of business can take a while before it starts producing cash flow. Unlike the choices in our number two slot, however, take very little ongoing investment to keep them alive and growing until the cash flow does start.

Another thing going for them is the virtual Internet business incubator created by Ken Envoy, and offered through SiteSell. I refer to it as an incubator because it, literally, offers everything needed to get a home based Internet business off the ground. User forums where successful old hands and newcomers like yourself meet to share knowledge. Easy to use website construction, keyword analysis, search engine optimation tools and web hosting in SiteBuildIt. SiteBuildIt also offers an optional module for selling hard goods called StoreBuildIt.

I use SiteBuild It, and I recommend it based on my personal experience. You can read what others say about their experiences using SiteBuildIt for their home based Internet business here. If you are serious about wanting to start up a small business on the Internet, you need to review SiteBuildIt before you make the final decision on how you will host build and promote your home based Internet business.

2. Consultant, Freelancer, Contractor

This comes in number two because the earning potential and flexibility are excellent, but the length of time it takes to start seeing cash flow can be painful. I've known and worked with home based consultants/contractors that have waited 6 months for their first check, and unless you are well connected in the field you have chosen to enter, 3 months is likely the average time it takes to see any cash flow. This cold be a poor choice for those who need money now, or who don't have a few thousand to invest in marketing and networking. On the bright side, full time home based consultants, freelancers, and contractors usually charge a minimum of $50 dollars an hour and will likely see an income of $50,000 a year - and up - once established. The really successful members of the club make solid 6 figures incomes.

You don't need a Master's degree or a corporate pedigree unless you plan on business or speiclaized consulting. You can freelance as a writer, consult as an event planner, or contract as a web designer. The secret is having, or being willing to go out and get, a marketable skill or body of knowledge. The more you know, the better your income. You can use a combination of Internet and home based consulting (HomeBET is an example). An excellent resource for getting your knowledge online for this course of action is Make Your Knowledge Sell. Another inexpensive but information filled option is Consulting Solutions There are also a couple of Busines Start Up Guides from Entrepreneur Magazine for businesses in this category on our Books page.

3. Service Businesses

These are usually the first choice of people who are not comfortable with the idea of a home based Internet business. They usually offer relatively low start up costs, but made our list at number three becasue they are expensive to promote and maintain, and offer less control of your time as they slowly become more like a traditional job. This home business category can be both lucrative and rewarding, but usually grows into a traditional business with a commercial location if really successful. Work from home businesses in this category include cleaning services, mobile repair services, work managed from, but done outside, the home like lawn maintenance, painting, or renovations. We have a Business StartUp Guide from Entrepreneur Magazine on how to start a cleaning business on our Books page.

4. Coaching Coaching can be an excellent home base business, but it wasn't included with independent contracting, freelancing and consulting because its a rather unique case. Coaching is less well known and less established. Additionally, while the profession is working hard to build and maintain professional standards there is little, or no, government regulation. This makes it possible for anyone to set up a coaching practice - and many do.

Don't get me wrong. I coach. HomeBET was originally - and still is - an active business coaching and consulting practice before it went live online. Coaching is both a great profession and lucrative income source. To be honest, though, I wouldn't have survived financially if I could not have bolstered my income with consulting while I built my coaching practice.

Lastly, too many coaches make a living offereing training and sure-fire marketing methods to "wannabe" coaches. This trend will probably taper off as the profession becomes more establised, but for now be careful of "Mentor Coaches" who promise to teach you the secrets to a six figure income.

If you have patience. If you are good at networking. If you have the money to invest in a good training program. If you understand that you will not be earning $5,000 a month within six months, then Coaching can be a great home business. One of the best.

Here are some reputable sites for Coach training and information Coach Training Alliance, International Coach Federation, International Association of Coaches , and Coach University

5. Businesses Operated Out of Your Home

This category consists of businesses that occupy your home along side you. A Bed & Breakfast is a classic example. Another is a Day Care Center.

This type of home based business opportunity has many of the advantages of other work from home businesses but are less desireable, in our opininon, because of the loss of privacy and the limited control of your personal time that comes with them.

These businesses can be very lucrative. I know a couple who make 6 figures operating a bed and breakfast. Their B&B, however, is blessed with both an excellent location and many rooms to rent out. Your income will be directly effected by these property dependent qualities as well. If you are interested in starting a Bed and Breakfast you will find this Start Up Guide and Kit interesting.

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