You’ve heard about all the money circulating around the internet today, and about the big and easy bucks all the gurus are bringing in from their online businesses. Now you can’t wait to find that single perfect online business opportunity for you that will help you rake in the same amount of cash, if not more. All you have to do is plug in a search term into Google, click on the first listed and probably best business opportunity, and you’re on the road to riches, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy! When you search for profitable home based business opportunities, you first have a few big things to consider. One of the major things to think about is whether or not an online business is really for you.
Are you the type of person that is always on the go, can’t sit still for any length of time, needs to be outside and active all the time, and are not an office person? If so, an online business may not be right for you. Sure there is new technology being developed all the time that allows you to be more mobile with your business, but you have to consider the fact that an online business takes time, energy, and effort over the long term, and that it requires spending hours in front of the computer,whether it’s a desktop or a notebook. You also have to be the kind of person who is willing to put those hours in, and who has the time to spend on it.If you are super busy and have a million things going on in your life, you can still have an online business, but you have to be organized enough to plan your time, and expect that if you only have so much time that your business will take longer to flourish. The next big thing to consider is money.
Every online business, whether you like it or not, is going to involve some start-up costs as well as long term maintenance and advertising costs. Sure there is fair warning all over the internet that you shouldn’t have to pay a cent to start a business and if you do, then it’s probably a scam. This is not necessarily true. If someone offers an online business for free, there are surely going to be other costs down the road to help build and maintain your business. If you think about starting a traditional offline business, you are looking at start-up costs around $2000-$5000, so why would you think an online business is any different? An online business may be cheaper to start than that, but eventually you will run into other expenses. When you are looking for profitable home based business opportunities, be aware that there are membership fees, advertising, and marketing costs involved and that you will have to make an investment. The way you can manage and maintain this is by being prepared. Set a budget for yourself that you can maintain over the long term and realize that you don’t have to buy everything that is suggested to you.
Next, you want to ask yourself what you want to sell on the internet. Do you want to sell a product or service, and how? If you sell products, do you want to handle them, ship them, and deal with credit cards and customers yourself? Or would you rather join a company as an affiliate and have them do all the work and deal with all the transactions for you? If you sell a service, such as website development, or an online dating service, how will you deal with your customers, and will you have to do some offline prospecting as a network marketer? Once you’ve decided what you are going to sell on the internet and how, you venture online to search for profitable home based business opportunities that appeal to you.
The best internet business is not necessarily the one in the number one position in Google. That website has just taken search engine optimization measures to ensure that their site is number one, or on the first few pages in Google. There are billions of sites out there that have to do with online business opportunities, so how do you find that perfect opportunity for you? One way is to get specific and find a smaller niche. For example, if you are a work-at-home mom, you can search for business opportunities specifically for moms. If you are a newbie to online business, you can search for businesses specifically for newbies.
There is no question the internet has a wide array of home based business opportunities to venture into. At the same time there are an equal amount of scams you must be wary of. Prior to selecting a program or company to become a part of, it is essential you take the time to research in-depth. There are certain qualities that can help you identify a scam from a success.
One of the first things you want to look into is how much information is given to you prior to signing up. A lot of scams on the internet will give you very little information and ask you to sign up to learn more. Not to say all of these programs are scams, but it is risky signing up for something you know very little about.
If the sign up page does offer enough information to keep you interested, look for some kind of contact information. A true program is not afraid to hide behind their sign up page and is more than willing to talk with you. Whether it is through email or the phone, you should be able to easily find contact information to ask any questions you may have.
Next, look for what kind of assistance or training you will receive from the home business opportunity. One of the key reasons so many people fail on the internet is because of a lack of training. If you do not see any information on training provided, ask in your email or phone call. Training videos and marketing material is essential to having success on the internet.
Lastly, what kind of guarantees does the program offer? You have to look at the site and ask yourself if you believe these are reasonable guarantees. There is not a program on the internet that can guarantee you thousands of dollars in your first week. Unless they intend on giving you your first sells for free, do not plan on a guarantee like this. But guarantees stating they will provide you with training material and personal assistance are legitimate statements.
Prior to making any decisions, take the time to consider your options and look over several different home based business opportunities. Many programs may look legitimate at the start, but turn out to be a bust after a few months. You do not want to get stuck wasting your time and money on something like this. With the proper research and the right patience, you will be able to find a true business opportunity to take advantage of.
So, you are now part of an internet marketing business opportunity or the best affiliate marketing program you've ever seen, you have more than likely seen this scenario with someone else. You have been introduced to a home based business opportunity with a great pay plan, excellent training, and outstanding leadership. You have a great sponsor. You join, and you are ready to get to work.
It's fine for the first week, after all, you are pretty excited about the home based business opportunity you just joined, right? Or, if it is an internet marketing business opportunity, you've watched all the tutorials, joined the forums, and placed some ads. So, you begin to work whatever system you have been taught, but by week number 2 or 3, for some reason, you seem to have lost some steam.
Then, after the end of your first month, it's all you can do to pick up the sales literature or log into your affiliate marketing system. You cringe when you see your credit card bill for your monthly investment in the business or your products. You have stuffed your contact file into a drawer. You have shoved all the product samples into the closet where at least they won't collect too much dust. You have stopped working. You haven't placed any ads, and you have been avoiding your sponsor.
Why? What happened?
To answer that, let's take a quick look at why you joined to begin with. Let's say you joined a home based business opportunity where you attended a business presentation meeting: Did you get excited by the hype and thrill where all the leaders and top-10 money earners smiled down from the stage and told you that YOU could do this too?
Or, if it was an internet marketing business opportunity, did you get excited by the video testimonials of the others who made a bunch of sales and had some big paychecks to show for it, and picture yourself as the next testimonial?
Why DID you join?
Let's say you joined a food or nutrition business opportunity. Do you enjoy eating those types of products? Do you even enjoy the field of nutrition?
What if you joined a financial services opportunity. Are the services offered of value to you? Do you use them? Do you need them? Are you interested in whatever financial services are offered to begin with?
Look around at the most successful and happiest people you know - in and out of internet and home based business opportunities. What do you notice about them? I know an engineer who absolutely loves his job, and when he's not helping design industrial structures for his employer, he enjoys reading Architectural Digest and planning home and landscape renovations.
You will notice that people who are successful marketing a travel opportunity tend to love travel, and use their product to take their own vacations. You will notice that the most successful representatives selling candles or cosmetics always use the products themselves.
Have you ever noticed that writers are also avid readers? Or that most musicians who play instruments or sing also enjoy listening to music? In my case, I enjoy writing about internet marketing and home based business opportunities. When I'm at a restaurant or on a plane, you will typically see me bent over a Success or Entrepreneur Magazine.
This is really the key observation: Notice when someone's business and way of making a living has actually become a lifestyle. More often than not, these individuals are doing what they love; which means that they have played to their strengths, skills, talents, and interests which helped them determine their field, or in the case of the home based business or internet marketing based business industry, which affiliate program or opportunity to join.
So, it is important to examine the things you enjoy to begin with. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
If you enjoy travel, find at an opportunity that includes marketing travel. If you enjoy cosmetics, align yourself with an opportunity marketing make up or perfumes. You get the idea. I don't wear jewelry as a rule, so trying to recruit me to sell jewelry is a waste of time. It could be the best jewelry opportunity on Earth, but I will not be able to muster up the interest or energy to make a successful go at it.
It is also important to consider the structure of the opportunity. If you prefer working online and reaching a global audience, choose an opportunity that doesn't rely on face-to-face business presentations in your neighborhood. Do you enjoy blogging? Do you love writing? Then, join an internet marketing business opportunity that promotes the use of these activities to market.
If you align yourself with an internet marketing business opportunity or other home based business opportunity that reflects the type of person you are: your interests, your passions, and your personal marketing style and strengths, you will find that you are more likely to enjoy working the business.
You might discover that you look forward to the work! You will be more likely to stick with it, and ultimately succeed, and thus getting to the point where there is little difference between your business and your lifestyle.
And that, my friend, is a great place to be!
So, after you have considered your options and decided you are not in the mood to make a website template, you have decided to take the easy way and purchase one. There are a bazillion sites on the web that have them for sale or free, some are packed in to bundles of different sizes from as few as 10 to bundles in the hundreds. These lovely packs have one thing in common; they all want you to BUY! Sure, you can buy them, but do they come with instruction booklets? I think not. Once you buy them, you are on your own my friend. None of them will tell you how to create your perfect site for your little niche. So how to choose a professional website templates? Here are some tips.
