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    You've probably heard it a hundred times by now - if you want to make alot of money with an online business you have to offer your own product or service. Well, make that a hundred and one times...
    It's true. Although affiliate programs are a great way to add additional streams of income, the best money maker is still a unique product or service that you control. That way you earn all of the money instead of only 10% - 40%.

    Working at Home- It's Just Easier That Way

    By Bill Schnarr

    We've all been stretched to our limits at one time or another, whether our jobs take us to the factory, the office, and even those who work at home. Todays working parents are under more pressure than ever to work longer, earn more money, and provide a stable environment for their children. At the same time, those same activities that are supposed to be enjoyable spending time with family, taking the kids to soccer practice, and remembering to phone Aunt Martha on her birthday can easily become part of a hectic, stressful work week that leaves you exhausted and desperate for a break.

    With all the stress and hassle of today's modern life, it's no wonder that more and more people are turning to alternative sources to generate income and ease the burden of day to day living. For many of those people, working at home on their computers for a few hours a week has become that stress relieving second income. And these people are beginning to see that a home based business can be an alternative to a soul-sucking job that leaves you exhausted and praying for the weekend.

    There are a lot of good reasons why you should consider a home based business if you are searching for a way to improve the quality of your life. For example, working at home provides you with the ability to schedule your work around the important things that come up in everyday life, as opposed to waiting for a day off to take the kids to the dentist or missing a birthday dinner because you were stuck in traffic.

    Affiliate Programs

    In fact, missing anything because of traffic would be a thing of the past, unless you count the line ups at the supermarket or the Doctor's office. And heres a little tip: there are no line ups at the supermarket when everyone is at work. It would just be you and a couple little old ladies in a foot race for the two bored cashiers waiting to serve you. Take my advice - a good hip check goes a long way to eliminating the competition, if you catch my drift.

    But there are some really important things to consider if you are going to look for a way to work at home and make money on a home based business. For one thing, something like an internet based business can lead to all kinds of goodies. Things like residual incomes and streaming money. Royalties! Yes, your home based internet business will make money for you even while you're sleeping in or spending the weekend on a romantic getaway with your significant other. Does your job at the toothpaste factory pay you to sleep? (Don't answer that!)

    Working at home on computer can afford you other luxuries as well. You may not have realized this, but an internet based business can be accessed and maintained from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a reliable internet connection and access to your email accounts. That means that you can spend an hour or two on your computer in the morning taking care of loose ends while your family prepares for a day at the beach in Mexico!

    You can work from your time share condo in Florida, your parent's house in Wisconsin, or even that little two bedroom tree house in the Amazon Rain Forest you've always dreamed about providing you can convince the local monkeys to provide you with some form of internet service.

    The opportunity for additional income and freedom from the grind of daily living is sitting in your living room. Working at home is a trend being picked up by men and women every day; professionals, college students, and retirees are all working from home on computers and making money to improve their lives.

    If your still considering it, no worries. Hopefully this article will give you something to think about next time your stuck in traffic, sucking on petrol fumes and wishing that monkeys were serving you Pina Coladas in your little grass hut out in the middle of nowhere.

    About The Author

    Bill Schnarr is a single parent and freelance writer who works from his home in Calgary, Alberta. As well as writing about the various ways to start a home business and having dozens of online and print publishing credits, you can also look for him in the latest "Chicken Soup for the Single Parents Soul" which was published in February 2005.

    Here are six tips to help you choose a winning business idea:

    1. Start with what you know.

    If you have experience in a particular area, either through your work or hobbies, then the best place to start is thinking how you can turn that
    experience into a business. It doesn't have to be something you've worked at for 20 years, think of the things you're good at and that you could expand your knowledge on to create a business.
    2. Don't waste time trying to find a brand new idea.
    At the height of the dot com era there was a race to be the first to launch a new product or to service a particular market. Although many of the first launched services received alot of recognition for their
    innovation, they ultimately failed because they were breaking new ground and didn't know how to succeed. Many of the second and subsequent businesses in those markets succeeded because they saw the mistakes that were made and capitalized on fixing them.
    When thinking of a new business idea don't assume you have to find something that isn't currently being done. A better strategy for most new entrepreneurs is to find something that is being done but that needs improvement.
    3. Find a business area that needs improvement.
    Think about the products and services you use or that you've heard other people talk about. Are there any that could be improved on? Is there anything they're not offering that would be of value? Consider starting a business that fills a need that isn't being met by the current providers.
    4. Focus on a niche.
    Select a specific market to which you can offer unique products or services. You can't be everything to everyone, and trying to offer a giant selection of goods to a huge and generalized market is the route to frustration, disappointment, and failure.
    As a small business, focus on a promising niche market and work hard to offer them the products and services they need. If you do this well you'll become known as an expert in this area and you'll be able to generate new business from your reputation alone.
    5. Be careful of 'hot' industries that are already overcrowded.
    Although you have to be the first person into a market, you have to be careful of markets that are already over crowded.
    One of the keys to success in business is differentiating yourself from your competitors. If your customers can't see value in doing business with you over someone else you'll never be able to attract the business you need to succeed. If there are already so many businesses doing what you're considering that you can't figure out how to make yourself stand out then choose another business idea.

    6. Think about what works online.
    There are some products and services that work well online, and others that don't.
    Consider the following rules when choosing your business idea:
    a. The product or service offered can't be readily available offline
    or there must be an advantage to ordering from you such as price, bundling with other products, etc.
    b . It has to appeal to the masses- the Internet is a global medium.
    That said, there are local opportunities but you need to explore them carefully.
    c . It must be easily shipped around the world.
    d. You can't charge for something if it's already available online for free.
    Before you decide what business you'd like to start, be sure to research it carefully. Knowing upfront how big the market is, who your competitors are and what your competitors are offering will help you avoid costly mistakes.

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