Do You Want to Start a Home Business?

 © by Patricia Brucoli

Where do you start?  You would think you would be most successful finding a niche that is something you are interested in. There is a theory that you will do best at something you like.

However, there is another theory and it is from people who have actually turned a part-time home business into a successful mega-corporation, and they say you should research the market – find out what it is that people are looking for (the market) and then get the product that they want! Most people go about it backwards, and therein lies the error of their ways.

If you are really lucky, you will be able to do both – that is if you like what most people like! This would work maybe for something to do with sports or health that the average person is interested in or concerned with.

You need to determine the level of involvement that you want in your home business – do you want to do it as a hobby to make some extra money? Do you want to devote a specific amount of time (part-time) while you continue to work at a full-time job? Or do you want to quit your job and work from home?

A great way to get your feet wet in home business,  especially if you are not sure what you want to do yet, and/or don’t have ANY start-up capital to speak of, is affiliate marketing.  This is an ingenius way to start a home business, and is great for the company as well as the affiliate, as it serves a need for both sides with little commitment or investment on either part.

There are both companies that you pay a membership to belong, and a great many that are absolutely free to join. The company runs the main website and does customer service, technical support, has the inventory, runs the payment gateway, processes the order and ships it.

The affiliate is given an ‘affiliate link’ which is a URL which identifies their member number.  The company may link this URL to the main website, or have what are called ’splash pages’, which are one page ’sites’ that have a sales letter.  They also may supply banners, email letters, text ads, etc. that the affiliate may use to promote the company.

The affiliate is not an employee of the company, and as such is not paid a salary or wage.  At their own expense, they will market and advertise their affiliate URL through a variety of methods, ranging from online to offline- e.g., classified ads, newsletters, ezines, email campaigns, brochures, flyers, etc.

When the affiliate is successful in compelling a prospective customer to click the affiliate link, and to purchase the service or product from the company/website using that link, then the company pays the affiliate a commission.  Some commissions are as high as 75%!

One could even use this method to make money that would be then invested into the home business of your dreams, for instance selling those cute widgets you love to create.