If you’re thinking about working from home and starting your own home based business, it makes sense to spend a little time finding a legitimate home based business.

It really bothers me when I see good people who are just trying to make it get taken by a home based business scam.

So I wrote this part of the website to help you avoid scams, make the distinction between jobs and businesses, and to give you some ideas on home businesses you can start today (even if you’re on a budget).

Bad Advice & Uninformed Writers

Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad advice out there. Before I wrote this page, I decided to check on what has already been written about legitimate home based businesses by doing a Google search.

One of the first listings that came up was terrible. The person who wrote it clearly had no idea what it’s really like to run a home based business. And I’m guessing a lot of people believe what they say and get unrealistic ideas in their head about starting a business so let’s get started with a few home based business opportunity myths.

3 Home Business Myths:

1) A Home Based Business Should Be Free To Start – MYTH!

To be honest, this is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. All legitimate business opportunities are going to require and investment of both money and time.

While a home business tends to be far cheaper to start than a franchise or a brick and mortar operation, there is still going to be some investment required of you.

2) It takes 3-5 years to make a profit. MYTH!

When I saw this one, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. 3-5 years before you turn a profit? Please! That will likely be the case if you start a franchise like McDonald’s of Subway, but that isn’t true of home based business. While you should be skeptical of any claims of being able to start making millions from day one, it doesn’t take long to start earning money from a home based business if you pick a good one. (I’ll give you a few ideas at the end where you could start earning money in less than 24hrs – no guarantees, but you could).

3) You’ll get rich overnight. MYTH!

Remember that it’s a business, not the lottery. I hate to say there, but there is going to be real work involved in running a business even if it a home based one. Yes, you can make money. Yes, some people will make a heck of a lot of money, but anybody who starts painting pictures of getting rich quick in your mind is just trying to steal your money.

Home Based Job Vs Home Based Business

A home based business is not the same a home based job, and I want to make sure you understand the difference.

I know that there are plenty of people out there who think they’re looking for a home based business when all they really want is a job they can do from home.

For example, there are many companies out there allowing employees to trade in their commute for one of working from the comfort of their own home. There really are jobs out there that don’t require you to head into an office every day.

If you balk at the idea of having to spend any money to start your online business, then you’re not serious and you’re not looking for a home based business, you’re looking for a home based job.

7 Legitimate Home Based Business Ideas

Here are a few ideas that you can use to start a real, honest, legitimate home based business. You’ll probably find that one or two appeal to you more than the others.

1) Internet Marketer

There are dozens of sub-types of “internet marketer” that we can get into here. But the basic premise here is that you own a website (or a few of them) and market products or services via a website. I based my FREE DVD, How To Start A Home Based Business For Less Than $25 on this very idea. Instead of trying to teach you everything there is to know running an online business, it focuses on how to start a website, get traffic to it, and earn money within 30 days.

2) eBay Seller

eBay has provided opportunities for tens of thousands of people to start working from home. While it doesn’t get people as excited as it did ten years ago, eBay can still provide a great opportunity for someone looking to learn the ropes of selling items online. It’s how I got my start back in 2001, and it’s still a good opportunity today. A good course for learning how to start earning money quickly with eBay is Rapid Auction Profits (RapidAuctionProfits.com).

3) Graphic Designer / Web Design

If you’re good with design, you’ll find plenty of demand for your skills on freelancing sites like Elance, Rentacoder, and Guru.com. Getting started will likely mean you have to start with low prices at first just to get your foot in the door, but once you’ve done a few projects and proven your skills, you’ll be able to do just fine as a freelance graphic or web designer.

4) Writer / Proofreader

I’ve actually personally hired dozens of writers over the years to help me create content for my websites. Again, this is a lot like with the graphic design opportunity. You’ll use the same sites to help you get established. Another place to offer your services would be in Internet marketing forums. I once helped a friend get a gig as a ghostwriter simply by making a referral in a forum. If you enjoy writing on a variety of topics, but don’t want the pressure of trying to monetize the content with your own website, then the life of a ghostwriter might be just what you’re looking for.

5) Housesitter / Petsitter

Not all home based businesses are online business. And the job of housesitting or petsitting doesn’t really require any skills. The major asset here is to be a trustworthy person with reliable transportation. This one probably isn’t a good idea for the stay at home mom since housesitting requires you to stay at another person’s house, but for many, it’s a fun business to run.

To get started, you can put up flyers on bulletin boards in nice neighborhoods and run classified ads in your local newspaper.

6) Consultant

Consultant is a wonderfully vague term that a lot of people like to throw around. But the basic premise is that you know how to do something better than most people (typically this something is valuable to business owners of one type or another). And for a fee you’ll teach them how to do this “something” or do it for them.

This can be a lucrative business, but this tends to be a word of mouth business. You’ll need to start networking with business owners if you want to be a consultant.

7) Personal Shopper

This is a great one for people who love to shop and this is a business that will peak in December. There are plenty of people out there who hate shopping, especially for Christmas gifts and don’t want any part of the hustle and bustle that time of year. And they’re perfectly willing to pay you to go get gifts on their behalf.

Again, getting started here is as simple as putting up flyers on bulletin boards in your neighborhood and running little classified ads in the newspaper.

Conclusion

There you have it, everything you need to know about starting a legitimate home based business. One last piece of parting advice I’ll give you is to trust your intuition – if something smells fishy or sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I’d like to encourage you to check out my  FREE DVD – How To Start A Home Based Business For Less Than $25. It just might be the opportunity you’re searching for.

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