Don't Settle For Second Best

Let's talk about products.

Every home based business opportunity pays commissions on the sales of a product of some kind. If you are involved in the booming wellness industry, you have a program of continuity - That is people continually use the products, replenishing them every month.

This of course means a residual income for those who have put in the effort to build a team of loyal customers & associates.

Because of this reliance on continuity, it is essential that the products make a difference to the lives of those who use them. If they don't, eventually people are going to stop using them and your income will die away. It makes sense that you would want to be associated with the best products you could find.

So how can you tell which product range is best?

Every company it seems, claims that their products are unique. Every company has a scientist of two and a doctor or two that will support their claim. So who do you believe?

The answer is none of them.

You need to look for independent studies that compare different products and rank them according to scientifically developed criteria.

Perhaps the most comprehensive study available is the Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements'. It's written by research scientist and author Lyle MacWilliam BSc, MSc, FP. MacWilliam measures different products on the market against a set of criteria drawn up from the recommendations of the top 7 nutritional experts in North America - Including Dr. Earl Mindell, Ph.D. (Author 'Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century', 1999) and Dr. Michael Murray, N.D. (author 'Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements' 1996).

Some other questions you might ask are: "Are the products made to pharmaceutical standards?", "Are the products actually manufactured by the company or outsourced?" and if they are outsourced, "who manufactures them?"

As a final check, using a search engine like Google, you can quickly find if there are any claims against the products. Look for court actions rather than the gripes of dissatisfied individuals.

As your future in a home based business opportunity depends on the continual sale of products, it makes sense to have the best products on the market.

What kind of company do you want to keep?

When you build a home based business, you are effectively partnering with a company for decades or life.

If you are genuinely interested in building a business, so you can enjoy residual income for years to come - you will want to look closely at the company you partner with.

Here are a few questions to ask:

How long has the company been in business? Many companies providing work-from-home opportunities fail within the first 5 years - so unless you know a lot about the industry or have inside information, it's better to be safe and choose a company with a track record.

Exercise caution when approached by 'Industry Leaders' promoting a brand new opportunity. You have to ask yourself why they left their team and their last company - They often have an 'exit strategy' - they profit from the initial growth and then move on to something else.

Is it a public or private company?A public company is listed on the stock market and has a much greater level of transpanancy than a private company - You will have more reliable information on its performance.

Was the company founded by a visionary or a marketer? Companies founded by visionaries tend to be the market leaders. Look at the company founded by that great visionary of early last century, Henry Ford. What happened to all those other manufacturers of that era - The ones founded by marketing people?

As a final check, go to a search engine like Google and research claims against the company. See how they have conducted themselves over the past years.

Be very fussy about the company you keep!

Fair Rewards, Flexibility and Team Building!

There are so many different compensation plans around for home based business opportunities - How do you pick the best one?

Last week we spoke about the balance a company must have, pricing their products fairly, making a profit, putting money into R & D and compensating their distributors fairly.

This week, we'll talk about how the money is shared among the distributors - The Compensation Plan.

There are many different plans in existence with names like "the stair step breakaway", "the hybrid", "the matrix" and "the binary" - and understanding them can become quite confusing when you're starting out - So what should you look for in a compensation plan?

The main thing is that you want to be rewarded fairly for your effort. You want to be able to see rewards when you get results, even early in the business. You also want to be able to develop a comfortable residual income over time.

A compensation plan must have flexibility. A good plan will allow you to make money either by sponsoring other Associates or by retailing product or both. It should give you the option to buy products in small bulk lots for a cheaper price (and lower point value), allowing a good profit margin for retail.

Finally, a good compensation plan should encourage team-building. When you start a new associate in your business, you should be able to put them with one of your team members, so that your team member also benefits - without losing money yourself.

A good compensation plan will allow you to build a team, rather than placing people in competition with one another.

When looking at a compensation plan, consider fair rewards, flexibility and team building.

Nothing Down, Nothing Gained!

How much should you pay to start a home based business opportunity?

Before you give in to the impulse to dive in to an opportunity promising 'no start up costs', it's worth looking at how you actually make money in this kind of business.

Simply, You are paid a commission on goods consumed or sold in the organisation you build and that commission cannot be too high or low - it must be fair.

You see, the companies which run genuine work-from-home opportunities have the balance right. Their products are fairly priced, they make enough profit to keep their shareholders happy and to stay viable, they do not compromise on raw ingredients or Research & development and last but not least, they compensate their Distributors and Associates fairly.

Now, remembering that the people in your organisation will start exactly as you are starting, how much commission would you like to make when you start a new person?

Coming back to our 'no start up costs opportunity', you will make a percentage of $0 every time you start somebody. Suddenly that opportunity doesn't look so good.

Finally, there is commitment. As you have to help train and mentor your new people, wouldn't you rather work with people who have made a commitment and invested some money?

Look for a home based business opportunity with start up costs that are not too low!

Go Where The Money Is Being Spent!

Home based business opportunities offer a revolutionary method of distribution - But what are we going to distribute?

Now if we were to distribute something like the finest horse-drawn carriages, the whole exercise would be a complete waste of time.

To make money, we need to know where money is being spent - or more importantly, where the biggest increase in spending will be.

You could, for instance try distributing telephone plans, but then, do you know anyone who doesn't yet have a phone?

What about web sites and domain names - now not everybody has a web site! Again, this is not a good market because the cost of providing web sites continues to decrease so dramatically, that even though that market is expanding, less money is being spent.

So where is the biggest increase in spending?

According to renown US economist and author Paul Zane Pilzer, the major growth is currently taking place in the Wellness Industry. He is predicting that it will grow to be a trillion dollar industry by 2010!

Wellness is a huge, expanding market where companies can develop unique products and compete on quality and not just price.

It is predicted that the work-from-home industry will create ten million new millionaires in the next decade and the vast majority of them will be involved in the wellness industry.

To become one of those millionaires, to become wealthy working a home based business opportunity, you have to go with the trends, not against them - and the best chance you have is in the wellness industry!

Believe In Miracles, But Not Fairy Tales!

This is an industry that can change and grow people in a miraculous way and in turn, those people transform their lives - but it only happens with hard work and commitment.

Unfortunately, Your computer will not transform into a goose that lays golden eggs and rockets you to wealth and success!

When you look for a home based business opportunity, you will be flooded with information, too much it seems to come from one industry - and that's because you're not looking at one industry, your looking at two – home based business industry and the world wide fairy tale industry!

You see, deep down, we all want to believe that there's a magic way to riches, a secret that we can discover - and when we discover it, it will empower us to rake in money with little or no effort!Naturally, an industry has appeared to cater to that desire, offering quick teasers of hope, that melt in our mouths like cotton candy and leave us empty - searching for more.

This industry is driven by some very savvy marketers, who offer e-book after e-book, course after course, boasting loudly of their 6 figure incomes and promising us that - Yes! we can do the same.

And then there are the real home based business opportunities. They don't sound so good at first. They require us to make a commitment. Both a financial and time commitment. They offer a two to four year plan, with the promise of success for those of us who are willing to put in the effort.

But this is where the secret we've been looking for lies buried - in a pile of hard work and commitment - And when we uncover it, miracles happen!

Learn to sort a home based business opportunity from fairy tales!