Operating a Home Based Business from a remote location

Not so long ago, if you lived in a remote part of Australia, you couldn't possibly work a home based business opportunity as you would have to travel great distances to find enough people to build a business. But as technology gets better and better, the possibilities are becoming endless.

A good example of online conferencing for home based business can be found at the Unique Home Based Business Opportunity site, where members host business presentations, training and mentoring with their conferencing software.

However, it is not automated. The Internet won't take over completely. It is just a tool we can utilise. When speaking about the new business of Intellectual Distribution, Paul Zane Pilzer stated recently

"I am often asked, “Doesn’t the Internet fulfill that function?”Surprisingly, the answer is “No, not at all!” The Internet is a great placeto go to get educated about products and services you already know youwant to learn about—but it cannot fulfill the education function of thepeddler or general store proprietor any more than the infomercials of the80s and 90s could.

The Internet, television and magazines are all passive media. The only placewhere we actually learn something new, where we engage with new informationto the extent that we may actually change our minds and try somethingnew, is in a live, one-to-one conversation."

That my friend is where you and I come in.

Look For Structured Training & Support

When you start working from home in a home based business, you are beginning a whole new career and so you must become a student of the industry and continually learn.

This industry prides itself on the quality of training and support provided - you hear so much about it and even business leaders like Robert Kiyosaki sing it praises. When this training is properly implemented, it is certainly very good. But just how often does this happen?

Imagine if you went to University to study something like engineering and on your first day, they dumped text books for the entire course on your lap and said: "Just look through these and work it out as you go." I'm sure you would feel completely overwhelmed - and as impractical as it sounds, that's how many leaders in the home based business industry implement their training.

Training should be given in a structured manner, like a University course, taking you through the process one step at a time, so that it is taught properly without shortcuts.
This process should be repeated continually, because as you get practical experience in the industry, you gain a deeper understanding of what is being taught and benefit more from it. Then of course, as you grow in the industry, you become a trainer and begin to pass on that knowledge to others.

If you learn it in a structured manner, you will pass it on in a structured manner and build a strong organisation.

Training should also involve some form of human interaction. In these modern times with rapidly developing technology it's easy to lose sight of that. many people make the mistake of believing that the Internet can take the place of a teacher or mentor and try to automate everything. While the Internet is a powerful tool for us to uae, it does not take the place of a teacher or mentor. People relate to other people.

So when you look at different home based businesses, look closely at their training and support. Look for an organisation which puts its focus on growing individuals to leaders and giving each person an even chance of success, regardless of their background.

This will make life easier for you, because not only does it help you succeed, but also the people that you bring in to the industry. It is a process of duplication and if you can duplicate a high level of training and support with the right opportunity, you are assured a long term residual income.

Lessons From The Omegatrend Crisis

As West Australian based home business company Omegatrend appoints voluntary administrators, we have to ask ourselves what went wrong.

This is a company with excellent leadership, an ambitious expansion program and very motivated associates. The media cites the strong Australian economy as the reason for the companys' demise. In fact, the appointed administrator, Cliff Rocke is quoted as saying: "the business was struggling with sales slumping to $12-$15 million per annum because in boom times members were less inclined to supplement their incomes by selling Omegatrend products."

Fair enough - but shouldn't associates continue using the products anyway? - I mean they're obviously making money in their jobs. The curious thing is that another home based business company, USANA Health Sciences, had 12 consecutive quarters of record sales and almost trebled their turnover in Australia during that period.

USANA did not do this as a start-up opportunity, the company has been in that market since 1997. So why did one compay grow rapidly in an unfavourable market, while the other declined?

I can only imagine that the Omegatrend products are not terribly different to products you can buy in a supermarket and when the products do not make a difference to your life, you buy something that's on special in the supermarket instead, while you're getting your groceries.

I believe the lesson from the Omegatrend story is that you need more than just motivated people and a good system of compensation to hold a company together through tough times. You need unique products - Products that people will continue to use because it makes a difference to their lives.

The Future Of Working From Home

Some people who express interest in our opportunity are looking more for an employee type situation than a business to work from home. They want someone to hire them to work in their chosen field on their computer at home or they want a career change, but to remain an employee in a new field working from home.

The good news is that yes, you can work from home on your computer, but the bad news is that you have to compete with highly qualified and skilled people in countries like India who are happy with $2 to $4 an hour.

If you'd like to check out what your skills are really worth in the Global market, go to www.guru.com and post a project in your line of work, something you like to do - Then wait for the quotes to come in!

We all know that IT jobs are moving to India, in fact there are predictions that 8,000 Australian IT Jobs will be "offshored" in the next five years. In the US it will be around 500,000 IT jobs. But if you think your particular occupation is safe, consider these statistics from business futurist Craig Rispin.

The number of US tax returns prepared in India in 2003 was 25,000.
In 2005 it jumped to 400,000

Perhaps it is time to look at a good legitimate Home Based Business Opportunity.