Some Basics About Business Opportunities

Business Versus a Job

With over 40 million people now engaged in working from home, I get a lot of questions these days about Home Based Business Opportunities. ‘How do I know if an opportunity is legitimate?’ and ‘Should I have to make an initial investment?’ are two of the most frequent questions I’m asked.

A third question that often comes up is, ‘Will I have to sell anything?’ In short, if an opportunity is legitimate, you will most definitely have to make an investment and you will most definitely have to market something – whether it be products or services.

Remember, we are talking about a ‘Home Business’ opportunity – not a home J-O-B. This is where the greatest confusion lies.

Most people looking for a home based opportunity list ‘being their own boss’ as the primary reason for their search. Next come ‘controlling my own time’ and ‘significantly increasing my level of income’.

In contrast to these stated objectives, many say they don’t want to sell anything. Others say they want an opportunity that requires no investment. What they are truly looking for is a home job. What they fail to recognize is that jobs always come with bosses, corporate policies and politics, corporate production pressures, the lowest pay possible for the work accomplished regardless of where they are performed, and absolutely no security.

Whoa, you say. My job has benefits and tenure protection and retirement plans, etc. So What! Just ask the millions who have been ‘outsourced’ and ‘downsized’ how secure those benefits and protections are. Jobs are jobs and they are always at risk. Home jobs are good for removing commuting from the work picture, but rarely address any of the other reasons for seeking a home based business opportunity.

A Serious Business Requires an Entrepreneurial Mindset

If you are looking for true independence and self-determination, then you must begin to think like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs rarely, if ever, trust anything that is ‘free’ of investment. There is always a catch and its usually too expensive in the long run. Entrepreneurs expect to work hard mentally so they can make money efficiently without great physical effort.

Entrepreneurs expect to exercise their creative processes rather than wait on others to do the thinking for them. For home based businesses, most of this creative work will be in the marketing arena. For Brick and Mortar store fronts, creative efforts will also be required for facilities management and administration, inventory management and distribution control, and human resources management.

Paying Up Front for a Marketing Guru Will Yield Greatest Long Run Success

The real money in any business venture comes from quality marketing. Whether that venture is located in a brick and mortar storefront or is located at home is irrelevant when it comes to the basics of marketing. At some point, you are going to have to sell your products and/or your services.

Finding qualified customers requires true marketing knowledge and skill. Notice, I said ‘marketing skill’ – not necessarily ‘sales skill’. Good products and services virtually sell themselves when they are introduced to qualified customers. Bringing qualified customers to quality products and services is the art of direct marketing. In a storefront business, this marketing expertise often comes from franchise training.

In a home based business the same can be true, but there are also some legitimate organizations that provide the same depth of training without the enormous investment fees associated with most franchises. An independent marketing consultant can also be employed. Careful research on the internet can reveal some serious marketing training opportunities.

In any case, some legitimate expense will be incurred for training and ongoing marketing assistance. Expect it, plan for it, embrace it, for it will be the lifeblood of your success.

What Should I look for In a Successful Opportunity?

First and foremost, find a product that is actually needed and in-demand. Make sure that product or product line is one you personally embrace. If you’re not proud of it, you cannot move it! This is especially true in a home based environment where you must communicate with people to make money. Your sincerity means everything in this arena.

Second, look for the benefits of an established franchise - a well defined support system that provides for on-going product development, ongoing product training and personal development, and advisors financially committed to ongoing marketing training and support. As noted earlier, some well-established opportunities exist that provide all of these franchise-style services without the stiff up-front capital investment.

Note: I didn’t say ‘free’. Quality service must always be paid for or it won’t be ‘quality’ for very long. However, there are legitimate opportunities that make this payment virtually painless because it comes in conjunction with significant realized earnings. Look for them. Do your homework!

Third, look for outstanding computer support. Your entire business should be manageable from a laptop computer and a cell phone. Any legitimate opportunity will have both up-front marketing and top-notch back office management support available at all times online.

Facts About Franchises and Franchise-Style Opportunities

Why do I keep coming back to franchise type structures and systems? Because they work! Simply put, franchises succeed at a 94% rate and non-franchised new business start-ups generally fail at greater than a 60% rate. That means franchise-style businesses are 10 times more likely to succeed! Why? Because they are employing proven products, proven marketing systems, and proven delivery methods.

If you follow the system and can resist ‘reinventing the wheel’, success is virtually guaranteed. Keep these numbers ever-present in your mind as you examine opportunities to invest your time and future in.

Last, But Not Least

Never forget the real reason for a Home Based Business Opportunity – control of our lives! Significant income has no meaning if it must be attained through slavery. Time truly is our most precious commodity. Time with our family, time with our friends, and time with ourselves is what ‘significant income’ should offer us.

Look for an opportunity that affords us as much time to live as the income it promises to generate. The latter without the former will be no better than the J-O-B we gave up in the first place.

Richard Loewenhagen, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
CEO
www.LivingMyLifestyle.com
(480) 600-6859
richardloewenhagen@libertyleague.com