What Is the Best Online Home Business for You?

Deciding to work at home to supplement your income or to replace your income requires some research. There are many options to work at home, but only one best online home business for you. Choices, choices where to start?

Consider the opportunity that appeals to you the most and one that you feel you can do well. However, before committing to any of these positions, do make sure to do your homework and sign up to work for a reputable company. Researching several companies will help you decide which company has the system that will make it the best online home business for you.

The first and most commonly thought of is data entry. Is it the best online home business for you?
• For this position your typing skills as far as accuracy better be wonderful. So if you are interested in this take time to brush up your skills. If your skills are good you can start quickly.
• Upside, easy to find reputable data entry companies. The work is generally steady and you can make own schedule. Pay days are on a schedule and the more you work the more you get paid.
• Down side, the work can be very monotonous; minimum wage is common so it would take lots of time to get financially ahead without investing a lot of work hours..


The second area to consider is telemarketing. Is this the best online home business for you?
• Many local companies hire folks to work from their call centers or from home to schedule in home demonstrations of their products or services. The pay rate is per appointment made and commission on resulting appointment, if any sales are made.
• Upside: generally steady work, flexible schedule, can work from home for a specific number of hours to make calls. The company provides you with a list of numbers to call and a script to use when talking to the potential customers..
• Downside again is pay rate which is usually minimal wage plus possible commission.

The third area to consider is product demonstration: This might be the best online home business for you. Home party sales e.g. Avon, Tupperware and many, many others. These companies may have company sponsored website to supplement the actual product demonstration.
• Upside: The face to face interaction and demonstrating the products for the parties may be lots of fun. You can make your own schedule. For example: evening parties will allow Dad to babysit the kids. With high sales and good hostess referrals you can be quite busy.
• Downside for face to face parties: You will need to purchase catalogs, sample products and travel to party location set up what you will demonstrate and then break down.
• For catalog parties you will need to purchase the catalogs. For both you will also, in most cases, have to receive the order yourself and then repack it and deliver it to your customers.
• Should the company have a sponsored web site, there are limits in what the company will allow you to do to promote the web site as you can not create additional key words for search or other individualization's.
• To do more individualization online you need to purchase your own domain name, put up a web site explaining what you would like to focus on then link to the specific page on the company sponsored web site to make the sale.
• Pay rate is usually totally commission. This could be a good or a bad thing depending on how many parties you can book and how much the customers buy.

The fourth area to consider is perfect for the crafter: Might this be the best online home business for you? This would involve making crafts or other items for sale online [eBay & own web site]
• Upside: If you enjoy making things with your hands this would be lots of fun while making money.
• You will spend time making a lot of items taking pictures that best display them on e-bay and write advertisement.
• Down side is you need to make a LOT of items or outsource the construction of the craft which may be expensive.
• Outsourcing also may reduce your product quality control. You also have to do research to determine what item[s] are most likely to be big sellers.
• Pay rate will be commission after all fees and services are paid for.

The fifth area of working at home is virtual customer service: Hmm this one's different, it might be the best online home business for you.
• This is similar pay rate as for those in office $8-15 per hour as these positions are usually attached to a big box store or an online store.
• Upside: You can work at home with a phone and a computer and make your own schedule.
• This is usually steady work so you can count on the pay check.
• The area of virtual customer service is rapidly growing field as companies are downsizing and outsourcing this valuable skill.
• Customer service can be rewarding to help people, but can be very stressful situations with really upset customers.
• Downside: Dealing with the public can be stressful.

The sixth area of working at home is tutoring: Or would this be the best online home business for you?
• Online tutor for regular class room materials or online skills [e.g "how to" help on instant message, file sharing, word, spread sheet creation etc.] is a growing field.
• Upside: You do not need a teaching certificate for many, but you will need a college degree.
• Pay rate is usually $10-15 per hour.
• Downside: The work may be sporadic e.g. less financial security and you must have expertise in a specific skill or course to market.

The seventh area to consider for working at home is writing: If you love writing this just might be the best online business for you.
• Copy-writing, resume writing, ad writing are a few areas..
• So you are a good writer and you want to profit by it.
• You will need to learn to market yourself with a web site, social marketing, professional journals and college/tech school newspapers or web sites.
• The pay for these will either be flat fee per item or an hourly rate usually $10-15 per hour.
• Upside: you can make your own schedule and focus your work on things that you enjoy doing and that you are good at doing.
• Downside: Being a good writer is not enough, you will need to sell yourself and set up marketing plan so people can find you and hire you.
• Work may be sporadic until you get to be well known or if you have a very small selective skill niche.
The eighth area to consider for working at home is web design. This would be the best online home business for a teckie.
• Have good technical skills? You can succeed and make some rather decent money.
• Upside: Can name own pay, within reason, and can make own schedule.
• Downside: When you design a site you may be responsible for it staying "up" and may have emergency calls about "down" issues or change issues.
• You will have to learn to market yourself so that you get any work.

The ninth area to consider for working at home is financial adviser: For a specialized and trained person this may best online home business.
• To succeed you would need to have specialized education and lots of liability insurance and most importantly a good track record of success.
• Upside: May be able to make own schedule.
• The best way to get a good track record of success may be to work for a company that allows its advisers to work off site.
• Downside: Even with risk disclaimers you can be sued.
• The real successful ones appear to be attached to brick & mortar company.
• The free lance financial adviser work is usually paid by percentage of profits.

The tenth area to consider for working at home is to work at your own current job from home. Hmm, the best online home business may be yours already.
• You may be lucky that your company is online and will permit telecommunication for meetings and online work.
• Congratulations, you have a job that is portable, but is it profitable? After all it's still a job.
• Upside: You are familiar with the company and the work, and the pay rate is consistent.
• Downside: May have earnings ceiling, just like at the brick & mortar office.
• Your company may not have full time online work opportunity. Part of the week may still involve the commute to the office.

The eleventh area to consider for working at home is online marketing. This is my choice for the best online home business.
• A good company will have online training and mentoring support to assist you in gaining the skills you need to succeed.
• College degree not required.
• Earnest desire to learn and discipline to work independently required for the entrepreneur.
• There is an unlimited earning potential.
• Earnings will depend on your skills and your time not some artificial pay ceiling established by the company.

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