A Home-Based Business Opportunity is just one of the many ways that you can make money from home. As the name implies, a Home-Based Business is just like running your own business. You will need to sell and promote your product, recruit members to join you, and market your business. It takes time, dedication, and hard work. However, you can be very successfull with a home-based business. Let's get started with what to look for when choosing your Home-Based Business.

1. Company Reputation - Do your research on the company. Look at information for the company such as when were they started, where are they located, how many employees do they have? Visit the Better Business Bureau and see if the company is registered and if there are any complaints registered against them. You may need to call the company to get their address to use with the Better Business Bureau. Go to various message boards and do a search with the company name to get feedback from different people on what they think of the company. Do a search on the company name and scan through what comes up.

2. Product - What kind of products do they sell? Are their products unique to their company or are they available in a lot of different places? Take the time to go through and look at the products to evaluate their quality and appeal. Is it a product that you feel can generate repeat customers? Are the products priced competitively?

3. Start-Up Cost - Most Home-Based Business Opportunities do include a start-up fee. This fee usually covers your training, promotional material, and products. Most companies want you to purchase the products so that you can be familiar with what you are trying to sell. Makes sense right? This is also one of the biggest ways that these companies make money is by recruiting people to join and having them make that initial investment. Keep this in mind. Also make sure that you check to see if there are different start-up packages available. A lot of companies offer different packages that may be less expensive if they don't include as many products.

4. Monthly Sales Quota - Make sure that you ask this question. I would recommend seeing it in writing before you sign anything. Read those agreements! Almost all companies will require that you maintain a certain sales quota per month in order to stay active. Know what it is! Make sure that you don't have to personally purchase products each month. I have seen some companies that are requiring people to purchase products for themselves in addition to the sales quota.

5. Inventory - Do you have to have inventory, make deliveries, collect money? These are all things to consider. They all require extra time and therefore cost you money. Remember time is money. Please don't not join a company because they may require this, it's just something that you need to consider when making your decision.

6. Support - Where can you go when you have questions? Are you part of a team? Who is your team leader? How long have they been in the business? How many people are they managing? What do they provide to support you? Make sure that you talk to that person before you sign the paper and make sure that you want to work with them.

7. Commission - What is the commission structure and how does it work? Make sure that you see it and understand it. How much money do you make on people you recruit? Please be cautious of those businesses that promise that you can make thousands per month. They are seldom accurate. There are no get rich quick businesses. The sooner you realize that the better off you will be. Expect it to take a few months to get started and realize that you will have to work it.

8. Risk - What is the business opportunities refund policy? Can you get your money back guaranteed? How long is that guarantee good for? What terms do you have to meet to get your money back?

9. Passion - Passion? What does that have to do with a business? If you are running a business you really need to be passionate about it. In order for it to be really successful, you will be "eating, sleeping, and breathing" it. So you need to make sure that you love the product, believe in it, and don't mind learning everything there is to know about it.

10. Make sure you speak to someone who is already working the business. Have them chat with you about their successes and challenges. Get a feel for what an average day is for that person.

So now you're ready to begin your journey into the world of home-business opportunities. If you remember that everything takes time and patience and you do your research you will be just fine. Good Luck!

Brandy is the webmaster of Melody's Mommy and is committed to helping Moms and Dads work from home. She lives in MA with her daughter Melody and is a successful work at home Mom. This article may be used on any site or in any newsletter as long as it is not altered in any way and this signature line remains intact. http://www.melodysmommy.com