Millions of people like you world-wide are now looking more than ever for a new opportunity in a top home-based business. Forbes Magazine, report that seventy million Americans plan to start their own business within the next three years; over forty thousand new business start-ups happen per day in the USA. In spite of a current global recession, the figures are similar for other western nations.

Current economic climates are persuading people to look for alternative sources of income and security beyond their traditional industries. People are looking more for self-reliance and independence in their day job. If anyone tries to tell you that you have reason to be cautious, this does not match up with the statistics. The network marketing business is bucking the recessionary trend.

Increasingly would be small business owners and entrepreneurs are bombarded with opportunities, many seeming alike, in terms of ‘get rich quick’ offers. For those new to this on-line world of business, it is difficult to know what are the indicators of a top home-based business opportunity. Well publicised stories of businesses which can have you spending more money than you will make or which barely allow you to break even give legitimate cause for scepticism when deciding what is your best investment option.

So let’s look at first things first. You need to be assured in your own mind that you have found a strong business model. So take some time comparing different business models. Look for a top tier option, a ‘Direct Sales’ model, as opposed to a ‘Multi Level Marketing model’ -or “MLM” . This way, you will not get paid on multiple levels of “down-lines” or ‘sign ups’ within your organization; this is the case with a typical MLM. A notorious problem associated with the MLM industry is a high level of attrition in your down-line; i.e. people jumping ship when they become dissatisfied and move onto their next venture. Their leaving your team is a loss of ‘residual’ income for you. Heaven forbid they take a whole sales team with them when they move on.

When you lose these team commissions from ‘below’ you, whilst you still maintain your income from your own direct sales, your chances of realizing any respectable residual income in your business becomes increasingly difficult, even impossible. Your time becomes spent heavily on recruiting (or ‘sponsoring’) and training new people, only to have them quit within an average of three months. (Make no mistake there is a VERY high attrition rate with MLM’s).

By choosing a top tier business, you will find that the buy in cost is higher, but your rewards are in the commissions paid. That being said, there are lucrative direct sales businesses out there which cost much less than traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses or franchises.

A good home-based business opportunity will operate on a G.P.T. system. This simply stands for “Get Paid Today”. Lack of positive cash flow is one of the major stumbling blocks for people starting out in a new business, and knowing that you will be paid on sales you make before your company will help to ensure you are able to continue to operate your business

Another consideration should be a dual income business system, meaning that you will receive a commission for each sale up front, but there is also a generous residual income component built in at the back end. The reason this is important, is that your business sponsor must have a financial incentive for assisting you to get up and running. Otherwise, after you have signed on the dotted line, you may be left to your own devices to learn how to set up and market your business. Again, this ‘sink or swim’ process is common to many MLM’s. Find out about what training and support may be on offer before your financial investment.

The last (but certainly not least) feature of a top home based business opportunity is an automated, duplicatable online marketing system. OK, that sounds a little like jargon. But what it means is that you need to investigate how much of a back-office support system your business offers? You do not want to be spending any more time than necessary on training new team members.

There are some truly amazing products out there, but if you have no systems of advertising and selling them, then you simply don’t have a great business. Using systems that harness the power and reach of the internet, and are easily duplicatable will create a very strong foundation for a long term, lucrative business.

This brings me to my final point. Remember, you are in a business for the long-term. Direct sales for instance, is a relationship-based business. Most of your customers are likely to be return buyers (on average more than 80% of sales). It is important you understand this from the beginning and do not get disheartened if you do not get immediate results. A reason many MLM businesses fail is a lack of commitment to the long term. Find a business which will weather all of the seasons and the product is of value and sustainable over time and internationally.

This may seem a lot to consider, but if you are prepared to invest your time and energy into your future, establishing your check-list early on in your search could be crucial to your long-term success and could save you a lot of heart and head-ache, to say nothing of cash.

Learn more about work from home by visiting my article about my own ‘rude awakening’ to home based business and learn from my mistakes and those of 95% of struggling online businesses out there!

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Personal growth is fascinating don’t you think? Each of us in our comfort zones daily, it seems that the human condition is as ‘creatures of habit’, adapting to change only as and when we are forced to. For some, however, perhaps through experiencing extra-ordinary circumstances, the opportunity to choose change and achieve personal growth is both a drive and incredibly satisfying… if a little uncomfortable or even scarey occasionally.

After spending time moving around in voluntary work over a number of years, working with different agencies , I realised eventually that my passion for active involvement in social change had evolved into a love-hate relationship with politics. It frustrated the hell out of me, but the people involved inspired me and it seemed I could not leave the subject alone! I eventually graduated in politics longer ago than I care to remember in my home town of Liverpool.

It seemed there were three choices for me: social work, lecturing or research. None of these options particularly appealed to me at the time; all too ‘institutional’. I was passionate and wanted to feel like I would make a difference; the only one which held any appeal was social work, but I was aware that my impact might only be limited and I might have been irritated with the necessary constant compromises and constraints.

I studied hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and even set up a business which failed miserably in a difficult market. If I am completely honest, working with peoples’ neuroses was maybe a risk too far. At that time stage hypnotists were being sued for ‘messing up’ members of their audience. But the work was fascinating, if maybe a little risky for one so young!

I did actually begin to train in social work, until a family crisis meant I needed to focus on my immediate family’s needs, leaving no room for studying others’ problems on a 9-5 basis. This was a turning point for me which took me a long time to recover confidence in any chance of my ever having ‘a profession’ in the future.

When change came again, as it inevitably does, my home town seemed to be slowly dying, as traditional manufacturing industries were shut down and people were so hopeless it was depressing to be there. In the nineties, there were very few paid jobs in ‘social change’ – plenty for me to volunteer for, however, so I did. This stood me in good stead for when I moved to the nearest booming metropolis for seven years, taking temporary contracts… but still constantly feeling like there just was not a complete ‘fit’ for me.

I knew that I loved working with communities of people who were getting together to make changes happen in their neighbourhoods and I apparently had an aptitude for facilitating projects. Paid contracts in the field were rare however. The researchers had the monopoly here! (I didn’t get the grade necessary for such work).

Growing tired of the chaos, frictions and endless familiar obstinancies of beaurocrats, after many years in project development work, I spent some time in rural Wales on mini breaks and felt like I was coming home in a way I had never even felt in any city I had ever lived. Whilst in between contracts and lovers, I that relocating was a positive move.

Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is a under-appreciated British treasure. It offers people both the anonymity of the city, with the friendliness of village life. I felt happier than I could ever remember being, but another community leadership post, working for a countryside department was taking me into the foothills of the Welsh Valleys and I found peace in the contrasts of lush green hillsides, pit villages left behind after the closures of the coal mines, nearness to the coast and the friendliness of many Valleys folk. I have been living in the valleys now for over seven years (about the time my nomadic nature gets itchy feet, but more on this elsewhere).

I have worked with a number of different communities, groups and individuals from many backgrounds now, all of whom, in one way or another need support to change their environments. The story, of making a difference, is always the same, however, just the settings and tools differ. Increasing social participation is work that I can honestly say I love and it is seeing the results of the people working tirelessly for others who have driven me. Working together with people who are motivated by a passion to make their world a better place is not just about making a practical difference in their material circumstances, the real joy to be had in community development is also seeing the personal development of those involved as each learn to lean on each other and find mutual inspiration.

The frustrations and sense of compromising principles from project devlopment work comes with the public relations management in the work. Every employer who funded my contracts had some sticky internal politics of their own which needed resolving. I, as facilitator, was the conduit between these larger agencies and the pockets of people these institutions needed to engage, but did not know how to. Whether my employers really believed in the centrality of community participation, or whether there was expedience and some lip service paid, the researchers at the likes of the Joseph Rowntree Trust are still discussing…twenty years on after riots which tore up the rule-book in a number of British cities.

My own ‘crisis of faith’ happened when I felt that the necessary relationships with those communities we were supposed to be serving became so compromised I was offering platitudes to ‘customers’ which I felt I could no longer satisfactorily justify. As I wrestled with my seniors on issues of practice and ethics, that ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ I now believe we all possess was dying… A ‘mutual agreement’ was reached… I left, wondering what the Hell I would do from there onwards…

Thankfully, the Universe sometimes has the first move. This was a big one, shoving my car from the rear into the back of another one! It was ironically the best thing that happened to me in a number of years! I was forced to take time out and rethink what I wanted. I went back to my books, not being able to move around a lot for a few months. I listened to personal development training CD’s, watched videos on YouTube and became hooked one day, by a video called ‘Inside Out’ in which Jay Kubassek talked about how he was “psychologically unemployable”. A switch went in my head at that moment which has since led me down a whole new path in ‘making a difference’.

Now I feel once more that my life is getting back on track and my passion and drive to work for social change has returned… This time it will be with one person at a time via my new work as a newbie entrepreneur.

After years moving around different jobs, I am loving being self-employed, even when I want to hurl my lap top across the room when something foxes me, I feel like I have left a majorly self-destructive habit behind …my addiction to the apparent security of the pay-slip… Not only that, I know that whatever comes next, I am more in control of my professional development and more importantly, personal development is about achieving greater levels of freedom integrity. AND the really great part, is that my earnings will now reflect the true value of my contribution to making a difference with people!

When office politics is about pandering to the basic needs of the four legged animals who are your home office companions, before you write your next newsletter, you know life is good and it’s OK to feel psychologically unemployable!

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“Money to money”, is what my mother always said. History lessons on the “Making of the English Working Class” and books like “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” confirmed her Millionaire Money reality in my mind. It was not possible to become rich unless you were born to money, or became a celebrity.

I came from a relatively poor family where money was a huge issue daily; albeit, we had become wealthy enough for the annual holiday to Wales through my parents’ sheer hard work! I live there now, possibly because it was the only time of the year I felt like I was surrounded by riches – although not of a monetary sort, but definitely natural riches!

I have also spent much of my adult life, carrying the mindset of my father – “get a good education and you will be made for life”. Well that was only partly true; trouble is we worry about the formal education of children and forget that we are meant to be ‘Lifelong Learners’. Truth is, Bellamy’s lessons in nature on TV were as valuable as any education which got me a paid job. My formal education never earned me the riches wildlife gave me that’s for sure!

But I digress…the point is, that for twenty years of my adult life, I have got up at a fixed time every day, worked like a dog and drove home, often too exhausted or still too broke to enjoy the fruits of my labour…. All of that time, out of the corner of my eye, I watched the millionaires who had all the money and the fun…….and whose lives were a mix of intrigue and jealousy to me.

So I did what many poor people do to cope with going without. I counted my blessings instead of my pennies and got on with keeping the house and garden, which I now ploughed all of my energy and limited finances into….growing fruit, to keep down my shopping bills and fighting off slugs and snails competing for my veg, staying on top of the latest house-owner calamity!

After a life-changing car accident, it seemed almost overnight my perspective started to change. I started to read different books whilst I was recovering. … OK, reader, I feel the need to say for the record at this point, that I am a caring humanitarian at heart; I believe in the greater good, shared humanity, justice and equality as far as it can go. Yet here was I starting to read about the “entrepreneurial mindset” from the likes of T. Harv Eker, and listening to those I had always considered selfish, materialistic, tax evading, thieves of the public purse to the detriment of those in need. How come I was starting to agree with some of their views of the world?

For months as I continued to improve my financial literacy , I discovered that so many millionaires are actually just people with a passion who were driven and persistent in making their dream a reality. When the market was ready for what they had to offer and their passion for what they promoted came together, they made a killing. This is the point at which my mother was right… when they had spare investment finance , they put their money to work for them, ‘leveraging’ even more wealth.

Now that I too was ready to find a new way to make a living for myself, I had to consider new options. As I was now passionately committed to being a wealthy woman in retirement, there was only one option…drum-roll please…I had to BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR! Yep, little ‘socialist’ me wanted to make money and make the best of the capitalist economy I was part of!!! Survival money was no longer enough. My dreams had got bigger…

And I hope you are wondering how a person can apparently change direction so dramatically. Have I sold out? Well, here’s why; not only did I want a retirement in poverty, I also wanted to make more money to SHARE MORE OF IT AROUND. Of course I also want buy myself some well-earned freedom of time to enjoy my good fortune … but an entrepreneurial mindset does not just mean making money for money making’s sake. Wealth is a tool for good as well as bad.

But, Rome is not built in a day, right? And I am pretty used to set-backs, so I have definitely got one of the cucial entrepreneurial mindset traits and that’s tenacity…that dogged determination to persevere in order to get what I want once my mind is made up…against the odds if necessary.

So, then…how does someone like me make millionaire money and create my own wealth, despite lack of hereditary wealth or family support to count on, let alone any capital?

I started with spending what little money I had on the education in financial literacy that I never got in school. I bought books by: T. Harv Eker , Robert T. Kiyosaki, Stephen R. Covey and then Stuart Lichtman…..

And this…I sincerely believe is where ‘the change’ in my mindset really started…I had thought that how to make millionaire money was a mystery I would never understand…except, now I know different. To become wealthy still can be a process even whilst the rich continue to get rich and the poor continue to get poorer.

Stuart Lichtman has proved this to me in one single exercise… Picture this: It is my brother and sister’s birthday one week before the magic materialised for me. I was determined to stay positive that day for them, making mental efforts not to let the fact that I was nearly a month into my business and had not made one single sale yet put a downer on my enthusiasm on their day.

That morning, I got stuck into what seemed at first like a ridiculous and humiliating materialisation exercise in the first of a series of Stuart Lichtman’s mindset training ebooks I bought. 12 sides of A4 later, with the same few sentences written 100 times repeatedly, I focussed on being positive for that day, even if I needed a little help to do it! I chose the right guy, that’s for sure!

It took me a whole week to realise that within my first month of being in business, I got my credit that day….and the funny thing was…..I didn’t even realise it because I was so used to reading the ‘Debit’ column on my bank statement, I unconsciously moved what was a credit into the ‘yet another drain on my expenses’ column! Not until seven days later, did I see it for what it really was!

This simple occurrence, described by a friend as ‘coincidence’, lifted the mystery of making millionaire money into the light of science of the everyday for me…AND made an IMMEDIATE AND REAL MATERIAL CHANGE TO MY BELIEF in the POSSIBILITY that I could BECOME WEALTHY if I used the strategies Lichtman recommends… It was like magic! One small shift in material circumstances made the difference to my mindset . It reinforced my commitment to keep going.

At the time of writing this, I have hardly really begun Lichtman’s mindset training but, I am so excited I want to run up and down the street, knocking on doors to tell complete strangers!…As that is actually excitement taking over, however, instead I am calmly going to share with anyone reading this the truth contained in the first of the books that came with Stuart Lichtman’s series of e-book courses on how to get whatever you want FAST (not just money).

That truth I want to share is this fact: making millionaire money is neither a mystery nor impossible; it is a science and Stuart Lichtman’s book series are just one way to learn to master it’s principles and how to practise making your desires become real…

Now, if you are sitting there letting this wash over you, or thinking “so what?” as my friend did, I am going to ask that you to do just this one thing… remember when you were a child and the world was still full of magic ?…..Remember, when you got so engrossed in make believe, you forgot who you were and where you were?

Well, that is kind of how I feel about what is happening in my world right now. What’s more, I not only want more of it, I WANT TO SHARE IT WITH AS MANY OF YOU AS POSSIBLE who are also ready to learn to earn and work on your mindset!

Personal result: a "seven-figure opportunity!"

"As an African-American amputee from San Diego who became an Olympic ski medalist, I have been exposed to some of the greatest goal-setting techniques known to man. When I heard about Stuart Lichtman’s new method, I was a little cautious. But this is like nothing I have ever seen. "As a result of using this program and eliminating some unconscious blocks I didn’t know I had, I have recently been presented with a seven-figure opportunity. Every day new opportunities are flying at me. My biggest problem is how to handle all the new business." Bonnie St. John Olympic Silver Medalist Author, "Succeeding Sane"

So, if you are curious about what the “entrepreneurial mindset” means, or about how your life would be different if you had more of what you wanted out of life, or maybe you wonder sometimes about chance and coincidence, even as you wrestle with your scepticism … Well for the sake of that mini-you person, who still lives right there inside you…or for that little person who still wants to go to the sweet shop / the safari / home of your dreams, but cannot afford it, or for that matter, your family, today is as good a day as any for you to test the science of making millionaire money and taking a step towards turning whatever it is that you really want into reality!

The process starts with taking off the dog tag saying who you think of yourself as and opening books to shift your poverty mindset. If you have questions about whether reading Stuart Lichtman’s series of e-books will work, that’s understandable, I would question too in your shoes and rightly so. BUT if you have read this far, you have some reason why you are interested in this subject. So why not stack the odds in your favour and give yourself a 98% chance of getting what YOU want this one time? (This by the way, is Lichtman’s success rate with thousands of people so far!)

IF you are ready to exercise your mind and broaden your bank account and options in life generally, make a commitment to improving your mindset. Making millionaire money is only part of the equation, mindset is the trick to maintaining your goals. Nobody achieves anything alone for long; we need our reality to be supported and validated by others. Lichtman has done this for me and more.

Whatever you choose to do, decide to take some action towards achieving your financial goals. You only have one life. Achieving financial freedom by committing to developing your mindset and improving your financial literacy are huge steps towards immunising you to the impact of contemporary economic structures – which as time goes on may in all liklihood prevent you from ever achieving your dreams of real fulfillment for your future and your family.

The global economy is getting tougher for the majority to survive, but you can learn how make it easier on yourself to build your goals and make more money,or go and get what drives you. As time is your only real enemy, Stuart Lichtman offers a tool that can get you closer to where you want to go faster.

Don’t be deceived by the title here; this is a series of ebooks covering the most important areas of anyone’s life. Stuart Lichtman has changed THOUSANDS of peoples’ lives; he is changing mine. If you’re ready to ramp up your efforts, this “>mindset training is for you.

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It’s a fact that generally speaking women tend to have lower than average pay levels than the men in their life, even those considered professional go-getters face wage inequality issues. Whilst many women might secretly grizzle amongst themselves about this, rather than risking discussing it openly amongst men, we very rarely are armed with any hard facts about how women are generally doing in the labour market. It is almost as if the all too common fact that a woman earns less than her husband or partner has become a taboo subject.

Whatever the reasons for the lack of debate, if you have ever moaned to your mother, your daughters, your sisters or your girlfriends, I have got some good news for you. But first, let’s look at those harsh realities, because the trouble is, when you are dependent on your spouse or partner for a comfortable life-style, it’s very easy to feel isolated by your situation and ‘stuck’. Knowing that we are not alone and that there may be other options is the first part of moving on from a sense of fear, powerlessness or embarrassment into a position of believing it is possible to make money on a par with the men in our lives.

In the UK, the most recent figures on the wage inequality between men and women can sadly make for depressing reading. The research show that things are not necessarily getting better for women, as some might have you believe – or maybe you even kid yourself that women have equal opportunity in order to maintain some hope of there being a better way……….well your hope is not fully misguided… but read on…

Whilst more and more women are bringing their wage to the household budget, the Government’s own statistics show that the difference in pay has widened in recent years. Apparently, there was at the most recent time of studying this issue, a wage gap between women’s average hourly pay and men’s of 12.8%. For your purse and savings, this means, that you earn about £1.60 per hour less than your husband, partner or male colleague. Weekly, this translates to just under £55 more earned per week for men working a 35 hour week; with over-time tending to be the preserve of men too, this averages to women earnin a total of £100 per week less than men!

Let’s be fair here, this is not because women are less likely to be doing a less skilled job than men; this is just one of the unjust realities of how we value womens’ work today in Britain. It is also explained by the fact that more women are prepared to settle for full-time jobs with lower rates of hourly pay out or accepting part-time roles, which are on the increase.

So how else might this work in your household? Well, the statistics say that men are more likely to be in full time employment than women. HALF of women’s work is part-time, compared with one sixth of men’s. Look at your own wider family circumstances; chances are at least one woman in the family is either taking care of children, or elder family relatives or both. With these responsibilities to balance, how can women ever bridge the wage gap ? So, the over-all picture shows that women could be doing a lot better than they are, in spite of some successes trumpeted in the name of showing that ‘women can be successful professionally’.

My story isn’t that uncommon. I was single; my earnings and my mortgage and bills were down to me. Women in partnerships can have a hard enough time in terms of achieving financial freedom, but single women also have unfair burdens! Not only do we tend to earn less as a woman, but we don’t get to share any of the bills with another salaried adult either! If you have kids, (which thank goodness I don’t), or an old house in want of attention, as I have, you’ll know your money disappears as fast as you earn it.

For five years, I was fire-fighting with a roof falling in, rising damp, a central heating sytem that gave up the ghost, window panes close to falling out; you name it, some domestic calamity happened to me year on year without a break for several years! The price of buying a house at the lower end of the market, I guess… I thought either my house or I was cursed! But it’s sink or swim isn’t it? So, you do whatever it takes to keep it together. I knuckled down at jobs that were slowly killing me, just to pay the bills.

Just as I was seeing the light at the end of my tunnel of endless domestic crises, it was a train coming towards me fast form the other direction! I knew that I was coming to the end of the road in 9-5, but I felt stuck. What was worse of all was that I was losing faith in myself too. I knew I had to act and I accepted the push towards the inevitable parting of the ways with some relief at the end of a professional nightmare scenario. I was also nervous about what was going to happen next.

At the time, it seemed like the end of my working career. I had, as is also common with many women, become de-skilled over the years without really noticing and now jobs were scarce as the global recession began to bite. I had no professional qualifications, but tons of experience from having moved around so many short-term jobs.

Out of desperation to keep my roof over my head, my dog at my side and my puss the queen of my garden, I thought the unthinkable. I had questions about what I was capable of, but I took some time looking into starting an online business from home. I was surprised to find lots of other people like myself who had faced similar life crises, which made them think of new options too. I had always thought entrepreneurs were born, not made! I was wrong…..

To cut a long story short, I did my homework and found a business where I could work from home which was perfect for me. I have not felt this happy in my work-life in a LONG time……in fact I cannot remember when I last felt so optimistic about my future and enthusiastic about my work…….

I now work from home and set my own priorities, work my own schedules around what suits me and I learn new skills and gain experience and knowledge daily. If I make mistakes, I don’t have to have an anxiety attack about the consequences and the judgemental attitudes of bosses…and NO OFFICE POLITICS! I feel FREEDOM AT LAST!

MY financial concerns are not completely over, but I now know that I am earning from my willingness to learn and bring something of value to others looking to improve their situations. The business makes me confident I will do more than merely weather whatever may happen in hte short term and actually… I KNOW that in time my life is going to be better beyond today’s dreams! And if a man comes along… I am going to feel confident that I am with the right one from now on, because I will be able to afford to choose being single!

So, what is your story? How much time are you spending at home and running around doing your unfair share of domestic duties because you work part-time around family commitments? Or maybe you already work from home, but like so many others struggling and are spending more than you make?

What would you say about turning some of your time into working an online home based business? Can you imagine being able to work from home? I am not talking about some get rich quick scam here. I am serious. What would your life be like if you could afford to get in a house-keeper whilst you lunch with friends, or not worry about the costs of supporting your kids to go the local sports or drama club, whilst you are happily ‘bringing home the bacon’? Imagine being able to earn enough to sack your boss in a few months from now because you can no longer afford to spend time with him or her, because you earn more when you work from home! This has already happened to a colleague of mine!

Ladies, forget about the recession and job insecurity or running around to make ends meet. There is no recession if you choose the right online business from home and more women now see setting up their own business as a preferable option to the insecurities and injustices of the work place. This IS THE viable, realistic option and more and more women are realising that a home based business can be a really lucrative option which helps them achieve not just income goals, but the freedom of time schedule they need!

I said I had good news and it’s this. More and more women are putting their experiences in organising and managing their homes and families, together with their strong communication skills, to make these skills work successfully for them. The internet revolution has meant that finally, we are seeing a shift in wage inequality as more women are earning more in a month online, than their husbands can earn in a year! Are your eyes a little wider right now?

It gets better. A major proportion of new business start ups in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the west are small business owners; and that’s where you come in. There are so many new skills and knowledge to be learnt in on-line businesses and with the right guidance, you can tailor your training to your own needs and time schedule. One of the beauties of this kind of business is that you work at your own pace and for relatively little investment – far less than traditional businesses and for potential massive returns.

Take a quick hop over to TheBagLady.co.uk if you want to see the bigger picture, what women like us are now doing to take control back in our life.

How much you earn is only limited by the business model that you choose, the level of support you receive and quality of training on offer and the commitment you put into an learning about your new online business. Of course, not all business opportunities are created equal, but if you do your research on your options here, you stand a really good chance of being on an equal footing to the men in your life or to exceed their earnings beyond your imaginings!

If this sounds like music to your ears, but you are not sure what to look for or what questions to ask before embarking on a new work from home enterprise, or even if you are not fully convinced yet, do yourself a favour… If you want to learn more about how to earn more in one month than hubby earns in a year, take a look around my blog, where I share my experiences of working in an online business. If you feel good about what you have read so far, I think you are really going to enjoy what you learn next by checking out my article on what to look for in a home based business.

Aren’t you curious what your average pay and work freedom could really look like…?

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So you sometimes wonder how your life would look if you were to be your own boss and self-employed or even if you owned a business? (Know the difference?)

Ok, so take a break from your normal busy day for a few minutes. Get yourself a drink, turn off the radio or TV. Indulge yourself here. What does your life look like in that freedom place? Maybe you no longer drive to and from your job. Perhaps you even work from home. Or you run a business getting paid for the real value of your skills and knowledge instead of feeling ripped off every time you get your tax notice.

Maybe you are now more in control of the office politics. Now you get to pick who you want to work with rather than being forced to get along with people you really have little in common with and who maybe regularly drive you crazy. Or no longer need do you panic daily to struggle to ferry your children around between day care, school or after school clubs and all their other activities, whilst not being late for work. No stress; you can build your work day around them! What’s more you’ll even have time to enjoy being around them when they have their birthdays, as they grow up.

Have you ever had to negotiate compassionate leave from work for bereavement and been made to feel like you were faking it? (Been there!) No more grovelling and resenting your colleagues and bosses for sneery or suspicious attitudes. If life throws trauma and stress your way, you take as long as you need and find someone else to take your place or perhaps you could do so well, you can just take that time out that you need…

Ladies, did you ever get passed over because the training budget was “too stretched” or because your male colleague was “just better suited” to that course? Then not long after they were promoted and it could have been you? How would you feel knowing that every day you are in control of your being able to learn new skills and you are being challenged and even excited as you develop professionally? What about if your work was rewarding because you are helping other people to have the same freedom to determine their lifestyle as you have?

And how would it be if you were really happy that the products you were trading are not only high value, but you are offering something that everybody is in need of, that you feel passionate about? Sounds like a dream, right? Could never be reality? Too good to be true? Well, when people start in any new home business, this is the life many people are aspiring to; it’s what drives them to make that step out of their comfort zone.

So the big question is, if this is a reality for some entrepreneurs,how is it that as many as 97% of people fail in online, home based business ventures and as many as 95% of traditional businesses struggle?

There are a number of reasons why the average would be entrepreneur fails -particularly if the online business owner chooses to work from home.

Perhaps the number one killer of chances of success for the online business entrepreneur, is false or unrealistic expectations about the work involved. It is a mistake, for instance, to think that just because you conduct your business online, that building real-life personal relationships with other people is not important. Truth is, being self-employed or being a business owner, whatever your preferred sector, business building is about building honest and lasting relationships with other people who have an interest in what you have to offer, in short – marketing to your list of prospects.

The second key consideration for your success as an entrepreneur is that your success depends upon your giving value in your professional relationships – off-line as much as on-line. Giving people what they want keeps them interested. Obvious? So why do business owners rest on their laurels?

Fifteen years ago, somebody introduced me to an online business opportunity; the internet was a whole new media for advertising and product promotion then. But because direct marketing was still new, there were rumours of home businesses being scams and pyramid schemes were whispered about at group meetings. My sponsor at the time was driven by the motivation to earn big money – fair enough – but I was not inspired by him as a business person. To be fair, this was not his fault to some degree; the business model did not focus on marketers developing themselves professionally. There were no real marketing skills lessons offered by the company, just hypey tapes I could neither relate to or learn a great deal from. Fact is I cringed after listening to a couple of them… so old school hard sell with some ‘mindset’ training.

Portfolios of hyper-shiney married couples with sometimes monstrously ostentatious homes were anathema to me. Images of these top sales people alienated me more than they inspired me. Importantly also, I could not see how I could get from A to B – and if what I saw in those glossy business brochures was destination B, I wasn’t going anywhere with Happy Clappers!

Nor was I inspired to learn about what owning a business meant. I was an employee, with an employee mentality and bills to pay. None of my so-called business partners spoke to me about what I wanted out of life. Setting goals in developing myself and moving a practical business plan forward was not on the agenda it seemed. So when our home computer began to regularly shut down for no apparent reason and when we were expected to stock up on products of the company, so we knew how great they were, when we were asked to ‘draw up a list’ of those close to us, when ‘world wide web’ security limitations were still a huge obstacle in peoples’ minds to shopping online, the practicalities and drawbacks began to out-weigh any possible benefits of sticking with it.

The fact remains, however, that choosing and online business does give you a distinct edge and that had we persisted, we no doubt would have been rich by now! I knew the potential for having an online business back then; just knowing this was not enough to drown out the doubt about the struggles to be got through.

I was also not impressed by the products back then, so all in all I could not get excited enough to make consistent efforts to make it happen. It never occurred to me then that there might be different business options available. I had very little contact with business people and in my mind, people inherited their parents’ businesses!

Little did I know, that what I needed was to be encouraged to search online to find a fantastic product with a proven, effective and powerful marketing system and sales process, replicable systems where jobs can be delegated and last but not least, good coaching.

In a home based business operating online, you can achieve much greater leverage than you could ever hope to in a traditional “bricks and mortar” business, or even by using “traditional” MLM or network marketing techniques. People seek you out instead of you having to chase customers down, or worse still, harass your family and neighbours.

Network marketing online is a BOOMING industry. It’s RECESSION PROOF if you know how to pull the right levers…

So be clear from the outset, that if your business is to thrive no matter what the economic climate, you need to put in some hard work on yourself, developing skills, patience and tenacity. Understanding your relationships with potential customers is crucial. They need to trust your opinion and your products; choosing the right business can offer that potential if you are brand new tot the idea of going independent.

The incredible power of leverage offered by internet marketing, to reach markets globally, 24-7, even as you sleep is incredibly alluring for more and more people. It’s the new Goldrush with which you have a formula to get you the lifestyle that very few actually attain.

Whether you choose a traditional business model or replicable online business, certainly being an entrepreneur is a step in the right direction towards gaining more control over your life. That being said, it’s also a matter of degree.

How many business people do you hear of who work 70 hour weeks and say that their business dominates their life to the point where they cannot reap the personal rewards of their hard work? If you cannot delegate, outsource or automate, you are bound to your business. All well and good if you are happy living that way.

But nowadays more men and women are looking to achieve a healthier work-life balance. The internet offers this potential freedom .

Doing your homework, putting in the time to do your research before you jump in can really pay off in terms of ROI and achieving more freedom . The right business for you can see you well positioned to build a professionally, financially and personally rewarding home-based business. If you are investigating your options to work from home now, be sure to research whether your product is unique and high value enough to bring the kind of returns on your investment that you need to sustain a high quality life-style.

Really important too is to find out what support you can expect from your business team in order to build your value in the market-place. Bear in mind, you are about to become your business’s greatest asset and driving factor for being successful or failing. On-going and consistent training to stay ahead of this fiercely competitive market is crucial.

Most important of all, do not be fooled by any promises of quick results. If you are looking for working towards a dream lifestyle,
developing your value to the market is going to take time and commitment. So many fail in internet marketing because they lose hope and momentum just at the point where their business is about to really take off. Be realistic. This is not a ‘see how it goes’ situation. You have to be committed to making your business work.

Research what is on offer and think about what your business needs to be helped to develop. Write a list during your due diligence of what appeals to you and find the business which fits your criteria.

Finally, enjoy the process. If you get a winning formula, it will be the making of you and your family. Your passion for your business is going to keep you going in any tough periods. Whatever the weather, being an independent entrepreneur is definitely emotionally and psychologically liberating. On balance, the good will outweigh those days every entrepreneur has of: “What have I got myself into?”!

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I’m on a mission here today, to encourage you to use your marketing budget more wisely… Lately, I’ve been thinking about paper based publications marketing and advertising and I wanted to share what I’ve found out about how to make your bottom line expand with some simple strategies! Successful business men and women entrepreneurs alike can go with that right?

If you are paying for advertising already, or plan to in the future, here are some basics on assessing what works and what doesn’t and what it can mean for your budget management.

First off, stop any advertising that isn’t working! Obvious, right? Seriously, you would be amazed at how many business people run ads just because that’s what their business has always done, or because it’s what their competitors do. Shockingly, they don’t even really know whether the ads are working, because they never thought through why they were doing it, who they were targeting, let alone set up any results tracking or really studying their competitors wider strategies. It’s that old: “throw it at the wall often enough, some of it will stick” time and money wasting philosophy handed down from way back when…

Secondly, you won’t know whether the ads are working unless you test and measure all of your advertising. This is sooo important. So many businesses allocate a certain amount of money to an advertising budget, spend the money every year, with only a vague sense of whether the ads are working or not. This is not a good business practice! It perhaps also shows a complete lack of understanding of this vital sales and lead generation strategy.

If ad campaigns are not working, use some other marketing strategies that can bring you a bigger return on your investments. A bigger ROI on your bottom line looks good from any angle!

Thirdly, only run ads that are going to get a response. This is known as ‘direct response advertising’. The other form of advertising is brand advertising. (This is designed to build and sustain awareness of a brand. Yes, of course you are your brand too as a small business owner…. but this is another marketing article for another day…)

Learn to earn like smart online marketers who only pay for ads that produce a profitable response. For instance, in Pay Per Click campaigns, knowing what your conversion rates and your Cost Per Click is, tells you where to draw the line. OK, this is not always straight forward perhaps, but these are crucial cost management tools. For some business people,this level of analysis is out of their comfort zone. The point is not being interested can ultimately leave you demotivated as you watch your business ‘muddle along’ at best, or worse still…struggle.

Your business marketing strategy is a whole skill set in itself which requires your observation, study and active willingness to learn. Do you (or your marketing team if you have any) know, for instance, what the cost of a sale conversion from your advertising campaign is? Who are responding to which ads? How many are buying? How is this reflected in overall costs of campaigns and product prices?

Sometimes, business people are so caught up in all other operational considerations, taking time to really analyse the success of their ‘sales lube’ gets left behind. Are you trotting out tired campaigns for convenience because of tight deadlines? Putting in some appraisal time can really pay off. One small tweak in any off or online ad campaign can even have exponential results.

For instance, the KEY element in any advertising is the headline or the the first words of your ad. Obvious right? What do you have to offer to grab peoples’ attention in the few seconds you have to distract them from whatever else they might otherwise be doing? You are potentially building a relationship with new customers here and research says you have literally seconds to do it! One simple tweak to your headline can really increase your response rate. (TIP: If the headline of your ad is currently the name of your company, you can almost certainly increase your ad response rate by merely changing the headline to a compelling offer or an amusing or intriguing few words. Who really cares who you are?! The public are tuned into W.I.F.M. daily; i.e. What’s In It For Me – even if it’s just entertainment they are after, offer salesmanship! )

The body copy of your ad should be a personal communication to the individual reading it. It needs to be about them and speak to that one person you are going out to find. It needs to address their needs, desires and fears AND it needs to constantly communicate the BENEFITS of what you are offering, not just the qualities of the product(s).

At the end of the ad you need a call to action. Tell people exactly what they need to do to take the next step towards you and make it easy for them to do so. If there is a bonus of some kind on offer, remind them. If you have a time-limited offer, make it obvious what the benefits are of acting NOW.

Some other basics of the marketing masters include: Don’t advertise on a left hand page e.g. in magazines or newsletters. This has been proved over and again. When we read any publication, our eyes are drawn to the right hand side of the page. It makes sense then, that more people will see your ad if it’s on the right hand page. However, on any single page, our eyes alight on the top left and move to the right, hence the placement of sponsored ads on Google, for instance.

Bargain hunters, remember, we are in a recession and advertisers need your business. So, NEVER pay the full rate you get quoted. You can always negotiate. If this is something you are not comfortable with, get some practice in with someone you trust to play hard-ball with you. If you’re a small business, be aware that large companies who use ad agencies are buying based on the readership or audience numbers, rather than the ‘rates chargeable’. Haggle and negotiate; you are not expected to be treated the same as the big boys and your custom is just as important in tough times. Think about it, paying, 20% less for your advertising can turn an unprofitable ad campaign into a really lucrative one.

OK, whilst still on the subject of advertising presence in publications, don’t think that just because your competitors are there, that you need to be too! Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your competitors are there because their ads are producing great results. Chances are, they are only there because their competitors are and the funny thing is that many won’t even know if their ads are getting results anyway, because they don’t really bother to measure results either! This is a mistake commonly made by newbies who are still looking around for marketing role models… I know this because I’ve done it!

Consider non-traditional advertising media to complement eg magazine advertising. So many businesses waste money on unproductively restrictive advertising outlets. Other marketing strategies might be more profitable, especially if your budget permits, used jointly to underpin or mutually strengthen each other: Direct Mail, Telephone Marketing, Direct Sales, Email, Internet, Referrals, Strategic Alliances, etc. The possibilities for a good marketing mix are as successful as the planning and execution you put in.

Knowing what works, above all, is the result of your actively testing and experimenting over time. This takes patience, planning time and strategic focus. The good news is it gets to be fun when you start to see the results of tightening up on your methods. More importantly still, advertising can become a highly profitable part of your marketing tool box when you get it right and immensely satisfying when you know that your expansive bottom line is directly resulting form feeding your campaign properly.

If you are looking to learn more about marketing effectively and have time or money to invest, I recommend an online marketing ‘ earn as you learn ‘ training platform where you can learn all aspects of marketing and salesmanship from the marketing masters, some of whom are from Fortune 500 companies, offering their know-how on tried and tested methods. Check out the videos page here on this site to find out more.

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So there I was, without a job, since a car accident meant I could no longer do that work, with no partner’s second income for support, completely unprepared for the crisis. I had spent over half a decade in a secure job just months prior, but left this job due to unreasonable work-loads and pressures, to take the job I had to now leave!

A series of events unfolded from that accident which led to my decision that it was time to be financially independent, boss free and more in control of my life in future. It was going to take an unknowable amount of time to learn how to work online at home successfully in a new internet business opportunity I knew was for me. I had one month to go from zero to building a business earning £1,500 to cover my household expenses before I could start to apply for a business loan from banks who were increasingly reluctant to lend in what was already a serious financial recession.

In the firm belief I had found possibly the best of all online business opportunities, where I could now work from home, I had even done what had been unthinkable until this crunch point in my life. I invested in the business with a personal loan and overdraft until I could secure a business loan (if I could!) – I could hysteria in my mother’s voice already; a war baby, completely against the idea of loans! Now I had additional over-heads on top of my bills and the clock was ticking until my repayments started. My home was on the line and I was taking a huge risk with a business I was new to.

In spite of this, I had done my homework and I knew that recession was not a significant issue in internet business opportunities albeit over 95% of people fail when they work from home

The combined experiences of working in bullying culture for so long, with all of the humiliations that went with that, together with the injuries I sustained in that car accident were forcing me to think about my future in a different way. Trading my days for a pay-cheque which would barely cover my bills, plus the over-whelming horror I felt at working a 9-5 again, was just no longer an option. Iwas broke every month. I worked it out; if I earned the UK average income of £20K per year, my working hours, (together with the hidden costs), I would work for £50 per day for nigh on ten hours.

My life is worth more than this; nor was this was not the first time I had gone through the maths exercise; it had become a six month ritual. I had come to the same conclusion before, but that pay-cheque at the end of the month had been just enough to keep me hooked in.

I took a leap of faith and looked around for other options, like thinking of how I could work from home and be incontrol of my work schedule and earnings. I did not even know then what made a strong business model in online business opportunities. I learnt fast. I just had to follow the steps of the entrepreneurs who had tread that road before me; there is nothing new under the sun; we all learn from each other; I figured others had succeeded from nohting, so I just had to copy them.

I read books, wrote (still write) copious pages of notes, I have committed to continued learning. In the mirror in the morning and going to bed at night, I repeated affirmations; within weeks, I felt really ALIVE… for the first time in years! I realised how much the day job world had beaten my individuality out of me. Maybe you recognise the feelings?

Like many newbies, my expectations were unrealistic in terms of time-scales. I was not just building a business for my future, I was re-building myself as an entrepreneur! Bigger action than I had ever under-taken before was the only way to fulfilling any future dreams of moving to the coast to live happily, healthily and wealthily ever after.

I began to think as other entrepreneurs did: “Before marketing, comes mindset”; my new confidence silenced critics, still in residence in my mind, who still clung to wage-packet myths. I gave them notice to quit! Sometimes a friendly, nurturing Godmother popped in for a pep talk: “You’re going to be fine. Carry on doing what you want to do”. “ I will! This is MY FUTURE”, I said this out loud sometimes, followed by: “I commit to being rich UNRESERVEDLY”; these final words came surprisingly and reassuringly firm.

Newbies need the shoulders of entrepreneurial giants to stand on and a strong team to lean on. Master internet marketers are now my sounding board and inspiration; my will to succeed has been supported by the experiences of my new community. How can I fail? We all need to learn the ways of those wiser than ourselves so that our self-talk becomes imbued with the power of belief. So, “I focus on opportunities, not obstacles; I get ready, I fire, I aim”. (It’s even ok to make mistakes, because I am only accountable to myself and I LEARN from it! No bosses to pull faces! Liberation!).

Now, every day, I put in the time to learn, to do and be who I really am. I am more committed than I have felt in a long time; the help and support is out there with the marketing education community I have chosen. Of course I can do this! “I am bigger than any problems. I can over-come any problems…I focus on building my net worth.”

Now, some of you may be turned off by my new mantras c/o T. Harv Eker , or you may even be hearing your own self-talk. For those of you who may be wincing, ask yourself this question: where are you now in your life, having listened to the voices you have listened to up until now? How would it feel to have people you care about saying positive things and encouraging you to make a better future? How would you feel when looking in the mirror in the morning, if talking out loud, you hear yourself believing powerful and positive messages you had to tell yourself that day?

If any of this resonates with you, chances are you already harbour dreams of getting more out of your life, but perhaps you are struggling to get closer to what you want out of life. Well, you have one life only! My credit crunch crisis story could have been much worse. It reminds me of saying from my home town, which puts this a little darker: “You’re a long time dead”! Your next chapter could be just around the next corner, you just cannot see it yet.

There are so many online business opportunities for you to choose from where you can have the freedom to work from home Think about your longer term goals in life; your future is in your control if you want it to be. Don’t let it take some calamity for your change to come. Learn by my happy accident!

(My thanks to T. Harv Eker for his inspiration and guidance in ‘Secrets of a Millionaire Mind’ and pointing to my entrepreneurial alter ego whom I had never known existed until recently.)

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So now I have made a commitment to improving my quality of life and not settling for mediocre same old same old.  Now I believe that is possible for me to become wealthy, I increasingly have BIG dreams. In fact, I have them in abundance! I have them written in a book, ‘dream’ picutres where I work and I am finding inspiration more and more as my ideas expand.  

Any day now the ten minute daily good habit of focussing on my dreams in order to bring them closer to my reality may become my twice daily habit jsut as the books say … By the way, this has not been comfortable for me…I pride myself on being a ‘realist’ … (read: the type who determines that dreaming is a luxury for those who can afford the cost of making a dream reality…) The reality, however, is that I love making time to dream the trivial to the fantastic, whilst I walk the dog in hte rain, whilst brushing my teeth or drifting off to sleep! I think it helps my happy hormones!

Anyway, realism is not only about a delimited present, it’s about what is feasible in the future if you execute a well-thought out plan of action! The belief that ”I CAN” (achieve) is one of the renowned wealth strategies of the rich … I’ll return to this again sometime…

If this sounds a little airy fairy to the sceptics amongst you who have even read this far, (and well done you!) let me just say; I too am a sceptical, realistic idealist! (Think about it…!)  Decades of disappointment, have until recently, allowed me to believe in only that which I can touch and afford to believe in, so I minimise the pain of disappointment when it inevitably comes – paving the way for a downfall and yes, I understand self-fulfilling prophesies, “thoughts are things” and so on.

These days, thank goodness, since I have made a decision that I want to become wealthy, I am back in touch with my imagination, flights of fancy and ambitions. Let’s face it, if you have not got these things – ie you have no dream – you can change NOTHING in your life… and perhaps most importantly, what is life without hope, without faith in our ability to make things better in our world and the simple pleasure of dreaming?  I now want BIG Life-Change; (I always did really, only in different and more limited ways).

So I am reaching for the as yet intangible with adopting a new good habit daily, which takes me closer to where I want to be. If a good habit of positive thinking builds belief and belief builds habits and habits bring results, then I am onto a winner. Until I build my support network, I will share my new dreams and aspirations with my uncritical four legged friend, Moby, every day. He knows life can change; he used to be pit bait and had no personality or hope at all when we met; now he’s a very cheeky, happier chappy!

I may even share with you good people out there who are also secretly dreaming of something better … I certainly could do with all of the support I can get – family and friends can be a little short in that department when you decide to make changes which threaten their own perceptions … It would be interesting to find out how many of you out there have a dream you have not shared with anyone for fear of being laughed at or ridiculed. I’d love to hear your comments…

Meantime, I recently got as far as recording positive affirmations on my mobile, to play back whilst walking around shopping; Sadly voice recordings played without a headset just attracted too much attention for my level of comfort! I am sure postive affirmations about building wealth and the vision of a middle-aged woman with a frugal shopping trolley must have seemed  alittle incongruous! (An MP3 with headset is one for the wish list!)

When starting from scratch, building your belief is a pretty personal process, at least until you find your community with whom you can safely share dreams.  I might well be told to attend conferences abroad to build my conviction, but for me, that option is just not feasible right now, nor do I particularly want to pollute the atmosphere just for external reinforcement of my belief , which is about attitude of mind anyway.

I will eventually dream up 100 ambitions for myself and my future. I have sixty already from the minor (Affording a fruit tree for the garden every year) to the major (the beach house)! Not bad going for the girl who has come from nothing and who has always found it fairly easy to keep material possessions to a minimum.

I hope my journey to wealth in the coming years will illuminate, inspire, amuse and intrigue.  In fact I will be happy whatever reactions happen here;  even those people who just become viewers whose thoughts I never get to know about.  But comments will give me encouragement that you are out there thinking along similar lines to myself and maybe we can be finding inspiration togehter.

Of course,  I would love to hear your comments and experiences which my musings may trigger. Who thinks it isn’t worth it? What do you do to get through the tough times? Who are your role models? I welcome all creative and educational input, because this hub is my learning curve and who knows, maybe yours too.

OK You have been kind enough to read this far, so here’s five dreams I wrote down already; you can make me accountable some time:

1                 I  want to be able to afford to scuba dive weekly (5 years from now maybe when living close to the coast again)

2                 I want to pay off my mortgage, sell this house and move to the coast.

3                 I want four dogs, 2 pigs, 6-12 chickens, 3 geese, 2 cats and one kimodo dragon (OK I’ll settle for just seeing this in the wild!) and maybe one or two foster children

4                 I want a pair of totally ecological high-heels with a killer outfit and bag to match and to go places to wear them! (Only my sister and one other friend knew this about me until now – heels are not very practical in the mountains walking a dog!)

5                 I want to surf in Sri Lanka once a year

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