“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” William Jennings Bryan

Is A Home Business Opportunity For You?

The internet has made it possible for the average person to access unlimited possibilities to make money from the comfort, security and flexibility of their own homes. With the pressures of single parent households and/or skyrocketing unemployment rates more and more people are looking for these unlimited possibilities to answer their needs for self improvement, financial security and peace of mind. The question is… with all the home based business opportunities how can we trust the legitimacy of the advertised work from home businesses?

Due Diligence!

Anyone in the network marketing industry has heard it on numerous occasions before. It’s great if we actually followed our own advice. More often than not our due diligence tends to become no more than a litmus test with our emotions… if we like it we buy it! It’s not the stuff that sound judgment is made of. So the question is what specific steps must be undertaken to maximize your potential for success at this stage of the development of your new home based business?

Step 1: Choose YOUR Industry, Product/Service

It makes no sense at all to research an opportunity that you are not passionate for. There are too many obstacles on the road to network marketing mastery that not to have a clearly defined and passionate incentive to keep on going is like starting handicapped from the beginning. This is an emotionally stimulated industry. Potential customers for the most part rely on emotion and can pick up on any self doubt from the budding internet marketer.

Step 2: Gather All Corporate Information FTC, State Or Local Business Licensing Departments and/or corporate websites.

Identify the key players such as founders, management and leadership panels. Internet domain name ownership research can add additional insight as to the original ownership of the organization; however with privacy options this information is becoming less and less available.

Step 3: Search for Negative Public Information Negative information whether grounded in truth or fabrication is a good indication of the popularity of the chosen home business.

Using the sources above we may be able to identify any reported derogatory activities. Teamed with internet searches based on the key words generated above will paint a picture that we would not have otherwise discovered simply by reviewing the corporate website and marketing materials.

Step 4: Identify and Communicate With Current Distributors Contact with a sample of the current distributors to request the opinion on the business as a legitimate business opportunity is potentially useful.

Reason must be used since most distributors may be unwilling to divulge their own mistakes in signing up with a problem organization. There should be consistency amongst the distributors and any exceptions pursued.

Step 5: Review of the Compensation Plan The compensation plan is the means by which distributors are compensated for building the business.

Often the distributor receives a percentage of the trade of his/her down line (i.e. a residual), and gets bonuses (e.g. infinity bonus, leadership bonus) for achieving titles. A good compensation plan will:

• open doors to as many participants as possible
• be designed to retain the highest number or level of participants as possible 
• establish an ongoing training program that includes multiple marketing strategies
• consider customers, representatives and management

The company’s mission and mission statement, if properly established, will go hand-in-hand with the compensation plan in creating a desire in its participants to share the program with others – incentives that go beyond merely the attraction of money.