Choosing A Business Opportunity – What To Look For – What To Avoid

Choosing a business amidst the plethora of home and small business opportunities can be overwhelming, especially when each claims to provide you THE pathway to financial independence where you can live the life of your dreams.

You can get into almost anything:

• your own home-based travel business
• online stores
• designing websites for others
• network marketing companies
• selling phone services
• data-processing and data entry
• marketing low APR credit card
• buying real estate for nothing down
• different programs of stock market investing
• buying and selling mortgage notes, to filing out legal briefs

And many, many more. . . .

So, how do you sort through all of the opportunities to "separate the wheat from the chaff”? You need a screening system for choosing a business opportunity which you can use for yourselves and which you can teach to potential business partners.

Evaluating different small and home business opportunities involves a number of important tasks, some of them more objective and some more affective. Here's a checklist to help you get started:

1. Start-up costs and monthly expenses: Every opportunity will have an initial investment required for getting started. These can range from $65 to over $2000. It's important you carefully think about these costs and how soon you can expect to recoup your initial investment in the business.

You'll also have certain monthly operating costs that you should be clear on upfront before diving into the business.

2. Compensation plan: Make sure you know how you get paid and what the income growth potential is, assuming you're seriously working the business.

3. Business & product appeal: It's important that you're excited about the business and it's products. Without your own personal excitement about it will be very difficult to recruit other business partners and customers.

4. Training & support: Make sure you understand what training you'll receive for operating the business; namely, who is doing the training, how is it delivered, and what's expected of you. Also get clear on the ongoing support that's available to you.

5. Marketing system: The system for marketing the business and it's products or services is one of the most important factors to consider for success in any business opportunity. Find out what the company already has in place, AND what you can and can't do on your own.

6. Ease of operation: You should be looking for an opportunity that is "turn key"; that is, you want the systems for running the business to already be in place. You don't want to have to "reinvent the wheel", so to speak.

7. Track record: Make sure you are crystal clear on the company's track record both in terms of its financials but also in terms of customer satisfaction.

These 7 items just scratch the surface but in my opinion they are some of the most important things to look for when you're screening various business opportunities.