Eric Stein

William Buckley can tell you first hand that the seeds to entrepreneurship are often found during more difficult times. Almost 20 years ago, Buckley lost his job with one of Maine's largest savings banks due to a merger. After several interim jobs, he discovered Coffee News, a small publication given out in coffee houses and other eateries. The advertising opportunities intrigued him enough to buy his own Coffee News local territory.

The primary motivating factor for owning your own business is making money, but what good is making money if you don't get to keep it? When you factor in income tax, state sales tax, and any of the other taxes you pay, it's not uncommon to find that by the time you actually spend your money, you're left with only about 50% of the original amount.

For decades, franchises have been a staple of the American economy, but the barrier to entry has typically been several hundred thousand dollars (if not millions). Franchises offer the stability and success rate of a well known (and well proven) brand and business strategy, while still requiring and employing many of the entrepreneurial skills required to run a startup.

Many small businesses are created with the goal of eventually becoming large businesses. Growth should be an integral part of nearly any business, because like it or not, businesses that plateau, soon begin to decline. Much of growing a business will come naturally, however there will be certain points in your business where you "hit the wall" and knowing some practical ways to get over the wall can be the difference.

Like any big decision in life, choosing the right business is much more complex than simply coming up with a list of pros and cons. Choosing the right home based business should be a decision that you spend some time on, because if you want to be successful, you're going to have to put a lot of time and sweat into your business, and it will essentially take up the better part of your time for at least the first couple years.

Defining the meanings between the various home business opportunities

Starting a home based business can be one of the most rewarding ventures a person can make in life, but it can also drain you emotionally and physically. Moreover, if you head full-sprint into a new business opportunity without first having a solid plan, you may find yourself making some big mistakes early on that can take years to correct. As you start to think about a new home business, here are some big mistakes that you should take care to avoid.

How can you tell the difference between the two? How can you determine whether a legitimate MLM actually has the potential to earn revenue?