When my wife and I first started looking for a way to generate some extra income, we turned to the internet for answers, and of course, we stumbled across a network marketing company. We joined that company and were very successful, but truth of the matter is, a home based business doesn’t have to be in the network marketing industry. Most likely, the only reason we jumped into network marketing was due to the internet being flooded with network marketing opportunities.

Network Marketing vs. Traditional Home Based Business

Compared to the network marketing business model, a more traditional home based business falls second in areas of mentoring and turnkey operations. There’s no real guidebook to starting a traditional home based business in the medical field or in internet marketing. When you join a network marketing company, most have the training and tools to help you setup your business.

My point is….if you are creative enough, you don’t have to join a network marketing company to have a business from home. There are plenty of things you can do to generate extra income, and there are a few benefits to doing this:

1. You would be completely self reliant. Meaning, immune to having a network marketing company crumble beneath your feet. If your business crumbles, it would be completely your doing.
2. Your reputation is managed and influenced by you and you alone. In network marketing, mistakes made by the company or others promoting the same company effect your business. A few bad apples can ruin it for everyone.

Benefits to starting a network marketing company include:

1. Mentoring. You can get training from your sponsor, or enroller, as well as company training.
2. The product is already created for you. Plug and play!

Conclusion

Just know that if you are searching the internet for home based business opportunities, they will all most likely be in network marketing, especially if you type in the words “home based business.” But if you’re ambitious and self motivated, a good network marketing company is a great vehicle to use to get out of the job or create some extra income. But on that note, a more traditional home based business could be a better fit.

The type of business could be anything under the sun, but just operated out of a home office, or in my case, a living room/kitchen table/couch. There are a ton of things that can be done from home as your own home based business outside of the network marketing industry. My next post will be a list of 50 non-network marketing home based business ideas that will help you in your decision process.

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2. Network Marketing Industry
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What I’ve noticed in my own life, is that most of my successes are directly related to how I feel about myself. Now what I mean by that, is if I feel like I am a fat slob, unhealthy and unattractive, my self esteem is going to be rock bottom. My opinion of myself may or may not be a reality, but that’s what my mind believes. Until I can change this mental picture of myself, how can I view anything that my fat, ugly self creates as attractive? Make sense?

Success in a home based business, brick and mortar business or a regular job all begins and ends with you. Success outside of you must first start within you, and it works the opposite way as well. If you are not happy with your surroundings, chances are, you aren’t happy with yourself. Whether it’s your weight, the fact that you can’t climb the stairs without passing out or that you just don’t feel well, understand that everything around you is a direct reflection of you.

If you aren’t happy with your situation, start with you first. Feel good about who you are, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Get that in tune and everything else will start to fall into place.

Here are a few things you can do right now, today, to improve your self image.

• Start an exercise routine – For me, I love to feel strong. I love to run and lift weights. If I am not doing these things, I feel like I can’t protect my family, if the time comes that I need to do so. I feel like less of a man and often times compare myself to a few of my favorite movies, Gladiator and the Bourne series, where the weak die. (A little drastic I know….Just being honest!)
• Eat healthier – I struggle with this part because I love my sodas and goodies. But if I feel unhealthy, I have the willpower to control it. I’m not obsessive, but I do pay attention to how I feel about myself. Don’t fall into the false belief that as long as you like the way you are, all clogged up arteries and 500 lbs of you, then that’s all that matters. It’s not true and you are lying to yourself. You just don’t know any different.
• Look yourself in the eyes – Yes, I am vain….but not really. But I do want to know, that when I look myself in the eyes through the mirror everyday, that I can see a person that I have faith in. I want to see a person looking back at me that is confident, motivated and doing all that is possible to be who I know I am supposed to be. When I look in the mirror, I can see all doubt, fear or insecurity about the guy I am looking at. At that point, I know what I have to work on.
• Learn something everyday – Our brains are hungry for knowledge. We’ve all heard that knowledge is power, well it’s true, literally, and in more than one way. Knowledge is energy. It’s a simple concept, but if you make it a point to learn something everyday, you will find your excitement about life will be renewed. You will have a new found energy.
• Service – It’s not a new concept, but find an opportunity to serve someone. There’s no better way to feel good about yourself than by doing something good for someone else. And it’s a lot more fun if they have no idea it was you. (p.s. Don’t charge them money for this service. Hopefully that’s common sense!)

It can sound like a lot if you look at it all at once, but it really isn’t. Just develop a habit in doing these things and I promise you, you will start to have more success in all areas of your life. Our circumstances are a direct reflection of who we are being and how we feel about ourselves. In the most humble way, can you honestly say to yourself, “I’m kind of a big deal!” Say that to yourself in the mirror everyday and see what happens…and one day, if not already, you’ll start to believe it.

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Customize and Use Promo Items:

Personalized products are far cheaper than traditional advertising outlets and they boost the effectiveness of your networking. Wouldn’t you be more likely to remember a company if you received colorful sports bottles or reusable tote bags in place of just a business card? Have the name of your home business and your contact information printed on useful or fun items of your choice and start handing them out when you meet people who are interested in your products or services. If you have a logo to print on your merchandise, then that’s even better!

Start a Blog for Your Business:

Blogging can be all fun and games, but it can also be used as a marketing tool. Set up a blog on your website or create one through a service like WordPress or Blogger and start writing about hot topics in your industry. Be sure to include pictures and relevant links in your posts, too. Your expertise could be valuable to customers, not to mention you’ll build credibility and encourage customer interaction by sharing your knowledge with the world.

Social Media and Share Sites:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube allow you to interact with customers in ways you never imagined. Many companies use their Twitter or Facebook pages to field client questions, conduct polls, or run contests, but at the very least either of them will give you another listing in search engines and help people find you. LinkedIn is an excellent service for networking and building relationships with your customers and colleagues, and YouTube gives you the option of sharing your instructional videos or commercials. The best part is that all four of these social media sites are free!

Answer Online Questions:

Q&A sites like Answers.com, Yahoo! Answers, and Quora provide significant opportunities to establish credibility and expertise in your field. It’s free to sign up and you can subscribe to receive updates when new questions are asked about your industry. Making an appearance on Q&A sites is another way to get your business name out there, and you’ll have fun helping others. No matter which method you choose, start a schedule for yourself to ensure that you’re spending adequate amounts of time and money on marketing efforts. It’s all too easy to drain your budget without even realizing it and other aspects of your business will suffer if you spend too much time on advertising. The sooner you work out a routine for yourself, the sooner you can watch your home-based business thrive!

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My BIGGEST mistake as a home business owner, was putting all of my eggs into one basket. I put so much trust in the concept/product/owners of the company I was part of that I didn’t have a back-up plan. Now, if it’s all solid, there are no worries. But, if things go a different direction, if the company crashes, if the products lose their value or if any other variable happens that effects the company, it also directly effects your income. Instead of putting so much into the company, put that focus on the goal.

So imagine that 6 figure income you had managed to create while working your home business, suddenly gone, or significantly reduced. Now, if it was your doing, that’s one thing. But if was a direct correlation to something that happened in the company, that’s an entire different story! Without pointing fingers or taking a victims mentality, how does one recover from something like that?

Here’s how I recovered……I relied on the online presence I had. With the amount of content I have all over the net, the presence in social networking sites and the organic rankings on all major search engines, I had choices. With consistent, FREE traffic coming to my website, this site, a crash of a company wasn’t a complete disaster. All that did was gave me options.

I could…….

1. Join another business opportunity or….
2. Do something else with the traffic I was getting.

I could develop my own products and promote them on my site. I could completely monetize my website with sponsored listing from ad networks such as Adsense. I could continue to capture leads and sell them. I could promote affiliate products on my site. The list could go on and on.

So if you find yourself in a home based business, and you are purchasing leads, spending high dollar on CPC ads or don’t have a web presence, you may want to rethink your strategy. Set yourself up to win regardless of the opportunity.

One thing I teach people about marketing is to use three or four different sources of lead generation. If one or two drop out, you have the other two to rely on until they can be replaced. Without spreading yourself too thin, the same thing applies for your sources of income.

I believe in the Cortez concept of burning your boats, but I also believe in having a back up plan. Expect the best but prepare for the worst and you’ll never find yourself in a hard spot, without options.

Stay tuned for my SECOND BIGGEST MISTAKE in the next post!

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And I’m willing to bet that the number of businesses without websites is even higher, including within home based businesses. When I first entered the industry of network marketing, some of the top income earners in the industry were still using solely traditional marketing techniques to generate their customer base: Print ads, billboards and direct mailing. Only after noticing the gradual decline in their income and the gradual incline in those who had a web presence did they inherit an interest to learn. Think about it. How many home based businesses do you know of that depend on house parties and hotel meetings to promote their product or service? And how many of those business truly succeed on an individual basis?

Unless you consider an average of less than a thousand dollars a year a success, not many!

A business without a website is like milk without the cookies…..they’re just not as good by themselves.

I don’t know what keeps business owners from creating a site for their business. Maybe a lack of knowledge or an unnecessary additional expense. Whatever it is, if you’re a small business owner, it is worth the effort. Think about the pros and cons.

Marketing/Advertising Cost = $600/month for a billboard OR ten years for a domain and hosting (for you beginners….a website).

Reach = Potentially world-wide with the ability to be found in first page results, all over the world, for the key phrase of your choice.

Maintenance = Virtually none aside from an occasional blog post or product update. Again…it’s worth it. Give and you’ll get.

Traffic = The chances of someone building a freeway next to your billboard for a drastic traffic spike are slim. There is no limit to the amount of traffic you can receive to a site. And it’s extremely targeted! You’ll never see a billboard go viral like a helpful article online.

If done right, a website for your business can make a VERY significant difference in your results. It’s all about branding yourself and extending your reach. More visitors to your business is a good thing. That’s what a website does….it brings traffic….and traffic equals dollar signs where I come from.

If you are a business owner and need help getting started, let me know. I have assisted business owners create successful small business websites for their business over the last several years. Look at my website as an example. Centered around the Home Based Business industry, I rank first page for key phrases such as home based business and business opportunity, to name a few. To take the first step, Click HERE.

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