I know at times it can be challenging looking between all sorts of home based business opportunities and finally deciding which one is for you. Trust me I’ve been there before. At times it can simply be overwhelming.Because I’ve been in the home based business industry for a while (5+ years) I decided to write this article to help guide you in the right direction. Ultimately the choice is yours.Now there are several types of businesses that fall under the “home based business opportunities” category.You have day cares, consulting firms, carpet cleaning, network marketing, direct sales, internet marketing, forex trading, and the list goes on and on. I want to bring to light in my expert opinion 4 critical keys that you want to consider while looking at home based business opportunities.1. Does It Offer True Freedom
Correct me if I am wrong. However I believe that you are like me. You are looking to be your own boss ultimately so that you can have freedom. Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want.A lot of home based business opportunities claim you will have freedom but in all honesty you won’t.
Too many businesses end up running the people or rather owning them. They are constantly filling orders, answering the phones, dealing with clients, driving all over town, dealing with vendors, answering email, trying to collect payment, and more.Who wants to deal with that? What if there were a way to have the benefits of being your own boss without having to deal with all the extra stuff that weighs you down?2. Systematic Process
This is a big one. I fully appreciate now knowing how powerful efficient systems are when you have them in place. It can be the difference between you being involved in every single thing that goes on in your business which will eventually wear you out vs you focusing only on what you are good at and allow the system to do the rest.It truly is a beautiful thing. Because of the systems that I have set up now, I’ve been able to eliminate myself from a lot of the heavy lifting if you will and get my work day down to 2 hours per day on activities that produce income. And it’s all because I have a system set up to do that which I’ll tell you about later.Imagine if you will having a system so powerful that handles your explaining, telling, selling, billing, payment processing, filtering, and outsourcing.3. Automatic Follow up Process
Answer this for me. If there were a way to follow up with your customers without you having to pick up the phone and feel cheesy making that phone call, would you want to know how to do it?If you are like most people you are nodding your head yes. Let’s face it. We live in a day and age where people really don’t answer the phone anymore unless your number is saved into their cell phone.Not only that but being tied to the phone to follow up with customers, prospect, make sales, collect payments, etc is a drag. That essentially makes your business your owner and you don’t have a life which goes back to point number one.Fortunately for you and me there are certain tools out there now that automate this process that we can leverage.4. Product Creation
I don’t want you to overestimate the importance of this last point. When researching home based business opportunities many people struggle with should they provide a service or a product. Then when they decide to provide a product the next question is what kind, how much will it cost, how do I get it patent, and there’s a lot of research that is involved if they are doing it right.What if you didn’t have to do all that extra intensive leg work and there were valuable products that you can stand behind that were already created? What if you didn’t have to handle the shipping, billing, or any of that with the products yet money still was deposited into your bank account like clock work.My friend that is the day and age that we live in now. If you don’t want to create a product much less provide a service then you don’t have too. There are product creators out there that are just looking for people to resell their products. Some are good and some are bad, you’d have to decide for yourself.Now that I’ve given you 4 serious points to consider when evaluating home based business opportunities I want to help you out even further. I want to show you the business that has all of these covered and then some.This business has allowed me to walk away from my job, earn a full time income, work anywhere I want because it is internet based, help develop me as a leader, and given me my life back since I only work about 2 hours per day.
Home Based Business Opportunities Are A Dime A Dozen: Here Are 4 Points To Consider
The Other Path Reveals to Investors Lucrative Alternatives to Traditional Investments
In The Other Path, Robert J. Klosterman’s follow-up to The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the author once again offers his astute financial and investment advice. The book’s subtitle, “Illuminating the Path Toward Volatility While Achieving Equity-Type Returns,” is apt, as that is just what Klosterman advocates that investors do to achieve optimal monetary gains with their investment portfolios. Klosterman gets his title from Robert Frost’s famous poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which he quotes at the beginning of The Other Path, a highly interesting book that offers investors insights into a different sort of investment approach than they might be used to, though a very effective one that is designed to aid investors to earn equity-type returns while reducing the volatility that many other investors experience who only try more traditional approaches when it comes to planning their portfolios.
Klosterman’s book, The Other Path, is relatively short, coming in at just 60 pages, not counting the Appendices at the conclusion of it, but his approach to investing which he details in it is one which is very informative. The book is sure to interest and be beneficial to anyone who would like to lower his/her investment risks while maximizing his/her potential monetary returns.
The very title of Klosterman’s book, The Other Path, alludes to an investment strategy, or road, that most people have traditionally followed, which is investing their money entirely in stocks, bonds and cash. Such an approach is a tried-and-true one that has proven beneficial to many investors, but it has also proven to be a sometimes volatile path for others. Investing in stocks, bonds and cash, Klosterman argues, is an important part of an overall investment strategy, though there are other opportunities for diversifying one’s investments and reducing the volatility many portfolios unfortunately undergo, a volatility which can cause the monetary value of one’s portfolio to experience a disastrous nosedive.
Still, the main leg of the milk stool, that is, investing in stocks, bonds and cash, is a vital component in a wise investment strategy, according to Klosterman’s assessment in The Other Path. He calls it the core leg of a metaphorical three-legged milk stool, with each leg in the metaphor referring to a different but complimentary strategy when it comes to investing. If an investor diversifies his/her portfolio and does not solely focus on the main leg of stocks, bonds and cash, but also invests his/her money in nontraditional ways, Klosterman argues, using a series of useful and informative charts and graphs, that one’s portfolio is much less liable to experience a disastrous financial loss and the volatility of one’s portfolio will be reduced.
The second of the three legs of the milk stool is “Diversifiers,” and the third leg is “Absolute Returns.” Klosterman argues that “Diversifiers,” or alternative or nontraditional Investments, help reduce the volatility of an overall investment portfolio. Some examples that the author gives of nontraditional investments include real estate, private equity, “developed and emerging international equities,” distressed debt, and managed futures. These sorts of nontraditional investments can reduce volatility by either having a “very low correlation with traditional markets,” as Klosterman writes, or by delivering “consistent returns year after year, with little or no volatility.”
The third leg of the milk stool, “Absolute Returns,” is also the name of Chapter Four of The Other Path. Absolute returns are investments, according to Klosterman, which “demonstrate the same qualities of a bond with the assurance of return of principle and consistent payment of interest.” The author writes that they are similar to ten-year treasury bonds but “they are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.” Despite this, Klosterman states that aspect of absolute return vehicles can be considered to be an advantage. That is because strategies involving absolute return vehicles, as the author writes, “can invest in sound ideas and not have to fit restrictions that other institutions have.”
One example is investing in companies that lend money to small businesses and house flippers. These companies can work fast and close loans faster than banks. These companies have the ability to provide quick access to loans for money to people like real estate developers or house flippers, in comparison to banks.
In The Other Path, author Robert J. Klosterman writes about a no-nonsense approach to nontraditional investing and how it can benefit one’s investment portfolio and help reduce volatility. The book also examines and identifies “trouble signs” besides volatility when planning one’s portfolio, like groupthink, market disruptions and inflation. While Klosterman recommends that investors follow the advice of professionals who are experts in planning investment portfolios and have proven track records over at least a decade, The Other Path is an interesting and insightful look at adding nontraditional investments to an individual’s portfolio. Whether investors want and like to plan their investment strategies on their own, or with the advice of professionals, The Other Path is an eye-opening Must Read designed to inform investors of types of alternative investments that can balance out their portfolios and reduce the negative effects of market volatility. It is a book I would highly recommend to anyone who has ever considered expanding their investment portfolios and adding nontraditional investments to them.
Now What? The Biggest Question Asked by Home Based Business Owners
Often the biggest obstacle to being successful as a home based business owner is not finding leads and prospects – though that is critical. The biggest obstacle is managing the internal response to the question – NOW WHAT? Often this question is followed by a – deer in the headlights – response which is then followed by stagnation. Following stagnation comes fear, buyers remorse, and the spiral downward can begin.Now what? For home based business owners in the network marketing and direct sales industry, this question is a common one. But is the answer? The product and/or service being offered is great. The compensation plan is in set. The company has a steady track record. The process for finding leads is in place. The marketing tools are already designed and provided. So what is left? Two words – personal development.The internal dialog of the home based business owner is what is left. What you say to yourself becomes paramount. The level of confidence, being self-empowered, understanding internal strengths and weaknesses, and being laser focused on a goal or dream – are often part of the missing links in growing any business. 90% of the challenges for home based business owners are in the lack of personal development. What creates this – lack – or the need to ask, NOW WHAT? It is one thing – STUFF.Now what? Let me define stuff. Stuff is the unspecified, intangible, often negative element we introduce into our minds through our words, thoughts, or some other outside stimulation. When we do not focus our thoughts effectively, they can become scattered, miscellaneous, and fixated on stuff that can lead to negative notions, toxic relationships, and fear of taking even calculated risks.As a new home based business owner (particularly in network marketing) part of your STUFF can be not being able to determine which direction to go with you new business. Not having direction can lead to stagnation and eventually withdrawing from the system in place to assist in your success. Stuff is dwelling on mistakes you have made in the past, being angry at someone who did something to you in the past, being afraid to enter into a new venture because you heard someone share a horror story, worrying about your health at age 50 while you are still 35… and on and on.Stuff will find its way into your life regardless of who you are, how much money you make, and what your status is in life. Stuff keeps us from moving forward with our lives and we need to it let go, and quickly. Especially if you entered in to a new home based business venture to make money. The clock is ticking, and STUFF has no timekeeper.What is the solution? How do you begin letting go of stuff?It begins by making a commitment to yourself, a commitment to your dreams, a commitment to your family, and a having a belief that you deserve to have what you want out of life. That said, please remember the old adage that you do not get in life what you want, you get in life what you are. 100% of your success is centered around your philosophy about what is success. What does success mean to you? What image appears in your minds eye when you imagine being successful? Capture that image in words by writing it down in your personal journal. Make it a part of your business plan and strategy. Read it every day. This will help keep you laser focused on your goals and dreams.Before you take one more step toward working your home based business, you must first identify your philosophy in all areas of your life. What is your philosophy about money, friendship, being a spouse, parent, son/daughter, and business owner? According to the late great Jim Rohn, your philosophy is what determines your internal conversation, which becomes your values, which determines your decisions, and thus drives your actions and direction.Letting go of stuff begins in part with deciding who you want to be, then creating a plan to be that person-no matter what! Making a personal commitment is critical to having success in every area of your life including business, friendships, marriage, and finance.Part of the first step in the process of letting go of stuff is to acknowledge that you have stuff. Acknowledge that you want, and perhaps need to change something. Acceptance of the stuff in your life is also key, just as acceptance of anything you want to change. Before remodeling a home, for example, you must first accept its current condition. After taking inventory, you can then make plans to remodel. The same is true for making long-lasting, inside out changes in your life, and thus your business. You must first take inventory of the stuff that is keeping you from moving forward. Identify it. Accept it. Then begin the process of letting go of it.NOW WHAT? The answer lies inside of you. Begin by letting go of stuff.