Home Based Business Recommendations

If you're seeking home based business recommendations, you won't need to look far. Friends and family are always full of ideas of what's hot and what's not. The best place to look for home based business recommendations is within yourself. Someone wise once said, "Do what you love to do and the money will follow."

If you decide to start your own home based business, you'll be in good company; home based businesses have come into their own. According to Home Based Business and Government Regulation, by Henry B. R. Beale, published by the U.S. Small Business Association, more than two-thirds of all U.S. businesses are home based. At least 60 percent are service and construction-related, while 80 percent are in fifteen 2-digit SIC industries, and one-fourth are in six 3-digit SIC industries. At least 90 percent of businesses were sole proprietorship with no employees.

Set aside some time for personal discovery to write down all your skills, talents, training and certifications. You may have talents that you don't even realize. A knack for organization is a key talent. The ability to balance a budget and keep up with finances is integral to bookkeeping businesses. If you can type relatively fast, you could start a transcription company.

Take a look at the following home based business recommendations to see if anything uniquely suits your interests and abilities. As you research your areas of interest, write down all the ones that seem to suit your skills and personality. When you have narrowed down your list of possibilities, you can research the top two or three in greater detail.

Commercial cleaning leads the home based business franchise revolution. The top ten home based business franchises for 2009, according to Entrepreneur.com and AOL Small Business are:

1. Jani-King (commercial cleaning)
2. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l. Inc. (commercial cleaning)
3. ServePro (cleaning and restoration)
4. ServiceMaster Clean (Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and Terminix)
5. Snap-on Tools
6. Stratus Building Solutions (commercial cleaning)
7. Matco Tools
8. Jazzercise Inc.
9. Vanguard Cleaning Systems (commercial cleaning)
10. Bonus Building Care (commercial cleaning)

The differences between a franchise and an independent company are numerous. With a franchise, you will have the benefit of an established, recognizable brand name. Other benefits are parent company support and training. The parent company has a proven model to go by to help you set up the business and succeed. The parent company usually has national advertising campaigns. You must pay to buy into the franchise, and you may have to pay ongoing fees.

In an independent business, you will truly be your own boss. You may have to create your own business model through trial and error. You will build your business from the ground up. You will do your own marketing and advertising. You will also create your own rules and most importantly, you get to keep all the profit.

Aside from franchises, there are innumerable independent business ideas. Here are 20 top ideas for a work-at-home business:

• Bookkeeping service / tax assistance
• Cleaning service
• Customer Service
• Data Entry
• Desktop publishing
• Editing / proofreading
• Freelance writing / copywriting / web writing
• Graphic design
• Internet-based business (web site sales, online auctions, e-book sales and marketing, affiliate marketing, subscription newsletter, e-mail marketing, pay-per-click, online travel)
• Marketing and advertising
• Medical Billing
• Photographer
• Social web site / community forum
• Tech support
• Telemarketing
• Transcription service
• Translation service
• Travel agency
• Virtual Assistant
• Web design / programming

Unfortunately, there are too many work-at-home scams on the Internet and elsewhere. Do due diligence before committing time, personal information and money to unscrupulous characters.

Once you've decided on your ideal business, develop a business plan. Having a business plan is not only essential for getting funding, it will also help you stay on course to fulfill your business goals.

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