There are several different work at home income opportunites out there. Most of them fall into one of these categories (in no particular order):

1. Network Marketing/Direct Sales/MLM
2. Internet/Affiliate Marketing
3. Transcription/Virtual Assistants (VA)
4. Surveys/Mystery Shoppers
5. Home Call Center

I have either had experience, or know people who work, in each of these 5 categories. They all have their pros and cons. The question is, which pros are most important to you and which cons must you stay away from? Everyone has different tastes and preconceptions as to what each of the 5 categories entails. I personally know people that are very successful in each of these categories so they all work. What you need to find out is which one or ones will help you reach your goals and will work well with your personality and skill set. It's important to go into this with an open mind and be flexible. Life circumstances change, and so what works for you now might not work tomorrow and what is going to make you outrageously rich tomorrow, might not be what you're looking for now. Is that clear enough? :)

So let's dive right in with our open, flexible mind and explore each of these categories:

This is the category that I first got my start in. While I was in college I got started with a very well established company that had been around for decades and I did pretty well. Within 4 months I was making over $6,000 a month, more than I ever dreamed possible. The key to my success was that I was very teachable. I found someone local to me who was making over $12,000 a month and I did everything he taught me to do. I absolutely loved my work because I loved the service I was selling and I loved helping others make a good income selling it too. So why do I no longer do it? Simply put, burnout. I still believe in the concept, it is a real home based business opportunity, but it no longer excited me and I wanted to take time off and travel and pursue other interests. However, with that particular business if I wasn't working my income would take too much of a dip. It's important to note that no one will ever be as committed to your business as you. If you aren't working your business you can't expect those in your network to work it. Now does this mean I'll never go into this category again? I honestly don't know. I thought that I would be in network marketing my whole life and things changed. If I found another company whose products and pay plan got me excited enough to invest my time into it, absolutely! All I know for sure is that life is too short to do anything that doesn't excite you.

The most important choice in this category is which company to get started with. There are literally thousands. My suggestions for finding the right fit for you are:
1. You have to love the product.
2. The payplan has to be lucrative and geared towards the average person.
3. Training! I can't emphasize this enough, you must get proper training.

Pros:
1. True satisfaction from helping people become successful.
2. Can build up an income from a few hours a day if you use your time wisely.
3. It's possible to make a serious income.
Cons:
1. If you're not careful it can burn you out.
2. You might not like talking to people.
3. There might be too much of an initial and ongoing monetary investment.

Resources:
1. Principles to making your business a success.
2. Marketing tips to grow your business.
3. Fun way to build your business.
4. Forum with great advice.

I used to think that you really couldn't make any serious money in this category and I started in it quite by accident. I was actually writing an ebook and looking up info about how to promote it and effectively sell it online. That's when I came across Honest Riches, an ebook that really educated me on internet marketing in a way I could understand. During my network marketing days people always balked at investing money and wanted to find an opportunity that didn't require an investment. I insisted and truly believed that was impossible. Boy was I wrong! I got Honest Riches because I saw it had a chapter on writing ebooks. Well, as soon as I got done reading it I decided to try out an affiliate program (what could it hurt) and sure enough I made money that day without spending a dime! It wasn't a lot, but in all fairness I didn't work it a lot either. Since that day I have made internet marketing my best rated home based business and my most successful. However, just because it worked for me doesn't mean it will work for you, so let me elaborate on the pros and cons.

Pros:
1. You can really work anytime, anywhere, as long as you have internet. You don't have to worry about working while the rest of the world is awake because you don't have to talk to anyone.
2. It can generate a serious income, 6 and 7 figures.
3. It is exciting, each day presents new challenges, almost like a game.
4. As your interests change your business can. For instance, I've recently taken an interest in hypnosis and as I'm learning about it I'm also profiting from it.
5. Stress free in that there is no politics or overhead.
Cons:
1. This is an income that grows with time and may not be full time money for you right away. However, work an hour a night on it and within a few months you can be there.
2. You don't have to be computer savvy, but you do have to have one with the internet.
3. It takes consistency and a lot of hours on the computer to make a full time go of it.
4. You have to be willing to learn new things.

Some helpful resources:
1. Honest Riches a must for those wanting to get started without investing money or prior knowledge.
2. Wordtracker
a great free resource.
3. A Course with respected internet marketers all in one place (more affordable than buying all their seperate tools.)

I did transcription for a little while, but in the long run it wasn't for me. My attention span wasn't long enough for it. However, I know several very successful transcriptionists and VAs who love it and use it as their only source of income.

There are several types of transcription to get into. Medical, legal, and just general transcription. Medical and legal take special training, so you might want to take on some general transcription jobs until you can further your training (which will result in higher pay). You can take independent jobs (craigslist is a great place to look) or you can work through a company, there are a lot of them out there. If you are thinking you want to take the company route, then you need to start applying now, sometimes they can have waiting lists. Also, take on some independent jobs, companies like to see that you have experience.

Being a VA can mean a lot of different things. Some VAs specialize in doing research or data entry or personal assistant tasks. Pay can range drastically so I'm not going to go into that too much here. Again you have the option of working independently and finding your own clients, or you can work through an agency. If you are not making calls for your clients then you can work any hours of the day. However, you must keep good track of your hours because this is how you will get paid unless you are working on a one time project with a set fee. VAs are invaluable to their clients and are typically very well respected. You don't need a specialty skill set to get started, but you should know how to use Microsoft Office, email, internet explorer, and effectively write.

Pros:
1. Can make a decent income.
2. You have control over how much work you take on.
3. Very well respected.
4. Rewarding knowing you're helping to get projects completed on time.
Cons:
1. You can't leverage your time. You're trading hours for dollars so your income is limited.
2. You will be working against deadlines.
3. Can take awhile to develop the skillset needed for higher pay.

Resources:
1. Guide to starting your transcription business. This is a great starting point.
2. Successful VA's advice on how to get started.
3. Work at Home Jobs Directory
4. Forum with great advice and information.

This category seems to always get people excited. When I was in college a lot of my friends were mystery shoppers. I have also done some mystery shopping and surveys online. You really can make money doing this, however it is really just good supplemental income or play money.

There are some great survey sites out there and some surveys have high payouts, although most don't. However, it does add up. I mean if you're online anyway with nothing to do why not take a survey, even if it only pays $1.00? $1.00 isn't a lot, but for a 5 minute survey that works out to $12 an hour, not bad. However, you're not going to have that many surveys to do. Typically the survey is going to be directed towards a very specific niche demographic, so don't expect to qualify for every one. For me surveys are a fun way to make a little extra money when they pop up and I need a little distraction.

Mystery shopping is something that a lot of people know about and like. It is legitimate and does pay. However, the pay isn't that great. Basically you'll accept an assignment, drive to the shop, buy what they tell you to, interact with the staff, drive home, write an essay, and al for $5 and reimbursement for your purchase. To me it just isn't worth the time. But, it is great if you get an assignment that is for something you already need. In fact, most mystery shopper companies will advertise it as just that, a way to get things for free that you would normally buy and make a little money at it. Needless to say, this is not going to be your golden ticket to financial success. But it is fun and if a chance comes up to mystery shop at a place you like or were thinking of trying out, definately go for it!

Pros:
1. Fun and easy extra income.
2. No skill set is needed.
3. Usually any money you put out is reimbursed to you.
4. Great way to make some extra income to slowly pad your savings or treat yourself.
Cons:
1. It isn't a feasible full time income opportunity.
2. If you focus too much on it you could be wasting time that would be better spent elsewhere.

Resources:
1. Work at Home Jobs Directory has all the best survey and mystery shopping companies.
2. Forum with helpful tips and advice.

It is becoming more and more common for companies to outsource their call centers. This can range from customer to service to order taking to telemarketing. More and more people are looking at this as a real home based business opportunity, although it is more like a job.

There are plenty of third party companies out there that hire at home workers to handle their client's call center needs. You simply sign up for the shifts you want and then work from your computer. Most of these companies use VOIP for you to call with and will have computer and internet requirements that you must meet. It is important to note that this is a very competitive field so you need to start applying to companies right away if you feel this is for you. Most likely it will take several weeks if not several months for you to get hired anywhere. Then once you are hired make sure you watch for available shifts, it's not uncommon to get hired by some companies and then sit for days wiht nothing to do. When you do have a shift it is important that you have no distractions, your attention must be 100% on doing you job for every minute that you are logged in to your shift. If you're not, then you likely to get fired and there are plenty of people waiting to take your place. If you have small children you need to have either an older sibling or someone else watch them while you work. It is also important that you feel comfortable on the phone talking to other people. You don't have to be a sales person or have prior knowledge, the company will provide you with training and scripts.

For a lot of people that want to work from home this option is very appealing. If it is to you then get started right away to make sure you can get work.

Pros:
1. Doesn't require an established skillset.
2. It's a job where you just clock in and clock out without the stresses of running a home based business.
3. If you can get enough work you can make a decent income.
Cons:
1. VERY competitive, many people complain of not having enough work or waiting for months to get hired.
2. Strict computer requirements.
3. Not very flexible.

Resources:
1. Work at Home Jobs Directory
2. Forum with very helpful advice and information about different companies.

To wrap up, everyone is different and has different goals, dreams, skills, desires, and needs. I encourage you to look into several different options and try a few. There will be trial and error and a learning curve, but stick with it long enough to see if it will really work for you. I hope this lens has helped you realize that there are real home based business income opportunities out there, you just need to find what works.

Be open to new things and have fun! My absolute favorite work from home opportunity is internet marketing, something that I never thought I'd get into! I even had a very negative opinion about it at one time. Now I can't imagine what life would be like without it. I'm excited to get up everyday knowing that I have such a fun job that is funding my dreams and making me experience new things. The important thing is that you find something that gets you excited and can make your dreams come true. Life is too short to spend even one day doing something you don't love.

The book that got me started was Hones Riches by Holly Mann. If you would like more information on it click here and if you do get it, drop me a line because I love hearing how it has changed people's lives.

Here's to your home based business success story! Take action right now to make your dream of working a successful home based business a reality. Don't wait and let doubt creap in, act now and create the life of your dreams. You deserve it.