A question I get all the time from middle-aged women is..."How can I start a legitimate home business?" 

The answer is, there are two ways you can go about it: 1) Buy an existing business or 2) Build your own home business.

1. Buying an existing business:

If you decide to buy an existing business, then you truly have to do your due diligence...and beyond. To mention a few, you have to make sure the company you will be buying has:

a) A good track record with the Better Business Bureau b) A credible compensation model c) No investigations or actions taken against the company d) A good history of customer complaints e) No Sanctions by the FTC f) Transparent financial statements g) Good tracking system

Why is this important? Well, this will shed tons of light on management and how the operate the business. It will also give you a sneak peek into the level of risk if you decide to buy into it.

Now, a caveat here; I am extremely biased when it comes to dealing with so called "middle-men". You see, even though I have years of business ownership experience and an MBA degree...back in 2003 I made the decision to take my already highly successful business to the next level. Even though I did my due diligence and dealt with a local "reputable" company, with a well-known management (as a matter of fact the CEO become a well-known politician)...I still got (pardon my language)..."screwed"! Yup, I was victim of rampant negligence and massive arrogance. As a matter of fact I lost millions in the process, not to mention the personal toll of going through something so devastating.

2. Building your own home business.

So as you can see, that is why I believe with all my heart, the most legitimate home business is the one you start. Unfortunately, starting a business just for the sake of starting one can have some serious risks. Therefore, just like any business you have to do your due diligence as well.

How do you do that?

1. Do market research. There are tons or powerful free online tools that can give you in a couple of hours better research than millions of dollars spent a decade ago by the biggest S&P500s; all from the comfort of your home and without having to spend a penny.

2. Find a profitable niche. In the online business world, "the riches is in the niches". Again, there are tons, and tons of readily available tools and research sources that can shed some pretty powerful information as the best online business you can get into.

3. Test your findings. Never, ever start a business or develop a product without first making sure there will be a market for it. You can build the most beautiful website or the most incredible product but if no one is interested in them, you just put yourself out of business.

After you have completed the previous 3 steps, then and only then start your online or virtual business. The benefits of starting, managing and growing a virtual business are endless. Profitability is huge due to the low cost of operation.

You can see an example of a real sustainable, successful virtual business (100% virtual and paperless) at groupbenefitagency.com This is by the way, my virtual company.