In the current economic climate, many people are looking to add an extra revenue stream to their lives.

Job downsizing, ineffective retirement investments, reduced income from real estate investments,there are many reasons.

People from all income levels are looking for other ways to supplement or replace their income.

People often ask me what defines a successful working from home opportunity, so I am going to let you know several factors that I believe are important in ensuring success.

Having owned several businesses, both home based and retail successfully, I have evaluated over 47 different business models in the past, and have an MBA that helped me do that effectively. I can tell you what doesn't make sense and what does.

Firstly the brick and mortar approach is a very hard way to be successful. It requires a substantial upfront cost and your success is not guaranteed even if you are also franchising. You will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars just to have a chance of being successful, and will spend lots of time and energy in your business making it successful. The a large portion of people will be out of business in 5 years, and the larger portion after 10 years. You are also very susceptible to market trends with whatever products you sell, just think of Blockbusters video for example.

Another popular way of leveraging you time is MLM. However most of the so called opportunities out there are no more than money games and there is no real product for people to use long term. the "Get in First" or "Ground Floor Opportunity" phrases are often used to lure people into parting with their money and join, only to find out that it does require some effort or is impossible for the average person to do,and 80% of people quit in their first year or do not become long term customers.

One fact that most people miss when they are looking for a residual income business is that the key to longtime income is "lifelong customers."

If you are going to join a company then make sure that it has repeat customers month after month that are there just because they are customers and not because they are joining to become distributors of the company. Remember join for the right reasons too, are you about changing the lives of others or are you joining for yourself. You will find more success if you are thinking of other people's success than your own.

Has anybody ever experienced bad customer service?

I know when I have then you don't feel like buying anything from that company again. You have to have good customer service to be a successful business.

There are many factors that will help you find a good solid home based business.

The items must be unique otherwise you competing against the giants such as Costco and Walmart in pricing.

They must also be essential to you customer, consumable items, so then you have a repeat sale. I learned this from a young age as my Mom owned Pharmacies growing up, and we had repeat customers come through our doors every day.

They must be reasonably priced for the masses to want to go shopping again at your store.There is an old saying "if you want to dine with the classes you have got to deal with the masses."

It also has to be convenient. When Netflix started sending out movies in the mail, it was very convenient for people that left the house to work every day. It soon put Blockbusters out of business.Disruptive business models do work especially when convenient, provide value, and true residual income can be involved.

It also has to be sustainable and not a fad....remember the hoola hoop?

It cannot be made obsolete by technology...remember A track tapes?

This is really important for those of you looking for a home based business in the current economy...it must capture current budget spending. It has to be something that people buy without thinking, not diamond rings, jewelry, large expensive purchases that are one time sales instead of small repeat purchases.

You have to have control over the whole process...this is dilemma of most people because you only have so many hours you can put into the business. Take is from me, I have owned retail stores and have been up at 1am doing paperwork on a Sunday night. Having employees requires a substantial investment especially with the current changes in our society and government.Even Doctors and Attorneys are at the mercy of trading their expertise for time and income.

If you are in the Network marketing industry, your system has to be very duplicatable. There is an old saying "if it was that easy then everybody would be doing it." To have true residual income you have a system that is easy for the average person to succeed at whatever level they wish. It must be universally available and easy to teach.

You must also be able to conduct business anywhere, who doesn't want to live the dream of being on a Caribbean island while an ongoing income comes in every month.

Also one of the most important factor to having a successful business is to create loyalty off a one time sale. If your items are not consumable then you are having to resell your customer every time with a new product. Don't confuse great income with residual income. As a Real Estate agent, I have made millions of dollars selling homes over the years, but once a house is sold I have been basically unemployed....and even Brain surgeons have to keep doing Brain surgery to get paid.

Let face it everyone would like to have a great lifestyle, security, peace of mind, and legacy for our children but genuinely most people have lacked an honest opportunity. Opportunity that does not matter when you get in, on fad items,on wonder juices,on obsolete technologies,or on expensive items people cannot afford.

No residual income can be truly made unless these 12 factors are present and you have the support of a dedicated group of individuals who are there to help you succeed.

The Global Wealth and Wellness Group has for over 15 years provided that support around the globe to create ongoing residual income for families.

Spend some time and evaluate our business, our support systems, and most importantly us, to see how you can create income security and lifestyle of your choosing.

It has been said there are two types of people in the world, those with residual income and those desperately seeking residual income.....which one are you?