Need additional income? A home based business could be the answer. Millions of people in North America earn part or all of their income from home.

You can work from home full-time or part-time. By far the majority of people work a home-based business in their spare time in addition to their regular job. This gives them real flexibility in the event their job disappears. A small business also gives you the extra money you need to improve your lifestyle.

Here are seven things to consider when choosing a business you will work from home.

1. Your business should sell a tangible product or service that isn't widely available. Selling the same old "lotions and potions" you can get at Walmart rarely creates much income. It's better if your product meets a common need that isn't met in the same way by local providers.

2. A LOT of people should need your product. Or a few people should need it very badly. You might sell roadside service that virtually every driver needs at some time. Or you might sell an item only stock brokers need, but they can't live without it. This insures there is always demand for your product.

3. Don't like to sell? Better business opportunities today come with teams or automated systems that do the selling for you. This can get you over the hump of having to approach friends and family to buy from you.

4. Make sure you get a healthy commission. The days of tiny 15 to 20 percent commissions are gone. Insist on at least a 50 percent commission. Some go as high at 100 percent. The larger the commission, the more income you'll make. Often the quickest way to doubling or tripling your income is to get higher commissions.

5. You'll need a good way to market your business. Choose a business that comes with ads, websites, leads, and more. This will help you get the word out. Social media can help in this regard. Let your Facebook friends know about your business. You may be surprised how many people they tell and how many are interested in your product or service.

6. It helps if you work with a team. That is so when you are not feeling motivated, your team can pull you up. The most frequent reason a business does not succeed is the owner throws in the towel too soon. Being a part of a team can keep you in the business longer, greatly increasing your changes of making some real money on a regular basis.

7. Finally, you want some good, solid training to get you started. This is often supplied by webinars, online tutorials, and/or from leaders in your organization. A good company will want to give you the best training possible knowing you will sell more of their products and services.

Pick your home based business and jump in with all your commitment and enthusiasm. Your hard work will be rewarded many times over.