In today’s highly competitive world, more and more people dream of starting their own home based business.

Maybe you’re tired of:

• being told what to do by a boss you have little respect for

• the time and expense it costs to journey to and from work each day

• the actual work you do

• not being in control of your working life

• inflexible hours that make family life difficult

• feeling insecure in case you lose your job

Or, perhaps you’re passed your "sell-by" date and no-one wants to employ you?

There are many and varied reasons why so many of us consider the possibilities of a home based business. We’re all aware that making a success of work at home is no easy task. But, it doesn’t alter the fact that if you do your homework, use your imagination to find a lucrative earner, and work hard and consistently, the rewards can be great.

Which home based business should you opt for?

Your work at home options will only be limited by your imagination … there are so many of them. First of all, you’ll need to consider any special skills, interests and hobbies you have. For example, if you have a training such as that of personal trainer, or hairdresser/beautician, you can advertise your services locally and either visit customers in their homes, or have them visit you.

Web designers, computer technicians, accountants, financial advisors could all offer their services in a similar way, visiting the customer’s home.

Do you have any experience, training or knowledge for which you could offer tutoring services? If so, not only could you offer private face-to-face lessons … you could also use the internet to give online tutorials and webinars. This way, you would not just be limited to local customers, but could go Worldwide.

Other popular home based businesses include child-care, cleaning and catering services. Or, perhaps you’re particularly creative and make your own products – such as paintings, embroidery, cards, clothes. If what you do is rather unique, then it could make an excellent base for a home business.

Perhaps, though, you feel you have no particular service or products to offer, don’t wish to be limited to your local area, and don’t particularly want to be dealing face-to-face with customers. In these circumstances, an online home business is the perfect choice.

First of all, you’ll need to choose your niche or topic … make sure it’s something that really interests you and that is also in demand. Next, build an information-rich content site full of interesting articles about your topic, giving advice to your visitors and solving their problems. It’s best to learn a little about search engine optimization, so that you website will gain good search engine positioning and consequently free traffic.

But, how are you going to make your money from your website?

Well, you’ll have a number of choices. First of all, check out affiliate programs. You’ll find thousands of affiliate programs to choose from, something for every niche under the sun. Usually, these are free to join and, basically, you sell other people’s products for a commission. No need to stock anything or ship anything.

Another way of monetizing a website is by advertising. This could come from private businesses or people who wish to advertise on your site, or from contextual advertising – for example, Google’s AdSense.

You may wish to start a referral program, whereby you write a page about a particular small business related to your site’s topic, get visitors to fill in a form with their details, and pass this information on to the small business in question – for a referral fee.

Or, maybe one day, you’ll make your own informational products – downloadable ebooks, videos, ipods.

You’ve got such a vast array of options, so do start thinking about building a home-based business. Give it your best, and you’ll change your life – for the better!