For years, people have asked me why I don’t get a “regular job”.They seem to struggle with the idea that I don’t have a 9 to 5 job and they just can’t figure out why I don’t like getting up early, complaining about Monday mornings, “working for the weekend”, etc…I could go on and on about how much I love the freedom, the option to set my own hours, the possibility of creating an incredible amount of income, and they would all be really good points.I really do enjoy sleeping when I get sleepy, getting out of bed when I feel like getting out of bed, traveling when and where I like, and knowing that my income is happening around the clock and around the world.And I’ve definitely got some big goals. Yes, some of them are related to the type of cars I would like to drive, the homes I would like to live in, the experiences I want to have, and all that fun stuff. Why not?But let’s break this down to just some good old fashioned “real world” thinking.If you give any serious thought to what is happening to the economy, the job situation, and what life is starting to look like for people from just about every walk of life, I personally believe that it makes sense for you to be honest with yourself. If you really do the math, I think you will gain a much better understanding of why I started my home based business.These days, if you have a job at all, you are considered “lucky” by those who are unemployed. But let’s take a serious look at what a typical job scenario is like for most people. We’ll make a few assumptions, such as:You’re working a job that pays you $15 an hour.
You’re working 50 hours per week.
You’re getting paid for 52 weeks out of the year.
This gives you a gross annual income of $39,000.With some standard assumptions about taxes which include you being a single person with no children, your tax bill is going to be about $4,000, making your Taxable Income $35,000.This means you get $35,000 deposited in to your bank account each year and you trade 2,600 hours of your life every year to get that money. That, alone, is a rather sobering thought in my opinion, but let’s keep going.We need to make a few more assumptions about what it takes to live the life you are in. Your numbers may be more or less than these:Expenses:
Monthly Rent/Mortgage $1,000
Utilities: $300
Car Note: $300
Car Insurance: $100
Fuel: $200
Groceries: $600
Monthly Totals: $2,500
Annual Totals: $30,000These numbers do not take in to account anything beyond the very BASIC living expenses! You are literally trading 50 hours of your life every week and chances are, you have more month left over at the end of your money. You’re not alone. If you are paying off a student loan, paying for credit card bills, have a car repair, unexpected emergency, health insurance, doctor visits, clothing expenses, etc… you can see how this gets way out of hand very quickly!When this sort of math settled in on me while being married and raising FIVE kids, I realized that I needed to do something else and I needed to get started FAST!So What Did I Do?I started learning about home based business and discovering how I could leverage my then limited time and financial resources to change my financial picture. For me, it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I’ve been successfully unemployed for more than 14 years. I’ve been able to be present with my family, coaching basketball with my kids, traveling with my family, and actually BEING a husband and father.I don’t look back on my life and wish I had spent more time with my kids because I was THERE with them throughout their lives. To this day, we are still very close even though they are all grown up, moved out, and pursuing their own life goals. (They all understand and are working on their own home based businesses, too!)Not everybody starts a home based business to “get rich”. Some folks just want to create some additional income. Some folks just want to set up a “Plan B” in case their job falls through. Others just want to supplement their income or pay off some bills and yes… some of us want to create a life we are really excited about and can afford to live on our terms.If you see this math and you believe that it makes sense to stay on that same path, then you need to understand that things are going to get tougher. But if you believe that a home based business may be a good option for you, then I encourage you to start your research. Find someone that is successfully building their home based business and ask them to show you howIf you saw the move, “The Pursuit of Happyness”, t hen you may recall that Chris Gardner’s life was changed by asking two questions of a very successful broker:1. What do you do?
2. How do you do it?Be willing to ask the questions and then learn the skills.A home based business may very well be the solution you need.

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.

Cottage Industries have long been an important segment of American Business. In fact, most small home-based businesses fall into this category. Merriam Webster actually defines cottage industry as “An industry whose labor force consists of…individuals working at home with their own equipment.”With the advent of the World Wide Web, new cottage industry home-based business start-ups are at an all-time high. There are currently more than 234 million websites, and in 2009 alone, an additional 47 million were created. Now, more than ever, businesses are heavily marketing online. Social Media sites are dominating the internet and smart businesses are using these sites as a very effective part of their online marketing strategies.Article writing as a means to advertise businesses online is proving to be a very viable work-from-home cottage industry. Network-marketing, social media marketing, Mult-level marketing (MLM) businesses- it seems as if every business has incorporated article writing into their marketing campaigns, so the demand for these writers is great.Article writing helps with “branding” a particular business or product. Articles are written and then published online as a way to get name and product recognition. It is a very simple, proven, effective step in accomplishing the “branding” that every business must have in order to stay ahead of their competition and remain successful financially.Home-based business typically do not require a large capital investment, which is why so many people are drawn to these cottage industry endeavors. A reliable computer and an internet connection allow you to work from home, set your own hours, allow a viable income while you work from home, and provide the life-style flexibility that so many people are looking for these days. There are many programs available online to assist you with your article writing as a cottage industry home-based business.There are internet marketing and coaching programs available online and the amount of marketing information that they can provide you with is astounding. A good, legitimate, reputable internet coaching and mentoring center will not come cheaply. Remember, you are getting what you pay for. If a program promises to teach you “everything you need to know” about internet marketing for just a couple hundred dollars, you aren’t going to get anywhere near everything you will need to know. A comprehensive internet marketing coaching and mentoring program will probably cost somewhere just under $3,000. 00. Many offer payment plans to make the cost more manageable for the average new home-based business owner. I tell people to think of this an investment in your education and future financial success. If you can pay someone $3,000.00 to teach you how to earn anywhere from a couple thousand to a few thousand dollars monthly, then your initial investment is actually pretty small, and can be recovered in a relatively short period of time. Pretty good investment, right?The beauty of internet marketing and article writing as a viable cottage industry home-based business is that, if done correctly, an individual can earn residual income long after he or she has stopped working. If you can expect a few hundred dollars to trickle in every month, you’ve got a residual income that will provide you with some extra spending money! Not to mention the fact that you will, forever, have the ability to be your own boss and work from home!