If you are in the market for a home based business, I am sure at this point you are overwhelmed with the opportunities out there. The best thing about the internet is that there is a plethora of information out there on different business opportunities, leads you can buy, people who will help you, systems you can tap into, and tools you can use to build your business. The bad thing about the internet is that one can easily get overwhelmed and sink back into the remission stage of finding a business. It's intimidating, especially if this is your first rodeo in the home based business arena.

This article will offer advice on how to save some time and give the fledgling home business entrepreneur a fighting chance at making the right decision from the start. A sad statistic is that most network marketers will go through eight different MLM companies before finally finding their fit. Those are the ones that stick around long enough to keep going. Most won't make it that far and be convinced that the profession doesn't work. It absolutely does, but most new entrepreneurs aren't aware of the things to look for in the beginning to reduce the amount of time it takes to find the right fit.

So, being in the network marketing profession for six years, most of it full-time, I will say that I am passionate about it. That said, I have seen great people leave the profession because they are frustrated with their lack of success. Most of the time, the cause of their frustration is one of a four reasons: lack of mentorship in the profession, not being a good fit for the company(ies) they are involved with, not having the skills to develop their business or lastly, not having the right systems in place to help them build their business quickly and get to earning a paycheck quickly. My goal is to coach new entrepreneurs on the things to do upfront, so we keep these great people in this profession and see more new entrepreneurs realizing their financial and time freedom goals sooner rather than later.

These four areas will be the topic of this article. If you are looking to start a home-based business, then these are the areas to print out and be diligent about finding! When you do that at the beginning, you will ultimately, put yourself ahead of the new entrepreneur pack and find a fit faster so you are into momentum faster!

So, you may be approached with a business by your cousin Susy. Susy has just gotten started in her business as well. That said, the last thing you will want to do is join right away. Do your due diligence! You see, Susy may have turned you on to the home based business idea, however, Susy's business may not be the right fit for you! So, let's get to it and show you how to do your due diligence:

1. Finding the right mentor - Finding a great mentor in this business is step number one. This should be done BEFORE you even find a company to partner with! I know that sounds backwards, but hear me out. The mentor you partner with will absolutely make or break your success. Although you may find that your cousin Susy's company is a good fit for you, being new herself, Susy is NOT going to be your mentor. A mentor should be someone who does the business full-time, has a vast knowledge of network marketing, and can guide you through the steps of quickly building your MLM business. This person may be in your company or they may not be. I wrote an article about this topic, entitled: 'Find a Mentor for Your MLM Program (http://voguenetworking.com/blog/2010/07/01/mlm-program-mentor/). You may ask, 'Why would someone outside of my company offer me help?' Because anyone successful in this industry and one that is truly a Network Marketing Professional will want more successful entrepreneurs in our profession. Successful people get to the top by helping others, even when they do not ultimately benefit personally. Your mentor must be seasoned in this industry and want to be of the greater good for the profession! Ultimately, I would suggest finding this mentor FIRST, then joining the company they are with. That way, you know they are seasoned, so you also know they have done their due-diligence on the company. They have looked at the aspects we're about to discuss and made their decision based on their years of knowledge of the profession and you can feel comfortable knowing you don't have to dig as deep into the following category.

2. Finding the right fitting company for you - There are five aspects to look at when determining if a company is a right fit for you. Again, seasoned mentors will use these aspects when determining if they will join a company, so if you find an experienced mentor you feel comfortable with, then you can bet the company will be a fit. So, #1 - does the company have a sizzle product? Is it a product that isn't a dime-a-dozen in the profession? Does it have any competitors in the market? The company should have a category-creating product! #2 - Capitalization - if the company is a newer company, less than 10 years old, then research on the capitalization of the company needs to be done! Most companies will fail in their first five years due to their lack of capitalization. This is a devastating event for network marketers when they've built an organization only to have it go to pot when the company goes under. #3 - Compensation plan - this may be very unfamiliar to you at this point. I will not get into all the detail, but the question you will want to ask is 'how do I get paid?' You will want to be sure you have the opportunity to be paid on MULTIPLE generations of your organization. If you are paid mostly on your personally sponsored people, than that plan does not promote the right behavior and you will not want to join the company. Stick to companies with compensation plan that promote good behavior by training deep into your organization and you reap the results. The best compensation plans right now pay down seven generations or more! #4 - Management Depth - does the management of the company have years of network marketing experience? Do they have experience starting, building, and expanding MLM companies internationally? If they are a seasoned, successful business person, but outside of the network marketing arena, take precautions. Network Marketing is a whole other animal! #5 - Field Leadership - ask your potential upline who the top earners are in the company. Google their names and see what you find. (Rest assured, any top earner will have some negative things written about them. There are always bitter people who degrade someone's name so that will be inevitable). These people should be renowned names in the industry. Again, because they know a goldmine of a company when they see it, they have joined their company based on their professional knowledge. You want to join a company with BIG names associated with it.

3. Start developing your skills NOW - skill development comes from reading books, listening to CD's or going to self-improvement seminars. There are different areas you can grow in: self-improvement, actual network marketing skill development, motivation, leadership. The possibilities are endless! The more you learn, the more you earn. When interviewing potential leaders, they should always ask you what the last book was that you read. This helps THEM determine if you are the kind of student they will take under their wing, so if your last book was a Danielle Steele romance novel, then go buy 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napolean Hill and read it. That will sound a lot better to a potential mentor than a mindless romance novel.

4. Systems & tools of the trade - Systems are critical to your success as a network marketer. When starting a business, your experienced mentor will tell you to market to your warm list first. Everyone you know should know what it is you're doing and should see your business presentation. Know now that most will NOT join you in your business. Then you will need to create your own prospects after that by networking, and prospecting consistently. You absolutely have to do that. Now the thing that will separate a great leader from an ordinary upline will be if they offer you a duplicable system that will help you attract leads online and create a faster-growing organization. Flat out, systems outside of the ordinary way you will be taught to build a network marketing business are, hands down, the way you will become one of the top earners of your company, and cousin Susy will stay in the masses of other networkers grinding away at their business!

These four factors, when known up front, will absolutely assist you in making the best decision when starting your home based business. My decision to start my own business, unequivocally, was the single best decision of my life. I didn't know the things above to look for, so it took me three companies before I learned them. The fourth time around, using the aspects above, I finally found my mentor, my company and my system and things took off! 'Taking off' is something you will want sooner rather than later, so be sure these same things help you determine your fit!

Vidette is a Network Marketing professional and online marketing coach. She is the founder of Vogue Networking.

She lives in Dana Point, CA with her two young boys, husband Steve & dog, Lucy.