For years, I struggled with hitting and missing in trying to identify the "right" home based business opportunity. No, I didn’t stop working then to work at home, but I did try several companies as I worked on my "real" jobs, before finally finding one that I really love. I hope that the research that I’ve done will assist you in finding the right opportunity before you’ve spent a lot of money and wasted a lot of unnecessary time.

Why is it important to find the right home-based business? In most families, just to make ends meet, alternative forms of income become more necessary. Beyond that, statistics show that 74% of wealthy people worldwide have their own businesses, many which are home-based. Many of the world’s next millionaires will undoubtedly be small home-based business owners.

Unfortunately, this business boom has also opened the way for innumerable scam artists to surface. How can you identify legitimate home business opportunities? The key is to discern between home-based businesses that promise wealth, and those that have workable business models that truly lead to wealth. Use the following criteria to identify the perfect home-based business opportunity for you:

1. Start-up costs – While traditional business costs can be very high thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Home and Internet-based business generally cost less than $1000. Look for a business with a low start-up fee and a low overhead (monthly costs). Start-up costs less than $500 are ideal.

2. Leadership & Experience – The experience and background of the company founders should reflect longevity and stability in whatever industry you will be working in. Look for leaders with proven success in the business that you are considering. Also, look leaders that coach, train and mentor new recruits.

3. Industry – The business industry that you choose should be growing and ideally accelerating at the pace of or faster than the world’s economy. If the industry is booming, you’re starting at a good place for you to also be successful.

4. Compensation Plan – The compensation plan should be multi-faceted (offering many ways of making money) yet simple to understand. Do not fall for "get-rich-quick" schemes; seek a workable plan. Ask yourself: How long will it take me to get to the top of the pay scale? What is required to make money? What is the process for upward mobility? Are there people from every walk of life doing well in this business?

5. Participants & Partnerships – Examine the company’s business partnerships, including who they are, how long they have been in place, etc. Great partnerships help to secure solid business foundations.

6. Publicly Traded – Publicly traded companies can offer a higher level of security and stability because they are tightly scrutinized by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

7. Time – How long has the company been in business? Most businesses fail within the initial five years. If the company has passed the five-year threshold, its potential for survival increases with every year.