I know at times it can be challenging looking between all sorts of home based business opportunities and finally deciding which one is for you. Trust me I’ve been there before. At times it can simply be overwhelming.Because I’ve been in the home based business industry for a while (5+ years) I decided to write this article to help guide you in the right direction. Ultimately the choice is yours.Now there are several types of businesses that fall under the “home based business opportunities” category.You have day cares, consulting firms, carpet cleaning, network marketing, direct sales, internet marketing, forex trading, and the list goes on and on. I want to bring to light in my expert opinion 4 critical keys that you want to consider while looking at home based business opportunities.1. Does It Offer True Freedom
Correct me if I am wrong. However I believe that you are like me. You are looking to be your own boss ultimately so that you can have freedom. Freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want.A lot of home based business opportunities claim you will have freedom but in all honesty you won’t.
Too many businesses end up running the people or rather owning them. They are constantly filling orders, answering the phones, dealing with clients, driving all over town, dealing with vendors, answering email, trying to collect payment, and more.Who wants to deal with that? What if there were a way to have the benefits of being your own boss without having to deal with all the extra stuff that weighs you down?2. Systematic Process
This is a big one. I fully appreciate now knowing how powerful efficient systems are when you have them in place. It can be the difference between you being involved in every single thing that goes on in your business which will eventually wear you out vs you focusing only on what you are good at and allow the system to do the rest.It truly is a beautiful thing. Because of the systems that I have set up now, I’ve been able to eliminate myself from a lot of the heavy lifting if you will and get my work day down to 2 hours per day on activities that produce income. And it’s all because I have a system set up to do that which I’ll tell you about later.Imagine if you will having a system so powerful that handles your explaining, telling, selling, billing, payment processing, filtering, and outsourcing.3. Automatic Follow up Process
Answer this for me. If there were a way to follow up with your customers without you having to pick up the phone and feel cheesy making that phone call, would you want to know how to do it?If you are like most people you are nodding your head yes. Let’s face it. We live in a day and age where people really don’t answer the phone anymore unless your number is saved into their cell phone.Not only that but being tied to the phone to follow up with customers, prospect, make sales, collect payments, etc is a drag. That essentially makes your business your owner and you don’t have a life which goes back to point number one.Fortunately for you and me there are certain tools out there now that automate this process that we can leverage.4. Product Creation
I don’t want you to overestimate the importance of this last point. When researching home based business opportunities many people struggle with should they provide a service or a product. Then when they decide to provide a product the next question is what kind, how much will it cost, how do I get it patent, and there’s a lot of research that is involved if they are doing it right.What if you didn’t have to do all that extra intensive leg work and there were valuable products that you can stand behind that were already created? What if you didn’t have to handle the shipping, billing, or any of that with the products yet money still was deposited into your bank account like clock work.My friend that is the day and age that we live in now. If you don’t want to create a product much less provide a service then you don’t have too. There are product creators out there that are just looking for people to resell their products. Some are good and some are bad, you’d have to decide for yourself.Now that I’ve given you 4 serious points to consider when evaluating home based business opportunities I want to help you out even further. I want to show you the business that has all of these covered and then some.This business has allowed me to walk away from my job, earn a full time income, work anywhere I want because it is internet based, help develop me as a leader, and given me my life back since I only work about 2 hours per day.

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.

Starting a home based business in Australia can offer you a very good alternative source of income. But just like all businesses, there will surely be a lot of ups and downs along the way. The disappointing times in a business should not be seen in a negative way but rather as a great tool in knowing what to do or to avoid in the future. By learning from past mistakes, a future of great success may be in store for you as an Internet home based business owner. Here are some of the common causes of problems to avoid.Lack of CommitmentThe main winning ingredient of any traditional or home based business opportunity is full commitment. Without this, failure is already a certainty. Different businesses have different needs but the only thing that’s constant is commitment. The degree of success to be achieved will be proportionate to the amount of commitment dedicated to a home based business.Wrong Product and CompanyWhen choosing a product to sell, make sure that it is something that can sell itself. Cheap products may be tempting to consider especially if promised to sell by the volumes because of its low price. But make sure there is plenty of demand for the product, as you will need lots of sales to make the project viable.It is also highly recommended to look deep into the company you are investing in before taking the plunge. A good network marketing company with a solid background can support its members well. Any person joining a reliable company stands the chance of a good and long successful business partnership.Joining The Wrong CrowdAnother sure way of achieving success is to be with the right crowd. Always remember that misery loves company. Avoid being with negative people as they will bring you down. Be with positive people that will and can help you grow with your business.Poor Communication SkillsBeing in the network marketing home based business requires good communication skills. Talking to clients, the people you are working with etc., will happen on a daily basis. Having poor communication skills can be a critical deterrent of success in this business.Absence of PlanningWorking from home has many positive aspects but there are some negatives, too. One of which is how easy it is to forget to plan ahead. Planning is important as it helps you understand what you need to do, and will give you clarity about your goals and how to reach them. Without planning, time and money may be wasted from wrong moves and lost opportunities for the business.No Dependable AdviserIn multi level marketing businesses, it is important to have someone guide you along the way. As much as having your own business gives you freedom to ‘run your own show’, it is still advisable to have somebody to rely on for guidance. Especially someone who has already seen the good and the bad in the business.Taking Short-cutsAnother common mistake in having a home based business is that some people take short cuts regarding crucial decisions. It is important to base all decisions on facts and to think and re-think them over and over to cover all bases. It may seem tedious to do so, but it is much easier to work on it from the beginning than doing troubleshooting at the end because of poor decision making.Short FuseHaving a home based business entails hard work and long patience. Success does not happen overnight; sometimes not even for weeks or months. If you have no patience, you may easily be discourage by the slow development of your business, especially in the early years. Patience will give a home based business owner the ability to wait until success comes.