I recently sat in on a webinar that talked about some of the best home based ideas for 2012 that are sustainable solid businesses to start.  If you are looking for work at home ideas for 2012 continue reading this article as I’ll also share some ideas to raise working capital that you can use to start a business, fix a car, buy some furniture or whatever you choose.  I’ve made the arguement several times that starting a home based business is a great alternative to getting a second job and with a home based business you also have an opportunity to maybe replace your income and quit your job.

If you’re looking on the Internet for home based business ideas, and obviously you are, then you’ve seen many business opportunities advertised, those are just one form of a home based business.  They are typically marketed as a “business in a box” where you just “plug” yourself in and make money.  Most all business opportunities are on form or another of a sales/recruiting job.  Many of the biz ops are really network marketing or MLM.  Some are also direct sales and are closely integrated with a home business marketing system.  You’ve seen the ad. I actually got my start working form home with a business opportunity.  Starting a business opportunity taught me a lot and help me flesh out the business that I now currently operate exclusively from home.

The Business Opportunity

The business opportunity is just fine if you like sales and recruiting and you don’t mind continueing to work a 40 hour plus work week then a the business opportunity may be a perfect fit for you.  The business opportunity that I was involved with several years ago, and all the ones like it, required a significant start up investment.  These business opportunities were, and are, called top tier business opportunities.  The start up for these biz ops are between $1,500 and $2,500 dollars.  That is a lot of money to participate in a compensation plan.  In my case there were a few products that I recieved as well but I felt the value was well beneath the cost.  The business opportunity model is a good business model to avoid if your looking to start a sustainable longterm home based business in 2012, but don’t take my word for it.  If you want to try a business opportunity, the worse that will happen is you become more clear on what you want out of your home based business.

Work at Home Jobs

Work at home jobs are another way to create a home based business and they are still a decent business idea for 2012.  Work at home business ideas that are considered work at home jobs usually require you to do something, and when you do it you get paid.  Some people have made good money with surveys.  There are big companies that will pay you to try products and offer feedback by taking surveys.  This method of making money from home is made much easier today with paid survey sites that collect and share the best paid survey ideas that are available right now.  I wouldn’t consider this as a viable part of a profitable home business if it weren’t for these sites.  Here is an article I wrote on finding the best paid survey ideas.

Affiliate Marketing Home Based Business

You’ve probably heard of affiliate marketing but you probably aren’t making as much as you could with it. I’m not.  I’ve just recently learned about a whole new affiliate marketing world and I’m currently overhauling my entire online business model because of it.  One of the largest online retailers has been building a really cool affiliate marketing model over the past few years.  As you know affiliate marketing is where you make a commision for promoting someone else’s product.  The company I was referring to is Amazon.  I’ll share a link in a minute that will let you get the scoop on making money as an affiliate of Amazon.  Another good way to make money with affiliate marketing is by generating leads.  Many sites are willing to pay per lead so if you have a targeted audience you should search for sites in that niche that are willing to pay for leads.

My Top Home Business Idea for 2012

In my experience and opinion one of the best home based business ideas for 2012 is to build a website or blog that you can use to make money.  If you approach the home business industry with this appoach you can implement all of the business ideas I’ve shared so far in this article and then some.  I’m a member of a tutorial site that shows you exactly how to build an income generating site step by step even if you don’t know what a domain name is.  And if you have some experience and are making a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars per month, it also share some new ideas that will no doubt increase your income.  Over the past couple years I’ve quietly build a signficant recurring income with this method and I’m going to be expanding greatly this year based on the information I came across in this tutorial.

When I think about successful home based businesses online businesses usually come to mind.  I write about about using the Internet to start successful home businesses every month it seems.

So what does it take to have a successful home based business online?

Well I’m tempted to go into a list of must haves like a website, an email list, and so on, but here is the thing;  A successful work at home based business just has to make money.  The whole business thing comes in when you start thinking about the systems used to create the money.

Of course successful home based businesses have to make more than they spend (expenses) at some point, but keep in mind plenty solid home based businesses don’t make any money the first year.  Personally I always have a profitability goal of being profitable in the second month.  If the upside were large enough I’d be willing to invest some cash and hard work to realise the longer term profits.

Web publishing is probably what my successful home business would be classified as, but I make make money several different ways.  Even the income streams I have that are not directly related to successful small business websites are connected in some way.

For example:  If you wanted to earn money consulting, it would be a lot easier to get great clients if you could show them you know how to get results by showing them your own…

For most, getting your foot in the door is the hardest part.  If you know what the hell your doing as far as your consulting niche is concerned you’ll get results, but you have to gain credibility first.  Having your own successful website or websites, is a great way to establish credibility with a potential consulting client.

So If I had to say ” do this one thing ” I’d say start a website or blog about the topic you wish to start your own business in.

Got any experience with these ideas?

Any comments?

Operating On A Shoestring

Classic work at home based businesses are lean operations that operate on a shoestring. This can be good for people trying to make the most profit, but eventually, to grow the business, there will be additional expenses requiring some sort of financing. As a small home business owner, when I need cash for my business, it’s time to put on my thinking cap to figure what I really need and what loans might suit the purpose.

Don’t Spend for Non-Essentials

Let’s face it, as a home business, there isn’t much spare cash. Even if you get a loan to help you out, you’ll want to make sure you will have itemized all expenditures and prioritized them. Trim the non-essential items from the budget and focus on getting most of what you really need to continue to operate until more cash flow is generated. It may be tough growing by inches, but it’s also healthier and more sustainable.

Implement Technology wherever possible

Instead of hiring a personal assistant, you can sometimes find that technology can be used and makes a better investment. Instead of a weekly expenditure, it’s a one-time cost. By getting a better cell phone that can store email addresses and be used as a personal secretary gets, you eventually save tons of money on hiring costs.

When You See a Recurring Expense

You may end up hiring people, and thus putting further strain on your cash flow. At that time, it’s a good idea to seek out different lines of credit to weather a few months of poor sales performance and still be able to pay your employees. Don’t forget to budget for taxes as well. Some business owners will open credit card accounts for leasing equipment and pay the amount in full each month, reaping reward perks like miles that can be used in business travel. Other times, business owners seek out merchant loans for operating costs to help them keep cash flow steady when they have bad credit or no assets other than the business. There is a loan that is just right for each need, and it’s up to you as the business owner to research and find just the right business solution to meet the current need.

I got an email from the blog the other day in the form of a comment asking “What is the best work at home based business for a beginner to start“….

Well… given the fact that everyone who chooses to operate a business from home has their own answer and rightly so I suppose, it’s a tough question to answer without more information, but I thought I’d take shot at it with a blog post here.

It’s tough to go over every possible work at home business idea that would be suitable for a person who has never owned a business. I also tend to think of online based business ideas when I think “best work at home based business”, but that’s just me. I have found absolutely nothing comparable to the opportunities that the Internet offers and I find these home based business concepts cater to beginners.

It seems so many of the best work at home money making ideas are just about spreading the word and making connections.  I mean the web is a big place and there is a lot of noise, given the noise, if you have an audience you have value to add and to find the best work at home opportunity you need to connect your audience to someone who will pay you.  This can happen in many different forms.

A website is an asset much like a lawn mower.  If you own a lawn mower and you also have people, willing to pay you, who ALSO have tall grass needing cut then you have a good business proposition.  The same holds true with a website on the Internet that makes money every day. You have to have something the guy who is paying wants, I don’t mean to be elementary but it seems so many think the work at home business opportunities online are some how different, and they just ain’t.

There are many business in a box type work at home businesses and they it’s pretty easy to find work at home opportunities that seem real easy to use to make money.  For a beginner though, I wouldn’t recommend buying a thing until you’ve been working from home on the Internet for at least 6 months, because until then you don’t really have a clue what your buying anyway, know what I mean?

Work at Home Based Business Advice

I’ve been making money by working at home on the Internet for a couple years now and I have yet to purchase any information on how to be successful at earning income from the Internet, so that’s all I have to say about that.  Again remember, I only have my experience and that’s all I like to share, better yet I have my knowledge, which means I know, which means I’ve done it or do it.  You can’t beat that. The struggle isn’t to find a work at home based business as much as it is just getting started doing something.

I’d say the best work at home business to start for a beginner would be to simply start a blog or website online, if your ready to do that, get in touch, don’t spend a bunch of money on stuff, or crap, that doesn’t work.  Once you start a website or blog learn how to get traffic to your website for free. Once you do that learn how other people are earning income from home using the Internet and you will be on your way.

There are great opportunities to make money working from home available to the person who has a website with targeted traffic, you likely won’t have a hard time finding work at home money ideas if you keep your traffic targeted to a small topic.

What is a good topic to earn money with on the Internet?

Any topic that has a product or service associated with it is a good topic to earn money with online.  Remember your basically connecting people who have with people who need or want. That said, common sense says pick products worth a couple hundred bucks or so to target your blog to, they will have a better advertising budget.  Another thing, try and choose a topic for a website based on what you know, it’s a whole lot easier to create content when you have a ton of it in your head, know what I mean?

So there you have it, I think the best work at home business for beginners is to start a website and learn how the Internet works, stay away from business in a box type stuff and learn as much as you can about getting traffic and earning a good income by working from home.