By Mark Harris

The 8 Proven Facts You Simply Must Know Before Leaving the Daily 9-to-5 Grind And Starting Your Own Profitable Home-Based Business

Looking to Take Back Control of Your Finances and Your Future, Purchase That Car You�ve Always Dreamed Of or Take Your Family on a Truly Amazing Vacation?

It wasn�t that long ago that, exhausted, fed-up, and in real dire financial straits, my wife and I made a life-changing decision, one that finally put us on the road to financial freedom, while allowing us to spend more time together and with our children, and with our extended family and friends.

But not before we spent a great deal of time and effort researching every possible work-at-home opportunity.

During this time, we found ourselves getting excited and then predictably discouraged as everything that sounded exactly like what we were looking for, which was a legitimate, lucrative, home-based business, ended up to be hype and eventually a huge letdown.

Thankfully, we persisted, determined to get out of debt and carve out a better future for ourselves and for our children � one that allowed us to have fun again and to enjoy some much-deserved downtime without worrying non-stop about our finances!

We knew the only way to get ahead and stay ahead was to work for ourselves. Yet, we were in dead-end jobs and working for other people and helping them achieve their dreams and their financial goals, all the while �back-burnering� our own.

That�s when a friend told us about online money-making opportunities. As avid online shoppers, we had an idea or two about how people made money online, but could they really make the kind of money we needed to make? And could an online career really be something we could �grow� from home?

Looking back, this initial doubt seems surprising to me now, especially given that we purchased all birthday and holiday gifts online, used the Internet to find cell phones and wireless plans that suited our family and our tight budget, to buy electronics, our small kitchen appliances, even our outdoor furniture. Most recently my wife found an outstanding credit card offer that allowed us to consolidate our debt and make smaller monthly payments.

In short, we used the Internet for everything � from recipes to purchases, we logged on for it all.

So the idea of making money online, where we were already spending money, intrigued us both. And, although not technical in nature, we are both hard workers and were determined to do whatever it took to shape and mold a better future for our family.

Our friend, who was already working as an online publisher, was enjoying taking vacations to far away places, going to the gym every day with his wife, and was making every after-school soccer game and dance recital. He seemed happier and healthier than ever, which prompted us to want to know more.

In doing our research, we knew we needed a bona-fide plan, a blueprint if you will, that we could rely on to help us build our new home-based business from the ground-up.

We needed help organizing a new business and really needed the new business, whatever it would be, to start generating income quickly. We were realistic, though, and willing to work at our other jobs while we �grew� our own business and its profits, until we could finally both work at it full-time.

We looked into attending training sessions in various home-based online career fields, but time off from work, along with registration fees and the costs associated with travel and accommodations, made it impossible for us to attend the training we needed to start our own home-based business.

We knew our friend had traveled across the country to participate in an intense three-day classroom-style training, but this just was not a possibility for us.

After we talked to our friend about his business and learned more about the income he was making and the free time he had on his hands, we asked him for his help.

He explained that he did not want to get into teaching, for he was busy building money-making websites and enjoying a new style of life. He did offer a solution, though, one that was practical, affordable, and made starting a profitable home-based business actually doable, even for two busy parents on-the-go.

My friend told us about training that he was already participating in. It was video training that he watched from the comfort of his own home, in his spare time, and could turn again and again, any time he needed additional information or clarification, as he went through the daily routine of building and maintaining his money-making websites.

The training was broken into actual steps � which was something we knew we could handle!

What�s more, the video training really helped to shorten the steep learning curve associated with braking into a new career and had us building our first profitable website in a matter of weeks, and actually making income from it in a few short months.

The training really helped us get focused and ensured we stayed on track.

And in our months and months of research, during which we talked to countless home-based business owners and emailed with many others, we found that these were all things needed to start a career from home and make it a success.

Every successful work-at-home professional shared with us a few common denominators to look for as we strived to start our new business, which included these 8 �components�:

1) Face-to-face training from an industry professional

2) Interaction that allowed us to ask questions as we learned

3) Proven resources we could rely on to help them make our business a success

4) Help getting organized

5) A manual or handbook that we could follow in a step-by-step manner

6) Technology that we could leverage to maximize our efforts

7) An industry that was thriving and expected to experience continued growth

8) And an opportunity that did not require a lot of upfront costs

Of course, we were looking to make a profit in a short time and knew that any training we participated in had to be in our hometown or, better yet, in our own home.

We really wanted to make money online. This would allow us the freedom to travel, to set our own hours, and to be active participants in our children�s lives.

So, we looked into starting an online business. In doing this, we carefully explored what we believed to be our best legitimate money-making options, which we had narrowed down to these three:

1.) Affiliate Programs � Working as affiliate marketers, we would partner with businesses to market their products and services on our own websites and would be paid by these merchants for every sale we prompted.

This form of advertising is soaring in popularity because merchants pay for performance and no longer have to throw money into advertising not knowing if it will work or not.

You see, the merchant doesn't pay the "affiliate" unless a sale is made. Obviously, this creates a win-win for everyone involved. And, we were vaguely familiar with affiliate marketing because we had often clicked on affiliate partner�s sites to make purchases from well-known merchants.

Our friend has also recently attended a conference on affiliate marketing, the Affiliate Summit and had returned with great information, new ideas and lots of new partnerships. He called the event the networking event of a lifetime and raved about the information he took in.

2.) eBay � My wife�s cousin was making a killing on eBay. She was re-selling products on eBay through her own �storefront� and was able to quit her job and stay home with her children. She did not have to store the products at her home (or in a rented warehouse), which surprised me, nor did she have to ship them. She even automated many of the other processes she needed to complete each day. In short, we knew we needed to look into this option, for although it sounded too good to be true, we knew several people who had given up the 9 to 5 grind and disappointing paychecks, cashing in on this online auction house and the goods they were able to sell through it. MY wife talked to her cousin and learned about an eBay conference in Las Vegas. We knew we could not attend this year, but if we worked really hard at building our online business, this would be a possibility as early as next year. The 2007 conference is already slated for June 14-16 in Boston where we are from, so this could be a great trip for our family.

3.) Info Products - While we did not personally know anyone who was selling information products online, we had read a great deal about this legitimate online business in doing our research and admittedly we were intrigued. After some digging, I unearthed information on Armand Morin�s �big seminar�, which is an Internet marketing seminar that we considered attending here in Atlanta GA where we live. The seminar would tell us everything we needed to know to locate in-demand, easy-to-develop subjects for e-books, reports and other information products that consumers would purchase from us online. Best of all, we didn�t need any writing, publishing or product development experience.

These are the top three legitimate ways to make money online and we were really looking closely at all three.

Because consumers just like us are shopping online in record numbers and the selection is oftentimes much, much better than local merchants can provide, paired with low shipping costs and all the added convenience, all three money-making opportunities had unlimited possibilities.

It was time to make a decision.

Both of us thoroughly enjoy reading, even researching and some light writing, but we just were not convinced that information products was a career we would enjoy developing. We did visit a site called InfoProductCreator, which was a great resource for us and if you are interested in pursuing a career in this field, I strongly recommend you visit this site. It provides a wealth of information and can be relied on to help you break into this online profession.

Once we determined that information products were not for us, we were left with two options: affiliate programs and eBay.

My wife found a great eBay resource at www.platinumpowerseller.com.

And, I found www.work-at-home-net-guides.com.

While both providing us with great possibilities, we made the decision to join the affiliate marketing arena and have not looked back (except for my wife�s frequent visits to eBay where she still shops).

Why, you ask?

Really, it was very simple for us.

At the www.work-at-home-net-guides.com site, we found every one of the eight common denominators, you know the ones, the proven 8 facts or �components� that all our successful home-based business owners told us about. And, we had seen first-hand that our friend had made affiliate marketing or online publishing a great home-based business and knew we could, too.

Additionally, we found different methods of training on the site, all of which are affordable. This means I can use the video training because I learn better first watching and then doing and my wife, who learns better by reading, can rely on the handbook training. And, because all of the training covers the same 8-steps, we have been able to work hand-in-hand and create a profitable online business in a very short time.

Not to worry if, like us, you have never built a website. Heck, my wife had never even sent or received an email.

The truth is that the resources provided, such as a tool that practically builds your site for you (www.xsitepro.com) and the easy-to-follow training made breaking into this new career a breeze.

It�s an exciting career that we wake and look forward to working on together every day. Our children appreciate that we can be more involved in their lives and the vacations we take together were previously distant dreams.

My wife and I couldn�t be happier with our choice in careers and the lifestyle we have because of it.

But, regardless of which online career you explore, the best advice I can give you is to take it one step at a time. And, to take that first step very soon. The sooner you get started, the faster your life will change�for the better.

Best of luck! I look forward to reading your online success story one day very soon.

For more information, visit the various sites above.

About The Author

Mark Harris is a father of three and husband of one, and a successful freelance copyrighter who spends too much of his spare time scoring the Internet. Mark is a seasoned professional who makes a hobby out of sharing his insight, tips and advice to anyone interested in work at home opportunities and who would care to listen.