My mentor Virend Singh introduces an interesting new concept in his new e-book " Become A Top 1% Income Earner And Retire Early, Retire Rich - The concept of 'Highly Selective Prosperity'. In the book, Virend says:

"To achieve financial freedom, wellness and a lifestyle of choice over the next few years, you really need to understand the concept of ‘highly selective prosperity’. Also understand that life presents windows of opportunity, which will be open for a limited time and then slam shut forever. Note that Pilzer describes the coming two decades as being periods of ‘highly selective prosperity’ where only certain people, industries and economies will prosper.

As General Douglas MacArthur once said, “There is no security in life, only opportunity.” And the interesting thing is: If you seek for opportunity, you'll end up with all the security you need. However, if you seek for security, you'll end up with neither opportunity nor security."

Download the complete e-book here for free. Use Username: Prosperity, Password: 211496448 to read the book.

This is anteresting article, with some good points. I particularly like Dale's summary:
"Don't let procrastination rob you of a better life for you and your family. If you never even try to start a home business, you'll never know what could have been.
So, in the words of Nike, just do it! "

4 Tips For Starting A Home Business by Dale King

1. Research, Research, Research: So many people rush into starting a home business, because they aren't properly prepared, which leads to certain failure.
Starting a new home business is exciting, but you'd be prudent to slow things down, take your time and thoroughly research your subject of interest. Why? Well, first of all, you'll be better prepared when you do actually start your home business, which will only increase your chances of success.

Second, the more knowledgeable you are about your subject of interest, the better you'll be able to serve your customers and the more money you'll make. The two go hand in hand. Slow down, take your time and do the research.

2. Make It A Labor Of Love: While there are certainly no guarantees in life, if you start a home business based on your passion as opposed to monetary potential, the odds are you'll be much more successful. Here's why: If you start a home business based on something you truly love doing, you'll have much more incentive and determination to "hang in there" when things get rough, which they invariably will.

Always remember this old saying, "Do what you love and the money will follow!" Truer words have never been spoken.

3. Be legal: Depending on where you live, your home business may require a license or a permit. To be sure, check with your local townhall or courthouse to find out what the requirements are for where you live. In addition, check with your states Department of Revenue to see if you need to collect sales tax. The last thing you want to do is get into trouble with the government.

4. Get Started: The three aforementioned tips won't matter much if you never even get started with your home business. So many people say they want to start a home business, think about starting a home business, but that's as far as they ever get.

Don't let procrastination rob you of a better life for you and your family. If you never even try to start a home business, you'll never know what could have been.

So, in the words of Nike, just do it!

About the Author
Dale King is an ex-advertising salesman, and the owner of the new Internet marketing website: http://guruknowledge.org

A recent article in the Belmont University Blog by the director of the Universities Centre for Entrepreneurship about the impact that Home Based Business Owners are having on the US economy:

The Entrepreneurial Mind: Home-Based Business Bonanza: "Home-Based Business Bonanza
One factor that many attribute as an engine of our entrepreneurial economy in the US is our culture, which has over time supported individualism, creativity, and self-determination. A study released on Wednesday by the SBA Office of Advocacy shows evidence of our grass-root entrepreneurial spirit. America's 1.6 million homebased sole proprietors generate $533 billion in annual revenue. The report finds that the average homebased sole proprietor earned $22,569 in net income on about $62,523 in revenues. "

There are Five kinds of Home Based Business Opportunities:

1. The Old Guys - These are the companies that have been around for a long time. If you're the kind of person that needs stability over opportunity, this is the place for you. These companies continue to enjoy steady growth and have very good leaders. You will learn the trade extremely well, but may take a few years to develop a true residual income.

2. The Scams - Scams have been with us for thousands of years and will be for thousands more. With these companies, the products don't really matter. They are no more than an excuse to launder money amongst friends. These opportunities typically lead with an outlandish claim about easy money. You will learn nothing and make nothing through joining these opportunities.

3. The Little Guys - These are the companies that are either "low growth slow growth" or they're the kind that is built around a single product or small product range - usually organic. These companies are usually run by good dedicated people but are often terribly undercapitalized. Sadly they often disappear within a short time beacuse they lack the capital to compete in the marketplace. they can be a good little additional stream of income.

4. The Start Ups - Companies started by marketing gurus formally with the older companies in the Industry. They are designed to take advantage of market trends and generate rapid short-term growth. These companies may or may not last and leaders in these companies usually move opportunities every few years, trying to continue to enjoy the fast income. You can make make money with this type of business, but you need a large network of people who are loyal to you that you can move from opportunity to opportunity.

5. The Emerging Giants - Companies that have been around long enough to prove themselves but are still rapidly growing and continually entering new markets. These companies (and there are very few of them) have unique products that command customer loyalty. You can develop a large residual income with these companies in a relatively short space of time and it is an income source that will last for years to come.

Probably the most unique home based business opportunity you will find is in intellectual distribution . Check out those two sites, they are solid opportunities.

Not so long ago, if you lived in a remote part of Australia, you couldn't possibly work a home based business opportunity as you would have to travel great distances to find enough people to build a business. But as technology gets better and better, the possibilities are becoming endless.

A good example of online conferencing for home based business can be found at the Unique Home Based Business Opportunity site, where members host business presentations, training and mentoring with their conferencing software.

However, it is not automated. The Internet won't take over completely. It is just a tool we can utilise. When speaking about the new business of Intellectual Distribution , Paul Zane Pilzer stated recently

"I am often asked, “Doesn’t the Internet fulfill that function?”Surprisingly, the answer is “No, not at all!” The Internet is a great placeto go to get educated about products and services you already know youwant to learn about—but it cannot fulfill the education function of thepeddler or general store proprietor any more than the infomercials of the80s and 90s could.

The Internet, television and magazines are all passive media. The only placewhere we actually learn something new, where we engage with new informationto the extent that we may actually change our minds and try somethingnew, is in a live, one-to-one conversation."

That my friend is where you and I come in.

When you start working from home in a home based business, you are beginning a whole new career and so you must become a student of the industry and continually learn.

This industry prides itself on the quality of training and support provided - you hear so much about it and even business leaders like Robert Kiyosaki sing it praises. When this training is properly implemented, it is certainly very good. But just how often does this happen?

Imagine if you went to University to study something like engineering and on your first day, they dumped text books for the entire course on your lap and said: "Just look through these and work it out as you go." I'm sure you would feel completely overwhelmed - and as impractical as it sounds, that's how many leaders in the home based business industry implement their training.

Training should be given in a structured manner, like a University course, taking you through the process one step at a time, so that it is taught properly without shortcuts.
This process should be repeated continually, because as you get practical experience in the industry, you gain a deeper understanding of what is being taught and benefit more from it. Then of course, as you grow in the industry, you become a trainer and begin to pass on that knowledge to others.

If you learn it in a structured manner, you will pass it on in a structured manner and build a strong organisation.

Training should also involve some form of human interaction. In these modern times with rapidly developing technology it's easy to lose sight of that. many people make the mistake of believing that the Internet can take the place of a teacher or mentor and try to automate everything. While the Internet is a powerful tool for us to uae, it does not take the place of a teacher or mentor. People relate to other people.

So when you look at different home based businesses, look closely at their training and support. Look for an organisation which puts its focus on growing individuals to leaders and giving each person an even chance of success, regardless of their background.

This will make life easier for you, because not only does it help you succeed, but also the people that you bring in to the industry. It is a process of duplication and if you can duplicate a high level of training and support with the right opportunity, you are assured a long term residual income.

As West Australian based home business company Omegatrend appoints voluntary administrators, we have to ask ourselves what went wrong.

This is a company with excellent leadership, an ambitious expansion program and very motivated associates. The media cites the strong Australian economy as the reason for the companys' demise. In fact, the appointed administrator, Cliff Rocke is quoted as saying: "the business was struggling with sales slumping to $12-$15 million per annum because in boom times members were less inclined to supplement their incomes by selling Omegatrend products."

Fair enough - but shouldn't associates continue using the products anyway? - I mean they're obviously making money in their jobs. The curious thing is that another home based business company, USANA Health Sciences, had 12 consecutive quarters of record sales and almost trebled their turnover in Australia during that period.

USANA did not do this as a start-up opportunity, the company has been in that market since 1997. So why did one compay grow rapidly in an unfavourable market, while the other declined?

I can only imagine that the Omegatrend products are not terribly different to products you can buy in a supermarket and when the products do not make a difference to your life, you buy something that's on special in the supermarket instead, while you're getting your groceries.

I believe the lesson from the Omegatrend story is that you need more than just motivated people and a good system of compensation to hold a company together through tough times. You need unique products - Products that people will continue to use because it makes a difference to their lives.