Many people are turning to the internet to make money working at home.  The idea of being financially independent working in the comfort of your own home without having to commute or work for someone else is a very attractive one.  Instead of having the limited income of a monthly salary, there is the potential of earning a six figure income and being able to spend more time with your family.  There is also the flexiility of choosing your own hours.  With all these advantages it might be that you cannot wait to start your own online business.

However, many people rush in to a home business without thinking about the realities of running a business at home.  This is not to say that it is not a good idea.  I run an online affiliate marketing business myself and it is enjoyable and rewarding - but for most people it is not an easy ride, and it can take a lot of time before you start seeing the kind of profits that you might have heard about.

Before you start up an online business I recommend that you ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Am I prepared to treat my online business as a real job and work at it every day?  How much time do I have to devote to it?  Of course you can start an online business even if you are still working in a full time job, but if you can only spend an hour a day on it, it is going to take a while before you see real results.  However, many people have done this successfully, and if you have the time and the determination, this can be a good way of building future financial freedom.

2.  How committed am I to making it work?  How determined am I?  A commitment to success is necessary in any business and by making a 100% commitment from the start you will have the best chance of achieving what you want.  A "let's see how it goes" attitude will not work. 

3.  How much money can I afford to invest in my business?  It is essential that you have an affordable budget and stick to it, otherwise you can find yourself getting into debt before you have started making any profit.  The good thing about affiliate marketing is that it does not need a huge amount of capital.  You can run an online business for as little as £50 (about $80-90) per month.

4.  Do I have the space to work at home?  If you have a family, it is essential that you have your own space, or timetable your corner of the living room so you will be uninterrupted while you are working.  This might involve some pre-agreements with your family - and you also need to make sure that friends do not call you while you are at work.

5.  Do I have a positive attitude and self belief?  Some people give up on their online business to early because they lose confidence and don't really believe that they are able to be successful.  These attitudes can certainly be developed as you go along, but it is a real bonus if you can start off with them!

6.  Am I prepared to learn all I can about internet marketing and ask for advice when I need it?  It is surprising how many people think they can run a business without support.  It is essential that you seek the advice from those who have been successful and learn how they have done it, otherwise you will waste a lot of time (and money) making unnecessary mistakes and get discouraged.

7.  Am I good at dealing with other people?  Do I like helping others?  If you think that working at home is a good way of working without having to bother with other people, then you have missed the point of this kind of work.  Affiliate marketing and MLM is all about helping others, supporting each other and teamwork.  When you enrol new affiliates, you will need to support them either by email or telephone.  You can also get a lot of help by networking on forums and social networking sites.

Before signing up with the first affiliate marketing program you find, shop around and find the ones that have products and services that interest you.  They will be so much easier to sell.  Then do your research and make sure that they are legitimate companies by enquiring in internet marketing forums.  It is really very easy to avoid scams as long as you do this research.

Below are some affiliate marketing programs that particularly recommend, and which you can be sure of being completely legitimate.

Success University.

This is my favourite program.  For one thing, the whole ethos of Success University is completely ethical.  Their mission is to make a difference in the world by providing online personal development training, using some of the world's leading self growth speakers and trainers.  Success University has seen rapid growth over the few years that it has been operating, and it is now going into a second stage of development where it is set to grow even more.  It's a great time to get on board.  The monthly fee is completely worth it for the training alone, even if you did not use the business opportunity! 

PlugInProfit

The PlugInProfit system is a great program if you know nothing about internet marketing and are a completely newbie to the industry.  As well as getting your own website with up to six income streams to promote, there is also a step-by-step training program to get you started.  Various automated marketing systems are provided for you, and you also have access to a great forum.  While I do not advocate everything that is recommended in the training, this is a great place to start.

Empowerism

This is also a good program for the beginner.  There is lots of support here, with email training, newsletters, magazines and ebooks - both to read and resell.  There are also regular prizes and practical resources.  The commission rates are very high.

There are many other excellent programs, and you can see more on my website at www.wealth-city.com.  I also provide a free motivational newsletter for anyone who signs up for a program under me.

If you have read this far, you may be ready to start your own online business, and I would be very happy to be your sponsor.  I am committed to giving as much support to you as you need.  To sign up under me you can click on any of the links above, or you can ask me for more information by emailing me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it