In today’s current economic environment, more and more people are struggling to find a solution to settle their finances. The home based business MLM industry is one that is steadily gaining popularity and is in fact moving to become a mainstream income solution for the average family in North America. This article will explore the key points to help you identify some of the main features and benefits of this income vehicle, to help you determine which home based business MLM would be right for you.Home Based Business MLM – Evaluation stepsThere are a few critical elements to consider when evaluating a home based business MLM style company. First, you have to consider your own goals. What is it that you’re trying to create? Is it a supplementary income? Is it a residual income to replace your current income so that you can quit or leave your current job? Is it a retirement vehicle for you? Or is it an opportunity for you to take on a challenge, and realize your potential? You may be looking at these for any number of these reason, or any combination of them.Secondly, you should understand the home based business MLM vehicle itself. This type of business is ideal for the person who is driven, passionate, loves people, and loves being rewarded for their efforts. It is arguably the fairest business model on the planet, contrary to the popular stigma that only the people at the top get paid. You literally have the opportunity to create whatever level of income and success you choose. The home based business MLM model is also a great opportunity for people who love time freedom, the opportunity to travel, and all the benefits of residual (recurring) monthly income.Finally, you need to be sure you align yourself with the best possible company. To do this, you’ll need to consider:The Corporate Infrastructure – Is the company stand-alone? Is it vertically integrated with other privately held companies to ensure top quality? Does the company carry any debt? How long have they been in business? Where are their resources? Etc.The Leadership – Who is leading the company? Who are the owners? Who are the major corporate team players and what is their background?The Products – Are the products unique and consumable? Do they stand alone apart from the business opportunity?The People – Consider whether or not you resonate with the people that are involved. Do you share their priorities? Do you share their vision? Do you have common goals or dreams?Considering these critical elements when evaluating a home based business MLM will ensure that you set yourself up for success. It is the people who fail to follow these steps that get “scammed” or left out on their own, because they didn’t do their due diligence. Continue to do yours, and you will win.

Free home based businesses is a highly searched term on search engines every day. One problem you will encounter is determining whether the business is really free or not.What I have found is that there are business opportunities that do not cost anything to join. SFI is an example of this.I have also found there are business models that you can develop a home business from the do not cost anything either. Affiliate marketing is probably the most popular one of these.In my opinion this is the best way for you to get started making money with your own home business if you do not have any money to start with.As an affiliate marketer you get websites and products to promote. They also give you marketing materials such as banner ads and text ads you can promote with.Blogging is another example of a free home based business you can start. You can set up a free blog at Blogger.com or WordPress.To make money you just add Google AdSense ads to your blog and you are ready to get started. You can also add affiliate banners to your blog and make money when people click on those.There are also many trial offer businesses you can join. Some of these will let you try the business out for $1 for one week.They are counting on the fact that you will be impressed with what they had to offer and you will be willing to upgrade to a paid membership.It all comes down to what appeals to you and exactly what your budget is. However, there are definitely free home based businesses on the Internet today.

When you start a home based Internet business it’s extremely easy to get caught up with every new fad and innovation that comes to the online marketplace. It is imperative to quickly learn how to filter the information, to find what really works for you and your business. If you don’t do this properly you will end up spending and wasting a lot of money!But first things first; you need to decide what type of home based business you want to develop, while all the time being very careful to avoid the minefield of home based business opportunity ideas that are no good to either man nor beast!By far, the most important thing you should look for is a home based business that you can set up on a tiny budget, after all, why risk your money on something that may not even work?These are some of the things you should avoid:1 Multi Level Marketing (MLM)Countless millions of people have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars chasing the impossible dream – avoid it like the plague!2 Clone or Duplicate WebsitesCompanies that offer businesses based on clone websites know very well that they are next to impossible to market, unless of course you are willing to spend a ton of money on Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. All you can achieve here is lining the pockets of the website owner at your expense – avoid it at all costs!3 Paid OpportunitiesAnything that requires you to spend upwards of $50 just to get a look at a potential business is a big no no – 99% of these types of business are scams looking to relieve you of your $50 entrance fee – avoid them like the plague!If you are serious about working from home, these are the things you need to look for before committing your time or any money to an untried business:1 Before making any commitment, you want to see how the business works2 You need to find out how long the business is likely to take before it starts generating a profit.3 You need to make sure you will be provided with guidance on how to build your business – don’t just take someone’s word for it – you need to see it in print.4 Most importantly of all you need to find out how you are expected to market your new business – this is an area where most home based businesses fall down because the marketing costs far exceed the potential rewards!As most people already know, you can have the sharpest looking website on the planet, stuffed full of high demand products at rock bottom prices, but unless the rest of the world knows it’s there you will sell nothing!I could go on for hours, but this is not the time or the place.ConclusionBefore committing to a home based business do your research thoroughly otherwise you will end up lining somebody else’s pockets by buying a bunch of things you don’t really need!Look for a business that is willing to hold your hand and walk you through a blueprint for success, BEFORE you commit any money to their cause.

It is extremely important to find a good property manager. Even then you should keep track of everything that is being done with your property. Remember this is a business…your business. If you aren’t careful, you’ll see your investment become a liability.

Although what a property manager charges is important, even more important is what you get. On average we pay 8% a month on collected rents. You may find someone that will charge you only 5%, saving you money, and in return they may destroy your business. To date, we have not found a good property manager that only charges 5%. Saving money isn’t as important as hiring the right property manager that will properly take care of your investment.

Your goal is to:
• Decrease expenses – utilities, repairs, etc.
• Avoid tenant turnover.
• Raise rents to keep up with current market rent rates.

Property managers are not your business partners. They work for you! They can make recommendations but that’s it. Consult them as a resource but you must make the final decisions.

It’s very important that you explain to them how you want things done. Then you must pay close attention to be sure they are doing what you’ve asked.

Every time a property manager says you need to repair something you should ask why. We were told once that the kitchen light was broken. Before sending the handyman to repair it, I asked them to first ask the tenant to check the light bulb. Believe it or not, simply changing the light bulb fixed the problem. You want your property managers to only send repair personal when absolutely necessary.

Anytime a repair is made on your property, be sure to get a copy of the invoice from the property manager. Look at the invoice to verify that your properties address is on it. If you have any questions about the repair, the contact information will be on the invoice allowing you to call the repairman. Unfortunately there are dishonest property managers. They will charge you for things don’t exist so that they can make some extra money. Keep track of everything and verify it all.

The repair people can be your eyes. Be sure the property manager has them pay attention to how the property looks and report back.

You want tenants, but only good tenants. Be sure the management company is only bringing in qualified tenants that will pay the rent and take care of the property. Always approve the tenant yourself. Don’t trust it to someone else. Have the property manager discuss the potential tenant with you. Talk about their credit score, if employment was verified, how much money the tenant makes, the back ground check, etc.

You will get bad tenants, it’s part of the business, but you will lower the number of bad tenants that you get by doing proper due diligence on them before allowing them in your property.

Be Sure That Your Property Manager Is Strict! No excuses should be accepted as to why the tenant hasn’t paid rent. The bottom line is they should pay rent or move out. Otherwise the property manger must evict them immediately.

We own a 4-plex in Arkansas. One tenant was late one month. Then two tenants were late. I was busy at the time so I let it go. Then three tenants were late. At this point, busy or not, I needed to call my property manager to see what was going on. She said, “well they’re all having trouble paying the rent….but they called me to say they’d be late!” I told her I don’t care if they call to say they’re going to be late. If they are late you must start the eviction process. That sounds harsh but over the years we’ve learned we have to be. Tenants will take advantage of you if you let them. I told the property manager to send all four units a letter stating that if they were ever late they would be evicted. No excuses. The next month every unit paid on time and they have ever since.

Most tenants understand that the most important thing is to keep a roof over their heads. However, if you let them make another expense the priority, they will. They’ll pay that expense first and hopefully pay you when they can if there is money left.

The other thing we’ve learned over the years is that by allowing the tenant’s to pay the rent late each month you are actually hurting them. If you let them get behind and pay late one month, then usually it will be harder for them to pay on time the next month. What happens many times is they’ll pay later and later each month and eventually get so far behind that they can’t catch up. At that point you have no choice but to evict them, and in my opinion it’s your fault because you set them up to fail. The rule of thumb is they must pay the rent on time, or at least by the 3-5 day grace period. If not, then your property manager needs to understand that they must start the eviction process. When tenants see that you are serious, they’ll usually pay on time.

Be sure that your property managers understand that they are not ever to give the tenant your name or contact information. Make this very clear!

We like to always add fire extinguishers in each home or unit we own. Just be sure that you know how long the extinguishers should last and replace them as needed. There may be legal ramifications in your state when adding fire extinguishers so be sure to discuss this with an attorney that practices real estate law in the state the property is located. You should also run this buy your insurance carrier.

Most tenants will forget about changing the smoke detector batteries and replacing heating and AC filters so it’s a good idea for you and the property manager to keep track and have them regularly changed. Whoever replaces everything should also inspect the property while they are there to verify that the tenants are taking good care of your property.

It can be very helpful for you to use a property manager to manage your properties, however, you must oversee them. Don’t make the mistake of not paying attention to what is happening to your investment.

Successful investing is smart investing. Investment is all about making the right choices, so that not only are you able to satisfy your immediate needs and requirements, but are also able to ensure the same for the medium and long term future. Just as no two individuals can be exactly the same, the financial needs and investment patterns vary from person to person. However one can follow certain definite markers to ensure that the path taken is the right one.

Understand Your Needs: Investment goals come with different time frames and different objectives. One may invest for a short term goal like buying a car or even a holiday abroad. On the other hand, one could consider a long term investment plan to cater for the period when one has retired from work. How much one is able to commit to investment is dependent entirely upon one’s risk taking ability.

When it comes to risk taking there is some truth in the adage that greater the risk, more the reward. That does not however mean that one should be reckless. Everyone possesses a risk threshold that they will not consider crossing. Factors like the level of a person’s income, one’s net worth, one’s ability to understand the investment scenario and the objectives behind investing drive how and how much a person invests.

Early Bird Catches The Worm: The younger that one embarks on one’s investment journey, the better are the gains. The compound interest that you will make as a young man would fetch quite impressive gains by the time you started getting along in years. For instance if one started investing $93 every two weeks starting age 25 one would reach an amount of $500,000 when one hits sixty.

This is a painless and easy way of building up a fine retirement fund. At age 25 if you are not married; you would hardly have any major expenses to worry about, and could afford to put away some money. As the years go by your responsibilities and expenses will increase, but so will your income, and you will not feel the pinch of the regular installment you committed to paying when you were so much younger.

Invest Regularly: This definitely makes a lot of sense for most people considering that it is far easier to invest small sums regularly than investing a large sum at one go. Firstly one might not be able to afford the latter and secondly one does need money for things other than investment, which will get tied up in large investments. Also it gets you used to the idea of setting aside a certain sum of money regularly. Monthly and quarterly investment options, where a certain fixed sum gets debited from one’s account regularly is a fine approach to take.

Spread your investment: That you don’t put all your eggs in one basket, applies to investment more than it applies anywhere else. Taking care to spread one’s investments over a diverse range of options will both reduce your exposure to risks and optimize your long term returns. You will be better inured against downturns in any specific sectors. So even if a part of your investments takes a temporary hit, there will be the other part still working well for you.

Track your investments: Your investments come out of your hard earned money, and you should therefore track them with a hawk’s eye. An annual appraisal, either with the help of a finance industry professional or on one’s own is very much in order to see that one’s investment objectives remain on track. There is nothing that stops you from recasting your goals in light of the changes one goes through in life over a period of time. These may be on account of personal milestones like marriage, children’s education, impending retirements or even the prevailing market situation. The idea is to guard one’s money zealously and make every penny count.

Make the right kind of investment: One needs to make different kinds of investments for the short term and the long term. Short term investments need to be less risk averse and easily encashable. The latter type of investment on the other hand need be of the late maturing growth oriented type.