Before I reveal the 7 keys to the PERFECT home based business, let’s set the stage:

Imagine yourself earning a comfortable living of $60,000 or $100,000 per year, or even more from home doing things you love. Or maybe you would rather just earn an extra $500 or $1,000 a month to help with the bills or to buy a few toys.

Imagine being able to stop being a wage slave forever and going up to your boss with a big smile on your face as you say “take this job and shove it”, in a friendly way, of course:-).

Imagine yourself in a beautiful new home, a new car, or a new boat.

Or how about being able to spend more quality time with your family?

Think of the freedom you’ll have when you can take lots of great vacations without having to get an OK from a boss for the time off.

If you’re nearing retirement age like me, imagine being able to retire with money to spare. No more worries about Social Security going bankrupt.

OK. So, enough already about all that. Right? Who doesn’t imagine or want at least some of these things, if not all of them?

There are a lot of so-called home based business “opportunities” that promise all of the above and more. But, as you probably already know, not all of these opportunities are real opportunities. If you’ve ever tried to make money from home with multi-level marketing or envelope stuffing or any of a hundred other “opportunities”, you know what I mean.

Many of these so-called “opportunities” will have you spending so much time and effort just to earn a little extra money that you could end up earning less than the minimum wage. Sometimes there are so many demands on your time and money that the business ends up owning you, instead of you owning the business.

I know that’s not the kind of opportunity you’re looking for. Don’t waste any more of your precious time and money trying out the “next great opportunity” and then the next, and then one more, until you feel like quitting altogether. Isn’t it time to stop spending money on every new opportunity, and to finally start earning some money?

Well, what’s the solution then? How can you finally discover the one opportunity that is really the best?

Here’s the solution.

Every home based business opportunity that you consider needs to be checked out first to make sure it fits the definition of The PERFECT (TM) home business before you invest your time and money in it.

Then, once you’re convinced you have found the perfect home business, you can focus on that one alone and make it a success.

No more wasted time and money chasing after every opportunity that comes along. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

Yes, you can discover and start the successful home business you’ve always wanted.

Here’s how:

The 7 Keys
Each letter in the word “PERFECT” stands for one of the 7 keys of a successful PERFECT (TM) home based business. Each key is something your home based business opportunity MUST have in order for you to enjoy the financial freedom and lifestyle you desire. Does the home business opportunity you are considering meet the requirements in each of these 7 keys?

The PERFECT (TM) Home Based Business must be:

P: Profitable
E: Easy
R: Real
F: Fits With Your Desired Lifestyle
E: E-Friendly
C: Competitive
T: Testable At Low Risk

This article is an introduction to the PERFECT (TM) Home Based Business concept.

There are seven more articles is this series. Each article shows you what each of the above 7 keys means and why it is so important. Stick with me now and read each of the 7 additional articles. You’ll be glad you did.

If you’re really to ready start making some money in a home based business without working 60 hours per week and without throwing your money down the “home business opportunity rat hole”, make sure the opportunity you grab now is the PERFECT (TM) home based business opportunity.

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.

Between the kids, your spouse, and your other responsibilities you barely have enough time to breathe let alone try to start a home based business. But your family could use the extra income and, even though things can get a little crazy at home, you would rather not get a job. Your only other option is to look at ways you can make money at home with a work at home business of some kind.The standard advice you’ll get from gurus about how to start a small home based business is to develop a business out of your existing skill set. For example, if you are a certified public accountant, then you would be encouraged to run an accounting business from your kitchen table.There several problems with this advice. First of all, what if you don’t want to make use of your current skills? What if the whole reason you quit your CPA job was because if you looked at one more ledger sheet you were going to scream? You will not be successful in a home based business you hate.Second, what if you don’t have any skills that you can draw from? You may be able to do lots of things but what if none of it could make you any money? If you took the advice of the gurus then you would have no business and still stuck at step one.But even if you could start a home business creating products or offering services for which you are fully skilled, is that really the best way to go?When you start a home based business, you are essentially beginning from scratch. There are numerous headaches involved with building a business from the ground up. Usually, there is licensing to obtain, product development and storage, customer acquisition, marketing and brand development, and a host of other things that must be done before your business gains the traction it needs to start making you money.Then there is the capital investment. Depending on the type of business you decide to create, you may have to invest thousands of dollars into your business before you even open your doors. The internet has made starting a home business easier and cheaper but if you don’t have any money, then you are still looking at putting in hundreds of hours of sweat equity.Lastly, most home based businesses are really work at home jobs in disguise. Since they require you to be actively involved in order to earn any money, your income will be tightly bound to the number of hours you work. This can be further complicated by the fact that you still have a household to run which means you may not have as much time available as you need to earn the income you want.A better way to start a home based business is to sign up with a direct sales opportunity. Otherwise known as network marketing, a direct sales business cuts out a lot of the challenges you face when trying to start a home based business from scratch. Investing in a direct sales opportunity is smart business because, you’ll have:* Less Startup Headaches – The company has already invested time and effort in getting the company off the ground. The products are created, marketing materials printed, and licenses purchased. All you have to do is find customers.* Lower Capital Investment – Instead of thousands of dollars, most direct sales businesses can be started with a hundred dollars or less.* Multiple Income Opportunities – In addition to selling the product directly, you will also be able to generate income through referrals and other passive income streams that help uncouple your time from your money. You’ll experience more personal freedom to do the things you want to do.If you are thinking about starting a home based business, don’t do it the hard way. Give yourself a leg up by joining a direct sales opportunity that will have you earning money right out of the gate. For more information on how I built my home based business, contact me. I’ll be more than happy to show you how I’m able to run a full time household and still make money in my business.