More and more, people are turning away from traditional employment and work schedules in favor of a broad range of alternatives such as telecommuting, independent contracting and home-based business opportunities. The days of the paycheck and W-2s are coming to an end. It's a 1099 world!

It is estimated that referral marketing/direct selling has grown more than 91% in the last 10 years, boasting annual sales of more than $30 BILLION in the U.S. and $102 BILLION worldwide. It's pretty clear that millions of Americans are seeking viable business opportunities in order to secure their financial futures, be their own bosses and better balance the responsibilities of career and family.

So how do you find the right business? How do you determine whether or not "this is the one"? For most people, it's about doing their homework. First, you need to figure out what would make you happy. What can you see yourself doing on a daily basis that would provide you a sense of accomplishment as well as a lucrative income? Because, after all, if you're going to take charge of your life, and you're going to do it on your own terms, doesn't it also make sense that you'd do something you would actually enjoy? How do you suppose it would feel to wake up every morning excited about the prospect of your day? And what would you do with all the extra time you'd have if you didn't have to commute or sit in rush hour traffic for hours on end? How do you suppose that would effect not only your life, but the lives of those you love? It would seem that getting a clear picture of these things would be the first order of business. Next would be to find that proper match.

Contrary to what you may think, there ARE legitimate home-based businesses out there. And the trick to weeding through them is pretty simple. If you've already done the above steps (and figured out what would make you happy!), the next step is to do a search. Let's suppose you're the kind of person who really likes helping people. You have a clear picture of what you want, and you want to share your passion with others of like mind. So, maybe you'd research personal development or life coaching or personal organizing, to name just a few. Once you've found opportunities in whatever arena you're most interested in, the next step is to perform your due diligence. Look at both sides of the coin, so to speak. With any well-established business there are going to be reviews and postings that will be both positive and negative. For example, if you were to search complaints.com, you'd find that Walmart has 562, McDonald's has 156, AT&T has 667, Microsoft 433, and so on. As for scandals, everyone from Enron to Sony to Krispy Kreme Donuts have made headlines, some for viable reasons, others not so much. In other words, if you're looking for negative commentary, it's quite likely you're going to find it. It's part of the game, it comes with the territory when you hit the big time. It's just the way it is.

So, if you go about your due diligence and you find the good, the bad and the ugly, how in the world do you figure it out? That brings us to the true 'bottom line'. You trust your gut. Your rely on your instincts to tell you whether or not it FEELS RIGHT. You know, even Henry Ford had his (very large) share of nay-sayers, but still he persevered. In the end, it's really a matter of what resonates with YOU. What makes you tingle when you visualize yourself in this arena? What gives you the clearest picture of what you're certain you were meant to find? These are the tools that each of us has that will provide us with the answers to lead us down our chosen paths. It's not hard. It's merely a matter of trust. Trust in your Self. Trust in that little voice. It will always serve you if you will just listen.

Camille Strate is an author, critter-keeper and entrepeneur who has spent her life in search of the perfect pasture. Her latest book, "Whispers" will be released sometime in Spring of 2008. http://www.genuineintentions.com

Source: www.a1articles.com