Working from home can be a pot of gold in today's economy

Working from home has been a joyous and financial rewarding experience for me (and many others). Although it's not full of soap operas and bon bons, it does provide excellent income opportunities, tax advantages and priceless family flexibility.

As a BusinessMom whose run thriving home based businesses while raising my children, I am often asked, "What does it take to be successful?"

The easiest way to start is to be a part of a well established and reputable business. Don't just "sign up" on impulse because your girlfriend or husband's friend's wife did. Investigate and know how the company works and what their track record is. Just because someone else was wildly successful or a complete failure is NO indication of your results.

Second thing is to recognize that legitimate companies are not "get rich quick" deals. They take work. It's usually fun work, but the key is consistency. Moving to the top of the payroll is not about tons of work or aggressive behavior, it's really only about consistency. Do the income producing activities even as little as 2 hours a day and you'll likely be pleased with your results. If you "zoom/eek" (work like nuts for a few days or weeks then go idle) you will never get enough momentum to prosper.

Third is to get systems in place to support your family. This goes along with the second point. It's difficult to maintain consistency without systems to keep the 'home fires burning". That means you need to find a way or make a way to keep dinners on the table, clean undies in the drawers and a reasonable control on housekeeping and child care. Otherwise you, your spouse and your kids will definitely suffer the consequences.