Among all kinds of businesses available to choose from, home based business ventures are the most convenient. Imagine being able to manage your income and your resources all in the comfort of your home. Who would not want that? However, business is still business. There might be advantages in having your business established at home, but there are also a lot of disadvantages hanging on the balance.Many people who are quite new in the field of business deals and further financial negotiations rely on the easy-to-understand terms of certain businesses. For example, through online business ventures, people get to earn cash only by following a few steps. They don’t necessarily need to have in depth knowledge about the things they are doing.But if you look at this from another point of view, you might see that people who engage in such ventures could become a victim. If they do not fully understand the nature of the work that they do, they might as well be involved in some illegal activity without being aware. Or their services could already have been taken advantage of the people they work with.So before you yourself plan to engage in doing a home based business, make sure that you completely understand the operations of what you will be doing. Otherwise, like I said, you might become a victim. Here are a few things that you can do in order to prevent this from happening.First, research about how you can establish your home based business of choice. If you can, gather firsthand opinions and pieces of information about people who have already tried it. From there, try to see if there are similar options that you can select as forms of alternatives. Who knows, maybe you might even earn more by other means, right? And then, if you are sure about the efficacy of your business choice, then do the necessary steps to establish it.Engaging in online home based business ventures is probably the riskiest of all. Because for one, you will not be able to negotiate with real people, you will solely rely on electronic communication. For another, even though the market for online home based business ventures is very wide, the presence of competitions is very tight as well. So you must have a certain pack of techniques with you in order for you to succeed in the field that you choose.

Many types of businesses can operate out of the home, but finding one that works for you can be a challenge. Most find that starting a home-based business solves and relieves many of the problems presented with a traditional career. This article explores the benefits of working from home, and why you should consider starting a home-based business.With the state of the economy, more people are looking for cheaper solutions to cover their needs. Many of these needs are met by home based businesses. With lowered expenses, and increased tax benefits, most home businesses are able to provide their service for a low cost, while still making a suitable profit. This is often why consumers choose low-key private operations, such as these, over large corporations. The demand alone is evidence that these businesses are becoming more popular, and a great reason why you should consider starting a home-based business.Another point to consider is the freedom that comes with a home-based business. With parents having to work to support their families they are left with less time to actually spend with their children. Working from home allows you to completely cut out driving, which saves time, money, and in the long run, leaves more time for your family – not to mention that you can choose when, where, and how you want to work. That’s right, no more missed ballet recitals or soccer games – working at home allows you to be the parent that a traditional job would otherwise prevent. A home-based business means that you get to make all the rules, and no more being forced into pointless meetings to having to work late. These aspects amongst other are why you should consider starting a home-based business.A Chinese proverb says “What you desire is always possible. It will come to you.” This outlook on life is similar to that of someone who operates a home business. Perhaps the best reason why you should consider starting a home-based business is that you are in control of how much money you make, once you find your selling niche you can choose how hard and how long you work. In other words, you choose how much money you make. Whether you just want to be able to pay all your bills, or be able to live a bit lavishly, you can choose how much income you need to feel comfortable.In conclusion, these are just a few examples of why you should consider starting a home-based business. The time is now: demand has never been higher and getting started has never been easier. The freedom and room for profit alone are indicators that this business is for you! With some simple planning you could be up and running in no time; the possibilities are endless! Good luck!

The Internet has become the largest medium of communication; and has presented a lot of business opportunities.

Online home based business owners tend to limit themselves to online marketing methods. Nevertheless, there is a huge potential to promote your home based business through some cost effective offline marketing strategies.

So what are the most effective offline marketing strategies for your home based business?

1. Word of mouth in your circle of influence Word of mouth is one of the best free advertising channels. We all have people we interact with on a daily basis, and these are potential customers. Make a list of all the people you know or interact with and how can you best tell them about your internet business. Be passionate about your internet business and always be prepared to tell someone about it when an opportunity to do so presents itself!

2. Mail-out newsletters and flyers Mail-out newsletter or flyers can be effective if you target it to a specific ‘group’. You could create one to distribute to local day care centers just as an example – and in your newsletter or flyer, highlight the benefits of an online business to the targeted group, for example earning money at home for stay at home moms or dads. Posting your home based business URL on bulletin boards can also be effective.

3. Use and give away free branded ‘stuff’ You can promote your business by having your URL on all your stationery, all written communication and other items you can give away for free. If you want to get a lot of people to know about your home based business, you will need to come up with some creative ways of promoting your URL. You can be limited only by your imagination. Have your business cards with your home based business URL. Give them out to people you meet, leave them about where you can, such as in your local coffee shop.

4. Newspapers and magazines Local newspapers are good for advertising your online business. Most local papers have ‘home business opportunities’ section, so you run a regular classified advert. In addition, contact your local newspaper or business-oriented magazine and let the business editor know you have a new business and web site and what you offer. Local newspapers are frequently interested in featuring local business people and their accomplishments. This is free advertising and should always be used. You can also contact your local magazine and offer to write a monthly or weekly guest column for them, and include your ‘author bio’ and home based business URL.

5. Joint ventures with offline business You can get into a joint venture partnership with an offline business which sells a complementary product or service to your home based business. If you can identify a partner that best fit your business, this is an important offline marketing strategy that can help you succeed in your home based business by enabling you to reach potential customers that you could not reach before. As an example, if you have a website selling fitness/health products or tips, you could prepare a leaflet and make a deal with an offline local fitness/health shop where they giveaway your leaflet to their shoppers with each purchase.

The offline marketing strategies strategies outlined above can help you grow your home based business.

Let’s start with some review of what types of companies primarily drive the US economy. We know that there are about 16,000 publicly traded companies represented on the NASDAQ, NYSE and the AMEX. The key economic driver in the US is the 27 million small businesses. The Small Business Administration 2008 Presidential Report on The Small Business Economy clearly communicated “the economy generated 1.1 million net new jobs in 2007. In the first quarter of 2007, 74 percent of the net new jobs were in small firms with fewer than 500 employees and 22 percent were in firms with fewer than 20 employees.” Yet, the gross amount of attention in the media and the federal bureaucracy is around what is happening in the Markets. This is understandable with the volumes of dollars transitioning in this public environment. The economic recovery program is not addressing the core of the economy, small businesses. More than ever the public market environment is being questioned about corporate governance. The new legislation being considered for public companies has sections that may very well trickle down and require the small businesses to adhere to similar if not exact rules on Corporate Governance.

A simple definition of Corporate Governance for the small business:

Corporate governance simply refers to the set of internal policies, rules, and procedures that a company follows on a regular basis to ensure that it operates in a fair, equitable, and appropriate manner for the benefit of the company, its management and its shareholders. A corporation usually has a board of directors and a senior “C” level management team. Most small businesses do not have these organizational entities clearly defined and functional. For private companies that are registered as a corporation and have investors, the various states require these entities to have a governing board. Yet many small businesses incorporate for tax issues and do not necessarily pay attention to the concepts of corporate governance.

How does Corporate Governance apply to small businesses?

All businesses should look at their organizational structure and continually assess what will allow the company to perform in an optimal way. The simplest way to implement this is to have an advisory board. The advisory board is non-paid individuals that have business or industry specific backgrounds that can contribute ideas or mentor management. In more formal and traditional cases a small corporation has a board of directors comprised of the founders, a spouse, an employee and maybe – just maybe an outside director. The focal point of corporate governance within small businesses is that all businesses need to set company strategic goals, provide the leadership to put them into effect, supervise the management of the business, and if the company has stockholders, report to the stockholders on their stewardship. For those small businesses that do not have the hierarchical structure in place to implement formal corporate governance plans, it is recommended that regular self assessment of the company will be the starting place for accountability, to enhance performance, grow the company and be a greater contributing force in the economy. At the end of the day, if you follow some set of policies and procedures and are reporting your stewardship of the company to someone even if it is your dog, then you have accountability that is key to corporate governance practices.

Will the government impose its will and definition of Corporate Governance from the public markets into the small business environment?

This imposition of government from the public market companies to privately held companies is making its way through the halls of congress. One idea being tagged onto present legislation is to extend Sarbanes-Oxley down to privately held companies. Anyone that knows anything about SOX is aware of the high cost to implement the documentation processes and the reporting. Pushing this down to the small business environment would be cost prohibitive and stunt economic growth. The general politics of mandated corporate governance is to wait and see how new legislation will affect the small businesses driving the US economy.

As a final note, every company, no matter what size it is, will see the positive effects of implementing the principles of corporate governance. The facts remain that there are 27 million plus small businesses in the US who are the job creators and the drivers of the economy. The greatness of US business is that it performs the best when individuals come together in a free market environment to meet the needs of the economy and society. In the end, best practices of corporate governance can be freely implemented to benefit the company or corporate governance can be instituted by the government, which can cost more in resources, planning and profit. Take the time to assess how your small business views corporate governance and how this will enhance your growth in the market place.

Tom Niewulis, Jr. is passionate about small business. He works with small businesses to develop management teams in implementing organizational strategic vision decisively by using good judgment and initiative to lead and develop organizational teams. As a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Tom brings insights to companies regarding leadership, risk management and corporate governance such that they grow in efficiency and market opportunities. He shares the inner workings of business from years of in the trenches experience and presents knowledge with levity.