Everyone has had thoughts of working for themselves. How nice it would be to be in control of your financial future and work on your terms, not someone else's. The common factor that keeps most of us from taking that step into the world of the self-employed is, simply, FEAR!

It is quite understandable that most people do not want to give up the security of a "job" to take a chance on making it on their own. We tend to become very complacent about changing our situation, and just accept our present circumstances as "the way it is supposed to be."

Starting your own business is definitely entering the world of the unknown for most people. From the time we are very young, we are raised to think in terms of getting a "job" working for someone else, rather than using our God-given talents to venture out on our own. Then, for those that have had enough of working for others, the day comes when you decide to "test the waters," and see what kind of opportunities are available for you to start your own business. Until the internet revolution, most people were only exposed to a few avenues of self employment. The main attraction for decades was FRANCHISES. When you purchase a franchise, you are buying the rights to use all of the materials, supplies, and marketing that a successful company has developed, in order to "copy" exactly how that company markets it's products. You, as a franchise owner, then pay that company a percentage of your gross profits, so that you may continue to use their name and sell their products.

The most famous example of a franchise, of course, is McDonald's. Most franchises that require a "store front" (the purchase of a building from which to do business) typically come with an investment from a few hundred thousand dollars, up to millions. Most franchise operations will also require you to work 24/7 in order to be successful, and you will probably not make back your initial investment for a number of years.

The other main avenue of self generated income before the internet was known as "Multi Level Marketing," known as MLM. Most of us have been approached, at one time or another, by friends or family who are involved in this type of business. This is basically where you build a "network" of sales people and customers, in order to create residual income.

You get paid for the efforts of salespeople who are on other "levels" of your network. The more sales people you recruit, the higher you climb on the marketing plan, and the more money you make. This is provided, however, that your recruits produce sales. Payments are generally made based on a sliding percentage scale, in combination with revenue from your product sales. Most of us have grown very weary of MLM, as you must continually recruit sales people, have meetings, find new customers, etc.

You also must convince people why your product is worth them spending their hard earned dollars on. Although there are many success stories from the world of MLM, I have personally never had luck with it. My lack of success was certainly not from lack of trying, however!

Then along came the internet. And with the internet came the new concept of "e-commerce." This is simply taking advantage of the fact that you have a world-wide audience for your products and services.

People began to realize that you could market information, as well as products, via the internet and make a very substantial living. Learning how to be successful at internet marketing, however, requires a lot of time, patience, and skill, in order for your efforts not to get lost on the "information super-highway."

So what is the answer to making realistic money with a home based business? I believe starting a service business is the absolute best alternative. This is simply a business where you perform a task, or "service" for a client, and in turn get paid for your services.

Some examples of easy, profitable service businesses are house painting, residential and commercial cleaning services, lawn and landscape care, and carpet cleaning. The average person can start a home based service business with a relatively low investment, follow a simple proven business plan, and turn a profit in a very short period of time.

Anyone can start a service business. It does not require any special training or school, and does not require you to buy into a franchise. While there are franchise opportunities available in the service business arena, there are also plenty of opportunities which offer a "business in a box," with no further financial oblogation to the company from which you bought the business. These non-franchise offers are typically every bit as thorough and profitable as the larger franchise opportunities, but with much less of a financial commitment.

With most American families chosing to have double incomes, most people do not have time to take care of the daily "chores" of life, like house cleaning, carpet cleaning, and lawn care. The demand for these services continues to skyrocket. Most working professionals will gladly pay a reputable company to perform these services for them, so that they can spend what free time they have doing other things.

There are a number of quality service business opportunity packages available, which require an initial investment of just a few thousand dollars, and have no franchise obligations attached. If you purchase a quality start-up package, you will be able to follow a proven business plan, and should be able to make back your initial investment in a very short period of time. Most service businesses can be fully operational within a few days of getting started.

For those who have thought about working for themselves as a way to improve their financial situation, I highly recommend checking into starting your own service business. Check your options, make sure you are getting a complete start-up package, and jump in with both feet!