Before I got into the home-based business industry I weighed in heavily on the option of opening a franchise. I signed up for newsletters and got daily updates for franchise opportunities that were available. What I found was much like the home business industry, there are many, many opportunities to choose from. I knew it would be tough to decipher the good ones from the bad and spent a lot of time doing so. In the end, I came to the conclusion that none of them would be a good option for me and chose home business instead.Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking on franchises. There are plenty of success stories out there for that type of business, and for many it’s a great option. They just weren’t conducive to my goals and the lifestyle I wanted to live. I’m simply going to show the similarities and differences between home-based business and franchising to give a better understanding why home-based business can be a better option.The similarities between the two are abundant. They both offer an array of different opportunities to meet your budget guidelines. I’ve seen franchise options out there that require start up capital as low as $10,000. Some even offer in-house financing. With a home business you can start with an investment as low as $1000-$2000.They both offer a proven business model to help ensure your success. This includes things like training that are based off of what has worked, and hasn’t worked for others out there. With a franchise you can get in contact with other franchisees for advice on how to run your business more efficiently much like you can contact successful leaders in the home-based business industry.The biggest similarity of all is that they’re both going to require a lot of dedication and hard work. You can’t buy into a franchise and expected to make money the next day. The time and effort you put into it will ultimately dictate your success. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world and get rich quick just doesn’t exist. You have to be passionate about what you’re doing and do it every day to reach your goals. Both of these businesses have a failure rate that can be caused by a number of things. It could be because of a bad business model, or someone just didn’t work hard enough for it to be successful.Though some of the similarities we mentioned may sound great, it’s the differences that can make you second guess whether or not franchising is the path you want to take. With franchises you have a lot of overhead and operating costs. You’re going to have to pay rent for the space you lease, on top of additional things like electric, water, and sewer.In most cases you’re going to need to have employees and the payroll that goes along with them. You’ll have to go through the trouble of finding people you can trust. You want to make sure they aren’t people who will steal from you. If you don’t want to be there all the time you’re going need to hire a store manager on top of that.There’ll also be things like equipment or inventory that will be required to operate successfully. Not to mention the franchise and royalty fees that have to be paid in order for you to stay a franchise and use the franchise name. Normally this is a hefty flat fee and a percentage of sales. Add that to the money you spent to buy into the franchise and you can see how quickly your costs can rise. For a more popular franchise you’re going to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars and be required to have a set amount of cash and assets to even be considered.It could be years before you ever even turn a profit and you’re going to have to work 60 to 80 hours a week. Even when you do turn a profit it could be a very small margin. All of those long hours you put in could be for very little pay.With a home-based business you eliminate all those variables. You have a low start up cost and can work at a pace that best suits your current situation. Like me, most people got started while they still had jobs. There are no additional overhead costs other than what you already have at home and there’s no need to hire any employees. You won’t have to worry about traveling to a brick-and-mortar store every day or what you’ll do if you find the time to go on vacation. With a home-based business you can work wherever you have Internet access.You won’t have to pay any franchise fees and you can turn a profit much quicker. Your profits will be higher and you won’t have to work those 60 to 80 hours a week. The differences are tremendous and the risk is much, much lower.With that said, it’s important to do your research. As we’ve outlined here it’s easy to see why starting a home-based business can be a much better option. I’m not saying franchising is a bad thing. If you’re thinking about opening a store make sure you’re ready for the challenge that lies ahead. The same goes for home business to. Remember to weigh the pros and cons and get educated. Making an informed decision and working hard will add to your success.

Poor credit is no barrier to small business owners wishing to obtain business finance. When a small business owner plans to expand business and finds that he has already used up available sources of funding and getting additional finance through regular sources may be too time-consuming, then finance from “non-conventional” sources may be a better option.

What would be the requirements for a business owner to obtain small business finance?

A running business

Startups are precluded from obtaining this type of finance on soft terms. In order to be eligible, a business must be in operation for at least a year.

A minimum amount of sales per month

Someone who has started the business recently and is generating revenues of less than $ 10000 by way of credit card sales may not be eligible for small business funding unless the case is assessed and considered on other grounds such as a potential for growth that the owner can justify and support.

Documentary proofs

Small businesses are usually proprietary types. A business owner, even one with poor credit, should not hesitate to obtain small business capital even if it means paying a higher interest amount because it can help him get back on track to fast growth. The documentation is minimal. He needs to submit proof of ownership. The other documents he must provide are bank statements for the previous six months, proof of identity and proof of residence.

An applicant may wish to get small business finance within 3 to 5 days for which he should apply online and keep ready scanned copies of the above-mentioned documents. These may be uploaded along with the preliminary application. Should the application be approved he may be required to furnish printed copies.

What is not required for the small business loan?

• An applicant need not have a stellar credit history.
• He may not have to furnish collateral or mortgage property.
• He may not have to furnish a guarantor.

It is fast. It is easy. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. An applicant must consider the factor rate applied. This is a fancy term for rate of interest though it is not specifically so mentioned. Repayment may range from 3 months to even as long as 36 months and it is tied to the credit card sales as a percentage of daily turnover or a fixed monthly amount. Should sales be high repayment is completed in a shorter time. In real terms, an applicant may end up paying processing charges plus interest that can be as high as 50% because the loan is unsecured. The best thing to do is to examine the offer and obtain such funds only from a lender who does not charge anything upfront, no processing charges and applies a moderate interest rate.

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.