Technorati Tags: business start up checklist, business startup checklist, business startup guide, homebased business, legitimate home based business, profitable home based business

With advances in technology, increasing gas prices, and corporate downsizing, more and more people are looking for ways to work from home.  It can be overwhelming if you do not know where to start.  There are a lot of scams out there, and it can be hard to tell if a particular business offering is a legitimate home business option or not.  You need to do your homework to make sure that the companies you choose to work with are legitimate, and that you will be able to create a profitable home business if you work with them.

The good news for you is that there are several types of businesses you can run from home.  In general, any business that does not require a physical store that customers walk into can be a homebased business.  That is because as long as you have a phone line and an Internet connection, you can run nearly any type of business from any location, and still give a seasoned company image that customers will trust. 

Some of the most popular home-based businesses today include:

• stores that sell information products (such as videos, ebooks, etc.) that can be downloaded or shipped to the customer
• ecommerce stores (such as through eBay or Yahoo Stores) that sell physical products that you either warehouse yourself or have a third party drop-shipper send to customers for you.

There are several great resources you can consult for FREE information about starting and growing a homebased business.  Here are just a few that you may want to take a look at:

• Innoventum - http://www.innoventum.com (has a step-by-step Business Startup Guide that is recommended by various government agencies)
  
• Startup Nation - http://www.startupnation.com (has several free guides and resources)
  
• Score - http://www.score.org (has lots of free resources)
• Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov (has info on business startups and loans)

Technorati Tags: business start up checklist, business startup checklist, business startup guide, homebased business, legitimate home based business, profitable home based business