By Nigel Evans

During times of economic hardship, there is normally a spike in the number of people who turn to self-employment. Layoffs in the corporate environment often cause people to think long and hard about how they're going to replace the weekly or monthly paycheck.

In recent years a proliferation of business opportunities have emerged to tempt the would-be entrepreneur. If you have the wish to be self-employed, you can use your computer and Internet access to develop a business in the world of Internet marketing, affiliate marketing or a number of other areas. It is sometimes difficult to get through the proliferation of offers and ideas, but you need to be sure that you achieve home-based success and not failure on your first attempt.

Just think of the overheads and other direct costs that you might have to face if you set up a business selling your own products. Affiliate marketing is great as you are only expected to sell other people's products or services in return for a commission. Many enter the arena of self-employment this way and even though you will come across people who would doubt you, it is definitely possible to score home-based success this way.

There are a number of different affiliate networks covering many distinct affiliate programs. Some have particular requirements for entry, while others are not quite as picky. In general, however, expect to receive a phone call from an affiliate manager who will ask targeted questions with the aim of finding out if you are dedicated or not. You will access all the products and services once you have been approved and must then apply considerable thought to your marketing initiatives to see how you are going to receive those commissions.

Don't think that working from home is a pushover, as it is anything but. You will be expected to work very long hours to achieve any goals and must be free from distractions. Make sure that the family is on board with this concept and gives you your space to work alone. Home-based success will depend on a combination of imagination, good research and great work performance.

When you are starting off on your own, the thought of developing your own business via the Internet can seem quite daunting. People in your position will turn to specialized membership sites online. There are many, tailored to your particular niche or subject. The beauty of these membership sites is that they will allow you to gain a very targeted education in a relatively small amount of time, so that you can ramp up your efforts and start to make money as soon as possible.

There is a great deal of comfort to be realized from interacting with forum members within the affiliate marketing membership sites. These people are on various stages of the self employed journey and while some will have achieved home-based success already, they will invariably be willing to recount the difficulties that they found along the way, helping you to try and avoid similar mistakes.

It is understandable that people turn to thoughts of supplementing their income with part-time businesses, so that they are in a position to survive should anything go wrong within their other occupations. A number of business opportunities are available through the use of your personal computer and many people search for home-based success stories to give them inspiration to go forward.

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