Nature abhors a vacuum, so as an increasing number of people seek to start their own homebased business, thousands of homebased business opportunities have sprung up to fill the need. If you're ready to supplement your income or are sick of commuting and want to be your own boss by working from home, how do you find the products that will allow you to generate immediate money, and over time give you the income stream you desire? Here are some guidelines to help you make your decision.

Choose Consumer-Friendly Products

Many of the products available from homebased business opportunities are, in a word, impractical. For example, they may target a very select audience, such as with a suite of Internet marketing software or financial investment instruments. The more broad appeal a product has, the more successful you'll be. Why try to sell a product that one in 1,000 people will find useful when you can sell a product that one in three people will find useful? Homebased business success is, at its core, a numbers game. The more people who need and want your product, the greater the chance that you'll have a ready-made market and can sell the product. So, when choosing a product, select something that relates to an activity that most people engage in regularly. For example, virtually everyone goes shopping on a regular basis, so a product that provides a shopping discount or significant savings with free coupons would be wildly appealing.

Think Twice About Inventory

Many homebased business opportunities require you to stock inventory. Before signing on with one of these programs, think carefully about where you're going to keep your inventory. Do you have enough space for bulky items? What are the chances that the products will be damaged by heat or cold (if you keep them in the garage, for example)? Will you have to lug products from place to place, making it necessary to buy bins and have an office on wheels?

The best products to sell are those that take up little or no room. For example, selling something like a discount shopping card means that you don't have to carry the type of inventory that would interfere with your lifestyle.

Consider the Advantages of Flexibility

Every person who starts his or her own homebased business has a set of needs that the product should fulfill. For example, you may want to see a product with an international flavor, or one that has a global reach, in order to tap into the largest possible marketplace. Perhaps you want the flexibility of selling a product that can also be used for fundraising purposes on behalf of a school or church group. Make sure that the product you choose is flexible enough to meet your needs.

Of course, choosing the right product is only one component of selecting the right homebased business opportunity for you. A solid compensation plan is a must, as is top-notch training to help you succeed and an automated system that does the majority of the work for you. The homebased business company you choose to affiliate with should also be a good fit with your experience level and skill set. There are plenty of opportunities from which to choose, and finding the right company - and the right product - is a must!