Once a month I make up a summary of the best articles from HomeBusinessWiz that month. These include:

· my newest "how-to" tutorials
· interviews with successful home business people about how they do it
· the latest updates about ways to make money working at home

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Starting a home-based business is an exciting venture. But before you begin, complete this self-assessment so you're prepared for what you're getting into.

The rewards of home-based business

What do you want out of your home-based business? Having a home-based business has many rewards: the freedom of being your own boss, the personal satisfaction of accomplishment, and the chance to earn an income that is only limited by your skill and determination.

The downside of home-based business

There's no arguing that having a home-based business is a wonderful way to make a living. I've done it for the past 20 years and wouldn't have it any other way.

However, having a home-based business takes a level of effort and energy that many people underestimate. It can place incredible demands on your time, your family relationships, and your money.

And the unfortunate fact is that the majority (estimated as high as 70 per cent) of all new businesses fail within three years. It's rare for a new business to provide any significant financial return to the owner in the first two or three years. Yes, you read that right. Even if your home-based business is successful, it may be three years or more before you are making the kind of income that you would like.

Do you have the personal qualities required?

Are you independent, ambitious, confident, hard working, a risk-taker and a problem solver? Do you enjoy working alone? Successful small business owners often have most of these traits.

Do you have the knowledge required?

Are you knowledgeable about the industry or type of business that you are considering? Are you really excited about your idea? Do you have business training in sales, marketing and production? Do you have the ability to put together a business plan?

Do you know your weak areas?

Are you willing to take training courses in your weak areas? Will you hire experts to do the things that you can't do? Do you have the money to pay for this assistance? Do you want to set up a partnership with someone who has the skills that you lack?

Do you have the family support required?

Do you have the full support of your family? When you work at home you are around family members a lot more hours of the day. You also will likely be working longer hours, at least to start. And the money situation will be iffy. What impact will this have on your relationships? Your prospects for success will improve when those close to you share your commitment.

Do you have enough money?

Starting a home-based business is often more costly than you think. And you won't have a regular pay cheque for quite a while. Are you prepared to spend the money required during the start-up phase? Be thorough and realistic about how much you need right from the start so your business isn't jeopardized after you've invested months of hard work.

And here's an excellent entrepreneurial self-assessment quiz that I think you might find interesting.

How do you know if a work at home business opportunity is legitimate or not? The simple answer is that if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Advertisements that make wild promises like the ones below are usually scams:

"Make $3000 a month working only two hours a day!"
"Make money filling out surveys!"
"Be your own boss!"
"Only $50 to get started!"

Typically these scams involve envelope stuffing, mystery shopping, clipping coupons, email processing, selling miracle products and other classic schemes. Beware of these scams: they are run by clever people who are very good at deceiving innocent people. In the end, you are more likely to lose money than make money with these types of offers.

Why is this? Well, sometimes the scam involves you having to pay upfront for a "training package" or "start-up supplies" that never shows up or turns out to be garbage. Or the scam involves a pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme which could actually get you into legal trouble.

Just as troubling are the scams that involve fraud or identify theft: under the pretext of "setting up your personnel file" or "arranging for direct deposit" scammers obtain your personal information including banking details.

Want to learn more about how to detect and avoid work from home scams? HomeBusinessWiz reader Andrea Coutu of ConsultantJournal.com has a good article on how to avoid work from home scams, along with a list of resources for more information.

Accounting
Automobile detailing
Bed and breakfast
Beauty services
Blogging
Boarding animals
Bicycle repair
Bookkeeping
Car maintenance
Child care
Cleaning

Consulting
Conference planning
Catering
Computer (tutoring, sales, repairs)
Counselling
Dance classes
Dealing in collectibles
Desktop publishing

Ebay selling
Ebay Trading Assistant (sell for other people)
Errand service
Editing
Event management
Financial advising
Freelance writing
Furniture restoration

Genealogy
Graphic design
Gardening
Gift services
Hairdressing
Home inspection
Interior decorating
Journalism

1. Chocolate

Enreprenuer.com reports that trend-watching firm Datamonitor named chocolate "the new coffee" in a list of the top trends to watch in 2007. A big part of the surge in appeal for all things chocolate is the apparent health benefits. Studies have shown dark chocolate contains flavanoids that are actually good for us, so now we can indulge guilt-free (or so we like to believe).

2. Organics

From organic coffee to organic beer, consumers are demanding certified organic food products. Think about specialty products for niche groups such as kids, pets and seniors. How about organic pet treats? Or organic cooking classes for kids? Keep in mind that there are regulations regarding the use of the term certified organic. More information is available the Organic Trade Association's website at www.ota.com.

3. Healthy food
Beyond organics, healthy food in general is a huge trend for 2007. With the aging of the Baby Boomers, the interest in food that promotes longevity is booming (no pun intended). Entrepreneur.com says "even candy is being loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, healthy extracts and vitamin C."

4. Wine

What's your target market's age demographic? Forget that question, wine is a hot product for a wide range of age groups, from 20-somethings interested in budget quality to affluent baby boomers wanting to impress their friends with something a little different. And with the new laws legalizing online wine sales, there are lots of opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.

5. Decadent Desserts

After today's health conscious consumer has eaten their organic meal loaded with vitamins and omega-3 oils, a nice decadent dessert is the reward. Ahhh...we are creatures of contradiction, no?

A word to the wise

Remember that anytime your business involves food, there will be regulations involved. Big or little, your business has to be aware of the regulations and follow the rules.

Trying to decide what kind of business to start? A career assessment can provide some clues. Career coach Patricia Soldati has done some pretty exhaustive research about what career assessment tools are the best. Here are her conclusions:

1. None provide answers, only clues - you are your own best filter for their accuracy and applicability

2. The Internet freebies and "for pennies" approach...well, you get what you pay for.

3. The experts unanimously agree that, for a true picture of your vocational landscape, it's important to take more than one assessment.

4. The most reliable tests are probably the MBTI, Strong, plus an entrepreneur assessment if you are considering starting your own business.

5. The real question for career coaches and their clients is "How can we use this info to create viable possibilities for you?"

I'm finding that my how to write a bio niche is spinning off into some nice new related ventures.

Check out my new blog called How to Write a Totally Awesome MySpace About Me page. I'll be writing more later about the research I undertook to start this new blog, the business case for it, and how it will (hopefully) make me passive revenue.

And for something completely different, check out my other new blog called Women's Retreat Ideas (a long-time interest of mine) and Edible Creations (another hobby).

My goal in talking about these seemingly unrelated sites here at HomeBusinessWiz is to share with you what I've learned about using Internet marketing techniques for niche markets. Stay tuned!

p.s. lesson 1: as soon as you establish your new blog or website, get it mentioned (linked) on an existing site with a high page rank. That's what I've achieved by posting links here (HomeBusinessWiz currently has a Google Page Rank 5, which is very strong). Another quick way to get links is by participating in blog carnivals.

Today I'm interviewing Olivia Romero of Albuquerque, New Mexico about her home based video production company. I met Olivia during the August 2007 30 Day Challenge (an online marketing course) and we have remained in touch.

What kind of home based business do you have?
I have an independent video production company, specializing in training, education and promotional projects. Recently I also published a “do-it-yourself” wedding video production ebook.

So you make videos, and you also teach other people how to make their own videos?
Yes, I wrote an ebook called Wedding Video Secrets: A Professional’s Guide for Doing It Yourself, in collaboration with Tony Jones. We'd worked together on lots of video projects over the years. I got the idea of the "do-it-yourself" ebook after hearing Tony talk so many times about the simple, but devastating mistakes people make during the shooting of a wedding. He found it sad that so many times newlywed couples hired him to fix wedding video disasters shot by well-intentioned friends or relatives.

Had either of you ever written a book before?
No, but Tony was a natural for a project like this. In recent years he has conducted video production classes for teens in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was just a logical “next step.” I must admit though, I had to talk Tony into it!

Getting back to the video production, when did you start doing that?
I started my company, I.M.M. of New Mexico, in 1993. The plan was to go into business with my brother. But since I was female, and a minority, we decided there were definite business advantages to establishing the business in my name.

What did you do before starting your business?
I had received an M.A. in human resources development and left school with the usual idealism and “I’m going to change the world” spirit most graduates have. Unfortunately, most businesses in this area at the time had never heard of human recourses management. So even though I was able to get a job with the title, I ended up being a glorified personnel clerk. I was miserable.

Do you work on your business full-time, part-time? Do you have another job? Or can you make enough from your business?
I work full time when I have a video project. I write, produce, direct and edit (I don’t shoot). When I don’t have a project I subcontract my services to other video producers. I also work on my website which promotes my Wedding Video Secrets ebook. All combined, I do ok. But I know I can do better.

What do you like most about your business?
My freedom. I just can’t put a price on how important my freedom is to me. I love being my own boss. I also LOVE the other freelancers I work with. They are the most wonderful, fun, creative group of professionals that I’ve had the honor to work with.