Newsweek compiled a list of 11 products that on the surface seem silly and highly unlikely to make any money. But each one has gone to generate millions on dollars in revenue.  This goes to show that any idea has the possibility  of being a blockbuster. To make it a reality you just have to believe it's possible….and work night and day to make it happen.

Want to get rich quick? It’s best to have a blockbuster product. But in case there’s no flash of inspiration, don’t worry. There’s still hope. A few lucky inventors, entrepreneurs, and marketers have hit the jackpot with silly ideas that have just the right combination of humor and utility to move tons of units and bring in piles of revenue.

Read the list here.

Below is an article I found that describes 3 CRITICAL ingredients needed to make your home business successful. Take a moment, read the article and ask yourself. "Do I have all 3 of these intangibles?" Be honest with yourself. If you answer is "no" or "some of them", don’t worry! It’s entirely possible that you can develop what you’re missing. But the first in the process is to be truthful about where you are.  If you’re having difficulty getting started I have 3 suggestions for you: 1) Start journaling. 2) Talk to a friend/ significant other (or better yet a mentor).  3) Find a Life Coach.  Whichever you choose, be honest, be committed, and get started!

[NOTE: I'm not affiliated with the author of the article.  I do not benefit financially if you choose to do business with website]  

Searching Full Time Home Business Ideas?

Before you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3 "intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.  

Intangible 1

First,you must have a strong WHY.

Why MUST you have a successful home business? What is driving you? What is it that you CAN’T have in your life anymore and/or what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now?
For me, I couldn’t stand working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone’s time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick. I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children’s lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.

Intangible 2

You must BELIEVE that it is possible.

If you don’t believe that it’s POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based business or make your living from home, you won’t. It’s that simple. For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my situation.

There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online and do some research and you’ll find countless testimonials and stories of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local bookstore and you’ll find the same documented evidence of this fact. Truth is, it’s getting easier and easier to make money with your own home based business.

I’ve always said that "affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the future. In the old days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough) unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that’s already here TODAY.

Intangible 3

You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.

Ready, FIRE, then aim… This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with a home based business.
That’s backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is that home based business success is a moving target… The only thing constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and simply jump into it. You can’t learn from the outside… You have to be *IN THE RING* to truly understand and profit from it. In fact, this is a business where you can truly be earning WHILE you’re still learning…

The lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business. You simply have to start one. It’s like having children… You’re never really ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow and therefore you succeed. This is what I call: "Making the Leap"!

The good news is that the cost of failure with having your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar" world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up a business. It’s almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars to get an offline business off the ground. However, on the Internet you can often start a successful business for less than 0. The Plug-In Profit Site is a great example of this where you can get your own money-making site setup free within 24 hours:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-28425

You simply need get IN THE GAME… Each moment that you stay "out there," you’re wasting valuable time that you could be learning and skills necessary to build a successful home based business. In fact, if you’re not in the game yet, you’re ALREADY behind the times… Make the leap to starting and building a successful home business TODAY!

About Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy:
"I Was A Washed Up Restaurant Worker Desperately Searching For
A Way To Save My Family When I Discovered The Internet And
Affiliate Marketing… 24 Months Later I Finally Cracked The
Code And Started Earning Over ,000.00 Per Month… Now The
Same System That Saved Me Is Available To You!" Make Money Now!

http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-28425

From TyroneShum.com:

One of my favorite TV shows ever was HBO’s The Wire. The reasons why I like this show are too numerous to list but I highly recommend that if haven’t seen the show yet add it to your viewing list immediately (the show is off the air so Netflix or buying the DVDs will have to do).  One of the breakout performances on the show was that of Felicia"Snoop" Pearson. Check out sample of her work:

Obviously, the series is meant for mature audiences and may not appeal to many. But Snoop’s performance is fantastic in the series.  I did some research on Ms. Pearson and discovered that she would make an excellent subject of a Successful Failures feature.

Dead On Arrival….almost

According to her bio, Snoop was born premature weighing only 3 pounds at birth. Her chances of survival were low. Her parents were both drug addicts and were incarcerated at the time of her birth so she was raised in a foster home. If things weren’t bad enough, she was raised in one of the poorest parts Baltimore.  If you watch the Wire, which is set in Baltimore, you will understand how growing up in type of environment can impact your chances of having a successful life.  And Snoop was not immune to the affects of her environment. She worked as drug dealer at a very young age and at age 14 she was convicted of second degree murder for the shooting death of a young woman. Snoop served six years in a Maryland penitentiary for her crime. Given everything that she endured during the first twenty years of her life, it would be understandable if Snoop went the way so many people in similar circumstances have gone. It would have been easy for her to end up another statistic; doing more crimes, doing drugs, or simply another victim of streets.  But after prison Snoop decided to change things up and a chance meeting with one of the stars of the Wire led to an audition and eventually a part on the show. 

Sky’s the Limit

Snoop has expanded her success into other areas:

• She published her memoir in a book titled Grace After Midnight
• She has started a music career and has been featured on several hip hop songs and has starred in a few music videos.
• She reportedly has an album in the works.
• She runs a youth drama organization called Moving Mountains, which is aimed at stopping youth violence and keeping kids off the streets.
• She volunteers at prisons and works for anti violence as well as literacy campaigns.

5 Things You Can Learn from Felicia "Snoop" Pearson

• It’s not where you start out, its where you end up.  Life’s not fair.  For every person that’s born into a well adjusted, normal family there’s hundreds (probably thousands) that are born into similar circumstances that Snopp was.  The more able you are to let go of the past and focus on the future, the more likely you are to be successful. 
• Be open to what the Universe has in store for you.  I’m not sure if Ms. Pearson ever had any aspirations of becoming an actress or hip hop artist but when the opportunity presented itself she made the most of it. She didn’t let her past stop her. And she didn’t let the fact that she didn’t have any formal training stop her.  Seek out what you want in your life and chances are good that you will find it…if it doesn’t find you first!
• Stay true to yourself. Ms Pearson was successful in The Wire because she was essentially playing herself. She was able to take all of her experiences growing up in the streets and use them to her advantage. We are the sum total of our life’s experiences.  We can choose to use those experiences to our benefit or be victim to them and use them as an excuse for achieving our goals.  Successful people choose the former of the two. 
• Give back. It’s good karma!!
• Don’t mess with a Baltimore chick! I think this self explanatory! LOL!!
   

From Home Business magazine

For most people, recessions are times when they tend to cut back on their spending on promotions. Or perhaps they hold off on expanding their operations until ‘better’ times. But there are some who see these slow periods as opportunities to expand their businesses and their revenues. Home Business magazine’s August issue profiles 10 home based millionaires that grew their business in bad economic times as well as good ones. Here’s a list of the people they profiled and the businesses they’re in:

1. Matt Morris- Personal Coaching, Mentor, and Author
2. Melissa Evans- Mentor and Author
3. Frank Mckinney-Real Estate, Author, and Philanthro-Capitalist (??)
4. Leisa and
5.  Mark Bates- Hotel/B&B owners, Entertainment, and Inventors
6. Jordan Wirsz- Serial Entrepreneur, Author, and Motivational Speaker
7. Mario Barth-Celebrity Tattoo Artist, Manufacturer of Tattoo Supplies, E-Commerce
8. Lisa Harrington and
9. Kimberly Martinez-Decorative designs for work apparel, E-commerce
10. Robert Shrob-Publishing, Coaching, and Seminars

Common Bonds

As you read through the profiles of these millionaires you pick up on few common themes.

• Each one of them followed their passions.
• Each one took risks.
• They all decided where they wanted to be, figured out a way to get there, TOOK ACTION, and never looked back.
• They all have multiple streams of income.
• All of them came from humble backgrounds and really worked hard to get where they are today. And they still continue to work hard.
• None of them are really that much different from you or me.

Original article written by Priscilla Y. Huff.

From knitting to skydiving, most of us have an interest or hobby that fills us with enthusiasm. Your passion may be the key to extra income or an entirely new career; many businesses–small and large–began with an enthusiast who turned a passion into a profitable enterprise. Leveraging a passion for profit may take some initial time, effort, and strategic thinking; but you have the advantage of expertise in your product or interest to carry you forward. Here are four ways in which you can turn your passion into cash:

1. Sell it

If other people love your handcrafted articles, you may consider selling them locally or online. Local outlets include home sales or demonstrations, fairs, shows and conventions, or retail businesses that accept articles on consignment. There are also a number of websites that sell handmade articles; they generally charge a small fee for posting the article, and/or a percentage of the selling price. For these, good photography is necessary.

2. Teach it

It is often more profitable to teach other people how to make things than to sell the things themselves. You can hold classes at your home or at a local community center. You can also look through the catalogs of community colleges and high school districts to see if they offer courses in your field of interest. If no instructor’s name is given, it is possible that the organization has not yet hired someone to teach the subject and there is a job opening for you. You may be able to demonstrate your passion at a special event and teach a short introductory lesson to encourage people to sign up, or have your products available for sale.

3. Write about it

If you’re good with words, writing about your passion may be profitable. Magazines and websites like to publish well-written, lively pieces that demonstrate how to make attractive or useful articles, or get started in a leisure activity. Professional-quality photos will enhance your written work and make it more likely to sell. Another way to use the written word to make money from your passion is through blogging. This is a long-term strategy, as it takes time and persistence to build up blog traffic. The key to successful blogging is clear, authoritative writing, authenticity, consistency (posting frequently at regular times) and being responsive to people who comment on your blog posts or ask questions. Money can be made through blogs either by selling your own products or by attracting advertising revenue.

4. Team up

Finding a business partner whose passions complement yours can be the start of a whole new synergy. This could be someone who offers similar products or services to your own, so that you can effectively double your output and share administrative tasks. Or it could be someone whose product or service can be used in conjunction with yours. Look out for possible partners online, at trade shows and at your local retail outlets, and take your time to find the right fit.

Louise Baker writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. She most recently wrote about getting an online criminal justice degree.

My collection of articles, blog posts, or videos that I found this past week that might be of  some value to you.  Read, digest, discuss. [Click on the headline to read the full article]

17 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Shouldn’t Listen to “Experts”:

There will always be naysayers. And some of them may have even been right in the past about an idea, thought or event. Even if they have been right about something in the past, it doesn’t mean that they’re opinion is always correct. Are you willing to risk your business on someone else’s opinion of it?

IRS Agent Didn’t Report $41,842 in EBay Sales

…claimed her EBay sales were not a business, and characterized it as an online garage sale, according to the court document. She said she liked to shop for designer clothes and that this was a way to clean out her closets.

5 Tax Advantages of a Home-Based Business

The perks of a home-based business are many: freedom, independence, tax advantages … yes, tax advantages. Here are some tax advantages that your home based business may qualify for.

Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."-Helen Keller

Tenacity vs Intellect: What Makes an Entrepreneur? [Video] 

3 Things You Must Have When Starting A Online Home Business To Be Successful

Desire, Discipline and Discretion is the answer to your dream to be self-employed without failing.

The other night I was flipping channels and I happened upon the VH1 Behind The Music episode that profiled Lil Wayne, the Grammy award winning hip hop artist. I didn’t intend on watching the whole show but I glad I did. I have a couple of Wayne’s song on my ipod and I think he’s a talented artist. I thought I knew Wayne’s story. I figured it was the typical story of an inner city kid that wassurrounded by drugs and violence and eventually turned to music to make it out the ghetto. While that is certainly part of Wayne’s story there was so much more. As I watched the story unfold I could see that there were clear lessons for anyone chasing their destiny could learn from this 27 year multi-millionaire.

Road To The Top

Born as Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Dwayne Michael Turner and Jacinda Carter, who was then 19 years old, Lil Wayne was forced to bid goodbye to his father who abandoned him and his mother right after he was born. During that time, he and his mother were forced to survive by themselves in the criminal-infested community at Hollygrove division of New Orleans. -www.aceshowbiz.com

During the Behind The Music profile, Wayne described how his father was verbally and physically abusive to his mother before abandoning them.

From www.allmusicguide.com:

[H]e was a straight-A student but never felt his true intelligence was expressed through any kind of report card. He found music was the best way to express himself and after taking the name Gangsta D he began writing rhymes. Combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion, the 11-year-old convinced the Cash Money label to take him on, even if it was just of odd jobs around the office. A year later, in-house producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.’z. Although only B.G.’s name appeared on the cover, the 1995 album True Story has since been accepted as the B.G.’z debut album both by fans and the Cash Money label.

…rumors began flying about Cash Money’s financial troubles and possible demise. The rest of the Hot Boys had defected and Wayne’s planned 2003 album was scraped, coming out instead as an underground mixtape called Da Drought. Wayne became enamored with the mixtape world after Da Drought drew so much attention from the hip-hop press. He used these underground releases to drum up anticipation for his next official album, the breakthrough effort Tha Carter. Released in 2004, the album seemed familiar on one hand with Mannie Fresh’s production, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he laid on the tracks showed significant growth. His marketing skills had become sharper too…

the number one hit "Lollipop," Tha Carter III arrived in May of 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release. An appearance on Saturday Night Live and four Grammy Awards — including Best Rap Album – spoke to Wayne’s mainstream acceptance. He also performed at that year’s Country Music Awards with Kid Rock, but rather than rap, he played guitar. The guitar playing was part of Wayne’s new involvement with rock music

Born Into Failure

I decided to profile Wayne for Successful Failures because he was born into failure and refuse to accept it. How many people do you think are born into similar situations everyday and go on to let the drugs, violence, and despair that surround them keep them locked into perpetual poverty? A better question to ask yourself: how many people have been born into a vastly better life and they find themselves in dead end jobs and locked into perpetual just getting by?  Can you count yourself in that group? At the age of 12 Lil Wayne was actively and aggressively pursuing his passion.  At age_____, what are you doing to go after your passion?  At age 14, Wayne shot himself in the chest while he was home alone.  He drag himself into the living room and dial 911, he held on until help arrives and spent two weeks on life support. He worked his way back and by the time he was 17 he has a double platinum album. Are letting obstacles that you face stop your progress towards your goals or are you pushing them aside and continuing to reach for the gold?

5 Lessons That You Can Learn From Lil Wayne’s Story

1. You Can Come Back From Anything. Lil Wayne is proof that you can take a bullet point blank to the chest (strongly not recommended) and go on to win a Grammy. If you’re starting a business and you’ve made mistakes it’s not end of the world, or even the end of your business. Learn the lesson of that mistake, regroup and figure out what you need to do to get back on track, and get up and do it!
2. You Have to Work Harder Than Anyone Else. The scene of Behind The Music episode that caught my attention was when Wayne was detailing how he finished a 3 hour concert, watch a couple hours of Sports Center, and then when to work producing another song–at 3 AM in the morning! He’s a workaholic (in 2007 GQ Magazine gave him the title of  Workaholic of the Year). There’s always going to be someone out there with more talent than you or someone who is more knowledgable on a subject. But a strong work ethic evens the playing field and could even give you the edge.
3. Change the Game. Wayne incorporated the use of mix tapes into marketing hype for his upcoming albums. Others had certainly done the same thing to a degree but Wayne change the game by making it such an intergal part of the promotion process. Conventional business wisdom says you should stick the tried and true methods of doing business because they’ve been proven to work. I don’t disagree with that but keep in mind, we live in a crowded world. And collectively our attention span isn’t what it used to be. Sometimes you have to stick out from the crowd and sometimes that means changing the way the game is played.  
4. Do You. Now, Mr. Carter does have his faults. He has been arrested for drug and weapon charges and he has needed to go to rehab for substance abuse. Wayne freely admits to his faults and makes no apologies for who he is. He accepts himself, flaws and all, and continues to do the things that have made him successful. Are you letting your flaws hold you back? There are 3 things you can do with your shortcomings: You can work to improve them, you can hire somebody to cover those areas (i.e. not good with numbers? hire an accountant), or you can let them keep you from going after what you want in this life and stay miserable.  
5. Never Assume. This is the lesson I learned the most from watching Lil Wayne’s biography. Because I knew a few his songs and seen a few of his videos, I assumed I knew enough about Lil Wayne and I could probably guess at the rest. In truth I knew very little about him. Don’t assume anything, always take a look behind the surface. This goes for your business as well as  your personal relationships and friendships. 

Historically October is usually a bad month for the stock market. Today is the anniversary of the crash in 1929 the led to the Great Depression. And back in 1987 the Dow took another nose dive in October. This year, the October crash happened to my motivation. Yes this month was a tough one. I still managed to produce quality blog posts, but it took alot to get them out. And I got concerned. This blog and it’s mission is my passion and I never want it to  feel like its a chore to do this work. Fortunately, I decided to write about difficulties and posted an article titled Staying Motivated is Bitch. I got some really positive feedback from that post and it has reignited my engines.I’m back to having fun trying to help people figure what’s the best best opportunity for them. I decided to make another post about being motivated because I’m sure I’m not the only one facing this battle. For this article I thought I would be good to give a boarder perspective on how people can stay motivate to achieve their goals. Here’s a few videos that I think offer solid advice:

How To Stay Motivated to Reach your Goals

How to Stay Motivated or Inspired to Reach any Goal

How to get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Jonathan Sprinkles-Getting and Staying Motivated Pt.1

A few weeks back I posted a review of Avon that gave a good overview of the company, today I want to dig a little deeper into what it means to work with Avon. Last week I connected with an Avon sales rep who blogs about her Avon business.  My Avon Selling Journey chronicles the trials and tribulations of Maria, an Avon entrepreneur that turned her love for the products into a business. When visit her blog it’s immediately plain to see how passionate she is about her business.  But as I read her posts I was impressed by her ability to make the reader feel as though they are a part of her journey. This lady can write! I’m so pleased that Maria agreed to share her insights and experiences with Avon. Hopefully, this insight will help you to determine if Avon is the right business  opportunity for you.  I would also suggest that read Maria’s blog for further perspective.  

What do you like most about working with Avon? Least?

I like the fact that I am my own boss.  I can set my own hours and dedicate as much, or as little, time to the success of my business.  There really isn’t anything that I like least about Avon because I am impressed with every facet of the business.

What was your initial investment? How long did it take you to become profitable?

My initial investment was only 10 dollars.  I received a start-up kit which included campaign brochures for two campaigns, an Avon tote bag, some product samples, and basically everything that I needed to jump-start my business.  My Avon business started to become profitable when I started to dedicate time to advertising and getting the word out about it.   

I have used and loved Avon products for years.  I started selling just to have access to their products and to be able to purchase them at a discount.

You definitely have to have people skills to be successful at selling Avon.  It is important to provide personal service to your customers and to show them that you appreciate their business.    

I maintain my drive/motivation by attending monthly sales meetings at my District office and engaging in networking with my fellow Representatives as well as sharing ideas of best practices.

Don’t be discouraged by others or by your own lack of confidence.  You have to believe in your own ability to be successful.  Also, if you want to become an independent Avon Representative, contact me and I can point you in the right direction.

It is important to maintain contact with your customers to keep them up to date on current product offers and promotions.  Additionally, the goal of every single day is to share Avon with at least three other people.

I wouldn’t recommend that anyone leave their job unless their business is established and turning enough of a profit to address all of their financial needs.  This kind of financial freedom requires a lot of time, work, and dedication.

The thing that has surprised me the most about working for myself is that I am really good at it.  I think we can be our own worst critics sometimes and tend to stand in our own way of being successful.  The biggest challenge is managing having a career and dedicating enough time to running your business.  The way that I have overcome that challenge is by scheduling time to devote to my business daily.

I would have started sooner.

My children inspire me to be the very best that I could be at everything that I do in my life.  They also encourage me to be successful so that I may provide them with the best possible life. 

 Need Help Finding That Perfect Business?

Do you have a business opportunity that you are interested in but not sure if it’s right for you or if it’s legitimate? Let me help you find out. Drop me a line with the name of the company and make it the focus of an upcoming review. What’s the benefit to you?

• You get a second opinion from someone who is dedicated finding true business opportunities.
• You get the benefit of my time and knowledge of researching businesses for free
• BONUS GIFT!! You get to fill out my Business Matching questionnaire and I’ll use it to determine if the business you are interested in is a good match for you.  That’s a $49.95 service available to you for  FREE!