Each day the newspapers are full of stories about layoffs, businesses declaring bankruptcy, and unpredictable ups and downs in the stock market. For many people, the current economic instability has created a great deal of fear and uncertainty. Many people are afraid to rely on traditional jobs and are considering ways to go into business for themselves. Being your own boss, and working at home can sound very appealing, but how do you know what opportunities are legitimate home based businesses? It pays to do your research before investing a penny in any home based business opportunity, because many so called opportunities are really scams designed to separate you from your hard earned money. What are some legitimate home based businesses? Here are some of the best ways to earn money from home:

What can you sell?: One of the most common home-based businesses is sales, particularly through internet commerce sites like Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist. There is a good reason that these are such a popular start-up business amongst new entreprenuers, these mega sites make it cheap and easy for anyone to reach a broad marketplace of potential buyers. What is the best item to sell? Most sellers specialize in items that they know well, whether it be dolls or auto parts. Before finding your sales niche, open an Ebay account and try selling unwanted items from around your home. You will soon find out if you have the patience and passion needed to maintain an online sales business.

What is your talent?: Often home based business opportunities will offer to sell you expensive software or DVDs that will teach you a supposedly marketable skill. You would be much better off thinking of ways to use your own skills in a different way. Are you a fast typist? Offer your services to local businesses and colleges for a per page fee. If you are a clear and consise writer, there are many online opportunities to write content and technical information for other people’s websites. Whatever you are good at, there is probably a way to use it to bring in some extra cash, whether it be fixing up junker cars for resale, or tutoring kids; think creatively to find ways to use your skills in a new setting.

What do other people hate to do?: One of the fastest growing business sectors is pet care, and a creative way that some entreprenuers have found to cash in on people’s love of their pets is by opening a doggie waste disposal service. That’s right, for a small fee, people will come to your home and pick up Fido’s mess so you don’t have to. This is a home-based business that can be quite profitable, and requires little skill or ability. If you don’t mind the dirty work, there are a lot of opportunites do to home based work to help people with the dirty chores that they hate: laundry and ironing services, junk removal, gardening, etc.

Who do you know?: The best opportunities in life come often from who you know, not what you know. Talk to local business owners to see if they have any jobs that they could outsource to you. Your chances of making millions in medical transcription online are slim, but your local doctor, lawyer or realtor might have a short term project that is screaming your name. Also consider online networking, many great home business opportunities have been found through posting questions on money and stay at home parenting message boards.