The basis of a membership site is attracting people willing to pay money to access certain content that belongs to you. Of course you have to choose a niche for your website that is likely to attract paying customers and get your hands on content that interests them.

This can quite simply be a site containing material you have created yourself if you are particularly knowledgeable on a certain subject. The real secret to a successful membership site is encouraging a lot of user participation, so that effectively members generate most of the content themselves.

First, you should research whether or not the niche or topic you are considering is likely to be profitable. A little time spent with the Google keyword tools can be a great help. Come up with a list of keywords and key phrases you yourself would use to find the kind of offerings you intend to make. Plug those keywords into the tool and Google will tell you how many searches they garner every month as well as how many sites already target those keywords. A good indicator are the relevant Google Ads. They show what  people are paying to advertise on the subject.

How many members your site needs to be profitable depends upon what you expect from it. Many successful home business owners maintain a number of different niche sites with only a few hundred members a piece. However if they are all paying $20 a month and the site only takes a few hours a week to maintain it may very well be that a membership site is a good way to generate a steady income.

If you are considering starting a home business do not let the statistics put you off, but make sure that you answer these questions  - the four W’s – to get off to the best possible start.

WHO – Who are you doing this for exactly? Are you truly committed to the idea of running a home business that enriches and empowers you or are you simply doing it because your bank balance is looking a little sad? If you are not sure who you are doing this for, you will have a very difficult time maintaining the motivation to achieve the level of success you desire.

WHAT – Do you have a clear idea of what you hope to achieve by starting a home business? Do you want to be able to quit the 9 to 5 rat race and support yourself with the profits from your home based endeavors? Or are you simply looking for enough extra income to have the ability to buy some of those big ticket items you can’t quite afford right now? Once you figure out what you are hoping to achieve you can set goals accordingly.

WHERE – As in where to start. There are hundreds of different work at home opportunities, some good, some great and unfortunately some are outright scams. Take the time to actually study what is being offered. How much is it going to cost you? Is it a one off, monthly or yearly cost? What is the actual product or service that you are receiving, and is there something else out there that may better serve your needs. Can you come up with some better ideas of your own?

WHEN – Knowing when the right time is to officially launch your new home business is essential too. Before you have that website go live have you double checked it for grammar errors, pages that don’t load or badly worded content? Do you have the proper systems in place to ensure that you can ship products to your customers in a secure and efficient manner ? Do you even have a good payment system in place? Do not open for business until you are quite sure you are fully prepared.

When you cut through the hype though there is money to be made in MLM marketing if you know what to expect and how to make it work for you. Consider the following to decide if it might be the home business for you after all:

PRO- When you get into an MLM business you really are starting up your own home business, but perhaps franchise might be a better way to think of it. You will be given access to, and instruction in, the use of tools that have already been tried and tested by others and proven to be excellent ways to promote and sell a great product (assuming you have chosen a great product.) This means you are freed from the hassles of order taking, inventory, warehouse management. The company does all of that, you can concentrate on promotion and marketing.

CON – This can be a downside for some people though. Because it all sounds so easy they assume that they can get away with doing very little and simply sit back and watch the money start pouring in. MLM marketing, like any other business requires a great deal of hard work and dedication.

PRO – MLM marketing can be very flexible. You can pick your own hours for the most part, meaning it can be perfect as either a full or part time venture. There is a certain amount of set up work that can be quite arduous but after that is in place your main focus becomes promotion and finding new ways to market your chosen product.

CON – If you were never one to follow up then MLM marketing may not be for you. Following up religiously is the key to MLM marketing success and not just with your customers but with your down line as well. Those who make the big bucks in MLM marketing are those who take the time to teach, mentor and support all the people on their down line. And your leads? Research has shown that people may have to be exposed to your information 7 times before they finally make a purchasing decision so letting them go cold is a real business killer.

CON – If you cannot handle rejection then sales of any kind are simply not for you. If you cannot be patient and willing to change strategies when something is obviously not working the world of MLM marketing is not for you either.

If after reading all this you believe that you do have what it takes and decide to go for it, do it cautiously. Do your homework before you sign up for any program, checking it with the BBB and researching it elsewhere online.

Start Small – Many virtual assistants begin their careers on freelance sites like Odesk and Guru. Taking on small projects here is a great way to get your feet wet and a quick way to build a good reputation.

Be realistic about your abilities – If your knowledge of Excel is minimal do not take on assignments requiring advanced Excel skills to snag a client. If (and probably when) you do a less than stellar job the negative feedback can hurt your chances of a successful business and future clients.

Get organized – Many in the market for a virtual assistant are small business owners and entrepreneurs themselves. They look for a VA to help them stay on track, stay focused and grow their business. Great organization and time management skills are essential. If these are not your strong suits you may want to rethink your new career path.

Team up – If you are working on a freelance site spend some time in the chat rooms or forums, talking with other virtual assistants. You may want to partner up with another individual who is strong in areas where you are weak and vice versa. You can program a great website but can’t write to save your life; she has no idea what HTML is but can blog effectively on any subject under the sun. Teaming up can create a virtual team to be reckoned with.

To start your own doggie clothing company from home requires very little in the way of initial investment – a good sewing machine and some suitable fabrics are the basics – and if you have an eye for fashion and a talent for self-promotion you can go far. The industry itself really knows no bounds so if you can dream it up and a dog can wear, it chances are people out there will buy it. For example one power seller on eBay has sold thousands of dog bikinis over the last few years and at $20 each that adds up to nice chunk of change.

The wonderful thing about dog owners is that when they find a great product aimed at their best friends they talk about it, so word of mouth promotion counts for a lot in this industry. Showcase your wares at local dog shows and promote yourself on some of the many dog lovers websites that are found in abundance online. Creating a dialogue with dog enthusiasts is the key to your home businesses success because if your products impress and delight them once the chances are very good that they will keep coming back for more and refer their friends to you too. Of course selling your dog clothing online will reach a wider audience and eBay is a great place to start.