In our last article we discussed the reasons why so many people, approaching retirement age, find that their carefully laid plans have failed to deliver sufficient income to retire in reasonable comfort. We've suggested that one of the top home businesses might be the way to go, to provide a secondary stream of income.



You can look at several options, depending on your particular interests, and of course taking your skills into account:

Should you lack specialized skills or qualifications, you'd do well to look at data collection or collating surveys. A quick search of the internet will reveal numerous options, varying in type and rate of pay.

Data collection is a popular option, in that it is possible to sign up, receive some basic training online and to get started in a reasonably short period of time. Completion of rebate forms is one of these, providing a steady income of around $50 per rebate form completed and submitted. The time taken to achieve this will vary by individual, but seems to average between 1-2 hours per form. Obviously practice makes perfect, and most people become quicker at completing forms after some practice. There is a warning though - errors can cost you, and good advice is to retain a percentage of earnings in case of mistakes.

The downside of this option revolves around the issue of typing skills, especially with the use of numbers, and accuracy is essential. This option is ideal for those who're accustomed to working with numbers on a computer. However, working with care to ensure accuracy can still generate a useful extra source of income.

Survey completion is often tied in to particular geographic areas, associated with shopping, restaurants, movies and the like. It would be wise to examine this option carefully, to ensure that the scheme is viable for a particular person's needs. Whereas many online businesses can be conducted from any part of the world, surveys are usually location specific.

Multi-level marketing is an extremely popular option for an online business, but the requirement to sell products and to recruit additional sales-people may not be to everyone's taste. Examine the business carefully, before getting started. Some MLM businesses are more effective than others online, but some may require personal interaction with clients and customers to promote products. Again there may be limitations imposed by the geographic availability of some products. Investigate the business with great care.

Online bookkeeping or accounting is a very attractive option, for those with the necessary skills and experience, but although pay-rates vary tremendously it is possible to make a good basic living, not unlike that possible from a similar day job. Companies like the option of outsourcing these skills, so they pay for work completed, without the overheads of full-time employees.

Affiliate marketing is still perhaps the easiest option for someone to enter, with little or no experience. Most schemes provide a free website and training, and although there are plenty of scams around, it is not too difficult to find a legitimate opportunity based on quality goods or services, and that has survived the test of time. The essential is undoubtedly to do one's research very carefully, in selecting an option that offers the necessary ingredients for success, including comprehensive training and support.