Most promise you'll make good money. More than a few outright guarantee you'll get rich. Surprising numbers say you'll never have to do any work.

I suppose it's possible to get rich without ever lifting a finger, but I've never known anyone to do it -- excluding lottery winners, of course.

With all these claims floating around, how can you know if the home business you choose will make money? There ARE some surefire ways to tell.

1. You must be selling a product a big group of people REALLY WANT. Notice I didn't say a product EVERYONE wants. That's not necessary. You'll do best if you sell a product that just SOME people want, but you need those people to want it very BADLY.

Make sure you consider THE PRODUCT that a home business is selling. Too often, business opportunities focus entirely on the compensation plan. But at the bottom of every plan is a product that MUST sell, or there won't be any revenue to fuel the compensation plan.

2. Don't plan on learning your business all by yourself. You'll earn bigger money faster if you have plenty of experienced help. Find a company that will give you upline or management assistance.

You'll not only need step-by-step explanations of how to run your home business, you'll need some personal encouragement to keep your enthusiasm up over the long haul.

3. This many be the most important point of the bunch. Make sure you have a way to get a non-stop supply of good, warm leads. Presenting your home business to your relatives and friends may work for a few weeks, but after a while, you'll need new prospects.

This is where most home businesses fail. They spend money on buying leads and advertising, but soon find they don't the results they expect through advertising.

Make sure your home business opportunity comes with a solid system for attracting new customers.

There are even more ways to ensure your home business is a good one, but using these three tips will take you miles toward creating a home business that produces the extra cash you need in a timely manner.