Many people that decide to start a home based membership website business are destined to fail because their motivation and expectations are completely unrealistic. Before you attempt to start a membership website business you need to do a reality check.

First, if you really think that you can build a couple of web pages, invest little or no money, time or effort and start making an income tomorrow, you are so wrong. Building a business, any business, takes time. It also takes a monetary investment, a lot of effort and energy, and, above all else, patience, passion for the theme of the website, and a drive for success.

Almost equally important is the need to have realistic economic expectations when undertaking a home based membership website business. A home membership website internet business provides many rewards such as working in the comfort of your own home, avoiding a stressful commute, being your own boss, setting your own hours, no dress code, etc., but anyone that is also expecting instant riches is sadly mistaken.

Study the opportunities of a membership website business carefully. If you have the personal traits required to succeed then select the theme that seems to fit your own particular interests or talents. What is a good choice for one person may be a very poor fit for someone else. The common thread that applies to everyone is that you must passionately believe in what you are doing and anything less than total commitment is not enough.

There are basically two types of membership sites. There are free sites and there are paid for sites. The two types of membership sites have one thing is common. Their memberships are made up of people who share a common interest or have a common need.

You can, of course, buy a domain, set up a website and not charge for memberships but choose who to admit and who not to admit. This is done when the profit is intended to come from sales to members after they join the site. There are free network sites that might be used for your purposes. Two examples of free membership sites are Group sites on MSN and groups on Yahoo. It costs nothing to set these sites up and there is no charge at all for a person to join. There are no paid administrators or moderators.

Each site sets its own rules for how to join and the code of conduct for the site. The site topics are many and varied. There are many support sites for those with health problems or concerns and for those who have suffered the loss of loved ones. There are sites for those who are passionate about crafts like quilting or woodworking. There are sites for those who love to travel. There are sites for different age groups from teens to seniors. The sites include chat software and a limited amount of space for posting pictures, documents and links per member. The free sites do not have such things as access to specialized data or lists. They do not give access to such things as music lessons.

Paid for membership sites are set up by businesses or individuals with the objective of making money by supplying hard to find information, access to specialized data or lists, or instruction in various fields. Membership sites are owned and operated by people who either own the sites or who are hired by the site owners to monitor and administer them. The topics for paid for membership sites are even more varied than the free sites and certainly more specialized.