Affiliate marketing has become the number one source for a second income and a full time income working from home. Many stay at home moms have used affiliate marketing to support their families by working from home. The reason it has become a popular stay at home moms business and popular for all who want to work from home is how simple it is to do. Companies that utilize affiliates supply web pages, sales letters, and lead capture forms that are all free for their affiliates to use. A new affiliate has a complete business package ready for them to use and it usually does not cost a penny.

With all the information and tools available to affiliates it brings up the question of why so many fail. It is true, the failure rate of those entering the affiliate marketing business is very high. Some have claimed the drop out rate to be as high as 98 percent. This article will discuss what the difference is between those who become successful affiliate marketers and those who quit.

1. Do you really want to work from home?

Some people may think that question to be a silly question. Of course they want to work from home, if they didn't they would not be looking for a home based business. Many stay at home moms and dads and those who are getting tired of not having money are seriously looking for home based jobs and Internet based business opportunities. The question is not do you want a work from home job, it is do you want to work from home.

Unlike the standard 9-5 job where you go to work and perform certain functions and then leave a home based business can require many more hours of actual work to accomplish. The truth is most people are not willing to do what it takes. Some how working from home has become viewed as a lifestyle of the wealthy who spend their time on beaches and eating at nice restaurants. For those who have attained success that is a part of the lifestyle but those times on the beach usually include a laptop because the work never ends. Working from home means just that, you will have to work. It will require more hours, more frustrations, and more dedication than working a regular job for another person.

2. Dedication to your work.

In todays world most employees are not dedicated to what they do. They may have a certain amount of loyalty but for most when they sign out for the day and go home their job is finished until they go back to work another day. Having a home based business can not survive that way. It requires 100 percent dedication that is never ending. To be honest most people can not give what it takes. They have an employee mind set and want to work as little as possible.

When first starting a home based business it will require you to give it your full attention. It is not something you can drop when you are tired of it or get bored with the little task and the work can not be put aside until another day. That does not mean you have to work on it 24/7 until you have gained success. It means you have to give it dedicated time when and where you will work on it and you can not allow other things to cause you to put aside until later. For many of the things that pop up in our daily lives your home business must have priority. Of course family, children, your spouse etc. must always come first but your home business needs to be ahead of many other things.

3. Is a home based business your dream?

Most of us when we are growing up have high hopes and big dreams of what we want to become when we get older. Some how those dreams and hopes of our childhood often give way to the realities of life as an adult and we end up doing things we had never thought of before. Often we settle on a career that pays our bills and gives us a little extra. The reason many look for a home business is to create a challenge, to break away from the norm and to accomplish something different. Unfortunately it is not something we dream about or dwell on. It isn't a part of who we are and what we really want. It is simply a change from the norm so we pursue it.

It is OK to look for challenges in life and a home business will certainly give you one but starting your own business for this purpose will not lead to long term goals and accomplishments. Unlike the common misconception that a home business will make you wealthy over night or in a short time period it will in reality take time to accomplish. If you do not have the dream of success and a deep inner desire to see it through it is far to simple to just drop the whole idea and to move on to your next challenge. For those who see it as a challenge the novelty soon wears off when they see the results they expected are not happening as fast as they wanted them to. They simply move on to something else. On the other hand, if it is a part of who you are and what you really want and it is a desire you can not get rid of that desire will push you through the hard times and the failures and will drive you to success.

The great thing about affiliate marketing and a home based business is the opportunity is real. Success can belong to anyone who is willing to do what it takes. What separates those who are successful from the majority who end up quitting is the willingness to do the required work, the dedication to what they are doing and the long term desire to see it through. It does not matter if you are looking for a stay at home moms business or a stay at home dads business or if your have a family or are single a home business in affiliate marketing can give you what you want if you are willing to do what it takes. The number one requirement is to have a "never quit" mind set. If you can do that you can be successful.