Trends good and bad

-July 3rd, 2000 the Dow Jones closes 10,650

-July 1st 2010 the Dow Jones closes 9,686

Money invested in 2000 would be worth less now, not to mention inflation of the dollar over that same time, gasoline, energy, insurance, etc have all gone up, while the value of your dollar has gone down.

When I started my home-based business in 2000 I would never have imaged the upheaval of our current world. I just wanted a way to supplement my income, help others and become financially independent in the future. Little did I know that investing in your own business could be the opportunity of the decade. With very little money invested (less than $100) I was able to use a lot of "sweat equity" as well as learn a lot along the way to build a very profitable business.

Many people do not look at their business in the same terms as an "investment". If you read, or listen to Robert Kiyosaki you will realize that a home based business is an investment, it's a "real" business that allows anyone who is willing to spending the time learning, doing, and sharing what you learn with others to give you the leverage to become financially free. In "The Business of the 21st Century", Robert Kiyosaki describes how MLM or Network Marketing can teach you the principles of business and allow you the time to learn those principles without the risk of failure. In truth the only way to fail in MLM is to quit.

Anyone looking at a home business opportunity should read Robert's book as well as several others that are on my "recommended reading list" so that you can understand what you are getting into in an "objective" sense.

I have worked hard, but sometimes not so hard and my business has grown every year. I can say that my business grows in direct proportion to the amount of effort and time that I have given to it. Now as a middle level leader in the company I have the privilege of helping others not make the mistakes that I have made, and learn how to quickly and effectively build their home based business.

One question that I get, "what have you done to get started"? and I tell people that the goals were already set in place for me by my company. All home based companies have "higher levels of achievement", and  what I did was take the achievement milestones and turned them into goals.

Our company is unique in that we can work with Commercial and Retail business (B2B) and so we have to legs to build the business. We work with individual customers as well as dealers in our team and we work with the Commercial and Retail side. I did this simultaneously to grow the business in cash flow as well the the depth of leverage to give stability to the business.

All new distributors start in the same place, with no customers, dealers and accounts. How fast you build your business is up to you, it's how hard you work your investment to determine how fast it will grow.

It's never too late to get started with a home based business. But NOW is the time for building a better future for you and your family. If the past is any indication of our investments and the growth of the stock market, I don't have much faith in that. I do have faith that my business, built on my personal efforts will continue to grow exponentially thoughout the next decade and beyond. Finding a great company, a great product that will continue to grow in market share will be the saving grace for many people who have the desire to make a change for the better.

Here is to your investment in your future!

Michael Sparks-Entrepreneur