Most of us have been conditioned to believe that if we go to school, get a good education and a job with a big company, we will be set for life. Although that worked during the "Industrial Age", our economy has changed dramatically.

We now are in what is referred to as the "Information Age". The same beliefs that worked well during the Industrial Age no longer hold true. We now have an economy that is driven by information, technology and service.

In the last ten years the western world has seen a tremendous surge in the number of people either working from home or starting home based businesses. Many large corporations are even encouraging employees to do this ... it's a convenience that is fueled both by technology and changing social trends ... and because of technology, home-based businesses have the same reach and capabilities as their larger competitors.

Studies now show that literally millions of people worldwide have successful and stable home-based businesses and that number grows each year. Amazingly, people who already have jobs or other careers start many of these home-based businesses.

For the average person, a home based business is the "bridge" between the hectic big cities and the slow paced, sometimes remote, family-oriented small towns. During the Industrial Age people believed that it was necessary to live in metropolitan areas next to big corporate employers. This is no longer true, thanks to personal computers, the Internet, increasing phone systems, fax machines, and satellite systems.

Recent trends
Do you find yourself asking "who, what, why, and how". Who are these entrepreneurs? What are they doing? Why are so many people interested in working from home? How did they start and how do they succeed? A generation ago, our parents could not imagine the possibilities available to us today. Why? Technology provides a lot of the answers to these questions.

In today’s world, the fastest way to grow any business is to take advantage of the power and reach of the Internet. You cannot pick up a newspaper or magazine and not read about how Ecommerce, doing business over the Internet, has changed lives both here in Australia and around the world. Most importantly for home businesses, the Internet creates a level playing field that gives every business, large or small, the same opportunity for success.

On the average it costs between tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up and run a conventional business. Having a home based business on the other hand can cost dramatically less. And with the Internet has the potential to reach customers from all around the world for a fraction of what a traditional business would spend.

Consumers around the world are spending over $US 7,000,000,000 a year in commerce transactions over the Internet. We are still in the early stages of this growth cycle and the demand is expected to grow even faster in the near future.

On the other side of the coin, a "secure" job all of a sudden is becoming a rarity and job satisfaction seems for most people to be a thing of the past (who would have thought that working for a major airline or insurance company would be considered a high-risk occupation?)

When economic times are tight, companies look to protect their bottom line; they make do with less staff which means less people doing more work for the same pay; or these companies all of a sudden have to close their doors altogether ... with obvious consequences to their employees ... and the hidden impact on their families, lifestyles, hopes and dreams.

What this means for you
All these factors really point to two things:

1. There has probably never been a better time to seriously consider a home based business opportunity (and let's face it, that's why you're looking at this website) simply because technology has "levelled out the playing field". You don't necessarily need the skills or capital of a successful entrepreneur. These are things that can be developed PROVIDED you have a system to work to (remember McD?).

2. Because of lifestyle and environmental factors, it is increasingly obvious that people cannot depend on outside factors for their future.

So many people say that they want more out of life but when it comes time to take action...they do nothing. And it's sad. It's sad to see that with so much opportunity, on the internet alone, that the vast majority of people just sit back and let life pass them by. Do you want to see something that's shocking? Just take a look at these facts...

- 25 out of 100 people do not even live to 65 years old - stress kills and most stress can be traced back to financial reasons

- 64 out of 100 people age 65 depend on social security and charity for food and shelter

- 4 out of 100 people age 65 can fully support their retirement

- 1 out of 100 people age 65 is wealthy

Nobody thinks it's going to happen to them...but it ends up happening to 95% of the people. One thing is for sure. The 5% of the people who retired wealthy did something different than the other 95% that are dead or broke at age 65. It's that simple!