home_based_internet_jobs_vs_new_home_based_business_opportunitiesI know for many of you looking to earn extra money in your spare time, there are a lot of factors that are going to go into your decision of which opportunity to choose.

In this post I’m going to provide a side by side comparison of what it would mean to find one or more home based internet jobs versus what you might earn through new home based business opportunities.

Pros and Cons of Home Based Internet Jobs

First, I’ll look at possible home based internet jobs and consider the good and bad.

It’s a little difficult to make generalizations about this type of work because there are so many options for internet jobs out there. For this post I’ll use what is one of the most common, high earning home based jobs available: professional consulting.

Under this scenario, you’re working directly for a client or series of clients.

Benefits

  • Possibly high paying: anywhere from $20 – $100 an hour, depending on the industry.
  • Fast paycheck: most consultants bill once or twice a month, for hours worked in the previous pay period.
  • Set your own hours: you decide how much you work.

Negatives

  • Not a steady paycheck: you’ll earn good money for a few months on a project, then won’t earn anything for a few months while you look for your next project.
  • Usually have to be available during business hours: this doesn’t mean you’re working on the project all day, but you generally have to be around if the client needs you.
  • No autonomy: as a consultant you take your marching orders the same way an employee does.
  • Mostly virtual: whether this is a pro or a con depends on your outlook, but you may have to visit an office once in a while. I personally prefer 100% virtual. Read about the difference here.

Pros and Cons of New Home Based Business Opportunities

Just like with home based internet jobs, new home based business opportunities can be all over the map. To narrow focus for this post, I’ll look at the process of starting an affiliate marketing business.

Benefits

  • Recurring, passive income opportunity: you will earn residual income that compounds over time.
  • Leverage your existing experience, regardless of industry
  • Set your own hours
  • 100% virtual: you could literally be anywhere in the world. Work from a beach or a home office, it’s your call.
  • Expand your business to meet your income and lifestyle needs: there are tons of opportunities out there. Once you learn the basics you can scale up or down to fit your lifestyle.
  • Full autonomy: for me, there’s nothing more satisfying than knowing that I and I alone am responsible for my actions.

Negatives

  • It takes time to see your first income: if you need income immediately then starting a new home based business might not be right for you. Once your get through those first few months, however, your income will grow steadily.
  • It’s hard work: anything worth doing is going to be hard work. That’s the secret to earning online passive income, just as it’s the secret to most things in life.

Why I Prefer New Home Based Business Opportunities

Now that we’ve looked at the pros and cons of both home based internet jobs and new home based business opportunities, I want to share why I prefer the latter.

For me, the act of starting a new online business was not easy. It was something I’d thought about for years but always hesitated to do because I wasn’t 100% convinced it would work. As I did more and more research, however, and talked to more experts that are successful in the industry, I started to realize that my hesitations were just about the lag time between starting the business and seeing results.

Once I got my head around what it takes to succeed, I realized I could push through those first few months and was on my way to achieving success. Personally, I started earning income around month 3, and while it was only a little bit to start it grew steadily over time. Now I work full time online and have no regrets!

For more information on deciding to start a business read my post on how to find legitimate work: home based business startup guide.

Or, if you want to know more about affiliate marketing, you might be interested in the following: