Youve been thinking about starting a home based business for sometime now. It all sounds good in theory. It would be nice to keep your current job (until you choose to move on), cultivate a new opportunity, create unlimited income potential, achieve a healthier personal and family lifestyle, pay those college tuitions, establish financial security for retirement, and have the means to pursue any dream you may have.

But youre skeptical. Youve heard about the pyramids, the scams and the loads of products you must buy to remain eligible for compensation. You hear about the companies that collapse or get into trouble with various attorney generals and government agencies for illegal compensation plans and false product claims. So is Network Marketing a viable home based business or work at home opportunity?

The answer is yes. There are many legitimate Network Marketing or Multilevel Marketing, MLM companies out there which people are building very successful home based businesses with. They are building large networks and generating significant supplemental residual income and in many cases primary incomes.

Matter of fact there are over 20 million people in the USA in the Network Marketing Industry today. A large percentage of whom have made this their chosen profession, a full time profession. The beauty of this industry however is that anyone can be successful on a part time basis with limited resources. The secret to success is repetition and consistency in following the systems laid out by the MLM one chooses.

Thus the trick becomes figuring out how to choose the right MLM, the best Network Marketing Company for an individuals personal situation.

There are many resources out there to help with this process. www.MLMwatchdog.com is a site which tracks all of the latest news and information for all of the Network marketing companies out there, and there are many. MLM Watch Dog has their Due Diligence Defense Program 2006 which provides 13 simple investigations to perform when considering starting a Home based business.

Another resource is www.TomChenault.com Americas Voice in the Home Based Business Industry. Tom is a leader in Network Marketing. His site provides all kinds of useful information to help the home based business owner be a success. Tom also hosts the Home Based Business Radio Show every Saturday morning.

In addition to the aforementioned resources, it is important to take advantage of all of the websites and conference calls each opportunity being considered offers. Many of the calls are meant to convince an individual to join, but by listening to these calls, one can get a real sense of the team, systems, and training available. When reviewing websites and listening to the calls be sure to write down any and all questions then follow up with an enroller and their upline and be sure to get each question answered prior to making a final decision.

If the above outlined process is followed, the likelihood of picking a reputable Network Marketing Opportunity is greatly increased. In doing so, one can begin to generate income and build a network producing a significant and reliable residual income, which will last.