There is a mega trend forming right now in the home based business industry. Many Americans have been laid off from their jobs, and they are looking for suitable alternatives to create and earn income from home. When the economy dipped into recession it had many effects, of which unemployment was one of the worst. Fortunately many people have been able to see the greatness of a home based business through experiencing the pains of a faltering economy. The alternative income generating vehicles that are afforded by many home based business opportunities are second to none in terms of compensation, thus a reason so many people are choosing to take advantage of owning their own business.The internet is ever evolving, and when these mega trends start to emerge in society, they are often amplified and reflected in the virtual world. Right now, there is a trend emerging which shows that people are moving away from shopping at brick and mortar retail locations, and they are replacing their buying habits with those that benefit a business who is a frequent participant in the online marketplace. Through the power of internet commerce, coupled with the demand for home based income, we have seen exponential growth in the amount of business opportunities that allow people to make money online.Here are the top economic reasons to consider and online home based business:1. Residual Income – A residual income stream is built by doing work one time and getting paid for it month after month and year after year. One of the cornerstones of an exceptional home based business is the ability for the business owner to create a residual income based upon the size of his or her organization, and the amount of production that the team creates. In a tough economy, it is extremely important to have income streams that do not dry up; hence they are working when you are not.2. Low Overhead – A business that is run out of the home, which markets products and services to a worldwide audience requires very little business expenses compared to owning a retail location. Having low overhead expenses is a major advantage during an economic downturn. Most retail businesses that closed during the 2008-2009 recession were forced to do so because their overhead expenses skyrocketed.3. Worldwide Customers – We live in an age where everyone on the planet can be potentially connected via the internet. People are integrating the net into their lives at an astonishing rate, and we are now able to market products and services to people all over the world like never before. A solid company will position themselves to take advantage of the new and expanding marketplace that the internet offers, and any home based business worth its weight should do the same.Any business that is poised to take advantage of these top economic factors will experience tremendous success in the years to come. A home based business can allow you to take advantage of these economic factors as well.

Like the saying goes, “The only things certain in life are death and taxes.” Unfortunately, small businesses know this saying all too well.Unlike employees who look forward to their refund every April, small businesses loath the approaching spring, knowing they will have to pay Uncle Sam its share of their profits. Each year, small businesses struggling to turn a profit in an increasingly competitive business environment must pay taxes in order to keep their doors open.With dwindling profit margins and tightened lending restrictions, however, many small business owners find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes time to pay the tax man. Although a business may have steady sales and revenue or thousands of dollars in inventory, banks and traditional lending institutions simply aren’t handing out small business loans like they were in year’s past, leaving small business owners with few funding options to pay their tax bill.Thankfully, peer-to-peer lending, or social lending, has solved this growing dilemma. These modern social lending marketplaces have connected millions of borrowers with individual investors. Borrowers receive low-interest, fixed-rate loans that can be paid off in two to five years, while investors are able to benefit from decent returns in an economy with sinking bond and savings rates.Thus, it’s a win-win situation for both small business owners in need of immediate funding and investors looking to make a small profit while helping others.From Desperation to Exultation: One Man’s Venture into Peer-to-Peer LendingJohn Mitchell is an Ohio-based small business owner who found himself in such a predicament just last year. As the owner of the only hardware store in a small town, John’s store flourished the first few years it was open.After getting his inventory levels, pricing models, and management just right, he decided to expand his business by opening a second location in a neighboring town. John sunk all of his profits into opening his new store, which meant he was short on funds come tax time. However, knowing the success of his business, he thought he would simply get a small loan from the bank that housed his accounts and provided him with the initial loan he used to launch his business four years earlier.Unfortunately, he witnessed first-hand the effect the recession has had on lending regulations as the banker he’s known for years denied his loan application. If he couldn’t get a loan there, where could he?On the brink of despair, John took to the Internet to research loan options. After digging through forums and trying a few different searches, he ran across peer-to-peer lending. In less than a week after going through the quick and easy application process, he received a personal loan at a low rate for the amount he needed. A week later, John sent a check for the full amount to the IRS, and less than eight months later, he was able to pay off the loan with the profits from his new store!If you are a small business owner who has found yourself in a similar circumstance, peer-to-peer lending can do the same for you as well, but how does peer-to-peer lending work?How Peer-to-Peer Lending WorksA breakthrough product or service emerges every generation, and in the early 2000′s, the emerging breakthrough was social networking. From helping in the organization of overthrowing political regimes to staying in touch with friends and family members, social networking has had a profound effect on our daily lives. Now, it’s changing the small business financing landscape as well.Peer-to-peer lending is a modern social networking solution for small businesses in search of a way of securing alternative funding. The goal of peer-to-peer lending sites, such as Prosper and Lending Club, is simply to connect individual investors with those in need of funding, and these sites are becoming an increasingly useful tool for small business owners who are unable to secure funding from traditional lenders.Rather than jumping through endless hoops only to be denied by a bank, small businesses can receive funding via peer-to-peer lending in no time at all by following three simple steps:Step 1: Create a Profile and Loan ListingThere are a myriad of peer-to-peer lending networks to choose from, so your first step is to research the best ones and create a profile and loan listing on the site you choose. The loan listing is essentially a cost-free ad that indicates the amount of money you need and your desired interest rate.Step 2: Let the Bidding Process BeginAfter your listing goes live, investors have the opportunity to begin bidding on your listing, providing you with the interest rate and loan amount they are willing to offer you. A major advantage of this bidding process is the fact that it can intensify as more and more lenders begin competing for your business.When this happens, interest rates will begin dropping, potentially allowing you to obtain a much lower interest rate than you expected. It’s important to note, however, that your credit score, income, and debt-to-income ratio plays a role in the lending decision process.Step 3: Funding and Paying Back the LoanAnother benefit of borrowing from peer-to-peer lenders is that you can accept several bids to receive your requested loan amount. For instance, if you ask for $10,000 in your loan listing to pay your business taxes, you can acquire the amount from collecting $2,000 from five different borrowers.This makes it much easier for borrowers to receive the money they need. However, instead of making five separate payments, you would only make one payment, because the peer-to-peer lending site is responsible for dispersing the money to lenders until loans are repaid in full. They simply charge a small fee for this service.With increased lending regulations, banks are tightening their purse strings more than ever before, making it much more difficult for small businesses to receive the funding they need to expand their business or even pay their taxes. Thankfully, peer-to-peer lending has proven to be a worthy competitor in the small business lending marketplace. If you are a small business owner and find yourself unable to pay your taxes as April approaches, or backed taxes for that matter, a peer-to-peer loan is an ideal option.

The teachings of the Bible put it that helping and serving others is a kind effort. It teaches everyone to trust your abilities, stay positive, and believe that God should be above everything else. Everything that you do must be dedicated to Him. Thus, extending your arms for the benefit of other people is truly what God wants. A Christian home based business is one of the opportunities that allow you to enrich yourself spiritually and financially. With this, a single mother can find a way to be able to supplement the family’s income, retirees can earn money during their free time, and also a way to spread the word of God.The good thing is that Christians often tie up their business with their relationship with God. It is their way of spiritually developing themselves as well as helping others in their spiritual growth. Therefore, this business is set to strengthen the faith all the more. God is your guide and therefore your journey will be more of a means to understand yourself and your role in this world.If at first you fail to accomplish your goals, it is not enough reason to give up. You should always try hard to make things work. And when building your business, it matters that you do research, contact people, and surf the Internet. Definitely, you will be able to find everything that you need quite simply.What Christian home based business ideas will be good for you? Here are a couple of ideas.Put up a Christian bookstore. One great business is an online Christian bookstore which will be the best avenue on how you can spread the word of God. Your market can thus be worldwide. Management skills, financial capital, and marketing skills are all you need to get it up and set things up. A basic skill that you need to work on is that of search engine optimization.Engage in a marketing business. Marketing Christian products and services as part of your home based business will allow you to connect with the other Christians from all parts of the globe. You can even ask for the help of other Christian affiliates. Extending help to others who are part of your Church will be very much possible. You can be engaged in selling Christian items to be able to raise funds.Do affiliate programs. It will only be difficult if you don’t have the time to spare for it. The best way to tackle an affiliate program is to search for websites and blogs wherein you can write some reviews about the Christian products and services. In turn, you can link them to the websites that offer those affiliate programs. Writing well and more can improve your ranking.Christian home based business is indeed a wonderful way of gaining financial independence while keeping in mind the strengthening of one’s faith. But then again, you must be careful in dealing with companies as there are also a couple of scams around.Want to get into a Christian home based business for spiritual and financial growth?