There is no sense for you to be a guinea pig when it comes to joining home based businesses. There are too many ways to make money on the Internet that have a solid track record behind them.Let’s talk about the characteristics of a proven home based business that you should be looking for before you join any opportunity.1. You can do it at home using the internet. Even business opportunities such as Avon, and Tupperware are now being conducted primarily online.Using the Internet is smart because you can leverage your time to accomplish much more than you ever could in the past. Plus as more people come on the Internet looking for home based business opportunities you will never run out of prospects for your own business.2. The products are in demand. The best way to determine this is to purchase the product yourself and learn everything about it.By becoming a product of the product you can more effectively sell it to your own prospects. A product that is in demand is much easier to sell and you do not want to be involved in the company that you have to create a demand for your product.3. The compensation plan is fair for everyone. Home based businesses that reward only the heavy hitters generally fizzle out over time.A fair compensation plan is one more average people can legitimately earn money if they work hard. You are beginning to see in business models such as network marketing where average people can earn retail bonuses on a weekly business and still build a downline and earn monthly checks too.4. They provide excellent marketing materials. This really is the key to making money online.Learning how to market your home based business using the marketing materials provided you is paramount to your success. Proven home based business opportunities offer quality marketing materials such as banner ads, videos for marketing, pre-written autoresponder messages, and other promotional materials.5. The company has longevity and provides quality training. You definitely want to look at the track record of the company and how long they have been in business.Even Internet marketing opportunities now have been around for a while. Did you know Amazon.com has had an affiliate program for 15 years now?The best companies have a proven track record of success and know how to provide training that can help you be successful as well. Many times new companies are still searching for their own identity and have not put everything into place in terms of training their members.These are 5 characteristics of a proven home based business. The good news is there are plenty of opportunities out there that are proven for you to become involved with.