Helen Keller said, "It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision." Ask yourself a question. Do you know what an opportunity looks like? Describe it. Define it. Bottom line...would you know one if it bit you on the behind? Everyone says they are looking for "one", Being at the right place at the right time isn't enough. As network marketing industry legend Randy Gage says, "It's about recognizing a magic moment of opportunity and acting upon it."

In network marketing and home-based businesses, everyone says they have the "perfect opportunity." So how do you evaluate? What is the difference between a golden opportunity and fool's gold?

The scope of this article is to help you evaluate businesses, determine indicators of success and outline potential risks. I am a CPA, business owner and consultant. I look at businesses from top to bottom, start to finish. There are some fundamental characteristics that will tip you off to a good opportunity. A little homework and investigation can go a long way in helping you make a wise decision.

Nine out of ten business failures are due to lack of general business management skills and proper planning. Misery loves company and mistakes involving any of these three M's will put you in the distinct company of the "nine" out of ten businesses that fail: Money, Management and Marketing.

Money. It takes a long time for a start-up to become profitable. It usually takes a whole lot longer than the majority of business plans will project. Business projections that seem too good to be true in the first few years are probably just that. Even the best product ideas, greatest management and marketing won't be enough if you run out of capital before you achieve sufficient momentum, exposure and market acceptance. You have to look at what is going to happen if the company has a bad first quarter, second quarter or even a bad first year. If a company is relying on cash flow to be generated in the beginning months and quarters, beware.

Management. If you are looking at a start-up company, the management of that company needs to be seasoned veterans, not first time entrepreneurs and their five closest friends. Yes. You need the visionaries, but you absolutely must also have long range planners, people who have started small and grown big, know the industry, react quickly to change, etc. To be successful, a new company will go through many stages such as introduction, market penetration, exponential growth, expansion, etc. A company can be mortally wounded if they are not equipped to handle each of those stages.

Marketing. Great ideas, innovative products and services die unrealized due to inadequate marketing. There are two marketing forces: the "push" and the "pull". The lack of attention to the latter is where the ball most often drops. The "push" is the strategy that "pushes" the product through the marketing pipeline and gets the product out to the consumers. This creates exposure to the consumer. The "pull" is the piece that makes the consumer aware of their need for the product. It tells them what the product will do for them and entices them to "pull" the product out the other end of the pipeline. A company's marketing plan must be able to evoke emotion in the end consumer. Emotion that is tied to a need or want that their business can fulfill. Otherwise, all the exposure, fancy packaging and "opportunity" appeal will be wasted.

People typically fall into two general categories. The optimist who wears rose colored glasses and the pessimist who wears dark shades. Both can see. However, you need to take those glasses off when looking at various network marketing or home-based business opportunities and compare them to a set of standards that will clue you in to the ones with real potential.

The last thing you have to do is be ready to act! Alfred North Whitehead, a British Philosopher, said, "Without adventure civilization is in full decay." Take a look at where you are right now. Then, ask yourself where you will be in five years? Are you on your way to decay? Network marketing is not the network marketing of 15-20 years ago. Things have changed and it is a growing viable option for those who truly want to change their financial situation.

The trick is to find those home-based businesses and network marketing opportunities that have the capital, management; product and marketing plan to achieve sustainable success. If you are actively looking, and know what to look for, when opportunity knocks you won't risk being out to lunch!