Home based businesses are certainly nothing new but one of my favorite home based businesses was never even available before the advent of the internet and the infamous 'tracking cookie'.

The tracking cookie revolutionized the way products are sold, how fortunes are made, and literally overnight created an entire home based affiliate business industry. And frankly, I cannot think of a better home based business model than affiliate marketing because of all it has to offer over the previous options.

I mean, what was really available to the 'common man' or more likely, the 'bored housewife' before the internet opened the floodgates of opportunity? There were the MLM (multi-level marketing) programs that stuffed hundreds of dollars of products down the throats of the unsuspecting fortune seeker.

Or you could become the 'party host' and invite your friends and relatives over to your house just to push some over priced baskets on them while their guilt was still overriding their anger at being forced to buy this stuff. Those 'party hosts' sure new how to make their friends scarce after a few of those "$80 a basket" and "$20 a candle" parties.

The other option was to sell your friends and relatives herbal supplements. Now you're helping them with the worlds best health foods right? Oh, then why was the focus of the sales presentation always on why they should sell products just like you do? And would any of them ever have bought the Aloe Super Drink if you weren't the one pushing it?

But what home business was real and what was just a waste of effort? How could a person honestly make some extra cash without sucking the church money out of poor Aunt Thelma's purse? It was really tough back then.

Now take a look at how much easier and better real business opportunities have become. With a home based affiliate business you can now sell the products of almost any company you choose. Most of these are companies that wouldn't give you the time of day, in the past, if you had contacted them to become one of their dealersbut now you can. That's just one of the powers of affiliate marketing.

And it just keeps getting better. With a home based affiliate business you get to choose the products you want to promote, choose when you want to work' morning, afternoons, night, it makes no difference.

You also choose where you want to work' commuting through rush hour is a thing of the past. Just grab your laptop and head out the deck with your dog and coffee mug.

But I'm not done yet. Here's what you'll never have to do with a home based affiliate business; never carry, or pay for, any inventory' never make a sales call' never listen to a customer complain because her lamp didn't show up on time' and never, I mean never listen to your dim witted boss tell you that you're only getting a 3 percent raise this year because of 'management budgets'.

Is a home based affiliate business the right choice for you? I highly recommend it and suggest making this your first internet business option.