We’ve all grown up listening to instructions on how to live the American Dream: go to school to get a good education, get a good job working for someone else, and you will be taken care of, and have a nice retirement plan in your golden years. Is this ‘American Dream’ still in place?

As of the Summer of 2010, unemployment rate has been just under 10% (though REAL unemployment is estimated 20%). The Obama Administration is stating that the 8.5 million jobs lost will probably never come back. Health care coverage is so bad that people actually want the government to run it! And Social Security is expected to run out by 2018.

The following are statistics detailing the plight of the average American family:
Taxes – for four months and a week, or 3 hours out of every 8-hour day, you’re working for Uncle Sam – (The average American family of four with a median income of $47,012 will pay $10,250 in federal taxes and another $6,110 in state and local taxes for a total “tax liability” of $16,36
average childcare costs – $7000 per year
higher standard of living – make more/spend more – Average American spends $1.22 for every dollar they earn
gasoline – $1200 per year
spend hundreds on dry cleaning and biz wardrobe
eating out for lunches $2000
auto insurance – $500
costs of raising a child – (quarter million $ to raise child birth-17) ($17,000 for 1st yr)

Does working for someone else equate to the American Dream or the American Nightmare? Due to these disturbing economic factors, more people are seeking different opportunities for generating income, and starting a home based business is a popular alternative. After all, why work to generate revenue for someone else when you could do this for yourself?

According to IDC, a top national research firm, there are between 34.3 million and 36.6 million home office households in the United States alone generating over $427 billion dollars of revenue. To put this dollar amount into perspective, $427 billion is more than the medical industry, the food industry, and the medical drug industry combined. In fact, the Small Business Administration estimates that more than half the businesses being started in this economy are home based or online businesses. And this trend is expected to continue due to low start up costs and higher success rates.

The following are some statistics about home based businesses:
About 70% of home-based businesses will last over a three-year period, compared to 29% of other business ventures, according to the Home-Based Business Institute.
89% with household incomes greater than $80,000 have a home office compared to 14% of those with incomes below $25,000 (Find/SVP).
According to IDC, home-based businesses create an estimated 8,500 new jobs daily, or one new business every 11 seconds
Over 85% of small business owners still have their small business 3 years later, which is a much higher success rate than the traditional brick and mortar business.

For some people, working from home may be a method of supplementing the
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Cyberspace is an amazing place to explore, learn and grow. According to Nielsen Online, 2095,006,005 people use the internet, and you can get in touch with all these users without being circumscribed by geographical boundaries and regional restrictions. As you rise above these precincts, you get a chance to explore new avenues, learn new skills and expand to your knowledge base. Additionally, you also get an opportunity to discover new sources of income that can help you to make your life a bit more productive and comfortable. Here are a few authentic ways to make money online. The list is not at all comprehensive, it is only indicative because the virtual world is constantly evolving, and each day, new opportunities crop up. After all some of the biggest money-yielding platforms of the internet as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are less than a decade old.

1. E-tutoring- To become an e-tutor, you need a bit of experience and loads of knowledge to be able to handle the queries and apprehensions of students dexterously. Additionally, you should have a computer, microphone and webcam together with a reliable internet connection for face-to-face interaction with your students. Web-based e-learning platforms like Moodle, Odijoo, DimDim, etc. can help you to make the tutoring session more interactive and interesting.

2. Writing and editing- You can earn thousands of dollar by writing and editing web-content. However, as the competition is stiff in this field, therefore, you have to be exceedingly proficient. A formal course will certainly help you to move ahead quickly. Apart from formal training, you should try your best to adhere to guidelines and deadlines of your clients. Elance, Vworker, Scriptlance and Guru are some good places to find work.

3. Web-designing- The primary job of a web-designer is to plan and create websites. If you are well-versed with HTML and CSS, then by designing websites you can easily earn money online. While working as an independent contractor, it is essential for you to interact openly with the client. A candid conversation will help you to ascertain all his requirements precisely. Once you’re able to note down the client specifications correctly, it becomes relatively easier to complete the project successfully.

4. Virtual assistance- Another reasonably effective way to make money online. To be able to work as a virtual office assistant, you should have at least of 5-years of experience in tackling various administrative tasks in the office. You won’t be eligible for the any kind of employee-related taxes and benefits because you’ll be working as a self-employed professional. Your salary will vary depending upon the kind of work you take up and number of hours you are able to devote.

5. Facebook- It is not just a plain Jane social networking site.It consists of hundreds of user-friendly applications that can help you to make money online. For instance, Facebook allows you to upload photos and videos. With the help of these two features, you can easily market and sell your ebook or software. Through the comment and chat options, you can interact candidly with your patrons and prospects. The group application of Facebook helps you to sell your products in an efficient manner. All the people in your friend-list are your prospective customers. However, their needs and requirements are different. As per the needs of your prospects, divide your friend-list into sections and deliver the services specifically according to the requirements of your customers. Such customer-oriented strategies will surely boost up your sales.

6. YouTube- To earn money through YouTube, you should know how to make a good video. Once you have created an interesting video, upload it on YouTube and do remember to give it a catchy title. Spread the word about your video far and wide. If you succeed in getting a few thousand views in a week’s time, YouTube will come forward to share the AdSense revenue generated from your video with you. To give a boost to your earnings, all you need to do is to create high-quality videos that stringently comply with YouTube’s terms and conditions.

7. Twitter- It is basically a microblogging site that allows you to exchange short text-messages with your friends, relatives and colleagues. Additionally, you can also use Twitter to make money online. Two sure-shot ways of using this social networking site to make a comfortable living are sponsored advertisements and affiliate marketing. Sponsored advertisements are no different from paid product reviews where the company gives you money for recommending its product or service. In the case of affiliate marketing, you have to post the affiliate link and request your followers to visit the link at least once. Every time a follower buys the recommended product, you get rewarded with cash.