Type in best home based businesses on any search engine today, and you'll get thousands of hits. That's an indication of just how many opportunities there are for home businesses these days, but which ones really deserve to be in the category of best home businesses?

For starters, the top ten home based business opportunities picked by Entrepreneur magazine's Business Startups Online are listed below:

• Internet Consultant
• Personal Organizer
• Network Marketer
• Mystery Shopper
• Career Coach
• Adventure Tour Guide
• Home caregiver for elders
• Specialty Catalog Merchant
• Medical Biller
• Craftsperson

Other businesses that you'll find as top rated home businesses and that may even be in the top 100 home based business opportunity category are:

• Research surveys
• Online proofreading
• Typing services
• Internet research
• Web surfing
• Multi Level Marketing (MLM's)
• Affiliate programs of all kinds
• Internet marketing
• Online auctions
• Email reading
• Pay-per-click Business

These are just a few of the many businesses that you'll find listed on best home based business opportunity lists. However, the truth of the matter is that the top home based business for you is going to be the one that best suits you. Here are some questions to ask yourself that will help you narrow down the choices of the best home based idea for you.

• What are my interests?
• What are my skills and strengths?
• What are my weaknesses?
• Do I want to interact with people?
• What's my goal in wanting a home business?
• Am I looking for the best home based businesses that only require part-time work, or would I prefer a full-time home based business opportunity?
• Do I want to turn my hobby into a home business?
• Would one of the best home based businesses requiring sales be right for me?
• If I could quit my job today, what would sort of business would I want to have?

The purpose of these questions is to get you thinking about what you really want from a top rated home based business. Before you do anything, know what your interests and talents are. The best home based internet business opportunity for web surfing or pay-per-click may sound great, but if you like being around other people much of the time, then you aren't going to be happy stuck in front of a computer screen all day.

You'd probably be better off in a home based business that offers you the chance to be out and about with people. Having a realistic view of yourself and your abilities is vital as you make a decision about the best home business opportunity for you.

Also, be aware that many of the so-called best home based businesses are are scams. The recent spike in people wanting to start home based businesses is the reason behind the increased scamming. These supposed best home based businesses may not be entirely illegal, but they are over-promising on the financial results you'll get.

Remember your dad telling you that if it sounded too good to be true, it was? Well, Dad was right. You won't get rich overnight unless you win the lottery or inherit a large estate. That's just the way it is.

So, please do a great deal of research before you invest any money, whether a small or large amount, in what's being touted as a top home based business opportunity. Many of the investments required for the top home rated businesses are as low $29.95 to sign up" ?that's because marketing research has shown that the "sweet spot"? for the amount of money people are willing to hand over is between $25 and $50.

Marketers are also experts at knowing what our vulnerabilities are and how to play on our emotions to get us to take the action they want us to take. So keep your cynical dad around when exploring the businesses on any top home business list.

And always make certain you have a contact person's name, a land address, a land line phone number that's active, and a valid email address for any company you want to sign up with for a home based business of your own. Also, check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) before you make an investment. And if you do run into a scam, report it immediately.

The truth is the best home based businesses are the ones people truly enjoy doing. Having a passion for what you're doing helps immensely when obstacles rise during the running of any home based business" ?and they will. You have to plan for them first, but when you love what you do, mountains you encounter don't quite seem so large as they do when you don't.

Loving what you do also helps you keep your focus and determination to succeed where they need to be" ?on creating the top rated home based business of your own. Who knows? Your best home based business idea just might make it into the number one slot on the top 10 home based business list someday.