In this period of economic recession, many people are looking out for alternative ways to make more money. Any good home based business opportunity is more likely to attract the attention of a lot of people as they seriously consider it as an alternative to their existing jobs. Most of us often wonder if such business opportunities are actually free or not.The answer to this question is NO.How Does a Home Based Business Function?Many people perceive that a home based business is one of the easiest things to do. The answer again is IT’S NOT. Even if an opportunity is presented to you for free, you will surely come to a point where you will need to spend money in order to make money. Apart from this, you will need the right mindset, determination and will-power to make the business work.Do not get carried away by the advertisements that are flashed on the Internet about becoming rich overnight. It is true that you can earn a lot from a home based business, but it requires a great deal of effort and learning from your part.Budget:Just like any offline business, an online business opportunity also requires a certain amount of capital investment. The budget depends upon the nature and type of business. You can either take a business loan or do the investment on your own. Just make sure that you invest your hard earned money in the right places. You might need to do intensive research on the business opportunity in order to come to a definite conclusion.Website:Owning a website is as important as owning the shop or a showroom. It is the place where you could display your products and services which can be seen globally. The popularity of your website depends on your website traffic. If you are new to this line of business, you will need to submit your website to the popular search engines or directories.Advertising:Advertising plays a very vital role in the marketing of any product or services. This aspect might eat up a major part of your budget but if the results are good, it will surely be an investment which was well worth it. You will need to be very intelligent with your marketing and promotions and hit the right sort of audience. There are many free advertising resources available online, but you might need to be watchful for scams.Why Home Based Business?A home based business opportunity for additional earnings seems like the need of the hour in this moment of world financial crisis. More and more people are shifting from their 9-5 jobs to a home based business in their quest for financial freedom.ConclusionFrom the above we can see that a so called free home based business opportunity actually requires some financial investment in order to maximize your profits.