Denny Gamache of The Success Professor shared five things to look for in a home business if you want to land a legitimate and definitely paying one. Below each point is my own take.

1. Low initial startup investment
Many home businesses can usually get started with just low investment. If you can't afford to lose much, then bootstrap, bootstrap, bootstrap!

2. No inventory.
Sure technology has made it possible for home based businesses to not even maintain inventories. But if you are running a home based brick and mortar business, there will still be some inventory required. One just have to make sure that you don't risk too much of yourself in maintaining too costly inventories. If you can, create your own products.

3. Strong management.
Denny's advice is to look for companies run by people with Fortune 500 management experience. However, I don't think this is necessary, if you have an excellent experience as a manager yourself and you have a good network of people who can guide you along the way, it won't be too hard to get a home based business started.

4. No risk.
There are no businesses without risk! How you deal with the risks is the solution though. Do your homework well before starting a home business or working from home for a company who outsource tasks. This will avoid any trouble in the long run.

5. At least 10 years old.
It's logical that if a company has lasted for at least 10 years, it's definitely something. However, many startups which are not even 2-3 years old can become very successful. Just don't forget to forecast, again, research regarding the potential of that company to avoid running into unexpected problems. Also, it's better if you start your own home business in stead of being at the mercy of other's management.