More and more people are being forced to work well past 65 because they don't have pensions or their "401k" just wasn't enough. Companies, in a never-ending drive to lower costs, are relying more and more on both outsourcing and overseas operations to keep profits at record levels.

Real income growth has been almost non-existent over the past few years due in large part to corporations using cheap labor sources in Asia. With job security gone, energy and food prices climbing skyward with no end in sight, and little hope for things to improve any time soon, it can seem almost impossible to get ahead these days.

At the end of the day, the best way to secure your financial future in the age of globalization is to have your own work from home business. Right now, there are five important reasons why 2008 is a perfect year to start a small business:

1. Income Unlikely to Rise in 08 and Beyond

2. Small Businesses Thrive in Global Market

3. Lower Interest Rates

4. Unlimited Opportunites

5. You Control Your Future

Corporations won't be handing out any significant wage increases for Western workers again until they no longer have any cheaper sources of labor to exploit. Globalization will only increase pressure on Western working wages, and slowly but surely diminish living standards for millions.

With so many workers and so few jobs, the corporations are in complete control and will continue to shift towards using the cheapest labor source possible--even if it destroys middle class families in the process. End result--wages won't be climbing beyond the 2-3% level any time soon. The best way and perhaps the only way, to significantly enhance income and lifestyle in this age of globalization is to capitalize on a work from home business opportunity.

Even in such a competitive global market, smaller work from home businesses with solid fundamentals and the ability to adapt will thrive. Global competition creates the demand to lower expenses through outsourcing of job functions while also creating more small business opportunities than at any point in history.

In fact, small businesses now account for the largest percentage of new job creation in many Western nations, including the United States. In this new economy, a person can literally lose their job one day and go start a work from home business the next and find themselves working for the very same company that originally outsourced their job! Anyone looking to get ahead in this new world economy would do well to start a small work from home business now in order to thrive tomorrow and into the future.

Growing any size of business requires capital investment. It is common for interest rates to be lowered during bad economic times in order to stimulate investment. A weakened American economy has caused economic troubles around the planet leading to lower interest rates and a prime time to secure some cheap capital for a worthwhile new business start-up.

The Internet is helping to create millions of new business opportunities and will continue to do so until reaching an anticipated saturation point in the next 3-5 years. The real trick is to identify and capitalize on the legitimate opportunities while avoiding scams. Once identified, a legitimate work from home business has unlimited growth potential and provides ultimate financial security when properly operated.

Lastly, control over one's financial future was actually a luxury in previous times but has become a near necessity in these turbulent times of globalization. Unless you want to work in the service industry, globalization may soon force us all to start some form of small business.

But success or failure is a possibility with any opportunity. Patience, dedication, organization, and a bit of luck are all vital components in a small business success. Failure is still a possibility even when owners give it their best. Sometimes, it just boils down to the idea and timing.

While failure is always a possibility, there has never been a greater probability for small business success than right now. Just be careful in choosing the right opportunity as it can make difference between success and failure.