Is it a Real Home Based Business Opportunity?
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sarah White
Is it a Real Home Based Business Opportunity?
As you seek out a home based business opportunity, you may find yourself inundated with offers that sound too good to be true. Or you may read Web sites about how easy it is to make money with X program, as long as you're willing to provide hundreds of dollars (or more) in start-up funds. Or maybe you find on digging deeper into a pitch that what seemed like a perfect home based business opportunity is little more than a pyramid scheme, requiring you to recruit members before you see any real profits.
There are countless legitimate home based business opportunities out there, but there are also a lot of scams. How do you know when you've got the real thing and when you should run away?
Investigate the Home Based Business Opportunity
Many things are improved by taking a little time for research, and starting a home based business is certainly no exception. Before you sign up with any company offering business opportunities on the Internet, do your homework. Don't trust the company's Web site to tell you the unvarnished truth about its dealings. Check out the Better Business Bureau's Web site and see if there are any warnings about or complaints against the company in question.
You can also find a lot of information just by doing a good, old-fashioned Google search. Take a little time to see if you can find other people who have worked with this company. Will they talk to you about it? Did they have good experiences? Do they have warnings, things you should watch out for? Take their warnings seriously, but if you're really interested in a home based business opportunity and no formal complaints have been filed, check the information out with the company in question.
Ask the Provider of the Home Based Business Opportunity
Before you sign onto any home based business opportunity, ask the company all the questions you can think of. How much money will you be asked to invest up front? Will you have to recruit people? What exactly will your responsibilities be? Does the company offer support if you have problems? How long does it take the average person to recoup the investment and start making money? Also ask to see profit reports and to contact people who have been successful with the business.
If the company balks at these requests, or if there's anything else you question or don't feel comfortable about, don't get involved with that business. Starting a home based business is a huge commitment; you don't want to be stuck with the wrong bunch of people.
When the Home Based Business Opportunity Turns Bad
If you have thoroughly researched a company and found out all you needed to know to your satisfaction, sign up and go about your new business with enthusiasm. If you have any misgivings, seek more information or a different opportunity. If you've already signed on with a company and then find out it's scamming people or not living up to its promises, first confront the company and ask for restitution.
It will depend on what's happened to you if you want to contact the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general. Whatever you do, keep detailed records of everything that goes on between you and the company, and don't accuse people of bad business lightly. Everyone's reputation is on the line when you start throwing around words like "scam".
But if you do your homework and go through the process thoughtfully, you shouldn't have a problem finding just the right home based business opportunity for you.
