Home Based Business Opportunity or Scam?

A Home Business Article Contributed by Cory Renauer

Legitimate Home Based Business opportunity abounds.

A 1998 U.S. Department of labor survey showed that about 6% of all households have taken advantage of some type of home based business opportunity. Of these households very few complain about office politics and even less complain about commuting. Nearly everyone dreams of a home based business opportunity that will free them from 9 to 5 slavery. It's easy to imagine that for every legitimate home based business opportunity there are dozens of a very questionable nature.

Obviously not a legitimate home based business opportunity.

*A marginal amount of effort.

*No training or knowledge of anything necessary.

*Huge amounts will money magically appear in your pockets.

*Invest NOW and receive a guaranteed four-thousand percent profit in six-months.

While these declarations should be obvious they persist.

Less obvious scams

Multi-Level marketing or 'pyramid' schemes are are an all too common form of fraud. Not concerned with profits from selling worthwhile products 'pyramid scheme' companies encourage their work at home employees to expand their operations then receive startup administration fees from each new employee. New employees are often required to purchase the company's products to become full members.

More recently fraudulent companies have been proclaiming the internet as the ultimate money making tool. During the stock market boom of the nineties investors were tripping over each other to invest in anything related to the internet without any understanding about what they were investing in. Optimistic entrepreneurs still invest money foolishly into home based business opportunities that they don't understand.

While there is no doubt that the world wide web's speed and efficiency make it an excellent money making tool the same basic principals that make a traditional scam easy to spot still apply.

How to sperate a scam from a legitimate home based business opportunity

Any legitimate home based business opportunity should be able to tell you:

1) Exactly what type of work you are going to perform.

2) How much you will be paid. If you are paid commission they should be able to tell you exactly what the rate is.

3) When you will be paid.

3) The amount you will spend from your pocket, including administrative costs, materials, supplies, etc.

4) How long they have been in business, their official location.

5) Details about whatever product or service they specialize in such as manufacturing details, warehouse locations, annual sales reports, etc.

Be extremely suspicious of any home based business opportunity that fails to provide satisfactory information regarding any of the above information.

If the home based business opportunity in question meets all of the above criteria met and you're still suspicious the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau and State Attorney General's offices maintain online record of all companies that have received complaints. Avoid any home based business opportunity that pressures you into making an expensive decision before you can take the appropriate precautions. Remember there are plenty of reliable home based business opportunities. Good luck.