Avoiding Online "Home Business" Scams

One common worry that people mention having about beginning their own home business is that they just don't know whether opportunities are genuine or scams.

I completely understand this concern as most businesses (even genuine ones) require an investment, and nobody wants to throw their hard earnt money away!

So, how do you tell whether an opportunity is genuine?

Here are some things I would do to assess a business opportunity:

1. Speak to the person by telephone - a genuine person will be more than happy to speak to you by telephone before you spend any money. In fact, some genuine business owners will insist on it!
2. Research the company - find out the company name and research it. Don't pay attention to reports saying the company is a scam or pyramid scheme unless these are written by respected sources. Remember, any person who has joined that company, put no work in and therefore made no money, can begin a blog and say the company is rubbish! If you are looking at a network marketing company, check whether they are members of the DSA.
3. Ask about the level of work you will have to put in to earn the income you want. If something sounds too good to be true, it generally is. So although it may be realistic to earn over a million dollars from the opportunity, you won't do that within a few weeks or without putting in considerable effort. Don't be scared of hard work - it's a much safer bet than all of the get rich quick schemes.
4. Ask to speak to other people - when you speak to your point of contact about the business, ask if you can speak to other people they have helped. Again, genuine businesspeople will have no problems with this (although they may have to ask that person to call you rather than release their contact details to you).
5. Find out whether there is a money back guarantee on your investment, which removes your risk. If there is, make sure you understand the terms and conditions of this guarantee - some are so complicated that it is virtually impossible to actually recover your investment.

There are plenty of genuine home business opportunities, so don't write everything off as being a scam. Just be sensible and do your research.

Katie