Searching for a legitimate home based business opportunity ? 5 areas to avoid !
Read More: If you are looking for a legitimate home based business opportunity , beware there are loads of scams that will trap you out. Don't make your mind up until you have thoroughly researched into the type of business you are letting yourself in for. Some seem to involve loads of work coupled with a poor compensation plan , or they ask for a large down payment to grant you access to their system and you realise it will take forever to recoup your investment.
The following 5 are to be avoided at all costs.
1 - EMPLOYMENT LISTS
A real rip-off scheme where you pay for a list of companies that hire people who work from home. The problem with this is the information is probably already out of date and not specific enough or targeted to the area you are searching , making it of little use. A bit of hardwork on you part using Google and you will almost certainly achieve better results without it costing you anything.
2 - CHAIN MAIL OR CHAIN EMAILS
It's a simple idea that promises you loads of money just for forwarding letters or emails.You send your money to the name at the top of the list and then add yours to the bottom of the list. In theory , at some point your name will reach the top of the list and you will receive money from numerous others on the list. Essentially , this is making money from spamming people and will never work , so stear clear of the temptation.
3 - ENVELOPE STUFFING
This one has been around for a long time and the con is to get you to fill envelpoes in return for high payments. Once you have sent your money to the company they send you a load of flyers to be put into envelpopes with postage already attached. However , what happens instead is that they send you into town to distribute the flyers in the hope of enticing other people into the scam. This is classic pyramid selling and not a good way of earning a living.
4 - CRAFT ASSEMBLY
Another scam that's been doing the rounds for a long time is where you buy craft kits from a company , put them together and return the completed products in return for commission. However , in most cases you are told that the finished product doesn't meet their quality standards. The finished products are then taken to bits re-packaged and sold as a kit to another unsuspecting punter and so are never intended to be sold as finished.
5 - 900 NUMBERS
It's amazing what you can sucked into when you are desperate for financial freedom , so any 900 numbers should be avoided at all costs as they will incur huge charges on your phone bill and in return the information you receive will be useless. In fact the scammers may give you nothing apart from trying to keep you on the line as long as possible.
Despite these warning areas , there are loads of legitimate home based business opportunities to choose from , so don't despair , there is definately a genuine one to suit your personality and capabilities , just be patient and don't rush in.
Tim Idle - Internet Business Success Coach
Find a wealth of information about the best home-based business opportunities , as well as resources and tools for entrepreneurship at http://www.learntoearnmarketing.com/
Views: 2,204
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Comments: 23 
About the Author: Tim Idle
Member Since: 12/22/2009
I'm a Distributor For:: Global Resorts Network
Industry: Business Opportunities
Primary Web Site: http://www.timidle.com
Good Advice
Good advice.
opinion
Thank you very much for your post! I am just a beginner in business and thus am eager to learn as much as possible from real connoisseirs as you are! I have already collected a number pf presentations, articles and interview (mostly found by rapidshare search engine ), which taech me how to do business correctly step by step. Thanks for the info and all the best!
Isn't it Funny
Isn't it funny how people will be so quick to jump on to the "opportunities" in the list above and happily hand over their hard earned money to get started in a pipe dream. But when it comes to taking a serious look at legitimate and potentially lucrative network marketing opportunity, that requires a modest upfront investment and small monthly overhead, along with some hard honest work and a commitment to self-education, they then "can't afford it"?
Isn't human nature funny?
Peace and Abundance,
Deborah Tutnauer
Great advice
Nice to see this, things like this give those of with REAL business opportunities a bad name
Charlie Spath
charlesspath@gmail.com
http://cspath.my4life.com
Excellent Tim! Here's something else to avoid like the plague ..
Scam - Fraud - Warning - Beware!!!!
You are about to get scammed in the next few minutes and you don't even realize it!
Read about this at http://WhoIsFrankATrueblood.com and I think you'll be as shocked as everybody else is.
Thanks for the great article.
Frank A Trueblood
$400,000,000 scam
Jeff Paul, Jim Fleck, Mentoring of America info commercial scam
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/shortchange.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0723138/090630mentoringofamericacmplt.pdf
Be aware that not everyone has your best intrest at heart
You are so right in talking about different things out there that are just programs set up for desperate people . Or for the people that have the lottery mentality . A true business requires work . Can you imagine if we gathered 1000 steelworkers together and 300 concrete workers and had them sit on the shores of San Francisco bay and think about a bridge being built . Would all their thoughts combined make the bridge appear as so many of the Secret promoters profess ? Manifestation because of thought doesn't make it happen . Planning and WORK makes it happen and I say Planning first, Due diligence to see if the company is viable and not just because someone called you up and said so .I am glad that someone Else out there believes in what we do at www.youCanBuild.it Keep up the great work. Thank you
Sam Camerano
How about an article on the 10 best MLM companies>
There are some very good ones out there so why don't we spend more time talking about the good ones so people can start making some money. One if particular that I like is Amsoil because they make products that everyone uses day in and day out. If anyone out there knows of anyone that is a motor head and works on cars and or trucks this opportunity is a pretty good one. http://www.bestsyntheticoilandfilters.com/Home.aspx
#4 Hit Me Personally
Tim, you are absolutely right about #4. I hate to admit that I tried that one several years ago out of desperation and it happened exactly like you stated. They sent me some itty bitty books to assemble. You got these plastic like tweezers to work with. Yea, it was a joke. I sent some in and I received notice the quality was not good enough. Money down the drain and I never made a dime. I even "spent" a ton of time :(
I had checked into #1 & #3 but had my suspicions with them.
Thank the Lord I found the business I'm in now. Whew what a refreshing relief.
Great Article,
~Rhonda :)
Oops!!
Okay, I don't know what's up with the "#" signs taking me to a Twitter search, but just ignore the links.
~Rhonda :)
Manifestation.
As for the original article well useful advice. Sam your comment on Manifestation I feel needs comment. No one in the Secret or any of the Law of Attraction serious thinkers have ever said getting a group of people together to think about things will make something appear spontaneously.
Have you considered that by ridiculing and approach some of the most successful people in the world have used may be a dis-service to your argument? Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich and Wallace D. Wattles in The Science of Getting Rich both explain the importance of visualization to being successful.
In fact you will find personal testimony to this from some of the Top Instructors on Betternetworker.
I think if you read both the above books and then apply the lessons as they are written, you will find visualization works. If it was an unsuccessful technique then why do nearly all top athletes use it?
Nowhere in any of the books do any of the great thinkers suggest that groups manifest things, however groups can help you visualize better.
As for thoughts being things. I leave you with these experiments that you can Google and look up yourself. Masuro Emoto discovered the following. He took distilled water and placed it in different sealed bottles. He wrote the following words on lablels, "I Love You", "Thank You", "I Hate You", "I Want To Kill You".
Then one label was placed on each bottle. The one's with positive statements produced perfectly formed crystals when there had been none when looked at under a microscope. The negative ones produced ugly yellowish crystals. This experiment has been repeated time and again with the same results in different languages.
It is proof that thoughts are things. As humans we are 97% water so one of the best things you can do to help develop your business is be very careful of any negative thoughts you commit to print or harbor.
A lottery mentality is one predicated on hope and nothing else. A manifestation mentality is based on having a clear vision then taking the actions needed to bring it into existence. It is important the two are never confused or juxtaposed in the same argument to make a single point.
Thoughts are definitely things.
Andrew Peel
Good Information
Ive been caught in the envelope stuffing world before and its not fun. I was 16. Also stay clear of the people who tell you they will send you payments to process and you keep a commission. They are sending you fake checks and money orders, you can go to jail and at minimum screw up your bank account.
Great Information
Thank you for your post....it is so true, when people are desperate they will cling to anything in hopes of making money. I don't know how some people sleep at night, knowing they scammed someone. Always do your homework!!
Always Ask Yourself, "Why Do They Need Me?"
Think things through to the end and you will usually see what it really is.It's when we allow our minds to be "twisted" that we don't see the obvious. Thinking about getting rich quick or making a pile of money for doing almost nothing is what twists our minds.
Ask yourself, "If this "system" or this "program" is so good, why do the promoters want to dilute it's power by mass promoting it? Why don't they keep it to themselves and make all the money? Why would they WANT to pay me for something they can do themselves?
Truth is, even most "legitimate" opportunities are oversold, over-used and out of date by the time the promoters offer it to the public.
Even if you find that "one" in a million, if you don't know how to drive free, targeted website traffic how will you make any money?
How True!
People for the most part either don't know how to do a simple Google search, nor don't have the time to check the program, nor think it is necessary to do so. Majority of people have to be told what to do before joining any organization or opportunity beforehand.
Great advice!! Thanks.
2 more to avoid
Excellent article. Let me add 2 more tips to help you avoid scams.
Avoid any advertisements for business opportunities that do not include phone numbers where "a real person" can be contacted during normal business hours. Also avoid corresponding with a company that only has a post office box listed as an address to send payments to.
Is is also helpful to google the business BEFORE you send any cash, checks or money orders to the individuals in question.
Think outside the box
Chain letters, and those money forwarding letters. Unbelievable, but there are STILL people out there doing this. I get them on a regular basis.
Do NOT simply throw them in the trash. If you do you are throwing away a Golden Opportunity to get your business in front of someone who may just be interested in it. When I get these letters, I spend the little bit of money the US Postal Service charges for a stamp, and I DO send a letter back to the person who sent it as well as the others on the list
But in MY letter, I tell them WHY the chain mail will not work, and give them the opportunity to look at something that does. MY system. I also include a business card with my website address.
I HAVE received Opt-ins, and Buy-ins by doing this. One mans trash is another mans treasure. It's all in what you do with it.
Good article
Tim:
Good information. I remember years ago seeing some of these things advertised in the classified ads, but could never really believe they would work. I never gave them a try and am very glad I didn't.
Another thing I see as a danger sign is a web site telling you how great their business is but nowhere can you find out how much it will cost you to sign up unless you actually go through the process. I just looked at one tonight and couldn't even find out how you can actually make money - there was a video that gave no details of the marketing plan and no page displaying the plan to check out. All it had was a button to join. I wasn't interested in joining anyway, but for those looking for an opportunity they need to watch out for these things. This particular company sold, among other things, nutritional products, personal care products and cosmetics. I couldn't find anywhere that told me the ingredients in these products - another area of caution.
Great Information
Tim, this was great information and well presented. This kind of information should be available for anyone tempted to try this kind of Home Business.
I remember about 40 years ago, my husband got caught up in one these kind of scams. It was buying US Bonds and putting them in another persons name. Your name went to the bottom for your chance to get paid back. This was a lot of money to lose at that time. The same thing still goes on with a different scheme. It is still a SCAM and people needing quick money fall for it.
I am very careful before I go for anything that says make extra money from home. As you have mentioned in your article, most are all scams.
You need to research every company before coming involved. Read their comp plans and terms and conditions very carefully before checking the box. Once the box is checked, you have just signed a legal document that could cause you problems later on.
There are some reliable Home Business that you will be able to make an income. Look for companies that has a reoccurring residual income. This is the kink of income that will pay you even if you are unable to work the business. This business can pay your grandchildren after you are no longer here. This means that you work hard to build the company at first but it will continue for a long time. An example is Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie still receives royalties (reoccurring income) from her Dads music.
Do your homework and make sure the company has a long term plan. If the company is looking at the future, they are planning for a company that will last a lifetime. Many companies only plan for the NOW and not the future. Most of those companies are looking out how the owners can make the fastest buck, they really do not care about their distributors.
Keep in mind that Management drives the behavior in the field. What this is saying is, know who is manageing your future. I want it to be a company that I can trust. There are a lot of signs that can tell you right away what the management is like.
I have found the way to evaluate the company. If you would like to know the same, all you have to do is email me and I will share it with you. Knowledge is golden.
Tim, thanks again for bringing this topic up. It is the kind of knowledge that needs to be told.
Thanks and God Bless
Maggie Kress
maggie@maggiekress.com
Scams & the NBT
I get at least 20 emails per day on the Next Big Thing. Have a look at the blog I wrote concerning this situation at: http://bit.ly/bopTCa This NBT is something people will feed off of and really take advantage of you if at all possible. Even though most people are only out for their own gratification, there are still good folks that will work and help you achieve success...you just have to find them.
Put SCAM behind any company
To check any company if there is bad news put SCAM behind the name and a report will come up.
Great information
Really great info. but I find it amusing how many people are into these scams what's even more shocking is that they will diffend their scam opportunity and think that a legitimate mlm or gpt opportunity is a scam.
Oh you also forgot to mention cash gifting as one of these scams, it amazing how many people you see promoting cash gifting where in reality its just another type of pyramid.
I do have to mention that just because you search for a company looking for scams does not mean that if something does come up that its a scam. most of these reports are created by other marketers trying to get you to their opportunity. They are using negative news because it just works so darn well.
Best way to find if a company is a scam is to see if there is an actual product, and if there are people that actually are having success. there are a lot of great opportunities out there so make sure you don't go into the first one you see do some research and join a company that feels right for you.
Oh and if you hear income claims get too excited, its never a guarantee and it has no bearing on how you will do in a business, you can do better or a lot worse.
most of all don't expect overnight success, unless you have marketing and prospecting experience and been in business before you will have to pay your dues before you see success.
Be prepared for a learning curve
Complete awareness...
Tim,
Thanks for sharing these 5 critical areas to avoid in the home business industry.
Too many people who are in "scams" are in denial. They would go to lengths end to defend themselves.
It's crazy! If they were more willing to accept the guidelines of what is classified as a scam, they can get themselves unstuck from this state.
Keep on keeping on.
Jerome Ratliff