If you’ve done any inquiring about a good home business, you’ve no doubt found your mailbox and email inbox full of various offers. The numbers seem literally endless. A search for “home business” on Google alone will turn up about 2.5 million results!
If you’ve spent any significant time trying out different offers, you’ve also discovered that nearly every one of them, for one reason or another, just aren’t viable options. Some are outright scams. Envelope stuffing schemes are a prime example. Others are legitimate (sort of), but their claims are usually overblown. They’re never as fast, as effortless, or as profitable as you’re told they are.
Many simply don’t work! For example, you’re offered one or more “free” websites and told you can drive traffic using free online classifieds. Ever tried that one? Place all the free classifieds you want, but you won’t generate a single order. You WILL however, get tons of spam. And the “free” websites costs you monthly hosting service fees paid to (you guessed it!) the vendor from whom you bought the program.
So who’s really being profitable here? You’ve probably figured it out by now. In nearly every case, the only people who really make any money are those making the “work at home” offers. You’re left discouraged, frustrated, and poorer than when you started.
But while the search could be very disheartening, it’s not hopeless. There ARE some legitimate online business opportunities, and there ARE ways to make money, even pretty decent money, working at home. Now whatever you do, don’t just quit on your search. But you do need to develop a sense for what’s obviously over-hyped and what’s worthy of further investigation.
Continue your search while keeping the following guidelines in mind.
1. The “We do all of the work for you!” deception.
Anytime you see an offer that promises instant riches without effort on your part, you’d be well advised to run the opposite way! You need to realize up front that almost nothing is going to make money for you unless you’re ready to put forth some effort.
You’ve probably seen statements like “Everything is done for you” or “The lazy man’s way to becoming a millionaire.” So ask these questions: “What do they need ME for anyway?” Would anybody create a business and do all the hard work himself just to send his profits to a total stranger? Get real!
2. The “Start making BIG money immediately” deception.
In some cases it’s possible to start making SOME money in a relatively short time span. You shouldn’t necessarily dismiss a business idea that promises quick startup. But “immediate riches” is just not realistic. You should realize that growing any business to its full potential isn’t possible overnight. This is especially true if your financial situation is such that you’re forced to rely on your present job to cover the bills.
Find a home business that you can start part time and grow, until your company produces enough income that one could get by without your current salary. At that point, you can quit your job and devote full time to your home business.
The best way to get started in your own web-based business is to build an email list from the very beginning. Arguably the best email marketing program available is BuildMyList. You can get a free eBook explaining how list-building works By Clicking Here.
3. The “Make $50,475.00 (or some other unbelievable sum) the very first month!” deception.
You need to have realistic expectations regarding just how much money you’re going to make. Are you expecting to be a millionaire in a home business? While it’s not impossible, don’t get caught in the trap of jumping at a deal dependant on wishful thinking. You’d be smart to give more serious consideration to the home based business offers that make more practical sounding claims.
That’s not saying you can’t start and grow an online business that Could eventually make you wealthy. But again, it won’t happen tomorrow, next week, or even next month. At the chance of being repetitive, it bears repeating that you ought to focus on offers that don’t promise immediate wealth with no effort.
4. The “This is completely FREE” deception.
While it’s possible and not at all unusual to get free information online that’s good, don’t expect to launch a home business without spending any money. There will generally be some startup costs. If you’re offered a free eBook, newsletter, course, software product, or whatever, go ahead and accept it if it interests you. Most such offers are legitimate, and are a great way to get some ideas and do some research into a home business.
Just make sure you read all the small print. If you sign up for information and provide your email address, look for a notice that reads something like “We will not share your name” and “You can unsubscribe at anytime.” Almost every legitimate marketer (and every smart one) will promise this, and faithfully adhere to his promise.
5. The deceptive “Money Back Guarantee”
Almost every offer comes with a “money back guarantee” and the majority of them are legitimate. Every reputable business person knows that failure to honor his or her promise regarding a guarantee (or anything else for that matter) will inevitably lead to failure of his business.
Nevertheless, there are a few who engage in deceptive practices regarding their guarantee. Always take a close look at the wording. Is the guarantee conditional? For example, does it read something to the effect of “Follow the instructions in our program for 3 full months, and if it doesn’t surpass our promises, just return it for a 100 % refund!”
The catch is that “Follow the instructions in our program” may involve some kind of purchase or investment. For example, you might purchase a mail order program that instructs you to buy a minimum of 3 mailing lists and send 3 mailings. Let’s say that you give it a try and discover after the first mailing that your profits (if any) fall far short of your expenses and you’ve lost money, maybe even a Bunch of money.
But when you try to return the program for the refund, you’re told that you’re ineligible because “You didn’t follow the instructions in our program” which might have meant 2 additional mailings and losing even more money, maybe more than you paid out for the program to begin with!
Another sneaky and very unethical trick you might run across is a guarantee in which the “conditions” are never mentioned in advance, but only revealed AFTER you’ve make a purchase. When you come across this type of scam, contact the vendor and remind him that you purchased his program expecting him to honor the guarantee as it was mentioned in the
offer.
Tell him you’re planning to file a complaint with his local Better Business Bureau, another with the US Postal Service (if your program was sent by mail) or take other appropriate legal action. Give him an acceptable period of time to refund your purchase. Then if he still refuses TAKE ACTION and make good on your threats! You’ll be performing a favor not only for yourself, but for other consumers AND for all the honest business people everywhere.
To sum up, make sure there IS a guarantee, that it’s unconditional, and don’t let the vendor escape with adding “conditions” after the fact.
6. Follow your passion.
You’d be making a huge mistake selecting a home business that doesn’t take into account your individual interests. Regardless how realistic, how profitable, how easy, or how fast you can start it up, you’re unlikely to be successful in any home based business if you’re doing anything you just don’t enjoy.
The reason? As stated above, success will demand both your time and effort. But to a large extent, how MUCH time and how MUCH energy you’re putting forth is a matter of perception. Everyone knows how fast time passes when you’re having fun, and how slowly when you’re doing something you consider drudgery. This is also true of effort. Work just doesn’t seem as much like work when you’re task is something you enjoy doing.
If your home business is something that doesn’t actually interest you, the demands on your time and effort will sooner or later seem intolerable. Your excitement will falter, and with it, your productivity. Even though you encounter some short term success, your waning desire will eventually spell doom for your business.
It’s the nature of us humans to often believe those who tell us what we most want to hear, whether they be politicians, marketers, or whoever. Anytime you’re presented with an appealing offer, ask yourself “Is this really believable based on the offer itself?” To put it yet another way, attempt to imagine you were somebody else who had no interest in starting your own home business. Would you find the offer credible enough to suggest it to somebody that did?
In conclusion, when determining whether to pursue any home business offer, analyze critically not only the offer itself, but your unique emotional involvement also! Try to consider it dispassionately and ask yourself “Does it truly sound realistic, or do I simply want it to?”
And remember that you will have literally billions of offers from which to select, so you can very well afford to pass on any that don’t fit your interest, or that make crazy claims that are most certainly unrealistic!
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