Some of you might be considering starting a home-based business so you can earn an income while staying home with your children. There are many wonderful opportunities and success stories associated with home-based businesses, but there are also many scams and fraudulent schemes out there, as well.
Here is a short checklist of what you might want to think about before starting a home-based business.
If it Sounds Too Good...
This might seem obvious, but it is amazing how many really good scam artists are able to enlist intelligent people into schemes that sound too good to pass-up! Be very wary of businesses that offer a lot of income in a short period of time with very little work involved.
Be Wary of Companies Wanting Money
Of course, some legitimate companies want a fee from you to receive their start-up package, but personally I am very leery of any company who wants you to pay them money. When I started maintaining this About.com site, as an independent contractor, not an employee, I was initially impressed with the fact that all that I was investing initially was my time. If About.com had never paid me anything, then I would have been out the time, but NO money!
Avoid Pyramid Schemes
Pyramid schemes are illegal in most states. Basically, a pyramid scheme consists of people recruiting other people to join the pyramid, usually for a fee. Your "pay" is based not on selling a product, but on recruiting others. There are only so many people you can recruit, so these schemes make a very few people some money, but for most people, they never see a cent from a pyramid.
Stuffing Envelopes and Home Assembly
I am lumping these two scams together, because they have both been around so long, and they still show up in legitimate sources, such as magazines and newspapers. While there may be some people who have actually been paid for stuffing envelopes, I have had some friends who have tried making money this way. After paying the to fee, and following the directions, all have been told that they didn't meet the "standards" of the company.
The following Net links have information that will help all of us avoid a home-business scam. Being informed is the best defense against scams.
