I understood by that age that nothing came easy. None of the biz opps we had tried had generated even 1 dime! What I learned at an early age is this:
- if an opportunity looks too good to be true it probably is
- if a business opportunity requires that I buy supplies from them in order to work for them, it was scam
- if we could only make money by recruiting other people even if we were selling the product fairly well …it was a scam
.. I mean think about it, you move 100 units of vitamins or whatever and you don’t make as much as someone who just spent the month signing up 5 people under them and not selling any product outside of initial orders from their downline…it smells!

When Should You Pay For A Business Opportunity

There are times that you should pay though. If its an opportunity where you are receiving real training for a specialized job. Not these “training seminars” where they try to sell you more of their “in house tools” so you can sell or recurite more people for their MLM product but Real training, like how to put your business on the internet, how to use ebay to make money, understanding search engines, etc, real tangible information that you can apply to any business you decide to start.
Things like that you should be willing to pay for, although I’m sure if you look on the internet you can find a lot of that info for free to, just be careful of who you decide to follow. There are lots of internet gurus that are legitimate but there are even more that just resell old info.

Before you buy a business opportunity do your homework. Don’t just look at the BBB, alot of people don’t report scams, they just move on to the next opportunity. Use the internet to research the program operator. You would be surprised at how much info you can get just by “googling” a name.

- Really ask yourself how legitimate is this opportunity? Is it promising me $50,000 in the next 90 days and all I have to do is pay them $995 AND I don’t have to do a lot of work nor do I need to have any specialized training?

Hey, I’ve met people who have made an amazing amount of money in a short time online, but these people poured their hearts, souls, and basically put their lives on hold pretty much to make that money.

- Are they selling me information that I could have received for FREE if I had done a little more research? Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of “work at home as a data entry specailist” These companies claim to show people how to find legitimate work at home opportunities with big Fortune 500 companies like Home Depot.

I realized shortly that if you just scoure the online newspaper classifieds and / or your own local newspaper for the terms customer service, secretary, virtual assistant, office assistant, social marketer, clerical work, transcription, researcher you can find the same types of jobs and save yourself the $40 – $80 these programs charge.

I would ask my mom, why would a company pay for such a big ad to find envelope stuffers? I mean couldn’t they just put that in the local paper and find a whole lot of people who can just drive to their office and pick up the supplies? Why do we need to pay them in order to mail out their sales material for their company?

- If you need to buy the materials from the company you are working with in order to do the job, you are more than likely being scammed

Do your research, and really scrutinize any business opportunity that you come across that requires you to pay to learn more. Never send these companies cash or a check, pay by credit card so its easier to dispute. Print out their warranty information the date that you buy the product so you know exactly how long you have to test it out before you make the decision to return it. If you end up mailing it back to them, send it certified mail with a signature required. That way you know they received it back, and if you end up disputing it thru your credit card company you have all the information you need to be successful in getting your money back.

Also remember that any home business you start, requires that you put some effort into it. If you buy a business opportunity and really don’t put 100% behind it, you will get results equal to the amount of effort you put into it.

Do your homework. It is up to you to do further research and get to know as much information as possible about the company offering the home business. Never sign up or invest your money without analyzing how the system works. Interview other people who are already part of the company and find out if they’ll recommend the business to their family and friends.

Visit business forums. You can use the internet as a tool when doing your research. It’s good to visit forums that tackle home based businesses on the web. By participating in these board discussions, you’ll know what other people have to say about the company and you can raise questions as well.

Contact the representative of the company. Of course, you need to speak with a representative of the company offering the home business. Make sure that all your questions are answered clearly without any hesitations. A company that refuses to entertain questions are most likely to be a fraud.

Don’t refinance your home for the sake of a homebased opportunity. Even if you only have a limited budget, it is not a practical move to refinance your home just to start a home business. Why? Because running a business always involves risks and if your home business doesn’t go as expected, even if it is a legitimate business opportunity, using a refinanced mortgage loan could lead you to big trouble.

Know the costs involved. Everyone who plans to set up a home business should be aware of the costs involved not just in starting up but in running the business as well. For instance, how much would you need to shell out to be able to start the operations? Do you need to purchase or lease equipment? Many people have fallen to home business scams because they invested their personal money in the hopes to earn more without doing their own research.

Find a company that provides training and support. If you’re going to join an internet marketing company, make sure that you will be provided training and support especially if this is you’re first time venturing in a business.

Find out how the business is done and how income is generated. It is crucial that you are clear about the exact ways of the system. How will you be able to earn income? What kind of products would you sell? Is there a great market demand for these products? How do you plan to market the business? These are just some basic questions that you need clear answers to before making any decision.