10 Tips for Evaluating Online Home Business Opportunities

How do you determine whether an online home business opportunity is legitimate or a scam? And once you do identify legitimate online home business opportunities, how do you know which one is right for you?

Below I have listed 10 simple questions to ask yourself that will give you clear and definitive answers to those two important questions:

1. How many years has the company providing the opportunity been in business? Reputable online home businesses are usually not fly-by-night operations. Most scams eventually get recognized for what they are and get shut down before they are in business very long.

2. Are the income expectations reasonable and unlimited? A legitimate home business opportunity will not usually profess that you can get you rich quick. And a good online home business opportunity will never impose limits on the amount of money you can make until it gets ridiculously high.

3. Is the opportunity free or inexpensive to join? You shouldn’t have to pay a huge amount of money to sign up for an online home business opportunity. There are plenty of legitimate opportunities that are free or cheap so don’t waste your money on one that makes you pay a huge amount to be a member.

4. Does the company have a negative report with any organizations that deal with preventing people from being scammed? Some of these include the Better Business Bureau, Internet Trade Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Scambusters, and the Direct Sellers Association. There are others but these are some of the most well known. If the business has a bad report with any of these then be very wary of it.

5. Does the company provide good support as well as training and resources to help you succeed in your online home business? Are mentors available to give you one-on-one guidance? You should have all the training, help and guidance you need without having to wait for it or find it on your own.

6. What’s the compensation scale and is the payment system viable? Not all home business opportunities are created equal, and even some legitimate ones will offer a less than attractive payment plan. Look around for the best compensation plan you can find, one that allows you to keep the largest percentage of the revenues you bring in. When all other things are equal, it’s the profit percentage that counts.

7. Does the company permit spamming? If so, then that is a huge red flag if ever there was one! No legitimate company will ever permit spamming. Any online home business opportunity you consider should explicitly warn members against spamming and delete their accounts if they are caught doing it.

8. Do they have a quality product or service to promote? If the company doesn’t have a quality product or service to promote then you won’t be able to make sales, therefore you won’t be able to make any money. Furthermore, if they don’t have any product or service at all and the only way you can make money is by recruiting others then you need to stay far away from it because it’s a pyramid scheme.

9. How big is your “territory”? The only right answer is: the world. Legitimate or not, you may wish to steer clear of business opportunities that restrict you to specific markets (whether geographically or demographically based). Since the advent of the internet, we now live in a global marketplace. You should be able to promote it online. Don’t go backwards in time by unnecessarily restricting yourself and your potential customer-base.

10. Do you have complete control over your activities? In other words – once you begin, is this your home business or simply a work at home job for an employer? Both are valid models, but only one is a business. The other’s just a job. You are much better off building your own online home business!

In conclusion, remember if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. An online business is not a magical solution to your financial future, you still have to work very hard and spend a lot of time to make it profitable. Any company that tells you different is flat out lying. Answer the 10 questions above for each home business opportunity you’re considering, and you’ll have a much better chance of choosing one that works for you.