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Home Business - How to Find One That Works
By Jim Eastman,
West Chester, OH, U.S.A.
support at creditrepairbiz.com
http://www.credit-repair-biz.com/
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If you’ve done any
inquiring about a viable home business, you’ve
no doubt found your mailbox and email inbox overflowing
with various offers. The numbers seem literally endless.
A search for “home business” on Google
alone will turn up about 2.44 billion (that’s
“billion” with a “B”) hits!
If
you’ve spent any significant time trying out
different offers, you’ve also discovered that
nearly all of them, for one reason or another, just
aren’t viable options. Many are outright scams.
Envelope stuffing schemes are a prime example. Others
are legitimate (sort of), but their claims are always
overblown. They’re never as fast, as easy, or
as profitable as you’re told they are.
Many
just plain 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 this one? Place all the free classifieds
you want, but you won’t get a single order.
You WILL however, get loads of spam. And the “free” websites costs you monthly hosting fees paid to (you
guessed it!) the vendor from whom you bought the program.
So
who’s really making money here? You’ve
probably figured it out by now. In almost 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 can be very disheartening, it’s
not hopeless. There ARE some legitimate home business
opportunities, and there ARE ways to make money, even
very good money, working from home.
Now
whatever you do, don’t just give up 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.
- The “We do all the work for you!” deception.
Anytime you see an offer that promises instant riches
with no effort on your part, you’d be well
advised to run the other way! You need to realize
up front that absolutely nothing is going to make
money for you unless you’re willing 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 yourself
“What do they need ME for anyway?” Would
anybody set up a business and do all the hard work
himself just to send his profits to a total stranger?
Get real!
- 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 need to realize that growing any business to
its full potential isn’t going to happen overnight.
This is especially true if your financial situation
is such that you’re forced to depend on your
present job to pay the bills.
Find a home business that you can start part time
and grow, until your business produces enough income
that you can get by without your current salary.
At that point, you can quit your job and devote
full time to your home business.
- 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 become a millionaire in a home
business? While it’s not impossible, don’t
fall into the trap of jumping at an offer based
on wishful thinking. You’d do well to give
more serious consideration to those home business
offers that make more realistic sounding claims.
That’s not to say you can’t start and
grow a home business that COULD eventually make
you wealthy. But again, it won’t happen tomorrow,
next week, or even next month. At the risk of being
redundant, it bears repeating that you should focus
on offers that don’t promise immediate wealth
with no effort.
- The “This is completely FREE” deception.
While it’s possible and not at all unusual
to get free information online that’s both
valuable and useful, don’t expect to launch
a home business without spending any money. There
will always 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 fine print. If you
subscribe for information and give your email address,
look for a notice that reads something like “We
will not share your name” and “You can
unsubscribe at anytime.” Just about every
legitimate marketer (and every smart one) will promise
this, and faithfully adhere to his promise.
- The
deceptive “Money Back Guarantee”
Almost every offer comes with a “money back
guarantee” and most 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
result in 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 instance, does it read something to the effect
of “Follow the instructions in our program
for 3 full months, and if it doesn’t live
up to our promises, just return it for a full refund!”
The catch is that “Follow the instructions
in our program” could well 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 find
out after the very first mailing that your profits
(if any) fall far short of your expenses and you’ve
lost money, maybe even a LOT of money.
But when you attempt to return the program for a
refund, you’re told that you’re ineligible
because “You didn’t follow the instructions
in our program" which would have meant 2 additional
mailings and the loss of even more money, maybe
more than you paid for the program to begin with!
Another sneaky and extremely unethical trick you
may run across is a guarantee in which the “conditions”
are never mentioned up front, but only revealed
AFTER you’ve make a purchase. If 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 stated in the
offer.
Tell him you’re going 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 a reasonable time frame to refund your
purchase. Then if he still refuses TAKE ACTION and
make good on your threats! You’ll be doing
a favor not only for yourself, but for other consumers
AND for all the honest business people everywhere.
In summary, make sure there IS a guarantee, that
it’s unconditional, and don’t let the
vendor get away with adding “conditions” after the fact.
- Follow
your passion.
You’d be making a huge mistake selecting a
home business that doesn’t take into account
your personal interests. No matter how realistic,
how profitable, how easy, or how quickly you can
start it up, you’re unlikely to be successful
in any home business if you’re doing something
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 effort you’re putting
forth is a matter of perception.
Everyone knows how quickly time passes when you’re
having fun, and how slowly when you’re doing
something you consider drudgery. The same is true
of effort. Work just doesn’t seem as much
like work when you’re task is something you
like doing.
If your home business is something that doesn’t
really interest you, the demands on your time and
energy will sooner or later seem unbearable. Your
enthusiasm will falter, and with it, your productivity.
Even if you encounter some short term success, your
waning eagerness will eventually spell doom for
your home business.
It’s
the nature of us humans to tend to believe those who
tell us what we most want to hear, whether they be
politicians, marketers, or whoever. Anytime you’re
presented with an attractive offer, ask yourself “Is
this really believable based on the offer itself?” To put it another way, try and imagine you were someone
else who had no interest in starting your own home
business. Would you find the offer believable enough
to suggest it to someone who did?
In
conclusion, when determining whether to pursue any
home business offer, examine critically not only the
offer itself, but your own emotional involvement as
well! Try to look at it dispassionately and ask yourself “Does it really sound realistic, or do I just
want it to?”
And
remember that you have literally billions of offers
from which to pick, so you can well afford to pass
on any that don’t fit your interest, or that
make outrageous claims that are most certainly unrealistic!
Jim
Eastman is support contact for creditrepairbiz.com.
Credit Repair is a realistic and easy-to-learn Home
Business well suited to the Home Business
Entrepreneur. Visit CreditRepairBiz.com and sign up
for a free mini-course.
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