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Ask Judy Question #22
Dear Judy: I posted my resume on the Internet, and a company e-mailed me and said they needed help and that I was perfect to become a work-from-home employee as an order processor. The only cost would be $195 for the software to process orders. Plus, after several months employment, I'd be eligible for terrific insurance benefits. I fell for it. The software was of no use, and there were no employment forms. I can't get through to the company, and am working with my credit card company to get a refund. I feel so foolish. Does this happen often?
Signed...Scammed in Salem
Response from Chris Siegel
Dear Scammed: After talking to yet another person who had been burned- conned into plunking down hard-earned cash -- and having nothing to show for it but a $600 CD-ROM with instructions for how to get other people to shell out for the same disc -- I felt compelled to write this brief overview of Home Business Opportunities. I hope it helps you, as well.
SCAMS
The Internet has spawned a whole raft of them. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. "Get Rich Quick," chain letters, investment and illegal pyramid schemes abound.
The Federal Trade Commission has a list of the 12 most common types you will get in your e-mail inbox here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm
JOBS
Stuffing envelopes, Medical Billing, assembling widgets, piecework, crafts, publishing an electronic magazine and selling ad space are a few examples.
- Upside: OK if you are looking for a job, have free time, and are just
looking for something to occupy your hands, and pick up a little extra
money.
- Downside: It is technically just a job, not your own business. You are trading your time for money, linear. (Work: get paid. Stop working: stop getting paid.)
- Caution: Often you have to front the money and pay the postage/shipping and then get reimbursed.
LEGITIMATE COMPANIES
The vast majority of Home Businesses usually have a multi-level structure, (MLM) or Network Marketing. In this business model, you get to sponsor other distributors or representatives, and as they build their businesses, you get an override, a percentage on their sales too, usually down several generations (downline). Eventually, if there are enough active distributors under you, you can back off on your efforts and it will keep growing as they continue to build their businesses.
This does not happen overnight, and requires effort on your part, and time to develop - just as any business would.
- Upside: This is a great way to leverage your time and effort, and set
up a passive income stream, with residual commissions month after
month. There really ARE fortunes made by distributors and
representatives of these companies.
- Downside: This method of marketing, while legal, logical, and the
norm in many other countries is often misunderstood in the US. You
may hear horror stories of people getting stuck with a garage full
of "stuff" they couldn't sell.
- Caution: Both the company and the "stuff " need to be of quality that
you can stake YOUR reputation on. Make sure there is a market for the
"stuff," and it had better be consumable, to generate repeat sales.
The two types of legitimate companies are product- and service-driven companies.
A. PRODUCT DRIVEN: Cosmetics, nutritional and diet products -- some of the more familiar names are Mary Kay, Avon, Shaklee, Amway, Watkins, Nikken, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, and Fuller Brush. Candles, Candy, Air and Water filters, home party stuff, home study
courses ... you name it, it's marketed this way.
A list of the reputable ones can be found at the Direct Sellers Association website: http://www.dsa.org, or the Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbb.org/BBBComplaints/lookup.asp,
- Upside: The products are generally very good quality, environmentally sound, and often less expensive than their "over the counter" counterparts in the conventional business world.
- Downside: You may be required to buy products to demonstrate and stock, and you are faced with educating and changing people's buying (and/or eating) habits.
- Caution: You may have to resell the "stuff" every month, and maintain a quota to qualify for discounts and commissions.
B. SERVICE DRIVEN: Legal services, Dental and Optical Plans, Online
Shopping Portals, HMOs, Lead Generation companies, Teaching and
mentoring services, and Telecommunications.
- Upside: No products to handle -- some are really just buyers groups in which customers get a group rate. Usually it is a monthly credit card charge, so repeat sales are possible.
- Downside: May involve some special training and licensing, and not all professionals ( MDs and Law Firms ) honor the programs.
- Caution: Some pay commissions up front, and if the customer drops off, you may wind up having to pay back the company.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
So there you are - and I hope I have not discouraged you: that was not my intention.
There are hundreds of great companies, and thousands of people just like you are very successful at operating their own home businesses. You can be too.
DUE DILIGENCE is the business term for thoroughly checking out a company. I hope you will use these tools to do just that.
Once you find the right company, and the right people to partner with, your success is a function of your motivation: why you want to be your own boss, and how badly you want or need more money and/or more time.
Chris Siegel
mailto:seagull@myexcel.com
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