Before You Begin

Will I Get Rich Quick?

No.

Wasn't that simple?

Home Based Businesses are currently all the rage and sweeping across the Internet like mini tornados. They look awe-inspiring in the distance, but can wreak financial havoc up close and real personal.

This doesn't mean, of course, that you can't be successful working from home, but it does mean you should take a careful look before jumping into anything which involves you parting with sums of cash. Briefly, here are some questions you should ask yourself first.

Does the effort required sound too easy? Some companies offer big bleeping sums of cash to stuff envelopes. Think about it - most legitimate businesses will use minimum-wage employees to do such a thing - how can they afford to pay *youso much more?

Does this particular home-based business need more equipment than you have? And does the offering company provide said equipment for "just a little bit more money?" For example, let's say that you decide to include a business website to showcase your products. Chances are, the offering company will give you that for yet "just a little bit more money!" Thing is, though, does said company provide quality, visible design? Are their rates competitive (there are *lotsof web site developers around)?

Does the company provide a comprehensive history? Are there verifiable references? Was the email which described the opportunity addressed directly to you, or was it simply blasted out to any and all?

Are you buying promises, not products or services?

Let's say that you are selling an item for $9.97 which you have to fulfill (i.e, place in an envelop, address said envelop, mail said envelop, etc.). Do you have the time required for fulfillment as well as running your business?

Would you sell this product to your family? Can you stand behind it?

Are these the real costs?

Let's see.

Tip 1 - Think real cost and what makes a bizopp good.

The real cost to a bizopps is far more than just sending in $39 to whatever company is trying to seduce your money away from you.

Some of the costs include the following:

What product? Before starting your home-based business, what product will you sell? Have you done the research to show that people want your product? Never get sold on something because someone else declares it's the next best thing to free winning lottery tickets - always verify claims yourself.

Knowledge. Are you familiar in-depth with your product? Do you know who your competitors are? Do you know the best way to market it? If your family was interested in it, would you be proud to sell it to them?

Marketing. A great big very important thing! Marketing is what gets your name known to your targeted audience. It's advertising, copy, time, effort, time, hard work and much much more.

Mentoring. Are you assured to great guidance when you buy and market?

Packaging. If you have a great product, but your packaging is as exciting as blank space, you will lose out on that crucial first impression. When writing my book, I hired a graphics artist to design the front, back and spine of the cover. I knew what I wanted to convey - the additional artwork emphasized it.

Production cost. Does your product require any assembly? How about materials?

Inventory. Does it require inventory? If so, where will you keep excess inventory? I recently converted my dining room to a storage facility.

Web sites. Business web sites are crucial to providing a storefront and letting your customers know what you have to offer. Do you know enough not to get ripped off when buying a web site? And after you buy a site, there is the monthly hosting fee to take into account and more.

Credit card processing. Once your cusomter is interested in buying your product, how do they purchase it? Do you know how to get a merchant account without getting ripped off? Do you want to process credit cards realtime on the Internet? Again, another cost.

Stress. While one can never put a precise price upon stress, it certainly will take its toll on you. Is your home-based business your only source of income? Will you have to worry about more bill-paying? If your stress levels increase, can you catch the warning signs soon enough and manage them?

With all the hype and froth out there about internet marketing, what makes a bizopp good?

There are several components that make some bizopps stand out from others. They include:

Happy Provable Customers. Forget this "Love your program! Jay in NM!" stuff. You want to see actual testimonials from real, verifyable people (ideally, you should contact them and discuss in person just why they are happy.

Realistic Claims. Hype hype and more hype are just dandy for reading pleasure, but let's face it - you will not make 83,492 dollars by stuffing envelops or sending out recipies to five select people!

Proven Track Record. How long has the company been around? Are there financial end-of-the-year reports you can check out?

Quality of Product/Service. Research the product or service on the Internet.

Where can you go for help?

Tip 2 - Ask around

There are some excellent forums in which you can ask for comments regarding bizopps:

Friends In Business

BizyMoms

Scams

Remember the old adage - if it sounds too good, it probably is. Don't just go with your gut - get concrete facts first. Next, it's time to

Tip 3 - Check the professionals

Here are some useful sites for recognizing scams:

FTC Bizopps

Quackwatch

RickRoss

Above and beyond

Some of the best ways to see what works most optimally for you is to explore case studies or home study. Some of them include:

Secrets to their Success

Business Fast Lane

Gimmie My Money Now!

I hope you've found the above useful! Please feel free to share it with your friends.

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