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Realistic Expectations When Starting a Home Based Business

While there are many legitimate home based business opportunities available today, there are also no shortage of home business schemes and scams. It can be quite difficult to know the difference at times. Here is a list of several well known home business scams. Hopefully this list will help you from losing your hard earned money to these scammers. Envelope Stuffing

This scam has been around forever it seems, and don’t worry, it’s still as popular as ever to those who don’t know about it. You typically answer an ad that looks something like this:

“$500 - $1,000+ a WEEK working only 1 hour per day from the comfort of your home stuffing envelopes! All supplies included. FREE information”

It sounds very appealing doesn’t it? What an easy way to make a living. But what is the real story. You will most likely be required to send in $20 -$40 for a kit to get started. Usually, you’ll get nothing in return and that’s the end of the scam. But, if you do get something back it will tell you to place small classified ads (like the one you responded to) and use your address to collect money from the next batch of unsuspecting people. The cycle continues.

Or, you may actually get some materials and send out mailings, thinking you will be getting a check, only to find out that you didn’t do them properly and there will be no check, or, no one ordered anything from your mailings so there is no pay coming back to you. Envelope stuffing is complete scam. Don’t let yourself fall victim to it.

Get Paid To Surf Companies

Here is a favorite Internet scam that has been going around for a number of years. The idea is that you get paid to click on various website ads. The more time you spend clicking on sites, the more money you supposedly make. How can this be? The get paid to surf company charges fees to its advertisers. The advertisers in turn hope that you will see their ad and then buy their product.

Of course, you may never be paid for the time you spend surfing, but if you do you can expect it to be very little. Perhaps $20 a month if you are lucky, and that’s after spending hours upon hours a month clicking on ads.

Get Paid To Take Surveys Online

This sounds like an enjoyable home business. Take a survey every day, express your opinion, and get paid for it. Let’s look a little closer at how it really works.

You have to register with one of these survey clubs or sites to get started. They all charge you a fee to join, some as much as $49 or more. You get access to their database of survey companies. They will usually email you a list of surveys every day to look over. What you will then find out is that you are not qualified to take 95% of them, so it can take a while before you even get qualified for one survey. Next, when you do take a survey the company will most likely pay you with “credits”. It may be something like 25 credits for each completed survey. Then, when you have for example, 500 credits, you can redeem them for cash, generally around $10-$20 per 500 credits. This can easily take you 3-6 months to just make $10, if of course you get paid at all.

Mystery Shopper

This business opportunity sounds really cool. You get to go out shopping at a retail store or eating at a restaurant and get paid for it after providing a review of the experience. It sounds great, so what’s the catch?

There is a huge list of companies offering jobs as mystery shoppers. The pay rate varies, and is generally $10 or a little more. You must be willing to travel where you are sent. With gas prices so high, this can easily eat up your pay, because you are not reimbursed for travel expenses. If you are sent on an eating assignment, many times the meal will become your pay.

The number of assignments are few and far in between, and unless you live in a major metropolitan area your chances of getting any assignments are zero. If you make $25 a month, consider yourself lucky.

Get Paid To Read Emails

One of the biggest scams on the Internet are the get paid to read email companies. Supposedly you are going to be paid to read emails by the company you signed up with. The emails are really just ads, and the company gets paid by the advertisers, but it doesn’t really matter. The fact is, you will never be paid! You can jump up and down and shout all you want, but you’ll never get any money from them. Eventually these scams get shut down by the government.

But, let’s pretend though that you do find a legitimate company and actually get paid. The standard pay rate is around 1-2 cents per email read. You might get 10-25 per day. That comes out to around $3.00-$10.00 per month. Is that anyone’s idea of making money? If it is, then you can do a Goggle search and find tons of these home business opportunities.

Internet Research

This is more like a job than a home business, but I wanted to include it nonetheless. As an Internet researcher your job is to search the web for information and provide it to the company paying you. Sounds easy enough, but there is much more to it. You will practically need a Masters Degree in order to get one of these jobs. The subjects will be highly technical in nature. You will also need to have excellent search engine skills. Finally, the pay is not good. If you’re lucky enough to land one of these projects you may get paid $20 for an entire days work. Not exactly a good way to make a living.

Home Assembly Companies

I saved the best (or worst as I should call it) for last. Perhaps the worst scams to be found anywhere are home assembly companies. They have been scamming people for many years now and continue to do so. Here is how it works.

You answer an ad and get sent a letter in the mail. The letter contains instructions on getting started making small crafts and sending them in to the company for approval and payment. You will need to purchase a materials kit from the company that can cost from $20 up to $75 or more in some cases. You could easily buy these materials for a much cheaper cost at Wal-Mart, but you must buy them from the company. You may also be required to pay an up-front registration fee to set you up in their system.

When you complete your first project and send it in you will be credited with the cost of your kit along with payment if you have been approved. And that is where the scam begins. You will never have your work approved! It doesn’t matter if you followed every instruction to the letter, you will never be paid. You will receive a letter from the company telling you that your work was not approved no matter what. All of these home assembly companies sound good from reading the ads, but the truth is they are scams. Don’t give them your money.

About the Author

Discover more information on Home Business Scams as well as information on home businesses at http://www.Home-Business.InfoFromA-Z.com
Realistic Expectations When Starting a Home Based Business

 by: Rebecca Gilbert

Working out of your home with an internet business can be the most rewarding experience, both personally and financially, that a person can undertake. The internet has made more millionaires than any other vessel in history, and you don’t have to any education or experience to obtain the riches that the internet has to offer. We all want to make more money, spend time with our family, and these are only a few of the fringe benefits that owning an internet business can provide. However, individuals that have made their fortune on the internet have certain characteristics about them that have allowed them to be successful. These riches were not obtained overnight, and they were not obtained without realistic expectations.

Lets look at some of the things that would prohibit you from being successful online…

Are you currently unemployed?

I see so many people sign up for internet programs these days that are not currently employed and expect that an internet business will provide for their families right off the bat.

Businesses on the internet are not 9-5 jobs that pay by the hour, they are “businesses”, and most pay by commission. As with most businesses, there are things that have to be set in place before you are going to start attracting customers. This does not happen overnight, this is something that you will put in place over time. When this is done over time, your commissions will grow and grow to the point that an internet business will replace your current income or career.

Are you unwilling to invest your money?

Many programs on the internet offer free sign-ups, free products, and free websites to help an individual get started in a internet home business. This is fantastic, because in order to make money on the internet, you have to have a product to sell, and your going to need a website to enable your customers with a place to go to purchase your products. However, visitors won’t know that your website exist unless you advertise it. Many high traffic sites on the internet will allow you to advertise your products on their site for a fee.

Getting your website listing on the search engines is free and will supply you with a never ending traffic stream. But many search engines are unwilling to list free affiliate websites. The way that we overcome this is to build our own sites and link them to our affiliate websites. Building your own website will cost you around $25. So as you can see, if you cannot initially invest at least $25 - $50 a month on your internet business, your probably not going to succeed.

Are you unwilling to invest your time?

I spend about 2 hours a day online through the week working on my business. I am advertising and submitting my website to various search engines, directories, and other high traffic sites. I am critiquing my website, sending emails to my affiliates in training, making deals with other webmasters, etc.

I also do an enormous amount of reading. I have found that entrepreneurs who have made a fortune on the internet are only too happy to share their knowledge on how they got there. Some days I put in more time and some day’s I don’t work at all. But, I know that every hour I spend on setting my business up is just one step closer to reaching my financial goals. If you are unwilling to invest your time…your probably not going to succeed.

Are you unwilling to give up your skepticism?

Many times I have an affiliate sign up for my program, and the first thing I hear is how they have been burned by another internet business. While I’m sure there are millions of internet scams out there, I see a common characteristic that all these people seem to have…they don’t DO ANYTHING!

When people sign up for my program, the first thing that I do is suggest that they complete a short online training on how our program works and the compensation plan. I have a statistics page that will tell me when the affiliates in my down line complete the training, I can see when they have made a sale or signed up an affiliate of their own. All these people that claim to be scammed in the past never even get past the online training. Then oddly enough, they will have enough gall to email me the next month and ask where their paycheck is?

Do people actually believe that they will earn a paycheck just because they signed up? Is this why so many believe that they have been scammed in the past? Are they so nave that they think a company will pay them when they have made no sales? If any of these things sound remotely familiar…your probably not going to succeed.

In closing, operating an internet business is not a get-rich quick program, nor can you be successful if you are unwilling to invest some time and money. You must have some realistic expectations and stay focused on the goal at hand. If you are capable of doing these things, you can expect many handsome rewards in the future for your time and effort.

Best wishes for your future success and prosperity!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Gilbert

http://www.101homebusiness.org

Overcoming Barriers To Home Business Success

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When we decide to start a home business, most of us are eager to get moving and achieve the success we know we’re capable of. Some of us go full steam ahead and immediately start seeing results, while others seem to keep running into snags and obstacles no matter how hard we try to get ahead. It’s important to consider that we may have subconscious issues that are preventing us from moving forward and achieving the success we desire.

If you’ve been struggling to make a success of your home business and feel like you’ve got invisible walls holding you back, ask yourself these five questions:

1) Are you afraid of success? Most of us THINK we want to be successful, but deep down inside we fear it. Why would anyone fear success? Because being “successful” often comes with a lot of baggage. We aren’t necessarily afraid of the success itself, but what comes along with it. We might find ourselves in the spotlight and have more attention and admiration thrown our way. That sounds like a good thing, but it can be unnerving if we’re not prepared to deal with it. We might also find ourselves with increased responsibility. Can we handle the pressure and do what is required of us? Can we properly support a large team and customer base? What if we don’t have what it takes? As these thoughts keep floating through our mind, self-doubt creeps in, and we find ourselves shying away from the activities that could bring the success we desire. The best remedy for these fearful thoughts is to keep affirming your own ability to handle whatever comes your way. Take some time to study the aspects of business you fear, such as building long-term customer relationships and leadership techniques. Knowledge is power, and as you learn and grow, your confidence will also.

2) Are you afraid of rejection or ridicule? This is a big issue for some of us. If we have a big enough fear of rejection, we will avoid seeking new customers, clients and recruits. A wonderful technique to overcome this fear is to practice releasing your expectation of the outcome. When you approach a potential customer or recruit, make it your mission to put the information in front of them, and not get hung up on whether they will buy or sign on. It can be helpful to set “action goals” versus “results goals” also. For example, instead of making it your goal to gain five new customers each week, make it your goal to APPROACH twenty potential customers each week. Don’t worry about how many will join you, just focus on perfecting your presentation and being helpful, professional and available. If you have a good product and a positive attitude, people will be attracted to you and want what you have to offer. Your job is simply to make it available.

3) Do you have negative emotions about money? While we dream of having a large, successful business that pays well, many of us also have negative thoughts about people who have a lot of money. We fear becoming one of “them” — snobby, rude rich people. We might also feel guilty about having a lot of money when so many people in the world have nothing. If you have negative issues attached to money, you will resist the manifestation of it in your life. Your mind and heart will be at war and not allow you to create the wealth you truly want and deserve. The thing to understand about money is that it’s simply the physical representation of abundance in your life. Money itself is not good or bad. It’s what you do with the money that gives it positive or negative connotations. Just because you begin earning a lot of money doesn’t mean you will turn into a snob. You can choose your attitude and remain just as kind and compassionate as you are today. And by having plenty of financial resources at your disposal, think of all the people you could help. Rather than feeling guilty about having a comfortable life, you can reach out and share your wealth with others.

4) Do you lack confidence? Lack of confidence in yourself, the company you represent, or the products you are selling can hold you back also. Confidence, like anything else, is a learned skill that grows stronger with practice. If you are new to your home business, you might shy away from approaching potential customers and recruits because you aren’t comfortable with the procedures yet, or feel you don’t know enough. You might be afraid that people will ask a question you can’t answer. Remember the first few times you drove a car? You were nervous and cautious, weren’t you? Are you more confident driving now? I bet you are, because you’ve done it thousands of times. You can also become comfortable with the aspects of your home business that frighten you, by simply practicing until you feel more comfortable with them. Devote some time to memorizing your prospecting script, the benefits of your products, and your approach. Write it all down and read it aloud over and over again until you’ve memorized it and feel more comfortable with it. Your confidence and enthusiasm will then shine through and attract success.

5) Are you afraid of failure? Some of us never even get started because we’re so afraid we might fail. We’re afraid to even try to make our dreams a reality. It seems safer to stay in our unhappy circumstances, because even though we aren’t satisfied, at least they are familiar and comfortable. The unknown is scary. But if we don’t try, we’ll miss out on the chance to make our lives better. Progress and advancement in life is not gained by sitting meekly on the sidelines; we need to actually get in the game and start playing! The only true failures in life occur when we give up or don’t try at all.

No matter what fears hold you back, know that you have the power to overcome them and achieve every success you desire. Simply begin changing your negative thoughts to positive ones, and take steps to make your dream a reality. When you come up against something that frightens you or makes you uncomfortable, know that you’ve just encountered an invisible barrier to your success. You can choose to let it defeat you, or you can smash it to bits by pushing right through it.

About the Author:

Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer, web designer and owner of http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a resource center for home business owners and telecommuters. Visit today for information on how to make your work at home experience successful.