Tweet

5 Questions to Ask Work at Home Businesses

Written by: Krissy Mayse

Article Overview: • Can I REALLY make money with this? • What if it's a scam? • How can I tell if it's the real thing? • Why do they want money to get started? There are 5 questions that can help you. The correct answer to these questions doesn't mean overnight success. However, getting the right answers means you are less likely to get burned, lose money, and waste your time. The right answers also give you better odds at success.

5 Questions to Ask Work at Home Businesses

You've seen the ads. They pop up unexpectedly. Maybe you enter a search phrase on Google. Perhaps a friend tells you they saw a website online. Other times, you will find that interesting little something in your email and decide its "okay to check it out."

Some of the biggest questions on our minds when we see those ads are:

• Can I REALLY make money with this?
• What if it's a scam?
• How can I tell if it's the real thing?
• Why do they want money to get started?

There are 5 DIFFERENT questions that can help you.

The correct answer to these questions doesn't mean overnight success. However, getting the right answers means you are less likely to get burned, lose money, and waste your time. The right answers also give you better odds at success.

1. What credentials does your company have and how long have they been in business?

Look for companies with 10 or more years under their belt. Ask if they will give you credentials. Do they supply a copy of a recent growth chart? A business presentation should include factual information easily verified. Look for credentials (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, awards, news articles, scientific journal data, etc.)

2. Is this a "job" or a "business" opportunity?

You should ask this question because it's important to know the difference. Are YOU looking for a job or a business of your own? If a company is offering you a job, you should have no start up cost involved. A work at home job is simply a paycheck to paycheck type of income that allows you to stay home. Typically, there are few legitimate ways to get a "real" job on the internet. Some companies allow already employed persons to telecommute.

Be careful of companies who "appear" to be a job. You may discover it is actually an offer to show you a list of companies who might have work from home jobs. Sadly, these types of schemes charge you a fee for the list. Other types of ads or websites charge you to show you HOW to work from home. Don't be fooled. These are not job offers.

If you are looking at a legitimate business opportunity, you will find there is usually an investment. Sometimes the investment will cover a product kit or maybe it covers training materials. Franchising can have larger investments. Occasionally, you find opportunities that charge a licensing fee. This fee allows you to represent the company. Many times it can be hundreds or thousands of dollars to get started. The investment will depend on the type of business. In this author's experience, you can have a legitimate home business with unlimited income potential without the huge investment.

3. Can I Really Make Money?

This question is also stated another way: Do I have what it takes? Basically the answer to the question depends on two things. The first is the company's compensation plan. Is it set up so that you can move step by step to your income goals? Does the company share annual income statistics so you can see what the highest, lowest, and average amount of income is companywide? Many companies don't want you to see what other people are making and won't show you. Look for a company that shows you that information. It's important for you to know what is possible from Day 1.

Secondly, depend on yourself and what you know about YOU. If the person who shows you a business presentation isn't making the kind of money YOU want to earn, don't take that as a sign of what the company, the franchise or the opportunity can offer overall. Remember each person is different and your business success ratios will be different from another owner’s. Everyone has different “drive” and moves accordingly.

4. What type of support and training do you offer and is there a charge?
Many home businesses have a really great product and business model. Yet, many people fail when they try their hand at it. What is missing? Why do so many fail? It's the level of coaching, support and resources that make all the difference. Check to see if the business you are looking at offers free or inexpensive ways to get your business up and running. Is the training free? Do you get a business coach? If working online, will you have to pay for a website? What about tech support? Is tech support and website maintenance included at no extra charge?

5. Will I have to Sell Products, Keep Inventory? How Much is this Going to Cost?

A business that is legitimate is going to be selling products or services. If there is not a product or service involved, it is likely a scam. So, if you do not want to physically exchange goods for money, take orders, deliver products or provide customer service for a company, you may NOT be looking for a business. If you want to be in business FOR yourself, you will need to be involved with products or provide services in some manner.

Some businesses don't require selling, stocking or delivering. You can endorse their product, their company and open accounts or memberships for them. You are in an agreement with them as an independent contractor. Ideally, if you could combine this method with working on the internet, you would be in a 100% home based atmosphere and you would have a very low start up cost because there is NO product or inventory to sell. You'd want to use the company's merchandise yourself so you'd be credible when you setup accounts for them. In that case, a low requirement to use their products for yourself and your family would not be unreasonable. It makes sense. There's little to no new money coming out of your budget when you do that.

If you combined this type of an opportunity with all of the 4 points above, you would have a very good starting point and foundation for being your own boss without a large investment.

Related Articles
  Work At Home Business: Turning Your Idea into Dollars
  Work at Home Business - Find One That Pays
  Top Home Based Business Ontario
  Home Staging in Rochester, New York
  Finding a Legitimate Home Based Business That You Will Enjoy

Article Tags: awards news, better business bureau, business opportunity, business presentation, chamber of commerce, correct answer, credentials, email, factual information, google, growth chart, how to work from home, looking for a job, news articles, odds, overnight success, paycheck to paycheck, search phrase, work at home job, work from home jobs



Related Forum Posts
Try wikipedia.com for more information - That depends what type of business you are involved in. Maybe if you share that, we can help you a little better. I work mostly in the Work at Home industry so my advice would only be along those lines.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Books for the Entrepreneur - Another great book for internet entrepreneurs is The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris MichelleJ


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to Handle the “I Am Not Interested” Objection

A Guide to Franchise Financing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.