Small Business Opportunities:
How Do I Tell The
Good Ones From The Bad?

Every day it seems there are new types of small business opportunities being promoted. It's impractical to stay on top of each specific deal. Fortunately, though, it is practical to apply certain key questions to any deal that comes along. Getting the answers to those questions will give you a good sense of whether you are dealing with solid small business opportunities, or scams.

The less time you spend reviewing the scams, the better. If you go through the questions in the order we list them below, you'll save time. That's because the first questions will allow you to weed out lots of small business opportunities quickly, so you can save the bulk of your time for the proposals that have real substance.

Here is your arsenal of questions:

1. How much hype is there?
How much are you promised amazing returns for little work? Does it seem too good to be true? Ask yourself: "If it's so good, why are they offering it to me?" Why do they need to advertise on the Internet for strangers to join these "fantastic" small business opportunities from home? Why wouldn't they just hoard them for themselves and their relatives? Why wouldn't it be on the front pages of every newspaper, about how people can make fortunes with little work?

The answer, of course, is that the hyped small business opportunities are almost certainly lousy ones, and that is hardly news for the papers. What you should be looking for are...

You should not be looking for "once in a lifetime chances". You should be looking for good, legitimate, tested small business opportunities that you can run from home, and that have a common-sense mixture of manageable risks, and potentially substantial rewards.

2. What is the underlying product? Is it a gimmick, or valuable?
If you're being asked to market something new, you should be very suspicious. Sure, "new" has a certain romance to it. But again, you should want "tested" over "new" every day of the week. Let someone else use his money to prove that "revolutionary new product" concept; if it's so good, there'll be plenty of time to hop on board the opportunity later. Besides, you know the definition of "pioneer", don't you...

He's the guy face-down in the mud,
with all the arrows in his back.

3. How much pressure are you getting to make a decision?
If it's a lot of pressure, then cross these small business opportunities off your list. You should not be rushed into an opportunity. That's the sign of high-pressure tactics to get you to commit and pay before you can think. People who have legitimate opportunities don't want you to sit around and think about it forever; but they allow you plenty of time to read, ask questions, and think it over. They want you for the long term.

4. How much are you being asked to pay up front?
On the one hand, if it's free, you almost certainly are not looking at a great home income opportunity. In business, "free" usually isn't; there most likely is some catch, like "free trial period"; or free with lots of forced advertising; or a crummy free version with pressure later to buy the expensive, better version.

On the other hand, if it's quite expensive up front, then the company is probably milking you early on, and has little interest in your long-term success.
In our opinion, you're better off with small business opportunities for home incomes that cost a small but reasonable amount up front, and that have clearly explained, common-sense pricing.

5. How long have they been in business?
This is important because you want to separate the solid small business opportunities from the merely good ideas. You want proven systems.

While you're at it, look to see whether those "20 years in business" that they proudly quote, were in the same business as they are now in. It's not a good sign if the company is in the vitamin business now, but was in auto parts for the first 18 of those 20 years.

6. Can you fully investigate the company through the internet?
Or do they only tease you with information, and force you to talk with one of their "helpful" representatives, in order to strong-arm you? Hey, if you prefer to talk with someone live, that's fine. But it should be your choice, and not the requirement of a company that insists on the "hard sell".

7. Is there a "bait and switch" going on?
Do they first tell you how you can get started with the opportunity with only a few dollars...and then do you get the sales job that if you want to be "truly" successful at the business, you need to pay a lot more money and become one of their "Inner Circle", or whatever they call their highest level? This is a dishonest method of luring people in with promises of success, and then cranking up the financial commitment down the road. Multiple levels are fine; it's just not fine to shove you into a high level when you haven't yet made any cash from a lower one.

8. What do the search engines tell you about them?
The Web has become a vast community of people and information. By going to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com, you can instantly see what kind of reputation (if any) your potential small business opportunities have.
These search engines and directories will return websites and discussion boards that mention your target opportunities. Be sure to try different versions of the name: If you're looking for information on "Acme Skincare Products", you might check that name, but also "Acme Cosmetics" and "Acme Products".
You may find nothing ("Hmmm...This is supposed to be a well-established company, and I'm finding nothing about them on the Web?"); or you may find positive and/or negative opinions. This kind of detective work is vital to going into small business opportunities with your eyes open, and coming out with your wallet intact.

9. Check out the Better Business Bureau online.
This is a great resource. The "BBB" is a clearinghouse for information about companies. They promote good business practices, and also keep tabs on customer complaints. Just go to www.bbb.org, and type in the name of the company. If the Better Business Bureau has any information on the company, you'll see a summary of it.

10. Ask for the names of people in your area who've signed up for the business.
See if the response is "Sure, how many names do you want?" or "Sorry, we respect the privacy of our distributors and don't give that information out." Baloney. You want to talk with live users of this opportunity. If you get the latter type of response, dump the company. Simple as that.

11. How many successful people can the company point to?
Is there only a handful of success stories, or a ton of them? Is it "stale" success that happened a number of years ago, or can the company point to recent successes, too?

12. When you go to pay for any fees or materials, be sure to do so with a major credit card like American Express.
Some cards have aggressive anti-fraud and anti-deception policies. If you keep good records, and can point to problems, then those companies might act on your behalf--for free--and reverse any questionable charges. You first need to check with the card company about its policies.

Of course, if you simply lost money on a dumb decision on your part, don't expect the card company to fix it!

These questions are not guaranteed to deliver the perfect small business opportunities for your home income needs. But they are certainly going to weed out the vast majority of weak or fraudulent ones. If you've gone through this process, and still have questions about the small business opportunities you're reviewing, contact us for further, customized help by clicking here.