In the last two weeks I have received several e-mails and one phone call from people looking for ways to make money working from home. Unfortunately, a couple of people had lost money on illegitimate work-at-home opportunities.
Finding a home-based job or business opportunity can be perilous. Unscrupulous people and businesses try to prey on people’s desire for the flexible lifestyle that working at home affords. While legitimate home-based work is available, finding these opportunities requires careful research and a fair amount of legwork. An investment in training may also be necessary.
The best way to find home-based work is to ask everyone you know if the company they work for uses home-based workers. You can also contact local companies that are likely to need people based in home offices, such as research companies and telemarketing firms.
During your search, keep in mind that most of the “easy money” work-at-home opportunities are not legitimate. What gets people into trouble is getting involved in schemes that promise to make you rich quick. Anything that doesn’t require legwork or effort should make you suspicious.
To avoid missteps when reviewing home-based opportunities, do the following:
– Check for complaints. Call the Better Business Bureau, the state attorney general’s office, and the consumer affairs office to search for complaints against companies that are offering interesting home-based jobs. One complaint may not indicate that a company lacks legitimacy, but further investigation will allow you to create a more complete picture of the company.
– Be suspicious of opportunities that require a large investment in information or supplies. To avoid being taken, ask yourself if you are buying worthwhile items, such as data or supplies that you could not pull together yourself. Things worth paying for are advice from experienced experts, help finding customers and marketing support. Supplies to avoid are overused mailing lists, outdated how-to books and inaccurate lists of companies that hire home workers.
-Research training courses. Before paying for training or education, check the pricing of the program against other training institutions to see if it is competitive. You may also want to research courses or information that may be available through a local university or college.
– Check with your state to find out if the principals in companies you are considering own multiple ventures. This will help you identify those who open and shut down businesses regularly.
– Insist on face-to-face meetings with the references a company provides. A common practice among illegitimate companies is to employ people to act as references over the phone to sing the praises of a business opportunity. If you insist on meeting “satisfied customers” in person, you will be one step closer to separating real opportunities from scams.
– Talk to numerous references. Even if you meet two or three references in person, ask to speak on the phone with 10 to 20 satisfied customers. This will help you discern those companies that hire a handful of people to pose as happy customers from those that offer real work-at-home opportunities.
– Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by a company that has a booth at a trade show. Anyone can get a booth by paying a fee, so don’t give too much credibility to a business simply because it has a presence at a show. Be diligent no matter how nice or legitimate a company appears.
– Be careful of advertising flyers without an address. Plenty of flyers have only a sales pitch and details of where and when to go to learn more about a great home business opportunity, or a phone number that plays a recorded announcement. Without an address, you will have little recourse if the company disappoints you.
Alice Bredin is author of the “Virtual Office Survival Handbook” (John Wiley & Sons) and a nationally syndicated columnist.
