As you scan the internet looking for businesses to start, you’re going to find some great ones and some fishy ones. The problem is, it’s hard sometimes to tell which offer is a scam and what’s not a scam. The most important thing you can learn is the phrase “Buyer Beware.”

The most common work-at-home scams are:

* Envelope stuffing
* Assembly work
* Claims processing
* Medical billing
* Collecting refunds

But there are more scams that have started with the advent of high-speed internet, such as sudden emailed job opportunities for “at home” secretaries, managers and more. These types of scams are phishing for your personal information so that they can steal your identity.

The best way to approach any type of home business opportunity is with skepticism, and then do a little digging.

* Contact the Better Business Bureau – Even if a company doesn’t join the BBB, complaints can still be made about them. Go to the website and find out if any complaints have been filed about that particular company.

* Is the Pay Higher Than Average? – Many times some of these scammers will claim you’re going to hear 100K a year as a customer service representative or some other title that doesn’t make sense with the job offer.

* It’s Just Too Good to Be True – It’s a common phrase because it’s accurate. If any website, email, phone call, or mailer promises things that you just feel deep down inside cannot possibly be true, then you’re likely right.

* How Long Has Their Website Been Active? – Go to their website. How does it look? Are there any claims you know right off the bat that aren’t true? Do a “who is” search to find out how long the website has been around.

* Check Out Testimonials – Do they have testimonials? If so, find the people who gave the testimonial to verify if they’re actual people, and whether or not they still feel the same way. Usually people are happy to talk about something they love, and will gladly privately tell you about something they don’t.

* Stalk Their Social Media – Can you find their social media accounts so that you can follow them for a while and get to know what type of activity happens on their social media? If you can’t find them or their company, you should question whether or not it’s a scam.

* Be Aware of Browser Hijacking – Anyone can accidentally download software without even realizing it today. You’ll try to go to a certain site, and it will force your browser to go to a different one. This is not the fault of the website owner, and can happen to anyone. That’s why it’s important to keep your virus and malware programs up-to-date. Use the software put out by your particular operating system. For example, if you use Windows, use Microsoft Security Essentials.

* Learn to Protect Yourself – Never give out personal information that can be used to steal your identity. If you have a business and are in the USA, get an EIN from the IRS. It’s free and you don’t have to have employees to get one. This number can be used instead of your social security number when you are asked for a number.

Link to IRS – http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-%28EIN%29-Online

You don’t have to fall victim to any work-at-home scam. There is no such thing as not working and getting money. There is no easy road to riches. There always has to be activity required by you to make a living. It’s not going to come just by sitting on the beach. If someone tells you that, they’re scamming you.

There are many mistakes made when people start a home business. Probably the biggest mistake is not taking the business seriously. So many people start a home business thinking of it as only a hobby. But, home businesses can earn an enormous amount of money. Today, one person can run a multi-million dollar company from their home office. Here are some common mistakes that you’ll want to avoid.

* Not Focusing on the Audience – It’s easy to make this mistake because when you’re in business it feels like it’s about you. But it’s not; it’s about other people, your audience. The more you can place your focus on your audience, the better you’ll be at attracting your audience.

* Not Doing the Research – You may have what seems like a good idea, but there may be no market for it. Do your research before you go all in. Sometimes there simply isn’t enough of a market for an idea to make the sort of money you want to make. Just watch one episode of “Shark Tank” and you’ll see great ideas that still won’t produce enough income to attract the sharks.

* Not Staying Focused – Once you decide on something, you want to stay laser focused on your business and building it before you start looking at other options. Some people call it “shiny object syndrome.” To fight this syndrome, allow yourself to spend only a certain percentage of time on new ideas and the rest on the original.

* Learning without Action – It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the “how to” videos, reports, and courses you can take online today. But remember that these things, while wonderful, aren’t any good for you if you’re not going to follow the directions and do what they say. Put the things you learn into action before moving on and learning something else.

* Not Setting a Realistic Budget – Everything always cost more and takes more time than you think it will. You’re not going to make money today. It doesn’t matter what so-and-so guru told you. It takes time to make money, so ensure that you have the money to keep afloat until your business is earning. In addition, don’t overlook the bookkeeping. You can use an easy system like Wave Accounting or Go Daddy Bookkeeping.

Links:
Wave Accounting – https://www.waveapps.com/
Go Daddy Bookkeeping – https://bookkeeping.godaddy.com/

* Not Marketing Enough – So many small businesses, home businesses and otherwise, completely forget about marketing. You can’t have a business without some form of promotion. You can use social media, pay per click, search engine optimization, networking and more to promote your business. However you do it, you have to do it or you have no business.

* Outsourcing Too Quickly – Unless you have a large start-up budget, try to do most of the work yourself so that you know how to do it. You may want to outsource website building and some technology issues, but other than that, start slow with outsourcing.

* Not Outsourcing Enough – Once you get started and are profitable, you do want to outsource basic administration and other things like that. You don’t want to work yourself to death.

* Chasing Perfection – No one is ever perfect. It’s just not going to happen and it’s not possible. So many small business people, especially home business owners, try to be perfect. They are afraid to show their work for fear of judgement. You have to get over that. Something is better than nothing, and online everything can be improved later.

These mistakes can end a home business very quickly. If you avoid these mistakes, you could have the next multi-million dollar home business idea.

Working at home sounds like a dream come true to most people. No tromping out in the cold weather, no need for business clothes, and perhaps a way to truly have integration of family life and work without being fired. But, what sorts of positions can you find that you can do at home?

Inbound Call Center Agent

An inbound call center agent takes calls using their home phone and computer system from the comfort of their home office (or kitchen table), taking orders for products and services. For example, you may work on a project for well-known home shopping networks or food chain establishments. You’ll be trained, and have practice calls before you get started. You will make between $8 and $20 dollars per hour from home doing this. Some positions are independent contracting and some are full-fledged employees.

Outbound Call Center Agent

An outbound call center agent makes outbound calls to a list of leads given to them by the company they work with. They will try to sell something to the person they are calling such as magazine subscriptions, vacations, or even provide political information during election season.

It will depend on which company you choose to work with what type of calling you will do. You’ll be trained, provided a script, and learn to be a professional at this type of calling. Typically, on these positions you’re required to hit a certain level of sales to keep your position. The highest earners make about $60,000 per year.

Fundraiser

Every year you likely get fundraising calls. Well, they hire people who work from home to do the fundraising. The pay is usually hourly, from $8 to $20 per hour depending on the program you’re involved with. With less experience you can expect to earn less money since some of this is based on time on the phone and funds collected. Phone work can be challenging, but with more experience you’ll always earn more money.

Adjunct Professor

Believe it or not, colleges and universities contract with adjunct professors to teach and or grade their online courses. If you can get your foot in the door there are a lot of opportunities with online teaching at the college level. You will typically need at least a master’s degree in the area you want to teach, and a doctorate definitely will expand your opportunities.

Answering Service

This is a lot like some of the call positions mentioned above in terms of pay, but instead of dealing with sales you’ll be answering for businesses and taking messages and/or transferring calls as needed. You could be answering for various doctors’ offices, apartment complexes and other businesses during their lunchtime and off time. You’ll do this from your computer set up right from home.

Customer Service Rep

A customer service rep can work in a variety of ways such as via phone, text, email, chat windows and so forth. You would be trained thoroughly on the products and services and likely need to pass a test for each business you’ll be serving to handle customer problems and issues remotely. The pay can range from $8 an hour to $20 an hour.

Online K-12 Instructor

You may not realize it but there now fully online schools, and also some land-based schools that offer some of their less popular courses online. If you have a teaching certificate in the areas needed and experience teaching, you should have no problem finding an online teaching position. The pay is depending on the school. Some schools make you a full employee, and others work you as if you’re an adjunct contractor.

Travel Agent

Yes, travel agents still exist and companies are hiring travel agents (sometimes called travel consultants) to answer phones and help customers plan their trips. Usually you get paid a combination of base pay, and/or a percentage of sales with these types of jobs. So, you might have to make a lot of sales to make enough money as usually you don’t make more than 10 percent or so per sale. But, many travel agents love what they do and often get travel perks too.

Transcription Service

Many types of businesses use transcription services. There are many work-at-home opportunities for transcriptionists. Most of the time the transcribing is medical based but there are also opportunities for other types of transcribing. A good transcriber can make about $45,000 a year right from home. Sometimes you’re an independent contractor for several companies and other times you will be an employee, depending on your choice of company.

Appointment Setter

Many businesses such as the insurance industry need appointment setters. As an appointment setter you’ll be calling leads who have expressed interest in meeting with someone to discuss the product or service being provided. You’ll simply call the prospect and make the appointments for the business owner adding to their calendar. You may also call back to confirm the appointments 24 hours in advance. Pay can be hourly, or on an appointment-by-appointment basis.

There are many work-at-home positions that you can find today due to the advent of high speed internet and the relatively inexpensive cost of making long distance calls today. It’s important to check out any company before committing or offering your information to them before you get started, to avoid being scammed. Typically, other than buying and providing your own technology, you should not have to give the company any money to get started.

When you first decide to start an at-home business, you may want to choose between a service-based business and a product-based business. It might help you to find out about some of the pros and cons of each to help you move forward with decisions that need to be made. You can run both types of businesses together as well; they’re not mutually exclusive.

Both business ideas offer a tremendous amount of pros. Pros like owning your own business, being your own boss, making money from home, doing what you love, serving people you like, and having more freedom to spend with family and friends.

But, how do you know whether or not you should start a service-based business or a product-based business?

The components of a service-based business are:

* You and your skills
* Equipment
* Clients
* Time

Let’s look at the components of a product-based business:

* A product
* You and your skills
* Customers
* Time

Not much different, really. You are in the equation for both – whether you are selling products or services. Both will require sales and marketing. Both will require that you are able to deliver the service or product on time and with exceptional quality. Both may require a certain amount of technology and knowledge. In both cases you can outsource a certain portion of the work so that you can reduce your efforts.

Remember, when you outsource, in some ways you are really paying to increase the time you have to devote to a project. If you think of it that way, you’ll be able to outsource more efficiently. You won’t feel like you’re outsourcing because you can’t do it yourself; you’re doing it because you need more time. When you can strategically use other people’s time and skills, you can better your business.

With a product-based business you can typically get someone else to make the product and someone else to do the customer service. Technology will automate the delivery process, and you can simply oversee it and collect the revenue. Thus, you can essentially earn unlimited money outside of the hours it takes to produce them.

With a service-based business you will be required, for the most part, to speak directly to the clients and deliver your service on their deadline. You’ll be trading hours for dollars in many respects. So, in addition to the time factor involved with sales and marketing, and the upkeep of your business, your income will be limited to the number of billable hours you can work on any given day. This can be increased through outsourcing, but you will still need to be intimately involved with the results, which will take your time.