Is That Business Legitimate or a Scam?

Is That Business Legitimate or a Scam?: "The average business opportunity scam runs for 12 to 18 months, ropes in 100 to 150 people, and takes a total of $3 million, Webster says. The FTC has taken about 240 civil actions against business-opportunity sellers since 1990, according to Vaca. The government also prosecutes a handful of cases under criminal law when repeat offenders are involved. But many home-based business scammers are never caught or punished. When victims lose money, they're often reluctant to report the fraud. Instead, they blame themselves for their losses. 'One of the things that's tough about business-opportunity frauds is a lot of people have a hard time recognizing that they've been scammed. Everybody wants to live the American dream,' Vaca says.

Typical scams involve charging buyers up-front fees for materials, training, sales leads, or locations (for vending machines or kiosks). But the promised returns rarely materialize, and victims get stuck holding inventory they can't sell. Some home-based business opportunities, such as envelope stuffing, are outright pyramid schemes where the only revenue comes from recruiting new victims, not actual product sales. Others are more subtle, like offers to set up medical billing services, in which buyers pay for training and leads without knowing that most doctors use in-house services or established billing companies."

Woman starts home business, Miriam's Busy Fingers, as part of state pilot program : NewsHerald.com

Woman starts home business, Miriam's Busy Fingers, as part of state pilot program : NewsHerald.com: "Despite her failing health, Shutes started a new home business this year, after being unable to work since 1982, and hopes to become self-sufficient again. She calls her business 'Miriam's Busy Fingers.'

Shutes is one of six handicapped people in the state tapped for a new pilot program called Micro Enterprise Training Technology Assistant, or METTA. The program, which was created by the University of Florida, is designed to offer training, equipment and professional support so disabled people like Shutes can run their own home business. A team was formed to find a business that would meet Shutes' abilities and interest. They came up with Medicaid waiver billing and virtual secretary. A business plan was developed and goals were set.

'It allows me to make the most of my potential,' said Shutes. 'I'm pretty computer savvy. I work four to six hours, Monday through Friday, but there are some days that I'm on the computer from 6 to 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m.'

Shutes has six clients so far. She was supplied with a huge list of service providers throughout the state by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and either writes or calls them to tell them about her service and how it will save them time and aggravation. The clients fax, e-mail or"

Star Community Newspapers

Star Community Newspapers: "“Mompreneurs,” or stay-at-home moms who redirect their creativity, experience and education into starting businesses on the side, are on the rise.

Many “mompreneurs” take a break from another career, intending to stay home for a while and work just one demanding job: that of mom. But a passion for their hobbies, the ability to be crafty and the realization that others wanted them too led many women to embrace the risks of starting a small business. Along the way, many say, they have found the perfect answer to combining parenthood with an engaging career.

Frisco resident Mary Stewart spent eight years teaching with Wylie Independent School District before she decided to become a stay-at-home mom after her second pregnancy.

At the time, Stewart was trying, with not much success, to teach her then 4-year-old daughter to tie her shoes. Using her creative flare and access to her father’s woodshop, Stewart developed a simple learning activity for her daughter. After spending 10 minutes with the “toy,” Stewart’s daughter was tying her own shoes."

You Can Make A Living Online

You Can Make A Living Online: "People are making money online in all sorts of ways. This means your opportunity for a home based business is there for the taking. Continue reading for some examples of how people are making a living through the internet.

For example, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard about people selling things on ebay. Anything you can think of gets sold online. Just set up an account with and advertise what you want to sell. When you get orders, you simply ship out your products. Some items, like software, you won’t even have to ship since people will be able to simply download the product.

This one might seem a little more amazing, but lots of people are making a living playing online poker. If you have patience you can start with a very small investment and build profits. Then you can slowly enter bigger and bigger games. Of course, you need to learn a game that you can beat the other players at, to see your profits grow. A good online player can make a huge amount of money just sitting at home playing poker."

Write For Google's "Knol" and Get Paid - The Money Times

Write For Google's "Knol" and Get Paid - The Money Times: "Unlike Wikipedia, Google’s publishing-and-reference service Knol allows users to write articles on their own areas of expertise under their bylines and, again in contrast to Wikipedia, all editorial responsibilities and control will rest with the authors. Anyone can write an article on almost anything and can earn money from them. The encyclopedia Wikipedia allows anonymity.

'We are deeply convinced that authorship -- knowing who wrote what -- helps readers trust the content,' said Cedric DuPont, product manager for Knol."