If you're just thinking about starting a home business, watch out for work-at-home and "easy money" schemes.
Lots of so-called home business "opportunities" out there are really scams. They promise easy startup and guaranteed profits, but they can actually end up costing you money. Big money.
What are some of the biggest scams targeting would-be home business owners?
Envelope-stuffing is among the top ones. No real market exists for home-based envelope-stuffers. How this "opportunity" often works is like this: you answer an ad and send in cash to learn how to earn money as an envelope-stuffer. In return, you receive instructions to take out ads -- at your own expense -- just like the one you answered, looking for other people like yourself. It's just an endless cycle of ads.
Medical billing businesses also are a favorite scam. While people can -- and do -- make money with home-based billing businesses, many of the advertised opportunities charge big money for outdated software and no training. You discover quickly that you can't market your business competitively, especially to doctors who might already have more sophisticated billing software than you just bought.
Other common "opportunities" to approach warily include craft-making, sewing and assembly work. These scams often require you to buy expensive materials, sewing machines or other goods upfront, and rarely pay you the promised rates -- if any money at all -- for the products you produce. Also, avoid any business that requires you to send out chain letters -- these schemes are pyramids that always collapse, making money only for the people who started them in the first place.
Remember, no business is easy. So beware of anyone who tells you otherwise.
Finally, always investigate the opportunity before investing a cent. Several good resources to check include the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org), the National Fraud Information Center (http://www.fraud.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov).
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