Online marketing and in particular, direct sales is one of today's fastest growing industries. It's an honorable business that's filling a great demand while providing a far better than average income for those who persevere and desire to succeed. Sadly, because there are large sums of money being earned in this industry it will inevitably attract a selection of scumbags and bottom feeders who'll use their dubious talents to take advantage of people.

In my previous article, Home Based Business – Wannabe's Survival Guide I outlined three useful guidelines a marketing newbie can use to avoid be taken to the cleaners when looking for an online business opportunity. I'd now like to expand on those guidelines and provide a greater detail on what to look for when you research a company, its products and marketing system. Sooner or later you will have to trust your gut instinct to tell you if you're on the right track but by following this advice, you can save time, your hard earned money and avoid many of the common mistakes.

CHECK THE FINE PRINTClick on the company's website. Check out their vision and mission statements. Do they even have one? What's their long-term vision for growth? This may sound insignificant but any legitimate company will take this very seriously. They will go out of their way to show that they are above the majority and have definite substance and appeal by laying their out their cards for you to see.

Do a web search to check for bad publicity. Any company will have complaints (there are certainly unscrupulous folks who will invent “scam” claims in order to lure you away from legitimate opportunities to whatever they have for sale so please beware). But bad publicity will kill a company in short order so look for patterns of complaints. If there's a history of bad publicity, it's likely for a good reason.

Here's an instant red flag for you. If your prospective company's headquarters are located offshore in the Caribbean or Panama, this is likely done for a specific reason and that reason may not include benefits to your business.

BE A PRODUCT OF THE PRODUCTI mentioned this in the previous article, but it bears restating; check out the products to make sure they're legitimate stand alone products. If it's not a product you would purchase without the marketing system behind it – DON'T BUY IN!! Again, think long term sales and profits. Would you feel good buying this product if it was just the product? If the answer's no, it's a money game not a legitimate business and your chances of success just plummeted.

You know you're probably on the right track when you find a company that makes its revenue strictly from the sale of its products. If your prospective company spends more time and resources pushing incidental items like lead sales than it does its products; if they have large monthly charges for things like duplicated websites; or if they are big on pushing you into “alliances” with partners where they get a cut of the action, chances are the products are not their main focus and neither is your success. You have every right to ask blunt questions about who's getting your money. If you're not satisfied with the answer, tell them to take a hike. There are too many good companies online to waste your time and effort dealing with shadows, hype and promises. At the very least demand to talk to a few of their consultants who've been with them for several months to get the inside track. Check out the training and support offered to get an idea of the culture of the company. Keep in mind that a company that sells you their product up front and offers little in the way of continuing training and support after the fact has already made a profit from you and might be more inclined to move on to the next pigeon rather than focus on you.

MONEY IN YOUR POCKETMy advice is to avoid any company that makes you pass up the first few sales before you receive commissions. This goes back to the fact that once they and your sponsoring consultant have your cash, they're less likely to be there for you. Remember, this is your new career and you have to think long term. Just like the companies, if you're serious about long term growth you want to look after your customers because they're your source of residual profits for years to come.

The financial and lifestyle benefits of a successful online home based business are outstanding The bottom line is if you can find a company with great products, a solid financial foundation and a vision for the future combined with a legitimate compensation plan that allows you to earn what you feel your effort is worth, you should pursue it with everything you have. It will be the last position you will ever have.

In the WANNABE'S SURVIVAL GUIDE PART 3 I will outline a reasonable cost for starting an online home based business and the vital mental requirements of being successful in this business. As former New York Yankee great Yogi Berra once said. 90% of this game is half mental. It's not harshly difficult to make a lot of money as an online marketing entrepreneur, but there are certain similarities the ultra successful entrepreneurs share and you need to know. I wish you all the best of success.