<< Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. Before getting into a home based business I suggest enrolling in a legal and identity theft protection plan. I use our own product we call PROTECTION but you can research for yourself and find a product that will not only protect you but also provide Identity Theft Insurance. >>

It's easy to see why owning your own home based business is so appealing. You can work from home, have no commute, no traffic, no daycare. Spend more time with your family, fire your boss, make more money, etc...

When it comes to actually taking action to bring your dream to reality, you must get into action. If you are like most people you won't even get started. It's sad for this author to think about the hundreds or thousands of people just like you that are dying to work from home but sadly never will.

As a network marketer and national business builder I have heard all the excuses and a lot of reasons for not getting started in a successful work from home opportunity. One of the most common excuses is that they are afraid they are going to get scammed. Are you living in FEAR? You have to shift your thinking and step out in faith.

The fear of being scammed is not an irrational fear. There are a lot of scams out there and for a lot of people it can be hard to tell the difference. You might even say it's impossible, but it's not.

Recognizing a home business scam is really simple if you know what you're looking for.

First: Lack of a product. It is illegal in the US to have a business and offer no product. The first question in evaluating a home business opportunity is ?what are the products??

If there is no product, RUN?Hang up?whatever. The recruiter will try and smokescreen you with some get rich quick dollar amounts ? do not even listen to it. Some people are such good scammers they will create a diversion so you don't realize your being scammed.

It's good idea to find a product you can get excited about but you actually can make money even with a horrible product but in my experience you need at least a decent product that you can be proud of and take to others about.

Here's a quick test?would you be willing to use the product yourself and also be able to recommend the product to the people you love the most? If you have such little belief that you will not be willing to show your loved ones, maybe that's not the business for you and you may want to keep looking.

Another clue you might be getting scammed is: the company's online reputation. The largest incomes in the home business industry are made by those that get involved early. Finding a ground floor opportunity could be the best financial decision you could ever make.

However make sure the company has a corporate office and ask about the corporate mission and business philosophy. If you find it difficult to get straight answers, corporate contacts, address, etc?.you've probably found a scam.

Scammers will often hide behind PO Boxes and toll free numbers that cannot be traced. Never do business with someone that you can't track down or can't give you at least a little bit of information about their company's reputation.

Another clue that you've found a scam is if they won't tell you what you'll be doing up front. Any successful home based business owner can immediately tell you what you are going to be doing to make money. They should have a well defined system in place for a brand new representative to get into profit quickly.

Ask questions like: Will you be selling the product? Will you be bringing other people into the business? This is the final thing you should find out before becoming involved in a home based business. Any good home based business will have a nice balance of product sales and business building by recruiting others and building a sales team.

Before we close keep in mind:

Nearly all successful home businesses require and investment up front and that does not mean it's a scam. All real businesses cost money to start and internet business is no different.

Most home based businesses will also require that you get other people involved and help to train them. This is also not the mark of a scam its actually a very smart business plan.

Lastly, every large company will have bad reviews and it doesn't necessarily mean it's a scam. Think about lawsuits against Wal-Mart or McDonalds. The more successful a company the larger it gets & the larger it gets the more likely it is to have upset someone along the way.

It's easy for someone to write an angry blog post or say something on the internet when they are upset so read the posts but before you take them as gospel you might want to ask the company rep about it. There's often a good explanation. Make sure you get the facts and don't just listen to a jilted ex-business owner.

I believe that if you are cautions and follow these steps you won't be fooled by the scammers out there, and hopefully you'll take action with an awesome home based business that can literally set you free for life?Good Luck!

We are confident that this posting will help many people avoid scams. If we only help ONE then we've done a good deed for the day!