What's a Legitimate Home Business - and What's Not!
Knowing the difference between a legitimate home based business and a scammy "work at home opportunity" will save you sleepless nights, hours of work and disappointment, and probably wads of cash.
I'll be blunt: "data entry", "paid survey", "rebate processing" and "home assembly" work-at-home opportunities are mostly scams. You pay them money, they send you information (if you're lucky) which turns out not to be what you were led to expect and is usually outdated into the bargain, AND to add insult to injury you find you have to pay out more money in order to (in theory) make money. So lets not talk about them any more here (see my "business opportunity from home" lens for more details).
If you really want to work from home, check out Home Business Ideas Made Easy to discover ways to find and create your own personalized business ideas.
I'll be blunt: "data entry", "paid survey", "rebate processing" and "home assembly" work-at-home opportunities are mostly scams. You pay them money, they send you information (if you're lucky) which turns out not to be what you were led to expect and is usually outdated into the bargain, AND to add insult to injury you find you have to pay out more money in order to (in theory) make money. So lets not talk about them any more here (see my "business opportunity from home" lens for more details).
If you really want to work from home, check out Home Business Ideas Made Easy to discover ways to find and create your own personalized business ideas.
So, what is a legitimate home-based business?
It doesn't usually come in a ready made package. A practicable, workable business has to be right for you, specifically: it has to fit your personality and your life circumstances, be scalable to produce the amount of income you need, and be sustainable so you can keep producing that income without burning out yourself or your resources.
It's also important, if you want this to be a long-term business which supports you, even if only partly, that you don't have to "fly under the radar" in order to make it work. There are many regulations out there, depending on where you live, and you need to make sure you find out which ones affect the business you're interested in and that you're prepared to deal with the resulting bureaucracy and red tape.
Let's take food-related businesses as an example. In much of North America, you can sell certain kinds of food you make under certain circumstances. Here in British Columbia, Canada, I can make herbal vinegars at home in my kitchen and sell them myself at markets and fairs. If I want to wholesale them, though - sell them through retail shops - I have to make them in an inspected commercial-grade kitchen, which adds a whole extra layer of cost and complication to the production process. There are also all kinds of labeling laws for food products once you get above a certain point. So, while you could make extra pocket money easily this way, making a full time living would be many times more complex and would require a whole different business model.
It's also important, if you want this to be a long-term business which supports you, even if only partly, that you don't have to "fly under the radar" in order to make it work. There are many regulations out there, depending on where you live, and you need to make sure you find out which ones affect the business you're interested in and that you're prepared to deal with the resulting bureaucracy and red tape.
Let's take food-related businesses as an example. In much of North America, you can sell certain kinds of food you make under certain circumstances. Here in British Columbia, Canada, I can make herbal vinegars at home in my kitchen and sell them myself at markets and fairs. If I want to wholesale them, though - sell them through retail shops - I have to make them in an inspected commercial-grade kitchen, which adds a whole extra layer of cost and complication to the production process. There are also all kinds of labeling laws for food products once you get above a certain point. So, while you could make extra pocket money easily this way, making a full time living would be many times more complex and would require a whole different business model.
"You are capable of more than following someone else's idea. Follow your own dream!"
Create Your Own Business Ideas
Finding, creating and evaluating the right business idea for you is complex but it can be a lot of fun. I help people learn to come up with their own home business ideas that are genuinely workable, both from a business and a personal point of view. Right now you can visit my other home business lenses (see the right sidebar for a list) but I've now launched a very affordable 3-month training program within the next month which will help YOU create the very best business ideas for YOU.
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Home Business Ideas blog posts
If you really want to work from home, check out Home Business Ideas Made Easy to discover ways to find and create your own personalized business ideas.
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I grow a big organic garden, save seeds, and promote gardening and local food; help people design and redesign kitchens, provide custom LEGO building... (more)
