Most of the victims in these cases are people who crave to own an online business that they can run from home, which would allow them the flexibility to create that most sought after, unique balance between work and leisure/family time. Being passionate about achieving this, many people fail to conduct proper research and to their detriment often make impulsive decisions driven by emotion leaving them extremely vulnerable. This is the very thing that many “marketers” exploit and which inevitably causes innocent people to fall into the many traps that are being set up in cyberspace all the time.  

It is disturbing to see the garbage some “marketers” are allowed to include on their websites in their attempts to sell their so called online business opportunities these days. When reading some of these websites, one can’t help but to wonder what happened to openness, transparency and honesty in online business. In fact, it raises the question of whether business ethics have ever, or will ever exist on the Internet. 

One just has to spend a little time in doing some research on the Internet to discover that the same strategies to lure people into buying useless online business systems are being used over and over again. The hard reality is that empty promises are being tossed out there to scam vulnerable and innocent people all the time. 

Whilst it is true that there are many different ways of conducting online business on the Internet, the fact remains that just about every man and his dog offering business opportunities on the Internet claims to have the ultimate solution to online business. Many empty, misleading promises are often made about online business opportunities including phrases and terminology such as; 

100% Rock solid guaranteed… Killer system… Promise to put $ $ $ $ … into your pocket within hours, days, weeks…. Anyone can do this… Very little effort i.e. 5, 10 … minutes a day, week, month, …. Nothing like it out there… Free (Never mentioning all the add-ons that one needs to purchase) No questions asked money back guarantee… 

to name but a few. Apart from this, many advertisers often promise a hand held, step-by-step online business system, which almost never meets such expectations in the true sense of the word. To top it all, one is typically bombarded with the “what to do”, whilst the “How to do it” is conveniently left out of the equation. 

Furthermore, as it is said, the devil lies in the detail, or should we say the fine print. In defense of some website owners, it is true to say that we live in a very legalistic society and that there are always people who will abuse systems and/or policies and that one needs to provide for such circumstances. However, most website owners are legally completely indemnified in the “very fine print” Terms and Conditions on their websites from being held responsible or accountable for any success claims made on their website. This raises the question as to why someone would need to include such terms if they truly had the confidence in their online business opportunity as expressed on the selling pages of their website. 

It is not all bad though. Although one cannot ever be 100% certain that a particular online business opportunity would deliver exactly what it promises, there are a few useful checks that can be done to tip the odds moderately in one’s favor. If you are looking at engaging in online business, it is strongly suggested that you consider the following: 

Contact the Advertiser

Enquire as to whether the advertiser is contactable, i.e. telephone, email, mail etc., and make use of these contact methods to verify that the person actually exists. This conversation will give you an idea of whether you will be receiving after sales support in setting up your online business, if and when necessary. 

Ask questions about the Opportunity

Secondly, when contacting the advertiser, ask questions to clarify anything about the online business opportunity that isn’t clear to you. 

Seek Verification Of Testimonials

Check whether the people providing testimonials on the website are contactable and contact them to enquire about how they are doing with the product. 

Spot Unrealistic Claims

Don’t accept anything as a given. Watch out for unrealistic claims such as those listed, but not limited to, earlier in this report. The golden rule here is that if an online business opportunity sounds too good to be true, then it most probably is. 

Check The Terms and Conditions

As mentioned earlier, many marketers use this section to indemnify themselves legally from taking any responsibility for the claims they make. If this even vaguely appears to be the case, it is suggested to refrain from getting involved in such online business opportunity as it is most likely to be a scam. 

Seek A Reputable Merchant

It is worth checking whether the online business opportunity is marketed through a reputable online merchant such as Clickbank.com. The reason for this is that Clickbank offers a 60 day money back guarantee and they are renowned for honoring this commitment. It is suggested that you avoid relying solely on the guarantee offered by the advertiser. 

Read Product Reviews

It is worth searching the net for product reviews on the particular online business opportunity one wishes to pursue. These often provide valuable unbiased information on the product. 

These are just a few, yet critical pointers to consider that could make the difference between spending your hard earned cash on either a scam or a worthwhile online business opportunity. The secret lies in conducting thorough research prior to getting involved. It is commonly known that adequate planning contributes to 80% of a business’ success whereas the remaining 20% is in the running of it. This statistic alone should clearly be enough to adequately justify doing proper  planning, i.e. research. 

 

It happens to all of us. It may have already happened to you – especially if you’re just starting out in online business: frustration. The frustration of signing up with that “golden” opportunity to make a “fortune” online. “No cash up front!” “Work only 1 hour a day!” “Get that new car next week!”

We’ve all seen these types of hyped up ads. I mean, the Internet is literally drowning in them. With so much publicity and marketing flooding your browser, how can you tell which of the opportunities are legitimate – and which just want to scam you for your credit card numbers?

Basically, there are only 2 ways to find the ripe fruit in an orchard virtually overgrown with rotten apples.

1 – Sign up, pay the price. Do the “work” and realize too late that you just flushed your hard-earned cash down the toilet.

2 – Do your due diligence. Search & research; find views, reviews and opinions of those who have already signed up (DO NOT rely exclusively on the onsite testimonials for this as they are just too easy to fake); search for bios of the creators, designers AND those who provide testimonials; read EVERY word on the page promoting the opportunity; follow available links to affiliates and check out their credentials too; read every online article you can find relating to the opportunity; if you sign up for their newsletter, create a special email account to receive it just in case you can’t unsubscribe (keeps the spam out of your main inbox). Lather, rinse & repeat. Then, if the opportunity still appeals to you, sign up, dive in and STICK TO IT.

I think we can agree that option #1 is pretty much a gamble. Option #2 would however probably deliver much more satisfactory results. So why is it that so many of us get lured in by the scams? That’s actually quite an easy question to answer: gratification. Taking the route outlined in option #2 requires a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of patience. The gamble illustrated in option #1 does have it’s appeal: “Wow, this could be THE solution I’ve been looking for!”.

Any search for solutions that we may undertake (whether for online business opportunities, or for anything else for that matter) is influenced by our desire for gratification – and the sooner, the better. It’s that desire for immediate results that gets us into trouble. Unscrupulous marketers know this and are able to capitalize on it; it’s called impulse buying. How many times have you purchased that cheap gadget or that totally useless little doohickie at the drug store checkout only to have wind up in the trash within a week?

Frustration is the result of unfulfilled desire.

Signing up for an opportunity with no due diligence is simply an attempt to fulfill a desire for immediate gratification: instant cash. There’s the trap: NO legitimate online business opportunity is going to provide you with such immediate income. Legitimate opportunities do require work, research & education. Most of them provide that education based on their years of experience and the research that they have already done for you.

So, how do you deal with the frustration that you may be feeling after having been “suckered”? Simple: you must first understand – and accept – that you were reacting to a very human desire to feel better right now. The key here is then to invest in your feelings before you invest in an online business opportunity.

Invest in my feelings? Huh? Let me explain. Which emotion do you prefer: disappointment or excitement? I think the answer to that is obvious. You can easily generate disappointment and frustration by reacting to your desires. You can just as easily generate excitement and mounting anticipation of future fulfillment by acting on your desires. Notice the difference? You can choose to react or to act – it’s up to you. Either way, it’s of the utmost importance to accept responsibility for the consequences – including how you feel.

Take your time to investigate the online business opportunities that interest you. Visit websites that provide information on a variety of affiliate programs. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of signing up with programs that provide one income stream versus those that provide multiple streams of income. Due diligence; with both your feelings, and with the online business opportunities you may be considering. It’s what will make or break your online success.

Stay tuned for my next article: Define What Really Motivates You to Start Your Online Business.