by MJ Miller

Created on: November 15, 2006   Last Updated: February 16, 2010

A lot of people out there are looking to get into some business to make a little extra money or go all the way and become financially independent. The problem is, finding a legitimate business opportunity (biz op) that you can make work to accomplish your goals. Here is a little information that may help you in your search to distinguish a legit biz op from a scam.

I have seen a lot of websites that accuse some online businesses of being a scam because when you have a website that claims to "reveal the scams", it helps them get traffic to their website. I saw one that claimed that the "get paid to take surveys" sites were almost all scams. Of course, further down on the page they tell you to join the survey sites they recommend and that they were the only honest ones and they were the ones that charge a fee to join. (The very ones that are the scams!) Unbelievable...

When it comes right down to it, there are lots of scams on the internet and there are also a lot of legitimate businesses too. It is up to everyone that wants to join one of these businesses to check it out for themselves thoroughly before they join. It is not all that hard to decide if it is a scam or not. Here are some tips to help you check them out:

1. Here is the number 1 rule: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is! I bet you've heard that before. Well, it's still true. In other words, if they promise you will make loads of cash for doing nothing or next to nothing, it is not true. There is not any legal, legitimate business that will pay you lots of money for doing nothing. Period. End of story.

2. Read the terms of service (TOS) at each site. Every legitimate business opportunity will have a link, usually at the bottom of the page to read the TOS. It should tell you what is involved with getting paid and what you have to do to make money. If there is any "fine print", it will be here.

3. Is the biz op free to join or do they charge a fee to join? If it's legit, then it is probably free to join. If it costs money to join, then you need to take a close look at why it costs money. If they are selling you a starter kit or something that you need or will help you get started in your business it could be legit. If they are just charging a membership fee to join, then it is very possibly a scam and/or pyramid scheme and you need to investigate further.

4. This is a very fine point and something to look at very closely. How do you make money in the biz op? Do you make commissions

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