Raven's Work From Home Resources

I am of a belief that what is in my brain caused me to be such a fool as I learn a thing well both by seeing and by reading it. It is the format of the Internet to combine these items and as such it is taken in much more quickly than if I had read or seen it alone. 'Tis a good thing for me to learn with, true, but not when I am unguarded in my own mind. When travelling the net for pleasure and entertainment, I must keep my guard and so should you my friend as a non-evaluated fact can be hazardous to the unsuspecting Mom dreaming of staying home and living well.

I was also made a fool due to my failure to evaluate those words spoken in a slick tongue. Well written ads re-peddle a dream and wrap it in the clothes of the product they wish to have you leave with. 'Tis a well known fact, indeed, that feelings and dreams are much more strong in motivation than fact and common sense. Friend, if a snake oil salesman has lifted coin from your hand in the past, do not worry of it anymore. Instead begin to think safely and it will protect yourself against the "next time" you are greeted by an email or website that is not necessarily speaking truth.

1. Learn the Language: Indeed it is possible you find the manner of my speaking strange. Mayhap if you find it hard to understand I may be capable of telling you untruths and your wits may not pick up on it. So it is with the net and work at home situations. You need to know what it is that people are actually telling you.

a. "Job" or "Employment" A position where a company pays you in exchange for work performed. There are no fees associated with a legitimate job. Equipment or services may need to be leased or bought, if purchased they are yours forever, if leased note the manner in which you receive your money back. Some jobs pay salary, some an hourly wage if your work is done connected to a network, but most WAH or Online positions pay a *commission*. A commission is money paid according to a desired outcome. This would be how many people buy the product you sell or call back as a result of your recruiting or how many pages you type. Indeed you could work many hours a day and not earn a red cent if one is on commission.

b. "Opportunity" (ie home business, Multi-level Marketing Scheme, or affiliation) Often a kit, training or certificate of enrollment is purchased, and information, marketing and upkeep may be required. These may be reasonable but oft are expensive. If you do not market (sell) your product you do not get paid. Claims of potential income are oft made, but note there is no guarantee of income. When signing up for these, make sure you know that the market for the item is good. Also be aware of how much it will cost to market or keep up and please make sure that you have the gift of sales.

2. Learn Common Scams: Oftimes scams are merely illegitimate twists on situations that actually occur, therefore if one is not suspicious of them one will trust the ad copy when indeed they should not. Please do not be fooled by any of these common scams.

a. Craft Assembly: There are companies that purchase craft items wholesale from talented crafters to sell. However, they don't send e-mails to folks who are not known crafters and make claims that they are looking for people who have no experience. They do not advertise normally on sites which require membership fees of the crafters, and they do not claim profits for the crafter which rival a lawyer's salary on a part time schedule. If one considers this logically it makes sense. Quality crafters have both talent and experience. If you are good enough to sell items it is best to market yourself. You will not require a kit to start since you already have your goods and in reality these sites are selling a kit. If you were to send crafts to them most likely you will not be paid (they have a bad track record) and the "money back guarantee" is written in such a way that if you use the kit you can't get a dime back.

b. Pyramid Schemes: These are MLM opportunities with no product to sell. Unlike honest companies like Amway, these are selling the opportunity to you so that you can sell it and gather commissions off your victim. These are not just stupid and untrustworthy they are illegal and must be avoided at all costs. Always look for a product line. If there is none, fuggedaboudit.

c. Envelope Stuffing: Some companies need bulk mail processors, but these positions are usually acquired the normal way, with resumes and applications. Nobody gets legitimate bulk processing positions by answering Spam or ads in the Pennysaver. In reality this scam requires you to market the scam and gain addresses. Then you put the scam ad in the envelope and send it off to your victim.

d. Claims Processing: People do not get telework positions doing medical transcription, billing and claims processing from Spam e-mails. They get them by sending resumes to companies that are interested in a work at home transcriptionists. These companies require several years experience in an office situation so that they know you are familiar with the process you will be performing at home.

Any company that claims to train you and get you a job for $39.95 is a scam. There are accredited schools that teach medical transcription and billing. These schools cost about a thousand or so dollars and if you wish to you can learn the skill. Some of these courses can be taken out of the home, but when you are done with your education, you will need to work in the traditional workplace for a time before attempting to go telework. Basically you need to get references and unfortunately that is the unvarnished truth.

3. 8 simple rules to avoid being a fool:

a. Don't send money to an employer no matter how juicy the ad. Employers pay you, you do not pay them. If you are being asked for money they are not hiring you, they are "selling" you information (which may or may not be true) or a business opportunity which may or may not be profitable to you. However, it is not a "job."

b. Don't send a SASE to an employer unless you are sending copies of your work, which is to be returned after review. A real employer does not need to save postage or to return your resume. Never send a letter of interest without a resume or application.

c. Don't haphazardly join "clubs" and "pay for" access sites for telework without investigating them or being referred by someone you trust. There are good resources out there, but there is alot of malarky out there also. Do not automatically trust the information at these sites, even if the person who referred you is trustworthy. Most of us try to sort out the weeds, but it is possible things have changed and/or the webmaster may not have the time to investigate all opportunities for baloney. (Note: If you find anything fraudulent, scammish or otherwise misleading that I have not mentioned on any site I refer, it is because I have not used the resource recently and am unaware that the site has degenerated to that point. Please let me know immediately so I can change my evaluation or remove the site whichever is appropriate)

d. Use the BBB, FTC, Consumer Fraud offices, Post office and the Internet BB/newsgroup/e-list network to investigate everyone and everything. You want to make sure you will receive payment of wages, right? Any company which does not pay regularly will be outed in cyberspace, trust me.

e. Do not believe everything you read on ad pages. Get all promises in writing, which means you need to compare the ad site to the "terms of agreement" site. Interview references that are placed on the site promoting the business if there are any. If you don't know, don't pay anything. It's better to have your money and miss one job than to loose your money, get flim-flammed, get discouraged and give up now isn't it?

f. Call companies to double-check alleged representatives. The company may be legit but that doesn't make the person with the ad legit. You are not going to have access to tupperware for 10 cents a piece no matter what the alledged representative says. There are alot of copycat sites and it is a shame one must wade through this but please do so.

g. If it costs a considerable investment, consult a lawyer before any financial transaction, it's worth a second opinion. I invested in an online advertising co-opertive which was recommended by the company I was doing business with. I received no marketing and could not get a refund due to the way the terms of agreement were written. 'Twas a sad lesson indeed. On the positive, our company does not use them anymore, on the downside, I am still out 100 quid.

h. Avoid anything that promises outrageous income, especially when it comes via unsolicited e-mail. If a person could make 2-5,000 a week assembling crepe paper angels, don't you think they'd have so many employees they wouldn't need you? There is no grand turn-key scheme which will make you rich for a small investment and a few moments a day, don't believe there is for a single second, friend.