I’ve spoken with thousands of people over the last 14 years who want to start an online or home business (probably close to 6,000). I can tell within about a minute if they’re going to be a success or not. Here’s a list of the red flags and also the positive things to look for that will really determine whether you should try starting an Internet business.

If someone has had a business before, even if it’s failed, they have a much better chance at success because they understand what’s involved. Just like buying stocks they know it’s a risk of time and money, they could make a little, a lot, or nothing at all. Just as good is someone who’s done a lot of commission sales before, they know their actions are what determines results.

On the flip side, a person who’s only worked for others before has the least chance to make it. Those people start talking like it’s a job interview. They have to know how much money they’ll make and how soon it will come.

They ask “What’s the average a person makes” and often won’t sign up for anything unless they are promised or guaranteed how much they’ll make and the amount of time. The huge problem for these people is that there’s plenty of unscrupulous people who will give them a “guarantee” (which of course is BS because nobody can guarantee anything with a business opportunity).  Since only the worst ones promise things like that in their sales copy, they end up in a cycle of failure only trying the ones at the bottom of the bucket.

This happens several times a week. I ask a person what their goals are, what they want to do and the answer is the dreaded “I just want to make money on the Internet”.   Making money of course, is the result of doing something like selling a product or service. People in that state of mind are going to fall for anything, they’re sitting ducks and I tell them this, some hang up the phone because it isn’t what they want to hear.

A woman called yesterday and the first thing she asked was “Can I start an Internet business for no money?”. I told her yes, but you need the skills to be able to do that. She had no Internet skills (like search engine optimization, advanced blogging, creative writing, among others). Starting an Internet business is a balance of time, skills, and money like anything else. The cost of a good one that’s worth doing is under $500 typically, it shouldn’t run into the thousands, but it’s not free either.

On the subject of money I might mention that if you’re broke, in a desperate financial situation and you’re looking for an Internet business to rescue you, you’re in about the most vulnerable state of mind a person can be in.
Most places out there package up dreams and design their site with gold bars, jets, and mansions. Go to a lottery ticket counter and you’ll see the tickets are designed very similar to most opportunity sites. Again, people who are on hard times end up with the worst places, because it’s human nature to buy into something when they tell you what you want to hear.

To wrap this up, probably the biggest problem for most people is you just don’t have anyone on your side when choosing an Internet business. If you go to a doctor or hire a lawyer, they have your best interest in mind. When shopping for a business to start, it’s hard to know who to believe because everyone is talking up their thing.

To avoid any conflict of interest I won’t even mention the business I’m in (it’s not mention anywhere on this site).  You can find out easily by visiting my Top Pick page though. The reason I’m doing this is because I’ve heard so many heartbreaking stories from people who’ve lost their kids college tuition, or their retirement savings to the hucksters out there. The next segment will be about the qualities to look for in an Internet business, and which to avoid when making this important decision.