If you want to become an Internet entrepreneur, the Internet has provided a great opportunity for people to work from home now and earn a steady income. Also known as telecommuting, not only those carrying on online business that are doing it, many companies have taken advantage of it as well.

According to a 2017 report by Flexjobs, in the US, 3.9 million US employees, representing 2.9% of the total US workforce work from home at least half of the time. In 2005, it was 1.8 million. This shows a staggering increase of 115% from 2005. The Small Business Administration estimates that more than half of all U.S. small firms are home-based businesses. This is also shows that working from home is growing very fast even among traditional businesses and the trend is not going to abate. So, its impact can no longer be ignored!

Work from home scams

The lure of easy money, flexibility and convenience have made work at home a prime target for scammers. The most popular ones at the initial stage were envelope stuffing/mailing services and assembly/craft work. For envelope stuffing, for example, when you apply, all you will receive are instructions to place a similar advertisement. But how much can someone make from stuffing envelopes, especially today, where communication is dominated by emails and messaging application? People have to be wary of things like this because it does not make sense.

The perception that working online from home should be more pleasurable or give instant monetary success has no basis in real life.

The Principle of Equivalent Exchange

Our lives revolve around the Principle of Equivalent Exchange. It states:

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s first law of equivalent exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world’s one, and only, truth.” – Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist).

In this life, everything we do of value requires sacrifices. There is nothing like a free lunch. Every dollar we earn requires us to spend equivalent effort. Online business or working from home should not be an exception!

Newton’s third law of motion that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction is also similar to this . Investing in any business opportunity that you do not have to do any work that is enough to earn appropriate reward is not realistic!

Signs and indications of work from home business fraud

In the UK, The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has given the following tips as signs and indications of work from home business opportunity fraud:

• Any advert that gives impression of easy money without appropriate effort.
• When the promoters or organisers of such schemes ask for payment in advance before starting work.
• If you have got involved in such schemes, you should keep the documents as evidence and ensure that you don’t get others involved.
• An advert online or on social media that specifies the amount of money or minimum that you can make from the business.
• You are given a mobile telephone number to call (beginning with (07) or non-business-domain specific email addresses such as email such as @yahoo or @gmail.

Unique work from home opportunity offered by Wealthy Affiliate

Wealthy Affiliate offers a unique opportunity for people to work from home and earn a steady income. I mean a steady income! They do not promise to turn you into a millionaire overnight because it is not one of such schemes. Notwithstanding the level of your online knowledge and experience, you are taken step-by-step through the process building a great website and how to make money from it. There are no automatic systems to plug into that will generate you money like the cash machine. Everything will depend on the effort you put in. I think this is the way things work in life! Follow this LINK to try it. The good news is that you have got nothing to lose as it is completely free to join!

References

Action Fraud -The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), Work-from-home business fraud [online] Available at: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-work-from-home-scams [Accessed 11 Nov. 2017]

Flexjobs, (2017). The 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce. [online] Available at: https://www.flexjobs.com/2017-State-of-Telecommuting-US/ [Accessed 11 Nov. 2017].

Nazer, J. (2013). 16 Surprising Statistics About Small Businesses. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonnazar/2013/09/09/16-surprising-statistics-about-small-businesses/#66cc1fbc5ec8 [Accessed 11 Nov. 2017]

Working from home is really having a moment. [online] CNN Money. Available at: http. //money.cnn.com/2017/06/21/pf/jobs/working-from-home/index.html [Accessed 11 Nov 2017]