Is it a scam?

This is the most common question for any potential business opportunity I see online. The truth of the matter is that none of them are really scams, they all tend to (well, maybe not all) sell some form of product or service. The "scam" is that if you have generally no experience you may not be able to sell, so by you paying them to "come on board" they reduce their risk of losing time and money trying to weed out the really good sales people and the really bad ones. The other hard fact? Most of the average folks aren't very effective sales-people at all.

Another thing that people make the mistake of is that these people don't really work for these companies, as they aren't on pay-roll, they are independent contractors; they get a 1099 (for what it's worth if they even make any sales at all). As much as everyone at these companies seems like a big family, they are in heavy competition for your business. Because these products are sold at a fixed cost, you have no way of really negotiating better prices or terms for anything. In the end, it becomes a personality contest. This is where sales people really get to practice their chops.

With that said, the only scam that is being played is the sales persons own ego. If you truly believe that walking in with zero experience, no contacts and a "hot product" you can walk out a multimillionaire, then the joke is on you. Please read my previous posts to see what building a network takes. Don't forget time.

If you have any companies you want reviewed with a list of pros and cons, feel free to leave them in the comments section. They come and go, some under new names, some just off the map. Remember that stability to a service is important to a customer. If you are selling near-extinct technology like dial-up Internet, be prepared for some very angry customers if the company buckles without a buy-out.