With worldwide computer usage continuing to grow exponentially, 1.8 billion users projected by 2010 compared to 1.08 billion in 2005, according to Computer Industry Almanac, internet marketing has positioned itself to provide a home business opportunity for everyone. But with so many 'Work At Home' and 'Home Business' offers, the newbie must use 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware) when looking to start their own home based business.

What measures can the future home business entrepreneur take when traversing the abyss of home business opportunity? Let us look at some of the basic things a future 'work at home' or 'home based business' owner can do to avoid being scammed by the savvy internet marketing crowd.


Several home based businesses have proven themselves to be legitimate over the years and have been proven to return the home business owner/operator a genuine income. These home business opportunities can be looked up and verified on the internet through the BBB Internet Website. But what if your chosen 'Work At Home' business is not listed with the BBB?

If the home based business you are investigating requires an investment of over $500.00, then you should check with the State Business Agency of that State which the home business is located, to be sure that the business is registered with the State, as required by law. If the Home Business opportunity is not registered, then you should do your diligent duty and report said home business, as a courtesy to fellow internet marketers. There are plenty of legitimate ways to make money on the internet, why allow a scammer to swim in our pond and dirty up the water?

If the home business opportunity requires only minimal investment, your next step in your internet home business investigation is via the numerous vigilante 'home business' watchdog organizations that proliferate the internet. You may notice that 'Google ads' for assistance in determining the good 'Work At Home' and 'Home Business Opportunities' from the bad, seem to swarm around any area that discusses a home based business, like gnats hovering over ripe bananas.

Remember this…Anyone paying for you to click through to their site to help you decide, has their own agenda. Unless of course, it is a Public Service site, an excellent place to ascertain the legitimacy of a Work At Home/Home Business.

But what if the home business opportunity is so new, that it has not been viewed by many internet marketers, and one of its 'selling features' is the fact that quick action is required to get in at the beginning?

Two 'Home Business" alarms should be going off in your head at this point: 1. If the home business opportunity is sound, then it inherently must be long lasting; reminds me of the old adage, "Flash In The Pan," from Revolutionary War days. 2. If you are feeling anxiety of urgency to start home based business immediately – Warning – This is one of the oldest internet marketing tactics in the internet home based business.

Although remember, the ultimate draw of the home business is its historical nature to reward the earliest members of an internet marketing home business, substantially more income than later members, because of the mathematical facts of MLM.

A final aspect to identify a truly profitable 'work at home business,' is to determine if the home based business presents multiple streams of income. People's desires and fascinations for whatever tickles their fancy at the moment, is not something to build your future on. Having only one or two items whose sales incur the bulk of your income, is like building your home business on a pile of sand.

The ideal work at home business provides several diverse programs that not only provide immediate home business opportunity, but also offers residual internet business income down the road.

In conclusion; research, calculated approach, and common sense are what is required when choosing the best home based business, also these are the keys to avoid a home business scam. Often a quick and prudent check of a home business opportunity can be accomplished by typing the Home Business Name in quotes, into a popular search engine browser, along with the word scam outside the quotes: "home business name" scam.

This has been a most efficient way to gain information on a work at home business, and gain knowledge of negative/positive feedback of any new home based opportunity through internet marketing blogs. That is one of the saving graces of the internet; its ability to broadcast valuable information equally and quickly.