So you want to work from home — either full time or side-hustle — and you’re unsure if the opportunity is real. That’s a legitimate concern.
Here are 6 questions you can use to find out if it’s a legit work-at-home job so you can stay scamless free.
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Do you have to pay to get started?
While there are a few exceptions, I do mean few. Most of the time (99.99999%) you won’t have to pay to get hired or started on a job. You may need or want to pay to take a course or eBook, but that is to build skills, and building skills are worth the investment.
In fact, I had a podcast interview the other day and the person I was talking to said that teaching seemed more stable than working at home.
It certainly seems that way, but here’s the thing — with the push for larger class sizes and fewer teachers, it simply doesn’t seem all that stable anymore. And remember — we’re not even talking about growing your income, we’re just talking about staying at the exact same level… for the next 30 years. But that’s besides the point.
The more stable option is to build skills that are in high demand. Some high demand skills right now might include writing (copywriting, ghostwriting to name a few), marketing, website building and tech skills. I would pay any day of the week for those skills!
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Is there contact information and does someone respond?
If there is no contact information or if you find contact information and no one responds, it might not indicate a spam, but may indicate that they’re not the best company to work with.
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Are the emails you get/get back unprofessional/is something off?
I always say to go with your gut. If something feels off, there’s a chance it might be. When you’ve emailed or when they’ve emailed you, are the emails professional and have good communication? If not, it could indicate a scam or at the very least, something to investigate more.
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Are the details vague or specific?
What are the details of the job? Do they tell you what you’ll actually be doing or just promise grandeur pay scales? What is the process for getting paid? Do you have to send them money? Do they have
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What do the reviews say?
While reviews don’t always tell the story, look for people who have actually worked there/taken the course (if you’re wondering if a course is a scam).
There will likely be negative reviews for nearly every business — some people just have their pants in a bunch and write a negative review when they’re going through a rough time — but if the average reviews or majority of reviews are a 3 or lower (out of 5), it might be time to consider walking away.
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Are there any success stories from real people?
Look for success stories from real people who have worked there or taken the couese. If there aren’t any success stories
A company that does a really good job of this is No B.S. The actress that does their ad does a great job of really making you believe she does the product. But then they go a step further. Their next ad is the same girl but with her natural hair and she says something along the lines of “I’m Savannah. I’m an actress but No B.S. sent me the product and I really tried them and like them. Here’s my instagram handle.” I love that because you can see she really is a real person. Now whether or not she actually uses the product, I don’t know, but because they share here real name it goes a step farther to establish that credibility.
Our take
At the end of the day, you have to do the research. Look online to see what companies others have said are scams and investigate by emailing them yourself. Better yet, find someone(s) that work for them and ask to interview them or talk with them about their experience there. Even better – build your own business and create wealth for yourself.
Your turn
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