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Criteria
for a Good On-Line Opportunity
by
Stuart Halpryn
© copyright 2005 NetActivated.Com
all rights reserved
Looking
to make money on the Net, but don't know where to start?
Go to http://netactivated.com/biz-op.htm
to see some of the best.
Time tested opportunities that have been specifically
chosen for several reasons;
-
Relevance
- are their 'product(s)' something that a majority
of the people can use, or of interest to only
a small, select group?
While small 'niche' markets
can be profitable 'if' you have the right product,
and 'if' you can get the word out to the right
potential clients, they're not the right way
for a novice marketer to start out. Experience
is the greatest teacher, and starting with a
broad based appeal will give you a place to
start and an income to work with while you experiment
with other products and methods.
- Support
- What do they offer to help you build your/their
business? It is, after all, a mutually beneficial
relationship!
An easy one to figure out.
Is there business building support in place? Do
they show you the best ways to market their products
& to whom? Is there interaction with other
affiliates as well as representatives of the company
so you can get your questions answered? Do they
offer business building tools, anything from web
sites, to various forms of ads and emails? Do
they make a good effort to explain the difference
between 'good' and 'bad' advertising, and enforce
an anti-SPAM policy?
- Buy-In
- Does it cost an arm & a leg to 'join', or
is it affordable/free?
While an expensive affiliate
program doesn't mean that it's 'bad', it certainly
isn't for the inexperienced. The old rule always
applies - let your business pay for it's own expansion.
Start small and let your business build itself.
The experience that you gain will prove invaluable
in choosing additional income opportunities. We
do have to differentiate between a 'buy-in', and
the cost of purchasing educational materials relevant
to the biz-op. In some cases, it's an absolute
necessity to be able to work the business.
- Product
Oriented Sales
- Do you make money from getting others to join,
or are you actually selling a real product/service?
I'm adamant on this subject.
If you're making the bulk of your money by getting
people to 'join' a program, in other words, getting
a commission from what they pay to join, in my
opinion, it's a scam - a pyramid. A real opportunity
should be building the bulk of your income from
the sale of their service/products.
- Purchases
Required
- Do they require that you purchase or stock items
to be able to participate in their opportunity?
This is another one of my
pet peeves - Companies that make you purchase
their products to be able to participate in their
opportunity. Sorry folks, but in my opinion, but
you should never 'have' to. You should 'want'
to though. It's hard to honestly promote something
with good conscience if you don't believe in it.
That doesn't mean that if you don't use it, it's
not 'good'. For example, if you are promoting
a great Internet dial-up service, but are using
broadband yourself, you obviously don't want to
downgrade, but that won't take anything away from
the service that you're offering. That being said,
there is at least one company that I can think
of that has superior products, and requires at
the least, a minimum monthly purchase to entitle
you to remain a 'distributor'. From my point of
view, it was still too high a price to stay involved,
though I do know of others that are 'successful'
with that particular biz-op.
-
Have they stood the test of time
- is this a company that has been around for a
while, or are they offering a 'ground floor opportunity?
Don't get me wrong. Every great biz-op started
out as a 'ground floor opportunity'. That, in
of itself, isn't a disqualifier. BUT, for those
just starting out, it may be best to go with a
well seasoned company with a proven track record.
Odds are that they've worked the kinks out, and
have their staff, support staff & business
building tools well in place. Every good company
is always growing, testing, improving, but you
want to have a proven income producer to start
out with.
- Do
they make empty promises of how much money
that you'll make?
How
can anyone guarantee how much money you'll make?
While a legitimate opportunity might point out
how much their top affiliates are making, they'll
be the same ones to point out that it's not a
freebie, that there is real work involved. 'Forced
matrix', 'x' dollars in 'x' days, 'just sign up
and we do the rest' and similar phrases are all
warning signs that this might be an 'opportunity'
to stay away from. Remember, a 'biz-op' is a business
opportunity, your business, your opportunity.
You run it just like a real business, because
it is a real business, and your opportunity to
earn an income online.
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So
there you have it. Some of the criteria that I use to
evaluate an opportunity, online and off. Take note of
it and use it when something crosses your path. In the
meantime, take a look at what I've put together for you
by going to http://netactivated.com/biz-op.htm.
I promise that you won't be wasting your time, and I'd
really like to hear your opinion of them.
Together,
let's make 2005 the BEST year you've ever had!
Stuart Halpryn is the
President of the Web Design and Developers Association (http://wdda.org),
the largest International Association of Internet Professionals,
is the owner of a very successful web hosting company, First
Stop Hosting (http://firststophosting.com
- since 1996) and is a well seasoned veteran & national
trainer from the MLM/Network Marketing arena.
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Learn what is takes to successfully run an online business.
From the best biz-ops, to the top tools, articles and more
- visit http://netactivated.com
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