As part of their effort to educate consumers about fraudulent business opportunities, the FTC has produced this video warning.

Signs of a Scammer

We all want to work at home in our fuzzy bunny slippers. After all, that’s why we’re here, right? But we need to be rigorous in our investigation of potential business opportunities. Here are a couple of warning signs you should watch for.

Big Promises

Scammers tend to make big promises. You’ll make big profits in a short amount of time, working only 37 minutes per day from your new beach house. We’ve all seen the infomercials with the talking fox, haven’t we? The old adage, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” is worth remembering here. If you hear these big promises from people who are trying to sell you something, ask yourself if it’s just too good to be true.

Legitimate businesses can back up their claims with proof, and the greater the risk, the more substantial that proof needs to be. A $10 investment requires a lot less proof than a $1,000 investment.

Hard Sell Threats

Scammers trying to sell you on a new business opportunity can’t afford to have you looking too hard at the proof of their claims. In order to distract you from the flimsy “evidence” they provide, they hit you with high pressure sales tactics. If you’re being pressured to buy right now because “space is limited” or because “territories are going fast,” you should take a step back and do some more investigating.

Beware of the scammer who won’t allow you time to sleep on it. They want you to make a decision right now, often telling you that they’re only authorized to offer this “low price” if you sign a contract today. A legitimate business opportunity will still be around tomorrow, so take your time and make sure you’re not being duped.

Real Work At Home Opportunities

Don’t let the scammers scare you away from your goal of working at home, though. There are plenty of legitimate work at home opportunities out there. Take a look at the Sparkplugging authors for example. We have ecommerce professionals and ebay sellers, and crafty types, just to name a few.

A good place to start looking for home business opportunities is Wendy’s post Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear and the follow-up post 10 More Work at Home Internet Business Ideas You Can Do in Your Fuzzy Bunny Slippers.

While it’s great that the Federal Government is cracking down on these types of scams, remember that you can’t count on them to catch every charlatan out there. Do you research, practice due diligence, and don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal that just seems too good to be true.

A lot of solo-preneurs have trouble staying focused on one single business idea. If you’re in direct sales, you might start out with Avon, but if the profits are not what you expected, you might decide to jump ship and head for the pinker world of Mary Kay. If that’s not an immediate success, you might think the future isn’t in makeup, it’s in home decor, and off you go to try out Linen World or Southern Living at Home.

Even bloggers like me are not immune from the siren song of a shiny new thing. In fact, we might be even more susceptible. Give me ten bucks and five minutes with a hosting company and I can have a whole site up and running, with only the decorating to be done. Who wouldn’t choose the thrill of a brand new site over the same old same old you’ve been slaving over for the last few months?

The problem is, if you don’t give your baby business–be it a blog or an affiliate site or a Pampered Chef franchise–the time and attention it needs, it will wither and die away, and you’ll be left thinking you’re a failure for not having been successful at it.

Before You Start a Home Business

The best way to keep your focus is to start strong. That means knowing what your focus is before you even begin.

Do your research

Figure out what kind of business you want first, and then get more specific about the details. If you enjoy hosting parties, direct sales might be for you. If you love to write and be social on the Internet, blogging might be your thing. If you’re a wiz at office management you might like to be a Virtual Assistant.

Once you decide on the type of business you want, it’s time to specialize. Direct sales consultants can choose from dozens of opportunities. Whatever your passion is, there’s a product that matches. Bloggers need to choose a niche to blog in, VAs will have to decide what services to offer and to whom.

Write a business plan

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to do, it’s time to work out how you’re going to do it. That’s where a well thought out business plan comes in.

Everyone resists this step, but it really is the key to your success. The real power of a business plan is that it will make you think about exactly what you are doing and why you’re doing it. By working through a sample plan or template and taking the time to think about each section, you will have a much clearer picture of your goals and what you need to do to achieve them.

There are a lot of business plan samples available for free on the Internet. Pick one that most closely matches your business type and revise it accordingly. Unless you’re going to be using your business plan as a means to qualify for a loan, you don’t have to worry about sticking to a strict format or filling out all the cash flow projections and expected income. Just fill in the parts that are relevant to you and your business.

Craft your elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is simply a 30 second explanation of your business. Think of it as your business plan condensed into something that would fit on the back of a business card. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger has a great tutorial about writing an elevator pitch for a blog, but even if you’re not a blogger it’s worth taking a look at.

Most people will tell you to craft an elevator pitch so you have something coherent to say when someone asks you about your business, but I use an elevator pitch in a different way. Whenever I have to make a decision about a new direction to take in my business, a new product to promote, or a new website to start, I can pull out my elevator pitch (and my business plan) and see if the new thing fits in with the old thing. If it fits, great. If not, then I either have to rethink my business, or put the new idea on the “someday” list–the list of things I want to do, but that just don’t work for me right now.

After the Shiny Wears Off

Once you’ve had your business for a while, it’s easy to get distracted by the next new thing that comes along. Here are some ways to spruce up your business and make it “new” again.

• Do a redesign. If you’ve had a blog or a website for a while, boredom can cause you to start thinking about other business ventures. Maybe it’s time for a website redesign. Find a new theme, change up the colors, or even just change the header image. Sometimes all it takes to get excited about a project again is to rearrange the furniture a bit.
• Expand your business. Revisit your business plan and see if there are new markets you can target, new products you can sell, or new techniques you can use to improve your bottom line.
• Branch out. Are there complimentary services you can add to your business? A new product line you can add? Maybe an information product you can write and sell from your blog? Keep in mind that branching out does not equal going off in a completely new direction. You want to make sure that your new branch compliments your current business and doesn’t detract from it.

Keeping your business focused and on target will result in a stronger brand and higher profits. Perhaps even more important, though, is the greater feeling of confidence you’ll have knowing that every business decision you make is well thought out and designed with a clear goal in mind.

Have you ever found yourself losing your business focus? What did you do to get back on track? Let us know in the comments what worked (or didn’t) for you.

Find out more about Cindy Bidar.

Recommended Resource: Kelly McCausey’s The Power of a Focused Business.

If you’re moonlighting at a work at home job, you’re probably working far more hours than the average office worker, and if you’re on your own then good, ergonomically designed office furniture may not in the budget. Here at Sparkplugging we run the gamut from cozy office space to recliner in the living room, but I didn’t see many ergonomically designed workstations or a single Aeron chair in the bunch.

Workplace Injuries to Watch Out For

Repetitive Strain Injuries.

Also known as cumulative trauma disorder, RSIs include such things as tendinitis, bursitis, de Quervain Syndrome, and a host of other syndromes and -itises that, for the modern information worker, cause pain in the hands, wrists, elbows, or shoulders. Surprisingly, the heavy hitter of RSIs, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, has not been shown to be caused by keyboarding or mousing as previously thought, but is now considered to be more of a risk to assembly line workers and those with a genetic predisposition toward narrowed carpal tunnels.

Eye Strain.

Extended computer use is the most common cause of eye strain, according to a study by the Mayo Clinic. Eye strain caused by computer use is so common it even has it’s own name: computer vision syndrome. Despite it’s rather foreboding name, computer vision syndrome is easily treated and rarely results in long term damage.

Lower Back Strain.

Lower back strain isn’t generally caused by working hunched over a computer all day, but it certainly isn’t helped by it, either. Poor posture and chairs with little or no lumbar support both contribute to back pain, and if you do have a back injury, can slow the healing process.

An Ounce of Prevention

There are a few changes you can make to your workplace (and habits) to prevent these and other work related injuries.

• Make sure your monitor is positioned so the top of the screen is at eye level. This will help prevent eye strain and neck injuries.
• Keep your monitor dust and fingerprint free.
• Position your keyboard directly in front of your monitor so your eyes don’t have to work so hard to refocus each time you look away from the monitor.
• Get a good, adjustable office chair which allows you to keep your feet flat on the floor and provides some lumbar support. If that’s not in the budget right now, invest in a footrest and a lumbar pillow to help keep your spine stable while you work.
• Lower your keyboard and mouse. Most desks are 28 to 30 inches high, which is too high for comfortable mousing and keyboarding. Install a keyboard tray on the underside of your desk to bring your keyboard to a more ergonomic level.

Beyond the Office

Maintaining your overall health is as important as the chair you sit in when it comes to preventing RSIs and low back strain, so make sure you are eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. Carrots might not improve your eyesight, but eating a balanced, nutritious diet will improve your muscle tone, bone strength, and your energy level. Combine good nutrition with regular exercise to strengthen core muscles and you’ll likely find that lower back pain fading away.

One other important thing you can do to prevent workplace injuries is to simply get out of the office. Don’t fall into the trap of working all the time just because you work at home. Take frequent breaks, and make sure you are taking days off, just like if you worked for someone else.

“This is a how to think book, not a how to book.”

Marc Warnke’s new book, “ONO: Options not Obligations” is more than just a how to think book, though. It’s an inspirational guide for everyone who wants more independence and fewer obligations in his or her life.

Marc starts out by explaining that most of us live a life of obligations. We have a mortgage to pay and car payments to make, so we get up every day and go to work, and we continue this behavior day after day and year after year without ever realizing there is a different way to live, one without obligations, where you have the option to do what you like with your time instead of the obligation of
going to work.

You might think that a life of options is only available to those lucky few who were born into wealth and don’t have to work for a living, but in “Options not Obligations” Marc gives concrete examples of how everyone can reach a place of options by just making a few simple changes in her life and rearranging her priorities.

He suggests building an “ONO account” and gives some examples of how putting just a small amount of money in an ONO account every month will result in a great deal of wealth through the power of compound interest.

Marc further suggests the way to true wealth is not by selfishly looking out for only our own interests, but by developing a philanthropic attitude in business. By helping others be successful and build wealth, we are often in a better position to build our own.

As you read through the book, you will find “Opportunities for reflections” where the author asks you to think about a particular idea he’s presented. I encourage you to do these exercises. This is a worthwhile book without them, but by sitting down and really thinking through the questions asked of you, you will gain much more than you would by simply reading passively.

“Options not Obligations” is a great place to start for anyone looking to improve her life and financial situation. It is not a step by step guide to making money, but it is a guide to living a better life.

If you’d like to learn more about the book, please visit the website.

Grow your business with these 23 solid tips from Samir Balwani. Samir covers everything from the obvious–start a blog–to the not so obvious–get rid of bad clients. Definitely one to  bookmark and return to again and again.

Wendy’s list of 13 inspirational women entrepreneurs is a real find. Some of these women I’ve been aware of for a while, and some I’ve never heard of, but they are all doing great things and are all worth following.

If you dream of being your own boss, this list of 15 entrepreneurial skills is a great place to start. Like Wendy says, you don’t have to possess all 15 from the start, but you need to either develop themor hire someone who can fill in the gaps for you.

Follow Cindy on Twitter: @cindybidar