Checking it all out.

Before you spend a dime on any "Business Opportunity" you must ask yourself if it is one you can really sink your teeth into and do what it takes to make moola. Every business has a part of it that is not appealing. Like they say, "if it were easy, everyone would do it and there would be no money in it." Some businesses are very repetitive and boring, others have you sitting in a retail store all day, some have issues with collections and accounts receivable, while others are ones that have very demanding customers. Regardless of the business, there are always things that are challenging to deal with.

Secondly you really should check out opportunity as much as possible. When I say check it out, I mean check it out. Unfortunately you cannot just believe what the person tells you that is representing the opportunity for sale. Franchises offer significant safety over business opportunities or any other kind because they are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission in 36 States and the various State agencies in the other 14. See the upcoming post, what is a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular and Why are Franchises Safer?

Simply stated Franchise Law requires franchises to "disclose" a lot of important information to the prospective buyer. This information includes but is not limited to outstanding lawsuits if any, of the current officers of the company, audited financial statements of the company, a list of all franchisees including those that have quit, been terminated or who's license agreements have expired the previous year and of course all the legal required descriptions of what the buyer is actually paying for. In addition franchise law requires a waiting period between when the buyer gets the UFOC and when they can actually purchase it of approximately 2 weeks. Business Opportunities on the other hand do not require these disclosures in 24 or the 50 states. In 26 states, disclosure requirements are all over the map, some very light and some as complex as franchises. Illinois and California are two of the most stringent Business Opportunity Law states.

One of the best ways check out any Business Opportunity is to use Google and put the word "scam" after the name of the company. You will surely find a lot of information and probably a lot of unhappy folks if the Biz Opp you are looking into has a lot of unsatisfied customers. One great thing about the web is that things really get around whether they be good or bad. Look up the website in the state you live in and find out if they are registered in your state, if you happen to live in one of the 26 Biz Opp States.