Everything in life as we know it is about taking risks. We have to decide which are necessary and how we can minimize the risk to a degree that we can feel safe. When you are choosing home business opportunities the risk is a real factor to be considered. However in most cases the risk can be minimal.
First though let’s think about the risk-taking itself. Some people are not willing to gamble with even a penny because they are so skeptical. If this is severe, they may never step out of their comfort zone and may have to be satisfied with the status-quo their entire lives. This can mean staying in an unfulfilling job that is never going to ‘go’ anywhere. It can mean passing up all opportunities to exceed their current, unsatisfactory level of income.
So really it seems much more of a healthy perspective to tolerate at least some level of risk, if nothing else to keep life a little interesting. However, there is a saying though that comes to mind and is very logical and that is ‘never gamble with more than you can afford to lose’. With business opportunities there is definitely a range of involvement that we can have where we can build up in steps so that we don’t lose much if we make the wrong decision.
Home business opportunities range all the way from affiliate programs (the easiest, fastest and cheapest way) to creating our own product or membership program (big time involvement and financial investment). Where the biggest risk is and coincidentally the most scams, are when somebody offers to build you a website for $1000 or $3000 – now that is a huge risk on several levels (e.g., will they even do anything except take your money, will they do it right, will they fix what isn’t working, will all be completed timely, will they honor their refund guarantee?). The other risk is if there is any sort of ‘contract’ where you will be locked in to making payments even though you hate it for whatever reason.
So best to wait until you have some skills and experience yourself before you try anything complicated or costly. Even with affiliate programs while most are very inexpensive especially for all you get for the membership fees, there are some that cost a lot for upgrades (usually optional) == and they may make it seem like you don’t need to do anything besides join up and pay. Nothing could be further from the truth at any cost. You need to prepare yourself to work and work hard over time to build your business. People and programs may help you get started but if it is going anywhere from that point, it is you that will need to take it there.
Affiliate programs are good for somewhere to start – not only because you can get in them for a low cost ($10-20) a month – but there are usually no contracts beyond month-to-month – so you can really see what it is all about from the inside and risking $10-$20 to do that is really not unreasonable. You will not be required to have technical skills or Internet real estate – they will usually provide you with at least an affiliate sales page that you can advertise at the minimum, and likely more resources like banners and graphics; and maybe even some level of training in Internet marketing.
You are risking a small amount of money to ‘get your feet wet’ – to see if you even like Internet marketing and advertising (affiliate marketing) – to see if you have basic computer and Internet skills where you can navigate sites and forms with any ease (if not, just a little experience will make it get easier). If you really focus on whatever opportunity you choose to begin, you can either make a go of that (earn some nice money eventually), or else move on to something a little more difficult and maybe a more expensive risk to take. (but if at all possible never sign contracts of any kind unless you are in total control of everything starting with the technical side).
