I’m sure you’ve seen the standard advice and warnings for people considering starting their own business. Some of the more popular ones include:

• Be prepared to work harder than you’ve ever worked before
• Be prepared to persevere when times are difficult
• Learn how to network effectively
• Set and adhere to budgetary constraints
• Seek advice for establishing the legal and accounting structure of your business

There is other popular advice to be sure, and a good overview can be found in Michelle Singletary’s article in the Washington Post entitled Being Your Own Boss Isn’t All Play and No Work (registration may be required). All of the major areas of consideration are in there, but she starts her piece by referencing friends of hers that have started “online travel agencies”, which by her description can easily be seen as online pyramid schemes. The description makes them sound much like the opportunities offered trough the Work At Home Institute that we’ve mentioned here in the past.

The bottom line is that these types of ventures are far from “starting your own business” or working for yourself. You are actually working for the company or companies that are providing the services or products that you are re-selling and you’re often paying them a fee for the privilege, “training” and “support” to sell for them. These offers and systems have proven to be a losing proposition for most (but not all) people that pay to give them a try.

If you are serious about starting your own business, you have to do more than pay a fee to a company to support your new web site so that you can re-sell that company’s products. Doing that is starting a new job. It is definitely not “starting your own business”. It is important to be aware of the difference.

Tags: self employment, starting a business, taking a second job, work at home institute, working from home

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