Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m new here, and look forward to learning a lot from all of you. My first question is this: I`m researching several home-based and web-based opportunities with the hope that I can leave my current career and transition to self-employment. Is it permissable on StartupNation to seek opinions about specific companies, and the opportunities they offer, from those of you who may have first-hand knowledge about them? I haven`t found anything about this in the terms of use or other rules.

Hi Tegas :-) Welcome to Startup Nation (SuN)

There aren`t any cut-and-dried "rules" about stuff, other than spamming and flaming----that sort of thing. If it`s too specific and becomes a sort of corporate portfolio analysis, most people will just get bored. But if you have specific questions, what the hell...we have a lot of people here, and a lot of knowledge lying around.

What are the companies, why are you interested, and what specifically is your dilemma regarding each company?

• Meet other people who were successful in the business we were looking at. Were they the kind of people we wanted to be around?
• Meet corporate leadership of any companies tied to the business we were looking at. Track records, history, etc.
• Tour the manufacturing facilities and corporate headquarters of those companies.
• Evaluate products or services- would we purchase them at full retail? Would we be repeat customers?
• Get to know anyone we would be working with in our new venture on a personal level. Would we want them to influence our children... ?
• Is the business something we would enjoy doing the rest of our lives?

-------------------------

http://www.christian-business-opportunities.org

One of the companies I find interesting was a top-ranked opportunity in StartupNation`s Home-Based 100.  It`s a company called Child Shield USA. I`m trying to find someone who has had first-hand dealings with the company, either as an agent or a client. You can only judge so much from company literature and online publicity.

What about using Google`s "Groups?" Do they show up in the newsgroup discussions? Those are pretty unbiased, from what I`ve found.

Good idea, but no luck. There were no useful hits on Google Groups. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you`re having that much trouble finding out information about the company, I`m thinking that`d be at least a red flag going up. That`s not to say that a totally brand-new company might be hard to discover on a search engine, but it`s a signal to at least be cautious.

What do they want you to do, if you were to become involved with them?

Wait...I just looked them up myself. It looks like a child security agency business. To that end, it also seems to me, from a quick perusal, that it really doesn`t matter all THAT much if the parent company stays in business or not...right? That`s what I`d consider, at least.

Suppose you get involved. You`re using a national franchise for credibility, so when you go to promote your line-sales end, you`re not just some stranger in a store. But the service you`re actually providing is useful.

I`d swing by your local police station and see if you could talk with someone in Missing Persons, or the Detective group. If the company is really legit, really doing a service, then they`re going to be closely aligned with law enforcement. Another option would be to make an appointment with someone from the State`s Attorney`s office, in your location. They too would have a pretty clear understanding of what would be going on.

The company has been around for 16 years, and I`m not having a problem finding them in the search engines. But, I`m only finding "pr."  I`d like to talk with someone who has joined them as an agent, and see what they think of the program. Since they were prominent in the SuN 100, I thought maybe someone here might have some knowledge or experience. I have made contact with one couple in Missouri and will talk with them this weekend.

Y`know, although it may sound like a trick-bag being unable to easily get comments from people already working with the company, this might not be a bad thing. Consider how much more difficult it would be if thousands of people were already working the business, and you were a "latecomer." If the company is good and reputable, and they do indeed offer a useful service or product, it may be that you`ll be getting in on the ground floor, in which case, you`re taking a risk to win big.

From what I saw, your low-end investment is only around $500? That doesn`t sound too risky, all things considered.

Even the high-end risk is not bad, and California is almost virgin territory. I`d like to figure out why that is. They seem to be big in Texas and the mid-west, as well as around New Jersey and some other Northeastern states. Like I said, I`ll be having a conversation with a current agent this weekend.