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Is it a Scam?I wanted to quit my job. So I decided to make my fortune online. I had no idea what I was doing, but that had never stopped me before. I joined a mlm company. They said to succeed online you need to get an auto-responder and purchase leads. Great. But I didn't know what an auto-responder was...I was pretty vague about the lead thing too. So I asked, "What's an auto-responder?" "It's like a fax machine," was the response. Great. Problem was they were talking to a bus driver. I'd never used a fax machine. I had probably seen one, but I couldn't actually remember having seen one...and if I had, I wouldn't have known what to do with it. Point is, their answer didn't help. But I was not to be discouraged. I went online and found an auto-responder. Setting up that first auto-responder was like pulling my own front teeth. Then I bought 2000 double-opt-in-leads and sent out my ads. Results...2 spam complaints, 200 counter offers, and zero sales. Hmm. I must have done something wrong. So I cancelled my membership to the mlm and decided I didn't hate bus driving that much. A month later I decided to try again. Soon afterward I discovered something I had not known about myself. I have an uncanny knack for finding and falling for every scam online. Mistake # 1. Typing Sites. I've already written an article on this particular subject. For the full article, see: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Doralynn_Kennedy Mistake # 2. Paid per Lead Sites. This particular opportunity is much like the above. You place ads that state: "You can earn up to $30 an hour processing simple e-mails from the comfort of your home! You will be paid for each lead that you collect. Each lead must include e-mail address, home address, and phone number." The particular company that I fell for stated that it paid $1 for each lead collected. Well I can do that I decided! I took out a paid ad in the Denver Post. It only cost me $400 for a full month. The leads poured in. I had hundred of leads coming in each day. Guess what happened? Not only wasn't I paid for any of the leads, the company also cancelled my membership. They refused to answer my e-mails as to why and shortly afterward, blocked my e-mails entirely. Not only dirty but cowardly. I promptly reported the crooks to the ftc. Nothing ever came of that as far as I can tell. The company is still online! So beware! Mistake # 3. Online Proof Reading Jobs. Next I signed up for a very popular proof reading company. I had to pay $25 to take their test. No problem. I was happy to do so. I figured I'd get that back in no time. The test was rather tricky, but I passed it, and soon I had access to my private member's area. Yippee! Well, maybe not yippee. Yikes was more like it. There were a few problems: 1) I had to advertise the site. 2) I had to bid on the jobs. 3) The bids were as low as .25 for proof reading a 75 page e-book. and 4) The site never recognized my referral id. Hmm. Looks like I'd done it again. Mistake # 4. Assembling simple circuit boards at home. The first problem I encountered with this one was the length of time it took to receive a reply to my initial inquiry. By the time I heard back from them, I'd forgotten about it. When I did hear from them, a one-time fee was required. It was the same old story. We require a fee because not everyone is serious about this great opportunity. We have to be sure you're serious about this work. Well, I was serious, and I proved it by sending them $49. Five months later I received my circuit board...and a bunch of other things I couldn't identify...not even with the use of their simple 12 page set of instructions. I did figure out a couple of things: 1) I needed to provide my own equipment to assemble the circuit board, and 2) they only sent out 1 cirucuit board every 6 months. Since they only paid $1.25 for each assembled circuit board, I quickly concluded that I wasn't going to get rich assembling circuit boards. Turns out most home assembly jobs are scams. I only know of one that isn't. Mistake # 5. HYIP's. By this time, I was getting desperate. I think that's why I fell for this particular scam. I could tell they were a scam from the beginning?well almost the beginning. But, I decided that I had a strategy. Get in early?get out early. I lost track on how much I lost with that strategy?but it was more than everything else combined. Truth is, ALL HYIP's are scams that feed on greed. Stay away! Please! Now after looking at the above, you'd think I would have given up and gone back to work with my tail tucked between my legs. No way! I don't give up. Good thing to, because I finally did make money online?enough to stop driving buses. Now I just work from home. And it sure beats the rat race. Doralynn Kennedy About the Author: Doralynn Kennedy is the Founder and CEO of 'The Work at Home Network' and 'Affordable Advertising Solutions' located in Colorado. http://doralynn.net and http://doralynn.net/ad_solutions.html |  | | | RELATED ARTICLES What To Do Ever had that perfect life when everything seems perfect yet you wanna die. I am in the situation where I have the perfect imperfect world. I have a daughter which might not be mine after 6 years of believing she is, I have a girlfriend who is so imperfect she is perfect for me. A son well he is only 8 months old and he seems to be the only perfect balance at the moment. The Myths of Career Change Chances are you already have many ideas about what it takes to successfully transition into a new career, even if you have never done it before. Some of those ideas might be useful ? most probably are not. In this article I would like to expose The Myths of Career Change, which might actually be holding you back. Ten Healthcare Fields That Cant Wait To Hire You Healthcare is one of the hottest career fields in America today. The aging and retiring of the largest population segment in the country, known as "baby boomers", has left the healthcare industry racing to find enough employees to fill the void. Advances in medical technology and treatment are causing people to live longer as well. Add the fact many universities and colleges don't have enough teachers to train new employees; there becomes a ripe market for healthcare careers. Ask the Recruiter We all have career goals, big or small. Here are some questions I have recieved over the last month from those actively seeking new employment. Are You Eking Out a Living, and Cant Get What You Want from a Job? Many people are working at jobs they don't wantand they hate to go there every day. Are you oneof them? I Just Lost My Job: How Am I Going To Tell My Kids? One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their job has been eliminated. It is seldom easy to do and often painful for the person who is hearing the news. 4 Tips for Making Successful Job Offers The interviews are completed, the paperwork is all filled out for Human Resources, and you have decided that this is the right candidate for the job. Now comes the formal job offer. Here are four tips to increase the success rate of your job offers: Certification for Freelancers and Home-Based Business Owners When we think of technical certification, most of us think of the seemingly endless jumble of letters that follow the names of information technology experts-MCSE, MCSA, A+, CCNA, etc. These certifications serve as standardized, objective validations that the person holding them possesses a certain set of skills and a certain level of professional competency. Now, Do You Have Any Questions? "Who is that hot babe in the picture?" isn't the type of reply an interviewer expects to hear when he or she invites you to ask questions near the end of an interview. In fact, the way you approach the Q&A session will have a direct impact on the interviewer's perception of you. Based on the questions you ask, a judgment will be made in regard to how interested you seem to be in working for the company. Tips for Handling On the Job Setbacks If you've chosen a business career, you will inevitably experience some type of setback. And whether your pet project is canceled, your performance review is a bust, you get turned down for a promotion, or you're asked to leave the company, setbacks hurt big time. Nevertheless, if you start thinking of yourself as a victim or allow yourself to lapse into prolonged negativity, you won't be hurting anyone except yourself. Worrying until you get sick, abusing drugs or denying that you've reached an impasse won't help either. The best strategy for making a comeback is to recognize the reality of the situation, acknowledge your feelings and find a way to cope productively. Here are some other tips you might find helpful: Career Discovery - Pinpoint Your Ideal Career Determine your ideal career--one that's in alignment withyour values, passions, and talents--and discover the workyou were born to do Global Economy Creates Need For International Business Pros The increasing globalization of business has created a demand for MBA graduates with a specialization in the international management of business. Many institutions, including several accredited universities, offer the opportunity to earn an international MBA online. Online International MBA programs are ideal if you are a working professional who may not have time to attend traditional, on-campus classes, or if you just prefer to have the flexibility to work when and where you want from the comfort of your own home or office. Best Strategy Using Internet Job Search Engines Best Strategy using Internet Job Search Engines How to Change Careers and Still Pay the Bills - 5 Key Steps Studies show that more than 50% of people are unhappy in their jobs yet few will actually make a career change in 2005. Why? Most people let fear stop them yet successful career changers know that fear is simply a sign that you are headed in the right direction! Workplace Melodrama--A Flair For The Dramatic A flair for the dramatic is a theatrical term used to describe an actress or actor who has a talent for melodrama, characterized by intensely enacted interpersonal conflict and exaggerated emotions. The central figure in a melodrama is the hero, who spins his tale or portrays the justice of his cause in a positive light. Counterparts include the villain and the fool who are ridiculed and portrayed negatively. How to Make More Job Contacts Faster, through Viral Marketing Are you in the job market? Sick of every blog-byte cramming down your throat that you have to get out there and network? Feel like your traditional networking efforts have turned into a self-destructive waste of time? Online Social Networking (OSN), a form of viral marketing, is a better way to hook up to opportunity. Done right, it'll do wonders for your self-esteem and warp-speed your contact development. Job Interviews: Succeeding with Panel Interviews These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers. Travel Light to Work As a frequent traveler, my goal for each trip is to travel light. Despite thoughtful planning, sometimes that goal is shattered when I go to close the suitcase and realize I need a larger, or even second one. I can't always get my packing right and end up taking more than I need. When that happens it's frustrating. I hate lugging extra baggage and feeling encumbered. Find Free Resumes Online Have you been spending money on countless job boards, only to find that they don't offer the types of candidates you need? If the answer is yes, don't fret any longer, you're about to learn crafty techniques to help you find free resumes on the net. There are numerous free resources online that offer resumes. These include: Free Resume Databases; Free Member Resumes on Association websites; Free College and Alumni resumes on University websites; Free Resume Newsgroups; Free Resume Blaster sites and active and passive resumes hosted on individual candidate websites. All of these resources can be found by using simple search techniques. Booster & Drainers Like huge anchors on cruise ships, other people can hold you down. Not intentionally, but their negativity impacts you. It's hard to be winning at working when you're anchored in place. It's hard to see the next great idea and enthusiastically embrace it, when you're feeling a sticky heaviness. And it's hard to think creativity when you're feeling empty. Like a balloon with air pouring out, deflated and flat at the end, I hung up the phone, drained. For the most part I'd offered a supportive ear with occasional contributions of asked for advice. Several days in a row, he called or stopped by my office, with a second, and a third, and a fourth verse of the same song. After each encounter, my energy felt zapped. It got to the point where Jay's presence alone started my energy leaving, replaced with an empty heaviness as if his negative energy was seeping into me. It took me awhile to figure it out, but Jay was an energy drainer. I've learned over the years, if I spend too much time around people with negative energy to share, my optimism, and enthusiasm for work (or life) are adversely affected.     You may know people in your own work life who hold you down, zap your enthusiasm, cheer you into self-destruction, and occupy so much of your time and energy that you can't offer the best you to anyone, including yourself. And you know people who do the opposite. My solution? Use that feedback. Spend less work time with the drainers, and more time with people who offer you an energy boost. Once you've identified how it feels to be around energy boosters, look to fill gaps, especially on work teams, with people who bring positive energy to a meeting, who are fun to be around, whose enthusiasm and positive approach lifts your spirits, enhances your creativity, and adds to your work life. Find and stay close to these energy boosters. I use a simple measurement to identify energy drainers and energy boosters: the laugh factor. The more laughter I find in the process of doing business, the more energy I know is in the room. The more energy in the room, the more gets done. I look for people I can laugh with, have fun with and share ideas with. My work results are better when I'm around people who make me feel energized when I leave them. Yours can be, too. (c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved. |
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