If you’ve spent any time looking for an opportunity to work at home, chances are you’ve come across scams. The truth is that legitimate opportunities are highly sought after, and the scams take advantage of the number of women who desperately want to be work-at-home moms (not that there aren’t other demographics of people who want to work at home, but that is by far the largest).


Here are a few things you should know as you search:

1. Run far away from anyone who charges you a fee for a list of companies who hire home-based contractors or who charges you to get started working for them. I can think of a few very exceptions:

::There are private groups that charge for “exclusive” job leads. I have never paid to join one of these groups myself, but there are legitimate ones out there. However, if a company is trying to sell you a static list of companies, don’t fall for it. You can research and find the information yourself.

::The only company I know that legitimately charges you to begin working for them is LiveOps, a call center company. Once you are hired, you must pay a fee for a background check. It’s possible there are others, but I would be very, very wary of any that charge even a nominal fee.

::The third exception is for home-based businesses such as Pampered Chef or Southern Living. You do need to purchase a kit to get started with them, the obvious difference being that you receive products that are worth significantly more than the price you pay.

2. Envelope stuffing jobs are not legitimate. You will NOT make any money doing this. The envelopes you are stuffing are to convince other people to sign up to do the same thing. Stay away!

3. Legitimate data entry jobs are very hard to come by. I actually have one of these that I applied and tested for over two years ago and was just able to start working. It’s worth saying again–do NOT pay for a data entry job.

Don’t be discouraged! There are legitimate and lucrative work-at-home opportunities out there. How do you find them? One way is to network with other work-at-home moms through social networking sites such as Twitter. You can also join the forums at sites such as WAHM.com or Work Place Like Home. Not only will you find job leads, but you will also be able to ask the more experienced members about the opportunities you come across so that you’re not trying to sort through them all on your own.

There are plenty of opportunities for you out there. However, it does take time, hard work and patience, and you need to use discernment as you consider your options!

Photo Sources: chrisaut and erautio

Mandi Ehman is a WAHM to three little girls (4, almost-3 and 1). As the co-author of General Transcription 101: Your Complete Guide to Getting Started, she has helped hundreds of women get started in transcription and improve their skills and productivity. She can also be found sharing her organizational and time management tips at Organizing Your Way.