Much as it would be nice to think otherwise, there are a lot of ethical considerations to working at home. There are quite simply a ton of work at home scams out there, and many people have no problem with promoting them, in the hopes that they will profit. What happens to others doesn’t matter to them.

A discussion on my forum got me thinking about this, with the result that on Saturday I made some new rules for the forum. Some are simply for courtesy, but others are about trying to keep the scams away.

Cash Gifting - Scam or Legitimate?

The problem had to do with the promotion of cash gifting. If you research it, you’ll find that the FTC advises against it. Cash gifting is a form of a pyramid scheme, and is illegal. You can be arrested for participating in one.

The only reason they stick around is because it takes so long for them to get reported by those who have lost money. It’s also very, very easy for new ones to pop up.

And yes, you can make good money from them if you’re one of the “lucky” ones. But in the end there will be far more “unlucky” people who will lose money. The process is quite simply unsustainable. It doesn’t matter if it’s a “1-up” program or not. They’re both illegal.

It really saddens me to see the common attitude of people promoting these opportunities. They really don’t care what happens to others so long as they get their money. Yet that should matter tremendously, or at least it does to me.

Many will justify themselves saying that it’s a gift because they aren’t expecting anything in return. Therefore they must be in compliance with IRS regulations. Promoters will often quote rules from the IRS on gifts to make their claim that what they’re doing is legitimate. You can give gifts, after all. It’s just that what the promoters are calling gifts don’t qualify.

Not that they’ll admit it. I say they’re lying to us or to themselves. People can be generous, but you aren’t going to put money into that kind of thing without the hope of a huge return on what you put in. That means it is NOT a gift.

A good read is this speech on pyramid schemes vs. legitimate marketing made by Debra A. Valentine in 1998. Yes, it’s a few years old, but the rules for spotting these haven’t changed so much as that. The biggest difference is perhaps how commonly you find pyramid schemes of one sort or another online.

Another is this post from early November by Kelly McCausey on someone she knows who fell for a cash gifting scam. It really can happen to anyone.

Work at Home Ethics May Not Be Simple

Such blatant scams aren’t the only area where you can hit ethical gray areas when you work at home. Allowing ads on your site can cause ethical questions. You wouldn’t believe how many flat out scams I’ve blocked on this site from Google AdSense, and they keep coming. It’s gotten to where I’m looking at better alternatives because it’s impossible to block all of them.

I don’t expect to have it solved soon. I am about 7 months pregnant, which means I have to start planning for when I have this baby, not to mention the amount of time a site revamp of that level will take. It’s in the planning stages, for my few free moments. A bit more control would be nice.

There’s also making sure the ads you place are accurate and that you aren’t involved in companies making false claims. This can be a particular problem when you’re in any sort of network marketing that involves any sort of health claims. If the claims aren’t proven, you may be asking for trouble. Personal experience doesn’t count for proof without scientific backing.

Add in treating those you deal with fairly. That means paying bills promptly, providing fair value for your services, and understanding that your fellow work at home parents are also just trying to earn a living from home.

Can You Be Proud of What You’re Doing?

Sometimes it comes simply down to whether or not you’re proud of what you’re doing and how you treat people. If you’re proud of taking advantage of people, you may have to look at your own ethics.

But if you find yourself embarrassed about what you’re doing or the claims you’re making, maybe there’s something wrong. It might be time to take a better look and find something you can be proud of.

If you start out in an opportunity and come to realize that it’s illegal, get out immediately. Reporting it can be an awkward but good thing to do. Just keep in mind that if you knowingly participate in something illegal, you can get in even more trouble than if you were unaware.

That does not mean ignorance is bliss. As they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse. But with many work at home scams the greatest legal trouble is for those actively participating in it.

An unethical opportunity can ruin your reputation online, get you into legal trouble and lose you all the benefits you thought you had gained. It’s much better to start off with something sustainable and legitimate.

With the holiday season gearing up and many families having their incomes drop down due to layoffs and rough economic times, I’m seeing a lot more people looking for quick answers for ways to work from home and bring in extra money. Sometimes they don’t care what it takes; they’ll take any shot they can find.

Often this leads to being in a worse financial position than when they started.

There are a few legitimate ways you can earn money from home quickly, however. If you can write, you can write a bunch of articles for sites such as Associated Content. You can sell on eBay or at a garage sale. You can take on freelance assignments from sites such as SheLancers, Freelance Work Exchange, eLance or Craigslist.

You do have to be careful, especially on Craigslist, of scams. If they’re promising you thousands of dollars for practically no work at all, just skip it. It’s probably either a scam or illegal. You don’t need either one.

The freelancing route can be challenging if you have no portfolio, but we aren’t talking here about making a lot of money right off. We’re looking at earning just a little something extra to keep things going for the holidays.

Starting right now, however, means that you can build up as you like after the holidays are through. Get the quick work now that maybe doesn’t pay so well, and start really ramping things up later if you find the business suits you.

You may note that I’m not suggesting blogging, affiliate marketing, network marketing, pay per click and so forth. These can all be great home businesses. Some people make a lot. Others struggle for years and hardly earn anything. And that’s why I’m not saying to start out with them.

Especially pay per click marketing. You do well with that, you can do very, very well indeed! But the learning curve is tough and often expensive. Not what you need if you need money right now. Also, the money may not come in until after the holidays anyhow, depending on what you choose to promote.

If you’re looking for shortcuts, just remember there is no substitute for hard work. The 4-hour workweek
is a nice dream, but most of us won’t be able to start out that way. Your most reliable shortcuts to earning anything at home may not earn you much, but they’re a start and a great way to find out if working at home is really for you.

‘Tis the season… to go a little crazy. With all the family events, how do you balance having fun for the holidays with working at home?

Some things are pretty obvious. I mean, unless you have a work at home job that won’t give you the holiday off for some reason, you can just choose not to work during family celebrations. But if things are picking up, what then?

Prioritizing with a Home Business

If your home business picks up right when you want more family time, you can have some tough decisions to make. If you want to succeed, you do often have to sacrifice some time.

But there are options.

I mentioned virtual assistants the other day. This can be a great time of year to hire one to handle all the basics that really don’t need your personal touch. If you haven’t been sure about hiring a bit of help, this is probably a good time to try it out.

This may also be the time to just plain lose some sleep. If you can work a bit later into the night you can keep business things going while losing less family time.

When a Work at Home Job isn’t Cooperating

Most work at home jobs are pretty flexible. In a lot of cases you say when you are willing to work. But sometimes your employer will have a schedule they need you to keep… even on holidays.

Sure, you could call in sick, but you know how realistic that will sound.

Asking for the time you will need early on is key, but it doesn’t always work. If you get stuck working at a time you’d rather be enjoying your family, try rescheduling events a little. Hard as it may be to alter your usual holiday routine, it’s worse if you lose income your family needs.

I grew up flexible around holidays so that may be easy for me to say. Christmas took several days just because of the time it took to see both of my parents and my grandparents. It wasn’t uncommon to not see some people until New Year’s.

Know what? It didn’t make the celebrations any less special. It was about seeing family, not just the food and/or gifts.

Of course, your religious observances may be another story. But in many cases you have a few options for when to attend services. If not, that’s something you will have to deal with and discuss with your employer.

Remember the Reason for the Season

Much as we celebrate holidays on a particular day, they really aren’t about that day so much as they are about the events they celebrate. Keep that in mind as you decide what is most important to you.

I’ve been running my home business on my own from the beginning. It suits my style. But one thing I can’t deny is that one of these days it would really help me to get a virtual assistant.

Only reason I resist is because I’m not ready to spend the money on one yet. I know quite well that a good virtual assistant would be well worth the money, but it’s still hard to spend.

A Good Virtual Assistant Saves Time

One of the challenges of hiring a virtual assistant, of course, is teaching them what you need done. The right one will have the skills needed, so it’s really just a matter of training them on the specific details.

Once that’s done, you decide how often you need the job done and make sure it’s being done to your satisfaction.

A Good Virtual Assistant is Worth the Money

Despite my grousing about spending on help, a good virtual assistant gives you more chances to earn money from home. Paying someone to do all the little things that they can do faster than you so that you can focus on your money making activities is not a bad deal.

You can set the amount you are willing to spend with a VA. They typically charge by the hour, and you decide how many hours you need. The virtual assistant can of course tell you as time goes by if you really need to think about buying more time. A job only halfway done isn’t satisfying for anyone.

And it certainly helps that they aren’t your employee. You aren’t paying their benefits. Just like you, they’re probably a home business owner.

Now, a good VA won’t necessarily be cheap. Someone charging $15 an hour may not be as good a deal as someone charging $30 an hour. Lower rates often translate to either inexperience or rushed work. There’s a time and a place for going with the low bidder. Running a successful business generally isn’t it. You’re better off with the person who does the job well.

One of the classic work at home scams is the home assembly or crafting scam. Companies tell you that you can get paid to assemble their crafts. But…

You have to buy supplies from them and your work is never good enough. Even if what you made looks better than the sample they sent.

That doesn’t mean you can’t earn money from your crafting skills. It just means you may be smarter to do it on your own.

There are a number of places where you can sell your crafts online. Etsy has become very popular. Just look them over and you’ll see quite a range of products being offered. You just pay a small listing fee and then a percentage of the sale price when your item sells.

eBay is one of the classic places, but selling there has become more challenging of late. They’ve raised prices given buyers far too much power over sellers. But the audience is huge.

You can also sell at local craft fairs. Most areas have these pretty regularly, but you will want to have enough products made to make your time and money spent worth your while.

If you’re going to make a business of selling your crafts, your first move should be to check with your local Chamber of Commerce, SCORE or City Hall. You will probably need a home business license and a reseller’s license. You’ll have to learn about collecting sales tax for any local sales.

The fun part about starting a crafting business is that you get to indulge a habit you might otherwise cut back on. The hard part is letting the things you’ve made go, and keeping it profitable. It’s not just the cost of supplies, after all. It’s your time, effort and skill.