It sickens me when I see websites and TV commercials that scream how easy it is to make money online. Yes, according to them, it’s very simple and within a month or so you’ll be living the high life — fast cars, cool houses, mai tais on the beach. Not.

Here’s the truth about starting a small business whether online or off. It’s hard work. Overnight success takes years to happen. You will endure lots of failures (hopefully small!) along the way. But success will come to you if you define a path and take action.

But I know that many of you need help spotting what’s shifty and what’s for real so I was really thrilled when I happened upon Mark Cunningham’s site The Business Mindset. He wrote an eight part series called “How to Spot a Scam.” I’ve highlighted the topics he covers in the list below. It would be worth your while to set aside some time to read the entire series.

How to Spot A Scam: Part 1 — An overview of things to watch out for that scream scam like not telling you exactly what the business will offer and requesting money in advance.

How to Spot A Scam: Part 2 — Scamsters will play on your emotions. They tap into deep rooted fear and greed to push you to take action.

How to Spot a Scam: Part 3 – Scarcity and time pressure are two keys to getting you to dive in without doing your due diligence. These are common sales tactics.

How to Spot a Scam: Part 4 –Be wary of typical results. Yours may in fact be entirely different. Having the same results as someone else means you would have to do exactly the same thing they did.

How to Spot a Scam: Part 5 – Being dubbed the “chosen one” or invited to be a part of an “exclusive” club is something to be cautious about.

How to Spot a Scam: Part 6 — Hype about “living the dream” and working one or two hours a day for a start up are totally unrealistic.

How to Spot a Scam: Part 7 — Can you reach those people? Does their contact info look professional? Do they respond to you in a timely fashion?

How to Spot a Scam: Part 8 — If you here the term “turn key” business, be skeptical. Rarely is a business totally turn key. All businesses require hard work.

So there you go! Make sure you take the time to read all of the posts. It will provide you with a good education. Do you have any tips to add? Please leave a comment.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 9:26 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About the Author: Denise O’Berry is a small business expert who provides tools, tips and advice to help small business owners be successful. O’Berry is the author of “Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success.” Her blog can be found at Just for Small Business.