How do I know if a home business is legit?

Somebody sent you a link. Or an ad found you at 11pm when the bills were on your mind — they're good at that. And now you're looking at a website that promises a home business, and some part of you is asking the right question: is this real?

Good. Keep that part of you in charge. Here's the test I've used for decades, and it takes about 90 seconds.

The 90-second test: five checks

1. Can you explain what the business actually does in one sentence?

"I clean gutters." "I sell handmade signs on Etsy." "I bookkeep for three local plumbers." Those are businesses. If ten minutes on the website leaves you unable to say what you'd actually be doing for the money — that's not a business, that's a mystery box. Legit doesn't hide.

2. Who pays you — customers, or recruits?

Follow the money. In a real business, money comes from customers who buy a product or service because they want it. If the money mostly comes from other people signing up and paying to be part of the thing — that's not a business, that's a bucket brigade where the last people to join hold empty buckets.

3. Do they show you cars, or math?

Legit opportunities talk in numbers: what it costs to start, how long before you break even, what an average person earns. Hustlers talk in Lamborghinis, beach photos, and screenshots. Here's the thing about income screenshots: I can make one in five minutes that says I earned a million dollars this morning. So can they.

4. Does the offer survive until Thursday?

Countdown timers. "Only 3 spots left." "Price doubles at midnight." Refresh the page in a private browser window — I'll bet you lunch the timer starts over. Real opportunities are still real on Thursday. Fake urgency exists for one reason: to keep you from doing exactly what you're doing right now, which is thinking.

5. Can you find a human?

A real name, a real phone number, a real way to ask questions before money moves. If the only "contact" is a form that feeds a sales sequence, or a "support desk" that only wakes up after you've paid, walk away. (For the record: my number is 833-298-8903 and I answer it. That shouldn't be remarkable. It is.)

The one question that ends the call

If you're on the phone or messaging with someone who's recruiting you, ask this:

"What does the average person who starts this earn in their first year — not the top people, the average — and can you show me where that number comes from?"

A legitimate operator has an answer, because real businesses track real numbers. A hustler will do one of three things: change the subject to "mindset," tell you averages don't matter because "you're not average," or suddenly remember another appointment. All three are your answer.

One more thing — being skeptical is not being negative

Somewhere along the line, the hustlers convinced people that asking questions means you "don't want it bad enough." Nonsense. Every real businessperson I've ever met asks hard questions before spending money — that's why they still have money. Your skepticism isn't the thing standing between you and success. It's the first business skill you've already got.

— Jay
Found something you're not sure about? Send it to me — I'll give you a straight opinion, and I've talked plenty of people out of bad buys. Best part of the job.