What I am not writing in this post is a list of companies, good or bad.  What my intent here is to help you do your “due diligence” before you sign on with any MLM or “work at home” company.

Many MLM home business opportunities are suitable for part time work but, MLM’s are just like any other business–there are good ones and bad ones. You just have to do your home work. I have listed a few tips to help you research the company you are thinking of joining.

Your first point of contact with your prospective network marketing business is likely to be your sponsor.  Even though you may know this person it is always better to check the company out yourself.

Some things to look for are:

Who owns this business

How long have they been in business

What is their financial status

What are they offering customers

What are the details of their compensation plan

In a legitimateMLMcompany, commissions are earned only on sales of the company’s products or services.  Money can not be earned from recruiting alone.  Review the compensation plan to determine whether you would be paid from actual sales to customers and not from new recruits.

Look at the company’s website.  Is there a street address or phone number?  Are there pictures and names of the owners?  Not having these on a website is suspect.  Go to Google streetview to check on the address if given.  http://maps.google.com/maps/streetview/

Is the picture on Google the same as on the website?  If it is a house or trailer I would avoid this MLM.

In Google type in the name of the company and look for scams, complaints, lawsuits, articles or forums discussing the company.  The information you find here is not absolute but you can see what other people are saying.

Check http://www.whois.net/ for information on who registered the website domain.  How long have they had this domain.  (A clue as to how long they have been a MLM.)

A useful tool is https://compete.com.  This site will show you how much traffic a company is getting.  You can also see if the traffic is heading down. (another clue).

The best MLM companies forbid spam.  I would avoid replying to email solicitations unless you have requested information.

Lastly, don’t believe in get rich quick schemes.  Network Marketing  takes some work like any business but if you do your homework you can find a company that will be profitable.

I hope this information has helped you.  Good luck.