Of course you do! How silly a question could that be? However, this silly question has cost many an innocent woman her hard earned start-up money so desperately needed to provide her family with security. 

Another letter will start out like this: "Follow me to financial security!" Ok, if you are following someone to financial security, would it not mean that the person  you are following apparently hasn't reached financial security yet and is  dragging you along for the ride as well? Are you planning on starting your  business with a partner you know nothing about? 

The Federal Trade Commission announced the results of  the latest federal and state sweep against promoters of fraudulent business opportunities. Promotions for these opportunities promised consumers good pay for little work. But as consumers who bought into these programs learned, the “biz op” promotions were nothing but scams, taking consumers’ money up front and never delivering on their promises. 

Spotting fraudulent business opportunities is not as easy as it might seem. To help consumers spot and avoid fraudulent business opportunities, the FTC has issued the attached Consumer Alert. The Federal Trade Commission  invites you to post or link  (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/bizopalrt.htm) to the Consumer Alert and to its business opportunities web page.

One potential woman in business recently wrote: "I have not had any luck with any home business. I have not invested any money into any because I feel that most of them are scams. The more I search, the more defeated I feel. I have three children, my husband works 6-7 days a week, which is why we decided I should stay home rather than let someone else raise our children. We invested in a computer, printer, and scanner with the prospect of having a home-based business. For two and a half years I work for a grocery store as a checker, customer service, stocker, and for one and a half of those years I was grossly underpaid as the frozen food and dairy department manager. I enjoy searching the internet for all sorts of information, and I don't expect to become a millionaire just by having a web page. Can you help me with something legit? " 

The internet has opened up so many email scams that I usually delete anything promotional that comes into my box now. I believe the only way to start a successful business opportunity is to evaluate your own personal strengths, or talents, and focus primarily on development of a business plan which stems directly from those roots. 

In the above letter, the young woman and her husband invested in about $4,000 worth of computer equipment. She took to the internet to find an income with her new computer equipment. I further noted this young mother mentioned experience in the grocery business, not in computer technology. In a basic analogy, this young woman has been given the keys to a brand new automobile but has never learned to drive. She is excited about the opportunity in front of her, but is at loss because she doesn't have the training, or a driver's license to utilize the new automobile. 

With all the hype of internet wealth, it is no surprise to me that young couples struggling to make ends meet in their families would assume they could ride the train of success merely by purchasing this equipment and getting internet connection. This is why email "get rich schemes" hit with regularity and offer dazzling promises to unsuspecting victims. This is why it is so very important to form women's networks online, where women can receive the guidance, education, coaching and support of legitimate women business owners who understand their specific needs. 

Fodreams.Com, in cooperation with seasoned business women, has designed its business website to provide you with mentors and coaches who have online expertise in building small businesses. We have carefully reviewed various business opportunities for homebased or work at home, provided an online business mail forum to have questions on the "how to" aspect of business and are in the process of developing online teaching sessions to assist you in designing a small business around your specific talents and expertise. 

I titled this article "So, its a numbers game," in order for you to appreciate the "get rich quick schemes" available within the internet. These scams utilize the vast amount of users online today to attract innocent victims. Don't let your dreams become financial disaster. Always remember the cliché, "if it is too good to be true, it usually isn't true!" If you plan on going bungee-jumping with internet crooks who promise "Pie in the Sky" results, be sure you understand the crook is using a "sky hook" to protect your investment.