Comments on: Don’t Fall for Internet Business Scams

By: the Cynical Customer

the Cynical Customer — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:59:37 +0000

This post + some comments made me actually curious about Blast Off.
If nothing else it will be good post for my blog .

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:44:11 +0000

No problem Carter, I am now researching Blast Off more because I do feel bad if I blasted a legit company… but like you said I seriously have had 3 people come up to me in Starbucks totally spamming the Blast Off sign ups. Which is really unfortunate since like you said a lot of legitimate people are also involved because it automatically rings the 'spam' bells in my head… but I will be looking into Blast Off more to validate the points you made.

Thanks for the response Carter!

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:42:25 +0000

You are right Nick, I like that people are being forced to build up a community around their brand and if they can't hack that then they aren't making the money they used to with the pump & dump method. Like what you and I are doing… building a blog, growing a community & then maybe in the future profiting from that… but profit isn't number 1.

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:41:09 +0000

Steven I agree, being an entrepreneur is HARD HARD work. I have an aching back to prove it… too much computer time But heck it is 100x worth it, I'd rather work for myself for 12 hours a day vs. someone else for 4 hours.

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:40:14 +0000

Yep, yep, I am totally for buying REALLY great products or seminars online for big bucks vs. a cheap eBook that is a scam. But I have invested thousands myself in stuff that has been EXTREMELY useful.

By: TheInfoPreneur

TheInfoPreneur — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:15:54 +0000

All excellent points, I would rather pay $1,000 for a business which clearly states you have to put the hours in to make it work than $5 for a ebook saying you can do it with an hours work a week!

Maren Like you I put the hours in, but it's paying off big time and will ultimately be the big factor when I start to monetize in a couple of months. Hours and hours or hard works and passion, none of this garbage these try and pump on us

By: Steven | The Emotion Machine

Steven | The Emotion Machine — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:10:57 +0000

Very sound advice for any aspiring entrepreneur. I notice a lot of people still fall for those “easy money” schemes. There is NO SUCH THING as easy money, people! You have to earn every buck – so get with the program, take action, and create something valuable!

By: Carter Mason

Carter Mason — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:51:12 +0000

Hey, I get defensive when it comes to Pre-Paid Legal, because it is my business. I have no doubt you were approached by idiots misrepresenting the company. I seriously would like you to give me their names, so I can report them. I am an associate with enough standing my case will at least be heard. These people are not doing right by PPL or even Blastoff.

When I first saw the Blastoff company presented at the PPL convention in Vegas last September, my thoughts were, "Great idea, but we're going to get screwed."

The reason I thought this was that the people like you've been approached by will be attracted to a get rich quick idea (which it wasn't meant to be) and abandon what made a 37-year old publicly traded company on the NYSE great: We have a great product, with a great need.

And worse, you're negative opinion of PPL because of Blastoff is discouraging entrepreneurs from a service they need. I'm not talking about the MLM or network marketing opportunity, I'm talking about access to affordable legal advice from top-rate attorneys.

The truth is, Blastoff has NEVER charged to join. The ONLY advantage a PPL associate gets is a bigger downline in Blastoff. Anyone who tells you that you have to pay money is a liar, and they would be in violation of their associate agreement with PPL for misrepresenting the company and recruiting new associates under false pretenses. I sincerely hope their associate agreements would be terminated.

So I truly apologize for being defensive, but I do want you to know the truth. I work with small biz owners, new and old, to help them get quality, affordable legal services and access to business consultants. 90% of my income is from my own sales, and I do not need the network marketing part of the business to make a good living.

Since you have a good voice for biz people, please take the time to take an open look at the PPL biz plan. It is something you should be recommending to your readers. Ironically, the membership itself would help protect entrepreneurs from true scams.

I would be happy to send you sample contracts, brochures, or talk to you on the phone and give you a true presentation of what we do, so you can have the full information. This is a service small biz owners need, not one that should be evaluated solely on their decision to provide venture capital for a company some have chosen to misrepresent.

Thanks for your time and your thoughtful response. Please consider taking a much closer look at Pre-Paid Legal for business owners.

By: Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:14:25 +0000

Maren, love this post because it hits a topic that my readers know I'm passionately opinionated about.

I sincerely with all my hearts desire HATE (btw, I was called a hater today) Scammy Internet Marketers and what they call 'Internet Business'. I get tired of hearing all the same 'ol excuses, well it's 'passive' income and so and so made X amount last month and his friend makes X amount each month.

blah blah blah blah. I totally agree with you. The new trend is selling your own 'product' on your 'blog' now. Gone are the days (or they're on the way gone) of having a squeeze page and promoting affiliate products that don't pay out commissions. People end up spending more time, money and effort to fail at IM not realizing they're the exact targeted market that the products they are buying (how to make money on the internet) are meant for.

I could go on and on but this isn't my site, I just enjoy connecting and communicating (true business marketing techniques btw) with you regarding our similar interests.

By: Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:14:25 +0000

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:33:40 +0000

Yeah I agree… it is just sad to me that so many hard working people get lured in by the promise of easy money & actually end up losing money Instead people don't realize if they just keeping fighting for their dreams they will get there, just not the 'easy' way usually.

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:32:14 +0000

I have done my research on Blast off and was approached twice in the last month by random people trying to pitch me on Blastoff… they said that to join all I had to do was buy prepaid legal, which immediately sends of warning bells. In talking to other people who have joined they've all said they paid money up front to get in on the 'ground floor'… maybe its changed recently and I will check it out to see if I'm mistaken. Thanks for the comment Carter!

By: LeJon Ratchford

LeJon Ratchford — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:29:20 +0000

Winning in the cash flow business. This is ran by a gentleman named Russ Dalbey!
Russ claims all you would do is find Real Estate Notes post them on their website and you get money. The infomercial is misleading! The last paragraph described me all the way, lol. I wont give up! Great Post!

By: Carter Mason

Carter Mason — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:58:11 +0000

Ummm... Blastoff is free. Pre-Paid Legal just supplied the venture capital, and their associates get a larger downline.

By calling it a scam, you're actually keeping people from receiving discounts and cash back without having to recruit a single person. I don't have hardly anyone in my downline, but I've saved about a $100 using Blastoff. That's not much, but in this economy every bit helps.

There is absolutely no cost to sign up, and you get cashback on purchases made much like an affiliate program.

I agree with your general sentiment, but please get your facts straight when singling out two companies.