You've seen it on TV… everything you need to start your Internet business only $59.95. It seems too good to be true! Can you actually get a Web site, hosting, search engine placement and products to sell for under $60? Can you actually begin to turn a profit within minutes of your site being loaded onto 'Net? Hmmm… what's old saying? "If it sounds too good to be true…"

When these types of infomercials start, pitch is usually something along lines of, "you can own your own Internet business for only $59.95 and become rich by only working 20 minutes a day." Granted, they do show testimonials from people who supposedly have made millions with this type of business. And, they do make a persuasive argument that this type of success is possible because Internet is a worldwide medium. Can it be done? Yes. However, real question is, "can it be done by your average person"?

The answer to that question is no. How do I know it can't be done? I've tried it. Before I recommend any new products or services to my clients I buy them and try them to be sure they are safe and legitimate. I investigate companies and their products and services.

Let me share with you what I've found about these types of Internet Businesses In A Box.

Watch Out For Small Print

Small print seems to play a major role in advertising campaigns of these firms. For instance, satisfied customers appear showing you checks they've received from their business. Your natural response is to focus on rich business owner. Instead, read small print at bottom of screen. "These experiences are unique and your results may vary. Dollar amounts quoted are gross sales." Some even say, "Business owners are fictitious characters portrayed by actors". It's a perception angle. You usually do not notice small print because company has directed your attention toward big checks. They have you dreaming of all money you will make when you use their product.

Another major surprise that comes from not reading fine print is sprung on you once package arrives. For $59.95 you receive "how to information" - nothing is done for you… you must do it all yourself. Since most of purchasers of this type of product are "newbies", information does little good. When Internet business people are just starting out, they normally don't know a Web host from a Web site.

The first thing you are instructed to do is build your website. Although company tells you that site is easy to build and you need no programming or HTML experience, there is no doubt that site will appear amateurish. This is by no means a slight to Internet newbies. It is simply a factual statement. I know of no one that could design a professional-looking Web site on their first attempt.

Add On's

One of first things you should do is go through site of program you are interested in and determine who is running it, where they are located and what their contact information is. Know who you are dealing with. If you can't find any of that, that should bring up a red flag!

If you were referred to program by someone, email them or call them and find out what they know about program, who runs it, how long they have been involved and are they making money. If they can't give answers, ask them for their sponsor's name and email. Maybe they have information from being able to access program's member pages, from a welcome email they received upon joining or maybe from checks/statements that they might have received. If they don't have any information or are reluctant to tell you, they may be promoting it in dark.

If they have some company information, i.e., telephone number, address or email addresses, contact company and ask questions about how many people they have in program, how long they have been in operation, do they have any business references you could talk to and whatever else you want to ask. If you email them and they don't get back to you timely or at all, pop up another red flag. This may be an indication of type support you are going to get.

If you can't find any information on them through above avenues and you still want to do some research take URL (web site address) i.e., www.theirname.com and go to one of major search engines and enter address (theirname.com) or name of company.

The other day I searched on a company that has been around for a number of years. I entered name of company in quotes at Iwon.com and got a list of almost 25,000 sites. By doing this you can then check out some of sites that you find for contact information or at least find other members who you could contact.