Business Resources

Business Opportunities: Avoiding Vending Machine & Display Rack Scams (WI)

Some business opportunities offer to pay you to service vending machines or display racks.  Some are legitimate, but many are risky investments with no guarantee you'll make a profit. Read more

Business Opportunities: Multilevel Marketing (WI)

Want to “be your own boss,” “work from home,” or just “make extra money?” You may be tempted by an advertisement for a business opportunity, but before you open your checkbook, check out the offer.

Checking the Reliability or Reputation of a Business (GA)

How do you know whether the company you are considering doing business with is reliable and trustworthy?  If you have doubts, check before you write that check! Get tips from the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Protection.

Consumer Privacy

Does your company make privacy claims? Reread your privacy policy to make sure you're honoring its promises. Savvy businesses understand it's important to be clear about what they do with consumers' personal information. Read more

Cutting Standing Timber (WI)

One of Wisconsin’s most valuable resources is often found on private property. Unfortunately, timber and woodlot owners often don’t know the value of their standing timber and problems arise after agreements are made with loggers. Read more.

Disposal of Your Personal Records by a Business (GA)

Your personal information is important in every aspect of your life.  It's essential to be careful about sharing information, so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Georgia law regulates the proper disposal of business records that contain personal information.

Endorsements

Do you use endorsements or testimonials in your marketing? Do they meet the standards of the FTC Act and the Endorsement Guides? Find out more by consulting FTC compliance resources.

Fraud Against Small Businesses (WI)

Small businesses are the targets of fraudulent or deceptive sales practices including business opportunities, office supply scams, and phony billing schemes.  This guide explains the scams and how to handle them.  

Green Guides

If you are a business that makes claims about the environmental benefits of your products, you must back them up with competent and reliable scientific evidence. The FTC's Green Guides explain how truth-in-advertising principles apply to green claims.

Internet-Based Business Opportunities (WI)

Internet businesses sound like the perfect job: be your own boss, set your own hours, and work from home.  In truth, most require a lot of time and money, and few succeed.  Investigate internet business opportunities as carefully as you would any other business opportunity.  

 

 

Invention Marketing (WI)

Hundreds of inventors and entrepreneurs introduce new ideas to the public each year. Some are highly successful; others are not. Knowing how to get started is an important first step toward reaching success.

Marketing Your Mobile App: Get It Right from the Start

Maybe you want to get in on the growing app business.  Maybe you work for an exciting start-up or on your own.  Regardless of the size of your business, the Federal Trade Commission has guidelines to help you comply with truth-in-advertising standards and basic privacy principles. Read more

Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed (WI)

You may have gotten emails or ads claiming you'll earn a living as a mystery shopper while dining at elegant restaurants, shopping at pricey stores, or checking into luxurious hotels. However, marketers who promote these jobs often don't deliver on their promises. Read more.

Small Business Web Page

This FDIC website has useful information for small business owners, including information about access to loans, and an online form for submitting questions or registering concerns.

The Business Center (FTC)

The Business Center, from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, provides tools to help you and your business understand and comply with the law. Search for information by topic - Advertising & Marketing, Credit & Finance, Privacy & Security - or by industry.

The Connecticut Contractor for Home Improvement and New Home Construction (CT)

Information for contractors doing business in Connecticut.

The Seminar Pitch: A Real Curveball (WI)

Seminar hucksters say they’ll give you valuable information about how to invest successfully or operate a profitable business. Consumers who invest in these “opportunities” often find the pay-off isn’t as promised and they can’t recoup the money they spent. Read more

Unwanted Faxes: What You Can Do (WI)

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules prohibit sending unsolicited advertisements, also known as “junk faxes,” to a fax machine. This prohibition applies to fax machines at both businesses and residences. Read more

Work-at-Home Schemes (WI)

Ads for envelope stuffing, making craft items, government employment, secret shopper, medical billing and other business schemes promise consumers hundreds to thousands of dollars a month for an investment of a few dollars. But complaints by consumers show the result is usually the same – consumers lose their money. Read more.

Working with Professional Fundraisers (WI)

If your organization is considering working with a professional fundraiser, you have an obligation and a responsibility to the public to account for all funds collected and to ensure the fundraising is conducted in an honest, straightforward, and legal manner. Read more