A few weeks ago a very good friend of mine called me about this wonderful new endeavor she was a part of and wanted to tell me all about it. Well I have always respected her business sense. She had a good head on her shoulders and she already was a part owner and accountant of a local business. So I sat down and told her to tell me all about it.

She said that between her and her husband, she was the skeptical one. She said that she was approached by five different people and everyone one of them was thrilled that they had become members of a company by the name of Team National.

She began to tell me of this wonderful business where you could become a member and could shop at hundreds of stores for just about anything that you would buy on a daily basis. The membership discounts were really great in and of themselves but that there was another membership category where you could actually make money rather than just save money.

She was very open with me and I asked her what the bottom line was. Actually I think I just blurted out, "it all sounds great to me but how much did all this cost?" There was a little pause and she told me that it was right at $2000.00, but that they would get that back in a matter of months just by the savings they would have on the products they bought. Flashbacks went through my brain on other companies which sounded too good to be true, you know them, Mary Kay, HerbaLife, and Amway. When I cautioned her she said that this was totally different, that Team National was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. Well I told her that I really appreciated her thinking of me because like a lot of people, I am always looking for something to boost the old net income. I told her I would think about it and get back with her. She said she would be looking forward hearing from me and if I was interested, she could arrange for me to attend a meeting to get the full story on why this was such a good business to be in.

I thought about for a couple of days and I have to admit because I had always respected her business sense, there might be something to it. But when it comes to being skeptical, I could be the mother of all skeptics. I decided that I would let my fingers do the walking and I would try and get a little more information from outside sources before I made up my mind to get involved. I am really glad that I did.

Like most people, I got on the internet and using my favorite search engine, I went to work. I found quite a bit of information. People were debating back and forth. One person would be up on the soap box saying how great the company was and another would say that it was nothing more than a scam. There was an article that the company had had some problems in the State of Arkansas over its insurance program and that there had been some settlements over this. But all in all, I guess I didn't find anything that proved that they were conducting any kind of illegal business. So it was really left up in the air as to what credibility the company had.

As I searched, I did find an interesting link to this on line business called My Power Mall. It sounds awfully familiar to what I had learned of Team National. I had already been told by someone affiliated with Team National that there was a pretty good chunk of change involved in getting set up with them, but the advertisement for My Power Mall was pretty emphatic that there really wasn't any hidden costs . They seemed to have a lot in common. Both businesses were shopping oriented. Both professed to save money in rebates or discounts. Both said that you could shop at hundreds of stores on line. But My Power Mall said that in their program there were over 1000 stores you could shop through. Both businesses said that name brand stores were also participant merchants of theirs. I had to admit that my skeptic antennas rose up out my head but I thought that since it wasn't going to cost me anything to get some further information from My Power Mall, I would sign up for the free E-Book that they offered.

Once I received the link in my in box, I gave them the few minutes it took to listen to the company's president talk about her business and her insistence that there was no membership fees involved. I have to admit that it sounded very intriguing.

So in summary, I can't get up on my soap box and say that Team National is better or worse than My Power Mall or not. What I can say is that I know for a fact that there are up front membership fees that can be quite steep to get involved in Team National. I know also that there are meeting in which you have to attend and there is pressure to have you sign up your friends and family. I can say quite the opposite about My Power Mall. There isn't any pressure; you are free to make it a business or just a good place to shop with discounts. There are no membership fees and there are no dark hotel rooms where members are strongly encouraged to attend meeting.

So if you are considering some kind of Home Business and you may be looking for a shopping network, you be the judge of which one is best for you.