Is Arise a Work From Home Scam? (2020 Review)

At first glance, Arise looks like a legit work at home site.

According to their website, they can help you start a mini-call center business, which can provide you with a flexible income and work-life balance.

But is it legit? Arise isn’t a scam, it’s a real company that helps you start a work from home call center business. However, it’s not job, so there are costs involved and there are no guarantees you’ll make money. There’s also lots of complaints online, mostly about the low income potential, so it’s not for everyone.

In this review, we’ll take a closer look at what Arise is all about, how the work at home program works, and whether or not it’s actually worthwhile.

Arise Company Overview

Arise Virtual Solutions, Inc. (Arise) was founded in 1994 and is run by CEO Scott Etheridge at the company’s Florida based headquarters in the United States.

The company began as way to connect small call center businesses, with fortune 500 companies who were in need of customer service, sales and technical support reps.

And I think it’s safe to say that over the past (almost) 30 years, they’ve achieved that.

For starters, they’ve won multiple awards like Best Place to Work in South Florida from Sun Sentinel, multiple Stevie awards, American Business Awards and the list goes on.

And according to the company website, they’ve established strong working relationships with fortune 500 companies and have over 60,000 Service Partners across the globe, which includes those who’ve signed up for their work at home program.

But does that mean they’re 100% legit?

Read on.

Is Arise a Scam or Legit Work From Home Site?

Arise is not a scam, it’s a legit company that helps you start a work from home call center business. But the keyword here is “business”.

Most people who are looking for call center work are looking for a job, and this is absolutely NOT a job. When you work with Arise, you are doing so as an independent contractor.

What this means is that, even though Arise pays you by the hour, you don’t get the same benefits as if you were an employee, and (like any business) there are startup costs involved.

You also need to register your own company, and once you do this (and complete the other steps to get started as I explain below), Arise pays your company somewhere between $9 to $14 per hour for the work you perform.

And this is where many of the complaints about Arise stem from.

The fact that, by the time you factor in the costs (more on this below), and the overall low income, it’s just not a very lucrative work at home opportunity.

Contracts last 3-4 months only and it is not guaranteed your contract will be renewed. $9-12 an hour average- not a good living wage if it’s your only job. No benefits, 1099 contract worker.

www.indeed.com

On top of this, many people have experienced technical issues while attempting to run this business from home and have found the support to be lacking.

…Out of no where my SOW for Carnival was terminated, and I was removed from CHS training….It has been over a week and still no word from any one nor can I select another client. No one in chat support has answers.

www.bbb.org

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other complaints and negative reviews online. Some of which claim Arise is a total scam. And there was even a class action lawsuit filed against the company at one point.

So, clearly, Arise is not for everybody, and isn’t the perfect work from home company. Most of which amount to the below average support system and low income potential.

But to me, that doesn’t make something a “scam”.

In my mind a scam is when a company takes your money and runs, or makes exaggerated claims about how much money you can make and never delivers. Neither of which is true in this case.

Arise has been around for almost three decades now and, despite many negative reviews, has a fair amount of positive reviews for a work at home site.

With that being said, just because something is legit, doesn’t mean it’s a worthwhile method of earning money from home. So to figure out if this is going to be right for you, let’s take a closer look at how it works.

How Does Arise Work?

In this section, we’ll look at how to get started with Arise’s work at home program (including the costs involved), what you’ll be doing on a day to day basis, and how much you can earn.

Getting Started With Arise

There are five main steps to get started with Arise:

1. Register a company, such as a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
2. Undertake a certification training course to ensure you know what you are doing
3. Create a new account on the Arise website
4. Sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to see which companies you can work for
5. Review and choose a company to work with

The first step is probably one of the biggest hurdles, because not many people interested in this would know how to register a company and what type of company to register.

Thankfully though, there are a lot of great resources available such as the US Small Business Administration website to help you figure this out.

The second step is a requirement of every new Independent Business Owner (or IBO as they refer to them). This is essentially how Arise ensures that as an independent contractor, you know what you are doing.

As you can imagine, it would be disastrous to just let people come in without any training, and start working for big names companies who expect quality results from the call centers they work with. So I think this makes sense.

The remaining steps are relatively easy, they basically involved getting yourself registered and ready to start working on the Arise platform.

Worth noting is that Arise also has a System and Equipment Policy document that outlines what you will need to run your business in terms of equipment. In other words, the hardware and software you’ll need to get rolling.

The last point I want to mention here is that you may need to undergo a background check to qualify to work with Arise. Or at least some companies you choose to work with, using the Arise platform.

What Are the Startup Costs?

As you would expect, there are costs involved in starting your business and setting up your home office. In this case the costs are quite low in comparison to many traditional businesses.

The Arise website estimates that the initial startup cost is between $250 to $770 and the recurring costs are roughly $135 per month.

The upfront costs take into account registering a new company (up to $350), background check ($10), phone line ($75), equipment costs like a headset and VOIP setup (up to $100) and the initial Client Certification Program course (up to $250).

The recurring costs include high speed internet and phone line ($60 to $95 per month), and a $39.50 per month fee to use the Arise platform.

Of course, it depends on where you live and what equipment and services you need, which is why there’s such a wide margin. But, worst case, if you factored in $1,000 you’re probably be safe.

It would also pay to factor in costs such as stationary, bookkeeping software and accounting services, among others, since you are a contractor for Arise and are responsible for taking care of this stuff.

Overall I still think these costs are pretty reasonable though, at least when you compare them with starting a regular franchise. But the costs are still higher than many other (legit) work at home sites I review like Speechpad, ZoomBucks or Rev to name a few.

What’s It Like to Work for Arise?

Your main job as the owner of an Arise “mini-call center” is answering and making phone calls for their clients.

The types of calls you handle depend on the particular client you work for and what they need you to do for them. This typically includes sales, customer care and technical support call services, but can include other types of calls.

Arise has a broad range of clients with different needs, so it really depends on what they have available at the time, and what you qualify for, as to which specific jobs you get.

The way you choose which calls to take on, is by reviewing the various ‘Client Opportunities’ made available within the Arise platform. You can review these opportunities and accept the ones that appeal to you and your schedule.

These ‘opportunity announcements’ contain all the relevant information about who the client is, what types of call center agents they want and what you will need to do to qualify etc.

Once you agree to work with a client and complete the steps to get rolling, you can set the hours you want to work with that company ahead of time, according to what they have available.

How Much Can You Earn With Arise?

Arise pays anywhere from $9 to $14 per hour, depending on the work you did and the company you worked for. Which translates to earning roughly $360 to $560 for a 40 hour week.

But most contractors who work for Arise don’t earn this much, and they certainly don’t make this much in profit.

This is because not everyone who works for Arise will have a full week of work like this. And that’s gross revenue too, so you need to deduct your expenses and tax out of this amount.

When and how do they pay you? Arise pays out twice per month via bank deposit, for the hours you perform work for them.

Conclusion

Arise provides a legit, relatively simple work from home opportunity.

So, if don’t mind talking to people on the phone all day, and you’re okay with the low income potential, this could be a great option.

I like that it gives you the freedom to set your own working hours and enjoy the flexibility that comes with working from home. And since Arise has been around for so long, you can (generally) trust that you’re going to get paid.

But it’s definitely not without its drawbacks..

First of all, there’s a lot of complaints about Arise online, which make me skeptical about how some aspects of the company are being managed.

Second, even though the costs are low in comparison to starting a regular business or franchise, $250 to $770 (or more) is still a lot of money compared to other, more lucrative work at home business models. Like affiliate marketing for example, which is what I do to earn a full time income online.

Third, this basically works like a job because you’re getting paid by the hour, but you don’t get the benefits of being an employee. Nor do you get the benefits of running a scalable business. So it’s kind of a lukewarm hybrid scenario which I’m not a fan of.

With that being said, I think it comes down to your personal preference and what you think is going to suit your individual circumstances and goals.

And hopefully this review has made your decision a little easier.