This is the ultimate Home Business Academy review.
HBA is an affiliate marketing program created by Paul Hutchings and Mike Hobbs. We have spent many hours examining the course materials to see if it’s legit.
(Have you taken this course? Add your rating!)
If you’re eager to learn…
- If it can help you make money online
- The pros and cons
- If the whole thing is legit or a scam
- How much it costs (including upsells)
- Are students getting results?
Then definitely keep reading.
Jump to…
About the Author
Hey, I’m Niall Doherty.
I quit my last 9-to-5 job back in 2010.
Since then, I’ve earned my living online in various ways. Over the last 4 years (through 2023) I’ve earned $842,000 from my laptop, mostly via affiliate marketing.
I’m on a mission to accurately rate and review all the best affiliate marketing courses. My team and I have spent 900+ hours investigating these courses and getting feedback from real students.
All that to say: we know a thing or two about such courses and making money online.
The Best Affiliate Marketing Course?
We’re on a mission to find the best affiliate marketing course based on our extensive research and real student feedback.
The Home Business Academy is a decent course but not the best we’ve seen…
🏆 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses 🏆
How does Home Business Academy help you make money?
The Home Business Academy aims to help you make money online with affiliate marketing.
It also teaches you how to promote their program and landing page builder.
Affiliate marketing involves promoting someone’s product or service and earning a commission from the owner when you generate a sale for them.
There’s no need to create an offer, set up a sales funnel, write marketing emails, deliver a product, or provide customer support.
As an affiliate marketer, your prime responsibility is driving traffic to generate sales.
More specifics from the HBA sales page…
Like other MLM-style courses like Legendary Marketer, HBA focuses a considerable portion of its training on promoting HBA itself.
Technically, Home Business Academy is not an MLM company. Only a single-tier affiliate program exists, and the information taught can apply to other affiliate products.
But it always gives me pause when an affiliate marketing course focuses on teaching you how to promote itself.
One reason is it can result in a bunch of people who don’t earn much in affiliate marketing showing others how to make money by promoting the very product they’re not making money with 😕
It’s a somewhat circular concept where the person who benefits most is the course creator.
In essence, these courses often charge you to teach you how to make them more money. And maybe they’ll provide solid enough training to help you do it.
On the one hand, they have more skin in the game and are incentivized to help you sell their product.
On the other hand, it’s often a product-centric approach rather than focusing on helping you grow as an affiliate marketer.
Here’s how HBA addresses this concern…
And in Home Business Academy’s case, 80% of revenue goes to affiliates.
The official word from the sales page…
We Have “Done For You” Products, Websites, Emails, Traffic Training & Resources AND Provide Live Daily Personal Help, Customer Service & Product Delivery… and We Still Pay YOU 80% of The Commissions!
Basically, they teach you how to promote any offer, but some could easily see the focus on promoting itself as MLMy.
Who is Home Business Academy for?
HBA seems to be for internet marketers willing to act on the information they learn to achieve a long-term income. It also might be of interest to people who want a cheaper alternative to ClickFunnels.
Prospective customers may have purchased courses in the past but were disappointed by a lack of community and mentorship to help guide them.
According to the sale page, the program claims it can work for you “even if you’re brand new or have never made a dime online,” so HBA appears to be newbie friendly.
- 70+ ways how to make money online (including easy options)
Do Paul Hutchings & Mike Hobbs have a good reputation?
Yes and no.
Mike and Paul have been involved with multiple MLMs in the past.
According to their site, Paul was “the #1 recruiter and producer in his nutritional network marketing company,” which isn’t necessarily a good thing in my eyes.
It shows his effectiveness as a marketer, but network marketing (multi-level marketing), has a ridiculously low success rate for most recruits…
Note that although this study is relatively new, AARP’s credibility is questionable…
The FTC paints quite a different picture of MLM success rates…
According to this 2011 study by Dr. Jon M. Taylor, you’re more likely to make money gambling in Vegas than with recruitment-driven MLMs.
Mike has also reportedly been involved with MLMs in the past, one of which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and broke multiple securities laws.
Here’s a screenshot showing Mike promoting the company…
However, this was ~10 years ago, and Mike could genuinely have been convinced that the company was legit (like many other people).
Just because he had particular success doesn’t mean he was more aware of the company’s unlawfulness than anyone else.
That’s the bad stuff.
Where Mike and Paul excel is in bringing together people with shared business goals and positive attitudes.
I’ve seen dozens of testimonials about the value customers feel they’ve gotten by being part of HBA’s “Freedom Crusaders” community…
Mike and Paul also choose to donate a portion of sales to “Feed My Starving Children,” a non-profit that provides nutritious meals to children in need.
The HBA community claims to be responsible for over 240,000 meal donations.
So while Mike and Paul have been involved in questionable business ventures in the past, Home Business Academy seems to have made a positive impact on a good deal of people.
That’s despite some questionable marketing tactics, like…
- Sales video starting by saying, “this isn’t a sales video”
- Saying things like “Unlimited wealth online for the rest of your life”
Here’s a video from Mike Hobbs’ YouTube channel so you can get a feel for his style…
Here’s one from Paul Hitchings’ YouTube…
Are Home Business Academy students getting results?
Mike and Paul claim to have paid out commissions to the tune of over $3.5 million…
They also have an FTC disclaimer to set earnings expectations…
To summarize, the average HBA affiliate earns just under $330 over 12 months, not including expenses. This includes people who have yet to make any sales.
The cost of HBA for 12 months is $300. So when considering potential additional costs, most HBA affiliates just about break even.
Not terribly exciting for a course that claims it can help you build an insanely profitable online business …
But to their credit…
- Most companies don’t share disclaimers like this, so how these numbers compare to other courses is unclear.
- The average student gets to use the HBA funnel builder for free. While they’re not generating a profit from their HBA subscription, their commissions pay for access to a tool they can use for other online business opportunities.
Browsing through the FB group, I found a fair amount of students getting results…
I also found some recent screenshots of individual sales…
Unsurprisingly, the only proof I found was from people promoting HBA. My MLM alarm bells would’ve been quieter if students posted wins about other affiliate programs.
How much does Home Business Academy cost?
HBA costs $25 per month.
This includes training, community, live group coaching, and funnel builder access.
There’s an optional $125/month upsell for access to the “Premium Traffic and Conversions Vault,” which you can try for 14 days for free. This includes extra training and group coaching calls…
Additionally, there’s an optional $500 upsell for their money management and financial literacy course. This includes training and access to more group coaching…
Other costs may include…
- A domain (~$10/year)
- An autoresponder (~$20/month)
Also, if you plan to promote HBA, it looks like you’ll need to buy any upsell you want to earn a commission on.
Home Business Academy Discount?
I’ve looked in all the usual places for a discount or coupon code but to no avail.
So the full cost needs to be covered for access.
Refund Policy
The Home Business Academy has a 3-day money-back guarantee.
Their official policy…
If you are dissatisfied at any time during the first 3 days (72 hours) after initial time of purchase or monthly re-bill, simply delete any digital files you may have downloaded, including video, audio, and text files you obtained from us, and ask for a refund by sending an email to [email protected]. You will be refunded the most recent charge amount. That’s a firm promise and commitment.
After 3 Days
No refunds will be granted after 3 days (72 hours) from time and date of initial purchase or most recent subscription re bill.
It’s better than nothing, but IMO 3 days isn’t enough time to consume the content, experience the live calls, or properly test the funnel builder.
How is Home Business Academy structured?
Here’s what the training looks like once you log in…
Over 38 videos in the funnel builder training walk you through how to use the software.
This is what it looks like inside a lesson…
The Freedom Launchpad covers the actual affiliate marketing training…
Here’s a sneak peek of the premium traffic training as well…
With premium, you also get a massive archive of audio recordings, which appear to have taken place nearly every day since 2011 🤯…
Beyond the core training, you get access to their HBA Funnel Builder tool.
This is what it looks like when you log in…
HBA Funnel Builder has basically all the functionalities of popular tools like ClickFunnels but at a 1/4th of the cost.
It’s a white label-version of a software called Simvoly.
I think white labeling is an ethical model, especially when customers aren’t led to believe the resellers are the actual developers of the product.
For example, there are so many people promoting tools like GoHighLevel that claim to have “developed” an awesome new tool.
HBA doesn’t seem to take that approach; they market it honestly from what I saw.
The benefit of buying HBA Funnel Builder directly is that…
- You get all their affiliate marketing templates built in for you
- You get access to a supportive community also using the tool
- If you need a funnel builder anyway, it’s a cheap and high-quality option
Another part of the program is the private FB group…
Mike seems to be pretty active here…
Lastly, there’s the weekly coaching.
Here’s an example of what you can expect every week…
Plus additional coaching for premium members…
Green Lights 🟢
Some positive points for Home Business Academy…
- Active and supportive private community.
- Low price to get started.
- Surprisingly comprehensive core training.
- Paul and Mike play an active role
- Funnel builder and bonus training included.
Red Flags 🚩
A few things to be wary of regarding Home Business Academy…
- Lack of significant success stories from students promoting other offers.
- Only a 3-day money-back guarantee.
- No search functionality; hard to find specific lessons.
- Questionable marketing tactics (half-truths, hypey language)
- Most affiliates don’t turn a profit.
Other things you should know
- The training provides a range of handy downloads, including templates, email series scripts, checklists, assignments, audio recordings, etc.
- Mike and Paul’s training outlines the systems they’ve used to market themselves and their offers successfully. When you join, you get access to this info.
Should you join Home Business Academy?
Home Business Academy contains structured training taught by experienced affiliate marketers Mike and Paul. It’s action-packed, offering frequent group coaching calls and a helpful community.
If you’re an aspiring affiliate marketer looking for support, there’s a good chance you’ll find value inside HBA.
It’s a decent investment if you’re willing to put in the work, want to learn from Paul and Mike, and don’t mind the MLM vibes.
And from what I’ve seen, most people who join the program are happy with their purchase.
Just remember that the average HBA affiliate breaks even, so you’ll need to put in an above-average amount of work to profit.
Home Business Academy Alternatives
Here are the top affiliate marketing programs we’ve reviewed…
Your Thoughts on Home Business Academy
- Have you taken this course yourself?
Add your rating so others can see if it’s worthwhile. - Do you have a question about this course?
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