Content Overview 
- Overview
- Are You Allowed To Work At Home?
- What Will I Need To Be Able To Work From Home?
- Advantages To Working At Home
- Is Your Home Setting Appropriate For Work At Home?
- How To Find Work At Home
- If I Want To Start A Business At Home, How Do I Figure Out Which Is Best For Me?
- How Will You Market Yourself Or Your Business If You Work At Home?
- Contact Your Neighbors Before Starting A Business At Home
Work: At Home (Freelance Or Your Own Business)
How To Find Work At Home
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There are many type of work which can be done at home. If you don't have current marketable skills, consider volunteering in a manner that will cultivate skills that can transfer to a paid job. If you do volunteer, ask if the nonprofit group will provide you with a job reference.
A few examples of the types of opportunities available for people with no specific training to work at home are:
- Virtual call centers/customer service agents. Many companies use people working at home to man their call centers. While foreign workers may be cheaper, American culture doesn't always translate. You will need a dedicated phone line and internet access. To find potential employers, search on such terms as "call center" and "customer service." Also check out the following examples:
- Alpine Access: http://alpineaccess.com
- Amazon.com: www.Amazon.com.
In the "get to know us" menu, click on "Careers" then enter "work at home" in the keyword box
- American Express: http://Careers.AmericanExpress.com
, click on "SearchJobs" and enter "work at Home" in the keyword search box
- Arise: www.arise.com
or http://Partner.Arise.com
- Home Shopping Network: www.HSN.com
, click on; "About HSN", then: "Careers at HSN". On the "Why HSN menuy" click on "Work At Home"
- LiveOps: http://Join.LiveOps.com
- www.workingsolutions.com
- NOTE: additional work at home companies are listed at: www.RatRaceRebellion.com
- Alpine Access: http://alpineaccess.com
- Make and sell crafts. In addition to local sales either to local stores or as a yard sale, you can sell them on the internet on such sites as http://www.esty.com
.
- Start an online store or sell items at online web sites such as ebay.com,
amazon.com
or craigslist.org
.. You don't have to own the merchandise or have a lot of money to start. For example:
- You can help friends sell their items and keep a commission of anywhere between 20% and 50%.
- Find items in your area that are selling at below the national average. Make sure there are lots of the item available. Then you can advertise the item on your site. When you find a buyer, you can buy the item locally and ship it. (Make sure there is enough money involved to pay shipping cost and to give you a profit).
- Medical coders translate doctors' written diagnoses and lists of procedures into the codes that insurance companies use for billing. Generally people need to qualify by passing an exam, which generally involves a 12-18 month course. For more information, call the American Academy of Professional Coders or see www.aapc.com
- Write Ethical Wills or resumes for people. For more information, see Ethical Wills.
- If you have an expertise:
- Consider tutoring both person-to-person and/or online. If you don't have special skills, perhaps you can teach a language you speak or other people how to do your hobby. For example, see www.Tutor.com
(It helps to have an impressive LinkedIn account.)
- Answer questions online if you have expertise in any area. For instance, check out:
- www.About.com
The site provides answers to questions. Applications are online.
- www.Pearl.com.
You can answer questions from consumers or businesses. Applicants must take a subject matter test and submit to a background check.
- www.About.com
- Create an online course and get paid if people take it at www.udemy.com
- Consider tutoring both person-to-person and/or online. If you don't have special skills, perhaps you can teach a language you speak or other people how to do your hobby. For example, see www.Tutor.com
- Post content on blogs. Topics vary widely. For this type of job, see web sites such as:
- BloggingPro.com.
Click on "Job Board
- Postloop.com
Click "Join"
- Problogger.net
. Click on "Jobs"
- WiredFlame.com
. Click "Writers"
- BloggingPro.com.
- Type a transcript from a recording. You generally get paid based on the amount you transcribe. For companies that hire home-based people to transcribe, see:
- CambridgeTranscriptions : www.CTran.com/employment
- Rev.com
- Tigerfish: www.Tigerfish.com/employment.html
- Ubiqus: www.Uviqus.com
. Click on "Working For Us"
- CambridgeTranscriptions : www.CTran.com/employment
There are many web sites that help find part time work at home. A few of the better known sites are:
- About.com Go to the work at home section by going to http://JobSearch.about.com
. Click on "Find a job" then "work from home jobs"
- www.bbbonline.org
-- click on "For Consumers"
- FlexJobs.com
- freelance and employee jobs - membership site that charges for its services
- www.ratracerebellion.com
helps people find work at home. It also provides other resources such as message boards for people who are self-employed.
- Elance lists jobs: www.elance.com
.
- Indeed.com
click on "Advanced Job Search" then type into the "exact phrase" field "work from home" without quotes. Leave location field blank.
- oDesk lists jobs: www.odesk.com
- At SitterCity.com y
ou can offer to be a pet sitter
- SnagAJob.com
lists hourly jobs
- Women For Hire lists resources as well as ideas for working from home: www.WomenForHire.com
- Working Solutions: www.workingsol.com
At www.FiverR.com you can list things you are willing to do for $5.00. You get $4.00. The site gets $1.00.
Following are a few firms (in alphabetical order) that help find work for people who want to work at home. The list was compiled by the Wall Street Journal. We have not had had experience with any of these firms.
- www.FlexibleExecutives.com
- www.FlexibleResources.com
- www.FlexperienceConsulting.com
- www.IvyExec.com
- www.MomCorps.com
- www.On-Ramps.com
How To Determine If A Work-At-Home Program Is Right For You
The answers to the following questions may help you determine whether a work-at-home program is appropriate for your circumstances, and whether the claims can be realistic. Ask the promoter:
- What tasks will I have to perform? (Ask the program sponsor to list every step of the job.)
- Will I be paid a salary or will my pay be based on a commission?
- Who will pay me?
- When will I get my first paycheck?
- What is the total cost of the work-at-home program, including supplies, equipment, and membership fees?
- What will I get for my money?
Then ask yourself whether the claims are based on wishful thinking - or real market conditions.
NOTE: Watch for sites that are scams and prey on people's desire to find work.
According to the Federal Trade Commission legitimate work-at-home program sponsors should tell you in writing what's involved in the program they are selling
Before you commit, and defintely before you send any money, check to find out what the Better Business Bureau knows about the promoter. See: www.bbb.org . Also check to see what other people who work at home have to say about a particular employer. For instance, look at: