Working from home seems to be everyone's dream come true, or goal for 'someday.' But, it's so hard to research and find options if you're in the market for a stay at home job. Scams are rampant, so I've put together a list of legitimate work from home job opportunities found from research and experience reviewing the opportunities. Be cautious though... if you are staying home to raise children especially a stay at home job can become very demanding, and you don't want to get involved in a monster that can steal precious time from you and your family. Sometimes what you can do to relieve financial pressure is lay off the spending rather than finding another means of revenue. So, here are ideas that I've found that can really work.
1) Become a vendor to local businesses and specialty shops. This is perfect if you love to make handmade crafts in any way shape or form but don't want a storefront. Most stores
require a bu
siness identification number though, so you would have to put down the money for a business licence. Remember though, you choose your hours and how much you work.
2) Have a booth at a carnival or craft fair. This is great if you want to cut out the middle man, and get the profits for your sales directly from the customer.
Remember though, if you want to make food you may need special certification to serve perishables, such as a food handlers permit. These are cheap though, and in most states require only a short training course. Contact your local government licencing agency for details.
3) Become a sales rep. This can be great for the person who loves talking to people and having sales parties. Types of businesses that fall into this category include Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Amway, Longaburger, Mary Kay, Nu Skin, Avon, Useborne Books, Partylite, and more. If you love a product and have a large group of contacts this could be the job for you. Often there is a fee to become a consultant which often purchases your basic materials in kit form.
These are company products you will need to hold your initial shows, but if you love the products anyway this is a great excuse to get good deals on the products you already want. Information can be found online.
4) Blog, blog, blog. Well, here you go, that's what you're reading right here. If you think you've got a hot idea or a great writing style this may be for you. Depending on the number of hits you get on your site
companies will actually pay you to host their advertisements. On blogger.com, you are paid depending on the number of hits the companies get from your site, meaning, if someone goes to your site and clicks on an ad, you get paid per click. You also choose the number of advertisements on your blog. Some people post pictures, while others have opinion oriented blogs. Some show craft ideas, recipe demo's, cake mistakes, cleaning schedules, child discipline and reinforcement techniques, and any other thing you can think of. Sign up is free for both the blog, and advertising account and you are paid after the minimum amount is made
from your site.
5) Telemarketing. Some companies will pay you to work from home on the phone doing things
such as answering customer questions, or making or canceling reservations. The difficulty with this option though, is it first requires a training period, often in the city which the company is based out of. Uhaul has a program based out of Phoenix Arizona, but when finished with the program you can work anywhere that has a phone and computer. Pay is pretty good too, usually starting at minimum wage, but receiving bonuses for each reservation you secure. This is great because, in the case of Uhaul, you are only connected to customers who are calling for that specific reason and it takes a short amount of time. There is also almost no wait time between customers. Jet Blue is another company that offers a program and training similar to this. Also, this can be a bummer if you have kids because they often require the same set number of hours, and if you have little ones who are not in school yet your life is probably too uncertain and hectic to keep up.
6) Transcription. Do you type quickly? Medical transcription may be a job for you. This requires speed touch typing skills which you use to type up doctors audio records and notes from patient records. There is a danger with this as a trade though. It requires a longer certification, and is becoming an un-needed skill as many doctors are now turning to automatic voice recognition typing programs to type for them rather than spending the extra money on a transcriptionist. A major plus to this is though, you work the hours you want, how many, how long, and when you want to work them.
7) Finally, just have a home business. Do you make cakes, paint, sculpt, or work ceramics. Do you teach a skill such as singing, a musical instrument, knitting or crochet, or cooking? Have a weekly class with students and charge what you feel is reasonable and appropriate. Or you may love photography. Make appointments that work with your schedule to do family, school, wedding, graduation, or individual portraits. You will need a business licence in many cases, but often if you are proficient that's the only skill you need. Just start with friends and find out what they're looking for but can't find close. Become the answer! Get some business cards and pass them out everywhere. Also, remember to have a price that's fair, but that compensates you for your time.
Good luck on your job hunting and business building endeavors! Hopefully this article has given you a few ideas for how you can still be home with family and enjoy the time you have with them and add to the family purse. Maybe you are often unable to leave the house and need a way to provide for yourself. Whatever the reason these ideas should be thought of as a starting place to work from. Remember, the more time you put into the business, the more money you are likely to get out of it... but you must keep your priorities in line. You don't want to build up a monster that you now have to take care of 24-7. Also, sometimes through a run of bad luck (or bad economy) you may work very hard and receive hardly anything for your effort. Keep your options open and don't beat a dead horse. If the business you're trying to have isn't working move on to something that has more potential. Finally, the object for all good business owners is ultimately to take their hands off the business and have it continue to run without thier constant effort. To do this you should find good people as you grow who you can trust, and then deligate, deligate, DELIGATE. Finally, don't get discouraged. It could be even a couple of years before your idea really takes off. If you love it, keep it going.
Best of luck to you and happy hunting!
