RESEARCHING WORK AT HOME: What I've Learned In the Last 13 Years

RESEARCHING WORK AT HOME: What I've Learned In the Last 12 Years
By Kelly Land © 2006-2009 All rights reserved.

Finding your legitimate online business is becoming one of the best ways to earn an extra income. Many moms are turning to this popular alternative in order to bring in a paycheck and spend more time with their children. Can't blame them! Could work at home be your career? An internet job isn't as far fetched anymore. Companies post job offers all the time, that's job information that YOU need to know!

Just the basics of living have become so costly that many can't even afford to buy a house in this day and age. Keeping the lights on, the phone on and food on table are starting to feel like luxuries with the income crunch.

I've been there. I was a FULL time Radio personality (which I have a 4 year degree for). Even with the degree, experience and references.....I was making LESS than $20,000 a year doing the morning show by myself! I was given no benefits either. I brought in about $225 a week and daycare was $90! This was supposed to be the glamorous job I'd gone to school for and the life I had dreamed of....it was hardly that. With my paycheck and my husband's we were living paycheck to paycheck.

After my second child, I stayed one more year like this and when the station I was with went off the air....so did I! But I still needed to make money some how! I decided to research telecommuting and find other ways to make that the $400 a month I needed for our budget. That $400 was bare minimums too. There would be no ordering pizza or renting movies. It would be a TIGHT budget. I'm going to suggest here, that you give yourself a little cushion - because it sucks not having ANY money left over.

What I've Learned About Work at Home:

• Don't put all your eggs in one "work at home" basket! Think multiple streams of income.
• Apply for a work at home job with a resume and cover letter - like any other job.
• Don't expect to make $40,000 a year. It will be less in most cases.
• Adjust your budget before you quit your regular job. See what it's like.
• Direct Sales companies ask for start up fees! Deal with it. This is typical and reasonable. They are great ways to make money at home if you're ambitious and take it seriously! Whiners need not sign up because it does take ambition and gumption to build a business like this!
• Be leery of "make money fast" programs. Yes-there are many legit ones -but
  you'll want to be extra savvy researching.
• It can be lonely working at home... have a network of friends and activities.
• It can be hard on your child(ren). They get lonely and bored too. Make sure you are ready with things to entertain them and maybe even playgroups.
• Be ready to be pulled in a million directions - work at home is for the multi-tasker.
• If you're going the "create a website" route -be original. Simply copying someone else's concept or material is a no-no. Eventually it'll catch up with you and maybe even get your site banned.
• Create a work at home job! Look around your community for ideas. Day care, typing service, errand service etc. For example - if you're a paralegal in an office right now - maybe you could be one at home for an attorney more open to telecommuting? Lawyers aren't the only ones turning to virtual assistants!

Don't get discouraged. Sometimes the right work at home option for you doesn't show itself right away. I invested tons of money into trying to start a gift basket business. Huge flop. Not sure what I was even thinking?? It didn't even really suit my personality and delivery the baskets was so hard to do with little kids and working around nap time.

So don't let your first venture into work at home be the only venture if that first one doesn't work out.
Just regroup and fine tune your plan.