Work from home to make money, not spend it
October 28, 2008 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Make Money
Working at home can seem like a good idea; and it can be. There are plenty of legit ways to make money at home, but be sure to check out the situation before you jump right in. It’s not very thrifty to spend more than you make- just to have the privilege to work.
Tips for work at home gigs:
Don’t work for free. There’s a reason it’s called work people. Being a stay at home writer, I see this more than I’d like (among other writers), however, people in other work-at-home ventures see this as well; i.e people asking them to work for free. If you have to pay to work, or work for free, it’s not legit, and even if it is, it’s a crappy way to make money. UNLESS you are actually investing in say, a direct marketing venture where you pay for products up front.
Check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the company or organization.
The best work-at-home jobs often pop up from on site jobs. If you’re already with a company, discuss telecommuting options with them; you’re more likely to get benefits, better pay, and more stability doing this, than if you up and leave, and then look for a new work-at-home job.
Don’t ever send money to get more information. While this is not working for free, it’s still shady. No one should ask you for money so that they can tell you about a job.
Make sure the company hiring exists. If it’s not a solo client, they should have a local address and phone number somewhere. You can ask where a company is headquartered, and then look them up to be sure they have local listings.
Most direct sales companies do buy back items you can’t or don’t sell. If your company is saying, oh, we don’t do that, I’d be wary.
Calculate hourly wage vs. pay. Often work-at-home jobs want to pay you a chunk of money vs. an hourly wage for a specific task or tasks. $500 a week may sound nice, but not if it takes you 40 hours to complete the work. You’ll end up way far under minimum wage.
Of course this is just the tip of the work-at-home iceberg. To learn more visit the following links:
- Home Biz Notes
- The Golden Pencil – for freelance writing info
- WAHM jobs and advice
I agree with not working for free. I also think that users should look into revenue share sites as most sites make money off user participation.
Revenue sharing sites like Flixya.com and Hubpages.com are great ways to generate Google Adsense revenue without needing to host a website. Also great that they have done the hardwork for users to enjoy the benefits. Not sure how Flixya makes money, but they pay 100% of the ad revenue to users.
Anyway, time spent online should be monetized as well. Thanks again fro your post.
- Roger
Good advice! I check the BBB for just about everything!
Good Write up
When you work from home, you have crated a job for yourself which does not have traditional structure and boundaries. My advice for working at home includes also getting used to the idea that you are your own boss. Would you give you a raise or tell yourself to go get a job somewhere else?
— http://www.1moneymania.in/
@Roger I agree that time spent online should be monetized but not with a place like Hubpages – because they expect work in return for a non-total share of revenue; and for most people it’s a pretty low cut of $, you could host your own site instead.