Does anyone work from home?

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
It's like I said.. make your lists.

When you decide you like a companies ethics, the way they do business you look for Affiliate program links on their websites. The links are also labeled "For Site Owners" "Affiliates" "Affiliate Program" "For Bloggers" "Publishers" things like that... they aren't hard to find on ebay/amazon...

you should go to COMMISSION JUNCTION www.cj.com this is your one stop shop for just about every affiliate program on the net from the Gap to some crazy store that starts with a Z

anyway, they funnel it all through one place and you get all your payments from CJ.

I have a CJ account, ebay, amazon, allposters.com, travel now, expedia, google, cafepress and the list goes on really...

the important thing to have is an avenue by which to sell these things, and then a means to drum up traffic (which is part of what I do professionally and would be happy to share my secrets in an open forum as I am now)

blogs are free and completely reliable.. with a little internet know-how you can design a simple website FOR FREE but you have to have it hosted. you can often do that for free on your internet service providers account, we all usually get some free ftp/website space. there are also cheap hosting accounts but that is only needed if you want your own domain. your own domain is not necessary if you have good word of mouth skills or have a captivating topic. again, the alternative is a free blog from google/blogger...

 

[COgirl]

I have just started working for a company called West At Home. I found them through Frugal Village, I think. You basically become a customer service agent and receive calls at your home, on your schedule. If you go to their website, it explains it all. I also found WAHM.com (work at home moms) good info there also. My kids are all grown now but I still have lots of feathered, 4 legged and scaley "kids" at home, so it is best for me to be here, and extra money coming in the door is always a good thing especially these days

Kim

 

[texaschickmama]

Thanks, Kim. I'll go look into that now.

 

[chicknmania]

I have a friend who worked from home doing word processing for people, resumes, reports, that type of thing. I have another friend who did (and I think still does) the medical billing thing, so I know that isn't a scam. I have worked from home for the past fifteen or twenty years. In my job it was easy, usually, for me to take my kids with me when I had to. I felt it contributed to them being able to behave well in public, I never had any problems with them to speak of and they knew they would get special stuff, stuff to draw with or a trip to McDonalds, etc, when they were with me, plus they got to see some things a lot of kids don't.They are teens and young adults now so of course those days are over, now when they go with me, they are working. The bad thing about working from home is that there are so many distractions and it is easy to get diverted onto something not work-related...uhh, like this website...you have to be pretty disciplined. Obviously, I'm not.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Money magazine article excerpt:
Take Alpine Access: The company handles calls for retailers like J. Crew and 1-800-Flowers using 7,500 home-based agents - more than 80 percent of whom have 4-year college degrees, with an average of 17 years' work experience. They're in it mainly for the chance to set their own hours and avoid having to commute. Alpine says it gets about 80,000 job applications a year. You can apply online at www.alpineaccess.com.

Altogether, according to a recent study by tech research firm IDC (www.idc.com), about 112,000 home-based agents are now working in the U.S. IDC predicts that number will grow to 300,000 - or roughly the population of St. Louis, Mo. - by 2010.

The customer-service company that gets the most 800-number calls - its agents handle about a billion per year - is Convergys (www.convergys.com), which right now is tripling the number of its home-based agents from 1,000 to 3,000. (Convergys also has 60,000 employees in its 55 U.S. call centers.)

Word gets around and, perhaps not surprisingly, Convergys says that the number of applications it receives from people who want to be home agents is "overwhelming." To apply, go to www.convergysworkathome.com. It may take some patience: The company is taking information from prospective agents and says it "will contact applicants as jobs become available."

Customer-service reps aren't the only people who are finding ways to work at home these days. Virtual assistants - who do everything that executive assistants usually do in an office, only they do it from home - are in demand too, again because hiring people who provide their own office space is a cost-effective option, especially for businesses with small staffs that want to keep overhead to a minimum. Computers and high-tech phone features (call forwarding, audio-conferencing and so on) make it practical to do administrative work efficiently from a distance.

To look into opportunities in this field, check out Staffcentrix (www.staffcentrix.com), which has been matching people with virtual-assistant jobs since 1999. The site is chock-full of job leads and other resources. Co-founders Christine Durst and Michael Haaren have also written a terrifically useful book, "The 2-Second Commute" (Career Press, $14.99), available from the site, that is a must-read for anyone considering a home-based job.

I worked for convergys for 2 years and they were great to work for. Tuition reimbursement, days off, etc.

I am not sure how this would work with kids right on top of you but just thought I would offer a suggestion that was not a scam.

 

[Bec]

I am a stay home mom and I have 2 kids of my own that have never been in daycare. I watch 2 babies during the week, they are brother and sister. Their parents can not afford to have them both in daycare being that 2 babies in daycare would be outrageous and run them over 300 a week. I bring in between 6 and 800.00 a month just watching them 3-4 days a week. A 3 day week brings in 150.00 and a 4 day week is 200.00, and on occasion I will watch them on a weekend day if I am not busy. My income depends on how many days their mother works during the week which is never less than 3. I charge a cheaper rate so it is affordable for them. Their dad is my husbands co-worker so it is more like a person favor to them.
I have the patience for small children and babies, so it is perfect for me. I can stay home and be with my kids and have the other 2 here that I treat as if they were my own, they have become a little part of my family!! I can really say, I love my Job!
My husband works full time, all my money basically goes straight to the animals.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
I think that's the point of working at home. I can click here and respond.. takes about 15 seconds and then go back to work within 3 seconds. that's the benefit... my daughter can need me now & I can come back to this later.

yes, you DO have to come back later, but I'm all about balance, a little of this, a little of that... on my next break i'll go sit with my cockerels who are free ranging today for their first time

as a computer worker, I shouldn't spend lots of hour sitting here, so a break every hour is called for. yes I work longer hours, but i do a lot of stuff all day long too..

balance

 

[ams3651]

Quote:
I worked for Convergys several years ago in a call center. I didnt work out, was poorly managed and actually closed up soon after I "left". Maybe i will check that out.

I find the affiliate programs interesting. I have a website already (ps you can create a totally free site at microsoft office live) I had looked into a couple a while ago but it was just about placing a link and hoping people would click on it. If theres more too it Id also love to hear about it. I will have to reread the posts as its alot to take in right now.

 

[65browneyes]

Like many of us here and all around, the economy has me running scared. I'm a SAHM and primarily have been for 15 years.

I've worked in the medical field doing any number of things from birth certificates (which I loved) to billing to transcription. I've done fast food management. I've cleaned houses and offices for a living. I've worked on the job 20 to 60 hours a week.

I had my oldest child in day care full time due to necessity. I've had my younger two in day care from time to time due to choice. My oldest is 23 and on his own. DS #2 is a freshman in high school this year after being home schooled last year. DD is a 6th grader this year (middle school........UGH!).

I am a volunteer with my kids' schools as well as Girl Scouts, doing everything from reading to/with children to copying to registering troops to being Team Leader for my leaders.

We have property taxes due in November, car insurance due now and the holidays coming up. Then there's the "what if DH loses his job" factor. We're all floating in the same raft on the same river.

While I feel the pressure to bring a little extra in, it isn't enough to make me feel like I've got to get out there and find something, anything that pays. I have the luxury of not having to work, so I did have some conditions. As I'm sure many here would agree, I don't want my working to adversely affect my family. No nights, no weekends, no holidays. I want to work when my kids are in school, I don't want them to be latch key kids. Especially not at the age they are. No, they don't need mommy here to cook for them or make sure they have their naps. My kids are older, but VERY impressionable and under an immense amount of peer pressure.

My solution? School. After 10 years of volunteering in this school district, I decided maybe they should pay me for my services. Okay, that's not exactly how it is, but it sounds big and brave, right? LOL

I am a Support Staff Substitute. And, as of about 45 minutes ago, I am the roving secretary sub. I have the potential of working at any of the 5 schools in the district as well as the district office. I'm not a secretary, never have been. But, I can answer the phone, work the computer, and speak. I'll be a body in a chair to do those things. Won't work during holidays, no nights, no weekends. (I've already gotten two calls in the 45 minutes since this was decided!)

Part of the glory of being a sub is that I decide where I'll work, what kind of work I'll do, and whether or not I feel like working that day. I don't have to work just because they called. For instance, my back and I are not on the best of terms. If I were to sub for the Special Ed classes, I might be required to lift one of the students. I'm not willing to chance dropping someone's child, so I won't work Special Ed for that reason. If I were to agree to help in Food Service, I would need to get a Food Handler's Card. What if I got one, but they never called me for Food Service? Won't bother with that.

My mom has a severe cardiac condition requiring close monitoring from the doctors. My MIL's lung cancer has returned and her end of life care most likely will fall to me. When I applied for this job, I let the school district know that I am NOT available on Fridays. I let both moms know that if they can schedule their appointments for Fridays, I know I won't be working those days. If that isn't possible, I just won't agree to work on days I know they have an appointment, or the school needs to be aware that I am not available for the whole day.

I'm very excited about this. Seems a perfect fit for me, and might be for others with school aged children as well.


ETA: I've spent months researching, resume-ing, asking, looking, hoping, etc, etc, etc into working at home, but short of medical transcription/billing nothing seemed to 'fit' for me. Not to mention, I'd be taking breaks left and right to go 'check for eggs'.......LOL

 

[Shared Acres]

I used to work at home, now I work at home part time and I have a studio I go to. So if I had kids I could bring them with me, feasibly.

If you are good at designing stuff, try cafepress.com (If you join, use me as a referral, [email protected])

You might want to look into bus driving, school busses will usually let you bring your kids and it's only part time.