Posts Tagged ‘Work from home’
January 13th, 2011 | 
Author: We know that times are tough but instead of sitting home reading the “want-ads” why not rather make some of your own luck. There are job GENUINE opportunities for work from home if you are willing to step out and try. I know there are scams but that doesn’t mean they all are, just be careful. My daughter, Leslie and I have been through some hard times and know the sinking feeling. That’s why we promise never to recommend anything unless we have checked it out first. Some of the ways to make money are so simple that you will ask yourself; “why didn’t I think of that”? – Today I am going to show you another of those.
Do you have a digital camera? Then you have a tool that can make you money and it doesn’t have to be a big expensive camera either. I have read some reviews that say you can use a phone camera and maybe you can but a regular digital camera will take a better picture. I looked at one in the mall the other day, 12 megapixels for less than $100. Most people have one already.
If you can take pictures there are people who will buy them (pay you a royalty for their usage). Thus you “sell” the same image over and over again. When companies design those flashy brochures or design websites they don’t hire a professional photographer to run around and look for subjects. They go in the Internet to sites that sell such images, pay a fee and download them. If the picture is yours you just made a sale.
Who wants to buy your pictures? There are realtors, entrepreneurs, writers, travel agents, teachers, insurance companies, illustrators, writers and many others. Everyone is busy and they look for fresh content to stay competitive. They go to sites that you will be shown, they pay a royalty for the usage then download them. You can sell the same picture over and over again. I can’t tell you how many times, in surfing the web I have come across the same image.
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Are you looking from a job that you can do from home? All my life I have talked to people who told me that if they could they would love such a job. There are positives and negatives associated with this arrangement. If you have 4 kids, 3 dogs and a few birds then answering phones from home might not be the best job for you. So weigh the pro’s and cons before you apply.
A number of years back I was working for an aerospace company and unhappy with my job. I started an upholstery in my garage. My garage was small and it wasn’t the best arrangement but believe it or not I made it work. I specialized in restaurant reupholstery. That way I could make the patterns at the jobsite do the sewing in my garage and do the installation on the jobsite. The restaurants loved it because the booths were not out of service for hours at a time. And I loved it because I didn’t have to rent a commercial office and I could take a tax deduction for having a “home office.”
Today there are literally thousands of jobs that can be done like that. But I was intrigued recently when an advertisement appeared on my local ABC news program for a company called Alpine Access. They are a call center company that uses home-based customer service representatives to handle calls for a variety of companies, including J. Crew and 1-800-Flowers. According to our ABC news report (Phoenix area) they plan to employ over 1300 new representatives within the next few months. I checked their website though and they state that they only employ 2 to 3 percent of the applicants who apply. So if you think this will be an easy gig – forget it. No lazybones wanted, as my mother used to say.
According to CNN Money here are some additional companies who hire. Check your phone book to see if they have an office in your area.
Arise: Matches work-from-home agents with open positions in sales, technical support and customer service.
Convergys: Hires home-based agents to serve as customer service, technical assistance or sales agents for clients.
Liveops: Customer service calls for a variety of major corporations are routed through this center and answered by people who work from home.
Staffcentrix: Finds virtual assistants who perform a variety of administrative and other business tasks from their home for CEOs and other clients.
VirtuServe: A call center that hires home agents for various services, such as telemarketing, help desk support and survey research.
VIPdesk: Home-based concierge and customer service agents are hired to work with various companies.
West Corporation: Finds customer service agents based out of their homes for a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, retail and hospitality.
One tip for your search: Never (I say NEVER!) fall for the trick of paying a fee, do a wire transfer of money, set up a special bank account or give too much personal information. This is a dead give-away that this is a scam.
Tips For Working From Home
When you do land that home-based job, here are some tips to make your transition from the cubicle to the home office easier:
Stick to a schedule. Although you’re not at the office and nobody’s monitoring you, a schedule helps you stay on task and avoid procrastination.
Eat lunch. When you’re at the office, the lunch hour is when you get to step away from your desk and run errands, meet up with a friend or enjoy your lunch outside. Make sure you give yourself this time to do what you want so that you’re not as tempted to mix work and personal time throughout the day.
Location is everything. If you’re in front of the TV and an arms-length from the pantry you’ll never get anything done. Dedicate a room or area in your home for work so that you won’t be tempted to do spend your day watching talk shows and eating chips.
Don’t forget to take a break. A common telecommuting habit is to work too much. Don’t forget that, while you need self-discipline when working at home, you also don’t need to ignore your children or your pets. A few minutes here and there won’t ruin your productivity and they might even put you in a better mood.
