THE Work At Home Blog

Looking for a work at home job? I’ll give you 5 good reasons why you should consider starting a home business instead.

1. Telecommuting jobs are rare- are you? The only real work at home jobs out there are for highly specialized skills like programming, translation, transcription and such. What they all have in common is that they require special training and employers that hire telecommuters always require experienced candidates- experts in their field. Employers just don’t hire people to do things like typing from their homes.

A home business can be anything you want it to be. You get to follow your passion and do something that you truly enjoy. I think that if we all couldn’t wait to leap out of bed each morning because we loved what we do, the world would be a much happier place. So, unless you have a passion for learning MYSQL / SQL database structure or how to translate medical documents from English to Japanese, a home business can offer endless possibilities in an area that interests you.

2. Telecommuting jobs don’t afford as much flexibility as you might think. Your boss picks your clients and coworkers, not you. You may or may not like the people you find yourself working with day after day, which can be like a slow form of torture.

With your business you choose who your client will be. Maybe you want to start a business that has to do with kids and all your clients have kids at home with them. They would be more likely to understand and appreciate kid noise in the background while on the phone with you. You get to create your own “company culture”.

3. You’re not in control of your job security. Corporate downsizing will still apply and even if you have that rare and special skill that they once found indispensable, you might find yourself back on the job search track. Also, unless you have a written agreement that your telecommuting arrangement is set in stone, employers can pull you back into the office at their discretion.

4. Big brother will be there looking over your shoulder. Employers need to know that their employees are being productive. They just can’t help themselves. This puts more pressure on you to meet deadlines, to prove that you will be at least as efficient (if not more efficient) that your on-site coworkers. Even companies that champion telecommuting often have strict checks and balances to ensure that you’re not lying around watching television or heading off to the beach. Supervisors are often suspicious to the point of micromanaging their telecommuters.

You just can’t afford to be lured away by the many distractions of the home office. The television beckons, the kids want your attention, you just want to get a load of laundry in… This is not to say that you can succumb to these distractions as a home business owner, but the difference is that you call the shots.

With your own home business, you are Big Brother, Big Sister, The Big Cheese- your own boss. You set the goals and the pace and it’s up to no one but you how and when you meet them.

5. And last, but most important… when you are a home business owner you get to take a vacation whenever you want. Could there be a better reason to stop looking for a telecommute job and start a home business?

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I recently discovered Peter Lee’s Work At Home Ideas Blog. Among other great tidbits, his blog is chock full of really excellent link building and SEO strategies. His latest post is inviting you to review his blog in exchange for a link to your site. Sounds good to me….I like linking to other useful work at home sites anyway. I like it even better when they link back to me   Read his post and review his blog.

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My husband will have 30 years with his company soon (within a few years) which has had us toying with the idea of his retirement.  He really is too young to retire (not even 50 yet), so he’s been bouncing ideas around of things he might do when the time does come.

When I first realized that his imminent retirement was looming on the horizon I must admit I was less than thrilled.  The idea of him puttering around while I still had to work didn’t sound very appealing.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my DH beyond all reason but I do cherish my quiet, uninterrupted workdays with nothing but my ipod and my kitties to keep me company.  With the exception of summertime (when my work ethic goes out the window and I choose to spend my days at the beach), my workday is quality quiet time and I am super-productive in this environment.

One idea DH was kicking around was to become an accountant and work from home.  Now, unless he’s planning on turning our older daughter’s bedroom into an office (which I just recently re-decorated as a guest room now that she’s off to college) it means that he’d be sharing my office (and my desk).  Hmm…I don’t think so.  Even now, the dear man tends to leave piles of notes, bills and other detritus all over my desk whenever he sits there.  When I think of having to share this space on a daily basis, it brings to mind the prophecy from Harry Potter, “none shall live while the other survives”.

All that aside, this all reminds me that there are more Dads these days who are choosing to be at home with their kids either as full-time caregivers or as work at home Dads.  I came across a great post by a work at home Dad today. He generates enough income from home to allow for his wife to choose not to work.  What a great situation!
In my husband’s situation, our kids will be grown by the time he makes the transition but how wonderful that he’ll have that choice.  And hey, maybe by then I will decide to retire and he can have the desk all to himself!

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I am just having a blast with my new forums There are so many new features that I’m still figuring out how to make the most of them.

Anyway, there’s a lot going on over there. I’ve got some contests running where you can win great stuff like free ads on 2Work-At-Home.com, gift cards and other stuff. You can post and participate in Polls. It’s a great place to network, meet others who work from home (or want to) and the more you participate, the more exposure you get for your business!

Come take a look.

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I recently heard a woman say that being called a “work at home mom” was professionally demeaning. Being one myself, my initial reaction was to agree with her. “That’s right, I’m a professional, I’m not just a bored housewife dabbling with a hobby here,” I said to myself.

Upon reflection however, I came to realize that I disagree. Deeply.

Working out of your home while caring for children makes for some unique (and comical) situations. If you can’t have a sense of humor about these things, then maybe a field job is more your style.

But let’s face it, just how professional can you be when much of your work is done with a toddler on your lap? And that is, after all, one of the great benefits of working at home; you can consult with clients wearing bunny slippers if you like. Who’s to know? Sometimes we just need to keep things in perspective. I know that the work that I do is top quality, and I don’t sweat what others think of my work environment.

But I do wonder how that woman deals with some of those little challenges that come with being a work-at-home parent.

For example, maybe she feels that going out of the house with soggy Cheerios stuck to her behind would be professionally demeaning. She must have found a way to avoid this. I should call her…

Not being able to locate a pen because they’re all in use fishing Barbie clothes out of the toilet. This might be seen as unprofessional.

Or, while trying to convince a potential client how you would be the best choice if he’s looking for quality, professional results your 2-year-old is proclaiming proudly, “I went poo-poo Mommy!” over and over.

I’ve known others who have tried to mask their true work environments using some creative metaphors. For example:
“As soon as my colleague completes his current assignment” really means…”As soon as my 5-year-old is done with his Mr. Potato Head CDRom”
“We’ll be outsourcing the finishing work” really means…”My teenaged daughter will be earning her allowance by collating and stapling your reports”
“I have an urgent matter to attend to” really means…”My 3-year-old has been awfully quiet for the past few minutes and she was recently asking for a haircut”

Does this mean I should lock my kids in their rooms while I’m on the phone? While that can at times seem like a perfectly sensible idea, usually basic time management helps to avoid these situations. My view is that if a client thinks that the quality of my work will be less just because I have children, he can look elsewhere.

Maybe I’m shutting the door on some business, but I refuse to have my children feel that they come second. And I do, in fact, think of myself as a Mom first, and a business owner second. Besides, I think that the day is getting nearer that people really won’t mind their projects delivered with a few soggy Cheerios on them.

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I was recently contacted by a writer who wanted to interview me on the issue of health insurance for self-employed people.  As we talked I realized that this is a very important issue.

I am fortunate that my husband has good health coverage so I’ve not had to deal with obtaining insurance on my own.  I wonder how many people don’t work at home because they assume that they couldn’t afford health insurance.  I do know that a lot of people want a telecommute job rather than a home business because they want benefits.  The thing is, though, that when you own your own business you provide your own benefits.  I have a retirement account that allows me to make tax-free contributions up to a certain amount each year.  If you don’t have insurance coverage through a spouse, the cost of providing your own insurance is a tax deductible expense of doing business.

I definitely want to research this topic further and I’d love to hear from you on this.  I’d like to hear from business owners who do have to pay for private insurance as well as anyone who has an opinion on health insurance for the self-employed.

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Since every day I receive at least one email from someone asking me whether or not a company is legitimate I thought it would be useful to post some information on how I research a company.

The first place I go is always The Better Business Bureau. It can be a bit tricky to find a company report. I use the advanced search form and try plugging in the company name, url and/or any other information I have. Sometimes you have to play with the name a bit, for example you may not find a report on Acme Widgets, but there’s one for Acme Widgets, Inc.

A great way to get more contact information for a website is to do a Whois lookup. I like BetterWhois.com. You just plug in the domain name and it will give you the contact information for the person who registered the domain. Now, most of the time this is the owner of the website, but sometimes it’s a web hosting company. Common sense can usually help you to determine which is the case. Doing a whois lookup can give you a phone number, an alternate company name, an address or all of the above.

Another thing I like to do is a google search for the company name. What I look for here are forum discussions. Sometimes I have better luck adding the word “scam” to the company name. That can turn up negative discussions if there are any. Of course, this type of information has to be taken with a grain of salt as posts on bulletin boards are not verified in any way. It could be that someone didn’t follow through with the business and then turns around claiming that the company scammed them. Again, use common sense. If you find one bad post, that may not be good enough evidence. If you find many negative posts then a red flag should definitely go up. This is just one small part of my evaluation of a company. I put much more weight on a BBB report than someone’s rant on a website.

Of course a good look at the company’s website should give you some clues. Is there contact information? Is it clear what the business is? If the website is badly designed or unprofessional then you might want to take a closer look. On the other hand, there are some scams out there that are promoted with some very slick, professional looking websites, so that is not always a guarantee.

If you are able to contact someone who is already involved in the business, that can be helpful. Ask specific questions like, “how long have you been in this business?”, “what is a typical work day like for you?”, “how much money have you invested and how much have you earned?”.

The important thing is to research as thoroughly as possible and follow your instincts. I’ve found that if I had even a vague feeling that something just wasn’t right, it just about always turned out to be a scam. Do you homework and you’re less likely to get burned.

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Let me count the ways…

Last week I went out of town to visit a friend. I could have brought a laptop along and done my work from the airport or between chick flicks, but I really needed the time off. Because my business is completely Internet-based, I don’t have to close down if I want to take a vacation. I just have to automate things.

I was going to be gone on a Tuesday, which is when I publish The Job Listings Weekly. All I had to do was write the issue early and then schedule it to go out on the regular day and time. This is one of the greatest advantages of having an online business versus a brick-and-mortar business. If I owned a store, I’d have to either close (and lose revenue) or hire someone to take over while I was gone. With those choices, I’d probably never take a vacation! It doesn’t cost me a dime to schedule messages to be delivered in the future.

I can even schedule updates to my website when I need to. If the new month happens to fall on a weekend and I don’t want to work, I can schedule the updates to be uploaded automatically whenever I need it done.

I really do love what technology can do for business owners. From keeping organized with a calendar that pops up with reminders when I log on, to automating my business to run smoothly when I’m off doing something fun, technology helps me to keep the balance between my business and the rest of my life– the really good stuff

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