Work At Home Job Tips: Smaller Gigs Can Lead To Bigger Jobs

Some people think accepting smaller, low paying gigs aren’t worth their time and I agree and disagree. Here’s why…

Only you know what’s good for you and your financial situation. No one should say to another that accepting XYZ job is not worth the time. Of course, you’ll have to evaluate how long it will take for you to perform the job and it could be well worth your while.

There are smaller gigs that pay decent and are simple and offer a lot of flexibility. They don’t require a lot of experience and often if you stick with them, they open doors to other paying opportunities or jobs that offer higher paying wages.

It’s true what they say. Little things add up quickly and this also applies to smaller paying gigs.

~Sophia

Vacation or Staycation When You Work At Home

People who don’t work at home think that people who do work from home are on a constant vacation. Hey, I can understand where they are coming from, but I know they are wrong.

Yes I work from home and I have complete control of what I do and when I do it with my business, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have a routine or schedule I follow on a daily basis. It’s kind of difficult to reach my target market if they are all sleeping, isn’t it?

With that being said, it equally important to take time off and unplug during the summer months or when you really need it. It’s called balance and we all need balance to function in a healthy way.

You can reduce your hours of work or you can re-arrange your schedule — work 4 hours in the morning and break in the early afternoon or use downtime as filler time to work on the non-computer aspects of your business. Figure out what works for you, but don’t miss out on the fun things life has to offer.

If you can’t take a vacation, then take a staycation and rediscover your hometown with your family and friends.

~Sophia

Job Searching – 8 Stress Fighting Tips

Searching for a work at home job isn’t going to get easier as it will always be challenging. The stress that comes with job searching can be overwhelming, but there are eight stress fighting tips you can use to keep stress at the minimum.

1. Get into the habit of planning out your day and make it a routine so you’re using your time wisely and effectively. You may be spending an hour job searching online, take a break and then network in the afternoons. Find a system that works for you.

2. Network offline too even though you’ll be working virtually. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all top online networking sites, but there’s nothing like networking in person and making new connections. Many jobs are not advertised publicly and this gives you the chance to socialize and bring more awareness to employers who don’t offer telecommuting.

3. Setting goals in your daily life is something everyone should do and without it you don’t achieve much. They don’t have to be big goals, but enough to say you have accomplished what you needed to do today.

4. Have a support system that will encourage you when you don’t get that customer service job that you thought you were more than qualified for. Your support system is also there to motivate you, to keep you accountable and to offer advice.

5. Keep updated on the telecommuting news job front. You can find which companies are experiencing growth and have job openings, which companies are moving from Independent Contractor to employee status etc. You can do this via their RSS feed on their blogs, newsletters, on their social networking sites or through Google Alerts.

6. Stay productive by keeping yourself busy. When you’re not job searching, focus on projects you have at home by finishing these tasks as it gives you a sense of fulfillment. You can volunteer your time in the community; who knows this may lead to a work at home job. If you sit around the house and do nothing then it’s a waste of time and this can lead to unhealthy habits.

7. Learn to accept rejection and quickly get over it. Remember it’s not you personally, it’s just you’re not the right fit for what the employer is looking for. This is why you have a support system in place.

8. Give yourself a breather. There has to be a life balance. Do what makes you happy like spending time with family and friends, meditate, go running or whatever.

Naturally job searching is stressful, but using these eight tips it can alleviate some of the problems you may be experiencing. Having a positive attitude, self-confidence and keeping your stress levels down will make the job searching task more bearable.

S McIntyre is the founder of WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free work at home resource focusing on providing work at home company listings, daily telecommute job leads, articles, ghostwriting services, business resources and other work at home related topics.

Work At Home Tip: Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

One thing I’ve learned about working from home is to never put your eggs into one basket and many people don’t. How do they manage all their jobs? Some people are great multi-taskers and even if you’re not, you adjust to your working schedule.

Depending on your work at home jobs they could be extremely flexible. Besides running my two websites and a couple of blogs, I also ghostwrite and have another smaller gig that doesn’t matter when I complete the job as long as it gets done and if I don’t complete it, I don’t get paid it’s very simple in that way.

Some supplement their primary income with affiliate marketing, a direct sales business or other freelancing jobs. Diversify your income stream as you never know what may happen, but don’t spread yourself out too thin either.

~Sophia

Who’s Taking Care of Business If You Die?

Recently I went out and bought a new steno book because my old one had information all over the place. You couldn’t tell which one was my current password to my cPanel let alone to which website it belongs to.

If I should suddenly die, my husband would have no clue how to access any of my accounts or make any sense of the many passwords I have casually listed in my steno book. He didn’t even know the username and password to our online banking! It’s not a surprise because I take care of all our household bills and he really doesn’t have a reason to know, but that isn’t right. He should know regardless.

And if you have business partners or people you have appointed to take control, they should have the necessary information to access your business accounts.

It’s not something we often think about, but…

Who’s going to take care of your business if you die?
Will they continue to run your business for you?
Do they have access to your online accounts?

I wouldn’t want my husband to be burdened with all of this. I want to make it as accessible to him as possible. My new steno book will be filled with all the information he needs and in an orderly manner. It will be updated as necessary.

Maybe this should be called a “Will of your Business”. Are you prepared for the unexpected?

~Sophia

Defining Work At Home Job vs Work At Home Business

I think one of the hardest thing some people deal with is differentiating the terms work at home job and work at home business. These two terms are different and shouldn’t be use interchangeably. Even the words job and scam are often used broadly and are thrown around far too casually.

Work at home job refers to working for a virtual employer. Jobs include customer service, transcription, writing, IT support, virtual assistant, and so on.

Work at home business refers to MLM, direct sales, and other business or money making opportunities or programs.

Unfortunately, every day someone is misled. Terms for work at home jobs shouldn’t be used when one is promoting a business, yet many business people think it’s a smart tactic to use to build their team. Lying or providing misinformation doesn’t make you a smart business person; it makes you dishonest and that can’t be good for you or your business.

Far too often when people ask for a work at home job and specifically state no investment or upfront fees they mean they don’t want a work at home business opportunity. They want specific tasks, set hours and set pay.

The truth is work at home job and work at home business are not the same thing and they are treated and done differently.

~Sophia

Work At Home Tips: Always Read The Fine Print

This applies more to work at home opportunities or make money online opportunities as opposed to your telecommute job. There seem to always be a catch whenever the opportunity sounds too good to be true or it requires very little or no experience necessary.

There are some super easy ways to make money online and you may think there is a catch somewhere. Most times there is so it’s very important to read the fine print on these types of money making websites.

An example I came across recently was about reviewing some sites and you were paid per hour, but if you read the fine print on the website it stated that the reviews you made would have to be first approved, but may be also be rejected based on discretion. Plus, you were not guaranteed to be paid any money for any of the work done and the first dozen or so completed reviews are basically your trial run which you aren’t compensated for.

Simple, no-brainer money making opportunities will always be out there and even though they are free and require no experience, no submitting of resumes, no background or credit checks etc. be sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. You don’t lose any money because you never paid for anything, but your time is valuable or at least you should feel it’s valuable because there are better ways to use your time…at least use your time where you will be compensated.

~Sophia

Keeping Your Computer Safe While Working From Home

Here are some recommendations in keeping your computer safe while you’re on the Internet.

If you like to use Internet Explorer 7, make sure your security settings in Internet Options are at it safest. Follow these steps:

Click on Tools then Internet Options
Click on the Security tab, then click on Custom Level

You will see: Active X Control and Plug-ins
The following should be Disabled

Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls
Binary and script behaviors
Download signed ActiveX controls
Download unsigned ActiveX controls
Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe

Scroll down to Downloads
Automatic prompting for file downloads – Disable

Enable Pop Up Blocker

Scroll down to Scripting
Allow paste operations via script – Disable

Click OK, when done to save the changes.

I recommend using Firefox for your browsing needs. It’s a great standalone and safer browser than Internet Explorer. There are different themes and extensions which you can use to customize it to your needs. You can even view sites in IE with Firefox by downloading the IE extension.

Some telecommuting companies specifically ask for Internet Explorer so make sure you don’t completely get rid of this browser.

Each time you visit a website, a cookie is installed on your computer. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there is a concern for Internet privacy since it can be used to track your browsing behaviour.

Here are my recommended and basic software to download. All are free.

CCleaner – It’s a quick click of a button to delete your online activities. It clears cookies, Internet history, temporary files and more.

Pop Up Stopper – For Internet Explorer you can use Panicware Pop Up Stopper. Although your computer already comes with a pop up blocker, it doesn’t hurt to use two. In Firefox, I recommend downloading the Ad Block Plus extension.

Spyware Blaster – Works like an anti-virus program, but it’s an anti-spyware program. It prevents the installation of spyware and other potentially unwanted software.

Zone Alarm Free or Pro – Depending on your needs. The free firewall version works very well.

AVG Free – Free antivirus program. Other popular free antivirus programs are Avast and Avira.

Some other recommended sites to bookmark are:

Trend Micro – It is a free online scan for viruses and spyware.

PC Pit Stop – Free computer checkup and diagnostics can help you detect and fix many common PC problems.

Shields Up! – Internet connection security for Windows users.

~Sophia

Ways To Get Work At Home Job Experience

I think it’s one of the most frustrating things a person can go through. How are you suppose to get job experience if no one will give you a chance?

What I have found when you are looking for a telecommute job, you really do need some skills and or experience. Even if the ad says, “No experience necessary.” you still have to have something.

If working from home is really what you’re looking for, here are some suggestions on how you can gain more experience if you have little or none.

1. Get more education. You have to invest in your learning if you want to get ahead and get good paying work at home jobs. It’s more competitive when you’re looking for a telecommute job because there are not enough jobs and they are many people who are more qualified than you.

Look to your community colleges, community centers or search online. Be careful with the online schools if you’re looking out of your home town.

2. If it’s possible work outside the home for a year. You can count volunteer work as job experience. Keep in mind the job position so you can use this experience for when you start searching for a work at home job.

3. Writing jobs are really out there and you can start in the lower paying companies. I understand that getting paid $5 for an article is very cheap, but you may want to rethink this if you’ve never had anything published before and you’re brand new to writing. Writing is a good way to get experience in something.

4. People hear transcription and they start to freak out. General or legal transcription is your aim and you don’t need any specialized training. You need to have a good ear, fast typing speed and accuracy. It’s something to look into and I recommend having at look at AccuTran Global.com.

5. You can also apply for jobs that don’t require a lot of skill or experience. Granted you won’t be paid big bucks, but you will get experience. Use your own judgement as you don’t want to be working 40+ hours for less than minimum wage.

I always say keep an open mind. There are a variety of ways to work in the comfort of your own home. The question is how open are you to other ideas? Some people are adamant that they don’t want a home business. A home business doesn’t mean you have to sell someone else’s products or services. What are your passions or interests?

Take the time and think about it.

~Sophia

Home Business: It’s All In The Presentation

Whether it’s a Direct Sales business, other work at home business or you work in a brick and mortar office when it comes to presenting a service or product it has to be top-notched or you’re not going to be able to make the sale.

I sat in on a presentation when I was on holidays in Hawaii this past June and it was a very impressive presentation that had me alert, listening and participating.

Don’t bore people to death with a monotonous voice. Here are 10 tips I think a good presenter should follow.

1. Look relaxed. It’s understandable if you’re nervous, but put those nerves aside. Stand straight, feel confident and be confident.

2. Be passionate and excited about what you’re presenting, but not to the point that you’re force selling. Show enthusiasm and energy and speak from your heart.

3. Be competent in your deliverance. Loud enough voice that everyone can hear you, use different tones in your voice, facial expressions, gestures and so on as these all make up how people will perceive you.

4. Know your facts. This should be easy and a no-brainer.

5. Be engaging with people. Get people to respond to you verbally. Get people to help you demonstrate.

6. Be prepared as during a presentation anything can happen out of the blue. Don’t get rattled. Expect the unexpected.

7. Have eye contact with your audience. Avoid focusing in on just the middle. If your audience surrounds the room, pan your eyes from one side of the room to the other.

8. Be aware of your surroundings by listening to the little chatter in the background. This is a good way to nip the uncertainty or question in the bud. It shows you’re listening and involved with your audience and not just your audience involved with you.

9. Add humour and share stories. People relate to other people when they know someone else has walked in their shoes.

10. Smile.

To your success,
~Sophia

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