There really are legit ways to work from home online ... And we're not just talking eBay. Here are five sites you may not know that could bring in some dough. Find out where to look, the Do's & Don'ts and how much you can reasonably expect to make. Plus, some important "red flags" to watch for.
Hundreds of thousands of full-time, home-based freelancers and independent contractors in the US are expected to be added to the workforce in 2010 and that number only goes up when you start counting part-time independent contractors looking to pick up work and earn cash fast or supplement their existing income. In other words, people are saying, "Look, I can't afford to wait. I'm ready, willing and able to work now, from right here!"
This is especially true for households where a spouse has lost a job or in cases where someone is juggling household, childcare and elder care responsibilities. The earnings may be a "must" & the flexibility can be invaluable.
It also makes sense when you look at the degree of down-sizing in corporate America. You've got folks who are accustomed to earning a certain amount and living a certain lifestyle. When they get cut, finding work online can be tremendously empowering ... In part, because the more you pour yourself into it, the more you can make. I think this is what many of us are after in a world with little-to-no job security. We want to feel like we have a little more control over our financial destiny.
Plus, entire industries have transformed. Newspapers come to mind ... And this shift to working remotely is a natural trendline enabled by technology. It's a trend too big to dodge. So, embrace it.
High Speed Internet access and solid computer skills
are a must have for most work-from-home jobs.
Five Things to Keep in Mind When Searching for Home-based Jobs Online: 1) GET TECH- READYFirst, walk before you run. Make sure you have high speed access, don't have a love/hate relationship with your laptop and be sure your printer isn't about to run out of ink! A dedicated space and phone line is also high priority for your working area.
2) WATCH YOUR WATCHWatch your watch in terms of really understanding the amount of time you're willing and able to dedicate to your online venture. Take it slow and err on side of adding hours over time and scaling up vs taking on too much out of the box and potentially jeopardizing your results and – by extension – your reputation and ratings.
3) BE READY TO COMPETEIt's competitive. The top employers are competing for the top talent and the top talent is competing for limited opportunities. In many cases some employers are only accepting 10% of applicants. The good news is, they're actually accepting 10%! Also, don't price yourself right out of a job. Just as you might compare prices on eBay before making a bid, make sure you know what the going rate is for the work you're qualified to do. And, remember, players with established track records can probably charge more, so you may need to under-cut them on price when you're first getting started.
4) MANAGE EXPECTATIONSManage your own expectations regarding how much money you can reasonably expect to pull in. Most of the sites covered below try to present a candid picture of income potential and will flat out tell you – with few exceptions – they're not intended to provide a primary revenue stream. A few extra bucks? Absolutely. And who doesn't need a few extra bucks?
5) OVER-DELIVER Success breeds success. Once you get your foot in the virtual door ... deliver. That goes without saying, so will take it a step further ... Over-deliver to ensure a high rating and reputation. This will bring more opportunities your way and the ability to charge more premium rates. It's all about the climb ... Some things never change:)
Warning: Scam artists often prey on those looking to make a quick buck working from home.There is a fair amount of fraud in this arena. Two of the biggest "red flags" to be on the lookout for are:
1) Requests for Cash: Needing to shell out up-front cash (e.g., investing in a sales "kit" or being asked to pay to find out about job openings).
2) Requests for Personal Information: Having to hand over a lot of personal and financial information up-front, which could be an identity theft scam.
Five Legit Sites for Earning Money from Home: 1)
www.eJury.com:
The virtual jury is one of the newest tools used in pre-trial research aimed at helping lawyers develop their courtroom presentations, select the best jurors for their cases and reach negotiated settlements. Let them try the case on you. Interesting and profitable work at $5-10 per verdict depending on the length of the case and the amount of material they're asking you to review.
The case I reviewed took me roughly 30 minutes to review facts; assess diagrams; and answer questions, including figures on amounts of money I think would fairly and reasonably compensate for damages. So, that's about $20 an hour on my end & it's interesting work. They're often trying to get a ballpark sense for what will fly in the actual court room. This is an efficient way for lawyers to try out arguments pre-trial and make adjustments based on feedback. You get "called" to be a virtual juror based on zip code (the jurisdiction you're in). So, you can't bank on getting this work. Some counties have as many as one case a week going through the ejury system. (Here's a
sample of what a case looks like).
2)
www.Seed.com:
There's so much talk about digital journalism and blogging these days, this site seems like a sign of the times . ... Seed.com is a
new site that will pay you for articles, photos and soon videos too. When you go to the site you'll see assignments from editors in AOL's network of more than 80 top sites on the web –
Asylum,
PawNation,
ThatsFit, etc. They're credentialed journalists looking for high-caliber content and lots of it. So, the standards are high, but so is the demand, since the distribution is built in. The Seed network "seeds" stories for existing sites, so they already have an audience.
When you go to Seed, you can view the available assignments. It's as if you've got a seat at the newsroom assignment desk (see: How it Works).
Current assignments include: 100 Words or Less on Your Best Packing Tips or Best Road Trip Tips ... Both going for $10. An article on Taking Care of Antique Silverware will suggest, including tips at least 2 different methods and answering: Can you run through the dishwasher? How should you store? If editors accept your work, you get paid a flat fee. In this case, $25 for 400 words. If you know your stuff, the free tool they provide to submit material is incredibly user-friendly.
Many of the assignments are "hyper-local" .... Things like Local Luxury Day Spas in X Area or Navigating Unemployment in X State. Grabbing a local beat is a great way to get in the game.
On the higher earning end .... If you're already spending significant amounts of time planning a family vacation, maybe you can turn that into taking advantage of a more substantial writing assignment involving interviewing local residents, etc. Something along these lines of magazine-caliber at 1500 words is currently being sought for $300.
If/when your work is accepted, you essentially hand over the rights for a flat fee. A dashboard tracks your current assignments, the # of views you're getting and your earnings. The PAY ME NOW button issues weekly payments.
3) www.ChaCha.com
We've all done our share of Googling ... And now you can actually get paid to search for answers for ChaCha.com users. ChaCha is a search engine that just passed benchmark of answering one MILLION questions a day! You can apply to be one of the people who decides what search results pop up when someone types in, phones in or texts an inquiry on a topic you're passionate about – anything from God to Guitars and from Diabetes to Decorating. There are currently 55,000 ChaCha guides nationwide. It's an attractive part-time gig for night owls in particular, as well as college students and retirees.
All you need is a high-speed connection to be apply to become a guide. Fair warning: Not everyone can be a guide. There are entrance tests and limited opportunities. If you're lucky enough to be one of the 10% of applicants accepted, you'll go to "Search University" and then quickly be on your way to earning points for each search or task you complete. Points convert into cash at end of month. While this is not designed to be a primary revenue source. in their own words, it can be "more than chump change." In fact, ChaCha tells us most guides make a few hundred dollars per month. More than chump change, indeed.
4)
www.VIPDesk.com:
Become a virtual concierge or customer service representative helping people plan travel, find home improvement contractors, etc. The job can be done from home, anywhere in the country, at set hours for generally $10-12 an hour. This is growing trend in this economic climate ... In fact, VIP Desk tells us they're recruiting now with plans to add hundreds more people to their network with a mix of independent contracting and part- and full-time opportunities. It is competitive, but fantastic work for people who live in remote locations or who are juggling child- or elder-care responsibilities.
Approximately 1/2 of their Brand Ambassadors are bilingual, so if you speak multiple languages you may really have a leg up. When you sign up you get a schedule weekly or biweekly with your assigned The work varies by season, since many retail clients – including Eddie Bauer and Bluefly use VIPDesk to field customer service calls. Right now, ServiceMagic is gearing up for all the people who will be looking for Spring cleaning and home improvement efforts ... They generate leads for contractors, plumbers and the like ... Rather than take the calls directly, while they're out on a job, VIP Desk customer service reps serve as their frontline.
5)
www.eLance.com:
This site is the new way to work for many small businesses with less than 500 employees. Monthly hiring is up roughly 40% year-over-year. They're not looking to hire someone in two weeks or two months, odds are, they needs something N-O-W. There are currently thousands of
open jobs on this site – everything from building Facebook apps to ghostwriting books, developing marketing materials and writing executive bios.
You submit a proposal for the work; get hired and agree upon terms and milestones. At the end you submit your invoice and funds are released from escrow. This is key because one of the things freelancers and elancers struggle with is getting paid and getting paid expeditiously. So the fact that elance provides a tool to facilitate this and that the project is funded up-front is significant benefit.
As freelancing has traditionally been, elancing is great way to get a foot in door and build a reputation. You'll be rated on your work (much like eBays rating system for sellers). The more positive your rating, the more likely work is to come your way. Over time some elancers pair up with other high-rated elancers and bid on bigger more profitable pieces of business. So, you may start by going it alone and end up joining others and earning a piece of a potentially bigger pie.
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