Things you should know about working at home

[atowers]

The first thing you should know is for every ONE legitimate work at home program (be it a business or job) there are 57 SCAMS so do your homework and don't always rely on word of mouth, heresay opinions.  Second, work at home jobs are much more difficult to land because they're highly demanded.  If you're a mom with small children looking for a w-a-h job be prepared to either find someone to sit with your children while you work or take odd hours, because most jobs have a strict No Background Noise Tolerated policy.  You should also keep in mind that some jobs have dry spells- meaning there isn't much, if any, work to be done during a certain time of year.

Saying you shouldn't pay for a job can be tricky, because some jobs out there require you to pay for background/criminal checks and/or certifications.  Don't let the possibility of having to purchase certain equipment knock you off your tracks, either.  Many jobs require that you obtain a headset, separate phone line, or other necessities - if it's an Independent Contractor position, these are tax deductibles - save your receipts!

Far too many individuals have been discouraged by the scams and are quick to judge anything with a "telecommute", "remote", or "work at home" description as a scam.  Don't rule it out if it asks for money up front - do your research or "due diligence."  

Now, home based businesses are a different story than work at home jobs.  With jobs, you can expect to be paid per project, per working minute, per hour, or if you're lucky, salary (I have yet to find a work at home job that pays salary).  Businesses will not offer you paid training or any of the above.  You will be paid on a commission structure - per sale.  Sometimes your product will have a monthly recurring fee, which means residual  -or repeat- income is possible.  

One thing to remember about businesses is the pay always depends on the effort you put forth to make it work for you.  You must work for it before it works for you.  The owners of Target, Walmart, JCPenny, Borders, etc. didn't get paid 'til they made a sale.  Business is about sales -but don't let the word sales deter you from considering a business.  I'm sure you're already knocking yourself down by saying "I'm not a saleswoman."  Well, maybe you're not the PUSHY type, and maybe you're not the type that can take a bottle of perfume and go to your neighbor's house and convince them to buy it.  Most home based businesses aren't designed that way.  Hardly anyone who starts a home based business calls themselves a sales person, but they find a way to succeed, don't they?

You can sell anything that you use yourself and enjoy.  Using personal testimonies will drive business.  If you like the product and you tell people about it including your person experience, they're most likely to try it out for themselves through the power of suggestion.

Take watching a movie for example.  You go to the movie theater and come out not being able to stop talking about it.  You call up a good friend and tell them how great it was and they end up going to see it themselves.  Guess what? You just sold a movie! That wasn't very painful after all!

But wait,  you didn't get paid for it, did you? You paid money to see this movie, referred a friend, and didn't even get a cut of the sales -- what a crock! Just kidding, but if you stop and think about it, most people start calling this situation a scam if they pay for something, refer buyers, and they in turn don't get paid.  Now unless you're an affiliate for the program that you referred someone to, you won't get paid so, it's technically not a scam.  

Please remember that there isn't one specific business out there that EVERYBODY will be able to do.  If you put a lot of hard work and time into a business and you still didn't make money, consider the option that that particular business may not be for you, individually.  Throwing that scam word around can do a lot of damage to a perfectly legitimate company's reputation and it can make someone who could do very well it it, miss out on a great chance.

I'm not a work at home expert, but I've been in the searcher's shoes, I've been scammed, and after over 6 years, I found a couple of companies that fit my personality and desires.  

[wishbearmom]

Aug. 4, 2010 at 3:26 AM

Thank you for this very helpful post. This is why I've always been so sceptical to even consider working from home. The volume of email scams that fill my inbox make me fearful to consider ANY of them!