How to find a work from home job?

[nycmom18]

Hello,

I just stumbled on this forum through a search here, what great source of support!  I am currently a mother of an almost 4 year old and expecting our 2nd in 4 months!  When my son was first born, I was able to continue my teaching position on the weekends, but then we moved, I then found another teaching job months before we just moved yet again. I feel that because we have moved so often, that I am always starting over with no connections.  

I will be able to start looking for weekend yoga teaching positions once our second son will be a couple of months old, however in the meantime and also thereafter, I would love a work from home position that I could create my own hours for.  

I am just at a loss for what is real out there and where to find these types of positions.  I thought originally that some type of data entry would be perfect as I would be able to do the work at night when the kids are sleeping o during nap times etc. However, it seems from some online researching, that data entry jobs are just not out there.  

I've also stumbled upon some info on medical billing or transcribing?  This seems appealing to me again because of the hours I could create on my own time.  

And I am sure there are so many other types of jobs out there that I have never even heard of...

I just feel very lost in terms of where to find work, what type of work to be doing etc. Could someone please point me in the right legit;) direction?

Thank you!

[nycmom18]

bumping...does anyone work successfully from home?:)

[nycmom18]

bumping...does anyone work successfully from home?:)

[SarahJuliusson]

Dear NYCMom,

Congrats on babe #2!   Your desire for a home-based part-time job sounds like a good fit for your current family lifestyle. It's not easy finding quality work that you can do from home. 

I hear your frustration at having moved a few times and always having to rebuild those connections.  I've also found, however, that moving can sometimes open unexpected doors and make room for us to redefine ourselves in a new path.

Hearing you talk about repeated moves makes me wonder if you might be best to develop an online business for yourself that you could run from anywhere you might live?  Of course there's the golden question of "what kind of online business?" and I certainly don't have an easy answer for you.  Carefully consider your interests (yoga is clearly one of them) and perhaps there is a window of opportunity there?

As for administrative support and data entry positions, they are out there but do take some networking.  Many small business owners (myself included) need very part-time admin help from someone willing to work from home.   I'd suggest reaching out to local mom entrepreneur networking groups and introduce yourself as someone willing to do administrative support part-time.  We are working mothers ourselves, and value the desire to be at home with the kids while also maintaining a work life and income.

Let us know what you find!  Any suggestions from other readers?

Blessings,
Sarah

Your Business Doula

www.birthyourbusiness.ca

[proudMoMmy2634]

Congratulation for you coming baby.!

I am a WAHM. I have been in this for 5-6months now,Luckily I had found legit site. If you will look for sites to work I suggest that if they ask for registration fee "back-out".There are lots of legit site that accepts freelance worker "free registration.

You can try odesk, elance , guru and others.

here is a link for freelancer

http://www.freelancer.com/affiliates/jenet671/

Hope this helps!

[newbiemama09]

I'm in a similar boat. I've been looking for PT work-at-home jobs, but most I've come across has to do with selling or consulting. With both of those you have to buy your product and sell what you have, which I don't know if i'd be great at. I've looked for typing and transcription positions, so I can just stay at home and work, but they are scarce. So, i'm struggling too! 

[SarahJuliusson]

Dear Newbie Mama,

I think you're right to be super cautious with the work-at-home programs based on your buying & selling product.  Unless you're truly passionate about that product and confident in your desire and capacity to market within your extend circle of friends, it may well end in loss of $ time and energy.  

There was a great article in brain child magazine a few years ago on this dynamic:   http://www.brainchildmag.com/essays/summer2008_schultz.asp  and another cover story in Harper magazine last month (can only be read if you have a subscription but you can see the first page at least!):  http://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/0084009.   I recognize that there are many of you out there having good success with programs such as Mary Kay, Isagenix, Usborne books, tupperware and more.  Amidst these multi-level marketing companies there are included some genuinely good products.  The big catch is that only a certain percentage of those who decide to represent these products have the network, skills, time, etc... to truly make a living selling them.

Sigh....I wish there were more I could offer you in this realm.  Ultimately it comes down to this for me:

What do you want?  How many hours a week? How flexible is your schedule?  What are your skills?

If you have a specific skill set that matches some of the at-home employment opportunities such as transcription or creates the foundation for launching your own business, then great!

If not, and you need the income, perhaps a part-time position at a local shop can offer the consistent income you need together with work that doesn't demand more of your time than you want to offer.  Most self-employment options involve a lot more hours of work than one might anticipate when first starting out...  Ten reliable scheduled hours a week working at a cafe or book store may be a better investment of your life energy as a busy mama than 20 hours a week with flexible hours trying to start your own business.

Any thoughts on this from others reading this forum?

Blessings,
Sarah

www.birthyourbusiness.ca

[Kathi Mora]

NYCMom, some amount of networking and scouting is very necessary in order to find a good work-from-home job. Sarah offers some great advice and support, you should look for entrepreneurs like her who need the offline backup. MT is a great career option, but it requires effort and time investment, which you should be willing and able to put in. There are online medical transcription schools that have MT training programs for under $2500 that can help you train in transcription and editing skills.

[holmestube27]

There are plenty of people and ways to be successful at working from home, the key is to find what you are good at or love and make a business out of it. Find an angle that hasn't been attacked yet and exploit it! Micro-Niche Websites are a good way to do this, visit work-fromhomereviews.com for a few ideas on how to be successful at working from home

[holmestube27]

There are plenty of sites that will help you get your ideas for working from home, I started with writing online articles and then moved on to micro-niche websites...check out work-fromhomereviews.com for more help on getting started. 

[lshoar]

Hi,
Thanks for the article. http://webjenius.com is also a good work from home job board. They post current, legitimate work from home job leads in all different industries. None of the listings included there will ever ask for a fee, financial information or other shady tactics when you apply.

Cheers,

[SarahJuliusson]

Yes, i've met several entrepreneurs who have been very successful with micro-niche sites.  The trick, of course, being finding that niche that is a good match for your skills & interests and having the space and time to build it up, along with the web skills to manage the site.  There is no quick & easy in any of this, though lots of folks online promote programs that will help you find success with ease.  Any one of these projects requires significant time & energy investment along with expertise.

Sarah
 

[stellercrys]

HI, I just wanted to share that I also work from home :)
I don't sell anything or have to host parties which is a big plus because I really don't have time to parties with two kids running around, lol. I'm not going to pay for a sitter to try to sell stuff to people!
But it isn't one of those "get rich quick" things, it is an actually job that you do have to actually work, lol.
But it is easy to do, and I am able to work around my schedule so that I don't have to neglect my kids to do it :)
I'd be happy to share the details with anyone that is serious about working from home. Just PM me.