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How to find a work from home job?

11K views 34 replies 27 participants last post by  iamwhoiam 
#1 ·
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!
 
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#4 ·
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
 
#5 ·
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!
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Thanks.

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

Hope this helps!
Thanks for the link:) Anyone else have tips?
 
#6 ·
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!
 
#7 ·
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
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#12 ·
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
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by auntylumomma View Post

I'm interested in working from hom and would like more info. I couldn't find the pm because I'm on my iPad. Thanks
smile.gif
I work from home currently. I'd be happy to discuss it with you. The PM should be in the drop-down beneath my name. From your iPad, you should be able to touch on my name and the drop-down appear.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by holmestube27 View Post

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.
I've been a S/WAHM since the birth of my daughter, despite going thru a divorce simultaneously. Staying with her while my marriage fell apart just seemed like the right thing to do, and I sacrificed to make that happen. I have done a lot of things to support us. I am fortunate that my family is in the real estate industry which allows me to do renovations on rental properties with my daughter in tow. I also did the crochet thing, but despite a "flooded market" I was so busy fulfilling orders that it was no longer fun for me. Now I work for a direct sale company in the health/nutrition/body contouring/wellness category (so, yes, I paid to start up, money that is earned right back with the sale of product you get with your business pack). My daughter is 2.5 now, so I have much more free time. I swap parties with other direct sale moms, so it feels less like haggling MY friends to buy stuff and I don't have to pay for a babysitter to do these things either. I'm not a pusher-type, but people will always buy vitamins and supplements, the work is only in convincing them to buy from you instead of a big brand box store.

You can be successful at almost anything as long as you believe in it.
 
#19 ·
I'm new to the site and was just reading your post, I have 4 children and up until 3 years ago had a full time job, due to illness I have had to take some major time off but I can and do still work from home. I have an on-line business selling Jewelry, all I do is promote my website and people go there to purchase the wonderful product. www.spiritlockets.com/#deb-turner I also do some transcription from home. I work for a post production company, they send me their raw footage of interviews etc and I transcribe it word for word and sent it back to them. This work isn't easy to find but it's out there and the only equipment you need a computer and headset to block out background noise and hear every word they're saying properly. I'm hoping all my medical issues will be solved soon and I can return to my former job as I do miss it a lot but for now transcribing from home allows me to take frequent and I do mean frequent breaks and work in a way that accommodates my current condition.

I wish you luck in your search.
 
#20 ·


Type: Work from Home, Temporary, Part-time, Independent Contractor

Description:

As an Internet Assessor your ultimate goal will be to contribute towards making internet search more exciting, relevant and interesting for all end users in Brazil. You will play a part in improving the quality of one of the largest search engines in the world.

The internet has now become the powerhouse of all information, everything you need to find or explore can be found on the internet, yet how can we be sure this information is entirely up to date or relevant? This is where you can contribute. We are looking for creative thinkers who enjoy browsing the internet and would like to express their opinion on the quality and content of what is currently out there on the web. You will be provided with guidelines and scoring criteria on how best to evaluate an internet search result.

You will have the flexibility and freedom to work from your own home, working your own hours, depending on availability of tasks (10-20 hours per week). Payment will be based on completion of the agreed upon tasks or engagements within the specified time period.

This is a freelance, independent contractor position.

Requirements:

§ Fluency in written and verbal English & Portuguese

§ Preferred level of education/certification - Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent)

§ Access to and use of a broadband internet connection and associated computer and software to perform the work, all provided at your own expense

§ Experience in use of web browsers to navigate and interact with a variety of content

§ Time Management Skills

§ Proficient with Microsoft Office applications

§ For cultural and historical awareness purposes you must be resident in Brazil for the last 5 consecutive years

To apply follow the below link or PM if you have any questions.

http://bit.ly/Tlvolu
 
#22 ·
When I had only 2 children (now I have 3) I tried home-working but I was really nervous about all that deadlines and the result was - my children watching TV so that I could be on time with my deadlines. So I gave it up.

But at the moment I work only small bits - such us doing microjobs online or doing online survey for money, this is not much money but also no deadlines at all. You can try cashcrate.com for example doing some cash offers.

Good luck to all!
 
#23 ·
Just wanted to add about my work from home experience for those of you who are looking for something. I prayed about an opportunity to come up like this for a long long time and when I finally found an opportunity that suited me or wasn't a scam I jumped on it! I do all of my bizz online, set my own hours, no quotas to meet, no territories, no inventory, potential for growth is limitless. I am 100% happy and love what I do. This past year we got hit hard financially with a few unfortunate events so I saw this opportunity as not only a blessing to help contribute to the family financially, but also fulfill my desire to work, feel accomplished, be a STAHM and put my school to good use! I am a team beachbody coach and help other achieve their health and fitness goals. It is so rewarding to know you are bettering people lives and helping them gain back their confidence. If you want more info just me a message, I would love to chat with any of you more!!!
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am an independent Natural Foods Rep for an organic, all natural foods company called Wildtree. It isn't much like "work" because it is so in sync with my personal values. I get to share healthy eating tips with busy families! I get to chat about my passion while I make money! Message me if you'd like some more information, opportunities are available nation-wide and I'd be happy to help get you started.

(they are also a peanut free company which is great for families that have food allergies)
 
#25 ·
I found my work from home job by going to my boss and saying I was going to quit because I could not care for my kids and work away from them. The boss was very nice, and asked me if I would stay if I would work from home.

Friends who tried MLM companies were disappointed. I felt bad for them.
 
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