The world of "work-from-home" opportunities is full of possibilities for people who sign you up. Some are legitimate opportunities that will take years of hard work to develop; others are scams. More and more, however, there are real jobs available for people to work from home. Often such jobs are low paying, but as they require virtually no commuting expense, no office clothes, no expensive lunches with colleagues, you may be keeping more while earning less.
The following are ideas to help you find the suitable work-from-home opportunity for you and your family.
Professional services
If you are a lawyer, CPA, graphic designer, or have an advanced degree in business or a related field, even if you've been out of the workforce for a while, you may be able to make money. If you no longer have a network to approach, you can start by listing your services on Odesk.com, a web site for freelancers to ply their trade. Note: Much of the competition is international from low wage countries, so this is not likely to be a source for the best paying gigs, but it may be a way to get you started.
Call center jobs
visit monster.com, the giant job board, and search for "work from home call center" and you'll see a list of available jobs. If you search just "work from home" you'll see many more jobs. Research any work from home employer carefully. Do not pay fees to get a job. No legitimate employer will require you to pay the company!
Network marketing
Many people love network marketing and make a decent living at it. Many more do not. It is hard work and requires, above all, the ability to be a self-starter. If you are always busy, always organizing fundraisers, and charity drives you may be perfect. If you are following the plot of more than one soap opera, chances are, network marketing will be a black hole for you.
Freelance writing
If you love to write, perhaps you have a blog with lots of followers, there may be an opportunity for you to earn money with writing. Earning a living as a freelance writer is tough. If you are thinking you'd love to write, but haven't written anything for publication - not even a blog post - in years, look somewhere else. The industry is highly competitive with talented writers competing with you to make a living. However, if you've written a novel and don't know what to do next, publish it on Kindle and take it from there.
Freelance photography
These days, old school professional photographers are rather annoyed by the growing ranks of amateur photographers joining the professionals. They often refer to them as MWACs (Mom With A Camera). The fact remains, however, if you have proper gear (I mean, really good gear) and talent, you may be able to, at least, support your hobby by looking for opportunities to shoot for a fee. Camera gear is very expensive and learning to shoot well takes years. If you don't yet know what a DSLR is, this probably isn't the path for you.
These five ideas don't represent the full range of opportunities for working from home, but they may get you started thinking and researching opportunities that would appeal to you. Just remember, if your goal is to earn a living, be careful when considering help from people who, for a fee, will tell you how to make a fortune working from home.
