Internet Girl Friday and Other Work at Home Opportunities

The grind from payday to payday is no longer joked about. The car is limping on fumes and the cupboards are bare when payday finally rolls around. You are questing for new ways of making an extra buck. As the economy falls, it seems you want to be closer to family, leading to an increased desire for work at home jobs.

I am talking to you because I am in the same boat. For years, I have thought about working from home, I even started up my own Virtual Assistant Business. Self-promotion was my down fall though, and the phones rarely ring on that one.

There is hope for you, though. There have been so many advances in the work from home front. It's not just for housewives anymore, and we're not baking pies. We are the business people of today. I am proud to say that I am beginning to hold my own financially, and I am writing to you from my kitchen where my pink, fuzzy slippers are petting my cat beneath the table, and my daughter is watching cartoons within sight.

According to ABC news workplace contributor, Tory Johnson, in today's market you can be a Customer Service Agent, Product Designer, Online Juror, Tech Support Technician, Product and Service Analyst, Concierge, Administrative Assistant, Writer, Content Producer, and so much more from your recliner.

Internet Girl Friday.com is a booming internet based company that is looking for people to be Virtual Assistants from home. I see nothing but good coming from a company like this. Instead of working on your own you are part of a team, this way you can have better control over your work load. This also provides a bonus for clients with large workloads; instead of drowning one assistant with a metric ton of work, they divvy up the work to multiple people. Internet Girl Friday has a wide range of services to keep it interesting. Some of their services include: Web Design, Social Networking, Travel Arrangements, Administrative and Bookkeeping.

Internet Girl Friday.com has a sister website, internetLABOR.com which has listings for work at home jobs as well as articles on how to not get scammed, and links to other work from home companies.

Elance.com connects freelance workers with those that need jobs done. The website has a very professional look and feel to it, all of the content is highly organized and easy to find. A very good company to sign up with if you are serious about working from home. To sign-up with Elance you have to complete the usual personal information, followed by reading all of the terms of usage, agreements, guidelines on how the website works and what you are required to do. You will be tested on all of this. I know it sounds daunting but it's not really that bad, they just want to make sure that you understand that this is a real job and if you take a job they need to know it is going to get completed and the client will be happy with the end result.

MysteryShop.org has all the resources you need to learn how to become a "mystery shopper." All I can say is it's not what it used to be. My mother was one in the late '70s to early '80's and all she did was eat at restaurants, shop for clothes and groceries then fill out a report on her experiences. Nowadays, it is more of product testing. Yes you still dine at restaurants and get paid for it, but now you also have the ability to purchase an item and perform a product and service review. You have specific guidelines to follow, certain things you need to try to find out, and then you write your report on the customer service, store cleanliness, and the product you purchased. You are then reimbursed for the product and paid a premium on top of that. Also keep in mind that men are successful mystery shoppers too! Most companies will conduct an interview to see where your strong points are, so that if you know nothing about automotive parts you will not be asked to go to one, etc.

I suggest doing some research, going to various websites and learning everything you can about things that sound interesting to you. Many of these sites are very understanding about people not being sure what they want to do. Never sign-up for a site that requires you to pay a membership fee; these companies make their money by keeping a percentage of your earnings - not from membership dues. So, sign-up, learn about it, give it a try for a couple of weeks, then if it's not for you cancel your membership. Remember you are a professional, cancel your membership - please do not waste the company's time and server space by just never going back, it is disrespectful and may bite you in the future.

It may be hard at first but working from home is a real job, set your hours and stick to them. In this environment it is very easy for the family work balance to see-saw to extremes. Just be careful, and have fun.

Like I say with everything Have fun with it and if it doesn't feel right don't do it.

Please research the companies I have listed above; they are legitimate, successful companies that can offer you a new world. I have also included links to some articles that have helped me on my path. All of these articles have links and information on many other work at home companies and opportunities. Good Luck!

"Companies that will hire you to work at home" CNN.com

"Internet Girl Friday.com" www.internetgirlfriday.com

Tory Johnson "Tory Johnson's Work From Home Tips" ABCnews.com

Tory Johnson "Tory Johnson's Tips to make Money at Home" ABCnews.com

Tory Johnson "Women For Hire Website" www.womenforhire.com

Inspirational - "Gladys Edmunds" www.gladysedmunds.com

Inspirational - Tory Johnson "Johnson Coached a Mom to get an At Home Job" ABCnews.com