Real Work- From- Home Jobs

When I started to home school, I realized that this was going to be a financial bind to us as a family. So I started to hunt for a part-time job that would work with my schedule and I was secretly hoping for the enviable work-from-home job. Let's see, there was home schooling, sports practice and piano lessons in the afternoon and a husband who was busy driving a truck. Not a lot of time for having a part-time job much less looking for one.

Finding one was a struggle. The local part-time positions wanted me to have niether a husband, kids or a life really. They also wanted me to work whenever they so desired. There are plenty of scams out there on the internet with those suggestive 'too good to be true' slogans. When I was about to give up and surrender I was introduced to Alpine Access, a Golden, Colorado call center that hires people to work from their own homes. Really.

Some employees have earned up to $2000 a month working about 30-35 hours a week just from the comfort of their computer desk chair. Shifts can be as short as 30 minutes although an employee usually works 5 block hours per days. I work mornings while my daughter completes schoolwork that she can handle on her own plus some night and weekends when my husband can watch over the kids. That way I have the time in the afternoons to check my daughter's work and teach her new subjects without any interruptions.

There have been some opportunities through Alpine Access that would allow full time work but I have to manage to get dinner prepared, house cleaned, homework checked and play chauffeur to softball games and piano practice. I don't have time to worry about working full-time. But the money I save on business suits, commuting or childcare makes up the difference.

I had always wondered why companies hadn't discovered this hidden work force of stay-at-home mothers, homeschoolers and those who cannot work outside the home. Now technology has come a-knocking on the door and the response has been favorable.

Finding legitimate work that can actually pay the bills isn't easy there are a few out there to discover:

Call Centers: Companies that are routing customer service calls overseas have become well known in the United States. But home-based call centers have been a less known but a growing movement. These workers in the North American have tripled since 2000, according to research firm Yankee Group. This means more than 670,000 phone agents are now working at home.

Workers based at home have a tendency to be better educated and more loyal than those at traditional call centers, stated by LiveOps Chairman Bill Trenchard, And turnover is low.

These jobs do have their drawbacks. Pay usually starts at $8 an hour, if you get enough calls. These can come slowly in the beginning. Jobs that requite taking orders often pay the least while the better-paying ones usually require sales skills.

The call centers also have no tolerance for audible distractions. Crying babies, barking dogs and ringing doorbells could result to being terminated. Some companies require that their workers have an office with doors to minimize distractions. Operators (or agents as they are called) also need a dedicated ground phone line, a computer and high-speed Internet access.

Companies that are hiring:

• Alpine Access

• LiveOps

• Arise

• West at Home

Mystery Shopping and Survey Taking

Both of these have been around awhile but the World Wide Web has made them more accessible.

"Mystery shoppers" are usually paid anywhere from $5 to $100 per job to pose as average customers and then critique a store or a service. The range for being a survey taker or any being part of a focus group can be from a few bucks to a few hundred at a time.

As with most work-at-home jobs, applicants need to be prepared to start small and work their way up the ladder. Research companies lean toward reliable, articulate and detail oriented workers. They also tend to come with freebies as well as income. Some have been given products in exchange for survey opinions.

Mystery shopping usually takes more time but typically pays more as well. Some have made as much as $6000 a year in cash along with $3000 in products.

Some mystery-shopping services:

• Corporate Research International Mystery Shops

• Mystery Guest

• Service Intelligence Experience Exchange

National Survey Companies that are popular on the Internet:

• American Consumer Opinion

• National Family Opinion
• Survey Savvy

Online Auctions: Auction sites are known to do more than just fill up your closets. Online auction giant, E-bay, has reported that 1.3 million of their 212 million registered users are 'professional sellers' who report E-bay as a primary or secondary source of income. It has almost double from 2006.

Auction sites also have "how to" sections to acquainted beginners with the selling process, and a little research can help you determine the best way to market your offerings. Sellers also need to watch their reputations because bad feedback can literally kill off future sales. Being organized, use truthful descriptions and quickly shipping out items is important to a profitable auction business.

Newcomers should also start off slowly, particularly if they're buying items that they intend to sell. "It can be easy to misjudge what people will want to buy," says Barb Webb, author of "The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet" And listing costs, the site's commissions and buyers who don't pay can eat into profits..

Writing: For those who are creative with the computer and the pen could look for freelance work in writing articles online and for magazines.

Writing articles on different subjects is not for the impatient, the thin-skinned or for those looking to make a great deal of money quickly.

Writing for online sites such as Associated Content or Constant Content can take up to two weeks to be notified that you have been published. Payments can be from $3-$20 for those who buy your article outright. Sites that sell for usage rights or to sell your article can be as little as $10 or as much as $180. Writing for the traditional magazines can take even longer, up to a year.

If you don't take criticism well, this is not the area to seek out income. Sometimes articles can be returned because of grammar but like traditional magazines, most are returned with no reason whatsoever. You have to edit and re-edit, hoping you find what editors are looking for in that 'perfect' article.

Whether you are writing for traditional magazines or for websites, they are usually searching for articulate and well-versed authors who can not only write well but also can write on a variety of subjects and usually popular ones at that. Everyone is looking for that article that will bring in the readers.

Other Home Businesses: There are the old stand-bys like day care, house sitting, selling cosmetics like Avon or Mary Kay, and dog walking. But classified advertising sites such asCraigslist and Expo can help you easily and cheaply connect with potential customers. But before going into any business, check out your community's license, insurance requirements and city's codes. There are many smaller towns that do not allow at-home businesses. It's always good to do a little research before launching into any business.

If you're looking to work at home, remember a few things:

� Don't expect to get rich overnight

� Check out opportunities close to home

� Expect a lot of competition. You're not the only one who wants to work from home

� You need to be organized, focused, a self-starter

Working at home is wonderful but, with everything, it has its pros and cons. Be certain that you are prepared for both before entering the world of work-at-home employee.