How to Make More Money and Work From Home
Working from home can be a dream to some and a nightmare to others. I personally prefer working from home versus having a traditional job because of the flexibility and freedom. However, having been in the corporate and home-based world, I can tell you they both have their pros and cons.To work from home you must first find a work-at-home opportunity where the training and groundwork is already laid out for you, or be willing to brave on your own and create your own business.Work from Home OpportunitiesVirtual AssistanceMy first venture into working at home was building a virtual assistance business. At the time it was the No. 2 growing online business and allowed a flexible schedule which was really all I was looking for. Virtual assistance is providing administrative or other specialized services via telecommunications through e-mail, fax, scan, text and telephone. To this day, this business is still running and I manage a team of VAs to help busy professionals, specifically business owners and real estate agents, to run the administrative and marketing parts of their business so they can focus on their core business activities.Network MarketingAfter building my first work-at-home opportunity in virtual assistance, I was lucky enough to run across the network marketing industry. I had never looked at this industry before because it didn’t occur to me that people actually made money doing this. However, I really just didn’t know how these people made money and it’s pretty powerful. The strength and validity of network marketing depends on the company you choose. I personally did not feel as if makeup, juices, vitamins, etc. were going to cut it for me because there was no way to tie that into what I was already doing. And I didn’t want to look like a Jane of all trades. To me that is the key to utilizing network marketing to your benefit: Find a company that has a solid background and system and is tied closely to work you already do. For example, I own a virtual assistance company. We use only telecommunications and technology to communicate with our clients in this industry – thus I found a telecom and technology based company with a solid background and business-building system and it was a marriage made in heaven!I mentioned this above but the reason network marketing is powerful is because of the way people are paid. Most of us in a job, and even in virtual assistance, are paid by trading time for dollars. This means you can only work as much as you want to make. In the network marketing industry you are paid residually which means you do work one time and get paid over and over again. That’s HUGE… and very powerful.ConsultingIf you are very knowledgeable in a specific area, consulting is something you could provide as well. To be successful here, the key would be to know your specialty and brand yourself as a leader in that field. In this day and age you would need to network in person, but also utilize social media and an online marketing system to properly brand yourself. Depending on your field of expertise, your target market would vary, but reaching out to that market online could really help spread the word and position you as the go-to gal/guy in your field – and that is the ultimate goal in consulting.FreelancingFreelancing is how I first started being introduced to the world outside of corporate. Most people freelance write, and just like anything else freelance writing is truly starting a business. To be successful in freelance writing, it helps to have an area of expertise. Many new freelance writers say they don’t want to “pigeonhole” themselves and since they have the ability to write can write for anyone. However, if you try to be everything to everybody you will be nothing to nobody. So choose your strongest area of writing and become known as the writer to hire for XYZ projects. Instead of spreading yourself thin into areas that are not your strong suit, you’ll develop a deeper client base in a targeted niche.Pros and ConsLike anything in life, there are pros and cons to anything. Here’s a general list of pros to working from home:Pros
Flexibility
No commute
You set your earning potential – no one else
You can work in your pajamas – (Nice shirts for videophone and Skype meetings please!)Cons
It’s always there – you have to mentally be able to step away from work when you don’t physically leave it.
You have to be self-motivated and avoid the many things that can distract you from being productive.
No one is around so you can often feel lonely working from home.
You will not have standard “every two week” pay. Your pay depends on you and your ability to meet people and acquire clients/customers.Tips
Set boundaries
Have a designated workspace
Set business hours
If financially possible, have separate personal and business phones to help yourself separate and maintain a good work/life balance.Because I feel so passionate about helping people work from home, my mailbox is open to you. If you have questions regarding how to get started with a home-based opportunity feel free to email me at: mailynne@avasoffice.comHappy Home-based Work Hunting!
