Work from Home- looking for something that isn't a scam!

[Penguin23]

I was wondering if anybody has had a job where you were able to work from home to earn decent money, at least as a supplemental income. Everything I've found so far involves me paying money to start my own business, which is not what I want, and all those advertisements seem like scams. So does anybody have advice for me? I'd like to be able to earn some money while I have young children, without working outside my home. Thanks for your help!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Well, my job may not be exactly what you're looking for, but I do childcare in my home and it pays okay. The licencing regulations vary state by state, but here I can watch the children from one family without being licenced. If I watch kids from more than one family, then I need a licence.

I have my friends' 1 yr. old daughter at my house from 8 am to 5 pm M-F, and they pay me $10/hr plus provide help with my taxes and if they get a paid holiday, then they give me a paid holiday. It's not the top of the range for our area, but it's not the bottom, either. I think around here most people pay $8 to $15/hr for family-based childcare.

The key, of course, is finding a good family to take on as "clients", but I really love my job, and I intend to keep on doing this after we have children. If you don't mind having an extra child or two join your routine during the day, it could be a great way to earn some extra money.

 

[DisnyMama]

Go check out Good Morning America's Website. A couple of months ago they did a story about work at home jobs that are legit and have since done updates on the show. I have checked out some of the companies that their website lists and they are very interesting and appear to be exactly as GMA said they were. They only reason I haven't done it is that I really need to get out of the house and go to work. I spend too much time alone so I need to be out plus my DS is in high school so I really don't need to be a stay at home mom. Good Luck to you.

 

[hlbtimes2]

If it was easy to find a legit work at home job, no one would go to work any more! LOL

Depending on your time, interests, etc, you have a few options. Most will cost you something. There are at home party sales. You do leave the house for work, but its usually for short periods of time, on a schedule you set. Most of the companies (Tupperware, party lite, pampered chef, stampin up, tastefully simple, etc) will charge you for a starter kit and supplies. Its pretty easy to make a little money each month with any of them. The key is finding a product you love. Make sure your market isnt saturated with rep's for the product you choose. It''ll be easier to get more customers that way.

Another option is medical transcription. You'll need to go to school for it. Then, find a company to work for. Dont try to do it on your own- its too hard to get doc's that need the service when there are so many companies out there offering it.

There are also a few companies out there doing customer service calls from home. You have to be available for a schedule amount of time. During that time you can't have the distraction of children or other things going on. I found a couple listings on craigslist a couple months ago. I can't remember the name of the companies.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I have my friends' 1 yr. old daughter at my house from 8 am to 5 pm M-F, and they pay me $10/hr plus provide help with my taxes and if they get a paid holiday, then they give me a paid holiday. It's not the top of the range for our area, but it's not the bottom, either. I think around here most people pay $8 to $15/hr for family-based childcare.

Do you really get $90 a day for babysitting? That's amazing. The going rate around here (depending on age of child) is $25-$35 a day for in-home licensed day care.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Do you really get $90 a day for babysitting? That's amazing. The going rate around here (depending on age of child) is $25-$35 a day for in-home licensed day care.

I'm a transplant from the Midwest where I earned about $5/hr for childcare, and I was pretty shocked, too! My friend is an accountant, so when we decided that I'd take care of her daughter when she went back to work, she did all the financial research on what the parents would pay for in-home day care or for a private nanny, and the range was about $8-$15/hr for infants and toddlers in the bay area. She even figured out what taxes and forms would need to be filed if she were hiring me as an employee vs. if I were "self-employed" and taking them as a client. She also factored in supplies and equipment, and decided that she would provide everything I needed to watch her daughter at my house if I wanted to go that route vs. going to their house each day. It's really a pretty sweet job, with the only problem being that DH now has to share his "den" with a changing table and a pack-n-play!

 

[MareQ]

WAH jpbs are VERY hard to come by. As another poster mentioned Daycare is an option - I know you can do Medical Transcription - but I believe you hav eto tak ea few classes for that.

I WAH - however I have been with my company for 18 years - 12 worked in the office and now the past 6 here at home. I am 1 of 3 people in a large company allowed to work from home. We all live over an hour away - and have all been here 18, 19 and 21 years.

If it were easy to find a job that allowed people to WAH then everybody would be doing it

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

These are all legit companies. http://www.workplacelikehome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60

I work for LO and ACDDirect.

Heads up that SOME of these companies do require you to cover some costs be it for a background check or something. These are legit costs to expect a contractor to cover.

The only thing i had to purchase was a corded phone to plug a headset into ($10) and a headset with microphone ($30).

I have been "in the business" for about a year.

I do only INBOUND phone calls as I don't like outbound calls.

Depending on the company--the 3 I have worked for pay on a per minute basis. The other company I worked for is West but pretty much abandoned them when I got the 2 I work for now.

It can be income producing in however you want it to be depending on call volume. I use it for a simple allowance for myself--and others do use it as a full time job. You will NOT get rich (that is a warning sign for any scam)....and depending on call volume--you may have to bust your buns extra to make money than you usually do.


I have enjoyed doing it and look forward to making a little change. I have "trained" the kiddos for when I need to work when they are awake...but schedule opportunities are available 24 hours a day.

Some companies hire only in specific states and other companies have "blackout" states that they do not hire in. I do not know the reasons for those--but just be aware of that. I think the website I posted above has discussion boards for most of the companies and you can inquire specifically about how easy it is to get on board and if they hire in your state from them.

Getting on is somewhat easy--some companies take longer than others. For some unknown reason, I had to apply 4 times with LO and that happens to many. Some get hired on the first try though. With ACD, it took me about 6 months and then by good fortune--they posted a hiring blitz on the above website and fast tracked anyone who responsded to that posting. I was hired by West immediately.


Good luck!

(FYI...LO was featured on GMA I believe...or it might have been one of the other shows)

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

i saw some of the ones they featured on GMA, they look pretty decent! i'm thinking about looking into them, actually. i'm kinda sick of working retail and i went to school, but no one is hiring in my field right now around where i live and DH2B's workplace doesn't transfer it's employees so until he gets another job we're stuck here. and the only thing around here is retail.....i've done that for like 6 years now i'm getting sick of it!