How to Make Money from Home

 Although the notion of working from home may sound highly attractive, only the most disciplined, focused worker can actually end up making a decent wage. Before considering whether you want to work from home, examine your skills and background to decide if working from home will work for you. Additionally, evaluate your schedule, family’s needs (both emotionally and financially) as well as your ultimate financial goal.

1. Identify a skill you have that could translate into a home based business. Not all jobs can be performed effectively from home so examine your strengths and experience to determine if you can making working from home effective for you and your family.
   
   
   • Assess how much money you need to make. Determine how much money you’ll need to make in order to live comfortably. In some cases, you may need to factor in overhead costs, initial cash outlay to get the business started and the amount of time it will take to turn a profit. Tally your monthly bills to help determine the total amount you should make and decide how much money you would like to add to your savings account.
   • Determine if you have the equipment/tools to make your home-based business a success. Knowing what you need in terms of tools should be included in the cost. In some cases a simple computer and certain software will do the trick. However, if you are running another type of business, such as an embroidery or catering company you may need to purchase certain equipment to get your home based business off the ground.
   • Decide if you need assistance or if you can perform this task as a one man or woman show. Another cost to consider is whether you can do this on your own or if assistance will be required. For example, if you are starting a house painting company you may need to hire one or two employees to help you complete larger jobs.
   • Find a specific space in your home that you can call your “office.” Even if you plan to do most of your business in the field, you’ll need to have your own space for paperwork and invoicing. Whether it’s the kitchen table or you can allot for an entire room for an office, identify a space before you begin work.
2. Learn how to create an organized day. Being self motivated is the key to being an effective “at home” worker. If you aren’t already an organized person you’ll have a rough road ahead. Use organizational tools and a solid day planner to keep you focused on your schedule.
   • Obtain a comprehensive planner or use the organizational system software on your computer. No one else is going to keep you on track so you’ll need to write down every appointment and/or deadline in your planner. Avoid trying to just “remember” because you will only set yourself up for failure.
   • Examine your day to determine which hours you will work. If you are a busy parent and need to leave the house throughout the day to drop off or pick up children, identify quiet hours during the day that you can dedicate to work. It may be possible that you’ll have to work well into the evening if you are busy with childcare during the day.
   • Create an organizational system that will help you stay on top of work/clients. If you are juggling numerous clients, create a filing system that makes sense to you. In some cases, placing all paperwork and information in one large folder per client may help, whereas pinning information to a corkboard in your office regarding that client may work.
   • Set up a professional invoicing system and send invoices either bi-monthly or monthly. Use your computer software’s invoicing templates or you can create an invoice using Excel. Decided when you plan to bill and be sure you send invoices on the same day of the month to ensure consistent payment. Institute a 10 day late policy, if possible, to make sure payment is received promptly.
   • Actively promote your business and seek clients. Even if you are going into your home business with a few clients, you may want to beef up your company with additional interest. In a topsey turvey economy you can never tell when one client may bail.
     • Social media. Promote relevant information on social media channels--especially news or interesting information that would spark conversation. For example, if you are running an organic food catering business from home, post articles about the benefits of organic food or offer an easy recipe.
     • Traditional advertising. While traditional advertising has its place, TV, radio and print can be expensive. Instead, consider using flyers or posting your business card at stores or places you visit.
     • Networking. Join the local Chamber of Commerce or industry groups to attract new clients. For example, if you are a financial blogger, hit the bank and credit union expo or marketing seminars to build your network.
     • Scanning online classifieds. Places like Zaarly or Craigslist may offer some leads, however consider Googling your profession. For example, if you are a writer, Google “writer jobs” or “writing jobs” for job boards.

Understand the nature of your business. Some home-based businesses are based in the field whereas other home businesses require work output through the computer. Regardless of what kind of home based business you run, you need to understand that the days of three hour lunches on the company dime are over. You are in charge, which means you alone dictate if you are going to make money or not.

• Weekends and holidays may not be possible. Believe it or not you may need to review an order on a Saturday night or after Thanksgiving dinner. Most independently owned, home based business revolves around delivering the product on deadline--if that deadline falls on a Monday or the day after a holiday you may need to work when everyone is off.
• Nights and working while on vacation are a reality. Even during vacation you may still need to work, so be ready to be accessible by phone or email.
• Be available to your clients 24/7 to stay ahead of the competition. Regardless of your business, you will need to differentiate yourself from the pack. That means being accessible constantly and going the extra mile to deliver a highly superior product. Your want your clients to completely trust and rely upon you, never failing to meet a deadline.
• Continuously learn and integrate new skills into your business. Another way to get ahead of the competition is to constantly be learning new skills or ways to enhance your business. Take courses or webinars to expand your horizons.

Possible Jobs

• Virtual Assistant - You can make money from home by being an assistant who works for 1 to several people over the internet. Your job will entail tasks that regular personal or corporate assistants do at an office. Quite a number of employers hire part time assistants to do errands such as typing documents, taking calls, and sending out marketing emails to clients. If you want to be a full time assistant, then you can take more than one client.
• Freelance Writer - Another way to make money from home is to write online. There are a lot of work opportunities for freelance writers on the net. Many companies today rely on internet marketing and writers who can do SEO and web content for their websites. You can also blog for a living and earn from advertisers or blog for someone else and get paid a steady income each month. Online writers can also write news, e-books or act as ghost writers for their clients.
• Medical Transcriptionist- Doctors are going high tech too, but they don’t have to retain a full time assistant at their clinic. Your tasks as a medical transcriptionist will involve transcribing the doctor’s voice recorded notes into typewritten documents. To make money from home as a medical transcriptionist, you’ll need training to learn various medical terms. People who have a background in health and nursing can easily do this job whether on a full time or part time basis.
• Graphics or Web Designer- Due to increasing needs to conduct business on the internet, the need for people who can create websites and graphics on the net also increases. This will be ideal for people with knowledge in various computer languages, graphics designing, and programming. Stay up-to-date with the latest technology to make your talent in demand.
• Online Teaching- Online teaching is another way to make money from home. This is a growing field in education or distance education wherein you can teach people between ages 5 to 60+. You can teach ESL or English as a Second Language, college courses, or tutor students with homework. To teach college courses, you may need a degree in education. Others who do not have teaching degrees can also teach English to foreign clients. You can encounter students coming from as far away as Taiwan, Korea, China or Europe who want to improve on their English language skills through conversational methods.