Make Money This Week

In this economy people are not only looking for a stable income, but in many case they are in dire need of fast cash now. While generating a stable, steady income from home takes time, there are ways to generate tie-over money fairly quickly; this week even. Here are some of the fastest ways to make money at home this week.

Amazon.com – You can sell a variety of your used items on Amazon.com, but my preference is books. I have tons of them and seem to always be bringing in more. Fairly new non-fiction sells best, but fiction and other types of books can sell well.

1. Start by gathering all the books in your house, stacking them cover side down.
2. Visit Amazon.com and click on “Sell Your Stuff” in the “Features and Services” box on the left hand side of the page.
3. Click on “Start Selling” under the “Sell Your Stuff” option.
4. Find the ISBN code on the back of the book and enter it in the box (you can enter the title or keyword but I find the ISBN is faster). The ISBN is listed near the bar code of the book, usually on the back cover. Click on “Start Selling”.
5. Enter the condition of the book such as any marks or defects. Click “Continue”
6. Enter a price. On the right hand side of the page you’ll see how much the book is currently listed as a used item. I always choose a lower price. My goal is to make money quickly and anyone buying used is buying to save money. So I always list mine lower than the current lowest price.
7. Indicate how many copies you have.
8. Give the zip code of where the book is located (your location).
9. Indicated if you’ll provide expedited shipping. Click “Continue”.
10. If the listing looks good, click “Submit Your Listing”.
11. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll be asked to create one.

Go through the process to add as many books as you’ve got. Be sure to pick up some quality mailing envelops to send your books. Amazon.com gives you a shipping credit to help cover the cost of mailing the book. Unless otherwise indicated (i.e. expedited shipping), ship the book by media mail. Amazon.com pays you through direct deposit every 14 days.

eBay – I like eBay for selling all my clutter. I’m always amazed at what can sell at eBay. In the past I’ve sold a chili pepper wreath, an old college football ticket, and some of my son’s Pokemon cards. eBay requires a bit more planning and effort than selling on Amazon.com, but it can be worth it if your items sell well. To sell on ebay:

1. Gather items around the house that you don’t want anymore.
2. Take a quality picture of the items. While eBay does offer stock photos for many items, most people prefer to view the actual item.
3. Visit eBay and register for an account.
4. Log into your account and click on “Sell”. eBay is intuitive and will guide you through the process of classifying your item.
5. Provide details about your item. Be as descriptive as possible in the title to encourage people to click on your listing. Don’t just say a blue dress. Instead indicate the brand, size and other details.
6. Upload the picture you took of the item.You get one free picture. You can add more for an additional fee.
7. Include a description of your item. Again provide as much detail as you can to help buyers.
8. Put in a starting bid amount and auction length (number of days).
9. Indicate how you’d like to be paid. Most people prefer to use Paypal as its fast and more secure than a check.
10. Give shipping information (cost and method) if you’ll be passing the shipping costs on to the buyer.
11. If you need to charge tax, include that next. Indicate if you’ll accept returns and what the return policy will be.
12. When finished, hit the “Continue” button to view your listing. If its acceptable, click on “List Item”. If it needs work click on “Edit”.

Like Amazon.com, eBay doesn’t require payment until after your item has sold. If you use Paypal to accept payments, you can get a Paypal debit card or ask Paypal to direct deposit the funds into your bank account (this takes a few days).

DemandStudios – Of all the online writing sites, DemandStudios is probably one of the best. It pays a set fee (as opposed to revenue share although it does have that option as well) of $5 to $15 (experienced writers can get paid up to $30) for each article. There are hundreds, if not thousands of available topics to write on. And it pays twice a week through Paypal. If you can write 5 articles a day, 5 days a week, at $15 an article, that will be $375 per week. Some writers crank out as many as 10 articles a day ($150/day).

DemandStudios is free to join, but you do need to submit a writing sample and application. As a beginner you’ll only be able to reserve a few articles at a time until you’ve had some experience. Then you can reserve up to 15 at a time. Editors review your submissions and often ask for edits. Once the article is approved you can be paid. Payments are made on Tuesdays and Fridays.

There are a host of other ways that have the potential of making money fairly quickly (i.e. affiliate marketing, contract/freelance jobs), but there is no guarantee and usually it can take a little time. If you don’t have time, the above three options offer solid ways to generate income quickly.

Work-At-Home Customer Service Jobs

Not only is customer service is one of the fastest growing work-at-home jobs, but it also has one of the brightest outlooks. Companies looking to save money are setting up home-based employees to help with order taking and support services in record numbers. These companies range in size and scope including airlines, mail order businesses, and technology companies.

The advantage to customer service jobs is that they don’t necessarily require experience. That doesn’t mean that they don’t require skills or equipment. It also doesn’t mean you can simply sign up and answer phone calls. But you don’t need an advanced degree or years of corporate experience to get hired in customer service.

The hours in a customer service job can vary. Some will require full-time work during regular work hours. Most offer part-time hours and some need people to work late shifts and/or weekends. Many will allow a flexible schedule, but most will want its agents to have a set schedule.

The pay can vary as well. Some pay as little as $8 an hour while some pay more. If sales are involve, sometime employees will pay commissions and bonuses as well as a set hourly fee. If you have experience in customer service work you’re likely to get paid more. Some provide benefits, but most categorize employees as an independent contractor. This has some advantages as an independent contractor is able to deduct work-related expenses such as a new phone headset as well as portions of your home expenses for having a home office.

To get a customer service job, you’re going to need to meet some requirements:

1. While some customer service jobs require some previous experience, most simply require a pleasant voice and a calm temperament (customer service also means handling complaints).
2. You’ll likely need a second phone line and/or high-speed internet access. Satellite may or may not be accepted. Dial-up is almost always not considered.
3. A headset for your phone is highly recommended.
4. A quiet place to work. Customer service work may not be ideal if you have small children or noisy pets unless you can make arrangements for them.
5. Some require on-site training while others can train you vie phone and Internet.
6. Quality application or resume is needed to set yourself apart from other applicants. You can do this by doing background research on the company and industry, and include the information you gather in your resume. If the company is a national flower delivery chain and you used to work in a floral shop, mention it in your application and use the same terms that flower people use.

Customer service jobs can be found on the major job search engines and many telecommuting job databases. But like any other work-at-home job, you need to do your due diligence to weed out the scams. Any company that asks you for money to get hired is a scam. The only exception is that some customer service companies will pass on the expense of a background check to the potential hire. However, they don’t usually ask for this unless you’ve made it through the initial screening and are being considered for hire.

Customer service work from home is expanding making it a great option for pursuing a home-based job. But before you start submitting your application, make sure you meet the requirements and have a quality resume that will get you the job.

Customer Service Jobs

Here are some places that are frequently taking applications for customer service jobs:

1800Flowers

Alpine Access

Arise

Call Center Options

Cloud10 Corporation

Convergys

Live Ops

West At Home

VIP Desk

Asking Your Boss to Work At Home

Many people start their work-at-home job search by jumping online to search for work. But the fastest and easiest way to work at home is to turn your current job into a telecommuting situation. But before you step into your boss’ office and ask to work at home, you need to do a little research and prepare a plan.

The first step in the proposal process is to evaluate your job and company for conduciveness to telecommuting. Make a complete list of all duties and activities related to your job. Divide this list into “Can be done outside of the office” (such as typing, researching, planning etc.) and “Must be done in the office” (such as meetings and direct service).

Next, do some undercover research on your company’s openness to alternative work schedules. Do they allow flextime or part-time work? Do research into your industry. Do other companies in a similar industry allow employees to work from home? If your company and other companies like it, don’t offer alternative work schedules, it doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to work from home.

If you think you have a job that would allow you to work from home, prepare a Work At Home Proposal. The Work-At-Home Proposal must be written and must outline your plans as well as benefits to the company your new work arrangement will provide. Here is an outline to help.

Writing a Work At Home Proposal

Introduction:
Educate your employer on the contributions you have made to the company. If you have earned special recognition, increased productivity or improved the company in anyway, be sure to highlight it. Don’t brag but be sure that your company understands that you are a valuable asset that they can’t afford to lose. Without giving details of the hassles experienced each morning preparing to go to work, give a statement of why you are proposing an alternative work arrangement.
Benefits to Your Employer:
Educate your employer on the benefits of telecommuting including increased productivity and moral and decreased absenteeism and burnout. Detail any cost savings your arrangement may provide your employer. This may come in the form of office space or reduced benefits.
Proposed Work Schedule:
Describe the days and hours per week you plan to work at home. Indicate when you plan to start your new schedule and how long the arrangement will last.
Availability:
Establish the work hours you will be available for contact. Provide the methods (phone, fax, etc.) that can be used to contact you. Include information on how you will deal with meetings, deadlines, office activities, and emergencies.
Job Description
Outline the tasks you will be responsible for while working at home. Outline the duties you will be handling while in the office. Highlight any changes from your current work situation to the telecommuting arrangement.
Equipment
List any equipment or resources you currently have available such as second phone line, computer, manuals etc. List any equipment you would need and indicated whether or not you or the company will be providing it.
Salary and Benefits
If there is a change in your hours or duties, take these into consideration. Your company may already have a policy or you can suggest a pro-rated pay and benefits. If there is no change in your hours or duties, be sure to indicate it.
Performance Evaluation:
If your duties aren’t changing your method of evaluation shouldn’t either. Be sure to indicate how your supervisor will know of your work such as weekly reports. If your duties are different, propose how you will be evaluated. Be sure you are evaluated on easily measurable tasks such as number of reports completed. It is easy for employers to think you aren’t working if they don’t see you. Be sure they are aware of the work you complete.
Trial Period:
Supervisors may be more willing to grant your work at home proposal if you suggest a trial period. Be sure it is long enough to for everyone to adjust to the schedule and fix the kinks. Develop a method for evaluating the success of the work-at-home arrangement. Use easily measurable tasks such as increased sales or productivity.
Supporting Information:
Show your supervisor how working at home has been successful in other companies. Include statistics or articles on telecommuting. The appendix lists resources you can use to back up your claims.

Presenting the Work-At-Home Proposal

You have determined that your job may be suited to telecommuting. You have researched aspects of telecommuting and prepared a work-at-home proposal suited to your company and position. Now what? Most telecommuting expert agree, that work-at-home proposals are more likely to be considered if an in-person presentation is made. Here are some guidelines to presenting your work-at-home proposal to your boss:

• Before the meeting, try to anticipate the kinds of resistance you may receive. Be sure these are addressed in your written proposal, and be prepared to respond to them in the meeting.
• During the meeting use your proposal as an outline to your presentation. Focus on benefits to the company, not to your morning schedule, that your work-at-home arrangement will provide.
• Be sure you can convey to your boss how valuable you are. Don’t brag or insinuate quitting but, let him know that replacing you would be costly because of your hard work ethic, knowledge and experience.
• Be professional. Your boss may have lots reasons why telecommuting won’t work, let him know the research shows that it does work.
• Be willing to negotiate. Maybe your boss doesn’t want you to work as indicated in your proposal but, would be willing to allow a different arrangement. By negotiating, you may be able get what you want later, after you have shown how well telecommuting works.
• If your boss has concerns, begin to find a way to alleviate them.
  If you boss says “no”, don’t lose hope. There are many jobs suited to telecommuting. Begin researching to find a job that will meet your needs. If your boss says “yes”, congratulations! Be sure to meet your end of the agreement and pave the way for other telecommuters!

The important thing to remember is that employers don’t offer telecommuting out of the goodness of their hearts, they do it because it benefits the company and more specifically the bottom line. So always focus your proposal on what it can do to help the company, not how it will help you.

Three Steps to Getting a Work-At-Home Job

Each week I find hundreds of work-at-home job announcements from companies looking for qualified employees to hire. Despite the abundance of work-at-home jobs, millions of people who want a work-at-home job continue to fall victim to scams and deceptive schemes. If you have been struggling to work at home, here are the three steps you must follow to be successful.

Step One: What can you do?

You wouldn’t use a search engine and sign up for the first thing that sounded good in a traditional job search; yet, so many people take this approach to finding a work-at-home job. One of the most important ideas you need to understand is that work-at-home job searches are just like traditional job searches. Employers are looking for people with specific skills and experience to fill specific jobs. You won’t simply sign up for a work-at-home job. Instead you’ll need a professional resume or application that sets you apart from the competition. All this starts by listing your skills and experiences. Don’t limit this list just to job skills. Also include volunteer experience, hobbies, and interests. Note the duties and activities your “jobs” involved and the things you’ve learned from your experiences.

Step Two: Look for jobs

Most people get in trouble in their work-at-home job search because they look for the wrong jobs in the wrong places. In Step One you learned that work-at-home jobs are no different from traditional jobs and as a result you’ve made a list of all your experiences. In Step Two you need to begin to search where employers post jobs. You can find work-at-home job announcements on job sites such as Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com by using “work at home ” (with quotes) or “telecommute” as your keyword. You still need to watch out for deceptive job ads and scams on general job search sites. The best way to avoid them is to remember two rules: 1) never pay money to get hired and 2) never give or use your personal bank to help a company do business.

If you’re serious about finding a work-at-home job, consider using a work-at-home job database. These services are not free (you’re not paying to get hired, you’re paying for the service of having someone else screen work-at-home jobs and allowing you to access their database), but they make finding jobs fast and easy.

(See a list of my favorite job search sites below.)

Step Three: Apply, Apply, Apply

A successful job search requires creating a stellar resume or application. Remember, you’re competing against hundreds, maybe even thousands of other applicants. You’re resume or application needs to set you apart from all of them. You do that by tailoring your resume to the specific skills and experiences the employer is looking for. If the ad is for a transcriptionist to help a public speaker, share how fast you type, whether or not you have transcribed for other speakers or in the topic area the speaker specializes in. Indicate specific equipment or software you have experience with.  Fit the resume to the job and you’ll be showing the employer you’re the exact person he’s looking for.

Also, do as the application says, no more, no less. A common complaint with employers is that the applicants don’t follow the directions. Don’t try to be cute or creative. Use strong, active verbs to outline your skills instead of crazy font or gimmicks.

Finally be ready to apply to many jobs over time. Work-at-home employers are notorious for not getting back to applicants about their submissions, so you need to keep applying, following-up, finding more jobs and applying some more. Successful home-based employees find their jobs by never giving up the search.

With hundreds of employers looking for qualified home-based workers, the would-be telecommuter has many opportunities to find a job. However, like traditional jobs, work-at-home jobs are earned by showcasing skills and experiences.

Work-At-Home Job Search Sites I use:

Telecommuting Job Databases (fee required to access these services)

HomeJobStop has over 100 jobs in clerical, and more in customer service, writing, transcription, miscellaneous plus 100’s of others. Very affordable.
VirtualAssistants has 100′’s of Secretarial/General jobs plus 100’s more in other categories. Little more expensive but offers more jobs.

Free job search sites (you need to search by keyword to find work-at-home jobs on these sites. Screen for scams and schemes. Visit the Scam Alert page for tips on how to avoid scams.).

Monster.com
Beyond.com
CareerBuilder
Job.com
CraigsList.org

WAHS Podcast #79 Ask the Pajama Mama

This week is Ask the Pajama Mama where I answer your work-at-home questions.

If you’d like to download any episode you’ll notice a new “Download MP3″ below the player. You can get the podcasts through iTunes as well.
Listen here:

You can also subscribe through iTunes.

Resources Mentioned On the Show

Creative Hot List
Media Bistro
Canadian Telework Association

Turn Interests Into Income on the Internet – Free Teleclass

The number of people earning a living online is exploding. Every day people are turning their skills, interests, passions, and even rants into an income. You can too, even if you’re not tech savvy or don’t have a lot of money. I’ll be doing a free teleseminar through Global Teleclass on “Turn Interests Into Income on the Internet” Jan. 19 at 10 pm eastern time. In this course you’ll learn how to:

• Identify the assets you have that are potential money-makers
• Determine the best way to make money from your idea
• Use free and low cost online tools to turn your idea into income
• Develop a plan of action to turn the dream into a reality.

The course is free, but does require registration. To learn more or to register, visit Global Teleclass Turn Interests Into Income on the Internet.

What Home Business Should I Start?

Millions of Americans work at home. Their “work” is as varied as the individuals themselves. Some telecommute, others have their own businesses, others are contract workers. Some created their work-at-home situation from scratch, others took advantage of flexible work options on the job or bought into an existing business such as a franchise or MLM. For many beginning to examine work-at-home options deciding to work at home is the easy part. Its the deciding what to do that is difficult.

Over the years I’ve been able to meet many people who work at home, and what I’ve found is that nearly all of them do something that is related to a talent, interest or passion. They take a job skill and turn it into a service business or they sell their homemade goodies, and so on.

Of course choosing a path, and what to do specifically once the path is chosen, is a challenge as well. Often, opportunity exists without realizing it. Jerry from Ginger’s K-9 Originals recognized an opportunity that showed itself when people began to ask him about his homemade sun visor for his dog. For others, the opportunity needs to be created. Below are some steps to help you find ideas to meet your work-at-home goal:

1. Brainstorm your skills, talents, experience and passions. Write them all down without thinking about whether or not it could be turned into a business. This is important! After all, who would have thought a talent for baking cookies would make Mrs. Fields a well-known name?
2. Using your brainstorm from number 1, think of business ideas (wacky or not) that could result from your gifts, etc. To help, use the books that list a zillion ways to make money from home. While these books aren’t so helpful on specifics, they are full of many different ideas you might not think of on your own. Some interesting ideas I have seen are: bartering club, holiday decorator (for homes and businesses), consultants (of anything), genealogy researcher, sales lead generator, referral service (from child care to bed & breakfasts), and so on.  Use your search engine to search for keywords related to your idea to see what others are doing. Are they blogging about their passions? Selling their wares online? Marketing affiliate products? Also, find out if there are business-in-a-box offers such as direct sales related to your interests.
3. Pick a few ideas and begin to research the feasibility of creating a business. For example, if you want to work completely from home, a business that required you to leave home to meet clients may not work. Also, begin to do market research to determine if there are people who will pay for what you want to offer. Whatever you choose, be sure it is something you want to commit to spending a great deal of time working on. If you are sick of bookkeeping, you probably shouldn’t start a bookkeeping business.
4. Write a business and marketing plan.  This is vitally important because businesses that fail to plan, plan to fail. Commit to your plan and your business. A business doesn’t grow overnight. Persistence and dedication are required. Find books and people to help you stay motivated and confident in yourself and your new venture.

The important thing to remember when searching for the best home business for you is to start with what you already know, love or do. Too many people jump online looking for fast, easy and profitable which almost never works and in most cases will lose money. You can’t make money at something that’s a gimmick or that you aren’t truly invested in. For example, there are good MLM companies but if you don’t like the product or aren’t willing to talk to people, it doesn’t matter how profitable it could be. You only make money when you do the work. So choose a home business that you can believe in and stick with.

Finally, choosing a business in an area you already know about shortens the learning curve and the time it takes to make money. Starting a business can take time because you have to plan, learn about marketing, obtain needed permits, etc. Choosing a business you know nothing about means you have to learn it along with everything else. But if you know about your business idea already, then all you have to do is put the business part in place.

Five Great Home Business Ideas for 2010

Nearly nine percent of job seekers who gained employment in the second quarter of 2009 did so by starting a business, according to a survey done by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.  Instead of waiting to be hired, they hired themselves. You can do the same in 2010. Here five great areas to start your home business.

Green Businesses: You can help create a cleaner, greener world and make money as well. Business ideas include green auditing (helping families or businesses assess their impact and recommend green changes), creating green products, and selling green products and services.

Servicing the over 50 crowd: There are over 76 million Americans over the age of 50 with a spending power of over $2 trillion, making them a good market for products and services. Business ideas include health and wellness, retirement planning, travel, and in-home care.

Budget Shopping: More and more families are looking for a good deal on everything they buy. Business ideas include the sale of discounted items, as well as information on buying discounted items, rebates, and coupons.

Health and Wellness: Growing concerns about obesity and heart disease have led to new business growth in helping people live healthier. Opportunities exist in fitness, diet and nutrition. Other areas of business include organic products, vitamins and supplements, and health and wellness coaching.

Products for pets:  Americans spend over $30 million a year on their pets. Business ideas include pet sitting services, pet accessories (clothes, collars, etc), dog walking services, fish tank cleaning services, pet photography, and kennel and breeding services.

Get Paid to Research and Write Content

When I first started looking for work online in the late 1990’s there were many jobs that involved researching and writing content.  Websites needed to fill their sites and databases with information and paid people to help them do that. Those jobs, in that fashion, don’t exist much anymore, but a new type of pay-for-content work has evolved.

You may have heard that “Content is King” on the Internet. In most cases people go online to get information. The sites that have the best information (content) tend to also have the most traffic and therefore make the most money. New news aggregators and content portals are vying for a piece of the pie and are paying people to help them develop quality content.

What’s Involved?

The basics are the ability to find information and organize it in a concise easy to read fashion. You don’t need access to the expensive data bases or a degree in journalism, but you do need to know how to find reputable information on the Internet and string words together coherently.

Most sites want 300-500 word articles that can cover topics of your choice or that the site has requested. The articles can be in a variety of formats including ‘how-to’, reviews, lists, ‘best of’, fact sheets, etc.

How much can you make?

This is the tough question. Like in most work-at-home options, some people make good money and others make nearly nothing. It really depends on the site, your topics, and quality of submissions. Some sites will pay you a small flat fee anywhere from $5 to $30 per article. Others pay you in ad revenue, which over time, if there is lots of traffic, can build. Some do a combination of both.

My opinion on this type of work:

If you want to be a full-time freelance writer, these options aren’t for you mostly because most magazines don’t view these sites as “clips” to add to your portfolio. And the pay isn’t as good as writing for magazines.

But if you want to make a few hundred to a thousand dollars a month AND have the time to write and submit frequently, and help the site build traffic to your submissions, then this is a good option. It’s extremely flexible…you write what you want, when you want. But you aren’t going to see that money overnight. Most people who work on it consistently indicate it takes a couple of months to see a steady stream of income.

Where’s the work?

There are many places such as Demand Studio and Associated Content that pay for content. But not all are worth the time and effort.  For example, Examiner is posting lots of work on job boards, but the pay is so low (1 cent per page impression) and not guaranteed. Plus it says it can take and reuse, rewrite, and redistribute your work without additional compensation to. That’s not fair. You’re better off to go with a site that doesn’t pay well but at least you own your work and submit it to more than one place. Or that will pay you more to have exclusive rights to your work.

What should you do next?

If this sounds interesting, take the time to do more research. Like most work-at-home options, a single article can spark an idea, but you need the nitty gritty details to know what do to next. You can start by checking out some of the content sites (all are free to join) and learn what sort of content they want, how they pay, and what’s involved.

I was able to get a hold of Matthew Sherborne’s Cash for Content System. I read a lot of ebooks and most aren’t that helpful, but Matthew’s is very good. It takes you through the steps of finding good profitable topics, how to put together quality content even if you don’t like or aren’t’ sure how to write, and the best ways to maximize profits at many of the best web content sites. He uses screen captures so you can follow along with him and not have to guess what he’s talking about. Plus he’s added toolbox that takes you step-by-step through the process of brainstorming ideas, writing content, and keeping track of the best paying sites. I’ve also thrown in a bonus that lists some additional sites that aren’t in Matthew’s book.

Check out Matthew’s great resource at Cash for Content System.