HomeNetPro.Com's Work From Home Blog

Monday, February 8th 2010

Taking The Work At Home Plunge

Taking the plunge into the work at home community can be both exciting and scary at the same time. It is the dream of many to be able to make your own schedule and work when you want to and from where ever you would like. Realizing this dream can be daunting if informed decisions are not made.

The first question to ask yourself is whether you want a work at home position or if you want to partake in a work from home business. For those who are yet uninformed, the differences may not be very apparent.

A work at home position or job is just what it sounds like. You provide a service through another company and it may be similar to any other brick and mortar type of job. This may be a customer service, technical support, data entry or any other type of traditional position.

There are millions of emails sent daily all over the world promising an easy way to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars a day. One thing to remember is that the work at home job is highly sought after and employers do not have to advertise to find people to work. This is why I highly recommend getting a membership to a work at home job bank. They are usually the first to know about and post work at home employment type jobs if and when they come available.

A work at home business opportunity is far easier to come by and one must take great care in dealing with these. A business opportunity is the chance to be an actual business owner and this usually entails sales of some kind and advertising a product or service and usually requires some type of startup cost.

Enlisting in a business in this way is tricky because there are so many pyramid and get rich schemes out there and sometimes it is hard to decipher which are true opportunities and which are scams. Going head first into an opportunity that you received from an unknown source in an email is highly ill advised!

Another question to ask yourself is whether you want to be an employee or an independent contractor. Again, to the new work at home job seeker this may be a confusing question.

A work at home employee is just like an employee in the traditional workplace. There is often a set schedule or a scheduling system with minimums that must be adhered to. The employer may provide benefits of some sort and they also deduct the customary taxes from the paycheck.

An independent contractor is not a direct employee of the company. They are merely contracting to provide services to this company and their customers. An independent contractor is usually not offered any benefits and the scheduling system may be a bit more flexible depending on the position. An independent contractor is also responsible for paying his or her own taxes on the money that they earn.

With a bit of research, the work at home endeavor can be both exciting and rewarding for you and your family. Who doesn’t want to be their own boss? Do the research; don’t be afraid to ask many questions. Join a work at home forum or if you have a friend or family member that already works from home, lean on them for much needed advice!

posted by Chris Simpson No Comments »

Friday, February 5th 2010

How To Earn Respect As A Home Based Business Owner

In the real world there are a number of professions that naturally attract respect from the community. These occupations include: doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, nurses, scientists and university professors.

It’s widely acknowledged that people working in these professions are knowledgeable and are considered to be leaders and experts in their chosen fields because of the years of study and achievements they have made in their lives. They are considered worthy of respect by everyone else in the community because they measure up to a pre existing standard.

They are expected to behave as professionals and set examples for others within the community because of the status imposed on them by their chosen career. Their opinions are generally accepted because they are considered to be professionals in every sense of the word.

So, what does this all mean for people who don’t have any of these qualifications? The answer is simple. It means that you have to work to establish yourself as an expert and someone worthy of respect from others in whatever home based business that you choose to set up.

This is an extremely important factor to consider when choosing the type of home based business you wish to run. You can’t simply decide that one day you’re going to be an online marketer, writer, salesman or whatever else you choose and expect to receive a professional level of respect from others. Respect has to be earned.

If you run an online business it’s unlikely you’ll ever meet your clients face to face so you have to present a professional image to others that makes you worthy of their respect. Here are a number of points you must work at in order to achieve this:

* Attitude is a vital ingredient in your success. You don’t have to be unapproachable but be professional. The way you deal with customers with regards to questions, complaints, comments and communication of any sort will reflect on your business and its eventual success or failure. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

* Honesty is another key factor you must adhere to. Nobody likes to be lied to. It’s far better to be honest to every customer than to lie and lose their trust. Trust is hard to win but very easy to lose. You want to build long term relationships with your clients so that your internet business can thrive. Answer all questions as quickly and honestly as you can. Be professional in your behavior and people will start to accept you as a genuine business person.

* Never over promise and under deliver. That is the quickest way to lose a customer. Try to do the opposite. Under promise and over deliver. Then you will be seen as a reliable person who can be trusted to deliver what is promised. This will help to build a solid long lasting business.

* Respect your customers. Listen to them if they have concerns or need technical support. If necessary offer a refund to solve a concern if it can’t be fixed any other way. It’s better to lose a small amount of money than to tarnish your reputation. Good word of mouth advertising works wonders. However, bad word of mouth advertising spreads even faster.

* Obviously you’ll have a lot of online competition, no matter what niche market you’re working in. Never malign a competitor. Simply offer the best possible service you can and let your actions speak for themselves. Competition is healthy. If your customers are happy with you, then they won’t look elsewhere.

* Your website must reflect your attitude and work ethic. It must be professional. It needs to be easy to navigate and offer as much information to your potential customers as possible. Try to also make it stand out from the competition so that people will browse once they find you.

Respect is not something given freely. It has to be earned. Internet Marketing Professionals know this and act accordingly. The world is your oyster. If you follow these basic guidelines there’s no reason why you can’t earn respect from the people you deal with.

posted by Chris Simpson No Comments »

Thursday, February 4th 2010

Working At Home Can Be A Challenge

When you decide you want to work at home, you need to make sure you can stand strong and do what you need to do. If you need to make this work so you can continue to stay home, you need to do everything you can to make your business a success.

There are challenges that can be hard to overcome, but when you do you’ll reach the goals you set in place for your business. Here are just a few of those challenges.

1. TV

The TV can be a huge challenge. If you have shows you enjoy watching, you may find that they are on during the day. You’ll need to control yourself and keep the TV off. If you need to, set the DVR to record them so you can watch them in the evening after your work is complete.

2. Family or friends

Family and friends can be a challenge. When they are off work or they don’t work, they may want to spend time with you. This can put a damper on your work schedule.

3. Sleep

If you don’t get enough sleep you may find yourself sleepy during the day. When this happens you may find yourself sleeping on the job or you may doze off. Get enough sleep each day so you can be productive during your work hours.

4. Children

Your children can be a distraction. While you want them to be around, they can cause problems with deadlines and work loads. Make sure you plan your day around them. If you have little ones, work while they nap and in the evenings when they can be watched by others. If they are older, create a schedule that will keep them busy during your work hours.

Identify the challenges in your day and then figure out how to overcome them so you can be successful. There are a couple of strategies you can use to make this happen.

- Schedule your time around your challenges so you can avoid them at all costs.
- Get rid of your challenges so they won’t be tempting.
- Place your office in a portion of the house that doesn’t have easy access to your challenge.
- Find someone that you can talk to daily or weekly that can encourage you to leave your challenges behind.

Challenges can create problems when you’re a business owner. Working at home means you don’t have a boss that watches over your shoulder each day. It can prevent you from making the money you need to continue to work at home. When you eliminate the challenges from your day, you’ll have the success you want and need. Use these suggestions to make it happen.

posted by Chris Simpson 1 Comment »

Monday, February 1st 2010

Earn Money From Home With Revenue Sharing Sites

If you love the idea of earning a good living from home and have a way with words, getting started with a revenue sharing website is one of the best ways to get started in freelance writing.

Freelance writing is becoming hugely popular as a way to earn money from home. But to get started, you’ll need to make a name for yourself, set up a portfolio, and showcase your work before clients start beating down your door. This is exactly where revenue sharing Websites are most profitable.

The first thing you need to do to get started with a revenue sharing website to start earning money from home is to sign up with a few. Only two years ago, these Websites were few and far between. But today, there are lots of Websites that are willing to pay you nominal fees for articles you write.

Start on Websites such as Associated Content, Ezine Articles, Ehow, and many other article directories that are just waiting to pay you for your words. Sign up and start by writing content that you are fully knowledgeable about. If you have a green thumb, write gardening articles. If you keep up on celebrity gossip, write some entertainment articles. Your first few articles have to be some of your best so write about something you know a lot about!

Read the guidelines for submissions on the revenue sharing website carefully. These vary from site to site and there’s nothing more frustrating than constantly having work returned because you didn’t follow proper guidelines.

Once your work has been published on the revenue sharing website, you will immediately earn money from it. These Websites generally pay a small upfront fee to you in exchange for the share of rights to the article. Once you’ve received this small upfront payment, you will also usually receive a percentage of money in relation to how many people look at your article.

Revenue sharing Websites work on the concept that your articles will drive traffic to their site and make them money. Because of this, they provide incentives for work that is interesting and that will draw traffic. This is why revenue sharing Websites provide a way for you to earn an income from home, months and possibly years after you’ve written one article.

PayPal is quickly becoming the most popular payment method for freelancers, especially freelance online content writers. If you don’t already have one, you want to make sure you have a PayPal address in place before signing up with any revenue sharing website. Once you sign up with a website, they’ll usually want to know your payment information right away so it’s important to already know this and to have it handy.

Once you become familiar with your own writing style and the whole process of article writing for revenue sharing Websites, you’ll quickly learn how easy it is to make even more money from home using these sites. And while these sites won’t make you rich overnight, they’re a great way to get started in the freelance writing business.

Another benefit that revenue sharing Websites offer is that they provide you with an automatic online portfolio. As you become more involved with your freelance writing business, you’ll find you’ll need samples to give to potential clients. This allows them to see what your style of writing is like, and is a chance for you to showcase your work.

Not only do revenue sharing Websites provide an upfront and continuous income that can be made from home, they also provide you a place that you can continually update your work to gain new clients. And, make money at the same time!

posted by Chris Simpson 2 Comments »