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!