CWAHD.com » Telecommuting

A Successful Entrepreneur – What Does That Really Mean?

cwahd — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:48:52 +0000

Most people understand the word ‘entrepreneur’ to mean ’someone who starts new businesses.’ This is only partially true. If this were the case, according to statistics, 80 % of all of the ‘entrepreneurs’ in the world would be unsuccessful. The dictionary defines the word ‘entrepreneur’ as “someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it”. When we take a close look at this definition, it gives us a key to attaining the success that we search for when starting a new business or venture.

In the dictionary definition of the word ‘entrepreneur’ there are five words that need to be closely considered. The first word is important because it should give everyone the hope of becoming successful in business. That word it ’someone’. The less-than-specific nature of this word lets us all imagine that we can become an entrepreneur because we, by definition, are ’someone’. There is no specification for education, financial or social status, religious or ethnic background.

The second word that we need to consider is ‘organize’. This idea or concept seems to escape most would-be business owners. It is possibly the most crucial step in building a business and is the concept that is given the least consideration. Organizing is not planning. Planning is mapping out the business by listing everything that you will need to accomplish the goal that you have set in creating a business. Organizing is placing each thing that you have in your business plan or map (your path to success) into a logical, workable and prioritized list of tasks that need to be accomplished in order to reach your goal. Without organization you will spend time working on something that may be low on the priority list and often this can be detrimental to reaching your final goal.

The third word that we need to look at closely is ‘venture.’ Again, relying on the dictionary, ‘venture’ means “An undertaking that is dangerous, daring, or of uncertain outcome.” There are no ’sure’ things. Often people think that they have the perfect plan for the perfect business. This is great but very rare. We are all inundated with email and advertisements, especially on the Internet, which tell us how easy a particular business is. Most promise great success with little to no work or risk. We are promised that we can make untold and vast amounts of money while sitting on our coaches. NOT! As the Internet gets more and more sophisticated, the offers for ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes get bolder and bolder. You must realize and plan for uncertain outcome.

The fourth word that needs attention is ‘assume.’ This often is taking in a negative manner. When we assume something is true without studying all aspects of it, we make grave mistakes. In the context of the dictionary definition of entrepreneur, assume means to accept. We need to be able and willing to accept the consequences of our actions. This means that ‘if’ the venture is a failure we look at our actions and not look for a scapegoat or someone else to blame. Do not assume responsibility until you have thoroughly research and investigated every aspect of the business that holds your interest.

The fifth word is the zinger. ‘Risk’ means “a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune;” Realize that in every effort where there is great reward, there is also risk or the possibility of loss. When we consider investing our time, money and other resources in a business, we need to consider the risk involved - the possibility of lose.

This all boils down to diligence. King Solomon, the wealthiest and wisest man to ever live, has given us several keys to success in his Book of Proverbs. His primary key for becoming a successful person is diligence. Diligence is conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task; giving the degree of care required in a given situation. If you were to study the lives of the most famous and wealthy people who have passed through this world, you’ll see that all of them have applied Solomon’s Proverbial Keys to Success in their lives and business.

The greatest advice that can be given an aspiring entrepreneur is read and reread Solomon’s Proverbs. If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Become a diligent student and apply what you have learned. “Entrepreneur’ is not a title to be assumed without diligence in every area of life. If you have aspirations of becoming a successful entrepreneur, study Solomon’s principles for success and press on.

Article by Robert Keating

Get a home-based job without getting scammed

cwahd — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:50:54 +0000

Working from home is a great way to supply the extra income a family needs so that one spouse can stay home and raise the children. But many people are scared away from doing so because of the scams that are prevalent today.

Although it can be hard to tell fact from fiction, it is possible. Many excellent work-at-home opportunities are available. And, it’s well worth the time to explore them so you can start your own business and enjoy the many benefits it provides. Following are several tips to avoid work-at-home scams.

When researching companies that hire home-based workers, the best place to start is the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which can provide information on disputes or other problems involving a potential employer.

You’ll want to look for a pattern of “unresolved” or “unanswered” disputes, which will be an indication that there is a problem with the company in question. By the way, complaints can be filed against a company whether it’s a member of the BBB or not.

Next, perform an Internet search on the company you’re checking out to see what others are saying. If you see a pattern of negative comments, often that’s an indication that you may need to explore the company in more detail.

There also are Web sites such as BBBonline.com that will tell you some of the common scams around, including the “work-from-home typing” scam.

Operators of scams often lure job seekers with promotions such as the ability to earn $35,000 a year, or a promise to provide a list of companies that will hire them.

Diana Ennen, author of Virtual Assistant: The Series has been a home-based word processor more than 20 years. Ennen states, “Working at home as a typist is an excellent opportunity that often only requires excellent secretarial skills. However, be cautious of offers guaranteeing a list of companies that will hire you. The truth of the matter is that most of these companies aren’t even aware they are on this list. There’s so much information available online today that there is no need to fall for this scam.”

It’s also important to know the difference between paying for information about working from home and actually investing in a home-based business. Most home-based businesses, such as direct sales companies, are valid ways to make an income. However, because you need to make an initial investment many people are confused and believe these to be scams as well.

Think about home-based businesses in terms of your local fast-food chain. A fast-food restaurant will pay you if it hires you as an employee. However, in order to start your own franchise of that same restaurant, you would need to make a monetary investment.

The same holds true when you begin a home-based business. You must make an investment, but in return you receive the means to begin your own business—generally the paperwork needed, marketing materials, and product for display.

Still, you must do your research when considering a home-based business. It’s important to know things like the history of the company, its reputation, how many representatives are in your area, and what quotas must be met.

Whether considering a telecommuting position or a home-based business, speak to others who have worked with the company you are contemplating. Ask for references of other employees/business owners in your area.

There are many legitimate ways to work from home, but when seeking a work-at-home opportunity, it’s important to take your time and do your research.

Unfortunately, there are people who make it their primary goal to take money from the unsuspecting. If you are thorough in your examination, you will not become one of their victims. Remember the ages-old saying that still holds true today: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Hart is also the co-author of the upcoming book, Home Based Blessings, due out in early 2007 for Christian moms who want to work at home. Hart and her husband, Allen of CWAHD.com (Christian Work at Home Dads) reside in Nebraska with their two children.

Free for reprint as long as resource box is included.

The Definition of a Work at Home Call Center Agent

cwahd — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:11:20 +0000

At the present time there is an estimated "100,000 home-based phone representatives" employed throughout the United States. According to predictions made by the Gartner Group, it is believed that by the end of 2006 approximately ten percent of all call centers scattered throughout the United States will be relying on the skills and services of work at home call center agents for the widespread success of their businesses.

Call centers are becoming a bigger and better industry all of the time. They comprise a large percentage of the customer service work that many companies engage in. In a general way a call center refers to "a variety of actual business functions, ranging from call centers designed to handle customer calls, tech support systems, help desks, or even outbound customer call agents." Call center agents (work at home or on site employees) are trained to manage many ‘call’-types, including regular telephone inquiries, faxes, e-mails and web requests.

Many call centers find that costs are lowered and the overall efficiency of a business is increased when work is "home sourced" out to work at home call center agents. Also referred to as "working remotely" these at home or remote agents often are more productive and happier and also report greater levels of job satisfaction than those who work in other capacities. Walking hand in hand with these positive characteristics is the fact that work at home call center agents tend to be loyal to their companies and not as likely to be jumping from job to job. In a lot of ways these agents get the best of both worlds- they get to have their cake and eat it too.

A remote agent is loosely defined as a "call center or help desk employee working away from the main office, either occasionally or full-time." Some people simply think of work at home call center agents as telecommuters who do their work from their own home instead of in the office.

Call centers that make the decision to institute a remote agent program experience many benefits from giving their employees the opportunity to be work at home call center agents. These benefits include the necessity for less office space (which is a definite money saver); the ability to both bring in and hold onto key agents; voice communication via the telephone when a work emergency should arise; constant support and feedback between employer and agent; a link from office to office and the ability for the company to hire temporary and seasonal staff as well as disabled individuals. Finally working from home has been shown through a variety of studies to increase levels of productivity and to allow for easier flexibility for scheduling work hours for agents.

About the Author:
Charissa Bear is the owner of http://www.momsinc.biz,
a work at home mom resource site dedicated to helping
moms find home based careers.

Telecommuters and Telephone Interview Tips to Guarantee Success

cwahd — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:10:04 +0000

Telecommuters are individuals who spend part, if not all, of their working hours at another location other than the workplace. For most people it is their home. In order to do this one must have a variety of "telecommunication technologies" such as a telephone, Internet, various computer programs and a fax machine at one’s disposal.

Telecommuters need to have excellent skills when it comes to the laborious task of telephone interviews. The first most important phone interview tip is to always be prepared in case you are contacted for an interview, no matter what time of day it is. Many employers do not give telecommuters the heads up in advance about when they will be calling to speak with them.

Another important phone interview tip is to get ready for your interview in much the same way you would for a regular "in person" interview. Anticipate what questions you might be asked and have appropriate answers in your mind (or written on paper) before the interview even begins. Be ready and willing to answer questions about your educational background, work experience and skills. Also be prepared to tell the prospective recruiter or employer what you could do for him or her.

Prepare a list of questions you wish to ask the interviewer. Always ask at least a few questions as it shows that you are paying attention and that you are very interested in the position in question. Keep in mind that phone interviews are sometimes more difficult to gage because you have to rely completely on the spoken word. Neither the interview nor interviewee is able to pick up on body language or any nuances of behavior but instead must go by the words and questions they are presented with and the pitch and intonation of words. Tread carefully and maintain a balanced, professional and courteous tone of voice at all times.

It is essential in a phone interview for a telecommuter to speak as a person in the know. Don’t indulge in too many "ums", "okays", "I don’t knows" or "uhs" as these words don’t carry with them an air of knowledge or confidence. Always have your resume nearby so you can consult it during your phone interview. After all the interviewer is looking at your resume, why shouldn’t you be as well?

Other important tips include turning your call-waiting feature off so there are no interruptions; making sure you are alone in the room and there is no noise anywhere nearby to disturb the interview and having a notepad and paper handy to jot down any relevant information that you glean from the interview.

About the Author:
Charissa Bear is the owner of http://www.momsinc.biz, a work at home mom resource site dedicated to helping moms find home based careers.

Touching on Telecommuting

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:18:18 +0000

I
have exciting news if you want to stay home with
your precious babies, but still need a weekly paycheck.
If you think you can’t do both, I’m
here to tell you that you can! The official word
for what I’m talking about it “Telecommuting”,
but it’s also known as a work at home job.

If you’re brand new to the concept let me
tell you a quick overview of the meaning. Basically,
a telecommuting job is much like a job outside the
home. You work for an employer, you have assigned
duties, you often make an hourly rate, receive a
paycheck and do this all from home.

The differences from outside the home to inside
is that you often do not receive any type of benefit
such as you would outside the home. For instance,
you won’t receive health insurance, paid holidays,
paid sick leave or vacation time. The benefit you
do receive is the luxury of working inside your
home and being with your kids.

First Steps To Breaking Into This Field

If telecommuting does interest you there are some
basic things you need to know in order to get started.
First, you need to know where to find the legitimate
jobs. The internet is filled with scams and it’s
important that you know where to find the legitimate
jobs. The following are just a few of the great
resources online that provide many legitimate job
listings.

FREE SITES:

www.WAHM.com

www.Craiglist.org

www.ABYZNewslinks.com

www.Workaholics4hire.com

FREE NEWSLETTERS:

www.TelecommutingAnswerLady.com (which is my weekly
newsletter)

www.Workoptions.com

HJS – which can be found at TelecommutingAnswerLady.com/hjs.htm

Paid Membership Sites

You certainly don’t have to pay to access
legitimate job leads, but there are two websites
that are legitimate and offer many leads and those
are:

HJS (that also has the free newsletter) –
TelecommutingAnswerLady.com/hjs.htm

TR (that has more company links then fresh leads)
– www.TelecommutingAnswerLady.com/tr.htm

What Jobs and Pay You Can Expect

Often, I’m asked what types of jobs are available
and what one can make at home. First, I’m
excited to say that there are just as many types
of positions available for telecommuters as those
who work outside the home. Anything from customer
service to sales to marketing to data entry to medical
transcription and much more!

The pay is going to vary from position to position,
but the average pay seems to range from $8.00-$14.00
an hour. There are exceptions to this and it will
honestly depend on your experience in a particular
field and what company you get into. And there are
chances to move up in many telecommuting companies
so keep that in mind as well.

Read This BEFORE Applying

It’s so important that you realize getting
a job at home is not easy and will take time. Not
only that, but your competition will be tough and
you need to stand above the rest. Being professional
with your cover letter and resume and any follow
up is key.

Make sure you spell check like a maniac and tailor
each and every cover letter and resume to that specific
job you’re applying to.

I would highly recommend you have a professional
résumé writer craft a winning cover
letter and resume for you. You can find an affordable
and creative resume writer at www.resumeasap.com.

And in a final note with this topic, please remember
to always be professional in all correspondence.
If you don’t happen to receive a job you applied
for don’t email the employer angrily because
you did not receive the position. I received this
great tip from an employer on this topic. And believe
it or not, this does happen all too often.

“Don’t burn bridges. When you receive a letter
saying you didn’t get the job, send a polite reply
asking that your information be kept on file and
express your interest in being considered for future
openings. There is nothing to be gained by voicing
any anger or resentment at not being chosen.”

Linda Stacey

What Equipment Is Needed

Just like working outside the home you’ll
need certain things to do the job. You often need
either all or some of the following:

Home Office

Computer

Printer

High Speed Internet (in most cases)

2nd Phone Line (sometimes)

Fax Machine (sometimes)

Quiet Environment

Depending on the job you might need something that
I didn’t list. For example, if you’re
a transcriptionist you might need a foot pedal or
something of that nature. And there are also instances
in which you won’t need all of the equipment
I mentioned. The one obvious thing you will need
in all cases of legitimate employment is a computer
and internet access.

Final Thoughts

Please keep in mind that it often takes much longer
to find and get a telecommuting job then a job outside
the home. The market is very competitive and although
there are many more jobs now then a few years ago
there is also much more competition. So please don’t
think that you will get a job tomorrow as that is
not likely to happen.

Persistence is the key. Don’t give up on
this happening. I firmly believe that where there’s
a will there’s a way. It could take months,
but when you do receive the welcome letter to a
great telecommuting position it will all be worth
it!

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR:
Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder
of www.telecommutingmoms.com
– which is a leading resource website with
work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting
mom would need. Come visit us today!

This article is available for reprint with author’s
resource box intact and all links live and clickable.
Copyright is reserved by author.

Common Work at Home Scams

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:20:19 +0000

Scams
are every where online. Just about every where you
go online you will find ads for so-called "easy
and fast money" jobs. Anything that promises
"easy money" or "big bucks part time"
is full of it. Don’t waste your time on something
that promises fast and easy money because it’s not
going to happen.

Let’s delve into the scams out there and then talk
about resources you can use to research a company!

Common work at home scams to avoid

Typing "Jobs" - you can type in typing
jobs in any major search engine and you’ll pull
up many of these so-called "jobs" typing
for "easy" money. Most of the time you
will pay a fee, and then they will send you information
about how to place ads in local papers to "sell"
this so-called job to others. This simply is not
a "job" and it’s nearly impossible to
make a decent income with this. They post testimonials
that are either made up or of successful internet
marketers in order to persuade you into believing
this is a great "job" for you.

Envelope Stuffing - I’m sure you’ve seen this one
everywhere and might have fallen for it. I sure
did. Not once, but twice! I thought, "Well
the first company was just a scam but this one looks
legit" and, yes, I was wrong. I got scammed
by this little sucker twice! Please do not fall
for this tempting "job". What you’ll probably
receive (what happened to me) for your "small
fee" (which is usually how its worded) is a
letter telling you to place that same "envelope-stuffing"
ad in newspapers, magazines, online sites and anywhere
else you can get your ad. The only way you will
earn money is to pass on this scam to other moms
who desperately want to work at home. There’s no
stuffing of envelopes involved. You simply pass
on this scam to others and get paid by charging
a fee…the same way it happened to you. Please
don’t fall for this HUGE waste of time and please
don’t pass this scam on to others.

Assembly/Crafting Scams- If you want to make money
with assembly or crafting your best bet is to start
your own business and sell your work online, locally
and at fairs. The so-called jobs online for assembly
or crafts are scams. Usually you will be required
to buy supplies or a kit and then, after days or
weeks of work, you would send in your work for payment.
What usually happens is your work supposedly didn’t
meet the standards they have and they will either
send it back for you to fix or they will keep it
and not pay you. If you get the chance to "fix
it" and send it back you’ll again be
told it didn’t meet the standard. It’s a nasty
on going cycle and the end result is that you’ve
wasted your hard earned money on the "kit"
and you’ve wasted your valuable time for nothing.

Processing Government Refunds- Boy this one sounds
pretty interesting huh? Yet another scam for you
to avoid. What the meat of this scam? Basically
you’ll see ads that you can earn $500 to $1500 a
week processing 3rd party government refunds via
your computer. You are told that you’ll get a list
of people who might be home owners and might be
entitled to a refund by HUD. They make you pay up
to $300 (or even more) for this list. What you’ll
do is contact these people and try to get them to
share the refund with you, BUT what they fail to
tell you is these people can get refunds FREE by
calling HUD themselves.

So, if you go through this list and find a few
people owed a refund, phone them up and tell them
why you’re calling, one of three things will happen:

1. They will hang up on you

2. They’ll listen to you, then tell you that
their going to research this themselves. Doing so
they will find out they don’t need you and can get
the refund on their own. Therefore you make nothing.

3. You find someone who actually takes you up on
your offer. You "help" them get the refund
they could have done on their own and you collect
your portion. You’ve basically scammed that person
out of all the money owed to them by withholding
the fact that they can do this on their own and
collect all the money.

Just stay away from this - it’s bad for all concerned.
And in fact, the HUD site warns people of these
so-called "tracers" … that the public
can collect a refund without a “tracer.”

Chain Letters- This usually guarantees you to earn
large amounts of money with a one time small investment.
(See the trend? Scams ALWAYS ask you for money.)
The typical chain letter scheme usually requires
you to mail the chain letter, along with a specified
amount of money to six (or more) people. And then
they must do the same. There just simply aren’t
enough people in the world to make this worth your
time. AND, it’s illegal! The post office says that
chain letters are a form of unauthorized lottery
and may violate federal mail fraud laws. They also
warn not to waste your money! Read more about this
at US Postal Service Inspection Services

Medical Claims Billing- I’m sure you’ve seen this
everywhere and it may have caught your eye. This
one caught my eye, but I was fortunate enough to
meet someone who told me to stay away. The ad will
usually state you can make tons of money part time
doing "Medical Billing/ Claims Processing.
The fee for the software and training can be as
high as $7500 or even more. You supposedly get a
list of doctors and sample letters in order to gain
clients. Although this isn’t necessarily the typical
scam, it’s not as easy (or possible) as they claim
it to be. If you want to do this I would take a
local class on Medial Billing (or an accredited
online school) and then get an offline job doing
this…then build your client list and make it home-based.

What have we learned from the examples above? If
you have to pay a free, it’s a scam, rip off or
just not worth your time! So stay away from the
above scams.

I would also like to discuss some common red flags
to look for with any job offer.

They ask a fee - you should NEVER pay for a job

They claim it’s easy work - a real job is never
easy

They claim you can earn great money for little
work - a real job will never claim you can make
riches with little to no work.

They have testimonials about the "job"
- a real job offer isn’t going to need testimonials
posted. Why would they? If they aren’t trying to
sell something to you, then they won’t need to convince
you that it’s worth your time.

If it says "no kits, no fee’s, not MLM…etc."
- a real job isn’t going to post that in their job
ad. If you find a "job" advertised like
that you can guarantee it’s a business opp. or outright
scam.

The words "No Experience Necessary" -
although there are some jobs out there that don’t
require experience they often won’t make that a
big part of their ad (or at all) and usually you
find this on scam ads.

A 900 number to call for more information - any
legitimate company will call you or provide you
with an 800 number. If they are a smaller company
and don’t have an 800 number, then if you inform
then you don’t wish to use your long distance to
call them, they will usually call you.

Resources-
The Better Business Bureau
Web Assured ("Watch List" to see complaints
on companies)
The Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Response
Center
Scambusters - newsletter you can join too
The National Fraud Information Center

This article is available for reprint with author’s
resource box intact and all links live and clickable.
Copyright is reserved by author.

5 Resume Mistakes Telecommuters Often Make

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:21:11 +0000

Finding
a legit telecommute job can be difficult. Telecommute
jobs are in high demand and hundreds if not thousands
of other people are competing for the same position.

So how do you stand apart from everyone else? Your
résumé.

Your telecommute résumé the first
and often the only document a potential employer
has to make a hiring decision with. Here are some
tips specifically for your telecommute résumé
to keep it on the employer’s desk and out
of “file number 13”.

I have consulted with telecommute résumé
expert Jennifer Anthony of Résumé
ASAP to get a list of the top five telecommute résumé
mistakes. Here they are!

1. Wild designs or frilly fonts.

If you want to be taken seriously for consideration,
avoid using cursive fonts or cutesy clip art. Leave
this to personal use; it does not belong on business
correspondence. Also, check your e-mail signatures.
You don’t want to send your résumé
out and then sign your name “Mommy to Sean
and Sissy” with little angel graphics around
their names.

2. Résumé templates.

“I know for a fact that recruiters hate templates
and would rather rip their hair out than read templates”,
Jennifer Anthony

Recruiters and hiring managers spend their day
(often overtime) sorting through hundreds of résumés.
Templates are hard to read, and the design elements
often don’t show up correctly on a monitor
other than that your own. Hiring managers need to
be able to scan your document quickly to see if
you are qualified before moving on. If they can’t
find out in 6-8 seconds, your résumé
is trash. It is better to start with a blank document
and look at other résumé examples
for inspiration.

3. The selfish objective statement.

If you are using the same old objective statement
as everyone else, your résumé may
be thrown in the trash because you did not put forth
the effort to create a personalized résumé.

Here is an example objective you should avoid:

“A telecommute position allowing me to utilize
my knowledge and expertise working from home.”

Why? This statement opens up many questions. What
kind of telecommute position? What is your knowledge
and expertise? Also take note that using the words
“me” and “my” sound very
selfish. Instead of telling them what you want,
you should be showing them what you have to offer
them.

Here is an example of what you can use as your
headline:

“Talented and experienced virtual assistant,
skilled in all aspects of office management within
nonprofit environments.”

(More headline examples can be found at RésuméASAP).

This is targeted and to the point. The reader knows
this person is an experienced virtual assistant
who is especially skilled in a nonprofit role. No
wasted time.

4. Irrelevant Experience.

Don’t list irrelevant work experience just
to fill in space. If you are applying for a transcription
position, your customer service experience at the
local fast food restaurant does not apply. What
matters is how much transcribing experience you
have, how fast you type, how good your spelling
and grammar skills are, and how accurate your work
is. Any work experience that deals with these skills
can be listed.

5. Personal Information.

Leave off information like how many children you
have, how long you have been married, or that you
happen to love scuba diving

Let’s look at children and spouses for instance.
Some people may see this as stability, but many
others look at it as a liability. They may have
questions about how you will work out for them with
the responsibilities. How often will this person
miss work because his/her kids are sick? Is his/her
spouse supportive of the telecommuting role? Can
he/she work efficiently if the children are home?
Employers are not allowed to ask, so why put this
on your résumé. Personal information
should be left off.

If you write that you love scuba diving, you may
think this makes you look like a well-rounded person.
However, it could give someone the idea that you
love scuba diving more than work. It is best to
just leave this kind of info off.

This article is available for reprint with author’s
resource box intact and all links live and clickable.
Copyright is reserved by author.

Using Keywords to Find Legitimate Telecommuting Job Leads

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:19:35 +0000

Many
people are choosing telecommuting as an option to
bring in an income while being at home. Whatever
the reasons that we choose to work at home, the
one thing we all have in common is the problem of
locating legitimate jobs online. We often come online
with the idea that finding a job online will be
easy.

Unfortunately it’s not usually that easy.
What you will often run into are the scams for working
at home. Why is that though? We often find the job
search websites and plug in two common keywords.
These two keywords are often the reason many of
us give up on finding a legitimate job because all
that pulls up are the scams.

The keywords I’m speaking of are:

•Work at home •Work from home

* With the keywords “work at home,”
you’re almost 100% guaranteed to pull up scams
or business opportunities, and not the legitimate
jobs. Now don’t get me wrong, there can be
legit jobs in these keywords. Iit takes much longer
to find them, and it’s much harder to locate
them. In my 4 plus years of working at home, I’ve
discovered lesser used keywords that yield me much
better results.

Popular Keywords:

•Telecommuting •Telecommute •Telecommuter

* These three keywords are second to “work
at home” in their popularity. A pro of these
keywords is that many leads will be listed with
them. I find legitimate job leads using these keywords
every time I search with them. I also find the scams,
but overall these keywords are great to use with
your job search.

7 More Keywords to Use

•Must have home office •1099 •IC
or independent contractor •Virtual office
and virtual •Remote contractor •Off-site
•Freelance

*Next on the list are these 7 keywords. Next to
telecommuting, these are my favorite. Often they
will pull up legitimate jobs. You won’t always
find a good variety of leads all the time. Sometimes
the deeper you dig, the better the jobs and the
better your chance that hundreds of other people
haven’t found that same job.

Last 3 Keywords to Try

• Must have DSL • Home-based •
Home-based employee

* Last, I use these 3 keywords when finishing up
my job search. I don’t always find leads with
these keywords on every job search site I go to,
but the more job search sites you go to, the better
your chance you’ll find leads with all these
keywords. You can find a list of over 25 job search
sites at http://www.telecommutingmoms.com

Basically, the more keywords you use and the more
job sites you go to, the better your chance at locating
legitimate job leads. Even if it takes you a few
hours a week to do your searching, with all the
keywords and job search sites, it’s worth
it in the end if you land a job!

Another thing to keep in mind for speeding up the
job search is to know what a scam looks like so
you can avoid it. I’ve gotten to the point
where I can usually just read the title of the “job”
and know right away it’s a scam. If I do click
in a job lead, within a few seconds I can determine
if it’s a scam or sketchy. I wasn’t
able to do that when I first started out in the
telecommuting field, though. In my time of being
scammed and reading others being scammed, I discovered
the common scams and the common red flags. Read
more about scams, red flags, and links to research
scams at http://www.telecommutingmoms.com

In closing, I’d like to say that using these
keywords is a good start. When you find legitimate
jobs, really search through the description and
see what keywords they use. When you find a new
keyword, jot that down and add it to your keyword
list. The more keywords you use, the better your
chance of finding and landing a legitimate job!

Happy Job Hunting!

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Network Your Way to a Work at Home Job

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:17:12 +0000

When
you first start to look for a work at home job,
it’s easy to get discouraged. Postings for
work at home jobs can be scarce and when they do
come up, competition among applicants is fierce.
What many moms new to telecommuting don’t
realize is that there is another way to land a work
at home job – Networking. Many people get
their work at home jobs either directly from or
as a referral through other people they network
with.

When you are networking, you are not actively pursuing
a work at home job. Your main focus should be on
making new friends in the Telecommuting community.
Down the road those friends may send you a lead
for a great job, but first you have to make those
friends.

Let’s take a look at four different ways
to network in the Work at Home Community.

Message Boards
Message boards are a great way to network with other
telecommuters. Spend your time asking questions
and answer the questions of other people. You may
not see any immediate return for the time invested
in networking on the boards, but it will pay off
in the long run.

If you are a person that is helpful and well liked
on the message board, and one of the other board
members comes across a position they are not qualified
for, or they just don’t need the extra work
at the moment, they will likely think of you and
send the lead your way (and you should do the same).

Creating those types of relationships are what
you are working to create through networking on
message boards.

Online Groups
One of the biggest online groups is the Ryze Network,
but there are also Google, Yahoo and MSN Groups.
Each of these networks has groups on any topic under
the sun.

Search for Telecommuting groups and lurk around
a few for a while. You’ll find one or two
groups that seem like a good fit for you and then
start participating.

Instant Messenger
After you have gotten to know some other telecommuters
on the boards or in the groups, approach them about
exchanging Instant Messenger ids. You know have
a fast one-on-one way to stay in touch with them
and to further build a relationship.

Local Work At Home Mom Groups
Check with your local chamber of commerce or the
small business organization to find some local offline
networking events. Just like networking in the online
world, you are there to meet new people and develop
relationships with them.

Some of the best places to network online are WAHM.com
- the first work at home mom website with an active
forum and of course TelecommutingMoms.com/BB - the
only message board devoted to telecommuting moms.
Head over there today and make some new friends!

Be careful not to get too wrapped up with chatting
though…it’s all too easy to get wrapped
up in message boards and spend hours a day networking!

So please be sure to keep a good balance. If you
network "right" you will see the benefits
of telecommuting networking!

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Top 5 Freelance Sites

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:16:03 +0000

Freelancing
is a great way to work from home. Freelancers do
anything from writing to graphic design to computer
programming. They are often hired by businesses
(small and large) for a particular project. It’s
a win- win situation. The small business owner gets
his website up and running, or his press release
written without having to create a new position
in his company to get the job done.

The Freelancer gets to do what he or she loves
to do from home. The big question is how do the
business owner and freelancer find each other? They
do it through one of the freelance sites below.

On all five of these sites projects are posted
and freelancers bid on how much they would charge
for the work. It is up to the company / person posting
the job to choose which freelancer they would like
to work with.

1 )Guru.com

Guru is the largest freelance site out there. According
to their site they connect over 520,000 freelancers
with over 30,000 businesses and employers. Guru
is organized into several categories and subcategories
from Web and Graphic Design to Programming to Business
Consulting.

2) Elance.com

Elance is the other big player when it comes to
freelance sites that cover a wide variety of freelance
work. Like Guru.com you can find projects from creative
work like graphics and writing to computer programming.

3) Rentacoder.com

This freelance site caters primarily to programmers,
coders, software engineers and IT professionals
in general. You will find projects ranging from
simple html pages to programming jobs that could
last for several months.

4) Allfreelancework.com

In addition to finding projects posted on a variety
of subjects, you will also find an extensive library
of articles of interested to freelancers as well
services and products, a forum and a newsletter.

5) Programmingbids.com

As the name suggest this site focuses mostly on
freelance work for programmers. You will find projects
from web and graphic design to flash to software
development. They even have a new section that will
allow you to sell scripts you have written.

Freelancing is a great way to get started working
from home. You can easily take on a few small projects
while keeping your day job. You can start gaining
experience, add to your résumé and
build a client base. This will make the transition
to working from home exclusively much smoother.
It is also a great way to test the water and see
if you would like to work on projects from home
in the long run.

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Home Based Opportunities in Medical Coding

cwahd — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:14:32 +0000

There are tons of women looking to work from home and not everyone wants to have a business that involves retail sales. If you’ve been at your search for a work at home business or career for any length of time, you’ve likely heard that there are telecommuting positions in medical coding, as well as opportunities to open your own medical coding business and work from home.

Medical coders work with doctor’s offices, hospitals and many other service types to code medical documents with numbers for insurance and billing purposes. The growth in the medical coding job market is expected to grow at a much higher pace than most industries over the next eight years and with an average
income of over $25,000 in 2004, it is no wonder that this has been a big interest of women looking to work from home.

In addition, medical coding is an opportunity with many options. From being employed outside the home, to telecommuting for an employer from home, to telecommuting for a freelance medical coding agency to owning your own medical coding business that could one day blossom and allow you to even employ other medical coders from home. The medical coding career has numerous options to fit any mom’s career desires.

But not just anyone can be a medical coder. It does require training and skill and beware of any company that tries to tell you otherwise. As with many other industries in the work at home field, some of the “opportunities” you’ll find are scams designed to play on the intense desire many women, especially mothers, have to work from home.

There are various ways to educated to enter the medical coding field. Specialized degrees for medical coders are offered by many colleges as are qualified training courses that give you the education you need to get certified. Be sure to check out any program you look into (especially if it isn’t at a college and is instead offered by a private company) before you shell out any money to get involved.

So how do you know what the scams are and how do you “check out” programs offering medical coding training or opportunities? One way is to network within the community. Visit the websites of the American
Academy of Professional Coders and the AACCA. You can also find books relating to the medical coding career on Amazon and well-reviewed e-books on the topic such as the Medical Coding Career Guide.

Another way is to research, which can be done for free. You can use sites like those above as a starting point. By searching in Google, Yahoo and MSN you will find many sources of information. It may take you a few weeks to compile a decent amount of information, but you’ll be better off for doing so before you spend any money working towards this career.

If you don’t have time to research – or are impatient – you can find information at the resources above. Whatever you do, don’t shell out money to any opportunities before understanding the industry and checking out the program with professional organizations.

About the Author
R. Hoffman is a long time work at home mom with a highly successful business consisting of numerous websites. When she’s not glued to her laptop, she juggles the needs of her three active children and travels whenever possible. She can be reached through It’s a WAHM Thing - she’s not sure what the final product

will be, but welcomes input!

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