Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyJackAz
Hey, y'all. Sorry for not replying sooner, but if you check my other threads, you'll see that my computer got hit with "ransomware" malware/spyware and it was an awful experience (had almost all of the files on my hard drive encrypted and, therefore, no longer visible/accessible, including over 950,000 pictures, with over 250,000 of them personal photos that I took myself over the last 5-6 years), so I have been without use of my desktop computer for 3-4 weeks.
With that out of the way, I finally got my hard drive reformatted and can use my computer again, so I was hoping to ask for some more-detailed information about the suggestions you guys gave, and ask if anyone else had other suggestions? I definitely appreciate you guys taking the time to reply and offer suggestions and information, and I am willing to put forth some effort, so please know that.
Also, if you anyone can somehow help me get a money-making opportunity that I am able to do and make some extra money from, I would be glad to try to send a little money your way for the help. Or, if there's an online work opportunity that one of you already does and they give a bonus for referring others for who actually get some work done, I'd be glad to try to do something like that.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read and reply. Please know that your ideas/suggestions/advice/information will be appreciated!
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Go to YouTube. Look up "Melicia working from home". The girl constantly comes up with new jobs for people who would rather work from home. They pay average, nothing exciting, but often times you can do several of them at the same time. The reason is, most of them have a minimum requirement of hours they want you to work each week, (usually 20), which opens the door for you to take on other jobs.
Also, if you write well, not just "good enough", but well, you can find some very good writing jobs that pay you very well. I have one that pays well, and makes me much more than "just a few hundred dollars per month". In any legit writing job, they are going to make you pass a test. The tests are ridiculously easy, but in no way indicate just how damn nitpicky the reviewers can be...don't get me started. Nonetheless, you can find plenty of "proof reading" software out there that will help you not only to correct grammar and spelling, but will also help you restructure your sentences so that they read better.
If you're not much of a writer, think about what skills you do have. You can find plenty of freelance jobs by going on to O-desk, (I think they changed their name, but if you put in "O-desk" in your favorite search engine, you should be able to be redirected to it).
Keep in mind: Working from home means you rely on yourself. You will, more than likely, find that you end up working MORE than you ever did for someone else. You have to be disciplined, or working from home will never work out for you. If you do not have discipline, if you do not treat it as a "real" job, you will not succeed. Set a schedule, work it, no matter what else you would rather be doing. It is really easy to say to yourself, 'I'll just take this day off'...no. You are the boss, you tell yourself that you have to work.
Finally, get yourself Kapersky, Malware Bytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, (Kapersky you pay for each year, (except their root virus detector which is free, and the other two you can use for free)), and don't click links in emails or on websites if you don't know where they came from, or where they are going to lead you. If you have an Apple computer, go apply online for a job with Apple. Yes, it's work from home. You will be an actual employee, not an independent contractor.
If you get another virus or malware that kicks you out of your system for almost a month, you're not going to keep whatever job you do find. Whatever you're doing that got you that in the first place, stop doing it. Your livelihood fully depends on your computer. Once you have landed a gig, (always take more than one unless you are hired on as an actual employee...trust me, take more than one gig), save up your money and buy yourself a back up computer, just. in. case. That's the first thing that you should do with your extra money. NOT go out for the night, not take a small vacation, not buy new clothes, (you won't need them unless you land a job teaching English to non English speakers...because you are required to be on cam in a professional looking setting with professional looking attire), get a new computer as a back up. Or get a new one, use the new one, keep the old one as a back up, whatever, just get another computer.
After that, unless you are an employee, save 33% of your income each time you get paid, put it in to an account and do not touch it. The IRS wants their money, and since you have no employer paying for part of what the IRS wants, you get to pay all of it. Don't get stuck with a huge bill on April 15th. Put 33% away every single time you are paid. Learn what you can and cannot write off...it's not as simple as some make it out to be. Remember, the IRS wants money, they will find every way to take it from you. Your first year, I'd suggest a tax adviser just to make sure you are not giving the IRS more than they should get, (which frankly is 0 if you ask me, but that's not a topic for this forum), and ripping yourself off. You can pay quarterly, or you can pay annually. Let the tax person fully explain both ways, and you figure out which way is better. Most self employed or ICs will tell you that you have to pay quarterly...no you do not. I pay once a year. It's a lot of money, but that's why you save 33% every single time you get paid, telling yourself that it's not your money, the government wants a piece of it even though they did nothing to earn it.
Again, figure out what your skills are. If you don't feel that you have any skills, then get a call center job, except do it from home. It's still going to suck, but at least you don't have a commute, you can do it in your pajamas, you can make lunch when you're hungry, you don't have to listen to office politics and gossip and drama...but you must have a quiet environment. That means ZERO background noise. If you cannot do ZERO background noise, then don't bother, they will hear it, they will get rid of you. If you can have ZERO background noise, get one of those jobs, get an idea of what it's like to work at home, decide if you really like it, learn that you are relying ON YOURSELF, (unless you get hired as an employee which is not always that easy), realize that you won't be socializing with people a lot because you will be working more than you did in a "real" job, as I said.
If you realize that you truly like working from home, (I LOVE it), on your down time, branch out, and look for more work. Find work at home forums, (legit ones, not the idiots who tell you that you can make a bank roll in less than 2 hours). Look for ones that post legit jobs, jobs that you could find in a brick and mortar setting. Do not do pyramid garbage, do not do any jobs that require you to sell to your friends and family...stay far away.
Rat Race Rebellion
Work at Home Moms (I think it's called) WAHM for short.
Work Place Like Home
Those are legit forums. READ as much as you can on those forums, not just about the jobs, but what it's like to work at home, look at the pics of personal offices, read about terrible employers, or horrific jobs, understand that NDA means N! D! A!
Learn that you will probably land a few gigs that you despise while you get your feet wet. Doesn't matter, just get in there. Once you land a few, it's so much easier to land more.
If you take a call center type job just to get your feet wet because you can't think of any marketable skills that you have to become freelance, spend $50 and get a phone with a headset to make your life easier. Do not bother with Plantronics, it sucks and costs more than necessary. Go to Amazon. Read the reviews. All of them.
Make sure you have an office space. You need it to put you in "work mode" and you need it to help cut costs at tax time...if you use it solely for work and nothing else, (another reason to have two computers...ahem). If you land a call center type job, make NO phone calls on that new phone with headset you just got, use your cell phone. You will need either a landline or digital phone connection...part of that can be written off if you don't use it at all for personal use.
If you're like me, instead of buying new clothes, you buy several pairs of pajamas, instead. Just saying.
Do not forget to brush your teeth, brush your hair, take a shower, just like you would with a "real" job. When you take on multiple gigs, it is very, very easy to work all. the. time. (Especially if you land a gig that makes you happy...and they are out there.) Again, you need to treat this like a "real" job, because it is a "real" job. Don't become attached to your computer, working all day long, only stopping long enough to get a box of cereal and milk from the store...set your schedule, work those hours, STOP when those hours are done. STOP. You're already going to work more than 40 hours a week, so STOP when your schedule say it's time to stop. (Ask me how I know...it is way too easy to just keep working...do not do that to yourself, you will burn out.)
If you do have marketable skills, go to O-desk, (don't bother with Fiverrr...just don't), and any other freelance site that you can find. Look at the jobs available. Realize that you are competing against a LOT of people with more experience than you. You need to stand out. Find someone who comes with fantastic references on resume writing. Some people out there can take your dull resume and make you look like a flipping rock star, and you get results in short order. USE that service...but find the right one. You can usually find people like that on those forums I told you about. Trust me, on those forums, people are brutally honest. Not cursing or anything, same kind of rules as this forum, but they do not shy away when a job, or a service, has done them over...so listen to them.
Now that you have recognized your skills, you have had your resume reworked to stand out from everyone else, and you have 20 jobs lined up that you're going to try for, (bare minimum), you need to think about what you think you're worth. Then you bid for the job, or you apply for a job if it's an IC or employee job, and you wait.
Sometimes, you will apply for a job and not hear back for months on end. Sometimes you get rejected right away...don't take it personally. You are no longer competing against those in just your area, you are competing against people from all over the nation.
Make sure that whatever job you apply for, (unless freelance), actually hires in your state. Not all jobs hire in every state. There's a reason for that...and a lot of it has to do with high minimum wage in some states and tax laws. That's the first thing you should look for before applying.
Eventually, someone is going to come knocking. Take it. Keep looking while you work. Keep applying or bidding. If you get something better, see if you can do both. Never, ever, ever, ever rely on one gig. If you get hired as an employee with at least 40 hours a week, and the pay is decent, then fine, but if you're IC or doing gigs, never, ever, ever, ever, ever rely on ONE source. You will regret this.
I've been working from home for coming up on 3 years now. The only way I would ever work out in the "real" world again is if I landed another job at a boarding kennel. Even then, I'd still do some work from home because what I do now, I can do whenever, so I can readjust my schedule. Other than that, if it's at all possible never to work away from home, I will never do so again. Just keep in mind, it's not for everyone. Go in to with realistic expectations, the main one being: You will, more than likely, end up working 2-3 times more than you ever did...at least in the beginning few years.
Don't waste your time on those piddly jobs that anyone can do like survey taking, listening to and critiquing music, getting paid to click on websites, getting paid to refer anyone, getting paid to write about yourself on their site, blah blah blah....you said you wanted extra money. Those are going to pay you pennies, and some of them require that you find an audience. If you're going to write about yourself and build an audience, you're better off making your own site and putting AdSense on it. Nonetheless, creating a site and marketing it to get enough people to flock to it to the point that you will have sponsors and advertisers knocking on your door to pay you to put up their ads is much more difficult than a real job. Unless you are extremely knowledgeable on a topic, or are ridiculously interesting, don't waste your time trying to use that as a source of "extra income". Get a real legit job or gig working from home.
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