Appen Butler Hill is taking applications for a Web Search Evaluator to work at home. Find out more and apply here:
http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH05/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=BUTLERHILL&cws=4&rid=382
American Express is hiring for Customer Care Professionals To work at home in most states. Learn more and apply here: http://jobs.americanexpress.com/job/HOME-BASED-SERVICING-Customer-Care-Professional-Job/2479312/
We are looking for a qualified individual to telecommute / work remotely as a member of the Weebly.com customer service team.
Your primary responsibility would be to provide email-based replies to customer requests for help using the Weebly.com service. Your writing style must be crisp, clear and professional.
Learn more and apply here: http://www.ventureloop.com/ventureloop/jobdetail.php?r=f_in&jobid=78801
Consumer Media is taking applications for a PT Home Improvement Blogger, Apply here: http://www.bloggingpro.com/jobs/view/homeimprovementblogger
By Connie Violette
I have been giving a lot of thought to what the best advice is for anyone who wants to work from home either running their own business offline or online.
1. Stick with it. The majority of people who attempt to work at home give up after a few months. It takes a lot more time than that to see results you will like. Even if you were to open up your own store downtown it would probably take longer than a few months to see a good return.
2. Have a backup plan. When I started my website I also started an in home daycare. The daycare afforded me a solid consistent income while I got the website to a point where it started making money. If your ultimate goal is to work from home you might consider keeping your regular job and building your wah business during your off hours.
3. Have a plan of action. I believe it is very important to set goals and have a plan to meet them. Decide what your goals are. How much money do you want to make each month? In what time frame do you hope to achieve that goal. What will you do to make that goal happen?
4. Be prepared for obstacles. Now while you can’t even begin to conceive of all the obstacles you might encounter it is important that you stay focused. When obstacles do arise and you feel like giving up you will need to remind yourself that this is just one bad day out of a whole lot of good days.
5. Remind yourself often why you are working at home and of all the good things that will eventually come from it.
How Mystery Shopping Works And What To Expect
By Connie Violette
Many people are intrigued by the idea of being a Mystery Shopper or Secret Shopper. In a way it's like being a “Secret Agent”. Mystery shopping can be a lot of fun and a great way to help businesses deliver superior customer service and allow you to make some extra money.
One of the first things you will need to learn is how to tell the difference between a real Mystery Shopping company versus a website that claims you they are looking for Secret Shoppers but what they are really looking for are people to try out various offers.
Real Mystery Shopping companies will never send you a check in the mail out of the blue and ask you to go cash it, keep a portion and send the rest back to them. So if you are here because you recieved such a check. Tear it up or turn it over to your local Post Master.
Secret Shoppers will also never be asked to “complete an offer” in order to get paid. If you are unsure of a particular Mystery Shopping website, look at their FAQ's. If you see anything that mentions “offers”, you are not at a real Mystery Shopping site.
Now that you know what to look for let's move on to what Mystery Shopping is all about.
There are a lot of great Secret Shopping companies out there, one great place to start is at the Mystery Shoppers Providers Association. They have links to a lot of great companies.
At all of the real Mystery Shopping companies your first step will be to apply to be a Secret Shopper. You can usually find a link to the application through the companies website. Look for a link that says “apply to be a shopper”. During the application process you will probably be asked to give an example of a time you were shopping. This is a pretty imporant part of the application. You will want to make sure you give details such as the names of each person in the store who helped you and why you needed assistance and how they resolved the situation or didn't. If you are going to be applying to different companies, it's helpful to save this example for the next application.
After you submit the application it can take a few days or even a couple of weeks to be accepted. Make sure you use a valid email address and phone number so they can contact you. On that point, many people are afraid to share their social security number. It's important to realize that since you will be working for this company they will need your social security number. If you are uncomfortable submitting it over the internet you can always call the company and give it to them directly.
Once you are approved each company has their own way of assigning shops. Some companies will send you an email when there is an available shop in your area, others will require you to log into the shoppers section of their site and check for shops. When you find a shop you want to accept you will either bid on the shop or you can just grab it, again depending on the company.
Before accepting the shop you will have seen all the details, such as how much it pays, when it needs to be done, etc.
One more thing to talk about is training. Typically from what I've experienced and this could vary from company to company is that you will need to complete the online training courses before you can accept shops. Some companies have training based on each place you will be shopping and you will need to complete each one before you can bid on a shop with that retailer. Other companies have generalized training that you will need to complete to accept jobs with them. The training is usually pretty easy and can be done at your convienence. Don't worry, if you don't pass, you can try again.
After you complete a shop you will be required to submit your report. This will all be explained in the training.
Now that you have completed your training and accepted your first shop, you are ready to go! Go out, have fun, follow the rules and you will do great!.
Message boards are one of the best, easiest and funnest ways to get free advertising. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most abused. There are ways to get your name out there but here are the top ways to get yourself banned and or ignored.
As both an owner and moderator of forums. I have seen many mistakes that people make when working at home so I thought I would share.
1. Don’t spam the message boards. This is SO obvious and it really doesn’t create any credibility for you or your product.
2. Don’t blatantly advertise. Again, you gain no credibility and people just aren’t impressed.
3. Don’t knock the competition. If you believe your product is better that’s okay. Just state facts and explain but don’t attack.
4. Don’t dig up old threads to make a comment that relates to your product. Again, this is pretty much blatant advertising and is just annoying. Join in some other discussions and wait until something relevant to your business is brought up again.
5. Don’t post one-liners just to get your signature noticed. If you have something relevant to say.. say it… if you don’t… leave that thread alone!
The first thing to consider is that there really is a difference between a work at home job and a work at home business. The two terms get used interchangeably and that can be confusing for some people.
If you have a work at home business you are basically in business for yourself. It is up to you to dictate how your business will be run, what hours you will work etc.
Some examples of work at home businesses would be starting a business selling on Ebay, becoming an independent contractor for Mary Kay or Avon. Starting a business from your home such as a Day Care or designing websites.
If you have a work at home job you are working for a company and they will dictate what you do and how you do it. Most companies will still let you set your own hours sometimes and just ask to be notified when you are available.
Working a job from home means finding a company that allows you to work from home for them. If you have a job that you feel can be done just as well from your home, you can ask your current employer if working at home is feasible for the company. There are also many companies who currently hire work at home employees and allow you to apply online.
Since this is a such a hot market these jobs are hard to find and so we end up with tons of scam offers. Typically the make money quick jobs are not real jobs but some kind of scam. The sites promising that there are thousands of companies who want to hire you for that Data Entry At Home job are selling information on starting your own business.
I have never met a single envelope stuffer. These scam jobs are popping up all over the place and with the age of the internet becoming harder to spot.
I read one the other day for a Transfer Agent. Not even remotely a good work at home job to land! A transfer agent takes money from an auction “buyer” into their paypal acct, keeps a percentage and then Western Unions the money to the “seller”. For whatever reason the seller can’t have his own paypal acct or the business has just decided its easier to use a middleman. The money you receive is actually money that someone has stolen from someones acct via “phishing”. Once you transfer the money western union there is no longer a way to trace the money.
Very sad, but there are so many people desperate to work from home that it makes it easy for these criminals to operate.
If you choose to find a job working at home rather than starting a business keep a couple of things in mind. 1. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. 2. Never pay to work for someone. If they want you to pay a one time membership fee or if they need you to pay for training materials you should probably pass on the “job”. 3. If anything about it seems fishy, be sure to do your research. Always go with your gut instinct.
So you have built a website? Terrific! Now what? Now you want people to see it! There are a number of ways to do just that! Best of all there are a lot of FREE ways to do that!
1. You can always advertise! This does not have to be expensive. Buy advertising at places that generate a lot of traffic and make sure you are advertising where people need what you are selling. If you are selling fruit flavored bubble gum it won’t do you much good to advertise at AARP.
2. My personal advertising choice is FREE. Classified ads serve a dual purpose and there are still people who read them. Using a classified ad gets your website address “out there” and brings in visitors. Go to almost any website and you will find a classified ad’s section. One of the most popular free classifieds websites is craigslist.com. Another one is at yahoo.com. They have quite an extensive classifieds section. Remember, follow the rules at all classified websites, don’t spam.
3. Write articles. You can write articles on most anything. Make sure it is informative and free of errors. Once it is done you can submit it to other websites, or post it to places that specialize in content. You never know who might grab it for their own website! Make sure to include an authors box at the end and include your web address. Free advertising.
4. Join communities! Also known as forums or message boards. Before putting your website in your signature make sure the webiste allows signature advertising. Read the terms and conditions and rules.
DO NOT go out and randomly place advertisements on websites. You will quickly find yourself banned. A LOT of message boards have a specific thread just for placing advertisments. Go ahead and put up your website in those places. You never know who will read it!
5. Use your signature in emails. Go into your email program and find out where to add a signature. Set it up with your name and website address and use it on all your emails. Especially the fun ones that always get forwarded!
6. Get an ink stamp with your website address or stickers. Use them on all the mail you send out through snail mail. Just think of all the people who handle that piece of mail before it gets to its destination!
7. Get some window clings made up or make them yourself and put them on your car. You can get the stuff to do this yourself at Wal Mart.
8. Make up some flyers and post them everywhere. There are bulletin boards everywhere, the grocery store, the laundry mat (Everyone who ever goes reads the bulletin board!), etc.
9. Make up some business cards and hand them out whenever someone asks what you do. Always hand out three. This gives the other person an opportunity to hand out two and keep one.
10. Start a blog. If you sell handmade jewelry or have a talent, start a blog on how to MAKE handmade jewelry or to showcase your talent. Include your website address in the links section and in your signature. Make sure to update it regularly at least 2-3 times a week. Everyday is better if you can do it!
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