Internet has made it possible to earn money working home. In this article, I will explore how you can make money doing something different from the conventional 9 to 5 job at your employer’s location. You will need a computer and / or a phone, access to internet and lots of discipline.
Possible work
To earn money working home you need to choose one of two methods, or both. You can work for remote employers or you can start your own business as an affiliate. The first method is active revenue. You work, you make money. The second will become passive income where you work hard to set the system up and earn lots of money when the system work almost by itself. The passive income method is really like starting a conventional business. You need to work long hours to set the system rolling and then you harvest from the system by maintaining it. This type of business is extremely competitive.
Working for a remote employer. This method lets you work from home for an employer located anywhere in the World. I have reviewed a couple of websites where you can apply for these types of jobs. Here is a list of the sites and the page where I have discussed their business strategies. These are all real legitimate sites with great customer service (customers being yourself and the employer). There are other sites however I have not done research on their reputation. When I do, I will add them here and will be writing a review page similar to the one you can read by clicking on the links listed below. If you have worked with other similar businesses and enjoyed your experience with them, please share with everybody by leaving a comment in the comment section at the end of this post.
- UpWork – Click here to read a review of UpWork
- Freelancer – Click here to have information on Freelancer
- HireWriters – Click here to learn how to offer your services with HireWriters
- Fiverr – Click here to know how to showcase your talent with Fiverr
- Guru – Click here to learn more about Guru
Job categories. There are many possible projects you can do right at home on your computer. They are available through the sites mentioned above. You will be competing with many other freelancers so you need to be patient and consistently bid for the jobs. I landed a full time job with UpWork 6 years ago and worked for the same employer 40 hours a week doing customer services in French. At the time, it was my principal source of income. It took me approximately 3 months before I got the interview. In the first three months with UpWork, I worked on smaller projects and was bidding on jobs at least 4 times a week. See the categories below:
- Web, Software & IT – These jobs are often short term except for IT where you would be maintaining the client’s network infrastructure.
- Design, Art & Multimedia – These are also normally short term jobs unless the client orders many projects in short sequences.
- Writing & Translation – When you do a great job on these projects, the clients often develops a long term relationship and send you new projects frequently. These projects may be super short (translating a resume or writing an SEO blog on a specific subject) or very long (ghostwriting or translating an e book for example).
- Sales & Marketing – Normally a part or full time job with an indefinite length of time. Often paid by the hour.
- Admin Support – Part or full time jobs for a very long time. Usually paid by the hour.
- Management & Finance – These jobs are often associated with a better pay check because of the higher responsibility.
- Legal – Definitely a high paid job. Often a fixed paid project.
- Engineering & Architecture – Higher price tag attached because of the freelancer knowledge and credentials. These jobs are usually fix priced projects.
- Other Categories – Totally depends on what the client wants.
Working as an affiliate. An affiliate is a person or a business that redirects traffic (customers) to another business using affiliate links on web pages, posts, email, messaging or social media. I will talk about web pages and posts here because I am not familiar enough with messaging and social media. Emails are more complicated because of the anti-spam legislation. The link takes you to the post where I talk about the Canadian legislation. These regulations apply to emails, SMS and phone calls. Essentially, you cannot email, text or call for business purposes anybody that has not given you permission to contact them.
This website is an affiliate business. I have chosen a number of businesses I refer to you, the reader. I get paid if you elect to join a program I am affiliated to by clicking on some links you will find on this site pages and posts. See the disclosure page by clicking here or by clicking “Disclosure” at the bottom of this page and learn more about how affiliates earn money.
I invite you to read the description of the Wealthy Affiliate program. This business is a great affiliate system where you will learn how to make money referring your readers to the companies you choose. Wealthy Affiliate offers a large suite of services including an impressive step by step training program. Have a look by clicking here. I love this program.
LINK TO WEALTHY AFFILIATE PAGE
Discipline
When you work home, discipline is very important. Many things will affect your focus and you will need to set up an office area (see also income tax – home use for business) where you can work quietly without disruption. You must make sure you set your priorities right. Inform family members. An employer will expect you to work as hard as if you were at their location. Most of the hourly paid jobs have some sort of monitoring to ensure you are actually working on their project. UpWork and Guru have a tool where your screen is monitored and a screenshot is taken randomly at least every 10 minutes. When you are reading, you must move your mouse, scroll and take any kind of action so that the timer does not stop counting time. The set of screenshots is available for employer review.
When you start an affiliate business, you must set attainable goals. To reach these goals, set milestones. Use an agenda and work on your business every day. You will need to learn how to build a website, how to get your website indexed, how to rank high in search engines and many other very interesting facets of online businesses. The principle is pretty simple but getting the business rolling is a lot of hard work and long hours.
Time management
When you accept a job, you need to know how much time it will take to complete. If the job is a full time type, you will be working fix hours per day. The only difference from a conventional job is that you are not loosing time traveling to and from the company.
Hourly paid jobs. You can expect your employer to require you to work during his timezone business hours. Before you accept such a job, make sure you are up during those hours. I worked for a company located in the US Eastern timezone and I live in the Pacific timezone. That meant that the 9 to 5 jobs was really a 6 to 2 jobs for me. I am an early bird so this was convenient for me.
Project type jobs. Projects such as writing, translating or designing a program or a website do not need to be done during the employer’s business hours. You and your client agree on a delivery date which may include milestones. When you have completed the tasks, you deliver the products and you get paid when the client has approved them. You need to make sure you get the job done on time.
Communication
All the freelance websites offer a system to facilitate communication between the employer and the freelancer. It is very important to always inform your client about anything that could affect the project you are hired to complete. Normally the communication must remain on the website platform. Most of these sites will not let you share your personal contact information. They aim at protecting your identity and protect your earnings.
Conclusion
Today’s technology enables you to earn money working home. You simply need to define what you enjoy doing on computers or the phone. You can then explore the freelancer sites or the affiliate program presented in this article.
If you have questions about the websites presented here or have comments, feel free to use the comment area below and I will get back to you with pleasure.
Nicole