Work at Home Questions

self

[hsmomx3]

I am curious to know how many of you stay-at-home moms do part-time work using your computer from home?

I have searched so many web sites and want ads for part-time work using my computer from home, but many of the ads and web sites appear to be a scam. In most instances , you have to pay them to obtain information or to register!

Thanks!!

[Judith Anne]

Bttt

[hispanarepublicana]

TIP: If you work at home full time. Get a timer lock for your refrigerator.

And an internet baby-sitting software that will limit your time on FR and lock you out after a while!!! It's too easy to become addicted!!!

[Cyber Liberty]

Good luck on your search. Keep away from people who ask you to put up thousands of dollars first.

The most common at-home work I've seen is medical billing. Me, I work at home about 1/4 of the time, and I support a team of semiconductor scientists, so anything's possible.

I've been reading your posts for some time (I don't often answer), and I think you a good egg. Your kids are the luckiest kids in the world.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Considering the advantages homeschooling offers, it's a very good question. I haven't started looking into it, but someone FReepmailed me and suggested that I google up "virtual assistants" a while back.

These links look like they have potential. I don't mind working nights or weekends, but no phone work. The kids fights can turn pretty loud. I have experience working with MAS 90, so it wouldn't be a problem processing orders. I have more experience in proofreading, however.

I need to balance working and homeschooling, which I'm going to start when we move.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Agreed, but I meant hard money, like currency type dollars in my bank account that i can spend!

[EagleMamaMT]

I don't know about general transcription or legal transcription, but medical transcription isn't worth it any more, in terms of a long-term career. It's being offshored to India and we (I've been a medical transcriptionist for 23 years, home-based the last 10 years) are seeing our wages go down the toilet here in America as a result.

[dawn53]

I do, my job is completely done from home through a VPN hook-up to the company I work for.

I monitor online sales for a local company that does a pretty large internet business as well.

This includes making sure internet orders are processed and shipped in a timely manner (I don't do the shipping, but I check on the orders online to make sure they have been shipped out).

Also includes monitoring search engine bidding (I like that part the best.)

I probably put in around 30 hours a week (over the course of 7 days), but my hours are early AM, late PM (after 9), and several checks through the day to see what needs to be adjusted on the search engines.

[rwfromkansas]

Mystery shopping is one cool way to make a little extra dough. It won't do a lot and you need to be near a big city normally.

[Liberatio]

Haunt or Hunt, LOL!!!

[freeangel]

Interesting thread--I've always wondeered about this.

[bjcintennessee]

ping

[Koblenz]

I work from home a lot. I analyze acquisitions for a major Canadian company. I vet the acquisitions, prepare merger models, research the industries of the target, and figure out how to structure the transactions. I also do other valuation work for some other clients, such as valuing the stock options of a small privately-held software company. I love working for myself. But make sure you don't eat too much from the kitchen! And if your employer doesn't withhold, set aside money right away. Otherwise, you'll be sorry come April 15th.

[FReepaholic]

I seem to recall that a major airline had all their booking agents (is that what they're called?) work from home.

I'm thinking it was JetBlue.

[jslade]

bttt

[reformedliberal]

I knew someone years ago that did this w/cheesecakes. She did fabulously well, but was not a good manager AND she hired her friends. The expenses and the employees taking advantage of friendship caused a bankruptcy, eventually. Also, cheesecake in the summer needs a refrigerated delivery van.

However: in my little town there is a woman who does make a living baking pies for a local cafe and, IIRC, for some other restaurants in nearby towns (rural area alert). I do know she ended up w/some carpal tunnel-type problems, but, as far as I know, she is still at it.

However, I am not sure, but I think you need a certified commercial kitchen for these sorts of businesses. The local Catholic Church has a wonderful one and they rent it to entrepreneurs.

Just remember that every business has costs and you don't get to keep everything. On the plus side, I run a production craft business out of my property and I get to deduct a portion of the utilities, mortgage, property taxes, etc. I consider this a way in which I have leveraged a normally *dead* asset. If I had to pay rent or buy a property, the business would not support that at its present level.

[Lizavetta]

I've heard that too but I've also heard that the quality of the transcriptions coming back from India weren't good so that trend is reversing itself.

For what it's worth my boss is continually solicited by Indian gentlemen to outsource her stuff to India and she absolutely refuses to do it.

[expatpat]

Sounds like a good activity.

[EagleMamaMT]

Yes, the quality of he offshored transcription is bad, but from what I'm seeing the industry is going full-speed ahead with offshoring. The companies that offshore hire American medical transcriptionists to "edit" the work - which many times means retyping the whole report, but at substantially less per line than the "editor" would have made if she had typed the whole report in the first place.

Good for your boss! I wish we had thousands like her in this industry. The company I work for doesn't offshore, either, but it still hurts our wages because the companies that hire only American transcriptionists have to compete with the companies who offshore their transcription contracts. I saw a job offer about 2 months ago on a medical transcription job board. The wage the company was offering was 5-1/2 cents per 65-character line. And they were wanting someone with 2 years of experience! I've transcribed for 23 years and I've never seen wages that low before - not even when I was training back in 1981. This doesn't bode well for the future of medical transcription in the US.

[Lizavetta]

What's going on with voice recognition software? Is that still too unreliable to deal with?

[facedown]

And if your employer doesn't withhold, set aside money right away. Otherwise, you'll be sorry come April 15th.

Whenever I cut myself a check from the business, the next entry is a "tax dummy" for the amount that will be due to Fed and State for that check. That way, the payment disappears from the checkbook balance and the money is there when it's time to pay the quarterly.