Provider Beware!

Recently I found a posting on Craigslist (and this is not against Craiglist as I’ve picked up some legitimate jobs there) only to find out that what I had run into was a MLM.  The posting said they were looking for people to process insurance applications. No up front fees yadda yadda yadda. So, off my resume went and a few days later I got an email.

A woman emails me back – got your resume thanks for applying – the job is basically filling out these applications, take a look at our website. So, off I go and look at it and lo and behold I find the ‘classic’ MLM there.

So, I go to the Better Business Bureau (which by the way I’m told in this email how they’ve been members of the Texas BBB for ions of time) and what do I see – that the BBB has DROPPED them from membership for deceptive practices.

So, I email this lady back and I play stupid – and say – hey this sounds like an MLM to me – she assures me it’s not that she’s simply ’signing people up for insurance’. So, I asked her where she got the names – from my website she announces. OK so how do you get people to your website?? Well I have to advertise it.

Hey lady – if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck – it’s usually a duck. She emails me back and advises me I have no idea what I’m talking about but if I go to the TX BBB website she’s sure my questions will be answered.

Yep – they were answered ok. Business Description: Multi Level Marketing

No Longer members of TX BBB due to unfair and deceptive business practices

Stopped doing business in Minnesota because the AG there sued and won.

So, I emailed her back and I suggested that before she refer people to the BBB website she might want to read it first since it basically said she was doing MLM and the ‘parent’ company was involved in litigation in several states. She had NO idea (and probably still thinks I’m an idiot) that most states have license requirements for insurance salespeople. She might not think that’s what she’s doing but it is!!

Stay away from this one!!

Don’t get scammed!

I don’t think there is a day that goes by that somewhere in my email I don’t see some great offer to work from home. They vary from filling out surveys, to working for Ebay, Google, you name it I get them. The one I love is mystery shoppers. Requirements like – you must be 5′10″ and shop in the big and tall department of Macy’s – right ok try someone else!

Anyway, it’s not easy to work on your own but for those of us who chose to do so we need legitimate sources for work.

As I have said before (and I repeat) ODesk so far has been for me the absolute best. For typing if you’re looking for transcription work, for ‘rewording’ articles, websites, etc., you only need identify the right buyers.

Don’t get frustrated – the jobs are out there and they’re legit, it just might take some time to find them.

Do a search on ODesk. They charge you no fees as a provider. You’re not going to perhaps make as much as if you were employed with a brick and mortar establishment, but you can make a good living if you are willing to stick with some of the ‘lousy’ assignments and do a good job regardless of how much you dislike that particular assignment.

For me, after a few short months I’ve been lucky to have 4-5 buyers that use my services all the time and are paying me good money to work 30-50 hours a week (depending on the assignments) and I’m very happy doing what I am doing which is all writing (articles and website content).

Good luck!

REAL Work at Home Jobs

I guess perhaps I’ve been through some of these things before. So, I’ll share some of my experiences with you.

Work at home: Mary Kay/Avon/Pampered Chef/Etc.

These are not bad programs for most people who can devote the time to chasing new orders every week, bagging and delivering and all the other fun things that go along with them. They’re even more effective if you have home parties.

Hazard: You spend your profits on (a) sales literature (b) special products for demonstration (c) things you love (d) promotional things to ‘reward’ your customers.

Upside: If you have the time, the dedication and the willpower to not spend your profits you can make some money at this. Can you make a living at it? Probably some can, most can’t.

Affiliate Marketing: Google/Amazon/Etc.

It’s free to sign up you only need your email address and a PayPal account. If you want to spend 6-8 hours a day online updating your Hub Pages, blogging, etc., to keep your content fresh then maybe you can make some money.

Upside: If you are an extremely resourceful person and want to spend full time updating a multiple number of sites you can make some money. My net results with over 150 hub pages, 9 blogs and over 200 Squidoo pages nets me about $60 a month. It’s nice to have the pocket change. I use these funds to buy odds and ends on Ebay.

Multi Level Marketing: We all know what they are. Amway is the one that immediately comes to mind, but I’ve seen some responses to your inquiry that include others. They’re everywhere. They’re expensive!

Can you make money: Sure, but before you do be prepared to spend hundreds of dollars to ‘get started’. After all, you need samples to demonstrate the products (not just Amway but others). Then there’s the motivational stuff that costs plenty to keep you going on the ‘right path’. Them perhaps you need to set up a website to promote your business. Need I go on?

Upside: If you’re a great salesperson, have a huge network of friends or are in a position to purchase THOUSANDS of email addresses maybe you can make some money. Someone makes it, Amway and companies like it make millions of dollars a year on product so someone is selling it. I sold Amway for about 4 years. My net income from this venture was just about 4,000 dollars. So $1,000 a year is less than $100 a month.

Real work at home: I am assuming that you have some basic skills. So for instance you can clearly type. Are you a fairly good writer? Can you do spreadsheets? Do you know how to program? Do you have good reasearch skills? Can you develop websites? Do you know about SEO Marketing?

I happen to be a fairly good writer. I also have a fairly good grasp of SEO Marketing techniques. For me, I wanted income I could depend on, I wanted to work at home and I wasn’t about to pay ten cents to start either (nor was I going to pay fees later).

I researched hundreds of websites – literally. I looked into all types of programs, work at home opportunities, MLM’s – you name it I looked at it.

Last September my research took me to oDesk and you talk about getting lucky. I spent about 9 hours uploading a portrait, a resume, taking tests, etc. and then I started posting for jobs.

It took a while….It took me until October to get my first job and to be frank about it the pay was awful. But I had discovered that I could work at increasingly higher rates if I could get feedback so that’s the decision I made. You can choose to do this however you want to.

Fast Forward Today: In October of 2007 I made $23.76 on oDesk. It was very discouraging. I was however determined to make it and I kept at it day after day, bidding on new jobs and telling people why they should give me a chance. I also took on some fixed rate jobs (which oDesk does not guarantee payment on) just to obtain feedback. Well in January of 2008 I successfully completed (and was paid for) 300 hours of employment from November to January. Now I know this doesn’t appear to be full time, but you’d have to understand that November and December were still growing months for me so I sort of keep them out of the equation. I can make it easy for you. In January my income was four figures for the month. It was higher than $1500 is as far as I will disclose for you.

Downside: You have to be willing to commit the time it takes to develop your profile and perhaps take some lower paying jobs to get yourself started.

Upside: If you accept hourly paid assignments oDesk guarantees payment through the use of a tool called ‘team’ where the buyer can get ’screen shots’ of your work.

Downside: You must constantly bid against others for jobs. There are approximately 10 providers for every job – brush up on your cover letter skills! Once you land a job you’re not off the hook. Some jobs are long term (most of mine are) but others can be as few as 5-10 hours (some less).

Honestly though it’s legitimate work and I guarantee that you’ll get paid if you work! No surveys – honest to god working for a living!

Pros and Cons of Working at Home

Before you commit to working at home you should know the pros and cons of doing so. It’s simply not for everyone.

Pros:

Hey guess what you just did to that one hour commute? Can you walk from your bed to your desk? How long did that take you? Ah yes, so you just saved 56 minutes from your morning, and not only that you didn’t have to battle one bad driver all the way to work! Not to mention – it’s quitting time – you don’t have to drive an hour and then head home to cook dinner, so there’s another 56 minutes saved from your day.

Dry Cleaning is almost a thing of the past. What did you wear to work this morning? For me, I’m working in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and barefeet. Yipee. No worrying about if my suit is last years model, or if I spill something on it when I’m going to get to the dry cleaners with it. Not to mention the expense!

Gas (at the rate it’s selling today). So my one hour commute back and forth to work every day costs me a tank of gas (so 60 odd dollars give or take). Just think how much money that saves you over a year. Assuming 60 to fill your tank, you’ve just saved at least 700 dollars.

Lunch with your office co-workers is now down to once or twice a year, instead of 2-3 times a week. So think about this – you’re now more productive (you’re only taking 30 minute lunch breaks) and you’re not spending 10 – 15 dollars for lunch 2-3 times a week.

You no longer worry about office politics because you’re not there! The petty backstabbing that goes on often drives you out of your mind, but if you’re working at home, you hear about it after the fact.

No more interruptions for you – don’t you hate being in the middle of something to have a chatty co-worker invade your ’space’ to discuss some inane topic that you really have no interest in anyway and don’t know a polite way to say sorry I’m busy.

Cons: Ok so not everything is rosy

You’re all by yourself all day long working. You may miss the office chatter and gossip, you may feel cut off from your co-workers. Keep up to date with what’s happening via emails or chats.

You may begin to feel isolated. If this should happen you will want to make sure that you get yourself involved in things outside of work that will get you involved with other adults. This will prevent that feeling of isolation.

You may tend to work when work is over. This is almost inevitable because you find that it’s easier to get back to things.

You may not be able to adhere to that routine (without the watchful eye of others). Not everyone can, and if you can’t – immediately head back to the office. It’s not worth risking your job!

It’s hard for me to come up with Cons because I’ve been working at home for years and I personally love it – I’m sure others can come up with other ‘cons’!