What can YOU do working from home ?

1. Running a website or a web based business. No! You do not need to be an expert in anything web related. You don't even need to know a lot about computers or how to build/manage websites. The trick is to identify what exactly you are good at, what you like doing, and open your mind to ways you can make money out of it. Or find someone who's already done it and buy him out. Buying a website.

2. Writing articles for other websites. Again, no special skills required. You don't need to be a published author, you don't even need to be good at writing! You can be stumped by spelling, perplexed by punctuations, and absolutely grim at Grammar but you can still make a living by writing (Yes, it's not all articles. There's demand for things like putting together useful resources, browsing through various websites in a particular niche and compiling a list of the best ones, collecting phone numbers off various sites in a particular industry and building a directory, and various other opportunities that don't require a PhD in English Lit).

3. Buying and selling products you are familiar with on auction websites like eBay and QXL - from doll houses to motorcycle spares.

4. Converting your hobbies or skills into a business from home (which may or may not use the internet). Some examples:

- Genealogy

- Pet Grooming/Minding

- Pottery/Painting/Other Craft Work/Teaching Craft Classes

- Knitting, Needlework, Alteration Services

- Baking/Cooking/Teaching Cooking

- Recording/Editing/Archiving of Photos/Music/Video

- Child Care, Teaching/Tutoring

- Reading (proofreading)

- Languages (translating)

Put your hobby/skill to work for you....

5. Other local opportunities: Apart from hobbies and skills there may be openings in your local area for a particular type of service that is not currently being met. And, the laws of supply and demand dictate that if there's no competition people are likely to be willing to pay you a high price for your services. Some ideas:

- House/Office Cleaning

- House Minding

- Door to door leaflet/local paper/coupon distribution

- Window Cleaning

6. Virtual Assistant opportunities: A VA is described as an independent entrepreneur providing administrative,
creative and/or technical services from the comfort of their own homes/home-offices. There are several organisations on the web catering for and advising VAs. Like this one. And work seems to be plentiful.

How to Make Money at Home

Most of us love the idea of earning extra income or quitting our full-time jobs altogether and working from home. But aren’t all the home-based opportunities just scams?

Not at all. There are plenty of authentic and reliable ways to make money by working from home. The secret is knowing how to separate the scams from the real jobs.

Here’s a hint: Legitimate jobs will typically never require you to pay a fee to get more information, and they don’t come in unsolicited junk e-mail messages.

Still, there’s plenty of earning potential in working from home. "Companies are learning they can save a lot of money by hiring home-based working moms to do projects such as word processing, writing, computer programming, even tutoring," says Lesley Spencer Pyle, founder of Home-Based Working Moms (hbwm.com).

Most of the jobs listed below require an up-to-date computer, a high-speed Internet connection, a phone with a dedicated land line and a quiet place to work. Imagine reporting to work in your pajamas!

Customer service rep
Many companies, such as J. Crew, Express Jet, 1-800-flowers, and even the IRS, outsource customer service operations to third-party companies who then hire home-based workers or "agents" to take calls and orders. When you call 1-800-flowers, you may be speaking with Rebecca Dooley, a retired police officer and employee of Alpine Access, a major call center service. When you dialed the number, your call was automatically routed to Rebecca’s spare bedroom in Colorado.

Alpine Access currently employs more than 7,500 work-at-home customer service agents who take in-bound calls (there’s no outbound or cold calling) for dozens of companies. "This works perfectly for me because I can set up my hours around my family’s busy lifestyle," says Rebecca, who usually works 20 to 32 hours a week, depending on her schedule.

While the typical hourly rate is about $9, Alpine Access agents can earn up to $20 an hour with incentives and bonuses. Rebecca also receives benefits and a matching 401(k) plan. (Some companies consider their staff independent contractors, so they don’t provide benefits.) Go toalpineaccess.com. Other companies that hire virtual call agents:

• LiveOps.com

freelancer

A freelancer is someone who performs tasks, usually for multiple employers over the course of a year. A freelancer is somewhat like a free agent in professional sports - he or she essentially sell their services to the highest bidder - except that they usually work for more than one employer.

Freelancers may work part-time or full-time. Because they are not considered employers, freelancers are allowed to work for other employers and are usually permitted to perform tasks in their own way, so long as the work gets done to the client's specifications.

Longer term freelancers who work for the same employer for an extended period are sometimes referred to as "permalancers" - or "permanent freelancers". Permalancers may or may not be offered benefits through their employers.

Freelancing is one of the easiest, fastest, and lowest cost ways to start working for yourself. Multiple freelancing websites, like Guru.com and eLance.com provide an online marketplace where employers post work and freelancers bid on completing the work in an open market, which is often extremely competitive.

A somewhat common misconception is that freelancers are called that because they work for free - or next to it. That is not the case, and as freelancers gain more and more experience in the field in which they specialize, they can command higher rates for their work.

Freelancer employers who try to exert too much control over where, when or how the work is done can place themselves in jeopardy with the Internal Revenue Service, since such workers are usually considered employees, especially when they work for one employer over the long term. Unlike employees, employers are not required to offer freelancers any benefits, withhold payroll taxes or pay into workers compensation or unemployment plans.

Also Known As: permalancer, permanent freelancer, outsource help, independent contractor

Examples: More and more businesses are becoming open to the idea of using freelancers to get work done as it saves them money without having to make a permanent commitment as they do with employees. Freelancers often fill a temporary need and then move on to the next freelancing opportunity.

Real work-at-home jobs

After the birth of her daughter, Carrie Opara knew she didn't want to return to her old job as a mental-health counselor. But finding legitimate work she could do at home was no small feat.

She tried a multilevel marketing plan and wound up in debt. She looked on the Internet and found plenty of scams. Finally, she heard about LiveOps, a Palo Alto, Calif., call center that hired people to work out of their own homes.

Within two years, she was earning about $2,000 a month working 30 to 35 hours a week from her home in Columbia, Md. -- about what she'd made previously as a counselor. Her shifts can be as short as 30 minutes, although she typically works five-hour blocks while her 6-year-old is in school, plus some nights and weekends when her husband, a certified public accountant, can take over child care.

Opara said she still faces the challenges familiar to every working parent: how to work enough hours, spend enough quality time with her family "and still figure out how I'm going to clean my house, make dinner and do the grocery shopping." Not having to commute or pay for child care, however, are big bonuses.

"It's fit in perfectly," Opara said, "and we also like the flexibility."

Technology is opening up new opportunities for parents and others who want to work at home. Finding and landing legitimate, profitable work still isn't easy, but here are a few venues to try:

A call center in your home

In recent years, you've heard a lot about companies routing their customer-service calls to workers overseas, but a less-noticed trend is the growth in home-based call-center workers.

Thanks to the Internet and better call-routing technology, more companies are finding they can outsource their order-taking, sales and problem-solving calls to home-based workers, said LiveOps board member Bill Trenchard. LiveOps not only runs an outsource operation, Trenchard said, but it also provides technology for companies that want to set up their own home-based call centers.

Home-based workers tend to be better educated and more loyal than their counterparts at traditional call centers, according to Trenchard. Most of LiveOps' workers have college degrees -- Opara has a master's -- and turnover is low.

The flexibility that Opara likes also benefits companies. Home-based operators are typically contractors who are paid for each minute spent on the phone, so companies can quickly gear up to meet high demand without having to pay for idle workers during slack times.

The job isn't without drawbacks. Pay usually starts around $8 an hour, assuming you get enough calls, which can come slowly at the beginning, Opara said. The jobs that simply require taking orders often pay the least, while the better-paying jobs typically require that you have sales skills.

Call centers usually have no tolerance for audible distractions, so a crying baby, barking dog or ringing doorbell could get you fired. (Some companies require their workers have dedicated offices with doors to minimize potential distractions.) An operator also needs a dedicated phone line, a computer and high-speed Internet access.

Start a Web business

Paul and Alison Martin, who met while they were students at Stanford University, decided to launch a Web-based baby-product business shortly after the birth of their twins, Ainsley and Sierra. The couple launched Noss Galen Baby in February 2004, just before Paul graduated.

By May 2005, Paul said, the site was profitable enough to support the family.

The Martins had some distinct advantages. Paul had programming and start-up experience from a stint at PayPal, so he built and maintains their Web site. The couple also moved from expensive Menlo Park, Calif., to more reasonable Albuquerque, N.M., which keeps down their living costs.

Perhaps even more significant, the Martins were able to capitalize their business with stock-option money from Paul's time at PayPal. But Paul said initial inventory costs were just a few thousand dollars, and he could have gotten a small-business loan or worked a part-time job to keep the venture going until profits came in.