Dollar Future Trends | 14 June 2021 | Economy | Pakistan stock exchange

Miscreants Threaten to Burn Pakistan High Commission London - Latest Pak...

Real work-at-home jobs

Real work-at-home jobs

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Computers and high-speed Internet access mean new, better-paying choices for people who want the flexibility and convenience of careers that don't require an office-building cubicle.

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.

Some call centers that employ home-based workers:

Alpine Access
LiveOps
Arise
West at Home

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.

The most important thing is to have the mindset that you're going to make it work, that you're going to learn from your mistakes," Paul said. "It may take longer than you think. . . . There were difficult times when we were wondering if we were ever going to turn the corner."

The Martins' business isn't the only thing that's expanded. The couple had their third child, Dax, early last year.

If you find a concept that works, you might make additional money teaching other people what you know. Tamaira Sandifer of Sacramento, Calif., launched a service called Fun Mail for Kids that sends customized packets, complete with stickers, personalized letters and crafts projects, to kids via the U.S. mail.

As with any small business, it can help to draft a business plan. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a free business set-up guide on its Web site.

Online auctions
Online auction sites have helped people do more than empty their attics (or fill them up again). The largest online auction site, eBay, says it is home to more than a million "professional sellers" who report the site as a primary or secondary source of income.

Barb Webb of Salt Lick, Ky., started her online-auction career a few years ago by selling household items she otherwise would have put in a garage sale. The former corporate executive branched out by looking for bargains at local retailers and then auctioning them off for a profit on the site. Her auction income isn't enough to live on, but it’s not bad as a part-time job squeezed in between activities for her three kids.

Auction sites have "how to" sections to familiarize beginners with the selling process, and a little research can help you determine the best way to market your offerings, said Webb, the author of "The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet."

Sellers also need to be mindful of their reputations because bad feedback from buyers can hurt future sales, she said. Staying organized, using truthful descriptions and shipping items promptly are essential to a profitable auction business.

Webb also advises newbies to start slowly, particularly if they're buying items with the intent to sell them at auction rather than selling off what they already own. It can be easy to misjudge what people will want to buy, she said, and the costs of listing, the site's commissions and buyers who don't pay can eat into profits.

"The best way is to bank some (profits) and then reinvest some," Webb said.

Mystery shopping, survey taking and 'piece work'
Mystery shopping and survey-taking opportunities have been around for a while, but the Internet has made finding them easier, Webb said.

"Mystery shoppers" are typically paid $5 to $100 per assignment to pose as average customers and then critique a store or service, Webb said. The range for filling out surveys or participating in focus groups can be even wider, from a few dollars to a few hundred bucks a shot.

As with other work-at-home jobs, applicants need to be prepared to start small and work their way up. Research companies look for reliable, articulate, detail-oriented people and tend to reward the ones who consistently perform well, Webb said.

Both jobs tend to come with freebies as well as cash. Webb said she's been given such products as free laundry detergent and free diapers in exchange for her opinion on surveys.

Mystery shopping tends to take more time and effort but generally pays more. Webb said she makes about $6,000 a year in cash, plus free goods and services worth $3,000 to $4,000.

"I work it in with our schedule. I look at the week ahead and think, 'Where do we want to go? What do we want to do?' " she said. "If I need to buy clothes, I'll look to see if they need a mystery shopper."

Some Internet-based mystery-shopping services include:

Corporate Research International Mystery Shops
Mystery Guest
Service Intelligence Experience Exchange
National survey companies with an Internet presence include:

American Consumer Opinion
National Family Opinion
Survey Savvy
"Piece work" is an age-old concept that's been updated by the Internet, most visibly on Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk. The site pays people to perform tasks that computers can't easily do, such as fill out opinion surveys, transcribe audiotapes and see whether items for sale have been correctly "tagged," or classified.

The Mechanical Turk for which the Web site was named was a 1700s and 1800s hoax in which a supposed machine played chess (the Turk actually concealed a human chess ace). Amazon started the site to find humans to help fix problems that its automated systems couldn't. The Mechanical Turk is now used by an array of "requestors" who want people to help them with various small tasks.

The problem here is that the pay is often literally pennies -- sometimes just a single penny to perform a task that might take a few seconds or minutes. Only you can determine whether the time you spend is worth the payoff.

Other home-based businesses
There's not much high-tech about home-based businesses such as child care, house-sitting, dog walking and errand running. But classified advertising sites such as Craigslist can help you easily and cheaply connect with potential customers.

And old-school businesses, if properly run, can provide a decent living, said Steve Damato, who operates a licensed day-care center with his wife, Jodi, at their Elgin, Ill., home.

The Damatos inherited the day-care business from Jodi's mother after she retired. The Damatos moved into the mother-in-law's home to look after her and the business. Previously, Steve had worked as a flight attendant while Jodi had been a stay-at-home mother for their daughter. Besides the opportunity to be a full-time father, he likes the fact that he no longer has to work nights, weekends or holidays.

Before you launch any business, research your community's license and insurance requirements. In Illinois, for example, day-care providers who look after more than four children must be licensed, Steve Damato said, and the state provides about 30 pages of standards that centers must follow, covering everything from the number of electrical-outlet covers to the frequency of CPR training.

Damato also recommends talking to others who run similar businesses for tips and advice. You also need to gauge your own aptitude for the work.

"If you don't like changing 20-30 diapers a day or constantly wiping noses, or playing referee throughout the day, then this job is not for you," Damato said. "Otherwise, this could be a wonderful opportunity . . . for many couples."

Keys for the home-based worker
As you're considering potential work-at-home opportunities, keep these points in mind:

Your best opportunities may be close to home. If you're still working, rummage around your current workplace to see if any job -- not just the one you're doing now -- is portable. You might hit pay dirt if you're well-regarded and your employer has work that's not getting done or not being done well. A written plan explaining your proposal may help you sway your employer.

Otherwise, expect a lot of competition. Plenty of people want to work from home and will inundate any company they think might hire them. (One call-center company I tried to interview for this article wouldn't even talk to me, saying it already had far more applicants than it could use and didn't want another spike in inquiries that it couldn't handle.)

Get the latest from Liz Pulliam Weston. Sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter.
Preferred format:
HTMLPlain TextLearn more about newslettersDon't expect to make a fortune. The sure sign of a scam is a promise of huge rewards for little effort. The real world doesn't work like that. If you have to pay big upfront fees for materials, details or training, your best bet is to walk away. Ditto for any "opportunity" that involves stuffing envelopes or assembling crafts; these activities profit only the promoters.

The folks I interviewed who are making decent money at home also made decent money in the regular workplace world. They tended to have good educations, strong business skills and a history of workplace success. If you're organized, focused, a self-starter and possessed of in-demand skills, you could do OK at home. If you're not, your options are likely to be more limited.

Top Ten Tips for Homeworking

1. Becoming a homeworker is something to be planned rather than a knee-jerk reaction to problems such as debt.

2. You should never pay to do homeworking, eg craft assembly. It is usually a scam.

3. Get rich quick schemes do not work. You are kidding yourself if you send off your £5+ to join.

4. Homeworkers work very hard indeed and you should expect to as well.

5. If you are a new mother do not overload yourself with trying to find work at home. Small children and work do not mix very well ~ and you work hard enough as it is!

6. It takes time to secure a steady income as a homeworker, unless of course you have an employer and do your job via telecommuting.

7. Piece work and other such work can be found (from companies local to you) but they are usually badly paid.

8. Most successful homeworkers create their own work, based on their interest or skills.

9. Do your homework first before trying to become a homeworker! Check out what regulations there are concerning your chosen field of work and whether there is a market for your work.

10. When the going gets tough setting up as a homeworker, remember that it will eventually be an extremely convenient and satisfying way to work!

Finding The Right Data Entry Jobs

Vishwaa

There are many data entry jobs available today on the Internet. Many companies are growing and wishing to further expand, and as a result are hiring people from around the globe to help them with their work load. It is, however, advisable to be careful which jobs you accept.


Data entry jobs are among he most prevalent positions available. Found in almost every profession, they are both crucial and necessary to any business, as they are a way of entering important information for record keeping purposes. Medical practices use data entry to keep track of patient information and appointments, while stores use it to note inventory and pricing information.

The Internet has also made it easier for people to acquire such jobs without actually living in the location of the company. Many sites advertise these positions to anyone interested in making money from home.

The "home business" has also become a popular means of making money. This is primarily because it provides a way for people to make money without leaving the comforts of their own homes. All you need is a computer, an Internet connection, and the drive to succeed. There are, however, some things you should be aware of if you are searching for a data entry job on the Internet.

In more recent times, if you were searching for a job, you saw the listing, called to inquire, then went in for an interview. Data entry jobs were advertised like any other job, and if you accepted such apposition, you got up every morning, went to the office, worked your eight hours, and then went home. Now, however, companies are finding it easier to hire people from all over the world via the Internet. This has made it easier on employees, as it means you may not have a specific time to work every day, and you don't have to pay the cost of driving to work every morning. While this may sound enticing, be careful which jobs you accept, they may not always be as they appear.

There are many jobs posted on the Internet for data entry people needed. They make it sound easy and almost painless, explaining how you are going to make a lot of money. Beware of such postings. Be careful for companies that use tools such as Adword and Click Bank. Remember, if it sounds too easy, it probably is.

Make sure you understand who you are working for, and exactly what you will do for them. If something doesn't sound right, ask questions. Often times the job will be real, but will actually be a ploy for you to sign up for something else that company has to offer. In these cases, you will be assigned a little work, but expected to fill out information about yourself that will entitled you to receive some sort of benefit from the company, sometimes at your own expense. Once they have your bank account information, it is easy for them to continue drawing money out every month for that benefit you actually signed up for, and that may be difficult to cancel.

If you are looking for a data entry job over the Internet, here are some things you might check out. Make sure the company is reputable. Call them, and call others who have heard of them. Some companies require employees to work within a certain mile radius of their company. That isn't a bad idea.

Learn as much as you can about the company: what do they do, who do they serve, exactly what will they expect you to do, and what is the pay? Also, remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

About the author

Vishwaa is an online business entrepreneur and home business expert with 5+ years experience. He currently owns several successful websites including http://www.makemoneyfromonlinejobs.com/ part time online jobs , which provides a scam-free database of work at home opportunities.

Data Entry Jobs - And Ideal Choice For Home Workers

By Jeena Anderson

Today we live in so-called information society, which gives us an Opportunity to live and work at the different places. It means that the work place is not as traditional as it was ten years ago. More to say, now you can work for many foreign companies just sitting
at home. One of the most popular is http://data-entry-jobs.doubleget.com/ data entry jobs .

Data entry jobs what is it?
Nowadays, many companies are looking for ways to save money and they offer new Opportunity for people, who would like to work from home data entry jobs. Data entry is a process of entering data into electronic database. So, data entry jobs are available for any individual, who has basic computer/internet skills and can type at a keyboard.

What do I need to know about data entry jobs?
Firstly, http://data-entry-jobs.doubleget.com/ data entry jobs are not full-time, so you will not have such benefits as vacation and health insurance. Secondly, you must have an excess to the internet, because you will fill out the simple data entry form online. Data entry jobs have no set hours and you do not need to handle costumers or products or create a website. Keep in mind that companies that offer data entry jobs do not charge for sign up (you may pay only for an online catalog of these firms). However, there are many scams, who may ask you to pay. Remember, never pay anyone for data entry jobs.

How to start?
Firstly, if you don™t want to waste you time by searching for a companies, which offer data entry jobs, it is recommended to order œData entry profit system that will provide an online catalog of thousands reliable companies, which need persons for data entry jobs. As it was mentioned above, these companies won™t charge you and you will never be rejected. After you sign up, you will get an access to ppc online form and fill out it with the data, which companies provide. You can work 24 hours 7 days a week. Companies will add up money to your account daily. Do not worry, data entry jobs are legal you will just help companies to spread information about their product or facilities.

More information about data entry jobs is available on [http://data-entry-jobs.doubleget.com website.

The TRUTH About 99% of the Data Entry/Home Typist Jobs

Elizabeth Martinez

I know you’ve seen the ads- “Work at home filling out forms” or “Data Entry- Earn $200 Daily filling out forms.” They are very tempting and they entice you with a high income. They are NOT scams, they are simply misleading.

These “data entry” jobs aren’t really jobs, they are businesses. You own your own business and your “job” is to fill out the “form” for Pay-Per-Click ads. You are promoting other people’s products. This is not a BAD thing, when you think about it most retail stores do this well, they simply do it in a different manner. They have the products in their store, but in this case, you would simply be placing online ads for other people’s products. This is typically called Affiliate Marketing, but some of these programs like to “hide” it as a home typist or data entry job. There are a few places where you really CAN be simply a data entry person or home typist, but they are typically referred to as a Virtual Assistant job or Administrative Assistant.

There are two issues with these programs or systems as many of them call themselves. First, they advertise as though it is data entry where you are filling out forms for other companies and then paid. They do not say that you are placing ads and that in order to get paid your ads need to produce a sale. Let’s assume that you pay for their system or for their information and you get the information and you might be disappointed, but decide to try what they say. This is where the second issue comes into play. Their systems make it sound very easy. They say that all you have to do is get a clickbank ID (for free), search for a product to promote or multiple products, and then place some PPC (pay-per-click) ads and watch the sales come in. There is, however, a great deal more to it than this. You need to do a lot of research and will need a lot of

If you are interested in the data entry that is really Affiliate Marketing, you do not need to spend $40, $50, or even $100 on a type at home system to learn this. Chances are you will spend a great deal MORE than that initial investment just learning how to use PPC ads effectively. A much more useful resource for affiliate marketing is a membership with The Wealthy Affiliate. They don’t try to “sugar coat” affiliate marketing. They do not try to say that all you have to do is place a few PPC ads and you’ll see amazing results. They also provide a great deal of tools to help you research the right products and right keywords for your campaigns AND they have learning resources to teach you how to do the research necessary. Affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme, but it can work much better for you than a 9-5 job and with a little effort you could be making $10,000 or more a month. Just remember, there is more to it than just filling out a form.

Liz Martinez has been working from home for 3 years. She is dedicated to helping others reach and exceed their goals to work from home through her site: http://www.YourHomeBizGuide.com You can find out more about The Wealthy Affiliate at http://www.yourhomebizguide.com/musthave/wa