I recently wrote about how one of the best work at home opportunities is to work as a freelancer doing writing, design, admin and a huge number of other things for successful online businesses and entrepreneurs.

And while I took the time to explain *why* I think freelancing is such a great opportunity, I missed out a key point that I want to mention to you today.

The fact is that the actual bidding process in order to get freelance jobs is, in my opinion, the worst part of the whole process. In many cases, someone else will undercut you. Infact, you will likely only be successful in 10-20% of your bids, even when you gain some experience.

That means that you will waste a considerable amount of time placing detailed bids only to get nothing out of it (except, perhaps, some practice at bid writing!). Now don’t get me wrong. We all do this process and we still make money so you shouldn’t be fearful of this process, but I wanted to tell you that there *is* a better way.

The key, of course, is to foster repeat business. If you manage to seal a work at home job for a decent-sized company and you do a good job, there is an excellent chance that they will be able to offer you repeat business.

This of course not only saves you time in terms of the bidding process, but furthermore you get to know your clients so well that you don’t need to “learn” how they like business done. You’ve worked with them before and know how they like the work presented and so on.

They send you over some work and you just get straight on with it.

I now have a number of clients who basically have as much work for me as I have time to do it. Within a day or so of finishing a job, I get paid into my account and then receive through another email with my next task. They know that I will get the job done to the best of my ability so they don’t chase me in any way and I just work when I’m in the mood.

This, to me, is the perfect work at home business. No boss and regular work. Perfect.

The recession continues to bite, and with it the unemployment figures are growing all the time. It’s certainly a scary time for all of us - especially if you have a family who rely on you.

But this is also one of the best times to set yourself up with a work at home opportunity to help you insulate yourself from the recession. There are a few ways to view the current work at home phenomenon.

For one, it makes sense to get your “foot in the door”. Even if you only work from home a few hours a week, it’s another opportunity for you. That means that if the worst happens and you *do* get laid off, you’ve got some insurance to help cover you. You’ve got a part time venture that you can possibly scale up to cover your monthly expenses if you need to. In contrast, the people who get made redundant without a safety net like this are really starting to struggle.

And those few hours you work each week are also obviously an additional source of income. You can benefit from either having a little extra expendable income each month (what a nice feeling!), from reinvesting it in your business, or just save it for a rainy day. Then if the worst happens not only do you have a back-up job, but you also have back-up funds to hekp you through the difficult transition phase.

The simple end result is this - in the current climate you’ve got to be mad (or very brave) not to start looking into work at home opportunities as a source of insurance for you and your family.

We all worked hard at school, many of us worked hard at college and in our fulltimne jobs we also worked hard to learn all the skills we needed to succeed in the working world.

But now the economy is struggling and huge numbers of people are looking to work at home opportunities to provide an income they can rely on.

The sad fact is that the vast majority fo the emails that I get running this blog are from people who want to start earning from from home but don’t want to invest any time or money getting started.

Honestly consider how long you spent getting to where you are now when it comes to work. The amount of time and money you have spent so far getting to where you are now. It’s a considerable amount, right?

So why do people think they can come straight into a work at home job without any preparation and start making money? The fact is that if you’re going to be successful in this field (and a lot of people *are*) then you’re going to have to put the legwork in.

The most successful work at home individuals that I hear about are those who have retrained properly. They have taken some time to learn how to build websites, or write articles etc. I’m not saying it will take years to adjust, but at least take a few weeks to do some research, read some books and try to learn some new skills.

Many of the skills that employers are looking for are easy to learn if only you’ll give them a little time.

So think about what you’d be interested in learning that is a valuable skill to an online company - then just go for it.

As someone who works at home full time I am still frequently met with sighs of disbelief when I tell people what I do. While they’re toiling away in an office for a boss they dislike, I am free to take the day off whenever the weather warrants it and to go out and enjoy the day.

Either they doubt it’s possible at all (”there must be more too it than you’re letting on…”) or they doubt that *they* can do it. That’s the saddest part. Anyone can work at home if they have the motivation to go out and make it happen. After all, working from home isn’t the sort of thing that most people fall into - you have to plot and scheme and prepare for it in advance. You have to be totally focused to achieve it.

So if you’re currently keen to work from home and are wondering if such a lifestyle is really practical and pssible - I’m here to tell you that the answer is “absolutely”. Appreciate that I’m saying that not because I’m trying to sell you anything, but because it’s a topic that I, for one, am incredibly passionate about.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there trying to sell unworkable schemes to work from home, but if you choose your sources of information wisely there really is a happy crowd out there online who are working from home and enjoying every day.

If that sounds like your cup of tea then welcome to the family. If you feel you have to self discipline and morivation to succeed then may I wish you the best of luck. Your next step is figuring out exactly what you’d like to do to earn money from your home.

So, you think you can write? If so, there has never been a time like this to begin a career in writing. The market is currently flooded with writing job opportunities and there aren’t enough writers out there to produce the work. If you can put a decent sentence together, you can find a job.

If you are thinking of starting a freelance writing business at home, you need to spend some time thinking about the kind of writing you want to do. Right now, there is a huge demand for low-quality, high-volume writing. By focusing on writing articles for websites, you can make a very good living. This type of writing usually consists of turning out articles of between 300 and 500 words, often at a rate of 20 to 50 per day. To do this, not only will you need basic writing skills, but you will need imagination and super typing skills. If you type less than 50 or 60 words per minute, this might not be the type of writing for you. In fact, in order to do this type of writing, you almost need to be able to type as fast as you can think to make a living.

If you want work that takes a little more mind power, there is also a market out there for people who can produce self-help e-books. This type of writing often pays less per hour than article writing, but can be more rewarding and less repetitive. Employers will pay several hundred dollars per e-book, and often more.
A high-paying type of freelance writing is that of grant proposals. In these hard economic times, many organizations are looking for people who can write grant proposals on a regular basis. This type of writing takes a little more skill and thought, but can be very lucrative.

If you are looking for a freelance writing job, there are many places to look. One of the best places to start is Sologig.com, which is a website that connects providers and purchasers in many creative fields. GetAFreelancer.com is a website that lists thousands of projects you can bid on – from technical writing to grant writing, creative writing to ghostwriting. You can also try Craigslist.org which is a worldwide classified service and often has numerous writing opportunities listed.

When thinking of starting a freelance writing business, remember all writing gigs are not Pulitzer Prize entries – some writing will be “cheap and cheerful”. In order to succeed, all you need to do is make the client happy!

If you have a computer, a dedicated internet line, and a little time, you can make a good living by working at home. Legitimate work at home opportunities are at an all-time high right now, and there is no excuse to not get to work making some money online.

Everyone has a talent and the first thing you need to do is identify what it is that you do best, what you enjoy doing, and how you can put those two things together into a package that employers will want to buy. If you have a background in writing, or at the very least, some college education, making a living by writing online is very easy. Employers are looking for work at home writers at a record pace.

Within the writing category, there are many types of writing that are in great demand right now. You can make a living working at home by blogging for others, ghostwriting, or creating website content. You can help companies create e-books or brush up their website, itself. The opportunities for online writing are virtually endless. Try Elance.com to find jobs in this category.

If your skills are more visual, there is a large and active market for website designers. People with visual creativity are always in demand, and the growth of the internet has made a career as a freelance work at home website designer a lucrative one. Try Craigslist.org for freelance positions in this category.

For the more technically-minded, opportunities for website programmers and producers are in abundance. There are many websites that put programmers and website owners in touch with each other. You might want to try Sologig.com or Odesk.com to check out the work at home opportunities in the programming category.

Work at home opportunities are not limited to working for others, however. You may want to start your own website and create income from that. By creating a website that attracts visitors and attention, you can place advertising that will create a steady income stream. This takes a little work and a lot of time, but once the site is established, the income can keep coming in for years to come.

Remember that you may come across some work at home opportunities that are not legitimate. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. No one will promise you riches without you having to do the work, so always be wary when dealing with people on the internet.

If you are a mom, working at home, your tax situation is probably a lot rosier than you think it is. You have many advantages working from home and you need to make sure you claim all the deductions for which you are qualified.

First of all, if you are working at home, did you know that you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage as a business expense? If you are working in a “home office”, take the square footage of your home office divided by the square footage of your entire home and that is the percentage of your rent or mortgage you can claim as a home office expense. For instance, if your home office is 100 square feet, and your home is 2000 square feet, you can deduct 5% of all costs associated with your home – home insurance, mortgage or rent, electricity, gas, etc. If you have a dedicated phone line or DSL/cable modem, you can deduct that cost, too!

When it comes tax time, make sure that you recognize your “at home” efforts as a recognizable business. In most cases, you don’t need a business license or even an incorporated company to operate a business. By claiming “sole proprietor”, you can reap the benefits of having a business without much of the usually associate expenses.

On your taxes, claim income from a sole proprietorship and make sure you fill in the “Home Office” expenses worksheet. It is on this worksheet that you will claim all of your home office expenses – cable, phone, electricity, gas, mortgage or rent, and insurance. In addition, you can claim many other expenses such as advertising and marketing costs, losses from clients who have not paid you, and in some cases, even clothing, medical expenses, and attorney’s fees.

Although you are working from home, no doubt you are in your car picking up supplies, meeting with clients, or taking items to the post office. The mileage for these trips is also deductible as a business expense – just keep track of your mileage and the client you were working for at the time of the trip. If you drive a lot, you may be better off claiming the costs of your – car loan, gas, insurance, upkeep – instead of mileage. Most online tax services allow you to compare the two alternative ways of claiming this deduction. The only warning is this – keep good records! Nothing will attract the auditors’ attention more than a taxpayer who hasn’t kept good records.

If you have an email address, you may already have been deluged by offers of completing surveys for cash. Some are suspect, some are even illegal, but there are some survey companies that will offer you a genuine chance to fill in surveys and make some cash. You will never make a full-time salary out of filling in surveys at home, but you can make a little cash to spend.

Online surveys can be a lot of fun and often let you learn about new products before they come on to the market. Some surveys let you evaluate television shows or advertising campaigns, some surveys even send you products to sample and evaluate. If you are thinking about replying to a company looking for survey respondents, there are a few things you should keep in mind…

First of all, do not use your work email address or any other email address that you wouldn’t mind dumping at a later date. Many survey companies will sell your name and you will be inundated by email from companies you have never even heard of. Your email address may be sold many times over, and to some unscrupulous companies. Create a new email address on one of the free services – Hotmail, Yahoo, or Google – and do your survey work from that address.

Most survey companies only deal with people who live in the United States, and some only deal with those who live in the 48 contiguous states (sorry Alaska and Hawaii!), so make sure you place yourself in those states when filling in surveys – even if that isn’t your real address. Which brings us to another point – unless the company is sending you money, don’t give out your real address.

If you are expecting payment via means other than a check in the mail, you can set up a Paypal account for free. Many survey companies will pay directly to your Paypal account, which is safer and faster than a “check in the mail”.

Before you sign up with any company to complete surveys, do your research first. Go to Google or Yahoo and try to find information on the survey company in question. If you find information that leads you to think that they are scamming people, don’t do business with them. There are, however, many companies that are legitimate. American Consumer Opinion (www.acop.com) is a great place to start for finding surveys to fill in online. They are a legitimate company and they often provide surveys you can complete in exchange for cash.

There is a new trend in online working – the virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is more than just a “secretary”. In fact, a virtual assistant is more like a trusted co-worker, a researcher, a writer, a typist, a spouse, and a “gofer” all rolled into one.

Many people are now working online as virtual assistants and don’t even put themselves in that category. They may think of themselves as writers or designers, programmers or grant researchers, but what they are doing is being virtual assistants for others. This work can be financially rewarding and offer you the opportunity to work at home, the hours you want, and charge whatever the market allows.

By working at home as a virtual assistant, there are more benefits than just flexibility. The tax benefits are extraordinary. Many of the people you work for will not claim you on their taxes and that means that you don’t need to claim the revenue you earned – tax free income! In addition, you can claim deductions for many items you already use on your taxes. Claim a percentage of your mortgage or rent, your insurance, your travel, your dining and entertainment, cable bill, utilities, and more – just by having a home office and being a virtual assistant.

Finding work as a virtual assistant is easy to do. There are several websites that advertise positions that you can apply for. By charging you a percentage of the fee you receive, these sites make their living. Check out Sologig.com, Elance.com, or Virtualassistants.com, you can bid on jobs and hopefully win them.

When acting as someone’s virtual assistant, there are several things you need to ensure for your own safety. Never complete a job in its entirety without at least receiving partial payment or ensuring that payment is put in escrow. Elance.com is very good at protecting the rights of providers and you can require that moneys be put in escrow before you start a project.

Never give out personal information to the purchaser of your services. In most cases, all work is done online. If a buyer wants your telephone number, be wary – this person could be more work than he or she is worth. Try to keep all of your work online via email or IM. If the purchaser asks you to do something for free, something that is illegal, or something that seems even a little bit shady, listen to your gut and don’t do it. There are more fish in the sea – don’t compromise your ethics for a few dollars.

As Johnny Paycheck once said, “Take this job and shove it.” Well, maybe you don’t want to say that, but if you are feeling disconcerted in your current job, it might be time to hand in your notice. So, how do you know when it is really time to quit your job?

Many people will tell you that they knew the very minute it was time to quit their job. Maybe it was an incident with a co-worker or customer. Maybe it was the day they realized everyone else was paid more than them. Maybe it was the day they were asked to do something disgusting and absolutely not on their job description.

But more often than that, it is a moment of realization that the job isn’t for you and you could be happier somewhere else. It could be a lightning strike of a feeling, or it could build over months or even years. However it happens, you need to be able to recognize that feeling and know what to do when it happens.
Many people quit their job because they know they want and need to be doing something else, usually something they love.

Although this might not be the most financially responsible action, sometimes it works out for the best. Without a doubt, though, you will almost always be happier doing something you love for lesser pay.
Some people quit their jobs for ethical reasons, or to take a stand. They have drawn an invisible line in the sand and the employer has crossed that line. This is a very good reason to quit your job, as long as you have something else lined up.

Lots of people these days are quitting their job to start working for themselves. Working for yourself is great, but entails lots of hours, unpredictable cash flow, and puts a lot of pressure on you and your family. It’s very rewarding, but stressful.

In case you think you are tempted to quit your job, it is always a good idea to have an up-to-date resume on hand and ready to go – and NOT on your computer at work! Have copies of it ready to send out on another computer, just in case. Feel free to interview for jobs well before you have quit your job. Interviewing is a skill and the more you practice, you the better you will get.

You will know when it is time to quit your job if you listen to your gut feeling. If you can afford it, do it and take a chance at being happier!