Finally, A Work From Home Opportunity That’s Not A Scam!

Posted on | August 23, 2007 | No Comments

Many of the Work From Home ads you come across online or in emails are scams. Sorry. There’s just no other way to put it. Most are thinly veiled attempts at selling you how-to books and kits, computer equipment, DVDs and tapes. And these are the good ones; at least they give you something for your money. The bad ones offer you nothing except a bunch of telemarketing and mail-order scams and bogus leads on work-from-home jobs.

The shame of it all is that there really are jobs that you can legally do from home and earn a decent living. These jobs include telemarketing or telesales (sounds sketchy, but it’s a bona fide career option), conducting surveys, transcription, fundraising, freelance writing, blogging, web development, mystery shoppers, debt collectors, computer/IT support, virtual administrative assistants, and so much more. There are plenty of jobs currently being done in an employer’s office that can be modified to allow you to work from home.

There are also plenty that can’t be. It’s important that you understand the difference in order to avoid being scammed. It is also important that you understand that fundamental business principles don’t go out the window just because the job allows you to work at home; the job you’re being asked to do must perform a valuable service for a company–selling a product, processing information, conducting research–and pay will still be proportionate to the education, experience and skills required (i.e. an ad that promises you $100,000 for data entry is bogus; an ad that promises $6-$9/hour for answering inbound calls, or $5-$25/shop for mystery shoppers, is probably real). If you need help researching the companies offering work from home jobs, contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Better Business Bureau.
Finally, make sure that you understand what you are really agreeing to. Are you providing your personal information and agreeing to receive emailed lists of freelance jobs? Are you agreeing to receive “get rich quick” scams via mail or phone? Are you simply purchasing a “How-to” book, pamphlet or DVD? Are you an employee or a contractor?

The last question is particularly important because as a contractor, you are a business contracting with another business to exchange services for a fee. While that can be very lucrative and flexible, it also limits your legal protections (you’re not covered under federal or state employment laws) and shifts financial burdens to you (you have to buy your own equipment, withhold your own taxes and benefits).

Here are a few work from home offers that I’ve identified as real.

JobsThatDontSuck – Search a compilation of jobs from all over the web. Free. No membership required.

LiveOps – Make or answer calls from LiveOps clients including 1-800-Flowers, Beachbody and eBay. Pay ranges from as little as $6/hour to as much as $20/hr, plus incentives. You must provide your own dedicated landline, a PC with Windows XP and $30 for a background and credit check.

Sologig.com – Search freelance IT, technical writing, web development and other freelance jobs that require technical/professional expertise (i.e. technical or medical writing, engineering, accounting and paralegal work)

Odesk.com – Post your service profile and search for freelance IT, programming, graphic design and web development work. Odesk offers certification, ratings and a comprehensive and safe time-keeping, invoicing and payment system. Set your own prices, bid on projects, earn more as you do more work and earn higher ratings. Membership levels determine ability to bid on most lucrative projects, and the number of projects you can bid on. Transaction fees are 10%-11.11%.
Guru.com – Large marketplace for freelancers in fields including web design, fashion design, writing, presentations, IT, HR and business consulting. Members can apply to more jobs and pay a smaller transaction fee to guru.com.

Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) – An association of real mystery shopper, product demo, focus group, polling, auditing and merchandising companies. Jobs featured on their job board are from association members only.

Jobslinger.com – A free job board for field reps looking for mystery shopper, product sampling/demo, auditors and merchandisers. No membership fees.

International Association of Virtual Office Assistants (IAVOA) – Association of independent virtual assistants that provide office, reception and administrative services to home-based business owners and other executives who don’t want a land-locked assistant. Get startup and career information, make contacts and get certified.

LuckyOliver.com – Lucky Oliver is an online community for avid photographers looking to further their art and earn a little money. LuckyOliver.com allows you to upload your photos for sale to designers, writers and others in need of stock photos. You’re paid royalties of as little as $0.30 for small photos to $6 for large photos, $25 for extended licenses and you split the buy-out price 50-50.

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