Greetings and Salutations! I have a mostly-full time job, but the recent year hasn't been very kind to my finances. I had to take two months off with zero income for an open heart surgery that could not wait. Immediately after returning to work, the client downsized and my position was eliminated. My contract company could do nothing about it, because it was the client's decision, so the best they could do was give me a job that I never signed up for. I went from working Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm, with a very comfortable income, to working 3rd shift at nearly half the rate and I'm lucky to get 40 hours per week. Thankfully, I had the fore-site to save some money before my operation. That money has sustained me for more than half of a year, now and has finally trickled away. I have submitted hundreds of applications in all sorts of fields. I have received a handful of invitations to interviews, and half of those were not for what I would consider legitimate companies. I live with my fiance, our daughter and my cat. (She won't claim the cat as her own.. Although he loves her with every lick...) She has been very supportive, as much as I could ask her to be, anyway. She has a full-time job as well, and she contributes to the bills. We have cut our finances as far as we believe they can go. We have ditched Verizon and opted for less expensive phone services (I'm paying $30/mo for Unlimited everything! That's $100 less than I was paying with Verizon...), we have cancelled our cable television, and cut our internet to the least expensive level. We fill the fridge on a coupon budget, and rarely ever indulge in fast food. We work opposite schedules, so we've pulled the toddler from day-care and hired a baby-sitter for half of the price. As much as we've cut, it doesn't seem to be enough! We are like ships passing in the night. I see her in the morning before she takes the babe to the sitter, and I see her when she gets home from work before I leave for the night. Our bills have leveled out, but with the holidays coming, there are more expenses, not to mention the prospect of having to take time off of work without pay to visit family a state away. In addition to the above, I'm very happy to share, that we are halfway through a pregnancy! As excited as we both are, we know that something needs to change soon in order for us to properly care for both of our children, not to mention my cat. The idea of working from home has always intrigued me. I don't know how many hours I've spent reading web pages with pictures of palm trees and yachts, with bold red text and yellow highlights and checks with circles around numbers far larger than I've ever seen on a check with my name on it. I don't know how many hours I've spent watching somebody that is far more charismatic than me convince me that if I just entered my e-mail and went to the next step, I'd be making five figures in a month. I don't know how many times I've taken that next step and came to the page where I enter my credit card information, the ultimate wake-up that this is probably not a legitimate opportunity. I've been intrigued by creating a website, or a blog and trying some sort of affiliate system, and that may be something that I seriously look into, when I'm in better financial waters. For the moment, I need something that can help me. I am not expecting to get something for nothing, I fully intend on trading time and knowledge or skill for money. Unfortunately, at the moment, this would all have to be done during my normal working hours(0000-0800 eastern), on my days off. I know I can't work a call center job with a toddler jumping on a couch six feet away. I'm not looking for something that can immediately replace my full-time job. It doesn't pay much, but it's a guaranteed X amount per paycheck, and I am not in a position that I can risk losing that for something that may or may not pan out. Ultimately, I'd like to be able to have a steady income from work that I perform from the comfort of my computer chair, but for now I just need help. I don't need to make five figures per month, or even four figures per month! A simple $100 per week would go a long way towards helping my family out of some very tough times and giving us some room to breathe. I have been told that I am an intelligent individual, by more than just my mother. I know that I can perform simple tasks as well as anybody, and I can be trained to do a job, and that job will be done at least as good as the training that I receive. I have great experience in multiple fields. Every job I have held has had some element of customer service. I have worked on a cruise ship, I have worked in a call-center, in retail, in loss prevention, security and as a manager of up to 20 security officers. I have experience in office environments, and a great working knowledge of computers and software programs. I can learn a program very easily, as I've been doing so for more than half of my life. Oh, and I'm terrible at selling. Unless I fully understand and appreciate the product, I can't paint a fake smile and push the product. I'd have a hard time selling a glass of ice water in a desert... Every Google search that I perform yields results that send me clicking links for two hours before determining that I made a wrong click 90 minutes ago. I guess I'm not sure what I want to ask. This is the general advice forum, so I guess I'm asking for advice? What would you (the people that successfully work at home) suggest that I do? Is there a company that is so well known among the work at home community that can offer me what you believe I may need? How do I start? Who do I talk to? Is there a secret handshake? Can my cat help? Thank you for the time that you've given to my words. If you have any advice, I'd love to hear from you! If you don't have any advice, I still wouldn't mind hearing what you think. -Jeffers
PapaJeffers, Welcome to our forum! Congratulations to you and your fiance on your pregancy. And I'm happy that your open heart surgery was successful. It certainly hasn't affected your apparent sense of humor. Sometimes when we are being tossed about on the seas of life, it is difficult for us to see the big picture and understand where we fit in exactly. That's because we are so busy trying to survive, that our perspective becomes obscured by the water that's splashing in our face. There is the school of thought that tells us: everything we need is already contained within us. To grasp the true meaning of that statement requires us to take a step back and see ourself and our situation from the point of view of an onlooker. You'd be surprised at what you see. Here's what I see: You tell a good story (I was riveted). You express yourself in writing very well. You have an interesting sense of humor. You have a wide and divergent range of working experience. You have the desire to create a better life for yourself and your family. You've been actively looking for a solution. You have a supportive fiance. You have realistic income expectations. ($100/wk) You are a quick learner. You have the discipline to save money. You have an optimistic attitude. Somewhere in all of that is the answer that could guide you out of your current financial situation and onto greener pastures. Simply start from where you are with what you have. Take stock of yourself and examine your intangible resources (some of which I've pointed out above) and figure out a way to select one, or combine several, to create a report, guide or product others could benefit from. Consider passions, hobbies and particular skills you may have as well and add those to the mix. Keep working on it. And when an idea presents itself, act on it. Persist until you succeed. In the meantime, keep a journal of everything you do to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. This way, when you make it, you'll have quite an inspirational story to tell. And you certainly know how to do that! Hermas
I am with Hermas here... you are an amazing story-teller! While you browse thru this forum and read up on stuff, I would encourage you to click on some of the links we have in our signatures as most of us here are doing SOMETHING from home and many of us promote what we do as we get paid referrals or commissions for 'advertising' with our companies... just don't be afraid to ask questions and you might want to just put on your 'research hard hat' for awhile to avoid pulling all your hair out as you weave your way through everything ... cause believe me, you will find a lot of different things that can be done from home or with the internet for some extra cash.
Hey PapperJeffers - I read your post nodding and saying to myself; "yep, me too. Yep, ME TOO!, YEP! ME TOO!!" We have a lot in common and are in similar situations! Congratulations on the pregnancy, My wife is currently pregnant with our first (Due end of March) and I couldn't be more excited about it although there is certainly an amount of pressure to ensure we have a comfortable and secure life for our family. I feel responsible and accountable to make sure I can provide for my family. I hear everything you said and agree. I also work full time at the moment but have recently began taking steps to change that. Like yourself, I am not able to jump straight into a new opportunity because whilst I would love to, the guarantee of a paycheck each month helps me to sleep each night. My plan and what I have started to do is to become involved with affiliate marketing. I have around 2 years worth of knowledge in the Internet Marketing industry and applying what I have learned so far. If I could give you any advice at all, it would be to BE CAREFUL of offers that sound too good to be true, and live by the "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is" mentality. Unfortunately, many people get rich by teaching others to "get rich" - when really they sell a dream but little else. I would be excited and happy to discuss babies, the prospect of working from home and different methods people use to make a genuine income online. I am also documenting everything in a blog which is something that I have seen the majority of successful online marketers doing.
That is great advice. If you are going to get into affiliate marketing, I would only work with programs that can pay you both residual income and an income from other people's efforts. I tell you this because when you focus all your attention on one time commission programs, in one year your income will be at $0 even if you generate 500 sales to a product you really like. From 2007-2011 I made over 3000 sales to a few products that paid me ONCE. From that today, I don't have any residual income. That is why it is KEY to your success to work with affiliate products that pay you residual monthly income.
Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place to get solid advice on where to start your search. Many members have been working from home successfully for years, and what you need to do is listen and learn, a lot of good solid information is freely shared here. With all who want to start their own home business, first and foremost, get started, do not procrasitinate for this leads to no action in most cases, what you put off for tomorrow never comes for so many. Opportunities abound, so start with a product or service you know something about, or like, or already use and are familiar with. This lessons the learning curve and will help you get off to a good start. No sense trying to market something you are clueless about, so choose a company you can relate with. I started my first business in the electronics technology industry, why, simple, I already was well trained and it was easy to leave corporate position since I had no learning curve as example. Everyone has experience in something from their current positions or perhaps hobbies. Always nice to turn a hobbie into a business, which I had also done in my business quest for success. Found even more success as I loved what I was doing, not just having to do it which is the case with electronics technology, I didn't love it, but it served me well as I learned all I needed to know to expand into areas of more interest. I loved to travel, so I started a travel agency, another example. I loved the classic motorcars, luxury and sports cars, so I started a lease and finance business where I got to drive every dream car on my bucket list all at no cost, and that was the most fun of all businesses I have started over the years. The point is this, do not enter into any business without the passion to enjoy growing it to a point where it can support you and your family. I waited and learned all I could at expense of corporate America, and when the time was right, I opened my first business and was able to establish my client base from all the contacts I had through company, and that makes taking the leap even easier. It is never easy to take that leap when considering starting a traditional business, but it can be done. What is far easier is starting your own home business, less risk, less overhead, less stress, so learning what I have over the years, I no longer have any traditional businesses, sold them off, and glad I did, nothing better than working from home office and on computer, no overhead, no employees, no expenses of rent or mortgage, less tax burden, hassles of employees, out of control health benefits, recessions, you name it, and I have been through it with traditional businesses. Success to all,
Pappa Jeffers All I can say is good Luck for 2015, hopefully it will all change for you, a business even a hobby business takes time to build an income, be very careful about investing any cash. Perhaps you could look at clickbank.com, free tutorials and see how to write ebooks - your writing skills are great. Also write articles for EzineArticles to advertize you ebooks - or other free directories and Free classified ads - but I do question how much spare time you will have with a new baby. The very best wishes for 2015
