Carmen's Random Tips: Work at Home Tips for Moms that Want to Become Wahms

Everything You Need to Know About Working from Home

I think that it’s just about every mother’s dream to work from home, enabling them to both help support their family and to be with their children without the need for childcare.  

Most parents dread the very thought of putting their child, or children, in daycare for many reasons. But what if I told you that there are actually countless ways that you can make that dream become a reality?  

Many women from all over the world have found the secrets to making this happen and so can you.  There are at home jobs and career opportunities out there for every educational and skill level. Whether you have a college degree or a GED…you have options.  

So, here are my work at home tips based on my own personal experience and research over the past five years.

Work at Home Tips

First Things First - Assess Your Skills

To work from home you really do need to have basic computer skills such as typing, the ability to web browse, and maybe even some basic Microsoft Word.  These are actually things that you can learn in a small vocational class or that you can teach yourself!

• Typing:  When finding jobs that involve any typing, whether it's a data entry type job, transcription, or even writing, being a quick and accurate typist will help you to get hired. It will also help you to work more smoothly and quickly.  The faster you work, the more work you can fit into one hour. But, remember when typing that accuracy is also just as important as speed.
• Grammar and Spelling:  These skills are extremely important with any online work, but especially with writing and transcription.  Before even attempting to apply for any jobs like this make sure that you have mastered your grammar and spelling, and/or know how to utilize a quick spell check tool to double check that you’ve used proper grammar and spelling! Those tools can be very helpful. You will not get hired in the world of writing and transcription if you have poor grammar and spelling.
• Customer Service Skills:  There are tons of customer service jobs all over the internet! You just have to know the right places to find them and I’m going to give you the inside scoop on where to go to find these jobs.  Some companies are willing to train and work with beginners, while others require some customer service experience history. So if you have worked in any type of customer service, then this is something that you may want to consider. You will also be happy to know that there are many at home customer service jobs that do not require phone skills. These types of jobs offer web based chat customer service instead of telephone customer service.
• Telephone Skills:  Yes, this is actually considered a skill.  Some people are phone shy, while others are naturals on the telephone. This is a skill that comes in handy for both customer service and virtual assistant type jobs.
• Administrative Skills:  If you’ve ever done any office type work or worked as an administrative assistant, then it will be a piece of cake for you to land a job as a Virtual Assistant. 
• Research Skills:  If you’re interested in working as a Web Search Evaluator, or as a Freelance Writer, you’ll need excellent research skills. This can be something that is a passion of yours and that just comes naturally to you. Do you like to look up random things and learn about different topics or world affairs? Then you might be a researcher at heart.
• Listening Skills:  Having the ability to listen is important in the world of both customer service and transcription, but especially with transcription because you have to dictate the words that you hear. The money that you can work your way up to in the transcription world can be desirable, but if you get frustrated with dictating audio, then this isn’t for you. With that said, this is a skill that you can hone. It may be frustrating at first, but it can become second nature with some practice and hard work before you know it. It all depends on you and your personal desire to make it work as with anything that you pursue in life.
• Web Browsing Skills:  There is a difference between web browsing and being a “master web browser.” How quickly can you type, find and research a topic? If you can find what you’re looking for in either seconds or minutes, then you’re a master. If it takes you long and you’re lost, then you need to hone this skill, or this just isn’t right for you. 

Now we’re going to do a quick rundown on what’s available based on college level.  I think that some people feel intimidated without a degree, but you can actually make a really decent amount of money working from home without a degree. That’s not to say that having a degree is not important, because that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just saying that it is possible to make good money without one.

With a College Degree:  Animators; Web Developers; Accountants; Freelance Technical Writers; 3-D Artists; Psychiatrists; Doctors; Writing; Web Search Evaluator; Translators and more.

Without a College Degree:  Freelance Writing; Customer Service; Data Entry (there’s only a few that are legitimate, but they exist); Virtual Assistants; Surveys; Web Search Evaluator (these positions sometimes consider people without degrees, depending on your resume); Blogging; Affiliate Marketing; General Transcription; Medical Transcription (this requires training and certification); MLM home businesses; and more! 

To Get Hired

If you want to get hired anywhere, you need to have the skills and a wonderful resume. Your resume and cover letter can either make you or break you, so you will also want to master these things. You should have a different cover letter for different job types that you are applying for. For example, one cover letter for writing and one cover letter for transcription.  

For Support and Job Search

Four favorite hot spots around the web for other moms that work from home are wahm.com, workplacelikehome.com, realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com and wahadventures.com. All four sites offer massive amounts of information and work at home tips to help aide you in becoming successful at working from home, while also allowing you to meet other wahms that have been there and done that or are still trying to find their way. It’s nice to have more than one place to go. Many people refer to all four of these sites for help.

The forums on wahm.com and workplacelikehome.com are full of other moms that work from home that can help you in your job search efforts.  If you’re interested in working as a Web Search Evaluator, you can find information on that in the “Google Rater” folder on wahm.com’s forum. Other non-phone jobs can be found in their Telecommuting Folder. 

You can easily search their forum folders by picking a key word and this is encouraged by forum moderators and members. For example, search for “at home customer service chat jobs” and then going through the results to find jobs. Needler.com does home web based chat and Fancy Hands (fancyhands.com) is a great place to check into for virtual assistant work. You can find some non-phone jobs in their listings. 

At workplacelikehome.com you’ll have to join in order to see their forum folders, but there you will find many at home customer service jobs. Most moms are looking for non-phone work due to little ones. In that case, your best bet is freelance writing, blogging, affiliate marketing, non-phone customer service, non-phone virtual assisting (hard to come by) and transcription. 

Final Notes

Another important tip to take into consideration is that many wahms juggle more than one at home job. That way you’re always guaranteed enough work flow. I hope that these valuable tips that I’ve shared help you become successful with your desire to join millions of wahms around the world! Best of luck in your job search!