Article by:
Michelle Yanik
A freelancer is an independent contractor. Have you been looking
for freelance employment? Are you thinking you have the skills and
discipline to work independently? With a computer, high speed
internet, phone, fax and skills you can work from home in almost any
field with companies in almost any country. Companies benefit by
working with freelancers or contractors because they are not
responsible for employment/tax costs. Make sure your home
environment fits with the type of work you want to do. If you plan
to do phone work, you can’t have sounds of small children or dogs
barking in your background. Companies still want their home workers
to appear to be working in the companies’
offices.
Writing/Editing/Proofreading
If you’re hoping
to find job listings for writers or freelance photography jobs there
are opportunities online. In previous times freelance writers and
photographers contacted magazine and book publishers with samples
sent via the mail. Now, you can search the web and find
organizations hiring freelancers of all sorts. Freelance writing,
editing and proofreading are valuable services to many businesses.
Companies can’t afford to distribute documents and marketing
materials that contain errors. An extra pair of eyes help to find
errors that could be costly or embarrassing. They need accurate and
professional workers to create and polish written
materials.
There is a wide range of pay. Low paying jobs
range from $10 per article to $200 per educational paper. High
paying jobs range from $600 to $1,000 per article. Ghost writing a
novel can get you thousands.
Web Developers
With
technological advances telecommuting jobs became possible and
prevalent. Freelance opportunities have moved beyond writing and
photography. Other freelance employment areas to explore include
jobs for web developers. Web developers usually offer HTML and
programming services to create interactive or database driven
websites. Web developers are programmers and work with web based
code like ASP, .NET, Cold Fusion, DHTML, Javascript, PHP, SQL and
more. Web development and web maintenance are viable freelance jobs
ideal for work at home.
“Someone who wants to be a developer
has to have a good eye, think like a programmer and have some
graphic design capabilities. If you only know HTML then you won’t
get very far and will find that you have a lot of limitations to the
types of sites you can build”, says Joey Costa, owner of The Tek in
Cary, NC. In addition to HTML, you should know C programming, pearl,
and good graphics programs like Photoshop.
Mystery
Shopping
Consider also, mystery shopping. Mystery shoppers
provide businesses with much needed information on customer service
and help increasing sales. A mystery shopper covertly evaluates the
cleanliness of a facility, how products are placed, the staff’s
helpfulness and knowledge. It is an opportunity for a business to
improve services and provide training. The shopper provides detailed
reports answering the questions posed in guidelines for conducting
each shop.
This is not a field in which you’ll get rich. You
may find steady work if you provide great reports, follow job
guidelines exactly and live in an area where frequent shops occur.
Signing up with multiple mystery shopping service providers should
bring you more frequent mystery shopping jobs.
How Much Do
Mystery Shopping Jobs Pay?
Mystery Shopping pay rates vary
depending on the type of assignment and establishment. Sometimes it
is just reimbursement for money spent during the shop. You are given
a set spending limit and are told if it will be reimbursed. For
example, you shop an express lube service. Your oil change and lube
will cost $29. You are reimbursed $29. In another case you shop a
supermarket, you pay for the job is $11 and up to $6 of your
purchase will be reimbursed. Your total pay for the job is $17.
Shopping auto dealerships, property management firms, and other such
establishments often pay a rate anywhere from $30 to $75. Other
examples: retail stores pay $10 -$30/shop, fast food $5-$15/shop,
casual dining restaurants pay $15 to $30 with a meal allowance of
$15 - $20.
Virtual Assistant
If your administrative
skills are strong you may consider being a Virtual Assistant. A
Virtual Assistant (VA) supports one or more businesses remotely.
Duties may include secretarial work, meeting and travel planning,
project management and web maintenance. As an independent contractor
you’ll decide with whom you’ll work and how and when you’ll
work.
Clients are most often small businesses and will hire a
Virtual Administrative Assistant to save money. Since you are
working from home you use your own equipment and the client incurs
not employment costs like taxes and benefits. You are responsible
for your own taxes as an independent contractor. Virtual assistants
can support just about any industry. The ones hiring VA’s most often
include real estate, coaching, financial services, accounting and
legal.
You can learn how to become a VA and earn
certification through one of many online training organizations.
These organizations work with your existing skill and teach you how
to create, operate and become successful in your VA business. Many
refer you to your first virtual assistant job. You should research
training providers well before paying for training.
Virtual
Assistants usually charge by the hour. Rates range from $25 to $50
per hour. Some VA’s work with clients on a retainer. The VA is paid
up front and the client sends work when needed.
About
the Author:
Michelle Yanik, is co-owner of Smart Moms, a
company committed to being the top online resource for moms who want
to earn money from home and find work/life balance. Sign up for our
information packed e-newsletter and get a complimentary copy of our
e-book, Striking A Balance at http://www.smart-moms-online.com/. Read more about
working from home at www.smart-moms-online.com.
Article Source:
www.iSnare.com
