Making yourself Marketable

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It’s one thing to decide that you want to venture into freelancing, and it’s another thing entirely to make yourself marketable. One of the first things that you’ll quickly come to the realization of is that no matter how good you think you are at your given talent, there are another 50 (or more) people out there that believe themselves to be better than you are – and they can offer their service less expensively than you can. If you’re leaving the brick and mortar job market for a virtual job the f irst thing you need to do...

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What’s Your Niche?

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You might think that because you’re a freelancer that it’s ok to offer a variety of  skills and technically speaking you’d be correct. However, there are some things that you need to be aware of: If I’m looking for a programmer (i.e. C Programming or other types) and your profile highlights what a great article writer you are, I’m not likely to even interview you. If your skills are complimentary skills: I.E. a writer who’s really good at proofreading for example, I want to know that in your cover letter.  The same thing would go for SEO marketing –...

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Virtual Reality 2

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We talked in our last post about giving yourself a break – but there’s a downside too. Too often when folks work at home they think they have far more time than they really do! What can happen? The biggest problem for many people is working at home can lead to a lot of wasted time. If you’ve made the decision to work at home you have to be totally committed to working a set number of hours every day – and once you do that you need to stick to it. Whether it’s 3 hours every morning and...

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Virtual Reality 1 – Get real

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No, this post isn’t going to be what you think it’s about! It’s more to do with managing your new ‘status’ as a freelancer, working alone, at home and often in your PJ’s. One of the biggest mistakes that many freelancers make is thinking they’re automatically going to do the ‘right thing’ and work 8 hour days and earn every possible dime that they can. It’s not going to happen without some discipline. That discipline might be a lot more complicated than you think it is … follow me…. Give yourself a break! Now it’s a pretty basic thing...

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Don’t Waste My Time!

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As a freelancer, our time is precious. As a buyer, we ask that you have the same respect for our time that you expect us to have for ours. I want to share a story about a job that I posted for this week. Let me start this off by saying this: I’ve been signed up with oDesk for more than a year and I’ve had very few instances when I’ve really complained about buyers because for the most part they are extremely helpful, cooperative and they are good to deal with. But this story is a ‘red flag’...

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The Difference Between Multilevel Marketing and Multi tiered Affiliate Programs

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A Comparison Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising. Multi-level marketing businesses function by recruiting salespeople (also called Distributors, Independent Business Owners, IBOs, Franchise Owners, Sales Consultants, Beauty Consultants, Consultants, etc.) to sell a product and offer additional sales commissions based on the sales of people recruited into their downline, an organization of people that includes direct recruits, recruits’ recruits, etc. Affiliate marketing overlaps with other internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates are using the same methods as most of the merchants themselves do. Those methods include organic search engine optimization,...

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Success through Sharing

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Most internet based and home based businesses are small businesses and as such have unique problems which only others who have a small business can understand. Since there are such a variety of business ventures that rely so heavily on the internet today, chances are you can build a network of others who you can get advise from and you can share your knowledge with. Since home businesses are typically (but not always) a one person operation, we don’t always know where to search (or how to search) for advise! There are thousands of people out there just like...

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Suitable Work at Home Jobs

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No Internet Access No Land Line When searching for positions to work at home you first need to determine what your workspace is going to be. Though in this day and age I have difficulty imagining anyone without internet access, I suppose it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. As far as no land line, that’s not as uncommon as many of us now use our cell phones as our home phone (me included and I work at home). Recommendations for possible jobs: Pet Sitter/Walker: Find out who in your neighborhood works all day and offer (for a fee)...

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Self Employment Assessment – Are you ready?

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Self Employment Assessment – Are you ready?

Most small businesses are run by entrepreneurs who are excited about going out on their own. The most successful entrepreneurs find a niche in the market – usually a service that hasn’t been met – and they offer it to consumers. Not everyone is willing (or able) to ‘strike out’ on their own. There are many considerations to look at. First, you must honestly assess your ability to ‘stick with it’ one you get started! A) Are you willing to commit at least forty (40) hours per week to your new venture? B) Do you have a business plan?...

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About Me

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About Me

My Profile/Portfolio: Doreen Martel Tweet About Doreen MartelWell-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts (491) Related Posts:Tips for finding online freelance writing jobsWriting Challenges: Objects in motionHubPages Tips: Overcoming the 3 link barrierWriting site challenges and comedyHard learned lessons from Panda Bookmarks

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What is Self Employment?

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Self-employment can be referred to a person who works for himself/herself instead of as an employee of another person or organization, drawing income from a trade or business.  This person may additionally be referred to as a freelancer or by other ‘common’ names. Self-employed persons are sometimes eligible for more deductions than an ordinary employee. Travel, uniforms, computer equipment, cell phones, etc., can be deducted as legitimate business expenses.  There are a number of tax laws that affect those who are self employed, contractors, freelancers – remember you’ll be responsible for paying all of your own taxes, paying your...

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Provider Beware!

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Recently I found a posting on Craigslist (and this is not against Craiglist as I’ve picked up some legitimate jobs there) only to find out that what I had run into was a MLM.  The posting said they were looking for people to process insurance applications. No up front fees yadda yadda yadda. So, off my resume went and a few days later I got an email. A woman emails me back – got your resume thanks for applying – the job is basically filling out these applications, take a look at our website. So, off I go and...

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Don’t get scammed!

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I don’t think there is a day that goes by that somewhere in my email I don’t see some great offer to work from home. They vary from filling out surveys, to working for Ebay, Google, you name it I get them. The one I love is mystery shoppers. Requirements like – you must be 5’10″ and shop in the big and tall department of Macy’s – right ok try someone else! Anyway, it’s not easy to work on your own but for those of us who chose to do so we need legitimate sources for work. As I...

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About this Blog

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I encourage you to share links to other websites that offer freelance jobs. However, there are some items that will be immediately removed: A)  Foreclosure assistance - Foreclosure assistance businesses are sketchy at best.  Companies that offer help and charge large up front fees are typically not companies that I would encourage anyone to get involved in.  While I’m sure there are some out there that do their businesses legitimately, I prefer to have folks who are involved with government programs such as HOPENow and FNMA work to handle these. B)  Multi Level Marketing – MLM’s are hard to...

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Avoiding Back Pain

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My best recommendation to avoid back pain at the computer is to invest wisely in a very good chair and watch your posture! Contact some of your local companies and find out what type of chairs they purchase for their staff! I was fortunate enough to be working for a very large company many years ago that started a ‘Work At Home’ program and I did exactly that. While I gulped at the $900 price tag on the chair at the time (this was in the early 90’s) – the chair has been a wonderful addition to my home...

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REAL Work at Home Jobs

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I guess perhaps I’ve been through some of these things before. So, I’ll share some of my experiences with you. Work at home: Mary Kay/Avon/Pampered Chef/Etc. These are not bad programs for most people who can devote the time to chasing new orders every week, bagging and delivering and all the other fun things that go along with them. They’re even more effective if you have home parties. Hazard: You spend your profits on (a) sales literature (b) special products for demonstration (c) things you love (d) promotional things to ‘reward’ your customers. Upside: If you have the time,...

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