Any ideas for stay at home jobs?

[Marty]

Hus has finally pulled the plug on himself and has retired. We had a flooring store for many years and and his knees and hip is shot, so we have not renewed the lease on our building in town. He'll be 71 in April and we are officially now on social security. He's not one to hang around so he will pick and choose a small job here and there and work out of the house on occasion. I always worked in the business and got a small paycheck of my own, plus I had my own tack shop there as well, but without the store in town I'm out of both my jobs. We thought of moving the tack shop up here but I'm so very rural, and people don't really spend good money on tack anyhow, just not worth it, and we do not want people running in and out of our place all the time either.

Here's the thing: I still want to make my own money by myself. I could get a decent job in town but the problem is when I went back and forth daily, it was costing about $80.00 a week just in gas and I have to "preserve" the wear and tear on my truck too. We just did the math on a pretty good job offer but the fact remains that after gas and taxes, I'd clear less then $30.00!!!! Plus with winter, there are many days I could not travel down the mountain to get there. I do a lot of volunteer work for different causes of mine, but of course that is for free.

So that leaves me who is a very hard worker needing some ideas to make money from home. I hate wasting my days just sitting here not bringing in an income. I am not used to not working.I do love to write and have many blogs and stories never published online, about 100 actually, but I have no idea how to make money doing that. So what can I do from here? Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[RockRiverTiff]

You already have some clear areas of expertise and a great portfolio as a published author, Marty. If you put yourself out there you might be surprised by who responds. If you don't want to directly submit to publishers or don't know how, there are a number of freelancing sites where you can post your portfolio and bid on whatever projects interest you. I personally started at Freelancer.com three years ago, and I wouldn't recommend it to another American writer. The site is now flooded with foreign writers to the point that many buyers expect to get quality writing for less than a penny per word.

Elance.com is a much better option for American writers because the site punishes providers that routinely underbid, and you can get started there for free. Also, the site requires escrow for every project which means you never have to worry about getting paid. It's still extremely competitive, but once you land your first project it gets much easier. I have a handful of steady clients now, so I rarely bid on work anymore unless something neat comes up. (Just wanted to add on a side note that Elance offers more than just writing opportunities. One of my friends is an animator, and she's done a number of jobs through the site also and eventually found a permanent telecommuting position via Elance.)

If you want something more low pressure, then you can always try a service like textbroker.com. Their rates are pretty low, but it's an easy way to make some extra money on your own time. They pay via Paypal every two weeks, and you can pick and choose the articles you want to write.

I've also gotten involved in some very cool projects via Craigslist's writing job boards, but when you take out the middle man it leaves you with very little recourse if the client doesn't keep up their end of the bargain. Another thing to think about is taxes. If you and your husband have filed as self-employed before as part of your business then it might not be as much of a headache for you as it was for me the first time. For anyone that's considering freelancing, here's a good basic overview of what you'll need to know about filing taxes.

Hope that helps!

One more side note for anyone that's thinking about freelancing... You should NEVER have to pay to work. Any job that asks you for a sign-up fee is a farce. Project boards like Freelancer, Elance and Textbroker make their money through commissions charged to the buyers. You can pay to get more bids or to make your account more visible, but you can also use the plain old free account.

 

[Jill]

I don't know if this is the kind of thing you (or anyone) can do "on demand", but over the years, you have shared some really good poems that you wrote here -- from funny ones to touching ones. People might commission someone who's good at that stuff to write a poem for a specific person or situation. You wrote a really funny one about lice and years ago one for me about Khaki that really gave me comfort.

On a non-creative front, different professionals might pay you to cold call to try and get appointments for them with whatever their target audience might be. If I could find someone good at it, I know I'd pay but it's such a specialized thing depending on the business and cold calling is really not for the faint of heart. I had to do it one time for this training I paid to attend (that was not related to cold calling but to a database). I did better than anyone else in the class BUT I cringed making each and every call.

Good luck.

 

[disneyhorse]

Since I'm assuming you have inventory from your tack shop and obviously have Internet if you're posting here, why don't you try selling your tack online? Probably reach more customers?

Good luck with whatever you endeavor!

Andrea

 

[kaykay]

Marty I am writing for a different content provider now and they pay all up front payments (no waiting for page view payments) and pay out to paypal two times per week. You have to submit a writers resume and one good writing sample. You can pretty much earn as much or as little as you want but it is work. Also you are a freelancer so are responsible for your own taxes.

Once you have written there you can get promoted to higher paying articles

Email or call me if you want details

Tiff I just signed up on Elance but I have to say its pretty complicated to get started. I do have a friend making good money there but I havent taken the time to figure it all out yet LOL

 

[Leeana]

Well this one is semi stay at home, and depending on your area you should have good business..(it slightly goes along with my line of work, which I love..most of the time).

Perhaps you could advert your own business as providing outside care for the elderly in your area? Not the "physical" part, but things like doing their grocery shopping for the elderly at home. I am a full time STNA but for a period of time I took up a home health job as well on the side and would do things such as assist them with making a grocery list, going and doing the shopping...putting things away for them...laundry..a lot of sitting and watching tv and talking with them. Go to the movie's to keep them company. Its actually very profitable and does not require a lot of physical effort really. I decided the money was good, but my extra time that I had for things like horses and other general area's of slacking (

) was not really worth it...I needed some "me" time after spending all day at work.

 

[Marty]

Kay I did attempt Elance a while ago and it is so complicated I could not even get started. Jill I could whip up a poem on any subject usually in seconds but I wouldn't know where to start with that either. ugh! I'm such a looser. I do have ADD and it is hard for me to figure out somethings so I get very frustrated.

Leanna, I already do that with 4 other lady friends of mine for free for our neighbors who have no one else and no money to hire anyone. Its a very poverty stricken area. I'm the jello and soup lady lol. I do soup and make jello with fruit by the tons and clean up mostly and the other gals cook big dinners. I got to do a little decorating too with some of my extra Chritmas stuff. It's fun to visit and gets me out of the house a little bit and I only have to go within a mile of my home.

Let me just throw out my idea to anyone else looking this thread over to reciprocate. My idea of a consignement shop for tack was pretty good and I loved it. I made it "cute" with blue and white gingham little curtains and accents, very country-ish and homey with the rockers and coffee pot on and soft dulcimer playing in the background. All our racks were built from our junk lumber pile and painted. Mind you, I paid no rent because I was using space in our already leased store and it was on the main drag in town. Now my town is a poor town and I would sit there for days without a sale. I actually had people haggle with me over a few cents once, but I had a lot of people come from other counties which really is where I made most sales and sometimes we delivered. This could work at your own place if you have a building that is insullated where boogers won't get in. It cost me about $20 bucks to get started with my home made sign and I never paid a dime to advertise. I called friends and asked them to bring over any horse related items they wanted to get rid of and that's all it took. Word traveled fast by mouth at the horse shows and I also advertised on Craigslist weekly and listed new items that came into my store for sale. I did have a rule that things must be in working order, no filthy dirty junk etc. My store was packed inside and out as I did take in a couple of trailers also on consignment and hay. Heck I even sold Heidi's big size horse cart before it hit the State. I had three buyers waiting for it to arrive. I took in all kinds of tack, show clothings, etc. and stable supplies, everything related to horse and rider and barn. If your home is in a good location this could work with just about anything, baby and childrens items is always a good idea. If I lived elsewhere I would try this again on a heartbeat.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Marty...stay at home and write "FORMAL APOLOGIZES" advertise on CL. You are so hysterical with your writing and your stories.

Target audience

Guys/Girls who stay out too late....sorry letters to wifes or girlfriends, cheatting spouses, birthday anniversary special occasion forget! Late for work, late for appointment any thing that someone needs to apologize for. To mothers, fathers, sisters aunts, bosses, future bosses friends.

Client decides if its a funny or more serious....I would have to think funny BUT sincere!!

Just make it fun

 

[kaykay]

LOL Marty I hear ya sister. Also I have found on Elance articles sell too cheap until you are able to sell enough to get a really good reputation.

I guess for me getting up front payment is way better.

The one I work for now (DS) is not nearly as complicated. You just have to get their guidelines down and write to the title.

I have friends that have more experience than I do that make 500.00 a week there. I am not that high yet but I do make a regular weekly income there.

Kay

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Just realized how contentious I sounded, and I certainly didn't mean to come off that way. I have a world of respect for you Kay, so I'm just going to say "To each his/her own." I think the moral of this thread is that there are actually quite a few viable work at home options out there.

 

[kaykay]

Aww thanks Tiff. You know I luv ya

I do have a friend making excellent money on Elance and after the holidays I am going to look it over again.

But I agree so many do not realize that there are real ways to work at home and make good money.

Kay

 

[RockRiverTiff]

But I agree so many do not realize that there are real ways to work at home and make good money.

Yes - I still have friends that think I'm stuffing envelopes when I tell them I work at home, but everyone that knows what I do really envies the job perks. I choose how little or much I want to work, I choose the work I do, I set my own hours and I have virtually no overhead. There are also an abundance of write-offs, including insurance and my spiffy new laptop (plus any software I buy that relates to my work). The horses still limit the work I do - I had to turn down an all expenses paid month-long trip to Las Vegas to cover the WSOP this year - but it's been really gratifying to know I can live in the rural area I do and still have a writing career.

One last tip for anyone considering Elance... I think the key (if you don't want to grovel anyway) is to have a good niche. I sometimes do work outside my niche as a palate cleanser (for my brain), but there are so many people that post form bids on there that if you seem truly passionate about a client's project or product it makes a strong impression.

 

[PrestigeMiniHorses]

Marty what about maybe investing in alil shed or something of the sort and doing a ebay shop with all of your consignment stuff.. I LOVED the shirt I bought from you!!! It looks awesome! And I recieved sooooo many compliments on it this year. Just a thought for sure

I would buy from you in a heartbeat again

 

[kaykay]

LOL@tiff

Everyone here says I get paid to "play" on the computer. Dont I wish! They don't realize what a pain it can be dealing with editor's etc.

But I do love the freedom and being able to work in my jammies with the dogs laying on my feet.

Kay

 

[kareng]

While I know this may sound crazy and probably not practical. I wish I could find someone like you Marty to help me sell/place my horses in new homes. Since we are no longer breeding and trying to downsize since our kids interests are pulling our time and energy in other directions it is hard to have time to work with the horses. Even though I don't know you personally I know about you and I respect your integrity and the time you devote to your horses. I don't have high dollar horses but I believe they have alot to offer to people and would love someone to help me find them great homes. Anyway, I don't know if there are others out there who feel the same way. Just my thoughts.

kareng

 

[Shari]

How about an Editing job for Magazines, or even writing short Articles?

That is what DH's mother did at home, since she hated to drive.