Melissa Rich Author – Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!

If you are in the market for a new position, new customers or a new business, you might have noticed things have changed just a bit. It seems there are more scammers out there and they are not even just companies that want to sell information via eBook for $29.95.

These are people that post jobs on Forums such as Wahm.com and claim to be legitimate companies seeking contractors to work. You contact these companies, go through the entire process of training, work for 20-30 hours and then discover they are scammers out to get work from you without paying.

These companies have hired more people than they cannot afford to pay and never had intentions to pay you for all the hard work completed.

How can you go about finding legitimate work?

I find that first and foremost word of mouth is great! I like Wahm.com simply because they are a community of people that are seeking work from home and try to help one another. If you are not familiar with a company, ask a question in the forum.  Nine times out of 10, someone in the huge community will have experience with the company and provide helpful feedback.

Finally-Always seek advice from the BBB in the city of the company in question.

If you need help locating legitimate companies-read Melissa’s Book-Your Virtual Home Office Can be a Reality!

A lot of people I encounter are seeking a home based job/career. It sounds wonderful but the need for legitimate home-based positions are not any easier to find than when I started 12 years ago. The scammers are even better at finding those that are considered to be newbies to the field. My advice to those just starting out in this market-Research every opportunity and if you think that it seems to good to be true, it generally is.

Look at local sites such as:

Flexjobs.com

Indeed.com

Monster.com

Or companies such as:

Live-ops

VIP desk

Convergys

There are many legitimate opportunities out there for those that are seeking long term positions working from their virtual home office. When I first started looking for work from home, I made it my full time job to research companies and opportunities. I researched at night when my family was sleeping and in the afternoons after I completed my daily work.

If you need help determining what opportunity works best for you and how to avoid the scammers-check out our website: www.yourvirtualhomeoffice.com

Working from your virtual home office is a huge responsibility since you are solely responsible for your home business. Here are a few mistakes that you can avoid:

• Business hours-determine your set working hours or business hours before you begin working. This will alleviate problems separating working hours from family time.
• Rates-set your hourly rate or prices when you start working from home. Never agree to work for someone without a contract in place. This takes the awkward out of a business transaction. After all working from your virtual home office is your paycheck and you want to handle business transactions accordingly.
• Advertise-working from your virtual home office requires you to be the sole proprietor and responsible for adverting your work from home business or career. Never make the mistake of thinking that customers or clients are going to just come to you. Advertise-whether it is joining your local chamber of commerce or supporting your local soccer team-get your name and business out there to provide you with long term success working from your virtual home office.

Failing to plan and maintain scheduled tasks for a profitable home business can hinder success. Take the time to set up guidelines for your business to allow a lifestyle that provides balance between business and family. If you need ideas on a successful work from home business-check out Melissa’s book “Your Virtual Home office can be a Reality!”

I describe myself as a unique individual since I am not like most people. I get up every morning at the same time and typically do things the same way every day. Being this dedicated to my internal schedule provides me with the time management skills to work successfully from home.

Is everyone a candidate for working from home? No. I have staff that work for our company that do not have the same dedication. They commit to certain hours weekly but  struggle on Friday morning to complete their agreed upon hours.

It does not make you a bad person because you need the daily comradory that comes from working in a traditional brick and mortar office. Some people like the daily drama that goes with the office setting. Me, I like the peace and quiet that comes from telecommuting in my corner of the house in my virtual home office.

If you need ideas on how to manage your virtual position-go to http://www.yourvirtualhomeoffice.com/index.php

I hear all the time from people wanting to find a job working from home. My daughter is now seeking a work from home position. It sounds great but how would you get started? I started my work from home journey back in the day when work from home was in its infancy and it was really hard to locate the companies that were real but at least there were not as many scammers.

Most of the companies then wanted you to purchase their book of companies that offered work from home or charged money for special software. The best advice I can say to those seeking a work from home position is: Take a look at your skill set and move forward with your experience. If you are experienced in the Insurance industry, seek businesses that offer virtual positions. Finding a job in today’s economy is not easy especially if you really don’t want to work.

I believe the jobs are out there for those that want to work.

Beware of the scammers! If you think something is to good to be true..it usually is.

Check out this site that lists the companies that are legit:

http://www.jodisjourney.net/2008/09/legitimate-work-home-companies.html

If you need help deciding how to start your work at home adventure-check out Melissa’s book-“ Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!”

How can you reach out to new customers when you are not out in the workplace? Take time to build a website and let others know what type of business you are offering by word of mouth. Take the time to become a local member of your community with organizations such as Chamber of Commerce or sponsor a little league team. Working from your Virtual home office will provide unique challenges such as advertising but once you have all your ducks in a row, the opportunities are endless.

The Internet is clearly becoming the new work from anywhere work force solution that offers better solutions to those that normally would not have the working opportunities due to geographical factors. Many companies are choosing to change the way they hire. They are choosing to use independent contractors and freelancers and workers are choosing this lifestyle as well.

Becoming an independent contractor allows the worker to broaden their reach into the virtual working world. Make your virtual working career the best it can be by expanding your work search or home work to a wider reach for work solutions therefore opening doors that normally would be closed due to geographical restrictions. Check out Melissa’s book for ideas on how to search for work and build your virtual working career:

www.yourvirtualhomeoffice.com

Over the last few weeks, I have been deep cleaning my home and office.   In that process, I have discovered that I have a secret addiction……….yep, that is right.   I am addicted to office supplies and nifty organizational gadgets.

We all know that keeping organized is vital to our success, but I have gone overboard.  I have accumulated an excessive (perhaps lifetime) supply of office supplies and gadgets.  Moving forward, I promise to buy office supplies only when needed.   I promise to prepare a shopping list and to use that shopping list to control my addiction to home office items.  

In fact, I will print that shopping list on hot pink paper, attach that list to a clipboard, and keep that clipboard firmly attached to my bulletin board, so that I can easily access my list.

I talk about this subject since it is a lesson I am teaching my adult children. My son is seeking a job and has been taken in by all of the scams and ads that stated “ Apply here and earn $1,000 per week”. There are so many scammers out there looking for innocent people seeking to better themselves with a job. Don’t be fooled by the ads. When looking for jobs, steer clear of ads that just seem too good to be true.

Check out the job boards and always check out companies with organizations such as the BBB. Working in your virtual home office is truly a blessing and should not leave you with a sour taste in your mouth.

It seems like everyone is on the social media sites. You have Facebook, twitter, email and the list goes on and on. It can really be hard to focus on your work once you have these sites open. Sometimes because we work from home, we have a tendency to think it is not as important to keep your focus on work and turn off the distractions.

I make a point to check the sites that are important to me before starting work for the day. I am easily distracted and don’t need to hear about drama while I am working. When working from your virtual home office, you have to pick and choose when it is appropriate to take a phone call or check your social sites. Focus takes work and dedication. If you need help with distractions-check out Melissa’s book- Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality.