Wednesday, August 27, 2014

How to live on a budget for WAHM & Freelance Writers


 


Forbes did a recent article on how freelancers should budget their money! Some great tips that I wanted to share since so many WAHM doing freelance writing and small gigs.

1. Know what you’re spending.


 The most important money principle for everyone — freelancer and full-timer — is to spend less than you earn . So knowing where your money goes is key to proper budgeting. If you don’t already, track your spending. You can do this in whatever way you are most likely to stick with — a spreadsheet, a notebook, an automated program like Mint, or one of the numerous other financial apps that aim to help you manage your money.



2. Create a baseline budget using a conservative number.

 Track your income for a few months and see what you’re averaging. Or, if you have records from the last several months or year, determine your average from that. Let’s say in the last three months, you earned $2,000, then $4,000 and then $3,000. Create a budget using $2,500 as your limit, remembering that 30% of that money will go to taxes. If this figure won’t cover what you’re spending monthly, we’ll go over how to fix that in a moment. “Some people have a situation where they have enough cons


3. Come up with your dream budget.

 The methods outlined above are good for helping you live within your means. But if you’re not making enough money or are new to freelancing or just lost a client, then you may be looking at that math and feeling like things are a little too close for comfort, or even realizing that you’re in the red. 



 4. If your dream budget number is vastly higher than your first, cut costs. 

You may be in danger of getting into debt because your income may not cover your costs. If so, go back and see how you can cut your costs, starting with recurring ones.


 5. Try the 50/20/30 method of budgeting.

 You may be wondering how much you should spend on different expenses. Some people like the 50/20/30 guideline Take your income and subtract whatever you are paying to taxes. From there, divide your expenses into three categories — 1. Necessities like housing, transportation, groceries and utilities, 2. “Paying yourself” in savings, retirement contributions and paying down debt, and 3. Discretionary spending on items like going out, shopping, travel, entertainment, fitness, etc. — and allocate no more than 50% of your income to necessities, no less than 20% to paying yourself and no more than 30% on discretionary spending. Notice that the emphasis is on saving more or putting more toward debt when you can.


 6. Give yourself a weekly allowance.

 Once you’ve determined your monthly discretionary spending limit (the “30” if you’re following 50/20/30), break it down into a weekly allowance. “This works really well for a lot of my clients, because they say, ‘I know my bills are paid, I know I’m putting aside money for taxes and savings each month, and I just need to keep track of this number,’” says Bera.


 7. Give yourself a paycheck. After you’ve gotten into a predictable rhythm with income, bills and your weekly spending, you can try creating a paycheck for yourself. Let’s say you decide you need $4,000 to live on every month and that $4,000 is your monthly average income after taxes.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

How to do a WAHM job interview via Skype

CBS News did a recent story on how to do ace  an interview on Skype or any other video chat software.   This is becoming very common for work at home jobs rather than the phone interview.  

Get  USB headset! 

Know your software. It doesn't matter what software they want to use -- Skype, Google Hang Out, Go To Meeting, or any other program -- it is important that you know how to use it before you go live. Practice by calling your sister, your parents, or friends. Familiarize yourself with how to hit mute without accidentally hanging up.

Get good hardware. Your camera,  is probably fine, but your built in computer-made microphone is not. He suggests you buy a good microphone that will give you clear sound. Test it out. Even though bad sound shouldn't affect their decision, it might, particularly if they have trouble understanding you. Also, test your camera for the right angle -- it should be at eye level. Do a quick sound and video check before you go live to make sure everything is set up properly. (WAHM TIP Get a Skype Certified USB headset  such as Plantronics Audio 628 USB Stereo Headset)

Think about where you'll be. You don't it to be too dark, or too light, or (worst of all) have something unseemly behind you. And even though they are darling, Bailo says, "No one wants to see pictures of your kids..sorry!" You can even purchase background paper to give yourself a nice neutral background, but that's not necessary if you can create one yourself.   

Think of your user name. It should be professional. It shouldn't detract from who you are and what you can bring to the company. Remember, Skype accounts are free. Create a new one with a professional name if you want to keep your "cool" name for your friends. (WAHM TIP Usually your first inital last name plus a number is pretty standard for Skype) 

Get an "On Air" sign to hang on the door. Unless you're the only one home, your kids, spouse or dishwasher repairman may come barging in during your interview. Make a sign, hang it up, and instruct everyone to stay away. You wouldn't bring your toddler to a face to face interview, so don't have her anywhere near you during a webcam interview. (WAHM TIP make sure that the kids are not around-have your husband or a babysitter take them for during the interview time) 


It's not over until after it's over. Just because you think you've hung up, doesn't mean you have.Wait two minutes after the camera and audio are turned off -- just in case it isn’t. You don’t want to say or do anything that can negatively impact your performance."


Sunday, August 10, 2014

Easy Cash Writing: How to Make a Living as a Freelance Writer

Finally: the complete guide to creating a full-time freelance writing career from the world's foremost writing guru, Rob Parnell. 

This massive digital volume is a unique writing resource for new writers who want to get paid for their work. It is also a comprehensive motivational system that enables you to start writing from just five to ten minutes a day and progress to becoming a well-paid Easy Cash Writing professional - within days or weeks, if that's what you truly want. 
Buy from Amazon 

Full of tips, tricks and strategies for realistic, proven writing success, Easy Cash Writing shows you how to pitch and write for freelance markets. It shows you exactly what to do to achieve your creative dreams. Better than that, it tells you exactly what not to do and what to avoid in your quest for financial independence as a full-time writer. 

Ten years in the making, meticulously researched and previously unavailable to anyone 'outside' of The Easy Way to Write website, this book has always been Rob Parnell's most popular and effective writing resource. Now available in one volume with thirty eight all-new chapters and almost two thousand paying markets - and ONLY paying markets - for freelance writers, novelists, nonfiction authors and budding journalists. 

If you've ever considered changing your life by becoming a very well-paid writer, working from home, being free to do what you want, when you want to do it, then this is the book you've been waiting for. 

In this brand new version of Easy Cash Writing, Rob Parnell shows you how to make serious cash from writing in all sorts of arenas you've probably never heard of - or even thought of. It is a pro-active program created to help you venture effortlessly into the world of making money from writing. It also shows you how to organize your new career and how to best strategize for continual profit. 

Basically, Easy Cash Writing is an holistic approach to making real money from writing - from someone who knows how it's done, and has been there, done that, for the last fifteen years, on a daily basis. 

The fact is: writing gigs are everywhere. Most, if not all, are open to freelance writers. You just have to know where (and how) to look and apply yourself like a professional. Often we need guidance to do that. No worries. Rob Parnell will personally take you by the hand and guide you through the myriad of writing markets out there and show you how to easily achieve freelance writing success - and quickly. 

This unique volume takes you step-by-step through the process of writing and submitting to markets based on minimum word count. It not only shows you the markets but also HOW to write for them with clear and proven examples and strategies. This books details how you can immediately start earning real cash, real soon, with your own words. 

Here's a brief sampling of what Easy Cash Writing covers: 

* Freelancing as a Career ($100K+ per year) 
* Article Pitching to Magazines 
* Writing Quick Fillers 
* Short Story Writing for Profit 
* Writing Letters for Big Cash 
* Serious Revenue from Blogs ($5000 a month) 
* Self publishing on-line and off-line (With no limit to your earning power) 
* Building Multiple Sources of Income 
* Ghost Writing 
* Submitting Short Comedy Sketches 
* Easy TV/Movie work 
* Writing Slogans 
* The Real Truth about Copywriting, 
* The Greeting Card Market 
* Poetry, Song Lyrics and Rap 
* Flash and Fan Fiction 
* Genre Fiction Writing 
* Recipes and Cookery Books 
* Kid's Picture Books and YA novels 
* Grants and Funding for Writers, 
* Free Entry Competitions, 
* Comic Strips / Cartoons 
* Pitching nonfiction to publishers 
* Reviewing for a Living 
* Writing Website Content 
* Travel Writing 
* Small Business Literature 
* Ad Writing for Success 
* Using Google Adsense, Facebook and Social Marketing 
* And so much more! 

Get in the know and launch your high-paying Easy Cash Writing career today!

Sunday, April 06, 2014

How to Start Your Work at Home General Transcription Career!

Do you want to work from home and make an excellent income in a career that offers variety and flexibility and can be started with very little expense? General transcription is one of the few home-based job opportunities that not only offers these things, but also welcomes newbies.   Grab this great book called 

Jump-Start Your Work at Home General Transcription Career: The Fast and Easy Way to Get Started! 

  ATTENTION: If you're looking for a book that shows you how to snag transcription gigs on Amazon's MTurk and make minimum wage, then this is NOT the book for you. However, if you're looking for a book that will help you establish yourself in a work at home career in transcription, where you'll earn an excellent income and set your own hours, then Jump-Start Your Work at Home General Transcription Career is exactly what you need. 

Lisa Mills, an experienced general transcriptionist and publisher of work-at-home site Work at Home Mom Rev shares everything you need to know to get started in this exciting career. This ebook also includes valuable resources, including a list of 60 general transcription companies hiring home-based transcriptionists 

It’s only $2.99 and available at Amazon for Kindle.  It is  priced it at $2.99 so it would be affordable for everyone.  If you do not own a Kindle, you can download Amazon’s free Kindle for PC  app, and purchase and read it through that.

Check out some of the reviews 


I have been searching for a way to make money while staying home with my daughter. I found this book through Twitter and decided to take a look. After reading the introduction (before buying), I thought that general transcription could be the answer for me. I bought the book and started reading.
It only took me a short time to read through the book. I will definitely be going back through each section as I get started. Every question I had about this career was answered in simple, easy to understand terms. I am confident that general transcription is something I could do. This book gave me the resources I need to try it out on my own time (practice) as well as links to companies which I can later apply to. Everything I need to become a general transcriptionist is clearly laid out, and I now look forward to getting started.


and 
 Purchasing Ms. Mills' book was the very best thing I did when contemplating starting a freelance transcription business. I had no idea how to start and her book answered ALL my questions and much more. Not only does she cover all possible questions that someone may have, but she also includes a website address for a transcription forum where you will find an abundance of related information. She even promptly answered a personal email I sent her. You can't go wrong with purchasing this book if your goal is to start your own freelance transcription career. Personally, I feel Ms. Mills' book is under-priced. In my opinion, it is well worth three times what it is currently selling for.


Purchase this book today  

Jump-Start Your Work at Home General Transcription Career: The Fast and Easy Way to Get Started! 

Sunday, March 30, 2014

How to Market Your Virtual Assistant Business

When putting together your Virtual Assistant marketing strategy, you should always be looking for opportunities to widen your marketing reach online. A great way to do this is by blogging. This will increase your exposure which in turn will enable to you to get more clients for your Virtual Assistant business.
One of the best blog platforms on the Internet is WordPress. It is very easy to use, and the search engines love it! Virtual Assistant marketing doesn't have to cost lots of money. You can install WordPress free of charge on your own domain (self hosted) or have your blog hosted at WordPress.org. Once you have your blog set up, you can start to drive traffic to your site by way of making posts.
You can create your blog on a separate site to your main site and drive traffic to your main site from your blog. Or you can create your blog on a subpage of your main site - it's up to you.
When posting to your blog, make your posts informational and helpful for the reader. Keep blatant self promotion to a minimum. Blogging is to inform, entertain and build a relationship with your audience. You could also provide examples of how your services have helped a client - but do this in a conversational way.
Post regularly to your blog. Some post every day, others once a week or so. It's up to you and obviously depends on the time you have available to blog. The more regularly you post, the better. This is so that you keep your content fresh and make people want to come back. This is also very important for search engine rankings. Remember the higher ranked you are in Google, Yahoo and MSN, the more traffic you'll get to your sites.
Another thing that you might want to consider is featuring other authors or businesses. You can either interview them, or ask permission to use their articles on your blog, if their content complements yours in some way.
It is also important to network with other bloggers and leave comments on their blogs as well. This gives you greater exposure across the Internet and allows other people to find you more easily.
Here are three keys to keep in mind for blogging:
o Write about current topics - keeping it current is always best
o Give helpful information - if you give good information, clients will like what they see and be encouraged to read more.
o Post to your blog regularly
If you blog regularly and keep it interesting, you'll almost certainly see an increase in the number and quality of clients you have. Blogging should be part of any Virtual Assistant marketing toolbox.
I

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Blooms Today now hiring temporary workers for Valentine's Day 2014

Blooms Today, a National sales and marketing company for the floral industry, is seeking Independent Contractors to take floral orders and assist with customer inquiries for the 2014 Valentine's Day floral holiday.

The dates for this temporary assignment are: Friday, February 7, 2014 through Saturday, February 15, 2014. 

During the contract period you will be paid a commission equal to the number of contract hours fulfilled multiplied by a rate of $15.00 per hour.

Primary roles & responsibilities:
• Answer incoming calls and promptly assist customers with placing floral orders.
• Meet established sales conversion requirements.
• Suggestively sell products and services to help customers maximize their purchase while managing expectations.
• Answer customer questions and process solutions for product, delivery, billing and related customer inquiries.
• Meet performance targets with average handle time, quality service levels and sales conversions.
• Effective use of instant messaging/chat and remote supervisory support for effective sales and customer service as a virtual contractor.

Ideal candidates will have:
• Prior phones sales and customer service experience as Independent Contractor in a virtual call center environment.
• Extended schedule availability for peak call volume dates: 2/11, 2/12 & 2/13.
• Advanced computer & technical skills for self-paced training, web meetings, instant messaging and web navigation.
• Ability to resolve issues efficiently and effectively with order entry and customer solution programs within the context of Blooms Today training.
• High tolerance for heavy phone work and interaction with customers.
• Excellent phone manner to assist with customer sales and inquiries.

Qualified candidates will have: 
• Sales and customer service call center experience (brick and mortar or remote positions) 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• High level of motivation and professional phone manner combined with strong sales skills.
• Secure, private area in home to take inbound sales and customer service calls.
• Work stations free from all noise and distractions during your scheduled work shift.
• Highly PC literate and have own PC with reliable internet connection.
• Email account with a professional user name.

Minimum Hardware, Software, Workstation Specifications: 
• Cable or DSL Provider (no wireless or satellite), VOIP compatible.
• Computer Hardware: 1.8 GHZ Processor (Minimum of Pentium 4 processor or equivalent required); 1GB of RAM
• Telephone Requirement: Dedicated phone line with the ability to disable call waiting and voice mail. No cellular phones are permitted. Services such as Magic Jack that connect through USB port are not permitted. 
• Telephone must have headset capability (headset required).

Software:
• Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 Operating System (NOTE: Windows 8 & IE10 and MAC systems are not supported)
• Screen resolution of 1280 x 1024
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download available)
• Antivirus Software: Valid software with current and updated virus definitions
• AIM:

If you meet the qualifications above and would like to assist our customers with their Valentine's Day orders, please visit our website at http://bloomstoday.com/AboutUs.php, and see the careers section in the footer to apply. Please complete our online application and submit your resume. 

In the desired position field, please type "Valentine's Day IC"

Friday, December 27, 2013

Freelancing writer and blogging work at home jobs December 27th

Ovlu is a platform for independent workers to find clients, get paid and run their businesses, is looking for writers to create high-quality articles and posts for our blog.
Our audience is people who are currently working as freelancers/ independent workers (across all industry verticals), or considering joining the independent workforce.
We’d like the articles to be data driven with actionable take-aways - similar to posts on Hubspot and Kissmetrics blogs. Each post should be in the range of 750 words and should include creative commons licensed image(s).


If you are a writer, blogger, or journalist with a savvy sense of what people are searching for online, (and one who can write on topical subjects) then we are looking for you!
Since 2006, HubPages has been the preeminent site for bloggers and freelance writers to realize the full lifetime value of their own content. On HubPages, you own your content (you're free to publish and unpublish as you please), in contrast to most other popular revenue-generating publishing platforms.
Over 120,000 people have published more than 1 million topical articles on HubPages, which enjoy over 48 million monthly visitors, primarily from Google, Bing and Yahoo. The high standards we maintain (we rigorously weed out spam, low quality, and inappropriate content) mean your writing will be in good company.


Looking for writers with experience blogging/writing about startups and entrepreneurship topics (research, tips and tutorial style) such as working from home, working with clients, doing gigs around the community or online, starting a business, social media marketing, building a website, tapping into your passions, running a business, time management... etc.
We're partnering with great writers who have a friendly editorial style, can produce original content for our readers and crank out an average of 1 original post per week (about 4 articles per month).
For each post, we will need you to research and write on the topics. We will supply the topics for each of the posts and provide you with about 4 at a time to cover the month.

News Headquarters is seeking dozens of new writers to join our rapidly expanding news team.
Pay per post is $5 (to start) and the typical writer with news experience can complete 2-3 articles per hour for $10-$15 (Starting pay). Minimum of 200 words per article. We don't force higher caps because sometimes a story only requires 200 words. Expect to write some longer and some shorter pieces to match the necessary information needed.

 This blog is geared towards divers and ocean-lovers looking for a deeper and more meaningful life experience. For instance, blog posts can include very short and interesting profiles of divers or ocean-lovers doing interesting things, grassroots conservation efforts, witty posts comparing scuba to life, how to enhance scuba with daily meditation

 Experienced real estate blogger needed for local buyers only business model . Two to three 200-300 word posts weekly. Pay by post. Must know Denver real estate market and know how to write well and engagingly. Pay by post. Experience with social media a plus. Topics include market analysis, trends, buying process and strategy, and more. Topics supplied but you can develop your own topics too. Pay raises with time and success.
Looking for a Experienced Blogger who is familiar with Technology and Review Articles.
Articles are only targeting Canadians, I need someone who can give my audience the best information.

 Looking for a few writers with native standard English writing skills for regular blog posts. All posts will be for a travel marketing company in Indonesia, so all topics relate to Indonesia travel and also hospitality and travel marketing for Indonesia - eg - how best to use social media to engage travelers for Indonesian hotels, reputation management tips, best new travel tech for 2014, etc. 

 1. Transcribe meeting recordings and personal recordings
2. Edit / organize them and post them in Blogs.
3. if the capability exists, ghostwrite more content for a book

a. Good reference for transcription (This is a highest priority)
b. Experience posting to blogs like Blogger, Wordpress etc. (Good to have)

c. Experience publishing books (Nice to have)