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!

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! 

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

How to make money with freelace job sites

Freelancing is one of the best ways of making money online. You can become a successful freelancer if you discover the right steps to take. You can build a successful online career and also earn money in the process. Given below are helpful tips.

• Locate a reliable freelance website

There are several freelance websites on the internet including my favorite   Upwork   You can start working in any of the sites. All you need is to sign up with any of them. You'll be asked to fill in your personal details including your email address. After your registration, an activation link will be sent to your email. You simply click on the link to get your account activated.

• Build your profile

After creating your account on the freelance website, the next step you have to take is to create a good profile. . You have to let the world know more about your abilities. You're expected to keep your profile neat and simple. You can include a portfolio of jobs you completed in the past. You can also include your credentials, work experience and other important details. Your profile needs to be very attractive. It is basically  your resume.  

• Start bidding on jobs

Once your account is set, you can start bidding on available  freelance  jobs. There are diverse categories of jobs you'll see on the website. You have to go through them one after the other. You need to place bids on jobs you can handle. You have to state your bid price. You'll also let the client know more about your readiness to handle the job. You may end up winning the job at the end of the day.

• Meet deadlines

It's important you complete any job you win. You have to meet deadlines as often as possible. You're sure of winning more jobs if you remain committed. You'll also attract more clients on regular basis.

• Focus on building a good reputation

If you really want to do well as a freelancer, you have to focus on building a good reputation. You can achieve this by completing any job you win. Once you complete any job, you'll be asked to post a feedback for your client. The company will also ask your client to post some feedback for you. You have to focus on getting positive feedback as often as possible. This helps you to build a good reputation.

In all, you can always withdraw your hard-earned money through any of the payment systems made available. You're sure of making money online when you follow the wonderful tips discussed above.

Making money online is very possible. 

Don't be scammed with work at home assembly jobs

The ads blare out at you from their websites:  Home Assembly Jobs. Make money doing easy assembly work. Assemble product work from home offers are abundant online and offline. I know how tempting it is to believe their claims.  The advertisements look enticing and fun; you can stay home and make a part time income doing something you love. Especially if you are the arts and crafts type, it can seem like a dream job opportunity for any stay at home mom.

I was scammed when I first began my work at home career.  

So, I sent away for the information from the home assembly company  and  $20 check and got back a starter kit which had the pieces of the beaded cross necklaces  I was supposed to make and instructions on how to make them.

The company stated that I needed to complete this first assignment to see if I could do the work they needed competently. So, I proceeded to assemble the necklaces, and did a nice job - so I thought.

I sent the jewelry  back to the company and eagerly awaited their approval so I could get started fulfilling lots of orders for these cool necklaces . I assumed the home assembly company was working with other businesses who needed to have these types of handmade goods made on the cheap. I was assured by the company that this work was so easy anybody could do it and I could do as much as I wanted. The more earrings I made, the more money I'd make.

Except, there was a problem.

The company sent me back a notice stating I had botched the job of making this test pair of necklaces and I would not be qualified to do any work for them at this time. I was puzzled by this because those necklaces  were pretty easy to make and I had followed their instructions to the letter. So, I couldn't understand their logic.

Of course, they sent me an order form and encouraged me to order more jewelry making supplies so that I could practice making these necklaces and get my work up to the quality level they preferred. I declined to continue with this scheme.

No matter. Now that I was on their mailing list, they could bombard me with all kinds of tempting easy moneymaking offers. You see, they know that there is lots of appeal in creating offers featuring crafts and assembly work from home opportunities. This is how they lure you into their never ending stream of bogus offers. If you failed at one opportunity, you're still likely to try others - and that's how they make money off of you.

If you are looking for legit home assembly jobs, sorry to say, but you're wasting your time. These offers are all bogus. If you really want to make money creating handmade crafts, you're better off buying a few instructional books/videos and teaching yourself, then going to your local craft fair and selling them or setting up a shop on Etsy.. This way, you can create something that people really want, and keep all the money for yourself.

This is how work at home assembly companies really earn their dollar: not from the sales of the products being made, but from the people who are making them! Be smart and don't fall for them!

Exercise Tips for Those Who Work at Home And Want to Stay Fit

Working at home has a lot of benefits. One of these benefits is the fact that you hold time in your hands; which means you work at your own pace. In the beginning, you'll find a lot of free time on your hands, especially if you're still starting out with your home business or job. However, you'll eventually find yourself soon trying to work out your schedule balancing your home business or job and your family/household duties.

Whatever the circumstances may be, you should always find time for yourself. And finding time for yourself means taking time to work on your health and fitness.

Working out or exercising is important. It not only helps you stay fit, it also helps motivate you and build your self-confidence. Another good reason for working out is that it can help reduce stress. Regular disciplined working out will also keep you healthier as it reduces the risk of you contracting some illnesses and diseases. With increased strength and metabolism, you'll be able to achieve more in a better way.

If you're just staring out and trying to manage your schedule, you have no need to worry. You can easily fit in a couple of workout routines that will keep your heart pumping and your energy soaring. There are a lot of ways to exercise even while keeping a busy work-at-home business or job.

Below are some of the most common work-at-home exercises or workout routines that you should try doing. Remember, sitting and working in front of the computer for eight long hours will negatively affect not only your posture, but also your health in general. So try out these exercises and slowly develop a daily workout routine.

• First off, before starting out, designate a specific time or schedule for working out. For example, if you start working at nine in the morning, you can work straight for five hours. By the time the clock strikes two in the afternoon, you get up and do your daily exercise or workout routine.


• Stretching may seem to be such a simple thing to you. It is, however, greatly beneficial if you do it a couple of minutes every hour. Stand up and stretch from time-to-time.


• If you do not have workout machines, use your stairs for cardio exercises. Run up and down the stairs several times. Do this for five minutes first, then gradually increase as you get used to the routine. If your house does not have a stairway, look for steps or big wooden crates that you can use in their place.  Or go out and take the dog for a walk. 


• Pushups can be done anywhere in the house. As long as your flooring is good and clean, you're good to go. For starters, do two repetitions of 20 pushups. Gradually increase as you go along from day-to-day.


• Jumping Jacks are fun. They're also good for warming up the body. Do around 15 to 20 Jumping Jacks in the beginning. Increase by 10 every time you feel that your stamina and energy has improved.


• Leg lifts can be done even when you're working on your computer or laptop. Improve leg muscle and strength by lifting your legs repeatedly for several minutes. You can do this workout routine in one-hour intervals while seated in your computer chair.


• Since you may not have enough space at home, instead of running, you can jog in place or buy a trampoline.. Set your timer to five minutes for this exercise. To maximize your time wisely, you can watch your favorite TV show or listen to your favorite songs while jogging.


• Dancing is a good cardio exercise. It also helps burn a lot of calories. You can dance to any music that you want, or choose to go with a dance-based aerobic program on video. There are a lot of choices you can choose from, like hip hop aero dance routines and dance workouts designed especially for men. 


• Crunches. Who is not familiar with crunches? Practically everyone who has, at one point in his life, longed for six-pack abs know what regularly doing crunches can mean.There are a lot of varieties of crunch exercises; there are the regular ones that we are all familiar with and there's the one where an exercise ball is used. There are also variations that make use of weights for added resistance.


• Tae Bo. Although this will take more than 30 minutes to do, it provides a really rewarding workout experience. You don't need to hire a Tae Bo instructor to help you out; you can simply buy and follow Tae Bo workout routines shown in DVDs. Aside from building muscle and knocking out fat, Tae Bo also improves your heart rate and increases your strength and stamina.


• Shadow boxing is also a good exercise option, especially if you do not have a heavy bag or punching bag.


• If you have exercise machines at home; like a treadmill, rowing machine or an exercise bike, use them well. Divide your time among your machines. Normally, you should do a 30-minute routine for every cardio machine.f you have Wii Fit, use it for your fitness advantage. You can even invite your son or daughter, or any family member, to play tennis (or any other game where you sweat out) with you. The Kinect for Xbox 360 is an alternative to the Wii. Use this motion sensing device to help you sweat out. You can play The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, Dance Central, Virtua Tennis 4 or Your Shape 3.

All these exercises or workout routines will make you fit and healthier, but only if you find time to do them every single day that you work at home. Also, it is important to follow a healthy diet - one that's filled with fruits, vegetables, whole wheat and other similarly nutritious stuff.

Income Tax Organization when you have a home office

Is it really that time of year again? Time goes by so fast, especially if you've been relatively busy with your home business within the past year.

There are so many things to remember when preparing your tax returns, as well as knowing exactly what is considered taxable. Let's take a quick look at what may be taxable in your work at home situation.

Here are just a few that I've listed below:

1. Monthly Internet bill. I know this is the number one item on my list since I work at home and I have to use the Internet to make my income.

2. Monthly hosting bill if you own your own domain name. This is another important write off for your business, especially if you own several domains/websites and your hosting bill is considerably high.

3. Monthly phone bill. If you own a business and you use your phone to run your business, then yes, you need to write off your phone bill.

4. Business transportation mileage. If you use your automobile for business, such as home parties, this is another important taxable write off. Fuel prices has went up considerably. You need to keep careful track of all your transportation expenses (including gas receipts), and file anything and everything that you can.

5. Advertising expenses. Some people pay for advertising for promotion purposes and some do not. If you do pay for advertising, then you need to file these expenses on your taxes. Depending on the type of advertising, it may or may not be taxable, but it's always safe to file all expenses.

6. Charitable contributions. Your contributions must meet specific criteria to be considered taxable. It's still important to record all contributions for the year and your tax adviser will sort it out accordingly.

There are definitely more that need to be listed here. I just wanted to go over a few of the top ones to consider for your business. To do a more elaborate research on what is taxable, you can visit irs.gov.

Tips for organizing your tax documents

Don't wait until the end of the year to start getting those important documents together. Start at the beginning of the year and place all relevant papers in their proper place. There are so many people (and I used to be one of them) that just shove these documents into hiding anywhere they can find, and not where they are supposed to be kept for fast reference.

For example I have a file folder in my file cabinet that houses my office expense receipts, ink cartridges, paper, pens, pencils, software receipts, new computer/printer receipts, and the like. When you purchase something for your business, immediately when you return home, place those receipts in their proper folder.

Earnings and expense records

I've learned over the years to keep a document for my earnings and also for my expenses in safe folders on my computer. I also actively backup all my files on a regular basis. You can of course figure out your earnings and expenses at the beginning of every year, but wouldn't it make much more sense to do this as you go along with your business and record each transaction? It would definitely save you a considerable amount of time by doing this daily.

Basic office supplies for organizing your work at home office

calendar 
file cabinets 
interior or manila file folders
hanging file folders and labels
Microsoft Money or Quickbooks accounting software (if you choose), you can always keep active spreadsheets for business accounting purposes
sticky notes

With careful home business planning and organization skills, you will be more career productive.

Important: Also with precise organization, you will know at a moment's notice where these documents are if you are ever audited.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy has been successful in the work at home industry for 4 years now. She is an Internet marketer, article marketer, and ghostwriter. She offers free job leads for the job seeker, as well as other work at home resources, work at home articles, tips, and more at Work At Home Jobs.

How to work at home with small children

When I speak to moms who work at home, one of the most frequently asked questions I hear is “how do you work at home with small children?”

I have several suggestions on running a business with small children. My kids are grown now, so I’ve lived through running a business with infants, running a business with toddlers, running a business with school aged kids and running a business with teenagers.

The amount of children you have and the amount of time you put into your business are going to affect the amount of help you need with your children. “Help” can mean many different things. I had various forms of help over the years.

Infants sleep a lot. Working during sleep time can often give you the necessary hours to run a business. When I was on the phone, I had my daughter’s in their room, so if they cried, I heard them but the person on the phone did not hear them. I really did not need help during the infant stage. I was able to balance work and being mom.

The next stage was probably the most difficult, the toddler stage. At this stage, children nap perhaps two hours per day and the remainder of the day, at least my children were very high energy and wanted to be entertained.

At age two, my younger daughter went to preschool 3 mornings per week. She was there from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. She loved it and I was amazed at how much I could get done in those two hours at home. I NEVER used that time to run errands, clean the house etc. That time was almost always devoted to using the phone. In addition, her dad and I rotated night time routines so that some nights I was able to work from 7 p.m. until bedtime uninterrupted. As she got older, I increased her days in school up to five mornings per week and as she neared kindergarten age, I had her in school from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Once a child enters preschool they begin making friends. I did many play dates. I swapped with other moms. One day the kids would play at my house and the other day, the kids would play at the home of the other child. This can help in two ways. The day your child is with someone else, you have time to work. The day the kids are at your house, the kids play together, which allows you time to work. I could pick them up from school, come home and fix lunch and then actually work while the kids ate. If the kids wanted to play outdoors, my yard was fenced and my computer faced the backyard. I could keep an eye on them at all times. If the kids played indoors, they were either in the same room as I was or in the very next room. I was not always able to use the phone, but I could catch up on emails, complete paperwork and do any other tasks that did not involve the phone.

Scheduling is key here. If the kids were at my home on Monday, I tried to make Monday my day to not do the evening routine at home. I needed that time to make phone calls. If the kids were playing at someone’s home on Tuesday, I knew I had several hours I could be on the phone during the day and so I would take over the evening routine.

We also had an emergency box of toys. These toys only came out when I needed to make a phone call and I needed my toddler quiet for just a little while. My daughter loved these toys and would sometimes ask me to make a call just so she could play with the toys in the emergency box. We did not bring that box out very often and so when we did, I knew I’d have about 30 minutes of quiet time.

My older daughter did not like school and so only went to preschool from age 4 to 5, and then went to kindergarten. We joined several mommy and me classes which introduced her to other children, which then led to play dates. I also had her take longer naps, 2 or 2 ½ hours in the afternoon. She was up longer at night, but that was ok, as I wanted the time during the day to be able to make phone calls.

If you live near a college, check if the school has an early childhood development program. If they do, consider hiring someone to come to your home two mornings or two afternoons per week to watch the kids while you work. You get work time and they get experience with children and some income.

Once your kids enter elementary school, you will always have mornings to work. Afternoons can be play dates, individual play or consider hiring an older child, say 8 or 9 years old who can earn a little money and come play with your child. My kids loved their older friends. They would beg for the days their older friends would come over and play. These older kids can read to your child, fix a very simple snack, play a game with them and even watch them outside. One hour is often enough time to make a few phone calls, and after an hour sometimes the kids are getting a bit restless.

All of these ideas require scheduling. If you plan one or even two weeks at a time, you’ll have a very clear idea of when you can be on the phone and when you’ll just be mom.

****
Audrey Okaneko has been marketing online for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.my.tupperware.com/audreyoka

Interviewing tips for a Telecommuting Job

Telecommuters are individuals who spend part, if not all, of their working hours at another location other than the workplace. For most people it is their home. In order to do this one must have a variety of "telecommunication technologies" such as a telephone, Internet, various computer programs and a fax machine at one's disposal.

Telecommuters need to have excellent skills when it comes to the laborious task of telephone interviews. The first most important phone interview tip is to always be prepared in case you are contacted for an interview, no matter what time of day it is. Many employers do not give telecommuters the heads up in advance about when they will be calling to speak with them.

Another important phone interview tip is to get ready for your interview in much the same way you would for a regular "in person" interview. Anticipate what questions you might be asked and have appropriate answers in your mind (or written on paper) before the interview even begins. Be ready and willing to answer questions about your educational background, work experience and skills. Also be prepared to tell the prospective recruiter or employer what you could do for him or her.

Prepare a list of questions you wish to ask the interviewer. Always ask at least a few questions as it shows that you are paying attention and that you are very interested in the position in question. Keep in mind that phone interviews are sometimes more difficult to gage because you have to rely completely on the spoken word. Neither the interview nor interviewee is able to pick up on body language or any nuances of behavior but instead must go by the words and questions they are presented with and the pitch and intonation of words. Tread carefully and maintain a balanced, professional and courteous tone of voice at all times.

It is essential in a phone interview for a telecommuter to speak as a person in the know. Don't indulge in too many "ums", "okays", "I don't knows" or "uhs" as these words don't carry with them an air of knowledge or confidence. Always have your resume nearby so you can consult it during your phone interview. After all the interviewer is looking at your resume, why shouldn't you be as well?

Other important tips include turning your call-waiting feature off so there are no interruptions; making sure you are alone in the room and there is no noise anywhere nearby to disturb the interview and having a notepad and paper handy to jot down any relevant information that you glean from the interview.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charissa Bear is the owner of MomsInc.biz, a mom home based business resource. Stop by today and sign up for her 5 day ecourse, Choosing and Starting a Work at Home Business, or sign up by sending a blank email to: mailto: wahguide@aweber.com

Tags: work+at+home+job, , telecommute, , freelance,

Sample Telecommuting Proposal Letter

Remember to  Sign up for daily job leads ! 

Here is a sample Telecommuting proposal that you can share with your boss.

TO: Mary Lou, Supervisor

From: Joe Doe

RE: Telecommute Proposal

I am writing to express my desire to perform my job as Medical Transcriptionist in a telecommuting capacity beginning October 15,. I’ve spent hours researching the subject, and I am excited about sharing the information I’ve gathered with you.

What are the benefits of telecommuting?

There are many benefits of telecommuting. Besides increasing productivity, telecommuting:

* Cuts the cost for office space

* Reduces stress and commuting time

* In case of emergencies I can take care of whatever problem arises and then work later on in the day instead of calling sick

* I can still work during harsh weather conditions

* Telecommuting can boost morale and help employees stay on the job.

* Improves the work/life balance

* Increases employment of women

* Increases employment of disabled workers, etc

These are only a few of the benefits that telecommuting can offer this company. Please give me the chance to prove these tremendous benefits to you.

A laptop  printer, FTP, DSL or cable modem is all that I need to perform my job, and these are things that I already possess in my home office, and will use.


Telecommuting programs have been working for companies like Jetblue, Virgin Atlantic, AAA, Cigna, Carnival Cruise Line, etc, and can definitely work for this company.

I would like to telecommute two days a week starting 10/15/  for a period of at least six months. After six months, once this is working out, I would like to telecommute three days a week, with the possibility of doing this full time after another review of my performance.

I do have child care needs that will be met by a part time babysitter.

I know that you’re probably having concerns about off-site performance. If this is a concern for you, I assure you that you can monitor my productivity and performance off- site better than workers on-site. We can connect via skype.

How? Well, let me introduce you to Elance freelances. Elance provides visibility into virtual cubicles of employees and remote workers.

Elance  offers web-based applications that create a complete view of each person, including a web cam to capture and see what they’re working on. So with the click of a mouse you can see work I’ve done in the past, you can verify logs, review work, etc.

After telecommuting for six months, on 04/15  we can sit down in a meeting to review my performance. At that time we can determine whether or not I should continue.

Enclosed please find several articles on telecommuting, names, telephone numbers, etc., of managers and employees that are enjoying the benefits of telecommuting.

I know that I possess the skills and personality necessary to succeed as a telecommuter, and will prove that to you.

I am really looking forward to this and believe with all my heart that this will be a tremendous benefit to the company, and all involved. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely
Mary Smith

Already telecommuting  5 tips if you want to telecommute

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Scams are every where online.

Scams are every where online. Just about every where you go online you will find ads for so-called "easy and fast money" jobs. Anything that promises "easy money" or "big bucks part time" is full of it. Don't waste your time on something that promises fast and easy money because it's not going to happen.

Let's delve into the scams out there and then talk about resources you can use to research a company!

Common work at home scams to avoid

Typing "Jobs" - you can type in typing jobs in any major search engine and you'll pull up many of these so-called "jobs" typing for "easy" money. Most of the time you will pay a fee, and then they will send you information about how to place ads in local papers to "sell" this so-called job to others. This simply is not a "job" and it's nearly impossible to make a decent income with this. They post testimonials that are either made up or of successful internet marketers in order to persuade you into believing this is a great "job" for you.

Envelope Stuffing - I'm sure you've seen this one everywhere and might have fallen for it. I sure did. Not once, but twice! I thought, "Well the first company was just a scam but this one looks legit" and, yes, I was wrong. I got scammed by this little sucker twice! Please do not fall for this tempting "job". What you'll probably receive (what happened to me) for your "small fee" (which is usually how its worded) is a letter telling you to place that same "envelope-stuffing" ad in newspapers, magazines, online sites and anywhere else you can get your ad. The only way you will earn money is to pass on this scam to other moms who desperately want to work at home. There's no stuffing of envelopes involved. You simply pass on this scam to others and get paid by charging a fee...the same way it happened to you. Please don't fall for this HUGE waste of time and please don't pass this scam on to others.

Assembly/Crafting Scams- If you want to make money with assembly or crafting your best bet is to start your own business and sell your work online, locally and at fairs. The so-called jobs online for assembly or crafts are scams. Usually you will be required to buy supplies or a kit and then, after days or weeks of work, you would send in your work for payment. What usually happens is your work supposedly didn't meet the standards they have and they will either send it back for you to fix or they will keep it and not pay you. If you get the chance to "fix it" and send it back you’ll again be told it didn’t meet the standard. It's a nasty on going cycle and the end result is that you've wasted your hard earned money on the "kit" and you've wasted your valuable time for nothing.

Processing Government Refunds- Boy this one sounds pretty interesting huh? Yet another scam for you to avoid. What the meat of this scam? Basically you'll see ads that you can earn $500 to $1500 a week processing 3rd party government refunds via your computer. You are told that you'll get a list of people who might be home owners and might be entitled to a refund by HUD. They make you pay up to $300 (or even more) for this list. What you’ll do is contact these people and try to get them to share the refund with you, BUT what they fail to tell you is these people can get refunds FREE by calling HUD themselves.

So, if you go through this list and find a few people owed a refund, phone them up and tell them why you're calling, one of three things will happen:

1. They will hang up on you

2. They’ll listen to you, then tell you that their going to research this themselves. Doing so they will find out they don't need you and can get the refund on their own. Therefore you make nothing.

3. You find someone who actually takes you up on your offer. You "help" them get the refund they could have done on their own and you collect your portion. You've basically scammed that person out of all the money owed to them by withholding the fact that they can do this on their own and collect all the money.

Just stay away from this - it's bad for all concerned. And in fact, the HUD site warns people of these so-called "tracers" ... that the public can collect a refund without a “tracer.”

Chain Letters- This usually guarantees you to earn large amounts of money with a one time small investment. (See the trend? Scams ALWAYS ask you for money.) The typical chain letter scheme usually requires you to mail the chain letter, along with a specified amount of money to six (or more) people. And then they must do the same. There just simply aren’t enough people in the world to make this worth your time. AND, it's illegal! The post office says that chain letters are a form of unauthorized lottery and may violate federal mail fraud laws. They also warn not to waste your money! Read more about this at US Postal Service Inspection Services

Medical Claims Billing- I'm sure you've seen this everywhere and it may have caught your eye. This one caught my eye, but I was fortunate enough to meet someone who told me to stay away. The ad will usually state you can make tons of money part time doing "Medical Billing/ Claims Processing. The fee for the software and training can be as high as $7500 or even more. You supposedly get a list of doctors and sample letters in order to gain clients. Although this isn't necessarily the typical scam, it's not as easy (or possible) as they claim it to be. If you want to do this I would take a local class on Medial Billing (or an accredited online school) and then get an offline job doing this...then build your client list and make it home-based.

What have we learned from the examples above? If you have to pay a free, it's a scam, rip off or just not worth your time! So stay away from the above scams.

I would also like to discuss some common red flags to look for with any job offer.

They ask a fee - you should NEVER pay for a job

They claim it's easy work - a real job is never easy

They claim you can earn great money for little work - a real job will never claim you can make riches with little to no work.

They have testimonials about the "job" - a real job offer isn't going to need testimonials posted. Why would they? If they aren't trying to sell something to you, then they won't need to convince you that it's worth your time.

If it says "no kits, no fee's, not MLM...etc." - a real job isn't going to post that in their job ad. If you find a "job" advertised like that you can guarantee it's a business opp. or outright scam.

The words "No Experience Necessary" - although there are some jobs out there that don’t require experience they often won't make that a big part of their ad (or at all) and usually you find this on scam ads.

A 900 number to call for more information - any legitimate company will call you or provide you with an 800 number. If they are a smaller company and don't have an 800 number, then if you inform then you don't wish to use your long distance to call them, they will usually call you.

Resources-
The Better Business Bureau
Web Assured ("Watch List" to see complaints on companies)
The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center
Scambusters - newsletter you can join too
The National Fraud Information Center

5 Resume Mistakes Telecommuters Often Make

Finding a legit telecommute job can be difficult. Telecommute jobs are in high demand and hundreds if not thousands of other people are competing for the same position.

So how do you stand apart from everyone else? Your résumé.

Your telecommute résumé the first and often the only document a potential employer has to make a hiring decision with. Here are some tips specifically for your telecommute résumé to keep it on the employer’s desk and out of “file number 13”.

I have consulted with telecommute résumé expert Jennifer Anthony of Résumé ASAP to get a list of the top five telecommute résumé mistakes. Here they are!

1. Wild designs or frilly fonts.

If you want to be taken seriously for consideration, avoid using cursive fonts or cutesy clip art. Leave this to personal use; it does not belong on business correspondence. Also, check your e-mail signatures. You don’t want to send your résumé out and then sign your name “Mommy to Sean and Sissy” with little angel graphics around their names.

2. Résumé templates.

“I know for a fact that recruiters hate templates and would rather rip their hair out than read templates”, Jennifer Anthony

Recruiters and hiring managers spend their day (often overtime) sorting through hundreds of résumés. Templates are hard to read, and the design elements often don’t show up correctly on a monitor other than that your own. Hiring managers need to be able to scan your document quickly to see if you are qualified before moving on. If they can’t find out in 6-8 seconds, your résumé is trash. It is better to start with a blank document and look at other résumé examples for inspiration.

3. The selfish objective statement.

If you are using the same old objective statement as everyone else, your résumé may be thrown in the trash because you did not put forth the effort to create a personalized résumé.

Here is an example objective you should avoid:

“A telecommute position allowing me to utilize my knowledge and expertise working from home.”

Why? This statement opens up many questions. What kind of telecommute position? What is your knowledge and expertise? Also take note that using the words “me” and “my” sound very selfish. Instead of telling them what you want, you should be showing them what you have to offer them.

Here is an example of what you can use as your headline:

“Talented and experienced virtual assistant, skilled in all aspects of office management within nonprofit environments.”

(More headline examples can be found at RésuméASAP).

This is targeted and to the point. The reader knows this person is an experienced virtual assistant who is especially skilled in a nonprofit role. No wasted time.

4. Irrelevant Experience.

Don’t list irrelevant work experience just to fill in space. If you are applying for a transcription position, your customer service experience at the local fast food restaurant does not apply. What matters is how much transcribing experience you have, how fast you type, how good your spelling and grammar skills are, and how accurate your work is. Any work experience that deals with these skills can be listed.

5. Personal Information.

Leave off information like how many children you have, how long you have been married, or that you happen to love scuba diving

Let’s look at children and spouses for instance. Some people may see this as stability, but many others look at it as a liability. They may have questions about how you will work out for them with the responsibilities. How often will this person miss work because his/her kids are sick? Is his/her spouse supportive of the telecommuting role? Can he/she work efficiently if the children are home? Employers are not allowed to ask, so why put this on your résumé. Personal information should be left off.

If you write that you love scuba diving, you may think this makes you look like a well-rounded person. However, it could give someone the idea that you love scuba diving more than work. It is best to just leave this kind of info off.

Crackdown targets work-at-home scams

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities have cracked down on scores of "scam artists" across the United States who cheated thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars with illegal business ventures, officials said Tuesday. A combination of criminal and civil actions have been leveled in state and federal courts against more than 200 questionable operations in 14 states, they said. Continue reading