Anyone wanting to work from home but not quite ready to cut the apron strings that tie her or him to a corporate job and the resulting paycheck will be glad to know that a twilight option exists which combines the best of both worlds. Referred to as telecommuting, you are still properly employed by your corporate employer with your steady paycheck, health insurance coverage, and retirement options in place, but rather than being stuck on the turnpike during morning and afternoon rush hour, you will do your work from home.
With a high speed Internet connection, dedicated phone line, perhaps a webcam for the setup of teleconferencing, and software that will be useful in your endeavor, you will do the same work that you would normally do in the office ? but without setting foot into your old office or leaving your home. Even as this appears to be the perfect setup for the would be entrepreneur who is just not quite ready to make that commitment, there are some distinct downsides to working from home as a telecommuter and you will be wise to consider them before approaching the boss for concessions in your work status that may lead to more conflict than they're worth!
For example, keep in mind that even as you are a telecommuter working from home, you are still an employee of the company you work for and thus unlike an entrepreneur who works independently from home, you do not have the power to set your own hours. While there may be some tasks you can get done before the kids get up early in the morning, by and large you are required to keep regular working hours and only be a phone call or an email away from your boss? computer.
Working from home as a telecommuter can also be a costly experience if you do not have the software and hardware required. If the company asks you to work from home, then the company will also see to it that you are set up with all the equipment needed to make it work. On the other hand, if you lobby the company for permission to work from home and your boss gives you permission to do so after you claimed that you had everything you needed, it will indeed be up to you to ensure that you have all the hardware and software in place to make it happen.
Perhaps not surprisingly, you will still be on the hook for deadlines and even meeting rush deadlines that might otherwise have been divvied up within the office. Thus, you will face the very real possibility of being on the losing end of the overtime equation and working more hours than you would actually do if you were still commuting to the office and thus your dream of spending more time with your family by working from home may actually be little more than a pipedream. Before working from home as a telecommuter, you will be wise to know exactly what you are signing up for!
Do you want to work from home? Make sure you read others' reviews of the business you want to work for before you start working, to determine if the offer is legitimate. There are many scams to look out for! Usually companies do not require fees to work from home, except those like LiveOps and BabytoBe, which have fees for background checks. The background check company receives the fee payments, however. Some companies require a fee to get started.
One place to look for information on commpanies is the Better Business Bureau. It contains information on many difference businesses and charities - both those that are registered and those that are not registered with the Better Business Bureau. You can find contact information for your local Better Business Bureau, so you can contact them about local businesses, or you can go to the USA's or Canada's site to search for information. To search, you need the business name at a minimum, and maybe also the city and state where the business is located.
If you are unsuccessful finding information through the Better Business Bureau, the next best thing is to do a Google search for the business. Simply type tbe name of the business into Google. It helps if you know the exact spelling of the business name, but if you don't the correct name will still often come up in the search. For example, typing MaryKay in Google will still bring up Mary Kay Cosmetics.
There are also several message boards you can go to for information on business opportunities. If you are unable to find any information on the business opportunity or company you're interested in getting involved with, you can often register and post on the message board and you will get a response. One such message board is Work from Home Mafia. This site contains information on many different work from home companies and business opportunities - and many people have posted other questions on these companies, so your question may already be answered. Work from Home Mafia also has podcasts on different work from home related topics that you can listen to right on the site or download to Itunes and listen to them from there, or put them on your Ipod.
Another message board that has a lot of information on work from home opportunities is Workplace Like Home. It has forums on many of the same companies that Work from Home Mafia does, plus some that work from Home Mafia doesn't have, like Stewart Response Group and Ecallogy. Workplace Like Home however does not have podcasts (at least not that I've been able to find!)
Another way to find out if a certain work from home company or business is legitimate is to ask people that you know that have worked from home. Now obviously this may not be possible if you don't know anyone who has worked from home - that was the case with me when I got my first work from home job with West Telemarketing. I did however, find that it was legitimate and it ended up leading to other legitimate work from home jobs - some I've found myself using the methods mentioned in the previous paragraphs of this article, and others I've found through contacts I've made through the work frome home jobs I've had.
Don't work from home until you read reviews of the company. The previously mentioned sites have a lot of information for people who want to work from home, but they're also a good place for networking. Networking is very important whether you work from home or out of home.
Again, don't start working until you have read reviews of the business you want to get involved with. Working from your own home can be rewardingyou can spend more time with your family and children, not to mention save gas and wear and tear on your vehicle. This is especially important with rising gas prices. Working from home has been rewarding for me not because I've saved on gas, but because I've saved on public transportation fare. I've been working at home for five years now and I don't want to go back to working out of the home if I can avoid it! I have had many positive experiences, but it does require being careful about the businesses you work for. I hope my article has helped those that want to work from home like I do!
Both Dave Massingham & Franta Shinsky are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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