About.com Home Business

Starting the Wrong Home Business

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:26:19 +0000

True, most of us would love to be home all day. And, many of those who would love to be home would like to be independent, without a boss. So the soul searching goes on to decide on a business that you might like and could be successful at. Your choices during the time will have a great impact on how things turn out for you.

This was apparently the dream for one Montgomery County, Texas couple who started a business out of their trailer. In fact, the young couple was recently featured in this online Montgomery County News report. Seems the business they chose was to operate a home-based meth lab. Oops! Wrong business to start!

The piece reports that James and Melissa Jones of Splendora, TX were busted on multiple charges, including intent to manufacture a controlled substance (a first-degree felony), at the home they shared with their two children. It seems that the Jones residence allegedly contained an active methamphetamine lab.

If you decide to go into business for yourself so you can work from home, please be sure to choose a legal home based business! And never, never put those you love in danger because of it!

Starting the Wrong Home Business originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 17:26:19.

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Weekly Work from Home Jobs

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:35:24 +0000

The latest work from home jobs have been posted.

This week's list opportunities to work from home includes one that looks especially fun - an American Football Blogger. It's a part-time position that reports on Sunday night football games. So now you can actually get paid to watch football on TV!

This Week's Work from Home Jobs
Discuss Finding Work at Home in the Forum
Sign up for my Work at Home Newsletter or RSS Feed

Weekly Work from Home Jobs originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 00:35:24.

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CraigsList Posts Job Scam Alert

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:35:03 +0000

CraigsList can be a decent place to look for work at home jobs, although it has its issues. Among them are that you can only search one metro area at a time and that CraigsList draws a lot of scammers so you need to be careful in screening which work home jobs you apply for. As I was visiting CraigsList today, I saw the following alert, directly from CraigsList with respect to job openings in general:

SCAM ALERT - affiliate scammers are posting bogus ads promising (nonexistent!) employment, paid research trials, or other compensation, but then notifying repliers that they'll need to jump through a hoop first, directing them to:
background checking services

credit checking or reporting sites

sites where you are instructed to enter your resume or other personal information

sites where you are asked to sign up for a "free" trial offer

sites offering training or education

sites offering a "system" for making money

survey or focus group sites

sites designed to deliver malware or misuse your identifying information

all in hopes of earning affiliate marketing commissions or otherwise profiting at the expense of persons seeking employment.

Lots of variations on this scam, but each generally involves dangling (nonexistent!) compensation, and then directing you to a website where you are asked to sign up for something, use your credit card, or input personal information such as your email address.

Then there is a link to the job postings in the category you selected so you can proceed, but you might want to continue reading the scam alert before you do so, for the following information:

FUN FACT: If you are able to determine a scammer's "affiliate ID" and report it to their affiliate marketing program, this will often result in termination of the scammer, and confiscation of the scammer's ill-gotten gains by the affiliate program.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Google Work at Home Scams listed in CraigsList, since those work at home programs seem to be actively recruiting affiliates who are probably unaware they are participating in something that's often seen as a illegal.

Be vigilant, regardless of where you seek work at home. I sometimes use CraigsList as a source for my weekly Work at Home Jobs List and although I scan for clues that the ads I post are legit before I pass them on to you, it's impossible for me to apply for each posting to determine if it fits the mold of the scam job ads that CraigsList warns about.

Report Work at Home Scams and Get Even
Victim of a Scam? Share Your Story
Finding Work at Home

CraigsList Posts Job Scam Alert originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 10:35:03.

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Words of the Week: Viral Marketing

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:04:19 +0000

You may have heard the term "viral marketing" passed around a bit. But do you really know what it is and why it's important? And no, it has nothing to do with the recent spread of the H1N1 "swine flu" virus, although the way it spreads could be comparable.

Videos posted on YouTube are Internet viral marketing tool in today's environment. If a groundswell notices a specific video on YouTube and then shares it with others, the number of persons viewing the video can rise exponentially in a very short period of time. This form of viral marketing can increase website traffic dramatically, but the traffic surge is often short-lived and the effects of Internet viral marketing can fade very quickly.

What is Viral Marketing?

Words of the Week: Viral Marketing originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 00:04:19.

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How Did You Get to Work from Home?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:33:58 +0000

The latest work from home poll results indicate that more than half of you are still looking for the opportunity to work from home. Yet more than 3,700 of you who took the poll ARE working from home. About two-thirds of those who do work from home now ended up finding work at home without really trying. The other third were successful in going out and finding the opportunity to work from home and a few experienced a little of both.

That's a very large number of people (2300+ in the first group and counting, and 1,300+ in the second group) who have lots of great ideas that could be tapped on getting to work from home.

One more statistic: So far, 88 people and counting have indicated why they want to work from home and, in many cases, it's more of a NEED to work from home than a want - especially for those who are disabled.

So what say you, those who work from home now, are you willing to share your experiences with them? How did you find work from home, and what advice can you offer those who are still looking?

Share Your Experience - How Did You Find Work from Home?

Related Work from Home Topics

Why Readers Want to or Have to Work from Home
Do You Have a Work from Home Strategy?

How Did You Get to Work from Home? originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 10:33:58.

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This Week's Telecommuting Jobs

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:55:22 +0000

The latest telecommuting jobs have been posted for the week.

This week's positions include two bilingual jobs in which you can telecommute. One requires fluency in Spanish and English, and the other in French and English. The French/English position is a blogging internship that can be done from anywhere in the world. Plus, even though it's labeled as an "internship", this telecommuting opportunity pays $1,000 per month.

As always, I've pre-screened these telecommuting jobs for you, but if you've never heard of the employer or your radar goes off for any reason, I urge you to do your due diligence and check them out thoroughly.

Work at Home Poll Results Mounting

Thanks to the more than 8,200 of you who have participated. If you have not already taken the poll, I urge you to do so now. The latest poll results indicate that while more than half of you are still looking, 27% found work at home "by accident" - they weren't actively looking for a chance to telecommute. Maybe there's something to be said for not trying too hard.

Check Out This Week's Telecommuting Jobs
Read Why People Want to Telecommute from Home and Share Your Story
Discuss Finding Telecommuting Work in the Forum

This Week's Telecommuting Jobs originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 08:55:22.

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SBE Council to Host Another Free Webcast

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:50:10 +0000

The Small Business and Entrepreneur's (SBE) Council will host a webcast title, "Thriving and Surviving in a Recovering Economy" this Wednesday, October 28, 2009 from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. EDT.

SBE Council President and CEO Karen Kerrigan and Grow Fast Grow Right Founder Andrew Sherman will be the panel experts for the webcast, which will focus on key ways that businesses are surviving, growing and thriving during the economic recovery.

The Webcast will include a From the Hill segment that discusses legislative efforts on Capitol Hill including health care overhaul, tax changes and regulatory initiatives that effect entrepreneurs.

As always, the webcast format is open Q&A in which the panel will take your questions during the entire hour. You can send questions in advance of the webcast to membership@sbecouncil.org or during the presentation.

The link to the webcast will be posted on the SBE Council website one day prior to the broadcast, but you can send an email asking to be reminded to tune in by sending your name, business, and city to: membership@sbecouncil.org. Remember to put "October 28 Webcast" in the subject line of your email message.

Getting through a Recession
5 Money-Making Ideas in a Recession
Is there a Recession Proof Business? (Readers Respond)

SBE Council to Host Another Free Webcast originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 09:50:10.

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Work at Home Jobs List Updated

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:44:32 +0000

The latest work at home jobs have been posted.

This week's list of work at home jobs includes a position with Google as an Ad Quality Rater - and yes, it's the real thing. If you've been following this site for any time at all, you know that quality raters are definitely needed at Google.

The Google job in the list is for an English speaker, but there are similar work at home positions with Google that require you to speak other languages fluently, including German, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean and others.

List of Work at Home Jobs
Finding Real Work at Home Jobs with Google
Discuss Finding Work at Home in the Forum
Sign up for my Work at Home Newsletter or RSS Feed

Work at Home Jobs List Updated originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 00:44:32.

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5 Money Making, Recession Resistant Home Businesses

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:01:00 +0000

While the global economy, and especially the U.S. economy, appears to be on its way out of a recession, you can bet there will be other times where the economy lags, jobs are lost and demand for goods and services will fall. However, certain types of businesses can survive - or even thrive - in a down economy, representing solid money-making potential even when times are not so great.

Here are my thoughts on 5 businesses that are recession resistant, if not recession proof, and an opportunity to share your thoughts on which small or home businesses are recession proof in your mind.

5 Money Making, Recession Resistant Home Businesses (My thoughts)
Which Businesses are Recession Proof? (Your thoughts)

5 Money Making, Recession Resistant Home Businesses originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 00:01:00.

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10 Steps Before You Start a Business

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:29:17 +0000

While many who are thinking of starting a business want to open their doors right away, owning a business is not for everyone, so careful thought and planning are required. Personalities and family situations differ, as do the knowledge and experience of the potential entrepreneur. Once you decide that you are cut out for it, there are several steps you need to take in order to get ready to be on your way to a potentially rewarding business of your own, not the least of which is choosing which business to start.

While one of the primary benefits of a small, entrepreneurial business is its ability to act get things done quickly without much red tape, this step-by-step approach will help get you on the right track and improve your chances of success greatly.

10 Steps Before Your Start a Business

Related:

FAQ: What Home-Based Business Should I Start?
Business Plans - The Basics

10 Steps Before You Start a Business originally appeared on About.com Home Business on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 09:29:17.

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