Welcome to our work from home blog! Here you'll find reviews of different at-home work opportunities, information about our experiences working from home, and general tips about living the lifestyle.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #8: Motivation
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #7: Set Boundaries for Those Around You.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #6:Don't Devote Your Life to Work
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #5: Does Your Work Space Help or Hurt?
Friday, May 27, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #4: Neat Work Space!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #3: Start Your Day the Right Way
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #2: Stick to your Schedule
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Work From Home Tips - Tip #1: Set a Schedule
Today, we will begin giving tips for working at home. These tips are designed to help all those who are, or those who are thinking about, working from home. My hope is that they will encourage people who are working from home, and that they will bring a more positive light to working at home.
Tip #1: Set a Schedule.
This is very important. The first thing we did, before we started working from home, was make a schedule. If you set a schedule for yourself, and stick to it, you are more likely to be successful. Also, when your schedule is complete, place it where it is easily viewed. Put it somewhere where you will see it while you are working.
When you sit down to make your schedule, don’t just start with the time you want to start working. Instead, try starting with a set time to get up and eat breakfast. A good breakfast is the best way to start your day! Allow yourself a few 10 to 15 minute breaks throughout the day, not including your lunch break. You may also consider setting aside a 30 minute break for exercise. Taking a few minutes away from your work will help you relax and come back to your work refreshed and ready to go.
Lastly, set a time to stop every day. When it’s quittin’ time, it’s quittin time. Try not to go past your set time to stop working for the day. You need to allow yourself some time at home that does not include work. This will help to separate home from work.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Check back tomorrow for more tips about working at home, and subscribe to the blog if you like it!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Amazon Mechanical Turk Review
Of the myriad of requesters on MTurk, I have had particularly enjoyable dealings with two companies that post frequently. The first is Dolores Labs, also known as Crowdflower. The majority of the HITs posted by Dolores Labs are simplistic and just require you to identify or search for information. The average payout is between $0.01 and $0.05 per HIT. They pay quickly and provide plenty of work. You won't make a lot of money doing these HITs but it's a great way to get started and learn the system.
The other company that I have had great experiences with is QuestionSwami. They post various short writing HITs as wells as writing proofreading tasks. Pay varies greatly depending on the length of the article and the topic. If you have any interest in pursing a freelance writing career this is a good place to get started. They also post special writing assignments for preferred writers that pay as high as $10 for a 500 word article. Most of the work I've done with them has been paid within 24 hours.
There are many more requesters and a wide variety of tasks available on MTurk. A word of caution: don't perform to many tasks for a single requester until you have been paid by them at least once or have it on good authority that they are reliable. I would also suggest never giving out detailed personal information to a requester. Be cautious and remember that it is possible that someone could post fraudulent work (this can be reported to Amazon if you do encounter issues).
If you need any help getting started with Amazon Mechanical Turk feel free to comment with any questions you may have.
Subscribe to our blog and check back often for more reviews, tips, and advice about working from home.
Monday, May 16, 2011
ChaCha Review
The process of answering the questions is handled by several different guide roles. Most workers have one or two of these roles. The current roles are Expediter, Specialist, Vetter, and Affiliate. Workers are hired as independent contractors and can select to have their pay direct deposited once per month or have their ChaCha balance transfered over to a special debit card at any time (there is a fee of $2.00 per transfer).
Most questions come to the Expediter (EX) first. The EX answers simple questions with tools provide by ChaCha such as definition finders, movie listings, horoscopes, and business listings. They also quickly edit answers to questions that have been asked before. Finally, for more complicated questions they succinct and edit the original question and pass it on to a Specialist. Expediters are paid $0.02 per completed question, regardless of the method of completion.
Specialists (GE/SP) answer the more complicated questions asked by customers. After receiving the question from the EX they use whatever research tools they deem necessary to provide an answer to the customer. This process is more time consuming than other roles. Specialists are paid between $0.10 and $0.20 per question depending on the category.
Vetter (VT) is the newest role available at ChaCha. ChaCha has usage limits on questions for Expediters and Specialists. To provide answers to customers who have exceeded these limits ChaCha developed a program where users can submit answers to questions online. The VT selects and briefly edits the answers provided by the community to send a suitable answer back to the customer. Vetters are paid $0.005 per question (yes, that's half a cent). Vetter is by far the fastest pace role and is recommended for people with fast load times to maximize earning potential.
Finally, Affiliate is the rarest role at ChaCha. Affiliates are hand selected and have never had open applications. They handle questions from special business partners of ChaCha. The role currently pays $0.17 per question, but it is expected to decrease after the program is further developed and traffic is increased.
Obviously ChaCha shouldn't be considered a full time job (though there are a few people who use it as such). Most workers average $3-$6 an hour, but with efficient work, good system traffic, and utilizing bonuses it's possible to make close to $10 per hour. However, there is no guaranteed hourly rate. You are paid by the question (with occasional bonuses) and your hourly earnings will depend on your abilities, system traffic, and promotional bonuses. You can work as many or as few hours as you want, so there is a ton of flexibility.
I have had, and continue to have, a good experience working with ChaCha. I work exclusively in the Expediter role because I enjoy the pace. It's a pretty fun and easy way to make extra money in your spare time. Many workers play games or watch TV while they're working (unless system traffic is very high).
I hope this review has been helpful! If you are interested in working with ChaCha, leave a comment and I'll help you out with the application process.
For more work at home company reviews, advice, and tips please subscribe to this blog and check back often!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Introduction
This post is my first foray into the wide world of blogging. This particular blog will be used to document the experiences of my wife and I as we strive to earn a sustainable income working from the comfort of our own home. First, I would like to tell you a little about us and our personal reasons for choosing this lifestyle. Next, I want to tell you about our goals as a family. Lastly, I want to talk about the purpose of this blog and what I hope readers can gain from it.
My wife and I have been married for about two and a half years now. We love spending all of our time together, and the idea of working together just seemed like the most natural fit for us. We both have degrees, mine is in Business Finance and hers is in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. While we hope to leverage our degrees to help us accomplish our goals, our pursuits won't be limited by our specific education. A big part of the reason we chose to work at home versus pursuing a tandem career is our future children. Currently, the only other member of our family is a very spoiled dog named Chloe. However, when we do have children we both want to be home to raise them.
Our goals are very straightforward. We want to earn a reasonable, sustainable income from the comfort of our home. We live a low budget lifestyle so we aren't seeking a massive fortune, just enough to live comfortably. There are several avenues we are pursuing to accomplish these goals, including freelance work, working as independent contractors, blogging, writing, affiliate marketing, and just about any legitimate at-home work or business opportunity that shows promise.
The purpose of this blog is to share our experiences pursing various opportunities. We will be posting reviews of the different income sources we use, updates on our progress, and general tips for others trying to pursue the same lifestyle.
If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comment section. Check back often for updates and new information about opportunities to earn money working from your home.