Tired of the long commute? Dealing with coworkers? Having to wake up extremely early, get dressed up and head to the office earlier than usual to beat traffic? Working from home might just be your best fit! Thanks to the internet bringing the entire world closer together, there are countless opportunities available for those that would like to work remotely. Let`s take a look at some of the best types of businesses that you can do from the comfort of your home, along with some tips for staying productive and succeeding.
Popular Home-Based Business Ideas
Freelancers: When you`re a freelancer, you make your own rules. The downside is you can`t count on a paycheck with a regular payment each week, but the upside is that you can earn a lot more than a regular job if you`re motivated to work a lot harder. At most jobs, you aren’t paid more if you get more done on a day by day basis but as a freelancer you are. You also aren’t held accountable to a boss or a manager, just to yourself and your clients. Some of the many opportunities available to freelancers, include web design, writing, graphic design, consulting, and accounting, just to name a few.
Legal Experts: The legal field is very broad, with many specializations that one can pursue such as divorce attorneys, finance lawyers, family attorneys, accident lawyers, legal aides, and transcriptionists. This is great for women and new mothers especially who want to stay at home and spend time with their kids without having to completely sacrifice their careers. They may not be able to spend a lot of time in the courtroom, but that doesn`t mean that can`t get a lot of the behind-the-scenes paperwork done and provide advice and counsel to clients.
IT Specialists: If you’re naturally inclined towards all things tech, you can earn a decent income from home by answering people`s tech questions and helping them to troubleshoot problems. You can work for a call center from home, or you can do this as a freelancer – whichever suits you better. There are also sites that will connect IT specialists with people who need help and are willing to pay for it.
Additional Tips for Working From Home
It`s absolutely essential to have a dedicated working environment without distractions. It`s also a good idea to stick to a schedule as much as you can, even though you have more flexibility than at a typical 9-5 job. It`s easy to get distracted and procrastinate when you don`t have a boss breathing down your neck, so keep that in mind. Never be afraid to change up your scenery sometimes either – it`s nice to spend a day working from a remote location like a coffee shop or a library!
No matter what your area of expertise is, or even if you don`t really have one fully established just yet – there are plenty of opportunities available for you to work from home and to take control over your life. You don`t have to start a business and you don`t have to be an entrepreneur, because even as an employee who works from home there are plenty of advantages, while still maintaining the security of a job and a steady paycheck.
Mary Ann Keeling is a freelance writer and a blogger who works from home. She runs a successful small business, and is currently pursuing a law degree. You can follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnKeeling
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Great article Marry.
Freelancing and IT Specialist is what I would consider out of that list. Blogging is one of my strongest points so I know that would be awesome to do on a permanent basis.
Agree with you on that one, Vincent - as long as your WiFi connection is strong it's pretty easy to freelance as a blogger from any location.