Imzadi
♥ Saved by an angel in a trench coat!
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2004
I saw this last nite in the NY Post newspaper here in NYC. I know many people post to the Budget Board thread: "Want to earn $70 for 5 hours work every now and then" for extra money & many here are SAHMs who could use extra money. So I thought this article might help. I was able to find it on-line. (I've made all links clickable now. If you are copying & pasting this article for later - making the links unclickable, simply copy & paste the highlighted companies into your browser.) 
I am not affiated with any of the companies listed, nor have I worked for any of the companies or even the NY Post. So please, research any of the companies listed thoroughly before commiting a lot of your time. Post your own experiences & info you may have with these companies.
LINK: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11272006/atwork/bringing_it_all_back_home_atwork_tory_johnson.htm
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
ENVELOPE-STUFFING IS FOR SUCKERS,
BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF LEGIT WORK OPTIONS
THAT HIT WHERE YOU LIVE
By TORY JOHNSON November 27, 2006
"AS a call center employee selling tickets to Broadway shows, Gloria Clark dreamed of doing the same type of
work at her home in Spanish Harlem. A 48-year-old single mother of three grown children, she wanted to have fl exible hours and to be close to her father, whos in the early stages of dementia.
She trolled the Internet for opportunities, but was skeptical about the offers she saw. Then she found WillowCSN, a Floridabased company that provides Fortune 500 companies with home-based representatives to handle customer calls.
After completing basic training to master the necessary skills and technology, shes now ready to go to work as a virtual customer service agent, servicing one of Willows travel clients, such as the start-up airline Virgin America. Like other contractors who work for the company, she'll be able to work from home, and set her own schedule.
"That means I'll be able to help my father out more," she says.
Clark is among the thousands of workers who have benefited from a challenge "Good Morning America" co-anchor Diane Sawyer posed to me three months ago: to find ways to make money at home. No, she wasn't looking for ways to supplement her own income; she was responding to pleas from viewers looking to gain more control over their lives.
We heard from stay-at-home moms who dreamed of bringing in extra cash for the holidays. Others said physical challenges prevented them from working outside of their homes, and they felt trapped by what appeared to be a lack of legitimate opportunities. We received e-mails from folks nearing retirement without enough savings to hang up their hats, and college students interested in ways to learn and earn simultaneously.
I went to work on behalf of all of them. And what I found was: While there are plenty of scams operated by profiteers out to convince you that stuffing envelopes in your kitchen is the pathway to riches, there are many legitimate opportunities for those who want to wear their slippers to work.
Here are some of the ways that viewers have told us they're now making money at home, after drawing tips from "GMA"'s ongoing series TakeControlOfYourLife.
Answer customer calls: When you call customer service lines for companies like J. Crew, 1-800-Flowers or Virgin Atlantic, the person who answers may well be sitting in their home office instead of a cubicle. These major players and others like them outsource customer-service calls to companies such as WillowCSN.com, AlpineAccess.com, LiveOps.com and WorkAtHomeAgent.com, which hire and train virtual agents, typically as independent contractors.
In addition to having a pleasant voice and strong customer-service skills, you must have a computer with a high-speed Internet connection, a land line and a quiet place to work - all of which you pay for on your own. For this you can make $8 to $15 an hour, depending on your experience, call volume and accounts. Be prepared to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, although some agents work as many as 60.
Be an online "guide":
Chacha.com, a new search engine that offers users free assistance via instant message from a live, home-based guide, pays such guides between $5 and $10 an hour, which can be claimed via debit card or direct deposit. This is a great source of diaper money for moms and beer bucks for the college crowd.
The site About.com hires guides with proven expertise in a topic area. Guides must publish articles and update blogs regularly. Successful guides earn a minimum of $500 per month, and some earn upwards of $100,000 a year for high-trafficked sections.
Serve clients as a concierge: Ready to handle phone, e-mail and online requests for services ranging from making dinner recommendations to planning vacations for busy professionals? What if the caller asked you to rent monkeys for a birthday party, or to help write a toast for a wedding?
Those are some of the common and quirky requests asked of home-based concierge agents at VIPdesk, whose clients are busy executives who gladly pay for services of convenience. VIPdesk.com hires home-based workers who are highly resourceful and have prior experience in high-end customer service, travel and/or hospitality.
Since concierge services are growing in popularity as a benefit for businesses of all sizes, consider starting your own company. For example, a doctor's office might require staff to work long hours to accommodate patients. Employee absenteeism can cause a disruption in services. It may be more beneficial for the medical practice to pay an outsider like you to handle errands and special chores for a nurse than to give that employee a day off. This same theory applies to companies where staffers work long hours or travel regularly. Use this approach when pitching your services.
Cook up cash: If you can whip up magic in the kitchen, you may qualify to become a home-based culinary consultant for Chefsline.com, which provides live, professional advice on cooking or baking. Consultants must excel at cooking, teaching and customer service, and must be available to take calls for a minimum of eight hours per week, during afternoon and evening hours. A specialty in regional cuisine, such as African, Middle Eastern or French, is desirable. Pay ranges from $7.50 to $30 an hour.
Push some product: It's not just Mary Kay and Tupperware anymore. There are thousands of opportunities to make money through in-person and online direct sales. More than 14 million people are independent contractors doing just that. Select a company that mirrors your own interests, since there's a greater likelihood you'll be able to sell products you actually like.
Interested in health and alternative medicine? Sign on with TiensNA.com. Like fine wine? Become a rep for TheTravelingVineyard.com. Is high-end clothing your soft spot? Check out CarlisleCollection.com. Want to sell toys to parents in your kid's play group? Try DiscoveryToysInc.com. The Direct Selling Association (dsa.org) offers links to businesses and advice on succeeding in direct sales.
Be a virtual publicist: Technology enables the existence of thousands of virtual p.r. firms, all of which need experienced communications and marketing professionals. PerkettPR.com, Bisbeeandco.com, PartnerCentric.com and OrcaCommunications.com are just a few to contact if you're a seasoned p.r. pro.
Or start your own virtual firm: If you're experienced in promotions, event planning, writing, pitching, crisis communications or strategic planning, there's a good chance your services are in demand. Without expensive office overhead, you can offer competitive prices while making a hefty profit. Create a Web site that promotes your abilities, and start spreading the word. Since you're in p.r., you no doubt know how to toot your own horn.
Become an online tutor: If you graduated from a U.S. college (or are currently enrolled at an accredited school) and you have expertise in English, math, science or social studies, you could make money as an online tutor. You must be able to convey key information to students of all ages - generally they range from fourth grade through college level - in an online environment. Visit Tutor.com or search online using the keywords "online tutor" to learn how to make $10 an hour or more working five to 30 hours a week.
Get paid to write: A handful of sites pay for articles, including Helium.com and Associatedcontent.com. You won't make big bucks - the latter pays around $10 per published piece - but they offer a good way to build an online portfolio of published work. It's working for Neil White of Harlem, who hopes to use the numerous articles he's published on Associatedcontent.com to further his freelance writing career.
"The turnaround time is fast, and the visibility is great," says White, 37. "It's an ideal vehicle to get published on any topic."
Create a product line: Ever dream of seeing your slogans and artwork on T-shirts, mugs or hats? Turn that dream into cash without investing in expensive startup costs like equipment and stock. Submit your original ideas online to sites like Zazzle.com and CafePress.com, and you'll receive commission on all sales generated with your designs.
Dodging the duds
Ever wondered if those ads that promise big bucks for stuffing envelopes are on the level?
Here's the short answer: no.
I responded to ads that promised up to $1,500 a week with little effort. What I got was an offer to buy "starter kits" for $20 to $50 each. Each instructed me to mail flyers recruiting others - if they bought the same kit, I'd get a commission.
So instead of stuffing envelopes for a hefty fee, your job is to extend the pyramid scheme by suckering others just as you've been suckered.
But that's not to say that all home-based opportunities that request money up front are rip-offs. Many legitimate direct sales companies and others that help you start a business require a start-up fee to cover the cost of training and supplies.
How can you tell them apart? Here are a few tips:
Talk to a live person: Don't send money based on hype; talk to a live person about the requirements and the realistic earning potential. Ask about potential pitfalls and challenges.
Get references: Get names of people who are doing the same type of work successfully. If you wanted to become a consultant with Mary Kay or Avon, you'd have no trouble finding people willing to talk - not just e-mail - about getting started.
Don't buy into hype: If it promises big money with little effort, walk away. Do you really know anyone who paid $100 and is now making $3,000 a week? - P.J."
Here is the link for another follow up DIS thread in which posters added their own experiences & recommendations for these companies.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15809523#post15809523
I am not affiated with any of the companies listed, nor have I worked for any of the companies or even the NY Post. So please, research any of the companies listed thoroughly before commiting a lot of your time. Post your own experiences & info you may have with these companies.
LINK: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11272006/atwork/bringing_it_all_back_home_atwork_tory_johnson.htm
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
ENVELOPE-STUFFING IS FOR SUCKERS,
BUT THERE ARE LOTS OF LEGIT WORK OPTIONS
THAT HIT WHERE YOU LIVE
By TORY JOHNSON November 27, 2006
"AS a call center employee selling tickets to Broadway shows, Gloria Clark dreamed of doing the same type of
work at her home in Spanish Harlem. A 48-year-old single mother of three grown children, she wanted to have fl exible hours and to be close to her father, whos in the early stages of dementia.
She trolled the Internet for opportunities, but was skeptical about the offers she saw. Then she found WillowCSN, a Floridabased company that provides Fortune 500 companies with home-based representatives to handle customer calls.
After completing basic training to master the necessary skills and technology, shes now ready to go to work as a virtual customer service agent, servicing one of Willows travel clients, such as the start-up airline Virgin America. Like other contractors who work for the company, she'll be able to work from home, and set her own schedule.
"That means I'll be able to help my father out more," she says.
Clark is among the thousands of workers who have benefited from a challenge "Good Morning America" co-anchor Diane Sawyer posed to me three months ago: to find ways to make money at home. No, she wasn't looking for ways to supplement her own income; she was responding to pleas from viewers looking to gain more control over their lives.
We heard from stay-at-home moms who dreamed of bringing in extra cash for the holidays. Others said physical challenges prevented them from working outside of their homes, and they felt trapped by what appeared to be a lack of legitimate opportunities. We received e-mails from folks nearing retirement without enough savings to hang up their hats, and college students interested in ways to learn and earn simultaneously.
I went to work on behalf of all of them. And what I found was: While there are plenty of scams operated by profiteers out to convince you that stuffing envelopes in your kitchen is the pathway to riches, there are many legitimate opportunities for those who want to wear their slippers to work.
Here are some of the ways that viewers have told us they're now making money at home, after drawing tips from "GMA"'s ongoing series TakeControlOfYourLife.
Answer customer calls: When you call customer service lines for companies like J. Crew, 1-800-Flowers or Virgin Atlantic, the person who answers may well be sitting in their home office instead of a cubicle. These major players and others like them outsource customer-service calls to companies such as WillowCSN.com, AlpineAccess.com, LiveOps.com and WorkAtHomeAgent.com, which hire and train virtual agents, typically as independent contractors.
In addition to having a pleasant voice and strong customer-service skills, you must have a computer with a high-speed Internet connection, a land line and a quiet place to work - all of which you pay for on your own. For this you can make $8 to $15 an hour, depending on your experience, call volume and accounts. Be prepared to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, although some agents work as many as 60.
Be an online "guide":
Chacha.com, a new search engine that offers users free assistance via instant message from a live, home-based guide, pays such guides between $5 and $10 an hour, which can be claimed via debit card or direct deposit. This is a great source of diaper money for moms and beer bucks for the college crowd.
The site About.com hires guides with proven expertise in a topic area. Guides must publish articles and update blogs regularly. Successful guides earn a minimum of $500 per month, and some earn upwards of $100,000 a year for high-trafficked sections.
Serve clients as a concierge: Ready to handle phone, e-mail and online requests for services ranging from making dinner recommendations to planning vacations for busy professionals? What if the caller asked you to rent monkeys for a birthday party, or to help write a toast for a wedding?
Those are some of the common and quirky requests asked of home-based concierge agents at VIPdesk, whose clients are busy executives who gladly pay for services of convenience. VIPdesk.com hires home-based workers who are highly resourceful and have prior experience in high-end customer service, travel and/or hospitality.
Since concierge services are growing in popularity as a benefit for businesses of all sizes, consider starting your own company. For example, a doctor's office might require staff to work long hours to accommodate patients. Employee absenteeism can cause a disruption in services. It may be more beneficial for the medical practice to pay an outsider like you to handle errands and special chores for a nurse than to give that employee a day off. This same theory applies to companies where staffers work long hours or travel regularly. Use this approach when pitching your services.
Cook up cash: If you can whip up magic in the kitchen, you may qualify to become a home-based culinary consultant for Chefsline.com, which provides live, professional advice on cooking or baking. Consultants must excel at cooking, teaching and customer service, and must be available to take calls for a minimum of eight hours per week, during afternoon and evening hours. A specialty in regional cuisine, such as African, Middle Eastern or French, is desirable. Pay ranges from $7.50 to $30 an hour.
Push some product: It's not just Mary Kay and Tupperware anymore. There are thousands of opportunities to make money through in-person and online direct sales. More than 14 million people are independent contractors doing just that. Select a company that mirrors your own interests, since there's a greater likelihood you'll be able to sell products you actually like.
Interested in health and alternative medicine? Sign on with TiensNA.com. Like fine wine? Become a rep for TheTravelingVineyard.com. Is high-end clothing your soft spot? Check out CarlisleCollection.com. Want to sell toys to parents in your kid's play group? Try DiscoveryToysInc.com. The Direct Selling Association (dsa.org) offers links to businesses and advice on succeeding in direct sales.
Be a virtual publicist: Technology enables the existence of thousands of virtual p.r. firms, all of which need experienced communications and marketing professionals. PerkettPR.com, Bisbeeandco.com, PartnerCentric.com and OrcaCommunications.com are just a few to contact if you're a seasoned p.r. pro.
Or start your own virtual firm: If you're experienced in promotions, event planning, writing, pitching, crisis communications or strategic planning, there's a good chance your services are in demand. Without expensive office overhead, you can offer competitive prices while making a hefty profit. Create a Web site that promotes your abilities, and start spreading the word. Since you're in p.r., you no doubt know how to toot your own horn.
Become an online tutor: If you graduated from a U.S. college (or are currently enrolled at an accredited school) and you have expertise in English, math, science or social studies, you could make money as an online tutor. You must be able to convey key information to students of all ages - generally they range from fourth grade through college level - in an online environment. Visit Tutor.com or search online using the keywords "online tutor" to learn how to make $10 an hour or more working five to 30 hours a week.
Get paid to write: A handful of sites pay for articles, including Helium.com and Associatedcontent.com. You won't make big bucks - the latter pays around $10 per published piece - but they offer a good way to build an online portfolio of published work. It's working for Neil White of Harlem, who hopes to use the numerous articles he's published on Associatedcontent.com to further his freelance writing career.
"The turnaround time is fast, and the visibility is great," says White, 37. "It's an ideal vehicle to get published on any topic."
Create a product line: Ever dream of seeing your slogans and artwork on T-shirts, mugs or hats? Turn that dream into cash without investing in expensive startup costs like equipment and stock. Submit your original ideas online to sites like Zazzle.com and CafePress.com, and you'll receive commission on all sales generated with your designs.
Dodging the duds
Ever wondered if those ads that promise big bucks for stuffing envelopes are on the level?
Here's the short answer: no.
I responded to ads that promised up to $1,500 a week with little effort. What I got was an offer to buy "starter kits" for $20 to $50 each. Each instructed me to mail flyers recruiting others - if they bought the same kit, I'd get a commission.
So instead of stuffing envelopes for a hefty fee, your job is to extend the pyramid scheme by suckering others just as you've been suckered.
But that's not to say that all home-based opportunities that request money up front are rip-offs. Many legitimate direct sales companies and others that help you start a business require a start-up fee to cover the cost of training and supplies.
How can you tell them apart? Here are a few tips:
Talk to a live person: Don't send money based on hype; talk to a live person about the requirements and the realistic earning potential. Ask about potential pitfalls and challenges.
Get references: Get names of people who are doing the same type of work successfully. If you wanted to become a consultant with Mary Kay or Avon, you'd have no trouble finding people willing to talk - not just e-mail - about getting started.
Don't buy into hype: If it promises big money with little effort, walk away. Do you really know anyone who paid $100 and is now making $3,000 a week? - P.J."
Here is the link for another follow up DIS thread in which posters added their own experiences & recommendations for these companies.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15809523#post15809523
Someone wanted info on this topic. 
Bumping as this may help someone looking for work right now. I don't know if all the links still work, but they are worth a try. 
