Can you work at home?

Work at home is a phrase as sweet as the siren's song.

We all want to work at home; we all would like to fire our boss and set our own schedule. But how do you generate an income from home?

To make money at home, one must, well, work at home. And with all those work at home scams bouncing around the internet and in your spam box, chances are you don’t believe them because you well know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Putting aside the work at home scams and the traditional brick and mortar small business owner avenue, what are you left with, what can you offer others, and can I make a living? Great questions to seriously entertain and answer before you actually march into your boss’s office and quit your day job.

Foremost, determine your skills. Maybe you’re an aspiring writer seeking publication of your first novel or a real green thumb. The point is to decide what you can offer others and then act to establish your credibility.

For instance, I have a friend that had an interest in Rolex watches. When eBay was new, he would see fakes being sold as genuine articles, so he would warn the buyer. After a few very grateful thank-yous, it occurred he could write an ebook and sell it to would-be Rolex buyers. Sure enough, his twenty-eight page guide sold well enough that he had to expand it. Eventually, it became a book known as the world famous Rolex Report.

Once you’ve identified your talents, the next thing to do is begin to market yourself and start making in-roads in that field. But you don’t want to be too small a fish in too big a pond, so you’ll need to carve out a niche with an appropriate twist.

If you’re going the writing route, start with your own blog. Blogging won’t necessarily pay for your next vacation, but it will put some extra dollars in your pocket.

Publish your own blog and work on marketing it to your target audience. Once you have followers, monetize your blog with Google Adsense. But in order to make an income, you’ll have to be disciplined, set your own schedule may sound great, but it’s a must to keep you not only earning money, but relevant.

If you’re not the writer type, then set your sights on what your talents and skill sets are and go from there. An acquaintance of mine from years ago used to cook dozens of empanadas at home and bring them to her place of work. Coworkers tired of the same-old would buy them for a nominal price. After a few months, she began catering and eventually, quit her nine-to-five to cater full time.

The examples might be a bit different, but the outcomes were similar. The other similarity they share was patience and work ethic. Combine confidence with persistence a twist of originality and you too can work at home.

-- Owen E. Richason IV

owenedward4@aol.com