One of the things people look for when they want to work from home is the ability to create your own schedule. Jobs “out there” often don’t offer much flexibility. And whether you’re working at someone else’s needs (like if you’re a stay-at-home parent) or you want to be able to pick and choose when you work, finding ways to work when you want can be an important aspect of your work at home. Search.
There are several different types of homework you can do on your own schedule. Let’s take a closer look at each of them to see which one suits you best. You may even find a few different options that might work!
1. Freelancing
Freelancing is a great way to make money. Even if you don’t think you have any “marketable skills,” there are definitely services you can offer online. These are some of the things you can usually do freelance work for:
2. Selling things online
As with freelancing, there are several ways to sell products online. One is to create your own platform where you sell your own digital products or even affiliate products. This can be done on a website or through an email list (although you’ll need a website to build that email list). Affiliate marketing is a really interesting way to run an online business and make money round the clock.
You can also look into selling physical products. There are all sorts of approaches to this:
- Etsy sells handmade goods, vintage finds, and even digital downloads (for things like invitations, printables, and artwork).
- eBay for selling anything and everything!
- Amazon FBA
- Online Book Reseller
- Direct Selling (You can operate your direct selling business primarily online, or take it offline)
These are just the tip of the iceberg. If you are really interested in selling things online, you can also look into creating a blog or website around the product you want to sell, with links to your store easily visible. This is a great option if you want to combine two passions like blogging and direct sales (more on both later).
3. Offline Services
Much like freelancing, which is usually conducted online, you can offer services “in person” around your own schedule. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Tutoring
- I am happy today
- Pet-sitting and dog-walking
- Non-Medical Home Care
- Personal shopping, grocery delivery, etc
- Sewing and mending
- house is clean
Many of these services will have certain time of day restrictions (if you can’t walk someone’s dog at 11pm, for example), but depending on how flexible you are, they may be ticket only.
4. Survey
Surveys are a great way to earn some quick cash here and there, but they’re not going to replace your current income. If you’re looking for something simple to bring in a little pocket money in your downtime, take a survey. You can do them on your computer or your smartphone – or both
5. Short work
Like surveys, small jobs are something you can do that require very little effort or brainpower, but they’re not going to replace the money you want to earn from a regular job. That said, it’s easy work and if you like it, there are many different sites where you can do different types of work. Here are a few to get you started:
6. Blogging
It’s no surprise that I love blogging — it’s my primary source of income, and I have tons of information about blogging here because it’s a great work-at-home opportunity. It can sometimes take some time before your blog becomes truly profitable, but it’s something you can absolutely, 100% run on your own schedule. Deadlines are set by you, tasks and workloads are set by you and all that comes with it you.
Flexibility is one of the absolute best things about blogging. It definitely requires a commitment, but you are completely in charge from start to finish.
Get my free 7-day series on starting a blog here.
7. Mystery shopping via phone call
Mystery shopping in person can be a lot of fun and can get you some great experiences in addition to cash, but it’s not something you can always do on your own schedule. If the time frames are too restrictive or inconvenient for you, you can try “mystery shopping” phone calls.
The idea behind these phone calls is similar to regular mystery shopping – you’re testing a business’s customer service and performance But since they’re phone calls, you don’t actually have to go anywhere, spend your money up front, or even wear shoes. These websites are a good place to start:
Mystery shopping phone calls won’t replace your regular income because the work is so sporadic, but it’s a great way to make some money from home. Noisy environment is also welcome!
Note one thing
In most of these opportunities, you will be considered an independent contractor and the money you earn will be subject to taxes. The IRS says any activity that earns you $400 or more no longer qualifies as a hobby and that income must be reported. If you plan to give any of these ideas a serious try, you need to be prepared to pay taxes on your income. It’s best to have a conversation with a tax professional to set everything up properly, so you can avoid fees and penalties later.
Bring work home
Many of these ideas are good for bringing in a little extra cash for fun things like a date night or even a trip, but many can also turn into something substantial if you’re after it. Any of these opportunities will get back to you what you put into them!
No Comments
Leave a comment Cancel