Phishing...10 Scams to Watch Out for

 Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. (Definition from Wikipedia)

I've done some research online and found the ten following phishing scams that you should try to avoid.

1. Google ViddyHo worm: If you use this instant messaging service you may have already fallen victim to the ViddyHo worm. It tricks you by sending a fake message from a "contact" asking you to click on a link. The person is then directed to the ViddyHo website, where they are asked for personal Gmail login information, which is then used to hack into the account. The worm then sends out the same fake message to all of the person's contacts, further spreading its reach.

2. Apple's MobileMe Service: When running correctly, the MobileMe service synchronizes e-mail, calendar and contact information for subscribers on their Apple products. Users have recently reported receiving e-mails stating that their subscription payments did not go through.  The e-mail further asks the victim to follow a link where they can enter credit card information in order to make his supposedly missed payment. To avoid this scam, make sure you check your credit card statements before trusting any e-mails that say your payment didn't go through and always check for a confirmation when possible.

3. Pop-up window phishing: This scam may get you when you are about to make a payment on a legitimate site. As the victim is viewing the legitimate site, a pop-up informs them their session has expired or timed out and they will need to re-enter their login information. This scam is a threat to all Web browsers and operating systems and requires no installation of malware. To protect yourself, make sure to never enter banking information into pop-up windows that appear while you're in the middle of an online banking or credit card session. If you get a pop-up window while you're in this situation, close out of your session, then log back in.

4. Phishing on Twitter: Victims of this scam will receive direct messages from already hacked accounts asking them to follow a link. The link then directs them to a that looks exactly like Twitters login page. After login info is entered, the scam spreads throughout that person's contacts. Watch out for direct messages with links included, one way to notice them are if they say "Check this out" or "Is this you"; If there is a link, make sure the domain is Twitter.com and not something that just includes the word "twitter."

5.Vishing: This is scary because this is a new way of phishing that isn't on your computer but rather your cell phone. Vishing manipulates caller ID instead of links and web pages. You will receive a call from a representative of a bank or credit card company. This fake representative will ask the target to call another number where they will need to enter personal information. This scam can also incorporate e-mail and text-messages where a victim may receive a similar message containing a phone number they'll need to call in order to enter account information. If you think it may be a scam then be sure to call the number on your bank's official Web site, and you'll be fine.

6.  Parking ticket scam: This has been dubbed the "most daring phishing scam to date", where scam artists in North Dakota actually issued cars with fake parking tickets. The faux-tickets included a web address and instructed the recipients to download an application from the site to view a picture of their vehicle. The targets where actually downloading a Trojan application which monitors computer activities. Luckily, this scam is easily detected by most anti-virus software. This scam hasn't been reported outside of North Dakota but you may want to be careful downloading anything from a parking ticket.

7. The 419 letter: named for the Nigerian penal code that addresses crime schemes, shows up as an e-mail from someone looking to give money away in his or her final days. In exchange for your personal information, like bank accounts and routing numbers, the sender promises a large lump sum for your help. You never get the money and the scammer has your info to creating an alternate version of you with credit cards and bank accounts in another country. Sometimes the scammer will send official-looking documents to get you to pony up for shipping and documentation fees, making the whole thing look legitimate.

8. Airline tickets: Be on the lookout for any ticket messages from airlines. E-mails scams are currently going out saying that your credit card has been used to purchase a ticket contained in an attached Zip file. If you open the file, your computer will download malware that can be used to steal your personal information. Should you receive an e-mail like this, do not open any attachments and report the spam to your email host.

9. IRS tax refund scam: You get an email stating you're getting a tax refund from the IRS. The e-mail sender will look convincing, one already known is "tax-refunds@irs.gov" These emails provide a link to a  a special form  you need to fill out to claim your refund. The form asks personal and financial information. FYI: the IRS will never ask for personal info for a refund other than what you fill out when you claim your income to file your taxes. If you have questions about this scam or think you did not get the refund you deserved  contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040.

10. Stimulus offers: Scammer's are taking advantage of financial concerns during the ongoing economic crisis. In this case, victims are tempted with promises of stimulus money. They send you to a convincing fake website, and promise to pursue relief funds and expedited stimulus checks on their behalf for a small fee. The victims lose their initial investment and are then badgered for additional costs and fraudulent charges. If you have any questions or concerns about stimulus benefits, check with official government Web sites like Grants.gov or Recovery.gov.

 If you know of other Phishing Scams that are worth mention, feel free to comment below.

Some of my information was found on switched.com

Generating Traffic to Your Site for Newbies

There are so many informational sites out there on the best ways to generate traffic to your site. Sometimes, especially for newbies, the information can become quite detailed and frankly overwhelming. So I have decided to put together some easy to follow tricks of the trade.

1. It is very important to optimize your website. This is easily the best way your site will be seen. Google is currently the highest ranks search engine out there, but you can also use Yahoo, Bing, Ask, or as many other search engines you'd like. It is not necessary to use them all however it wouldn't hurt to use more than one.

So what does it mean to optimize your website? I am a big fan of Wikipedia definitions and here is theirs: "Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion."

Example: The ads that you see when you do a  google search at the top and right border of the page.

Some people mistake SEM with SEO which Wikipedia defines as:  "the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid search results...Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines."

SEM and SEO can be hard to master if you haven't done it before. There are Search Engine Optimizers which are typically consultants you pay to optimize your site for you although they may be a little pricey, especially since SEO and SEM is a continuous process. As soon as you stop paying for services, they stop optimizing your site.

Another option for SEO and SEM is to do it yourself. There are courses out there like Adwords for Beginners that teach you how to set up campaigns and monitor them. This is handy because you only pay for the course information once and you can review it as you please.

2. Banner Ads or Contextual Ads. These are defined as: online advertising that is embedded on a webpage. Its goal is to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is generally an image, JavaScript program or multimedia object that can have animation, sound, or video to maximize presence.

This is another form of advertising that will require out of pocket expense. You can create your own ad, however the site you would like to advertise on may provide "Creative work" for free or at a discount as a courtesy for your advertisement.

The site you choose to advertise on should be consistent with your Perfect Customer (If you need to review how to find a perfect customer please visit my past blogs). The advertising site should not already be cluttered with other advertisements and should be relative to your product or service. IE I wouldn't recommend advertising a vegetarian product on a meat packaging site!

3. Promote Promote Promote! Every email you write, business card you hand out, and new person you meet should know about your website or have a URL to lead to it. There is nothing wrong with shamelessly  promoting your company. JUST BE SURE YOU AREN'T SPAMMING PEOPLE WITH IT!

Blogging is a great tool for writing about your product. It is free to sign up and gives you an oportunity to promote your site, link it, and find other people that are blogging about issues related to your site. You may find someone blogging about their alarm clock not being loud enough and you just so happen to offer the loudest alarm clock in the world at your site. You can reply to their blog about your website and the loudest alarm clock ever. Not only will you have solved that particular blogger's problems with your product, but someone else that has been reading their blog may have the same problem, so now you have generated two sales to target customers for free.

Social Networking Sites are also a free way to get the word out about your online business. Facebook, Myspace, LinkdIn, and the newest social site Twitter are all great ways to find targeted customers and let them know about your site. It can sometimes be a little more difficult to find targeted customers at first, because profiles may be private, but it doesn't hurt to get your site out there for free to expand your internet reach.

Twitter is a little more business friendly in that you can search key terms and also for the most part the profiles are public and accessible. There is a great program called Paid for Tweetn that teaches the best tips and techniques to make the most out of getting targeted followers, automating tweets, and promoting your business in the allotted 140 characters.

4. Get Affiliates. This is a good way to spread the word about your site to others. The affiliates earn on a commission basis so you do not pay anything until they sell. The affiliates will help to send targeted customers to your site or their duplicate affiliate site. This can expand your reach greatly but I would suggest holding off on starting an affiliate program until you already are earning a steady profit from your own efforts.

(I have an earlier post about Affiliate marketing and how it works in my blog)

5. Offer an email list. This will help you maintain contact with current customers and people that may not have bought yet and are still in the research phase of the buying process. With an email list you can send out new promotions and discounts, follow up with customers, and let them know about new products or services. Another good thing about having an email list is that even if they are not interested in your new product or special offer, they may have a friend who will be, so they will forward your offer to their friend thus expanding your reach.

One thing you must remember when you have an email list is to NEVER SPAM! You can get blacklisted for spamming people or selling information.

Wikipedia's Definition of Spam:  the abuse of electronic messaging systems including most broadcast media, digital delivery systems) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately.

6. Barter. Trade banner space or ad links with other websites. This is a great way to have your site seen and increase your reach. One thing you should consider is that having ads on your site may take business away from you as well. If you decide to trade links or ad space make sure you are doing so with companies that  have relevant sites. That will increase your Search Engine Ranking and move you up Google and other Search Engines rating system. Do not try to compete with yourself. If you offer sporting goods on your site do not try to barter with another site that also sells sporting goods. However, you may want a site that sells something in the sporting goods catagory that will compliment your site. Approach partners, customers, and vendors directly with link trade proposals, they usually will be open to the trade because it benefits them as much as it does you.

7. Public Relations. Many online businesses forget about the importance of PR. A press release about a contest or new product or a free tool available on your site will drive traffic to your site. Attract attention to your company. Make the headline interesting and write a story has a good angle. Testimonials work great in media releases. The best part about it..its free!

If you like to write you can also consider writing an editorial or article about your business and what product or service you are offering. These are a little more time consuming but are great ways to promote your site with out spending money.

Well, there you have it. The most valuable ways to generate traffic to your website, according to me. I'm sure you will find similar information on other sites so there must be truth to these tips! They are the fundamentals to web traffic and hopefully I have outlined them in an easy to understand outline.

If you can think of anything else, please comment me, or if you have a great link to some more helpful tips, I'm sure my readers will also appreciate the extra info.

Finding The Perfect Customer

Having a website is the easy part. The hard part is figuring out how to generate traffic to it without wasting your efforts. Usually you will have three types of potential customers that end up at your site.

1. Browsing Visitors: these people did not seek out your site but may have seen an ad that sounded interesting and they've decided to check it out. Rarely do these visitors end up buying anything.

2. Research Visitors: these people are actively searching for what you offer, but are not yet in the buying phase of the buying process.

3. Focused Visitors: these are your perfect customers. They are actively searching for what you are offering and are ready and willing to buy it.

Most of your visitors are usually in the first and second categories, however all three types are POTENTIAL BUYERS.

Before you begin spending a lot of time and money telling anyone and everyone about your site, you should focus on targeting only on the people who want and need your product and are willing to buy it because they are your best chance to make a sale. 

Sales channels provide different ways to target your perfect customers on the internet. There are two types of sales channels: Direct and Indirect. By incorporating both direct and indirect sales techniques you will maximize your potential net profits.

An example of a direct sales channel would be your website. Any other way a visitor is led to your site is an indirect sales channel. These may include: banner ads, social network sites, or PPC advertising.

When it comes to indirect sales channels you must first consider what other sites will your perfect customer be visiting and how can you attract them to your site. To figure this out you must first identify your perfect customer.

An easy way to identify your perfect customer is to give them a profile.Take time to answer these questions about who your perfect customer is:

1. How much money do they make?

2. Where do they live? What type of establishment (apartment, condo, home)?

3. What type of work do they do? Especially if you are selling work specific items such as steel toed shoes.

4. How old are they? An easy way to figure this out is if you want to appeal to a younger age, then focus on persons 5 years older because young people perceive themselves as older, and vice versa, if you want to appeal to an older age focus on persons 5 years younger.

5. Is your perfect customer primarily male, female or are you selling something that is gender neutral?

6. What are their hobbies and interests? How do they spend their free time?

These questions plus anything else you can think of that may be pertinent to selling your product or service such as: religious affiliation, children, medical concerns, music preferences, etc. should all be compiled to give your perfect customer a personality that best represents who will most likely buy from you.

Once you have an idea of who your perfect customer is, you are ready to begin using direct and indirect sales channels to lead them to your site!

First Impressions are Just as Important for Online Businesses

Congratulations! You've finally decided to try a home based business! Whether you are starting your own business or have decided to be an affiliate marketer it is imperative that you have a functioning website. If you do not have a website that is generating sales then it is not functioning.

Your website is the first contact a potential customer has with your business. In fact, it may be the only way they interacts with you through out their whole buying process. Therefore your site should have some sort of welcoming persona for your potential customer. The first impression of your site can make all the difference between a sale or not.  

Think about it, a customer will try to guage what you and your business ethics are like based on the content and appearance of your website. You will want to present your site in the same professional and cordial manner you would if you were meeting them in person. 

71% of people polled say they buy a product based on the site's credibility. If they do not feel your site is a legitimate business they will not even look at what you are offering them. We all know there are thousands of scams on the net already. Try to avoid making your site look like one as well. By making sure you have a site that is easy to navigate and a friendly appeal it will help to soothe a sensitive customer that is hesitant to purchase. 

 When it comes to the layout of your site remember the following:

1.Keep it simple. The easier it is to navigate the better.

2. Keep the font clean and easy to read. Site Content must deliver its message in clear and concise manner.

3. Colors are important. The site should have a fresh, non-imposing look. For an idea of web safe colors you can visit here.

4. State your site objective in the top 600x600 pixels. (that is above the scroll area and visible when a potential customer first sees your site) 

5. Stay away from hi-res images. Images and supporting files such as javascript and flash impact the time it takes to download your site on your customers browser. You may have an award winning image that you want to show the world, however, chances are if a potential customer has to wait longer than a minute for the page to load; they've probably already clicked out of your site.

Check out this site. In the very top of the page it clearly states their objective to "Help you find the right opportunity". Did you know that 70% of online businesses fail to meet their stated objective? If your site does not keep with its promise you may have a bunch of sales initially, but you will most likely have a lot of returns as well.

All new businesses face a common challenge: no history or credibility with the customer. One way to increase the credibility of your site is to verify it. By having your site verified you are ensuring potential customers that what you are offering is legitimate and not only do you think so but a third party agrees. 

Now that you have your website looking warm and inviting to your customers, you need to develop a course of action to lead them to your it. Remember, the function of your website is to generate sales. To increase sales, simply increase the percentage of targeted visitors to your site. 

Look forward to my blog on tips to generating traffic to your site!

Affiliate Marketing: A Closer Look

I've noticed that Affiliate Marketing is increasingly becoming the most popular way to work from home and gain an income so I have decided to take a closer look at what it is and how people can be successful at it.

Affiliate Marketing can best be described from their Wikipedia definition as "an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts."

Affiliate marketers team together with an already established company to sell a product or service. The appeal to people like us who work at home is that there is no direct selling, cold calling, or inventory on our part.

To get started you will need your own website that features their products or services. You can then earn commission off of any sale that is made from your website. Usually the affiliate company will provide a site for you however if you want to have someone create it (which is great for people who are not to computer savvy) you can have a company like Ekoh Group make one for you for a nominal fee.

The parent company benefits from having affiliate marketers because it expands their reach, in turn for you work, they pay you a portion of the sales that you generate. It benefits you, the affiliate marketer, because for very little to no start up fees you can essentially start your own online business with out needing a product of your own.  Its a Win-Win for both the marketer and the company.

There are many instances with people having success as an affiliate marketer. One of the best aspects of it is that you don't have to be an affiliate for just one company. Because there are no non-compete contracts and so many affiliate marketing programs its easy to be an affiliate marketer for more than one company.

Its very easy to get started with an affiliate program but there are some things you should know before you begin an affiliate marketing relationship with a company:

1.  Not all programs are reliable, try to establish a relationship with a top rated company. Usually these will have a Vericorp seal on their site or some form of verification.

2.  As an affiliate marketer it is your responsibility to present the merchandise to the target market. For instance, if you are a marketer for an online meat company, you would not try to advertise their product on vegetarian or vegan sites. 

3. Choose an affiliate company that has a specific focus. If they are trying to sell anything and everything it will be hard to generate specific traffic to your site.

4. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the commission structure and expected payment methods.

It is in the best interest for the company for you to be successful so they often provide targeted, best-seller items and personal support to their affiliate. They often offer sales promotions that will benefit you in your sales efforts.

One of the top affiliate programs that I have found to date is Cash Power Course This program goes in depth to teach you all the ins and outs to get you started with affiliate marketing. They even show you how to generate traffic to your site which is important to ANY and ALL internet businesses. I also like this company because they have customer support and you can get a discount through them on an Ekoh Group site, which is the company I mentioned earlier.

Why People Fail Working from Home

We've all heard the saying "If at first you don't succeed try try again" more than we'd like too but that's probably because there is truth in it. Thomas Edison didn't invent the light bulb in his first try did he? There were many dark days before he finally saw the light...I know lousy joke but great example!



The point I am trying to make is that you need motivation to be successful. Not just working from home, but in many situations that life may throw at you. But when it comes to working from home if you can't motivate yourself you may as well give up before you begin.

If you work for an outside company you may have targets and quotas that need to be met to continue employment. Or, if you are doing something like taking surveys online, writing articles or the new "Search Engine Agent" that pays little but provides you opportunity for income if you do large amounts, then you should set monetary goals for yourself. Figure out how many surveys or articles you need to complete on a daily basis to earn the amount of money you have set your goal for. After you have that in mind, try timing yourself to see how long it takes you on average to complete a survey. Multiply that number by the amount of surveys you need to complete to reach your goal to figure out how many hours a day you should set aside to work.

One database that I have found with a great selection of real paid surveys, not the kinds that offer points, is a Classified Surveys.

Some people try to start up their own business, which is more risky than working for another company because all the initial efforts come out of their pocket. Insufficient start-up capital is one of the biggest reasons people starting their own business fail. If you need to produce a product then you need to consider the cost of equipment, setting up a website, advertising your business, and most importantly: is there a demand?

Internet connection and software can also be factors for people that are trying to start up their own business.

An advantage to affiliate marketing is that you do not have the start up fees associated with developing a product and the affiliate company usually provides you with everything you need to get started. To learn more about affiliate marketing check out my blog  "Work at Home" where I define the different types of work from home jobs.

Another reason people fail when working from home is false expectations. This is more for people who have jobs working from home for an outside company. Perhaps there is a high quota to reach or more hours needed to work than originally expected. Sometimes the pay may not be as high as you'd like. If you are in one of these situations, you may want to look into Home Job Group. They are a group of analysts the have gotten together to find the best work at home jobs on the net and put them in one single location for their clients. The advantage of using a company like Home Job Group is that they have tested the jobs in their database and eliminated the scams.

Some people may also have unrealistic expectations of their home job. The only way you will become a millionaire over night is by inheriting it or winning the lottery. I'm not saying there is no way to become a millionaire working from home. It is done daily...but the big bang theory doesn't apply here.  Sometimes, expecting too much can result to frustration and disappointment. Be realistic with your goals and stay motivated!

Setting schedules helps keep you focused. Just like a regular job you should have a specific time frame that you have designated to work. Those times no matter how long or short should be free of distractions. Being organized will help you separate home time from work time. Make a list of daily tasks you would like to complete and prioritize them. Which are most important to be done and which, if any, can wait till tomorrow if you have to? By timing out your days you will find yourself more productive which can also help relieve stress.

There are a lot of successful home based workers all over the world. But remember, you cannot depend on luck alone. Having a plan, no matter which type of home based business you find yourself in, will greatly help when it comes to succeeding.

Stay motivated and don't give up and you will find working from home is one of the best jobs to have!

How to tell if its a SCAM!

A lot of people are hesitant to start work from home
because of two main reasons:

1. Fear of failure
2. Fear of being scammed!

I am going to talk about the latter of the two. With so many websites claiming you can get rich by working at home, its hard to tell which are legitimate and which to avoid at all costs. I hope after I have shown you a few tell tale signs of web scams, you will feel more confident in identifying the real job opportunities from the fake.

Pyramid Schemes are a rising trend in online scams. Usually this works by someone inviting you to join them in a business opportunity that will guarantee you become rich. The presentations are always very convincing, and unfortunately, you may have a friend that has fallen for it and is trying to coerce you into joining with them.

What happens in this scam is that not only is your friend conned but now they have you believing it as well. The scheme ends up collapsing when the person who initially starts it has made their profit and moved on to scamming another group. Those that bought into the scam are the ones that suffer but by the time they realize, the scammer is untraceable.

Mystery Shoppers.  Sounds like an easy enough job.  Why not get paid to shop? Unfortunately if you are not working for a legitimate company, and there are real ones out there, you are  being scammed. These fake "companies" send you a check to cash to use to shop with. Shoppers are supposed to use some of it for the purchase and send the rest back to the employer. By the time you have done this, your bank is probably calling you telling you that the check you deposited was a counterfeit and you are responsible for the funds.

Advance-Fee Businesses. Advance-fee businesses involve paying for a home-based business. They will have a magnificent product to sell that millions of people are buying everyday! All you have to do to get in on their cash cow? Buy a little bit of overhead, just enough product to start you off selling it on your own.  and once you buy in and pay the setup fee, you find that the materials you bought are garbage IF you even end up receiving the materials at all!

Unfortunately this was the scam I fell victim too. Be sure if you are buying into a product, it is real! There are companies that are successful and trustworthy companies you can buy into with out worry, a couple of those you may have heard of? Mary K, Avon and Creative Memories to name a few.



Career Scams.If you are actively looking for a job you most likely have your resume on the internet somewhere. A new scam taking advantage of your resume is on the rise. You may get an email or phone call from someone claiming they have your resume and know of tons of jobs that are in your area of expertise.

Now if you are hard up for cash and need income quick, this may sound like the means to an end of your financial distress. You simply pay them a small fee for their service and you get the job. You may even be sent on an interview by the recruiter, but this is a SCAM. Usually there isn't any job opening and the company was just scamming you for your money. 


Phishing Scam. This is similar to a career scam, a recruiter may call or email you saying they found your resume and have a job available for you but they need more information. They ask you a few simple questions that seem harmless enough, but in reality, they have just gathered all the information they need to steal your identity. They may use the info for themselves or sell it to third parties.

This leads me to the most dangerous scam online... 


Envelop Stuffing.  You get hired to receive and send out either merchandise or checks. You could be unknowingly sending out the very same checks I mentioned in the mystery shopper or the same garbage merchandise talked about in the Advanced-Fee business. Be very careful about sending out anything for anyone. Many times, all that you are doing is involving more unsuspecting people into the scam and deflecting any criminal investigation from the real crooks to you.


Ok so now you know what types of scams to stay away from, there are things you should do if you suspect a scam.

Email them. be wary if you receive an automated email reply. You can always ask directed questions to see what response, if any, you receive.

Know the job details such as how much and how often you'll be paid. Also what method of payment you will be receiving and if you will be receiving a 10-99 form for taxes. If a company pays by money order it is most likely a fake. You should also call the bank on the first check you received and ask to verify funds. Banks will not always release such information, however they will be able to tell you whether or not the bank account the check is coming from is valid.

Search them and  ask for references. If they are hesitant to provide them you may want to be wary, however some businesses claim they cannot release information due to privacy issues.


Here are some things you should never do:

• Send money back to them
  
  
• Send merchandise or checks to people you do not know
  
  
• Spam others with email
  
  
• Call a 900 number
  
  
• Assembly from home: usually they will not pay you after you have sent the product you made

I hope this blog has helped you identify common scams that many people have fallen for. If there are any I have forgotten or you have been a victim of, please share it with me. 

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint! And other Reasons to Work from Home

If this is your first visit to my blog, Welcome! In my last entry I spoke about the three types of work at home jobs. To quickly recap they are:

1.Affiliate Marketing
2. Start your own business
3. Work from home for another business


Of course I also mentioned that working at home is not for everyone. To be successful you must be motivated. You will have just as many distractions at home, if not more! Personal phone calls, children, the TV, the refridgerator, the bathroom that you meant to clean last week, etc.

When you decide to work from home you will need to set yourself a work schedule and stick to it! Now that you have done that, lets look at some of the benefits of working at home.

Set your own schedule. No more alarm clock for you! Work when you have allotted your time to work. Make sure to give yourself breaks and when work time is over, its over. We all hate that boss that constantly requires you to work long hours...why would you want to do that to yourself?! 

More Family Time. Studies have shown that people that set aside family time are significantly happier and even healthier. Not only is it good for your well being, but for your families as well. There are numerous case studies that show children perform better in school and don't act out as much, and marriages last longer in homes that are family focused.

Reduce Stress. You know that boss that I mentioned above? Forget about him! You won't have anyone breathing down your back except yourself. If you do work for another company from home, you may have some deadlines or quotas to meet, but you can work at your own pace and you won't have to answer to the glaring eyes of a dissatisfied boss. No more stressful situations! 25% of employees view their jobs as the number one stress factor in their lives and 75% of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.

Remember, you can still stress yourself out if you are not achieving personal goals or financial quotas you need to reach to pay your bills. Just because you don't have a boss constantly monitoring you does not mean you can slack off. This is why I said in the beginning, you must be able to motivate yourself to be successful from home.

Go Green. With everyone worrying about global warming, why not do your part? When you work from home you cut out the commute time and reduce the emissions from your car, or reduced the water wasted from that hot shower, or electricity used from primping yourself for work. Don't get me wrong, hygiene should be very important in a persons daily routine, however, if you are anything like me, if no one is going to see you, then you may not put on your "BEST FACE." 

Tax Returns. GASP! did I say that?! Yes, when you work from home, your "computer room" now becomes your office. Therefore any significant purchases you make to improve your business is now tax deductible. Other deductions include travel, software, books, subscriptions, telephone services, insurance and retirement plans.


Health Benefits. It seems lately, everyday is a new pandemic. Now it's H1N1, before we had Avian Bird Flu and SARS and I'm sure there are others I have forgotten and more to come. By working from home you are reducing the amount of these germs and viruses you come in contact with. Less hands to shake so to speak. Not only are your saving yourself from these illnesses, but you are reducing the chances of transferring them to your family. Of course, you can't completely remove the risk of being sick, but it will be greatly reduced!


These are just a few of the benefits that I find are most valuable to me as a home business worker. If there are any that you feel are important, please feel free to comment on my blog.

If you would like more information on work at home jobs then visit this Job Review Site.

Work at Home: Start a business, Affiliate Marketing, or Work for a company?

There are many benefits to working from home. In this blog I will outline a few for you. Working at home isn't for everyone. It takes dedication and self motivation to be successful in a home business. There are different types of home businesses to choose from.

1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Have your own online business
3. Work from home for another business


Affiliate Marketing is an Internet-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts. Try to think of it like McDonalds. If you were to buy a McDonalds today, you would have the luxury of owning a well established name and its marketing efforts. However, its up to you to drive traffic to your McDonalds as opposed to someone elses. In that respect, it is YOUR McDonalds, however, you cannot make any branding, pricing or major changes to the company. 

With Affiliate Marketing, you own your site which is a replicate of another, more well established companies. Its up to you to generate traffic to your site. The more traffic usually brings more sales which in turn provides higher commissions. 


Affiliate marketing is good if you have time to spend on the internet developing a client base. If you are interested in learning more about Affiliate marketing check out this site: Cash Power Course.

Having your own online business. This one is pretty self explanatory. If you have that million dollar idea, then this may be the route for you! However, sometimes start up costs may be standing in your way. You can get around those by finding someone to help fund your project. Angel Investors is a reliable source to find investors looking for the next great invention. 


Remember, if you go at it alone, the profits (and losses) are yours and yours alone. You make 100% of the decisions and reap 100% of the benefits. If you decide to seek help from an investor, be prepared to answer questions concerning every aspect of your business plan: Start up costs, Overhead, Projected Return on Investment, etc. Also, if you find an investor, you will have to share your profits and you may lose an investor if your company shows continual losses. These are just some things to consider when looking at starting your own business.

Work at home for another business. Believe it or not, there ARE real work at home jobs from legitimate companies! I was surprised about this myself at first but it makes sense, why not? Some of these jobs consist of data entry, transcription, IT, software support, telemarketing, customer service, etc. If you have access to a computer than you can be working for one of these companies. If you try to search for home jobs in a search engine you will see an overwhelming amount of responses. BEWARE! Remember there are more scams out there then there are honest companies. 

One website that I found, Home Job Group, is a database of legitimate work at home jobs. The company does charge a small fee for their services, but based on what you are looking for, it is as low as $15. They offer 3 memberships which provide you with different levels of service, their most expensive actually being a Job Placement Service where they assist you in finding a real work at home job. 


There are other databases out there, I haven't tested them all, this is one example that I have found that filters out the scammers and "test applies" before they list a company on their database. 


Those are the three most popular types of work from home. Next I will explore the benefits of working from home. If I have missed anything or you know of something worth mention that I have not, please feel free to comment.

Welcome

Hello and thank you for taking interest in my blog. If you have not yet had the chance, let me tell you a little about myself and why I have decided to write start a blog.



Not to long ago I was laid off like so many others have been in this economy. My jobs search started out like this:
1st. I updated my resume and posted it all over local job searches, monster jobs, career builder, etc.
2nd. I started looking into craigslist, but found a majority of jobs in my area did not seem like real jobs so I was hesitant to apply
3rd. I asked friends if they knew anyone that was hiring.

I thought I was off to a good start, I was diligent in my search efforts and was sure that I would have a new (and hopefully better) job in no time! I mean, I knew the economy was in a recession, but I assumed since I had lasted so long, that I was recession proof.

What a joke that was! My resume's posted on job searches seemed to be lost in a "Cyberspace Black Hole" almost as soon as I hit the submit button, because I never once received any call backs for interviews.I was getting desperate, my rainy day fund was running low, and bills were racking up.

Finally, a sliver of hope came through my rainy day...more like rainy months. An online company promising me real work with a high return! Oh I knew about the scams, but this seemed so REAL and HONEST and they didn't ask for a large fee, all I needed to do was buy the initial start up kit to get me started, then after I sold those products I was guaranteed to have enough money to buy more products (at their wholesale cost) so that I can sell those.

Well, I know about Overhead costs for businesses so it seemed reasonable to have to invest a little initially so I did. And guess what?!

I never received my product! Not only that but now these scammers had my credit card. My emails went unreturned, my calls were connected to a disconnected number, and they were charging me overhead fees, sales fees, site fees, you name it! The only thing I could do was cancel my card.

Oh I tried to report them, but to no avail, I was informed they were most likely overseas and completely untrackable. I was told to take it as a valuable lesson, give up and be thankful that I hadn't lost more.

That was the fuel to my fire! I can't get my money back, I can't get help, and if I just sit idle then the scammer's have won. So here I am, trying to make a small difference in the large and intimitadating world wide web.

My blog will cover the the best and worst of web companies as I see them, I am in no way claiming to be an expert, but I will cover relevant topics relating to employment, unemployment, tips to getting employed, etc. I hope my blog will become the "Go-To" for online employment advice.

And even if it helps just one person be saved from a scam or find a job then I will classify this blog as a success and will sleep happy.

Enjoy and Welcome!