How to Work From Home

The search for work at home jobs by men and women of all ages has been skyrocketing in recent years. Mainly due to the pandemic, many people discovered that working from home provided the much-needed work-life balance they had been missing when they had to commute to and from work and spend eight hours a day trapped in a cubicle.

Working from home has become like a forbidden fruit now – everyone wants a taste of it and employers are finding they can’t put the genie back in the bottle. It’s too late – they’ve experienced the many perks of this lifestyle.

Now, they’re trying to strong-arm people back to the office, and the “remote” work from home job listings are drying up. So let’s say you’re ready to finally give your boss a pink slip and say goodbye to the 9-5 grind of the corporate world.

How do you go about finding a suitable replacement? There are certainly a few other companies who are willing to hire telecommuting staff, even thought they’re not in abundance anymore.

But is that the kind of arrangement you really want? Or would you be willing to entertain the idea of becoming your own boss – a situation that provides you with a world of opportunities, including unlimited earnings?

Below, you’ll find an eye-opening account of what it means to take the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship where you’re at the helm of your career, steering it in any direction that fulfills you – financially, personally, and otherwise.

Why Your Boss Doesn’t Want You Working from Home

Working from home may have been a necessity during the pandemic, but when there’s not a global health concern pressuring companies to allow people to telecommute, they really don’t want to give up the control they have over their employees.

The main concern most bosses have with you working from home is that your productivity will diminish, and therefore your role will not be as valuable to the company’s bottom line.

Depending on where you work, you may have noticed many strict rules in place on employees who are in the workplace. They tell you where to sit, what you can wear, how many breaks you get, what time you can have those breaks, and what time you have to arrive and end your work day.

If you are spotted glancing at the Internet or your phone, you may be reprimanded. If you spend too much time at the water cooler or in the break room getting a snack, a scolding may take place.

According to many bosses, if you were to work from home, they wouldn’t be able to micromanage you in such a way that guarantees you are being productive for them. You might get on Netflix and binge watch a show one day instead of contributing to the needs of the company.

To be honest, their concerns are valid. It all depends on the employee and how much pride they take in their work as well as their level of ethics. While many would appreciate the opportunity to work from home, and therefore do everything in their power to show their worth as a telecommuting employee, others would take advantage of the situation and slack off or be lazy.

If you have a manager who is responsible for certain numbers or deliverables, they are going to balk at your request to work from home because if you fail to be productive, they will be the ones who are blamed.

The Pros and Cons of Staying Employed By Someone Else

There are many pros and cons to being employed by a company. No one can deny that there are certain benefits that you gain from becoming an employee rather than being an entrepreneur.

The first, and most important one, would be a guaranteed paycheck. Whether you are a salary or hourly employee, you know that if you show up to work each day, you will receive a paycheck.

As an online entrepreneur, you have to make sure that you have earned the money in order to get paid. There is no company that will be delivering a paycheck at the end of the week, guaranteed.

Another perk that you gain from being employed by a corporation or company is that they often provide you with benefits such as healthcare, vision care, and dental care. As an entrepreneur, you have to secure these benefits for yourself.

You also might get paid vacation and sick time from a company, which isn’t provided for you as an entrepreneur. If you want to take off or if you get sick, your business still needs to be operational if you want to continue earning.

Another perk many office workers enjoy from being employed by a company is the camaraderie they get in the workplace. For many adults, this is the only socialization that they enjoy, so they want to be around others, even if their time spent communicating is limited.

For some individuals, having to work with others is a nightmare. They are often placed in a position with people they don’t enjoy being around, having to share the burden of someone else’s work who isn’t pulling their weight, etc.

Finding the Right Time to Fire Your Boss

When you spend almost half of your day in a workplace, it simply must deliver in terms of personal satisfaction in order for it to feel worthwhile. Many times, there might be one or two reasons to stay, but dozens of reasons that tell you it’s time to leave.

What you want to look for is the right time for your departure so that you don’t add additional stress on yourself by making too quick of an exit. First and foremost, you need to make sure that you are financially stable to make the swap.

If you are able to save up three to six months’ worth of savings so that you can pay your bills as you build your business, this would be ideal. Or, you can begin building your business in your spare time and make the transition whenever you’re online solo earnings are competitive with what you are bringing in through a corporate job.

As much as you may want to believe the hype on the Internet from unethical vendors, this is not a push button, overnight riches situation. It takes time to learn how to launch a business online, and more time to begin bringing in money.

You also want to recognize signs that your job is becoming unbearable to you. You don’t want to leave something you love, just because one incident put a bad taste in your mouth.

Start by looking at how much you’re earning. If you’re being rewarded with pizza parties instead of increased pay, that can be a sign it’s time to move on and build your own business.

Another thing you want to watch for is if you are frequently feeling miserable at work. If you dread going into your job each day, and you feel as if you are being micromanaged, it might be time to make a change.

Sometimes, you may have had a big event happened in your life that will start the ball rolling and make you want something different in terms of a professional career. For example, you may have become a parent and not want to put your children in daycare, but instead, raise them yourself with a work at home, flexible job.

Or, yourself or someone that you love may have suffered a health event that hard to commute to a job and sit there day in, day out, for eight hours a day or longer. Regardless of why you feel different about your current situation, you have every right to want something better for yourself.

Another reason you may decide that it’s time to fire your boss is that you hate your current schedule. Waking up at 5:00 or 6:00 o’clock in the morning and not getting home until about the same time in the evening makes it hard for you to enjoy the free hours that you do have.

Factor in a one hour commute or longer, and your free time has dwindled to even less. You may be exhausted and irritable by the time you get home to spend time with your loved ones.

Sometimes, you will realize that the company lacks boundaries and compassion for you. They may demand overtime from you, or even unpaid overtime if you are in a salary position.

You may or may not be working with a boss or human resources that doesn’t care if your child is sick and needs to go to the doctor or if you need to take time off to tend to personal errands.

Another reason that may make you think it’s time to leave is if your talents and skills are being wasted or ignored. You could put your abilities to work for yourself with your own company and enjoy much greater satisfaction than not being utilized in the right way.

It may be that your work isn’t appreciated or is being stolen by higher ups or coworkers. It’s a common complaint by people who work for companies that they do all the work, but don’t get credit for it.

Or, it may just be that you feel the leadership is making poor decisions and you could do a much better job on your own. Those poor decisions may include putting the wrong people in charge of teams or employees, forcing you to work under the guidance of a tyrant who makes life miserable on the job.

The Benefits of Working as an Online Entrepreneur

If you’re trying to decide whether or not a work at home entrepreneurial career is right for you, you have to shine a light on the benefits that you will enjoy. It’s easy to say that a corporate gig will give you health benefits and a steady or reliable paycheck.

But some of the benefits you will enjoy as an online entrepreneur can far outweigh those of a regular job. First and foremost, you have the ability to bring in unlimited earnings.

There will not be a ceiling on how much you can earn as an Internet marketer. You will never again have to go to your boss and ask for a raise and provide a presentation about why you deserve one.

Not only is the income potential unlimited, but you also have the ability to earn on autopilot, something that is unheard of in the offline workplace. There are many things you can do to automate your earnings and see residual payments coming in month after month.

Another benefit you will enjoy as an online entrepreneur is that you finally get to pursue your passions and interests in life. Most college kids or even high school students go straight into a job to simply earn a living, with very little regard to whether or not it will satisfy them personally.

But now, you can take any of your hobbies or expertise and turn it into a lucrative, money making business online. Do you love to play golf on the weekends? You can build an entire business around that.

Do you love to cook for your family? How about giving advice to friends and loved ones? Maybe you have a fondness for your pets. Or perhaps you have succeeded in a goal, such as losing weight or growing a garden.

All of these can be the basis for an online business that thrives with consumers who are looking for information, and you don’t have to be an expert or have a PhD in order to profit from it.

Another thing that is wonderful about working from home as an entry on the Internet is that your work life can be fully portable. If you want to work at home one month, travel to Hawaii the next month, or visit another country for a year – as long as you have an Internet connection and a laptop, you’re good to go.

One of the most wonderful perks of working for yourself online is that, unlocked an offline corporate job, this is something you can hand over to your heirs as a legacy that can contribute to their lives later.

Low overhead and expenses are more reasons to pursue this type of career. Unlike a franchise, where you’d need tens of thousands of dollars to invest in your own business, you can get started for $0 or less than $20 a month to own your own virtual real estate and start a profitable blog on it.

What Kind of Work-Life Balance Do You Dream About?

When the alarm goes off every morning, and you’re fighting sleep during your commute, do you ever wish you could just hit the snooze button and sleep in a bit, working at a time when you felt most alert?

Or maybe you hate dropping your kids off at daycare, knowing there’s an opportunity out there for you to be their nurturing caretaker instead? Maybe your spouse has vacation time accrued, but you don’t, so the family has to say no to a vacation because your boss won’t allow the time off.

Becoming an online entrepreneur means you set your schedule. This is one of the most sought after perks people look for as an online entrepreneur. The flexibility will provide more personal satisfaction than anything else.

You can work as many hours (or as few) as you want to. Because of automation options, you can set things up to earn for you while you’re on vacation, when you’re not feeling well, or even if you just want to take the day off and attend a parent-teacher conference or school play one day!

Flexibility means you set the hours you work regularly. You can work the same hours you would have worked offline, 8-5 if you want to. But maybe you want to work from 10 AM to 2 PM or 9 PM to 1 AM.

Whatever you feel works best for you, you can do it! In fact, you can split your work day up. You might want to work from 9 AM to 12 PM and from 5 PM to 8 PM. As long as you’re contributing to the growth of your business, that’s all that matters.

This frees you up for a lot of beneficial self care. You can have time to prepare nutritious meals, get some exercise in throughout your day, or even go for a massage. If you want to take a break between work tasks, you can!

There won’t be anyone there to look over your shoulder and give you a warning if you stop to watch Netflix for a bit. Plus, you won’t have to worry about having a slack attitude.

When you work for yourself, it takes your commitment to a whole new level. You’ll be filled with enthusiasm because you’re putting your own ideas into action. In fact, you might work more hours just because you enjoy it and are excited about it – unlike you feel about your current job.

Tools You May Need to Succeed Online

As you consider embarking on your own career as an online entrepreneur, you might wonder what all you’ll need to run a business online. The great news is, what you might need costs very little – and much of it is 100% free.

Some of the things you’ll need, you probably already own. For example, most people have a way to get on the Internet – through an Internet connection and the use of a laptop of personal computer.

Everything else may or may not be necessary – and a lot of that depends on which business model you choose to pursue, which we’ll discuss shortly. But in some cases, you may want a home of your own online.

Instead of buying or renting space offline, you’ll be investing in virtual real estate – a domain name (also known as a URL) with a hosting account to host your site on, which is where all of your files go.

A domain costs as little as $0.99-$17 a year and a hosting account can be purchased for less than $3 a month. So the expenses are really low when it comes to building an online business.

There are many free tools you can use to build your business, too. In some cases, there are tools that have a free level, as well as premium levels that you can invest in as you build your business and begin reinvesting some of your profits.

If you need to create content, such as eBooks or reports, then Google Docs can easily replace Microsoft Word. CamStudio can replace Camtasia if you’re trying to edit and process videos for your online marketing.

If you’re creating graphics, like eCovers, you can use a free stock image site like Pixabay instead of buying images from iStockPhotos or DepositPhotos. You can also use free tools to create the graphics, like Canva.

If you want to build a list of clients and customers, you can use one of the email autoresponder systems that provide you with a free trial or with a free account up to 500 initial subscribers.

With many things that you may need, such as a platform from which to sell your products, they will extract a fee from every sale, so there is nothing you need to pay for up front.

Are You Good at Being in Charge of Someone Else’s Business?

Sometimes, you want to work from home and earn money with a business of your own, but that business doesn’t have to be creating products, coaching people or anything else.

You can literally money as someone who helps other online entrepreneurs run their business – and it doesn’t mean you’re working for them as an employee, either. Freelancers can get paid on a per project or hourly basis for work they do for other marketers.

One example is to look for gigs where you’re earning money as a virtual assistant. Many solo entrepreneurs don’t have the money to hire a full time employee, and many don’t want to have a permanent employee.

Instead, they look for a virtual assistant who can help them knock out the tasks that they have on their to do list. As a virtual assistant (VA), you will be handling some of their online tasks such as responding to customer service emails for them, posting content to their blog, etc.

There are also ways you can earn as an online manager for other marketers. You are still working in a freelance capacity, where your role is per project or per hour. But you will be routinely handling some aspect of the other person’s business.

For example, instead of handling administrative tasks like a virtual assistant would, you might be hired on as a social media manager. It will be your job to create and manage the posts that are placed on sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and other sites and apps.

If you go this route, you will need to know how to look at the analytics so that you can get the results of every post and improve upon them. You will be driving traffic to the other entrepreneurs website through the use of social media.

Another way that you can earn as a freelance manager is to be an affiliate manager. You can network with other online entrepreneurs who routinely launch information products, such as eBooks and video courses.

They may hire you to manage the affiliate recruitment and promotion of their upcoming launch. You will be identifying the best people to bring onboard for the launch and reaching out to them to give them all of the information they need about why they should promote the product, and what the benefits and perks are if they do.

There are some online entrepreneurs who will pay you an hourly wage or a set fee for this job. But there are some who will give you a percentage of the earnings for how well the launch does.

Do You Have a Skill for Creating Graphics?

Another business model that you may want to consider is one that includes your ability to create graphics. If you have a good eye for design, and you know how to use some online tools, you may be able to earn quite a bit of money with that skill set.

There are many Internet marketers who will hire freelance workers to create a variety of graphics for use in their own business. You might be creating eCovers for their info products.

They might hire you to create eBook covers for their fiction or nonfiction self published books on Amazon. They may need headers for their social media accounts and also for their WordPress blog.

There are many people who like to have social quote posters created so that they can use them on sites like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and even on their blog to break up the big blocks of content.

There are some people who take their design skills and create packages of mostly image based designs to sell as private label rights (PLR) so that other marketers can use them in their own business as their own.

This is similar to how a freelance service provider would be hired to work for an individual, except you are pricing the graphics lower and selling a higher volume to more buyers.

You can create things such as coloring book pages, journal pages, calendars, wall art, worksheets, cheat sheets, checklist, and more and sell them as private label rights or take your designs and sell them directly to the customers using a site like Etsy.

These digital downloads that can also be used as printables are hot among consumers and you can create them in virtually any niche for any purpose. You can even create templates that you can easily tweak very slightly to reach a different audience.

Can You Create Content for People Searching for Information?

Maybe your skills are better at researching, brainstorming and writing content than they are for graphic design. There are many options for you as an online entrepreneur putting these skills to good use.

You can start out reviewing products as an affiliate marketer who writes content for consumers to consider before making a purchasing decision. As an affiliate, you can review digital products like eBooks and tools or tangible items like those sold on Amazon, and earn a commission from your efforts.

Instead of being the one to review other peoples’ info products, you can create your own if you have good research and writing skills. You can organize and create content for any niche topic, including success, self help, pet training, health, and many more topics.

The content that you create doesn’t have to be image or text based, either. You might be good at creating videos using slideshow presentations that you can create on Canva or with PowerPoint.

When you create these slideshows, you can use a free screen capture tool like CamStudio or a paid one like Camtasia and create videos that you put together as a course for others to learn from.

You can also screen capture yourself going through a process, such as building a blog or doing something else online where people would love to look over your shoulder so that they can learn how to do the same.

The content you create doesn’t have to be sold directly to the consumer, either. You can create written, video or even graphics and sell them as private label rights to marketers to use as their own content.

Marketers need all kinds of written content, too. They love buying readymade articles to use as blog posts. They need content for their social media profits, for their email autoresponders, and more.

They need lead magnet reports to use for list building purposes. And they often need to buy full eBooks and video courses so that they have a product ready to sell to their visitors and subscribers.

Additional Moneymakers to Consider for Work at Home Income

If these options don’t appeal to you, or you’re looking for many ways to diversify you income online as an entrepreneur, you have other options, too. There are many things you can consider.

Are you good at sourcing wholesale products? Maybe you had experience with this in your offline job. If you enjoy it, consider FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon), where you source wholesale products, have them sent to Amazon, where they will allow you to create listings and ship them to your customers whenever you make a sale.

Or, you might want to become a middleman between consumers and vendors by working as a dropshipper. You create a store online selling items, and collect the payment from the consumer.

Then you notify the vendor and give them their share of the payment, minus your markup, and they ship it to the buyer so that you don’t have to store any stock in your home.

If you love writing content, or a blog on almost any topic, you might want to earn ad money from those efforts. Sign up for an AdSense account and place some code on your blog so that you’ll get paid whenever a visitor who lands on your blog clicks on the ads.

If you’re adept at using social media platforms – such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and others, you might be able to reap the rewards of your content creation by signing up for Creator Funds.

If your content gets enough views and goes viral, you can earn money from the success of your content. Another way that your social media usage can pay off for you is by positioning yourself as a social media influencer.

Not only will brands pay you to mention their product to your followers, but you can also earn direct payments from your followers if you host a live event and they begin sending gifts to you that you can convert into cash.

How to Get Customers and Clients

Regardless of which business model you choose to immerse yourself in, you need to know how to get customers and clients to your profiles, website, and offerings. One way you can do this is by learning about search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is a strategic way to be in the good graces of Google and other search engines who will rank your content higher than your competitors if you adhere to the standards they are looking for.

These include things like making sure your site loads quickly, that the navigation on your site is easy, that you are using keywords and phrases in your content, and that your site is full of valuable information for your readers.

Another way you can get traffic is by using social networking sites. On most social media platforms, you are allowed to include at least one link, if not more, so that people who want to click through to purchase something or sign up to your list can do so.

Some platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok only allow one link. You can use a tool like Linktree that will provide you with one link that opens up and showcases multiple links to your visitors to bypass this rule.

On other social media platforms, such as YouTube, you are allowed to post multiple links for each piece of content that you upload, instead of a single link per profile. This makes it easy for you to use these platforms for affiliate marketing, to drive traffic to your lead magnet page, or to send people to your sales page if you are selling products.

You don’t want to forget about simple word of mouth when it comes to enjoying traffic. Many customers and clients, especially if you are working as a freelancer or info product developer, are secured by feedback and discussions among consumers.

As you level up with your online earnings, you may also want to consider investing in paid traffic. You can pay for ads that will show up in search engines and on other people’s websites.

You can also buy paid advertising on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and many others. Make sure you start out small and don’t invest a large chunk of money and paid advertisements until you understand what you are doing and how to get the best return on your investment.

You want your ads to be converting high for you, and your costs kept low. If you are considering pay dads, you may also want to look and see if there are any solo ad offers in your niche market that you could possibly purchase so that you could send an e-mail out to another marketer’s existing list of subscribers.

Managing the Ins and Outs of Your Business as an Entrepreneur

There’s one more thing you need to know when you are considering whether or not it’s time to fire your boss. Running a business is more than just waking up and doing whatever you want each day.

You have to know the ins and outs of operating a business. That includes the initial setup. How will you legally create an entity for your business brand? You can be a self-employed individual and set up an LLC, an S Corporation or another type of entity.

It’s best to meet with a CPA who can guide you in the best way to legally set up your business before you quit your day job. They will know how to handle your taxes, too. This will depend on the state and country you’re in, as well as what kind of legal company you’ve set up.

Because you will not automatically have insurance benefits built into your business, you will need to search for those on your own. You will have to get your own health insurance, life insurance, dental and vision insurance.

Another thing you’ll have to learn in terms of managing your business is when and if you should begin delegating some of your work to another individual. You don’t have to hire a permanent employee onto your company.

Instead, you can outsource to freelancers who can help you create content, images, and even manage some of your administrative tasks. You will be reinvesting some of your earnings so that you can expand and grow or even just automate your business.

This requires you to know where to go to find these individuals, such as Fiverr or Upwork. You’ll also need to learn how to create listings, how to evaluate profiles and portfolios, and how to work with other individuals to get the end results that you are looking for.

Making the decision to start your own business and work from home seems like it would be an easy one. Your disgust with your current job, paired with your enthusiasm to pursue something you love can make it seem like a no brainer.

But even if you know the decision is right for you, you still have to make those decisions about your business model, niche, and other strategies that are important to having a successful transition to a work at home career.

Once you’ve considered all of this information, you’ll be ready to answer the question: Is it time to fire your boss and start working for yourself? If so, take the next step and embark on a fulfilling journey to work at home freedom!