ption, and writing to medical claims billing and online chat room moderating, there are quite a few options. Stay tuned for openings. :)

vily and turn out to be scams. It is sooo important that you do your research, but I am going to post some jobs not related to phone work. From medical transcri

I was asked if there are legitimate non-phone related jobs, and the answer is YES! Unfortunately a large portion of these types of jobs are often advertised hea

Job Postings

Happy Memorial Day! I've had a busy weekend and travelled out of state to see my in laws and my boys participate in sports. As I try and use this one day off to catch up on things, I came accross a few listings for WAH jobs that I wanted to share:

There seems to be a lot of customer service openings right now, so if you can swing a "quiet" household while the kiddos are in school, these might be for you!

 Home Based Customer Service jobs
Join our elite team of home based customer service superheroes
 Customer Service Rep work from home
NEW is hiring Home-Based Customer Care Representatives (CCRs) to take inbound customer service and support calls.
Telecommute Customer ServiceProvide 90% billing support and 10% technical support for gaming customers
Customer Service Professional
ACD Direct currently has openings for Customer Service Professionals to process our inbound non for profit, lead generation and donation based clientele. Sales experience, WAH experience, Bilingual (Spanish) abilities and a strong desire to succeed are always beneficial!

Hilton At Home-work for Hilton Hotels

Hilton Reservations & Customer Care seeks Work @ Home Reservations Sales Specialists at select locations to answer inbound calls and provide assistance to our prospective travelers with making their hotel stay reservations at our Hilton destinations. Candidates for any of our reservations sales positions must be sales oriented people with great telephone communication and customer service skills. As a team member of Hilton, you will receive in-depth brand and technical training & support to provide the highest level of quality service to our Members & Guests.

Live OppsAgents                                                                                    

LiveOps is leading the revolution in distributed and work from home, agent-based services. We have built the largest network of independent distributed agents in the nation, and we are serious about creating a real business opportunity.

Tele Reach Calling                                                                                

Are you seeking long-term employment with an established company? Would you like to work on your own time schedule? Does walking to your office, clad in your bunny slippers and bath robe with a mug of coffee in your hand sound enticing? If so, then TeleReach is for you

Enjoy your day off and thank the troops who risked their lives for our country's freedom & safety.

Happy WAH job hunting & be sure to thank any and all military for the risk they take each and every day to preserve our freedom and honor those who have given their lives in war.

Visit VistaPrint!

Three GREAT resons to visit VistaPrint today!!

1. Do you run your own business? Check out VistaPrint for some great Memorial Day deals or FREE business products. You can usually get a number of free items from basic business cards to address stamps. Who doesn't like promoting your business for FREE!

2. Stay at Home Mommy, not working yet? Then use the free business cards to make Mommy Cards. These great "business cards" come in such handy when you are playing at the park & meet other great moms & kiddos that you want to plan future playdates with! Just include your name & Mommy of "your kid's name" and your contact info.  Works out great when you don't have a pen handy to jot it all down. =) Visit VistaPrint  for more great ideas.

3. Father's Day is creeping up and at VistaPrint.com, you can make some great Father's Day gifts for Dad. From personalized t-shirts, calendars & photo gifts, they are sure to have all you need.

Have a great, creative weekend!!

Work at Home Job Openings

Database AnalystThis position requires one to be highly motivated in working independently and with the ability to coordinate with others through technology, online meetings. Medical field.

Customer Care Associate
The employee is required to interact with customers by telephone, email or chat and must possess excellent written skills along with customer service and sales skills. Looking for P/T bi-lingual. Hiring through June.

Writers
As a Textbroker author, you benefit from an unbelievable number of orders with a wide variety of themes. Choose assignments that appeal to your personal knowledge and expertise, write to the clients' specifications, and get paid!

Business-To-Business Telesales Agents
Our staff is comprised of telecommuters who are seeking a stable, professional full-time or part-time work experience.

Accounting / Payroll Specialist
Seeking a Payroll Clerk to compile and process payroll data for a semi-monthly payroll.

Language Commentary Writer
Looking for freelance writers for the Language section.We are looking for writers who are interested in becoming regular (1-2 articles/week) contributors to the site.
Academic Freelance Writers Needed In All Subjects
We’re looking for writers that can handle 5 to 10 pages per day and ultimately be able to produce about 50-100 pages per week. You must have access to your own research library (online/library).

Giveaway winner

Congrats to Lisa Tippetts for winning the Upsy Downsy Giveaway!

Making Time Management a Priority for WAH

The hardest part of beginning to work at home, is finding that delicate balance where you can fight the urge to handle household chores that are right in front of you and actually focus on your job!  You don't have a boss looking over your shoulder, no co-workers walking into your office, and no customers to constantly interact with, so it is truly up to you to separate home and work.  Seeing the load of laundry or the sink of dirty dishes that can be tackled between your work tasks, and choosing to ignore them, takes restraint, but with dedication to a time schedule, you can do it!
   Let's not forget WHY you made the decision to work from home. More flexibility, more time with family, and more availability to do the things you deem important.  If you take the time to plan ahead, your family and household won't need to suffer while you get a grasp on your new work from home arrangment.
   Start by dedicating an area and times where & when you can concentrate on your work.  This area you set up as your office should be quiet, have available work space to spread out, and have access to the things that you need for the job (phone, computer, fax etc). If you have young munchkins then early mornings before they wake up, or late nights after you get them to bed may work best for you. If you can work split hours, then you may want to schedule your work during naptimes. Timing is also important because that goes hand in hand with your ability to create a professional, quiet work environment. Crying or noisy children, barking dogs, sqwaking birds and other loud background noises are unacceptable to most employers, so consider this when choosing the type of employment that you wish to pursue. IF your house is a circus most days, then you will probably want to lean towards employment that does not involve a phone.
   Next, set a schedule and stick to it! If you are scheduled to work from 10-2 pm, then the time alloted should be dedicated your work and nothing else!  Don't try to fit chores into that time slot. Have kids in school?  Try scheduling you work during the pre-school or grade school hours.
Remember, although your employer is offering flexibility, there is a condition.  In exchange for virtual employment arrangements, they expect you to give 100% to your work during the time scheduled.  Meet your end of the bargain to ensure that your employer benefits as much from having you work at home, as you benefit from being allowed to work from home!

Making a Living Writing

Interested in using writing as your source of income? Take a look at these sites for freelance and assigned writing work opportunities.

Pro-Blogger-Has sites that can hire you to blog for them on a permanent or freelance basis. Great for newbies & experienced.

Examiner-Has a variety of topics that you can write on in your locality or field of experience. Examiners come from all walks of life and contribute original content to entertain, inform, and inspire their readers. They are credible, passionate and influential because of their knowledge of a particular topic. Want to join their ranks?

Writer's Weekly-The highest circulation freelance writer's ezine in the world. Search for freelance writing opportunities online, or sign up for their weekly newsletter and have the open paying markets/publications sent directly to you each week! I love this site and have gotten many paid freelance writing opportunities for magazines through it.

Happy wrting!!

UHaul Hiring just about everywhere!

Need income NOW?? Take a look at becoming an E-Center Sales & Reservations rep for UHaul. You can work from home, and they have flexible work schedules from 5am to 7 pm, 7 days/week! Plus they offer paid training, bonuses after each training session completion! You can visit the UHaul Job listing by clicking here.
If you are a team player, hard-working, enthusiastic, and have a good attitude, then a career as an E-Center Sales & Reservations representative is for you. For many people, work at home is an ideal situation and for some, it might be their only practical option.

• As a remote (work from home) team member you will receive incoming calls from customers calling specific U-Haul moving centers across the US and Canada or from customer calling U-Hauls toll free 1-800-go-uhaul number.
• You will have the flexibility and the comfort of working from your own home and with your own familiar equipment.
• You will answer general product/rental inquiries and secure/schedule reservations for    U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing devices and storage rooms.
• You will maintain close working relationships with U-Haul staff and personnel while also assisting customers with their moving and storage needs.

Education/Training:

• Applicants must be at least 16 years of age currently be in school and/or have a high school diploma or GED to apply
• We offer paid training

Summer Balance

So the reason many of us choose to pursue work at home employment, is for more time with family. Now that kids are starting to get out of school,  we are left trying to balance a normal work schedule with entertaining the kids.A great tip that have worked for me was to "Set a schedule and stick to it!":

•  I would get my work done in the morning, and the kids knew that during that time, they needed to eat their breakfast that I set out for them, get washed & dressed, do morning chores (like empty the dishwasher & feed the dog breakfast etc), and do a worksheet of schoolwork. After that, they could watch a little TV or play a video game.

Time would just fly by for them if they were kept busy. By lunchtime, I would be done and we could have fun! Granted my kids are older so they can do most things independently with instruction, but I'd love to hear your tips on how to keep kids busy this summer while you try to work. This year, with a baby in the mix, I definitely need to try something new!

Employee, Self Employed or Contract Employee?

You've done your research and know the industry you're getting into. It's a nice transition when you're cutting out the middle man (ie: your employer) and have a plethora of solid referral sources and customers to keep you busy and in the black. In this instance it is GREAT to start your own business.
On the other hand, there are some who should hold off on starting their own businesses. Your idea may be really good, but more research, experience or commitment can be essential to success. Don't be fooled by an easy start. Success takes great commitment. If you're in a position were finances are an issue, don't destroy your personal finances in order to get your new business started.
So if you don't begin your own business, you still have options for working from home. You can become a distributor for a company or line of products. You will have the autonomy of working on your own, but have the back up of support of a team who has actually been in your shoes. On top of that, you will have access to advertising & marketing materials, and an established line of products.  There are so many options out there from make up & candles to children's toys and giftware, that virtually everyone can find something of interest to sell.
The other option of working from home is to be be an employee. You can absolutely function as an independent contractor, but weigh your options carefully.  Remember as an employee you may receive medical and other benefits, have a guaranteed paycheck, and still have the flexibility of arranging your own schedule. On the flip side, you will be an employee, meaning you will have a boss to answer to. Approval for days off, vacations, and periodic performance reviews to evaluate employee performance are part of the job.
Each person's circumstances are different. Make the choice that's right for YOU and your family.

Photography

Love taking pictures? Have a knack for taking awesome quality shots? I am addicted to taking pictures and editing them. Always just for fun & my kiddos are usually my test subjects, but a fantastic work at home job that can be done on your own schedule is photography! Whether you go on location, take natural family portraits outside of a studio, or sell random images, the opportunities are endless.

• Offer your services to friends & family for free to build a portfolio for family portraits, kid shots, baby sessions etc
• Consider taking random photos for stock photography websites. Once you join the site, you can upload your pictures and as customers purchase, you earn royalties!
• Are you near some of the horrible catastrtophes that have affected the world? Take news related pics, or capture images of the reality post disasters and submit your images to local publishers for newspapers & magazines to accompany stories. Can absolutely be done on a freelance basis

Websites to sell your photos:
istockphoto 
PicsCliq
Bigstock
Phototrade


New to photgraphy? Best Buy is offering an awesome opportunity- clinics on photography through mid June. You can learn all about the ins & outs of you camera for FREE!

Companies That Hire At Home Workers

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share a listing of a few companies that hire at home workers. While these companies tend to employ at-home workers, they may or may not be hiring at this time. Please do not call these companies with inquiries, or to find out if they have current vacancies. Instead, visit their websites to apply, or for instructions on applying. Click on the names for the link. I'll post more company lists periodically. =)
Aetna
Alpine Access
Arise
Convergys
Hilton
LiveOps
MedCo
Sitel
TeleTech
United Health
XACT TeleSolutions
1-800 Flowers
Other companies that hire at home workers are Centurylink, U-Haul, American Express Travel, and Jet Blue, to name a few.

Work At Home Jobs will be at the Job Fair-Ontario

I have to let my SoCal followers know that there will be a unique job fair at the Ontario Convention Center this weekend. The Convention Center will play host this weekend to a free two-day Employment Options Expo that aims to provide information and resources to income-seekers whether they are looking for a new job, a new career or work from home options! According to the Press Enterprise, "employers, colleges, government agencies and other organizations that will offer everything from job or work-at-home opportunities to information on trade programs and access to entrepreneurial assistance. A schedule of seminars and workshops runs the gamut from the job market and the economy to resume writing to starting a business. "
I'm not local, so I can't check it out personally, but if anyone goes, be sure to fill us in on the opportunities they had available!
The expo runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (May 21 & 22nd) at the convention center. Admission and parking are free.
They will have at home employers, but regular jobs too!
For more information, visit http://www.employmentoptionsexpo.com/ or call (909) 937-3000.

It's Your Move

I've spent the past few years in a spot of extreme faithfulness. Not a bad thing, but  I've lived thinking that things would happen the way they were meant to, when they were meant to. In my way of thinking, I've been fortunate, but how long will that last? With all of the crazy economic times and hard times that everyone is experiencing, I have come to realize that I need to be motivated in business growth sooner rather than later, it's not just going to happen on it's own. So my motto for the rest of the year is "It's My Move"-my turn to make things happen. So adding the blog, starting a new promo campaign, and more are on my list. What's your 2011 motto? I'm always looking for inspiration & to inspire others...

Making Money from Arts & Crafts

Are you artistic and want to turn your talents & crafts into a lucrative income? Believe it or not, you can do what you love and make a lucrative income from it, but only  IF you do the work to promote your product.

Word of Mouth- Have your friends & customers TALK TALK TALK. Spreading the word is key and if you have friends or family members who can display, wear or promote your product, don't be afraid to ask them to do it!

Etsy-If you don't have your own website, or even if you do, Etsy is a great way to get your products seen by others who may not have found you otherwise. I am a HUGE Etsy fan & have bought some great products to enhance my own crafts! You can sign up/register for free and then it costs 20 cents to list an item for four months. When your item sells, you’ll pay a 3.5% transaction fee. Read all about Etsy's fees for more information. Etsy makes it easy to pay your bill each month with a single click.

Flea Markets/Craft Fairs- With displaying your products at these types of venues, ensures that you are able to reach potential customers who really appreciate the craft!

Think outside the box! The web and internet are not the only ways to get your products out there! A friend who made fabulous hair bows/clips for little girls, worked out an arrangement with a local salon to set up a display of her bows near the register!

Good luck on selling your craft, and I would love to hear other ideas/tips for selling Arts & Crafts!

Get a $5 Borders giftcard @ CoinStar

So friends and I always round up all the spare change in the house and take it to a nearby CoinStar before heading out with our families on vacation. I'm always in shock at the amount of change we have just laying around the house, in the cars, and in the cushions of the couch! If you are headed there any way, take advantage of thi deal. For a limited time, CoinStar is offering a Border's gift card coupon for $5 off $25 or more when you cash in $5 or more of coins. The coupon barcode and redemption information will be displayed at the end of qualified Coinstar® receipts.With summer around the corner, you can make sure kids have their summer reading options taken care of or even get some great reads for you to enjoy! Visit the CoinStar website for more info

Mystery Shopping-Is it real?

So I've had some fun experiences with Mystery Shopping, and yes it is real! It's not a full time job, or a way to get rich quick, but I've been lucky enough to do some fun shopping, dining and activities with my family and get reimbursed for it, and got to keep the merchandise. Gotta love free things! =) I've even done some property management shopping and it was no expense on my part, I just had to pretend I was looking for an apartment & take a tour. Generally, you will shop for clothes, dine at restauraunts etc, and fill out a form after reviewing your experience and what you saw.   It's always a good idea to review the questionairre beforehand, so you know exactly what you'll need to report on. I ususally took notes in my phone of specific names etc for later use in my reports. Most shops are related to cleanliness, customer service, and time to be helped.

The company that I mystery shopped for years for is called Jancyn. You can visit their site at: http://jancyn.com/ and apply. 

Another company with a ton of listings on the US and abroad is: Private Eyes. If you have friends overseas, even they can do some mystery shopping w/Private Eyes! Kuwait, Iraq, Japan Korea-all have shops! Also many of the military bases overseas have listings as well if you know anyone who can get on base overseas.For the most recent listings visit  http://www.privateeyesonline.net/Job_Board.html and sign up with Lysa.

Upsy Downsy Giveaway

In my exploration into frugal living, I have decided to start my own garden! With climbing produce prices and kids who devour absurd amounts of fruits and veggies, it was a logical decision. So far I have gotten all of my herbs growing-and they are doing great! I plan to plant some fruit trees this week. I've also started onions, and tomatoes! I'm pleased with the Upsy Downsy format that allows me to grow cherry tomatoes on top and big red tomatoes on the bottom-since we use so many of both.  I have a backyard, but limited space between the kids play areas & puppy so love that you can hang this anywhere outside! It makes gardening possible for those in apartments/condos/rental houses, or folks like me who just don't have the space. I'm so pleased to share an Upsy Downsy with a VJ4M blog follower. To enter, become a follower & leave a comment with your own suggestion for changes we all can make to live a frugal lifestyle. Make sure to include your email for notification. Contest ends May 26 4 pm PST. Winner will be announced May 27.

Yay, We're Live!

I am so thrilled to introduce my new blog!  It's definitely long overdue, but better late than never! As the mother of three, I've made it my personal mission to make working from home a reality for the past few years and I feel so blessed that I've been able to make it happen. I struggled to find that happy balance of time with family and contributing to household finances, and working from home was my answer!  I want to share what I've learned with other moms and hopefully spare you some of  the pitfalls that I have run into along my journey. This blog will serve as a way for other moms currently successfully working from home (part time, full time, consultants etc) and those hoping to begin working from home to connect with me and each other. In the next few months, the VJ4M website and this blog will become 1, so I'll keep you posted as things progress. Hopefully you will also get some ideas and inspiration to make the leap.
I hope you check in frequently for work at home job postings, access to resources, coupon tips and giveaways!