Earning money from home

Is it possible to earn money working from home? Let's ask J.K. Rowling that question. I have the feeling I know what her answer will be. Is it easy to earn money from home? There again, I suspect J.K. Rowling has something to say and the answer is probably: "no, it is not particularly easy.". And many other work-at-home parents agree with that, I guess.

Nowadays, technology has made it easier than ever to work from home. Most parents who work from home run their own (small) business, although working from home for a boss is becoming an option for quite a lot of workers. Both options have their merits from a parent's point of view. Having your own business is exciting and puts you in control of your working hours and your income. Many entrepreneurial parents I know enjoy the flexibility of working independently. It means you can choose to take on less assignments during school holidays, to name one of the many perks. However, there is a darker side as well, as it also means having to do without a paycheck and not being able to call in sick. 

Do you want to start your own business from home? Check out the 'downloads' section of this site and download the free guide on starting out.

5 popular work-at-home activities:

* Providing secretarial services (word processing, typing out minutes of meetings, but also updating websites for busy bees, to name but a few things)

* Writing (articles, newsletters, press releases)   

* Webdesign (designing sites for businesses)

* Translation services (translating legal, commercial or medical texts)

* Your own web store (the variety is huge, ranging from work at home parents who sell books to work at home parents who sell hand made craft items)

Please note: beware of scams!

A lot of people want to work from home. Unfortunately there are people out there who abuse the trust of those who are genuinely looking for work-at-home opportunities. Be very careful in dealing with ads on the Internet, for instance. If promises sound too good to be true, they probably are.  Be very wary if people ask you to pay money in return for work-at-home opportunities.