So you want to work at home...

You've fantasized about working from home, starting your own business, and spending more time with your kids and family. You are not alone, millions of people just like you want to and do.

There are several ways to work from home. Some of the more popular ways are affiliate programs, direct marketing and starting your own business. However it is also possible to find employers who hire people to work at home in various postions such as telemarketing, sales, teaching, freelance writing, etc. I have spent countless hours online searching for work at home jobs and even started a community to list the job leads I have found. (http://www.real-home-employment.com)

You may wish you could start tomorrow, but honestly it could take six months to a year until you open for business or find a job. I wish I could offer you some time kind of timeline to success but it just isn't possible. I know we all see alot of ads that offer overnight success or thousands of dollars per hour earned, but the honest truth is most home businesses take 5 years of hard work before you may even see these types of returns and the higher percentage of work at home jobs you find are on a per need basis or start out part time.

So,as you can see, actually finding the work at home opportunity or postion that is right for you can be

1) Confusing
2) Time consuming
3) Not an overnight or immediate success
4) Takes lots of planning, research, time, and patience

The most important thing you should know before you start to look for a postion or business is just that.....Are you looking for a work at home job or are you looking for a home based business. Knowing what it is your looking for before you start will help you find the perfect work at home match easier, faster, and may even help you from being or feeling scammed.

You may be asking yourself what are the differences between a work at
home job and a home based business?

The major differences between a work at home job and a work at home
opportunity (home businesses) are:

1) Work at home jobs are just that "jobs", where you have an employer, requirements, and maybe even schedules.

2) Most work at home opportunities (home businesses) require a fee or
a set amount of money upfront to get you started.

By knowing these differences, you can significantly reduce your chances of being scammed and narrow down your search terms (keywords), thus making your time better spent.

Now I know that maybe I am making this sound like finding work from home is overwhelming, and it can be, but it really doesnt have to be. Once you have figured out whether you are looking for a job or business the rest just takes time, patience, and knowing where to go.

Here are a few steps I used.......

1) Have A Goal....

Even if you haven't decided whether to pursue a job or business, you should still go ahead and set a plan for how you intend to get there. Besides being a great source of motivation, knowing where it is you want to be lets you create a plan for reaching it.

2) Find Support....

Enthusiasm is contagious. Avoid those who say you can't. Try to find others who are doing what you want to do. Message boards and online communities are a great way to meet with others to find ideas, information, and to help you stay on track. (Real-Home-Employment.com)

3) Be Informed....

When you have either inadequate or inaccurate information your chances for failure are much higher. Talk to people who have started similar businesses or are working from home. Subscribe to ezines. Ask questions. Visit discussion boards. The more informed you are, the less the risk becomes.

4) Get started.....

To keep from feeling overwhelmed, make your larger goal into a few manageable steps. Plan to take at least one action a day. As you start to do the smaller steps, phone calls, jotting down ideas, contacting employers, sending out resumes, you may actually feel like something is being finished, and it may be hard to stop after you get going.

If you're already in the workforce find out if your position can be performed from home. If not you'll need to search for a position that can. Narrow your search down by your skills and experience, for example, data entry, telemarketing, customer service, transcription, etc.

Should you choose a home business, test the waters. If you're already working, stay there and run your business part-time. There is no need to create more stress when you can ease your way in to it.

Most importantly never ever give up, if you fall down, pick yourself up and start over, persistence and determination will pay off.

Recommendations: Subscription to the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs provides you valuable work at home tips, as well as tons of other useful and rare information.