Work From Home Jobs
Getting out of bed knowing that you are already at work seems like a fantasy to many, there are plenty of adverts out there telling us that we can earn money in our spare time or that we can run our own business in 3 hours a day from home. The majority of these classified ad’s are either to deliver or collect catalogues or some awful pyramid scheme. The result is that we are then forever turned off by the idea of home working and it’s back to the number 3 bus on a cold January morning, in the rain on our way to the office.
This is the common perception even though there are many different successful types of home working.
Running your own business is one way of home working, you are the boss and you can set your hours as you please. This is a very popular options with mum’s who would like to fit their businesses around the school routine and maintain a good family and work balance. This is a great option for those with a great idea and a knack for business. If you love baking and everyone is asking you to bake cakes every 5 minutes then maybe starting a cake making business from home is for you.
Another great way to work from home is to work freelance. Freelance workers essentially work for themselves but offer their services out to clients either remotely or onsite for a fixed time period. Again the freelancer decides when and where they are available to work giving them more freedom and choice about how they spend their time and earn their money. Although home working is the preferred method of the freelancer, some freelance workers prefer to rent a small office or even hot desk at a shared facility just so that they can feel ‘at work’ for some people, the feeling of home working can affect their productivity while others say that they couldn’t be happier.
There are many services that you can offer as a freelance worker from bookkeeping and accounting to graphic design, web development, copywriting, admin and much, much more. Take a look at your current skills that you use at work on a daily basis, how many of these service would you be able to offer from home? You may be surprised by how many of your everyday tasks can be completed from your home office.
You could offer basic office services and data entry from home.
The way that people view work is changing, where once we had a clock in, clock out attitude to our working life, people now want a more flexible way to work and home working is the perfect solution for those who may not be able to commit to a full time role in the workplace but can do the hours at home.
Home working means that you are your own boss, so being disciplined and creating some sort of routine is very important. It is very easy to become distracted by everyday life when there is nobody to report to. Try to avoid putting things off until later as you may find that when the unexpected pops up you are left with little or no time left to get the jobs done on time.
Being your own boss not only means managing your time but it also means that you need to manage your money as well. Knowing what is coming in and going out as well as being responsible for paying your own tax and insurance can seem like a minefield if this isn’t something that you have had to do before. There is plenty of accounting software out there to help you out here and having a good accountant will become useful when your tax return is due.
Working from home allows you to do so many things that a rigid 9-5 or shift work simply will not accommodate, how many times have you missed a parcel? had to take a whole day or half day off work just to make a doctor’s or dental appointment? Having the freedom to attend appointments and complete simple tasks like heading to the bank during normal working hours instead of trying to cram this into your half hour lunch break where you end up eating half a sandwich at your desk because you didn’t get time to finish eating before your break was over is something that we all dream about.
This is especially important if you have children. Being able to drop them off at school and collect them at the end of the day instead of packing them off to an after school club or childminder can only be a positive thing. It would mean that you would have time to spend together as a family as you would be working from home and would never need to miss out on essential family life again.
So what is this miracle home working career that can provide me with a rich family life while still giving me and my family a decent income I hear you ask!
Fostering, becoming a foster parent is a perfect choice for a stay at home mum or indeed anyone who is considering a work from home position. You don’t need to be able to design amazing graphics or to be able to build a website from scratch, all you need is experience with children, a spare room and lots of time and energy to devote to them.
Fostering children from your home is a great way to earn money and keep a balanced family life. Caring for others whilst caring for your own and getting paid to do so is possibly one of the best work from home opportunities out there. No complex knowledge needed either.
The population continues to grow and so does the number of children requiring foster placements. You can earn up to £400 per child per week, working at home taking care of foster children.
Many home working opportunities give you freedom but this is one of the only sectors that not only gives you a £10,000 tax exemption on your earnings but you also receive a weekly tax allowance of up to £250 per child per week that you are fostering,
Be your own boss and have the freedom and work-life balance that you will only ever get while working from your own home. The way that we work is changing and more and more people will be working from home in the future with home working set to make up at least 20% of the global workforce by 2020.
Not only is home working better for your life balance, it’s better for your wallet too, think about all the money that you would save if you didn’t have to make the daily commute or by making lunch at home instead taking out a 2nd mortgage for a bacon and avocado sandwich at some pretentious sandwich shop?
Being self-employed means that you have no guaranteed income, yes on average you may well earn more than a salaried employee however you do not have the assurance of a wage paid to your bank every month, if you receive no work one week you will receive no pay. Most home workers set aside some of their earnings to cover bills and essential living expenses for the times when your earnings may dip or should they fall ill. It may be worth looking for some income insurance should either of the above apply.
No holiday pay, sick pay or other employee benefits. As a self-employed person working from home means that you receive none of the benefits that a salaried employee would receive. Again, be sure to make savings to cover yourself while you are on holiday or should you fall sick.
Irregular hours, working from home means that rather than having a designated start and finish time you could end up working at any time day, night and even at weekends. This is something that you should be prepared for.
With all that said a work from home job perfect for anyone who is wanting to earn money while still having some freedom in their daily life. Working for yourself at home gives you much more than just an income but that sense of achievement and the knowledge that you have put in the work in order to receive that payment can be very rewarding. Everything that you work for is yours, no handing profits over to someone else. The avenues for people to work at home in the UK are growing every day. Now is the perfect time to become part of this new emerging workforce.
