BellaOnline Forums Career Small Office/Home Office Needing a little help/suggestion(s)

Hello Everyone,

Lisa suggested that I post in this forum, so here goes. My name is Bettina and I'm thrilled to be the new Herbs Editor. I have a "situation" that maybe you can help me with.

In the fall of 2010 I became ill and was off work for over a year. I attempted to go back this March, but had a relapse and I now find myself out of work. I desperately need to bring in an income to support my family, so I am hoping that some of you might have some ideas on how I may do this.

I need to be able to do this from home, so I am hoping that with some of my skills, I might be able to bring in some work. These include: Administrative Assistant, Reporter/Editor, Graphic Design, Writer, Photographer, and Digital Designs. I have two websites if you want to check them out: <url>http://www.digitalexpressons.com</url> and <url>http://www.bettinathomassmith.com</url>

I have faith that I will be able to make a living at home and would be blessed if anyone can give me some suggestions on how I can do this.

Thank you kindly for listening,

Bettina Thomas-Smith
Herbs Editor

Dear Bettina -

Absolutely there are ways to make money doing those sorts of things!

Let's start with photography. Have you been taking photos and loading them onto iStockPhoto and other sales sites? You could create a library of content and get monthly checks sent to you without any future work. The more photos you load up, the more sales you get. So I would definitely look into that.

Go around your local area and take photos of interesting things. Offer to sell them to your local papers. Often local papers are short on staff nowadays and if you catch pictures of interesting events or situations they'll be thrilled to use them.

Submit photos to online magazines (like Mused!) to build up your reputation. That way more people know about you and are likely to buy your items.

Get an account at CafePress and Zazzle to sell tshirts, mousepads, and other items with your images. People will often buy items with cool images on them.

What are some other ideas for monetizing images?

Thank you kindly Lisa, your ideas are very helpful. I hadn't thought of my photography as something to earn money, it is such a passion of mine.

I will definitely look into those.

The best idea i have is that there are zillions of ideas. Even mystery shopping, writing per article for some websites, pet sitting, growing produce for the farmer's market, social networking opportunities...my point is that a person really needs to pick ONE. No more than two or three. And really do those well.

I remember having a zillion income streams going and it all worked out to stress, headaches and no income. I know someone like Lisa is capable of running bird toys, ebooks, origami, websites, forums, magazines, selling on ebay and amazon - and go to school full time, but for the rest of us, my really big important piece of advice is to pick one thing and really explore it. So, if it's selling photos, concentrate on that.

You can reassess in a few months.

Great advice Jilly, overdoing it will create more stress. Do one or two and do them well - if that works and you find you have more time, then build on that.

Hi Bettina,

Welcome to BellaOnline. You have a lot going for you, especially your diverse mix of skills and interests, perfect for work at home opportunities.

As a writer you've probably heard of Writer's Digest and their various books on marketing in different genres, but they also have one for Illustrators/Photographers. The newer editions cover web opportunities like iStock and more.

Network in telecommuting forums like WAHM.com. They have a mystery shopping forum where companies place requests when they need shoppers. There are also forums for various professions and party plans.

Surveys are non-stressful and a great way to earn cash and gift-cards.

Although paying to find work is not recommended I can vouch for a few membership sites that you might want to look into. Guru.com allows you to post a profile, even without a paid membership. There are different categories and you select one to have your profile live in. I have had profiles in both Writing/Editing/Translations and Administrative there. They also have a Graphic Design/Desktop Publishing area. You can view jobs for free to see if it is something you might be interested in.

If you haven't checked out FreelanceWritingGigs.com, they are worth visiting every morning for writing/editing jobs from around the web.

Of course you will have a lot of opportunities to write ebooks at BellaOnline. Hopefully a course in how to use herbs in cooking might be great. I'd love to learn how to pair herbs with my food with cooking without using a cookbook.

I wish you success in your job search and hope you visit SOHO regularly. Please sign-up for both the SOHO and Blogs newsletters for updates at each of my sites.

Hello Violette,

Thank you kindly for your suggestions (and Dianne & Jilly) Living in Canada doesn't have the advantages that Americans have when working from home...which is unfortunate as I have a lot to offer. (Writing, administrative, graphics, etc.)

I will definitely check out the sites you have recommended. I am sure there have to be some that I can work for. With my husband not being able to work, it is important that I find something soon.

Also, I will come back and check out your site too! Thank you all for being so nice, for welcoming me and helping with suggestions. Kindly appreciated.

Thank you for visiting Bettina. WAHM.com has Canadian readers and I know I've seen posts discussing which companies hire Canadians. You can probably find some leads searching their forum.

I have discovered that one needs to limit the jobs you do. I've done surveys, but most of the time I find my time is wasted because I never seem to quality. Or you need a credit card, or you have to buy something. I do belong to NCP and Pinecone Research. I write articles for websites and was doing well until the better paying place cut back on most of their writers. I make jewelry, but have yet to sell any online. I am also taking a writing course online. Add all this to taking care of 2 kids, homeschooling them, and having 9 cats and 2 dogs to the mix, I am often stressed. I have plans of doing an Ebook, submitting a novel and setting up a jewelry site, but time gets away from me and still I don't get anything done. Time is even shorter now with summer, gardening, painting the house . . . The list is endless.

There are a good bit of reputable survey companies. The sites that want you to sign up for offers and then cancel later etc. are not at all what I consider a survey company.

I narrowed it down to a small group that I did on a regular basis because I knew they paid, had good gift cards etc. Of course being in the right demographic helps.

If you are a work-at-home professional with a diverse set of skills, it is hard to be too limiting. A goal is to get a couple regular clients and find things to do that you can come back to when you need the extra income when the clients aren't there.

Never limit to just one thing or one client, unless that one thing is in demand or that client has steady work and a contract to keep you busy.