Share Your WAH Experiences

melissw · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 5

I find it interesting to hear what others have found to be worthwhile (or not) work from home opportunities. I will list my experiences below with a description.

National Health Care Discounts (NHCD)- I worked for this company for a short period of time. This opportunity was not for me, but may be beneficial to some of you. You call numbers they provide and see if they are interested in a follow-up call about a perscription, dental and vision savings plan.

Tutor.com- I currently work for this company as an independent contractor. They like applicants to have a bachelor's degree, but some college education may work as well. They are a legitimate company and have always paid me. The downside is the decrease in work during the summer, as their program is mainly for school kids.

Aslyn · Joined: 28 May 2006 Posts: 18

I was going to work for NHCD, the problem I found with them is that they require you to sign up for their long distance service, even if you have unlimited LD already. They take the money out of your checking account every month to cover it. I think thats how they really make their money. So I opted out of that one.

I do Phone sales and run across alot of legit jobs, and some that are just crappy.

I try to avoid anything that is strictly commission or has an ad that says "$1000 a day".

Aslyn
_________________
Click Me!

brooken · Joined: 26 May 2006 Posts: 13

I have found quite a few different WAH jobs. Some of them were not for me, and others I am doing now. I have found that the most abundant jobs are phone jobs that are work from home.
For the most part I don't go for jobs that are strictly commision based sales either, but there is one now that I am working that is commision based that is a bit different that so far I am liking.

One thing I will say, is that I have found that there are a few companies that offer WAH opportunities that are very disorganized and do not know what they are doing. On the flip side, there have been some that are great and very professional.

My experience as a WAHM so far has been great, and I still look at opportunities and jobs as they come up. It allows me to be home, and still earn some money.
_________________
Keep dreamin!

Brooke

msdrika · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 9

I also worked for NHCD. I was a lead generator and It definitely wasn't for me. A lot of the numbers were wrong numbers and when someone did pick up the phone, you either got hung up on or cursed at. I hated it and you were paid by how many leads you can generate. I called 500 numbers and I am not lying and I did not generate 1 lead. At the beginning, I was so excited to find a WAHJ and NHCD was the first I came across. I worked only 2 days and I quit. Right after I quit, I found a message board with all sort of complaints about the company. Oh, they did reimbursed me for the 20.

I also worked for Verafast. Now, I liked them way better than NHCD. But, their pay is based on a credit system, which I did not like.

I have also worked for Text121. It was fairly easy pocket change. But, I had to quit when Hurricane Katrina came, because my computer got messed up.

I was a contractor for West also, but I couldnt work because of the Hurricane. I was really mad, because I had passed all my OD training and was getting ready to start training for PH. I couldn't take one call because the phone lines were destroyed.

Well, as for WAHJ's. That is my experience. Not much, but its something. I wish I could find a job where I can stay at home forever with and get paid.

hollie1974 · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Akron, Ohio

Howdy!
Well, my first work at home job was selling on Ebay. I did rather well, however I had to stop because my husband's hours of work changed. We at that time only had one car and it made getting to the Post Office before they closed difficult. I have thought about doing it again but I am still undecided. I frequent an Ebay board and see what some of the seller's have to go through and I am not sure that it is really worth it, unless you are making mega bucks Wink

Next (and I am not sure if this is considered a work at home job) was Mystery Shopping. I really liked doing it, however a lot of companies stopped paying and starting offering reimbursements only. Apparently they are not aware of the gas prices! Smile

For a little while I work at Text 121 but it was not really what I was looking for. Though I have to admit it was rather fun!

And now I am a consultant for a new line of cosmetics by The Diva Shoppe. The official launch date is June 15. I am really excited about it. I have never sold Avon or anything like it before, so I am little nervous about it as well.

Hollie

geline · Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 67 Location: Philippines

Hi! Hollie and MSDrika, may I know what you do and how can we apply at Text 121?

Thanks Smile

t_mae · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 5

My experience with working at home is a little different. For the past 11 years, I have worked for a small computer consulting business. It offered me the opportunity to keep my children with me as I worked, at least when I wasn't onsite. We offered database programming, so I spent much of my time in the home office.

Recently I have started my own technical writing business. Again, I conduct most of my business from my home office with only interviews and meetings happening at the clients' offices. It is hard work to keep everything balanced between family and business, but it is well worth the effort.

T

PaperMoon · Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 8

I've been working at home as a freelance copywriter for about nine months. I'm working on a young adult novel, some short stories, etc., but copywriting for businesses pays (some of) the bills. I wrote technical user manuals for seven years before leaving during an evil corporate "re-org." I was crying three hours a day (my total commute) and decided it wasn't worth it.

I started out working for peanuts, and have worked my way up to almonds, I think. Very Happy

Really, the pay isn't bad, but I hate the business side of it. I don't know why I didn't realize that what I was doing was starting my own business! How crazy was that? I'm a writer, not a businesswoman, and asking for money (even when I know I deserve it) doesn't come naturally to me.

Still, I'm figuring it out. I'm making $30/hour right now, which is actually very low for copywriters. I'm building my portfolio that way though, and I'm about to give myself a pretty decent raise. The other problem with that $30/hour is that--go figure--I only get paid for the hours I actually work. I know, I know--but I was on salary for seven years! And the laundry calls, and the kids get home from school too soon, AND I have a down comforter.

Still, it's better than facing those evil people every day. I've never regretted leaving, even for a second. Not even when my phone got cut off, and certainly not when I had to give up BCBG shoes. (Besides, you can get those on ebay.)

I look forward to hearing all of your WAH stories! Is anyone else out there an escapee of Corporate America?