Computers and high-speed Internet access mean new, better-paying
choices for people who want the flexibility and convenience of careers
that don't require an office-building cubicle.By Liz Pulliam Weston
LiveOps, a Palo Alto, Calif., call center that hired people to work
out of their own homes.
Within two years, she was earning about $2,000 a month working 30 to
35 hours a week from her home in Columbia, Md. — about what she'd made
previously as a counselor. Her shifts can be as short as 30 minutes,
although she typically works five-hour blocks while her 6-year-old is
in school, plus some nights and weekends when her husband, a certified
public accountant, can take over child care.
Opara said she still faces the challenges familiar to every working
parent: how to work enough hours, spend enough quality time with her
family "and still figure out how I'm going to clean my house, make
dinner and do the grocery shopping." Not having to commute or pay for
child care, however, are big bonuses.
"It's fit in perfectly," Opara said, "and we also like the flexibility."
Technology is opening up new opportunities for parents and others who
want to work at home. Finding and landing legitimate, profitable work
still isn't easy, but here are a few venues to try:
A call center in your home
In recent years, you've heard a lot about companies routing their
customer-service calls to workers overseas, but a less-noticed trend
is the growth in home-based call-center workers.
Thanks to the Internet and better call-routing technology, more
companies are finding they can outsource their order-taking, sales and
problem-solving calls to home-based workers, said LiveOps board member
Bill Trenchard. LiveOps not only runs an outsource operation,
Trenchard said, but it also provides technology for companies that
want to set up their own home-based call centers.
Home-based workers tend to be better educated and more loyal than
their counterparts at traditional call centers, according to
Trenchard. Most of LiveOps' workers have college degrees — Opara has a
master's — and turnover is low.
The flexibility that Opara likes also benefits companies. Home-based
operators are typically contractors who are paid for each minute spent
on the phone, so companies can quickly gear up to meet high demand
without having to pay for idle workers during slack times.
The job isn't without drawbacks. Pay usually starts around $8 an hour,
assuming you get enough calls, which can come slowly at the beginning,
Opara said. The jobs that simply require taking orders often pay the
least, while the better-paying jobs typically require that you have
sales skills.
Call centers usually have no tolerance for audible distractions, so a
crying baby, barking dog or ringing doorbell could get you fired.
(Some companies require their workers have dedicated offices with
doors to minimize potential distractions.) An operator also needs a
dedicated phone line, a computer and high-speed Internet access.
Some call centers that employ home-based workers:
•Alpine Access
•LiveOps
•Arise
•West at Home
Start a Web business
Paul and Alison Martin, who met while they were students at Stanford
University, decided to launch a Web-based baby-product business
shortly after the birth of their twins, Ainsley and Sierra. The couple
launched Noss Galen Baby in February 2004, just before Paul graduated.
By May 2005, Paul said, the site was profitable enough to support the family.
The Martins had some distinct advantages. Paul had programming and
start-up experience from a stint at PayPal, so he built and maintains
their Web site. The couple also moved from expensive Menlo Park,
Calif., to more reasonable Albuquerque, N.M., which keeps down their
living costs.
Perhaps even more significant, the Martins were able to capitalize
their business with stock-option money from Paul's time at PayPal. But
Paul said initial inventory costs were just a few thousand dollars,
and he could have gotten a small-business loan or worked a part-time
job to keep the venture going until profits came in.
difficult times when we were wondering if we were ever going to turn
the corner."
The Martins' business isn't the only thing that's expanded. The couple
had their third child, Dax, early last year.
If you find a concept that works, you might make additional money
teaching other people what you know. Tamaira Sandifer of Sacramento,
Calif., launched a service called Fun Mail for Kids that sends
customized packets, complete with stickers, personalized letters and
crafts projects, to kids via the U.S. mail.
As with any small business, it can help to draft a business plan. The
U.S. Small Business Administration has a free business set-up guide on
its Web site.
Online auctions
Online auction sites have helped people do more than empty their
attics (or fill them up again). The largest online auction site, eBay,
says it is home to more than a million "professional sellers" who
report the site as a primary or secondary source of income.
