If you REALLY want to work at home...

> I recently ran across an ad that claims you can make 529.27$ a week by
> working at home. They ask that you pay 39.99$ and you receive a directory
> of different companies needing your to take surveys etc...Has anyone heard
> of this ? The Home Job? Its with Canadian Consimer Services?

...know that you're NOT going to make that kind of money doing surveys.

Are you in a major metropolitan area? If so, you might want to look into doing focus groups. Again, you're not going to make a living wage, but they actually pay better than surveys - and I suspect, although I don't know for sure - that a lot of these "survey" websites and such give a lot of information about them. I know that supposedly there are some you can do online now, but as far as I know the vast majority of them are still done in offices, because they are both taped and monitored. I don't see how they could be done effectively online.

I get emails and calls ALL THE TIME now - I'm actually doing a focus group next Tuesday - $80 for a couple of hours. My brother did one a couple of weeks ago that paid $150; but it was from 9:00 - 3:30 p.m., and it was on a Saturday. But they did feed them.

Anyway, if you are located in or near a major city, here's some information I posted awhile back (it may have been here, it may have been in my newsletter, I don't even remember) but I had a copy of it because it's still relevant. I hope it helps.

Years and years ago (before I ever even got online) I worked various conventions and trade shows for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau - hummm, another way to earn some extra income I'd forgotten about :-) - and a lot of the people there were also on the lists of these companies. So that's how I initially got involved. But I only did a couple.

After I got online I discovered that others were doing it, and that's when I learned about the website http://www.bluebook.org so I started using it. I did a search for "focus groups" there, narrowing it down to the Atlanta area. They've changed the site up some and I haven't had a chance to look at it again to determine the best way to search, but you shouldn't have too much trouble pulling up the info. You can also look in the local telephone directory yellow pages and search under "focus groups." Many of them have websites where you can sign up - some have you call them. (You'll also find that some of these companies do things like hire people to take surveys in malls, do demonstrations, etc.)

Anyway, once you're on the list you'll be amazed at how often you get called. The interviewer will ask you a series of questions that tells him or her whether or not you are qualified for the group. IMPORTANT - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR - just answer the questions honestly. Sometimes the question you think will disqualify you is the one that qualifies you, and vice versa. And you really don't want to be in a group for which you are not qualified. Once I was called about a survey that paid really, really well ($125 for two hours) but it was very specialized and it had to do with fine china, linens, gifts, formal entertaining, etc. What I know about that kind of stuff I could write on the back of a postage stamp. I could have "faked it" since I do have a fine china and silver pattern - when you marry in the Deep South that's part and parcel of the routine - so I knew enough buzz words to get me through, but I do NOT entertain 5-6 times a year. I would have looked like an idiot there.

Once they determine that you qualify, you're given time and place instructions. The group can be handled any number of ways - most often it's a group discussion type thing, where the facilitator asks specific questions and then gets feedback from the participants. Other times it's more of a hands-on thing. Once I got $100 just to test out and compare some mattresses and fill out forms with my opinions. Another time I did one that was testing out new sandwiches for Arby's. Yummm!

Once you're finished they hand you a check immediately. No waiting for your money. And occasionally you might get really lucky and get there only to find that they have more people than they need. If you qualified and were there legitimately, guess what? They have to pay you anyway! I've never been that lucky, but I really enjoy doing the groups, so I'd probably be a bit disappointed if that happened.

Again, it's occasional work. But it's amazing, especially in big cities, how much money you can make with "occasional work." I mentioned that I worked for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. We were basically independent contractors that were called for the various conventions. Contact your local Visitors Bureau to see if that's an option for you. That was fun work. I still miss it.

But if you are really trying to make a full-time income from home, it's really difficult to do it unless you're willing to start your own business. The beauty is that you can do so much more now from home with the new technology available. But you have to be willing to learn new things and really stretch yourself. I'm 54 years old and I have really had to re-learn a LOT of things to work online, and I'm still learning, but I absolutely love what I do and wouldn't go back to work for anyone else for anything - even that home-based data entry job I had before, because I still didn't have any flexibility. And because I was paid by production - which is the way most of those jobs are - and because it was feast or famine, as I said in an earlier post, it just wasn't worth it.

(I should say that there are some people working from home for major corporations and are making a full-time income, but they are generally specialized jobs. My husband works for a MAJOR computer company...think REALLY major :-)...and he works from home. Generally these are people who have been with companies for awhile, have established themselves, and whose jobs lend themselves to working from home).

I could go on ALL DAY about this (but I won't). If anyone has questions, they can email me. Just use the "contact" link on the bottom of the homepage of my website, because it's coded so that the spammers can't get it. I'd rather not post it here.