Author: Clarisse Caysip

22 Jul

6 Comments

Top 5 Benefits of Being a Work-at-Home Mom

by

Share
Image credits to nkzs

Image credits to nkzs

I am a work-at-home mom. I freelance my writing services for a living, wash the dishes, do the laundry and feed the baby at the same time. Sounds like too much of a juggle? I don’t think so.

It is true that being a work-at-home mom poses a lot of challenges, and so do traditional jobs. The only difference is that being a work-at-home mom allows you to still be able to keep a career for yourself while being able to spend quality time with your family.  This spells out F-U-L-L-F-I-L-L-M-E-N-T for me. There’s no other kind of work that would allow me to grow professionally while watching my 11-month old baby turn into a charming toddler. And for those who’d rather keep arguing about the challenges of being a WAHM, let me tell you: No pain, no gain! I was a call center agent before and I used to be a sounding board to irate callers. If you aren’t willing to sweat your way to have a good income, there’s no way you are going to get any. I am a work-at-home mom now, and I earn way better than what I earn when I was still working for others. The work is equally challenging, but I get to enjoy the following benefits;

I get to manage my own business

They say that the only way to gain financial independence is to set up your own business. This proved true in my case. Working on traditional jobs comes with investments: transportation, food and clothing allowance. As a work-at-home mom, I am able to work without all these. My desk is just within my room, I get to eat what my family eats (which is within the family budget) and I get to work even if I am still in my pajamas! Now, most of the expenses that used to burden me when I was still working outside home are already well-spent on fun family outings, business investments and/or allotted to family savings.

I treat working from home as working on my own business so there are still times when I don’t get to work in my pajamas. I still occasionally wear the ‘dreaded’ corporate attire when speaking to clients personally or on Skype. I also invest on it, but I get to keep my investment just like my laptop which allows me to work on café’s and out-of-town sans worries of losing business because of unreturned e-mails.

With it as a business of my own, I am able to maximize every earning/savings opportunity that it has provided me with. I am also able to plot my own goals for my own business. The flexibility allowed me to be the best that I can be sans the boss asking me to work harder for a paycheck that’s not even worth it.  As a work-at-home mom, I am working smarter to keep my business growing so I can be financially independent very soon.

I get to choose my clients

When working on traditional jobs, choosing a boss is not an option. You have to work with an ‘ancient dinosaur’ whether you like it or not. As a work-at-home mom, I am able to classify prospect clients as either bad or good. Of course, I only work with the good ones.

The good ones aren’t difficult to find. There are more good ones than bad in the market because the marketplace is literally crowded with professional and business- minded people who are also working smarter to grow their own businesses. In addition, work-at-home people are a lot cheaper to work with than regular employees, so if you are good at what you do, you can expect to attract good clients too.

I get to choose my projects

I prefer to work on writing projects on topics of working from home and freelancing— and I am able to observe this preference when applying for new projects. With a market as wide as the world, you are definitely going to find work that suits your taste and passion. Not to mention finding work that pays you your worth.

I get to choose my work hours

I am a night person. My brain seems to be most efficient at night. Therefore, 9AM-5PM work is simply not for me. As a work-at-home mom, I get to work on my preferred hours without hurting my timecard with absences and lates.

I get to see my family grow as I do all these

Now, the best thing about working from home is the ability to grow my own business while seeing my family grow at the same time. Life is short to spend most days at work, but you can’t earn a living unless you work. I feel so blessed to have a skill that I am able to market online. It allowed me to pursue a passion, earn a living and take care of my family without having to send my baby to day care when I work. Sure, it is challenging, but it is all worth it.

How about you? Are you a work-at-home mom, too? Or are you looking to be a work-at-home mom soon? With time management and strong desire to grow, working from home can be the best career decision that you can ever make. Leave your tips and questions as comments below.

Share

Filed Under: Working moms

Tags: , , ,

17 Nov

8 Comments

An Article Writer Turned SEO Specialist – A Freelance Job Promotion

by

Share
Image credits to FOTOCROMO

Image credits to FOTOCROMO

A lot has already been said about how advantageous it is to be in the freelance job industry. Working at the comforts of your home and earning an attractive pay are some of the most famed benefits of being able to work home based. We are living proofs of this fortune in freelancing— and we hope you are, too.

Looking back  when we’re all still at the starting point of our careers, it can’t be denied that we have had faced our own share of risks— scammers, clients who would not pay and relatively below industry standard rates to name a few. We have learned to overcome all of these and are now at the turning point of our careers. However, another risk is left to be faced– and we are sure that at one point of your freelance career, you’ve come to ask yourself this: Where am I to go from here?

Admit it, no matter how good freelance jobs are, they still lack some of the offers that traditional jobs have. One of this is promotion. Well, without a regular employer, how can such be possible? The alarming fact about this is that we are all brought up to think of becoming CEO’s someday! We are thought to be competitive and to climb up the corporate ladder. Needless to say, sooner or later, a feeling of dissatisfaction will settle within us, which will eventually leave us unhappy and discontented with our freelance jobs.

We have given this a thought for quite some time and we are glad to tell you that there is hope. You need not be left to be a freelancer for long. An invisible corporate ladder is available for you to take advantage of.

Let us explain the concept through this scenario;

Assuming you are a freelance writer. You have your regular gigs from your trusted freelance job website and you are considerably at the peak of your career. However, despite this success, you feel all tired and weary of doing the same job over and over again. Routine is killing you, but you can’t just simply leave your freelance job.  What can you do?

Supposing this scenario is true, there’s really not a need to fret. As a freelancer, you are not only given the flexibility on work hours but a wide variety of options, too! Digging deeper into the world of SEO and establishing a career as an SEO specialist is a very good opportunity. After all, if you already have a knack with words, you might as well use it to your own and your client’s advantage by upping your knowledge about how you can make you content a certified king by ranking them well on search engines . Consider this as a promotion from being an article writer to an SEO specialist. Not only will it change your routine and make your freelance job more exciting, but it will also make you feel good about yourself because of your ability to level your skills up to meet more freelance job needs.

This scenario is not at all to suggest that you take a sudden shift. This is simple a demonstration of the tremendous options most freelance jobs has to offer. Finally, a promotion does not only apply to article writers— how does becoming an internet marketer from being a savvy internet provider sound to you? This is also possible. After all, it is not really about who you know, but what you know that will take you to the top in the freelance job industry. Too bad it is often the other way around for traditional jobs—another reason to celebrate your being a freelancer.

Happy Freelancing!

Share

Filed Under: Freelance Job Opportunities, News, seo, Uncategorized, writing

Tags: , , , , , ,

11 Nov

7 Comments

Freelance Job Transcription Opportunities

by

Share

Freelance Job Transcription Opportunities

There is no doubt that a person’s gift of gab can take him to inexplicable career heights that even he might not be expecting. Communication skills, both in writing and speaking, can help a freelancer acquire numerous jobs;  each of which has different nature which gives him options and growth opportunities as a home based worker. This proves that now more than ever is the best time to learn to be a good English speaker, writer and– listener? Read on.

We’re certain that we have caught your attention there. Here is a trivia: If you have not noticed yet, transcription is on the fifth spot in Donanza’s September Top 10 Most Popular Searches but it is not in Donanza’s 50 Most Required Skills. Puzzling, right? Whether there is demand for this service or not is definitely no issue. The result can only mean that freelance job transcription opportunities are just around the corner completely unnoticed.

Now, you might argue that if clients need transcription jobs, then why don’t they post job openings for it in freelance bidding sites? Well, it may sound unfair, but unless it is really urgent; no client will proactively reach out to you to send you projects— and this does not only apply to freelance job transcription opportunities, but to all other freelance jobs as well.  Therefore, as frequently mentioned here in www.donanza.com, keep in mind that jobs won’t find you so you should be the one to do the looking.  This said, we have prepared the following tips to help freelancers address the growing need for freelance transcriptionists by finding their job ads and taking advantage of them.

1. Utilize Google

Never underestimate the power of your fingertips! The reason you may not be seeing transcription freelance jobs a lot in bidding sites is because they’re not posted there at all! They may be on the ‘Careers’ page of a potential client’s website for all we know. Therefore, you may need to exhaust all of  your resources– and these resources include search engines. Simply type in the relevant keywords in the search bar and hit go/search. Should you need help with keywords, we’ve listed some that you can use in your search;

-          General Transcription

-          Legal Transcription

-          Court Reporters

2. Network with fellow transcriptionists

Nothing beats a good network that won’t only help you find freelance jobs, but can also share valuable tips and advice that can motivate you to keep going with your search and eventually, find these elusive freelance job transcription opportunities. Forums such as that in www.TranscriptionEssentials.com is a good venue to where you can start realizing your professional networking goals.

3. Read through advertisements

This is fairly easy. All you’ll need to do is to read through the advertisements available in the page where you get your daily dose of freelance job transcription tips, advice and tricks or even on the same page where you get your job leads.

Finally, it is also crucial that you understand that finding freelance jobs is not yet the end of your journey— it is only the beginning. You need to have prerequisites prior to it such as a resume and cover letter that converts and/or skill enhancement. And the most challenging amongst all these: You’ll need to keep your clients. After all, it has not been easy for you to find them. Make the most out of your efforts.

Share

Filed Under: Freelance Job Opportunities, Freelance Transcriptionist, News, Uncategorized

Tags: , , , , , ,

05 Nov

5 Comments

FREE Freelance Job Resources

by

Share

free

It is an understatement to describe the internet useful. In fact, it will be difficult to describe the internet through a single word— no word is enough to capture the very sense of the web and everything it can offer. It has literally revolutionized the way we live from all aspects possible— from the way we do our shopping up to the way we work towards a more rewarding career. This fact holds very true to us freelancers— and the more it would after you read this article.

As a freelancer, you are generally all accustomed of doing everything on your own— logging in your hours, scheduling tasks, handling your finances and even looking for softwares that will make your freelance job easier. If you are new to freelancing, however, and you feel a need to use a resource to make your work a complete breeze; be cautious so as to not fall on baits offered by freelance tool providers which abound the web. Here is the deal: You need not spend even a dime on a freelance job resource just to be more productive. Below are eight of the most recommended tools that will help you with your freelance job.

Google – Google is a BIG word in the internet business. This is for the fact that it has pioneered a lot of applications which made the internet business as productive as ever. Google is similar to a one-stop shop from which you can get any of your needs from the personally owning a blog up to the twisted and complicated world of project management. In fact, you can even start and manage an online business through it— totally free.

Creative Commons – Showcasing masterpieces of photographers and graphic designers have never been this easy and free! This page is run by a non-profit organization who advocates themselves to protecting a freelancer’s work by licensing them and sharing it with others.

You Send It - Now, bulk emails will no longer take up much space in your inbox and that of your client’s. You Send It allow you to be able to send a file of size up to 2GB to your client’s email. From there, they will  just have to download the file directly into their computers.

Protolize – This is a haven for web designers and developers who wish to collaborate and to rank the web tools they use according to efficiency.

Free Contracts for Freelancer – A freelancer will need to protect himself in one way or another. And, what is the best way to do it? – Through a contract or an agreement. Not good with such documents? No need to worry as it doesn’t really matter what your freelance job is, Free Contracts for Freelancers is here to the rescue. Find free templates, tips and how to’s to be able to draft an agreement that is fair and ‘impressive’ to your client.

Fax Zero - Need to send the signed agreement over to your client? A freelance job agreement will not be much secured without you and your client’s signature. Fax Zero is a free internet fax service always available to keep paper fax transactions.

Freelance Switch – Freelance jobs are all over the web. Such demand increased the number of freelancers from around the globe. Fortunately, there is enough work to keep them occupied and earning. However, these same productive people are the same people who needs support groups in order to keep their sanity despite their inevitable isolation from their closest society. Freelance Switch is one site that they trust to build them connections with fellow freelancers and supply them with their daily dose of informative, useful and inspiring blogs.

Zoho – A value provider turned into a provider company? Free project management portal which is useful to almost any freelance jobs is what Zoho does. Sign up for a free account with them to start reaping benefits. As your company blooms, then that may be the time to consider upgrades.

Now, what do you think? Isn’t the internet very generous to even consider giving freelancers all these resources free of charge?

Happy Freelancing!

Share

Filed Under: Freelance resources, News, Uncategorized

Tags: , , , , , ,