The proliferation of internet has popularized online freelance jobs, and almost everyone with a computer and internet connection is rearing to try their hand on this new and fascinating way of making money from the comfort of their homes.
However, before you decide to hand in your letter of resignation to the MD and start your work from home jobs, there are a few things that I think you should seriously keep in mind.
- Are you cut out to be a freelancer?– Working from home is not ideal for everyone as this post illustrates. If you are not self-disciplined enough, there is a very big likelihood that you will fail miserably in your work from home endeavors. If the reason why you are quitting your online job is to avoid answering for unfinished projects and overdue deadlines, you better stick in that office until you attain enough self-discipline to get things done.
- Swallow your huge ego-To many people, the concept of working from home and earning a decent income equates to bending far too low and licking the boots of an online stranger who might have failed his/her eighth grade spelling exam. Regrettably, this is true like 75% of the time. If you are running from your daytime job because of your unreasonable boss, you better brace yourself for an even more unreasonable ones. Fortunately, you can always choose who to work with in freelancing.
- Get rid of your trust and insecurity issues-A good number of freelancers are way too insecure to make a decent income working from home. They view every online jobs as a chance for someone to con them of their time, labour and money. Whilst it is true that the internet is rife with every kind of scam, con and fraud, there exists a few number of job portals and websites that do offer genuine online jobs and pay a considerable income that can very well see you resign from your daytime job. Sites such as elance and Freelancer offer the best places for any person wishing to work online. Not only are their payment method protected by escrow, but the clients and the contractors seem to have evolved a kind of mutual trust that sees very few cases of scam and con. However before you register or take up an online job with any person, client or agency, you need to run a background check on them. Do not be in a haste to land your job and throw all caution to the wind. Make sure that the site is reputable and it has a guaranteed payment method. You should also be aware that sites that offer genuine online jobs do not ask for any form of payment or deposit from you. There are free to join, register and work.
- Think of it as a business– Would you like to be writing for an Indian 10 years from now? As you advance in your work from home jobs, think about creating your own online jobs and letting people work for you. You will be better off than people who are always chasing few and highly competed for online jobs. Say, for example that you are a writer, all that you need to do is step up your foot and advertise yourself. In due course, you will have clients coming to you as opposed to you always being in the lookout for jobs. You can then outsource the work overload to other freelancers and retain a percentage of the income for yourself. If you do it so well, you will find that you are earning more money with minimal efforts on your side. One of the best ways to advertise yourself is to start a blog like this one. I have found this method to be working for me through my various websites. Clients I wouldn’t have gotten in touch with contact me all the time, asking whether I can handle a gig for them.
As you can see from the above points, there is so much to ponder about before you resign from your daytime job to work from home. Online jobs are not for the weak hearted or the lazy. They demand a lot of hard work and self-discipline. If you have these, jump onto the bandwagon, join the fun, let us make some online dollars.
Patrick Mahinge is a prolific digital marketer and "serial webpreneur". He runs multiple profitable niche websites and blogs monetized through affiliate marketing and advertising. Patrick generously shares his expertise in affiliate marketing, blogging, and online business through his Facebook group of over 5,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.
