Work At Home Adventures

It has been an interesting few days. After being the constant provider for my wife and children for 9 years now, barring a strong illness a few years ago, I found myself out of work and nearing the penniless stage. Admittedly, I've never been good with money. There are plenty of reasons for this, which I'll get into later. The focus here, however, is what I stumbled across to combat the impending disaster.

I've worked for myself before, even done very well with a few upstart companies, but time and weak partners brought those things to hault. So, I'm pretty much accustomed to working at an established company for less than I know I am worth. I made the horrible mistake of never finishing college. And, both to my credit and dismay, I have worked in numerous related and unrelated fields. My skill set is varied. I can pick up new technologies and ideas and run with them. This isn't a bad thing. But, interviews usually come down to "we'll call" you, which the inevitably do, only to let me know they have decided to go with another 'applicant'. I have a few problems with this. First, don't tell me I am overqualified. I either know that, and am willing to settle for less and work my way up, or simple settle for less. I'm not some guerilla warfare instructor who is going to come in and take over your company! If you're afraid of this, you probably need to reconsider your position and/or seek professional help in the self-esteem/paranoia department. Secondly, is that all i am? An 'applicant'? It's bad enough when the government sees me as just a number. But, when a company I just interviewed with who told me 'people are number one' can't even refer to people AS people, I have a problem. We went with someone else. Sorry, these other were better. Whatever you wanna say, but don't give them (and me) some arbitrary term). Finally, I have never had this kind of trouble finding work. I usually walk in with a grin and out with a smile. This getting turned down business is okay for my writing submissions--but, for a job I am qualified (or more than qualified) for--no way.

So, maybe everyone all my life has been right. Maybe I'm not designed to work for someone else. Maybe I am supposed to be my own boss. It seems right. It feels right. It sounds right. I don't have hundred and thousands of dollars to pump into a new business, however. My credit is enough to make a car salesman cry (true story, by the way). So, I won't be buying any franchises or renting any store front soon.

But, I had heard, and maybe I'm still the silly little boy who believes in unicorns and dragons and that honor still accounts for something, but I had heard there are legitimate businesses you can do out there from home. I've looked for them before. Even tried one or two out. They were the same scams so many of us got taken in by. Amway, Quixtar, and numerous others that are all but forgotten. I'm pretty good at searching the Internet. I've looked. They don't exist--not here. You have to know someone, get lucky, etc.

In a fit of tiredness and desperation a few days back, I started looking. *GASP!* Where did all these sites come from?!? They have been hiding from me! Seriously, though, I took the time. I sifted through a lot (and I mean A LOT) of scams and lures. I found legitimate places to find work. I actually spent $2.50 on one site to download a small PDF. That gave me two web addresses. One url, I had never heard of (www.dailytelecommuter.com). The next was one I didn't think of (www.craigslist.com). I spent a good portion of the next day going through links, brushing up my resume, typing different cover letters, applying for actual JOBS, and finding good leads on more.

In all honesty, it's how I found some places like HubPages. I knew these blogs were out there. I didn't take the time to realize what they could mean for me previously. Now, I have a chance to earn (literally) some change from advertisements placed on my writing. At the same time, I get to write about whatever I want, whenever I want. And, this has only led me to more sites to find work at. I found oDesk.com through this site, looking for ideas under "requests."

Okay. The money has not started pouring in yet. I have only been at this two days, tough. Give it a little bit of time. I'll be sure to check back in and let people know how everything goes.

I wanted to take the time to tell you these opportunities are out there. You just have to be diligent and patient.