Want to work from home?  It is not as easy as you might think.  And there are many experienced work at home professionals.  Working from home is real work.  Sure, there are many ads for get rich quick and work in your pajamas.  And, yes, you can work in your pajamas.  But you most likely will not get rich quick any time soon.  

If you are seriously considering working from home first ask yourself how disciplined you are.  Will you work or watch television?  Do you have distractions at home such as children or pets?  Can you focus on the task at hand?  Not many have the focus and self-discipline to stay on task in the comfort of their own home.  

If you can or think you can stay focused, then you need to decide what it is you want to do.  Do you want to make or build things?  Is there a market for this?  How will you sell your wares?  Are you more interested in data entry or clerical work?  How about bookkeeping?  Do you have an office space available for you to comfortably work?  Do you have experience in these areas?  Do you have work at home experience?  Yes, there are many qualified persons with experience competing for these same positions.  

How much do you want to earn?  Maybe this should be how much do you need to earn.  Remember, most work at home employees are contract workers.  This means they do not receive benefits and are responsible for their own taxes.  If you make at least $600 you will be sent a 1099 and be responsible for any taxes.  Do not forget you will be responsible for your medicare and social security taxes in their entirety.  When you are an employee your employer pays half of these taxes.  Include this in the amount you want to make to determine what you want or need to earn.

Now that you have decided that you want to work from home how do you find work?  There are many companies hiring work at home employees.  First you should start by checking out some great work at home job boards.

• Work at Home Mafia - This is a wonderful resource for work at home positions in just about any area you can think of.  Currently this is a free resource, but you can donate through PayPal.
• Workplace Like Home - A larger more developed work at home forum with lots of work at home opportunities.
• Work at Home Careers - This is a great resource for work at home opportunities.  Not as in depth as some others, but worth checking out.
•  Craigs List - Yes, there are many legitimate opportunities to be found here.  
•  Work at Home - This site offers a listing of telecommute friendly employers.

Remember to always do your homework on any opportunity and do not give out any personal information without verifying the legitimacy of who you are giving your information. 

Another good thing to remember is there are many real opportunities out there and there are many scams.  How do you sift through the dirt to find the jewel? 

• Perform a search - Enter the website name or name of the company followed by the word scam. For example: www.google.com scam. Read through the results and check the site addresses of results. (I've included a video tutorial below.)
• Complaints Board - See if others are complaining about the company you are interested in.
• Rip Off Report - Another good site for checking out what others are saying.
• Scam Fraud Alert - Another website to check.

Remember to always do your due diligence.  If something seems to good to be true, it probably is.  

Never underestimate the power of an education.  Now you may be thinking you cannot afford to go back to school.  Did you know you can get training for free?  HP has many computer courses offered at no charge.  These include MS Office, Adobe, Publisher, and more.  Some colleges offer online courses at no charge.  Then there are scholarships and grants (FAFSA) for those who need additional assistance.

Check out my sites below for more information.