If you’re looking to reach me, see the contact page. Otherwise, you’re in the right place. Here’s a little background about what telecommuting has meant to me personally, and why I started this blog . . .
I have a BA in English and was actually working for the Postal Service when I started looking for alternative work solutions back in 1997. Pregnant with our first child, the Internet struck me as an answer to balancing the idea of being a stay at home mom with the desire to contribute to the family finances. I started looking for alternative work solutions in 1997, had my baby in 1998, and left the traditional workforce in 1999.
I had my second child in 2000, and continued to work at home as a viable solution for taking care of our children while still connecting with the professional working world. I’d originally planned to work from home until my youngest child started kindergarten, but by the time that day rolled around I was already in love with telecommuting.
I didn’t really realize just how unique the situation I’d carved out for myself was until both of my children were in school and I was still living this extremely flexible lifestyle. Teachers, other parents, friends, and family all knew I worked at home and I started getting a lot of questions from people who wanted to know what it was like to work from home, how I lucked up into such a job, and how they could find a work-at-home job, too.
So I started this blog back in January of 2006 as a way to talk about telecommuting in general, help other parents who were looking for a better work/life balance, and watch the whole concept of telecommuting grow into a more acceptable way of working.
Truth is, there’s no single, short answer to the question “How can I find legitimate work from home opportunities?” If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me, I wouldn’t have to work from home at all, I’d be filthy rich. The sad reality is that people who are looking for work at home are often willing to hand over that nickel to any Tom, Dick, or Harry promising them legitimate work.
When I was looking for work at home options there were already scams out there, but today, they’re all over the place! So part of the new telecommuting job search is learning to avoid work at home scams.
The truth is that most people really don’t want to hear the honest answer. Finding legitimate work you can do from home and remaining productive takes a great deal of hard work, self-reliance, and personal drive. And, to be brutally honest, the scammers out there are successful at lining their own pockets because people tend to buy in to quick fix solutions.
Working from home is also a never-ending process of growth and change. When I started I was on dial-up AOL and working from a desktop computer that’s now considered ancient museum material. The technology and equipment changes at an insane pace and you’ve definitely got to be able to learn and adapt.
Since 1997 I’ve had many irons in the fire and today I own my own web publishing and consulting business. I have a few work-at-home contractors working with me, and several of the folks I collaborate with are working from their own home offices, too.
The Internet is a wondrous thing. I’m old enough to remember what it was like to not have a wealth of information at my fingertips 24/7 so maybe that’s why I’m still amazed by the fact that I can look at weather forecasts whenever I want (for whatever location I want), learn how to do nearly anything I’m interested in, stay connected with friends and family instantly, shop, be entertained, and even earn a decent living.
I’ve worked with a lot of great people from all over the world. I’m lucky to have the work/life balance I have but believe me when I say it wasn’t ALL luck. I work for it, and continue to work for it every single day.
My journey to working at home wasn’t an easy one. You can read more about how I got to be so “lucky” here.