Looking to Work From Home, Online work, etc.

[1Earth]

My partner and I are traveling and I am wanting to get into work from home programs that are realistic and worth the time. Honestly, I'm looking for someone to "hold my hand" and walk me through the steps of getting started in work from home/online business. I am a proficient computer user and can buy, build, and maintain a website as well as use affiliate programs like Amazon and Google. What I need is the full walkthrough to get started maybe with something readily available before trying to build a business/site of my own. If anyone with experience can point towards a good program (not a paid $ e-book) or help me out in any way it would be much appreciated! If you are already doing this in some way and can get me started I will be happy to pay you for your help and time.
Thank you

[skipmac]

Welcome to the forum,

There is a recent, very long discussion and detailed discussion that covers this question in great and glorious detail. Click this link and budget a couple of hours to read. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ist-37982.html

The 25 cent summary; if you want a job that will make more that a few bucks for coffee (or beer if you prefer) you need some kind of marketable skill, something that thousands of others can't do just as well for low pay. Experience programmers, expert consultant in some technical or business field, etc. are common options.

If you are mechanically inclined then engine repair, refrigeration, canvas work are some options but only in your home country. Doing this in other countries, especially third world where the locals are very protective of jobs and income is problematic.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by 1Earth

I am wanting to get into work from home programs // before trying to build a business/site of my own.

Sorry, I don't really understand what you're asking here.

A "work from home program" meaning working for someone else, who pays you for the work?

Or do you want help setting up your own online business? If so, what kind of business? What skill or product do you want to sell?

[1Earth]

Originally Posted by Lizzy Belle

Sorry, I don't really understand what you're asking here.

A "work from home program" meaning working for someone else, who pays you for the work?

Or do you want help setting up your own online business? If so, what kind of business? What skill or product do you want to sell?

Both, starting with working for someone else and later building a business of my own whether just a simple niche site with affiliate sales or developing one of my own designs into a marketable product.

[Lizzy Belle]

Most "work from home programs" aren't worth the time (imho) or are just scams ...

Probably better off with your own online business, tho making a living from affiliate marketing isn't easy - very few people earn a decent amount, most just a little here and a little there.

If you have a good and unique product to sell, I'd opt for that. WordPress + WooCommerce = a quick, easy and professional webshop, so your biggest expense would be a decent host and a professional WP theme to start with. Having some up-to-date SEO knowledge & skills helps

[jackheape]

I have been "working from home" for over 6 years now. My experience is in IM (Internet Marketing) where I have done it all; SEO, CPA, PPC, website design,reputation marketing, local, affiliate, etc. Many people have turned to the internet to find a viable income and most are in your situation (like I was) meaning they don't even know where to start. After 6 years and thousands of dollars spent on training here are my 2 cents.
One, most of the "gurus" in IM are just out to take your money. Most of what they sell you can find for free. That being said there are a few programs, involving training and coaching that can help you are are worth the money. I am in one now. Two, getting started in IM is hard and takes a lot of study. The vendors touting get rich quick make, a $100 a day over night are full of it. That being said, you can make a good living working "online" in IM. Pick one thing and learn it really well. Ignore all the newest "gee whiz bang" products that promise you an easy return.
As far as programming, writing, etc. as a US citizen (which I assume you are) you can't make diddly squat doing those types of things, unless, you have built up a large established client base and are really good at what you do. Why? Because any work in the digital realm is swamped with available people who live outside the US and will work for next to nothing. I know because I use their services every day. One thing you do have going for you is you are apparently a native English speaker. If you are comfortable on the phone and can sell, you can make a lot of money working from home cold calling for other businesses or doing customer service, expediting, etc.
Just so you know, what I primarily do now is basically website rental. I build websites, rank them in the search engines, and then rent them out. I suggest you visit the warriorforum.com. There are tons and tons of threads on there about businesses you can do online. Its free. But for a one time fee, I think its $97 now, you can become a member of the War Room and that gets you access to a lot of free stuff and the ability to converse with people that make a lot of money working online.
I noticed you said you did not even want to pay any money for an ebook. You have to be careful what you spend your money on in this business, but I can tell you to succeed, you are going to HAVE to spend some money for a good mentor. The trick is finding a good one, but they are out there.
If you have any more questions PM me. I would be glad to help.

[laika]

Wordpress is almost ubiquitous these days, everything from personal blogs to enterprise-level. Build out from the basics with some knowledge of HTML and CSS, throw in maybe a dash of PHP, learn how to use photoshop, and you've got all the skills necessary. Having an eye for design is probably more important than the technical side. Build a website of your own and see if it's something you could see yourself doing. There is a ton of demand out there.

Still, IME, the remote-based liveaboard thing is quite a bit different than the work/"cruise" combo. I think anything but the loosest terms of engagement is problematic when it comes to working underway. Ideally it's project based work that has a finite completion date, but with ongoing management, phase 2 development, etc, this rarely seems to happen. This is particularly true out of the gates when you can't be picky.

I'm wrapping up some projects right now and not taking on any new work, opting instead to go "cruising" for a while.

[hellosailor]

1Earth-
The reality of "work from home, make big money stuffing envelopes in your spare time" is the same as it has always been. Almost inevitably a scam, or so poorly paid it won't work for most people in the West, or requiring special skills.
If you are a programmer or designer, sometimes you can get contract work or hourly work. But you need skills and there are plenty of skilled people competing for those jobs. There are businesses like "Amazon Turk", but they may pay 10c for a job that takes 1/2 hour, plus all your equipment and expenses.
IIRC, JetBlue and some others hire out their reservation-phones staff to home workers, but that often comes with a requirement to have a landline phone for the job, because VOIP quality is still sporadic in most if not all places.
There are some places offering transcription services, etc. and you can find them listed if you look for "work from home" forums, along with comments about them. But if they ask for any money up front--walk away. And check for consumer complaints and BBB ratings on those companies as well. As I said, the ones who really do deal honestly, can be very specific about who and what they want. Most consumer protection agencies say the same thing, that "work from home" is still often just a scam.

[reed1v]

Drug dealing, bank robbing, card sharking, or good old fashion scamming works for the poverty stricken sailing set.

[skipmac]

Bottom line, if there was an easy way to make a good living working from home or boat then there would be lots of people already doing it. 99% of the options require some kind of skill set, experience, investment capital or all the above to make more than beer money.

My advise, start with what you already know. How are you currently supporting yourself? Is there a way to make that job portable? If not is there some related job or some spinoff of your current skills that would be more portable?

In my case I do import/export sales and have been doing this for over twenty years, from home for over ten years. I can work anywhere I can get email and/or phone connections. Selling something is a great way to earn money if you have good communication and people skills, know a market and have the funds or backing to finance the business.

[cwyckham]

It sounds like you have the basic skills already. The two paths are selling information products or selling physical products. In either case, you can sell your own or act as an affiliate. I honestly don't think the advertising model works anymore. You need massive traffic to make money with that model.

The most useful resource I've found is the fizzle community. It's $35/ month for courses and the forum, but the first month is $1 and you can get through most of the critical material in a month and then decide if it's worth sticking around for the forums.

I met a great mastermind through the fizzle forums and would strongly recommend you find or create a mastermind group.