Work from home?

[DSFastball55]

Hey guys, just looking for ideas.
I recently lost my job and am looking hard, but there's not much out there right now. I'm in the La Crosse area. Wondering if anyone know of any work-from-home internet jobs that are legit? I see ads for them all over, but after digging into them they all seem like either a scam or very difficult to make a decent amount of money. I have a management/IT degree and have been working in IT for several years. Nights and weekends are tough for me since I have my son most of the time. Any ideas, I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks!

[OglivieHomePerm]

Judging from the number of responses in this thread, I guess we can assume that all work from home internet jobs are scams or a waste of time :-)

[Invader3K]

From what I've heard, they pretty much all are. Like most things, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Let's face it, if you could just sit on your rear "a couple hours a day, a few hours a week" and have cash come pouring in, everyone would be doing it.

[MHgb]

What about your own computer repair / consulting / web design business? You'll reap what you sow then.

[FVBrewerFan]

What about your own computer repair / consulting / web design business? You'll reap what you sow then.

I agree. I know a guy who is doing this in Waukesha County. Slight difference, he handles all home technology- PC, home network, A/V, etc. He basically comes in and interviews the home owner, then systematically puts together a list of the equipment they should have. PC, laptops, TVs, cables, home theatre system...whatever they're looking for. Then he installs it and sets up a routine training and maintenance schedule. A little slow at first, but now he does over 80% of his work by referral.

 

He said he started doing mostly PC troubleshooting and setting up wireless netwroks, etc. But he noticed a need out there. People are buying all this electronic equipment. Often times they're buying things that don't fit what they want, and most people don't know how to get the most out of what they have.

 

Otherwise, you could do consulting/ IT work for churches, day care centers, private schools, etc. The type of entities that can't afford internal IT people or afford to pay a lot for outside work. You can come in and charge less, now you have references to use....plus these people can refer you to other businesses.

 

Take this as an opportunity. I don't know what your specialty is (IT is pretty broad) but think of a way you can be your own boss.

[DSFastball55]

Yes, I've been thinking of starting up something on my own and now is probably the time to do it. Does anyone have any good links or tips on how to start a small business? I'd need to read up on things like how to actually regtister a business, how to handle taxes, liability insurance, etc. Anything else I'd need to know that you guys can think of? Also how to get my name out there - I'll put up a website obviously but do you think sending out flyers to local businesses maybe would be the way to go? Thanks for your help/advice!

[JJHardy7]

Yes, I've been thinking of starting up something on my own and now is probably the time to do it. Does anyone have any good links or tips on how to start a small business? I'd need to read up on things like how to actually regtister a business, how to handle taxes, liability insurance, etc. Anything else I'd need to know that you guys can think of? Also how to get my name out there - I'll put up a website obviously but do you think sending out flyers to local businesses maybe would be the way to go? Thanks for your help/advice!

 

A big worry in my mind would be what type of entity you decide to start. I don't want to get too personal, but are you married? If so, does your wife work? Like most new businesses you will probably lose a bit starting out and depending on how you set up your entity you could deduct all this and possibly get your tax to zero or a refund. Again, I don't want to be too personal, but it's an important piece to the puzzle IMO.

[DSFastball55]

Nope, not married but I do have a son who is with me 50% of the time. Thanks.