Many people would like to make some extra money without leaving the comfort of their own home. The reasons for doing this are not through laziness but more because of circumstance.
Some folks are unable to travel due to lack of transport, finances, or illness. Some people need to combine having children and working from home or have other dependents and cannot commute to towns or locations where work is more readily available.
Working from home historically
There have been many ways to make money from home in the past, before the advent of computers and the internet. It wasn’t unusual for someone to work with a sewing machine at home to fulfill orders. Stuffing envelopes as a home job was another way to make money. Be sure to check this article from the FTC to avoid work-from-home scams. These jobs often delivered little in the way of income and took up a lot of time. Not to mention the space those envelopes and fillers took up.
Working at home with the internet
These days you have the web to browse for entertainment, advice, and also for employment. The positive thing about this is you can not only look for work (such as filling envelopes) but now you can read reviews and research a possible employer to make sure they are legitimate.
The rise of the remote worker
One of the biggest changes to working from home is remote working. This can take on a few forms. One way is for someone to work for a company but instead of being in the office or on-site, they work from their home via the internet. Another way to work like this is called being a digital nomad. In effect, it is the same except the worker is generally traveling or based in another country.
While Covid has reduced activities for digital nomads it has had the opposite effect on domestic remote workers as offices have been closed due to social distancing and health restrictions.
How can you start making money online from home?
It is all very well knowing that many people get to work from home and why but it is another thing actually to find out how to do it. Below are are few ideas for ‘How’ to work from home and, importantly, make money.
Crowdsourcing
Like anyone, businesses also want to save money so they sometimes opt for crowdsourcing. This can be a way to get many people to submit designs for a logo, for instance, and then choose one. Previously a company may have paid thousands of dollars to one agency for a concept but now they can get lots of designers to pitch ideas.
If you have a usable skill in this market, you can submit designs or other forms of work, and if you ‘win’ you will be paid. The pros are you enter as often as you like and quickly build up a volume of work. The negatives include needing a thick skin as you will have multiple rejections before getting paid.
Online trading
Only really suitable for someone with the time to study the market and who is willing to learn when and how to trade. Many trading apps allow entry-level though so this is a possibility but with no guarantee to make a profit.
Open a shop online
Have something to sell? Make your own online shop. In fact, you could start by selling any garments or unwanted items you have at home on an auction site. Once you are used to online selling you could make your own shop.
Become a reseller
Reselling means buying from one source and passing it on for a profit (hopefully) and you can brand the product as your own in many cases.
Good ideas for this are reselling hosting or electronic goods that you can white label. In many instances, you can dropship so you never need to worry about holding stock. You may well need to make a website to make this work.
Blogs, YouTube, and podcasts
Create your own content and attract subscribers and advertising (RSS). This is ideal for a creative with plenty of time and ideas but isn’t expecting to make money too soon.
Starting a successful blog can take a lot of time but could be very rewarding.
Shipping niche items
Depending on your location, you may find something locally that is hard to find abroad. For example, you live in Thailand, and there are many sauces, and spices easily found there, but in the US only specialized shops have them so you could sell them online on eBay to ex-pats and other people willing to pay a premium.
Summary
There are many ways you can make money online from home. Virtual secretaries are a real way to make an income, and if it is just pocket money, you are after look for online surveys and paid reviews. Use the internet to find reputable forms of work and never pay anything to an employer, they are supposed to pay you.