Think Outside The Box

Amid the economy's many ailments,with numerous companies continuing to cut their workforces,or close their doors completely,there is still some good news that has remained mostly off the radar. The at-home work force is growing at a surprising rate and it is encompassing many new occupations.


The down side of this is that there is fierce competition and this means your odds of landing one of these jobs can vary depending on the skills required by the hiring companies. If you succeed and do get hired, you will probably take a pay cut.

But even with a pay cut, look at the bright side, you are saving gas not having to commute back and forth as well as time traveling on busy roads and away from your family activities.  By working at home you will be saving on costs of wardrobe upkeep, meals out, having to get up at the crack of dawn for a long drive!  You now can walk down the hall to your office, or across the bedroom! You can work in your jammies and no one will ever know the difference.


For companies, home-based employees, independent contractors,and freelancers are helping cut costs and improve their bottom line while at the same time are improving their customer service. Full-time, home-based freelancers, and independent contractors in the U.S. are expected to increase by 200,000 workers to 11 million by the end of 2009, says Ray Boggs, a vice president of IDC, Framingham, Mass., a market-research firm; he sees another 200,000-worker increase in 2010.

Workers are finding that if they are not able to find a job with a company, they are able to create their own by taking innovative action and thinking outside the box about how their skills could translate into working for themselves at home.


There are sites which link clients with skilled freelancers. These sites are also seeing a surge in demand for virtual workers with a widening range of professional and technical skills.

There is a company called odesk.com. Their monthly postings which  include graphic design, software, administrative and other projects, rose to 28,000 in the past 30 days! You might be amazed at what skills you have that a company can use.

Another company who has seen a healthy increase is elance.com Monthly hiring on Elance.com is up more than 40% from a year ago. I am sure that other companies of this type have also seen an increase in workers registering to provide services to prospective clients.

Did you know that there are companies where your skills as a translator can land you a position if you are fluent in a foreign language? Lionbridge Technologies, Waltham, Mass., a provider of multilingual services including translation and product testing, is taking on new freelancers. Go browse their website and look at the different types of services that they offer their clients. Some positions are extremely technical and require high skill levels. But I happen to know that there are some very talented people who are now unemployed that are finding it very difficult to find a position in today's job market who are qualified to fill those positions!

I am going to start making you put your thinking caps on but I need your help. We are going to do some interactive brainstorming! If you have already gotten a copy of "What Color Is Your Parachute" you would know what I am referring to!..... Go Buy The Book!!!!!

I would like some of you who are looking for work, or who wish to make the transition to working at home, share with me some of your different skills. I am not just speaking of the ones you have used in a corporate level but also what I call your passion skills. If you could do any job that your heart desired what would it be? Perhaps you enjoy knitting, sewing, basket weaving or candle making. Maybe it is woodworking, tinkering with cars, sculpting, painting,tooling leather,or weaving on a loom. Think of all the hobbies that you have that you enjoy as well as your "work skills."

Do you want to work full time or part time? Do you like to get up early or prefer to sleep in? Do you like to work into the wee hours of the morning? Okay, so it is now 4:22AM and I am going strong.. I took a power nap earlier today but I am normally up till between 2AM and 3AM.

Let's have some fun while we seriously look at new opportunities to earn you some money!