I'm sorry it's taken so long for this post. So much has happened. Back and forth from the VA Hospital to the private doctor with Big "A" and "A"'s first cheerleading and basketball practices (YAYY!!! But exahausting!). Not to include homework, quizzes, and discussions in class. Plus it's the end of the company's fiscal year and my numbers for work are due like....yesterday...lol. Oh and did I mention I got my hair cut...lol. Yes, it's been a busy couple of weeks. Anyways...back to Odesk. Of course with all of this going on my research was limited (and it will be for about a week---I had a death in the family).
From what I saw so far, I had to pass tests (such as Office 2003, Odesk's initial test, etc). With Odesk's initial test you are given as many opportunities as you need to pass, but with the other tests you can't retake the test for 90 days. Once you create your profile and take the tests, you are given access to the jobs avaliable. From what I've seen, you have to create a cover letter (insert it for the job wanted of course), and submit your profile. After a set time, interviews will be given (via chat feature) to the most qualified candidates. Odesk does prepare you well for interview giving a list of questions you should ask and how you should conduct yourselves. Overall, I think (so far anyway), that Odesk can be a great option---once I figure out how to fit it into this busy life of mine...lol. I will definitely keep you posted on my progress (or lack of).
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Odesk: Option for freelancers?
Okay, why did I place the "?" by my title. Well, I haven't tried it completely yet...lol. You get to walk through the trial with me. Odesk is a freelance bid site that provides the work, free (except for the 10% that you as the provider will have to pay at the end----which is better than some sites where you have to pay every month). So I signed up for a "free" account and am going through the process now. I have to take assessments, and can't do that right now because I'm at work (and I would have to download the Odesk system on my computer). So I will definitely be doing that tonight (and yes I'll blog my experience).
From what I've been reading from my research online, Odesk uses a tracking system to make sure you are only being paid for the time worked (which is fine, but is a little "big brotherish" and plain out creepy), and pays every week (which is better than most sites who pay monthly). Of course I'm not looking for the work nor the process to be easy, but would like to be worth my time. Freelancing is not easy, but I'm willing to give it a try :).
Just because I haven't completed the process doesn't mean that I won't try to refer you to the site to try it for yourself. The referral link is on the side and bottom of this blog.
From what I've been reading from my research online, Odesk uses a tracking system to make sure you are only being paid for the time worked (which is fine, but is a little "big brotherish" and plain out creepy), and pays every week (which is better than most sites who pay monthly). Of course I'm not looking for the work nor the process to be easy, but would like to be worth my time. Freelancing is not easy, but I'm willing to give it a try :).
Just because I haven't completed the process doesn't mean that I won't try to refer you to the site to try it for yourself. The referral link is on the side and bottom of this blog.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Associated Content & Ehow: Option for those who like to write
About three months ago I started to search work at home forums. A great work at home forum, WAHM.com, became my new obsession. I searched this forum for any opportunity that wouldn't take me from my family for too long and long and behold came sites that paid for written articles. Among them were Constant Content, Demand Studios, Quality Gal, Ehow, About.com, and Associated Content. I started gathering information about each option.
Constant Content allows authors to sell E-Books and articles. To be sucessful, you may want to have written a few articles and have a subject that readers are interested in. So this option for me was for later.
Demand Studios and Quality Gal required resumes. As you saw form previous posts, my resume consist of Accounting, and I didn't have a lot of time to do a new resume (I figured I would find time after I get some experience).
So my choices were down to Ehow, Associated Content, and About.com . About.com allows you to write articles and write a blog about a certain subject as a guide. Well of course none of those subjects were subjects that I could pass a 17 day training course on (that's how long their training course is). I check About.com weekly for new subjects. I would love to write for About.com. About.com pays it's guides through residuals. They guarantee $725 a month in compensation even if your residuals don't provide you with that much. So there wasn't but two other choices...Associated Content.
From what I read at the WAHM.com forum, Associated Content and Ehow was the best option for someone like me who had loved to write, but didn't have any documented article writing experience. Ehow allows anyone to write steps on how to do anything (from sewing to making rice). I signed up for a free account and decided to show people how to.....well....I couldn't come up with anything...lol. So off to Associated Content. I read about how to not choose a pen name because if one of Associated Content's partners were looking for someone to write, they would pick someone with their name on their article. I created an account and looked at the calls for content. Off to writing I went. I've only written three articles (actually two articles and a poem), but at least I'm out there. Associated Content does not pay well, but does pay. My first article paid $4.27 (I know not much...lol). You also get paid residuals. It took about 30 minutes to write an article, so $4.27 for 30 minutes isn't so bad for writing a "first time" article. Associated Content pays via Paypal so a free Paypal account will be needed. I love Paypal because it's safe and free (simple reasons I know...lol).
Associated Content also allows you to have your own RSS feed, add subscribers who will be notified everytime you publish an article, and invite others on Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Windows Live.
Check out my Content Page. The link is on the right side of this blog :)
Constant Content allows authors to sell E-Books and articles. To be sucessful, you may want to have written a few articles and have a subject that readers are interested in. So this option for me was for later.
Demand Studios and Quality Gal required resumes. As you saw form previous posts, my resume consist of Accounting, and I didn't have a lot of time to do a new resume (I figured I would find time after I get some experience).
So my choices were down to Ehow, Associated Content, and About.com . About.com allows you to write articles and write a blog about a certain subject as a guide. Well of course none of those subjects were subjects that I could pass a 17 day training course on (that's how long their training course is). I check About.com weekly for new subjects. I would love to write for About.com. About.com pays it's guides through residuals. They guarantee $725 a month in compensation even if your residuals don't provide you with that much. So there wasn't but two other choices...Associated Content.
From what I read at the WAHM.com forum, Associated Content and Ehow was the best option for someone like me who had loved to write, but didn't have any documented article writing experience. Ehow allows anyone to write steps on how to do anything (from sewing to making rice). I signed up for a free account and decided to show people how to.....well....I couldn't come up with anything...lol. So off to Associated Content. I read about how to not choose a pen name because if one of Associated Content's partners were looking for someone to write, they would pick someone with their name on their article. I created an account and looked at the calls for content. Off to writing I went. I've only written three articles (actually two articles and a poem), but at least I'm out there. Associated Content does not pay well, but does pay. My first article paid $4.27 (I know not much...lol). You also get paid residuals. It took about 30 minutes to write an article, so $4.27 for 30 minutes isn't so bad for writing a "first time" article. Associated Content pays via Paypal so a free Paypal account will be needed. I love Paypal because it's safe and free (simple reasons I know...lol).
Associated Content also allows you to have your own RSS feed, add subscribers who will be notified everytime you publish an article, and invite others on Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Windows Live.
Check out my Content Page. The link is on the right side of this blog :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Quick Dinner Tip
I know...dinner in the middle of a making money blog...how tacky is that....DEAL WITH IT...lol. I want this blog to be more than just about how to make money. I want this blog to be about how to make money and keep you family happy. Here's a quick idea that I modified from KFC and cooked last night.
It was crazy last night. One of Big "A"'s service-connected disabilities flared up, so he's home until Friday (on some heavy duty medicine I might add), so it was up to me to make sure "A" was washed up, dinner was finished, "A" was in bed on time, "A" got her homework done, my homework got done, and Big "A" was taken care of. I took out a package of Tyson's Natural Chicken Tenderloins (more on the deals you can find on these in future postings) and started to look around for the grease. Well what do you know.....NO GREASE. So I pulled out the salt and seasoned pepper and the George Foreman Grill (well actually the grill that looks and work just like George Foreman Grill...lol). I made some rice and corn (the quickest dishes that would allow me to cook and wash a five year old). After washing "A" and making sure she was in her pajamas, I went downstairs to fix her and Big "A"'s food. That's when it hit me (*lightbulb*). "A" loves the potato bowl from KFC, why not use the same concept. So that's what I did. First, I took a spoonful of rice and spread it around a little. Then, I took a spoonful of corn and placed it on top of the rice. I then took the grilled chicken tenderloins and placed it on top of the corn. After that I took some Borden Pizza Blend shredded cheese (it was on sale---any cheese will work) and placed it over the chicken. I heated it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave and BAM there's a creative dinner. "A" loved it and I was considered "...the best Mommy in the world" (according to my adorable five year old). For those who need the Dinner Tip in Receipe Form, here you go:
Ingredients:
1 can of cooked corn (or about 4 oz of frozen corn)
1 cup of cooked white rice (yellow rice can be used)
1 package of Tyson Natural Chicken Tenderloins (Breasts can be used---just cut in 4-8 pieces)
Borden Pizza Blend shredded cheese (any shredded cheese will work)
About 1 tsp of seasoned pepper (eye the amount)
Sprinkle of salt (eye the amount)
Vinegar (optional; I wash all meats with Vinegar)
Directions:
Season Chicken with salt and seasoned pepper (after washing down with Vinegar--optional); Place Chicken on grill (George Foreman Grill or like product) with each piece being flat and both sides touching a side of the grill---let cook until center is white; Cook Rice; Cook Corn; Fix a plate with the following layers from bottom to top: Rice, Corn, Chicken, Cheese and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Enjoy!
It was crazy last night. One of Big "A"'s service-connected disabilities flared up, so he's home until Friday (on some heavy duty medicine I might add), so it was up to me to make sure "A" was washed up, dinner was finished, "A" was in bed on time, "A" got her homework done, my homework got done, and Big "A" was taken care of. I took out a package of Tyson's Natural Chicken Tenderloins (more on the deals you can find on these in future postings) and started to look around for the grease. Well what do you know.....NO GREASE. So I pulled out the salt and seasoned pepper and the George Foreman Grill (well actually the grill that looks and work just like George Foreman Grill...lol). I made some rice and corn (the quickest dishes that would allow me to cook and wash a five year old). After washing "A" and making sure she was in her pajamas, I went downstairs to fix her and Big "A"'s food. That's when it hit me (*lightbulb*). "A" loves the potato bowl from KFC, why not use the same concept. So that's what I did. First, I took a spoonful of rice and spread it around a little. Then, I took a spoonful of corn and placed it on top of the rice. I then took the grilled chicken tenderloins and placed it on top of the corn. After that I took some Borden Pizza Blend shredded cheese (it was on sale---any cheese will work) and placed it over the chicken. I heated it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave and BAM there's a creative dinner. "A" loved it and I was considered "...the best Mommy in the world" (according to my adorable five year old). For those who need the Dinner Tip in Receipe Form, here you go:
Ingredients:
1 can of cooked corn (or about 4 oz of frozen corn)
1 cup of cooked white rice (yellow rice can be used)
1 package of Tyson Natural Chicken Tenderloins (Breasts can be used---just cut in 4-8 pieces)
Borden Pizza Blend shredded cheese (any shredded cheese will work)
About 1 tsp of seasoned pepper (eye the amount)
Sprinkle of salt (eye the amount)
Vinegar (optional; I wash all meats with Vinegar)
Directions:
Season Chicken with salt and seasoned pepper (after washing down with Vinegar--optional); Place Chicken on grill (George Foreman Grill or like product) with each piece being flat and both sides touching a side of the grill---let cook until center is white; Cook Rice; Cook Corn; Fix a plate with the following layers from bottom to top: Rice, Corn, Chicken, Cheese and place in the microwave for 30 seconds. Enjoy!
Tutor.com-Option for those who like moral reward as well as monetary
"Big A" started to work on getting his degree from Art Institute Online during the beginning of the year (2008), and the class that he was in offered Smarthinking to its students. "Big A" used Smarthinking as a requirement to his freshman orientation class, and we both found it fascinating. It used an interactive whiteboard and had interactive with a live person (24/7). It was amazing. Well, "Big A" asked me if that was something that I would be interested in. I used to tutor my God brother when he was younger and helped various kids through our family with their homework as I grew up and he remembered me mentioning this. I thought about it and told him that I would check into it. I checked it out that next day. Smarthinking required a resume and other requirements depending on the subject. Well, as you can expect the first thing I thought is "my resume experience is in Accounting and my degree is in Business...how in the heck am I going to get hired a as tutor with no experience in the last five years as a tutor". That was kind of intimidating. I decided to look at services like Smarthinking and found Tutor.com.
Unlike Smarthinking, Tutor.com didn't require a resume, but did require a degree (or for you to be a college student) and assessments for each subject that you wanted to teach. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get some recent experience and make a little money so I applied. Well, I did horrible on the Elementary Science (which I was totally surprised about----I was always good in Science way back when), and wasn't EVEN going to try Social Studies. I did pass 4th-6th grade Math (which was not surprising---I loved Math way back when and minored in Accounting for my Bachelor's as well as working in Accounting) and also passed English writing (I have always loved to write and still do---more on that in future postings). Although I passed the assessments there was one problem....there was a waiting list. So I said "Oh well", and thought that was the end of that.
Over the next few months I worked hard to finish my classes and finally starting seeing end of tunnel for graduation. I graduated in June 2008. Although I was still searching for other options for making money at home, Tutor.com didn't cross my mind again. I forgot about it. That is until August, when I got the "Congratulations" email. I was really surprised and had to calm myself down. I learned about their application process (which was quite thorough). I first had to write an essay describing my tutoring skills. After passing that (it took about a day for me to get notification), I got all of the tutor manuals (both e-book and videos) and had to study them to prepare for my mock session. The mock session was scheduled after turning in all of my paperwork (which included a background check). It took about two days to find out if I passed my mock session. Once I passed my mock session, I had to wait about a week for my background check to come back. After about a week (give or take a day or so) I received the "Welcome" email. The whole process (along with some time that I had to wait due to Mommy duties :)) took about a month. I started officially in October.
I started my sessions and have been working every week ever since. I have to work a minimum of five hours a week (which is great because some weeks it's hard to find even that much free time), you start off as a probationary tutor making $9/hour (It goes up to $11-$12/hour once you meet the requirements and get promoted to Tutor 1), and help kids who sometimes don't have the resources.
I haven't made a heck of a lot from Tutor.com ($163 and change for the month of October), but combined with my other options I hope to make a decent amount over the next couple of months. If there's one thing that I have learned with this journey (and reading about other people's journeys), it may take a while for you to reach your "extra" money goals. Also for those who say "$9 and $11 an hour, is she crazy?", I will remind them to look at the expenses (mentally and physically)that married mother would have to incurr just to work a side job. Let's look at the following:
Gas (until recently was ridiculous) : $1.85-$2.10/gallon (takes about 17 gallons to fill up)
Sleep : PRICELESS
Ability to work in your pajamas: PRICELESS
Ability to work after putting your
child to sleep: PRICELESS
When you look at your piece of mind and the absence of expenses, the $9/$11 per hour doesn't sound half as bad (especially since it's only a side job).
I set a goal for $250, for next month from Tutor.com. I will work towards it, but family comes first :)
Unlike Smarthinking, Tutor.com didn't require a resume, but did require a degree (or for you to be a college student) and assessments for each subject that you wanted to teach. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get some recent experience and make a little money so I applied. Well, I did horrible on the Elementary Science (which I was totally surprised about----I was always good in Science way back when), and wasn't EVEN going to try Social Studies. I did pass 4th-6th grade Math (which was not surprising---I loved Math way back when and minored in Accounting for my Bachelor's as well as working in Accounting) and also passed English writing (I have always loved to write and still do---more on that in future postings). Although I passed the assessments there was one problem....there was a waiting list. So I said "Oh well", and thought that was the end of that.
Over the next few months I worked hard to finish my classes and finally starting seeing end of tunnel for graduation. I graduated in June 2008. Although I was still searching for other options for making money at home, Tutor.com didn't cross my mind again. I forgot about it. That is until August, when I got the "Congratulations" email. I was really surprised and had to calm myself down. I learned about their application process (which was quite thorough). I first had to write an essay describing my tutoring skills. After passing that (it took about a day for me to get notification), I got all of the tutor manuals (both e-book and videos) and had to study them to prepare for my mock session. The mock session was scheduled after turning in all of my paperwork (which included a background check). It took about two days to find out if I passed my mock session. Once I passed my mock session, I had to wait about a week for my background check to come back. After about a week (give or take a day or so) I received the "Welcome" email. The whole process (along with some time that I had to wait due to Mommy duties :)) took about a month. I started officially in October.
I started my sessions and have been working every week ever since. I have to work a minimum of five hours a week (which is great because some weeks it's hard to find even that much free time), you start off as a probationary tutor making $9/hour (It goes up to $11-$12/hour once you meet the requirements and get promoted to Tutor 1), and help kids who sometimes don't have the resources.
I haven't made a heck of a lot from Tutor.com ($163 and change for the month of October), but combined with my other options I hope to make a decent amount over the next couple of months. If there's one thing that I have learned with this journey (and reading about other people's journeys), it may take a while for you to reach your "extra" money goals. Also for those who say "$9 and $11 an hour, is she crazy?", I will remind them to look at the expenses (mentally and physically)that married mother would have to incurr just to work a side job. Let's look at the following:
Gas (until recently was ridiculous) : $1.85-$2.10/gallon (takes about 17 gallons to fill up)
Sleep : PRICELESS
Ability to work in your pajamas: PRICELESS
Ability to work after putting your
child to sleep: PRICELESS
When you look at your piece of mind and the absence of expenses, the $9/$11 per hour doesn't sound half as bad (especially since it's only a side job).
I set a goal for $250, for next month from Tutor.com. I will work towards it, but family comes first :)
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