Working From Home With A Flexible Schedule
With more than 90% of Americans working remotely, many people have asked themselves how they can work from home and still make enough to support themselves. To answer this question, here are the most important factors to consider when contemplating the flexibility of a remote position.
-The hours you would ideally prefer to work on a daily basis
-The amount of time it takes you to commute and travel in between locations
-Your comfort level with staying connected 24/7 through digital devices
-The amount of effort it would take for you to transition into an online only job opportunity.
Whether you are deciding to go part-time or full-time, remote positions are usually a better fit than traditional 9-5 jobs. But before you can start making money from home, there are several things to consider when looking for successful opportunities.
1) Your Home Setup and Organization. Before you can make money working from your home, you must create an optimal environment that allows you to be productive for hours on end without distracting your family or the people in your household. It is critical that you make sure each part of your living space is structured to maximize productivity and allow for focus work time. This means that you should have a space away from the TV and kitchen for tasks like writing, designing or editing.
2) Time Management is Critical. Since you are working from your home, it is essential that you keep track of how much time you spend on each task, especially if there is a deadline involved. You may have to set time limits in order to stay focused and avoid distractions.
3) Team Communication and Collaboration are Crucial in Remote Jobs. Collaborating with team members can be a challenge because there is no face-to-face communication. Make sure you choose an online solution that allows quick and easy communication by email or group chat, such as Slack. So that you can stay on the same page with your team, make sure you understand the technology your team is using and consider implementing an online tool like Intercom.
4) Online Data Tracking is Essential for Success. You are the boss, but it's not always clear how much time and effort you spend making your company's money. To know exactly what time you are spending on tasks can help motivate you to make fewer errors and improve workflow efficiency. A great software solution to track this information is Time Doctor by Automattic. It helps you track everything from expenses, time spent doing administrative duties, to the time spent in meetings and phone calls with clients.
5) Communicating in a Remote Environment. To make this work, you must communicate effectively with the rest of your team. To be successful at communicating online, you must learn to communicate and collaborate while using technology and social media in a way that works for you. So for instance, it is important to make sure you are comfortable taking advantage of new communication tools like email so that you can keep up with updates from team members and clients easily.
6) Phone Support is Essential for Remaining Competitive in the Market. It's a common misconception that working from home means no need to have customer support on the phone. While it may be easier to manage communication with clients from your home, managing phone calls with customers is critical. So make sure you contact customer support regularly to ensure that your products and services are as effective as possible.
Managing a team of remote workers can take time and effort depending on how large your company is. In the early stages of a company, an individual employee can handle the remote role. However, for larger companies, it's essential that you hire a virtual first assistant or virtual assistant as needed in order to manage tasks like scheduling, project management and more.
There are two types of virtual assistants: permanent and contract. A permanent assistant is someone who has been hired to work permanently within your company. For instance, in the event that you hire a new team member on a full-time basis, that person will become your virtual assistant. The benefit of hiring virtual assistants is that you can get the assistance of a professional without having to hire an entire team member. This can be beneficial for companies who are looking to maximize their efficiency, but don't have the budget or expertise to do so just yet.
A contract worker is someone who comes on per hour or per project basis. For instance, if you don't have a team member to handle your customer support calls, you can hire someone on a per hour basis to come in and handle those calls until you hire a permanent worker. Contract workers usually provide the same services that permanent workers do, but do not stay within your company for an extended period of time.
Remote positions are becoming more popular and are accessible to remote workers regardless of their technical skills or prior work experience. So don't let the notion that you may need certain computer talents or experience stop you from taking advantage of this opportunity to make money at home.
Virtual positions can be found anywhere, including the following:
B2B: These positions are more often focused toward sales and marketing, but they can certainly include design and writing. All of these tasks can be completed over the Internet, so it doesn't necessarily matter where you live. The most important thing is to have a computer and phone will access to the internet.
B2C: Businesses hiring for remote positions in this category should be willing to train workers in technical skills or have basic computer knowledge. For instance, if you have a task that requires writing software applications, it would help if you either had experience or knew how to learn basic skill sets like coding languages like PHP or JavaScript.
How to Find a Remote Job
If you are ready to make money from home, there are plenty of websites that will help you find remote jobs. To find the best jobs, search around for positions in this type of online business and then apply. The most important thing to remember is the quality of work that will be expected in order for you to succeed as a remote worker. It's always best to look at companies with previous reviews because they're more likely to hire good workers and are also more likely to hold decent pay rates and benefits packages. Learn how to take references or ask your current employer for them before applying for any type of job.
Conclusion
There's no doubt that making money from home is possible. However, many people are hesitant to make this transition because they're afraid of not being able to do the work they want to do. The reality is that just about anyone can take advantage of the virtual assistant role, as long as they're willing to focus on their job and learn how to use new tools. In addition, all you need is a computer with access to the internet and a phone. It doesn't have to be expensive either.