What are my skills?

Does my inability to find a Work at Home job mean that I have a lack of skills? Some of the websites I have found encourage me to turn my passion into a job. Is there a job that pays you to watch daytime TLC and eat Funyuns? I seriously doubt it. Besides, Funyuns have MSG in them, and everyone knows that eating MSG will make you fat.

But, I digress... (yay I got to use the word 'digress'). What are my talents, my skills? I am mildly entertaining, but not really in a written format. I make my husband laugh a lot, but he is usually laughing AT me and he's not offering any pay for that. I can type pretty quickly which made me think that I could get a transcription job. Did you know that those are very competitive and hard to get into? There are also a lot of scams out there as well. I'm an okay listener and I'm pretty decent at getting a word in edgewise, but I don't think anyone is hiring for a best friend.

I took a career exploration class in college and there were a lot of suggestions from the personality tests that we took. Here are the top 3.

1. Faller
   • The person who yells "Timber" from the top of a giant tree
   • Con: High fatality rate
   • Pro: Dead coworkers mean lots of room for upward mobility (pun totally intended).
2. Choreographer
   • Let's not get too excited about this one because I cannot dance
3. Wildlife Game Warden
   • Pro: You get to work outside
   • Con: It rains outside
   • Pro: You get to carry a gun
   • ConL You carry that gun because both poachers and bears are going to try to kill you.

I'm not trying to be too picky, but I don't think that these choices are conducive to my life or my lifestyle. So the search continues.

Make Your Own Hours Jobs

In a previous post Work at Home Mom I went over the lists of jobs that allow you to make your own hours or work from home and all of the issues that I have with each one. I realized today that all of these lists were missing something.

Hair Stylist

That seems like a great idea! Of course, one would have to go to cosmetology school or whatever it's called and get a license, but that seems easy. After that you can work from home (I know someone who does), or lease a chair and make your own hours (I know someone who does that, too). You can work your dream hours of while the kiddos are at school, and in this case it's not so bad because that's when all the other mommies have the time to get their haircuts.

of course, you'd have to work at it. It is a job after all and that kind of spells out work. You'd have to build your client base and then keep up with them so that they don't run off to supercuts when you're not looking. You'd have to be available and competitive, and that might be hard if you're leasing a chair or running a business out of your home.

I think it's doable though and I can't figure out why it wasn't on the list. It's a job that a lot of people are very successful at and I think it would work out well for anyone who is self motivated and is able to manage a business.

So, I am adding my own little item to the list of things you can do at home, or do on your own time and that is cutting hair. So there, internet!

Work at Home Mom

I'm still in the process of trying to find a job I can do from home where I can make my own hours. I'm not object to working outside of the home as long as I get to make my own hours but I'm pretty sure the chances of finding that are slim to none. I have been scouring the internet, which we all know is the end all be all of information - right? But I have yet to find something that is going to work for me. In fact, it seems like I am finding the same list on every website I checkout. Whether it's the Huffington Post, a grandparents' website, or an independent blogger, they are all saying the same things. And I have issue with most of them.

Get Paid to Surf the Web - If you have a college degree.

Be a Personal Shopper - Although no one can tell you how to start or how to contact someone who might need that service. Hopefully, you've been networking with your local movie star who is too busy to go out and get their own things.

Call Center / Customer Service Rep - Enjoy being on the waiting list IF your state is is one of those which are listed for this employer.

Direct Sales - One forum poster put it this way, "Avon - everyone is selling it and no one is buying it."

Answer questions for ChaCha - Not currently hiring.

I'm not trying to be a sourpuss, but none of these suggestions really work for me. I'm still not sure what I am going to do.

Phone call from a Monkey

In the effort to try to get a work from home career off the ground, or at least find a job that will let me make my own hours, I stumbled across Monkeyphonecall.com. You arrange for this business to call someone - a friend, a sibling, a coworker, even yourself - and make monkey noises.

I haven't tried it, I'm not getting paid to tell you about it, but I DO greatly admire whoever created and is running this thing and I definitely wanted to link to it. Perhaps when I get my own creative business up and running the good ju-ju will come back to me.

AdShouts Helps Me Work From Home

Work at Home - www.adshouts.com

Everyone knows that I am always looking for ways to make money from home, more specifically from blogging at home. And of course, I always share when I find something good! At AdShouts, you pick your own price - how much you want to be paid. You also choose Ads that are relevent to you. They pay you straight through paypal , much like the izea website. Follow this link to see a quick how-to video and decide if it's right for you.

sponsored like

Crystal Boyes's profile on MyLikes

Get Paid To Work From Home

Everyone knows that I want to work from home. I blog about it all the time, and I even use this blog to try to make a little money here and there. Every time I learn about a new work from home opportunity, I like to share it with my readers. If you want to work from home and stay home with the kids, or just be your own boss, then you can check out this link.

I use WeReward!

Hey, I'm not getting paid to write this post. I always tell you when I am writing a sponsored post, so if I don't mention it at the very beginning of my blog, then it's not paid. I just wanted to be very clear that this is not one of them.

I have been using the WeReward app on my iphone that I blogged about earlier today. It's so fantastic! You only make a little bit at first, but the more you frequent places, the points go up. You can claim points for places that you're going to anyway, or you can play scavenger hunt and take pictures of places as you drive by.

I have been having so much fun with this app. While it hasn't made me rich, and I've only accumulated about 60 cents today, I can see this adding up. You can check in about very 15 minutes and can do up to six "brown" check ins a day, but there are other colored coded check-ins available too. I'm not sure if there is a limit to the other colors of check-ins per day because the app didn't outline that, but I haven't been cut off yet, so I am assuming not.

If you have an iPhone and you want to check out this app CLICK HERE to learn more and sign up! I am totally loving it so far! For realies!

Working From Home on the Go

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everyone knows that my ultimate goal is to work from home in some way or another. I have looked into several different ways to earn money from home. That is why you will see some paid posts and ads on my blog. This is just one way that I am trying to earn a little extra money and stay home with my kid. I have looked into other opportunities, but not all of them can be done during nap time!

My interest in working from home caused this new iPhone app to catch my eye, espeically with a release of the new iPhone 4 on 6/24. Within about 3 seconds after seeing an ad for WeReward.com, I was already on my iphone to Download the App.

I went to the website to learn more and watched this youtube video. Before the video was even over the app was on my iphone and all set up.I have been spending money on this iphone for a couple of months now, and I am happy to see a way for it to pay me back!

The coolest thing about this app is that I don't really have to do anything different, I only need to do them differently. I already go places, and once I am there, I already tweet and facebook about it. It seems like most places are only willing to give a small amount of points per post, but that's okay because it's sure to add up.

I am looking at the places that are on this list and I could have already made a couple of bucks today! I wish I would have downloaded this app earlier in the day! Most places want a picture of the business in your post. That's fine with me! I am sure I can find something wonderful and witty to say about every one of these places. I haven't seen a business yet that requires you to actually consume their product. That's cool! I'll take a snap shot driving by and post it to facebook, I don't care! At 5 cents a pop, my love comes cheap, but just wait til I am cashing in!

The bottom line is that this is a fast, easy, and effective way to make a little money for doing things that I already do. I have also already learned about some businesses in my neighborhood that I otherwise wouldn't have known existed. I can see how the businesses get a lot out of this, and why shouldn't I get a little something too? I have been posting things on FB for years, being a billboard for businesses I frequent, and they haven't rewarded me with anything yet. Until now!

Open Carry Article

I have more exciting news everyone! I have been published again on Associated Content. I was paid $2.00 for this article about the open carry controversy.

Writing articles like this one for Associated Content are allowing me to make money working from home. I haven't made enough to quit my day job, but blogging from home has helped me earn a little extra money on the side. Just a little extra income is helping my family and I am doing it blogging from home. Its my dream to work from home only and be able to be a stay at home mom.

At this point it isn't a realization, but I can see it on the horizon.

Me Likey

I just learned about a new way to earn money on my blog. It's called MyLikes. The reason that I think it is worth a try is because you get to choose the advertisers that are on your blog. You create a banner filled with links to things you actually like! Then those things are posted to your twitter, facebook, or blog; you make the choice.

MyLikes is a CPC program where the advertiser pays you every time someone clicks on the link that you post. It works similarly to Google adsense, from what I can tell. The beauty is, as I mentioned before, you get to choose the ads that are displayed on your site. I like to have this control. It means that I know there won't be any weirdos advertising on my blog through MyLikes.

Right now I am testing MyLikes on Twitter. It seems really easy to use and I look forward to finding out more about how it works. I promise to write a post letting everyone know how it all worked out.

If I Ran SocialSpark

So, I was reading this article on DragonBlogger.com about what he would personally change about the IZEA services. First off, I should say that DragonBlogger has been a huge help to me this month; my first month writing sponsored posts. His articles have helped me to know what to expect from, how to use, and where to find sites that will connect me with sponsors. When I saw a "spark" opportunity listed by him, I knew I wanted to take it.

As I mentioned, writing sponsored posts is a new thing for me. As I thought about what I would change, my first thought was DragonBlogger's first thought as well. I want to get paid faster! When I write posts for Blogvertise.com (which I learned about from DraggonBlogger, by the way) I get paid right away. When I write for AssociatedContent I get paid right away. When I write a paid post for Blogvertise, I supposedly get paid 30 days after the post is approved. I wouldn't know, since I haven't been writing for them for more than 30 days.

My experience with SocialSpark is a little limited since I am still new. I have only done 3 paid posts with them so far, the rest have all been free posts in exchange for links or free services. I should probably mention that I don't think I would have any paid post opportunities at all if I hadn't followed the instructions in this article written by - guess who - DragonBlogger. I started taking "Spark" Opportunities, which are the non paid ones I mentioned, because he said that it would help me gain an active presence. Looks like it worked. I'm making more money than I thought I would be, I would just like to see my paycheck sooner.

I'd really like to know how to qualify for more opps. I'm sure someone out there knows the secret, but I wish the details were easier to find. So far all that I can manage to find is that I need to work on making my blog more popular. There has to be more to it than that, right? Well, don't ask me because I can't seem to find an answer on the site.

Another thing that I would change, speaking from my limited experience, is that I would make it easier to find personal support. Initially, my blog was approved. After taking only a couple of opps, I was sent an email telling me that my blog was no longer approved because it appeared to be only for sponsored content. I scoured the page for a way to contact a real person to make my argument. Eventually, I submitted a trouble ticket explaining that only 4 out of 150 posts on my blog had been sponsored. Submitting the ticket worked. The next day there was an email waiting for me saying that my blog was re-approved. Since then things have been running smoothly, but this little hiccup stressed me out for a minute there!

Lastly, I find the site hard to navigate. Sometimes I come to a section of the site and I don't know how I got there. Then when I leave, I can't find out how to get back. I feel like I am pretty intuitive. I mastered the BlackBerry Bold 9000 with ease, so a website should be a snap. I can work a Windows Mobile device, so that means that I can think like a computer and that I have robot dreams. I don't think that a site layout should stump me the way that the SocialSpark site does. It looks pretty though, I do enjoy that.

Oh, one more teeny tiny thing. My profile picture is all stretched out. I don't like that very much.

My 2nd Article Published

I've been published again! This is my 2nd article and I am so excited. It's about the tusk of a Columbian Mammoth that was found in a nearby town called Ridgefield, Wa. Please check it out here and let me know what you think!

I've really been enjoying writing for Associated Content. I can write about whatever I want and they pay me for it. I think its a great way to get free experience as a writer. One of my coworkers is going to be signing up soon. She says she wants to practice writing again to prepare herself to go back to school. I think that is a great idea! Practicing will definitely make her better at writing. It will freshen up her skills, and she will get paid for submitting her content! Super smart.

If you want to give it a try, you can click on the associated content button on my side bar that says, "join submit earn".

Getting Paid to Blog From Home

If you read my blog, then you know that I have a dream of getting paid to write from home. I am happy to announce that I am one step closer to my dream!

I've been published! I wrote this article for associated content and made $2.42. I'm quite happy about it! It doesn't seem like much, but it stands for something huge. It means that I can put myself out there and work from home. It might only be part time, and it might only be spare change, but right now we can use all the help we can get! I'm hoping that this is really going to help my family in the long run.

If you want to give AssociatedContent a try, you don't have anything to lose. This isn't a sponsored post. This is me; a mom, trying to tell you that you can blog from home and make money. You can spend more time with your family and have a little extra money to have fun. With my $2.42 cents, I took Caleb to the $3.00 theater to see The Princess and the Frog. I'm so happy that I was able to spend time with him with the money that I earned blogging from home!

Please read the article that I blogged from home! It's about how chemical forms of flea control can be hazardous to your family's health.

Here is an excerpt:

It makes sense when you think about it. If you are pouring enough poison on your pet to kill fleas for 3 months, its probably harmful to your cat or dog as well. Children are also especially sensitive to chemicals and pesticides. It's amazing that in a time when we will pay 3 times more for an organic apple, we still bring pesticides into our homes and put our loved ones in direct danger.

I can't wait to get paid to do more blogging from home! I'd love to be able to spend more time with my family.