Getting Paid For Your Work!

I have blogged about the various ways that one can work from home !

I have often said that the fastest way to make money is to find a need and fill it.

The best way to make money is to take something that you love and turn it into a business.

Whether you have decided to start your own online business, make money by blogging  or even starting your own consulting business the next thing that has to be done is to decide how you will get paid!

The best (and fastest) way to get paid is to be able to accept credit card payments online.  There are a number of sites that will let you be able to do this!  For example Moneris Solutions has processed more than 3 billion credit and debit card transactions a year, for over 350,000 merchant locations across North America.  Moneris Solutions is your single point of contact for VISA, MasterCard, American Express, INTERAC Direct Payment, and all Point of Sale solutions.

What this means is that you can get paid directly from your site!

Let us say, for example, that you want to sell your homemade crafts online - but don't want to go through Ebay to do it!

First you would set up a website or blog and post pictures of your items for sale.  You would include descriptions of your item (kind of think of it as your own item catalog) and you would also include a link / button where your buyers could click on it and then you would get paid almost immediately!

One of the things that you definitely have to make sure of is that the company that you are going to use for your credit card transactions is very reliable!  Before you decide on such a company make sure to check them out thoroughly!  Use a reputable company for your credit card transactions!

I should also point out (because I read it in a book) that you should also use other methods of payments so that your buyers have more than one option!  I mention and recommend being able to handle credit card transactions online because it is easy, quick and fast! 

But as you are growing your business you may want to be able to give your customers more options - though some may feel uncomfortable with using their own street address as a business address when letting customers pay by money order or check.

Personally I have received online payments using the online systems and I have to tell you that it is great!

You may think that no one would want to pay you for your product or services but you will never know unless you try!

A few years ago I never thought that someone would actually pay me to design a website for them but they did!  That was my very first computer-related-paying job and I have NEVER looked back since!

So now is the time for you to get started!  The holiday season is fast approaching and if you have some sort of product or service to provide the sooner that people know about it the better (and the sooner your potential to get paid!!

This blog post has been sponsored by:

Moneris Solutions -
now accepting credit cards online

There Are Other Ways To Make Money Online Too!

I have another blog about taking paid surveys as another way of making money online. As a result of that blog, I found another site that could be used as another way to be able to generate some more income.

Another way that you could earn some money online would be for you to write some articles (yes, just like a writer!) and submit them online. There is one website that I am currently investigating now - actually I'm trying to register with them - that will pay you for your article submissions! Actually to break it down more accurately they have different types of payments. For example what they seem to be best known for is the fact that people can submit articles and you earn money the more that people view your article. Another payment option is that this site will pay you upfront for articles before they are published.

Unfortunately I'm having some problems with trying to join this site! I am about 2/3rd's away from completing the process to register but I'm having problems with this last step. I have already sent them an email to discuss the problem. They also have a fax number as well as a physical address and phone number that I can use to contact them as well.

If all goes well with this site I will let you know.

But this isn't the only site that is offering payment for submitting articles. There are others out there as well. The more legitimate they are - the better!

Looking For A Quick Way To Make A Few Bucks?

Just found this site online!

It seems that Paypal has a site where people offer money for "doing stuff"! One example is someone offering $20 to clean their room!

Paypal calls it "doing stuff for money".

How it works is that you enter your name, the person's name who you are making the offer to, how much you are offering and what it is that you want done.

So far I haven't found any "open" invitations - meaning you have to specifically enter in someone's email address instead of making your paypal offer open to everyone.

Paypal's Do Stuff For Money

If You Use Paypal And/Or Ebay - Get Ready For The IRS!

Just found out that starting in the year 2011, Paypal and Ebay are going to have to start reporting member earnings to the IRS! - YIKES!

Now not everyone will have to report their earnings / income from either Ebay or Paypal under certain conditions! It's best to read more about it by clicking here.

"How Can My Band's Site Be More Profitable?"

"How can I make bands website come off as profitable and stable?
Right now I am learning HTML but I want to know what else is really needed to have a website come off as profitable and stable. This is for a bands website."

It depends on what you mean by "have a website come off as profitable and stable" - what are you talking about?

Do you want to make a profit from the website for your band? Do you want your site to look professional? Are you talking about selling stuff as far as your band goes? You can show pictures of what your band has to sell, take payments via paypal. You can also add adsense ads to your site as well. You earn money when people click on the ads.

A lot of bands have myspace pages but you can't add adsense ads to myspace pages but you CAN have both a myspace and a regular website.

Your band could also get sponsors and advertisers of their own.

You could also start a podcast/talkshow featuring your band - all for free!

There are a lot of free ways to make your site profitable but you have to do the work and not just build a site and then do nothing else to it.

Sister2brother

My Blog - Free Things That I Have Found On The Internet!

How Much Is Your Time Worth?

I found this very interesting calculator-type quiz that helps to determine how much an hour of your time would be worth - all dependent on how much money you would like to make in a year, how many weeks per year you would want to work, how many days per week do you want to work and how many hours per day would you like to work?

I took the quiz myself and my answer came out to over $1,500 per hour!

How Much Is Your Time Worth?

Are You Interested In A Graphic Design Fellowship?

As I have probably mentioned before, I do grant research. That is I do research on government grant programs and other grant programs for clients who are looking for grant programs that they may be eligible to apply for.

In my research I found out that there is currently a fellowship program for graphic designers in India. I posted about it on my Dream Job Forum.

This fellowship program for graphic designers actually includes a stipend - which means that you will be paid for your graphic design work!

You can read more about it by clicking here

"Bones

This is one of my favorite TV shows! Initially I started watching it because I am a big fan of David Boreanaz (and yes I'm a big "Angel" and Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan too

But as I started to watch the program I grew more interested in the main female character. (and its supposed to be based on a real-life woman). The reason being is because she is good at what she does - so much so that she has become wealthy by getting her own book deals - and yes this does happen in real life! Also since she is so good at what she does people (and the government) seek her out because of her expertise!

Now I know that this is only a TV show but it does have some similarities to real life in that it shows a great example of someone who loves what they do and who have managed to make a good living at it.

Now "Bones" may not be your sort of thing but it does illustrate a good point - the one I mentioned above.

I also watched "Hell's Kitchen" with Gordon Ramsey - another example of someone who loves what he does and has managed to create a financial empire from it!

I was reading an article from my local paper about a guy who enjoys running. He started at the age of ten. Now in his 50's he has already written 2 books!

All of the above examples, great examples of those who love what they do and have managed to earn money from it!

You'd Probably Be Surprised At The Kind Of Clients You Can Get!

Okay! You have a computer and you would like to work from home BUT you don't know what you could possibly do?

Well the mere fact that you have a computer of your own at home is a very big PLUS!

Of course I hope that it doesn't surprise you that not everyone has their own computer. Even more interesting is the fact that even though some people do have a computer they are still willing to pay other people to find information for them!

Here is a good example!

I have a client which is an older woman who pays me to find the cheapest airline flights for her. She is a former co-worker and I still see here often and when she found out that I was a computer nut she asked me to find her some cheaper airline fares. Now she does have a computer of her own but for reasons of her own she would rather have someone else find the information for her. (And in this case that someone else just happens to be me!


You never know where a possible client can come from!

Comments Received

LivingAtHome said...

Excellent post and blog, all in all. I just started a blog on this subject as well, and I too felt myself compelled to mention the possibilities of just owning a computer right away in my first post. :)

One Man's Blog Sells For $15 MILLION Dollars!

If anything I hope this inspires you! I am providing a link to a blog post about 1 man's blog that sold for $15 Million Dollars!

1 Man's Blog Sells For $15 Million Dollars!

You can find more detailed information about this by clicking here!

Basically one man's blog about banking information so interested one company that that company was willing to pay a LOT of money to acquire it!

I hope this gives you a lot of hope and inspiration (and motivation)!

"I Want To Work From Home!"

I have been looking to work from home for a long time. I don't have money to put up front and finding something legitimate seems impossible. There are so many scams out there. Right now I just need to make money but I would eventually like to start my own mommy/twin business. Being a mother of twins childcare is outrageous and returning to the work world is going to cost me more than staying at home making nothing. Any ideas?

My email is...........................

Actually from reading your comment I have a few ideas yes!

Well if your first concern is being able to make money now then the best piece of advice that I have posted on my Consultation Page is to find a need and fill it. That simply means that if you can find a pressing need that needs to be filled then you may be able to make money sooner rather than later. What is a pressing need? Since one of your objectives is to stay at home have YOU considered opening up a childcare business? Goodness knows that there are a lot of grant and funding programs out there for child and daycare which I have posted about on both my Grant Basics 101 Blog and my Daycare Grants Related page! And you would be providing a very much needed need!

If this doesn't appeal to you then you might want to try Google's Adsense Program. I have talked about that many times when suggesting legitimate work at home opportunities! With Google's Adsense program you can put ads on your website or blog and you earn money when visitors to your site click on those ads!

Here is a link to a blog post about just how much money people have been making with the Adsense program

courtesty of The Adsense Consultant's Blog!

This also brings up the related idea of you maybe starting a blog and / or a website that talks about your experiences of being a mother of twins. You can think of it as having your own little newsletter and / or magazine and with that in mind you could solicit (and more better having potential advertisers come to YOU for more direct advertising - which pays much better!

You are right in that a lot of work from home "opportunities" are scams but people are looking for the fastest way to make money and this is not the way - simply because you WILL get scammed!

Are there places where you can work for someone else from your home? The answer is yes but you will have to do some searching to find the legitimate ones. But they are out there! I do in fact know of one program (that I have mentioned many times before) where a company hires those who are disabled and/or those that want to work from home and the people work as customer service representatives! I provide this information to those clients of mine who are looking for legitimate work at home opportunities working for a company.

The problem that I see in those that want to work from home is that it seems that they want to be able to make money right away - like yesterday! This is where fulfilling a need comes in! If you can find a need that has to be filled then you have the potential to earn money sooner rather than later. That is why doing work like child/day care, yard work or even running an errand service have been suggested as good starting businesses for someone that wants to work from home. Another popular business-starting idea is starting a dog-walking business - another need that people seem to need!

As I have always said: the fastest way to make money is to find a need and fulfill it. But the BEST way to make money is to start doing something that you love and turn that into a business!

Your Mommy/twin business sounds like a very good idea to me but like with all new businesses it will take you some time to build it up and build its reputation up! You may want to consider looking into grants to help provide you with some start-up money for your business idea.

I realize that this may be something that you may not want to hear but it really does take time before you start to earn money regardless of whether you want to work for someone else or start your own business. Hopefully I have given you some food for thought to help you decide what you want to do.

Attention All Aspiring Artists!

Sometimes I find links to articles that say so much more than I can put into words myself.

I am sure that you have heard the term "starving artist" before. Well here is a link to an online article about an artist who is definitely NOT starving!

Artist Rakes In $200 Million Dollars!

Your Income As A Writer?

Just found an absolutely great link to a website that lists what some publishers are paying writers. Although a lot of the money figures are from romance publishers it will give you a good general ideas as to what the average is for those who are writers as far as publishers are concerned.

What Publishers Are Paying

Of course there are other ways that writers can earn an income. It's just that getting a publisher to publish one's manuscript is one of the things that writers dream about!

I Really Do Pity The Poor Graphic Designers - Including Myself As Well!

One of my very first paid work was designing a website for a neighbor of mine. He did pay me and that was the start of my working at home! (I have since moved on to include research on such things as grants and unclaimed money and other things as well.)

But I have seen yet another post from someone who would like to have a logo designed for them and not once did they mention that they would be willing to pay for it. It wasn't until other graphic designers brought up the fact about actually paying for the service did the original poster of the message say that he would be willing to pay $100 for the logo.

I'm sure that there are a lot of graphic designers out there who get this kind of thing where people want them to provide free or a reduced cost service - which is something that is not really fair to ask for in the first place. I mean you expect to get paid for the work you do - right? Why wouldn't the same be true for graphic designers.

I have read many stories from graphic designers about the terrible clients (and wannabe clients) that they have had!

The bottom line is that you should be paid for your services no matter what it is you do!