There is a lot on the internet about starting your own medical transcription business and that is a wonderful idea!  But did you know you can work from home as an employee?

Many people do not want to have to contact doctors and hospitals to obtain their own clients.  This is why being an employee is so attractive.  It is sometimes difficult to get your own clients if you live in smaller cities or rural areas.  There usually isn’t much employment at all in rural and smaller areas without commuting a good distance to find work.

If you are an experienced transcriptionist and generally have around two years experience, you could be hired by the many companies in the United States that will provide the work for you.  Many of these companies have health insurance, 401K, life insurance and other benefits.

Another advantage is if you move anywhere you can take your job with you and that truly is a luxury.  Although the pay is somewhat less than it would be if you had your own business, you can make a good living from transcription at home with a company providing you the transcription work and avoid all the headaches of self employment taxes, paying for your own benefits, etc., that come with starting your own transcription business.

Working from home as an employee is a very good option, when starting your own business is not feasible because of your location and when the extra work of running a business comes into play.

If you would like more information, visit my website at: http://www.medical-transcription-home.com

Diana Owen, MT

Many people have never heard of affiliate marketing or simply may not know what it means. It is also referred to as getting paid to type ads. Firstly, I will say affiliate marketing is one of the best opportunities to make money on the internet and just about anyone who makes A LOT of money online will tell you so. But first, let’s talk about what affiliate marketing really means.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is simply when individuals like you and me promote other people’s products and earn a commission for every sale made as a result of your promotion. The promoters are better known as affiliates and the owner’s of the products are usually referred to as vendors or sellers. Affiliates are provided with a unique link containing their own tracking code which links to the vendor’s website. When people click or visit this link and make a purchase at the website, a portion of the sale will go to the affiliate. The amount depends on what the vendor has previously stated. This amount is usually stated as a percentage but may sometimes be a dollar amount. Affiliates may generally promote their link as they like, either online or offline. Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation for both vendor and affiliate. Vendors do not have to worry about advertising costs as affiliates can do all the promotion for them. Affiliates can either promote companies for free or pay for advertisements at various outlets.

The majority of online sellers now have some kind of affiliate program setup for their website. More and more companies and individuals are seeing the huge benefits of having thousands of people promoting their product. This is good news for you, as this provides more opportunities for you to make money. You can find an affiliate program for just about whatever your interests are. Some of the most money making affiliate programs are in the gambling, financial, web hosting and work at home industries. Information products also usually pay very high commissions. Many web hosts pay their affiliates from $60-$100 per sign up. That can easily give you an idea of the money making potential. More average payouts, however, are in the range of $25-$40 per sale. There are networks which also provide a large listing of various affiliate programs. Some of the more popular ones are Commission Junction, Be Free, Linkshare and Clickank. If you’re looking to make a good income from home, we definitely recommend taking a look at affiliate marketing.

Many people may be intimated by the idea of typing ads and promoting companies. Actually, it’s quite easy! Thousands of people around the world are affiliate marketers as more and more people are seeing the income potential. The best part is, anyone can do it and your income is only limited by how much you put in.

If you’ve just begun your work-at-home search, you are likely feeling confused and overwhelmed by all the options out there. How do you know what’s legitimate? How do you avoid the scams? Are there really jobs you can do from home? Yes!

So many people are happily working from home, and you can too. You just have to know where to look. This article will explain the types of work you can do at home, which basically fall into four categories:

Working for an Employer - (This is often called “telecommuting.”) There are many legitimate companies that hire people to work from their home offices, and that number is growing every day. Employers are seeing the benefits of having employees work remotely, and many more will join these ranks in the future. (See our list of companies that hire telecommuters.) Some companies will hire you as an actual employee; you will fill out tax forms and the employer will take taxes out of your paycheck, just like if you worked on location. Other companies will hire you as an independent contractor. They will send you a 1099 form at the end of the year, and you are responsible for paying your own taxes. The employer may require you to work certain hours every day, or a set number of hours per week. Pay may be hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, or per piece (as with data entry type jobs). Some telephone jobs will pay you per “talk minute” - in other words, you will be paid only for the time you are actively speaking with customers.

Freelancing - A “freelancer” is someone who hires out their skills to various companies for a specific project. The skills are usually those of a professional nature, such as writing, computer programming, web design and graphic arts, secretarial/administrative and virtual assisting. Some popular freelance websites are http://Guru.com and http://eLance.com. You can browse the jobs available and bid on them. If your bid wins, you get the job. Note that these jobs are usually temporary, for one project only. However, if you build a reputation for good work and meeting deadlines, you will often get offered other jobs.

Home Business Opportunity - You can also start your own business as a representative for an existing company. Most of these companies are Direct Sales or Network Marketing/MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). You’ve probably heard of many such companies, like Tupperware, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Avon, and Pampered Chef. There are thousands to choose from. (See our list of home business opportunities.) There are many benefits to this type of work at home. You are your own boss, you set your own hours, and you are in complete control of how much income you earn (as opposed to earning a set amount of money each week from an employer). There are also some great tax breaks for home-based businesses.

Create Your Own Business - The final option is to build your own company. The possibilities are endless. Just about any skills you have can be turned into a home business. Dog walking/pet sitting, virtual assisting, catering, bicycle repair, childcare, crafts and artwork, etc. The most important thing to consider: is there a market for what you can do? Would people pay for the products or services you can supply? If you set your mind to it, I bet you could come up with dozens of great ideas for businesses you can do.

Avoid the Scams
The number one thing to remember about scammers is that they want either your money, or your personal information. Never, ever pay a “fee” to begin working for a company. (Business opportunities do frequently require you to purchase a start-up kit, however I am referring to actual telecommuting jobs here.) No matter how great they make a job sound, do NOT pull out your credit card and send them money. It is a scam. Rarely, some legitimate companies might charge you for training, but more often they will deduct this from your first few paychecks. If you’re really not sure if a company is legitimate, ask around! Visit work at home message forums and ask about the company. Chances are people have heard of them, or can tell you whether it’s a genuiune job or not. Unfortunately, new scammers pop up every day, so even if you can’t find anything negative about them, proceed cautiously.

Likewise, if you are unsure whether a company is legitimate, do NOT give them your social security number, home address, or any banking information (for direct deposit). An employer will not need this information unless they are actually hiring you. I recommend people to leave those fields blank when applying for a job. If the employer likes your qualifications and wants to hire you (and you are absolutely certain they are legitimate) then you can supply that information. Real employers will understand your caution.

The best way to avoid scams is to listen to your gut. There are always warning signs. Even if everything seems on the up and up, and your gut is giving you a signal that something doesn’t seem right, LISTEN to that. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, “I had a bad feeling but I wanted it to be for real, so I took a chance.” Don’t do that. You have a great built-in warning system. We all do. It’s called Intuition. Use it. Outsmart the scammers.

Professionalism, Patience and Persistence
Finally, remember that work at home positions have a tremendous amount of demand. Thousands and thousands of people are applying for the very same positions that you are. Make sure your resume is in top form and clearly details your experience and qualifications for the job you are applying for. Consider investing in a professionally done resume and cover letter. It is well worth the money if it lands you the job!

If you haven’t heard back after a week or two, why not follow up with the company and check on the status of your application? Send a nice email inquiring, or call them. (Only if the company hasn’t requested that you not do that.) Don’t whine or beg, be professional about it. Express your genuine interest in working for them. Persistence can pay off, as long as you’re not annoying your potential employer.

Patience is important, as finding a work at home position can take many months. If you can’t wait, why not consider starting your own business? Don’t let lack of experience stop you. You can learn anything you don’t know. Talk to other business owners who do what you are considering. Ask them how they got started. There are a lot of great people out there who would be willing to help guide you in the right direction.

Think about what you really want in a home based career. Do you prefer to be your own boss, or work for someone else? Do you need flexible hours, or would you rather have a set schedule? Do you like telephone work, or internet based? Make a definite list of what you do want, and what you don’t want. That will make your search much quicker.

Believe in yourself. You can create the perfect career for yourself. Many others have done it, so why not you too?

A few problems that some new MLM marketing people have:

1. No upline support.

Once a person joins a new MLM marketing program, he or she is vulnerable and needs a lot of help from something or someone.

In many cases, the uplines are not actively helping them. This happens a lot when the uplines are simply sponsoring as many people as they can with no regard to what happens to them after they get sponsored.

In most standard MLM marketing programs, it is important that the new person gets immediate assistance from a local person, or tools that you have. Otherwise their chances for survival are very slim.

2. New MLM marketers cannot sell.

This is probably the major reason most people do not make it MLM marketing. By using standard MLM techniques, you have got to sell and learn how to speak at opportunity meetings and the like.

3. MLM’er cannot generate good leads.

Next to the selling problem, this has to be the next biggest reason most people fail in MLM marketing.

Here is a picture of what normally happens. The new person has just signed up in an exciting MLM program. He is taught by the manuals, meetings and so forth, how he should “share” his product with his friends, neighbors and relatives.

Normally, he is not comfortable with this, and if he is typical, he will have many sleepless, tossing and turning nights. He just doesn’t want to “impose” on his friends! He would feel a lot more comfortable just presenting his opportunity to strangers.

4. No true duplicative system.

If the MLM marketing company must be promoted through expensive methods, this is not feasible.
Learning how to sell, or to speak and conduct an opportunity meeting is just not duplicative. Only a few people can do this. Here again, is a very important reason a lot of would be MLM’ers die on the vine.

5. Selling by mail using standard MLM techniques.

Traditional way to marketing MLM is to spend all spare time to call around and travel around to get prospects. A lot of people already have full time job, it is hard to find extra time to travel and make phone calls. This is why these MLM marketers cannot keep their program going.

6. The marketer is not sure about the MLM marketing company or service.

Often a person will sign up in a MLM marketing program in a “fit of excitement.” After the dust clears, he comes down to earth and reality slowly sets in.

Pick an established and financially sound MLM company that is at least two years old with unquestionable products or services. That way, you can feel good about the company and products that you are promoting. There is nothing quite like being able to “tell the complete truth” to your prospective customers.

7. They do not stick with it long enough.

Starting any company takes time, and this is true with an MLM marketing program as well.
By the time you study the program, write and receive literature: study this and sign up; get the literature, etc. a lot of time has been spent. And then you have to generate your leads and so on.

It will take several months before you can expect much of anything to happen to your MLM marketing. You should set in your mind that you are going to stick with this for at least sometime. That just makes good business sense.