Okay, so I am a day early but am out of town for this week and wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I know this past week or so I have not posted much but with Christmas and one of my daughters turning six the following day, it has been a busy couple of weeks. I will be on vacation this week but should be back to a normal posting schedule starting again next week. Also, I wanted to let everyone know that if you come across a work-from-home job posting and are trying to decide if it is legitimate or not email it to me at [email protected] and I will take a look and look into it as much as possible. As always, any feedback on this blog or questions are welcome.
Also thanks to Wanelo.com for my new Wii Fit I won. I am a Super!Mom over at Wanelo.com where you can find tons of reviews on baby products and toys. I won their twitter contest last week and boy will that Wii Fit come in handy after all the big holiday meals I have been eating! Thanks for all who of you who follow and hope you have a Happy New Year!!!

Freelance Writer/Editor needed for “product descriptions” “web content editing” (Telecommute)

Bibi & Mimi, manufacturer of baby products, is looking for writer/editors to help with companies 150 products. Baby shoes, socks, onesies etc need cute descriptions/features to be placed on the website, at least 3 sentences each, color definitions, design details etc. This is a project based job. Please visit our website at www.bibiandmimi.com and send us some sample descriptions to be considered for the project. You will be compensated with a flat fee for the whole project.

Goals:
• Creating cute and fun product features and descriptions for 150 items
• Establishing a clear editorial vision
• Increasing site traffic and brand awareness.

Qualifications:
• Reliable individual with excellent creative writing skills.
• Proficient on Microsoft Office (Word, Excel)
• Prior writing/blogging experience
• Solid work ethic, responsible and professional

Send resume, writing samples, project fee requirement and a photograph to
[email protected]

If you have experience doing any kind of office or secretarial work then this work from home administrative professional position might be a great fit. Administrative Professionals complete office work from home such as administrative assistant or secretarial type work. Jaras is now hiring for these work from home positions. You are paid per completed assignment and you accept the assignments that you wish to take and can work as much or as little as you would like. Visit the website here to apply.

Ecallogy is a third party customer service provider. They hire for virtual call center jobs and data entry. They work a little bit different than most virtual call centers though, you bid on the job. They pay at a talk-per-minute rate and so you bid how much you are willing to work per minute. Once hired you would submit an invoice to them bi-weekly. In this way it is more like running your own virtual assistant type business because you are in charge of tracking your time and billing them for it. Currently they are accepting bids on two incoming calls projects. One is English speakers and the other is bilingual. Here is the information on both of them from the website. You will notice the deadline to submit your bids is this week so if you want to give it a try you will need to do it soon. The link to submit your bids is on the website here.

Inbound Customer Service Project - 1
    English speaking customer service project.
    Available hours from 6AM-11PM MST
    Project Begins: Jan 1, 2010
    Project Ends: Jan 31, 2010
    Training Begins: Dec 21st
    Calls are all inbound and last approximately 2-5 minutes. No sales or telemarketing.
    All bids must be received by Midnight MST December 18th, 2009
    This project is open to all U.S. States
Inbound Customer Service Project - 2
    Bi-Lingual Spanish-English speaking customer service project.
    Available hours from 6AM-11PM MST
    Project Begins: Jan 1, 2010
    Project Ends: Jan 31, 2010
    Training Begins: Dec 21st
    Calls are all inbound and last approximately 2-5 minutes. No sales or telemarketing.
    All bids must be received by Midnight MST December 18th, 2009
    This project is open to all U.S. States 

I have a couple of prior posts about freelance writing jobs and wanted to update with a few more companies.
The prior posts on freelance writing can be found here and here. As I have come to find, you don't need to be a professional writer to earn money writing. I recently started as a freelance writer with Demand Studios and I have to say that it is turning into one of my favorite jobs and one of the more profitable ones as I get faster at writing. They pay upfront for most articles and most of them pay about $15 each. They are also listed in one of those prior posts. Also, someone I know just started her own blog about becoming a freelance writing Mom. Visit her new blog and start following along on her journey.
My Journey of Freelance Writing

Okay, so here are a few more companies.
Examiner.com
Firehow
Wisegeek
Edubook
Infobarrel
Quality Gal
Love to Know 
Organized Wisdom
Interact Media
Bukisa
Advice.com
Author Mommy

Pierce-Eislen is a real estate market research firm and is now hiring for surveryors. They conduct surveys in order to keep up their database on rent specials and other factors that might change frequently. In order to conduct surveys for them you would be calling different apartment communities and asking various questions to find out more.

Compensation - The pay rate is $11 per hour, with additional bonuses for exceeding a required number of surveys per hour.

To begin the application process you must complete a training information quiz which is available on the website here 

 

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I have a portion of this blog dedicated to Freebies here if you have not had a chance to visit it yet. I have a bunch of new freebies posted recently and I have also added about a month ago a list of restaurants that offer free meals or desserts on your birthday. I am, personally, a freebie fanatic. I think a big part of being able to afford to be a stay-at-home Mom is finding new ways to save money around the house as well as earning money from home. I have decided this week that I will make Fridays officially "Freebie Friday" on the blog from now on. If I have a job lead on Friday I will post that as well but I will also be posting at least one freebie each Friday.

So....let the drum roll begin......lol.

The first freebie of Freebie Friday is a deal going on now at all Hollywood Video stores on free kids video rentals. No coupon is required. Here are the details.

Building upon the fever of summer
holiday celebrations, Hollywood Video -- the nation's second largest video
chain -- is opening its doors to a new library of hundreds of Free Kids Rental
Titles available to families with kids of all ages. From animated features
and live-action adventures to educational programs and fantastical musicals,
members can enjoy hours of free fun available now at nearly 1,800 Hollywood
Video stores nationwide. The new initiative was announced today by Hollywood
Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: HLYW) President and COO Jeff Yapp.
The new library features children's-oriented titles from studios and
networks including Disney, Fox, Jim Henson, Nickelodeon and Paramount.
Hollywood Video is making these Free Titles available to all customers, on a
first-come-first-serve basis, for their customary five-day rental. Customers
are allowed one Free Rental at a time with no purchase necessary.
"Family entertainment has always been a cornerstone for our business,"
stated Yapp. "We're a family-oriented retailer and we strive to contribute in
some significant way to our local communities. Fulfilling a family's
entertainment needs is an important piece of that puzzle."
Among the hundreds of popular Free Kids' Rental titles available at
Hollywood Video stores, are: "The Pagemaster," "The Mighty Ducks," "The Land
Before Time," "Anastasia," "Air Bud," "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken," "101
Dalmatians," "Mary Poppins," "Pinocchio," "Timon & Pumbaa-Grub's On," "Lantern
Hill" and "James and the Giant Peach."
Also available as part of the Kids Free Rental selections are special
titles from such popular, multi-tape series* as: Sing Along Songs, Goosebumps,
Magic School Bus, Rugrats, Teletubbies, Muppets and Dr. Suess.
Hollywood Entertainment Corporation owns and operates Hollywood Video
retail stores, the second largest video store chain in the U.S., and Reel.com,
a leading movie-related Internet web-site. Hollywood Video superstores
average approximately 7,200 square feet and typically carry more than 12,000
videocassettes. Hollywood Video is one of the fastest growing retailers in
the world, with stores in nearly all forty-eight states and a weekly average
of seven million customers in its nearly 1,800 locations. Hollywood Video and
Hollywood Entertainment are registered trademarks of Hollywood Entertainment
Corporation.
*Note: Select titles from these series are offered in some, but not
necessarily all stores. No purchase is required.

Jelly Bean Services or JBS offers business services and is one of several courthouse research companies in the country. Courthouse researching is one of those jobs similar to mystery shopping where it is not work-from-home but it is flexible and allows you to work when you want for the most part.
JBS also offers several other work-from-home positions as well though. They hire telemarketers and members of their marketing team to work from home. These two positions do not require much experience. They also hire skip tracers and loan officers to work from home, these positions do require past experience. Visit their website here for more information on the specific jobs or to see if they are hiring in your county. http://www.work4jbs.com/jbs/apply.htm

I have heard a rumor that Cha Cha is hiring once again. This company is similar to KGB that I posted about previously. They hire people to work from home answering questions sent in via text messaging. They have their guides divided up into several different areas. You can be a general guide, a specialist guide who answers certain categories, an expeditor that gets the questions where the need to go or a transcriber who transcribes voice messages into text. The pay is based on points you earn per session. It is a flexible non-phone job for those of you with little kids running around. Visit their website for more information.

Higher One is now hiring seasonal home based customer service reps in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Washington and Texas only. Here is the information from the job posting.

Job Description

Focused exclusively on higher education, Higher One provides refund management services to higher education institutions and banking services to members of their community through a card based solution.  Higher One currently provides services for 1,000,000+ active banking customers across the nation.  And we do it without a single teller.  All service is provided via web or phone.  Account opening is conducted entirely online without paper signatures.  The self-service web channel is emphasized for transactions whenever possible. In 2007, Higher One was ranked # 85 on Inc Magazine’s list of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the United States. In 2008, we were recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as # 12 on their Hot 100 Businesses! The Seasonal Home Based Customer Service Representative will respond to inbound telephone inquiries and email requests from Higher One accountholders. Customer service representatives serve as the first contact with card holders. In this role you will assist customers with questions and issues regarding their accounts.   **We are currently recruiting in CT, CO, FL, WA, and TX only.** Paid training classes will be starting on December 28th. This position will run through the Mid - End of February with 15-30 hrs available per week. We are seeking experienced Customer Service Representatives for a Part-Time, Seasonal assignment. The hours that we have available are between 12pm-8pm EST. The Seasonal CS Home Reps must have a landline phone with an unlimited long distance plan. Higher One will reimburse $30.00 each month for unlimited long distance telephone service for all active Home Based Customer Service Representatives. This person will work from home and must meet the following requirements at the time of application: Qualifications: 1 to 3 years experience in customer service and/or data entry experience required. Good listening skills required. Must have excellent oral and written communication skills. Must have a professional phone manner and ability to handle customer complaint calls. Previous experience working in a bank and/or call center is helpful. Bi-lingual/Spanish speaking a plus.

Skills/Requirements

Technical Requirements: A reliable personal computer, a landline phone, and a headset Windows XP SP2 or higher OR Windows Vista (32 bit Version only) Windows must be up to date with all security patches applicable to service pack level. Internet Explorer 7 or higher. Broadband internet access (Cable, DSL, or Verizon FIOS only). All agents will be required to install a VPN client provided by Higher One. Antivirus Software with current virus definitions, current Antivirus subscription, and regularly scheduled scans. Higher One recommends agents also run a current anti-spyware software Must have the ability to connect to your home router or modem with a network cable. Other requirements: A quiet work area without background noise and interruptions (ex. pet noises and personal interruptions).   Ability to be on the Internet and a landline phone call simultaneously. Ability to pass a credit and background check. Must be at least 18 years of age. Must have a High School diploma, GED or equivalent. Must be able to work at least 20 hours per week between the hours of 12pm and 8pm EST. Must be eligible to work in the United States. ***Pay scale is between $10 and $12 to start

This is an unresearched Craigslist posting. The original posting can be viewed at Craigslist here.

CityBuzz.com is re-launching their website and looking for bloggers in each of its cities to give information on the upscale, cool places for restaurants, nightlife, entertainment, shopping, and sightseeing. We are looking for people who can write 10 posts per month, covering at least one post in each topic. As we are a small team with many cities, we need writers who have a discerning eye and require little to no editing. The bloggers need to write in a professional manner with a hint of personality. The target audience is sophisticated yet trendy 25-55 year olds so the writing style and topic selection needs to reflect the demographic. CityBuzz is positioning itself as providing “insider” information so we would prefer people who could be classified as an insider, like an editor at a magazine or people already have a popular culture blog.

This will be a paid, ongoing position.

Please send resumes with a sample blog post and cover letter embedded into the e-mail to [email protected] with “Blogger Position” in the subject line.

I have been meaning to do this post for a while now. I have some Mystery Shopping companies posted on the Mystery Shopping tab. Also check Volition for a huge list of legitimate companies. Obviously, this is not a work-from-home job as the rest of the jobs I post about on here but I like to let people know about it because it is something that you can do in your free time usually, after your husband gets home from work or even take the kids out with you. After all, many of these mystery shops are errands like the grocery store or bank that you would be going to anyways. Most of the assignments do have deadlines that they have to be done by and some of the more specific ones like baseball games, etc have to be done on a specific day but for the most part it is pretty flexible. Many people don't believe this is a real job but it is. I did it for about two years a few years back and it was a lot of fun. Here is more info on what to expect.

Mystery Shopping is probably something you have all heard of but probably not many of you have tried it. It is basically “shopping” a location as a consumer and critiquing what kind of service you get there. You have to be able to pay attention to details, be organized and usually have a decent memory. You could be shopping grocery stores, banks, fast food restaurants, find dining establishments, amusement parks, baseball games, hotels, apartments, new homes or retail stores. You work as an independent contractor and can work for as many companies as you would like. I got into it more out of curiosity than anything. Although this is not “working from home”, you do it in your free time, whenever is convenient for you. The one thing you have to realize if you are going to get into this is you have to apply with TONS of companies. Don’t just fill out a couple of applications and think the jobs will start rolling in, if you want enough work to keep you busy then you will have to put in a lot of time on the computer at first filling out all the applications. You have to realize most of the companies work all over the US and therefore may not have shops in your area on a regular basis. To help out with this you can download Roboform to input your basic information on the applications each time.
There are usually two different ways to get assignments. Some companies are self-assign which is the best way when you are just getting started. They post the available jobs on their website once a month and you go in and choose which ones you want to do. This way you are not being picked based on experience. Make sure you complete your assignments on time or in cases of emergency let someone know you will be unable to complete it. This way you will get future work from the company again. The other type of assignments is when the company decides who will do each job. Usually you go in and select which jobs you are interested in and “apply” for them then the company chooses which agent they will use for each assignment. These are harder to get until you have experience.
Beware of any jobs advertising mystery shopping and asking for money.

This is an unresearched job posting from Craigslist. You can visit the job posting here for more information.
Sounds like it would make a great job for someone trying to avoid phone jobs since it states all communication is done via email or instant messaging. Here is the info from the posting.

SUMMARY
Vent Keeper is a new online service offering communication techniques for individuals dealing with daily struggles in life that creates unwanted barriers. As a companion, you will be assisting clients with their venting needs to help them maintain balance in their circumstance(s). All communication will be via email and instant messenger.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Respond to email exchanges to discuss issues and or problems in relationships, work, finances, spirituality etc, while encouraging positive ness and being non-judgmental.

2. Communicate with customers using Instant Messenger to discuss issues and or problems in relationships, work, finances, spirituality etc while encouraging positive ness and being non-judgmental.

3. Re-direct customers and clients to website to purchase exchanges and chat minutes.


KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS
1. Basic reading, typing, and grammar skills required.
2. Duties require professional written communication skills and the ability to type 50 wpm.
3. High-speed internet connection with the knowledge of MS Word and MS Excel
4. Time management skills are a must.
5. People skills a must and customer service required.

SELECTION PROCESS
Only selected applicants will be notified to complete an application, testing and will have to sign a contract before you can start work. All positions are to start March 8. 2010.


HOW TO APPLY

Send resumes to:
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 866-315-0679

SCI Live is currently hiring for at-home operators. They are a virtual call center company and hire at-home agents to take answer questions for customers on products and services via phone and email. Here is the info from the website.

At Home Agents:
Job Description: Serves customers by taking telephone and e-mail orders; providing accurate information and answering questions on related products and services. Home based agent is a team player with a great attitude and the ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment.
Responsibilities:

- Strong communication and time management skills
- Flexible hours, day and evening shifts available.
- Be self employed, be your own boss and Work in the comfort of your own home!
-Set your own hours to work around your schedule — hours vary by project
-Flexibility to change your hours daily
-No commute/no drive to work
-Wear what you want — no dress code or dry cleaning bills
Additional duties:
-Takes orders by accurately obtaining and verifying customer information and entering order into database; maintains call center database
- Fulfills requests by clarifying desired information; completing transactions; forwarding requests.
- Sells additional services by recognizing opportunities to up-sell accounts; explaining new features
- 2 years of customer service within a call center environment preferred but not required,
- Knowledge of Word, Excel and Outlook preferred.
- Home DSL Internet connection, personal computer and fax required.