A Special Note For Us Women

This really has nothing to do with Freelancing, but I though it was a great thought for the day. After all, Erma Bombeck was a writer, too. I hope it inspires all of you as it has me.


The Purple Hat
In honor of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer. Here is an 'angel' sent to watch over you.








IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck (Written after she found out she was dying from cancer).


I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.


I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.


I would have talked less and listened more.


I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded


I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.


I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.


I would have shared mo re of the responsibility carried by my husband.


I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.


I would have sat on the lawn! With my grass stains.


I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.


I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.


Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.


When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.'


There would have been more 'I love you's'; more 'I'm sorry's.'


But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it.. live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!! Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what Instead; let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, and what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope you have a blessed day.

Starting a Career in Freelance Writing

Okay, first of all, I've been really busy this past week, and today is the first chance that I've had to post. So, now that that's out of the way, I was thinking this morning about Freelance Writing as a career. The thing is, I believe that anyone can be a writer, as long as they're passionate about putting their words on paper. I feel so much pride and satisfaction when I see an article that I've finished. If you haven't written you can't know what it feels like to see your thoughts and work come to life that way.
Anyway, the point of the post is to tell you that you CAN be a writer. If you loved to write in school, or used to sit around making up stories(I actually wrote a "mini-novel" when I was 11) then you would make an excellent writer. You just need a push. So, this is me pushing you. Get out there and write a few articles. Write them on anything that you can think of. Write about your children, your spouse, your pet. If you have a hobby, like knitting, or you play sports, then write about that. The thing is, if you don't start, you will never know the joys of writing. And trust me, you really want to know this feeling, it is so satisfying. I am happier since I have started my Freelance Writing career than with anything I have ever done. You could be happy with your career too, if you just get started.
Now, if you need help, and you can't find the answers in my last posts, or in any of the links on my blog, send me a comment and I will help you. See, I decided that if I had had someone to help me and point me in the right direction months ago, then I wouldn't have wasted so much time online not doing what makes me happy. So, I want to help all of you to get started. That's my point with this blog, to help other people realize their dreams of becoming writers.
Now, GET WRITING. And please, please, if you do start writing, and you have a good success story, let me know, and I'll tell everyone here:)
Good Luck and Congratulations on taking the first step to your new Freelance Writing Career.

Freelancing Projects

Okay, I hope you've noticed the new RSS feed over to the left. That's a feed from Get A Freelancer. It's updated with the latest open projects that you can go and bid on, and hopefully win, to get you started in your freelance career. Registration with GAF is free, so you really have nothing to lose. Just pick a project and bid on it. There are literally Hundreds of projects open right now, so you're bound to find something that you are interested in. Check out the feed, or go on to the GAF site, and sign up. This could be the first step in securing your freelancing and work from home career :)

Talk Home Business

Okay, okay, I know. I've already told you about Talk Home Business. But this post is different. This one is to tell you that your's truly just got promoted to Super Moderator!! Not to be confused with Super Mom, which all we moms are, right ladies? Anyway, I've been a member of THB since June, and I have to tell you that I just love it there. Now..there's a new forum that's specifically for legitimate online jobs and businesses. The THB Administration is checking out hundreds of possible leads for work from home positions, and ONLY those that are verified and check out as legitimate will be posted. That takes possibly months off your search for working from home. Go on over to THB and check out the new forum. Find your work from home spot today, why would you wait any longer. We all deserve to be happy in our jobs, and working from home is the first major step to that happiness.
By the way, while you're there, tell THB's new Super Mod Hi. That's ME :)

Linking

HI:) I just wanted to share a neat little site that I am privvy to. It's called 000links.com, and Stefan, the owner is a great person. The site is for building link popularity, so if any of you are webmasters, you should visit. You can set up a free account, and add one website to build a linking campaign for. After all, if you ARE a webmaster, then you know how important one-way links are for your SEO, right? 000links.com uses a program that builds unique links for you every day, on auto-pilot. The links that you receive are one-way. Now, you do have to "trade" links, but no with the same sites that link to you. Apparently it's better that way, as the links are reciprocal. So, if you have a website, then you should definitely check out Stefan's site at 000links.com. Like I said, it's free for one website, so you really don't have anything to lose.

Talk Home Business

Talk Home Business is a great forum to hang out in. I know, I know, I've said that before. But really, the administrators and moderators, and even the members are all so very helpful with every aspect of working a home business or job. I highly recommend registering for the THB forum, you really can learn alot from them. And it's like a big family, everyone helping everyone, etc. THB currently has over 2900 members, and I heard that Administration is going to reward the 3000th member with a special prize. Mind you, they don't give out useless stuff over there. I won a monthly competition recently that was $25 cash. And they have competitions every month, and they are so much fun. All you have to do is sign up and you could be a winner this month. This month's competition, by the way, is a joke competition. See, the competitions are a hoot, and whoever happens to be #3000 to register is looking at a great prize. So....register for free, and if you happen to be number 3000, then please come back here and let me know that you won:)

Making Easy Cash

Ok, let's talk for just a minute about these "paid to" programs. Now, I must admit, when I first started working from home, I was really skeptical of these types of sites. Well, that's not entirely true. When I FIRST started working from home, I was really excited that these sites would pay me to do practically nothing. Well, let me tell you, I've learned my lesson from alot of sites like these. There are sites that will scam you, scam you, and then scam you one more time, just to make sure that they've scammed you...Get the picture?
Now, on to the sites that won't scam you. I have had success with several of these sites. I have been paid by them, and I wanted to share the really legitimate ones with you. I know how hard it is to really believe that you can make it working from home. I've been there, done that, drank the Sweet Tea....
The sites that I use are legit. I have honestly made money from them and been paid. I wouldn't lie about that. Of course, you may still not believe me, I don't blame you. You don't know me enough to trust me, but I just wanted to bring you some good sites where you can make some decent spending money. Keep in mind, that you're not going to get rich off these sites. I strictly use them for pocket change, for things like Christmas presents, shopping sprees, things like that. OK, that ALL being said, here's a list of really good, legitimate "paid to" places that are free to join, and all have offers that you can complete that do not require a credit card.
1. Deal Barbie Pays - I love this one. The offers are really easy, and you can make a really good amount of money in a very little time. I made $28 in less than a week, without using any credit cards.

2. Cashcrate - I like this one also. It's got good offers and pays out well.

3. Inbox Dollars - This was my very first one. I made $30 in my first month with them.

4. Get Paid Tonight - Now, I haven't cashed this one out yet, but I haven't had any problems with them since I joined, and they have really good offers, and some of them you can cash out instantly.

Ok, that's enough to keep you busy for a little while. I don't normally push these programs, but like I said, they are great if you want or need just a little extra spending money. And, actually, using "paid to" programs is what got me started online. I used the money that I made from them to fund some advertising and site hosting. So, they do work, just find the ones that you really like, and go for it:)

I've been so Busy Writing

Now, I know that I just posted the Blogrush post, but I wanted to tell you all why I haven't been posting alot lately. I have been so busy with writing jobs that I've gotten lately. Most of them have come from Digital Point Forums. I have gotten several there this week alone, and have made a pretty decent amount of income from them. You really should sign up for the DP Forum. It's completely free, and there are loads of people looking for writers. Just sign up, then go to Buy/Sell/or Trade, and then to services. The writing jobs will be listed under Content Creation. Also, I've gotten alot of jobs from Get A Freelancer. Some of these jobs are in the upwards of $200 category. I've done alot of work from the GAF site since I started my freelancing career. It's also a free signup, so go there now, and who knows, you may have a paying writing gig by the end of the day. And be sure to visit Talk Home Business. Those guys over there are great! They have helped me so much with my work at home business. You never know what you can accomplish unless you get started. So, these are my three favorite spots to hang out. If you started hanging out there today, you could be well on your way to working from home tomorrow :)

BLOGRUSH

Ok, so I came across this great site for bloggers. It's called Blogrush and they help you get traffic to your blog. You'll notice the widget over here on the left side :) That's a Blogrush widget. They use a Syndicated Credit System. So, your blog gets shown on the widget once, every time someone sees the widget on your site. Simply put, that just means that if you show the widget on your site, then your blog will be shown on someone else's site. You could end up with lots of extra traffic to your blog. It sounds like a good system to me, so I put the widget on here. I'll let you know how well it works in a few days. In the meantime, feel free to visit the blogs listed in the widget, after all, if we help people with their blogs, then they'll help us with ours :) By the way, sign-up in Blogrush is completely free, so feel free to click on the link and sign up. It could be very beneficial to your traffic!

Freelance writing can be a very rewarding career, both emotionally and financially. If you enjoy writing, then freelancing could be a very lucrative choice for your at home job. Of course, if you enjoy writing, like I do, then writing doesn't even seem like a job. It seems more like you're making money for having fun. I got started with writing several months ago thru Associated Content. You can write articles for them, and they'll pay you and publish your articles. Now, don't expect to get rich with AC, but it's an excellent place to test the waters. Plus, you'll have a content producer page that you can use for reference to show off your work to potential clients. I also include my AC link when I need to show samples of my work. It's a good thing to have a few pieces published, it shows that you're serious about your writing, and that you're established. Go on over to Associated Content and set up a Free account. It doesn't cost anything, and who knows, you could even make a little money. It's a great place to get your writing career started. And be sure to let me know if you do, and I'll be sure to read your articles. They offer a performance bonus for your content views, so let me know that you're producing articles, and I'll read them :)
Have a great day, and good luck on your new Writing Career.

Okay, here's a tip. Get A Freelancer has hundreds upon thousands of freelancing opportunities. It's free to register. You can choose to be a Gold Member for $12 per month, although it's not required. It does probably look better to people looking for service providers, but I have gotten a few projects before I decided to upgrade, so you can register, and be a free member until you get some gigs going, and then decide to upgrade if you want. I have gotten a total of 3 long term writing opportunities using GAF, and I've also gotten several short term projects. If you're looking to start freelancing, GAF is the absolute first place that I'd recommend you start looking for projects. And since it's free to join, you really have nothing to lose, except for the 5 minutes that it takes you to sign up. Go on over to GAF and look at some of the projects that are posted, and see if maybe you're qualified or interested in doing any of them. You can get paid thru paypal, and if you win enough project bids, you can be freelancing full time in no time.

Dog Days are Drawing to a Close

With the end of summer looming, finally I must add, I am really looking forward to fall. I have to say, it's been a great summer. I've gotten my writing business started, and I am so glad to inform everyone that I have now added 3 long term writing committments every month. So, you see, you really can write at home and get paid for it. Now, in case you haven't, you really should go on over and check out THB. They have alot of resources for work from home jobs and businesses, and you could end your summer with a bang too!! Registration is free, and you wouldn't believe the tips and advice that you can find there. It's really like a big family, everyone helps each other, and it's really great. So, head on over to THB and join the best work at home people in the world.

Scam Alerts!!

Probably one of the most scary things about working from home, either at a job, or starting your own online business, is the knowledge that there are people in the world who are very happy to scam you and take your money. I've seen it happen, it's even happened to me.
You can, however, check out various sites before you invest any time or money into them. Research is always the best thing to do before you start on an online adventure. Now, I said that to say this, THB has a spot for scams. It's a little corner all to itself, that's dedicated to keeping you informed of any known scams that the members may have encountered. And even if you have a question about a company that's not listed, you just have to ask and any THB member will gladly give you all the information that they have. Everyone there is honestly just there to help each other, and watch each other's backs. So, if you are planning to start an online job or business, you really need to protection from scams that you can get from THB. The members there are ready and willing to lend any help that you may need.

Ok, if you haven't already, you really need to read what's written in this article on the THB Blog. It has everything that you need to know to help you with your home business. Fendi lists many ways to help you promote your online business that are easy to understand, things like MySpace and Squidoo. Now, if you don't know what either of those are, then head on over and read Fendi's great article at the THB Blog right now. I'm telling you, Talk Home Business is the best forum to join for working from home, or home business. Join the forum, ask questions, it's easy and free, and you will be so glad you did.

More about THB

Okay, I can't tell you enough about the THB forum and Blog. You just really have to check it out for yourself. I've been around alot of forums since I started working from home, and I can honestly tell you that no other forum that I have found has the family appeal that THB has. Everyone is honestly trying to help each other. It's great!! There are different places to have questions answered, from how to set up a webpage, to how to design it, and sooo much more. You really should give it a look. I've learned things from THB members that people charge you to teach you. And the registration is completely free, there's no reason not to head over there right now and check it out. Don't forget to look at Fendi's Blog for THB. He's got alot of great ideas and tips on working from home, and on home business. You'll be glad I told you about them, I promise.

Hello and Happy Friday!!

I was just in my favorite learning spot, the THB forum, and I wanted to mention to all of you that they have the neatest gadget on the site. At the bottom of the main forum page, you will see a "geo-visitors" link. You can click on that, and it will show you where everyone who is visiting THB at that moment is. It's a map that pinpoints everyones general location. So, while I am in the US, I can see that other members who are online right now are in various other places like UK, China, Malaysia, even different parts of the US. I think it's amazing how technology has improved over the last few years.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that neat little link with you. Be sure to head over to THB and register, it's free, and you will learn so much that will help you with your working from home endeavor. And, while you're there, take a look at THB's geo visitor link, and see where everyone else is sitting right now.

I have a few resources for writers that I'd like to share with you. Now, keeping in mind that 6 months ago, I didn't have a clue how to start writing for a living. Now, I do. Writing is basically all I do now, and I wanted to share a few places that were really helpful to me when I started.



1) Get A Freelancer - Registration is free, and you can bid on projects that you want to do. They have all sorts of projects from re-writing articles to web page design. Whatever you like to do or can do well, they probably have it. You can browse thru literally thousands of jobs, and most pay thru Paypal.



2) Associated Content - If you have a passion for writing, then Associated Content is the place to go. You write articles about whatever you want, and they pay you for them. Now, keep in mind that they don't pay alot of money, normally between $3 and $20, depending on the article. But it's a great place to get your foot in the door, and you can use your Publisher's Page as a reference when applying for other writing jobs. They also pay thru Paypal.



3) Paypal - If you haven't noticed, most online companies pay thru Paypal. If you don't have a Paypal account, you really should get one. It will make it much easier to collect your payments when you do a project.



4) THB Blog - Don't forget to check out Fendi at the THB Blog. He has lots of brilliant ideas and great tips for working from home and starting an online business. Leave him a comment, and tell him that Vanessa said HI!

Ok, that's it for now, but don't worry, I have ALOT of more writer's resources that I'll be bringing you. I also plan to publish resources for other jobs, like Customer Service, Data Entry, Transcription.....
Just keep checking back, I'll be posting daily!!

Ok, if you haven't already, you really need to sign up at the Talk Home Business forum. I'm telling you, these guys have answers for every question you could possibly have. I learned about blogging from a few of the members. I, myself have been a member for a few months now, and I am so glad I found it when I did. Oh, and they have a competition this month. They have competitions every month, and you can win cash!! What could be better than that. You get lots of very useful information, and a chance to win money!! Go on over to Talk Home Business right now and register. You will be sooooo glad you did.

I almost forgot to tell you about the Talk Home Business Blog. Fendi is the author, and he is a very intelligent man. He fills you in on all sorts of ways to work from home, gives you online business advice, and pretty much any information that you'll need on your work from home quest. Head on over to the Talk Home Business Blog. You'll be surprised how much information they have over there.

Ok, time to get down to some serious blogging. My intent with Freelance Moms is to bring you really legitimate freelance writing jobs, as well as other jobs or businesses that are 100% legitimate, no pyramid schemes, no pay to work jobs, etc.
First of all, let me point you in the direction of a wonderful forum that I've recently been lucky enough to find. It's called Talk Home Business - just click it, it'll take you there. Talk Home Business (THB) is a great place with members from all over the world, who work together to help each other succeed in online businesses or jobs. You really should check it out. They have lots of advice for starting your own business, how to maintain that business, and there's even a lounge where you can just hang out and talk about anything and everything. Head on over there. If you are seriously looking for ways to earn an income from home, then you will definitely want to sign up for the Talk Home Business Forum. It's the greatest meeting of minds since the Geneva Convention.

Welcome

First and foremost, let me say that I have been trying to work from home for 8 years. Until this year, I have had no luck.

2007 changed my life significantly. I did find a work from home customer service job with a company that I really like. The pay is good, and the hours are very flexible. In later posts, I hope to be able to provide links to good companies that hire moms (or not moms) to work from their homes.

I have also recently discovered the joys of freelance writing. I have found a wonderful site to submit my articles to. Now, keep in mind that I'm not a professional journalist. I only write because I love it, and enjoy it more than anything else(besides family, of course). It's a passion and a dream job for me.

There are many, many sites that will allow you to show off your creativity and write for money. That's what it's all about, right?

Some of my other articles can be found here:http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/75251/vanessa_beaty.html



Now, keep in mind that I'm fairly new to this blogging thing. I do hope to get better with time, and post helpful hints for freelancing dreamers. In the meantime, look around and get comfortable. I'll post more content later.



Vanessa