Before You Make the Leap to Work From Home Mom....

One bit of advice.... before you take the leap into a work-at-home opportunity: Take an inventory of your talent, add a dash of creativity to your thinking and come up with a plan that suits you.

• If you sew well, do alterations for others.

• If you have a good grasp of a particular subject, tutors are always needed.

• Good with a computer? Consider teaching others how to use one. You might also want to do computer work for college and graduate students. Try putting up flyers around your area as well as the local colleges and universities.

• Create personal websites for friends and neighbors. Parents might want to purchase one from you as a gift for a child. It can used for photos and 'firsts' as the child is growing. This makes a great gift to the parents of a newborn!

• Are you handy with crafts? Costume jewelery making and selling can be aimed at school-aged girls or adults, and all well-priced gift items sell well especially before the holiday season. The list can go on as long as you align your talents with services or products others need. Be imaginative and create a job! If you choose to go the standard work-at-home route, heed these warnings from the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.

Many people want to do part-time work at home, especially when they have a newborn. But a lot of work-at-home offers are scams. One stat has it that for every legitimate offer you may see, you're going to come across 42 scams. The Federal Trade Commission has formed a multi-agency task force that plans to track down these criminal outfits and prosecute them. The FTC is working with the Justice Department and the Postal Service to go after 200 of these companies. The scams include envelope stuffing, refrigerator magnet sales, Web design, medical billing and vending machine businesses. Some people have been taken for $5,000 or more. But even if it’s a small amount – like $50 – don’t believe these scams. Any time someone asks for money up front to start a business, it’s a scam. Check out more at ftc.gov.

Be sure to check out my website created especially for stay at home moms, those thinking about staying at home, retirees or those thinking about retiring. You'll find lots of advice, articles, freebies and legitimate work from home opportunities.

Stay At Home Moms Unite!
http://www.stayathomemomsunite.com