Work-at-home jobs have seen a rapid
increase in the last few
years. As a financial and economical downgrade has occurred throughout
the
country and throughout the world, many companies have started seeing
the
benefits of hiring work-at-home contractors versus hiring on-site
employees.
There are several things individuals who have not had a work-at-home
job before
or who have had limited experience and work at home jobs should know
before
applying or researching a possible home-based position.
Business
A business opportunity is one of the
first types of work at
home jobs that individuals may become confused from. The confusion
arises
because a business opportunity is generally advertised as a job where
you can
make money from home. It should be noted, that a business opportunity
is just
that. It is an opportunity for an individual to represent and of their
own
fraction of a much larger business. Avon,
Mary
Kay, passion parties, Scentsy and other well-known business
opportunities are
available. However, a business opportunity will generally require an
individual
to sell a product or service, possibly keep a product or service on
stock, and
pay a certain amount to become a trained representative for that
company. The
disadvantages to business opportunity are income based. Though many
individuals
have made substantial incomes in business opportunities the idea of a
business
opportunity and the concept of a business opportunity do not provide a
regular
source of income right away. They are a business that you have to build
through
selling products or services. In essence, a business opportunity is
commission
only which is not what the majority of work-at-home individuals are
looking
for.
Independent Contractor
An independent contractor is an
individual who works from
home or works as a freelancer. The main difference between an
independent
contractor and an individual who works as an employee for a company is
that an
independent contractor must pay and is responsible for their own taxes.
Independent contractors also must provide their own supplies, office
space, and
must supply their own health insurance. If an independent contractor
wishes to
pay into Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other government funded
institutions they must handle this in their own way.
Employee Contract
An employee contract is one of the
rarer forms of
work-at-home jobs. Many companies offer work-at-home jobs in an effort
to save
money for their company while still providing quality service to their
consumers. An employer will choose to use a work at home independent
contractor
due to the fact they will not have to pay the contractors taxes, health
benefits and decreased overtime pay. Though some companies, such as Cloud 10, may offer employee
contracts these contracts are
few and far between and most work-at-home professionals tend to work as
a
freelancer or independent contractor.