With so many work from home opportunities out there, how do you choose a job that will not be a scam or cost you an arm and a leg to start?
With over 15 years of experience searching for and trying different types of jobs, I know what works, and what doesn’t.
I will help you narrow down what you are good at, what marketable personality traits that make you stand out, what you love doing, and how much money you would like to make.
Let’s get started!
This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
What Skills Do You Have?
Before you decide what type of work you want to do from home, take some time to write down your skills.
You don’t have to have a degree or any kind of formal training for many jobs, and especially one that you start yourself!
But it is good to have some experience and practical skills for what type of work you choose. For example, you probably don’t want to be a dog walker or pet sitter if you’re allergic to animals, or if you’re afraid of dogs.
And, you certainly don’t want to try working as an editor if you have poor grammar or don’t like reading.
But, if you have a passion for something, you can turn that passion into a sustainable income. So, let’s write down those skills to help decide what job would be great for you.
You’re only writing down skills at this point; the next step will be writing down your personality traits. Here are some examples:
- Computer savvy
- Proficient in Microsoft Office
- Excellent cooking or baking skills
- Good writer
- Excels at Photoshop or another photo editing program
- Time-management skills
- Master woodworker
- Emergency training
- Excellent customer service skills
- Top-notch researcher
- Editing skills
- Executive training skills
- I.T. skills
- Fashion designing
- Painting
- Blacksmith skills
- Teaching
- Web design
- Green thumb, loves gardening
- Coaching
- Construction background
- Sewing
- Cleaning
- Driving
And the list goes on.
How Would You Describe Yourself?
This section can be how you describe yourself or how others describe you.
Since we’re trying to come up with marketable personality traits in this exercise, I would refrain from putting anything negative. Such as grumpy, bitchy, talks too much, stubborn, etc.!
Here are some examples:
- Organized
- Strong work ethic
- Honest
- Reliable
- Intelligent
- Friendly
- Happy
- People person
- Generous
- Hard worker
- Strong attention to detail
- Prolific reader
- Excellent communicator
What Do You Love Doing?
Now that you have written down your skills and unique traits, look at the skills list and ask yourself, what do I love doing?
You may have excellent computer skills, but do you enjoy working on the computer? If you answer no, then keep moving down the list.
If you find something on the list that truly makes you happy and you can see doing for the next three to five years (or more) highlight or mark it.
Once you have gone down the list and marked what items make you happy, you want to go to the personality traits list.
Then, we’ll see how you can combine what you love to do with your personality into a job opportunity.
Here is what my narrowed down list looked like when I did this exercise years ago.
Skills:
- Computer savvy
- Proficient in Microsoft Office
- Time-management skills
- Good writer
- Excellent customer service skills
- Construction background
- Emergency training
- Top-notch researcher
- Editing skills
- Coaching
Personality Traits:
- Organized
- Strong work ethic
- Honest
- Reliable
- Intelligent
- Friendly
- Happy
- People person
- Generous
- Hard worker
- Strong attention to detail
- Prolific reader
- Excellent communicator
After looking at my two lists, it became quite apparent to me that I have skills that would make sense for me to find a job that would entail working on the computer.
While I love kids, cooking, and animals, I couldn’t see myself creating a business around any of those topics.
So, I decided to focus on marketing myself as a writer and editor, because I love to read, write, and fix grammar mistakes.
With my experience in emergency medicine, construction, and gardening, I found a niche in what to write.
Looking at my personality traits and skillset helped me to market myself to future clients and write my profile or “About Me” page.
I figured that my clients want to know if they hire me as an editor or writer that I’m honest, reliable, provide excellent customer service, have strong attention to detail, and will provide excellent communication throughout the project. So, those are the words I use when sending a job proposal and in my written profile.
Then, it’s your job to back up what you say you can provide, which will get you positive feedback and repeat customers.
How Much Money Would You Like to Make?
Asking yourself this question will help you decide if a job opportunity that you are looking at will be feasible and make you the amount of money you need to survive.
This question will also help to know what to charge per job, per hour, or per piece if you have physical items to sell.
Another question to ask yourself is, what timeframe do you have to get to the amount you would like to make per month?
If you need money RIGHT NOW, then choosing a business such as starting a blog that can take months to generate an income might need to be put on the back burner.
Let’s go with the example that you want or need an extra $500 per month. You love animals and decide to start a dog-walking business.
If you research what other dog walking businesses are charging in your area, that will help you come up with your fee. The median average for dog walkers is roughly $30 per hour.
If you want to make $500 per month, you will need to work almost 17 hours that month to make $500. But, keep in mind any licensing fees you may have ( depending on where you live) and income taxes you will have to report.
With any business you start from home, you can write-off business expenses and part of your home office, which will offset your income.
I recommend talking with an accountant or visiting the IRS website to understand what you can deduct.
There are hundreds of opportunities to make money from home. Some cost a little, or a lot, to start up, while others require only a computer and reliable internet.
If you are still stuck on what you want to start from home, click here to get my guide
“ Financial Freedom: 50 Jobs You Can Start From Home Today.”
What work from home job are you thinking of starting? Please leave a comment!
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