Here at YAM we like to touch on two major topics as often as possible: increasing income and lifestyle design.
One thing many people aspire to do is to work from home full-time. This shouldn’t be a surprise as working from home has a ton of advantages for both your lifestyle as well as your finances.
While there are some jobs that will always require employees to be physically present (such as plumbers), there are millions of jobs that can be done remotely. After all, most people who sit in a cubicle could just as easily sit in a cubicle a thousand miles away and complete their work.
Today I want to talk about 3 real ways to work from home full-time. While making money online is definitely one of the ways you can work from home full-time, it’s definitely not the only way.
1) Find a Job for a Company that Offers Telecommuting Options
While I receive emails from advertisers who think that I blog full-time, the truth is that I receive most of my income from a 9-5 job in corporate finance working for a large corporation. For the foreseeable future I plan on continuing to work in corporate finance and currently have no aspirations to run a blog full-time.
The reality is that you do not have to create an online business to work from home full-time. There are many companies that are moving more towards the telecommute structure to save costs and increase employee morale. It makes sense. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who loves commuting to and from work, and I know I’ve never met someone who enjoys sitting in a cubicle!
There are more and more companies that are becoming open to a telecommute arrangement. I work for a very large organization and I’ve seen more and more jobs open up where they want to hire the best employee possible regardless of where they live. Some teams have people physically located all throughout the country.
Even in some jobs where people traditionally are required to be present are being moved to location-independent setups. For example some clinical medical providers are utilizing online appointments with patients. It saves money and time for everyone involved.
So if you are looking for a full-time work from home job do not rule out traditional work. You just may be surprised by the opportunities out there today.
2) Become a Writer or Content Producer
One thing is obvious: consumers want more content and companies want to provide more content. If you look at video media alone there is huge demand by companies to create custom TV shows and other videos that can be distributed to consumers. Even Yahoo has gotten into the video content game.
If you can create videos there will likely be a lot of demand for your work in the future. If you are like me and are not skilled at creating video content nor desire to get into that area, there is one great solution: blogging and freelance writing.
I’ve mentioned in the past that I have made side income from both blogging and freelance writing. I also know many who have started to write for blogs as a full-time job. In fact Cat Alford, who used to be one of the contributors to this blog, is one of those individuals. She recently launched a new course called Get Paid to Write for Blogs. In this course she teaches other aspiring full-time writers how to make a full-time income working at home as a writer for blogs.
Cat’s course is a great way to get exposure to making money through freelance writing and I’d recommend checking it out if you have an interest in making money as a content producer for blogs and content websites.
3) Create a Product to Sell
While many people immediately think of publishing as the best way to make money from home, it isn’t necessarily the best way. Blogs are great but oftentimes are dependent on advertising or eventually turn into a writing career.
Some people want to work from home full-time but do not want to be writers or compete in the publishing industry. Thankfully for them there are other ways to make money online.
In my opinion the best way to make money online is to create a product to sell. This could be a software product or some other sort of electronic product, or it could be a physical product. Electronic products are typically ideal as you don’t have to worry about the distribution of a physical product, but supply chain options have drastically improved the past few years where even a physical product can be something that is sold online and does not require being physically managed by the entrepreneur.
Creating a physical product and selling it online is actually the strategy that is promoted in the famous book The 4-Hour Work Week. You can actually outsource the entire process of creating and selling a physical product, all the way down to production, shipping, and customer support. If you create and sell the right product it can be an incredible way to make money full-time from home.
Do you desire to work from home full-time? How do you plan on achieving it? If you work from home full-time, how did you make working from home full-time a reality?
Remember to check out Cat’s course Get Paid to Write for Blogs and learn how she created a full-time work from home job out of writing for blogs and how you can too.
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Photo by kate hiscock
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I’m excited for Cat’s launch :-)
I can’t believe how often I get contacted by folks who seem to think I blog full-time (obviously they aren’t reading my debt-ridden content). Though some folks say it’s harder than ever to make a living blogging, it’s evident that enough people do that advertisers *assume* some of us are part of that club! Certainly it takes time to build up to it, but it’s a viable opportunity for folks who have talent, dedication, time, and a great niche idea.
Thank you so much for your support DC, both in hiring me for one of my first writing jobs and all your support along the way!
It seems like more and more companies are allowing employees to telecommute these days, which I think is really a step in the right direction. I for one am a lot more productive when I don’t have the distractions of an office :) The perks of working from home!
BudgetBlonde Thank YOU Cat for all your great posts on the site! I’m not surprised you have gone so far with your writing career and I think people will really benefit from your course
I’d agree that more firms are opening up to the idea of letting people work from home. If it means increased productivity and it gets them the best candidate it’d be foolish not to look at it. I miss some of the camaraderie of working in an office, but love the flexibility I have too much to consider going back to the corporate world.
indebtedmom Yes Cat has put together a great product! I think what’s inspiring about Cat is that she is truly making a full-time income writing for blogs. She has that legitimacy behind her program and has “been there, done that.”
It’s definitely interesting to see how many advertisers think the site sustains a full-time income. I would love if I could get to that point, but for me it’s 100% side hustle. It’s bonus money to put towards debt, home projects, vacations, and grad school tuition.
Christina@EmbracingSimple I am really happy about the work from home trend. It will be years (decades?) before it’s fully embraced, but it’s better for everyone involved imo. It even helps those who HAVE to work from a physical location because there is less traffic for them.
FrugalRules I think “getting the best candidate” is what is really going to drive more and more companies to consider work from home positions. I know where I work they are going that route more often because they want the best candidates regardless of physical location.
It’s great that more and more companies are realizing the benefits of telecommuting. Working from home can definitely improve your quality of life, depending on what is most important to you.
moderatemuse I agree! It also allows people to keep jobs that they otherwise would be unable to work. For example if your spouse needs to move to a new city for work you may be able to set up an arrangement with your current employer to work remotely.
My husband and I both work full-time from home. We do a combination of things to bring in a full-time income. We both write and create web content. We own three websites. We also sell stuff and earn affiliate income.
There are bonus for the employer as well, like saving physically cost on buildings, electric, coffee, etc. by having their work force work from home.
Holly at ClubThrifty You and Greg do a great job at it, too! It’s really cool to see how working from home has positively impacted your life. Definitely inspiring for others seeking to do the same.
DebtDiscipline Yes definitely! I think a lot of employers are being cautious, though, because they are worried that employees won’t “actually” be working the entire day if they aren’t physically in an office building. Would be interesting to see research that backs up or refutes that view.
My next goal is to work on a product to sell because I totally agree with you there. A lot of work up front, but passive income down the road!
I normally work from home, and I would say that if you are in a highly technical position, and you are a top performer then its fair to broach your manager about a flexible work arrangement. This is especially easy if you work in a co-located environment already.
I will say that work from home in a traditional environment has not been without drawbacks. My advancement opportunities within my current company are limited to technical and consulting roles unless I’m willing to move back. On top of that, it’s much easier to lose touch with the general culture of the office when you are away.
I am hoping to eventually create a product to sell. It’s an area I’ve been a little lazy in but I know there are plenty of positives of doing so.
Luckily my job will let me work remotely when the time is right. I spent 2 days last week working at a friends house in another state. Not as good as full tele-commuting but I can’t complain since they don’t make me come to the office M-F.
Great tips! I can’t think of another way. My new job actually does not even allow you to log in from home – I kind of like it that way because it prevents evening and weekend work. I will say that selling something or being a freelance writer (both things I’m currently doing but not doing that well) are the best ways in my opinion. They give you true freedom to work from wherever.
Beachbudget Absolutely. I think it’s the best way to go if you are looking for passive income. Ideally it would have a “long tail” too where the product is relevant for a few years down the road.
Hannah UnplannedFinance Makes total sense, Hannah, and thanks for providing your feedback. I think there are pros and cons to every working situation. I do think a lot of those “people” roles companies are hesitant to allow workers to work from home. But I do think that’s changing as well.
SenseofCents Same here. I haven’t prioritized it at all but really should consider focusing on it in the near future.
ferventfinance Yes, definitely a step in the right direction. It definitely is better than having to come in every day.
Financegirl Great point, and I think that’s what’s so attractive about working for yourself. You have total control over your schedule, work environment, hours, etc.
I’ve worked from home part-time writing content for companies. The part-time gig was perfect for me after having a baby. My husband’s engineering job has some flexibility so he works from home about one day a week. So while we haven’t done full-time work from home, having some options in this area has been really nice.
I don’t have aspirations at this time to work from home because in my profession it’s really not allowed. :) However, I can absolutely see why people want to work for home as my husband does telecommute and has for many, many years. He loves it. Telecommuting has become really easy to do and I wish more companies embraced it. Plus, if you really feel you need to someone face-to-face, than you can alway Skype.
I don’t think I’ll ever want to work from home full-time. That being said, my job does allow us to work from home for a few days a year (and on bad weather days) so that’s pretty awesome. Now if only could come up with a product I could sell.. I used to sell DIY mugs on Etsy but that took up way too much of my time. It was fun while it lasted, but I need a new product, haha.
Producing products to sell will be the next stage for me. I don’t know exactly what that is yet but I’m beginning to write down some ideas.
Even in financial planning now, advisors are working from home. Friends of mine now work full time from home and rent office space to meet clients to keep the meetings efficient and professional. It’s amazing what technology allows. Another friend who’s a radiologist does a large volume of his work at home. All he really needs is the right software to look at charts and the ability to forward his diagnosis to the treating doctor. Pretty cool stuff….
Tax & audit are two areas where I make some extra income each year through working remotely. Not the most glamorous things, but it’s better than nothing.
Pretend to Be Poor It’s always nice to have some options rather than NO options, and there are still millions upon millions of jobs that simply cannot physically be done remotely. That does sound like a nice gig to have after having a baby.
ShannonRyan Yes, some jobs simply do not allow for it, which is fine. Those jobs have more security imo, but there are trade-offs with everything. I do think that 99% of office jobs could be shifted to WFH. It just takes a gutsy CEO to make the call.
Brian @ Luke1428 I have a lot of work to do on YAM before I will have the time to produce a product, but I do think that it gives you the best shot at the coveted “passive” income that a lot of entrepreneurs are shooting for.
Anum Hey I may actually be interested in discussing something with you based on your past Etsy experience….I’m intrigued. I also do not think my job will ever transform to full-time WFH. I would probably need to move into a more data/technical-intensive role for it to happen.
AverageJoeMoney Those are two great examples! I am very intrigued by WFH psychologists partially because my wife is going into that field. I do think that sometimes you need that human element (and sometimes people don’t have the right home environment to make it work), but I love the potential.
Mark@BareBudgetGuy Haha you shouldn’t talk negatively about tax & audit! It sounds like a relatively lucrative side gig and if it can be done from home it sounds like an AMAZING side gig, at least in my opinion ;)
If only I could do eye exams from home! I actually do see more telemedicine and virtual patient encounters down the road, but we’re not there yet, and there are some things that just need to be done person to person. There really are a ton of ways to make more money from home, even if it’s reselling yard sale finds. I love that the sky is the limit if you really want to seek it out and learn how to market yourself or a product.
Eyesonthedollar If you like what you do and it requires you to be physically present, then it makes sense to continue at it. I think you’re right that we will see some impressive telemedicine in the future. I also love how the sky is the limit with WFH income. There’s so much potential.
I definitely would prefer to work from home a majority of the time (although sometimes it’s good to get out for a change of scenery!) There’s no reason why I can’t work from home with my current job, but because it’s consulting based there’s the occasional client meeting required, and is generally not encouraged by the firm – but I still try and do it where I can.
My ultimate goal is to create useful products I can sell. I wouldn’t mind doing some ad-hoc consulting for individuals around investment or personal finance (as opposed to the ‘corporate’ consulting I do full time), but am definitely striving for freedom from the office in the long run.
I think I’d like to have the option to work from home if I needed to more than just wanting to take the leap right now. These days no job is 100% secure so it’s great to have multiple streams of income.
Jason@Islands of Investing I think the individual consulting would be a fun gig. I’m in the same boat where working from home is generally not encouraged, but people do it from time-to-time. Typically you need an “excuse” to work from home.
Chonce It’s definitely great to have the option, and I think most people would take the option if given a choice. I also have to agree that multiple streams of income is important these days.
I have the ability to work from home as much as I want with my job and while I love the flexibility, I actually love the change up of actually going into the office every now and then; but I have to say that after 2 years of this flexibility, I don’t think I could ever go back to working in the office 5 days a week.
blonde_finance The flexibility must be nice, Shannon. I think that’s what a lot of people desire – at least give them the option!
My wife currently works from home for a large corporation. She works on the recruiting side of things and absolutely loves the freedom and flexibility. I think more and more large companies will be adopting this model. Someday I’d like to work from home in some capacity. For now, I’m like you DC, I churn through the 9-5 picking up some side gigs on the way.
Financial Tour Guide Good to hear it’s working out for your wife! I think it would be great to work from home in some capacity down the road. For me it really depends how much my company and other large companies embrace it down the road.
I work remotely, but there is a lot of travel involved. I also work longer hours that I did when I was in the office. It’s not all fun & games like people think :-)
houseoftre There’s definitely pros and cons to it, and it probably varies quite a bit by situation. I’m actually really intrigued by your work setup. I know you’ve talked about it a bit on the blog but it sounds like something I’d be interested/willing to do (wfh most of the time, travel to the office 25% of the time). Granted there are other things about your office that sound pretty terrible, like how they give you gifts on admin appreciation day despite the fact you are the controller. Again, pros and cons ;)
I’ve been working from home for the last two and a half years and it’s been great. Now I’m about to start working on #3 and move from physical products to digital ones. I’m definitely all about the lifestyle of not just working from home but working for myself. Exiting times ahead!
I used to work remotely as a content writer after I had my first child, and the opportunity to work to my own hours and look after my family at the same time was the best part for me. But now my child is old enough for school, I chose to go back to office life, I really missed the social aspect when I worked from home as it can get quite lonely