Legitimate work from home/freelance opportunities?

[hermione]

Has anyone here had positive experiences with any work from home/freelance opportunities found online? We live in a remote area with very few job opportunities, so the internet is our best bet. I've seen a lot of freelance websites for things like clerical/administrative work (data entry & word processing) and graphic design but it's hard to tell which sites are good and legitimate.

So can anyone here recommend good freelance sites from personal experience or reliable word of mouth?

[Xin Lu]

I suggest LiveOps.com if you are ok with doing customer service. They pay for performance and I've heard good things about them. Also, you can apply for one of Google's many Quality Rater positions. I did this when I was in college and they paid $15 an hour for you to look at search results. You can also write a blog, but it takes longer to make money.

[Kathryn]

If you don't read it already, the Freelance Switch blog is a good source of information--they have a "monster list" of legit freelance job boards:
http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/t...ing-job-sites/

The switch is geared more toward IT developers/coders/designers/writers, but there's useful advice for freelancers of all flavors (including graphic design).

I mostly do editing and translation, but I occasionally do transcription jobs and in doing price comparisons have occasionally run across transcription services on the web that solicit off-site freelancers. So, if you've ever done that before, that's another avenue to search. Because of the competition from off-shore outsourcing, the pay for outsourced clerical work is low.

Other miscellaneous sites to check out:
DoMyStuff.com -- outsourcing of all sorts, some local, some work-at-home
Workaholics4Hire.com

[khorrell]

Hermione - I was trying to find the name of another Virtual Customer Service Representative company that I know, so I googled "virtual customer service agent." I found an array of appropriate links, including working as an online juror (I've heard of this before) and a slew of virtual customer service agent companies. Most require you to work as an independent contractor, which means that you pay your own expenses (and write them off on your taxes) out of the amounts you get paid. It is not for everyone but I'm recommending it to at least one person I know.

P.S. Where in Hawai'i are you from? I lived in Ewa Beach on Oahu for about three years and I'd go back tomorrow if I could.

[purplefdu]

Not knowing what your perfect freelance job is if you are looking for designing work Sitepoint.com has forums with job offers on it that are normally pretty legit. You can also advertise your services there, and if you have the time and drive there are design contests that have decent prize amounts due to minimum prize requirements.

[hermione]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I will look into them all.

Kathryn - I actually lived all over the place on Oahu - Waimanalo, Hawaii Kai, Nuuanu, Punaluu, Laie, and my favorite Sunset Beach. We also lived in Kilauea on Kauai for a while when I was younger. My sister and I are so tired of moving that we bought a house in 2005 and are determined to never move again unless we want to.

[Xin Lu]

cool..I lived in Honolulu for 5 years.

[Miss Rosie]

Originally Posted by Kathryn

If you don't read it already, the Freelance Switch blog is a good source of information--they have a "monster list" of legit freelance job boards:
http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/t...ing-job-sites/

That's a great site, Kathryn. Thanks for posting it.

[Milehimama]

I have gotten a few writing jobs from the Absolute Write forums. www.absolutewrite.com

They have two threads there, both looking for freelance writers for pay and also contributors for free. I am currently writing for realitytvmag.com, for pay, which I got hired from a post on that forum.

They also have lots of threads, tips, and people who freelance writing from home.

[Tightwad]

You need to visit these sites:

http://www.wahm.com

http://www.workplacelikehome.com

http://www.ratracerebellion.com