i've been looking for work-at-home jobs over at vancouver.craigslist.org - some of the ads are for admin assistants who can telecommute and transcriptionists. one day an ad for a data entry position popped up so i replied.

here's the reply i got:

"We are part of a growing enterprise started by 3 stay-at-home moms looking to earn income from home. This is a legitimate offer for self-motivated people wanting to make some extra income. You have the flexibility to work WHEN you want and HOW MUCH you want and therefore dictate how much you earn. This is a great way to make money for stay at home moms & dads, college students, retirees to pay off holiday debt, or just supplement your existing income.
Position Description:
We are looking to fill 15 positions by 4/27/07.
Your responsibilities will involve processing responses from online ads (this process is fully covered in the step-by-step training.) You may choose to work part-time or full-time, and earn $100-$300+ per week. You do not have to contact anyone by phone.
All you need is a computer with a valid e-mail address and basic typing skills. Each ad takes approx. 15-20 minutes to process - you will have a virtually unlimited amount of leads so you may work as much as you want and at the time you choose. There is no contract to sign and the amount of work you choose to do is up to you. This opportunity has unlimited possibilities - a perfect option for anyone whom wants their work to revolve around their life, and not the other way around.
Compensation:
You will be paid $10 for each order that you process. Payments will be made directly to you The typical rep will make $30-50/day with 2-3 hours of work."

either i'm too naive or too desperate for a work-at-home job that i didn't see thru it. i ended up paying the $10 to see what it's all about - only to get a 10-page "training manual" that basically says i have to repost the ad that i read if i want to earn. in short, con more people and get their money too.

now i'm not about to send more bad karma into the world. i don't understand how some people can do this kind of thing. the person who posted the "ad" - who says she is Kimberly Jennings (even on PayPal) even sent me a message with the "training manual":

Pia,

Welcome to the team! Congrats on taking your first step toward earning supplemental income. I have attached your training materials. (Sorry it's taken me so long, I've been running errands all morning).

Regards,

~Kimberly

kainis. i know it's bad to wish ill upon anybody but... may all her teeth turn black and fall off one by one til she can only eat baby food. and may she have perpetual hemorrhoids from this day forward. hmph!

so please, please, please learn from my stupid mistake and be extra careful when answering work-at-home jobs. the worst part is that people seem to be targeting stay-at-home moms these days... why, why, why???

obviously because we are desperate for jobs that will spare us from leaving the kids in daycare.

Many people have told me they have given up their goal of working at home because it just doesn't exist. When I tell them I work at home and over 50 million others in the United States also work at home, I'm told that working at home doesn't work for them.

Perhaps you are thinking the same thing. I'm here to tell you that working-at-home is possible for everyone. But you have to have the following characteristics:

1) You have to want it bad enough.
2) You have to look in the right places.
3) You have to do the work.

If you have the above characteristics, then you just need to follow the 10 steps to work-at-home success!

1) Take 100% responsibility for your life. You are where you are now because of choices you have made. I understand that life may be tough. Perhaps you have been laid off. Or may be you or someone you love is ill. Life presents challenges. But some of the most successful people in history have overcome tremendous odds to achieve success.

Take Kyle Maynard. He was born without any arms below the elbow or legs below the knee. Despite his physical challenges, Kyle was one of the top wrestlers in Georgia in his senior year of high school. Kyle is now wrestling at the University of Georgia and has begun training in Jiu-Jitsu and competing in the sport of submission wrestling. He is also the author of the book No Excuses, which is what this step is about. You need to give up excuses that prevent you from taking action on your goals. You need to refuse to let obstacles including frustration and discouragement get in your way. When bad things happen, you need to CHOOSE to continue on.

While you can't control the external things in your life, you can choose how you respond to them. By choosing to act instead of be acted upon, you will be taking 100% responsibility for your life.

2) Decide what you want. That sounds pretty easy. More money. Better house. More time. But, these are vague and don't inspire action. Be clear about what you want. Be
specific including what color, what size, what shape, what brand…etc. How much money exactly do you want? What size and style house exactly do you want? Where is it located? On how much land? The more specific you are with your goals, the easier it is to focus on them and be inspired by them.

3) Believe it is possible. This is similar to what I discussed about the people who tell me, that working at home doesn't work for them. Richard Bach who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull said, "Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can." Working at home is possible. Millions of others have proven it to be true. They are no smarter or more talented or luckier than you. They just knew it could be done and figured out how to do it. You can do the same.

4) Believe in YOU! Arthur Williams once said, "The number one reason that keeps people from winning in the United States today is a lack of belief in themselves." You are the one person you should root for the most, and yet mostly likely you sell yourself short. Society trains us to be like this. We are raised to be mediocre people. But you don't have to accept mediocrity. You can do great things.

History is littered with people who had less than you and rose to great heights. Helen Keller was blind, deaf and dumb living in a world in which women were second-class citizens, yet she rose to become an amazing woman. Abraham Lincoln was poor, suffered from depression, was not handsome, and lost several elections before becoming president. Babe Ruth struck out more times than he hit the ball. But he knew the ball was coming and kept on swinging. If you put your mind to it, you can work at home. I know it. But you need to know it too!

5) Set goals. Goals help define where you want to go so you can develop a map to getting there. "Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." Said Fitzhugh Dodson. To be most effective, goals should be written, specific, realistic without being too easy, and they must have a deadline. Once your goals are set, read them three times a day. An easy way to do this is to have a copy taped to your bathroom mirror, one on the refrigerator and one at your desk or any other places that you will see it them regularly.

6) Take action. Having goals without action is like having a road map, but not getting in the car to go anywhere. Mark Twain once said, "The secret to getting ahead is getting started." Unfortunately, it's the start that stops most people. Don't be one of them. Do something everyday that moves you towards your goal. In fact, set out to do 5 things everyday that will move you towards your goal.

7) Stop stopping yourself. How many times have you wanted to do something but didn't because the timing wasn't right or things weren't perfect? In order to be successful, you need to stop limiting yourself. Stop waiting for the right time or the right situation. Success does not come when the time is right, the stars align, and life isn't busy. It comes because of consistent effort even though life isn't perfect.

You also need to stop limiting yourself because of fear. Successful people step outside what is comfortable to make their dreams come true because, "There is no money in the comfort zone." Stepping out of the comfort zone can be scary. There isn't always a lot of support from friends and family for doing something different. But if you were to study all the successful people in world, you would find that in order to reach success, they all had to stop limiting themselves and step out of the comfort zone. Success is not the attainment of the goal, it's the challenges you overcome to attain the goal.

8) Visualize your dream. At least once a day, think about what your life will be like when you reach your goal. The more you think about what you want, the more your brain gets active in trying to help you achieve it. Have you ever thought about buying a car and all of a sudden you see the car you are thinking of buying all over town? Are there really more of these cars out on the road? No. It's just by thinking about it you notice them more. The same thing happens when you picture your life as you'd like it. Your brain will begin to pay attention to things that can help you reach it.

9) Feel the fear and do it anyway. Fear is best described as:

Fantasized
Experiences
Appearing
Real

Fear is what keeps us in our comfort zones. What is there to fear anyway? What people will think? Who cares? Odds are they don't have what you want and can't help you get it. So why listen to them? To overcome fear, you need to make your dream bigger than your fear. Your desire to work at home needs to be bigger than the fear of what others are going to say about you (and truth be known, people don't think about you nearly as much as you think they do if at all). Also, make your goals urgent and just as important as other things in your life. When you MUST live your dream, you will.

10) Be willing to pay the price. We aren't talking about money although sometimes that is a part of reaching your goals. In paying the price, you will need to sacrifice and work harder than you have ever done before. Leisure activities like reading and watching television may have to go on the wayside as you spend time working on your goal.

You may need to give up some extras like manicures, lattes, or dining out so you can have the extra money to live on or to use to build your business. A price must be paid but the payment is temporary, while the payoff is forever.

Finding a way to work-at-home is a reasonable goal, but it won't happen without purposeful effort on your part. Nothing worth having comes easily. You need to plan. You need to work. You need stop fear and a lack of confidence from stealing your dreams. In the coming year, millions more people will finally do what it takes to work-at-home. Will you be one of them?

Tory Johnson's Work-From-Home Tips: Talk Tech

Make It a Power November -- Tory Johnson Has a Job Opportunity Every Day

By TORY JOHNSON

— - More than 11,000 people are now making money at home because of opportunities they've learned about from "Good Morning America" and our online series. They're setting their own hours and working at their own pace, which is one big way they're determined to take control of their lives.

The message in your emails to me is loud and clear: Whether you're looking to contribute to your family's finances or earn some cash to cover holiday expenses, you want more ways to make money at home.

The most common question we're asked is how to find legitimate home-based opportunities. There are several great ways to find full-time and freelance openings, but sometimes the best way to land a home-based job is by calling someone you'd like to work for and offering your services on either a full-time or freelance basis.

Don't limit yourself solely to responding to advertised openings. Sometimes you have to create the opportunity for yourself by initiating the contact on your own.

Every day this November, I'll have a new lead on home-based work opportunities. We have a range of fields and resources below to help guide you in discovering the options that exist. But only you can decide if an opportunity is right for you.

Check back often since we post something new each day.

Nov. 21: Talk Tech

If you're an experienced IT professional and you enjoy problem-solving and quality customer service, you may be able to work from home providing tech support via phone, online and in-person to customers nationwide.

As an independent contractor or employee (this varies per company), you'd work from your own home office, set your own hours, and service clients in your area.

ComputerAssistant.com, GeeksOnTime.com, PlumChoice.com, are some of the companies to explore.

As with all of the opportunities listed in this series, you can search online to find other companies that hire both freelancers and staffers in such roles.

Nov. 20: Maximize Online Job Boards

The big job boards like HotJobs.com, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com are filled with thousands of work-from-home opportunities. I really love SimplyHired.com and Indeed.com because the sites grab positions from a wide variety of sources. The key is to search all of these Web sites by using the words "virtual" or "home-based" when looking for opportunities advertised online.

TheLadders.com, which focuses on positions paying in more than $100,000 annually and requires a monthly fee to join, features a wide range of senior-level positions from home in sales, technology, finance and marketing. You can also promote your own skills and abilities on Web sites such as Guru.com to enable employers to find you.

As with any advertised opportunity, you must do your homework to determine if something's right for you. That means talking to a live person and not just relying on an e-mail exchange to learn in-depth about the requirements, challenges and potential earning power. Don't be fooled by postings that promise big bucks for minimal effort. If it were that easy, we'd all be working in those jobs!

See below for the Nov. 8 entry to learn about other online job boards.

Nov. 19: Driving for Dollars

I'm not talking about becoming a taxi driver or chauffer -- you can make money by driving your normal route while allowing your car to feature advertisements.

Specially-created decals are provided to drivers to affix to the back window. Depending on your location and the amount of driving you do -- usually a minimum of 100 miles a month is required -- you can earn $50 to $150 a month by "renting out" this space on your car. You can make even more money -- up to $500 a month -- by allowing your car to be fully wrapped with an advertiser's images and message.

Search online using keywords "car wrap advertising" to locate opportunities nationwide. Adsaroundtown.com and Alienadvertising.com are two options among thousands of companies, so don't be shy about calling around to compare rates and advertising opportunities to find the best fit for you. Never settle on the first company you find since there could be a more lucrative option available to you.

Nov. 18: Nurses on Call

Registered nurses who don't want to work in traditional hospital settings or doctors' offices -- or who want to supplement their income -- can put their knowledge to work at home.

Several companies, such as Fonemed.com and McKesson.com, hire nurses to provide phone-based triage and advice to callers requesting information on medical conditions and reactions to medication.

Home-based nurses can also provide sound advice to patients on disease management and health care options so they're armed with information to make the best decisions about their care.

Nov. 17: Recruit From Home

Many service-oriented businesses are allowing professionals to work virtually. This is certainly true in the field of recruiting. Some of the opportunities are commission-only: You must recruit a candidate who is hired by an employer in order to receive any money. Others offer a small base salary, plus commission.

There are two easy ways to find employment as a virtual recruiter. Go to the big job boards -- HotJobs.com, Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com -- and search using the key words "virtual recruiter" or "home-based recruiter." You'll see many openings to which you can apply.

The other option is to search on Google or Yahoo for contingency search firms and/or placement agencies. Cold-call them to ask whether they hire home-based recruiters or impress them with your phone skills so that they decide to make you their first virtual recruiter.

To be successful, you must be a super-savvy networker and possess knowledge of recruitment tactics.

Oftentimes, some training on HR issues will be provided if you can prove that you're a highly networked, resourceful professional.

Nov. 16: Become a Coder for Cash

Medical coding and transcription can't always be performed at home, especially with strict privacy policies and guidelines.

However, there are many companies that hire home-based workers with the skills and experience to provide both services. Keep in mind, however, that it's very difficult for entry-level, inexperienced candidates to get hired to perform such work from home.

In most cases, in addition to the proper training, you must have your own computer, high-speed Internet access, and, where applicable, headphones and a foot pedal.

Some companies also require you to have your own software; others will provide it. In addition to finding appropriate employers online by searching Google or the big job boards, you can check out the opportunities with Medquist.com, Healthiva.com, Precysesolutions.com.

If you're interested in starting your own coding or transcription business, begin with medical offices in your area. Ask the doctors you know how they handle such tasks and offer to provide your services. As with any new business, expect to get many rejections before you finally get a yes. Then remember, if you can get one yes, you can get two, then four and so on.

Nov. 15: Connect With Clients as a Concierge

Do you think you have what it takes to handle phone, e-mail, and online customer inquiries for services that range from making dinner suggestions and reservations to planning a vacation for busy professionals?

What if the caller asked you to locate the dress Julia Roberts wore in "Ocean's Eleven," rent monkeys for a birthday party, or help write a speech for a best man?

Those are some of the common and quirky requests asked of home-based concierge agents at VIPdesk, one of the leading services. VIPdesk's clients are executives and employees of some of the top companies in the world, all of whom are willing to pay for such services of convenience.

VIPdesk hires home-based agents who are highly resourceful and have prior experience in high-end customer service, travel and/or hospitality. Apply online at vipdesk.com.

Because concierge services are growing in popularity as a benefit for businesses of all sizes, consider starting your own service. Contact employers in your area about offering services of convenience to their staffers.

For example, during the busy holiday season -- and throughout the year -- employees are often distracted by personal needs. You can help busy parents save time by researching day care, planning birthday parties, and scheduling doctor's appointments for their kids.

A doctor's office might require its staff to work long hours to accommodate patient needs. Employee absenteeism can cause a disruption or slow down in services.

It may be more beneficial for the medical practice to pay an outsider like you to handle errands and special chores for a nurse than to give that nurse a day off.

This same theory applies to companies where staffers work long hours or are required to travel regularly. So use this approach when pitching your services.

Nov. 14: Cook Up Some Cash as a Culinary Consultant

Think you have what it takes to whip up culinary magic in the kitchen? That just might qualify you to become a home-based consultant for Chefsline.com, which provides live, professional advice to anyone who needs help with cooking or baking.

Chef consultants must excel at cooking, teaching and customer service, and must be available to take calls for a minimum of eight hours per week during afternoon and evening hours. A culinary degree is preferred, but not required. A specialty in regional cuisine is desirable, such as African, Latin American, Middle Eastern or French, among others. Compensation ranges from $7.50 to $30 an hour, depending on expertise.

There are also other options in this arena. Local companies hire dietitians and nutritionists to handle customer/client calls from home. Call gyms and diet centers in your area to offer your services if you're knowledgeable and experienced in this line of work.

If you've got a strong entrepreneurial spirit, you can also offer to plan and execute cooking demonstrations in supermarkets, gourmet shops or private homes. Or find clients who'll allow you to plan their meals, shop for groceries, and prepare dinner. Time-strapped individuals often dream of having an affordable personal chef instead of relying on frozen dinners and takeout.

Nov. 13: Become a Blogger

Blogging and media-sharing on the Internet are superhot right now, with no signs of fading any time soon.

Web sites with videos, personal content and gossip are raking in advertising dollars with each click of the mouse.

You can become a professional blogger, too. Web sites such as Eefoof.com allow you to post videos and photographs, and then receive a percentage of the site's revenue, which is generated from advertising associated with page views and clicks to the content posted by you.

The harder you work to promote your own videos and photos, the more money you'll earn.

Another way to make money is to create your very own blog at Blogger.com. Set up your own page and create captivating content to lure readers to your stuff. Then add the site's AdSense feature, which allows advertisements to be included on the page.

Every time a viewer clicks through on the advertisement on your blog page, cha-ching! Keep in mind this only works if you're committed to creating a blog that others would find fascinating -- and you hustle to attract readers to build a following for yourself.

Nov. 12: Get Paid to Write

A handful of Web sites pay for articles, but unless they're commissioning your original work, you won't make big bucks. Associatedcontent.com pays around $10 per approved/published piece. Helium.com is another option that rewards prolific writers, and both sites are a good way to build an online portfolio of published work while making some money at the same time.

Another option is freelance writing for magazines, trade publications, newsletters or local newspapers. If you've developed a specialty or have a particular interest in a single topic -- film, fashion, food, travel -- many Web sites and small publications work only with freelancers and regularly look for writers to do reviews on products or new releases, ranging in topic from electronics to beauty.

Contact the editors of the publications you'd like to work for. (Their names and contact information can typically be found on the masthead or Web site.) Ask for their writers guidelines and be ready to submit samples of your work. (This is also where links to your work from the two sites listed above can come in handy.) I hire freelance writers for my company's magazine, which is published three times a year. All of them have come to me unsolicited with their writing samples and story suggestions.

Compensation varies based on your experience. Novices might have to accept free products or press passes for their work. Experienced writers can expect to make anywhere from fifty cents to $2 per word. For multiple articles, you might settle on a flat rate.

Nov. 11: Direct Your Attention to Direct Sales

It's not just Avon, Mary Kay and Tupperware anymore. There are thousands of exciting opportunities to make extra money through in-person and online direct sales. More than 14 million people now work as independent contractors doing just that.

Select a company that best mirrors your own passion and interest, since there's a greater likelihood that you'll be able to sell products to which you can relate.

Like fine wine? Consider becoming a rep for TheTravelingVineyard.com. Is high-end clothing your soft spot? Check out the CarlisleCollection.com. Want to sell toys to parents in your kid's play group? Perhaps DiscoveryToysInc.com is ideal for you. The Direct Selling Association offers links to businesses and advice on how to succeed in direct sales.

Nov. 10: Use Your Language Skills as a Translator

If you are a native speaker of a foreign language, then becoming a freelance translator could be a great opportunity. Several companies need documentation translated for international partners and hire freelance translators through companies like Welocalize and Language Translation, Inc.

Most companies require applicants to take a written test and sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Precision and accuracy is a must. Companies who hire freelance translators prefer candidates who are native speakers of the target language, have experience with professional documents, software, or multimedia translations, and are members of a professional translation association.

The most in-demand services include translation from English to Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Italian.

This is another business you can start on your own if you have the skills and are able to network effectively to land a client. A major corporate client can keep you busy full-time and smaller businesses would likely offer project work here and there.

Nov. 9: Become a Virtual Assistant

Often times small business owners and mid- to executive-level professionals need personal assistants but cannot afford to hire one on a full-time basis, or simply don't have the space in their offices. Therefore, they hire people from remote locations to do their administrative work for them.

Virtual assistants can handle bookkeeping, administrative duties, travel arrangements, transcription and correspondence, and other support services that can be done remotely via e-mail and phone.

A search on Google using keywords "virtual assistant" will generate results of many independent contractors. Some will outsource a share of their workload.

But you should also consider starting a similar business on your own. Be your own boss, set your own hours, and acquire clients through self-promotion and marketing. Networking and referrals are your best bets for landing clients.

Create an e-mail about your services and send it to everyone you know -- and ask them to forward it along to everyone they know. You can also check the sites listed on the Nov. 8 entry for leads as a virtual assistant.

Nov. 8: Find Freelance Gigs

From public relations to Web design and so much in between, you can find freelance opportunities on a number of Web sites devoted to posting part-time and consulting gigs.

Web sites such as elance.com, sologig.com, guru.com, craigslist.com, clicknwork.com, ether.com and ifreelance.com have thousands of opportunities to respond. Some of them allow you to post a free profile about yourself and your skills and services.

If you're bidding on freelance projects, be sure to research going rates before indicating what you're willing to work for.

This is especially important for work outside of your geographic area. If you live in Ohio, the going rates for graphic design might be much less there than in New York.

Yet, since this is home-based work, you can be located anywhere to do the job. While the client is looking for a good deal, you don't want to underprice -- or overprice -- your services or you're likely to be knocked out of the running.

Nov. 7: Become a Virtual Publicist

In 1998, Chris Perkett founded a virtual public relations agency, PerkettPR.com, and since then she hires only experienced professionals who work from their homes.

From Maine to California, her full-timers and freelancers earn up to six figures working virtually to service demanding clients by phone, fax and e-mail.

Technology has made it possible for thousands of other such firms to exist nationwide, all of which are eager to identify experienced communications and marketing professionals who are diligent in their work habits but also crave the flexibility of a home base.

Among them: Bisbee and Company, PartnerCentric, Orca Communications, and Wasabi Publicity, just to name a few. If you're a seasoned PR pro, contact them with your capabilities and availability.

You should also consider starting your own virtual PR firm. If you're experienced in promotions, event planning, writing, pitching, media contact management, crisis communications or strategic planning, there's a good chance your services are in demand.

Without expensive office overhead, you can offer competitive prices while making a hefty profit. Create a Web site that promotes your abilities, and start spreading the word. Since you're in PR, you no doubt know how to toot your own horn.

Nov. 6: Guide Users Online

Use your subject-area expertise to make money assisting others who are in need of that knowledge.

Chacha.com is a brand new search engine that is similar to Yahoo or Google, however users have the ability to request the free help of a live guide. That live guide is sitting at home making money while he or she assists with the online search. Learn how you can make $5 to $10 an hour, which can be paid to you via debit card or direct deposit, at chacha.com.

About.com offers qualified applicants the opportunity to become guides if they have proven expertise in a topic area. As a guide, you're responsible for publishing a full-length article every 14 days and you must update your blog at least three times per week. Anyone can apply, but you must pass a 17 day-long self-guided online training program to familiarize yourself with About's tools and demonstrate your knowledge of the process.

Successful guides never make less than $500 per month, according to About.com, and some guides can earn upwards of $100,000 a year for popular, high-trafficked sections. Visit the getting started guide on About.com for details.

On JustAnswer.com, users agree to pay for experts to answer their questions. If you have an expertise -- from gardening to genealogy -- you can agree to answer questions for a price. The site then pays you based on accepted answers.

Nov. 5: Offer Services of Convenience

Turn those seasonal clients into year-round customers by catering to their every day needs. You can get paid to walk a dog, garden, shop for groceries, wait for the cable guy to show up, fetch dry cleaning, or set up electronics for busy professionals or people who have challenges leaving home. Offer one-time discounts to your clients if they assist you with successful referrals by chatting up your services in their offices. In addition to following yesterday's advice on how to find clients, post your availability for free on sites such as craigslist.org.

Nov. 3: Virtual customer-service agent

Another growing work-from-home opportunity is to answer the inbound customer calls for companies like J Crew, 1-800 Flowers, Virgin Atlanta, or Walgreens.

These major players and many others like them outsource their customer-service calls to companies that hire U.S.-based virtual agents.

Set your own hours and pick an account that's ideally suited to your knowledge and interests.

In addition to having a pleasant voice and strong customer-service skills, you must have high-speed Internet access, a computer, a landline, and a quiet place to work -- all of which you pay for on your own.

Expect to make an average of $8 and $15 an hour depending on your experience, call volume and accounts. Be prepared to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, although some agents work 40 hours to 60 hours when their schedule permits.

Alpine Access (alpineaccess.com) hires virtual agents as employees.

Other companies, including LiveOps (liveops.com), West (workathomeagent.com) and Willow CSN (willowcsn.com) hire agents as independent contractors.

All of these companies hire year-round, and they're all eager for great talent now as they prepare for a very busy holiday season.

Make Money at Home: An Idea a Day in November

Nov. 2 -- Become an online tutor

If you graduated from a college or university in this country or in Canada, or you're a current student at an accredited school, and you have expertise in English, math, science or social studies, you could make money as an online tutor.

You must be able to convey key information to students of all ages -- generally fourth grade through college level -- in an online environment. That means teaching mathematical formulas and chemistry equations to a kid through cyberspace, rather than face-to-face instruction.

Visit www.tutor.com to learn how you can make $10 an hour or more working five hours to 30 hours a week from home.

To find other online-tutoring opportunities, or to learn how to start your own online-tutoring business, do a Google search using the keywords "online tutor" and research dozens of options based on your availability and subject-area expertise.

Nov. 1 -- Create your own product line

Ever dream of seeing your slogans and artwork on T-shirts, mugs or hats? You can turn that dream into reality -- and into cash -- without investing even a penny in expensive startup costs like equipment and stock.

Submit your original ideas and art online to Web sites like zazzle.com, cafepress.com and others, and you'll receive commission on all sales generated with your designs.

Do this for T-shirts, mugs, kids' accessories, housewares, posters, stickers, and so much more.

In addition to securing orders from strangers who visit those sites, you can also make money by doing some proactive promotion of your own.

Encourage your friends and family to place orders, and get them to e-mail all of their friends, too, by forwarding links to your products.

Let them know that your items make great holiday gifts as they think about seasonal purchases.

Work-From-Home Rules

Keep in mind a few basic rules before embarking on any type of work from home:

1) Stick to a schedule. There's no manager watching the clock to see whether you report for duty at the designated hour. You're the boss, which means you bear the responsibility of getting to your workstation on time.

Create a realistic schedule each week, and do what it takes to stick to it. This includes building in breaks for lunch, personal calls, e-mails, and other brief time-outs from your work just as you'd have in a traditional office setting.

2) Create a dedicated work space. Your dining-room table shouldn't double as your office. Select a quiet space where you can work uninterrupted. It's important to have an area to look forward to working in each day -- no dreary corners -- and a place that you can walk away from at the end of your shift.

3) Measure your progress and success. Determine in advance the goals you're aiming toward, and then work to achieve them. Be willing to re-evaluate your expectations if necessary as you go to adjust for the realities of your home-based opportunities.

Don't give up. Even though we all crave overnight success and instant gratification, there's no such thing as an easy way to make tons of money with minimal effort. Everything takes work.

Keep me posted on your experiences and success. Visit www.womenforhire.com to send me your stories.

Tory Johnson is the workplace contributor for "Good Morning America" and the CEO of Women for Hire.