This post is first in a series discussing the many ways in which you can work from home while spending more time with children and family while pursuing other interests. Please submit your stories if you are currently working from home or have a telecommuting arrangement with your place of employment.

This article from Squidoo, Legitimate Work From Home Jobs is full of great information about opting out of the rat race and doing so as long as you have an internet connection.

Check out the following companies hiring work at home agents:

Freedom Telework

Freedom Telework has a reverse bidding structure – you should have a business license and your own equipment. You tell their clients how much you’ll charge by the minute or hour.

Alpine Access

Alpine Access hires virtual call center agents as W-2 employees. Competition for jobs is stiff, however, they are one of the most respected in the industry.

LiveOps

Liveops is another BPO firm – you’ll be an independent contractor.

Superior Telemarketing

Superior Telemarketing pays an hourly wage for their W-2 employees to work from home.

1-800-FLOWERS

1-800-FLOWERS hires in specific regions. Their work-from-home agents are W-2 employees.

West at Home

West at Home hires home-based independent contractors, and they tend to hire on a regular basis. Again, because of their popularity, there’s some real competition to get a job with them.

American Airlines

American Airlines hires home-based reservation agents across the U.S. who have a call center close to home.

Accolade Support

Accolade Support also hires home-based agents to work on a variety of client projects.

Extended Presence

Extended Presence hires outbound callers to work on their B2B campaigns.

Working Solutions

Working Solutions hires agents throughout the US and Canada. Call center projects can include order processing, reservations, enrollments, customer service, sales, market research, technical support, etc.

Things to Consider:

Fees. Some companies charge start up fees, training fees and/or equipment fees which you are responsible for since you will be working as an independent contractor in most cases. I will cover the pros and cons of this in an upcoming post. Make sure that your cost-benefit analysis puts you ahead in a fairly short amount of time. For example, I wouldn’t pay a $550 set up/equipment/training fee for a job that pays $8/hr.

Time Management. While working as an at home agent last summer, I found it became difficult to remain productive since I wasn’t commuting and my work didn’t have set deadlines attached. I had extra time on my hands and I tend to work best when I am under pressure to meet a deadline. Be mindful of any decreases in productivity as you transition into telecommuting.

Company Culture and Expectations. Pay attention to company culture and adapt, quickly. You’ll save yourself time and unnecessary frustration if you’re able to figure out whether or not you’ll fit in. While you won’t have a supervisor in your face, you will be interacting with other work from home employees typically within a forum or chat room, this is not the time to talk with co-workers about topics other than work-related issues, keep it clean and professional. This is also not the place to lodge complaints about the company, do so with your supervisor or get advice from other coworkers.

Backup Plan. Working from home is a blessing in so many ways, but it can be a nightmare if there are cutbacks due to budgetary issues or if you aren’t making the arbitrary “cut”. This happens frequently in the work from home agent field so be prepared to pursue other opportunities should this one fall through. An emergency fund is key once you make the decision to opt out of the rat race.

Reputation. Check out the company’s reputation because scams abound in this field and Ive known a few people to give up a good paying day job for a telecommuting job that seemed too good to be true. Check them out via telecommuting forums and by searching online for general information and employee experiences.

Resources:

• Rat Race Rebellion
• Work Place Like Home
• Search Tempest (Lets you search multiple states at the same time through Craigslist)

Future posts in this series will address The Pros and Cons of Working From Home An Independent Contractor, Mystery Shopping, Securing a Telecommuting Schedule with Your Boss, Freelancing and Starting a Business. If you are or have worked from home then feel free to share your experiences in the comments area.

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This article was published on April 14, 2008 and updated on January 30, 2011