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Aug 10, 2008 10:45 pm US/Eastern
Working From Home Can Rake In Big Bucks
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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It's possible to make big money working from home with some much-needed skills and the help of a computer.
CBS
It's one of the fastest growing home based businesses and getting even bigger with the downturn in the economy and pink slips flying. We're talking about becoming a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistant's or V-A's as they're known are independent contractors who work from home and offer clerical support, administrative help, sales assistance or personal services to companies large and small. These can be anything from typing, medical or legal transcription, website creation or telephone marketing.
Wages can start at $25 dollars an hour but can increase to $95 dollars an hour depending on the services you offer. It helps to have your own web page to promote yourself. There are free virtual assistant networking sites where V-A's connect with employers.
Diana Ennen of Margate, Florida started working from home in 1985. A lot has changed since then. She now has her own company called Virtual Word Publishing. Ennen offers her skills in publicity, online marketing and book promotions to clients. She has also written a book on becoming a virtual assistant and coaches people who want to work from home.
Right now for a fee, she's helping Erin Hernandez of Deerfield Beach start her own virtual assistant business. Hernandez was recently laid off from her Administrative Assistant job at IBM. "We've seen an increase in demand because so many people are being laid off", says Ennen. "Companies fax the work to you. If it's publicity you create press releases. Or you create brochures and then E-mail it back to them."
The Doty family used virtual assistants when they started their parking lot sweeping company. They say the V-A's helped them design a web page and market their services. "I wasn't a business person, but 2 or 3 years later we're still moving forward and growing our business, says Lawrence Doty.
Ennen says for those who want it, there's more work than you can handle. But the best part is you have control over your life, your work is no longer controlling you.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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