Work-At-Home Success

Everyone needs a bit for inspiration for their home based business. So over the next few posts I have asked some successful online business owners to share their experience.

In this post, Leslie Truex [AKA The Pajama Mama] kindly accepted my invitation to write a little about her work at home journey.

Please make a point of visiting her site and having a look around.

And now…….Leslie’s online marketing story

My work-at-home journey isn’t so different from most others. I wanted the flexibility and freedom that comes with working at home, and set out to make it happen. I really feel that the difference between my success and others who don’t succeed is that I never stopped trying, I didn’t quit.

Like many people I struggled to find just the right work-at-home opportunity, I fell for scams, and I suffered failure and
disappointment. For example, I had wanted to run a scholarship matching service as I thought it would fit my background in school social work and guidance. I paid $500 for a franchise that went out of business less than a month after I bought my kit. I joined a couple of MLM’s, but found I didn’t like setting up and doing home parties. I started a typing business, but one customer wasn’t going to help me pay the rent.

But I kept at it. I contacted agencies in an industry I enjoyed working in (adoption) and asked if they needed a worker in my area. That led to a telecommuting position as a social worker. As the Internet grew, I took advantage of jobs posted online by companies, which led to work in writing, research, and customer services. I started Work At Home Success to journal what I had learned about working at home (it was an early blog). Over the last 9 ½ years, the site has grown to be a well-respected work-at-home resource on the net. As things like advertising, affiliate programs and contextual ad programs grew, I took advantage of them so that now my little hobby is a business. The trick for me to was to always to open to opportunities; looking for them, researching them, and pursuing them without giving up at the first sign of failure or disappointment.

Today my work-at-home income is diverse. I still telecommute part-time as a social worker and manage several mom and work-at-home related websites. I have a home business (MLM) that I can run primarily online (its my retirement plan) and I have a book that my agent is currently shopping to several publishers.

Even though I have found success working at home, I am still open to new and different options. My current projects involve an ebook, freelance writing for magazines, and even pursuing fiction writing.

I receive email all the time asking me how to work at home. I think its important for people to know that there is no one best work-at-home option, and you’ll spin your wheels and even get scammed looking for the best, fastest money maker. Success comes from having a plan and sticking to it.

Here ’s my advice for work-at-home wannabes:

1. Focus on what you’re good at, are interested in or are passionate about.
2. Research if it’s legit. Research if it’s viable. Research if it’s something you can commit to over the long haul.
3. Make a plan
4. Implement the plan. Do something every day that moves you toward your goal.
5. Never, ever quit.

About the author: Leslie Truex aka The Pajama Mama is a work-at-home mom who enjoys helping others find success at home. Get her free Jobs Online Toolkit with a subscription to her Work-At-Home Success Jobs and News ezine at http://www.workathomesuccess.com. Keep informed of her upcoming book The Pajama Mama’s Guide to Online Employment and other projects at her blog http://www.the-pajama-mama.com .