In Telecommuting, Whiners are Downers!

There is nothing more irritating, as a manager of freelancers, than to come across a message board or forum full of people complaining they cannot find telecommuting work. Believe it or not, I've most recently read the following:

"Working from home is a scam. Period. These people want to know my SKILLS. I stay at home with my kids. I don't have TIME to learn new skills. What do they expect me to know???"

Let me stress, first and foremost, that I had to grit my teeth simply TYPING the words "working from home". Why? Because most people who use that term (or variations thereof) feel that they need NO qualifications. No skill set. Nothing of value to offer. I am at home, and I want to be paid for it. Well, boo hoo. Sorry, folks, it doesn't work that way.

Those hiring telecommuters-SKILLED telecommuters-expect a high-quality end result. I wish I could write articles that GUSH about how easy it is to find telecommuting employment. Piles of money are just there for the taking, and you don't have to actually work for it. But, that isn't the case. Sorry to disappoint, but "working from home" (*gag*) really IS work.

There are those of us who do WORK from a home office (from here on out referred to as "telecommuting"). We DO NOT:

Stuff envelopes, for a fee;
Make crafts for the holidays, for a fee;
"Help Others" start their own home-based business, for a fee;
Provide lists of "companies who hire", for a fee;
_fill in the blank_, for a fee.

We do not pay, nor have we ever paid, someone else to provide us with work. In the modern world, you get paid to perform a task. You don't pay other people to give you the opportunity.

We do things like keyword research, affiliate research, ghost writing, product reviews, marketing, web design, blog installations, transcription, customer support, et al. REAL services, for REAL money. And it's work. Plain and simple.

Please don't complain that there are no legitimate telecommuting opportunities available. Speaking from experience, I have more projects coming in than I have telecommuters available to do them. There are real jobs, that require actual SKILL and TIME COMMITMENT. The best part about it all? You can LEARN how to do as few or as many of these tasks as you wish.

For example, when I began telecommuting, I could check email and surf the Internet. But I craved new experiences...new skills...new possibilities. So, in the past decade, I've TAUGHT MYSELF how to do:

Effective Keyword Research
Ghostwriting
Web Design
Blog Installations
Product Viability
Product Research
Graphic Design
Auto-Responder Series
Anything Marketing
Joint Venture Research
...and SO much more.

Your possibilities are only limited by your DESIRE to succeed. And very few people simply "stumble" upon success. It's work. It's not easy. And, it requires perseverance. If you expect to sign up, for the low, low price of $500, and be made wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, it ain't gonna happen, baby.

Allie Hutton is the founder and owner of WorkItOwnIt.com, as well as a 10-year veteran of full-time telecommuting. Most recently, she's authored the book "The Essential Guide to Successful Telecommuting" The book, as well as free articles, tips, information and resources can be found at http://www.workitownit.com

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