Online Jobs: A New Way to Make a Pay In Your Jammies

 I have the privilege to be able to be a stay at home parent (not on social assistance), with an awesome husband that works a great full time job. But like most people....I also like shopping and having a little extra money to do special things with my family.

I'm writing this today in hopes that people who are unemployed, or unable to work for whatever reason see this and go "yeah, I could do all of these."

Since these aren't jobs that a regular job advisor would suggest to you, I'm really just opening doors for everyone and anyone who is stuck and thinks they're out of options.

We all know about the regular sites, you can see my blog post about Swagbucks and Viewpoints here, and about the other ways of having your own at home business (babysitting and whatnot).  However, recently I've found a few more sites that also help out financially. These ones are similar to Swagbucks, in the way that you have to do things like surveys, offers, etc. in order to earn points to put towards gift cards.

With gift card sites, you really do have to be careful. If you're going to get an amazon gift card, you have to make sure it's a Canadian amazon gift card. Whatever you order from the US is going to be more expensive due to shipping and handling. Here are some awesome gift card sites similar to Swagbucks, that offer Canadian gift cards:

• www.gifthulk.com. 
• http://www.instagc.com

I've personally signed up for these sites, and can honestly say that they are legit sites that pay out. 

Those are the gift card survey sites. That doesn't mean that they can't pay you CASH in your bank

account though. If you're signed up for Paypal, you absolutely have the option to use your points for a

paypal gift card, and then transfer the money into your bank account!

For more of a "job" approach, there's a lot of different things that you can do. If you have a variety of skills, from writing to IT, and think that you would make a great assistant for someone, maybe you should consider being a Virtual Assistant! 

Virtual Assistanting or Freelancing is something quite new (even to me), and is on the rise. There's a such a demand for people looking for virtual assistants. So what is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant is a freelance assistant. Businesses or Individuals look for these people to help out since they’re not only temporary, but cost effective. You have the opportunity to set up your own home office, and work from home. Now, just like any other job, you have to apply for it, but more or less it’s referred to “bidding.” You’ll be competing with people from around the world, so make sure you take a strategic approach. Emphasize on your skills just like you would on a resume and make yourself stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Of course, being a Virtual Assistant can take a bit of getting used to, and it could take a little bit to get started. Your workflow and pay will go up and down as jobs come and go…but don’t give up! Keep at it and be persistent! The better you get, the more likely you are to have bigger better jobs in the future as you’ll have good references backing you! Just remember, each employer has the opportunity to leave feedback on your VA profile for everyone else to see, so make sure you leave good a good, successful impression on each employer!

With so many websites offering opportunities to VA’s, here’s 5 that I’ve found to be credible and top rated:

1.     Guru.com

2.     oDesk

3.     TaskRabbit

4.     Freelancer.com

5.     PeoplePerHour.com

Now, this next one might seem a little bit crazy to some people, but it’s actually a really great way to make a few bucks here and there.

Grant Writing. That’s right, you can be the middle man between someone who needs a grant and a funder. This is something that you’ll have to do research for, and develop on your own. Obviously writing skills are super important, so if you’re not a good writer, have bad grammar, etc. I don’t suggest you start helping companies by writing their grant requests.

Grant writing is great because you get to write about a lot of different subjects, while also being able to help out businesses, or non-profit organizations.

Maybe you’re really good at computer stuff (html and developing websites)? Well, you might consider being a Website Consultant. This could be as simple as going around small businesses and offering your services to them for a fee, or putting an advert on various websites directing business to your own website.

Another great business, if you’re great at computer stuff, is aiding small businesses by increasing their social networking.  This could include creating a facebook page (and mediating it), a twitter, instagram, etc. Put at advert on kijiji or craigslist advertising that you’re willing and able to create stronger social media impressions for small businesses. Most owners just don’t have the time to do it themselves, so a lot of them don’t really think about it. It’s a great way to get their business out there, and you’ll be able to make some money by doing it!





** If you have any questions or concerns regarding this post, you can always e-mail me or leave a comment. I’ll get back to you right away!

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