More and more people are deciding to work more flexibly and earn their living from home, whether that's because they have childcare needs or they just don't want to commute to a workplace anymore.
Perhaps you’re keen to work remotely and aren’t sure what you can do. Here’s a rundown of jobs that you can do from home.
Courier
As a courier you can organise your own schedule, choosing how many parcels you want to deliver a week.
It helps to have a positive attitude and a friendly demeanour as you’ll be meeting a lot of new people every day. Having a keen sense of direction helps too.
Hermes, CitySprint and Yodel are all looking for self-employed couriers who are either looking to make some extra cash part-time or use it as a primary source of income.
Some companies require you to have a car or a van while others will allow you to rent one from one of their preferred suppliers.
Those who don’t have a car can still take advantage of courier apps like Nimber to make single deliveries near them. Find out more at 4 simple ways to make money on your commute.
Voiceover Artist
Use your golden voice for how-to videos, help guides and adverts. You can send files to your clients electronically, but it’s worth investing in some industry tech to capture the best sound quality possible.
Writer
Making a living as a freelance writer can be rewarding but you’ll need to be able to write for a number of titles in a range of styles to be most successful.
A couple of our freelancers work from Australia for part of the year, which is definitely a plus point for people who want a bit more freedom of movement.
Recruiting Agent
Employers often outsource the cumbersome task of filling vacant positions to freelance recruiters who take on advertising, selecting and hiring candidates for firms.
Software Developer
Broadly speaking, software developers create programs and apps. Many companies are happy to employ people on a freelance remote basis.
Graphic Designer
Businesses need someone who can get their message out there with high impact so graphic designers will need good business sense and a high level of creativity.
Virtual Assistant
The way that employers and personal assistants work is changing rapidly, with the two sometimes living in two completely different parts of the world. You’re paid for the services you provide so it's more cost-effective for the employer too.
Choose to work for one client of several clients, bearing in mind that each workload takes a few hours a day or a week depending on how much you take on.
Translator
It’s one of most sought-after skills needed in international business, so if you know two or more other languages, get on it!
You’ll likely be preparing translations for a range of documents and publications or be travelling with business people or tourists. With written translation, salaries are often calculated on word count.
Sales
People starting up their own companies seek out freelance salespeople to kick off their business so that could very well be your ticket in.
You'll need a thorough understanding of your client's business so that you can pin down suitable advertisers and investors, winning them over with your charm and chutzpah. Naturally, you'll need to be a master when it comes to networking.
The beauty of sales is that it can also be done part-time. You've probably heard of Avon, Ann Summers and PartyLite representatives whose job it is to host selling parties and try to encourage their guests to have their own parties to keep the selling going. Perks include flexible hours, fun, an active social life and quite a bit of free stuff to boot. It's ideal for people who work part-time or stay-at-home parents who want to earn a bit of extra cash.
How do I make the shift from full-time work to working from home?
Discipline is important when it comes to working from home. Make sure you have a clear daily schedule so that you can handle everything you need to do; having a designated workspace helps. Researching your clients and keeping up-to-date with the latest industry developments and tech is vital as well.
As mentioned before, networking is the ideal way to develop contacts who can help you future projects and be a useful source of information if work is running dry. Hopefully they can give you a positive recommendation, too.
Self-promotion is the key to getting established, so get yourself on freelancing sites like PeoplePerHour where you can advertise your services and charge upwards of £30 an hour.
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