Once you taste the freedom of working from home, you’ll never want to commute to an office again!
Some people need the structure of office time, but if you can set your own schedule and like working independently, there is nothing better than being able to wake up and work in your pajamas.
However, there are pros and cons to everything, so don’t romanticize it until you know everything that’s involved.
I didn’t realize that as a contractor (who fills out a 1099 tax form), you need to pay quarterly taxes to the IRS. If you’re used to a W2 form, your employer does all that for you. However, if you want to be self-employed, you need to file that yourself or have an accountant do it for you.
That being said, since you’re self-employed, you get to write everything off on your taxes as a business expense. If you go out to lunch with a client, that is a business expense—everything from the gas it took to get you there, to their lunch you paid for, to the tip you gave the waiter and, of course, the gas that took you back home.
Now, the downside is you have to be very meticulous in tracking everything and keeping business and pleasure separate.
Luckily, there are apps to help us do that such as FreshBooks that automatically calculates your taxes, stores your receipts (just take a picture of it), creates customized invoices and expense reports, keeps track of your billed hours, maintains projects so you can collaborate with a team or client, accepts credit cards, and a ton more!
Did you know that there are 50 work from home jobs that pay as much, or more, than the average American salary?
A few of the tops ones include;
- Affiliate marketing
- Blogging
- E-commerce store owner
- Graphic designer
- Handmade crafter
- Online teacher
- Product reviewer
- Social media manager
- Virtual assistant
Therefore, it’s crucial to invest time in learning a set of new skills if you want to be making more than you are or if you simply want to make enough to work from home.
- If you want to tap into affiliate marketing, take this course written by 6-figure affiliate marker Michelle Schroeder-Gardner.
- If you want to learn about blogging, you need to buy a domain from GoDaddy or BlueHost and take the 6-figure blogger course by Alex and Lauren.
- If you want to become an e-commerce store owner, you need to learn how to use Shopify.
- If you want to become a graphic designer, you probably already have some basic Photoshop and design skills; but if you don’t, learn how to master Canva.
- If you make crafts, get familiar with Etsy, and learn how to sell them online.
- If you have something you’d like to teach, sign up for a Teachable account and sell your course!
- If you love reviewing products, become an Amazon Affiliate and make money on all products you advertise.
- If you’re good with social media, read this book to learn how to sell your services and get familiar with SmarterQueue and Tailwind so you can manage multiple social media accounts at once and autopost.
- If you’re skilled at organizing, get this book to learn how to become a virtual assistant and get clients fast!
It’s never too late to learn a new skill.
Stop waiting for “one day.”
Working from home is possible, and this is your chance to get what you need to make it happen.
It’s crazy how the internet has changed everything about how we live.
We have the opportunity to work remotely because of it, so learn to use it to your advantage.
Feel free to reach out to me at ladybossblogger@gmail.com, and I would be glad to answer any questions you may have!
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Much Love,
<3 Elaine Rau
*Disclosure: There are some affiliate links in this post, but these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.