Have You Got the Right Attitude to Work Online?
So you want to start working from home but do you have what it takes? Do you have a positive attitude to work from home like an internet troll? Sounds a bit strange, I know but I don’t mean this in a negative way.
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There are millions of us who actually already work from home but not earning the money that we would like. That ideal full-time income, to be able to work in our own time. Do you know exactly what that entails? Are you prepared to invest in yourself, put the work in and sell yourself like hell?
You’ve seen the blog posts, the Facebook and Instagram pictures. That beautiful looking millennial who supposedly only works 4 hours a week and the rest of the time frolicking on the beach and sipping cocktails.
IS THAT REALLY THE WORK FROM HOME REALITY?
I think not especially as a newbie. In the early stages, you are going to have to put in some really hard work to get those dollar bills and idly watching others on social media is not going to get you there.
You could be a stay at home mom or dad, a retiree or just fed up with your current working situation. When making that first step to work at home you need to do some deep thinking.
The most important thoughts are how will it change and improve your life and are you really ready to do this? The next thing to think about is if your home is the perfect place to work from? Next what work would you like to offer and what skills do you have?
Look around your home, your house, your apartment, your dorm, yes you can work from anywhere but have you got the basic equipment and do you have the money to buy the necessary equipment?
More than likely you have them stashed all around the house as you do not need the latest gadgets and apps to get your online work from home business going. Think about it right now, do you have the right attitude, the right skills and the right equipment to become a work from home hero?
Work from Home on an Internet Troll Budget
Let me tell you this, you can start your work from home business on a shoestring and you don’t necessarily need a website either to get started. What you need the most are the right skills and a whole pile of confidence. Confidence and an immense belief in yourself that you can do this and that you are the best person for any job that you apply for.
But be careful, make sure not to let fear creep in as you will start to paralyze yourself and find a bunch of excuses. You start questioning your abilities and what if this happens and what it that…
Put it this way, have you ever wondered why those horrible internet trolls are so confident behind a computer screen? Why they are so determined as if on a mission to upset everyone’s apple cart and just randomly contact people to make them miserable?
Why not take a leaf out of their book and try getting some internet trolling confidence and approach your work from home business with an extra ounce to belief and positive attitude..
What are the Internet Trolling Characteristics?
- Ultra-confident from behind a computer screen
- Determined to make contact with as many people as possible
- If they don’t succeed upsetting one person they move onto the next one…until they make contact
- They never seem to give up
As funny as it sounds put a positive spin on that list and you could become a positive internet troll with your work from home business by:
- Being ultra-confident from behind a computer screen
- Contact potential clients and offering your skills or products to as many people as possible without being spammy
- If a possible client doesn’t respond or has no interest in your business move onto the next one
- NEVER GIVE UP!
So go ahead, sell yourself, offer your skills and approach business owners and startups that you would never have thought of doing before and start cold pitching your emails like a hardworking streetwalker.
Are you an introvert, don’t worry about that too much be an extrovert behind the computer screen, do not be fearful in case of disappointment. Remember, think of that little determined internet troll always lurking in the comments section of Facebook Groups being unhelpful.
Did you ever watch the movie The Help? Do you remember that quote “You is kind, you is smart, you is important”? Well, you are all those things and a bag a chips, you just have to work for what you want and it will surprise you how quick you build up a client base.
Now that we’ve got your self-esteem fully boosted up and you know you can do this let’s get your work from home business up and running.
Get Your Work From Home Business Ready
Why are you still sitting there? Check around your home and go and see where the best place is to work from.
If you’re one of the lucky people out there you may already have a home office or a spare room that can be converted but if not, no worries it could be that little corner of your bedroom or around the kitchen table. It can work when just starting out.
I’ve worked from the bedroom, the dining table, the back porch, under a mango tree it all depends on the type of job you plan on doing from home or anywhere.
Your Basic Shoestring Equipment
If you’re going to work around a table or desk you must make sure it is at the right height and that your arms are at the correct angle for your keyboard.
>>>You might also be interested to read How to Stay Healthy When Working Remotely
You might start out by working on a laptop, an old borrowed one from your cousin maybe but after working this way for long periods you will look forward to having a pc with a bigger screen to work from. Work your way up, let the jobs that start to come in pay for your upgraded equipment.
Do you really think an internet troll is using the latest Apple Mac? I think not, they’re too busy beavering away being a pain to someone online somewhere, totally focused on their end game.
Another thing you must, let me stress this again, you must have is good lighting. When you get in the zone when working from home sometimes you don’t even want to get up to turn on the lights. Get a neat little desk lamp to work with when working early in the morning or late in the nights.
Depending on the kind of work you plan to start doing you might want to invest in a headset with noise cancellation. Great for transcription and if you plan on doing customer service calls and drowning out the sound of the kiddos. You might want to read the 5 Best Transcription Sites for Working at Home as a Newbie.
If your health and posture is a concern if you don’t already have an ergonomic desk chair then I would advise that you get one as sitting for long periods can really take a toll. Yes, the dining chair can work for a while but not forever.
Create Your Professional Online Work from Home Image
Create your business name and set up your social media and domain name using Namechk to see if the name you want to use is available. You don’t have to use the domain name straightaway just purchase it, it can be as little as $10 so that when you are more established and wish to start a website/blog you can under your chosen business name.
Hostinger provides a free domain when you sign up for hosting with them for only $2.95 per month for the premium service but as I said before your website can wait until later, you’re on a shoestring budget, right.
Another thing, make a good looking email signature that links to all your newly created social media pages especially LinkedIn. This will make you look super cool and professional when you send out your email pitches and they can check out your skills just by clicking on your profile button.
Also, don’t forget to update your resume. That old one you’ve had sitting on your hard drive for how long needs a serious upgrade.
The look and feel of resumes have changed over the years and are now a lot more visually creative and appealing.
What Do Clients Want from You?
What you need to realize is that potential small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t really care/mind where you went to school or university when they are hiring someone and they certainly don’t have time to read a wall of text. Time is money to them so all they require are the solid skills that you can do the job or learn very quickly on the job.
Contact information, an intro, a bulleted list of skills and experience are all that is needed. Put clickable links in your pdf resume, most people don’t waste time printing anymore.
For instance, your profile picture might take them to your hire me webpage (you can set up a free temporary website on Google sites) or just add your web address or LinkedIn address, your social media icons will be linked to the relevant social business pages, your email address when clicked will automatically open to a new blank email ready for them to connect with you.
Make yourself easy to get access to so they won’t go anywhere else. Make it easy for a client to contact you and get as much information about you without having to leave their screen.
Their priority is what skills do you have and can you get the job done? Make sure to update your resume especially if you’ve worked virtually already on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
You don’t have to put the words Fiverr or Upwork just state that you worked for a variety of clients remotely doing such and such. You might even want to ask those clients if you can use their reviews and recommendations as a testimonial. Ahhh, you didn’t think of that, did you?
Yes, add your relevant side hustles prominently on your resume. Don’t be afraid to mention those tasks that you did for one-off clients even though you didn’t have formal training. If you can do it you will be considered.
Think about it, internet trolls usually don’t have any qualifications when making comments behind their computer screen but they try to speak with authority on things they know absolutely nothing about. YOU DO! So shout from the rooftops what you are good at.
If your purse can’t stretch to all the fancy apps the free ones available out there are just as good.
Google Suite if Microsoft Office is currently out of your range, Trello for getting your to-do’s organized and providing project management, IFTTT to schedule out your social media posts or you can use Buffer for one account.
If you plan on doing basic graphic design try out Canva and WordSwag for free on your mobile. Signup for a free Pinterest business account and use the graphic apps to create attractive and impressive pins to promote your work from home business.
Don’t forget that you want to get paid. Get your Paypal account set up if you don’t already have one or a Payoneer account if you’re outside the US/UK and sign up for AndCo so that you can send your new clients impressive looking proposals, contracts and invoices.
Final Thoughts on Getting the Right Online Attitude
Setting up the basics to work from home doesn’t have to be too much of a difficult task the hard part is actually putting yourself out there to actually start. Follow the basic steps above, be confident. You do have the skills and experience after all and just go for it.
So you see, just by having the gumption of an internet troll and a basic shoestring budget you can start your online work from home business in no time.
My mother’s mantra was ‘do what you can until you can do better’ and I couldn’t agree more. If you agree with any of these points or even disagree please share this post with others.