BlueZebra –formerly known as B2B– has been in business for 20 years, as a professional business appointment setting company.  They’re currently a “virtual” company, which means that they hire employees to work from home.

The appointment setting job involves cold-calling, and setting qualified appointments for Blue Zebra clients.  Starting pay is between $15 and $25 per hour, with a pay increase within 60 days.  For more information about this job, and to apply, click here.

The job of the virtual administrative assistant is to support Blue Zebra’s sales and marketing teams. The job requires the candidate to work a minimum of 20 hours per week.  They don’t list a pay rate on their site.  For more information, and to apply, click here.

I have lived in my house for 8 1/2 years. Every year, I add a few new plants to my home and yard, and keep them as healthy as I can. Imagine my surprise when I found out that some people make money at home doing exactly what I do: growing plants at home.

A family who lives near me grows plants at home, and use that side business for extra income each month. They bring in approximately $1000 per month with their plants. No, it’s probably not enough to support themselves with right now, but that extra $1,000 per month sure comes in handy for the “extra” things they like to treat themselves and their kids to. And considering that they only dedicate a few minutes per week working this side business, it’s a can’t-lose situation.

I did some research on the subject, and found that more and more families are starting plant businesses from their homes. There are very few things needed to start the business, and in some cases, some of the expenses are not recurring.

So what do you need to grow and sell plants from home?

• Potting mix (because it’s better for growing plants, and you don’t want to be digging up holes in your yard)
• Containers to grow your plants in. You don’t need to get fancy here. Anything that can hold dirt and let water flow out from the bottom can be used as a container for a plant
• Seeds or existing plants
• Sunlight (free!)
• Water

To sell them, just place signs around town or place ads in local papers advertising your plant sales. It’s just that simple.

Now, I”m not an expert gardener so I can’t go into the how-to’s of growing and caring for the plants that you grow. But I know that if you want to be successful at this, you can.

A found a couple who earn $1,000 per week growing and selling plants in the UK. If you’re interested in learning more (as well as learning exactly how to grow and care for the plants, and maximize your profits), you can read about them and the “grow and sell plants from home” ebook they wrote.  If you prefer a reading real books (instead of ebooks), check out “Plants for Profit,” which details several different ways to use your garden to make money from home. Good luck! And if you end up starting your own business growing and selling plants at home, drop me a line and let me know how it’s going for you!

If you are –or have ever wanted to be– a freelance writer, there are a thousands of websites that hire people to write articles for them. I found a site yesterday that is looking for talented writers to write about plastic surgery for them. Topics that interest them include:

• Celebrity plastic surgery
• Plastic surgery breakthroughs, procedures, new techniques
• Celebrity gossip about skin care, makeup and other beauty products used by stars
• Odd, strange, and funny stories related to plastic surgery

If you’re interested in writing for “the world’s largest website for all things plastic surgery, anti-aging, and beauty, with over a million members and over 400,000 monthly visitors,” click here to visit their writers’ guidelines page, and to apply to be a writer.

As I discussed in a previous post, eHow is a site where writers can write freelance articles for pay.  The pay is monthly residual pay. This means that an article you write today can earn you money this month, next month, and every single month for… well, forever.

Some of the big earners at eHow makes over $2,000 in residual income each month.  I’ve found an ebook detailing precisely how to turn writing articles for eHow into a profitable, lucrative at-home job.  It is full of absolutely everything there is to know about writing articles for eHow, and formatting them in such a way that you’ll reap rewards month after month.  The book is just $20.  The income you’ll earn by using the techniques you learn in this book, though, will more than cover the price of the book.   I can’t stress enough how beneficial this could be to help you achieve your work at home dream.   If you don’t have $20, tell a parent or other family member that you’ll gladly pay them back with your first month’s eHow earnings. Do what you can to get your hands on it.  Your future successful self will thank you.

To order your eHow ebook for just $20, click here.

During a recession, there are certain jobs that are considered recession-proof.   This means that no matter how bad the economy gets, people in these fields will still manage to hold onto their jobs.  Some of these require a lot of education (physicians, for instance), while others don’t require as much education or training.

One of these recession-proof jobs is also a work at home job:  resume writer. With the economy in a slump, thousands of people are losing their once-secure jobs, and finding themselves needing to search for new jobs.   A great many of these people either don’t know how to construct a powerful and effective resume, or they don’t have confidence in their abilities.  This is great news (and great business) for people who work as resume writers.

As a resume writer, you can control the amount of work you take on, and set your own hours.  AWAI’s Pro Resume Writing Program can teach you –in under seven hours– what you need to do to become a successful resume writer.  Search the any copywriters forum on the internet, and you’ll hear nothing  but good reviews about AWAI’s training programs.

I’m impressed with their resume writing program, and highly suggest that  you register for it if you have the means to do so.  For Just 48 hours (beginning right now, and ending at 11:59pm, on Wednesday, February 12, 2009), AWAI has agreed to give my readers a 50% off discount for their renowned work at home resume writing program.   The program is usually $99, but if you purchase within the 48 hour window they are giving my readers, you can purchase it for just $48.

I can’t fully express what a great deal this is, and what a wonderful, succeessful home-based career this can get you.   Borrow the money from a family member, or move some money around (don’t eat out for the next few weeks), in order to be able to purchase this program at the deeply discounted price.

This $48 can be the difference between you struggling to find a job and establishing a strong and sucessful career for yourself.

To start your work as a resume writer, order AWAI’s Pro Resume Writer for only $48 now.

Or learn more about becoming a work at home freelance resume writer.

One of my subscribers sent me this information, and after taking a look at it, I decided to pass it on:

There’s a new program that will allow you to “work for just $3.” Upon registration, you get an affiliate link that you can start promoting. It’s a forced 3×15 matrix, which (if everything works out perfectly), can net you $2,582,805.72 just by refering 3 people. (You earn commissions on the people you refer, PLUS you earn commission on the people that the people below you refer.) There’s no monthly fees. The only fee you ever pay is the $3 registration fee. (Referring just 2 people will recoup your $3.00 registration fee.)

Want to get in on it? Follow these two steps:

1) They only offer payment one way: via Alert-Pay. Click here to register with Alert-Pay (it’s a free service, just like PayPal). (And here’s a nice little bonus: when you refer people to Alert-Pay, you’ll earn $5 for your first 10 referrals, and $10 for each referral thereafter.)

2) Once you’ve registered your payment account, click here to register to “work for just $3.”

I usually do not advocate having to pay for jobs, but technically speaking this isn’t a traditional job. And since it’s a one-time fee that’s less than the price of a cup of coffee or combo meal, I felt it was something you might be interested in. I HAVE seen proof of this being successful (my friend showed me the email that detailed her earnings), and I’m confident that you can be successful at it, too.

eHow is an online site full of articles that answer the question “How do you…?”  All of eHow’s articles start with the words, “How to…” and follow with the writer’s description of how to do anything from “make a grilled cheese sandwich” to “clean a carburetor.”  eHow is the place for freelance writers to earn a little extra money by writing anything they want to write.  Registration is free, and you can begin writing the second after you’ve registered.  Payment is made monthly.  Don’t expect huge paychecks in the beginning, though.  Earnings are based on a number of things, including page views, ratings, comments, and a few other things.  Don’t be discouraged by your early earnings.  I’ve heard it takes about a month for your articles to be indexed by all of the search engines.  Some eHow freelance writers are making hundreds of dollars per month, and a select few make thousands.  What YOU end up making will depend on your writing and communication skills, number of articles you put on eHow, and your determination.  If you’re interested, go to eHow’s Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more.

Here’s another call center job we’ve found.  This opportunity is not limited to those in the U.S. — the company hires employees world-wide.  The company is called Working Solutions.

Information from their website:
Q. What is Working Solutions?
A. Working Solutions was created in 1996, to provide more legitimate work-at-home opportunities for those caring for family members, looking for supplemental income, and wanting or needing to work from home. What started as a very small in-house operation has grown steadily and solidly ever since. The Working Solutions process is very similar to that of a bricks and mortar temporary agency, but our agent workforce is made up of highly qualified independent contractors who work solely from their homes. We partner with clients from many different lines of business, providing them with a very capable and flexible supplemental workforce, as well as a talented project management team.

Rest assured, Working Solutions is NOT a scam and our Agents are NEVER CHARGED ANY FEES to apply or work with us. Many other web sites and work-from-home publications copy and publish information about us without our knowledge, and may include invalid or outdated information. The only advertising we do currently is through our own web site.

To apply, go to: http://www.workingsol.com/agents_page/

My best friend’s niece recently moved into town. Her husband is a nurse, and I was surprised at how much money they seemed to have. With three kids, the family is still able to afford a nice condo, two new cars, nice clothes, and two vacations a year. I asked her how they managed, and she told me that she makes money as a medical transcriptionist at home. While her kids are at school or in bed, she works to transcribe doctors’ dictation tapes.

I asked her how she does it. Here’s a transcript of our interview:

How Did You Become a Medical Transcriptionist?

Believe it or not, I never went to school for it. We have a junior college and university in town, but I just fell into it. A friend of mine was doing it, and I watched her do it once. I figured if she could do it, I could do it. Now, I guess I’m proof that I was right.

What Tools Do You Need to Be a Medical Transcriptionist?

All I use is my computer, a transcriber, and a printer. I bought the printer and transcriber second hand. And I have a couple of books, like medical dictionaries, to help me if I get confused about spelling or something.

How Much Can You Make as a Medical Transcriptionist?

It depends on who you work for, and how you charge. My friend started out doing pool work for a transcription company. So the doctors would pay the company, and the company would pay my friend. Then she figured out she could do it on her own, and she’s making more than double what she used to, even though she is doing less work. Me, I started out charging 14¢ per line of transcription. I’m a pretty fast typist, so it came out to a good deal. Then I listened to other transcriptionists who told me I should charge a flat rate. So now, I charge doctors a flat rate. So I get paid the same, no matter what. Some weeks, they might have 100 patients, but other weeks they might have 20 patients. And no matter what, I get paid the same amount.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to make money as a medical transcriptionist at home, and how to find doctors who need your services, vist the Medical Transcription Work From Home site.

I’ve discussed eBay before, but I thought that it bears another mention. In a weak economy like this, nearly everyone is worse off than they were a year ago. This means that people are seeking other avenues of income, and they’re also trying to find ways to save money in their household budget. eBay is the answer to both. In fact, the current economy could be good for eBay sellers: people need to buy things cheaply, and sellers can provide that.

If you’re looking for some extra income, without disturbing your regular home & family schedule too much, you should consider selling some of your family’s outgrown clothing, unused gadgets, and toys, etc. Click hereto register a new seller’s account for yourself.

One thing to keep in mind is that when people are hurting financially, they are more likely to buy what they need, as opposed to what they want. So, most adults with children will first want to clothe their children (because adults can wear the same clothes year after year, while kids outgrow theirs each season). For this reason, i think kids’ clothes are selling better right now than adult clothes (of course, adult clothes are also selling, but I’m willing to bet that kids’ clothes are selling better).

One suggestion sent in to me by a member: get a prepaid debit card (you can get them at Walmart or from GreenDotOnline.com). Use this card when you register for eBay, so that your eBay fees won’t put a surprise strain on your family budget. (I remember a few times, thinking we were doing well financially, only to find that eBay had taken fees out of our bank account.) With your prepaid debit card, you can deposit a portion of your earnings on the card, to pay your seller’s fees.

For other tips about eBaying, read my page about starting your at-home eBay business.

If you don’t have a lot of “inventory” that you can sell from home, and don’t want to register with drop-shippers, check out this ebook about making profit on eBay without selling any products.