Woman wins the Apprentice

After two years, a woman finally wins the Apprentice! I have long thought a mom would kick butt on the show. In fact, until last week, I was certain Tanna would win. Here is a mom who makes money in direct selling AND eBay. Like many moms who want to stay home, she'd developed multiple incomes and manages them while also managing the kids and house. I think work-at-home moms have the variety of skills to succeed on a show like the Apprentice. Moms have to be able to do and think many things at the same time. They need to deal with emotional meltdowns and tantrums. They need to be organized and keep the family in the routine. Thinking on one's feet and creativity are a must for work-at-home moms.

In the end, Tanna lost. I rooted for her for several weeks until the last one....moms are not supposed to mock their "kids" and in the end I believe it was her treatment of her team that lost her the prize. That and winner was really good during the last few weeks.

Leslie

Why does everything happen on Friday?

Those who know me might say I have some obsessive tendencies. I like things to be just so and to know what's coming next. I don't like hassles or things to happen in such a way as I can't fix it asap. One thing that has always irrked me is getting mail with inaccurate information or treatening statements without the ability fix it. For example, the water bill comes with $200 in over charges. Or the bank statement comes indicating a withdrawl I don't recognize. These mailings always come on Friday... at 5 pm...after the business closed. And there I am, stuck for the whole weekend worrying about it. I don't just worry... I perseverate on it. I think about what I'm going to say when I call the customer service people. I expect the person on the other in to NOT be helpful. I imagine all that can go wrong until I'm nearly in a frenzy. Usually, the problem is resolved quickly and painlessly on Monday and I obsess on why I obsessed the whole weekend.

Once I figured out this pattern, I stopped opening my mail after 5 pm on Friday. What I don't know won't make me crazy...until Monday.

Today I was thrust into a similar situation in which my very organized and moving along smoothly day was interrupted by a desperate plea for me to do a report that normally would take days to complete. I was told it needed to be done today because another client is being held up without this report that involves and unrelated client. Who needs that kind of pressure AND guilt? The powers-that-be knew the client was in the middle of the transaction. They knew that the report was 6 months overdue? Why did they wait until Friday to ask for help?

The task did get done and I have managed to still get my other work done as well. But my teeth have suffered (I'm a jaw clencher) and those pesky tension endorphines are still running around in my blood stream.

Some people might say, "Leslie, you need to relax" or "You need to figure out how to cope." But that is the thing, I have figured it out. I don't open my business mail on Friday. I organize my day so I know each thing that needs to be done. Everything is in order as long as no one mucks it up. The answer may be to not answer my phone on Fridays.

Leslie

Are Telecommuting Databases Worth the Price?

Dear Leslie,
I'd like to have a work-at-home job but finding jobs online is proving to be a challenge. The job sites take a long to time to weed through and there are so many non-jobs posted on them. Work-at-home ezines offer good lists but they are short and only come out once a week. I have come across websites that allow you search for work-at-home jobs but they charge you for access. Do you recommend these sites? Angie TX

Hi Angie,
Four years ago when I wrote Jobs At Home: A Complete Guide to Finding or Creating a Work-At-Home Job, I was not a big fan of paid job search sites. At that time, there were not very many of them and I found them to be suspect offering jobs like assembly work and envelope stuffing. Today, I use several work-at-home job databases because they do much of the hard work (finding and researching the jobs). Nevertheless, you still need to be careful about where you spend your money. Like all fees related to working at home, some are well worth the investment and some are scams.

When choosing a database you want to check out a couple of things.
1) It shouldn't promote jobs that are known to be scams such as envelope stuffing and assembly work.
2) It should be clear that they are posting job announcements to which you can apply and not a list of companies with telecommuting programs.
3) It should not guarantee you work. No one can guarantee you a job because they don't know your skills or experience.
4) If possible, get a reliable reference. You can read my reviews of several telecommuting job databases for free at Jobs At Home Success.
5) Read the FAQ section and small print.

My favorite job databases not only have 100% telecommuting jobs that they have pre-screened for legitimacy but they offer additional services such as resume posting and/or distribution and job search tips. My favorite right now is Virtual Assistants. It has 100's of current work-at-home job listings in many categories. You can post your resume and apply right from the job announcement. It also offers other great resources such as companies that are frequently hiring. You can read my review here.

Another site I like is HomeJobStop. Its not as sophisticated or extensive as Virtual Assistants but its very affordable, offers lots of great jobs and has unlimited access. It doesn't have the resume posting or other services but for the price its a good resource. You can read my review here.

Finally, I also really like Craigslist.org which is a classified ad portal site with everything from furniture to jobs to housing and more. Craigslist doesn't allow you to search jobs nationwide. Instead, you need to select a city, choose the "Jobs" option, and on the Jobs Page, click the box that says "Telecommute". Many of the work-at-home jobs will be for people in that area however, there are many national jobs posted as well so it pays to search several cities. You can read my review here.

I do encourage you to get a good reference on work-at-home jobs. Jobs At Home: A Complete Guide to Finding a Work-At-Home Job is designed to take readers step-by-step through the process of finding legitimate work. Not only does it offer great job search resources but it also offers tips on applying for these jobs in such a way as to put your resume at the top of the pack. You can read the review of this and other telecommuting resources here.

There are 1000's of telecommuting positions posted everyday. The trick to finding them is to understand what telecommuting is and what employers are looking for. Further, focusing your search using reputable job search or work-at-home job database websites will help avoid scams and questionable "jobs". Finally, a quality resume and professional approach is a must in obtaining legitimate work.

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Ask WAHS Leslie is Leslie Truex a stay and work-at-home mom who has been helping people work at home since 1998 with her web site Work-At-Home Success. She is also the author of Jobs At Home: A Complete Guide to Finding a Work-At-HomeJob. Ask WAHS Leslie is a weekly column. You can submit a question to Ask WAHS Leslie by emailing here.