Get on the fast track to a work-at-home job that gives you financial freedom and the lifestyle of your dreams. Find a job you love online today.

The Best Places to Find Home-Based Work

Let’s be honest - working in a day job sucks, right? Who in their right mind wants to commute through rain, sleet and snow twice a day? Especially when that’s for the privilege of being a wage slave stuck in a cubicle, a worker on a factory production line or a hamburger flipper at Ronald’s place?

Not me, that’s for sure.

That’s why I struck out on my own - initially as a freelancer, and later as an online business owner. Both careers gave everything I wanted from my work life:

• The financial freedom to enjoy life
• Flexible hours I could work around my family
• An interesting, rewarding career
• The chance to be my own boss
• More time spent with family and friends
• As much vacation time as I wanted
• The opportunity to control my future

Work You Can Do From Home

Nowadays, there is no shortage of jobs that can be done from home. If you can offer any kind of service, there is sure to be a market for it somewhere. 

All you need is a laptop and an Internet connection, and you are good to go. Some people even work from home using their smartphone or tablet - getting started really is easy.

Although there are many different ways to make a good living online, here are some of the most popular online work-from-home jobs:

• Writer/Editor
• Proofreader
• Web/Graphic Designer
• Social Media Manager
• SEO Consultant
• Online Ads Consultant
• Programmer
• Link Builder
• PR Consultant
• Blogger
• Online Seller

...and so on. But don’t feel limited by this list. Those are just ideas to get you started. Leverage whatever skills you have to build the home-based career that suits you best. 

I am so glad I escaped the rat race, and have no desire to work a day job ever again. If you, too want to enjoy the freedom of a work-at-home career, then you are in the right place. We are going to take a deep dive into the best places to find online jobs you can do from home.

Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit - the online marketplaces that specialize in connecting freelancers with potential clients.

Using Freelance Marketplaces

There’s no doubt that the major freelance marketplaces offer the quickest and easiest way to connect with paying clients. UpWork alone has around half a million clients, all ready to pay hard cash to people like you.

The upside of using freelance marketplaces is that you can sign up today and start applying for jobs right away. The downside is that competition can be fierce, pushing rates down. But don’t let that put you off. You just need to get good at focusing on your area of expertise, and working your way up to the higher paid jobs. 

There are lots of freelance marketplaces to choose from, but these are the most popular sites with the highest number of online work-from-home jobs:

1. Upwork

Following its successful IPO, UpWork has become the undisputed king of the freelance marketplaces. If you want access to the greatest variety of new freelance gigs, this is the place to start.

You can join UpWork for free and start applying for jobs immediately. If you are prepared to pay just $10 a month, you can upgrade your account so that you can apply for more jobs.

Whatever your niche, you will find that UpWork has a non-stop supply of projects. But to have a good chance of securing gigs, you need to complete your profile and upload a portfolio of previous work. If you keep applying for gigs, you will soon earn your first job and be well on the way to success.

2. Freelancer

Freelancer.com is the Avis of the freelancing world - they’re No. 2, so they try harder. When you sign up with this site, you get immediate access to a whole range of jobs and projects instantly.

You can improve your chances of picking up work by taking some of the many skills tests offered on this site. This gives you a chance to demonstrate your expertise, and can give you a head start over other freelancers. This is a great site with plenty of work on offer to keep you busy. 

Whatever field of freelancing you specialize in, you will find work that suits you here. And if you haven’t picked a specialty yet, this is a good place to narrow things down.

3. Guru

One of the original freelance marketplaces, Guru.com has a tradition of offering higher-quality work that commands higher fees. They aim to make it easy for employers and freelancers to connect, collaborate and get things done.

With over a million projects completed, and over $250 million paid to freelancers, it’s clear that this site has real potential. You can be paid by the hour, by the task, or according to project milestones.

Many freelancers are delighted with the results achieved. Writer Russell Lee says:

“Guru's services have allowed me to find more freelancing work as a writer than any other website. It is easy to communicate with clients through their message system and their SafePay feature ensures that all funds are secured prior to any work being done. I would recommend Guru to any freelancer who is looking to find new clients online.“

4. PeoplePerHour

This site has paid out over $100 million to freelancers, so it’s clear that there is plenty of opportunity there. The rates of pay are generally good, and many people prefer this site because there is less competition.

In addition to bidding on jobs that are posted, you can also post ‘hourlies’ - gigs that you are prepared to undertake for a set rate. This provides you with an extra way of making money. This site offers work in many different categories including:

• Admin
• Design
• Development & IT
• Marketing & SEO
• Social Media
• Translation & Tutorials
• Video, Photo & Audio
• Writing

5. Toptal

This marketplace is a great place to find high-paying gigs, but you have to be good to succeed here! Toptal aims to recruit the top 3% of freelancers, so that hiring companies are guaranteed to get quality work for their money.

The big advantage to you, if you make the cut, is that 97% of your potential competitors are eliminated right out of the gate. And that means rates remain relatively high, and the work is likely to be more interesting and rewarding. 

As a result of this specialist approach, TopTal attracts some great clients such as Airbnb, ZenDEsk and Pfizer. This is a great site for raising your profile as a freelancer.

6. Solid Gigs

Here’s a site with a very different approach to bringing you work-at-home jobs. The SolidGigs team scours the web each week to find the hottest freelance and online jobs.

Subscribers are then sent a weekly roundup of all the top jobs - or you can log into your account and check them there. There’s a small fee, but you will save a huge amount of time and energy that would otherwise be spent combing the web for jobs. 

7. ServiceScape

You may not have heard of ServiceScape, but over a quarter of a million projects have been completed on this platform, and it earns a rating of 4.90 out 5 from customers. 

Not bad!

This site specializes in editing, writing and graphic design services. Many of the clients are from academic organizations or institutions, so this is good place to pick up quality work. 

Freelancers are rated by clients, and getting a good rating will help you secure better paying work from the most discerning clients. 

8. MediaBistro

With clients such as Bloomberg, Dow Jones and HBO, MediaBistro has established a great reputation in the industry. If you are looking for a job in the media world, then this is the place to look. 

Here you can find great jobs in:

• Marketing
• Advertising
• Publishing
• Sales
• PR
• Digital Media
• Television
• Design

...and more. A whole section of the site is devoted to freelance jobs, many of which can be done from home. 

Leveraging Job Boards

You can also find many work-at-home jobs on the general job boards. Just refine your search by adding keywords such as ‘freelance,’ ‘remote,’ ‘home based’ or ‘work from home.’

Here are the best job boards to try:

1. Monster

As the biggest of the dedicated job boards, this site really does have a monster selection of jobs. 

The best way to keep up to date with the latest jobs is to download their app to your smartphone. Then you will be able to get first grabs on the best projects as they are posted. 

2. Indeed

Indeed is a jobs aggregation site on massive scale. Here you will find many thousands of fresh jobs posted regularly. Get good at filtering these, and you will never be short of job opportunities. 

The site looks very plain and basic, but it gets the job done. You are connected directly with hiring companies, and have the chance to pick up paying work fast.

3. Flex Jobs

This site aims to bring you the best remote and flexible jobs, plus a better way to find them. With FlexJobs you can find hand-screened jobs that are ideally suited to remote, part-time, freelance and flexible working. 

FlexJobs users are generally very happy with the experience they have enjoyed using this site. Natasha from Maryland says, ‘FlexJobs is one job search that gets it!’ 

Luke from Ireland commented, ‘Amazing experience! The job came into my inbox, I applied and by the next day I had an interview and was offered the position. Could not have been better!’

4. Writers' Job Boards

If you are interested in freelance writing jobs, there are number of online job boards that specialize in bringing you this kind of work. 

Freelance writing is a great option, because you don’t need previous experience of specialist equipment. If you are able to write at a moderate level, you can make a career writing articles, blog posts, sales posts and other content. 

Here are some boards that regularly post great jobs for writers:

• Freelance Writing Gigs
• Problogger
• Blogging Pro
• Solo Gigs
• Journalism Jobs
• Freelance Writing Gigs
  

Hunting for Gigs Online

Freelance marketplaces and job boards are great places to start your job search, but there are many other ways to find work. Get good at leveraging a range of online resources and you can really ramp up your earnings. 

Here are some of the best places to find work that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Be sure to check them out and see how you can use them to advantage:

1. Fiverr

This is a great site for offering your services - especially if you can come up with a new angle that people will find interesting. 

As the name suggests, the site was originally designed to offer small gigs that earned just five bucks a time. But the model has changed now, and you can get paid hundreds of dollars for services if you provide real value. 

2. LinkedIn

As the social network for business worldwide, LinkedIn is a great place to find jobs. Whatever kind of work interests you, this is a great place to make the right connections. 

You can search for jobs, or sign up for job alerts. But that’s just the start. If you learn how to use LinkedIn to advantage, you can find opportunities that are not advertised to the public. 

3. Craigslist

There’s no doubt that Craigslist is an oddity. This is a classified ads marketplace that thinks is still 1999! The design may crude and basic by today’s standard, but Craigslist is still hugely popular.

All kinds of jobs are posted on the various city sites, and many of them can be done remotely. So check out the Craigslist websites in major cities, where the highest numbers of jobs are posted.

You can search under ‘Jobs’ and ‘Gigs’ - and also post your resume to promote yourself further. A lot of people have found great home-based jobs through Craigslist.

4. Gumtree

This is another classified ads site that has a lot of jobs on offer. Go to the jobs section and then click on Location. There you will find a section for ‘Homeworking’ jobs.

New jobs are posted in this section every day. So be sure to check back regularly to see what has been posted recently. Some interesting and unusual jobs are posted here, and some of the pay very well. 

5. Angel List

Startups need to get a lot of things done fast, and they often don’t have enough full-time employees to handle the workload. So they frequently use freelancers to fill in the gaps.

The Angel List features a lot of jobs with startup companies, and many of these positions will be handled remotely. Startup companies are used to building virtual teams, so your location becomes irrelevant.

6. Facebook Groups

You may be surprised to learn that Facebook groups are a great source of online jobs, but they are! Groups such as the Cult of Copy Job Board are a great source of high-quality work with limited competition.

It’s worth spending some time experimenting with searches in the Facebook groups section to find groups that are relevant to you. However, you should only respond to job requests. 

Spamming the group begging for work will get you banned real quick!

How to Get Proactive

So far we have looked at ways of finding jobs that are being advertised publicly one way or another. But there are thousands of other businesses who are willing to hire home-based workers, even though they are not advertising for them.

To find this kind of work, you need to get good at proactive marketing. It takes some effort, but you will get a huge return on your investment. 

By taking this approach, you eliminate almost all competition for the available work. You may be the only person being considered for the job, which puts you in a better position to negotiate good rates. 

There are many ways to promote your availability for work. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Build a Website

Nowadays, this is pretty much an essential requirement. If you are to be taken seriously as a professional, you need to have an online presence to show potential hirers.

Fortunately, it’s easy to launch a quality website. You can start a blog in about ten minutes, and with a little bit of work you can create an impressive online presence.

If you have previous work you can show off, be sure to include a portfolio section. Create a ‘Work with Me’ page that outlines the services you offer, and why people should work with you. And remember to include contact form so that prospective clients can get in touch!

Then get busy promoting your new website on social media. You may be surprised to find that you pick up a client or two in the first few days. It happens!

Ask for Referrals

Have you done home-based work for other clients in the past? If so, you have a potential goldmine to tap into. 

Referrals are one of the best ways of growing your business, yet few people take advantage of them. Don’t make that mistake, or you will miss out on a whole lot of cash.

Contact your previous clients and ask each of them to give you contact details of three people they know who could use your services. Then follow up with each of those prospects, being sure to mention your mutual friend. 

This is a very powerful technique that really gets results. 

Use Cold Email

One of the easiest ways to pick up work is to simply email potential clients out of the blue. And it’s not only easy, it’s free!

Do a Google search to identify lists of companies who could be interested in the services you are offering. Visit their websites and collect their contact details. 

The send each one a short email offer that outlines how you can help. Don’t ask for work - instead show how you can add value. 

This works best with smaller businesses where the business owner is likely to be checking email personally. You may be surprised at how quickly you start generating positive replies. 

Get on the Phone

If you really want to get immediate results, there is no better way to do this than picking up the phone and calling prospects. Good old-fashioned cold calling still works like a charm, if you are prepared to do it.

In a world where most people contact each other online, making an actual phone call really makes you stand out from the crowd. You can talk to your prospect person-to-person, rather than relying cold, unemotional electronic messaging. 

Yes, cold calling requires some nerve and the ability to stand rejection. But the results you will get make it all worthwhile. 

Buy Advertising

If you have some budget for marketing, you can find clients by advertising for them. Just think...right now there are clients searching for people like you to get things done. 

You can buy advertising from Google Ads and start reaching prospects immediately. You could post an ad right now and have your first client within the hour.

Google Ads put you and your business right at the top of the search results, which is amazing. But the opportunity does not come cheap. Because you are competing for the top spots, ads can get expensive.

Nevertheless, you only need to pick up one big client to make the investment worthwhile.

More Tips and Tricks

So now you have a whole lot of great ideas you can use to find online work-from-home jobs. But we’re not done yet…

Here are some more proven tactics you can use to find great projects. I have personally used all of these, and they have brought me some of my highest-paying clients:

Scan the Press

The best time to contact companies is when things are changing. And scanning trade magazine and trade websites can tell you a lot about what is going on. This information can be very valuable. 

For example, if a company is hiring a new full-time writer, for example, that means that have writing work that needs to be done, and not enough people to do it. 

It may take a couple of months before a new full-time hire can start working. So there is a great opportunity for you to fill the gap on a freelance basis.

Also look out for startups that have raised a new round of funding, or agencies who have just won a big client. Both have a need to get work done fast, plus cash in the bank to pay for it. Get in touch and profit!

Get Good at Networking

One of the best ways to pick up great clients is hone your networking skills. If you live anywhere near a decent-sized city, there will always be events you can attend profitably.

Check out Meetup.com for meetings happening near you, or join your local Chamber of Commerce. You can also make great contacts at Rotary Clubs and Lions Clubs.

Business referral clubs such as BNI are also a great source of business. The whole point of these clubs is for members to help each other find clients. Get involved - but be sure to give as much as you take. That’s what makes these clubs work!

Speak at Events

A fantastic way to showcase your skills is by speaking about your specialist subject. There are always opportunities to speak at local events, or you can simply create your own events. 

If you are nervous about speaking in public, don’t let that put you off. It’s a perfectly natural reaction, and can be resolved by joining your local Toastmasters club. 

There you will meet a supportive community of people just like you, all committed to improving their speaking skills. Within months, you will go from nervous newbie to confident professional. I know, because I’ve done it!

Take the First Step

So are you ready to rock and roll?

By now, you can’t be in any doubt about the size of the opportunity. There are tons of high-paying, fun, rewarding work-from-home jobs out there waiting for you.

All you have to do is take action. Make the decision to change your life today, and you could be enjoying a new and better lifestyle very, very soon.

Enjoy!