This recession is just as devastating on folks as the Great Depression on some families. In the Great Depression my family lived on beans and homemade bread. Fortunately I liked beans and freshly baked bread. That was all I knew. But my mother canned fruits and tomatoes in the summertime so we had a pretty balanced diet.

My father’s car, an Oldsmobile sedan, was on blocks in the garage and he eventually gave up on ever running the thing again and sold it for five bucks. He gave me a quarter because technically it was my car because he gave it to me. A quarter in those days was a tremendous amount of money, more money than I had ever held I my hot little hand. Needless to say, having no experience with money, I did not spend it wisely.

The Great Depression tore families apart as the men took off to find work. We fed many of them at our back door. Our home was saved by FDR who provided mortgage protection. He got his money back in spades when the depression ended because people were eventually able to pay off the loans.

Many People are Out of Work

In this recession we have people out of work just as my father was. Some are working two or three low-paying jobs and still not able to make ends meet. Driving from one job to another cost money and family time is lost. It becomes a very tiring and stressful situation.

Many are looking for "legitimate free work at home jobs." But there is no free lunch as the old saying goes. There are some cost for an Internet business to buying domain names, hosting websites, and for any other business, everyday business cost. They are not high, but they do exist.

Being able to work at home is a good alternative if a person can match his or her talents and skills to the situation.

This was not possible during the Great Depression, but now it is.

The change is the personal computer and the Internet.

Work for Writers

Writers find a good opportunity because the Internet is a huge group of people looking for information. So writers can write for those who would rather not write or they can work on their own websites, selling to others.

Over the years I have created a number of websites and for myself and for members of my family. One son who is a veterinarian has two good online businesses. He sell musical instruments and herbs which compliments his vet business. Two of his daughters have a very good business making hats and such for babies. They manufacturer these products themselves and with the help of others.

One lady I know, now a widow, sells lavender products which she produces from the lavender growing on her farm. She sells these products on the Internet and to retailers.

Affiliate Marketing and College Expenses

I know a number of Internet Marketers who earned enough money to pay all of their college products by affiliate marketing. That is they sell other peoples products or, more specifically, they lead folks to the suppler’s sales page, providing information rather than a sales pitch.

It may seem strange to you that Internet Marketers often do not sell but simply supply relevant information to those making a search on the Internet. Their objective is to warm the reader up to the point that he or she will click on an affiliate link that leads to the sales page of the vendor. It is the vendor’s job to do the sailing.

One of these friends of mine made over $500,000.00 while in college. He graduated and has since expanded into other areas. He is an unusually bright young man.

Internet Scams

There are a lot of scams on the Internet, people offering work but simply draining their victims of the very finances needed to start a new business. Such get-rich- schemes just don’t work. Selling on the Internet is a business and requires special training and contact with a community of fellow marketers.

Data Entry and Surveys

Data entry jobs, filling out surveys and such never worked out for me. The data entry jobs don’t pay much and to make money at surveys you need to be buying something all the time and you need to lie to be able to take the best surveys or you will be disqualified early in the survey process. That was not for me.

Affiliate Networks

I sell flagpoles on the Internet and I sell affiliate products. Amazon has the largest affiliate program and it is free to start selling. They also have some fairly good training. Commission Junction and other affiliate marketing networks will provide you plenty of products to sell.

Special Training is Needed

Like I said, some training is needed to create a website or websites using WordPress, to learn how to use search engine results (keywords) to direct traffic to your sites, to learn how to use article writing and / or PPC (pay-per-click) traffic methods and how to track your sells and such. You should learn email marketing.

It is best to be part of a community where you can ask questions and get correct information of operating your Internet business as well as the training and tools you need.

Conclusion

Working at home has some advantages.

First, you don’t need a car to go to work nor do you need to pay car expenses.

You don’t need special clothing to go to work which can be an added expense, especially for women who have to change clothing every day.

No office or inventory is required.

You need no employees.

Writers have an advantage. They can easily find writing jobs on the Internet and they can write there own web page and marketing materials.

But you do need a computer and access to the Internet.

Some, to get started, use public computers such as at your local library. Special interest such as hobbies can put you into a niche market, a small part of a larger market, where you can reach like minded people and become part of a group who will see you as a friend and hopefully as an expert too. You can present products to these folks and be on your way.

You can find legitimate, but not completely free, work at home jobs.

John

Internet Business Tool Center