Customer Service

• Companies, such as Alpine Access and West At Home, hire people to take customer service calls for various companies. You'll need a dedicated phone line, a computer, a phone head set and blocks of time when you'll be uninterrupted. The companies train you, then you're paid per telephone call. You can sign up for various shifts, including nights and weekends. You'll take orders for products or answer customer service questions.
  
  

Teaching

• If you have a skill, share it with others by holding classes in your home or online. You can teach both creative and practical skills from how to set up a budget and how to paint landscapes or play a musical instrument. Tutor students in math or English, or teach others how to build a web page. You can advertise your services on Craigslist or other online bulletin boards. Charge by the hour or by the course. Research local ordinances if you plan to have students come to your home, and discuss the need for liability insurance with your insurance agent.
  
  

Scoping

• Scoping refers to editing transcripts typed by court reporting. To be a successful scopist, you must be able to read legal transcripts, be familiar with legal terminology and have good computer skills. The court reporter emails you the transcripts from a trial, you convert them to the proper format, editing for spelling and grammar, and email them back to the court reporter. You'll need to complete a scoping course and connect with court reporters to establish yourself in the business, but all of the work can be done at home and you can work for court reporters in all levels of the courts from anywhere in the U.S.
  
  

Virtual Assistant

• A virtual assistant performs secretarial and administrative tasks from home for clients. A virtual assistant's duties might include maintaining a mailing list, drafting correspondence, answering emails, posting to blogs or other tasks for writers, artists and other small businesses. Some virtual assistants specialize in particular fields, such as virtual assistants who work only with writers, or virtual assistants who market their services to solo entrepreneurs. To be a virtual assistant you should be organized, personable and have good computer skills.