~*~*~ THE RAT RACE REBELLION TELEWORK BULLETIN ~*~*~ Dear Reader, A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Today’s issue, Fair Reader – besides the customary bouquet of hand-picked jobs and projects – brings our first interview with a Second Life entrepreneur (if you don’t know what Second Life is, read on). We’ve also got launch news from a Google-funded startup, Pixazz, that hires work-at-homers to match products in photos to products in the real world. Also on tap is a clip of Chris on CNN covering new Internet scams, and an expanded “R3 Mailbag” (as promised in our last issue) to answer the few questions left over from our Scamspotting Webinar, as well as some of the more common queries we get in Ye Aulde In-boxe. You’ll find a nice batch of fresh freebies, too. Enjoy, Good Luck, and Be Well. CHRIS ON CNN CLIP COVERS “NEW INTERNET SCAMS” Scammers are trolling for taxpayers in a new “IRS” scam, and here’s a website that tells you how to produce phony W-2s – to do ripoffs of your own! Chris returned to CNN to cover the latest e-con games. To see the clip, go to http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/03/22/nr.irs.alert.scam.cnn. IN UK, ARISE SEEKS 1,000 AGENTS FOR 2009, 300 IN NORTH WEST ENGLAND NOW Virtual call center Arise is looking for 1,000 home-based agents in the UK in 2009, according to a recent piece in the Liverpool Daily Post. The firm also wants to hire 300 agents in England’s North West now. Like LiveOps, VIPdesk and others, Arise hires agents as independent contractors rather than employees. To compare Arise with other call centers (pay scale, work status, etc.), see our chart at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/CS_Comparison.html. For more on Arise’s current hiring in the UK, see lead no. 3, below. PIXAZZA ACCEPTING EARLY-BIRD APPLICATIONS FOR “FASHION EXPERT” SLOTS Pixazza, a Google-funded startup that launched this week, is accepting signups for “Fashion Experts.” Pixazza offers an advertising service for website owners. In a nutshell, the service (a line of code) presents product information to visitors when they mouse over a photo on the owner’s page. Pixazza needs human help to match the products seen in the photos with products offered by its retail affiliates. For more, see lead no. 2, below. MAKING MONEY IN SECOND LIFE – INTERVIEW WITH BOSHEMIA “Boshemia” is the online name of a Colorado-based woman who runs a store in the virtual world known as Second Life. (Links follow below.) At her store, La Cirque Boheme, she helps people personalize their “avatars” – the artificial beings who represent visitors in the Second Life world. I recently chatted with Boshemia via email to learn more about her SL business and her other home-based activities online. RRR: Tell us a bit about yourself. BOSHEMIA: I live in southwestern Colorado, about two hours from the Four Corners. I am also located two hours from the nearest Safeway, Starbucks, or stop light, in a small town called Nucla. Nucla probably has more cows than people. It’s about an hour from Telluride, Colorado. Regarding Second Life, I actually just finished a Squidoo page that has a lot of images and information on what we do in SL, at http://www.squidoo.com/secondlifetodo. There is a lot of technical jargon involved, but my store La Cirque Boheme specializes in Skins and Avatars to personalize your Second Life experience. As for blogging, I have been doing some form of blogging since 2002. My main blog at http://www.sugarpatch.com/ gets about 600 page views a day on average. I chose self-help and personal growth because it is something I have always believed in. I've been through some tough times in my life, and had to work hard to overcome them. Now I share the lessons I learned the hard way with others so hopefully they can learn a little faster than I did. Another huge part of my life is Squidoo, which I mentioned before, at http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/boshemia. Anyone can build free pages and make money there, with minimal web design skills. Since I am a writer by nature it was a perfect fit for me; the community is amazing. They are kind, and helpful, always willing to give a little bit of advice to a newbie. I only began writing there in December, but I expect great things. I absolutely love it there. Diversity is key, make sure you have enough irons in enough fires that you aren't fully dependent on one income stream. RRR: Given the entrepreneurship in your activities, did you have any entrepreneurial role models? BOSHEMIA: I’ve been blessed in my life to have many positive role models. I come from a family of people who have found their own success; they will give anything to help another succeed, and have always been very supportive. I’ve also had a lot of family involved in multi-level marketing. I tried it out and discovered it was not for me. I’m just not the kind of person who can do what they have to do, but my experiences with MLM had many positive residual effects. When you spend a lot of time with dreamers, you become a dreamer yourself. When you spend a lot of time with doers, you learn how to do. More than anything, they taught me that the world owes me nothing. If I’m not willing to get out there and do the work, I’m not going to get the rewards, plain and simple. There are no free rides. RRR: How does one launch a store or otherwise become a vendor on Second Life? BOSHEMIA: The first thing I recommend is checking out the SL forums, at http://forums.secondlife.com/. I could have shaved months off my learning curve if I had stopped here first. There are people here willing to teach you anything you want to know. Then get out and meet people who already do what you want to do. Some of them aren't willing to help another person who is just learning, but many of them are. Joining SL is free, so don’t waste the money on a membership unless you just have to own your own land. There are a lot of places that “rent” land to others for very little money. You can get a nice-sized lot for under $10 a month, and small “booth space” for under $5. A membership will cost you nearly that, so in the beginning save your money and just rent the land. There are a lot of people who sell items for resale, also called full permission items, but I don't recommend them. They appeal to new people, but after awhile, a user has seen them in so many places they will just write you off as an amateur. Unless you find a way to personalize your items and make them something of a one-of-a-kind, people will just pass you by. SL does not charge for building materials, called prims, which are used to construct objects within SL. Prim work takes a little practice; it’s a bit like playing with resizable legos. SL does charge to upload images (textures), about 4 cents per image. A skin, or the external surface of an avatar, requires three images, but you usually have a few mistakes you have to fix before your final cut. Clothing and tattoos use the same template, available free at SL. You have face, upper body, and lower body. You will probably want to add prim work to finish clothing, the parts that stick out – pieces like suspenders, pockets, belts, skirt panels, etc. People also sell sounds, scripts, animations, how-to books, etc. They teach classes on any number of subjects, and offer consulting and promotion services. If you have a skill, there is a good chance you can find a way to market it in SL with a little bit of imagination. You can also get started with very little money; that's how I started. I just wasn't willing to put out a lot of money on something that might not work. I've made enough to cover expenses from my first month in business. RRR: Roughly how much money do you make per year from your SL activities? BOSHEMIA: The projections we have for 2009 are estimated to be about $10,700 after expenses. A lot of our profits will be turned around and placed back into purchasing land to rent to others. Renting land is not required, but it is by far the highest paid field in SL. Just look at Anshe Chung! [Chung was one of SL’s first millionaires. Much of her money was made through SL real estate. For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anshe_Chung – Ed.] We didn’t just run out and buy a bunch of land, and that was key for us. We added it slowly as our business grew. SL does charge a tax for owning land; ours currently sits at $125 a month. With both myself and my husband disabled, I couldn’t afford to risk jumping into a huge monthly land payment at the outset. So as we’ve grown, we have bought our land a piece at a time. We currently own 1/2 of a simulator (sim). Much of this year’s profits will go into purchasing additional private simulators so we can rent land to others. SL also makes their financial statistics available to the public, for example here: http://secondlife.com/statistics/economy-data.php?d=2009-02-05. In January there were 407 people within SL making $2000-$5000, for essentially playing a video game. If anyone is interested in Second Life, I'd be happy to give them some tips on getting started. If anyone has any other questions or wants a more in-depth explanation on anything I’ve covered, they are always welcome to contact me anytime, through my website or on twitter as @boshemia. ### FROM THE R3 MAILBAG -- QUESTIONS ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME, AND OTHER RAT RACE TOPICS Dear R3: I’m not a military spouse, but I’d like to take your Armed Forces Virtual Assistant training to become a VA. Is there any way I can attend one of your VA training programs at a military base near me? R3: We have some bad news and some good news. The “bad” news is, the Portable Career & Virtual Assistant Training Program™ is available only to military spouses. (It’s paid for by the military bases, so they make the seating allocations.) The good news is, our book, The 2-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants, is based on the same 15-hour training program. (And the $10.19 price ain’t bad neither.) = = = = = = = = = Dear R3: I have a new email address. How do I change my Bulletin subscription address? R3: Simply go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/RatRaceRebellion/ and click on the “sign in” link in the upper right corner of the page. (Log in using the Yahoo ID and password you chose when you signed up.) Select the Rat Race Rebellion group from your list, then click on “Edit Membership” (usually just above the group title). On the edit page, you can change your email address, select a different delivery option, or (Good gracious, have you taken leave of your senses?) unsubscribe from the list altogether. = = = = = = = = = Dear R3: You tell people to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau when they’re scammed, but the BBB is just a pay-for-membership organization. What good can they do? R3: The BBB is indeed a pay-for-membership organization (which means that if a company does not purchase a BBB membership, it is not “listed” with the BBB). However, while they may not always be able to get your money back, when you report a scam to the BBB you can at least (1) help start or augment a file – often searchable by Google – on the scammer, which will (2) help others avoid the scam, and, (3) assuming the scam is reported often enough, spark an investigation by local or state law enforcement officials and/or (in the US) the Federal Trade Commission. (The BBB itself investigates scam complaints as well.) Be sure to report scams to the FBI-run Internet Crime Complaint Center, too, at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx. = = = = = = = = = Dear R3: I want to take surveys to make a little money on the side. But with some survey sites, I get a few minutes into a survey and suddenly receive a message telling me I don’t qualify. What’s up with that? R3: You may not match the “target consumer group” for that particular product or service. For context, survey firms are hired by companies such as Procter & Gamble to gather feedback and other data from consumers who are like the company’s targeted purchasers. For example, a company that wants to sell laundry detergent may be looking for survey results from “women between the ages of 25 and 54, with children between the ages of 3 and 17.” Some survey companies will require your personal profile up front, and will keep it on file and send you only surveys that fit your profile. Others, however, will have you answer key “profile” questions with each survey, to see if you fit. If you don’t, you receive the “not qualified” notice you mentioned. FRUGAL AND SIMPLE LIVING Here’s a batch o’ fresh freebies for this week. If you see something you like, be sure to grab it fast, as free stuff goes quickly on the Net. (Boring fine print: Sorry, but we have no control over supplies, or when the vendors decide to halt their offers or fulfillment.) Enjoy! Coupons for $40 off TV converter boxes: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx (Get ready for the change to digital!) Free sample Mary Kay Signature Ultimate Mascara: http://www.marykay.com/carmel39/freesample/freesample.aspx Email for a free sample of the Green Dot pacifier: http://www.funtasticmedia.com/fever_pacifier.asp Free sample pack Avery Identification labels (UK): http://www.avery.co.uk/avery/secure/gb_samplereq?cc=UK10915&lc=IDWPK1P Free sample Gas-x Thin Strips: https://secure.novartisotc.com/secure.novartisotc/gasx/trial_alt.jsp For more freebies, go to http://www.ratracerebellion.com/freebies.htm RAT RACE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The possession of gold has ruined fewer men than the lack of it.” -- Thomas Aldrich Rebelliously Yours, Michael Michael D. Haaren, Editor-in-Chief The Rat Race Rebellion =>=> New Leads for Home-Based Jobs and Projects <=<= *Editor’s Note: All positions are screened, but we can’t of course “guarantee” the legitimacy of any hirer or lead, so please do your own ‘due diligence’ as well! Also, please note that on occasion the hirer will decide to change the description or the availability of the job or project shortly AFTER the summary is published here. (Unfortunately, we have no control over this.) Therefore, be sure to read the underlying ad carefully, and apply promptly for any job that interests you. 1. Customer Care Representatives NEW continues to recruit for Customer Care Reps. “Answers customer questions and resolves issues relating to claims, warranties, and servicing products.” For more: http://newcorp.hrmdirect.com/employment/view.php?req=12072& 2. Pixazza Accepting “Fashion Expert” Applications Pixazza, a Google-funded ad service that launched this week, is accepting applications for “Fashion Experts,” who will match website photos to the approximately 2M products offered by its retail affiliates. “[Y]ou get paid to find items that you might want to buy. Our initial focus is fashion-related items. The better you are at finding and matching similar products, the more money you can make!” For background on Pixazza, see the BusinessWeek piece at http://tinyurl.com/cyq9xu. For more: http://www.pixazza.com/expert/ 3. Arise Seeks 300 Agents in North West England Virtual call center Arise is looking for 300 home-based Agents in England’s North West, according to the Liverpool Daily Post. (See article at http://tinyurl.com/cm9rfy.) According to its website, “Arise UK is currently expanding it's presence throughout Europe and for a limited time will be offering at home certification courses to residents of the UK for free.” For more: http://www.arise.com/uk/ukhome.asp 4. Bilingual (Eng.-Spanish) Technical Writer ”Manpower Professional has a great opportunity creative director/Technical Writer/Instructional Designer will need to be able to develop (design & copywrite) bilingual (Spanish & English) materials that will be used in a Hispanic marketing pilot. Materials could include print, online and training decks.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/cl9dgf 5. Marketing Representatives for TeleReach TeleReach wrote us this week that they’re seeking Marketing Representatives in most US states. (Exceptions noted below.) The following is excerpted from their position description. “TeleReach Corporate is a business development, appointment setting, teleprospecting, lead generation, data acquisition, and information gathering company….seeking long term part time and full time Marketing Representatives.” “TeleReach offers performance based (quota) hourly pay. Earnings range from $12 - $28/hr. and our top FT callers earn 60K+ a year.” “All applicants must have a minimum of 6 months successful business to business (B2B) telephone cold calling experience, utilize professional verbal communication skills, have a sound understanding of general business, be self motivated, have a dedicated follow-through attitude and demonstrate good computer skills.” “We receive a large number of applications each week and unfortunately can not respond to every applicant.” “We are not hiring in the following states: AK, CA, CT, FL, HI, IL, MD, MI, MA, MT, NH, NV, PA, ,or WA.” For more: www.telereachjobs.com 6. Sr. Publications Writer for i3 Statprobe “i3 Statprobe [UnitedHealth Group] focuses exclusively on providing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with comprehensive, integrated data service solutions that include data capture, summary, analysis, and reporting for clinical trials across all phases of research.” They seek a Sr. Publications Writer. For more: http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=80128936 ~*~*~*~*~ Chris and Mike here -- Do you need writing experience to qualify for freelance writing, blogging, proofreading or editorial jobs? Want to demonstrate your expertise for hiring managers or prospective clients? We recommend Helium (it’s free). You can get writing experience with an easy-to-start blog, and be eligible for compensation while you learn. You can also choose among many popular topics, and build your credentials while you write about what interests you. For more, visit http://www.helium.com/?ad=680&placement=HAP002 . ~*~*~*~ 7. Freelance Writers Internetbrands.com seeks Writers. “Articles will focus on a variety of topics and will appear on websites owned by InternetBrands. We will provide a style guide, sample article, and the list of key words that you are to work with. Rates vary depending on the type of article, starting at a rate of $0.02 per word.” For more: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA5/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=CARSDIRECT&cws=2&rid=298 8. Medical Transcriptionists Superscript Medical seeks MTs with at least 1 year’s experience. For more: http://www.mtjobs.com/job_detail.cfm?RowID=17270 9. Ubuntu IT Project Portfolio Manager Canonical seeks a Project Portfolio Manager for Ubuntu. “Ubuntu is one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users in homes, businesses, governments, research institutes and schools around the world. With our innovation and commitment, our goal is to make Ubuntu the world’s best free software platform, ensuring it is available to everyone.” For more: http://jobs.37signals.com/jobs/4985 10. Director, Teaching & Learning; “Start Summer 2009” ”Teach For America seeks a Director on the Teacher Support and Development team to provide support to regional Teaching and Learning members.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/cgkkfr 11. Editor “Responsible for developing new editorial for the COLLOQUY magazine, COLLOQUY web site as well as other LoyaltyOne vehicles.” For more: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1037134 12. Bloggers “Nerve is looking for wildly funny, irreverent and intelligent bloggers in the following categories: television; technology and gadgets; video gaming; film; and celebrity culture at large.” For more: http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=88388&page=1 13. Senior Web/Software Developer “Lucidiom is looking to hire a full-time Senior Web/Software Developer to join the core team developing our next-generation online photo site.” For more: http://jobs.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?4657 14. “Hebrew & Syntax: Consultant, Basis Technology, Telecommute” “Basis Technology Corp. is seeking to hire two Hebrew linguists who are also native speakers of Hebrew for a short term, temporary contracting assignment.” For more: http://linguistlist.org/jobs/get-jobs.cfm?JobID=63981&SubID=209997 15. Online Media Manager WN Network is looking for an Online Media Manager “to sell ad space to several key sectors. Previous experience essential of CPM advertising, selling Banners, MPUs and knowledge of relevant target sectors.” For more: http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/jobview.asp?joid=88367&page=1 16. Network Contract Manager for UnitedHealthcare Fortune 500 UnitedHealthcare seeks a Network Contract Manager to handle negotiations with hospitals, physician groups, etc. For more: https://uhg.taleo.net/careersection/10000/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=1230853 17. Bilingual Polish Telephone Interpreters – Translators Language Line Services seeks Bilingual Polish Telephone Interpreters – Translators. For more: http://tinyurl.com/d3zlsr 18. Securities Enforcement / Litigation Attorney “JuriStaff Legal Staffing is assisting a NYC area client searching for attorneys with experience handling securities enforcement/litigation matters to work 30 hours a week from home on a temporary basis researching and writing on securities law matters.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/d2flah 19. Technical Coordinator for Nonprofit Org. DiversityRx seeks a “[t]ech savvy individual with knowledge and experience working with Web 2.0 networking tools needed to manage virtual learning networks, including webinars, listservs, and teleconferences on cultural competence in health care.” For more: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/330076-301 20. Google Ads Quality Raters Google continues to seek Ads Quality Raters for temporary, part-time work. “As an Ads Quality Rater, you will be responsible for reporting and tracking the visual quality and content accuracy of Google advertisements.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/bakd8e ******************************* That’s this week’s issue, Dear Reader. Until next week’s issue, don’t forget to visit us for fresh job leads at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/job_postings.htm ! Rebelliously Yours, Michael -- Michael D. Haaren, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief Staffcentrix, LLC Email: mhaaren@staffcentrix.com Co-author of the bestseller on working from home as a Virtual Assistant, THE 2-SECOND COMMUTE, now available at Amazon.com or http://www.2secondcommute.com. See what else we’re up to on the Web, at http://www.WAHBoom.com (our new work-at-home site for Boomers), http://www.msvas.com (our Military Spouse Virtual Assistant community), and http://www.fse-entrepreneur.com (our Foreign Service spouse e-Entrepreneur community). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ All contents copyright 2008 Staffcentrix, LLC, "The most trusted name in home-based careers."(TM, SM) All rights reserved.