Many people falsely believe that all work on the internet is a scam. This isn’t true.
Working from home is a great way to spend time with your family and have more control over your day to day life, and there are many great places to find online work.
This is never truer than in the case of freelance writers.
Here are some tips for avoiding scams when working from home.
Avoiding Scams by Using Reputable Freelancer Sites
Freelance writing jobs seem to be less scam-filled than other forms of online jobs. I am not sure why.
The biggest thing you have to watch out for in our business is being ripped off by a client who neglects to pay you.
Once you have a reputation you can set up your own profile with references and ask for payment in advance of your work. When first starting out however, you may not be able to request payment up front.
Going through a reputable freelancer service that either pays a flat rate per article or offers certain protection from clients who don’t pay is the best way to start out. Always check to see what the policy is before accepting work as this is a sure fire way of avoiding scams.
Avoiding Scams by Focusing on Payments
Another way to avoid scams is to set up a personal limit. Clients are apprehensive about paying up front because they don’t want you to scam them. There is a lot of mistrust out there.
However, since you are trying to avoid being ripped off yourself you need to set up some ground rules. For example, you can tell new clients that you have to be paid after 5 articles in order to set up a trusting relationship.
No client should have a issue with that as it shows that you are genuine and are here for the long-haul. Then you can increase it to ten, then twenty, and after that you would simply let the client pay you by the week or on their terms.
Of course every client is different and some cannot afford to pay up front for large orders. You may need to look at other avenues here hen avoiding scams.
Avoiding Scams by using Social Security Numbers
If you are an American citizen working for an American citizen you will have to fill out tax papers that include your social security number for each client that you make $600.00 or more dollars from.
Some clients want this to begin with; others are willing to wait till you hit that mark. Be cautious of this but understand it is the rule. Always keep copies of all 1099 that you fill out and retain the names and addresses of all clients that you work for.
If you are an Australian business you usually complete an order form or provide a receipt which contains your ABN. Your ABN is a unique identifier for your business and all business and tax dealings are carried out under this number, so make sure that you keep copies of everything.
These are only a few pointers into avoiding scams when working from home, however it pays to be diligent with all business transactions to ensure that you don’t end up losing more than you bargained for.
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