Are you looking for work from home jobs in South Africa? If so, I will like to share with you my personal experience on how I found many legitimate work from home jobs in South Africa and across the globe that did not cost me a single cent. These jobs helped me when I was in a situation where I had no form of income and from the projects I took on, I was able to earn between R350-R3000 per a project.
The important factor you need to remember is that the jobs on offer are real jobs that can be carried out from the comfort of your home according to a schedule that you choose. You are in complete control of what jobs you take on and it does not cost you a cent to apply for these jobs. Any so-called work from home opportunity that asks you to pay a fee is a complete scam and you should stay away from these types of opportunities as they are simply not worth it.
The jobs on offer range from basic admin to more technical types of projects like web development. No matter what your skill level is, you can find a job that is suitable to you and pays real money and if you are ambitious these opportunities can evolve to a home business over time. South Africa is in a dire situation with regard to employment opportunities and for this very reason the global market is where the opportunities lie. Thanks to the internet these opportunities are now available to you.
When I was in a financial pickle and was not able to find a job in Pietermaritzburg (my home town), I considered leaving home for Johannesburg because it seemed as though JHB had unlimited opportunities. But I didn’t leave home; instead I searched the internet and found literally thousands of freelance jobs that paid good money. Now, I was slightly intimidated by the word freelancer and I didn’t know whether I possessed the necessary skills to tackle any of these jobs.
However, I personally like to write but I do not consider myself a professional writer. But I was desperate at the time, so I registered on a recognized freelancing site (will explain more on this later) and I applied for a writing job that involved writing short articles for a client on a medical subject. I knew absolutely nothing about the subject matter but I did realize I could easily research the topic online.
To my surprise I got the job and I managed to deliver high quality articles to the client and that job paid me close to a R1000 for 4 articles. I was ecstatic and as they say, the rest is history. I was able to establish myself on the freelancing site and now people actually invite me to write for them – it’s fantastic!
If you cannot write, do not feel like this opportunity isn’t for you because there are jobs of all types on offer. The range of work from home jobs is immense but those who usually succeed in these positions are people who possess a phenomenal propensity to achieve and are willing to take charge and grasp the opportunities at hand.
These traits will certainly see you become a prosperous freelancer if the industry appeals to you, but remember that these traits are common to all men and women – you just need to plan and prepare yourself for a career as a freelancer. Begin your preparation with intense research by joining a freelancing forum and reading dedicated material on the industry.
These are the broad job categories that are available to you:
- Admin Support
- Writing & Translation
- Web & Programming
- Design & Multimedia
- Sales & Marketing
- Finance & Management
- Engineering & Manufacturing
- Legal
As you can see there is a broad range of jobs in various categories available, and it will be very surprising to me if you are not familiar with at least one type of job on offer.
How and Where to Register for Freelance Jobs
The most recognized freelancing platform online is known as Elance and they are the leaders in this industry with thousands of jobs on offer, waiting to be filled by you.
The process of registering is simple. All you need to do is visit the Elance site, thereafter you can register for a free account. You will have to write an admission test but don’t be afraid; if you passed Grade 8 then you will pass this test easily. The test involves questions related to the Elance interface and are directly related to the way Elance work. It is a basically an open book test, where Elance show you exactly what to study on their site to pass the test. Don’t be nervous – I’m positive you will pass the test without much effort.
Once you pass the test you can fill out your profile and upload a portfolio (if you like) and you can assess your skills by writing designated Elance tests. You do not need to write any of these tests as there is an option for you to rate your own skills without going through any formal tests.
Keep in mind: when you do register with Elance you should choose a job category that you believe you are best suited too. As a free member of Elance you are only allowed to choose one job category and you are also restricted to applying for 10 jobs per month. There is a paid alternative if you want to choose more than one category and if you intend applying for more than 10 jobs a month. It is completely your decision as to whether you want to go the free route or the paid route.
When your profile is completed you can begin applying for jobs. The best approach when applying is to connect with the employer in your proposal (you will learn more about this once you are registered). You can do this by telling the employer exactly what you can do for him/her and what skills and motivation you possess that sets you apart.
Right guys, I’ve done my part by sharing with you this work from home job opportunity that has literally dug me out of a financial hole. One thing I have learnt in life is if you do not take action TODAY the many opportunities that are meant for you will be snapped up by someone else who was willing to take action immediately.
This opportunity is yours for the taking and I advise you to set up your profile and start applying for jobs immediately. You have absolutely nothing to lose.
Other Freelancing Platforms:
Here is a list of the other popular freelancing platforms on the internet. Each platform have their own requirements, rules and procedures and the onus is on you to read through there terms of service and to familiarize yourself with each platform before you join.
You can join all the platforms and apply for as many jobs as you want which will increase your chances of securing projects. In fact, we suggest that you approach your freelancing career in this way as you will be exposed to a greater pool of jobs which is always a positive.
Work from Home Jobs and Opportunities
- Online Marketing
The other work from home opportunity that we will discuss now involves online marketing. This opportunity is suited to an individual who wants to build a real business online, but this can be done part-time as well. Online marketing can offer you an extremely lucrative income stream(s) and to enter this industry all you need is an internet connection and basic computer skills, however, this does not mean the industry is easily penetrated and money easily made.
For one to succeed as an online marketer one will need to possess the skills, knowledge and a burning desire to succeed. At some point you will also need to invest in a website, but the investment is extremely low and the knowledge required to start a website isn’t at all as technical as it used to be in the past. Setting up a website has become so easy that anyone regardless of intellect can get a website up and running in a few days. But learning how to do it does take time and effort.
Many South Africans have chosen this route as a means to work at home – some have succeeded and unfortunately others have not made a dime online. The reality is that only a few succeed in this industry and that is because the handful of people who do make it were willing to put in the hard yards.
There are various methods to make money as an online marketer and they include the following:
- Affiliate Marketing: involves selling products or generating leads online on behalf of a merchant
- Adsense: Adsense is a program offered by Google that involves placing Google Ads on a website that you own. This is a legitimate Google work from home opportunity.
- Product Creation: as the name suggests this involves creating information products like Ebooks and selling them online. These eBooks can be as simple as teaching people how to start a vegetable patch. People pay money for information online and this is a lucrative income opportunity.
- Website/Domain Flipping: this involves building websites, optimitzing these sites and them selling them for a profit.
- Online Service Provider: with the increase of online marketers and online businesses has come an increase in the need for services like web content writing, link building, search engine optimization, graphic designing, website development etc. The number of service requirements are phenomenal which results in endless opportunities for online service providers.
There are other online marketing methods but the above mentioned methods are the most common with affiliate marketing been the main route taken by online marketers. As mentioned earlier it does take knowledge to succeed in this industry and we have researched the various courses online and we believe a course called “From Newbie to Millionaire” is one of the best and cheapest programs available that will teach you how to make money online.
Google also offers their own online marketing programs at no cost and you can find more information on Google’s course here. This course is geared more toward an offline business that desires to make the transition into the online world.
- Online Surveys
I think many people have heard about work from home surveys and the potential it has to make you a great deal of money. But this is far from truth: this home job has become a breeding ground for scammers to deviously charge people money for information on the apparent online survey opportunities that will supposedly make people rich overnight. Although there are many legitimate survey opportunities online: don’t expect large amounts of money and the opportunities for South African to fill out surveys abroad are scarce.
Companies who require data from surveys prefer the candidate filling out a survey to be with a certain geographical region which is usually within the country that the company operates, and most surveys that are worthwhile pertain to the United States and that means you do not fit the candidate requirements.
There are a few online survey companies here is South Africa like Survey Basket but this company charges people to join their program and from our research we have found that the companies dealings is extremely covert; this is definitely not the kind of work from home opportunity we will want our readers to get involved in. Essentially people should be getting paid to fill out surveys and they should not be charged anything. Our advice is to stay away from any survey taking opportunity that asks you to pay money upfront.
- Forex Opportunities
You might have heard of the Forex market and programs that allow you to trade shares online. This is an opportunity that is extremely risky. To be candid: trading currencies is a short term investment strategy and it as good as a gamble. You can make a killing on day one and the very next day you can lose you shirt. This opportunity does have potential but the potential for long-term gains is slim and one will need in-depth knowledge of the markets, indicators and how the market responds to changes to be able to truly succeed.
We have seeing many programs that have recently come onto the market that allow you the opportunity to follow the trades of the experienced traders and this type of program does lower the risks and heightens your chances of making money. If you do chose to get in to currency trading in the Forex market then you should engage in intensive research about all things related to trading as this will give you an advantage but experience does play a role and the programs that allow you to follow experienced traders are a better bet, and bet is exactly what the Forex market is all about.
- Data Entry Clerk
If there was ever an area in the work from home industry that is plagued with scams then the work from home data entry arena is it. These type of jobs possess and appeal to people searching for work at home jobs because it seems like something anyone can do. And if you ever search for these type of jobs you will hear and read of people earning exorbitant amounts of money performing data entry for clients.
You will often hear the gimmicks where you are told that all you need to do to earn a great deal of money is to copy and paste snippets of information but let’s be realistic here – wouldn’t everyone be doing data entry from home if this was such a lucrative and simple career path?
Don’t be fooled by the lies and deception and the dream of making easy money at home. There are however legitimate work from home data entry jobs that can be found on the freelancing platforms mentioned above. These jobs involve performing projects for employers that include tasks like: filing out data on spreadsheets, researching information online and categorizing it according to the needs of the employer, populating price sheets with updated prices as well as typing work from home jobs. The usual wage is paid per hour and one can earn a decent amount of money doing this but this opportunity is in a highly competitive industry and one will need extensive experience to break into this area. And work isn’t constant, demand ebbs and flows, which means one cannot rely on this form of income unless one secures a full-time data entry position.
The opportunities we have presented to you are the most common routes taken by people. South Africa has seeing an increase of people following the home career path and that is due to the lack of employment, many South Africans have been burnt in their desperation to find work online and they have spent money on worthless programs that promised the world but delivered nothing.
Freelancing and online marketing are two viable work from home opportunities and we endorse these opportunities as the best ways for you to begin earning a living from home.