I tried several different work-at-home “scams.” I didn’t know they were scams when I sent in my enrollment and materials fees, of course, but scams they were!
One of them involved seed-beading earrings. Three types of tiny beads, one pattern. You send in five pairs for evaluation and they send them back with a critique. My evaluation pairs were fine, so I spent countless hours creating 100 more pairs exactly like them, wrapping each pair individually with tissue so that they would not get scratched in transit. (You could only send in multiples of 50 pairs at a time.)
Instead of the paycheck, I received back 100 pairs of earrings and the reasons for rejection were ALL checked. Too loose, too tight, missing beads, broken beads, uneven, asymetrical, thread showing, etc. And they had all been wadded up into one wrap of paper so that they could get tangled and scratched. I’d spent quite a chunk of change on the enrollment and materials - I still have more of those three kinds of beads than I will ever use in my lifetime.
I eventually learned some web design - if I really put my mind to it and studied and worked at it, I think I could be employed 24/7. I never got into the fancy stuff, though - just plain, handwritten html and a little java scripting. I’ve created many websites to get people going, but I only maintain three on a regular basis. I turned the others over to other people after teaching them about how to maintain the site and keep it fresh. My clients have beautiful sites, easily navigated, which display well on a variety of browsers - but they don’t have a lot of java scripts, no flash or animations, no music, no cute cursors, etc. I only charge $12/hr, which is much lower than what similar services would cost from a real pro.
Your wife could spend 3-4 hours a day working on learning the basics of html, ftp and web graphics and probably be ready to create web sites for clients in a few months. She could start by making sites for non-profit organizations or friends so that she has a portfolio. If she writes clean code and her sites are visually appealing and easily navigated, she can pick up a few clients for a small income. (that’s what I do now and it’s all I really want - but you can get into it for as many hours a week as you choose.)
Good luck to her!
Elizabeth
