Work at Home in Comfort
Real Work from Home Business Opportunity for Stay-at-Home Moms
Work-At-Home Business For Real—Virtual Loan Officer
By Melanie R. Jordan
I got the work-at-home bug myself as a telecommuting pioneer for my then-employer, one of the country’s largest banks when I went from my native
It’s taken me a few years to perfect the winning combination of what I do, as I believe that successful self-employment is doing a few things that together, get you to your desired income level. One of the many hats I wear is that of a Mortgage Consultant. It’s a lucrative, flexible, home-based business where a dedicated first-year sales professional can make $50-$100K.
Now mind you, I was a traditional Loan Officer before, earlier in my self-employed life for over three years . But that business model left me burnt out and swearing I’d never do loans again. Then a new spin on the industry came my way, and it’s one that I think more work-at-home professionals should be aware of. The Virtual Loan Officer.
Not all Virtual Loan Officer situations are created equal. I’ve investigated several companies thoroughly over the last year, and here’s what I believe is ideal in a company you would seek to work with:
1. A thorough ongoing training and coaching program.
2. Mentors that are easily available and will gladly answer your questions.
3. An opportunity for you to participate in the mortgage industry right away without having to have a huge amount of knowledge.
4. The ability to do both residential and commercial loans of all credit grades nationwide.
5. They are a mortgage banker rather than a mortgage broker (a banker can do direct funding of loans, a broker never actually has money to lend).
6. They h ave back office staff to handle the “grunt work”, paper-chasing, aspects of loan deals, so that you can focus on sales, prospecting and customer service to have higher sales volume and make more money.
7. The ability to do business nationwide legally with proper compliance and the highest ethics.
8. Full-time and part-time work-at-home options.
9. An opportunity for you to grow into management roles for additional career growth and income.
10. Minimal start-up cost.
So in summary, it is definitely possible to make professional-level income, legitimately working from home with the flexible work-life balance that means everything to you. And I believe being a Virtual Loan Officer is one of the best ways.
Copyright 2006 Melanie R.
About the Author:
Melanie Jordan is a Mortgage Consultant and runs a Loan Sales Mentorship Program that helps work-at-home professionals get started and excel in the mortgage industry, and learn to build and manage their own loan sales teams to earn residual income http://www.MakeMoneyInLoans.com.
Getting Started In Mystery Shopping (The
By Melanie R. Jordan
One of the most common questions I get from people who are looking to get started in mystery shopping is "how do I get started?" If you intend to make mystery shopping a real career rather than just getting "paid to shop" it's important to get started off on the right foot. Mystery shopping can either be the road to overworked and underpaid, or if you do it correctly, it can be quite lucrative for a legitimate, work-at-home, flexible job.
Unfortunately, the most common error newbie mystery shoppers make is that they go berserk applying to mystery shopping company web sites left and right. Signing up with any and all companies is the last thing you want to do when you are just starting out--unless you want to be a new mystery shopper with sore fingers saying "I applied to 100 companies but I didn't hear anything". Going directly to companies, especially if you don't have any, or have very little mystery shopping experience, is a waste of time in my opinion. Most companies are inundated with requests from newbies wanting to become mystery shoppers; what they want are experienced shoppers they can count on. Think of a "real world" job search. If you just apply to companies all over the place without any experience, or knowing if they even have any job openings, it's going to be a fruitl ess effort.
Another big reason why applying to company web sites is a waste of time is that the largest and best companies outsource their assignments to independent schedulers--the middlemen of the industry. So companies don't always bother going through their own databases. And even when companies do handle their own assignments in-house via their own schedulers, it's better to apply in response to actual job leads they post in one of many places on the internet. The one time it does make sense to apply directly to companies from day one, is when a mystery shopping company site has the special characteristics that make it what I refer to as a "secret site" (CLICK HERE for more about this topic).
The real way to get started in mystery shopping is to get connected to independent and company-specific schedulers in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd and gets assignments coming to you. Okay, you ask, how do I get connected to schedulers? I go over the many ways to do this in great detail, along with lots of other great tips and techniques in my book The Perfect Work-At-Home Job: Mystery Shopping. But here's one way:
Go to MS Openings, a great Topica mailing list for mystery shopping leads from lots of independent and company schedulers. (If you are not already a member of Topica, you can sign up for free immediately). When you see a job posting in your area, simply follow the instructions and apply. There's a lot more to being a professional, top-earning mystery shopper than just this, but it's a way for you to dabble and get a feel for what is possible.
Summary: Despite what others may say, the biggest mistake you can make as a newbie shopper is wasting your time applying directly to hundreds of mystery shopping companies. You wouldn't look for a job in the "real world" this way, and the "mystery shopping world" is no different. Learn to work with schedulers and you'll have started your mystery shopping career the right way.
Copyright 2001 Melanie R. Jordan
Melanie Jordan is a veteran mystery shopper and merchandiser and an award-winning author of four books on these topics. She regularly publishes a blog and e-zine on mystery shopping and merchandising (subscribe at mscoach@aweber.com) and offers a wealth of unique resources on her site including articles, FAQs and lead ideas at http://www.MysteryShopperCoach.com.
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