There is no such thing as a free lunch. Neither is there an easy way to earn money, especially from home. To make yourself employable, you need to ensure that you have the required skill sets as well as good marketing and interpersonal skills. A sound portfolio (for aspiring writers, editors, photographers, designers, etc.) is a must.

Today several private companies and MNCs are employing people who prefer working out of their homes. A host of opportunities exist for home employment in areas as diverse as telemarketing, selling insurance, data entry, typing, data conversion, copywriting, accounting , writing (academic and journalistic writing), editing and proof reading, web design, content development, Internet-based research for companies, graphic design and desktop publishing, programming, audio and video editing, translation work and etc is available.

With a fair bit of technology skills (typing and word processing skills, being PC literate), entrepreneurs can use the worldwide web to start companies and work from the convenience of their homes.

Before you get into the home employment groove, make sure you have the requisite qualifications, hardware, and time management skills to convince potential employers that you are the right person for the job.

Step 1: Make The Right Choices

Before you consider quitting your day-job or begin working from home, take a piece of paper and list out your skills, preferred areas of employment, and your comfort-level in each area. For instance, if you are a programmer, weigh the benefits of home employment versus working in a corporate environment. If you are a student, chart out your daily schedule and figure out how much time you can spare for a ‘part-time’ job, even if it doesn’t involve stepping out of home.

Remember, you may or may not earn as much as you would in a full-time job, and freelance projects take time to source and payments are delayed, in some cases. Zeroing in on the right kind of job is important. Don’t get stuck with a job you don’t like.

Step 2: Set Up Your Workstation

Once you have narrowed down your choice of employment, you can set up your workstation. You need to make sure that your future work area is very comfortable – use ergonomic furniture, wherever possible.

For Writers/Editors: A fast PC is a pre-requisite, you may also have to install software such as MS Office/Open Office, QuarkXP-press or Adobe InDesign.

For Designers: Although it’s not important to invest in a Mac (Apple Macintosh), make sure your PC has enough RAM (at least 1 GB), hard disk space, and install a good graphics card. You also need to install design software such as Adobe photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Quark, Corel Painter, or Adobe InDesign.

For Data Entry/Typing Assignments: A computer, MS Office/open Office, or other data-entry software.

For Medical Transcription: Medical transcription involves transcribing medical records dictated by doctors (patient history, records, notes, lab reports), usually located in clinics abroad. Basic requirements include a PC with about 40 GB hard disk space, 256 MB RAM (minimum), sound card and Internet access. You would also require headphones, word processing software, and a good dictionary.

Step 3: Prepare Your Portfolio:

Prepare a good resume, entering the right keywords under ‘Objective’. Use sites like IT-people and Monster to get basic understanding of the job profile. Use Resume Builder on these sites (needs registration) and on MS Word.

Step 4: Set Up A Web Site or Blog

Create a good web site (one that’s not too garish, text or image heavy).

If you are a freelance photographer or freelance programmer or freelance web designer or freelance graphic designer, put up thumbnails of your work on the site. You could also set up a web log (blog) on sites such as Blogger.com and LiveJournal.com. Don’t forget to provide your e-mail address, resume, and contact details at a prominent location on the site.

Use the best search engines in the business Google, Yahoo!, MSN search, and the right keywords (freelance programming, freelance translation, freelance projects, Data entry, Freelance programmer, Freelancing, Freelancers, Freelance work, Custom web design, Outsource projects, Outsource work, and etc.) to find the jobs you want. Don’t provide personal details while registering on a website unless it’s absolutely essential.

Rent-a-coder.com, a freelance-sourcing site has a ranking system to rate the work of freelancer programmers, and help companies choose people best suited for a particular project. Elance.com, Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com, Scriptlance.com, and Freelance Work Exchange are other popular freelance sites.

It’s very, very important to ‘connect’ with the outside world. Join networking groups such as Friendster and Ryze , have your blog linked to blog rings, and enroll in forums, user groups and other specific online communities. Caveat-online communities have their own set of protocols and etiquette. Remember to follow the rules; don’t forward your resume to everyone you meet.

Step 5: Create A Work Schedule And Meet Deadlines

Create a ‘work culture’ for your self. Just because there is no ‘boss’ breathing down your neck, you can’t afford to slacken or miss deadlines. In fact, you have to work twice as hard to ensure that the companies/clients hiring you have absolutely no reason to regret employing a freelancer.

Step 6: Sell Yourself

Be your own Boss, and brand manager. While it’s important to have an online presence in the form of a website or blog, it’s equally important to be aware of competitive pricing and different payment strategies.

Do not charge your clients less because you are working from home. Make enquires pertaining to the market rates for a particular project (say, web-design or coding), and charge them accordingly. Also, do not under-rate or overrate your skills; and do not undersell or oversell yourself. Be as honest as far as possible.

Tip: To ascertain that Google throws up your site when users enter certain keyword, make the title of your webpage very specific (Fashion Photographer or Freelance Writer or freelance programming or Outsource work or as the case may be).

Ensure that your site linked to other prominent ones, by publishing research papers online, being part of active online communities or regularly updating your web log with quality content.

Step7: Upgrade Your Skill-Sets

When you have time, enroll in training sessions, part-time diploma courses or distance education programs to upgrade your existing skill sets. With technological advancements, there will be rapid changes in the employment scenario as well.

The IT industry, for instance, is continuously evolving. You may have to invest in software courses, at least once every year, to learn new programming languages, improve your design and editing skills, and so on. Not upgrading your skills periodically would reduce your chances of employment, in any field.

Step 8: Exercise Regularly

As the maxim goes, health is wealth. Working from home may reduce your travel time but it might also bring to halt the little exercise you were getting earlier by walking to and from the train or the bus station. To ensure that you give your best to the projects you source, some physical exercise, yoga, and meditation sessions coupled with a balanced diet will help you stay mentally and physically in good shape.

Stock Research and Home Depot are in the news again. This is a result of the firing of the CEO, Bob Nardelli, and what a story it is. You have to step back for a moment and think about any company’s history that you are doing stock research on. You must have an understanding of the company’s history. As a professional investor, when I think of a company’s history, I am more concerned about corporate culture than just about anything else. History shows that a great corporate culture will produce great results. The opposite is true as well.

I was involved with Home Depot in the beginning. I watched and almost participated in the original private placement for the company over 25 years ago. That’s another $100 million I am never going to have. What made this company really go, were the two founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blanc. They created an entrepreneurial store atmosphere where a lot of what went on rested in the hands of the store manager.

For more than 20 years, the company had a spectacular run. It was one of the greatest stock market performances in modern history. It all came apart during the stock market bubble of 2000. Yes, the stock price was inflated, and the company brought in a new CEO Bob Nardelli, who was in the running to become CEO of General Electric. He was passed over by Jack Welch and the Board, and Jeff Immelt, won the slot to run GE.

As is the case with all top guys at GE when they are passed over, they leave, sometimes for greener pastures. Nardelli was recruited to run Home Depot, and successfully brought GE’s template for how to grow a business over to Home Depot. That was his first problem, his second was execution. There is no question that Nardelli was successful in creating great numbers for Home Depot. He failed everywhere else.

When he started, the sales were about $46 billion. By the end of 2005, they were approaching $82 billion. During his tenure however, the stock price is overall down about 6% or so, while profits doubled. At the same time, its principal rival Lowe’s Companies has seen its stock more than triple.

If it ain’t BROKE – Don’t FIX IT?

Nardelli was a self-made victim. It’s one thing to come into an ailing company, and turn it around using modern management techniques. It’s another thing to come into one of the best stock market performers in history, and start changing things that don’t need changing. The result is the self-destruction of a seasoned corporate manager – Robert Nardelli. Don’t feel too bad for him, he walked out with a very rich $200 million severance package.

He never got it though. He never figured it out. He’s sitting in his home right now sipping a martini, licking his chops, and living in a fantasy world about what went wrong at Home Depot.

Here’s the REAL DEAL

Nardelli went after the wrong issues at Home Depot. Yes, the company may have been a bit “shoot by the hip” in terms of giving those 2000 plus store managers authority to run the show – BUT IT WORKED, and it worked well for decades. The imperial CEO tried to wring them in – GE style, and the new template just wouldn’t work. General Electric is the army of the corporate world, and don’t kid yourself, the army wins the wars.

Home Depot was more along the lines of Special Forces – a lot of authority went to the guy on the floor running the store. After all, these are the guys that deal with the customers on a day to day basis. The customer buying a screwdriver, or the contractor buying drywall never got to see Nardelli. They only saw his procedures in place, and the procedures no longer worked.

Take the handoff for example. For years if you walked into Home Depot and couldn’t find what you were looking for, you could ask any employee. Whoever you asked, would then walk you over to the aisle where the item was located. The employee would then look for the worker in charge of that aisle, and say, this gentleman would like a screwdriver. The second employee would then show you where they were located, even help you select one. The key is that the first employee would hand you off to the second employee personally.

Nardelli destroyed this practice, and with it – that flair that made Home Depot different than everybody else went down the tubes. There’s something about a customer business that’s radically different than General Electric’s business plan which is to engage with other companies (manufacturing) rather than people. Nardelli didn’t get it, and the stock went to hell.

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into a Wal-Mart, you can pick up any item and than find a bar code scanner in the store that will tell you the price of the item? You would think that Nardelli would have installed similar bar code readers in his stores during the five years that he ran the company. Nope, forget about it. Half the items in Home Depot have no price sign attached, or nearby. The customer is completely at a loss to determine what he is paying for an item.

Abusing Shareholders too

Nardelli’s ultimate downfall came after he started to abuse Home Depot’s fabulous shareholder base. On May 28th of this year, Nardelli ran the annual shareholder’s meeting in Wilmington Delaware, absent the Board of Directors. He told them not to show up. He only allowed the meeting to go 30 minutes. There was a digital clock at the meeting to time the questions. You had 60 seconds and then boom, the microphone went dead automatically. They probably put a sadist in charge of the cut off switch.

In the final analysis, this brilliant GE trained executive blew up his own career. He alienated the shareholders, the employees, and Wall Street too. He would appear antagonistic when I would attend the analyst conference calls when he would be quizzed about same store numbers. He couldn’t understand our infatuation with comparables.

Right now, he is probably realizing that we weren’t the ones operating on another planet. Nevertheless, he does have that $200 million severance package to ease his pain. It’s not the end for him however. I understand Congressman Barney Frank is about to launch Congressional hearings, and Nardelli will be brought before the Congress to explain the justification for the CEO pay packages today. Nardelli will have to bring his own lawyer this time, on his dime. There won’t be a single one of the 330,000 Home Depot employees there to support him either.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Expat around the world sometime find it difficult to relocate, especially if they are from a different culture and they are unaware of the rules and regulations of the municipal organizations of the country they have been transferred to. If you are looking to rent a fully furnished apartment in Melbourne, then you are in for a pleasant surprise. There are numerous Melbourne apartments and Melbourne serviced apartments which cater to the requirements of the business people who are visiting Melbourne for short or long period.

Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and happens to be the second largest metropolis in Australia. The Melbourne serviced apartments are the most prevalent types of accommodation in Melbourne and the most common forms of accommodation throughout Australia. The Melbourne apartments and Melbourne serviced apartments are in premium CBD locations dotted throughout the entire city.

There is a wide variety to choose from. The Melbourne serviced apartments are in residential buildings comprising of studio apartments and one, two or three bedroom apartments. They are fully furnished with linen, furniture, cutlery, crockery, electrical equipment like microwaves, dishwashers and driers. The service in the Melbourne serviced apartments varies according to the contract that you have signed or according to the owner’s set-up.

The service is usually offered twice or thrice a week. However, if you are lucky, you may get the benefits of an everyday service. The Melbourne apartments are quite popular with the families, couples or singles. They are especially well-liked by the corporate travelers who are in the city on an extended stay. The Melbourne apartments are rented at prices that are much below the standard hotel tariffs, moreover they are like homes and the hospitality is unmatched and service is superb.

There is a plethora of Melbourne serviced apartments and Melbourne apartments available but you have to be cautious and evaluate the strategic locations and the rent offered by them. Before opting for any apartment, conduct thorough research on the internet. Your property agent can also help you, if you are already in Melbourne. The property agents have all the information and they can guide you well in choosing the Melbourne serviced apartments.

However, remember they work on commission basis and the owner of the Melbourne apartments has to pay them one month of rent in advance. Thus the owner prefers if you approach him directly, since in this case he doesn’t have to pay commission and the profit is not marred. If you are a single, then you should opt for the Melbourne serviced apartments which are near your office or business establishment. If you are visiting Melbourne for a longer time and have the family with you, then going for Melbourne apartments that have bedrooms would be a wise idea.

Living in a hotel can be an expensive affair if you are staying in the city for a stretched period of time. The Melbourne serviced apartments and the Melbourne apartments are there to rescue you and your company from this problem since not only they are money savers, they provide supreme level of facilities and security, too.