Two Central Coast moms share their secrets to working at home and making good money

Posted: May 26, 2010 9:29 AM by Carina Corral
Updated: May 26, 2010 9:29 AM

Whether you are a parent who wants to be home more, but still needs to make money, or someone who needs a supplemental income to make ends meet, this maybe the story you have been waiting to hear.

There are plenty of jobs out there that allow you to work-from-home and bring in some good money such as:

-- virtual customer service representatives can make up to $30 an hour

-- sales consultants can make on average of $40 an hour

-- a virtual concierge can start making $14 hourly

-- we even found a Nipomo woman who makes close to six figures, working from home.

Meet Valerie Simpson, Regional Vice President of Sales and Development for SwissJust. In other words, she is a corporate executive for an international business that is based in Miami.

" I make a real good living," said Simpson.
Reporter: "Do you mind saying how much?"
Simpson: "No, I actually make a little more than $90,000 a year."

The building she works in isn't a corporate sky rise, it's a one story home in Nipomo. And to get to her office, you don't have to walk by several others, you walk through her kitchen.

"This is my office, easy huh?" joked Simpson as she sits at her kitchen counter in front of her opened laptop and surrounded by her three phones. "Yeah this is my office, it is a mobile office so I'll go outside on my patio deck I'll go into the kids bedrooms if I need to."

Valerie has an extensive background in sales, which allowed her to work her way up in this company that sells aromatherapy and essential oils.

She now trains sales consultants, located all over the nation, via cell phone and the web.

The sales consultants also work from home and if you are good at it you, too, can make some good money.

"Actually it's about $40 an hour, so it is commission, but that's the average $40 an hour," said Simpson, who herself works on average 50 to 60 hours a week.

If sales is not your thing, maybe Erin Alpago's job suits you better.

The Paso Robles mom also enjoys the flexibility of working from home, as a customer service representative.

" I usually work a couple hours in the morning, a couple more hours in the afternoon, some days I do more, some days less," said Alpago.

The company that employs her, Working Solutions, caters to a host of industries from healthcare and pharmaceuticals to travel and hospitality.

The pay varies anywhere from $6 to $30 an hour.

Alpago chooses to work part time, but said she has the option of working more hours. " If I want to work more or if something's coming up where I want some extra cash, I can work more hours if I want to."

A quiet workspace, a computer with high speed internet and a landline can land you a job in the comfort of your own home.

Both these working moms said they cannot imagine working anywhere else.

There are plenty of scams out there, so experts have warned anyone interested and presented with an opportunity to work from home to do their research, be especially careful of get-rich-quick-schemes and check with the Better Business Bureau to ensure a company's legitimacy.

Click here for information on Working Solutions.

Click here for information on SwissJust.

Here's another link to legitimate, work-at-home opportunities.