The RatRaceRebellion.com Blog

Making Money in Second Life -- Interview with Boshemia

"Boshemia" is the online name of a Colorado-based woman who runs a store in the virtual world known as Second Life. (Links follow below.) At her store, La Cirque Boheme, she helps people personalize their "avatars" – the artificial beings who represent visitors in the Second Life world.

I recently chatted with Boshemia via email to learn more about her SL business and her other home-based activities online.

RRR: Tell us a bit about yourself.

BOSHEMIA: I live in southwestern Colorado, about two hours from the Four Corners. I am also located two hours from the nearest Safeway, Starbucks, or stop light, in a small town called Nucla. Nucla probably has more cows than people. It's about an hour from Telluride, Colorado.

Regarding Second Life, I actually just finished a Squidoo page that has a lot of images and information on what we do in SL, at http://www.squidoo.com/secondlifetodo. There is a lot of technical jargon involved, but my store La Cirque Boheme specializes in Skins and Avatars to personalize your Second Life experience.

As for blogging, I have been doing some form of blogging since 2002. My main blog at http://www.sugarpatch.com/ gets about 600 page views a day on average. I chose self-help and personal growth because it is something I have always believed in. I've been through some tough times in my life, and had to work hard to overcome them. Now I share the lessons I learned the hard way with others so hopefully they can learn a little faster than I did. 

Another huge part of my life is Squidoo, which I mentioned before, at http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/boshemia. Anyone can build free pages and make money there, with minimal web design skills. Since I am a writer by nature it was a perfect fit for me; the community is amazing. They are kind, and helpful, always willing to give a little bit of advice to a newbie. I only began writing there in December, but I expect great things. I absolutely love it there.

Diversity is key, make sure you have enough irons in enough fires that you aren't fully dependent on one income stream.

RRR: Given the entrepreneurship in your activities, did you have any entrepreneurial role models?

BOSHEMIA: I've been blessed in my life to have many positive role models. I come from a family of people who have found their own success; they will give anything to help another succeed, and have always been very supportive. I've also had a lot of family involved in multi-level marketing. I tried it out and discovered it was not for me. I'm just not the kind of person who can do what they have to do, but my experiences with MLM had many positive residual effects.

When you spend a lot of time with dreamers, you become a dreamer yourself. When you spend a lot of time with doers, you learn how to do. More than anything, they taught me that the world owes me nothing. If I'm not willing to get out there and do the work, I'm not going to get the rewards, plain and simple. There are no free rides.

RRR: How would someone go about launching a store or otherwise becoming a vendor on Second Life?

BOSHEMIA: The first thing I recommend is checking out the SL forums, at http://forums.secondlife.com/. I could have shaved months off my learning curve if I had stopped here first. There are people here willing to teach you anything you want to know. Then get out and meet people who already do what you want to do. Some of them aren't willing to help another person who is just learning, but many of them are.

Joining SL is free, so don't waste the money on a membership unless you just have to own your own land. There are a lot of places that "rent" land to others for very little money. You can get a nice-sized lot for under $10 a month, and small "booth space" for under $5. A membership will cost you nearly that, so in the beginning save your money and just rent the land.

There are a lot of people who sell items for resale, also called full permission items, but I don't recommend them. They appeal to new people, but after awhile, a user has seen them in so many places they will just write you off as an amateur. Unless you find a way to personalize your items and make them something of a one-of-a-kind, people will just pass you by.

SL does not charge for building materials, called prims, which are used to construct objects within SL. Prim work takes a little practice; it's a bit like playing with resizable legos. SL does charge to upload images (textures), about 4 cents per image. A skin, or the external surface of an avatar, requires three images, but you usually have a few mistakes you have to fix before your final cut.

Clothing and tattoos use the same template, available free at SL. You have face, upper body, and lower body. You will probably want to add prim work to finish clothing, the parts that stick out – pieces like suspenders, pockets, belts, skirt panels, etc.

People also sell sounds, scripts, animations, how-to books, etc. They teach classes on any number of subjects, and offer consulting and promotion services. If you have a skill, there is a good chance you can find a way to market it in SL with a little bit of imagination.

You can also get started with very little money; that's how I started. I just wasn't willing to put out a lot of money on something that might not work. I've made enough to cover expenses from my first month in business.

RRR: Roughly how much money do you make per year from your SL activities?

BOSHEMIA: The projections we have for 2009 are estimated to be about $10,700 after expenses. A lot of our profits will be turned around and placed back into purchasing land to rent to others. Renting land is not required, but it is by far the highest paid field in SL. Just look at Anshe Chung! [Chung was one of SL's first millionaires. Much of her money was made through SL real estate. For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anshe_Chung –- Ed.]

We didn't just run out and buy a bunch of land, and that was key for us. We added it slowly as our business grew. SL does charge a tax for owning land; ours currently sits at $125 a month. With both myself and my husband disabled, I couldn't afford to risk jumping into a huge monthly land payment at the outset. So as we've grown, we have bought our land a piece at a time. We currently own 1/2 of a simulator (sim).

Much of this year's profits will go into purchasing additional private simulators so we can rent land to others.

SL also makes their financial statistics available to the public, for example here:
http://secondlife.com/statistics/economy-data.php?d=2009-02-05. In January there were 407 people within SL making $2000-$5000, for essentially playing a video game.

If anyone is interested in Second Life, I'd be happy to give them some tips on getting started. If anyone has any other questions or wants a more in-depth explanation on anything I've covered, they are always welcome to contact me anytime, through my website or on twitter as @boshemia.

[This interview first appeared in the Rat Race Rebellion Telework Bulletin. To subscribe (it's free), see the signup box on our home page. -- Ed.]

Home-Based Jobs that Require Little or No Experience

Some home-based jobs require no experience, or very little. Here's how to find them.

But First, Watch out for Scams
With the recession in full swing, scam artists are out in force, especially in the work-at-home arena. One of their favorite ploys is to post job leads trumpeting "no experience necessary."

In fact, "no experience" was one of the key hooks in the infamous "rebate processing" scam recently unmasked on ABC News 20/20, which victimized thousands of people across the U.S. (Chris was interviewed on the program to discuss scam trends.)

Con artists know that many people desperate to work from home may have little or no applicable work experience, so they write their bogus "offers" to cast the widest possible net. For more on how to spot work-at-home scams, see our article here.

Teaching Conversational English, and other Jobs
You may not get rich with jobs or projects that require no experience, but the work is legitimate, and at the end of the month you can have a worthwhile addition to the family income.

Here are some of the better-known home-based jobs that demand little or no experience.

-- Teaching conversational English: With advances in online teaching tools and long-distance phone charges falling or disappearing altogether, language companies can now offer conversational English to students located almost anywhere. One such employer is Idapted. For more online tutoring and teaching positions, go here.   

-- Answering questions virtually: Services like KGB and ChaCha hire home-based workers to answer a wide variety of customer questions submitted via text or cell phone call. (Some research skills required.)

-- Mystery shopping: While there are many scams in this niche – in particular, beware offers involving pre-paid shopping, and "leftover funds" to be wired overseas – legitimate companies do hire people to visit vendors and evaluate the experience. For a list of screened companies, go here.

Polish Your Credentials at Every Opportunity
Regardless of your immediate employment goals, don't forget to obtain additional training and certifications wherever feasible. Brainbench.com, for example, often offers free or inexpensive certifications that many employers respect, and (if you're in the U.S.) local One-Stop Career Centers sometimes offer free or discounted training for people recently laid off, or who have been unemployed for an extended time.

Nurture your resume, network like crazy, and persevere, and you'll significantly boost the odds of success.

Five Home-Based Businesses for Hard Times

Even in a recession, some home-based businesses can do well. Here are a few that might work for you.

Dialoguing for Dollars
If you enjoy talking on the phone and helping others, consider providing customer service as an independent contractor for a call center. Companies like VIPdesk, LiveOps, and Arise hire self-employed agents to book cruises, take catalog orders, and handle incoming infomercial calls. (For a list of 75+ companies that hire home-based agents, including wages and other information, click here.)

Why is this a timely option? Because the recession makes outsourcing an attractive choice for companies, and call centers that employ home-based agents deliver solid results at competitive prices. 

For costs, you'll need high-speed Internet and a decent computer, and a quiet place to take your calls. Depending on the company, you may also have to pay for a background and/or credit check, since customer credit card information may be involved. Some companies also charge their independent contractors a nominal training fee to get them up to speed on customer accounts. (For an explanation of training and related fees, click here.)

Indulge Your Love of Pets
If you're an animal lover, consider becoming a dog walker or pet sitter. This sector continues to grow despite the recession, as people work longer hours and commutes continue to worsen, leaving pets "holding the bag." For more, see the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.  

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
If you're good with a sewing machine, consider opening a business as a seamstress. With layoffs growing, salaries stagnant and credit cards loaded to the limit, people are watching their pennies more closely than ever. This means postponing new clothes, and repairing those that have been pushed to the back of a closet due to a fallen hem, bad zipper, or lost button.

Adding "clothing facelifts" to your repertoire (i.e., giving "dated" clothing a new look by shortening hems, decreasing shoulder pads, and performing other nips and tucks) could prove a good move, too.  

Become a Virtual Assistant
If you have strong administrative skills, consider becoming a Virtual Assistant, or "VA" -– an independent contractor who provides business-support services offsite. Services range from basic word processing and calendar management to website design, bookkeeping, making travel arrangements, and more. VAs bill an average of $32 per hour for general administrative support services.

Why is this a timely option? In an uncertain economy, many businesses prefer to outsource work from time to time as needed, rather than take on the expense of an employee. If you target successful independent professionals (lawyers, speakers, consultants, etc.) or healthy businesses that have laid off support staff -– and you work hard -– you could do quite well.

For more on the VA option, see our page of resources here, and visit the International Virtual Assistants Association.

Sailing the Yard Sales
In a recession, yard sales proliferate. If you have a flair for spotting bargains, turn your talent into income with eBay and other online auction sites. (While it's true that such sites have been around for awhile, and they're more crowded than they used to be, they still work.)

While you're at it, however, beware the "Auction Listing Specialist" scam, where con artists try to get you to pay a fee to become "certified" to sell third-party merchandise. Ebay offers a better deal -– free tutorials for new auctioneers. For more, click here.

Staples Offers Free Computer Tune-Ups Through April 4

If your computer has been sludgy lately, or it's been awhile since the last oil change, you might want to stop by one of Staples' 1,500 (US) stores for a free tune-up. (We haven’t tried it ourselves, but it sounds good.)

According to Staples' press release, the service includes:

• Cleaning out system clutter and eliminating unnecessary files

• Optimizing platform Windows performance

• Organizing files on hard drives by defragmenting files

• Suggesting low-cost ways to upgrade disk storage and memory

• Identifying security vulnerabilities such as outdated virus definitions, the absence of firewall software, and lack of e-mail filters

For details, click here.

Lawyers Go Home-Based, Nudged by Recession

When I worked as a Wall Street lawyer (I'm "rehabilitated" now, Chris says, since I don't practice any more), I took the subway in from Brooklyn. (I was an Associate, saving money to buy a co-op. Which I never bought; I quit the Rat Race to become a writer in Paris. But that's another story.)

On days when I rode the decrepit Lexington Avenue trains it was like something out of a Seinfeld episode: July, no AC, greasy air, windows open, deafening noise in tunnels, train breaks down, lights go out… incomprehensible voice fuzzblats on the intercom. Silence. A few wisecracks here and there. Lights go on, your nose is in the armpit of some stranger…. Oy!

Nobody worked from home. I worked for a great firm, but (this being Wall Street) everybody was expected to come in at some point on weekends. It would have been wonderful to have been able to telework from time to time…

Anyway, we talk here occasionally about the lawyers oh-so-gradually starting to work from home (nothing happens quickly in the law, except the combustion of money when you're in litigation), and now it seems that the recession is helping more attorneys take a fresh look at things. The aged brick-and-mortar model is expensive, of course (for clients, too, who are paying the rent), and "going virtual" is so much cheaper.

We don't expect a mass migration of lawyers to home offices anytime soon, recession or no, but for hope, see the recent Washington Post piece, "Recession Sends Lawyers Home."

Homeshoring News: Convergys Seeks 2,000 Home-Based Agents for 2009

The US "homeshoring" movement (home-based customer service agents) is feeling the recession, too, but Chris and I are still seeing recruiting drives. Convergys, for example, recently announced the expansion of its home-based agent model to more states in the US, and says it wants to hire up to 2,000 agents this year.

The company reportedly expanded recruiting recently to the following nine states: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For details, including an interview with Scott Van Stratten, the home agent program's senior director, go here. For Convergys’ website, click here. 

To compare Convergys (wages, employee vs. independent contractor status, etc.) to 70+ additional homeshoring employers, see our chart here. 

The home agent model continues to make eminent sense. From the employer viewpoint, research consistently shows that at-home agents are more productive, turnover is dramatically reduced, and satisfied agents make for satisfied customers.

On the eco and family side, homeshoring takes cars off roads, reduces pollution and commuter stress, puts people back into "bedroom communities" (which among other effects fosters local living -- a key to greener lifestyles -- and can reduce the isolation that home-based workers often feel), and lets parents spend more time with their children.

We say homeshoring, good on ya.  

Hilton Hiring Home-Based Agents in Tampa and Dallas Areas

Hilton notified us today that they're hiring Reservations Services Specialists in the Tampa, Fla., area. "You must reside in 813, 863 or 727 area codes. For the active position we are hiring for visit www.hrccjobs.com."

According to their website, they are also hiring in the Dallas, Tex., area.

Beware "Michigan Supply Company" Work-at-Home Job Scam

We've been getting queries about work-at-home jobs purportedly with the "Michigan Supply Company," for accounts receivable collections. Beware, the emails appear to be bogus. The actual Michigan Supply Company has issued an alert on their site, excerpted here:

"Attention: Michigan Supply Company has been the victim of an email phishing attack. We do not send out recruitment emails, nor do we ask you to supply us with personal information. If you received an email encouraging you to apply for a work-from-home job, this is a fraudulent email."

(For more, their site is here.)

The Ashley Furniture Company (a legitimate company) was the subject of a similar scam, which became so widespread that the firm was obliged to issue a detailed disclaimer and warning.

Be on your guard, as the scammers are swarming as the recession bites in. For more tips on spotting scams, see our article here.

Microsoft Finds Telework "Strongly Supported" in Midsize U.S. Cities

Working from home is "strongly supported" by managers, employers and employees in midsize US cities, a recent Microsoft survey showed. Nevertheless, 60% of companies have yet to adopt a formal remote-work policy.

"A growing interest in remote working has been spurred in part by rising energy costs, environmental concerns and the recent economic crisis," Microsoft's press release noted.

"Remote working is widely understood to provide companies with access to a larger talent pool, improve productivity, and lower overhead for items such as workstation space, common office space, insurance, utilities, maintenance and parking. However, today’s survey results suggest business leaders need to do more to encourage adoption to realize these benefits."

Per the survey, the top ten US cities for remote workers are

• San Diego

• West Palm Beach, Fla. 

• Buffalo, N.Y.

• Salt Lake City, Utah

• Raleigh, N.C.

• Oklahoma City, Okla.

• Nashville, Tenn.

• Charleston, S.C.

• Greensboro, N.C.

• Hartford-New Haven, Conn.

With gas prices inching back up, global warming still "hot," the Rat Race getting racier, and the Obama administration's initial attention to environmental concerns, perhaps we'll soon see more companies formally supporting their employees' desire to work from home.

Here's hoping!

For Microsoft's press release, go here.

Interview with Author Rebecca Kochenderfer of Homeschool.com

Rat-raced parents (including me here in Northern Virginia, where we skip merrily to overcrowded schools on the tops of the traffic-jammed school buses, wearing our Hello Kitty oxygen masks) often wonder about ye olde public school.

For example, what do kids' brains look like after 13+ years of institutionalization? 

Or, since we plebs don't have any authority over school principals or teachers (we just pay them), should it be a surprise when, occasionally or frequently, they don't really care what we think?

Or, why do kids look resigned (if not grim) when they're going into school in the morning, and ecstatic when they leave in the afternoon?

Could homeschooling work better?

To learn more about it, I chatted via email with Rebecca Kochenderfer, author of "Homeschooling and Loving It," and owner and host of Homeschool.com. Rebecca is well-known and well-respected in homeschool circles as an authority on the movement.

Along with her answers to my questions, Rebecca included a coupon code that reduces the price of "Homeschooling and Loving It" by six bucks, from $15.95 to $9.95. The code is LovetoHomeschool. (But don't dawdle; the code expires March 31.)

I haven't read the book yet, but Rebecca said of it, "This is the same method of homeschooling that I used with my own children and it worked very well for us." For more, see http://www.homeschool.com/HLI/default.asp.

And now, let's roll tape.

RRR: How did you come by your own interest in homeschooling?

REBECCA K.: I was pregnant with my first child when I first began exploring educational options. I used to be a teacher so I wanted something really special for my son-to-be. One day I read an article about homeschooling and I thought to myself, "Yes! This is what I’ve been looking for." Maybe one of the reasons homeschooling appealed to me so much is because I had had an opportunity a few years earlier to personally witness the power of one-on-one learning. I had been hired as a private teacher/tutor for a wealthy famous family to teach their son aboard their private yacht in the Caribbean. Talk about your cush jobs. The boy learned so quickly with the individual attention and I found I really enjoyed that type of teaching.

RRR: With Homeschool.com, your homeschool radio chats, and other initiatives, you're obviously an entrepreneur. Where did you come by the entrepreneurial urge? Did you have any entrepreneurial role models growing up, or as an adult?

REBECCA K.: That's a good question. My parents were civil servants so I'm not sure how I caught the entrepreneur bug. It just seems to fit with my personality. I tried working for companies, but they always felt a bit claustrophobic. But the reason I started Homeschool.com was not because I wanted to be a business woman, but because I wanted to be able to stay home with my children… without starving. I needed a way I could earn money from home and a friend told me about this new thing called the Internet and told me I should buy some domain names. So I bought edusource.com (which became the Internet's first e-Newsletter about education) and Homeschool.com.

RRR: With overcrowding, budget shortfalls, and other critical issues affecting public schools now, many parents would like to know more about homeschooling. What are your favorite resources for "newbies"?

REBECCA K.: There are now more homeschoolers in this country than there are Catholic school students. Because of this there are LOTS of resources available and homeschooling is much easier than you might think. Some of my favorite homeschooling resources are Homeschool.com, AtoZHome'sCool, Homeschooling at About.com, Homefires.com and the book "Homeschooling and Loving It." When I started out I also found great help from the books written by Linda Dobson and by reading Home Education magazine.

RRR: For some, homeschooling still conjures up the old stereotype of the "unsocialized child." Homeschooled stars like the Jonas Brothers may help offset that, but what's your advice to parents who worry about the socialization issue?

REBECCA K.: Homeschoolers tend to roll their eyes when people ask them about socialization. For some reason, when people think about homeschooling they picture the kids chained to the table, crying over their worksheets. But that's not the way it is. Because homeschooling is one-on-one or small group learning, it is incredibly efficient and fast. Because of this, there is even MORE time for the kids to socialize and to develop their talents in sports, music, art, dance, etc. Why do you think young movie stars and Olympic athletes, and spelling bee champions homeschool? Because it leaves them more time to do what they love.

RRR: In brief, how did homeschooling fare under President Bush, and how do you expect it to fare under President Obama?

REBECCA K.: Because President Bush was a religious man and homeschooling is very popular for religious reasons, it fared well under President Bush's administration. It may not fare as well under President Obama. Both Obama and Hillary Clinton are big supporters of the public schools and they don't like to see dedicated parents pulling their kids out either for private or home schools. But Obama is also a big believer in "choice," so I’m hoping he will extend this same courtesy to educational choice.

RRR: Public schools are beginning to offer virtual classes, that students can take from home. How do you see this trend unfolding, and fitting into the development of homeschooling?

REBECCA K.: The more choices the better, as far as I'm concerned. Children learn in different ways so when we have lots of educational options it makes it easier to find the school setting that works best for each child. I have three children. We have always given our children the choice on what type of education they felt would work best for them. So two of my children homeschool and one attends a performing arts high school. Many countries don't have these types of educational alternatives. If school works for you, great. If it doesn't, that's too bad and school becomes a 12-year jail sentence for you. But in America we have lots of options and we can find the school that works best for the child, which gives that child a chance to succeed and grow up knowing how wonderful and intelligent he or she is.

RRR: Some public-school parents feel they are unqualified to teach their children. How would you address their concerns?

REBECCA K.: Homeschooling is much easier than you would think. I just graduated my oldest from high school and he has been accepted for honors at entrance to his favorite colleges. The thing to remember, especially when homeschooling a high school student, is that you don't have to do everything yourself. You can hire tutors, you can sign up with a homeschooling charter school, you can take small group classes, you can trade teaching with other parents, you can join a homeschooling co-op. The #1 piece of advice from experienced homeschoolers is to have your high school age child take his classes through your local community or junior college. It's called dual enrollment and this way your child gets both high school and college credit for the same class. Plus, community colleges are either free or inexpensive so this is a pretty sweet deal.

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