It’s not unusual to dream of working from home; most people think about this once in awhile.  It’s an appealing thought to lose the daily commute or not to have to work for someone else or to be able to accommodate the schedule of your kids.  Despite this, most people never pursue work at home jobs.  Two of the biggest reasons are not knowing where to start and the fear of falling into a work at home scam.

In reality, lots of legit work at home jobs are available if you know what to look for.  That includes knowing what to avoid.  Two of the best tips for finding dream work at home jobs include:

1) Spend some time reading a home jobs directory.  You can find these online.  Most of them contain databases of lists of home business ideas.  Usually they will contain a good mix of jobs you can start from scratch as well as postings from employers for legitimate work at home jobs.  Many of these sites pre-screen all job postings to ensure they are really legit.

2) Avoid paid ads for “work at home” businesses.  You’ll probably have seen these before.  They often appear in the ads section or sidebar of other websites or on your search engine’s home page.  These are paid ads, which are not the same as a “job posting,” and clicking on one will take you to a website pushing some sort of “opportunity.”

Almost all of these “opportunities” require you to pay for something up front: a “starter” kit or a “business directory.”  The company marketing the “starter kit” might be making money, but you probably won’t. Avoid these “offers;” they’re probably scams.

The best work at home jobs are those where you are the boss.  Anyone can be an entrepreneur; an online work at home website might be all the inspiration you need.  You might be making a living from home sooner than you think.