Quick poll : those of you who are either self employed or working from home, what do you do?

[Pitchounette]

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I do freelance publicity/marketing work. Mostly in publishing. I also run a training course 3 or 4 times a year which is the most lucrative part of my business. I am also a qualified reflexologist but this side of things hasn't really taken off - I just do friends and family when I get the chance. It doesn't pay as well as the marketing stuff which is why I have focussed on that. I aim to work 3 days a week but when I have a lot on I do end up working every evening too but its well worth it for the flexibility working for myself brings .

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childminder.

h has work freelancing... not entirely sure what lol. Something to do with marketing and writing a business manual?

I teach English to babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Easy for me to do since I live in Germany, might be more difficult in UK.

You wrote translating. What language do you speak? Would you like to teach or offer revision help?

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I'm a physio by trade, but at the moment I am summarising medical notes for a GP's surgery (dull but child friendly work).

You dont legally actually have to have the teaching qualifications to teach from home... though I will admit they help, but you could study for your qualification whilst already working from home.
I teach singing from home ...I have a degree in music but didnt do PGdip as I had no intention of teaching music in schools..(I do however have a provable record of 15 yrs professional experience both as chorister and soloist)..There are very few requirements necessary; I have public liability/business insurance for my music room (which you wouldnt need if teaching in their homes rather than yours)and to be on the safe side went through the complicated business of getting myself "police checked" for teaching children (I also insist that parents of under 16s attend at least the first 3 lessons)...and that is it!

Pointydog - how did your friend get the proof reading work, and did she/he have any qualifications?

I am also very interested in translating. I am Dutch and have lived in Germany, so could translate both into English (but not the other way round oddly) so how would I go about getting translation work??

Any tips very gratefully received. Dd starts school f/t in Sept and I want to earn some money.

market research consuultancy - which I did for 12 ish years pre-dcs. (It's similar to what gobbledigook does, but she's a medical specialist whereas I do chocolate, ice cream, toilet cleaners & kids food
I know she's syggested market research trainscibing on similar threads - relatively little start up cost, and quite high demand, I think. Although very freelance, iykwim (ie no guarenteed income stream)

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You wouldn't need any specialist knowledge to do transcribing - market research agencies record interviews and then get people to either transcribe them word for word (which you could do with no knowledge because you are literally just typing out what is said on the recording) or analyse them/overview them which is a bit more tricky and requires a level of understanding of the subject area. With no specialist knowledge you could do consumer stuff.

Just google market research agencies and see if there are any local to you - just ring up and ask if they use freelance transcribers.

I've done a tiny bit of it and it's utterly, utterly boring, but you get paid upwards of £75 per hour tape (in medical anyway but it's a few years since I've done it) but it can take 4 hours to do that. If you do 2 a day, then £150 for a day's work isn't too bad. Easy to do in evening when kids have gone to bed too.

Not ideal, not exciting, but a way of making some extra cash.

I think you can do that kind of thing via an agency too but I'm not 100% sure on that. I think you could join an agency that would find the work for you.

I know some companies use freelancers to type up letters and dictations.

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I went into translating by doing a distance learning course with City Uni for a year and then taking the Diploma in Translation by the Institute of Linguists. You need to be pretty much at native level in two languages before you do the course, have a degree, and you should only translate into your native language - although I chose to ignore this as my English is a bit better than my German.
The DipTrans is a very difficult & expensive exam (around 700 pounds) with a low pass rate (20%) so I would urge anyone interested in sitting it to do the prep course, which is pretty good value at 750 pounds. It is a respected professional qualification though so you do get your money's worth...

You need to specialise to make decent money - obviously everybody would like to just translate magazine articles etc., but there isn't much of a market for that kind of stuff. I went for law as I have a European law degree and did German law as part of that (as well as English law) so it was a natural step to take. As well as being a much better money-earner, specialising means that you don't have to buy dictionaries on stuff that isn't relevant to you and that your translations are easier and quicker because you end up with quite similar material - I can whizz through a contract and earn 20-30 pounds an hour that way.
There is a lot of demand for technical translations, IT, medical etc.

I don't think translating from only one language is a problem - I could work full-time if I had the time and wanted to, and I only do German. How much work you get really depends on your field and how you market yourself.

I illustrate - children's books mostly. Am trying to develop a crafts thing too.

I do a bit of piano teaching.

I am self employed but not at home, I go to clients premises as I wanted the flexibility of self emp but need to go out and have adult company! And an incentive to get dressed in the mornings...
I am a freelance credit controller/cash flow improver for small businesses that say they can't get their customers to pay up on time.
I have a long experience of doing it as a staff job then as a temp so can trouble shoot and cure any causes of customer excuses!
But I work average 3 or 4 days per week, which I would not be able to have done with my old employer without being seen as 'she's just part time' and being bypassed for any promotions etc. The kids are in nursery 3 days and my mum or (also self emp) partner organise day 4 between them.
My aim is to be part time when the kids are small, then full time but not work the school holidays (but might review that after a week of school age kids driving me daft at home in a couple of years!!).

I run a software house together with my dh, I am managing the finances, he is the dirctor.

I run my own business doing PR/marketing for companies in the parenting sector.

I'm a dressmaker

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i'm in sales - selling electronics

Flibbertygibbet - Are you qualified? How did you get started? Being a 'freelance credit controller' would interest me a great deal so would appreciate any advice.

I work from home marketing a range of top quality nutritional products and skin care. I also train people to do the same. The industry is Direct Selling or Network Marketing, which used to have a dodgy reputation, but more and more people are doing it these days (Usborne Books, Tupperware, Avon etc) as a low cost way to start your own business. The key, in the industry, is to choose a good company with a solid background a top quality product and a payment plan that is FAIR.

Freelance journalist / consultant on 'youth brands' (piece of piss, but don't tell my clients that).