1. Virtual Assistant: This is a great option if you are just starting a work at home business. It's simple and requires some basic organizational skills. Many who work at home do not have time to run their business and answer the phone and emails. Others with "real jobs" many times are in need of some help with such things. A virtual assistant can be a life saver.

The duties of a virtual assistant are much the same as a "real job" assistant. The big difference is that the virtual assistant just walks down the hall in his/her house shoes and can work at home in their "jammies". This is a great business that fills a great need and should definitely be considered as one of your top choices if you enjoy being home and helping others keep their lives in order.

2. eBay Shop: This is a business that is on the rise due to the popularity of "recycling stuff". If you've ever used eBay to sell anything you know that money can be made working at home using eBay.

For some people, eBay is a simple website to use but for others who either don't have the time, knowledge or inclination, selling something that way is too much trouble. They are missing out on making money. This is good for you if you learn to understand and use eBay and create a shop to sell other people's items. When you work at home this way you can make a lot of money.

You may be wondering what to charge people to sell their "stuff". A charge of about 10% of the selling price of the item would reward you for your efforts. The customers you will deal with are usually going to be busy adults with no time to sell items on eBay or older adults who just do not understand technology.

If the idea of dealing with customers leaves you cold, you could open a specialty store and work at home. If you are a computer person and like technology, you could specialize in that type of item, laptops for instance. You would go to stores or people and buy their laptops and then resell them on eBay, usually making a big profit.

3. Online Writer: There are not many people doing online writing so there is not a lot of competition. With this at home business, you would write articles or other written material for others, This might be copy for a website that would help to optimize the traffic to that site which would make the site owner money. You would be given a topic and would write the article. You can get paid good money to do that as you work from home.

This is easier said than done. It takes developing your writing skill and creativity. It is the hardest of the three businesses we've discussed. Once you've gotten good at your craft and have developed a large list of clients you could make $15 or more per article. As you develop your speed, you could make $30 an hour or more! It's a lot of work but well worth it if you are a writer at heart.

We've talked about virtual assistant, eBay shop and online writer. These at work at home business bring you extra money, enough to make ends meet and maybe even much more than that. They are easy to get started and don't cost much.