Every day, I'll get an email that goes something like this: "I've been looking for a homebased job for x number of months now...with no luck. I just want something I can do in the evenings or on weekends so I can supplement my income. Can you help me?"

You might be thinking, "Yeah, I'd like that too... can you help?"

Well, I just might, though my suggestion might not be exactly what you had in mind.

A lot of the peple who email me have marketable skills. Skills like typing, word processing, accounting, human resources, transcription..the list goes on. Here you are working all day long, then spending all this time searching for that ever-elusive telecommute job. Well, there may be another option- freelancing.

You might say, "Me? A freelancer? I don't think so. I don't have the time to go out drumming up business."

I say, "Oh, but you do!" Among all the other nifty conveniences the Internet has given us (Finally, a place where I can get garden gnomes 24 hours a day!), there are now "Freelance Marketplaces". These are sites that enable the freelancer and the employers who need freelancersto hook up.

Most of these sites work something like this:

ABC, inc. is a relatively small company that doesn't have a Human Resources department (or Accounting department or Transcription department). Rather than take on the expense of creating an in-house HR department , they want to contract out their HR related projects. They go to a Freelance Marketplace, post their projects and then wait for the bids to roll in.

This is where you, being the consummate Human Resources Professional (or Accounting Professional or Transcriptionist), will go and post your bid for the project..and voila! You're a freelancer.

Some sites that offer this type of service are eLance.com and Ants.com. While both registration at both sites is free, Ants.com charges a fee of 5% for all jobs completed by you. eLance.com is currently offering their services for free during the Beta period, but it is clear that this will change at some point. At eLance.com, freelancers (or e-lancers) can leave feedback regarding project posters. This is a handy feature that can help you to decide who you want to do business with.

The beauty of being a freelancer is that you can often do your work on a part-time basis- at your convenience. The bottom line is that you will typically have a deadline to meet, so when you do the work is flexible. Another benefit to this is that as you build your clientele and your reputation as a freelancer, you may find that you have enough business to freelance full time.

Sharon Davis

Sharon Davis is the founder of 2Work-At-Home.com and the Editor of the site's ezine, America's Home.

A work-at-home mom of two girls, Sharon was formerly a sales management and training professional.

"After I had my second child, I was overwhelmed with the need to stay at home with my girls," says Sharon. "I felt that I was missing out on the most important part of my life. The deciding moment for me was seeing a picture of my older daughter on her first day of school. I was never able to be there, as my company held their annual meetings each year on that day. She looked so sad in that picture, it was devastating."

After being at home for some time, Sharon decided to look for a part-time job that she could do from her home office. "I realized that in addition to the extra income we would have, a job would provide me with the professional interaction that I was missing," she says. She embarked on an internet job search and was frustrated to find the large number of scams targeting stay-at-home moms. "I knew there had to be legitimate jobs out there, but I just wasn't finding them," says Davis.

She knew that there were many others who were in the same situation and it was at this point, in September of 1999, that she was inspired to start 2Work-At-Home.com. Her site provides free telecommute job listings, resume posting in the Talent Bank, information on Telecommute Friendly companies and much more.

There are also comprehensive tools and resources for those looking to start a home business. From 100's of home business ideas to tax and legal issues, they have everything you need to start, run and grow a profitable home business.

Sharon runs her business from her home in a small town on the Northern California Coast. Says Sharon, "I'm living proof that you really can work from home. It's fulfilling to know that I am helping others to achieve their goals of working at home. I feel I am the luckiest woman alive."