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Credit/Debit/Travel Cards

to working for someone else and having supervision and benefits that are designed specifically for the work-at-
direction provided, it can be very easy to let work slide. home person. Included in its database are more than
Setting goals and following through on them is a necessity 43,000 job listings. Membership and maintenance fees
when working for oneself. that are charged to members are applied directly to the
Finally, one should check local authorities before organization itself to improve, enhance, and add to the
starting a home-based business as towns vary greatly in existing services provided to its members, who number
their local ordinances. They will explain any rules the more than 27,000. More information about Independent
town has established regarding home-based businesses and Homeworkers Alliance is available through their Web site
give guidance in the necessary paperwork or approval at http://www.homeworkers.org/.
process. There are also home study schools that offer training
in fields such as medical billing and claims processing,
medical transcription, bookkeeping, and paralegal work.
HOME EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES
For more information on home-study schooling, contact
For those people who wish to become self-employed and At-Home Profession … America’s First Home Study
work out of their home, there are several organizations School for Work-at-Home Careers, 2001 Lowe Street,
available to help get started.
Fort Collins, CO 80525.
One major resource for the self-employed is an asso-
ciation called SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Execu-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
tives). SCORE is a nonprofit group sponsored by the U.S. “Home Employment Resource”. Retrieved October 15, 2005,
Small Business Administration that has provided success- from http://www.home-employment.com/.
ful, free business counseling since 1964. SCORE matches “IHA”. Independent Homeworkers Alliance. Retrieved October
volunteer counselors with clients needing their expert 15, 2005, from http://www.homeworkers.org/.
advice. It also maintains a national skills roster to help “SCORE ‘Counselors to America’s Small Business” Retrieved
identify the best counselor for a particular client. SCORE October 15, 2005, from www.score.org.
is made up of more than 13,000 retired or active execu- The World Book Encyclopedia (2005). Chicago: World Book,
tives and has more than 400 chapters nationwide. These Inc.
executives volunteer their time, skills, and experience to
help the self-employed get started in their own business or
Julie A. Watkins
help those who are already in business when they have
problems or need advice. SCORE also offers many semi-
nars and workshops and posts this information at its local
chapters. Since its inception, SCORE has advised, coun- COUPONS
seled, and mentored more than 300,000 small businesses,
helping nearly 4 million Americans with face-to-face SEE E-Marketing; Marketing Mix; Pricing; Promotion
counseling, e-mail counseling, and training. For more
information on SCORE, contact a local chapter person-
ally or visit its Web site at http://www.score.org/.
CPI
Home Employment Resource is an organization ded-
icated to helping people who want to work at home. It SEE Consumer Price Index
provides information on companies nationwide that hire
people to work from home. A partial listing of jobs that
have been available to the home-employed include typists,
graphic artists, auto appraisers, editors, reporters, financial CREDIT/DEBIT/TRAVEL
analysts, cartoonists, claims processors, photographers, CARDS
proofreaders, recruiters, and writers. There are many jobs
Until the 1920s, consumer purchases in the United States
available for home-based workers if one knows where to were made primarily in one of two ways: cash or personal
look. This organization assists in contacting the compa- check. However, in that decade, a new means of payment
nies that hire work-at-home people. The Web site for was introduced—the credit account. While credit transac-
Home Employment Resource is http://www.home- tions had been common for a long time in business to
employment.com/. business dealings, they were new to the consumer market.
The Independent Homeworkers Alliance (IHA) is an The credit account allowed a consumer to defer payment
organization dedicated to helping people who want to on a purchase made today to some time in the future:
work from home. The IHA offers its members valuable thus, the expression “buy now, pay later” was born. Evi-

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