Working from home doesn’t always mean starting your own business. There are many companies that are willing to provide work-from-home or flex-work opportunities to employees. Sometimes arrangements can be made for a few meetings at the office and the remaining duties at home.

Sound good to you? Now it’s a matter of finding which job fits your style. Here are ten more occupations that are home-base friendly.

Massage Therapist
Massage is known to relieve stress and improve the quality of life. “I have been a licensed massage therapist for 16 years,” explains LMT Lisa Kelly of Amazingbirths.com. “I do it simply because I love it, and it’s so rewarding to do a job that helps people and really doesn’t seem like work. My focus is with pregnant women or women who have just had babies doing pre- and postnatal massage therapy.”

Kelly says that the heart of her business is run from her home and she sets her own hours. “I do house calls, getting to know my clients and their environments.” Kelly adds that becoming a massage therapist consists of around 600 hours of class time and testing for a license, and that she has extra certification in pre- and perinatal massage therapy.

Customer Care Services
Many companies hire individuals who service inbound customer service/sales calls from clients to home-based offices. “I enjoy working at home because it allows me to be there for my children. I am able to earn extra income for my family without the expenses of travel and daycare,” says Barbara, a customer service agent in the travel industry. “I have opportunities to work for different companies in travel and roadside assistance, getting paid by the call and sometimes by the minute. I am able to schedule my own hours and work around my family’s needs.” She adds that previous customer service and sales experience along with a computer were all that she needed to get started with her at-home job.

Mystery Shopper
Are you intrigued by a job that gets you out of the house, helps you meet people, and garners you a few free products as well? This is the job of a mystery shopper.

Mystery shopping is basically evaluating (market research) a store or business through the eyes of shoppers. “A mystery shopping experience includes a visit to the store and then an online report,” explains shopper Toni. “The exit interviews are fun—you interview customers coming out of the store and companies pay you by the hour, for about four hours or so. Good grammar, writing, and memory are among the skills needed in order to put together a good report.”

Toni loves the flexibility of her job and can schedule herself for as many or as few jobs as she wants. “Plus, it enables me to contribute a little to the family and act professional out of the house. I took an online test in order to obtain a ‘silver certification’ from MSPA (Mystery Shoppers Providers Association). Most companies are happy to see the certification showing that you are dedicated to your work and know what is required of you.”

MysteryShop.org can give you valuable information about this interesting occupation. This is a job where another parent, grandparent, or babysitter can help with the children while you spend a couple hours making extra income.

Medical Transcriptionist
A medical transcriber listens to dictated recordings made by physicians and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, and other administrative materials. “I work for a hospital who supplies all of my equipment and work full-time from my home," says Sandy Baer. “I receive full benefits just as if I were physically working at the hospital. I believe that most companies do supply your equipment and training, but the benefits vary as well as the pay. Some companies pay by the line/page and others by the hour.”

Baer explains that to become a medical transcriptionist you must have knowledge of medical terminology, which can be obtained by attending a class covering the subject matter. “There are schools that will teach and certify you as a medical transcriptionist as well. This would probably be more helpful in obtaining a better paying job as a transcriptionist. You must also be focused, have good typing skills as well as knowledge and proper use of the English language and punctuation, etc.”

A transcriptionist can have great flexibility in her job. “You can more or less work flexible hours and have the freedom to work when your children are asleep or whatever schedule works for you,” says Baer. “The very best part is working in your jammies with no makeup. I love it!”

Financial Counselor
Personal finance advisors generally access the financial needs of individuals, providing them with a range of options. Some work in insurance or debt consolidation, some are mortgage brokers, and so on. Working at home seems to be the trend, as more than 25 percent of this work force in some capacity works out of home offices.

“I have always been an entrepreneur; never could get the knack for having someone else tell me what to do. I tried working for someone else and noticed I was making more money for my ‘boss’ than for myself,” explains Terry Hutchins of Concepts Financial Network Corporation. “I watched how things worked and opened my own home office after four years of learning just how the business works. Planning is the key for any home business; know what you're getting into before you just jump right in. Once you have jumped in, tell everyone you know (and everyone that they know) that you have your own business. Word of mouth is by far the cheapest and most effective advertisement.”

Jewelry Maker
One of the hottest fashion trends is beaded jewelry for children and adults. Sunny of BestJKJewels.com says she was inspired to create jewelry for women and children of all ages because the look on people’s faces when they receive such a unique and loving gift is priceless.

“I make bracelets and earrings from home because I enjoy being able to stay with my family and earn extra income.” Sunny uses a variety of beads—including sterling silver, 14K gold-filled, and pearls—and Swarovski crystals when crafting her jewelry. “Getting started is a small expense and the best way is to buy in bulk, thus it will keep the cost down for your customers. It’s a fun job for me and relaxing as well.”

Web Designer
After spending a decade as a cut-and-paste graphic designer for newspapers, Pamela Plowman of www.websbypam.com had a child and decided to become a stay-at-home mom.

“I wanted to pursue a job at home, so I started looking at webpages and the artist in me would critique them. I wanted to start building them, so I taught myself with the use of resource materials,” she explains. “I love building websites simply because I can picture something in my mind and make it for my customers. I started my own business first with friends and then a few clients. I’m now taking a class to get the certification in Web design.”