MONIQUE Richards* isn’t the typical high-heeled young professional.

She is one of the growing numbers of people who are employed from home by companies seeking to lower their overhead costs.

These workers are ideal for small businesses that are in the growth stage, said Javette Nixon, president and chief executive officer of Point Global Marketing Limited.

“There’s a market for a lot of those people,” he said.

The social media manager markets different brands online via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Social media has become the new norm; companies and individuals are going online to market their brands. It has also been described as one of the first areas businesses look to outsource.

“It was definitely not my intention to work as a social media manager… it just happened,” Richards said. “I also realise that working nine to five would pull in the same salary when I factored in food and transportation.”

It also gives her the ability to supplement her pay by taking on jobs that don’t conflict with each other.

It’s good to have service providers rather than employees, according to Nixon, so although he has staff who work from the office of his marketing and brand development firm, he sometimes outsources work to others.

That way he can utilise the expertise, which his staff may not have, when the need arises.

Otherwise, to remain relevant with the technology that is out there, Nixon would need to hire a lot more employees, which would make his business unviable.

Furthermore, things are rapidly changing, and therefore job requirements evolve.

“You don’t need full-time staff to get quality work,” Nixon said. “It can be done without the traditional nine to five structure.”

As long as there’s Internet access, Richards works.

“I will typically start posting from in bed doing my morning check-ups on the pages,” she said.

But she sometimes “gets ready” for work, to put herself in the frame of mind to be productive.

“It is so easy to become complacent, though, so I’m not big on working in bed”, she said. “Our mind is conditioned to “rest” at home so there are instances of being too relaxed and not as efficient as I should be.”

Working from home also opens up the scope for jobs overseas. Jamaicans are working for people as far as Japan. They edit films and produce music.

“A lot of my clients receive their work via e-mail,” said Steven Ventura, a multimedia producer.

He posts demos of work he can do online and sells his services from home.

People can also earn thousands of US dollars online through websites offering short or long-term projects to skilled workers, who can openly bid on the jobs.

One of them — Freelancer.com.jm — launched last year at Digital Jam 2.0.

Projects are posted by registered employers with descriptions, skill requirements and a budget range.

Freelancers search the project board from a list of categories of projects that match their skills and interests.

Software editing, data entry, design, coding, editing, legal services and accounting are among the 400 categories of projects.

Bids are placed by freelancers who provide additional information and work samples through a private messaging system.

These bids are examined by service buyers who determine the most qualified bidder by not only perusing the freelancer’s portfolio and resume, but by viewing comments of past employers.

Within seconds, freelancers from across the globe bid on projects between US$30 ($2,970) and US$200.

Once a freelancer bids on a project and is chosen by the client, both come to an agreement on the time frame and rate at which the work is to be finished. All completed work is guaranteed to be paid for once the customer is satisfied with the outcome.

*Names changed on request.