Have you been thinking about working from home? Or maybe you already are, and you want to specialize in some in-demand services and level up your business…
In either case, you’ll definitely want to check out this review of Caitlin Pyle’s Work-At-Home School.
I (Gina) met Caitlin back in 2015. Our journeys into the world of freelancing were similar, so we connected right away. We’ve become great friends and have supported each other in our businesses over the years. I’ve even been to her house!
Caitlin turned getting fired from her super stressful 8-5 job into an opportunity and took her proofreading side hustle full time. After building a successful business teaching others how to do the same thing, she decided to bring together a group of successful entrepreneurs to share their knowledge and expertise.
She created the Work-At-Home School as a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to get started working from home, even if they have no idea what they want to do yet.
In this post we’ll hear from Laura Nicholls about her take on the Work-At-Home School.
Ready? Take it away Laura!
I have this very clear, distinct memory (well memories, actually) of swiping my time card every morning at the last 9-5 I ever worked at. My eyeballs would kind of glaze over while I stared at the pale yellow wall where the card reader thing was and I’d have this feeling – there goes another little piece of my soul.
I know, that sounds kind of dramatic. But really, that’s how I felt.
Don’t get me wrong – I loved the work I did. I was a therapist working with pretty intense, hurting teens in residential treatment. If I could’ve only hung out with them all day I probably wouldn’t have felt like my soul was being slowly drained by the oppressive regime I was working for.
More drama, I know.
But the really bummer part of this daily experience was the thought that followed – what possible solution could there be? I was using my degrees, doing what I thought I was supposed to do, but I was so.dang.miserable.
Until one day a miracle happened. Well, it didn’t feel like a miracle at first.
I lost my job. Long story for another time, but after 14 years in one industry, for the first time in my adult life I found myself without a job.
It was so crazy! And then it was exciting. And scary. And overwhelming.
All I knew was that I could not ever go back to punching a clock. Ever.
So, in 2013 I started the journey of figuring out how to work from home. I started off with a popular MLM (hint – I was selling vitamins and shakes, sometimes literally out of the back of my car, driving around town, hassling people for the $40 they owed me).
And I kind of stumbled on from there. It’s seven years later and I can’t tell you how many “stops and starts” I’ve had between now and then.
I tried soooo many things, and honestly, there were times I really had no idea what I was doing – I was just following what worked for someone else or trying to find the “quickest route.” I was wasting money without ever really getting anywhere.
I’ll wrap up the outcome of this journey in a minute, but my point in sharing this tale of stumbling around, dazed and definitely confused, is that I wish I’d had a resource at the time to make sense of it all.
I felt like a was adrift in a sea of complete overwhelm and I was just looking for anywhere to land. Or even for a nice looking piece of driftwood to float by so I could cling to it and catch my breath.
The “end” (it’s never really the end) of this story, by the way, is that a few years later when I had my daughter and was completely on my own, starting over, with zero support, well stuff got real.
That’s when I took a serious inventory of my skillset and found 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success. That decision, about three years ago, followed shortly by the decision to take 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success, finally set me on the path I knew I was meant to be on but had just struggled so hard for so long to find.
Caitlin’s Story
Back in 2011, Caitlin found herself in a similar predicament that I did – she got fired and was suddenly without a 9-5. Well, an 8-5 in her case.
After spending about a year and a half in a super stressful, toxic working environment (she didn’t even have a chair to sit in – she worked at a computer on a barstool all day!) with an 80-minute commute she found herself similarly liberated.
So, rather than jump back into the rodent race (rats are so gross) and find another job, she decided to take her proofreading side hustle full time.
Fast forward a few years – Caitlin built a very successful proofreading business, launched a program teaching others how to do the same thing, and then she had a great idea.
But let’s back up a minute…
See, during Caitlin’s journey she’d come into contact with thousands of people who were trying to figure out the whole work-at-home thing – just like she had.
So she knew what it was like to feel completely overwhelmed and absolutely lost when it came to knowing where to start with building a business online.
As in…
- What are the most current, in-demand services that businesses need?
- How do you figure out what kind of work resonates with you?
- How do you learn the necessary skills so you can deliver them?
- How do you find – and get found by – potential clients?
Caitlin had also come across a lot of innovative, creative entrepreneurs who were figuring things out in big ways – just like she was.
She decided to join forces and bring together the ideas, experiences, skills and talent of her network to help as many people as possible who are in exactly that same spot so many of us started out (or are starting out!) in.
Caitlin’s story – and her vision behind collaborating with others to really serve people – really resonated with me. It immediately made me feel that I could “trust” her judgment and guidance when it came to the resources she vetted for her course and the support she provides.
What’s Included in the Course
In Work-At-Home School there are 38+ courses, trainings and eBooks in one place and guidance to help you figure out where to start. And if where you start, as in the skill or business avenue you decide to pursue, turns out to be kind of meh for you, then you can just cruise on to one of the many other resources and try something else.
You have one year to make your way through however many of the courses and resources you decide to check out, at your own pace. And, if you get to the end of the year, you’ve taken action and still aren’t getting results, Caitlin will refund your money.
There’s a great guide included, which is so important with a huge resource like this in my opinion.
The guide includes a quick reference list of all the resources inside the Work-At-Home School curriculum, tips on staying organized as you work through the content and a goal-setting worksheet.
There’s also mindset work included – which I love. It’s why I had so many “stops and starts” over the years, my mindset wasn’t in the right place!
Caitlin has built a great Facebook community around this course, and there’s a ton of support and even more resources to be found there.
There’s also some great content in the course’s Resource section, like The Work-At-Home Survival Guide, The Money Mindset Transformation Guide And Workshop, The Work-At-Home Truth Bombs EBook and The Get Started Blueprint.
Lastly, you also have 365-Day Access To The Work-At-Home Summit where you can hear firsthand from the entrepreneurs and course creators who are “doing it.”
What I Loved About This Course
When I had the opportunity to take Caitlin Pyle’s Work-At-Home School I had two thoughts:
- I wish I’d had this resource seven years ago, I wonder how things would have been different in my business?!
- Wow, this is kind of incredible timing!
I know, those are kind of in conflict, but let me explain thought #2:
I’d already been thinking about new directions to take my current business, as in continuing the work I do (which I LOVE) but leveling up with a new project or specialty at the same time.
And really, that’s one of the first things I noticed – and really liked – about this course.
If you’re brand new and have no idea what you want to do, or what you’re doing in general, then it’s an incredible resource. There’s pretty much everything you need when it comes to a step-by-step plan for getting a business up and running.
And if you’re not brand new, like myself, then it’s a great place to explore some ways to diversify your business and or specialize in some aspect of it.
There’s also a nice diversity in the types of resources and courses offered. For example, there’s…
- How to Jumpstart Your VA Business
- Niche Influencer Training
- Funnel Building Basics
- Ultimate Confidence Course (LOVE this btw!)
- Flipper University (how to flip flea market finds – fun!)
- The Beginner’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing
- General Transcription: Theory and Practice Level 1
- Building a Website
- Online Book Arbitrage
- Learn to Code + WordPress + Geekpack = Rockstar
So many things to choose from!
Was There Anything I Found Challenging or Difficult About This Course?
Well, the last point I just made kind of sums this up. There’s so much to choose from!
When I first logged into the course it kind of reminded me of being in a huge amazing mall – so many stores to go in and which way to go first, ack!
But, the course is set up so that right from the get-go you’re directed to an orientation video and given guidance about what to do first. There’s also the guide which is golden when it comes to avoiding analysis paralysis with so many options.
So while I didn’t consider the number choices and so much variety to be a “con” necessarily, it did take me a minute to get my bearings and to stop acting like a squirrel lol.
Would I Recommend This Course?
I definitely would. Again, it’s a fantastic resource whether you’re brand new or if you’ve been at this a while and want to level up.
I’m a self-admitted course junkie – I love ’em. And yet, I’ve purchased several that I’ve never even finished. Why? Because they weren’t actionable for me.
That’s one of my biggest takeaways with this course – there’s so much actionable information that you really make the leap from understanding a concept to learning how to actually put it in action and see something happen.
I love the step-by-step, blueprint nature of the Work-At-Home School, and would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a way to get grounded and get started!
