hiremyparents - A Parent & Work Association

Posterous hi

2011-05-27T10:52:00.001+01:00

hey Posterous I think they are still taking applications http://email.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=email&zu=http://cnbc7.comCheck out our blog about flexible working for parents

Authority Pro

2010-11-12T12:52:00.001Z

URL: http://authoritypro.com/live/index/4?hop=hiremy
Loving this. Attention all wordpress'ers

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/f2m9

via Amplify.com

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Untitled

2010-10-07T10:42:00.001+01:00

Moms and Dads looking to bring one work at home parent to stay with their children in an age when 2 incomes are vital for a family's survival are finding their inspiration through activist and motivator, Ally Loprete, your radio host of This Little Parent Stayed Home. A weekly radio show on Toginet.com, Fridays at 6pm EST or available to download on iTunes, This Little Parent... takes a fresh and straight forward approach to helping moms and dads to realize that there is a better and more economical way. No other program dares to be as brutally honest about what to expect, yet inspires us to take the boldest risks of our lives. This is a truly realistic, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is method that will have you laughing and crying, surviving while struggling, and hammering away at the hardships as you travel through one of the greatest journeys of your life. Get empowered by joining thousands of other parents who have also decided to take a leap of faith into a double career with longer hours and half the pay simply because of the love they have for their children.

Freelancing and More

2010-03-18T15:59:00.001Z

Great site for freelancers - BS free zone http://amplify.com/u/3cw9Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Flexible working - can the SME Sector cope?

2010-03-17T12:58:00.001Z

Recently the UK government gave the green light to legislation that extends the rights for a greater number of employees to request flexible working hours. The objective is to allow employees a better work life balance and improve family cohesion. Noble sentiments you might say that the government hopes to take away the pressure of conflicting work and home commitments especially with a growing percentage of women in the workplace. But at what cost?

---> Read More

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How Google marketed itself

2010-03-11T09:14:00.001Z

Great step by step guide to world domination http://amplify.com/u/2w5eCheck out our blog about flexible working for parents

Home business asscociated with AOL

2010-03-11T08:50:00.001Z

will take a look at this one - might go on the recommended list at hmp http://amplify.com/u/2w1uCheck out our blog about flexible working for parents

What You Need To Know To Succeed in Mobile Advertising

2010-03-08T12:51:00.001Z

In November 2009, AdMob released a report indicating that iPhone and Android users currently account for 82% of US mobile web traffic. There's no doubt that the two platforms have radically changed mobile advertising.

Here are the things you need to know about how iPhone and Android have changed mobile advertising and why you, as a job seeker or marketer, need to make the call now.

Your customers are on more than one carrier – A complete mobile marketing strategy must consider reaching audiences subscribed with all the various mobile carriers (e.g., Verizon, O2, Orange, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile).

Marketing begins and ends with numbers - The mobile marketing platform has lagged behind the web in terms of the ability to provide advertisers with critical metrics and control to measure and optimize their ad campaigns. Read More --->

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Tax headaches with your affiliates

2010-03-08T10:17:00.001Z

don't base your entire business on it, I've not tested it yet, but this looks like a godsend for vendors. It's a Filsaime company so don't give out your best email http://amplify.com/u/2co8Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

The myth of work/life balance

2010-03-01T10:03:00.001Z

Another day, another article or blog about the ever-elusive work/life balance. The problem with work/life balance? It doesn’t exist. It’s a black and white term that doesn’t acknowledge the grey of life and serves only as eternal fodder for the media and puts continual pressure on people trying desperately to achieve it.

Think about what the term ‘balance’ means to you. Are you picturing a pair of scales with equal amounts in each dish? The definition of balance in Dictionary.com is ‘a state of equilibrium or equipoise’. Is this what you’re trying to achieve in your life?

Family Leave Insurance – Really?

2010-02-11T10:08:00.001Z

President Obama has slipped a little gem into his proposed budget - family leave insurance.

Having a baby is a leading cause of poverty traps in the USA, the extra cost combined with time off can cause a down spiral that can put families over the poverty line. What Obama proposes is a fund that would help states launch family leave insurance programs by covering start up costs, and it's a big deal for the economic security of America's families.

Paid family leave helps stop family poverty before it starts by offering a bridge of economic security when parents must take time off after a new child arrives. With family leave insurance in place, new parents receive pay via the insurance fund when they take the essential time to adjust to a new child and recover from childbirth.

Online Video Marketing – Nothing Works Better…And Here’s How!

2010-02-09T10:15:00.001Z

Anyone that's a member or reads the blog knows that I occassionally have a spirt of tech play and create a video to show a process or method that I use to promote, build or start a home business.

These videos are pretty bad, I admit it, but they're only there as a 'how to', simply to inform, they don't need to look good.

However, if you're trying to sell a product or service via online video Andy Jenkins just released a new "Video Series" TODAY - and it's going to melt your brain and ignite your imagination - and tickle other unmentionable areas...

Here's something Andy's shown over and over: Online Video Marketing GETS MORE MONEY than ANYTHING. Period. And in these videos, you'll see the simple little techniques that have literally raised the bar of how people do Video Marketing.

Part 1 of Andy Jenkins' new "Video Boss" series got OVER 800 comments from folks who AGREE we NEED video to continue to thrive online.

VideoBoss - Direct Link

Andy obviously listens because today he released a Five-Step Formula he calls "Little Boss"... for FREE!

No script, no problem.

Face "made for radio"?

No need to get on EITHER side of a camera!

That's right, if you're on a computer that can read this post, chances are that is all you need to FINISH your first attention-arresting, sale-getting, cash-collecting Video.

Ready to revolutionize and future-proof the way you market you products and services?

Learn how, right now, right here.

VideoBoss - Direct Link

Related Online Video Marketing Articles...

Video Marketing Tips – A 5 Step Video Marketing Strategy ...

If you want to discover video marketing tips, then read this now. You will find tips on how to make money online with a proven video marketing strategy. So, let.

Online Video Views are Not “Lost” on ABC.com : How to Make Money ...

Online Video Views are Not “Lost” on ABC.com. February 9, 2010 · Print this article, Visited 24 times, 24 so far today. Last Tuesday, the season premiere of the hit television show "Lost" aired, and not only was it watched by over 12 ...

Context is King: How Videos Are Found And Consumed Online (techcrunch.com)
Steve Garfield Shares His Secrets To Creating Online Video In His New Book "Get Seen" (laughingsquid.com)
Create a Video for Business or Fun at animoto.com (techtalkformoms.com)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Online Video Marketing – Nothing Works Better…And Here’s How!

2010-02-09T10:07:00.001Z

Anyone that's a member or reads the blog knows that I occassionally have a spirt of tech play and create a video to show a process or method that I use to promote, build or start a home business.

These videos are pretty bad, I admit it, but they're only there as a 'how to', simply to inform, they don't need to look good.

Part 1 of Andy Jenkins' new "Video Boss" series got OVER 800 comments from folks who AGREE we NEED video to continue to thrive online.

VideoBoss - Direct Link

Andy obviously listens because today he released a Five-Step Formula he calls "Little Boss"... for FREE!

No script, no problem.

Face "made for radio"?

No need to get on EITHER side of a camera!

That's right, if you're on a computer that can read this post, chances are that is all you need to FINISH your first attention-arresting, sale-getting, cash-collecting Video.

Ready to revolutionize and future-proof the way you market you products and services?

Learn how, right now, right here.

VideoBoss - Direct Link

Related Online Video Marketing Articles...

Video Marketing Tips – A 5 Step Video Marketing Strategy ...

If you want to discover video marketing tips, then read this now. You will find tips on how to make money online with a proven video marketing strategy. So, let.

Online Video Views are Not “Lost” on ABC.com : How to Make Money ...

Context is King: How Videos Are Found And Consumed Online (techcrunch.com)
Steve Garfield Shares His Secrets To Creating Online Video In His New Book "Get Seen" (laughingsquid.com)
Create a Video for Business or Fun at animoto.com (techtalkformoms.com)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Telecommuting & Data Protection

2010-02-05T14:45:00.001Z

Telecommuting, whether full or part-time, is becoming increasingly popular in the United States & Europe. According to a 2008 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, 57% of HR professionals indicate that their organization offers some form of telecommuting. The potential rewards are many – from increased productivity and cost savings to happier employees and greater appeal among potential recruits.

However, despite the benefits, telecommuting ranks high on the list of data protection threats for organizations, particularly if there is no formal policy in place. The most common missteps include using unsecured networks, sharing company laptops or equipment with family members and friends, and failing to update software and install security patches, among others.

Below, I’ve included some important advice that every institution should know about telecommuting from ID theft expert Brian Lapidus, chief operating officer of Kroll’s Fraud Solutions, who has unique frontline experience helping today’s businesses safeguard against and respond to data breaches

Optimising your website/blog for the search engines - not!

2010-02-04T13:44:00.001Z

Well I may have bitten off more than I can chew here. I've spent hours pondering how to present this post and give you some really useful stuff for optimising your website.

The final result? My best advice? Don't. Specifically, you don't.

I've spent years, literally, learning the fine art of SEO (search engine optimis(z)ation), if they had a degree in it (they probably do) I'd have a doctorate, and I wish I'd never started.

It's a bloody nightmare. The degree of accuracy required combined with the mind numbing tasks involved means it's a full time job, which means your real business suffers.

Telecommuting? How to keep your benefits working from home

2010-02-03T09:06:00.001Z

At last! You clever thing. You've landed that flexible job and you get to build your work around your life. But take care! This new position may be new for your employer as well and you don't want to blow any benefits working from home.

Below are a few tips to keep that flexibility a reality and your new lifestyle on an even keel:

Is Your Business Idea A Good Idea?

2010-01-26T16:19:00.001Z

This is the big one. This is the question that you just can't ignore if you're going to invest in your own business. Unfortunately, you can't answer it, no-one can.

I was watching a bit of TV last night and there were a couple of Irish entrepreneurs selling genuine Irish dirt, bits of earth, in a nice bag to the American market. They were selling tons of the stuff. Can you imagine going to the bank with that business plan? The manager would have to change his pants.

But however bizarre it sounds these guys are making it work. I've no clue what research they did, if any, they just had an idea and it turned out to be a pretty good one. So is your idea a good one?

The good news is that in today's world of blogs, twitter, facebook and bebo you can certainly get an idea of whether there's a market for your business idea. As I've mentioned before research is everything and nowadays it's very easy and cheap to do.

No.1 thing to do, start a blog. Make it look nice with some frilly bits and start to talk about stuff relevant to your market. Use various methods to spread that message around the web and see what happens. That's what we did at hmp. We wanted to know if there was a large enough market out there for us to create a specialised job board for people looking for flexibility. Turns out there are 1000's of you, so we did it.

Since then we've continued to post on the blog because as well as market research it's also a great customer service tool. There's no better way to get input and direction than from a direct connection with your readers and service users. We've got a whole raft of free online courses in the pipeline - why? Because our members asked for them.

Most of our members are 30+ ladies and gents with drive, imagination and one or two business ideas they want to try out. The problem is that everyone keeps telling them to build a website, set up a facebook page, run a twitter campaign, submit articles, write a viral ebook, look at PPC, distribute their RSS and create a buzz - but no-one has told them how. We listened, via the blog and social media, and now we're reacting to our markets needs.

In todays connected world you can increase the odds of business success by talking to your market and then build on any success by using the same tools to find out what that market needs and respond to that input. And best of all - it's free (or nearly). You no longer have to invest in a long term lease to test the water of potential markets, just send a tweet.

Related Business Idea Articles ...

TweetALondonCab – Taxis by Twitter | IDDICTIVE.COM | Innovative ...

Innovative business idea: TweetALondonCab allows twitter users to arrange a licensed black cab via their twitter accounts.

World's worst business ideas -- Selling serial killer memorabilia

World's worst business ideas -- Selling serial killer memorabilia. Tom Barlow · Tom Barlow RSS Feed Jan 25th 2010 at 1:00PM. More. Text SizeAAA. Filed under: Extracurriculars. It takes two people to execute a truly awful sale: a creepy ...

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Wake Up Call: Parents Walking Out Through Lack of Flexible Work

2010-01-26T16:18:00.001Z

UK parents are leaving work due to the lack of flexible working opportunities available to them, according to a new survey for Family Friendly Working. The cost of childcare is also forcing parents to stay at home.

The survey reveals that just over a third (34.6%) of parents who had left work after having children had done so because of lack of flexible work opportunities. Three in 10 (30.7%) cite the cost of childcare as a key reason to quit.

The Employment Act 2002 introduced legislation designed to help working parents. Since April 2003 parents with young and disabled children have had the right to request flexible work. This right to request was extended in 2009 to anyone with parental responsibility for a child aged 16 or under or a disabled child under 18 who receives Disability Living Allowance. People can ask to:

change the hours they work;
change the times they work; or
work from home (for all or part of the week).

Director of Family Friendly Working Antonia Chitty says, “This survey indicates that parents are not getting the flexible work that they need. More work is needed to see whether parents are unclear about their rights, whether bosses are saying no, or whether the flexible work available just isn’t flexible enough. The current provision of funding for 2.5-3hours pre school per day can be nigh on impossible to fit in with most employment: the Government needs to look at the way this is delivered and increase the flexibility of ways that parents can use the funding.”

Parents completing the survey commented:

“My boss was being very demanding, insisting I would get no special treatment and that I had to be in the office from at least 9am until 6pm. This was not an option with a three month old baby so I didn't return.”

“My daughter was about to start infant school. There was no way I could shorten my hours enough to be there for her before & after school (especially as she was only doing 5 morning a week initially, and I was then working 3 days a week).”

“Working and so many school holidays makes it difficult, especially as a single parent.”

Further results

The survey also found that around one in 10 parents (11.5%) are forced to quit because of lack of childcare. A similar proportion (10.7%) left work because having children changed their priorities.

Related Lack of Flexible Work Articles ...

Marriages With Working Women Shown to be Stabler, Happier

Instead, marriages don't have to rely on strict spheres for men and women - they can be more flexible, and women can be the primary breadwinners while men take over the domestic sphere, or both spouses can try to share both loads more ... I think it's all about financial stability and lack of good jobs. In the past, women sought financial stability through marriage because there were even fewer equal opportunity careers than there are now. It was either get married or be ...

Mundane Work & Inflexible Hours Make It Tough to Retain Nurses ...

“Flexible” work schedules — like eight 10-hour shifts in a two-week period — are also pretty limited. “Half of all nurse executives reported that the lack of alternate and flexible schedules at their [VA medical center] was one of the ...

Marriage not a choice for my mother (guardian.co.uk)
Figures Look at Families in Recession (nytimes.com)
Parenting - 10 Things That Will Improve Family Life (parenting-success.com)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Can't see the home business wood for the scamming trees

2010-01-26T16:13:00.001Z

I have several 'google alerts' set up (if you don't know what these are...uh...google it) that keep me abreast of every aspect of what could be called 'the flexible world'. As part of that daily research I have an alert that brings me all the 'home business' news from around the world, from newspaper articles to blogs, and quite frankly I'm getting real tired of the crap that is tarnishing this growing corner of commerce.

You must experience the same. Every website and 'mom' blog is full of MLM, turnkey, don't have to work, retire on a beach, send the kids to Harvard business models that just 'can't lose'. They set you up with a ready to go website, that looks like the website they gave a 1000 other people, and tell you to put your paypal address in and wait for the currency flood. Listen to me! The only person making money is the guy/gal selling you this bullshit notion that an online business is easy money. I'm actually quite insulted.

I've been in both worlds, internet and real, as an entrepreneur and every business I've had runs on the same principles - make the best product you can, market it, sell it and try to get them to come back again with excellent customer service. You can't just set that on auto-pilot, in any medium.

If you want an online business the opportunities are endless and the market huge but don't expect it to be easy, and stay a million miles away from anyone that tells you it is. You have to work just as hard to keep the basic principles going every day as you would in a bricks and mortar enterprise. It's still a business, you have to treat it as such.

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

HR departments fail to bridge the gap between flexible working policy and practice

2010-01-26T16:12:00.001Z

The majority of businesses claim to have a flexible working policy but 61% of employees never or hardly ever work from home.

According to a poll of 1,200 small and medium-sized businesses, over half (55%) do not see how remote working could increase employee productivity, for example, by allowing staff to utilise more of their day or by enabling greater opportunity to concentrate on thought-intensive tasks.

HR compared favourably with other sectors in the flexible working rankings illustrated below. But of the HR professionals interviewed, none works from home more than once per month even though one third stated they could do some of their work from home and a further third felt they could do most of their work remotely.

This highlights a considerable disconnect between working policy and practice, suggesting that something is holding staff back from working from home. Access to necessary technology and company documents were the top reasons cited in the survey.

Over 80% of employees felt they would be productive when working from home or remotely because they would be less distracted by meeting interruptions, allowing them to spend more time on particular projects.

One quarter (24%) of employees interviewed stated that they found themselves working from home more this year than they did last year and the survey shows if this trend were extrapolated, then in less than five years we could see 100% of employees of office based SMEs in the UK working from home at least part of the time

The survey also revealed that one third (33%) of employees said they could do all or most of their job from home.

The report from oneDrum.com, warns HR teams more flexible and remote working needs to be encouraged in order to foster employee productivity, creativity and innovation - key contributions to any business's competitive advantage.

Jasper Westaway, founder and CEO of oneDrum, said: "HR professionals need to iron out the disconnect and focus on streamlining processes to work staff smarter, not harder. By offering a truly flexible way of working, and leading by example, HR teams will be able to contribute to their organisation's competitive advantage.

"Working from home can enable staff to work more productively and efficiently, leaving room for employee creativity and strategic thinking - all essential catalysts for innovation. Where there is strength in strategy and innovation, there is healthy competitive advantage and a more motivated workforce."

Phil Flaxton, chief executive at Work Wise UK, added: "HR professionals looking to get the most from their workforce need to consider smarter and more flexible ways of working. There are a number of technologies that support a productive home-working environment, the benefits of which result in a more motivated and productive work force, with a healthier work-life balance."

Source: hrmagazine.co.uk

Small businesses still averse to "work from home" option for employees (newstatesman.com)
Workers Demand Flexi-Time Not Bonuses (news.sky.com)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Caregivers and Flexible Work

2010-01-19T15:22:00.001Z

One of the groups of people often overlooked when shouting the benefits of flexible work, on both sides of the pond, are home/family carers. These selfless people help and care for old and sick loved-ones, at no cost to society, and often miss out on working a full time job.

Over 2.6 million caregivers will benefit from the right to request flexible working in the UK alone, with a further 50 million in the USA.

Rosalyn Carter said it best: “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers”.

With many caregivers looking after elderly relatives it meant a huge pool of talent, at its most productive phase of life, was lost to business because of its INflexibility.

With new legislation catching up to the needs of society this is another slice of the population, along with parents, who will be able to rejoin and contribute in the workplace outside of giving care.

Related Caregivers and Flexible Work Articles ...

The Anti-Mommy Bias - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com

Some policy analysts argue that mothers make a lifestyle choice, opting for easier, more flexible work over greater responsibility and higher pay. Others, like myself, argue that our economic system imposes unfair penalties on those who care for others. ... In May 2007, the Equal Opportunities Employment Commission issued official guidance on FRED, explaining circumstances under which discrimination against caregivers violates existing law. ...

Are you Fair Work ready?

2. Request for flexible work arrangements: An employee who has responsibility for a child under school age or someone under 18 with a disability has a right to request a change in working arrangements. ...

Last Call For Nominations For The Parentgiving.com First Annual Parentgivers Of The Year Awards (prweb.com)
You: The hidden face of caring (guardian.co.uk)
Dementia 'must rise in priority' (news.bbc.co.uk)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

6 Steps To A Flexible Work Policy

2010-01-19T15:20:00.001Z

The lightbulb has finally gone off in your head and you can now see clearly the benefits of flexible work, but what do you do about it? Here are six steps to help guide you through the successful implementation of a flexible work policy at your worksite.

Step 1: Review Organizational Policy
See if your organization has written policies on compressed workweeks or flextime. If so, read them. If there are no policies, recommend that the organization set up a cross-functional task force to develop them.

Step 2: Consider the Costs and Benefits
Can compressed workweeks and flextime help your department and organization improve results? Look for opportunities that will help you better serve your internal and external customers.

Step 3: Move from Idea to Plan
If you think compressed workweeks and/or flextime schedules make sense for your unit, you will need to figure out work schedules, appropriate models, participation, supervision and communication. You will find the points to cover as part of the Implementation Checklist.

Step 4: Move from Plan to Action
Now is the time to present your plan to staff, receive feedback and request employee proposals. Remember to include in your discussion non-participating employees who might be affected by these changes. Contact HR for guidance on tracking and reporting vacation, holidays, sick leave and personal days off. Also consult HR about documentation that may be required by law.

Step 5: Initiate a trial period
For the first few months, test the way your new schedules are working. To assure that compressed workweeks and flextime are successful, monitor the arrangements during the trail period, making adjustments as necessary.

Step 6: Evaluate and Improve
At the end of the trial period, evaluate the program in terms of your original objective for implementation. You may be measuring costs and benefits, customer satisfaction, employee effectiveness and/or impact on non-participating employees. Keep evaluating and fine-tuning.

These steps are based upon the recommendations at commuterchallenge.org

Related Flexible Work Policy Articles ...

Family-Friendly Work Policies Take a Hit - Motherlode Blog ...

Will the trend toward flexible working arrangements survive in the recession?

HR Daily Advisor - Practical Human Resource Tips, News & Advice ...

Is a Flexible Work Policy Part of a Wellness Program? Most experts agree that reducing stress is an important part of wellness, but they don't have much advice for how to accomplish it. Flexible work schedules will go a long way to ...

Flexible Workpaces: Productive and Popular

We've recently discussed how, with the potentially rebounding economy, workers are going to expect more from their employees in 2010. Implementing a flexible work environment (or improving your company's current telecommuting policy) is ...

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Telecommuting Saves The World

2010-01-18T16:33:00.001Z

Been surfing the telecommuting web and came across Telecommuting Could Speed Economic Recovery by undress4success.com where it's written that Business Week reported that, based on interviews with a number of esteemed economists, the lack of worker mobility was significantly stifling our economic recovery.

It turns out that mobility in the workforce is essential to prosperity but with the growth of telecommuting that doesn't mean you have to physically move. We live in a world where a surgeon in Florida can perform an operation, via the web and a robot, on a crushed skull in Manila. Surely the wits of man, combined with telecommuting, can come up with a solution to worker mobility in a modern world; we just have to embrace the tech and promote the lifestyle.

Affordable internet critical to economic recovery

Consumer Groups on FCC Broadband Plan: Fast, Affordable Internet Critical to Economic Recovery, Growth FCC should declare broadband a telecommunications service eligible for universal service fund support ... Broadband allows communities to reap the benefits of advanced emergency services, higher-education distance learning, telemedicine, and telecommuting. Without access to broadband, low-income and rural communities are cut off from new models of economic expansion and ...

The Environmental Blog: Environmental Benefits of Telecommuting

Telecommuting and outsourcing are really starting to take off as the worldwide economic crisis is forcing employers to find new ways to reduce costs and increase employee productivity. ... And if your company is planning to take advantage of the telecommuting trend, make sure to first implement a disaster recovery plan that's able to handle it. About The Author: Storagepipe Solutions provides email archiving, online backup and server backup solutions that help companies ...

Spain mandates affordable broadband for all (news.cnet.com)
Flextime: A Win-Win Green Solution? (treehugger.com)

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Using RSS to Explode Your Business Leads – Part 2

2010-01-18T16:30:00.001Z

Following on from Using RSS to Explode Your Business Leads – Part 1 the real fun begins when we introduce ping.fm into the mix:

http://www.youtube.com/v/lY3jUyg3iJo

If you need any further info or questions answered then please ask in the comments.

Related Business Leads Articles ...

Important Ways To Boost Business Sales Leads For Your Business ...

In order to survive in the business world, you have to make every effort to maximize your sales. A sales lead is the identity of a potential customer who has.

Quickest Way to Build Sales Leads

This episode is all about how to crank up your business opportunities the fastest, most efficient way.

Choosing the Right Sales Process Outsourcing (SPO) Company (prweb.com)
Google Wave (silenciobarnes.com)

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Using RSS to Explode Your Business Leads - Part 1

2010-01-14T20:13:00.001Z

Another quick video of a technique that has brought hmp many of its members - this one's twitterfeed and this is a brief explanation on how I am using RSS to explode business leads.

http://www.youtube.com/v/NIhYuLUiw1c&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b","allowfullscreen":"true"" src="http://blog.hiremyparents.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/media/img/trans.gif" height="344" alt="" width="425" />

Related Using RSS Articles ...

Using RSS Feeds to Increase Your Exposure on the Web

Most of the new social media sites are using RSS Feeds to distribute their content. Twitter runs on RSS feeds, Facebook and MySpace use feeds. You can add feeds to your news and tap in to the power of the social web. ...

RSS… And The 10 MOST Powerful Reasons WHY You Should Be Using It

In conclusion, publishers using RSS as a communication vehicle for their business are able to create keyword-rich, themed content, establishing Trust, Credibility, and ongoing communication with current and prospective subscribers ...

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A technique to spread your business message

2010-01-13T20:40:00.001Z

If you spend hours writing a blog post, that will hopefully bring some traffic to your site and ramp up your authority, then it's a good idea to spread your business message as far as you can and get the maximum exposure. Below is a very quick technique I use to get my posts on 5 or 6 different sites straight away.

Related Spread Your Business Message Articles ...

SIMPLE TOOLS THAT ARE USED TO GET YOU THE ONLINE EXPOSURE YOU NEED ...

Increasing the topic of your sites is what this tool aims for. This way you can spread your site to other people. There are lot mailing lists that can be purchased through the internet that are of good price. So choose your audience wisely! ... GoDaddy seems to be the leader in all of this. GoDaddy goes as far as helping you increase traffic to your site and with configuring and uploading your files. If the website package has all this, then go and start your business. ...

Moving Beyond Social Media to Market Your Blog

It's no longer uncommon to learn that someone or some business entity has a blog. Marketing around blogs has driven an entire web-based economy all its own, but for those running the blogs, new marketing tactics are always a challenge ... Your blog has an overarching theme. If you were to summarize your blog's theme, what would you say? This is a message that you can use to further spread your message, and establish your authority. Create a PowerPoint demonstration ...

SPROUT PUBLISHING - BLOG - 5 TIPS FOR AUTHENTIC ONLINE CONNECTION

... you provide and the guidance you give all fits with the overall story and message that your business or brand stands for. If you live your message, your customers, readers, etc. will believe your message and help spread your ideas. ...

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Why you'll never get 'that' flexible job on a job board

2010-01-13T10:17:00.001Z

From the title you may suspect that I've shot myself in the foot here. Yes hmp has a job board but not the type I'm talking about.

I was reading Seth Godin's blog post Career fairs... and how they are the last resort for companies and job-seekers alike, and I realised that the giant job boards on the internet are just the same. A company needs to fill some drone position so they get HR to just throw up a description and chuck $400 at monster.com or careerbuilder.com. They don't have to put any effort in, as long as you can string a sentence together you'll do. Hell, all these big job boards even share the same database - stick the job on one it goes to the many.

If a company has a real 'career' opportunity it goes specific. It goes to job boards that specialize in certain skills or industries - that's where you get 'that' job. Better still companies are now finding employees on social sites such as facebook and LinkedIn, where they can find the person they need through relationships and referrals.

If you want to be truly happy in a job you're going to have to find it where they put the jobs you want - not where they put the jobs they want you to fill. (I made a tongue-twister)

Related Job Board Articles ...

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I have friends who work at major online job board sites, but I've never been sold on them. Years ago I received a few interviews from job listings on Monster, but the positions were filled even before my interview. ...

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Q: How well do job boards work in YOUR job search? The fact is many hiring managers and recruiters live on social networks… Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Monster.com, Inside Tech, and others… It all comes down to how 'in the loop' are ...

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Online job boards, such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com, are all too familiar with such scams and have dedicated pages on their sites that provide job seekers with tips on how to conduct safe online searches. ...

Using Social Networking Sites for Job Searching (timesunion.com)
Using Twitter and Facebook to Find a Job (time.com)

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Home Business v's Home Job

2010-01-12T14:23:00.001Z

Image by Kaptain Kobold via Flickr

You have to make a change - you know this. Kid number 4 has come along or the commute is killing you, whatever, you want to work from home but what the hell do you do about it.

There are 2 broad camps, as inferred by the title - start a home business or work from home on someone else's business.

Now for some of you the choice is simple, that little entrepreneur synap starts firing and you've been working for the 'man' for 20 years already - time to go-it alone. For others the thought of going out there without a safety net and a steady paycheck is a little too much to consider.

Personally I think there's a middle ground, the option I took when I first started working from home - do both.

Use resources such as the hmp job-board to take on part-time and freelance gigs consistent with your skills and related to the business you want to set up in the future. If you want to set up a pr/marketing firm then use these jobs to build your resume and the breadth of your skills. As you go on you should be building your website and blog (keep an eye out for our free course - coming soon) and adding authority content that engages and creates leads.

As your following and portfolio grows you can start to apply for jobs as a company with a provable history and demonstrable authority. You can raise your prices and point people to your, by now, impressive site which will not only help you convert leads but will actually capture them from around the web.

Now, I know all of this is easier said than done but you'll be amazed at how fast your website and reputation grows if you add a little content everyday to your site and do it in the right way. hmp only started it's job-board in October '09 and we have over 4000 members from all over the world - that's 3 months!

Taking the middle road of Home Business v's Home Job is like having 2 jobs but the security it gives you and the resume it builds will give you a stronger foundation for your future home business.

Home, Sweet Home Office (usnews.com)
Harvard Business: Predictions for 2010: Five Changes in the Way We Work (blogs.hbr.org)
A Home Based Business Entrepreneur Offers Tips On Fighting Back The Recession (PRWeb.com)

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A Flexible Workplace is a Happier, Healthier Workplace

2010-01-12T14:22:00.001Z

Image via Wikipedia

Annie Toro is the Associate Executive Director for Public Interest Government Relations, American Psychological Association. This blog originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

Years of psychological research provide a strong foundation for flexible work arrangements, demonstrating the benefit to employees’ physical and mental health, as well as their family life. To promote this knowledge, the American Psychological Association created an Office on Work, Stress and Health that promotes research, training, practice and policy addressing these matters, including:

a) Promoting understanding of work stress and its impact on the well-being and productivity of workers;

b) Exploring organizational and behavioral interventions to reduce stress, illness and injury in the workplace;

c) Studying the impact of changing work force demographics (e.g., aging workers, increasing proportions of ethnic and racial minorities and women) on health and safety in the workplace; and

d) Building collaborative partnerships among psychology, industry, labor and federal agencies to reduce stress and health and safety risks in the workplace.

For APA, issues impacting work, stress and health are of utmost priority. Our dedication to furthering initiatives that lead to a healthy workplace environment stems from our association’s mission to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.

These issues are particularly important under the sustained pressures of global competition on the U.S. work force. Psychologists are uniquely trained to address the behavioral aspects of change faced by our work force.

Research provides us with essential information regarding changes in our society that speak to the critical need to prioritize workplace flexibility. However, public policy has not kept up with the realities of working families. Today’s families are more likely to include single parents, unmarried couples, same-sex couples — sometimes with children, and stepchildren.

One of the most striking changes in U.S. families in the past 30 years is the increasing number of working women and the rate of mothers who work, especially mothers of infants and young children. Recently, California first lady Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress released a provocative report entitled “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything” on the status of women in the United States and the drastic changes that have taken place in our country as a result of women’s entrance into the work force. The study is aimed at inciting what it calls “a national conversation about what women’s economic power means for our way of life.”

Research tells us there is a positive connection between workplace flexibility and an individual’s work-life balance. For instance, employees who work in environments that provide flexible work hours also tend to experience fewer conflicts within their work, family and personal lives. However, when a workplace does not provide adequate flexibility, women are more likely than men to experience work-family conflicts and health-related distress, some studies show.

Another key factor is employee perception of workplace culture. Many employees do not use such policies, even when they are available, because they are concerned that taking advantage of parental leave or flexible work schedules, for example, may be perceived as a lack of job commitment and could negatively affect their career advancement. Thus, it is imperative that employers not only support the employees by promoting their company’s flexible schedule options, but also create and maintain a culture that encourages use of these policies.

Research shows that employers benefit from offering greater workplace flexibility. When employees receive the flexibility they need, there is less absenteeism and greater job satisfaction. Employees are more motivated to adopt healthier behaviors, sleep better and be involved in employer-promoted health education programs. Additionally, employers have lower health care utilization costs.

Given the interest in issues affecting working families demonstrated by the Obama administration through the development of initiatives such as the White House Middle Class Task Force and the first lady’s efforts to bring much-needed attention to issues involving work-family balance, we hope to see the development of sound federal policies and initiatives that will lead to positive outcomes for employees, employers, families and our country as a whole.

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Really, Seriously, Once and for All, work +life fit, inc., makes a strong case that flexibility in the workplace is not solely a woman's issue. Men need it just as much and must be included in this conversation. ...

The advantages of having a flexible workplace – Times Online

Benefits of flexible working for all.

American Grow Less and Less Satisfied at Work (blogs.wsj.com)
Employers recognized for creating psychologically healthy workplaces in times of economic distress (newswire.ca)
U.S. job satisfaction hits 22-year low (money.cnn.com)

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Telephone Interview Secrets

2010-01-12T14:20:00.001Z

Telephone interviews are becoming increasingly popular as a means of narrowing down candidates for a more traditional face to face interview. In the ultra competitive society we now live, a job advertisement can attract hundreds of resumes from candidates with similar set of skills and backgrounds.

The recruitment process is all about finding the one perfect candidate among the basket full of candidates. The phone interview has become a popular, flexible, inexpensive and speedy way of finding that one person.

Preparing for a Phone Interview

Before you begin your phone interview make sure that you are confident in your understanding of the position you are applying for and the company you are applying with. Do extra homework on the company’s history and research recent company news. Preparation is the key and will make a great impression on your interviewers.

Prepare your Interview location. Make sure you’re in a comfortable place with no distractions. Keep your resume in clear view, have a pen and pad to take notes and a glass of water sitting close by. Minimize any outside distractions that could potentially take your mind off the interview (HOT TIP: Disable call waiting on your phone). Dress the part so you feel and sound professional. The more professional you feel the more professional you will come across on the telephone.

Most importantly – Practice Interviewing. Rehearse and Practice. There are many ways to help you prepare for the telephone interview. Have a friend/ family member conduct an interview. Ideally, rehearse with someone from the same industry. The best way to hear how you sound is to tape yourself. Remember the more preparation you put into the interview the better prepared you will be.

Preparation is the key! Write down answers to questions you believe are going to be asked. Have questions ready to go so when the interviewer says “Do you have any questions to ask us” you’re ready and prepared.

What to do during the phone interview:

Remember to Smile. Experts say that smiling puts you in a better state of mind and will project a positive image to the listener
Speak in a steady voice. Don’t rush what you’re trying to say. Ensure that you sound enthusiastic and passionate
Don’t forget to breathe. It will help you stay calm and sound more relaxed
LISTEN – Answer the questions which are being asked. Do not make the mistake of telling the interviewer what you want to tell them. Give them the answers to their questions.
Keep a glass of water handy – Nothing is worse than having a dry mouth
Address the interviewer in the appropriate way. Do not shorten people’s name. They are your potential employer not your “mate”
Take your time – Don’t rush the interview. This is your time to shine. If your feeling nervous take a moment or two to collect your thoughts
“Cheat Notes” Prepare beforehand with notes to help drive you through the interview. If the interview is going to be technical than have notes ready to prompt yourself if needed
Don’t forget to ask questions

What NOT to do during the interview:

Do not eat
Do not chew gum
Do not drink
DO NOT SMOKE
Don’t interrupt the interviewer
Don’t answer with just a “yes” and “no”- elaborate your answers, provide examples if applicable
Don’t be too Casual/informal
Long winded answers to questions

Conclusion:

The only way to master a phone interview is to practice, be professional, and show your passion for the job role. Remember you have made the phone interview stage so don’t blow your interview by not being ready.

Good luck!

Gavin Davis is the owner of RedStarResume.com

Better Talking Lets You Practice And Review for Interviews [Interview] (lifehacker.com)
How To Ace a Telephone Interview and Get the Job (howcast.com)
Thank You Letter After Interview (slideshare.net)

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Win a Professional Resume & Cover Letter

2010-01-12T14:19:00.001Z

Our friends at redstarresume.com have kindly offered to write a free professional resume and cover letter to the winner of our twitter based competition this month. I won't repeat the deal as you'll find it all on the hiremyparents contest page - so give it a go and thanks again to redstarresume.com

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What is Residual Income?

2010-01-12T14:14:00.001Z

A very quick post today because I was going to write about residual income and during my research I came across Tina Adams' blog. Residual Income: What It Is and How to Create It is a great blog post by Tina that gives details of what residual income is and her other blog posts go deeper into how to get it.

Residual Income has got a bit of a bad rap over recent years with certain unsavoury cabals of the internet world jumping on the band-wagon and using it to flog second rate products and multi-level marketing schemes, but the principle still holds water.

If you've found yourself trying to earn money from home or with a flexible job it can be very frustrating - the jobs don't come quick enough or your talents just don't match the skills required. Making a residual income online is really hard to set up but once done you can make it fully automated and then carry on finding a day job while the bills are getting paid.

Keep an eye out in the members hub for a deal we're currently working on, for our members, that should make creating a residual income online a great deal easier and less tech orientated. In the meantime, have any hmp members had any success stories recently?

Related Residual Income Articles...

None - they were all snake-oil salesman. Be very wary.

5 Keys to Build Residual Income With Networking Marketing (tokitover.com)

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Exclusive Business Opportunity At hiremyparents.com

2010-01-07T11:13:00.001Z

hiremyparents is now advertising positions on it's job board for eCommerce Advisors for winweb.com, an international software provider for small and SOHO businesses. This is a great opportunity to start your own business with support from a large organisation - current positions are for the UK only but USA positions will arrive soon on hiremyparents. Get your free membership to hiremyparents now for access to these rare and exclusive opportunities.

Details of the eCommerce Advisor position are on our Job Board as well as the geographical positions available.

Related Articles...

Small Business Opportunity: WinWeb eCommerce Advisor - WinWeb are committed to developing a national network of eCommerce Advisors to support small and SOHO Businesses in their local area.

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Winter weather promoting flexible working arrangements

2010-01-06T11:44:00.001Z

Image via Wikipedia

Yes - once again the blue moon has risen and the UK has been brought to a halt by a bit of snow. Schools have closed and parents everywhere have to stay at home and send those 'sorry I've got children' emails to their boss. By the way, get it while you can - I'm writing this post and its snowball time for me.

In turn those bosses and business owners are thinking - 'if only he/she had access to the database they could get those reports done at home' or 'if I had given them all internal skype numbers we could still have that meeting'. However, it will only be a day lost and we can all catch up tomorrow so putting all that in place will be just too much hassle.

What business doesn't understand is that the level of tech in our private lives is often far more advanced than at work. Skype has over 20 million people signed in at any time with over 500 million registered users, the vast majority via broadband.

All that is needed is for the flexible work arrangements to be put in place and the vast amount of employees could work just as well from home as in the office. Give them a secure access to the database, a webcam and microphone and you can say goodbye to the rent and heating bills at the office.

I should stop there but want to add one more rant. If your company operates from 9-5 ask your staff if they wouldn't mind starting at 8.30 for the same money but they could work from home. No commute, no petrol costs, no expensive lunch - no brainer.

On the downside, with everyone at home my broadband is a disaster.

UK winter weather woes:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Q--VFXJBXvE?f=videos&app=youtube_gdata"" class="mceItemFlash" src="http://blog.hiremyparents.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/media/img/trans.gif" height="344" width="425" />

Home, Sweet Home Office (usnews.com)

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2010 - The year for flexible work?

2010-01-04T16:10:00.001Z

Image via Wikipedia

All of a sudden it seems the world has gone flexible work mad. The South Korean government has outlined plans to increase labour market participation among women, the Aussies have just thrown up their hands and given some of the most pro-flex legislation I've come across - probably a bit too 'pro' in my view, I'll get to that in a future post - and in the European Union women have filled 6m of the 8m new jobs created since 2000. My work is done, I'm going to play with the kids.

But hold on a damn minute. Aren't women still being paid less? Aren't the middle classes still juggling with the flex v's childcare conundrum? Many women feel they have to choose between their children and their careers. Women who prosper in high-pressure companies during their 20s drop out in dramatic numbers in their 30s and then find it almost impossible to regain their earlier momentum. Less-skilled women are trapped in poorly paid jobs with hand-to-mouth child-care arrangements. Motherhood, not sexism, is the issue: in America, childless women earn almost as much as men, but mothers earn significantly less. And those mothers’ relative poverty also disadvantages their children.

I'm afraid there's a long way to go on the flexible work front and the only way to change things is through education. We need to change the mind-set of the corporate world and those that govern us. Make them play by a new set of rules that they actually act on and not just give lip service to in the hope of gaining good PR or votes.

Sorry kids, I think Dora's on Nick, I've got work to do.

If you have a story to tell or experience to share regarding your search for flexible work please let me know through our facebook page or in the comments. In building a library of concerns we can both address them and use them to reflect the need for a change in the workplace.

Related Flexible Work Articles...

One Year Later--Flexible Downsizing and Hard Choices Post ...

A year ago, the economic downturn was in full gear. As layoffs gained momentum, I loudly promoted a more flexible approach to downsizing as an alternative to knee jerk job cuts. If executed correctly and strategically, compressed workweeks, ... The work has returned and requires the same number of headcount to complete, but is generating less revenue. This means tough choices still need to be made, and creative, low-cost means of reward and engagement pursued. ...

CareerMums: Family and work flexibility: Flexible work options

Where an employee works for a certain number of months a year and then is granted unpaid leave for the remainder of the year (works for employers with seasonal work demands and employees needing more time off than the average 4 weeks ...

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We can safely say that 2009 was a year where the economy struggled, and we still have some work to do in 2010. However, this year 20 percent of employers plan to add new employees in 2010–in 2009 only 14 percent said so. ... They also intend to implement flexible work arrangements that help employees maintain a good work-life balance and consequently keep them happy. And in an effort to retain top talent, many organizations will ask some employees to postpone retirement ...

Flexible Work In Government | hiremyparents blog

Governments in Europe and the States have been making a big push on the flexible work front over the last few years. ... to protect jobs – and finding an additional £3bn to help people find new work quicker. … The Government's flexible tax credits system has risen to the challenge of the downturn, delivering substantial support to families to compensate for this loss of pay. So far this year, because of tax credits 400000 families whose income has fallen have benefited … ...

America and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Jobs Numbers (meganmcardle.theatlantic.com)
Stewart Acuff: A Decade of Disaster for Workers (huffingtonpost.com)
The Predicament of the American "Middle Class" (liveactivecultures.net)

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Promoting A Home Business

2009-12-29T15:24:00.001Z

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

So you've decided to make the giant leap and start a home business, slowly at first - for God's sake don't quit your job - and then work on the goal of making it a full time income replacer. Through various hmp members I've seen that choosing a business to start and doing the day-to-day is often the easy part. You may have the sweetest product in the world but if no-one knows about it you're going to fail, period. With cash in short supply there are still some great methods of promoting a home business but they do need work and lots of it. Take a look at the options below and look out for my new course launching for free in the members area soon - a full idiots guide to building a website you have complete control over and how to drive targeted (very important) traffic to it.

The first thing that you will want to do when you are promoting your home business is to write up a plan, this is sometimes referred to as a marketing plan. In this plan you will want to outline everything you intend to do as far as promotion is concerned. By doing this before you even get started, you will ensure yourself of having a guide to help you through the different stages of marketing. Many people overlook this step because they think that they can simply promote as they go along. This is true, but by having a promotional plan in place you will be much more successful.

One of the best ways of promoting your home business is through the use of a website. By having a website, you will be able to promote your business to people from all over the world. There was a time when this option was not available, but those days have come and gone. If you want your home business to be successful, you will need to have a top notch website that you can rely on.

In addition to promoting your home business with a website, there are other ways that you can do this online as well. Placing ads in ezines has been proven as a successful promotion method. The main advantage of doing this is that you can reach a target audience that is interested in what you have to offer. This is much better than simply placing an ad in a publication that does not even correspond with your company. Of course the hot topic at the moment is social marketing with the likes of facebook or twitter, but so many people (99%+) just don't get it. Again, look out for the free course in the members area soon.

Of course, promoting your home business can also be done in more traditional ways as well. Many people feel that direct mail is still a great way to promote their business. This can be done by obtaining a mailing list, and then sending out some materials that will intrigue people to contact you. Even though this method is a bit outdated, and can still be very successful if done correctly.

Promoting your home business is the only way that you are going to be able to grow. By starting out with a plan you will be able to ensure yourself of guidance along the way. Remember, there are hundreds of promotional tactics available. Find a couple that work for you and stick with them. You will be seeing results in no time at all!

Related Promoting A Home Business Article...

Social Marketing – A Powerful Form Of Promoting Your Home Based ...

Social marketing is becoming more and more popular for internet entrepreneurs to promote their home based business online. Of course you should use several.

5 Things To Consider When Publishing A Newsletter (webmanmarketing.com)
Pitching to investors: how much information is too much (startups.com)
Beth Harte: Planning for 2010? Don't Forget To Include Measurement & ROI! (mpdailyfix.com)
My US Network Brings Jobs, Internships and Affordable Multi Media Advertising (prweb.com)

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Finding wholesalers for your home business

2009-12-23T14:28:00.001Z

An important element to creating a long-lasting profitable business is finding good wholesalers willing to work with you.

But, after a while, things slow down and you hit a wall. You find yourself chasing after prospects and wondering why it is taking so long to convert prospects into clients.

However, the process of finding a good wholesaler is not easy. There are a lot of scams out there, such as middlemen charging fees for the "privilege" to buy from them and inflating wholesale prices.

Even if you find a legitimate wholesaler, they may not want to deal with a small business much less a home-based business. This is actually the biggest challenge of small business when looking for a wholesaler, especially if the wholesaler is already servicing big businesses. Why bother with the small fries when you've got the big boys knocking on your door?

So how do you find good wholesalers?

1. Attend tradeshows: Tradeshows are a great way of finding suppliers, manufacturers and drop shippers for your business, especially if you require more specialized products. There are a number of tradeshows out there specializing in various segments - from kitchen and bath, to apparel to construction supplies.

Note though that some tradeshows are not open to the public, and you need to show proof of business identification. You may be asked to present your recent invoices, business cards, credit reference sheet showing companies you purchase from, and tax registration (Certificate or Business Registration Certificate indicating you are retail business). If you are just about to start your home business, you may show letter of intent from an attorney or bank on official letterhead stating the intent to start a new retail business.

To find tradeshows in your industry, you may want to check:

TSNN http://www.tsnn.com

BizTradeShows http://www.biztradeshows.com

EventsEye http://www.eventseye.com

2. Industrial Directories. If you are looking for wholesalers in industry sectors, check out industrial directories. Thomas Register http://www.thomasnet.com is the most respected of industrial directories out there, and their web site offers about 67,000 product categories that you can search from.

Other industrial directories

Grainger Industrial Supply http://www.grainger.com

GlobalSpec http://www.globalspec.com

KellySearch http://www.kellysearch.com

3. eBay. An easy way to find wholesalers is through the online auction site eBay http://www.ebay.com . Wholesalers are everywhere on eBay, even dominating most if not all of the categories with their vast number of listings. Each category - from home and garden to clothing and accessories to cell phones - has a sub-category called wholesale lots where most of the wholesalers list their items.

4. Trade Magazines. Get hold of copies of trade publications on wholesaling, as they typically feature wholesalers, manufacturers and drop shippers. These magazines are mostly free, and feature a lot of ads from wholesalers that you can contact.
Examples of trade magazines include:

Web Wholesaler Magazine http://www.wholesalecentral.com/wwfree.cfm = operated by WholesaleCentral.com

Wholesale Source Magazine http://www.wsmag.com

The Wholesaler http://www.thewholesaler.com

5. Online Directories. The web is full of online directories that list wholesalers, manufacturers, drop shippers and suppliers - with some more reliable, updated and screened than others. Make sure that you use specific keywords in your search (e.g. hair band wholesaler) instead of the very general terms (fashion accessories wholesaler) to help you narrow your search. Be careful though as some will sell you list claiming to be verified and updated listings of wholesalers.

About the Author:

Nach Maravilla is the CEO and Founder of PowerHomeBiz.com, an online magazine for home business entrepreneurs.

Other wholesalers for your home business articles...

Wholesale – How eBay Helps Your Wholesale Business Boom | THE Work ...

When this happens expect that you will be needing a workspace in your home because you will probably get a lot of orders for stocks that inventory is already needed. You will need therefore business stuff like a computer, printer, ...

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Is there any wholesale drop shipper? (startups.com)

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How connectivity and broadband will shape the population

2009-12-22T15:24:00.001Z

This is an eye-opening piece about how connectivity and broadband will shape the future of not just work practices but the population flow -

Mobile giant Orange's research shows that better access to both mobile and fixed line broadband could shape the workforce of the future.

Orange has created an interactive map of the country to pinpoint the connectivity hotspots of the future and work out how that will affect the next generation workforce.

Based on the mobile giant's Connected Britain research, the interactive map went live today and highlights which areas of the UK could benefit from population growth thanks to their internet-based wealth. Conversely, it flags the areas that could see people leave in droves due to lack of mobile and fixed line broadband connectivity.

Indeed, the South West could see its population swell by a whopping 150 per cent by 2015, while Scotland and London's head counts are set to grow by 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, according to the research.

“Our research found that a digitally connected workforce could change the face of Britain as we know it," said Robert Ainger, Orange's director of corporate marketing, in a statement.

"Not only could the population itself shift, but the way we work could also fundamentally change. The interactive map means that visitors to the site can quickly check out their current location or somewhere else that takes their fancy, to see how things are likely to pan out there in future.”

The map also showcases how each region fares when it comes to flexible working, which is generally interlinked with having the right technology in place.

Orange's research suggested that businesses could save more than £30 billion by being a bit more savvy about the benefits of flexible working practices.

Orange maps UK's future connectivity hotspots - Original Post by Maggie Holland

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Next Generation Connectivity: A review of broadband Internet ...

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Note if we combine our payments for affordable broadband, affordable fixed voice and affordable mobile (voice, text, and broadband access) there is plenty there to pay for a better quality connectivity, but it will require encumbent ...

Vice President Biden Kicks Off $7.2 Billion Recovery Act Broadband ...

The funding is integral to a smart grid initiative and broadband service based on an open-connectivity fiber optic backbone network. • OKLAHOMA: Southeast Oklahoma, The Pine Telephone Company, $9.5 grant with an additional $4.6 million ...

Broadband Stimulus

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UK broadband slower than Greece (telegraph.co.uk)
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Resume Tips – Something to think about…

2009-12-22T15:22:00.001Z

How many times have you picked up a magazine while waiting for an appointment and flipped through the hundreds of pages of articles? How long did it take you to decide whether or not to turn the page? Studies show that most people make this decision in less than 5 seconds.

This is the exact same scenario with your resume—it can be discarded within a matter of seconds. An example I always use to highlight this reality came during my experience as a recruitment agent in London. I was to fill a new job opening as an equities trader for one of the most prestigious investment firms in the UK. I was asked to select the top 10 resumes to forward onto the hiring manager. I advertised the job on a Monday and by Thursday I had over 300 resumes sitting in my inbox. I did not have the time to sit and read through every line of each resume sitting there, let alone the hundreds more that would follow. I had to “scan” the resumes and eliminate the weak or moderate ones right away. This is a very typical scenario, especially in this current economic climate. Your resume needs to be convincing from the start.

When applying for jobs, you can bet that 50% of all the other applicants have similar skills and knowledge. So how do you make your resume stand out from the others? How do you ensure that you’re at least given the chance to present yourself in person?

Your resume is a marketing document, a convincing reason to want to meet with you for an interview. Without an appealing and marketable resume that contains information employers require, you will not get the job you want. Of course, never forget the complementary role a cover letter plays. A cover letter goes hand in hand with the resume. Good resume and bad cover letter end up in the same place—the trash bin.

Remember, your resume is the greatest asset you have—don’t forget this!

Find below a list of my top 10 resume tips:

Professional

Keep it professional. Your resume is a business document, so it must be professional. Your resume is no place for gimmicks, pictures, or funny email addresses. Although you may think you look great in your picture or that your email address is funny (yes, I have seen love_homersimpson@hotmail.com), this is not required on your resume. You may think it looks great, but your employer may disagree. Stick to the facts and keep it professional!

Targeted

The more targeted your resume is, the better you have at landing an interview. Employers want to know exactly what you can do for their company. It is important that you tailor each resume to each job (it will only take a few sentences to do this). Get rid of any information that is not required for a particular job. This will alleviate the tendency to overcrowd your resume with too much irrelevant information.

Well-written

A well-written, concise resume will make a greater impression with your employer than a long winded “padded” resume. Use positive action words such as: enhanced, influenced, restructured, and attained. This will add that extra boost to your resume. On the same hand, avoid everyday buzz words. Remember, your resume needs to focus on your key skills and achievements. Words such as “hard worker,” “reliable” and “ambitious ” can have a more detrimental effect on your resume as these words are seen as adding no value to resume.

Self-promoting

Your resume is a marketing document. Promote and sell yourself! Do not be scared to sell your skills, accomplishments, and abilities. If you don’t tell the employer, no one else will. Focus on what you can offer the business rather than what the business can offer you. Emphasize your skills, especially the ones the job is asking for. An employer wants to know that you have the relevant skills for that particular job. If a coffee shop is hiring a barista, and you’ve already worked as one, make your skills stand out and take centre stage. Just like with the example of skimming over the magazines, you need your employer to take one glance at your resume and want to read on.

Tailor your resume

Very important – one size fits all approach does not work here. Every job is different, and depending on what the job is, you need to make sure you tweak your resume (and cover letter) for that particular job. Ask yourself, “What job am I going for, and does my resume have the skills and strengths required to present to my future employer?” Tailoring your resume to the specific job you’re going for will show the hiring manager that you are serious about working for their organization.

Quality, not quantity

Quality not quantity! Your resume is not a life story. Stick to the facts— using irrelevant data, waffling, and padding your resume are detrimental. Let your skills and experience do the talking for you.

Simplify

Forget about fancy fonts or clever uses of italics. Keep it simple. Your resume is not meant to be a work of art to be displayed on the wall. Not only can it be hard to read, but there are multiple scanning software programs that might be unable to read it, meaning it will end up being deleted before even being opened.

Spelling /Grammar/Punctuation

Every word program these days has spell check—USE IT! Poor spelling and grammar will immediately land your resume in the “deleted items” box. It is a hard enough to get an interview—do not let yourself down with basic spelling mistakes. Re-read every word yourself, and get someone else to read it as well.

Consistent

Be sure that your resume is written in a commonsense way—in order, logical, and easy to read. Be consistent throughout your resume with your margins, fonts, and line spacing. Don’t be scared to accentuate your skills or achievements with a different style of font or by using a bold font (but remember keep it simple. There is a fine line of going overboard when using different font styles). Consistency shows professionalism.

Do not mention money

Unless you are directly asked about money, do not mention it. Keep your cards close to your chest. Do not rule yourself out before you even begin because of money.

Gavin Davis is the owner of RedStarResume and one of the hiremyparents experts.

More Resume Resources...

Hold That resume! 5 Red Flags in Online Job Listings | Wise Bread

A job listing says as much about the company as your cover letter and resume says about you. If a job listing has errors or looks extremely unprofessional ...

Tips To Write Elegant Resume Without Lying at Career Advice

Tips To Write Elegant Resume Without Lying. December 4th, 2009. Preparing elegant resume without lying: Preparing resume by putting some untruthful facts is the most terrible thing a person can do for his or her career. ...

Keyword Tips for Resume & Online Profile | Blogging4Jobs

Keywords should be an extremely important component of both your online social media profiles as well as your resume. These keywords can be a difference maker.

Related Articles...

Ten Resume Mistakes You Must Avoid (bargaineering.com)
Thank You Letters Can Make An Impact (timesunion.com)

Check out our blog about flexible working for parents

Original Methods Of Gaining Flexibility

2009-12-22T15:21:00.001Z

I've found a great story from Rosalind Mays on how to Negotiate Your Way into a Telecommuting Job and a couple of original methods of coaxing your boss into gaining flexibility at work.

Related Resources...

Take Three Steps Closer to Telecommuting From Home

Flexible work adviser and pay raise coach Pat Katepoo equips career women to negotiate for more time and money at their current job. Will your boss say YES to your request for a flexible work arrangement? Find out using this quick ...

Drafting Your Telecommuting Proposal the Right Way

Telecommuting may seem like a dream come true; however, though some may find it more difficult that commuting. So many want desperately to work from home, that they neglect to plan, formulate and negotiate a successful work option that ...

Telecommuting Proposal Writing Tip - How to Handle Dependent Care

Since starting WorkOptions in 1993, Pat Katepoo has equipped thousands of professionals to negotiate telecommuting, flexible work and higher salaries. She invites you to download free tools for getting a flexible work life at ...

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Flexible Policies Work - If You Do It Right

2009-12-22T15:19:00.001Z

Image via Wikipedia

Although American and British families can take some comfort in the recent reforms to flexible policies at work there seems to be a familiar rumble coming from business on both sides of the Atlantic.

Over the last week business groups have written to Yvette Cooper, the UK's work and pensions secretary, warning against further legislation to force companies to accept flexible working requests.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are concerned that a white paper, expected to be published this week, will outline more flexible working rules that would further burden companies, especially small ones.

Burden? What burden?

In January, the accounting giant KPMG, looking for a way to save payroll costs without losing valued employees, introduced an initiative called Flexible Futures. This new programme offered the 11,000 professionals in KPMG’s British operations the following options: They could go to a four-day workweek and take a 20 percent pay cut; they could opt for a mini-sabbatical at 30 percent base pay; they could opt for both of the above; or they could stick with their current arrangement.

The programme was hugely successful. Over 80 percent of KPMG’s professional employees (men and women) volunteered to take one of the flexible options. This allowed KPMG to achieve its goal of retaining jobs while cutting costs.

Because Flexible Futures positioned shorter workweeks and mini-sabbaticals as a strategic response to the downturn rather than a “benefit” for working mothers, it has gone some distance to legitimising flex time. Taking this option has become an honored choice — a way to save jobs. As a result, overloaded men as well as overloaded women have felt free to vary their schedules.

It's all about the method of application. I've written before about fathers' fear of asking for flexible hours because of the perceived worry it will be detrimental to their careers. But in these cash-poor days business needs to find a way to cut costs without cutting jobs and flexible policies work - they just need to pitch it right.

More Resources Showing Flexible Policies Work...

Simple policy tweak improves workers' health, productivity ...

Implementing flexible policies can add years to your employees' lives, according to a three-year nationwide study released by the Work, Family and Health Network. The following findings for the study were compiled by eight ...

S&C Chair Credits Flexible Policies for Women-Dominated ...

Rodgin Cohen told the New York Law Journal that the high-percentage of women is due to policies such as flex-time and maternity leave that are designed to retain more women lawyers. "I think hopefully as we have more and more women ...

Related Articles...

UK government promoting work-life balance (americablog.com)
Bosses told: make new jobs fit with family life (guardian.co.uk)
What The Hell Is A "Lipstick Entrepreneur?" [Makeup 4Ever] (jezebel.com)

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Your Telecommuting Policy

2009-12-22T15:18:00.001Z

Image via Wikipedia

There are many benefits to incorporating a telecommuting policy into most businesses, over 25% of companies have some level of telecommuting even if it's just a 'bad weather' policy.

However, making sure that the correct policies and procedures are in place will save on a lot of hassle down the road - think about the following aspects to ensure your trouble free telecommuting edge:

1 - Infastructure
We've all wasted a few hours work by forgetting to backup and save our work, frustrating but not a crisis. However, if a significant amount of company work is done outside of the immediate office network then making sure you have a backup is essential.

There are 2 broad options that can ensure the proverbial doesn't hit the fan - Cloud computing or a direct link to the company infastructure via broadband.

Linking directly to the company's database has been the most popular over recent years allowing telecommuters to change or add data and then the main network is backed up automatically. Although effective it can sometimes be slow, especially if the employee lives in a slow broadband area, and therefore frustrating. There is also a increased risk of a viral infection hitting your extended network.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic -- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

2 - Security
If the most sensitive data that your company uses is the price you pay for widgets then you probably won't get any pro hackers tapping in to your network but that data could still be very powerful in the wrong hands. A simple encryption and password protected system should be more than enough to protect most data but if you feel you need something stronger talk to a professional or take another look at cloud computing with high security as standard.

3 - Time or Results
One of the disadvantages of telecommuting, or advantage depending on your point of view, is that direct supervision of your workforce is not easily done. Depending on the tasks undertaken you should either pay telecommuters by time spent on a project or by results reached, given a stated level of quality. You may have a steep learning curve to realise the greatest bang for your buck but a well observed results experiment would be well advised at the start.

Other Telecommuting Policy Resources:

SmallBiz-Info: Establish a Telecommuting Policy

More than 25% of small businesses use telecommuting. And while there are clear benefits to telecommuting, it's not necessarily right for every business. If you are thinking of establishing a telecommuting policy for your business, ...

reasons to implement a telecommuting policy

telecommuting. being in the “web sphere” as it were, 3prime has the luxury of being accessible anywhere - at the office, from home, etc. b/c we have implemented a telecommuting policy that works for the ...

Related Articles:

What is Cloud Computing? (java.sys-con.com)
FCC chairman: Broadband access should be universal (sfgate.com)
Canada leads G-8 in adoption of broadband Internet access services (newswire.ca)

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5 Home Business Tools That Save Me Hours!

2009-12-22T15:11:00.001Z

When you spend the majority of your time sat in front of a computer building your home business then anything that can save you time isn't just useful - it shows on your bottom line. If you can save time on doing the day to day tasks you'll have more time concentrating on the revenue creating tasks - such as marketing and customer support.

My 5 favourite home business tools are listed below but there is one thing you really need - something I came across by accident after setting up a new computer in my office - a second screen. Trust me, with two open screens my productivity shot through the roof, less 'tab snapping' and great for having a 'resource' screen and a 'working' screen. Try it.

OK, so here they are, if you have any suggestions or if you've found a better option let me know in the comments.

1. Lastpass - I love this one. All those passwords you've got written down can now be kept in one place. Unlike microsoft explorers password storer this one holds your passwords on a secure server that you access with just one master password. After logging in it fills all those user/pass forms in for you automatically. It even stores profiles that you can use to fill in your address and credit card numbers. This one alone must save me an hour a week - highly recommended.

2. Ping - If you're still adding the updates to your blog on all the social network sites by hand then you need this badly. Ping.fm takes your blogs feed (or any feed) and then passes it on to over 30 different social sites making sure you get the best exposure. It takes a while to set up the accounts but once done you will literally save days in the month.

3. only2clicks - I'm sure this probably says a lot about my personality type but I really hate bookmarks. A dropdown where you have to search for the site you need or the group that it's in - hurts my eyes and my brain. The solution for me was only2clicks - a bookmarking site that stores your saved pages as screenshots under relevant tabs. It just produces a much nicer experience for me and I find I can navigate a great deal faster.

4. AWeber - Now I love my members, I really do, but if I had to write an email to every one and welcome them to the site I would get nothing else done. And then there's the explanation emails, the new feature email, the new jobs email - the list goes on. Thankfully, there's Aweber. This is the most robust autoresponder service on the web. As soon as a new lead signs up on your website for free info or a call back or to receive a newsletter AWeber starts delivering the info they need. It drip feeds information to your potential customers hopefully convincing them of your service or professionalism until they decide to bite and give you money. It stops your leads from going cold and turns them into eager buyers without you having to constantly keep them up-to-date manually.

5. RSS - We've all heard of RSS and you may have clicked that link a few times to see what happens. But it seems that few people in the non-webby business world have actually grasped the power of it. It is the perfect method to consume focused information. If you have a company in the widget industry you can go to every top website or blog in that industry and grab their RSS. Those RSS's are then put into your favourite reader and you have the most comprehensive and cutting edge newspaper in the world. Every day when you boot up the computer you will have all the latest news from your business world at your finger tips.

For the nuts and bolts of RSS take a look at the video below and don't forget to sign up to mine.

http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&","allowfullscreen":"true"" src="http://blog.hiremyparents.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/media/img/trans.gif" height="344" alt="" width="425" />

Those are my 5 favourites, if you have any further suggestions then please comment so we can share them.

Related articles...

Google Wave (silenciobarnes.com)
Microsoft Office Live ~ 5GB of Online storage! (momblognetwork.com)

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9 Ways to Gain Expert Recognition

2009-11-30T17:26:00.001Z

No matter what business you are in it always helps to be seen as an expert. If you were calling someone to fix a drain or sell your house you would approach the person you saw as most credible and reputable in that area of expertise. To become an expert takes hard work and experience. It can involve study or the honing of practical skills. It demands high standards of work. But after all this effort will you be perceived as an expert? If you feel you've earned the mantle of expert but are not recognized as one, here are nine ways to start establishing your reputation.

Publish a book or series of reports The internet has made this much easier. You can now create an ebook that can be downloaded without having to involve a publisher. A well-written book or series of reports will establish your reputation as an expert in your field.

Publish a newsletter Set one up on the internet and distribute it to your customers. This is an excellent way to regularly keep your name in front of your prospects as an authority on your subject. I personally use aweber for distribution and find it very robust.

Write press releases Used correctly these can gain you a lot of positive publicity. Make sure the press release looks like newsworthy information and not like an advertisement.

Write Articles By publishing information packed articles, you'll soon enjoy the status of being seen as an authority on your topic. This can lead to joint ventures and many other exciting opportunities that you would have never enjoyed otherwise!

Create a website Set up a user-friendly website that will appeal to customers and you have expanded the reach of your reputation. Keep it timely and informative, and people will continue to return to your site. If you don't know how to set up a website stay tuned I'll be releasing part one of my 'idiots guide' (literally) later this week.

Join associations If you are a member of an association it will enhance your credibility. But don't just be a member. Be an active member. This will build your reputation among your peers and lead to useful introductions. Membership can have many benefits, and it will certainly keep you up to date in your field.

Networking You can boost your reputation and influence by speaking to the right people. Keep your name in front of your prospects. Organize mutually beneficial ventures. You cannot predict what may come from a contact so make as many as you can.

Public Speaking Even speaking to a local group of people can establish you as an expert and get you referrals that may lead to a wider audience. If you are not sure you can speak in public, preparation and rehearsal are the keys to success. Make sure your presentation is aimed at the right level, follows a sensible sequence and will not sound like a dry textbook-like monologue. Write your main points on small cards so you are not relying solely on your memory and start in front of a small audience.

Teach workshops or seminars If you have knowledge that people would like to tap into you can pass on your expertise. If your presentation is well planned you will be seen as an authority in your subject. You will also meet people who are likely to recommend you to others. If you are teaching a hot topic you will also be gaining a useful income stream. Any of these methods will start building your reputation as an expert. Use them all correctly and you will gain the sort of reputation that will have potential clients approaching you without having to seek them out.

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The hiremyparents expert panel

2009-11-25T19:59:00.001Z

Just a quickie to let you know the line-up of experts that we’ve managed to assemble for the hiremyparents dream team. I think we’ve covered everything but if you think there’s anyone else (you?) who’d be a great asset to the team, and help parents get the flexibility they need, then simply make a comment and we’ll see what we can do.

Antonia Chitty
Antonia is an award winning entrepreneur, author and mum to three. She founded PR agency ACPR after the birth of her daughter. She says, “I’d never thought of working for myself until I spent six months unhappily juggling a full time job and rarely seeing my daughter. A session with a life coach showed me that there was another way.” Since then, Antonia has developed ACPR and written nine books. She blogs daily on flexible work and enterprise at www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk and has offers help to other mums who want to start or develop a business through www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk.

Emma Jones
Emma is the founder of Enterprise Nation the home business website. Over 100,000 people visit the site each month to read lively features and watch the home business show. As well as the site, Enterprise Nation runs the Home Business Awards, produces the annual Home Business Report and advises Government on the topic.

Following a career with an international accountancy firm, Emma started her first home business at the age of 27 and successfully sold it 15 months after launch. Emma’s book ‘Spare Room Start Up – how to start a business from home’ was published by Harriman House in May 2008 and became Waterstones’ business book of the month on publication. Emma’s second book ‘Working 5 to 9 – how to start a business in your spare time’ will be published in early 2010. You can follow Emma on Twitter.

Majella Wilkins
Return2WorkMums offers career coaching and networking plus lots of employment news and tips specifically for women thinking about or actively planning their return to work. Majella is a co-founder and will help you get excited about a return to work and all the available options.

Gavin Davis
Gavin is the owner of RedStarResume, specialists in resumes and covering letters. He’ll be happy to field any questions from our members in relation to their resumes.

Joycellyn Akuffo
A journalist with more than 10 years experience Joycellyn is all about quality content. If you want to attract customers, give yourself a professional image then you need to portray that in your online and offline work – your content. Joycellyn is the founder of www.motherswhowork.co.uk and she can help you to develop your content for blogging, PR, sales material or whatever you use to capture leads or sell your services.

Anna Martin
Anna Martin’s background is communication based. A freelance journalist, for over 20 years, her skills have developed to incorporate personal development, holistic awareness and understanding, and include Soul & Spirit Healing, Intuitive Life Coaching, Future Life Progression, Past Life Regression, Reiki, Angelic Alchemy, Indian Head Massage, Japanese Hand Massage and Meditation. She is also an experienced Agony Aunt. Anna, who is based in Kent, has experienced many of the issues you may present, and is therefore able to offer empathy and support and to nurture your dreams with an informal approach. Anna is the founder of www.mylifesupport.com

Steve Pritchard
Our very own Steve, steveathmp for you twitterers, has been making a living online since 2002 (the stone-age in web terms) and advised many start-ups on their online presence and marketing. You can contact Steve directly on a range of topics from building a website that converts, using social media to ramp up your word-of-mouth, search engine optimisation, ppc, traffic tactics etc. When you join hmp you are given the option to join Steve’s free online guide to ‘Building a Small Business Website’ – not just how to make it pretty but how to make it drive traffic, convert leads and build reputation.

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Fathers Fear Asking For Flexible Hours

2009-10-21T11:31:00.001+01:00

It's been revealed that although working fathers in the UK want to spend more time with their children, many are fearful of a potential backlash from their employers when asking for flexible hours. According to a study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, 40% of fathers say they spend too little time with their children. The report also shows that 45% of men fail to take two weeks' paternity leave, while two in five say that asking for flexible working arrangements would result in their commitment to their job being questioned and would hinder their chances of a promotion. Andrea Murray, acting group director strategy from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, says: "It is clear that today's families require a modern approach to balancing work and childcare commitments. Fathers are telling us they are not spending enough time with their families and want to take a more active role in shaping the lives of their children. "Two-thirds of fathers see flexible working as an important benefit when looking for a new job. This highlights an opportunity for British businesses to use flexible working as an incentive for attracting and retaining the most talented of employees. Some companies which have adopted forward thinking policies towards families are reporting increased productivity, reduction in staff turnover, reduced training costs and an ability to respond better to customer requirements."

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hiremyparents Benefit No.1 – “job search”

2009-10-08T15:36:00.001+01:00

If you're looking for flexible work that can fit around your hectic life then bypass the millions (literally) of junk ads, scams, conventional jobsites and too-good-to-be-true business opportunities and take a look at hiremyparents.com By allowing only flexible jobs and projects, from legitimate companies, to be posted on our site you start your job search with only relevant positions and projects. These jobs are pre-screened by hand and then categorised by the flexibility they offer, the industry they are in and the type of position offered, from freelance to full-time. Oh...and it's free. If you want to post a position, it's free. If you want to apply for a position, it's free. OK?

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Grant Writing - Outsourcing Suggestion 42

2009-10-08T11:32:00.001+01:00

To get funding for your initiative, you’ll need to convince the reader that your effort will be worthwhile and worthy of funding, and at the same time you’ll need to format and craft your grant proposal in the way organisations expect. The success or failure of your search for funding often rests on the quality of the grant proposal itself. A skilled provider can effectively communicate your mission, your goals, your short- and long-range plans, and how your project will make a real impact.

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Flexible Work For Parents

2009-10-05T13:26:00.001+01:00

Thought you might like a sneaky peek at our new video - Flexible Work For Parents - let me know what you think.

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Parent Registrations Hits 500

2009-09-30T13:16:00.001+01:00

Quite frankly I'm gobsmacked. I mean we all knew that there was a need for a service like hiremyparents but hitting 500 parent registrations in less than a week has taking us all by surprise. Worry 1 being that we haven't finished beta testing the job board yet and when we hits 1000 it's supposed to go live. I suppose these are good problems to have, we'll just have to totally ignore our children over the coming week or so, the irony.

As well as the burst in parent registrations we also have some very exciting news on the business member side of things. We have partnered up with a small business supplier whose list of customers beggars-belief and we will be their sole outsourcing supplier. What this means is that as well as the independent companies posting jobs and projects to our site there will also be a VERY big player pointing all their customers' job & project needs to us.

If you haven't registered for a free lifetime business or parent membership yet, do it now or tell someone that'll want it! This whole thing has accelerated faster than we could have imagined and although I predict a slight delay in our launch we will cut the free membership offer at 1000 for parents and 250 for companies. hiremyparents.com - coming soon!

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Working mothers detrimental to childrens health

2009-09-29T12:32:00.001+01:00

Here we go again. A UK survey of more than 12,500 five-year-olds found those with working mothers less active and more likely to eat unhealthy food.

They found that five-year-olds whose mothers worked part-time or full-time were more likely to primarily consume sweetened drinks between meals.

They used their computers or watched television for at least two hours a day compared to the children of "stay at home" mothers who spent less than two hours on these activities.

They were also more likely to be driven to school compared to the children of "stay at home" mothers who tended to walk or cycle.

The children whose mothers had a flexible working pattern did have healthier lifestyles but when other factors were taken into account the researchers said there was little evidence that these children behaved more healthily.

RANT: Once again the mother's of the world have had a bucketful of guilt and worry thrown over them from the establishment for wanting to work for a living and provide an income. We all know that everything would be great if all parents could work from home but some jobs just have to be done at the place of work - it's a fact of life. What this report - from the Institute of Child Health - doesn't say is what we can do about it.

For years the government's of the westernized world have been actively encouraging mothers into work and act surprised when our children all start getting fat and acting like feral dogs. I'm all for parents working, everyone should work, it's good for the soul and the purse. But it's the type of work that's as important as the act of working itself. When policy was put in place to get these parents into work it was focused on the same old methodology of up at 7am, in traffic at 8am, working at 9am. There was no brainstorming going on in those government offices, no "is there a way we can have it all" questions.

If someone had actually made some effort and given it some thought then maybe they would have come up with some enlightened policy for parents returning to work - for the nation as a whole. In S.Korea right now there is a broadband network that can deliver 1000Mbps - a 1000!!! My supplier says 'up to 10Mbps' and that's a bloody lie. Can you imagine what could be done from any location with infastructure like that - any doc, video, software, net-meeting, examination, surgery, interview or architects drawing could be seen, worked on and consulted on in real-time. You'd never have to leave the house.

What if, instead of spending $Bn on turning a 6 lane motorway into a 10 lane motorway each new parent was given a free laptop, an internet connection like the one above and access to a service like hiremyparents. What if, instead of building and extending airports around the world for millions of business travellers to use you gave them an internet infastructure that would negate the need to travel, travelling would just be a waste of time and a needless destruction of a planet that's already had enough of us.

If governments around the world could just get out of this tunnel-vision approach and see the possibilities that a new generation of technology and inspired thinking could bring about they would save $Tn (actually using the word trillions - mind-boggling), give parents the opportunity to turn their children's TV's off and take them for a walk and massively decrease the strain on our global travel network and the planet itself.

It's a big job - I know that. It would be a massive upheaval for the world of work but look at the benefits, look at the alternative if we don't do something. It would be like Bladerunner but with really fat kids.

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hiremyparents blog - officially brilliant!

2009-09-29T12:29:00.001+01:00

That's right, this blog is officially brilliant. As of yesterday we are a featured blog on alltop.com the most exclusive compiler and aggregator of blogs in the world. We're now rubbing shoulders with the likes of Seth Godin, Mashable and CNN!! Alltop takes all the best blogs out there on specific subjects and lets you compile them in to your daily read - like your own customised newspaper. Take a look and get your own feed now - it's completely free - and don't forget to add us because we're brilliant.

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The Definition Of Flexible Working

2009-09-29T12:28:00.001+01:00

So you know you need to get flexible with your work, you want to spend more time at home, so what do you look for? Well as usual between the planet's governments and the HR industry they've come up with a bewildering number of terms to describe every conceivable kind of flexible work. I'm afraid I don't have the power to shorten that list but I have come up with the no-frills guide to the definition of flexible working. Flexible Working 'Flexible Working' is a phrase that describes any working pattern adapted to suit other's needs Flexi Time People start and end the day at different times matched to business requirements by arriving earlier or working longer days. An example of this is that by accruing time each day outside your regular hours you could then use flexi time accrual for family care, school holidays and other personal reasons. Job Sharing Job sharing is an arrangement where two or more people share one full-time job, each working part-time on a regular basis. Job-sharing offers flexibility because it is tailored to suit the needs of the organisation, the job sharers and the nature of the job. School Hours School time is generally from 9.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday but varies from school to school. Working part time within school hours will allow you to care for your children before and after school. Home Based Working People spend the majority of their time working from a home based office. There are a number of arrangements for this type of works. Examples are you may be a sales agent or representative or you may have an employer without an office near you so you manage their local operations from a home office, you work for an employer telecommuting but from your own home, or you could be self employed and or work as a contractor or a freelancer. Occasional Home Based Working People spend some time working from home and the rest of the week at the office. Compressed Time People work the same total hours, but over fewer days thus freeing up days to spend on other things. Sometimes they work a combination of long and short days, which fit around other commitments in their lives. An example, instead of working 8.30am to 5.00pm over five days, you may work from 8.00am to 6.00pm over a four day period. Annualised Hours People work varying hours within an annual total. These hours are agreed either weekly or monthly to suit varying circumstances. For example you will get paid the same amount every month even though you don’t work in January. Staggered Hours Staggered hours working has flexible start and finish times. It is not intended to reduce the number of working hours from normal full time hours and does not accrue "extra" hours. The contracted hours and employee benefits remain unchanged. Accrual Of Hours Or Time Banking People work longer hours at some times so that they can accrue time off to use at other times. An example of this would be to work a 10 hour day to enable you to take time off during the school holidays. Volunteer A Volunteer is a person who works without any payment for your skills and time, although you may be reimbursed for expenses. People also volunteer to gain skills. Full Time A person is employed by the Employer between 38-40 hours per week as determined by the Employer. Such work may occur either at the usual place of business, a location to which the business of the Employer requires the employee to travel, from a home office or a combination. Part Time A part time employee works less than full time ordinary hours and has reasonably predictable hours of work. They receive the same employment entitlements (on a pro rata basis) associated with permanent employment, such as personal and annual leave. Casual People are employed on an irregular basis with no set roster or routine as to when they work. Furthermore, there is no guarantee of ongoing employment. Casuals, unlike permanent employees, are employed on an 'as needs' basis, often to meet a changing workload within the workplace. Temporary/Contract A temporary job is one which has all the same conditions and entitlements as a permanent job but has a fixed start and end date and it can be flexible with hours and locations Freelance Is a self-employed person who pursues a profession without a long term commitment to any particular employer. Freelancers sell or contract their work to a client rather than being employed by a business. Self Employment Is where a person works for themselves rather than someone else or an employer that they do not own. To be self-employed, an individual is normally highly skilled in a trade or service for their local community. Self-employed people can also be referred to as a person who works for himself/herself instead of an employer but drawing income from a trade or business they operate personally. Business Opportunity Legal definitions vary. In simple terms, a business opportunity is a packaged business investment that allows the buyer to begin a business. Business opportunities are difficult to define because the term means different things to different people.

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How To Start A Business..Safely

2009-09-29T12:26:00.001+01:00

Firstly I want to draw your attention to an excellent article on starting a business by Kathryn Hopkins at the Guardian website - link below. It gives some excellent advice on the nuts and bolts of taking an idea, testing it and running with it.

What it also draws attention to is the risk factor - what happens if you plough your savings into a business and it falls flat on it's ass. With today's economy you can't just say 'ah well' and go and get another job. Saying that - how safe is your job at the moment? Big picture? I'd say there hasn't been a more ideal time to start your own business in the last 15 years than the present time - but do it safely.

Safely? By its very nature starting your own business isn't safe - it's gambling - literally. You take a load of money and place it on your hard work and instincts to win. With luck you succeed and of course there are always safer bets than others. For instance - if you're an accountant setting up your own firm serving small businesses it's a good bet - business has always needed accountants, it has a tried and tested structure and as long as you do your research right chances are it will make a profit. However, if your life-long dream has been to be a magician then the whole profit and loss comes down to a wing and a prayer and your sheer persistence and fight. When I went to my bank manager and said I wanted to start a business supplying flexible work opportunities to parents she looked like I'd just pulled a gun on her. It was outside her knowledge base, it was an unknown and so too risky to place a bet on. It was an idea without a triple A rating from a company that the bankers pay to triple A rate things - I'll stop there before I start to rant.

As it turns out I have that banker to thank for my present circumstances - I am a few weeks away from launching my company with hundreds of parents and companies already in the mix ready to post jobs and fill them - I have absolutely no debt assigned to the company - and a couple of business partners that are as passionate about the company as I am. How did I pull this off? I did it safely.

What do I mean by safely? I mean that I didn't place a bet, I took the risk out of it and replaced the risk with hours of hard work. For the last year and a half I have been paid to do what I know - which is small business - and have advised start-ups on every aspect of their structure, marketing and funding. When I'd finished that for the day I went home and built another page or wrote another script for this website. I had cash coming in but at the same time I was slowly building an asset in the background until I was ready to fully commit and press the button. And that's how you make the break.

Do not make the mistake of just chucking it all in and going for your dreams...your independence. That's a fools methodology. Take it slow and give yourself a second job and focus on the outcome further down the road when you can go for it with a good foundation. Because you might just lose the bet.

This is where hiremyparents can help. We have all sort of flexible jobs on offer, part-time, job share etc. but we also have hundreds of freelance projects available that could see you through to starting your own business. If you're in marketing and recently became a marketing parent and want to spend more time at home then apply for the marketing projects on the job board and build a customer base while being paid. When you feel the time is right send all those companies an email with your new company's logo on it saying you're open for business as a legal entity. They know you and they know your work so you're off to a head-start. If you sent them an email without forming a relationship before-hand you'd have been deleted before they read the subject line.

There is no way to start a business with complete safety - that's not the nature of things - but you can limit the risk by lowering the bet and building a customer base through completing specifically targeted projects in your business to-be's market and forming relationships with the companies that will be your life-blood in the future.

Let me know your comments on this post and anything you'd like me to expand on. hiremyparents isn't just about offering the opportunities for parents to work flexibly but also about supporting them in their endeavours. Let us know what you want and we'll try and deliver the resources you need.

Link to Guardian article

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Legitimate work from home jobs?

2009-09-17T10:17:00.001+01:00

You see this spouted everywhere – legitimate work from home jobs, earn $xxx per day! legitimate work from home jobs, earn from your computer!

It’s got to the point that if you see the word “legitimate” you immediately believe that it isn’t. What do they mean by legitimate? If you take them up on their offer and start to work then by that very act it is legitimate – as long as you’re paid (and not doing the books for the Mob)

Which I think gets to the crux of the matter – whatever it is you decide to do or try to break from the standard 9-5 is legitimate if you get paid – unfortunately most of these offers (if not all) only get one person into profit and that’s not you.

During our beta test of hiremyparents we have had our parents start a bewildering variety of ventures from your standard ‘virtual secretary’ to a high end ‘dog conditioner’ (dog trainer not dog shampoo, should probably talk to her about the title) and all of them have been legitimate because at the end of a working day they were a little bit richer than before.

So how do you make sure you’ll get paid? Well, there is no absolute guarantee. If you start doing a product launch plan for GAP or design the look of a new widget for SONY then chances are you’ll get a cheque – their reputation isn’t worth damaging – especially in todays socially connected world (more on that in a later post). But what if you’re doing the VAT for ‘Cardboard Inc’ a small but profitable company based in Nowhere, Wales. If you do the work how do you know they’ll pay up without any grief? Again, there are no guarantees but a bit of research could save you a lot of hassle down the road.

Below is a list of resources for the US and UK that you can use to check up on the companies that sign your cheques. Unless you’ve pulled off a $1m contract with someone I wouldn’t go too in-depth, just make sure that they’re legit and maybe do a google search for the company with the word ‘complaint’ added to the search box – you’ll be amazed at what pops up (social media again).

All in all I’ve heard no complaints from our beta parents concerning non-payment, and if you do hit a big pay-day maybe you should use an Escrow service or get paid in installments. But remember, most companies will pay up without a squeek but it only takes one idiot to ruin your cash-flow so a little research goes a long way.

Hoover’s Online
http://www.hoovers.com/free/

Companies House
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/

Industrial Quick Search
http://www.industrialquicksearch.com/

IndustryLink
http://www.industrylink.com/

Foster Business Library
http://www.lib.washington.edu/business/bizweb/

Research Guides from the Baker Library, Harvard Business School
http://www.library.hbs.edu/guides/

Thomas Global Register
http://www.thomasglobal.com/

ThomasNet.com
http://www.thomasnet.com/

Manta
http://www.manta.com/

Rutgers Library Guide to Company Research
Thorough outline of company research issues and resources.
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/bus…

Yahoo’s Business to Business Directory
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/

D & B Small Business Solutions
http://smallbusiness.dnb.com/

BizWeb
http://www.bizweb.com/

Business.com
http://www.business.com/

Research Guides – Business & Management
http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/guides/business/

Industry Research Desk
http://www.virtualpet.com/industry/

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Interview with home business advisor - Antonia Chitty

2009-08-31T16:20:00.001+01:00

I was lucky enough this week to finally have a quick chat with Antonia Chitty, a much respected guide to the 'work from home' community and home business advisor. She talks about generating ideas for a home business and how to publicise it. Her links are below:

Click To Hear

Antonia's Links:

www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk – the essential business start up guide for mums

www.prbasics.co.uk – handy tools to help you promote your business

www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk – a great place to start if you’re looking for ideas on how to combine working life and family

Check out our blog about flexible work for parents

Work from home time ?and how to gain it

2009-08-21T10:55:00.001+01:00

Five Tips on Gaining Work From Home Time -

1. Plan ahead & Plan Well – this is a well trodden path but it’s well worth repeating. I’m not just talking about a to-do list here, I’m talking about taking all that RAM of info in the front of your brain and setting it down in a system you can trust will not let you forget anything and give you a much extended work from home time. When you have a system your stress goes down, everything is covered and you’re more creative and able to function on focused tasks. The grand master of all this and the guy that wrote “Getting Things Done” is David Allen, instigate his method, it has changed the way I work forever and dinner is always on time
2. One hour of Quiet Time early in the morning – I can get more accomplished in this hour than I normally can all day. Getting up before the kids (and spouse) is precious. It takes time but you DO get used to – and addicted –to it.
3. Keep Phone Calls Minimal– And Short . Friends have a tendency to think we have plenty of spare “chat” time, so avoid all unnecessary phone calls during your peak work times. Talk to friends while cooking dinner or on the way to pickup the kids. Don’t even pickup calls from telemarketers, bill collectors, or anyone you don’t know.
4. Use your computer! Email is so much quicker to get a complete message to someone without all the chit-chat. You can send a cordial email and get your message (and answer) much quicker. Use your computer to pay bills and any other tasks you can automate. (birthday greetings, homework help, alarms, calendars, reminders) I have all my bills set up on auto-pay, and let me tell you, bills get paid while I am asleep and it reduces my stress A LOT. More tools homeworkers coming soon.
5. Take breaks. You can become a bundle of stress if you don’t stop to eat, take a swim, or even a nap when you’re sick. (Yes you are allowed to be sick.) Convince the kids to nap with you if need be. I find if I am so tired I can’t function, a short nap will recharge my batteries and let me make it through the rest of the night.

There will always be a struggle for work-at-home-parents to achieve balance. We all find things that work for us and the trick is to use the tools we do find, it doesn’t do my family any good if I am such a grouch from working.

Men's Brain Women's Brain

2009-08-13T15:22:00.001+01:00

Not exactly related to what I usually do but I just love this video
and would appreciate your thoughts.

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Working From Home - Be Warned!

2009-07-23T10:55:00.002+01:00

Working from home can sound like an impossible dream, getting up when you want, working when you want, having time to watch a couple of hours of Jeremy Kyle before you knuckle down, it must be heaven right? Well it can be, it can deliver the balance between home and work that you have always known was possible but have never managed to achieve. It could allow you to look after young ones, or older ones at home, while still earning a living. But there are some very important things to consider before you throw in that job and work from home.

The first is that your home is now your work place. You need somewhere that you can devote to your work, that you can keep your work in and that you can leave at the end of a working day without fear that young Johnny will have coloured in all the ‘o’s on that tax return you were preparing for an important client. If you are going to work on the phone the area you work from needs to be quiet, no one is going to be impressed if your efficient businesslike manner is drowned out by the baby having a tantrum! So make sure that you choose work that suits your lifestyle. If there is a lot of background noise then it’s probably best to steer clear of the adult chat line jobs. You’re unlikely to sound so alluring with an insistent voice shouting mummy! mummy! at your elbow. If you are undertaking telephone answering work for clients remember that to all intents and purposes you are supposed to be in the office of your client, so extraneous noise from children, washing machines, pets etc. is not giving the right impression.

The other thing is that you will now have to heat your home and light it during the day, which you may not have had to do before. The expense of this needs to be taken into consideration.

Getting into a routine is important. You really cannot afford to get sidetracked by Jeremy Kyle or anything else if you are working from home. This aspect of home working can be the most difficult for people to adjust to. But it is vital that you discipline yourself, especially if there are going to be other calls on your time at different times of the day. Work out a timetable that allows you to work at times when the children are at school or an elderly parent is out at a day club, and stick to it. It is all to easy to think that you can just flick the vacuum around while the house is quiet which leads to a bit of dusting or tinkering in the garden and before you know it you are up against a deadline with the house full of children and other demands on your time.

So before you take the plunge, think it through.

How much time do you have?
What work would suit you best?
Where will you work?
Will you have enough work to pay the bills?

We can help you with the last bit.

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What?..Why?

2009-07-15T20:21:00.002+01:00

I'll start with the 'why' first.

I've been a business owner for most of my adult life, I should say a 'small' business owner - I've never had more than 4 staff working for me, a few of them I would walk over coals for, most of them did what they had to do, and some of them enjoyed me throwing money at them for no return. A common story I'm sure.

I sold up 2 years ago with the birth of my second daughter, determined not to miss another childhood, and became the full-time dad to them both while my wife went to work for BT. We got along fine - bills were paid and seasons passed. Until about 6 months ago - I was getting restless.

I started searching around for ways of making some money - nothing stressful, a bit here and there while the kids were at pre-school or, better yet, asleep. I entered the often bizarre world of Work From Home (WFH) opportunities:- typing, paid shopper, email reading, avon lady, blogging, data entry, cold calling, virtual 'human', crafting, door-to-door energy sales, transcription, envelope stuffer - so on and so on. Not to mention that never-world of internet marketing - "make a gazillion before breakfast on Google", "Twitter Zillionaire", "I make £30,000 a day selling crap - you can too!"

I needed convincing, so as any modern member of society would do I went to the forums. Hello? Anyone there? I need advise and information from a complete stranger.

The news was fairly neutral, people made a few quid, sold some mascara, stuffed some envelopes; but it wasn't a particularly optimistic vista with chanting fans and die-hard promoters. But something happened - I started to talk to parents on the forums about all kinds of stuff - got to know them. And I found something out.

These people were highly qualified professionals, former entrepreneurs, deputy foreign office diplomats - you name it, they were players! So what the hell were they doing asking how much each other got per cold call? What a waste! Did the British economy know this lot was here?

And there is your 'why'

There is a vast pool of untapped talent being wasted on menial tasks because people want to be parents. Just because they want to spend more time at home and see their kids grow up they're expected to happily drift off into obscurity and forget about all those skills - all that experience they developed before their priorities changed.

My entrepreneurial senses started twitching and I thought about starting a business with a few of them, maybe something in marketing or design - consultants! That's it! A whole teams of specialist consultants working the hours they want when they want. Doing the job right because they know about responsibility, hard work, reliability - they were parents!

I was very excited - it was going to take a lot of hard work to set up but once we had our business structure in place and business cards printed we would be unstoppable. But then... I stopped. All of a sudden I had parents coming out of the woodwork asking to be part of the team - "I'm a mechanical engineer" - "I'm a corporate lawyer" - "I've got 20 years experience in selling widgets" - you get the idea. We couldn't possibly find enough work. Then the light bulb came on.

The 'What'

With the wings falling off BA, no more 'pick-and-mix' at Woolworths and small businesses everywhere desperatley trying to cut costs the new 'flexible working' legislation came at just the right time for hard-pushed firms. Those that wanted to go part-time had the requisite form shoved in front of them and their hours cut with immediate effect. Home-working has become favourable, with many firms getting rid of their premises completely. But it won't last for ever - eventually we'll pop our heads above the parapet and realise there are some customers at the door and everything will go back to normal. Not.

I believe that if we play this right, society I mean, then we can really make a few changes coming out of this recession. Companies will wise up to the fact that people can work just as well at home as in the office - a computer's a computer wherever it is and with broadband, skype, webcams and online tools the 'where' really doesn't matter.

You've heard the arguments - lower emmissions from commuting, lower costs on business premises, a gradual meshing of society as people become a local community again - all good stuff.

But if companies are going to take advantage of the lower costs of home-workers, part-time staff and even freelancers where are they going to find them? You're ahead of me aren't you?

Where are companies going to find a pool of experienced staff and professionals that actually want to work flexibly? Mmm, let me think.

That's 'what' hiremyparents is. A resource that business can use to find the quality staff it needs and that is willing to work flexibly - in fact...they demand it. Parents not only win by getting a wage doing what they've trained to do (no envelope shoving) but they also get to cut down or get rid of the childcare. Can I hear a 'woh..ho'! That's money in the bank already.

Opening up this parent resource will open the tap on skills coming into the workforce, and not just any workforce, these people have kids to provide for. Do you think that's a good enough reason to do a good job? Do you think they have a vested interest in making sure business comes back to them again and again?

And it doesn't stop there. These parents will go on to start their own companies, with the revenue that businesses looking for reliable workers gave them. They'll prove themselves and get full-time flexible jobs with the companies that previously outsourced to them. A whole swaith of this demographic, unrestrained and unleashed will push the economy on and on.

I should write speeches.

Alright, I started to rant, but do you see the possibilities? Business can use hiremyparents to post there jobs: flexible working, part-time, freelance or contract straight to the site and our parents' inbox. Parents can then apply knowing that the business understands that they are parents with a parent's responsibility but also a parent's maturity, reliability and need to provide a top notch service.

hiremyparents.co.uk launches in the Autumn. We're currently giving away free membership to 1000 parents and 250 businesses from our blog with only the slightest of catches. You'll see when you get there.

Give it a go - Britain needs you

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Employees Believe Flexible Working Can Boost Job Markets Across Europe

2009-07-14T12:39:00.001+01:00

• 85% of employees believe flexible working creates new jobs, keeps people in work and provides opportunities for them to get back into work
• 61% of workers would insist on working this way if flexible working rights were introduced to their country through new legislation
• 67% believe flexible workers are happier and 51% think they are more productive
• 59% believe key motivators for businesses to take up flexible working are increased productivity and the desire to keep talented workers with family commitments in work...

Complete article

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Top Tips For Cheap Childcare

2009-07-14T08:49:00.001+01:00

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Things to think about before starting your home-based business

2009-07-13T16:32:00.001+01:00

hiremyparents will be with you all the way once you've started your home business, we'll deliver all the leads and opportunities you require, but being a parent is pretty much a full time job as it is, things can get tough. Take a look at these base questions and really think whether a home-based business is for you. The rewards are amazing, both financially and for your lifestyle, but you should take a long look in the mirror first because it will be hard and often lonely work.

1. Does your business have legs? Have you researched your business idea, your customer base and competition? If you haven't you're not ready to go it alone.
2. What are you going to do about childcare? Working from home, means working from home. This means you still need childcare. If you can't afford it or intend to work when your kids are asleep or in school, ask yourself can your business and your stress levels take it?
3. Is your family behind you 100% and can you afford to fail? Depressing thought but essential to know because starting a new business is time consuming and a money drain for very little return in the first year.
4. Have you sorted your finances out? Do you know what your start up costs are and how you're going to find the money?
5. Can you really work alone? If you're good a good self starter who can motivate her/his-self, and pick her/his-self up when things go wrong being a home based entrepreneur could be the right choice for you.

The Top 10 Twitter SEO Tips

2009-06-25T18:55:00.001+01:00

via mashable.com

Excellent article for all twitterers. Google is watching

hiremyparents - reliable outsourced professionals

Tax relief for home workers

2009-05-06T14:48:00.001+01:00

Business owners who work from home should ensure they're not missing out on tax relief after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) issued new guidlines allowing a proportion of household bills to be tax deductible.

A new range of allowable expenses has been introduced relating to 'fixed costs', which means that business owners who use their home as a workplace can now claim tax free relief on reasonable amounts of their mortgage interest, council tax, rent, home insurance and repairs and maintenance.

A percentage of household running costs may also qualify for tax relief including cleaning, heat, light and power, telephone, broadband and metered water charges.

To be eligible for the relief, an area of your home must be set aside exclusively for business purposes for a prescribed amount of time. According to HMRC "somebody who's working at their kitchen table or on their laptop in front of the TV" will not qualify. The amount claimed must also be "reasonable".

This means that even if you only use your home for minor business tasks like writing up records you can still claim tax relief, but it must reflect the actual amount of time worked at home. The amount of relief HMRC will allow is also based on the number of rooms in the house, excluding bathrooms, toilets, kitchens and hallways.

Full details and computations at http://hmrc.gov.uk

hiremyparents - reliable outsourced professionals

Our New Video

2009-05-04T13:48:00.001+01:00

hiremyparents - reliable outsourced professionals

Grandparents to be 'paid' to look after grandchildren

2009-04-22T17:38:00.001+01:00

I'm in two minds over this one:

Firstly, great. It's about time all those wrinklies were compensated for all the school runs run and packed lunches packed.

However, isn't this another device that seperates parent from child, almost makes the split justifiable if the government can push childcare onto the grandparent. The other side of the coin is that this government, this society, is still forcing parents to work ridiculous hours under increasing stress just to be able to pay the bills. It's all set up to keep the wheels turning while generations of kids grow up without guidance or discipline.

What is needed is greater flexibility in the workforce, a greater focus on the needs of families not the bottom line, it's that bankers mindset that got us in this shit.

Break the cycle, you can have both family life and a career. Join the parent revolution.

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

The Worst Three Outsourcing Cities for -

2009-04-22T09:58:00.001+01:00

Corruption & Organized Crime

Bogota, Colombia
Juarez, Mexico
Johannesburg, South Africa

Heightening Trans-national & Geopolitical Issues

Delhi/Noida/Gurgaon, India
Jerusalem, Israel
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Unsecured or Unprotected Networks and Infrastructure

Bogota, Colombia
Bangkok, Thailand
Kingston, Jamaica

Unstable Currency

Bangkok, Thailand
Bogota, Colombia
Johannesburg, South Africa

Personal Crime Rate/Police-to-Citizen Ratio

Bangkok, Thailand
Johannesburg, South Africa
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Environmental Waste & Pollution

Bangalore, India
Chandigarh, India
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

High Terrorism/Rebel Target Threat

Mumbai, India
Delhi/Noida/Gurgaon, India
Jerusalem, Israel

Legal System Immaturity

Bangkok, Thailand
Bogota, Colombia
Kingston, Jamaica

Weather/Climate Threats

Kingston, Jamaica
Manila/Cebu/ Makati, Philippines
Bangkok, Thailand

Alternatively, you could outsource your freelance projects to a working parent in Leamington Spa

Thanks to http://www.cio.com

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

The 25 Riskiest Outsourcing Hubs in the World

2009-04-22T09:56:00.001+01:00

(Editor's note: Rankings based on mean scores in ten areas of risk as reported by The Brown-Wilson Group's "2009: The Year of Outsourcing Dangerously".)

Bogota, Colombia
Bangkok, Thailand
Johannesburg, South Africa
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kingston, Jamaica
Delhi/Noida/Gurgaon, India
Manila/Cebu/Makita, Philippines
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mumbai, India
Jerusalem, Israel
Curitiba, Brazil
Dalian, China
Juarez, Mexico
Brasilia, Brazil
Chandigarh, India
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Quezon City, Philippines
Accra, Ghana
Pune, India
Chennai, India
Hanoi, Vietnam
Bangalore, India
Hyderabad, India
Kolkata, India

Alternatively, you could outsource your freelance projects to a working parent in Leamington Spa

Thanks to http://www.cio.com

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Stay-At-Home Mums Leaving Home

2009-04-20T11:15:00.001+01:00

The effects of the credit crunch march on with new figures revealing 70% of stay-at-home mums are looking to return early to full-time employment.

In doing this, of course, the children will have to be looked after by paid help, which is increasing in cost, and so most of the money earnt by returning to work is blown on childcare. And so the vicious circle continues.

Some parents try and break the cycle by setting up franchises or taking up work-from-home opportunities. Good luck to them but have you actually done the maths on some of these things, you can invest £1000's just to break even in the first few years, hardly beneficial to cash flow.

So what to do? Go to work and be skint or stay at home and be skint?

If you have marketable skills that you've spent years using and honing do you think there are businesses out there that could use those skills? Bloody right there is! Especially in this climate there are businesses that are screaming for all sorts of things that they want doing, from legal work to engineering, but they don't want to fork out for a full time employee.

Take a look at our website where we try to give parents looking for flexible work or a business opportunity another option in the work-life struggle that many are facing.

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Flexible Working Survey Reassures UK Companies

2009-04-14T13:04:00.001+01:00

In a YouGov survey of over 2,000 parents currently working full-time, 17 per cent said they would definitely be making a flexible working request following the legislation, while 22 per cent were unsure. While the majority (61 per cent) intended to remain working full-time, the survey will make interesting reading for employers apprehensive about the number of requests set to come in.

Parents of children aged up to 16 now have the right to request flexible working, since the law was changed on April 6.

This previously applied to parents of children aged up to six, so 4.5 million parents have been encompassed by the change.

The survey was commissioned by workplace consultancy Croner, which argues that the finding should reassure bosses.

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Flexible hours for parents of under 16's in the UK

2009-04-06T07:54:00.001+01:00

Millions of parents with children up to the age of 16 will be able to request flexible working from their employers from today, under a change to the law which will dramatically increase the number of people entitled to ask for more family-friendly conditions.

Legislation introduced in 2003 allowed parents with children under the age of six to request flexible working from employers who were obliged to "seriously consider" any application and only reject it if there were "good business reasons for doing so".

Today's change means that an extra 4.5 million parents will now have the right to ask for flexible working, in addition to the 6 million parents and carers already eligible.

"Children don't stop needing their parents' time when they reach their sixth birthday," Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality said. "As any parent knows, older children going through the teenage years need just as much support and guidance. Mothers often tear their hair out trying to balance earning a living with bringing up their children and need more flexibility at work. And fathers want to be able to play a bigger part in bringing up their children."

The law gives all employees with children aged 16 and under and who have worked for a company for more than six months the right to ask for flexible hours - which could mean anything from working from home, working part-time, working agreed hours over fewer days, term-time working to job-sharing. Whether or not the employer agrees depends on whether they believe the arrangement would have a detrimental impact on the business. Employees only have the right to ask for child-friendly working arrangements but there is no guarantee that they will be granted them.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson is reported to have attempted to postpone the extension of the flexible working provision, which was promised last December, amid concern about the costs to companies which are struggling because of the recession, but he was overruled.

The Confederation of British Industry was uneasy over the timing of the announcement. "Although we accept the extension of the right to request flexible working, we don't think now, in a recession, is the best time to implement it," said John Cridland, the deputy director-general.

Sarah Williams-Gardener, director of Opportunity Now, which campaigns for gender equality in the workplace, welcomed the government's progressive approach. "The majority of workplaces are still designed around a mid-20th century lifestyle, with an outdated approach to where, when and how work happens," she said.

hiremyparents.co.uk - work from home projects for UK parents and outsourced professionals for UK companies

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

G20 - The Answers

2009-04-01T20:36:00.001+01:00

Problem 1 - "we've got no money"
Answer - everyone works from home, drastically cutting the costs of companies and ensuring they are viable until we get our money back.

Problem 2 - "the worlds melting and all the animals are dying"
Answer - everyone works from home, drastically cutting pollution from travel and the running/heating of the workplace. All the company buildings knocked down and replaced with green living stuff.

Problem 3 - "society is crashing around our ears"
Answer - everyone works from home, spending more time with our offspring and neighbours, forming social bonds and developing a mutual respect for each other.

Problem 4 - "every time I want a coffee it costs me £5"
Answer - everyone works from home, make your own and give the high street back to the local traders...comrade

Answers to global misery brought to you by - hiremyparents.co.uk - work from home projects for UK parents and outsourced professionals for UK companies

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Flexible Working For 4.5 million

2009-03-28T11:17:00.001Z

More than 10 million people will have the right to request flexible working from April 6th and government support is helping businesses get ready for the change.

Six million parents and carers already have the right to request flexible working from their employers, with another 4.5 million now gaining the right with its extension to parents of children aged 16 and under.

UK government Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said, "This is about balancing work and family life. Both workers and employers have felt the benefits of flexible working since we first introduced the right to request.

"Fewer mothers change jobs when they return to work meaning greater continuity for businesses and more employees have been able to work hours which help them cope with parental responsibilities.

"Firms can still say no if they have legitimate business concerns, but more than 95% of all requests for flexible working from working parents and carers are now accepted, as employers recognise the benefits more and more.

"Parenting doesn't end as children get older. Extending the right to request will help more parents get the flexibility they need. The business benefits of flexible working are well documented and this remains the case in tougher economic times."

All carers and parents of children aged up to six, or children with disabilities aged up to 18, already have the right to request flexible working, but an independent review by Imelda Walsh last year recommended that the right to request should be extended to parents of children aged up to 16.

Flexible working embraces a wide variety of working practices, including compressed hours, working from home, or any pattern of hours other than the standard one in an organisation. Benefits of flexible working to business include increased productivity and recruitment savings.

The government is boosting the free guidance and tools available to help businesses deal with flexible working requests.

hiremyparents.co.uk - flexible working for UK parents and outsourced professionals for UK companies

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Freelancers - Tips For Getting Paid

2009-03-28T09:15:00.001Z

Sole proprietors and freelancers don’t like talking about money but need to develop ways to do it. The incidence of late payment has increased as the economy has worsened and the self-employed need to protect their business interests.

1. Make sure clients understand payment terms before the project starts

Clients may not be as focused on the payment terms as the service provider. Making sure that clients are clear about the terms by talking them through up front - including discussion about exactly what is covered and when payment will be expected - sets the project up for success. Assuming the client understands everything without discussion may result in delay or other nasty surprises and being clear about money is easier at the start of a project than half way through.

2. Insist on advance deposits or retainers

Taking an advance deposit or retainer payment against a certain number of hours has two benefits. Firstly, it ensures that the client is serious about committing to the work at this time. Secondly, if the project goes south the freelancer or sole proprietor is at least covered for the initial portion of work completed. Ideally payment terms should be structured to allow for interim payments at agreed milestones during the project. If the interim invoice is not paid, the service provider can stop work on the project and protect herself that way.

3. Call clients a day or so before payment is due

Sometimes people get busy or disorganized. Calling up a client with a friendly reminder that the invoice due date is approaching can be an effective way to prompt them to action.

4. Follow up quickly on late payment

If an invoice goes unpaid,following up quickly is the best approach. The initial follow up should assume that there is some minor delay, forgetfulness or process issue at the client’s end. Further follow ups should take a stronger line.

5. Offer options to co-operative clients

The economy is affecting everyone. Sometimes clients set out in good faith but find themselves in more difficult cash flow circumstances than they expected. A payment plan, where the invoice is broken down into smaller monthly payments, for instance, may be a good option for clients in this situation . This makes the freelancer look professional and problem-solving, helps out clients who appreciate working with providers who show willing to be flexible and ensures that the freelancer sees payment in some form.

As these tips demonstrate, the most important thing for freelancers, the self-employed and small businesses is to make it as easy as possible for clients to do what you need them to do by being clear and direct.

by Alison Harrison

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

Try google'ing 'work from home'

2009-03-20T10:52:00.001Z

What you get back isn't work. It's hawkers desperately trying to sell you their latest way of making you rich. Cold-calling for commission, flogging perfume door to door, sitting by a phone all day as a 'virtual assistant'. They're not jobs, they're ideal ways of putting you into a coma as your life slowly slides by.

If you have skills find a job or a project suited to those skills. Don't sell your soul to something you have absolutely no interest in just to satisfy that need to spend more time at home for kids or lifestyle.

Do what you do but do it from home -

hiremyparents.co.uk - flexible working for UK parents and outsourced professionals for UK companies

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

A Brief History Of Outsourcing

2009-03-19T12:09:00.001Z

Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have grappled with how they can exploit their competitive advantage to increase their markets and their profits. The model for most of the 20th century was a large integrated company that can “own, manage, and directly control” its assets. In the 1950s and 1960s, the rallying cry was diversification to broaden corporate bases and take advantage of economies of scale. By diversifying, companies expected to protect profits, even though expansion required multiple layers of management. Subsequently, organizations attempting to compete globally in the 1970s and 1980s were handicapped by a lack of agility that resulted from bloated management structures. To increase their flexibility and creativity, many large companies developed a new strategy of focusing on their core business, which required identifying critical processes and deciding which could be outsourced.

Initial stages of evolution

Outsourcing was not formally identified as a business strategy until 1989. However, most organizations were not totally self-sufficient; they outsourced those functions for which they had no competency internally. Publishers, for example, have often purchased composition, printing, and fulfillment services. The use of external suppliers for these essential but ancillary services might be termed the baseline stage in the evolution of outsourcing. Outsourcing support services is the next stage. In the 1990s, as organizations began to focus more on cost-saving measures, they started to outsource those functions necessary to run a company but not related specifically to the core business. Managers contracted with emerging service companies to deliver accounting, human resources, data processing, internal mail distribution, security, plant maintenance, and the like as a matter of “good housekeeping”. Outsourcing components to affect cost savings in key functions is yet another stage as managers seek to improve their finances.

Strategic partnerships

The current stage in the evolution of outsourcing is the development of strategic partnerships. Until recently it had been axiomatic that no organization would outsource core competencies, those functions that give the company a strategic advantage or make it unique. Often a core competency is also defined as any function that gets close to customers. In the 1990s, outsourcing some core functions may be good strategy, not anathema. For example, some organizations outsource customer service, precisely because it is so important.

Eastman Kodak’s decision to outsource the information technology systems that undergird its business was considered revolutionary in 1989, but it was actually the result of rethinking what their business was about. They were quickly followed by dozens of major corporations whose managers had determined it was not necessary to own the technology to get access to information they needed. The focus today is less on ownership and more on developing strategic partnerships to bring about enhanced results. Consequently, organizations are likely to select outsourcing more on the basis of who can deliver more effective results for a specific function than on whether the function is core or commodity.

What is outsourcing

Outsourcing can be defined as “the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources”. Sometimes known also as “facilities management”, outsourcing is a strategy by which an organization contracts out major functions to specialized and efficient service providers, who become valued business partners. Companies have always hired contractors for particular types of work, or to level-off peaks and troughs in their workload, and have formed long-term relationships with firms whose capabilities complement or supplement their own. However, the difference between simply supplementing resources by “subcontracting” and actual outsourcing, is that the latter involves substantial restructuring of particular business activities including, often, the transfer of staff from a host company to a specialist, usually smaller, company with the required core competencies.

Why do companies outsource

Here are some common reasons:

    *

      Reduce and control operating costs
    *

      Improve host company focus
    *

      Gain access to world-class capabilities
    *

      Free internal resources for other purposes
    *

      A function is time-consuming to manage or is out of control
    *

      Insufficient resources are available internally
    *

      Share risks with a partner company

In earlier periods, cost or headcount reduction were the most common reasons to outsource. In today's world the drivers are often more strategic, and focus on carrying out core value-adding activities in-house where an organization can best utilize its own core competencies.

Main factors influencing successful outsourcing

The critical areas for a successful outsourcing program as identified are:

    *

      Understanding company goals and objectives
    *

      A strategic vision and plan
    *

      Selecting the right vendor
    *

      Ongoing management of the relationships
    *

      A properly structured contract
    *

      Open communication with affected individual/groups
    *

      Senior executive support and involvement
    *

      Careful attention to personnel issues
    *

      Short-term financial justification

Outsourcing process

There are four main aspects to a typical outsourcing program:

    *

      Program Initiation
    *

      Service Implementation
    *

      Final Agreement
    *

      Program closure

Program Initiation

At the start of any outsourcing program, there are a variety of ideas and opinions about the purpose and scope of the program, what the final result of the program will be, and how the program will be carried out. The Program Initiation Stage is concerned with taking these ideas and intentions and documenting them to form the basis of a draft contract

Service Implementation

Service Implementation covers the activities required to take these ideas and intentions and develop them into a formal, planned outsourcing program and to make the transition to the outsourced service. Specifically these activities are:

    *

      Defining the transition project
    *

      Transferring staff
    *

      Defining the Service Level Agreement (SLA)
    *

      Defining service reporting
    *

      Implementing and handing over the service
    *

      Implementing service management procedures

During the hand–over phase it is imperative that continuity of service is maintained at all times, that there is no reduction in the quality of the delivery and that timescales and deadlines are not compromised.

Final Agreement

The draft contract produced at the Initiation stage is generally amended during negotiations and the final Contract is produced on completion of the negotiation cycle.

Program Closure

In order to gain maximum benefit, the program should go through a formal close down. There is no point in continuing to argue lost causes once irrevocable decisions have been taken. Staff and companies alike need to accept the new situation and move forward. However, there will be a lot of information generated during the life of the program, and this will have been stored with varying degrees of formality by the team members. This information needs to be formally filed away for future reference.

How to decide whether to outsource

There are no simple criteria to conduct an outsourcing versus in-house analysis. The benefits associated with outsourcing are numerous, and one should consider each project on its individual merits. Ongoing operational costs that may be avoided by outsourcing are also a consideration. In a nut shell, outsourcing allows organizations to be more efficient, flexible, and effective, while often reducing costs.

Some of the top advantages brought by outsourcing include the following:

    *

      Staffing flexibility
    *

      Acceleration of projects and quicker time to market
    *

      High caliber professionals that hit the ground running
    *

      Ability to tap into best practices
    *

      Knowledge transfer to permanent staff
    *

      Cost-effective and predictable expenditures
    *

      Access to the flexibility and creativity of experienced problem solvers
    *

      Resource and core competency focus

I came across a very interesting piece written by Dr. Rob Handfield, SCRC which gives us a bit of the history of outsouring

Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have grappled with how they can exploit their competitive advantage to increase their markets and their profits. The model for most of the 20th century was a large integrated company that can “own, manage, and directly control” its assets. In the 1950s and 1960s, the rallying cry was diversification to broaden corporate bases and take advantage of economies of scale. By diversifying, companies expected to protect profits, even though expansion required multiple layers of management. Subsequently, organizations attempting to compete globally in the 1970s and 1980s were handicapped by a lack of agility that resulted from bloated management structures. To increase their flexibility and creativity, many large companies developed a new strategy of focusing on their core business, which required identifying critical processes and deciding which could be outsourced.

Initial stages of evolution

Outsourcing was not formally identified as a business strategy until 1989. However, most organizations were not totally self-sufficient; they outsourced those functions for which they had no competency internally. Publishers, for example, have often purchased composition, printing, and fulfillment services. The use of external suppliers for these essential but ancillary services might be termed the baseline stage in the evolution of outsourcing. Outsourcing support services is the next stage. In the 1990s, as organizations began to focus more on cost-saving measures, they started to outsource those functions necessary to run a company but not related specifically to the core business. Managers contracted with emerging service companies to deliver accounting, human resources, data processing, internal mail distribution, security, plant maintenance, and the like as a matter of “good housekeeping”. Outsourcing components to affect cost savings in key functions is yet another stage as managers seek to improve their finances.

Strategic partnerships

The current stage in the evolution of outsourcing is the development of strategic partnerships. Until recently it had been axiomatic that no organization would outsource core competencies, those functions that give the company a strategic advantage or make it unique. Often a core competency is also defined as any function that gets close to customers. In the 1990s, outsourcing some core functions may be good strategy, not anathema. For example, some organizations outsource customer service, precisely because it is so important.

Eastman Kodak’s decision to outsource the information technology systems that undergird its business was considered revolutionary in 1989, but it was actually the result of rethinking what their business was about. They were quickly followed by dozens of major corporations whose managers had determined it was not necessary to own the technology to get access to information they needed. The focus today is less on ownership and more on developing strategic partnerships to bring about enhanced results. Consequently, organizations are likely to select outsourcing more on the basis of who can deliver more effective results for a specific function than on whether the function is core or commodity.

What is outsourcing

Outsourcing can be defined as “the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources”. Sometimes known also as “facilities management”, outsourcing is a strategy by which an organization contracts out major functions to specialized and efficient service providers, who become valued business partners. Companies have always hired contractors for particular types of work, or to level-off peaks and troughs in their workload, and have formed long-term relationships with firms whose capabilities complement or supplement their own. However, the difference between simply supplementing resources by “subcontracting” and actual outsourcing, is that the latter involves substantial restructuring of particular business activities including, often, the transfer of staff from a host company to a specialist, usually smaller, company with the required core competencies.

Why do companies outsource

Here are some common reasons:

    *

      Reduce and control operating costs
    *

      Improve host company focus
    *

      Gain access to world-class capabilities
    *

      Free internal resources for other purposes
    *

      A function is time-consuming to manage or is out of control
    *

      Insufficient resources are available internally
    *

      Share risks with a partner company

In earlier periods, cost or headcount reduction were the most common reasons to outsource. In today's world the drivers are often more strategic, and focus on carrying out core value-adding activities in-house where an organization can best utilize its own core competencies.

Main factors influencing successful outsourcing

The critical areas for a successful outsourcing program as identified are:

    *

      Understanding company goals and objectives
    *

      A strategic vision and plan
    *

      Selecting the right vendor
    *

      Ongoing management of the relationships
    *

      A properly structured contract
    *

      Open communication with affected individual/groups
    *

      Senior executive support and involvement
    *

      Careful attention to personnel issues
    *

      Short-term financial justification

Outsourcing process

There are four main aspects to a typical outsourcing program:

    *

      Program Initiation
    *

      Service Implementation
    *

      Final Agreement
    *

      Program closure

Program Initiation

At the start of any outsourcing program, there are a variety of ideas and opinions about the purpose and scope of the program, what the final result of the program will be, and how the program will be carried out. The Program Initiation Stage is concerned with taking these ideas and intentions and documenting them to form the basis of a draft contract

Service Implementation

Service Implementation covers the activities required to take these ideas and intentions and develop them into a formal, planned outsourcing program and to make the transition to the outsourced service. Specifically these activities are:

    *

      Defining the transition project
    *

      Transferring staff
    *

      Defining the Service Level Agreement (SLA)
    *

      Defining service reporting
    *

      Implementing and handing over the service
    *

      Implementing service management procedures

During the hand–over phase it is imperative that continuity of service is maintained at all times, that there is no reduction in the quality of the delivery and that timescales and deadlines are not compromised.

Final Agreement

The draft contract produced at the Initiation stage is generally amended during negotiations and the final Contract is produced on completion of the negotiation cycle.

Program Closure

In order to gain maximum benefit, the program should go through a formal close down. There is no point in continuing to argue lost causes once irrevocable decisions have been taken. Staff and companies alike need to accept the new situation and move forward. However, there will be a lot of information generated during the life of the program, and this will have been stored with varying degrees of formality by the team members. This information needs to be formally filed away for future reference.

How to decide whether to outsource

There are no simple criteria to conduct an outsourcing versus in-house analysis. The benefits associated with outsourcing are numerous, and one should consider each project on its individual merits. Ongoing operational costs that may be avoided by outsourcing are also a consideration. In a nut shell, outsourcing allows organizations to be more efficient, flexible, and effective, while often reducing costs.

Some of the top advantages brought by outsourcing include the following:

    *

      Staffing flexibility
    *

      Acceleration of projects and quicker time to market
    *

      High caliber professionals that hit the ground running
    *

      Ability to tap into best practices
    *

      Knowledge transfer to permanent staff
    *

      Cost-effective and predictable expenditures
    *

      Access to the flexibility and creativity of experienced problem solvers
    *

      Resource and core competency focus

I came across a very interesting piece written by Dr. Rob Handfield, SCRC which gives us a bit of the history of outsouring

Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have grappled with how they can exploit their competitive advantage to increase their markets and their profits. The model for most of the 20th century was a large integrated company that can “own, manage, and directly control” its assets. In the 1950s and 1960s, the rallying cry was diversification to broaden corporate bases and take advantage of economies of scale. By diversifying, companies expected to protect profits, even though expansion required multiple layers of management. Subsequently, organizations attempting to compete globally in the 1970s and 1980s were handicapped by a lack of agility that resulted from bloated management structures. To increase their flexibility and creativity, many large companies developed a new strategy of focusing on their core business, which required identifying critical processes and deciding which could be outsourced.

Initial stages of evolution

Outsourcing was not formally identified as a business strategy until 1989. However, most organizations were not totally self-sufficient; they outsourced those functions for which they had no competency internally. Publishers, for example, have often purchased composition, printing, and fulfillment services. The use of external suppliers for these essential but ancillary services might be termed the baseline stage in the evolution of outsourcing. Outsourcing support services is the next stage. In the 1990s, as organizations began to focus more on cost-saving measures, they started to outsource those functions necessary to run a company but not related specifically to the core business. Managers contracted with emerging service companies to deliver accounting, human resources, data processing, internal mail distribution, security, plant maintenance, and the like as a matter of “good housekeeping”. Outsourcing components to affect cost savings in key functions is yet another stage as managers seek to improve their finances.

Strategic partnerships

The current stage in the evolution of outsourcing is the development of strategic partnerships. Until recently it had been axiomatic that no organization would outsource core competencies, those functions that give the company a strategic advantage or make it unique. Often a core competency is also defined as any function that gets close to customers. In the 1990s, outsourcing some core functions may be good strategy, not anathema. For example, some organizations outsource customer service, precisely because it is so important.

Eastman Kodak’s decision to outsource the information technology systems that undergird its business was considered revolutionary in 1989, but it was actually the result of rethinking what their business was about. They were quickly followed by dozens of major corporations whose managers had determined it was not necessary to own the technology to get access to information they needed. The focus today is less on ownership and more on developing strategic partnerships to bring about enhanced results. Consequently, organizations are likely to select outsourcing more on the basis of who can deliver more effective results for a specific function than on whether the function is core or commodity.

What is outsourcing

Outsourcing can be defined as “the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources”. Sometimes known also as “facilities management”, outsourcing is a strategy by which an organization contracts out major functions to specialized and efficient service providers, who become valued business partners. Companies have always hired contractors for particular types of work, or to level-off peaks and troughs in their workload, and have formed long-term relationships with firms whose capabilities complement or supplement their own. However, the difference between simply supplementing resources by “subcontracting” and actual outsourcing, is that the latter involves substantial restructuring of particular business activities including, often, the transfer of staff from a host company to a specialist, usually smaller, company with the required core competencies.

Why do companies outsource

Here are some common reasons:

    *

      Reduce and control operating costs
    *

      Improve host company focus
    *

      Gain access to world-class capabilities
    *

      Free internal resources for other purposes
    *

      A function is time-consuming to manage or is out of control
    *

      Insufficient resources are available internally
    *

      Share risks with a partner company

In earlier periods, cost or headcount reduction were the most common reasons to outsource. In today's world the drivers are often more strategic, and focus on carrying out core value-adding activities in-house where an organization can best utilize its own core competencies.

Main factors influencing successful outsourcing

The critical areas for a successful outsourcing program as identified are:

    *

      Understanding company goals and objectives
    *

      A strategic vision and plan
    *

      Selecting the right vendor
    *

      Ongoing management of the relationships
    *

      A properly structured contract
    *

      Open communication with affected individual/groups
    *

      Senior executive support and involvement
    *

      Careful attention to personnel issues
    *

      Short-term financial justification

Outsourcing process

There are four main aspects to a typical outsourcing program:

    *

      Program Initiation
    *

      Service Implementation
    *

      Final Agreement
    *

      Program closure

Program Initiation

At the start of any outsourcing program, there are a variety of ideas and opinions about the purpose and scope of the program, what the final result of the program will be, and how the program will be carried out. The Program Initiation Stage is concerned with taking these ideas and intentions and documenting them to form the basis of a draft contract

Service Implementation

Service Implementation covers the activities required to take these ideas and intentions and develop them into a formal, planned outsourcing program and to make the transition to the outsourced service. Specifically these activities are:

    *

      Defining the transition project
    *

      Transferring staff
    *

      Defining the Service Level Agreement (SLA)
    *

      Defining service reporting
    *

      Implementing and handing over the service
    *

      Implementing service management procedures

During the hand–over phase it is imperative that continuity of service is maintained at all times, that there is no reduction in the quality of the delivery and that timescales and deadlines are not compromised.

Final Agreement

The draft contract produced at the Initiation stage is generally amended during negotiations and the final Contract is produced on completion of the negotiation cycle.

Program Closure

In order to gain maximum benefit, the program should go through a formal close down. There is no point in continuing to argue lost causes once irrevocable decisions have been taken. Staff and companies alike need to accept the new situation and move forward. However, there will be a lot of information generated during the life of the program, and this will have been stored with varying degrees of formality by the team members. This information needs to be formally filed away for future reference.

How to decide whether to outsource

There are no simple criteria to conduct an outsourcing versus in-house analysis. The benefits associated with outsourcing are numerous, and one should consider each project on its individual merits. Ongoing operational costs that may be avoided by outsourcing are also a consideration. In a nut shell, outsourcing allows organizations to be more efficient, flexible, and effective, while often reducing costs.

Some of the top advantages brought by outsourcing include the following:

    *

      Staffing flexibility
    *

      Acceleration of projects and quicker time to market
    *

      High caliber professionals that hit the ground running
    *

      Ability to tap into best practices
    *

      Knowledge transfer to permanent staff
    *

      Cost-effective and predictable expenditures
    *

      Access to the flexibility and creativity of experienced problem solvers
    *

      Resource and core competency focus

by Dr Rob Hanfield

One thing that there is no shortage of is advice on how to successfully outsource work. There are plenty of ‘how to’ guides and organisations that can help you achieve your aim. Articles, like the one above, from experts in the field, are invaluable. Outsourcing need not be a frightening prospect, and could well be the differnce between success and failure to your business in these difficult times!

Posted via web from hiremyparents posterous

This is our latest how-to video

2009-03-19T10:27:00.001Z

Posted via email from hiremyparents posterous

hiremyparents - A Parent & Work Association

Posterous hi

Authority Pro

Untitled

Freelancing and More

Flexible working - can the SME Sector cope?

How Google marketed itself

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What You Need To Know To Succeed in Mobile Advertising

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The myth of work/life balance

Family Leave Insurance – Really?

Online Video Marketing – Nothing Works Better…And Here’s How!

Online Video Marketing – Nothing Works Better…And Here’s How!

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Optimising your website/blog for the search engines - not!

Telecommuting? How to keep your benefits working from home

Is Your Business Idea A Good Idea?

Wake Up Call: Parents Walking Out Through Lack of Flexible Work

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