freelance
Work
What’s Your Personal Business Model?
7:00AM Adam Pash | Over at weblog Freelance Switch, our very own Gina Trapani discusses crafting a personal business model—that is, an ideal vision of what you want to get from the work you do. More »
Work
Outsource Digital Labour at Task Market
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | Microsoft’s launched a tech-oriented outsourcing marketplace called Task Market in Tech Preview (that is, beta). If you need a logo for your company letterhead, but lack the Illustrator chops, or you have a knack for writing compelling resumes, Task Market’s worth checking out—outsource the first and advertise the second on the market. Jobs most suitable for Task Market cost between $0 and $US500, and the product must be something that can be delivered in a digital format. Logo creation, web design, photo editing, proof reading, and document translation are just a few potential items. Get paid or pay your freelancer via PayPal, and rate their work after it’s complete. Looks like a good place to test-drive a side business freelancing. Have you ever outsourced work or freelanced using a Task Market-like open forum? Tell us your experience in the comments. More »Work/Life balance – how to make definitive changes
5:23PM Sarah Stokely | A lot of people are drawn to freelancing because it means they get to decide the terms of their work/life balance, but I think anyone who works for a living can relate to the pressure of needing to juggle work and home life. A post on Freelance Switch today helped remind me that I’m in the enviable position of being able to decide how and when I work. I felt inspired to be a bit more proactive about building my client base instead of just reacting to offers of work (I’m so lazy about pitching story ideas to people!):
“What do you want to change about your work life? For me, I want to get
better-paying clients and stop rushing so much. I’ve cut down on other
work to make way for new projects. And when I feel myself getting
rushed or overwhelmed, I stop and remind myself that I don’t have to
work that way. You can change anything you want about your work
life—the key is to identify what you want to change and take small
steps in order to change it.”
The post offers several tips for ‘reformatting’ your relationship to work – and pushy clients! It was nice to be reminded that it’s ok to make small changes gradually too.
Making Definitive Work Life Changes [Freelance Switch] More »
Work
4:30PM Sarah Stokely | Achieving a work/life balance is a tightrope which requires effort from both the worker and their place of work. While we’ve had the communication technology available to support teleworking for years, it doesn’t seem to have taken off, and is more likely to be the domain of the self employed freelance/consultant types. However, employers are cottoning on to the fact that one way to hold onto staff – especially people with children – is to become more flexible. And with a recent survey by the Australian Computer Society putting IT unemployment at a five year low of 3.84%, skilled IT staff may be well placed to make the case for teleworking.
In an opinion piece at CNET, Eric Cinrod quotes figures which suggest that only 13% of American business people think their workplace would let them telework. He goes through a number of reasons why it could benefit not only the employee but the business itself. Worth a read if you’re thinking of making a business case of why you should be able to work from home a couple of days a week, or more.
Making the case for telework [CNET]
More »
Making the case for telework
4:30PM Sarah Stokely | Achieving a work/life balance is a tightrope which requires effort from both the worker and their place of work. While we’ve had the communication technology available to support teleworking for years, it doesn’t seem to have taken off, and is more likely to be the domain of the self employed freelance/consultant types. However, employers are cottoning on to the fact that one way to hold onto staff – especially people with children – is to become more flexible. And with a recent survey by the Australian Computer Society putting IT unemployment at a five year low of 3.84%, skilled IT staff may be well placed to make the case for teleworking.
In an opinion piece at CNET, Eric Cinrod quotes figures which suggest that only 13% of American business people think their workplace would let them telework. He goes through a number of reasons why it could benefit not only the employee but the business itself. Worth a read if you’re thinking of making a business case of why you should be able to work from home a couple of days a week, or more.
Making the case for telework [CNET]
More » 