New ebook of Essays from author George Wilder Jr.
Available from www.amazon.com
www.amazon.com/author/gwilder
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Do It For Yourself
New ebook of Essays from author George Wilder Jr.
Available from www.amazon.com
www.amazon.com/author/gwilder
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Work For Yourself
By Miriam Salpeter
You've been having a tough time finding a job, and the longer it takes, the more obstacles you face. Your last job's end date has become more distant, and you aren't seeing any reason to be optimistic about landing something permanent anytime soon.
If this describes you, it could be time to shift gears and stop looking for a job in favor of starting your own consulting firm or business. Is the writing on the wall, but you aren't seeing it? Consider the following signs that you should re-focus your energies and start thinking about working for yourself.
1. Hiring independents is on the rise. Independent workers (people working 15 or more hours per week as freelancers, contractors, or business owners) are part of a fast-growing sector of our workforce. The Harvard Business Review frequently shares research showcasing these trends. For example, author and workplace researcher Tammy Erickson's HBR post highlights data from the temporary placement service provider Adecco, illustrating that contingent (temporary) workers will grow at three to four times the rate of the traditional workforce in the future. Whitney L. Johnson, author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream, had a recent post on HBR noting that there are currently around 17 million independent workers, which is expected to rise to 23 million by 2017.
On her blog, workplace author and columnist Alexandra Levit recently shared data from technology firm Mavenlink that shows the number of self-employed, independent service firms, "solopreneurs," and temporary workers grew by an estimated 4.3 million workers since 1995. The contingent workforce is expected to grow to 40 percent, or 64.9 million, by 2020.
While it's not always a good idea to follow the crowd when it comes to your career, these data suggest that it may be time to think about how to market yourself as a business of one.
2. A lack of jobs or hiring freezes in your field. It's tough to land a job in the midst of hiring freezes. If your industry is hard hit by the economy or in a state of flux, it's likely that hiring freezes will affect your ability to land a new job -- or even a promotion. It may be time to leverage a new idea that you've been considering into a new business plan.
3. Projects are going to contractors. Most trends don't manifest overnight, but sometimes employees don't notice them until it's too late to respond. Look around: Is your organization contracting with freelancers to get things done? If it is, it's likely that competitors are doing the same thing.
When organizations cannot squeeze another drop of productivity from their already stretched-thin workforces and they look to outside, temporary help in lieu of on-ramping new, permanent employees, that's a sign to take seriously. It may be time to start thinking about being on the receiving side of the trend and to hang your own shingle.
4. You need a new challenge. Not all signs suggesting that it's time to start a business come from your industry. Take a good, hard look at your own goals, skills, and what you want to accomplish in your career. If you don't see opportunities to get things done in companies where you might land jobs, it may be time to start your own gig.
5. Controlling your work environment is important to you. The recent news from Yahoo --demanding that employees who now work from home instead report to the office -- highlights how tides can turn. Whether or not Yahoo's move is a trend matters less than how important it is for you to be able to dictate your own schedule and work environment. The only way to be sure that you maintain control over your work environment is to work for yourself.
6. Working for yourself is the new job security. With millions of workers serving as employees at will, subject to layoffs and reductions in force at the drop of a hat, traditional, or "corporate" jobs no longer offer the type of income security that people once thought. Assuming you can ramp up your own small business and attract some returning clients, it's likely that having your own company with varied income streams is actually a safer bet than relying on one organization for your income.
Don't be the last one to the entrepreneur party. Whether starting a business is something you've always wanted to do, or you're thinking of going that route because you're having trouble finding work, you should start planning now to prepare yourself to succeed in the new economy.
Miriam Salpeter is a job search and social media consultant, career coach, author, speaker, resume writer, and owner of Keppie Careers. She is author of Social Networking for Career Success and 100 Conversations for Career Success. Miriam teaches job seekers and entrepreneurs how to incorporate social media tools along with traditional strategies to reach their goals.
You've been having a tough time finding a job, and the longer it takes, the more obstacles you face. Your last job's end date has become more distant, and you aren't seeing any reason to be optimistic about landing something permanent anytime soon.
If this describes you, it could be time to shift gears and stop looking for a job in favor of starting your own consulting firm or business. Is the writing on the wall, but you aren't seeing it? Consider the following signs that you should re-focus your energies and start thinking about working for yourself.
1. Hiring independents is on the rise. Independent workers (people working 15 or more hours per week as freelancers, contractors, or business owners) are part of a fast-growing sector of our workforce. The Harvard Business Review frequently shares research showcasing these trends. For example, author and workplace researcher Tammy Erickson's HBR post highlights data from the temporary placement service provider Adecco, illustrating that contingent (temporary) workers will grow at three to four times the rate of the traditional workforce in the future. Whitney L. Johnson, author of Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream, had a recent post on HBR noting that there are currently around 17 million independent workers, which is expected to rise to 23 million by 2017.
On her blog, workplace author and columnist Alexandra Levit recently shared data from technology firm Mavenlink that shows the number of self-employed, independent service firms, "solopreneurs," and temporary workers grew by an estimated 4.3 million workers since 1995. The contingent workforce is expected to grow to 40 percent, or 64.9 million, by 2020.
While it's not always a good idea to follow the crowd when it comes to your career, these data suggest that it may be time to think about how to market yourself as a business of one.
3. Projects are going to contractors. Most trends don't manifest overnight, but sometimes employees don't notice them until it's too late to respond. Look around: Is your organization contracting with freelancers to get things done? If it is, it's likely that competitors are doing the same thing.
When organizations cannot squeeze another drop of productivity from their already stretched-thin workforces and they look to outside, temporary help in lieu of on-ramping new, permanent employees, that's a sign to take seriously. It may be time to start thinking about being on the receiving side of the trend and to hang your own shingle.
4. You need a new challenge. Not all signs suggesting that it's time to start a business come from your industry. Take a good, hard look at your own goals, skills, and what you want to accomplish in your career. If you don't see opportunities to get things done in companies where you might land jobs, it may be time to start your own gig.
5. Controlling your work environment is important to you. The recent news from Yahoo --demanding that employees who now work from home instead report to the office -- highlights how tides can turn. Whether or not Yahoo's move is a trend matters less than how important it is for you to be able to dictate your own schedule and work environment. The only way to be sure that you maintain control over your work environment is to work for yourself.
6. Working for yourself is the new job security. With millions of workers serving as employees at will, subject to layoffs and reductions in force at the drop of a hat, traditional, or "corporate" jobs no longer offer the type of income security that people once thought. Assuming you can ramp up your own small business and attract some returning clients, it's likely that having your own company with varied income streams is actually a safer bet than relying on one organization for your income.
Don't be the last one to the entrepreneur party. Whether starting a business is something you've always wanted to do, or you're thinking of going that route because you're having trouble finding work, you should start planning now to prepare yourself to succeed in the new economy.
Miriam Salpeter is a job search and social media consultant, career coach, author, speaker, resume writer, and owner of Keppie Careers. She is author of Social Networking for Career Success and 100 Conversations for Career Success. Miriam teaches job seekers and entrepreneurs how to incorporate social media tools along with traditional strategies to reach their goals.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
THE SEQUESTER
Any who works on the behalf of hurting this country should not be walking the halls of congress, the republicans have screwed Americans and are now laughing and grinning and high fiving themselves in back rooms of their homes and on Capital Hill. They and their teaparty love this, they are reveling in destroying the middle class, the elderly, just everything. They have not done their jobs and should not be paid. They have seriously hurt this country. Just Hang in there the best you can, and in Nov. 2014 vote them all out. Get this country going again. Stay positive that always work. Americans are going to feel some real pain, I'm already hear seniors crying about having their rent subsidies curtailed or eliminated. Free government phones are affected also. I could or we could demonize the republicans and some democrats until the cows come home, that is not going to stop us from losing our homes and jobs because people in Washington do not like each other. The republicans knew that they had to win at something after losing in 2012. Obama should stop looking like he lost his best friend after signing this mess into law, and stand up and be a leader, he is the guy most of us voted for in 2012. I'm still wonder why he signed this thing into law if he hated it so much. I hear his hand was forced. Anyway, now that is here, we have to help each other more than ever. Politicians are not to trusted or counted on, that is a simple fact. Most care nothing about those who vote them into office. Look, we can make it through this, it going to hurt, however, you have friends, families, and the love of your country on your side. Prayer has helped me I'm sure it will help you. God Bless.
www.amazon.com/author/gwilder
George Wilder Jr.
George Wilder Jr.
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