Are Self-Employment Opportunities on the Rise?

Chances are you know someone that is self-employed. In fact, you may even work from home. Whether it’s a career in freelance writing or selling items on eBay, there are a number of jobs to be had. Of course, many of these jobs have been available for the past decade. Still, people can’t help but wonder if self-employment jobs are on the rise and if so, why?

The Numbers

In the fall of 2011, self-employment hit a record high of 41.4 million, which added up to an 8% rise since spring 2008. While this sounds like a huge increase, the truth is these jobs may not be what people expect.

Why Are People Turning to Self-Employment?

The truth is many people aren’t turning to self-employment as a career per say, but as a way to simply make ends meet. It is estimated that people working odd jobs, equaling less than 30 hours per week, accounted for 89% of the recent rise. These people are those that were left unemployed due to a bad economy and want to avoid unemployment. In other words, they may be working these jobs, while also looking for another job. States like Delaware have even made the idea of self-employment more enticing by offering a weekly allowance to help unemployed individuals start their own small business. Of course, the unemployed aren’t the only ones looking at self-employment. Companies are actively seeking contract employees to fill positions. A number of large media businesses actually let employees go in favor of freelance employees as a way to save on the costs of benefits, unemployment and taxes.

What Jobs Are People Doing?

There are a number of self-employment jobs to be had. Those that are doing odd jobs to make ends meet may be cleaning homes, doing landscaping or handyman work. Those that are serious about self-employment may be working as freelance writers, website creators, online sellers or even professional bloggers.

The clear answer is that yes self-employment is on the rise. However, in many cases this isn’t because the person wants to be self-employed. In most cases, due to the poor economy and massive layoffs, people often don’t have a choice. This usually means taking on odd jobs to make ends meet, while looking for a more permanent solution. Unfortunately, in today’s economy, these odd jobs may soon become the only source of income for those that are out of work.

About the Author: Enrique Maden is a small business owner who enjoys working from a virtual office set up in his home. He was one of many left unemployed after his company closed and is now making it on his own.

4 Perks Every Small Business Owner should Steal from Google

For three consecutive years Google has been ranked as one of the top companies to work for. While pay is good, the perks the tech company offers its employees is what most say really keeps employees happy and eager to produce constant good work – headquarters are equipped with a rock climbing wall, gourmet chefs, free laundry services, and even allow employees to bring their pet to work just to name a few. While you’re a small business owner and can’t afford to hire a sushi chef for example, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use Google as a model and put your own twist on some of the amenities they offer. To learn some perks that will earn you the best boss award and can keep the employees you have satisfied, continue reading below.

1. Provide Cheap Beverages and Snacks. Ok, so you don’t have the funds to buy a fancy espresso or cappuccino maker, but you can buy a traditional coffee maker and some flavored creamers so that your employees can have a free pick-me-up in the mornings or afternoons. Stocking the company fridge with at least 3 different flavors of soda or tea and some filtered water is also a great, simple idea. Can sodas are inexpensive (especially if you purchase in bulk using a discount Sam’s Club or CostCo card) and it’ll keep your employees hydrated (which is needed to activate brains) as well as give your employee’s bragging rights – most companies do not provide free snacks. To ease up on your wallet, only restock snacks once a month.

2. Keep Social Media Sites Active. Most corporate companies choose to make social media sites like Facebook and Twitter inaccessible at work because they believe it will only distract their employees from completing the tasks at hand. But blocking popular sites like Facebook can make some employees feel like their employer is a control freak and may actually end up resenting their boss a little bit. Besides, some studies say that allowing employees to take small breaks to check social networking sites and surf the web can actually boost productivity rates.

3. Casual Everyday. Some corporate offices give their employees permission to indulge in a “casual Friday.” Google, on the other hand, allows their staff to wear jeans every day of the week – of course there are limits; it’s more of a “business casual” than “casual-casual” but it’s a great way to promote productivity. That’s because some experts claim that formal business attire, such as suits, heels, and pencil skirts, can be really constraining, causing people who have to sit or stand for 8 hours a day to be extremely uncomfortable which prompts them to do less work. However business casual attire removes the stress of having to get ready each morning and let’s your employees breathe while at work. While causal everyday may not work for every small business (if they don’t have to engage with clients or investors on a normal basis) it may be a good idea to at least give them one or two days a week of casual dress. Of course there can be restrictions – no flip flops etc.

4. Set up a Game Room. Lastly, like mentioned before, in addition to a rock climbing wall, Google has a myriad of other fun games to boost office moral and motivate its team to work harder for breaks such as a foosball table. Creating an area where your employees can get together and unwind for a few minutes doing something fun is a fantastic amenity to add. With careful research you can find some inexpensive foosball tables or something similar like a ping pong table. Investing in an office gaming system (Wii’s are about $80 now) and getting some group-involved games like Mario Kart is also great activity to have in the workplace.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

Get the party started sooner with workflow software

It’s an old saying in business that time is money.

For that reason, it is extremely fair to say that almost every business would be interested in software which could help them complete their day to day tasks as quickly as humanly possible.

Workflow software is an extremely popular investment for a lot of business for this exact reason. This software allows project managers to clearly and easily monitor projects so that each part of a task can flow neatly into the other without any delay. Many business owners may agree that it has become one of the most important features of any business process management scheme.

The way it does this is by via the automation of certain business processes which don’t need manual approval. This has become more key than ever in an era where the internet and digital software has become key to the running of most businesses. One key example of the usefulness of workflow software is when a product is ordered over the phone or through a business website.

When it comes to a product being ordered in these ways, there are lots of steps between the order being finalised and the product arriving at a customer’s doorstep. A lot of these steps can be made simpler and easier with the use of workflow software. Workflow software can allow approvals of an order to be transferred from department to department automatically. A notification of approval can also be sent automatically.

Some workflow software is designed to facilitate tasks such as routing, processing and integration between certain types of software and hardware. Business are advised to enquire which type of workflow software will be the most suitable for them.

The more research they do into the benefits of such an investment, the quicker they will be able to perform a variety of business processes and the sooner they can get the party started!

Best At Home Businesses For Stay At Home Moms

It’s tough these days to make all the ends meet in our financial lives. With everything becoming more and more expensive, and many employers actually offering pay cuts instead of pay raises, more and more families are requiring two incomes to stay above the financial waters. As a mother, however, you may desperately desire to stay at home with your children. Well, you can. Now, there are jobs for stay at home moms, but for the purposes of this article, I would like to focus a few home-based businesses that you can start with relative ease.

The first one is day care. Now, I’m not saying you need to do an overhaul of your house to convert it into a modern-day day-care facility. Simply watching a few children every day can easy bring in hundreds, even a few thousand dollars a month extra. Day care is very expensive, as you know, so if you’ve earned the trust of parents with young children, you can easily persuade them to allow you to take care of their children instead of some day care. You could charge dramatically less than the average day care, and still come out way ahead.

Another great opportunity that few moms consider is to be a freelance writer. You don’t need to be an experienced writer; you just need to have some knowledge in a given topic. Companies like About.com will allow you to write on topics at your leisure and pay you well for it. This is a great business to start because the work is provided for you, and you can do it whenever you like.

Now, as I mentioned, there are jobs for stay at home moms which you can certainly pursue as well, but being able to have your own business from home will allow you to have the maximum amount of flexibility to tend to the needs of your children and your home.

Start a Home-Based Business

Starting your own home-based business can be a fantastic opportunity. You have the chance to work for yourself, make all the decisions and major calls, and maybe even choose your own schedule to watch the kids while you’re working from home.

However, with the power and perks of a home-based business often comes responsibility. If this responsibility is not handled properly, it could land both you and your business in hot water. There are plenty of legal ramifications to consider with such an operation, and being prepared can help you avoid potential issues that could be costly both in time and money.

Legal Operation

One of the first things you’ll likely have to consider in a home-based business is whether your operation is indeed legal to operate. Many locales have a variety of zoning laws and restrictions. Even certain housing developments, apartment communities or condominiums may have guidelines governing the operation of a home-based business. Therefore, it is important that before you make any sort of sizeable investment to get your business up and running that you make sure you are in compliance with area zoning and business operation rules and requirements.

Insurance Needs

A home-based business can be convenient in that it allows you to work from the privacy and comfort of your own home. However, this also means that customers and clients may be coming onto or into your property on a regular basis. A simple trip and fall by a customer on your property could result in a lawsuit. By having the necessary business and liability insurance paid up and in proper coverage amounts, you could be better protecting yourself legally when it comes to the possibility of injuries or other issues that might occur upon your property.

Employees

Insurance can also be important if you are planning to have someone other than yourself working in and around your home. While many home-based businesses are sole-proprietorships and don’t have to worry about employees, should you have someone working for you on the premises, it can be critical that you take this into consideration when it comes to your policy.

It is also critical that you know and understand the state and federal laws governing employee/employer relationships in order to avoid lawsuits pertaining to discrimination, harassment, and other workplace violations. You can check with the SBA (Small Business Administration) or your state government to learn more about the rules that apply to your home-based business, ask questions or get advice.

Taxes

While you may have done your personal income taxes in the past, starting a home-based business may make tax season a bit more difficult. Not only might you have personal income taxes with which to deal, but you could have business taxes as well. If you have employees or are planning to delve into the realm of business deductions, property tax deductions for a home-based business, and similar tax areas, you may want to consider seeking the advice and assistance of a tax professional. Having your tax issues squared away can help keep you out of legal hot water when it comes to you and your home-based operation.

Billy enjoys informing his readers of their legal rights as US citizens.  He can help if you are looking for a criminal attorney in Houston that will fight for your legal rights as an individual. If you have been arrested for assault, then a Houston assault lawyer is available to protect you against any un-just accusations.