Workin’ Girl

What’s a body to do when jobs seem scarce? Why not start your own firm?   Check these facts out, courtesy of About.com:

• 16 out of the 30 corporations that make up the current Dow Jones Industrial Average started during a recession
• Walt Disney Corporation began during the recession in 1923-24.
• Hewlett-Packard Corporation began in 1938 during the Great Depression.
• Microsoft Corporation began during the 1975 recession.

But sometimes, you just need a little sumthin’ to get you going.  Well why not two tools that can help you connect with people needing your services today!

TaskRabbit “helps individuals and small businesses in a community outsource their tasks and deliveries.”  While being a personal assistant isn’t the most glamorous job on the planet, it can and does pay and TaskRabbit acts as the conduit to make that happen.

So maybe being a personal assistant isn’t for you.  BUT, you have other skills such as being a software programmer, web developer, accountant, marketer or even data entry specialist?  Well those needing your services can connect up with you on eLance.   eLance is a virtual marketplace and connector with firms needing professional services.   I’ve had some personal experience using them for a project and the system works!   So why not check out eLance and hang out your own shingle today!

Making your way in the world in your own firm still seem too craze?  Well Beck’s Cafe did a post on some new job search engines back on March 23rd, 2010 that you might want to check, have a look here at “Flexjobs, Telecommute Job Finder and Simply Hired Help You Find Jobs that You Can Do From Home“

Microsoft’s Elevate America program has come to Massachusetts!  This program provides up to 26,000 free vouchers on-line for technology training.  Vouchers are available through June 29, 2010 so get them while you can.   The overall program that Microsoft has put in place is located at their web site,  Microsoft Elevate America.   Each state designates how they want their program to work for their citizens. Here is what Massachusetts is offering, from their site, “Overview of Elevate America Resources“:

Digital Literacy

If you are new to computers, Microsoft offers FREE on-line tutorials on basic computer skills.  It is recommended that you utilize these tools before accessing a voucher.

• The Basic curriculum features a course called A First Course Toward Digital Literacy. This course teaches absolute beginners to computing about what a valuable tool computers can be in society today, and the basics of using the mouse and the keyboard.

• Microsoft Digital Literacy Standard curriculum. Short tutorials on Microsoft Office 2003 or examples and screen shots from Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Windows Vista.

The Advanced curriculum features several courses that expand on what learners mastered in the Standard curriculum. These courses explore core topics like writing a resume, social networking, creating an internet e-mail account, and searching the internet.

18,000 E-Learning Vouchers

• 13,000 individual vouchers for Microsoft E-Learning – Office Products (Business Worker): Each voucher will allow a single user to redeem one e-learning collection. An e-learning collection is made up of several e-learning courses. The voucher code can only be used once. Users can choose courses in the following curriculums:
  • Office 2003 (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook)
  • Windows Vista & Office 2007 (Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook)

• 5,000 individual vouchers for Microsoft E-Learning — IT Professional Products: Each voucher will allow a single user to redeem one e-learning collection on a specific advanced IT topic (ie. database administration, certified systems engineer, web design, etc.).

8,000 Certification Exam Vouchers

8,000 individual vouchers for Business Certification exams: Each voucher would enable a single user to pursue a certification on the coursework completed above.  Microsoft will provide 3,000 for Office 2003 and 5,000 for Office 2007.

There is quite a bit there so if your computer skills or internet skills or those of someone you know are not up to par, this is a FREE opportunity for training.  This training can only help you in your current and future jobs!  Learn more at this link:  Elevate America America Program for Massachusetts.

So you are looking for a new gig or maybe a gig at all.  And working from home is extremely important for you.  Maybe you’re a mother with two toddlers?  Maybe you are the caretaker for your grandparents and being near them is important for their health, maybe you’re a trans-person who is having trouble finding a position in or near where you live?    Three job boards may help: FlexJobs, Telecommute Jobs List and Simply Hired.

Each list varies in how they work.

• Telecommute Jobs List is basically a free listing site that is ad driven.  Their job listings are real, having been pulled from Craig’s List, and, according to their site, “are the result of a multi-city (all) search of jobs posted on Craig’s List with the Telecommute option checked”. The Google Ad and Sponsor Ad listings might bring you to other sites that are helpful.
• Flex Jobs is very well reviewed by the public press, has lots of what appear to be real endorsements from real people and has a large current listings.   The listings are screened by people who work for Flex Jobs to weed out the spam and job ads that are really scams.   There is a charge however of either $49.95 per year or $14.95 per month.  Those prices seem very reasonable for what looks like a legitimate site.
• Simply Hired is a job search engine that we’ve mentioned before in our post, “Simply Hired and Transgender Friendly Too“.  What you do is go to the Simply Hired site, then click on “Advanced Search”, from there in the keyword search type in, “Work From Home”, then press enter and watch Simply Hired pull up those jobs.  To make life easier for our readers, just click the following link and you’ll get the list of “work from home” jobs automatically,  Simply Hired Work From Home Jobs Listings

So give it a try all you work from homers!  Who knows, your next commute might be 5 minutes!

They ain’t free (a day pass will set you back $20) but if you work from home and are hankering for working alongside others, then WorkBar might be your poison.

Nestled in at 711 Atlantic Ave and conveniently located across the street from the south station train platform and next to the Boston Sports Club, you get an awful lot for $20. Check this list:

• Wired and wireless Internet
• Phone services
• Administrative services
• Mail services
• Printing/copying
• Unlimited faxing
• Free coffee/water/snacks
• Conference room
• Lounge and private phone areas

You can check them out at their web site:  Workbar You can check a few reviews out on WorkBar here, here and here.

I have a good friend who, after 15 months of lazing about vacationing finally decided to find a job!  She found a whopper of one at of all places, the U.S. Census Bureu.  In a post on a Yahoo Group my gal pal told the readers that

They [The U.S. Census] currently have many job opportunities.  Some are full-time, some are part-time.  Enumerators, who follow-up on households that have not sent in their Census make $15-$22 per hour, depending on location for up to a couple of months.  Other positions are available as well… apply for one of these positions either on-line or by contacting the local Census office in your area.  You can work right in your own neighborhood and have no commute.  You have to be a U.S. citizen, take a 30 minute test (there is a practice test) and pass a background check….The federal government does not discriminate or either sexual orientation or gender identity.  They have LGBT outreach programs in place as well as a trans coordinator.

Sounds like a workin’ girls dream to me!   Here’s you link to job heaven: The U.S. Census Jobs Board

Janet Beckers is the host and founder of Wonderful Web Women, an award-winning on-line community recognized for generous and honest marketing advice for women on the internet.  So when she writes an article entitled, “How to Build an Internet Business that Will Last” you have to sit up and take a little notice over that wonderful mocha cappuccino you are savoring.  She’s got some interesting thoughts that are worthy of consideration.  Here’s an outline:

1. Start with a Blog:  Basically, start to get your presence on the internet; your “spot” so to speak.  Here at Beck’s Cafe we’ve found that focusing on an area of your specialty or that you might be passionate about helps that blog be more alive and compelling to visitors; like a cute specialty shop in Cambridge you might visit regularly because it has just what you want.
2. Collect Emai Addresses:  Janet notes that only 1% of everyone who visits your fledgling business will purchase anything.  So telling people, in a respectful and hopefully engaging manner, what’s going on with your new baby business is important.  In my experience with internet marketing, this has to be opt-in, in other words, let visitors decide if they want in or not to your mail list.
3. Give before you receive:  Janet reminds us that when someone provides you their email address they are generally trusting  you not to spam them.  So give your new followers something of value.  In other words, enhance their life somehow.  On the internet, reputation is the coin of the realm
4. Ask your subscribers what they want: Do a simple survey in other words.  Tools like Survey Monkey are free or low cost and do a good job.
5. Dazzle them with your knowledge:  Janet tells us that now that you know who your readers are (from their email addresses) and what they need (from the survey) start to directly answer those needs and add value to your visitors
6. Keep In Touch:  You don’t want to spam your readers, but  you do want to let them know what’s cooking at your site.   Just as Kohl’s or Target keeps you in the know with their weekly circulars about their stores, so too you can let others know what’s happening with yours.
7. The 80/20 Rule:  For every 20% of the time you pitch your wares or knowledge on-line, 80% of the time give value for no charge.  Enhance people’s lives regularly.  We all only go around once after all!
8. Encourage a 2-way relationship:  You may not realize it, but, even as you read this, you and I are engaging in a 2-way relationship.  Your thinking this article is really rubbish whilst you sip your coffee or you the germ of a new idea for a new business is taking shape.  In either case, it’s two way.   And that’s what you want in your business.  Note a faceless entity but a two way street of conversation.

Janet has more to share and so we’d encourage you to click on over to her article at MarketLikeAChick.com by clicking to her article, “8 Steps to Build an Internet Business That Will Last“

“We support people doing awesome things in the world. Every month we give out a grant”

With a tag line like that, The Awesome Foundation sounds pretty awesome all right.  Basically, the Awesome foundation provides small seed capital and space for small start ups to do their thing.  The small grant, $1000, gets you going, the location, gives  you space to do it in.

Pretty neat stuff.

Got an awesome idea?  Why not pitch it at The Awesome Foundation and see how it flies!

Martha Carlson, an executive coach for women, writing in Sales and Marketing Magazine, has a great piece on:

Leading women: The women who rise to the top of your organization in the coming years may have a few things in common.

She has a list of characteristics that women (and really men too) will need in place in our own lives to be effective at leading at work; how many of these characteristics ring true?

• Authenticity: Martha defines this as a woman, “Being self-aware and doing something about it. This trait allows a woman to understand at a very base level her strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears.”  And then taking this trait and leveraging it into her life at work.
• Fearlessness: Martha feels this trait is the opposite of being fearful.  She further notes that those who act out of fear act in an unbalanced way that compromises our ability to be effective.  Fearless women focus on what they want to achieve and very often achieve it.
• Focus: Here Martha tosses aside the notion that as women, we have an unlimited ability to multi-task and be equally effective across all our tasks.   Martha says that such practices must stop and that only focus will result in achieving the results we want in our lives.
• Energy:  Finally Martha points out the to do anything women need to take care of themselves, “working longer hours, compromising sleep, and depleting our wellness. We must know and attend to what brings us energy in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual sense.”

Four very interesting characteristics women will need for the coming years.  If you’ve got any coffee left in your mug, mouse on over to the full article at Sales and Marketing Magazine by clicking to  “Leading Women“

The Working Geek has a nice Slideshare presentation available to help you prep for  your next job interview.  Entitled, “Effective Job Interviewing from Both Sides of the Desk” his presentation has many helpful reminders of how to be ready for your next interview as well as what is likely going through the mind of the person interviewing you.