Archive for February, 2010
In the pod
Feb 19th
We’re presently trying to find out where to host some audio clips I want to put on the site, with little progress to date. But I’m pleased to say you can listen immediately to me talking about the challenges of working from home by going to Freelance Advisor, an excellent site full of good advice for anyone already working as a freelancer or contemplating taking the plunge.
The podcast came about as a result of the spontaneous call I made to Radio Bristol after receiving a tweet one snowy morning telling me the subject under discussion was working at home in bad weather. Somehow the editor of Freelance Advisor heard the clip and invited me to do the podcast. And all accomplished sitting at my desk at home – amazing!
‘What do you do?’
Feb 18th
Just lately a few people have asked me ‘What do you actually do?’ or ‘How do you make a living?’ and those are very fair questions, as at the moment there is nothing on the website that gives any indication!
The answer is that I have been working first on the content of the site, on linking to other sites that are good resources for home workers and on building up traffic. I’m now at the point where I’m almost ready to offer products and services, while still regularly adding new pages of information.
One thing I have been working on is provisionally titled the Work from Home Audit, and is a 30 or 60 minute phone or Skype conversation to assess how happy you are with what you’re currently achieving in your home working role, and to discuss ways of improving things. The people who have been helping me trial this have been delighted with the results and moved their businesses on noticeably.
I also give talks and workshops about home working to groups and at events, and again I’m preparing information about this. At the moment, apart from the occasional help of the patient and long-suffering A, it’s just me producing all this stuff so progress is always slower than I’d like, bearing in mind I have very little patience and would ideally like to bring every idea into being as soon as I think of it!
And a postscript to that Victor vitriol
Feb 12th
Just as I was thinking I’m probably paranoid (too much working at home probably), I came across an article on remoteemployment.com about how being a home worker could have an adverse effect on your credit rating. Take a look and bear it in mind next time you fill out an application – the tiniest, most innocent-seeming detail could have an impact on whether you are successful or not.
A Meldrew moment
Feb 11th
We’re currently looking for another house to rent in Frome, as our landlords have decided to sell up. It’s not nice having to face the prospect of packing up when you’re happily settled somewhere, but the situation isn’t exactly helped by the attitude of many letting agencies when they ask about your personal circumstances. It goes like this:
‘Are you in full-time employment?’
‘No, we’re both self-employed.’
Pause…‘Self-employed?’
‘Yes.’
Pause…‘Ah…have you been self-employed for more than three years?’
‘My partner has, but I haven’t.’
Pause…’Ah…because you see you’re supposed to… blah blah’
Now I’m fully aware they have a duty to protect their clients’ interests by making sure we aren’t a couple of swindlers who would move in and then never pay a penny of rent, but what difference does it make if you can prove you’re in full-time employment when you apply? You could give up work or get the sack the day after being given the go-ahead, and have no money at all.
We have the capital from our last house sale and are working hard on building what we fully intend will be very profitable businesses, but we are treated as undesirable because we don’t work for someone else or have three years books.
Just another symptom of how the system is still set up for a disappeared way of life. Governments have paid lip service for years to the idea of enterprise, self-employment and small business, but I’ll take them seriously when a self-employed person isn’t automatically treated as a bad risk when applying for a mortgage or to rent a property. You could argue quite the opposite case to my mind.
OK, thanks for reading, I feel a bit better now.
