Sprout Magazine

Category: General

The Waste of Time – Tip for Getting More Organized Your Time

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By on May 15th, 2013

Tip for Getting More Organized Your Time

Most of us sit for several hours against our PC to do some work. We do the work but we don’t spend all the time on working rather we spend a very little time on the actual work. We waste our time on the net or on some other things but we think that we had worked for so much time.

If you keep a track of your time you will get to know how much time you actually spend on writing. You will be surprised to know that you waste a lot of your time and do work for a very little time. This will keep you honest and at least you will know the truth about your working hours.

There are many ways on the web with the help of which you can keep a track of your time. There are many free services on the net which can help you regarding this. You can take their help to improve your real working hours. Read more →

Freelancer Vs Full Time Employee

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By on Feb 7th, 2012

One might think that there is not much difference between a freelancer and an employee because at the end of the day, both complete the tasks assigned to them and get paid for the work they do. However, there are some major differences if we look closely.

Full-Time Employee or Freelancer?

This happens to be a huge decision in outsourcing. Should you get a full-time employee or a freelancer? Now, before you can make this decision, you will have to know the difference between them first.

The IRS states that you have to consider three traits when it comes down to it: the type of relationship, the behavioral control and the financial control that you have. Basically, if you can still direct or control what has to be done and how it is done, then you are considered to have hired a full-time employee. However, if you can only control or direct the results of the work, but not the methods and means of getting the results, then you are considered to have hired a freelancer.

An Employee

Presently, there is no single legal test to determine if you are an employee or a worker, but you are likely to be an Employee (whether on a Permanent (open-ended) contract or on a Fixed-Term contract) if -
Your Employer provides the work, any tools and equipment for it, and they decide how and when you do the work. (Know as the What, Where, When and How Tests)
You will usually have a written contract (although a verbal contract will count)
You are expected to do the work yourself that you are employed to do, and may be moved to a different tasks
You are paid a regular amount according to the hours you work (through the Pay as You Earn system – so Tax and National Insurance is deducted), and you have to work a set amount of hours. You may get extra pay for overtime and bonuses.
The legal definitions of these (from case law, not from statute) are personal service, mutuality of obligation and control.

Freelancers

Freelancers watch over their own taxes, health care advantages, and time off. This means you do not have to keep way of how much they made last year and you don’t pay them for sick days etc. Paying employee advantages can cost businesses thousands of dollars every year. Freelancing is a bloodthirsty industry. You can select from thousands of extremely expert workers, and pay them a portion of what you would pay an employee. You can hire a freelancer for almost any feature of your business. Effective assistants, website developers, database management and telemarketing are but a few of the things you can appoint for. Many freelancers concentrate in certain areas. You can hire a specialist in web design, or a specialized database manager. By contrast, many employees must experiment in a little bit of everything. This does not guarantee excellence. If you were to hire an employee that is qualified, you would likely have to pay them a much higher pay.

 

 

 

6 Profitable Businesses You Can Start from Home

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By on Jan 31st, 2012

Thanks to technology, it is increasingly possible to work from home. Not only are more people telecommuting to jobs working for “the man”, but many are also starting home businesses.

1. Joint Ventures

If you like the idea of not needing a product or money of your own than the idea of joint venturing could be for you. This business is simply the art of the deal. You are paid in direct proportion to your ability to bring together two parties who would not otherwise know each other outside of your introduction.

For example if you combine company A’s products, knowledge,
resources and partner it with company B’s client list you get to share in the profits. And it would not cost you one cent.

2. Online Marketing Consultant

If you have marketing savvy, you can offer your services as a consultant. With so many businesses looking for a web presence, it is no surprise that someone with knowledge is valuable. Build up a solid social network, and you can help companies achieve the results they are looking for. You can also provide services writing press releases and submitting to appropriate newswires. Consider your ability to help with online marketing, and your ability to interact with others online to get the word about products and services. Thanks to web cams and VoIP, it is easy to have meetings with clients, without having to conduct them in person – although you may need to change out of your pajamas if you are going to have a video conference call.

3. CAD and Electronics Circuit Designing

Here you don’t need graphics designing skills, but you only need the skill in your field that may be electronics circuits design or computer aided designs. If you are electronics engineer and have some experience in your field, you can easily start this job right now.

 4. Web-Site Designer

Web-Site Designers create web sites for clients. As a Website-Designer you must decide if you want to just design the website for the client or design the website and maintain it for the client. Web-Site Designers generally charge by the project or by the hour, $30 to $120 per hour. Retainers or lump sums are usually charged for ongoing and large projects.

5. Freelance Writer

Freelance Writers write articles for magazines, newspapers, newsletters, websites, etc. In order to become a Freelance Writer you have to be able to produce publishable work and sell it consistently to periodicals.

6. Logo Maker

Everyday, hundreds of websites / businesses are being developed or recreated on internet and most of them needs a logo for their business, logo for their website and logo for their products also. It means there is a big scope of business as logo maker if you are fluent in designing tasks.

The Rise of the Global Army of Freelancers

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By on Jan 17th, 2012

Man working as Freelancer

More writers, photographers and designers are choosing to venture into the job market alone as freelancers, preferring flexibility and independence. Those who choose to freelance instead of holding down a full-time job may have basic financial backing to keep them afloat while drifting from project to project, but serious freelancers can work “full time” by taking on multiple high-paying projects that adds up to a sizable monthly salary. Experience is one thing, but branding yourself as a freelancer is much more glamorous than underselling yourself in the will-work-for-free category.  According to the Professional Contractors Group, there are 1.4 million freelancers in the UK and the flexibility added by this community is contributing some £21 billion to UK GDP.
Read more →

Advantages and Disadvantages of Freelancer’s Working from Home

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By on Jan 13th, 2012

This article will aim to make your mind up between working at home and renting office space. There are two types of freelancers, the first who work from home and the second those who rent office space and go out to work.  Lets Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of freelancer working from home.

Advantages

Control of environment

By working at home you have absolute control over how your office looks, to the extent that you can even have extensive building work done to your office at your own discretion. You can paint, build or destroy anything you wish and you do not have to ask permission or have your idea rejected. You are your own boss.

Traveling

If you rent an office space which is even a five minute walk away, you will still have to travel. A home office is in your home and no travelling time is lost, so this means that once you are done with your work you can go home to your loving families in an instant.

Cost

One of the greatest advantages of working from home is cost efficiency. If you work from home, gas and electric bills along with rental costs will all be minimal. This is because the heating you will have probably been on at home anyway, so to heat a new room in your new office would cost more. Similarly all other costs which exist from an office would be significantly less because of working from home.

Disadvantages

Noise

Usually rented office space will probably be in or close to a business district. Your home will be in a residential area. In a business district you will be pushed to find teenagers playing football, dogs barking and the general sort of noise pollution which you find in some residential areas. This of course depends on where you live, because the description sound like down-town Detroit.

People

People visit your home and if they have come to your home you will be obliged to sit with them. This may not be a serious problem but it can be and regardless if you are the only person at home then cold callers (on the phone or on your doorstep) will get the best of you. In a rented office, this may not be the case.

Family

If you have children, then when they come home from school they will probably want to see you and play with you. If you happen to be more productive around that time you will lose out on good work.
If you do not have kids, your partner or parents (depending on who you live with) can have distractions of their own. Sometimes it can be difficult for younger freelancers to explain to their parents that being home does not mean that they are free to do chores, but they are working in the same way they would if they had rented office space.

Procrastination

It is significantly easier to procrastinate at home since all it takes is a walk to the other room to start watching TV. It’s very easy to get distracted with anything. Also, the idea of being at home can make you feel lazy and therefore cause you to procrastinate. Especially since you may be using the same computer which you work on during the day, to socialise on during the night. This will make it easier for you to load up Facebook and waste your life telling people what you ate for breakfast in the morning.
Working in an External Office.

Final Point

It is possible to work from home in such a way that you remove the above disadvantages and it is possible to work from an external office and manage to turn the advantages into disadvantages. This depends on the type of person.

 

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