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Earning a self employed income is easier than you think…

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With an increase in UK unemployment figures last week, it is good to know that as a counter measure the number of self-employed workers is on the increase, showing the determination of those who are unemployed to survive, while also illustrating the fact that earning an income is easier than most people think.

With many companies increasingly having to cut fixed headcount numbers through redundancies, many of those who find themselves unemployed are seeking out their own work, opting for self-employment and freelancing instead.

Official figures released last week by the Office for National Statistics revealed a significant increase in the number of people who have chosen to become self-employed and take on freelance projects over the past few months; more than 100,000 people took on self-employed status during this period of time, taking the total number of independent workers in the UK to 4.2 million, according to a report by the BBC.

A separate report published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) also stated that people from a much wider array of backgrounds and occupations had now turned to self-employment than in previous years.

Online marketplaces allow freelancers to sign up and search for work, which is advertised by companies seeking to outsource business functions to freelancers rather than employee fixed in-house teams. Last year was a particularly buoyant year for freelance marketplaces, as both the demand for freelance services increased , as companies look for flexible staffing solutions, coupled with an increase in the supply of freelancers operating within the UK.

Outsourcing business functions to freelancers has been a lifesaver for many companies in 2011, with this trend towards outsourcing looking likely to continue in 2012.

One outsourcing website in particular that has reaped the benefits of this increase in demand is OutsourceMyProject. With over £1 million worth of projects posted onto the site over the past 12 months, the business is looking forward to what 2012 will bring for them.

Loren Holland, Managing Director of Outsource My Project said: “We are expecting the demand for freelance staff to continue increasing this year, as companies continue to cut fixed overheads and permanent staff numbers, and instead turn to outsourcing business functions to more flexible freelance professionals.”

“OutsourceMyProject offers the perfect marketplace for freelancers and businesses to connect. Businesses looking to find a freelancer or outsource business functions simply advertise their project, which becomes visible to the thousands of freelancers registered on our site who then submit their proposals to win the work.”

Further figures released last week by the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment has continued to increase, especially in the three months to November, where it reached a total of 2.7 million.

The UK’s unemployment rate stood at 8.4% of the economically active population by the start of November, up 0.3% during the quarter and the highest its been since 1995.

The number of jobless young people between the ages of 16 and 24 also hit another record high, with there now being over 1 million people in this age group out of work.

Via EPR Network
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Increasing interest in mobile app development

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The New Year has already brought about a noticeable increase in companies exploring the world of mobile app development, which is becoming an ever increasing way businesses connect with their customers.

This growing popularity of smartphones, and Android devices in particular, is undeniable, with data released last week by US web analytics firm Chitika Analytics revealing that in North America Android devices overtook Apple iOS handsets when it came to mobile web browsing, and is therefore one of the most popular operating systems that people buy into.

Ever since the very first smartphone came into the marketplace, there has always been criticism over the lack of available apps. However, with the mobile app development industry growing and technology ever-advancing, more apps are being launched with every coming week. Companies are now being forced to wonder what benefits they can reap by launching their own app.

The amount of interest developers have had in relation to mobile apps over the last few months is also as a result of an increasing number of businesses investing in new tablet computers. A new survey has recently claimed that it is not just personal use which is fueling the tablet market, as more companies than ever before will invest in several tablet devices for their workplace during 2012.

According to the NPD Group, 73% of companies in America with less than 1,000 employees plan to buy tablet computers over the next few months, showing that it’s not only large organisations investing in such devices. A significant amount of companies have also spoken of their want to invest in iPads in particular.

Not only is this level of interest keeping developers who specialise in mobile app development busy, but it’s also creating a significant amount of additional jobs for freelance developers. This, coupled with the fact that more and more smartphones running the Android operating system are being launched, things look set to only get busier.

Loren Holland, Managing Director of OutsourceMyProject, a marketplace helping UK customers find a freelancer (e.g. freelance web designers and freelance graphic designers), said: “We have witnessed a significant increase in the number of projects being posted on our outsourcing website by those wanting a mobile app for their business. Furthermore, there has been a similar increase in freelancers registering to offer their mobile app development services. This is certainly a growing market and a mobile app is something every business should be considering for the near future.”

With the workloads of app developers likely to increase throughout the year, it’s no surprise that both developers in this market are getting their very own industry body. The idea for a dedicated industry body is being led by Jon Potter, the former executive director of the Digital Media Association. According to a report by Info World, the aim is to establish an organization that can lobby on behalf of app developers, promoting their interests, while at the same time increasing collaboration, improving education and providing shared product-testing facilities.

Jon Potter, the former Executive Director of the Digital Media Association is leading the idea and said: “Our thought now is that there’s an interesting space in the application developer community that isn’t really organised. We’re going to be at the meetups all around the country, we’re going to be at conferences, we’re going to be talking to folks, we’re going to be polling people.”

Via EPR Network
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Struggling Jobs Market Doesn’t Stop Entrepreneurs

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Despite the challenging economic times entrepreneurs are helping to guide the UK economy through these difficult times, as both freelancers fight back against the high unemployment rates and new start up business look set to boost the national GDP significantly.

As a result of unemployment in the UK steadily increasing, as well as the number of unemployed people currently being the highest since 1994, research has shown that a significant amount of people are turning to freelance work, in an attempt to earn money – an increase of 12% since 2008. With the number of freelancers and new business owners on the rise, amidst a struggling jobs market, the strong business spirit is helping us all to avoid a future recession, and to make the very best of a bad situation.

In the current challenging economic environment, businesses are keen to reduce fixed costs costs, often by reducing the number of fixed staff they employ, and are instead employing freelancers. With freelancers working on flexible, short-term contracts, they are paid on a per work basis and are therefore not paid for the times when they aren’t needed, helping to minimise overheads.

This has of course shaken up the freelance industry, with a large amount of work available from many different companies. Whether it be a large retail company looking for a web designer to design and host their website, or an office based company needing a professional to undertake some administrative duties, it seems that outsourcing is the way to go about it, with more outsourcing websites setting up each month.

With many of the websites offering payment and project management platforms, as well as a whole host of other support, it’s a hassle-free way for those with the right skills to earn a sole income, or to supplement their income.

Many people who have been made redundant now seek work through outsourcing websites, in order to continue earning money during a challenging economic time. The amount of people freelancing in this way shows that they’re actively fighting the economic environment, and boosting the UK economy at the same time.

Furthermore, a recent survey has suggested that Britain’s newest start-up businesses are set to add hundreds of millions of pounds to the national economy next year, with outsourcing being the concept that looks set to continue leading the way. The survey, commissioned by T-Mobile and carried out by the Henley Business School, estimated that technologically-focused small businesses launched in 2011 could generated a combined £360m for the UK economy in 2012, generating somewhere in the region of 70,000 jobs.

Outsourcing websites have made it easy for freelancers, from freelance web designers to freelance graphic designers, to find work, whilst also providing businesses with a cheaper alternative in getting their workload and business functions completed. Loren Holland, Managing Director of OutsourceMyProject said: “OutsourceMyProject provides a useful service to freelancers and UK businesses. Our website connects freelance professionals with businesses looking to outsource their workload, and provides them with a platform to manage and complete their jobs. We’ve noticed that sign-ups to the site have increased rapidly over the past 12 months, which is undoubtedly a sign of strengthening freelance marketplace.”

Via EPR Network
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OutsourceMyProject Continues To Provide Freelancers With Work

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Several months after first launching, the outsourcing website, OutsourceMyProject, is continuing to provide freelancers with work. Enabling many different businesses to have their work completed by skilled individuals, the work costs significantly less than it would do when sourced from a high street company, which is why the concept has really taken off.

Loren Holland, Managing Director of OutsourceMyProject said: “My business partner and I launched OutsourceMyProject with an aim of providing a platform for UK businesses to engage with the UK freelance workforce, whilst also providing UK businesses with the opportunity to outsource their workload to freelancers abroad.”

He went on to say: “With more freelancers signing up to the website every day, whilst an increasing number of businesses are also posting jobs onto the site, it’s thankfully going from strength to strength. At a time where unemployment rates are continually rising, OutsourceMyProject is the ideal marketplace for unemployed UK workers to not only offer their services, but to be able to put their skills to use and be paid for it too.”

With shocking figures released today by the BBC, a record 1 in 5 people under the age of 24 are currently unemployed. Clearly backing the concept of outsourcing, and more specifically backing the purpose of outsourcing websites such as OutsourceMyProject, now is a great time for people out of work to be able to make money from home.

With a jobless rate of 8.3%, and a figure from October 2011 announcing that 1.6 million people are now claiming jobseeker’s allowance, the unemployment rate is the highest since 1996, whilst the total number of those who are unemployed is the highest since 1994.

To date, the concept of outsourcing professional services has been limited to large companies and organisations. However, OutsourceMyProject is a website that enables small and medium sized businesses, as well as entrepreneurs and individuals to be able to successfully find a freelancer and outsource business abroad.

Helping businesses to work within their ever-tightening budgets, OutsourceMyProject is a concept whereby significant cost savings are generated. This is most commonly through the outsourcing of work to low cost economies that have a highly talented skill base, such as various information technology roles and back office support roles to countries like India.

Freelancers firstly sign up to OutsourceMyProject, upon which they are then able to create a freelance profile and use the fair and transparent bidding process to secure the work that appeals to them, such as opportunities to become a freelance logo designer or as freelance graphic designers. With companies able to cherry pick the exact talent they’re looking for, and consequently choosing the freelancer they feel can carry out the job to the required standard, it’s a great way to build up strong working relationships, and is a concept that encourages competitive bidding from both UK and global providers.

With any cost saving method being essential in combating the ever-struggling economic climate in today’s society, it seems that outsourcing is an ideal concept not only for thriving businesses facing budget cuts, but also for companies who simply wouldn’t be able to survive without these savings in place.

OutsourceMyProject provides a sought-after service that helps UK businesses to cut fixed employment overheads whilst also cutting the costs of service providers too. For example, sourcing a competent web designer on OutsourceMyProject is considerably cheaper than sourcing someone at the same level from a high street company.

Thanks to the concept of outsourcing, the freelance jobs workforce is growing, with the possibility of working from home and making a living for yourself being much more of a reality today than it has ever been before. With the digital world growing too, as well as the increasing capabilities of technology continuing to pleasantly surprise us, perhaps this is the way of the future and something we will see a lot more of over the next year or so.

Via EPR Network
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UK Business Turning To Freelancers To Survive Challenging Economic Times

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In what’s undoubtedly a tough economic climate for many UK businesses, an increasing number are turning to the skills of freelancers in an attempt to stay afloat during these challenging times. With the services of freelancers helping businesses to not only continue to get their jobs done, but to reduce their fixed overheads at the same time, the workloads of many freelancers continue to increase, as more companies start to realise exactly how outsourcing can help their company.

As a result of the freelance market being stronger than ever before, both in terms of supply and demand, freelancers are increasingly giving businesses other options, such as a being flexible alternatives to the permanent staff they’ve always had. With freelancer web designers and freelance translators, for example, completing work within the desired time, and in many cases ahead of schedule, the appeal of freelancers is clear, especially when their prices are often a lot cheaper than those quoted by high street companies. With businesses being able to save money whilst also getting the job done and without having to sacrifice the quality of it, outsourcing is a win-win situation for all involved.

A recent survey has shown that 66% of companies who took part in it said they were more likely to start outsourcing their work during difficult economic times. This is, of course, great news for freelancers, as being in this role can also bring its fair share of difficulties too, such as work not being guaranteed. With freelancers often being essential to start up businesses who need access to affordable, flexible specialists, the outsourcing market is growing constantly.

Loren Holland, Managing Director of OutsourceMyProject, an up-and-coming online freelance outsourcing company said: “With significant savings to be made through outsourcing work to freelancers, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of UK businesses are choosing to have their workloads completed in this way. Savings are commonly made by outsourcing work to low cost economies that have highly skilled workers, such as India, as an impressive amount of money can be saved yet the job is carried out just as well.”

Loren Holland went on to say: “OutsourceMyProject is a UK based platform, which has been created in order to open up the global market place for professional services, across a wide range of sectors. Outsource My Project enables small and medium sized businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals to successfully outsource business within the UK and abroad, whilst also helping self employed individuals to secure work. With the transparent bidding process of many outsourcing sites meaning that businesses are free to pick and choose the type of freelancer they want for the job, the concept is appealing to say the least.

Via EPR Network
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OutsourceMyProject – An Essential Money-Saving Tool For Every Kind Of Business

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With many businesses trying to carry out their everyday work with a limited budget, it’s no surprise that each day brings the unfortunate closure of another company, whether it be a struggling design company with an unmanageable workload, or a well-known company failing to make ends meet.

In today’s society, everything costs money, and these costs seem to always be on the increase, which makes every new day a struggle for many businesses. However, a company called OutsourceMyProject (OMP) looks set to turn everything around, with an aim of being an essential source of skilled labour and a money-saving tool for every kind of business, no matter how big or small.

Many companies would jump at the chance of being able to outsource some of their business functions to specialist service providers for a small fee, and that’s exactly what OMP allows businesses to do. As a result, over the past year a steady flow of companies have taken the time to learn about outsourcing, whilst also taking advantage of the benefits they themselves have been able to reap from the concept.

It’s no wonder that outsourcing marketplaces, such as OutsourceMyProject (OMP), have therefore helped to keep many companies afloat when they would have otherwise crumbled. OMP prides itself on helping businesses find specialists with the skills they require at an affordable rate, in what is undoubtedly a financially straining economy.

Cedar Falls Care Home, based in Walsall, is just one company that’s saved a significant amount of money by outsourcing their work through OMP, and has gone from strength to strength since first signing up to the website. Managing Director of Cedar Falls said: “We read about OutsourceMyProject in the news and thought it was a great way to find experts who could provide the services we needed at affordable rates. We loved the idea of posting one project and then sitting back and receiving multiple proposals in a competitive environment.

“We’ve used OutsourceMyProject to find several experts to help with projects; the main one being a web developer and SEO expert, who helped to build and promote our company website. We posted our project on OutsourceMyProject and within hours we received several great offers from experts in the UK, as well as other low cost economies, such as India. We went on to find a freelancer based in Wales, who built our website for 50% of our original budget!

“We’ve used OMP for the past 12 months now and have found freelance experts ranging from web developers, to PR consultants, and freelance graphic designers, who have all provided their services at a fraction of the price we were previously quoted from high street companies.”

During their time with OutsourceMyProject so far, Cedar Falls has not only found a website designer for just £350, compared to the high street quote of £1000, but they’ve also enlisted the help of a freelance logo designer, who turned out to be 83% cheaper than the quotes received from the high street. And, it’s not just a database of designers that OMP offers, as many content writers, admin support freelancers, and those with a solid understanding of search engine optimisation (SEO) are registered on the site too, saving Cedar Falls 67%, 60%, and 50% respectively.

By realising the potential of OMP, Cedar Falls successfully found freelancers to fulfill their business needs; all for a total cost that would only have paid for a website design on the high street. It’s no surprise that through using OMP, Cedar Falls have saved a total of 64% to date.

The case study of Cedar Falls illustrates how OMP can not only help businesses directly, but it’s also an aid in helping entrepreneurs to launch their business ideas at a significant saving. OMP makes it both easier and cheaper for business ventures to be launched, whilst also providing companies with what is sure to become a essential aid.

Through OMP, businesses can not only find the most suitable professionals to complete their work, but they can also make all-important savings along the way. In turn, this has allowed businesses to consequently become leaner, whilst also making it feasible for them to reduce their overheads, through the use of both freelance and online workers. This is, of course, perfect not only in a difficult economic climate, but perfect for the digital world as a whole, paving the way of the future.

Via EPR Network
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