Millenials: From 30 Year Careers to Freelance

careers to freelance

In previous generations you picked a trade after college or high school and chances are you stuck with it but for many this is changing. Today’s millennials are opting out of this process due to personal preference or the labor market. They are working as freelancers instead of choosing 30 year careers. Like many things, the transition from careers to freelance has it’s pros and cons, lets explore some of them.
careers to freelance

Benefits
Traditional healthcare, dentistry, 401k, and many other benefits have been provided by your employer but this is not the cause in many modern freelance positions. Working as a freelancer you may likely be required to take care of these things yourselves. This is an important thing to keep in mind while you looking at salary in a freelance role. Remember these things are often very expensive but freelance hourly pay is often higher than a salary role.

Job Security
The traditional 30 year career promised job security, though we have found this is not always the case. While it was definitely harder to get fired from a job where you have seniority, it is also harder to find a new if you are. A freelancer is by definition flexible, if you are expecting your job to end shortly, chances are you are ready for the next one. The key to thriving as a freelancer is keeping your skills marketable and current.

Hours
The forty hour work weeks of previous generations, complete with overtime pay are becoming harder to find. Today’s millennials are more likely to have a feast or famine work schedule. It is becoming increasingly common to work multiple jobs at once, logging well over 60 hours for months on end only to be followed by periods of little to no work. For the millennial freelancer it is crucial to be aware of this and like a squirrel, stash away your earnings during the busy periods so you will be okay during the inevitable slow times. The savvy millennial freelancer can also use this to their advantage and plan vacations around these downtime or even take it a step further and spend your life on vacation as a digital nomad.

So the debate rages on whether this transition in work style is for the greater good or not, there is not denying the impact it is having on the millennial generation. Those young workers who are most successful are flexible and constantly adapting to the changing demands of the workforce. They also need to be self reliant regarding savings and benefits. You can no longer count on a salary and career for your life from a single company. The workforce of today and tomorrow will be shaped by freelancing millennials moving from careers to freelance.

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What Can Virtual Assistants Do For You?

Virtual Assistant

No, a virtual assistant is not something out of a science fiction movie. A virtual assistant is often a freelancer working from home (virtually) who can help you with your business. So what can virtual assistants do for you? Well, they can do just about anything a physical assistant could; often at a fraction of the cost. Here are some ideas:
Virtual Assistant
Presentations
Last minute meeting and you don’t have your presentation ready? Your virtual assistant can help you with this. Maybe you have all the content ready to go but you don’t have the time or expertise to put into a shareable format. This is a great task to assign to your virtual assistant, simply provide some instructions and wait for the results.

Research
Is your business set to expand into a new arena? Do you need to do some research on potential clients or competition? Give this job to your virtual assistants and let them loose. They will scour the world wide web and bring back a well written data driven document on the topic of your choice. This is not only time saving but can be crucial in making your next big move.

Emails
Out of control inboxes are far to common these days. This is something your virtual assistant could help with. Imagine waking up Monday morning to a single email from your assistant telling you the highlights and must does from the weekends messages. I couldn’t think of a better way to start your week.

Chasing Clients
Maybe you know there is business out there but you don’t have the time to chase up all those leads in your Rolodex (or digital equivalent.) Share these ideas with your digital assistant and have them send personalized email or physical mailers. Instead of using a mass email service you could be having your assistant write customized personal messages geared at each client. These emails could pay off big time and you will be thanking your virtual assistant.

Vacation Planning
Its not only business, you could also have your virtual assistant help with something more fun. A digital assistant is the perfect tool for planning your and your families next getaway. Your virtual assistant can look up the perfect hotels, restaurants and flights. They can also find unique things for you to do while on vacation. Imagine having your next trip all sorted out before you even leave home, so all you had to think about are the waves rolling up on the beach.

These are only a few of the possible things your virtual assistants can do for you. The sky is the limit on what tasks you can assign your virtual assistant. Once you get used to your virtual assistant you will be wondering how you ever lived without one.

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Ways To make Money From Home

Making money from home sounds too good to be true right? While you are right to be skeptical, there are plenty of legitimate ways you can make money from home. So have a look at this list for some tips of you want to make your living from the comfort of your home.
Make Money From Home

Choose Something You Are Good At
Do you know multiple languages? Maybe you would make a good translator. A sports nut? Maybe selling collectibles online would be a good way for you to make money from home. Do you have a history in the medical field? Maybe you could make a good living transcribing medical records from the comfort of your couch. The key is to isolate your skills, what sets you apart from others. With today’s global economy, the more niche your skill is, the more you are in demand and the more you can make.

Do Your Homework
Whether it is asking friends, family, or just about anyone; it is important to ask around to find a way to make money from home that will work for you. Web searches are a useful tool as well. Online forms are a good place to start. Try to find people that are doing what you want to do. Ask them how they got into the field and what advice they have. The more you know, the better. Make sure you have a good sense of the job markets, the salaries, and the required qualifications before you quit your day job.

Use Geography in Your Favor
Apartments cost more in Manhattan than they do in Idaho. This basic principle can be key to being successful making money from home. Just because your client or boss is based out of a city with a high cost of living, doesn’t mean you have to but it likely means the pay will be. So if you are living in a city with a low cost of a living and entry level position in a city with a high cost of living could be very lucrative. You can take this a step further and go the Digital Nomad route, earning an American salary while living a low-cost life abroad

Remember just because you may being working from you couch or in your favorite Sponge Bob pajamas, doesn’t mean you are not working. Don’t expect working from home to be any easier than your traditional day job, in fact it may be harder. When your boss (or clients) are not seeing you face to face, they will be more adamant about seeing your results, so be prepared to work. Keep that in my mind if you are planning to make money from home.

 

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How to Design the Ultimate Home Office

Ultimate Home Office

Are you lucky enough to have a job that lets you work from home? Then you know the importance of a home office. Whether you are remolding your current house or building out a new condo, here is a guide on how to design the ultimate home office.

Ultimate Home Office

Choose the Right Space
Depending on your unique situation you could have a large spare room, an attic, a basement, or maybe just the kitchen table in your studio apartment; no matter your situation once you choose a space you can start getting it ready for work. So pick a space that will have ideal privacy and ideal space. You don’t want to feel cramped and you also do not want constant distractions.

Make sure you pick a place with good wifi and plenty of power outlets if needed. You also want to pick a place that will feel cozy, while you can make an attic or basement work; chances are you will be spending a lot of time in your home office so you want to make it a place you’d like to stay. If you are going to be working from home long term, maybe it is a good opportunity to have AnyWeather Roofing inspect your attic and roofing system for a potential loft conversion. Loft spaces are all the rage nowadays and with adequate use of windows, they provide the perfect amount of natural light.
Get Inspiration
There are plenty of online publications to provide inspiration for your ultimate home office. Whether you are looking for a playful, hip, tech vibe or a classic leather, classy, madmen feel; you can’t find out unless you look. You can also head to furniture show rooms to get an idea for what trends are in and you may come home with plenty of fresh ideas. Also try searching online, once you have your furniture in mind, don’t forget about the decorations! Once you have an inspiration for your style, make it your own. Add a coat of paint and some framed art and your space will show your personal style and get you on the right track to coming up with creative ideas. You don’t wan’t to have a cookie cutter office, there is a reason you left the cubicle remember? So make some unique changes that reflect your style, needs, and your space.
Budget

So you have your space picked out and you have plenty of inspiration for furniture and style. Now it times to determine your budget. Take into account the amount you bring home from your home business and plan accordingly. Maybe the five-thousand dollar leather couch can wait until business is really booming. It is important stay to your budget once you fix it, remember to focus your budget on the most essential pieces, you can add more fun and secondary furniture pieces as you business grows.

What are you waiting for? Start walking around your place and deciding which area would make your ultimate home office. Once you have your space decided, get your inspiration on by searching online or heading out to your local furniture showroom. Don’t forgot the last step, plan your budget; while it it may not be the most fun, remember you are running a home business here. Next thing you know you will be working in the ultimate home office.

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Best Homebased Businesses To Get Into

Homebased Businesses

Tired of your morning commute? Sick of your boss or career?  Want to spend more time around the house with your family and pets? Maybe you want to be able to travel more? One solution to all this problems is to work from home. If you are not sure where to start here are some of the best homebased businesses to get into.

Translator
Knowing two or more languages can be a head start in many ways, and it is definitely a major advantage if you want to be a part of a homebased business that deals with translations. Working through an agency or as a freelancer there is plenty of money and flexibility provided through translating. So long as you can read and write or in some cases just speak more than one language you will likely be able to find a job in this lucrative industry.
Homebased Businesses

Jewelry Maker
Jewelry is something that can requires very little space, inventory, and start up cash; this makes it a very tempting idea for a homebased business. If you are a creative, hip, and business minded person, there is no reason you can’t start a business selling unique jewelry via the internet. Whether you sell through your own site or an online marketplace, if you have a product people want, you can make a good living selling unique earrings and necklaces form home.

Copywriter
Was language arts your favorite subject in school? Or do you have a natural gift with words? How about working as a freelance copyrighter. No, unique skill set is required just a good understanding of the english language and the knowledge of the subject the matter is helpful too. A copyrighter can make a good living writing for advert agencies or on a freelance basis. Though it is sometimes a difficult field to get your foot in the door, once you get going there is a plenty of lucrative work in this field. It is also a notoriously flexible position with the ability to work from home.

The primary trick to getting into a successful home based business is to utilize a skill you already have. If you have a knack for creativity or fashion, perhaps selling unique handmade clothes or jewelry is for you. Maybe you know multiple languages (including computer programming languages) you can utilize these skills to make a large profit from home.  You look through your previous work experiences, educational history, and personal passions and try to find an idea that utilizes two of them. Once you have that idea do the math and see if there is a way to make this economically feasible from your home. Remember life is short and the sooner you get your idea off the ground, the faster you can be relaxing and working from your couch.

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