Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment – Page 4

Brain Wave, Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment

How Your Computer Can Improve Your Writing Process

February 19, 2018 No Comments

Now, if you have ambitions of becoming a writer, then you probably already know that, while getting the ideas together can be easy enough, putting them down in words can be a difficult process. Simply getting started can be intimidating! There’s nothing quite like a blank page, after all. However, if you’re reading this, then you do have a powerful tool at your disposal: your computer. If you can avoid looking at cat videos and scrolling through Facebook for a few minutes, you’ll find that it has everything you need to get the words flowing – and flowing nicely.

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Look at a New Keyboard

You might think that your mind is doing most of the word, but really, that title belongs to your hands. They’re the ones making the magic happen! As such, it’s crucial that they’re comfortable, free of pain, and able to type for hours on end. If you have a small laptop, then this won’t be possible; your hands will be too close together, and it won’t be long before you’re beginning to feel the strain. If this applies to you, then look at getting a better keyboard. A bigger, wireless keyboard, one that’s easier on the hands, might make all the difference.

Using Apps To Improve

There are some common problems that all writers face. These include things like avoiding distraction, and then knowing whether your writing is as good as you think it is. Thankfully, this is where apps can come to the rescue. You can use applications that’ll block everything but the written page, meaning if you’re tempted to browse the web for a while, you can’t! And then there are apps that’ll highlight the readability of your text, as well as any errors. Traditional word applications can only do so much; the apps are much more in depth.

Keeping Your Sentences Safe

If getting started is bad, then think about how tough it’ll be if you have text that you’re happy with…but then it somehow gets lost! Thankfully, this doesn’t have to affect you, if you know what to do. To begin, keep all your important documents in cloud storage; if your laptop breaks, you’ll still have all your words backed up remotely. You’ll also want to know how to view clipboard history on Mac; this will mean that all the words you’ve copied and pasted (and that will be a lot when you’re writing) will be readily accessible. Thought you’d lost that golden, flowing sentence? Think again!

Getting Feedback

You might think you’ve written the greatest thing since Shakespeare, but how can you be so sure? By getting the feedback from others! There are plenty of online writing groups and services e.g. CustomWritings where you’ll be able to submit your work and get feedback. You don’t have to take everything on board, of course, but you might just discover something that really improves your writing.

Finally, if you’re struggling to find ideas for your next story, use the internet! There’s inspiration everywhere, so you never have to struggle with writer’s block.

Brain Wave, Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment, Money matters

Investment options for the self-employed

February 4, 2018 No Comments

As a self-employed person, finding a suitable option for a financial pension is indispensable. Government and corporate funds offer a wealth of choice. Here are some other investment options you can consider.

Stocks are the star of the market

This security is the best known in the market. Blue chips are suitable as a beginner-entry and long-term investment option.

Stocks also offer dividends. This is distributed annually. Stocks could be used to generate a passive additional income. Careful adherence to principles and strategies can minimise risk and generate profits. Particular attention should be paid to IPO’s something of a double edged sword a company’s Initial Public Offering is often an incredible opportunity but one fraught with risk, the until now private company has clearly been doing well enough that it anticipates a positive reception however it is not uncommon for bounces early as the market has no historic trend data making technical analysis impossible.

Stock CFDs

With CFDs, (contracts for difference), you take a position on the value of the underlying asset such as a stock, currency pair or commodity.

When you trade CFDs, you do not physically own the underlying instrument. You only speculate on whether the financial instrument you are investing in will rise or fall. For this reason, CFDs are generally free from Stamp Duty. As a rule, CFDs are traded off-exchange.

CFDs can be a superb opportunity for the self-employed investor as they require only a small start up fund to make large trades due to the power of leverage, simply put you can keep the bulk of your money in your savings or other investments and still use it to trade. However it should be noted that with the potential for big risk there is also a potentially huge reward. If you’re left holding a bet when the market moves against you you can end up losing far more than your initial holding deposit.

Diversifying your portfolio: funds

Funds have the advantage of diversification. Many investors put their money in a variety of securities. A distinction must be made between active and passive funds. With active funds, your portfolio will actively be managed by a fund manager who will be able to respond appropriately to the prevailing economic climate. Passive funds on the other hand, have the advantage of lower costs and the chance of a long-term high return.

Exchange-traded funds

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), for example, invest the collected assets in a specific index, such as the DAX, Dow Jones or Nikkei 225. This purchases the stocks that are in the corresponding index, ie the performance of the ETF is equal to that of the index. Savings plans make it possible to pay a fixed amount at regular intervals.

The ups and downs of the stock market are important in determining your profit. At low prices, the investor buys more shares for the same money than at high prices. If the index or market should collapse, there is the opportunity of a manual purchase at favourable prices. Nevertheless, risk cannot be switched off, and losses are always possible.

Bonds are an alternative to credit

Companies use investment bonds when they need capital and the sum cannot be borne by a single financial institution. The money needed is divided into many small bonds and offered for sale to the public in the market. In addition to annual interest gains, price gains are possible upon payment of the debt at the end of the term.

Creditworthy companies with an attractive interest yield are viewed by many as a potential investment opportunity, especially when market interest rates are low.

Finding the right product

Ultimately the level of risk steps up in hand with the level of reward, for a self employed person you may find that you’re asset rich, but cash poor for this reason margin products often look attractive, however these are inherently risky, other product fads such as cryptocurrency trading carry even more risk.

Brain Wave, Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment, Self-Care Corner

Calling All Freelancers: How You Can Take Better Care of Yourself

January 31, 2018 No Comments

Being able to work from home can bring with it some great flexibility and the freedom to do things as and when you need to. You’re only accountable to yourself, and you decide your workload and the hours that you work. But with that freedom, comes some responsibility; you may be accountable to only you about your work, but also about your health. In an office, an employer is required to adhere to certain guidelines to make sure that you’re working in a healthy and safe environment. But when you’re working at home and by yourself, the only person that will be telling you to take a break or get a new desk chair is you. So what can you to do be more accountable for your health when you’re self-employed? Here are some of the ways you can take better care of yourself.

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Assess Your Desk

Hopefully you have a desk or an office space that you work in at home. You should check the space out and see what you can be doing to make sure that it is a comfortable and safe space. Is your desk chair up to scratch? Is it adjustable and movable? If it isn’t, then it could be worth looking to invest in a new one. Have you got a footrest or somewhere for your wrists to avoid things like repetitive strain? All of these kind of thing can make a difference to your health and posture overall, and stop you getting aches and pains when you’re doing your work.

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Improve Your Health

As well as the environment that you’re in, your own health can have an impact on how well you’re able to work. And at the end of the day, as a freelancer, you’re likely to not get paid unless you are working. So it pays to stay well; literally. So think about regular exercise breaks to take a walk or go to the gym. Think about what you’re eating and drinking; it can be hard to get up early and do work if you’re hungover or feel so lethargic from eating sugar-filled foods. You could also look to purchase health care products online like a blood pressure monitor or a mattress that could help you sleep better. Be proactive and you’re likely to deal with any issues before they actually crop up.

Banish Loneliness

Working freelance can be very rewarding. But sometimes your only contact with someone else during the day can be the mailman! So it can be a pretty lonely place, especially if you work online and deal with people via emails. So in order for it to not impact your mental health, you need to think about what you can do to tackle it. It could mean that you decide to schedule conference calls or Skype calls rather than email. You could work from a coffee shop once a week or even hire a desk in an office. Just do what you need to do to banish that feeling of loneliness.

Brain Wave, Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment, Work at Home

How To Protect Your Small Business When You Work at Home

January 30, 2018 No Comments

When you run a small business, it is important that you do everything you can to make sure that you are protected. You also have to make sure that everything runs smoothly so that you can avoid a lawsuit as well. All of this can be incredibly difficult when you have so much to think about on a day to day basis, but with a little bit of help and support, you can give your small business the protection it needs.

Watch what you say

Your business is all about your image and you have to make sure that you avoid making any announcements that may be seen as being questionable. You also have to try and avoid things like slandering your customers and even dealing with other individuals who may be seen as being questionable as well. Of course, if you know that your business is not big enough to be worrying about this then you couldn’t be more wrong. Even the smallest businesses run into issues like this now and again. To avoid stress, you need to make sure that you are focused on how your social media presence could affect you and even how you can change your attitude.

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Hire an Attorney

As a business owner, you need to make sure that you interview an attorney. Even if you don’t think you’ll need one, it’s important to have someone that you can go to when you need advice because if you are being sued then the last thing that you need is to try and hire someone in a hurry. If you are concerned that you can’t afford to hire an attorney right now then think about the expense that you will have to go through when you are actually being sued.

Always Back up Files

A lot of people that work from home don’t think that they have to backup their files and they also believe that they don’t have to spend time worrying about cybercriminals as well. This is not true at all and when you run a small business, you are just as likely to have your details stolen when compared to someone who runs an office down the road. For this reason, if you want to avoid all of this then you have to make sure that your files are protected and that you have copies of absolutely everything. If you want to secure your data with Infrascale then this is more than possible for you to do.

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Don’t Hire Friends or Family

When you run a business, it can be hard for you to turn away friends and family for a job, but it will be even harder for you to turn them away when you have to fire them or even if you cannot afford to pay them one month. For this reason, you have to do everything you can to make sure that you hire people who you know you can trust as well as hiring people who you know have the right experience and the right knowledge to get the job done.

Brain Wave, Careers, Freelancing and Self-Employment, Money matters

Elf-Employed? The Freelancer Struggle During The Holiday Season

November 17, 2017 No Comments

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One thing that self-employed people struggle with at the best of times is the holiday season, regardless of whether it is Christmas time, Easter, or you just need a break, the difficulty in taking time off, whether self-imposed or not, is that you don’t get paid for it. So, the self-employed group of workers needs the same amount of time off like everybody else, but because of the nature of the work, this is seldom the case. And as nice as it would be to give yourself those four weeks off, you know deep down that it’s not plausible. So, what can you do to lessen the burden of not being paid, but while also having a good time yourself?

Plan Ahead

Yes, this is, unfortunately, the most sensible solution. You know your working patterns, and you know when you are liable to burn out, so you should structure your finances accordingly. Lots of people make the mistake of taking one job after another, and before they know it, they have worked 6 months straight without a break. While you may be rolling in the monies, your health reserves are very likely at an all-time low. You may have thought instead it’s worth taking a loan out to help cover those free dates in the calendar that you have set aside, but if you get into the habit of taking a loan out so you can enjoy yourself, the burden of debt will very likely rear its ugly head. But while there are resources online on how to deal with debt, the best approach is to plan your finances accordingly. If you’ve been self-employed for some time, you know the peak and off-peak seasons so you can plan your breaks around those.

Holiday With The Family

This may not sound like a great sounding option, but the one thing about taking a vacation back at your parents’ house, or in your hometown, is that it will be a lot cheaper than going to the Algarve for two weeks. And besides, your parents would be happy to see you, even if they didn’t show it! And, time it around peak holiday seasons, like Christmas, and you will get fed! This means that minimal money will be spent on your part and you get a decent break. If this doesn’t appeal, then it’s a Netflix box set, your pajamas, and some chocolates for a week. Again, cheap and cheerful, and it achieves the desired effect!

Being A Social Butterfly

Wild nights out are incredibly expensive, instead, why don’t you propose to have a gathering at your home, or someone else’s? Dinner parties, parties, or any type of social gathering which doesn’t require you to go anywhere, is very cheap, and you will be grateful for the break away from your self-employed life. No doubt, you have been slaving away, day in and day out, for months on end. So, make the most of your time off, and socialize!

Being self-employed doesn’t mean constant vacations where you have no money, but if you find yourself in these trappings consistently, not only should you have a reassessment of how you tackle self-employment during the holiday season, but also how you tackle your finances.

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