22 February 2009

Strength to strength

Looking back over the last few months, I still have to pinch myself that I am working with such a fantastic group of women - both mentors and mentees and that includes Jackie, soon to be the matriarch of women mentoring!

Even though Karen Darby is my mentor and Guru, I have also had the pleasure of meeting with Jo Haigh and also talking to Karen Hanton. On top of this, the Mentees, all wonderful entrepreneurs, are banding together to help each other because we all have particular skills and experience and face different challenges and obstructions. I’m really looking forward to our brainstorming ‘round table’ or more like feet up lounging meet next week.

This half mad bunch of mentees of which I am one, have all just past the half way point in this great mentoring competition, which is a great place to start my three month update.

Five out of six objectives planned for the three month half way line have been achieved! Of this sales and revenue have made the biggest mark in our mentor growth. Traffic is also up and we have taken on new staff who are now building a great pipeline of future sales. With this boost to the business and our growing confidence in this fantastic new working culture, we are now talking to another staff member with the aim of bringing them on board in March.

It is very gratifying to talk to large companies and find that they are very interested in being associated with Remote Employment and the exciting roller coaster ride we are on! We have worked magic with strategic alliances and sponsorships with more great offerings about to come on board.

We are very proud of the response we have received from sponsors and how the Remote Worker Awards will change a few careers and working lives. We are now putting final plans for the awards and hope to announce our headline sponsor this week. We will also confirm the winning ceremony with a luxury hotel group. Watch this space for more updates on the awards and our stunning collection of prizes – now estimated to be valued at £50k!

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How to set up a home office ...

Before you set up a work station at home, check out our Seven Top Tips on how to work from home:

Your Home Office
Ideally, you will have a spare room to create a home office. If not, a corner of another room, will be fine as long as you are not constantly distracted in the family fast lane. Set up your kitSet up your computer, files and phone to give you maximum comfort for long hours. Have enough plug points for PC, printer, phone, scanner, mobile charger, fax machine and answer phone. Even better get an all in once mod con to save on a jumble of cables and wires.

Pick your desk location
You should be able to see the door of the office from where you are sitting or at least more of your surroundings. Beware of facing the garden and the bird bath – too tempting to watch the world go by! A hard chair will give you backache so spend a little extra on a good one.

Working Hours
Working outside 'normal' working hours helps to balance your work and home life so don't feel guilty dashing off to take the lads to footie after school, as long as you get your work done. Catching up in the early morning or later in the evening works well, but also watch out for going OTT. Make sure you close down and walk away at some point or the family will go hungry.

Have a breather
No matter what kind of work you do or what home you do it in, you can go bonkers if you spend 24 hours a day at it. Get out, whenever you can, to clear your head and to see other people. Use lunch time as a good break to pop down to pick up groceries for dinner, step outside to feed the birds during your coffee break or walk the dog around the block to clear the cobwebs. This is also a great way to mull over a document or get inspiration for new ideas.

Keep in Touch
Have no fear that your social life at work comes to an end if you leave your office to work from home, in fact in some cases your relationship with your colleagues may improve. Email is instant but be careful of 'funnies' – they can eat up a huge chunk of time. Chat through business issues by phone and meet for a quick bite every now and then.

Goal scoring
Give yourself little goals and objectives and then reward yourself when they are complete. Make sure family and friends know your hours or days of working at home and stick to that. Don't be tempted to pop over for a coffee or cook a large meal. Give yourself this time as a reward for getting up early on a Monday to finish a long-winded report. Or if you score well with a new client take five to put your feet up before the school run. Whatever incentives work for you, use them to motivate yourself to balance your time around your other responsibilities.

If you have any suggestions on working from home, please submit your articles to grace@remoteemployment.com.

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