‘Rottweiler Apprentice’ Jumps At Awards

Following a highly successful inaugural awards in 2009, Remote Employment in association with BT Business, today launches The 2010 Remote Worker Awards. The Remote Worker Awards is delighted to welcome Claire Young from The Apprentice to the prestigious panel of judges.

Claire Young shot to fame in series 4 of the smash hit BBC 1 ´The Apprentice´. She was the no-nonsense sales woman who infuriated, then won over viewers to reach the final - becoming the biggest ever bookies favourite to win in Apprentice history. Nicknamed the ´Rottweiler´ for her ability to go after whatever she wants; many admired her nonstop drive and were gripped by her transformation throughout the series.

Claire jumped at the chance to judge The Remote Worker Awards for it is unique as the only business awards recognising employers for their flexible working solutions and employees for showing that remote and home based working can improve business productivity, improve work life balance and help the environment.

Claire will help judges Karen Darby, Richard Alvin, Debbie Bird and others to choose companies and individuals who champion this modern way of working from entries across 10 award categories.

Claire said: "I am delighted to be supporting The Remote Worker Awards! I am keen to highlight how remote and home working benefits and gives people a better quality work life."

Post Apprentice life has been a whirlwind as she successfully manages her business and media career. Claire launched a prestigious venue management company, specialising in weddings, called Elegant Venues.

Claire is also all set to give her ‘Rottweileress’ skills to a new passion called Girls Out Loud www.girlsoutloud.org.uk and will become a regular presenter for GMTV. She has become an established public speaker and writing her own book! Claire will be presenting a new business TV show starting Autumn 2010 called The Hirer. She is passionate about working with young people on enterprise and works with a number of Government groups.

Entries now open at www.remoteworkerawards.com.

National Search To Unearth Remote Working Champions

Remote Employment and BT Business have launched a national search to find the UK’s most innovative business that runs a remote workforce for The Remote Employer Award sponsored by BlackBerry®. This award is aimed at identifying and honouring budding enterprises that can demonstrate how remote working has made a beneficial impact on their business.

Award winning website, Remote Employment, the No 1 job site for flexible and home based jobs, launched The Remote Worker Awards in association with BT Business to highlight how home working and remote working benefits the British public and their working life.

The Awards are the only business awards to recognise employers for their flexible working solutions and employees for showing that remote working can improve business productivity, improve work life balance and help the environment.
Last year’s winners, Cuddledry, used remote working to the advantage of all, demonstrating that home businesses can significantly exceed financial projections. Winning the Award has been a fantastic boost to the Cuddledry brand and a hugely flattering acknowledgment of the company’s commitment to flexible and rewarding working practices.

Ken Sheridan, organiser of the awards and co-founder of Remote Employment, a job site specialising in flexible, remote and home working, expects to unearth an abundance of inventive pioneers who champion flexibility with remote working solutions. Ken said: “Remote working is the future! We've discovered that employees and employers are seeking far more flexibility.”

There are many reasons why remote working is idea for employees and some companies find it most beneficial to bring quality people back into the workforce who, for their own reasons (including juggling a career and family life), no longer wish to commute or work in an office environment.

This year’s winner will be awarded with a fully installed BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express solution and three BlackBerry® smartphones with complimentary data connection for the first 6 months thanks to BT.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express enables businesses with an existing Microsoft® Exchange Server® or Windows® Small Business Server to quickly and easily get started with the BlackBerry solution so that mobile employees can access all the information they need when on the move.
BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express lets users:

• Wirelessly synchronize their email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks
• Manage email folders and search email on the mail server remotely
• Book meetings and appointments, check availability and forward calendar attachments
• Set an out-of-office reply
• Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go®
• Access files stored on the company network
• Use mobile applications to access business systems behind the firewall
The Remote Worker Awards is open to all individuals and any company in the UK, regardless of size, industry sector or turnover. The Award is also open to companies planning to implement a remote workforce.
Entries now open at www.remoteworkerawards.com.

Work from home video

For anyone who wants to work from home, have a look at this video on You Tube: http://tinyurl.com/ybf3xme

National Hunt for Witches or Wizards

An unexpected role has opened at Remote Employment for Home based Witches and Wizards.

The position is only open to those with suitable experience who are only looking for a one-day career.

You must be the owner of a fully taxed broom (must borrowed from your Mother-In-Law) and you should have the appropriate operator’s license. A state of the art broom, complete with sat nav, breakdown cover and turbo boost, will enhance your prospects of selection for this role.

One of the job requirements will be to wear a uniform, which you are expected to supply. This will be a tall black hat, a long black sweeping cloak and long false nails.

Blackened teeth goes with the job but yellow or hairy ones will be rejected. The successful candidate can be expected to be remunerated with sweets, potions, candle-burnt pumkins and an enviable selection of smoked and dried newt, bat and frog parts.


About you:
* You will preferably have a pointed nose with large warts (and all). Crooked noses and stooped backs also considered.
* Bearded witches preferred, but all shapes and sizes could be ideal applicants.
* You must be able to show previous relevant experience and a portfolio of tried and tested potions.
* Curses accepted, but no cursing.
* Additional languages not essential. However, incomprehensible mumbling would be an advantage.
* A degree in physics, science or chemistry would be preferred by not essential as you could be accepted for a training role in future to help our team of witches and wizards to create home based spells and flexible working concoctions for the business community at large!
* A biology GCSE and a thorough understanding of the anatomy of the frog and bat is nothing but helpful!


Your role will involve whizzing around the Remote World to spread Halloween tricks to a largely unsuspecting audience, young and old. It could help your application if you show initiative and tell us how you would do this.

Period of employment – one night only on the 31st October.

If your night of mystic mayhem is successful you may be recruited full time to spread the magic of remote and home working across the nation, or at least be shortlisted for next year’s Halloween recruitment drive.

Our immediate response is urgently required! Tell us why you would make a great wizard or witch! CVs are unnecessary, just a paragraph about your credentials and excellence for this sought after role. Pictures may help, if you dare!

Get your application in now to avoid disappointment! The best application wins a concoction of wizardry tricks and treats and treats, and vouchers worth £100 from the ‘busy’ Remote Employment Team.

Work from home jobs

Work from home sales reps. Find more details here http://tinyurl.com/ks6mx3

Dance Teacher

Do you love dancing? Do you get on well with children? Can you teach them to dance?http://tinyurl.com/o9gy83

Home Based Consultants

Home Based Consultants with or without Party Plan experience in Surrey with flexible hours working from home.http://tinyurl.com/kl4let

Last Chance To Win A Home Business

Time is running out for wannabe home workers across the UK to win thousands of pounds in prizes, from a Spa Break at a von Essen hotel worth £1200, five business start ups with business support packages, to a brand new career worth £3k, a Penthouse Garden Office worth £10k and the flagship prize - a home based franchise worth £15k!

The clock is ticking towards the closing date of the Remote Worker Awards, entries have to be in by the 31st July to win one of these fabulous prizes.

With just one week to go until nominations for the Remote Worker Awards close, Brits can still squeeze in a quick entry and have their achievements recognised.

Entry couldn't be easier, entrants have to simply select a category and answer three simple questions about themselves, their working life and why they should win.

The Remote Worker Awards has been organised by Remote Employment, a job site specialising in flexible, remote and home working. Paula Wynne, founder of Remote Employment said: “It is getting close to the time when we will hand over these incredible prizes and change people’s working lives!”

There are nine Award categories where winners will walk away with £50k in prizes, and these include remote workers, home workers, freelance consultants, people who want to be their own boss, corporate employers with a remote workforce and anyone in need of a new career or profession!

Entrants across the country should get their entries in quick – closing date is 31st July!

For more information call 0844 800 8355 or browse www.remoteworkerawards.com.

Home Based Jobs

Home Based Business Development Managers needed in Merseyside and Liverpool. http://tinyurl.com/lywplt

Life Changing Competition Gives Away £15K Home Business

Life Changing Competition Gives Away £15K Home Business


The Remote Worker Awards, in association with BT Business, and Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy are giving away a home based business worth £15k!

The Helen O’ Grady Special Award is the flagship Award in The Remote Worker Awards, which aims to raise awareness for remote and home working as the modern way of working.

This 'life changing' competition is open to everyone and so easy to win! Entrants with an interest or an enthusiasm for social interaction and communication with young people have to show how they would combine their love of drama or their experience of teaching children. The best entries will be in the running to win a successful full time business run from their home office.

The Helen O’Grady Drama Academy’s affordable international drama program is already delivered weekly to almost 13,000 children in the UK alone and to many more in twenty five other countries worldwide.

Schools recognise the value of the lessons in increasing children’s confidence, self esteem and skill in verbal communication – vital in the world of technology we live in today. Next term, Helen O’ Grady is introducing both pre-school and adult classes with specially written, age-appropriate curriculum.


MP John Bercow, following his review of the provision for children’s language development in schools said in August 2008: “The ability to communicate is an essential life skill for all children and young people in the 21st century. It is at the core of all social interaction. With strong communication skills, children can engage and thrive. Without them children will struggle to learn, achieve, make friends and interact with the world around them.”

The winner of the The Helen O’ Grady Special Award will become a Helen O’ Grady Principal and receive an exclusive territory to work in. They will also receive comprehensive initial training, regular ongoing support and reassuring financial advice. All for answering a three easy questions and showing why they should win this extraordinary Award.

Margaret Darley from Helen O’ Grady said: “An interest in and an enthusiasm for drama is far more important than formal drama training. With good teaching, smart administration and excellent marketing and promotion, the business potential is endless. Winning this Award will change someone’s life!”

The Remote Worker Awards has eight other categories where winners will walk away with a prestigious trophy and will enjoy up to £50k in prizes, including five business start ups, a Penthouse Garden Office worth £10k and a new career worth £3k!
The Remote Worker Awards has been organised by Remote Employment, a job site specialising in flexible, remote and home working.

For more information or any other enquiry about The Helen O’ Grady Special Award, call 0844 800 8355 or 020 8133 6329 or browse www.remoteworkerawards.com > The Helen O’ Grady Special Award.

Last month to win a new career!

Lots of entries coming in for people who want to win a brand new career. Have you entered yet? See http://TwitPWR.com...less than 5 seconds agoLots of entries coming in for people who want to win a brand new career. Have you entered yet? See http://TwitPWR.com/jA2/ for details!

Last month to win a new career!

Lots of entries coming in for people who want to win a brand new career. Have you entered yet? See http://TwitPWR.com...less than 5 seconds agoLots of entries coming in for people who want to win a brand new career. Have you entered yet? See http://TwitPWR.com/jA2/ for details!

Brand New Career Up For Grabs

A national search is on to find the UK’s most deserving individual who can show how studying new skills could change their life.

They might have overcome challenges to advance their career, they might be out to gain new career prospects and self-enlightenment or could simply have always dreamed of studying a particular course and for some reason was never able to.

With this in mind, The Remote Worker Awards and The Open University invite you to enter The Open University Skills Award to win a brand new career!

The Open University Skills Award is one of the highlights of The Remote Worker Awards in association with BT Business, which aims to raise awareness for remote and home working as an alternative solution to redundancy and the traditional nine to five office routine.

The Remote Worker Awards has been organised by Remote Employment, a job site specialising in flexible, remote and home working, offers nine categories. Award-winners will walk away with a prestigious trophy and will enjoy up to £50k in prizes, including a Penthouse Garden Office worth £10k, a Home Franchise worth £15k, interior design, business starter kits, a mobile laptop and a fabulous luxury weekend at a von Essen Hotel. And a brand new career!

Improving skills is an ideal way to increase job security in these uncertain employment times so this is a great way to receive a brand new career.

The Open University is giving one deserving winner a £2000 first prize and two £500 runners up prizes, all of which can be used by students to develop themselves in their existing role, or with a complete change of career in mind.

For more information or any other enquiry about The Open University Skills Award, please call me on 020 8133 6329 or browse www.remoteworkerawards.com > The Open University Skills Award.

Office Jobs Go Down The Tube

As commuters across the country get that ‘underground feeling’ and plan alternate routes to work with the news that another tube strike will disrupt transport to work tomorrow, remote workers and home workers will take the liberty of an extra lie in bed.

They won’t be stressed to get early trains or get into the fast lane of traffic congestion. Instead, they will amble into their home office, switch on their PC and prepare for another day at the office, without commuting interruption, for they are the ‘Home Working Nation'.

With 3.5 million Brits across the UK now working from home and many more millions working remotely, isn’t it about time this way of working became an even more every day work practise?

Thousands of commuters from the South East, the highest proportion of commuters, will spend the equivalent of an additional working day diverting around London in order to avoid the chaos. The region presents the greatest opportunity for the largest number of people to benefit from the introduction of new smarter working practices.

Ken Sheridan, an advocate of remote working and Director of Remote Employment, said (wearing bright pink pyjamas): “More tube strikes will illustrate the opportunity for productive working away from the office. More and more companies are getting in on the remote working action!”

Remote Employment, an online web service dedicated to connecting employers with job seekers who work remotely or work from home, has seen substantial expansion to their business and believes that the wider adoption of smarter working practices, such as flexible working, working from home, mobile and remote working will improve business productivity and reduce transport congestion, especially during tube strikes!

Working from home significantly improves efficiency, enabling businesses to be more competitive. BT are leaders in their flexible working policies and now have more than 70,000 flexible workers, with seven out of 10 people working flexibly and nearly 10% home based.

Remote Employment recently launched The Remote Worker Awards in association with BT Business, to highlight how remote working benefits business mobility, and they are offering life changing prizes such as a home based franchise worth £15k, an Open University study grant and five business start up kits. Along with this they are celebrating companies who are proud of their remote working practises in the Remote Employer Award.

For more details, go online to www.remoteemployment.com. For a chance to win one of the life changing prizes on offer, check out www.remoteworkerawards.com.

National Call for Home Business Pioneers

Remote Employment and BT Business are on a national hunt to find the most innovative business that demonstrates how remote working and home working has made a beneficial impact on their business and home life for The BT Home Business Award.
The Remote Worker Awards, in association with BT Business, aims to highlight how home working increases business mobilisation.

The Award has already appealed to hundreds of small budding enterprisers as well as larger home based businesses across the country, and now Remote Employment would like to reach out to anyone who hasn’t already entered the awards.

Remote Employment, a job site specialising in remote working and home working positions, has put together a ‘perfect package’ of beneficial business support products and services which includes IT, HR, PR, Legal and marketing advice.

Paula Wynne, organiser of the Awards said: “Many of these services are out of the reach of small businesses as there are always other priorities. Small budgets don’t stretch far, so we have an impressive range of resources that would be extremely beneficial to any small business!”

If you are one of inventive pioneers who champion home working and can show the UK how your work life has benefited from running a home office, the Remote Worker Awards would like to hear from you and give you the chance to win one of the £50k prizes!

The Remote Worker Awards has nine different award categories, including The Remote Employer Award - to celebrate forward thinking employers who allow flexible, remote or home working solutions - all with a selection of the UK’s top sponsors, including BT Business.

For your chance to win one of these fantastic awards, enter at www.remoteworkerawards.

Surrey Entrepreneur Deserves National Recognition

A young entrepreneur, Dean Rhodes-Brandon, who runs his own home business for deaf people called ‘Your Local Cinema’, has entered The Remote Worker Awards and hopes to achieve national recognition if he wins.

Remote Employment, a job site specialising in remote working and home working positions, has launched The Remote Worker Awards in association with BT Business to highlight how home working benefits the British public and their working life.

Dean runs on remote fuel. His whole business is run from a laptop with a mobile broadband USB stick. As Dean is profoundly deaf, and rarely ventures out to meet people face to face, he prefers to correspond almost entirely by email, so being a remote worker suits him perfectly.

Dean’s business, Your Local Cinema, is an information service for people with hearing or sight problems. Winning awards is great for creating awareness for a new business and Dean is hoping a possible win for him will result in local and national media coverage for more people to hear about his service.

Dean has an incredible story about how his own need and desire to watch films blossomed into a budding business, which now serves the needs of thousands of people across the country!

His company 'Your Local Cinema.com' has successfully ensured that the UK now leads the world in the field of cinema access. 'Your Local Cinema .com' is the only cinema listings service of its kind in the world and is sponsored by the UK film industry. The service aims to create awareness of - and increase audience figures for - subtitled and audio described (narrated) cinema releases and shows, for people with hearing or visual problems.

Dean was attracted to The Remote Worker Award Dean because he has never heard about a specific award for remote workers and believes it is great that remote and home workers are now being recognised with this Award.

Being profoundly deaf and having mild cerebral palsy, Dean has overcome adversity to get his business off the ground. He cannot undertake most trades or jobs so he started his business with the aim of persuading the cinema industry to become accessible to people with hearing problems, like himself, and somehow provide on-screen subtitles.
Over the years the industry has spent millions of pounds ensuring that most UK cinemas are now accessible to people like Dean.
Along with a trophy to honour the remote worker of the year, Dean would like to win the fantastic array of prizes to improve his 'home business' as well as the wonderful eco garden office up for grabs in the Vivid Green Award.
Dean works from his garden when the weather is good, his dining table when it's not, his bedroom in the evenings and the library when he is at College. He enjoys the flexibility of working for himself, from wherever he fancies working. Dean is certainly a young man with places to go and films to see. Even though he is at college three days a week, he is clearly not afraid of hard work and long days.
There are nine different award categories in the Remote Worker Awards, which includes a national search to find the most innovative business that demonstrates how remote working and home working has made a beneficial impact on their business and home life. Dean is now in the running to win the The BT Home Business Award.
Paula Wynne, founder of Remote Employment and The Remote Worker Awards, said, "The Home Worker Awards comes at a time when thousands of people across the UK are faced with job losses or reduced hours. The Awards aim to raise awareness of remote and home working as an alternate solution the traditional nine to five office routine. We want to unearth inventive pioneers who champion home working and show the UK why more enterprises should give it a go!"
There are other categories including The Remote Worker Award and The Remote Employer Award.

For your chance to win one of these fantastic awards, enter at www.remoteworkerawards.


Notes:
The Remote Worker Awards will highlight how remote and home working benefits the environment, business productivity and employees' quality of work life.

The Remote Worker Awards will change lives!
Everyone who works remotely or works from home and employers who have remote workers are able to enter. And anybody who wants to work from home can also enter to win a £15k home based franchise of their very own as well as other great prizes, one of them being a Garden Home Office worth £10k! The Open University Skills Award gives someone the chance to train or re-train for a brand new career!

About Your Local Cinema
The cinema industry uses Dean’s service to reach out to people with hearing or sight problems who are interested in going to the cinema. All cinemas with a subtitle & audio description system email my service their listings each week.

Dean sorts them all out, and every week sends out an e-newsletter to more than 60,000 addresses, containing those subtitled and described films, locations and show times. There are around 500 subtitled shows every week, and thousands more audio described shows in more than 300 cinemas nationwide.

Dean’s company is an advocate for the public, and deals with representatives of the cinema/film business on behalf of the public.

It's a member of the film industry's 'Disability Working Group', a collection of representatives from cinema, distribution and technology companies, as well as representatives from the main charities for people with hearing or sight problems. This group meets regularly to review and plan the future of 'accessible' cinema.

It began with a campaign, with a petition to the cinema industry. Dean trialed it in his school, which had a dozen deaf students and the petition got over a thousand names from that school alone. So he launched a website to publicise the petition nationally and over the next year or so got many, many thousands of names. Eventually Dean took the petition to the UK Film Council, who spend millions of pounds annually on film- related projects, and persuaded them to seriously investigate the 'cinema access' issue.

They looked into the matter and after more than three years of campaigning for better access, and actually working with the film industry, his company was hired by the film industry to be the 'marketing arm' of cinema access. The main cinema companies and film distributors, as well as a few technology companies and the UK Film Council now sponsor his service.
For more information please contact:

PAULA WYNNE
Remote Worker Awards
Office: 0844 800 8355
Mobile: 077 8986 2746
Skype: 'remoteemployment'
Email: paula@remoteworkerawards.com
Web: www.remoteworkerawards.com

Dean’s contact: subtitles@yourlocalcinema.com
Dean’s website: http://www.yourlocalcinema.com

UK Workers Get A Chance to Win A Home Business

Remote Employment has announced the launch of the Remote Worker Awards, to highlight how remote and home working benefits the environment and everyone's quality of work life. The Remote Worker Awards is not just another business award - it is a life changing awards!

Someone will win a new career, another a Penthouse Garden Office, one winner will walk away with their very own home based franchise worth £15k and lots of other entrants will start a new life with a home business.

The Remote Worker Awards comes at a time when thousands of people across the UK are faced with job losses or reduced hours. The awards aims to raise awareness for remote and home working as an alternate solution to redundancy and the traditional nine to five office routine.

Everyone is invited to enter as there are award categories for people who want to work from home with their own business as well as people who already work remotely or work from home.

The Work From Home Award will give several entrants the chance to change their career with a toolkit to start their own business. This will not only enhance their profile, impress friends and family, but more importantly receive instant recognition from their new clients when they start their new home business. They will also receive other prizes to ensure working from home is more efficient and enjoyable.

The Helen O' Grady Special Award will grant one person their very own home based franchise worth £15k, while The Vivid Green Award will set one lucky winner up with their own £10k Penthouse Garden Office.

Anyone looking for a life changing career, should enter The Helen O' Grady Special Award. This home based franchise is worth £15k and will be presented to a special person who is interested in changing the lives of children and young people in their area.

This award will attract people with an interest in drama and experience in teaching children who wish to set up their very own home based business working in school term time only. What a great work life balance!

Employees who currently work remotely or work from home will also be given the chance to impress their employer and work colleagues by winning The Remote Worker and Home Worker Awards.

All freelancers, self employed consultants and project contractors are encouraged to enter The Freelance Consultant Award. These workers, who already enjoy the benefits of a flexible employment solution, will be given the chance to show traditionalists why more companies should be recruiting this way. And they will walk away with 1000's of pounds in prizes, including a fabulous luxury weekend at a von Essen hotel!

To top it all, The Open University Skills Award will give one deserving winner a brand new career with a £2000 Open University prize and two runners-up great new job prospects with learning vouchers worth £500! Anyone looking to re-train or re-skill following redundancy will be able to ease their way back into work.

Improving skills is an ideal way to increase job security in these uncertain employment times. The £2000 first prize and two £500 runners up prizes can be used by students to develop themselves in their existing role, or with a complete change of career in mind.

The Remote Worker Awards will also celebrate the most innovative home based businesses in The Home Business Award with a collection of valuable prizes perfectly paired with small and large companies that use their home as a base to increase business mobility.

Paula Wynne, organiser of the awards and co-founder of Remote Employment, a job site specialising in flexible, remote and home working, expects to unearth an abundance of inventive pioneers who champion flexibility with remote working solutions!
Paula said: "The Remote Worker Awards will feature the winners in a Remote Worker E-Book to help other companies to implement a flexible and remote working program."

The Remote Worker Awards has lined up a prestigious panel of judges with successful businesswoman and serial entrepreneur, Karen Darby, founder of SimplySwitch, leading the way. Judges include Alex Johnson of Shedworking fame. Karen said: "I am delighted to be a judge of the Remote Worker Awards! I am looking forward to see some brilliant examples of this trendy work culture."

The prestigious panel of judges also inlcude include Alex Johnson of Shedworking fame, Cath Roan from Careershifters, Diana Robertson from Business Link London, Tony Corbin of MATiSSE and Jackie Brennan of FreshIdeas Events. To add an exciting dimension to The Remote Worker Awards a remote judge, Jeff Zbar, founder of Chief Home Officer in the United States, has been appointed as a Remote Judge. This is remote judging ... or remote working at its best!

A great supporter of the awards is Helen Cook, Women's Enterprise Manager for the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Helen said that she is pleased to support these awards because a significant number of women find the flexibility of running a home-based business highly attractive and offers the opportunity to combine caring responsibilities with work.

The winners of all the award categories, as well as runners up, will be invited to a ceremony at the luxurious Cliveden House, a von Essen hotel, which is set in 376 acres of magnificent formal gardens and parklands, and commands panoramic views over the beautiful Berkshire countryside and River Thames. The winners will sip Champagne with sponsored guests and the media amidst the grandeur of Cliveden'sbreathtaking features, lush sofas and exquisite furnishings.

So all Remote Workers, Home Workers, Home Businesses, Freelance Consultants and anyone wanting to work from home should all enter the Remote Worker Awards!

For more information or any other enquiry about the Remote Worker Awards, call 0844 800 8344 or browse www.remoteworkerawards.com.

Slippers and crepes with the UK's best businesswoman!

The Easter weekend was a good chance to relax after the hectic pace of the past few months, well I say relax - what I actually mean is digging up new flower beds, laying patio slabs and having lots of creative thoughts on landscaping the garden!

Funny that a weekend of harder work relaxes one ... just the different routine and mental focus did the trick. Anyway, even though the muscles are aching and the back strained, the mind is now in slow-mo and I just want to go back to tinkering around in the garden.

Back to business ... our last meeting with Karen was a few days before the One Life Show and we had another great meeting with lots of laughs, good ideas and tons of motivation. Karen suggested we find something really different for our stand and fished some frogs out of her pond for us to take with.

We then spend the next few minutes coming up with slogans for our crazy frogs and ended up with a few show stoppers. Spawning home business ideas, Spawning work from home jobs and National Take Your Frog to Work Week were just a few of our crazy ideas.

The frogs went down really well and we had regular visitors popping back to the stand to see how our frogs were getting on. The frogs just stared and now and then sang a few croaky tunes when the loadspeakers came on. After the show ended we escorted the courting couple back to Karen's pond.

What is really baffling is where has the past 5 months gone, they seem to have melted away and we are almost at the end of the UK’s greatest mentoring competition. It all seems surreal – sitting in Karen’s slippers and being served chocolate and vanilla ice cream crepes made by one of the UK’s top businesswomen! I've just pinched myself and I am awake!

The good news is that Karen’s mentorship has grown our business and Remote Employment has just experienced our best month yet. Amongst other things, we are working on a diverse sales strategy to incorporate vertical markets and the possibility of using a call centre to enhance our current sales model.

We are also finalising details with a headline sponsor for the Remote Worker Awards after putting together a fantastic competition with a prestigious panel of judges and a fabulous awards ceremony. This just shows what a great story remote working is and how it is so attention grabbing.

We hope to announce the final details in the next week, in the meantime take a peek at www.remoteworkerawards.com to enter the next best awards!

All in all, we can’t wait to launch the awards and see where our next month of mentoring takes us ...

Remote Worker Awards

Remote Employment have had a very exciting few months! We are about to launch The Remote Worker Awards to highlight how remote and home working benefits the environment, business production and an employee’s quality work life.

So far we have great prizes with a value of over £60k! One of them is a £10k Penthouse Garden Office and another is a home based franchise worth £15k!

Yesterday we secured The Open University with a Skills Award whereby they are giving a 3k study voucher for a new career. We are extremely proud to say this competition will change someone’s career and working life! We are expecting to unearth an abundance of inventive pioneers who champion flexibility with remote working solutions!

von Essen hotels will host the winning ceremony at 5 star Cliveden House. The luxurious Cliveden House is a National Trust Grade Two listed building set in 376 acres of magnificent formal gardens and parklands, and commands panoramic views over the beautiful Berkshire countryside and River Thames.

Shortlisted winners, winners, sponsors, judges and the media will be invited to Cliveden House for Champagne and Canapés. These lucky winners and guests will enjoy the slendour and elegance of one of the world's finest hotels. Read more about the winning ceremony.

Watch out for more details soon, in the meantime browse the different awards categories at www.remoteworkerawards.com.

Join our mailing list to find out the latest news about the awards.

Global Action Plan Audit

After Remote Employment’s Global Action Plan audit in January, we have now proudly implemented our Environment Policy.

If we could summarise the one day of auditing and measuring our carbon footprint in a nutshell, I would say we were made aware of the ‘bigger picture’. By this I mean, thinking laterally about all business transactions. Instead of just looking at a product that has arrived at our office, we should instead consider what impact it took to get there and what impact it will be when leaving our office.

Luckily, we are not a large manufacturing company as we are a small home office it is not too difficult to see where we can lower our footprint, but by looking at this ‘sideways’ or ‘un-blinkered’ view it definitely gives a 360 degree vision of an environmental policy. We took a good hard look at what we do, how we do it and how it could or would impact the environment and in doing so we set ‘Golden Green Rules’. This helps to see all business actions in focus and ensures that everything we do we have the ‘bigger picture’ in mind.

Remote Employment’s ethos is to take people off the road by encouraging more remote working and home working. The remote working concept is environmentally friendly and our aim with our journey towards a BS8555 is to form a home business model that others can follow. We will slowly create a formula for measuring impact, cutting down that impact and constant monitoring to maintain a lower impact and when we receive our accreditation we will offer an E Book through Remote Employment.

We are now keen to explore weird and wonderful concepts such as eco cleaning products, a water butt and a wormery for our kitchen waste. Keep reading our GAP blog to follow our green baby steps towards our environment management plan!