Remote Employment Wins Mentor Competition

(10 November 2008) Ten women from London had their dreams of being mentored by the best women in business become a reality in a ceremony at the BT Tower on Friday 7th November.

Eager entrepreneurs from across London entered their business ideas to the competition, run by FreshIdeas Events, and they met with their allocated 'Make A Difference' (MAD) Woman for the first time in the stunning surroundings of the Tower.

The panel of MAD women will be guiding the aspiring businesswomen to success over the next six months and you can track their progress by visiting FreshIdeas Events, www.freshideasevents.com.

Innovative ideas ranging from an ethical image consultancy encouraging clients to dress more eco-friendly, an online information business for those passionate about socialising and dining out in London, and a new sustainable, community-run hotel were among the winning ideas.

One of the winners is Paula Wynne, from Remote Employment, an online website dedicated to remote working and flexible home working options. Paula says: "This competition is excellent for businesswoman like myself to get access to the skill, experience and wealth of knowledge that the mentors will provide. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Karen, who has so much enthusiasm and energy for the concept of remote working."

"Essentially, Remote Employment wants to make a difference to the employment culture in the UK by helping employers recruit talented job seekers in a cost effective way. Equally we want to help employees improve their quality of life while maintaining a career path at the same time. With Karen's help and guidance, we look forward to taking Remote Employment to the next level of growth."

Other winners and their mentors include:


Paula Wynne, from Remote Employment who has started an online business dedicated to home based, flexible and remote working. She has been matched to inspiration entrepreneur and founder of Simply Switch, Karen Darby, who sold her company to the Daily Mail in 2006 for £22m.

Michelle Peers, who runs an online business called Socialite London for people who are passionate about socialising and dining out in London has been matched to Founder of Everyclick.com, Polly Gowers, who was voted WEBE Ethical Entrepreneur of the Year 2007.

Georgina Stevens, a Virgin employee working on sustainability issues planning to put a business pitch to Richard Branson for a sustainable, community run hotel - matched to Jo Haigh, Head of Corporate Finance, MGR.

Zoe Robinson, a professional actress who plans to set up 'Think Style', an image consultancy with an ethical slant which will encourage clients to dress more eco-friendly. She has been matched to Director of EaKo, Babaloo and Bio-Supplies, Kresse Wesling.

Ila Panik, who plans to create a new alternative, trendy and positive development program for young women called U4U. She has been matched to founder of Club Asia Radio 963+972AM, Sumerah Ahmad.

Irene Okoro, who currently works in PR and aims to launch her online business idea, blackbrides.co.uk in January 2009. She has been matched to Saima Butt, Managing Director of Enterprise Business Technologies.

Gina Varela, who has started her own events massage company, Divine London. She has been matched to Krista Madden, editor of Beautyandthedirt.co.uk.

Amy Kilbane, who is currently a European Marketing Manager and wants to develop to become a leader in her organization. She has been matched to
Managing Partner of Fitch, Lucy Unger.

Emily Shenton, who has recently joined her partner at Arrival Education which develops innovative concepts and programs to find an alternative to the current state education model. She has been matched to the CEO of FreshMinds Group, Caroline Plumb.

Katharine Roseveare, manager of Intelligent Marketing which is now one of the UK's most successful marketing agencies. She currently has 30 employees and wants to take her business to the next level. She has been matched to Karen Hanton, the Founder and Chief Executive of toptable.co.uk.

Jackie Brennan, Director of FreshIdeas Events, the independent company that helps women to succeed in business says: "The ceremony was a huge success and it was great to be able to introduce the winners to their mentors for the first time. After the winners were announced by the BBC's Satnam Rana, the work began with a mentoring session from Suzanne Doyle of Doyle Morris Coaching.
"I believe that mentoring is a terrific way of giving entrepreneurs vital advice to help them on their way or take their businesses to the next level. It's been terrific for us to be able to help these women and develop their businesses to become a success like their mentors."

Fran Currie from Business Link in London says: "We are proud to be supporting the competition as it gives women from the capital the opportunity to start and grow their own businesses with the confidence of having an experienced mentor advising them on their way to success."

Business Link is the popular information service which provides impartial help and advice to businesses.

For more information on the winners and their mentors and to track their progress visit www.freshideasevents.com

Ken and Paula from Remote Employment are thrilled with their BT and Global Action Plan 'Responsible Business Day' Award!

Recruitment Business Wins Green prize

Recruitment small business Remote Employment has today been announced as the winner of a responsible business prize awarded by BT Business, in partnership with environmental charity Global Action Plan, to mark this year’s Small Business Week 2008.

From a national search, selecting 10 businesses across the UK, Remote Employment impressed judges with their passion and determination to understand and reduce their current impact on both the environment and society. Paula Wynne said; “Our business strongly advocates a healthy work life balance for employees through remote working. This practice provides a much more efficient, productive and greener way of working. The BT Business Responsible Business prize will definitely help us to practice what we preach and help us promote greener working to other employers as well as employees.”

The online recruitment connection service, Remote Employment, is dedicated to flexible jobs working from home, work from home jobs, and home based business and home based franchise opportunities. There are no agency fees as they use the website to match freelancers and home workers to employers.

This award comes as new BT Business research shows that 39% of small businesses in the South East say cutting back on energy use is the main thing they are doing to help the environment. This compares with 42% of businesses nationally.

Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business said; “BT Business is proud to be awarding, Remote Employment this prize. It’s vital that small businesses tackle climate change and BT has partnered with GAP to offer this much needed support. We hope that Remote Employment will set a good example for other businesses in Berkshire and demonstrate that often what’s good for the environment is also a win for business.”

In addition to environmental management training and support from Global Action Plan, the prize includes a month of audio conferencing and a 12 month BT Tradespace Premium subscription from BT Business. It is designed to help support, Remote Employment in their efforts to reduce their energy consumption and reduce costs through greater efficiency.

For more information, browse www.remoteemployment.com

Mentor Competition Winners Announced in Ceremony at the BT Tower

Here Come the Girls – Mentor Competition Winners Announced in Ceremony at the BT Tower

(3 November 2008) Ten women from London will have their dreams of being mentored by some of the most successful women in business become a reality next week as FreshIdeas Events announces the winners of this year’s Mentor Competition.
Eager entrepreneurs from across London entered the competition in the hope of having their ideas put into practice with the help of the best in the industry.

On Friday 7th November press are invited to the awards ceremony on the 34th floor of the prestigious BT Tower where the winners of the competition will be announced and the women will meet their mentors for the first time.

The panel of ‘Make a Difference’ (MAD) Women who will be guiding the aspiring businesswomen in London to success include Saima Butt, Managing Director of Enterprise Business Technologies, who has run her own business successfully for over three years. Saima now has a customer base of 35,000 SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and employs 22 people.

Saima says: “The competition is an excellent opportunity for us to give aspiring entrepreneurs essential advice to help guide them through the first few months of their business enterprise. Winning this competition could change women’s lives irrevocably as we can inject knowledge and experience into their businesses and help them achieve their goals.”

This extraordinary panel of women who unquestionably ‘Make A Difference’ when it comes to female success in business are from a variety of sectors and background. The eclectic panel joining Saima include:

• Karen Darby, inspirational entrepreneur and founder of SimplySwitch, which was sold to the Daily Mail in 2006 for £22m

• Karen Hanton, Founder and Chief Executive of toptable.co.uk; Karen was named as one of today's top 30 entrepreneurs in New Business Magazine

• Sumerah Ahmad, Co-Founder and Director of Club Asia Radio 963+972AM is no stranger to success and winning awards. Since launching Club Asia five years ago, she has scooped the Asian Women of Achievement Award and was listed in Management Today’s Top 35 Women Under 35, while her radio station, which she launched with her sister, was named the Brightest New Business in 2005 at the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards

• Jo Haigh, Author and Head of Corporate Finance of MGR, has bought and sold over 300 companies in the last 20 years. One busy lady, Jo is also Partner of fds, a successful training and consultancy organisation; the author of three successful business books, one of which sold out in the first five days after going on sale; and has made her way into the 2008 edition of “Who’s Who of Britain’s Business Elite”

• Kresse Wesling, Director of EAKO, Babaloo and Bio-Supplies, is passionate about all things eco. She won the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future award at the Real Business Awards in 2007, and was named in Management Today’s “35 Women Under 35”

• Polly Gowers, Founder of Everyclick.com, a search engine that gives half of its revenue to charity. Polly was voted WEBA Ethical Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 and a Blackberry Woman in Technology Award winner in 2008.

• Krista Madden, Founder and Editor of widely read online magazine, www.beautyandthedirt.com, who has been running her own businesses for the past 17 years.

• Lucy Unger, Managing Partner EMEA for renowned international design consultancy, Fitch.

• Caroline Plumb, CEO of FreshMinds Group, the business she co-founded in September 2000 straight after leaving Oxford University. With a 75-strong team, FreshMinds was crowned ‘Most Innovative Employer’ at the Market Research Awards in 2006 as well as ‘Best Agency’ which they won for the second year running in 2007.

Jackie Brennan, Director of FreshIdeas Events, the independent company that helps women to succeed in business says: “Mentoring is an excellent way to give entrepreneurs confidence as well as essential knowledge and skills. The winners will have the chance to learn from some of the best women in business and to benefit from the array of valuable experience the women have.”

Business Link provides help and advice to businesses is also supporting the competition. Fran Currie from Business Link in London says: “We are proud to be supporting the competition as it gives women from the capital the opportunity to start and grow their businesses with the confidence of having an experienced mentor advising them on their way to success.”

Further details about the competition can be found at www.freshideasevents.com.

Work from Home with Skype

Work from Home with Skype
Whether you plan to work from home, have a home based job or run a business at home, when it comes to phone bills, don't let them cost the earth! Try making calls through your computer with Skype!

Make Skype calls without a computer
You don’t always need to be connected to your computer to use Skype. Cordless handsets simply plug into your computer’s USB port and allow you to make Skype calls from anywhere in your house or office.
Skype Certified™ cordless handsets

Make Skype your own
Change the way you look to the rest of the world by adding a personalised avatar that looks just like you. You could also add a new ringtone or play games with your friends. You’ll need to buy a little Skype Credit to pay for items. Start personalising now.

Staying safe online is important.
You can accept or deny any request from other Skype users asking you to join their contact list.
Open Skype and click the Tools > Options > Privacy, and set your preferences for receiving communications.
Handy tip: Your online status is set automatically. To change it yourself, click the green tick symbol at the bottom of the Skype window.

Communicate with Many People at Once
Set up a conference call with up to ten people for business or pleasure. Communicate with many people at once. Or use Skype to have a group chat with up to 100 people at once. Need to add more people to your contact list? Spread the love and get your colleagues to use Skype as well. Tell your colleagues about Skype

Organising your contacts into groups
Sorting your contacts into groups allows you to send group messages, as well as easily organise group chats and conference calls. Import your Outlook™ contacts into Skype. Then send any Outlook™ contact a message to download Skype. View Outlook™ contacts in Skype.


To read the full article on Remote Employment: Work from Home with Skype

Home Based Franchise Opportunities

Home Based Franchise as a MOLLY MAID ...

MOLLY MAID is proud to be recognised as the leading brand in domestic cleaning in a £2 billion plus market with almost infinite possibilities for growth.

Blooming FranchiseSince MOLLY MAID started in 1979 it has provided its cleaning services to hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers in Canada, USA, Portugal and Japan as well as the UK. This year alone over 400 MOLLY MAID franchises will perform in excess of 2 million home cleans worldwide.

A Franchise You Can ManageThe MOLLY MAID service provides high quality reliable domestic cleaning operated by Franchise Owners who manage teams of maids within an exclusive area. Although some sales and management experience is an advantage, our franchise partners come from all walks of life. The qualities we look for are human attributes such as common sense, ability to get on with people and a willingness to work hard. What our franchise partners have in common is the desire to follow our system and to succeed.

MOLLY MAID focuses purely on providing a professional domestic cleaning service and is a household name so there is no hard sell involved. For more details see Home Based Franchise Opportunities on Remote Employment.

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