Frailwords

News Videos Resources

Browsing Posts tagged Global

Advertise here with BSA

linkswitch

Global Outsourcing: Is It Wrong to Pay Someone Less Based on Location?

Lately, I’ve heard of plenty of freelancers hiring virtual assistants or subcontractors based on the other side of the globe — choosing people based in places where $200 a month is a very respectable income. The general consensus among freelancers taking utilizing this is that it can be a great way to bring on help when you can’t fully afford someone locally. It’s a way to use geography to your advantage.

I’ve also heard plenty of people declaring that paying a designer or a virtual assistant or any other type of help less than they would make in the U.S, the U.K, Europe or Australia is morally wrong.

Gaining Traction: What It Is and How It Will Make You Successful

Most people are just treading water – logging the minimum monthly work hours to pay the bills and stay afloat. If you are a blogger or entrepreneur of any sort, you were probably seduced by the notion of being your own boss and thereby becoming a master of your own fate. Unfortunately, the hard reality is that most people in this position of independence work even harder than the norm for fewer results. The work ethic is certainly commendable, but many fail to ever develop real traction and therefore never get to live the lifestyle they envisioned.

Mentors are key to a successful career

Mentorship can help both new and established small business owners move on to the next step in their careers. Who better to help you get to the place you need to go than someone who’s already there? Mentors can help you move past a plateau, expose you to new clients, and generally help you get your foot in the door (and sometimes even help you step through). The key is finding the one that suits you and your career objectives and that means taking steps to plan for what you want out of the relationship.

How To Reduce Technology Frustration and Write Distraction-Free

Let’s face it. Using your computer to write can be so frustrating. There’s error messages, software updates and bugs. Plus, with new iThings coming out practically every month, how do you keep up? Have you ever noticed how there are people who never seem to have trouble with technology? Regardless of what’s new, they always ‘get it’ immediately without any no lead time. Unfortunately, we’re not all lucky enough to count ourselves in that group. Let’s forget about those “technology natives” for a minute and explore the source of your frustration- when you’re trying to get something done, and technology stands in your way.

Designers Using Freebies to Grow Their Business

With so much competition out there, freelance designers are always looking for new ways to stand out from the crowd. Some designers have used free resources to build their reputation. While it may seem counterproductive to give away resources that you have created, there can be significant benefits that make it worth your time. In this post we’ll take a look at 7 examples where giving away freebies has been beneficial to the business and career of designers.

Don’t Just Create “On Demand,” Create For You

Most of us operate in what could best be described as a “create on demand” world. We have to go to work each day and deliver consistently brilliant work, on demand, in order to keep our jobs. And though we relish getting to do what we love and earning a living at it, over time our passion and energy can wane if we’re only creating to earn a paycheck.

5 Do’s and Don’ts for the Freelancer’s Online Calendar

A major part of working freelance is using your time productively and efficiently. You might schedule your time as blocks of each day, or as random periods of time at any hour of the day or night. Regardless of our individual working patterns, all freelancers keep some sort of calendar, to-do, or scribble list. (If you don’t have some sort of calendar, you should start one today.) In this post, I’ll explain why an online calendar is better. I’ll also give you five tips for getting the most from your online calendar.

Forget time management; worry about ego management instead

You’re a web worker and you’re all kitted out: You have your home office achievement cockpit with the latest smartphone and laptop complete with a well-researched array of apps, as well as a ninja-level system for time and information management. You’re ready to confront everything the world of remote collaboration throws at you, so why are you constantly so stressed?

The Medium Is The Message

Since the early days of communication, humanity has been captivated by the methods it uses to convey and preserve information. How we communicate with each other defines who we are and constitutes so much of what makes a culture and an individual unique.

Over the centuries, we have seen media evolve across a wide array of channels, from print to radio to television to the Internet. Each one of these channels, or media, has its own unique characteristics, much like the people who use them.

Great Ways to Get Your Questions Answered Online

There’s plenty of information on the internet today, but it can still be difficult to find that one fact you need. Google can’t answer your questions directly, and if you do search for a question, chances are you’ll find some off-the-wall response on Yahoo! Answers. Not exactly what you were looking for.

Instead, today there are a number of niche question and answer sites that can make your search for an answer much more productive. These sites are designed to let users ask and answer questions, and usually let readers vote up answers that are the best. There’s several well known niche Q&A sites that you may already use, but keep reading to see the best places to get your questions answered that we’ve found.

View full post on FreelanceSwitch

Advertise here with BSA

globe

Credit: Elenathewise on Photodune

Lately, I’ve heard of plenty of freelancers hiring virtual assistants or subcontractors based on the other side of the globe — choosing people based in places where $200 a month is a very respectable income. The general consensus among freelancers taking utilizing this is that it can be a great way to bring on help when you can’t fully afford someone locally. It’s a way to use geography to your advantage.

I’ve also heard plenty of people declaring that paying a designer or a virtual assistant or any other type of help less than they would make in the U.S, the U.K, Europe or Australia is morally wrong.

On that side of the discussion, there are some arguments that this trend is dragging down prices for freelancers across the board, along with the idea that location shouldn’t be a consideration when you hire someone.

The Straight Business Decision

If we just talk numbers, it’s hard to argue with the fact that you can pay well over $50 for an hour’s worth of work from a U.S.-based virtual assistant, while $50 will buy you an entire week’s worth of help from someone based in the Philippines. If you need the help in the first place, good business sense says that you should get the most bang for your buck.

When it’s just a question of business, it’s easy to see that if you have the time to invest in training and finding the right person, working with someone overseas makes sense.

There is a question of quality, of course. When looking to outsource or subcontract to some place with a significantly lower hourly wage, workers from India and the Philippines have been a popular choice. That’s because in both countries, English is commonly used. But that doesn’t guarantee you’ll find someone who is actually a native speaker when looking for some help in either of those countries.

In most cases, you can get what you pay for: if you’re working with someone whose English skills aren’t on the same level as your own, you may spend half your time explaining things to them. Other quality issues also creep in, like the level of internet access available to the person you’re working with, or the types of software they work with.

There are also many freelancers (and other business professionals) that have had phenomenal experiences working with virtual assistants or contractors in countries, such as the Philippines or India — or even countries that don’t have that many English speakers. When it’s just a question of business, it’s easy to see that if you have the time to invest in training and finding the right person, working with someone overseas makes sense.

The Personal Decision

The problem creeps in because few things are actually straight business decisions. We’re not talking about working with companies — we’re talking about working with individual people. More than a few freelancers have a sore spot about how hard it can be to get paid what we’re worth by clients who see freelancers as a way to get cheap labor. When you turn that around, it’s easy to draw comparisons between what a freelancer might hate when a client does it to her and what she’s willing to do to a sub-contractor based overseas. It’s going to be a personal decision, no matter what. Your priorities decide whether or not you’re willing to pay a sub-contractor more.

For me, the personal decision comes down to what the person I’m working with is actually worth.

For me, the personal decision comes down to what the person I’m working with is actually worth. I know plenty of people who live in places like Thailand and charge rates on par with what folks living in the U.K. might (with no problem getting those rates). If someone comes to me and tells me that’s what they’re worth, I have no problem paying it.

But if the person I’m working with needs training, requires extra explanation or simplified English and generally can’t finish a project without hand holding, I’m going to pay a lot less. My preference is to work with someone I can train in person, if it comes to that, but I have worked with a virtual assistant based in the Philippines and paid him about $270 a month for his work. I don’t have a problem with doing so — he was doing fairly basic work and didn’t have a skill set that I’d be willing to pay more for. I know there are plenty of people out there who wouldn’t agree, including a few who would go so far as to tell me that I was exploiting this virtual assistant. I’d argue that he was happy to get the work, but that isn’t the point.

It’s a matter of personal comfort. If you feel that it’s wrong to pay someone less based on where they live, then you should be paying them more. As long as you know what you’re getting for your money, there doesn’t need to be an argument.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Elenathewise.

View full post on FreelanceSwitch


Program-Money.com QUESTIONS? Call me at 516-984-1625 GDI – Global Domains International Reviews is what you will get here. GDI actually stands for global domains international and they are one of the largest provider of domains, they own the .ws extension, and they pay HUGE bonuses to people who refer others to them. Again, if you are looking into gdi or global domains international, looking to see if it is a scam or not, this gdi review will help you, becuase the fact is, gdi is not a scam. Just make sure you sign up with the right sponsor. It can mean everything. If you sign up with gdi under the wrong person who can’t help you or won’t even contact you, you will have a MUCH harder time succeeding with gdi. However, all in all, global domains international is a fantastic company, and i would highly recommend it to anyone.

Get 30% off Global Protection 2011 with promo code at checkout.

View full post on CouponMountain.com: Computers

Product Description
Typographics 3 “Global Vision” is an all-new collection of graphic design brought together from a broad range of work including posters, CD design, book and magazine design, stationery and corporate work as well as website and CD ROM design. Gathered from sources all over the world “Global Vision” shows the latest trends in visual communication and serves as a touchstone for ground-breaking graphic design. Typographics 3 – “Global Vision” follows from the first two … More >>

Typographics 3 Global Vision


Download Theme  Visit Themesbase.com

View full post on Themesbase.com – Free Themes And Templates


Markzware customer interview on our Adobe InDesign File Recovery Service and more. Learn about the graphic arts or communications sector in Zambia, Africa and what the most popular DTP program is, as in Corel!Draw and what they are switching to (InDesign and Apple Mac’s!). Markzware saved Robert and his company 7 days of work on their layout for the Zambian government and their upcoming elections! First name: Robert Muchemwa Last name: Sichone Company: GLobal Link Consultancy Services City: Lusaka Country: Zambia And also learn of why Robert is interested in FlightCheck for preflighting and packaging files: www.markzware.com and markzware.com For more info from Markzware on how we can offer a no-cure, no-pay bad InDesign Document Recovery Service!

A few weeks ago, we announced we were running an update to the Global Freelancers Survey. We asked readers to participate in order to make it successful – and boy, did you ever! When the poll finally closed, we had over 3,300 participants from every corner of the globe. That means we have a winner for our Grand Prize!

We used a random number generator to flip to entry page 41 and participant #24, which means Samuel from Kansas (United States) is our Grand Prize winner! Samuel will receive the grand prize package which includes a 32GB wifi Apple iPad, $100 in merchandise from MOO.com, a free copy of WPBids, and all the other fabulous prizes listed in the survey announcement. Please join me in congratulating Samuel!

The Global Freelancer Survey was a huge undertaking for us, and it was a project I was especially invested in. I’d like to thank everyone who participated. We really couldn’t do it without you! I’ll be digging through all the data in the coming weeks, but we’re already learning some interesting and sometimes surprising things about freelancers as a community! Some preliminary things we’ve learned include:

  • Male freelancers out number female freelancers at a rate of more than two to one.
  • Over half respondants identify themselves as a web developer or web designer.
  • Of freelancers who have worked fulltime, most feel they are working more hours now than when they were an employee. (And yet the majority feel they have more time!)
  • On average, freelancer writers are earning much more than their salaried counter-parts.
  • Overwhelmingly, freelancers state they feel happier since they started freelancing.

Interested in hearing more? Stay tuned! All participants (with valid e-mails) will receive a complimentary copy of the survey results from Rockable Press. Additionally, Rockable Press will be publishing a comphrensive book (written by your fearless FreelanceSwitch Editor!) on the state of freelancing today, including in-depth survey analysis, interviews with top freelance professionals, and how to make the information work for you and your business! The book is tentatively planned for early next year, so watch FreelanceSwitch for updates. Once again, thanks to everyone who participated!



View full post on FreelanceSwitch

In order to gather enough data to fairly represent freelancers world wide, we’ve extended the run of the 2010 Global Freelancer Survey! We want to create a complete view of freelancers around the world–and we need your help. We need more responses in order to compare results to the success of the 2007 survey.

If you haven’t already, please take the Global Freelancers Survey and let us know what you think! We need YOUR help to spread the word and help out your fellow freelancer. You will be entered to win one of our many fabulous prizes, including a prize package from MOO Cards and a 32GB iPad! All eligible entries will also receive an overview of survey results–find out what other freelancers are charging or finding clients!

Interested? Read the original post for full details. The survey will remain open until November 29th, 2010. Take the survey now!



View full post on FreelanceSwitch

The 2010 Global Freelancers Survey is online and we want YOU!

Freelancers by nature usually work on their own, as such we often don’t really know what others are doing, charging and thinking. This survey aims to compile our collective knowledge for the benefit of freelancers everywhere! The 2007 survey rendered great results with input from over 3,000 participants, but we need help to update it! By taking part in the Global Freelancer Survey you will be rewarded in three ways:

1. Detailed Statistics. After the survey is complete we will be posting an abridged version of some results on FreelanceSwitch.com, however respondents who complete the survey will be emailed a COMPLETE set of results and data from the survey. I.e. you’ll get exclusive data that non-respondents don’t get!

2. Random Prize Draw. We have prizes. That’s right, fabulous prizes! Everyone who participates in the survey is eligible for a drawing for the grand prize. We’ve put together a prize package worth over $1,000 with some pretty sweet stuff that will make any freelancer’s life easier:

  • A 32GB Wifi Apple iPad. Laptop just too old fashioned? Keep up on your work (and play!).
  • A free copy of WPBids, the WordPress template for freelancers. Easily create hand-crafted proposals on the fly.
  • $100 worth of awesome merchandise from the print experts at MOO! I especially love their business cards.
  • $100 worth of credits for the Envato Marketplaces. Flash, video, web, graphics, print, music, 3d…need any kind of stock file fast? Grab it from sites like ThemeForest, ActiveDen, GraphicRiver, and more for your next project!
  • A one YEAR membership to FreelanceSwitch’s own job board. Find new leads and keep the work coming!
  • A 6 month membership to Tuts+, Envato’s premier network of great tutorials, including sites such as NetTuts, PSDTuts, MobileTuts and more. Get access to the premium tutorials to keep your skills sharp or pick up new ones!

3. Satisfaction. By completing the survey, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping compile information to help freelancers everywhere, it only takes 10 minutes of your time and the sum of our collective knowledge will be huge!

The survey only takes a few minutes and will be a great resource for all of us – so take it now! All rules and nitty gritty included below:

The Rules, Fine Print, Etc

  • Envato staff and people who have written more than two tutorials/articles for a Tuts+ site may participate in the survey but are not eligible for the grand prize.
  • Participants must complete the survey by Monday, November 22nd, 12:01am (CST).
  • Participants must provide a valid e-mail (first question in survey) to be eligible for the prize drawing. E-mail information will only be used to contact the prize winner and provide participants with complimentary survey results.
  • A winner for the grand prize will be randomly selected by the Editor and notified via the e-mail provided in the survey results.
  • Data collected from the Global Freelancer Survey will appear in an up-coming e-book on freelance statistics published by Rockable Press.

That’s it! Good luck, everyone! And thanks for participating!



View full post on FreelanceSwitch

Artisteer - Web Design Generator