Whenever we run across a website that can help bring business owners and freelancers together, we love calling that web site to your attention.

Today we’ll be telling you a bit about Mavenlink online.

From the “how do I make money online” standpoint, if you’re a professional with a service to offer, this web site is right up your alley. Signing up is free, and from there the sky’s the limit.

As a freelancing “maven” you’ll be able to:

o Market your services
o Find challenging and rewarding projects
o Work online efficiently (all projects are completed online)
o Get compensated (make money!) in a reliable and secure way.

As a Maven, after creating your free account, you browse opportunities and select projects you are qualified, professionally, to complete. Mavenlink even goes a step further and lets you tell them what sort of projects you have a particular talent for… how cool is that!

Businesses also create their initial account for free. Then you can go hunting for the perfect person to complete the task you need to get done.

Client benefits include:

o Accessibility to qualified candidates for your project
o Affordability
o Efficiency
o Flexibility

From the business owner’s side of the equation, Mavenlink makes it easy for you to save time and money locating the perfect freelancer for your needs. Also, it’s a great way to keep your business overhead costs down – outsourcing helps eliminate “cumbersome administrative overhead,” freeing up your staff and/or yourself to handle the tasks you need to concentrate on.

Browsing their Projects section should give both sides the opportunity to see “how much to charge” and “how much will I make.” In fact, we are totally impressed that their value-for-value exchange is very apparent using the Mavenlink system. (You’ll have to visit Mavenlink’s projects page to fully appreciate this statement, it’s much more clear cut then their competitors – we like that!)

Need to advertise your skills and make money? Mavenlink is for you!

Need to find a professional? Again, the best of both worlds can be found at Mavenlink – bringing skilled freelancing individuals and businesses together.

Email is an amazing thing. You either get tons of trash or golden nuggets. Today was a golden nugget day.

Larry Brauner informed us of two extremely cool FREE resources for anyone looking for virtual assistant work. The beauty of being a VA online is, obviously, your ability to make money from the comfort of your own home business computer.

The two resources are:

o Virtually Successful – Simple ways for virtual assistants to find (and keep) clients by Cindy Greenway (168 pages) – all she asks for is your name and email.

o Becoming An Online Business Manager – Playing a bigger game with your clients (and yourself) by Tina Forsynth (236 pages) – again she is collecting names and emails, but hey it’s free

Larry came by these two gems via Kenya Halliburton’s Beyond Business Coaching website so thank you Kenya!

I know this has come up because I was recently asked for direction in helping a very good friend of mine find more virtual assistant work.

So don’t pass these up, go get your copies today. The pdfs are huge so do give them time to load. Then save them to your hard drive in a place you will remember.

Enjoy!

Comments Are Most Welcome (and a smart strategy for YOU). Please do leave your feedback.

Today was my son’s very first job interview. Actually you have to admire him, he hasn’t even officially graduated from high school yet (will June 4th). However, when the ad appeared in the local newspaper for video game testers you bet he (okay we) were all over it. What a great opportunity – and since he’s been playing video and PC games since the age of 3, 15 years of experience should count for quite a bit.

However, he has more going for him then just gaming. His communication skills – both oral and written – far outstrip many individuals two or three times his age (not bragging, just fact).

Okay Diane… So where’s this all leading? Well, while he was not at all nervous heading into, driving to, arriving at, or standing up and walking down the hall – nor was he nervous returning – very few people can be as calm as he displayed when it comes to that all-important interview.

So I went scouting and found typical interview questions and the best responses. If you’re getting ready or praying for that all important call, brushing up a bit on your interviewee skills is never a bad idea.

I might mention that the company he interviewed with, for summer jobs only, is a major game player (no pun intended) in its industry – Petroglyph. While he was lucky and already familiar with many of their products and/or games they have played a large part in creating, not everyone is so lucky. You may be shooting in the dark for “any old company” (especially in today’s economy).

So the following is critical…..

With the internet at your fingertips, take the time to see if the job you’re going to interview with has their own website. You can often gleam tons of very useful information – ahead of time – and form questions that you can ask when they get to that all important interview section called, “Okay so now it’s your turn, do you have any questions about us?”

No need to just sit there and shake your head. Have a small arsenal of questions ready (you may not have to nor need to cover them all), but the very fact that you’ve taken the time to research them means you are just that more meticulous then the person coming in next.

Commenting is a way to self promote, even if you are responding to the above. Take a few seconds and please leave your feedback! (Another smart move on your part!)

Related articles

• Awards night at the Game Developers Conference (venturebeat.com)
• 6 Key Steps in Job Interview Prep (usnews.com)

If you are in a position where you’re not sure how much longer your company will last without starting (or continuing) layoffs, why not take the bull by the horns and approach management with this idea.

Telecommuting! Now bear with… this post includes evidence and surefire suggestions you can make to your company’s management team. This just might keep you employed!

Here are a few snippets from a recent article written by the “online guy,” Al Gibes.

“Staying home could make you a better worker and save your company money at the same time.

Although more people are working away from the office, only 40 percent of businesses have a formal policy on telecommuting, a recent Microsoft Corp. survey shows. Saving gasoline, avoiding long commutes and working in a less stressful environment are the top reasons workers log in away from the office.”

If you’re worried about how to present this idea, and thus hang onto your job or a co-worker’s position, here’s more:

“Businesses that give employees the support to work remotely could save 10 percent to 20 percent on office expenses,” said Michael Clark, Microsofts’ Western regional manager of midmarket customers.

“I’ve walked (into offices) and there are cubicles for people there only one day a week or one day a month,” he said. “Businesses could cut back on office space, cut back on travel expenses and the cost of provisioning phone lines.”

Security factors might be your stumbling block when presenting this idea to keep your job. However, you can be ready with the answer… encryption programs!

Evolving technology is easing concerns about security. Clark cites significant improvements in encryption programs that protect data and network access protection that provides safe access for employees while away from the office.

Some suggestions for encryption include BitLocker Drive, a Microsoft product, provide protection from hackers and thieves. (And honestly, shouldn’t your company already be protecting its valuable data – this might not even be an issue. Investigate!)

Another bit of information to have ready in your arsenal of reasons to keep you employed can be the use of voice over internet protocols. Your reason for bringing this up is that by working your job from home you ensure the safety of company data by connecting via telephone (on your computer/laptop), along with your ability to use live messenger programs to “chat with co-workers and clients while working remotely.”

Per the rest of Mr. Gibes article, San Diego tops the list when it comes to keeping employees on the payroll using telecommuting to offset cost. Other cities making the most of this exceptional way to keep a company in business, offset costs, and still pay its employees include: West Palm Beach, Florida; Buffalo, New York; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

So if you’re wondering or worried that the axe is about to fall, cut ‘em off at the pass and offer solutions to keep you on! Telecommuting just might mean the difference between paychecks or unemployment!

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