Just like permie employees, you rise from a long and restful sleep on a Sunday morning, put on some coffee, enjoy a long breakfast reading the newspaper, and then decide whether it’s the beach or the park for a day’s fun and relaxation with the kids. NO WAY JOSE! Instead, you slide out of bed […]
The 24×7 Freelancer Trap Read More »
Recession is as certain as death and taxes (I wish taxis were as certain on a cold winter’s night at 3am!). And guess what – so is the upturn. But who is talking about it yet?Good News people: according to McKinsey’s Quarterly Survey , we are getting close to the bottom of the trough we
Is It Time To Prepare For The Upturn? Read More »
‘Performance Review’, as a search phrase, accounts for over 60% of search-engine traffic to this site. A big topic for many people! Performance Reviews are a hot topic during this recession. Why? I contacted 50 readers and put that very question to them. What was the answer?The consensus – a lot of people are nervous
Performance Reviews Articles on SimonStapleton.com Read More »
Most of us want to be rich. At least rich enough so that we can make our own choices of who we work with, when we work and how we work. How about you?Despite what many marketers would like us to believe, there isn’t a magic bullet to become rich overnight, notwithstanding major inheritance or
How To Become a Highly Paid IT Professional (And Be Rich) Read More »
If you’re in Sales, a Freelancer or in a role where you need to secure some kind of deal, at some point you may need to Cold Call
How to Cope with Cold-Calling Read More »
Another installment of Sh..IT Happens, and another trip through the blogosphers for some of my favorite picks of the week.Brand You: how do you come across at work?Elizabeth Harrin writes a great post on her blog A Girls Guide to Project Management about personal branding in the workplace. She interviews Salma Shah who share her
Sh.. IT Happens #5 Read More »
The recession is a different environment from boom-times (er.. yeah?) so have you spoken to your accountant about what options you have to strengthen your finances? A straw-poll of freelancers and contractors told me yesterday that only 17% of freelancers are talking to the accountant. Why aren’t freelancers talking to their accountant. Perhaps the equally
Freelancers: Talk to Your Accountant Read More »
We’re in a recession. Cashflow is tight. So don’t let your invoices go unpaid another minute! This is short, but sweet. In business, cashflow is king. Profit is great. Low-cost operational costs – cool. But without cashflow, you’re dead in the water… Chasing invoices is the must-do activity if you’ve got debtors. The Time-Value of
Freelancers: Chase Your Invoices Read More »
By combining your LinkedIn profile with Facebook ads, you’ll discover an effective way of getting yourself in front of potential employers who use Facebook (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) It’s a guerrilla job-hunting tactic that enables you to search the hidden job market and find or even create the best jobs before they hit
How To Find Work in Your Dream Organization Using Facebook And LinkedIn Read More »
Here are 7 things to do to turn your situation around and get yourself right back into employment
Laid Off? 7 Essential Things To Do Immediately After a Lay Off Read More »
…if you were in any doubt.Cloud Computing is one of the most significant transformational innovations for IT in 2009. But what it achieves is not an innovation. The innovation is the dressing up of the word Outsourcing.Business NEEDS Cloud Computing, in general. It removes the cottage industries of IT infrastructure out of struggling businesses whose
Cloud Computing IS a More Palatable Word for Outsourcing… Read More »
A week can seem a long time when you don’t have the comfort of a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, a coffee machine within spitting distance and an internet connection you can really rely on. So I had mixed feelings coming back from Egypt, until I was forced into a 500m detour when my flight couldn’t land
Sh.. IT Happens #4 Read More »
Fact: Taxes Are A Pain In The Ass, But They’re Part Of Business Any business, whether online or not, really has to pay its due taxes. Some people would resort to starting an online business thinking that they can evade tax payments if they do so but the truth is, the tax dues will surely catch up with them
Taxes: The Dangleberrys of Online Freelancing Read More »
I wouldn’t want you to start your career off on the wrong foot, especially now the market is so damn tough. Too many opportunities in starting a career in IT are lost because of a lack of understanding of the market and the belief that your first job must be the ‘right job’. If Mr
7 Essential Steps To START an IT Career in a Recession Read More »
I don’t want to stay in the same draftsman job for over 30 years, like my Dad. Nor does he have any desire to write a blog, manage projects, innovate, etc. But we do have one thing in common – we both have the same underlying skills to master to fulfill our potential. And heck,
Realize 5 Outcomes: Become a Superbrain Read More »
I was astounded to read C.G.Lynch’s article on the CIO.COM blog – ‘Offline Gmail: Now What Excuse Do You Have, Old School?‘ It’s either aimed squarely at SMEs, or it’s just baloney.Perhaps Lynch hasn’t read the article, ‘The case against Web apps (Five reasons why Web-based development might not be the best choice for your
Offline Gmail Isn’t the Answer to Enterprise Adoption Read More »
I am admitting a moment of total weakness. I just gave into compulsion like never before! I feel so weak, but so pleasantly geeky too!I am ‘fessing up to buying three gadgets that (with an objective/boring hat on) I didn’t really need, but I fell in love with them when I saw them. I’ve just
3 Tech Gadgets I Just Had To Buy… Read More »
This was ‘the week that not was’ for me… as I’ve been hiding out in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It was a great place to relax and catch up on some reading (for fun!) and scouring the blogosphere for interesting posts. So, from Sharm El Sheikh, here are some of the best finds out there:
Cloud Computing is here, and it is somewhat of a revolution. It brings many benefits to our organizations – the obvious economic, but it also frees us up to focus on core business, as defined today. If managing infrastructure isn’t our core activity, then let’s not do it, right?All the in-crowd on the web are
Dark Clouds Ahead? A Warning About Cloud Computing Read More »
Although you might not believe it, ‘other stuff’ has happened in the world besides the inauguration of Barack Obama… I’ve collected a few gems from across the web from last week – Leave Your Comments below!Communicating IT’s value using Project Portfolio ManagementEric Brown on his blog EricBrown.com controversially states that "Business leadership has no idea
I travel to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday with my family for a relaxing break. It is a beautiful area of the country and sits on the Red Sea. It will be a shame to leave the cold and the rain behind. I won’t be leaving my brain behind though… I need to Come
Contemplation on the Red Sea… Read More »
