One more work from home opportunity is to become a market researcher for a mystery shopping company. You are self employed and the amount of work you get depends on your motivation and the amount of work each company has on. You can register with several at a time. You won’t make a fortune doing this, but will earn a few quid an hour, get travel expenses, and may enjoy some free meals. You may be asked to check certain details with a shop ororder something in particular, and you …

Last week we looked at freelancing: this week we’re focusing on a popular area for freelancers, administration. This is a freelance service which merits its own section, because it is one area where anyone with a computer and reasonable language and IT skills can start a business. Play to your strengths. If you are good on the phone, some businesses may need people to make sales calls for them. Others may want a ‘virtual receptionist’ to answer the phones. This is not ideal if you have noisy children at home, but …

If you have a skill that you have used in your career, could you do it freelance? Using a skill people know you have a talent for will help you when starting out. You should also look at people from previous employment and consider whether they could help you. Some may directly employ freelancers. If so, get in touch with a good resume of what your skills and experience are. Even if they know you well, it won’t hurt to remind them what you offer, and they may pass your …

Health and safety in the workplace is of the utmost importance, and employers have a number of responsibilities in order to ensure the safety of their employees. Every year, many people are injured unnecessarily whilst at work, with some injuries being serious or even fatal.
With this in mind, it is important to ensure you are up to date about workplace health and safety so that you know your rights in the event that you do fall victim to a workplace injury.
Frequently Asked Questions about Workplace Health & Safety
Are there certain …

You will probably have seen people offering their service as a life coach. This is a fast growing industry, and offers the potential for working flexibly over the phone from your home. Life coaches help their clients work out and achieve goals in their career, relationships,or pretty much any area of life. Life Coaching isn’t regulated in the UK, so anyone can call themselves a life coach. Check out courses carefully, and see what former students say about them.
Other personal services you could train to offer include colour analysisorwardrobe decluttering. …

There is something strange going on in the UK employment market. Employment has never been higher, but economic growth is negligible and productivity is falling. Economists at the ONS (Office of National Statistics) are scratching their heads, trying to work out what is going on…
Maybe they need to take a look at what is going on in the every day lives of people trying to make ends meet in tougher economic times. As companies, large and small make cut backs, ambitious professionals are taking their lives into their own hands …

It’s pretty straightforward if you work for someone else. You are employed, and they pay you after deducting tax and national insurance. If you are thinking about working for yourself, it is important to decide whether you want to work alone as a sole trader, form a partnership,or set up a company. There are financial implications to consider and, whichever way you work, it is wise to talk to the Inland Revenue. Here we spell out some of the pros and cons of different ways to work.
Self employment
The simplest way …

List your priorities such as earning money, or finding work that lets you stay home with your children. Then, write down your skills, and ask others what they think you’re good at.
Think about the hours you can devote to work. Be realistic if you plan to work around the kids, as children may not understand “mummy’s working”.  Write down your work hours, whether they are 12-2 each day during nap time, 9.30-11.30 to fit with nursery, 7-9 in the evenings or a combination on different days.
Research the market for your …

If you want to start a business gradually, keeping your paid job on and fitting in the start up on evenings and weekends, you are entitled to ask to work flexibly. Find out more about who can ask, and how this can help you start a business.
You have the right to ask for flexible work if you have a child under 18. Your boss has to consider your request and can’t refuse outright.  She has to base a refusal on one of the following grounds:

Burden of additional costs
Detrimental effect on …

Have you been impressed by the mumpreneurs you have seen on TV or in the news? Would you love to be able to run your own family friendly business but are unsure how? Many working mums and dads are stuck in inflexible jobs, and short of time for their family and themselves. If you have a job but want to work for yourself, here are some tips to help you budget to start your business:
Work out an ‘essentials’ budget, to see whether you could afford to give up work. Remember …