business

Apparently LinkedIn wants to move away from its status as a pure career network towards establishing itself as a more social network. LinkedIn has been overhauling the look of its homepage with a cleaner and simpler interface, which now closely resembles the designs of Facebook and Google+. Some of the new features include a newer, simpler, and more modern design, more relevant updates on top of the news feed, and a richer, cleaner comment / update / post stream. As with Facebook and Google+ there’s a line on top of the stream that shows which people — and how many — commented and liked a post. Also, the sidebar now lists statistical information on your network and other related info like jobs you may be interested in and other people you may know.

What do you think about the new design and features?

According to Ruth Mantell, a repoter for MarketWatch, networking requires strategy, research and social grace. Because competition for jobs is intense, there is a lot that we can get wrong when trying to build business relationships and generate business opportunities. First and foremost networking is about building relationships – not simply selling yourself. In that sense, here are 5 important networking “don’ts”.

• Don’t misuse the Internet – Don’t rely too much on email and networking websites such as LinkedIn. Nothing beats meeting face to face.

• Don’t be vague – Tell networking contacts about specific ambitions for your career or professional growth so they know how to support you

• Don’t stop – Keep networking, even when you’re not looking for a job. That way, your network is in place when you do need it.

• Don’t be selfish – Networking solely for your own goals is a mistake and doesn’t work. Also help your contacts.

• Don’t misuse your network – Distributing your references’ contact info too frequently can lead to burnout. Don’t abuse your network with too much contact either.

Many freelancers operate as just another anonymous resource in the crowded market. Their services lack an identifying mark that stands for something. It is therefore not surprising that, at times, it can be very difficult to prevail in a highly competitive freelance environment. In that sense, building a distinctive image and lasting reputation for your freelancing business can be very beneficial.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that having business cards, a logo, a website, a social media presence, or a slogan for their business means that they have a brand. But they are wrong. Those things, in and of themselves, are not a brand, but they can help build a brand. They serve as a reminder of what your freelancing business stands for. In a nutshell, a brand is what your clients think of when they think of you and your work. Simply being known as a good designer or good programmer is no longer enough. You should rather be known as a designer who provides elegant yet simple work or a programmer who is known for his/her exceptional ability to solve tough problems. Developing a strong brand takes time and effort. Besides exceptional work, building a brand usually requires significant and consistent marketing and PR.

Having a strong freelancing brand can mean the difference when pitching for a project or job. What do you think?

European accelerator Startupbootcamp launched in Berlin last week:

Startupbootcamp (or “SBC”) is a three month business startup acceleration program that runs quarterly during the year for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses across Europe to get ready for funding, launching and scaling to European and global markets. By locating startup teams to one of Startupbootcamp’s program offices in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Dublin, the accelerator focuses on exposing and connecting startups to an expanding community of key mentors and advisors that provide expertise from a multitude of verticals, industries and regions vital in growing a business. Take your startup to the next level and follow in the footsteps of fellow European startup successes such as Skype, XING, Spotify and SoundCloud.

Startupbootcamp – a European startup accelerator from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

“Tom Malone, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the HBR article “The Age of Hyperspecialization,” explains why breaking jobs into tiny pieces yields better, faster, cheaper work — and greater flexibility for employees…”

The future of work 2.0

We’ve built a great widget that has been released and is now available. We would like to take a moment and describe some of the features our widget has and how you might take advantage of it.

Do you offer employment services and solutions, human resource consulting or manage a database for recruitment and permanent placement?

As one of the leading online  project marketplaces in Germany, we’ve been connecting freelance professionals and innovative businesses on our specialized industry platforms since 1999. Benefit from co-branding with projektwerk.

The widget enables you to offer your website visitors a customized project marketplace with valuable, daily updated content. By utilizing the projektwerk widget, you can provide your website visitors with interesting, sector-specific freelance work on individual project basis and simultaneously provide access to the best database for excellent freelance professionals. The widget can easily be added to your website and is totally integrated into the look and feel of your corporate design. No updating or editing necessary – the information is pulled automatically and syndicated over to your site.

Have a look at the widget on two of our partner sites:

For more information please contact:

Daniela Chikato

Mail: d.chikato@projektwerk.de

Phone: 040-43 21 30-36

Having a solid search engine optimization strategy is very important because today’s internet search is in a constant state of change. In order to create more transparency about how their search actually works, Google regularly updates its users about algorithm and feature changes on its Inside Search Blog. SEOMoz, a leading provider of SEO software, published a great infographic showing all of the significant algorithm changes that Google has made in the past months, including a version breakdown of the controversial “Panda” update.

Please click to view Infographic | courtesy of SEOMoz

Having success as a freelancer depends on many factors of which I have collected the most important ones (in my opinion) here – that does not mean that having those factors will ensure your success or that success is impossible without them, but they will definitely be more than nice to have.

The idea
A bright idea turned into a realistic business plan is the safest way to achieve success. Refrain from copying existing business plans, be original and offer something special and helpful to potential clients or customers.

Adaptability
Being adaptable is truly important, since freelancing in itself not always runs according to the original plan. First, reality does differ from the business plan, no matter how realistic and elaborated the plan is. Secondly, the surroundings will change with time – the market will change as well as your customers´ expectations. Being prepared for change is key.

Endurance
The first 3 years are said to be the most difficult. Especially the beginning is characterised by the pursuit for clients / customers and a regular or at least reliable income. Even though it gets better with time, endurance and discipline are important factors for achieving lasting success.

Learning to delegate
To delegate sounds easy, but for many people this will turn out to be a difficulty. Delegating is important, because it is so easy to get lost in small, everyday tasks or tasks one does not have the knowledge to handle. Turning to experts will save you the energy to deal with the core of your freelance business.

Commercial skills
The idea is convincing, the technical know-how exists and you do not lack enthusiasm. That is a good start, or the heart of your freelancing success. But the commercial skills are often being underestimated, even though they are the groundwork of your business. Freelancers who do not happen to have an education in business should attend a course or at least spend some time reading technical literature – even if they plan to hire an expert.

Now it´s your turn: Do you agree? Do you have any further suggestions?

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com.

According to Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle Rule”, people don’t buy what you do, but they buy why you do it. Even if it is no secret that many successful brands gain an irrational edge by appealing to our emotions, in his TED talk, Simek presents a innovative model which explains why some organizations and leaders are able to inspire action while others are not. Some of his examples include Apple Inc., Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers. Enjoy.

We have known for some time now the rocketing demand for mobile app development, however, the fact that firms are literally scrambling for engineers who can write software for mobile devices is somewhat amazing. Apparently, the supply of sufficiently experienced software engineers is seriously lagging behind the high demand. According to the WSJ, companies have reacted with increased wages to retain top talent and outsourcing to third-party developers. Mobile apps have worked their way into various industries. As stated in the WSJ article, Google Inc. and Apple Inc. expect revenues for the App Store and Android Market to tripple to about $15billion in 2011…

Check out the full article here: Mobile App Talent Pool Is Shallow