business

You have one minute to explain yourself, your business, your goals, and your passions. Your audience knows none of these. Are you prepared? Can you present your vision smoothly, enticing them to want to know more?

An elevator pitch is a short summary used to quickly and simply define an idea, a product, service, or organization and its value proposition. The name “elevator pitch” reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes.

Start crafting yours @ the Harvard Business School Elevator Pitch Builder

JWT is one of the largest ad agencies in the U.S. and the fourth-biggest in the world. JWTIntelligence, the firms marketing communications network, is a well-known center for provocative thinking. It focuses on identifying changes in the global zeitgeist and revealing cultural shifts: “We make sense of the chaos in a world of hyper-abundant information and constant innovation – finding quality amid the quantity”.

100 Things to Watch in 2011 is a wide-ranging compilation that partly reflects broader shifts the firm has been tracking over the past few years. The list presents interesting trends, from the evolution of the mobile phone into an “everything hub” to the development of counter-trends, for example to balance out the growing immersion in the digital world, people will increasingly embrace face-to-face gatherings and digital downtime.

enjoy…

In spite of the crisis the branch of renewable energy has asserted itself in Germany.

The number of open positions has risen within one year by 46%.

The job market all around water, wind and sun is in need of engineers.

The requested qualifications concentrate on technical, engineering and scientific skills.

Read more (in german) http://www.vdi-nachrichten.com/vdi-nachrichten/aktuelle_ausgabe/akt_ausg_detail.asp?cat=1&id=50239&source=rubrik

“Business coaching is a practice of developing and honing business skills, to achieve substantial results in the organizational structure of a business. It helps you to improve and achieve the desired success.” But do you need a business coach?

A business coach emphasizes on the importance of interpersonal communication skills in accomplishing an assignment or a project. He helps to deal with the practical problems and identify realistic solutions to them. On woodridge you can find a list of basic responsibilities of a business coach, so you can see if you need one or not.

Pumproom provides different occupational and interest groups of the fashion industry with an attractive form of presentation, communication and developing business relationships. The core element of the platform is the marketplace, which combines supply and demand.

The marketplace lives on the active collaboration of its members.

The more active you are on the marketplace (placing requests, tenders, job openings, projects etc.), the more frequently customers, principals, investors or staff may come across and contribute to your success. You will also find service providers, manufacturers or suppliers who implement your ideas quickly. To offer our participants even more range, the target groups will receive a regular newsletter containing information about the latest offers available on the marketplace.

At the news section you can announce any events and projects, expansion, new partners, fashion shows, awards, trade show dates, job openings as well as any other interesting worth knowing.

Pumproom offers you the possibility to present yourself and your services in your own “room”. You can imagine this “room” to be like your own business inside a virtual mall. Information should find the addressee who is intended for as soon as possible. This approach is supported by Pumproom with its clear structure, grouped by different sectors of priority. Information is, on the one hand, kept centrally on the marketplace, and, on the other hand, it is grouped by and assigned to different priorities. Due to the clear structures, each visitor can get his bearings quickly, while being encouraged to stay and take a look around.

Pumproom is the place to use synergies through streamlined processes, transacting business and realising creative ideas. We are looking forward to our new partnership

On Graphicdesignblender you’ll find some useful tips on how to create a healthy work-life balance when working as a freelancer. As a freelancer you need to have a compensation to your daily work. That is a problem many business owner have because you feel the success or failure right away. This pressure causes oftentimes exhaustion, burnout and mediocre work. So here are some tips:

1. Know your limits

You should not exaggerate overtimes. Working overtime can be good and can make sense, for example because you have to finish a project on time, but working working constantly can become a dangerous way of life. “Set an hour-long meeting with yourself to assess your working situation. Are you currently feeling overworked and stressed? If so, what can you say ‘no’ too?”

2. Turn it Off

Being the owner of a business lets you often run out of time. “You spend time answering emails, putting out client fires, working as a receptionist and project manager, and thinking about things like ROI and SEO for your design business. To achieve a good work/life balance at some point you’re going to have to turn things off. Turn off your computer. Turn off your internet. Turn off your phone.” And your brain of course too. Maybe you take one night so switch of you business life in total.

3. Why do you do what you do?

Ask yourself, why you are doing that work you do. Is it because of the more flexible schedule? Or the free time? “If you are consistently working more than you want and constantly stressed out, then you need to sit yourself down and have a talk. How can you change your design job to make it more like the job you want to have? Do you need to work less? Take on fewer design projects? Schedule your time better? Get out more?” Try to reflect and write down, why you became a freelancer.

4. Get passionate about something besides your work

Everybody needs a hobby. If you don’t know what else to do except working, you should look for one. “To provide some balance you’ll need to find something else you really like to do when you’re not working.” The further away from your job, the fuller your life will be.

Nowadays, the term “workspace” does not merely relate to a physical location but has to be stretched to include virtual workspaces as well. Thanks to many online collaboration solutions, finding the right workspace for your business has become a challenging task. Provided an internet connection and a tiny budget, online collaborations can be just as productive as working together in traditional office settings.

This great post by mashable discusses different office strategies and provides some advice on choosing the right workspace…

After slightly descending project postings on projektwerk.de in May, the overall positive trend continues. In particular, the number of SAP projects hit a record high in June: figures mount up to 296 projects in 2010 compared to 110 projects in June 2009.

This growth is due to an unexpectedly strong business year for SAP – as the German software developer was able to increase it’s turnover considerably in the first quarter of 2010. This significant upward development can be attributed to the after-effects of the economic crisis, which drives many companies to restructure operations. This, in turn, leads to heavy investments in the IT sector.

However, not only SAP projects on projektwerk.de show an upward trend.

According to BITKOM, the German Association for Information Technology, the expectations concerning the tendency of the ICT sector’s financial situation rose by 71 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

“The BITKOM-industry is expecting further growth”, says BITKOM chairman Scheer. This is partly due to the necessity of upgrading such infrastructures as electricity supply, government agency networks, and the educational system. Nevertheless, such improvements are only manageable with sufficient specialists available to get the work done. As part of this development, the demand for IT-professionals and freelancers will increase significantly. According to BITKOM there are about 20,000 vacant positions in the ICT sector – every third company listed in the BITKOM Index is complaining about a lack of experts, negatively affecting their performance and business development.

Managing Director of projektwerk GmbH, Dr. Christiane Strasse, sees significant advantages for IT freelancers: “Based on our figures, we can say with certainty that the recovery of the IT market will further continue as more investments will be made. Another important factor is the lack of experts. However, this deficiency can be optimally offset by utilizing freelancers.”

UpMo is a next-generation career management and advancement platform that accelerates professionals to their career goals…

it facilitates job hunting, networking, and career management, and is designed for professionals trying to maintain career control. Take a look: UpMo

There are a lot of myths around multitasking and how productive people are who try to accomplish work by doing several things simultaneously. It is often mistaken as something that you need to be capable of when for example applying for a project.

A simple answer that shows you how multitasking can slow down your effectiveness while working can be found in a quick test. You will be surprised how little is needed to show that sticking to one task and move on to the next after can save you time. Move on to the Test!