The TeleWorkers Digest Gives You A Monthly Map And CompassTo Safely Navigate The Work-At-Home World

The TeleWorkers Digest


Volume 1  Issue 4 - Copyright ©2010 TeleWorkersDigest - All Rights Reserved
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The TeleWorkers Digest


“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a
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- Niels Bohr


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Digest

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The TeleWorkers Digest
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The TeleWorkers Digest

From The Editor -
Contents –
Welcome to the latest edition of the TeleWorkers Digest, an edition that introduces several new
How to Increase Your Chances of Successfully
contributors and features that I’m sure will help you with your day-to-day and career as a teleworker
Negotiating a Telecommuting Agreement
or teleworker-to-be.
Secrets Of Reaching Out Online
Do I Need A Website?
Whether you’re a work from home parent or grandparent, telecommuting corporate employee or
running your own home business we like to think we give you the best of the tools, advice, resources
Outsourcing Home Business Chores
and opportunities that a teleworker can use from both sides of the Atlantic.
The Traps Of Working At Home
Mind Set – Beating Limiting Beliefs
As stated before we love to promote a community feel with our subscribers, we’re here for you, so if
This Is Why You’re Already Good At Marketing
there are any reviews or topics you’d like covered send requests to this email and please feel free to
‘connect’ with our authors for further information.
Making Telework A Win-Win For Employers &
Employees
Feel free to pass this document on to friends and family.
Whose turn is it to empty the dishwasher, clear the
dinner table, hang the washing out....?
If you were given this eZine by a friend you can get your own subscription here.
How to Use Twitter As A Customer Service
That’s it – close your inbox, enjoy this month’s edition and check out
Platform
the freebies at the back.
How To Promote Your Facebook Fan Page & Get
Lots Of Fans
Kindest Regards
Networking 101 (For Anyone A Little Bit Nervous)
Patrick Henns
Turbo Charge Your Sales!
Editor
Survey Results
A Commuter’s Tale
Freebies
Interview Portfolio
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How to Increase Your Chances of Successfully Negotiating a
your job may not be telecommuting compatible, attempt to come up with
Telecommuting Agreement
solutions to work around them.
- by Yasuo Long, @yasuolong
Step 2: Increase your value to your company
If you’re the sort of person who enjoys their day job but would like that
extra flexibility to work from home so you can spend more time with the
Your company needs to feel the fear of god at the idea of losing you as
family or doing the things you enjoy, then you might want to consider
part of their company. This can be done by increasing their perceived
telecommuting.
value of you.


To get a telecommuting agreement is pretty straightforward, provided
The idea here is to increase your value enough so that when they weigh
your company already has the technological capacity to let you do it and
the option of giving you your telecommuting agreement and against
you have enough negotiating leverage behind you to make your company
replacing you, they feel much more inclined to give you what you want.
take your request seriously.
Step 3: Prove you are capable of working remotely

The following 4 steps are the steps I used to secure my telecommuting
While you are still working in the office, prove that you are actually
agreement with my company and I am confident they will work for you as
capable of working from home. A way you can do this is to take sick days
well.
and work from home, making sure your manager is aware you are
working.
Step 1: Make your job telecommuting compatible

Do an analysis of your work process and see if you actually need to be in
While you do this, ensure you keep track of your work output and make
the office in order to get your primary tasks done. The easiest way to test
sure that it is the same if not higher than what you would normally
this is to take a sick day and attempt to get a full day’s work done from
produce if you were in the office.
home.


By doing this, you are proving to yourself and your company that you are
Any weak spots in the telecommuting compatibility of your job will
capable of being productive, even if you are not in the office.
become immediately obvious. Once you have identified the areas where
Step 4: Propose a trial run instead of a full blown agreement
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One of the best ways to get your foot in the door of a telecommuting

agreement is to propose a trial.

Most
s pe
p o
e p
o l
p e u
e
se
s
e bl
b o
l g
o s
s t
o
o
By proposing a trial and giving them the power to revoke your agreement
if things don’t seem to be working out, it feels less permanent and allows
reco
c r
o d
d t
heir
i t
hou
o gh
g ts
s an
a d
n
d
them to retain a sense of control over you.
liv
i e
v s,
s w

hil
i e
l
e a s
a el
e e
l c
e t
c few
e

Before you do this though, remember to do steps 1 through 3 to
maximize your chances of success if they agree to your request.
use
s
e t
hem
e
as a free
e
e w

ay
a t
o
o
Conclusion
mak
a e a
e f
a or
o t
r une
n
So what has been the purpose of all these steps?
Well to break it down, being a valued employee means they will consider
your request seriously.
Next, showing evidence that you are capable of telecommuting gives
them confidence you will maintain productivity.
Finally, proposing a trial run reduces their fear of losing control over you
and will help them feel more inclined to let you ‘tryout’ telecommuting.
The key here is to make sure you are well prepared by the time you get to
the tryout stage so that once you’re out of the office they won’t have any
reasons to call you back.
Yasuo Long is the lead technical writer for an international
engineering design company and has been telecommuting full-
time for the last 2 years. When he’s not busy with his day job, he
can be found at tell-a-worker.com sharing his experience as a
telecommuter and writing about living purposefully, overcoming

personal limitations and designing your ideal lifestyle.
Paid Advertisement

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The TeleWorkers Digest

Secrets Of Reaching Out Online – by Antonia Chitty @antoniachitty
Your Experience:
Do you feel that you’re making the most of the internet to promote your
Now, let’s think about your experience so far with social media. Here’s a
business? As a home worker or telecommuter online promotion is perfect
quick checklist for you to see where you are right now:
for you to reach a large audience without stepping beyond your
Do you have a Blog?
computer. If you’re not using social media and online promotion you’re
missing out on a chance to:
1. Yes and it is updated regularly
2.
-Find out what your potential customers want
Yes and it is updated occasionally
3.
-Build relationships with your customers and potential customers
Yes and it is I started it but never got very far
4.
-Increase awareness of your brand
No
-Develop trust
Do you have a Twitter Account?
-Increase sales
-Increase your profits
1. Yes, and I send tweets out several times each day
2. Yes, I use it occasionally
Read this clear guide and put the steps into practice to see your business
3. Yes, I signed up but have never really used it
and your profits grow.
4. No
My Experience:
Do you have a Facebook fan page or group for your business?
For me, social media has made an enormous difference to my business. In
1. Yes and it is updated regularly
the last eighteen months I have turned a simple site to promote one of
2. Yes and it is updated occasionally
my books into a blog that generates income for me every month. I’ve
3. Yes and it is I started it but never got very far
used Twitter to launch a new book and built up a following of over three
4. No
thousand people. I spend one evening a month setting up promotional
tweets that ensure that my followers are getting positive messages about
Awards yourself 5 points for each time your answer is ‘1’, 3 points for
my business every day. And as a result of raising my profile online, this
each time you answer ‘2’, 1 point for each answer ‘3’ and zero for each
year I’ve been asked to speak at more events than ever before, with the
time you answer ‘4’.
prospects of sales from each one.
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Gain an extra point for each of these networks you are on and actively
Twitter is a key tool to help you reach many more people with your
using
business offering. Read on to find out why and learn about how every
teleworker with a few minutes to spare can make the internet into her
- Ecademy
business’s best friend.
- BTTradespace
- LinkedIn
It is really important to make the most of social media for your business.
- Bebo
You wouldn’t turn down someone offering you a handful of cash would
- MySpace
you? Nor would you walk on by if someone came up to you in the street
- Ning
and said, “I’ve heard about your business and it sounds right up my street
- Babycentre
– can you tell me more?” If you aren’t blogging and tweeting, though, you
- Flickr
are actually turning away potential sales and missing the chance to tell
- Xing
customers all about your business and why it is just what they need.
- Jaiku
Twitter is a simple concept, but it can seem hard to work out how best to
Your Score:
use it. The sign up page is easy, and writing 140 character messages takes
next to no time. What can seem tricky, though, is to get the right balance
21-30 points: You’re a social media queen. Social media is developing
of messages that motivate people to buy and interesting items to attract
fast, so read on for some handy tips and tricks to help you stay in top.
followers. Plus, should you be tweeting about personal matters as well as
11-20 points: You’re a social media starter. It is easy to sign up for all
business?
these sites than it is to know how to make them useful for your business.

Read on for practical tips to help you use online promotion successfully
Part 2 of this article by Antonia will be in next month’s TWD.
every day.
Antonia Chitty helps mums develop their businesses
0-10 points: You’re a social media newbie. Don’t worry if you’re really
through www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk and
unsure about what to do to promote your business online. Read the
offers PR training and advice at www.acpr.co.uk
article and choose one place to start that will work well for your business.


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The TeleWorkers Digest

Do I Need A Website? – by Chris Messon - CTO at TWD – chris@teleworkersdigest.org
Resources:
I first remember being asked this question in about ’98, the Stone Age of the internet. My answer
Wordpress – Probably the most used
now is exactly the same as it was then: Yes. Absolutely. Don’t ask stupid questions.
publishing platform on the net. There’s a bit of
a learning curve but its flexibility and the huge
Back then building a website was seen as black magic, something you had to go to a digital Hogwarts
number of plugins make any website a
to understand and conceive. Today you can just write your content, sales pitch, service description
possibility. (Check out the ‘Freebie’ section at
etc. and paste it into a ready to go template. Add a few pretty pictures and a paypal button and
the end of this publication for help)
you’re done. Open and ready for business.
1and1 – If you’re really looking for a ‘chimp
Even if your product or service doesn’t lend itself to being sold online (maybe you’re a business
could do it’ option then these guys make
consultant or a hairdresser) you still need to have some digital real estate to let people know you
building your site a snip. They also provide
exist. When was the last time you opened Yellow Pages to look for anything? Doesn’t happen – you
great customer care and ecommerce
Google it.
solutions.
The real trick nowadays isn’t building a website; it’s getting traffic to it, its search engine optimization
HostGator – Most hosting companies are
(more on this in later articles).
created equal but for customer care, value
Another benefit of a website is that it levels the playing field. You may be a one man operation but if
and quality hostgator has consistently been at
you put some effort into your website you can get just as many leads through it as a large
No.1
corporation. We’re in a world where the best service doesn’t win, the one at the top of the search
GoDaddy – If you don’t go for an all in one
engine does.
package then this is the best place to get a
So if you need a website where do you start? My best advice is NOT to outsource it. Do it yourself.
domain name. Just look out for the upsells!!
When someone else builds your site you lose control of your most important marketing asset and it
Chris has worked at home as
can cost you big time. Not only will you have the initial build cost but pretty soon you’ll be paying
a technology consultant since
some ‘webmaster’ $50 a pop to change a sentence or add a picture. It really is so easy to do by
1995 with companies such as
yourself, and you learn a new skill that also acts as a pass card into other aspects of the web such as
Yahoo, Siemens & Total.
online advertising and link building. Check out the resource list for DIY web development.
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The TeleWorkers Digest

Outsourcing Home Business Chores – by S Pritchard
Instead of giving an email to send responses to give potential outsourcees
@hiremyparents
a link to a Q&A form. You can set one of these up for free at places like
surveymonkey.com. Here you can get details of experience, expected
We all hate certain aspects of our daily home
wage, qualifications and whatever you feel relevant to the position.
business routines; the data plugging, the end of day
accounts, the blog updates (heaven forbid). My
The effect of this is twofold: 1) you get to know what you want to know
personal pet hate is searching for the perfect flexible jobs for our job
about the applicant not what their resume wants you to know, and 2) you
board; it’s at the heart of hmp but I hate it.
get rid of the resume chuckers – only people that really want the job and
believe they can do the job are going to fill out a fairly lengthy form.
Thankfully we’ve had an in-house team of web squirrels to find these jobs
since the launch of hiremyparents so I’ve been able to do less and less of
If you still get flooded with potential outsourcees then filter them again.
it over time. Slowly stepping backwards, smiling all the time, no sudden
Send them to another form that really drills down on your needs. After
moves. I can now focus on the parts of hmp I enjoy, things I’m good at.
that you can be fairly certain that a) the individual really wants the job
(half the battle when you’re outsourcing), b) they’re qualified for the job,
However, there are home business owners out there that do everything.
and c) they’ll do it for a price you can live with. Better results – less work.
Think about it! Everything! The marketing, the buying, the data/web
updates, customer service, fixing the crap that always seem to take up
Steve is the CMO at hiremyparents.com and a consultant for small
half a day, sales calls, blog, production, follow-ups, coffee – everything!
businesses with big web dreams – steve@hiremyparents.com
Its small wonder that most go to the wall with the owner’s heart in

tatters and 2 mortgages hanging round his/her neck.
EARN WHILE YOU SEARCH!
The answer is, of course, outsourcing. Find yourself a quality and trusted
GRAB YOUR FREE MEMBERSHIP TO HIREMYPARENTS.COM
job board (hint hint) and put your needs up there and wait for the
resumes. But hold on ...that’s more bloody work! Before you know it your
inbox is filled with resume chuckers that throw you an email just because

your job’s in a certain category. So what do you do?
Paid Advertisement
Filter them!

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