Written by
June 20, 2020

Challenging Times Call for Creative Hiring Solutions

In today’s economy, many businesses are having to downsize and cut back expenses every place possible in order to survive. This includes letting valued employees go – often times with much regret. And unfortunately some believe our economy will not improve for a couple of years. So what are businesses to do? How do you support and grow a business if your employee pool is or will be dwindling? Are there creative hiring solutions?

Outsourcing is a Creative Hiring Solution

The good news is that many businesses are finding a perfect solution in outsourcing to independent professionals. These professionals offer the same skills and experience as an on-site employee yet they work as an independent, not requiring employee benefits or office space. One of the largest pools of independent professionals is mom professionals who have left the workforce voluntarily or involuntarily.

Many of them are looking for ways especially now to help supplement their families’ income. And in some cases support their family altogether if their spouse has been laid off. These professionals are experienced and educated but are seeking the freedom and flexibility to work hours that are more conducive to having a family. Some of them work part time and some work full time. Some of them work on an hourly basis and others work on a salary or by the project. What’s great for them and for the company is that studies have proven that a person’s productivity actually goes up when working from a home office. This is at least partly due to the fact that independent workers want to prove themselves and go above and beyond expectations to ensure the work keeps flowing to them.

A Win-Win Solutions

The beauty of it is that these creative hiring solutions is a win-win for the company and the professional. In the majority of cases the company saves on payroll and employee benefits and the professional is pleased to have flexible work and puts forth his or her best effort to make sure the work keeps coming in. For more information on hiring at home professionals, visit www.HireMyMom.com.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field.  Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others.  Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional.Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

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October 28, 2019

3 Important Reasons Small Business Entrepreneurs Should Avoid Mega Job Sites

As a small business entrepreneur, you no doubt have been faced with the demands running a business requires. There is always a to-do list a mile long from tracking expenses, updating your website, email marketing and creating social media content with just not enough hours in the day to tackle it all. 

Maybe you have reached that pivotal point in your business where you can begin to set aside a budget and outsource the tasks you either don’t have time to do, don’t have the skill set to do (and don’t desire to learn) and/or don’t enjoy doing so you can focus on more important tasks like revenue generating activities. It’s an exciting step to reach in your business but it can also be a scary and overwhelming one. 

Now that you are ready to spend your valuable time looking for and interviewing potential candidates who are qualified and a good fit for the mission of your business, it’s tempting to turn to mega job sites like Freelancer and Upwork as they can seem like a logical place to start but they aren’t always the best option for small business entrepreneurs and here are 3 important reasons to think about:

 

  1. Overseas Workers

Many of the freelancers and subcontractors you find on mega job sites live outside the U.S. and while you may find their rates to be cheaper than a U.S. based worker there are important factors to consider such as:

  • Language and Culture Barriers. If you are looking for someone to respond to or create emails, social media comments and blog writing, you could be spending more time proofing and rewriting content than actually creating it yourself. Hiring someone to create content on your behalf should have a good understanding of how to represent your brand voice and business. Language and culture barriers can make finding a qualified candidate well versed in U.S. business culture difficult.

    For example, it may be customary and an understood practice in the U.S. for a client and contractor to have a co-creative working relationship with good communication being a “no brainer” but in other countries, this practice is not well understood resulting in you finding yourself constantly having to follow up with your contractor for status updates. Spending more to hire a high quality U.S. based candidate is well worth it in the long run. 

 

  • Legal and Tax Ramifications. You may not be hiring a part-time or full-time employee but that does not exempt you from legal or tax obligations and when you hire workers from other countries those rules and regulations can become even more complex. 

 

  • Time Zone. Hiring workers that are half a day ahead of you can often work against you. Let’s say you are just getting your day started at 10am and wake up to an email from your contractor who is delivering you the project you asked for but it’s plagued with mistakes and issues but unfortunately your contractor is 12 hours ahead of you and are already offline for the day. Now you have to decide if you are just going to fix it yourself or wait another day for it to be corrected versus working with a U.S. based contractor who can respond much quicker and not delaying your project.

 

  1. Mega Job Sites Take A Percentage Of Earnings

Here’s a recent email we received:

“Hello, I am a freelancer who currently uses Fiverr and UpWork to gain writing gigs. I write website content and articles for businesses. I am tired of paying out 20% per project…..”

As a small business entrepreneur, you may not be aware that mega job sites take a percentage of earnings from the freelancers you hire. For example, if a person’s rate is $20 per hour, they can expect to earn around $16 per hour which means freelancers on mega job sites will actually charge more than they should for their work and skill set in order to help offset the fees that are deducted which means you pay more for the quality work you can expect to receive. 

 

  1. Scammers.

Anyone can create a free profile on mega job sites so quality and legitimacy are not guaranteed. As can be expected on such an open platform with millions of job seekers from all over the world, there is the potential for scams: 

  • Freelancers who do not perform the work themselves (so you are hiring someone based on their credentials and they are in turn outsource it to someone else who is less qualified but still charging you a higher rate. Yes, this happens.)
  • Freelancers who have fake reviews in their profiles and they can actually remove negative feedback as well (yes Feedback Removal is a real thing). 
  • Freelancers who have fake identities and therefore claiming to be of different nationality than they actually are. 

This means you will spend way more time than you need to in order to weed through applicants to verify they are who they say they are and can do the work they claim they can do. 

As a small business entrepreneur, don’t let this process overwhelm you. We have talented North American-based mom professionals ready and qualified to tackle your jobs and projects so you can focus on growing your business. The candidates on HireMyMom pay a small membership fee to receive these job leads so they are more serious job seekers who are willing to invest in themselves which also means you will not get 100s or 1000s of applications from a platform that lets anyone sign up and apply for free. 

At HireMyMom.com we are mom owned and mom run. We are entrepreneurs running our own small business. We understand the needs and challenges of both sides and we aim to create a platform that works perfectly for both. Unlike the mega career sites and platforms, HireMyMom.com focuses strictly on home-based jobs and projects that work perfectly for today’s savvy entrepreneurs and modern small business owners just like you!

Over the past 12+ years, HireMyMom has helped thousands of small businesses find the perfect candidate for their projects while helping place thousands of mom professionals in their dream jobs. We do that by providing a platform that brings the best group of qualified and passionate women together with the best group of successful and growing companies who are looking for highly qualified virtual professionals with skills, experience and expertise. 

 

Why Post Your Jobs Hire My Mom

We all know….. Moms are awesome. Moms are reliable. Moms are dependable. And moms make great virtual employees or contractors.

FACT: Over 5.4 million mothers put their careers on hold to stay home with children*. That adds up to a lot of talented women with experience, education, skills and the motivation to find flexible work that can be done from their home office. (*Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

  • Save time.
  • Save money.
  • Save on office space and office equipment.
  • Save Your SANITY!
  • We do NOT take any commissions from You or our Job Seekers!
  • You will have more time to focus on your clients and improve your business.
  • Your project or job is posted to our entire pool of talented work from home candidates saving you valuable time.
  • You save money by not paying high salaries and benefits for traditional employees.
  • You interview, evaluate and decide which candidate is best suited for your business (or you may choose our Small Business Concierge program and allow us to do it all for you).
  • We provide the candidates. You provide the work. We get out of the way.
  • We’ve been around since 2007, and as moms and entrepreneurs ourselves, we are committed to helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and moms find mutual success!

POST YOUR JOB NOW!

Who are HireMyMom Professionals?

They are talented, experienced freelance professionals looking for real work from home jobs in a variety of fields including:

  • virtual assistants / administrative assistants,
  • blogger / writers / editors,
  • social media marketers,
  • marketing / public relations / advertising, 
  • legal & real estate assistants,
  • researchers,
  • graphic designers,
  • accounting / bookkeeping / payroll,
  • web designers,
  • customer service reps / sales,
  • e-commerce specialists,
  • human resources, and more!

POST YOUR JOB NOW!

 

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September 30, 2019

Why Moms Looking To Work at Home Should Avoid Free Job Sites

If you are a mom, you know first hand how exciting it is for your kids to go to the dollar store. I mean a trip to Target can cost you hundreds of dollars but a few dollars at a dollar store and your kids can quickly pick out a few fun things to entertain them without breaking the bank. 

We know that when we walk into a dollar store stuff is going to be cheap. We don’t go into a dollar store looking for designer brands or high quality items, just some fun stuff to keep our kids happy and entertained. As soon as you walk into a dollar store, you are thinking to yourself: “No blowing my budget today, everything here is going to be cheap!”

If you are a mom who is new to looking for work at home jobs, mega job sites and “free” job sites can look pretty tempting but here is the reality, many of the employers who use these sites are in the same dollar store mindset: they are expecting to find people who are willing to work for really cheap. 

And that brings me to the reasons why moms who are looking to work from home should avoid the large mega job sites and free work at home / freelance job sites. 

 

Mega Job Site Users Shop For the Lowest Bidder

Many of the clients on the mega job sites are in a “dollar store” mindset when they are searching to find freelancers and tend to shop for the lowest bidder. This unfortunately means you are competing with other freelancers, many of whom are overseas where a U.S. dollar goes a lot farther and they can work for a lot cheaper. Hence, they can price their services significantly lower than yours making it impossible to compete. 

I mean, it’s hard to land your dream client when you are having to compete with applicants charging $2-3/hour and not on the value you can provide. And many times its free for businesses to post their job because you are paying the site a commission out of your earnings which leads us to our next point….

 

They Take a Percentage of Your Earnings

Here’s a recent email we got:

“Hello, I am a freelancer who currently uses Fiverr and UpWork to gain writing gigs. I write website content and articles for businesses. I am tired of paying out 20% per project…..”

So not only can mega job sites result in you being underpaid, but they also take a percentage of your earnings. For example, if your list rate is $20 per hour, you can expect to earn around $16 per hour. When you negotiate a rate for a fixed-price job, the same applies. Let’s say you are getting paid $400 for a project, by the time the job site takes their percentage, you’ll receive about $320 as many of these sites charge 20% commission to the job seekers. 

That might not seem like much but let’s say you bill 50 hours over a 40 day period. Instead of keeping the full $1,000 you actually made, you are paid $800. Over a 12 month period, they would keep $2,400 of your income. That adds up quickly, doesn’t it?!

 

You are Competing with Thousands of Other Applicants

Many of the mega job sites and free sites out there attract thousands of people because it’s free or at least you thought it was free in the beginning. Being free means that everyone is going to sign up because… why not. But with smaller boutique sites like HireMyMom, you are only competing with a fraction of that many applicants.

Some jobs on HireMyMom only have 5 or less applicants while others many have 20-30 but never hundreds. Job seekers have an advantage of not having to compete with hundreds or thousands of candidates, and employers appreciate not having to spend hours and hours reviewing resumes and cover letters. Hence, one of the reasons so many of our clients come back to post more jobs because of the high quality applicant pool and the relatively low amount of applicants compared to mega sites.

 

Many Free Job Sites Pull Jobs from Other Websites

Some job sites will pull job openings from other job sites making it even more difficult to stand out in the crowd. Just think how many more people will be applying for those jobs that are posted on multiple websites. At HireMyMom, all jobs are posted by the small business hiring. We do not pull ads from anywhere. In most cases, the jobs on HireMyMom cannot be found on any other website unless the business chooses to post it on another site as well.

 

So How Do You Find Legitimate Work at Home and Get Paid What You’re Worth?

At HireMyMom, we are mom owned and mom run. We are entrepreneurs running our own small business with a team of other moms we’ve hired right here on HireMyMom. We understand the needs and challenges of both sides and we aim to create a platform that works beautifully for both. Our business model is different than the mega sites in that we take no commission from our job seekers; instead we have a small membership fee starting at $9.99 for a one week trial membership. Once you’ve paid your membership, you don’t pay another dime. What our job seekers earn, they keep!

Over the past 12+ years, HireMyMom has helped thousands of small businesses find the perfect candidate for their projects while helping place thousands of mom professionals in their dream jobs. We do that by providing a platform that brings the best group of qualified and passionate women together with the best group of successful and growing small businesses who are looking for highly qualified virtual professionals with skills, experience and expertise. 

HireMyMom is different than the Mega Job Sites and Free Job Sites in These Ways:

  • HireMyMom is primarily for North American candidates to protect our virtual professionals earning power and also giving our small businesses the high quality candidate pool they are looking for, 
  • Candidates are not competing with hundreds or thousands of other applicants around the world, 
  • HireMyMom does not take a percentage or commission of earnings from it’s virtual professionals or businesses,
  • HireMyMom is a boutique community offering personalized services, training, support and virtual high-fives,
  • You have the benefit of working with clients in or near your time zone.

 

Find your next work from home job at HireMyMom where we have a database of high quality projects and positions ready for you to review and apply for while providing you with a community that will support and train you as you work to build a long term freelancing career!  

 

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Written by
January 14, 2014 0 Comments

Challenging Times Call for Creative Hiring Solutions

In today’s economy, many businesses are having to downsize and cut back expenses every place possible in order to survive. This includes letting valued employees go – often times with much regret. And unfortunately some believe our economy will not improve for a couple of years. So what are businesses to do? How do you support and grow a business if your employee pool is or will be dwindling? Are there creative hiring solutions?

Outsourcing is a Creative Hiring Solution

The good news is that many businesses are finding a perfect solution in outsourcing to independent professionals. These professionals offer the same skills and experience as an on-site employee yet they work as an independent, not requiring employee benefits or office space. One of the largest pools of independent professionals is mom professionals who have left the workforce voluntarily or involuntarily.

Many of them are looking for ways especially now to help supplement their families’ income. And in some cases support their family altogether if their spouse has been laid off. These professionals are experienced and educated but are seeking the freedom and flexibility to work hours that are more conducive to having a family. Some of them work part time and some work full time. Some of them work on an hourly basis and others work on a salary or by the project. What’s great for them and for the company is that studies have proven that a person’s productivity actually goes up when working from a home office. This is at least partly due to the fact that independent workers want to prove themselves and go above and beyond expectations to ensure the work keeps flowing to them.

A Win-Win Solutions

The beauty of it is that these creative hiring solutions is a win-win for the company and the professional. In the majority of cases the company saves on payroll and employee benefits and the professional is pleased to have flexible work and puts forth his or her best effort to make sure the work keeps coming in. For more information on hiring at home professionals, visit www.HireMyMom.com.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field.  Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others.  Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional.Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

Continue Reading