Need help but not staff? We can help.

Some interesting changes have been taking place in the business world lately. Where a company would previously hire a full time employee to manage and maintain their website or IT needs, now those tasks are being outsourced – oftentimes locally – to qualified professionals. This can be a good idea for a number of reasons but most importantly it works on an economic scale.

Outsourced staff doesn’t need to be included in the company’s benefits programs, health insurance, or 401k. They are usually hired on a task by task basis and often bill hourly or monthly for the work they do, but the best part is you can delegate work to them as if they are a part of the team. This requires your faith in their reliability and competence but there are sources available to help vet your potential freelancers or outsourced staff.

One of the freelance or outsource directories we use is Freelancer Magazine’s (http://www.freelancermagazine.com/business-directory/) and Freelance Source (http://www.freelancesource.com/) but there are several others as well, some focusing on more specific tasks. Of course, GroovySoup also works in this way and would love to assist you with your website maintenance and upkeep. Just send us an email or give us a call and we can set up a plan that works for all of us.

Tag from Flackrabbit

Well, my wife and uber PR goddess Margie Maddux Newman, has tagged me to say weird things about myself…or at least reveal some of them :)

Here we go:

1. My (our) dog weighs less than the typical Venti cup of Starbucks
2. I once placed seventh in the LaSalle County (Illinois) Spelling Bee
3. I have a Chief Wahoo (Cleveland Indians mascot/logo) tattooed on my back
4. I have been shaken down by a Chinese pimp
5. The phrase “I E 6″ causes an immediate increase in my blood pressure
6. I rocked on the Atari 2600
7. My favorite instrument is the banjo

and here are the next victims:

• Dave Cone
• Marcus Whitney
• Granny

Here are the rules for my fellow bloggers:

* Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
* Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

New Taxes Now!

I have an idea that I’m sure many will disagree with. Knowing that the cost of a barrel of oil is dropping quicker than the oil companies are willing to can adjust our per gallon prices, isn’t it time we increase the tax we pay per gallon? I mean, if we’re concerned about making the budget balance, this is a perfect opportunity to increase federal tax revenue while still lowering fuel costs for consumers. What if we just split the difference between how low the prices would go and collect that as increased tax revenue? Both sides win – cheaper gas and higher tax revenue. Not to mention the fact that if fuel prices stay higher then consumers will continue to use less. That’s another big win for all of us. Just an idea.

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Congratulations Margie!

On winning a spot in the PR News’ 15 to Watch. I already knew you were the best ever but now there are big name folks agreeing with me :)

Source: FlackRabbit

“Take good care of yourself.”

Image via Wikipedia

I was on the elevator the other day with an older gentleman who took particular notice of the weird little poodle I was walking. He asked how old she was and what her name was and made a couple of observations about how tiny she was. He was obviously very much a dog person. The thing that stuck out in this conversation though was what he said as he left th elevator:

“Take good care of yourself.”

It wasn’t just what he said that made the difference though. He took the time to say all of it and make eye contact. He could have said something casual like “take it easy” or “have a good one” but instead he carefully said “take good care of yourself,” which stuck with me and got me to thinking. If we can all take the time to show true interest in what our neighbors, clients, friends and family members are doing, we can make them feel closer to us and build stronger relationships.

Take the time this week to pay a little more attention to the people in your life. They will notice your effort and appreciate the time you’ve given.

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