NLab: creativity and collaboration

"Economommies" find new ways to combine family life with employment

A neighbour in my Southern California apartment complex is setting up a new business. She's going to provide services to the growing number of home-schooling families to be found in and around Santa Barbara. There will be group trips to places of interest, science classes on the beach and in nearby woodlands such as the Monarch butterfly sanctuary, and all kinds of 'short course' type activities designed to support the curricula devised by independent home-schoolers. It's a great idea and I wish her well.

My neighbour and many of her home-schooling colleagues are 'economommies' - that is, women who were 'stay-at-home Moms' before the economic downturn but who now need to supplement the family income with paid work which allows them to look after the kids too. They are seeking new and original ways to combine family life with income generation, and there's a new company designed to help people like them - Mom Corps. Mom Corps' mission is two-fold:

• We provide companies direct access to a previously untapped market segment of exceptional talent - professionals who have opted out of the traditional workplace.
• We enable professionals to work in their respective fields, while simultaneously meeting familial needs and responsibilities.

Sounds like something we could develop in the UK too. Read more about this topic in Time Magazine's Hard Times Send 'Economoms' Back to the Job Market

Laid-Off Architect Sells Advice For 5 Cents

I'm in California on a research trip at the moment, and I've been coming across stories about some of the ingenious ways in which American businesses are trying to beat the recession. I'll post them as and when I find them, and hope they're inspiring! Here's the first, from NPR Radio:

Laid-Off Architect Sells Advice For 5 Cents

by Vanessa Romo

Listen Now [3 min 47 sec] add to playlist

Morning Edition, March 25, 2009 · Somewhere beneath the rubble of the housing market collapse, there's an architect trying to dig out and build a clientele. And he's doing it one question at a time.

After getting laid off from an architecture firm for the second time last year, John Morefield had a choice to make: either scratch around for one of the few architecture jobs available in Seattle or do something to control his destiny.

Then he decided: "Now's the time to do the booth."

It's an odd way to grow a business. Every Sunday, Morefield sets up shop at the Ballard Farmers Market. But it isn't anything tangible that Morefield is slinging from behind his small plywood booth; he's selling advice.

For 5 cents, Morefield offers pointers on home improvement projects. He got the idea from the Peanuts cartoon — you remember Lucy and her questionable nuggets of psychiatric help. Read on

Business Value of Social Networking

Business value of social networking

View more presentations from David Tebbutt.

RKH at FAME The Creative Industries Show, DMU

Account Manager Jamie Mollart, Senior Web Developer Paul Sculthorpe, and Designer Matt Laws, shared their industry expertise on 18th March as guest speakers at ‘FAME: The Creative Industry Show’ hosted by De Montfort University.

The event, held to showcase successful companies and individuals in fashion, arts and the media in the East Midlands, offered a programme of presentations giving advice on how best to get into the creative industry fields of digital marketing, journalism, web design and broadcasting. RKH's own Jamie, Paul and Matt were chosen as the online and advertising experts and talked about the power of social media; in particular, tools such as Twitter and Facebook, and how these can successfully be used as part of a brand communication strategy.

100% of participants at the RKH seminar said the advice was good. Specific comments also revealed that the session was very helpful for inspiring thoughts on career moves, ideas for creating company business plans and the relevance of digital media.

Credit: Rock Kitchen Harris

"Nervously waiting for our talk to start"
Left: Matt Laws, Shani Lee, Jamie Mollart
Photo credit: Jamie Mollart

 

"Wow! Thanks for this :) if you need us for any more talks let us know!"
Photo credit: Paul Sculthorpe