It’s great to see that our Gen Y entrepreneurial spirit is being noticed in industry and investment circles. Another positive to hear talk of increased funding for young entrepreneurs.
I support the belief that failure offers a wealth of positive learning outcomes. I believe in collaboration, building shared intelligence and I recognise that we will always have much to learn.
Indeed, I welcome support for environments that nurture entrepreneurship, that offer networking and growth opportunities and increase resourcing options for young entrepreneurs.
“The industry knows where the opportunities are, and these young guys have the capability and capacity. We need to go to a forum where we can bring these elements together and allow the market to decide where the solutions are and where the investments happen…If government doesn’t do it, if the software industry doesn’t do it, if the investment industry doesn’t do it, it’s going to happen generationally…within the next 20 years as these kids grow from college to business, they are naturally going to get entrepreneurial understanding and experience. We can either do nothing and wait for that to happen or we can interject and start to facilitate a sort of collaboration, ” Source CIO
20 years vs 2012
Fortunately, NZ will not have to wait 2 years let alone 20 to begin seeing the value contributed by it’s next generation of entrepreneurs.
I am a member of a brilliant web start up community called the Distiller. We thrive on collaboration and continually seek ways to connect with industry.
We would welcome government, business, community and industry investors to “interject” but – so you know – the collaboration you speak of facilitating, the forums for connecting that you suggest, we are working on this already, perhaps even ahead of you on this one. Investment welcome:-) watch this space….
To build a world class business that helps people and effects change.
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. And what you do serves as the proof of what you believe,”
HOW Worknow
On the basis of our shared values; recognising each others talents and working together in a spirit of trust and collaboration.
EXCELLENCE : We aim to be number one in our field and constantly strive to improve.
SERVICE : Helping people is our passion, exceeding expectations our reward.
INTEGRITY : We keep our promises, treat people fairly and value open and honest communication.
COLLABORATION : talented people, working together for the benefit of each other
BALANCE : work / life – future / present
GRATITUDE : We are thankful for our blessings and embrace both rewarding and challenging circumstances with open hearts.
WHAT Worknow
Work Now is a community marketplace to help people find volunteer and paid work opportunities. Join our talent community and create your talent profile to connect with people and work opportunities.
We, Gen Y, have the information, insight and connections to harness ourselves some rather impressive purchasing power.
Already we use tools like Trade me, to help establish market price and demand. Price Spy to inform us on competitive retail pricing and of course, there’s the ever present forms of social media (facebook, twitter, blogs) that we use to seek out recommendation from the people we trust.
Gen Y … are serious, independent information seekers who expect to interact with products and companies online as a matter of course,” … Their decision process begins and ends online, where they seek information, recommendations and validation…Collaboration is another Gen Y trait. As part of their consideration process, they seek recommendations and validation. Favorite tools include social networking, peer marketing, online support networks, text messaging and blogging. Source
There are always new tools or combination’s of existing tools entering the market. Tools like Bid Rivals, cashing in on the established Trade me culture and auction frenzy around low price deals. While here at Worknow we’ve set out to provide people a more cost effective way to connect with service opportunities.
In a world awash with online and mobile tools, it’s no longer a question about HOW to connect, it’s about knowing with WHOM we connect.
We humans are social creatures, so finding and connecting with other people – in part nature and in part need – is a process that is continually refined and enhanced.
Today’s online world has become a social space for seeking out and facilitating human interaction with the growing power of social search seen with the launch of twitter lists.
Literally, millions of lists created to organise diverse topics – Dunedin (location) Distiller (Group) Volunteering (Industry Sector) – as a collection of who, rather than what.
Worknow, connecting talented people with work opportunity
We’ve combined tools to help people find and connect with work opportunities based on their talent profile. A community marketplace using the familiar bid, buy and feedback system to help people find and bid for work on paying projects and offer time on volunteer work opportunities. As a community member you can use social networking tools to:-
Showcase your talents, skills and work experience, your values, interests and more…
Search and be found, based on the information you choose to share
Connect, communicate and collaborate with people of common purpose and vision
Build your online CV and living work history, a testimonial to your talents, skill and experience.
For a couple of months now I’ve been hunting down job positions, advertised on Seek or Trade me, that I recognise as having contract potential and “applying” for jobs that match my talent, skills and experience – just not in the “traditional” sense of a job application.
Web Wizard Wanted
We require a tertiary-qualified, web savvy, graphic-skilled, customer-focused IT guru who is dedicated to effectively deliver quality online information to our clients and their customers. Our Web Wizard will have skills in the following areas:
Client-side development
Web Communication
Multimedia web scripting
Server-side development
Ability to build and maintain web sites to the highest level.
Ability to design and re-design web site in a co-ordinated approach with marketing, branding and sales focus.
Strong IT background.
Well developed and demonstrable graphic art skills
Demonstrable ability to effectively communicate with people inside and outside of the workplace.
Client interface.
Capacity to work on a virtual Greenfield site.
Must have “The Geek Touch” blended with passion, drive, creativity and ambition to succeed and work towards the next career level
This job opens up a new box of toys to let the Web Wizard’s creative juices flow, and includes animated advertising elements, video streaming, blogging, interactive magazines and advertisements, installation and maintenance of all screen advertising and links, uploading the latest media news as it breaks, uploading the daily newspaper and associated company magazines, and establishing a platform for viable and positive online commercial trade…
Using my CV & cover letter to promote contract outsourcing as the most effective way to get work done.
Dear John,
I read on Seek that you are looking for a web wizard, a talented creative, marketing and people person with technical development and design skills.
Kia Ora, my name is Renee Lee and I am an intelligent, motivated and hardworking young women with a passion for helping people, providing solutions and making things happen.
I’m looking for a part-time contract role that will allow me the flexibility to pursue the development of my own company which supports and promotes more flexible ways of getting work done. Therefore, I offer for your consideration an alternative to the current full-time position you described.
If I may, based on my seven+ years in online business development, I venture to suggest that you split the role between two or more performance based contractors.
Performance based contracting would allow you to achieve superior results, within the same budget as you suggest and would effectively:
Allow you to employ the talents of two or more, marketing, design and development specialists
Delineate responsibility for performance to improve focus, output and productivity
Provide a performance incentive
Expand your available talent resources
As a business catalyst, I can provide you a talented team of online specialists to fulfil the work requirements you outline within your budget…please keep me in mind should you consider a collaborative, talented, team approach an effective and efficient means to accomplish the work you envision for this role. For more information please feel free to check out some links that reflect another part of the work I do:-
Thank you for taking the time to consider a more flexible approach to achieveing the results your require. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind reagrds,
Renee Lee
Co Founder & Catalyst
Worknow Ltd
+64 21 18 300 50
+64 3 455 3901 www.worknow.co.nz
Changing the employment mindset is going to take a whole lot of time and letters of rejection but I can handle the rejection because every seed planted is a potential future collaborator.
Without a doubt I believe the time I spent volunteering, after bailing on law school, helped me secure my first real job.
Working for the YMCA as a Gymnastic Instructor and Recreation Assistant was volunteer work experience in the traditional sense. Being new to the workforce it provided me with opportunities in leadership and team work and allowed me to communicate and work with people of all ages.
Personally, the experience is significant in terms of my lifelong aspirations, it highlighted the value of recreational education and the powerful, positive influence of role models on young people. It made me feel like a contributing member of society and in terms of my CV it reflected my willingness to work.
Volunteering for any of the many charitable organisations that support our communities is a great way to build basic work experience and skills.
But if you’re interested in developing more specialist skills, in line with you passions, interests or education then the potential to volunteer your time applies also to company’s that interests you.
It’s a great way to learn about the realities of the workforce to gain an inside look at an organisation and help you to acquire work experience. For a select few it can even lead to jobs.
Indeed several people that I have spoken to in local community organisations say that when taking on new team members they look first to those that have volunteered time with them. Which makes sense right.
Ideally, we’d all like to land the paid internships but in such a competitive market why let those fortunate enough to score places gain extra advantage when you can as easily build work experience alongside them in the same industry with the increased flexibility of a volunteer position.
By creating your Talent Profile here at Worknow, we can help you find and match you talent, skills and interests with both volunteer and paid work opportunities. Register today
Using Technology to Connect with Generation Y Volunteers
We are presenting a workshop at the Volunteering NZ Conference – Wellington, Thursday 29th October @ 10:45 – to present the idea that online media is an effective way to reach out and engage with young people and encourage them to volunteer.
I’d taken for granted that non-profit organisations were already using online media to engage with potential volunteers. In fact, I know several that do www.350.org.nz is a great example of a non-profit that applies social media to good effect.
Yet, when we asked Otago University students recently where they would look for volunteering opportunities we recieved answers such as; in the newspaper.
Clearly, there’s a perceived notion that the non-profit world is still marketing via the old school methods which presents the opportunity to raise awareness and engage with Gen Y volunteers, online. And that’s not just my bias speaking either, it’s advice straight from the horses mouth.
“What do you think is the most effective way for organisations to promote or advertise to students?”
We’ve been asking Gen Y students variations of this question for weeks now and the following answer, reflects the opinion offered by more than five out of every nine students
“For students I think the internet. Internet for us, is our demographics best marketing tool. It’s what we do…social networking sites are pretty key… and get out to a lot of people really quickly”
Many Gen Y would describe themselves as always online “…’cause thats were everyone is, all the time…” The online environment is such an integral element of our life now days that we’ve begun simply to assume that if we seek information, answers or opportunities they can be found at our fingertips.
So despite having only 20 minutes, luckily, both students and the online usage statisitcs support our proposal that; online is a great way to connect with the next generation of volunteers. If you’re in Wellington on the 29th and interested in talking volunteering and / or time trade we’d love to talk.
Until I am measured I am not known but oh how you miss me once I have flown
When I was ten my cousin Hemi gave me “The Hobbit” to read. Ever since I read that first book J.R.R Tolkien has been one of my favorite authors. His genius and talent for fantasy, heroism and adventure, while rivaled, is not surpassed but I did not fall in love with Middle Earth at Chapter One. No, it was not until Bilbo meets Gollum and the riddles begin that I knew I was on to something epic.
I love riddles, puzzles and logic games. They appeal to the part of my nature that loves to solve problems and find answers.
History shows riddles have been used throughout the ages for everything from children’s games “Ring a Ring a Rosey” to matters of life and death. But in the context I now set out to use them I hope that they will simply help people think about some things, a little more. “What things?” you ask. Which is of course, the answer.
Until I am measured I am not known but oh how you miss me once I have flown
CLUE:090909@9:09
Obvious, too easy? As the title of this post indicated I do not provide answers here. This is only a post for posing questions. If you would like to confirm the answer to this riddle you could Google it, or join a community movement upon which the answer to this riddle is founded and measure yourself the value of ______?
We are a generation influenced primarily by peers and friends.
It’s a fact. In a world awash with information we’ve become adept at questioning the messages feed to us by the media so in order to make informed decisions we turn to those we trust and know. Traditional advertising, barely even registers with us.
Instead of watching TV you’ll find us engaged online and on the move. While the odd Facebook ad might generate a click through (relevant to our social profile) in general, unless it’s funny, sexy or otherwise “hot” it probably won’t even measure on our radar.
Unfortunately, the non profit sector is one where these “general” rules can’t be applied because it’s probably not funny, selling sex can be a crime and hot involves sub Sahara living conditions.
Where traditional advertising and marketing don’t apply it becomes even more important to engage Gen Y through peers, friend and the communities in which we interact. Here at Worknow we rate online communities and networking tools as the most effective way to reach and communicate with Gen Y and luckily for us, we’re not the only one’s backing online community.
The approach we recommend involves creating and maintaining a community – a permission asset if you like – that attracts, captures and leaves a legacy of goodwill around the interactions that occur for your brand or organization on a daily basis. Source
Champion of a cause
Time Trade is a tool to help empower recipients of charity, by valuing their experiences as a means to help others – to provide recognition for the Champions of a cause. As you can watch below, empowering champions is a common theme in of Youth Marketing for Non Profits
If you’d like to hear more about how Non Profits can engage with Gen Y we are holding a workshop at the biennial New Zealand National Volunteering Conference on the 28 – 29 October 2009 in Wellington Town Hall. For more information on this years conference check out the Volunteering New Zealand Website Our abstract aligns with the one of two conference themes:
Volunteering Tomorrow: New Opportunities – new ways for volunteering
And will incorporate concepts on:-
* Generational diversity
* Volunteering in community development
* New and interesting ways of doing volunteering
Go to Time Trade and click on “go here to spend time”
You can then credit people for sharing their talents and time with you
And so it begins, Yay!
To connect with other members of our talent community:
Go to PEOPLE then click on members name or photo to view their full profiles
Click on the “Request Connection” link found below the profile picture to send email request.
Once the other person confirms the connection, you can begin trading time with each other.
Please guys, feel free to share feedback, ideas and criticism via the discussion Forum so that we can incorporate this into to the ongoing build process.
I am so excited to see the Time Trade begin to take shape. There’s 21 founding members here and the opportunity is ours to inspire and grow Time Trade as a community building tool and working alternative to $NZ. Thank you so much for being a part of the Time Trade journey.
One of the most valuable life lessons learned while building this company is that “…money does not define the limits of what is possible…”
I would not be here today if I’d let a complete lack of funds prevent me from pursuing our vision of this new venture. Or if I feared the stigma of being “unemployed”. By choosing to build my future using the only resources that are truly mine – my time and talents – in collaboration with others, I’ve discovered the freedom to follow my dreams and trust my intuitions. While I may be poor in terms of money I’m undeniably blessed and rich in the things that money can not buy; love, happiness, hope…
Our company, Jamie Josh and I, are living proof of what can be accomplished when people are willing to invest time and talent in lieu of earnings. We hope time trade and the use of time credits will help us all to redefine the value of work to include some of the values that define us as humans; our capacity to love and care for other people, animals and our environment. To share knowledge, collaborate and stand up for the things we believe in.
Every time we reward an act of helping with a time credit, we are declaring that the monetary economy does not have the power to define what real work is, that market price is not the only measure of value and that money does not define the limits of what is possible. Edgar Khan in The Time of Our Lives
I’m inspired by thought leaders like Edgar Cahn because here at Worknow we break from the definition of work as either “employed or unemployed” choosing instead the role of aspiring, social entrepreneur and incorporating the idea of time trade – into a company built to help people find and connect with work – so as to give equal value to both volunteer and paid work opportunities.
We hope that our intention will become more evident when we launch the beta site because Jamie’s created some funky elements, in the navigation and site design, to allow people to easily switch and identify between time trade and paid work options. They are after all two sides of the same coin because as my father used to say “…there’s more than one way to skin a rabbit…”
