Quotes " Placing a project on Skillfair worked brilliantly for me, it narrowed the field down in terms of getting the correctly matched consultants applying for the post and the quality of the respondents was very good. We managed to interview and make a selection quickly and have engaged one of these consultants to work on our ongoing project taking the pressure off us enormously.", Clive Green, Active Learning & Development To contact Skillfair call 0844 4457071 or click here to email us   Advice for Clients  February Client Newsletter - Quality over quantity  details Positive feedback from Clients on the process of advertising projects on Skillfair and improvements to the Skillfair response system.    How not to hire a consultant!  details Clients sometimes abandaon all the normal recruitment disciplines when they hire consultants - a reminder here of the steps you should take to make sure you get the best possible advice.    How to find and work with external consultants  details Businesses often put off bringing external expertise because they're too busy or are worried about being ripped off. Setting out with a clear idea of what you want achieve takes the worry out of outsourcing and will ensure you get good value for money.    A good project brief saves time!  details Advertising work over the internet can generate too many responses. We look at how to set out a project brief that gets you the right response from the right people.   click here for more Advice for Clients articles Starting out  Successful Presenting  details One of the best ways to promote yourself as an expert in your field is to present on your favourite topic to interested people. Being in front of an audience automatically gives you status in their eyes and if the subject is one the audience needs help with it can lead directly to consulting opportunities.    Do you work for Tesco?  details Have you ever looked at a fellow professional's beautifully designed business card only to see an email address that's a string of letters and numbers, or worse, makes it look as though they work at tesco.net?    CVs with impact  details Does your CV still reflect who you were a few years ago, rather than the services you offer now? For many people the CV, whether a standard one or focused on a particular opportunity, is a mainstay of their communications with potential customer. So maybe its time yours was dusted down and re-tuned?    So, you want to be consultant?  details The reasons people become self-employed vary hugely - some have always planned to work for themselves, others fall into it or are pushed by circumstances or redundancy. Whatever the reasons, the key issues are the same and it's worth spending time thinking strategically about your consulting career before you take the plunge.   click here for more Starting out articles Networking for Business  Which networking group is right for me?  details Most consultants will tell you that they get their best leads from networking, the difficult part is working out who to network with.    Networking Groups  details We've classified networking groups into 4 kinds, technical, local, peer and virutal - to give you some ideas of where to start.   Money, Tax and Admin  Work from home and want to sell?  details If you use your home for a self-employed business, you may claim some of the running expenses - heat, light, perhaps mortgage interest and council tax - as a business expense. This saves you income tax and NIC every year.    Fee rate survey results  details Results of Skillfair's annual fee rate survey, 2007.   FAQ  How do Quality Points Work?  details Skillfair's quality point system is designed to make clients feel more comfortable with contacting you via the internet. The process is quick and simple and gaining the full set of quality points will make sure you appear first when clients are searching for help.    How to avoid too many responses to a project  details Clients sometimes tell us that they're worried that posting a project will generate too many responses. When you have limited time to sift through emails try using Skillfair's contact system instead.    I can't find a project I've heard about!  details If you've had an email about a project on Skillfair but can't find details of the project the most likely reason is that you're in the wrong market.    Where do your tenders come from?  details Skillfair checks around 800 websites every week including the European Journal (OJEU), Councils, RDAs, Government Departments, Universities, Charities and other public organisations.   click here for more FAQ articles Marketing  Marketing your business - how can we help?  details The success of any business depends on making sure you product matches what the market needs and that people know about your offer. An marekting consultant can help you with all aspects of marketing your business.    Do you need a marketing specialist or a GP?  details If your business isn't quite performing as you want - it can be hard to know whether you just need some tactical marketing help or a broader rethink. This article gives some pointers to help you decide.   Public Relations  Getting publicity for your business  details Your product is great, your service excellent - but customers just don't seem to know about you. A PR specialist can help you generate news and interest that will bring customers to you.   Training  Help for Trainers and Course Providers  details However good you are at delivering training finding the next client can be challenge. Skillfair can help with access to public tenders, private clients, associate opportunities and other resources.    Training Managers - How can we help you?  details We have a wide range of trainers and consultants with experience in management, staff and vocational training - plus a range of specialist technical training providers.    Websites for Training and Learning Professionals  details A selection of websites with information to support training an learning professionals    Training Materials - Who Owns Them?  details How does copyright apply to training materials and what do you need to do so that you have the right to use materials again?   click here for more Training articles News  Taking time for a break?  details The importance of taking a break from time to time - and using breaks in your clients schedules to take a breather.    Client Newsletter - saving time in the long run  details If you want to advertise for a consultant, agency or freelancer to help you with a project - it's worth taking some extra time to specify in as much detail as you can exactly what kind of person or company you're looking for.    Happy Christmas from Skillfair  details Happy Christmas    Newsletter - More to life than work  details All work and no play is bad for most people, and Skillfair consultants get involved in arange of community and charity related activities to balance their life style.   click here for more News articles Case Studies  Case study: Sonia Job, Marketing in Practice  details If it hadn’t been for Skillfair, I would probably have given up self-employment by now!, Sonia Job, Marketing in Practice    Case Study: Jeremy Hurst  details Many people enter self-employment for work-life balance - but landing clients outside your local area requires effort and persistence,as Skillfair member Jeremy Hurst has found.    Case Study - Selling Wisdom!  details With a strong commercial and public sector background, John Thurlbeck has found Skillfair an excellent way to generate new leads.    Client Case Study - Specialist help needed  details Finding the right person to help with your business is always tricky & Michael Quinlan needed expertise in manufacturing, marketing and government grants. A tall order, but one that was easily filled through Skillfair.   click here for more Case Studies articles Tenders  Consultancy Tender Alert Service  details Skillfair's tender alert service is specially designed for copanies and individuals who provide complex, knowledge based services and solutions. We add value to the information by matching alerts to the skills required for each project.    Tender Service - What does it cover?  details European Journal tenders, smaller value tenders from the UK public sector and voluntary sector brought to you desk every day.    Tendering and Procurement Jargon  details RFPs, RFQs, ITTS - if you've never encountered a formal procurement process before the number of acronyms can be overwhelming! Here are some usefuldefinitions to get you strated.    e-tendering and e-procurement systems  details e-tendering systems are used to help clients work through the procurement process more easily. They can be a nuisance for suppliers but it pays to work the way the client wants.   click here for more Tenders articles Partners  Skillfair and UKITA Partnership  details UKITA is the UK Association for IT suppliers. Skillfair members can obtain a discount off UKITA membership and UKITA members can access Skillfair services at a discount.    AMED and Skillfair working together  details AMED is a charitable organisation that provides support, networking and education for its members to further their overall aim of promoting and encouraging management education and development. AMED and Skillfair members benefit from discounted membership for each other's organisations.    Skillfair Services for Partners  details Skillfair provides a simple, transparent and cost-effective way of managing requests for specialist expertise that allows membership organisations to develop a consistent revenue stream without the admin and overhead associated with commission schemes.    Skillfair Partners  details Skillfair works with many professional bodies, trade associations and networking groups to provide access to opportunities for their members.   click here for more Partners articles