Got A Degree? That's No Longer Enough

Bad news for new graduates - a quarterly survey shows that 63% of entrepreneurs are sceptical of the value of employing those with a degree, and over 40% think degrees are devalued because they are now commonplace.

So what are those businesses looking for? You guessed it. Experience.

Luckily, network marketing companies offer their distributors the chance to develop a number of skills that are essential to the successful running of a small business. Skills such as basic book-keeping, stock and customer tracking, customer service, cash handling, self-discipline, project management and team management.

All of which you can learn, "on the job", whilst getting your university degree.

Sounds better than a zero hour contract any day.

Cause and Effect - The Small Business Perspective

2 out of the 3 main UK political parties have pledged to raise the income tax threshold to £12,500. That means that, if they go through with it, anybody on minimum wage under 21 won't pay tax and anybody over 21 will need to do over 37 hours per week before they do.

And that's the problem right there. If my friends and family's experiences are anything to go by, it's well nigh impossible to get a minimum wage job that guarantees more than 30 hours per week. That's not enough to survive on without benefits in many cases.

Then there's the self-employed. How does the income tax threshold affect them? It differs depending on whether you're a sole trader or a director of a very small limited company.

But what many of us in network marketing will point out is that running a business in parallel with your PAYE earnings is a good way to minimise your tax burden, as well as netting you that extra money to drive down debt or just save up for a new holiday/car/washing machine/whatever.

And if you're unemployed, then there are benefits that you can claim whilst you're getting your business up and running.

Let me know if you want more information. I'm here to help.

Only Being Offered Minimal Part-Time Hours? Join Kleeneze!

My eldest son has got a job after being unemployed for over a year and it's left him more confused than ever.

He applied for a job at Morrisons, who are taking over a Netto's store near the town centre, immediately opposite the 24 hour Asda. He's been offered a job that totals 9 hours per week. That's right. Nine hours per week. Morrisons think he'll accept a job that pays him £4 more per week than he'd get on Job Seeker's Allowance; luckily for them, they were right.

Interestingly enough, he is being sent on the standard warehouse training induction course - 1 month at 39 hours per week. After the initial flurry of money in his bank account, he'll receive a level of pay that means neither he nor the employer are liable for tax or national insurance contributions.

To undertake his training, he needs to start work at 8 am in a town 10 miles away. Not a problem if you've got a car. A big problem if you're reliant on public transport and the buses run hourly and aren't available when you need to get to and from work. Cycling is too dangerous - cyclists are severely injured and killed every year on that road due to a lack of safe cycle routes. So, for the next month, my hour-long journey to and from work will involve yet another 20 minute detour each way. All this so he can earn a grand total of £55 per week!

He's taking the job because, as he points out, "It stops the endless humiliation of Job Seeker's Allowance." Despite the fact that he's supposed to stay on JSA until he's got at least 16 hours per week of part-time work, he's signing off at the first opportunity. His views on the tick-box mentality of the Job Centre Plus staff are not complementary; he's lost count of the number of jobs he's applied for where the only criteria appears to be "they can't prove I can't do this."

Now, my son would be an ideal Kleeneze distributor - he's hard working, supportive, genial and believes in good customer service. Unfortunately, he needs to move to another address before I can recruit him to join my team. He's not going to manage that on £55 per week.

For everybody else out there who are offered jobs so part-time, they're not worth spending the bus fare on, consider this - if you still don't want to take advantage of the Kleeneze opportunity to run your own full-time business, running a Kleeneze business from home is the ideal compliment to this sort of minimal part-time work.