Yesterday I went to a very interesting workshop at Google Campus. I sat on a giant pink bag for two hours and learnt from Rob Grundel about the different stories that start-ups can tell to help them build their brand, their personality, show their values and connect with their target audience.

Here are some of my attempts to write some stories about our start-up, The Work Crowd...

The Personal Story

The reason I joined The Work Crowd is because I care passionately about work life balance. I love the satisfaction of helping freelancers achieve their goals of flexible working and reaching their full potential. I was frustrated for being judged on how many hours I sat at my desk and not what I actually achieved. I am incredibly ambitious and competitive and I believe that the best way to reach your full potential is to have flexible working and trust between the employer and the employee. The sooner businesses realise that the 9 to 5 is a thing of the past and focus on output the better off they will be and the happier their employees will be.

The Pride Story

At The Work Crowd we particularly focus on helping mothers get back into work after maternity leave. More and more women are choosing to leave the security of a permanent job after they have kids to get the freedom of being self-employed. Businesses who do not want to lose their talent due to being inflexible will have to learn to adapt to the future of work. Over 15% of us now freelance and this number is only going to increase. The war for securing the best talent is on and there are some highly talented individuals out there that companies need to tap into. We have already helped some incredibly talented women find project work and given them a great sense of achievement as well as a source of their own income.

The Future Story – Freelancers

We see a future in which the vast majority of employees are freelancers. They will choose their own working hours to suit them and their lifestyles. This will enable them to maximise time with their family and friends as well as fitting in time for exercise and downtime. They will be more focused, productive, fulfilled and happy. There will still be meetings and work events but these will be more focused and to the point. Company style benefits and insurance will also be provided through community membership to The Work Crowd and projects will be abundant.

The Future Story – Companies

Companies will flex up and flex down as and when needed. There will be no one sitting at their desk being paid to do nothing. Companies will pay on outputs and results not hours and therefore save money. They will bring in specialists when needed and outsource everything else. They will manage their freelances online via The Work Crowd setting milestones that need to be delivered by certain dates. Invoicing will also be taken care of online and this will enable businesses to grow quickly and be incredibly successful. The start-up economy will thrive and there will more and more success stories.

I would love to hear your own start-up stories. Please email them to me.