http://www.janehodges.net Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:20:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en By JANE HODGES April 22, 2010 -- With the country's unemployment hovering around 10%, many professionals are on the hunt for the perfect job. But what job? What industry? To the rescue are online career-assessment tests that aim to help workers (and daydreamers) identify suitable jobs and work environments. We took ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=273 February 10, 2010 By JANE HODGES Talk about control. In addition to managing themselves, self-employed workers have their own options for retirement saving, too. Two of the best options: solo 401(k)s and solo Roth 401(k)s. Both have been around a few years but are more common now as accountants with entrepreneurial clients have ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=267 The Seattle Times Jan. 24, 2010 -- Jacqui Evanchik, a 53-year-old software consultant, knew when she listed her one-bedroom condo at Capitol Hill's Trace Lofts that she'd chosen to do so in a difficult market. Home sales have been anemic for a while. She knew her $300,000 listing appeared at a slow ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=255 CRANKY CONSUMER DECEMBER 31, 2009 Office (and Beanbag) Sharing Among Strangers By JANE HODGES Telecommuters, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed all grapple with the logistical challenges of working alone. At home, workers face isolation and domestic distraction. At the corner coffee shop offering free Wi-Fi, there's insufficient privacy, too few electrical outlets and the nuisance ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=238 Seattle Times -- December 13, 2009 When Jennifer Worick, a 41-year-old Seattle social-media consultant and author, began window shopping for a new apartment in July, she had an ambitious wish list: She wanted a place bigger than her 650-square-foot Wallingford studio, she wanted to live in a walk-friendly neighborhood near public ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=229 Wall Street Journal -- November 12, 2009 Like many adults, we'd rather schedule a root canal or a tax audit than write a will. But within our families, we've seen at first hand the perils of leaving the task unfinished. So we decided to test two online will-writing tools, and revisit ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=46 HouseLogic - November 11, 2009 When you work from home you help keep cars off the road, but you also likely increase your utility bills. With roughly 34 million telecommuting adults in America—a number slated to double by 2016, according to Forrester Research—adjustments to your home office power consumption, lighting, and heating ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=43 BNET (CBS) - April, 1 2007 This is a four-story package I wrote for BNET, a business strategy site from CNET.com that is now CBS-owned. The focus was on service and actionable information for business-minded readers. Read More http://www.janehodges.net/?p=41 BNET (CBS) - February 29, 2008 According to a recent survey by Gensler, the prominent corporate architecture firm, half of all employees say they would work an extra hour per day if they had a better workplace. So why do so many companies maintain dark, cramped, ugly, or poorly designed offices? Read ... http://www.janehodges.net/?p=39 BNET (CBS) - November 20, 2008 I contributed several stories to this feature package about ways companies can conserve cash and avoid failure in the current difficult economy -- from refinancing debt to prioritizing vendors, from non-core divestitures to using credit revolvers creatively. Read More http://www.janehodges.net/?p=37