As our site grows every day we want to share some information with you on the way we are operating the project. We call this section «Business Blog» as it is similar to doing a log book where data is recorded in a chronological order. «Blogging» is gaining popularity with more and more people picking up the habit of publishing their experiences and thoughts on the Internet. Our Blog covers various topics — from TOEFL, TOEIC, MBA, GMAT, ESL/EFL test preperation to cultural traditions and current political events.
There will also be some Internet marketing terminology and if you have any questions regarding the information simply let us know.

The Business Blog is written by Torsten Daerr and edited by Alan Townend.

2006 — May 10
Here is an outline of the account features and requirements (ESL professional profile)

Features:

• your name at top Google position (explanation, examples)
• email address (webmail: firstname.lastname@english-test.net) + explanation, examples
• portfolio (references, projects, services, web shop) + example
• forum moderator profile with signature and photo (example, explanation)
• professional photograph(s) (explanation, examples)
• access to free printable and photociable materials (value)
• professional profile + interview
• audio introduction
• Skype username

• quality of the tests
• quantity of the tests per week
• answering forum requests (grammar questions related to tests)
• number of forum posts per week
• high resolution, professional photograph
• PayPal account

2006 — May 09
If you are an ESL/EFL professional it's very likely that you work on a free lance basis. This form of employment has a number of advantages such as greater flexibility (you can decide when you work for a company and for how long), a wider choice of job opportunities (you are free to work for any language school, corporation, administration or organization anywhere in the world). On top of all that you have the freedom to determine when you want to go on vacation and for how long. Of course you first have to establish a name for yourself and foster good business relationships with as many clients and partners as possible. English-test.net is creating a system that allows you to improve your job situation. You now can become an english-test.net contributor. Joining our team you will gain the following benefits:

• you will be part of a growing community of ESL/EFL and language professionals
• you will get privileged access to ESL/EFL materials, including short stories, printable ESL tests, glossaries and lesson plans
• you will be able to exchange experiences, ask for advice, find partners for your projects and build your professional network
• you will have an opportunity to generate a stable income from anywhere in the world
• you can learn how to use new technologies to enhance your performance as a professional
• you can get your own web presence with instant exposure to potential clients (your web presence consists of several elements each of which come with various features)
• your online profile will be featured in our newsletter

2006 — May 01
«Construction Time Again» is the title by a Depeche Mode album and this line might also serve as a description for our plans for May 2006. We will be creating a variety of new features for you. One of them is a new subforum called English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms. The idea of this one of Alan's latest projects — he has collected grammar questions from our forum users and written a series of short stories and texts addressing these particular grammar issues. Of course he hasalso written another of his famous newsletters, this time it's all about garden and flower expressions such as to nip something in the bud. Alan has also started some interesting forum discussions — one of which is called Who dreads the approach of the world cup season? and it obviosly deals with the heavily advertised and commercialized event that takes place in Germany in June. There is more for you to come — just watch this space and you will learn more about how you can grow together with english-test.net...

2006 — April 14
It's been almost exactly 8 years that I have been self-employed. It was before Easter in 1998 that I decided to become a free lance trainer and ever since I have worked for some 30 institutions and companies and close to 1000 adults have improved their language skills together with me. Looking back I have to say that the advantages of being self-employed outweigh any drawbacks by far. I have gained so much experience and most importantly, my decision to become self-employed brought about the chance to meet my two business partners Alan Townend and Vyatcheslav Gromov. It's hard for me to imagine how my life would have developed had I not come in contact with both of them. Why am I talking about all this? Well, the fact that you are reading these lines shows that there actually is a connection between the decision I took 8 years ago and your current situation. Think about this: How did you come across this website? What were you looking for? Chances are it had something to do with improving your language skills or acquring new learning techniques. Maybe you wanted to talk about the differences between the various versions of English? If so you should our recent discussion called Englishes. Let's continue our conversation in the forum...