Firma Konsulent Thomas Frovin Jensen
This case illustrates a self-employed/ one-person enterprise typically working with several partners and contractors teleworking in project based ad hoc virtual organisations.
1.Company Name and Function, i.e. who they are and what
business they are in
Konsulent Thomas Frovin Jensen
Consultant Thomas Frovin Jensen is an electronic engineer who has been involved in a variety of ICT research and development projects, recently also in development of Internet based applications, as systems designer and project co-ordinator. His services are based on many years of practical experience with computer software, hardware, and networks as well as development and experimental/research activities within the national telephone company.
The broad experience is an ideal background for handling interdisciplinary tasks needed in many projects. Current activities include European R&D and support projects, development of Internet based applications, development of new projects, i.e. preparatory work, development of Internet applications and utilisation of Internet in municipal administration and service. SMEs’ IT strategy development is another area of interest.
As self-employed Telematics Consultant Thomas Frovin Jensen has worked in a mixture of national and European projects mainly concerned with application of ICT and the so-called ‘Information Society’.
2.Short description of the initiative
At a certain time in 1993 after 15 years of employment a disagreement
following a substantial reorganisation of the employing company
lead to a short period of unemployment. In fact it was never a
real unemployment situation because TFJ was already involved in
some European projects for another affiliate. These contracts
together with a project originally animated by TFJ while still
employed caused the unemployment status to be of more formal than
real nature.
It was decided to form a formal enterprise as self-employed. It was possible to obtain an initial (‘entrepeneurship-‘) support for a period - an arrangement existing at the time - and to transfer the unemployment insurance status to an insurance agency for self-employed.
The full case story contains more detailed description about the situation of self-employed and the conditions concerning status shift.
Most of the work is heavily dependent on ICT and much effort and consideration was spent on setting up a useful configuration with four PCs including one portable to cater for different software requirements – especially avoiding conflicts with Microsoft products. Uninterrupted operation and minimisation of vulnerability to hardware failures and software problems is another important issue solved by duplication.
From 1995 till now most work has been in European projects with a few supplementary national projects. In the future a more even balance between national and European projects and a more product-oriented operation will be attempted.
3.Innovative aspects, benefits and barriers
The under-wood of self-employed and free-lancing "free-agents"
- in Denmark last year named ‘The Third Group’ - is
relatively large in numbers. Despite the importance of the micro
SMEs they do not attract attention they actually deserve.
There are many reasons for choosing to become self-employed, most of them personal.
Quite often self-employment is chosen as the best or fastest way to maintain a working life if unemployment is the alternative. Particularly the last decennium has been characterised by structural changes in industry and business resulting in a considerable redundancy among an experienced workforce that would not have any difficulties in finding new job provided a suitable enterprise was located in the neighbourhood. Fortunately it is relatively easy to continue working – particularly in the service sector – as a self-employed relatively independent of distance.
In a broad perspective very small enterprises and self-employed
play many different ‘bridging gabs’ roles in the business
environment and society, for example:
• contribute in different ways to other enterprises’
functionality and growth
• create local workplaces
• act as virtual enterprises in project oriented contexts
The importance of microSMEs for other SMEs in general should not be underestimated. MicroSMEs is an important ‘glue’ in the local business environment. Quite often microSMEs take care of tasks in practice ‘outsourced’ by SMEs - even if the term is not directly used - because the SMEs cannot establish or maintain the necessary resources themselves in an economical way. This is the case whenever a microSME supplies something else than a tangible product. The microSME acts as a catalyst for development in addition to supply of services and products.
The local community benefits from microSMEs because the self-employed set up their own workplaces and contribute to local economy either alone or working with other self-employed.
Particularly ICT related or dependent work is suited for self-employment and this decennium have changed conditions such that work that was not possible to do before can be done from everywhere with a telephone plug in the wall. Because of the smooth transition in application of new technology this development is normally overlooked, but people who have worked in international or virtual organisations for years can easily tell the difference between the typewriter era, the facsimile era and the e-mail era.
The greatest limitations for the self-employed are:
• lack of time – only 24 hours a day
• funding – investment in new gear
• liquidity – particularly with long contracts and unfriendly
taxation rules
• marketing – finding work
• lack of continuity – fluctuating load and little space
for maintaining skills etc
• keeping IT up and running
4.Contact Information:
Name of lead organisation: Telematics Consultant Thomas Frovin
Jensen
Contact name: Thomas Frovin Jensen
Address (street, zip code, City, country): Guldsmedgade 15, 2tv,
DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Telephone: +45 86 13 15 50
Fax: +45 86 18 06 03
Email: Frovin@post4.tele.dk
Website URL: www.frovin.com
/ www.ttt.dk / www2.netapps.dk
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