Are you interested in starting your own home business or working for yourself? Perhaps you don’t feel like you what it takes in you. Even if you were not naturally geared with good work characteristics, or if they have been beaten out of you by the 9-5 work system, then don’t feel left out! Hundreds of successful entrepreneurs were once just like you: Busy, exhausted, uninspired workers who dumped the regular way of things and took out on their own. Below you’ll find six of the business “B’s” and how you can incorporate them into your life so you can start working for yourself. Be Passionate Passion is the most important thing you need when you start out on your business venture. Be passionate about making money, be passionate about being your own boss, be passionate about taking off on your own, and, best of all, be passionate about the job you are going to do. While you’ve probably spent your entire life simply being satisfied with your work, you now need to become excited and … [Read more...] about Do You Have What It Takes to Work From Home?
Career Advice Blog
Dressing Up to Work at Home. Am I Nuts?
Sounds trivial doesn’t it, the idea of thinking about your clothing when you freelance from the comfort of your own home? But you’d be surprised how many freelancers put on a suit and jacket to head to their home office. I’m afraid I’m one of them. I draw the line at a tie, but putting on that shirt and jacket is just one of the tricks I use to keep myself and my brain in line to make sure that I’m in work mode for the day. Experienced contractors and freelancers all have tricks of the trade to maintain their freelance work discipline. For me, after I’ve walked the dog and fed the baby I’ve learned that before I head over to my office at the end of the garden I need to put on a shirt and jacket. It sounds stupid, but when I first got started I used to get easily distracted and was far too laid back in my approach to finding work. As a consequence I wasn’t actively chasing down as many contracts as I should have been. Instead I would sit in my shorts and watch the latest episode of … [Read more...] about Dressing Up to Work at Home. Am I Nuts?
5 Back-Up Plans if Your Lose Your Job
One of the scariest things about going to work is realizing that any day could be your last day. Sometimes people get fired for no reason but more recently people have been on edge because their companies may have taken a hit or because the recession has caused a lapse in revenue. There are two types of people out there and the ways that they react. You have the people who gossip and whine or just sit back and wait for it to happen and you have the people who create a safety net and back up plan. Those people are the ones who feel more confident because they not only have something to fall back on if they do lose their job, but they also have extra income coming in so that they can save money in case the worst happens. Here are 5 back-up plans that you can begin to implement if you are worried that you may be losing your job soon. 1. Turn Hobbies and Crafting Into Income. If you like to make jewelry or enjoy turning bottles into dolls for kids, why not use that creativity and … [Read more...] about 5 Back-Up Plans if Your Lose Your Job
The Future of America Depends on Future Medical Professionals: Get Recruiting
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks the medical technologist and technician professions as consistently likely to provide opportunity for employment into the near future, with the demand for cardiovascular technicians and technologists alone expected to rise 24% by the year 2018. While it's not particularly ethical to be advocating serious thought about particular careers to impressionable youth, with growing uncertainty regarding the long-term fate of our nation's unemployment rate, there's certainly no shame in wanting your students to appreciate practical professional pursuits as early as possible. If you teach a science lesson or lead a science classroom, then fields of science and the details within – the careers and knowledge most anticipated to be in perpetual demand into the foreseeable future – should be concepts your students are well acquainted with. Most of the lessons involved are certainly an established part of the curriculum: human anatomy, cellular construct, … [Read more...] about The Future of America Depends on Future Medical Professionals: Get Recruiting
How to Use the Right Words on Your Resume
Writing the perfect resume is a skill, but it's one that you can learn with a bit of help. With thousands of resumes crossing recruiters' desks, how do you ensure that yours is the resume that stands out from the crowd? The secret is - it's all about choosing the right words. Here’s a guide to getting your resume right. Do Your Research Before you can select the right language for your resume, research the job you are going for. While it's good to have a general resume that you can send out in an emergency, it's even better to tailor your resume to the specific job you are looking for. The language of the job ad is a great guide to the language you should use in your resume - and in your cover letter. If the job ad asks for someone who is an expert in creating databases, use language that shows your strengths in this area. If the job ad is looking for people with leadership qualities, show how you have taken the lead in a variety of situations. Give Specific Examples Avoid … [Read more...] about How to Use the Right Words on Your Resume
College Classes for the Rest of Us
When you think of college students, you may imagine a group of high school graduates fresh out of school who spend their nights partying and their days sleeping through professorial lectures. And in a lot of cases, that's an accurate image. But there is another whole society of people who are getting up every day and facing the 9-to-5 drag and long commute who are also pursuing that highly sought-after diploma. Most of this group, however, are over 40, with a family to care for and a mortgage to pay. Sure, it's nice to think that we all jumped out of high school into a successful college experience. But for many of us, that just never happened. Either we couldn't afford it. Or we didn't think we needed it. Or we just didn't want to go to college. But now we realize how badly we need that online business degree to advance in our career or land a higher paying position. Knowledge alone just doesn't go as far as it used to. Today, we need the signature of a college dean stating that … [Read more...] about College Classes for the Rest of Us
How to Protect Yourself When You Inherit an Incompetent Staff
Staff members are often inherited. So what do you do when you’re a manager and your staff is comprised of unmotivated lifers who lack educational experience and basic skills? Relieving them of their duties is not an option. You must find creative ways to motivate them, and at the same time, protect yourself so their performance is not a reflection on you.Here are several tips for dealing with “dead weight” in a politically correct world:Log EverythingNo one prides themselves on being a micromanager, but when it comes to working with dead weight—staffers who are an oppressive burden—it’s important to protect yourself at all times. Keep a running log of all staff interactions. From meeting minutes to attendance calendars, log every detail so that you have a job journal you can present to your boss to make a case for changes.Good managers are often brought down by bad staff. Don’t let it happen to you. Read more of my article at U.S. News & … [Read more...] about How to Protect Yourself When You Inherit an Incompetent Staff
Office Candy Bowl Smackdown
Do you have those ubiquitous candy bowls in your office? I’m guessing right now they contain some kind of left-over little chocolate, foil-wrapped Easter eggs. One can only hope it’s a nice peanut butter filling. Oh, I got distracted for a minute. I’ll give a nod to Passover, but I’m thinking there probably aren’t any bowls filled with old matzo.Candy PoliceA WSJ article, “The Battle of the Office Candy Jar” got me thinking about this critical aspect of office politics. I first became aware of its importance when I started working in the alcohol and drug counseling field. Most of my colleagues were recovering alcoholics. I was a fairly newly-recovering nicotine addict and never knew I had a sweet tooth until I gave up the cigs. Here’s something to jot down – Don’t EVER mess with a recovering person’s sugar delivery method of choice.One day, the receptionist, who was no fun on so many levels, announced we would do away … [Read more...] about Office Candy Bowl Smackdown
They Took Our Jobs! Computers vs. Humans
Imagine a typical day where you commute to work, do some banking, grab a few groceries, and maybe pick up a video on the way home. How many humans did you interact with to help accomplish those everyday tasks? For a growing number of people, the answer to that question is zero. … [Read more...] about They Took Our Jobs! Computers vs. Humans
10 Must-Avoid Business Card Designs (and How to Make Yours Rock!)
In the ever-evolving business environment of usernames and cloud storage, somehow the old-school practice of making and exchanging business cards endures. Getting your cards done is the first thing you do once you've made up your mind to start a business or a new job. You order the little talismans and say to yourself, I'm really doing this. Then you pass them out by hand in hopes that in 3 1/2 x 2 inches you've managed to convey that you're competent, talented, and attractive—the best and the brightest bad-ass in your field. And yet so many business cards end up almost instantly in the trash or on the floor of the car, stepped on for days on end before we finally put them out of their misery. Those are people's dreams we're stepping on. Could our cards be in the same peril? Keep these 10 must-avoid business card mistakes in mind to save your card: Clutter. A business card is not a storage unit you cram all of your stuff into any which way it will fit. Leave some white space so … [Read more...] about 10 Must-Avoid Business Card Designs (and How to Make Yours Rock!)