Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How To Give Your Career A Boost In 2020

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

If 2020 is the year you need to give your career a boost, then it’s probably a good idea to start thinking about it and making a plan now. If you wait until the new year, you probably won’t do anything on New Year’s day, then you’ll probably wait until the next Monday, and it’ll already be a week into the New Year, and you won’t be off to your best start. However, allow yourself a little time to enjoy yourself by doing some pre-planning now and taking some steps now, so you’re ready to get going as soon as 2020 arrives. 

Know What You Want
This is the first step you need to work out. If you don’t know what it is that you want to achieve, then you better work it out and quick. Being vague and just thinking that you want to boost your career is not enough. You need to know what it is that you want to achieve, is it a new job? Is it a promotion? Success in a different industry? Find out as much as you can about various industries and jobs so that you’re sure about what it is you want.  

Speak To Someone Who Has Already Done It
There must be someone you know or know of that has gone through a career change, had a promotion or enjoyed some great success. Use this time of year to chat with people at parties and networking events and get some advice from someone who has achieved what it is that you want to achieve. Just have an informal conversation but enough to allow you to define a suitable strategy, find out which obstacles they have overcome and gather as much vital information as you can.

Rework your CV
Even if you think your CV is perfect, if you want to give your career a boost, then it’s time to refresh it. According to a blog about CV Writing Refresher Tips on Practice Match, keep in mind that many recruiters are looking for crucial information on your CV such as work history, so you want to make it easy for them to find. 

Think About Who You Know
Make a list of all the people who could help you. Pinpoint those people who are active in the sector you are targeting and also talk to those around you who may know people. Perhaps a friend knows someone that could put you in touch with the right person to help you. Again, use the parties at this time of year to make the most of the people you know and also to expand your network. 

Educate yourself
Never stop learning; never stop reading and never stop listening. If you are serious about your career, then you should attend training courses and workshops to keep up to date with the trends in your profession or the one you want to break into. Read the news and any stories about trends that can impact the industry too and watch TED talks and other educational videos that may help you. Keep up to date and have a keen interest. 

Use social networks
Adapt your professional profile on LinkedIn and subscribe to groups in your targeted domain and publish relevant articles on your page.

Volunteer for big projects
Volunteering for projects in the company you currently work for will help you to build your portfolio for future promotions. If you’re looking to break into a new industry though, you’re trying to get your first job or make a career change; then you can also look at volunteering opportunities outside of work. Having these on your CV will help and set you apart from your competition. 

Develop Your Soft Skills
While everyone is concentrating on their digital skills, it is just as important or even more so to develop your soft skills. Being able to communicate clearly and establish relationships and trust contributes significantly to professional success. The capacity to listen, making a presentation, dealing with complaints or handling negotiations are all beneficial skills to have and to continue to practice. Also give some focus to your time and stress management skills, collaboration, teamwork, building rapport and customer care. It is soft skills that usually make more of a difference than the technical ones, for example, when it comes down to who gets hired and who gets fired, who wins a sale’s competition, who is good at customer retention and who has effective leadership skills, it is all down to the soft skills. 


Effective Ways To Protect Your Business From Lawsuits


There are few undertakings more rewarding than starting a business. Unfortunately, there are even fewer that bring so much risk. Lawsuits aren’t uncommon in the business world, but you should fear them nonetheless. A lawsuit could destroy a business easily, especially a small business, because legal fees are usually very high. While you can’t always prevent legal trouble, you can reduce the threat. Here are six effective ways to protect your business from lawsuits.

Hire A Corporate Lawyer
Like any other practice area, business law can be confusing. Even when you’ve been an entrepreneur for years, you still need professional help. When it comes to legal matters, you don’t know nearly as much as you think you do. Hiring a corporate lawyer is the only way to avoid disastrous mistakes being made. Legal support can be costly, but a lawsuit is more expensive. 

Make The Workspace Safe
Providing a safe workplace for employees is a fundamental responsibility of all business owners. If a worker is injured because of a danger you could have prevented, you’ll find yourself in huge legal trouble. Conducting regular risk assessments will help you to determine where dangers lie in your business. There are many ways to make a workspace safe, such as clearing out clutter. 

Invest In Insurance Cover
Before opening the doors to employees or customers, you must have insurance cover. Most entrepreneurs understand this and invest in protection right away. The trouble is, they don’t always pay for the cover they require. Before committing to an insurance policy, speak to experts about the protections you need. If you buy the wrong insurance, the business won’t be covered.

Treat All Workers Fairly
Being a good boss means more than protecting your staff from injury. You must also treat them fairly and equally. When you treat an employee unfavorably, whether it be because of their race, gender, or sexuality, this is known as workplace discrimination. Employees discriminated against are protected by law, which means unfair treatment of staff could result in legal trouble for you. 

Change Your Business Structure
Protecting your business will only go so far. Sometimes, legal trouble is entirely unavoidable. That is why you must make sure you also protect yourself. Separating yourself from the business and incorporating your company will keep your individual assets safe. This means that they won’t be affected even if the business is sued, which will surely provide peace of mind. 

Protect Any Sensitive Data
Tossing important contracts in a filing cabinet isn’t the same as protecting them. If your premises were broken into or a fire broke out, they would likely be lost in the process. Depending on the nature of the data lost, your company could be in trouble. Because of this, you should store documents on the cloud instead. With good password hygiene, they would be fully protected. 

Lawsuits are devastating for companies, despite being so common in the corporate world. To protect your business from legal trouble, make sure you follow the advice above. 

Monday, November 4, 2019

Deadly Mistakes Made By New Entrepreneurs


Don’t let the stories of overnight success fool you. Entrepreneurship is all about learning. Every business owner starts somewhere, and that place is usually at the bottom. While a few startups blow up in no time at all, a more common tale is one of perseverance. Errors are a crucial part of entrepreneurship, as they allow you an opportunity to improve. However, not all blunders are that productive. With that in mind, here are six deadly mistakes all new entrepreneurs must avoid.

1. Having No Business Plan
The decision to start a business is certainly an exciting one. But, that doesn’t mean you should jump into entrepreneurship without thinking. While a seemingly uninteresting task, you must write a business plan first. Without this plan, you’re likely to waste time and money on things that don’t matter. A business plan will attract more people to your venture and keep the company on track. 

2. Making Bad Hiring Decisions
A successful venture relies on employees as much as consumers. After all, without workers, you wouldn’t have anyone to serve the customers. Even if you begin your business alone, you will eventually have to bring in help. Hiring the first employee is a monumental task that requires planning and care. Employing the wrong person will cost resources you can’t afford to lose. 

3. Forgetting About Tax Plans
All businesses have different tax obligations. These depend on the type of venture you operate and where you’re located, as well as the size. Filing taxes can be confusing, which is why many people turn to accountants and online tools. With a TurboTax coupon, you can save money on the information that this resource provides. Unless you make tax plans, you could get into trouble.

4. Spending Without A Budget
In the business world, you have to spend money to make it. This means that you have to invest money back into your venture to grow it. There are many investments you might make, including equipment, vehicles, and premises. However, you should check your budget before doing so. Spending without a budget could leave the company at a loss, which would cause huge issues.

5. Missing Out On Marketing
Among the many investments entrepreneurs make, marketing is among the most vital. Despite what many believe, even great products can’t sell themselves. You need marketing to get your product out there and attract new customers. Sadly, this often doesn’t come cheap. Although there are budget-friendly marketing ideas, you should plan to make a significant investment.

6. Putting The Customer Last
Marketing may be necessary, but it can’t work miracles. If you treat your customers badly or offer a product they don’t want, they won’t buy from you. Because of this, you must seek customer feedback. Speak to consumers about what they want from businesses, both in terms of customer service and offerings. Keeping your customers happy is the key to being successful. 

Entrepreneurship may be synonymous with learning, but there are some mistakes you shouldn’t make. Hopefully, with the advice above, you can grow a successful venture. 

Friday, November 1, 2019

It's Fine To Ask For Help From Time To Time




Many of us, especially those who are in charge of families, find that thinking that others owe you something to be quite a negative outlook on life. This is true. Even if someone does owe you a living, you would be much better off finding that for yourself in whatever capacity helps actualize yourself. Of course, certain situations such as stay at home parental roles are not to be included in this, because while they may not earn money through this, it is every bit as demanding as any difficult job you could name, and it’s a shame our society places little value in this.

That being said, it’s fine to ask for help from time to time, no matter what situation you are in. Hard work and ‘pulling yourself up by the bootstraps’ is important advice, and almost no one can avoid that if they hope to live a full life. Even those raised with a silver spoon in their mouths benefit from knowing the value of hard work.

It’s fine to ask for help from time to time, though. You shouldn’t have to feel guilty about it. We all stumble. Let our reassurance help you understand:

Financial Help

We all need financial help now and then. Even the most accomplished adult can feel unable to fully extend their potential, and this can cause them a sense of worry. It might be that through finding online installment loans, borrowing from friends or family, having a route to sell your valuable assets or considering a better payment plan structure could help you recover and get back on your feet.

Emotional Help

Emotional help is also something we need more of. Talking to an impartial therapist, speaking seriously with your friends or family, staying down to earth and communicative with the people you love most in life or simply talking to your HR department at work can help you get your needs across, find you are being listened to, or potentially even gain some important advice. It’s important not to throw out this kind of help, because it can be thoroughly valuable depending on who you are and to what extent you may need this assistance. We all need to vent.

Professional Help

From time to time, we may need the help of a professional. This may not necessarily mean therapy or from a psychiatrist as the name denotes. Perhaps your business needs the help of a consultant, or you wish to hire the help of a mentor to apply your craft. Once you recognize that the people who know more than you likely have something they can teach you, you can avoid being a know-it-all and instead become humbled and try to find your own style through their wisdom. This is something that everyone, particularly young people, can find very useful.

With this advice, we hope you can realize it’s perfectly fine to ask for help from time to time. In fact, it’s a necessary part of life.

Standing Up For Yourself Is Important




One of the vital skills that we are supposed to learn as children is the ability to stand up for ourselves. Sometimes, we may understand the principles of this lesson, but fail to apply them until later in life. Of course, this is a lesson that hardly loses its value, because all throughout our lives, no matter how old we are, how successful we are, how rich or poor we may be, sooner rather than later, standing up for ourselves is important.

It may be that your neighbor seems to have no idea as to what volume levels are coming from their television, and despite multiple attempts at contact you need to escalate the situation. This small situation is a microcosm for how many other scenarios in life can play out, and it’s always best to defend yourself when they do.

Thankfully, you needn’t feel small or out of line for protecting yourself. Thankfully, with the following advice, even those who are meek or somewhat nervous in disposition can find the value of standing up for themselves:

Trying Your Best Each Day

Many people think that standing up for themselves no matter what is the best thing they can do. Of course, this is true if being taken advantage of. However, it’s important to understand just how effective you are in this will often be based on how much you think you have to prove, or not. For example, someone who focuses on being their best self each day, on living honestly, on working hard, or on performing within their ability and trying to grow will often feel much more justified in defending themselves than someone who simply chooses not to work in the slightest, as this second person will be defending out of fear than of strength. It’s food for thought, and worth considering.

Accepting No Humiliation

There’s a thin line between being tolerant and being humiliated. In a famous episode of the UK Apprentice, a candidate who had been thrown under the bus by his team during that week’s challenge decided to exit the process after being spoken down to, removing himself from the untrustworthy folks around him and forfeiting the prize he no longer saw as valuable. This way, he avoided humiliation and defended himself through grace. This is an example worth thinking about.

Taking Legal Action

Taking legal action is sometimes the best and only rational means in which to stick up for yourself. Of course, this doesn’t mean that threatening everyone with a lawsuit is the right way to go about things. However, you may find that if experiencing defamation against your professional character, this can be important. It’s certainly crucial if you have experienced a personal injury at work, which also gives you the opportunity to use the best lawyers such as McGilberry & Shirer LLP. Sometimes, financial justice and recompense is the best means in which to put a manner to bed.

With this advice, you’re certain to stand up for yourself correctly.