Green is the exceptionally popular, and widely over-used, phrase everyone seems to be attaching to their business these days. It is very important to be green—at home and at work—but before you label your biz, make sure you know what it means. Check out this article from Startup Nation for the scoop. Here are some tips for greening your business: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOJr5qC2qWg&hl=en&fs=1]
As summer approaches and graduating caps and tassels begin to fly, many young professionals are entering the workforce. So to all you young professionals, congrats! You have made it. You should be very proud of yourself and your accomplishments. Now that you are in the workforce, there are multiple ways to start rising to the top. Start building your personal brand. Your skill set, attitude and social aptitude make up your product—you. After all, you had to “sell” yourself to get this job. Now it’s time to think about how you’ll get to the next level. So, here are a few things to consider as you move forward. Identify the top five things you want your superior to say about you in a reference letter. Then, strive to be those things. Be personable and connect with others. Email is obviously an efficient way to communicate, [...]
For many of you up and coming entrepreneurs, your best learning experience is your current job. As a future business owner, the most beneficial thing you can do before you even start your company is to take notes from your current company and other employees. Long meetings are a great place to start. Consider it training for your future and how you will conduct business in your office. What do you like or dislike about the meetings? When do other employees in the meeting start to “zone out”? What helps meetings run more efficiently? Ask friends and other co-workers for their input. They may be your future employees! Remember, you can take everything you learn with you. And that’s the beauty of it. You’re learning from both the good—and the bad. So, doing your homework now—even if it is during a dull meeting—will reap great [...]
You are pretty conversant in what you already know, let's hope. Your industry, your hobbies, your kids, your neighborhood. Great. You should be. That's easy. But what have you done lately to expand your mind, your knowledge? How have you challenged yourself? I just attended the Marketing to Women Conference in Chicago for the second year, and I love going because I always learn new things. Because I'm outside of my typical focus on entrepreneurism and real estate, my mind gets a break and a chance to focus and expand via a different channel. Sure, marketing to women is one of my passions, but it's not often I have a chance to mingle and share information with a group of people who share that passion. It's amazingly mind-expanding. And what, you ask, did I learn? Here's just a sampling for your consideration! • Today's women [...]
Here's the thing. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a corporate employee, a SAHM or a college student, the time will come—and it probably has already—when you need to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight to claim your power. This could take the form of not letting somebody else take the credit for your paper, your proposal, your cost-cutting idea. Or, it may require the actual stepping into the spotlight, on stage or at least in a large group meeting. Does that thought terrify you? It did me, for too many years in fact. My fear of public speaking (and its accompanying fear of failure, fear of not being good enough) held me back in my business and in my life in general. It forced me to thrust others into the spotlight to say my words and present my ideas, instead of taking the [...]