Category Archives: Work

Jul11

Workplace Safety: Injuries And Prevention

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Workplace Safety: Injuries And Prevention

Workplace safety should be an utmost priority for all businesses and operations, as it can significantly affect a company or organization’s most essential asset, its workforce, and can subsequently stifle productivity and have financial consequences. According to the National Safety Council, one worker is injured every seven seconds at work, about 4.6 million workers are injured on the job per year, and a total of 104 million production days are lost due to workplace injuries.

To make your workplace safer, it’s not enough to comply with health and safety regulations; one must be wary of the common workplace injuries to take the necessary steps to prevent them. It’s important to remember that if accidents do happen, either to yourself or a colleague, it would be best to speak with Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys so that the proper legal process can be followed to cover your injuries. Of course it would be best if nobody got injured in the first place though, so let’s take a look at these injuries and the preventive measures you can take to help your workforce avoid them:

Slips, Trips, and Falls:

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), slips, trips, and falls constitute 25.8% of all work-related injuries. Despite these being quite common, preventing these types of injuries is quite easy and straightforward. Good housekeeping can address the issues of slipping and tripping; your workplace should minimize any clutter on the floor to avoid tripping over them and any spills should be immediately cleaned up. Reputable commercial cleaning companies can also be a major help when it comes to spills and clearing clutter. To avoid falls, elevated platforms should have railings and ladders should be installed or placed on solid, even surfaces.

Contact with Objects and Equipment:

The next most common (26%) workplace injury is contact with objects, machinery, and equipment. There are numerous ways for one to be injured by workplace equipment: one’s limbs or clothing can be caught up in gears and moving parts, an employee can be struck by heavy equipment, or collapsing structures or packages could fall on anyone below it. As such, it’s important for one to properly stack and store objects, ensuring that the heavier objects are stored at the base. Workers should be extra careful and wary of moving equipment and objects to avoid getting struck or get caught by moving components. Everyone in the workplace and those operating machinery should wear proper protective gear and equipment to ensure their safety. This can include gloves, safety glasses, and heavy boots. Should you already wear glasses, these ansi Z87+ prescription safety glasses will assure safety as well as clear vision. Regular maintenance and inspection of equipment is also crucial to identify hazards before they cause harm. Employers must ensure that all workers receive comprehensive training on machine safety and emergency procedures.

You should also ensure that all employees are well versed in an established lifting plan to maximize safety when using machinery. These plans should be updated as needed and the team will need to be notified with any changes. Keep safety at the forefront with pop quizzes, meetings, and reminders.

Overexertion:

Overexertion, according to the NSC, ranks as the most common workplace injury (33.54%). Overexertion happens through repetitive motion or poor posture when lifting or lowering heavy objects. Hence, your employees should be duly trained on how to properly lift and transport heavy objects and also allow your workforce to take short breaks in between heavy labor. Alternatively, your business or company can provide your workforce with equipment or vehicles such as hand trucks and forklifts to make lifting and transporting easier and significantly reduce the risk of overexertion.

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Other Common Injuries:

The other common injuries that end up forcing your workers to require a few days off from work are sprains and tears (from heavy physical activities), neck and back soreness (from sitting too long or from poor posture), and cuts, lacerations, and punctures (from contact with sharp objects in the workplace). These injuries can easily be avoided as well by maintaining proper posture, ensuring correct handling of equipment, wearing appropriate PPE, and being mindful of one’s surroundings.

Workplace injuries are common, and even with all of the preventive measures, safety equipment, and trainings, there’s always the risk of accidents and injuries no matter how small. It’s important for your company or business to have either on-site health professionals, first aid kits and staff that are trained in first aid in case of accidents, or at least orthopedics or occupational medicine physicians on call in case of any accidents in your workplace.

Jun11

Exporting 101: Tips For Small Businesses

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Exporting 101: Tips For Small Businesses

Depending on your line of business and the products you’re selling, there’s a chance that you’ll need to export your products for customers, business partners, or resellers abroad even if you’re still just operating as a small-scale enterprise. Global trade is quite competitive, so when there’s a demand for your product to be shipped to another country, you want to do it right and profit as much as possible. With this in mind, as well as the tips below, you may wish to access site of someone like 3G and invest in shipping software that can help you streamline your processes and enable you to keep tabs on your shipments so that you can be sure they will arrive safely at their destination. 

Here are a few things to remember when exporting your products as a small scale business:

Know the Law and Restrictions:

Before you export your products, you’ll want to know if the product is legal or complies with any regulations and restrictions in the country it’ll be exported to. So, do your research before contacting a logistics company or upping your production to meet the demand in your target country.

Get Partners:

When talking about exporting your products as a small business, you might be thinking about sending your products directly and individually to your clients. However, this can be quite costly in terms of shipping and would take a lot of time and effort to track individually. As such, the best way for you to sell your products abroad is to find partners who are willing to buy and sell the product for you in their country.

This way, you’d be able to send products via air freight or whatever method you choose in bulk, which is cheaper and more convenient for you. Having partners would also mean that you’d be able to sell your products and have you earn more consistently. Your partners may even be willing to process and pay for the shipping for you. But it’s also important that you do your research regarding your partners to know that they’re legitimate and could be trusted to avoid risk.

Packaging:

You may also want to have different packaging for your exported products; perhaps with better packaging or provide a translation of your product’s manual and other information (such as ingredients and nutritional value). It is so important for your product to be accessible to all future customers and translations are a huge part of it. Whether it’s a small recipe book or wine bottles labels with unique logos and phrases, it is a great idea to print them in the most spoken language of each country you ship to. It could make the difference between someone purchasing it or not.

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Decide on the Pricing:

Another thing you’d also want to consider when exporting your products is the pricing. Your pricing would depend on whether you’re selling directly to a customer or a partner, as well as various other factors that make up your transportøkonomi (transport economy). When selling to a business partner, you’d have to consider your bulk pricing and should also include all the costs related to shipping, customs, and logistics, as well as the cost of labor. The price should be agreed upon by you and your business partner in a way that you’re both able to profit while your business partners can still sell it at a competitive and reasonable price in their respective countries.

Exporting products can be expensive, but there are software solutions that can help with cost control, economic freight analysis, and more. These solutions will be tailor made to your company to help ensure best results.

Choose a Good Logistics Company:

You’d be sending valuable products to your partners or customers in another country that’s miles away, so it’s important that you find a company to ship it safely and make sure that it arrives on time to its intended destination without any hitch. As such, you will want to choose a licensed customs broker that would be able to store, handle, and deliver your products on time and also handle all of the necessary legal paperwork and customs clearances. The bottom line, is that you want to ship your products safely, legally, and on time.

Utilizing the best technology can ensure that your products are always ending up in your customer’s hands. Freight Management Software can be a huge assistance in this as it handles the management of shipments, manifests, and customers. It can also include label printing, least cost routing, and real time quotes. A service like this can save you a lot of extra time and money so look into the best fit for your company. A happy customer is one with the product they purchased arriving in a timely, safe manner.

Knowing how to export your product properly can be the key to turning your small business into a huge enterprise. As such, it’s important to keep these pointers in mind when you’re shipping your products abroad.

May27

Doing Me For Me

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Doing Me For Me

Hiii everyone! This past month, I have made some major changes when it comes to work and my life in general and I honestly have never been happier. For the past couple of years, my life has felt like the epitome of “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Not to say that I don’t love my job, because it is simply the best. But, I was working so much to the point that my social life or even just time for me was essentially nonexistent.

I was starting to become really bitter, especially from seeing all of my friends doing such cool stuff all over social media while my days off on the weekend were spent recouping from a long work week. I felt envious of my friends or people I don’t even know on my newsfeed living their best life while I felt like I was merely working my way through mine week after week.

I was fed up and so I made the decision to change things. I made the difficult choice to drop one of my clients and I also rearranged my schedule to give myself some evenings off. And, within one week, I felt a major difference in my mental health. For once, I was enjoying having friends over for drinks at my apartment, going out, and running errands that I had saved for the weekend. And, my boyfriend and I get more regular times to see each other, which is the best!

I spent a majority of twenty-three and twenty-four building my businesses. And, now that both of them are totally stable, I am fortunate enough to cut back on my hours a bit. I feel proud of myself that I took a major stand to start improving my mental health and being able to feel like a twenty-four year old with a social life is what I desperately needed. It was a big step and I could have easily kept running myself into the ground but, doing me for me needed to happen and my life feels infinitely better for it.

So, this post is a friendly reminder for all of you to take the steps to do you for you. Carve out time to give yourself a break, cut out negativity, and do what you have to do to live your best life. ❤

How do you do you for you? What can you do to improve your life today? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May21

Top Ways To Attract More Clients To Your Events Place

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Top Ways To Attract More Clients To Your Events Place

Ever wondered why malls, concert grounds, office buildings, hotels, resorts, events places, and even schools invest so much effort and money into beautifying their gardens and parking lots? The landscape and terrain of an events place are more than just a backdrop for photos and videos. They have a logistical purpose, too.

If you’re managing an event place and you want to attract more clients, you might need to look into the current amenities you’re offering. If you haven’t yet invested in commercial landscaping services in North Oklahoma City, it’s about time you rethink that decision. A well-landscaped garden area and parking lot, along with the affordability of your place and other amenities and features, is an important consideration for many potential clients.

Parking lot, gardens, pathways, driveway, etc:

Most of the time, an event place is filled to capacity with people. Whether it’s a wedding, a corporate event, a birthday, or a product launch, events places house as many guests as they are capable of. With this, comes the responsibility of providing ample parking spaces for the guests and the clients. This also includes regular maintenance to the parking area like seal coating and line striping, so that people can clearly see where a proper parking space is available. It would be wise to find a professional to manage the upkeep of this for you. In order to find a professional near you, simply enter a search for “Paving contractor in Royse City, TX” or your local area. And, while many event places leave enough area for a parking space, not many of them invest money and energy into landscaping their parking lots and driveway.

The landscape of an events place’s parking lot, pathway, and driveway, however, is more than just aesthetics. It’s more than just a backdrop for a nice wedding photo. Hilly and uneven terrain will make it hard for guests to reach the main hall of the event place (especially if it’s a formal event and the women are wearing sky-high heels!). A landscape artist will see that these issues are dealt with. They will also make sure that during rainy days, the gardens won’t collapse and the pathways are well covered to protect the clients and their guests.

Indeed, the right landscaping can turn your event space into a sought after destination for weddings and retreats. When you work with a commercial landscaping company, you will be able to coordinate a plan for all four seasons so your event space will always look photo op ready. The team you choose will be able to bring your vision to life with plants, flowers, and greenery appropriate for the season. A beautifully maintained property is a sure fire way to get people talking!

Marketing:

You could have the most beautiful event space in the world but no one will know about it if you don’t market it properly. A great place to start is by advertising your business at expo fairs specific to the events you host like weddings or corporate get togethers. You can set up your booth with a custom tent wall, giveaway products, flyers, and banners so it will catch everyone’s eye. After the fair, you can add the banners and flags you used to the exterior of your event center to capture the attention of even more traffic.

Another excellent way to put your business out there is by inviting the clientele you’re hoping to attract to an event. For example, those in the wedding industry would be impressed by a wine and cheese tasting to preview the space and be inspired for pre wedding cocktail hours. To get started, simply enter a search for “wine tasting bath” (or your local area) to find specialty restaurants or wineries to accommodate. An event like this is casual, fun, and a perfect ice breaker.

Full and topnotch amenities:

Does your event place have a waiting area for the guests’ drivers and aids? Is it wheelchair accessible? Do you have facilities that cater to the need of individuals with physical challenges? These are important features of an event place and many potential clients may start to look to your competitors’ direction just because you didn’t put enough ramps (for wheelchairs and strollers) in your building or garden. Sometimes, the reason why clients won’t rent your place is as simple as not having a few important amenities and features.

Let’s also consider your outdoor setting as this is a very important aspect if you are hosting events both inside and out. Are there enough shaded areas for guests to be comfortable on a hot day? Will there be an outdoor bar or dining area? How about benches scattered throughout to enjoy the landscape? Aluminum is an excellent option for this as it is durable in the weather and lightweight. Felton Industries (or a similar company in your local area) specializes in outdoor aluminum furniture and can be your one stop shop to furnish the outside of your event space. Always remember, the comfort of your guests is key!

Affordability and price competitiveness:

There are a lot of competitions in this industry. Restaurants are opening their doors for events. Hotels have grand ballrooms where a large event can be held. There are exhibit halls to host seminars and conferences. Even parking lots are turned into concert grounds when the situation calls for it. What separates your event place from all of the others? One thing that potential clients will look into is the affordability and competitiveness of your pricing scheme. If you can offer the same facilities and amenities for a lower price than your competitors, then clients are more likely to choose your event place.

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Having a well-maintained landscape is good for your business, especially during the summer time! Keep these things in mind so that you can create a great environment for your employees and customers.

Apr17

Making Working With Remote Employees A Breeze

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Making Working With Remote Employees A Breeze

Thanks to technology and developments in online communication, it’s likely you’ll be working with remote employees in your organization. Cloud computing, be it hybrid, multi-cloud management, public or private, in addition to video conferencing, and better networks mean that businesses can choose from a wider range of talent for their teams, resulting in more employees working from remote locations. Remote working also provides flexibility to your staff, allowing them to work at home and in other locations – something which can provide a better work/life balance.

While having remote workers can be great for your business, it can come with some pitfalls, too. To help make working with remote employees a breeze for your business, take a look at the following tips:

Set your expectations:

It can be difficult for remote workers to find their feet. Without the structure of the office environment, the onus is on them to manage workloads, timekeeping and so on, so it’s useful for employees to know what’s expected from them. Having core hours that you expect everyone to be available is beneficial to your business, while putting reporting systems in place will help you monitor progress. Create clear guidelines that will help them and you navigate remote working much easier.

Give them the tools they need:

For all employees to do a good job, they need to use the right tools. Providing remote workers with the right equipment and technology will ensure that they are able to work effectively and be a part of the wider system. Cloud management systems are a cost-effective tool for business that will help everyone access what they need and facilitate collaborative working with ease. Cloud systems are an investment but it is well worth it – especially if you know how to use it well as it can provide a lot of advantages. Understandably, implementing new technology can be difficult. However, with expert cloud management services available, the pros will be able to optimize performance and enhance security for your staff.

You can read how a system like Templafy brings value to businesses at https://www.templafy.com/blog/techradar-pro-names-templafy-among-the-best-document-management-systems/. The standardization of forms and templates can help employees stay on brand and ensures that they’re using the right systems for their work.

Create an inclusive work environment:

It can be difficult for remote workers to feel like a part of the team. There are ways to help remote employees feel included that include encouraging bonding between colleagues and recognizing the contributions of your remote workers. Communication is another important aspect, so providing regular communication can help employees feel connected, even when they’re in another location.

Working from home can be difficult for employees for many reasons. Where possible, make it easy for your remote employees to travel in when needed. Give them a travel budget and arrange meetings that will allow them to enjoy face to face contact with the rest of the team. Remember to include some social activities as part of these visits to strengthen those team bonds.

Making a success of remote working depends on several factors, but it’s important to put the time and investment into developing clear guidelines and processes to help everything fit into place. Remember to check in with your remote employees regularly to ensure that they’re happy and that things are working well and review things if it’s not quite right. Your remote workers are an asset to your business, so help them feel like a valued, recognized part of your team.

 Featured Image By: Unsplash

Mar27

Feel Useful With These Career Choices

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Feel Useful With These Career Choices

If you ask workers across the world what they want from their job, there are a few things that crop up pretty routinely. One that you hear a lot is that people generally want to feel that what they are doing is useful. People want their work to matter, to make a difference to something, and when this is not fulfilled it can quickly lead to some unhappy people stuck in satisfying jobs. If you know this feeling, and you are looking for some kind of a change, you are clearly not alone. But it’s hard to know where to begin, and the prospect of changing jobs can be remarkably stressful even at the best of times. Primary amongst your concerns is probably the question of what job you are actually going to go for. How about one of the following?

Doctor:

While this is not the kind of work that you can slip into from another field, it is worth mentioning here as it is known as being one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. Doctors come in all forms, of course, and there is a world of difference between a surgeon and a GP. But, whatever area you get into, you can be sure that being a doctor enables you to feel like you are doing something very useful. If you are in a position to start doing the relevant training and education, and you want to make sure you spend your life helping others, then this is one of the best options you are going to have open to you.

Nurse:

Nurses might be paid considerably less than doctors, but their job satisfaction rates are frequently very high, and for that reason it is a job worth considering if you want to feel that you are doing something worthwhile with your time. That being said, they are paid fairly well, but you will also be expected to work some long hours – and it is known as being one of the most stressful jobs that are out there. If you feel that you have the resolve for it and the patience to see it through, then it’s well worth thinking about as a potential career choice for someone who really cares about others.

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Therapist:

A therapist or counselor can get into their position with much less training than you might assume. You don’t need any medical expertise and you don’t need to have an undergraduate degree to do it. Instead, all you need is the time to partake in a short course – sometimes even as short as one year, although the better ones are longer than this, up to three years or so. More than any training, you need a particular skill set: the ability to listen, empathize, appreciate possible solutions for individual problems, and to exercise a great deal of both patience and reserve. Being a therapist is hard work, and you will have to be skilled at not taking on board the problems of others – otherwise you might not survive such a job emotionally.

Being a therapist offers the ability to have sessions online, making it highly convenient for your schedule. Since the pandemic, online therapy has really taken off and could be a great route to go for your practice. You can also expand your career even more when you learn how to rank on google for online therapy.

Teacher:

Another powerful way to help people lead more fulfilling lives is to become a teacher. The best teachers are those who are able not just to teach their students, but to encourage them to live in a way which is wise, compassionate, and eager to learn more every day. You will need to undertake some training and it is best if you also have a degree in something relevant but, most of all, you will need the passion to teach children in a way which might bring about a better world. Whether you are thinking about getting into something subject-specific which you have a talent for or just some cross-curricular teaching, this is going to be a great job for feeling useful.

An exciting part about being a teacher is that there is always more to learn for you and your students. There are countless resources available like The Teaching Couple to assist in finding innovative ideas for your classroom. You will surely be the favorite teacher at the school!

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Who was your favorite teacher?

Charity Worker:

People are often a little unsure about working for charities. Clearly, the charity system is far from perfect, and that is a shame because there are plenty of organizations doing some great work out there, regardless. If you want to get into charity work, the most important concern will be to make sure that you thoroughly research the companies you are considering working for. You don’t want to put all of your kind efforts into a business which is not actually doing much, or – worse – which is entirely corrupt. That being said, most charities do some good work, and if you want to take on a job which doesn’t require much in the way of qualifications, then you should make sure that you are considering this.

Architect:

Being an architect is truly fascinating. Not only do you get to design buildings however you like, but you will usually be able to travel the world in the process, and that is certainly a nice thing to have as a perk for your job. Of course, to be an architect requires a lot of education and training, and you should be prepared for that if you want to follow this particular line of work. But, as such, there is no reason you should not be able to make it work, and you will also find that it is quite rewarding as a kind of work to get into.

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Climate Scientist:

There has never been a better or more pressing time to get into the science of climate change. The world is burning up as we speak, and globally we are far behind on our goals of reducing the temperature of the planet. It might not sound drastic for the planet to heat up by one or two degrees over a hundred years, but it is. If you would like to do something about this, then becoming a climate scientist could be the way to go. You will get to research the effects and causes, and you might even be the person who comes up with a strong solution.

Politician:

Most of us have mixed feelings about politicians, but the truth is that you can easily get into politics in a positive and engaging way. In fact, most politicians are genuinely just trying to make the world a better place when they start out, although there is a great deal of corruption and so on which ends up taking place. But if you want to make a difference to the world from the top-down, then you might want to think about getting into politics. It can be a noble and true profession, and at its best you will find it enormously satisfying and rewarding, as you go about changing things for the better.

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There are so many different worlds you can get into if you are hoping to lead a life which is truly useful in some way or another. Any of the jobs mentioned above would be a great way to make yourself feel valued and to feel as though you are doing something rewarding and worthwhile.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Mar8

Train To Be An Audio Engineer

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Train To Be An Audio Engineer

There are many jobs that people don’t immediately think of when they consider their options in the music industry. While being a musician or a vocal artist can be a high-profile career, there are many other very important jobs that are essential in creating great audio products. One key position is that of an audio engineer. If you are thinking that this may be the path for you, here are the steps you can take to get started.

Find a Qualified Program:

The first step to become an audio engineer is to find a way to learn about the career. There are plenty of programs out there to assist you in learning the skills it takes to work in a professional recording studio. Programs vary from the traditional classroom setting to online courses that allow you to learn at your own pace. No matter which option you choose, you will be learning not only techniques, but also getting the hands-on practice you need to work with all of the equipment.

Invest in Your Equipment:

Having the right equipment to work with is essential to getting a great sound and learning how to achieve specific sounds that your clients may want. It doesn’t matter if you plan to open your own studio or simply want to have something on hand to work with at home, you will need to take your time and invest in equipment that will last. Although this is an upfront investment, it will pay off once you are fully trained to use it.

Learn from the Experts:

Getting experts to teach you the ins and outs of this career is just as important as learning all of the technical basics. It is a good idea to find a career mentor so that you can learn more about the industry overall and how different techniques can be used to get an exciting new sound.

With all things, practice makes perfect and soon you will be creating sounds of your own!

Feb28

Social Media Tips & Tricks

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Social Media Tips & Tricks

Hii everyone! Last week, I enjoyed spending some time at my old high school talking about lifewithlilred and social media with the students in the Theater Arts Career Academy (TACA). The TACA program was something that I attended back in the day and I still keep in touch with the wonderful teacher who was in charge of the program.

A few weeks ago, he posted a link to my blog on the TACA Facebook page, and I was so flattered! So, I offered to come in for a visit and teach the students about some social media dos and dont’s, especially since all of them are applying for colleges and part time jobs. I was also able to share information on initially setting up social media pages, including how to get sms online verification without using your main details to further protect your identity. We had a great discussion and some of the students even took notes, which I thought was so cute!

You can read some of the key points that we talked about below but, bear in mind, that I came up with these according to their age group. However, a lot of these tips apply to many, especially if they work in the world of freelance, like writing or theater! Let’s get to it:

No Partying, Please:

Ohhhhh my goodness. This one should go without saying, but I’ll repeat it again. If you are underage (And, frankly, even of age!), no one wants to see pictures of you getting wasted. No one wants to see pictures of the ten bag of weed you just bought. And, no one wants to hear your drunk Facebook babbles… Although, those can be pretty funny.

Employers and colleges, alike, are not keen on any of the above behaviors, because it all has the potential to reflect poorly on your work. And, if you think that employers and colleges aren’t checking your social media pages, then you are living under a rock. Maintaining a squeaky clean image is important for future successes and it all starts with your social media pages.

Stay Clear Of Controversy:

We are living in a politically charged world right now and so many people have the mindset that if your opinion is different, then you are an automatic enemy. Who’s to say that your future bosses and deans are going to be any different? This is not saying to not have an opinion but, if you are posting really radical points of view, you might be shooting yourself in the foot, so to speak.

I’ve heard from many friends who work with talent agencies that political and religiously driven posts are a no no if you are working for them. And, all posting that type of info does is create arguments on your page, laden with profanity and off color remarks. Do you really want that featured on your profile if people who could benefit your future are looking at it? Not so much.

If you absolutely must share your opinion, talk about it over coffee with your friends. Put it in an argumentative essay. Or, maybe join a debate club. But, social media is not the best place for it.

Spread Positive Gossip:

Spreading good news about yourself is far different from bragging, as long as you approach it properly. If you are proud of your volunteer project, invite your friends to join. If you nailed an audition for a play, let the people know! Sharing the good stuff that is happening to you is far better than being a Debbie Downer on your page.

And, I get it, the world is not sunshine, rainbows, and puppies. But, searching for the positive in a not so great situation shows that you have a great attitude, which is an asset to any business or college campus. An example that I gave for turning a negative post around, was when I was driving to school and I spilled my coffee on literally everything but my white shirt. I was pissed about my coffee but, how lucky was I that a crisp white shirt didn’t suffer an unfortunate stain?! It’s all about perspective, baby!

Pick The Right Profile Pic:

I think that it is so important to have a profile picture that is easily recognizable as you. And, by this, I mean that the picture should be the version of you that people are most likely to see if they run into you on the street. So, if you got glammed up for prom, that’s probably not your best choice. And, if you took a selfie while you were sick in bed, that isn’t a good option, either. Choose a picture that you would like future employers or professors seeing. And, always make sure that the picture is just of you. Nobody wants to guess who you are in a group photo!

I was happy with how receptive the students who I talked with were about these ideas. And, all of them agreed on these tips making sense, being helpful, and something that they could implement on their social media pages. I felt really proud of that and I am happy that I had the opportunity to spread some knowledge at my old school. 😀

What are some of your social media tips and tricks? What is your preferred social media platform? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan20

Why Working From Home Can Be Difficult

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Why Working From Home Can Be Difficult

Did you know that there are 4.8 million self-employed people in the UK? Whether you run your own business from home or you’ve snagged a job that allows you to work remotely, there are many benefits that you can take advantage of. Being able to work from the comfort of your own home and around other commitments are usually the most popular reasons as to why people choose to do so. However, working from home isn’t as luxurious as you may think, and here are some things you should know if you’re looking to work from home rather than in an office:

You can fall out of schedule:

Having the freedom to work around other commitments such as children and your social life is an amazing bonus of being able to work from home. However, it’s easy to put tasks off while you’re having fun and this can quickly lead to falling behind on your schedule. Things happen – yourself or your kids get sick, your laptop stops working, or your internet is down and suddenly you are officially behind on all of your deadlines.

Communication isn’t as easy:

Another problem that many people face when working from home is communication with their peers or clients. Working from home means the face to face interaction pretty much goes out of the window, and this can make it much harder to secure clients or satisfy customers.

Luckily, we live in an age where communication is easier than it’s ever been, and now with a simple click of a button, you’re able to speak to someone from across the world. There are a plethora of different methods that you could use to effectively communicate with the world around you, and the same goes for your business. Working remotely no longer has to be something that secludes you off from the world, and here are 10 ways to get the most out of remote working to read so that you’re not missing out.

You’re never ‘away’ from your work station:

You could speak to pretty much anybody who works from home and they will tell you the same thing – you’re never truly away from your office! Even though you may have finished your workload for the day, you will still have lingering thoughts when you’re near or around your work station. Unlike working in a regular office or working environment, you can’t escape as easily as simply going home, because you’re already there!

It’s important to find a way of shutting yourself off from work when you’ve finished for the day. This could perhaps be by shutting the door to your office and locking it or, if you don’t have a room dedicated to an office, switching off your computer and packing your work materials away will help let it sink in that now is the time to relax.

You could be in danger:

The last thing you’d think about when working from home is that you could be in danger. After all, you’re in your safe haven! However, running a business from home will require you to list your business address for mailing purposes and this, obviously, means listing your home address for the world to see. Exposing yourself like this can be dangerous, especially if you find a disgruntled customer that wants to confront you face to face. A great way around this dilemma is by purchasing a virtual office address. Doing this means that your mail will be redirected to your home and you won’t have to worry about exposing your home address to the world. This is a very important step when it comes to working from home and should be one of the first things you do. Not only does it offer protection, but finding a Registered office Scotland (or your local area) provides peace of mind when you log into work every day.

As you can see, there are problems that come hand in hand with working at home, but when you weigh up the pros and cons, is it really worth it? Not everyone can handle feeling secluded and out of routine. But, if you get it right, it can be one of the most rewarding choices you make for your career.

Featured Image By: Bruce Mars from Pexels

Jan4

Diving Into Business Or Taking A Measured Approach: The Pros & Cons

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Diving Into Business Or Taking A Measured Approach: The Pros & Cons

When you don’t have much experience in the field of business, there are a couple of different routes which can be taken to get yourself started. Some people will like to dive straight in, choosing to learn everything they need as they go, and dealing with problems in the moment. Others, though, will prefer to take a far more measured approach. To give you an idea of the key differences between these business-building options, this post will be exploring some of the key benefits of each of them:

Diving In:

Going right into something that you don’t understand will always come with some risks. Issues could come up which you are completely unprepared for and you could take the wrong approach entirely when it comes to making decisions. In return for this, you will have the chance to get started very quickly. You will benefit from the satisfaction of doing something entirely by yourself, while also getting the chance to improve yourself in other areas in the process. It will always take someone with very strong dedication to their business to succeed at something like this. If you’re looking to start a company, passion is the very first thing you need and those who dive right in definitely aren’t lacking in that department.

If you think the best option for you is to dive right in, do so with a plan and additional help in mind. A strong business plan with alternative solutions for problems will be your guide so make sure it is fool proof before making a big decision. Additionally, having extra help through a partner or two can go a long way. One person could be managing marketing. Another partner could be handling the shipment of products and researching options like freight to Germany (or your shipment destination). This can take a lot off of your plate so you can focus your attention to other areas.

And, of course, if you think you have a slam dunk idea – you should go for it! For example, perhaps you are planning to start a nicotine pouch company. This could be very lucrative as smoking alternatives are incredibly popular. Perhaps even more so than cigarettes themselves as countless people are trying to kick the habit every second of the day. Having an alternative like a nicotine pouch can ease this difficult transition and your product could be just what they need. Remember, even if you think your idea is great – it is only great if customers would actually use it regularly.

Taking It Slow:

Taking a slower approach to this can take a couple of different forms, with some people preferring to go to school and others wanting to learn on the job. An online MBA can teach you practically everything you could need to get into running your own company. You will benefit from advice and support, and will be able to get a clear idea of where your talents lie. This will cost money, though, making it hard for some people to use and forcing them to look for other avenues. By getting a job as a business owners assistant for a while, you will gain similar skills, but will earn instead of having to spend.

Which Is For You?

In most cases, taking the slow road is usually the best option when you’re starting a business. This is something which you will want to support you in later life, and this makes it crucial that it is handled correctly. Of course, though, if you feel confident in yourself, it could be worth taking a risk on the more direct approach. Whichever you choose, the hard part of running your company is yet to come, and this means that work will be becoming a large part of your life.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to figure out how you’re going to start your business. There are ways to combine these options further, working to get the best out of both of them. In reality, though, this won’t take too long to be in the past, making it worth getting started on your route as soon as possible. As more people start their own companies, more resources spring up which are designed to help entrepreneurs just like you.

Featured Image By: Unsplash