NebulaBiz Cash Advance Melbourne Fl: November 2017

Thursday, November 30, 2017

7 Ways to Make Your Startup Look Professional

It’s never been easier to start a small business. There are valid arguments for just diving in, and not waiting until you have all the details ironed out. But as the adage goes: You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. An unprofessional launch could set you back, and you may find those things you planned to take care of later always get pushed to the back burner. In the meantime you could lose business.

1. Set up a website

Your website doesn’t need to be fancy, but make sure it professionally reflects your business and contains the information customers generally need to know, such as how to contact you, business hours, menu of services (or menu for a restaurant), etc. There are a variety of services that will help you create a simple but professional looking site; if your needs are more extensive, you may need to hire someone to create it for you.

While you’re at it, don’t slap up pages that say “under construction” or “coming soon.” Even if your site is a single page, make it look professional. You can always add more pages later.

A few businesses get away with not having a website, and instead use a Facebook business page or even an Instagram account. Think carefully about adopting this strategy, however. Almost anyone can access a website, but not everyone is a Facebook or Instagram user. And when you rely on a third-party platform, you lose some control over your prospects’ and customers’ experiences.

2. Create a professional email address

My daughter’s new dentist asked me to have her medical records emailed to them at a Yahoo email address. Not only is that not secure, it didn’t seem professional. Get an email address that matches your domain name; it’s simple and not expensive. Your website host may provide that as service, or you can use G Suite email for as little as $5 a month. (Note that G Suite email can give you an email address at your domain name, which looks better than an @gmail.com address.)

3. Get a business phone number

Have you ever called a business and been taken aback when the phone is answered with a blunt “hello,” rather than a professional greeting? It doesn’t inspire confidence. That’s why you need a business phone number: If a phone call, text or email comes in for your business, you can respond appropriately.

Fortunately, these days you don’t have to spring for an expensive business landline if you don’t want to. You can add a second line to your cell phone for just a few dollars a month. Here are five affordable services you can use to get a business phone number.

4. Use a business address

It’s perfectly fine these days to start your business from home, a coworking space, or really from anywhere in the world. But using a business address can add a layer of privacy and professionalism. If you aren’t ready to invest in office space, consider getting a PO Box. You can then use that address as if it is a street address. (Postal service instructions for turning PO Box addresses into street addresses can be found here.)

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Leaders, Here’s How to Break Out of the Prisons Called ‘Worry’ and ‘Fear’

by David Pierce

Out of all the obstacles that come our way in life, worry and fear may be the two biggest killers of success. Those struggles can be so damaging because they not only prevent business leaders from taking risks and getting out of their comfort zones, but they actually convince them that they don’t deserve opportunities or won’t succeed if they were to take advantage of them.

Leaders that give in to these struggles enough times often question their self-worth. There is also evidence that worry and fear are responsible for all kinds of debilitating illnesses: both physical and mental. It’s heavy stuff, to be sure, but luckily there’s good news.

You don’t have to be the victim of your worries and fears. There are many ways to take action against those struggles. With the understanding that nothing happens without effort and commitment, there are paths you can set out on right now—today—to begin breaking away from these self-made prisons.

Plan the jailbreak

First, you need to recognize the truth about your worries and fears. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne once said, “My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.” Most of the things you fear, when looked upon in hindsight, never actually happened.

In his article “The Fog of Worry (Only 8% of Worries Are Worth It),” author Earl Nightingale wrote this about worry:

1. Things that never happen: 40%. That is, 40% of the things you worry about will never occur anyway.
2. Things over and past that can’t be changed by all the worry in the world: 30%.
3. Needless worries about our health: 12%.
4. Petty, miscellaneous worries: 10%.
5. Real, legitimate worries: 8%. Only 8% of your worries are worth concerning yourself about. Ninety-two percent are pure fog with no substance at all.”

Only 8% of worries are actually worth concern? I like those percentages.

So, start eliminating 92% of your worries; be conscious of those percentages. For the remaining 8%, create an action plan on how to deal with them. The following suggestions will go a long way in helping you reduce the impact of your fears and worries, freeing you to be the person you were designed and strive to be, each and every day:

Start your day with a “grateful list.” If you begin your day actively thinking about the things for which you are grateful, your mind physically cannot simultaneously be actively dwelling on worries or fears. With your first cup of coffee, or during your shower or morning walk, state quietly in your mind, or even out loud, five to 10 things for which you’re grateful. Doing this will start your day on a positive trajectory. (Note: Remember to do this no matter how you feel. It will be tough, but you don’t have to feel grateful to be grateful.)

Live in “day-tight compartments.” Dale Carnegie has a number of suggestions on how to conquer worry in his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living; one suggestion is the “day-tight compartment.” The premise is to shut off thinking about the yesterdays, which are gone and cannot be changed, and also shut off the future, which is full of its own anxieties. Instead, exist in the safety of “today,” where you can live, breathe, and make an impact with your thoughts and actions. It might seem a tad oversimplified, and yes, you may have to deal with past mistakes and should plan for the future, but don’t give those things any right to cause you worry, fear, or anxiety.

Address fears in a head-on manner. Another of Mr. Carnegie’s principles is to directly address fear and worry. When struggles become realities, try this three-step formula:

1. Ask yourself: “What is the worst that can possibly happen if I can’t resolve this matter?”

2. Once you’ve determined the worst case (which often is much better than you may have initially believed), prepare yourself mentally to accept the worst case, if necessary.

3. Then, once you’ve accepted the worst case, calmly devote your time and energy to trying to improve upon the scenario. Since you’ve already accepted the worst, any improvements you can come up with will be a victory; stop worrying and begin to work on a solution.

Enable a mental “stop-loss.” One final suggestion for when fears and worries get the best of you is to decide how much they really matter in the whole scheme of life. Put into place a mental “stop-loss,” or a point in which you mentally move past those worries or fears, in order to cut your losses. If you must deal with the fears or worries, only think about them for the time that they’re worth; once you’ve addressed the issues, be done with them. Sometimes they are what they are, and you may not be able to resolve them, no matter how much you might want to.

Just like most things in life, our fears and worries can be controlled and conquered with commitment to a strong plan of action. Try doing this and you’ll find yourself breathing easier day by day.

Certified Petra Coach David Pierce spent a decade with Deloitte and PwC, and for over 20 years held a C-level post with a regional banking and financial holding company, developing and launching one of the first stand-alone online banks in the U.S., and participating in more than a dozen mergers and acquisitions transactions. A tireless entrepreneur, David also helped launch an apparel manufacturing startup and numerous commercial real estate projects. David left the corporate world and launched his own consulting practice, eventually becoming a Four Decisions Certified Gazelles International Coach and joining Petra Coach. David is an accomplished Business Broker and Certified Franchise Consultant.

The post Leaders, Here’s How to Break Out of the Prisons Called ‘Worry’ and ‘Fear’ appeared first on AllBusiness.com

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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

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Don’t Neglect the Importance of Attracting Top Talent—Here’s How to Do It

Hiring an unqualified or lazy employee can have costly consequences for your business’s bottom line. To avoid wasted time, money, and frustration, you need to take the recruiting and hiring process seriously. When it comes to attracting top talent, it helps to think like a recruiter.

What exactly does thinking like a recruiter mean? You don’t hire the first person you see. You come up with recruiting strategies that let you find qualified candidates. And, it means you make top talent want to work for you.

The first time I hired someone, I didn’t even interview her. Instead, I called the local trade school and asked them to send a senior to do clerical work. The outcome was nothing short of a bad experience. Over time, I have learned that to attract talent, you have to expect talent. You need to recruit, screen, and interview candidates.

How to attract talent

Attracting talent is an essential part of hiring. It’s what gets the ball rolling so that you can choose someone who’s qualified for the job.

Most business owners have a strategy or two for driving candidates to apply at their businesses—but is it the right strategy? Will it attract the candidate who will become a star employee?

I’ve been hiring for over 30 years at my businesses. Without the know-how to attract top talent, my companies would not be operating at the levels they are today.

Here’s how to attract top talent.

1. Create an attractive and detailed job description

Once you decide you need to hire, your first course of action is to map out the qualifications, skills, and experience you need to get the job done. You will need to include all of this in a clear, concise job description.

Learning how to write a job description is critical to effective hiring. Your job description is the advertisement that draws in candidates. If it’s written poorly or vaguely, you won’t get the kind of applicants you need.

Include all the information you need to paint a picture of the job. Talk about the job title, the purpose of the job, and give details on the job responsibilities. Explain how the position would make a difference in your overall business processes. Provide a salary range and highlight the small business employee benefits you plan to offer. Be clear about which qualifications applicants must have and which would be preferable.

A clear, accurate job description without spelling mistakes or other errors will be taken more seriously by job seekers.

Think of your job description like a business plan. To get investors to invest in your company, you should have a clear, well-written business plan. Likewise, to get top talent to invest in your company (i.e., apply), you need a well-written job description.

2. Build your brand

Your brand is how people recognize your business. It is represented in your logo, name, products, social media platforms, and other communication channels. A strong brand is what encourages customers to buy from you. And, it’s what entices employees to work for you.

An employer brand represents how you treat employees. When you treat your employees well, promote their well-being, and encourage personal growth, your employer brand is desirable.

Why is brand important? According to a survey, 86% of women and 67% of men said they would not join a business with a bad reputation if they were unemployed. Your business’s reputation is directly related to your brand.

There are many ways you can build your brand. You can handle questions and concerns from both customers and employees efficiently to show you value others’ time. And, you can consistently uphold your mission statement and core values. Consistently working on a strong brand will help attract talent.

3. Emphasize development potential

When applying for jobs, many applicants look for growth opportunities. They might not want to sign up for a dead-end job. At a small business, employees can learn more skills, take on more challenges, and move up through the company.

Because you don’t have as many employees as a big corporation, employees might need to do a little bit of each job. This can help them develop their skills, a benefit that 87% of millennials and 69% of non-millennials want.

When attracting top talent, emphasize development opportunities in the job description. Even something as simple as room for growth can make an applicant start thinking about the day they’ll be a manager.

4. Offer something big corps can’t

Big corporations are often recognizable nationwide. You might think you don’t have the same offerings as big corporations when it comes to attracting top talent.

You’d be right.

You have something that big corporations don’t have. As a small business owner, you can give more attention to each of your employees. You could delegate more tasks to employees, giving them more responsibility and room for growth.

If possible, you can even offer benefits like flexible scheduling and the ability to work remotely. According to one survey, 88% of respondents would consider flexible scheduling over a high-paying job.

Don’t sell your business short by extending a job offer to the first willing applicant. Just remember that your business can offer things big corporations can’t. Not all talent wants to work at a big corporation.

Attracting and retaining top talent

Once you attract, screen, and hire talent, your next step is retention. Employee turnover is expensive, time consuming, and can result in the loss of an all-star employee.

To prevent turnover, you need to know how to retain employees. Keep communication lines flowing. Find out any issues your employees might have and see what you can do to work it out. Show employees you value them and highlight how they impact your business.

The post Don’t Neglect the Importance of Attracting Top Talent—Here’s How to Do It appeared first on AllBusiness.com

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Want to Build Your Brand Easily But Effectively? Try an ‘Expert Roundup’

Are you looking for new and exciting ways to create content for your audience, while also growing your brand in the process? Of course, you are! With more than a billion active websites on the internet today, it’s now more important than ever to create better content than the competition and also to provide your audience with the best value possible.

With all of this in mind, one of the best ways to accomplish this is through the use of expert roundups. The concept of expert roundups is quite simple, yet also quite detailed and time-consuming in the setup and creation process.

The first thing you need to do is come up with a question that your audience will likely be interested in. Next, you need to reach out to industry experts who can answer the question. After receiving a decent amount of answers, you then combine all of the responses and create a mega expert roundup article to go live on your site.

The benefit of this type of content is two-fold. Your audience will find great value in the recommendations and content from the experts, and you will also have several thousand-word articles posted on your site. On the flip side, each of the experts you interview will bring authority, value, and traffic back to your site; they will benefit from the roundup as well by getting free exposure and a usually a backlink to their site or social profile. Don’t forget to send an email letting them know when the article has gone live.

Now that you have an idea of how expert roundups work and how effective they can be, let’s take a look at three working examples of how big brands have used expert roundups to increase brand authority.

CreditLoan.com: Roundup of best rewards credit cards

In the world of business and finance, it’s tough to find a more competitive area than credit cards and personal finance. At the same time, how many times can you simply write about the same thing over and over again? As mentioned earlier, there are over a billion active sites on the internet today, so it’s likely whatever you are going to write about has already been covered time and time again.

In an effort to create better content for their audience while also building their brand in the process, CreditLoan.com created an expert roundup of reward cards tips from the pros: 98 finance and industry experts provided input on the best rewards credit cards, and what to look for when signing up to one.

With rewards credit cards on the minds of consumers combined with the complexity of trying to pick the right credit card, this is a great resource for any audience—especially those who are already in the credit card searching process. At the same time, the collection of resources and answers from real people relates much better to an audience than just reading what a website or brand might be telling an audience to do.

LogoDesignTeam.com: How to create an identity for your brand

When you’re choosing a question for a roundup, it’s important to make sure that it’s relevant to not only what your audience wants to know, but also to what your business provides as a service.

This is something LogoDesignTeam.com does quite well. With their business model of logo design in mind, they asked 45 different branding and marketing experts to share the story behind their brand and logo design and how they ended up creating their logos. The end result was a collection of personal stories that any brand marketer or business owner would enjoy reading.

Answers provided by experts not only provided value to the audience, but also gave readers new ideas on how to come up with a brand or logo for their personal brand or business. Again, with the content and feedback coming from a wide range of experts, this types of content comes off much better to an audience versus just reading basic information and content on a site.

Blogging.org: Best SEO tools used by top experts

No matter what business you have, or the industry you’re currently working in, there are always going to be tools and solutions that other customers or businesses within that niche also need. A perfect example of this are SEO and social media marketing tools. If you are doing any type of business online, then you are going to need these types of tools in order to rank in the search results and reach new audiences. However, with so many different tools and services on the internet today, how are you supposed to know which tools are best?

This is something we currently do on our site, Blogging.org. With expert roundups working so well lately, we asked industry leaders and influencers to share their favorite SEO tools, and ended up with not only a great resource, but also a detailed list ranking of the most-used software, thus helping other site owners and marketers visiting the site.

Time to create an expert roundup for your brand

Now that you’ve seen how three different brands use expert roundups to not only create original and useful content for their audience, but also increase awareness and bring traffic back to their website and brand, it’s time for you to do the same.

We’ve laid out the basics of what you need to know and do to get started. Feel free to refer back to each of these expert roundups to see how each of the sites structured their content, while also focusing on expert profiles and feedback in the process.

The most important component of an expert roundup, however, is the question that you will ask your industry experts. Don’t rush the process. Think of something creative that not only your experts will be passionate about when they write their responses, but also that your audience will enjoy reading.

The post Want to Build Your Brand Easily But Effectively? Try an ‘Expert Roundup’ appeared first on AllBusiness.com

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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Will Cryptocurrency Change the Freelance Marketplace Landscape?

If you do any type of online marketing or content creation, you’ve likely hired freelance writers or designers through one of the many online marketplaces. The benefit of using such marketplaces is that they serve as a middleman between clients and freelancers.

As new payment methods and currencies come into play, these online marketplaces will need to adapt. We saw this same process many years ago when credit cards were no longer the preferred payment method and PayPal quickly became the online transaction method of choice. Now PayPal is accepted pretty much everywhere.

Today, with cryptocurrency on the rise and Bitcoin hitting record highs in value every day, it’s only a matter of time before these digital currencies enter common usage.

Some companies are early adopters

There are some platforms and online businesses that are already accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. One such platform is CanYa, a cryptocurrency-based autonomous marketplace for peer-to-peer services. CanYa has created its own currency; users who purchase CanYa’s digital currency then have the ability to withdraw it through various financial methods of their choosing.

The benefit here is that there is a single bridge between all currencies on one platform. With such a transaction process in place, this removes the middleman and also eliminates the volatility that many have seen with the likes of Bitcoin. This method of eliminating volatile swings in digital currency value is done through the use of hedged escrow contracts in association with the platform’s own virtual currency.

Another example of digital currency making its way into the traditional and non-online world is through solutions like SelfKey, which has made it possible to buy passports, residency, and even financial services through its own digital identity wallet and marketplace. The goal with such a solution in place isn’t just to have another marketplace to connect users and buyers; it’s also a play to allow users to connect with all of their existing bank accounts and monthly billings, and to take advantage of what blockchain has to offer, which is typically done through an e-wallet.

The common theme among online marketplaces and e-wallet providers isn’t that they collect digital payments for transactions, but rather how they are focusing on new ways to serve individuals, businesses, and organizations, while also building out their own businesses, marketplaces, and platforms in the process. The more connections and implementations these companies build into their own platforms, the sooner we will start seeing the widescale acceptance of cryptocurrency.

A $2 trillion industry waiting to be tapped

Just think back to when ATM cards first came out. No one liked the idea of walking up a to machine and withdrawing money, but within a few years it was commonplace and the greatest thing ever. Will the world of opportunities that lie within cryptocurrency have the same result?

With the industry of cryptocurrency currently being valued at more than $2 trillion dollars, it’s only a matter of time before more businesses jump onto the crypto bandwagon. It’s now mostly a question of who will take action first and what regulations will come into play.

Online freelance marketplaces are thriving in the age of the sharing economy. A good example of this can be seen through Ikea’s recent purchase of TaskRabbit, an online marketplace for homeowners to connect with contractors and “taskers” from the comfort of their home. Ikea saw the opportunity and potential in online marketplaces, and once a major player decides to also implement cryptocurrency into its platform, we will likely see such payment methods rapidly scale in usage.

Online marketplaces, cryptocurrency, and what’s to come

It seems that online freelance marketplaces are only going to grow in the near future. It’s a business model that provides value to both sides—not just saving money for businesses, but also offering opportunity to those looking to make a living as freelancers.

Will 2018 be the year where cryptocurrency becomes a mainstream transaction method? Only time will tell, but it’s a trend that seems likely to grow.

The post Will Cryptocurrency Change the Freelance Marketplace Landscape? appeared first on AllBusiness.com

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What to Buy (and Skip) in December

If you’re like many Americans, you got a lot of holiday shopping done between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But as December arrives, you likely have a bit more to do. Before you set out on additional bargain-hunting trips, here’s a list of what to buy (and skip) in December in order to save you time...

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Veteran Business Owners: Help Is Out There

Are you a military veteran who owns your own business or wants to start one? Are you planning on transitioning out of the military soon but not sure what road to take after that? Entrepreneurship could be your answer.

There are more than 2.5 million U.S. military veteran business owners, the Small Business Administration reports. Fortunately, there are plenty of places and people who can lead you on the way to startup success.

Get started

Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs)

Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) are one-stop-shops for veterans, service members transitioning out of the military, and military spouses who want to launch, buy, or grow their businesses. There are VBOCs across the country providing business training, counseling and mentoring services.

VBOCs also offer two programs, Boots to Business and Boots to Business Reboot, to help transitioning service members and veterans of all eras learn more about entrepreneurship, explore the feasibility of their business ideas, write a business plan, and gain a foundation in business concepts. The programs also introduce participants to a wide range of SBA resources to help them find start up capital, get technical assistance and identify contracting opportunities. Click here to find a VBOC near you.

Veteran Entrepreneur Portal (VEP)

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) has a Veteran Entrepreneur Portal (VEP) to help veterans learn more about starting a business, access federal government services to help, and learn best practices. This (VA) resource assists businesses in accessing federal services and connecting to relevant “best practices” and information.

V-Wise

Are you a female military veteran or a female spouse of an active service member or veteran? Then check out V-WISE, an entrepreneurship training program that helps women veterans and military spouses find their entrepreneurial passion and gain the skills to successfully start and grow their businesses. The program includes an online training course and intensive three-day training event, as well as ongoing mentorship and support.

Compete for government contracts

Government contracting is a huge area of opportunity for veteran-owned businesses. The federal government has special set-asides for veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs).

Vets First Verification Program

If you want to be eligible for special opportunities to do business with the federal government, start by getting your business verified through the Vets First Verification Program. Verified businesses can get priority in competing for federal government contracts. For example, the Veterans Administration gives SDVOSBs the highest priority as small business contractors for the VA. Look for VA-certified business counselors in your state who can help you with the Vets First verification process and more.

Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilitation (OSDBU)

The OSDBU has a wide range of resources and information to help veteran-owned businesses compete for government contracts. Eligible SDVOSBs can also apply for the SBA’s Mentor/Protégé program to get help finding, competing for, and fulfilling government contracts.

National Veteran Small Business Engagement (NVSBE)

Once you are ready to put your business out there in the government contracting world, attending networking events and conferences for veteran business owners can help. The VA’s National Veteran Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) is the largest procurement event for veteran business owners. Attendees have the opportunity to meet with procurement officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), other federal agencies, state governments, and private-sector firms with procurement needs.

Disabled Veteran Business Alliance

The Disabled Veteran Business Alliance also hosts a range of events where SDVOSBs can network with government contracting officials and access business matchmaking opportunities.

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Monday, November 27, 2017

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The Hidden Benefits of Business Failure

We put big stakes on winning in our culture. “Losers” aren’t respected; they failed, after all. In some circles, failure is such a sin that it dwarfs anything else about “the loser”—any good they might have done, or smart moves they might have made.

Even if we don’t think of failure as if it was the third rail, we all know we should avoid it—even little children know this. Because success is where all the good stuff is, right? There aren’t any upsides to failure. But that might not necessarily be so. It all depends on how we define success or failure in the first place.

Avoiding failure: the hidden cost

For some, simply avoiding mistakes can define a sort of success. It’s certainly a safe way to go about your life, though, it’s actually more likely to hem you in than anything else.

That’s the real problem with trying to avoid failure at all costs. Fear of failure can restrict a life—or a business—so badly that it might technically succeed at thousands of tiny things, but fail in the big picture. Kind of like a Blockbuster store that is run perfectly according to its manual, but is so focused on being a perfect Blockbuster store that it never sees Netflix or YouTube coming.

Some people call this playing “the small game.” It’s when you get all the little things right. You avoid risk. You look good in front of your peers and your “superiors.”

In business, this might mean you pick a nice, safe, proven business model. You design your business for steady, predictable growth. You do well in good years, maybe even getting the 5% or better revenue growth most small business owners expect for 2017.

Don’t get me wrong—I do not knock this business approach. I just want you to be aware that there are risks to trying to be perfectly safe. If you are totally focused on avoiding every possible failure, you can pen yourself into the small game…and find yourself in the business (or personal) equivalent of owning a perfectly-run Blockbuster store.

Move fast and break things

Then there’s the other side of the spectrum. The high-risk, high-reward mindset. It’s embodied in sayings like Facebook’s old mantra, “Move fast and break things.” This fearless embrace of potential failure sounds almost romantic to some. It’s a good angle for a pitch in Silicon Valley or a way to sell a movie script in Hollywood. And if you’ve got the backbone, and the resources, and the resilience, it can be a formula for success.

Just don’t get too romantic about it. I cannot lie to you: Failure hurts. It’s hard. Both entrepreneurs and regular people know big failures aren’t romantic. It’s frightening to have $7 in your checking account. Having your parents give you “that look” when you show up on their door after your business (or your life) has crashed is no fun.

So let’s face it: We fear failure. Even those of us who don’t let it make decisions for us—we still fear failure. We just don’t let it hem us in. As has been said before, “courage is fear walking.”

But there is one major problem with how most people view failure: They see it as an end. In fact, it’s just a beginning. The lessons of thousands of success stories (almost every one, actually) are that success starts with failure. That’s the norm, not the outlier.

When we’re honest with ourselves, we all know failure is inevitable. But even to say that is a little bit dishonest. Failure happens more often than success. Most of the stretches we take in life are likely to fail, and the good news is that’s fine.

To succeed, we must fail

As Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Co, puts it: “Success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success represents the 1% of your work that results from the 99% that is called failure.” He’s not the only one to take this view. As books like Failing Forward will tell you, failure is just the early stages of success.

So here’s the problem: If we are scared off by failure, then we will never get to the good stuff. We’ll avoid failure like the plague, cutting ourselves off from success.

It may just be that failure is the essential ingredient of success. This includes small failures—things we’ve tried that didn’t work—and big failures…especially big failures—good, hard, rock-bottom crashes.

As J.K. Rowling said in her exceptional 2008 Harvard graduation address, rock-bottom failure means a stripping away of the inessential. It refocuses us. She says the gift of her low point was:

I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me…And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

That benefit alone might be enough to make a case for failure. But it’s not its only virtue. Failure—repeated failure, especially—teaches one of the key skills of a winner: perseverance.

People who overcome failure build up tremendous perseverance. This lets them not only keep going through their failures, but causes them to press on, even when things are good. It’s that perseverance that turns good into very good…and with even more work, very good into great.

Failure develops other sister virtues to perseverance, too—like resilience and flexibility. These are the assets of people who not only succeed but also don’t clutch on to their success. They know they’re good enough to get it back, should fortunes change again.

Conclusion

So maybe every failure is success…just a success not yet hatched. Like so many things in life, we just don’t recognize it for what it is when we first encounter it. If that’s true, we might even start creating our successes by deliberately risking failure.

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5 Ways to Keep Your Bad Days at Bay

“Have a Bad Day Day”—yes, it really is a thing—falls on the 19th of November each year. While this “holiday” has its origins in good humor, some negative people seem to purposefully set out to make days unbearable for the people around them on any given date. And sometimes, we even get in our own way of having a good day by doing things that sabotage our productivity and ability to view our world in an enthusiastic light.

We all have our less-than-ideal moments when we fall prey to distractions, discontent, and naysayers. I’ve certainly experienced them, but I’ve found ways to make them fewer and far between. Fortunately, by keeping our minds purposefully focused and our energy positive, we can avoid ruining the day for ourselves and prevent the ill will of others from making our days a nightmare.

Here, I’ve listed the practices that work for me. By incorporating them into your daily routine, you also might stand a better chance of making the day great.

1. Start the day by reflecting on your accomplishments and what you have to be grateful for

No matter what challenges or setbacks you face, there’s always something to take pride in and give thanks for. As soon as my alarm clock rings in the morning, I take a moment to reflect on the blessings in my personal and professional life; that sets the tone for the rest of the day. By immediately focusing on the positive, you’ll start your day feeling empowered and uplifted.

2. Have a plan for your day

There’s nothing wrong with a little spontaneity, but if you play all elements of your day by ear, you’ll fall behind on your responsibilities, miss deadlines, and jeopardize business and personal relationships. By taking a few moments, either first thing in the morning or the evening before to set priorities and reserve time for what you need to accomplish, you’ll stay on track. Having a plan will help set the day’s pace and prevent you from overextending yourself.

3. Delegate when appropriate

Too many busy entrepreneurs try to do it all themselves—especially when first launching their businesses. As a “Type A” individual, I understand the urge to want to control every detail, but realize there’s only so much of you to go around. You cannot—and should not—try to do everything. By delegating select responsibilities to capable people, you can permit yourself to focus on what you do best and what you enjoy most.

4. Take a deep breath when someone pushes your buttons

I admit, I don’t always find it easy to let go of the hurtful or antagonistic comments or actions inflicted by others. But when I do put that pessimism aside, I feel lighter and less stressed. When people push your buttons, remind yourself it’s their problem, not yours. Don’t dwell on their negativity and let it distract you or break your spirit.

5. Give yourself something to look forward to

Do this every day. Even the worst of days can seem less deflating if you reward yourself for your efforts. Carve out time for a massage, a special meal, quiet time with a favorite book, a long walk with your dog, a game of kickball with your kids before dinner, or whatever else will help relax you and makes you happy.

While acknowledging Have a Bad Day Day with some good-natured humor might be fun, actually having awful days on a regular basis can derail your business goals and aspirations. Rather than take bad days as a given, commit yourself to discovering ways to make them rare exceptions.

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Want to Keep Your Employees Happy? Don’t Offer One of These 8 Company Perks

Company perks help draw in new employees, and then keep them engaged once they’ve settled in. But not every perk is worth your time. Some things—like honoring an employee of the month or offering competitive rewards—don’t function as well in practice as you might expect.

To find out which perks you should reconsider offering, we asked members from Young Entrepreneur Council this question:

Q. What is one traditional perk or benefit you’ve found to be not worthwhile for today’s employees?

1. Awards

Paper awards or trophies don’t work with employees—they don’t want that kind of recognition. They would prefer more challenges or responsibilities. Recognition should be about feeling part of something rather than getting something to frame for the wall. —Drew Hendricks, Buttercup

2. Competitive rewards

Competition might work for sales employees, but for most it’s counterproductive, cultivating a culture in which employees game metrics rather than focus on doing great work. The most effective reward is management, colleague and customer recognition of great work. I prefer to foster a collaborative environment that respects employees’ need for a work-life balance and meaningful work. —Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.

3. On-site-only perks

Things on-site, like vending machines, parking spots, gyms, or massages, don’t really work. That’s because there are so many freelancers or virtual staff that it leaves these people feeling alienated and unappreciated. It’s got to be something that works for everyone. —Angela Ruth, Calendar

4. That ridiculous rec room

You know the one I’m talking about. There’s a foosball table, Xbox, and a bunch of swag from ThinkGeek. It’s the highlight of every office tour, but do you know who else goes in there? That’s right: nobody. Why? It’s a trick. Maybe not actually—the boss put it there with the best intentions—but who’s playing video games while everybody else works? Whoever it was doesn’t work here anymore. —Corey Northcutt, Northcutt Inbound Marketing

5. Open offices

It was all the rage just a few years back, but an open office design is not all it’s cracked up to be. It sounds nice to have a more open work space, and it should improve communication between coworkers in theory. In practice, however, removing walls from everyone’s cubicles just takes away their privacy and introduces endless distractions. Sometimes it’s best to just stick with what works. —Bryce Welker, Beat The CPA

6. Equity stake

The equity stake position is not as popular as it once was. That’s because people have seen there are no guarantees. Instead of that, life balance and feeling a part of something that achieves social good means so much more. —Zach Binder, Bell + Ivy

7. Employees of the month

Even if these awards do make an employee feel recognized, they also may cause bad blood in an office. For each person who gets recognized, there are other team members getting the message that they were not as good of an employee this month, as the pet or the favorite. Even the recipient isn’t receiving what he or she really wants: to feel valued, to have interesting work, or more personal time or money. —Diego Orjuela, Cables and Sensors

8. Corporate team building and retreats

Teamwork and proper motivation are vital to any business. However, gathering for a weekend at a remote location and listening to a speaker, or brainstorming new ideas is usually a waste of time. Instead, sending various members of the team individually to attend focused conferences or networking events can yield greater results, as employees teach each other the skills they have learned. —Ryan Bradley, Koester & Bradley, LLP

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Friday, November 24, 2017

Ask Brianna: Should I Quit My Job Without Another Lined Up?

Thursday, November 23, 2017

F.C.C. Plan to Roll Back Net Neutrality Worries Small Businesses

Small companies, which have increasingly turned to the internet, worry that a pay-for-play system online could price them out of doing business.

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Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Veteran Business Owners: Help Is Out There

Get started

Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs)

Veteran Entrepreneur Portal (VEP)

V-Wise

Compete for government contracts

Vets First Verification Program

Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilitation (OSDBU)

National Veteran Small Business Engagement (NVSBE)

Disabled Veteran Business Alliance

The Disabled Veteran Business Alliance also hosts a range of events where SDVOSBs can network with government contracting officials and access business matchmaking opportunities.

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Want to Keep Your Employees Happy? Don’t Offer One of These 8 Company Perks

To find out which perks you should reconsider offering, we asked members from Young Entrepreneur Council this question:

Q. What is one traditional perk or benefit you’ve found to be not worthwhile for today’s employees?

1. Awards

2. Competitive rewards

3. On-site-only perks

4. That ridiculous rec room

5. Open offices

6. Equity stake

7. Employees of the month

8. Corporate team building and retreats

The post Want to Keep Your Employees Happy? Don’t Offer One of These 8 Company Perks appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post Want to Keep Your Employees Happy? Don’t Offer One of These 8 Company Perks appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about YEC.

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5 Ways to Keep Your Bad Days at Bay

Here, I’ve listed the practices that work for me. By incorporating them into your daily routine, you also might stand a better chance of making the day great.

1. Start the day by reflecting on your accomplishments and what you have to be grateful for

2. Have a plan for your day

3. Delegate when appropriate

4. Take a deep breath when someone pushes your buttons

5. Give yourself something to look forward to

The post 5 Ways to Keep Your Bad Days at Bay appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post 5 Ways to Keep Your Bad Days at Bay appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Nellie Akalp.

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The Hidden Benefits of Business Failure

Avoiding failure: the hidden cost

For some, simply avoiding mistakes can define a sort of success. It’s certainly a safe way to go about your life, though, it’s actually more likely to hem you in than anything else.

Some people call this playing “the small game.” It’s when you get all the little things right. You avoid risk. You look good in front of your peers and your “superiors.”

Move fast and break things

To succeed, we must fail

So here’s the problem: If we are scared off by failure, then we will never get to the good stuff. We’ll avoid failure like the plague, cutting ourselves off from success.

As J.K. Rowling said in her exceptional 2008 Harvard graduation address, rock-bottom failure means a stripping away of the inessential. It refocuses us. She says the gift of her low point was:

I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me…And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

That benefit alone might be enough to make a case for failure. But it’s not its only virtue. Failure—repeated failure, especially—teaches one of the key skills of a winner: perseverance.

Conclusion

The post The Hidden Benefits of Business Failure appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post The Hidden Benefits of Business Failure appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Brian Sutter.

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Rollback of Net Neutrality Has Small Businesses Worried

Mortgage Rates Wednesday: Quiet on the Eve of Thanksgiving

Betterment Adds a Charitable Giving Option

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

How a Balance Transfer Affects Your Credit Score

Moving high-interest credit card debt to a card with a lower rate — or, better yet, a 0% interest period — can save you hundreds of dollars while making it easier to pay down what you owe. As the cornerstone of a debt-reduction plan, a balance transfer can be a very smart move, but it won’t affect your...

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The Grown-Ups’ Guide to Not Buying Gifts

Shopping for an appreciative 10-year-old can be a fun excuse to roam the toy store or share your favorite childhood book. Shopping for a 40-year-old can be a chore. That’s because your adult friends and family members probably don’t need gifts, and you’d rather not spend more than necessary during the holiday season. The average...

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Mortgage Rates Tuesday: Rates Dither, Home Prices Rise

What to Do if an ATM Eats Your Deposit

Standing in front of an ATM that just ate your cash deposit without crediting your account or issuing a receipt can leave you feeling helpless, and even hopeless. Just ask Linda Murray Bullard, who recently found herself in that situation. “A horrific experience!” says Murray Bullard, who owns a business consulting firm in Chattanooga, Tennessee....

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Expert Tips to Help Small Businesses Maximize Holiday Retail Sales

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Is Your Business at Risk From Sexual Harassment?

A few weeks ago, sexual harassment and assault allegations about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein started making headlines. Since then, the outrage has snowballed as more and more stories of workplace harassment come to light. Women in industries ranging from advertising to government are opening up about their experiences of workplace harassment. It’s enough to make you wonder what could be happening at your business. How can you help prevent sexual harassment at work?

Understanding harassment

Employees are protected from harassment, sexual and otherwise, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the law applies to companies with 15 or more employees, even smaller businesses should take steps to prevent sexual harassment on the job.

There are two types of sexual harassment:

Quid pro quo: Submitting to or refusing unwelcome sexual advances or contact affects the “tangible employment actions” around the employee, such as whether she is hired, fired, promoted, or assigned to desirable shifts.
Hostile environment: This type of harassment doesn’t result in tangible employment actions. However, the employee is subjected to enough harassment to create what a reasonable person would consider a hostile, offensive or intimidating work environment.

Some forms of sexual harassment are clear-cut, such as physical harassment or requests for sexual favors. However, making offensive remarks about women (or men) in general can also be considered sexual harassment. The Department of Labor cites the following examples of behaviors that may contribute to a hostile environment:

Off-color jokes
Commenting on someone’s physical attributes
Displaying sexually suggestive pictures
Using crude language
Making obscene gestures

Small business workplaces are typically close-knit communities, and some of the listed behaviors may be part of good-natured teasing or friends joking around. But it’s easy for one person’s idea of humor to cross the line and offend someone else.

Here are some things you may not know about sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment doesn’t have to come from the employee’s direct supervisor. For example, a coworker, customer, or supervisor from a different department can be responsible for sexually harassing an employee.
Sexual harassment happens to men, too. According to the EEOC, last year men filed 16.6% of sexual harassment claims.
The victim and the harasser can be the same sex.

The best way to deal with sexual harassment is to prevent it in the first place. How?

Communicate to your staff that you do not tolerate sexual harassment. Put this policy in writing as part of your employee handbook that employees have to read and sign.
Establish a process for handling harassment complaints. Since employees are often harassed by supervisors, the supervisor shouldn’t be the only person employees can talk to. Let employees know they can come to you or another trusted manager who will be impartial.
If a complaint occurs, take action quickly. You should talk to the employee making the complaint, the person accused of harassing them, and anybody else that can provide information (for example, others in the same department).
Keep complaints confidential as much as possible.
Create an atmosphere of open communication. If Joe’s suggestive comments are making Jane uncomfortable, she should feel safe telling him to stop. Simply letting coworkers know that attentions are unwanted can nip a situation in the bud before it becomes a formal complaint.
Be proactive. You’re the boss, so if you see or hear something that could cause a problem (like a pinup calendar on an employee’s wall), don’t wait for an employee to file a complaint. Take the offender aside and resolve the situation one-on-one.

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Sexual Harassment and Sales: What to Do and What Not to Do

What do Harvey Weinstein, Roy Price, and other not so well-known men have in common? They were accused of sexual harassment at work and ultimately lost their jobs. Does this mean that women won’t be subject to this kind of mistreatment in the future? I’m not so sure. If you’re a woman in the world of sales, you need to be prepared for these situations. They’re not going away.

Liquor and business are a bad combination

I was once being considered for a big promotion. I was at an annual meeting where the senior leader was also attending. My mentor told me that the leader was going to speak with me at some point during the meeting to interview me for the new job. There was an evening function with an open bar, and that’s where the senior manager approached me to see if we could talk. He suggested we meet in his room.

You’re probably thinking, “Danger, Will Robinson!” or something to that effect. I was young and unsure of corporate protocol, but I trusted my mentor. Certainly he would have known where the interview was going to be held.

We went to the senior leader’s room. I scanned the room and found the chair that could seat just one person. That one person was me. I quickly saw that this senior leader had too much to drink. The interview consisted of a monologue about how powerful he was and how he could fire me in an instant if he wanted to. I remember thinking, “What has this got to do with the job he’s considering me for?” and “What a jerk he is.”

I asked questions about the job, and he quickly changed the subject back to the most important person in the room—him. I realized this interview was going nowhere. I said, “Well, this has been interesting, but I’ve got to get back to the meeting.” I left and told my mentor what happened; he was shocked and angry. I later learned that this senior leader was on shaky ground and was sidelined from future promotions. Today he probably would have been fired.

Create the right environment or cut it short

My first mistake was agreeing to go to this man’s room. I didn’t think that he was a predator, and I didn’t realize he had been drinking. I should not have had to consider either issue, but I should have considered both. I should have said, because of the possibility of him being a predator, “Let’s talk somewhere else like the lobby (or somewhere more quiet and still public). That would be better.”

Avoid putting yourself in a situation that could become unprofessional, especially when you are alone. Stop the meeting immediately when you realize that the person has had too much to drink. Never agree to a business discussion with someone who has had too much to drink.

Nip it immediately

Some harassment, however, is not sexual harassment. I once worked for a manager with an uncontrollable temper—he would yell at anyone who displeased him. In one meeting he yelled a threat to a male engineer unless he did what the manager wanted him to do. The threat was so vulgar I can’t even repeat it. I asked the engineer later why he allowed the manager to speak to him that way. The engineer replied, “He didn’t mean it. “ I replied, “He did.”

I was caught off guard the first time I was inappropriately yelled at by this manager. Many months later, when the manager yelled at me again, I immediately shut him down. I said in a very controlled voice, “If you can’t talk in a civil tone, I don’t need to listen.” He yelled, “You can come back when you’re less emotional.” I replied, “I’ll come back when you’re less emotional.” I left his office. He never yelled at me again. My mistake was not stopping the bad behavior immediately. Bullies have targets. Don’t allow yourself to be the target.

I hope your sales organization is free of harassment. If not, don’t put yourself in a situation where harassment can occur and don’t accept being a target. That’s the best way to focus on your selling.

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Are Holiday Credit Card Promotions Right for You?

Monday, November 20, 2017

My week on Twitter : 1 Favorited, 20 New Followers, 1 Tweet. See yours with http://ift.tt/2gppf0W

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Black Friday Snafus and the Insurance That Fixes Them

Bust or Bargain? 5 Secrets to Black Friday Shopping Success

Mortgage Rates Monday: Steady Leading Up to Thanksgiving

A Crash Course for First-Time Black Friday Shoppers

Sunday, November 19, 2017

What Doesn’t Affect Your Credit Score

A high credit score can be like a healthy weight. You know you want it, but are you doing the right things to achieve it? Some information you thought might influence your credit score simply doesn’t. Let’s look at five things you don’t need to worry will hurt your score — and five things that do...

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