Starting your own business makes you more vulnerable financially. When you have a steady job with a regular paycheck, it’s tempting to thinking that the entrepreneurial route is much riskier. While there is a certain amount of truth in this, the brutal facts of today’s economy is that no employee is 100% secure in a salaried position. Even high-level executives are only a “you’re fired” away from having to look elsewhere. As an entrepreneur, you do assume more risk, but you also assume a much greater amount of control, so much that it often puts you in a more secure position than working as an employee. Also, being the head of your own company allows you to move the company’s money around, meaning that you can grow your business during the good times and shift more revenue into salaries during lean times, a luxury that employees never have.
Starting your own business is prohibitively expensive. Although it’s certainly true that some large enterprises require enormous amounts of start-up funding, an often overlooked fact is that many others do not. In today’s internet age, starting a company costs about $10/year to register a domain name and about $100/year for basic hosting services. From there, you can build using your initial revenue, not your investor’s pocketbook. This model works especially well for blogs and information-based products that have no overhead such as printing, manufacturing, or shipping. You can begin selling your knowledge as an eBook or blog post today, using advertising or paid subscriptions for revenue, and then use your revenue to print physical books down the road to sell on your store, so to speak. You can even add Amazon products to your store via the Amazon affiliate program, and start making money immediately for selling other people’s products.
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CNN recently offered a special report on small mistakes that can lead to big losses in your job search. Here is a selected review inspired by their most helpful tips:
CNN recently offered a special report on small mistakes that can lead to big losses in your job search. Here is a selected review inspired by their most helpful tips:
While most people warn to avoid dating your co-workers like the plague, a recent survey from Glamour shows that almost 41% of Americans have been involved in some sort of romantic relationship with a co-worker. This high number is understandable – after spending so much time with your co-workers, it’s only natural that you find you have a lot in common.
Within an office environment, there are many types of relationships. There are the bosses that you can barely stand to sit through a meeting with, and those whom you don’t know what you would do without. If you’re particularly close to one of your superiors, stop and consider whether he or she is a mentor or a crutch. A mentor is somebody who will help you to succeed based on your own merits; whereas a crutch tries to help you by taking care of things that you feel unconfident about. If you find that you have a friend who you go to for help with every little problem, you may be hurting your career by your overdependence.
If you’ve been trying to have a child, finding out that you’re pregnant is a great feeling. Unluckily, it may provoke some less-than-ecstatic feelings in your co-workers. Whether they assume that you’ll turn in to a weepy bundle of pregnancy stereotypes or are worried about having to cover for you during attacks of morning sickness, it’s important to manage your pregnancy such as not to put any undue burden on your co-workers and boss.
It’s been a productive 2011 for you, and your performance review was all congratulations and slaps on the back. But did you come out of that office with a promotion, bonus, or raise? If not any of the above, here’s how to turn those congratulations to cold hard cash.
If you haven’t already seen it, The Iron Lady, a film about the life of Margaret Thatcher, came out in theaters at the end of December. The biopic tells the story of her life from young adulthood to her eventual decline into dementia. Margaret Thatcher’s transformation from a young idealist into one of the most powerful figures of the 20th century is an example that many working women today continue to emulate.
Every day, the average worker sees 1,387,469,000 PowerPoint presentations. Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating, but the number is high enough to send even the most caffeinated among us in to a sleepy haze by the end of the day. Nobody really loves PowerPoint, but is there another way to give a presentation requiring numbers and figures? We think yes.
If you’re feeling discouraged in your search for a new job, the new year can be a great time to relax, recharge, and refresh your vision and goals for the coming months. If you put your job search aside during the holidays, coming back to it now will give you a fresh perspective and renewed energy for the task at hand. If you didn’t take a break over the holidays, consider taking one now. Even a few days of rest will help you reset for a renewed effort at finding a job.