Successful Blog

Is Your Past Keeping You from Your Future?

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binoculars-1209011_640When you are looking for a new job or even trying to hold on to the one you have, should you have worries about your past?

For some, skeletons in their closet can end up being much more damaging than they first may think. As a result, they end up not getting the job they want. In fact, their career goals may disappear because of their past.

Given today’s digital age, it is easier than ever for people to run into trouble due to the Internet. If someone digging on you finds some information they don’t like, will they use it against you?

To do your best to avoid any major roadblocks in your career, try and see what people are saying about you.

Knowing What is in Your Record?

When you are thinking about pursuing a new job or even maintaining the one you have, don’t let your past stand in the way.

To know what others may have discovered about you, the time may be now for performing a background check.

By doing such a check, you can see if one or more things are hindering you from getting where you want to be in your career.

Have you ever considered doing a license plate search? If not, doing one may surprise you.

A few unpaid tickets in your past could come back to haunt you in more ways than one. Not only may authorities be seeking you, but what if you apply for a job that involves driving a company vehicle? If you have one or more unpaid traffic tickets, they could keep you from getting that position.

Even if a background check or license plate search doesn’t show any gaffes, take stock moving forward. You may have been setting yourself up for trouble and not even realizing it.

So, what are some things that could be preventing you from moving forth with your career? Among them:

  • Attitude – Do you have a negative attitude towards work and co-workers? Although you may not admit to this, it may very well be the one thing holding you back. If it is, better to change it now and not regret it later. Although you do not have to be a cheerleader at work, you should take each day as a chance to improve you and the company.
  • Effort – While no one expects you to work 80 hours a week, do you have trouble making it even through 40 hours? If so, it can end up reflecting in a bad way on your performance. In some cases, employees must go that extra mile because a project needs to get done for a client or clients. As such, it is important that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work whatever is necessary. In doing so, you will oftentimes catch the eye of your employer too.
  • Goals – Although employees should not use any job as a stepping stone to the next one, many do. That said having career goals is critical to your ability to succeed. As an example, don’t come across as someone who thinks they know it all. Face it; even employees in the workforce for decades are still learning on a daily basis. This is especially the case given the ever-changing role of technology at many jobs. Always make it your goal to improve your skills year after year.

In looking to secure your future, make sure your past doesn’t end up holding you back.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web

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Learning Chinese Pays Benefits

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the-chinese-wall-2174275_640With the business growth China has seen, it only makes sense that many businesses have an eye on the Orient.

If a business is setting up shop there, they want to make sure employees they bring in know language and culture. With China the second largest economy, there are opportunities for foreign investment.

With that in mind, how are you best-served as someone traveling to China to do business or study?

Going Online to Begin Your Journey

Like with much everything else in life these days, using the Internet to help guide you is a great place to start.

The worldwide web has an infinite amount of information, some of which can be beneficial to employers, employees, students and more. By tracking down the right info, you can put yourself in a better position to succeed at home and even abroad.

If you’re an employee or student who will be traveling to China, don’t wait until the last-minute to learn. Being prepared ahead of time can give you an advantage over others.

Among the areas of most importance:

  • Language
  • Culture
  • Laws
  • Finding medical help if necessary

By using the Internet, you will be better prepared to take on any challenges you will face in your new home. Whether going to China on a temporary or long-term basis, educate yourself on this part of the world.

With Chinese lessons online, you can educate yourself before arriving there.

When you team up with the right learning tool to learn Chinese, look for one that offers the following:

  • Teachers instructing students in Chinese as a second language and Chinese literature.
  • Instruct you in Chinese online as they would if you were in attendance in a classroom.
  • Online hours that meet your schedule needs.
  • Affordable pricing.

Keep in mind that you need a laptop or desktop computer, a headset, and the ability to connect to the web. Once those needs are all met, you’re on your way.

Making Your Life Work in China

When relocating to China or any other country for that matter, be sure to assimilate to the local culture.

Not only is it important to learn the language, but also the cultural differences.

From greeting locals to words that could be offensive, do your best to educate yourself.

It is a good idea to try and reach out to people you may know in the U.S. from China or the country you plan to live in. By talking to them, you can pick up some tips on your upcoming travels.

Among them:

  • How to greet locals.
  • What parts of the country you will be staying in are the safest to travel to?
  • What foods and entertainment will most likely meet your tastes?
  • Where to go if you are in need of medical or legal help.

If the time comes for you to relocate to China or elsewhere in the world, educate yourself as much as possible.

In doing so, your experiences are much more likely to be positive ones.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

 

Is Your Small Business on Shaky Financial Ground?

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calculator-428294_640 (1)As you sit back for a moment and assess where your small business is, are you happy with what you see?

For countless small business owners, there is much to be happy about. Hard work and smart financial decisions have left them with healthy businesses.

On the flip side of the coin, you have some small business owners who are far from running healthy brands.

For whatever the reason may be, they are struggling to make ends meet. As a result, times are tough to say the least.

That said how can you position your small business to be as healthy as possible when it comes to finances?

Lower Your Debts and Boost Your Income

So that you are in the best possible financial position you can be now, keep in mind these pointers:

  1. Income

You want to be making as much income as possible as you run your company.

With that in mind, how do you get by when times are tough?

You have to figure on there being some down times throughout your business run. As a result, having the all-important rainy day fund to get you by is crucial.

Your income is also of course affected by how much outreach you do. This is especially the case in trying to get new customers to come aboard. If you are doing very little in marketing and advertising, how can you expect consumers to know about you? Even if you have to trim your promotional budget from time to time, do not drop it altogether.

Also make it a point to encourage your current customer base to help you recruit new customers.

By providing the former with loyalty rewards, they are more likely to spread the word.

  1. Debts

Although you would love to be clear of all debts, you more than likely can’t say that is the case. As such, it is important that you manage your debts.

One of the ways to go about this is by making sure all your business and personal taxes are up to date. There’s nothing worse than owing a lot of money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

One means in discovering such unpleasant news is to do a free federal tax lien search online.

Such a search allows you to discover if you do in fact owe the government money. If that is the case, paying it off as soon as possible is your best move. Otherwise, you could end up in a worst-case scenario of losing everything.

Once that online search does in fact show you owe money, do your best to set up a payment plan. By doing so, you show the IRS that you are not walking away from your financial responsibilities.

  1. Growth

Knowing when the right time may be to grow your small business can of course prove a challenge.

With that in mind, always have a focus on what your industry trends are. This includes if there is current growth, decline, and some mergers and acquisitions. By being adept to what is going on, you are better suited to make decisions about your own company.

If you do decide now in fact is the time to grow your brand, be sure to have the financial assets necessary.

In the event you are tight on money, you may consider asking a family member or friend to invest in your business. If so, be sure to do it in a professional manner as you would with a stranger. By keeping everything professional, there’s less chance of a breakdown in the relationship.

For you to do as much as possible to keep your business from being on shaky financial ground, be smart.

The better you are in making financial decisions, the better odds your business has in sticking around.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

Know Those Who Come into Your Life

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women-1209678_640With all the people who will likely come into your life over the years, can you say all them are good for you?

Often, those people will contribute to your life in one form or another. Those positives experiences are things you can look back on in life one day with a smile.

Meantime, there will be some individuals who will not be as positive an influence in your life.

In those situations, could you have avoided such negative encounters to begin with?

Well, no is the answer in some cases. This is especially the case when you bump into people for no clear reason.

In other cases, yes, you may very well have been able to avoid such unpleasant situations.

One of the ways to have steered clear of these situations would have been by doing a background check.

Are Background Checks Worth Your Time?

When it comes to background checks, you may very well discover they are in fact worth your time.

For instance, are you looking at entering the world of online dating?

While the same holds true for both sexes, women need to be especially careful in today’s online dating world.

Stories of dates gone tragically bad are on televisions, newspapers, and even online.

If you are talking to someone and considering meeting, doing a background check on them is fine.

Another example is to know more about that neighbor.

Sure, many people don’t have time to know their own family and friends, let alone who lives across the street.

That said a background check of a neighbor you have some questions about can’t hurt.

By entering a name into one of the background check services, you should turn up information.

Among the items of curiosity would be if they have a criminal record.

If so, are any of the crimes noteworthy for you and your family?

Crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assaults and the like would be of interest.

By knowing more about who comes into your life, you are better off to make decisions about who to associate with.

Should You Check Yourself?

If curiosity has you going, you might even go online for a background search of yourself.

This can be even more important when you are applying for a job, a loan or any number of other major steps in your life.

In knowing what is out there about you, you can be better prepared should someone question you. This tends to be much better than being off guard during a job interview or when applying for a home or car loan.

Such background searches are easy to do. Even someone who is not Internet savvy can handle such efforts.

As employers may use background checks in hiring employees, you should consider them.

Given the information you may very well come across, you might find it to be an eye-opening experience.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

 

 

Give Your Brand More Punch by Adding Blogging

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bar-621033_640Is your brand kind of stuck in a rut at the moment? If so, what plans do you have to change that moving forward?

For many business owners, their brands are not where they’d like them to be right now. In fact, some are in trouble of dipping into the red when it comes to their finances. If that happens, getting out of that mess can prove quite cumbersome.

That said what are you doing to give your brand more punch?

For some, this means more marketing and advertising initiatives. Others, meantime, will turn to their products and services to see if they need improvement.

No matter how you deliver more bang for your dollar, it is important that you. With all the competition you are facing, standing pat oftentimes is a recipe for disaster.

Look at Your Website

One of the first areas of attention when looking to give your brand more punch is turning to your website.

In reviewing it, go over the following areas:

  • Credible and relevant information – How informative is your website? Does it provide consumers with all the details they would want to know about your business? If the answer is no, this is one area that demands your attention. One way to give out more information is having a credible blog (see more below). If blogging has been non-existent with your brand up to now, change that detail moving ahead.
  • Ease of use – How easy would you say your website is to use for visitors? If they feel like they’re traipsing through a maze more times than not, they’re likely not coming back. Doing regular reviews of your website is not only a good idea, it is a necessity. By doing your best to find cracks in its armor, you will lessen the odds of visitors being one-and-done guests.
  • Proper contact information – Do you make it simple for your online visitors to contact you? Make sure your company contact info is in an easy area to find. By doing so, you won’t have consumers jumping through hoops trying to reach out to you.
  • Google ranking – Finally, do you know where your company’s website ranks in online searches? If not, you should get up to speed on this all-important ranking. A strong ranking helps bring more consumers when they search for the products you offer. It can be easy to work your way up the rankings with sound search engine optimization (SEO) practices.

Blogging Your Way to Success

In mentioning blogging a little earlier, it is important to keep in mind how big of a deal your blog is.

For instance, are you doing any guest blogging on other sites? What about having guest bloggers write for your site? By reviewing guest blogging prospects, you can open up a new world of brand opportunities.

While many stick to writing all their own material, it never hurts to allow guest bloggers. In fact having some different bloggers on your site helps in several ways.

First, you bring a different tone and style to the writing on your blog. Second, those guest writers could be some of the top experts in your particular industry. Third, they are more apt to share their posts they write for you with others. By using social media, they can open your business up to countless other B2C and B2B customers.

So, don’t be afraid to blog your way to success before you know it.

As a business owner, are you doing all you can to bring more punch to your brand?

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web

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What to Do if an Employee Won’t Go Quietly

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workplace-1245776_640When business owners let an employee go, it is not an easy task to undertake in most cases.

Whether the individual was there for years or only a few months, you are still removing someone from a job.

You also have to take into consideration if dismissing that employee could lead to a lawsuit.

With that being the case, layoffs and firings can go down in many different ways.

He or she may actually find happiness for one reason or another to be leaving your business.

On the flip side, there are those individuals who decide they do not want to go in peace. When this occurs, you could very well have a problem on your hands.

In running your business, how do you go about telling an employee that their time with you is over?

Steps to Take Before and After a Dismissal

Even though letting a worker go may be the toughest thing you have to do, you can learn from each experience.

As you mull over whether to let the individual go, keep these questions in mind:

As you mull over whether to let the individual go, keep these questions in mind:

  • Am I letting them go due to work performance, budgetary constraints, or both?
  • Could dismissing this employee lead to positive or negative changes in office morale?
  • Is there a chance the employee will not go in peace?

Never feel intimidated about a layoff or firing. That said you are wise to think about the ramifications of dismissing them.

Once you have initiated the dismissal, what do you do if in fact there is any negative fallout?

If the fallout is from his or her co-workers, you’re best-served by addressing why the move took place.

Even though you do not owe the other employees a reason, you more times than not might be better off doing so.

Safeguarding Your Workplace

In the rare instances when an employee doesn’t want to go away, business owners have few options.

For example, what if the former employee continues to contact the office by phone or email?

If they chose the former, you may not know it is them behind hang-up calls.

You could opt for a reverse phone lookup, allowing you to see where the call is originating from. Such a move will help you pin down whom is on the other line.

If the calls continue, you are often left with no other choice than to get law enforcement involved.

While you could also send out a warning letter threatening legal action, it may not be enough to stop the calls.

If the former employee threatens you or other staff, take the threats seriously.

The last thing you want is a tragic preventable situation unfolding.

When any threats come via email or by letter, you have more evidence on-hand to pursue legal action.

Unlike hang-up calls, written threats prove to be better evidence.

If you discover there is a credible threat against your workplace contact authorities.

While many such threats never result in actions, don’t dismiss them.

Running a business is taxing enough for most. This is especially the case when it comes to keeping companies afloat.

Your financial well-being can be taxed even more so when the layoff or firing process does not go smoothly.

When you’ve said goodbye to one or more employees, make it clear the move is final.

By handling it the proper way on your end, you can oftentimes sidestep potential problems.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.