It's all over the news. The Coronavirus pandemic is causing, and rightly so, several business and organizations to pause, postpone, or even outright cancel events.
This is important to help flatten the curve of the pandemic spread in relation to our health care systems to keep up with the demands of the outbreak. However, if you're a service in the gig economy it can be a tough time. Especially when much of your income may rely on events or large gatherings of people. For example, an Uber driver who does a lot of business near an airport, or a musician who performs regularly at live events in local/regional clubs. These are workers who's daily income is greatly affected by the canceling of events. However, they may also be some of the most at risk to contract the virus if they put themselves needlessly in the middle of such gatherings. It's important to be safe and stay home for a period of time if at all possible, but that can make it tough for freelancers to earn a full living. This is why it makes sense for freelancers and other gig economy workers to diversify their revenue streams. Sole reliance on one income stream that requires being in-person with large groups of people or similar situations clearly limits an individual's ability to earn when that method is taken away. This is where it makes sense for freelancers to offer several online services that can help bring in revenue without the need to be in-person. Here are some ideas:
You can start easily freelancing your services on a platform like Fiverr.
Need more resources during this Coronavirus pandemic? Check out this post.
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Enjoy this guest post from Amy Collett, the creator of Bizwell.org, a website that helps professionals and entrepreneurs build and strengthen their personal brand. She is the author of the upcoming book, "You, Exemplified: The Role of Personal Branding in Your Professional Life." When she isn’t helping clients boost their careers or businesses, she enjoys coaching her daughter’s soccer team and training to become a yoga instructor. -Nick Venturella, owner, tinycareer.com Circumstances may vary, but sometimes it makes the most sense to invest in ourselves, and start our own businesses from home. Working from home will save you on the costs of commuting and office rentals, but it does have some challenges. Here is what you need to know to start a successful business from the comfort of your own house. Starting Out The first thing to do is to decide what you want to focus in. What are your skills? In what areas do you excel? How can you apply those skills to niches that are untapped or waiting to be expanded? Often, if you have skills in a certain area, becoming a consultant is the logical choice. You can apply your knowledge and experience to others and help them fulfill their needs and achieve their goals while earning a living for yourself Once you know your point of focus, create a website delineating your skills and your past successes. The most pressing issue, once your area of focus is established, will be finding clients. Think about whatever existing network of communication you have and take time to map it out. How do your current relationships fit into your business? It’s going to take a lot of time making phone calls and drafting emails, but with this network established, you may be able to grow it and find new customers. Things may be tight at first, but hosting or speaking at events for free early on can get you exposure and may earn you some good contacts. Think Outside the Box If becoming a consultant isn’t a good fit, or you are still trying to pin down your niche, consider alternative ways to work from home. These could be anything from being a virtual assistant to something more active, such as pet sitting. You can set your own prices and schedule, which can allow you more time to research your business and be choosy about what pets you sit, from breed to size to age. You typically make a good living doing so, and you may even create connections for further down the line. Staying Productive The most important aspect of staying productive is your mindset. Having a workstation, such as a desk, that is designated only for your business can help you get into “work mode.” Just as you would with a traditional office, have a structured beginning and end for your work time. Take breaks at regular intervals, as this helps your brain recharge and refresh. Don’t spend your whole time sitting, either. By getting up, even just to stretch or walk in place, you can help your brain stay focused. One thing some people find effective is to give themselves treats after meeting goals they set for themselves. Reward yourself in a way that makes sense for you. Lastly, make sure you’re turning off distractions. That means no Facebook, unless it’s your business account, and then only answering client questions or posting relevant information. No funny cat videos, and no catching up with family or friends. Do that on your break. Essential Equipment For starters, you’ll need a good office to keep productivity up. Get a desk that fits in your work area, and make sure you have a comfortable chair. You may need storage space for your business materials, so be certain that your desk has the space. If not, add to your capacity with cabinets. You’ll need the right business tools to stay on top of your workload, and to make things easier. Familiarize yourself with Google Docs and Dropbox, as this will be a necessity. Trello and Asana can help you stay organized, and Slack is a good way to keep connected with clients. Do some research to figure out which tools will work best for your business. Becoming a freelancer, a consultant, or working from home in any capacity is an exciting opportunity. However, you need to be prepared before you start. Do your research, make a good workspace, and stay focused. You can do this. You will need to familiarize yourself with some basic, but vital lessons about the stock market, as a beginner interested in successfully trading in stocks, way before you start acquiring or selling off stocks in the stock market. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that before you think about buying or selling on the stock market, you will need to consider a few important factors to become profitable when it comes to investing hard cash in stock trading. All traders, even the leading professionals included, started out where you are, at the very beginning. Taking the time to learn more about stock trading as a beginner is the only way you can get to a point where you can invest your cash without being overly paranoid. There are numerous free online stock trading courses specifically designed for those starting out. These courses give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with valuable investment lessons needed to enlighten your view of this interesting segment of the financial markets. Cost Free Beginner Stock Trading Courses As an aspiring trader starting out in the world of stock trading, there are many free courses for you to consider, as I mentioned earlier. In reality, when it comes to investing with your own cash there are no shortcuts, that’s why you need to familiarize yourself with the technical terms commonly used by industry professionals. Internet Brokers Hiring a stock broker online is your best solution, if you want to invest without shouldering the hassle associated with acquiring in depth knowledge of the markets. However, hiring an internet broker is not the best solution if you want to earn a substantial level of income or make trading a full time occupation; you should pursue the necessary beginner investment education. If you have no knowledge of stock markets, you should not undertake any trades. Previously acquired knowledge plays a huge role in the mountains of money you see some investors raking in from successful trades. Stock trading is risky; the stock trading basics you learn come in handy especially when it comes to choosing stocks worth investing in. You should add the best stock alerts to ensure you are always in control. In Summary It’s important to note that you should only put your hard earned cash into trading after comprehensively familiarizing yourself with the inner workings of the stock market, even though it can make you a substantial amount, whether on a part-time or full time basis. The only way to build a successful stock trading portfolio is to kick start your investment journey with an investment into your education by signing up for a beginner course online. Hiring a marketing person is a major challenge for any small business. Even medium-sized companies may have a difficult time finding the right person. The decision to hire a full-time marketing specialist is a sign that the company has reached a certain revenue milestone. This decision triggers an increase in your operational costs, as you have to pay the salary of this person. Your newly established, one-man show marketing department can bring you a profit that exceeds the expense of having them on board. Nonetheless, you should keep in mind that the opposite is also possible -- when your marketing department consists of one or two persons, the risk of hiring the wrong people can have disastrous consequences. At Creative Niche, we are specialists that help companies find the best marketing professionals to suit their specific needs, industry and business profile. We have a wealth of experience in finding the best match for both companies and marketing professionals in search of a new career challenge. This experience has enabled us to understand how good marketing can influence the development and sales of various companies. We are also aware of the most common mistakes many companies make in trying to find the most suitable person for this important position. Many business managers, for instance, make the decision to hire a full-time marketing professional when they may be better off with a part-time employee or even with a contractor to hire on a project basis. These two options are sometimes more reasonable from a financial standpoint. Other times, although the decision to hire a full-time person is fully justified, the manager overlooks the fact that different marketers tend to have different skills, and finding one who excels at everything is very difficult, if not impossible. All this being said, here are three tips that might help you narrow your search and the the most suitable marketing expert for your organization: Have A Search Strategy The first question you should ask yourself is this: what are the most important marketing goals of your organization that would secure the success of your business? The ultimate benefit of your marketing efforts should be a sales increase, but this can only be achieved one step at a time. This might imply attending trade shows and business events in order to get to meet your target customers face to face. It might also imply creating compelling content that can strengthen your authority in a specific topic or area of expertise. Hiring the right person isn't possible without a clear understanding of the strategic objectives he or she will have to help you achieve. Search For A Specific Set Of Skills Decide whether you want a generalist or a specialist. Also, define the specific skills and expertise the ideal person would need to have in order to do the job. Do you need someone to take care of your event planning activities, or someone to write great copy that attracts leads and boosts conversion rates? Does your business cater to other businesses or to consumers, or is it a non-profit organization? All these considerations should enable you to have a clear picture of the skills and assets your ideal marketing person should possess. Always keep in mind that different marketers may have different skills. you can't hire a corporate lawyer to handle the tasks of an HR lawyer. Similarly, you shouldn't hire an expert in setting up and managing Google AdWords campaigns to write copy for your website, or to design your marketing brochures. Take Time To Write A Good Job Description If you create an inaccurate job description or you give recruiters the wrong information, chances are you're never going to find the right person for the job. The more honest and specific you are, the greater your chance to find the right marketing person. If you want more help with achieving your goal then check out this guide on tricks to get hired from Four Seasons Recruitment All of these things will help you out and aid your efforts in hiring the right person for the job. Enjoy this guest post from Julie Morris, a career and life coach. Visit her site at juliemorris.org -Nick Venturella, owner, tinycareer.com Sometimes you just need something fun to try. You’re tired of plopping down on the couch for Netflix every night, and you can’t remember the last time you were challenged. It’s fun to lie around for a while, but you’re ready for more. Here are a few ideas to get you off that couch and into the real world. Learn to Play a Musical Instrument Let’s start with one of the best new skills around: learning to play a new musical instrument. This is a skill that lasts a lifetime, and you won’t be sorry you invested the time and money to do it well. Be consistent in practicing and before you know it, you’ll impress your family and friends with what you can do. Online lessons make this easy today. Just search for lessons for the instrument you want to play and get started. You can also easily buy instruments online to use. Don’t overlook used instruments - many still have a lot of life left in them and you’ll get them at a cheaper price. Don’t be afraid to wheel and deal either. If you find an instrument you like online, make an offer and you may save some money. Whether you’re looking for a trumpet, clarinet, saxophone or something else, you will likely be able to find what you need. Learning to play an instrument can also give you another benefit - socialization. As you get better at playing, you’ll naturally want to play with others. Whether that is in a community band, just jamming with friends or even starting your own group, music can take you on a journey you won’t regret. Writing Physical Letters In our day and age, we have lost what it means to put pen to paper, write an actual, physical letter and send it to a friend. Remember the feeling of opening up the mailbox and seeing an envelope with your name written on it? Pick a few friends to write, or there are also plenty of online sites where you can sign up to find a pen pal. You can look for an international pen pal, someone who speaks a language you’re trying to learn, someone who is a student or even someone who might be going through the same kind of experience you are facing. Be careful about posting your address online - you may want to choose a site that doesn’t post your personal information publicly. Start writing some letters, and you never know what you might find on your next trip to the mailbox. Homebrewing Beer In 2017, craft beer passed the 10 percent mark of the overall U.S. beer industry for the first time, showing that Americans love their small-batch beers made in a non-mechanized, traditional manner. Many people love it so much they make their own at home. In fact, it’s a great new hobby if you love craft beer. There are many kits you can buy to get started at home, and many online courses that teach you how to go about making your own beer. You start with just four ingredients - grain, water, hops and yeast - and you end up with a cold, refreshing beverage. A gallon batch will make about 10 bottles and cost you about the same as a six-pack at the store. Now that you have a few ideas, there’s no excuse not to hop up from the couch and learn a new skill that will make you a more well-rounded person. There’s so much out there to see and do even beyond this list. You may even make some friends once you put yourself out there. Photo from Unsplas Let’s start-- here’s why and how you can become a data analyst. 1 - Starting is easy Data Analytics. Those words actually explain the relationship of coding frameworks including Java, C, or Scala, Python. Nothing will take the place of these for people skilled in them who can create solutions to make a breakthrough. No matter your current career, having a proclivity for getting results and creating a solution makes it simple and enjoyable to learn new coding languages that employers are desperate to hire for. Specializing in these coding languages will increase job prospects. What you should takeaway The internet not only has tons of information on these skills but plenty of certification programs, as well as an endless amount of people who know the importance of, and want to increase their knowledge of, Big Data. Learn to use apache, operate and manage Linux from the command line, learn Hadoop, and the data specific R language. Learn the basics of OOPS and Java. Expand your mind and problem-solving skills with these languages. Tuturialspoint is the best place to find tutorials and resources on Analytics and Big Data while learning the most up to date information on Hadoop and R. 2 - The Most In-Demand Profession Struggling to find qualified professionals with quality experience. Seventy-five percent of IoT employers are looking for workers. Big Data isn't going anywhere, it is only going to be in more demand as we connect more with the internet and interface with various devices in new and complicated ways. In 2018 and years to come, the above facts and figures show the growth in this industry, it shows the opportunity to create a long-lasting, interesting, high paying career. What to takeaway There are 3 major types of Data Analytics jobs available, and they are as follows: Predictive Analytics, Prescriptive Analytics, and descriptive statistics. Choosing a niche and specializing will create an advantage over other hopeful employees. 3 - Domain Opportunities/Multi-industry Popular companies like the Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, EMC, Software AG, IBM, Dell and HP have a greater than 15 billion investment into analytics data management creating an instant increase in demand for workers with Big Data skills. Workers are needed for all aspects of analytics. Creating a job scarcity that you need to fill. Your takeaway Healthcare, education, manufacturing, real estate and retail all benefit from Big Data Analytics. Creating money saving, profit adding solutions, also allows for objective data-based decision making throughout a myriad of industries. Matching your skills with industries that interest you allows you to use your specialized skills in an environment that you favor. 4 -Salaries are competitive 2018 shows that the top five IT jobs are in the field of analytics. The median salary for a data architect is $122,000. It's $109,000 for data managers, and engineers are at $105,000. The focus moving towards Big Data has created more high paying jobs taking the emphasis away from generic coding and web development. Your Takeaway Younger people having grown up in the fact checking world of Google are more logically nurtured by nature. They are often good with technology from an early age. They grow up in education environments that focus on communication and group work. These young people are perfect for the field of Big Data where salaries are high, occupational outlook is high and quality of life is even higher. 5 - Techniques and Tools for Data Science Those with a background in statistics and math can easily move over to a Big Data career. Focusing on applied statistics real analysis, numerical analysis, and linear algebra will aid in becoming great in this field. Your Takeaway To stay ahead of Big Data may require a computer science degree with coding skills in python, SQL and hive. Some enter Big Data from purely a mathematical background, but coding skills are needed. 6 - Customer Relationship/Enhance Retailer Removing the in the dark guesswork by having real data allows for better decision making and better insights into customer behavior. B2B businesses are a perfect fit for Big Data Analytics. User-driven experiences, fluid environments bespoke to the user, and evidence-based segmentation are all the drivers of Big Data for large and small businesses looking for an edge to improve customer relationship by providing what customers need, want and will likely desire. Your Takeaway Creating customer loyalty, by using specific data and personalizing marketing tactics will help brands operate in the light of data creating immediate value and long-term relationships of value exchange. 7 - Authority Your analysis and solutions will be based on data, knowing what works and doesn't work. Gaining insights into the elements that make a business tick, and customers respond. A service that all businesses are looking for. Your Takeaway You, a key member, providing an organization with performance analysis will have a seat with top level executives. Such executives will depend on your knowledge to make important choices about their business and their future. If you’re interested in this career, then read this post on Harnham US. Engineering is a great career and one that has a lot of potential for the future. With young people moving towards this career according to this post from Atkins - here’s what you need to know to set yourself up for success.
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Writing is powerful.
Actually, let me back up. Communication is powerful. The ability to articulate specific thoughts into language that can connect with others is, in part, what makes communication powerful. However, to do that you need a way to deliver those thoughts to others to make connections to learn and grow together. Writing is one tried and true communication delivery method. Writing can allow an author to communicate with a single person or large masses via distributed books, or through websites. When an author has a good grasp on communicating about a particularly useful subject that many others want to consume that author's words become inspiring and sought-after. Mildred Stallworth is such an author. Stallworth’s online writing and published books help to motivate and inspire readers around the world. If you want to understand how writing can effectively communicate to benefit others, be sure to check out Stallworth’s collection of published works.
It was a summer storm.
It was severe. It was quick and violent. High winds, horizontal rain, and hail. Almost a tornado. The next morning it was clear there was roof damage. Damage from the hail? Perhaps. Windswept shingles in the yard confirmed the need for the roof's repair. I walked around the house. We have several mature trees native to Michigan where we live. I made it to the backyard. I noticed a thick branch on the large Maple tree cracked where it connects to the trunk. Then my eyes followed the broken branch to it's tip. The majority of the broken branch had crashed into the roof in the back of our house. Roof damage, for sure. I didn't hesitate. I immediately began searching the internet for quality local roofing contractors in Canton, Michigan. I found Tittle Brothers Construction. A family owned and operated general contractor with plenty of residential and commercial roofing experience. From the moment I contacted Tittle Brothers I felt respected. They explained their process, and were happy to provide a free estimate. The roof got repaired quickly. The quality was excellent. Now, I just hope the forecast remains sunny and 70 the rest of the summer. |
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March 2020
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