Entrepreneur Mindset - A Marketing Article
Being an entrepreneur is different than being an employee. Not only is the work different, but one’s outlook must be completely changed to successfully transition from employee to entrepreneur.
However, keep in mind that there’s no reason to worry. For some, this will be a difficult transition, but it can be done. For others, it will feel as natural as walking barefoot through soft grass. Having the proper mindset is the key to success.
At it’s core, being an entrepreneur means that you need to be able to do these three things: Solve problems creatively, be willing to take risks, and know when to hire professionals. I believe that these three abilities are at the core of any good entrepreneur. Let’s take a look at each.
Creative Problem Solving
Everyone has problems, and many of those problems come up in a work environment. Part of the reason – I suspect – people start their own company is because they can solve a particular problem better than their employer. Or at least they think they can. Many successful companies came about because someone had a creative way to solve a common problem and wrapped a business model around it.
If you find yourself solving problems creatively, with great results, then you probably already have this ability nailed down. You might already have the entrepreneur mindset.
Take Risks
Starting a company is a risk, but the risks don’t stop after the company is set up. Once a company is started, it can be faced with risk after risk. There will be times that you, as a business owner, feel like the whole world is stacked against you and the success of your company. I know from experience that this is not a pleasant feeling.
Regardless, you have to be able to take it. Even if those risks you take have negative consequences, you still have to be willing to take another risk. Being an entrepreneur means that you’re going to have to take a risk from time to time. You should be smart about it, but if you have to take a risk, you have to.
Know When to Bring in the Big Boys
Not everyone is good at everything. Typically, people are good at one thing or a handful of things. In the course of running a business, many, many things need to get done. Sure, you can do it all yourself, but you’ll be starved for time, over-stressed, and you’ll soon start tripping over your vast array of dangerous mistakes.
If you need help, hire a professional. If you’re not an accountant, hire one to do your accounting. If you need to repair your office bathroom – very important – hire someone to do it so it gets done right.
The entrepreneur mindset consists of more than those three traits, but they’re a good place to start. Get a handle on these concepts and you’ll be able to tackle the more complex aspects of entrepreneurship.
———–
This article was published in an online article directory. The page linked to an entrepreneur-focused blog.
Contact Me today for a quote.
How to Choose a Career That’s Right For you - A Marketing Article
Choosing a career isn’t as hard as you might think. It basically boils down to you finding something that you can do for eight hours a day, five days a week. This particular thing may or may not be something you have ever done before. For example, if you have never given an hour-long deep-tissue massage, then you don’t really know if you would enjoy it as a career.
Don’t let that lack of experience stop you from jumping into a potentially great area. Here is how I recommend you explore the question of what you want to do for your career: Picture yourself doing a job day in and day out for years. How does it look? Do you seem bored or happy? Do you look at each day as a chore or is it fun and exciting?
What you don’t want to do is embark on a career simply because you think it would be cool. I made that mistake and ended up being unhappy for years. Instead, what you should do is ask yourself the questions above. And remember that just because you can do a thing doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do that thing for a career.
A job is work, but a career is something you can really get into. That’s what you should be looking for. Find out what the average day would be like for any career path you are considering. Then, take that average day and multiply it out by weeks, months and years. How does is look now? Is it something you can get into?
Finding a career that is right for you is simply a matter of finding something that you would actually like doing day in and day out, and then transforming that into a career. There’s not much out there that kills a career faster than boredom and annoyance at your daily tasks.
Remember, picture yourself doing the job day in and day out. If it feels wrong, or boring, or like a glorified chore, then you might want to just tuck it away and move on to the next potential career on your list.
———–
This is an informative and persuasive article designed to bring visitors to a blog about education and careers.
Contact Me today for a quote.
In the Wrong Career? Start a New One! - Marketing Article
It’s never too late to start a new career. You’re not too old, and you’re not too busy to get your life on track and your career headed where you want to go. Many people aren’t happy with what they do, and if you’re not happy, you don’t have to take it.
Over the years I have seen people wake up and go to a job they hate. They do this as I would image a robot would – going through the day because it’s what they do, because it’s all they do. Don’t be one of those people. If you hate your job and want to do something different, then do it. It will take planning, time, dedication, and even a bit of bravery, but you can do it.
How do you take on a new career? The first and most important step is to actually make the decision to embark on a new career. That might sound like a simple thing, but it’s not. This is the stage where you make the decision to change your life and dedicate yourself to that decision. Many people talk about it, but how many do something about it?
That’s the first step. Dedicate yourself to creating a better situation for yourself. Once you do that, you will have the drive necessary to complete the rest of the process. Then you can find the right kind of training you need for whatever career you want. When you find the right training, you’ll be able to complete the training because you dedicated yourself to it.
The second step is finding the training you need. This part is tricky. What you’ll need to do, once you have decided what career to pursue, is find a school that offers what you need. This presents two potential problems. If you find the perfect school, it might mean you have to move halfway across the country to attend. On the flip side of the issue, the ideal school might be a ten minute drive away, but costs as much as your house. What you need to do is find the right balance between what you can afford, location, and quality of training. Unless you have already found a school that meets your needs, you’re going to have to spend some time researching the issue. Read all you can about your chosen career, training programs in that field, and any financial aid and scholarship programs you can find.
Getting the right training for the right career can make your life more comfortable. Imagine going to work not as a robot, but as a person. A person that likes what they do, who they work with, and who comes home feeling good at the end of the day. If you’re tired of your career, make a positive change and start a new one.
——–
This is a motivational article written for a career and education blog. If you need something like this written for your site, Contact Me today for a quote.
Classic Messenger Bag - A Review Article
The classic canvas messenger bag. How does it measure up as a “get home bag?” In this review, I will be describing the basic features of the bag, and relating those features to my own use of it for carrying gear. I asked the question, “How will this work as a gear bag for use in emergencies?” Here is what I learned.
The first thing I noticed about this bag is that it’s pretty big. For a shoulder bag, it seems like it can hold enough gear to help get you home, or at least to a safer location during an emergency. This bag is an old-fashioned messenger bag, and as such is missing some of the bells and whistles that come on modern bags. But this lack of “modern” features doesn’t detract from this bag’s general usefulness. What you have is a simple bag you can use to carry some basic gear.
The bag is olive drab canvas with a two inch wide non-padded shoulder strap. The strap is stitched to the bag through some reinforcing canvas, so it’s going to stand up to some abuse. The canvas isn’t a hard, burlap-like material, but a soft canvas, similar to jeans. The main compartment doesn’t have a specific enclosure, so it relies on the Velcro flap to hold everything in. The flap attaches to two pockets, which are sized perfectly for carrying an MREs.
If you need to put small items in the bag, I would suggest you do a couple of different things. Inside the main storage compartment, there is a small zippered pocket you can use for small loose items such as spare keys, a multi-tool, or similar. Larger loose items, such as paracord or a backpack first aid kit can go in one of the smaller pockets on the side of the bag. There is one pocket on each side, and a lone snap to secure your items.
Like most bags, this one isn’t waterproof. It can withstand a little bit of rain, but if you’re out in a downpour, your stuff is going to get wet. If you have anything in the bag that doesn’t interact well with water, put it in a zippered plastic bag. That’s a standard thing to do with your gear, so make sure you do it. Matches, pocket survival guides, etc., should all be in plastic bags. This will make your bag easier to organize, your gear will stay in place better, and it will stay dry.
Overall, I think the bag is a fine candidate for a “get home bag.” It’s got room enough for a little bit of gear and some food and water. That should be plenty to get you home, or to some other safe location in case of an emergency. The wide strap – even though it is not padded – makes the bag easy to carry. I filled it up with some books to make it heavy and walked around with it. The wide strap helps tremendously. Even with the bag filled with heavy items, you’ll be able to carry it a long way if you have to.
If you’re looking for a small bag to carry some survival gear in your car or keep at the office, this simple shoulder bag will do the trick. It’s light and durable, and it has enough storage space to carry the gear you’ll need to get through the first stages of a disaster.
[Note: This is a marketing-oriented article that reviews a piece of merchandies, but then links to the item's product page -- an online survival gear shop -- in the resources section of the page. It was published in an article directory.
Contact Me and we'll talk about your marketing goals.]
Life as a Programmer – Advice for New Programmers - Marketing Article
Programming really isn’t such a bad job. Nor is it always such a walk in the park. After over a decade in the business, I’m spilling the beans, so to speak, on the programming world. You won’t find anything revolutionary here. What you will find is experience and some basic advice for those of you thinking about a career in programming.
Programming is a job like any other, but there are some perks to it. Typically, you’ll get a desk, computer, a decent chair, and even some air conditioning. Right off the bat, that sounds like a comfortable work environment. To be honest, it’s not bad. You sit and you think and type. You draw flowcharts, analyze data, and play with a database. All in all, it’s really not bad. Basically, you will get paid for three things: Thinking, typing, and solving problems.
Now for the rough part. This is something that many programmers have to learn to deal with early in their career. Some are fine with this circumstance, but others are not. Many large corporations severely restrict your computing freedom, and they do so with antiquated systems. Sure, you’ll have a great desktop computer, but you may find yourself interfacing with mainframe systems as old as you are. The company has to get all their money’s worth out of that system before upgrading, after all. Don’t be surprised if you run into a severe lack of creativity, corporate red tape, and dull-looking cubicles.
If you are looking for a career in programming, I have some basic advice for you. First of all, specialize in something. I have found from experience that it’s harder to find a job if you have some skill in a lot of things, than if you have great skill in one or two things. Pick an area of programming and learn all you can about it.
Second, have some online samples of your work when you go for job interviews. Even if you don’t look at the examples during the interview, the prospective employer can check them out later and see what kind of work you do. This is especially helpful when you are just breaking into the business. If you don’t have actual work experience, a live portfolio of samples can make you shine.
Finally, I would advise you to seek out smaller companies. Sure, you might not get paid as much or get great benefits, but there can be some perks to make up for that. In a smaller company, there are typically fewer rules. There aren’t any large committees meeting to determine how you should spend your day. You should work, yes, but you might be able to do it how you want, instead of how some committee wants you to do it. Going right along with that, you might get some creative license in your projects. If you don’t have a group of non-programmers telling you how to program, you can cut loose a little and create some really great software.
Don’t let the job market scare you. Right now, at the time of this writing, tech jobs are a bit scarce, and most of them are underpaid. Though that’s no reason to pursue something else if what you really love is programming. Programming can be a nice job if you take your time to specialize and find a place where you fit.
——–
This article was published in an online article directory. Its purpose is to drive traffic to a site about careers and education. Contact Me today for a quote.