Author: anwaryusef

Anwar Y. Dunbar is a Regulatory Scientist. Being a naturally curious person, he is also a student of all things. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology from Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Prior to starting the Big Words Blog Site, Anwar published and contributed to numerous research articles in competitive scientific journals reporting on his research from graduate school and postdoctoral years. After falling in love with writing, he contributed to the now defunct Examiner.com, and the Edvocate where he regularly wrote about: Education-related stories/topics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Financial Literacy; as well as conducted interviews with notable individuals such as actor and author Hill Harper. Having many influences, one of his most notable heroes is author, intellectual and speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of books including Outliers and David and Goliath. Anwar has his hands in many, many activities. In addition to writing, Anwar actively mentors youth, works to spread awareness of STEM careers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, serves as Treasurer for the JCSU Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, and is active in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. He also tutors in the subjects of biology, chemistry and physics. Along with his multi-talented older brother Amahl Dunbar (designer of the Big Words logos, inventor and a plethora of other things), Anwar is a “Fanboy” and really enjoys Science-Fiction and Superhero movies including but not restricted to Captain America Civil War, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Prometheus. He is a proud native of Buffalo, NY.

Six Career Paths For Plumbers

Two focuses of my blog are General Education and Career Discussions. While many sectors are facing the prospect of automation, one career that will probably never go away is that of the Plumber. Likewise there will always be a need for plumbers. The are multiple career options for individuals who hold this unique and valuable skill set. The following contributed post is entitled, Six Career Paths For Plumbers.

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Plumbing can be a very rewarding career for those looking for a career in a skilled trade, with good salaries on offer for skilled plumbers and a real chance to set up in business for yourself. Many of us just think of plumbing as just doing repairs to home plumbing, but there are actually some varied career paths in the industry, from pipefitting to management.

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Licensed Plumber

This path is what most people think of when you mention a plumber. Your training will prepare you to work as a plumbing technician, an apprentice or a licensed plumber, serving a wide variety of clients in commercial, residential and residential properties.

You’ll need to know how to install and maintain different types of water systems and have a knowledge of repairs and installation of sinks, showers and other water using appliances. You’ll diagnose plumbing issues and advise your customers on how best to proceed. You’ll need to source the correct tools and parts from somewhere like plumbersstock.com. Work in this path can be very varied, making it a great starting point for new plumbers hoping to learn about a variety of work.

Pipefitter

You could take a more specialised path in plumbing and become a pipefitter. You’ll need a background in plumbing safety and installation in order to install and maintain piping in industrial and power plants. You’ll be monitoring power generation and heating and cooling systems, as well as system installations for automated controls for these systems.

Steamfitters

If you’re interested in steamfitting, your training will be very similar to the training done by pipefitters, except you’ll need to take some more specialist training to become certified as a steamfitter. Once qualified, you’ll be working on the installation of pipes for the transportation of high-pressure gas.

Pipelayers

If you train as a pipefitter but find you want more of a challenge, than you can take further training to lay pipes, meaning you can be in charge of major pipe works. Your job will involve digging trenches for piping, and then laying the pipes. These pipes may be used to carry drainage, gas, water or sewer systems.

Gas Service Technician

A qualified gas technician is responsible safely delivering has through a site. Home or business owners can bring in a gas technician to install, replace or repair faulty gas equipment, like gas boilers.

You’ll also search for gas leaks, and perform safety tests on displays and other controls.

Project Managers

After a few years in the industry, you could consider becoming a project manager, which put you in a supervisory position over a group of employees within the company you work for. As well as plumbing skills, you’ll need to learn good management skills to run your team.

You’ll be dealing with the day to day undertakings of your team of employees, making sure they’re where they are supposed to be and producing work of an acceptable quality. You can expect higher pay in this position as well as more responsibility.

How Businesses Continually Fail In Their SEO Strategy

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. With so much business being conducted online today, it’s critical for business owners to have some understanding of “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) to maximize their marketing and visibility. The following contributed post is entitled, How Businesses Continually Fail In Their SEO Strategy.

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SEO is the lynchpin by which every important content strategy is developed in 2019, and you can be sure that while seismic shifts in this marketing pattern may occur over the next ten years, its relevance will rarely fall short. That being said, while SEO is a common practice, it can also be ineffective if not practised correctly. While the stakes may not be as high as an advertising campaign causing deep offense and becoming a nightmare for your PR department, there are measures you could take to help you move forward.

However, like any fine-tuned practice, it’s very possible to get SEO more than wrong. This is why even if using the best service such as those provided by Gotch SEO, it’s still important to note what separates good SEO from bad SEO, and what you should be expecting from the use of an expert service.

Thankfully, while there’s a reason specialized services exist to fill this function (and many practitioners of firms such as this can make it look easy), SEO is not deep and intense rocket science. With the following advice, we’ll help you avoid common pitfalls:

Poor Content

Many SEO strategies are delivered through infographics, blogger outreach services, and content creation. Many SEO firms will ally themselves with worthwhile blogs that are independently maintained, allowing for your search terms to be wrapped in worthwhile content that both confidently describes and refers back to your services within a wider context. However, if the content is poorly written, incorrectly backlinked, or over-present within a certain blog, Google algorithms can often penalize said strategy for that, leaving a negative taste in any worthwhile SEO strategy output.

Missed Linking

Missed linking can also be important to consider. If a piece of content fails to link back to a worthwhile landing page, you may lose the potential lead there. If there are too many links to other services or competitive services, you may also lose out. Negative SEO practice and linking approaches can often be found via businesses that continually try to appease their own SEO approach without taking part in the diligent research, and this can lead to somewhat difficult results. Additionally, allowing your linked anchor text to fit within the flow of the context you order is important for writers who will attend to each piece.

Oversaturation

Once a company learns that they can achieve the best SEO practice and potentially deliver a subtle, more relevant, often quite seamless marketing strategy to their potential new customers at a fraction of the cost of bold and extensive campaigns, they are liable to try and use multiple services, continually, in order to saturate content houses with their name. But it’s important not to do this. Using one service, to the best of your ability, you may find that SEO is best when being applied to a real end, such as a promotion, or a new deal, or in order to get your name out there in the first place.

With this advice, you’re sure to continually refine your SEO strategy, and to avoid the common pitfalls that may occur.

Creating The Perfect Marketing Event

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key aspect of your business is its marketing. Sometimes its wise and advantageous to host marketing events. No matter what you’re showing at your marketing event, you want it to be as successful as possible. The following contributed post is entitled, Creating The Perfect Marketing Event.

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Image Credit Pixabay.com License CC0

When it comes to driving your business, one way in which you can do this is by hosting an event that shows your potential customers, business partners, and suppliers who you are and what you are really all about.

A great event can leave everyone who attends in a state of amazement about your business and they may well be excited about everything that you have to offer. They will be looking towards the future and waiting to see what you do next. It is a great way of creating a real buzz around what you do, and what you could do in the future with their support.

Business events can be a great opportunity to unveil something exciting that you might have been working on. Make sure that if you are doing this you providing plenty of anticipation for this part of the event, and building it up in the minds of the attendees.

Budget Effectively

Events can be costly to run and the costings may vary depending on the number of people that you are planning on inviting. First up you will need a suitable venue that is easy to get to, is the right size, and has the right facilities. Make sure that you visit before booking.

You may want to hire caterers for the event, as well as a crew of experienced technicians for operating any sound, lighting, or video equipment. Shop around for quotations on all of these services, but be sure to check on what exactly is on offer.

Events may throw up surprises that you have not budgeted for. Problems that occur as you prepare for the big day may end up throwing you considerably over your budget. A vendor may fall through, and a last minute replacement may mean paying more. Prepare yourself for the fact that things may go wrong and allow a little bit extra spare in your budget for an emergency.

Source Everything That You Need Early

Start buying everything that you need as far in advance as possible. For outdoor events you may need generators, for such important aspects of your event planning, allow lots of time to source everything. Rushing around at the last minute may lead to mistakes being made and everyone involved being stressed and on edge about the event.

Market The Event Well

Although your event is designed to market your business, you will need to make sure that you market your event well. Give your attendees plenty of chance to plan to come. You can send out postal invites as this puts something physical in their hands. You may also want to send emails and take to social media to drum up interest in the event. Try to give some kind of indication of what the event is about and what may be expected, but if you are unveiling a new product or service, be sure and keep the main surprise for the actual event.

Getting people to RSVP is a great idea as it will give you an indication of how many people may actually end up coming, and it also means that your guests will need to demonstrate their commitment to coming ahead of time. You could follow up any invitations which have not had responses with a phone call.

Speeches

Your event needs a core message and you should include interesting and captivating speeches that help you to get this across. Be sure to utilize your most charismatic speaker and try and include relevant video or visual aids to help put the point over. Don’t get bogged down in figures, instead make sure your speeches centre on ideas and concepts.

Management Is Key To Success

The key to a successful event is having the right people in the right places. Delegate areas of responsibility to the best placed team members. You will need someone to liaise with caterers and any waiting staff that you have brought in. Someone will need to take control of the entertainment aspect and ensure that all speeches, presentations, and entertainment are running to a tight program.

You will need some of your best communicators out and about helping your guests and mingling with them. They will be in a great position to get feedback on how the event is going from the perspective of the attendees, and they can also do their best to help deliver the overall message that you would like your guests to take from the event.

Safety Risks To Consider This Black Friday

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. Black Friday is now a critical date for retailers and some strange things happen during people’s pursuit of great deals on TVs, video games, sport goods, etc. Both business owners and proprietors must have strategies in place going into Black Friday. The following contributed post is entitled, Safety Risks To Consider This Black Friday.

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Black Friday is the most anticipated day in the year for millions of families. For those who are trying to make ends meet on a tight budget, black Friday is the occasion to buy items they couldn’t afford otherwise. It’s no surprise that most of the Black Friday purchases become Christmas gift. Whether it’s the game console for the family or a pair of warm and elegant winter boots, the commercial event can make people happy.

For businesses, small and big, preparing for Black Friday is essential to make the most of the event. There’s a lot to gain in spreading out your marketing campaign to make sure that your audience knows about your offers and your products. Plan a visible and engaging countdown on social media to get people excited. It’s also the perfect occasion to remind them of your opening hours, especially if they’re changing for the day. By replicating big companies’ discount, you can also replicate their success at your level. However, you need to be prepared for the safety risks that come with a busy Black Friday.

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You need additional security guards
It’s no novelty. Black Friday is a highly stressful event for buyers. Some queue in front of shop hours before they open in the hope they’ll be able to snatch bargain items while the stock still lasts. Your customers are likely to feel tired and on edge when they arrive in the store. Combined with potentially aggressive crowd behavior, you might have to intervene to stop people from fighting in the store. As a result, it’s a good idea to get a few security guards for the occasion. Indeed, guards not only provide a sense of security, which can be enough to reassure the crowd, but their presence acts as a preventive measure. Disagreements are less likely to escalate in a fight when there’s a security guard on site.

Accidents are more likely to happen
Black Friday is synonymous with chaos. You never know what might happen. Even if customers are well-behaved, accidents are prone to occur as a result of a large and hectic crowd. As a safety measure, it’s a good idea to equip your store with smoke and fire protection systems for your doors, windows and any other opening. Architectural experts, SG Specialties, warns businesses that fire can spread out surprisingly rapidly in a favorable environment. In a shop full of inflammable products, the absence of protection could cost your customers their lives.

You need to be able to address health complications
Black Friday shopping is like a health marathon. Some of your most vulnerable customers may fall ill in the process. High stress levels and the semi-claustrophobic feeling of a large crowd can lead to heart problems, fainting and any other health complication. In the event of a customer struggling, you need to be able to react on the spot. Training your staff to basic healthcare and services can be a game-changer. Ultimately, you want shoppers to feel safe at all times. Being able to help and reassure in case of a problem is crucial.

Black Friday is a commercial event like no other. It’s violently profitable and destructive at the same time. For businesses to make the most of the opportunity, they need to understand how to keep their customers safe in a chaotic situation. Needless to say, it’s a challenge for every store!

Answers To Your Most Pressing Questions About Careers In The Mining Industry

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Career Discussions. If you live in mining country or are willing to move to it, there are career options for you. If you’re a novice to the mining industry, what do you need to know about it to work in it? The following contributed post is entitled, Answers To Your Most Pressing Questions About Careers In The Mining Industry.

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With so much focus on emerging industries, we often forget about those that keep the regular economy ticking over. Software, robotics, AI, and digital marketing are all exciting innovations. Still, none of them would be possible if there weren’t people digging raw materials out of the ground, processing them, and shipping them around the world.

The mining industry isn’t a dead one. It is, in reality, very much alive, and more in-demand than ever before, owing to the mineral demands of the modern economy. Companies need coal, petroleum products, limestone, and rare earth minerals. The orders never cease, and as the economy evolves, new types of product are required.

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For those wanting to get into the mining industry, therefore, this is a great opportunity. Today, more than ever before, there are opportunities to be had and careers to be made in the sector. Plus the pay isn’t bad either once you achieve a position with responsibility.

So what do you need to know about getting into the mining industry? Here are some popular questions and helpful answers.

I Just Graduated. What Roles Can I Do In The Mining Industry?

Education is very different from actual work in the mining industry. While many people go into mining from an engineering background, the reality of the work is different from what the academics would have you believe.

One of the best routes into the industry is to get on a graduate training scheme. The idea here is to take promising graduates with the temperament to succeed and then build their skills on the job. The downside, of course, is that these programmes tend to be very competitive with lots of people applying for the opportunity.

The other route in is to file your CV with a recruitment agency and then use them to find entry-level roles in a mining operation. Ideally, if you’re a graduate, you want a role that positions you for management in the future.

What Qualifications Do I Need To Work On A Mining Site?

Mining is a dangerous and complicated activity. Before current regulations, many people died in mines every year. It was brutal.

Today, though, there is a range of requirements for anybody wanting to work in a mine which are pretty similar across western countries.

The first thing to consider is vehicle licenses. There’s a good chance that you’ll need to drive a truck or digger at some point, so you’ll need the appropriate license for your particular country.

After that, the qualifications you need are mostly up to the employer. Some offer in-house health and safety training, while others will want to see that you’re certified to operate on a mining site. Those with bachelor’s degrees will be able to apply for work in roles that those without them cannot. Thus, a degree can be a stepping stone into a better position than you might be able to get otherwise.

Do I Need Any Health Checks?

Some mining companies insist that workers get a series of tests before allowing them to work on-site. The purpose of this is to ensure that the individual is fit for work. Some people can’t cope with the demands of the occupation.

If you plan on working for a coal mining company, then you will need a Coal Board Medical. This test assesses your overall state of health and is an essential requirement for people wanting to get into the coal mining industry.

Conditions in and around mines can be dusty, putting extra strain on the pulmonary system. People who want to work in the mining industry, therefore, often have to go through a series of spirometry or lung function tests. The idea here is to check that a person’s lungs are working correctly and that they can cope with the harsh environment of the mine without suffering severe consequences for their breathing.

Other companies may conduct a musculoskeletal test and fitness test to ensure a baseline level of fitness for those wanting to engage in heavy manual work. There’s also the usual audio screening (providing that you can follow instructions and hear warning sirens) and drug and alcohol tests.

How Can I Get My Foot In The Door?

For people looking to start a career in mining, this is a common question. Most employers want to see evidence of experience before offering a role. But to get experience, you need a job in the first place. It’s a tricky and annoying catch-22 situation.

The best way to proceed is to look for mining companies who need people with your skills, but who are currently struggling to fill job roles. You might see an advert for a job, for instance, that seems a little below your pay grade, but for which you have the skills and could perform well. Contact the mining company, tell them that you can help add value to their operations and show them your education. More likely than not, they can’t find the exact person that they need, and they want to fill the position quickly. That’s your chance. Appear professional at interview, and you’ll win their hearts and gain the role.

How Do I Learn To Drive Cranes And Trucks?

Operating heavy equipment is a large part of jobs in the mining industry. The vehicles are enormous because of the type of work that they must undertake, so they’re different from anything else that you might have driven in the past.

One of the best ways to make your CV stand out is to learn to drive one of these vehicles in advance of your application. Usually, you’ll need something called an HR-X licence (or equivalent depending on your country). This permits you to pilot vehicles of the type that you’d find on the typical mining site.

Having a license ahead of time is appealing to the majority of enterprises for two reasons. First, it shows that you’re proactive and committed to a career in the sector. And, second, the company doesn’t have to provide the money and training to enable you to perform the role. You can do it already.

A Business’ Guide To Preparing For Black Friday Now

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Black Friday has become a target sales date for many businesses. To make the most of Black Friday, businesses need to come up with distinct strategies. The following contributed post is entitled, A Business’ Guide To Preparing For Black Friday Now.

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It won’t be long until the chaos of black Friday descends upon us, and the best thing your business can do is prepare now. If you begin your preparations now, you can make the most of this time of year and make a killing. Below, you’ll find a few ways you can begin preparing now:

Listen To Your Audience On Social Media
Start by listening to your audience on social media. They will give you hints and tips on what sort of offers and deals you should run. One of the best things you can do as a business is listen to your audience!

Replicate Big Companies On A Smaller Scale
Take a look at big companies before you and make a note of how they have tackled black Friday. You can then replicate them on a much smaller scale. You should be able to experience at least a portion of their success!

Have A Countdown
Countdown to black Friday using your social pages so that people get excited along with you and plan the purchases they are going to make. Make it an exciting event for everybody!

Have A Mobile Strategy
As you’ll see from the infographic below, a large percentage of your audience will likely make purchases via mobile. Make sure you have a strong mobile strategy so that this is easy for them to do and that your mobile site is ready. If it isn’t, you will lose out.

credit to Skup

How Businesses Can Transform Their Marketing Strategies For The Better

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“If you want to make it in the modern business world, it’s all about marketing. You can’t expect your business to grow if you don’t market, so finding marketing schemes and campaigns are essential to keep your company afloat.”

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Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Arguably the most important part of your business is its marketing. In theory, effective marketing will lead to more sales. Your marketing formula may need to evolve over time. The following contributed post is entitled, How Businesses Can Transform Their Marketing Strategies For The Better.

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https://unsplash.com/photos/yktK2qaiVHI

If you want to make it in the modern business world, it’s all about marketing. You can’t expect your business to grow if you don’t market, so finding marketing schemes and campaigns are essential to keep your company afloat.

There are many forms of marketing. You have traditional methods such as newspaper ads and TV spots. You have passive marketing, where you trust people to see your ads around town to build interest. You also have new marketing models: digital marketing, which is what the majority of businesses rely on now.

However, not everyone has gotten on board. There are some businesses and industries that neglect to market their business effectively. This itself could be a cause for lack of growth, so it might be time you start looking at better ways to spread awareness of your business.

Small Businesses

Often, small businesses cannot afford to engage in comprehensive marketing strategies to get the word out. But as a small business, they don’t need to yet.

Instead, they need to find a way to compete with similar businesses in their area, but with a lack of funds, they can’t make witty ad campaigns or sass customers on social media. Instead, perhaps its better to go back to traditional methods.

Local areas love businesses that engage with the community, so showing that your company cares about the goings-on in and around the town or city will put you in the good books. It could shift their loyalty from faceless multi-nationals to someone who knows their names and says hello every time they step into the store.

While money might be tight for your business, there are a lot of ways in which you can spend what limited budget you do have, wisely. Take a look at what’s popular in marketing right now, like videos for example. Having a video production company to create show-stopping content can be a great investment for your small business.

Healthcare Industry

Healthcare is something that everybody needs in their life. Whether it’s routine checkups or ongoing prescriptions, healthcare is a basic human need. It might be because of this, though, that the healthcare industry is not as forward-thinking than other sectors when it comes to marketing. There are some improvements, such as justifying how much marketing ROI to budget and plan for according to a patient lifetime value calculator, but outreach needs to innovate.

However, that’s not the case. There are different levels of healthcare, and they demand different approaches. Mental health marketing will differ from dental marketing, and vice versa, so it’s finding out how to best target your potential customers.

With a big focus on social media’s negative influence, mental health campaigns can be found on Instagram. In contrast, a dental marketing strategy could be used at the supermarket (where you buy dental supplies). This targets both patients where they are most likely to see it, which sounds like a win.

Marketing Firms

Who markets to the other marketers? It’s a strange one, as you’d expect many marketing firms would undertake their own marketing duties. However, with client campaigns to focus on, this isn’t always so easy.

The problem is that marketers can recognize when they’re being duped. Instead of following the same old routines, it’s better to look at new, more subtle ways to market your marketing firm. We’ve seen it through content marketing, and this has worked moderately well. But there could still be a better way.

Spreading Awareness

You cannot expect growth and recognition if you neglect to embrace the potential options to help you better market your product or business. Even if you stagnate, the world will continue to evolve, so follow it as best you can.

Carefully Extending A University Premises

Two of the focuses of my blog are Business/Entrepreneurship and General Education. Higher Education is big business in the United States. One of the biggest concerns of institutions of higher learning is expansion of their campuses. The following contributed post is entitled, Carefully Extending A University Premises.

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As a university faculty, the extreme increase in students applying to follow a course suggests a need for expansion. This can be an exciting prospect. That being said, carefully extending a university premises is often a multi-faceted project that can take some time, and may leave you feeling as though this process is extremely complex. Additionally, students are often fickle and can drop out for any time, or may even transfer to another institution should they feel their needs aren’t being met. This can be the case even if launching a range of excellent and prestigious degrees.

In order to best pursue this extension and to better manage your construction efforts, a careful plan needs to be in the works long before you begin. Additionally, ensuring that the least amount of harmful influence on your daily operation is considered can help you avoid alienating students, and prospective candidates alike. Additionally, a university budget can be a tight thing, meaning that cost-effective managing this process requires a little more forethought. With our advice, you are certain to carry this process out to the best of your ability:

Alternate Lecture Theatres

Finding alternate lecture theatures for your students can be an important first step. After all, it can be hard to lecture and study when large construction efforts are taking place. Additionally, consider the routes to said lecture halls. It might be that you need to subsidise extra coach or train fares to reach a different part of the city, or maybe you need to rent out an entirely new building for six months of the year. It is possible, but you have to manage people and resources carefully.

Reliable Construction Firms

Reliable construction firms, such as Stosius are known for their extremely accurate planning and impressive execution. When you can rely on a service to keep you on schedule, to stay thoroughly communicative of their needs and remain two steps ahead at all times, you can ensure that the practical planning of your own approach can be effectively considered, and this may save you and your faculty a great deal of stress. Additionally, being advised as to the best safety implements and usual requirements will help you curate that former plan of action.

Telegraphing In Advance

If your construction efforts mean that half of your science block is going to be out of action for that year, then it could be that telegraphing this in advance is essential. Students may not withdraw their applications as you may vital alternate arrangements, but letting them know about said work rather than lying in the brochure or somehow deflecting them away from said plans during the tour can be an honest and ethical way of going about things. Financial subsidies, additional investments and potentially the means to rework non-essential course practicalities can enable you to move through this time with care and attention. This makes a difference.

With this advice, you are certain to carefully extend your university premises well.

Beating Confidence Troubles When You’re The Boss

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. Three key focuses are Business/Entrepreneurship, Career Discussions and Professional Development and Skills. There are many ways to be the boss whether you’ve started your own business or you’re working in an organization. Being the boss can be a daunting task for many people but there are keys to mastering it. The following contributed post is entitled, Beating Confidence Troubles When You’re The Boss.

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Do you own your own business? Maybe you’re a manager at a branch owned by someone else? Either way, there’s a good chance you feel unsure of yourself from time to time. You’ve got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, and a lot of power in your hands, and it can be hard to manage the both of them at once!

Which is why it’s key to remember that being the boss doesn’t automatically mean you feel confident enough to be one! You’re allowed to doubt yourself, and feel awkward about the decisions you make; you’re only human, after all. But because of that, we’ve listed a few tips for you below, to make sure you start feeling a bit more secure in your role. You’re doing a lot of hard work, and you deserve to have the confidence to show for it.

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There’s Advice Out There

And it’s more accessible than you may realise! After all, we have the internet to thank for instant connectivity, and that means you can go in search of a business leadership podcast with little to no trouble at all.

When you’re a burgeoning business leader, in search of information that’s going to put the pep back in your step, listening to the words of corporate founders and various self made people might just be the key.

And advice for someone like you exists in quite a few forms. You might want to make it your mission to soak up as many different types of medium as you can find, just to be sure you’re getting as much influence and advice as possible. You never know where you’re going to find the one piece of advice that’ll change your life, but we do have a good place for you to start!

Manage Your Expectations

Of course, you’re going to need to manage your expectations. You’re going to need to stay down to earth with what you’re thinking of achieving, or what projects you know you’re going to be able to take on. It’s very unlikely that you’re going to be able to turn around an organisation in the next 3 to 6 months, so don’t put that kind of stress on your shoulders from the get go.

Instead, aim a little lower, for something you know you can achieve. Bringing more skills into the business? Check. Cutting down costs? Check. And on and on the list can go, creating a very workable step by step guide for you to follow. Now doesn’t that sound easier?

Focus Your Network

And finally, be sure to focus your network on people like you. Try to reach out and connect with fellow managers, or first time entrepreneurs, to remind yourself you’re not alone. Use sites like LinkedIn to make a search like this easier. It might be a small point, but it’s a very important one to remember!

As the boss, you don’t have to keep second guessing yourself. You can learn confidence!

Tips To Boost Your Office Appeal

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the keys to running a successful business or operation is optimizing your office space. The following contributed post is entitled, Tips To Boost Your Office Appeal.

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An office is a space that needs to promote and encourage work productivity. It’s somewhere that your staff are coming into and working in for several hours a day and where your clients come in to do business. Here are some tips to boost your office appeal for the benefit of your business.

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Use The Right Lighting

The lighting can really affect the appearance of the working environment. If you have harsh, white lighting, it’s likely to feel a little bit like a hospital and not at all like the welcoming atmosphere that it should have. So think about replacing the lighting to feel warmer and inviting. Natural light is also something to take advantage of, and that can help bring a lot more appeal to a space, regardless of how small it might be. Replace any windows with bigger ones and ideally go for floor to ceiling options that are going to let the light flood into the space.

Create More Open-Plan Spaces

Open-plan spaces can be a welcome feature in offices where there are a lot of workers. Keeping them in boxed areas can take a hit at employee productivity and how they feel about the overall space that they’re working in. If you can knock down a few walls or change the work desks to something more functional, then it’s definitely worth doing. Don’t forget though that there’s going to be some people who may not enjoy working in an open space so it’s good to have some private options in the form of offices. These can give certain employees the option to work in a quiet space when they need to.

Add A Bit Of Class To The Curb

Appearances are everything, and when it comes to your business, even the office curb needs to have some appeal. Look into commercial glass tinting that can give a little mystery to the outside of an office or business building. This glass tinting can also help with keeping these spaces cool and can protect your staff from harmful UV rays that might be penetrating through the glass and hitting staff directly.

Invest In Quality Furnishings

Quality is always going to better than something that’s more affordable. That shouldn’t always be the case, but if you want durable furniture and appliances that are likely to receive a lot of footfall, it’s good to invest in the very best. From the sofas that are available in your reception area to the work stations and electrical appliances that staff use on a daily basis. It all helps and goes towards boosting appeal.

Boosting office appeal is important, and something every business should be doing in order to show off their company. Look at the things that you can add to your space in order to make it a pleasant environment for your staff but also to make it a place that your clients will remember and enjoy coming back to. From quality furnishings to the lighting, everything matters to boosting your office appeal.