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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.
Two of the key focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Technology. As our world is becoming more digital, there will be a greater need for individuals trained in Information Technology (IT). It’s a important role to run any organizations IT operations. The following contributed post is entitled, Be A Great IT Guy With These Helpdesk Tips.
Becoming the IT guy for your business or for someone else’s business can be a mammoth task. For some reason IT guys get a bad wrap. when ever people think of an IT guy they think of a boring geeky guy sitting at his desk in the corner of a room but this really isn’t the case in real life. When it comes to becoming an IT professional, it is a good idea think of ways which you can be the best in the business, and today we are going to give you some top tips on how to manage a great helpdesk for your business.
Be Easy to Reach
The important thing which you need to do as an IT professional is be easy for people to reach. A well Managed Helpdesk is a great asset to a business and it is important for you as the helper to be able to be on call when people need you. Always make sure that you are available whether it be by phone, text, email or instant messaging on your computer. This will make sure that people can always get the advice that they need to work efficiently.
Be Consistent
We all have bad days. It is important as a person who will be dealing with people that you never let your own feelings get in the way of your manners. Working with people all the time is something which any IT professional will have to do and it is important for you to always be open, honest and positive. Providing consistent customer service to your internal and external clients will make all the difference to you.
Get comfy
If you are going to be working at a desk all day every day staring at computers for one reason or another, it is important for you to get comfy and make sure that you are able to work in a comfortable way hour after hour. It is a good idea to choose a spot in the office with a source of natural light, grab a cozy chair and enjoy your office space.
Keep people updated
A lot of the time an issue which someone is facing on the computer might be as simple as turning it off and on again, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes what will happen is more complex than this and a job might take several days for you to complete. To be a great IT guy it is a good idea to keep your client updated once a day just so that they know where their machine is and so that they have an idea of when it will be back. People will appreciate this and it will bring up your reputation.
Write great notes
When you are working on a case which might be a little more complex, the chances are that you haven’t even worked on this case before. This means that it is as new to you as it is to the client. In these instances it is important for you to make notes on your computer or a notebook and they will allow you to refer back to this in the future if you ever face the same issue again.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Once you start your business, there are myriad of things that can go wrong. As such it’s critical to understand how to safeguard your business enterprise. The following contributed post is entitled, Different Ways You Need To Protect Your Business.
When you run a business, even if it’s an online business, you should be focusing on protecting it just like you’d take measures to protect your house from break-ins when you’re on vacation, or indeed any other time.
However, what does that actually look like? We can talk about protecting your business all day, but without sharing examples of what we mean, then it’s not really going to make much of a difference at all.
The great thing about technology is that it’s growing at such a rapid pace that there are always new things being brought to the market that can help you protect your business, but just as quickly as they’re being brought out, there’s a new hacker creating something else to destroy it, so you really need to be constantly staying ahead of the game when it comes to keeping your business safe, and so below we’re sharing with you some of the ways you can do that.
Technology:
Since we touched on technology above, it seemed wise to start with this. The other reason is that technology is always going to play a crucial role in how your business is being protected, so it really made sense to start with this.
When it comes to technology for keeping your business safe, this can take many different forms. You can get things like malware, secure payment systems, and you can always read more here about the different solutions available for keeping things like data secure so that you don’t lose it in case of a cyber attack.
Privacy:
Privacy is becoming more and more of an issue for business owners these days, and if we look at companies like Facebook who are forever in the news because of their privacy issues and how they’re handling customer data, it’s really so important that people trust you with theirs and that you understand the consequences of abusing this.
Having clear policies in place such as privacy policies and terms and conditions on your site is really a good step to take because it keeps you in the right and also ensures that people know how their data is being used.
Legal:
Although we do understand that having a lawyer for your business is maybe not something you can afford right now, you certainly don’t need to have one on retainer in order to have some protection.
You can easily seek the advice of a lawyer at the start of your business and anytime you need something like a contract drafted up so that at least you know you’re doing things the right way.
Another way you can protect your business is by having things like business and liability insurance in place in case you need to fight a case and don’t want to be held responsible for the costs of lawyers or going to court.
This list is certainly not extensive, but should help you when it comes to understanding the different ways in which you can protect your business from facing any potential issues that you may see down the line.
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Career Discussions. Most everyone will experience the loss of a job for one reason or another. If you’re fortunate, you will receive a timely warning so that you can prepare for the loss of income. Some people aren’t so lucky and the loss is sudden. In either case it’s important to know what to do in of a job loss. The following contributed post is entitled, You’ve Lost Your Job- What Happens Next?
Losing your job is up there with one of the most stressful life events a person can go through. In an instant, everything is at risk- your home, your car, your credit score where you can quickly fall into debt. There’s a hugely emotional side of things where you might be wondering how you’re going to look after your family and pets, not to mention a loss of identity. Our jobs are more than just jobs, they’re part of who we are. And so losing that, your security blanket, it’s a difficult pill to swallow. If you’ve found yourself in this position, perhaps due to redundancies in the company or them going into administration, or maybe due to a fault of your own, here’s what you need to do next.
Claim any money you’re entitled to Have you had to leave your job because you got injured? If it’s someone else’s fault then you might be entitled to compensation, make sure you’re getting what you’re owed. For example, if you were hurt while riding your motorbike then a lawyer like https://www.braininjurylawofseattle.com/seattle-truck-accident-lawyer/ would work your case for you, if it was at work then you’d have to go down the relevant channels. This money can help you with your recovery and can be a lifesaver while you’re out of work. While you don’t have a job, you may also be entitled to help from the government. See if there are any welfare or benefits you can claim to cover your basic costs and keep you going while you find something new.
Take a temporary job Finding another job can be a lengthy process. Depending on the career you’re in and the job roles you’re going for, it can take time for a position to come up, the employer to go through CVs, call people in for interviews and eventually start. You may also get rejected a number of times along the way. For this reason, it can be worth taking a temporary job– any job you can get in the meantime. As the saying goes, it’s easier to find work when you’re in work. It might not be what you want to be doing or a long term job for you but any source of regular income is better than none. Whether it’s delivering pizzas, working in retail or cleaning, see if there’s anything available right now that you can take.
Create new sources of income Going forward, it’s so worth building additional sources of income so you’re financially protected if you ever lose your job again in the future. Establish and monetise a blog, build up a good reputation as a freelancer or start a home business. These things will take time to get going, but you could run them alongside your new job when you finally get to work. It’s extra money for now, and if you need them in the future it’s a source of income you can rely on.
This is a continuation of my series entitled, Important considerations when buying a condominium unit. Part one ended with a discussion of the nuances and caveats of buying into condominium communities. This second part will talk about what can happen when condominium owners must finance common projects within their complex in emergency situations.
To start this discussion, I want to introduce a key financial term, the “Residential Assessment”. Residential assessments are basically lump sums of money every owner must pay which is typically the condominium fee. In some instances, based upon the community’s by laws and constitution, a residential assessment can also be mandated from every owner should a project need to be done affecting the entire complex under ‘emergency’ circumstances.
This was painfully revealed to me when the first of many assessments in my condominium community was due in the Fall of 2010, just after purchasing my unit. Clues that something was up were there before closing though. When visiting my prospective unit for the first time, and when going through the inspection process, a large project was underway requiring the excavation of the land around the foundation of my soon to be dwelling. As a first-time home buyer, it didn’t occur to me to press the seller about what was happening – ultimately a good thing for her.
The question did come up though. She simply said, “Oh it’s just some foundational work.” She didn’t say however that the entire building was sliding and shifting on its clay foundation, and that the entire project would result in an $8,500 assessment for me, my entire Obama Tax Credit. Needless to say, having to cough up $8,500 unexpectedly was a bitter feeling.
Truthfully, the information about this project may have been in the “Condo Docs” or condominium documents. They were a binder of documents (at least 300 pages) provided prior closing. Another piece of advice; take the time to flip through any information given to you about your property prior to purchasing it, especially if it’s in condominium community. In the real estate world, this is part of what’s called doing your ‘due diligence’. Why didn’t I take the time to read the documents? I’ll chalk it up to ignorance and being a novice to the home buying process.
In any case, having the $8,500 Obama tax Credit was a blessing as it saved me from having to take out a loan. In addition to the $8,500 assessment, there was a $1,600 assessment preceding it due to delinquent condominium fees from other owners throughout the complex. This all occurred just after the bursting of the 2008 housing bubble and the subsequent recession, so there were quite a few folks in the community who either lost their jobs, ran out of money, didn’t have enough money on hand, or both. Either way, the rest of us owners had to pick up the slack.
Since those first two assessments, there was another $8,500 assessment to help replace the old underground piping of our complex which seemed to break every winter like clockwork. The board of directors created a payment plan so that the payments could be spread out over three years. The installments would be paid with interest, while those who could make the payment at all once, would be charged no interest. Years later there was yet another $8,500 assessment to cover updates to our HVAC system. If this all sounds like a lot of money, it was.
So, what are the takeaway messages from this? Aside from the points Dave Ramsey made in part one of the series, they are as follows:
• No matter what type of real estate you decide to buy (a detached home, a townhouse or a condominium unit), budget so that you’re as debt-free as possible and so that you have extra money on hand (Dave Ramsey’s Emergency Fund of 3-6 months of expenses for example); • When you buy into a condominium community, every owner’s destiny and finances are intermingled; • Before you buy and piece of real estate, ask as many questions as you can of the seller, especially the obvious ones and; • This last bullet comes from one of Suze Orman’s books. Before you buy into a condominium community, go as far as to hunt down the board of directors and ask questions. Try to figure the history of the community, its overall financial health and any additional issues it may be facing going forward.
Part three will conclude this series and discuss a key part of a condominium community; its board of directors, and the ongoing challenges my community is facing. Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog post. You might also enjoy:
If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave comments. To receive all the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Please visit my YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. Lastly follow me on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM, and Financial Literacy, there other blogs/sites I endorse which found on that particular page of my site.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. One of the most important purchases any of us will ever make is the purchase of our homes. One important consideration is how to personalize your home so that it’s unique to your tastes. The following contributed post is entitled, Adding Personal Touches to Your Home.
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You probably spend a lot of time in your house. We start and end our days there. We entertain friends in our dining rooms. We rest and relax after a long day in our lounges. We feed our families from our kitchens. We enjoy a bit of sun in our gardens, and we look after our health and hygiene in our bathrooms. Your home is the one place on earth where you should always feel safe and protected. Your home should be somewhere that you love.
A lot goes into creating a home that you love, and feel safe in. Many of us stick to similar furniture, saving money by buying mass-produced flatpack from large retailers. But, none of us wants our homes to be exactly the same as everyone else. Even though thousands of people might have your sofa, you don’t want your lounge to look like anyone else’s. You want it to reflect your personality and speak for who you are. That’s the only way that it will ever become your safe haven.
Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to create a unique home, even without spending a fortune, making sure all of your furniture is one of a kind.
Get Something Custom Made
Yes, custom made large pieces can be costly. But, large pieces aren’t your only option. Find a local crafter that’s creating things like photo frames or small tables, or commission some metal work such as brackets for shelves, from https://naimormetalfabrication.com/ for something a little different.
Original artwork can also be very expensive. Prints can be a cheaper alternative. They won’t be one of a kind, but art is a very personal choice, so it’s unlikely that anyone you know would choose the same prints.
If you are looking for other ways to create quirky artwork, consider framing things like wallpaper samples, textiles, greetings cards and postcards and even pages from a magazine.
If you truly want a one of a kind area, create a gallery wall with family photos, pictures that you like, framed pictures that your children have drawn and even your own creations.
Get Crafting
Creating your own home accessories and soft furnishings is a brilliant way to save money while making your home a little different. Even better, you don’t need to be a talented artist, create a piece with meaning. Check out https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ratkinson/home-decor-crafts/ for some ideas.
So, your sofa is the same as next doors? Add a colorful throw and some patterned cushions, and it’s suddenly completely different. Turn a boring nest of tables into a trendy surface with the addition of frames, candles and fresh flowers. Your accessories can completely change how your home looks, and are a cheap way to add your own unique style to plained areas of your home.
Have Stuff
The modern world is much more minimal. All of your books can be on your Kindle and all of your films on your Fire Stick. You don’t need to buy books or DVDs, and you certainly don’t need CDS. But, having belongings on display shows visitors who you are. Your book collection says a lot about you, so why not let people see it? Even if you are downsizing and mainly going digital, keep a few favorites on display to add personality to your shelves.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Preventative maintenance is an underrated component of homeownership and business. This one category however can save you time, money and headaches going forward. The following contributed post is entitled, Three Reasons To Implement Preventative Maintenance In Your Home or Business.
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If your home or business maintenance schedule is still run on a reactive basis, you need to get your head around Preventative Maintenance. Why? Because fixing problems before they get really bad will save money. What better reason do you need?
When it comes to fixing that clogged pipe in your home or business location, do you take a reactive or preventative approach? If you’re not sure, you’re probably being reactive, which is costing you money. While they might sound like similar practices, preventive maintenance and reactive maintenance could not be more different in approach. While reactive maintenance focuses on fixing problems when they happen, preventative maintenance is geared towards stopping those problems from rearing their ugly heads at all. (No prizes for guessing which approach is better.)
If you still need a little convincing, the following benefits of preventative maintenance will have you scheduling in those checks and services in no time.
Enhance the Longevity of Your Equipment
Not only will preventive maintenance save you money when you don’t have to perform pricey emergency fixes, it will also extend the life of your infrastructure, machinery or equipment. For example, getting your boiler serviced regularly, before it starts to give trouble, will delay the time when the boiler eventually needs to be replaced, giving you years more use, and therefore rendering that initial installation much more cost-effective. Whether it’s in the home or at work, your expensive installations will last you longer if you schedule in regular maintenance and upkeep to avoid nasty surprises.
Avoid Downtime
It is a truth universally acknowledged that time is money. If you’re a business owner, or if you’ve had to take time off work to fix something that’s gone wrong in your home, you know that every day that an essential piece of machinery or equipment spends in a non-functioning state costs you money. Extended unplanned downtime can be a real disaster for your business which can result in ruin. If your business employs people who are responsible for operating the equipment that is acting up, you’re going to be paying their wages until the repairs have been carried out. And if you work in manufacturing, it goes without saying that you’ll be losing money when you fail to meet the required output because of mechanical faults. A little downtime once in a blue moon cannot be avoided entirely, but if you think ahead and implement preventive maintenance, you’re going to dramatically reduce the amount of downtime you have to account for in your business or work schedule. Whether it’s lubrication, hydro jetting, cleaning, repairs or replacing parts, the time and money you put in will pay off when you look at the downtime you’ve avoided in the long run.
The machinery runs most efficiently when it is in perfect working order. This means that when your equipment starts to function at less than optimal rates, your energy bill is going to creep up. You may not notice this right away, but if you let the problem continue, your bills will suddenly see extraordinarily high, and you’ll be wondering what has caused it. This is a really common problem, which can easily be avoided with a little forward planning. If you put in place routines that guarantee your equipment is going to be maintained, you will notice that your energy use remains constant, saving you money and reducing your environmental impact.
Whether you’re running a massive operation or simply keeping your home in order, preventative maintenance is the key to saving money and preventing expensive call-outs.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If your business grows and successfully generates profit over time, there are critical decisions that have to be made about what to invest in next to ensure its continued growth. The right decisions will ensure continued growth and profit. The following contributed post is entitled, Areas Of Your Business That Are Worth Investing In.
Knowing where to start investing in your business, especially when just starting out on a low budget can be a pretty tough thing to decide, and although there’s really no definitive answer because every business is different, there are definitely some areas that really are worth investing in as your business grows and you’re potentially looking to scale your company.
Just to be clear, though: we’re not saying that you have to start throwing money at these things right away.
In business, you should always start with what you have available until it makes financial sense to invest, but these will at least provide you with some starting points to go from:
Your team:
In the beginning of your business, unless you have the backing of investors, then it’s likely that you’ll be wearing all of the hats and doing everything yourself for a while.
After some time when you’re making profit, then you really need to consider handing these tasks off to people who are better at them than you are so that you can focus your time and energy on working with your clients and growing the business even bigger.
Hiring a team is definitely quite overwhelming, but you should start small and build your way up.
To get started you could even just bring in a few contractors to help with things, such as strategy consulting or web design until you reach a place where you’re able to hire people full time.
Marketing:
Marketing is going to play a huge role in the success of your business and it’s definitely something worth investing in, even if it’s just to save you time from trying to do things organically.
It’s definitely not going to be something that you should be throwing a lot of money at from the beginning, and when you do decide to start investing, then it’s something you should only do once you have a solid and clear strategy and plan in place for your marketing.
Technology:
Even if your business isn’t going to be an online business, it’s definitely going to depend on technology, at least somewhat.
Therefore, investing in technology to ensure that things run efficiently and effectively, such as payment processing technology and fast computers is always going to be something that will be of benefit to you.
Security:
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have, keeping it safe is a huge priority and is something that should always be taken very seriously.
From having the correct policies noted on your website, to having the best malware on the market that keeps you protected from hackers, security is something that all business owners should be investing in, and it’s not even something that costs a lot, but the peace of mind and potential savings gained from potential loss of earnings if anything should happen is priceless.
As we already said, this is not an extensive list, but we took some of the most important aspects of what we think are important when it comes to investing in your business.
You also shouldn’t feel pressured into getting all of these done at once, but take each step by step and base your decision on what you feel will benefit the business long term.
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Career Discussions and General Education. While we get trained in our individual disciplines in school, there are other skills that dictate who excels in a particular field in the work world. It’s not always clear when starting our careers what those skills are. The following contributed post is entitled, Top Skills To Learn That Will Help You Professionally.
So, with many college students embarking on their final year, some of you may have already decided that a career in business is the way for you. Whether it be a career in marketing or sales, there are so many options for you to consider. Now, while college can teach you a lot about say marketing, they don’t seem to really teach you much about the personal skills needed to make it in the world of business.
No matter what it is what you do for a living, you probably want to do it as well as you can. This is true for most people, and yet it can be surprisingly hard to know what kind of skills are involved in achieving and getting ahead in any type of business. In this article, we are going to take a look at some examples of the kinds of skills which are likely to be helpful for anyone who considers themselves to be a true professional and wants to get ahead as best as they can in their chosen career path. If you can master all of these, you will almost certainly be able to improve your career to no end, so it is definitely worth looking into at your earliest convenience.
Negotiation skills
Negotiation is a fine art to master. The official definition is “discussion aimed at meeting an agreement.” But there’s so much more to it than that. Negotiation is all about you coming out on top, while still letting the other person think they’ve grabbed themselves a bargain. This process happens day in, day out in business. Quite a lot of companies now even require their employees to have ongoing negotiations skill training courses to make sure techniques are continually being improved. With deals on the line with most companies, it might be worth doing a little research into the art of negotiation.
Communication
Communication skills are probably one of the most essential skills to have. Whether it be communicating with your colleagues to form working friendships, or with customers to establish a rapport. It’s not all just about face to face communication either. When starting a new job, your employer will be keen to know how your email and telephone skills are. Having a conversation with someone that’s not face to face can be hard, as people can’t always tell the tone you’re trying to take, or the facial cues you’re using to show emotion. Wording an email in a way that comes across informative, yet not condescending is a skill some of you may have already mastered due to being at college. But if you feel you wouldn’t be the best at this, you can always take a look at online guides to help you.
Time management
Time management is one you all would have had to master during college. But in the world of business, it’s slightly more serious. If you’re a little late submitting a smaller assignment, it’s not too much bother. But as you know, when it comes to the big graded assignments, if you submit them late, you may run the risk of losing marks or failing the whole unit. The same sort of applies in business, except if you don’t meet deadlines, it could mean deals lost, customers angry, and more importantly, an irate boss. It’s important to realize that in business, it wouldn’t just be you affected as it would with college, there is often a chain of people affected by lack of time management.
Bookkeeping
Being able to look after your finances is always going to be important for your career and your personal life, and especially if you are high up in any kind of business, even if your job role does not technically have anything to do with the finances of the company. Having a solid understanding of bookkeeping is always going to be hugely valuable, and you might be amazed at just how often it is likely to crop up, so you should consider taking an online course in bookkeeping if you want to learn this particular skill. With that kind of understanding of finances under your belt, it will benefit your life in a considerable number of ways, especially professionally.
Public speaking
It is often said to be the most common fear in the world, and it’s easy to see why. Everyone gets nervous when it comes to public speaking, albeit some more than others, but if you manage to master it, then it could make an enormous difference to how well you do in your professional life. If you’re looking to enter a role in politics or law such as a fraud attorney firm, speaking in front of others is part of the job. Everyone who works professionally knows that there are many occasions when you are called on to speak up publically in the office and so on, and if you are able to do so confidently without worrying about it you should find that it improves your business and your career greatly. Remember this, and consider taking a course to make it easier on yourself. You will find the confidence boost it gives you is incredible too.
Creativity
If you can be creative, it means that you can find dynamic and unique solutions to any given problem. This is something which is going to be useful for many people in many professions, and yet a lot of people find their creativity stifled by the professional settings which could benefit from it. If you are struggling to release your own creativity at work, start small and try to build up as time goes on. You will find that it makes it easier to do so and that you can build your creativity as you go along. This will, in turn, improve your professional life hugely, so it is definitely worthwhile doing.
These are just some of the primary skills that the waiting business world with need from you. Some you may already think you do pretty well, but it’s always worth doing a bit of research to find some of the best techniques and interpersonal skills to make sure you thrive in your new careers.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Current Events and Technology. Our world is much, much different than it was just ten years ago and much of it has to do with the technology available to us. Our lives have been altered and even the way business is conducted has shifted it was well. The following contributed post is entitled, How Technology Has Changed Our Lives.
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It’s fair to say that technology is now more prominent than ever in our lives, and it’s hard to believe a world without it. So how has technology changed our lives?
The way we are educated has certainly been affected positively by technology. First and foremost, courses and training are available online. It now allows individuals to do all the work via the internet, rather than having to physically attend a class or training session. Not only that but technology is now dominating the classroom, where we now have a lot of electronic devices that can help with studying, like laptops and tablets.
How We Socialise
Social media is now a powerhouse for many businesses to communicate effectively with their customers and proves useful for advertising and reaching out to new clients. Most individuals now have a social media profile of some description, and it’s changed the way we communicate. A lot of us will talk over platforms like Facetime and Skype, whenever we’re away from home. It’s such a great piece of technology that has helped friends and family see each other’s faces, even though it’s not quite the same as seeing them in the flesh. For all the negatives to do with social media, there are plenty of positives.
Traditional Media Is Ceasing To Exist
It’s also changed how we read newspapers and magazines. Traditional media has certainly taken a knock to its popularity since digital media came into play. A lot of us use our mobile devices or tablets/laptops a lot more, and for use on a commute to work, digital news sites are reigning supreme. We can find out news from Israel and other countries at the touch of a button. Although it’s unlikely that traditional media will cease to exist entirely, it does look like we prefer digital media as opposed to traditional formats. Another reason why traditional media is dying off is that a lot of businesses are using the digital world to advertise and a lot of newspapers or magazines would often rely on advertising space to make more profit.
It’s Helped Make Our Lifestyles Easier
Our lifestyles have been made much simpler with technology, and it’s helped in a variety of ways. From remote controls to close and open blinds to apps on your phone that can alter the lighting in your home or put on the heating, even if you’re not in the property itself. All these apps and software that now exist, certainly make living a lot less stressful and complicated. It won’t be long before we have the technology to help with every single element of our day to day lifestyle. We are busier than ever before and therefore, we expect now for technology to give us a helping hand where possible.
Technology has certainly changed dramatically over such a short period of time and who knows where it will go in the next five or ten years. It’s certainly possible though it could advance at even a faster rate than ever before as more money is pumped into upgrading technology.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When starting your own business, your brand is critical as it distinguishes you and sets you apart from everyone else. Care should be taken when establishing your brand. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Your Personal Brand Is Essential To Success.
It used to be that branding was reserved for businesses. Now, it’s important for individuals to develop a strong personal brand if they aspire towards a successful career. As the workforce becomes more and more competitive and the way we network changes, a strong personal brand can help you to stand out from the crowd.
What is a personal brand? It’s the words your new client will use to describe you to their colleagues. It’s the way an acquaintance knows you’re the person to call when a certain job comes up. Your brand is why a manager will hire you, rather than the next candidate. So it’s crucial that you present yourself in a thoughtful way that helps, rather than hinders, your journey to professional success.
Define yourself, before someone else does
First impressions count and if we don’t define ourselves, it’s easy for others to do it for us. To make sure people remember the right things about you, you’ve first got to identify what you want those things to be.
Who do you want to be known as, professionally speaking? It goes without saying that you’ll want to position yourself as an expert within your given field. It’s worth niching down, rather than presenting yourself as a generalist.
But your personal brand comes down to more than your expertise. It’s not just the things you know and the skills you have. It’s also about who you are as a person and how people can count on you to behave. So who do you want to be known as? Is it someone who is articulate and a powerful communicator? Someone who is trustworthy and brimming with integrity? It’s probably a combination of characteristics and qualities. Write these down and commit to them so you can build your brand around these specifics. Just make sure you’re choosing characteristics that reflect the types of businesses or clients you want to work with.
Stay authentic
If you are not already sure of exactly what your personal values are, now is a good time to explore this. Your personal values define the standards to which you hold yourself and the qualities you want to aspire to.
Make sure that your personal values and your personal brand are carefully aligned. If you value yourself as a humble, calm and trustworthy person, this is the message you should put out into the world. It’s tempting to try to market yourself in ways that seem the most charismatic or dynamic. Of course, you want to present your values and qualities in the most attractive way, but don’t be tempted to sell yourself as someone you’re not. This will only cause you trouble in the long run.
The fact is that everyone is looking for something different in people that they choose to work with. You can almost guarantee that someone will be looking to hire or work with someone exactly like you, so stay authentic and true to your own brand. Once you’ve got this secure, you won’t be tempted to present wildly different versions of yourself to fit in like a chameleon.
Get creative
Once you’ve settled on your personal brand, you need to get it out into the world. One excellent way to put yourself out there is to create content that’s relevant to your brand. An ideal way to do this is through a blog. Producing quality content can establish you as a credible and valuable source of information in your field. If you’re then able to share that content via Linkedin or other social media platforms, then you’re getting your message out there for others to see. Photography or video, perhaps instructional Youtube videos, could also be a great platform, but only if it’s relevant to your industry and brand.
As humans, we make assumptions based on visual information. It’s true that things like clothes and hairstyle all contribute to the way people see us, so make sure your style reflects the things you are trying to say. It can seem like a small thing but dressing to reflect your brand adds coherency and authenticity.
Your visual brand will also affect your website and social media presence. Whether it’s bright and whimsical or elegant and monochrome, having a consistent approach to visual content helps. This extends to things as simple as the style of photography you use.
In this digital age, pen and paper can add a distinctive edge. People still use business cards, as they’re still useful for real-world networking. Whatsmore, handwritten or just hand-posted correspondence can add an unexpected personal touch that helps you to stand out. If you’re a freelancer or small business owner with your own logo, think about getting customized stationary. You can use a service like Winmark Custom Stamps and Signs to create custom stamps, embossing seals and name badges with your own distinct logo.
Make time to network
Now you’ve got an idea of how you want to brand yourself, and the tools to do it, you need to get yourself out there. There are many ways of doing this in the modern day. Traditional networking is still just as important, so be sure to get some dates in your diary when you can attend relevant professional talks, events and networking meetings.
You should also be networking virtually, too. Be sure to optimize your Linkedin profile to reflect your personal brand and start building relevant connections there. Don’t neglect other social media networks either. If you can solidify your niche and your brand into one sentence, you can add this to your bio across all networks, including in your email signature. You want to create a consistent idea of who you are since you never know where your next business prospect might find you. You can use Twitter as a platform to engage with relevant people. Just be sure to do it in an appropriate way that doesn’t come across as spam.
Have fun with developing your personal brand and putting yourself out into the world. See what a difference it makes when you present a coherent and confident vision of who you are as a professional and what you offer. In this digital age, it couldn’t be more important.
