The 6 Kinds Of Stuff That An Entrepreneur Should Never Publish On Social Media

The 6 Kinds Of Stuff That An Entrepreneur Should Never Publish On Social Media

These guidelines should be followed by every entrepreneur to show their positive personality to the rest of the virtual world.

Online life offers an extraordinary chance to construct your image, increment commitment incredible ways, show what your organization is extremely about and thoroughly mess things up. A valid example: American Apparel's 2014 web-based life error. To advance a July fourth deal, the organization tweeted what they thought was an image of firecrackers. It wasn't firecrackers, however - it was the Space Shuttle Challenger detonating in mid-air in 1986. The open was not satisfied, and many quit following American Apparel on the web.

Despite the fact that organizations can recoup from such an error, doing as such dawdles and cash that ought to be utilized to develop the organization. Along these lines, before you pull an American Apparel-sized goof, here are five things business people should never put via web-based networking media.

1. Legislative issues and religion

In the past talking governmental issues and religion was something you simply didn't do in broad daylight. For business people, that is as yet a decent guideline. In case you're searching for a fast method to estrange a portion of your client bases, nothing does it like a political position or politically inaccurate articulation. Simply ask Roseanne Barr or Kathy Griffin.

Like to keep your clients faithful and glad to utilize your administrations or items? At that point remain concentrated on their quick concerns. What do your clients need? What do they long for? What do they dread? By concentrating your internet based life content on your client and not your own convictions, your business will continue moving the correct way, which is toward more benefit and less dramatization.

2. All you, constantly

Realizing you have a major deal going on this end of the week is significant. Be that as it may, nobody needs to catch wind of it again and again and over. Similarly, as you become weary of seeing photos of your auntie's supper on Facebook, individuals feel worn out on knowing about your business. Blend it up.

When you're managing web-based life, you must be in excess of a business - you should be an accomplice in improving your clients' lives. Discussion about different innovators in your industry. Show individuals, you understand there are other brilliant people out there other than yourself. Give data that is promptly helpful to your clients, as well as engaging.

You may have known about this thought before as "content promoting." Well, here's the skeleton in the closet of substance showcasing: when you do it right, you can pitch as hard and as regularly as you need. For whatever length of time that you keep the contributes delicate and slip them toward the finish of a strong bit of substance, your adherents wouldn't fret and they'll really be bound to change over to purchasers.

3. Negative stuff about customers or your general surroundings

Individuals don't go to your page to be helped to remember all the terrible things occurring on the planet. They're searching for something reviving, something to enable them to overlook every minute of everyday news that continues revealing to them the sky is falling. When you begin discussing the terrible stuff, they disregard your items and administrations. Far and away more terrible, they partner you with cynicism and drop you from their feeds. Give this a chance to occur, and your online networking nearness is dead.

In the event that you can't locate a positive plot for your posts, remain away. What's more, that incorporates airing filthy clothing about customers or the challenge. Keep that stuff in the meeting room and off of web-based life. That sort of substance is a noteworthy side road for web-based life clients, and anything that turns them off will give them a reason to turn you off.

 4. Over the top updates

Each medium has its own post-recurrence resistance. On Twitter, you can pull off a few posts each day insofar as they're spread out. Different choices, for example, Instagram and Facebook, have clients who endure one channel post-multi-day.

Regardless of how incredible your substance, in case you're stopping up your fans' feeds, you won't do it for long in light of the fact that they'll drop you without reconsidering. Along these lines, explore best practices in posting recurrence and tail them. On the off chance that you get enlivened and have a mess to state without a moment's delay, utilize that as a chance to group procedure content you would them be able to dribble throughout the following week or even month. This will ensure your posts are new and helpful and your fans will stick around to see them.

5. Non-social substance

Online networking was worked to be social. It's not the spot for official statements or exhausting substance, addresses or any sort of single direction discussion. That stuff has a place on PRWeb.

On the off chance that somebody tails you via web-based networking media, it's sheltered to expect they think about your organization and have just gotten tied up with the administrations or items you offer. So don't approach online life like a cold pitch or an infomercial. Treat it as an approach to let clients behind the drapery to comprehend your organization's character.

Need a thought of what this resembles? Look at Wendy's Twitter account. They don't talk about burgers and fries throughout the day. They give valuable, interesting stuff that gets individuals connected with and sharing. When they do talk inexpensive food, it's frequently snarky. Thus, their posts get huge amounts of retweets and remarks. What's more, in spite of being a tremendous organization, Wendy's reacts to remarks on their posts. This cunning give and take have brought about a gigantic and frenzied fan base.

 6.stuff you can't approve

OK, I realize I guaranteed five things business people shouldn't share via web-based networking media, however, I needed to share an additional, in light of the fact that this nearly bit me in the butt a couple of years back.

In a time of phony news, you can't stand to post stuff that can't be confirmed. Everybody is wary of phony stuff, and you ought to be as well. This implies no posting or sharing until you affirm whatever data it contains. That incorporates the image you use. Keep in mind American Apparel?

This doesn't mean you need to comprehensively inquire about all that you post. Rather, simply ensure you focus on your sources and just offer or take motivation from sound specialists.

Pursue these tips, and you can construct an out of control fan-base and cut out the dramatization that leaves such a significant number of internet-based life clients discouraged and furious. Utilize internet-based life as an apparatus for your business - don't give the stages a chance to utilize you. Remain concentrated on your positive message and use it to construct your business realm.

Seven Very Effective Track To Frame Yourself Up For Success

Seven Very Effective Track To Frame Yourself Up For Success

Putting your vision and posting down the aptitudes is a certain something; learning and gaining these abilities is another

The present worldwide and aggressive work environment requires extra abilities. A worker, regardless of whether a learner or a CEO, needs a variety of hard and delicate aptitudes, fundamental for anybody yearning for top authority. In this way, setting up yourself in another activity job through aptitudes and practices is exceedingly significant for a worker's future profession way.

Great bosses discover approaches to build up their workers yet they additionally watch out for low performing representatives in light of the fact that early impressions of your methodology, assurance, and execution are frequently settled inside the

principal year, or sooner. To ensure you draw the right sort of consideration regarding yourself, it's fundamental to comprehend your present place of employment duties as well as to begin showing characteristics that exhibit your potential.

Shockingly, the worldwide joblessness rate remains at well more than 16 percent. One noteworthy explanation behind this joblessness is the absence of qualified and gifted work which is required to complete a specific arrangement of work, in light of current guidelines and procedures. In this manner, it is unavoidable that the correct abilities and qualities won't just verify you an occupation, however, it will likewise help you in turning into a fruitful expert in your field.

So, pursue these seven recommendations to position yourself for progression openings.

Set Your Vision and Goals

It is outright basic that you initially comprehend what you appreciate most, what you are great at, and what you can accomplish for a time of 30-40 years with supreme energy each and every day.

When you have acknowledged and reported your desires, it's a great opportunity to set yourself a dream (where would you like to see yourself in a specific arrangement of time). Separate your vision into noteworthy objectives and make a promise to satisfy them at all expense with energy and enthusiasm.

Concentrate on MIG (Most Important Goal)

Once in a while, it's anything but difficult to get influenced by your vision when you set down an excessive number of objectives. It is significant here to separate between the most significant and not all that significant objectives with the goal that the most significant part of the vision can be focused on. Make sure to concentrate on less so as to achieve more.

Obtain the Right Skills and Values

How frequently we hear and read, obtain the correct abilities so as to succeed? All things considered, completing a touch of research will without a doubt give you a rundown of sought after aptitudes required by bosses for your aimed activity job. One simple method for looking through these abilities is to experience the activity advertisements with their sets of responsibilities (JDs) and particulars. Experience these JDs and make a rundown of the aptitudes that you right now have and the ones that you have to procure. These sets of expectations and occupation determinations are the best wellsprings of understanding what the market requests are for your sought activity.

Build up A Learning Habit

Putting your vision and posting down the abilities is a certain something; learning and securing these aptitudes is another. Try not to be unbending and be set up to gain proficiency with constantly. A business degree gained 10 years back isn't sufficient, the business condition changes thus do the innovation and the work requests. In this period of innovation, learning has turned out to be simple. Utilize the web to learn aptitudes. You can likewise ace the ideal aptitudes by doing moderate online courses for a couple of hundred bucks from various web-based learning entries.

 Do Effective Networking

Don’t just ask companies or recruiters directly for jobs. Approach them with the intent of showing passion and ability of learning new things. Without a robust, profound and diverse network you are restricting your prospects to learn, develop and expand the range of your experience and expertise. Networking is not just about you; the more people you help, the more people you will have on your side when difficulties arise within your own work, job or projects.

Pursue Leadership Pipeline – Be Patient

Initiative Pipeline Model was created by Ram Charan and it clarifies what aptitudes and practices are required at each dimension of your activity position so as to move to the following stage. Check at what stage you are and what abilities and practices you require. Climbing in a professional bureaucracy requires time, so be tolerant. Try not to attempt to surge by turning into a CEO in several years; rather center around turning into the best in your activity. Beneficial things will most likely come your direction.

Diligent Work

There is no alternate route throughout everyday life. Be sure and buckle down. Stimulate yourself as well as other people as nobody needs to be encompassed by individuals with pessimistic contemplation.

Approve Your Startup Idea by Doing the Things That Don't Scale

Approve Your Startup Idea by Doing the Things That Don't Scale

Scaling happens when you move up your sleeves and get hands-on with taking care of genuine issues and offering rapidly before contracting in light of interest

What amount does it cost to dispatch a startup? As per CB Insights, it has never been simpler to assemble startup adventures. Because of open-source advances and online devices, the expense of propelling a startup declined from $5 million in the year 2000 to under $5,000 today. Today, financing is never again an essential for propelling and developing startup thoughts. Bootstrapped or subsidized, you have all that you have to go to advertise rapidly and modestly.

LinkedIn fellow benefactor Reid Hoffman once stated, "The best way proportional is to do things that don't scale." Many business visionaries stress a lot over their 1000th client and their future $100 million-dollar business - when they haven't gained the primary client. In an aggressive and dubious market where most new businesses fall flat, business people ought to be cautious about the means they take to dispatch and ought to approve startup thoughts before going for the stars. Doing things that don't scale is a methodology that will enable you to limit dangers, expenses and vulnerability, while boosting future achievement rates. Pursue these means to dispatch startup adventures by doing things that don't scale.

1. Observe an issue sufficiently huge to merit explaining.

The most ideal approach to begin is by taking a gander at your very own issues and needs. Being your very own client encourages you characterize savvy speculations. Numerous business visionaries like to play what I call the X for Y idealization game. Applying the Uber, Airbnb, Groupon, Facebook or some other fruitful organization model to an alternate market or industry can enable you to create thoughts for issues once in a while worth fathoming. Rather, begin with the issue and let the client and tests let you know by which model you can all the more likely tackle this issue.

Related: Don't Go Looking for Problems: Curing Your Own Pain Points Is a Good Way to Develop a New Product

In a Startup Circle live session, Luke Kervin shared his voyage for beginning and approving the possibility of PatientPop, a stage he helped to establish for doctors to advance each progression of their patients' adventure.

In 2013, when Kervin's better half was pregnant, he was stunned to learn at the OB/GYN office how the social insurance industry was falling gravely behind every other person in embracing present-day innovation to run forms. However, he transformed this upsetting individual experience into an ideal business opportunity that in the long run progressed toward becoming PatientPop.

Issues worth fathoming address earnest needs. Begin with your own involvement with home and work, and you'll discover issues you can't survive without explaining.

2. Become the item.

Doing things that don't scale means taking care of the hidden issue under the state of the inaccessibility of the item. More often than not, particularly for innovative new companies, an item is an application. Applications are not modest to manufacture. They either require some investment or cash or both. Be that as it may, toward the day's end, applications are made to convey an answer. Looking at the situation objectively, much of the time, the arrangement can likewise be conveyed by an individual. It may not be adaptable - at the end of the day, you won't most likely serve hundreds or thousands of individuals in the meantime, yet you will almost certainly serve enough individuals to test your speculations, construct footing and presell the versatile variant of the thought.

Related: 12 Ways to Automate Your Business and Boost Efficiency

In his Startup Circle live session, Brennan Dunn, organizer of RightMessage.com, an item that aides in fragmenting site guests for better personalization, shared how he physically executed right message in customers' sites one site at any given moment. It was not adaptable but rather a basic and speedy approach to test his thought and get paid for his administrations while building an item numerous individuals can use alone.

Kervin and his PatientPop prime supporter Travis Schneider propelled a one-page site and a basic pamphlet indicating how the markups would look. This straightforward system was sufficient to get them on their customer date-book to exhibit the thought and much register an amazing number of customers. It took Kervin and Schneider a couple of days to make the non-versatile rendition of their item - a variant that depended more on the originators and less on the innovation.

3. Sell soon.

Selling soon, even before making the principal rendition of the item, is an incredible method to approve the requirement for thought and assemble a pool of devotees who will enable you to dispatch an item that tends to their needs.

When you consolidate the sell-soon mentality with the advantages of doing things that don't scale, you manufacture yourself a way to showcase that permits you not exclusively to execute rapidly yet, in addition, to serve the client while making the item. For our situation study, Kervin and Schneider played the job of the item by structure the site for the client and setting their examination and battles for them.

Before propelling Startup Circle, I messaged the thought, vision and plan to a couple of startup originators. Having gotten the money related responsibility of two organizations, I had the green light to continue to the following stage.

4. Concentrate on center highlights.

There will come when item improvement ends up unavoidable. With the ascent of the lean startup development, most business visionaries know about the significance of beginning little by structure just the center highlights. Be that as it may, now and then it feels like numerous highlights are center and a few business people end up investing months assembling an item nobody employments.

Related: Are You Selling Something Nobody Wants to Buy?

Think about the center highlights as what the client needs to achieve the ideal result. The trap is that you keep on serving some portion of the arrangement by doing things that don't scale while you robotize the other part. For example, on account of a sustenance on-request application, you can begin by enabling clients to peruse cafés and menu things while you take the requests through the telephone and get paid in real money or utilizing Square at the entryway after conveyance. This is the manner by which the nourishment on-request application DoorDash began.

Take the case of Ryan O'Donnell, fellow benefactor of SellHack and Replyify, devices that enable you to discover leads and send focused on virus messages. Ryan was attempting to make his activity simpler by making a basic device that can rapidly enable him to discover the contact data of his leads and send them an email. It took him a couple of days to make the center usefulness, and it was all he expected to catch the eye of his objective, salesmen, and drive a huge number of clients.

5. Contract because of interest.

Entrepreneurs like to make projections, yet more often than not - particularly in beginning period adventures - projections are once in a while precise. Rather than procuring in desire for interest, enlist because of interest. Despite the fact that you ought to dependably be assessing new abilities to manufacture a pool of applicants, be cautious when to affirm somebody's arrangement.

Most importantly, you ought to be the first and most dynamic salesman in your organization. To concentrate on their jobs of CEOs and subsequent to being the main sales reps in the group for a considerable length of time, Kervin and Schneider employed two salesmen to assume control over their occupations. Today, they utilize in excess of 350 workers at PatientPop.

Organizers of new companies need to remain solidly planted on the ground and address grassroots issues inside their business before achieving excessively high with respect to scaling. Take it from hands-on business visionaries who have seen the seeds of their endeavors develop naturally.

5 Things To Consider If You Are Looking To Hire A Freelancer

Should I hire a freelancer?

Are you thinking about expanding your workforce? Whether business is picking up or you have a project that requires specific expertise, there are several things to consider when deciding whether to hire a freelancer or permanent employee.

Why hire a freelancer?

Cost is the main reason why companies choose to outsource work. Hiring a freelancer means you only pay for the services you need, when you need them. Consider your business needs: If you have a project with an estimated duration and completion date, you may only need specific services for a short period of time. For example, if you’re launching a new product, you may want to outsource work on package design and landing page SEO to freelancers. If their expertise isn’t always needed, it reduces the cost of running the business compared to keeping them on permanently—especially if you would be required to pay for benefits packages. Many freelancers are also willing to work remotely, making outsourcing an even more affordable option as there is no overhead cost to hiring them.

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If you have an ongoing process or a project that will repeat, you might consider finding a permanent employee. In this case, keeping someone on permanently may save time and money from continually recruiting freelance workers.

Before you hire a freelancer

If you’re considering outsourcing to a freelancer, there are several factors you need to identify first before you begin your search:

The scope of your project

In order to determine your outsourcing needs, you first need to identify your project scope. Not doing so can potentially waste time and money on unneeded work—for both you and the freelancer. Determine what you need to get done, and what you expect from the freelancer. You will also need to decide on the skills level you need, as that will impact your budget (more below).

Milestones and deliverable

What do you need the freelancer to complete? Do you require check-ins, or will you need to factor in revision cycles? Determine this before searching for talent so that it is defined before you start your contact. Decide what you need, when you need it, and the skills required for it. Not doing so could waste time and money—or worse, you might end up hiring the wrong person for the job.

Your budget

Determine how much money have to hire a freelancer. If you’ve mapped out the scope of your project and determined milestones, you should have a good idea of how many hours the project might take, or how many milestones you should expect. Decide how you are going to pay your freelancer—hourly, per project, or per milestone. Depending on what experience level you require, you may need to budget for more in order to attract qualified candidates. If you’re not sure what the market rate is for your ideal freelance worker, check out Salary.com.

How to hire freelancers

The process of how to hire a freelancer is not drastically different from hiring permanent employees—you just need to advertise the job in the in the right places, and write your job posting so that it attracts good candidates.

Advertising on sites like Upwork can save you time on recruiting logistics which are often included in the service fees. These sites can gain you access to freelancers around the world, which has the potential to save you a lot of money as you can outsource to an area with a lower cost of living. Freelance workers on these sites are typically vetted and may have feedback from previous clients. This can save you some money on background checks—or worse, the of risk hiring a nameless, faceless person who may not have the expertise that they say they do.

Write your job posting so that it clearly defines the scope of your project, its deliverables, and your budget. If there is anything that would make a candidate better—such as experience in your industry or familiarity with a software program—include that in your job description. You don’t have to identify who you are; however, being as specific as possible with what you do and who your customers are can help you get better bids since freelancers can determine if their expertise is a good fit for your job. 

To summarize, you can save a lot of money by hiring a freelancer to outsource your work. Hiring a freelancer means that you are only paying for the services you need, when you need them. This is beneficial for areas of expertise that are not needed full-time at your business. Before your hire a freelancer, you should outline your project scope, its deliverables, and identify your budget. You should express these clearly in your job posting to ensure it attracts a freelancer with the type of expertise and experience you need for the job.

17 Ways To Stay Connected while Working From Home

Working from home is great on so many levels. Not having to commute saves money and time and can actually make you happier. A plethora of free toolsmake it dead simple to check in with office teammates. And if you want to work in sweats or pajamas, you can.

But there are challenges, as well. How do you keep from getting distracted with domestic duties? How do you handle a friend who stops by unannounced in the middle of the day? How do you get anything done if you have kids around?

A slew of people who work from home chimed in on the subject. Here's their advice on how to make telecommuting work.

1. Identify what needs to get done every day and make sure to do it. "As long as I have a plan on how to complete the list of daily tasks on my personal to-do list, it doesn't matter if or how I may be interrupted, as long as I get things done by the end of the day," says Michael Pesochinsky, VP, GC and CTO of Great Neck, New York-based GovernmentBargains.

2. Use the cloud. Klaus Sonnenleiter, president and CEO of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based PrintedArt, insists that important documents need to be uploaded to a cloud storage service such as Dropbox or Google Drive. "This way you can log in from anywhere and never need to worry about having your files with you," he says.

3. Get dressed. "I find that the most important thing for me is to keep a regular routine and to shower and dress every day as if I were going to an actual office," says Jenifer Kramer, Principal of West Hollywood, California-based Jenerosity Marketing.

Catherine Waldron, education specialist, with Enfield, Connecticut-based language curriculum company QTalk Publishing, agrees, and says she showers and dresses for work every day.  "Getting dressed makes the home office more like a real office, and tells and reminds everyone, especially you, that even though you may be sitting on the sofa reading, browsing the Web, or talking on the phone, that you are actually working," she says.

4. Don't let friends stop by. Dana Marlowe, principal partner of the Silver Spring, Maryland-based IT accessibility consulting firm Accessibility Partners, uses lunch as a time to meet with friends and if they show up at her house she politely tells them she's working. "Boundaries are only as effective as they are enforced," she says.

Catherine Simms, co-founder of Stamford, Connecticut-based pet accessories company Whiner & Diner, also avoids drop-in visitors. "I just tell them that it is not a good time [and] over the weekend would be better," she says. She also instructs them to call first to see if she's home. Then when they do she doesn't pick up, at least during work hours.

5. Get out of the house. Meagan French, marketing consultant with San Francisco-based Meagan French Marketing, likes to work out of coffee shops. "Leaving my house to work helps separate my work time and personal time," she says.

6. Make a stoplight for family members. Here's an idea from John Meyer, CEO of Miramar, Florida-based work-at-home call center company Arise Virtual Solutions. Hang or tape colored construction paper on your office door. "Tape the red light up when you cannot be disturbed and the green light when it's OK to come in. Yellow light means to check first," he says. "Kids, no matter what age, understand the message and enjoy playing along." (For more commentary on how to deal with distractions from kids, check out 3 tips for working from home with kids.)

7. Invest in creating a comfortable office. Deb McAlister-Holland, a freelance marketing professional in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, says the $5,000 she spent remodeling her home office was the best thing she ever did to increase her productivity. "I love my home office. It has a big leather sofa, three walls covered with built-in bookshelves and storage cabinets, dedicated circuits for my computers, special lighting, and a soft hand-woven rug on the floor that's the perfect spot for my dog to nap while I work," she says.

Frank Niles, co-founder and partner of Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Scholar Executive Group, a boutique executive coaching and executive counseling firm, sings a similar tune. "It may sound trivial but it's not--also buy yourself a comfortable business chair," he says. "You'll be more inclined to stay working... As a result, you'll be more productive."

8. Be clear about your working hours. "Post your hours of operation on your door, as with any office and stick to them. Indicate on your voicemail your hours of operation and refer the caller to your residence phone if it is personal," says Denise Beeson, small business loan officer and business instructor at Santa Rosa Jr. College, in Santa Rosa, California.

9. Pretend you're not home. Don't answer your home phone or door during business hours, advises Ron Sellers, president of Phoenix-based Grey Matter Research & Consulting. "That way, I'm never tempted to chat or take time off or slack off in any way, and I remain focused on business," he says.

10. Don't go to non-work appointments in the middle of the day. "I try to make doctor and dentist appointments just as I would in a company office, first thing in the morning, last thing in the day to minimize disruptions of my work," says Linda Stokes, managing partner of the Academy Physicians, a physician recruiting company in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area.

11. Get in-person time with co-workers. Once a month the four-person virtual team at Moreno Valley, California-based commercial telecom company TelecomQuotes meets in person. "I'm a big believer in kinesthetic learning or learning by doing and that's a bit of a lost art with our virtual world," says CEO Michael Bremmer. "There is something about white boarding an idea, while talking through the story and everyone is leaning in, engaged, thinking about a common goal, drawing on the deep water thoughts, that you just don't seem to get on a conference call or video call."

12. Use Google+ Hangouts. While it's ideal if you can occasionally meet in-person with coworkers, sometimes it's not possible because teams are separated by geography. In that case, video chatting is the next best thing, with Google+ Hangouts being an excellent medium for doing it. You can meet with up to 10 people for free, unlike Skype in which at least one person in the group has to have a paid subscription for meetings between more than two people. It also lets you do things like share your screen with others or pull in apps such SlideShare or Cacoo to draw or give presentations, respectively.  Check out Google+ a Ghost Town? Hardly, which discusses why Hangouts are good for business.

13. Enjoy your flexibility. Find your focus wavering? Take a break with a bike ride, swim, or even by quitting work for the entire day. That's according to Patti Hill, founder and managing director of Austin, Texas-based Penman PR. "Because my work schedule can be as flexible as I need it to be, sometimes it's important to walk away," she says. "It's amazing what a cool dip on a hot day can do for helping boost creative juices."

14. Enjoy disruptions. While some remote workers eschew personal visits during the work day, others take the opposite tack. Denny Daniel, curator of New York City-based The Museum of Interesting Things, says he started his own thing to reap the benefits of being his own boss. "So when people drop by I try to live life and see them unless I am with a client or not here, of course. If it is busy then at least I see them for a moment and enjoy life a bit too. It makes me work better in the end," he says.

15. Stay out of the kitchen. "This is sort of the dirty little secret of telecommuters, but it's like the freshman 15 all over again. I shudder at the thought of how many times I opened the fridge that first year. It was just constant snacking," says Joy Martini, president of the New York City-based marketing and communications firm Martini Consulting. "So you need a kind of discipline and that's really the clincher for the whole thing: having the discipline to get done what you need to get done; the discipline to avoid the kitchen; the discipline to kick your drop-in friends out."

16. Buy a noise-cancelling headset with a mute button. The last thing you want is to be in an online meeting and have the doorbell ring or police sirens blaring the background. "Perception is reality," says New York City-based Jonathan Vlock, co-Founder of the meal-planning app Cooking Planit. "You want people to think you run a tight ship, and have all of the necessary resources at your fingertips. This is especially critical when you are an entrepreneur talking to someone at a larger organization. People can't visualize your home but they can certainly visualize an office, and that is exactly what you want them to [see and hear]."

17. Check in with co-workers and the boss several times a day. Several years ago I worked for a large company that let me telecommute several times a week. Because I wanted everyone in the office to know I was really working and not watching TV or out shopping, I made a point of emailing and calling co-workers and especially my boss a few times a day.

18. Make use of free or inexpensive communications technology. Today there are countless tools available for keeping in close communication with office mates. A few to try include Hipchat for group chatting, Trello or Asanafor project management, Expensify for tracking expenses and submitting expense reports and Sqwiggle, which keeps your webcam turned on so your co-workers can see you at your desk all day long.

This Post is credited to: INC.com

What Every Business Owner Should Understand When Setting New Years Resolutions

It’s that time of year: Everyone, at least on a personal level, is focused on their new years resolutions. Here are the most common new years resolutions, according to a recent study:

1. Exercise more

2. Lose weight

3. Get organized

4. Learn a new skill or hobby 

5. Live life to the fullest

6. Save more money / spend less money

7. Quit smoking

8. Spend more time with family and friends

9. Travel more

10. Read more

As a business owner, chances are at least some of your goals are tied to your business. Here are some common resolutions for business owners, in contrast:

1. Communicate better

2. Pay it forward, help someone else in need

3. Think ahead

4. Prioritize balance

5. Consider delegation

As you probably could have imagined, the priorities of a business owner are a little different than someone who holds a traditional job.  It goes without saying: business owners simply do not have the luxury of "turning off" when they leave the office.

Perhaps you are one of the few people on this earth who has had positive experiences and success with new years resolutions lists. Chances are you are like many people who really struggle with follow through as the year progresses, and that's for a self-motivated entrepreneur!

The one thing that never changes is the commitment you have to your business. Whether or not you follow through on any of the business goals you set for yourself this year, we can be pretty sure you will do what it takes to put your business past the finish line. After all, that's why you are where you are, right?

So instead of focusing on a self-ordained list, I suggest taking a different tactic this year: focus on building habits, not obtaining metrics.

Don't get me wrong: there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting metrics and motivating your team to crush them. Revenue goals, for example, always have a place in business and can work wonders when organizing teams and increasing positive competition. 

However, as a business owner, your job is a little different. Even if you don’t have any employees (yet) you are still the CEO of your enterprise, and that entity carries potential. As the leader of any organization, the skills, personal traits, and habits you maintain must be a little different than everyone else's.

Here are some examples of how focusing on habits can be more beneficial to your growth as a business owner than focusing on high level patterns:

1. Instead of "communicate better", focus on ncultivating a habit of communication

   Take time every day to stop and fully focus on what your partner, spouse, or co-worker is saying. Ask yourself, did I practice this today? If I was not fully present in that moment, why not? Allowing yourself to listen to others will inherently cause people to want to listen to you as well, which will make communication much easier!

2. Instead of "think ahead", focus on cultivating the habit of writing

   Pick a writing schedule, and stick to it. It does not matter how many times a day or week you decide to write, just as long as you do it consistently, and at the same time every day. Use this time to reflect on things YOU can do better in your position, for the people around you: whether it be people in your business or loved ones in personal life. The practice of writing (even if you designate only 3-5 minutes) will naturally invoke ideas and suggestions for the future, with much more focus and intent.

3. Instead of "prioritize balance", focus on cultivating the habit of meditation.

   First of all, let's be honest for a moment: there is really no such thing as balance as a business owner. There simply is too much on our plate in 2019 to strive for perfect balance. Sure, we can strive to take a few vacations a year and spend more time with out family, but in the end, it is our business that allows us to enjoy all the periphery pleasures that result from our hard work. Your business comes first, because it has to. Taking time to meditate daily provides massive mental health benefits, the likes of which I will not get into here. Needless to say, finding balance in your day is a lot easier when you commit to simply turning off your monitor for 5 minutes a day. Finding balance starts internally, and striving for balance starts with focusing on the balance of your mind. The balance you find internally will naturally flow through to your professional and personal life.

I highly recommend an app called Streaks. It is a useful and brilliantly-designed app that can hep you set, manage, and track the habits you would like to form.

What are some habits you would like to develop this year to ultimately help grow your business? Drop a comment below!

Happy New Year.