You can stop talking about yourself and your stuff never!

You can stop talking about yourself and your stuff… never! Check out this post from Chris Brogan: You Can’t Talk About Yourself Enough, Apparently. Chris Brogan has had a big name in the blogging and social space for a while.  He was a very popular speaker and travelled the country (world?). Ive met him in person and he has even let me guest blog on his blog. Things have changed quite a bit in the landscape and Ive heard less of and about Chris than a few years ago, but Im not plugged in as much.  But he still has a great following and is quite influential. This blog post doesnt surprise me one bit.  In the post (which you must read it is short) he talks about the Owner Magazine, which he runs.  When he surveyed his subscribers the people who supposedly are reading all of his stuff, too many said huh? What is Owner Magazine?  As if they hadnt ever heard it mentioned before. Chris says: I swear, to ME, it feels like it’s all I talk about. I tweet almost 30 tweets a day almost every day pointing people to Owner. My About page starts by saying I’m publisher of Owner magazine. Ditto my social media profiles. My LinkedIn profile leads with it. I link to it all the damned time. And yet, people keep saying, “Oh! I didn’t know you were producing a business magazine.” He goes on to say that he is thinking we do need to talk about OURSELVES more often, contrasting what he has thought and said before. I completely agree.  People ask me how you get more blog readers, more people in a LinkedIn Group you started, more people talking about you to their peers, more ________.  The thing is, you cant say something once and assume that people get it, or care, or will remember later. A big part of branding, whether it is personal or corporate branding, is repetition of the right messages. Can you believe that even though I talk about JibberJobber, the job search organizer, all the time, I still have people who think they are on JibberJobber when they are only a member of my LinkedIn Group (JibberJobber: Career Management)?  I have had people say Yeah, Im on JibberJobber!  But they are only on the forum. Same thing with my blog this blog.  People read this blog and when I ask them if they are on JibberJobber they say YES!  They dont realize that there is something much bigger, the JibberJobber App. I have people who have read any of my three books, watched thousands of hours of my training videos, met me in person and heard me speak at conferences and they dont know what JibberJobber is, or why JibberJobber is so critical to them. Its not like I havent mentioned it before.  The only reason I bring this example up to you is that I guarantee the same thing is happening to you. You THINK people know you are a product manager, but they really dont get it. You THINK people know you need their help with networking and introductions, but they dont even think about you, even when an opportunity comes their way that you would be perfect for. Whatever you THINK people know or think of or about you, let me tell you, you are probably wrong. Until you hear them talking to someone else about you the right way, they dont get it. And that simply means we need to continue to share our message and talk about ourselves (the right way).  Dont believe me?  Go read Chriss post again. You can stop talking about yourself and your stuff… never! Check out this post from Chris Brogan: You Can’t Talk About Yourself Enough, Apparently. Chris Brogan has had a big name in the blogging and social space for a while.  He was a very popular speaker and travelled the country (world?). Ive met him in person and he has even let me guest blog on his blog. Things have changed quite a bit in the landscape and Ive heard less of and about Chris than a few years ago, but Im not plugged in as much.  But he still has a great following and is quite influential. This blog post doesnt surprise me one bit.  In the post (which you must read it is short) he talks about the Owner Magazine, which he runs.  When he surveyed his subscribers the people who supposedly are reading all of his stuff, too many said huh? What is Owner Magazine?  As if they hadnt ever heard it mentioned before. Chris says: I swear, to ME, it feels like it’s all I talk about. I tweet almost 30 tweets a day almost every day pointing people to Owner. My About page starts by saying I’m publisher of Owner magazine. Ditto my social media profiles. My LinkedIn profile leads with it. I link to it all the damned time. And yet, people keep saying, “Oh! I didn’t know you were producing a business magazine.” He goes on to say that he is thinking we do need to talk about OURSELVES more often, contrasting what he has thought and said before. I completely agree.  People ask me how you get more blog readers, more people in a LinkedIn Group you started, more people talking about you to their peers, more ________.  The thing is, you cant say something once and assume that people get it, or care, or will remember later. A big part of branding, whether it is personal or corporate branding, is repetition of the right messages. Can you believe that even though I talk about JibberJobber, the job search organizer, all the time, I still have people who think they are on JibberJobber when they are only a member of my LinkedIn Group (JibberJobber: Career Management)?  I have had people say Yeah, Im on JibberJobber!  But they are only on the forum. Same thing with my blog this blog.  People read this blog and when I ask them if they are on JibberJobber they say YES!  They dont realize that there is something much bigger, the JibberJobber App. I have people who have read any of my three books, watched thousands of hours of my training videos, met me in person and heard me speak at conferences and they dont know what JibberJobber is, or why JibberJobber is so critical to them. Its not like I havent mentioned it before.  The only reason I bring this example up to you is that I guarantee the same thing is happening to you. You THINK people know you are a product manager, but they really dont get it. You THINK people know you need their help with networking and introductions, but they dont even think about you, even when an opportunity comes their way that you would be perfect for. Whatever you THINK people know or think of or about you, let me tell you, you are probably wrong. Until you hear them talking to someone else about you the right way, they dont get it. And that simply means we need to continue to share our message and talk about ourselves (the right way).  Dont believe me?  Go read Chriss post again.

PowerPoint Resume Writing

PowerPoint Resume WritingIn a presentation, PowerPoint resume writing is a standard strategy. As it's a well-known fact that people love to look at things and see the things that are created on them. This means that giving the audience a clear understanding about the work that has been done and being able to show the details to be taken up will make the presentation have better effect.Of course there are things that you need to keep in mind when using PowerPoint resume writing. One of them is to let them know that you want to make your resume in the best way possible. You can use pictures if you want to, but if you are able to show how you did the job to prove it to them, it will be easier for them to take you up on your offer. The way you put your knowledge and experience is also something that needs to be carefully chosen so that you don't come across as an amateur.Always remember that if you are dealing with a document that will be read by other people, PowerPoint resume writing n eeds to be enhanced. This is because you will want the audience to be impressed enough to actually show their interest in what you have to say. You can do this by thinking of how you can improve your presentation.Instead of just presenting the present and previous position as they are, you can present them in a way that shows them that you still have some extra information to add. For example, you can highlight a particular area where you have a big edge to your competition. Another way is to change a certain aspect of your proposal so that it attracts more attention. The choice is yours and you can let yourself be creative about how you can make your presentation better.Never forget that the first impression of you can leave a lasting impression on people's eyes. Try to show your capability and showcase what you have achieved in the past few years. People will automatically take you into account when it comes to making your selection. Presentation is key to getting a better post.Ma ke sure that you use your background as well as your skills and let the audience know about it. Make sure that the information you provide is correct and that you are able to verify it. Provide all the information about the relevant position you are applying for.You can also include your successes in the right part of the document to draw the attention of the audience to it. It is very important that you are able to connect with the audience so that they will be interested in what you have to say. This is one of the key keys in PowerPoint resume writing and you must try to make sure that it's worth. It's also a good idea to mention any hobbies or pastimes that you can tell the audience that you have so that you can show them that you are a very interesting person.Always include all the details that are required by the presentation and never forget to ensure that you have addressed a specific point. You should be able to prove what you have said and this can be achieved by using exam ples. These will prove to be very effective when you use them for your presentation.

A Happy Hersheys Wedding

A Happy Hershey’s Wedding There is nothing as sweet as two people in love â€" unless it is two people in love surrounded by luscious chocolate. While in recent years couples have experimented with unusual flavors for their wedding sweets, but almost everyone agrees that deep, delicious chocolate is the most romantic flavor. The truth is that nobody does chocolate better than Hershey’s. Here’s how to create sweet memories using Hershey’s chocolate in your upcoming nuptials. Invitations With the popularity of social media, so few social events warrant paper and ink invites anymore, which means that sent invitations must be more spectacular than ever. Though the printer may try to steer you toward costly envelope liners or custom stamping, we advocate whole-heartedly for particular foil embellishments â€" namely foil surrounding rich, delicious chocolate. Hershey’s Chocolate Bars have iconic brown and silver wrappers, and you can capitalize on the charming recognition of the treats by designing your own Hershey’s chocolate wrapper for your special day. By adding particular text and images, you can create stylish, memorable, and edible invites or save-the-dates for your wedding. Here are some ideas to include on the wrapper: The names of the betrothed The date, time, and location of the wedding A picture of the betrothed Images that fall within the wedding’s theme Visit any Hershey’s Chocolate World to experiment with wrapper designs, or talk to a Hershey’s associate for examples and ideas. Wedding Cakes and Cupcakes For most couples, cutting into the wedding cake is the highlight of the night â€" besides the lifelong commitment, of course. Like the dress, the decorations, and the vows, the cake must be absolutely perfect, which is why it is so wise to commission, or make, a Hershey’s flavored cake. Hershey’s candies can easily be baked right into a beautiful wedding confection, or skilled bakers can use signature Hershey’s sweets to inspire amazing and unique flavors. Any cake can easily be covered in white frosting for the typical wedding look, or you can show off its inspiration with Hershey’s decorations. Here are some of our favorite Hershey’s cake creations for you to sample for your big day. Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake, by Hershey’s. Hershey’s Decadent Dark Chocolate Cake, by Tastebook. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake, by Dulce Dough. Almond Joy Cake, by Deep South Dish. Any of the above recipes can easily be adapted to cupcakes for a less messy wedding desert. Alternative Treats Of course, wedding cakes are incredibly traditional, and as couples cohabit, have kids, and more before getting married, it is becoming clear that modern American couples are anything but traditional when it comes to weddings. If you prefer a more creative or unconventional desert for your wedding, you have a handful of options that are sure to please everyone at your reception, including you. Cookies are a cost-effective and fun desert to serve after dinner. Even people who claim ambivalence to sweets have a favorite cookie, which makes these treats a definite crowd pleaser. You can consider baking several dozen of the bride’s favorite cookie and an equal amount of the groom’s favorite cookie to showcase the commitment; alternatively, you can make hundreds of one variety, or you can make a couple dozen of 10 or more flavors. There are hundreds of thousands of recipes for different cookies, like peanut butter with Reese’s Pieces, Hershey’s Kiss blossoms, cookies ‘n’ crème, and more â€" all you have to do is find the perfect ones and set them out on a plate. Candy bars â€" also known as candy buffets, food stations offering a bevy of sweet treatsâ€" are becoming increasingly popular for their easy set-up, versatility, and whimsical designs. You can fill many different jars with your favorite sweets or graciously set out platters with full-sized bars. An excellent idea to continue your wedding’s theme with candy is to purchase and display Hershey’s Kisses in your wedding’s colors. Because there are dozens of different varieties of Hershey’s Kisses, you are sure to find ones that suit your needs. Wedding Favors Just like invitations, party favors are more often than not a thing of the past. However, you can graciously thank your guests for their attendance and gifts with simple and thoughtful Hershey’s-themed wedding favors. As with the candy bar, you may elect to provide small bags of Hershey’s miniatures or color-themed Hershey’s Kisses. Alternatively, Hershey’s sells a variety of decorative goods, like mugs and pillows, that make for cute gifts. No matter what you give out, if you are sure everyone goes home with Hershey’s in hand, you’ll know your wedding was a success.

What to Know When Your Hobby Becomes Your Business

What to Know When Your Hobby Becomes Your Business Many of us dream of the day we can do what we love and get paid for it. When we’re able to turn a hobby into a business, it can be a win-win. This is why so many people choose to sell crafts, do freelance work or adopt a side hustle that allows them to make some extra money each month. Unfortunately, there’s a thin line between “side hustle” and “small business.” When your hobby crosses into the small business category, there are some serious decisions that need to be made. To ensure you and your business are fully protected, you’ll want to ensure you take the appropriate measures. Whether you’re running a side hustle you hope to someday turn into your main income or you’re not sure whether or not you have a small business or a hobby, here are a few things you need to know or do. Understanding the Difference Before you do anything else, you need to know how you’re classified within the eyes of the IRS. While you may believe your side hustle is just a hobby, the IRS may actually classify you as a small business or vice versa. The IRS does not provide strict guidelines outlining the difference between a hobby and a small business. However, if you rely on income from your side hustle or you hope to be profitable from your hobby, it’s likely considered a small business to the IRS. The IRS will also classify your hobby as a small business if you were profitable in the past, if you changed productivity to be more profitable or if you are operating at a loss because of start-up purchases. Protect Yourself and Your Business Whether your side hustle is already classified as a small business or you hope to turn it into a profitable activity, you need to protect yourself and your company. You can do this by establishing either an LLC or a corporation, even if you’re the sole employee. LLC or incorporated status can help protect you as an owner while also giving you new benefits for your business. How you decide to establish yourself will depend on what products or services you provide, how many people you have on your team and what growth you expect to see in the future. Know the Rules and Regulations When you become a full small business, there are certain rules and regulations you will need to comply with. From trademark laws to safety regulations, you’ll need to be sure you understand the ins and outs of each. Ignoring the laws could cause major trouble for both you and your business in the future. There are also various ISO standards you’ll need to comply with, depending on the products or services you offer. To ensure you’re meeting all the expectations, you may want to consider consulting a professional. Open a Business Bank Account A business bank account allows you to separate your small business money from your personal money. When you’re trying to operate with just your personal bank account, it can be difficult to log expenses or keep your funds separate. This can be a major problem if you’re ever audited by the IRS. See if your bank of choice offers a business bank account you can sign up for, but be sure you understand the fees and regulations. Many business bank accounts have high minimums and deposit limits. Shop around until you find a bank account that fits your needs and won’t force your business under. Prepare to Pay Taxes Many side hustlers believe they don’t need to pay taxes on their hobby income. Unfortunately, any kind of income â€" no matter the amount â€" is subject to taxation. If you don’t pay taxes throughout the year, you could be given a hefty tax bill you can’t afford to pay. You’ll want to pay quarterly taxes throughout the year on any income you make through your side hustle. Keep in mind that because you’re considered a business owner, you’ll also need to pay self-employment tax. This means your taxes can add up rather quickly. To ensure you have enough money to pay your taxes each quarter, set aside 20-30% of everything you make into your business bank account. Track Your Income and Expenses Depending on what your hobby is, you may get paid in cash. Whether you’re selling crafts at an art fair or performing tasks at a neighbor’s house, getting paid in cash can make it difficult for you to keep track of how much you’re making. If you’re not logging your income, you could be facing a major headache when tax season comes along â€" especially if you’re ever audited. The same applies to your expenses. There are many different programs out there that allow you to log your income and keep track of your expenses. Keep your receipts in a safe place. At the very least, keep an updated spreadsheet you can point to whenever you need it. This can be a real life-saver when you’re ready to do your taxes. Going from hobby to small business is a major step. It can come whether you’re prepared for it or not. Knowing what you need to know and do when your hobby becomes a small business is incredibly important. With these tips, you’ll be fully prepared whenever the shift happens.

How To Get The Best College Resume Writing Service Prices

How To Get The Best College Resume Writing Service PricesCollege resume writing service prices are different from one company to another. The first thing you need to check for is the product quality. A good resume writing service will be offered with high quality resume templates and related training materials, thus producing a high quality resume.There are different styles of resumes. A lot of companies accept a conventional format of just a heading line followed by the resume. However, not all companies are willing to go with this common form. What you will get with a professional resume writing service are a wide variety of resume formats, thus giving you a great deal of flexibility.You can tailor your resume to include the information you want to add or replace. Also, there is no need to get a perfect design since they can be changed to suit your requirements. For example, if you are looking for a less formal resume format then the services can have it altered to your specificati ons.There are companies that will give you an estimate on the amount they will charge for a resume. This cost can vary from one company to another. For instance, a lot of companies offer free consultation and training sessions, thus taking the cost of preparing a resume down significantly.There are companies that specialize in providing college career websites. These websites will not only highlight relevant qualifications and specific jobs you are seeking, but will also include the latest job openings in your area. Your resume will be featured on these websites when an employer searches. So, a good resume writing service will be able to provide you with the best employment opportunities in your field, as well as create a professional website.To get the best results, you should request for samples of previous work from the college resume writing service. These samples will show the results of the previous work of the writers. Before hiring a writer, you can check for references and talk to them. The details that you provide to them, will help them pick the right candidate for your resume.If you would like to save on your college resume writing service costs, you should consider using this method. This way, you can save both time and money. Since the writing services are already known for producing good-quality resumes, you will get your money's worth.It is now possible to create a high-quality resume at an affordable price with the help of a resume writing service. Always be sure to negotiate for the best rates possible, as this will ensure you get the best resume you could have ever dreamt of.

How to be a workplace rebel - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How to be a workplace rebel - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My speech from this years Meaning Conference in Brighton?just went live. Its 11 minutes long and you can watch it right here: I personally?feel this speech was pretty rough it is the very first time Ive spoken about this particular topic and it shows. But Im very passionate about inspiring more people to say NO at work and will be refining this message further. The web site I mention in the speech is live?and you can go on there now and get a ton of tips on quitting your job. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

26 Tools My Business Couldnt Live Without In 2013

26 Tools My Business Couldnt Live Without In 2013 Here are 26 tools my business couldnt live without in 2013. These are the go-to tools I find myself using again and again and highly recommend. Looking back over the past year, I’ve played around with some plug-ins, apps and tools to simplify/improve my online performance and business overall! My Website Thesis Premium WordPress Theme  I’ve been using Thesis (premium WordPress theme for several years.)  I am by no means technical. I don’t speak CSS, HTML, or API. I really dont need to.  I chose Thesis, because it was SEO optimized and at the time it was one of the best WordPress themes out there (and Chris Brogan was using it. Brogan is now using Genesis, hint, hint.) There is a cost associated with owning a premium theme. At the time, I paid around $100 for it. What I like about it…at this point in the game, it is comfortable. I know my way around it. It has served me well. Recently, there have been some pretty updates which give me additional flexibility in how my site looks. (Expect some changes here soon.) What I’ve never liked about it…the help and tutorials are written in really technical language. I don’t want to know what a hook is, I just want to be able to add promotional blocks to posts to my site. The recent upgrades have made this easier, but the tutorials are still pretty technical. And yes, I have someone who understands this technical stuff and helps me when I need it- Michael R. Murphy, thanks! Plug-ins Plug-ins provide an easy way to add functionality to your site. There are hundreds of thousands of them. These are the plug-ins I use: AddThis Social Bookmarking:    Help your visitor promote your site! The AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget allows any visitor to bookmark your site easily with many popular services. Sign up for an AddThis.com account to see how your visitors are sharing your contentwhich services theyre using for sharing, which content is shared the most, and more. Its all freeeven the pretty charts and graphs. BackUp Buddy:  The most complete WordPress solution for Backup, Restoration, and Migration. Backs up a customizable selection of files, settings, and content for the complete snapshot of your site. Restore and/or migrate your site to a new host or new domain with complete ease-of-mind. (Thanks Skeeter Harris!) Contact Form 7:  Just another contact form plugin. Simple but flexible. Contextual Related Posts:  Displaying a set of related posts on your website or in your feed. Increase reader retention and reduce bounce rates Feedburner Email Widget:  Allows you to add a Feedburner Email Subscription widget to one of your sidebars. (Ive been using Feedburner for my blogs feed since the beginning. It helps make the posts circulate.) Livefyre Realtime Comments:  Implements Livefyre realtime comments for WordPress Social Media Widget:  Adds links to all of your social media and sharing site profiles. Tons of icons come in 3 sizes, 4 icon styles, and 4 animations. WordPress Popular Posts:  Showcases your most popular posts to your visitors on your blogs sidebar. Use WordPress Popular Posts as a widget or place it anywhere on your theme using some code. Hosting I am a bit frustrated with GoDaddy right now. They host my site.  Ive been having a re-occurring error connecting to the database but hopefully it is fixed now. Let me say, the customer service is quite responsive. So why am I still using them? Mostly because I dont like change. And, it is easier to keep it hosted there than switch to another hosting company. And, the price is right. Social Media Monitoring I’m all over social so I need a tool that makes it easy to schedule what I post and where, monitor so I can reply/respond. HootSuite is my preferred desktop tool. I can schedule posts to any of my social networks from this platform. Hootsuite also lets me monitor all the activity going on across my social networks (especially all the lists Ive created on Twitter!) Tweetcaster: On my iPhone, I use Tweetcaster for Twitter. Seldom do I post or share content from my mobile other than to Twitter. (Thanks for the tip Mari Smith) BufferApp: When I must schedule a post and dont want to open Hootsuite, I use Buffer. It allows me to schedule any post. Easy Content Sharing Because I am so active on Twitter, I often forget what I’ve shared. I read every post before I share it. So one of some of the tools my business couldnt live without allow me to easily share these articles. RebelMouse:   [No longer free, so I stopped using it] I’ve set up this magazine-like summary to pull updates from Twitter, FB business page, Pinterest. This only has the posts, I share! I share about one tweet per hour, and 2 or 3 Facebook pages a day on CareerSherpa. Once a week or so, I’ll find some cool infographics on Pinterest and share those too. The good news is, you don’t need to be all those places and follow me, you can see it all on my RebelMouse page. This all happens automatically once I’ve set it up! Sweet! Paper.li: I publish a  Weekly Job Search Guide. It is a compilation of tweets from some of the top career professionals I follow. It is aggregated and emailed and tweeted once a week by Paper.li! I don’t need to touch it. I set the weekly time to publish and it tweets and emails it at the scheduled day and time. Images I used to go to Microsoft Images for my post images. But, truth be told, Microsoft changed how you access images and I can’t figure out how to find them. I needed a new source anyway and Flickr was too overwhelming. Google Images never produced good usable content. Then one day I ran across a post by Laura Roeder and fell in love with these three resources. Now, I find all my images from them! MorgueFiles, Unsplash and Death to the Stock Photo. Read the post by Laura for more sources of no-cost stock photos. Image Snipper I usually capture screen shots with Microsoft’s Snipping Tool. Sometimes I use Evernote’s Skitch. Create Memes I wanted an easy way to add text to photos/images. I started using PicMonkey and really like it. Simple and easy. I’ve used others but this works well. Email Sign Up The money is in the list, or so the saying goes. I have a monthly and a daily newsletter and this contains email addresses of people who are interested in my content. MailChimp: I use Mailchimp and I like it. It is still free for me to use because I have under 2,000 subscribers. You need an email list I sometimes have problems editing the monthly content with their newest upgrade, but I am sure if I spent some time, I could figure out how to edit the font sizes and formatting better. Having an email list is one of the best investments I made and is one of the tools my business couldnt live without. Its how I communicate with my readers! RSS Reader I always need fresh content to share and sources of information. Most of the time I get current news from my Twitter feed. But, sometimes I need more. These are the two RSS Readers I use to source content on a particular topic and to stay current. (Love these because it eliminates a lot of the email updates I get) Feed.ly:  You can tailor the feedly reader to your tastes. Get started by adding sites you love to read. The Old Reader: It allows you to browse your daily dose of content with that very special bit shared by your friends, with notes and comments.  I use this because I can search for key words in articles/blog posts, which I cant do with Feed.ly Other Cool Tools List.ly: Create lists of your favorite posts or resources! Then share it in a post! This tool has engagement factor, meaning people can follow your list, add to it, share it, or like an item youve listed. The options are endless for how you can use this neat tool. WiseStamp:  Create a professional email signature and  promote your business with every email sent. Rapportive: (Now part of LinkedIn Sales Navigator)A must-have email plugin! I can see a photo of the person who has sent me an email, what social networks they are on and if I am connected or following them. This is free! Commun.it: This is a great  Twitter monitoring tool! I get a daily update via email that tells me who has engaged with my post, new followers, people who I might want to respond to, etc. I recently started using the free version and REALLY like it! Keeping Up With Trends In order to stay up on the latest tools, I read and follow content created by people I respect. I hope you have found this post helpful. So there you have it, the 26 tools my business couldnt live without! Image Credit: Flickr:  Rosaura Ochoa