Do you know that there are a lot of little things you can do around the house that can lead to significant savings on your electric bill? Below are some helpful tips:
Over 50? Here’s How You Find A Job!
Finding a job these days is not an easy task – and it’s worse when you’re 50 years old. The job landscape has changed so much over the years, and while companies are not supposed to discriminate with respect to anything other than skill and competency, it is a fact of life that the older one gets, the harder it is to get a job. Looking at the bright side, it may be difficult but it is not impossible! So how do you land a decent job – maybe even your dream job – when you’re “over the hill” as some would say?
Work at it. There’s no going around it, sad to say. Fresh graduates, young people, experienced young professionals – the current state of the job market dictates that the average person has to work hard at finding a good job. You just have to put a lot of effort into it – until you find that job you want. My personal tip: keep sending in your application even if it does not seem that you have a high chance of getting the job. If you want it, at least try to go for it. You never know what the outcome may be!
Make the most of your time. So you do not have that job yet? Do not sit idle when you are not going to interviews. Instead, spend that time to improve yourself – professionally as well as personally. Look for free training sessions. Read up on your field. Sign up for group discussions. Do everything that you can to add to your marketability as a professional.
Build a network. The chances are that you’ve built your own network over the years. Well, there is no reason for you not to continue expanding that network. Participate in various activities that will help you meet people. Charity work, mentoring students, lecturing – whatever you can do that fits your skills and personalities, go ahead and engage in it.
Age does matter for some, but as someone once said, with age comes wisdom and experience. Use that to your advantage!
Tools That Every MAN Must Have
Obviously, I am NOT a man; but my dad had this notion that he would have a son as his first child – what guy doesn’t, anyway? So anyhow, growing up, I got to spend a lot of time with my dad as he tinkered with his motorbike and has he did jobs around the house. Looking back, I realize now that there are certain tools that a man simply has to have. In keeping with the spirit of Father’s Day, I thought it would be great to create a list of the tools that should be part of every guy’s arsenal – father or not.
1. Hammer. You never know when you might need to hit something hard. Seriously, a hammer is a very handy tool and you can never have one hammer too many (at least that’s what my dad said).
2. Power drill. This is a very handy tool, and you can use it for a variety of jobs. Curtain rods, photo frames, chandeliers, shelves – all these would need a power drill to be installed.
3. Duct tape. Just watch an episode or two of MacGyver and you will know what I mean. Duct tape can be used for anything. And I mean anything.
4. Tape measure. There is nothing worse than buying a new air conditioner or any other piece of furniture only to find out that it will not fit where you want it to. The solution? Measure, measure, and then measure again. Oh, and make sure you write the measurements down.
5. Pencil. Of course, you need a pencil to write those measurements – oh and make sure you have a piece of paper handy as well.
What are your must-have tools?
Check out your competitor
Studying your competitor is one of the most important responsibilities of an entrepreneur. By gaining knowledge about a competitor they will be more equipped to handle the competition. But how do you go about this function especially if you have limited financial resources?
Company formation and business solutions experts agree that it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive to study the competition. Some of the competition-studying tactics that can be done are:
• Study the competitor’s website
• Talk to the competition (depending on the sector, this is possible but you must follow certain etiquettes)
• Ask friends and associates
• Investigate the competitor’s SEC papers
• Use Google or Yahoo!
Start-ups need long-term vision
The usual problem of trying to find funding and finance to set up a business is no longer the biggest barrier to enterprise. This was the finding of a poll of early stage start-ups that overwhelmingly rated credit management as the biggest obstacle.
The study was carried out by the Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) as it polled over 200 small enterprises about the difficulties they have experienced in starting and operating a business into a thriving success.
A similar small business enquiry made by Enterprise Insight, the group behind the forthcoming Enterprise Week, also found out that half of young entrepreneurs with a good idea failed to bring it to reality because they had trouble in accessing funds.
But the BPPG respondents revealed that credit management problems hampered their start-up and expansion ventures more than any other factor. Over 35 per cent of respondents said they suffered because of poor credit management, while just 19 per cent said that accessing capital is the biggest obstacle in their business.
Meanwhile, a smaller number of entrepreneurs said that the biggest barrier that they faced was knowing how to get their idea off the ground. This is then followed by those who suffered from finding it difficult to find ongoing business support.
According to the BPPG “Although business owners know from experience the restrictions that cash flow problems can place on a new or growing business, the survey highlights that employees and budding entrepreneurs do not realise the importance of credit management.”
The group is urging entrepreneurs to consider the long-term vision of their enterprise dream and this could be achieved by listening to established company owners and business managers.