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Showing posts from June, 2017

4 Essential Tips for Time Management On-the-Go

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It happens to the best of us: you've worked hard to build a daily routine that lets you maximize every second of every day. You've mastered the fine art of working smarter, not harder, and everyone in the office is jealous of your productivity skills. Then, that upcoming business trip (or even vacation) gets slotted on the calendar and threatens to jeopardize everything you've built up to this point. Take a deep breath and relax. Staying as productive as humanly possible while on-the-go is a challenge, yes, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. If you want to make the best use of your time while you're out of the office, here are four simple, yet essential, tips you'll want to focus on. 1) Beware of Those Time Zones You know how it takes everyone a few days to recovery from the hour gained or lost due to Daylight Savings Time? Time zones are even worse for your productivity, especially if you're not a frequent traveler. If you're going t

Lessons We Can Learn From Great Business Minds of Yesteryear

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Business leaders of yesteryear can teach us lessons even today. Cornelius Vanderbilt, who dominated shipping and railroads, John Pierpont "J.P." Morgan, who built a financial empire on investments and banking, Mary Kay Ash, who founded the exceptionally successful company Mary Kay Cosmetics, and John D. Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil as was America's very first billionaire are all worthy of admiration and have lessons they can teach us. Today, though, let's look at one businessman, in particular, Henry Ford. Who Was Henry Ford And How Did He Make An Impact in The Country? Henry Ford, born in 1863, was a U.S. Industrialist who revolutionized automobile production, which allowed his company to mass produce cars, thus bringing the price down. This, in turn, allowed more regular folks to purchase cars and led to Ford Motors becoming hugely successful. In essence, Ford did more than creating a successful company; he revolutionized the entire transportation

Buy Paper, Save the Planet?

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Have you bought into the idea that using paper is bad for the environment?  If so, here are some data that might surprise you.  O ver the last six decades, the net volume of trees on U.S. timberland increased by 58%. Did you read that right? Yes, increased by 58%! If you’re in Canada, the forest cover has remained stable over the last two decades.  Our country’s forests aren’t in danger of disappearing anytime soon. They are actually growing!  By investing in paper-based communications, you are helping America’s timberland continue to flourish. Did you know that most pulpwood harvested in the United States (89%) comes from private land? (Here’s a quick fact: Most harvested trees are used to make lumber, not pulp and paper. In the U.S., only 36% of the annual timber harvest is used for paper and paperboard. In Canada, it is only 13%.) The income landowners receive from selling timber encourages them to maintain and renew this valuable resource. If forests weren’t c

Top Five Ways to Work Less and Enjoy Life More

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Everything today is about "more": more money, more time, more pressure, and ultimately, more stress. However, does this rat-race life leave you feeling flat and defeated and constantly chasing an ideal you're no longer sure exists? If this sounds like you, it's probably time to downshift and find ways to work less and truly enjoy your life more. Working less sounds like a scary prospect, but once you see how achievable it is and how much peace it will return to your life, you will be sold! 1. Make Changes at Work We often get caught up in the tidal wave of rushing to get to the next level at work. So caught up, in fact, that we don't realize we are no longer enjoying the work that we do and aren't even sure that we're adding value. How do you make an honest shift towards happiness while not letting down your co-workers or your boss, and continuing to pay your bills? Fortunately, there are more options available than ever before. There are simple st

Personalization Matters: Why Going the Extra Mile is Always Worth It

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When people talk about the decline of "mom and pop" businesses in favor of the giant, national retailers, one of the things they bring up is that it's hard to find a store that you can walk into these days where the person behind the counter actually takes the time to learn your name. You can't walk into a national brand and expect someone to go "Hey, Phil - how did that new garden hose you bought last week work out for you? I've been thinking about you, and I thought you might like this other new product, too." But the fact of the matter is that these days are not over - not by a long shot and especially not in the world of marketing. You absolutely can inject this much more intimate, fulfilling level of personalization into your marketing collateral - provided that you're willing to go the extra mile. Personalization in Marketing: By the Numbers If you ever wanted a clear cut example of why "going the extra mile" is an investm

3 Easy Time Management Tips: How to Create More Hours in a Day

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The one natural resource there never seems to be enough of is time. There are only so many hours in a day. You don't need to wish that tomorrow will suddenly be a 35-hour day to get all of your work done. Instead, you need to start using a few small, yet critical, time management tips today to work smarter, not harder, with the hours that you DO have available to you. Here are three tips to get you started. 1) Learn How to Travel Productively These days, a significant portion of your work probably isn't taking place within the confines of your office. Whether it's meetings with clients or unexpected personal issues, you likely find yourself stepping away from your desk more and more. The key to time management isn't learning how to keep up with your obligations in spite of these sudden duties. It's learning how to fit in work time around them. Even if you don't have a mobile tablet that you carry around with you wherever you go, it's still easie

The Importance of Appreciation For Morale

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As a hard worker, you want to be appreciated. This is simply human nature. We all want to feel our hard work is noticed and appreciated. After all, it only seems fair to be at least appreciated for giving your blood, sweat, and tears to make a profit for your employer. As an employer, you need to understand the importance appreciation has when it comes to the morale of your workplace. Appreciation is a huge aspect of a healthy, thriving workplace environment. The Data Proves The Importance of Appreciation A Chicago Tribune survey asked 30,000 employees who enjoyed their job why they loved their work. The most common reason cited by these employees was, "I feel genuinely appreciated at this company." This data shows what we have been talking about, showing appreciation matters. Making people feel like their efforts at work make a difference is important. The next step is learning how to communicate genuine appreciation without it coming across as fake. What Appreci

"Take It From Me"- Why Testimonials Are So Effective

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Marketing is all about giving your customers the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision. Everything you do - from the copy you craft to the images you choose - is built around that simple purpose in mind. But marketing itself has evolved over the years, away from the heavy reliance on the spec sheets of yesteryear. It's essentially become an open line of communication between you and the people you're trying to serve. People don't want to be "sold to" anymore - or at least, not in the way they used to. This is why customer testimonials are so important. Instead of "taking your word" for it that your product or service is going to impact their lives positively, it lets real customers hear from other real customers why the decision they're about to make is a good one. The Power of Testimonials: Facts and Figures In addition to communicating with your audience, another essential goal of your marketing materials sho

The Long-Term Benefits of Making Leisure Time a Priority

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Listening to the waves as they cascade against the sand, feeling the warm breeze against your face, understanding that all is right with the world, at least for that moment, that is what vacation is for most people. Perhaps you would trade the ocean waves for the sound of an eagle soaring through resplendent mountaintops covered in evergreens or snowcaps. The idea, though, is that you are away from your everyday world. You stop clocking in. You aren't dealing with the stress that encompasses so much of your everyday existence. You are on vacation. What do you think about this vacation time? Is it well deserved for your hard labor? Is it perhaps frivolous? Do you wonder if you will ever get to realize this dream, this break from your life? Well, read on to learn why vacation is not only an excellent way to rejuvenate your body; it has also been proven to be something you shouldn't put off: You Can't Possibly Get More Done After a Break: Or Can You? In essence, ye

Veterans Use the Internet to Expand Skill Set and Boost Income

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As a war veteran, Shane Thomason knows firsthand what it feels like to experience victory in battle. After being home for nearly ten years from the Iraqi War, Thomason now spends his time giving back to the community and expanding his occupational skill set via the internet. Owning more than 250 websites, including RandomVeteran.com, Thomason enjoys working from home and has found much success in being able to sell unique t-shirts and other novelty items online. Thomason isn't the only veteran taking advantage of the internet to boost his annual income. There are veterans located all across the globe who sell items and services online as a way to supplement their earnings, and for many of them, they simply do this for the same reason Thomason does -- to pass the time and keep their minds occupied. A former civil engineer for the US Navy, Zachary Scheel, says, "Veterans are comfortable operating in high-pressure environments that are changing rapidly, where they're