5 Reasons No One Wants to Join Your Meetings

5 Reasons No One Wants to Join Your Meetings

If we were on Family Feud and the category was Things People Complain About at Work, I would be willing to wager a hefty amount that Meetings would take the top spot.

Just the word “meeting” can get people’s blood boiling and quickly raise the tension in a room.

Originally meant to indicate a gathering of people with a common goal, meetings have taken on a connotation that suggests large amounts of wasted time and little productivity.

The thing is, meetings will never go away. We live in a world that is more connected than ever, and collaboration is a critical component of most successful business operations.

What can be particularly frightening is when you are personally responsible for planning and directing the meeting. No one wants to be that guy who causes people to groan when they get his meeting invites, so here are some common missteps. Avoid these and you’ll be nicknamed the Master of Meetings. Click Here to Read Article …

11 Websites That Pay Freelance Writers

11 Websites That Pay Freelance Writers

Do you love expressing your thoughts through blog posts?

If you are really passionate about writing and sharing your thoughts with readers and do not want to limit it to just blogs, then you can turn your passion into your career.

There are many opportunities available for you to get connected with a greater audience and also bring new audiences to your blogs as well.

As a freelance writer, when you are submitting your content, you can get paid in two different ways.

One among those (and the most common) is you are paid a fixed price for the content you submit. The other option is a variable payment based on the number of views to your content and also the number of clicks for featured ads in the post. Click Here to Read Article …

Who’s the Best Democratic Candidate for Entrepreneurs? (Part 2)

Who’s the Best Democratic Candidate for Entrepreneurs? (Part 2)

In Part One, I took a look at the economic policies of Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.

I broke their ideas into the categories of wages, banking policies and taxes.

I also noted other policies relevant to entrepreneurs, small businesses and related freelance types.

Now, on to the third and final candidate, one Hillary Rodham Clinton. Click Here to Read Article …

Who’s the Best Democratic Candidate for Entrepreneurs? (Part 1)

Who’s the Best Democratic Candidate for Entrepreneurs? (Part 1)

The field of candidates for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 is small and manageable — populated by folks with platforms aimed to help the little guy.

If you’re a one-person work machine or the owner of a small business, do Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley or Hillary Clinton have anything up their sleeves to help you out?

For the sake of this overview, I’m invoking the principle that what’s good for the economy is good for small businesses.

That is, restaurateurs, potters and freelance accountants all need their neighbors to have some income. And if these entrepreneurs’ suppliers and distributors aren’t feeling a pinch, they’ll probably get kind rates, which mean a better chance of survival.

So everything affecting the economy affects entrepreneurs. The economic factors I’ll look at include wages, banking policies (which apply to anyone looking for a loan) and of course, taxes. Click Here to Read Article …

8 Easy Ways to Be Productive

8 Easy Ways to Be Productive

Everyone is so busy these days.

There is just so much to do, and it seems like 24 hours in a day is just not enough.

Every Monday, opening my Evernote, I promise myself to have a hyper-productive week.

I’ll finally cross off all those long-lasting tasks and have a brand new list of brand new tasks.

And then they come — emails, meetings, casual “do me a favors.”

Sounds familiar, right? By mid-week, when I become a bit tired, the greatest enemy comes: procrastination. After so many interruptions, only high importance and urgent tasks get to be crossed of the list, and next Monday the vicious circle continues. Click Here to Read Article …

How to Be Liked & Respected at Work

How to Be Liked & Respected at Work

If you think that work is just about getting the job done well and within deadlines, you better think twice.

Working is not just about what you do, but also how you get it done — these two ingredients combined make up your reputation.

And by now you must realize that reputation counts a lot in every kind of professional environment.

You’ll get promoted not only on the basis of what you do, but also on how others perceive what you can do.

Your actions will be interpreted by everyone at your workplace, and at some point you’ll need to decide what sort of relationships you’d like to develop at work. Would you rather be liked or respected?

Here are a few tips to help you deal with this issue and build a solid reputation in your field. Click Here to Read Article …

How Freelancers Can Make More Money

How Freelancers Can Make More Money

Being self-employed brings with it a host of exciting perks.

Like the freedom to manage your workload your way.

Or take on a diverse range of projects based purely on what takes your fancy.

Unfortunately, though, the perks of contracting can come at a price.

Contracting is, by nature, much less predictable than permanent employment, and making a profit isn’t as simple as doing your work on time.

So the question is: How can you level up your contractor’s income and make your company more profitable than ever?

We have a few ideas to help you maximise your take home pay, starting today. Click Here to Read Article …

6 Tips for Traveling with the Boss

6 Tips for Traveling with the Boss

Business travel can be stressful.

You have enough to worry about simply attempting to adapt to working outside of the office.

You’ll be spending a lot more time with your coworkers than usual, and this can make for some awkward situations.

The most awkward of all situations will likely be your away-from-the-office relationship with your boss.

It’s a tricky social landscape to navigate, and it may not be clear exactly how you should handle certain situations. Developing an etiquette code for yourself ahead of time will keep most surprises from popping up. Click Here to Read Article …