Monday, April 20, 2020

Writing a Resume For Kids

Writing a Resume For KidsWriting a resume for kids is a great way to help them look ahead to their future. These are becoming more important to the workers of today due to the fact that they do not have a lot of time to devote to school.This means they are a little more inclined to looking for a job because they do not have a lot of free time. It is difficult to be independent as an adult, and most of us have had to move out of home to a place where we do not have a lot of friends. It is important for this reason that they are given the opportunity to find a job.It is in your best interest to make sure that you contact your parents as well. That way, you can tell them how you feel about being unemployed and you can let them know what the worst that could happen to you is. If you are successful at this, you will be surprised at the level of confidence that you will develop.It is a very good idea to give your children's resume some thought. You might want to show it to them first and a sk them to approve it. It is important that you do not talk about the details of your life right now as this could have a negative impact on your child.Instead, you should take the time to research the professional person that you want to approach. Look into their resume and see if you can get a copy of it and read it. If you think it would not be fair to your child, then you may want to avoid the person altogether.If you are able to read the resume and are able to see that it is not all that bad, then you can write down your thoughts on it and send it back. You should also make sure that the person you are approaching really does speak English, because you don't want to end up as the one who has to correct them on grammar.Kids are different from adults in many ways, and sometimes you may not be able to tell what they are feeling from the words that you say. Just be patient with them and try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

A Business Owners Guide to Finding the Best Location for Your Store

A Business Owner’s Guide to Finding the Best Location for Your Store In an age of online shopping and GPS-enabled smart phones, where you locate your store may not seem very important. But think again: Given the ease, and often the savings, associated with web commerce, having a convenient, easy-to-find location is more essential than ever. Even the latest mapping app can’t always deliver customers directly to your door. Despite slumping returns from national chains like Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Nordstrom, physical stores still command the bulk of the retail dollar. Only 7.5% of retail sales in this year’s first quarter were from e-commerce, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The basic store requirement, says Steven Burke, a longtime property manager who is now a small-bsusiness adviser in Seattle, are that customers “can easily find a retail outlet that has what they want, it’s easy to tell that it’s open, it’s easy to tell that it’s warm, and inviting.” But where on the map should the store be placed? Scouting property listings is not enough. These days, a careful search demands a measure of computer analytics and a surprising amount of old-fashioned gumshoe work. Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. This is a two-step operation: FINDING YOUR CUSTOMERS A consumer-facing business usually needs to be as close to as many of those customers as possible. If you don’t know who are your customers exactly, get to know those of a competitor. Visually study who comes in and out, taking note of age, gender, how they’re dressed and what they drive. Use these as proxies for income. Then find out how far they’re willing to travel to shopâ€"called the store’s trade areaâ€"using research databases and sophisticated computer analysis of neighborhood demographics. This data, from services like ESRI’s Business Analyst Online and EASI Demographics, can tell you how many people with demographics you seekâ€"how old they are, their education and income, their shopping habits, and more â€"live in the neighborhood. These digital tools also report how much consumers there spend on a specific product or service, and also how these characteristics have changed over time. ReferenceUSA can identify your competitors in the area, and what their revenues are. In fact, one way to arrive at a benchmark for judging prospective locations is to analyze the demographics of a competitor’s neighborhood, perhaps in rings of three, five, and 10 miles. These services can be expensive, but local economic development agencies, including small business development centers and many public libraries, will usually run the reports for fledgling merchants. This saves them both the time and the expense. With the data in hand, you can start to home in on properties. PICKING A PLACE Once you’ve settled on at least three prospective locations, the real work begins: making sure the property suits you and your business. Burke says that, done right, a small retailer will spend between three and six months, nailing down the particulars before signing a lease. Here are some of them: Traffic. Are enough potential customers passing by a location to support your business? Which site has the most passersby? Only a traffic countâ€"of both vehicles and pedestriansâ€"will tell you for sure. Park yourself at a vantage point at different times of the day on different days of the week. Note relevant characteristics. For example, the owner of a kids’ clothing store might be on the lookout for minivans or car seats. Visibility. The more customers can see of your store, the better. In a strip mall, that means the end units are worth the premium. Businesses with an established following may be able to prosper in the cheaper, but largely hidden, inside corner space. And new businesses can possibly compensate for a poor space with robust marketing and a bigger spot on the mall’s directory sign. Once prospects find the store, they must see that it is both open and welcoming. That, says Burke, requires more than just a sign. Drivers especially have to see lights on and people through the windows. Neighboring stores. A popular anchor tenant is a customer magnet, and a cluster of stores that market to the same consumer, even if they sell different products, attracts prospects to all those stores. For upscale merchants in particular, ambience and aesthetics play a roleâ€"high-end goods require a high-end setting. True costs. Besides monthly rent, if the landlord intends to bill separately for taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance (what’s known as a triple net lease), find out precisely what those charges will be, as well as how much it will cost to rent space on the directory sign. Be aware if the landlord expects tenants to repairâ€"or worse, replaceâ€"failing HVAC equipment. And bring a contractor in to estimate the cost to tailor the space to your purposes. Parking. Make sure it is easy to drive in and out of the property and that there’s enough parking for your prospective store again for different times and daysâ€"more parking lot surveillance is in order. Be wary of neighbors, like restaurants, that absorb a disproportionate amount of parking at certain times. That also goes for big-store anchor tenants whose employees use the common parking lot. Insist that the lease specifies at least some reserved parking spaces (usually based on the store’s share of the property’s total square feet), and perhaps unreserved spaces, as well. The old phrase is still apt: The three things that matter in property are location, location, location. Being smart about that is worth the work.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Office Etiquette Do You Know The Basics - Work It Daily

Office Etiquette Do You Know The Basics - Work It Daily Etiquette. The word alone has the power to dredge up childhood memories of dinnertime reprimands: Elbows off the table! Napkin in your lap! Excuse yourself before leaving the table! Most of us likely have mastered table manners by now (or at least know not to talk with a full mouth). But what about office etiquette? Vicky Oliver, an expert on the subject and author of 301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions, says most workers get a B-minus when it comes to practicing good workplace behavior. The grade would improve, she says, with better training. “We are tested on our manners daily, and yet most of us are never taught them. By learning just a few basics we can distinguish ourselves at work and position ourselves for more responsibility with clients,” she says. That Text (Or Facebook Update) Can Wait Hey... it’s just a quick text to a friend confirming your after-work plans. No problem there, right? If it happens during a meeting or presentation, Oliver says, it is a big problem. As harmless as it may seem, the person you’re supposed to be giving your attention to will notice, and it can end up straining workplace relationships. “It’s kind of a snub,” Oliver says. Even outside of a meeting, using social media and doing other personal stuff distracts from the work at hand, she says. Bottom line: no one is that good at multitasking, and productivity will suffer. “It’s almost like a collective attention deficit disorder,” Oliver says. Showing up to work is the easy part, she says. It’s really being there that counts. So save that crucial Facebook status update about the great lunch you had for later. Pretend There’s A Wall For the most part, the days of private offices and high cubicle walls are gone. But does an open workplace mean personal space is a thing of the past? No, Oliver says. You should pretend that the walls are still there. Send an e-mail to see if someone is available to chat, rather than just barging into their space, Oliver suggests. At the very least, she says, don’t sneak up behind someone, announce yourself as you approach and knock on the edge of their desk when you arrive. You should “bend over backwards” to respect co-workers’ personal space, Oliver says. For Workplace Fashion, Go With The Crowd To dress up or dress down, that is the question. The answer: Dress to fit the workplace. “You want to blend in,” Oliver says. “Fit in with those around you.” Use the boss as a gauge, she says. If the boss comes in in khakis and a short sleeve shirt, that’s a good indication that casual dress is appropriate for the office. And remember, Oliver says, dressing too formally in a casual workplace is just as bad as dressing too casually in a formal workplace. If you have questions about a company’s culture, ask employees who already work there or research the company online. Gossip On Your Own Time Don’t be the source of gossip in the office â€" whether it’s about your life or someone else’s â€" or a participant in it, Oliver says. Gossip distracts people from their work and can create an unprofessional environment. That’s not to say you have to quit gossip cold turkey. Oliver suggests deflecting gossip in the workplace â€" saying you’re too busy to chat, for example â€" and moving the conversation to a personal space, such as meeting for a drink after work. Keep That Phone Call To Yourself That call may be important to you, but chances are it’s not vital your co-workers hear it as well. Just like gossip, loud phone conversations in the office can distract people from their work. Oliver says phone conversations in the workplace should be kept down to a “polite murmur.” And if it’s a personal call, take it elsewhere. Also, she says, don’t use speaker phone (unless, of course, it’s necessary for the call). Believe It Or Not, You Can Still Learn Some Things No one says you’re not great at what you do. Likely, you wouldn’t have been hired if you weren’t. Confidence is good. Arrogance, on the other hand, is not. “Sometimes people feel like they don’t have to pay their dues…like they don’t have to learn from those who came before them,” Oliver says. Don’t hold back your good ideas. But have respect for what people already have done at the company, even if you would have done it differently. Don’t Search For Jobs On The Job So, you want a new job. That’s fine. But, Oliver says, keep your job search separate from your current job. Don’t use company resources to look for new employment. It demonstrates a lack of respect and loyalty to your current employer. And don’t tell co-workers about your job search. The information will leak out (we all know not everyone adheres to the rule about office gossip) and can damage your position at your current job before you’ve found a new one. Enjoy this article? You've got time for another! Check out these related articles: Mind Your Manners! Office Etiquette Tips For New Grads Business Etiquette: When You Write 3 Essential Office Etiquette Tips Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!