Mohit Tater's Blog, page 587

Curating a Blog: Finding Your Voice

Creating a blog is an obvious choice for ecommerce businesses to boost SEO, advertise, and promote goods or services. Something that’s discussed a lot about blog curation is “finding your voice”. The way you deliver your message to an audience and convince them you are not only an authority in your field but also that your blog is worth visiting again is important. There’s no magic formula to finding a unique voice for your blog, but by honing in on details, paying attention to what most engages your audience, curating your blog can become a straightforward and engaging process.   

Create a Style Guide

Before attempting to create or curate content, it’s important to consider the tone you want your blog to achieve. Are readers investing in your feed because of humourous critique, formal objectivity, or a combination of the two? It’s important to figure out what tone you want your blog to have as this will determine how you engage with followers and what content you’ll want to post. A style guide won’t just help you shape your voice and tone, it also forms a framework for future content.

A style guide may be created before you have started posting, and altered once you measure which types of content perform better than others. It should include approximate word counts for different pieces of content, whether images are necessary and what kind, how bylines appear (or don’t), whether links are involved and how many per post, applicable specifics on spelling and punctuation and other relevant details. The purpose of the style guide is to provide a framework for content so that it is uniform across all platforms. This uniformity helps your blog look more professional, and this professionalism will inspire an increased sense of loyalty in readers.

Know Your Purpose

Knowing the purpose of the blog makes curation exponentially easier. Whether your blog is being used to generate sales or boost SEO, knowing what the purpose is helps shape the content calendar, and will inform what kinds of content you’ll be creating for your audience.  

Blogs can solve problems for businesses or customers, offer unique observations on current events, or provide critically in-depth insights into the history or science behind specific topics. Most blogs utilize a multi-purpose strategy, with a variety of kinds of content addressing different needs posted at regular times.

Talk to Your Audience

Once you have determined the purpose of your content, now it’s time to tailor it to your audience. Not all content reaches audiences equally. Different demographics respond to information differently, and in today’s digital age audiences personalize how they obtain information and tend not to stray far from this personalized media orbit. Finding the right voice for your blog also includes figuring out how best to present your content so that it reaches the right demographic.

Do some research on who your core audience is. Know the age range, common interests and reasons why they are interested in your product or service. Rather than a specific product push, think about what information they want from you and what would be useful to them and create your content accordingly. On the StickerYou blog we run Q&A interviews with sticker artists in order to galvanize the enormous creative community that stickers appeal to. This serves both to highlight the potential of our core product – customized die-cut stickers – and inspire our audience with the creativity of others.  

To gain an initial following, it’s important to remember to talk to your audience and not at them or above them. Stay away from content that is overtly promotional or a sales pitch, as this turns off today’s media-savvy audiences. If your blog is providing objective information for example, be cautious not to come across as condescending or insert obtuse humour as this might not appeal to readers and may even ostracize them.

Intentionally Repurpose

Think of your blog as a repository of useful information about and related to your business. Content can be reformatted and repurposed to appeal to different audiences both on the blog itself and across different channels. For example, a video interview can be repurposed and reposted as a text article, or an infographic fashioned into a full blog post, or several posts combined to create a more in-depth piece.

Blogs are adapting and evolving as quickly as e-commerce is. Although there’s no “right” way to curate a blog, with attention to detail, the desire to provide beneficial information and a lot of practice, you’ll be able to find your voice amidst the e-commerce cacophony.

Author: StickerYou Founder & President, Andrew Witkin

As the founder of a global e-commerce leader in custom-printed,
die-cut products, Andrew Witkin is widely recognized as a leading
authority on e-commerce, customization, startups, marketing and the tech
economy. Witkin has also served as VP North American Licensing for
Nelvana/Corus Entertainment and Director of Marketing for
MegaBrands/Mattel.

The post Curating a Blog: Finding Your Voice appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Best Self-Care Tips for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Achieve Success

Entrepreneurs score terribly low at taking care of
themselves. They are known for their commitment to work and leaving
the office late. Some find themselves buried in their laptops in the wee
hours, barely taking any ‘healthy meals’. This can happen to anyone,
especially when we want a job done, and subsequently, self-care is thrown out
of the window.

Those business leaders and entrepreneurs at the top of
their areas of expertise appreciate the values of self-care. They know that
even at their busiest points, creating time to take care of themselves is
vital. It’s time all entrepreneurs considered the following three steps: this
is the starter pack on leading a healthier life which in turn can
boost both individual and business performance.

Have “me
time” daily

Successful people must learn how to fix some “me
time” into their busy schedule. This entails finding moments to calm your
mind and opportunities to spend time with yourself. “Me time” can be
used for self-awareness, to reflect on the events of the day and take stock of
its achievement vis-a-vis expectations. “Me time” can
be just 30 minutes doing anything – as long as it’s not work-related. Notably,
Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, takes a “me week” where he
spends time in a forest away from the hustles and bustles of office life with
just books and total quietness.

There’s no excuse not to take this time, as nowadays the internet truly enables people – and that includes entrepreneurs! – to dive into activities of all manners through digital platforms held in the palms of their hands (thus accessible wherever and whenever). Take the launch of Rolla in 2018, just one example of many in the Canadian online casino scene. Sites like this allow users to while away some free time and they’re an apt outlet for entrepreneurs – known for their risk-taking – allowing them to explore the excitement of chance, but still taking a step back from work. So, although not everybody can afford a whole week of ‘me time’ like Bill Gates, taking a few minutes every day is absolutely achievable with this kind of technology quite literally in hand.

Sources: Pexels

Exercise
daily

A daily work out is part of most successful entrepreneurs’ lives. The founder of Virgin group, Richard Branson, notes that being physically and mentally active through daily exercise is part and parcel of business success. In one of his posts, Branson states that he starts every day with exercise, be it cycling, tennis or an hour in the gym. It is almost impossible to click a good balance between career success and happy personal life without taking the issue of personal health and fitness with due seriousness. To some entrepreneurs, exercise has been the steering wheel in guiding their venture to great heights and often increases their productivity.

Sources: Pexels

Adequate
sleep

Inadequate sleep can heighten levels of fatigue, subsequently compromising performance. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lead to severe brain impairments similar to those witnessed when one is drunk. Adequate sleep is essential to the general well-being of human bodies. It gives the body a chance to repair and heal, and ultimately, supports brain functioning. Eight hours of sleep is adequate to get energized and wake up feeling sharp and ready to make a perfect decision.

Self-care is an important element of life and scheduling time to spend alone and reminisce on the day’s achievement and challenges can go a long way in improving career success. It doesn’t matter how tight your schedule is, self-care is as important as your business commitments.

The post Best Self-Care Tips for Entrepreneurs Who Want to Achieve Success appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

3 Keys to Profitable Manufacturing

When it comes to finding the most profitable methods for developing manufacturing processes, most corporations think about their mechanics and systems. While these are necessary components to consider, most corporations miss out on the more abstract aspects of manufacturing which actually help tip the profit margin from okay to fantastic. This is understandable due to the dozens of factors CEOs need to consider in the realm of manufacturing—not to mention their hundred other responsibilities on the table.

This article is designed to unravel some of the more ambitious portions of profitable manufacturing to help you understand just what you need to in order to have a productive manufacturing rejuvenation experience.

Key #1: Go Lean

Lean manufacturing is a relatively new concept in the business world. Basically, lean manufacturing is a process that aims to eliminate all forms of waste. This can be waste related to physical emissions or waste in the sense of time. We are going to focus on the latter.

One of the key paths to going lean is to optimize your worker processes. This way, you keep your workers challenged and engaged while having lean manufacturing software like artificial intelligence do the heavy lifting on monotonous projects. For example, if your floor manager is continuously having to fill out a spreadsheet with data and statistics from the day, this takes away 20 minutes to an hour of his valuable work time. This is a process that can be optimized by AI. By investing in a lean manufacturing system, you enable your floor manager to have more time to work with employees which ultimately brings in more profits.

Key #2: Go Green

Environmental sustainability has been a big topic in the corporate world of late. Since the rise of the Industrial Revolution all the way into the Digital Age, corporations bear the brunt of the severe blame proliferated about the planet’s pollution.

The fact is, a great deal of this blame is rightfully placed. Corporations need to do more than go paperless to help the environment. No wonder going green is one of the modern keys to profitable manufacturing.

By employing energy efficient machinery, smokestack cleaners, and finding safe ways to dump—or even recycle—extraneous waste, corporations do their part to help the world become a greener place. The truth of the matter is this, a sustainable business model is a business model which includes environmental sustainability. When a corporation uses green machinery and sources for their materials, they do their part to save the planet. This improves brand image, which ultimately improves profits. So even though using green manufacturing means sometimes costs a bit more, ultimately these methods will improve the environment as well as give the business more long term profits.

Key #3: Go Team

Lastly, when you are looking to optimize your manufacturing processes, you need to think in terms of “We” over “I”. By keeping your people in mind, you make your business more human-centered. Humans are designed to be collaborative creatures. By getting to know your employees’ personalities, skills, interests, strengths, and weaknesses, you can figure out the best combinations of people to put on different projects. This process can work for everything from planning to the physical manufacturing of projects.

Overall, implementing these three keys into your manufacturing strategy will help your team to develop the ideal business plan for what your company is attempting to achieve. Keeping the environment, the business processes and your people in mind is the first step towards creating a truly profitable manufacturing system.

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Four Ways to Prevent Fraud in Your Small Business

Setting up
your own small business is an exciting experience, but unfortunately,
everything that you’ve worked so hard for can be lost overnight to business
fraud if you don’t take the right preventative measures to keep your company
safe. In fact, small businesses are the most vulnerable to occupational fraud
and abuse, making it even more important that you don’t take any chances.
Although no business owner will want to feel that they employ dishonest and
fraudulent people, sometimes even the most trusted employees can be pushed into
committing fraud through financial difficulties or temptation. So, how do you
protect the business that you’ve worked so hard to build from fraud? Here are
some priority precautions that you should be taking.

#1. Hire the Right People:

First and foremost, hiring the right employees is the best way to keep your business’s risk of suffering fraud at the hand of a worker to a minimum. While you can never be one hundred percent sure that your new employee won’t end up committing fraud, you can certainly be thorough when it comes taking on new hires and check for anything that is suspicious. Conduct background checks for anybody whose tasks will involve handling money and inventory, check past employment records, references, any education and certifications, and perform criminal background checks. Many small business owners also conduct drug screening tests, since employees may steal from a business to fund an addiction.

#2. Use Digital Forensics:

Whether you suspect fraud or not, digital forensics is a very useful tool for finding out exactly what is going on in your business. It can help you to prove any suspicions of fraudulent activity that you already have, or it can simply be used to conduct regular checks. Using digital forensics services from Secure Forensics, you can identify any files on employee computers, laptops and smartphones that shouldn’t be there, have been accessed without authorization, or have been moved onto an external drive.

#3. Monitor Cash
Situations:

If you own a business where employees are dealing with the physical handling of cash on a regular basis, then these situations should be closely monitored. For example, if you own a retail store, it’s a wise idea to invest in cameras to monitor any activity at cash registers and in storage areas where any inventory is kept. And, track all cash coming in and out of the registers so that you can compare the expected numbers to those counted at the end of the day. In general, people are less likely to steal from a business or commit acts of fraud if they know that their activity is being watched and monitored.

#4. Conduct Regular
Surprise Audits:

Often, catching somebody off-guard is the best way to discover fraud in your business. The key here is that an employee who is committing fraudulent activity won’t know what’s coming, and therefore won’t have time to change records or cover up the fraud in another way. Surprise audits can uncover situations such as duplicate invoice amounts or numbers, both of which can be red flags for possible criminal activity.

How do you
prevent fraud in your small business? We’d love to hear from you in the
comments.

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11 Reasons Why Exercise Makes You Feel Good

A lack of exercise is often the reason why people do not feel their best. Many clinical studies have demonstrated that people who at least participate in basic cardio on a regular basis are happier and in less pain. So, why does exercise make us feel so good? You have probably read that cardio releases endorphins into the brain, and while that is true, it is but a small part of a much larger equation.

1. Exercise Beats the Blues

This a byproduct of those endorphins mentioned in the
introduction. Endorphins are a natural neurochemical created by our brains. In
a person who is otherwise mentally healthy, feeling down in the dumps is often
due to a lack of endorphins, and even just a light 20-minute workout session
can be enough to turn sadness or another negative mood right around.

2. The Runner’s High Is More Than Just Endorphins

Ever hear of runner’s high or perhaps swimmer’s high?
This is a tangible effect in which a person exerting themselves physically over
an extended period experiences euphoria. You can feel invincible during this
period and undergo significantly reduced pain and discomfort. Most scientists
agree that this effect can’t be completely or even mostly explained by
endorphins.

3. It’s a Natural Painkiller

As you get older, you may experience a wide range of
soreness and other discomfort that cannot be attributed to anything in
particular. Well, those endorphins again do a great job of mitigating and eliminating
those aches. But it is not just the endorphins. Another big part of the reduced
soreness is better blood flow and thus better oxygenation of the muscles.

4. It Reduces Stress

Exercise is so effective at reducing stress that it is actually used by mental health professionals to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. What is interesting is that exercise mitigates stress in the short-term but also the long-term. As you exercise, you are actually subjecting yourself to low-level stress. Your body does not discern between stressors. Stress is stress, and so each time you exercise, your body is learning how to better deal with all of the stressors that life can throw at it.

5. It Eases Anxiety

There is strong data suggesting that people who
exercise regularly are less anxious than those that do not. Doctors encourage
patients dealing with social anxieties to use exercise as a coping technique.
Recent studies have also shown that people who exercise regularly are less
likely to relapse into panic attacks than those patients who do not exercise
regularly or at all.

6. It Gets the Motor Running

For most people who work out regularly in the morning,
it does not make them more tired throughout the day. It has the opposite effect
because it sparks energy and improves your ability to maintain it. Even just
walking around 20 minutes before or during a workday can have a similar effect.

7. It Enhances Learning

A number of neurobiology studies have found that
regular cardio boosts learning ability in test subjects. A leading theory is
that neurons have a reset switch that exercise is effective at triggering. This
enhanced learning is not just limited to math and the like. It is behavioral as
well. A number of studies have found that people quitting cigarettes are better
able to manage withdrawal with regular exercise.

8. It Improves Memory

Exercise improves memory as well, and this likely has
to do with neuron reset switches too. Cardio has been shown to help stave off
dementia as well as mitigate its symptoms. The effect is not just short-term
either, and it does not require an abundance of exercise either. A recent study
found that people who exercised once the month before had much better recall
than the group which did not.

9. It Fights Insomnia

Regular exercise is among the greatest tools in the
insomniac’s toolbox, and this effect is not just limited to those who suffer
from the disorder. Exercise makes it easier for everyone to fall asleep. It
improves sleep quality throughout the night, and it provides a lot more pep
when you wake in the morning.

10. It Helps with Regularity

Doctors often recommend exercise along with proper
hydration and diet for constipation relief. Regular exercise helps ensure
regular bowel movements. Minor constipation may not always be obvious but can
have a very real effect on how your body feels and the mood that you are in.

11. Improved Immune System

Physical activity helps to flush bacteria from your
lungs and airways as well as flush toxins from the bloodstream. It also
improves white blood cells by encouraging them to move faster and thus identify
illnesses sooner. Body temperatures during exercise have also been shown to
combat bacterial growth and help you fight infections, which is similar to when
you have a fever.

Well, there you have it, eleven reasons why exercise
makes you feel good. Be mindful that many experts advise that when you work out
is just as important as working out enough. For many people, exercising before
work is an amazing way to set their energy and the tone for an entire day.

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Maintaining Productivity Without Compromising Your Health

We all aspire to be more productive, but at what cost? Is your health taking a hit from all those long hours you put in? Being a highly productive member of society is a noble and worthy goal, but it’s not worth causing your body and mind serious harm.

Consider the following ways in which your pursuit of productivity can negatively affect your health, along with tips for being productive without hurting yourself in the long run:

Stimulants

Nearly everyone comes to rely on stimulants to stay focused on work. Most people opt for caffeine via coffee or tea. Others – albeit an ever-dwindling number of them – prefer nicotine. I’ll spare the diatribe about the dangers of tobacco smoke since you’ve probably heard it thousands of times by now, but given these health risks, smoking as a means to stay productive is not a good idea.

While ridding yourself of an addiction to nicotine is important, the health risks of smoking come from inhaling the smoke itself, which contains several known carcinogens. With this in mind, those who rely on nicotine to stay focused ought to switch to e-cigarettes. These devices heat a liquid, known as vape juice, to a temperature high enough to create inhalable vapor but not enough to produce smoke. Combined with the variety of flavors that come with a single vape box, there’s no reason for smokers to not try vaping.

Diet

Long hours at the office or job site often means an inability to maintain a regular meal schedule. Combined with a habit many people have to eat when under stress, it’s easy to see how the pursuit of productivity can negatively impact our diet. The result, as many of us know, is the expansion of our waistline.

Meal prep is a way for highly productive people to maintain a balanced diet which is both filling and flavorful. Meals which can be placed into airtight containers, frozen, and heated up in a microwave allow people to stay focused on their job duties without sacrificing proper nutrition. As far as snacking at your desk goes, opt for low-calorie chewing gum and fresh fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you absolutely must have a salty, crunchy snack, keep a bag of kale chips in your desk drawer.

Exercise

Many people who focus on getting as much work done as possible in a given day are neglecting their physical fitness. There’s no denying the difficulty in squeezing in time for regular exercise when you’re working 10 to 14-hour shifts and raising a family, but given the fact most people can meet their recommended fitness goals by exercising 30 minutes a day, is it really so hard to make it work?

If 30 minutes is truly too much time to devote to something as seemingly unproductive as exercise, opt for the seven-minute workout instead. There are apps and videos that can help you get started. Consider joining a gym with at least one 24-hour location nearby. That way, you can stop in for exercise no matter when you call it a day at the office.

Sleep

Busy professionals love to humblebrag about how little sleep they get. It seems as though you don’t take your job seriously if you get more than four hours of sleep per night. While siphoning so much time away from rest sounds like an easy way to achieve maximum productivity, the opposite is true. You will slowly diminish your ability to apply the most cognitive power to a given professional situation. In other words, while you may be present at work for more than half a day, your brain is probably not completely there if you’re sleeping for only three hours a night.

Simply put, making time for a healthy amount of sleep per night is essential for maintaining long-term levels of high productivity. Otherwise, over time, you will inevitably crash and consequently be incapable of giving your all. If that isn’t the opposite of optimum productivity, we don’t know what is.

Being as productive as possible is important, but it’s not worth shaving years off your life to achieve. Fortunately, there are ways to maintain productivity without compromising health.

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How To Increase The Value Of Your Startup Before You Sell

If you are considering selling your business, it is
important to ask yourself a few questions. Are your financials in order? Will
the business be able to be profitable once you are removed from the equation?
Is it profitable now?

By asking yourself these questions and being
retrospective of your company, you can find ways to improve. Improving your
business before selling can help you increase the value of your startup. By
increasing the value, you will be able to earn more money with the sale. The
tips below should be considered in order to improve and increase the value of
your startup.

1. Remove Yourself

In general, far too many businesses are built and
operated by the owner, with the company relying on this individual on a daily
basis to ensure success. The loss of the startup founder can impact the overall
growth and development of the company. You need to ensure that your business is
viable without you so a potential buyer can see how they can be profitable in
the long run.

2. Clean Financials

Further helping to ensure the value of your company is
clean financials. The books need to be neat and thorough, easily providing
accurate tracking information. Books that are transparent and accurate will be
a true representation of your company. Potential buyers will see the value of
your startup after reviewing this clear and concise information.

3. Automation

Another great tip is to build your business where a owner does not have to run it. Documentation can be created with systemization and automation so that there are processes in place as well as procedures for every aspect of the business. With operation manuals in place, the business can be ran by a new owner with ease.

4. Drive Revenues and Reduce Overhead

For additional value in your startup, focus on driving more revenues. Before selling your business, you should be creating as much revenue as possible. This will help to provide the maximum value for your business with a sale. Reducing overhead is also important. Increasing the bottom line before valuation will help to improve the overall value of your company.

5. Lengthen the Time Frame of Stable Revenues

It is recommended that a business owner take one to
two years to sell in order to get the maximum value. If you can take this time,
it is important to focus on lengthening the stable revenues that your company
can produce. Having customers with yearly contracts or longer will help to
create stabilized revenues. With the certainty of revenues comes more value for
your startup.

Potential buyers will be able to review these
contracts and know that they will have a stable source of revenue coming in for
a certain period of time. If you can show such potential, then prospective
buyers will find value and want to purchase your business.

Following these key tips can be beneficial to selling your business. Take a look at what you can do to improve the value of your business for a more successful sale. 

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Why Premium Office Spaces Can Help Attract The Best Talent

The world has become much smaller, and this is nowhere more apparent than in some of New Zealand’s most industrious locations. With Auckland and Wellington on the rise, it is no wonder that many are flocking to these areas to begin their ventures. Getting first pick at top talent arriving in town is no longer a problem, especially when the internet made job placement and hiring so easy and convenient.

However, this technology has also provided businesses with other opportunities as well. For one, it has made attracting talent to New Zealand much more effective, and with all of the premium office spaces up for rent, those looking online from afar can be lured easily to this country’s vibrant business scene. Premium office space can be the impetus for business, professionals, and clients making their way to the country’s shores.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the
reasons why premium office spaces are so attractive to top-notch talent.

High-Profile Locations

In New Zealand, Auckland and Wellington are
just two of the locales that are beginning to make a name for themselves in the
country. These locations both have a thriving downtown centre that has
industries from many business sectors. Talented professionals find these areas
attractive because they are well-known places which attract larger businesses
that provide job and entrepreneurship possibilities for those looking to start
their ventures here.

Landmark Havens

Top talent is attracted to locations that have
major landmarks. Landmarks are central to defining any location, and Auckland
like any other major city has a few notable landmarks that make the city
special to others. The Auckland Museum and PwC Towers are just two landmarks
that define the city, and they are two reasons talented professionals are
attracted to the area.

Within these landmark buildings, there are
commercial offices and businesses. These offices are typically decked out with
the finest furnishings and latest technologies. All of these features can be
attractive to talent visiting in the area and thinking about making the jump
across the pond to New Zealand.

Popular Destinations

Premium office spaces tend to also be located in popular destinations in the country. These areas attract a lot of foot traffic and tend to be located near other popular businesses. For someone trying to open a new business or looking for employment opportunities, premium office spaces near these locations are a natural drawfor attracting top talent.

Professional Fit Out

Premium office spaces are usually in some of the best locations in and around the CBD. The offices usually, but not always, are skyscrapers retrofitted with the latest technologies, and as stated previously, the furnishings are top notch. These offices are usually staffed with highly-trained personnel, and if you are a start-up or a professional out on their own for the first time, this set up can round out your professional image. It is only natural for talented professionals to want to work in a place that reflects their expertise.

Access To Resources

Finally, talent wants to be around people and places that offer a lot in terms of resources. Premium office space tends to be in these areas, areas frequented by high-profile businesses and people. These people and businesses have access to a lot of information, information that can be a platform for new business.

Tapping Into The Best

Attracting and retaining top talent can be
difficult, but cities have a great advantage over smaller areas in that they
can offer a lot in terms of resources. Premium office space is one of those
resources, and when in a specially located area, professionals will flock to
these places. Premium office space offers businesses a high-profile location in
New Zealand to build their platform.

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How to Face the Interview Confidently

In today’s generation interview plays a
very important and significant role in fetching a job. As you all know at this
time to get an impressive job facing an interview is a must. In the job market zone, you have to act better than others
otherwise you can’t stand in competition.

Many people are asking like how to face an
interview confidently and the answer to this question is listed following. You
can’t predict anything in an interview so you should prepare as best as you
can, here are some tips which can help you to know about how to face an
interview confidently.

How To Face An Interview Confidently

Introduction: This is the most important and frequent question which is being asked at the time of the interview, so you should be all prepared for this. Keep practice until you become confident to others when are introducing yourself.

Watch Your thoughts: Your mindset is very important, if you find yourself thinking about how things can go wrong, then you should stop yourself immediately. Change your thoughts from what you want from them, to how you can help them find a solution to their problem, this will change your perspective. Being in a calm and positive frame of mind before the interview can be really helpful.

Do Something calming: Rather than spending time on social media or getting into unnecessary talks, sit quietly or go for a long walk or do anything that makes you feel good. This is going to make things much easier for you to handle. It will also help to control the mind of yours and remain in static mode and helps in facing an interview confidently.

Avoid coffee & Aerated drinks: These things can increase your anxiety level. Both of these liquid drinks creates a lot of problems. For example, you have to go for the bathroom more often and even slight dehydration can lead to the disputes of thoughts. It’s better to take water in place of these substances. This helps in relax mode and helps in developing more thoughts. Thus, it directly helps you to face an interview confidently.

Expand your body: When you are at the outside of interview hall don’t sit with the close posture, sit upright spread your shoulders this posture is going to have an almost immediate impact on you. Our brain also works like this. When we occupy more space we feel more confident and more comfortable so this posture helps you to face an interview confidently.

Breath correctly: You must have noticed that in a stressed situation, we start breathing very heavily and it may result in the loss in the power of our voice and a frozen mind. The right way to breath is through your diaphragm which helps in relax mode and in gaining confidence.

Good eye contact: In an interview, good eye contact can go you a long way. When your interviewer is speaking look directly his/her face falls from one eye to another eye. It gives you a mutual interaction between you and interviewer and helps in gaining confidence. This might be a very important tip through which you can face the interview confidently.

Conclusion

Showing confidence at the time of the
interview will increase your chance to get the desired job you want to. How to
face the interview confidently is a very
crucial question and everyone knows about this who want to get a job. You will
surely gain confidence and become more comfortable if you apply and admire all
these tips. You will become more relaxed and able to give confident answers.

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The Start-Up’s Best Friend: The Shipping Container Office

As a start-up business you
want to watch your cash flow. One way you can save on start up costs is by
having a home office rather than renting out expensive office space.

A trend that has been growing
in popularity in recent years is creating home office space out of shipping
containers.

No longer is the humble
shipping container used just for transporting or storing cargo. These days both
new and used shipping containers are being modified for all sorts of purposes,
such as roadside kitchens, on-site offices for construction sites, granny flats
and home extensions.

The advantage of building a
home office out of a shipping container is that you can still establish
independent office space while saving on leasing costs. And there’s no commute
to work and back each day, which means more time and more savings.

I recently had a shipping
container modified for my SEO business, where it now blends in quite nicely
with the landscaping in my front yard.

In this post I’ll very
briefly run you through the process of having the office constructed, as well
as some of the pros and cons.

Check Local Regulations First

Before even considering
building a home office from a shipping container, it’s best to check with your
local council or governing body with regards to whether you can legally build a
shipping container office in your area. Different areas have different zoning
laws, so it pays to check this out first.

Buying the Right Shipping Container

You have the option of purchasing a brand new shipping container to modify into a home office, or save yourself some money and buy a used cargo container that’s in good condition.

I ended up buying a used
shipping container, and if you decide to go the second hand route, there are a
few things to keep in mind.

Used shipping containers
are graded so prospective buyers can have an idea of the condition it’s in
beforehand. The most common quality grades are A, B and C. Both A and B
containers are pretty good quality, while C grade tend to be dented and a bit
rusty.

To save even more money,
but still getting a container in good condition, I chose a B grade shipping
container for my office project.

The container had some minor rust and a few small dents, and the paintwork wasn’t crash hot. But none of that really mattered, as the container was being repurposed and refurbished anyway. The condition and quality was easily good enough for my intended purpose, so buying a B grade used container is yet another saving for start-ups.

If you can find out some
history on a container you’re thinking of buying, then that’ll be good. Chances
are you won’t gather much information on it though. Try asking the supplier the
following questions anyway:

What’s previously been transported or stored in the shipping container?Has the container held pesticides or toxic chemicals?What about dangerous goods or explosives?

Questions like that. It’s
always good to know what’s previously been inside.

Another important thing to
consider is what size shipping container you’ll need for your home office.
There are 3 main sizes:

10ft20ft40ft

The 20 footer is by far and
away the most versatile and popular, and it’s the one I chose.

The Shipping Container Modifications

When I purchased my B grade
shipping container, the supplier also happened to be an expert in container
modifications. We quickly came up with an office design and got started.

Something to keep in mind
when planning your modifications is not to go overboard with slicing the
container up. Shipping containers by nature are super sturdy and strong, and
you really want to maintain that aspect as much as you can.

With the help of my
supplier’s professional designers, we managed to come up with a home office
that was light and airy without compromising the strength of the container
structure.

When a container is going
to be your home office, you definitely want some insulation. You can opt for
the traditional style of insulation, like is used in houses, or go for the
spray foam option which is more expensive.

Spray foam insulation has
some advantages, such as:

The foam is super easy to
applyIt insulates as well as
acts as a barrier against moistureIt uses less room than
traditional insulation



Delivery and Setup of My New Office

I have a large front yard
area, so that’s where I located my shipping container home office. It’s not
absolutely necessary, but I had a concrete slab laid to ensure a stable base.
Once the container arrived, it was quickly positioned on the slab and the
electricity was connected to it.

To make it blend in better
with the rest of the yard, some minimal landscaping was done, along with a
small awning to add some shade over the container office entrance door.

Shipping Container Home Office – Pros and Cons

The main reason I say
building a home office from a shipping container for start-ups is a fantastic
idea is because of the cost. Building a conventional office, or agreeing to a
long term lease on office space can be mega expensive.

You also help the
environment when you repurpose a used container and prevent it from going into
landfill.

Because much of the
structure’s construction is already done, it actually doesn’t time much time to
get the conversions completed. This also saves money, and with a home office,
you really don’t need any plumbing, just power.

Sometimes my home office
feels a little bit narrow, but that’s about the only real criticism I have of
shipping container office space. Big windows help offset that though.

If you have your shipping
container home office expertly modified, it won’t look dodgy. Mine actually
looks really cool and has become a regular talking point when clients come to
visit. I’m more than happy with the results, the fact that I get to work from
home, and all the money I’ve saved.

It’s an option definitely
worth serious consideration for start-ups.

Many thanks for Tiger Containers for their assistance.

The post The Start-Up’s Best Friend: The Shipping Container Office appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.