Category: Personal Branding

These Are the People Our Textbooks Warned Us About

Steven on July 28, 2019

Often times, students look at their schoolwork and classes as dry and boring, or feel like the subject matter doesn’t relate to their real lives. There’s a tendency to see school as a chore to get through rather than a vital means of self-improvement.

To some extent, this is unavoidable. On the surface, a subject like Geometry doesn’t appear to have much application in the life of a teenager. And the dusty events of hundreds of years ago seem incredibly removed from anything going on today.

But our textbooks don’t just hold a bunch of test questions to be answered. There’s a wealth of knowledge and wisdom that absolutely can be applied to our world today. It simply requires a bit of critical thinking and analysis.

When we buy textbooks, we’re buying a record of the shared collective of knowledge accumulated over the centuries. And that knowledge can show us many things. Perhaps one of the most underrated things our textbooks can teach us is how to avoid the mistakes of the past.

One lesson history especially teaches us is that certain archetypes crop up over and over again. Certain types of public figures have caused harm at various points in time, and while the exact circumstances differ from case to case, the broad strokes are the same

Here are some of the people history has warned us to be wary of.

The Obstructionist

Our history has taken many twists and turns, but when stepping back and looking at the big picture, we can see gradual and sustained progress.

More people are free and given power to dictate the course of their lives. Fewer people suffer from constant indignity and inequality. While there may be disagreement as to the finer points of morality, most would agree with the quote from the great Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

But our history is full of people who oppose that slow march toward justice. Those who, for either selfish reasons or obdurate clinging to the status quo, fight against the basic and inalienable rights of the people.

In the present, it’s not always easy to discern which issues touch on those basic rights, and in what ways. A good rubric to use is considering the absolute humanity of any given citizen. Strip away any specificities, and ask yourself whether that person deserves certain general rights and privileges.

If you find someone consistently falling on the side of denying a specific person or group of people rights and privileges which would be acknowledged in that general thought exercise, this person may be an obstructionist. A person fighting against the tide of history, and someone who will be looked on as an antagonist in hindsight.

The Demagogue

Long before the widespread adoption of democracy, there have been people who have tried to gain or maintain power by appealing to ‘the people’ as a broad group. There is certainly nothing wrong with trying to address the needs and wants of the majority of any group or nation. In fact, this can be a great virtue when it causes a leader to prioritize the needs of society as a whole over that of a small but powerful minority.

However, the demagogue takes this concept and twists it, perverts it into something incredibly dangerous and harmful. The demagogue seeks to channel the will of the majority, rather than responding to it. By appealing to base emotions like fear, anger and resentment, the demagogue attempts to convince people that they are being attacked, being beset and hindered by the willful actions of some enemy.

Often times, this enemy is a smaller subsection of the nation or group. The enemy acts as a rallying cry and a reason to take more and more drastic measures. And conveniently, these measures increase the personal power of the demagogue, tightening their control over the reins of government. And this is true motivation of the demagogue – to gain control.

If you see a public figure appealing to fear and anger, attempting to stoke the majority into a state of animus toward some ‘other’ of any kind, this figure has been found many times in our history. They have rarely turned out to be motivated by goodness or selflessness.

These are only a couple of the types of people our history books have warned us to beware. Throughout the years, many of the same types of threats have faced us, and we’ve tried to address those threats and problems in a variety of ways.

Many of the failures of the past come down to the same motivations: Greed, fear, selfishness, cowardice, rashness and a host of other negative traits. Often times, a ruthless desire for power and control leads to serious problems down the line.

Our textbooks have shown us both heroes and villains. Looking back on history decades or centuries after the fact, it’s easy to identify a seeming hero or villain. It’s harder to do that in the present day, when the history has yet to be written.

Maybe it’s too simple to label anyone as a hero or villain, but our history can show us what it looks like when a person is dangerous, capable of awful things. The first step to identifying those people is buy textbooks from which take in the knowledge in the first place. Only after we have learned from history can we apply it to the present.

Legal Branding Local Branding Personal Branding

5 Tips for Hosting a Successful Small Business Event

Steven on July 26, 2019

Planning a small business event isn’t easy. Any missteps can hurt your mission and have serious repercussions for your company. On the other hand, if you get everything right, a festivity like this can help your operations in many ways. For example, it can help you attract investors or increase your base of loyal customers. But how exactly do you host a successful small business event? Listed below are five tips you might want to know about.

Know what you want to achieve

You’d be surprised by how many small business owners in Australia believe hosting an event is a great idea but when asked what their goals are, they can’t seem to find an answer. To make certain this isn’t the case with you, start thinking about what you want your event to achieve as soon as you decide to host it. Do you want to draw attention to your newest product? Do you need financing for your next project? Or you just want your Facebook page to start growing? Know what your goals are and coming up with the ideas that’ll make your event a success will be much easier. Fail to do this and your event will turn out to be nothing but a waste of money.

Don’t forget about money

Obviously, hosting a small business event can be expensive. Not only do you need to pay for a venue but there also other aspects of it such as catering and entertainment. That said, it’s very important to establish a budget and stick to it when planning the entire thing. Having a clearly-set budget will help you avoid overspending and ensure there’s always some money left just in case some unexpected costs come up. One trick that worked well for many business owners is breaking the budget into small pieces. You can then assign those pieces to every aspect of your event and make certain everything goes as planned. Of course, keep a record of all your costs so that you can later determine whether your event can be labeled as a success.

Think about catering

There’s no point in hosting a small business event if you’re not going to serve food and drink. Forget about catering and you’ll see your attendees leave even before you get to say everything you want. When it comes to choosing food for your event, it’s important to have in mind that people know have different diets and getting something for everyone if your safest bet. For example, you can never go wrong with adding a few vegetarian options on your menu. Sydney experts in corporate events say that serving alcohol at your gathering is a perfect way to have everyone enjoy it. Therefore, turning to experts who offer professional alcohol delivery service in Sydney can turn out to be a great idea.

Delegate some of the tasks

You may believe that you’re capable of planning your upcoming gathering yourself but in reality, letting others help you is a much better idea. Juggling too many things at once means you can’t pay attention to details and details matter a lot when it comes to small business events. Luckily, all you need to do is turn to your staff members and find ways to include them in the planning process. Think about each of your employees’ strengths and interests and you’ll be able to assign them the roles they’ll enjoy. For example, if there’s an employee you know has a good taste in music, why not have them create a playlist for your event? This will allow you to focus on more important aspects of the planning process and ensure everyone enjoys the music at your event.

Get the word out

Depending on the type of event you’re hosting, you might need to promote it if you want to achieve all your goals. The good news is, there doesn’t seem to be a lack of channels you can use to promote your event. So, if you aim at reaching customers who might want to attend your event, using social media is a must. All you need to do is create a Facebook event and have your followers share it with their friends and family. In case there are important clients you’d want to attend your gathering, sending them a carefully-written email invitation is always going to work. Just don’t forget to include a signature that’ll help them remember your business. For local businesses, channels such as newspaper and radio commercials are guaranteed to work as well.

Final thoughts

Providing people with a fun event is a great way to help your business achieve its goals. The best way to do it is to start preparing on time and paying attention to every little detail. Have these five tips in mind and you should be able to host an event everyone will find memorable and enjoyable.

Legal Branding Local Branding Personal Branding

Top Business Tips for Starting a Small Business

Steven on July 26, 2019

Starting a business is a dream most people have had at some point in their lives. However, very few people actually take bold steps needed to make this dream into reality. If done correctly, starting a small business can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have in your life. While it will certainly come with a lot of challenges you are going to have to overcome at the end of the day you will be able to tell yourself that you’ve achieved something great which you can really be proud of. If you are ready to commit to the idea of starting a business there are certain things you should keep in mind that will help you set yourself up for success. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the top business tips for starting a small business.

Get personally invested

By far the most important thing to keep in mind when starting a small business is that you have to be passionate about seeing your business succeed in order for it to actually do so. Getting personally invested in your business will give you the drive to put in extra work and go above in beyond when working on it. On top of this, if you don’t feel connected with your business the work you put in will seem unfulfilling and you won’t be able to find the drive to keep going during hard times.

Secure your funding as soon as possible

Funding makes up the lifeblood of every business and as such is essential for its success. In fact, lack of capital represents one of the most common reasons small businesses fail, so making sure you have enough funding should be one of your top priorities. There are many paths you can take when deciding how you are going to fund your business. The one most people take consists of a mix of different sources of funding, most notably getting as much as they can by saving and borrowing from their friends and family and covering the rest with a traditional business loan or opt for quick easy loans in case they need the money quickly. On top of this, there are a lot of alternative paths you can take. If you think your business idea has the potential to generally interest people, you can try to get the money you need through crowdfunding or other alternatives such as angel investors or venture capitalists. At the end of the day, the path you choose should ultimately depend on your personal needs, possibilities, and preferences.

Find a partner

One of the best ways to make the process of starting a small business easier, especially if it’s your first one, is the find a suitable partner to help you through the endeavor. Not only will it become easier for you to fund your business but you will also have someone to bounce ideas off, share the workload with and if things go south, share the responsibilities with. However, you should remember that starting a business with someone can really impact the relationship you have with that person. So, you should make sure it’s someone you can fully trust and rely on to stick with you through whatever the two of you may have to deal with during your partnership.

Have a plan

While getting personally invested, securing your funding and finding a partner are all things you should do or consider before starting a business the one thing you simply just can’t go without is a plan. It will represent the foundation from which you are going to build your business and will also give you a constant reference point you will always be able to turn to and remind yourself of what your aims and goals are. A plan will also help you determine if your business idea is going to be worth the time and money invested in it, which is especially useful information especially if you plan on looking for outside sources of funding for your business.

Don’t stop learning

When starting a business, it’s important to keep in mind that everything should be viewed as a lesson. Even though there are extensive books and articles written on the subject, really knowing how to set up and run a small business from scratch is a skill that you can really only acquire through experience and a good attitude towards the whole endeavor. Because of this, you shouldn’t get yourself down when something doesn’t go the way you planned, instead, you should view it as a positive experience that will prevent you from doing the same mistake again.

Conclusion

While this list doesn’t consist out of everything you need to know when starting a small business, the tips listed here will help you put your small business on the right track for success and ultimately make the whole process a lot less stressful and pleasurable. With that being said, the most useful tip you can keep in mind when starting a small business is to just keep going. No matter how hard it gets or how many obstacles you face, the only way to succeed is to not give up and constantly strive to improve.

Local Branding Personal Branding

New Age Food Era: How Tech Improved Our Food and Lifestyles

Steven on July 26, 2019

Technology is improving every part of our lives and is having a great impact. Food is one of the categories that has certainly not been left untouched. And, no, we’re not talking about microwaves and electronic kettles – we’re talking real 21st-century changes that are having an impact on our lives and taking us into the future with the help of the food we eat.

Smart fridges and storages

How many times have you gone to the store to get groceries and forgotten to check whether you have milk at home? Somehow you just wish that your fridge could tell you what you have and what you should get. Well – it can. Smart fridges and smart storages have cameras that can give you a look inside your fridge no matter where you are. Some are even smart enough to recognize different groceries and automatically generate a shopping list. But it doesn’t end there. You’ve come home from work and you just want a nice, quick dinner but the ingredients you have on hand look like there’s no possible way they can be combined. Well, there are apps now that will tell you exactly what you can make with the ingredients you have in your fridge.

Smart homes

There’s no more worrying about whether you’ve left the stove on or if your freezer is working while you’re on vacation. With a smart home, everything is connected to your smartphone. Not only can you turn your lights on and off, but you can turn on your oven an hour before you get home to be welcomed by a cooked meal (or a slow cooker, if you want to be safe), check what temperature your fridge and freezer are at and literally even toast your bread.

Higher quality of ingredients

With evolving technology, we have more possibilities to eat various, healthy food every day. Things like freeze-dried fruit weren’t possible a few years ago, and they are such wonderful, healthy alternatives to regular sugar-loaded dried fruits. We also couldn’t understand the complex benefits that come from ingredients like pine pollen which are now readily available. Fruit and veg are picked in season and frozen nearly instantly to preserve their nutrients.

Food apps

Counting calories is boring and planning out next week’s meals is even worse. But you have apps today that do all the work for you. You tell them if you have any special requirements and dietary restrictions and you will get an auto-generated meal plan and shopping list for healthy meals throughout the week. Not to mention apps that help you pick out restaurants when you’re on the go and in a foreign country, meal delivery apps and various cooking apps that allow you to follow a recipe in real-time. It has also allowed cooks from all over the world to share recipes and tips through social media with millions of people.

Food technology

Cooking food isn’t what it used to be. We are using technology to prepare our foods in ways that couldn’t have been imagined just a few years ago. Sous vide appliances are now basically staples of the kitchen, and if you haven’t played with dry ice to fizzy up your fruit or create cool looking things, you haven’t lived. But chefs around the world that have access to more expensive toys are playing around with chemistry and technology to deliver flavors and textures we wouldn’t ever think to create.

Lifestyle apps

Eating healthy isn’t the only thing we’re getting help with. Nearly everyone is wearing FitBits, tracking their steps and planning out their workouts. You step on a stationary bike in a gym and it doesn’t just track how much you’ve pedaled, but how many calories you’ve burned, what your heart rate is and so many other things. Not to mention that there are scanners that tell you within seconds the amount of body fat and the overall state of your body.

So the tech has changed a lot, but it has unfortunately also made the unhealthy stuff more accessible and easier to do. So we have so many things at our fingertips, but we need to control ourselves and make smart choices – almost as smart as our machines.

Digital Branding Personal Branding

Which “90’s” branding methods had a huge comeback in recent years?

Steven on July 24, 2019

They say that fashion always comes back – but only after 20 have passed. Nowadays, we are experiencing a comeback of the ’80s and ’90s in fashion, movies, TV series, and music. A music genre called synthwave emerged in the 2010s, while movies like Kung Fury and The Pursuit of Happyness dominate movie festivals around the globe. Stranger Things, a TV series running on Netflix, also pays homage to the ‘80s pop culture, with several themes inspired by Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter.

The same can be said about branding. Nostalgia has its place in branding, and can even further improve your efforts down the road. In this post, we will explore some of the best comeback methods in branding that stand available even for your small business.

Promotional Products

Promotional products were all the hype in the ’90s (especially in politics), and although they have lost some of their glory, that doesn’t mean they still can’t be crucial to your branding success. Most promotional products recipients can remember the name of the advertiser on the product and commonly do business with them, and rarely who doesn’t like receiving them.

Always popular promotional items are even available online and can be imprinted with your company’s name, logo, or message designed to increase brand awareness among your target audience. As one of the only forms of marketing that enable customers to interact with a brand on a physical level, promotional items often build a more memorable brand experience.

Coca-Cola’s Website – Now and Then

The company’s first website was launched in April 1995 and Coca-Cola even saved a screengrab of its black-and-white homepage that featured a Coke bottle going into space under the text “The Galaxy of Cola-Cola”. The website also had a featured link to click on the business’s shareholders’ report.

Nowadays, their site is more closely aligned with the brand’s focus on happiness, using the brand’s signature red in its menu bar and a tagline spelling – Open Happiness. The brand also uses a “Share a Coke” site, where you can customize your own bottle. In a modern world, where 75% of online consumers want personalized branding based on their interests, Coke is building a trend here. The company also has a separate consumer site from its corporate website that features information and articles for investors.

Converse – the Old School Way

In 1932, Converse signed basketball star Charles Hollis (“Chuck”) Taylor to help advertise the All-Star and through it, “delivered” their iconic nickname – the Chuck Taylor. They quickly became the most popular sneakers in the league. However, in the ‘80s, the competition, namely Adidas, Nike, Reebok, and Puma, became fiercer. Go to 1998, and you’ll find that Converse only claimed 2.3 percent of the market.

In the end, Nike bought the company in 2003. But this wasn’t the end of the Converse brand. Under new management, Converse went in a new direction by embracing their “old-school” style, which was liked by generations of rebellious rockers over the years. As an element of their brand overhaul, the company produced special Ramones and Curt Cobain editions of their Chuck Taylors.

Neon Signs in Advertising

Even though some might say they fell out of favor, neon signs are an excellent way of promoting your business in today’s competitive market. They’re ideal for situations where a business wants to start slowly and small and are particularly popular with restaurants, retail storefronts, and pharmaceutical stores. The signs can either communicate information with urgency or style and range from simple signs to complex art installation forms.

For starters, neon signs are highly durable and will last for a long time – their life expectancy is 10 years. Especially at night, neon lights can be very appealing to those passing by. If they’re used at the entrance of the business, most people will be captivated by their lights and possibly get lured in.

Branding, just like fashion, needs to follow real movements on the market and should follow them until it starts to create trends of their own. Therefore, there are no “passé” instances in branding – the only thing that matters is what works at this moment for product placement and selling. Following trends is a double-edged sword, but you can still cut your competition with it.

Legal Branding Local Branding Personal Branding

Experts Discuss Small Productivity Tips That Bring Big Benefits

Steven on July 15, 2019

As an entrepreneur, you have a lot to juggle every day. What takes more time and energy? Those big tasks that you do once in a while that bring big results to your business, like meeting clients or planning your next venture? Or the small stuff that seems to creep in all day long? If you’re like most entrepreneurs, it’s the latter.

Those small things take our valuable time and energy. In this marketplace, energy is the most valuable resource we have. If you’re wasting this precious energy every day on time-consuming tasks that don’t amount to huge growth for your business, this is something you need to fix.

Luckily, you’re not in this alone. We’ve talked to the best entrepreneur and business experts around to see what they do that makes the biggest difference. Unsurprisingly, it’s not the big changes that add up. It’s those small changes that leave the biggest impact.

What would you do with 10 more minutes each day? What about an hour? While it might not seem possible, learning to use your time more effectively and to use the right tools will make all the difference. In this guide, we’ll share the top small productivity tips for 2019 that bring big benefits. Some of them might surprise you, but they’ll all make a difference if you give them a chance.

This isn’t a static list. We plan to keep it growing and evolving as we learn more about what works for leaders and productivity experts across the globe. It’s time to reclaim your lost time to supercharge your day. You have nothing to lose and so much time to gain!

Master Your Scheduling

Fletcher Wimbush from The Hire Talent states that our time as professionals, endless back and forth to nail downtime is super annoying. However, most people don’t approach using self-scheduling tools in the right way. It is critical to use these tools for the OTHER person’s benefit and not just yours. Also, the placement of these tools in your emails matters.

For example, I place this before my signature and salutation after I request a time to meet with someone:

Great I would love to schedule a time to meet with you is there a good time for us to connect this week?

If it is more convenient for you please feel free to choose a time for us to chat using this easy scheduler link.

9.5 / 10 times people use the self-scheduling tool when I do this!

Walking

Our partners from HR Management App suggest “walking breaks”.

Office work is characterized by prolonged and uninterrupted sitting time. This can result in not only physical, but also cognitive fatigue which poses a threat to your productivity levels. Walking is the best way to smash through this fatigue and boost your creativity. The best part is, you will receive benefits regardless of how long you walk for.

Introducing 5-minute bursts of moderate intensity walking into your routine will improve productivity, energy levels, mood, and cognitive performance. It requires no skill and can be performed at any time within your office without sacrificing your break time – all you have to do is get up and walk around your office building.

If you’re finding it difficult to solve a problem or are starting to feel a mid-afternoon slump, take longer walks during your lunch break. This will improve your creativity by up to 60%, enabling you to come back to the problem re – energized and with a more innovative mindset.

Prioritisation

Our partners from Ripple CRM suggest “Prioritisation”

It’s an obvious one – we all know we have things todo everyday in business. Most people have a list of things that they need to work through. A long list can become overwhelming if you have a lot to do.

Many people just start with the first thing they put on their list and they don’t think about the priority order of tasks. Also people tend to prioritise tasks on what they think is the highest priority for them and not necessarily for their company or clients.

So when trying to prioritise tasks, think about it in this order and state of mind:

1. What tasks are high priority and must get done today? Or another way to think about it is if these things don’t get done today I am definitely going to get in trouble with my boss or my client.

2. What tasks are high priority but do not need to be done today?These are the things you should be focusing on but are not essential for today’s priority.

3. Low Priority Tasks Things that need to get done but are not as urgent as the two categories above.

Each day spend 10 minutes of your time categorising your tasks into the above categories. You should know how to do your work – otherwise you wouldn’t be good at your job right? But knowing whatto focus on, is essential to any business’ survival. Small changes like focusing on high priority tasks first could mean the difference between achieving a higher revenue turnover this month instead of next month. It all makes a difference.

Take mini breaks regularly

Our partners from Insights For Professionals suggest to “Take mini breaks”.

Working for long periods without breaks can often lead to increased stress and fatigue. So why not schedule mini breaks periodically to stretch, walk around and have a glass of water? In return, you’ll feel rejuvenated both physically and mentally, allowing you to think more creatively.

https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com/management/leadership/10-top-tips-for-improving-productivity

Utilize proper productivity tools

Our partner Mehmet Akyol from Startup Buffer suggest to “Utilize proper productivity tools”.

Being a single founder, maintaining motivation and productivity requires some additional work. Using different products and services, you can increase your productivity. Pomodoro technique is one of the secret weapons that I was using for a long time. Additionally, recently I have discovered Focusmate to find accountability partners for 50 minutes of sessions. So, using both Pomodoro apps and Focusmate can help any other solopreneurs to increase their productivity.

Accomplish more of what’s important to you

Our partner from Lead Grow Develop suggests to “Accomplish more of what’s important to you”.

Investing in productivity in your career will significantly increase your chances of achieving productivity in other areas of your life. If you are living a life out of balance, then you are not living a life of full potential. Someone who plans their day intentionally can get more things done in 5 hours, then someone who works 9 hours without a plan. Without the right habits, you will find yourself returning to the starting line, over and over again.

Write a to-do list every day

Our partner Julia Mankovskaya from Daxx Blog suggests to “write a to-do list every day”.

“It may seem as easy as pie, but I would recommend you write a to-do list every day. This helps you not to forget about something on a daily run. Additionally, it is a kind of motivating stuff to criss-cross every task you did from your list. You can also put some fun and attach an entertaining picture to the tasks you consider the most complicated or difficult. After all is done – rest well.”

Prioritize your activities

Our partner Haley Gray from Leadership Girl suggests to “Prioritize your activities”.

My best tip for productivity tips is to prioritize and do the things that are most important to you, saying “no” to the things that are not important, that don’t bring you pleasure, satisfaction, or move your business or career forward. So many times we say “yes” to too many volunteer activities. It’s how I ended up as a leader to 4 Girl Scout Troops. I loved it, but it was also a huge amount of time for me, taking time away from my children, and other things that I really needed to be doing. When I started learning to say no to volunteer activities, to job opportunities that weren’t a good match, and things that just don’t make sense for me to do, life got a lot easier.

Avoid getting caught up in the work of others

Our partner Dorothy Dalton from 3Plus International suggests to “Avoid getting caught up in the work of others”.

We all know the phrase “If you want something done, ask a busy person”? Don’t let that person be you.

One of the best ways to increase your productivity is to avoid getting caught up in the work of others. Also known as being “dumped on.” Learning to create boundaries in a constructive way to avoid assuming the work of others is vital. It could be taking on the work of a boss or peer or micro-managing a report. For women making sure the office housework such as buying leaving gifts, organising baby showers or setting-up the staff outing is rotated amongst all staff regardless of gender.

Equip yourself with practical skills

Our partner from Jobstore Blog suggests to “Equip yourself with practical skills”.

Working towards learning new skills to improve your expertise and knowledge can lead to enhancing and increasing work performance. Some of the core practical skills include public speaking, writing, self-management and networking. Besides that, decision-making, stress management and basic accounting skills are equally vital and practical to learn. Adopting and exercising any of these skills can bring a measure of the change in your life and what’s more, would turn your career’s to a greater path.

Start a time-use journal

Our partner Eric Taussig from Prialto suggests to “Start a time-use journal”.

Begin 2020 by starting a time-use journal, logging any activity that you repeat daily and noting how much time it takes you. If/when you find that a combination of any three of these activities requires 2.5 hours or more of your time, look for ways to automate these tasks. If they can’t be automated, hire an administrative assistant to whom you can delegate this work.

Stop multitasking

Our partner Alan Hosking from HR Future suggests to “Stop multitasking”.

Stop multitasking and do one thing at a time – properly. While multitasking sounds like the right thing to do to cope with increasing work pressures, few realise that it simply results in a number of things being done only half as productively as they should be.

Learning To Say No and Mastery of the 95%/5% rule

Our partner Cavakia from Infooomph suggests to “Learning To Say No and Mastery of the 95%/5% rule”.

My best tip for boosting productivity in my personal and professional life is learning say no and mastery of the 80/20 rule. Coming from a low conscious country like Haiti, I was programmed to say yes to everyone and every demand I perceived to have authority over me. Luckily things change when I met two mentors who raised my consciousness. One mentor thought me that NO was the most important word in the universe, and that I should develop the courage to use it more in order to achieve high levels of success in life.

The second mentor thought me the 95%/5% rule. A method of devoting your precious time to only perform the 5% task that requires your physical presence while delegating the 95%. I used to implement this concept to get amazing result with clients when I was a trainer. Instead of limiting my potential to the amount of clients I could train in one hour, I started saying NO to one on one traditional personal training, and graduated to group training to help more folks in that single hour. From there, I started teaching and delegating the 95% by hiring other trainers.

Plan your days in advance

Our partner Kelvin from Fuzu suggested to “Plan your days in advance”.

Knowing what you need to accomplish during a particular week will enable you to plan for the week. List all the tasks you’ll need to do in order of the urgency they need to be done and the amount of time it would take to complete each. This will make it easier for you to plan your calendar for the week while prioritizing the work that matters most.

Local Branding Personal Branding

How to Design a Splendid Outdoor Setting for Your Restaurant

Steven on June 24, 2019

When designing your restaurant, what surely comes first on the list is a modern and functional kitchen, a great bar area, a comfortable and inviting dining room, but you mustn’t overlook another important part and that is the outdoor dining space.

With the alfresco entertaining season already upon us, most diners prefer enjoying their meal in the fresh air so it’s obvious this area deserves your full attention. Your guests will certainly have to pass first through the entry and the front part of your restaurant so naturally, you have to leave a great impression there, but leave something for the end and charm them once they step outside into your splendid outdoor space.

Here are several design aspects you need to consider when designing your restaurant.

Outdoor brand signage

First impressions count a great deal so right at your entrance, you need to have your business sign to catch people’s attention. Be sure to do your research into regulations of your area as many cities and business districts have strict rules about the type of outdoor signs restaurants and other business can have.

Once you know exactly what you can and cannot do, hire a professional sign designer to produce something that is unique and reflective of your restaurant. Whereas you could probably come up with your own design for the menus, it’s recommendable you leave the outdoor sign design to experts. The reason is simply – an amateur, hand-made sign on a piece of plywood with spray paint will definitely send the wrong message!

Outdoor lights and signs

In addition to your business sign, the outside will benefit from other signs, such as available parking, open/close times, no smoking and others that give your guests valuable information. These should also be professionally done and with adequate lighting, you’re not only ensuring the right ambiance but your customers’ safety as well.

Strategically placed outdoor lights will make your customers feel welcome whereas string lights placed overhead to give a magical touch to the outdoor dining space, especially in the summer. It can all be combined with torches along the pathways, stylish table lamps or candles for an intimate atmosphere and a vintage, glass chandelier in the center for a touch of old-time elegance.

Seating options

Providing plenty of seating options in the entire restaurant is a priority so you can accommodate for everyone, including those who wait. In front of your restaurant, you could set up a bench and maybe a couple of small tables and chairs like the French cafes do but make sure you pick both attractive and durable furniture.

The same rule applies for your outdoor dining area – all the furniture pieces need to be aesthetically pleasing and designed to withstand the weather and wearing. You need to find a reliable restaurant furniture supplier who offers great, sturdy patio furniture for commercial use in various styles, so you can easily find something that fits into your restaurant theme. Depending on what you’re going for, outdoor furniture trends in Sydney demonstrate the choices you can make, from a refined, classy aesthetics, a fresh coastal theme to an ultra-contemporary vibe.

Restaurant information

Outside menus next to the entrance of your restaurant in the form of an old-style chalkboard or a glass menu case are an excellent way to advertise your delicacies and attract guests. However, not just any menu will do. It needs to be well lit and clearly written so the customers can read it easily at any time of day or night.

In addition to a wall-mounted menu board, you can also put up a sandwich board on the pavement to advertise your menu specials and maybe even write an inspirational quote or an appropriate joke!

Alfresco area decor

Extending your restaurant ambiance to the alfresco area will create a full circle in your restaurant design. Take similar décor details you have inside and incorporate them in the outdoor setting. It can be the same light fixtures, table cloths, seating cushions, and music, just make sure it isn’t too loud so the guests can easily converse while they enjoy their meal.

Don’t forget the power or plants and flowers to dress up even the plainest setting. Place stylish planters and window boxes both at the front entrance and back patio entrance, but make sure there is at least one designated person to take care of the plants so they stay fresh and beautiful at all times.

Hopefully, the tips listed here give you enough incentive to start designing your dream restaurant space!

Personal Branding

3 Ways You Can Use the Web To Find People

Steven on June 14, 2019

Trying to find people is quite common nowadays, as many people try to find a long-lost friend or relative they lost touch with years ago. It’s great how people make so much effort to get in touch with their old friends and now it’s not as difficult as it used to be. Especially with the internet, Google, and the social media platforms, etc, it’s comparatively easier now to find someone, get his contact information, address, and more.

If you are in search of your friend or your colleague but sadly all you can remember is just a face and a name, we can offer some tips for getting in touch with people with whatever little information you have.

Today we will put down a list of ways you can use to find people on the web. So, stay focused and stick with us a little longer to get your desired results as we examine three web tools to find people you want to contact,.

3 Web Tools To Find People

1- Use Google

Google is the best place to be on if you want to find someone or if you want some information against a name or a topic or whatsoever. Think about it? When you want some information on a particular topic, you just open up Google on your PC and then type the topic in the search engine and then Google just opens up a whole book of information in front of you. Similarly, when you are looking for someone, you have to follow the same process. Just plug in any information you have about that person on Google and if he/she has been active on the web, you will get their name, their profile and in some cases even their email address in the results. If they have a common name, you may have to sort through several pages, but you may find them.

2- Public Directories

At the end of the day, what are public directories for? These directories and public records are available on the internet, so you can use a find people search engine, such as TruthFinder to search through billions of records to find contact details so you can get in touch with them easily. To use these directories, you need to know the person’s contact number or at least his full name and the area code. If you have this information and if you struggle and search different directories, you will surely end up with the results you’ve been dying to get.

3- People Search Sites

Another popular way to find someone on the web is to opt for a people search website. There are plenty of people search websites operating at the moment and you can easily use them to get to your friend, colleague or relative. Just never pay even a single penny to these websites because the legit websites out there won’t demand any money from you. You see, it’s simple to understand that if some information about someone is available on the internet, you will be able to find it with a little struggle for free. So, don’t pay anything to these scam websites and just stick to those that show legit results. Also, once some website works for you and shows you the results against a name or a number, make sure to verify that information first before making any move.

Conclusion

These are some of the best ways to use the web to find people. Opt for any one of the above-mentioned methods and we assure you that you will find the results you seek.