Yes, this is a post targeted directly at some of my closest friends who are still tied down by the chains of Corporate America. I probably don’t speak to them often enough; it’s not because I don’t like them, it’s simply because each time we meet and begin talking, the conversation turns negative nine times out of ten.
Why is this you might ask?
I personally don’t think I’m a negative guy. In fact, when I worked in “Corporate America” I was given the “Best Attitude” Award…ha ha!
The reason things tend to turn negative, in my opinion (IMO), is because my friends know that what I’m doing as a self-employed entrepreneur is EXACTLY what they want to be doing…but they’re afraid to take the leap from that “security”.
In an effort to “practice what I preach”, I was stumbling for ideas last night and came upon one that really hit home.
I’m coming on my one year anniversary of self-employment (November 1st); I’ve learned a lot about myself, my motivation, and mostly about areas where I can improve.
Productivity is “the state of being productive”. (in case you weren’t sure)
One of the things I’ve learned as a self-employed entrepreneur is that there is rarely anyone watching over your shoulder to make sure you get things done. In many ways this can be a relief from the micro-managing manager who wastes more time trying to “catch” his/her employees doing something WRONG as opposed to working on projects that will make his/her team BETTER.
The down side of not having someone monitor your progress is that it can be easy to waste time and not be productive.
Management is all about connecting with the people on your team. So how do you effectively manage a team? With common knowledge, of course.
How many of you wish you could paste this statement 1,000+ times on your manager’s door/desk/forehead?
Or maybe you’ve been a manager and wish you would have read this BEFORE you were an A$% to your employees…
Before I share a list of some tips for managers, let me say this: management is not all it’s cracked up to be and here’s why:
Salary SUCKS, especially if you’re motivated to hit goals and exceed expectations. Sure, all “salaried” positions are different I’m sure; but a salaried job that has no perks or bonuses for exceptional effort? Come on managers…
Yes, it’s been too long since I blogged at DSM, and I’m honest when I say “I’ve missed it…”
I’m re-motivated to share ideas, ask questions, and even callpeople (and companies) out on their online business stupidity.
I’ll start, though, with a sincere SEO question:
Is reading a BOOK really helpful to an SEO Firm (or freelancer or wanna be)?
To make sure I’ve clarified – a BOOK is just that: paper back, hard-bound, library issued or purchased on Amazon. I’m not referring to an eBook, a list of blog articles or your habitual RSS Reader.
Do you really have to be a computer wiz to be successful with an online business?
I speak from first hand experience – you DON’T have to be a born “brainiack” or a computer programmer to run a successful online business.
To give you some inspiration before I tell you how to get the ball rolling, check out this “motivational speech” from a 5 year old:
“Everybody, I know you can believe in yourself…you will get the hang of it, I know. If you keep practicing, you can get better and better at it…Thumbs up everybody for rock and roll!”
You just gotta believe and give a thumbs up and…VIOLA, you’ll be successful.
Oh how I wish it was that easy and “turn key”. Unfortunately, in most cases, IT’S NOT so don’t be fooled to think otherwise.
In my world these days the only HR I really like to see is when it’s a stat next to a New York Yankees box score! Unfortunately, lately, the HR next to the Yankees stats haven’t been there too much either.
Last night I was going through my nightly routine of stumbling and reviewing shared articles and ran into this classic about the IDIOTIC practices in HR. Just reading this article caused me to reminisce about the miserable days of working in “corporate America” and answered a few of my HR Questions from above.
A month ago I was in Arizona where I got a sun burn from swimming in the pool without wearing sunscreen.
Just last week I was looking outside and watching the snow glisten off the top of our fence.
Tomorrow, it will probably be 70 degrees outside.
My question to you:
Have you ever actually changed travel plans or family activities based on what happened with the stupid Ground Hog?
I sure hope not!
I’ve decided that Ground Hog day is a scam and I’m wondering what is the hidden agenda behind this stupid holiday. Any ideas?
This weather rant doesn’t have much to do with the title or content of this post, but hopefully it gets you thinking about BUSINESS PLANNING and causes you to ask yourself the question “Who really is in charge of planning out my day?”
I had a dream conversation with a new client today. I often don’t hear the results of my client’s success or lack thereof. To be honest I didn’t expect this one. The business owner lives out of the country. When we announced programming classes he held in the US. I knew that he didn’t get a lot of response.
I wrote a press release and even though no one came to the classes, people found him.
Here’s a bit from the conversation:
Client: We’ve developed a second class following the success of the first one so I want to announce it.
I had a great conversation a few days ago with a programmer friend of mine who works for a major company (but wants to be working for himself). We were chatting about business, Internet business, making money and particularly about how to find products to sell online. My friend made an interesting comment that struck me me so much that I wanted to write a post about it. I am doing my best to remember his exact words, but more or less, here is what he said:
I am just having a hard time figuring our what kind of a business to start that has not already been started. I mean, do you think I could really create a product that would sell online?
We then went into a huge conversation about creating that “amazing”, “never been done before” invention, and I told him I wanted him to start thinking about business in a different way, and what he could possibly create online with this different way of thinking.
As marketing professionals we always seem to find ourselves in positions where we are being “pitched” on some big idea, that someone had, and that someone wants our feedback and possibly help on. It seems we have a never ending business opportunity at our front door. As an SEO, owner of an Internet marketing firm, with several established online businesses, I have a problem with this sometimes.
Here is the scenario:
You are meeting with a person who has a great idea, and is looking for someone who can provide the SEO/online marketing services they are looking for. You get to talking about what it will take to accomplish their goals, tell them they have a great idea, and before getting into what it will cost they turn the conversation (really quick) to you partnering with them because you think it’s “such a great idea”.
To make sure I’ve clarified – a BOOK is just that: paper back, hard-bound, library issued or purchased on Amazon. I’m not referring to an eBook, a list of blog articles or your habitual RSS Reader.
In my world these days the only HR I really like to see is when it’s a stat next to a New York Yankees box score! Unfortunately, lately, the HR next to the Yankees stats haven’t been there too much either.
