We’ve all walked into offices — a lawyer’s office, perhaps, or a professor’s — and seen the person’s diplomas quietly displayed on the wall.  But have you ever been in the presence of someone who is so over-the-top about their achievements that they come across as full of themselves, rather than qualified?

My sister has just such a story from college.  One of her professors walked into class on the first day dressed in his graduation cap and robe, and gave all the students a lecture about paying him the proper respect because he had a degree.  Of course, the result was the opposite — everyone hated him and thought he was a jerk.

There is nothing wrong with being proud of having a university diploma, but in the business world, you’ll have to tone it down a little if you don’t want to scare away potential clients or alienate your colleagues and employees.  A professional-looking college diploma frame on the wall of your office is a great way to show off your accomplishments without stepping on anyone’s toes.

Be sure to remember this when writing materials such as your professional bio, resume, cover letter, website, etc.  Understating your accomplishments a little is always better than overstating, and sounds more professional in the lonng run!

Technorati Tags: college diploma frame, professional bio, university diploma

It’s not what you might think.  No, no highly sophisticated transplants — unless you consider computer stuff a transplant: “electrodes surgically implanted in her eye, a camera on the bridge of her nose and a video processor strapped to her waist.”

Amazing, isn’t it, that our computer technology would give a blind person the ability to see again?

This demonstrates how important it is to be on the cutting edge in your industry, especially in technology based industries.  We all know how quickly the computers on the market change and improve.  Well, the same goes for, say, hearing aids: If your business offers audiologist services, you need to be certain you are always on top of your game, so that you develop a reputation for offering the latest and the greatest.

This can be difficult in certain industries — buying a new computer every year is one thing, but many people find it more difficult to stomach buying new hearing aids in order to keep up with the most recent advances in technology.  But it’s also difficult to attract customers if your products are outdated and not in demand.  Besides, by offering the newest products you demonstrate that you make it your business to keep up on the latest news in your industry, which instills trust in customers by reassuring them that they don’t have to go anywhere else to ensure they get the newest and best technology!

Technorati Tags: audiologist services, blind, hearing aids

For instance, one of my clients is a real estate agent, and I write newsletter and newspaper articles about Florida real estate for him.  Another client has a variety of entrepreneurial websites, mainly for job seekers but also some other related topics, and I frequently write press releases and articles for his websites.  Still another client sells boat supplies, so I write some materials about boating and boat accessories.

I think it’s this variety that keeps me energized about my work.  I love to write, but I know from experience that it gets really boring to write about the same thing all the time — no matter how much I love writing itself, I can’t handle the monotony.

So my advice to you is to always make sure you have variety in your work or your business.  No matter what your industry, no matter what your service or product, there should be a way to introduce variety and take the edge off of the monotony.  Doing so makes your business more likely to succeed, because if you’re not tired of it you’ll have much more to give.

Technorati Tags: boat accessories, boat supplies, real estate agent

A small website might be fine for a very small business or a first website, but soon you will find that you need to upgrade — particularly if you have an ecommerce site or your website gets a lot of traffic.

There are a lot of options to choose from for business web hosting.  For instance, you might choose a dedicated server: Basically instead of being on the same server as a bunch of other websites, the hosting provider puts your site on your very on server.  This is a great option for large websites or sites that get a lot of traffic.

Another option is server colocation, which is basically where the server belongs to you — and therefore all repairs and maintenance are your responsibility — but the hosting provider provides space, power, and an Internet connection at their facility.  This allows you more control over your server, without the responsibility of having to maintain power and connectivity.

There are also hosting options that support businesses in other ways, too.  For instance, many hosting providers offer hosted email, where your and all your employees’ email are hosted on a shared or dedicated server, so that you can access it from any computer — or even your phone!

As you can see, there are a world of options for business web hosting.  What options will YOU choose?

Technorati Tags: computer network, dedicated server, server colocation, web hosting

I realized quickly that looking in as a parent from the outside was a lot different than actually being in a leadership role.  I think I was too quick to judge when I realized that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than I had imagined.  In fact, it wasn’t until the first bottle drive that we had that I knew deep down that I was a little underprepared for this adventure.

But I was ready when it came time for the second bottle drive.  I had called the company that supplies my employer with delivery maps to see if they could provide us with custom maps of our area in the city so that we could better organize the bottle drive routes.  They were happy to oblige and the maps showed up just a couple of days before the bottle drive.

These new maps made such a difference that we were able to get done the work a full three hours earlier than the previous one.  The parents also commented on the better organization of the bottle drive and they were almost ready to do another one!  Though I am still learning, this experience has been invaluable - I hope that I can apply the lessons I learned this time to other aspects of my role as a Scout leader.

Technorati Tags: custom maps, delivery maps

The majority of seasonal online businesses are related to the Christmas holidays. A lot of people sell items that are specific to this time of year. Some examples of such items are Christmas ornaments, baked goods or canned goods designed to be Christmas gifts and holiday gift baskets. These items all sell well during a few short months of the year.

If you’re looking to expand beyond the seasonal store then you simply need to figure out a way to create year round products from the products that you already sell. For example, someone who sells holiday gift baskets may start to create gift baskets for other times of the year. Birthday gift baskets and get well gift baskets are sold year round. It should take just a bit of creativity and some new marketing to grow your business in this way.

Technorati Tags: get well gift baskets, holiday gift baskets

And it did.

In my senior year, my dream came true and I found myself in the position where I was the captain.  It was one of the most amazing moments in my life when they made the announcement as it meant all the hard work that I did was worth it.

I quickly realized though that there was more work involved in being the captain than I had thought.  I wanted to make sure that I did the best job I could, so I found some team software that would help me with all the work I needed to do.

But I know that I will do what it takes to make our team the best - being team captain was the role I was born to be.

Technorati Tags: dedication, team captain, team software

One of the companies that I feel really supportive of right now is Skyros Designs. This is a company that sells really beautiful jars and ceramics.

Some of the top reasons that I’m loving Skyros right now are:

• They make oven-to-table products. I hate having to take my food out of what it’s been baked in to make it presentable for serving at the table. These products make it so that I don’t have to.
• These products have many handmade features. I really like items that have been made by hand instead of manufactured by a machine.
• They use solid colors that are a little bit surprising. They use unique shades that are eye-catching but they’re solid colors so it’s not overwhelming to have these on the table while I eat.
• This is a woman-owned business. I know that there are plenty of male-owned businesses that make great stuff but I like supporting women-owned businesses when I can.
• This is an American-based business. I like supporting local businesses which sometimes includes businesses that aren’t local to my area but that are based in the U.S.

It’s a really cool company. If you have any interest in good handmade products for your kitchen and dining room then it might be worth your time to check them out.

Technorati Tags: jars ceramics, skyros

The other area I’ve been working in is telemarketing consulting. Surprisingly, this has been the most interesting part of my workday. I’ve been able to sit and listen to customer calls and hear or see how the sales people interact. I’ve even picked up a few techniques that I can bring to other companies, and I have coached them on working within these bounds. I’ve seen lots of companies benefit from the techniques we teach, and I get a great sense of accomplishment when I’m able to look at a business that I know I’ve helped.

Technorati Tags: inside sales consultant, inside sales outsourcing, ] telemarketing consulting

I hate the job. It is a call center job and I have to spend all day every day listening to these customers who usually are either extremely rude, short, holier than thou, snobby, arrogant, completely clueless, or otherwise basically just calling to waste my time. It is a thankless job and more than a few times have I wanted to just throw my phone through the window, and ideally, the customer on the other end of the line too. But at least I get recognized for putting up with it, and rewarded for going the extra mile anyway. That makes it bearable, and I would not stay without that extra effort from my company.

Technorati Tags: company, employee recognition program, employee rewards