Travel Like A Business Owner, Frugally!

People who don't travel much will often think that business travel is exotic. Interesting cities, nice hotels, restaurant meals all seems so much better that the everyday "humdrum" existence they live!

Then there are the people who actually travel for business, whose view might be a little different. Longer hours, no home cooked meals, miss their own bed, hotels are all the same when all you do is use them to sleep and shower, restaurant meals get old and then there is the time away from family. Not often mentioned but equally off putting is the exposure to germs and people you might not otherwise choose to meet! Too often you find yourself in an aircraft where invariably you are sitting next to a large person who overflows into your space, and has a very obvious cold!

Now that I have put business travel into context, it IS a valuable, and needed, activity for any business that has multiple locations or even just clients in multiple locations.

Business owners approach travel with the goal of achieving their business needs as effectively and as "cost effectively" as possible! Here are some business travel tips from a business owner:

"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." Benjamin Franklin

1. Book ahead! Last minute travel is costly... and does not allow you to plan your days as effectively as you might.


2. Look at travel options... don't go with the same airline all the time just to collect points! In Canada I might travel on Westjet, Air Canada or Porter based on price, convenience and my travel needs for a given trip.


3. Be frugal with hotel bookings. Generally it's just a bed and a shower. You don't need the most expensive hotel. I find a reasonable place, convenient to my meetings. I often use sites like Hotwire to get great rates and have friends who use airbnb.


4. Limit travel in business hours. I get early morning flights when headed west, and late evening flights when headed east. This means I can maximize my time at my destination. For example if I leave Toronto at or before 7am I can arrive in Calgary or Vancouver around 9am local time, giving me a full day in that city.


5. Look after your body. Eat well, get enough sleep and work out. You don't even need a gym to work out! Pushups, ab exercises, squats, lunges, walking the stairs etc. are all good exercise that you can do anywhere.


6. Travel with hand sanitiser. In the "germ environments" of planes and hotels it makes sense to act like a health professional. Wash your hands often!


7. Travel with supplements. You will likely not get the nutrients you get with your regular diet so bring vitamins, ColdFX even some pain medication. It will help you stay healthier and hence more effective.


8. Limit your alcohol intake. It is easy to let this get away from you when you are visiting colleagues and clients in other cities. Exercise some restraint, your body will thank you.


9. Take materials with you that will make your travel time effective. Catch up on reading, create a reading file with photocopies or cutouts of articles. Put materials on your kindle, iPad or other reader.


10. Travel light. Learn to pack effectively and think through your wardrobe... if you can travel with carry-on luggage only you will save time and aggravation. (Learn to us an iron... there is one in most hotel rooms).


11. Spend like it is your own money. As a business owner it IS your own money! Tip appropriately, but not extravagantly. Choose reasonable but not crazy restaurants. Take the team for a couple of drinks, but don't make a night of it.

"Entrepreneurship is living a few years like most people won't. So that you can live the rest of your life like most people can't." Unknown

These are lessons I have learned over the last 18 years owning and operating my own business.

What tips do you have to share?

Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle, one of Canada's largest professional staffing companies. You can read more of his writing at the Eagle Blog http://www.eagleonline.com/blog/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Dee

Know All About Booming Job Sectors of Chennai

Chennai has a huge economic base, which is mainly dominated by information technology, automobile, financial and medical sectors. If you are looking for a job in Chennai for freshers then this career guide would ease your job hunt. Let's have a look at top sectors where you can find a job in Chennai for freshers -

Software & software services= Chennai has been always acknowledged as one of the most flourishing Indian cities for out-shoring services. The city is the second largest exporter of the IT & ITes and as a result, it has become the thriving hub for android & games based technologies. Moreover, in the last few years, there has been a great spurt in the demand of professionals working in the BPO field and the demand has even increased by 11 per cent. There are various economic zones which are developed in & around the city. Some of the leading software companies which have their offices in the city are:

1= Accenture
2= Capgemini
3= Oracle Corporation
4= HCL
5= IBM
6= Satyam
7= Infosys
8= Amazon
9= Intel
10= Wipro
11= Microsoft
12= Deloitte

Electronics hardware sector= During the past few years, Chennai has become the major hub for electronics manufacturing in South Asia as various leading international companies have established their centers in the city. Known as the largest electronics hardware exporter, the state government is taking all initiatives in order to bolster electronic manufacturing in the city. Some of the top companies offering jobs for freshers in Chennai are:

1= Nokia
2= Dell
3= Samsung
4= Siemens
5= Atmel
6= Texas Instruments
7= Xerox

Automobile sector= Fondly called the 'Detroit of India', Chennai has witnessed the presence of top-notch multinational companies. Moreover, the city has become the important center for the auto ancillary industry also. Hyundai has already decided to set up its engine plant in the city and Ford will also make a huge investment in the automobile sector of Chennai. Also, the city has one of the huge automotive research & development centers, which houses top companies like BMW, Caterpillar and Nissan.

Banking & finance sector= Chennai is also called the financial capital of India as there are various banks & financial institutions which are established in the city. In the present scenario, the city has become the home to four public and commercial banks, and many regional & state-level banks have also opened their branches in the city.

Some of the top financial institutions present in the city are:

1= World Bank
2= ABN Amro
3= Bank of America
4= Standard Chartered Bank
5= HSBC
6= Goldman Sachs
7= The Royal Bank of Scotland
8= ING Group
9= Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
10= The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
11= Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
12= Asian Development Bank
13= Credit Suisse
14= Citibank
15= BNP Paribas Fortis

The salary package

If reports are to be believed, companies in Chennai offer lucrative salary packages to its employees along with some exciting perks. In order to get a complete idea of the salary package, we will take into account some of the common job profiles which you can find in Chennai. If you work as a software engineer, then you can expect to earn Rs 5-8 lakh/annum; whereas as an IT project, your salary would be Rs 10-20 lakh/annum.

The author works for CareerBuilder, where you can find a wide array of jobs for freshers in Chennai.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Reenaa_Dhiman

3 Questions to Ask Before Closing Your Business

Have you ever had a business that you felt inclined to close? Are you currently considering closing the doors to your business? Does the thought of it all give you anxiety? Do you wonder what to do next? You are not alone. Countless other entrepreneurs, including myself, have had those same feelings. I look back on those moments and I can now see that those were "breakdowns before breakthroughs".

Often times those breakdowns can be the best thing for you to experience growth. Several clients have asked me "How do you know when to walk away?" My response to each of them was the same. It is truly a personal decision that no one except the business owner can answer. Today on Social Media's "Throwback Thursday" I posted a picture of a private preschool that I owned for several years that I eventually had to walk away from. I have not openly talked about that situation for it was such a hard decision and it still stings a bit. So bear with me; this may be a pseudo therapy session!

After the birth of my first son I was practicing law full time and had to rely upon childcare providers. I quickly become very unimpressed with the quality and high pricing of childcare providers. Those feelings caused me to begin to have visions of owning my own pre school. It came to fruition 6 years later when I purchased a daycare center that was literally in its last days. There were less than 20 kids enrolled and the center and it had a $7200 per month financial deficit. I worked soooo hard to pull the center out of the mud! I believed in myself and what I could do. I worked with professionals to create a structured curriculum, implemented extra curricular activities, introduced a foreign language program and so many other things. In less than a year I quadrupled enrollment and pulled the center from the grim financial state. As an attorney I knew very little about the childcare industry aside from what I would expect as a parent. I studied, I researched, I WORKED. I put countless hours and over $100,000.00 of my personal savings into this business. (Yes, that's the part that stings!)

Eventually obstacles started to arise. Obstacles that made it very hard and incredibly stressful for me to run the business. Telling you about all those obstacles would be an extra long post all in itself... or maybe even a short TV drama series! I stuck it out as long as I could, but eventually made the personal decision to walk away from the business. I had to weigh my options. The stress that the business was causing & the attention it was taking from my family was not worth it. The amount of money I made from that venture could not possibly justify the huge effect it had on my quality of life. I loved all those children in the school like my own; however my quality of life was much more important. I considered those factors and the length of time that I endured the stress and it just made sense to walk away and maintain my sanity!

For awhile I felt like a failure. I cried, I was upset, I was disappointed... so many feelings at the same time. I spent so much time in the business that I honestly just felt lost and confused about what to do with all the extra hours I had in a day. Looking back on it I am positive that was the BEST decision; however at the time I could not see that (not even a little bit). The only things I could think about was how this private preschool was what I wanted and how I worked so hard. I also beat myself up because I had spent money that very well could have funded at least one of my children's college education.

I'm slowly coming out of being hesitant to talk about it. Why? Because I no longer feel like a failure. I do not feel like a failure because now I know that I am NOT a failure. I turned the business around and accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I had the pleasure of meeting and having relationships with over 100 sets of parents, loving on and nurturing over 100 children, supplying over 13 ladies with a job and was able to scratch a big task from my bucket list! I lost money. So what? Money comes and money goes. If I was able to save that amount once I had to reassure myself that I was totally capable of doing it again, but now because of what I learned in that savings journey, I can do it quicker than I did before! One business did not work out the way I had liked. OK. So what! There are several others that have and still are doing well. That is the chance one takes as an entrepreneur, right? It took me 6 weeks to continuously remind myself of this and grieve. After that I picked up my feelings and was on to the next venture.

It was a tough experience, but a necessary experience. If you are considering closing your business here are

3 Questions you should ask yourself before shutting your doors:

1. Is what you are experiencing truly your hearts desire?

2. Is continuing in this business going to drain you even if its a raging success?

3. Does the thought of the business magically disappearing and you moving to something new bring you excitement and a sense of lightness?

Once you have the answers to these questions you can make a better decision. Remember, when it comes to tough decisions like this it is your heart that has the answers; not your mind. If you have a business that you are considering closing or if you have a business that closed, don't let that be the end all! It happens. It is the UGLY in the good, bad and the ugly of entrepreneurship. When you were learning to ride a bike you fell off, right? You did not get on the first time and ride with ease. If you were anything like me you were determined to learn to ride even more after a fall! I bet after you fell and put a bandage on your knee you got right back on. It is the same thing with entrepreneurship. If it is in your blood to live a life of entrepreneurship there is nothing you can do about it! It is a trait that you are stuck with. Knowing that fact about yourself, don't let one disappointing experience keep you off the bike. Get back on the bike, regain your balance and peddle with even more force and determination! A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!

Have you ever walked away from something and found that walking away was a huge blessing? What was the biggest take-way lesson learned?

For more information on strategies and techniques to rebrand and rebuild your business, visit my website at http://www.LeniseWilliams.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lenise_Williams

Career and/or Job Search Burnout

Although most people do not work hard or smartly enough in a job search, there is such a thing as over doing a job search and burning out. Burnout comes up on one slowly, and as such it may be hard to spot. The trick is doing proper self-reflection, living properly, and setting clearly articulated and reachable goals. Remember that just like employers have goals and problems to resolve, as do employees. We each have needs. Finding a proper balance that deals with all the competing forces are key to health and happiness.

Recognizing Burnout

How can you tell if you have burnout? The answer is simple. Listen to yourself, how you talk to others, and what others say about you. You are with yourself 24x7, so therefore you may not even realize that you have burnout.

The classic signs of burnout are short temperedness and irritability, lowered attentiveness, unable to recall information, and generally not being upbeat. You can snap at others for the smallest of things. Maybe being irritable while driving is not just because of too many vehicles on the road, but burnout.

The Employers

You can see that as Employers do look if you are upbeat. That is human nature, as nobody wants someone who will weigh them down (picture yourself with each half of the Titanic strapped to your legs) or needing rest and relaxation before they even start. Employers want candidates, who can hit the ground running and are at the top of their game and not someone who is irritable, tired, and needs time off before they even start.

You might even be working in a job, no job search, but if you have career burnout, then you can be a tragedy waiting to happen. Remember that employers do not care about you. They care about productivity and the resolution of their problem.

The Causes of Burnout

The obvious reason for burnout is simply piling on way too much on your plate in any day than what the mind and body can tolerate. Taking a day off during the week, whether you do or not, may not suffice for detox. Not taking a quiet hour before retiring for the night can also be a factor. We live in a wired world, where it is far too easy to be wired and going during all waking hours.

Another cause of burnout is trying to do too much. When we are younger, we have grandiose ideas of what we want to accomplish. When midlife hits and we realize that we did not do even half of what we originally set out to do, the temptation might be to double down and work harder or simply get sad. Taking time to reflect and ascertain priorities becomes a must. Do you hate what you are doing? Would taking time for a career change be in order? Maybe instead of looking for a job, more education might be the ticket. Now would be the time to pursue a dream, if it financially makes sense.

Remember that burnout is caused not just by working too much, but also can happen as the result of disliking what you are doing. If that is the case, your health and sanity might warrant a change in tactics. Issues in your personal life can also weigh you down and cause burnout and stress. A job search must take time to deal with these issues. Time is money, but not dealing with problems costs way more time and money than trying to bury the problems underneath a rug and pretending that they do not exist.

The Simple Solution

Much of the time, you can go further by taking a break. If movies are not your thing or you cannot afford that, then go for a walk or to the mall. Every job search should have regularly scheduled downtime, where you think and do something other than work. In the end, that will help your quest for employment. A job search should not be more than 10 to 11 hours of serious work a day.

The Prioritization and Reflection

What is necessary is to decide in priority order what you want to do and accomplish setting realistic goals and schedule. You should your day to accomplish these goals. Do not forget to factor in what would make you the most happy. What makes you the most happy may not be what brings in the most money, at least in the short to midterm, but will in the long-term. You will live longer too. Nothing ages a soul and body, like stress. Stress is good to a degree, but only to a degree.

If you do have stress, then take a deep breath and calm down. There is always a new day. That sounds like advice that one would ignore, but rushing to accomplish a task, taking shortcuts, being stressed, and being anything but methodical and precise will only exasperate the problem. The quickest road to success is through creating a proper game plan and then executing that plan. Discuss the plan with an outside person. You are too absorbed in your own situation to think clearly. Hire a career coach or talk to a friend, who is dispassionate and will advise you honestly. Be careful, as friends will tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear. They also know you very well and are, by definition, not very objective.

The Clearly Set Goals List and Daily Schedule

You may be surprised to learn that when you work to clearly set goals (not just big ones, but incremental steps towards accomplishing those goals) that you become a happier worker and have a different frame of mind. Be sure to create milestones for yourself and set rewards, big and small, for accomplishing milestones. They can be something small, like a walk around the block, or something larger. Set up a schedule for the day. Create harmony and a rhythm. That feeling of reward will give you the strength to push to the next goal and ultimately success.

The Physical Exercise Regimen

Do not forget to exercise. A healthy body is necessary for a healthy mind and reduced burnout. Workouts reduce stress, get the blood flowing, and help the mind focus. Eat properly, and make sure to get enough rest, but not too much.

Engineering principles apply to life, just as they do to an engineering project. Almost, I would call engineering principles as life principles, because how you tackle and resolve problems in life are the same than how you would handle them in engineering or solving a mystery.

You have to first understand the problem. You have to wrap your head around the problem at hand taking into account all external forces and issues. You have to write down the inputs, outputs, and define the black box function generator. You have to create plans, wire-frames, set goals, work connections, allocate resources, and methodically puzzle your way through. Rome was not built in a day, so nor are goals reached in a day.

You must also be in touch with yourself. You might want to take up meditation or yoga. The breathing exercises and stretching can help focus the mind and get you to properly self-reflect.

Remember to not bulldoze your way to a solution. Make course corrections and adjustments as necessary. Factor in feature creep wisely.

Sarah Weinberger is the founder and CEO of Butterflyvista Corporation.

http://www.butterflyvista.com.

Sarah is also a professional career catapult specialist, business woman, speaker, author, and software and systems engineer, with three decades of professional experience holding multiple certifications and an advanced degree.

Sarah is also the author of Jobfish, a premier job search management software application.

Learn more about her offerings and Butterflyvista's offerings by visiting the website. Connect on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Weinberger

Tips to Help You on Your Quest to Start a Coffee Business

Starting a coffee business is a complicated endeavor but definitely a worthwhile one. It makes you risk a valuable amount for the capital but when managed and run properly, you can earn substantial rewards from it.

Coffee is an integral part of people's lifestyle. You work with coffee in your table, you study with it, and you chill with it. Coffee is the best partner when catching up with friends, when brainstorming for ideas, when working on your thesis, or during your graveyard shift. It all boils down to the idea that coffee is a necessary part of people's lives, whether they are a self-acclaimed coffee lover or occasional coffee drinker. One out of five people all over the world consumes a cup or two in a day. If you'll put up a coffee business in a good location you are sure to earn a satisfying ROI in a year.

Starting a coffee business however is not just about finding the best coffee shop for sale. It takes serious planning and deliberation over which coffee shop is worthwhile and if the location has good potential. Here are some tips that can help you with your quest to start a coffee business.

First is that you need to register your coffee business and file the necessary paperwork.

Once your business is registered and you have applied as well for the employer identification number, you can now start looking for the best location. Depending on your type of coffee business you should find a location with adequate space for all of your planned layouts.

If you're going the coffee shop for sale route, you should still check it out if it would be easy to redesign or renovate. Check the quality of the structure if it's still safe to operate for a good number of years. Take notice of the foot traffic as well.

Before you even decide to buy coffee shop premises consider first if you'll not have trouble finding good suppliers. You can map out your business plan - who, where, and how are you going to tap potential sources of coffee beans, syrups and equipment?

When you've taken care of all the plans, start planning on how you're going to attract customers. What type of marketing and advertising strategy are you going to use? Since you're just starting the business, you need to focus on a brand awareness campaign.

Promote your business to your friends and colleagues, pass out fliers and brochures, use the potential of internet marketing to make your coffee shop be known to as many possible customers as possible.

Joseph works at Cafe2u, a mobile coffee franchise company. The company provides franchise opportunities for anyone looking to buy coffee shop premises. He enjoys writing blogs giving tips and advice on how to go about starting your coffee van.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Gund

4 Ways To Lead With More Influence

Many leaders set goals to move ahead without fully leveraging their leadership ability to use their influence without authority. While this approach of non-authoritative leadership may at first seem oxymoronic, this style of leading is very important in today's ever-changing world.

The old strategy of being an overly directive boss is not nearly as effective as it once was, and requires reexamination and self-awareness.

Using various functions of your physical being as an analogy, you can quickly determine whether you have the full range of conversational perspectives that a leader needs to influence people in almost every situation. A quick body scan can easily help you remember how to improve your leadership by gaining more influence using less authority.

1. Left Brain.

The left brain is the house of facts, reason, analysis, information, and data. When you are an authority, or when you know facts that are meaningful to the other individual, relying on the left brain can help you resonate with that person with ideas that make sense.

However, most leaders use the left brain excessively, especially in our culture. There are limitations to facts and logic. For example, it is hard to win over someone's heart with a PowerPoint deck.

You may have heard the saying, emotions sell and reasons justify. To access your own logic ask yourself, "What does my [left] brain tell me about this situation?"

2. Right Brain.

The right brain is where we process images, stories, metaphors, and pictures. It is the entryway to the subconscious. By using more anecdotes and images, leaders can reach people at a different level than with the left brain alone. If you can help someone see it, they will believe it.

3. Gut.

Dr. Herbert Simon, the late social scientist, is known for helping us to understand how we accumulate knowledge. Our brains seek to organize the knowledge into patterns, known as "chunking". With this stored knowledge, we are alerted to danger, sense when someone is lying, or determine a course of action. The message seems to come from an inside voice or our internal self. It comes from our gut.

The gut, or "hara" as the Japanese refer to it, is our core. The gut speaks to us and gives us our gift of intuition. It is where we go when we take a stand, negotiate, declare appropriately, form an agreement, or set boundaries. When we use our gut to influence, we inform someone what we prefer or don't like about his or her actions, we share our expectations, and offer incentives to encourage them to conform. When we connect with others at a gut level, they respond instinctively. When you ask someone on your team to take a gut level check, they are to determine if the idea makes sense or seems reasonable. Ask yourself, "What is your gut telling you?" to see what your instincts are telling you about a situation.

4. Heart.

In business settings where we seek an authentic commitment and not just compliance, it is not enough to direct or to assert. We need to become better askers than tellers. We have to be willing to be vulnerable.

The discussion will shift to asking for advice and help, to listening to the other person's hopes and goals in order to collaborate and find a solution, and being flexible about the process to produce results. The leader is not being indecisive, especially on the ultimate goal, but is being open and receptive to novel views about how the individual can be better, about how to get to the target. This approach builds team engagement. Remember, most people don't care how much a leader knows until they can feel that their leader cares. To improve your leadership influence without authority, use different perspectives when you give and receive information. Make the quick body scan to remember how your messages are given and received.

Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach (TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker and author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, annual conventions, and teleclass sales training programs. To contact Barb, sign up for her FREE teleclass and get her Sales Strategies Ezine go to http://www.MySalesTactics.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barb_Girson

3 Essential Disciplines Needed to Becoming a Success

When I was a kid, discipline meant a spanking, standing in the corner, or going to my room until I could "play nice with others". So, as I became an adult with an entrepreneurial ambition, the idea of discipline as a successful business tool did not set well with me at first. Only when I could see the benefit of certain disciplines, did I adopt a new mind on the matter. Below I will discuss three essential disciplines that I have adopted as daily habits to having a successful business (and life!).

1. Self-Improvement: Set aside time everyday, every week, or every month if that is all you can for self-improvement. The self-improvement I'm talking about is not necessarily physical (however, that is good too), but working on the non-organic part of you; mind, spirit, soul. The best business tool is to genuinely know yourself. When you know yourself (and this is a lifetime process!) you can genuinely connect with others, and they can connect with you. Whether you are in sales, providing a professional service, or leading a company, being relatable to the people around you is essential to your success. There are an abundance of resources available for self-improvement.

 My recommendation would be to ask a trusted friend, family member or co-worker who you see qualities in that you admire for their recommended resource. Also, there are a lot of self-improvement communities that you can become involved in; such as a church group, bible study group, addiction anonymous groups if that is what you need to work on, etc. The discipline is to make the effort and stick with it - you won't regret it!

2. Invest in Knowledge: Whatever business you are in, the more you know and understand about the people, industry, finances, economy, the products, etc., the better prepared you are for growth and success. Find respected authors online or published in your business area and set aside time to invest in growing your knowledge. Reading and even watching informational videos is an easy way to expand your knowledge everyday.

3. Gain Perspective: Let's face it! Life is busy! The more successful your business becomes, the more the business will demand your time. This is a critical point in every business owners career, to either step back to gain perspective of the goals, or keep going and eventually let the business take control of your life. An essential discipline is to set aside time away from your business to reflect, journal and gain perspective of the goals. You are in control of the direction of the business, so take the time to keep perspective and remain in the driver's seat. If you are not careful, the business WILL take the control from you, in one way or another. I recommend taking at least two to three "retreats" per year just to refocus on the business goals. The "retreats" can be three to seven days, but no less than three, sometimes it takes a couple of days to clear your head from all of the busyness. Be careful, these are not vacations! These retreats are business in nature and are essential for your success. 

Rewrite your goals mission statement and make plans for any changes that need to take place in order to get the business back on course.

In conclusion, self-improvement, knowledge and stepping back from your busy life are three essential disciplines for any successful business owner.

My name is Lisa Williams, I own and operate an accounting office for Certified Public Accountants. I have been a CPA for 21 years. I am also an Independent Business Owner of the Amway Corp. which has prompted me to write this business article to share my experience as a business owner and to open the door for like-minded entrepreneurs to share the business opportunity that Amway provides. Please visit my personal website at http://healthywebstore.wix.com/lisa-williamsibo for more information about me.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_M_Williams