Archive for the ‘Business Building’ Category
You’ve heard it said that effective partnering can help us achieve a particular task or activity we cannot accomplish on our own in a reasonable amount of time, by providing the skills, experience and expertise we may be lacking.
A partner can be anyone; a long-time business associate, a spouse, coach, even a short time advisor. A partner can be a mentor, councillor, employee, even a friend or personal relation. It is someone you trust to help you accomplish something that you cannot do by yourself.
But when looking for a partner, it’s important to identify the right person to fit your needs. So what are the warning sign we should beware of? In the book of Proverbs, King Soloman, the richest and wisest man who ever lived provides insight into what makes a good – and bad partner.
Here are the seven warning signs that should leave you packing your bags and walking the other way from a potentially BAD partner…
A bad partner is someone who:
- Shows a lack of integrity (29:24)
- Has a quick temper or deep-seated anger (22:24)
- Displays a pattern of foolish behaviour (14:7)
- Offers much for little, or is into ‘get rich quick’ schemes (25:19, 28:22)
- Uses an excessive use of flattery (29:5)
- Has an inclination to gossip or exaggerate (20:19)
- Shows a disregard for rules, regulations, laws, or personal boundaries (28:7)
When seeking out your next partner, do your due diligence to ensure that, not only do you have a partner but that you have the right partner for the task at hand.
EVERYBODY!!!
Have you ever found a really cool website that claims to give you FREE stuff, clicked page after page, given out your name and email address, and read sales letter page after sales letter page only to discover that the stuff is not really FREE?! Well my friend you're not alone – it's happened to the best of us. There are literally thousands of websites out there all claiming to give out free stuff – but at what cost? They tack on outrageous shipping and handling charges, crazy membership fees, and other assorted hidden costs that no doubt cover the cost of their product, so the stuff you think you're getting for FREE is not really FREE at all!
While looking to build my blog and websites, I came across a really cool e-book on building a WordPress Affiliate Blog web site that was totally FREE. I checked out the book and the information was awesome. I was able to download the book without giving them my name, email or anything! So this made me think that it would be really cool to have a fun club, totally devoted to absolutely FREE stuff! No Strings attached!
Launch Now! has dedicated this post to bringing you all the cool, awesome and useable FREE stuff we find on the internet. As I said, most times this free stuff is not really FREE, so don't expect to see a lot of content. But since we work on the computer and we are on line regularly, reasearching and investigating, we do come across some great FREE products and services from time to time. Any time I find something that is totally FREE, I will post it here. So be sure to bookmark this site or subscribe to our RSS feed and visit often.
And hey, if you have FREE products or services to offer, then kindly leave the details in the comments section so I can check it out before posting because as I said, if you find it here, it's because it is TOTALLY FREE! No strings Attached! (And in case you’re wondering, I am not an affiliate to any of these products so I am not making any cash from giving you these links. They are totally SAFE and FREE, from you from me. Enjoy!
- Free Membership, including lessons on building a website, making money on-line, PLUS articles on communications, internet marketing and more: http://www.sweetspottraining.com
- Free WordPress Themes: beautiful custom Word Press themes for various personal and professional uses: http://www.karenblundell.com
- Free Vocal Lessons: Learn to speak louder & clearer, or sing higher & stronger with this 5-part online vocal lessons video series, featuring accomplished vocalist Lisa Smith: http://www.singinglessonsnow.com
A friend recently mentioned that they wanted to ask for a raise and some benefits but didn't know how best to approach it. They asked if I had some suggestions that might help ease the stress and anxiety of taking on the boss and asking for more – without fear of losing their job. Here is my simplified method - 3 keys to Effective Negotations. Follow these steps and not only will you NOT lose your job but you'll walk away much happier with the results and feeling more confident in your ability to negotiate.
- Make a list of your accomplishments. What have you done to improve the company? Have you made the boss's life easier in any way? Perhaps you've catalogued a warehouse, organized the office so things are much easier to find, maybe you've made a list of important contact numbers and put this list at the boss's fingertips, saving tons of time for them, or completed a project that reaped huge benefits or time savings for the company. Whatever you've done, make a list. It's important to come from the boss's perspective, rather than your own. Instead of saying, 'I've done this for you…" (making it all about you) you should say how the boss or company has benefited. For example, you could say something like: "Because the warehouse is now organized, it takes half the time to pick stock, which means we can now pick and ship twice as much in a day than we could before, providing faster delivery to our customers' (if you have actual numbers of how much you've saved the company, be sure to include that.) What this shows is value – your value.
- Set up an appointment to discuss. Your boss is busy, so it's not fair or considerate to just spring something on them. Besides, this is important to you and you may only have 1 shot at it, so you want to make sure you do it right the first time. Set up a time to discuss it but keep it short – a half-hour (30 minutes) is more than enough time to negotiate a raise (or whatever). You'll need to call the meeting something, to give him/her some idea as to what the meeting is about. You can call it "performance review" or 'status and update', or something like that.
- Keep it short, concise, and unemotional. When the time comes for your meeting, do not include things like "it would really help me and my family to have benefits…" Begin by stating how long you've been with the company and that you enjoy it there. That will immediately put the boss at ease and open to hearing what you have to say. Make a copy of the list for the boss so they can follow along as you quickly review it. (Take extra effort to make this list presentable and error free – use spell and grammar check.) After you have finished reviewing your list of accomplishments, that's the time to ask for the raise. The boss may even ask you what you want before you have the chance to ask for it yourself. Again, keep it short and unemotional. When you're asking, say that you believe you have earned ……(the raise, extra vacation, whatever); don't say you 'deserve' it.
Important: Understand that the boss may be prepared to answer you right away and tell you what they think or they may not. If there seems to be a pause or lag in their response, don't lose your cool. The boss should be the next one to speak – however long that takes, especially if they are a controlling type of personality who likes to make the decisions. If they are not talking, it's because they are thinking. I know that silence can be uncomfortable but if you really want your raise, then don't interrupt their train of thought. If they want time to think about it, then that's ok too and not a bad sign - ask for a follow-up date & time in the not too distant future. They might just need to go back to their books (or another department – or speak to their boss) before granting you your request. Good luck!!
To learn more about how to communicate with all 4 personality types more effectively, visit:
http://sweetspottraining.com/personal/discover-your-personality-type/
To kick-start the *official* Grand Opening of the Sweet Spot Training Centre in Pickering, ON, we are offering FREE workshops on 2 of our award winning courses. From Tuesday, August 4th through to Friday, August 7th, Sweet Spot Training has set up some scheduled courses that are absolutely complimentary. HURRY, this is a limited time offer!
Discover Your Sweet Spot – $99 value
This fun, interative workshop that will help you to identify your natural talents and abilities, then show you how you can use them to guide you towards the ideal job, career, education, and more! WARNING!!! Students, don't pay $50,000 in tuition until you've spent a couple fun hours with us to ensure that you're on the right track! Ideal for:
- senior highschool, college and unversity students
- adults considering a career change, promotion, or anyone who has been laid off
Discover Your Personality Type – $99 value
Ever wonder why your boss is such a stickler for a level of detail that you find utterly useless? Want to improve your relationships with others, improve communication with your family and co-workers, or build a better, more productive team? Discover the 4 main personality types and identify where you fit in. Then learn how you can improve your communication with other personalities. This fun workshop will leave you feeling empowered, as it minimizes stress and builds confidence. A must for anyone who does not live life as a hermit.
Why is Sweet Spot Training offering these FREE courses?
Sweet Spot is offering some of our workshops TOTALLY FREE , as our way to introduce ourselves to the neighbourhood and celebrate our Grand Opening. By inviting others into our centre, they will know that we've arrived…and after taking our workshops (did I mention they were FREE) we're confident they'll want to share the experience with friends and family. Is there a catch? There is no catch! The classes that are marked as FREE are totally FREE. All we ask is that at the end of the session, you take 3 minutes to provide us with your feedback. This will help us to understand the type of training people are looking for, so we can continue to serve our community to the best of our ability. For those who enjoy being in front of the camera, video testimonies are also encouraged and welcome! For more information on these and other courses, visit the Sweet Spot Training Centre
