Tips on How to Get Positive Attention from Your Boss

Nothing will boost your climb of the corporate ladder like getting positive attention from your boss. Mind you, this is not as easy as it sounds. For a variety of reasons, bosses are hardwired to respond to problems, and thus much attention – albeit negative – is lavished on those who either create the problems or are affected by them, while those who do their jobs quietly, consistently, and without fail usually seem to disappear into the wallpaper.

Some have attempted to make up for this lack of notice by doing little favors for the boss. This is oftentimes dramatically embellished in office humor skids and plays as the “yes-man” who will fetch coffee, pick up the dry cleaning for the boss, and laugh at all of her or his jokes. Obviously, this will not get you positive attention from your boss – or coworkers – but instead may earn you quiet derision and snickering behind your back.

Tips on how to get positive attention from your boss usually focus on doing your job well, and coming up with great ideas. While this is true, there is a lot more to positive attention than just doing that for which you get paid.

Here are some tips that you may not across all that often:1. Find out what your boss’ personality type is and learn how to deal with and impress such personalities. A type “A” personality must be treated differently than somebody who is laid back and relaxed. Similarly, while some bosses respond well to the little acts of service – coffee, dry cleaning, and so on – others will forever disrespect you because of it. Some bosses will respect you for speaking your mind while others will be horrified by this. Learn your boss’ personality and use this knowledge to your advantage.

2. Be productive, not just active. It is never a good idea to be cooling your heels when the boss walks in, but showcasing a flurry of activity might backfire as well. You need to hone your productivity and find the quickest possible ways to get your work done. Then, after everything is finished and the boss runs across you perusing an industry magazine, white paper, or conducting research on the business on the Internet, you will be able to calmly showcase how everything has been taken care of and how you are now continuing to educate yourself about taking the business to the next level.

3. Stand out from the crowd by dress. This does not mean that you should wear pink pants and a blue polka dot shirt, but if you become known as the guy with the quirky (yet always tasteful and appropriate) ties or the gal with the out of this world (yet always tasteful and never too big) earrings, you will have created a bit of a niche. Since there is nothing objectionable to your mode of dress, your little eccentricity will intrigue your boss and she or he will want to know what might make you tick and how you think.

This is simple human nature that may garner you a lot of positive attention from your boss and co-workers as well. Obviously, if you are out to impress, you will need to have something with which to now take that attention you are given and work it in your favor.

Three Ideas That Can Bring in More Money to Your Business

Increased profits and a larger company base is the goal of any business. If you notice your profits declining slightly over time, you may need to rethink your business plan or try to find ways to generate more interest online. One way to do this is to create a marketing campaign that targets specific groups on the Internet. If you have built a customer base, you should know more about which people are more likely to buy your products. Targeting specific groups saves money, time, and energy on increasing visitors to your site.

Begin your new marketing campaign by creating a list of groups you would like to target. After deciding on a specific group, find out where they are located online. Find out which web sites they visit, which blogs they read, and where they spend their money. Create a marketing campaign around these areas by paying for advertising on web sites frequented by your target group, posting comments on blogs with your web address, and write articles and press releases that will published on websites where your target group shops.

Another way to bring in more money to your business is targeting those who are on your mailing list. Hopefully, you have created a mailing list by asking people to sign up for a newsletter, email alerts, and other special items. With this list, you can target those who have not made purchases in a long time by sending a coupon, updating them on a new product, or announcing any changes you have made to the website.

Marketing your business to those who are already familiar with your products, customer service, and other aspects are much more likely to make future purchases. You will not need to coax them as often as you would new visitors to the site. Sending periodic reminders that your business is still online will prompt more people to make purchases.

The third way to increase your sales is by introducing new products as often as you can. Having a fresh inventory will attract new customers and entice old customers into making a purchase. Everyone loves a new product. If you feature it on your homepage, your sales will increase. Make sure you include a full description of your new product and offer it at a discounted price for a short time as this will give people more reasons to make a purchase.

Before sales begin to drop, you should consider ways to increase sales. This will make less profitable months seem more bearable. Marketing is the key to any businesses success online and off. If you cannot entice customers to buy from your website, then your business will not be successful. Use the ways mentioned above to quickly increase sales.

Six Business Meeting Rules To Always Follow

Meetings are often the bane of business, often considered a necessary evil between wasting time and sharing ideas. Having meetings once a month simply because it has been a month since the last meeting does not create a cooperative environment and lends credence to the theory that meetings are time away from work for which you get paid. There are, however ways of having a meeting be productive, and there are six simple rules to follow for any business meeting to make them successful and not seem like a waste of time.

Rule 1: The meeting needs to start and end on time. Having an agenda outlining detailing each segment of the meeting and stick to time limits set for each segment. Appoint someone to act as a timekeeper and the meeting leader has to work with them, when the time is up for that segment.

Rule 2: Make sure everyone understands that some of the information that will be discussed in your meeting is confidential and must remain in the room. Violating the confidentiality can be dangerous in a business sense, and in the case where sensitive personnel issues may be discussed, having information leaks can cause problems within the ranks.

Rules 3: Avoid the use of jargon or buzz words. Keep it in English and in terms that everyone can understand. Using company lingo may sound cool, but newer people attending the meeting may not be up on the new language. They may be fearful of being laughed at by not asking for definitions and will miss out on parts of the meeting. It also ends the possibility of misunderstanding.

Rule 4: Encourage participation of all attendees. Every person at the meeting has something to offer, they just may not be aware of it. If the meeting has gone on a few hours and one or more people have not spoken up, ask them their opinion on certain topics. Ask open ended questions to draw responses from them.

Rule 5: Keep the discussion on topic and focused. In larger gatherings it is easy to lose control of a meeting and have topics veer to other topics, often losing the direction of the meeting. Staying focused on the topic at hand will also help with Rule 1.

Rule 6: Only one person should be talking at a time. This is a show of respect for the person expressing their thoughts. Persons who constantly interrupt should be asked to hold their comments until the end when they will be free to present concurring or opposing views.

Once the meeting has ended, if major decisions have been made that may affect the operations of the business, attendees should be reminded that the meeting was the forum for dissention and disagreement. However, once a consensus has been reached, when the meeting doors open, the group must present a united front to carry the same message to everyone else.

How To Qualify for Internet Typing Jobs

Two of the most common typing jobs you can get online and complete by telecommuting from home are data entry jobs and transcription jobs. Data entry jobs involve exactly what the term implies: inputting information into pre-made online forms or templates. Transcription is typing into a document verbatim the words heard on an audio file so that the conversation can be read instead of heard only.

Internet Data Entry Jobs

There aren’t a lot of these available for some reason, but when they do come around, the employer generally wants to make sure they’re getting someone who can handle the job. Expect a test of some kind, whether it’s a timed test or an accuracy test, as well as a grammar and spelling test. They don’t want to have to go back over your work and correct you.

You may also be asked to provide relatively detailed information about the equipment you have available. What word processing programs are you proficient in? You may need a fax machine, a scanner, and a computer that works at a minimum speed as per their requirements. You may also need to be available to them at certain times of the day by phone.

Make sure you send in a resume that looks as good as any document that you will produce for them in the future. Avoid sloppy, dashed off, note style emails about the position. Always be courteous, include a resume, and make sure that all correspondence you send is grammatically correct – and spelled correctly as well. It’s one of the first demonstrations of your future job performance.

Internet Transcription Jobs

Transcription is a great way to earn a meaningful salary from home. More than data entry, however, it takes training and, if the pay is to be earned efficiently, the right equipment. You will need transcription software and a pedal that allows you to automatically rewind a couple seconds back into the audio file. There is free software available called Express Scribe for audio files, but if you want to transcribe CDs or DVDs, you will need to purchase software. The pedal can cost anywhere from $60 to $300, but it is absolutely necessary and cuts your transcription time to a tenth of what it would be without it.

To transcribe audio from meetings, photo shoots, and other non technical venues, no experience beyond transcription experience is needed. There is a high need for legal and medical transcription, however, and these require education specific to the field.

Find Internet Typing Jobs

Many sites offer current postings for these positions. Most likely they will list all the details of the job as well as their expected qualifications, time commitment, and the pay. Don’t bother applying if you don’t have the minimum qualifications at least. So many people will that it’s a waste of both of your time. Look for transcription and data entry jobs at:

* Monster.com
* HotJobs.com
* elance.com
* CareerBuilder.com
Many of these sites offer an email service in which you are notified any time a job meeting your specifications is posted. Other sites offer weekly newsletters or postings in which the latest job announcements are made available.

Have you ever felt guilty because you feel that your home-based business takes too much precious time away from your children? Do you sometimes feel frazzled because you think that caring for your children interferes with your home-based business? You are not alone. However, if you set some ground rules and adhere to them, you can have a successful home-based business as well as contented children. Here are seven guidelines to make sure your home business is a happy home.

1. Children thrive on routine. You will find that when you have a routine you are more productive as you work at your home-based business. If your children know that you work between certain scheduled hours and should not be interrupted unless it is an emergency, then you will find that your interruptions will lessen.

2. Have your kid’s routine part of yours. Whether it is telling a bedtime story, helping your children for an hour with homework, eating breakfast with your children, they appreciate predictability. If you schedule regular time with your children, then you will avoid getting too obsessed with home-based business demands. When you schedule daily time with your children, this will help you to realize that they are just important as the activities associated with your home-based business.

3. Organize child care. You must accept the fact that you cannot run a business from home and be a full-time mother. Some home-based business owners only work when their children are in school or in bed for the evening. If you have a spouse, then you may be able to arrange your schedules so that one is working at the home-based business while the other watches the children. You may have to pay for child care. However, the increase in productivity that is generated by your home-based business will be well worthwhile.

4. Set ground rules for your business and share them with your children. Your children should be aware that you run a home-based business, and they should know how to act accordingly. Lay down basic rules which will allow you to be as professional as possible in your home-based business. Include rules that will allow your home-based business to be as productive as possible.

5. Include your children in your home-based business. No matter what your home-based business is, there is always something your children can do. Making your children part of your home-based business will allow you the opportunity of spending more time with them and teaching them such things as handling money.

6. Try to find creative ways of combining your home-based business with your children. If you have a client who is agreeable, you may try holding a business meeting at MacDonald’s or some other restaurant that is designed for children. Take your children with you when you run business-related errands.

7. Think of all of the regular working people who have full-time jobs and long commutes. One of the great benefits of running a home-based business is that you have many opportunities to be with your children. You not only get to run your home-based business, but you get to live there as well.