Digg it UP - Business

7 Unusual Careers
Everyone has their choice of what career they want to pursue. Why on earth would anybody object; after all, it is your passion. Especially when the ‘unusual career’ of your choice has a potential to pay more than many common jobs, you are more inclined to pursue it. Here I will list a few unusual jobs that are respectable and pay reasonably well.List Of Unusual CareersBartending: Well, this is not just about mixing drinks. As a bartender, you will have to put in long and unusual hours, going very late to bed and getting up when it most people are already at work. There is lot of money to be made in this profession in the form of tips, especially if you deal with wealthy customers. Of course, well-known bars and restaurants hire bartenders who have a broad range of skills. A short training course and experience will help you break into this profession. It doesn’t hurt to have some well-placed networking contacts, either.DJing: Disk Jockeying can catapult you into stardom,

How to Build a Profitable Freelance Database -- Quickly!
If you want to freelance, but have no contacts (or very few), you can easily build a substantial database in a few weeks or months, depending on how much time you put into it, by doing the following:1. Do Detective Work on Blind Ads: As I said in the previous article, many times the ads will be blind, but sometimes there are clues as to who the company is. Eg, take an ad that reads, "Submit resumes to hr@xyzcompany.com." What I do is go to www.xyz.com (the company's website) and hunt for a number to call someone.2. Pick Up the Phone: After locating a number on the website (or via a Google search or Yellow Page listing), I then call and ask for the name of the appropriate party, eg, Communications Manager, Creative Director, Editorial Director, etc. (depending on the type of company, this will vary). I usually say something like:"My name is [insert your name] and I'm a freelance copywriter. I'd like to send the appropriate party some information about my service

Many years ago I was listening to one of Brian Tracy’s audio programs where he recommended getting involved with some kind of trade organization, so you could surround yourself with potential mentors. He went on to tell his story of getting involved with his local Chamber of Commerce and how massively it catapulted him forward in business.

And upon hearing such advice, I prompty ignored it.

For years.

Then eventually I hit a point where I asked myself, “What if some of those people making those personal development tapes are right, but I just can’t see the truth of what they’re saying? What if I just blindly applied some of their ideas, even if I can’t see it making much difference? Maybe those ideas really do work, but it’s one of those things where you can’t understand it from the outside looking in….”

I figured… hey, Brian Tracy is a millionaire. I’m not. Maybe he knows something I don’t. He gave a lot of credit to the idea of getting involved, so maybe I should try putting my doubts on hold and taking his advice. Maybe I’m right and it won’t work. But what if he’s right and it does work? Worst case I waste a lot of time and maybe make a fool of myself. Best case looks pretty darn good though.

So in mid-1999, I took a leap of faith and decided to apply this piece of advice and get involved in some kind of organization. I thought a good place to start would be with the Association of Shareware Professionals. The ASP is a nonprofit trade organization of around 1500 independent software developers, so it directly related to my software business. I’d been an ASP member since 1996, but all I did with my membership was receive the monthly newsletter. I was a c

Mobile Oil Change Business Marketing Strategies and Employee Days
If you own a mobile oil change business, well then it might make sense to change employee’s oil in their cars while they are at work. And if you do this it might make sense to find the places with the most employees to service while their cars are all in one place. It therefore makes sense to change oil in the parking lots of large corporations.This discussion recently came up between two entrepreneurs in the mobile oil change sector and one gentleman asked; “I have been setting up "employee days" where everyone in the company knows I am going to be on-site on a certain day each month offering service.”Sounds complicated, but the idea is worthy, good strategic thinking. We simply have them email the entire company to alert them that it is on Thursday our oil change vans will be there to change oil in the cars. But you must sign up by 5 PM Tuesday. We fax a sign up sheet; they fill it all out and then fax it back to us on Wednesday.We buy the filters we need on the way there

And upon hearing such advice, I prompty ignored it.

For years.

Conversation 101: Four Tips to Get Started
Not sure what to talk about at your next networking meeting or cocktail party? The key to easy conversation is getting curious about other people. When you see someone you want to talk to, get curious about who that person is, what s/he likes, who you know in common, what brings the person to the event, etc. Allowing your inquisitive mind to blossom will improve your conversational skills dramatically.Below, you'll find tips on easy ways to initiate a conversation, keep it going, and exit with grace.1) Breaking the Ice If you are on the shy side or feel unsure about what to say, use this simple method to strike up a conversation. Ask a person who looks friendly a question about your shared environment – the party, place, group, or even the food. Questions like:"Are you a member of this group?" "The food is fantastic – did you try one of these?" "What do you think about this conference center?" "How are you connected to this group?"

making much difference? Maybe those ideas really do work, but it’s one of those things where you can’t understand it from the outside looking in….”

Career Development: It's Up to You!
Now more than ever you need to take charge of your career! Our work environments are rapidly changing. Lifelong employment is a thing of the past and the threat of layoffs loom ahead. Organizations are now flatter with fewer management layers, which results in fewer promotional opportunities. Employees need to do more with less and become more flexible to quickly learn new skills and adapt to change. As a result employees need to own their development and actively manage their career in the midst of change.Now is a perfect time to assess your career and your development. What do you hope to accomplish in your career? What position or role do you aspire to? What specifically do you want to achieve in the next year? Write down your career goal. Here’s one example, “Become qualified to attain a management position by the end of the year.”How are you going to achieve your career goal? To best accomplish your goal, create a written development plan. Your development plan sho

hold and taking his advice. Maybe I’m right and it won’t work. But what if he’s right and it does work? Worst case I waste a lot of time and maybe make a fool of myself. Best case looks pretty darn good though.

Vocational Expert's 7 Proposals to Solve the Unemployment Problem
The subject is constantly in the news and may decide the next national elections - the infamous jobless recovery. More than 8 million Americans are out of work with another 4 million underemployed or no longer looking for work. Good manufacturing, technical and services jobs are being shipped to India, Asia, and other developing countries. The mood of the middle and working class becomes more pessimistic, the outlook for their immediate future more grim.Politicians debate solutions: abrogating current trade treaties, providing protection for various industries, investment in retraining programs, wishful thinking that lower taxes will turn everything around, the promise of a labor shortage within 15 years.Meanwhile, the population grows, demanding the creation of 150,000 new jobs per month just to stay even. Where are the more than 2 million 2004 jobs promised by the Council of Economic Advisers?They will come when the government truly invests in the social and

. I thought a good place to start would be with the Association of Shareware Professionals. The ASP is a nonprofit trade organization of around 1500 independent software developers, so it directly related to my software business. I’d been an ASP member since 1996, but all I did with my membership was receive the monthly newsletter. I was a completely passive member. I didn’t expect that getting more involved was actually going to do anything for me, but I decided to dive right in and give it a go anyway.

Brian Tracy’s advice was to focus on giving, giving, giving. He said to volunteer for committees and officer positions and do your work in an excellent fashion. He said you’d find the very best people in the organization in top leadership roles, and by working with them, you’d have access to them and the ability to learn a great deal from them. Plus he also addressed the benefits of networking, but that didn’t seem like a big deal to me because I didn’t expect to sell more games to fellow software developers.

At the time I was making only $300/month from shareware with four products… not terribly impressive considering there were people in the ASP bringing in six figures a year with one product. I couldn’t compete with that, but I did have the ability to volunteer and give something of value.

I dove into the members-only ASP newsgroups, introduced myself, and began participating regularly in discussions. I remained on the lookout for ways to become more involved. As it turned out, there was an upcoming mid-term board member election for a newly vacant board seat (synchronicity?), so I decided to run for that open seat on the board. That was a bit pretentious of me beca

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This article offers one take on the age-old question that plagues so many young people. Should you go on to college after high school, or move into the workforce.

Graphic design is a field that is rising in possibilities for artistically creative mind...

We spend a lot of time being nice to our customers. Why not, it's how we have been taught to behave towards our customers. But what happens when you treat them mean?

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