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January 23, 2017 0 Comments

5 Crucial Ways to Stay Healthy When You Work From Home

Eat right

Health begins with healthy food! Make things easier on yourself by purchasing good, quality food and leaving the less ideal treats for special occasions or after work hours.  When you make “healthy eating only” your sole option during the workday, it becomes much easier to stick to a healthy eating plan.

Snacks are encouraged, but ensure that they’re snacks that will keep you energized and productive, not napping by 3 PM.  It’s incredibly helpful to make a weekly list that includes a meal plan, snacks to purchase, and meal ingredients.  This helps you to factor in the times when you’ll be eating away from home, as well as stick to a budget and menu plan.

Professional help

Part of health is maintaining your body in alignment.  You can work on your posture, make time for stretching or yoga, but sometimes you will need outside help.  Since working from home typically features desk jobs, you can be prone to neck and back pain and tension.

If you’re struggling with pain even after looking into ergonomically correct furniture, it can be helpful to consult a chiropractor, physical therapist, or your family doctor.  Ensure that you’re doing everything you can to maintain your body’s structure while you work from home!

Dedicate your time

It’s important to factor exercise into your day, and when you work from home, you have more flexibility as to when this occurs.  If you prefer morning workouts, you have a bit more time to get that in.  If you’d rather wait until mid-afternoon, this typically wouldn’t be an issue.  The important part is that you make time for it!

A dedicated exercise routine keeps you healthy, as well as helps you to make up for all the time you spend seated.

Focus on the mental

Mental health is just as important as your body’s health!  While working from home is convenient, it can be isolating if you aren’t careful.  Do your best to get out, talk to others, and stay social.  Additionally, participate in activities that keep your mind sharp as well as calm, such as puzzles or meditation.

Another part of mental health is keeping work separate from home, which is always a challenge in a home based career.  Shut down your work after a reasonable amount of time, and don’t turn “work from home” into “work all the time.”

Move when you can

Exercise may be a dedicated 30-60 minutes, but movement is also key!  This includes getting up and moving during the day as unstructured exercise.  Stretching is also good for all the sitting that the job entails, and it keeps your blood flowing and your mind sharp.

Set your alarm clock for every hour or so, and take that time to do 3-5 minutes of stretches, dancing, walking in place, or any other activity that keeps you fresh and active.

Staying healthy includes the mind and body, and factors in your mental and physical health at the same time.  When you work from home, you have benefits and challenges to staying healthy.  Take the steps above to ensure that you’re being your best, healthiest self in your home based career.

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January 16, 2017 0 Comments

4 Keys to a Strong Job Application

It’s the time of year that we reflect and reevaluate our goals, and that often includes our careers.  If you’re feeling stuck, or you know it’s time to move on, your job application will be a valuable tool in the upcoming months.

While you may have a solid cover letter and resume complete, read along to ensure that you’re well-prepared and ready to take on the job market.

Reference ready

Do you have references ready to go?  You will likely want to note this in your resume and cover letter, as it shows that you are ready and willing for employers to speak to those who will vouch for you.

Be sure to set up your references ahead of time, so that these people have adequate time to prepare their notes and/or a letter of recommendation.  It’s a good idea to have 2-3 solid references on file, both in writing and available by phone or email for contact.  Ensure that these are people that you’ve worked for or spoken with in the not-so-distant future, so they’re able to speak to your current work and characteristics.

Strong but brief letter

Your cover letter should be thorough – but also brief.  This is the challenge of a great cover letter! Begin by conveying your interest in the specific position and company, followed by demonstrating why you’re the best person for the job.

From here, it’s best to include relevant positions and skills that are a match to the position, which is best presented with bullet points.  No one likes to be faced with huge walls of text, so bullets are a welcome break, and employers are able to digest your information in bite-sized bits.  This is a huge help to them, which helps your chances and makes your information appear more deliberate and efficient.

Resume without errors

Don’t go through all the trouble of writing a cover letter and resume without considering grammatical errors! From spelling to spacing to grammar issues, nothing is worse than discovering that you’ve made an easily-avoided error.  It’s better to take the time to fix them before they’re sent in, which can be accomplished with a keen eye and some help from family and friends.  Send your job materials to as many people as possible, and be open to feedback and revisions.

In addition to a resume without errors, it should also be concise.  Keep your resume to a maximum of two pages, and be sure to only include relevant information.  This is more labor-intensive, but it makes a huge difference to employers.

Confidence in your abilities

The number one tool you can bring to your job application is confidence in your abilities – and in yourself.  While you can have pages full of experience and accomplishments, if you lack the confidence to back it up, you will look less prepared to take on the job.  Job skills are incredibly important, but soft skills like communication and confidence are also key.

When you have confidence in your ability to do the job well, your potential employer will sense this, giving them more confidence in you.  Since an employer doesn’t yet know you at this point, it’s a great time to speak to them with authority and expertise with what you know you are capable of accomplishing!

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January 9, 2017 0 Comments

4 Top Tips for Using Facebook for Business

Facebook is an important and useful tool for promoting and sharing as your business.  Whether you’re a business owner, post content for other companies, or simply promote your services via social media, using Facebook effectively is key.

Read along for some top tips to ensure that you’re utilizing Facebook in the most effective ways.

Stay consistent

Consistency is key, and it’s the way to keep your readers engaged with your brand and its content.  If you’re posting very sporadically, no one gets to know you.  Try to avoid posting five times per week, followed by once per month, followed by 3 times per day.  Get into a routine that suits your content and schedule, and make sure that it’s realistic.

To start, figure out how much time you have to create content.  If it’s one hour per week, determine how long it takes to create each post.  You’ll also want to factor in consistency here and determine if this will be feasible as an ongoing schedule. From here, create a content schedule that includes the content that will be posted with the date and time.  If you’re able to do this weeks or months in advance – even better! Do what you need to do to establish a routine that is consistent and doable for your schedule.

Visual appeal

Your posts can’t simply be informative, they must also look nice. Articles can simply use the attached photo or a stock image, but your quotes, tips, and customized posts need to look their best and match your branding.  Facebook is a very visual platform, and posts containing graphics often per

You can utilize programs such as InDesign or Illustrator to create graphic posts, or simply use free online tools like Canva, Pablo, or PicMonkey.  These sites allow you to upload images, add text and/or shapes, and so on.  You’re able to create stunning posts in a matter of minutes, and it’s much better than constantly borrowing graphics from others.

Avoid selling

If you have a business, your first reaction in using Facebook for business is likely for sales.  Unfortunately, this isn’t the best course of action for social media.  It’s tempting, especially with a large, engaged audience, but it’s not ideal.  This doesn’t mean you can never feature your products and services, but they should always include the benefits to your prospects.  Additionally, you’ll still want to keep these posts to a minimum.

Your goal, in using Facebook for business, is establishing a presence, as well as establishing yourself as an expert in your line of work.  Provide a generous amount of valuable information to your readers, and they will realize that you have a lot of knowledge in your area.  You can also provide tips, advice, product usage information, benefits of using your type of services, inspirational quotes and information, and much more.  Keep your information varied and interesting, but ensure that 75-80% is valuable versus salesy.

When you do post something that could lead to a sale, your audience will be more likely to receive this favorably, since you are the expert and they’ve valued your free information so much so far.

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December 30, 2016 0 Comments

4 Tips to Start the New Year with Success

“New Year—a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours.” – Alex Morritt

Happy New Year! As we embark on this fresh start, it’s clear that everyone has planning, goals and success on the brain.  Whether you’re seeking to find business success, lose weight, face fears, or simply get organized, now is the time to begin a new year successfully.

Set manageable goals now

Use the momentum of this time of year to set goals.  This doesn’t mean you have to (or should) set very daunting goals, but those that are manageable.  It’s typically easier and more effective to select 6-10+ smaller goals and break them into several weeks or months.  It’s much more difficult to focus on a goal that is over a year away, and momentum can be lost almost instantly.

Where do you want to be in your personal life?  Your career?  Your family life?  In your faith or spiritual life?  Think about all areas of your life and set goals in intervals that are likely to be achieved.

Reflect on your accomplishments

We tend to skimp on giving ourselves enough credit for our achievements.  Take out a pen and a piece of paper and really think about the good that you’ve done this year.  Have you been more present in your family time?  Did you earn a raise in your freelance position? Land a client that has been truly enjoyable?  Give yourself these wins, as it’s very encouraging as you start into a new year.

Do an audit

While we already discussed looking at your accomplishments, this it the time to audit all areas of your life from the previous year.  What worked and what didn’t in all areas? How can you improve?  Do you plan to stay in your  job(s)?  This is also a good time to analyze your rates and financial situation as well, and a prime time to consider tax and other filing items.

Refresh your materials

With a new year comes reflection, which can often mean changing of jobs and career paths.  Are you ready to put your best foot forward?  Especially if you’re considering a career change, or simply want to pick up some more freelance work, it’s a great time of year to update your job search materials.  Ensure that your resume and cover letter are updated and edited.  Review your references on file and make contact or select new ones to be sure that you have the best people in your corner.

Moving into the new year successfully is all about reflecting on what worked and didn’t work in the past, as well as a clear, thoughtful plan for the future.  Take stock in what has already happened, praise yourself for where you’ve shined, and set goals that challenge and move you forward in this promising new year!

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December 23, 2016 0 Comments

4 Tips for Holiday Break Productivity

Today begins holiday break for a lot of families, and it’s important to take the time to refresh and rejuvenate before the start of the new year.

Although most of your household will likely be home from school and work, a home based worker is never truly “away” from work.  It’s very important to take time for yourself this time of year while still completing your work.  Read along for some best practices in keeping up with productivity while enjoying the season.

Create schedules and lists

At this time of year, many of us are juggling numerous events and schedules! It can help to create short lists and schedules for work, Christmas, New Year’s, and anything else that’s taking place during this busy holiday season.

Before you go on break, take a few minutes to figure out what needs to be done and when.  There’s still time to lay everything out and prioritize based on available days.

Use spare time

When there are activities taking place that don’t involve the whole family, take this time to stay back.  Of course you don’t want to miss anything truly special or important, but simple errands can be skipped if there’s another family member who can handle them.

You can also utilize early bedtimes and nap time to get ahead with work.  Although everyone is typically home for the holidays, there can still be time when your kids are with friends or spending time with other family members.

Work ahead

As with all productivity tips, working ahead is a great way to stay on top of things.  Most of us will still have to put in some working hours over the next couple weeks, but if you work from home, you can likely work when you have the time.

Even though home based work never really goes away, we have the benefit of being able to work at any time.  Utilize this to your advantage! Spend a few nights or early mornings before holidays working ahead a bit.  This not only ensures that you’re completing the work that needs done – it allows you to come into the new year without a mad rush of work.

Enjoy the season

Work will still be there after holiday break! We all have work, family, and home obligations, but this is truly the time of year to enjoy your family.  Yes, work is still important and must be completed, but find a way to work it into your holiday schedule without missing those truly magical moments with your friends and family.

Take this time to relax, refresh, work as needed, and come into the new year with a clear head and sense of calm.

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December 19, 2016 0 Comments

HireMyMom Success Story: Stephanie Enciso

What’s your success story with HireMyMom.com?

I worked full time until the birth of my first son in November 2014.  I was blessed to have a stay at home mom growing up, and wanted nothing more than to provide the same for my children.  As with everything, I “Let go and Let God.”  One night, I stumbled upon a Facebook Ad while rocking my toddler back to sleep.  I never heard of the website, but decided to dig a little further.  After a few minutes, I knew I had to be a part of this in some way! I joined the site in June 2016, and within a month had my first interview.  I wasn’t offered the job, but was determined to find something that would allow me to stay at home with my son, while earning some additional income for our family.  Within a few weeks I received multiple interview opportunities and was fortunate enough to receive two offers.  I currently work for two companies, part time, and 100% remote.  I continue to apply for positions, willing to take on more work!  I love being able to work from my home, in my PJ’s, whenever I have free time!

What’s your educational and experiential background?

I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 with a Bachelors degree in Communication.  After college, I worked for a medical manufacturing company in their customer service and marketing divisions.  I also worked for a steel manufacturing company in an inside sales support role.

What is your top tip for landing a gig on HireMyMom.com?

If the job seems interesting, apply for it.  I sent my resume to as many employers as possible.  I wanted to learn and gain as much knowledge about the WAH world as I could.

What’s your favorite thing about HireMyMom.com?

I love how all of the details are presented in the job posting.  At a quick glance, you are able to know the pay rate, the requirements, and a link to employer’s website.

What’s one fun fact about you?

I married my high school sweetheart on 9-10-11.  My husband can’t ever forget that day!

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December 5, 2016 0 Comments

5 Questions to Find Your Home Office Style

If you work from home, you’ll be spending a lot of time in your home office. While we’ve discussed style options and functionality in the past, it can be helpful to start with some solid questions to help determine what will work best for you.

Answer the following questions to begin a home office design that best fits your function and style!

How does the room function?

You can change room functionality, but it’s not always feasible or budget-friendly. Most of the time, we’re going to be using what we have already available.  Does the room have good lighting?  If not, that’s something you need to consider.

Are you too close to a window?  Too far from any natural light?  These are all considerations.  Additionally, is the room too small and is there another spare room available? You’ll need to make note of everything you intend to put in the room, so space is another crucial element to your design.

Which colors?

What speaks to you as far as color? Bright red is beautiful and popular, but it might not calm you as far as a workspace.  What colors are serene and calming to you?  Blue and green are known for these qualities, so they can be a good place to start.

On the other hand, if bright colors inspire your creativity and passion, they can certainly have a place in your office design.  Think of a colorful, bright or 3-D accent wall that might add some unexpected fun to your workspace.

What kind of furniture?

Your desk, chair, bookshelves, and so on – all important parts of an office.  While most will likely have all of these items included in their home office, some may need more or less support or ergonomic furniture.  Another popular item to consider is the standing desk and if it makes sense for you.  These are all decisions that will impact the look, budget, and functionality of your space.

Are you going more for style or function?  These days, you can basically have both depending on budgetary restrictions.  Once you choose your function and color, furniture is a great next step.  Choose what you need, match for color or functionality, and begin choosing these larger statement pieces.

How do you organize?

Everyone needs a system of organization, whether basic or extensive.  Now that you’ll be thinking of your furniture needs, it’s important to factor filing and organizational systems into this.  Do you want a filing cabinet?  Do you do better with mostly online filing?

There are tools and programs that allow you to file all receipts and papers digitally, as well as traditional filing systems that are available at all office stores. Choose a system from the beginning, as this will integrate more seamlessly into your design.

What’s your style?

Do you need a beautiful space to work or does functional matter most to you? Some people will be very content with a very basic office without much color – but a lot of functionality.  These offices can still have several systems and items in place that work best for the worker.  If style is important to you – since you will be spending a lot of time here – take the time to truly make the space your own.

It can be fun to include your child’s artwork, fun books, small decor items that match your style, and much more.  When someone walks into your office, they should still get a sense of your style and how you like to design and work.

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November 28, 2016 0 Comments

4 Tips to Avoid Holiday Stress

The holidays are officially here and they will only intensify as Christmas gets closer.  The holidays are full of cheer, friends and family, but they can also bring about stress: financially, emotionally, and with work.  Especially in the work from home world, work often needs to be completed despite traditional office closings.  Since home based careers often revolve around a laptop, we still need to find time to get the work done.

Work ahead

It can be tough to work ahead for those days off, but it’s worth it to be able to truly relax with friends and family members. Create a specific to do list for the days that still need to be covered over break and go from there.  It can be helpful to color code the things that need done, are already done, and can wait until the end of the break.  While working ahead can be a bit stressful ahead of time, you’ll know that your clients and employers are set while you’re relaxing.

Avoid the last minute

Whether it’s shopping, working ahead, or planning activities with family – start now!  Don’t ignore the current holiday cheer, but in the time between holidays, begin to get things done.  If you start early enough, there won’t be a big rush at the last minute.  Staying stress-free is all about doing things over time versus waiting until you’re stressed, tired, and down to the wire.

Reign it in

Reign in the spending, amp up the thoughtfulness! This is a key phrase that will help you through the holiday season.  We often get stressed out trying to find the most extravagant, expensive gifts, but that’s truly not what matters.  Begin by focusing on the person you’re buying for, then go for experiences first and foremost.  You can still do thoughtful gifts for your loved ones, all while focusing on what matters most this time of year.

Focus on what matters

Family, friends, faith, and being together is what is truly important right now.  The gifts, business stress, and other obligations can wait.  When you’re trying to do it all this hectic time of year, pause and remember this.  With a little bit of prep and forethought, you can enjoy the holidays more than ever, all while maintaining your obligations and work schedule.

Enjoy this magical, warm time of year with all those you love!

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November 14, 2016 0 Comments

6 Tips to Successful LinkedIn Publisher Posts

The LinkedIn Publisher feature is a great way to bring blog-type articles to your LinkedIn presence. Before, only brief status-type updates were available, but Publisher posts are long-form and read much more like blog posts.

Although similar to blog posts, there are some tips to ensure that you Publisher posts are being seen and well-received on LinkedIn.

Consistency

Just like you practice consistency in your blog and social media posting, consistency in LinkedIn Publisher posts is just as important.  You can syndicate your content across various channels, but it’s also helpful to create specific content for LinkedIn.

If you blog on a weekly basis, do your best to post to LinkedIn Publisher once per week as well.  It’s helpful to get into a groove that is doable for you and your schedule.  Another tip to maintain consistency is to vary your content by a tiny bit.  If you posted about one topic several months ago, maybe do a Part 2 or more in-depth look at that topic on the Publisher platform.

Short and Sweet

LinkedIn, like other social media sites, is a browsing platform, so it’s not a place for lengthy posts.  However, according to LinkedIn.com, “posts that are best received are more than 3 paragraphs.”

Do your best to find a happy medium of short and sweet mixed with informative and complex enough to hook your reader and bring them along.

Write for the audience

As we all know, LinkedIn is a professional platform with a demographic of professional business people.   With this in mind, save the more personal and irrelevant posts for your own blog.  This is a great place to establish yourself as the expert in your field, which is incredibly helpful for prospects, clients, and future employers to see.

Offer value

When you’re in the professional space, be sure you’re offering value.  Is your post informative?  Does your reader learn something new?  If you’re adhering to posts that establish you as an expert, they should do all of the above.  Once your posts become more and more popular, your audience will know that they can count on you to provide content that is always worth their time.

Photos

Although LinkedIn is for business, visual elements still hook the eye and draw people in.  Make sure to use a visually appealing header and photo in your post.  This also helps to break up text and bring attention to your post in a crowded marketplace.

Share your post

Don’t keep your words to yourself! Share the post among your other social networks and drive traffic back to your LinkedIn Publisher post.  Don’t be afraid to mention these posts elsewhere, especially if you’re doing varied content.  The more content you have out there, the more visible you are.  This is incredibly helpful for SEO rankings, expert status, and helping employees, employers, clients, or prospects to find you more easily.

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November 7, 2016 0 Comments

4 Tips to Achieve Ambitious Goals

Achieving goals is a prominent concept in business, life and self-development, and it’s for good reason.  When we set goals, we’re more likely to get where we want to be in life.  Although establishing these goals is a lofty and admirable practice, there are ways we can go about them that will ensure that they’re much more achievable!

Write it out

We often forget things if we don’t write them down.  Think about going to the grocery store without a list – we often end up forgetting several things.  The same can be said for to-do lists and other means of writing down reminders.  First of all, by writing down your goals, you’re more easily able to remember them on a daily basis.  Additionally, writing down your goals makes them that much more real.

Visualization is another large part of goal-setting, so if your goals are time-oriented, purchase a wall or refrigerator calendar so you may see your goal date, daily steps, or time passage appropriately.  When you can actually see something in front of you, it’s a more constant reminder of what you’re trying to achieve.

Every day, every week

Do one thing every day or every week to work towards accomplishing your goals.  It can be as simple as reaching out to someone, making a contact, networking, completing a document, or anything small that will help you on your way to success.

Choose an interval that works best for you.  If you know that daily practice isn’t possible, stick to weekly.  When you keep this momentum going, no matter daily, weekly or monthly, you’re more focused and able to come back to what’s important.

Be realistic

Goals must be realistic to be obtained, and what’s realistic for you may not be the same for your friends, partner, or family members.  You know what you’re able to accomplish, and you also know that goals require you to push a bit.  We feel much more accomplished when we’ve strived for a goal and made it happen, so ensure that “realistic” does not mean “easy.”

With that in mind, set goals that are able to be accomplished in a set amount of time.  By keeping time ambiguous, you’re less likely to commit.  Set a specific goal, with a time frame, that is possible within the scope of your lifestyle and willingness to accomplish it.

Move forward

If you’ve reached a goal, go a step further or establish a new, more bold goal that is similar.  You can also choose another step forward that will complement your prior achievement.  Setting, achieving, and moving on from goals is all part of self-improvement; we can stretch ourselves and work to improve and grow.

Goals don’t need to be scary or unobtainable dreams – they can be a real part of your life that allows you to strive for more and gain a true sense of accomplishment.  Reach for your goals, whether they are personal, business-related, or simply related to improving yourself.

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