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Enhancing Your Value: Staying Employable in the 2010’s

Guest post by: Enrico Varella

Article Overview: A look at job advertisements may be a startling revelation: How is this New Economy everyone is talking about going to impact us? Armed with an arsenal of digital equipment, how will we brave the new world order that is driven by compression technology and information overload, and assured by a false sense of virtual communication?

Enhancing Your Value: Staying Employable in the 2010’s

A look at job advertisements may be a startling revelation: How is this New Economy everyone is talking about going to impact us? Armed with an arsenal of digital equipment, how will we brave the new world order that is driven by compression technology and information overload, and assured by a false sense of virtual communication?

Why is it people are not going anywhere with the abundance of education and qualification? A fresh graduate – of the Generation Y status - may be disillusioned that his/her degree may not be fully recognized for immediate employability. Generation X may have enjoyed the fruits of its labour, while Generation Y struggles to establish its identity. Thus, Generation Y opts for more aggressive, digital platforms to build their online identities and branding. Social media becomes a means to actively network and build degrees of connections. The lure and allure of being a successful, home-based entrepreneur (or designer of a runaway, bestselling, iPhone or iPad apps) or workplace intrapreneur become the de facto and de rigueur standards for ascending the social ladder. So, is this high-technology approach also high-touch?

Generation X is not resting on its laurels, for it cannot afford to. Once you are past 35 years old, your perceived value may be diminished. Although it is not appropriate today to ask personal data like age (for it is deemed discriminating), we know the reality is a dark cloud of pessimism that can ill afford disenchanted, jaded, cynical, disenfranchised and lethargic employees. Unless you thrive on paranoia, and do something about it – it is business as usual – which is not a good sign. Business as unusual is the new norm: passionate, driven by purpose, collaborative, and focused on value.

Perhaps, it is time now to rebuild one’s branding and value. Using marketing principles of Positioning, Product, Price and Place as guideposts, how do we enhance our value? How do we create attention, and become attractive despite our unavoidable laughter lines and age spots? How do we promote our wisdom of hindsight, and integrate our insights with our foresights.

We need to engage our mindsets for a future of possibilities. We should possess a positive, open-minded attitude and activate our skills and knowledge. If experience matters, how do you use it to perform with mastery those skills that you used to be valued for? Demonstrate the skills and expertise you have, so these do not become redundant and retired like sunset industries and professions.

What does not attract - distracts us. What does not add value, devalues us. Choose.

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Article Tags: core values, employability, foresight, Gen X, Gen Y, positioning, value



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Getting Started In Your New Internet Business - I always think it’s fun and exciting to start a new Internet business. I know for me that I would do something that I’m interested and passionate about. Otherwise the new venture doesn’t last for long. As it’s just as important to have passion, motivation and interest, there are a few areas that help me succeed in business. Promoting Your Internet Business I would call this the “show me the money” part of the business. Without money or income, there is no business. Therefore it’s important to promote your business and turn your promotional activities into sales. At every opportunity, try to promote your business through passive means: e.g. through your stationary, letterheads, emails, brochures and any other promotional material you may use. Even if it’s just an article you write for a directory, remember to put your website address at the bottom of it. In the past, I made stickers of my logo that I could easily stick on my products. Also I made sure that every email I sent out to a customer had a company logo in it. This all helps with creating the brand for the business. It’s crucial to develop a marketing plan that will not only sell your products, but also your brand. Here are some other articles I recommend to read to help you promote your Internet business: * Spreading The Word: Turbocharge Your Traffic * Converting Traffic Into Sales Part 1: Generating Leads * Converting Traffic Into Sales Part 2: Profiting From The Back-End * 12 Sales Effective Marketing Tips Operating Your Business This is the “lifeblood” of the business and I’m amazed at the amount of businesses that still operate without having good systems in place. An electrician I use from time to time asked me how I maintain my book work and said he doesn’t know how to do it. I was shocked because I’d known him to be trading for over 2 years and he probably doesn’t know how much money is being made in his business or let alone lost. What I am saying is to not be like my Electrician friend and make sure you buy an accounting software to track all your accounts and paperwork. I would suggest hiring a book keeper because it will save you the hassle and time of doing it all yourself. Some good software packages out there that are under $500 like MYOB Accounting and QuickBooks will be more than sufficient when you start out. Another area that most people forget or get caught out on are getting the appropriate insurances for your business. The most common are public liability insurance, fire, burglary, vehicle and workers compensation insurance. All these can be easily found via a quick search on Google. I would recommend ensuring both public liability and fire insurances are in place before even running your business. Keeping Pace And Staying Up To Date This may sound all too overwhelming when you have to promote, operate your business and keep up to date with your industry. Believe me it’s not as hard as it sounds. Take the first step and join a trade association or your local Chamber of Commerce. You will find it both informative and beneficial to your business. To know what is happening in your area and within your industry can help you make better decisions for promoting your product or service. Whether it may be time to change a product line or add more services to your business, you will be keeping up with the industry and making sure you are not missing out on opportunities. Also it’s a great way to network and promote within your trade associations and Chamber of Commerce. Simply write an article to contribute and it can be used as great public relations (P.R) for your business. Also I emphasise to have a well prepared business plan created before starting your business, because this will be your starting point. A business plan is useful for so many areas for your business from sourcing finance to implementing a growth strategy for the next 5 years. Once it’s written down, it will become a living breathing document that you can update and review over time. I’ve just finished preparing my business plan for this business which took nearly 3 weeks to complete but I can tell you that it is well worth the time and effort to do. Learn how to put your own business plan together and I can guarantee you that you’ll get finance and negotiate business deals much easier. The Future Of Your Internet Business Starting your Internet Business is rewarding and if you look into those areas I have mentioned, then you will have a good foundation to running a successful Internet Business. Take action today and know that you deserve to live your dream. Tyrone Shum Internet Business Coach


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