Category Archives: Economics

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How To Write A CV That Gets You Noticed

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If you’ve never written a CV or Resume before, it can be quite a daunting and, somewhat overwhelming task.

Of course there are many resources and templates online that can guide you, but sometimes you can lead yourself down a rabbit hole of looking at these too much, and not just focusing on the basics.

The important thing to remember with a CV is, the intention of it is to pique interest in you enough to get you noticed, and have the potential employer wish to speak to you – they don’t want to see every single detail of your life, what you do at the weekend for fun, how much you love the Batman movies, or what you had for dinner last night.

Sure, they want to know a bit about who you are, because this allows them to see if you could be a potential good fit for the company overall, but they’re really just looking for an overview.

Here are a few tips for you to use when creating your first or next CV.

Length:

The length of your CV is quite important, and the key is to give enough information for relevance, but keep it as short as you can to give that information. Usually a CV should be about 1-2 A4 pages. Unless it’s extremely relevant to the position you’re applying for, then any more than that is simply not required, and they may not even read it all. People are busy, so they don’t have time to read all that – they simply want an introduction to you, and will ask you more details during the interview stage.

Format:

Despite what some people believe, there really is no right or wrong way to format a CV. You definitely want it to read easy, so creating sections, short sentences, and avoiding massive paragraphs that just seem like a wall of words is all you really need to do.

Start with your personal details at the top of the page, such as your name, address, date of birth and contact details. Then create sections for education, employment history, skills, passions, and hobbies.

Also don’t be afraid to be honest about where you feel your strengths and weaknesses are: this, if nothing else, shows that you’re honest, willing to improve, and can acknowledge that you’re human and can overcome failures.

Each of these, obviously apart from the education and employment history should simply be a sentence or two.

Information:

When writing a CV, there are some people out there who will encourage you to exaggerate or even downright lie about your skills, passions, and even your education and employment background. This is not only a bad idea due to being morally wrong, but it’s incredibly silly due to being illegal in some places, and at the very least, if found to be lying or withholding important information on a CV, you would most certainly lose your job, and may have trouble finding another one. So, before you go applying for Science Jobs that you’re not properly qualified for, then you should maybe re-think that plan.

The thing is: if there’s a job you do want, but you’re not qualified for, then there are always ways around that, such as applying for an internship or entry-level position and working your way up, or even getting some qualifications that may be needed.

Honesty is always the best policy.

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What To Consider When Deciding To Hire Your First Official Employees

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The decision to hire your first official employees is a big one. It’s one that shouldn’t be rushed into because you don’t want to end up having to keep hiring new people all the time, but it’s also something that you shouldn’t allow yourself to procrastinate on for too long because if you do, you’ll continue to struggle to manage everything on your own, and that’s not a good role to have when you’re trying to run a business.

As you probably know: delegation is absolutely one of the best things you can do for your business, and you need to build a team of support who you can count on to keep things ticking over when you need some time off, or just for the things that don’t fall within your zone of genius and take up too much of your time already.

However, as much as you know this, there’s quite a difference between outsourcing to freelancers and subcontractors, and hiring actual employees to be on the payroll.

When you hire employees, you have a responsibility, not only to make them aware of their job description, pay them, and provide them with the resources, training, support, and surroundings they need in order to actually do their job properly, but you also have to think of other things you’ll be responsible for.

You have a moral, professional, and legal obligation to ensure that your employees have a safe environment to work whilst employed with your company – this is especially true if you’re asking them to work in-house.

Places like Plansafe can advise on what employers need to be aware of in this respect, and are committed to ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and are safe at their place of work.

Other things you’ll be responsible for, are taking care of your employees tax and other relevant deductions.

You’ll also be required to provide them with the legal amount of time off, for both holidays and sickness within the law.

Unlike a freelancer or sub-contractor, have a lot more direct responsibility when it comes to hiring staff to work for you.

Failure to comply with the law in any way regarding the employment of your staff could result in large fines and a lot of problems, so before committing to employing people, make sure you fully understand the law, your responsibilities, the expectations on both sides, and get everything, including employment contracts, checked over by an employment lawyer who can advise you on keeping on the right side of the law so as to avoid any accidental or unexpected issues.

If you feel like hiring is not something you’re ready for right now, then you can still build an amazing team of people to work for you, but they can remain as freelancers or consultants, which takes away a lot of the above issues and responsibilities.

Of course, as with anything, when you treat people good, show them you value and respect them, and they’ll likely do a great job for you, so it really doesn’t matter whether or not they work for you as an employee or a freelancer, it’s more about the shared vision you have for the future of your company, their role in its success, and how you treat each other that counts.

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Your First Server Room: Tips For A Smooth Set-Up

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While cloud services can be very convenient for a small business’s storage and networking needs, they’ll only get you so far. More and more small businesses are deciding to set up their own in-house server rooms in order to get around various security and practical concerns. If you’re taking your first steps into the large and often complex world of dedicated server rooms, here’s a little advice for hitting it on the head.

With Server Racks, have a Plan and Stick to It

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Compared to a jumbled stack of It hardware in the corner of an office, a rack setup has a lot of advantages when setting up a server. However, if you set a server rack up improperly, or without taking the time to plan it out, then it’s going to be little more than a large and expensive shelving unit! To start with, you need to have a complete list of all the equipment you’re going to be mounting on the rack. This needs to include the servers themselves, network switches, an uninterruptable power supply, and any additional storage or security components. Setting up a server rack during the work day will only cause disruptions, so plan who’s going to be taking part in this after-hours work well in advance so you don’t screw up workflow too much.

Don’t Cheap-Out on Power

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Keeping power flowing to your servers is extremely important, and if this isn’t considered thoroughly you’ll only run yourself into all kinds of problems. Though it may be expensive, some offices can benefit from connecting their server room to a separate circuit breaker. This will save you from the kitchen microwave tripping up the servers, or any kind of routine changes or upgrades resulting in expensive downtime. Even if your office has brilliant power supplies, you’re going to need an uninterruptable power supply, as localised power failures can happen at a moment’s notice. This is the one sure place where you can’t scrimp, so limit your search to reputable vendors and brands like Riello UPS. While shopping around, make sure you’re referring back to the list you started with, and checking that the UPS you settle on has enough places to plug-in all the appliances on the server rack.

Lock Up

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A lot of business owners will switch over to a server room solution having had some kind of security breach through cloud solutions in the past. Having made the switch, they figure that they’re completely safe from any kind of security threats. This is totally false, and you need to make sure your server is protected from any damaging breaches. As soon as it’s operational, the server room should be strictly out of bounds to people outside of the IT department. Make sure that the door is closed and locked at all times, and put a password on the KVM console if at all possible. You can also make your servers a little more secure by installing IP cameras, which can be used to keep an eye on any equipment in the room.

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Well Oiled: How To Make Sure That Your Busiess Is Running Smoothly

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Running a business is hard work. Nobody would ever argue with that fact. Anyone who expects running a business to be easy is in for a seriously nasty shock. But that doesn’t mean it should be a constant struggle. One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is mistaking a feeling of pushing a boulder up a mountain, with standard business pressures. When a business isn’t running properly, it can feel as though no matter what you do, you’re constantly fighting an uphill battle. Not only that but it can begin to feel like a battle that you’re unable to win. This can cause genuine problems for a business owner; it can make each day stressful and unpleasant. In the worst case scenario, it can cause you to begin to resent your business. The best thing you can do is to focus on one specific word: efficiency. If your business is working efficiently, then it’s going to make everything that much easier. Here are three ways that you can help your business run more smoothly.

Get organized

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No business can function without decent organization. This applies at every level. From the actions of a single employee, all the way up to you as the business owner, the importance of organization cannot be overstated. Make sure that everything is kept in its proper place, and that everyone knows the correct procedures and protocols. Don’t just expect employees to be organized naturally. Offer training to those who needs it and make sure that any rules that apply to employees, apply to you as well.

Keep your equipment working

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Equipment for a business is an investment, and sometimes it can feel like a pretty costly investment at that. Very few businesses can function without technology and electronics. Of course, this has plenty of benefits, but it also comes with pitfalls. When technology breaks it can throw a spanner in the works for your entire business, frustrating employees and slowing productivity down to almost nothing. Make sure that you’re investing in high-quality equipment for your office from places like Ricoh Printer Support to avoid any unnecessary technological disasters.

Stay positive

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This can sometimes seem like a borderline impossible task in the face of the stresses that come with running a business. But the most important thing that you can do as a business owner is to lead by example. Make sure that your employees are aware that you are there to support them and do your best to create a supportive and positive atmosphere. Employee performance is often based on how positive and supported they feel. By creating the kind of environment where everyone supports each other and maintains a good outlook, then you’re already setting up your business to run more smoothly and to deal with problems that arise more effectively.

These tips may seem small, but small things add up over time. Make sure to treat your business like a machine. By keeping even the smallest gears oiled, then you’re able to make sure that the entire thing runs and smoothly and efficiently as possible.

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Behind The Scenes Of A Business: 3 Important Things To Know About

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As a new entrepreneur, you’re eager to proceed with your first ever business idea. You’ve seen many people follow the path to success and want to replicate them. Before you get started, you must know about some crucial things that happen behind the scenes. These are things that the public doesn’t really see but are crucial to the running of a business. You can find out what these things are by reading the points below:

Procurement

Procurement is a fancy term for when you need to get your hands on something. In a business sense, it refers to purchasing your supplies and getting them delivered to you. Every business needs to stock up on certain supplies at times during the year. The items you procure depend on your company. For retailers, you need actual products and items that you’ll them sell. Other companies buy resources that they use to create products. Even things like office supplies need to be procured by your business. As the owner, it’s your job to find various vendors who can supply you with what you need. It’s essential that your company has all the supplies it needs to work and get the job done.

Payment Processing

Whenever you buy something from someone, you have to exchange money. You give them cash, and they give you change. Alternatively, you pay by card, and they end up with the money. If you’ve never been involved in business, then you probably have no idea how those card payments get processed. Well, for a business to get paid it has to set up a merchant account that accepts card payments.  There are loads of companies like Humboldt Merchant Services that supply these accounts to businesses. This all goes on behind the scenes and the money ends up in your merchant account where it can be withdrawn and used however you like. As a business owner, you need to gain knowledge on payment processing and how to implement it in your company.

Paying Tax

Business tax is something hardly anyone sees from the public perspective. Unless you’re running a business, you won’t know what goes on with regards to tax. Companies have to pay income tax each year on their profits. Business owners need to spend ages managing their books and ensuring they pay the right tax at the right time. Failure to do so can lead to financial penalties and a black mark against your business. There are loads of accountants or financial advisors that can help a business pay its tax if you happen to be struggling. The main thing to remember is that it needs to be done. There’s no way around it, and if you forget, then you’ll damage your business.

The purpose of this article was to bring you some advice surrounding the ‘boring’ side of running a business. By taking a look at important things that happen behind the scenes, you can ensure your company is run correctly. You’ll have everything in place behind the scenes, which makes other parts of your business run more efficiently too.

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Three Household Item Investments Your Future Self Will Thank You For Making

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When it comes to putting money aside, we tend to do this only for very important things. Disposable income, after all, is precious – especially if you have a family. Many of us have made mistakes in the past when it comes to spending money on things we would now deem frivolous, so knowing when to make an investment is a key factor of adult life. Of course, everyone likes to have a bit of money leftover to spend on some treats, or perhaps some guilty pleasures. But if you invest in certain items now, you may save yourself time, money and hassle in the future.

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A good quality mattress

Hands up who values their sleep? Okay, so most of us don’t get enough of it, and we blame that on all sorts of different things. But did you know that it could actually be your mattress that is preventing you from getting a good 40 winks? Our bodies are very sensitive and conditions need to be exactly right to allow us to get a restful sleep, especially if you are a light sleeper. A mattress that is too hard or too soft can cause many problems. Plus, if you suffer from back problems, a bad mattress can actually worsen your condition. They don’t come cheap, but investing in a high-quality mattress, such as a memory foam one, can be a huge benefit to your life.

An air conditioning system

Heating and cooling our homes can be one of the biggest household problems. During the winter, we open every energy bill with trepidation at what we may have ended up spending simply to keep warm. In the summer, there’s nothing worse than not being able to find refuge from the midday heat even in your own home. Anyone who has tried to cook a meal in a 85 degrees Fahrenheit will be able to understand this! A great A/C unit can save you from this uncomfortable way of living and will allow to you enjoy the summer, without overheating. If your current one is worse for wear, it is definitely a good idea to look into air conditioning repair. t is also a great option if you are thinking about selling your home in the near future, as it is very appealing to new buyers who maybe don’t want to install a unit themselves.

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A brilliant vacuum

Buying a vacuum cleaner isn’t something most of us look forward to. It is an incredibly boring purchase that costs a lot of money – not the ideal combination for a riveting shopping trip! But as dull as it may be, it is definitely worth doing some research on a vacuum cleaner that meets your needs. After all, even most of the mid-range ones come with a big price tag, so you may as well get one that does the job well. There’s nothing worse than wrestling with a heavy, clunky vacuum cleaner that picks up a few stray hairs at best. It leaves you frustrated, and your home not looking much different to when you started cleaning. Investing in a more advanced vacuum can save you heaps of time and also leave you with a home you are proud of.

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Which Are The Hottest Industries For Startups Right Now?

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We’re in the midst of something of a startup boom at the moment. More people than ever before are starting their own companies, hoping to hit the big time. But in amongst this frenzy of entrepreneurial activity are some industries that are doing particularly well according to Forbes. No doubt if you want to be an entrepreneur yourself, you want to know what these industries are. Let’s take a look.

Street Food Vendors

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We’ve seen a lot of creative restaurant ideas come from people who started as street vendors. But now the street vending industry itself – if you can call it that – is experiencing dramatic growth. Thanks to the number of people who are giving it a go. Street vendors are expecting their revenues to grow by more than 3.7 percent over the next five years, bringing the total value of the industry up to $1.7 billion. The increase in demand for convenience food on the street corner is being driven by consumer’s desire for unique and interesting food that’s cheap and easily accessible. Thus, the advice to street vendors right now is to create a menu that is interesting. Of course, metropolitan areas have seen the growth in street vendors for many years not, but analysts at IBIS expect that street food is going to start showing up in more places than just on street corners in places like New York. Profit margins are currently running at 23 percent for the industry by the latest figures.

Wineries

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The alcoholic beverage industry has been growing strongly recently, despite public health attempts to restrict the amount of wine and beer people are consuming. But the strongest area of growth isn’t in the big manufacturers  – it’s the small-scale, craft wineries that are creating the biggest buzz. It turns out that consumers want something a little more interesting than the commercially produced wine when they decide to spend their disposable income. They want something that is unique and will bring a new and authentic experience. Of course, part of the booming popularity of craft wines is the fact that in many metropolitan areas, disposable income is on the rise. It’s an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get into wine-making and to make a lot of money. IBIS says that the profit margin in the industry is 7.6 percent and that annual revenues are growing by more than 5 percent a year.

Ethnic Supermarkets

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Ethnic supermarkets import foods and brands specific to a particular culture and sell them on in a cosmopolitan market. With mass immigration and changing food culture in the West, these ethnic stores are becoming a lot more common and more in demand. According to IBIS, cultural food stores have experienced “tremendous” growth, with Asians and Hispanics driving much of that growth in the US. According to the latest figures, something like 98 percent of ethnic supermarkets serve these groups. Currently, the industry’s revenues are growing at an impressive 3.7 % per annum. Back in 2011, the last time figures were available, profit margins were running at 2.8 percent.

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Clear The Foggy Haze That Surrounds E-Commerce

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Most people can get online and start building a website with an easy tool like Wix or Squarespace. But, when it comes to getting into the world of online shopping, most people are too scared of the unknown to be able to get started. It’s understandable, though. When you’re dealing with people’s bank or personal information, you gain some huge responsibilities. You have to make sure that you’re operating correctly, to make sure that you’re handling data legally.

This world of mystery is made much easier with the help of a tool like Magento. Magento primarily acts as your payment gateway; to connect your website up with customer’s bank accounts. But, it also has the facility to host your entire shopping experience, from product listings to checkout pages. Most people will run a hybrid setup with Magento; with the store handled by Magento, and the rest of the site developed separately.

Obviously, a tool with so much power has to be used correctly. If you have little to no experience in web design, it’s best to leave the job to a professional. The odds are, though, that you’ll be able to find a Magento agency in your area, with ease. But, even once the site is fully developed, there’s a few things that you need to consider.

  • Security

Of course, using a tool like Magento ensures that your checkout process is as secure as possible. But, your website still might not look that way. When you visit most websites, you will see “https” at the start of the page URL, at the top of the screen. This shows that a website is securely encrypted using SSL. If you don’t have SSL encryption on your site, you may find that certain browsers will warn users not to visit the site. This is a surefire way to lose out on customers and damage your company’s reputation.

Most website hosts will let you buy an SSL certificate directly from them. Once you’ve bought it, it will automatically protect your site. If you have to get it from elsewhere, though, you’ll need to follow the instructions they give you to attach it to your site. Sometimes, Magento won’t work without a valid SSL certificate.

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  • Hosting

The next step in your E-Commerce journey is to check your hosting. When you purchase hosting for a website, you’ll usually be given several options. These options will include different amounts of storage space, bandwidth, and other features/add-ons. As your website gets more popular, you will start to use more bandwidth. If you don’t have enough to support the users accessing the site, some won’t be able to load the website, or they’ll have it load very slowly. This will make your website look very unprofessional. As your website grows, the data that you store will grow with it. This means that you’ll also need more storage space in the future. You need to keep an eye on your hosting at all times, to make sure that you’re not running out of resources.

Hopefully, this will make you more confident to get out there and build your own E-Commerce website. All you need now is a good business idea!

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Bringing It All Together: How Savvy Consultants Keep Tabs On Their Business

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These days, it seems as if everybody has got advice for consultants. Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? The problem for many consultants is that most aren’t actually trained in the art of doing business. Yes, they’re excellent at what they do, whether it’s education, finance or looking after cats, but most don’t have much of an idea about what it actually takes to run a consulting business, besides being a fantastic consultant, of course.

Focus On Relationships, Not Revenues

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One of the first things that consults need to realise is that the value of their business is entirely based on the relationships that they forge. That means that when it comes to new clients, it’s always best to listen first, think and then start negotiating a price. The reasons for doing this are both practical and political. Practically speaking, you want to be able to make an assessment of the kind of services that they will need. Doing this will allow you to come up with a price that is actually suitable for the work that they want you to carry out. And politically speaking, it’s always best to build a rapport well before going in for the hard sell. Businesses and customers are way more likely to trust you, and pay you, once they’ve seen how reasonable, personable and qualified you are.

Use Software, Just Like The Pros

Top entrepreneurs know that the key to a successful business is nailing the process. The best businesses have slick processes, excellent communication and an understanding of what is going on in all four corners of their enterprise. In the past, getting this right required a tight-knit team and a lot of experience. But with the rise of multi-channel solutions software, organising a business has become significantly easier. Being able to keep tabs on all of the channels you use to reach out to clients is important if you’re going to maximise opportunities in each of those areas. And so now many consulting firms are using dashboards to organise their communication from a single hub and coordinate their messages.

Stay Supremely Flexible

Many consultants like the idea of getting paid monthly retainers for their work. As a result, they deliberately seek out clients who are willing to pay them month after month. But the monthly retainer somehow defeats the purpose of consulting services. The idea of consulting is to go into a business or a person’s life and solve a problem. It’s not to hang around indefinitely, collecting payment at the end of the month.

The best consultants ultimately end their retainer deals and look for new projects because they eventually solve the problem. They understand that business waxes and wanes. And so they use these opportunities to cultivate new networks and find new people to work with. Often it’s worth building relationships with other highly qualified professionals from industry who can offer their experience and perspective to a particular project. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others if you need to.

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A Productive Rant About Your Startup Equipment

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When you’re starting a new business, you have to consider so many things. But what might weigh most heavily upon your mind is the acquisition of equipment. This isn’t an area you can afford to cut corners on. Make sure you’re dealing with business equipment correctly by using this guide!

Considering the costs

Work equipment is often where most businesses find themselves having to spend the most money. In the long-term, your biggest cost is going to be human labour. But when you’re starting up, the cost of equipment is often a daunting figure. In fact, it’s precisely what puts so many people off of the idea of starting a business!

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The key is to ensure that you’re prepared for these costs. This is just one of the reasons why a thorough business plan is extremely important. Figuring out everything you’re going to need in terms of equipment is what will ensure you’re aiming at an accurate amount of capital. You’d be surprised how many business owners end up getting less capital than they need.

Safety first

The number one priority in business is making that sweet cash profit, right? No, you already know that’s not the case. The safety of everyone in your workplace takes precedent over absolutely everything else. And if you’re not following the law when it comes to equipment safety, then you could end up ruining your business quicker than you think.

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You need to keep PUWER in mind. This stands for Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. There are, of course, many other safety regulations you have to consider. But in terms of equipment, PUWER is what you need to keep in mind. It might be best for you to have professionals who can assess the suitability of your equipment in this regard.

Maintenance

Your equipment is going to require maintenance. This is especially true with the heavy machinery you find in industrial work, mining, and farming. The maintenance you have to give them is almost constant. And you can’t afford to cut corners in this regard, either. If you’re not maintaining them properly, then you run the risk of them breaking down or creating unsafe conditions. And the result of that is not going to be friendly to your wallet.

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One of the best things you can do is make sure that operation training is absolutely thorough. The ensures that use, as well as the operation checklist, is always proper. Keeping an eye out for signs of wear is also incredibly important. You have a schedule for maintenance and repair, with sessions being carried out at least every couple of days. This helps ensure longevity and safety.

Data mining

In industry, your equipment can be combined with data mining techniques that can help with their long-term efficiency. You may not have thought that big data could affect your business much. But it’s actually very important in this field. Read more about what everyone is calling “Industry 4.0.” Getting your equipment hooked up to the right data mining equipment could increase efficiency in astounding ways.

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