4 Tips to Help You Overcome Imposter Syndrome

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Imposter Syndrome|4 Tips to Help You Overcome Imposter SyndromeThe period after accepting a job is filled with a range of emotions. You are excited for what the future holds, but you may also feel overwhelmed by the stress of expectation. This can cause you to experience imposter syndrome, where you believe you aren’t as capable as everyone thinks you are and, sooner rather than later, you will get found out. This can be a debilitating experience that could impact your performance. So how can you overcome imposter syndrome and thrive? Here are four tips to help you.

Gain Experience

Inexperienced professionals are often most prone to experience imposter syndrome, and one of the easiest ways to beat this is to gain experience. Internships, courses, and programs like the HBS 2+2 can all help you prepare for a new role or position and help you understand what a professional environment is like. This approach can settle your nerves and enables you to get a feel for appropriate behavior and decorum within the office. Depending on the type of experience you seek, you can also learn key teamwork skills and improve your presentations to prevent nerves.

Use Positive Self Talk

If you’re someone who uses self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism, it’s time to make changes and overcome imposter syndrome. Understanding the benefits of using positive self-talk will help you believe in yourself more. Although you might not think self-deprecation is doing any harm, it can eventually rewire your brain to doubt yourself at every turn. Replacing this talk with a positive attitude will alter your entire way of thinking, which will give you the confidence you need to succeed.

Recognize Your Strengths

Similarly, it’s easy to highlight your faults and know what you can’t do, which is one of the major issues with imposter syndrome. But, identifying things you are good at and having the confidence to show these skills off is a great way to overcome any feelings that you’re not good enough for the role. It can be even more effective to write these skills down and use them as a ‘Brag Sheet’ that you can reference whenever you’re feeling low on confidence as it can help you refocus.

Have Someone to Talk To

You don’t need to deal with imposter syndrome alone, and having someone to talk to will give you the emotional support you need to cope with any doubts you might have. This support network, whether it be your partner, friends, fellow professionals, or even strangers, is crucial for gaining a different perspective and helps you approach your problems from a new angle. It’s easy to gain tunnel vision when you feel overwhelmed with imposter syndrome, but getting advice from others will broaden your scope and give you positive reinforcement.

Overcome

Often, your biggest enemy is yourself, but it doesn’t need to be. It is natural to feel you are not good enough, but knowing there is a reason you were hired and reminding yourself that you are good enough will help you overcome imposter syndrome and excel in your career.

Top 4 Tips for a Healthy Work-Life Balance

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Work-Life Balance|Top 4 Tips for a Healthy Work-Life BalanceWork is inescapable; it pays the bills and it brings food to the table. Before, the boundaries between work and home were separate. However, with the rise of workaholism, people’s jobs have taken over their personal lives.

Recovering from one’s workaholic habits can be challenging; however, it is not impossible. Here are the top 4 tips for building a healthy work-life balance.

What is Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance refers to finding a happy medium between one’s job and one’s personal life. Examples of a poor work-life balance include working longer hours, cracking under pressure, and/ or suffering abundant responsibilities both at work and at home.

According to Kevin Lucas, co-founder of New Hope Regeneration, “how the body relates to an environment directly impacts the way a patient [lives and] moves.” When a person’s job takes over their life, their relationship to such an environment can result in stress, a weakened immune system, and/or burnout.

Preserving a work-life balance is essential for the human body and brain; it can benefit health and well-being, reduce physical and emotional stress, and encourage positive self-esteem.

Abandon Perfectionism

A lot of overachievers tend to root for perfection in their assignments. As well-meaning as that is, this kind of ambition can also encourage emotional pressure and stress.

Rather than strive for perfection, one should strive to get the job done. By investing too much energy on perfection, it ultimately makes the task at hand harmful and more difficult.

Start Small

It all begins with baby steps. When one attempts drastic changes, like cutting work hours in half or vowing to attend daily family gatherings, the effort often ends in failure. Building a work-life balance isn’t a simple task, but a lifestyle.

Baby steps are preferable as they help make the transition from old habits to new ones digestible and much more obtainable. Rather than cutting one’s work hours in half, one should cut one or two hours. Likewise, instead of vowing to attend family gatherings each day, one should begin with one event each week. Once a person gets accustomed to these small changes, they can then make longer strides without feeling intimidated.

Set Boundaries

Having a lack of boundaries is what enables one’s work to infiltrate their personal life. One should set boundaries for themselves and their co-workers. For example, one should learn how to say “no.” As scary as it is, having the power to reject an activity one can’t or does not want to handle helps one re-assess and evaluate their priorities. When a person says “no” to more work, they say “yes” to dedicating more time for themselves.

Exercise and Meditate

Nowadays, self-care is often misinterpreted as a luxury, not a necessity. The truth is, taking care of oneself is essential in order to reduce stress and keep on living. Exercise and meditation are great ways to preserve one’s mental and physical health. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can improve a person’s mood by promoting endorphins, otherwise known as feel-good hormones. Meanwhile, meditation can help reduce a person’s stress levels through breathing and other peaceful exercises. Meditation does this by activating a person’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxing the body. As helpful as exercise and meditation are, they should not be perceived as a chore; reserve at least 3-5 minutes for a quick breathing or meditation exercise, and at least 5-10 minutes for a short workout or stretch.

How To Maximize Your Businesses Financial Success

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Financial Success|How To Maximize Your Businesses Financial SuccessAny business will likely be aiming for greater financial success. No matter whether you own a small business or a large corporation, there are simple and effective ways of maximizing your businesses financial future. If you are under-educated on finances and are often stuck on how to maximize your business budget or profits, here are some top tips.

Make future projections

Projecting the future of your business will mean that you have a desire to achieve success. When you plan well, you will likely be able to attain greater financial profit and success. If you lack projection knowledge, using a pro forma balance sheet will help you project your business financial future. You can dictate where you will spend your money and what profits you envision.

Without future projections, you may not know where and how is best to spend your budget. You might spend money on the wrong things and become unstuck when you have no budget left to spend on what’s important. You will be able to look at your businesses current assets and forecast their financial future.

Be savvy with your budget

Your budget will dictate how far your finances will stretch. Additionally, it will also forecast the profit ratio you could make.

If you allow your business to have a big monthly spending budget, then you might overspend and attain a reduced profit. However, if you are strict with your budget and are savvy with money, you will have a greater chance of attaining more profit.

The savvier you are with budgeting, the greater your profits will be, which will lead to greater financial success.

Track your spending

Alongside budgeting, it will also benefit to track your spending. If you manage to track spending on a daily basis, then you will have a better chance of curbing bad habits and ensure that you spend your budget wisely.

Tracking your spending will allow you to acknowledge where you are overspending. You might not realize how much casual lunches cost your business. When you monitor your cash, you will be able to see where you can save, which will help you maintain a greater profit. When you manage to curb habits and track your spending effectively, you will likely be able to achieve increased profits.

As well as daily tracking, you should ensure that you do monthly office checks and correlate your spending against your profit to ensure that you are making as much profit as possible.

Ensure customers pay you on time

Ensuring that your customers pay you on time will help your business control its finances. If payments are delayed, it will hinder your monthly profits and not look great on your accounts.

To ensure that customers pay on time, you should have a contract that states a deadline. If the payment is missed, then a penalty should occur.

Meet tax deadlines

As well as your customers needing to meet deadlines, your business does too. You will need to be aware of tax deadlines so that you can avoid penalty charges. If your business fails to meet such financial deadlines, it could result in debt.

Your company may not be able to afford the debt, which will have a significant impact on finances. It may even result in stopping production and putting the business on hold.

Control stock

Most businesses will have hold of stock. Having it under control will mean that you have enough stock to maintain your business.

Whether you overbuy or underbuy stock, it will affect your business. You won’t want to overspend and be left with stock for months on end that won’t sell. Similarly, if you lack enough stock, you won’t be able to satisfy every customer, which could leave them losing interest in your business. You won’t want to lose customers as it can have a significant impact on your business.

Get the right funding

Every business will likely need funding to start up. Small businesses may require overdrafts, which can help in case of emergencies. Furthermore, large corporations may need funding for maintaining their staff capacity.

Either way, getting the right funding will ensure that your finances are reliable. You won’t want to go into an unplanned overdraft and incur a charge.

Deal with problems straight away

If you have any financial problems arise, it is best to deal with them straight away. If you have the money to pay the fee or penalty, then you should fulfil it as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the more chance you might incur extra fees, which your company might not be able to afford.

Although problems can reduce your profits, dealing with them straight away will ensure you do not go into debt. You will be able to maximize your finances and get back on track sooner.

Increase customer referrals

Your customers and their business to you are how you gain profit. Without regular customers, you may not achieve any profit. Thus, ensuring that they are satisfied will aid in maximizing your businesses finances.

If you satisfy your customers, then they will likely continue to use your business. They will spend more money or more regularly, which will help your finances. Furthermore, if they refer your business to other friends and family, then you will gain more customers, which will help you increase profits even further.

Although it might feel daunting asking your customers to refer you, they will likely agree too. If they love using your business, then they will likely want their friends and family to attain the same experience. You could ask them to promote you through word of mouth or simply ask them to leave a review, which will look great for other new customers. Customer testimonials can be promoted online through your social media or website for new customers to see.

To maximize your business financial success, use these top tips. It can be as simple as budgeting and dealing with financial problems on the day to increase profits and reduce the risk of debt.

Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Accepting a Job|Things to Consider Before Accepting a JobNew jobs are a common part of life for many people. There are some cases of people working their first job staying there until they retire climbing up the ranks, but it’s not common. Many people will go through many phases of applying, interviewing, and accepting new jobs. It can be an exciting process. It indicates a new chapter in your life and can often lead to progression in your life.

However, not every job offer you get is going to be a great one. Some companies are better to work for than others, while others will not look fantastic on your resume. Some job roles may also just not suit you in terms of your life. There are so many things that you should be considering before taking a job. However, it can be far too easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new role. Here are some things to consider before accepting the job.

Look at Employee Reviews

Employee reviews are something that wasn’t that common before the use of the internet. Luckily now, individuals get to see how former employees found their experience in the role. This is a fantastic way to gauge what the working environment was like. If you don’t look at reviews, you could accept a very unpleasant job. Many companies are notoriously bad to work for, and don’t even follow basic employment laws. If you find yourself in this situation, you might even require an employment lawyer. A labor attorney in Denver is a good way to get out of these situations should they arise.

Compare it to Your Current Job

When you are accepting a new job, you have to understand that you will be giving up something in return. Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it is any better than your current situation. However, there are some things you should compare between the two jobs to help understand if it is the best decision for you. They are:

If you feel as if the new job offer betters your current role in many or all of these areas, you should be able to feel confident in accepting.

Is There Room for Growth?

Aspiring for growth in a company is a great motivator to work hard and achieve goals. So this should be something you should look at when searching for a new employer. During the interview process, it is recommended that you ask the individual, “what opportunities are there for growth in this role?” This will not only educate you on what sort of future you may have with the company, but it also shows the employer that you are striving for growth. If a company does not have any growth opportunities, that can be discouraging. This would mean that you are going to be in the same role for the foreseeable future. This might be okay if you are approaching retirement. However, it is not recommended. In this instance, you would have to leave to find a new opportunity to take on a better role.

How To Stand Out As A Small Business

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Small Business|How To Stand Out As A Small BusinessWhether you are looking to start a company or your small business is in motion, you will want it to stand out. Although, standing out as a small business can be a challenge. With there being new businesses entering the market every day, you may be at risk of being lost in the sea of similar businesses. Thus, it is important to understand what it takes to stand out and put the tips in motion.

Get the branding right

Your businesses branding is so important to ensure that you are recognizable and distinguishable. Your branding should reflect your businesses vision and purpose. Having niche branding that is unlike any other will help you stand out among the crowd of similar businesses.

For instance, an eye-catching logo that is like no other will ensure that your branding is recognized. It will also make it easy to remember. An inexpensive logo design company like Logoglo can help you with designing your logo to align with your brand. Ensuring that your logo is memorable and unique will be easy to achieve with a design expert. You can rely on them to ensure it matches your business, its branding and your vision.

Have a niche

If your business is similar to others, you may want to have a niche in order to stand out. A niche will make your business unique. It will help you have your own goals and identity that will set you out among the rest.

A niche may not be an easy thing to think of. However, if there is something you want to offer that nobody else does, then go for it. In whatever way you can make your business different, go for it and see how it works. After all, you never know what could happen if you don’t try things as a small business. Plus, the best time to try new things is at the beginning as it is a time where mistakes will likely happen.

Provide value

Providing value to your customers will encourage them to use your business as it will give them a purpose. For instance, offering them the option to shop products before mass release or offering rewards will reflect your appreciation for them.

Keeping customers engaged and feeling respected will help your small business attract loyal customers, which will help your sales and profits.

Utilize marketing

Marketing strategies is key for any business, especially small business. There are many free tools that you can take advantage of to maximize brand awareness and promote your business to new customers.

You can use social media platforms to engage with customers, share new releases, and provide answers. Then, you could use emails to offer discounts and keep customers in the know. Moreover, you can use marketing automation to run your campaigns without needing to be physically present at all times. If you learn the secrets to marketing automation implementation, you’ll soon have the capacity to make your business reach far and wide.

Utilizing marketing strategies will leverage and identify real customers. Being available online and establishing your brand will increase recognition and help you stand out among the crowd.

As a small business owner, it is so important to stand out from the getgo. Whether it be creating a niche or establishing yourself on social platforms, it will help your business be recognizable and reachable.