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Tips For Staying Productive In The Summer Months

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | Tips For Staying Productive In The Summer MonthsWhen working through the summer months, it is important to make sure that you are working to be as productive as possible. But with so much to consider, such as the heat and the stresses of the office environment, there are several tips and tricks you can use to stay as productive as possible throughout the summer.

Set Clear Goals

When you are working throughout the summer it is important to make sure that you are setting clear goals to make sure you are as productive as possible. Whether this is a digital list or a list on your desk every day, this can make sure that you are battling the frazzle of the heat. Taking the time to make sure that you are ticking off these tasks day by day will benefit you in the long term.

Make Sure The Working Environment Is Comfortable

In addition to making sure that you are setting clear goals, it is important to make sure that your working environment is as comfortable as possible. By using an Office Furniture Essex provider, you can make that the office environment is as comfortable as possible. In addition to this, you can also make sure that your office is comfortable by opening the windows whilst you work as this will allow you to maintain fresh air and ensure that you are working as productively as possible throughout the course of every single working day.

Find Time To Recharge When Needed

If you find that the summer months are stressful, it is important to make sure that you are finding the tie to recharge. By booking off a week or more in the middle of the year, you are able to enjoy the summer months and make sure that you are working with the most brain power possible. IT is very important to allow yourself time to recharge as this will ensure that you are as completely productive as possible regardless of the role that you are in. Though you may need to book this off in advance depending on the size of the office you work in, this will benefit you in the long term.

Make Sure Your Office Environment Changes

The final way that you can make sure you are working productively in the summer months is to move parts of your office around. Whether it be moving your desk to face the sun or covering the window with curtains will enable you to make sure you are maintaining your clear mind within your office environment. Though it will take time to get this right, it will benefit you in the long term when it comes to making sure that you are productive within the summer month.

With this in mind, there are several ways you can remain as productive as possible when it comes to maintaining your concentration throughout the summer months, regardless of the job that you have. Which of these tips and tricks will you be using?

How To Help Your Customers Money Go Further When They Invest In Real Estate

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Invest in Real estate|How To Help Your Customers Money Go Further When They Invest In Real EstateAs a real estate agency or freelancer, you will want to make your clients as happy and as satisfied as possible. To achieve satisfaction, you will want to help them put their money to good use and ensure that they can achieve a good return in the future. When it comes to helping your customers find the perfect home for them and ensuring that their money goes a long way, here are some tips.

Identify the trends and look at new news

Looking at the real estate marketing trends will help you identify where is hot and where is not to buy. The hottest places to live will likely offer your customer a high return rate, which will help them earn more profit when they sell.

For trend research, you could look at the work of people like Paul Ognibene to discover the best areas to invest in real estate to live a happier life.

Recommend older properties for flipping

If you customer has a lot of time on their hands and love flipping homes, then you should recommend investing in older properties that need upgrading. This will allow them to save money while having a fun project to work on.

So long as the location is good and it is in decent condition (so the customer doesn’t need to spend too much money doing it up) then they will attain more profit when they sell it in the future.

Let them know about short-term rentals

Some people might be saving to buy a home yet want to get a feel for the area. Some people move in and realize that the area isn’t for them, which could be a whole waste of time and money.

Letting your clients know about short-term rentals will result in them being able to save money until they reach their goal and also ensure that they like the location before they buy there.

Share information about buying land

For those that want to build their own house from scratch, you will want to share information about buying land as opposed to a house. If your customers dream is to build their own property from the ground up, then you should help them find a great plot of land that is well located. A good location will ensure that they get a good return when they sell it in the future. If the land is in the middle of nowhere then they might struggle to sell it for a good price in the future.

Finding an ideal location for your customers, which is also in a prime location, will help them live somewhere that will be great for selling in the future. If the location offers customers local amenities and is convenient, then its price will skyrocket as soon as it is built.

Using these tips you will be able to help your real estate customers money go further. Simply keeping an eye on the trends and offering information about prime locations will ensure that they buy properties (or land) in areas that will always guarantee to hold value.

4 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Freelancer

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 4 Things to Consider Before Becoming a FreelancerHave you thought about going off on your own to become a freelancer? With the ability to set your own schedule and more freedom, it can be a good set-up for some people. However, being a freelancer isn’t for everyone. Read on for 5 things you should consider before deciding to start a freelance business.

How to Get Clients

The first thing you should consider before becoming a freelancer is how you are going to be able to get clients. Luckily, there are many different websites these days that you can use to find businesses looking to hire freelancers. Businesses will list both short and long term jobs they are needing freelancers to work on. It is likely that when you first start freelancing it will be hard to find a long term position right away. Taking on short term roles with clients helps to build relationships with them and could lead to them offering you a long term position. These short term jobs will also help to build your resume and credibility on these freelance websites. You may also have to take on jobs you normally wouldn’t so companies on these sites believe that you are a legitimate freelancer. Don’t get discouraged if it takes longer than expected to find the type of freelance work that you are looking for.

Finances

You will want to consider all aspects of your financial situation when deciding whether you are able to quit your job to become a freelancer. You should have enough saved up, so you will be financially stable during your initial time building up your client base. Being that this is likely to be your first time dealing with a business’s finances, you may want to consider hiring a quickbooks bookkeeper. To find a bookkeeper who’s a good fit for your business, search ‘quickbooks bookkeeping service’ along with the type of freelance work you will be doing. This way you can find a bookkeeper who has experience working in your industry. A bookkeeper who has expertise working in your field will be a great help to you when navigating through this transition period.

Time Management

Before you go off to start your own business, you should reflect on your own time management skills. When you leave a company, you will no longer have bosses to check in on you to get your work done. When you are a freelancer, how productive you can be will equal how many clients you have and what your paycheck looks like. Unlike a steady paycheck before, your income will solely depend on how successful your freelancing business has been recently. Losing a client will have a direct impact on your salary, unlike when you were working for a company.

Benefits

Along with no longer having the push and support of a company once you are a freelancer, you will also no longer have the benefits you previously had. Before leaving a company, make sure you will be set with health insurance without their benefits. It is also important to note that although you will have more flexibility working for yourself, you will no longer have access to paid time off. If a client of yours has a question about something you are working on, they will expect you to be available to answer it, since you are the only one on your team.

If you have considered all of these things and still want to become a freelancer, there is a good chance it will be a good career move for you. Although freelancing is not for everyone, it can be a great fit for those that are willing to put in the work and are ready to have more flexibility in their schedule.

5 tips for getting things right with your virtual conference

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | 5 tips for getting things right with your virtual conferenceIt’s extraordinary now to think that, as recently as two years ago, holding virtual conferences was a rather niche pursuit for business leaders. However, necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes – and, now, many of these leaders both attend and run virtual events.

This trend has realised a fair few advantages listed in a UC Today article – like the absence of both a commute and having to repeatedly trek across conference centres. However, you should still be careful to follow certain dos and don’ts when delivering a virtual conference.

Decide what you are aiming to achieve with your conference

Maybe you’ve got some news to break to the world, you want to address a specific issue that has long been left lingering or you have spotted an opportunity to generate more revenue. Alternatively, maybe the conference is an annual one usually held in person but you want to digitise it this time.

As a virtual conference isn’t easy to organise, you want to be sure why you are doing it and how it would benefit your audience.

What audience are you eager to attract?

You probably already have a good idea of what the conference’s audience will be if the event will be an internal-only one strictly intended for employees of your company.

Otherwise, though, you should ask yourself a series of questions outlined by UKTN – questions that could help you figure out how to attract the ‘right’ audience. For example, do you want to pique the interest of new customers, and from what age range would you like to draw attendees?

Determine a message or theme for your event

Is there a particular message you would like to be left in attendees’ heads as the conference closes? If so, keeping this message – or what one thing you want the audience to remember from the event – in mind as you organise the conference could help you to keep it streamlined.

If you can’t decide on a specific message, at least give the conference a theme for all of its elements to revolve around, enabling people to discern what to expect.

Organise more than one speaker

Speakers you organise for your virtual conference can include managers or employees of your business or professional, industry-relevant speakers from outside your company.

You could even choose to wrap up the event with an inspiring talk from a motivational speaker, leaving the audience feeling encouraged and energised.

Test your tech before the conference proper

If there’s going to be a technical glitch, you obviously don’t want it to happen during the conference itself. This is why, once you’ve selected all of the tech you will need for the big day, you should arrange a test run to make sure all of the required hardware and software works as it should.

To this end, you should utilise a virtual conference software platform from a reliable provider like ON24, and ask guest speakers to check their own audiovisual equipment if they will be participating from their individual homes.

How To Impress An Employer With Little Experience

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Although you might think that it is impossible to impress an employer with little experience, it is possible. Experience does help, but it is not the only thing an employer looks for during the hiring process.

Here are some top tips for how to impress an employer with little experience.

StrategyDriven Professional Development Article | How To Impress An Employer With Little Experience

Do an internship

An internship is a great way to learn your skills while showing off your hard work and abilities to an employer. It is a stepping stone for working for your dream company.

For example, those keen on working in social media and helping brands grow their following might want to consider digital marketing internships. It is a great opportunity to show off your marketing skills and get started in the world of marketing.

An internship will allow you to attain experience and network effectively. When you work in an industry for less pay, you might not attain the greatest income, but it gives you a great insight into the world of work and offers many opportunities to attain a full-time position.

Write a great resume

A resume includes more than just your experience. Therefore, use it to your advantage. You might have achieved amazing certificates at school or you might have interesting passions that could impress your employer.

Your resume should ooze confidence and show off your best abilities. Don’t be shy to be confident or proud on your resume. The prouder you are, the more you will be able to impress the employer.

Ask questions

Although an employer will be asking you questions during an interview, it is important to ask them questions too. Being inquisitive shows that you are interested in learning more about them as well as the company.

The more interest you show, the more interested an employer will be in you. Before your interview, take your time doing your research and find out interesting facts about the company. Use these facts as questions to show off that you have done your research.

Be comfortable

During an interview, it is common to be nervous. Although it is easier said than done, you shouldn’t let the nerves overtake you. You might come across different from what you had hoped if you let the nerves overshine your true personality.

The more comfortable and confident you are in the interview, the more interested the employer will be in you. Employers appreciate confidence as it reflects your confidence in the workplace.

Follow up

After an interview, you might be left in the dark for some time. This is normal as the employer will likely be interviewing other candidates and making their decision.

To show that you are interested and to ensure that they remember you, make sure to follow up. Do not follow up straight away as you may look too keen and seem a nuisance. Nobody wants to hire someone that will be annoying. Therefore, leave it around a week before following up in a call or email. Asking them for feedback is normal and they might use this follow-up email as a way to verify that you are keen, passionate, and the right person for the job.