Apple, Inc.

Apple is a great example of what I am talking about. They pioneered the personal computer, but in the 90’s, they were close to going under. They were being destroyed by other personal computer giants such as HP, IBM, and Gateway. Steve Jobs was there in the beginning, he left, and then they brought him back. He knew that they needed something different. So, he turned Apple into the technology company of innovation. He let the designers loose, and they came up with a sleek, hip look for their computers and peripherals. Then, the iPod came along. Apple became more well known for their music player than their computers, but that was their strategy. Lure everyone in with the iPod, and peak their interest about switching from a PC to a Mac. Apple started thinking outside of the box, and they let their employees be creative. The outcome was the company’s stock quadrupling in the past four years.

Google, Inc.

Google is one of the largest corporations in the country, and it has been in existence for only ten years. It has been rated the #1 place to live by Fortune magazine for a reason. Google loves to take care of its employees. They know that their employees are the most valuable asset that they possess. They want the best and brightest people, and they attract them with their corporate culture. Google gives quality, free lunch. They encourage power naps during the day. They allow flexible schedules, but demand productivity. They give huge inventor’s bonuses to employees that develop a new product. They have a huge gym and a child care facility. The bottom line is that Google takes care of their employees. Google knows that if they start treating their employees like robots, they will lose them to competitors such as Microsoft or Yahoo.

The Bottom Line

If you own a small business or you are venturing a start-up business, keep in mind the idea of creativity. Let your employees be free. Do not confine them to a handbook or a manual. Think outside the box, and be open to new ideas. Trust the judgment of your employees. The moment that you focus on your bottom line, is the moment that it will struggle. Focus on innovation, creativity, taking care of your employees, and satisfying your customers. The free market will handle the rest.

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Entrepreneur Online has a great article about how you can turn a dream into a reality with just ten minutes a day.

Here’s what you can do in just 10 minutes today:

1. Consider your someday dreams carefully. What is your life calling for? Take 10 minutes to write out a list of all the things you’ve been thinking about doing but haven’t done.
2. Choose one thing on that list to experiment with. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. Often in our coaching programs, people start with one thing, then start seeing results in other areas. We soon see people accomplishing everything from clearing off their desk to starting a global program to end world poverty.
3. Spend 10 minutes focusing on that one thing you’ve selected. Imagine that you have successfully achieved whatever dream you’ve chosen. Fuel the fantasy with as much positive energy as you can. What would you be feeling if you woke up this morning and that dream had come true? That’s the feeling you want to focus on. If you do nothing else with your someday dream but spend 10 minutes every day doing this exercise, you will see results.
4. Ask yourself, what is one small step I can take now that would get me closer to this imagined future? Can you make a phone call, spend 10 minutes on internet research, pick up some supplies the next time you are at the store?

Number four is what I tell everyone I meet when they pitch a new idea to me. You cannot start a business or turn in a dream into a reality overnight. You need to take small steps over a long period of time to create a sustaining, profitable business. You can do it, you just need to actually DO IT.

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Are there any specific topics that you would like to read about? A blog is nothing without its readers, and I want to write about stuff that you are interested in. This blog isn’t confined to career related subjects. It can be life hacks, career development, personal development, or anything else you want to learn more about.

Leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, and suggestions.

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Health Insurance: This one is obvious. I’m not going to get into the whole political sound byte about how so many Americans don’t have health insurance. This isn’t a political blog. But, I know that many of those Americans that are part of that statistic, CHOOSE not to have it. If you choose not to buy it, you’re putting all of your chips on black in roulette. If you are struggling with your finances, figure out a way to pay for health insurance. I know that it sounds insensitive, but you can’t afford NOT to have health insurance. If something happens and you don’t have it, you’ll be swimming in debt for a very long time.

Long-Term/Short-Term Disability Insurance: Long-term disability insurance protects you if you are disabled for longer than a year from your current means of employment. If you are unable to perform the tasks of your current occupation, then long-term disability will kick in and pay you a portion of your yearly income. This is huge for people who work in high-risk industries such as construction. Short-Term disability helps out when you have a sickness that puts you in bed for an extended period of time or for women that have a complicated birth. Many large companies will package these insurance policies into your benefits package. These insurance products are often overlooked, but they are extremely important, because you just never know what might happen to you. What if a surgeon lost his or her arm?

Life Insurance: You don’t always need this insurance. If you are single and have no dependents, then you don’t need life insurance. If you are married and/or you have underage children, then you need to have life insurance. Choose level term insurance. You can typically 10, 20, or 30 years of life insurance for a specified amount of money. At the end of the term, if you haven’t died, the policy expires. The great thing about term insurance is that it is VERY cheap. Whole life and universal life insurance package together an investment product with a life insurance policy. The investment product almost always gets a horrible rate of return and there are so many fees associated with these types of insurance products. Agents love whole life and universal life, because they get a bigger commission. Stay away from it.

Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance: This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people don’t have it. If you have a mortgage on a house, which is most Americans, then you are forced to have homeowner’s insurance. If you don’t buy it, the mortgage company will buy it for you, because they want their collateral to be protected. Homeowner’s insurance can be expensive, but if you have ever spoken with someone who had a fire or heavy wind damage to their home, the insurance company ponies up a bunch of money. Renter’s insurance is essential when you are renting. If a pipe breaks and floods your apartment, your stuff isn’t covered under the landlord’s insurance policy. Plus, if your apartment is ever deemed unlivable and you need to move out, a renter’s policy will help pay for temporary housing.

I could go into the insurance products that I don’t think you need, but I think that’s for another day. But, please go ahead and discuss it in the comments section. Are there any other essential insurance products you feel are necessary?

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Always Take The Match

In the above paragraph, I said not to pass up your companies 401k plan if it’s “the right plan”. The reason that I said this is because you need to first make sure that your company offers a match for your contributions. If they don’t offer a match, then you might not want to contribute to the 401k. The reason that I say this is because a Roth IRA would be the better option. You have free reign to invest in whatever you want, and when you take the money out at retirement, it won’t be taxed. The 401k contributes pre-tax dollars, but the money is taxed when you take it out at retirement. I’d rather be taxed now, rather than later on in life. However, if your company offers any sort of match, you ALWAYS TAKE THE FREE MONEY. It is a no brainer. Sign up for your company’s plan, and start collecting the free money. If you’re wondering about what the match should be, it varies based on what the company decides. My company will match 50% of every dollar that I contribute up to 6% of my salary. So, if I contribute 6% of my salary per year, I receive 9% into my account. Pretty sweet, huh? Don’t ever pass up contributing to a 401k that offers a match.

Invest Aggressively When You Are Young

If you are under 30 years old, I recommend investing aggressively with your 401k choices. Your 401k plan will typically have a range of investments varying from aggressive to conservative products. Choose growth stock mutual funds with a 10 year track record of earning 10% or more. Index funds are also a good mutual fund to choose, because they follow time-tested indexes such as the S&P 500. You can afford to be aggressive with your investments when you are young, because you have plenty of time to ride out the waves of the stock market. You are in it for the long-term, so one bad year in the stock market isn’t a big deal to you. If you pick investments that are too conservative at a young age, you will leave too much money on the table. Once you get older, you can start adjusting your investments to more conservative products.

Start Contributing NOW

Compound interest is your best friend. If you invest $200 a month for 10 years from age 25 to 35, then never invest another penny for the next 30 years until you are 65 years old, you’ll end up a millionaire with $1.04 million dollars. If you start investing $200 a month from age 35 to 65 for the next 30 years, you’ll accumulate $452 thousand dollars. That’s less than half of what you will make for only contributing for 10 years!

Never Borrow From Your 401k

It’s a bad idea to borrow from it. This is your retirement account. Don’t even act like you have this money. Think of it as untouchable. If you do borrow from it, you’ll have to pay your current income tax rate on the money taken out, plus a typical 10% penalty fee. That could be as much as 40% taken from you right off the top! It’s not worth it. I know there are some programs that allow you to borrow from it for a down payment on a house and they might waive the penalty fee if you prove that you used it for a down payment. This isn’t so bad, but I’d rather just save up for the down payment separately. Only borrow from it if it’s a dire emergency such as needing to save your house or pay for a medical emergency.

I’ve made my case. Now, you can feel more equipped when you have to fill out all of that benefits paperwork. In terms of how much you should contribute, you’ll have to work that out by considering your monthly budget. If you’re debt free and you have low monthly expenses, putting away 15% of your salary is a great way to rack up a ton of money in a short amount of time. But, if you just want to start putting something away, i’d say 4 to 6% is a good start. If you have any other questions regarding your 401k, feel free to contact me.

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You can take two different routes:

Climb the ladder in your respected profession: You must do this with a will to work hard, go the extra mile for your company, and jump on opportunities when they are presented to you. You can also take on a second job to boost income.

Become an entrepreneur: Creating your own job is a great way to boost your income, but it’s not for everyone. You must work extremely hard and be willing to accept the risk.

Check out Digerati’s article. It’s a great tutorial of for different ways to earn more income.

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Why has the country been shifting towards knowledge based careers? Because that is the natural progression of an industrialized nation. The reason you’re starting to see corporations outsource their entry-level work is because Americans are becoming more educated and more savvy when it comes to their careers. The problem is that some workers have been left behind in the age of information. Those are the factory workers who are losing their jobs, because GM is outsourcing to Mexico and GE is now going overseas.

We live in an age of what you know, not what you can do. This is not to say that electricians, contractors, plumbers, and welders don’t have a place in the United States. We will always need skilled tradesmen in our society to make it run smoothly. But, the days of signing up to work at the local GM factory and work your way up the ladder are over. You need to start in the middle of the ladder, because the bottom of the ladder is leaving. And why should we be fighting to get the unskilled, low-paying jobs back? This is now turning into a controversial subject, because the Democratic party always includes getting blue-collar jobs back to America as part of their political platform. But, what’s the point of bringing low-paying, entry-level jobs back to America? Wouldn’t the better solution be to educate those who used to work at the entry-level positions? I think it’s insulting to insinuate that these people can’t be productive anywhere else in society. If you want to be successful in the 21st century United States, you must start focusing on what you know, how to make a decision, and how to critically think. If you can master a subject that you like and develop managerial and leadership skills, you will go very far in today’s job market.

So, don’t settle for making widgets. Let other countries do that who desperately desire more jobs to come to their country so they too can be a highly industrialized nation. Outsourcing is not a bad thing. It helps bring jobs to struggling economies and it gives us the opportunity to broaden our professional horizons. Develop a new career by focusing on information.

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Okay, I don’t know if this is a rant, pet peeve, or actual advice for those you in the professional world. But, I really can’t stand people that have a hundred letters after their name for every certification they’ve received in their professional career. I know you’ve come across the real estate agent who’s business card looks like this: E

John Smith, GRI, eTech, AIS, REI

I just made those last three up, because I didn’t want to spend the time researching what real certifications are out there. You’ve probably also seen the IT professional with a business card that looks like this:

Horatio Rodriguez, A+, MCP, MCSP, MCSE

It just looks silly doesn’t it? At my office, there used to be a lady that worked there who was in our training department, and she had literally completed every professional designation available. Then, she thought it would be cool to list every acronym for the certification on her name plate. There was like 11 or 12 acronyms after her name. Before you send me hate comments, here me out on this one. I don’t think that you should list a certification after your name if you completed one course that gave you a certification. Also, if the certification is offered by an organization that is not well-known in your industry, you shouldn’t throw the acronym after your name. No one will know what it means.

Here is a list of degrees and certifications that I know of that warrant being listed after your name.

University Professors: If you went through the schooling and wrote the dissertation, then you deserve to put it after your name. Universities don’t just give these out, unless you received an honorary Phd, which is nothing like getting the real thing. I don’t mind calling someone with a bonafide Phd, “Doctor”, because I know they had to go through a lot to get the degree. Medical doctors don’t really need any letters after their name because of the DR in front of their name.

Financial Advisors: If you completed the CFP or CFA certification, they have a lot of qualifications, and you have to complete a group of courses to receive the designation. You also need professional experience. These certifications have a commanding presence in the financial advising profession, therefore, you should put the letters after your name.

Certified Public Accountant: Ask someone who has taken the series of tests to become a CPA how hard it is. They definitely deserve to put CPA after their name, and there is a big difference between a CPA and a staff accountant who crunches numbers.

Pharmacists: I think it’s a little weird to call a pharmacist “Doctor”, even though a lot of people do it. So, i think it’s more appropriate for them to put “Pharm.D” after their name, or “Ph.D” if they went the extra mile for that.

Insurance Professionals: The only two designations that warrant being listed after your name is the AIC and CPCU designations. They require you to pass multiple courses, and you really need to know your stuff to pass the tests.

I am sure there are more, but these are just a few examples that support my point. Here are some examples of people who shouldn’t put letters after their name.

• Any certification you received by completing one class or passing one test.
• Anyone with a bachelor’s or master’s degree
• Lower Level medical employees such as nurses and medical assistants
• Any certification given by an organization that is unknown in your professional industry

Okay, so you’re probably saying to yourself, “who is he to tell me what letters I should be putting after my name?” That’s a good point, and it’s none of my business what you put on your business card. But, I think the cleaner way to list your certifications is in a bullet format in the corner of your business card or just keep them listed in your resume. I think you come across as an attention seeker by listing every single certification after your name you’ve received in your career. Letters after your name are nothing more than a status symbol. It’s a way to boast about your credentials. But, my challenge to you is to let your work product and customer service be your credentials. If people ask about your designations and degrees, definitely tell them. But, don’t let your name look like a math equation on paper.

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• 35% — punctuality of payment in the past (only includes payments later than 30 days past due)
• 30% — the amount of debt, expressed as the ratio of current revolving debt (credit card balances, etc.) to total available revolving credit (credit limits)
• 15% — length of credit history
• 10% — types of credit used (installment, revolving, consumer finance)
• 10% — recent search for credit and/or amount of credit obtained recently

You can see that the credit score could care less how much money you have in the bank or that you decided never to borrow money again. A few years back, some genius company out there decided to start considering job applicants’ credit score as part of their evaluation of job candidates. I agree that it’s a good idea to check out an applicant’s credit score for jobs that require a fiduciary responsibility (i.e. handling or distributing money in any way). However, if companies are passing up a job applicant just because his or her credit score didn’t match their criteria, that seems silly to me. There are so many factors that go into a credit score. For instance, I have a paid collection item on my credit reports that will show up for the next 4 years, all because I did not properly destroy an old car. The title to the car was never transferred properly out of my name. So, somebody fixed the car, resold it, and then it was found abandoned on the side of the road. I was charged with the towing and impounding costs, because my name was still on the title. I never knew about the charge until it showed up on my credit report, so I was stuck. I paid the collection, but it put a huge ding on my credit. My credit score is incredibly inaccurate for gauging my financial responsibility.

Having said that, there’s nothing we can do about the fact that some employers will pull your credit report and credit score to get a better idea of how you manage your money and your life. Here are some tips for making sure you keep your credit score good without having to get into debt.

1. Open a credit card, and use it once a month for gas or dinner. Simply use it once, and pay off the balance immediately. Do this once a month, and you’ll help build and maintain a decent score without going crazy with credit cards.
2. Buy a house. Most people can’t buy a house with cash, so having a mortgage is a great way to build your score with an appreciating asset. (yes, it’s still an appreciating asset even though the housing market sucks right now).
3. Pay off debt. Having open credit accounts with a $0 balance is great for your credit score.
4. Don’t apply for credit often.

Let me stress that I don’t think you should stress out about your credit score. It is NOT an accurate indicator of your success in life or financial situation. However, you should still be mindful of it, because it could make or break whether or not you get the jobs you are applying for.

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1. Slouching in your chair. It tells someone that you not interested in the conversation or even being there.
2. Wringing your hands. I do this all the time. Imagine you have a car wash sponge in your hand and you’re wringing it out. If you do the same thing with your hands, it’s a tell-tale sign that you’re nervous.
3. Never making eye contact. You don’t want to stare at someone like you’re a psycho, but you also don’t want to stare at the ground the whole time. Appropriate eye contact shows confidence about what you are saying and who you are.
4. Crossing your arms. I always tells girls that if they want to attract men, stop crossing their arms! It’s a huge turn-off when a girl has their arms crossed the whole time. It makes people think you’re either not interested or you’re not comfortable being around them. If you can’t figure out what to do with your hands or arms in an interview, just fold your hands and put them in your lap.
5. Interrupting the interviewer. If you do this, you’ll come across as arrogant and over-confident.

These are only five signs to avoid, but there are many others. If you have one to add, please post in a comment below. It’s important to be aware of your body language in an interview, but you also don’t want to be TOO aware of it. Then, you’ll come across as not being yourself, and you won’t look natural. I know, it’s complicated. But in the end, taking a deep breath and being yourself is the best remedy for making an interview go well.

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