Become a Technical Writer and Earn a Great Living!
Would you like to earn steady, dependable income as a writer?If you answered yes, consider technical writing. It isn't sexy, and it won't make you famous. But working as a technical writer has provided me with an excellent, steady income, and greatly increased my creative writing skills.The field of technical writing is exploding, due to the need to keep up with advancing technology, so there are plenty of opportunities. After all, SOMEBODY has to write the instructions for all the products and services we use. And age is NOT an issue! I began my technical writing career in my 40s, and know plenty of techn

Dealing with Change in the Workplace - The Human Face
New technologies, global competition, changing values and lifestyles all mean change has become an accepted way of organizational life. Change is a given and you need to handle it well!Your role in dealing with change in the workplace is to come out the other side of the change with a positive outcome - regardless of whether you’re heading up the change drive or having to cope with navigating the waters of an unwanted change.Shock, Confusion, Denial, Anxiety and Fear, Hostility, Resistance, Sadness and Stress are common reactions to change. Let's look at how you and your leader can best handle each of the

Brand Lo-o-o-o-o-ve...
So... how have you been building your brand lately?Now, I'm writing this in my best Barry White voice... "How's your Brand Lo-o-o-o-o-ve, baby?"It may sound obvious, but increase Brand Love by branding better.Branding your business better will help you increase awareness, attractiveness, and affection of your prospects (so they become customers), current customers (some people call them clients), and employees (yup, they need to be sold on you, too).“Huh? I’ve heard of brand awareness, and brand attractiveness I understand, but affection? Brand Love? Is this guy smoking banana peels?” employee, you probably have a salary, which is divided in monthly or weekly paychecks. Because you get the same amount in each check, you may believe that you have a stable source of income and can live your life without fear of financial instability.

This is dangerous thinking that puts your financial life at risk.

Layoffs, downsizing, mergers, takeovers and incompetent managers are a well-documented part of corporate life. I have seen all of them in my career as a corporate employee, and even more in my career as a corporate consultant. I have been witness to conversations where managers had to lay off long-time employees with no notice. These employees were shocked, hurt, scared and angry. This work was horrible and gut-wrenching but I learned something very important from it: Never rely on your status as an employee to insulate you from financial instability.

So if this reason has stopped you from starting your own business, follow these steps to see if any of your fears are warranted.

Step 1: Get crystal clear how much money you will need to start up your venture

- If you have written an effective busin

t puts your financial life at risk.

Layoffs, downsizing, mergers, takeovers and incompetent managers are a well-documented part of corporate life. I have seen all of them in my career as a corporate employee, and even more in my career as a corporate consultant. I have been witness to conversations where managers had to lay off long-time employees with no notice. These employees were shocked, hurt, scared and angry. This work was horrible and gut-wrenching but I learned something very important from it: Never rely on your status as an employee to insulate you from financial instability.

So if this reason has stopped you from starting your own business, follow these steps to see if any of your fears are warranted.

Step 1: Get crystal clear how much money you will need to start up your venture

- If you have written an effective busin

to conversations where managers had to lay off long-time employees with no notice. These employees were shocked, hurt, scared and angry. This work was horrible and gut-wrenching but I learned something very important from it: Never rely on your status as an employee to insulate you from financial instability.

So if this reason has stopped you from starting your own business, follow these steps to see if any of your fears are warranted.

Step 1: Get crystal clear how much money you will need to start up your venture

- If you have written an effective busin

inancial instability.

So if this reason has stopped you from starting your own business, follow these steps to see if any of your fears are warranted.

Step 1: Get crystal clear how much money you will need to start up your venture

- If you have written an effective business plan, you should be able to predict how much money you will need to start-up and sustain your business. You haven't written a business plan yet? You better get cracking at it. In addition to clarifying your idea, it will force you to organize your thoughts, financials and start-up plans which will only help you to make it a reality. Good sources are Rhonda Abram's The Successful Business Plan, Rich Dad's The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans and the free resources of SCORE.

- Make a budget of your monthly living expenses. This will give you a picture of your overall cash needs.

Step 2: Meet with a solid, professional, well-researched and well-recommended financial planner

- While I don't believe the illusion that a full-time job = security, I don't want you to make a foolish decision that will adversely impact your family and financial health. You need to look at implications of leaving your corporate job in the areas of insurance, investments and retirement benefits. Get the whole picture before you make a quick move. I recently spoke with a smart, competent and capable government employee who wants to start hi