Tag Archives: Employment

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The Odd Man In

I remember as a child I wanted to be an artist.  I had my heart set on creating beautiful pieces that people would admire and talk about.  At one point, I even wanted to work at Disney, because they had wonderful artists that made movies come to life (mind you, I was 7 then and was madly in love The Little Mermaid movie).  But my career aspirations have change since.  In fact, where I envisioned myself working has changed a few times as I was propelling towards adulthood.  Even after adulthood, my aspirations changed.  I find myself at times thinking about all the odd jobs I’ve had — whether working through school, or just working through life — I don’t think I ever really saw myself having my own business.  Maybe because I thought it was an arrogant notion, or maybe because I thought that only certain people got to live those kinds of lives.  Whatever the reason, I laugh thinking about all the odd jobs I took on and how they seem so disconnected from where I am now.

How they seemed disconnected…

  • I definitely did the baby-sitting thing a few times.  Probably why I’m not so fond of kids now.
  • I tutored.  I think some of my friends would laugh if they knew that.
  • I worked as an inventory taker, which was a sporadic job that only offered the night shift.
  • I worked on campus at one point as a student evaluator.  I got to grade the services that were provided to students on campus.  Not too shabby.
  • I worked as an Administrative Assistant.  Yeah, that title always sounds fancier than what it really is.
  • I also worked as a General Office Clerk.  Very similar to an administrative assistant without the fancy name.
  • I was an assembly line person for a local newspaper near the university I attended.  Got to put the paper together.  That too was a another night shift job on a fully loaded academic schedule.
  • I was a banquet server.  For like SIX WEEKS!  Although I never dropped a dish, I was always afraid I was going that one day where I would spill something hot and steaming on a guest.  I nipped that fear in the bud… by leaving.
  • One of my longest gigs in my early 20s was when I worked at a department store.  I was the men’s fragrance lady.  Yeah.  I sold men fragrances.  By the way, men don’t buy fragrances nearly as often as women do.
  • I worked as some kind of personal assistant.  I say it like that because the job and title weren’t definitive, but I definitely was helping out someone with a lot of personal issues.
  • I had another gig with no real title or definitive description — I assisted a woman who owned her own graphic design business, by standing around and watching her put things away.  Her idea.
  • I worked as a remote Marketing Assistant for a real estate couple.  A little a fun, a little mundane, but one of the more interesting works.
  • Had my share of volunteering as well: local city campaigns here in Los Angeles, volunteered with the Central Station of the LAPD — now, THAT was exciting and if you want stories, you gotta email me.  And  I also volunteered as a Reading Tutor for the LA Public Library’s literacy program for adult learners.  If you have the heart and mind of making a difference, start in that neck of the woods.

Kind of a hefty list if you knew the time frame those jobs all took place under. But the one thing I gathered when I compiled this list for myself years ago strategizing my business plan, was that I tend to work and volunteer in positions of assistance.  Not because those simply were the only jobs available, but because that’s where I excel at.  I excel in helping others excel.  My service is to be of service.  It’s not a coincidence that my business rests on my personal strengths, as they should for any business owner.  It’s just me finally meeting up where I was suppose to be.

What odd jobs have you worked that actually gave you a hidden skill?

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3 Of The Worst Words Used In Business

JOB

CAN’T

MONEY

These by far are the worst words use by people in business and yet, they use them everyday.   And then they have the audacity to wonder why they’re stressed out about the economy, worried about their businesses or continuously contemplate going back to work for someone else.  It’s because they haven’t eliminated these three words from their vocabulary.  At the very least, reduced how often they used these words.

Job is probably the worst word on the list (hence, why it’s at the top).  Nobody likes their job. I’ve never heard  the word “job” used in a positive light unless it pertained to someone getting a better job (in which they’ll soon learn to hate) or they just got a job after being out of work for so long.  Those that do like their jobs, don’t think of it as a job, but part of their careers.  Their minds are set on building careers, not job-hopping.  Now, why as business owners would we care about jobs?  We’re self-employed.  We left our 9 to 5 jobs for something we believed was better.  But we’ll be — if we’re not already there — in a position to offer jobs; put people to work.  With all the hard work and sacrifices we’ve made to get our businesses up and running, do we really want to give someone a job in our company knowing there’s a high chance they’ll hate working for us or the company because it’s just  a job to them?  Skills gets someone a job, while talent creates careers.  Focus on recruiting talent.

Can’t.  Such a crippling word.  If we had a dollar for how many times we said “can’t” we wouldn’t need to be in business for ourselves.  But you don’t make money from can’ts.  There’s a lot of things we CAN’T do because we’ve already told ourselves we can’t.  But, what it we could?  What if we replaced “can’t” with “why haven’t we?” How many external “can’ts” have we’ve heard and endured?

  • You can’t start a business without money
  • You can’t go into business without education
  • You can’t be successful without being mean
  • You can’t trust people once you’re in business
  • You can’t rely on everyone to support your business

Which of these can’t have we’ve already disproved?  Can’t.  A useless word.   Anything that doesn’t offer value needs to be removed.

Money.  This is a frequently used bad word for all the wrong but common reasons.  I even used it when talking about “can’t”.  And that’s how bad “money” is.  It always creeps up.  Whether you’re talking about it with your bookkeeper, banker, investor, spouse or thinking it to yourself, money always creeps in.  Why?  There never seems to be enough of it.  Money goes out more than in comes in.  That creates bouts of worry.  Will we have enough money to make it to the next quarter?  Is there enough money to keep the business open?  Where is the money going to come from to pay this month’s notes and bills?  Money, money, money!  What we need to learn to do is focus more on resources than money.  We already know money comes and money goes, but resources, we can stockpile (oh, yeah, we can!).   There are a number of free and quality resources out there to help us better our businesses with little to no money.  We just have to know — or know someone who knows — where to look.  Money is a tool, not a force.

Just three little words and yet, behind them, they hold so much power that they create emotional stress, uncertain and doubt.  Are you going to let three little words doom your business or make a fool out of three little words?

 

 

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The Good With The Bad

I’ve had the opportunity during my employment experience to work for half dozen small business owners or so– graphic designer, loan modification agents, caterer, writers/authors, financial adviser, real estate agents.  That’s partly how I created Intel Boutique, through my service with them, I started seeing the needs of business owners in a whole new light.   But not all my experiences were positive and rewarding.  Some of them were a warning of who not to do business with and how not to manage my business in the future.  And because my goal had been to go into business for myself, I kept my eyes peeled all the time, observing as much as I could and learning my lessons vicariously through them.  And boy, oh, boy — there are some lesson I’ll never forget.  But just as in life, you gotta take the good with the bad and even with the ugly.

Loan Modifications – I didn’t know how off centered this entire operation was until I was a month deep into it and those who had been there longer started revealing all the you-know-what that had hit the fan.  Needless to say, I was there for 3 months and was happy to say good-bye.  What I took with me:

  • Never EVER make a client feel your absence.  I don’t care if it’s some kind of ploy or tactic, it’s just bad practice.  And it makes the client feel uneasy, especially when you’re handling their personal financial records.  And anytime a client feels that uneasy, they bring in a lawyer to make you feel that uneasy too.
  • Don’t change the rules/policies with your employees every 2-3 weeks.  It’s ridiculous and it’s unprofessional.  If something needs to be changed give them ample warning and reasons as to why you’re shifting gears.  Bring them into the process rather than keep them from it.
  • No micro-managing…EVER.  If you can’t trust your staff to do their job, then you shouldn’t have hired them.  Make the competent so you feel assured in their work.

Writer/Author– Such creative spirits to be around.  But creativity doesn’t substitute for business sense or time management.  What I learned:

  • Always agree upon working schedule in advance — depending on works best for you and them .  If they always need reminders the day of — it becomes more of a burden and not worth your efforts.  Time is money, on both ends.
  • Do not work outside the scope of which you were hired.  You’ll be doing multiple jobs and getting one check.  If they wanted you to handle more, then they need to compensate you adequately.
  • Agree on a productive working environment condusive for success.  Yes, you’re there to do a job, but you’re also there to do the best damn job possible.  Keep your interest in mind too.

Financial Adviser – Talking about multi-tasking, this guy did it all from financial services, to managing commercial retail property in another state and to being health agent broker.  I’m a firm believer in creating multiple income streams, so I don’t knock him there, but without help, he almost always seemed lost.  What I saw wrong:

  • Don’t let your staff create the systems you run your business with.  When they go, so could those systems.
  • You may not have the best memory, so take good notes. Keep track and follow up.
  • Train all staff to do all tasks, or assigned specific tasks to specific staff members,  Giving unfamiliar duties to staff members will lead to errors.   Make it so that their jobs can run smoothly and that your business can run smoother.

You’ll find that in most of your work, whether it be for someone else or yourself, there are more lessons than there is actual work.  Look for the lesson and see if that improves you work at all.  You might just find a golden opportunity to be your own boss, too.

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Phrases Never To Use With Customers or Employees

‘I Don’t Know’  (Customer) – As honest as this answer is, if this is all you give a customer, you can pretty much kiss them goodbye.  You really may not know the answer, but find out instead of shutting them down with ‘I don’t know’.  Showing interest in your customers’ needs is not only common sense, but ensures they’ll stay loyal to your business.

‘I Don’t Have Time Right Now’ (Employee) – Are you really going to brush off an employee — someone who is working in your business so that you can work on your business — because YOU don’t have time?!  Truth is, this actually happens.  Time gets away from all of us.  We’re in a hurry to get somewhere or meet someone and all of a sudden something comes up with an employee of ours.  Instead of quickly dismissing them, ask them to send an email or leave a brief note of what their concern or issue is and let them know we’ll give it our attention as soon as we can.   Unless it’s urgent, handle it then and there.

‘Can You Give Me A Call Back Later?’  (Customer) – Never, EVER ask a customer or client to call you back later.  It takes them the same amount of time and energy to call your competitors as it does to call you back.  Instead, briefly ask what they’re looking for, what they need, take down their name, number and when would it be best to RETURN their call.  Show them you’re making every effort to get and keep their business. No customer wants or will work to give you their business, so don’t make them.

‘Just Handle It!’ (Employee) – This sits right up there with ‘I don’t have time right now’.  This is hardly ever said with great confidence or endearment.  And more than anything, it leaves your employees feeling as if you’re setting them up to fail.  You’re either too busy or can’t be bothered and now an issue — whatever it is– becomes their responsibility.  And what if they can’t?  What if the reason they’re bringing this concern to your attention is because it needs your authorization?  Do you still want them to ‘handle it’? Instead, ask them what the issue is, if it’s something that needs immediate attention and decide whether it’s something they can and should handle on their own.

‘Oh, I Don’t Handle Those Kinds Questions/Problems/ Areas, Etc’ (Customer) – Stop bringing attention to all the things you CAN’T do or that’s outside your scope.  Politely let the customer know that’s something you don’t do — whatever the request is– but, then offer to help them find someone who can.  Become a reference, someone people turn to find answers, even when they themselves don’t have the answer.  That too can build a customer base within itself.

‘Don’t You Understand?!’ (Employee) – ‘Do you understand?‘ conveys a more cordial way of asking if your employee(s) have grasped a method, procedure or explanation.  Saying ‘don’t’ rather than ‘do’ belittles them and drives a wedge between the employer-employee relationship (which we all know is the bee’s knees!).  Keep in mind, pissed off employees don’t work well and are always working towards finding a better employment environment.  Don’t drive away your employees by talking down to them.

As logical as most of this sounds, a lot of this still happens in the workplace and in many customer service departments in many businesses.  And just because it seems like the norm, doesn’t mean it’s right.  Sometimes our first impressions are simply words.  And our words can ignite feelings of resentment and hostility.  We have to be careful of what we say and how we say it.

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Like A Boss

Remember the days when you knew you could do your boss’ job better than he/ she was doing and you thought to yourself, ‘if I had my own company, this is not how I would run things!’  Now you are at the helm of your company, calling the shots and running joint.  And it couldn’t be better.  Besides, if you have to be under someone’s thumb, wouldn’t you rather be under your own?  But the truth is, you might be a little concern about how to run things your own way.  After all, all the managerial experience you encountered has been on the other end as an employees only vicariously watching what your boss does day in and day out.  And if you didn’t like your boss, that’s probably who you don’t want to reference.   In that case then, how to you do better than what you knew and experienced?

For starters, don’t manage, LEAD.  People follow by example.  Managers tell you what to do, but a leader will show you.  A leader makes a better boss than a manager.  Secondly, mentally step back in those shoes as an employee.  Reflect on the bad and good experiences you had with your previous bosses and let that be your cue to how you will run your ship.

Upset Employee

  • Reward and Reprimand in private.  Never take an issue you have with an employee on the floor.  It lowers morale, it’s degrading to that employee, makes you look like a tyrant to other employees and if you have customers on the floor, it looks tacky.  Even if you’re giving this an employee an award, let it be their business.
  • Never talk down to your employees.  Did you like it when you employer or boss talked down to you like you were a child or a simpleton?  No one does.  Break the cycle.
  • No matter how busy your are, remember to say ‘thank you’.  People like to be acknowledged even for the little things they do.  In the most mundane job, people need a little thank you to know they’re valued.
  • Along, with saying ‘thank you’, a ‘good job’ goes a long way too.  How often have we seen a former employer or boss jump down someone’s throat for a poorly done job, but barely bat an eye for something that was exquisite?  They may seem like words to you, but people really like hearing them spoken.  So if you can speak them often.  On that note…
  • Raise the standard to EXQUISITE.  Expect that your well trained and highly knowledgeable staff are going to do their job wonderfully time after time.  It’s easy, just…
  • EMPOWER them.  Make your employees feel as if everything they’re doing for your business matters (and it better!) I don’t care if they’re making copies or answering the phone.  Those jobs need to get done by someone competent and self-assured and that’s them.
  • Don’t be afraid to get in the trenches with your employees.  This separates you from being just their boss to being their leader.  Also, if you’re showing them how to get the job done and having them do it along with you, it puts your mind at ease as to whether or not they’re doing it right.
  • Encourage open exchange.  If one of your employees has an idea to how to do something more efficiently, welcome the idea, don’t shun it.  An employee who is willing to help your company is also making an investment in your business just as you are.  And not too many of them come around.

Along the way you’ll find you groove in how you’ll lead your employees, what works best for you and what works for them.  Just keep in mind not to fall in the habit of poor manager behavior.  This isn’t your job, this is your company.  How you take charge will determine the determine direction and how far you’ll go.

(photo credit: marin via freedigitalphotos.net)

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Make Every Experience Count

In order to be successful in this life and never work a day in our lives, we must find what we’re passionate and pursue it.  We’ve heard this and we know it.  So we have.  We’ve tapped into the activities and hobbies that make us smile and laugh.  We found the things that we could do endlessly without ever looking at the clock and we’ve even manage to find company that supports our exploration and business ventures.  But when we follow our passions, are we suppose negate every experience, every job we ever held?  What about those valuable lessons and skills we picked up along the way?  Should we forget about the things we’ve learned when we follow passions?

Subway

I worked at Subway for a couple of months during the year I took off from college.  It was actually a second job I took on to help supplemental by tuition going back to school.  This was the only fast food job I ever held and believe you me,  that was alright by me.  And don’t kid yourself, Subway may tell you to ‘eat fresh’ but it’s still fast food.

  • Watch those that have been doing the job longer and pick up on the tricks they’ve learned to make the job easier to perform.  It takes everyone some time to get the hang of any new skill and after awhile, you develop a knack for doing tasks so that they don’t become overwhelming.  The take-away — no matter which business you decide to pursue and no matter what passion drives it, someone out there has done it before.  Find them, study them, mimic them if you have to.  If they’ve been in the game longer than, they also a system in place that you can follow until you get the hang of things.

Dillard’s

I worked there my all of my junior year and part of senior year in college.  I worked in Men’s Fragrance.  Just a little FYI, men rarely buy men’s fragrances.  Only during the holidays did we see a substantial amount of foot traffic and it was mostly from women buying for their significant others.  So most of the times, our counter was dead quiet and had next to no business.

  • Create business.  While cleaning out our own tester inventory closet, I had an idea about offering tester fragrances we no longer carried to those customers that applied for our store credit card.  Needless to say, within two weeks time, it was a smash.  Customers heard about the promotion and would stop in just to apply for a credit card for a free fragrance.  While they were waiting for the approval, they would look around to see what else we sold.  Traffic increased and so did business.  The take-away — business is not going to come to you unless you take action.  It doesn’t have to be grand or over the top, it just has to be something people are going to be interested in.  Grab their interest them and you’ll get them coming to you.

RGIS Inventory

This is one of those jobs I hated.  The hours were long and no one could ever tell you how long the job was going to be.  Breaks were short and sometimes forgotten.  The company is surprisingly still around despite the many class action suits they’ve had regarding employee breaks and proper compensation.  I worked this job while in school too.  It consisted of going to various retail stores and counting their inventory for them.  And because these businesses ran during normal business hours, the job always started in the evening, like after 8pm.  Night owls need apply.  But in 5 months time I was promoted to a Team Leader position with my own team of 8 people.

  • Jobs come and go, so make your peace with that.  Do the job as best as you can and  be willing to help others along the way especially when it benefits the whole.  I was promoted not because I was the fastest counter.  I was promoted because I was always looking to get the job and get it done right the first time.  If that meant jumping on board someone else’s section and helping them get it done so we could all leave, so be it.  The take-away –  Teamwork is the best avenues towards success.  People feel more confident in completing a job when they’re not doing it alone and/or they have someone who is willing to help.  Get in the trenches and help when you can.

I’d like to think I’ve been structuring Intel Boutique from a wonderful perfectly laid out dream.  But it truth, it’s summation of all my experiences.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s a passion of mine to help people get the information they need to live out their passion, but it wasn’t something I fell into overnight (I wish!).  I’ve made sure to put every experience to use.  Everything I’ve done, every job I’ve held and every experience I’ve had, I make it matter.

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“Where Do You See Yourself In the Five Years?”

If you can remember the last time you had an employer, do you remember this question: “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 or 10 years?”  Now, depending on what age group you fall in, this question was either fairly easy to answer or fairly challenging, especially right on the spot.  I remember focusing more on the company I was interviewing with and not my further prospects.  Not that I didn’t have any, but I didn’t want to tell my potential employer what my ideas were after I left this job.  Or the fact that I was planning to leave this job one day.  After all, employers (at least I thought), liked candidates who saw themselves working and growing through the ranks of their company for a long time.  I thought they wanted someone who was going to give them their all, help hold up the company and of course, help turn a profit.  Not too long ago, I found out what employers really want is someone with ambition and goals.  Even if that someone plans to work for themselves one day.

I remember the job-hunt scene.  And I remember being asked where I saw myself in the next 5 to 10 years.  I dreaded the question.  Because in the back of my mind, I had made my decision to start a business and soon.  But I didn’t want to the hiring personnel to know that.  They were looking for someone to fill in a much needed role, not someone who was working to raise capital for a personal venture.  So, I lied.  I would say some crap about “growing with the company and developing the skills I already have and hopefully picking up news ones along the way” and blah blah blah.  And at the time, getting the first interview was fine.  Getting a call back, not so much.  Why?  Well, looking back now, I think the felt the dishonesty in my answer.  And it was a dishonest answer.  I had plans to grow with the company.  And they probably sensed that.  So, I changed my tactic.  I started telling the truth.  I was already not getting called back, how much more harm could the truth do?

Sharing your business may just get you the job

Sharing your business may just get you the job

But in fact, the truth wasn’t harmful at all.  It was rather enlightening for my prospect employers.   Something about the honesty of wanting to go into business for myself and understanding the undertaking it would be provided them an insight of where my head was at.  People who want to go into business for themselves, have a great deal of ambition.  Whether that business is small or large, their work is cut out for them.  Hearing that as an answer lets employers know that those particular candidates are willing to work hard to get to where they want to be.  And that they probably have always been hard workers.  Those people are always looking for efficiencies; ways to get the done with the least amount of hassle, time and money.  And would you believe it, I had several job offerings at one time?  I didn’t need several jobs, but the fact that I was honest about what my professional plans worked for me.    Now we can argued that perhaps my skill set and previous experience could have been factored in.  But let’s keep in mind, companies don’t hire the résumé, they hire to person.

I choose to work for someone while starting my business, because I didn’t want to take out a business loan or give up a piece of ownership.  No debt, no equity.  That was my choice.  If you too chose to work for someone for a bit before or even while you’ve got your business going on, be honest with the employer.  Most likely, your business plans won’t be a bad thing.

{photo credit: xedos4 via freedigitalphotos.net}