Month: May 2017

Whether you are a programmer, designer, photographer, or writer, having an online portfolio will significantly increase your online visibility. It’s essential that your online portfolio presents both your work and your talent in the best way possible. This will increase your chances of success in the freelance world, or when it comes to job applications. Just follow these simple steps and success is practically guaranteed.

Choose a platform and make it look good

Don’t worry if you’re not experienced when it comes to web design and programming, there are plenty online platforms and websites with the beginner-friendly usability that will help you effectively showcase your talent. In most cases all you have to do is select the appropriate website template and start filling out your portfolio.

Keep your work relevant

No matter what, don’t let the work in your portfolio become outdated. Whether you have one page portfolio website, or several URLs of your work, your portfolio should always be fresh and up to date. This doesn’t require much effort, just enrich it with the latest screenshots and links from time to time. It is always better to have fewer but more fresh projects in your portfolio, than to include outdated work, which will surely bring down your average.

Organize everything

The way you showcase your work will have a significant impact on whether visitors and/or potential clients bounce off, or stay and browse your portfolio for a while. You can organize your work in a number of ways, by industry, project or maybe media type but whatever you choose don’t forget the most important part – to provide all the necessary information. Include a brief but interesting description about the project and company you worked with, what your main task was and all the goals you have accomplished.

Include all services you provide

If you’re looking for clients who require a type of services that you provide, display those services. Single out the projects where you had to use each of your specialties and showcase them first. For instance, you’re a graphic designer who specializes in logo design and business branding. The smart move would be to include two or three projects that display your latest work in those fields. Of course, don’t forget – each project should have an adequate description and should be categorized appropriately.

Less is more, always

Remember, your best work should be the center of attention of your portfolio. Don’t overcrowd the website, keep the design clean, interface simple and easy to navigate. People will always appreciate the simplicity better than if you include every piece of work you’ve ever done. Display only the work or projects you are really proud of, and also include the type of work you want to be doing in the future.

Many of us started working at least part time as teenagers. For the better part of our working lives, most people work within a corporate system at a variety of jobs and companies. After a few years, or even a few decades, working for someone else can be tiresome.

This exhaustion with corporate life is what leads many people, often in their 40s and 50s, to invest in their own businesses. But how do you get started?

Starting a Business
For many, the idea of starting a business brings with it both excitement and worry. There are a few questions that you should ask yourself before you start a business, including:

What is my business idea?
How do I set myself apart from other businesses?
What do I know about real estate, marketing, advertising, bookkeeping, human resources, taxes, management, and any other aspect of owning a business?

Answering these questions is difficult for most people. Indeed, not everyone has a business idea that they feel confident in. In addition, it takes a lot to know about every aspect of business ownership.

For those of us who don’t have a million dollar business idea, investing in a franchise is a great way to balance the independence of owning a business with a corporate system that has experience in getting started.

Franchise Opportunities Abound
The franchise industry is huge, and businesses in every category are breaking into franchising. Finding a business that fits your skills, needs, location, and means is not only possible, it’s pretty easy.

There are a number of resources that can help you learn about franchises in different industries. Hot dog franchises, business services franchises, carpet cleaners, sign makers, pest control, you name it, all of these business ideas are looking for franchise owners.

Research, Research, Research…
Because there are so many options, it’s important to thoroughly research them to decide what franchise opportunity best fits your personality and lifestyle. We recommend taking personality quizzes, learning about industries, reading reviews online, and talking to people you know and trust about this big decision.

After careful research, determine the criteria that you want your franchise to fit. Do you want to be able to work your corporate job while you get your business off the ground? Do you want to sell a product or service that you use? Do you want to invest in a business with a name that you recognize? These are just examples of the criteria you may want to consider before you invest.

For example, say you want to follow the criteria we just listed, and you have found a hot dog franchise that allows you to work part-time at the beginning, sells a delicious product that you love to eat and has a name that you knew before you started your search. If the hot dog franchise fits all your criteria, then it’s a good investment for you.

What Is There to Like about Owning a Franchise?
A common question about owning a franchise is, “How is it different from starting a business?” There are a number of unique benefits as opposed to starting a business from the ground up, though in many ways they are similar.

it means that you will have a huge network of people—fellow franchise owners—who do the same work as you, but in their own way on their own terms.
it means that you can glean marketing strategies and operational techniques from an established corporate network.
it means that you have creative control over your business.
it means that you are directly affected by every business decision you make and how hard you work—for better or for worse.
In short, if you are tired of working at a job that leaves you uninspired, there are boundless franchise opportunities. Some proper research and dedication go a long way in starting a business and working at a career that matters to you.

You’ve decided your business needs a bigger space and you’re now planning to move office. Your employees are ready to move office and discover the benefits of having much more space available for their daily work routine. That’s wonderful! However, don’t let the enthusiasm get in the way of thorough planning. You need to have a well-though checklist for when you move office and make sure you respect everything on it.

Office relocation sounds stressful and tiring, but once you have your moving list down and everything on it checked, things will immediately get easier. We know that you have many things to consider when moving office, but make sure you also include these 5 things on your checklist:

1. Delegate, delegate, delegate

The first thing you need to remind yourself when you’re planning your business relocation is you can’t possibly do everything yourself. It doesn’t matter if you have three employees or three hundred employees. You need to delegate tasks and responsibilities. Each member of your team has to know what to do and when to do it, for the moving process to go smoothly.

While some will take care of boxing up computers and larger office equipment, others will have to take care of wrapping small and fragile items. Everybody has to work together, according to your moving plan, so you don’t waste time and money.

2. Set a schedule in place

Don’t just start packing a few days before actually having to relocate your office. Make sure you plan ahead and start setting your team in motion to prepare for moving at least two months ahead. Make a new list and include everything that needs to be done every week until moving day. Send the list to your team and make sure they stick to it.

Having a schedule in place will help you bring order to the chaos that moving office can sometimes be. As long as everybody knows their responsibilities and when they are expected to fulfill them, business relocation will no longer be such a stressful process.

3. De-clutter your office space

De-cluttering is not something reserved only to private residences. You should go all in when it comes to cleaning your business place. Recycle everything you can and throw away everything that is just standing there, gathering dust, without being of any use to anyone in the office. Each employee should do the same thing with their desks. After all, they surely don’t need all that plastic globes in their cubicle? And that vintage printer will surely won’t fix itself!

4. Use a packing and labeling system

Make sure every employee has access to proper packing materials according to their task. We recommend you use mostly used boxes because they are eco-friendly, practical, durable and, of course, free. The most fragile items should be first packed in bubble wrapped, and then placed in boxes.

When it comes to labeling, you need to make sure each box has the right label on it. To make things easier, put together an inventory with all the boxes moved. This way you can keep an eye on everything and immediately know if something is missing from the trucks.

5. Book a professional corporate relocation company

Don’t try to save money by hiring a moving company that doesn’t have experience with corporate relocation and office moving. You need to work with a professional company that provides this type of service and has great reviews from previous customers.