How to Start your Own Business

IF all else fails with job hunting, then there is always an option of starting your own business. This isn't for everyone, but I do think that it is a great idea when it comes as a back-up plan if there is nothing out there that you enjoy. Starting up your own business is not the easiest of ideas, by all means, but it is an option. This is an idea because sometimes people do not like working for others, so like I said from a previous blog, if you test as being independent personality--this can be for you!

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The idea of starting your own business is just the beginning, but what exactly kind of business will you go into? We know that you want to be your own boss, but you have no idea how or what type of business you want to have. Here are four steps that can help you explore what kind of businesses that you would want to have. Four steps include:

1. Write
2. Read
3. Explore
4. Get Feedback

When exploring and understanding fully who you are, you can write and see what interests you. reading into the different opportunities out there is another step. Followed by exploring, doing some research on the type of business that you would want to damper in. Finally get feedback, see other similar business and receive feedback from that field and see if this is for you.

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The Five Ways to Choose/Change Careers

Here are five ways to choose or change careers:

1. The Internet
2. Tests
1. You are absolutely unique. There is no person in the world like you. It follows form this that tests an measure you; it can only describe the family to which you belong
2. Don't try to figure out ahead of time how you want the test to come out. stay loose and open to new ideas
3. In taking tests, you should just be looking for clues, hunches, or suggestions, rather than for a definitive answer that says "this is what you must choose to do with your life"
4. Take several tests and not just one. one can easily send you down the wrong path
5. In good career planning, you're trying, in the first instance, to broaden your horizons, and only later narrow your options down; you are not trying to narrow them down from the outset.
6. Testing will always have "mixed reviews"
3. Using the Flower Exercise
4. Changing a career in two steps
5. Finding out what the job-market will need

Now, I am not saying that these steps will definitely help you with your path, but this is a great start and a step towards the right direction.

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Just using these steps will help toward a better path. Like I've said before, internet regarding social media is a big impact that can differentiate you from your competitors. This is regards to your social media pages and what content you put on them. When it comes to individual testing, this is just to help you find out what you want and what you are really good at. This doesn't mean that if they tell you that you are not good at computers, this doesn't mean it is true. It can just be a portion of perhaps you just do not like working on computers. Just need to be careful about those things. Try these steps and maybe it can make a difference!

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You Get to Choose Where You Work

It is all about visualization and imaging that you will do great in the job interviewing process. So why not be able to choose where you get to work? When looking at the flower diagram that was discussed before in the last blog, think about what more you can add. Here are 5 steps that job hunters or career changers have found helpful to take--in this order:

1. First, you need to find out what careers or jobs your flower points to
2. Second you need to try on careers before you decide which ones to pursue
3. Third, you need o find out what kinds of organizations have such jobs
4. Fourth, you need to find names of particular places that interest you
5. Fifth and final, you need to learn as much as you can about a place before formally approaching them

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These are all great things that can help you when deciding where you would like to work. Again, it is about visualizing and imaging where you will at in the future. Setting these goals for yourself and bringing them forth, can help you perhaps accomplish where you want to be for your job field. Also, remember when or after an interview to send a thank you note to really stand out to your future employer. Another few tips would be what I have blogged previously about when it comes to LinkedIn page and how you can alter yourself from your competitors.

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You Need To Undstand More Fully Who You Are

Job hunting is never easy--at all! I get it, and there are only so many tips and tricks that can help you out when it comes to interviewing. But have you ever thought that maybe we all need to understand ourselves better? By doing this couple of steps as "homework" for yourself, it can make the difference.

• You learn to describe yourself in at least six different ways, and therefore you can approach multiple job markets
• You can describe in detail exactly what you are looking for
• By ending up with a picture of a job that would really excite you, you will inevitably pour much more energy and determination into your job search
• You will no longer have to wait to approach companies until they say they have a vacancy
• You can accurately describe to your employers what is unique about you, and what you bring to the table that others do not
• You will see what new career or direction you want for your life
• Unemployment is an interruption, in most of our lives. And interruptions are opportunities, to pause, to think, to assess where we really want to go with our lives.

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You never know, doing these simple steps can make a difference from the other person interviewing for the same job. Taking a personal step for yourself, and really getting confidence is key when it comes to job hunting and coming down to the face-to-face interview. My personal favorite, is making a chart or worksheet that can help you along the way. It is notes about my favorite knowledge:

• What you know from your previous job
• What you know about, outside of work
• What fields, careers, or industries sound interesting to you
• Any other hunches, bright ideas, great ideas, etc.

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Weebly

I have learned many things this Web Analytics class. Another cool feature that I learned is when creating a website. People assume now-a-days that it is so hard to create your own personal website. This is really not the fact. There are two websites that are free to use which are Wix and Weebly. I was introduced to Weebly during this very class, and we created a site to show us how you can use web analytics to analyze your site. This was interesting to me, because I did not know that you would be able to do this with an actual website. I always thought that it was only with Facebook or Google Ads. I created a site to travel lovers like myself. The whole point was that you would be able to track who "signed up" through the Thank You portion of the website.



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 An email will be sent when someone fills out that portion of the website, and goes directly to your email. Now when it comes to setting this up, you needed a Google Analytics account which I had because I signed up with Google Partners at the beginning of class. This is something that you can sign up free for. I suggest that someone do this, because it will only benefit you. There are so many cool opportunities that someone can have when it comes to social media and tracking everything you do for a website, blog, or small business. The opportunities are endless.

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Reviewing Performance in Google Analytics

Now that you have a Facebook Ad created, now how the heck do you see how or even if people have been viewing your site!? Here are some of the ways you can see information about the performance of a website or campaign that you started from Facebook Ads. So if you have tried the Facebook ad campaign, head-on-over to https://www.facebook.com/ads/manage. You will see "outgoing" information from people viewing you add and then hopefully be able to see the results. Here are my results from this very blog below,



Facebook Ad Manage

You can see that I did have 10 clicks to my blog and also a spike on specific days. Now remember, I only did this for a week in a half, so I think that is a very good outcome for such a short period of time. Another great tool that Facebook provides for your page that you have is being able to "boost" your post. For example, I have an internship and I dabble in their social media page. Since I have been posting more and more, our "likes" on the page have gone up dramatically. The other day, Facebook gave me an option to "boost" a post that we had a popular viewing of people liking it, and looking at it in general. This is another great way to just boost a specific post from your social media page. With that, this can lead a person to "liking" your Facebook Page as well. Awesome stuff!



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Facebook Boost

Facebook Ad Campaigns is something that you can use to boost your business. As I've mentioned before, but when I say campaigns, it is because you can do it periodically so that more and more people can see your ad. Here are the easy steps for creating a Facebook Ad:

• First, go to https://www.facebook.com/ads/create
• Click on "Click to Website"
• Then paste your blog link to this
• Upload an image to represent your blog (or business logo)
• Type in headline and text for the ad
• Pick an audience
• which you can send to completely random people, but you will end up with more clicks if you put in interests
• Narrow your options
• Examples: Budget and Scheduling
• Once that is done, you should receive a confirmation page

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I know this is a lot of information to retain, but it really is simple and easy to navigate! The best thing, in my opinion, is that you get to choose a budget, and for how long  you want your ad to be advertised. Obviously, if you have a large budget to spend, this will reach a lot more people that simply putting $20.00 in and for a week in a half. The possibilities are endless and you have the web at the tip of your fingers. You will be able to reach many people who are on the web or social media website. Like I've mentioned before, I did see a difference in clicks with people viewing my blog. Now weather they enjoyed reading this or not...I will never know-- ha ha!

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Facebook Ad

Since beginning this blog, I was encouraged to advertise it more to get more "clicks" on it. One way that I learned was by social media. As I have said before, social media is a huge opportunity for all types of promotional aspects and also when it comes to job hunting/recruiting. These opportunities are endless. Now, with Facebook having such an effect on social media, there is a way you can actually advertise your business, or blog in my case, on your social media page. I think this is a cool, and virtually, affordable way someone can advertise. I did this for this blog on my personal Facebook Page. I put $20.00 on for my blog to be advertised in people's newsfeed for approximately a week in a half. I actually did find a difference with the number of clicks I had on my blog. Surprisingly, this really does work and I think that people should do it more often, especially if they have small businesses they would like to advertise.



Facebook Ads

As you can see, it is really easy when it comes to setting up what exactly you want to advertise. Then, it will be advertised through news feeds and hopefully it will lead to some clicks! I know personally when I was doing this I did not feel too comfortable putting my credit card information into Facebook, but another great option is Pay Pal. Pay Pal is another site that allows you to make online purchases safe and easy, without giving all your information away. Another cool feature when it comes to Facebook Ads is how you can actually pin point and pick what demographic you would like. I will be discussing this more in my next blog!

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Salary Negotiation

Wait...future employers can actually negotiate!? I've heard this before, but I have never had the guts to could even imagine trying this. But  yes, people do negotiate their salary. I do some friends who have successfully done this, and embrace them for it. I think that it takes a lot for a person to negotiate their salary with an employer. Here are the six secrets to salary negotiation:

1. Never discuss salary until the end of the whole interviewing process at the organization. When (and if) they have definitely said they want you.
2. The purpose of salary negotiation is to uncover the most that an employer is willing to pay for you.
3. During salary discussion, never be the first one to mention a salary figure.
4. Before you go to the interview, do some careful research on typical salaries for your field and in that organization.
5. Research the range that the employer likely has in mind, and then define the interrelated range for yourself, relative to the employer's range.
6. Know how to bring the salary negotiation to a close; don't leave it "just hanging"

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I think you would know when the right approach is to discussing salary, but these are always handy and something to think about! But remember, with a little bit of luck, and a lot of hard work, anything is possible! Follow these rules and then add your own touch to any of these approaches.

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16 Tips About Interviewing for a Job

With job hunting becoming harder and harder, people are extra nervous when it comes to their interviewing skills. This is basically what can make-it or break-it for a future job. Here are 16 tips that can help you get through an interview! Some things to think about:

• There is no such thing as "employers"
• An interview should be prepared for, before you go in
• Honor agreements
• An interview for a job is a lot like dating
• Questions to expect from them, then questions you can ask
• During the interview, determine to observe the "50-50 rule"
• In answering the employers questions, observe the "twenty-second in two minute rule"
• Them employer is primarily concerned about risk
• It's the small things that are the killers, in a job interview
• Be aware of the skills most employers are looking for
• Try to think of ways to bring up your skills
• DO NOT bad-mouth your previous employers
• Remember, employers don't really care about your past
• Notice time frame of questions asked
• Leave job interview with good questions
• Finally, Thank You notes sent out after every interview

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I know first-hand how intimidating job interviews can be! If nothing has worked before try these simple tips and try it out. Remember that the person who is interviewing has been in your shoes before. Everyone has to start somewhere--go out and make it a great one!

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Did Someone Mention Resumes?

We all know when job hunting that a resume is probably the most important thing that you need. How else would an employer know more information about you without that. Some of the difficulties though, is that people do not know how to properly write a resume. Here are some easy and simple ideas that people may have on their resumes.

1. Volunteer, Community and Unpaid Work
2. Education
3. Sales or Account Management
4. Administration, Customer Service, and Accounts
5. Responsibilities
6. Events or Conference Planning
7. Computers
8. Mechanical
9. Building, Construction, Electrical, and Plumbing
10. General
11. Positive Feedback
12. Memberships
13. Published or Presented Work
14. Looking Ahead

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Those are just some components to individual's resumes. Everyone's resume will obviously be different, so you really need to stand out with the piles of resumes future employers will have. There are some alternatives to the classic resume. This would be what can differentiate you from your other competitors in the work force. Cover letters have been used since the beginning, but how about using an electronical portfolio? This again, is relating back to social media and how people are using this more often when recruiting, This is something that can set you apart from your competitors. Give it a try!

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LinkedIn

When it comes to job hunting, there is a whole new generation out there that is tech friendly. Surprisingly, this is also true when it comes to future employers. More and more, employers are turning to social media when it comes to finding future employees. This means that LinkedIn is taking over the web. Before taking my class Web Analytics, I never really found it important to have a LinkedIn page, let alone update it. I had the basic page where my info was on it, but was not detailed at all with the current job I had or even past experiences. I found out that it really is important to keep that updated and that statistics say that employers really do look at LinkedIn and other social media pages when it comes to hiring a prospect.

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Some important things to know when creating a LinkedIn and what is important when editing is the following: background, general description, usefulness to job hunters, and ways to make it more effective. These are the things that job hunters usually pay attention to first. This is where you would want to focus on your page and really customize it to your personality and add as much important detail as you can.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Social Promotion

One of the easiest ways to promote your site or blog is through social media. We all know that--well at least it is assumed. You see people everyday always on social media; it is like we eat, sleep, and breathe it now-a-days. The easiest option would be sharing the link on your social media accounts that you have. What a better way than hitting home with your personal friends, family, and acquaintances you have on there. But remember, this will only work if you have a good number of people on your social media. If not, there are ways to help you find more friends on Facebook--they are very good with matching friends you have in common with other friends you currently have. Also ways remember, when you are posting your link on your social media page add a picture or caption to address what it is. Make it a habit to post multiple times to really hit your target. I am not talking about every hour, or everyday. Once or twice a week, in my opinion is a great option.

In my next blog I said I would show you my Facebook Ad, but I want to wait for that.  I want to talk about my experience with this FREE social media promotion you can do, because it is effective and easy! I have experience with both, and I will say that I have had more views on my blog with Facebook Ad, BUT, even more with my postings I do at my internship for my agency. Even though these are two different things, I still found it interesting having both experiences. My agency's Facebook page started off with 34 "likes" on its page. It is now at 58!! Now that might not be much, but what an accomplishment in such a short time. Since I have been doing weekly posts, I have reached over 800 people weekly. Remember free publicity is the best publicity!

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Google Analytics

Google Analytics is also a great thing to know and  be certified in when it comes to tracking a webpage or this blog post, for example. There is a section in your Google Analytics account with the name on your specific site, with a globe like icon. This is an easy way to see something from your page and how it is doing. Google Analytics is meant to be easy--and useful for everyday people. The funny thing is that not many people would even know how to do this. Drum roll please......I PASSED! The one thing I did find difficult, however, is passing my Google Analytics Certification. It did only take me to pass on my second try, but still, studying for hours was rough.

Tracking the results from your site is a great way to know if you are active enough on the page. For example, when having a Facebook page for your business, if you are not getting too many likes or views, then there must be something wrong. Either you are not posting enough, or the content on your page is not attractive enough for viewers to click on it. The next step would be trafficking your blog or site. This is where you can write a blog post and then post it on Facebook, for example. This can help you get more views. On my next blog I will be discussing when I use a Facebook Ad to promote this very blog! Stay tuned.

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Social Analytics

Social analytics where different social media sites will allow you to information on who has "liked" your page or even who has viewed it. Some different sites that do is Facebook and YouTube. This is interesting because it actually allows you to see how your page is going and what type of activity is happening on it. This is something I do at my internship; I keep our agency's Facebook page updated. What is fun about this is I am not posting dull things about what we do, rather about who we are as an agency. This has been a great experience because social analytics has allowed me to see the improvements that have been made to the Facebook page since I have been helping with the page.

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My managers really have a great grasp on how important social media is for our industry. It gives that extra touch to get people to like our Facebook page and then, hopefully they would see what we do. Some things that I have done on our page that has really booted since I started is Wacky Green Wednesday. This is where everyone at our agency dresses in green (which is COUNTRY Financials colors) and on Wednesdays--the name pretty much sums it up. People have really interacted from our home office and also with our friends on Facebook. This is just the beginning to hopefully getting more likes in the future!

Facebook.com/drewcalicountryfinancial

Social Media Marketing

I have never really thought about social media as a great marketing tool. It has always been something that I use for school work or personal work. Social media has expanded its horizons and has now been a great impact for the work force in promoting. An example of this is Digital Marketing which is often used to sell something or get people to visit and/or sign up for something. Currently, I am using Digital Marketing for my internship at COUNTRY Financial. I am using our agency's Facebook page and being interactive on it. This approach is basically to get people to 'like' us on Facebook. So far, there has been a dramatic difference from when I started digital marketing on his page. Below, is a picture of just one post I did for an Ugly Sweater Friday event we had. I reached over 500 people and also had 2 people like his Facebook page.

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This is why web analytics is a crucial tool in helping monitor someone's efforts while conducting digital marketing. The funny thing is, I do not think people know how easy this actually is! Some people can be intimidated when it comes to social media, or might not even have any accounts. Social media is the new thing, and I think everyone should be involved one way or another. I actually have had some of my agents at work sign up for a Facebook account because they saw how important it is to market their brand. So, try give it a try!

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Week 3-- Cyber Your Resume

With today's technology, it's assumed that most employers would be taking advantage of that. It never really dawned on me that the old way of printing out your resume and cover letter, bringing it to the employer for the interview (if you're lucky), and hand it to him/her. At least that is what I did for my first internship interview. With a Benedictine University folder in hand, I had my resume, cover letter and reference letters in folder and at the end of the interview, I gave the interviewer the folder to keep for reference. Now note that was about 4 months ago. Now, I realized that there are so many sites like LinkedIn to upload all that stuff at the swift of a click.

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This is something that I really enjoy as a young college student. Basically it is an easy way that my future employers can see what I am up to, my resume and other skills that I can add to the website. Not only can I see who viewed my LinkedIn (which can come in handy), but I can also connect with other people. This is a great way to network yourself and also connect to your future employers. Learning on how to start up your resume that can make the difference from others. Volunteer work, past job experiences, set up all your specific skills and more. This  is a whole new ball game and can change how employers look for their new employees.

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Week 3-- Blog Me

We all know that my journey of blogging has been quite interesting. From starting the blog, to choosing my décor, down to the post-- I was walking into new territory! As I open and start to read Chapter 2 of CASA Marketing Intro to Google Analytics by Todd Kelsey, to my surprise look where I could of gone in my need of help...





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I guess the old saying is true, "reading is your friend". Lesson learned, blogger help center will be my new best friend I guess.



I think that it is pretty cool that I am able to share my journey of blogging and now, attempting Google analytics. This will basically help me keep track on who is visiting this website and how many viewers I have had. "Tracking IDs are basically codes that Google gives you to place on your site or blog, so that the site can "talk" to Google" (Kelsey 27). That the ID you have is unique to only your blog or site that you have created. It is going to look a little something like this.





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I appreciate how something that looks so complex and hard to do, is explained step by step. I feel like I need a "Book for Dummies" because this is just something new that I have never done before. However, I enjoy how the book takes the time to show each step (pictures included) on how to take a simple blog and add that extra step that includes Google Analytics. Excited to see how much I know by the end of the semester!

Week 2-- What Color is your Parachute?

It has come to my attention that finding a job these days is hard to come by. I have been lucky enough to be employed during my high school years and having an internship for my senior year of college. Since the hit of 2008, it has been more difficult to find a job, let alone hired. It seems that job-hunting has stayed the same, but that employers have changed. Employers are holding out on jobs by trying to find a perfect employee or just hire within the company. How are people suppose to get a chance with this happening? One figure from the book that stood out to me is below,

Richard N. Bolles, page 12

I never realized it, but this upside down pyramid is true in today's society. I've had first hand experience with a company hiring new employees'. As an intern, my portion of the job is to recruit and come up with ideas on how to get the word out there. As of today, my company has job posting on school websites and also, a lot of our recruiting is coming from word-of-mouth from our current employers. It seems that the age ole saying, "it's about who you know" is really true today. Another hot topic to be added to a resume would be speaking two or more languages. I am figuring that a part that helped me get my internship would be knowing how to speak Spanish. My fellow coworkers have told me that it helps a lot knowing another language for todays working world. The revolution of job-hunting, I believe, is changing everyday and people need to take a different approach to it.

http://www.job-hunt.org/

Week 2 -- Learning to Blog: Intro to Google Analytics

As I proceeded to my class on a bright and sunny Tuesday to Web Analytics, I was anxious for the unknown. You see, I have never taken a class like this before. I was eager to learn and excited for the new information that was to be thrown at me! I walk into class and there, on the screen are class notes for what we should start doing. I proceed to go down the list, Gmail account--check, order textbooks--check, create a blog--'uh what!?' I just walked into unknown territory, sweat pours down my face...create a blog! Now, this is something I was not familiar with nor did not have the desire to do. After convincing myself that this was a piece-of-cake and that I was able to do a blog, this is what happens.

Little did I know, that this was just a small step for human kind and that this was fixable and all was well in the world again. Now that the blog situation was in the past, it was time for me to learn more about this Web Analytics. I asked myself questions like, 'How will I ever use this in my career?' or 'This looks like a lot of numbers, and I do not like numbers'. I started to read CASA Marketing Intro to Google Analytics, I learned that there is much more to it and web analytics is an important skill to have. And my journey for blogging begins!