Showcase SME for Job Search or Business Consulting

Becoming a Subject Matter Expert for business or job search via HARO (Help a Reporter Out)   Many job seekers – especially business consultants – have a hard time explaining why their background and experience is important and useful to others.  The best way to showcase ...

Online Trolls and Haters

When Fame Bites Back – Online Trolls and Haters.   Everyone wants 15 minutes of media fame – whether they are a movie star, sports figure, athlete, famous artist, writer, or in the media spotlight. Being famous can also be debilitating and emotionally painful. Monica Lewinsky ...

Big Brother Is Watching

Big Brother – and the Rest of the World – is Watching   Worried about getting good reviews on your social media, referral sites, and Google? Be more worried about getting negative reviews on your business! There is an axiom many marketing folks quote, “You have ...

Marketing, Advertising, and Branding Definitions

Getting your definitions straight.     Small business owners usually have expectations of ‘instant’ sales from any and all types of marketing efforts. Each marketing-related activities noted below has a different return on investment (ROI) for cost and time. Advertising may bring in a crowd to ...

Teaming For Business

Are teaming with other businesses a good idea for targeting your client?   When you are starting a new business, or your current business is struggling with the paying client funnel, finding other businesses willing to team with you is good practice, right? Very likely! What ...

Don’t Stop at the LinkedIn Personal Profile!

Don’t stop at the LinkedIn personal profile! You probably have seen the posts, the emails, and the training announcements where ‘specialists’ are horn blowing about building up your LinkedIn profile. They are directing you to get it filled out completely, get certain sections added, and the ...

Print On Demand Publishing: A Unique Business Marketing Tool

Print On Demand: A unique marketing tool for business? Why should entrepreneurs think about creating their own book? Did you know a self-published book is a unique marketing tool?  When you start a business, you are banking on yourself as the subject matter expert (SME), you are ...

Social Media Management – Who Should Do It?

Can’t take the heat? Stay out of the social media kitchen! How much have you budgeted for advertising, marketing, and branding and have you identified and planned social media operations in relationship to your business goals? As a small business mentor, I can spot mentees who ...

Social Media Management – Why Small Businesses Need It

STUDY SHOWS INCREASE OF 70% BUSINESS TRAFFIC WHEN A BUSINESS USES SOCIAL MEDIA Did you see the research noting consumers are be more likely to shop and spend money with independent businesses if those businesses did a better job of marketing themselves on social media sites? Consumers ...

Advice and Bartering Could Be Costly Endeavor

Asking for advice and trading for services.   If you are an entrepreneur or struggling to start a business, you want access to as many resources as possible – especially if free or at minor cost.  It is accepted business practice to meet with other professionals ...

Virtual Introductions Make You Memorable

Providing Virtual Introductions Make You Memorable.   One of the capabilities LinkedIn (LI) provides is ‘virtual introductions’ between parties for business, a career promotion, or developing relationships for future business. Unfortunately, LI will only allow a limited number before charging the user for ‘additional’ introductions. To ...

Blogging For Business

Blogging for business   One of most successful (and primarily free) methods of getting your company branded, and name recognized by your target market, is blogging on a business website and posting on social media platforms. A growing trend is educational marketing. Business website and blog ...

Vulture Customers – Recognize and Avoid

Are your business customers ‘vultures?’ Do you have a vulture customer that is making your profits lower?   Business owners need to incorporate into their profit structure and marketing plan contingencies for ‘vulture’ customers.  What are those?  They are the clients who will blast the slightest ...

Social Media Policy Best Practices

Best practices for a company social media policy.   Whether you are a sole proprietorship with a single employee or a huge corporation with thousands of employees, the nature of digital communications and the prevalence of social media (SM) demands mention in the employee handbook. The ...

Quote for the Day – Gifts

Quotes

Quote of the Day – Beauty

2,000+ Motivational and Inspirational Quotes for Daily Reflection & Living found at: https://www.createspace.com/4157901

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy Kwanzaa to All

Time to review required doctor note policy for illness?

Be careful in doctor’s notes requirements – HIPPA law requires medical privacy, so it may be best to totally eliminate the requirement. The bottom line is – requirements for doctor’s notes for a simple illness such as a severe flu, cold, or 1-2 day absence, as long as not consistently occurring, should not require doctor’s notes (unless the employee shows a pattern of abuse; which may require other remediation action).

Name-dropping for your next job: How big is your ‘rolodex’?

Name-dropping – with established associations with decision makers – are important in the world of business. You know the cliché ‘…the good old boy’s club…’ still works today. It is hard to get into a decision maker’s office if they don’t know you or haven’t been recommended by someone they trust. How do you get started if you don’t have a list of names to use for stepping-stones in front of the right people?

Quote of the Day – Breathing

Quotes

Obtaining More Education and Training Resume Bullets

It is vital to show additional training achieved after the standard college education to show a trend for continued adult-learning. Money or time should not be a barrier to your adding these valuable 'capability' bullets to your resume.

The WIFM (what’s in it for me) Syndrome for Job Search Points of Contact

In every human being, there is an intrinsic part that wants to help others. There is also an intrinsic part that prompts us to reach out to ask for help. When job seekers are looking for new career positions, that reaching out part may go into hyper-drive and could possibly prompt bad decisions or actions. Making cold-calls must be done with a purpose, and with the intent to ‘not’ bother the callee.

Lessons Learned From Website Memberships

The sales spiel sounded great – this website was going to provide me with sales leads for potentially hundreds of folks looking for my services or products – for free (three monthly after the first 30 days). Or, I could join the site at the next level and get a higher number of warm referrals from the membership site. Sounds great – where do I sign up? ... Then the warning flags start ...

Why Businesses Want to be Involved in Non-Profit Organizations.

Cause marketing increases brand awareness for the contributing business, but also the NPO. Who doesn't know Target provides local schools money for education? Who isn’t aware of the US Marine Corps collecting Toys-For-Tots for Christmas?

Dawn D. Boyer is now a featured PodCast Presenter on iTunes!

Dawn D. Boyer is a featured podcast presenter in iTunes - visit the free PodCasts listing and query on Dawn D. Boyer to get free downloads!

The recruiting game (the real world ‘Hunger Games’)

There is no ‘fair’ to the game – it’s play by the rules or don’t play. Job seekers are desperate to get hired and want to play the game, but need to understand the rules – as they are played by the recruiters – to understand how to play the game successfully as a job seeker.

Resume du Jour: Kelly A. Meerbott – Speaker & Trainer

Kelly A. Meerbott, Speaker & Trainer (Sales/Executives) is an experienced sales-woman, speaker, and done work for corporate execs nationwide - call her!

LinkedIn Training – Beginner’s Class, Sat. 03/23/13

• CREATE a LinkedIn profile to start linking B2B internationally • BUILDING the LinkedIn profile for query results from others • GROUP involvement to get into the discussion for topics related to your interests • GET NOTICED by businesses who want your services/products • BUILD connections to valuable business connections via invites • BUILD REFERRALS from past employers or (current) customers

How to Build a LinkedIn Company Page

See on Scoop.it – Business Development on LinkedIn Social Media LinkedIn Company Pages are a free and effective way to enhance your web presence, allowing customers to find, follow and engage with you. Follow these steps to get your Company Page up and running. See on ...

Where Recruiters Source Hires

This was so interesting, I had to share …   2012 CareerXroads Source of Hire: Channels of Influence from CareerXroads

Resume du Jour – Kent T. Leipold

Kent Taylor Leipold Austin, TX  78748 (512) 284-1904 KentTaylorLeipold@gmail.com   OBJECTIVE:   Sr. Auditor / Financial Analyst / Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Analyst EXPERIENCE SUMMARY: 25 years, Bookkeeping, Auditing, Accounting (15 years, Senior Auditor) 6 years, Bank Operations and Bank Compliance and Consulting – Small Banks (commercial space planning, leasing, and lending) 4 years, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Analyst ...

Social Media Management Blueprint for Business or Job Search

Have you ever needed to work up a Social Media Plan for your business, but wasn’t sure what Social Media Management entailed or was the tasks were on a regular basis?  Here’s a cheat-sheet that helps you (as a business owner) or a job seeker to ...

LinkedIn: Why you don’t want to miss out on the activity

LinkedIn: Why you don’t want to miss out on the activity. Do you ever ask yourself – what good is LinkedIn?  How can it help me pursue business development or a new career search?  What effort do you put into learning about LinkedIn and its advantages? ...

History of the Resume – Evolution Since 1482!

I got a kick out of seeing the historic evolution of a resume from it’s initial form and format back when Leonardo Da Vinci created the first, to today’s social media link packed versions. One thing that is definitely following a trend – if you are ...

Resume du Jour – Valarie Miller – Project, Marketing, Publishing, Instructional, or Technology Management

Valarie A. Miller Virginia Beach, VA 23464 (757) 271-5903 ValarieAMiller@gmail.com   OBJECTIVE:  Project, Marketing, Publishing, Instructional, or Technology Management   EXPERIENCE SUMMARY:   18 years, Sales & Marketing Management 18 years, Marketing  for Print, Broadcast, and Online Media 10+ years, Technology-based Marketing, Web Design/Development 3 years, Education Product Sales & Marketing 3+ years, ...

A Modern Day Story of David and Goliath…Or…The Little Guy vs. The Corporate Giant

A Modern Day Story of David and Goliath…Or…The Little Guy vs. The Corporate Giant   For the third year in a row, Monster Clean, a small, local Carpet, Upholstery, Tile & Grout Steam cleaning company with thousands of happy Monster Clean ‘evangelist’ customers is seeking ‘happy ...

Needed – Government Contracting SMEs in HR/PM

I’m looking for research participants from the government contracting industry to participate in a ground-breaking Ph.D. Dissertation study. Listen to this video below to see if you know anyone who might qualify as as Subject Matter Expert Panelist: PhDProjectAppeal Thanks in advance!  

Small Business Branding – What to Consider When Researching the Best Aspects of the ‘Brand’ itself…

COMPANY BRANDING has three distinct facets: There are three distinct facets of a company brand. Each is an aspect of the employment brand and not the whole thing:   Stories and positioning for people unfamiliar with the brand:  This is what most employment branding conversations are ...

Convert Boyd’s OODA loop to HR practice to streamline procedures

Convert Boyd’s OODA loop to human resource practice to streamline procedures   Boyd’s Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop theorized by Air Force Colonel John Boyd in the 1970s seems to have done well for the military, although the Occam’s Razor theory (the simplest explanation ...

Why aren’t you still learning?

Unemployed?  Only if you sit at home all day and watch TV while you fill out online applications online for jobs posted in the local newspapers or the ‘big boy’ job boards.  While published jobs are less than 65% of the real openings ‘out there,’ if ...

Words to delete from your resume

One of the small mistakes I often see on resumes by inexperienced job seekers are unnecessary words and phrases taking up vital white space, which forces the resume owners to try to squeeze more into their allotted number of pages. Starting at the top of the ...

The First Step in Writing a Business Plan – Simple Math

Before you can write a business plan, you need to determine if you can ‘afford’ to go into business for yourself and still support yourself and/or your family.  Determine what finances are needed to support and grow your business.  Use this simplified table to envision the ...

Ask human resources to assist in writing business plan

Writing a business plan can be a hard task for entrepreneurs, but those lucky enough to have access to a human resources practitioner (HRP) or a veteran human resources (HR) manager on staff may complete the job faster with assistance from that HR subject matter expert.  ...

Creating a roadmap for hiring new employees = success!

When you own a small business, seeking, identifying, and hiring new employees can be a daunting task.  What questions need to be asked in an interview? What questions might create a lawsuit liability for the company?  What types of records should be kept for the job ...

What’s in YOUR Company’s Personnel Files?

Small business owners who are finally successful enough to start hiring employees are wading into unfamiliar territory when they start the process of hiring, on-boarding, and keeping records of the employee’s tenure with the company, as well as records of disciplinary actions and terminations.  Not keeping ...

Career Question – Test Task Valid?

QUESTION: I am interviewing for a corporate marketing job, and have been offered job (I think), but asked to do “consulting” marketing feasibility study on a property as an “audition.”  The interviewing company has also asked me to give a four-week notice at my current job. I ...

Beware: Your job applicants may litigate

I have three daughters who were very active in job searching during their high school years who combed the local area for a job.  They inquired at small stores, franchises, and multiple restaurants – dozens of businesses.  As a concerned mom, I coached them as they ...

Why aren’t you still learning?

Unemployed?  Only if you sit at home all day and watch TV while you fill out online applications online for jobs posted in the local newspapers or the ‘big boy’ job boards.  While published jobs are less than 65% of the real openings ‘out there,’ if ...

Alumni benefits: What to expect when rehired

Many rehired employees have the capacity to negotiate from a point of strength with employers who wish to rehire them. Smart job seekers can regain benefits, higher salaries, and other tenured perks, if the company has the financial capacity. No company is legally obligated to provide the grandfathering of benefits, privileges, or perks. But offering these in small or incremental amounts could be a deciding factor to hiring back a special skills or unique employee that can give the company an edge against the competition. Alumnus should get everything negotiated in the final interview for an offer of (rehire) employment letter so there is no misunderstanding once onboard.

Waffling about buying professional services?

Business Plan Template

Need to write a business plan?  Don’t know where to start? Here’s a handy-dandy template to get your brain juices flowing: Executive Summary – overall description of the company, it’s strategic goals, background, and start dates, owner(s), evolution of the idea that got it started, etc. ...

Fee-Based Career Services – What to Look for…

Since the economic crash in fall of 2008, so many job seekers have been ‘hit-up’ by those charging fees for services ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars for services including resume re-writes, job applications, and ‘special’ services or introductions to hiring companies. ...

URL’s you might need to visit to Apply for Government Service Jobs

  Recently found some great URL’s for those who are looking for jobs within Government Services arena:   USAJOBS (usajobs.gov) Application Manager (applicationmanager.gov) AvueCentra (avuecentral.com) CPOL (www.cpol.army.mil) DONHR (https://chart.donhr.navy.mil)   Good Luck!

I’m back up and running…

Nothing can make your world turn upside down faster than creating a website, then having a hacker attack your hours, weeks, or months of work, destroying your efforts, then not being able to figure out how to fix it! I use a site called InMotionHosting – ...