I recently talked with a great friend of mine who loves what she does. A music gal, she plays the clarinet like no one else can. In fact, she played in my wedding. During the day she teaches school-music, of course-and at night and on the weekends from time to time she plays in an orchestra. She does this for fun-no pay involved-because she loves to hone her skills, and music relaxes her. I think it is great that she does something that she loves for fun, and I find it even more interesting that she does something for fun … Continue reading →

I know a lot of people who enjoy rushing out of the door on the morning after Thanksgiving. Blood still filled with turkey and pumpkin pie they push past throngs of other people who are just as full of stuffing, grabbing for this toy and that game and this pair of black leather boots, hoping to catch a bargain before the holiday season begins. I applaud those of you who support retailers by getting out and doing this. But I’m telling you, I just can’t understand the rush! I am an anomaly, though: A woman who does not like to … Continue reading →

The US Business Bureau of Labor Statistics says that while most mothers would love the opportunity to hold a part time job, only 24% of mothers actually do. Part time employment affords numerous benefits to a mother. First, it allows a mother who wants to work the chance to work without having to go back to the office full time. This works particularly well for mothers who just had new babies and are not ready to jump back in full force, or who want to remain at home part of the time to experience those first few months, or years, … Continue reading →

It is sometimes easy to fall into the negativity trap at work. Someone talks too loudly, the copy machine always jams or your boss can’t seem to understand that your actual work day does not begin before the sun rises and end when the sun goes down. As my mom always says, familiarity breeds contempt, and so it becomes easy for us to fall into the negativity trap when we are constantly doing the same routine over and over again. This week, though, rather than spend time thinking about all of those things that you loathe about your job, such … Continue reading →

I had a friend of mine, also a small business owner, give me a call the other night. She was fuming bad. Apparently one of her clients had misunderstood something that she had promised as part of the job’s contract. Though the contract information had been placed in writing and gone over together, the client, unfamiliar with the type of job that my friend can perform, misunderstood exactly what she could do. He expected her to provide one thing and yet that thing was not one that she could provide, and so she provided what she could, and what she … Continue reading →

Until I opened my own company, I didn’t have much experience dealing with customers who were not happy. Before becoming a business owner I taught school, and before that I had a few odd jobs waiting tables. Handling an unhappy customer is much different than trying to handle someone who is unhappy with the job that you have done. This is especially personal when you are the owner of the company and you feel as though the job that you are doing is not what the customer initially wanted. Dealing with customers can be very difficult, especially when they are … Continue reading →

Mentors are excellent resources for those who are just starting out in a field or for those who are hoping to increase, improve or learn new skills. I believe so strongly that we can learn from people who do things better than we do them, or who have been doing them longer than we have. The latter doesn’t mean that someone who has been on the job longer than us is in fact better than us; but many times people who have had more experience know the best way to do a job, or they can offer shortcuts that work … Continue reading →

I read an article in a magazine today that said most studies show that nearly 70% of employees are disengaged! I thought that this number was fairly high until I thought of a few of my past positions. Truth is, I can recall sitting at one of my old desks (won’t say which one) reading through job position openings that were available in other companies because I was so disengaged with my employment. I believe becoming disengaged is quite easy when we become familiar with a job. In my opinion, this often happens when we don’t have enough ‘new’ stuff … Continue reading →