If You are Perfectly happy with accepting the way things are in your life, then a Home Based Business Is Not for You! Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself:Q: Do You have all the vacation time you need and deserve?Q: Can You write off a portion of your home and utilities in your present situation? Some of the best tax benefits this country has to offer are available only to business owners!Q: Do you work for a company that has mandatory overtime? with a Home Based Business the only overtime you put in is self-imposed and because you want to do it!Q: Do you work a night shift job? If you do you probably work the night of a Holiday such Memorial Day like I did because the company delivers their products early the next day! With a Home Based Business you can party as long as you want on holidays and get some extra sleep the day after!Q: Do You have an alarm clock? With a Home based business you don’t ever need one!Q: Do You have a long commute to work? Wouldn’t it be cool if your commute consisted of going from your bed to the coffee maker and then to your laptop? In your pajamas!Q: Does your company have a dress code? With your own home based business you can save the dress clothes for parties and entertaining. Work in your PJ’s or Buck Naked if you prefer, as long as you are not video conferencing!Q: Has anyone at your company been laid off in the past 2 years? Does that worry you? You can only lay yourself off if you have a Home Based Business and that’s only if you give up! You are better than that!Q: Are getting the raises you deserve? Or any raise at all? With a home based business you will dictate how much you make by how much effort you put into it.Q: Does your company allow you to be a part owner? If they are a publicly traded company you can buy stock but can you afford to invest your hard-earned money and gamble on their success?Q: Do You like your Boss? With a home based business I’m pretty sure you would!Q: Do your co-workers pull their own weight or do you find yourself working harder to pick up their slack? With a Home Based Business you decide who you will work with!Q: How many years until you can retire and live in the lap of luxury? Only You can answer that!OK, well hopefully this article and these questions served to get you thinking about your present situation and gave you a bit of a hint as to what you can do about it.
STEM Education: Connecting the Classroom to Careers
Over the past few years, there has been a focus on math and science education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Since President Obama has been in office, it seems like almost everyone is jumping on the “how important math and science education is and/or we need our kids to help us create our future STEM workforce” bandwagon. It seems like more resources are being put into enhancing math and science education programs. However, with all this attention on math and science, people are really not paying attention to the hows and whys we have gotten to this point in education and in our economy.
If you pay attention to economies of the world’s wealthiest countries; they have a strong educational system where there kids excel academically in all or most disciplines. The reason why education is linked to a strong economy because it is with education that you are able to have workforce that has the skills for the jobs in your economy. When the United States had a strong economy and was the global leader, we had a great educational system. However, the current state of our educational system is that students aren’t graduating with the skills for the jobs that are currently available in our economy. There are various reasons for this, however my main theory behind this is not enough kids or parents think about their future as it relates to connecting their education with their future careers.
I remember when I was growing up, I remember always knowing that I was going to get good grades so I can go to college and get a good job. Even my peers, who didn’t have any aspirations to go to college, had some plan in mind for a career, job or business after high school graduation. However, today’s K-12 students and parents are missing that connection to their education and their place in the future workforce; this disconnect takes place in all socioeconomic levels. So why are people asking where are all the jobs going? The question we should be asking is I am preparing myself and my children to get the jobs that are available in the current and future economy?
We prepare our children to become a part of the future workforce in two ways; researching the industry trends in the US and global economy and encouraging them to achieve academically and enhance the classroom experience with extracurricular activities. In the United States and global economy. It is true that jobs are disappearing as well as sectors, but there are sectors in the economy where there are plenty of jobs that go unfilled. The reasons why jobs in some sectors go unfilled is because there aren’t individuals with the skills and knowledge to do the job. The world is moving towards an educated workforce; which means individuals in the future economy will need to have a particular skill set or knowledge base to be employable. Most jobs in this new economy will require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, however there are some sectors that require only technical training. The key to ensure that your child will have a spot in the future workforce is researching the trends and sectors in the economy; most of which can be found on the department of labor and other government websites. Once you find the job trends, look at the academic subjects your child is strong in and their interests and guide then toward a career path that is a part of the current and future economy. In the STEM sector, there are plenty of jobs that are available now and being created as new fields in STEM emerge daily.
The second thing we need to do is have our children see the connection between what they do in the classroom today and their career options in the future. There are great benefits for students that achieve academically and participate in extracurricular activities. Classroom grades and standardized test scores are the tools that are utilized to measure student achievement. Students and parents shouldn’t wait until high school to see the importance of grades and standardized test scores. There are public policy decisions for the society as a whole that are made based on the standardized test scores of third graders. In addition, your child’s educational path will be determined by their teachers and principals based on the third grade test scores as well. Therefore, parents must encourage and support academic achievement from the first day your child enters school; as early as Pre-K. An environment that encourages and supports academic achievement means checking and doing homework with your child. It also includes finding tutorial support for subject areas that students may struggle in to ensure academic success in all subject areas. The final part of encouraging academic achievement is being a part of your child’s standardized test preparation. There are countless studies that show that when parents are an active part of their child’s education, children perform better academically.
The classroom should not be the only place where students have learning experiences. Children should participate in extracurricular activities that support their interests and strengths. Students that are interested in math and science should participate in math and science competitions and clubs. Students should also participate in summer and after-school programs in their area of interest. Finally students should participate in as many events as possible in their area of interest such as visiting museums, attending career fairs, etc.
The great thing about education is that is is not only a tool to train and equip students with skills, but it opens one’s eyes to see the possibilities. If we are going to have a future STEM workforce, we have to not only give our kids the skills to academically achieve in math and science, but allow them to see the possibility of having a career in those fields. The earlier our kids see this connection, the brighter their future becomes.
Start a Home Based Business: Five Tips to Ensure Success
The following tips are relevant for any home-based business as they encourage a business-focused approach. This is important, particularly as many home-based businesses grow out of hobbies.
Space
Allocate appropriate space and organize it for the tasks you have to perform. You need somewhere to work and where you can focus on the tasks to develop and maintain the business. Also, like any job there are times when you may need to get away from it.
Separate Resources
Sharing resources like the telephone offers obvious cost advantages to home-based businesses.
However, separating business and personal resources can make accounting easier and more importantly, protect items that are mission-critical for the business. For example, sharing a computer with the kids should be avoided.
Attitude
The harsh reality for most home-based businesses is there is much to do but often there is only one person to do it.
Therefore, set a work schedule and stick to it. As your own boss you have to manage yourself. Just getting started in the morning can be tough when working from home so maintain a routine. Get up, get showered, get dressed and go get a coffee at Starbucks if that’s how you start your normal working day.
Application
Your job is to run a home-based business so you need to be working at it. You are not the housekeeper, babysitter, gardener or any other form of domestic help, at least, not while you are supposed to be working.
It is easy to slip into this mode, particularly when you have a business task that you do not really relish but this does not pay the bills.
Revenue
Just because the overheads are comparatively low, home-based businesses still have to make money. The business may have grown out of a hobby that hopefully you still enjoy. But remember, it is a business and now needs to generate revenue to cover costs and to thrive. Otherwise, it is still just a hobby and you need to find other means to earn a living.