Corporate Alt Girl

So you want to start a business, but maybe you don’t know how, or maybe you don’t have enough money? You might be thinking that you’re not creative enough or you don’t have products to sell. Well, there’s no gatekeeping here, so I’m about to share with you 4 business ideas that you can start today, have low start up costs, and best of all, can be done from the comfort of your home.

Life & Health Insurance Agent

First up, Life & Health Insurance Agent. You need to get licensed. This is a venture that keeps on giving — from flexibility, to residual  commissions, and working remotely. Online National Insurance School is one of many schools to choose from and you can take the course for under $200. After completing your course, you will need to schedule your exam — I recommend checking your state’s department of insurance website for testing locations. What’s great about this is that in many states you can do your course online AND take your exam remotely. Assuming you pass, you’ll wait for your state to approve your license and they’ll send you an email with your license. Finally, you’ll register with NIPR or Sircon.

Accounting

Starting a business as an accountant can be a rewarding venture that offers flexibility and  reduced overhead costs. The first step is to ensure that you have the necessary qualifications and certifications required to practice accounting in your jurisdiction, as credibility is paramount in this profession. Certification course prices will vary, but here is a free resource for you to start learning today. Setting up a dedicated workspace is crucial for maintaining professionalism and organization. Investing in reliable accounting software and secure technology will enable you to manage your clients’ financial data efficiently and safely. Networking and marketing are also key to building your client base; consider creating a professional website and leveraging social media platforms to showcase your services and expertise. Additionally, staying updated with the latest accounting standards and regulations will ensure that you provide the best advice and services to your clients. With careful planning and dedication, starting a home-based accounting business can lead to a successful and fulfilling career.

Blogger

Starting a blog from the comfort of your home presents a viable and flexible business opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs. With the option to establish a self-hosted website, like WordPress, you gain complete control over your digital space, allowing for a more personalized and professional online presence. Monetization avenues for your blog are diverse, including affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and advertising revenue, providing multiple streams of potential income. Importantly, blogging doesn’t mandate inherent creativity; it thrives on a spectrum of content types. Whether your strengths lie in technical analysis, educational tutorials, or creative storytelling, there’s a niche for your voice. This versatility makes blogging an accessible venture for many, with the capacity to grow and evolve alongside your personal and professional development.

Notary

Starting a notary business from home offers a flexible service in a world where official documents are a staple of many transactions. It allows for a low overhead startup, as the primary requirements are notary certification, a reliable printer, and a secure record-keeping system. Marketing your services locally and online can attract a diverse clientele, ranging from individuals needing notarizations for legal documents to businesses requiring regular notary services. Additionally, offering mobile notary services can expand your reach and provide added convenience to your clients. This business not only capitalizes on a niche market, but also offers the satisfaction of facilitating critical processes in people’s lives and businesses. I also recommend checking your state specifics as some states allow for remote notary transactions, making it that much easier for you to turn this into a profitable business for yourself. You can check out the National Notary Association to start your path to becoming a notary today.

Conclusion

There you go, everyone—four entrepreneurial ventures you can kickstart right from the cozy confines of your home. Do any of these resonate with you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven work environment, we often emphasize technical expertise and hard skills. But, in the midst of this focus, we have lost sight of the equally important soft skills. These skills are crucial for fostering effective communication, teamwork, and leadership within the workplace. Today, we’re exploring five essential soft skills that you need to beat the competition along with tips for developing each soft skill.

Effective Communication

Starting out — clear and effective communication is the cornerstone of successful team dynamics and client relationships. It involves not only speaking and writing clearly but also actively listening and understanding others’ perspectives. United teams accomplish great things.

How To Improve?

Active Listening: Practice active listening by giving full attention during conversations, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing what you’ve heard to ensure understanding.

Feedback: Regularly seek feedback on your communication style. This can involve asking colleagues for input on how clear and effective your communication is and what areas need improvement.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotions and to recognize and influence the emotions of others. High EQ is vital for conflict resolution, empathy, and leadership.

Tips for Improvement

Self-Reflection: Spend time reflecting on your emotional responses. Identify triggers and think about how you can handle them more effectively.

Practice Empathy: Try to understand situations from your colleagues’ perspectives. This can be as simple as asking them about their day or discussing work-related issues and genuinely considering their viewpoints. People don’t always need to agree, but we do need to always allow space for productive conversations to keep moving forward.

Adaptability

The business world is ever-evolving, and being adaptable means you can handle change effectively, whether it’s a shift in business strategy, adapting to new technologies, or new ownership.

Tips for Improvement

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: Regularly challenge yourself to try new tasks or projects. This can help you become more comfortable with change. It also gives a greater understanding of how every aspect of a business works in harmony.

Learn Continuously: Keep yourself updated with industry trends and new skills. This not only keeps you relevant but also prepares you for unexpected changes.

Problem Solving

Problem-solving skills enable individuals to identify solutions in challenging situations. It’s about being innovative, resourceful, and persistent in finding solutions.

Tips for Improvement

Brainstorming Sessions: Engage in or initiate brainstorming sessions to tackle challenges. This not only helps in finding solutions but also improves your ability to think creatively.

Analytical Thinking: Practice breaking down complex problems into smaller, manageable parts. This helps in understanding the problem better and finding effective solutions.

Teamwork

No one works in isolation. The ability to work effectively as part of a team is crucial for the success of any project or organization. Your role may be important, but no role is as important independently as it is collectively.

Tips for Improvement

Collaborate Actively: Actively seek opportunities for collaboration. Offer your assistance on projects or involve others in your projects.

Open Communication: Encourage open communication within your team. Share your ideas and be receptive to others’ inputs, creating a positive and inclusive team environment.

Conclusion

And there you have it! 5 Soft skills that you need to beat the competition. Technical skills may get your foot in the door, but soft skills are what will set you apart from the rest. Regularly practicing and improving these skills can lead to significant career advancement and a more fulfilling work experience. You can take IBM’s free online course here to start developing your soft skills.

There’s nothing better than fully stocking up the office, except fully stocking up your office while simultaneously saving money. It seems like everyone has been talking about needing to save money because everything is just so expensive. That’s why I created your personal guide to Sam’s club office shopping. As a friendly reminder, some of my links are affiliates that pay me a small portion at no additional cost to you. Let’s get into, here’s your personal guide for savings.

G2 Pens

We’re kicking things off with a classic. High quality pens! It seems that many office girlies share the love of curating the perfect pen collection and I am definitely one of those girlies. High quality pens are important for a couple reasons. One, having a durable and reliable pen for meetings, interviews, and notes is crucial. Second, something about a nice pen speaks volumes on your professionalism and commitment to details.

Note Pads

Okay, this one is a little silly, but one thing I’ve noticed: Gen Z doesn’t take notes during training. Look, I’m a millennial manager and the common age range I manage is 18 to 24 year olds — it is rare to see any of them ever take notes during onboarding and meetings. So what was the solution? I got notepads and pens and explained to them why note taking is important, but that’s a story for another day. Another reason note pads are great for the office is for collaboration. When you’re talking to other managers, in meetings, brainstorming — keep everything in your note pad, develop the ideas, create your roadmap, and then implement and monitor. Pen to paper is still superior over notes on your phone. Again, it increases your commitment to professionalism and detail.

Post It Notes

Post it notes are so versatile. The number one thing for post it notes is organization. You can have them stick out like tabs on training manuals, you can color code sections of projects, or you can draft workflows. Another great thing about post it’s is communication. Got a coworker that doesn’t check their emails? Stick a post it on their computer. These are simple and so handy in the office.

Binders

Binders are amazing for creating comprehensive manuals for your team. You can put their benefits brochure, pay structure, important resources, and their training manuals. From there, they can continue to build on it with anything else that they’d like to have handy. It can also serve as an organization system for you. For example, I handled the research portion of legal cases and would organize them all into a binder so everything would be filed together and easy to sort through when handing everything over to our lawyers. Moreover, if you’re a small business or working for a small business, you may not have all the bells and whistles of software to handle employees electronically; so you can also have print outs ready for time off, disciplinary action forms, or other onboarding checklists.

Tumblers

Hydration is so important for work! Studies have shown that staying well hydrated increases your cognitive function. In other words, you’ll do better at: retaining information, planning, solving problems, and staying focused. This is pivotal especially during end-of-month and end-of-quarter when everyone is pushing to get those numbers up. But these tumblers are also cute and much better than plastic water bottles.

Snacks

Snacks are just for fun. They’re a great way to show your office that you value them; which, in turn, contributes to a positive work environment. It also helps for those days that you just need a quick bite to refocus.

Conclusion

Buying in bulk is the best way to save money on stocking up your office. And if you’ve made it this far, here’s a pro tip to save even more money: use Ibotta to redeem cash back on your Sam’s Club purchases. Now the offers are always changing, but there’s always something and it adds up over time. You can sign up here if you don’t have an account. I hope this post was helpful to you. I’d love to hear your best tips on how you save money when stocking up the office in the comments below. Happy savings!

Hey there, alt girlies

Get ready to summon the spirits of spring with these eerie essentials for your office lair! Each item is a bewitching blend of your personal alt spirit and corporate conformity, all without casting a spell on your wallet. And just so you know, if you click and conjure a purchase from any of the links below, I’ll earn a little sorcery in the form of commission from Temu.

Box Cutters

Unleash these on the mountain of parcels that invade your space, perfect for carving out a nook as dark and mysterious as your soul. Not only are these knife shaped box cutters handy for everyday use, but they also suit the alt lover well.

Mail Opener & Staple Remover

As the mastermind behind management, you’re bombarded with an alchemy of letters – from praises to hexes, and everything bewitched in between. This duo tool not only slices through envelopes like a wizard’s spell, but also removes pesky staples faster than you can say “abracadabra.”

Mobile Phone Stand

For the phone-friendly crypts, this spine chilling black cat stand is a must-have to stream your favorite spine-chilling shows and movies, making the workday feel less like a torture chamber.

Scissors

These all-black, mystical blades are perfect for your random arts and crafts seances – be it conjuring up flyers for the office or invites to the next coven gathering.

Ouija Mouse Pad

Last, but not least, this Ouija board-inspired pad ensures your mouse movements are as smooth as a phantom’s glide, while also shielding your desk from the mortal realm.

Final Words?

In conclusion, sprucing up your office space with these spine-tingling staples will not only keep your alt soul thrilled, but also ensure you’re equipped for every eerie encounter in the corporate underworld. Embrace your inner ghoul and make your workspace a bewitching blend of the mundane and the magical! And between us, you can use code: AAJ73583 for an extra 30% off. Let us know how you incorporate your alt style in your office in the comments below.

Social media reviews have revolutionized the business landscape, reshaping how companies operate and interact with their customers. This transformation is rooted in the shift of power from businesses to consumers, largely due to the widespread accessibility and influence of online platforms. However, the rise of social media reviews has also taken a negative shift. Once a valuable tool, has now made social media reviews not so valuable. We talk so often of the great things reviews can do, but in this post, I’d like to also highlight the negative effects that reviews have on businesses.

Empowered Consumers

In the pre-social media era, customer feedback was limited to direct interactions, traditional media, and surveys. Now, social media platforms empower consumers to publicly share their experiences, opinions, and reviews with a global audience. This shift has placed a greater emphasis on customer satisfaction and experience, as negative reviews can significantly impact a business’s reputation and sales. Trustpilot is what I will be referencing in the reviews, however, I want to acknowledge that there is no scarcity of review sites with the likes of Yelp, Google, BBB, Facebook, and so on.

Transparency and Trust

Social media reviews introduced a new level of transparency in business operations. Customers often trust peer reviews more than advertisements, seeing them as unbiased and genuine. This trust has compelled businesses to be more accountable, focusing on delivering quality products and services to maintain a positive online presence. Over the years, this has shifted however. Consumers increasingly raise demands and will use negative reviews to get their ways or to simply vent. As a CX Manager for over 5 years, it’s become common to hear “if you don’t give me (insert demand here), I will leave you a 1 star review on everything that I can. And I’ll post all about it on Facebook/Twitter.” Contrastly, I’ve heard several people say that they no longer trust reviews because companies will offer rewards for a 5 star review. These two ends have made social media reviews not so valuable anymore.

Real-Time Feedback

The real-time nature of social media allows businesses to receive instant feedback. This immediacy can be a double-edged sword: while positive reviews can boost sales overnight, negative feedback can spread rapidly, demanding swift response and action from the business. In comparison, recent years have pushed for companies to “do better.” All it takes is one negative review to go viral online and there will be a sea of comments demanding for companies to “do better.” Although there are negative experiences that occur, these same commenters seem to have forgotten that companies have certain policies in place for a reason and the demands they are making may not align with company policy. Lastly, a consumer should use their better judgment to discern if the OP is fully telling the truth in their videos/posts because as we all should know – not everything on the Internet is real or honest.

Influencer Impact

Influencers on social media can sway public opinion about a product or service. Their reviews can reach millions, making them a powerful marketing tool. Businesses are increasingly collaborating with influencers to expand their reach and credibility. We’ve seen this first hand as brands organize trips and conventions for youtubers and tiktokers alike. An example of this is Tarte Cosmetics who flew out influencers to Dubai in 2023 for their collaboration. While this has worked for many years in the Beauty & Lifestyle community, 2023 brought a different view of many seeing these trips as wasteful and out of touch. As a result, these influencer reviews have also increased cancel culture. One mistake that the public does not like from an influencer and here comes the sea of negative, hateful comments, and of course “canceling” them.

Data-Driven Strategies

Social media reviews provide businesses with valuable data about customer preferences and market trends. Analyzing this feedback helps companies to tailor their offerings and marketing strategies more effectively, leading to better product development and targeted campaigns. But again, with companies rewarding consumers for their 5 star reviews, it is difficult to truly improve your business if the data is not accurate. It’s irritating to see businesses boasting “top satisfaction” when they send out cards with their packages offering a gift card or discounts when you leave a 5 star review. Or even servers and sales people hovering over your shoulder and asking you to write a review before you leave. These seemingly harmless practices lead to skewed data, harm their sustainability, and make social media reviews not so valuable anymore.

Conclusion: Social Media Reviews are not so Valuable.

The impact of social media reviews on business is profound and multifaceted. It has democratized customer feedback, introduced transparency, and necessitated a more customer-centric approach in business operations. As social media continues to evolve, its influence on business strategies and consumer behavior will undoubtedly grow, making it an indispensable element of the modern business landscape. In my opinion, we’ve put too much emphasis on reviews are they don’t hold so much value anymore. I think reviews are a two way street, where businesses should be giving great customer service and delivering quality products — but it is equally important for reviews to be fair, logical, and unbiased in our reviews. Companies will continue to push those 5 stars as it increases organic traffic – but that’s a conversation for another day! What are your thoughts on social media reviews and influencers in 2023? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

We are in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where technology is transforming our world in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. It’s driving autonomous vehicles, aiding doctors in making more precise diagnoses, personalizing our entertainment, and streamlining our work with impressive efficiency. If you’re not already using AI, let me change your mind.

AI can be an amazing tool for small businesses, providing capabilities and efficiency often available only to larger corporations in the past. Here are several ways in which you can use AI for your business:

1. Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle common customer queries 24/7, allowing for faster response times. They can be programmed to answer FAQs, guide users through your website, process orders, and even provide personalized recommendations based on the customer’s behavior and preferences.

2. Sales and Marketing: AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify trends and patterns that can inform your marketing strategy. For example, predictive analytics can help you identify which customers are most likely to make a purchase or which products are likely to be popular. Personalized marketing, using AI, can increase customer engagement and conversion rates.

3. Operations and Supply Chain Management: AI can be used to optimize operations and supply chain processes, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. For instance, machine learning algorithms can forecast demand more accurately, helping you manage inventory better and reduce storage costs.

4. Financial Management: AI can automate repetitive tasks such as invoicing, payroll, and expense tracking. Machine learning algorithms can also help with risk assessment and fraud detection, providing added security for your financial transactions.

5. Product Development: AI can analyze customer feedback and online reviews to provide insights into what customers like or dislike about your products or services. This can guide you in refining your offerings to better meet customer needs and preferences.

6. Business Analytics: Machine learning algorithms can mine your business data to extract valuable insights about your business performance, customer behavior, market trends, and more. These insights can inform strategic decision-making.

7. Hiring and Human Resources: AI can streamline the hiring process by scanning resumes for keywords and ranking candidates based on predefined criteria. It can also assist in employee performance evaluations and training.

AI tools are not just the future; they’re today and you can start using them to drive growth, efficiency, and innovation in your business. From automating tedious tasks to making data-driven decisions, from enhancing customer service to optimizing supply chains, AI has the potential to improve your operations.

The entry of Millennials and Gen Z into the workforce has brought about significant shifts in the expectations and preferences of employees. Consequently, it has brought on a lack of evolution in leadership & management across generations. This generational change has also created some resistance to evolving leadership and management practices in the workplace. Today, we will cover contributing factors to resistance and what we can do to work harmoniously across generations.

1. Traditional Leadership Styles: Many organizations still adhere to traditional hierarchical leadership styles that may not resonate with younger generations. Command-and-control approaches, top-down decision-making, and rigid hierarchies are outdated and stifling to creativity and autonomy. What we can do to combat this is provide education and awareness to leaders and managers. This can include topics such as: values, characteristics, and preferences of Millennials and Gen Z. While management can argue that they are not here to cater to employees, at the end of the day, the employees are carrying out the work to achieve their departmental goals and it would make for a more pleasant workplace for all if older generations showed some interest in the wellbeing of the people who go to work for them every day.
2. Resistance to Change: Resistance to change is a common phenomenon in any organization. Senior leaders and managers who have been accustomed to traditional practices may be hesitant to adopt new leadership approaches. Fear of the unknown, uncertainty about the effectiveness of new methods, and a preference for maintaining the status quo can hinder the evolution of leadership styles. Instead of resisting, we should encourage collaboration and participation in some decision making. It’s easy as a seasoned manager to assume that younger employees don’t have the knowledge to succeed, but we quickly forget that sometimes new eyes see missed opportunities within daily operations. Additionally, younger employees are usually our frontline, they know our customers better than anyone else and receive feedback daily that can be valuable for management to improve on. And by allowing our younger employees to be involved, they are preparing to take over as older generations began to prepare to exiting the workforce.
3. Generation Gap: There can be a disconnect between older leaders and younger employees due to differing values, communication styles, and work expectations. This gap can make it challenging for established leaders to understand and adapt to the needs and preferences of millennials and Gen Z, impeding the evolution of leadership practices. For example, a preference of Millennials and Gen Z is to have a good worklife balance. They would rather have time off or flexibility over their schedules than a “title” in the workplace. By shifting the business focus to being result-oriented over strict hours, we see a higher retention rate of Millennials and Gen Z.
4. Perception of Entitlement: Some older generations perceive millennials and Gen Z as entitled or unwilling to put in the same level of effort or commitment as previous generations. This perception may lead to resistance in providing younger employees with more autonomy, flexibility, and participatory decision-making roles. But, there is a great, not easy, but definitely great fix: mentorship & reverse mentoring. This is when an an experienced leader mentors younger employees and where younger employees mentor leaders. It facilitates knowledge transfers such as company processes for younger employees to learn, or skills to navigate and leverage technology for older employees. Either way, there is always some thing that we can learn from each other.
5. Lack of Understanding: There may be a lack of understanding or awareness among leaders about the characteristics, strengths, and aspirations of Millennials and Gen Z. Without this understanding, it becomes difficult to implement leadership and management practices that align with the expectations of these younger generations. To ease these pains, leadership must prioritize purpose and social impact in the workplace. Younger generations have held businesses accountable in Corporate Social Responsibility and by aligning expectations, we can see greater success.

By addressing these factors and adapting leadership and management practices to better suit the preferences and expectations of millennials and Gen Z, organizations can overcome resistance and create an environment that fosters the growth and development of the younger workforce. Afterall, it’s proven that employee retention brings higher performance and greater customer satisfaction.

Intro

Staying organized is much easier than you may think. You can accomplish this by creating systems that work for you. We all want to know how to stay organized. The thing is, the average person wants instant gratification, but doesn’t want to spend the time or effort to get the results they desire. How can you fix this? By simplifying your life through systems that help you maintain your organization.

How to Stay Organized

First, let’s build a little scenario. We’re going to take food in relation to finances for example. Secondly, many of us are culprits to saying: “I’m going to start eating healthier” or “I’m just going to Doordash some lunch and I’ll cook something tomorrow instead” or “fast food is cheaper than groceries” When in reality, we need to build a system that makes it near fail proof to pack lunch for work. This is how you stay organized:

1. Plan – figure out 1-3 breakfast, lunches, and dinners that you want for your week.
2. Prep- Write out everything you need from the grocery store so you don’t overspend.
3. Implement – Make everything at once. Having oatmeal for breakfast all week? Pre-pack in mason jars or zip lock bags.

Why do this?

Why go through all this work? Because creating a system makes it easy to stick to your organizational goals. Furthermore, it takes out the excuse of why something is not getting done. It saves you a lot of money. You’re not wasting money on service fees, delivery fees, tips, or unnecessary groceries. It relieves the stress of preparing for the next work day. It saves you time and frees up space in your mind to focus on other things that are important to you.

What’s in it for me?

Finally, we can take these steps and apply them to anything. (1) Plan, (2) Prep, (3) Implement. Organization is a larger part of underlying systems that support the specific aspect of our life that we need or want to organize. The maintaince will come naturally if you’ve put a system that works for you. Subsequently, the organization follows. All because you’ve created a system that is practical, realistic, and fits your style of living.

Hi there!

It looks like you found the beginning of the corporate alt girl and the beginning of how you can manage your time better.

Who am I? Well, it doesn’t matter too much. This blog is to show you that you can be your most authentic self in corporate America. Here you will find round up lists on alt fashion in the workplace, office decor that feels spooky, organizers that show your inner sad girl, supplies that scream dark side, and apps to help you manage your time and stay productive.

What is my purpose? Well, I’m here to help you make your dreams come true. I will show you how to manage your time, how to map out ideas, how to maximize your resume, how to be consistent version of your alternative self in corporate America. We dream big and achieve.

While I’m here for you and your goals, here’s some of my background to show you that I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been in Customer Service for 10 years with 7 of those years being in management. I’ve received Award of Excellence recognition for outstanding customer service, I’ve managed business development centers, and I’ve been a full time student while managing a full time job, and now I am a mom working as a manager in the automotive landscape. How did I get here? Well it started with a simple “how to manage your time” search and holding myself accountable for my results. I want to help you learn the art of managing your time better because it makes all of a difference when you maximize your days.

Where are we going? We are going to the ends of the universe. The future of this blog holds tangible items. This includes – digital downloads to help you stay on track, realistic reminders, office outfits, community, and partnerships to all grow together.

I can’t wait to see you learn how to manage your time and be your best self 🖤🦇🖤🦇