In my experience, many people who are used to presenting on stage (or in front of a room), are not aware of how they need to adapt their presentation style to the technical requirements and demands of the video camera.

This includes;

♦ body positioning, body language and gestures, body movement vocal range
♦ eye-contact with the lens
♦ camera framing and camera angles
♦ backgrounds and setting the scene – to mention a few.

Stage vs. Screen

Presenting on video requires the presenter to “pull people in” (screen presence) whereas stage presenting requires the presenter to “push out to the audience.” There lies the problem for many Stage presenters. Note: this is also a common challenge for professional Stage-actors attempting to cross-over to screen and vice-versa for Screen-actors. Each need to learn/unlearn or modify their performances to suit the video or stage medium.

I see it a lot with professional speakers / presenters trying to make the crossover from stage to screen. They haven’t quite mastered the crossover to video in my observation (yes, I review a lot of video) and still struggle with the camera’s technical demands. I’ll address these demands in future articles.  In the mean time to get you started, check-out the above links to help you with your online video presentations.

Also, I would love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments below, what your biggest challenges are when it comes to presenting on video – or with creating your own Video Presentations? If this is all new for you, share with me what you found most helpful with this article and how you will implement it in your next video?

Always listening and cheering you on with your online video presentations!

Bianca

Video Presenting vs. Stage Presenting is a post from: She Takes on the World

A female CEO we love! Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo.

They’re not feeling it.

You haven’t even asked yet, but you can tell they’re not going to like this.

And you really need to make this request. Whether they’re your staff, family, partners, or business heroes, it would mean everything to have their support.

It seems you have two options.

Option 1: You can stop yourself from making the request in the first place. After all, asking for this would be unreasonable. And even if they say “yes,” what if they spend the rest of their days resenting you for it?

Option 2: You can charge ahead and force yourself (or them) into doing it. This might work once or twice, but force leads to resistance. It’s not a sustainable way to live.

In working with hundreds of leaders and their teams, I’ve noticed that successful women have tapped into a third way.

Option 3: Asking with intention.

What does that mean?

Act as if anything you desire is already here and banish your doubt. When you shake off your doubts, anything is possible. Your intentions determine how quickly and effectively you reach the stars. I believe we all tend to use our thoughts to create the world we choose. If you doubt your ability to create the results you intend, then you are refusing the power of intention.

To ask with intention means you have identified your limiting beliefs and assumptions while freely choosing to believe in that which moves you closer to your finish line. On many occasions, this requires belief without a shred of evidence. My clients are often surprised to discover and identify the beliefs that are holding them back from what they know is possible. Enter Fear. Judgement. Stubborness. Coming to terms with those, gives way to eureka moments that deliver the goods.

Creating clear intentions unleashes bold moves and wild success. I got specifics from CEOs who faced real-life challenges in which they decided to make an unreasonable request–and did so by asking with intention.

Let’s look at 6 situations where you may think you can’t make an unreasonable request—and how these CEOs asked with intention.

1. “I’m the boss—no one else cares about the outcome as much as I do, so I can’t possibly ask my team to go above and beyond.”

“I used to consider myself the boss. At one point it felt powerful–a sort of an ego trip for me. Now I don’t put my title on anything anymore. I have people who have worked for me for years. They are constantly going over and above what they need to do because they feel the company is not just mine, but it’s theirs, and that is the key of success. I’ll share if we are going through challenges. I’ll ask them what can we do better here. It’s a very different way of managing now. I have conversations with them all the time, and on a regular basis, we’ll bring in personal stuff when there’s something going on. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ and I respect it. I’ll say, ‘Okay, if you need something, let me know.’ Work shouldn’t be just about work—it’s about life. If people are sick or a family member passes, I give them the freedom to take care of their life, and reassure them their job is here. In return, they are so dedicated.”

—Lisa Brazelton, founder of Total Coordination Professionals



“You have to find the ‘win’ for the person you’re asking. You have to paint a picture for them to see how complying with your request is to their benefit. Example: More cold calls = more qualified prospects = more sales = more money for you. Tell them the final result you hope to accomplish, the guidelines they may need to work within (budget constraints, legal, etc.) and then let them chart the path. If you feel they are off-base, then talk about it. Use words such as ‘you might want to,’ or ‘you could.’ Replace the word “should” with “might” or “could.” Give feedback in a positive way. Example: They tell you their plan and you see some pitfalls. Consider saying, ‘Good work, but how would it look if we…’ Personal thank you notes and phone calls, restaurant gift card, tickets to a play, etc. can also help your team realize that you really do appreciate their efforts. Once they realize they are important to the success of the company and that you recognize that, they are more willing to step up, do as requested, and, more importantly, think strategically and come up with ideas of their own that will move the organization forward.”

—Debbie Simpson, President, Multi-Craft



2. “How can I possibly ask my staff to take a pay cut?”

“The hardest thing I have asked for ever was of my staff. They’re world-class, and I’m not just saying that. When the economy turned, I made a conscious decision to not participate in the recession. I spoke with my accountant, and agonized for many nights. I wanted to figure out a way to keep everyone on board. We decided to ask them to work a four-day week, every other week. If people had hardships they couldn’t overcome, I would try to help them in other ways. That is how we managed for one summer, so we could run the company. It was the saddest day and the happiest day when I told them it was going to be over. They got really used to working those four-day weeks! I was so happy we maintained our full staff, and never laid anyone off.”

—Adrienne Giannone, President/CEO of Edge Electronics, Inc.



3. “How can I ask for more compensation from a client or partner who doesn’t have the funds?”

“A woman who owned this company came to me and asked me to consider coming to work for her, even though she couldn’t afford me. I told her I would, on the condition that my lowered salary was earning me a partnership in her business. She agreed, and we became partners. After 10 years, she decided to leave the business. I bought her out, and now own the business myself. In retrospect, I still can’t believe I asked for that. I’m still amazed she agreed to it. We had a very successful partnership. The business grew and expanded, and we worked extremely well together. We both had assets the other lacked, so we made a very good team. I worked more than ever, but also made more money than I ever would have. I am no longer afraid to ask for what I want like I always was before.”

—Carolyn DeNapoli, Owner, Direct Sign Systems



4. How can I ask for a reduced price from my vendors?

“Although I do not like to ask, it is very important that you do ask for a reduced price from your vendors. Many times prices have gone down or competitors’ prices are significantly lower, and your vendors will not pass along the cost savings until you request it. I always have to ask my employees, “Did you get it in writing?’. I am sure they will write ‘Did you get it in writing?’ on my tombstone.”

—Adrienne Giannone, President/CEO of Edge Electronics, Inc.



“From my vendor partners, I’ve asked for their help in keeping costs as competitive as possible so we could secure and maintain business with clients. I’ve also asked them for their best service, so together, we provided the best service to the ultimate client.”

—Joan K. Bradley, PharmD, President/CEO, The JB Ashtin Group, Inc.



5. How can I ask my partner for more help at home?

“We realized early on in our marriage that my passion for my business was greater than my husband’s passion in his career, so we agreed that I would focus on mine and he would focus on everything at home. So when I came home from work, I could devote my time and focus on our family, and not have to worry about groceries, laundry, bills, or other chores. This was not as easy as it sounds. A lot of frustration (both of us) and tears (mine, not his) came and went before we agreed on how to move ahead. Knowing what both of us was responsible for took away much of the everyday stress of working and raising children. My husband and I have a wonderful partnership that has lasted 25 years so far and our kids (now 24 and 18) still really like us (smile) and are successful in their own lives.”

—Joan K. Bradley, PharmD, President/CEO, The JB Ashtin Group, Inc.

6. How can I ask for a mentorship from someone who doesn’t even know I exist?

“When I first opened my business, the thing I needed most and asked for often was guidance. I reached out to every successful person I knew and asked them to spend 30 minutes with me. I respected them so much and appreciated their time, so I made sure I came prepared with a list of topics and questions, and stuck to the 30-minute time commitment. The takeaway for me was significant, and in many instances, my mentors were given something in return. People truly enjoy helping other people and sharing their own experiences. The impact this has had on my life is enormous. I now have a network of professionals whom I trust and rely on, and to this day I call many of them friends. It has opened my mind and heart to help others, and allows me to see that we can’t do it alone, and nor should we think we have to.”

—Megan Buzzetta, CEO & President, Global Planners, Inc.

I’d like to hear from you in the comments. What’s one totally unreasonable thing you’re going to consider asking for in the next week as a result of reading this post?

Want more? Register to receive for 5 scripts to make your next request easy, breezy, and absolutely doable.

Ask a CEO: How Can I Make a Totally Unreasonable Request (When I’m Sure They’ll Resent Me for Even Asking)? is a post from: She Takes on the World

Photo: Jonathan Bielaski

In 2008 I decided to start a little blog to share my experiences as I started my own business and traveled to over 60 countries around the world. That “little blog” took on a life of its own as it evolved into the amazing She Takes on the World community we have today, landing us on the Forbes list of “Top 10 Entrepreneurial Sites for Women” this year.

Some of you have been with me since the very beginning of this journey while many more have become part of our community over the past year. Whether you’ve been a reader for four years or four days, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are part of about half the entries in my Gratitude Journal!

As women entrepreneurs we are at the forefront of a movement that is changing the world.

Women are leaving the workforce in droves to start their own businesses and do work they are passionate about. By 2018 women will create the majority of all new small business jobs.

I believe entrepreneurship is the women’s movement of our time.

That’s a key message in my upcoming book, She Takes on the World: A Guide to Being Your Own Boss, Working Happy, and Living on Purpose which will be released on March 27th! The book is about inspiration, freedom and the audacity to change a predictable, ordinary life into an extraordinary one through entrepreneurship. You can read all about the book and download a free chapter here.

Calling all revolutionary women: 3 ways you can spread the love and make a huge difference:

This book has been a labor of love for the last two years and I need you to help me give it wings. Every tweet, every Facebook post, every email sent, every blog post or review you write, every book purchased, every Amazon review, and every time you mention the book to your friends means so so much to me.

1. Write a Blog Post

Blogs are powerful! Bloggers can spread ideas to the masses and create global movements. If you have one I’ll be forever grateful if you write a post about the book. You could feature an interview with me by using the Q&As in the Media Kit or email me your interview questions at natalie@shetakesontheworld.com so I can answer them personally. Or you can request a review copy of the book to cover it on your blog. To request a review copy please email ronketi@shetakesontheworld.com with subject line “REVIEW COPY REQUEST.”

2. Send an Email

You can tell your blog readers, friends, and family to download a free chapter of the book by using this template and adding a personal touch:

Hello [Insert name here],

My friend Natalie’s book She Takes on the World: A Guide to Being Your Own Boss, Working Happy, and Living on Purpose is out March 27th. I’m helping her spread the word by forwarding this email — I thought you might like to download a free chapter of the book at http://www.shetakesontheworld.net/book.

Cheers to taking on the world,

[Your name]

3. Share, Share, Share

Share this post on your Facebook page, pin the book cover (available here) to your “Awesome Books” board on Pinterest, or let your followers know about the free chapter available for download by using one of these tweets:

Download a FREE chapter of @nataliemacneil’s new book, “She Takes on the World.” Highly recommended! http://bit.ly/A7rLVR #shetakesontheworld [Click to tweet]

Women entrepreneurs: Need a business coach but on a budget? Check out @nataliemacneil’s new book! Free chapter here: http://bit.ly/A7rLVR [Click to tweet]

Please send links to any of your posts to ronketi@shetakesontheworld.com so we can share them too! Give love, get love. Good karma is so beautiful!

If you haven’t already, check out the Book Page and download the first chapter for free. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon. We’ll be launching a contest with a $5,000 grand prize as well as running an incredible bonus offer for when the book launches on the 27th.

These next few weeks are going to be one hell of a ride and I can’t thank you enough for your support!

With love and gratitude xo

Women Taking on the World: This is My Love Letter to You is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Call it the year of the small business woman.

In 2012, statistics are showing that without women the U.S. economy would be 25% smaller than it is today and that women hold nearly 48% of all jobs. Women-owned business, according to BOLT Insurance Agency, now accounts for nearly $3 trillion in economic impact with 23 million jobs produced. In 2018, female-owned small businesses are slated to create one-third of the 15.3 million new jobs in the U.S.

Go ladies! Despite these fabulous numbers, 74% of women-owned small business owners are still worried about the impact that the economy will have on their business this year. Cutbacks for the year include 37% on hiring and 31% delaying raises with bonus eliminations at 30%. With many businesses ultimately too small to offer enough health insurance perks, it might look like businesses are cutting back for cost and not because of concern for the employee. Far from true- these are just some of the difficult 2012 hurdles businesses will face along with these additional factors.

Financing Issues

“… many small business owners don’t understand that truly one event… can destroy a small business and wipe out its owner’s personal assets.” said Tom Hammond, executive vice president of operations at BOLT.

Apart from the difficulty of being able to be financially prepared for anything (literally), many women-owned businesses may not be as ‘connected’ in financial circles which will lead to tightening of the financial reins with banks.

Work-Life Balance

Ah, this old familiar. The ever-ending uphill battle for many professional women but with compromise within both personal relationships and career life this door may soon be closing with women winning the battle. Studies have shown that women-friendly corporations have both higher profits and generally tend to be more financially successful than similar companies run by men. Will the stay at home dad be the new standard? Could be!

The Biggest Hurdles Women-Owned Businesses Will Face in 2012 is a post from: She Takes on the World

♫ It’s the moooost wonderful time of the yeeeear! ♫

I love the Holidays and taking time to unwind, and plan for the year ahead. During the Holidays, one of the things I also do is re-read my favorite book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. His timeless principles for success have always been at the core of my annual plans. A lot of people ask about this annual plan I do each year, so this year I thought it would be fun to turn it into an interactive experience as my Holiday gift to all of you! It includes inspirational videos from Napoleon Hill about his success principles that I use for my own business -and my life, his Personal Inventory Questionnaire, and my Bigger Picture Strategic Planning Exercise.

Take my free 21 Day New Year Challenge, Starring Napoleon Hill, to reflect on the past year and prepare to take on the world in 2012.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, and best wishes for the New Year from the entire team at She Takes on the World! Expect big things from us next year!

Please leave a comment below and share 1) the accomplishment you’re most proud of this year and 2) your number one goal for 2012. I’ll start: The accomplishment I’m most proud of this year is my Emmy Award and my number one goal for 2012 is to send my book out into the world after two years of hard work. Your turn!

Rock 2012 With My 21 Day New Year Challenge, Starring Napoleon Hill is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

If you are a woman in business, you need to incorporate online videos into your social media marketing strategy. By doing so, increases brand awareness and creates viewer action leading to more inquiries and sales.  In fact, according to Online Video Marketing Statistics, adding video to small business profiles:

• Increases number of business profile views more than 100%
• Increases number of profile clicks more than 30%
• Increases number of calls generated by more than 18%

For the past several months, I’ve had creating a welcome video for my blog and online community on my ‘to do’ list but have avoided it like the plague.  Why? Well, just the sheer thought of having a video of myself floating out there in cyber space is nerving.  After reading such staggering statistics on the importance of video marketing to small businesses… AND knowing that Google loves VIDEOS, that is, Forrester Research has reported that websites with video are 50 times more likely to gain an organic first page ranking, I realized that it’s time to stop procrastinating and get down to the business of video marketing.

While researching, I found three inexpensive ways to create professional videos and handy tools to help you in the process:

3 Inexpensive Ways to Create Your Video

Smart Phone: depending on your mobile device, the quality might not be as sharp but this is a great way to capture a quick or impromptu video any time.  The iPhone 4 has a great built-in video camera which you can launch, shoot and edit on the go.  I use it regularly to record my kids sporting events.

Web Cam: though you can purchase an external webcam, most new computers have this feature built in.  This is an easy way to create tutorials, interviews or ‘how to’ videos or vlogs.  My kids and I have created a dozen or so silly videos using our webcam.

Screen Recording Software: when searching for online software, you will find a number of free and fee-based screen recording software solutions available.

• Camtasia Studio: this software allows you to easily generate effective videos that help you train, teach, and sell and more. A free trial is available.
• CamStudio: this free software download allows you to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files.

Online Teleprompter

• Cue Prompter: a free teleprompter/autocue service.
• Easy Prompter: a free teleprompter service that is compatible with most plugins, browser versions and special hardware, etc.

Screen Shot Software

• Jing:  using screenshots is a great way to enhance your fast-paced online conversations. Jing allows you to create images and videos of what you see on your computer screen. For up to 5 minute videos, you can use the free version or simply upgrade!

Video Hosting Services

• Daily Motion:  one of the leading sites for sharing videos, attracting over 114 million unique monthly visitors
• Vidler:  a platform for video publishers; built by a team of talented developers, designers and architects. A free version is available for personal use.
• Vimeo: created by filmmakers and video creators who wanted to share their creative work, along with intimate personal moments of their everyday life.

Now that you’ve created your online videos, it’s time to upload them to your free YouTube channel.  Why use YouTube?  Well, by posting your video on YouTube will give you access to the channel’s 20 million monthly visitors.

In conclusion, video marketing is a powerful way to brand your business. By implementing into your plan, provides you with opportunities to engage potential new customers 24/7.

Video Marketing: 3 Inexpensive Ways to Create a Presence is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

Finding a good balance was never easy for me—I wear brown shoes with a black shirt, if someone is quiet I get quieter, I like ice cream and I like ketchup, so why wouldn’t those work together? Okay, so fortunately I was joking with that last one (and unfortunately I was serious about the first one), but nonetheless the idea of balance is just as important in the business world. You have to have a balance between home life and work, you have to balance out the tasks you are given, and you have to find a balance with those you work with (all while factoring in all the other things on your mind). In other words, one of the most important things about a company is employee collaboration, but it isn’t easy. If you’ve ever come in contact with another person (and I hope you have), you know that some people butt heads. They agree on nothing, they therefore fight about everything, and nothing gets done.

Although it may seem impossible for these two people to get along, collaboration can do wonders for your business. In other words, these two employees have to get along.

Collaboration is important for a few reasons:

• Employees can bounce ideas off one another, which will hopefully help generate the best possible idea for any given project.
• If employees can collaborate effectively during projects, their overall attitude about the job will improve. This will help all employees stay productive and motivated.
• Collaboration helps communication. If employees are “forced’ to speak with each other, they are bound to talk about other things related to the company; therefore there is likely to be less overlap and less conflicts between departments/specific employees.
• On a similar note, collaborate allows for efficiency. If one employee has some extra time on their hands and another employee is swamped with work, collaboration will help everything get done in a good amount of time.

Whether you are a leader or simply another person “forced” to collaborate, there are things you can do to help everyone get along. If employees are constantly butting heads, all of the benefits to collaboration go out the window (sometimes causing negative situations to arise). For this reason, collaboration can be tricky. Fortunately, there are a few things that can be done to help everything run smoothly:

Collaboration at Its Finest

1. Attitude—You must make sure that everyone in the company understands that collaboration is a win-win situation for everyone. Collaboration is not about being defensive or trying to make your department look better than another. Think mutual success—if the group succeeds, everyone succeeds (and vice versa).
2. Accountability—Everyone needs to be held accountable for their actions in a collaboration. Although the final result is a win-win for everyone, there is no room for blame when it comes to working together. Members of the team should not blame others, but rather those who are at fault should stand up and take accountability. This will avoid any negative feelings toward that person or persons, and then the group can move on with the task.
3. Current Technologies—Having up-to-date technologies for your employees to work with will help collaboration. Now that social networks have exploded onto the scene, you can create pages and accounts specifically as a space for your employees to collaborate. You can also consider using Skype or other types of VoIP business phone services for the employees who prefer the phone. Most will even enjoy collaborating through these different platforms.
4. Praise—If you are a boss or manager, it might be a good idea to recognize a good outcome that came from collaboration through some type of praise. Let your employees know that their collaboration is appreciated, and keep a record of success stories to share when it comes time for a company meeting.
5. Learn from Conflict—One of the most important parts of successful collaboration is the ability to learn from something that went wrong. There are bound to be a few disagreements between employees, but encourage them to look on the positive side and move on with the project.

As most business owners will tell you, collaboration happens every day. It has to in order for anything to get done in a company. However, what most business owners do not realize is that this collaboration can almost always be improved. Follow some of the tips discussed above and considering bringing up the idea of collaboration during a company meeting. In other words, collaborate about collaboration.

5 Simple Ways to Improve Employee Collaboration is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

Recently, a friend told me about a negative incident she had while dining at a large restaurant chain. Her waitress was very rude and inattentive. By the time her meal arrived, her colleague had finished eating. The last straw was realizing her steak was prepared wrong. Angrily, she took out her iPhone and sent out a tweet to her followers about her experience. Minutes later, she received an apology from the restaurant’s general manager; the cost of her meal was waived; and she was given a $100 gift certificate for a future visit. Imagine if that restaurant chain didn’t have a social media presence? What you don’t know can harm you!

“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Benjamin Franklin

Do you know what people are saying about you, your business or brand? Whether you are managing one or all, your online reputation is extremely important.

According to a recent study at Forrester Customer Experience Forum, a single negative comment using a social media platform, can equate to a loss of 30 potential clients. Can your business afford such a loss? If the answer is NO, then read on for tools and tips:

7 Tools to Monitor Your Reputation Regularly

• Blog Pulse: an automated trend discovery system for blogs. This search engine analyzes and reports on daily activity in the blogosphere. http://www.blogpulse.com
• Board Tracker: a message tracking and instant alerts system designed to provide relevant information quickly and efficiently while ensuring you never miss an important forum thread. http://www.boardtracker.com
• Google Alerts: updates sent via email of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query or topic. http://www.google.com/alerts
• Social Mention Alerts: a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information. It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. http://www.socialmention.com
• Technorati: a search engine that indexes blogs. Find mentions of your blog or specific keywords across other blogs. Subscribe to the search results feed and get notified of new mentions. http://technorati.com/
• Trackur: pulls keyword mentions from a variety of sources, not just Google Alerts, but its biggest use comes from the ability to save, sort, tag, share and subscribe to particular feeds. http://www.trackur.com/
• Yahoo Alerts: a notification service that instantly informs you of what you consider important and relevant via instant message, email or cell phone. http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/alerts/about/alerts-19.html

Unfortunately, you can’t control the actions of other people. You can however, have a positive influence over the outcome. Here are:

5 Tips for Handling Criticism

• Handle the situation or issue immediately
• Listen with an open mind and use the ‘criticism’ as a way to improve
• Thank the person for his/her feedback
• Apologize… and apologize again
• Explain how you will rectify the situation or issue

So, why do you need to create, monitor, and engage through an online presence? It’s simple, if you don’t control your reputation, someone else will.

Tools and Tips to Effectively Manage Your Online Reputation is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image Courtesy of Shutterstock

Hire Smart Now So You Don’t Have to Fire Later

One of the best things you can do for your company is hire quality employees — and don’t take their word for it. Whether you are a businessman or a businesswoman, you want to create the best possible staff for your company. There are several ways a company can determine whether an employee will be a good fit without taking a blind leap of faith; one being background checks.

Background checks allow you to know exactly who you are hiring before making the job offer. According to hrscreening.com, over 35% of job applications and resumes reveal a distortion, and according to William M. Mercer, Inc., turnover costs a minimum of $10,000. Although background checks are becoming more and more popular (and unfortunately more necessary) with companies, performing a Google search or checking a potential candidates Facebook simply isn’t enough. The best way to avoid these types of unnecessary costs is to catch the problem before it starts and complete a few simple checks.

What to Check and What to Avoid

There are several types of records that you should check before hiring a prospective employee and some that have to be avoided:

The reason that some records should be avoided is because they are not always accessible to just any company, and in many states these kinds of background checks are not supported. In some states an employer is allowed to ask about things such as criminal records, while other states cannot. If you feel you need to check someone that is typically avoided, the best thing you can do is check with a lawyer to determine your states policy.

Tips to Hiring that Perfect Employee

1. Consent – An employer must always get the consent of the applicant before performing any sort of background tests. If an applicant has nothing to hide, this should not be a problem. The easiest way to do this is to create a portion of your job application that asks whether or not the applicant would be willing to undergo a list of specific background checks. This way, if there is an issue it will come up before all the formalities of an interview.
2. Pick and Choose Your Battles –When conducting a background check, make sure that your tests and checks are related to the job position your candidate is applying (you are not expected to conduct every test you can). For example, if you are looking to hire an office worker, driving records would not be necessary. It is up to the employer to decide which tests make sense for the position. In fact, if your tests are unreasonable you run the risk of being sued.
3. Credit Report Issues – The background check that would probably give you the most problems would be credit reports. In some states, looking at an applicant’s credit is not allowed. If this is allowed in your state and you want to use a credit report to make your decision, be advised that the applicant has a right to challenge your decision if they are not hired.
4. Use Public Record Databases – Much of the information you need to conduct a background check, such as driving records or court records, can be found online. Other things you need, such as drug tests or past employment references, can be done in your office.
5. Double Check Those Resumes – It is worth your time to call Universities for education verification and past employers for work history confirmation. Many applicants can come in for an interview and smooth talk their way into your good graces, but once the job starts you may find yourself spending too much time on the training a past education or job seemed to “miss.”

Unfortunately, many start-up companies see backgrounds checks as confusing and intimidating, and therefore ignore them. This is sure to cost you more trouble in the future if you do hire an employee who is bad news, so follow a few of the simple tips listed above. After all, you can NEVER be too safe with your business.

How to Perform a Successful Employee Background Check is a post from: She Takes on the World

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

In my last article I discussed the importance of developing a personal brand. Today I am going to be covering the method of myname.com branding for your business and how it all fits together.

A number of years ago now some educators from the MLM industry started promoting “self branding” as a way to position yourself as a leading authority in your field – so for the sake of this example they would suggest that I build a blog called kathudson.com (which I did).

The method it self is quite sound – but where I see so many entrepreneurs come undone is they get out and start marketing the myname.com site without really having done much else. If no one knows who you are it is a challenge to get people to go back to your myname.com website – UNLESS you are doing something really profound.

Your name, your brand is EVERYTHING. Your domain link is CRUCIAL.

My name is Katarina Mikic and I initially started marketing with KatarinaMikic.com, Hudson was to become my married name, so after 12 months of feeling like I was getting no where with katarinamikic.com I changed my name and created my online brand of Kat Hudson and the link to kathudson.com and my website traffic tripled overnight!

Still, I didn’t feel that I was getting the traction or the results I wanted. So I decided to start my new business, Women’s Web Marketing. This example proves how important the name is . The content was the same, the person delivering the content was the same – the only thing to change was the website and brand delivering the content. I launched Women’s Web Marketing with no list, using only Facebook for Marketing and generated almost $1,000 auto pilot income in the first 10 days it was on-line and built my list to around 150 people in those few short days.

I’d never managed to pull that off with Kat Hudson.com ever! So after this I started trialing my theory with clients and this is what I have found works.

Your MyName.com site should be for relationships and positioning.

So you could come to KatHudson.com to find out more about me; get to know like and trust me (the rules of Influence) then you would have what I refer to as money sites linked from your myname.com site. So for this example, if you come to KatHudson.com I have 3 different pages that can convert to sales, which are all still being further developed.

For you this could mean adding a squeeze page from your myname.com site with a descriptive domain name.

The BEST way to structure a domain name for success is:

* Make it descriptive – the title should explain what the site is about and should be enticing so people actually want to click on it

* Make it easy to spell – another reason why myname.com sites can be hard to gain traction with; some people have crazy spelling or really long names

* Avoid hyphens ( – )

* Limit to 3 words

Avoid numbers or words that sound like numbers and if you do decide to use a number or a word that can be a number for example, for or 2 try and secure both versions like love2fish.com and lovetofish.com – you can then point them to the same site.

Myname.com branding and marketing was developed so that you could build your personal list outside of a MLM company, so that you could basically build a loyal tribe of followers that you could take with you wherever you go and this is fine. However, building your brand and reputation comes from what you do not what you say you do – when you prove yourself and as a valued and trusted leader who people naturally like they will follow you anyway. If your myname.com branding is not working for you, consider breaking the mould and doing something a bit different, build your list within a niche and your myname.com brand will continue to evolve on it’s own.

Branding Your Business for Online Success is a post from: She Takes on the World