April 12, 2007

There’s Nothing Wrong With Taking a Little Break... How to
Hire the Wrong Person... More Money Saving Techniques...
and More.

** There’s Nothing Wrong With Taking a Little Break
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

Yesterday, my old friend Brian made a surprise visit to my office. I hadn’t seen Brian in months, so we decided to catch up.

Brian’s a pretty young guy, but as of next month, he has calculated that he has been in the workforce for exactly 20 years.

I asked him how he felt about that, and his answer was:

“Tired!”

We both laughed, but he was serious.

Brian drives almost 4 hours a day to and from the office. He’s working in an industry that has seen better days, plus he’s not following his dream of running his own golf course.

He has two young sons, and he figures now’s the time to take a break to enjoy being a father for a few months.


I told him to go for it!

Now, I wouldn’t say this to anyone. However, Brian’s a very well-prepared individual, and I know for a fact that he could afford to take a couple of months off without struggling financially.

It’s not that he’s rich. It’s just that he’s been saving ever since he’s been in the workforce. He’s happy with what he’s got, and he’s very responsible when it comes to managing his money.

In other words, he’s set himself up so that he can afford to take a break.

And there’s nothing wrong with taking a break once in a while.

It might be five minutes at the office or a week’s vacation, even if that vacation is just staying at home.

If you’re working hard and prepared, a break will re-energize you, and you’ll probably come back from the break better than ever.

And yes, even if you’re struggling trying to find work or you’ve been working hard trying to make ends meet, a break will do wonders for your mindset and your energy.

Your employees are a reflection of you. A good staff of people can be as important as a great product or service. If you can’t find good people to help you out, then your business will really suffer. You need people who will be productive and valuable.

Not only that, but the hiring process can be costly in terms of time and money. It takes money to advertise and time to interview, which takes away from your own productivity, thus costing you money again. The less often you need to hire, the better.

Avoid the following errors in hiring new staff that can easily be made, and you will increase your chances of finding someone who will be a great benefit to your business and who will be more apt to stay with your company for years to come.

Mistake #1: Ignore your instincts and focus solely on their education and experience.

Though education and experience are obviously important, you should also rely on your chemistry with someone. You may get a candidate who is great on paper, but whose personality just doesn’t fit the company.

Always choose the employee who is a good fit for you and your company, even if they don’t have an impressive degree, rather than someone with 10 years of post-secondary schooling under their belt like who doesn’t have any chemistry with you.

Mistake #2: Not telling them specifics about the job.

If you’re vague about what a new hire will be doing for you, then you’re not giving yourself a real chance to find someone who will be a good fit for your business. In other words, the candidate needs to know what they will be doing on a daily basis.

They need to know what they will be responsible for, and you need to be upfront with what you need from them. Deceiving them to make a position sound more glamorous is only going to hurt you in the end.

Mistake #3: Not letting them get to know you.

Even though this person is being interviewed by you, they also need to get a sense about you and your company. If you don’t tell them anything about the place where they might be working, then how are they supposed to figure out if they are a good fit for you? So, yes, job candidates are also interviewing
you and your company.

You want an employment candidate to figure out if they will like the work environment and if they can work with you. If you are someone who likes a very corporate, quiet environment, then make sure that a potential new hire is aware of this ahead of time. If you like people to work in teams often and collaborate, then make sure that your interviewee know that it’s important for you that they’re sociable and enjoy working in teams.

If you keep the above tips in mind next time you are looking to hire someone, you will run into fewer roadblocks on your path to success and you will end up with a team of employees you can be proud of. 

** More Money Saving Techniques
By Michael Newman, the "Money Finder"

Yesterday, I wrote to you about how the United Parcel Service (UPS) has developed a system that allows their multinational business to save millions of dollars each year.

Their system involves each and every delivery truck driver following predetermined routes that require them to make almost no left turns. The end result saves the company time, fuel, and, of course, money.

Today, I want to share with you a few more ways you could quickly spot money-saving opportunities for your own business.

Keep these suggestions in mind when you are mulling over your business expenses. Pinching pennies is good business, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your ability to satisfy your customers’ needs.