Stress Free Holiday Shopping Tips You Can Use Now

planningCrush Debt With An Effective Financial Plan

Holiday spending is a notorious budget buster, but with Stress Free Holiday Shopping Tips You Can Use Now your fall and winter holidays can be affordable, satisfying and fun!

A Debt Free Holiday is a Stress Free Holiday

Holidays are stressful enough without the worry and regret of additional debt. Being in debt just plain sucks! Are you struggling with debt, and feel like you are getting deeper and deeper? Stop digging and start planning!

If you are dreaming about starting your own business but can’t afford to leave your day job, that’s another reason to stop the same spending pattern and start planning.

Cut the worry and guilt and avoid adding debt by starting your stress free holiday shopping now in the top three budget busting categories: travel, gifts and food.

It is all well and fine to tell yourself that this year you are going to be frugal, but let’s be real. Instead of giving out adorably boxed home-made cookies, are you likely to end  up in line at the mall in December with a big load of guilt and a smoking hot credit card in hand?

Plan your spending and shopping strategies now. Come the New Year, you can look back at a holiday season that did not leave you in more debt! You’ve got this!

Take Advantage of Tax Free Shopping

When football season is kicking off and every store is packed with back- to-school promotions. Keep an eye out for tax free shopping days in your region.

Each year, more and more states offer tax-free shopping days or weeks for consumer goods ranging from clothing to computers! It is perfectly legit to snag a few things off your holiday shopping list during the tax-free period.

The good news is, you do not have to have a third grader in tow to take advantage of the sales! Nor do you have to be a resident of the state. Take advantage of the sales and reduced taxes to score some planned for purchases for the coming holidays.

Start Now for Stress Free Shopping for Holiday Travel Deals

The United States Department of Transportation reports that the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s holiday periods are among the busiest long-distance travel periods of the year. With higher demand comes higher pricing.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to start shopping for holiday travel tickets for you or for family members. Especially if you are planning to fly, shopping now is a very good plan. Not only will you be able to get better prices, you are more likely to get the flight you want before it fills up.

Don’t forget to look for hotel deals if you will not be bunking at Grandma’s or if the family is driving over a period of days. Remember a heated indoor pool is a great way to wear out kids who have been stuck in the back seat all day, especially if you can book that room at a reduced rate!

We Love Lay-Away for Holiday Gift Shopping

Thank goodness for the reappearance of the “Lay Away” plan at so many large retailers!  This old-fashioned payment method is a great way to avoid going into debt for holiday spending.

The revival of the Lay Away payment plan lets you buy your gifts now and divide up the payments between now and the holiday. You get to do your shopping early enough to avoid the rush and avoid any debt!

Since the gifts stay at the store until they are paid for, you don’t have to worry about hiding toys and bicycles from curious kids!

Most Law Away plans require 10 to 20% down with the remaining amount paid over a six to eight week period.

How it works: Say you have $300 worth of presents to lay-away. Most stores have a small lay-away fee of around $5. If you then put down 20% that would be $60 for a total to start of $65. You will then pay $30 each week for eight weeks.

Shop and lay-away now. You will have all your gifts paid off and ready to wrap the first half of December. Free and clear, with no January credit card hangover! How cool is that?

Rock Your Holiday Food Shopping

How many big meals and traditional recipes do you prepare every year? Are you expecting house guests in coming months? Do you tend to run to the store for your cooking and baking supplies a few days before the big event?

The grocery stores tend to offer attractive holiday specials or loss-leaders during the week or two before major holidays. Those bargains are designed get you in the store with the expectation that you will buy all the things you need while you are there. Yup,  even if the rest of the items on your list are not on sale.

Spread It Out

You don’t have to make yourself crazy trying to find rock-bottom prices on every item.

Control your spending and give yourself a little breathing room. Instead of stressing, plan your major holiday meals now! Include a complete “master list” of ingredients for all your special meals, treats and party foods.

Want a little extra help with planning holiday cooking? I really like the free meal planner sheets from the Organized Home site.

Look over your master list for items that may be safely stored for longer periods. Long shelf-life items are canned goods, frozen foods and baking supplies. Remember non-food items that run out faster during holidays. Stock up on toilet paper, napkins and paper plates!

Start now to pick up a few things from your list every time you go grocery shopping. You can spread the cost over several weeks. Bonus: You won’t be dragging it in the house and putting it all away at the same time. Win-Win!

Remember to mark the items off your Master List. Look at what you have accomplished!

Planning now for your holiday travel, gift giving and special meals will keep you out of debt and give you more time to enjoy your holidays.

Do you have some budget areas that are a problem? Would you like more tips for Stress Free Holiday Shopping? Leave your questions and comments below!


Avoid Obstacles To Your Freelance Success

Remove Obstacles to Freelance Success Are you ready to for freelance success right now? Are you tired of schlepping to a day job? Are you underpaid, overworked, or burned out? Remove those obstacles to your freelance success!

The thing is, most new business owners or entrepreneurs fail. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows us that only about half of new establishments that make it through the first year are still in business by year five.

The statistics do not take into account all the failed freelancers out there. The ones who never registered as a business or lost steam after the first few months and gave up.  How sad, to not even be a blip on the business radar screen.

It is fun and easy to dream of big freelance success, but unless you take action, you will never get past the daydream stage.

It is fun and easy to dream of big freelance success, but unless you take action, you will never get past the daydream stage.

There is something for everyone out there in the realm of business opportunities and freelance options, but you have to do the work, and you, only you, have to be able to overcome common obstacles to freelance success.

Lack of Vision for Your Freelance Success

Sure, you have imagined for years how it will feel to be your own boss. You see yourself working anywhere and anytime you feel like it. No more time clock for you!

That is not a vision, it’s a daydream.

Define your mission statement, your vision and your values. Why are you stepping out as a freelancer? What is the service or product you will provide? How will you deliver your product? What are your core values? What is your commitment to your customers?

To be a freelance success, you gotta get real. You have to set realistic, measurable goals.  You have to work your tail off, consistently. There are no shortcuts to freelance success.

You can take advantage of courses and coaches that give you knowledge and a framework to launch from, but it will be up to you to create a great service or product and market it effectively. Create and market. Then do it again.

Know Your Customer

You have heard by now that you have to find a niche.  That means you have to be specific about the type of customer who will buy your product. Can you define what they need? Now you have to be able to describe how you can meet that need.

It is too broad to say that your market is fitness freaks, and you will teach them a workout program for peak performance.  Failing to narrow your target customer is an obstacle to freelance success.

A successful freelance niche is much more specific. For example, your ideal customer may be millennial female runners in executive positions who have difficulty finding a regimen that works with frequent business travel.  You have just the answer they need!

Perfection Hinders Progress Towards Freelance Success

A huge obstacle for many is just getting started. Have you kept buying self-improvement books and joining Facebook groups in your chosen field but haven’t even really gotten your business off the ground? The first hurdle is planning and decision making.

The saying is true, even in business that progress is better than perfection. You still need to have a decent business plan, but stop thinking you need to wait until you have everything perfect before you actually start selling you product or services.

Perfection is a process, not a milestone. You will always be looking for new ways to improve your business, your product, your marketing strategy and yourself. If you don’t, your business will fizzle.

Make a plan, set deadlines. Designate specific times to be working on your business tasks. Not just setting up a web page, or tinkering with your WordPress theme, but also designate time for creating a business plan and measurable goals.

Don’t just set deadlines to accomplish certain tasks, but make deadlines for decision making. Are you paralyzed with indecision about choosing a web host? WordPress theme? Picking a domain name? Gather some options and then set a hard deadline for making that choice! Then go with it. Don’t waffle. You need forward progress here and if you can’t trust your own gut, you are lost.

Be realistic about your abilities. Nothing is a faster business killer than constant frustration and hitting roadblocks. You have to be prepared to change course if your initial plan is hitting a brick wall.

Doing It All

If you are trying to save money by creating your own web site and customizing a free theme, that’s fine if you have the skills for it. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours on a task that turns into days and you feel you are worse off then when you started.

I actually have skill and experience with databases and customizing online applications, but trying to set up and customize a free WordPress theme was making me totally crazy. After several late nights, I realized that setting up my own web page was taking way too long to be productive. I finally purchased a responsive theme package and had my website up and customized in a few hours – easy peezy!!

I can’t believe I wasted so much time and energy before spending a few measly dollars to get something workable and attractive. So don’t make yourself crazy! Remember, your time is worth money, too.

Still Need More Support to Reach Freelance Success? 

Business programs that I can personally recommend to help you get your business off the ground are Empire Building with Alexis Giostra for starting your own business, and Fearless Launching with Anne Samoilov to show you exactly how to effectively get that new service or product out to your customers.

As for that interactive theme I bought – it came from BluChic!

Are you dreaming of freelance success? Do you have a side hustle? Please share your questions and comments!


How To Boost Morning Productivity Before Bed

How to Boost Your Morning Productivity by Getting Ready the Before Bed Are you ready to rock your morning productivity? Are you taking Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning challenge? Or are you just looking to better organize your hectic mornings?

Here are easy tips to boost your morning productivity that you can start today!  Using just one or two of these hacks before bed each night will immediately help boost your morning productively.

Less Hassle Equals Morning Productivity

Think back to the last few mornings. What tripped you up? Mentally walk yourself through everything you did from the time you opened your eyes until you walked out the door.

What felt like an annoyance? What sidetracked you? What tasks or routines do you do every single day no matter what? Are there things you would like to do every morning if you have more time?

Consider your morning routine a project, an ongoing project, and let’s break it down step by step. Let’s start with an areas all folks have in their morning routine.

Personal Hygiene

Do you shower or shave or style your hair every morning? Where are your towels and shaving stuff and hair products?

Towel Short Cuts

Save time before your shower shower by laying out towels the night before. Do you normally take the time to go to the linen closet or paw through the basket of clean laundry? Do you have to walk to the utility room to grab clean towels from the dryer?

From now on, keep your towels folded within reach of the shower or hanging from a hook, within  easy reach when you step out.

You can permanently install decorative hooks or just slap on the easy and inexpensive stick-on hooks. The advantages of the stick-on hooks are ease of removal and not adding another project on your to-do list!

The added bonus of hooks is that you can just hang your clean towels instead folding and putting them away every laundry day. More time saved!

Corral Those Bath Products

The same type of arrangement can be used for your shower products, like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, facial scrubs. Are your bottles and jars already lined up on the bathtub ledge, or do you grab your stuff as you head it? Are you sharing ledge space with other members of the household?

A plastic basket from the dollar store is an easy way to keep your shower stuff handy and separate. You won’t have to move it out of the shower, either. Use an S-type type hook or carabiner to hang your basket from the shower curtain rod or shower caddy.

Shaving and Styling

If you have a drawer or cabinet next to the bathroom sink, arrange your morning shave or hairstyling gear within easy reach, cockpit style.

I have a tall cabinet next to my sink and mounted plastic coated wire baskets – the kind you can get for kitchen spices – on the inside of the door to holds my blow dryer and brushes. There is a place for hairspray and styling products. Use a hand mirror for checking the back of your hair? That can hang from stick-on hook inside the cabinet!

Heading Out With Morning Productivity

Every few seconds you can shave off your morning routine will add up by the time you head out the door.  For my morning commute, an extra ten minutes before I leave extends my drive by twenty minutes because of traffic!

Getting Dressed

One of the most productivity enhancing habits to develop is to lay your clothes the night before. Lay out the entire outfit, including socks, underwear, necktie, purse, jewelry and any other accessories.

Make sure you have inspected those clothes before you lay them out. You do not want to be ironing or trying to find a substitute shirt because of a stain or missing buttons.  That is another good reason to lay out your underclothes as well… you really don’t want to wear purple floral panties under those white pants, do you?

Time and Money

Improved morning productivity can shave some expenses off your budget, too. Would you avoid a stop at the local fast food for a breakfast sandwich or coffee if you had it together in the morning?

Have your travel mug and coffee station ready for the morning. Set out a spoon, napkin, and your coffee or tea of choice. If you use a single serving coffee machine, preset it to wake up and heat the water a few minutes before the time you normally prepare your morning cuppa. For me that is as soon as the alarm goes off and my feet hit the floor!

Get you breakfast and lunch ready in advance as well. It will save money and is one less stop on the way to work!

Boil and peel a bunch of eggs on the weekend and have them ready to go for weekday mornings. Ditto for preparing other cold stuff you will be taking with you like fruits and salads.

Leftovers for lunch are a really money-saver. Put portions of leftovers in a microwave safe container as you clear up from dinner. Ready to go!

Keep It Together

Have a designated spot or a plastic bin in your fridge for in the morning. It makes a huge difference in that last rush to get out the door to be able to simply grab your bin and transfer everything to your lunch bag.

Pack your lunch bag or briefcase with nonperishable items the night before.

Morning Productivity On The Road

Plan ahead for your morning commute. Have you downloaded that audio book you want to listen to? Do you have a travel cup washed and ready for coffee or ice water on the road? Do you need to allocate extra travel time to stop for gas?

Weather Considerations

Do you need to throw an umbrella or ice scraper in the car? In the winter will you need to plan time for scraping or defrosting. Remember to get your boots and gloves set out for the cold trudge out to start the car!

Morning Productivity for Your Kids

Do you have kids that need to be dropped at school or daycare  in the morning?

The same night-before routine will reduce the rush and frantic hunt for that left shoe and  permission slip in the morning, but with a bonus. You will be teaching your children how to think ahead, solve problems, and be productive people!

Now Or Later

There are only so many hours in a day, how are you going to spend them? The tasks described above all have to be done, sooner or later.

You get to choose when to do them. You get to choose to be ahead of the game, or rushed and stressed.

Try some or all of these hacks to increase your morning productivity. After a few mornings of having everything at your fingertips from your hairspray to your car keys, you will discover how pampered it feels to have everything at your disposal!

Would you like to see more productivity hacks? What are your tips and tricks for morning productivity? Please share your comments!



How To Protect Yourself When Asked For Sworn Testimony

Legal Speak for the Lay PersonWhat would you do if you were asked to give sworn testimony? Or a sworn statement? What the heck does sworn testimony mean, anyway?  Sworn means given under oath. A sworn testimony or statement is your view of the facts, either verbally or in writing, and a promise that you are telling the truth.

Nothing But the Truth

If you give your version of the facts under oath, and it turns out you deliberately lied, you could be punished.  The penalties for lying under oath range from financial penalties to jail time. In a criminal case, lying under oath is called perjury.

The penalties for lying under oath range from financial penalties to jail time. In a criminal case, lying under oath is called perjury.

 

You could be asked to give a statement or sworn testimony anytime you are involved in an event, have been near an event, or know something about an event.  A car accident is an example of an event that could result in different kinds of sworn testimony.

If you are driving or a passenger in one of the crash vehicles, you are involved in the event, and will be asked to give a statement or sworn testimony about what happened.

If you were walking on the sidewalk and saw the whole thing happen, you were near the event and could be asked to give a statement, or sworn testimony to tell what you saw and heard.

If one of the drivers in the crash was drunk, you may be asked to give a statement or sworn testimony about what you know if you partied with the driver at the neighborhood bar in the hours before the event.

Your Own Attorney

If you are named in a lawsuit because of an auto accident, in most cases your insurance company has a “duty to defend” you, even if the accident was entirely your fault! That means they will hire an attorney to represent you in the lawsuit. Don

Don’t expect your insurance company to pay for an attorney if you are the one who wants to file a lawsuit, or if you have not been sued by someone who is making an insurance claim against you.

If you want to hire an attorney on your own, it will be at your own expense. Some attorneys will take your case on a “contingency” basis, meaning they don’t get paid unless you win the lawsuit and get some money, like insurance proceeds, then they will get a portion of the amount you are awarded.

If you are facing criminal charges and can’t afford an attorney, the court may appoint an attorney to represent you, often called a “public defender”.

Recorded Statement

Sticking with our example of the car wreck, if you are directly involved in the event, at first you will likely be asked to give a statement to the police officer at the scene. This is not sworn, but it will be part of the official accident investigation report.

Later, you will be contacted by the insurance companies that issues auto policies covering the vehicles involved. Generally, the insurance adjuster will give you a call or meet with you and ask you to give a statement, to tell the adjuster your version of what happened. If they intend to record you conversation, and they usually do, they should tell you or ask your permission to record the conversation. They will often ask you again at the end, to get it on the recording, if you understood that your discussion and statement were being recorded.

If you are already represented by an attorney, you should not give information to anyone who asks for it, like an insurance adjuster, even if it is your insurance company.  If you are the insured person, you have an obligation to cooperate with your insurance company. That does not mean you can’t coordinate their request with your attorney.

Once you are represented by counsel, let your attorney decide a when and under what circumstances you will provide your statement. Your attorney may or may not decide to be with you when you give your initial statement to the insurance adjuster.

If you have already given a statement and later hired an attorney, don’t be surprised if the attorney immediately demand copies of any statements you already gave, even if you already told your lawyer what you think you said.

Affidavit

An affidavit is a written statement given under oath, of some fact or set of facts explained to the best of your knowledge. Affidavits are usually notarized.

Examination Under Oath

There are a couple different ways that most people may be called upon to give sworn testimony. A tad less formal scenario, often used by insurance companies, is to hire an attorney during the investigation of a claim to perform an “examination under oath” or “EUO”. An examination under oath is most often used to gather information before any litigation has been filed.

An EUO is part of an insurance company investigation of what happened. It is a tool used to help the insurance company determine if the event giving rise to the insurance claim will be a covered event under the insurance policy. There will usually be someone there who is qualified to take down everything you say and take your oath that everything you will say is true. The attorney will ask you a series of questions about your identity, and the facts of the case. They may ask about your finances or other information.

You may agree to participate in the EUO with or without an attorney. You are not required to bring an attorney, but you can if you want to. If you are already represented by an attorney, never agree to any kind of statement without discussing it with your attorney first.

Deposition

The more formal kind of sworn testimony is a deposition. There will always be a court reporter hired to take down what everyone says on the record, and there may be a videographer if your deposition will be recorded on video.

You will be notified in writing of the scheduled deposition and may even get a subpoena. The notice will tell you if it will be a video deposition.

During the deposition you may be questioned by more than one attorney. Your attorney may also ask you questions, if he or she feels that there are points to your side of the story that are important to have on the record or to counter a line of questioning that may have been asked by the other side to bring out statements that can be used to support their side of the story.

Do’s and Don’ts of Sworn Testimony

A deposition is not the time and place to tell your side of the story. That is important to remember!  On television it is always a dramatic scene where the person in the hot seat gets to tell their side of the story and exactly what they think of the other parties in the case. The person testifying may even drop bombs of information, knowledge or facts that will dramatically change the direction of the litigation – emphasis on dramatically.

As much as you may be bursting to tell your side of the story, don’t do it. You will have your day in court, literally, unless the case settles before trial. The more information you volunteer in the deposition, the more the other side will pounce on a word or phrase and drill you with questions. They will leave no stone unturned.

Do you have an attorney? Be sure to make time to meet with your attorney before the deposition.

Be prepared to work with your attorney to go over questions that you will likely be asked by the other side. Your attorney has your best interest in mind. He or she will give you some general advice on giving testimony, but above all they will counsel you to tell the truth.

Tips on Testimony

Telling the truth – answering truthfully – is not the same as blowing your stack or spilling your guts. In a deposition you do not, repeat, and do not want to offer additional information in response to a question.

Short and Sweet

I have a favorite drill for helping folks prepare for depositions. I learned this drill from one of the most brilliant and successful attorneys I know. It goes something like this:

Imaging you are the deponent. The attorney who is questioning you holds up a spoon, and asks “do you know what this is?” You immediately respond, “Sure I do! It’s a spoon!”

Wrong answer!

The correct answer, if you know what that is:    “Yes.”

Yes. PERIOD. If the attorney wants you to name the object, they will have to ask that question by asking you to name that object. Get it?

I love that exercise because it is a light bulb moment for most of us.

Facts – Not Opinions

The other thing about deposition testimony is that you are there to provide facts, not opinions. You are not qualified to give expert opinions. You can relate what you saw, or heard or did. You can state where you were and what interaction you may have had with others involved in the event.

Remember, you are not qualified to give opinions as to things like “How drunk was she?” or “Do you think that bridge could hold ten cars?” Anytime they are asking what your impression was, be careful to take the time to give some thought to the question before you answer.

No Guesswork

That’s the other thing – you do not have to answer a question if you truly don’t know the answer. It is perfectly acceptable to say you don’t know. If you are not sure, don’t guess. It is natural to try to be helpful and answer any questions asked to you directly. The attorney asking you questions is counting on that. You do not have to come up with an answer to every question! And you should not answer any question quickly. You don’t score points for a fast response.

You do not have to answer a question if you truly don’t know the answer. It is perfectly acceptable to say you don’t know.

In fact, it is better that you don’t answer every question, or any question, quickly. Always pause to think about the question and form your response. Ask to have the question repeated, or say so if you don’t understand the question. Protect yourself from saying something you don’t mean! Give your attorney a chance to object if the question is not something you should be answering.

Do you have questions about statements and testimony? Have you been through a deposition? Please share your comments!


Mid-Year Business Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Rock the March Madness vibe to update your business plan! The weather has changed and we are nearing the halfway point in the year. Before the end of Q2 is a great time to update your business strategies!

Revisit Your Business Plan

By now you have already analyzed your prior results. Did you grow your list, sales or product offerings? Did you meet or exceed your expectations? What flopped?

You will have prepared a business plan for this year with general goals for the year and interim goals by month or quarter. Your plan will have included a calendared To-Do list of product or service launches at certain times throughout the year and cost projections of expenses for your business.

So many entrepreneurs admit to developing a beautiful and inspiring business plan for the year and then never looking at it again. But not you! Now is the time for a thorough review and revision session with your business plan for this year.

Compare expenses already paid to your projections. Are you up to date on your expenses tracking?

Double check your assumptions of cost for the year. After reviewing the expenses you have already paid this year, have you found expenditures that are costing more than you had originally planned? Are you aware of any price hikes coming up for postage, supplies or raw materials needed to make your products? Make the necessary revisions to your cost projections.

Review scheduled launch dates. Did you miss a planned launch that needs to be re-scheduled? Are there secondary launch or event dates to be moved because the starter launch was delayed?

Incorporate new events. Are there business or life events on the horizon that you were not aware of when you drafted your annual business plan? Business conferences, training seminars, new baby on the way? Be realistic about the amount of time these events will take for preparation and execution, and adjust your plan accordingly.

Look hard at planned launches that follow the new event. Do you need to scale back or postpone a product or service launch? Is it still doable if you arrange for additional resources? If you anticipate hiring a person or team to support your launch, whether a virtual assistant or a cleaning service, update your task schedule and budget to allow for finding, hiring and training your staff in advance of your key dates.

Bookkeeping

Even the most creative entrepreneur has to deal with the reality of business finances.

There are special rules and responsibilities that apply to Small Business Owners and Self-Employed entrepreneurs in the United States.

If you are not comfortable dealing with taxes and bookkeeping, hire someone. Keep in mind that this is the busiest part of tax season for accounting firms and tax professionals. If you plan to delegate your tax preparation to a pro, make the appointment now.

Heads up: If you are self-employed and required to pay estimated taxes, the payments are due quarterly!  Be ready!

Carefully look over the documentation, receipts, invoices, etc., for all your income and expenses year to date. Make sure you have all the paperwork set aside you will need for tax purposes.

Business Strategies Include Action

The days are getting longer, the weather is warmer and this is a time of year when folks traditionally would fling open all the doors and windows and clean house from top to bottom.

Utilize that same energy to freshen and re-energize your business!

Start with actual cleaning. Clear off your desk. Sort through any papers and file or shred. Clean the surface of your work space and surrounding area. Do you have a dusty tangle of cords under your desk? Are there crumbs in your keyboard?

Clean the window in your office. If you don’t have a window, wipe off the light bulb in your desk lamp (when it is off and cooled) and dust the lampshade.

Set a timer for 15 minutes and speed clean your desk drawer. Toss out pens that skip and curled pads of note paper. Anything in your drawer that you have to push aside to get to regularly used items needs to go.

If your business involves creation of physical products, be sure to do the same with your materials inventory and production work space.

Accumulated dust and clutter sends a subliminal message of stagnation. A quickie clean of your work space is refreshing. Getting rid of excess or unhelpful items clears the space for positive energies to flow into your business!

Include Personal Care In Your Business Strategy

Entrepreneurs have a tendency to burn the candle at both ends. Burn, as in high level of burn-out. As a savvy business owner, you need to take care of your most valuable asset – you!

While you are in planning and revamping mode, schedule your maintenance appointments like annual physical, dental cleanings and eye exam.

Plan you work and work your plan, but plan to include adequate time for sleep, exercise and relaxation. It is your focus, drive and creativity that drive the success of your business. Keep your tools sharp!

Is this a crazy time of year for you and your business? How are you managing so far? Please share your comments below!

 


Legal Terms for the Lay Person

An easy to understand explanation of common legal terms Have you ever heard legal terms that you didn’t understand? Would you feel more confident asking for legal advice if you knew what certain legal words mean? Or are you just addicted to legal and crime drama shows and want to get the inside scoop?

This is a basic overview of some legal terms and concepts common to the United States that may be helpful if you seek legal advice or just want to improve your Scrabble game!

Legal Terms for Law Office Workers

The folks you are most likely to meet at a law office are attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries.

Attorney – Did you know that not all lawyers are attorneys? A lawyer is anyone who has gone through law school, even if they do not give legal advice to other people. An attorney has passed a bar exam that qualifies him or her to practice in a specific area, usually a state. Only attorneys in good standing are allowed to represent you in court.

If you are looking for information on an attorney or law firm, check out the Martindale-Hubble online directory.

Paralegal – Also called a legal assistant, paralegals are qualified by training or experience to perform certain types of legal work that would otherwise be done by an attorney. A paralegal may be hired by a sole practitioner, a law firm, corporation or government agency as a regular employee or freelance contract worker. All legal work done by a paralegal is the responsibility of an attorney.

Legal Secretary – Legal secretaries perform administrative duties in a law office, and provide clerical support to attorneys and paralegals.

Criminal and Civil Actions

Most types of legal issues encountered by you or me will involve either a criminal or civil action.

Criminal cases are brought against persons accused of breaking the law. If the person is accused of a federal crime they will be prosecuted by the government through the U.S. Attorney’s office. State crimes are prosecuted through the Attorney’s Office in the state where the crime allegedly occurred. If a person is found guilty of criminal charges, penalties can result that range in severity from monetary fines to imprisonment or the death penalty.

Civil actions can be brought by an individual, or “entity” (meaning a corporation or government) who complains that another person or entity caused harm by what they did or failed to do.

Generally, when you hear about a person or company getting “sued” they are talking about a civil action.

Legal Terms in Lawsuits

The following are simple definitions of some of the most frequently used legal terms that a lay person may encounter.

Plaintiff – The person or entity who makes the accusation against another person, persons or entity.

Defendant – The person or entity accused of breaking the law or otherwise causing some type of damage or harm.

Tort – A tort is a civil wrong. By comparison, a criminal wrong is a crime.

Tortfeasor – This word translates literally to wrong-doer. A torfeasor is a person who causes civil harm either on purpose or by neglect.

Litigants – Both sides involved in a legal action. Plaintiffs and Defendants are both litigants.

Complaint – This is generally the first document filed in a lawsuit where the Plaintiff tells the Court what the Defendant did wrong and what harm was caused.

Pleadings – The documents filed in a law suit by the Plaintiff and Defendant. For example, the Complaint filed by the Plaintiff and the Defendant’s response to the Complaint are pleadings.

Affidavit – A written statement made under oath or by affirmation of a qualified authority (such a notary public). The person making the statement is the affiant, and makes the statement based upon his or her information and belief of the facts.

Subpoena – A written request for production of documents or for a person to appear in a legal proceeding. A subpoena must be issued through the local government, usually the court.

Subrogation – Subrogation is a term usually used in connection with insurance and generally means that the insurance company has the right to recover money from a third party, for example the tortfeasor in an accident.

This overview is for general information only. If you need legal advice – you guessed it – please consult a qualified attorney! Are you interested in more legal topics for the lay person? Please leave your comments below!


 

Back to the Future with Hard Copy Business Planners

hardcopy planners are back Calendars, meetings, notes, event tracking… if you are a successful business person you rely on one or more business planners to keep everything straight. We all have smart phones, laptops and tablets. It’s great to be able to synchronize our data across platforms. So why the phenomenal resurgence of paper business planners?

Paper Makes You Smarter

Digital is more efficient, no doubt about it, but do you feel like you remember things better if you have written them down by hand? That’s because you do learn better by hand-writing your notes and reminders, as supported by the study results published by Princeton University researchers Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer.

In repeated studies, Mueller and Oppenheimer found that “students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes longhand.” While digital note takers are faster, it is precisely because longhand writing is slower that understanding and retention is improved. Rather than simply transcribing and typing, longhand writers have to think about the subject, process it, and summarize the content to make effective notes.

Writing by hand actually lights up a part of your brain called the reticular activating system or RAS. The RAS is sort of a gatekeeper for information your brain needs to process. Content that is written by hand is given a priority pass by the gatekeeper!

The Way We Were

In my mortgage banking days back in the 90’s, a hard copy business planner was essential. Corporate management at all levels flocked to Franklin Planner seminars. Everyone had read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, still relevant and popular today, and our leather-bound ring binder Day Timers never left our sight.

We were busy managing in minutes, looking for our cheese, and laughing at Dilbert, all the while entering everything in our daily, weekly and monthly planner pages.

Our planners were utilitarian and functional, protected in conservative colored faux or real leather binders, some (like mine) with the tasteful addition of a small monogrammed plate in the lower corner. In later years there were a few more colorful options for planner page “themes” but the emphasis was all business.

Time Marches On

The 90’s also saw the rapid development of the personal digital assistant or PDA and cellular phones. As connectivity and memory sizes improved, paper planners soon gave way to Palm Pilots and Blackberries and we were off to the digital races.

The race is still on with no end in sight. Technology continues to improve with newer, faster and more comprehensive devices on the market every year.

We all use digital calendaring, trackers and reminders, and we love them. So why the explosion in paper planner sales?

Psychological benefits and learning curve aside, the fact is that writing on paper is satisfying.

Writing on paper is satisfying.

Writing is a tangible creation and highly personal. No one writes like you do, thinks exactly like you do, or expresses ideas like you do.

All Things Old Are New Again

Planners aren’t just for office workers anymore. Online “communities” are active, growing and influencing commerce with members groups that range from students, to stay-at-home moms to highly successful entrepreneurs. There are planner types and systems for every taste and lifestyle.

Planners come in several sizes that are generally standardized according to size, from larger letter-sized, to the very popular A5 size, and the easy to carry small personal sized.

Planner Types

Paper planners today come in a variety of off-the-shelf and customized covers and inserts. There are many styles, a few of the most common mentioned below.

The good old ring-binder with pre-printed daily, weekly and monthly planner page options are still around, with covers and inserts that range from simple and economical to highly coveted designer planner binders.

Ring binders are still boardroom-business meeting appropriate, but today’s users are just as likely to decorate and embellish their planner pages with stickers, washi tape and illustrations!

Franklin Covey still sells ring-binder planners. Other very popular planner covers are produced by Webster, Filofax, Kikki-K and Kate Spade, to name a few. Limited editions and color styles of some of these are highly coveted and collectible – with a price tag to match!

Spiral bound planners are colorful and popular, with very active communities of users. The most popular spiral bound planner I have seen is the Erin Condren planner system, with a choice of vertical or horizontal layout. Economical and attractive spiral-bound planners like Sugar Paper Planners are sold at most retail stores like Target.

Disc bound systems, like the MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas) Happy Planner can be purchased in kits that come with inspiration cards, stickers and other goodies. The pages can be removed and replaced, but a special paper punch will be needed to add your own pages.

Traveler’s Notebooks have beautiful covers, often leather, that wrap around paper booklets, like Moleskine Cahier notebooks. The paper books are slipped under elastic bands to hold them in the leather cover. The entire notebook is held closed by a leather strap or elastic band. While the Michael’s craft stores have recently come out with an inexpensive line of traveler’s notebooks, the non-retail covers are usually hand crafted and unique, and easily found on artisan sites like Etsy.

I have purchased heirloom-quality traveler’s notebooks from the Leather Quill Shoppe at shopmandyjeanchic.com. (This shop also has a special edition travelor’s notebook called Thin Blue Line with a percentage of proceeds going to support mental health services for first responders.)

Bullet Journals are extremely popular for calendaring, tracking, note taking and journaling. Any style notebook can be used from a simple composition book to the favored Moleskin hardcover and Leuchtturm 1917 hardcover notebooks, links below. I have these, too!

Bullet journaling systems can be very plain, simple and strictly functional like the method outlined at bulletjournal.com or highly decorative and elegant.

Bullet journaling has created a remarkable renaissance in calligraphy, handwriting, special inks, and fountain pens. The Bullet Journal Junkies group on Facebook is nearing 25,000 members! There are links below for fun and affordable fountain pens I have purchased and still enjoy using for writing in my journal.

Bullet journals are another no-frill business option, and some folks are applying the bullet journaling concept to their traveler’s notebooks.

Have you added a hardcopy planner system to your business tools? Are you interested in any of the planner options mentioned here? Leave your questions and comments!


Be Ready for Surgery! Getting Your Docs in a Row

Geting your docs in a row before surgeryBe ready for surgery by getting your docs in a row! If there is surgery in the future for you or a family member, these tips for planning ahead will lessen your stress and make the process run smoother.

It’s time to “get your affairs in order”. Depending on your perspective, that can sound pretty dire … or may conjure visions of a wild weekend in Vegas!  A non-dramatic reality is that we all have administrative responsibilities to deal with in our everyday lives and planning for surgery adds to the list of forms and documents we have to deal with. Dealing with them in advance will make your life easier in the weeks before and after surgery.

(more…)

Archetypes for Entrepreneurs: Are You Batman or Superman?

archetypes for entrepreneursComic book heroes are a great place to start when looking for archetypes that align with entrepreneurs! Archetypes are ideal examples of a type of person, an original model for others to follow, a symbol derived from the collective experience of society. Archetypes serve as icons or role models that can be inspirational – or cautionary!

Action Archetypes for Business Owners

No question about it, starting or building any kind of business takes some entrepreneurial hustle!

Batman is a guy who spent years developing incredible tools and technology for detecting and fighting crime before he launched his brand. Batman’s utility belt is loaded with the ultimate in personal and portable devices! When he is called, he has the systems in place to respond with amazing services.

Modern entrepreneurs embrace technology and build responsive business systems. Landing pages, mail lists, virtual market baskets and customer analytics are all examples of super technology used by successful business owners. What’s in your utility belt?

Are you in the early years of creating your business? Newer entrepreneurs need to be faster that a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive to launch a new business. Superman may be your archetype if you are balancing a family life, a full time day job and creating your super side-hustle all at the same time!

Fortitude Archetypes for Entrepreneurs

It takes guts to create your own business and build it up to a profitable enterprise. Success doesn’t happen overnight. It is easy to get discouraged but the winning entrepreneur is the one that won’t quit.

In the Wizard of Oz book and film, young Dorothy starts out musing that she just might be able to make her dream come true. Once she lands in Oz, her goals are refined.  Her main goal is to get back to Kansas. The first step in her implementation plan is more immediate- get to the wizard! Along the way she runs into one obstacle after another, but she keeps going. Each challenge makes her pause to reevaluate. She not only perseveres, she develops alliances that stick with her in good times and bad.

Frodo Baggins in the Lord of The Rings was determined to reach his goal, and eventually saved Middle Earth despite serious setbacks. Frodo kept going even when he was scared and unsure if he could survive the struggle, sometimes helped by a diverse network of supporters who believed in his cause and respected his diligence.

Moral Value Archetypes for Management

The public’s perception of the moral character of a business owner has a direct impact on the bottom line. A potential customer of your product or services not only needs to know you are providing something they need or want, they have to trust you to deliver. Not only that, your customers want to relate to your core values.

A Higher Calling

The character of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is an enduring archetype of honesty and compassion. A sole practitioner attorney in a small town, Atticus defends his innocent client because it is the right thing to do, even when he and his family are threatened and harassed.

King Arthur is a legendary leader who symbolizes honor, chivalry and loyalty. Folklore tells us that Arthur protected his county from invading armies, then went on to lead his country into a magical era, complete with Knights, wizards and the beautiful island of Avalon.

Bad Guys

Shady characters are just as iconic, and the bad guys aren’t always guys – like Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind who takes over a growing business from her wimpy husband and makes it a huge success by using unsavory business practices like prisoner labor.

Then there is narcissistic Voldemort from the Harry Potter series who spreads death and destruction everywhere as he seeks to rule the wizarding world by means of force and intimidation.

Common Elements of Archetypes

These are just a few examples of archetypes that illustrate qualities found in entrepreneurs.

Not all archetypes have super powers or live in magical lands, but they do have other traits in common. Characters that become iconic are usually remembered for actions that illustrate courage, determination, and strong personal values. They are often dreamers or visionaries that overcome resistance to their ideas.  Archetypal heroes remember where they came from as they forge ahead, making alliances or building community as they progress.

What traits do you relate to as a business owner? What icons do you suggest for entrepreneurs? Please share your favorite archetypes in the comments below!

Essential Moving Tips to Send Stress Packing!

IMG_0031Packing up and moving is a big life stressor, even if you are happily moving to the home of your dreams! Roughly one in six people move each year, and most people move their residence more than once in a lifetime.

I’ve moved in and out of apartments, townhouses and single-family homes over the years, locally and long-distance and have helped loads of family and friends move. I learned how to make moving easier – or at least less hard!

My experience has taught me some sure-fire tips that will make your next move less of a hassle.

Keep Calm and Carry It With You

Want to save yourself a lot of stress? Set up a planner system that you can carry with you. A regular three-ring binder will work fine. You will need calendar pages, dividers, page protectors, and some pockets.

If you are already a planner person, you can hack an existing planner to fit in sections and pockets for your move. Resist the temptation to spend time decorating the planner sections. You don’t have time to make it Pinterest-worthy, you are getting ready to move!

Have a calendar page for each month between now and your move date.

You can print plain monthly calendar pages from word-processing applications like MS Word.

Working back from the move date, mark dates for canceling services like utilities, newspaper delivery and mail forwarding. Do you have to give notice to your current landlord? Schedule a final inspection? Settlement date for new house? Mark your calendar. Schedule reminders on your phone to check your moving calendar!

Set up a section for your physical move.

Start a supply list! Think of all the things you will need, including boxes, bubble-wrap, tape, and markers.

Make a contact sheet with the name and phone numbers of your mover, real estate agent, storage company, and the like.

  • Make notes of every conversation or meeting, with names and dates.
  • Use page protectors to hold your moving contract, storage rental agreement, and other important papers.

Include a utilities section in your planner.

Will you need to arrange for gas, electric, water, cable, and trash-pickup? What about lawn or pest-control services?

  • Start a separate page for each utility and service you will need at your new home. Include the company name, address and phone number, account number, deposit paid, and service start date.
  • Ask for the after-hours emergency number and put it in your planner!
  • Keep deposit receipts and business cards in a page protector or manila envelope that is hole-punched to fit in your planner.

Add an appliances and décor section to your planner.

This section is where you will keep the receipts, delivery information and manuals for new or existing appliances you will be taking to your new home like a stove, refrigerator or washer and dryer.

This is also where you will keep your records for carpet installation, interior and exterior painting, and flooring.

Will you be buying or arranging for garage door openers, lighting or a security system? This is the section for those records and phone numbers.

About Those Boxes

You will need a crazy number of boxes, so start early gathering and packing your boxes. If you are sure you have enough – get more!

Do you know of someone else who has recently moved? Ask them for their boxes!

If you or family members work in offices that use a lot of copy paper, ask for the empty boxes. Especially during the warmer months when lots of folks move, clean boxes are a hot commodity, so ask early!

Get to know your local shopping centers, and find out when they set their boxes out back.

Consider purchasing packing boxes from your local storage or truck rental company. It was worth it to me to buy wardrobe boxes so I could take clothes right out of my closets and hang them in the boxes.

I also bought special boxes for our television and mirrors.

I had been able to gather boxes from other sources, and still ended up buying several dozen packing boxes to save time.

Gently used packing boxes can be sold to recover part of your cost. By carefully collapsing the boxes as you unpack, you can sell them to someone else who is moving by word-of-mouth or a post on Craigslist.

Packing it All In

Have a good supply of packing tape, fat markers or labels, and colored stickers or labels. Assign a color to each room of your new home using your colored dot stickers or labels. Put a master list of assigned room colors in your planner.

Special Consideration: Our very first apartment was sweet, cheap and had bugs. When we moved out, I took steps to prevent any six-legged hitchhikers. Every box was taken out to the porch, thoroughly sprayed inside with bug killer, and left to dry before it was packed. Voila! No bugs at the new digs!

Before you pack each box, mark the contents on all four sides of the outside, or slap on labels. Also add a colored dot or label to each side to show the room it will belong in at your new digs.

Trust me, if you have 30 boxes in a stack you do not want to be moving them around in order to see the description of the box you need.

The Big Day

You already have your planner with you, right?

Keep a separate box or big plastic tub separate from the other moving boxes. This is to be hand-carried to your new abode with basic essentials you will need.

Pack this box with toilet paper, paper towels, light bulbs, trash bags, hand sanitizer, cleaner spray and wipes, rubber gloves, a small tool kit and a flashlight. Remember hand soap and shampoo.

Bring your phone and cord if you will have a land-line.

Think about bringing a shower curtain, rod and hooks if your new shower won’t have doors.

Disposable cups, plates, bowls and flatware, aluminum foil and zipper bags are handy, too.

Have another box or bag with clean sheets and blankets for the bed and a set of towels for each person who will be in the house the first night. Keep it in your car so it doesn’t get mixed in with the other boxes.

When the bed is carried into your house, set it up and make your bed first thing. Seriously. You won’t feel like it later after lugging a hundred boxes.

Home Sweet Home!

So there you are. After staggering into a hot shower you collapse on your clean, soft bed. Now you can fall into a peaceful sleep surrounded by piles of lovely, color coded packing boxes.

Are you planning a move this year? Do you have moving stories and tips to share? Please leave your comments below!

1 2 3 4 5