7 Signs You Should Start Your Own Business
Not everyone can be an entrepreneur. The hours are long, the decisions are tough, and failure comes as often as success. However, for some people, there is no other option – destiny is pushing them toward business ownership.
If you feel that traditional career paths aren’t compelling, if you have a captivating business concept, if you are a hard worker with keen business sense, you might be a natural-born entrepreneur. Here are a few common signs of a life destined for entrepreneurship – and at least one reason you shouldn’t drop out of school and start your business too soon.
You Are Always Team Leader
Working in teams is a common occurrence throughout grade school and college for the same reasons workers team up in the real world: It encourages greater productivity and creativity. However, every team needs a leader – and you most often take that spot.
Good entrepreneurs prefer to be in control, which means they don’t enjoy being bossed around and they need the freedom to follow their vision. Though you might struggle to manage your controlling tendencies in other aspects of your life, entrepreneurship is where you can let your natural leadership shine.
You Search for New Achievements
“Good enough” is not what you strive for. For some reason, you feel the need to chase perfection, to excel and to win praise, awards and other recognition for your actions. If this is the case, you should become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have the ultimate opportunity to prove their worth. Business ownership can be brutal, but in success, you will show yourself to be the best of the best.
You Feel Comfortable With Risk
There is hardly a riskier endeavor than running your own business – save perhaps bull riding or base jumping. An entrepreneur’s goal is to reduce risk as much as possible, but that doesn’t mean you can ever eliminate it completely. Every decision you make as an entrepreneur carries risk, so you must feel comfortable with risk before you start your own business.
You Are Financially Savvy
Cash flow issues are the number-one cause of business failure, accounting for more than 80 percent of all small business collapses. Other money troubles, such as failing to acquire sufficient funding, pricing products and services poorly and improperly forecasting sales, claim nearly as high rates of fatality. Thus, it is imperative that you know some about finance before you nosedive into entrepreneurship.
Personal finance and business finance are two different beasts, but if you are relatively proficient with managing your own money, you will likely be better at juggling your business’s finances. Fortunately, you can always enroll in finance courses to become better at handling financial matters.
You Understand Yourself
Though movies and television shows often depict entrepreneurs as brooding, introspective types, you should not be indulging in soul searching after you launch your business. By the time your business opens its doors, you should know yourself inside and out: your strengths and weaknesses, your goals and dreams, your ideal daily routine, your social preferences, your favorite destressing activities, etc. etc.
Entrepreneurs who understand themselves are more confident in their abilities, more comfortable in their situations and less likely to make mistakes due to blind spots or insecurities. If you feel there is still much for you to learn about you, you should spend some time with yourself before you start a business.
You Are Committed to Being Better
A business has all sorts of competition, from existing competitors in the market to future market disruptions. However, an entrepreneur’s true rival is their past selves. If you are always looking to improve your skills and knowledge, if you are working toward answering any question and finding solutions to any challenge, you should start your own business.
Entrepreneurs must be the best versions of themselves to ensure their business succeeds. Unfortunately, that means it likely isn’t prudent for you to jump into business ownership right away; instead, you should spend a few years gaining more wisdom and experience in your chosen field. Obtaining a job in an appropriate role and industry while you are enrolled in an online MBA program should provide you with the skills and expertise needed to thrive as a new entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs are self-starters who constantly search for new opportunities and new challenges. If you are a natural leader, if you feel comfortable with numbers and if you know who you are and what you want, you should become an entrepreneur.
Going to College When You’ve Never Been Away from Home
If we can take movies and TV shows as gospel, no one ever gets homesick at college. If anything, budding college first-year students are sick of being at home, under the watchful eye of their parents. At least, that’s what pop culture has taught us; reality is, of course, much more complicated.
You might be worried about getting homesick if you’ve never been away from home or away from your parents, or if you have a history of feeling queasy in those scenarios. Not everyone has the full experience of a college prep boarding school to help them truly know what to expect at university.
Before you turn into a ball of anxiety just thinking about move-in day, take heart! You can make some preparations the summer before college and take steps in the first few weeks to help ease feelings of homesickness.
During the Summer, Learn to Be Autonomous
If your parents have already prepared you for life on your own, you should be in the habit of doing your laundry, cooking meals, going to the store to get little things you need, and managing your money appropriately.
If not, the summer is your last chance to learn how to do these things and gain confidence while you still have your parents to lean on for support. Once you’re in college, you’ll be “thrown in the deep end” and will have to fend for yourself or experience the consequences.
When you know you’re capable of taking care of yourself, some of the anxiety should dissipate.
Go on a Road Trip
If you’ve genuinely never been away from your parents, spend a few days on a road trip. Drive to the next city, spend a few days there as a tourist, and then drive home again. Bring a friend for safety, but revel in the experience of having to handle things all on your own. Then, college won’t come as such a shock.
Try Your Best to Be Social During the First Few Weeks
Making new friends sometimes happens by serendipity: you and your future BFF happen to be at the same place at the same time, start talking, and the rest is history. Other times, it takes a lot of work to find the right crowd. Join clubs and take advantage of social opportunities during the first few weeks. Most universities offer plenty of events before classes start to serve as icebreakers.
Go to your classes a bit early and try to sit somewhere new each time until you find people with whom you enjoy chatting with. Make plans to get something to eat, to study together, to meet up in the dorms, etc.
If you feel homesick, talking can sometimes seem difficult. Throw caution to the wind and talk about anything light-hearted. If you feel fatigued, drink coffee to perk yourself up. When you have more energy, you’re more likely to smile, laugh, and be easy to talk to.
If Homesickness Lingers, You May Be at the Wrong School
While you may feel homesickness well up from time to time, you’re in the clear if you can forget your worries and enjoy yourself most of the time. If the semester finds you in a prolonged state of panic and isolation, perhaps transferring to a school closer to home would give you a solid foundation and base of emotional support to help you through the essential part of college: the rigorous coursework.
How Teachers Benefit from Travelling to Different Places
There are different ways to improve as a teacher. It is in your best interest to keep looking for opportunities whenever possible. It is not just about you, but also about the students you are teaching. One of the best ways for you to improve is by joining an expedition. It might not seem like the first idea that comes to mind, but it actually works. A lot of teachers have joined such trips for a few weeks and they came back feeling better and more energised to teach again.
You will feel like you are a student again
When you deal with kids every day, you will feel like you are the only adult. You get tired disciplining them and telling them what to do. Once you start travelling, you will feel like you are a kid once again. You will see new places and discover new things. You can try new dishes and even learn foreign languages. This is the type of experience you need if you also want to understand how your students learn and how their skills can be improved.
Give time for yourself
You might be working really hard to the point that you no longer have enough time for yourself. Once you get involved in this type of expedition, you can finally take that much-deserved break. While travelling, you can spend time meditating or reading a book that you have always wanted to finish. You will forget all work-related tasks for a while and you will finally have time to reconnect with yourself. Teaching is fun and exciting, but it can also be draining. Therefore, you need some time to just take a break and do things you don’t often do.
Gain professional experience
You can go to other places to visit tourist destinations and immerse yourself in local cultures. Another option is to train with other institutions. This helps you improve as a teacher as you learn with other teachers. You can also try new things out. When you come back, you will be more confident taking on new challenges as a teacher. Professional development is an important part of teaching. You have to find an opportunity to do it whenever possible.
Just spoil yourself
When you choose to take a break and travel, you can do whatever you want. As a teacher, your bahaviour is controlled. You are afraid that you will be seen as a bad role model for your students. While you are in another place, you have the freedom to do what you want. You can also eat whatever you want to eat. You can spend the night partying if you want to. This is also an important aspect of your life. Don’t get too caught up in work-related tasks as you will end up getting burnt out.
If you are interested in taking this opportunity, check out www.thestc.co.uk. This is a good chance for you to be a better teacher. Make the most out of it.
Image: Pixabay.com
5 ways to keep living costs down at University
For the majority of you, going to university will be an exciting experience and your first real experience of independence. It may also be first time you have to manage your finances alone so if you’re struggling to keep out of your overdraft, then here’s a few tips to keep costs down.
Party hard but wise
If you’re new to Uni then I’m sure you’re aware that one of the main perks of living away from home is the social life. For many this will mean blowing your student loan and either sponging off parents after this, or being skint for the remainder of the semester! The best way to get around this is moderation, play it wise and you can have a decent social life without breaking the bank.
Fresher’s week might be a tricky one to plan, as there are parties on every night of the week, no lectures and probably a lot of takeaways which means you’re likely to spend lots. The positive side of this is that everywhere will be competing to get your custom. Bars, clubs, and takeaways will all be running special deals to try and get you in each night, in the hope you will make it a regular occurrence! This also is the time you’ll make the most friends (remember, everyone is in the same boat as you so this will be easy).
Once Freshers is out of the way everything will calm down. From thereon, try and avoid the kebab house on the way home, think ahead and buy some pizza in advance, in the long run you’ll be shocked how much you can save!
Shop sensibly
There are supermarkets within walking distance of most Sheffield university accommodation but alternatively, many supermarkets offer discount for your first home delivery so take advantage of as many of these offers as you can (You may have to pay a minimum spend on the order so share the shop between your housemates to get the price up). If each of you use the offers available then you will be going for a while before you have to make a non-discounted order! Don’t be afraid of cooking too much food either cook in bulk and save some for lunch the next day! Forget pricey meal deals, nothing beats a reheated cottage pie!
Transport
Getting around the city can be difficult at times with traffic, especially for getting to those 9am lectures! A time and cost saver is investing in a bike, most student accommodation will have plenty of bike racks available. If you already have a bike then even more of a saving, if not check the local pages on social media or local papers and see if you can bag yourself a bargain!!
Textbooks
Once you’ve decided your course you’ll be expected so shell out for a number of textbooks depending on what it is you’re studying. It always pays to check online first to see if you can get used ones, some may have annotations etc. but for the amount you can save it be worth it! Another alternative is to go to the Uni library which also may have the books you need. I know it may not sound cool but you may also be more productive in the library where there are fewer distractions.
The final commandment: Thou shall not forget student discount
Get yourself a student discount card as soon as you start. Don’t be afraid of asking places if they offer student discount! From Museums to Nightclubs the discount possibilities are endless. You may even occasionally pick up some freebies so be sure to carry it with you at all times if you do invest in one. Never forget!!
8 Things to Be on a Look Out for On College Campuses Nation-Wide
In addition to earning a degree and exploring interests, you should prioritize your safety on a college campus. These are eight things to look out for on college campuses nationwide:
Sexual assault
One of the most common crimes to occur on college campuses at either a party or social gathering is sexual assault. Unfortunately, all genders are susceptible to becoming a victim of it. When attending these events, go with a group of people and never leave your friends’ side. Watch out for each other!
Drugs and alcohol
Drugs and alcohol are easily the most accessible substances found at college, especially at parties. If you are of drinking age, make sure to watch both your alcohol intake and never let your drink out of sight. Some people will take any opportunity to slip something into it and take advantage of you. With regards to drugs, reject them at all times. You do not know where these drugs came from or how they will affect you. Many students are lured into the trap of taking study drugs to help pass a class. Don’t fall for this because they are not worth the risk of addiction, or perhaps worse.
Robbery and theft
Day or night, robbery and theft can occur. Never leave your things unattended even for a split moment, and make sure that all valuables are out of sight in your vehicle. Some college parking lots have no security cameras or police officers present, making it more likely for vehicle theft to occur because there are no witnesses or record of their evidence.
Fire hazards
Most fire hazards that occur on a college campus are from accidents such as plugging in too many appliances at once, smoking indoors, or leaving a candle unattended. If you plan on living on campus, take responsibility by always making sure everything in the kitchen has been turned off or extinguished before leaving the dorm, not overloading your electric outlets with a hundred different circuits simultaneously, and preventing anything you burn from spreading a bigger fire.
Suspicious people
Not everyone in this world is trustworthy. This is not to say that you must avoid every single person that comes your way, but be cautious of every person you meet. Furthermore, avoid people who obviously look like they don’t belong on campus. In that case, call campus security so they can escort that person off the premises.
The wrong crowd
The wrong crowd includes superficial friends and generally immoral people. Don’t associate yourself with these negative individuals: they add unnecessary stress to your life, provoke you to make uncomfortable decisions, and are never reliable or available when you need help. Instead, be mindful of who you choose to keep as your friends and acquaintances. They will be the ones who will undeniably support you, surround you with their positive energy, and encourage you to succeed in college – and in life!
Isolated areas
Never travel to isolated areas, even if they are a shortcut to class. You never know who is lurking or what is happening in these places. Plus, if anything ever happened to you, no one would be aware of it. When traveling around on campus, choose to stay on a path with crowds of people. Crime is less likely to happen when there are multiple witnesses.
Campus alerts and crimes
Sign up for mobile campus alerts or security reports. You should stay in the loop of knowing what crime, suspicious activity, and even construction isc currently going on at your college. By being informed, you may save yourself the trouble of wandering into a hazardous area that can pose a danger to your health and safety. Also, always share your knowledge of current campus alerts with all your friends once informed of any updates.
At the end of the day, what matters most at all times is your safety. College is a huge step forward form high school, thus making it imperative to be responsible for yourself. As long as you stay cautious and alert of your surroundings at all times, you severely reduce the chance of running into trouble.
