Excellent Work-From-Home Job Opportunities

"Make Thousands of Dollars Working from Home!" sounds like a scam and most of the time, it is. But, the great news is, remote work options are available and they are on the rise.

Whether you want to work at your house in your pajamas, from your local coffee shop, or while traveling the world, the following companies can help you achieve your Work-From-Home desires.

• Apple – Tech giant Apple has At Home Advisor position that allows employees to work remotely as customer support agents. The role is to translate technology into a language customers can understand. The position offers benefits such as employee discounts, the opportunity to grow with Apple, and a free iMac to use while working from home. The job is also a great gig for college students, who can schedule their work around classes.
• Xerox - Xerox has an extensive WFH program of over 8,000 home-based employees, which is known as the Virtual Workforce Program. Home-based employees are involved in a variety of functions, including customer care, tech support, quality control, software development, and much more. 
• Dell - Although Dell is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, the company offers employee work options that include flextime, remote work, job sharing, part-time work, and compressed workweeks. Current openings for flexible jobs at Dell include senior-adviser, engineer, and executive positions.
• Toptal - Toptal is a talent network that connects the top 3 percent of software developers with remote work. But the coolest part is that Toptal's internal team of engineers is completely distributed as well. Toptal has no offices whatsoever. Everyone at the company -- from the CEO down to new hires - works remotely. 
• Loot – Loot offers a WFH position where you complete different actions for your favorite brands, such as taking pictures or sharing content on Facebook and Twitter. The more you work, the more you’ll get paid. This is more of a gig type of job. You have to download the company app to apply.
• Freelancer.com – It is a website where you can sign up and get paid for your skills. It has thousands of open jobs where you as a freelancer can work from home in your pajamas. Although most positions are not salaried, there are many jobs that offer near full-time work with flexible hours. This is more of a freelancer type of job where many projects are done on spec.
• Humana - Humana has received numerous workplace awards including the Computerworld 100 Best Places to Work in IT, the Best Employer for Healthy Lifestyles award from the National Business Group, and a ranking of 58 on the Fortune 500 list.
• ADP – It is one of the world's largest providers of business-outsourcing and human-capital management solutions. The company offers a number of full-time, flex, or at-home positions, as well as onsite part-time work.
• Amazon – Amazon offers many virtual positions for potential employees living in certain areas, which allows employees to work from home with just a high-speed internet connection, a working landline, and a PC. Unfortunately, for now, VCC positions are available only in Arizona, Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia, Delaware, Minnesota, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
• TeleTech - TeleTech offers many career paths for telecommuters with a flexible work environment. The program, called TeleTech@Home, has positions for employees who support and assist customers with a variety of service and technical needs, as well as those who carry out back-office functions including chat and social media.

How to Succeed in Male-Dominated Industries

Gone are the days when women were concentrated in lower paying service jobs like retail workers and administrative assistants. Now more and more women are holding high level and high paying jobs in previously male dominated industries. To be successful in these industries, women require a lot of joggling especially if they are married and have children to look after.

Here are a few suggestions for women to get ahead in an industry that is known to be male-dominated.

• Make sure your value is known - One of the main challenges faced by women in the ‘male-dominated’ industries is making their value known.  It can be intimidating for some women to play by men’s rules. Women need to play on their strengths and characteristic qualities that are sometime lacking in men. Many women think they need to change when working in a male-dominated environment. But, your unique qualities or working styles can be the catalyst that helps you to be noticed as a person of value.
• Don’t be the ‘Yes’ woman - In many industries, there is tremendous pressure to work hard and go the extra mile.  Women must not feel obligated to say ‘yes’ to anything that doesn’t remotely list under their responsibilities. Agreeing to taking on every project in striving to be a ‘good employee’ will not do any justice to you in the long run. If you don’t learn to say no, you will ultimately hurt both yourself and the company you represent. It is important, however, to stand up for the projects you really want to work on.
• Be Confident - Having confidence in yourself goes a long way and can get you where you want to be in your career. Being confident, you won’t feel the need to get the ‘approval’ from anyone as women are just as capable of holding certain positions that appear to be reserved for men only. Being a woman, you may be playing more than one role. It is advisable not to allow domestic worries impact upon your confidence and focus at work.
• Be strong and structure oriented - As a woman, you need to not only prove yourself, but be relatively outspoken about it too - something many women are not comfortable doing. Being structured in your work, organized, technically strong, and ensuring you’re assertive goes a long way to earning the respect and recognition for a job well done.
• Have patience, perseverance and positivity - Maintaining a positive attitude and focus, together with equal doses of perseverance and patience, will stand you in good stead. One step forward is one step closer to getting ahead.
• Build contacts – Networking after work is a big part of building contacts in any industry. This is often done in environments that aren’t particularly female-friendly, but breaking into this is a must.
• Motivation and mentorship - Going it alone up the career ladder is hard. One of the most valuable things is to have a mentor - someone who has succeeded in the system, understands the challenges, and can guide you through some of the peculiarities of the industry, as a result of his/her own experience and lessons learned. A mentor can also push you a little harder than you might push yourself.

Remember, the amazing thing about women is that we’re stubborn individuals who will build strong, supportive networks to help each other grow. Keep a positive attitude and always challenge yourself to learn more. With knowledge and confidence, you can enter any office and show that you’re a valuable addition to the team.

Hiring Trends for 2017

Hiring is going to be a challenge for tech positions, particularly for security and networking roles. 

Here is a glimpse of what is expected on the hiring front in 2017. The following forecast is based on the research conducted by Robert Half Technology and TEKsystems.

• Marginal salary gains – Majority of IT leaders expect IT salaries to stay the same compared to 2016 rates. Many organizations are relying on rate cards from several years ago, and the IT segment is suffering a degree of wage stagnation.
• Some skills are more likely to get raises – There won’t be department-wise salary hikes, but in-demand roles will get raises. These roles will be – programmers & developers, software engineers, security and cloud based computing.
• IT headcount expanding for some – Some companies will add new positions in the year 2017. Most of them will put IT hiring on hold.
• Contingent IT staff increasing - IT leaders report that in 2016, 80% of their IT team members are full-time staffers and 20% are contingent workers. Looking ahead to 2017, CIOs are predicting a slight shift in the ratio of full-time staff (76%) to contingent workers (24%).
• Skills in greatest demand – Database management, desktop support, network administration and cybersecurity are the most in-demand skills.
• Explosion of tech roles - Our technology-driven lifestyles mean that more employers in finance, retail, healthcare, etc., need employees who can derive insights from data, create a mobile app, or code a website. A tight overall hiring market and increased demand for tech talent makes recruiting those coding and analytics stars even more difficult.
• Pay transparency - Transparency in the workplace isn’t new, but in 2016 we saw a big push from policymakers for employers to be more transparent about pay. New rules from the federal government will require some employers to disclose workers’ pay by gender, race/ethnicity.  In 2017, employers should prepare for increased salary negotiations.

Why Banks Deny Loans to Small Businesses

Starting a business is one of the most rewarding, yet difficult endeavours to undertake. The road to profit is very challenging. Business owners need a great deal of money to launch their venture. They depend upon commercial lending for financing. However, many times loan applications are rejected by banks.

Here’s a list of reasons a business loan can be rejected.

• Bad credit - Even though not everyone has the best credit, as far as lenders are concerned, this just isn’t an excuse. Poor credit is simply a sign that a borrower, or their business, does not prioritize repaying their debts. Credit score of the borrower is very important criterion for money lenders to decide whether to accept or reject a loan offer. Most banks typically won’t loan to a business owner whose personal credit score isn’t above a certain threshold (typically about 680).
• Not enough collateral - All business loans require collateral. Unfortunately not all businesses have sufficient collateral to support the size of the business loan they wish to borrow. Another obstacle is the price depreciation of certain collateral. Know the value of your collateral before you ask the bank for the loan.
• Under-capitalization - Borrowers often make the mistake of under-capitalizing their business loan application. Your personal and professional resources including fixed assets, retained earnings, and the even an owner’s equity, can be attached if required to secure repayment of the debt. Do your homework; know what capital you have on hand. Know what you can pledge and use to grow your business and repay the bank’s loan.
• Cash flow problems - Lenders see no reason to offer money to a business that has serious cash flow problems. Banks want to see that businesses have enough money to make monthly loan payments in addition to covering rent, payroll, inventory and other costs.  After all, if a business isn’t even making money to begin with, then there is no need to hand it a business loan in the hope that is generates growth. There has to be adequate cash flow available to repay a loan. Most bank term loans are not ideal for start-ups or very young businesses. They typically look for a few years of revenue generation. Start-ups can apply for SBA loans (which are loans made by a bank with a portion guaranteed by the US government). Most large banks have SBA loan departments, so be sure to check with your local branch.
• Lack of preparation - Many businesses simply aren’t savvy about the application process and believe they can walk into a bank, fill out an application and get approved for a loan. Before applying for a bank loan, businesses should have a written business plan, financial statements or projections, personal and business credit reports, tax returns and bank statements. They should also have copies of relevant legal documents including articles of incorporation, contracts, leases, and any licenses and permits needed to operate.
• Difficult conditions - Even if a business has excellent collateral, credit, and is well run, there is still the possibility that it will soon face industry-specific difficulties. For example, a lender may be hesitant to lend a business loan to a transportation company in the wake of rising fuel costs. The lender may expect that the soaring costs of fuel are just going to overtax the transportation company and make it difficult to grow or generate a profit. Outside influences are always considered prior to a loan approval or decline. They can include industry experience of a borrower, a business’s location, local or regional economic trends, competitors etc. In addition to these, seemingly unrelated factors, such as local climate conditions, may also influence an applicant’s approval or denial.

These reasons are warning signs to look out for on the road to getting a business loan. Even if borrowers achieve success and borrow business loans, they still have to successfully run their business and payback their lender. While not all ideas need financing to get started, getting a business loan is a great aid to launching a new company.

Legal Requirements to Start a Business

Many different elements go into starting a new business. One of the primary requirements for setting up a business is to abide by the legal requirements set by federal, state and county rules and regulations. Abiding by these rules allows you to start your business off on the right path to help you avoid legal issues regarding the business structure in the future.

Here is the list of legal aspects you need to consider for start-up. Depending on your situation and type of business, hiring a tax accountant and/or good attorney with specific experience in your industry can help you.

• Business name - Before you start printing out business cards, make sure the great new name you thought of isn’t infringing on the rights of an already existing business. You can perform a free search online that looks at business names registered with the Secretary of State — that will tell you if the name is available in your state. Then, take your search to the next level and conduct a no-conflict, free trademark search to see if your name is available for use in all 50 states.
• Register a fictitious business name/DBA - A DBA (Doing Business As) must be filed whenever your company does business under a different name. If you’ve got a sole proprietorship or general partnership, a DBA is needed if your company name is different from your own name. For an LLC or corporation, a DBA must be filed to conduct business using a name that’s different from the official Corporation or LLC name you filed.
• Incorporate Your Business or Form an LLC - Forming an LLC or corporation is an essential step to protect your personal assets (such as your personal property or your child’s college fund) from any liabilities of the company. Each business structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your specific circumstances. Three popular options are: the LLC (great for small businesses that want legal protection, but minimal formality), S Corporation (great for small businesses that can qualify), or C Corporation (for companies who plan to seek funding from a VC or go public).
• Get Federal Tax ID Number - To distinguish your business as a separate legal entity, you'll need to obtain a Federal Tax Identification Number, also referred to as an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Issued by the IRS, the tax ID number is similar to your personal social security number and allows the IRS to track your company's transactions. If you’re a sole proprietor, you’re not obligated to get a Tax ID number, but it’s still good practice as you won’t have to provide your personal social security number for business matters.
• Learn about employee laws - Your legal obligations as an employer begin as soon as you hire your first employee. You should spend time with an employment law professional to fully understand your obligations for these (and other) procedures: federal and state payroll and withholding taxes, self-employment taxes, anti-discrimination laws, OSHA regulations, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation rules, and wage and hour requirements.
• Obtain business permits and licenses - Depending on your business type and physical location, you may be required to have one or more business licenses or permits from the state, local or even federal level. Such licenses include: a general business operation license, zoning and land use permits, sales tax license, health department permits, and occupational or professional licenses.
• File for trademark protection - You're not actually required by law to register a trademark. Using a name instantly gives you common law rights as an owner, even without formal registration. Since you’ve spent untold hours brainstorming the ideal name, and you’ll be putting even more effort into cultivating name recognition, you should consider registering your trademark for proper legal protection.
• Open a bank account to build business credit - When you rely on your personal credit to fund your business, your personal mortgage, auto loan and personal credit cards all affect your ability to qualify for a business loan. Using business credit separates your personal activities from that of the business. To begin building your business credit, you should open a bank account in the name of your company, and the account should show a cash flow capable of taking on a business loan.

If you are a start-up owner or have plans of becoming one, we at TheGongzuo.com are eager to assist you. Our experts will provide you guidance regarding your financial or legal matters. Do contact us today! 

Interesting Tech Facts

                           

• The first computer mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart in around 1964 and was made of wood.
• Alaska is the only state that can be typed on one row of keys on a “QUERTY” keyboard.
• HP, Google, Microsoft and Apple have one thing in common apart from the obvious that they are IT companies. They were all started in garages.
• Hewlett Packard was started in a garage in Palo Alto in 1939.
• Facebook pays at least $500 if you can find a way to hack the site.
• The Google driverless car has encountered only two accidents. The first it was rear ended at a stop sign, and the second was when a human was behind the wheel.
• The first online advertisement banner was created and used in the year of 1994.
• CD’s, or Compact discs read from the inside to the outside edge, which is the reverse of how records work.
• The word robot comes from the Czech “robota“. This translates into forced labour, or work.
• Skype is banned from the public in China.
• 86% of people try to plug their USB devices upside down.
• 160 billion emails are sent daily, 97% of which are spam.
• 9 out of every 1,000 computers are infected with spam.
• U.S. President Bill Clinton's inauguration in January 1997 was the first to be webcast.
• There are 6.8 billion people on the planet and 4 billion of them use a mobile phone. Only 3.5 billion of them use a toothbrush.
• Two hundred and twenty million tons of old computers and other technology devices are trashed in the United States each year.
• Ninety percent of text messages are read within three minutes of being delivred.
• The average 21 year old has spent 5,000 hours playing video games, sent 250,000 emails, instant messages, and text messages, and has spent 10,000 hours on a mobile phone alone.

It’s Time to Make a Career Change

People change careers several times during their lifetime. The main reason is that they don’t make informed decisions about the careers they choose. They do not take into account their own interests, values, personality types while selecting career path. Because of these reasons, you may find yourself wondering whether you should be doing something different. Here are some valid reasons to leave your current career for a new one:

• Loss of purpose and passion – If your career has no meaning, you are no longer excited about it or you have grown tired of getting up in the morning to compete for something you don’t believe in anymore – it’s time to move on. The financial incentives are not enough, when the chance to find real personal significance and happiness is missing. 
• Talent potential is not valued - When your talent is not valued, it’s difficult to stay motivated. When your boss doesn’t trust your potential and will not sponsor your career advancement, it’s extremely hard to remain loyal. You must value your talent potential more than anyone else.   Never allow your talent to be taken for granted.  If it is, it may be time to move on.
• Professional growth is stunted - If you are unable to challenge yourself to grow and mature, then how can your employer help you? If you think your employer is not investing in your professional development, you must move on. If you don’t stretch yourself to do more or remain in your comfort zone for too long, you will have to pay the price later. Your resume should reflect enough success stories to merit advancement in your career.
• Workplace culture is not trustworthy - A hostile work environment that operates in silos - where the executives are not transparent - is difficult to trust.  This type of workplace culture becomes corrupted and begins to impact your performance and ability to advance. When you are part of an organization that is full of leadership and workplace problems, it’s time to consider a career change.
• Not sufficiently awarded - It’s easy to become contented in your career, but in today’s fiercely competitive and dynamic marketplace, you must be your own manager and continually be accountable to keep a “reward scorecard.”   Rewards are qualitative and quantitative measurements.  If you are not being rewarded for your work - based on industry standards (or better), it’s time to consider a career change.
• You make excuse for a day off - Do you make excuses to call in sick or let go opportunities to take lead? It may be time to assess your current career. If your sense of satisfaction fades away, you aren’t worried your performance review didn’t go well, or you spend more time on surfing internet than concentrating on business, it might be time to move on.
• Your life has changed - When you chose your career your life may have been different than it is today. For example you may have been single then and now you have a family. The crazy schedule or the frequent travel that is typical of your career may not suit your new lifestyle. You should look for an occupation that is more "family friendly."
• Your job is too stressful - Some occupations are inherently stressful. You knew that from the beginning about yours. You've come to a point, though, when it's become too much to handle. To preserve your mental and physical health, you will have to find a career that is less stressful.

If you want to make a career change, talk to the career counsellor for guidance and making a right move. Think about roles or jobs where you can use the knowledge and skills you already possess. If you are convinced that you want to make a career change, then take a dive! There is never a perfect time, so don’t wait. Try to prepare plan B, and then do it!

How to Find Internships

Internships can be a great way to get your foot in the door, gaining valuable work experience in a position that would not normally be open to someone with your skills. Finding one and getting it can be hard though. Follow these strategies to land great internships.

• Look for internship listings – Visit career services office of your school or regularly browse their website to check internship listings. Many companies also post internship positions on their ‘career’ web page. Select a number of different internships and be sure to follow the application instructions precisely. Many internships are very competitive and until you hear back from an employer – don’t assume that you will be accepted. Be proactive by continuing to apply to new internships as you find them.
• Make a good resume - You know what you are good at but the employer will need to see them in ink. Ready your resume, highlighting the skills that could be beneficial in that field and mention your achievements in previous internships or a project at college where you volunteered. Showcasing your skills, while keeping in the mind the requirements for the job, plays an important role in getting yourself the right internship.
• Do your research – Before going for an interview, research on not only the company and its products, but also on the business itself. Read about company’s stock market performance, its employees, their backgrounds, competitors, media coverage regarding news about the company etc. Potential interns who get noticed in an interview or on the job are the ones who have an opinion- they aren’t afraid to speak up, give input and contribute to brainstorming sessions. But in order to have effective and credible input, one has to put in the time and do the research.
• Use and know the product - Being unfamiliar with the product or web site of the company is fatal- because interviewers will get to know about your ignorance. Candidates, who have used the product or know it well, share insight and knowledge and they even have stories about how the product has helped them in their career etc. 
• Weigh benefits correctly – Weigh the benefits of internship in terms of the value they add to your profile the knowledge that you gain from that role. Taking up just any internship is not good for your profile. Get the one that is relevant to the career you intend to pursue. 

If you are looking for internship positions with renowned companies, log on to ThGongzuo.com to find the right internship and save your precious time.

Legal Rights That Women Should Know

Women enjoy most freedoms today that men enjoy, and have joined the American work force in great numbers. But, discrimination against women still exists in the workplace in various forms. Women should know their rights as U.S. workers and take responsibility for helping to stop violations in the workplace.

Types of women’s rights:

• Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 - It is illegal for employers to exclude qualified women from any available position. Women can sue a potential employer, if they feel he has excluded them from a position based on gender. 
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 – It states that employers must pay women the same amount they would pay a man in the same position. Women can sue their employers if they can prove that a male in the same position earns higher wages.
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 – According to this Act, it’s illegal to discriminate against pregnant woman in the workplace. An employer cannot fire a woman or exclude her from a position due to pregnancy as long as she can perform satisfactorily. 
• Right against harassment - An employee of any company where a woman works may not sexually harass the woman in any way. Women should report offensive conduct such as jokes, name calling, physical assaults or threats, insults etc. to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or a supervisor.

Even though there are laws to protect the rights of working women, workplaces are far from equal.

• Women make 75 to 90 cents to every man’s dollar. 
• Under FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), women are eligible for 12 weeks of maternity leave. But, women working for a small company or those who have been employed for less than a year get only 8 weeks of maternity leave.
• Harassment complaints are ignored many times, because taking action is not a priority. 
• There are approximately 50% women in the workforce, but women aren’t getting 50% of leadership roles.

Nevertheless, America has come a long way to having the rights we enjoy today in the workplace. But, there is still significant room for improvement.

How to Deal with Workplace Harassment?

Workplace harassment and office bullying are unfortunately common incidents these days. It refers to any repeated, intentional behaviour directed at an employee that is intended to degrade, humiliate, embarrass, or otherwise undermine their performance. It can come from colleagues, supervisors, or management, and is a real problem for workers at all levels. It's no joke. By learning to recognize and address workplace bullying behaviour, you can help to create a healthier, more productive environment for yourself and your colleagues.

What women can do

• Communicate your disapproval - If you can avoid the colleague who makes you uncomfortable, do so. If you have to work in close proximity to him, avoid being alone with him and tell him to stop his specific behaviour. If the person has sent you a joke through an email or SMS, reply through email or SMS when asking him to stop.
• Keep a record - If your colleague isn't getting the message, prepare to report him. Gather evidence to substantiate your claims. 'Note down the date, time and details of each incident. Save any emails or text messages that contain inappropriate language. Try to use your mobile phone recorder to discreetly record his remarks.
• Find a friend to share this information - Share the situation with a colleague you trust in the office. She may be able to keep a watchful eye on the situation. But be picky about who you share this information with, and ensure that this person is trustworthy. A senior colleague or mentor who carries more weight in the organisation would be ideal. 
• Formal complaint - If the above doesn't work, make a formal complaint to senior members of the organisation, with whatever evidence or notes you have. Make the complaint in writing and keep a copy. Remember an oral complaint can be hushed up. Often women don't report sexual harassment for fear they might lose their jobs, but unless you are willing to take action, your problem will persist.
• Contact EEOC - If your complaint does not result in your supervisor or senior manager taking action, you can file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which investigates sexual harassment incidents in the workplace. Inform the EEOC of your employer's name, the name of the offender and the details surrounding the incidents.
• File a lawsuit - After you file a complaint with the EEOC, you can possibly file a lawsuit. You can seek monetary damages, or try to get your job back if your employer fired you due to the incidents. If you plan to file a lawsuit, you should seek legal representation from an attorney who handles sexual harassment cases.

Top 5 Tech Tools for Small Businesses

Starting a new business can be tough, as obstructions you never imagined crop up. Limited time, manpower, and budgets can all be a factor as the workload starts to pile up and the bills come rolling in. With the right tools, small businesses can reach their potential. Below is a list of tools that small business owners can utilize.

1. For organization and productivity – 

• Google Drive - lets you store and access your files anywhere--on the web, on your hard drive, or on the go.
• Trello – Visual project management system
• Expensify - financial services startup that provides an online expense management service for customers worldwide.
• Evernote - A suite of software and services that allow users to capture, organize, and find information across multiple platforms.

2. Cloud storage – 

• Dropbox - Provides a home for users' most-important information.
• Google Drive - lets you store and access your files anywhere -- on the Web, on your hard drive, or on the go.
• Apple’s iCloud - a mobile- and Web-based application that enables its users to store their information.
• Microsoft OneDrive - A storage application that enables users to store and share photos, videos, documents, and more.

3. CRM tools – 

• Salesforce - A global cloud computing company that develops CRM solutions and provides business software on a subscription basis.
• Act! -  To organize customer details, increase productivity, and drive results.
• SugarCRM - enables businesses to create extraordinary customer relationships with the most innovative CRM solution in the market.

4. Email marketing/marketing automation – 

• MailChimp - an email marketing service that helps businesses with newsletters, automated messages, and targeted campaigns.
• Constant Contact - provides email, social media, and event marketing tools to help small businesses grow their customer base.
• Emfluence - lets you create, deploy, and track multi-channel online marketing campaigns from one place.
• InfusionSoft - provides sales and marketing automation software for small businesses that combines CRM, email marketing, and e-commerce.

5. Social media and content tools – 

• TweetDeck - A Twitter tool for real-time tracking, organizing, and engaging on Web and mobile devices.
• Sprout Social - provides a platform for businesses to manage social media engagement, publishing, and analytics.
• Buffer App - helps users share social media content by scheduling online posts throughout the day.

How to Turn Your Expertise into a Business

Subject matter specialization is an important skill set to call someone an expert in something. If you are an expert in something and you want to convert it in to business, you need to be accepted for your expertise. People need to see you in action. They need to see results. And, people should decide to buy the product or service you are willing to create out of your expertise. You need to set a plan of action. And, as always it all starts with a well-planned business strategy.

Do you know enough?

You have an expertise and want to start a business. Do you know enough about the industry? With industry background and know-how, you’ll be ahead of the curve. If you have a great idea, but aren’t familiar enough with the field to get started, use your network, speak with people who’ve started businesses in your industry to help you get up to speed quickly.

Surround yourself with people who share your idea

Hire people who share similar interests, if not passion! You can expect long work hours and hard days in the beginning, so personal drive and similar values with your colleagues will take you through initial turbulence. 

Business Funds

You need funds. Smart fund allocation and streamlined spending is crucial for any business process. In reality, any kind of skill set can be streamlined to produce regular profits. While quantity matters a great deal to produce regular profits in any business, quality is crucial to attract regular and loyal customers to your service. Successful businesses never compromise on quality.

Time

Quality is achieved by investing the required amount of time. You will never achieve anything by rushing. Consistent and scheduled work culture is crucial for the success of any business process. Overworking and under working are both harmful for any kind of business. Overworking can lead to attitude saturation and eventual productivity mess up. Under working can kill profits.

Easy ways to turn your expertise into a business:

• Consultancy services - If you have vast know-how and skills in a particular field, you can be paid lucratively by sharing your expertise with others. 
• Start a blog - If you have specialized knowledge about a particular topic, you can start a blog or a website on that subject. You can join affiliate programs or use advertisements to earn money from your blog/ website.
• Teach what you know - If you have vast knowledge about a particular topic, you can offer lessons at a fee. You can begin by teaching at seminars or hire yourself out as a tutor. 

Turning your expertise into a successful business not only allows you to be profitable while doing something you love; it helps set you up for lasting success. Most importantly, passion is central to making decisions that are in the long-term interest of the customer and the company, which will help you, establish sustainability and longevity for your brand.

Why Interns Should be Hired In Startups?

For some start-ups it is inevitable to hire interns at the initial stages of their company’s growth. While this may initially appear to be a good practice, especially with start-ups’ tight financial constraints, the grind of managing the interns could overshadow the benefits of having them in your office.

Internships are a “give and take” relationship because the commitment goes both ways - an intern works for your start-up, but you have to teach the intern the necessary skills and give him or her individual learning plan in return. The intern is working for you because he or she wants to learn and get experience in his or her field of expertise.

Pros and cons of hiring interns

There are mostly ‘pros’, but you need to be aware of one con: Interns are time consuming in the beginning of their internship. You need to take the time to teach them a new set of skills and integrate them into the workplace.

Here are the benefits of hiring interns:

• The most important benefit to the start-ups is that they get cost effective dynamic workforce.
• For most interns, it is their first job, so they give their best to the employer. They are motivated and have desire to learn and progress within their field.
• Interns fill positions and assist employers with innovative ideas and technology.
• Internships allow employers to connect with and build relationships with students early in their academic careers
• Employers can test the candidates before offering him/her full time position within an organization.
• Smaller, less important tasks could be given to interns, so that experienced workforce could devote their full attention to more productive work.

However, these benefits could come at a cost of your time and energy.

• You spend more time teaching them how to work and what to work on
• If you have more number of interns, your business activities may suffer when interns go back to school.
• Most start-up founders will take the interns under their wing and teach them what they know. As an internship cycle usually repeats itself every 3/6 months, it can be quite taxing.
• If handover is not done properly when an internship comes to an end, you could lose your business.

In a small start-up, interns can either make or break your company. However, if handled and planned correctly, internships can be meaningful to both you - the employer and your interns.

If you plan to hire interns for your start-up, register on TheGongzuo.com and advertise your open positions to get qualified interns.

What’s In a Name?

Creativity is the essence of the tech world and it is evident even with the names of tech companies. There is a story behind the names of most of the companies. 

Here’s a look how some of these well-known tech giants got their names:

• Apple - Steve Jobs liked apples a lot. The other reason he named his company ‘Apple’ was that “Apple” was ahead of “Atari” in the phonebook and he used to work at Atari. 
• Amazon - Bezos wanted his book retail site to be so quick and easy that it seemed like magic. The site went online in 1995 with the name of Amazon, taken from the Amazon River for being the biggest river. Clearly, Bezos had big ambitions right from the start.
• Google - Google took its name from a deliberate misspelling of Googol, the word that represents 10^100, or a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Why this? Simply because founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page wanted to convey the huge amount of data they intended to make available.
• Microsoft - The company was officially established in April 1975, with the name coming from a combination of “microprocessor” and “software” – which is fitting given that they were creating software for the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems’s (MITS) Altair 8800.
• Oracle - This name started as the code for a project that co-founders Larry Ellison and Bob Oats worked on for the CIA. It was a database that was supposed to be able to answer any question about anything.
• Mozilla - In 1994, when a team at Netscape sat around to think of names for a new browser to take on NCSA’s Mosaic browser, what they were looking for was something that would crush the competition. What they looked to was Godzilla. Combining Mosaic with the movie monster brings you to the current day name of Mozilla.
• Asus – The name is derived from the mythological Greek winged horse Pegasus. According to the company’s own explanation it embodies the strength, purity, and adventurous spirit of this fantastic creature, and soars to new heights with each new product it creates.
• Lenovo - The word is a combination of Le and Novo, meaning new in Latin.
• Skype – It’s a combination of “sky” and “peer-to-peer”, shortened to skyper. The name ‘Skyper’ was already in use, so the new name became ‘Skype’.
• Twitter – Founders first thought of ‘twitch’. But ‘twitch’ was not a good product name because it doesn’t bring up the right imagery. So, they looked up dictionary and found ‘twitter’. The definition was ‘a short burst of inconsequential information,’ and ‘chirps from birds.’ And that’s exactly what the product was.
• eBay - The website started out as “AuctionWeb,” a part of the personal website of former Apple software engineer Pierre Omidyar. The website took off, and Mr. Omidyar decided to spin it off into its own entity and name it after his consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group. When the domain name echobay.com was taken, he switched it to ebay.com.
• Verizon – According to Verizon’s corporate history, the name is a combination of the Latin words “veritas” and “horizon.” Veritas refers to truth and reliability, while horizon signifies forward-looking and visionary.
• Blackberry - This name was coined in 1999 because the keys on the device resembled the drupelets on the fruit.

What To Do If You Miss Job Interview

An interview is your opportunity to impress an employer and show how perfect you are for the job. Missing the interview or arriving late can jeopardize your chances and is something you should avoid at all costs. However, unavoidable situations sometimes occur that would make it impossible to attend. If you take appropriate steps immediately, you might be able to appease the employer and get a second chance.

The right thing to do, regardless of the reason why you missed the interview, is to send the recruiter a formal letter or email message of apology/explanation. It’s best to keep your letter or message brief but sincere. Take responsibility for your failure to appear for the interview. If you still want to work for the company and you had a good reason for missing the interview, let the recruiter know this, too. It can’t hurt and you might get a second chance!

Even if you were caught among unavoidable circumstances, missing an interview is highly unprofessional. But, still you can request the employer to reschedule your interview. He/she may refuse, but you can try. If the interviewer does agree to schedule another meeting, make note of the time and date, and thank him or her for the opportunity.

If the interviewer agrees to reschedule the meeting, make an effort to arrive at least 15 minutes early. Thank the interviewer for the opportunity, but do not mention the missed interview and do not make any excuses about it. Be polite, professional and do your best to show the interviewer that you’re a reliable, competent candidate. Good luck!

What to Ask Before Taking a New Job

When you are in the process of job hunting, you get eager to land a job that you would love. And when you get an interview call, you obviously get very excited and face the interview well-prepared. At such times, it gets very tough to reject the job offer on the criteria other than salary. But, it is very important to find whether you will be ‘culturally’ fit within that organization or not. Remember, you can’t work where you don’t feel comfortable.  The culture of the company you’re applying for carries tremendous weight on your decision to work there. Therefore, before you accept a job, conduct ‘culture audit’ to assess company’s culture.

What is a culture?

Culture is one very important way in which employees describe where they work. It underlies their understanding of the employer’s business and helps employees orient themselves in the organization. Company culture is the shared values, practices and beliefs of the company's employees. From hiring practices to how people work, make decisions, resolve differences of opinions, and navigate change, the culture defines the unwritten but very real rules of behaviour. 

If you are job seeker in that company, you should take into account its culture.

• If you ask an interviewer following types of questions, you will understand a company’s culture:
• What makes you proud to work at this company?
• How would you describe the culture here in few words?
• What's the process for on-boarding employees, and how do you handle beginner mistakes?
• Are the firm’s executives approachable?
• Is employee input sought for new initiatives including strategy? 
• How are big decisions made?
• Does the firm get together when new sales records or big customer orders are achieved? 
• Could you please give examples of people who succeeded wildly within the boundaries of the organization?
• What’s the difference between an average employee and the best one in this role/department/company?
• Is risk-taking encouraged and what if people fail?
• How does the organization support professional development and career growth?
• Are there formal quality initiatives in place such as Six Sigma or Lean?
• What’s one thing you would change about this company if you could?

Company culture is everything. You can’t work where you don’t fit. Ask a few of these questions on your next interview, and you’ll be sure to find the organization that’s the right environment for you.

Why Women Don’t Start Business?

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, only seven women start businesses for every ten men. There is a big “confidence gap” between male and female entrepreneurs.

Here are the main reasons why women hesitate to start their own businesses:

• Women are less confident - About three-quarters of both male and female entrepreneurs start businesses to pursue an opportunity, but men show more positive perceptions about opportunities and their own capabilities, as well as lower fear of failure. Women are inclined to take fewer risks.
• Women use their savings, men get loans – On an average, women start their businesses with a median amount of $8,000; men had $30,000. Women were also more likely to use their own cash or borrow from family members, while men got bank loans. With fewer funds to start a business, women have little or no scope for taking necessary steps.
• Men are more likely to know other entrepreneurs - It seems contrary to the general norm of women as social connectors and men as isolated individualists, but men are more likely to have robust professional networks when starting their businesses. They were also more likely to already know someone who had branched out on his own, providing them with a valuable source of information.
• Content with life – Women are content to live their lives peacefully, calmly without any stress brought about by starting a business.  For most of the women, money is not a motivator. And if it is, they feel that they can get it from their jobs working within an organization, instead of starting a new venture.
• Responsibility of managing family – Women always have to struggle to balance career and families. Starting a business involves a lot of dedication. Women feel they cannot devote that much time while handling household responsibilities.

Best US Cities for Tech Start-ups

When we think of tech start-ups, Northern California region comes to our mind. Companies in Silicon Valley area receive the largest share of funding from venture capitalists, but there are several other promising cities around the country to launch tech start-up.

The following ranking is based on start-up survival rates, available talent pool, day-to-day start-up costs etc.

1. Austin, TX – Austin has topped the list, becoming alternative to Silicon Valley. It has a smaller population and that is  great for quality of life. It has the necessary talent available needed for tech industry.
2. New York, NY – This is city is very much open for business. Internet businesses are thriving in Manhattan. NYC’s mass transit system is a big plus in its digital success.
3. Seattle, WA – Seattle has great universities producing engineering and IT graduates. So, it has the highest density of tech talent. This is the biggest advantage for entrepreneurs.
4. Denver, CO – It has comparatively low office rents, affordable for budding CEOs and CFOs. It has smaller population, so people enjoy great quality of life.
5. Atlanta, GA – It has great public transport and subway system for commuters. Low cost of office spaces is good news for start-up owners. They get more money in hand to expand their business or to hire quality workforce.
6. San Francisco, CA – Here, over half of the population holds a Bachelor's degree. This is fantastic as it means there is a good spread of academic qualification and experience throughout the city to aid recruitment. Major downside is, it is the costliest place to open a new office.
7. Washington, D.C. – Academic talent pool is larger than most of the cities. This is fantastic news for anyone looking for a more academically qualified workforce, or looking for specific qualifications that come out of advanced degrees.
8. Miami, FL - Miami has one of the most thriving local business cultures of the entire Top 10 cities of this list. It can attract many different businesses from different sectors. It can attract many different businesses from different sectors.  Miami is blazing ahead in terms of number of new company formations.
9. Los Angeles, CA – It has second lowest transportation cost among the top cities listed here - good news for employees needing to get to their workplaces and the bosses who need to get them there early. LA is great place to start and grow business. It has a high rate of new entrepreneurs.
10. Houston, TX – Houston is the best city in terms of office prices. Being highly populated, it gives great local market for businesses. It has a wide variety of skills available, which is a big plus.

Ways to Make Money Online

When money is tight, an extra $1,000 a month could be life-changing. Although an additional $12,000 a year might not sound like a ton of money, for a single-income home, or for a family with a hefty car payment or medical bills, it could make all the difference.

You can start an online business if you have the right attitude and willingness to learn. Follow these steps to utilize your spare time and invest it into an online business.

• Find what interests you most and what are you good at – This is the starting point of setting up your online business. Spend enough time on thinking about this. Write down whatever comes to your mind and then make a short list of 5 such business ideas. Finally, you can come down to one such niche area, which you love the most or enjoy doing in your spare time.
• Develop your own website – The next step is to write blogs or articles about your interest area on a website. You don’t need tech skills for building a website. You will find online resources where you can get ready-to-use templates. You will get visitors to read information on your website. Your website contents should aim to solve their problems. For specific information, you can develop a video or present expert’s interview clip or info graphic and can ask for viewer’s email address in return. For additional free resources, visitors will share their email ids with you. In this way, you regular visitors become your subscribers.
• Start selling – Once you generate the list of subscribers, you can start selling your product. For example, if your niche area is tutoring, you can actually develop an online course for which your loyal visitors will pay you fees. Once you provide them quality information for free, they are ready to buy such services from you. People compare the cost of actual tutoring and the pain of commuting with the online resources.

Once you follow these steps, then the sky is the limit for how much you can earn. Keep updating your website contents to get repeat visitors. Keep growing your number of subscribers and enjoy being a successful businessman!

Steps to Design Start-up Business Plan

Launching a business without a plan is like going on a road trip without a map or GPS to guide you. Whatever may be the type of your start-up business, you have to have a business plan in place. Its real value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. Another advantage of having a start-up plan is that, you can present it to the investors to give them a clear idea about your business.

Start-up plan is nothing but the “to-do” list of everything to start your business. Once you list out the actions that need to be taken, assign a responsible person for every action and write down the deadline by which it needs to be completed. Any task without a deadline will never get completed.

Review the following steps to write your start-up plan:

• Mission statement - This is your reason for starting your business. Maybe you want to provide a specific service that's missing in your community. Your mission statement should explain your reasoning in a few clear and effective sentences.
• Your own background and information – Add a section about yourself, mentioning your qualifications and experience.
• Employees’ information – List the names of your employees, if you have already identified them or else you may write the titles, job descriptions, the responsibilities they would be handling etc. You may also include the salaries and benefits you are planning to offer to your staff.
• Market study – This includes the description of market that you are targeting. It includes either the geographical locations or people of particular age groups.
• Competitors - Besides their name and business type, note a brief reasoning as to why each business is considered competition. End with why your business will overcome the competition and be successful.
• Partners - These would be the distributors, vendors and contractors that you may need to hire as part of your business.
• Description of your product/service - Be specific about how you plan on producing or providing the product or service, and how you will deliver it. You will also need to explain the methods you will be using to sell the product or service and what modes of marketing your will implement.
• Financial section – This includes information about your credit status, sources of funds, business expenses and projected sales and profits.

It typically takes several weeks to complete a good plan. Most of that time is spent in research and re-thinking your ideas and assumptions. Be sure to keep detailed notes on your sources of information and on the assumptions underlying your financial data.

If you need any help in launching your business, register at TheGongzuo.com for free. We have mentors and advisors to help you in every single task – from building your start-up plan to market your product/service.