Personal Branding–All about you…

When I am surfing the web these days I come across several websites talking about personal branding yourself and how promote your brand publicly. You might not be aware of it but you are a brand. The way you look, talk, dress, and carry yourself is such an important part of representing you. You always want go look your best and put your best foot forward at all times.  I have three key tips I would like share with you that can help make you aware of your image.

1. Social Media- Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn. These are such great websites to meet old friends, new friends as well as network. You must make she that you clean up any inappropriate pictures or posts. You never know one day a potential client or future employer could be looking at your page. So make sure you look good in a positive light.

2. Appearance- Look presentable at all times even if you just leaving the house to pump gas are going to get a loaf of bread. You never know who you might meet.

3. Entourage (Circle of Friends)-  These are the people you hang with. Do they support your brand in a positive way? Remember you are the company that you keep. Your image is contagious. If you are a positive and upbeat person make sure the people you hang around reflect your personality too. No one wants to hang out with negative people because they are such a drain on your life.

Why you should love the world of business

What is there not to love about the world of business? It is important to understand the business field. There are many celebrities that have their own business ventures that were unaware of what is going on and how to run their business as well as maintaining their finances. Many celebrities end up broke and filing for bankruptcy because they did not fully understand their financial situation and how to manage their money. You don’t want to fall victim to not understanding finances and the business world.  You want to be able to know the basics so you can be able to understand what is going on in your business and finances. You need to be able to review financial reports and be able to ask questions so you can be in the know of what’s going on to keep your business and finances successful and running smoothly. I will share with you some of the basics to help broaden your understanding about business and finances.

Some of the things you need to know is basic accounting such as what is a journal entry, a debit, credit, etc. You want to been in the loop and know what is going on as well as carry an intelligent conversation with your accountants and financial advisors. There are some great websites you can use as a reference to help brush up on the basics. The Accounting Coach website is great. It breaks down basic accounting principles and guidelines as well as how it relates to a financial statement. This website is a wonderful tool to help make you accounting savvy. It is important to know where your money is going and what are the advisors doing with you money. You work so hard for to make money. It would be a shame to see it go to waste or have someone take advantage of you and one day you find out your broke!

It is also good to stay on top of current events. For example if you want to go out to a dinner function and people talking about the stock market and what is going on internationally in the foreign markets, etc. You want to be able to contribute to the conversation intelligently and add value. Make the crowd in awe  with all of your abundant knowledge and expertise. Good resources to review for current business events are Businessweek and Reuters.

Also it is good to understand 401K, IRA, mutual funds. Try to learn the basics. Good websites to look at are The Motley Fool  and Investopedia. A little knowledge will go a long way. This is good to know because this will help you understand and plan to secure your financial future. It is your money and you must know what is going on with it! Your goal is to make your money work for you so one day you can retire and enjoy your golden years.

Black Friday…Are we in the black?

Millions of Americans in the early hours of the morning gather up at major retailers and malls for the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday!  There are a few websites I reviewed that made it very easy to locate all the ads and specials. Two websites I found are black friday ads and the black friday. These websites were like a one stop resource for all your black Friday shopping needs. In the early hours of the morning, people were running like mad, full of excitement and energy as they look for a great buy on their favorite items to purchase for Christmas. Some people waiting since Monday at a local Best Buy in my town camped out, meeting new friends and entertaining themselves playing a guitar. Since Black Friday is almost coming to an end today, I have to ask myself did these enthusiastic shoppers find what they were looking for? Where they able to stay within their set budget? The last question I would have is was it really worth it? Several retailers hope to see their profits skyrocket and go in the black today however after reviewing the online Wall Street Journal website, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed today in its worst Thanksgiving week performance falling 4.8% to 11231.78. Interesting. I was thinking with all the wonderful sales, and excited people shopping early this morning that it would help boost sales and the economy. However with all the uncertainty about the economy, many people still unemployed or losing their jobs, it is hard for consumers to have confidence to shop or even afford to shop because they have to prioritize wants over needs. Did you enjoy the black friday early morning savings?