Science says parents of successful kids have this in common

Science says parents of successful kids have this in commonScience says parents of successful kids have this in commonMost parents want their kids to stay out of trouble, do well in school, and go on to live successful lives as adults.And while there isnt a set recipe for raising successful children, psychology research has pointed to a handful of factors that predict success.Unsurprisingly, much of it comes down to the parents. Keep reading to take a look at what parents of successful kids have in common.Drake Baer contributed to a previous version of this article.They make their kids do choresIf kids arent doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them, Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of How to Raise an Adult said during a TED Talks Live event.By making them do chores - taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry - they realize I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life, she previously told Busines s Insider.Lythcott-Haims believes kids raised on chores go on to become employees who collaborate well with their coworkers, are mora empathetic because they know firsthand what struggling looks like, and are able to take on tasks independently.They teach their kids social skillsResearchers from Pennsylvania State University and Duke University tracked mora than 700 children from across the US between kindergarten and age 25 and found a significant correlation between their social skills as kindergartners and their success as adults two decades later.The 20-year study showed that children who could cooperate with their peers, be helpful to others, understand their feelings, and resolve problems on their own were far more likely to earn a college degree and have a full-time job by age 25 than those with limited social skills.Those with limited social skills also had a higher chance of getting arrested, binge drinking, and applying for public housing.This study shows that helping chil dren develop social and emotional skills is one of the most important things we can do to prepare them for a healthy future, said Kristin Schubert, program director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the research, in a release.From an early age, these skills can determine whether a child goes to college or prison, and whether they end up employed or addicted.They have high expectationsUsing data from a national survey of 6,600 children born in 2001, University of California at Los Angeles professor Neal Halfon and his colleagues discovered that the expectations parents hold for their kids have a huge effect on attainment.Parents who saw college in their childs future seemed to manage their child toward that goal irrespective of their income and other assets, Halfon said.The finding came out in standardized tests 57% of the kids who did the worst were expected to attend college by their parents, while 96% of the kids who did the best were expected to go to college.Th is falls in line with another psych finding The Pygmalion effect, which states that what one person expects of another can come to serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the case of kids, they live up to their parents expectations.They have healthy relationships with each otherChildren in high-conflict families tend to fare worse than children of parents that get along, according to a University of Illinois study review.A nonconflictual single-parent family is better for children than two-parent families with conflict, according to the review.But, conflict between parents before and after a divorce can affect children negatively.Another study in this review found that 20-somethings who experienced divorce of their parents as children still report pain and distress over their parents divorce ten years later.Theyre educatedA 2014 study from the University of Michigan found that mothers who finished high school or college were more likely to raise kids that did the same.Pulling from a group of over 14,000 children who entered kindergarten from 1998 to 2007, the study found that higher levels of maternal education predicted higher achievement from kindergarten to eighth grade.A different study from Bowling Green State University suggested that the parents education levels when a child is 8 years old significantly predicted the education and career level for the child fur decades later.They teach their kids math early onA 2007 meta-analysis of 35,000 preschoolers across the US, Canada, and England found that developing math skills early can turn into a huge advantage.The paramount importance of early math skills - of beginning school with a knowlumineszenzdiodege of numbers, number order, and other rudimentary math concepts - is one of the puzzles coming out of the study, coauthor and Northwestern University researcher Greg Duncan said. Mastery of early math skills predicts not only future math achievement, it also predicts future reading achievement.They develo p a relationship with their kidsA 2014 study of 243 children born into poverty found that those who received sensitive caregiving in their first three years did better in academic tests in childhood than those who did not receive the same parenting style.Those children also had healthier relationships and greater academic achievement.This suggests that investments in early parent-child relationships may result in long-term returns that accumulate across individuals lives, coauthor and University of Minnesota psychologist Lee Raby said.They value effort over avoiding failureWhere kids think success comes from also predicts their attainment.Over decades, Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck has discovered that children (and adults) think about success in one of two ways. Over at Brain Pickings, Maria Popova says they go a little something like thisA fixed mindset assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens that we cant change in any meaning ful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.A growth mindset, on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of un-intelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.Dwecks mindset theory has attracted valid critiques over the years, but the core tenant of believing that you can improve at something is important to encourage in children.The moms workAccording to research out of Harvard Business School, there are significant benefits for children growing up with mothers who work outside the home.There are very few things, that we know of, that have such a clear effect on gender inequality as being raised by a working mother, Harvard Business School professor Kathleen L. McGinn, who led the s tudy, told Working Knowledge.Daughters of working mothers went to school longer, were more likely to have a job in a supervisory role, and earned more money - 23% more compared to peers raised by stay-at-home mothers.The sons of working mothers also tended to pitch in more on household chores and childcare, the study found.But, working mothers arent necessarily spending every waking minute outside of work with their childrenWomen are more likely to feel intense pressure to balance child rearing with workplace ambitions. Ultimately, they spend more time parenting than fathers do.A 2015 study found the number of hours that moms spend with kids between ages 3 and 11 does little to predict the childs behavior, well-being, or achievement.In fact, the study suggests that its actually harmful for the child to spend time with a mother who is sleep-deprived, anxious, or otherwise stressed.Mothers stress, especially when mothers are stressed because of the juggling with work and trying to fi nd time with kids, that may actually be affecting their kids poorly, study co-author and Bowling Green State University sociologist Kei Nomaguchi told The Washington Post.It could be more beneficial to spend one fully-engaged hour with a child than spend the whole evening half-listening to your kid while scrolling through work emails.They have a higher socioeconomic statusOne-fifth of American children grow up in poverty, a situation that severely limits their potential.Its getting more extreme. According to Stanford University researcher Sean Reardon, the achievement eu-agrarpolitik between high- and low-income families is roughly 30% to 40% larger among children born in 2001 than among those born 25 years earlier.As social scientist Dan Pink wrote, the higher the income for the parents, the higher the SAT scores for the kids.Absent comprehensive and expensive interventions, socioeconomic status is what drives much of educational attainment and performance, Pink wrote.This article first appeared on Business Insider.Science says parents of successful kids have this in commonMost parents want their kids to stay out of trouble, do well in school, and go on to live successful lives as adults.And while there isnt a set recipe for raising successful children, psychology research has pointed to a handful of factors that predict success.Unsurprisingly, much of it comes down to the parents. Keep reading to take a look at what parents of successful kids have in common.Drake Baer contributed to a previous version of this article.They make their kids do choresIf kids arent doing the dishes, it means someone else is doing that for them, Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of How to Raise an Adult said during a TED Talks Live event.By making them do chores - taking out the garbage, doing their own laundry - they realize I have to do the work of life in order to be part of life, she previously told Business Insider.Follow Ladder s on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreLythcott-Haims believes kids raised on chores go on to become employees who collaborate well with their coworkers, are more empathetic because they know firsthand what struggling looks like, and are able to take on tasks independently.They teach their kids social skillsResearchers from Pennsylvania State University and Duke University tracked more than 700 children from across the US between kindergarten and age 25 and found a significant correlation between their social skills as kindergartners and their success as adults two decades later.The 20-year study showed that children who could cooperate with their peers, be helpful to others, understand their feelings, and resolve problems on their own were far more likely to earn a college degree and have a full-time job by age 25 than those with limited social skills.Those with limited social skills also had a h igher chance of getting arrested, binge drinking, and applying for public housing.This study shows that helping children develop social and emotional skills is one of the most important things we can do to prepare them for a healthy future, said Kristin Schubert, program director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the research, in a release.From an early age, these skills can determine whether a child goes to college or prison, and whether they end up employed or addicted.They have high expectationsUsing data from a national survey of 6,600 children born in 2001, University of California at Los Angeles professor Neal Halfon and his colleagues discovered that the expectations parents hold for their kids have a huge effect on attainment.Parents who saw college in their childs future seemed to manage their child toward that goal irrespective of their income and other assets, Halfon said.The finding came out in standardized tests 57% of the kids who did the worst were e xpected to attend college by their parents, while 96% of the kids who did the best were expected to go to college.This falls in line with another psych finding The Pygmalion effect, which states that what one person expects of another can come to serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the case of kids, they live up to their parents expectations.They have healthy relationships with each otherChildren in high-conflict families tend to fare worse than children of parents that get along, according to a University of Illinois study review.A nonconflictual single-parent family is better for children than two-parent families with conflict, according to the review.But, conflict between parents before and after a divorce can affect children negatively.Another study in this review found that 20-somethings who experienced divorce of their parents as children still report pain and distress over their parents divorce ten years later.Theyre educatedA 2014 study from the University of Michigan fo und that mothers who finished high school or college were more likely to raise kids that did the same.Pulling from a group of over 14,000 children who entered kindergarten from 1998 to 2007, the study found that higher levels of maternal education predicted higher achievement from kindergarten to eighth grade.A different study from Bowling Green State University suggested that the parents education levels when a child is 8 years old significantly predicted the education and career level for the child four decades later.They teach their kids math early onA 2007 meta-analysis of 35,000 preschoolers across the US, Canada, and England found that developing math skills early can turn into a huge advantage.The paramount importance of early math skills - of beginning school with a knowledge of numbers, number order, and other rudimentary math concepts - is one of the puzzles coming out of the study, coauthor and Northwestern University researcher Greg Duncan said. Mastery of early math s kills predicts not only future math achievement, it also predicts future reading achievement.They develop a relationship with their kidsA 2014 study of 243 children born into poverty found that those who received sensitive caregiving in their first three years did better in academic tests in childhood than those who did not receive the same parenting style.Those children also had healthier relationships and greater academic achievement.This suggests that investments in early parent-child relationships may result in long-term returns that accumulate across individuals lives, coauthor and University of Minnesota psychologist Lee Raby said.They value effort over avoiding failureWhere kids think success comes from also predicts their attainment.Over decades, Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck has discovered that children (and adults) think about success in one of two ways. Over at Brain Pickings, Maria Popova says they go a little something like thisA fixed mindset assumes tha t our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens that we cant change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.A growth mindset, on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of un-intelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.Dwecks mindset theory has attracted valid critiques over the years, but the core tenant of believing that you can improve at something is important to encourage in children.The moms workAccording to research out of Harvard Business School, there are significant benefits for children growing up with mothers who work outside the home.There are very few things, that we know of, that have such a clear effect on gender inequality as being raised by a working mother, Harvard Business School professor Kathleen L. McGinn, who led the study, told Working Knowledge.Daughters of working mothers went to school longer, were more likely to have a job in a supervisory role, and earned more money - 23% more compared to peers raised by stay-at-home mothers.The sons of working mothers also tended to pitch in more on household chores and childcare, the study found.But, working mothers arent necessarily spending every waking minute outside of work with their childrenWomen are more likely to feel intense pressure to balance child rearing with workplace ambitions. Ultimately, they spend more time parenting than fathers do.A 2015 study found the number of hours that moms spend with kids between ages 3 and 11 does little to predict the childs behavior, well-being, or achievement.In fact, the study suggests that its actually harmful for the child to spend time with a mother who is sleep-deprived, anxious, or otherwise stressed .Mothers stress, especially when mothers are stressed because of the juggling with work and trying to find time with kids, that may actually be affecting their kids poorly, study co-author and Bowling Green State University sociologist Kei Nomaguchi told The Washington Post.It could be more beneficial to spend one fully-engaged hour with a child than spend the whole evening half-listening to your kid while scrolling through work emails.They have a higher socioeconomic statusOne-fifth of American children grow up in poverty, a situation that severely limits their potential.Its getting more extreme. According to Stanford University researcher Sean Reardon, the achievement gap between high- and low-income families is roughly 30% to 40% larger among children born in 2001 than among those born 25 years earlier.As social scientist Dan Pink wrote, the higher the income for the parents, the higher the SAT scores for the kids.Absent comprehensive and expensive interventions, socioeconomic st atus is what drives much of educational attainment and performance, Pink wrote.This article first appeared on Business Insider.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Doing this 1-minute change could literally save your life

Doing this 1-minute change could literally save your lifeDoing this 1-minute change could literally save your lifeDaylight saving timeofficially ended and while your phones and computers automatically fell back one hour later, you still have to check your ovens,microwaves, and most importantly, your smoke detectors - at least according to panzerschrankty experts.The two times a year we change our clocks also serve as a valuable reminder to change the batteries in ourfire alarms. Only 57% of Americans have followed best practice and done so in the past six months, according to a survey of more 1,000 people conducted byServiceMaster Restore.When you go around your house this week, youll want to replace the batteries in each detector, advises disaster restoration expert Peter Duncanson. Bonus Doing it now will also prevent the purposefully annoying chirping reminder later on.Lift, twist, or remove the cover. (In some cases, the whole alarm will come off from a base.)Replace the battery with a brand-new one. Most machines use9-volt batteries.Close and snap the detector back into place.Press the test button to make sure its working. You should hear a beep or chirp sound.Also keep an eye out for the date of manufacture stamped on the device.Smoke detectors lose their efficacy after 10 years and require replacingjust like carbon monoxide alarms. Upgrade to thenewer lithium battery smoke detectorsand you wont have to worry about replacing the batteries at all for up to a decade.To keep your home as safe as possible, use interconnected smoke alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound. At a minimum, make sure you have smoke alarms installed inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home (including the basement), theNational Fire Protection Associationrecommends.Monitoring your houses safety measures is now more important than ever.The average time to escape a home fire hasgone from 17 minutes to just three minutes or lessin the past few decades due to the increased use of synthetics in furniture and home construction, according to safety organization UL.And withThanksgivingonly three weeks away, dont forget to inspect your fire extinguisher for any signs of corrosion, missing pull-pins, and/or changes in the pressure gauge. Its always a good idea to have a working one on hand - especially when your brother-in-law attempts to deep-fry theturkey.This article firstappeared on ShondaLand.

How to make the most of your money on any budget

How to make the most of your money on any budgetHow to make the most of your money on any budgetYou check your bank account, the available balance isnt what you were expecting it to be, but you have no idea what you spent your hard-earned cash on. Sound familiar? All of us have probably experienced the above at some point in our lives, and it sucks when you realize that payday is still a couple of weeks away.Its easier than ever to lose track of your money when it doesnt physically leave your wallet, but there are many ways that you can take control of your spending. Implement the following five tips into your routine to make the most of your money on any budgetFollow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreStop buying lunch at workIt may be convenient, but the savings you can make by cutting out this habit may surprise you. For example, lets say you spend $6 a day on lunch, thats $30 a week. In a year (Ill use 48 weeks to allow time for holiday or sickness), youve spent $1,440, and thats not considering any snacks or drinks you might buy throughout the day Instead of buying lunch, try taking leftovers from the night before or prepping your lunches over the weekend.To make the most of the money youre nownotspending on lunch, put $6 away in a savings account each day and reap your reward in 12 monthsUse a spending trackerThis is a financial life changer. If you really want to see where your money goes, track exactly what you spend each day either in a notepad or on an Excel spreadsheet. It doesnt take a lot of time (15 minutes at the end of each day), and it will help you spot any spending habits that may be sneakily eating into your money, like the four takeaways you order every weekTake advantage of loyalty schemes and membership cardsIf you tend to shop in specific stores, you should check to see whether they offer loyalty schemes where you can earn points every time y ou shop.This is great for grocery shopping because food is something you need to buy often, and it wont cost anything extra to collect points. Depending on the store, they may offer vouchers or coupons in exchange for your points every few months or so.Alternatively, if youre a film buff like me, see if your local cinema offers a membership card that allows you to watch unlimited films for one tischset fee every month. At my cinema, paying to see two films every month costs more than the monthly membership fee, so its a no brainer.Become a discount code queenBefore you order anything online, do a quick search to see if there are any active discount codes that you can use on your purchase. If you cant find any, its always a good idea to sign up for the stores newsletter as you tend to get a discount off your first order.Check your emails for any old discount codes sitting in your inbox. Even if they supposedly expired on a date long gone, always test the code I recently used a discou nt code from a year ago to get 10 percent off a shirt AND free delivery. Winner winnerSwitch to a leistungspunkt card that rewards youIf you regularlyuse a credit card, you might want to consider switching to a provider that rewards you for spending.Note this is not an excuse to go wild and buy things you dont need.Instead, you can use the credit card for your everyday purchases and pay it off at the end of the month. Stores like Amazon offer credit cards that earn you Reward Points for your purchases which you can collect and then spend on Amazon.You can follow Chantelle on Instagram atsprinklesofspiceand find her on Twitter atchantellefairbn .This article first appeared on A Girl in Progress.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, acco rding to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

4 Red Flags to Pay Attention to While Job Hunting

4 Red Flags to Pay Attention to While Job Hunting4 Red Flags to Pay Attention to While Job HuntingThe job search process is as much a way for the applicant to see if he wants to work for a company as it is a chance for companies to see if they want to hire him. Just like the interviewer cant find out everything hed like about the person hes interviewing, the candidate cant predict for sure whether hell be happy in the position. Keeping an eye out for a few red flags may be helpful.1. Lack of preparation during the interview.Its a bad sign when the job applicant shows that he or she is unprepared during an interview, but the saatkorn can be said of hiring managers. If a candidate is kept waiting long after his scheduled interview time is told at the last minute or repeatedly that the company needs to reschedule the meeting or discovers that the interviewer was unprepared or inattentive during the meeting, the applicant may start to wonder if the company is similarly disorganized in ot her aspects.2. Negative impressions of company culture during the interview.An interview provides applicants with the chance to enter their prospective office and get a glimpse of the employers company culture. The candidate can observe if employees are interacting with each other and working collaboratively or if there is little talk in the office and most people keep to themselves and work independently. The candidate can also get a gut feeling of the office atmosphere by observing whether workers appear rushed and stressed or, on the other extreme, appear to be wasting time and doing little productive work. These glimpses can tell the candidate a lot about what he can expect if he is hired, and whether hell feel comfortable with the company culture.3. Low salary relative to job description.A low salary for a job description that includes numerous responsibilities and a hefty workload and requires ample experience isnt only a aufgabe because it makes it more difficult to pay the b ills - its a sign of how the company values its workers.4. High turnover.If the last few people to hold the job quit after just a few months, the candidate can reasonably expect that the same thing may happen to him. A high turnover rate indicates that the company offers jobs, but not necessarily careers, and is fairly comfortable with frequently replacing its workers rather than investing in them.Published Courtesy of Brafton

What the In-Crowd Wont Tell You About Warehouse Job Description for Resume

What the In-Crowd Wont Tell You About Warehouse Job Description for Resume Normally, warehouse workers perform eight hours per day. Evenings, nights and weekend hours are typical, and overtime might be deemed necessary. Is capable of keeping up the stamina required for long hours of physical labor. Applicants acquainted with computers and other office equipment possess the best prospects, as stated by the BLS. For warehousing, the extra skills section is typically more important than the education section. Deciding upon a reverse-chronological format will make it possible for you to showcase your very best skills, experience and achievements from the get-go. Warehouse Job Description for Resume - What Is It? Employers usually offer on-the-job training. Many geschftslebenes and headhunters are going mobile, and candidates have a vast array of user-friendly apps. Resumes truly are based on the job which you are applying for. Warehouse Job Description for Resume Options T o be able to attract Warehouse Associates that best matches your requirements, its crucial compose a crystal clear and precise Warehouse Associate job description. To learn more on what it requires to be a Stocker, take a look at our complete Stocker Job Description. In addition, you can look for warehouse associate jobs on Monster. Begin with your latest job. Laborers also have to be in a position to focus on their tasks. There is an assortment of jobs within a warehouse, but most warehouse workers take on a number of tasks to do the job. Being a real warehouse worker can be among the most physically demanding job. The manager must also guarantee that goods to be kept in the warehouse arent damaged. Its often that the business receives hundreds and a massive number of warehouse job skills for only one job. Businessmen and business directors Bring evidence of your position in the business and remuneration. Cover letters are a considerable section of the application form pro cedure, and an amazing approach to make sure your resume talks for you personally in addition to your own abilities. You also need to keep the information professional, like your email address and techniques. The lists arent exhaustive, as the search phrases you should increase your resume depend on your experience and techniques. Include all of your contact info. Whether working in construction or some other field, dump truck drivers will be asked to fulfill a range of responsibilities while at work. An ordinary work week contains three to four five-hour shifts. Many kinds of jobs are offered in a factory warehouse to continue to keep your mind busy and your body fit. The task of the commissary is to make certain all branches receive their requested ingredients punctually and as scheduled. Warehouse Job Description for Resume No Longer a Mystery Dont overlook to prove that you currently acquainted with the position for the particular market and inform your talent which wi ll aid you and the organization to thrive. Consider warehouse job skills as a tool, which you are able to strategically produces to be in a position to goal a specific work and to win the center of the corporation. Excellent numerical skill is likewise very essential as the job involves a great deal of counting and recording. When giving the warehouse job skills you want to handle the correct person in control of the selection. Vital Pieces of Warehouse Job Description for Resume The one difference is the information. This position is presently not accepting applications. All you need to do is to place and organize data in a resume in a manner that is simple to read and has an excellent layout. Possesses clear understanding of computer ordering systems.

The Argument About Resume Writing Service Accounting

The Argument About Resume Writing Service Accounting What You Should Do About Resume Writing Service Accounting Beginning in the Next Eight Minutes Furthermore, you can get open communication with your writer throughout the whole process. Your own personal writer will allow you to create a modern resume, dependent on your career story and meeting all of the high standards of your industry. Our service, for example, only hires the top writers in the area. On top of that, our cost of resume writing services is among the lowest on the industry. For starters, though the company has done a wonderful job in producing the site design and content, theres a critical deficiency of service options on it. Ask to landsee samples of earlier resumes, which can help you get a sense for the grade of the services work. Youre empowered to begin your job search immediately. A top quality sample accounting resume will contain each of the key terms and phrases an employer will be searching for m any times throughout the resume. The Lost Secret of Resume Writing Service Accounting Based on what field you choose to go into, a seasoned accounting and finance position would bring a salary in the variety of 68,000 to 109,000 dollars each year. Building a thriving accounting career calls for a terrific deal of dedication, technical ability and skilled aptitude, as does developing an amazing expert accounting resume. In order to make the most of your accounting and finance resume, its also wise to have an MBA or some equivalent small business education also. For experienced accounting professionals, its advised to look at a list of crucial skills. New Questions About Resume Writing Service Accounting By checking out all features and services a provider offers, were getting sufficient info to generate a conclusion on which are the best resume services that is able to help you get the job which you are applying for. Its also a good idea to include your address. Task lists a re not going to make you stick out from the crowd. When you are attempting to plek the best resume writing service to increase your resume, its simple to be overwhelmed with options.

The Pros and Cons of Setting Up a Band as a Business

The Pros and Cons of Setting Up a Band as a geschftslebenThe Pros and Cons of Setting Up a Band as a BusinessIf you are serious about making a living as a musician, your band isyour geschftlicher umgang, so why not make it official? Consider the pros and cons of registering your band as a geschftsleben. The Benefits There are several benefits you may not be aware of that could make registering your band as a business a very good idea. As a registered business, you are eligible for business accounts and business funding.Although it depends on the tax laws where you live, it is almost always better for the self-employed to have their income being earned by their business, even if it is a business of one.This is due to businesses generally having a more generous allowance of what can be deducted as expenses and is sometimes also due to business tax rates being more forgiving.Business laws will force your band members to determine their roles in the group, how profits will be split, the responsibilities of each member, and what happens if someone wants to leave the group. Business laws offer a level of protection from financial liability should something go wrong, depending on the form of business you set up.Being a business can make it easier for your band to lease or purchase equipment. Instead of one band member being financially and legally responsible, the band could use its business entity and bank account to sign the contract and make the payments.Record labels may be less hesitant to sign you. Your band as a business can hold the rights to any music you create, which negates the potential for any legal disputes over who owns those rights should the band split up at any point. Thinking of yourself as a business may just make you take your career a little more seriously. The Downsides There are just a few downsides to consider but if you decide to go forward and register your band as a business, its a good idea to plan now how you would handle these s ituations, should they arise. If things dont work out, your business will need to be dissolved, which can be a lengthy and complicated process.Your income tax filing process may change. Speaking with an accountant who specializes in small businesses- or, if you can find one, an accountant who deals with musicians taxes- could be helpful. If youve just started playing together, theres no need to fill out the business license form at practice two. Forming a business for your band can be helpful but is also a legal process you shouldnt rush into. When youre ready to get serious and try to make this a means of earning a serious income, that is the time to start thinking about setting up as a business. The specific process of setting up your band as a business depends on where you live and the laws of your country and sometimes also your state. There may be more than one type of business your band is eligible to be. Check with the business association or local council in your town for mo re information on how to proceed. You may also want to discuss the procedurewith a lawyer who can guide you through the legal and financial process.

Why You (Yes, You) Need a Professional Portfolio - The Muse

Why You (Yes, You) Need a Professional Portfolio - The MuseWhy You (Yes, You) Need a Professional Portfolio Years ago, only artists and other creative professionals had portfolios. These days, every professional can benefit from having one.For those not in a particularly artistic field, a professional portfolio doesnt have to be about showing pretty pictures of your work. The real purpose is to provide tangible proof of your value in the workplace, and theres a whole host of ways to do that. From outlining project descriptions and showcasing work samples to offering up letters of reference and customer reviews, a portfolio can document your professional accomplishments in any way that makes sense for your gig.The Big WhyThink of it like this As a professional (regardless of your field), you are a business of one. When a company chooses to employ you, it is purchasing your business service. You can think of your professional portfolio as a absatzwirtschaft brochure for the services yo ure selling. By showcasing your skills, abilities, and achievements, your portfolio helps your customers (your employers) and prospects (your potential future employers) understand what services you provide and why they are special- and worth the purchase priceA professional portfolio can help in any circumstance where you want to make a strong impression, provide proof of your value, and differentiate yourself from your competition. Here are just a few examplesJob InterviewsWhether youre a copywriter or a consultant, take your portfolio to a job interview and refer to the items inside while discussing your work experience. Saying I planned a fundraising event from beginning to end is one thing- showing the event invitation, program, budget, and volunteer guidelines you put together is completely another.In addition to acting as a handy reminder of the great things youve done in your career, having a portfolio on hand contributes to your professional image. Youll look prepared and o rganized, and your interviewers will see that youre proud of your work and take it seriously.Performance ReviewsYour performance review is the time of year where youll want to recount your specific accomplishments and accolades to your employer- and for many, this font of self-promotion can be uncomfortable. But with a portfolio by your side, youre able to cite objective, verifiable facts. Its not just your opinion that youve done a great job you have profit-and-loss reports and client emails that prove itAs an added bonus, your reviewer will be happy to see that youve been tracking these things on your own and that youre prepared for the discussion. You may even be able to draw your reviewers attention to accomplishments he or she overlooked.Salary Negotiations and PromotionsGetting what you want in a salary negotiation is all about leverage. The person with whom youre negotiating is doing a mental calculation that boils down to this Are you worth it? Does your request make sense g iven your current and future value? A portfolio full of work samples and lists of accomplishments provides the necessary leverage to help you get what you want, whether negotiating a starting salary or a raise in your current pay.Likewise, promotion requests are bolstered by the presence of a portfolio. Your employer wants to know youre both capable of performing in the new role and deserving of the increased responsibility (and pay, and visibility, and so on). And a portfolio featuring the work youve accomplished over the years will provide evidence of your past performance (widely considered the best predictor of future performance) and your potential contribution in the new role.What to IncludeWhile the items included in a professional portfolio can vary depending on your experience, profession, and industry, there are a few things that anyone can includeYour resume or professional bioLetters of recommendationClient feedback, letters, or emailsAwards and recognitionsList of train ings and courses completedWork samplesProject outlines or write-upsA list of key accomplishmentsPull together the items that make sense for you- either by compiling hard copies or by putting everything online. No matter what you choose, I promise, its a worthwhile investment of your time.

The reason why you shouldnt think outside the box

The reason why you shouldnt think outside the boxThe reason why you shouldnt think outside the boxNo five words in the English language make me cringe as much as Lets think outside the box.Coming from someonewho writes about contrarian thinking and non-conformity, that sentence might strike you as odd. After all, you redefine the status quo by stepping outside of it.But heres the problem. Thinking outside the box has become a massive cliche. And cliches, by definition, are unoriginal. Theyre terrible at creating change. When we tell ourselves that were going to think outside the box, we rely on the saatkorn methods, the same brainstorming approaches, and consequently the same stale neural pathways. To come up with answers to this cliche, we look in the rear-view mirror and use the same worn-out methods or copy-the-competitor strategies. Its no wonder that the resulting innovations arent innovations at all. Theyre at best insignificant deviations from the status quo.Conventional quest ions produce conventional results.Its only through unconventional questions - questions that others arent asking - that unconventional results can follow. Here are a few to get you startedWhat if I did the reverse of what everyone else is doing?What would a science-fiction solution look like?How could we destroy our own company?How do I turn this constraint into an advantage?How can I take a 6-month project and finish it in a week?With these questions, the goal isnt to find the right answer - at least not initially. This isnt your high-school chemistry class where the outcome of each experiment was predetermined, leaving no room for curiosity or unexpected insights. If you didnt get the right result, youd be deckenfries in the lab fiddling with test tubes and beakers, while your classmates trekked off to the movies.Rather, the goal is to ignite a process of open-minded inquiry that can jolt you out of your autopilot mode.Instead of letting the world shape your thoughts, youll let your thoughts shape the world.Instead of being a passive observer of your reality, youll become an active intervener in it.And instead of simply thinking outside the box, youll be able to bend the box to your will.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).Thisarticlefirst appeared onOzanVarol.com.