Op-Ed: Breaking the Mold – How to Become Your Own Boss

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Amy PorterfieldThe meeting that catalyzed me to become my own boss feels like it happened yesterday.

I was working as the director of content development for peak performance coach Tony Robbins and was called into a meeting. Online education was just starting to take off, and Tony had invited some of the most successful entrepreneurs in this space to come in and share their experiences.

These men — and they were all men — had hugely successful digital courses, online membership programs, and mastermind groups. We were exploring how we could add this strategy to our business.

My job was to sit there quietly and take notes. And since women hold only 8.2% of CEO roles, this dynamic didn’t seem unnatural to what I was used to. But as I was taking notes, everything started to change for me.

I realized I wanted a seat at the table, not just near it. I wanted to be a part of changing statistics like the global gender pay gap – currently estimated to be 16%, meaning women earn an average of 84 cents for every dollar men earn.

And finally, I realized I wanted to be part of the 12 million women-owned businesses in the US that generate over $1.8 trillion in revenue and employ over 9.4 million people.

So I decided to start my journey towards these desires right then and there in the meeting. I paid close attention to what these powerful business owners were sharing, and today, I want to pass along three lessons I learned to help you build the business – and life – of your dreams, too.

1. It is possible to design your life on your own terms.

As I listened to those entrepreneurs talk about their businesses, I realized something that changed how I thought about my career path. These men were all in different industries but had one thing in common: freedom. They weren’t hitting the glass ceiling. They weren’t asking for permission. They were taking charge of their own destiny.

Without knowing it, women let outside forces shape their destinies all the time. Just look at the latest PitchBook data showing how startups with all-women teams receive a mere 1.9% of the 238.3 billion dollars of venture capital awarded each year.

But these men… in this meeting? They were calling the shots and not waiting for someone to give them a green light on their business ideas.

They were achieving business success while designing a life on their own terms. And I wanted to do that too.

For me, the answer was to build my own business and be my own boss. I wanted to do work I loved and do it how, when, and where I chose. That would be designing life on my own terms.

When I started exploring what life on my own terms looked like,
 I remember reaching out to a business owner and boldly asking:

 “I know you don’t offer this as a service, but could I pay you for an hour to ask how you built your business?” 



She said yes, and I spent that hour under my desk whispering into the phone as she broke down steps to get started, how to align a business with personal values, and how she brought her vision to life on her terms.

It wasn’t glamorous, but it was just what I needed.

She could have said no, and if that happens to you, I want you to look at that “no” as bringing you one step closer to a “yes.” Keep reaching out and asking people for advice. Eventually, a door will open.

And mentors like this don’t have to come in the form of a person, either. Books like Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert showed me how my ideas were a big enough deal that I could build a business around them.

The message she shares in the book about how you can either go all in and share your gifts with the world, or dismiss them, resonated with me and served as the kick in the pants I needed to get crystal clear on how I wanted to impact the world.

A life designed on your terms might look different than mine. That’s the beautiful thing: You have the power to choose your path. 

And once you do, I encourage you to find a mentor to guide you as you walk down it toward your dream life!

2. Your existing knowledge and skills are more valuable than you think.

As I listened to the men in that boardroom talk about the online courses they were selling, I took note of their success. Each one had taught hundreds or even thousands of students, creating a massive impact in their field. From dating advice to real estate investing, they were transforming lives. It was truly inspiring.

I also took note of what they didn’t say. None of them talked about investing years and years into certification and education before they created their first course. They didn’t go back to school to earn a business degree before they launched. They weren’t wracked with fear about staying on top of their game.

In fact, whether you’re starting your own business or applying for a new job, this seems to be a common theme. A Hewlett Packard report found that while men apply for a job if they meet only 60% of the qualifications, women tend to apply only if they meet 100%. That stops now – you know enough to take the first step!

Your knowledge today has enormous value if you share it with the right audience. Whether you are starting an online education business of your own or continuing a professional career, the key is to look for places where you have a 10 percent edge.

If you are at least 10 percent ahead of those you serve, you can lead the way. In fact, it’s sometimes easier to lead when you aren’t too far out in front.

3. Boss traps are a barrier to success.

The third thing I noted during the meeting was that these highly successful entrepreneurs had faced their share of problems. Yes, a professional career comes with challenges. But becoming your own boss isn’t always smooth sailing either.

As I started my own business, I discovered that many of the traps you fall into as a boss stem from “demoting” yourself and not embracing the full scope of your role. You may experience some of these in your career as well. For example, one of the most common boss traps is falling prey to superwoman syndrome and trying to do everything yourself.

A study by the U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics found that 20% of businesses failed within the first year, and I believe many are due to superwoman syndrome.

There are so many stories of entrepreneurs who had to learn this lesson the hard way, from Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of The Huffington Post, to Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal.

In 2007, after launching the news site, Huffington became consumed by the demands of running the business and regularly worked 18-hour days. In 2007, she collapsed from exhaustion and hit her head, resulting in a broken cheekbone and stitches.

This experience prompted her to reassess her priorities and make changes in her life and work. She stepped down as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post in 2016 and launched Thrive Global, a company focused on wellness and reducing burnout.

Huffington has since spoken about the importance of taking care of oneself and avoiding the trap of “superwoman syndrome” in order to be successful in business.

Sophia Amoruso is another example of a founder falling into the “superwoman syndrome” trap. She launched the online clothing retailer Nasty Gal in 2006 as an eBay store and grew it into a successful brand with over $100 million in annual revenue.

However, Amoruso took on too much work herself and ultimately experienced burnout. In 2015, Amoruso stepped down as CEO of Nasty Gal after the company filed for bankruptcy.

She has since gone on to start a new company, Girlboss, which aims to provide resources and a community for women entrepreneurs. Amoruso has spoken publicly about the lessons she learned from her experience with Nasty Gal, including the importance of delegation and self-care in avoiding burnout.

I tell you these stories not to discourage you, rather, to remind you that none of us magically wake up one morning feeling like a “boss babe” from Instagram. It takes time, experience, and a willingness to change to become a leader who can live life on her terms.

You absolutely deserve to get there. And along the way, don’t forget to take off your superwoman cape and ask for help so you can bring people along for this incredible journey you’re starting! 

It’s like the legendary leader John Maxwell says, “Leadership doesn’t involve being ‘lonely at the top.’ If you’re at the top of a mountain alone, you’re not a leader, you’re a hiker.”

Dream big, but don’t stop with a dream. As quickly as possible, take a step toward that dream. Action creates clarity, and clarity will propel you to more action.

Don’t wait. I know you’ve got this.

Amy Porterfield teaches eight best-selling courses that empower women across the globe to take their futures into their own hands. She hosts the top-ranked marketing podcast Online Marketing Made Easy and author of the new book, Two Weeks Notice: Find the Courage to Quit Your Job, Make More Money, Work Where You Want, and Change the World.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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Why Choose A Women’s Retreat Instead of A Summer Vacation?

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women's retreatAs we enter spring, summer vacation is approaching. While sometimes a vacation is the perfect break from daily life, other times it may feel like a too short escape. Sometimes, as women, we don’t wish only to take a week away from our lives. Sometimes we want to take a deeper look at how we are feeling in our lives and what belongs here, now? 

Once in a while, a woman admits she skipped the annual girlfriends cocktails on the beach trip or perhaps gifted herself a rare week away alone because she knew she was being called to do something else. That voice came from nowhere but within. Rather than a break, sometimes women want to put the brakes on everything, step back and connect: This is my life: how awake am I to the living of it?

Sometimes we want to listen into our own center with less noise around. We want to take an honest look at whether we are allowing ourselves to feel what we truly feel, be who we want to be and do what we most want to do – and how we, ourselves, might be getting in our way. We want to see if we have fallen into getting by in life instead of enchanting our lives. We want to reimagine our possibilities and shift, within ourselves, to be more intentionally in alignment with our desires.

When women choose a women’s retreat, it’s often because they are confronting a crossroads or seek soul nourishiment or simply a fuller sense of aliveness. Which also means they want an experience of life that is nourished from within rather than defined by constant striving. While often held in an idyllic location with exceptional scenery, the real invitation of a women’s retreat is as much to the inner journey as it is to the travel adventure.

Debating about summer plans?

Here are some reasons why you might choose a women’s retreat this year instead of just the usual summer vacation.

You will release stress and be nurtured. Even short mindfulness retreats have shown a significant reduction in stress and anxiety levels and improved biological markers of inflammation. Going on retreat is a way to strip away the distractions and allow yourself to simply be nourished – by your host, by the warmth and sharing of your fellow participants, by the rich offerings of your surroundings. But not only that – you again remember how to truly nourish yourself while on retreat and the importance of that, and not just for a week.

You can disrupt your routine and thought patterns. We typically think at least 6,000 thoughts a day (some say far more) and up to 90% of thoughts are repetitive. Talk about exhausting! At a retreat, you release control of the small decisions and surrender into a different and foreign rhythm. Why does that matter? It disrupts and shakes up your repetitive thought patterns and creates spaciousness in which you can hear other voices within. It’s amazing how the questions and also being-ness that lie buried just under the busy-ness begin to surface.

You will get back into your body and intuition. We live so predominantly in our minds in the modern world and even more so as faces on screens in the virtual workplace. And how much of achievement culture is based on striving and producing at all costs, even if overriding the physical self? Have your ever actually, even once, crossed off the entire to-do list and finally got to the landing? You have to create it for yourself, regardless. A retreat invites you to get back into your body. Whether through breathing or meditation or yoga or free movement, you are given the opportunity to connect with your body and the rich and embodied insight that lives in your cellular awareness.

You will step out of your roles. We play many roles in our lives, but sometimes, we can get so enmeshed with them that the roles start to parade around as us. A role includes any ‘part’ you play from which you derive value, worth or a sense of identity – both the roles that you love (chief executive, favorite grandmother) and roles that you don’t (undervalued team member, sleepless mom of a difficult child). No matter the role, no matter who assigned it to you, no matter what you’ve made it mean and no matter how much your identity may be wrapped up in it, every role is too small. Sometimes we derive our worth from the roles we play and the scripts we’ve created, displacing it from our core. We can also victimize or aggrandize ourselves through roles. Stepping out of them challenges you to value yourself inherently.

You will be seen, heard and validated. Small talk comprises up to one-third of our speech, and plays an important role in social interaction. But women do not come to a retreat to have the usual conversation. A retreat circle is a circle of women who usually did not know each other previously: it can provide a place without history. No blueprint of your identity exists here. Women often come to shake up the conversation they have with themselves. And sometimes, all it takes is being heard saying something you thought you could not, so you can finally clear your throat and let your voice come through. You are invited to be raw and authentic and unresolved. In a women’s retreat, women come together with the intention to honor and support each other – but in doing so, we also redefine what that means.

You can expect some perspective shifts. Of course, putting yourself in new and often incredible surroundings can refresh your perspective. But, if you dare, expect more. Whether we want to face it, there is no one consensus reality. Our experience of life emerges through our practices of perception. In the context of a women’s retreat, you may be able to see where you are buying into beliefs about yourself and the world that have never worked for you. You may be able to see where you are inhibiting yourself with the patterns or false virtues or committing to things you don’t want to with regular reinforcing action, instead of what you want. What if you’ve played down the part of you that would benefit you most to play up? You may recognize that you are sitting in victimhood where it would feel so much more empowering to recognize your agency and your choice. What if the world and your options are not nearly as limited as you have been determined to see them?

You may feel a rush of life force or have new visions. In a women’s retreat, you are invited to remember that being self-loving is how you fill your own cup, so that you can spill over. As you begin to pour into yourself on retreat, with less going on externally to take up space within you, do not be surprised if you begin to feel like you are accessing more of yourself. You may find more to be grateful for. You may remember a vivid energy or quality about yourself that you’ve forgotten and now want to bring back. Or a new way you want to share from your heart. You may realize you have enough resource and energy to make real steps, first within, towards a change you wish for. You may simply feel more at peace and able to be less shaken by the chaos outside of you. But it would be very rare if you thought and felt exactly the same as you did arriving.

Which is the main point, really. So, the biggest reason to skip the traditional summer vacation and go on a women’s retreat this year? What animates you most in life is living into and showing up for this adventure of you.

By: Aimee Hansen – Our “Heart” coach, interviewer, and lead writer – is a women’s retreat creator and facilitator. The Journey Into Sacred Expression writing and yoga women’s retreats on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala are recommended in Lonely Planet Wellness Escapes and have been praised by the nearly 200 women who have gathered with her. Circle with women underneath volcanoes to write, meditate, do yoga, move and participate in various sessions. She has two summer events in 2023: July 7-15 and Aug 25 – Sept 2. Each has 12 spaces only.

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Op-ED: How to Navigate Your Career as a Working Mother in Technology

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Working Mother In TechnologyNavigating one’s career as a working mother in technology is akin to holding a porcupine, while jumping through a ring of fire, and trying to put mascara on at the same time. It can be uncomfortable, it can make you feel hot, and we try to look our best while doing it all. In fact, our survey of over 300 mothers worldwide, published in our book Pressing ON As A Tech Mom: How Tech Industry Mothers Set Goals, Define Boundaries And Raise the Bar for Success, revealed that 34 percent felt that working in such a hectic, high-speed environment was incredibly tough and sometimes downright impossible. Being a woman in tech is challenging, but being a mother makes it even more so challenging.


With just 27 percent of female representation in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) industries, women are underrepresented. Mothers who remain in these fields are even fewer, with 43 percent of women leaving full-time STEM employment after their first child (PNAS). Since women in tech studies report that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 with a more gender-diverse workforce, where balanced contributions can lead to the creation of workplaces in which “employees feel safe to innovate, knowing that their unique experiences and contributions are valued” (JAB), there are compelling reasons for change.

As mothers in tech, what can we do to overcome the obstacles, and rise above to thrive in our careers, rather than only survive?

Here are three key steps to navigating motherhood and their STEM careers:
  • Squash Imposter Syndrome – When we believe that we are unworthy of the role that we are in or feel that we lack the skills to be successful, we often feel like imposters. According to Forbes, 75 percent of professional women report experiencing this unsavory feeling. When these thoughts and ideas enter our minds, we need to invoke a strategy to dismiss that negative feedback loop. Instead of telling yourself “I don’t know what I’m doing,” leverage positive self-talk and think about the skills that you are bringing to a role or situation. If you are a leader, be mindful about providing positive reinforcement for a job well done and enable an emotionally safe space where giving and receiving feedback is welcome.

 

  • Find A Mentor And A Sponsor – Mentorship and sponsorship are one of the most important ways to enable a woman to rise. Yet in our survey for our book, we found that just 41 percent of women ever had the benefit of these champion roles boosting their careers. Understanding the difference between the two is one place to start: A mentor is someone with whom you can brainstorm ideas based on shared values. A sponsor is someone who can influence decisions about your career and/or compensation. Note that your sponsor and mentor can be male or female so long as they are your true advocate, in tune with your accomplishments and career goals. A second step to take is to seek these crucial advocacy roles out by simply asking mentor and sponsor candidates. Most people are willing to help, which leads us to our third tip:

 

  • Lift Up Other Women – Live by the “golden rule” – treating other mothers in tech the way that you want to be treated. In past decades, women like my mom recount stories of women mistreating one another in favor of their own advancement (“To climb the corporate ladder, I needed to beat out the other women who were vying for the same limited roles.”).  While competition can be healthy, mindfully supporting one another is most important to nurture a balanced workplace where women can rise, and thrive, together. Lend a helping hand to a mother reintegrating into the workplace after parental leave. Invite another woman to join an important meeting as part of a career development initiative. Oblige when asked to serve as a sponsor and/or mentor for others.

By being confident, seeking out allyship, and practicing benevolence, mothers in technology have a greater chance of breaking down barriers and invoking change. With more mothers staying in technology, a more inclusive environment will emerge that sets the precedent for future generations. So, while the day-to-day routine of a working mom may feel like a circus act, continue to show up. Persist. Persevere. Your efforts are part of our movement to change the future for our daughters and their allies.

Other resources to nurture and inspire your journey that we often use include:
  • How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, Or Job. In their book, Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen identify twelve habits that women typically have that limit their ability to grow professionally and ways to change those behaviors.
  • The Adventures of Women in Technology: How We Got Here And Why We Stay, by Alana Karen. Alana is Senior Software Engineer at Google, where she’s worked for over a decade. She has seen it all and remains loyal to her craft. Learn how she does it, and more importantly, why she is still in tech.
  • Nevertheless, She Persisted: True Stories of Women Leaders in Tech. This book by Pratima Rao Gluckman recounts the stories of hundreds of women leaders who faced adversity and hardship in their tech careers, yet managed to find success.

About:
Sabina M. Pons is a management consultant whose focus is on driving revenue protection and growth for technology companies. In her 20+ year career, she has led global corporate teams, managed multi-million-dollar P&Ls, and built teams from the ground up. Now, she serves as the Managing Director of the emerging management consulting company, Growth Molecules.

With a master’s degree in Communication, Leadership & Organizational Behavior from Gonzaga University and a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Southern California, Sabina is passionate about igniting corporate transformational change. She also sits on several boards, participates in many mentorship programs, and recently obtained a First-Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. Sabina resides in Orange County in Southern California with her husband, two young children, and Goldendoodle dog, Riley. Pressing ON as a Tech Mom: How Tech Industry Mothers Set Goals, Define Boundaries & Raise the Bar for Success is Sabina’s first book.

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4 Myths Debunked about Working in Technology

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Mac computer and IPadPopular perception has the tech world consisting primarily of male hoodie-wearing programmers who spend their days in brightly colored, open-plan offices in the top brand name firms. While there are certainly places where this is true, there are just as many opportunities that offer a more traditional work environment and products that you might not associate with tech at first glance.

Myth #1: The best tech jobs are with Internet and social media companies.

Internet and social media companies are grabbing headlines for their outsized IPOs and merger prices. But does that really mean that the best tech jobs are in this space?

It’s important to consider what you want out of your career according to Andrea Gellert, senior vice president of marketing for OnDeck, a financial tech company that provides financing to small businesses.

Gellert comments,

“Where you end up really depends on what you want out of your career. Is the stage/size of a company more important to you than the sub-industry? Do you want an opportunity with equity and the potential for long-term payoffs, or one with more job security and less risk? A startup environment – which often includes long hours and the need to wear many hats – is very different than large corporations that have clearly defined roles.”

Myth #2: Working in technology means working in a technology company.

Technology plays a huge role not only in business, but also in medicine, the arts and many other fields. Unfortunately, in the arts and similar fields, it is often difficult to find stable work with a reasonable paycheck. These fields are embracing technology and there are a growing number of opportunities to work in these fields by focusing on their technology needs. “I love the arts but I don’t have the financial means to support myself on the typical museum salary,” notes a client service director for a company that provides software solutions to museums and galleries worldwide. “In my current role I work closely with curators and museum leadership around the globe. Technology offered me an opportunity to turn an avocation into a career.”

Not only is technology creating a wide range of opportunities to work in fields that one doesn’t normally associate with technology, as the tech industry grows and matures, it needs professionals with a wide range of skills and is reaching out to people from a broad range of backgrounds.

Myth #3: You have to have a tech degree and you have to know how to program.

“There is still a bias in biotech and life sciences that you need to have a background in those fields in order to work in those industries. That used to be the case in technology, but it is no longer the case,” says Erin Lubien, who after many years in technology, financial services and investor relations, now runs her own consulting firm.

OnDeck’s Gellert adds, “There are a variety of functions at top tech companies that don’t involve programming, for instance marketing, sales, analytics and HR. If you’re interested in how technology is transforming payments and finance, you can likely find a fit no matter your skill set.”

Myth #4: If you have the skills – the jobs will come to you.

During her tech career, Lubien found that many job seekers assumed that they could build a program or solution and employers would line up with offers, but that is not enough to get the job since companies are looking for people who can work as part of a team.

Lubien states,

“The companies that are winning in the market are filled with people who are enthusiastic, energetic and personable. In tech there are never enough people to get the work done, so companies are looking for employees who will pitch in and be part of a community.”

Liz Jackson, a web developer at Agency Fusion, an online advertising company, provided a list of reasons people gave her to not go into technology.

Jackson shares some of the biggest myths that she heard about the tech industry and summarized these types of comments into three statements to show the stereotypical nature of them. She says that they are all a variation of “Your coworkers will be so awkward – programmers are so weird” or, “You’re going to be bored to death – web development is worse than accounting” and lastly, “Well, you’ll be the only woman in your office.”

Jackson goes on to note, “I’ve met some of the most interesting, personable web developers and programmers since taking my first job as a developer. Just like any office, there are a wide variety of personalities and backgrounds.”

Do Your Homework, Ignore the Myths

The technology field is booming. And that’s good news for professional women. As the industry expands, there is a need for workers and companies are seeking to improve their diversity not only because it is good for public relations but because it is good business.

By Beth Senko

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Life Hacks: 3 Tips for Hassle Free Business Travel

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Woman travelling - airportBeing on the road can be stressful. Tricks of the trade can minimize projected headaches of travel and keep you cool and collected, like a true professional. Here are some simple life hacks that can speed up and calm down your business travel plans whether domestically or abroad.

Tip 1: Download Useful Apps

One of the most targeted apps for business travelers is Worldmate, which combines all your travel booking info (flights, hotels, cars, etc.) to create both business travel and meeting agenda itineraries. The app also aggregates smartphone features such as world clocks, maps, weather info, and both Outlook and LinkedIn options so your itinerary can be shared among colleagues and peers.

Packpoint is a free new packing app that organizes what you need based on travel length, weather, activities and your agenda. It even cross-references which tech gadgets you’ll need for where you’re traveling. Check out this video that displays its capabilities. It even has a ‘business trip’ option for clothes packing. PackPoint “will assemble a list of clothing, toiletries, gadgets, accessories,” and more for your tailored trip.

Fast Company favors the app ahead of Google Now, for example, writing that “a predictive system like Google Now would know your preferences intimately enough just to tell you to remember bike shorts. But PackPoint leverages a relatively spartan interface to learn a whole lot about you and your trip in a very short amount of time.”

Having problems with jet lag? The app Entrain can solve your sleeping habit woes. Developed at the University of Michigan, Entrain is an advanced alarm clock/calculator that allows users to share their sleeping habit data (wake up time, bedtime, time zone and amount of light exposure you are used to receiving. Then a lighting schedule is provided to help prevent or overcome jet lag.

Out of the country and need help converting to the local currency? No problem. The Converted by Ideon app is an all-in-one converter that not only covers your visiting country’s currency but its imperial-metric and conversions., Americans are the only ones still using the Dewey Decimal system and after many hours on a plane, jetlag can interfere with even the most talented mathematicians.

The Converted interface is very slick, and users can drag their converter bars of choice on to their screen, keeping your information private.

In a foreign country and need a quick translation for something like “where’s the bathroom”? iStone can help you in a language jam. It records and translates into 12 languages and carries more than 300 useful phrases in its data arsenal. It also features a native pronunciation feature. Better yet, it is also free and doesn’t require Wi-Fi.

Tip 2: Join loyalty programs

Whichever airline and hotel chain you frequent the most when travelling on business, joining their loyalty and frequent flyer miles programs can save you not only money, but time, and even buy you some convenience in the process.

American Airlines Business Extra program, for example, gives you incentive points for a variety of things, including the ability for your company to earn points for employee benefits with American Airlines, US Airways and US Airways Express, plus earn points on any AA flights operated by British Airways, Japan Airlines and more.

Being on the road can be stressful. Tricks of the trade can minimize projected headaches of travel and keep you cool and collected, like a true professional.

If you fly two trips per month, you and your company will reap some hefty gains. Two flights per month for a year will earn you approximately 2,160 points, including early check-ins, flight upgrades and more.

Delta also has a similar Sky Bonus program that earns your company points each time an employee from the company flies with their airline, or joint venture partners Air France, KLM and Atitalia. The company can redeem by seat upgrades, Sky Club passes and more.

Tip 3: Power Packs, Backups and Outlets

It’s always a good idea to have a handy all-in-one power adaptor, like the Travel Smart by Conair. These models generally utilize the four most common adaptor plugs (grounded and un-grounded) around the globe, covering Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, North/South America, and parts of Africa. It also accommodates European appliances used in the U.S. The all-in-ones also have a surge protector to keep your appliances safe from foreign electricity spikes.

It’s handy to have a portable charger in your pack. Mophie has some great products for phones, such as dock solutions, belt-clips and USB cables. Portable powerstations are also sold to cover every piece of technology you might have, from your laptop to your iPad.

If you have an iPhone, one of the more innovative models Mophie has to offer is the smartphone juice pack battery, which delivers more than 100% extra battery directly to your phone 24/7, and can also double as a protective shell for your device.

As simplistic as they may be, these tips can give a little extra ammo to the savvy traveler, saving you time, money and a little convenience. Happy trails!

By Gina Scanlon

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Life Hacks: Apps to Make your Life Easier for the busy professional woman

smartphonesToday there are applications (apps) for nearly everything imaginable: apps for work; apps to inspire, organize and motivate, and apps to simply waste time.

Today is also a time where the demands on our time are greater than ever. So how do we make the apps work for us as professional women, to give us that extra time we all seem to need at work and at home? Can apps be the key to the work-life balance issue? Are there career opportunities for women to develop more apps based on their own needs?

Read more

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4 Tips to Calm Yourself and Your Stressed Team

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women stressedFemale professionals in the financial services industry are no strangers to stress. Whether the pressure stems from a full plate of distractions, such as those introduced by an unsteady economy, or from a steady flow of work-oriented communications, there is a constant balancing act to find a suitable strategy for getting the job done. How can you stay focused? How can you help your team successfully accomplish a challenging objective without becoming overwhelmed?

Tip 1: Stop Multitasking

Women in financial services are resolute multi-taskers with a high probability for getting stressed out to the max. A Stanford study revealed the cognitive dangers to media multitasking. Scientists have theorized that humans simply cannot adequately process a conglomeration of various free flowing information at one time. However, that fact has not stopped female professionals from trying. Without a doubt, individuals who have mastered multi-tasking positions have acquired an invaluable skill. This, however, is a double-edged sword. Their perceived gift is stress-inducing, which means it comes with a high price. Multiple tests showed that heavy multitaskers not only consistently underperformed light multitaskers, but the flood of tasks was actually detrimental to their cognitive control. On the other hand, workers who prioritize and give individual projects full attention are actually more productive.

Tip 2: Understand the macro-environment

Financial services is a particularly stressful industry because of widespread restructuring, increased competition, and globalization. Immense changes in the economy have had a significant impact on professionals in the industry. The stress resulting from work-related irascibilities in the financial industry should not be ignored or minimized. Massive acquisitions and mergers have made headlines for years.

Women in financial services are resolute multi-taskers with a high probability for getting stressed out to the max.

New developments in technology require finance professionals to acquire and utilize more technical expertise, and to perform increasingly difficult tasks with a broader skill set. Additionally, domestic and international competition has raised the bar as to what is expected of financial services. Toss in a lack of meaningful communication and a loss of teamfocus, and you have the recipe for exacerbated tension and frustration in the workplace.

What starts out as irritation from miscommunication or fatigue from a heavy workload, often leads to more serious difficulties such as burn out, anger eruptions, physical illness, loss of self-confidence, workplace violence, and insufficient staffing. Understand the reason is sometimes bigger than you and that there are certain factors in the macro-environment that cannot be overlooked.

Tip 3: Identify the source of the stress

It is unreasonable to think that one can revolutionize the entire financial services industry and make the workplace stress free. However, with expert advice, you can change the environment of your own workplace in order to reduce your stress level and the stress level of your teammates. How do you bring about a more positive atmosphere? It’s crucial to first identify the source of the stress. Is a particular project weighing everyone down? Has there been a lot of overtime? Is new technology causing stress in the office? Once you identify the stress, then you can begin the process of alleviating it.

Leaders don’t wait for staff to come up with something to make the workplace healthier. Take the initiative by providing team support and by giving each worker clear training and goals. Instead of having the type of staff meeting that allows for endless rambling, set a clear agenda that conveys a constructive tone, one that prevents individuals from monopolizing valuable time. Meetings that are productive and focused create a true haven for support rather than add to the team’s boatload of stress.

Tip 4: Think ahead

A proactive leader thinks ahead. Don’t wait until everyone is at the breaking point before you decide to act. When your team is assigned a project, use insight to determine what the team needs to deal with the challenges associated with the project. If certain tasks, changes, or clients are likely to impose extra stress on your team, then have a clear stress management plan ready. Keep the lines of communication open, and encourage feedback and team engagement. Obviously, you are not going to eliminate or even reduce to an innocuous level every source of stress in the financial services industry. However, it is both insightful and pragmatic to take advantage of every available resource and opportunity to minimize personal stress and the stress of your team. To start with there are always some simple, practical, common-sense things a good leader can do to stay on top of or avert a potential problem: When conflicts arise, settle them quickly; give the needed attention to individuals on your team; listen actively to them when they make suggestions or face difficulties; institute a strategy that will make it easy for them to transition from one project to the next; give them constant feedback and make them feel respected and valued.

Even though female professionals face highly stressful circumstances in the financial services industry, they can manage pressure by keeping the workplace positive. Multi-tasking and aimless staff meetings are not the solution, but part of the problem. Workers need to know that they are valued as team players, and they need to have clear goals on which to focus, and toward which to work. By honing their exceptional communication skills, women leaders avail themselves of yet another useful skill in managing stress.

By Kathleen Delaney

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5 Myths about Working in Financial Services

Career AssetsThe past twenty-five years have been a time of great expansion and diversification for the financial services industry. And that’s good news for professional women. Few industries offer workers the opportunity for exposure to senior decision makers and a wide array of responsibility at such an early age.

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Business Travel Hacks: Europe

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Woman travelling - airportYou’ve likely taken an international business trip or two where you wished you’d been more prepared; whether it be learning about that new travel app, electronic item, or the insider scoop on the best modes of local transportation. Below are a few suggestions to keep in mind for your next professional venture to the United Kingdom and/or the European continent.

Travel Preparation

Make sure you have the following items in your luggage: European travel adaptor, dual voltage hair dryer, and travel iron. The UK and Ireland has different voltage to the rest of continental Euorpe. Toiletry items generally need to be stored in less than 100ml containers to take them in hand luggage on the flight.

When it comes to communication, a lot of travelers aren’t aware that they can stay connected to their U.S. mobile phone without paying international penalty fees. Google Voice has a ‘Hangouts’ app that requires an unlocked phone and a prepaid SIM card. You can pay as little as $13 a week for unlimited calls and limited data, and some SIM cards are available for $30 a month or under.

The hardest thing about going this route is unlocking your phone, since most smartphones are locked when you purchase them. There are a few easy ways around this.T-Mobile offers a free unlock code within 40 days of being a customer, and AT&T will do the same after 60 days, up to five times a year. You also have the option of paying a one-time fee through a third-party service which usually runs around $20.

Luckily, we live in the age of the smartphone, which allows you to pack much lighter with apps that help you with casual translations, exchange rates, jet lag, packing and organizing your trip schedule and more.

Out of many free and useful smartphone apps, there are a couple in particular that may help you while in Europe. iStone can swiftly help you in a translation debacle. It records and translates into 12 languages and carries more than 300 useful phrases in its data arsenal. It also features a native pronunciation feature. Better yet, it doesn’t require Wi-Fi. Worldmate is also handy for business travelers, combining all your travel booking info (flights, hotels, cars, etc.) to create both business travel and meeting agenda itineraries. The app also aggregates smartphone features such as world clocks, maps, weather info, and both Outlook and LinkedIn options so your itinerary can be shared among colleagues and peers.

Finally, make sure you are aware of the UK’s emergency number (999) and keep in mind that the current exchange rates change everyday.

“pharmacists are more useful as a contact point for a person whose health is in question in Europe than they are allowed by law to be in the US.”

Customs and Transportation

The European Union is vastly diverse, and even if a country uses English as its official, or secondary language, common customs in Sweden and Portugal may be surprisingly adverse to each other. Here a few European customs to be aware of and avoid:

Free drink ‘refills’ are not customary in Europe. Tipping isn’t a necessity, though if the service went above and beyond, a small tip is customary. 18-20% is definitely an American custom. Keep in mind that if you are driving after consuming alcohol, the blood alcohol levels vary by country, so you may want to review them.

About Travel notes that “pharmacists are more useful as a contact point for a person whose health is in question in Europe than they are allowed by law to be in the US.” If you happen to be closer to a pharmacy than a hospital, you may find the services you need there.

You can check out an array of country specific local customs on Virtual Tourist. The site includes comments from travelers who post things like customary greeting advice. For example, “The Austrian’s don’t greet each other like Germans with “Guten Tag”, instead you will hear a hearty “Grüß Gott!” (it means “Greet God”)” when entering a premises.

When it comes to making dining reservations, Forbes veteran travel journalist Larry Olmstead recommends using your hotel concierge. It is easier to get into the top restaurants this way, as well as saves you the hassle of trying to book online on a website in a foreign language. “Even if you can do it yourself, he writes, “the concierge at a top hotel like the Four Seasons or Peninsula has more clout and is likely to get a better table and the time you want.” He also mentions that it is important to tip the concierge, even if tipping in restaurants isn’t customary.

by Gina Scanlon

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Business Travel to China: Dos and Don’ts

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Woman travelling - airport

By Gina Scanlon

China has proven itself to be a leading economic giant that continues to grow exponential sources of revenue for companies in the United States. VP of research for the Global Business Travel Association, Joe Bates, states that China is expected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s most dominant business travel market by 2016. Which is why learning more about their business culture may prove fruitful for managers and executives traveling to the Asian continent.

Westerners traveling to China on business sometimes have an unsettling feeling that they’ll do or say something potentially embarrassing or offensive without even realizing it.

It happened to management consultant Scott Margolis while making a video presentation to a room of Chinese credit card executives in Shanghai. “As I hooked up my laptop to the projector, a desktop photo of my three children went on the screen for 20 to 30 seconds while I was looking for something in my computer bag,” he recalls about the 2007 incident. “The room got very quiet.”

This is something that would go without a second thought in the western world, but displaying a family of multiple children in a country that only allows one child per family came off insensitive, and even worse, possibly insulting. The country has since begun to loosen this particular rule, but nonetheless, situations like this should be avoided at all costs.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind before you arrive.

Business Etiquette Tips
  • Punctuality is extremely important. Being late in Chinese business culture is an insult.
  • When either handing or receiving something to another, it is customary to do so with both hands, and with a slight bow.
  • Patience and politeness is important, and it is customary for Chinese executives to make business decisions slowly. So be prepared for a bit of possibly long-winded pomp and circumstance at the beginning of your business talks. You may be asked to give a short speech as well, so go prepared. Do not interrupt a fellow business partner during conversation, as it can be seen as pushy and impatient.
  • Refrain from touching anyone’s head at any time, as the head is considered sacred.
  • Learn how to use chopsticks correctly. When putting them down, do not put them parallel on top of the bowl, or inside the bowl. Placing them in the bowl is considered insensitive as they resemble joss sticks (incense), which are used in religious ceremonies.
  • It is customary to try a piece of every dish if you do not have any allergies. Failure to do so will come off rude. But make sure you don’t take the last piece of anything as this can come off greedy.
  • Remove your shoes when entering private homes and temples.
  • If you are handed a gift, it is customary to show appreciation, but save opening it for later to show good taste. And if giving a gift, avoid clocks or books. ‘To give a clock’ in Mandarin sounds like ‘attend a funeral’ and to ‘give a book’ sounds like ‘delivering defeat.’
  • Don’t write anything in red ink, as it is used for letters of protest.
Transportation and Traveling Tips
  • For translation help, Pieco is a popular free app, and only costs $14.95 to purchase the optical character recognition function for your iPhone. For example, you can use your phone to get an instant translation of a Chinese menu item with this feature.
  • This one may come as a surprise, but toilet tissue is rarely available in public places in China, so make sure to bring your own.
  • Pack a multi-device charger, like a Chargepod, for your journey.
  • If you hold a U.S. passport, you won’t need a visa to enter Hong Kong if your trip is under 30 days. But you will need a visa for mainland China. You may need a multiple-entry visa depending on your travel plans.
  • According to CNN.com, taxi drivers in Shanghai are burdened with small bills. They prefer the jingle of coins, which seems to be the opposite sentiment from the United States. However, in northern in western China, market vendors prefer paper money and may reject coins.
  • If you are required to leave the major cities, be advised that there will be limited signs in English.
  • It is advised to take a business card from your hotel’s front desk upon arrival, which will have the hotel’s address in both English and Chinese, which can help with cab rides.
  • Your usual health products can be challenging to find in China, as they are mostly in Chinese, so you may want to ask your GP to prescribe an infection-fighting drug in case you may need one. Imodium may also prove helpful due to the difference in ingredients in the cuisine you may be used to.

Hopefully these tips will help make your time in China successful and stress-free. Knowledge is power!

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