If you are starting a new business and you really believe in what you’re doing, just go for it. Don’t sit on a great idea and never try it just because you don’t know how you’d be able to swing it.

I know this one guy. He is one of the smartest, most like-able guys I know. He is in his 50′s now, but right after high school he started at veterinary school. Being a vet was his dream job. About halfway through school, he got married, had a baby, and chose to pursue those things instead of his vet career. Now a granddad, he works 50+ hours a week (sometimes arriving and getting off at 3, 4, 5 in the morning) at a job he hates, so he can “pay the bills”. He and his family live on an income that barely gets them by. They are constantly counting pennies, getting into debt, and scraping by financially. He is a happy person, but it is safe to say he is not very fulfilled.

Then there is this other guy I know, who bounces around from job to job. And when I say job, he is in his thirties, holds 3/4 of a college degree (he, too, ran out of money to finish), and works pizza delivery type jobs to support his wife and kids.

For both these men the goal was paying the bills. Not happiness, not personal fulfillment, not working at a job you love instead of just one that just gets you by. They have no ambition and no drive for life.

A friend of mine commented on this situation really well when he said “The difference is the mindset. For you, it is about making a job but for them, it is about finding a job”. Both men want to change careers, but instead of making for themselves a career they love–by staying focused on what they WANT instead of what they can live with—they are choosing to put in applications at Papa Johns and Publix because those are the places who “are hiring”.

I don’t know about you but when I look out at my life and my future and I think about what my children are going to remember me as being, I don’t want pizza delivery guy to be how they think of me. Don’t get me wrong, I love pizza and I’m glad people deliver them, but to me those are the kind of jobs that “pay the bills”. If I could advise these two guys I’ve been talking about I would ask them why they aren’t using their extra time to carve out a career they WANT.

I get that babies have to eat and the lights have to be paid for, so sometimes you have to hold down the job that best supports your family and that is a noble, responsible thing to do. But while you’re doing that, be planning, be saving, be thinking, of how you can get from where you are to where you want to be. If your dream job is a pizza guy then go for it! But if you want something more from your life, then MAKE IT HAPPEN. Stay focused on what you want and don’t wait on life to hand it to you.
Dr. Dale Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

A recent article on the USSBA website, says that “For many Americans born between 1946 and 1964, retirement has a very different meaning than it did a generation ago. According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 63% of non-retired adults in the United States plan to work in retirement; two-thirds say enjoyment of work is the key reason.” (see full article here).

But did you catch that? ENJOYMENT of work is the key reason. Well, you’d think that was a no brainer. Of course we have to enjoy work to do it on into retirement, right? Well, maybe it is really that we need to re-adjust our thinkers surrounding what WORK really needs to be.

We have responsibilities that need to be met, and having a job and money help us meet those requirements, but if we plan well (and we do a job we LOVE), then we don’t have to live for retirment. In fact, once we reach “retirement age” we will actually WANT to keep on working.

Think Mother Theresa or Ghandi. Not really into that kind of work? Ok, what about Clint Eastwood or Paul Newman? All of these people are examples of people who worked on into their age-ed years. All of them were mid-project when they passed.Working at something they loved.

Start now, plan ahead, and re-think your retirement.

After you ask “where is that?” you might ask “why is that?” Well, you can see where by clicking here. But the “why” might surprise you.

The exact quote from CNNMoney.com is that they searched for cities that were “best for families.” There is not a single “big” city on there. Nothing in New York, LA, Atlanta, Chicago, or any of the “it” towns. I was surprised.

In this world of go business, go business, big business, high rises, sky scrapers, money, money, money!!!! It is tempting to think that family oriented, calm, safe, clean, way of living is out of date. But apparently not. The number one most talked about topic in today’s google searches, is all about the best place to live if you want to raise a family.

So apparently, family values are not only hugely popular, but they are also good for business. Just thought you might want to know.

We love alumni recruits because it is a win/win – the alumni have brought good people in who add value to the program  – and the person they recruited gets what we hope is a wonderful educational experience – and our leadership team has an easy time walking them through the system. (we put a high value on people who come from alumni referrals!)

But – we would like alumni to win better.

So here is what we are going to do…….

For each person who an alumni refers to the program and that referral completes the first term- we will pay $250 to the alumni who brought them in.

Yes, you read that right:

Bring Someone to IEM and we pay you $250. It is just that easy.

You already love the program, and now we pay you to share the love.

Yes, we know. It rocks.

This will be paid at the end of fall (maybe January) and will be $250 for EACH RECRUIT. You will be paid as a UAB vendor and receive a 1099 at the end of the year – ie. The tax issue is on you;)

So if you send someone – make sure we know it.

Contact Options:

• You can email any of the professors on the IEM Faculty page, or
• you can email the Alumni Organization at: iemalumni@googlegroups.com
• Utilize the contacts and expert network connections you made as an IEM client.

We will get this data connected at the end of the fall and be contacting you. You will have to fill out UAB paperwork as a vendor – but no big deal.

This DOES apply to those who have already brought people in this year -however I cannot make it apply to last year’s program (it’s a new idea, sorry guys!)

PASS THE WORD

We Want Good People (And we’ll pay to get them!)

Is the social media site LinkedIn the future of corporate recruiting?  It certainly is, according to John Campagnino, the head of global recruiting for Accenture.  Accenture is looking to hire around 50,000 people this year alone and they estimate that 40% of their hires (over the next few years) will be made using social media.

LinkedIn has something on the order of 60 million profiles that corporate recruiters can sift through.  There were over 17 million visitors to LinkedIn in February.  Every Fortune 500 firm is represented there.

LinkedIn has become a disruptive force to traditional recruiting firms.  It provides a window into an enormous pool of talent with access to their resumes, work experience, interests (for example, groups they have joined), and recommendations.

There will continue to be a need for recruiting firms, of course.  Arlette Guthrie, vice president of talent management at Home Depot, points out that the LinkedIn talent pool is largely composed of corporate professionals, so she uses it primarily for supply chain and information technology professionals.

But there is no doubt that LinkedIn has become a major factor in recruiting.  If you’re not making use of it, you probably should be.  If you are, you need to be smart about how to use it effectively.

There is a good article in the April 12th issue of Fortune Magazine that will give you some added insight.

Don Appleby has served since 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he teaches in the Information Engineering and Management Program. He has over three decades of professional experience in the information technology industry. Prof. Appleby is retired from IBM.Thanks to ProfAppleby.com for this article.

Trust me – these REALLY work. I continue to hear from people who have tried it – so why don’t you?

.

Second Method – Be a Hero

Another method to network is by using organizations. Yes I know – this is exactly what you have done before – and you end up meeting another person looking for a job just like you – and that is all! gonig to professional organization meetings is what they told you to do in school – and you HATE doing this. I get it!!!

………………….But here is the rest of the story!

.

First, like always, decide what you want. There are millions of organizations and associations. You need to know where your efforts should be placed. Why go to a software developer meeting when you want to build homes for a living? Who cares where you are today – where do you WANT to be? Go hang out with those people!

.

Second, use your contacts from the Reverse Interview. Since you have already done this (you have – right) you already KNOW they right people in the right organizations. Now instead of showing up blind and walking into a room with panic in your heart – not knowing what to do next – you go straight to your contact and say hello. Guess what they will do? Introduce you to people!! And – introduce you to the RIGHT people. Remember to also go and meet the head of the organization – if you have not met them already.

To take the pressure off the first time – contact the new person in your network and ask if they will be going. Ask them to introduce you! Also, email or call (I know – you will email) the organization president or leader and tell them you want to come check them out. Then go in and introduce yourself saying “I am the one who emailed you about checking this out.” This will lead somewhere – trust me!

Remember to not talk about yourself too much – let other people talk. You should become skilled at asking questions.

.

Third, take action. Every volunteer organization, no matter the size, struggles from having a lot of takers and very few givers. The people who are the decision makers in a 1000 person organization can likely fit around a small conference table. They are the ones who give their time and actually do something. So your trick is to find out where they really need help and then lend a hand. The result is that you will not be a nameless figure, instead everyone will know you AND that you can get something done.

.

Fourth, do it. People are ALWAYS watching and judging – so the character you display within the organization is what people will always assume is you. And they are right. If you show up and do what you said, they will think highly of you. If you do not, you would have been better off to have never joined. Remember the adage Under Promise and Over Deliver.

.

Results Count

I will say again – this works. It may take a little courage to do this – but you can quickly go fro a nobody to a rock star! I know – I know several people who are TOTAL introverts who I used to introduce to others at meetings. Now they introduce me! They are still introverts – but introverts in charge!

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Don Appleby has served since 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he teaches in the Information Engineering and Management Program.  He has over three decades of professional experience in the information technology industry.  Prof. Appleby is retired from IBM.Thanks to ProfAppleby.com for this article.

Do you remember when you were trying to get your first job? Remember the advice and maybe even a class on writing a resume? Did anyone teach you HOW to network?

When I was in college they taught me to write a resume – but they NEVER taught me how to network. What they did tell me about networking seemed to have limited success.

• advice – Go to professional meetings to meet people.
• result – Ended up standing around knowing few people or meeting people in the same situation I was in.
• advice – Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job.
• result – Limited success. I did get to meet some people who were the hiring managers – but it seemed my own network was not enough to get me in the doors I needed to get into.
• advice – Use the college career fairs and career counselors.
• result – Again, limited success. Problem is I was limited to those companies looking for people like me. Instead I was looking for something else.

Playing the Game

After many years of “playing the game” in job searches and having many jobs I have made some other observations.

• There are more opportunities than you can chase. Most people are looking for just one, but so many people see none!

• People with a network have more opportunities. Let me state that again People with a network have more opportunities.
  

• People hire people – not resumes.

• Resumes are an after thought for many companies. My last few “jobs” did not really require a resume. In fact, more than once it came up that the resume was needed from me AFTER the decision was made to hire me. One company told me to forward my resume to HR since they needed on file – weeks after I was hired.

• Networking is a skill most people do NOT have. Perhaps this is why my professors never taught me how to do it – they did not know either.

So what works?

I am going to give you some tips in the next few post which will tell you HOW TO NETWORK. These are networking skills that REALLY work – even for introverts. And I mean the REALLY work – powerfully!!! But you can start by using one of the tools I have already blogged about – the Reverse Interview.

Note: These post are part of my upcoming book on taking control of your career!
So let’s get started on building your network! Yes – even if you are an introvert!

Exercise: List the people in your network.

• Who do you go to lunch with?
• Who can you call on if you are looking for a new job or opportunity?
• What group do you hang out with which presents new opportunities to you on a regular basis?

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Adding value to your company. Taking steps that matter to boost your revenue without going overboard on expenses. Find out what really matters to your business and see what matters. If you’re office is spick and span but you’ve got no assets coming in, whats the point? Hold this reality up against businesses that focus more on adding real value and less on superficial value. Their businesses typically make more money, and isn’t that the point? Not expensive junk to trot out for show, but spending money on adding value to your company and your clients.

Can’t see the video? Click Here.

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Having a business license is about legal protection. If you have no assets, do you really need that protection? Learn more about just what business licenses are worth, and just what they’re not.

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.