I am truly happy to have a Guest Writer making an appearance for us. Please welcome and enjoy this piece by Cherie Mclaughlin.
“Cherie Mclaughlin has been creating and growing couch-based businesses since her couch was in a dorm room. Through both success and failure, she knows that all it takes to be successful is a willingness to go into it with the understanding that it’s a learn as you go process, and the boldness to step out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.”
Whether you’re freshly out of work or just looking for a side gig, a steady stream of income is not something that you can take lightly. After all, your family income, professional growth, and even self-esteem hinge heavily on your ability to land the role that you want. You have to work at beating the competition, wowing employers and customers, and so much more.
However, you may be pleasantly surprised to know that you already have it in you to land the gig of your dreams and succeed at it—you just need to know what to focus on. Here is some good advice on what you can and should do to successfully meet your career objectives.
Assess your competencies.
As you look for a new gig or a business to start, you will find that there are vast possibilities available to you. It’s often best to narrow down your options to what you can do competently and effectively. With this in mind, start by assessing your skills and your experience—as well as determine your strengths and weaknesses—and then taking it from there.
In this day and age, you can bank on certain in-demand skills more than others, so it’s wise to find out how you measure up. You can then consider increasing your skill set with additional training to run your business better or become a more compelling candidate.
Do your best work.
Getting started is just half the battle, and sustaining a gig or business for the long haul is the other. And to do that, you have to produce the best output or offer the best products, services, customer experience, etc. More often than not, this is easier said than done, especially in the face of distractions and the like. To stay successful in your venture, therefore, you need to keep your productivity and quality of work high. Using the right apps and getting adequate help will often do the trick, so don’t be afraid to use these resources.
On the other side of the coin, taking better care of yourself also contributes to a successful career. It can be a struggle to balance work and family life, after all, while doing too much is a burnout waiting to happen. This, in turn, will affect the quality of your work and your offerings. For this reason, it’s a must to take breaks and practice self-care, so you can rest, recharge, and be ready to give it your all another day.
Leverage available resources.
Lastly, know that no matter how well you’re doing at your gig or business, you can always tap into opportunities to grow and do better. Case in point, government financial assistance can be a wonderful resource—not just in growing your business, but also to help you quickly adapt to emergencies, world and economic events, etc.—a good example of which is when people had to take their businesses online during a pandemic.
Resources can go beyond the financial, as well. There are online courses to advance your career, business mentors and groups, how-tos on everything from doing your taxes to finding freelance work, and much more. Taking full advantage of them will keep you on the path to success.
Whether you’re pursuing a new career or looking to earn extra income, the formula for success remains the same—that is, you need to play to your strengths, make efficient use of resources, and take great pains to do quality work. This simple strategy has allowed countless others before you to accomplish big things, so own it and let it serve you, too.
Cherie Mclaughlin
