Tired of all the political drama? Or perhaps you’re just plain tired. Either way, this week’s roundup has you covered! From how to hire the best help possible, to what we can learn from politics about how to deal with a crisis, this week’s reading roundup for entrepreneurs provides several takeaways you can carry into the coming week and beyond.
12 Tasks to Outsource to Your Virtual Assistant” – [With an infographic]
One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is trying to do everything themselves. And while you may feel that it’s necessary to bootstrap at the beginning, the sooner you can start outsourcing at least some of your tasks, the better. A great way to do this is to hire a virtual assistant. There are many benefits to hiring team members that work virtually (which is just another way to say that they work outside of your office). One is that many times you can hire people on a very part-time basis. You also don’t have to provide office space and other costly things such as health care and other benefits associated with employees.
But the question is, what types of things should you outsource? This article, and infographic helps to answer that question.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Politicians About Crisis Management
Each week I peruse over 1,000 articles to find ones to include in this roundup, and in my Feedly account, there has been a barrage of articles on Trump and Clinton. I’ve intentionally chosen not to include any of those articles in these weekly roundups, but I felt this one that deals with politics in a more general sense, and draws some powerful lessons about what entrepreneurs can learn from politicians when it comes to crisis management, is worth reading.
The bottom line is that if you haven’t yet dealt with crisis in your business, you will. And how you deal with it when it happens is crucial to your success. This article published on Forbes not only gives reasons to embrace crisis, it also provides some solid tips on how to deal with it when it happens.
23 signs your boss secretly hates you
Whether you still have a “real” job or own your own business, it’s important to be able to determine if your boss hates you. If you still have a traditional job and are building your business on the side, being able to read the handwriting on the wall regarding your boss’ feelings toward you may be the kick in the pants you need to go all in with your business. If you’re already self-employed, you may still have “bosses” in the form of clients. And particularly if a client or two makes up the bulk of your income, it pays to be tuned in to signs that may indicate there is trouble in paradise.
While I wouldn’t share this article unless I felt it has value, I do want to add a bit of caution to it. First off, if you are inclined to worry and struggle with insecurity or have a tendency to think that people don’t like you, an article like this may cause you unnecessary concern; you may find yourself worrying about something that is really nothing. In addition to that, in my opinion some of the signs could just be work-style or personality more than your boss or client having an issue with you. I recommend looking at this list of signs through the lens of if your boss or client’s behavior toward you has changed or if they treat you differently than everyone else.
You can check out the 23 signs here.
Why Having a Plan B is Setting Yourself Up for Failure, Science Says
Let me admit straight up that I struggled a lot with whether or not to include this article in this week’s roundup. Why? Because I love not only having a plan B, but a plan C, D, E and F. Some people, like me, are just more cautious by nature. I recall financial guru, Dave Ramsey once saying that his wife likes having an emergency fund for their emergency fund, and I can totally relate to that! So are those of us who are more cautious wrong? I would say yes, and no. This article published on Inc.com gives makes some great points about why having a plan B is setting yourself up for failure.
There are two main points in the article:
- Having a plan b can decrease your motivation. Without a backup plan, you MUST succeed — or else.
- A plan b also provides an emotional safety net. If you have a backup plan, success is optional, because it’s not going to hurt too much if you fail.
You can read the article here.
How to Create Product Reviews for Your WordPress Business Site
Do you read product reviews before making purchases? If you’re like me, and a whole lot of other people, you do. Product reviews are a helpful type of content to add to your site because they can truly help your readers make informed decisions about their purchases.
This article published on Small Business Trends gives 10 things to keep in mind when adding reviews to your site. A couple of the most important ones in my opinion are to be unbiased and objective, and to list both the pros and cons of the product. The reason this matters so much is that reviewers are often compensated for their reviews; for example, they may be an affiliate for the product and receive a commission if people buy the product using their link. This is a perfectly acceptable means of monetizing the content on your site, but you shouldn’t allow it to influence your review.
As an example, one of the most popular articles on my own blog compares two popular products in my niche and explains why I chose one over the other. I’m an affiliate for one of the products and have made a decent amount of money through that post, and I’ve also gotten a lot of great feedback on the post.
For example:
- This was one of the most helpful reviews that I have found for the comparison of these two products.
- Helpful review without any clear affiliate bias!
I believe the reason why it’s been so effective is because I share both the pros and cons of each option, rather than painting an overly rosy picture of the product I’m an affiliate for, and interestingly enough, because of that, I’ve made decent commissions from the review.
If you plan to include reviews on your site, this article has a ton of helpful tips so be sure to check it out.
Building Integrity in an Age of Image
I found myself loving just about every sentence of this article by John Maxwell on the topic of integrity. Because of that, I recommend you read the whole thing. In the meantime, here’s the first paragraph to give you a feel for what to expect in the article:
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Fake it ‘til you make it.” It’s actually one of my least favorite sayings. It’s a catchy but destructive idea that does more harm than good, and here’s why:
You can’t truly “make it” if you don’t have integrity.
And integrity is the opposite of fake. It literally means being whole and undivided – being the same on the inside as you are on the outside. If “fake it ‘til you make it” is a philosophy that you live by, then you’re setting yourself up for failure in the long run.
You can read the article here.
6 Steps to Uncover Your Inner Greatness
In this article published on Addicted2Success, there is a simple, six-step process for discovering greatness. What I love about it is that while it would definitely take work to follow the steps, they are clear and logical. I believe that the article delivers on the promise made in the title; if you take these six steps seriously, chances are you’ll uncover your inner greatness.
The first few steps are the most important in my opinion:
- Define What You Want
- Find Out Who’s Done it Before You
- Absorb All of the Expert’s Content
You can read the other three points and dig deeper into this topic here.
5 Ways to Determine Which Applicants Will Be Loyal Employees
This week’s roundup started off with tips on what types of tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant. And while I’m a big fan of virtual assistants, have worked as a virtual assistant, and even wrote a book on outsourcing, things don’t always go smoothly. You may end up hiring someone that just doesn’t deliver for you, or delivers, but moves on sooner rather than later.
Because of that, it’s worth considering the points in this article published on Entrepreneur.com about how to find not only capable, but loyal employees.
And of course, in case you've missed any of the posts published this week right here on PatrickBetDavid.com, be sure to check them out:
Do you wonder why your income as an entrepreneur has stagnated? Read this post to find out the most profitable list an entrepreneur can make.
Some people say that competition is bad, but it's important to compete in business. Here are 10 ways competition helps you win in business.
Have you ever wondered if you're too young -- or too old to be an entrepreneur? In this video and article Patrick answers the question, "Does your age matter as an entrepreneur?"
Enjoy your weekend reading. 🙂 And if you have suggestions for other blogs for entrepreneurs that you'd like us to follow and perhaps select content from to share, please leave them in the comments below.
