Black History

If you’re a new business owner, chances are that you’re overworked and exhausted from trying to run the show by yourself. The time has come to hire an employee.


But before you begin your search, it’s important to educate yourself about how to complete this process the right way. There are lots of factors to consider before hiring a new employee like background checks, references, and salary offers.



Want to learn more about hiring your first employee the right way? Keep reading.

We have everything you need to know right here. Let’s get started!

Educate Yourself About Discrimination Laws

You want to run an ethical business, don’t you?

If so, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with nationwide equal opportunity laws. Even if you don’t consider yourself a discriminatory person, it’s important to protect yourself and your employees.

Strive for Fair Pay

If you could really use some help around the office but you can’t afford to hire an employee…don’t. In many states, the minimum wage is extremely difficult to survive on, especially for employees who support families.

When the time comes to hire your first employee, make sure you’re clear with them about their pay and benefits. You should also outline how often they can expect a pay raise or an opportunity to grow within your company.

Keep in mind that benefit offers will be different when you hire a part-time employee. So, if you’re interested in hiring part-time employees and full- time employees,you’ll need to differentiate clear benefit offers first.

And to accurately track payments, use a checkstub maker. This will record your employees’ salary information, taxes, overtime pay, etc.

Twenty years ago, no one could have guessed that blogging would become the money-making machine it is today. The internet itself was still finding its legs.

Today, though, blogs abound about every subject under the sun. And while the market may seem saturated, the reality is that there is still money to be made in the blogging industry.

There is an entire industry built around helping bloggers earn money. You can take advantage of that industry via blog apps and plugins that help monetize your blog.

Let’s take a look at the best apps to help you make the most of your blog.




OptinMonster

One piece of blogging advice you’ll hear constantly is to BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST.

And it’s true. Building an email list is a top way to convert visitors into customers.

But to get those customers, they have to sign up. And to do that, you have to create an engaging way to present your email opt-in form.

Enter OptinMonster. The plugin helps you create stunning opt-in forms and popups to help increase your email conversions.

It even has an option to convert visitors as they are getting ready to leave your site, making the most of every click

Google AdSense

This is the big one. If you’re blogging and you don’t have an AdSense account, you are missing out. In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Huge.”

AdSense is run by internet giant Google, which means you have unparalleled access to hundreds of ads that help you make money with your blog.

Hemp CBD sales are expected to reach $1 billion by 2020. This market will grow by about 55 percent every year, which opens a world of possibilities for business owners.

The question is: how can you beat the competition and make your online CBD shop stand out?

Besides quality products, you need a solid marketing plan. Everything matters, from website design to SEO to customer experience.

Nowadays, millions of people buy CBD for medical purposes. Some even use it on their pets. As a business owner, it’s necessary to reach those people at the right time with the right content.

The more satisfied your customers are, the more often they’ll visit your online store. This will lead to higher revenue and sales.



For the start, focus on driving traffic to your CBD shop. Here are some foolproof ways to attract and engage visitors:

Find the Right Keywords

The competition is tight in the CBD industry. Unless you already have a strong online presence, you might not be able to rank for popular keywords like CBD oil or hemp cookies.

Use an online tool like KWFinder or Google’s Keyword Planner to find keywords with a high search volume and low competition. These are the terms people type into the search engines when looking for products or information online.

For best results, target long tail keywords. Look for search terms consisting of three or more words.

In 2015, 28.3 million individuals updated a blog at least once every month. That number will rise to 31.7 million people by 2020.

If you have a blog or you’re thinking of starting a blog, you might be thinking about what makes some blogs so popular? How do you create unique content that sticks with your readers?

The key is to make your blog stand out. Want to know how? Keep reading to learn how to increase blog traffic.


Is Blogging Important?

Is blogging necessary? With 95% of blogs abandoned and the market appearing saturated thanks to blogging behemoths such as Medium, you might be wondering if your website even needs a blog.

Yes, your business does need a blog. In fact, businesses who focus on blogging ROI.

What’s more, blogging can net you more leads. Companies that have 401-1,000 pages of content can get an increase of leads by six times. This is compared to businesses thathave 51-100 pages of content.

More content results in more subscribers and form submissions which can get you more leads.

Another major benefit of blogging includes higher search engine traffic. With over 40,000 searches done every second on Google, you want to leverage this market.

Other benefits of blogging include:

Helps you become a leader in your industry
Helps you create inbound links
Personalizes your brand
Want to learn how to create a blog that f? Let’s get started.

Just how coveted is a spot near the top of a Google results page?

Consider this: In 2019, American businesses will spend over $75 billion on SEO.

Although SEO is an effective marketing practice, it’s also a tedious one. Even marketing experts admit that it usually takes 1-2 years to see a positive ROI from SEO efforts.

If you’re looking for faster results, it’s not all hopeless. SEM can help you drive high levels of targeted traffic to your site much more quickly than SEO. 

Are you scratching your head and wondering “What is SEM?” Read on to learn the difference between SEM and SEO, as well as how your business can benefit from SEM!


What Is SEM?

Not so long ago, search engine marketing (SEM) was a term that referred to both paid and organic methods of improving search engine visibility.

Today, however, when marketers mention SEM, what they’re most likely talking about is the practice of purchasing web traffic via paid search platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads. Search engine optimization (SEO), on the other hand, is the practice of getting visitors to your website through organic results.

Two common synonyms for SEM are pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and paid search advertising.

SEM vs SEO

Almost half of all small business in the United States use SEM. And of the businesses that use SEM, 86 percent also use SEO.

Should you use both? Let’s take a closer at some pros and cons of SEM and find out how it stacks up against SEO.

From sports, to work, to even family, everyone can benefit from team building activities in some aspect of their life. They encourage cooperation and understanding of the other person or people as the case may be.

The major problem with team building exercises, it seems, is figuring out how to build interest in them. Oftentimes, vacations, practices, and seminars are thought of as a waste of time, because free time is supposed to be fun, and, no offense to your coworkers or teammates, but you probably wouldn’t be spending your day away from it all with them if you had a choice.




The question remains, then, of how to make it all work. How do you get people interested in team building? How do you make an otherwise mundane event into a special occasion?

Well, here’s a few ideas to help get people involved and working as a team.

Scavenger Hunt

This activity is an old one, but a good one. It pits teams against each other as they try to find objects scattered around the workplace.


If you want to make the game even more interesting, make the items metaphysical or intangible. Anybody can find a message in a bottle, but it takes a little more creativity to find a modern-day cipher. Maybe you can find a computer mouse, but it’s a little harder to find something that is “as quiet as a church mouse.”

Do you manage a team of remote workers? Do you find that it’s difficult to ensure that each team member actively participates and engages in each of the team’s virtual communications?

While everyone brings their own assets to the team, of course, to achieve the best possible results, you need to provide your team with a cohesive work environment.

You might be thinking, “That sounds great, but how do I actually do it in practice?”

If you’ve been trying to encourage communications but are feeling stuck, we’re here to help.

In this post, we’ll provide some great tools you can use to enhance your team’s remote communications so that it functions as one big, happy family.



1.Slack

As far as staying in contact at all times goes, the team chat website/app Slack can’t be beaten.

You can download Slack on your laptop or desktop, and find it in your phone’s app store too.

It makes asking questions, sending files, taking quick polls, and using GIFs/emojis easy as pie. And, if your team operates from several different time zones, they’ll know they can rely on it at any time to find answers to questions or discuss a situation as it unfolds.

2.Skype for Business

Another one of the big tools for remote communication is video calls – which Skype has undoubtedly helped to popularize.

Nowadays, there’s Skype for Business, so both teens and remote workers can benefit from being able to conduct video calls and share their screens whenever necessary.

What’s your favorite part of being a freelancer?

For sure, freelancing has many perks. The lack of any kind of insurance through work isn’t one of them. As freelancers, we need to shop, pay for, and negotiate our own healthcare, life, and liability coverage. Here are the top 5 things you need to know about insurance for freelancers.



1. Get Insurance Through The Freelancer’s Union

Are you a member of the freelancers’ union?

Even if you’d rather be a lone wolf and you don’t like unions, this one might be worth joining.

With an increase in outsourced work and an uptick in technology that makes working from a home office possible, self-employment is on the rise. As the number of independent contractors increases, unions and associations are established to help defray the high cost of some living expenses such as healthcare.

The freelancers’ union offers a link to other benefits such as legal representation, but its main benefit is an attractive array of freelance health insurance options. From dental insurance to standard preventive health care coverage, the Freelancers’ Union can be your gateway to affordable care.

It’s important to note that the union itself is not a licensed insurer. It’s just an organization that partner’s up with providers to offer deals to those who are self-employed.


2. Health Insurance Is Mandatory

Did you know that since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2009, healthcare coverage is mandatory?

Of course, you may think that you don’t require preventive health care; you’re never sick a day in your life and you don’t like doctors. But you might like an annual physical exam much more than you’d like an annual tax fine for not choosing a healthcare insurance plan.

Though there are exemptions and loopholes you can try to take advantage of, the law still allows for a tax fine if you are uninsured.

Thomas Edison described the roots of genius to be ninety-nine percent perspiration and only one percent inspiration. If only writers, whether geniuses or not, broke into a sweat more often than they do. They might be able to ward off the damage to their health of long periods of sitting.

When your work means sitting in front of a computer screen all day you pay a price. Read on to learn seven negative side effects of sitting too long.



Writing and Health

Best selling author Stephen King attributes at least some of his success to two factors. With estimated earnings of $17 million per annum, he’s getting something right. In his book, On Writing, he shares some of his advice for aspiring writers.

King describes how physical health and a strong marriage are the two most important reasons for his success. It seems that the wellbeing industry has a supporter in the world of horror novel writing. The challenge is to find ways of maintaining your health when the writing process means you have long periods of enforced immobility.

1. Heart of the Matter

Long periods of time in a sedentary occupation means you burn fewer calories than if you were active. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body deposits some of the excess calories around your body in the form of fat.

The increased fatty acids carried in your bloodstream can lead to restriction and blocking of the arteries. This furring of the arteries caused by raised cholesterol levels causes high blood pressure and heart disease. This puts pressure on your heart to maintain circulation and can lead to a heart attack.

Sedentary occupations and heart disease are clearly linked. There is also a clear relationship between lower cardiovascular risk and greater physical activity. Getting up from your desk and being active is good for the health of your heart.

Heart problems may lead to medical interventions including drug therapies. Atrial fibrillation is an example of a condition whose risk factors include high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes among others. View here to learn about treatments.

Are you a recent college grad looking for freelance writing jobs?

Searching the internet for freelance work can be incredibly intimidating, even if you’re a seasoned professional. There’s a lot of scams and junk out there, so sometimes you might not know what will add value to your portfolio and what’s a waste of time.

Whether you’re a recent college grad or looking for a career change, being a beginner in this industry is frustrating. Keep reading to learn some helpful tips that will get your career up and running.

How to Find The Best Freelance Writing Jobs

Building a freelance career is scary, and you probably have more questions than answers. The best thing you can do is start slow and build up a strong portfolio.

If you’re still struggling, here are four tips that will help any beginner land great freelance writing jobs: 



1. Create an Account on a Freelance Marketplace 

Freelance marketplaces are essential for any beginning freelancer. These websites bring together freelancers and companies looking for work such as blog writers, journalists, graphic designers and more. You can create an account for free and start looking for work immediately.

2. Search Online Job Boards 

Another way you can search for work online is to try a job board. These sites are a little different than freelance marketplaces because they’ll often include links to external jobs that you’ll have to apply to through the company and negotiate your terms (rather than applying through the site).

They often will include companies looking for full-time help, rather than just an article here or there. But they’re still a great way to get introduced to companies that are looking for work.

3. Pitch Yourself to a Company

If there’s a particular company or outlet you’ve always admired, find contact information and pitch yourself. This might seem scary, but part of being a freelance writer is pitching topics. So prove to them you’ve got what it takes by pitching yourself first.

This cold outreach might seem intimidating, but sometimes you have to take somee risks to get your freelanc career off the ground.

4. Start A Relationship In School 

Why wait until you’re out of school to find work? Start building relationships in college that could translate to steady writing assignments down the road.

It’s a great time to be alive for music lovers everywhere. We have access to an infinite library of different artists and genres to choose from thanks to the internet.

However, for those independent artists who are trying to get their name and music out into the world, the competition can be fierce. So, how do developing artists stand out and keep themselves from being drowned in a sea of emails and mixtapes?

Well, it takes hard work and strategic planning, but it’s possible to get the attention you’re seeking through a simple and organized approach. If you are choosing to submit music to blogs with a high traffic rate, below are a few things to keep in mind when you decide to reach out.



Solidify Your Brand

Before you decide to put yourself out there, it’s important to have a full understanding of who you are as an artist. Branding is a crucial piece in making yourself memorable.

Branding yourself is a lot like putting together a puzzle that represents your artistic identity. Putting together certain pieces such as a certain font, color scheme, symbol, sound, style, or personality can cohesively create a theme in your music and artistry.

A solidified brand will show music blogs that you’re serious about making music your career. The confidence you have in knowing who you are and how to professionally represent yourself will help you stay clear of the dreaded email trash bin. And hopefully, you’ll get a positive response.

Research Before You Submit

After you’re confident in how you represent yourself to your audience, it is important to put in some extensive research before you submit music to blogs.

Reaching out to a website that promotes only rappers when you are a wedding band, such as David Rothstein Music, is completely irrational, right? Well, it happens all the time. That’s why it is important to make sure you’re not wasting your time and energy on a website or blog that doesn’t reach out to the same demographic as you.

Americans clock in over 32 hours a week listening to their favorite music. Yet, most don’t know that what they are listening to has a big impact on their work output.

Freelancers enjoy the freedom of flexibility in their careers. Yet, some days it can be tough to find focus, as distractions get the best of you.

Yet, listening to productivity music can boost cognitive function and mood. It can give you that extra motivational edge to get your work done.

Here’s a look at how music can make you more productive in the workplace.



Music Is About More Than Background Noise

Freelancers use music in the workplace to help create a more positive environment. While some work in the comfort of their own homes, others may choose upbeat coffee houses to get their work done.

Yet many of today’s freelance workforce rents a co-working office space. As at least 50% of coworking members are freelanced.

For those who work in an open environment, they are often subjected to noise and distractions. This includes chatty coworkers, ringing phones, and food deliveries.

The act of listening to music helps to block out these disruptions. It lets you go with the mental flow, without breaking concentration. The right music for work keeps you staying in the zone, creating a nice pace for your day.

Yet, work music does more than serve as a pleasant distraction from working hours. As music can also create positive reactions in our mind and body. This includes an increase in your own productivity levels.

The Power of Sound on the Senses

Music is powerful because it has the ability to affect our mental, physical, emotional, and behavioral state.  It does this by triggering chemicals and hormone production in the brain.

Do things feel dull around the office lately?

You may be wondering what lengths you need to go to liven things up. There are tons of unique office supplies you may have never heard of. And they could be just the things you need to spark some much-needed inspiration.

Here are 4 awesome office supplies that’ll help you add some much-needed pizzazz to the workplace!




1. Tomato Timer

Struggling to get motivated and stay productive?

It happens to the best of us. But there are techniques in place that can help you increase your productivity.

Take the Pomodoro Method, for example. It can help you break down tasks into increments. The work intervals, known as “Pomodoros”, teach your brain how to be more productive in spurts.

If you consider taking up the Pomodoro method, be sure to get a tomato timer. A timer will not only designate your work intervals and breaks. Anytime you feel distracted, looking at the tomato timer can help you get back on track.


2. Standing Chairs

If you work in an office, you’ve probably experienced your fair share of neck and back pain. But did you know that sitting for long periods of time can also lead to heart disease and obesity?

It takes years of working in an office for the negative side effects of sitting to do some serious damage. But why wait to do something about it?

Standing office chairs have been all the rage in recent years. These chairs allow workers to rest in a position that’s in between sitting and standing.

Of course, it’s good to get up and walk around throughout the workday. But during crunch periods, standing chairs do wonders.