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Work Place Safety Policy - Better Than Sorry!

We all seem to take safety at work for granted. As an employer, it is your ethical responsibility to take care of employees working for you, failing which, there just might be a disaster waiting to happen. Besides causing injury, work place accidents cost time and money. On a more practical note, you could also be held accountable and made to pay a penalty that could wipe out profits. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules punish violation of safety standards that could result in death or serious physical harm to an employee. Therefore, developing a work place safety policy and abiding by it is an absolute necessity.

Remember the following while putting a work place safety policy in place:

~ Even as an entrepreneur with few employees, you will have to abide by OSHA requirements. However, in American states where a federally certified plan has been adopted, the state plan governs. If you have hired non employee workers, such as independent contractors or volunteers, then you are not subject to the OSHA rules.

~ The first step to complying with the OSHA regime is to understand the published safety standards. Naturally, these will change depending on the industry you're in.

~ Also, just because you comply with the standards that specifically apply to your business or industry doesn't mean that your job is done. Standards are updated frequently, and new dispensations come into the picture from time to time - be sure to keep in touch with the latest developments.

To begin with, get in touch with your insurance company. Ask their safety specialist to visit your premises and make necessary recommendations. Insurance companies will be more than willing to help you devise an appropriate work place safety policy, as the safer your business, the fewer accident claims you will file. Some government organizations, generally supervised by the Labor Department or Department of Commerce, could also help you set up a safety program.

Industry trade associations and other business groups might offer seminars on safety at work and also provide training literature for a small fee. Also, there are private consultants who help businesses set up safety programs that meet OSHA regulatory standards. Your lawyer might be able to recommend a good consultant in your area.

Once you have the program in place, put it in writing and create the safety manual. The safety manual should explain what to do in the event of a fire, explosion, natural disaster or any other catastrophe your business might face. Ensure that you have well-stocked fire extinguishers and first-aid kits at all convenient locations throughout the work place. Check an organization which makes products such as fire extinguishers and medical supplies. Added to that, make sure your employees know where these are located and how to use them. The safety manual should also explain the proper procedure for performing a routine task that could have some inherent danger if not done the right way. Seeking employees' opinion as an input in this regard will be most helpful as they are closest to the jobs and know best about potential dangers which might not be obvious to you.

Finally, get an insurance professional, a government representative and your attorney to review the finished manual. This is a reflection of your company's commitment to safety, so make sure you get it right.

Conduct regular meetings and inspection, and even introduce an incentive program if need be, to increase awareness about safety measures at work. Try establishing a "Safe Employee of the Month" award, or run a contest inviting suggestions for improving safety.

Organized Labor and Collective Bargaining Or Extortion Tactics to Get More and Work Less?

There are many sides to the debate of organized labor, for instance many believe that unions protect workers from unscrupulous corporations and make sure that the workers get a fair deal. Others will point immediately to the importance of a safe workplace, as proof of the need for unions.

Of course, there are mounds of OSHA laws, EPA regulations and employment rules enforced by the strong arm of the government and by class-action private lawsuits. Recently, a gentleman from Alabama, who taught Constitutional Law and wants to help the poor with better employment stated:

...and the regulations they sue over are very much needed because the name of the game is the bottom line, and I as a loyal worker wants my company to prosper, but I want a safe working place and the equipment I need to protect my lungs and my body."

Well, Unions always claim it's about safety, always about safety, fairness and such, but their actions speak a completely different language, and it can be quite disgusting at times to watch it. Even Teacher's Unions work to undermine the system, while they purport that it's about the kids, education and fairness? Consider their lobbying efforts with politicians to persuade regulators to attack "hooked on Phonics" or KIPP, as it might take away from their control.

Maybe the teachers, workers and those who belong to the union think that it's about safety and fairness, and make it like a religion have convinced themselves that what they are doing is noble, but the union leadership is not about that, it's about power and control and Machiavellian Politics, it always has been.

Therefore those who follow give up their integrity to get more, work less and cut off the very hand that feeds them, while all of us are forced to pay more for what we buy, as the union holds up a "patriotic message" telling us to buy American as they bend us over, cause inflation, lower standards of living and slowly steal our quality of life. I believe union folks know the truth about what's going on, and they go along with it, to get more for themselves no matter the cost to all we are and all we have built.

Unions are not a balance mechanism to management at all, rather they are a speed bump to progress and a tire spike strip to free-enterprise. I am quite disgusted with their behavior; it's similar to the radical fringe of either party. It's scary to think that the Unions garner such power, but good to see it has been somewhat reduced over the years.

This is the conservative viewpoint and more so the libertarian viewpoint. All-in-all America is a pretty darn good place, to live, work and raise a family, wouldn't trade it. People are dying trying to get in. Our way works, we should be happy - not attack or destroy ourselves from within.

Industrial Enzymes

Historical background

Most of the reactions in living organisms are catalyzed by protein molecules called enzymes. Enzymes can rightly be called the catalytic machinery of living systems. The real break through of enzymes occurred with the introduction of microbial proteases into washing powders. The first commercial bacterial Bacillus protease was marketed in 1959 and major detergent manufactures started to use it around 1965.

The industrial enzyme producers sell enzymes for a wide variety of applications. The estimated value of world market is presently about US$ 2 billion. Detergents (37%), textiles (12%), starch (11%), baking (8%) and animal feed (6%) are the main industries, which use about 75% of industrially produced enzymes.

Enzyme classification

Presently more than 3000 different enzymes have been isolated and classified. The enzymes are classified into six major categories based on the nature of the chemical reaction they catalyze:

1. Oxidoreductases catalyze oxidation or reduction of their substrates.

2. Transferases catalyze group transfer.

3. Hydrolases catalyze bond breakage with the addition of water.

4. Lyases remove groups from their substrates.

5. Isomerases catalyze intramolecular rearrangements.

6. Ligases catalyze the joining of two molecules at the expense of chemical energy.

Only a limited number of all the known enzymes are commercially available . More than 75 % of industrial enzymes are hydrolases. Protein-degrading enzymes constitute about 40 % of all enzyme sales. More than fifty commercial industrial enzymes are available and their number is increasing steadily.

Enzyme production

Some enzymes still extracted from animal and plant tissues. Enzymes such as papain, bromelain and ficin and other speciallity enzymes like lipoxygenase are derived from plants and enzymes pepsin and rennin are derived from animal. Most of the enzymes are produced by microorganisms in submerged cultures in large reactors called fermentors. The enzyme production process can be divided into following phases:

1. Selection of an enzyme.

2. Selection of production strain.

3. Construction of an overproducing stain by genetic engineering.

4. Optimization of culture medium and production condition.

5. Optimization of recovery process.

6. Formulation of a stable enzyme product.

Criteria used in the selection of an industrial enzyme include specificity, reaction rate, pH and temperature optima and stability, effect of inhibitors and affinity to substrates. Enzymes used in the industrial applications must usually tolerant against various heavy metals and have no need for cofactors.

Microbial production strains

In choosing the production strain several aspects have to be considered. Ideally the enzyme is secreted from the cell. Secondly, the production host should have a GRAS-status. Thirdly, the organism should be able to produce high amount of the desired enzyme in a reasonable life time frame. Most of the industrially used microorganism have been genetically modified to overproduce the desired activity and not to produce undesired side activities.

Enzyme production by microbial fermentation

Once the biological production organism has been genetically engineered to overproduce the desired products, a production process has to be developed. The optimization of a fermentation process includes media composition, cultivation type and process conditions. The large volume industrial enzymes are produced in 50 -500 m3 fermentors. The extracellular enzymes are often recovered after cell removal (by vacuum drum filtration, separators or microfiltration) by ultrafiltration.

Protein engineering

Often enzymes do not have the desired properties for an industrial application. One option is find a better enzyme from nature. Another option is to engineer a commercially available enzyme to be a better industrial catalyst. Another option is to engineer a commercially available enzyme to be a better industrial catalyst. Two different methods are presently available: a random method called directed evaluation and a protein engineering method called rational design.

Enzyme technology

This field deals with how are the enzymes used and applied in practical processes. The simplest way is to use enzymes is to add them into a process stream where they catalyze the desired reaction and are gradually inactivated during the process. This happens in many bulk enzyme applications and the price of the enzymes must be low to take their use economical.

An alternative way to use enzymes is to immobilize them so that they can be reused. Enzyme can be immobilized by using ultra filtration membranes in the reactor system. The large enzyme molecule cannot pass through the membrane but the small molecular reaction products can. Many different laboratory methods for enzyme immobilization based on chemical reaction, entrapment, specific binding or absorption have been developed.

Large scale Enzyme applications

1] Detergents

Bacterial proteinases are still the most important detergent enzymes. Lipases decompose fats into more water-soluble compounds. Amylases are used in detergents to remove starch based stains.

2] Starch hydrolysis and fructose production

The use of starch degrading enzymes was the first large scale application of microbial enzymes in food industry. Mainly two enzymes carry out conversion of starch to glucose: alpha-amylase and fungal enzymes. Fructose produced from sucrose as a starting material. Sucrose is split by invertase into glucose and fructose, fructose separated and crystallized.

3] Drinks

Enzymes have many applications in drink industry. Lactase splits milk-sugar lactose into glucose and galactose. This process is used for milk products that are consumed by lactose intolerant consumers. Addition of pectinase, xylanase and cellulase improve the liberation of the juice from pulp. Similarly enzymes are widely used in wine production.

4] Textiles

The use of enzymes in textile industry is one of the most rapidly growing fields in industrial enzymology. The enzymes used in the textile field are amylases, catalase, and lactases which are used to remove the starch, degrade excess hydrogen peroxide, bleach textiles and degrade lignin.

5] Animal feed

Addition of xylanase to wheat-based broiler feed has increased the available metabolizable energy 7-10% in various studies. Enzyme addition reduces viscosity, which increases absorption of nutrients, liberates nutrients either by hydrolysis of non-degradable fibers or by liberating nutrients blocked by these fibers, and reduces the amount of faeces.

6] Baking

Alpha-amylases have been most widely studied in connection with improved bread quality and increased shelf life. Use of xylanases decreases the water absorption and thus reduces the amount of added water needed in baking. This leads to more stable dough. Proteinases can be added to improve dough-handling properties; glucose oxidase has been used to replace chemical oxidants and lipases to strengthen gluten, which leads to more stable dough and better bread quality.

7] Pulp and Paper

The major application is the use of xylanases in pulp bleaching. This reduces considerably the need for chlorine based bleaching chemicals. In paper making amylase enzymes are used especially in modification of starch. Pitch is a sticky substance present mainly in softwoods. Pitch causes problems in paper machines and can be removed by lipases.

8] Leather

Leather industry uses proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes in leather processing. Enzymes are used to remove unwanted parts. In dehairing and dewooling phases bacterial proteases enzymes are used to assist the alkaline chemical process. This results in a more environmentally friendly process and improves the quality of the leather . Bacterial and fungal enzymes are used to make the leather soft and easier to dye.

9] Speciality enzymes

There are a large number of specialty applications for enzymes. These include use of enzymes in analytical applications, flavour production, protein modification, and personal care products, DNA-technology and in fine chemical production.

10] Enzymes in analytics

Enzymes are widely used in the clinical analytical methodology. Contrary to bulk industrial enzymes these enzymes need to be free from side activities. This means that elaborate purification processes are needed.

An important development in analytical chemistry is biosensors. The most widely used application is a glucose biosensor involving glucose oxidase catalysed reaction.

Several commercial instruments are available which apply this principle for measurement of molecules like glucose, lactate, lactose, sucrose, ethanol, methanol, cholesterol and some amino acids.

11] Enzymes in personal care products

Personal care products are a relatively new area for enzymes. Proteinase and lipase containing enzyme solutions are used for contact lens cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide is used in disinfections of contact lenses. The residual hydrogen peroxide after disinfections can be removed by catalase enzyme. Some toothpaste contains glucoamylase and glucose oxidase. Enzymes are also studied for applications in skin and hair care products.

12] Enzymes in DNA-technology

DNA-technology is an important tool in enzyme industry. Most traditional enzymes are produced by organisms, which have been genetically modified to overproduce the desired enzyme. The specific order of the organic bases in the chain of DNA constitutes the genetic language. Genetic engineering means reading and modifying this language. Enzymes are crucial tools in this process.

13] Enzymes in fine chemical production

In spite of some successes, commercial production of chemicals by living cells using pathway engineering is still in many cases the best alternative to apply biocatalysis. Isolated enzymes have, however, been successfully used in fine chemical synthesis. Some of the most important examples are represented here.

13 A] Chirally pure amino acids and aspartame

Natural amino acids are usually produced by microbial fermentation. Novel enzymatic resolution methods have been developed for the production of L- as well as for D-amino acids. Aspartame, the intensive non-calorie sweetener, is synthesized in non-aqueous conditions by thermolysin, a proteolytic enzyme.

13 B] Rare sugars

Recently enzymatic methods have been developed to manufacture practically all D- and L-forms of simple sugars. Glucose isomerase is one of the important industrial enzymes used in fructose manufacturing.

13 C] Semisynthetic penicillins

Penicillin is produced by genetically modified strains of Penicillium strains. Most of the penicillin is converted by immobilised acylase enzyme to 6-aminopenicillanic acid, which serves as a backbone for many semisynthetic penicillins.

13 D] Lipase based reactions

In addition to detergent applications lipases can be used in versatile chemical reactions since they are active in organic solvents. Lipases used in transesterification and also used for enantiomeric separation of alcohols and separate racemic amine mixtures. Lipases have also been used to form aromatic and aliphatic polymers.

13 E] Enzymatic oligosaccharide synthesis

The chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides is a complicated multi-step effort. Biocatalytic syntheses with isolated enzymes like glycosyltransferases and glycosidases or engineered whole cells are powerful alternatives to chemical methods. Oligosaccharides have found applications in cosmetics, medicines and as functional foods.

Future trends in industrial enzymology

Industrial enzyme market is growing steadily. The reason for this lies in improved production efficiency resulting in cheaper enzymes, in new application fields. Tailoring enzymes for specific applications will be a future trend with continuously improving tools and understanding of structure-function relationships and increased search for enzymes from exotic environments.

New technical tools to use enzymes as crystalline catalysts, ability to recycle cofactors, and engineering enzymes to function in various solvents with multiple activities are important technological developments, which will steadily create new applications.

HR Outsourcing

Companies and businesses that either lack time, expertise, or both, often outsource human resource tasks to an outside company. In the past, small businesses did not have the opportunity to outsource functions such as HR, as the market was lacking in options to do so. However, a comprehensive range of HR services are available these days to cater to companies of all sizes, including those with up to 75 employees. Human resources management is one of the most widely outsourced businesses in the market.

Until recently, companies used to outsource only payroll and benefits administration to other companies. However, it is a relatively new phenomenon to outsource practically all HR activities like business processes and employee management. HR business process outsourcing has grown immensely over the years. Recruitment outsourcing can perform all the recruitment functions like the assessment of departmental needs and placement of employees in appropriate departments.

Human resource outsourcing has become increasingly popular, especially for employee data organization and payroll calculation. However, many organizations prefer to handle recruitments and termination of employees locally. An external organization handling it may not understand the internal requirements of the company.

Outsourcing saves a lot of money as many service providers are able and willing to perform the tasks at low costs. Outsourcing enables companies to concentrate on their focal functional areas. However, the main disadvantage with outsourcing human resource functions is that there is no personal contact between the employees and the human resource department. This means that the personnel problems of employees cannot be easily addressed or communicated. Occasionally, outsourcing may also pose a security threat in terms of breach of sensitive employee information.

Cost is the deciding factor while selecting an outsourcing service provider for most companies. On the other hand, some companies place more importance on the compatibility of work ethics. It is advisable to hire outsourcing service providers that have adequate experience in human resource functions and the necessary infrastructure and staff to carry out the job.

Motivating People - Why it Doesn't Work

A topic that I'm often asked about is how to motivate people. Executives are always looking for ways to improve the attitude and performance of their team. My clients will tell me about how they've met and worked with each of their team members to get them to improve their performance but can't seem to make a difference.

The answer is that you can't motivate people. It's not that your people are a peculiar breed or that they're an apathetic bunch. The fact is that you can't motivate anyone! Motivation only comes from within. People are only self-motivated. Think of it this way: If you get someone to do something they don't want to do, its coercion. People will only do what they choose to do. Don't take my word for it. Use your own experience with people as your best example. People will generally perform only to a level that matters to them. No amount of threatening, pleading or rewarding will motivate them into action.

Is that, then, the end of the story? Is there no hope for moving people beyond their current state? Not at all. There is a way to make a difference. And it's not a theory. I've seen it work on a regular basis. The key to getting people to rise above their present level of performance is to 1) develop a company culture, 2) recruit to a purpose, and then 3) appeal to that purpose to bring out the best in your people' performance and drive.

Developing a Culture

Most companies have policies and procedures, employee manuals and guidelines, effective marketing messages, and beautiful statements of mission/vision/etc. mounted on the wall. All of those are well and good, but they don't address the matter which has the greatest impact on their business and their teams. They don't address the Purpose of the organization and as such, have no yardstick against which to measure decisions, policies and strategies.

In the absence of a clear Purpose - the "WHY" of the organization - people are simply hired to fill vacancies, policies are developed which are unclear and don't further the attainment of a purpose, systems are lacking, actions are taken which would otherwise be in direct conflict with the Purpose of the organization, and decisions are made inconsistently, without regard to the culture of the organization.

In contrast, a business which has a clear Purpose ("Why"), a Mission ("What"), and a set of Values ("How"), hires smarter, has a consistent set of policies that support its Purpose, has a yardstick to measure its decisions against, has an easier time attracting and retaining the right people, and has the means to develop and deliver a clear marketing message.

Let's define and discuss the implications of having Purpose, Mission and Values in your organization.

Purpose is the "WHY" of the equation. It defines why we do what we do. Each decision and policy should take the business closer to achieving its "WHY".

Mission is the "WHAT" of the equation. It defines what the business will be doing to achieve its Purpose. Staying true to the broad "WHAT" will allow the business to focus on its core activities and strengths.

Values are the "HOW" of the equation. Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose.

Purpose:

Purpose defines why we do what we do. It defines why we go to work each day. Without purpose, people just go through the motions and as most of us know, there's a great difference between activity and achievement. Having a clear purpose creates a yardstick, so to speak, to measure our decisions against. It helps us become passionate, helps us to select among the many options presented to us, helps us make better hiring decisions, and keeps us on track. It's possible to succeed without a clear purpose, but having one speeds and magnifies the results.

When a business has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting the kind of people who will further the purpose; people who are like-minded. Not only will having a purpose attract the right people, but it will also act to retain them. This is the power behind the success of many not-for-profit organizations. Although they often are unable to pay their people great sums of money, they continue to attract and retain people who are dedicated and who work hard to achieve the purpose of the organization. While your organization's purpose may not be as altruistic as a not-for-profit's purpose, it definitely plays an important, almost critical, role.

Sales Manager Training - Expect the Best and You Will Get It

One thing often missing in sales manager training courses is the section on expectations. No not the normal definition of expectations. This is the one that can really change your sales performance in a drastic way.

There is a great saying in life. That you get what you expect not what you want. Now some of us in the tough business world probably think this is not true. Especially in the fast paced world of a sales manager.

The current vogue of personal development; The Secret and now The Moses Code has put a whole new light on the metaphysical world and how this can relate to business.

Life is actually governed by universal law wether we like it or not. There is also a growing body of evidence to prove this theory. Have a look in any book store and you will see an array of books on quantum physics. An interesting fact that The Secret has remained on the best seller list on Amazon for the last couple of years.

Expectations are all part of the attraction cycle that most of us set up unknowingly in our life. You often get what you truly expect. There have been a number of studies conducted where instructors are fed false information about the team they are coaching. The results really are not that surprising.

The instructor who thought his team had the highest skill level , from false information he was fed then treats them accordingly.

The result is superior results when in essence the team had the lowest skill level of all. Expectations are really a self fulfilling prophesy.

The same is so true in the business world and especially sales. Generally sales managers allocate resources to their team members in proportion to their expectation of them. The ones they expect the most from get the most emotional support through non -verbal cues ( eye contact, smiles) frequent and valuable feedback and development. Along with surprisingly, challenging goals.

This starts a cycle. The sales team has more confidence, better support and encouragement and guess what they perform better. A positive belief has been installed with the corresponding positive result.

So the message for sales managers is expect great things. Tell your sales team verbally and in writing that you believe in them. Be realistic of course. Great expectations are good. Outrageous ones can be demoralising.

Oh one more thing. This expectation strategy works for you as well. How about expecting greta things. It just might work for you as well.

Brain Exercise That Boosts Your Psychic Intuition

Can you boost your psychic intuition with brain exercise? You'll find out shortly.

We are all intuitive creatures by design. Everyone is capable of varying degree of intuition. Research has found that high level of intuitive ability is a critical success factor in career and life. The question is: How to strengthen the muscle of your psychic intuition?

What is the brain exercise that can increase your intuitive power? The answer is: Drawing!

How can drawing increase your psychic intuition? First, let's understand this from the point of how drawing functions as a brain exercise.

Drawing is a whole skill that makes up of a group of component skills, namely, the skills of perception of:

1. Edges
2. Spaces
3. Relationships
4. Lights and shadows
5. Whole, or gestalt

These perceptual skills become integrated into a whole skill that determines your ability to draw. Once you learn the principles of these skills, you can learn to draw relatively quickly.

In the process of learning to draw, your brain goes through a complex chain of brain exercise to learn how to control the way it handles information. The benefit of learning to draw is to link to other activities and the possibility of seeing things differently by tapping into your right-brain.

Understanding How Left-Brain and Right-Brain Work

Now, let's go a step further to explain what is right-brain and left-brain.

The right-brain relies on nonverbal cues to process perceptions. It's good at tasks that require the ability to see similarities, to make connections, to understand how parts fit together as a whole, and to perceive overall patterns instantaneously. It is capable of drawing insights that come from non-linear, multi-dimensional mode of brain exercise.

On the other hand, the left side of the brain excels at verbal, analytical, rational and logical tasks. It's the dominant buddy of the right-brain, taking over most of the brain's normal activities, especially when you are at serious work. It is the master of planning and systematic works. It has a penchant for using words to describe and define, figuring things out step by step, drawing conclusions based on facts and logic, and thinking in a linear way.

Despite being a linear thinker that has limited scope of thinking, the left-brain takes over most of our daily tasks. Only in situations when it finds a particular job undesirable, or if a certain task takes too much time, is too detailed or slow or simply too difficult, then the left side gives up.

If you want the right-brain, which is more creative and intuitive, to be involved more in your thinking process, you must create chances for it to participate. The trick is to present tasks in a way that discourage the left-brain, and hence create opportunities for the right-brain to demonstrate its capability.

When you engage in drawing, you create the chance for the right-brain to gain dominance. If you do it regular as a hobby, drawing is a powerful brain exercise that can increases your psychic intuition.

More Advance Way To Develop Your Psychic Intuition

One technique designed by Dr. Betty Edwards to develop subconscious intuitive power through drawing, is to draw with your non-dominant hand looking at images that are upside down.

The rationale is: This puts the left brain in a state of confusion so that it can't easily decipher shapes, lost its top-bottom orientation, unable to attach labels and categorize them to match stored memories. This process creates an opportunity to integrate your right-brain and allows it to become dominant. When presented with a confusing image, the left-brain gives up and the right-brain takes over.

You have probably heard of the saying that the best way to deal with a challenging issue is to sleep on it.

This problem-solving tactics is based on the same argument discussed above. After a long hard day cracking at the problem without success, the left-brain is exhausted. This is the perfect chance for the intuitive and creative right-brain to flex its muscle. It will sneak into the thinking space and come up with solutions that seem to have come from "The Higher Mind".

Am I Self-Employed Material? - What it Takes to Run Your Own Business

Employee vs. business owner, it's a scary dream for most, but attainable. If you are seriously looking to become self-employed there are a few factors you should consider before taking the leap. Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I have the long term drive to make my business a success
• Will my values be met by the business I want to build
• Do I know the legal and tax laws required for being self-employed
• If I don't know how to do something, can I find a career coach or other help
• Do I have a plan
• Do I need a partner
• Can I continue to pay my bills while I get my business up and running
• What do I know about marketing my business
• Are the products or services I plan to offer wanted by the public and are people willing to pay me for them

SELF-EMPLOYED IN A BETTER INDUSTRY

Kris was a college-level teacher and now in her 50's has made a decision to incorporate her interest in writing into a livelier, fun-in-the-sun environment. Searching and not finding employment locally, she is now revamping her resume to highlight transferable skills and looking for freelance work in the islands. Her Vermont apartment is tiny, and easy to maintain while she's away in her new career. Her new self-employed goal is to teach journaling workshops at various resorts and spas. Because of her love for islands, she is narrowing her search to destination resorts on islands only. She can expand her possibilities and think outside the box by asking what else could she do with her writing skills. She could expand her own business by offering to teach guests how to write a short play and then performing it during their vacation stay. Or, she could freelance her writing excellence into marketing vacation spots for host companies. She could even write and sell how-to books for other budding writers. Her list of possibilities is endless in a changing market and yours can be too. Just highlight your best skills and take them into an industry you find exciting.

SELF-EMPLOYED WITH A BUSINESS PARTNER

Another woman, Charlotte, from Pennsylvania, is finding the doors to her human resource expertise closing around her. How might she re-traffic her skills and abilities into a new market? She has a stellar background in planning, preparation and all behind-the-scenes work. Not particularly interested in being the front-woman for a company, she can now take her work history and switch gears slightly by becoming a wedding planner, or a consultant for the convention industry. When asked if she likes meeting and greeting people, her answer was a quick, "No!" So maybe a wedding planner wouldn't be the best choice for her. Knowing that she is more comfortable behind the scenes, she can now transfer her skills into an environment that needs what she has to offer, and although it may be a different industry, she will still be able to use her gifts well. If you are considering becoming self-employed, do like charlotte did and know whether you are best suited on the front line or behind the scenes. This is a perfect example of the need for a business partner who is better suited with public contact.

SELF EMPLOYED, BUT A MISMATCH OF VALUES

Kevin Manley started out his professional career as an entrepreneur. He formed his own band and toured the United States. He had natural skills in musical talent, stage presence and organization, perfect skills for someone who wants to build a band. To succeed, he says, "You must first have natural musical abilities, a love of center stage and awareness that receiving applause and admiration can be like a drug you will always chase." When I asked him why he is no longer self-employed in the music industry he explained, "I knew that I needed a home base and really got tired of the traveling. One day I was putting everything I owned into the trunk of a car, getting ready for our next gig, and realized I had forgotten where I was. I didn't even know which coast I was on." Today Kevin is employed as a Public Works Director for a town in Arizona and continues to sing karaoke in Laughlin, Nevada occasionally. He says it's hard to let go of the rush that audience applause provides, but if your most important value is a regular home life, then business is not for you. If you want to develop your own business, use Kevin's awareness as a role model and make sure your values match your business.

SELF-EMPLOYED, FIND A PROBLEM, PROVIDE A SOLUTION

Kate Cronan Sawert has made a career out of her interest in the health field. She is now self-employed in the same industry. She says she was disheartened by the American health care system and quickly began planning her own business. She truly believes that the only way she can make a quality difference is by becoming self-employed. Today she has formed her own company, Self Health, Inc. (www.sawert.com/selfhealth) that provides health education and wellness information to the general public. Her book, Self Health, is in the final stages of production and offers insight into what is causing your energy drains and strategies for healing them. What satisfies her most is the excitement on the face of her clients when they learn that anything is possible regarding their health. Kate knows that with her own business she can be more problem/solution oriented in her care. She advises anyone considering the option of running his or her own business to be skilled in willingness, tenacity and to have the ability to ask for help. For Kate, her Life's Work was built around what a problem in her industry. Because health education has become more integrative in the last twenty years, this entrepreneur has found a cutting edge position for her talents, skills and values in her own business. If you want to start your own business, use Katie as a role model; find a problem and provide a solution. If after careful evaluation of what it takes to operate your own successful business you find that this is the path for you, learn as much as you can from others who have gone before you and here's to your career success!

How Do You Get Qualified Prospects to Notice Your Business?

Did you know many businesses go out of business before their best potential clients even know they exist? Those businesses run out of money, and close their doors before they even have a chance to succeed. You may think it happens because the business owner simply didn't have enough cash to advertise, but cash and cash flow are just an excuse. Yes, advertising costs money. And you certainly don't want to invest real dollars in real advertising until you know you have a message that produces results in the form of the receiver of that message taking an action. The action they take must move them closer to becoming your client. However, you can get noticed by the right people without spending any money. Sound impossible? Well it's not. One way you can get "free" advertising is through the use of a press release. Yes, you can pay to have someone else submit your press release for you to a number of outlets but you can also do the submission work yourself and pay nothing. The choice is yours. There are 3 essential considerations for an effective press release. Those considerations are: placement, message, and action. Get those three considerations right and you'll have a successful press release that gets you noticed by the right people who take the right action. Focus on getting these three essential considerations right before you even draft your press release. Doing so will make it easier to formulate your press release. Plus it will ensure your efforts produce the desired outcome...getting noticed by the right people who take the action you want them to take. If you don't already know; find out what publications your ideal clients read, or what radio or TV programs they regularly tune in to. Those are the places you want your press release published or broadcast. Identify the editors of those media, and find out how to submit your press release to them. Getting your press release in the right place will only happen if the editor perceives value for their audience in your press release. That means your press release must contain topically relevant information. Beyond that you want to include at least one of these other elements: timeliness, newsworthiness, trends, studies, relevance to that particular audience, urgency, and importance. In order for your press release to produce results it must get the audience to take a desired action. That means you first have to evoke curiosity and desire. You must trigger enough desire to get the receiver to take an action you've spelled out in the press release. Make sure you have the mechanisms in place to track your response rate from the various media placements. The actions produced are a first step in converting the right people into new clients for your business.

The Benefits of Taking OSHA Certifications and Annual Refresher Classes Online

There can be a number of reasons why you should undertake OSHA online training.

It will enable you or your employer to reduce the costs of training. Class room training is relatively expensive compared to online training.

It also saves time. Rather than spending time in off-site attendance of training sessions including travel, the theory parts of the relevant OSHA courses – for example, Hazwoper 40 (for full time site workers) and Hazwoper 24 (for occasional visitors) – can be completed on your own work premises without the need to travel to a training site. This is particularly important for employees taking the annual refresher courses.

It is also more efficient and effective from a learning point of view because you can choose the timing of carrying out the training so as not to interfere with other work and you can repeat online modules and assignments if required to help you revise to ensure that the material has properly sunk in before taking the OSHA test online. It is also more flexible because different employees can do different training courses at the same time in the same work area or even work from home in the evenings.

It is important however to remember that online training can only substitute for classroom work and does not provide the practical experience necessary for OSHA compliance. From a common-sensed viewpoint, OSHA hazardous waste training and other courses (OSHA Safety Training and OSHA Construction Training) require an element of practical supervised work (despite some Internet sites which make claims to the contrary).