How Important are professional qualifications for your career?

If you want to make a successful career in many fields you will be expected to achieve professional qualifications and undertake continuing professional development (CPD) throughout much of your early career. You might think you already have a university degree or higher level apprenticeship but in many professions that simply isn't enough. Take project management, for example, or accountancy or engineering – these are roles where you need to be willing to commit to maybe several years more study after leaving full-time education if you are to achieve the greatest success and the pnnacle of chartered status.

Even in fields without chartered status, such as sales and marketing, it is still important to keep your skills up to date,  undertake sales training courses to learn the latest best practice, and gain recognised qualifications such as those from the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM)

You will need to gain qualifications such as the prestigious APMP exam from the Association for Project Management (which, incidentally now has a Royal Charter). Many people still refer to the APMP but, in fact, it has recently had a name change as is now formally known as the APM Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ).

You can, of course, do this by taking a series of regular project management training courses or you can take a different route if you haven't been to university and don't plan on going. One such alternative type of training is to become a project management apprentice in order to get the necessary qualifications and take your career to the next level. However, it can be hard to determine which route will be right for you so here's overview of some of the possible options for the role of project manager.

First, let’s consider agile project management. Agile project management focuses on the incremental development of solutions, allowing those working on the project to quickly react when objectives change without undermining the integrity of the project. There are 8 principles of effective agile projects: demonstrate control, develop iteratively, never compromise quality, deliver on time, communicate cleanly and continuously, build incrementally from firm foundations, collaborate, and focus on the business need.

A more traditional approach

As already mentioned the APM Project Management Qualification (remember the one that used to be called the APMP?) is designed for anyone who sees a knowledge of project management as an essential part of their role – even if they are not actually a project manager. So, for instance a member of the PMO (Project Management Office). It provides a solid foundation in PM skills, tools, processes and behaviours. Anyone can take this course and achieve a professional qualification,.

So undertaking training to gain professional qualifications, and continuing to develop your skills and knowledge, are now a part of many careers. And, indeed, sometimes the only way to distinguish yourself from other professionals with the sme level of experience.

How to Become More Productive

Many extremely organised people cannot understand how disorganised people can actually manage to get any work done in a cluttered office. De-cluttering can increase productivity and efficiency as well as creating a calmer and more pleasant environment in your home office. When you clear the clutter and take control of your life you will be more productive - trust me.

Declutter Your Home Office and Become More Productive

When working from home, different people work in very different ways – some like to be extremely organised, with a filing place for everything and everything filed in its place. Others like to be surrounded by piles of work – maybe they think it makes them look busier when their partner arrives home from the daily commute. But more likely they work in a "mind-mapping" way with lots of connected pieces of information set out across their desk or even around the whole room.

The extremely organised types cannot understand how the seemingly disorganised types can actually manage to get anything done - and yet they do manage to, and often in a more creative way.

But if you are the "disorganised" type (or perhaps a better description is that you work in organised confusion) there will always be times when you lose that vital piece of paper: the important invoice, or contact details or just a scrap of paper where you noted down that brilliant new idea. That's the point when you might start to think there is some benefit to being more organised and consider decluttering your home office. Clearing space in your office can help create a less stressful environment that will lead to a more organised, clutter-free mind.

In order to embark on the arduous task of de-cluttering we need to feel motivated that a clutter-free office will be worth all the effort. If you cannot appreciate the advantages of de-cluttering then you will never do it. We also need to understand that de-cluttering is absolutely not about throwing away items that you actually need but it is about knowing the difference between the things you need and the clutter.

So avoid the excuses, aim for a less stressful working environment and just get started de-cluttering your home office – here are 7 top tips to help you:

1. Categorise the paperwork and other items you need to store, for example: bank statements, invoices, receipts, insurance documents etc. Write all the categories down on a list – this will help you to get an overview of what you think you need and what you actually need. This list may not be complete at this stage but will give you a good starting point.
2. Check the legal requirements for the retention of paperwork for tax or regulatory reasons. There is no point filing 10 years of bank statements and invoices if the Inland Revenue only require you to store information for the past 5 years. Add this information to your list of categories.
3. Organise your filing cabinet(s) – if you have more than one filing cabinet then take one at a time and remove all the folders. Check their labels (if they have any) and match these labels to your list of categories. Make sure the title is exactly the same to avoid confusion and mis-filing later on.
4. Organise your files – many people prefer to file their paperwork in ring-binder files that can be stored on a shelf and sub-divided more easily. Paperwork that is more frequently accessed is better stored this way. Make sure you have plenty of clear plastic pockets and dividers to organise the paperwork.
5. Buy a stationery cupboard - so that all your office supplies such as printer paper, printer inks, envelopes, pens etc can be neatly stored in one place instead of on your desk. It will be much easier to find what you need and you will know when you are running out of something.
6. Buy more storage - you can never have too much storage space so buy as many additional storage units, filing cabinets or shelves as you can reasonably fit in your home office. Having plenty of storage will make it easier to be organised.
7. Consider renting a self-storage unit –  so rent cheap self storage unit to help you achieve this. It is simple to arrange and available in or near most major towns and is particularly useful for old documentation that you won't have to access frequently. A storage unit at a self storage facility will help keep your home office de-cluttered when there simply is not space to store everything at home.

Finding the Right Business Training

If you are currently struggling in your small business I’m going to guess it’s because you have yet to find the right training.  Have you listened to every CD and read every training manual that you can get your hands on?  While training methods can be useful in regards to professional development they are not going to magically grow your business for you. It is by applying what you have learnt in the training in the workplace.

Take project management for instance, many organisations large and small struggle to consistently achieve project success yet the right project management training, when put into practise, has been proven to increase the proportion of successful projects. So little wonder that businesses are investing in professional project management courses for their employees, such as the APM Project Fundamentals course. And the same is true of finding the right training in other fields.

Why "On-The-Job" Training Doesn’t Work

I have been in this industry since 2001 and when I first started out my project manager told me everything he knew - that was my "on-the-job" training.

After 16 months and hundreds of working hours as a project manager I had achieved a total of ZERO successful projects. Senior execs in my organisation at the time thought that professional project training for their employees was just a waste of thousands of dollars.  Why did I fail in those early months?  Simply put, the so-called "on-the-job" training that I received does not work!  Here’s why:

Good Managers are not Good Trainers

You can be very good at your job but that doesn't mean you know how to properly train other employees. Training is a skill, even more so in a profession such as project management.

Our society has learned to shut down when anyone asks them to explain how they do their job. People are not comfortable talking about what they do either because they are worried it will show up gaps in their own knowledge or because they want to keep all their tricks-of-the-trade to themselves to protect their own job.

Why should a PM tell everything they know about APMP, PMP, PRINCE2 or Agile project management to you?  They probably don't trust you.

Read more: Finding the Right Business Training

Make Money At Home | Ten Options

Make Money At Home

As the Holidays begin to peek around the corner people are beginning to search for ways to make money at home for the up-and-coming gift giving season.  Not only that, the recession has hit people hard and I honestly believe that home based businesses are going to explode in the coming years as more and more people look for ways to make money at home.

Whether you choose to offer a decorating service or a grocery shopping service, advise people on how to declutter a home or, indeed remove the clutter in your truck - the options are endless.

Make Money At Home | Ten Options

10.  Grocery Shopping Service.  Put an add on Craigslist or in the paper that targets the elderly and busy moms.  Have people email their shopping list to you and you can do their shopping for them.  If you advertise in Craigslist you will not need to spend any money on marketing.

9.  Internet Tutor.  I personally do not know a single person who does not own a computer.  However, there are still millions of people that are completely clueless (my mother-in-law, for one) when it comes to operating their computer and using the internet.  Again, you can advertise on Craigslist for free.  Charge by the hour.

8.  Hauling Service.  If you have a truck you can advertise a Hauling Service on Craigslist.  Offer to haul away peoples junk, tree branches or trash and charge per load. With decluttering so popular as people seek to get more organised and create a less stressful life their are plenty of people who need someone to remove their clutter. (See this Ultimate Guide to Decluttering if you need some encouragement to declutter)

7.  Translation Service.  Are you fluent in another language?  Start a translation service or become a tutor. Another option is to tutor people in English where that is not their first language - especially foreign business people who have been posted to the US and want to improve their spoken English.

6.  Holiday Decorating Service.  You can decorate residences and businesses for the upcoming Holidays.  You could do both interior and exterior.  Charge by the hour.

5.  Live-in Carer Jobs. Help look after an elderly person who wants to remain in their own home instead of going into a residential care home and giving up their personal space and independence. According to the not-for-profit organisation the Live-in Care Hub (www.liveincarehub.co.uk) there is a massive demand for carers now more people know that live-in care is an alternative to a residential care home.

4.  Window Cleaning.  Charge by the window or by the size of the house.  You don’t want to charge hourly because you can clean a LOT of windows in one hour.

3.  Garden Care Service.  Mow, trim, weed lawns and include leaf removal during the Fall.  You could also include snow removal during the winter months.  You will need a good mower and trimmer to start with.  Investigate the competition to set your rates.

2.  Start An Online Business.  Join my blog by signing in with your name and email address on the home screen and I will provide you step-by-step instructions on how to start an online business.

1.  Blogging.  There is now a complete blogging and marketing system that you can use for $25/month.  The best part?  You can share with it others that want to blog and you get 100% affiliate commissions for everyone that uses your affiliate link to join.  $25/month in residual income for everyone that you share the blogging and marketing system with.   In my opinion, this is the best way to make money at home.

Read more: Make Money At Home | Ten Options

So You Want To Start Your Own Business?

Starting your own business is exciting but involves hard work. You will have to do or be aware of every aspects of business to comply with regulations, handle finances and deal with staff.

Running your own business is exciting; it gives you the freedom to work in a way that suits you best but it is also a challenge. If you have been employed for any length of time you will have got used to certain aspects of a business being dealt with by someone else behind the scenes. But in your own business you will have to do everything, or at least be aware of everything that needs doing to comply with regulations, handle finances and deal with staff.

We all know that many small businesses fail in the early stages and this is often down to a lack of planning. It is easy to get carried away with the excitement of owning your own business and not plan the essentials properly, but good planning is far more likely to result in a successful business so try and curb your enthusiasm to do all the things that interest you and make sure you have the business basics covered. You may decide to start small and initially run the business from your home; this can work well if you have the space and good access to facilities and broadband but if it encroaches on your family life and you find yorself looking for a new home just to accommodate a small business then, clearly, there could be better options.

Remember that being a business owner brings with it additional responsibility in the form of legal, health & safety and financial obligations. Expect to work hard in the early years – maybe harder than you ever have before.

Think about what you personally hope to achieve from the business; of course, financial reward will be up there at the top of the list but what about the other perks of being your own boss such as deciding where to work and what hours you will work and choosing who to do business with. All of your objectives should be written down so that you don't lose sight of your original aims. Of course, you may not achieve these aims immediately but, at least, they will be a stated goal for a year, 5 years or 10 years down the line.

A new business does not have to be based on a new idea but it does have to have something that differentiates you from the competition. Are your prices cheaper or do you offer a bespoke or personalised service; whatever that difference is make sure you understand the competition and their capacity to change the way they work so that you are no longer different from them especially if they have a well-recognised brand and already have a foothold in the market

And of course don't forget about the financing – even in today's world of "on demand" services and for many businesses no need to hold large amounts of stock, you will still need a certain amount of money to get started. A website, advertising costs, staff costs all have to be covered somehow.

A good accountant will help with the financial planning side of a new venture and can advise on sources of finance such as a loan, overdraft, government grants and venture capital. This can help minimise the risk of borrowing, ensuring the business and you, as the business owner, avoid a bad credit score. The finance experts at Solution Loans recommend keeping a good credit history to ensure you will never have to rely on loans for people with bad credit to borrow what you need. Accountants can also help you determine which route is most appropriate for your business and the costs involved in the various different approaches. Remember that loans will usually require some security but avoid using personal assets for this. Again take the advice of a chartered accountant who can advise on the best route as well as ensuring you are not paying too much tax, helping prepare a business plan that will secure you a good finance deal as well as various other accounting services.

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