The Educated Emotion

By Filipinayzd (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Hiring a third party for services for a small to mid-size business can be tricky and time-consuming. Payroll services are a good example of this. Even with an office manager or human resources point of contact on staff, there are a lot of intricacies surrounding with holdings, filings, and government regulations like the Defense of Marriage Act, Immigration and Health Care Reform that should probably be left to the professionals. The first step in hiring third party services is knowing what you will remain responsible for in the eyes of the law when you outsource. Next, it is time to shop around. Here are a couple things to consider when shopping around: What Do the Basic Fees Cover...Exactly? Many providers offer a "free" trial for a few months. Unfortunately, these often end up costing a lot ...

There is no getting around it! Monday, with its 700 emails and malfunctioning alarm clock, comes every week. According to a recent study, the average worker is only productive about 3 1/2 hours each Monday. That means at least 5 hours each week employees are paid for complaining about Monday, traffic jams, running kids to school after they missed the bus, locked car keys, eating out after leaving lunch on the counter, stressing out about starting the week, anxiety, head and stomach distress. There is even a 20% increased risk of having a heart attack on a Monday! Even as an entrepreneur with a home office, I still fall prey to the dozens of unplanned distractions each week that all seem to occur on Monday. To help you get through this Monday, and the 32 Mondays left in the year, I have a couple ways to help you be more productive on Mondays. Preparation - I was sick this past weekend. Consequently, my mom and a friend brought me lunch and dinner, respectively, yesterday....

An aerial view of downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Businesses without people are just buildings! Today, The Educated Emotion starts its People Talk Series. This series will teach you how to lose a good prospect, a good client, a good customer, a good employee, and a good referral in 3 days or less!  How to Lose a Prospect Last year, I went shopping for a new gym for the first time in years.  I am, by no means, a "gym rat". In fact,  I could probably live inside of a YMCA and still avoid working out on certain days. However, I do like to see energized, welcoming faces when I go to workout. This makes me think they will notice if I am missing in action - which is a good thing for me. Also, as a new entrepreneur, my time and budget are stretched.  In this quest to find the best fit for me, my lifestyle, and my budget I spent about 6 weeks taking tours of various facilities, taking advantage of complimentary guest passes, and hearing a whole bunch ...

Do you remember when you knew it all? When you had an answer for everything and everyone? If so, you probably recall that you were somewhere between the ages of 13 and 25. By the time you hit your 30's you realize that you know almost nothing - that this universe is much bigger than the human brain. As an adult, each day you are faced with more to learn, to know. As marketing professionals, it is important to make sure that you have knowledge and skill but wisdom to use them effectively. You may be "all tech" but that doesn't mean your customers are. Understanding your audience is as important as understanding your product or service.

As seen in the picture, shown left, I initially began this "short" blog post before going to bed over an hour ago...BEFORE my internet browser decided to go to sleep on me. Fortunately, I have developed tough skin (online). This past weekend I attended a writer's workshop on how to start and operate a blog efficiently. The presenter offered tips on how to start a blog following and increase blog traffic. Somewhere during the abbreviated Twitter tutorial, one of the students said that this (social networking) was like an entirely different world with its own language. It is surprising to me how many people subscribe to this way of thinking - that interacting online is totally different from interacting offline. After surviving the shift from Web 1.0 to 2.0, paying my respects to Myspace, and becoming flexible enough to almost keep up with Facebook changes, I have been through more emotions than the Hallmark Channel. No matter how much expertise you may have intera...