June, 2018

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5 Powerful Communication Strategies for Administrative Assistants

Office Dynamics

Do you have a healthy curiosity that you use in your day-to-day communications? I was inspired today to share with you 5 powerful communication strategies for administrative assistants that I often teach in my World Class Assistant Certification and Designation Program. However, I want to assure you that if you are not in the administrative profession, you will still greatly benefit from today’s topic.

Skills 244
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Technology of the week: Zoom

Practically Perfect PA

Today’s technology of the week: Zoom. Here are all the details… What is Zoom? Zoom is a cloud-based system which provides users with a video-conferencing and online meeting service along with webinars and file sharing functions. What does it do? Zoom has a number of features. You can use it for simple video-conferencing in your […].

Filing 214
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How to Raise Your Visibility at Work

Eat Your Career

About a year ago, I was hosting a training session on the topic of emotional intelligence. I asked the professionals in the room to shout out some of the feelings they experience on an average workday. I heard: happy, frustrated, stressed, angry, overwhelmed, fulfilled, engaged, irritated, and a variety of other applicable words. But then, I heard someone shout a word that made me pause: Invisible.

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The Number of Nonemployer Businesses Continued to Grow in 2016

Small Business Labs

The U.S. Census recently released the 2016 nonemployer business statistics. Key quote from their press release : nonemployer establishments increased 2.0 percent from 24,331,403 in 2015 to 24,813,048 in 2016. Receipts increased 1.5 percent from $1.15 trillion in 2015 to $1.17 trillion in 2016. This continues a pattern of about 2% growth per year in the number of nonemployer businesses over the past couple of decades. Since 2003, for example, the number of nonemployer businesses has increas

2016 193
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The Memory Edge: Outlearn, Outperform, Outlast

Speaker: Chester Santos

Forgetfulness is costing you time, money, and a ton of missed opportunities. In the age of automation, it’s easy to underestimate the power of a well-trained human mind. But memory isn’t just a parlor trick, it's a strategic edge. Human memory is one of the most underrated business skills. Whether you’re managing people, leading sessions, or having high-stakes conversations, remembering names, details, and concepts can be transformative in building trust, absorbing knowledge, and driving perform

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13 Ways You Should be Using Your Smartphone for Business

Tips From T. Marie

Admit it, you don’t go anywhere without your smartphone. It’s ok, the rest of us don’t either. That reason alone is incentive enough to examine just how useful your smartphone is to your business. With more of us enjoying job flexibility today, and with the probability of up to 58% of workers expected to be independent contractors by 2027 , if you’re not using your smartphone for more than texting, calls and email you should be.

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You Can Avoid Multitasking When You Focus on These 3 Things

Productivityist

This is a guest post by Austin L. Church. Austin is a writer and consultant who runs a branding and content agency called Balernum. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his lovely and patient wife Megan, and their two boys and one girl. He would tell you that his family and his faith are the reason he is so gung-ho about improving his focus, his business, and himself.

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Listen to the CEO of a $1 billion startup and his EA discuss their partnership

Practically Perfect PA

At this month’s Practically Perfect PA Virtual Summit we are incredibly lucky to have the Captain of BrewDog, James Watt and his First Mate, Bethany Burns. It’s certainly not every day you get to listen to the CEO of a $1 billion startup and his EA discuss their partnership! BrewDog is an inspirational success story […].

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How to Create a Positive and Productive Workspace

Eat Your Career

This is a guest post contributed by Eleanor Whitney, editor of All Hands , a publication about life at work from Managed by Q. The space where we do our work matters. Americans who are employed full time now work an average of 47 hours a week. In addition, employee expectations for their workplace experience are increasing, and many expect all the comforts of home in their office.

Stress 154
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The Continuing Merging of Coworking, Social Clubs and Gyms

Small Business Labs

Several interesting recent stories illustrate how coworking, social clubs and gyms are merging. CNBC's Companies are making gyms their headquarters - here's why covers gyms that also have coworking spaces. The segment points out that most gyms are cheaper than coworking spaces and in addition to working, you can also work out and socialize. The Business Meets Members Club: Is This The Future Of Co-Working?

2016 159
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Business Logo Creation with DesignEvo

Tips From T. Marie

Because I tend to create my own graphics, I hadn’t explored online options for creating a business logo until DesignEvo reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in taking it for a test run. I agreed because after visiting their service I felt it could be a huge benefit for my readers. – T. Marie. A business logo can be a vital component in branding your business.

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Your Accounting Expertise Will Only Get You So Far: What Really Matters

Speaker: Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA

In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.

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Podcast 099: The virtual team

Clutter Coach

by Subscribe: iTunes ? Stitcher ? Soundcloud ? YouTube ? Google Play. You can leave a review here! This is podcast 99 and it’s about a productivity tool I call the virtual team. You assemble a virtual team with people in your life to help you be accountable. I came up with this idea for one of my clients who’s a consultant. He works for a company but doesn’t have an office there.

Calendars 100
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What to Do When You Have to “Fix and Polish” a Message

Office Dynamics

Suppose your supervisor emails you a message that says, “Fix the attached” or “Polish this piece.” What does it mean to fix or polish a business message? In addition to correcting punctuation, typos, misspellings, and grammar glitches, what’s required beyond that? First, find out what your supervisor thinks it needs. Where does it fall short? What’s missing?

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40 Apple hacks for Assistants

Practically Perfect PA

Now I know not everyone uses Apple products, but a lot of you do, and a lot of your Executive’s do too. So I thought I would share some great hacks that I have found, which will help you get the most from your iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs. These 40 Apple hacks for […].

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5 surprising ways clutter in your home hinders your productivity (and what to do about it)

Productivity Bits

Think your productivity could do with some improvement? You’re certainly not alone. There are a huge number of people looking for ways to increase their productivity every day, but very few of them think to look to their home as a way to do it. Clutter can be a serious hindrance on your efforts at work – and here’s how. Messy home, messy mind There is a saying that anyone who can live or work in a messy environment must have a messy head themselves.

Stress 100
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How To Overcome Change Fatigue In Finance With Neuroscience-Backed Strategies

Speaker: Kim Beynon, CPA, CGMA, PMP

The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.

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Reviewing the BLS 2017 Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements Survey

Small Business Labs

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) caused quite a stir yesterday with the release of their 2017 Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangement (CWS) survey results.  Specifically, the report shows that the share of U.S. gig/contract workers in the U.S. workforce was slightly smaller than they reported the last time the survey was done, which was 13 years ago.

2017 155
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Yes, You Need a Website. Here’s 7 Reasons Why.

Tips From T. Marie

Look, I get it. I know that starting and running a business means a constant evaluation of what to spend money on. Maybe that’s why so many new business owners ask, “Do I need a website?” The answer is, “Yes.” Not maybe, not it depends, it’s just a simple, “Yes, you need a website.”. Period. Those same new business owners are inevitably going to follow up with a big, old, “Why?”.

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Podcast 098: Working on your own

Clutter Coach

by Subscribe: iTunes ? Stitcher ? Soundcloud ? YouTube ? Google Play. You can leave a review here! ?. This is Podcast 98 and it’s about getting organized on your own, whether it’s just you, a couple or a family. If hiring an organizer isn’t in your budget, what can you do? Well, I’m not going to dissuade anyone from working on their own.

Goals 100
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Introduce Yourself to Yourself

Office Dynamics

You’re not the person you once were. Times change. People change. You have changed, too. You owe it to yourself to make time for introspection so that you’re not a stranger to yourself. Don’t wait for quiet time to open up because it never will. There will always be a project to work on, family demands, another errand to run, another memo to write.

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Breaking The Commerce Bottleneck: Your SAP Exit Plan Starts Now

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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Adding some creativity to a regular meeting

Practically Perfect PA

We have all been in charge of regular meetings. Perhaps it’s a formal board meeting with dozens of papers and reports, or maybe it’s a more informal weekly staff get together or something in between. Have you ever thought, I wish I could freshen this up to make sure the attendees get more from the […].

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How to Get More Respect at Work

Eat Your Career

“Respect is like air. When it’s there, you don’t notice it. When it’s not there, it’s all you notice.”. Quote from, “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High”. As many of you know, I do a lot of work with support professionals—administrative assistants, executive assistants, office managers, and so on. This is a group that has traditionally been so overlooked and under-appreciated, the corporate world now has an annual holiday dedicated to acknowledging them–Admin Appr

Holidays 100
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Aspen Institute and Cornell Release Gig Economy Data Hub

Small Business Labs

The Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative and Cornell University's ILR School recently launched the Gig Economy Data Hub , which is a curated online repository of studies, data and information on independent work and the gig economy. The goal of the Data Hub is to provide accessible and comprehensive information about the scope and nature of independent work and the gig economy.

Equipment 140
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Simple Ways to Create a Sustainable Outdoor Office Space

Eco-Office Gals

For decades, you could walk into any office in the country and see much the same thing — individual cubicles, shuttered windows and fluorescent lighting. People assumed this kind of office increased productivity — and for baby boomers, it’s entirely possible it did. Times are changing, though, and open-space offices are becoming the new norm. One way to improve productivity in these offices is to provide outdoor spaces.

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Automation, Evolved: Your New Playbook for Smarter Knowledge Work

Speaker: Frank Taliano

Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.

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Willpower Doesn?t Work with Benjamin Hardy

Productivityist

This week on the Productivityist Podcast, I am joined by Benjamin Hardy. Benjamin has been the #1 writer on Medium.com since 2016 and has organically grown his email list from 0-300,000+ subscribers in 2 years through his writings about self-improvement. His new book, Willpower Doesn’t Work came out this March. In this episode, we dived deep into the psychology of willpower.

2018 86
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Overqualified and Interviewing

Office Dynamics

Overqualified but applied anyway – NOT a desperate move. I have applied for positions I was overqualified for and thankful for what I learned from them. There are a few reasons someone might be overqualified but apply anyway. Rarely, if ever, are any of those reasons a desperate move or because one simply desires contentment or lacks professional development desire.

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Technology of the Week: TravelPerk

Practically Perfect PA

What is TravelPerk? TravelPerk in a free all-in-one business travel platform for modern companies. Save time and money by using TravelPerk’s in-app automated travel policies, approval flows and travel data. All this to make your company’s business travel smart, connected and stress-free. What does TravelPerk do? TravelPerk gives your entire team freedom and visibility when […].

Travel 166
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The self sabotaging paradox of being obsessed with freedom

The Shrink for Entrepreneurs

After a decade playing therapist to entrepreneurs in almost every industry you can name, I’m convinced that The Search for Freedom is one of the most dangerous, destructive ideologies an entrepreneur can pursue. . It will twist your brain. It will make you miserable. You’ll make bad decisions. You’ll likely screw up. And lose. . How could freedom – something so wholesome and valuable on the surface – be so paradoxically toxic?

Goals 79
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Navigating Payroll Compliance: Future-Proofing Payroll in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Speaker: Jennifer Hill

Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.

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The California Creative Economy

Small Business Labs

The Otis Report on the Creative Economy comes from the LA based Otis College of Art and Design.  The report covers the creative economy in California. And as their chart below shows, it's big. The study does a good job capturing self-employed creatives. This is important because independent workers comprise a large share of the creative workforce.

Salary 139
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The Take Over of Green Marketing

Eco-Office Gals

Consumers love products that in one way or another help the environment. This demand for ‘green’ products and services has not gone unnoticed by corporate America. Environmental conservation has played a major role in reshaping the corporate landscape of America since the late 1960’s onward as environmental policy reform began gaining popularity. This support for decreasing pollution and unnecessary waste has translated into a series of laws regulating the American business sector.

2011 100
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How to Say No in the Business World: 4 Tips

Small Business CEO

No. It’s one of the simplest words in the English language. Two letters, one syllable, incredibly commonplace. In fact, it even transcends language. Whether you’re in the jungles of South America, the city lights of Paris, or the plains of the United States, your audience knows exactly what you mean when you say no. Why, then, is it so difficult to tell someone no – particularly in the business world?

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Cleanup and Organize Your Workspace

Office Dynamics

Summer is a great time to do a little cleanup and organize your workspace. Business is usually a little quieter, employees take a vacation, and there seems to be a more relaxed work atmosphere. It is the perfect time for you to get organized before the craziness of business sets in this fall. Clean desks look smart, professional and, well, just organized.

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The Hidden Skills That Separate Good Leaders from Great Ones

Speaker: Chandra McCormack, CPA, MBA, NACD.DC

Technical degrees might open doors—but it’s the soft skills that keep them open. In the face of disruption, evolving workplace dynamics, and rising expectations of leadership, soft skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and presence have become core business essentials—not nice-to-haves. Inspired by stories from her father coupled with her own career journey, seasoned executive Chandra McCormack breaks down how to lead with impact, connect with purpose, and cultivate a workplace cult