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How to Be a Rock Star Employee While Working From Your Couch

May 7, 2020
By Latesha Byrd, Money.com –

Working from home has its perks. You can roll out of bed and hop onto a Zoom call within minutes. You can spend your lunch break catching up on Netflix, or household chores.

But as millions of Americans are suddenly figuring out, remote work also brings complications.

It’s hard to build your influence within your team and organization without a physical meeting space. Collaborating with coworkers, and keeping your manager abreast on what you’re accomplishing day-in and day-out, is much more complicated these days.

For some people, that makes it easier to fly under the radar. For others, dissolving the barrier between work life and home life makes it impossible to switch between the two — they’re never NOT working.

So how do you find the line? How can you get your boss to recognize that you’re a superstar employee when they don’t ever see you face-to-face? How can you prove you’re staying productive, and on top of things from a distance, without sacrificing your sanity? (more…)

Military Spouse Turns Idea Into Fully Baked Business

May 4, 2020

It starts with an idea – that “Aha!” moment when you realize your business concept has the potential to be great. But it takes work, dedication and commitment to make that idea a reality. Entrepreneurs with military experience – whether service members, veterans or military spouses – are uniquely positioned to succeed as small business owners.

Jilan Hall-Johnson is a military spouse who used her experience and skills to turn her bruncherie idea into a fully baked business. After her husband, DeMarco Johnson, was stationed in Billings, Montana as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, she was on the hunt for new employment opportunities in the area. Assistance for military spouse employment in Billings was limited, so she decided she was ready to explore entrepreneurship as the next step in her career.

Jilan knew she had a great idea, and the passion and drive to be a small business owner. But she wasn’t sure how to start her business. She decided to turn to her local Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) at Big Sky Economic Development for guidance and support. Jilan and the Big Sky VBOC immediately began working together to put her business idea on paper. The VBOC helped her develop her business plan, establish a marketing strategy, acquire a business location, find access to capital, and accomplish so much more right in her local community. (more…)

4 reasons why canceling restaurant insurance is a big mistake

April 28, 2020
By Insureon Staff –

If you’ve had to temporarily close your restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, you might be tempted to cancel your insurance to save money. This could cost you more in the long run – and expose you to risk.

The coronavirus pandemic is devastating to restaurant and bar owners across the country. While some food and beverage businesses are offering curbside takeout and delivery to offset losses during the temporary shutdown, the financial toll is staggering.

As you explore every avenue to cut costs, you may wonder if canceling one or more of your restaurant’s insurance policies could help. The money you may save now could cost you more down the road.

Before canceling anything, consider these drawbacks. (more…)

Avoid Distractions and Stay Motivated When Working from Home

April 23, 2020
By Meredith Wood, Fundera

Working from home can be great and offers many benefits, but it can also be full of distractions — from children or pets playing in the house to the desire to clean or fold your laundry. Given the current coronavirus pandemic, many businesses across the globe, both big and small, have opted for leadership and employees to work from home.

While we don’t know exactly how long social distancing will last within the workplace, this may mean being your own boss or teammate for the foreseeable future. This isn’t always easy, and it’s truly an art-form which requires a good measure of self-discipline and self-accountability.

Transitioning from a structured day in the office to working from home is a challenge. Oftentimes the biggest struggle is keeping your work life and home life separate by eliminating distractions.

We’ve outlined five common distractions that people face when they’re working alone and from home, along with simple tips to keep yourself motivated as we adapt to this new normal. (more…)

Window shopping and small business success!

April 21, 2020
Success Story: Wisconsin –

Equinox Botanical BoutiqueTo be a small business in this time of Covid-19 is unprecedented, not to mention stressful, emotional, scary and anxiety provoking. So what can you do to make lemonade out of lemons? Small business owner Maria Caravati of Equinox Botanical Boutique in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin is promoting WINDOW SHOPPING!

Community needs now

Maria opened Equinox Botanical Boutique in June of 2019. Before that, her business was also called Equinox but specialized in massage, facials and products. It was a wellness boutique which she operated for 18 years. But over the years she became well versed in plants for food, medicine, wellness and beauty. Maria decided that what her community needed now was basic skills in planting and preparing food from self-sustained back yard gardens. She closed for a month and completely changed her business model.

And then the virus came… and in her own words… she started freaking out! After a phone call to her SBDC consultant, Mary Fischer-Tracy of the UW Parkside SBDC in Kenosha, and a talk about staying calm and utilizing government funding, Maria decided that she had to get back to doing what made her happy and hopeful. She started planting and sharing her plants on social media. Pretty soon, her clients were asking how they could get plants even though she was closed. Maria had an idea! (more…)