How many people who work five days per week would love to go down to only a four-day work week? Doing this gives you a three-day weekend every single week. This allows you to really recuperate from your work and get time to do the things that you want to do. But how can you do it?

Here are some ideas for cutting back to a four-day work week:

• Work 10-hour days. The easiest way to maintain your lifestyle while reducing the number of days that you work is to continue to work forty-hour weeks but to do so with ten-hour days.
• Switch to a salaried position. Try to find a job that allows you to get paid based on the amount of work that you do rather than the number of hours that you put in. Be productive during those four days and you can take the fifth day off without compromising your job position.
• Reduce your financial needs. If you can find a way to reduce the amount of money that you need then you can pay your bills with a three-quarter-time job position. Most companies still allow you to retain your health benefits if you work over 30 hours per week.
• Start your own business. It’s a lot easier to make a schedule that works for you when you’re your own boss. If your current job isn’t going to allow you to reduce your work week then maybe you should start a business that will!

Are there other options for taking a three-day weekend every week?

Tags: employment, four-day work week, job, kathryn vercillo, time management, work

When you choose to operate your own small business, you are probably thinking primarily about your own interests. You want to do work that you enjoy and you want to be your own boss. However, every business is part of a bigger picture. That’s something that a smart business person is going to realize and work with.

Some of the ways that a single business is part of a bigger business include:

• There is a chain of events that occurs before a product reaches a customer. When you provide a product or service to a customer, you are not participating only in the simple transaction that you appear to be participating in. You are also participating in a small section of the chain of events involved in the bigger picture. This chain includes all of the businesses that came before you in the transaction and any that the customer will then continue on with. For example, Maverick Hammers sells hydraulic hammers to businesses that do mining. All of the people involved in the invention and construction of those hammers come before them in the chain. All of their customers (such as mines) and the customers’ customers (such as jewelry designers) follow them in the chain. If any of these people don’t do their jobs, the chain breaks.
• Every business contributes to competition within the industry. The chain of events requires that businesses work together. However the nature of business is competition between similar businesses. The amount and type of business that one company does directly affects the other companies with which it is competing.
• Each business is a part of a global industry. The choices that the business makes affect the rest of the Earth. For example, if the business decides to outsource its labor to a developing nation then it may improve job prospects in that nation but will contribute to unemployment problems at home. Likewise, a company that pollutes during manufacturing is contributing to global environmental problems. The company doesn’t exist alone but affects the entire world around it.

Even small businesses have to realize that they play a role in a bigger picture. The independent jewelry maker may not think about who manufactured the hydraulic hammers that allowed for the mining of the stones used in the jewelry but that doesn’t mean that the chain of events is irrelevant to the business. Recognizing this encourages every business owner to do their part as well as possible in order to maintain high standards across the industry.

Tags: business, chain of events, kathryn vercillo, manufacturing, small busines

If you have your own website then it’s really important that you know what your website says about you. Many people create a design that they like only to learn later that it’s sending the wrong message about them and their business. It might be worth it to take a survey of others to find out what message is really coming across with the website that you’ve created.

There are a few ways that you could do such a survey:

• Ask your family and friends to share their opinions with you about your website. The downside of this is that they may not be honest because they won’t want to hurt your feelings.
• Put the word out on your social networks that you’re seeking feedback on your website. You reach a broader audience than family and friends this way.
• Post an ad online looking to trade website feedback. This is a good way to get feedback from other people who have websites.
• Pay people to take a survey about your website. You can advertise a job online giving money to people who take your short survey.

The survey should give you an idea of what you need to improve on your website so that it says what you really want it to say about you. Since most visitors won’t spend long on your website you really want to make a good first impression!

Tags: business, kathryn vercillo, survey, web design, website, what your website says about you

One of the best things about the Internet is that it allows you to rapidly read up on a topic that you don’t know much about. I love this because it means that I can explore new interests without having to invest a lot of money (or even much time) in finding information about them. I think this lets me learn about things that I wouldn’t take the time to learn about otherwise.

One of the things that I’ve been researching recently is hydraulic hammers. Just a few short weeks ago, I didn’t know anything about hydraulic hammers. Now I have a really good understanding of the purpose of these tools (which are primarily used in the demolition of large buildings).

The hydraulic hammers that I’ve been looking at recently are Maverick Hammers. This company seems committed to providing high-quality demolition equipment at a fair price. They also provide tech support which I’ve learned is important since the average buyer wouldn’t know what to do if this type of heavy equipment wasn’t working properly.

What’s been really interesting for me about this research though has been the chance to learn about the issues related to manufacturing heavy equipment. One of the biggest issues seems to be the fact that a lot of this work has been outsourced to developing nations. This has put local workers out of jobs and created changes in the industry.

Maverick Hammers has been active in bringing the business back to the U.S. Reading about that has allowed me to learn about the things that U.S. businesses can do to reduce their own costs so that it’s cost-effective for manufacturing to take place here rather than being outsourced.

See what happens when you start to research something online. You start with one topic and end up learning a lot of other great information. Without access to the Internet, I might never have learned about these things!

Tags: business, construction, demolition, heavy equipment, hydraulic hammers, internet, kathryn vercillo, machinery, maverick hammers, outsourcing

People sometimes ask me how I manage to stay on top of all of my work when there isn’t a boss at home telling me to do so. I joke (half-joke, really) that I can’t stomach the idea of having a boss hanging over my shoulder so I’m motivated to stay productive!

The truth, however, is that I’ve learned a lot of little tricks over the years that keep my productivity on track. Here’s a few of those tips:

• Stick to a schedule. One of the things I love about my work is that my schedule is flexible. Despite this, I try to stick to one more often than not because that’s the way to stay productive.
• Set goals. It’s so cliche but setting your own goals really helps you to stay on top of productivity.
• Hold yourself accountable. Do productivity checks throughout the day to make sure you’re meeting your goals. Make a phone appointment with a friend to touch base about how productivity you are (or aren’t) being.
• Use technology in a productive way. Your mobile phone, social networking sites and access to the Internet are all great tools for productivity but only if you’re careful not to let them distract you.
• Cut yourself some slack. Sometimes it’s okay to slack off a little bit. If you beat yourself up when you do, you’ll actually reduce your productivity.

Mostly being productive is about knowing what you want to get done and finding a way to motivate yourself to do it. Do you have any specific productivity tips that have helped you out?

Tags: business, freelance, kathryn vercillo, productivity, time management, tips

I do a lot of writing about different issues in business. Some of these are things that I write about for clients who are interested in having research done that will assist them in their own businesses. But some of these articles are just things that I research and write about because I find them to be interesting. The majority of these articles are articles thatI post to HubPages.

Four business-related topics that I’ve covered on HubPages recently were:

• 10 Tips for Improving Marketable Job Skills. The job market is competitive right now. You really need to make yourself marketable if you’re going to get hired by anyone. I thought I’d learn some tips on how to do that. Most of it’s common sense but it’s good to freshen up on it.
• The Pros and Cons of Using an Online Backup System. I have been thinking seriously about using an online backup system to make sure that my work gets saved. I’ve been burned by lost writing one too many times. Right now I just back things up to another computer and store some things in Google Documents but I think I might look into using a formal system.
• Green Commutes. I don’t have to commute anywhere to work but if I did then I’d like to find a way to do it with public transportation or carpooling.
• 5 Great Female CEOs. I read a cool article in PINK magazine about fifteen leading women in business. Five of them were these interesting CEOs that I wanted to research further. I think they’re really inspiring as female leaders.

There are a lot of different aspects of business that you can research and write about. I like to try to cover a lot of them!

Tags: business, business articles, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, writing, writing about business

I am one of those people who isn’t ever going to be satisfied by doing a single job for the rest of my life. I’m not even particularly satisfied doing only one job at a time now. Instead, I’m one of those people who wants to do a million different things with my life. In addition to work, I want to pursue hobbies and generally just have new experiences.

There are a few things that I’ve found to be really important if you have this type of attitude about life:

• Staying productive. You aren’t going to get a lot done if you can keep your productivity levels high.
• Enjoy downtime. In spite of the fact that I believe in being productive, I also believe that you need to intersperse some downtime into your productivity. You have to relax if you’re going to be able to keep doing lots of things.
• Staying inspired. I read a lot of blogs and books that inspire me to stay productive and to stay creative.
• Enjoy varied activities. It’s too tough to keep going and going at a single type of thing. To enjoy more diversity in your life, you need to immerse yourself in activities that are truly different from one another.
• Accept that you can’t do some things right now. You can pursue every single hobby right this minute. Accept that and enjoy what you can do right now.
• Keep a life list. I have a list of things that I want to do, see and experience throughout my life. I keep it posted where I can see it. I check things off it (and add to it) regularly. When I’m planning out my schedule for the week or month, I check the list to see if I can do any of those things.

Maybe I want to do too much but I’ve found ways to make it possible to do more with my life. I believe in having full days!

Tags: business, kathryn vercillo, life, personal growth, productivity, time management

Almost all businesses have websites. Businesses that want their websites to get noticed already know that they need to make sure that they use SEO / SEM practices to get the attention of online traffic as well as web search engines. It’s just a “must” in today’s business world.

Most businesses hire someone to handle their SEO for them. That is a really smart move since there are a lot of things involved in SEO. It’s really a full-time job to make sure that you’re staying on top of all of the content writing and social promotion that goes into promoting a website so that it stays active on the web.

However, businesses shouldn’t give the whole process over to someone else to handle for them. At least, not without knowing what the SEO situation is all about. A smart business person wants to be capable of doing the SEO work of (s)he has to even if (s)he plans on hiring someone full time to take care of the work.

For that reason, businesses should think about investing in SEO training. This is where an SEO company comes in and teaches you all about how to do proper SEO. This would empower the business to do some or all of its own SEO work if the company so desired. Empowerment is always good!

Tags: busines, internet, kathryn vercillo, sem, seo, seo training, Technology

I have been trying to earn money for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I was always trying to start my own business or to find a job that I could do even though I was young. I remember one time when I got together with some friends and made homemade friendships bracelets and then took them around the neighborhood to try to sell them.

I wasn’t the only one in my family who earned money with my own business. My kid brother learned early on that he could purchase candy in bulk and then sell it individually to kids at school to make a profit. He and my sister also used to scout the ground at every parking lot we ever entered because they knew that they could find loads of dropped change there which would add up.

We weren’t particularly unique kids as far as this goes. In fact, I think that most kids are pretty creative and I would say that most of them want to do something that allows them to earn spending money of their own. The problem is that it’s really frustrating for kids to figure out how to earn money when they aren’t old enough to work yet.

There are definitely options for kids with all different types of skills, though. Take a look at my article on 30 ways kids can earn money to get some ideas!

Tags: businesses for kids, earn money, home business, how kids earn money, kathryn vercillo, kids, kids business, Personal Finance, work

Managers have a complicated role in the office place. They have to accept the rules that are handed down to them from their bosses. They have to then enforce those rules among the people who work beneath them in the chain of command. It can be really stressful. It can also be really rewarding if it’s a position that you enjoy.

Managers may find the following three tips helpful when working with their employees:

1. Keep an eye on employees’ activities but involve them in decisions. It’s important to engage in employee monitoring to make sure that employees are following the rules and staying on task. However, this can lead to employee resentment. That resentment is countered when you include employees in the decision-making process at work. Do this and you’ll find yourself working in a happier office place.
2. Push for the right technology. An office needs up-to-date and correct technology to run efficiently. If you notice that your office needs something important that it’s missing (such as an online backup system) then you should discuss this with company heads to make sure that you get the things that you need.
3. Learn little tricks to avoid wasted time. The less time that you waste, the less stressed out you’re going to be. This will make your work as a manger easier. Learn little tricks to waste less time. For example, use services like doctors that are close to the office instead of far away to reduce commute times.

What else should an office manager know to run the office efficiently without getting stressed out?

Tags: business, kathryn vercillo, management, office, productivity, work