Posts filed under 'Q&As'
Are you a business of one who’s wondering whether it’s time to hire an extra pair of hands? Torn between whether you should hire an employee or a subcontractor? Fairly certain that if you don’t start delegating soon your head will implode, but not sure what tasks to farm out, let alone where to find a capable set of extra hands in the first place?
Not to worry. Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears are here to help. Lauren and Emira started Raised Eyebrow Web Studio, Inc. in 2000, so that they could be their own bosses and continue to work with the not-for-profit and small business clients they loved. They became so dang good at it they decided to write a book — The Boss of You: Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business. So without further adieu, here’s what Lauren and Emira have to say on hiring your first employee…
There comes a time in every successful self-employed gal’s life when the question arises: How do I know when it’s time to hire some help?
The first step is to look for the warning signs that going it alone is not working out. For most small enterprises, there’s a good long stretch where you (and your business partner, if you have one) are your only employee(s). Of course, if you’re successful, you’re likely to get busier and busier, up until the point where you stop being able to juggle all the work you’ve got coming in.
We hit this point in our business about three years in, but we didn’t see it for much, much longer. It’s our hope that our tale of woe will inspire others to act promptly when the time comes to bring in an extra pair of hands.
See, between client work and the administrivia of running our business (answering email and phone calls, managing our books, and so on), we found ourselves working longer and longer hours and feeling like we were getting no further ahead. We were losing our weekends at the office, and losing sleep over the prospect of missing deadlines if we slowed down. Our success was killing us — the more work we did, the more referrals our clients sent our way, and we couldn’t keep up with the demand.
So why didn’t we hire someone right then and there? Three big reasons:
1. Fear of financial risk. We were terrified that the moment we hired someone, our workload would drop off and we wouldn’t have enough work to keep everyone busy (and the business profitable). The thought of being responsible for another person’s salary on top of our own was just scary enough to make us hesitate.
2. Fear of change. We liked our little two-person, best-friends-and-business-partners-forever setup. And we knew that dynamic would change the moment we brought another person into the mix. We weren’t ready to step out of our roles as comfortable equals and into being the bosses of someone else.
3. Fear of losing control. Yeah, we were hardcore control freaks. (Or, as our hero Joss Whedon prefers to phrase it, “control enthusiasts.”) We were completely stressed out at the thought we might hire someone who wasn’t as perfectionistic as we were, and see the quality of our work deteriorate.
So where did that leave us? Stuck in overwork hell for another couple of years. Yeah, that’s right, I said years. It got pretty ugly; there were emotional breakdowns on both our parts on a fairly regular basis, due to too much work and not enough play, rest, and perspective. People kept telling us we needed to hire help and we kept arguing with them, telling them we didn’t want to grow, and that we’d find some other way to cope.
(Now, by the way, that’s a perfectly legitimate strategy, but only if you’re comfortable turning down work so that you can stay sane. We weren’t doing that.)
So how did we get over our fears? In short:
1. We discovered that not only will a hard-working employee pay for themselves (in our case, by working a reasonable number of billable hours per week), but will speed up production times (duh) and thereby quicken up the cashflow cycle (because when projects finish faster, the billing date comes sooner).
2. We hired someone we liked. A lot.
3. We peppered our job posting with phrases like “detail-oriented” and “meticulous,” and hired someone just as careful and quality-conscious as we are.
That’s the short version. There’s plenty more on the subject of hiring help in our book. But meanwhile, please feel free to post your questions about hiring here, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
May 5th, 2008
If you or someone you know is graduating this year or thinking about changing careers, check out Alexandra Levit’s brand-spanking-new book, How’d You Score That Gig? A Guide to the Coolest Jobs — and How to Get Them. Reading this book is like going on 60 informational interviews for some of the most coveted careers out there — boutique owner, inventor, video game designer, archaelogist, landscape architect, futurist, classic-car restorer, and on and on and on. Happily for us, Alexandra answered a few of my questions about writing this book and some of its most important take-aways.
Q. What prompted you to write this book?
A. The idea originated as a result of several conversations I overheard at friends’ dinner parties. It seemed that someone at every event always had a job that totally intrigued the rest of the group. People were completely captivated by this individual, and were always curious to know how s/he scored the gig, and what exactly it entailed.
Q. In doing your research for all these careers, what did you unearth that surprised you most?
A. First of all, because I tend to caution people against going to graduate school to prepare for a career they have no experience in and don’t know if they even like, I was encouraged to discover that so many of the dream jobs didn’t require a master’s degree for entry into the field.
Second, it was interesting to find that so many of the jobs I was profiling attracted similar types of people. For example, documentary photographers, travel journalists, news correspondents, and oceanographers are all rather spontaneous and thrive on new and varied experiences. This led me to develop my seven “passion profiles” — adventurer, creator, data-head, entrepreneur, investigator, networker, and nurturer — and place my 60 cool jobs into the appropriate categories. Readers can take a quiz at the beginning of the book to see what passion profile and corresponding jobs best suit them.
Q. Was there one refrain you kept hearing over and over in the interviews you did with these dream careerists?
A. It’s not about talent, it’s about persistence. Most of these careers are tough to penetrate, but not impossible. If you take the right steps and push hard enough, for long enough, you will eventually break through the wall.
Q. Were there any dream careers you once mythologized that now have you thinking, “Ugh, I could never ever do that!”? Any that you’d initially looked down on that now have you raising an eyebrow?
A. I used to think that it would be amazing to own my own business, but after speaking with dozens of entrepreneurs, I’ve realized that it’s incredibly hard work. You have to sacrifice your personal life for a long time to get things off the ground, and frankly, I don’t know if I have what it takes. I didn’t exactly look down on any of the top careers per se, but I was pretty surprised when school teacher ranked so highly in the survey. I wouldn’t have personally considered this a dream job, but the teachers I interviewed were some of the happiest, most satisfied people in the entire book.
Q. What are the top three things a newbie with no experience in their dream field can do to break in (aside from applying to grad school)?
A. This tends to vary by field, and How’d You Score That Gig? provides specific guidance on how to break into different ones, but here is some general advice:
- Join an appropriate professional organization and attend events regularly.
- Seek out volunteer opportunities.
- Research individuals doing your dream job, and set up informational interviews with them.
Q. Give us your best informational interviewing tips.
A. Use the Net, your contacts, and your college’s career center to set up informational interviews with people already working in your career of choice so that you can learn more about what the job actually encompasses. In these meetings, which will usually take place via the phone, don’t be afraid to ask specific questions about training requirements, responsibilities, salary, work environment, and opportunities for advancement. As long as you are polite, no one will fault you for wanting the real scoop, and if a job is not as glamorous as it sounds, you want to know that before investing your time and energy.
Q. How do you account for a complete career 180 in a resume and cover letter, say if you’re applying for an internship or entry-level gig in a field you have zero experience in? What do you say (especially if you’re in your mid-thirties and above)?
A. Instead of writing a resume that lists your previous and unrelated jobs, which might have your potential new employer questioning the relevance, create a functional one that’s organized by transferable skills that would be applicable in your new career, such as client relations, project management, and budgeting. This will turn their attention to what you know already as opposed to what you might be missing because you haven’t worked in the field before.
Q. So many people choose miserable complacency in a career they loathe because they’re worried about the financial ramifications of starting at the bottom again. Or they’re scared of change. What advice can you give to light a fire under their butts?
A. First, ease into a new career one foot at a time. Perhaps this means earning a paycheck at your current job while doing a part-time internship in your new field or taking an adult education class or workshop on the weekend. The only way to find out if you’re passionate about something is to try it, and to do so risk-free will make it less daunting.
Also, remember that any progress is good progress. As you say, even confident people stay in unsatisfying jobs because they feel safe, and because they’re afraid of making a bad decision. But in the quest to uncover a source of meaningful work, your worst enemy is inertia.
Q. Were there any careers you’d initially planned to put in the book that landed on the cutting room floor? Why?
A. There was only one — astronaut. This career made the Top 50, but I couldn’t include it because NASA refused to grant me an interview. I pursued their PR department for weeks to no avail. I feel they missed a terrific opportunity to promote their field to the public.
April 16th, 2008
Some of you may know Ariel Meadow Stallings, author of Offbeat Bride, the book and web phenom. She’s also the subject of my current “How’d you land that great job?” column in the Seattle Times, as her part-time day job as a blogger at Microsoft is pretty dang enviable. Following are excerpts from my Q&A with her.
The job: “I never thought my silly Internet addictions would actually be useful,” says freelance writer and author Ariel Meadow Stallings, who’s kept a personal blog since 2000. But in the Microsoft job she’s had for the past year, being Facebook-savvy isn’t just useful — it’s essential. As a marketing manager on the software giant’s staffing team, the Seattleite spends much of her time publishing Microspotting, a blog profiling some of Microsoft’s most notable employees, from a Peruvian rockstar to a technical editor known as That Goth Girl to the company’s infamous mystery blogger Mini-Microsoft.
Q. How did you get this job?
A. About a month after I’d been laid off from [a] startup job, I got an e-mail from a colleague who I’d met at a blog conference in 2006. She started the e-mail congratulating me for getting back to my freelance career, and then said, “Just in case you’re interested, I heard about this job at Microsoft…”
I was going to stop reading right then. I wasn’t looking for a full-time job, let alone a job at The ‘Soft. In the late ’90s, I’d worked a contract gig at Microsoft, [doing] content editing, and it was such a bad fit that I was fired after two weeks and literally escorted out of the building.
But then I noticed the job was part-time — and permanent. That hit a special and rare sweet spot for me, as I’d have the benefits of a permanent gig (Helloooo, health insurance!) but still have time to work on all my freelance projects. I wouldn’t have considered the job if it had been a 40-hour-a-week position.
Q. What does a week in the life of Ariel at Microsoft look like?
A. I try to get a new [employee] profile up every week or two on Microspotting, so there’s a fair amount of behind-the-scenes researching and networking that goes on. I’m obsessed with conveying the diversity of Microsoft in my profiles, so I do a lot of mulling over whether I’ve already profiled too many white-dude testers vs. female Indian developers vs. older gay Inuit program managers. I want the stories to stand on their own as interesting and noteworthy, even without the marketing angle.
Once I’ve got a person I know I want to profile, I meet with them to record an interview and take a few photos. That’s actually been a surprisingly fun part of this job — somehow I’ve become a corporate photographer. But I try to take unexpected shots of people having fun and being themselves. I’m not into the stuffy head shots.
Like any journalist, there’s transcribing and writing up the interview, and then pushing it live on the Web site. I also manage promoting the site — mostly using social media sites like YouTube and the photo site Flickr and the bookmarking site Digg. And I’m managing the development of a Facebook application for my team and helping with the Workin’ it @ MSFT fan page.
Q. What advice can you give hopeful corporate bloggers?
A. Just blog! And then blog more! And read blogs! And blog more! Blogging for yourself is the best training you can do — especially if you get into the metrics, like your Web stats. Granted, it’s not easy work (there’s nothing sadder than an abandoned blog that hasn’t been updated for 18 months), but the payoffs are remarkable. You’ll show up higher in search engines, get questions/comments from people you didn’t know were looking at your Web site and have the opportunity to impress your prospective employers with your latest thoughts.
You also can’t just be a writer. Even though modern blog tools make it easy to get by without much design knowledge, having a basic understanding of HTML and how the Web works will go a long way in making things better.
Networking is huge too. I attended blog conferences like BlogHer and Blog Business Summit and met lots of amazing folks, one of whom recommended me for this very job.
Want more? Read the whole profile here.
March 20th, 2008
We had ourselves such a lively conversation about grad school last month, I thought the topic deserved another look. I recently did a Q&A about all things higher ed with Kristina Cowan, aka The Salary Reporter, at PayScale.com. Kristina has more than a decade of experience reporting on education and the workforce. Here’s her take on higher ed, community college, trade school, and recession-proof gigs.
Q. I’m a big fan of not using grad school as the “I don’t know what else to do next” default. In the The Anti 9-to-5 Guide, I suggest auditing classes and talking to students in programs you covet before enrolling. Can you offer other tips for weighing a program you’re interested in?
A. It’s a good idea to interview others in the field you’re exploring. Talk to a professor at the school you’re considering, as well as professionals working in the industry. Request informational interviews by phone or, ideally, in person, and prepare a set of questions. A good one to ask is: Will a master’s degree help speed me along the career path and boost my paychecks? I did this when I was exploring a master’s degree in journalism, and found it very helpful.
Ultimately, you should determine the pricetag of graduate school, and whether the advanced degree will truly advance your career and increase your pay enough to justify the expense. Do as much research and talk to as many people as possible so you make a well-informed decision.
Q. When grad school isn’t required for making strides in a particular career path (for example, writing) what are the most compelling reasons to go?
A. I chased a master’s degree in journalism for two reasons I thought were compelling: I knew I could get hands-on experience from the school I picked (Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism). I’d get a chance to write and report for real publications in both the Chicago and Washington, D.C. areas, while getting guidance from professors with plenty of journalism experience. I also knew I’d come away with clips I could use when interviewing for jobs.
The other reason was networking. Medill’s alumni and professors form a strong circle of seasoned journalists at every level and in every medium; they’re individuals on fire for the Fourth Estate. I owe much of the last eight years of my journalism career to that network and my Medill experience.
Q. More and more career paths don’t require a college degree, and more and more students can’t afford a college education at all. If a person is clear on the career path they want to pursue and it doesn’t require a four-year university degree, would you advise them to save themselves the cost and skip the diploma? Go to a more affordable community college instead?
A. I always argue in favor of a bachelor’s degree. I’ve read a slew of studies and talked to countless career and education experts who say a bachelor’s degree these days is what a high-school diploma was years ago: almost essential if you want to make it in this world. I wrote a story for PayScale.com exploring the value of a bachelor’s degree, where I report that earnings tend to rise as education levels increase.
That said, higher ed’s skyrocketing costs are scary and disheartening, but they shouldn’t be a deterrent. Community colleges are an excellent, inexpensive option, and they’re incredibly accessible: according to the American Association of Community Colleges, there are 1,195 in the United States. Students should consider spending their freshman and sophomore years at a two-year school, and then transferring to a four-year school. To help pay the bills, they can do work-study or find off-campus jobs.
At the end of the day, college teaches young people about accountability, responsibility, and organization — essentially, what it means to be an adult. I don’t remember much about the facts I learned or the essays I wrote as an undergrad, but I do remember learning how to fend for myself, pay bills, and take responsibility for my future. It was my first taste of independence, and I’ve never looked back!
Q. I’ve interviewed a number of women over the years who’ve rejected the corporate grind from the get-go — or rejected it after a decade or two — for work in the trades (firefighting, bus driving, construction). Do you think trade school is the new graduate school?
A. Trade school can be invaluable. It provides real-world experience you can’t get in a classroom or through a book. I think it’s especially useful for career-changers who want to gain skills and put them to use relatively quickly.
Q. Any tips for a person with a traditional college education who’s considering embarking on a one-year or two-year trade school program? What might they find different in their new program, and what perceptions do they need to let go of?
A. Depending on the person’s age, re-entering anything associated with the word “school” can be daunting. But the truth is, we all should approach learning as something we do throughout our lives. There is no right or wrong age to attend a trade school, community college, or a four-year institution. Demographics in our country are shifting swiftly, as baby boomers retire or change careers and Generation Y comes of age. We must let go of the dated notion that school is for kids. School is for us all.
Q. Do you think there are there any truly recession-proof jobs?
A. It’s important to remember nothing in life is guaranteed — except death and taxes, as the saying goes — and that includes careers and jobs.
Still, some career paths are more fail-safe than others, such as health care, information technology, education, and jobs with the U.S. government. So-called green jobs are another option. The green arena, which includes energy and environmental industries, is growing quickly and there’s high demand for workers in a variety of positions. You can see my recession stories here and here.
Want more Kristina? Visit The Salary Reporter on PayScale.com.
March 4th, 2008
If you’ve visited this blog before, you know I have a love-hate relationship with the web. In the interest of attempting to overcome some of my Luddite fears, I recently put these web productivity questions to Anne Zelenka, web technologist, former editor of Web Worker Daily, and author of Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working.
Q. Some days, I feel like email is the bane of my existence, tempting me away from deadlines and productivity. How do you recommend self-employed types stay on top of email without letting it rule their life?
A. There are numerous schemes for managing your inbox, but what’s worked best for me is a post-email era approach. I don’t get all my information through email. For example, I use Twitter to stay in touch with my online professional network, instant messaging for quick discussions with colleagues or clients, del.icio.us bookmarks to share things I find interesting, and blogging to think out loud with feedback. That lightens the load on my email inbox and it makes me feel more hooked in throughout my workday. Email on its own can feel a bit disconnected, I’ve found.
Q. At the expense of sounding like I’m writing a white paper for one of my software clients, I have to ask: What are three things even a Luddite like me can do to use the web more effectively and boost productivity?
A. You’re a great example of the most effective way to use the web to succeed in your work life: get yourself a professional presence online with a blog or other website. Don’t focus on making advertising dollars from it — use it to make connections and promote your work. Most of all, be authentic online so that when opportunities come to you because of your online profile they will be opportunities you’re really excited about pursuing.
Q. What are some of your favorite online tools for freelancers?
A. The tool I rely on most for managing my work life is Google Docs. I use spreadsheets to track income and expenses and documents to plan projects and collaboratively edit papers. Gmail, Adium (an instant messaging aggregator), and Twitter keep me hooked in with my professional network — and I couldn’t succeed without that.
Q. You have an entire chapter on online money management, including tips for freelancers. Can you share one or two of those web banking tips for freelancers?
A. If you’d like a good and secure way to manage your various financial accounts, check out Wesabe. It offers a downloadable tool into which you input your login and password information, then you can regularly update your transaction information and see where you’re spending your money and what your balances are. It includes a social network where you can swap tips and share financial goals — so it’s like the Web 2.0 version of Quicken.
If you have a lot of clients and need to manage a bunch of invoices, check out FreshBooks. That site makes it really easy to create and send invoices then track payments.
Q. Despite the fact that this will be outdated next month, what are your favorite social networks for freelancers who want to mingle and market online? Or do you think social networks are one big fat timesuck?
A. Three sites I like for freelancers and in particular freelance writers are Freelance Switch, Freelance Writing Jobs, and mediabistro. These aren’t specifically social networking sites, but Freelance Switch and mediabistro include forums and Freelance Writing Jobs gets good discussions going in the comments.
I tend to network with other web technology geeks, since that’s my main area of expertise. For that, I like Twitter and also networking via blogging. I’ve tried Facebook and it hasn’t been all that useful to me professionally.
Q. As a freelance writer, when I’m in the thick of trying to bang out a draft, email and an open browser is the kiss of death. Do you work on deadline with your inbox and browser open? Just wondering.
A. When I was working on the book, I regularly closed my browser, including my inbox (I use Gmail), and set my instant messaging status to “writing.” I write blog posts on deadline with my browser open because I need it to do research and I’ve trained myself to work while I’m connected. This kind of group-oriented productivity is something you can learn to do, and it’s a mode that we see teenagers of today often using. They stay in constant contact with their friends and use multiple electronic tools, switching back and forth as necessary.
Q. You mention a preference for pen and paper when it comes to writing to-do lists. Why is this? Any other parts of the workday we should be reserving for paper?
A. I personally love the physical experience of writing and rewriting my to-do list, then crossing off items when I’ve finished a task. I also like to be able to take my to-do list away from the computer to work on it, where I feel like I gain some perspective on my priorities. Paper is generally useful for you want to slow yourself down and take a broader perspective. If I want to really think about something — a blog post I’ve written in draft, a project plan, a list of goals — I do it on paper.
Q. In the book, you talk about this brave new way of working called “bursty work.” Can you explain what that is and why we should be doing it?
A. I came up with the idea of bursty work when I realized that many career achievements arrive in discontinuous leaps rather than through step-by-step action.
I observed that many people working online had different habits than [those in] the typical 9-to-5 gig. Instead of working standard hours, they would work when they felt like it, according to their energy, sometimes in bursts. Instead of shutting themselves off from other people in order to get solo work done, they would stay connected via instant messaging or social networking or other electronic tools and get information and inspiration from colleagues and associates throughout the work day. Instead of building things totally from scratch (or just on top of what their coworkers built), they would use what they found online — whether open source software or research that someone had already done or photos that someone else took — to get where they needed to in leaps and bounds rather than step by step.
The reason the web promotes a bursty style of work is because of the network of people and ideas it makes available to us. Instead of just having ourselves and our office coworkers available to us, we have a whole wide world of resources just a hyperlink away. This means you can navigate shortcuts instead of always working step by step.
In practice, bursty work often builds on busy work — there will always be projects where you have to spend lots of dedicated, focused time working step by step towards a goal. Building a network of professional connections, for example, takes effort over time. But once you’ve done a lot of the busy work, bursts of innovation or achievement may happen almost as though by magic. It’s not magic, though; it’s navigating a network.
You can read more about busy vs. bursty in the Web Worker Daily article I wrote on the topic.
Want more web tips? Visit Web Worker Daily and get your copy of Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working.
February 25th, 2008
I admit it. I hate to cook. I eat out of boxes and cans and to-go containers more than I should, even though I prefer a healthy, homemade meal 10 to 1. That’s why I was excited when Ann Martin Rolke sent me a copy of her book, Hands-Off Cooking: Low Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People, which clearly was written for lazy and/or no-time-in-the-kitchen sorts like me. Yummy, healthy recipes (Tandoorish Chicken! Fridge Cleaning Frittata! Nutty Pumpkin Lasagna!) that I can’t burn if I have to dash off to my computer and get down one more sentence? What could be better!
As an extra treat, Ann answered a few questions for the blog. Read, drool, buy.
Q. What prompted you to write the book?
A. I was actually approached by an agent who I had spoken to previously about ghostwriting a book with a chef. She used to be a cookbook editor and thought this idea hadn’t been really explored yet in a cookbook.
Q. What 5 to 10 staple ingredients should busy self-employed people always have on hand in their cabinets and fridge so they can easily whip up dinner in 15 minutes or less?
A. Canned tomatoes, canned beans, rice, skinless chicken or fish, garlic.
Q. Any unexpected kitchen equipment hands-off cooks need to stock their cabinets with?
A. I don’t know if it’s unexpected, but a heavy-duty pot is a must for braising and soups (like Le Creuset) and I use my 9 x 13-inch casserole several times a week. I do think an oven thermometer and kitchen timer with multiple settings (so you can time more than one thing at once) are great to make sure everything goes well!
Q. What’s your favorite “I’m on a crunch deadline and need to burn the midnight oil” dinner or late-night snack recipe?
A. Baked pita chips and hummus.
Q. What’s your favorite comfort food recipe?
A. Indian food lately — something easy like my Aloo Cholay from the book or some naan that I buy frozen and reheat, smeared with some simple yellow split peas cooked with spices until they’re like refried beans. So comforting!
Q. How much cash do you think busy working women stand to save by making hands-off recipes instead of ordering take-out or buying a to-go meal at the local market?
A. Well, depending on where you grocery shop, you can really eat well for not much money. We don’t eat meat every night, for example, and that keeps the costs down and the vegetable intake up! So say you normally would spend $7 to 10 a person for to-go (not fast food); you can easily feed four people for $10 and make a great lasagna, soup, or vegetarian curry.
Q. Anything else you’d like to add?
A. The whole idea of this book was to make cooking flavorful, healthy meals less time-consuming and more accessible. We’re all so used to eating lots of different ethnic cuisines and constantly trying to balance health with convenience. So I really tried to make my recipes easy to put together but full of flavor, color, and texture, so that they’re really satisfying.
Want a taste? Order this fine cookbook now. Or visit Ann’s blog for recipes and other quick-cooking tips.
February 14th, 2008
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I bring you this interview I did with Judy McGuire (Seattle Weekly Dategirl columnist) on love in the workplace for nine-to-fivers, freelancers, and temps alike. Judy’s hot-of-the-presses book, How Not to Date, which features more women and men behaving badly than a Jerry Springer show, had me guffawing out loud. Whether you’re looking for the perfect antidote to this incredibly meaningless holiday, need a few tips on how not to behave around potential paramours, or are happily shacked up but could use a good laugh, I highly recommend it. And if you’re in New York or like getting your giggles by web radio, check out Judy’s east coast events and weekly broadcast.
Q. I can see how screwing your boss, your underlings, or anyone else on your immediate team could come back to bite you in the pants. But what if you hold lust in your heart for someone you don’t interact with on a daily basis, like Darcy in Accounting or Dirk in Marketing? Should you go for it? Any tips as to how?
A. I had a long-term relationship with someone I started off sharing an office with, so I don’t really go in for that whole “don’t poop where you eat” way of thinking. Sure, it might get uncomfortable if things don’t work out, but if you look at the bright side, the resulting drama could entertain your coworkers for months.
Sadly office party season has ended so you can’t do the tried and true drunken lurch under the mistletoe, but there’s always happy hour. Invite your intended out, ostensibly for a group happy hour, but “forget” to ask anyone else. This works best if you can catch him or her while they’re on their way out the door (thus assuring no pesky tagalongs).
Q. Any departments you should never, ever, ever touch, not even with your Mother’s vajayjay? (I’m thinking HR might be a no-no.)
A. Mining the Human Resource department for tail is definitely a bad idea, but I think fooling around with anyone in the IT department is far worse. Those techie types can hack into your email, which is a no-win for any dater. In the beginning, he can read all the mushy crap you’re telling your girlfriends about him — thus costing you any pretense of game — and then after you break up… well, that can be even worse.
Q. What if you’re a temp or contractor who’s going to be out of there in three months? Do the same rules of office chastity apply?
A. But being a temp is like being bisexual — it simply widens your dating pool. Who cares if you’re banging the boss if you’re onto the next job in two weeks? What is it my Nike sneaks are always telling me — “Just do it!”
Q. Many a nine-to-fiver meets their romantic match not at work, but through it — a coworker fixes you up, or your eyes lock across the color copier with that sweet young bike messenger. We work-from-home types miss out on all these potential cubicle hookups. Any suggestions as to how we, too, can exploit our jobs to get laid?
A. Even if we’re lucky enough to work at home in our PJs, most of us still have to either talk or email with other humans. I’ve found that married people are almost always anxious to fix a sister up. They’ll try to fool you into thinking that they feel sorry for your sad single self, but really, your uncomplicated, uncommitted sex life is utterly fascinating to them, so let them have at it. The only problem being is that they’re going to want details. “Wait, you didn’t meet him until ten! At night?!? Did he kiss you? Did you guys, you know, do it?!?!”
That can get kind of annoying, but if you’re the indiscrete type anyway, it’s a small price to pay. Plus, spilling dirty details will inevitably spice up your tragically married friend’s sex life, so you’re really just repaying the favor.
Q. You’re a freelancer who’s lucked into an invite to her star client’s annual holiday party. Do you teetotal, or is it okay to have a glass of wine or three and hit the dance floor?
A. Um, you’re asking a woman named McGuire whether or not you should drink? I’m afraid I don’t understand the question.
Want more McGuire? See her live in NY next week. Listen to her on the radio every Friday. Read her hilarious blog. And by all means, get her book!
February 6th, 2008
Over the past week plus, personal finance gurus Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, authors of On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance, have kindly answered a bunch of questions on this blog, including the one that follows. You can read the previous Q&As here (part 1), here (part 2), and here (part 3). I want to thank Manisha and Sharon for generously sharing so much of their financial know-how on this blog. This concludes the question-and-answer part of the program, girls and boys, but if you want to learn more about Manisha and Sharon’s book, visit their website, OnMyOwnTwoFeet.com.
Annie asks: How aggressive should I be about investing my retirement funds in the current economy? I’m 23 with a brand new 401(k). I know I shouldn’t be afraid to choose riskier options at my age, but I’m worried this option might backfire pretty badly in the short run. I hate to sound like an alarmist, but what do you recommend as far as how to invest during uncertain times? Thanks!
The MBAs answer: Great question! The conflicting economic news these days is enough to make any sane person’s head spin. You are wise to raise this question. The key to answering it is two-fold: (1) This is your RETIREMENT money, and (2) You are VERY YOUNG.
In other words, the money you put in your 401(k) is money you should not plan on touching until you are at least 59 1/2 years old. (Yes, there are certain circumstances where the government will allow you to access that money penalty-free before then. But heck, the point of that money is to fund your retirement, so best to stay away from that cookie jar in the interim.)
As such, you very well may see your balance go up and down — in fact, up and down quite a bit at times. However, until you close in on retirement, until you hit age 50, we think it’s best to keep that investment gas peddle to the floor and stick with those more aggressive investment options. Remember, you won’t be SPENDING that money between age 23 and age 59 1/2, so it’s ok if its upward trajectory is a little wild.
The reason is that no one can predict where the market will go — but when when it does move up, history has shown us that it tends to do so very quickly and with no advance warning. For instance, if you look back over the last 10 years, studies show that 90% of the return you made in stocks came from less than 10% of the trading days. But alas, no one knows for sure which 10% of the days those big moves will come on. That’s why for years smart investors have said investment success is about “time IN the market,” not trying to “time the market.”
Our favorite keep-it-simple option if your 401(k) plan offers it is a target-date retirement fund, which is a mutual fund that will adjust to “right” level of aggressiveness based on your age. But the most important thing is that you are participating in your 401(k). At your age, that puts you solidly in the drivers seat on the path to financial nirvana. Go you!
January 14th, 2008
Last week, personal finance rockstars Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, authors of On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance, kindly answered a bunch of questions on this blog. You can read the Q&As here (part 1) and here (part 2). Manisha and Sharon also agreed to answer five questions from you. So far, we’ve only received one (answer below), which means we get four more freebies. If you have a personal finance question for these two Harvard MBAs, post it in the comments by Monday.
Rachel asks: I’d love to hear some advice on how all these savings and retirement ideals fit into credit card debt. My income has stabilized but I’ve got a little debt from starting my business — should I be stashing money anywhere else besides into paying this off?
M & S answer: Ahhh, your question warms our heart. It’s such an important question that we actually devoted a whole chapter of our book (Chapter 10) to it! The short answer is that your goal is to balance the two rather than take an all or nothing approach. Our argument is that while focusing solely on paying down your credit card debt is mathematically the hands-down answer, practically, if you wait to start saving until all your debts are paid off, odds are high you won’t get there. (It’s like saying you’ll start dieting AFTER your local grocery store stops selling premium ice cream in your favorite flavor!) We go into much more detail in our book, but our favorite plan of action is the following:
- First and foremost, make the minimum required payment ON TIME, EVERY MONTH on all outstanding debts.
- Save $2,000 as a “starter” emergency fund.
- If your employer has a 401(k) type plan that offers a “match,” contribute as much as you need to get the full match.
- Continue to build up your emergency fund to at least 3 months (ideally working up to 6 months) of your essential living expenses.
- Now pay more than the monthly payment on any credit card debt. (If your debt is $5,000 or less, pay at least an extra $50 a month EVERY month; if your debt is between $5,000 and $10,000, pay an extra $100 EVERY month; and if it’s over $10,000, pay an extra $150 EVERY month until all that debt is wiped out.)
- Now if you want to buy a home, you can start saving for a down payment.
- If you don’t want to buy a home (or already have one), keep saving for retirement.
One important caveat: These are rules of thumb. The final choice is always up to you. If your credit card debt is making you dry heave every time you think of it, well, by all means swap steps (4) and (5) and accelerate the debt pay-down first. Our primary point is that getting in the habit of saving is like starting to floss your teeth. Once you get going, you wonder how you ever did without. This is why we think it’s so important to do at least a little saving while you are working off your debt. Finally, go you for being interested enough in your personal finances to ask us a question — that speak volumes about your mojo!
Have a personal finance question for Manisha and Sharon? Post it in the comments by Monday.
January 10th, 2008
Yesterday I posted part 1 of my Q&A with personal finance goddesses Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar, authors of On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance, a book which I cannot recommend highly enough. If I had my way, it would be required reading in every high school, college, and workplace in America. (Who knows how much financial heartache and credit card debt I might have avoided had this book been around when I was in my twenties?)
In today’s post, Manisha and Sharon answer my questions about whether to use cash or credit, managing that blasted quarterly-tax stash, and buying a home as a single, self-employed gal. (You can read part 1 of my interview with Manisha and Sharon here, where we discuss savings and investments.) And if any of you have a personal finance question you’d like Manisha and Sharon to answer, feel free to post it in the comments. They’ll pick five questions to answer on this blog next week.
Q. When it comes to making business purchases for which you have the cash in hand, are you a fan of using ATM cards and checks, or credit cards all the way? I know a lot of freelancers and small business owners try to put all expenses on one credit card to make for cleaner expense records (myself included). Any pitfalls to watch out for?
A. It’s a personal choice — and personally, we prefer using one credit card for all business related expenses provided you always pay off the card on time and in full. Using the credit card can provide an extra layer of protection in case a vendor doesn’t come through with a service (because you can lodge a complaint with the credit card company and stop payment). It also makes for easy record keeping. If the thought of using plastic, however, makes you stay up at night, the world won’t fall apart if you use debit cards or checks.
Q. As a freelance writer, my business overhead is low low low. In the past I’ve had a separate business checking account, but eventually I decided it was a waste of hidden fees and closed it. Is there any reason I should have a business checking account that I’m not thinking of?
A. The main reason to have a separate business checking account if you are self-employed is to help reduce the temptation to spend money you need for work and to keep your record keeping simple. If you’ve got the willpower not to touch money set aside for your work expenses and your record keeping is straightforward, by all means reduce those fees and have just one account.
Q. For years I’ve used a savings account to store the portion of my freelance (1099) income that I need to send to Uncle Sam four times a year for my quarterly estimated tax payments. But I’m starting to think I should be keeping this cash in a money market that has check-writing privileges, where I can earn about 3 percent higher interest. Are there any pitfalls to doing this?
A. So long as the money market is at a reputable financial institution (that means FDIC insured if it’s a bank) or a nationwide presence if it’s a discount brokerage house (like a Vanguard, Fidelity, or Charles Schwab), you’re in good hands!
Q. When I bought a house a couple years back, I had to show the bank three years’ worth of federal tax returns because I was single and self-employed and my income was unpredictable. I remember sitting across the desk from my mortgage broker, wondering if I should have claimed less business expenses on my annual tax returns and maybe taken a little extra work for a year or two before buying the house, just to beef up my business profit margin (and in turn, annual income). Is this a wise strategy for small business owners, especially now that mortgages aren’t as easy to get?
A. It’s a strategy, but we wouldn’t call it wise — we’d call it aggressive. Mortgages that you can’t afford are hard to get these days. But if you are looking to buy a house the “old-fashioned way” — with a 20% down payment, and a 15- or 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — and if you have good credit, you’ll be fine.
Said slightly differently, if you have to contort your finances to get a mortgage, that’s a sign that what needs work is your finances. When you strip away all the media buzz, the truth of the matter is that what’s hard now is to get a mortgage for a house with less than 20% down and/or if you have bad credit. And if that’s your situation, we’d say you’re not ready to buy a house yet. Tough love, but meant to protect the self-employed gal over the long run!
Want more? You can read part 1 of my interview with Manisha and Sharon here. You can buy their fabulous book here. And if you have a personal finance question you’d like Manisha and Sharon to answer next week, post it in the comments. They’ll pick five of the best questions to answer on this site next week.
January 4th, 2008
Previous Posts
