Tonight will be my first office Halloween party. I’m nervous because I don’t know what to expect. Everyone was keeping quiet on what their Halloween costumes were, because we are having a contest and everyone wants theirs to be a surprise, so I don’t know if I’ll be overdressed or underdressed. Either way it’s kind of a scary thought.
We’re having the party tonight after the store closes (closing time is 6pm). The ones who don’t work today (like me) are supposed to come around 7pm, to give the closers time to get cleaned up and get dressed in their own costumes. We don’t have a big store or anything, so there shouldn’t be many people, which is good — I’m not very good around lots of people.
Possibly part of my problem is that I feel rather exposed in my costume. I got fairy wings and put together a fairy costume with a ballerina-looking outfit, and I’m going to paint around my eyes with glitter makeup, like circus paint or the way masquerade masks look (you know, the little gold half-masks, except mine will be silver).
If you want to see how I’m doing my makeup, here’s a how-to video of how to create a fairy makeup look:
Besides the costume contest, we’re also going to play a few Halloween games and, of course, pig out on lots of candy. A few of us are planning on hitting the bars afterward.
I guess it should be fun. I just hope I can stop feeling this nervous at some point tonight!
If you are sending your employees on a business trip to New England — say, to attend a conference or training or to meet with representatives from another company — you should seriously consider putting them up at a New England bed and breakfast, rather than doing the typical hotel or motel.
Motels and low-end hotels aren’t the way to go at all, because your employees need things such as Internet access. Also, putting them up at the cheapest possible place isn’t a good idea, because it sends a message to your employees that you are a cheapskate — which is not what anyone wants in a boss.
Business-class hotels have great service and business necessities such as computers, printers, fax machines, and WiFi. However, business-class hotels still pale in comparison to the luxuries of, say, a New Hampshire bed and breakfast. B&Bs tend to have more privacy and better amenities than a large business-class hotel — which means your employees can get more work done, and still feel comfortable about it.
Vermont bed and breakfasts also offer excellent breakfasts, which saves your employees the trouble of deciding where to eat in the mornings — and saves you the trouble of paying for yet another meal. Also, putting them up at a B&B tells them you care and that you’d like them to also be able to enjoy the trip — and happy employees make productive employees.
Besides, since you can always deduct the trip as business expenses, the more important question is, why shouldn’t you put your employees up at a B&B?
A few years ago, a co-worker of my husband (then my boyfriend) invited him and a guest to her wedding. She was a pretty good friend as well as a co-worker, but she also invited quite a few other co-workers — many of whom I don’t think were necessarily good friends.
On the other hand, when my husband and I got married, we had a pretty small wedding and didn’t invite anyone but family and our closest friends. (For hubby, that did include one co-worker — the same one whose wedding we had attended a couple years previously.)
These different scenarios demonstrate a situation that many people aren’t sure to handle: Should you invite your co-workers to your wedding?
I don’t think it is expected in a work environment to send wedding invitations to your co-workers. Wedding announcements — which are simply cards announcing your marriage, sent out on the day of the wedding — are adequate in most cases. However, there are some cases where inviting your co-workers would be appropriate. To decide if this is one of them, you need to ask yourself two questions:
How close are you to your co-workers? If you work with people whom you would consider very close friends, then yes, you definitely should invite them.
How big of a wedding are you having? If you are having a very large wedding, with acquaintances as well as close friends and family, you might want to invite the co-workers that you see every day or have closer working relationships to — your team members, for instance. You don’t need to invite all your co-workers (some companies have hundreds of employees), though you should take care not to create a situation where someone would feel slighted.
Virtually any style of wedding invitation should be appropriate to give to your co-workers as well as friends and family. Traditional wedding invitations are no longer the only formal choices — contemporary wedding invitations such as photo invitations are becoming popular, and DIY wedding invitations have become more common recently.
I am self-employed and on the whole, I love it — I wouldn’t trade it for anything. There are distinct pros and cons of owning your own business, however. Here are a few to consider before you start your own business.
Pros:
Being your own boss. Well, you probably guessed this already. Many people work best when they are self-regulating, and of course there is always the flexibility that being self-employed offers — in many cases, if you need to rearrange your schedule to make time for a doctor’s appointment or an event at your child’s school, you can!
Having greater income opportunities. When you own your own business, you don’t have to wait for a penny-pinching manager to decide to give you a raise. In general, your income is a direct result of how hard you work to grow your business!
Working from home…or wherever you please! Not all small business owners can work from home, but many can. If you can, count yourself lucky — this is one of the best advantages of being self-employed!
Cons:
Long hours. Most startup businesses require a lot of work before they become established. During this initial stage, many small business owners don’t have the money to outsource certain tasks, and end up putting a lot of long hours in. If you can make it through this, however, the result is usually quite rewarding!
Lack of flexibility. Yes, I know I listed flexibility as a pro — but sometimes small business owners find that there’s a lack of flexibility. If you have a store, for instance, you will be bound to store hours. You should keep this in mind when looking at franchise opportunities. Are the store hours something you can commit to?
Vulnerability to the market ups and downs. As an employee, you have to worry about layoffs during periods where the market is slow — but at least then you get unemployment benefits. As a small business owner, you will need to be able to ride the slow times as well as the busy periods. For instance, people who run eBay stores face periods where everything sells really well, as well as periods where sales grind almost to a halt. This requires the ability to plan ahead and always keep some emergency funds in the bank.
I love being self-employed, but realistically it’s not for everyone. Consider the pros and cons carefully before making a decision!
A few years ago, a laptop belonging to the college I had graduated from was stolen. A staff member had taken it home with them, only to have their apartment burglarized. Unfortunately, the laptop contained sensitive information on students dating back 10 years, meaning that a whole lot of students could potentially be victims of identity theft.
Since then, I’ve been a little more cautious about protecting my identity. Most credit cards now offer protection against identity theft, and it’s not too difficult to prove that a new card opened up in your name wasn’t actually opened by you. The problem is all the hassle of having to do this, and the possibility of frozen accounts, debt collectors, and other financial troubles until you get it all sorted out.
Here are some of the things I do to protect my identity now:
Shred sensitive documents before throwing them away. We have one of those home shredders, but eventually I want to upgrade to something a little nicer — not homeland security shredders or anything, but something that will shred in both directions for greater security. i Shop Shredders has a pretty good selection, I think.
Keep an eye on my credit report. In Colorado I get a free credit report every year — not to check my score, but to see what is listed on my report. If I see anything that shouldn’t be there, or an account that I have but that is reported inaccurately, then I’m right on it!
Check my financial accounts online and frequently. No more paper statements for me! Not only are electronic statements environmentally friendly, they also offer greater security because they can’t be stolen out of your mailbox!
Taking certain precautions is important because it dramatically reduces your chances of being a victim of identity theft. Don’t let those dirty thieves get you!
