Own Your Power

 

 

Calculating your annual cost structure? Be sure you count these.

 

I had a whiz-bang financial model when I set out to ramp up Kohort, the social media start-up I co-founded. But even the best formatting and niftiest Excel tricks won’t overcome the wrong inputs in your expense line.

Here are the top five expenses you could easily forget to plan for:

• Benefits & Employee Taxes: If you haven’t made payroll before you might not know that the government charges you for employing people. The taxes vary by state and city, but be ready to pay above and beyond salaries. In addition, if you offer your team benefits, which you’ll likely need to do in order to be competitive in the labor market, that’ll add to the bill.

• Office Brokers & Equipment: When you get your first office (which might take a while, even after a seed round), the building will typically pay the broker fee. There are some instances, however, in which the building won’t pay it and you’ll need to. You can probably avoid this fee by asking brokers about it upfront, but you ought to set aside a little money for it if you’re planning to get an office during the horizon of your budget. The other thing to consider is office “fitup” costs—furniture, electrical wiring, Internet installations, cleaning, and appliances. You might end up paying for these in addition to monthly rent…and it can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

• Property & Casualty Insurance: Another line item that blindsides most entrepreneurs is insurance. There’s insurance to cover you if your programming code doesn’t work, insurance to protect your board members from lawsuits, and life insurance on “key” employees (founders). Insurance can add up. In the early days of the company, you could be looking at a $10,000 to $15,000 annual insurance bill.

• Trademarks & Domains: While most of us budget for legal fees tied to corporate formation, partnership agreements, and investments, there is a sneaky set of expenses that lurk around the corner if you’re building a consumer-facing company. If you have a brand you’ll want to protect, you’ll need to file for a trademark, which can quickly run you a few thousand dollars, even on the cheap. Furthermore, you might find yourself needing to gobble up all of the domain extensions relating to your brand to ensure that there isn’t a gambling site being operated offshore on your URL. If you rack up all of the offshore domains you might add $3,000 to $5,000 per year.

• Software Services: You and your team will need to use services to build your company. One company will need to host your website, another party will charge you to provide an email service, and if you have developers they’ll need to license development software. While these expenses usually won’t break the budget, they typically scale with your team. An incremental hire could cost more than you think.

 

About the Author:

Mark Peter Davis is co-founder and chief executive of Kohort, a social media start-up in New York. He is also a venture capitalist at High Peaks Venture Partners, where he invests in information companies. He blogs at mpd.me. @mpd

 

Taking Care of Yourself in Today’s World By Dr. Harry Henshaw

 

Living in our world today can be very stressful. While some of the stress that we experience is actually useful for motivating us, a point can be reached where it becomes very harmful, physically, emotionally and even spiritually. Knowing how to manage and even reduce the harmful effects of stress on a daily basis, of staying balanced and centered as we encounter the many stressors of everyday living, is crucial to our well being. Among other things, taking care of ourselves will necessarily involve us nurturing our physical body, of eating healthy foods, of exercising. Learning how to take care of ourselves in this respect is also very important for everyone as our experience of stress can and does affect others as well.

Learning how to take care of ourselves also involves making appropriate distinctions about ourselves, others and life in general. One distinction that is crucial for our well being is realizing how and from where much of our stress is primarily generated. While some of the stressors that we face are apart of what it is to be a human being, much of the stress that we experience is of our own creation. A great deal of the stress that we experience has its origin in our own personal story and the meaning we make about life, in the thoughts that we think. Once we understand that we are truly the cause in the matter, that we are responsible for the thoughts that we create or invent and that it is from these thoughts that much of our stress is generated, then and only then will we begin to be able to truly manage our stress and have the power to live the life that we want and love. Blaming others or situations for that which we experience will only limit our power, lead to frustration and eventually a great deal of stress.

Becoming present to the fact that we have a tendency to constantly evaluate, judge and even blame others, and especially ourselves, is very important. How we conceive of others and ourselves in this respect will make a huge difference in our experience of life. For example, for some much of their life is spent attempting to make others and themselves wrong, wrong for what they think and do, wrong for what we think and do. Once we make another wrong, especially ourselves, anger, anxiety, guilt, frustration and even sadness will eventually follow and with it a great deal of stress. A simple truth is that as human beings we are all doing the best that we can at any given moment. If we or others knew differently we would behave differently.

Another simple truth is that we are perfect, whole and complete just as we are. It is our story about ourselves that does not allow us to truly experience our own completeness. Making mistakes in life does not make us wrong or flawed in some way but only presents us with feedback and valuable opportunities for growth. Becoming present to how we make ourselves wrong, of how we put ourselves down, allows us an opening to realize that we are not what we do or think. Our true self is something much different. Becoming present to our attempts to make others and ourselves wrong in some manner will also create a cleaning for us to begin to think, feel and behave differently. Once we fully realize that we are perfect, whole and complete just as are, we will bring forth into our lives experiences that will truly empower us and others. It will be at this point that we will begin to authentically take care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves in this respect will also involve taking care of our true self, of unconditionally loving ourselves completely. It is only when we truly love and accept ourselves, as we are, in the present moment that we will be able to do so with others. We always think, feel and behave towards others as we think, feel and act towards ourselves.

One manner in which we can practice being who we truly are is beginning to become aware of the thoughts and beliefs that exist within us including and especially those that are self-limiting. Meditation and other holistic, self-enhancement techniques of this nature allow us this ability and opportunity to watch, monitor and become present to our inner world, to the very thoughts that generate our life and experiences. Such a process will eventually allow us to truly understand that we are not our thoughts and beliefs, that we are something different from, that we are much more. Our thoughts are merely apart of the machinery of being human.

Once present to the thoughts and beliefs that quickly, if not instantly, move through our mind also allows us the opportunity to reframe from impulsively acting upon them and as a result to become free from their constraints and potential harm to us and others. Such a meditative process, especially as it applies to the thoughts and beliefs that we have about ourselves, is the key to truly taking care of yourself. Such awareness will eventually allow us to truly experience the fact that we are good enough, just as we are, one that deserves to have a wonderful and powerful life, that we truly are perfect, whole and complete. Once we fully understand this for ourselves it will allow us to get it about others, for those that we work with and for those in our lives that we love. The end result of such a meditative process is that much of the stress that we experience, especially that which we create, will simply not exist, allowing us to create or invent the life that we truly want and love and to live it powerfully.

About the Author:

Dr. Harry Henshaw earned his doctoral degree in Human Development and Counseling from Boston University and has designed and implemented mental health and substance abuse programs in outpatient, residential and hospital settings in Illinois, Massachusetts and Florida. Dr. Henshaw is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Florida, a certified Clinical Supervisor and a member of the American Counseling Association & American Psychological Association. Trained in neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis, Dr. Henshaw is also certified to practice and teach hypnotherapy in the State of Florida.

In addition to his full time work at Enhanced Healing, Dr Henshaw is also employed as a psychotherapist at a drug and alcohol rehab treatment program in Miami. Dr Henshaw conducts individual and group counseling sessions to individuals that are suffering from a dependency on drugs and alcohol. Dr Henshaw utilizes transformational counseling and utilizes the products that he has created for Enhanced Healing in his counseling work. Dr Henshaw is also in private practice in the Miami area.

http://www.enhancedhealing.com

This week,  OYP would like to acknowledge our friend and Own Your Power Fan, Kristen Llorca and her fundraising efforts for the nonprofit organization Soles4Soles.

It is estimated that over 300 million children and adults around the world lack basic footwear to protect their feet from infectious disease and serious wounds. Soles4Soles volunteers work to distribute shoes to those in need and help eliminate the damage caused by lack of footwear.

 

Through her efforts, Kristen is raising funds that will assist her with volunteering in Costa Rica with the Soles4Souls project.  She said, ” I can’t imagine a better way to spend a few days away from the office, than by distributing shoes and clothing to children in need.”

You can help Kristen reach her fundraising goal and support this worthy cause by visiting her donation page http://www.soles4soulsfundraising.org/kristen

If you are a member of Own Your Power or a Fan on Facebook that has a business that helps others in any way, please email me at simone@ownyourpower.biz and we’ll add you to the list to be featured soon! Spread the word!
We’ll feature a new DO-GOODER every Friday on Facebook, Twitter, the Blog, and our Ning Community.

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Thanks for helping others…please support these charities/businesses that help save the world

Own Your Power,

Simone

 

When you suffer from a broken heart it feels like your world is coming to an end. The pain can be unbearable. It is hard to sleep, eat or concentrate. You wonder if you will be able to feel good or happy ever again.

It can be especially devastating when a relationship you really care about ends unexpectedly. You can’t help remembering all love you shared and your dream of happily ever after, sharing a life together. It is devastating to think that someone you loved was able to leave it all behind so easily while you are left wondering what happened. How could he/she just walk away like that?

This can really take toll, especially if the one you love ended up with someone else. It is hard not to wonder if you lost your chance for love. You may worry that you won’t find someone else you loved that much again.

And you want to find love, but you are not sure you can open yourself up to that kind of hurt ever again!

The good news is, you can and will heal from this broken heart. And as a result of this healing, you will find a love BETTER than you could imagine in your wildest dreams.

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears,
for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth,
overlying our hard hearts.

~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, 1860

Shelly fell in love with a married man. She did not mean for it to happen. He was smart, successful interesting, and totally sexy. They had a great time together and he wined and dined her. She was not looking for anything serious so why not?

Well before she knew it months turned into years. And by this time she had become attached. Finally she was able to let go of the relationship, but she felt she had wasted valuable years of her life.

Holly was in a relationship with a man for 5 years. They were engaged to be married but he was reluctant to set a date. Every time she would bring it up he would make an excuse about money, or that it was a bad time in his life right now etc. He would say, lets discuss it next year.

One day Holly came home to find him gone. He had met another woman, she was pregnant and they were getting married right away. She felt she could never recover from that kind of betrayal.

So how do you recover from this kind of heartbreak?

How do you trust again?

Almost everyone has suffered crushing heartbreak at least one time in their life. Some people are able to recover and move on to find love while others get stuck in their pain and see unable to move past it.

Here are the 5 ways to let go of heartbreak.

1. Mourn Your Loss Completely.
Allow yourself to cry, feel sad and experience your loss. Most people who are stuck in heart ache deny their feelings of loss and sadness and never properly grieve.

2. Be Nice to Yourself.
Comfort yourself during this time of loss. You have been through a difficult time and need loving care. Thinking negative and demeaning thoughts about yourself will only add to your hurt and pain.

3. Take Inventory.
After you have done your grieving take a good hard look at the relationship. Assess what things in the relationship worked and what did not work for you.

4. Forgiveness. Write a list of all the things you feel your ex did to you and all the things you angry at him about. Then write down any things you may be angry at yourself about. Burn the paper with the intention to let go of past resentments so you can move on.

5. Write Your True Love.
Write a love letter to your true love. Picture yourself happy loved and fulfilled in the relationship. Imagine yourself giving it to him. Keep the letter by your beside and remind yourself that true love is coming.

If you find yourself stuck in any of these steps unable to grieve, forgive or recover, seek the assistance of a dating coach or therapist.

Healing from heartbreak will help you open your heart so you can love again!

Heartbreak can be tough, but you can and will recover to find love again!

And next time it will be TRUE LOVE, which lasts forever!

Much Love and Happy Dating!

 

About the Author:

If you are single and worried that you’ll never find true love or you are losing faith that your special person is ever coming…

Pamela Vandervoort, the SelfGrowth.com Official Guide to Love, will help you find true and lasting love.

Pamela received her master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego. Pamela can be found conducting workshops throughout California and is the owner of two successful Companies the “Art of Living Consciously” and “My Dating Support.com”.
For the last 5 years Pamela has been helping women get over the dating hump, stop wasting time, and find lasting love.

 

We’d like to welcome new member Marsha Sims to the family. She’s the founder of Sort-It-Out which focuses on:

1.  Hands-on professional organizing services. She organizes files, offices, space, garages, kitchens, closets, etc.

2.  Clutter-free University – where she teaches online classes to help people get organized.

3.  Certification of Professional Organizers to be “client-focused” professional organizers.

How long in business Since 1992 (20 years this month!)

What exactly does your business do?

We help people get organized. We help them organize their space, their time, and their lives.

Any interesting facts you can share about your industry?

1.  Clutter is simply postponed decisions.

2.  We get more mail in a day than our parents got in a week; and we get more mail in a week than our grandparents got in a month!
Most popular problem you help people solve?

1.  Organizing their papers / files.  Papers are never going to stop coming in.

2.  Organizing their time.  We have more commitments today than ever.
Book You’d Recommend and why …

1.   Organizing Your Day by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims

2.   Smart Office Organizing by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims

… because these are books I’ve written to help people get organized.

 

How do you stay motivated?

I keep remembering how much I absolutely LOVE helping people.  My clients are grateful and they keep telling me that they appreciate my work.  My clients keep me motivated!

Biggest pet peeve in business?

1.     People who can’t listen.

2.     People who are quick to make assumptions about other people.
What’s a bold move you took that turned your business around?

I created a Professional Organizers certification program to certify people to do what I do.

What’s a networking tip you use to help you gain and/or maintain your relationships?

1.   I do 90% listening.  I never try to push my card (or my agenda) on other people.  I ask about them and their work.

2.  I take along a book of before and after pictures so in case someone asks what I do, I say, “I am a professional organizer. I can show you better than I can tell you.”  Then I pull out my book and let the amazing pictures that tell the story of what I do.
It’s sadly time for your last meal on earth, what would it be?

Lasagna with lots of meat sauce and cheese (I’m a vegan)… with peach cobbler and banana pudding (I don’t eat sugar)… but it’s my last meal, so it’s okay.
Have you used Social Networking to gain new contacts/business? If so, what have been any results?

Yes.   I use Facebook groups for my students.
Most exciting moment that you got your time to shine?

1.     Keynote speaker at an IAAP Conference

2.     Speaker at Black Enterprise’s “Women of Power” Summit

3.     Speaker at Odyssey Media’s Conference

4.     First TV interview

5.     Company profile appearing in COSTCO magazine

6.     First time appearing in Woman’s Day magazine, SELF magazine,  Better Homes and Gardens magazine

Wow… there are so many… and whe my first book was published!

What was your last barter and what was if for?

I bartered with my dentist and I organized his offices.

 

Who in your circle do you want to thank for helping you build your business?

1.     All of my clients, for teaching me everything I know.

2.     My three sons, for never giving me a problem and

3.     My organizing students and my certification students, for taking me to new vistas.
Get in contact with Marsha!

http://www.sortitout.net

http://www.clutterfreeuniversity.com

 

Marsha Sims

marshasims@sortitout.net

305-628-0075