Your startup is as fragile as a newborn baby. It has blood in its veins (capital), but can’t fend for itself yet because of insufficient customers, no word-of-mouth advertisement, and not enough sales. No wonder startups cry a lot and fail a lot.

According to new research by Harvard Business School’s Shikhar Ghosh, 75% of all startups fail. But what is the reason behind this massive failure?

Many entrepreneurs and executives attribute the colossal failure to a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Poor management
• Poor execution
• Poor business model

Notice how all these factors (and much more not mentioned here) are attributed to the founders.

• A startup fails because of a founder’s poor management
• A startup fails because of a founder’s poor execution
• A startup fails because of a founder’s poor business model

The truth is a single founder can hardly build and run a business to a success. They need the right partner, the right team or the right people to help them through. And understanding how to hire the right people will not only save your startup from failure but will also increase its chances of success.

See Also: From Startup Idea to Successful Business: 7 Questions to Ask Before You Pursue That Venture

Look for passionate people

No one wants to be rejected by an employer. Job applicants are skilled at wearing masks (covering their shortcomings with perfect resumes and decorated titles) to lure the CEO into hiring them.

How do you select the right ones? How do you find those candidates who will do their very best to build your startup to success?

Look for passion.

Passionate people are the right hires for your business. They don’t just want to get hired for the paycheck; they want to get hired for the love. They love the job.

Because they’re passionate, these people will not just carry their responsibilities. They will fill other roles as well, and support your cause with hard work, enthusiasm and affection.

And noticing them is easier than you think. Just ask the following questions during the interview:

• What are your hobbies? Understand the applicant’s hobby outside of work, and see if it is in line with your business.
• How do you maintain a work-life balance? Is the candidate an all-work-and-no-play kind of guy? If they are not balancing life and work as normal, passionate people do, let them go.
• If recruited, how do you see yourself five years from now? Listen to this one more closely. Passionate people will tell you something greater than what you’ve ever imagined. They might even give you a hint of a great business idea.

The point is to find true answers that come from the heart and not just lip service covered in looks and a suit.

Look for applicants with a unique skill set

Now that you’ve discovered a passionate candidate, don’t celebrate yet. There is still some more digging to do. Look for their unique skill set, and ensure that it matches what your startup needs at the moment.

Because let’s face it: your startup can’t afford fancy employees with expensive qualifications yet lacking the basic skills you need to scale your company.

If your business is struggling with sales, for instance, what kind of applicant would you look for? A great marketer of course, but more especially, one who has a unique skill set like a growth hacker to take your business to the next level.

See Also: 5 Steps to Creating a More Productive Sales Team 

Look for people who fit your company culture

Your startup culture is like your personality. It makes you unique and makes you stand out from the rest of your competitors.

Hiring a candidate who doesn’t fit your company culture can cost your business between 50-60% of the person’s annual salary, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

To ensure that you recruit for cultural fit, ask the following questions during the interview:

• Why do you want to work for us?
• How would you describe our culture?
• What organizational culture do you grow in?

Listen to the reason why the candidate wants to work for you, about their description of your company culture, their story concerning the organizational culture they grow in, and, most importantly, their tone of voice and honesty.

Bad people with no passion tend to speak in an overconfident, verbose way to cover their true self — a trait that will choke your little startup to death.

The post How to Save Your Startup by Hiring the Right People appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Have you been considering shifting your family to a real food diet?

Keeping your children strong and healthy requires providing them with a healthy and nutritious diet. You want your family to be at their best throughout the day and that means feeding them the right foods. But it seems like every couple of months there is a new diet that claims to be the best, so it can be confusing to know how you should feed your family.

Contradicting Evidence

It’s not unusual these days to come across various studies with contradictory claims. They have compelling evidence, and they come from prestigious schools and organizations so it’s easy to get confused. For example, Harvard came out with a study claiming that eggs can increase the risk of prostate cancer. However, the University of Alberta found that antioxidants within eggs helped to prevent cancer.

A study done by Chang Y. Lee found that retinal health may be strengthened by drinking coffee, while The Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science claims that drinking coffee has a negative impact on eyesight and may even put you more at risk for glaucoma.

These are all scientific studies that were published and yet they have the exact opposite results, so who are you supposed to believe?

See Also: 7 Foods that can Improve your Eyesight 

Back to Basics

If we set these conflicting claims aside though and just think of the basics, it’s actually very simple. Whole, clean foods with consistent exercise is all our children need to be at their healthiest, while chemical-filled, processed food and a sedentary lifestyle will negatively impact our kids.

See Also: 5 Science-Proven Health Benefits of Low Carb Diet 

Get informed about how to read nutrition labels properly. This will help you immensely when it comes to finding healthy foods for your family.

Pay attention to the serving size. While at a glance you may be drawn to the low calorie number, closer inspection might show that the serving size is incredibly small.

You also want to look over the calorie count and the fat content in your food so that you can monitor how much fat your family is eating. Make looking at nutrition labels a habit when you go to the grocery store and you’ll be making your family healthier.

Don’t worry about what’s popular right now, or what new diet your friends are trying out on their families. Stick to the foods that have been keeping children healthy for hundreds of years.

It might be difficult. It’s human nature to want to try new things and to be included in the newest trends, but when it comes to your family’s health, stick with the basics because you will never be disappointed.

The post Shifting Your Family To The “Real Food” Diet appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Do you want your daily drive to work to be more enjoyable?

For most people, the thought of driving to work is not one that fills them with joy. Add in a good dose of traffic and the feeling starts to become one of dread.

However, driving doesn’t have to be a stressful and unhappy necessity. The confines of your car can actually become a place of pleasant solitude, family fun, or even relaxation.

1. Change Your Mind Set

The first hurdle to overcome when it comes to negative feelings about driving is to simply recalibrate how you feel about it all. This is not easy and it requires some thinking time.

Try to look at why driving isn’t a pleasure, look at what makes it stressful and then take these things apart bit by bit. Perhaps other road users might annoy you or even intimidate you. If they do, try to rise above them mentally. They are just people and they are just trying to get somewhere. If they are rude then let them be the unhappy ones, do not let their negative attitude ruin your experience.

The same principle needs to be applied to driving in traffic. A traffic jam is something that can happen to anyone and most of the time it cannot be avoided. Yes, they are boring, but ultimately they are something everyone has to deal with and they don’t really do anyone any harm. The key to traffic jams is to be well prepared and to use the time well.

2. Food and Drink

First of all, it is important to state that eating and drinking while driving, although not illegal, can have legal ramifications. If it is deemed your actions are careless and present a danger to others, then you could be fined.

That being said, one way to make sure driving is a happier experience is to always make sure you have some food and drink close at hand.

This tip really comes into its own if you find yourself in a traffic jam. Simply having a drink and perhaps a small healthy snack can really help take your mind off the traffic and make you feel better.

This can also work wonders if you have passengers, and especially kids in the car. Any type of journey becomes a negative experience if you are hungry or thirsty. Long runs and traffic can become very unpleasant very quickly without sustenance.

3. Entertainment

It is safe to say that nearly all cars these days have at least a radio to keep drivers and passengers entertained and most have a CD player or MP3 options too. However, the type of entertainment you choose can have a big effect on how you feel during the journey.

Music is a great option but make sure you keep a wide choice because a long stint in a jam can soon make one genre sound repetitive. The real tip here though is to think a bit outside the box. Try getting some audio books on CD or MP3. Getting into a good book is a great way to pass the time and taking the edge off a bad traffic congestion.

Family stories like Harry Potter can really engage the kids too and avoid the “are we there yet” whining. Even small runs through rush hour traffic can become enjoyable when you know there is another gripping installment of a new book waiting for you.

But don’t stop at audio books. Try self-help courses, language courses, and so on. The possibilities are huge.

This is not only a way of keeping a drive more interesting. It is also a way of removing the feeling of wasted time behind the wheel.

See Also: Make Memories, Not Conflicts: How to Survive a Road Trip With Small Children

4. Try Different Routes

With today’s GPS and Sat Nav technology comes the ability to take almost any road and still end up being guided to your desired destination. While going in totally the opposite direction is certainly not a great idea, taking that side road you always thought might be a short cut can add some interest to an otherwise dull feeling journey.

A great by-product of trying a new route is finding new scenery to enjoy or maybe even a fun new place to eat at. Even a new route that isn’t that exciting can be better than the same route you always take.

5. Keep Your Car Happy

These tips are about keeping you happy behind the wheel but making sure your car is in tip top condition can actually make driving far less stressful and therefore a happier experience. Whether you admit it to yourself or not, driving a car that has some niggles is stressful.

Those little knocking noises or that intermittent whining can make you quite anxious that the car could break down at any point. It might never materialize but the fact that it is there can cause low level anxiety and make driving an unhappy experience.

Get your car serviced, keep it topped up with oil, water and washer fluid and you may find a weight lifted from your driving you never knew was there.

See Also: How to Find a Good Mechanic in the Age of Social Media 

Driving should not be an unhappy experience. It might not always be the most enjoyable thing you do each day but with a few small changes, you can turn something that you hate into something far more pleasant. This change of heart will have a knock-on effect on how you behave when you reach your destinations too and whether that is work or home, that surely cannot be a bad thing.

The post 5 Ways To Stay Happy When Driving (No Matter How Bad the Traffic is) appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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“I mean there is no arguing. There is no anything. There is no beating around the bush. You are fired is a very strong term.” ~ Donald Trump

I just can’t imagine waking up lively one Monday morning, doing everything like usual, only to be told that I was being fired. I’m sure you can’t imagine this scenario too. But the truth is, it can really happen and it has happened to employees who were fired unawares.

Even when bosses are not verbalizing it, there are certain signs when the company is getting ready to let go of its employees. The earlier you give meaning to these signs, the better. This will give you time to adjust your behavior to suit the boss, or you can begin to hunt for another job and leave the company honorably.

Below are nine signs you will be fired next:

1. Your boss avoids you

Your boss begins to avoid you. Your boss cuts off any discussion that has to do with you and you start noticing that your employer’s face changes whenever you’re around.

2. Delay or reduction in your salary

A delay or reduction in your salary might happen as a result of three factors.

The first is that your company is in debt. The second is that you are being disciplined for a misbehavior, and the third is that you will be pushed out of the company soon.

Whichever the case, none of them is a good sign. If it is the first, Human Resources would be looking to decrease workers and if you did not receive your salary, this is a definite sign that your job is in peril. And if it is the second, you are definitely getting in the shortlist for your misconduct. HR can file it as an excuse for cutting short your contract with the company. And finally, if it is the third, the company simply has no use for your services anymore.

It’s simple. You will be fired.

3. Your company was sold out or merged

One of the most painful developments in a company is when a company is sold or merged and there are layoffs.  Employees simply have no control over this.

Once this happens, the board would definitely be shuffled. The new management would definitely have new plans for the company and there is likely to be a replacement.

Begin your job search right away!

See Also: How To Make Your Job Search More Productive 

4. You are left out of the loop

If you used to get information early and was privvy to confidential information, and this suddenly changes, this is a huge red flag. If you’re suddenly out of the loop, know nothing about company updates, and even being excluded from work seminars, you don’t need to be told that there is a secretary somewhere typing up your sack letter.

5. Your immediate boss just got fired or left the company for good

If a senior staff who is close to you or your immediate boss gets fired or suddenly leaves, you’ve got to be really careful and stay aware. It’s even more defined if the person who just left or just got fired was the gateway to your appointment with the company.

And when you get a new boss, your new employer will either work with you or have somebody in mind as your replacement.

6. You are given less responsibilities

It’s a bad sign when the tasks and responsibilities normally assigned to you peter out. After all, employees with the most crucial responsibilities and achievements are the most stable in the company and are likeliest to be promoted. On the other hand, workers with less responsibilities are more dispensible and closer to the firing line.

7. You’re being excused from your office more than once

This is one of the most common signs. Your company is expecting a business partner or a guest, and the guest must be offered an office for the couple of weeks he is to spend with your company.

If management is readily taking your office or workspace, you’ll have to stay on your toes. If this happens more often than not, you’ll have to watch out. The next offer might be a sack!

8. Everything you do displeases your boss

Everything you do, anyhow you do it, and anywhere you do it in the company, your boss always finds fault with you. Your employer might even begin to berate you for illogical or trivial matters.

9. You are being given awkward assignments with no support or likelihoods of success

If your boss or company is setting you up for failure rather than success, this is one definite red flag. This sign is one of the most common and it is commonly displayed by wicked bosses.

“Giving you an awkward assignment without a support or likelihood of success is like sending you to the war front with no arm or aid.”

When bosses are tired of an employee, one of their tactics of filing the employee’s exit is by presenting the employee as incapable and the quickest way to do that is by assigning the employee an impossible task and withdrawing all support. Once you begin to see this sign; watch out for the tap.

See Also: 6 Terrible Ways to Handle Getting Fired 

In conclusion

If you are seeing two or more signs discussed above, you might be facing a serious and daunting challenge at work. The best that can be done in this situation is to continue to do your best at work while starting your job hunt.

Best Regards,

Daniel

The post 9 Serious Signs You’re Next To Be Fired appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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At this very moment, my cat is slowly going insane.

And so are you.

Allow me to explain…

A couple months back, we rescued a young blind cat. Yay for us, right? Doing our small part to mock the circle of life and turn nature inside out. Al Gore would be proud.

What we didn’t anticipate was that this cat was pregnant and would soon give birth to a litter of kittens. Turns out we signed up for more than we bargained for.

Unfortunately, this brand-new mamma cat didn’t know how to take care of all her baby cats and so they all died. Except for one. The runt of the litter. Of course.

And to make things even more cliché, the sole survivor was a white kitten with blue eyes and it was so cute and just absolutely perfect. I wanted to barf. I thought creatures like that only existed in Disney movies.

But for one reason or another (definitely NOT the blue eyes) we decided to keep it and name him “Beau”. Adorable, right?

Fast forward a couple of months.

Beau is an indoor cat and has never set a foot outside in his entire life. But he’s also very adventurous. And (wait for it), curious. He’s constantly trying to escape out the front door and into the great unknown.

Every time someone opens a door, there are yells of “cat!” and several young children dog-pile (cat-pile?) on Beau to stop him from escaping with only inches to spare.

And it’s getting kind of annoying. Too much effort is being invested on keeping an animal inside. Animals aren’t supposed to be inside anyways. Houses are for people, right? Not cats. So yesterday an executive decision was made.

From now on, Beau will be an outside cat. We’ll grant him his deepest wish, set him free, and never let him back inside again.

And now Beau hates our guts.

We set him free yesterday morning, and of course he instantly dashed away and ran around the corner and disappeared. Having the time of his life, no doubt. He was finally outside! He had achieved his most important (and probably only) goal. He was free.

Several hours later, he showed up in the front yard again. Meowing loudly. Clawing at the front door. Begging to come back inside. But the decision had already been made. Beau was no longer permitted to come in the house. Not under any circumstances.

But I guess Beau didn’t receive the memo.

He clawed at our door and cried his little lungs out for several hours straight. When that didn’t amount to anything, he started jumping up on window sills and clawing through our screens to get inside. We seriously went through several hundred dollars of window screens in under an hour. All because of this one stupid, annoying, psychotic cat.

But it got me thinking. Maybe I shouldn’t be so annoyed. Because I do the same exact thing every day.

I’ll set a goal. I’ll want this thing more than anything else. And I’ll work my butt off to get this thing, whatever it is. And eventually…I’ll get it. I’ll achieve my goal. I’ll have what I want.

For a little while.

And then I don’t want that thing so much anymore. It doesn’t seem as important as it did when I didn’t have it. It just…meh. Boring. Old. Useless.

And so I’ll set my sights on a new goal. This NEXT “thing” will be awesome. It’ll totally make me happier than anything else ever could. I NEED this thing.

And eventually I’ll get that thing but it doesn’t make me any happier. And so I move onto the next thing. And the next. And the next.

It’s so dumb. I’ll romanticize something in my mind, but when I get that “something” I won’t be happy with it. The grass is always greener, right? And I do this with everything. Physical possessions. Financial goals. Relationships. Everything.

And this is confusing to me.

Because on the one hand, it makes me think that maybe I should just stop trying to pursue all of these different things if they won’t make me happier. Maybe I should just learn to be happy with what I have. Maybe I already have everything I need to be happy. Maybe I don’t need anything else. Maybe I should convince myself that the grass is NEVER greener on the other side. That I should just enjoy what I already have.

See Also: 10 Things You Should Know About Creating Your Happiness

But also, on the other hand, maybe thinking that way is super dangerous. Because as a species, we’re hardwired to be progressive. It’s why we are where we are today. Because we’re never content with what we have. If we didn’t feel the need to have anything more, we’d still be living like cavemen. I wouldn’t be typing these words on my computer right now.

But on the other, other hand…

Ugh.

For the longest time, this question completely puzzled me. I kept going back and forth.

Should I learn to be happy with what I have, or should I continue to chase the “next thing”?

There are some very serious pros and cons to both options.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that neither option is the “right” one. Instead, I think there’s a middle ground. A balance that’ll leave everyone happy.

I decided to stop setting big goals. I’m not going to hinge my happiness on being successful in the future. Because success only equals temporary happiness anyways. I’ve seen this over and over in my own life. And my cat proves this as well. Success only provides short-term happiness.

But at the same time, it’s important to be successful. It’s important to make progress and improve and achieve new things. That’s what makes me human.

So rather than put all of my attention towards being successful, I’m going to focus on progressing.

I don’t care anymore whether or not I’m successful. It used to be important to me that every single one of my books was a #1 bestseller. And that every relationship I was in was super amazing and everyone loved me. And that I was totally ripped and had a 6-pack and everything.

Those things don’t matter to me anymore.

What DOES matter is that I write every day. And that I compliment everyone I talk to. And that I work out every day.

I don’t hinge my happiness on the end result. Instead, I’m happy when I make a little bit of progress and improve just 1% each day. That way I get the best of both worlds. Because if I’m improving each day, eventually I’ll be successful. But I don’t have to wait until “eventually” to be happy and proud of myself. I can be happy with what I’ve accomplished each and every single day.

To help me implement this theory of “progression over success”, I created a checklist with a couple of small, mini-goals that I try to complete every day. Just simple, small things I can do that’ll take a couple of minutes at most. Things that will help me progress and improve 1% in each area of life. (Mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, financial, and social.)

When I complete these mini-goals, my life is awesome. I feel great. Because I know that I’ve made progress. I’m a slightly better person than I was yesterday.

Maybe I’m not super successful at everything. Maybe I don’t sell quite as many books as I used to when I was working my butt off every day in a desperate race against myself. Maybe I’m not learning nearly as much as when I used to read 500 pages a day. Maybe I’m not as popular among my peers as I used to be when that really mattered to me.

But I’m happy.

I’ve found a balance that works very well for me. And I think in the long-term, I’ll be even more successful than I would be any other way. Because I’m constantly progressing. I’m always getting better and becoming more successful. Slowly but surely.

See Also: 5 Ways to Balance Work and Family Time Even if You’re a Workaholic

Even if I only improve 1% a day…every 3 months my life will have improved nearly 100%.

Funnily enough, I created my first mini-goal checklist almost 3 months ago, exactly. And I can honestly say that I’m 100% happier than I was 100 days ago. My life is so much better. My friends and family have noticed a big change in me, and my overall attitude towards life.

And unlike my cat, I can’t wait to see what the next 3 months bring.

The post Why My Cat Proves That Everyone is a Psychopath appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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There are numerous legitimate ways a person can earn real money online. Whether it is for rent, paying bills or simply for spending, all of us could use extra income from time to time.

When the topic of earning online comes up, the first thing that comes to people’s minds are often the “get rich fast” deals. These are all scams, and anyone who thinks they can earn a top dollar fast by clicking on an ad has another thing coming.

Making a living over the internet is the same as doing it in real life — it requires dedication, perseverance and a lot of hard work. But don’t be deterred, as there are realistic and proven ways for those who are prepared to invest their time and effort to earn money using their computer and internet connection.

Here are nine ways you can start making money online.

1.      E-book writing

The e-book market has exploded over the past couple of years. If you have some knowledge about a specific subject, you can try writing special reports and e-books that customers can download directly onto their computer or mobile device.

Writing and selling a traditional book requires funds for printing, production, and marketing, whereas a simple text document can easily be converted into a PDF file. Have in mind that book writing is a painstaking and time-consuming process which has the potential to earn well if done right.

See Also: Seven Things You Need to Know About Writing for the Web – Whatever Your Job

2.      Writing for a third-party publisher

This is an excellent choice for word-savvy individuals who don’t want to be bothered with running a blog or a website. There are numerous freelance websites available such as Freelance and Upwork which give users the opportunity to find jobs such as freelance writing, proofreading, and copy editing.

Most of them require user registration which is free of charge.

See Also: 7 Convincing Reasons for Working as a Freelancer 

3.      Teaching online

There’s a high demand for teachers on the internet. Whether it’s a math problem, accounting issue or a foreign language, people oftentimes use the internet instead of attending courses and night schools.

People can teach and be taught in the comfort of their room and avoid the stress of having to commute or work for a company.

4.      Making and selling products online

You can sell a product directly from your website or a store using classifieds and community websites. But just like traditional sales, you need to have a product which is needed by the consumer and at the same time better than what someone else is offering.

If you like creating interesting things and you think that there is a market for them, physical commerce is just the right thing for you.

5.      Selling on eBay

People associate making money online with digital products and affiliate marketing. But, the oldest trick in the book for making quick cash is selling the stuff you own but have no use of.

There are individuals who make selling products on eBay a full-time job and can even afford a vacation with it. So instead of just letting your old items get even older in storage, you can get some extra bucks by selling them via eBay.

6.      Selling stock photos

This is one the easiest jobs on the list as it only requires having a functioning camera. Stock photos are in high demand, as businesses, publishers and media outlets use them for websites and marketing campaigns.

If this kind of work sound interesting, try visiting stock photography websites such as Shutterstock.

7.      Webinars and video tutorials

As more and more people are using the internet, many of them find themselves lacking the necessary knowledge on a certain subject. This is where webinars and video tutorials come into play.

With the technology available today, even the most technologically challenged individuals have the opportunity to create extraordinary multi-media seminars which an average person can simply download to their desired device. With new and emerging technologies, people need educational classes designed to cater to their individual needs more than ever.

8.      Affiliate advertising

Affiliate advertising is a monetization practice often used for websites and blogs. The easiest way to monetize your blog is by using network services such as Clickbank.

Affiliate advertising is a system based on performance which means that you don’t earn any money unless the visitor actually clicks on your link and makes an actual purchase. This is why SEO is important as it drives traffic which, in turn, leads to more potential clicks.

There are many serious agencies which can help you out unless you already have some serious knowledge on the matter.

9.      Creating a YouTube channel

YouTube’s popularity can be measured by the sheer number of unique views a popular video gets. We’re talking millions and millions of views, and in some cases, that number can be as high as hundreds of millions.

Apart from views, a popular YouTube account can have subscribers in the millions. All you need to do is sign up for a YouTube partner program and upload quality, advertiser-friendly content.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for extra income or trying to make it as a full-time job, the internet is packed with of possibilities. Try new and different lines of work until you find the one you are most satisfied with. You may not make any money overnight, but with hard work and dedication, your efforts will most certainly pay off.

The post 9 Ways How To Earn Money Online appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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