Tag: experience

Unsuspecting Work Stoppage

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Image result for mommy is sickAs a budding entrepreneur who has a 9 to 5, my weekends are sacred.  The weekend is the time that allows me total dedication to my craft.  I appreciate the weekend.  I love the weekend and usually can get so much work accomplished.

Except, for this past weekend.  Although, I have heard about this happening it never happened to me until this past weekend.

My whole entire family came down with a stomach virus.  We were ALL sick.  It started with my son on Friday night.  On Saturday night it was my turn.  I was up all night hovering over the porcelain throne for most of the night.  The husband’s turn was Sunday morning and my daughter was (hopefully) the last one Sunday night.

As much as I love working, the only thing I wanted to do was lay on the couch with a cup of ginger ale watching old episodes of The Love Boat.

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Bad mom alert

I laid in bed until 4 pm.  My kids had the rule of the house so it was a complete mess when I went downstairs and guess what, that is okay.  Sometimes it takes a stomach virus to slow down and take the time to think.  It crossed my mind to go and get my laptop and get some work done but I was so tired from being up the previous night.  Plus, I had not seen The Love Boat since I was a kid in the 80’s.  It was keeping my interest in all of its 80’s cheesiness.  I had a Skype appointment with a client early that morning, so I was especially tired and groggy when I took it.

Despite not feeling one hundred percent, I went into work anyone today.  I knew my stomach felt settled enough that I wouldn’t vomit on anyone today but I am still a little fatigued.  It is important to take time out when you need to, even if it unexpected.  Today I play catch up on all the work I did not get done over the weekend and guess what?  That is okay!

The Beginners Guide to Finding the Perfect Hotel Room (at a reasonable rate)

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After finding reasonable airfare, it is necessary to find accommodations when staying in a city where I do not have any family or friends.  I believe I spend an unbelievable amount of time researching when it is time to book a hotel room. The number one factor for me is location followed up by value. I spend an embarrassing amount of time reading reviews on Yelp. Then I have to follow up to see if the reviews corroborate with TripAdvisor.

Regarding that value component, I hit the interwebs and Reddit to find the lowest rates. Through all that work I realize that my best option is to go to the hotel’s corporate website and join their rewards program.

Through that I found my latest hotel find, Courtyard by Marriott New Orleans French Quarter/Iberville in New Orleans, LA. This Marriott branch was conveniently located about two blocks away from Bourbon Street. The staff was very friendly and allowed us to check-in early! I was struck with how large the rooms were and very clean. The beds felt cozy and I liked how the room had a living area and sleeping quarter.

The bathroom was clean and the cleaning staff did a stellar job of cleaning the room daily. I appreciated that the staff was on point. Being that we were in New Orleans, we had several late nights and even later mornings (really afternoons). I was impressed that no matter what time we left, we always came back to a clean room.

The bathroom was stacked with plenty of white towels and standard shampoo/conditioner/soap if needed. Since I bring my own products, these were not sampled. The shower was hot and could get even hotter (which is always a plus to me).

The only surprise (I will not call it a disappointment) was the view. We had the perfect view of a pretty sterile looking courtyard. Another surprise was the entry to the hotel. You must come up from the street level on the elevator. Then you need to find the registration desk. Again, not a big deal but it did take some getting used to.

The television was equipped with Wifi and they even had Netflix. Full disclosure, I do not travel often so finding out that Netflix is now a “thing” to have on the hotel room television is a score. I was glad the location was away from the “activity” (read noise) of Bourbon Street.

I look forward to going back to New Orleans. I would stay at the Courtyard again but I usually try to stay in a new hotel everytime I go out of town.

How to Fly Frugally

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A few positive financial changes in our household have allowed me to travel more frequently.  While still frugal, I have a few hacks that I have found that have really helped me to save money, time, and my sanity when it is time to fly the (not always so) friendly skies.

1.  Be nice.

Yes, seriously.  Being naturally easy-going, being laid back and nice is not too difficult for me.  My husband is 6’8.  He usually has a very uncomfortable time flying.  Being frugal, we don’t want to pay to upgrade his seat.  So when we travel together, I ask for a seat with more leg room for him.  I greet the ticket agent with a smile, show them my husband, and explain that we don’t need to sit together.  This works about 80% of the time.  The other 20% of the time, they don’t have the room to accommodate this request.  Unfortunately if this happens I’m not going to walk away upset.

2.  Join your airlines frequent flier club.

The past few years, I’d be lucky if I found myself needed air travel at least once a year.  Now that I’ve vowed to travel more often, I have joined the frequent flier club to every airline I use.  I keep an open mind to airlines and although I do have a favorite, I will fly almost any airline with a good rate.  I live near three major airports, which is a huge advantage when it is time to travel.  I do have a preferential airport but that’s due to the proximity to my home.  I’ll go to another airport if I feel that it makes my air travel less stressful (i.e. no layover) or if it really is a great deal.

3.  Tweet, Facebook, Yelp, or any other type of review your POSITIVE as well as your negative experience.

We’re quick to review something when we’re pissed off but how about when you are satisfied?  I enjoy writing reviews.  Most of my reviews are positive.  I’m usually a pretty easy person to please so it takes the moons being aligned just right, to piss me off.

Do you have any hacks you’d like to share?  Comment below and don‘t forget to subscribe!

Tips for the Side Hustling Entrepreneurs

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Image of male entrepreneur walking on the road while carrying suitcase

We are all given the same twenty-four hours in one day.  If you ever found yourself saying that in a perfect world you would be a full-time entrepreneur, you are not alone.  Truthfully, I enjoy my full-time job yet I also find it fulfilling to work for myself as well.  Here’s another truth bomb, my full-time position offers great benefits so at this point in time I do not wish to leave my full-time job.

That being shared, I simply don’t have the time or know how to fulfill everything that I want to get done.  I have admitted to myself that DIY is a bad idea when it comes to building your website and brand.  I have bit the bullet and have become an advocate of hiring people to outsource the technical side of my entrepreneurial endeavors.

In the past, I would watch YouTube tutorials and try to emulate what I saw.  I have no IT background, so the result was usually, for a lack of a better word, a hot mess.  Fast forward to today.  I have a full-time job, husband, kids, and household to maintain.  So, I do not have the time nor the patients to work on something that will not get me the desired results.

I proudly admit to outsourcing.  I think that outsourcing should not be a dirty little secret.  I currently use onlinejobs.ph but in the past I have used Upwork, Fiveer, and (here’s a secret) eBay.  Yes, you can outsource on eBay too.  I will say that eBay isn’t as well known as the other websites listed so tread with caution, but it can be done.

What are some great outsourcing websites that are missing here?  Subscribe and comment below.

Completely Add to Your Income with DadaABC, A Guest Post Review.

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dadaabcI have permission to share Iwillpickonelater’s review of DadaABC.  If you are interested in working for DadaABC please you the referral code:

https://www.DaDaABC.com/teacher/job/r8J9p0q005/

DadaABC ,The online company I’ve been teaching for, is looking for new teachers. It’s an easy gig and the pay is good considering how easy it is, so if any of you are looking for a job or want to supplement your income, it might be worth checking out. Here’s my review of working for DadaABC –

The Goods

  • PAY – The pay was the highest I could find for any online company, after some negotiation I got $22US (150RMB)/hour, but it is based on experience. I believe the range is from $15-$25.
  • SHORT CLASSES – regular classes are only 30 mins and trial classes are 14 mins, so it’s over and done pretty quick.
  • OWN HOURS – There are set hours to choose from (Evenings during the week, mornings on the weekend (Shanghai Time)) but you can choose to work as little or as much as you want
  • 50% PAY IF NO CLASS – during your set hours if you don’t have class, you still get 50% of your pay, although personally my schedule filled up right away
  • MATERIAL – the company provides it’s own software that acts as a virtual textbook. It’s not the best, but I’ve also seen worse. Either way I do absolutely no prep time before class, I don’t even have to preview the material.

The Bads

  • THE PENALTIES – Every time you mess up they fine you, and the fines can add up pretty quickly. Be 10 minutes late for a class and you’re basically teaching the rest of the class for free. If you miss the whole class, then not only will you not get paid for that class but they’ll take an additional fine out of your paycheck.
  • TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES – as we all know sometimes your internet cuts out and there’s nothing you can do about it. Well they consider this to be your fault and they’ll penalize you for it. I find it acceptable however because of their high wages and the fact that these outages are fairly rare for me, but if your internet connection isn’t stable, then this probably isn’t for you.
  • LOOK PROFESSIONAL – for me this is a no-brainer, but I think they’ve had big problems in the past with teachers eating during class, teaching in their pajamas, teaching while laying in bed, being on their phone during the lesson, etc. All of these will get you penalized.

TLDR – Don’t be late and be professional and you shouldn’t have any problems. The job is really easy and you can work as little as 2 hours a week, so it’s a good way to supplement your current income. Super easy format so it’s especially good for new teachers.