From Law to Pilates

From Law to Pilates Success Story > From: Job To: Freelance From Law to Pilates “I didn't enjoy document-driven work or working in an office.” * From Law to Pilates Emma Burnett's industry was stressful. Longing to get back to a childhood passion, and determined not to risk her financial security, she undertook a punishing retraining schedule to break into a completely new field. Here'show her determination made her leap possible. What work were you doing previously? Following university, I trained as a solicitor in London and qualified as an Mergers and Acquisitions lawyer. I practised for three years before moving into a marketing role for law firms to gain more business experience. What are you doing now? I'm a freelance pilates teacher working in Surrey. How did you feel in your work before you decided to make the change? I knew early on that working as a lawyer wasn't for me, but that the training contract was a brilliant learning experience. I didn't enjoy document-driven work or working in an office. I was lucky to have weathered the financial crisis with a good job, but it was extremely stressful and so was the nature of the deals. Sleep didn't feature much during my years of post-qualification experience! However, I really did enjoy working in super-bright, hardworking and often fun teams. Why did you change? Firstly, doing meaningful work is important to me â€" I struggled to find that in corporate law. Secondly, I've loved the art and science of movement since having dance lessons as a kid. For years I practised yoga and pilates and experienced how they could be life-changing. I wanted to help other peopleexperience it too. When was the moment you decided to make the change? After a few gruelling years of the law, I decided to head to India to study yoga for six months to recharge. It was then that I started to think about leaving to pursue other options. However, I wasn't sure exactly how I'd go about it, or what I'd do. How did you choose your new career? I went with what I loved. I've accepted that early retirement won't be likely but I wanted to choose a career that I truly loved. I consider what I do now to be more of a vocation than just a career. Are you happy with the change? I'm so happy with the change! It has taken years of hard work and sacrifice to fully transition, but it has been more than worth it. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I had an awesome work wardrobe and some great shoes. Those aren't so useful as a pilates teacher, unfortunately. But that's about it! How did you go about making the shift? It was a long process because I wanted to make sure I was financially secure, so I worked full-time as I undertook my training and an apprenticeship. I trained as a pilates teacher whilst I was working in marketing for law firms. I used my annual leave to do the course and to take exams. It was exhausting at times and caused some relationship issues as free time was eaten up with training. I also became very ill which wiped me out for five months. So it took longer than I would have liked. Once I'd qualified as a pilates teacher, I cut down to part-time work in the marketing role. When I realised I could make a living being a pilates teacher, I left law completely. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? Being ill and needing to put everything on hold with the training for months was hard. But it was a temporary problem. And as they say, if it's fixable, it's not a problem. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I worked full-time throughout my training and saved money diligently. I put as much into my pension as I could afford. A lot of sacrifice was involved. Also, I decided to work in Surrey rather than London (as some of the best pilates studios are here). I lived with my mum whilst I waited for my partner to move out to join me. What was the most difficult thing about changing? It was really tiring. Especially as I was sick for a while, had to suspend my training and had to factor in extensive hospital appointments. Also, working full-time in London at the same time as being an apprentice was a challenge. What help did you get? My partner has been super supportive. He moved out to Surrey so I could work at one of the country's best pilates studios. What have you learnt in the process? Above all else, that if I really want something, I'll make it happen. Also, I've learned not to overthink things. This was tricky for me as a lawyer, but I realised that the City would always be there for me if it didn't work out. Don't let anyone frighten you into thinking that you can't go back. My experience is that that's not the case. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Meticulously research your industry. I worked out early on who I wanted to work with and whether I could make a living doing it. Really research whatever industry you're going into and then put your all into going for it. To find out more about Emma's business, visit www.emmalarapilates.co.uk. What lessons could you take from Emma's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Home Brewery Business

Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Home Brewery Business Would it surprise you to learn that every year one million Americans begin brewing their own beer at home as a hobby? For some, this is purely a passion project, something special and unique to share with friends and family. For others, this is the beginning of a business. Starting your own home brewery business might sound like a great idea but, especially if this is to become your primary source of income, it is not an easy undertaking. Before you begin, you will need to make sure that you know what it is that you are getting yourself into. Many successful brewery companies started out in the home brewery market as small, independent producers. The number of small craft breweries is constantly increasing and the beers themselves are also constantly increasing in popularity. In addition to all the usual steps that you have to take when starting a new business, there are a number of additional steps involved in starting your own home brewery company. Personal or Private? Federal law allows adults in the United States to legally produce their own beer at home for their own use without the need for a license. The regulations allow home brewers to produce as much as 100 gallons every year if there is a single adult in the house. This is raised to 200 gallons per year for households with 2 or more adults. Some states place added restrictions on personal consumption. These can include restrictions which prohibit you from sharing your homebrew, even if no money changes hands. In any case, as soon as you wish to sell your brew for money, a whole bunch of local, state, and federal regulations apply. Nature of Your Operations There are different types of brewing operation, and in some cases the laws and regulations that apply will depend upon what you do with the final product. For example, different regulations apply to businesses who serve alcohol on their premises, compared to those who sell it in sealed containers. It is a good idea to get to know some of the other brewers who operate in your local area. Making friends with established businesses can benefit you both as this is the kind of industry where teamwork is more commonly seen. You can find lots of great advice online for choosing the best home brewing techniques and equipment, for example â€" 52brews.com/best-homebrew-mash-tuns. However, you can’t beat first hand advice from an experienced brewer. Can You Make it? If you want to begin pursuing home brewing as a hobby, or even as a side business to supplement your main income, then you have little to worry about. However, if you wish to make this your primary source of income, you need to make sure that you know what you are doing. If you have little to no prior experience in running a business then you should be aware that you will be entering a very challenging marketplace. It is easy to sell your home brew beer, but it is much harder to turn it into a viable business. Starting your own homebrew business is a dream come true for many people. While it is definitely a difficult market to compete in, it is tremendous fun trying.

The Best Time To Look For A Job

The Best Time To Look For A Job 4 Benefits of Looking for a Job When You Already Have One Misc Tips / https://www.edenscott.com/blog The absolute best time to look for a job is when you already have a job that you enjoy. It sounds crazy, but its trueYou dont always need to be on an active job search, but taking calls from recruiters as well as occasionally networking and listening to what else is out there can be very beneficial.NOTE: If youre looking for the best time of year to find a job, I wrote a separate article on that subject. You can find it here.Why the best time to look for jobs is when you already have one:1. Youre not desperate.You are in a better position to judge new opportunities if you already have a job. Youll be more selective and less likely to accept the first new job you are offered. If you only look for jobs when youre unemployed or unhappy, your judgement is going to be clouded and youll often take the first opportunity you come across in order to get out of your current situation. A passive job search will be calmer, more enjoyable, and will yield better res ults.2. Youll have more leverage to negotiate with.Youll find yourself in a much better position to negotiate and make requests if youre currently employed and considered a passive job candidate. If you only consider and accept new jobs when youre unemployed or actively searching, youll always be negotiating from a position of weak leverage. In short, youre not going to make as much money or get as many perks as you could.3. You will eliminate the issue of timing.The best opportunities arent always available, and youre not always actively looking for jobs. If you only consider a new job when youre in need of one, its unlikely that best opportunities will be available to you simply due to timing. Great opportunities dont come around each month or even each year. If you want the best jobs and the fastest career growth, you absolutely need to explore a few different options even when youre happily employed.4. Youll gain new perspective on your current job.At the very least, interviewin g and exploring external opportunities will provide insight into some of the things that can be improved within your current company. It will also shed light on what you like and dislike about your current role.Hearing what else is out there can only be beneficial.

Countdown to a New Career 5 Rebranding Tips - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Countdown to a New Career 5 Rebranding Tips - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career As 2013 dawns on us, many Americans are still struggling against a high national unemployment rate. But starting your new career can begin with one simple practice to set you apart from other candidates: rebranding your professional image. Job seekers often think that just because they have experience, HR managers will find their resume attractive. But the fact is, hiring managers are increasingly looking beyond the resume and cover letter to determine if a candidate would be a good fit. Theyre conducting Google searches, reading blogs, and otherwise digging into your professional image to determine just how well you know your stuffand if you’d be a good fit for company culture. For job seekers looking to snag a new career in 2013, here are five rebranding tips to get started: 1. Become an expert. Impress a hiring manager by knowing all the ins and outs of your field or practice. Become an expert by conducting regular research and focusing on skills development. Subscribe to newsletters, attend webinars and professional seminars, attend informational interviews, stay up to date on current events, and follow what key players in your new target industry are up to on Twitter and other social networks. Start a blog to offer your own insight, too, and direct hiring managers to the link when you apply for jobs. This will show you’re able to effectively gather and process information related to your new career, and that you’re willing to go above and beyond both for your individual career efforts and the overall good of a company. 2. Transition your social platforms. If you haven’t been keeping tabs on your online presence, don’t wait to start revamping your image. Ensure your online profiles like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ accurately reflect your new career goals. While it’s alright to focus a bit on what you’ve already accomplished in your career, place more emphasis on where you’d like to end up. Start sharing content related to your new industry (see above!), and clearly state your areas of expertise and career goals in your bio. 3. Determine your audience. Your rebranding efforts for a new career will be futile if you don’t focus on targeting the right audience with your  new-found  expertise. Ask yourself who will benefit from the insight you have to share, and determine who and where the key thought leaders, companies, professionals, and even bloggers are in your target industry. This will help you to glean key insight into the best practices and pathways for getting your foot in the door and finally snagging industry contacts. 4. Build your network. It can’t be said enough: the key to a job you love is networking, networking, networking. If you find you haven’t already established solid relationships with professionals you admire, stop wasting time and reach out to them! Many job seekers are too shy or apprehensive to approach successful professionals to glean advice on their industry or insight on potential job openings, but failing to take this step in 2013 will be the number one way you sabotage your career. 5. Search within your niche. Starting a new career means you also need to find out where the open positions lie. While the aforementioned steps can help with thislike networking and social media revampingit’s important to also focus on visiting niche job boards and exploring online communities that are specifically dedicated to your field. Take advantage of LinkedIn groups, Twitter chats, message boardsanything you think can grant you a lead or an “in” for your new career. Rebranding your professional image doesn’t have to be difficult. In 2013, make it your mission to start taking these small steps to crafting a personal brand that will bring you career success and help you to finally go where you want to be. Good luck! How do you plan to stand out to employer in your search for a new career? Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for job search and human resources technologies. She is also the instructor of Find Me A Job: How To Score A Job Before Your Friends, author of Lies, Damned Lies Internships (2011) and #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

Best Resume Layout - List Everything Down

Best Resume Layout - List Everything DownIn order to make your resume look neat and professional, the best resume layout should be very simple. The reason why this is true is that a well laid out resume is able to attract the attention of the reader.A great tip that can help you with your best resume layout is to only have two sections on your resume. These two sections should be in the form of your contact information and your employment experience.Your contact information, as the name would suggest, will be your name followed by your telephone number and your email address. This means that the first portion of your resume should be what a person reading it will see the most.What about your employment experience? You will need to list down the number of years that you have worked. The number of years of work experience would need to include your full time, part time and any other types of employment that you may have had over the years.The last section of the ideal resume layout wou ld be the section which includes your qualifications. In this section, you need to list down your skills, education and awards. You should also list down any accomplishments that you may have.When you get these all together, you can get more creative when coming up with the best information to use to come up with such an important section of your resume. After all, if you have gotten through an interview then you probably know what your skill set is.If you don't know, then there is no reason for you to spend hours upon hours trying to find out. All you need to do is write down the skill sets that you have worked on and then write down the awards that you have won.This is where this important information should be listed in your resume. So in summary, you want your resume layout to be very easy to read because it will tell the reader that you are organized and can look at your resume in a few seconds.

Does he or doesnt he - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Does he or doesnt he - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Some of Fred Gratzons readers refuse to believe his claim that hes the laziest man in North America. If he is, then how could he have created two successful multi-million dollar businesses? Freds answer is classic: I did not do it with hard work. I did not do it by busting my butt. I did it by having fun ? so much fun that people were attracted to that fun. I then picked the most competent attractees to be on my team and off we went. Whatever ?hard work??? there might have been, I had long since turned into a game and we had fun ?playing??? it. Read Freds post its excellent. Thats a blueprint for happiness at work and success right there! I agree 100% and wrote a post a while back on why laziness is the major force behind my success and happiness. Also read my review of Freds brilliant book The Lazy Way To Success. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

20 misused words that make smart people look dumb - CareerEnlightenment.com

Ironic  vs. CoincidentalA lot of people get this wrong. If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s not  ironicâ€"it’s  coincidental  (and bad luck).Ironic  has several meanings, all of which include some type of reversal of what was expected. Verbal irony is when a person says one thing but clearly means another. Situational irony is when a result is the opposite of what was expected.Henry was a master of situational irony. In “The Gift of the Magi,” Jim sells his watch to buy combs for his wife’s hair, and she sells her hair to buy a chain for Jim’s watch. Each character sold something precious to buy a gift for the other, but those gifts were intended for what the other person sold. That is true irony.If you break your leg the day before a ski trip, that’s  coincidental.  If you drive up to the mountains to ski, and there was more snow back at your house, that’s  ironic.Imply  vs. InferTo  imply  means to suggest something without saying it outright. To  infer  means to draw a conclusion from what someone else implies. As a general rule, the speaker/writer  implies, and the listener/reader  infers.Nauseous  vs. NauseatedNauseous  has been misused so often that the incorrect usage is accepted in some circles. Still, it’s important to note the difference.  Nauseous  means causing nausea;  nauseated  means experiencing nausea.So, if  your  circle includes ultra-particular grammar sticklers, never say “I’m  nauseous” unless you want them to be snickering behind your back.Comprise  vs. ComposeThese are two of the most commonly misused words in the English language.  Comprise  means to include;  compose  means to make up.It all comes down to parts versus the whole. When you use  comprise, you put the whole first: “A soccer game  comprises  (includes) two halves.” When you use  compose, you put the pieces first: “Fifty states  compose  (make up) the United States of America.”Farther  vs. FurtherFarther  refers to physical distance, while  further  describes the degree or extent of an action or situation. “I can’t run any  farther,” but “I have nothing  further  to say.”If you can substitute “more” or “additional,” use  further.Fewer  vs. LessUse  fewer  when you’re referring to separate items that can be counted; use  less  when referring to a whole: “You have  fewer  dollars, but  less  money.”Bringing it all togetherEnglish grammar can be tricky, and, a lot of times, the words that sound right are actually wrong.With words such as those listed above, you just have to memorize the rules so that when you are about to use them, you’ll catch yourself in the act and know for certain that you’ve written or said the right one.This post appeared on The Ladder on March 14, 2017. It was written by  Dr. Travis Bradberry, who  is the co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and the cofounder of TalentSmart.