New Year’s Resolutions
Professional Marketing International understands the importance of always improving. Continuing to strengthen yourself and your business will help you now and in the future. A business that stands still is a business that is being passed up by the competition. You should always strive to be better.
The New Year is the perfect opportunity to look for improvements you can make in your business. Whether you are investing in real estate or running an online business, you can make strides to refine and revamp various aspects of your business dealings.
Goal Setting for Beginners:
Start small. That is the most important thing to remember. If you attempt to tackle a huge project and fail, you will have a hard time trying again. Set goals that will take hard work and effort on your part but are doable.
Only focus on one or two things at once. If you try to change 10 things about your business in one week, you, your employees and your customers will all be frustrated and confused.
Make a plan that will help you along the way. Write down all the steps that need to happen in order for the goal to be accomplished.
Make sure everyone is on the same page. Have a meeting with your employees and let them know your plan. Keeping goals a secret is a sure fire way to fail. Letting others know what you want to happen makes sure that you are being held accountable, which is only scary if you’re not doing what you should.
Post your goal in place that you will see it daily. It needs to be in your mind and be important to you.
Goal Setting for Veterans:
For those of you who know how to set goals […]
Merry Christmas!
PMI wants to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We hope that you all take the time to remember what’s important in life, your friends and family. Keep up the hard work and stay on track.
We are looking forward to sharing more information with you in the new year and are excited to help your business move forward.
Happy Holidays!
How to Stand Out in a Competitive Workplace
However large or small your workplace is, you will usually find yourself getting caught up in competition. Competition can be good for a person. It fosters a desire to improve and to not be content with mediocrity. Healthy competition can give a person the extra push they need to achieve their goals.
In situations where you work with many other competitive people, it can become increasingly harder and harder to stand out and be noticed.
There are many things you can do to ensure that you stand out among the rest.
Increase productivity: If you want to be noticed you have to do more than what was considered acceptable in the past. You have to push yourself farther.
Fully complete all tasks and assignments: Don’t leave anything undone. If you take on too many projects or tasks at once you run the risk of either doing a poor job or even not completing everything you need to.
Pay attention to details: Mistakes can happen when you are focusing only on the big picture. Keep in mind that there are small things that need to be taken care of first. Check and double check things before turning them over to your superiors. It might take time, but one mistake you catch is one that they don’t see.
Be innovative: Share your ideas for improvement with your superiors. You will be appreciated for any ideas you have that can help with things like improving the company’s productivity or customer relationships.
Be present and on time: Whether it’s a meeting or just the start of the day, always be punctual. Show up ready to go. Being present doesn’t just mean being a body in a chair; it means that you are prepared mentally […]
Benefits of a College Education
There has been much debate on whether or not it is worth taking four years out of your life to get a college degree. Many people believe that working during that time is more beneficial to their careers because they are gaining needed experience in their field.
While gaining experience can be a good thing, the benefits and rewards you gain from a college degree are irreplaceable. These are some of the many advantages that come with a college degree.
Respectable Positions: Most people with a college degree are able to be employed in a “white collar” position with opportunities for advancement, whereas most people with only a high school diploma get “blue collar” positions and have a harder time finding advancement. A college degree is more likely to help get you into a position that society considers more respectable.
Higher Income: Many people will argue that working for four years instead of paying for school is more financially beneficial. While it’s true that four years of school costs thousands of dollars, most careers make up for that cost over the years. With more opportunities for promotions and raises, the amount of money you make over a lifetime is usually more than someone with only a high school diploma.
Learn to Work with Groups: Professors encourage their students to participate in group projects. This experience is valuable when you are assigned to work in teams in a professional capacity. Learning to lead and follow in groups will help you learn the skills you need to succeed in any profession.
More Secure Future: Unforeseen things can always happen. If you lose your job, having a degree can help you to […]
Study: Most Tax Cheats Have a Lot in Common
In 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter that “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
But in today’s age of entitlement and government distrust, people are questioning just how certain taxes really have to be. That question has led to a lot of cheating, and one group is overwhelmingly more apt to cheating than others.
According to CNN Money, a survey by DDB Worldwide Communications group revealed that most American tax cheats are male, single and under 45. Not many people admitted to cheating—only about 15 percent of people surveyed—but 64 percent of self-proclaimed cheaters were male. Forty-seven percent were single, widowed or divorced and more than half were under 45.
The study further revealed that people who cheat on their taxes feel justified in cheating in other areas of life. In the survey, many said they worked a job they didn’t report on their taxes, would keep extra change from a cashier, would wear clothing only once before returning it and would even steal from a child’s piggy bank.
The interesting thing about this study is that many of these cheaters reported that they feel they are special and deserving of such treatment. In comments on the CNN article, many people mentioned dishonesty at the federal level or from big businesses, implying that corporations’ unethical behavior somehow justifies their own dishonest practices.
In short, two things are basically true when it comes to taxes. First, people cheat. And second, they only get in trouble if they get caught. The IRS handles so many cases every year that they can’t possibly audit everyone, but […]
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays from all of us here at PMI! We hope you have a wonderful weekend spending time with loved ones. Travel safe out there!
Happy Thanksgiving From PMI
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays here at PMI. It’s a great excuse to get together with friends and family and stuff ourselves with turkey, pumpkin pie, and sweet potatoes. This holiday, we have a lot to be thankful for. We’ve made it through a recession that’s finally starting to turn around, and our company is growing in exciting ways. Our employees have always been the best of the best and this year is no different. Our customers are a joy and they help us feel like our hard work is worth it. We feel blessed as it is, but every time we are able to help one of our clients reach their goals it gives us another thing to be thankful for.
This holiday, we hope you all can take some time to put troubles aside and find joy in simple things like food and family. We’d like to remind everyone to travel safe this weekend and have a very happy Thanksgiving!
The Story of Sam Walton
Thomas and Nancy Lee Walton’s first son was born in 1918 and grew up poor in a farm community in rural Missouri during the Great Depression. He worked his way through college by delivering newspapers and working as a lifeguard. After getting out of the army he bought his first department store with savings and by borrowing $20,000 from his father-in law.
In 1962, he got the idea of opening bigger stores, keeping costs low and discounting heavily. He was unable to get anyone to invest in his idea so he decided to start his own company which he called, Wal-Mart. When Sam Walton died in 1992, his family’s net worth approached $25 billion. Today, Wal-Mart is the world’s #1 retailer, with more than 4,100 stores. Mr. Walton’s book, Running a Successful Company: Ten Rules that Worked for Me, lists his ten rules for success. Rule number one is commit to your business:
Believe in more than anybody else. I think I overcame every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don’t know if you’re born with this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it. If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you — like a fever.
As Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “There are plenty of rules for attaining success, but none of them work unless you do!” Regardless of your personal feelings for Walmart, you have to respect Mr. Walton’s courage and tenacity.
PMI’s Pumpkin Coloring Contest
PMI’s annual Halloween party is an impressive event. The employees have their own company-wide costume contest and when the work day ends at 5:00 the building fills up with employee’s families for trick or treating and games. This year the kids that attended had a lot of opportunities to win prizes. There was a bat scavenger hunt and other “Halloween survival” activities like learning how to knock witches off their brooms and give ghouls their lost eyeballs without getting too close. Kids won tickets by participating in the activities that they could use to get prizes at the end of the party.
The biggest prizes available were for the winners of the pumpkin coloring contest. There were four age brackets for the contest and, after much deliberation over all of the excellent entries, four winners were chosen. For the twelve and older age group, Nicole was the big winner. For the 9-11 age group, Sasha’s pumpkin took the prize. In the 6-8 age group, Kayla’s pumpkin stole the show. And for the 3-5 age group, Jack’s pumpkin was unbeatable. Each winner gets to take home a treat bag full of popcorn, hot chocolate, candy, toys, and a ten dollar gift card to Wal-Mart. Congratulations to the big winners! Your pumpkins were fantastic!
