5 Signs You are Ready to Quit Your Job

 

There comes a time when the thought of quitting starts to come to mind. Almost everyone goes through this phase as an employee. But how do you know whether you should act on this or not?

While the decision may seem tough, there are signs that point to your readiness to quit.

Quitting does mean no monthly income until you find another job. The sacrifice you make now will prove to be beneficial for you and your career in the long run. The first step to my secret to success was to quit my 9 to 5. So, if you experience the following 5 signs, it's time for you to quit your job.

You have little to no desire to excel in the organization

You’ve always admired and looked up to the seniors in your organization, hoping one day to be in their position. You worked hard under their supervision, learning the trade and emulating them. Until one day, you realize you no longer have those aspirations. This could be due to your interest subsiding in the work/organization or the lack of work and life balance.

Whatever the case may be, you should not ignore the sign. If you no longer have the drive to excel at an organization, you need to leave. You are only wasting your time by staying there. When you can be doing something else that you enjoy and would likely excel at. 

You constantly dream about starting something of your own

Most of us have been there, daydreaming about our own business while at work. But how often do you do it? If you find yourself daydreaming more than working, it's time for you to quit your job and pursue your dream.

But don’t just quit because you want total autonomy. While autonomy is one of the reasons to quit, it shouldn’t be your sole reason. The fact that you have a business idea and have the desire to pursue it should be your main reason. Only then will you be able to struggle to make it a reality because there will be a lot of struggling.

There is always uncertainty in life and there is no better time to start a business than when you are constantly thinking about it, especially when it is unintentional. 

You no longer see yourself growing

Unless you are on the verge of retirement, you should always strive to learn and grow. This is the only way you continue to evolve while in an organization. When you notice your growth, in terms of knowledge and skills, become stagnant, you need to consider quitting.

Growth and learning are important for us to stay interested in an organization. The job market is more competitive than ever before. You can’t expect to land or progress without constant growth and development. If you find yourself in an organization that doesn’t offer much development, you should move on.

You constantly stress about work

The workplace environment plays a role in our mental and physical health. If you find yourself having sleepless nights, overburdened with work then you work in a toxic environment. Yes, the economy is down, and finding work may be difficult but that doesn’t mean you harm yourself working in a toxic organization.

It may be difficult for a person going through work stress to identify the impact it is having on them. Working through it is also tough. Seeking professional help from a mental health professional is the best way to go about it. They can help you destress and weigh out your options, so you can take your life back.

You pickup activities that allow you to numb yourself, post-work

Do you find yourself indulging in activities that allow you to numb yourself after work? Many people turn towards alcohol or play video games for hours as a form of “destress.” These activities might soothe the pain but it is only momentarily. The fact that you have to go in day after day to a job that burns you out is not healthy.

Any job that impacts your physical and mental health is not worth it. Your health should be your top priority, you should quit any job that puts it at risk.

Quitting a job isn’t an easy decision, especially when you don’t have another offer lined up. But when a job affects your health or provides no further development, you have no choice but to look elsewhere. No matter how scared you are, always remember that you will find something better. 

How to Become a Great CEO

Becoming a CEO doesn’t mean your learning stops. The key to becoming a great CEO is understanding that there is always something to learn whether it is how to effectively manage your team or improve business processes for better productivity. You need to constantly adapt to the challenges that come your way. We have some tips that can help you do that and be great.

Know what to ask

A common challenge that organizations face is not getting to the root of their problem. They will continue to work around it until they can no longer do so. A great CEO knows to ask their team questions that will help get to the bottom of their problem. They want to seek the problem and rectify it rather than work around it. This not only helps with productivity but ensures that the business continues to function smoothly without any downtime.

Value the stakeholders

Customers will always be the major driving force behind businesses. Which is why all businesses should consider their customers as kings and queens. A great CEO never truly loses sight of valuing the company's stakeholders. They are constantly working with their team for innovative ways to do this with promotions or providing exceptional services. 

At the same time, it doesn’t just stop at customers, your team is also a stakeholder so you need to constantly value them. There are numerous ways you can do this be it through awards and incentives or just appreciating them in meetings. Valuing all your stakeholder is key to great leadership especially during the Corona crisis.

You focus on the major rather than the minor

As the CEO you need to know what aspects of the business you need to invest your time in. After all, time is limited and you don’t want to end up micro-managing your team or getting into the nitty-gritty of processes, you have other people that can do that. You need to learn to focus on major aspects that improve the way your organization works. Work with the team to diagnose processes and figure out how to be more productive, for example. 

Know your team well enough to put the right people in the right place

 

Managing your team will take up a lot of your time as a CEO. You will need to create a balance between being compassionate and knowing what is best for the business. By being compassionate, we mean catering to your employees but at the same time, you make sure that the right individuals are slotted in positions that they are best suited for. This starts with the managers you have in place. It is likely that you will not always be able to directly deal with lower-level employees. This is why it is important you have effective managers in place to ensure their well-being and productivity at all times. 

Becoming a great CEO is a process. The wonderful thing about it is, you can groom yourself into one even if you feel you aren’t cut out for it. Our tips should serve as a starting point for anyone that is interested in becoming a great CEO.

4 Myths about Success

There are a number of good advice and principles that can lead you towards success. The most important is setting goals, working hard, and have a great vision. But there are certain success myths and beliefs set by our society which not only misguides you but also leads to different pitfalls on your way to success.

Here, we will talk about four success myths about achieving success and accomplishments.

Myth 1: Successful People Read Six Books in a Month

There are some reasonable standards of the human mind to absorb learning. Such headlines usually get crossed our eyes that successful people read X number of books in a month. Tell me a thing that is realistic? If a struggling entrepreneur gets so much time that he can read two books per week or five books in a month. How could he be able to spare his efforts, energy and time to his goals?

The other thing is that it is not mentioned anywhere that reading six books per week, surely, makes you a successful entrepreneur. It means it is not only a reason for a successful person. It can help and motivate but not a complete solution to become successful.

Myth 2: Need to Sacrifice Sleep for Success

It’s a great myth that for success, you need to work day and night even if you are compromising on sleep. Researchers have proved that good sleep is responsible for leading brain functions like concentration, productivity as well as cognition. Adequate sleep is 7-9 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Lack of sound sleep leads to mental difficulties in which foremost is depression. Now, here is a question, how one can perform creative and innovative while having sleep deprivation?

Myth 3: No Success After the 20

It is a big misconception that if you don’t get successful in the ’20s, maybe you can't be victorious ever. Before believing on this myth read following:

Grandma Moses is a successful example of one who begins her painting career at the age of 76. Stephen King, an American author whose more than 350 million copies have sold, was working as a janitor at the age of 24. Louise Bourgeois became a famous artist, not before 78.

In our 20's, many times, we are not even clear about our goals, and just experiment on multiple ideas. Our failures make us mature enough that we find the right track to follow success. Never make yourself guilty or regretful that you got old enough to make your dream and passion possible. The only thing is; be persistent.

Myth 4: Work Smart not Hard

A great debate - to achieve success, work smartly. Do you really think so? Working hard is not the right way? We often listen around that, work smart so you could be able to do things faster and accurately also. How do people work speedily and correctly? Can we ignore all the hard work of successful people? A player does hard work before a match and practice for long hours. An artist rehearses many times before the final shot. Then why do people say that work smart, not hard? Actually, the people who work smart have a proven record of working hard. No one can get expertise overnight. They have burnt the midnight oil to get able now for quick work.

So before you choose smart working, work hard to learn all the tricks and techniques of it.

6 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Company

The thought of starting your own business is exciting and daunting at the same time. Exciting because you get the chance to be your own boss and bring an idea you have to life. Daunting because there is so much to do and there are more chances of failure than success.

You've probably already done extensive research on how to bring your business idea to life. Now comes the planning aspect, how will you go about getting the business started? Here are some tried and tested tips for anyone starting a business:

Your market

Before you can develop a perfect solution for a problem, you need to thoroughly understand the audience you are catering. You will notice companies coming to the game a little later than others who just blow the competition out of the market. Google is a wonderful example; Yahoo! was far bigger than Google as a search engine initially. However, Google worked to the market of internet users, developing a simple yet effective search engine with over 3 billion searches daily.

To understand your audience, you need to not just study their demographics but also understand their buying habits by analyzing their psychographics. You can study your competition and how they market and approach customers both on websites and social media platforms.

The exact needs of your customers

By understanding your audience, you need to create a solution that appeals specifically to your customers. Don't try to create something thinking about targeting everyone. Chances are your product is of a specific niche and you need to target customers that need it. Also, pay attention to customer service as it can lead to more revenue for your business.

Money doesn't always equal success

Don't make the mistake of thinking that if you have loads of capital to start, you will be successful. Numerous different startups have had millions of dollars in investment but ended up failing. Money is important to get you off the ground but you also need a comprehensive business model, the right people in place to drive your business and be willing to innovate and evolve with time.

How to manage your debt or make sure to stay out of it

It is never smart to start your business in debt. Meaning, if you need to take thousands of dollars of loans to start your business, you are probably better off waiting instead. It is too risky because you have an untested business model that may fail. The debt will remain and you will have no way to pay for it. Unless you are certain your business will be a success, going in debt to start isn't smart.

If you plan on taking loans to expand, be sure to look for loans that have a low interest. Consider home and personal loans, but just enough that you know you can pay back the amount without too much issue.

You will need a mentor

While theories and books will prepare you for starting a business, they don't give you the knowledge that experience does. You will find numerous successful entrepreneurs who barely studied business or dropped out of college. Most of them will tell you that it was with the help of a mentor that they were able to achieve success. A mentor can guide you in numerous ways, it isn't just about talking about their experience. They can help you strengthen your business plan, give honest feedback, and just be there whenever you need guidance.

Be ready to innovate

Failure is a part of entrepreneurship. Chances are, you won't have the perfect idea in the first go after all about 90% of startups fail. You need to be willing to innovate and adapt. Don't be stubborn and stick to your idea when you realize it is leading you to failure. Instead, think of ways you can change it to cater to your target market and act on it.

The Last Word

Entrepreneurship isn't easy but it isn't impossible either. There are hundreds of new startups daily, the majority of whom fail. The tips above should help you establish a stronger platform to start your business idea.

Sidd Pagidipati: Why Quality Trumps Everything

At the height of the Industrial Revolution, the most powerful businesses were the factories that managed to churn out the greatest quantity of goods at the lowest cost.

Much has changed since the Industrial Revolution. There are still businesses that find success by focusing on quantity over quality - Walmart chose to prioritize low prices, and with over $400 billion in annual sales, they make more gross revenue than any company in the world  - but those businesses are the exception to the rule.

Sidd: Quality Trumps Everything

To be the next Walmart, you would need to be your own supplier. Cutting out the middleman is the only way to offer the lowest prices and still turn a profit. You’d need trucks, warehouses, and distribution centers, and you’d need to hire all the people it takes to run that network. Startups simply can’t do that. They don’t have the capital or the connections to access those kinds of resources.

What startups can do, though, is offer better quality than their competitors. That doesn’t require you to set up your own infrastructure. You just need some industry know-how and a team of talented people.

I’ve witnessed the power of the quality-first approach first-hand. I’m Sidd Pagidipati, and as an entrepreneur, I’ve started several successful businesses. Allow me to use my experience to explain exactly why quality trumps quantity:

Stand Out From The Competition

About half of all startups fail in their first four years. Business only survive past year four when they figure out how to make potential customers have a positive association with their brand. You must be remembered as better than your competitors.

Quality is more impressive than quantity. Offering a marginally better price on your products and services than your competitors will go unnoticed by most customers. Price, after all, is just a number. Every business tells their customers that they offer great value. Value is a somewhat abstract concept, while quality is something customers can see for themselves. It allows you to stand out.

Make Marketing Easy

Of course, every business wants to be associated with quality, even those that take the low-quality/low-price approach. Those businesses are forced to get quite creative with their marketing to make that impression, and these marketing efforts often come across as hollow and end up being ineffective.

But when you genuinely have quality on your side, all you need to do to make that impression is tell the truth. There’s nothing more persuasive than the truth.

Attract Top Talent

In any industry, there are only so many top performers to go around. When you convince these top performers to work for your company rather than one of your competitors, it gives you a serious advantage.

Having an association with high-quality will help you make more sales, and it will also help you convince the most talented people in your field to join your company.

You see, top performers are competitive people. They take their jobs seriously, to the point of tying their overall personal worth to the status of their career. They want to be the best; they want to work for the best. If you are the best, they will work for you.

High-quality products and services will grab the attention of potential customers and employees, and once you get the ball rolling, that attention itself will make your business look more appealing to other potential customers and employees. Quality is the gift that keeps on giving.