1. Critical thinking
There’s no application that doesn’t demand at least some level of critical thinking. Being able to spot and compensate for your own biases, analyze the roots of various problems and discover alternative perspectives on certain subjects can help you address issues more thoroughly, and make smarter plans for future development.

In the professional world, this means being more efficient and seeing better results. In your personal life, it may mean better understanding your relationships and identifying key areas for personal improvement.

2. Creativity
Entrepreneurship also forces you to be creative. While you can’t force creativity, you can practice it — and the more time you spend generating creative thoughts, the better and faster you’ll be at doing it in a practical environment. How you apply that creativity is entirely up to you.

It could help you in a creative hobby, like painting or photography, or give you fuel for professional visions like marketing campaigns — or maybe even another business in the future.

3. Adversity
Entrepreneurship is rife with hard times. The strategies you thought were brilliant (and, hypothetically, perfect) may not work nearly as well as you thought they would, or you may reach a point where your finances are stretched so thin that you have to consider closing up shop.

Though times of adversity and failure will test your patience and fill your life with stress, they’ll also teach you valuable lessons about the nature of challenges and hardship. You’ll learn that failure is only temporary, and you’ll grow more confident — not to mention, likely to stop worrying about the smaller problems you face in everyday life.

4. Independence
As the founder of a business, you’ll be in charge of all the decisions. You’re the ultimate source for accountability, and you’re the one who makes the rules. At first, this will be both exciting and intimidating, but as you become more familiar with your role, you’ll start to accept that level of independence and direction as fundamental to your being.

After you gain some experience, you’ll be more decisive and confident, and less dependent on others, which will be beneficial no matter what you do afterward.

5. Management
It doesn’t take long to realize how much entrepreneurship demands. You’ll be spending countless hours working on your ideas and managing full teams of people (not to mention partner, vendor, and client relationships).

In some ways, entrepreneurship can be seen as a juggling act. In others, it’s a game of microeconomics, demanding that you work with limited resources, like time, to gain the greatest value for the money you put in. In any case, entrepreneurship teaches you the fundamentals of management, which makes you a better decision-maker, better planner and better allocator of resources. There’s no downside to these benefits.

6. Personal branding
Spending time at the helm of your company, you’ll have the chance to develop your personal brand. You’ll get some press coverage as the “face” of your organization, you’ll attract more followers to your social accounts and you’ll likely have the opportunity to publish more content under your name.

All of this can be used in the future to build your resume, help you stand out from the crowd and prove your expertise in at least one niche.

7. Connections
Even if you don’t consider yourself a social butterfly, you’ll gain from adding connections to your network. Entrepreneurship gives you a good excuse to find and retain those connections. You’ll have greater access to employers, mentors, employees, and teachers, but also hobbyists and specialists, whom you may call upon for personal projects, as well. Just be sure to keep in touch even after your stint as an entrepreneur.

No matter what other goals you have in life — whether you want to be a poet, salesperson, scholar, chef or anything in between — entrepreneurship can give you the skills that will improve your chances of success in your professional life.

Author:

TechJunkie, Technopreneur, UI/UX enthusiast, Startup Entrepreneur, Blogster, Motivational Influencer, Innovator, Explorer, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

7 Ways Entrepreneurship Helps You Be Better . . . at Anything! was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Four Amazing Python Books that I Recommend to Every Beginner

In this article, I’m gonna talk about four python books that I found extremely helpful to harness the power of python.

If you are just getting started with Python, I will suggest you to buy and read them sequentially.

• Start with python doc it’s free!
  Python’s Documentation is well maintained. It even contains tutorials that will help you to get familiarize with basic python syntax. Whenever you are stuck it is always a good idea to check out the docs first. As most of the time, you will find whatever you are looking for within the python doc!
• Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners
  I love this book! Cause, this book is full of interesting projects that will make your python learning journey adventurous! In each step, you will find the exquisite taste of accomplishment, which will keep you motivated to learn even more.
  Check Price: https://amzn.to/2DLCrYe
• Fluent Python
  What is so special about this book? Well, this book covers special features of python so well that it made quite a great impression on me. Another thing that I love is this book focuses on writing Pythonic code. Hence, you will be able to transform codes into beautiful idiomatic python
  Check Price: https://amzn.to/2qOpHaK
• Python Cookbook
  The Python Cook Book is full of recipes! Recipes or, scripts that you will use in everyday life! Various topics such as Data Processing, Network Programming or, advanced topics such as Meta Programming are all covered. This book is pretty advanced compared to other books but, nonetheless beginners will find it super useful!
  Check Price: https://amzn.to/2qQC3im
• Pro Python
  Pro python is another advanced book that can be recommended to beginners with basic python knowledge. The best thing about this book is it teaches python best practices. It will help you get rid of your sloppy code habits and, let you write more concise and, idiomatic python.
  Check Price: https://amzn.to/2Q3h3DA

All these books are Highly Recommended!

Note: I recommend that you buy these books as a token of appreciation to the authors. It will help them to produce more and more good stuff which will be beneficial to you, me and all of us.

Thanks for reading! Your claps are always appreciated! :)

Do you have any recommendations for beginners? Let me know in the comments section!

Author:

Thinker, Day Dreamer, Python Enthusiast, Javascript Admirer An Introvert with Exception!

CEO, Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
twitter: twitter.com/wasi0013
Github: github.com/wasi0013
facebook: fb.me/wasi0013

Please, feel free to contact me if you need any help.

P.S. I have switched from medium to my personal blog. Visit my blog to get the latest posts! You can also suggest the topic of your choice by contacting me, I will try my best to write about it. :)

Personal Blog: https://wasi0013.com/blog

** All the book links given above are affiliate links of Amazon. **

Four Amazing Python Books that I recommend to every Beginners was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In 2010, Thomas Thwaites decided he wanted to build a toaster from scratch. He walked into a shop, purchased the cheapest toaster he could find and promptly went home and broke it down piece by piece.

Thwaites had assumed the toaster would be a relatively simple machine. By the time he was finished deconstructing it, however, there were more than 400 components laid out on his floor. The toaster contained over 100 different materials with three of the primary ones being plastic, nickel and steel.

He decided to create the steel components first. After discovering that iron ore was required to make steel, Thwaites called up an iron mine in his region and asked if they would let him use some for the project.

Surprisingly, they agreed.

The ‘Toaster Project’

The victory was short-lived.

When it came time to create the plastic case for his toaster, Thwaites realized he would need crude oil to make the plastic. This time, he called up BP and asked if they would fly him out to an oil rig and lend him some oil for the project. They immediately refused. It seems oil companies aren’t nearly as generous as iron mines.

Thwaites had to settle for collecting plastic scraps and melting them into the shape of his toaster case. This is not as easy as it sounds. The homemade toaster ended up looking more like a melted cake than a kitchen appliance.

This pattern continued for the entire span of The Toaster Project. It was nearly impossible to move forward without the help of some previous process. To create the nickel components, for example, he had to resort to melting old coins. He would later say, “I realized that if you started absolutely from scratch you could easily spend your life making a toaster.”

Thomas Thwaites set out to build a toaster from scratch. The Toaster Project, as it came to be known, ended up looking more like a melted cake.

Image credit: Daniel Alexander

Don’t start from scratch

Starting from scratch is usually a bad idea.

Too often, we assume innovative ideas and meaningful changes require a blank slate. When business projects fail, we say things like, “Let’s go back to the drawing board.” When we consider the habits we would like to change, we think, “I just need a fresh start.” However, creative progress is rarely the result of throwing out all previous ideas and completely re-imagining of the world.

Consider an example from nature:

Some experts believe the feathers of birds evolved from reptilian scales. Through the forces of evolution, scales gradually became small feathers, which were used for warmth and insulation at first. Eventually, these small fluffs developed into larger feathers capable of flight.

There wasn’t a magical moment when the animal kingdom said, “Let’s start from scratch and create an animal that can fly.” The development of flying birds was a gradual process of iterating and expanding upon ideas that already worked.

The process of human flight followed a similar path. We typically credit Orville and Wilbur Wright as the inventors of modern flight. However, we seldom discuss the aviation pioneers who preceded them like Otto Lilienthal, Samuel Langley and Octave Chanute. The Wright brothers learned from and built upon the work of these people during their quest to create the world’s first flying machine.

The most creative innovations are often new combinations of old ideas. Innovative thinkers don’t create, they connect. Furthermore, the most effective way to make progress is usually by making 1 percent improvements to what already works rather than breaking down the whole system and starting over.

Iterate, don’t originate

The Toaster Project is an example of how we often fail to notice the complexity of our modern world. When you buy a toaster, you don’t think about everything that has to happen before it appears in the store. You aren’t aware of the iron being carved out of the mountain or the oil being drawn up from the earth.

We are mostly blind to the remarkable interconnectedness of things. This is important to understand because in a complex world it is hard to see which forces are working for you as well as which forces are working against you. Similar to buying a toaster, we tend to focus on the final product and fail to recognize the many processes leading up to it.

When you are dealing with a complex problem, it is usually better to build upon what already works. Any idea that is currently working has passed a lot of tests. Old ideas are a secret weapon because they have already managed to survive in a complex world.

Iterate, don’t originate.

Author:

TechJunkie, Technopreneur, UI/UX enthusiast, Startup Entrepreneur, Blogster, Motivational Influencer, Innovator,Explorer,Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

How Innovative Ideas Arise was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Introversion and extroversion are signature traits that ordinarily define how a person prefers spending his or her time. Introverts tend to prefer quiet, solitary, and introspective experiences, while extroverts prefer energetic, collaborative and social environments. Clearly, neither is inherently better than the other, but for introverts, entrepreneurship can be especially challenging.

Does this mean introverts can’t be entrepreneurs?

Absolutely not. In fact, there are some breakout examples of introverts who became some of the most successful business owners in history.

The introvert’s plight

Why do introverts struggle in an entrepreneurial position to begin with? For starters, entrepreneurs tend to do better when they’re charismatic, a trait usually associated with extroversion. Charisma helps you make more connections, inspire your employees, earn trust faster and grow your audience. Being social and outgoing also helps you meet new people at networking events (or even be willing to attend them in the first place); and the entrepreneurial lifestyle is an overall chaotic and noisy one — something few introverts enjoy.
So, how are introverts not just able to survive, but to thrive? Take a look at these entrepreneurs, and how they’ve been able to use their introversion to succeed:

1. Larry Page

Larry Page co-founded Google alongside Sergey Brin — and we all know how that story ended. Page served as Google’s CEO until 2001 and then re-assumed the position in 2011 (lasting until 2015, during Google’s migration to Alphabet).

At the time, many saw Page’s appointment as an odd choice, because he’s highly reserved, and as you can imagine, “geeky.” But Page’s quiet, intellectual nature allowed him to create an innovative new product and create a unique brand that still survives as one of the country’s best examples of corporate culture.

2. Bill Gates

You likely recognize Bill Gates as the founder of Microsoft, and someone who is now worth billions of dollars. Gates started out as a solitary introvert, but he used the people around him to complement his own strengths and weaknesses.

In his own words, “If you’re clever, you can learn to get the benefits of being an introvert, which might be, say, being willing to go off for a few days and think about a tough problem, read everything you can, push yourself very hard to think out on the edge of that area. Then, if you come up with something . . . you’d better learn what extroverts do, you’d better hire some extroverts and tap into both sets of skills.”

3. Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet, the founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is one of the wealthiest people in the world and a prominent figure in investing. He’s also known for his level-headedness, intellectual persistence, and critical thinking. He’s introverted by nature but still manages to lead one of the most prominent businesses in the country.

He brings that intellectual level-headedness into his communication style, letting his introverted tendencies serve as an entrepreneurial strength.

4. Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was once described by COO Sheryl Sandberg as “shy and introverted, and he often does not seem very warm to people who don’t know him, but he is warm.” Zuckerberg has been able to build charisma through his introversion, as contradictory as that may sound.

He surrounds himself with team leaders who complement his strengths, which has enabled him to build Facebook into the company it is today.

5. Elon Musk

It might be strange to think that a man who’s been described as the “next Steve Jobs” was once a reserved, introverted engineer — but Musk himself is open about that past.

Somewhere along the line, Musk saw the power he could wield through communication and socialization and recalibrated his personal reserve to help his ideas flourish in an environment that traditionally favors extroverts.

Key lessons

What lessons can other introverts learn from these amazing leaders?

• Introversion doesn’t dictate your behavior. Just because you’re introverted doesn’t mean you can’t socialize. Take notes from Elon Musk or Warren Buffet, and work past your introversion by developing yourself into a more communicative, charismatic figure.
• There are some advantages to introversion. Take pride in your introversion for what it is. Introverts tend to be more contemplative and more thorough thinkers, so use those advantages to come up with better solutions for your business.
• Nature doesn’t predict success or failure. Neither extroverts nor introverts are guaranteed to succeed in the business world. Your success is determined by the actions you take, not by who you are as a person.
• You can always make up for your weaknesses. It’s possible, but unwise to try to do everything yourself — especially if you’re introverted. If you know you’re not outgoing and don’t like engaging with others, find teammates who can make up for those tendencies.

Being an introvert doesn’t mean entrepreneurship is impossible for you, and it doesn’t even mean it has to be difficult. It just means you have a different set of skills and a different disposition that must be considered when you’re building your team and your business.

Know your own strengths and weaknesses, and adapt or make up for them accordingly; with this approach, you’ll be successful no matter how you started out.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogster, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

Introversion and extroversion are signature traits that ordinarily define how a person prefers… was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Are you tired of showing up for work day after day just because you’re supposed to? You go not because you want to, but because you have to in order to put food on your table and keep a roof over your head. You’ve clearly lost that loving feeling for your job and now you don’t know what to do about it.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. A study from the Deloitte University Press reported that up to 87.7 percent of America’s workforce is not able to contribute to their full potential because they don’t have a passion for their work. Furthermore, less than 12.3 percent of America’s workforce possesses the attributes of worker passion.

If you fall into these demographics, maybe it’s time to find out what you’re really passionate about and turn that into your life’s career. Here are six steps to help.

1. Discover your passion.

Your passion should be the thing you enjoy and for which you are naturally wired to excel. There is a huge difference between a hobby and a passion, and it is crucial that you differentiate between the two before quitting your day job. For instance, just because you enjoy painting does not necessarily mean you should make it your profession. You might be better at graphic design, which uses some of the same artistic talents as painting. Keep an open mind and explore all of your options.

2. Determine the demand.

After you have discovered your passion, determine the level of demand for your skills and choose a field. It’s risky to plunge into a career with a very low demand, or one with a large number of competitors even though you love it. However, the number of competitors should not be the deal-breaker. If you are confident in your skills, it is very possible to establish yourself and compete quite comfortably, as long as you have a strong marketing strategy.

3. Do your research.

Conduct a detailed search on what it would take to launch your career in this field. You may need to acquire specific machinery or equipment or earn a certification, degree, or special training. You may even need to hire employees or solicit funding. To save headaches later, find out all you can now.

Interview people who have or are in a similar business to the one you’re considering. Learn what they did to succeed and follow their path, especially if you choose to work in a niche market.

4. Make a plan.

Make a detailed plan of the steps you need to take to make your passion a realistic career opportunity. Include what you need to do and how much you need to spend before you launch into your new venture. If possible, always have a back-up plan in case Plan A doesn’t work out.

5. Become qualified.

To be taken seriously, you must first become a professional. Having a special skill may not be enough to deem you an expert, so acquire the training necessary to become marketable. Take a night, weekend or online class while you’re in your current job, or a sabbatical to attend an intensive training or internship. As the saying goes, “The more you learn, the more you will earn.”

6. Be flexible.

Your road is not always going to be smooth, so plan for hiccups and make adjustments along the way. Be open to advise and criticism; other people’s insights may open your eyes to something new. No one can succeed alone. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with talented individuals or to form an advisory board to help you make the right decisions.

Turning your passion into a career requires motivation. Be proactive and take a step every day that gets you nearer your goal. The fruits of your labor will eventually pay off and you’ll be well on your way to doing what you love.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

6 Steps to Turn Your Passion Into a Career was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How do I make my resume stand out? What experiences should I include? What rules should I be aware of? And specifically, what should be the length?

Are these some of the questions that keep you up at night? Fret not, we will answer them all for you. Here’s our handy guide to resume writing with common stumbling blocks and finer pointers to be kept in mind.

1. Tailor Your Resume

Your resume should not comprise every project you have ever been a part of. Regard your resume as a marketing document selling you as the perfect person for the job and not as an exhaustive list of your impertinent career history.

Ensure that you highlight only the accomplishments and skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for. It does not have to include all your work experiences.

2. Mention Best Stuff at the Top

A hiring manager usually scans a resume for about 25 seconds. So make sure you mention the best and most pertinent accolades and experiences at the top. This top section will not only make an impactful first impression but also will serve as a hook for the employer to continue reading.

3. Maintain a Reverse-Chronological Format

There are several ways to arrange information on your resume, but the traditional reverse-chronological resume is the most widely used resume style and certainly your best bet.

In a chronological resume, your jobs are arranged in a reverse chronological sequence with your current, or the most recent job first. Do not forget to incorporate a resume objective or career summary before listing preceding work experiences along with education, certifications, and areas of expertise.

4. Keep it to a Page

No matter how well-worded your resume is, it will not get a second glance if it is poorly organized and lengthy. Try to tell the same story in less space even if you genuinely have a huge number of relevant experiences, internships, and other credentials to showcase.

Ideally, a resume should be one-page long so make sure the sentences are crisp and well-written. Limit yourself to a maximum of two pages, but at the same time do not cut the meat out of your resume.

5. List Your Skills

Include a section that mentions all the pertinent skills and any industry-related certifications you have for the position. If you have plenty of skills pertaining to a position, you can split the skills section into categories like ‘Language Skills’ or ‘Software Skills’.

You can skip skills such as using email or Microsoft Word as everyone is expected to know them. As a matter of fact, listing them can make you seem less technologically savvy.

6. Keep It Simple

The fundamental principle of a good resume is simplicity. The focus should be on readability. Use a basic but modern font such as Arial or Century Gothic, and a font size between 10 and 12 as that will be easy to read.

Leaving a significant amount of white space on the page is a good idea. It is fine to use a different font or typeface for mentioning details and resume headers but always keep the page clean and consistent.

7. Go for Succinct Bullet Points

Mention as many facts, figures, and statistics as you can in the bullet points. How many people were a part of the team you were leading? By what margin did you exceed your last target?

Quantifying your accomplishments lets the employer assess your abilities based on your previous achievements. Remember to stick to five to six concise and impressive bullet points in a section. Writing more than that can make the employer completely omit them.

8. Update Your Resume Regularly

Update your resume on a regular basis. Adding all the new relevant information such as courses, certifications, and other academic qualifications that you have pursued on the way is the best way to keep a track of everything. It is a great idea as it ensures that you do not end up sending an obsolete resume to the hiring manager.

9. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

Needless to say, ensure your resume is devoid of typos and grammatical errors. Do not just rely on spell check and grammar check. Consult family or friends, ask them to browse through it and work on their suggestions.

Indubitably, we all understand the importance of curating an effective resume in getting shortlisted for an interview. It can be quite a challenge to make an impactful one. We hope this compilation helps you craft a solid, winning resume and make you land that dream job. Wish you the best!

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

Tips on Writing an Effective Resume was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In sports, we often talk about athletes who “want it” more than others. These are the players who show up early, who use up every last ounce of energy in pursuit of their best performance. Players for whom defeat is viscerally painful, the ones who will stop at nothing to succeed. A coach’s job is to inspire and channel this motivation and use it to maximize the team’s performance.

Motivation comes from two places — intrinsic, which comes from within, and extrinsic, which comes from external forces. As a leader, it’s easy to rely on incentives, penalties, and other extrinsic motivation — “If you do X, you will get Y” — but these kinds of incentives only go so far. The best coaches on the ball field and the best leaders in the office understand that to build a truly winning culture, you need to create intrinsic motivation. Inspiring those you lead to do great work for the love of the work itself and not because they’ll receive a trophy at the end of the game or a mention in the next company newsletter.

But how do you instill that passion? Here are six lessons to foster intrinsic motivation in your office.

1. Link individual to team success.

Motivation soars when athletes know their actions can make the difference between a team win or a loss. On the field, this can be clear cut — hustling for a loose ball can mean the difference between a turnover or a goal. At work, the link between an employee’s day-to-day work and the success of the business can be less obvious but employees must understand the importance of their contribution to the success of their department and company as a whole.

2. Shoot for ‘small wins.’

One secret of successful athletes is their ability to break down goals into discrete parts. Instead of focusing on their dream of breaking a record, they focus instead on the small steps that will help them get there — increasing their mileage, lifting more in the weight room, even something as small as drinking more water every day.

Goals can be counterproductive to motivation. People are often discouraged when confronted with a large, daunting challenge. Weick’s advice? Reframe goals into smaller challenges with visible results that he calls “small wins.”Small wins allow your team to focus on making steady progress and motivate them to keep working towards the larger goal.

3. Practice makes perfect.

As athletes notice their skills improving, their intrinsic motivation grows and they work harder. Give your teams the chance to practice and hone their skills, whether it’s through internal training or external resources. There are so many great professional development platforms and skill-building events available today, and making these available to your team will only bolster their performance and attitude about their work.

4. Build relationships.

Athletes who care about their coaches and teammates become invested in their team’s success as well as their own. Great managers create bonds that spread among team members. This doesn’t mean just friending your direct reports on Facebook or taking them out for drinks. It means making a concerted effort to understand them, their strengths, weaknesses, passions, and fears.

5. Praise the effort, not the outcome.

Recognize your employees’ contributions, big and small, with positive reinforcement. But keep in mind it’s better to reward the effort than the person. Too much-generalized praise such as “You’re awesome” and “You’re a rock star!” can actually decrease motivation. Researchers from the University of Chicago found that children who are praised for their performance — for example, “You worked really hard” — instead of abstract personal praise such as “You are smart” are more likely to embrace challenging tasks in the future. Your direct reports aren’t toddlers but the idea is the same: reinforcing the hard work helps an employee understand what made them successful.

6. Have fun.

The most motivated teams are also the happiest. But what comes first: the motivation or enjoyment? Economic expert Andrew J. Oswald studied the impact of happiness on productivity and found that a positive mindset can improve performance. In one study, subjects were shown a video — either of comedy routines or a “placebo” video that wasn’t as funny. Those shown the comedy video were 12 percent more productive than those who saw the less funny video.

Intrinsic motivation is essential for high-performing teams. Those leaders who understand the difference between internal and external motivators and know how to harness them will have the edge on their competition, on the field or in the marketplace.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

6 Ways to Motivate Individuals to Become a Winning Team was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There is some debate out there as to whether blogging is still relevant in today’s social media marketing environment.

Regardless if you are a small business or a multinational company, blogging is integral to your online content marketing strategy.

Here are 4 reasons you need to blog:

• Drive traffic to your website
• Increase your SEO/ SERP
• Position your brand as an industry leader
• Develop better customer relationships

Drive traffic to your website:

Your blog gives you the opportunity to create relevant content for your customers. Use this as a marketing tactic to drive traffic back to your website.

Make the blog on your website the foundation for all of your social media platforms.

Your business might be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or anywhere else. Post links — with relevant visuals — of your blog articles to your social sites. Give your social followers a reason to click through to your website.

Additionally, post inbound links directly in your blog articles, to drive traffic to specific landing pages of your website.

Increase your SEO/SERP:

Blogs increase your SEO. Fresh content is still a key to beating out your competitors in the search engine results page.

Use keywords in your articles. List the keywords, topics, and categories you want your business to be found with. Use these words, and related expressions when writing your posts.

Of course, whether you actively seek these out or not, blogging regularly about your business, industry, product or customer lifestyle will naturally increase your search keywords. Being intent on your words will only increase results.

Keywords and topics on your website are a significant way in which Google (and other search engines) find your site for these searched words.

Position your brand as an industry leader:

Well written articles demonstrate your company as an industry leader. By posting topics that resonate with your market and show your knowledge, you are marketing your skills for your business, service or product too.

If you are a retailer, for example, write blog posts about your products. Your customers will get to know you as the knowledge source for the products they want.

If you are in B2B, post articulate, well-researched articles about your service. Become the hub or the place to be, for your industry.

You are building trust, too. The more you can show that you are well-versed in your field, the more likely your consumer will trust you to supply what they need.

Your customers additionally benefit from the learning you provide them.

Develop better customer relationships:

Blogs provide another source to deepen the connection with your customers. By connecting directly on your website, your clients are able to get to know your business or product from the comfort of your online home base.

Use this. Again, build trust by being a source of information. Consumers like to be informed, and appreciate that you are the one teaching them.

Additionally, just as on your other social sites, respond to comments and interact with your consumer. If they have questions about a product you are writing about, respond to them directly on your website. Unlike many social sites, a blog is generally searchable on your site for some time. Your website comments last longer than on a Twitter response or Facebook post. Other customers will see your interactions too.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

4 Reasons Why Blogging is Important for Your Business was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Life without new challenges would be boring. Every new problem and challenge you face helps you gain more experience and grow yourself.

No matter how prepared or organized you are, obstacles will always come along your way and force you to step out of your comfort zone and do something to solve them. And when you face a challenge, the first thing you need to do is to stop and take a deep breath so you can think before you act. Below find the rest of the steps you need to take in order to overcome challenges at work.

1. Define the real problem

The first thing you need to do is to define what the real problem is. Start by asking questions about the problem so that you can get to the root of it. Then, formulate the problem and explain it to your co-worker to check whether you really understand it. Talking about the problem with someone else helps you understand it better and understanding the problem is the first step in solving it.

2. Divide the problem into smaller pieces

It is very hard to deal with one big problem but if you divide this problem into smaller pieces, you can easily deal with these small problems one by one. Usually, big problems include smaller problems within. Therefore, try to identify what these small problems are and find their solutions first. You will see that as you tackle these small problems, you will gain your confidence and handle the big one as well.

3. Get help from someone else

It is OK to ask for help when you get stuck and are not sure what to do or how to move on. You can ask a co-worker that you always work with or your supervisor. If you don’t want to get help from them or if you are an entrepreneur working by yourself, then call a friend you trust who also faced a similar challenge. You will realize that you are not the only one facing problems and people around you too have had similar challenges before.

4. Every challenge helps you gain experience

Life without new challenges would be boring. Every new problem and challenge you face helps you gain more experience and grow yourself. If you want to do great things, then you probably know that there will always be different problems you have to face along the way. Therefore, see this as part of your bigger dream and welcome new challenges.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

How to Overcome Challenges at Work was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As any entrepreneur can attest, there is a lot to do when starting your own business. It’s easy to make mistakes in the early days but you can avoid some of them if you know what they are. Many start-up entrepreneurs fall into these all-too-common traps, which can bog down or block their business flow.

1. You choose the wrong name.

Picking the right business name is crucial to your success. Don’t choose a name just because it’s cute, sentimental or quirky. Imagine your brand going national; will the name hold up to expansion? Is it easy to spell and remember? Does it describe your business or its benefits?

2. You buy for the sake of buying.

You will need business equipment, furniture, software, and electronics, but you don’t need to purchase everything upfront. Buy the essentials and upgrade as your business makes money. Keep your capital on hand for building the business; you will need it for networking, marketing, and future investments.

3. You have no marketing strategy.

When it comes to branding, pay a professional to design your logo, website, and other marketing materials. You may know your product but your lack of knowledge into how to represent it properly to your potential client can hurt you. Enter the market with a focused marketing strategy and first-class materials that will elevate your business to a professional level from your first appointment on.

4. You work in isolation.

Many entrepreneurs can work for days on end and not see another human being. Get out of your pajamas and surround yourself with other talented and self-motivated professionals. Join networking groups, volunteer, serve on boards and other activities in order to generate new ideas and connect with like-minded individuals.

5. You under price.

To determine what you should charge, look at your entire cost of doing business, including materials, labor, rent, utilities, taxes, and more. In the beginning, you should be able to cover your expenses and break even or make a small profit. Also, research competitive pricing; see what others are charging for similar services. Don’t venture too far off the average, either high or low. The more specific your niche, and the more in demand you are, however, the higher the price you can charge.

6. You give in to distraction.

Do you check email every time it dings, or spend hours surfing the Internet? Distraction eats up time and profit more than any other factor. Determine the specific activities that generate income (client appointments, contacts, and networking) and spend the majority of your day on them. Set a formal work schedule and stick to it.

Before starting any business, remember to do your research, network with other successful business owners, establish a budget and stick to it, and you will eventually achieve the profits — and the satisfaction — you desire.

Author:

Technofreak, Codaholic, UI/UX enthusiast, Techie, Entrepreneur, Startup Lover, Blogger, Hustler, Dream Achiever

MD, Co-Founder
Dreamcatcher IT
website:https://www.naurin.me

The 6 Biggest Startup Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make was originally published in Dreamcatcher IT’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.