What’s the Difference Between an Employee and an Independent Contractor?

It can be confusing to tell the difference between an Employee and an Independent Contractor (IC).

Whether you are a business owner, freelancer, or applying for a job, this article can help. You will see a comparison between these terms, and also why they are misapplied in Multi-Level Marketing.

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35 Potentially Harmful Dietary Supplements You Should Know About

Be sure to take your vitamins!”

This is the message we hear starting in childhood: that supplements are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

But despite a widespread belief that they are safe because they are natural, the truth is that some supplements can be quite dangerous. Rather than enhancing health, consuming them in high quantities (or in conjunction with other medications) could result in terrible health outcomes.

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Why Strategy is Important in Camping… and in Marketing

Marketing gets a lot of attention, and with good reason: It’s the art and science of attracting people to buy from you.

Without a way to reach new customers, you’ll end up running out of money… and shutting the doors to your business.

But there is one thing a lot of business owners get wrong.

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7 Reasons MLMs are So Attractive to Established Business Owners [Video]

Why would a business owner who is already established want to join a Multi-Level Marketing opportunity?

In this video, I answer some questions about why this is such a compelling offer and why joining an MLM can be so dangerous.

Check it out, or read a transcript (with links and other juicy details) by scrolling down.

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How to Do a Year In Review

It’s that time of year… to review whether you have reached your goals!

As a business owner, you may feel ready to leave last year behind and move forward—especially if you’ve experienced failure: Disappointing sales, high staff turnover, unpaid invoices, frustrating delays, or negative outcomes.

financial crisis, downward trend, low profits, decreased revenue, bad results

But we shouldn’t avoid talking about failure. It may be easier to talk about happy things, but there are just as many (if not more) reasons to review the unpleasant ones.

In this post, I’ll explain the benefits of using a Year In Review, and how to start.

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A Letter to My Business Mentor: From Fear to Confidence

I recently had a great e-mail exchange with my long-time mentor, who is the CEO of an engineering company in the US Midwest.

He asked me how things are going.

Here was my response:

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What is Strategic Risk, and Why Does It Matter?

When you hear the word “risk,” you probably think of either something dangerous (“don’t do that, you could get hurt!”), or an action that is likely to fail (“if this works out, we’ll be rich; if not, we could lose everything”). But risks are actually neutral; they’re neither good nor bad, but simply describe a degree of uncertainty.

We tend to say that risks are either “positive” or “negative.” But what we’re actually describing is the outcome. If a risk brings a positive outcome, we might enjoy new opportunities and pleasant surprises. If a risk brings a negative outcome, we could experience damage, injury, liability, or loss.

The factors that contribute to outcomes are called threats. Although most threats can’t be eliminated (such as consumer purchase habits, economic instability, and increasing reliance on technology), we can definitely reduce the chance that we will suffer from a negative outcome.

I’m passionate about helping leaders to recognize vulnerabilities in their organization: areas where an attack or loss is likely to occur. In this article, I explain the importance of developing your awareness of risks in a strategic context, the “perfect blend” of strategy and risk, and suggestions for managing them.

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