Rewarding your employees - Hosting an amazing office party

Although having frequent parties and events at a company might give the impression that people are not working and that it is not a serious business, it is required as it will help motivate your workers, and it will increase overall productivity and efficiency levels. 

Nevertheless, make sure that parties are only used as a means for either celebrating a major event, or for rewarding your employees for their excellent work and performance. But always make the motive behind a party clear and what you want to achieve with it.

Always make sure of the party budget

It is very important that you do not rush into office party planning without knowing what your budget is, and in order to avoid any embarrassing moments, it is better to sit down and to chalk up a viable budget. 

Furthermore, make sure that you have the exact number of people going to show up so that you know how much of anything to reserve, but keep in mind that there will be those who will not be able to come at the last minute as well, or vice versa. It is better to leave room for correction in your budget estimate than to end up short with money.

Find a suitable place

In order to hold a good party, and for your employees to enjoy themselves, it will be necessary to find a good venue. Make sure though that this place is easily accessible by all, and that it is neither far away nor complicated to get to. 

Moreover, if you have a big enough company to hold the party there, it would be even better, not only do you get to save some money but your employees will not have to drive for long hours to get to the party. 

Choosing the right theme of the party

To really spice up things, and to encourage employees to mingle and enjoy themselves, it is always a good idea to pick a theme for the party. Consider holding a masked party as it can be good for those want to be really creative. 

However, if employees find themselves without a costume, they can always look up Costume One’s costumes online and either buy or rent one for the evening. Just make sure that everyone understands what the topic is and that they can have for the night. 

Entertainment for the party

Just having people to come for food and drinks is often not enough, you should ensure that there is some form of entertainment, and it is often best to have your employees play games. 

Although it might seem like party games are not meant for corporate parties, this could not be further from the truth, not only will it be great for your employees to really unwind and to have fun, but it is a good way to encourage guests to mingle and to socialize without worrying about who is which position at the company.

Make a party for the whole family

Often employees cannot leave their children alone and they will miss out on a corporate gathering, but for such scenarios, it is a good idea to organize a party which is family friendly as well. You can also organize that the daycare works longer for that event and that your employees can leave their kids and not to worry about anything. 

However, family parties are always welcome as they will encourage family fun and special bonding between families and employees as well. Just make sure that food and drinks are age appropriate.

Organizing a good party to promote business productivity and efficiency

One of the main goals for hosting a business party is to encourage your employees that they are doing great and that they can feel appreciated and respected. However, make sure that you do not hold frequent events, as it will defeat the purpose and it cannot be used as an effective method to reward your employees. 

Always make sure to include your workers when designing the outline of the party, as they will know what they want, and what will be entertaining. After all, each party should be different and more engaging than the last one.

Your Career as a Manager in 2015: Virtual Politics & Education

Technology development, internet expanding market, failed educational systems, the horrors of the recession, etc. This list could last for quite some time, so let’s cut it here and draw a conclusion: the business world suffered a lot of changes, and alterations are far from stopping when it comes to innovative approaches, new regulations, incomprehensible business models and generally underdeveloped ideas. 

The reality of the present day business world is that you have to stay industrious at all times, determined and attentive, and you have to keep learning if you want to advance in your career.

Of course, progress always depends on the level of one’s commitment, but today you can obtain a skill on Monday to find out it is obsolete on Friday. Development leaves incompetency behind, it’s elementary, but it is hard to keep up with modern business world. This is why we will focus on methods that you can commit to and attain skills that will secure your future progress in the following period. 

Virtual Office Politics

Management is all about communication, you have to understand that you are an enabler, so always keep in mind that no matter the variety of individuals that you have to communicate with on a daily basis, you have to adapt to every one of them. Use social networks, all HR leaders do, get familiar with their interests, their likes and tweets and maybe you will find a way to motivate and engage your employees.

Of course, be subtle, don’t just approach them and tell them that you’ve read their profile and found out that they yearn for a vacation. You don’t have to be misleading, it is good enough to just inform them about your decision without any further explanations, especially if it affects your employee in a positive manner. Remember, just because you are an enabler it doesn’t mean that you should enable contra productivity. Authority is still a matter of attitude, guidance and smart decisions.

Support collaborations, build a LinkedIn network and keep your employees connected at all times. If your staff has a chance to access work files and connections at their personal time, all chances are that they will do so, it is also a powerful motivator for them to stay engaged. 

If your office is not supporting BYOD policy, you should get familiar with this strategy. Younger experts especially proved themselves as more productive workers when they had the chance to feel comfortable with their working tools. 

Virtual Learning

Although modern tools will allow you to have your decisions entirely data driven, this doesn’t mean that you should stop working on your personal and professional education. 

On the contrary, you should obtain practical skills and get certification for them, and commit to that as a part of your daily or at least weekly routine. Learning without earning a certificate doesn’t make much sense, although you may hear different, a validate proof of your skill will always prevail in your benefit.

Seminars became webinars, lectures – subscriptions and videos, and your tablet is your notebook. According to your particular line of work you should also pay attention about innovation of apps, and know that cloud based software is the future of doing any form of virtual business. 

If you are looking for apps that could make your day more productive and well organized, get familiar with the best of them here. Make your device your personal assistant and let reminders keep you attentive and diligent, today staying in touch with the latest technology is crucial for any line of work.

These are guidelines that you can apply no matter the field that you work in, but they are far from suggestions. If you don’t take this matter seriously it could have a negative effect on your future career. 

Keep an innovation-friendly point of view, connect and share your knowledge, and you will have no problem with leading a successful business in 2015.

5 Easy Steps to Increase Stock Trading Profits

Being an investor, your primary objective is to earn profits. Whatever the form of your trade – day, momentum, short-term or long-term - making higher profits from each trade is an important goal. The higher the returns on each trade, the higher the rise of your net earnings.

Professional traders boast 80-95% success rates on each trade. Retail traders on the other hand enjoy a success rate of 50% or lower. This means that often their profits are soon lost, and this change prevents them from earning as much as professional traders in terms of Rate of Investment. 

However, with consistent success, retail traders’ profits grow, ROI improves and capital bases rise. The more funds you have at your disposal, the more opportunities you will find to trade and the lower the trades will go. To help you to do that, here are 5 tips on how to improve stock trading profits:

1. Study charts: Developing your trading skill depends much on studying charts and reading indicators. Instead of focusing on the profit, focus on the stocks you are going to trade. Improving your technical skills will improve your chances of getting higher returns.

2. Wait after the market closes: Wait 20-30 minutes after the market closes to make sure that all of the solidified ticker data is in the charts. Waiting allows you to obtain all the data from the daily trading activity. 

Since there are now over 50 Dark Pool Alternative Trading System venues, dozens of Electronic Communication Networks, over a dozen stock exchanges and many other Over The Counter platforms, it takes time for every order to pass through the National Clearing Houses, be recorded, documented and transfer of title even if the transaction took place on the High Frequency Trading millisecond. 

All of this means you should wait after the market closes to improve your chances of getting higher returns.

3. Observe the market condition: Being unable to find suitable stocks might make your regular trading strategies desolate. One of the main reasons retail traders suffer losses is because they try to force the market to trade their way. Instead, be adaptable and learn to go with the flow of the market.

4. Practice intermediate-term trading: Weak stock indicators result in the trade being weak as well. Learn to trade not only in the short-term, but in the intermediate-term as well. 

Many traders suffer losses due to the intermediate-term affecting the prices in the short-term trading. Learning to trade in both terms improve your chances of generating higher returns.

5. Identify actively trading Market Participant Groups: There are 9 distinct MPGs. Each have their own specific order processing system and venue, types, size of lot order and trades at specific times of the day or specific market conditions. 

When you know the Group you are trading, you can identify how price moves, volume behavior and lot sizes of the Group.

Every trader should know these basic pieces of information. Dream big, and following these simple guidelines will see you generate higher and higher returns.

Top 5 Government Programs to Assist Veterans Financially

As a thank you for their service and dedication to excellence as a member of the military, the United States government maintains a number of different programs that offer financial assistance to veterans. Whether the assistance be for college, housing or for simple necessities, military veterans deserve as much help as they can get.
The following five government programs offer extensive financial assistance to military veterans who are in various stages of life.

1. Federal Student Aid from the Department of Education

Veterans and current military members who are seeking a college degree can receive financial assistance from the Department of Education.

Veterans are eligible for a variety of levels of benefits depending on how long they served and whether or not they are currently active. In a large number of cases, veterans are eligible for full college benefits meaning that the Department of Education and the Department of Defense will pay for their entire college education in full.

Those who might not be eligible for enough military grants to cover their college education can apply for specialized college loans that are deferred and offer significantly reduced interest rates when compared to other types of loans. 

2. VA Home Loans

VA home loans are perfect for military veterans and their families who wish to purchase a home.

VA home loans from institutions like Low VA Rates are specialty loans that are insured by the federal government. Unlike other federal mortgage insurance programs, these loans often require little to no down payment, and borrowers don't have to purchase mortgage insurance as part of the process.

The Office of Veterans Affairs can assist with getting these types of loans and with other financial issues that veterans experience after being discharged from the military. 

3. Local Property Tax Offices

While many veterans may not be aware of this, anyone who has served in the military is eligible to receive property tax exemptions. 


These types of exemptions are for veterans who own homes in certain county jurisdictions across the United States. To take advantage of this exemption, veterans need to contact tax assessor's office and file a property tax exemption form. Veterans who are disabled are eligible to receive an increased exemption amount based on their property value and annual income. 

4. Blind Annuity

Veterans who have become legally blind are eligible for yearly financial assistance of up to $1,100.

To qualify for this financial assistance, veterans must have served at least 90 days in the military beyond their specified training period. Most counties across the country currently offer one similar to the program that is being run by the County of Albany in New York. 

5. Veteran & Dependent Burial Benefits

The National Cemetery Administration assists veterans and their families with the cost of funerals and other expenses that occur when a loved one passes away.

From burial allowance to headstones, burial flags and more, veterans can sign up for these services early on in life to help them prepare for the future.
The United States government provides billions of dollars every year to veterans who are in need. From buying a home to seeing a doctor and attending college, veterans have a number of options to choose from for financial assistance on a lifelong basis after they've been discharged from the military.

How to Reduce Your Mortgage Payment Significantly

Imagine finally saving up enough money to make a down payment on your first new home and when you finally get the rates for your mortgage you are stunned. They are higher than you ever thought possible and are already considering whether or not you can even afford them. 

When purchasing a home, you start with a set mortgage rate. In the beginning, the majority of your payment goes towards interest but as you reach the end of your loan the payments being made are the principal. If you feel as though your mortgage rate is too high, there are several ways to lower it.

Pay Off 20% of Your Home

If you have purchased your house with less than a 20% down payment, you are paying private mortgage insurance (PMI). This can tack on thousands of extra dollars every year. 

After you have reached the point where you own 20 or more percent of your home, contact the bank. They will look at your loan and drop this PMI. Be aware that this is not something that happens automatically and you might have to be proactive to save this money.

Extend the Life of Your Loan

Shorter 15 or 20-year mortgages come with a higher monthly payment. Refinancing to a conventional 30-year mortgage will help to make your monthly payment fall dramatically. One factor to be aware of when choosing this method to reduce your payment is that your interest rates will go up. You can, however, pay more than the monthly payment to get rid of your interest quicker.

Pay Your Mortgage Insurance at the Start of the Year

When your mortgage insurance is added on to your monthly payment, it can be a significant amount of cash. Instead of paying the same amount each month for many years, ask your lender about paying it all or part of it off at the time of closing. When you pay it off all at once, you are not going to be stuck paying the same amount each month until it is naturally paid off. This will result in a substantial amount of savings.

Explore Your Homeowner's Insurance

Every once and a while you should be exploring your options for homeowner's insurance. What was the lowest rate when you purchased the home may not be the lowest rate available to you now. Take some time and explore different providers. 

Request free quotes and see if you can get your insurance cheaper. When insurance is escrowed into your monthly payment, a lower insurance cost will be noticeable when you pay your mortgage bill every month.

No matter what you are doing with your mortgage, you should never just sit and pay the same amount year after year. Explore new options and potential ways to save on your monthly bill on a regular basis as there are many options for individuals to make changes. Talk to the bank and loan providers to discover ways to lower your cost.

The Appearence Of The Workspace Affects Productivity

When it comes to efficiency of employees, you have got to find many different and creative ways to improve it, which could be a fairly difficult task sometimes. There are various factors that affect their morale and mood, hence their will to do the job properly and offer nothing but the best results. 

So, you actually have to keep doing something about it all the time and constantly make changes, since the dull routine is a really horrible thing, in business at least. However, there is one essential thing that does not require consistent attention and it is the workspace. 

The appearance of the workspace can significantly boost the performance of everyone in the office and if you manage to thoroughly design it only once in order for it to be splendid, you will not have to think about it for a long time, and it will be a crucial part of your company's success.

Don't believe it?

This article is here to prove the enormous impact the looks of the workspace has on people who spend a lot of time in it and their ability to stay focused and productive, so let us start with some obvious stuff that can be done easily. 

The first thing that is to be taken in consideration is the lighting. If the lighting is bad, it can be tiring for your eyes, cause headaches and fatigue or even depression, and make people lose their inspiration; so, make sure to do this right and right away and do not be one of those who completely overlook this issue. 

For example, you should buy natural light bulbs and make use of natural light whenever you can, therefore keep windows and doors open during daytime, and use lamps occasionally, in case it gets cloudy outside.

The next thing you should take care of are chairs and tables. Aim to please all of your employees and yourself, naturally, so get furniture that is fully adjustable to everyone's needs, that is suitable in every possible way and, of course, it is a must that you have enough space to stretch. 

In addition to these things that physically burden employees, there are a lot of those that mentally affect, as well. For instance, many carefully chosen ornaments and the color of the walls can be remarkably helpful. When painting the walls, always pick a relaxing color, such as green, but avoid those that have a negative effect on people, such as blue or gray. 

Of course, keep in mind that too much of anything is bad in this case, so add variations, such as items in diverse colors, from seemingly insignificant postcards and magazine cutouts to interesting and cheerful pictures.

Other than these, you should get more mesmerizing decorations - beautiful Sydney rugs, compelling flowers and plants or colorful cabinets. On top of all, there is a thing that many people neglect, but it is unbelievably significant and common sense. 

Namely, the office has to be clean at all times, otherwise there will be many unwanted distractions, and since this can be achieved effortlessly, there is absolutely no reason to spend about 10 minutes on a daily basis and get rid of the clutter. This way, you will most likely get rid of all unpleasant odors, too, which is rather important, because no one feels comfortable in a smelly workspace. 

Also, it is advised to get air-fresheners with the scent of pine, lemon or lavender. The last but not the least is the fact that the room temperature and noise level are to be kept at normal levels or the employees will not be pleased at all.

Believe it or not, numerous studies have proven that all of these things can increase the productivity up to 20%, which means they have an enormous impact, so what are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves and start renovating your workspace as soon as possible and the positive results will appear in no time! 

Also, be aware that this is not reserved for large companies and huge offices only, but is of a great important for home-based businesses, as well, so, if your house is also your place of work you ought to redesign it as soon as possible.