HELL

Facing rejection at work can kill your career and self esteem

Rejection at work could have everything to do with you looking down on everyone

By Angela Kateemu


There is that person at work who feels like they are prettier, brighter than everyone else at work and as such they are hated. Not because people don’t believe they are bright but because they can’t stand their condescending demeanor.  Are you so unpopular at work that you feel you want to leave the job and go on the street if you have to? Do your colleagues treat you with distance –they deal with you only because they have to? Did you get passed up for a big promotion because you are not a team player? Did you ask for something at work and was flatly turned down?  Rejection at a work place is the worst thing that can happen to your career because it not only makes coming to work hell, it gets in the way of your career building. This rejection can come from your supervisors, workmates or bosses: how you handle the rejection at work can serve as the cornerstone for short- and long-term success. It’s time to review those things that make you someone none of your colleagues can stand and change!

Change attitude
You are worthy and can recover from rejection in the workplace. They don’t say ‘it’s just business’ for nothing. The rules of engagement are different in a professional environment than any other. While you might be angry and upset, this is the time to take stock of the situation, evaluate your feelings and put some perspective around things. Now is the time to review your past performance, your relations with your colleagues and identify areas for improvement. You can use this as an opportunity instead of feeling sorry for yourself.

Develop a happy disposition
Getting all worked up about why everyone gives you the eyes makes you an easy target for the bullies at the workplace. When you have a happy disposition it is very difficult to reject you. Basically most of the people at your workplace are sad from the inside and that is why they try to make you sad too by needlessly criticizing you or rejecting you. This way they feel good about themselves. Don’t fear them, don’t be angry with them, just understand them and if you feel intimidated just pity them.

Widen your social circle

It is great to have friends at the workplace if you’re encountering a hostile environment. Social distance is one of the reasons that people get rejected at work. When you become an island at the work place, you isolate yourself and keep to yourself; you make it hard for people to befriend you. And like they say, if you are not with us, then you are against us. That’s where the rejection stems from.

Stop and listen
While the natural instinct is to go on the defensive and to churn out excuses, take a deep breath and objectively listen to the criticism offered. Stop looking at yourself as better than everyone else. There is a lot you can learn from your workmates if you can get off your high horse and relate with them.

Learn from your mistakes
If you were passed on for the job promotion because you don’t know how to work with a team, think about the changes you can make to move forward and ask for detailed feedback and possibly even action steps so you have a clear picture of how you can improve.

When Love, Work Collide

Maurice Mugisha and his wife Irene Birungi

Dating a colleague: how do you deal?

By Angela Kateemu 

You wake up in the morning and expect another boring day at the office: same old people, same workload. Wouldn't it be great if your company hired some great looking guy/babe to spice up the work environment? Of course it would, even if it means having to juggle work and love. Not too rough, you think. Well, think again.  If you're crushing on a colleague, you're not alone: A survey found that 40% of workers have dated someone on the job during their career, proving that it is a hook-up hotspot, even though one with parameters. Reason: Proximity. We relate easily with people we share space with everyday. Maurice Mugisha of NTV met Irene Birungi while they worked at WBS TV. The two fell in love and got married. They are presently raising a family together. So this office love can really work.  Here is advice for turning a flirtation into a potential relationship. The rules of pulling off a workplace romance have been sent out; don’t say that you didn't get the memo!

Testing The Waves
The main advantage to pursuing a colleague is that they can judge your sense of humor, intelligence and demeanor. This increases your chances of landing the office bombshell, assuming of course that these are your strong points! But make no mistake about it; dating, or even pursuing a colleague, is a risky maneuver. Before making a move, it is a good idea to subtly find out whether your work crush has the hots for you, too. 'Some tip-offs are if he starts hanging around your work space a lot or asks you to grab lunch or after-work drinks,' says Rachel who hooked her husband  from her place of work. It is also promising if he is in an unrelated department, yet asks your opinion on a project he is working on - it indicates that he is looking for an excuse to talk to you and values your opinion. You can do your own digging by jokingly saying, 'Everyone thinks we're seeing each other, ha ha. Crazy, right?' If he casts a wide grin or seems into the idea, the coast is clear to start flirting and see what happens. Let's not even entertain the failure probability; let's enter the realm of wishful thinking and assume that you do get what you want.

Avoiding getting busted
The obvious disadvantage to dating a colleague is that you are voluntarily submitting your personal life as office gossip topic number one; leaving yourself susceptible to rumors, innuendos and endless half-truths. Once you've gotten together, keep that info on the down low. If it turns out to be a two-week fling, nobody needs to know about it. And monitor how often you bring him up. Co-workers often detect a connection when one person mentions the other too frequently. But if you were friendly before, don't ignore him now - that draws more attention than the occasional friendly moment does.

When to come clean
Most companies are not too keen about dating. Obviously, supervisor/subordinate relationships are more sensitive, especially with the issue of sexual harassment lawsuits. But there may be rules about whom you have to inform - and when you start dating a colleague. If it gets serious (that is after several months of dating), it is wise to tell your boss - even if you don't have to - before she hears it from someone else. Just say, 'I wanted to let you know that Peter and I are dating. We'll be sure not to let it interrupt our work.'
It is not easy to bring this relationship to fruition but it has been proved to actually work out.

LIFE ON THE JOB

A day in the life of a journalist : So you think you want my job?
By Angela Kateemu

It is that time of the year when interns are flocking the work places to get training in the field work of the courses they are studying at the university.  It is important to know things about your job from the people who have been there and done that. We will take a look at the life of the journalist. In this particular job, you do research, write the articles,break news, take the photographs and tackle the desktop publishing of the newspapers. Usually, in many publishing houses/newspapers, there are separate people to undertake each of these tasks. A journalist will normally just write articles for the publication, or sub-edit the articles written by other people.

Typical day
A typical day involves interviewing people about their activities, or asking them questions about their opinions on particular topical issues or stories you are working on. “ My day starts as early 5am: That is on the days when I have not been up till the wee hours of the morning working an event/story or meeting a source. (Which is pretty much most of the week!) I wake up and whip up a cup of tea: it is therapeutic and helps to clear  the system. I get my laptop to catch up on the work that I have pending because I am at my witty peak in the early hours after waking up. I usually get to office around 7am to go through the papers before heading for the daily morning preparatory meetings.”  These meetings are basically there to plan the journalists work day.  The day is a mix of meetings with supervisors, sources and subjects for your story.

The Good
I love to write
You satisfy your desire to know as much as possible about everything and anything. A journalist assumes the role of know-all: at least that is how they are viewed by society. They are always on the ground; breaking news, giving advice, writing opinions on one thing or another.

Go places
When you are a journalist, you get to go places (and I don’t mean having a free pass to clubs and events!)  You get to travel, meet and interview people from all corners of society. You get a kick out of indulging in the vanity of name dropping – the people you get to interact with as you write your stories are so many.  You develop friendships with some of your interviewees and these friendships can propel you further in life.

By-line
Do you know how prestigious it is to see your name in print/media? When you are a journalist, you get your writing, your reportage published.

Make a difference in people’s lives
At times, your reportage results in an injustice being corrected, a lost person being found, a government department taking action: You accomplish something beneficial for society. Such things make you feel like you are making a difference not only in your life, but someone else’s too.


You matter
Your reportage makes you an important person in society. You matter. Reporting from a war zone, for instance, opens the eyes of people who see only stereotypes. You achieve name recognition and sometimes get rewarded for your efforts.

The bad
Getting this job done often involves working long hours: weekends and holidays too.  Finding time for rest is difficult –you just have to decide to take a leave if you have to get some time off to rest.
 
Creepy stories
Being a journalist doesn’t not always include going to cocktails and events, it also involves going to gory crime scenes, spending time at the morgue and at the end of the day you can’t get the stench out of your pores. You get to meet all kinds of people from criminals, to the terminally ill. This could be really challenging!

Failing to make the story
It is very frustrating following up on a story that you are unable to get written or published. Why? You are assigned to report on business or politics, the two playing fields of the most liars in society: they give you ‘bullshit’ and lies and they are gloating as they lie to you but you can't find documentary evidence to nail them. You set up appointments with subjects who don’t value your time and make you to endlessly dance to their tune only to be denied access to the information you were hoping to get. Sometimes, you work for over a month on an article and the publisher won't run it because of one thing or another.

Not measuring up
Your editor hacks apart your story –takes you back to high school when the teacher would bring back your assignment and it is bloated all over in red ink. This can be really frustrating but the editor is doing their job which involves telling you that you didn’t measure up:  you didn’t write the story the way he would have written it or the way he wants it.

Complaints
You write a great article and the interviewee - whom you admire and believe to have represented accurately – calls in too complain about the shoddy job. You know sometimes the subject forgets that whatever you say in the interview, unless advised otherwise, is on record. As such, they will forget some of the things they may have said. When they read the story, they call them lies/distortions.

Uninterested readership
The worst part of being a journalist is to find out that ‘nobody’ actually reads your articles: they just skim over them and throw the paper away. Not because your article is bad but because you write for a field that is not exactly popular like agriculture.

Work hazards
You get beat up or killed in the line of duty (expose on motorcycle gangs, war reporter, jealous spouse of celebrity etc) many journalists have been victims of tear gas, clobbering –reason: you are press!

Still interested in being a journalist?
Work exceptionally hard
You have to be prepared to go above and beyond. It is a tough job, so you have to make yourself indispensable.

Be creative:
People expect you to offer lots of ideas and be able to develop them.

Be personable:
This line of work relies heavily on relationships as you are the mediator between the readers and the world.

 Stay current:
 It is important that you keep up with what is going on around the world. Read widely.

Qualifications
Constant training and refresher courses will come in handy as support to your degree/diploma in Journalism or mass communication.

BUILDING A BUSINESS EMPIRE

Create a business that gives you a constant cash flow – Sudhir
By Angela Kateemu

Sudhir during the 360° Network Ask the Entrepreneur Forum

Sudhir Ruparelia is a businessman and entrepreneur in Uganda. He is the Chairman and majority shareholder in the companies of the Ruparelia Group. His investments are mainly in the areas of banking, insurance, education, broadcasting, real estate, floriculture, hotels and resorts. He owns a quarter of the buildings strategically located in Kampala’s central business district. He owns Crane Chambers on Kampala Road, City House on Luwum/William streets; Raja Chambers, Baumann House, the building housing the Police headquarters and Development House — all located on Parliamentary Avenue. He also owns Platinum House on Market Street. He has built a few, but most of his buildings have been acquired from people who default on loans from his money lending services. His business empire includes hotels: Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kabira Country Club, Speke Hotel on Nile Avenue and Tourist Hotel on Dastur Street. He owns Crane Bank, Crane Forex Bureau, Meera Investments and Gold Trust Insurance Company. He is also into agri-businesses like flower growing (Rosebud) and the education sector, running schools like Kabira International School and Kampala Parents School. While speaking to eager young entrepreneurs and enthusiasts at the 360° Network Ask the Entrepreneur forum last month, the business shared a few secrets to investment success.

How do you formulate business winning ideas?
Sudhir: I do business which suits my lifestyle. I don’t do business because someone is successful in it. I own hotels because I’m outgoing and love meeting people. I am into education because I didn’t have much so I want to make good schools in Uganda to educate people.

Family Background
Sudhir: My father’s grandfather came to Mombasa in 1897 from India. They were traders. They were dealing with workers on the railway site. In 1903, they reached Uganda. My father was born in Uganda in 1932 and I was I was born in 1956 in Kabatooro Kasese to a middle class father, not rich, not poor!  I could afford two pairs of School clothes a year.

Capital to start business
Sudhir: In 1972, when I was 16, I followed my parents to UK.  When I landed in UK, I had to support myself in London while my parents lived up north. The first thing I wanted was to have my own house, so I took on two jobs and an evening class. No job was too small or too big for me -I worked as a baker/butcher in a supermarket and drove a taxi during the weekend. In 1985, I decided to come back to Uganda -Africa was in my blood!  I came back from the UK with capital worth $25 000.

Building the empire
Sudhir: It took me two years to find out what I really wanted to do. The first thing I had to do was pay rent. Then I needed something to do. In 1986, I opened the first shop on Kampala Road. I started with salt –it was the most selling commodity at the time and by the end of the year made $5000 profit. Then I started dealing in beers –my capital was limited so I was buying from people who used to import it. I then partnered with someone, built a trust and made good friends. We started importing beer ourselves. We basically created a cash flow –this is important because it is the stepping stone to many other things.  You need is to create a business that gives you a constant cash flow.
In 1989, the beer business came to a standstill.  The small stock shop evolved into wholesale. Then I started foreign exchange with in six months, all banks started foreign exchange. The government legalized the foreign exchange dealings but levied heavy charges for transitions. That’s when we looked at Plan B. Banking. We needed business capital which we had -we were lending money to business people. In 1995 Crane Bank opened with six expert staff and twenty auxiliary staff. We made profits from banking and spread out to real estate, hotels, and other investments. My passion was Munyonyo but it needed a lot of money. I started investing everything in it: I remember my 7-year old son asking me: ‘Dad, is Munyonyo going to bankrupt us?’  What Munyonyo has become is beyond my expectations!

Where does the future lie in business investment?
Sudhir: Every field.  The economy is enormous –there is opportunity every where in the areas of IT, trading, agriculture, industry, commercial firms, food –every field is open.  Uganda is a virgin country.

What is your definition of work value?
Sudhir: Time is not quantifiable; what dictates my day is when problems come.

Dreaming Big

Robert Ahimbisibwe during the 360 Network Ask the entrepreneur forum

Look at what someone has done, aspire to do it better 




By Angela Kateemu

10 years ago, Robert Ahimbisibwe started Select Garments. Last year, it was named as one among the Top 100 well managed medium sized companies in Uganda. Just this month, Ahimbisibwe launched another shop at Lugogo based Forest Mall, the launch that doubled as celebration of 10 years in business. He started in Kikuubo and made his way to upmarket malls like Garden City, Forest mall. He is one of the leading clothes dealers in town boasting of loaded corporate clientele. During the 360° Network organized Ask the Entrepreneur Forum earlier this month, ‘Select’ as he is fondly called, talked to aspiring entrepreneurs about his secret to success.

You went to school, why are you in Kikuubo?
Robert: I am in Kikuubo to make money.

Why clothes?
Robert: When you take a look at the people around you; you won’t know the kind of house they sleep in or how they move. The only thing you’ll see are clothes. 90% of our bodies are covered in clothes. Money is in the business of clothes.

Why didn’t you do something in the line of what you studied?
Robert: Business success is not about what you studied! It is about passion. You have to be passionate about what you do. Skills are very important but I’d rather hire someone with attitude. You can train skills for example you can train someone computer, how to run a machine but you cannot train  them the right attitude if they don’t have any to begin with! You can’t impart positive attitude. 

What is your secret to success?
Robert: Dreaming big. Have the drive and you will achieve what you want. The first time I came to Kampala, I got a ride from a distant relative. What I saw first was the taxi park –there were so many cars! I had never seen so many cars in the same place! I remember thinking to myself, if there are so many cars in the world like this, I want to own one! If you have that kind of drive, the feeling that you can make it!


How did you raise capital?
Robert: After I left school, I tried to look for jobs and made over 100 job applications in one year: my sister was working in a government institution so I could afford photocopy. I took applications to almost every office in town. But I did not get the job! My brother was working at Entebbe Airport as a Client Agent so I started hanging there. He was not too happy about it, he told me “I educated you to get a good job, I want you to get a government job to pull up our family. But I saw what was being done by some people there and I learnt quickly. People started hiring me to do their jobs on a sub contract basis. Eventually my brother started paying me. Within the first year I was at Entebbe, I was able to buy my own car from the savings I made. I always dream big. 2-3 years down the road, things were not good. There was no money that’s when I realized I wanted to start my own business

What’s the secret to developing career wise?
Robert: Every job you do, create a relationship; you never know what will help you. People I associated with at the airport cleared clothes. Through my association with them, I knew everything there was to know about clothes. I did not have money so I sold my Toyota Kikumi. In 2001 I started Select Garments at Mutaasa Kafeero.

What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur?
Robert: Skills are important but they are the least you should emphasize. When you decide on what you want to do, choose something you love. Do it with enthusiasm and right attitude. Everything you do, do it to your best. Don’t do so much when you are not doing it right!

What is the difference between Chinese, Indians and Ugandan traders? What makes them successful?
Robert: Saving culture. Ugandans do not know how to separate business money from personal money. The  Asian business man cannot touch money for business to do something personal.
More so, they have a family system: they train earlier than we do. When someone is born, they start grooming him to take over family business. When an Indian father employs his son, the son starts with the low jobs and builds up. Here when a father hires the son, they make him the managing director even when he has not proved the right candidate for the job.

Business success

Sylvia Owori speaking at the 360 Network Ask the Entrepreneur Forum

Choose a field you love, put your mind to it  -Owori

 -By Angela Kateemu

She has come up against all odds to overcome the mentality that women are not cut out for business. Listening to her speaking about career alongside business moguls; Sudhir Ruparelia, Patrick Bitature and Robert Ahimbisibwe at the 360 Network ‘Ask the Entrepreneur’ Forum that took place Thursday evening at Rooftop, I couldn’t help but admire her charisma. She is stylish, successful, believes a great deal in her work and herself.  Sylvia Owori has done more than people believed she could. Her break into fashion happened when she took on the challenge of revitalizing the 'Miss Uganda Beauty Pageant', which following her input became one of the most significant events on the Ugandan social calendar. She  revealed her innovative talent by designing outfits for the contestants of the M-Net Face of Africa. A pioneer and role model in the East African fashion industry, Owori started Uganda’s first Fashion House –Sylvie’s Boutique which has a number of shops in up market shopping centres; Uganda’s first modeling agency – Zipa Models and in 2005 she launched Uganda’s first glossy women’s magazine, African Woman, which is circulated on a monthly basis in five different countries.  Listening to her talk about her career, Owori is that woman that every working girl should use as constant reminder that it is possible to make it in the male dominated business world. Here are excerpts from her talk at the 360 Network ‘Ask the Entrepreneur Forum’.

Is business just for men?
I don’t believe that. Just look over here; I am a female panelist seated with very successful people: Sudhir, Bitature, Robert Ahimbisibwe and I’m not intimidated! It is not easy for a woman in business because if you are married, your husband doesn’t want you dress well and you go for a business meeting you will look attractive. But men you need to support your wives, your mothers, your sisters.

Does the fashion business make money?
I started out in 1998 when I came back to Uganda. Everybody wrote me off before I could even start. They claimed I was bringing clothes to sell to prostitutes. So no one took me seriously. But no one is naked: in fact, second to food, everybody needs an outfit to put on. It all depends on how much you want to spend on what you wear. Right now I can clothe the whole country. So yes, this business makes money!

Starting Capital
I come from a very humble background: my dad passed on when I was little and our mum had to toil to raise seven of us. So I didn’t have family money but I had a rich boyfriend. I knew what I wanted to do; he gave me the capital to start out. It is one thing to have the capital but if you don’t have the skill, you gonna waste it.

About success
I was bold and persevered – I kept pushing!  When I started out, I didn’t know much about the culture of the corporate world. I remember the first meetings, I used to go in a meeting with a vest and torn jeans – I didn’t know better.   I remember some time after I started out, Sudhir told me something that has become a great inspiration. He said, “I see a little bit of myself in you!” Every time I feel a little bit discouraged I tell myself Sudhir believes in you!

Losses and challenges
Anyone successful in business knows there are so many losses and challenges. I have faced financial challenges and have had to resort to loans sometimes. I learnt at an early stage that banks give you money if you have money. You have to keep track of your business expenses and bank your money so that the bank can trust you, should you ask for a loan.

Prevail over competition
Knowing your competitors is key. Once you do that, you market continuously. Every industry is different; mine is luxurious and trend based; so you have to constantly create a brand!

Message to the young women who want to do business
Anyone can do business. You just have to believe in yourself. You have to choose a field or industry that you love. Don’t just go out there and start business because you’ll fail. You have to be passionate about what you do and put your mind to it.

Successful Investment

Patrick Bitature adressing people at the 360° Ask the Entrepreneur  Forum        

Any Business You do Should Make You 1% Profit per day –Bitature

By Angela Kateemu

Patrick Bitature started his business empire with a single company, Simba Telecom, then a retail chain dealership, in MTN air-time. ‘I was vending airtime,’ he says. From there he expanded into broadcasting, , followed by Electronics. He also has interests in insurance, banking, hotels and resorts. Today, his businesses have subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. He owns the following businesses either wholly or partly: Simba Telecom Uganda, Simba Telecom Kenya, Simba Telecom Tanzanaia, Simba Telecom Nigeria, Simba Electronics Limited, National Insurance Corporation, Global Trust Bank Uganda, Electromaxx Limited Uganda, the operators of Tororo Power station, a 20MW thermal power plant that uses renewable bio-diesel to generate Electricity. New Vision Group Uganda, Protea Hotel Kololo Uganda estimated at Shs 15bn, Simba Tours and Travels Uganda, Simba Distributors Ltd, Simba Properties Ltd Uganda, Simba Electronics, Simba Forex Bureau Limited, Blitz Video, Ice Cream Ltd and Dembe FM. While talking to business enthusiasts at the 360° Network Ask the Entrepreneur forum the other week, the business mogul talked about investment and how to start a business and develop into an empire. “I always like to share the little that I know with anybody who is serious about something they are doing. I went to business school, I read books but most importantly I learn from people -people like Sudhir who have built business empires.” There is a lot you can learn from his talk if you are looking at starting and running a successful business.

Raising Capital to start a business
Bitature: There are several ways of getting capital: you can inherit it, marry into it (but the mother-in-law will always spot you!), you can gamble - I wouldn’t count on that! Other people steal (I wouldn’t advise this though!) So there are only two ways to get this capital. One you have to earn it. Get a job work for it. Even if they pay you little! Secondly, you can borrow –get a loan from a bank. When you earn you have to save, what you save can help you borrow. The bank will look at how you run your account before they can give you the loan. If you are not sure and have no focus on what you want to invest in, then don’t borrow!

Why Ugandan businesses fail
Bitature: The spirit of entrepreneurship is there in Uganda but so many businesses die with in the first five years. It is a shame! It is like when you rear so many chicken but many of them die before they are productive! The reasons why businesses fail include the following:

Debts
Bitature: We don’t have a culture to honour commitments especially to loans!  You get money from the bank and you don’t want to pay it back because of school fees or your wife is sick or something happened. When you don’t clear your loan, the bank will come and repossess your property.

Lack practical skills
Bitature: We lack the practical skills because we over emphasize academic education. When you come out of the university, you know nothing about business. There are so many people in Kikubo, they are not educated, walk around in shorts but they are astute businessmen and have made lots of money.

Secrets to successful business
Bitature: All rich businessmen have discipline. You have to persevere. Every one of us has made losses at one time or another but we cut our losses and move on. You have to tenacious and hardworking. Lay a good structure: It is better to be a small fish in a big pond. Do not rush into partnerships.
'
How do you manage to be successful and humble at the same time?
Bitature: Humility – when you are ambitious, you have to have somebody that pushes you to be number one. For me, the credit goes to my mother. My mother passed on, now I have my wife took. She always reminds me to keep my feet on the ground.   It helps when you have someone to bring you back down: people forget and they think they are too powerful.

Advice to young entrepreneurs
Bitature: Any business you do should make you 25%. Make sure you make 1% percent a day!

Web Presence

Building a Blog is a very good move towards career growth 

By Angela Kateemu


Sarah, a marketer says, ‘In starting a blog I personally only wanted to join every social networking madness that there was- I set up one to keep up with the latest from the web and learn more. I was already on facebook, twitter, netlog, myspace … name it. But since I started a blog, I have had the greatest experience.  For one, it helped when I was applying for work, I put a link to my blog – I currently hold the job. I have since made some good contacts through it which have made me develop career-wise. With the ever growing number of people going online for various reasons there has never been a better time to establish a web presence with an internet marketing blog like Sarah did! Regardless of whether your work is based on or off the internet it is wise to build a blog since this is a practical way to build your career or business. Here are some of the hard to ignore reasons as to why establishing a web presence by blogging will definitely help you to build your career or business.

Exposure

For starters it only stands to reason the more people who are aware of what you do the easier it will be to increase business or chances of you building your career. Do you ever daydream about leaving a sucky job and never coming back?  You need exposure –not only to the world but potential employers or business idea. In case of a business, an internet marketing blog not only promotes goods and services but also supplies visitors with useful information, or at least it should! Based upon that line of reasoning if you post interesting enough content people WILL find you!


Boost Search Engine Rankings

When you are online, you want to take advantage of receiving as many contacts as possible. Posting fresh content (not nude pics) will help do just that. Keeping your internet marketing blog updated will help boost search engine rankings and a higher rank will send you more people.  Do you know what it would mean for you if a potential employee searched and found your name on google (for the good reasons of course!) Now imagine if they landed on your blog that shows your work profile and some of the projects you have worked on! If for instance you are a writer and you have a blog with all your works, it would save you a lot running around to have someone sign recommendation papers!



Inexpensive
Blogging is one inexpensive way to increase business and for that alone it is hard to overlook! The only investment you incur is the cost of a domain name and perhaps the hosting service if you do not already have one. It is even cheaper when you are opening a career blog like on blogspot –it is free.

Attracts Partnerships

As your web presence increases so will the attention you get from other careers or businesses within your own niche. What this will result in a partnerships developing in the form of guess bloggers, advertisers or even joint ventures since a combined effort will yield much greater results for everyone involved.

Improves Writing Skills

Do not be lied to, it is not only writers who want to improve their skill of writing; everyone does! And since blogging involves a lot of writing, it will increase your ability to communicate your thought clearly and concisely. Like anything practice makes perfect, or at least makes you better and obviously increasing your writing skills will benefit you both personally and professionally! Think in terms of not only composing interesting content for your internet marketing blog but also your copy writing skills as well!

Research Equals Education

The need for research is inevitable if you expect to be able and continuously create new and compelling content on your blog. This in turn furthers your own education within your niche which obviously can be used to help you to build your career! If the pen is mightier than the sword and the mind is what fuels the pen, you can not lose educating your mind!

If you can update your facebook or twitter  status everyday, why should it be hard to start a blog that could get you exposed to better things in your career. All it takes is a little commitment on your part which of course is something any career oriented person should already posses.
Start blogging now!

SUCK ON THIS, LOVE!

Should be whacked;
He who said;
'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'
The sonofabitch!

Distant; doesn't begin to say it!
Fond habits
Off the mantle...
... To the backroom

Keeping in touch
What a waste!
The 'mailman' -
Must have died!

That place
So dear!
Quiet
Loud with loneliness!

Poor heart:
Oh how it beats
To a staccato
That clangs back empty!

The ache;
Like a wound
Left with morphine in sight
...Outta reach

Love -
You physical pain!
Out of the brain RAM
Trampled for good measure!

It's been praised to be magical;
This love!
Only a shattered heart
That's still beating, knows!!

(C) Angela Kateemu

WHY DOES IT HURT SO BAD?

Whoever said 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'
Forgot to say:
It is so freakin HARD!
With everyday that passes,
You drop a fond habit

The wake up call
That nolonger is!
The texts of silly banter
That have since ceased!

I feel out of touch
And it is killing me
Coz when I think out loud
I feel like a nag

I try to hang on
To that good thing
Only we knew
But every effort is frustrated!

My heart,
Oh how it beats for you!

But there is so much going on
I can't hear the response of your heart

I ache;
Oh how I ache!
But I know it won't do me good
Coz there is no antidote

I miss you;
It has become physical pain
Want to pick you out of my thoughts
And hug you to me!

It has been praised to be magical;
This love!
Somebody tell me:
'Why does it hurt so bad?'

(C) Angela Kateemu 

How I Love You

Maybe I'm amazed at the way
you love me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love u
Maybe I'm scared at the way I really
Need you

When I see you
My stomach flatters
(not butterflies this time, try locusts!!)
My heart!
Oh my heart it aches with longing


And then you smile
Oohh!! That smile
It relights the embers;
Can't remember what sadness
Feels like


Maybe I'm amazed by the depth
Of your soul
For it surely can't be that deep!!
Maybe I'm just speechless
Bubbling with all emotion unsaid


How I love you!!!

(C) Angela Kateemu 

Of Love en Other Disasters

I feel my heart race
When you look into my soul
And then you smile,
My innards tumble over each other

I tremble under your touch
A rash of need spreads all over me
I shudder, with the abscence of you
A rush of fear races down the spine

And there is a Deep-seated ache
That is slowly poisoning its way
Shaking the very core of my being

Aarrgghh!!!

Oh this love
That rekindles the embers of my soul
How can it, at the same time,
Threaten to destroy my very being?!

(C) Angela Kateemu