You may not spend much time thinking about how to end your email correspondence, other than maybe adding a closing (“Thanks!”) with your name. But given how much we rely on email to communicate both personally and professionally, a naked email signature can be a missed opportunity.
Read on to learn why the bottom of your emails can be valuable space to promote and elevate your personal brand, and what information you might want to include in your signature.
As Benjamin Franklin said, nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. While the former is hopefully many, many years away for you yet, you can be sure that when it comes to taxes, Uncle Sam will come knocking each and every year to make sure you’ve paid your fair share.
Tax time can be confusing though, even for people who have been paying taxes for decades. Tax laws change nearly every year, and the methods for filing evolve with new technologies and rules. If you’re just starting out in your career or are a student filing taxes on your own for the first time, it can be especially intimidating.
If you live in the U.S., your federal income tax return will be due sometime in mid-April, and your state income tax will be due around the same time (depending on your state). Read on for some high-level information and resources to help you prepare for tax season.
Is the customer always right? Take a deep dive into the world of hospitality and customer service with co-founder of the Hospitality Leadership Academy, Alec Dalton. Listen to him speak to how COVID affected the hotel business, his time working with the Disney organization, and his tips on how to create great customer experiences by building relationships between the customer and the brand.
Think about some of the world’s most recognizable brands, like for example, Starbucks. Most of us can spot that round, green Starbucks logo from a mile away. Now think about some of Starbucks’ brand attributes — the things they’re known for — like friendly service, comfortable atmosphere, free wi-fi, and a wide variety of coffees and teas.
Most people choose Starbucks because of one or more of those brand attributes. If you just wanted to grab a hot cup of black coffee on your way to work in the morning, then any gas station or fast-food chain will do the trick (and probably save you a couple of bucks). But if you want to get some work done on your laptop and enjoy a soy chai latte, you know Starbucks is a better option. You know this because they’ve built and marketed a memorable brand with the attributes you’re looking for.
Building and promoting your personal brand is essentially the same thing, just on a much smaller scale. (And you don’t need the Starbucks marketing budget to do it!)
Explore the world of startups with this week’s Business Edge guest: Michael Otis! Co-hosts Chrissy and Nicole talk with Michael about startup accelerators such as Y Combinator, identifying how to make startups more successful, and the differences between working at startups vs. established companies.
