Becoming successful at work, climbing the ladder, and increasing your income is the fastest way to financial freedom.
There’s only so many expenses you can cut. Once you reach the bottom of the expense barrel, it’s time to up your income. But how?
Here on Chief Mom Officer, I often write about how to succeed in your job. I worked my way through college going to school full time and working full time, got an MBA, and upped my income from $22k per year in my first job to six figures today. Over that time, I’ve learned a ton. And I want to share what I’ve learned with you.
From $22k To Six Figures
There’s no Ivy league involved here, and no “get a high income quick” scheme. I didn’t start a business that brings in tons of money, or become a corporate executive. Instead, I started off my adult life with a full-time job paying $22k per year, and working full time while going to school full time nights and weekends. In community college, no less.
I’m an IT project manager for a large company, and have been working in the field for about sixteen years now. In this article, I’ve given all my tips and knowledge I’ve gained throughout the years, in hopes that you can use them to increase your income too.
Do What Others Aren’t Willing To Do
One of the “easiest” ways to be successful at work is to do things other people aren’t willing to do. This doesn’t mean taking on the kinds of tasks traditionally taken on by women (taking notes, making coffee, organizing parties, etc.) that don’t add value to your career.
Instead it means standing out among your co-workers in areas that matter to your career. In this article I explore specifically how you can do that.
Find Purpose In Your Work
If you work for a non-profit organization, are a teacher, or in another mission-driven profession, the purpose behind your work may be obvious. Even if you work for a small organization, it can be easier to see the direct impact of the things you do every day.
But if you’re like me and work for a large corporation, it can be hard to see the true purpose of your work. Part of my success has always been keeping in mind the larger purpose and impact of my work. Find out more here about how you can do it too.
Power Of Words – And Women At Work
The words we use matter.
This is especially true when it comes to women at work.
There are many words used to describe women in the workplace, and many are not flattering. From intimidating, to bossy, to “young” and much more, different words are applied to women than to men. In this article I explore various words many successful women hear every day, and talk about why it’s a problem.
History Of Women, Work and Money
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when looking at how far women have to go, I forget just how far we’ve come.
Our fore-mothers fought for a number of rights that we today take for granted. From the ability to work at all, to being able to get credit cards in our own names – we owe a debt of gratitude to those that came before us. Stop in this article to learn more about our collective history, and say a thank you to the women we owe so much to.
Negotiation
Negotiations can feel uncomfortable at times, but the better prepared you are going in, the better off you’ll be.
A key part of negation is to know what you’ll do if you can’t work out a deal (best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or BATNA), as well as the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA). In this article I give you all the negotiation tips and tricks I know.
Public Speaking
One of the ways I increased my income was by mastering public speaking skills.
I joined Toastmasters early in my career, and took a public speaking course in college. Not only did public speaking help me in my day-to-day job, when I had to speak in front of large groups, but it helped me score unbelievable opportunities. Like the chance to speak in front of 30,000 people at my company – and the opportunity to speak at several financial events, including Lola Retreat and FinCon itself. Stop in here for more insights on public speaking.
Be Proud Of Your Accomplishments
Sometimes, as women, we’re made to feel like we shouldn’t take pride in our accomplishments. Other people tell us we’re bragging, or ask us about our hair/makeup/kids but ask men about their accomplishments on the job.
It’s OK to be proud of what you’ve done. It’s OK to be seen as more than a mom, and instead seen as a professional woman. Read more on why you don’t need to dumb down your accomplishments just because you’re a woman.
Dealing When Life Goes Into Ludicrous Speed
Work. Family. Volunteering. Events. Commitments. Sometimes life just seems to throw everything at you all at once. In this article, I talk about my own life going a bit haywire, and how I deal with it.
Check out here for my tips for dealing when life goes into ludicrous speed.
Working From Home
I’ve worked with many successful full-time remote workers. And some…not so successful ones. What’s the difference? The successful ones are clear about their hours, are at work when they’re supposed to be working, and let everyone know when they will be away. The not-so-successful ones have a habit of disappearing during the work day, don’t finish assignments, and generally hold up work.
Be one of the successful ones – read this article.
Pursuing Dreams In The Face Of Adversity
I’m no stranger to adversity. There was the near-death of my husband when I was 32, and we had two young kids. I started off my adult life making $22k per year, and in community college. My oldest son was born two months after I finished college. And I know many others have faced adversities much more difficult than mine – issues from childhood that haunt them to adulthood, deaths of close family members, disability, and so much more.
Using LinkedIn The Right Way
LinkedIn can be a powerful professional tool. I have over 700 connections there, and I’m not a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker, aka someone who accepts everyones request). Instead, I reserve my LinkedIn connections for those former co-workers. I’ve also seen it used poorly, as more like Facebook, or been requested by folks who want access to my connections (cough, MLM people, cough).
Check out this article for more about the wrong – and right – ways to use LinkedIn.
Preparing For Time Off Work
Time for a break! But how can you best prepare, so things don’t fall apart in your absence, and so you don’t return to a disaster?
As they say, prior preparation prevents poor performance. When you’re away from work, you should be away from work, and not feel like you need to check in every few hours. This article provides a handy checklist you can use when preparing for time off work.
Dealing With Change
Will artificial intelligence (AI) destroy your job? Frank – yes, but also no.
The world we live in today is one that could only have been imagined when we were kids (note – I’m 38 now, so my “kids” time was in the 80’s). My parents and grandparents would never have thought the work world would be as it is now. The only constant in the workforce is change.
Product Design
It’s always helpful to understand how to design a product. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, blogger, hobbyist, or a worker in the corporate world, understanding how to design and develop products can help you in your day-to-day life.
One of the way’s I’ve achieved success at work is learning about other areas of the business that are not my own. So even if you’re not an entrepreneur, this can be worth a read.
Be sure to check out my top tips on developing a winning product.
Traveling For Work – Frugal Or Splurge?
When I’m traveling for work, I tend to be the frugal type. I’ll search for less expensive options where available, and my tastes are simple. I’ve had some co-workers, though, that see the opportunity to travel for work as one to snag meals at the top end of the reimbursable range, or who take a plane for what would be a three hour drive.
In this article, I discuss seeing work travel as an opportunity to practice your frugality, or whether it’s one to splurge. Be sure especially to check out the comments!
Social Media Crisis Management
You don’t manage your companies social media team, so why would you need to know about this? First, remember what I said up in product design – learning about other areas of your company can be helpful. Also, this information can come in handy in your personal life, or if you run social media for any kind of business.
Too often you see people and companies blowing up on social media. Here’s my top tips for social media crisis management (and some funny stories from those that got it wrong).
Coming Back From Vacation
One of the ways you can truly relax when you’re away from work is being confident you have a solid plan for work upon your return. From cleaning up your e-mails, to catching up on what happened while you were away, you don’t want the stress of coming back from vacation to ruin your post-vacation delight.
In this article, I give my top tips on an effective return from time off.
Wrapping Up A Work Year
When the year is almost done, it’s time to take stock of the year in review and plan for the year ahead. All too often, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day craziness of putting out fires and dealing with one thing after another. The end of the year can be a great time to take a candid assessment of how the prior year went, what went well and what you can improve,
Stay tuned to this page for periodic updates on how you can be successful at work! And feel free to e-mail me to suggest other topics I can cover – I’m at liz@chiefmomofficer.org. You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram – be sure to reach out!