Need a Little Inspiration in Your Career Fictional Characters May Be the Key

Need a Little Inspiration in Your Career Fictional Characters May Be the Key When youre starting out on your career path, its always useful to have someone you can look up to, someone who can inspire you to bigger and better things. Ordinarily, these inspirational characters will be someone youknow in your life, such as aboss or a parent. They might even be someone famous who motivates us to push forward. But what if the part who inspires you doesnt actually exist? For instance,you may regard yourself as sharing some of the characteristics of an inspirational leader of men, so you model yourself after such a character.In this sense, it isnt much different from forming a connection with a living person that we dont personally know.There is a technical term to describe such relationships parasocial. Parasocial relationships exist largely in our heads, free from the risks and constraints of more typi cal real-life relationships.Real-life inspirations tend to occur when a person motivates us to expand our knowledge and perspectives.So, a real-life inspiration may be particularly wise or go about their work in a particularly interesting way.Whatever they offer, they help us to envision a better version of ourselves, thus driving us to work to achieve that version.But can fictional people do that, too?Psychological studies suggest that they can. For example, participants in one study were asked to read a short story about a young man running a race.After reading the story, they were asked to rate howlikable the character wasand how relevant the character was to them.They were also asked to do the same thing for a couple of television characters (one of their choosing, the other chosen for them) and two people from their own lives.Perhaps unsurprisingly, close friends were found to be most inspirational.Next up was the self-selected TV character, followed by the other TV character, with casual acquaintances bringing up the rear.The key to the inspiration quotient was the similarity of the individual to the participants ideal self.Broadly speaking, this isa positive sign, as it shows that our potential pool of inspirational characters is almost limitless. Indeed, immersion into narrative worlds can create opportunities for growth in which experiences, perspectives, and knowledge of fictional characters prompt readers own development. Parasocial relationships can provide role models, especially for those who are temporarily or chronically isolated, those who have limited social relationships, and/orthose with homogenous social groups.So, if youre ever looking for someone to look up to, consider a fictional inspiration to help encourage you to progress and find your lost enthusiasm especially in the absence of a real life role model.

Turning Your Pet Hobby Into a Business

Turning Your Pet Hobby Into a BusinessTurning Your Pet Hobby Into a BusinessMany of us have dreamed of turning our favorite hobby into a full-fledged geschftliches miteinander venture, but making the transition is almost never easy. Here are some things you should consider if youre hoping to turn your pet-related pastime into a full-time career. 1. Shift From a Hobby Mindset to a Business Mindset Remember that your hobby is now a business, and as such, you have to zulauf it day in and day out. You must now be responsible for all sorts of business-related duties. That means you must keep track of expenses, record all sales, and handle a wide variety of administrative tasks. You will also be responsible for other aspects of running the business, including customer tafelgeschirr, advertising, and storefront (or webpage) design. 2. Realize That It Will Take Time to Build Sales Be sure to set realistic goals for sales and customer acquisition, especially in the early months. It ca n take some time to build a client list through advertising and positive referrals. If you concentrate on providing exceptional service during the early months, your business will gain momentum. 3. Be Realistic With Profit Expectations Dont overestimate the potential profitability of the new venture. There are many overhead costs associated with starting a business the business license, insurance, retail space rental or purchase, website development, hiring employees or contractors, and purchasing supplies or equipment. It may take some time to get the business into the black, but with some persistence, you should be able to get there over time. 4. Establish Competitive Rates Be sure you are charging a price that is in line with a similar product or service providers in your geographical area. An easy way to determine that is to call around for quotes or check out a competitors retail or web location. You dont want to be overpriced or underpriced for the local market. If it is a web-based business, compare your prices with major competitors in your specific niche market. For example, a gourmet pet food business should compare prices with other gourmet vendors, not big-box pet food stores. 5. Consider Starting on a Part-time Basis You may want to open the business on a part-time basis at first (testing the waters with the new venture) while hanging on to your full-time position. For example, aspiring dog groomers or pet photographers might begin by seeing clients on evenings and weekends. Those producing pet products might attempt to sell them in small quantities to see if there is enough demand to justify a stand-alone business. 6. Offer Related Services or Products Consider supplementing your primary line of business, such as pet photography, with other income producers, such as teaching photography classes or offering products that are personalized with the pets name and image. A pet bakery business could offer pet parties, custom pet birthda y cakes, bake-at-home mixes, and regular lines of pet food. It usually is beneficial to include a few sideline offerings to boost earnings. 7. Market Yourself at Every Opportunity Create a website and set up social media accounts for your business. You should also consider joining your local business group as well as organizations that can help you learn more about your particular line of pet business. Take every opportunity to network and market yourself. 8. Work for Someone Else First If you are not ready to open your own business, consider making a career change and working full-time for an established company that deals in the area you were interested in as a hobbyist. A pet sitter, for example, might work for a reputable agency in the area to get a feel for the business while having the security of being on the employers payroll. Working for another business can help you to gain valuable hands-on experience while observing its practices and methods.