A New Virtual World has Arrived
The world is becoming more digitized every day. Pushed by a pandemic that forced a large part of the workforce and academia to operate remotely, virtual life has become a norm.
The virtual world is being supported by a myriad of new and exciting technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and exponential connectivity to both people and objects. The virtual communication trend is rapidly expanding across industry, academia, and government.
Collaborative and interactive work environments are trending in industry. Before the pandemic, already many workers were operating from their homes and telecommuting. That number has grown substantially since Covid19. Offering a virtual employment capability allows for a more flexible, adaptive, and productive workforce.
Virtual business is integral to the emerging “Gig Economy” being reinforced by the millennial generation. Virtual communications combined with virtual reality will become integrated into business applications. It can also serve as an outlet of entertainment; and already is in gaming at attractions such as “Soaring” at Disney World. It is a booming virtual market. The AR market is expected to reach $70-$75 billion in revenue by 2023 and it is estimated that 500 million VR headsets will be purchased by 2025. Augmented and Virtual Reality Statistics in 2021 | AR & VR Stats (ukwebhostreview.com)
Read more at BizCatalyst360.com
The Calm Before The Storm: How The Pandemic Recovery Will Change Business
It’s almost summer and the Pandemic is starting to ebb, so everyone’s talking about Hybrid Work. But as I think about the Fall and year ahead, I think there’s a bigger storm coming – a storm caused by the recovery. It’s not a bad storm, but it’s a storm – and the rate of change is going to be violent. In this podcast, these changes are discussed.
Read and listen at JoshBersin.com
“A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” – Nolan Bushnell
Here Comes the Great Resignation. Are You Prepared for the Ensuing Talent Shortage?
Have you read the news? The Great Resignation is coming. Anthony Klotz, a Texas A&M University academic who studies organizational management trends, told the media recently that employers should expect a significant exodus of talent as the job market continues to stabilize.
Klotz explained that when there’s economic and societal volatility, employees tend to stay in jobs, even less than ideal ones. This means that the pandemic delayed resignations among those highly motivated to quit. Additionally, those who have begun to search for more meaningful work and balance, inspired by spending more time at home, are also prepared to job switch.
This means that the hiring market tide (which had already begun to turn in favor of job seekers) is going to roll in even faster. By mid-Summer, it is anticipated that there will be more employers looking for talent and more highly motivated top-tier candidates on the move.
Learn more at 24SevenTalent.com
How To Recruit In A Virtual World
Covid-19 has presented the business community with some unique challenges. The near-shutdown of the economy has destroyed many companies and adversely affected the way we conduct business. One of the most challenging areas business entities, executives and teams have had to face is working remotely.
In contrast to the pre-Covid-19 environment, many of us found ourselves in new territory, seemingly handicapped by the lack of human interaction. A sense of anxiety ensued whereby questions arose such as: How will we collaborate? How do we stay on task? How do we snoop on our subordinates (well, maybe not this one)? How do we recruit new talent without meeting them face to face?
Virtual Businesses Take Off: How to Start a Fully Remote Business
In the age of remote work and social distancing, it’s easier than ever to launch, grow and run a business without the need for a physical office or in-person meetings. If you’re considering exploring this path, though, it’s important to have the right technology, systems and processes in place.
Whether you’re launching a new company or transitioning a previously in-person business to a permanently remote one, here’s what you need to know about running a fully virtual business.
The Necessity Of Women Supporting Women In a Virtual Revolution
It is no secret that women supporting women is absolutely critical to our growth and evolution. Not just for women, but the difference it makes to society as a whole. But we don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about ways to extend this initiative into our virtual reality. The truth is, women need equal if not more support online to navigate the complexities of human interaction, from conducting business to building relationships or even surfing social media.
As any woman will tell you, the Internet can be a really dark and often dirty place for us. Whether its unsolicited sexual harassment sliding into our DMs or the deep anxiety and fatigue of swiping through everyone else’s “perfect lives”, women particularly are struggling to maintain their identity and self-worth without constantly looking for virtual validation so they can use technology to their benefit.
And as the global market moves increasingly online, many women entrepreneurs are running their entire businesses virtually. Communities that enable and encourage these women to connect with each other provide opportunities for collaboration and livelihood. And if the pandemic has taught us anything it is this; that our reality is going to become only increasingly virtual.
How to Avoid Remote Work Stress & Burnout
Working from home stress is remarkably common for remote employees. That’s why learning how to take care of your mental health when working from home is crucial for today’s ever expanding remote workforce.
Managing your mental health at work is just as important as reaching your project goals and maintaining high levels of productivity. Issues associated with employees who work from home, such as loneliness and burnout, are on the rise — especially with employees who have never worked from home before.
Remote work is no longer just a perk. Today, it’s a necessity for many. When your house doubles as your workspace, it can lead to difficulty setting boundaries, added career pressure, issues managing workloads, and more. These are just some of the reasons many find it difficult to work from home full time.
Employees that have transitioned to remote work may also have the added pressure of working with children in the house, and catering to their family’s needs while trying to stay engaged and productive at work.
How to Stay Calm When the People Around You Are Stressed
As we continue to deal with the challenges that come with the pandemic, it’s only natural to feel stressed from time to time — and you might notice that your colleagues, friends, or family members seem tense as well. While we want to be supportive of the people in our lives, being in contact with all that stress can have a negative domino effect, and further prevent us from staying calm ourselves.
“I try to start my mornings with a meditation, and it gives me a sense of calm to carry me through the day. It varies day to day from three minutes to even forty, depending on how much time I have, but I try to never miss this space. If there’s something bothering me or that I want to reinforce during the day, I search for an assisted meditation on that topic.” – Brunella Mori, senior project manager, Peru
Learn what others suggest at ThriveGlobal.com
What Are the Myths You Hold About Your Personality?
When you consider the past events in your life, what do you believe define those key turning points? How do you reply when people ask you to tell them about yourself? You might choose to focus on the so-called “objective” facts such as where you grew up and when you graduated from school. Or, if the situation calls for more reflective answers, you might talk a bit more about what it was like growing up in your family or what factors led you to make some of your major life choices.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that at each retelling of your past life experiences, some of your answers have taken on an automatic quality where you don’t even have to think about how to respond. As this so-called narrative about yourself starts to take shape, the details may shift, but overall, it will have some type of theme or organizing framework.
Read more at PsychologyToday.com
Why is Positive Thinking the Key to Overcoming Obstacles?
These days, when we are facing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we hear about new cases and deaths around the globe on a daily basis. The numbers have been growing already for several weeks. Despite the tremendously hard work of doctors, nurses, scientists, lab technicians, policemen, and many other heroes, nobody knows how long this situation will last, and when we will be safe again to meet our families, friends, and colleagues face to face. Our heroes put their health at risk, I dare to say, even their lives. This looks like operating in a war zone. We all live in uncertainty and many of us live also in fear. We are afraid to lose either our loved ones, our jobs, clients, or our income. And those fears are normal.
However, we should find a way to think positively and believe that everything will be fine again because it will! And we need our positive minds in order to be stronger and motivated to take action, to go through those tough times.
Negative thoughts and negative emotions are not helpful. They eventually enter our minds and stop us from taking action towards where we want to be. I would recommend that when you catch yourself having those thoughts and emotions, thank them for being there. No kidding! They serve their role – they send you a message that something needs to be improved, changed. Then, make time for positivity and start identifying steps to make changes.
Read more at BizCatalyst360.com
How Covid Inspired a New Generation of Entrepreneurs
Humans normally respond to big unforeseen shocks in one of two ways: either they recoil from risk-taking like we saw after the Great Depression, leading to creation of the modern welfare state and a generation that feared the stock market; or they accept that risk is part of life and learn to embrace it — like they did in the Roaring Twenties after the 1918 flu and 1920 recession.
So far it looks like we’re going with the 1920s — at least from an economic risk perspective. Entrepreneurship rates are up.
That might seem counterintuitive. After all, the past year was exceptionally hard on small businesses, leading many to shut down. But the number of new business applications from the U.S. Census is up 38% compared to the year before the pandemic. Nothing similar to this happened during the Great Recession or dot-com bust. The Census classifies two types of business applications, those that will probably grow and hire other people (called High Propensity applications), and business that will stay small and mostly limited to its founder. The latter dominates the “all other kinds of applications” category, and may include things like consulting, contract work, or small-scale catering.
Economist John Haltiwanger dug into the data and estimates that most of the new businesses will probably stay small, not hire more workers, though application rates are up for both kinds of businesses.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
The New-Era Entrepreneur
In the midst of global economic uncertainty and a rapidly changing social environment, many entrepreneurs find themselves in a state of panic. For many in the new age of entrepreneurship, this is the first major “disruption” in business activity that they have experienced. Running a business and maintaining the status of self-employment was never an easy task, and it just got a lot harder. However, with the proper mindset and affinity for innovation, success is still on the horizon.
The good news is, there are a few core principles in the world of business that will never change and are arguably now more important than ever.
First, the allure of authenticity and value. In the post-pandemic economy, this is truer than ever. The era of “fake it till you make it” is long over and gives room for a new, value-centric market.
Study: Black Entrepreneurship in the United States
A steady stream of media reports detailing the deaths of unarmed Black Americans at the hands of police. False 911 calls aimed at bringing harm to African Americans engaged in innocuous, everyday activities. Street protests calling for an end to discrimination and police brutality.
As racial tensions swirled this summer, so did calls on social media for those who support the social justice movement for African American civil rights to amplify Black voices and support Black businesses.
One problem? A lag in Black entrepreneurship and corresponding deficit in Black businesses available to support — a result of hundreds of years of racial discrimination in the United States — says Tiffiany Howard, a UNLV political science professor and recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) senior research fellow.
In a new study, Howard and her CBCF colleagues researched strategies that large banks can implement to help bridge the economic divide.
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