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Recent research has brought it to light that half of Gen X women between the ages of 33 to 46 are childless, not because they couldn’t, but they chose to focus their energy on something better, their career. It is believed that women who were born in the feminist revolution period (those born between the periods of 1965-1978) still choose between family and career. The Gen X women are in a sound, and established relationship. So it ain’t the lack of it that stopped them from expanding their family but they chose career over children. Reason being, they considered having children would jeopardize their career, so they keep putting it off to the point where now they are too old to have one.

Staggering Truth Revealed

According to the survey, it is revealed that half of the Gen X women was terrified of having children because they felt they wouldn’t be able to balance time between their jobs and family. Whilst 19 per cent of Gen X women revealed that they are quite ambitious and earn more than their partners or husbands. And there are others who are afraid that once they get pregnant, their jobs will be affected, hence put it off getting pregnant and in some cases, avoided it entirely. But food for thought, why in this period and time they still feel that they need to choose between career and children? Things are much clearer than they have been a decade back, so what is stopping women from having children and at the same time have a successful career.

Many Women Regret Not Having a Child

Many successful Gen X women reveals when they were in the prime of age they focused on getting a degree and getting settled in a prominent job but now that they are settled and has ample time at hand are sadly, not able to give birth normally (since there are scientific ways to have a child). Gen X women are inspired by their mothers’ to aim high and become a part of work environment that previously only men were part of. They were inspired by feminist revolution and Gen X women listened to their first Gen X women, their mothers’ and became successful career women and hence failed to be part of family.

Childcare Not a ‘Women’s Issue’ Alone

It is not only women’s issue to care for the kids and it should stop being only their work-life issue. Women have long stopped being only in the kitchen and in the bedroom and its time that society stop calling it as ‘women’s issue’. Both men and women need to take part in raising a child, sacrificing from women’s part is not enough and to be honest, it is not fair to fairer sex.

It is high time that men start supporting women in raising a child because childcare is what made this a huge issue for women to not have a child. If a proper support mechanism were in place, then this wouldn’t have come as an issue. Balancing both home life and work life is what makes life interesting and if either one of them is absent, life will be dull with a huge hole on it.

About the author: Alyssa Clarke is a passionate blogger and a tech enthusiast. She has a fetish for tech stuff and recently bought a cool pair of noise canceling headphones. She also happens to be an eco buff and her current resolution is to avoid Junk food at all cost.

Image: photostock

Gen X Women Prefers Career over Family: Really? is a post from: bizchickblogs

In today’s society, almost everyone needs to buy at least a couple insurance policies to cover their various bases. Insurance policies are designed to help protect yourself from financial risks that are incurred in your everyday life. In some cases, the policies that you have may not provide enough protection to give you true peace of mind. In these situations, adding some extra insurance coverage could be beneficial. There are many times where the average person may find it necessary to add extra insurance coverage.

Ways to Get Extra Insurance

There are a few different ways that you could add to the level of insurance protection that you have. One way that you could get extra coverage is to cancel your existing policy and get another bigger insurance policy. Another way that you could get more coverage is to simply buy an additional policy. For example, if you have a $50,000 life policy, you could buy another policy with a $100,000 face value. Then you would have a total of $150,000 in protection.

A third option that you have is to buy a rider. A rider is an amendment to an existing policy that adds additional coverage. For instance, if you have a $100,000 life insurance policy, you may choose to buy an accidental death and dismemberment rider. Then if you die from an accident, the face value will double and pay your beneficiaries $200,000 in total.

Reasons to Get Extra Insurance

One reason that you may find it necessary to get more insurance coverage is that your circumstances change. For instance, if you have a small life insurance policy to provide for your spouse and then you have kids, you may want to upgrade your policy to account for the change. This way, your children will also be provided for if you die unexpectedly. Since your circumstances may change frequently, you should periodically review your situation to determine if you need to update your coverage.

Sometimes you need to buy additional insurance coverage because the value of what you are insuring changes. For instance, when you initially bought your house it may have been worth $100,000. You bought a homeowner’s insurance policy with a replacement value of $100,000. After 15 years, your house may have appreciated to a value of $200,000. At that point, if your home were destroyed, you would not be able to rebuild it for the $100,000 that you would receive from the insurance company. In this situation, upgrading your policy to a $200,000 level can ensure that you’re protected financially.

How to Get Extra Coverage

When you determine that you need extra insurance coverage, it is usually to your advantage to shop around a bit before deciding on a policy. If you could use some extra insurance coverage, check out resources like InsuranceQuotes.org to get multiple quotes at the same time. You will then be able to find the coverage you need at the cheapest rate possible. At that point, you’ll have the peace of mind that you need once again.

Contributed by Jenn Lang, a freelance writer specializing in business and technology.

Image: photostock

When Is Extra Insurance Necessary? is a post from: bizchickblogs

“Personal brand” is coming dangerously close to an annoying buzzword, and that is a shame because the reality behind the personal brand is that you have one, whether you choose to call it that or not.

At the company I work for, branding and personal branding are important focuses, such that in a review, you will be asked to describe the personal brand of whoever you are giving feedback for. It is assumed that everyone knows what a personal brand is and the impact it has on the work and the workplace environment.

No matter where you work, or whether you are self-employed or not, you have a personal brand. Have you focused on it yet?

Follow the steps on the next pages to find out how.

Do You Know How to Define and Live Your Personal Brand? is a post from: bizchickblogs

We’ve all been there. Waiting impatiently for a computer to start up or to open a new program can be excruciating. Computers are supposed to be faster than we are, right? Some of you out there – you know who you are – are screaming, “Yeah, right! My computer hates me.” When your computer is slow or slower than you expect, you’ll do anything to make it speed up.

Good news: there are things that you can do to improve the speed of your computer in certain situations. Depending on whether your computer is slow to start up, or perhaps is slow to save changes or open new programs, there are solutions. Most of the time, it is simply about configuring your computer in an optimal way.

Here are some main causes of slowness:

• Too many processes happening all at once
• Too little RAM (random access memory)
• Errors in your hardware or memory
• Viruses or malicious software or processes

Again, there are some things you can do to speed up your computer. Try these. At the very least, you’ll have a more optimal setup. And you can apply one or all of these solutions no matter how slow or fast your computer is running.

Please note: The following helpful hints apply to people using PCs. If you’re an Apple user, well, apparently you should never have ANY problems, right? (That’s the rumor, anyway).

Image: Ambro

Four Easy Fixes for Slow Computers is a post from: bizchickblogs

Women who are creating or running a business need to find ways to finance the company. Financing is necessary to pay for everything from those airport baggage fees during travel to the furniture around the office. While financing that is appropriate to the company will take a little searching, many opportunities for funding are available.

Consider Credit Cards 

Credit cards are a relatively easy financing option that is available for any entrepreneur. Women who are starting a new company can look into small business credit cards to find the type that is best for the business.

Opting to use a credit card does require a little planning to find the card that is best for the company. As an entrepreneur, it is important to identify the likely use of the business credit card and look for cards that fit the particular needs of the company.

Look for Grants 

Grants for female business owners are available through private and local funding opportunities. The grants for women entrepreneurs will usually require a copy of the business plan, details about where the company already stands and information detailing how much money is needed.

Applying for a grant will often depend on qualification standards. In some situations, the grant will only require a female entrepreneur. Other grants for women in business are designed around particular types of companies, so reading the application and qualification details is important.

The instructions for application will often explain the information that is needed. It will vary for each grant opportunity that applies to women or the company.

Take a Loan 

Small business loans are readily available and women who work with the Small Business Administration are likely to find that lenders will provide loans for the company. Loans range from start-up financing to funds for expansion, so female entrepreneurs can often turn to loans for funding.

The loan applications will vary in the details required, but many lenders will ask for a business plan and details about the company’s position before providing funds. For a new start-up company, women can expect to provide some personal financial information to show personal responsibility.

Female entrepreneurs need financing solutions to get the business off the ground. While women might feel that funding options are limited, it is possible to find the appropriate financing for the company. The key is looking for the right type of funding solutions and filling out the application.

Amanda Green is a guest writer who has written extensively on the subject of business and personal finance.

Image: Arvind Balaraman

Where to Find Business Financing as a Female Entrepreneur is a post from: bizchickblogs

There’s been a lot of noise lately about how hard stay-at-home moms work, how they don’t get enough credit, and how people who think that staying at home is all about Bon Bons and tennis are just morons.

Just to be clear, before anyone gets all heated with me, I think Hilary Rosen was out of line with what she said about Ann Romney. I think that most stay-at-home moms work incredibly hard, and that their jobs are exhausting, emotional, tedious and repetitive.  I also think that there is a difference in free time once little ones are in school, and since that’s where I am in my life, that’s really where I’m coming from.

As a part-time corporate recruiter, I straddle the line between being a stay-at-home mom and a working mom. I think that in this whole controversy, working moms aren’t getting a fair deal. Most people have children because they want to be with, and raise, those children.

When you’re a stay-at-home mom, you don’t have to struggle with that line of where you are and where you want to be. You don’t sit at swim lessons knowing that you should be sitting in an all-hands meeting (like I’ll be doing on Thursday), or sit in an all-hands meeting wishing that you could be watching your little ones at swimming. Your heart doesn’t break when you see a little face crumple after you say no to chaperoning a field trip, or when you are stuck in an off-site while missing your daughter’s first ballet recital. You don’t have to run into your closet because your boss is on the phone and your child wants your attention so he’s throwing a gargantuan tantrum and is screaming for you at the top of his lungs.

While being a stay-at-home mom is about multi-tasking, being organized, keeping everyone busy, and keeping the family on track, being a working mom is about all of that too. Every working mom I know is still in charge on their family’s social calendar, buying birthday gifts for weekend parties, putting meals on the table (or in the lunchbox) at the appropriate times, purchasing extra-curricular accessories and having them ready on the appropriate days, planning family celebrations, recognizing extended family milestones, putting paper towel rolls in the backpack for tomorrow’s art project, filling out camp forms, making doctor’s appointments etc etc etc.

Somehow, we get the laundry done and folded before anyone runs out of underwear, meals on the table, homework in the bag, and smiles on the faces on top of conference calls, hundreds of emails and work responsibilities. We don’t get the chance to rest at nap time or get errands done while kids are at school. We don’t meet friends out for lunch because we’re rushing to get our work done so we can get to our family time.

Yes, my office days are a lot less taxing on my body, my emotions and my patience than my mommy days. But, on my mommy days when I have 2 hours during nap time (when Monkey isn’t screaming, “Mommy, I not NAPPING!”) to finish a day’s worth of work, I feel torn, stressed and pulled by the tightrope that is the life of a working mom. Most moms with jobs outside the home work really hard to be the best employee and the best mom they can be.

And while most stay at home moms make every day about building the best life possibly for their little ones, some have tons of nanny help and spend their days living a life totally separated from that of their kids (Hello Real Housewives). A lot of us working moms work really hard to make sure that our kids are receiving the best of care when we can’t be with them, and we rush through our job responsibilities in order to be the absolute best, most hands-on moms we can be.

Every mom needs to make the right choice for their family, and for themselves. When a friend of mine left her legal position to stay home, her husband felt relieved that he wouldn’t feel guilty about her working AND carrying the majority of the responsibilities for their home. He respects her completely, but feels good that he doesn’t have to feel badly about “only” worrying about his job while she worried about her job and the child rearing. I know that TD would feel the same way if I stayed at home. So, while it’s always a good idea to recognize any mom for the job that they are doing, maybe this Mother’s Day we reach out to a working mom and respect all of the responsibilities and challenges that she carries each day.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Image: Ambro

Being a Working Girl Ain’t Easy is a post from: bizchickblogs

There was a recent Twitter ruckus between Hilary Rosen and Ann Romney, wife of GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Sure, the media says it was about politics. I see it quite differently. I view it as the disconnect that still occurs between women who “work” outside of the home and the women who “work” in the home, aka stay-at-home moms.

Hilary Rosen, a Democrat and a lobbyist – a “working” woman who earns a living outside of the home, stated that Ann Romney, who opted to not work outside of the home, but instead chose to stay home and raise her children, essentially had no idea about the true impact of the economy on women because Ann never “worked a day in her life.” Though she has since apologized for her “poorly chosen words”, those “words” nevertheless hit a not-so-new nerve, as the issue of women who work vs. women who stay home once again hit the spotlight.

Do women who work and earn an income have a better grasp of money or its economic impact than the women who do not get a paycheck at the end of the week?

Studies and statistics show that women are the buying powers in our economy. Whether she is a career woman or is a stay-at-home mom (SAHM), women make the bulk of the purchasing decisions in their households. The purchases go beyond the typical household items such as groceries, sundries, and the items for their children (clothing, school supplies, and recreational necessities), but also extend to “male-oriented” products such as cars, electronics and home improvement items. Whether there is a husband or father in the picture, we know that women are the ones who do the grocery or Target/ Wal-mart shopping! Parse the general pool of women into moms, and moms shown to do a majority of their shopping online, which means that women are highly visible and interactive online.

No doubt, women influence the marketplace and make a huge impact on the economic landscape.

Enter the snarkiness that still seems to exist between the careerists and the SAHMs. It really boils down to choice, in my opinion. Some would say that the “highest” calling is to stay home and raise one’s children, and others would vehemently argue that it is an old-fashioned notion and that the modern woman does not “have” to stay home. Notwithstanding women who, for pure economic reasons, must work outside of the home, the “choice”, the “privilege”, the “right” to work outside of the home or to stay at home should be respected by both sides of the “debate”.

Add to this, the growing number of women who are starting their own businesses – moms and non-moms alike – the fact remains that women have a tremendous “pull” in our economy. There is value to both staying home to raise a family and going out and earning a paycheck. The “work” may be vastly different, but the responsibilities on either side are still immense and carry their own worth. So to contend that women who work and earn a salary have a greater “understanding” of the economy than those who stay home with their children is mistaken.

Rather than gather on opposing sidelines, women ought to support and respect one another. We already have to deal with things like the gender gap in the workplace and the struggle for “boardroom” equality. Fighting the good fight ought not be about the social status of working at a job or career or working at the homefront. Women drive the economy through our influence and sheer buying strength. There’s definitely nothing “clueless” about that.

Photo (c) Can Stock Photo

Do Career Women Bring More Value to the Economy? is a post from: bizchickblogs

A couple weeks ago, I received a little bit of a promotion at work. New manager. Pay increase. The good stuff. I work through an employment agency, so when my agent wrote me a congratulations note, she said, “You just stand out wherever you go, don’t you?”

Maybe. But it’s not coincidental. I have a way that I approach my work, and that is the reason that wherever I go, I stand out and end up moving up the rungs of the ladder sooner than anyone ever imagines.

As I got to thinking about it, I categorized how I approached my work into 7 buckets. Here’s my advice for standing out.

1. Don’t Forget Who Your Boss Is

In one of his books (can’t remember which) Donald Trump gives strong advice about working with your boss. He says something along the lines of “you only need to impress your boss” (I’m paraphrasing). That advice has stuck with me. The only person that really matters to me in regards to making an impression is my own boss. I don’t care what my peers think about my work. Their praise or criticism is important in that working as a team is crucial to getting things done successfully, but I only care to “impress” my boss.

So far, that’s worked out well for me.

2. Do Your Work

I am not a workaholic. I never volunteer to work overtime. I don’t do other people’s work for them. But I do this: I work when I am there. I don’t walk around gabbing. I don’t spend all my time on Facebook. I don’t sit staring into the distance.

The truth is that most of us are worth more than what we earn, and that is something everyone above us knows. When we do less than what we are asked, we become less valuable. Not so much that we would be fired, because usually we still come at a huge bargain; but still, less valuable.

So that means when you do what you are asked to do, you keep your value as an employee. There are so many people who do not even do what they are asked to do that doing even that much is going to help you stand out.

3. Become a Leader

No matter where you go or what you do, become a leader. Leaders get noticed by those in positions of authority simply because everyone is always pointing at them! What’s even better is that supervisors rely on employees with leadership because they cannot be everywhere at once. This is a value add (it’s also a great way to get a raise).

To be a leader, you don’t have to be perfect or know everything. But you do have to have confidence in what you do enough to teach others how to do it. Don’t do anyone else’s work – that’s not what leaders do. Instead, help them do it for themselves.

4. Ask Questions Early and Often

If you’re someone who doesn’t ask questions because you are afraid to look incompetent, please understand that asking questions is a sign of security and confidence. Most of the time, your boss is happy to answer your questions so that you can do your work the right way. People who don’t ask enough questions put themselves at risk of doing things incorrectly and making a big mess.

You will stand out if you are confident enough and secure enough to ask for clarity. I’m not going to embellish this by saying that it will show your boss your enthusiasm, yada yada. For me, it just makes it clear that you are interested in doing things right the first time. That’s huge.

5. Complain Vertically

If you must complain, send your complaints upstream. It does no good to go around complaining to your peers about something. If your boss doesn’t know there’s something wrong, you cannot expect them to fix it.

When I have an issue, I send it to my boss instead of to the peanut gallery. Not that I have issues frequently, but I am honest and genuinely interested in helping things run smoothly, so I’d rather go to the people with the ability to make changes.

I also realize that my bosses are human beings with complaints of their own. Remembering this will keep you humble, and could also establish a friendship with your boss that you didn’t think was possible.

6. Develop an Expertise

Have you ever worked in an environment where your boss knows how to do your job better than you? Perfect. You are now in a position to turn that around, and in doing so, become invaluable. It’s a huge opportunity for you to stand out.

I make it a point to know my work better than anyone – including my boss. That way, if anyone has questions, they come to me for answers. If you start doing this, you’ll find yourself getting noticed rapidly.

7. Practice Diplomacy

There’s a guy at my company who is like sandpaper. Sometimes, he’s useful, but most of the time, you’d rather not touch him. He’s just too irritating.

That’s not a great way to stand out or get promoted. While I don’t necessarily attribute very much credence or importance in my peer’s opinions, I don’t go out of my way to annoy them or cause drama, either. I make friends with my peers at work and outside of work as well.

Being a friendly person is a great way to get noticed. Obviously, it only gets you so far, but make it a point to be able to work on friendly terms with others.

There you have it! It’s just one recipe for standing out, which could lead to a promotion or chance to lead that project you’ve been wanting. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Image: sippakorn

The Top 7 Ways to Stand Out at Work is a post from: bizchickblogs

Many homeowners or renters experience clutter after being in one place for too long. You don’t want to throw something away because you might need it, things get lost in the back of the closet or under the bed, and after a while the clutter gets to be so much that it’s tough to know where to even begin the de-cluttering process. Oddly enough, this exact same thing can happen to a website. Although it may seem much smaller than a home or even just a room, a website can also be quite large in a different way. Websites can have hundreds of pages, thousands of links, and tons of pictures. When all is said and done, a website has quite a bit of room for someone to clutter up.

Fortunately, cleaning up a blog is easy. Many blog owners get nervous that changing a blog will cause him/her to lose valuable information, but this is usually not the case. Just as in a house, you can clean it up without throwing anything away. It is all about organization. It will help your visitors navigate your site easier and thus will hopefully only improve your blog traffic.

Top 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Blog

You should sit down and spend an entire day cleaning up your blog. Although it is a bit time consuming, most find that it is a fun and easy activity. Consider some of the ways you can clean up your blog:

1. Web Design Features/Layout – Sometimes the layout and format of the blog is causing it to look cluttered. When you were first starting a business or starting your blog, you likely wanted it all—calendar, tweet log, recent posts, every single social networking button, etc.—but this isn’t all necessary. This can cause a blog to look too busy, so it’s a good idea to spend some time going back and getting rid of features that you never use.

2. Unnecessary Pages – Many blogs have many different categories and many different pages displayed on the homepage. Go through and see how many of these categories you actually use. Many are surprised to find that some pages are filled with just one article. Try and fit all of your articles into fewer categories and try to eliminate any other pages that are unnecessary. If you have a “write for us” page and a “guest post” page, it’s time to combine them.

3. Unnecessary Links – Older blogs are usually filled with links, and in most cases these links are dead. Not only do a bunch of links give your blog a cluttered look, but they give your blog a bad reputation if they don’t even work. You don’t want your visitors continually clicking dead links and losing focus, so go through and delete these links.

4. Colors and Pictures – This is usually the easiest fix for a blog. If your theme has a very busy background and is filled with huge pictures, it’s going to be overwhelming for a reader. This gives your blog the illusion of being cluttered even if it is not. Consider getting a simpler background and see how it looks.

5. Old Content – One easy way to de-clutter your blog is to go through all of your old content. If you’re finding that your blog is full of now irrelevant articles, you may want to either delete them or take them off of your homepage. It is also a good idea to close comments on these old and irrelevant posts to avoid spammers and clutter. You can learn more about closing comments here.

It is important for a blog owner to remember that content does not have to be lost just because you are reorganizing the blog, and visitors will not get confused over a major re-structure. Although you will have to announce to your loyal readers that your site is undergoing maintenance, many will be able to adapt because you are organizing. This will overall make your blog easier to navigate and more enjoyable to read.

Photo Credit: simplyzesty.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to VoIP service. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

How to Get Rid of the Clutter and Clean Up Your Blog is a post from: bizchickblogs