Investment Strategizing: Planning with Confidence

Investing is a nonnegotiable for one who dreams of being financially free at some point. We set aside for retirement, for our kids' education, or even just to grow our savings. Whatever the case may be, we will all have to invest at some point. However, the word “investing” can be intimidating if we don’t know anything about the concept. Now we’re not talking about how to choose investment decisions. Rather, how you can prepare yourself to get into the world of investing. 

Understanding the basics of investing comes from preparing yourself before you start to look at options. It is best to consult a professional (financial advisor or planner) for this stage to ensure you get the best advice. Nonetheless, going into this with a plan is important to make sure you get the most out of your investments. You want to make sure you find someone with your best interest in mind so you don’t agree to things that may negatively impact you.

With that being said, let's look at what we know:

Know Your Limits

Before you start investing, decide how much money you’re willing to work with. You want it to be an amount that you can live without for some time (as investments take time). Know your assets and what you owe, factor all this in when coming up with the amount. As well you’ll want to get a debt management plan to know the amount you’ll need for an emergency fund. Taking care of these will alleviate the need to withdraw more money while your investments grow.

Build a Timeline

Planning by reviewing when you’ll need your returns is important (retirement, college tuition, etc). Long-term investing in this case gives investors a bit of leeway to take on market ups and downs. For example, you wouldn’t start investing in a college fund the year before your children go. You start that from the time they are born and continually look for opportunities to move more money into it.

Another component under the umbrella of time is not spending too much time saving before planning and taking action. This applies to anything, the longer the time spent waiting shortens the time for taking action. It’s good to plan, but don’t let it set you back years of investing time. 

Evaluate the Risk Involved

Watching your portfolio go up and down can be nerve-racking and cause panic for new investors. It’s important to understand the unpredictability of stock patterns, but even taking significant dips can be part of the stock's growth. As well, stocks usually have more risk involved than bonds. With owning stock, you own a percentage of the company while bonds are a loan you give to an organization.

The reason bonds aren’t as risky is because they give a lower return in a shorter amount of time. Finding what works best for you will involve consulting, however, research what kind of investments you feel most comfortable with. 

Invest In What You Believe In

Find investment opportunities you believe can change things in the world for the better. This in itself is a form of research for investing. If you see the potential for growth and impressive initiatives being taken then why wouldn’t other investors? In addition, your overall confidence in what you’re putting your money in will be greater if you know the company.

Conclusion

Investing can be confusing and stressful, especially if we go into it with no prior knowledge of how investments work. You want to set yourself up for success, so take the time to educate yourself on the process as well as find the right advisors. Investing is a tool that can determine your future, make sure every decision around it is made with confidence.

Written By Ben Brown

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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

 

 

Difficult Decision Making: Leadership Guide

We know that the foundation of leadership is based on a leader's ability to make decisions. The decisions directly impact the team's ability to handle tasks in the workplace. Sounds fairly straightforward when we put it that way right? Remember straightforward and easy are two very different things. Decision-making can be rewarding when delegating tasks to hardworking employees and seeing them succeed.

However, the real measure of an effective leader is seen in their ability to make tough decisions. When faced with pressure, does a leader detach and overcome the obstacle? Or do they become too emotionally involved and get in the way of the team? Making tough decisions will test people in different ways, especially when these decisions affect the people working in the teams. Whether it’s budget issues, having to fire someone, or weighing options best suited for the team, a leader must find the best option possible.

These decisions are unfortunately the most common ones leaders will have to deal with. What makes them hard beyond morale is that sometimes the answer is not clear. It all comes back to uncertainty, which is often the trigger for acting on impulse. This is not to say that a leader can know the outcome of a given situation, sometimes the best choices even lead to failure. 

What we want to learn here is not how to avoid failure but how a leader can operate under pressure to guide the team. Let's look at what we know:

Recognize Impulse Decisions

When a situation comes up, a leader will typically calculate an answer instantaneously. The issue here is that the answer could stem from ego, mistrust, or even bias. Once that answer bubbles up, a leader must question why. What purpose does this decision serve? Who will be affected? Will this have a ripple effect on other tasks? Even taking a potential solution to the responsible team members in the context will help to understand complications. 

Be Open to Employee Input

Hard decisions which involve the operation of a task should always be taken to employees to gain their insight. Not only will their opinions factor into their ability to do the job but it will also allow the leader to recognize where they may over engage or under engage. Remember to recognize feedback as helpful suggestions and not as employees undermining the original idea. In return, the attitudes of team members going forward will be positive as they feel they’ve been heard.

The leader can feel relief knowing that the solution was constructed on the criteria that were in the best interest of the team.

Explain the Tough Decisions

In an organization, issues will arise that are out of the leaders' control, this is where the leader simply becomes a messenger. We can recognize this in budget cuts which often translate to downsizing and letting go of employees. When there’s a case like this, it is important to be direct, don’t hide the facts. Leaders must address the hard situations with the emotional intelligence and professionalism that earned their position. 

Allow Teams Leeway 

This concept is important because it must not be taken too seriously or too lightly. When difficulties arise, it is often because a leader becomes too involved. The command is too centralized and does not allow employees to make decisions on their own. This can translate to wasted time due to waiting on approval and constantly having to run things by the leader. The opposite is also true, if a leader is too laid back then the team will not know what to do.

Finding the balance is done by understanding your team, knowing when to trust and when to guide. As a leader, the right balance must be found that best fits the circumstance.

Conclusion

Organizations will always face issues, the most important thing that can be done in a team setting is preparing to face them. An organization's ability to succeed is often based on how they handle obstacles and bounce back from failure. Each difficulty is a learning opportunity, teams will improve when put under pressure. What’s most important is that every member has the necessary support and leadership to accomplish their goals. 

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

 

 

 

Qualities of An Effective Mentor

What a privilege it is to be a mentor, having gained enough knowledge and experience that the new generations of your profession look up to you for advice. This role inevitably comes with a large responsibility. You are in a position not only to guide someone to a life of success but also to benefit your industry with your lessons after you’ve left. So what qualities does one look for in a mentor? We want someone knowledgeable, a clear communicator, someone we can trust, right?

The fundamental qualities of a mentor rely on their ability to deliver information effectively to the mentee. The first potential barrier we have to recognize here is the age gap, someone older mentoring a young prospect may find it difficult to communicate. For this reason, the mentor's approach needs to be much more personalized. To adjust your approach, here’s what you need to keep in mind:

Ask Questions

As a mentor, you’ll want to understand the goals your mentee is aiming for. By asking them questions you are conducting a series of helpful lessons. It starts by making them think, they’ll concentrate on their intentions for working in this given field. From that, they’ll come up with goals for which you can develop objectives. After that, you can begin to find actionable methods for your mentee to take.

It is easy to talk people’s ears off about something you’ve done for years but it can be overwhelming for a newcomer. Instead, define clear objectives that you and your mentee will be able to do to create progress. 

Voice Your Opinion

When a mentee is faced with something (issue or opportunity), always make sure to share your thoughts on the situation. It is important not to make the conversation all about you, simply share your thoughts when appropriate. This tool is beneficial to demonstrate your understanding that your mentee is still learning. Also, your opinion is valued by the ones you mentor, so don’t keep it to yourself, teach them to think like an experienced professional.

Challenge Your Mentee

Mentors are not therapists, you’re not there to hold your mentee's hand through the process. Of course, you want to encourage and be a safe space for them to go but don’t allow them to become dependent. Instead, find ways to dig deeper into their assumptions of the industry by asking them hardball questions. Challenge their comfort zone by being direct and honest even in times they may not want to hear the truth. The mentor must grow the mentee into a competent person capable of handling their career alone. 

Open Them To Your Network

This option is not required but if you are comfortable with introducing your mentee to people in your network it can be very helpful. This may be a big draw for some people coming to you for help as a mentor. If you decide to go this route, be strategic with who you choose, having a clear idea of the value they can provide to each other. Introducing your mentees to people in your network can expose them to the types of people to look for in theirs. Also, it could lead to opportunities for your mentee down the line.

Conclusion

The role of a mentor can be extremely rewarding but it can also be challenging in terms of patience or where to start. Put yourself in the position of the mentee, what would you want to be taught? How would you want to be treated to ensure you’re effectively learning? Whatever approach you decide on, be sure to do it with the same passion and professionalism that established you in your career.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!