Putting Your Small Business on my Resume?

If you watch the news at all these days we all hear the same things, job cuts, recession/depression, and the list goes on. It's hard not to know someone these days who isn't looking for a job. My sister, a 20+ year certified professional resume writer is probably one of the few people these days who has seen an increase in her business. Revisions to old resumes, people who have never needed a resume because they've been working 25+ years are now needing one and the list goes on. It's really quite sad at times and my heart goes out to those going through this.

I have had people ask me personally and I've also seen this topic in various forums about should I or shouldn't I use my small business on my resume. My answer to that (and also my sister's answer) is most definitely YES!!!!

As we all know, running a small business like we do is not easy. For most of us, we are the only employee and we are left to run every aspect of the business. We are the owner, designer, marketer, accountant and much more.

Using this information on your resume, even if its unrelated to a job you might be applying for, can tell your potential employer a lot of about you. It can show creativity, diversity, a wide spectrum of experience (marketing, advertising, customer service) and much more. It can also be used as a conversation starter during an interview. It could lead to a lot of different and good things.

So to those who might be looking for a new job go ahead and put your small business on your resume. Show a potential employer that you bring more to the table with your small business experience than most would! Set yourself apart and stand out in a huge crowd these days when it comes to applying for a job!

Until next time--Blessings! ~ Dawn

A Business Survey - Answer & Win!

With this survey, I'm hoping to find out just how much of a market there is for a small business marketing/advertising/promotional type seminar. I've received emails and convos from several business owners (through Etsy and other sites) who have said they wish I would offer a class or seminar on this so they could talk and interact with others and find good resources and ideas.

I've recently partnered with my sister's business which sells promotional products of all types and also does imprinted clothing (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.) and does some work on logo design, etc. and we thought together, we could offer small businesses a great opportunity to get items they can use in their business, without breaking the bank! They can get special pricing on items and can also do on-line presentations of items you might be looking for and email it directly to you! This is a great time-saver and money-saver as well!

With this I would also be sharing some of the information like I've covered on my blog, but of course, this would be a little more in-depth and there would also be some additional information not covered!! We would also offer a time of questions and answers and a time to network with the other business owners in the class.

I would like to keep this in a very low-key, low-pressure setting that is relaxed and fun! I also want to keep the price down and affordable because we all know as small business owners, times are tough!! I would be traveling to some area cities that are larger and easily accessible by highway or plane, and be at hotels that will offer great rates with nice accomodations, in towns such as Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, Louisville, KY, Lexington, KY, Nashville, TN and possibly others if there is enough interest!

Please copy and paste the following questions in to an email and then give me your response to each question. You can write as little or as much as you would like! Please email your response to: shadesjewelry@aol.com. I appreciate you taking the time to help with this!

Everyone who answers will be automatically entered in to a drawing in which you will receive a gift card worth $25 for my Etsy store and the opportunity to attend this seminar for FREE!!

SURVEY

1. Does a small business marketing/advertising seminar sound like a good idea for your business?
2. Would you be willing to travel (and how far) to an event like this if it was cost effective?
3. What type of detailed information would you expect to receive in this class?
4. What would you be willing to pay for this type of class (seperate from your lodging/travel expenses)?
5. Does having access to promotional products as part of this class sound good to you?
6. Please share any other thoughts, ideas or questions you might like answered regarding this seminar...