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Being the boss isn't all fun and games. The promise of power can be alluring, but the reality of being responsible for a team of employees may not be as glamorous as you imagined.

You're a fallible human being managing a team of fallible human beings. You're bound to fail them from time to time, just as they're bound to fail you.

So, in order to make this whole employee/employer relationship work and thrive, you're going to need a strong foundation of trust and respect. If you suspect this respect is lacking, here are 7 possible reasons why.


1. You Don't Let Your Employees Play to Their Strengths.

In his book, Do Nothing: How to Stop Over Managing and Become a Great Leader, J. Keith Murnighan stresses the importance of delegating tasks to competent staff. He writes, "The key insight here is simple: you will be a more effective leader if, rather than doing the work yourself, you let other people do it. In other words, stop working and start leading." In other words, hire the most qualified people for the job and then give them the freedom to do what they do best.

2. You Avoid Conflict at All Costs.

You may think that 'playing the nice guy' is a surefire strategy for gaining the respect of your employees, the opposite may actually be true. By avoiding conflict, you send the message that you're not confident in yourself or in your decisions. A strong leader doesn't shy away from uncomfortable situations, but instead approaches them confidently and with an eye to rectifying the situation.

3. You Don't Appreciate Your Employees (Or At Least You Don't Show It).

Your employees are the ones who are helping you grow your business. Show them the appreciation they deserve by being generous with your praise and encouragement, and by letting them know how integral they are to the success of your business.

4. You Aren't Reliable.

You expect your employees to show up for work on time, to meet their deadlines and to do what they've promised to do. But do you hold yourself to the same standards? Your employees are watching you to see if you practice what you preach. When you miss a deadline, don't make excuses or assume no one noticed. Apologize and do better next time--just like you expect your employees to do.

5. You Don't Respect Them.

Respect is a two-way street. If you don't respect your employees, I can guarantee they aren't going to respect you. Calling them out in front of customers, failing to recognize their achievements, and not listening to their feedback are all signs you don't respect them.

6. You Offload Blame onto Others.

A great leader graciously accepts her fair share of the responsibility when things go wrong. This doesn't mean allowing yourself to become a scapegoat; it does mean claiming your mistakes as your own.

7. You Don't Care About Their Personal Lives.

It would be unrealistic to think you need to know everything about your employees' personal lives. But there's a big difference between knowing everything and caring about the things you do know. A little care and concern goes a long way to earning the trust and respect of your staff.


Source: http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/05/7-reasons-your-employees-dont-respect.html

Whatever stage in life you are, you still have plenty of time to find a lifetime partner! Enjoy the game to find your perfect match – because a bad date makes a much better story than an okay one.

Here are 5 things to know about finding a lifetime partner.


1. Take it Slow
You have to try and take it slow, as you don’t know this person yet and you have to give them time for their true nature to show. At the start we always put on our best behavior but enjoy the romantic stage without planning your 20 grandchildren – you want to make sure they are the real-deal in reality and not just in your fantasy.

2. Don’t Be Restrained by a Type
Tall, dark, handsome and loaded is a type! Don’t cut off the rest of the potential pool of people because they don’t drive a car or aren’t tall enough. I always find a match is more on a connection level. You can feel it with the most random people who you wouldn’t put in your ‘type’ box but there is definite sexual tension there – try dating them and see how it turns out.

3. Listen to Their Body Language
Standing you up, ignoring you, overly flirting with others, always talking about their exes… Any kind of behaviour that makes you feel disrespected, undervalued or ignored is NOT okay and it won’t get better. if they do it repeatedly and just apologise then excuse them from your amazing life. Plenty of people out there who are worthy of your time – spend it on them.

4. Be Yourself
If you can’t be yourself without being judged then something is wrong. A good relationship should make you just want to be yourself and not be constantly wearing a mask which isn’t sustainable. You should be loved for you – simple!

5. Relax
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you are feeling desperate, chances are you will act it and ignore some warning signs if your choice is less than perfect. Focus on attracting the right kind of people and take time for yourself, so you can love yourself, because you can’t expect someone else to hold you all together if you can’t.


http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/05/5-things-to-know-about-finding-lifetime.html

1. It’ll probably take around 3-5 years to start earning a good salary in your business. Within that period, you’ll have employees who make more money than you while you work harder than all of them combined.


2. You are actually working for someone, well some people. Running a business means your employees, your customers, clients are your bosses. They determine what you do.

3. 90% of the time you’re either stressed, worried or going through something in your business.

4. If you’re going to be an entrepreneur you need to understand that it’s also a career, one with a thousand-fold responsibility. It’s rough, it’s hard but it is worth it.

5. In business, the more you grow the more problems you’ll be dealing with. It never gets “easier”.

6. The one mistake many entrepreneurs make is that they first start with a product then they want to find a market (customer) for it.

7. Sell the value not the product. In other words, show how your product/service solves an issue. It's not about the product but the value the customer gets when they use your product/service.

8. Learn to listen out for a problem then find creative solutions. Do not build businesses based on what is "popular".

http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/05/8-reality-of-starting-your-own-business.html

1. Just do you
Sometimes shit happens and you just have to use the f word and move on. Draw that line. Burn that to do list. Rip the week out of your diary and pretend it never happened. Whatever, just stop dwelling on something that you literally cannot do anything about.

2. Take Some Time Out
Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. Give yourself some headspace – go for a walk, watch movies, or sleep and then start afresh.

3. Make A to Do List
Write a to do list by all means and try to do everything on the list. Reward yourself at the end of completing each task

http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/05/3-ways-to-get-back-your-mojo.html

Main Purpose of the Job
To develop business and marketing plans in coordination with Creative Director to achieve revenue goals.
Assist in company’s branding and related services for Urban Dice Designs

Key Responsibilities

o Develop business and marketing plans in coordination with Creative Director to achieve revenue goals.
o Explain prospective clients about the advantages of the products or services offered and follow up with them in order to close the business deals.
o Research the market for identifying new business opportunities.
o Develop business proposals for new and existing customers
o Respond to the client queries regarding the products in a timely fashion
o Develop creative strategies to retain the clients including interviewing them to take their feed back and incorporate it into the growth plan
o Assist in company’s branding and media communication activities such as advertisements, marketing collaterals, social media and web site.
o Develop in-depth knowledge about business development practices, marketing activities, prospective clients and industry trends.
o Manage customer calls and appointments effectively for new opportunities.
o Develop strong customer relationships in order to generate high volume of prospective clients
o Supervise the client relationship management database and utilize it to manage customer contacts and mailing lists.

Minimum Job Requirements

Education/Certifications:
• HND/BSc in Communications, Computer Science, or any Business related course.
• Certification in public relations, brand management and advertising or communications is an advantage but not a must.


Experience:
• Minimum of 2 years’ professional experience in Business Development, Marketing or brand management or a similar role

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Female Candidates preferred
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
• Ability to research and gather data
• Microsoft competencies especially Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Project
• Excellent Interpersonal skills
• Must be very comfortable in the use of all social media platforms
• Must be a team player

Personal Attributes:
• Must be a critical and strategic thinker
• Confident Innovative and proactive personality
• IT knowledge will be an advantage

Send CV to hr@urbandicedesigns.com

www.xobeabeth.com


Source: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com


Source: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

The Nigerian fashion industry is a huge industry with a multitude of jobs available and it is important to find a job that suits your passion, degree, skills and talents. Even if you’ve never done a sketch or sewn a dress, you can have a career in fashion.

If you know about current fashion trends, have an eyes for style and details; and a burning desire to turn your passion into a profitable career then perhaps a career in the fashion industry is the right path for you.


1. Fashion Designer
A Fashion designer should have artistic and creative qualities and use that skills to produce unique design concepts for various fashion applications. Designers are required to be multi-talented. They sketch, sew, create and mix colours, research upcoming fashion trends, choose fabrics and also utilize computer aided design and also, design entire lines.

2. Fashion Marketing
All fashion companies need to help market their products. Fashion marketing deals with how clothing get into the hands of the consumer.
The aim of fashion marketing is to analyze consumer tastes and show how a brand best fits into that consumer’s lifestyle.

3. Fashion Retailer
Retailing is all about selling the finished designs. As a fashion Retail buyers It is important to possess a great attitude, a beautiful smile, and a go getter personality in the retailing business.

4. Fashion Management
Those involved in this area ensure the effective management of the day-to-day operations of the business.

5. Fashion Illustrator/Graphic Designer
Fashion illustrators are creative and love expressing their opinions and thoughts through art. Illustrator’s help with graphic, produce advertising copy and images for promotional material in print and online.

6. Fashion Writer
Fashion writers work for newspapers, magazines, fashion websites or blogs, and television to produce editorial for the fashion media industry.

7. Fashion stylists
Fashion stylist take a photographer or art director’s vision for a photo shoot or film and bring it to life.

8. Personal Stylist/Fashion Blogger
Personal stylist are fashionista who give advice on personal style and clothing. As a fashion blogger you can blog about fashion trends, be an authority and an influencer in all things fashion.

9. Fashion Public Relations
PRs work with fashion labels and retailers to build a strong brand profile and public image, and assist with the media coverage of new product launches.

10. Fashion Research and Development
Research and development involves working as an engineer or researcher in product, fabric, and process innovation. If you’re an engineer or researcher, you’re trying to find new and better ways of producing clothes and accessories. If you like working with cutting-edge equipment and technology, this is the fashion career path for you.

Source:http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/03/10-career-opportunities-in-nigerian.html

When I think of good mental health I think of being able to look at myself in the mirror every day and say I'm proud of who I am. I'm happy in my skin and I'm positive about who I am and what I say and do.

How easy do you think it is to be happy? Can we simply choose to be happy? What happens when big life events happen? These events could be by excessive sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable things, low motivation as a result of a loss, major life changes, stress, heart break or disappointment.

Imagine waking up every day feeling like you can't live with yourself. This was my reality 2 years ago. Depression for me came out of nowhere and hit me like a ton of bricks. It's a long story but it does have a happy ending. Depression is difficult to explain to people. You crave for peace but even sleep doesn’t afford that. It wrecks your dreams and turns your days into a living nightmare. It destroys your personality, your relationship with your family and friends, your work, it affects them all. Your ability to give and receive affection is gone.

No matter how great something may be, you still feel that dark cloud within you. And when you do allow yourself to cry, you cry for everything and everyone who ever hurt you. You cry for all the pain you’ve ever experienced. You cry for your constant dissatisfaction and unexplainable despair.

You go to sleep hoping, praying not to wake up. You rack your brain seeing is there something you done in your life that justifies this suffering. You wonder why God is not answering your pleas for relief and you wonder is he there at all or has he forgotten about you. And through it all remains the darkness. It’s as if someone placed a veil over your soul and never returned to remove it.

It’s not like you’re always walking around brooding and frowning and crying. It’s not like you never laugh or smile or enjoy yourself. You only wish that when those things happened, you 110% believed it, felt it. You want to be able to relish in your happiness without awaiting the downward spiral after. Negative feelings taint your happiness.

You’re always scared of what can threaten your mental health, your peace of mind. Big changes, new relationships. When something new like a new relationship; you’re always anticipating the disappointment, the heartbreak, the inevitable end to something great. You don’t trust anything to last. You don’t believe anything will truly make you happy. Your whole life has been spent seeking happiness, seeking those things that make you feel content and satisfied, yet they always seem to be out of your reach.

You overthink and overanalyse and drive yourself insane with the most negative thoughts you can muster; even though you know they aren’t true; even though you know you shouldn’t believe them. You can’t dismiss them or brush them aside. Depression make you feel forever tormented by voices only you can hear.

I am here to encourage anyone who is currently going through rock bottom that there is hope.

Here are some things that helped me. And if you're on the other side of the fence and want to help a friend who seems depressed, I hope this help you too.

The journey to wellness requires time and patience and is full of difficult but rich and liberating learning. There is no one path, each person has to begin and create their own but the giving of support, compassion and unconditional love on this journey from others is as important as the gift of your next breath.

Mind-Set Is Everything

I fake my way through most days and some days that gets exhausting to the point where I can no longer put on that fake smile. But what I tell myself is, Depression doesn’t make me who I am. Sometimes my brain likes to think it does. I decided to fight for ME. To fight to be the happiest I have ever been. I will fight to let people in and not shut that door.

It's never time that heals all wounds, but mindset, action and belief. I began to take ownership and control over my thoughts, my mindset and my existence. I knew I wanted to be genuinely happy, I was tired of faking a smile to those around me. I am mindful of my thoughts and see others with love and kindness, as opposed to negativity.

I won't say every day is easy, I still have little stumbles along the way. But I see those as confirmations that I am building the new me.

Give Yourself Permission to Feel

Feel it all. You might be trying to keep it together, but it’s actually very healing to allow yourself to go through all the emotions. Cry your heart out. Once you’ve given yourself time to really let it out, it makes it easier to reel in your emotions.

I tell myself in spite of all of these unpleasant sensations, I know that things can work out the way that I want them to.

Practice Self Love

Be patient and compassionate with yourself, remind yourself of all your wonderful qualities and talents, and give yourself praise and encouragement.

I talk to myself like I would to someone else that I want to express love to. It feels amazing to give myself what I want and need.

Talk To Someone

It's never easy telling someone about your mental health. It's never easy trying to explain the heavy feeling in your chest, the heavy head and whirlwind of sad thoughts constantly sitting in the back of your head.

I started to feel better when I opened up to a trusted friend who was willing to listen and understand what I was going through. At first it was uncomfortable, trust me It can be the hardest thing to do but standing up and saying that you deserve better than this is the first step to helping yourself. There’s no shame in admitting that you don’t want this kind of life for yourself, and that you need to talk to someone – whether a professional or a friend – to work through it.

Be Productive

My friend told me I needed to be productive because as at that time I have stopped doing all the things I love to do. Gradually I started doing all the things I love, I started travelling more. This lifted my mood significantly and I started gaining my self-confidence back.

Get Rid Of All the Toxic People in Your Life

Surround yourself with positive and loving people. Be in a healthy relationship. I remind myself that I deserve to have relationships that feel good and nourishing to me. I truly recognize the value of my time, and guard it with a passion. I'm not as hesitant to say "I’m sorry" first as I once was, and I am learning to forgive those that never offered me an apology. I date differently, am more selective with the friends I choose, and have a heightened sense of consciousness in regards to one's motives and intentions. I protect myself, but have also placed a shield around those I love. My heart is more open, but my mind is more aware.

Forgive

I forgive quickly and easily for my peace of mind and sanity. I forgive those that hurt me and that gives peace of mind. I am also quick to genuinely apologize when I have offended anyone. It’s all about being sane and having healthy mental health. I have no rooms for resentment, bad blood or any form of negativity.

www.xobeabeth.com

Do you believe in soul mates? Do you hold the idea that there is one person who is divinely compatible with you? There are approximately 7.5 billion people on Earth. What are the chances of finding your soulmate? What if the person think is your soulmate is already married, dead or haven’t been born yet?

What’s a soulmate? A person who has the same lifestyle as you? A person who shares the same values as you? A person who is compatible with you? All of the above? No, there is nobody like that.

I don’t believe in soulmate. That is highly implausible. Why should I believe that I am so limited? Why should I believe anyone is so limited? If I were one man’s perfect soulmate. It would mean I am defined by who that other person is, and that he is also defined by who I am.

There is more than one person for everyone. You have multiple chances for your happily ever after. I believe in partners caring enough to stick around with you. Once someone is right for you, your love can last forever. You can choose your own happiness with whomever you want.

Looking for perfect compatibility and a soul mate kills motivation to work at successful relationship with good partner. People who believe in the idea of soul mate believe people either click and are meant to be, or they don’t and should move on. However, when problems inevitably arise, believers in soulmate often don’t handle it well and leave the relationship instead.

The best you can do is to find someone who has flaws that you can deal with. Even if you find that person, there’ll be another one who can make you even happier. Instead of searching for soulmate why not look for someone with whom you can mature and enjoy life.

A relationship is more than just enjoying the good times together, what defines a relationship is how you manage each other’s flaws, forgiveness and knowing if the second and third chances are worth it with that person.

The problem with the term soulmate is that it takes all of the work out of a relationship and assumes that two people can be so magically connected that they don’t even have to try. That’s a dangerous way to view a relationship.

I have seen marriages where people thought their soulmate either via prophesy, vision, whatever form now divorced. Why is this? Because they thought their connection was so divine and they quit working on their relationship.

There will always be disagreement because no one is perfect or a perfect fit for a partner. It takes work, growth, changes and maturity to keep a relationship. But someone who believes in the idea of soulmate see this as an excuse to be uncommitted and eventually quit the relationship.

The real questions you need to ask are:

Do our life goals match or can it be alterable to an acceptable extent.
Would my partner stand for me and always support me?
Are they emotionally matured for a lifetime journey?
How do they handle conflict?
Are they rude, abusive and manipulative?
Do they understand/accept my goals and ambitions?
Can you imagine spending the rest of your life with anyone else?

Love is not true only if it is given to one person forever. It can also be for one person for that time, maybe the time was wrong or both of you want different things from life. It's Okay.

Pray to God to bring the right person and that you also be the ''RIGHT PERSON". You can't be broken, damage and hurt and looking for love. You will only end up more hurt while hurting other people.

Source: www.xobeabeth.com

How Did You Start Your Business?

I started without planning on starting a business. I was to travel out and someone in yankee asked me to sew an Ankara style I had on so she'd buy when I got to America. I decided to make like 15 samples (so I’d have dollars to shop not because I wanted to start a business). But because I love pictures a lot, I decided to have a photo shoot with the clothes, I opened an IG page for the business (because I wanted to look serious when I quoted the dollars) not because I wanted a business but once I posted the pictures, it sold out before I traveled. I took it seriously when my dear @ankaready saw one of the pictures and decided to buy pieces in forex.... omo business started sharp sharp.

I started with 50k. I didn't pump money into my business even though I had the means to. I was smart enough to start small and test waters. I buy Ankara of over 500k monthly now, I am an advocate of starting small and filling the shoes. Also, I pay tailors per piece. Don't have my dedicated tailors yet.... I pay my trusted tailors per one piece they sew. I try to make them comfortable so I wouldn't hear stories that touch.

What Challenges You Faced at First and How You Over Came Them?

My first major challenge was handling tailors. My first loss was 300k just 1 month after starting. All my gain turned to losses when they made rubbish. Second challenge was my finishing, I will send clothes to my partner in UK, zips will break, tailors will forget to close pocket, plenty errors. But thank God for @ankaready she would critique me with love and ensured excellence (it's good to have good people around you). She is still my No 1 critique and I can never be too big to listen.

Is It Necessary to Register a Business Name Before Starting the Business?

You don't need to register a business before you start the business. Focus on structure. First before you start adding all effizis even though its important. But, it can actually wait till you find your feet. See, don't tell anyone oh but I didn't have a branded nylon till October abi November!!!Yes!!Zero packaging! I focused on my product first and grew.


How Do You Get Celebrities To Buy From You Or Help Promote Your Brand?

First thing I do is pray to God to see those I should send stuff to. Secondly, I have worked on my mindset that I never see a celeb as my meal ticket meaning I have to really like you before I reach out to you. So, it's more like a gift when I give you my piece not "a marketing strategy". Reason why once I give you my piece, I never look back. The first person I reached out to ever was @simplypalesa, she was someone I really loved. I particularly love sending pieces to "stylish" bloggers or people who take good pictures because it excites me to know how they will style my piece. That is my motivation always not just because blogs will repost even though it always has ripple effect.

I have never begged or asked anyone to help me promote my brand. Once you do that, you will never get your respect. I simply reach out to those I like or who openly like my pieces or comment under my post. Hello my name is Adetoke, I own @sgtcclothing, a ready to wear blah blah, you really inspire me or I saw your comment blah blah, I would like to send you some pieces. What they do is to first go to your page and check you out before they respond. Some respond and say they collect money and I thank them and waka.... it’s their hustle. I don't pay because it's not in my policy. I feel once I pay A I have to pay B because everyone is equal so I don't bother with it. Most people buzz now to wear my brand because of the hard work we've put in....so it's no magic.

Learn to be confident in your brand. Be your no 1 supporter. Be open to critics but be weary of those who bring you down. There is a thin line. Some never have anything good to say. Shut them off!!Focus on your brand first before you start looking for supporter etc. Let your work speak for itself, people will begin to associate with you.

Read More: http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/02/how-to-start-online-fashion-business-in.html

www.xobeabeth.com

Source: instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Source: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Source: instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Source: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/xobeabeth

It is never a good idea for an entrepreneur, bloggers, vendors, freelancer or a start-up company to offer their services for free. When you agree to do work for free, you are simply devaluing the industry in which you are a part of.

1. By showing a client that you are willing to provide them with completed work without pay in the hope of being paid if the client chooses your work, implies that the work you are doing is easy and takes very little effort. This is not the way to start a relationship with a new client if you are to move forward. The client will never respect you as a professional.

2. No self-respecting professional spent years honing their skills and obtaining accreditation to be in a situation where they are simply churning out work in the hopes of being paid.

3. Most freelancers and entrepreneurs will use the excuse that they need the experience, or that they are able to add to their portfolio. In addition, many think that working for free will help them to obtain clients. However, there are many other ways to obtain real-life experience or to create portfolio pieces, including; providing services to charities, other non-profits, internships and friends and family.

http://www.xobeabeth.com/2018/01/young-entrepreneur-3-reasons-why-you.html

www.xobeabeth.com

Source: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ankarazone

www.xobeabeth.com

Photo Credit: Instagram.com/africanweddingbliss

Source: xobeabeth.com

Photo Credit: Instagram.com/ankarazone