Advice for Young People in Tough Economic Times

Money concerns and economic worries are top of mind for nearly everyone in my life at the moment. Front page news, top of the evening nightly news broadcasts, and the subject of blog post after blog post. As an econ major and MBA, I'm fascinated by the psychology of money and it's ability to shape the quality of our lives just by the very perception we have of it. Feelings and emotions move markets at a mad pace.

For young people, these tough economic times are particularly worrisome. High debt from school, fewer job prospects, trepidation about their very lengthy futures. It can be discouraging, though I think there is reason for hope. This week, CNN Money offered up advice from a variety of people from money managers to authors. I didn't agree with all of the advice, but wanted to add my own anecdote and advice about money in the hopes that it's helpful in these troubled times. 

1.) Regardless of the economic situations, there are jobs out there for people who are diligent, ambitious, and optimistic. In a bad economy, many people assume they can't find a job and don't even bother to look. Take advantage of that and cast a wide net. 

2.) Use new technology to control your spending, especially on your credit cards. Sites like Mint.com and AmericanExpress.com offer text messaging and emails of balances to help you keep tabs of where you are in your spending so you aren't surprised at the end of the month when you receive your bills. American Express also offers a myriad of on-line consumer resources with tips and advice to help you manage your financial life.

3.) Stay diversified - and not just in your portfolio, but in your career, too! Most people I know work hard at their day job without having anything other source of income. As you get further in your career, think about how your skills can be utilized in a freelance capacity that you enjoy. It gives you extra money to sock away when times get tough or unexpected expenses arise (case in point - my recent car troubles), you'll be more in control of your career and finances as opposed to the company you work for having all of that control, you'll build your network, and if you are the subject of a layoff, cut in salary, etc. during a downturn in the economy, you'll have a bit of a cushion to tide you through a job search or switch. You're the CEO of your career - make sure you're watching out for it. 

Would welcome any comments an other suggestions. Times like this require group action and efforts - a rising tide lifts all boats. 

The picture of above is from http://smallbiztechnology.com/media/money-coins.jpg

Finding Purpose in Africa

Running off to the developing world to make a difference and contribute to humanity used to be the realm of young college graduates. Now, more and more professionals, solo or with family in tow, are finding themselves drawn to areas of the world where they can see the direct impact of their work improving the lot of those who cannot improve the quality of life on their own. 

This week, USA Today ran an article about Americans finding purpose in Africa, specifically Rwanda. For me, that country conjures up images of the gentle mountain gorillas juxtaposed to the images from CNN and MSNBC of the brutal genocide that the country endured. Today, there are ex-pats living and working Rwanda who think that the country is poised to be the next Singapore. After years of unrest and violence beyond measure, the country is fighting its way back to peace and prosperity. And Americans looking for purpose are flocking to lend their expertise, time, and energy. And while Rwandans are reaping the benefits of lower infant mortality, higher education rates, and greater economic opportunities, Americans are gaining a sense of self and purpose, empathy, acceptance, and faith in the goodness that we can create for one another.  

As someone who's always thought that my time for the Peace Corp had passed me by, this article left me encouraged by all of the future opportunities that exist for me to lend a hand, my heart, and my spirit. 

No funds for a vacation? How about a staycation?

A few weeks ago I wrote about a family who sought advice on how to wrestle with the problem of not having funds to go on their annual summer vacation. They opted to create a fun summer vacation at home. I read some more evidence today that the trend is catching on quickly, and even being embraced both by families and by companies looking to aid families in this pursuit while making some money in tough times. While at dinner with my friend, Rob, last night, we talked about the possibility of road trips becoming a luxury, not something that people will be able to do at the drop of a hat. It seems that idea has moved beyond a possibilty into a full-blown reality.


The clever folks over at DK Publishing have put together a set of ideas and books to help people have a blast on summer staycation. The website they built around the effort offers all kinds of ideas for enjoying your summer without leaving your city, or even your own four walls. From armchair travel to cooking to group and solo activities to movies to stargazing, they make vacation at home so appealing that you might wonder why you didn't think of taking a staycation even when travel was cheap. And with all the hassle involved today in getting on a plane, train, or driving on the highway, the idea of making your home your haven is heavenly. Staying home for vacation may just be a blessing in disguise.

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan

Hachette Book Group USA has put out another book that I fell in love with. (The first set of books from Hachette that caught my attention were those by Stephenie Meyer. I was thrilled to learn that Twilight is being made into a movie set to open on December 12, 2008!) This latest book, Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan, was a more difficult read, though a call to action that is timely and necessary. The book is a collection of 5 short stories by Akpan, a Jesuit priest originally from Nigeria who is now living and teaching in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Akpan's is certainly not the first set of stories to chronicle the trouble life of people across Africa. What is unique about the collection is that it is told entirely from the perspective of children. Because of their resiliency, children are able to see the light and dark, simultaneously, in many situations where adults see only one aspect or the other. Children are on a quest for joy, for resolution, and most certainly for peace. As Frank McCourt said in the trilogy of books about his own life, children keep moving forward because it's the only thing they know how to do. Akpan's characters embrace that philosophy and take us along with them for the journey.

To be sure, the circumstances are horrifying - tribal wars, destruction, rape, poverty, starvation. I sometimes had to put the book down because each page is so densely packed with raw emotion and brutally honest storytelling. There is no sugar-coating here. What kept me coming back and reading late into the night was Akpan's intensely visual story telling that has us bear witness to what's happening in countries all across Africa. We are unable to turn away as we make our way through the book and we feel compelled, even obligated, to do something, to say something, to change something. Through literature, he found his voice while also giving a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves.

Say You're One of Them was recently reviewed in USA Today. And today, there is a front page article in USA Today on Americans who are finding purpose in Africa.

Good PR for Twitter

"What are you doing?" is the only question that Twitter, the microblogging site, asks you to answer. In 140 characters or less, please. I had heard of the site a while ago though didn't really get into it until March when I attended the BlogHer Business Conference in NYC. There, nearly all the attendees were twittering away, giving their feedback on what was happening at the conference in bite-size "tweets". Four months later, I'm twittering several times a day!

USA today ran an article today about the phenomenon that is Twitter. Its popularity has grown exponentially, and much, MUCH faster than the founders could have predicted. As a result, the site crashes fairly often, though is usually back up and running quickly. Still, the need for reliability is strong, and growing stronger by the hour, in this increasingly interconnected world. This reliability is particularly an issue when companies want to get in on the act and figure out how to leverage the conversations that are going on out there. As Bob Davis said, "Speed is Life." And to have speed, we need reliable connections.

I follow a few companies on Twitter - one being the March of Dimes. I met a small group of their Team Members and these women were light years ahead of many companies when it comes to social media. And it's amazing how often I have been contacted by others who read my writing in one media channel or another, and then decided to "follow" me.

And the most amazing feature I find with Twitter: most of my followers I've never even met in person. Unlike other spaces on line where I spend time like this blog, my website, or Facebook, Twitter is a place where I can leave a short snippet, a passing thought, and then spend the majority of time checking out what others are doing. And there is a load of fantastic information, research, and insight in those 140 characters. For the overwhelmed, people or businesses, Twitter is a great place to get in on the conversation with minimal effort and heartache. Twitter is the art of brevity at its best.

10 little things

My friend, Julie, is in Tanzania for about 2 months. She's on assignment with the Peace Corp and has started a blog to track her experiences. http://turnyourhead.wordpress.com/

On one of her posts, she takes a cue from her blogging sister and lists 10 little known things about her that are interesting and unique. I love the idea so much that I'm stealing it. Thanks for the inspiration, Jules :)

1.) The first profession I ever had an interest in was paleontology because I loved dinosaurs.

2.) When I was little, I memorized every fact about Africa that I could get my hands on and my mother would patiently listen to me go on for hours - if only we had the internet then.

3.) I was a Girl Scout until I was 12.

4.) I learned how to swim when I was 30.

5.) This is the first year I have ever been registered with a political party. My mother gave me a voter registration form when I turned 18 and until this year have always been an Independent.

6.) There is a tractor crossing sign on the road I grew up on. 

7.) The two countries I must visit some time in my life are Rwanda, to see the mountain gorillas, and Cuba because of the movie For Love or Country.

8.) I hate talking on the phone - it's my least favorite form of communication

9.) My favorite charitable cause is environmental protection

10.) Mary Lou Retton was my childhood idol  

and a bonus fact:

11.) My sister and I have two common obsessions: The Gilmore Girls (my baby niece is named after Lorelei Gilmore!) and Dunkin' Donuts (which we affectionately refer to as "Dunks")

My new website is up and running! http://www.christainnewyork.com

Hooray! After a steep learning curve and months of agonizing over every word, photo, and design decision, my personal website is up and running. I created the website to drum-up freelance writing work and to grow my practice of helping small business effectively use new and emerging media to augment their marketing strategies. Launching my website today was the first step down the road to this new and exciting venture. The website links heavily to this blog and I will continue to maintain this blog with near-daily writing. I'd love your feedback on the website! http://www.christainnewyork.com

It is a scary thing to put myself out there alone. While secretly I consider myself an expert in communications, now that sentiment is out there in the world. While I've contributed to efforts via a company I work for, this is the first time I am putting my own talent and ambition out there, entirely on my own. That website in a very real sense says who I am, what I do, and what I believe. While there's a tremendous freedom that comes with that kind of action, there is also a fair amount of fear and trepidation. "One step at a time," I keep telling myself.

I must recommend the kind people over at GoDaddy.com, where I registered my domain name and purchased their hosting service. Their website, while very cluttered, is fairly easy to navigate after a bit of practice. What won me over is their fantastic phone support. I talked to a real person (!) three times this morning, no waiting, and very few menus. Great customer service!

I bought my new Mac earlier this year for its web design capability with the iWeb program. Love it! They saved me the pain of learning anything beyond my rudimentary html knowledge. I applaud people who can write code elegantly - I just have no desire to do it myself and Mac understands that.

I must especially thank my dear friend Dan for his wonderful photography and all of the advice he gave me when I was considering the design of the site. 

I have so many friends who gave me ideas and encouragement as I've considered free-lance writing and this small consulting practice. In brief: Alex, Kelly, Steve, Monika, Katie, Amy, Lisa, Trevin, Brooke, Ken, Heather, and Richard. And to my great family who always believes in me.  

What's the difference between being preachy and passionate?

I understand that there can be a thin line between preaching and speaking passionately. Barack Obama is a brilliant example of someone who has mastered the art of speaking passionately without becoming preachy. A friend of mine was just telling me about a meeting he was recently asked to join because of his expertise on humanitarian relief work. Mind you, this topic was the topic of discussion. He is marvelously articulate and speaks with such authority and passion that it is fully understandable how people will walk to the ends of the Earth for him. 

After he finished his two minute discussion on the role of humanitarian relief work in several hot-button areas of the world right now, there was dead silence from his boss. I should interject here that he is far more educated and personally vested in this cause than she is, despite the fact that she has seniority. He makes her look good without fail, on every project, and she has often publicly taken credit for work he has done. 

At this meeting, rather than thanking him for his point of view, she responded by addressing the group with, "well, not that that information has anything to do with the issue at hand..." Actually, it had everything to do with the issue at hand. His boss was irritated that he had a more articulate, and opposing view, than the surface comments she was making. What's more my friend is far more genuine than his boss, she knows this, and is unable to level the playing field with him. She closed the conversation saying, "well, I think we've had enough preaching for one day." So ludicrous, it's laughable...

And that started me thinking about the difference between preaching, which often has a negative connotation, and articulately addressing an issue with passion. It comes down to whether the person speaking is talking to hear himself talk and or if he is educating and sharing his point-of-view with his audience. Preaching has a lot of shallow dazzle and speaking with passion has dazzle plus substance. With all of my friend's energy and enthusiasm, my advice to him was to move on to someplace that appreciates and rewards him for everything he has to offer. 

Winning by Jack Welch

Today, my boss showed an interview of Jack Welch when he was on his book tour for his then-new book, Winning. The interview contained all of the Welch-like outlooks that anyone in business has come to know well; f nothing else, he is remarkably persistent and consistent. Though I disagree with some fundamental beliefs he has about managing a company, I do think he provides excellent food for thought for today's business leaders.

Off the bat, I have to admit that I have experienced Welch-style management first hand. I interned at The Home Depot for my summer between my years of business school. And though Welch never worked there himself, one of his proteges, Bob Nardelli, was the CEO for over 6 years. We all know how that played out, and there are numerous articles that have been written about the damaging culture of that place.

Many of the troubles that The Home Depot is facing now have nothing to do with the housing market. They have everything to do with the fact that in 6 years Nardelli decimated the culture that made that company great. People were afraid of him. He had dirty stores with low service levels and focused on the large professional contractor, a customer who was never all that interested in The Home Depot. They consequently sold the business after Nardelli's termination. While Nardelli tried very hard to play hardball the way Mr. Welch taught him to, he forgot the lessons of shedding what is not essential, focusing on others when you are in a leadership position (as opposed to oneself), and realizing that a great company never believes they are best so they continually seek to learn and improve.

Where I strongly disagree with Welch is in his philosophy that is the namesake of his book: winning. He says a company's job, its only job, is to win. He goes on to say that from winning, all good things come. My question to him would be, "Do you win at all costs, by any means necessary?" There are a lot of companies that got very large, fantastically wealthy, by completely disregarding the environment, by squeezing every last drop of margin out of their suppliers, and treating their people with less than respect. Wal-Mart is a great example of all of these operating principles. Now they're working hard to reverse their ways. They certainly won by Welch's definition. But was it worth it?

I would amend the mission statement of a company by saying that it's job is to win with integrity. And by integrity I mean that it must consider that the communities in which its employees, suppliers, and customers live and do business are also stakeholders in their business decisions, as much as its stockholders. If a company wins and puts the health and well-being of its communities at risk, then in the long-run we all lose.

Vandalism: a sign of the times?

Theft is a common topic on the news, in newspapers, magazine, we hear about it on the streets. I never realized how depressing and violating it is until it happened to me, today. I walked to my car, parked in my lovely neighborhood, this morning and started it up. You'd think the muffler was missing it was so loud. I turned the car off, took a peek under the car and saw that a very large pipe was dragging on the ground. Didn't look good.

I called my boss to get his advice and he said it sounded like a clamp had come off and that I should just take it to a repair shop and get it fixed. Didn't sound like too big a deal. My mom and step-father said the same thing. I called my wonderful insurance company who arranged and paid for a tow to a nearby station about five miles away. 

When the tow truck arrived, the tow man looked under the car once it was up on the truck. Once elevated, it was clear to see that a clamp hadn't fallen off. Someone had taken a saw to my exhaust system and cut out the catalytic converter.

I had held it together pretty well all morning, but when I saw my car bring put up on the truck and carted away, I got a little teary. I just can't understand how anyone, no matter how desperate, could literally harm someone else's property, inconvenience them financially and logistically. As it turns out, with this particular kind of violation, I am not alone. 

I called my friend, Steve, once I returned from the auto repair shop, and he said to me that he saw some article about this recently. After a quick search on Google, I found a New York Times article which ran in March that discusses the increase in this type of theft. CATs are a hot item because they contain so many precious metals that can be stripped out and sold. A thief can get about $200 per CAT from a chop shop and it takes about two minutes to take one from a car like mine. No doubt that same thief hit several other cars in my neighborhood on the same night. To replace it costs anywhere from $450 - $1000 and that's just the part, not the labor. Thankfully, my car insurance covers vandalism so I'm getting off with a $500 deductible and they'll pay the rest, including a good portion of a rental car I'll need to get back and forth to work. Certainly not what I want to spend my money on, but I'm grateful for any help I can get in this situation. 

For me, this is just one more reason to urge me to make the switch to a public transportation life.