by Solange Lopes | May 25, 2016 | Career
For todays’ corporate catwalk, my pick is this Halston Heritage short-sleeve V-neck top from Neiman Marcus. The silver tone hardware on the surplice neckline is the detail that takes this easy summer top up a notch.
Loving the flattering slim silhouette and straight style of this versatile top that can be paired with pretty much any bottom, from a pair of easy slacks to a classic straight pencil skirt.
I’d pair this easy top with a trendy pair of culottes like this pleated Wayf number, or this gorgeous fuschia Apieceapart silk linen pair.
Which combination is your favorite?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 25, 2016 | Career
If you’re a “corporate entrepreneur”, you know how challenging it can be to build and run your business, while holding down the fort at your day job, in addition to dealing with the rest of Life. You know how limited your time is, and how much there is to do all around. And that cutting on your sleep isn’t going to help with your sanity or those pesky under-eye circles either…This is where apps comes into play…
When I started blogging while working full-time, I was frankly overwhelmed. As my caffeine consumption shot up, so did whatever sanity I had left at the time (in addition to there not being enough concealer in the whole wide world to fix that look of exhaustion). Something had to give…
If you can relate to late nights, early mornings, and constant bursts of caffeine, here are 10 apps that can help running your business while working full-time, keeping some of your sanity, and even finding time to shoe-shop online:
- Evernote: This is my “backup brain”, as I like to call it. You can literally store all kinds of information into Evernote, in the form of notes organized in notebooks with tags and references. This app helps you sync notes across your mobile and desktop platforms. Great app if you’re bombarded with information and want to keep all of it in one safe place!
- Fuze: Videoconference much? This app helps you host online meetings for all devices and operating systems. It’s free for up to 25 participants, and jumps to less than $15/month for up to 125 participants. There’s also a free 30-day trial period available.
- Pomodoro: This productivity app has changed my life! It incorporates the principles of the Comodoro technique, and helps you create tasks, set up breaks, and track your entire productivity throughout the day, week or month! Ah-mazing!
- Skype: Despite all the competition, Skype is still the Queen of videoconferencing. It lets you hold calls all over the world, share files and photos, as well as your computer screen, with groups of up to 25 people. The basic plan is also still free!
- Paypal: This app is really convenient to process payments from customers on the go. It lets you link your debit, credit and other bank accounts to your Paypal platform. Now, it also lets you use a tablet or other device, as well as Paypal’s card reader as a portable register (mostly as a way to compete with Square).
- Wave: Accounting and invoicing giving you headaches? This easy app helps you do it conveniently, and for free!
- Dropbox: No room to store and share files? Dropbox helps you do just that by storing your files on the cloud. Especially useful for telecommuters who need to access their files on the go, or share them in one central location. The basic plan is free, and there are trial periods available as well.
- Wunderlist: If you’re a fan of to-do lists and checking things off like myself, then Wanderlust is your go-to app. It’s an oldie but a goodie, that helps you check off the holiday vacation planning just as well as that big contract to draft!
- Facebook Messenger: A lot of business is being done on Facebook these days. This app lets you communicate with your Facebook contacts without having to be on the social media network (read: no excess browsing). Talk about effective and time-saving!
- Mail chimp: If you’re looking to use email marketing in your business (and you should), this app helps you create easy newsletters, manage your mailing lists and track your subscribers. You can use this information to learn more about your customer base, and market to them more effectively!
What tools do you use to run your business while working full-time?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
To your success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | May 24, 2016 | Career
Photo credit: shop style.com
Loving this linen shirtdress from Ann Taylor for our corporate catwalk pick today! Everything about it, from the fresh spring/summer pattern, to the classic silhouette, screams elegance and comfort!
This dress is perfect to go from the office to after-hours, right down to Sunday brunch. I’d pair it with an elegant pair of heeled sandals for a classic yet refined look.
Yay or nay?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 24, 2016 | Career, Start Your Business
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Remember when they asked you the question, as a young kid. And you’d let your mind wander, your eyes shining with anticipation as you imagined all the possibilities. Astronaut, circus clown, superhero, doctor, soccer player, pianist…
Then life happened, decisions were made, and you found yourself behind a crowded desk doing a “real” job in the “real” world . Yet you haven’t forgotten the original question/dream, and after years of “adulting”, you’re still going for it. Working nights and week-ends, rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn to try and make things happen…
Hence the new generation of “corporate entrepreneurs”, those countless brave souls building full-time businesses, going after their dreams, while working full-time, taking care of their families, and doing the rest of the “adult” thing…With so much on their plates, and so little time, they’re tempted to quit their jobs, jump ship and just go for the Dream. This is especially true for women who may be over the gender politics at work, or moms who may want more time and flexibility with their kids…
In the best case scenario, they’ve saved a bit of money to weather a few months, as in the example of ex-marketing executive Sonia Thompson who left her cushy corporate gig to build a business bringing in only a quarter of that. or are relying on their partners/families to help them out. Or they just may end up writing this type of post...In all cases, it’s never the easiest of decisions…
For a few years now, entrepreneurship has been the new Women’s Movement. Instead of flocking to corporations as happened in the 70’s, they’re now fleeing form the limiting prisons of corporations to build their own empires. Millennial women in particular, are burning out at work by the time they hit…30!
While research shows women will create over half of the new 9.72 million jobs by 2018″ from the comfort of their home offices/closets/smartphones, the question remains: Should you quit your day job to build your dream? Or should you do it while logging in your regular hours?
There’s a lot of advice out there telling you when to quit your job to start your business, or how to transition from your job to your business full-time, or what kind of tequila to buy in case things go south. And for women, especially those with families and children to support, the decision is never an easy one, no matter what Wikipedia may say.
And there’s no one-fits-all solution either, as every female corporate entrepreneur deals with their own very unique set of circumstances. Whether you’re divorced, married, single, with or without children, making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship will probably be one of the most nerve-wracking decisions of your life.
While no one but you can tell you what you should be doing, here are in my opinion, the 3 most important (albeit, unconventional) questions to consider as you sip on that tequila while contemplating the current state of your life:
- Are you happy? Ok, happiness may not pay the bills at first. Yet in the long-term, being satisfied and fulfilled can help you make more money. Ask yourself if you’re happy and fulfilled. If your career is among the factors decreasing your happiness, it may be time to consider a change. It doesn’t mean you have to turn in your resignation letter today, but it may mean you have to push the pedal towards turning your business into an alternative way to pay your bills.
- What does success mean to you? Is success intimately tied with your $200,ooo cushy salary? Or does success mean more time with your family? Is making a quarter of your salary but being able to travel and have more time off your own definition of success? Find out what being successful means to you, without any influence, interference or nagging doubts. That may lead you towards making the right decision for you, not for anyone else.
- What can you put up with? Of the 3 questions above, this one is by far the most unpleasant. There will be quite a bit of struggling involved in building your business, whether you decide to jump ship from your corporate job or hustle on the side. That’s not the question. The question is, how much can you put up with? What’s your resistance factor? Are you ok surviving on a quarter of your current salary? Are you ready to use whatever spare time, including nights and week-ends to build your business while working full-time?
Based on your answers to these questions, you’ll know whether you’re ready to tender your resignation or if you need more time to secure your bases. Or if the Dream has changed for you, or is very much alive…
So let me ask you this, should you quit your job to follow your dreams, or build your business on the side?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 21, 2016 | Career
Work, work, work!
While the song may be on an entirely different level, Rihanna was definitely onto something with her new catchy tune. Although it makes me smile every time I hear it, it also makes me think: “Yep, that’s right! Work, work, work, ’tis the working woman’s anthem!”
I’ve never believed in work-life balance. Shonda Rhimes actually most eloquently put my thoughts into words in her June 8, 2014 commencement address to the Dartmouth class of 1991: ““Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life.” To me, work-life balance was always this beautiful illusion used by society to make working women feel better about their reality. A reality based on work. Work at work, work at home, work on our marriages, work at parenting, work in our relationships, work, work, work, work, work….
I remember waking up on a Saturday morning, turning over in the bed, and asking my husband: “What’s today’s schedule?” Because after the work week is over, the work week-end starts, filled with planning kids’ activities, catching up on household chores, laundry, working on our dreams, the yard, social media, etc….
Facebook COO and Author of the Lean In book/movement Sheryl Sandberg recently apologized in a Facebook post for underestimating how difficult it is for single moms to thrive at work when they’re overwhelmed at home. Sandberg suddenly lost her husband last year, and has since acknowledged not grasping at first the hardships encountered by single mothers, and working mothers everywhere who may not have all the support they need to succeed at work. And as I understood through my own lens, women everywhere for whom all there is, most of the time, is work, work, and more work…
When I first read “Lean In”, the hype around the book was at an all-times high. I remember closing the book with a sense of hope mixed with a twinge of fear, followed with this overwhelming thought: ” How can I manage to ever accomplish all of that?” By “all of that”, I mentally meant thriving in my career while still spending quality time with my family, pursuing my dreams, keeping up with the laundry, cooking healthy meals, and making it to every soccer game and piano recital with my curls in place and a bit of sanity left…How? Oh Lord, how?
I’m not a single mom though. I’m blessed with a wonderfully supportive husband, as well as family and friends I can count on. Yet as I was reading Sheryl Sandberg’s accounts of her successful career, as a woman of color in Big Corporate who started from scratch, doesn’t yet have the power network, chef, chauffeur or nanny, I felt I had so much more work to do…
For many, if not most women, work is all there seems to be, mot of the time. As much as we may love our families, our jobs, and be nurturing our dreams as much as we possibly can, we can’t seem to avoid this overwhelming sense that we constantly have to be “doing”. In a society that has raised the bar on how much we can do in little time, whether it’s climbing the corporate ladder, raising the best/cutest/most athletic kids, or taking as many (happy) selfies as possible, we’re constantly “doing”, “doing”, and “doing” some more…
Because “doing” is the disease of our century, and women are the most afflicted. And if there’s an antidote to it, society’s definitely hasn’t found it yet…Instead, we keep focusing on adding more to our already overflowing plates, to be more like Sheryl Sandberg, more like that seemingly perfect mom on Facebook with the thousands of perfect selfies, more like that Senior Manager working 80 hours a week…And less like ourselves…
At the end of the day, to borrow Oprah’s words, what I know for sure, is that all we can testify to is our own experience. And the best we can do is work on ourselves to make that experience the best it can be for us. Not for others, not for society, not for work-life’s balance’s sake, but for ourselves. Whether it means shutting down the computer and taking a nap. Or getting out of work at 5pm. Or meditating 15 minutes a day. Or letting the kids play their own way instead of having them in five different activities…
Sheryl Sandberg may not have known what it felt like to be a single mom back when she wrote “Lean In”. And it may have taken Shonda Rhimes getting to the pinnacle of success to realize and share that it’s more about give-and-take, than work-life balance after all. And it may take us some of us a lot of work to make peace with the fact that work is not all there is…
As long as we respect our own individual journeys, and in the midst of all the work there still is to do, find our own places, in peace, love and acceptance…
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 21, 2016 | Career
Week-end pick: Off-shoulder top
The off-shoulder trend is in full swing this Spring. And while I wouldn’t exactly sport it to work (that’s me, but know your environment and decide accordingly), I love it for week-ends. Hence this week-end pick, this Amanda Uprichard off-shoulder flare sleeve top from Shopbop.
Loving the gingham pattern on this top that not only boosts a very flattering off-shoulder neckline, but also a flirty, flared peplum silhouette. At $145, this is definitely a week-end fashion winner in my book!
For a casual-cool look, I’d pair it with destroyed denim like this Blank pair. Or go the classic route with this pristine Rag & Bone pair from Farfetch. Can’t go wrong with either…
Yay or Nay?
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates.
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 20, 2016 | Career
Weekly News Roundup
This is our weekly career and lifestyle news update, where we round up exciting news of the last week and we let you have it…ahem, news-wise that is…
Think of it as your career gossiping section on steroids…
And while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook, Twitter,IG, and Pinterest!
Here we go…
- ‘Tis graduation season, and with it inspirational speeches, like President Obama’s empowering commencement address for Rutgers University students, whom he urges to keep positive during setbacks…Way to keep it real, Mr. President!
- In other inspirational news this week, Facebook COO and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg gave a moving commencement address at UC Berkeley, reminding everyone of the power of resilience (and how she coped with her husband’s death);
- If the fact that it’s Friday makes you absolutely ecstatic, Business Insider shares 9 ways to stay happy at work most of the time (and not just on Fridays);
- I’ve always believed in the power of keeping a journal. And I totally agree with the Personal Branding Blog that we should all be journaling at work;
- At the risk of sounding (slightly) biased, female entrepreneurs deserve some serious kudos for keeping up with family life while still pursuing their dreams. Ellevate Network has a few tips they use to keep it together;
- You know how you met this great contact at your company’s networking event, and then…you failed to follow up? Ellevate Network offers a few tips to master the follow-up in your networking;
- Crazy busy at work? Don’t let it ruin your stella reputation. Forbes tips you off on keeping it together when all hell breaks loose at work;
- Stuck in an elevator (or in the hallway) with someone who could change the course of your career? Ellevate Network tips you off on how to create memorable elevator pitch!
- Wondering what to ask your manager? If you have only one question to ask, this ONE is it!
- Last but not least, Corporette’s suit of the week had me doing double-takes! Gorgeous!
Happy Friday!
PS: Like this post? Click HERE to get The Corporate Sister’s career, lifestyle and entrepreneurship, bi-weekly updates!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
