by Solange Lopes | Sep 12, 2014 | Career
Merino crewneck sweater – $49 – Photo credit: joefresh.com
Loving this merino crew neck sweater from Joe Fresh. Now that the weather is freshening up a bit, it’s the perfect complement to any work or week-end bottoms.
I’d pair this with a classic pleated skirt for work this Fall, or some easy cropped pants on the week-end. To add more of a preppy touch, I would layer a white button-down shirt underneath and cinch it all with a black patent skinny belt a la Frenchie (Oui, oui)…
This sweater Is $49.99 at Joe Fresh.
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 12, 2014 | Career
Is it Friday yet – Photo credit: womansday.com
Happy Friday! TGIF!
“Is it Friday yet?”, “Can’t wait for Friday”, “Yes it’s Friday”! TGIF!
Let’s keep it real, most of us (even Beyonce) look forward to Friday. Not only is it the end of the work week, it officially signals the beginning of this two-day whirlwind break aka the week-end. And who wouldn’t be excited about not having to deal with bosses, co-workers and un-formatted Excel spreadsheets?
Yet just as getting excited about your next paycheck gets a lot less exciting as you can’t seem to get out of the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, so does living Friday to Friday…During one of the worst professional experiences of my career, the only highlight of my week was looking forward to Friday. Not just because of the week-end, but because I could not stand my work life at the time. And inevitably, of course, the Fridays highs were seemingly always followed by dreadful Monday lows…
Until I realized I was spending upwards of 10 hours each day profoundly unhappy. Now this may be an extreme case of the Friday highs and Mondays lows. Yet, in our millenial search for meaning in our work, in our desperate cravings for life balance (not just work-life balance), this Friday lifestyle is slowly signaling a creeping work identity crisis already affecting us all.
Employees are no longer engaged at work, because work has ceased engaging them. As professionals, and women professionals especially, have evolved, most workplace cultures have not. In turn, this generates a TGIF culture valuing work less and less, seeking meaning in other pursuits instead.
Is it time to reconsider why we look so much, if not only, forward to Fridays? Is the stagnation of workplace culture to blame for this TGIF culture? And most importantly, are we failing ourselves and others by not engaging in work we truly value?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 11, 2014 | Career, Start Your Business |
Photo credit: praiseindy.com
I wrote earlier about the new hustle economy we live in, in which many of us are hustlers, or moonlighters, or however you want to call it. Bottom line: we have a full-time gig, and we hustle on the side, for passion, money or both.
Considering we all have 24 hours in the day (even Beyonce does), is it ok to use lunch time and breaks during the workday to hustle on the side?
My $0.05: Lunch time is technically your personal time at work, and there should be no issues with dedicating this time to your side hustle.
Caveat 1: I would refrain from using company resources when working on your side gig. Browsing websites is OK, making a secondary income using company resources, not so much!
Caveat 2: If the work demands and office culture implicitly require you to work through lunch on occasions, remember work is priority!
What do you think?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 11, 2014 | Career |
Alyssa shirt – $250 – Photo credit: http://www.us.thomaspink.com
If I were to splurge on a white, not-so-basic, button-down shirt, it would be this one. I would so wear this Carolina Herrera-inspired, dramatic yet instantly classic shirt. The voluminous bow at the collar, the paper crisp look of the cotton fabric, and the concealed placket in the front make for an absolutely stunning piece, for work or cocktails.
I would pair this with oversized pearl earrings, and a bold, did-you-see-me-coming-from-over-there red lip (check out our post on wearing red lipstick at work). Either under a suit jacket or worn alone with elegant Express barely boot Editor pants, this shirt will let you be seen. It’s $250 at Thomas Pink.
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 11, 2014 | Career, Start Your Business |
The Hustle Economy – Photo credit: http://andreayokley-jessup.blogspot.com
Happy Thursday! I’ve always had a side gig, whether it was while studying for the grueling CPA exam, babysitting on the side, or writing on the side for my alma mater’s newspaper. Some of my friends would jokingly call me “Jamaican” (no stereotype intended here), because I was always running from class to side gig, and later from job to even more side gigs. “How many jobs you’ve got, girl”? As many as I can handle, a girl gotta hustle, ok…
Well, as it turns out, this allegedly African-American term and concept to describe “a tiny, independent venture you do during your free time when you’re not at your full-time job“, has become quite the norm nowadays.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 34% of the American workforce is freelancing. And out of the 53 million freelancers surveyed by the Freelancers Union and the Elance-oDesk, 14.3 million are side hustlers, more politically correctly known as moonlighters or people with full-time gigs doing the side hustle on a part-time basis. That’s 27% of all freelancers who have a full-time job and in many cases, full-fledged careers, and still hustle on the side. Now that’s not a fad, a trend, or some Jamaican-biased joke…
As a matter of fact, the freelance or hustle economy as I like to call it (let’s be real), is booming so much the IRS is urged to seriously start considering the resulting new types of incomes. And not only is all this hustling radically changing the way we work, it is also becoming the great equalizer at work, amidst all the heated talks about pay equality and gender parity. Yet while we hear mostly about turning your side gig into the job of your dreams, or leaving your boring, grueling 9-to-5 for the glamour of independent work, not much is being said about how your side hustle may be saving your career. Hustling on the side was never easy, but without it, I wouldn’t appreciate and strive more at my day job. Contradictory? Maybe, but so is reality…
1. A side hustle will free some mental space otherwise filled with job worries. Most people will freelance or moonlight in areas they really enjoy working in. I love writing, that’s what I do. Whenever I’m running my pen on paper or frantically keying away, it’s one more opportunity I have not to worry about work….And the less I worry, the better I can perform…
2. A side hustle forces you to think on your feet. Yes, we all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce does. Yet in my 24 hours, no assistant shows up and my laundry doesn’t fold itself. Chances are, your full time job takes the bulk of your time, and so do your kids, chores, and dirty laundry (I know, I’m traumatized with laundry). So in order to fit in any side anything (other than side fries or desserts), you need to act and think fast. And it’s the same fast techniques you learn in the process that make you perform better at work…
3. A side hustle makes you dream, and dreaming is the stuff of successful folks. You know you’ve acted out being on Oprah’s couch, talking about your latest book (and movie adaptation, and new shoe line) countless times in front of the bathroom mirror. Stop frontin’…That’s what your side hustle does, it makes you dream, imagine possibilities, create scenarios. And that’s the stuff that makes you successful, at work and in life. That’s how you can envision a new product enhancement or an original presentation at work…
4. A side hustle will get you some skill. Blogging on the side? You’re now equipped to create a newsletter for your department. Doing some visual art on nights and week-ends? Why not transfer all that know-how to create outstanding presentations at work? A side hustle will get you some skills, among other cool stuff…
5. A side hustle will keep you motivated.Motivation is the engine of success. Knowing you have goals, even if they are not related to your day job, will keep you pumped up and on the go. And that is the stuff of outstanding people like you…
Are you hustling yet?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 10, 2014 | Career |
Red lipstick at work – Photo credit: dgitalspy.com
Remember back in January when the BBC banned red lipstick from its children’s TV presenters? Although it made us reconsider the whole red lipstick at work thing, no one can deny the power of a red lip. Yet many are still quick to point out that sporting a red lip at work is not appropriate, if not borderline unprofessional-looking.
I personally love a classic red lip, which reminds me of the power women of the ’80’s with their shoulder-padded suits and fabulous hair. I also happen to think a red lip is appropriate at work, unless of course it’s all over your teeth…
Would you agree? Do you think a red lip at work is inappropriate?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 10, 2014 | Career
Knit shift dress – $178 – Photo credit: nordstrom.com
Loving this simple, easy knit shift dress from Nordstrom. The clean lines are classic and elegant, and the navy color makes it a perfect alternative to your favorite LBD. The logo buttons nicely complement the unfussy round neck and short sleeves.
I’d keep the minimalistic look of this dress intact by pairing it with simple pumps and fresh studs. I might add a long, simple necklace to dress it up a bit. This knit shift dress is $178 at Nordstrom.
The Corporate Sis.
