Nicholas Fainlight | Business Development Associate, Hartford, CT

Nicholas Fainlight is an aspiring finance professional.

Tag: networking

Nicholas Fainlight Are These Obstacles Holding you Back from Success?

Are These Obstacles Holding you Back from Success?

By

On February 24, 2022

In Career, Leadership, Nicholas Fainlight

Some obstacles prevent people from becoming influential leaders.

Exceptional leadership can build an outstanding business, but doing it effectively requires a lot of planning and discipline. A leader is expected to keep his team motivated, but helping them stay positive can be challenging. You also have to be able to connect with others.

 

Not Having a Set Purpose or Goal

One of the most effective ways to motivate people is to have a clear purpose and set goals. This can be communicated clearly to the team and the people around you, and it can ignite passion and drive them to reach their potential. Each team member has their individual talents and personal interests. This makes it hard to maintain a cohesive and well-defined team vision if you can’t unite everyone around a common goal. Disharmony can then develop quickly, which can derail projects and cause long-term damage.

 

No Connections Outside of Work

Team building and training are also powerful tools to help unify and bond your employees. Having an event or two can help break down barriers and provide employees with opportunities to connect and learn new skills, enabling them to collaborate more effectively. It’s possible to get carried away with too much control over everyone and over-focusing on work-related topics. This can be counterproductive, preventing people from learning and growing and increasing stress levels.

 

Not Delegating Tasks

Instead of focusing on your personal to-do lists, take a moment to consider what tasks you can delegate to employees. Doing so can help you get more done and motivate them by entrusting them with tasks outside their regular routine. It’s also important to remember that as a leader, you’re expected to provide the people with the training and resources they need to complete the tasks, so make sure you equip your team with what they need for any new projects.

 

Poor Communication

Communication is key to team success, but it also has to be reciprocal. The people must feel that their concerns will be addressed and that they can express themselves freely. A good culture is also influential in attracting and keeping top talent. It should encourage a positive attitude and foster people committed to continuous growth. Leaders can also help promote this environment by providing opportunities for team members to celebrate and motivate each other.

Overrated Business Tips To Forget

Overrated Business Tips to Forget

By

On January 28, 2021

In Career, Education, Finance, fitness, health, Investing, Leadership, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate, Technology, Uncategorized

Wherever you go, people provide unsolicited guidance on how to grow, run, or start a business. Out of the pointers they offer, some are valuable, and you must observe them. However, others are misinterpreted, outdated, or just plain wrong for the business you’re running. Here are some overrated business tips to forget.

1. Your Service or Product Must Be Unique

Businesspersons are often advised to outline what makes them stand out. However, it is not necessary to find an exclusive approach to achieve corporate success. A subtle change may improve the entire experience.

2. Customers Are Always Right

Do you need to make the customers happy? Yes. However, if your main goal is to please people, you may end up in a world of unnecessary suffering. It’s best to pay attention to the things that bring you a long-term profit, not the things that take your energy and time.

3. Do Not Start a Business With Your Friend

Many people think it’s a bad idea to start an enterprise with a friend, but that’s not true—friends whose expertise supplements each other may build a thriving business. Establishing a company may be straining to the relationship; however, the benefits of operating with a person you trust may be worth it.

4. Promote Your Business on Facebook

Companies have acknowledged that paid advertising is the only path to increase your Facebook image, which is still one of the world’s best social platforms. However, it is not always the top place to use up your advertising budget. There are other more effective means to reach your audience for a much lower price per lead, for instance, on platforms like Pinterest.

5. Concentrate on Your Site Instead of Building the Brand

It is important to have a brand that reverberates with ideal customers. However, investing all energy and time in the “perfect” site is not how to make it.

6. Never Reject an Opportunity

It is tempting to “do it all” and take all opportunities that cross your path at the beginning of your business. Saying “yes” to all opportunities in your corporate encounters will stifle your time and dilute your brand.

7. Gather as Much Cash as Possible

Each business needs cash to start and grow; however, not all businesses must seek that through financiers. While funding may help some companies grow significantly, other lifestyle corporations are at an advantage without it.
Finally, despite all the advice that entrepreneurs receive, they should filter what is right for their business.

How To Balance Profit And Purpose In Business

How To Balance Profit And Purpose In Business

By

On January 28, 2021

In Career, Education, Finance, fitness, health, Investing, Leadership, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate, Technology, Uncategorized

Entrepreneurs need to build business empires while still staying committed to their purpose. A significant number of business people struggle to commit to their purpose while still keeping their enterprises profitable. Businesses need to demonstrate their contribution to humanity while still growing their profit margins. Here are ways businesses can balance profit and purpose.
Go Green

In the past few years, many businesses have shown their commitment to adopting more sustainable production methods. No matter the size, every organization can play a role in reducing its environmental footprint. Surprisingly, the current generation prefers to buy green products. Therefore, companies that will demonstrate high sustainability credentials will gain numerous customers who want to buy green.

For instance, manufacturers can reduce carbon emissions by sourcing closer to home. When raw materials are transported for short distances, it helps cut both transport costs and carbon emissions. Besides, leaders who have a passion for conserving the environment can shift to renewable energy sources.

Find an Inspiration

Walk away from your comfort zone and start doing something new that challenges you. Learn from these things and find inspiration in them

Leverage Technology

Technology is changing every aspect of life, including how consumers interact with brands and how they buy products and services. For example, online sales have doubled in the past five years. Additionally, organizations are using machines to understand customer needs better. This means that businesses must stay on top of the latest innovations to remain competitive in their respective industries.

Share Your Success

Entrepreneurship is a murky journey characterized by ups and downs. Therefore, successive entrepreneurs should consider sharing their experiences with novice business people. When you balance profit and purpose, your impact is significant and tangible, and more consumers will want to be associated with your business.

Understand Your Purpose

Purpose goes beyond providing high-quality goods and services to consumers. It also means that your business prioritizes the common good of the community. For example, some companies such as Unilever have already developed a unique living plan to track their progress of minimizing their environmental footprint. Business leaders should devote time to learn about societal impact and how to improve it.

To change business operations to meet new expectations requires exceptional and visionary leadership. In today’s versatile business world, leaders who will adopt agility will be in a better position to achieve long-term success.

Nicholas Fainlight - Networking

Tips To Help You Be Better At Networking

By

On August 18, 2020

In Career, Education, Finance, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

Whether you’re running a business or trying to work your way up the corporate ladder, networking is something you’re likely going to have to engage with at some point in your career. Networking helps us meet other likeminded individuals that can help us strengthen our businesses and careers as well as learn more about success and failure. Of course, networking isn’t always easy. Most people aren’t fond of walking into a room and introducing themselves to a bunch of people they’ve never met, especially if they’re all intelligent and skilled business professionals. If you’re someone who struggles with networking or are going to your first networking event, here are a few tips to make things a little easier.

Be Informal

While you might have the urge to be as professional as possible, it’s important that you show potential customers and business partners the human side of you. If you be yourself, it’s more likely that a person will enjoy your company and then want to work with you. Of course, that isn’t to say you can’t talk about your career or business – sometimes people will decide to ask you about it and it’s perfectly acceptable to have that conversation. You just want to be sure you don’t come off too strong and that it isn’t all business, otherwise they may think you’re just trying to get a new customer.

Don’t Have A One Way Conversation

One of the most important aspects of networking is actually having a conversation – that means letting the other person talk while you listen intently, and then responding properly. While you may feel the urge to talk their ear off about you and your business, it’s important that conversations aren’t one way otherwise they may lose interest in you quickly. It’s also important that you don’t let them be the only one talking. Conversational skills are extremely important when it comes to networking, and if you’re shy then you won’t stand out.

Follow Up

If you feel that you’ve had a good time networking with someone, it’s important that the relationship doesn’t end when the conversation does. Be sure to ask them for their contact info. If they give it to you, it likely means that they also enjoyed your time together and chances are they’d be willing to get together again, which could lead to potential partnerships down the line. Everyone likes to connect differently, so make sure you’re available in various forms – phone numbers, emails, LinkedIn pages, Twitter – it’ll be different for everyone. Once you have this information, be sure to reach out the next time there’s a similar event to let them know that you’ll be there and that you should connect.

Increase Network Nicholas Fainlight

How to Increase Your Network

By

On November 8, 2018

In Career, Education, Nicholas Fainlight, postgraduate

Throughout your career, you’ll come to realize that people heavily rely upon their professional networks. Even if you’re only at the beginning of your career, you likely already have a fairly extensive network, from high school, college, and any jobs or internships you held during that time. In the professional world, your network is how you can find out about new opportunities, ask questions about an industry, city, or company you’re interested in, or even find a place to live. It’s beneficial to continuously work on strengthening and increasing your network of connections, so here are some tips on how to do so.

Create an online presence

As you start to increase your network, it’s time to create an online presence for yourself. Think of how you’d like to portray yourself online and what you want your personal brand to say about you. Create profiles like LinkedIn and Twitter and then make sure they’re professional; you don’t want a possible future boss or coworker to see the uninformed tweets you sent in high school. An online presence also provides you with a way to keep track of the people you meet as you enhance your network.

Attend lots of events

If you live in a city, there are going to be plenty of networking and professional development events around you. Many local governments organize events for professionals in the area in order to encourage them to connect. There are also plenty of groups that meetup that share a common interest or hobby. Find some of these groups online and then attend meetups to get to know new people. You can also try tapping into your alumni network in the area; colleges are usually more than happy to help with this step.

Learn to talk to strangers

As you attend networking events, you’ll need to learn how to talk to people that you don’t know very well. Make sure you do not spend too much time talking about yourself; learn to ask other people questions. While you are looking to enhance your professional network, do not write someone off simply because you don’t see a way they can help you. It’s important to be polite to people; you could strike up a friendship or you might be able to help them out in some way.

Follow up afterwards

Finally, once you start meeting new people, follow up in some form. Whether it’s simply sending a request on LinkedIn or you decide you want to get coffee or lunch with someone, follow up within a few days. Networking events are great for the initial meeting, but you’ll need to take the initiative afterwards to further the connection.

Group of people sitting around a table with papers and computers, image used for Nicholas Fainlight blog about great networking sites

6 Great Professional Sites for Networking

By

On December 3, 2017

In Career, Nicholas Fainlight

No matter where you are in your professional career, networking is a vital part of ensuring success. Whether you’re looking for a new job, new employees, or advice, networking is the way to meet new people. Building an online presence and creating a professional look can be incredibly beneficial to your professional career, especially if you’re just starting out in your field.

LinkedIn

Obviously LinkedIn is the most obvious on this list. LinkedIn has almost 500 million members, so you know you’ll have the opportunity to connect and follow some of the most influential thought leaders from all over the world. This website allows you to fill in plenty of relevant information on your profile about your job and education history, any publications you’ve appeared in, and various other categories. There are also lots of sites that allow you to connect your LinkedIn, including lots of job search platforms.

Levo

While this website was originally started and directed toward young professional women, anyone can join and utilize it. Like LinkedIn, you can provide a variety of information about your professional and educational background, but there’s also more room for creativity and creating a unique look to your profile.

Beyond.com

This site isn’t nearly as large as LinkedIn, but it’s definitely useful when it comes to making connections and finding job opportunities. You can search positions by industry and also check out industry-specific content. You can make an account for free and enjoy many of Beyond.com’s benefits, but you can also purchase a monthly premium membership that features a few extra features.

Google+

You may have thought Google+ was not longer relevant, but for many industries, this website is their preferred platform. Whether you use Google+ as a social site or for more professional pursuits is up to you, but you can join various communities and contribute to collections on specific topics.

AngelList

This website is geared toward investors and those looking for investments, but anyone can join and use AngelList. If you have projects you’ve worked on and significant professional experience, AngelList is a great site to utilize.

Facebook

Facebook may be the last social network you’d expect to see on this list, but it can certainly be useful for networking. There are lots of groups and pages you can follow on Facebook that encourage networking, often for specific industries and niches. Take time to explore the groups and see what fits your professional career and interests. Just remember, if you’re using Facebook for professional reasons, make sure your profile is professional!

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén