Good design is subtle, and that’s why it’s actually quite hard to notice it when you see one. Just like when things are working like they should, you don’t actually realize their existence, until they are not.

I was designing quite a number of newsletters recently, and I keep looking for ways to make these newsletter as interesting as possible (which means ‘click-a-licious’) to the readers. And here is one rule of thumb that I find very useful when it comes to creating an effective newsletter (or any print designs)- think road sign.

If you think about it, road signs are essentially the most effective visual communication tool ever. Once you’ve learned it, it’s stuck in your head forever. Some road sign icons are so effective that you don’t even have to learn them, for instance the skull icon that says ‘Pirates Ahead!’.

Basically, the road sign throws away all the unnecessary clutter and compresses every shapes and colors to its essence. Road signs truly live up to the principle of ‘Less is More’.

It effectively conveys the message that the ‘designer’ wanted to, without any ambiguous elements. That’s why it’s very important to start out a design with the message in mind. Otherwise, in my experience, it’s very easy to get carried away by the artistic tendencies that creeps out every now and then. And in todays’ world of computer graphics where graphic tools that produces fancy effects is so easily available, it’s even more easy to get distracted and we might just end up losing the message at the end of the day.

I would like to continue my next point- Instilling Curiosity. Later.

It might sound the same, but they are really two different things. This is when relying too much on technology can be ‘harmful’.

The escalator might be convenient, but the stairs certainly gives your heart the needed exercise.

Complex accounting software is definitely convenient, but nothing beats calculating your business’s profit by using a good old calculator, pen and paper.

While it’s very difficult to prevent your personal emotion from ending up in your business decisions, it’s however, very important to ensure that you don’t mix up your personal finance with your business’s finance together.

Although you might think that it’s not a big deal as long as you keep a proper account of your transactions, the reality can be more challenging than you think, especially if you have more than just one source of business income.

A friend once told me that if your business is flourishing and cash flow is good, you would not feel any difference if your business and personal finance are mixed together. However, when your business suffer, so would your own personal finance.

This is especially true with entrepreneurs who operate as sole proprietors or partnerships, where they don’t report to anyone but themselves. It’s understandable that running the business is tough enough without all the paperwork and number crunching, but pushing off the responsibilities of managing a good set of account for the business and their personal finance will only make things worse in the long run.

However, it’s never too late to start. Just make sure you have separate banking accounts for your business and personal transactions, and always make sure you only use your business accounts for business transactions. Never mix up your accounts with both business and personal transactions as you will end up with a very confusing audit trails.

A good and well-thought out filing system would also help in ensuring your transactions are properly documented. So, it’s a good idea to invest more resources for your administrative chores, if you haven’t already done so.

Alas, you only have that much time in a day, and it’s also never a good idea to spend all your time working with papers, especially if you are also the major breadwinner for the business. Running your own gig is always a balancing act where you have to manage all the critical building blocks of your business so it can continue its growth.

There’s an itch somewhere out there that requires scratching, and people are willing to pay a price if you have the skill to ease the itch.

If anyone can scratch that itch, you are probably not going to get a good price. If the itch can only be eased by someone with a specialized skill and expertise, the price would be higher.

The next thing to do is to go back into your toolbox and find out which itch you are damn good at scratching.

Some call it ‘the calling’, some call it ‘talents’.

If you have the right scratch for that particular itch, you have something going on there. Start scratching!

* Find out when your organisations have discussions about pay rises and who is involved in the decision.
* Keep track of your achievements and initiatives and quantify them as much as possible.
* Keep up to speed with market rates for your role – look at recruitment adverts and source data from headhunters and the association for your profession or industry.
* Make sure that during the year you focus on the performance objectives in your annual appraisal and your development goals and monitor progress regularly, rather than putting the document to one side, as well as other proactive initiatives.
* Prepare a business case to justify the value you bring and how you have helped your team and organisation achieve its objectives.

Read the full article.

I wonder if these strategies are actually applicable here in Malaysia, a country where almost everything is rising, except WAGES. And not many business owners I know who are actually very open with ‘salary discussions’. It’s almost as taboo as sex education in schools. It’s only when an employee submits her resignation letter that the boss finally take serious effort to review the employee’s performance and contribution.

And the best form of pay rise I’ve seen around here is job-hopping. Yes, it might be bad for your reputation as a job-hopper, but heck, it almost always worked!

“What do I need to do to achieve this?”

“Where do I search for this?”

“How can I get from here to there (could be a location, situation or a condition)?”

“What’s missing here?”

If you heard these questions being asked very often, or you find yourself constantly bugged by these questions in relation to certain issues, it’s very likely an opportunity for you to explore the ‘rabbit hole’ further.

Like the old saying, it’s not that you cannot find the answers, but it’s whether you are asking the right questions.