Quick Tips for Remaining Professional

Here are some quick tips for a new employee to remain professional and to adapt to the business world:

• Remember that everything you do on company time can be considered work. Don't surf gaming site, or spend time sending private correspondence over your company's email system. Save that for while you are home.
  
• Know your employer's rules about discussing company information with others. Make sure you don't divulge information that shouldn't be released outside the company.
• If at a company sponsored social event, remember you are still being watching by your co-workers or bosses.
  
• Avoid drinking too much - know your limits
• Stay respectful and polite
• Use the opportunity to network
• Learn the ethical nature of your workplace - what is allowed and what is not
• Look for advice from your managers if you are unsure about a situation
• Be willing to talk to a superior if you see a situation that seems to violate company policy or laws
• Remember that there are laws protecting whistleblowers
• Discuss workplace norms with a mentor or another co-worker, and know company policies regarding technology use, personal relationships, and work expectations.

Green Your Office

You can make a difference and help improve the environment by purchasing recycled products. You will find that most recycled products cost less, or the same as products made from normal materials. Recycled products cost more when the market for them is very limited; however, prices will fall over time when consumers buy these products regularly. There are many materials that you can buy for your office that are recycled. Recycled paper products include: copy paper, cards, envelopes, folders, notebooks, binders, checks, post-its, and cardboard boxes. Other recycled items include: computer disks, toner cartridges for photocopiers and printers, pens, rulers, and scissors. When buying paper products, the three arrows chasing each other on a dark background indicate that the paper contains recycled fibers, and on a light or no background, indicates that the paper can be recycled.

There are a few other simple things to do to make your office green:

• Bring your own coffee mug to work, and encourage other employees to do the same.
• Contribute guest mugs for visitors.
• Save coffee grounds for compost, and give them to anyone who gardens at home.
• Substitute cloth towels for paper towels, and keep them laundered.

Where to Buy:
www.recycledofficeproducts.com
www.waldecks.com
www.dolphinblue.com
www.sustainablegroup.net
www.buyonlinenow.com
www.checkgallery.com
www.greendisk.com

You can also find a number of other recycled office supplies at your local supermarket, or office supply store.

New kid on the business block

The common factor in many, if not most, of the legends of American business is entrepreneurship. This involves someone in the private sector creating an idea for a new business and investing capital to support its foundation.

While they can invest their personal funds, often they can find family or friends known as “angel investors” to contribute money, take out bank loans, or obtain venture capital through a firm that supports upstart businesses.

Government agencies such as the Small Business Administration can also provide financial assistance for startups. The history of capitalism features numerous examples of now-millionaire or billionaire businessmen beginning from humble backgrounds as entrepreneurs.

The modern PC probably would not exist had young undergraduate student Bill Gates not invested his livelihood into Microsoft and his DOS operating system — and where would the worldwide Virgin Group empire be today without entrepreneurial genius Richard Branson?

While Gates may have led to the invention of the modern PC, would we have Apple’s i-Technology without the innovations of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak? The premise of the free market economy is that individuals are able to invest as much as they desire into private businesses.

While controversy exists as to whether this system places too much wealth into the hands of a select group of business tycoons, there is no question that it has enabled the U.S. economy to flourish into the world’s most prominent.

To start your own business, you must be willing to accept the possibility of failure and the financial and the personal opportunity costs associated with such an endeavor.

Business data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that approximately 34 percent of upstart enterprises become bankrupt after two years of operation.

You must also have an idea differentiating yourself from competitors or develop another competitive advantage which will draw customers and revenue.

Entrepreneurship experts from Harvard Business School suggest that to truly make your endeavor a success you must take the initiative to invest your time and money against the potential of failure, and avoid letting other commitments such as school or work get in the way. Almost all entrepreneurs encounter resistance from competitors and outside forces and must learn to persevere in the face of opposition to succeed.

Written by Elizabethtown College Students In Free
Enterprise, a nonprofit organization that teaches others the principles of free
market economics. Students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to visit
the SIFE blog at etownsife.blogspot.com. Contact sife@etown.edu with any
questions. Originally published in the Etownian on April 24, 2008.