Image courtesy of Chris Metcalf.

We constantly hear people say they want “job security and career advancement opportunities.” The good news is that you have taken the first step toward this lofty goal as you enrolled in the Ashworth College Small Business Management program designed for entrepreneurs. Starting and operating your own business is one way to take control of your future. Is it possible to become indispensable in today’s workplace? As you recognize your strengths, you will also build confidence, realizing that you have what it takes to market yourself and your new business; yes, you can become indispensable!

The term, indispensable means that which is necessary or essential. In other words, if you are to become indispensable, then you must become necessary or essential to the marketplace. As we consider what this means for you and your new business, let’s consider your strengths. Hopefully, your strengths include what I like to call, “The 9 E’s to BEcoming Indispensable:”

1. Enthusiasm
2. Effective communication skills
3. Ethical work habits
4. Effective employees
5. Effective problem solving and decision making skills
6. Endearing customer relationships
7. Energetic work habits
8. Education
9. Experience!

Let’s take a quick look at each of these important aspects which may catapult you to becoming indispensable. There is a reason why the word, “Enthusiasm” is first on the list. Enthusiasm is contagious! If you are enthusiastic about your abilities, your company, and your product, others will “catch” the excitement, too. Don’t you just love to be around someone who is excited about their work? It isn’t necessarily the words they use; instead, it is their non-verbal language which conveys the energy and enthusiasm they have.

Effective communication skills are vital to the success of an entrepreneur. Not only must you have a good command of the English language, you must effectively practice communication skills through writing and speech. I’ve written two helpful books which have been published by Pearson Publishers of Boston. “Going from Stress to Success,” published in 2007, is a public speaking textbook. “Basic Writing for Business: A Technical Approach,” published in 2008, is a textbook which details the basic skills of business writing. A combination of the two texts should help you to become proficient in writing and in speech. Other books are available on the market. If you feel you are deficient in your writing and speaking skills, take a course or purchase a book which will help you to develop your communication skills.

Job security is out there for people who exhibit ethical work habits. Think before you say or do anything. Make sure that your actions are consistent with business principles of moral conduct. Just remember that your work should be of the caliber that you would be proud to sign your name to it at the end of the day. (more…)

Hello everyone. As we’ve discussed in the past, we think it’s really important to put a “face” on our student community. Yes, we have student avatars on our MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Forum Community pages, etc.  We also have photos from past Graduation Ceremonies on our Flickr Page.  This is a good start, but I’d really like our student community to be much more dynamic in terms of photographs.There’s so much we can do with photographs, i.e. Flickr Groups, Online Year Book, Student Paper, Photoblogs, etc.  What kind of photos are we looking for? We want this community to be as authentic as possible, so we’re simply looking for amateur “point and click” photos from your everday lives—the kind of real world photos that tell everyone a little bit about yourself.

I know that a lot of students are not familiar or particularly comfortable uploading photos to online sharing sites such as Flickr. Don’t get me wrong, I know that a lot of you are, but I want to make the photo submission process as simple as possible for everyone.

For the time being, please submit your photos to the following email address:

ashworthcollegeflickr@gmail.com

Don’t worry about what format you send them in, although thumbnail size is not good.

As we collect photos, we’ll create a unique group on our Flickr page that every student will have full access to. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a virtual gallery of your classmates that you can add to at the click of a button?  I think it would be very inspiring and the possibilities are endless once we actually begin building a substantial archive of photos.

I hope to begin receiving your photos soon.  Once I collect enough, we’ll create a new Flickr group that every student can upload their photos directly to.  Every student who participates will ultimately determine how we can best utilize these photos to create a more visually dynamic student community.  Let’s just focus on getting the ball rolling right now!  Thanks everyone!

James
Ashworth College Student Life

Christopher Snyder is the lead singer of the up and coming rock band, KrimZen, who proves that even a busy rock star touring around the world can still find enough time to earn his college degree online with Ashworth College.

We’re honored to recognize Christopher as a graduate of our Ashworth College Associate Degree Program in Psychology.

As leaders in the online education field, our faculty and staff here at Ashworth College believe it’s very important to continuously innovate dynamic ways to communicate with our student community. Our Ashworth College “Live” Events initiative has proven to be quite a hit and has helped us take our vision in exciting new directions, which is why we continue to exponentially increase the number and frequency of these events every month. These events are terrific opportunities to interact with Instructors on the cutting edge of their field and gain career advancement insights that only a true expert can provide.

In addition to our career training oriented chats, we host weekly student orientation chats that are open to existing students and anyone else simply interested in learning more about what Ashworth College is all about. The orientation chat allows you to get all of your questions answered and issues resolved by an Ashworth Student Advisor via “live” video stream. You don’t even need a web cam to participate—just show up and gain plenty of valuable personal, educational, and career advice to help you get ahead!

We’re adding new events on a daily basis, so please check out the Ashworth College Event Calendar for the latest information. Thanks everyone!

Original image courtesy of JoeBehrSoCal.

As students in the Fashion Retailing Program, I’d like to get your feedback on the influence of celebrities on fashion. As a former dress buyer, I often think of this question in relation to the Oscars and other major awards shows, when everyone quickly tries to copy the dresses that were hot for prom—from a silhouette to color. Hairstyles, shoes, and accessories are also scrutinized to see what is hot and what is not. Fashion has consistently defined some of the most memorable moments in Hollywood award shows from Jennifer Lopez a few years back with a dress that was barely there to Bjork’s infamous swan dress. The tradition continues with pop icons such as Lady Gaga, whose’ highly experimental style and perpetually evolving fashion identify on is perhaps even more trend setting than her music.

Here’s the fundamental question: How do you think celebrity styles translate to the mass market and how much influence, in terms of affecting consumer buying behavior and what’s culturally hot, do these celebrities ultimately have in your opinion? On a personal level, do celebrities influence your style? Let me know why or why not this is the case. I look forward to reading your feedback. Thanks everyone!

Kimberly Schorr
Fashion Retailing Instructor
Ashworth College

In this video from our recent Graduation Ceremony, Ashworth College alumnae and Extreme Makeover star, Didiayer Snyder, surprises interior decorating graduate, Samantha Cruse, with an invitation to appear on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with her and the crew.  Congratulations Samantha!