Below you will find a selection of the most recent entries from bloggers in our Work/Business section.
To view the entries from individual bloggers, click on the links below:
- Claire Doole - Claire Doole Communications
Claire is a former BBC correspondent and international spokeswoman who is passionate about helping people communicate with confidence. Since 2006, she has successfully trained hundreds of professionals in the art of presenting and public speaking, talking to the media, managing communications in a crisis, and writing for the web. In addition, she has coached C-level executives and public figures to give powerful TEDx and TED style talks in Europe and the Middle East. A Swiss and UK national, Claire trains and coaches in French and English.
- Elizabeth Ballin - Life Coach
As a long time member of the international community in Geneva, Elizabeth Ballin has been coaching adults and students from all parts of the world. She has coached business professionals, musicians/artists, couples, families and adolescents. She is a fully accredited Life Coach by the International Coaching Federation. Elizabeth Ballin, Life Coach
- Patrick Hoza - US Tax & Financial Services
Since 1990, Patrick has many years of experience with US individual expatriate taxation under his belt, including High Net Worth Individuals, streamline/voluntary disclosure filings and tax consulting, as well as working with large multinationals like Novartis, BP, Hewlett Packard and General Electric. He has extensive knowledge in serving both US expatriates and resident and non-resident aliens with their US tax-related issues. Patrick Hoza is a Tax Director at US Tax & Financial Services, with extensive experience in all aspects of Individual US tax and Expatriation, including Hight Net Worth Individuals and large multinationals.
Patrick started his career in 1990 in California, with Westpro Ltd., as a Senior Tax Consultant, then spent the middle part of his career working at KPMG and Ernst & Young. During his time with Ernst & Young, he worked and lived in Russia, France and finally Switzerland. He has gained a valuable working knowledge of the respective income tax regulations in all of these countries.
Patrick holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Colorado, is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents and is a Certified Acceptance Agent.
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Melitta Campbell - Business Coach
Business Coach and Mentor with nearly 3 decades of business experience and a passion for helping women confidently build a business they love. She is also the founder of the Swiss Entrepreneurs Club and president of the Swiss Riviera Toastmasters Club in Montreux. Originally from Wales, she now lives in Montreux in a chalet she has renovated with her husband overlooking the Swiss Alps. - Sunita Sehmi - Walk The Talk
Founder of Walk The Talk, Sunita has been training, developing and now coaching Business Communication skills in both companies and educational establishments for over twenty years. She has a passion for helping people to maximise their potential and created Walk The Talk with the sole aim to drive each and every client to perform their best.
- Robert Harris- Forth Capital
With over 25 years experience working for some of the major financial institutions in the City of London, Robert is a founding partner of Forth Capital, the leading expat financial advisory company in Switzerland. Regulary quoted in newspaper articles and magazines, he is well placed to advise expats on a variety of financial issues that may arise during their time living in Switzerland.
- Debbie Croft - Croft Coaching
As the founder of Croft Coaching, Debbie has a passion for helping people overcome challenges, embrace change and live life to the full; with an ethos of “work hard, play hard”.
- Sarah Santacroce - Simplicity
A certified social media, internet marketing, and virtual event specialist, Sarah enjoys every aspect of small business marketing. Through her own business, Simplicity, it is her mission to help other small businesses and solopreneurs increase their visibility and use social media tools as part of their marketing strategy.
- Diana Ritchie - SSC Sàrl
A Director at Swiss Career Connections, Diana will provide you with some useful tips for job hunting.
Hello, Bonjour, Namaste,
I remember when I first started working in Geneva I bought a great book called “Is that what you really mean?” by Paul Hancock. The book takes 50 common errors and illustrates them with humorous pictures....and this got me thinking…(yep it happens to the best of us sometimes). With the rise of non-native speakers of English increasing at a rapid rate, clear communications from native speakers to non-native is going to put the spotlight on us English mother tongue speakers and how we communicate..
So what can we do? How can we make sure that we are understandable and our message is understood?
- Speak slower?
- Avoid idioms and slang?
- Check understanding?
Yes all of the above help and have been accepted as universal tools and well documented but in my opinion what’s really important is acknowledgement from native speakers.
By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity
If you are a small business owner who has an e-mail list and sends out newsletters, tap yourself on the back. You are doing one thing right already ! Despite all the Social Media hype, E-Mail Marketing is still a very important marketing channel. There are a few mistakes that I see regularly in newsletters though, so I thought I’d write them down:
Lack of regularity – Small businesses sometimes think that they can just send out a newsletter once every six months and expect a good “opening rate” (number of people who actually open the e-mail). Sorry to disillusion you, but if I signed up to receive your newsletter 6 months ago and never hear from you again until half a year later, I probably won’t remember who you are and just delete your e-mail. So, continuity is key to build that trust with your readers. I would say one newsletter per month is the bare minimum.
Too much info – This is kind of related to point one. The same people who send out their news only once every 6 months expect me to read their 3 page long e-mail. Most likely they will loose me after the 2nd paragraph. So not a good technique either. I recently announced to my subscribers that I will increase the frequency of my news exactly for that reason. I have too much content, articles and tips to share with them and each newsletter gets too long ! Keep it short and to the point.
By David Cooper, Fund Advisers Europe
Educate Your Children – Invest in Their Future
Every parent wants to give their children the best possible start in life - but the prospect of funding a child's education right through to university can be daunting. However, with careful planning and good advice, you can make your money work for you to educate your children the way you want to.
How do private and state schools compare?
There are no clear-cut answers or conclusions. State schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Private schools offer an alternative. Which works best for you? Some comparisons between state and private schools can be: what is the curriculum, admission standards, accountability, accreditation, graduation rates, cost, discipline and teacher certification.
By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity
…that was the question somebody asked me at a networking event last Thursday. Hmm, I had prepared my Elevator Pitch, but wasn’t quite ready to answer this complex question in 30 seconds ! Instead I said: “I can help you, give me a call and we’ll discuss it”. In order to prepare for that call, I thought I’d write a blog post and share it with my readers.
As most of you know, I’m not a professional Search Engine Optimizer, but I can share my tips and tricks with you, and I know that they work. Just Google “bilingual Virtual Assistant Switzerland” and have a look at the results.
So let’s start with first things first:
Submit your website and company info to website and local directories
It’s not the most interesting task, but there is no way around it. You will have to spend some time (or money if you have it outsourced) and submit your website to major website directories. The main one is the dmoz directory, which is free. Then there are thousands of other ones, some free some not, some general some industry specific. You can find them all here. All submissions take at least 4 weeks until they are confirmed. So you need an extra dose of patience …
I also recommend you submit your company info to local directories such as Google Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages etc, especially if you are a brick and mortar business. Research which ones are the most relevant in your area and submit your company info.
By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity
Recently my friend Anna from 360 Entrepreneurship asked on her LinkedIn group: I wonder if anyone in the group knows what the rules are for using images that are not your own, on blog, Facebook etc… To keep us out of trouble.
It’s a very valid question, because we all know that a blog post looks nicer with a featured image and pictures are the most shared status update on Facebook.
Well, the answer is pretty straight forward: if you use an image which is not your own, it is considered theft ! If you don’t own the right to an image, you need permission in writing to use it. That can be an e-mail from the owner, or, if you download the image from a picture library, you have to agree to the “Terms of Use or License”.
So where can you get photos legally ?
