Coronavirus: A Different Perspective

In my lifetime in America, I recall two enormously impactful times: the great recession and 9/11.

Until now.

Now, this COVID-19 pandemic takes the cake.

As I write this, there are over 440,000 cases worldwide and that number increases by the hour.

In Belize (where I live), the first confirmed case was announced two days ago, bringing the country into complete panic and fear. Inciting even animosity and violence aimed at the individual who traveled from San Francisco to Belize and unknowingly brought the virus with her.

It’s easy to get discouraged and fearful at times like these but I see another side to this whole thing.

We Hate Our Governments

Across the world, you can see the collective disapproval of democracy in their governments. According to Pew Research, the overall median approval vs. disapproval of democracy in world governments is 46 percent (approval) and 52 percent disapproval.

The happiest, in case you were wondering, are Sweden, India, and Tanzania at 79 percent while the least happy are Greece (21 percent approval), Lebanon (eight percent), and Mexico (six percent).

I’m not a political analyst or scientist but I’m human with common sense. There doesn’t seem to be any “perfect” government anywhere but more and more, I’m seeing the depletion of human rights and civil liberties, all at the hands of top government officials in conjunction with the rich.

Most people agree but, rather than admit their dissatisfaction with the way things are going, continue to bicker and have a stranglehold on their partisan beliefs, thinking their representatives are the best, without realizing they are all living lavish lives while we are struggling, suffering, suffocating under their regimes.

People are so busy “not being wrong” that they don’t realize that their blind faith in whatever the T.V. or their favorite politician says, is not for their good. It’s for the good of the rich, wealthy, and connected.

Since we are afraid (or unable or unwilling) to step out of our own political parties and stand on our own two (FREE) feet, we will never bring down a corrupt government.

I recall after 9/11, how I understood the need for the Patriot Act. I was blind by the pain, hurt, confusion, fear that happened when those towers went down.

I was willing to do anything I could to show solidarity with my fellow-Americans.

What I did, though, was not just allow, but approve, horrible violations of our Constitutional rights.

Since that time, I’ve learned and watched how governments use our fears and uncertainty and ignorance to take advantage of our population and voters.

We Are Growing Leery of Religion

More and more, people are moving away from organized religion across the globe. Religion often incites fear and intolerance; it is a tool to control society at large.

With the onslaught of technology over the past quarter-century, I suspect the reason millennials are moving away from religion is because they have grown up with access to true, real, factual and information and history that contradicts the premise of most all religions in the world.

Regardless of the reason, millennials are increasingly moving away from organized religion.

Other reasons organized religion is losing its followers could be because of so many religious scandals or extremism (such as Westboro), ultra-rich evangelists with multiple mansions, and unfair/inequitable government-religious connections.

We Are Shifting

While we are bombarded with media from both sides of the aisle, people who are looking at things with their eyes and minds open and able to disseminate factual information from fear-mongering, are seeing the division being promoted by the media, government, church, and social media.

Some of us – including myself – have stepped back from our die-hard liberal stances, realizing that our “be-good-to-each-other” and “we-must-help-the-less-fortunate” ideals are being exploited to further the Democrats’ agendas.

I like to think my Republican counterparts are feeling something amiss, as well. Their freedom to bear arms and promote open markets is also being exploited for the Republicans’ agendas.

Neither party is serving us anymore. They are them, we are us. Regardless of party.

Nature Is Taking It’s Course

It is with humbleness and appreciation that I sit in acceptance and marvel at how nature is supporting us, rather than not.

We as a global community have gone far beyond remedying the corruption in our global governments. As a part of nature, the organism of humanity has long been destroying itself and the weaker of this organism (the poor, frail, afraid), are unable to stand up for ourselves and friends and families.

When an organism becomes infected, it sends antibodies out to eliminate the threat. This is how I see this COVID-19 working in our favor. Of course, I will continue to take every precaution suggested by the WHO such as social distancing and working from home, but the earth only has so much capacity to sustain human life.

Not only is she cleansing her “system,” but Mother Nature is offering us a sobering opportunity to hit the “reset” button and start over, this time on the right foot and this time, without fighting amongst ourselves for bread crumbs from the rich, and corporate welfare (from both sides) that absolutely do not serve us.

I’m not being Pollyanna – I realize this is a very real and serious threat – but I feel this pandemic can serve some very valuable purposes when it is all over and we – the humans of this planet – would be wise to use it, rather than allowing our governments to use it on us the way they did with 9/11.

This Corona Thing

Every single living thing on earth strives to survive. From plants and weeds to fish and humans, everything fights to survive.

Including viruses.

Of course, there will be a lot of deaths from this virus. As I write this, I check the Johns Hopkins integrative map which only two days ago showed just over 150,000 confirmed cases but now shows 242,092 and 9,842 deaths. Italy has overtaken China in fatalities

It’s frightening for those of us who don’t realize how large this world is or how many people there are on the planet.

There are almost eight billion people on this planet (which, by the way, the planet cannot actually accommodate because of consumerism). We are nearing capacity.

To put this in perspective:

America’s population is currently at almost 330 million people.
China has a population of almost 1.5 billion people.
Interestingly, Vatican City – has the smallest population in the world with less than 1,000 people – is in Italy, the hardest hit with fatal COVID-19 deaths. (Yet it is the home of Catholocism).

I, unlike many people, work remotely so my work is secure as of the moment I write this. Of course, I know it’s naive to think my workflow won’t be disrupted by the economic impact of this virus but for now, things are okay. Better, in fact, because remote work is on the rise and the corona virus has kind of forced employers to adopt flexwork and remote work solutions for employees.

This is good news for us freelancers. As well as others who struggle to maintain work/life balance. Maybe your employer is trying this new thing out and you will be able to work from home where you couldn’t before.

Awesome!

My thing is, surrender.

Don’t take me wrong. I don’t mean be reckless and stupid and selfish. I mean, how much TP and hand sanitizer do you REALLY need?

What Is Surrender?

It’s not a defeatist thing to surrender. Rather, I consider it to be a strong and selfless act. Religions across the world encourage it.

“Let go and let God,” right?

Regardless of your religious or philosophical beliefs (or aversion to them), ultimately, accepting what is, will give you the greatest peace of mind.

So what’s with all this nonsense of panicking and over-buying products?

I find peace in knowing that I cannot control what happens. I can only control my response to it.

I find peace in feeling like I am a part of something much bigger than myself and what I give – large or small – may help others. Maybe not. Who knows?

But one thing this corona virus won’t change is that I will be kind, thoughtful, and mindful of how I behave and treat others.

Surrender is accepting what is. No judgment. No fear. No panic.

I am not a religious person, but I am very spiritual. I find comfort in this. I’m not constricted by the biblical requirements that tell me what it is to be a good person. I’m good to everyone.

Rather, I accept what is.

People are overwhelmingly politicizing this pandemic which is ludicrous. At the end of the day, we are all human. I tend to think whether my liberal or conservative friends agree on doesn’t matter because at their core, they are good human beings who don’t want to see others suffer.

The difference, in my opinion, is that one wants the government to fix it and the other wants to choose who they help (yes, I realize this is putting it in quite simple terms).

Regardless, the common denominator is helping others.

To me, this is what we, as a human organism on this planet, need to be focusing on. Our common denominator.

 

Working Through Upwork

Upwork gives us a handful of little tidbits when we click “messages” on their platform and wait for the inbox to load.

“It takes clients an average of 3 days to hire on our platform.”

“83% of Upwork freelancers say that the ability to work anywhere is important to them.”

“More than ⅔ of Upwork clients agree that online talent marketplaces make them more competitive.”

“Over 2 million messages are exchanged on Upwork every week.”

“Upwork highlights freelance professionals with over 5,000 skills, in 90+ categories.”

“The Upwork community includes members from over 180 countries.”

You would think finding work through Upwork would be pretty easy with these kinds of statistics but, not necessarily.

I’ve had a freelance writing profile with Upwork for three years and done about six jobs through their platform. For the first $500 in work you do, Upwork collects 20 percent of your fee. After $500, it’s 10 percent and after $10,000 it’s five percent.

Despite the jobs I have completed (successfully with five stars), I am still not included in the “rising talent” which is a frequent requirement when submitting proposals for jobs on Upwork.

Additionally, I’m not given a job success rate. This truly surprises me since a job success rate, to my thinking, should happen immediately after a job is done. Just as with the “rising talent” requirement, a lot of jobs have a 90% or better job success rate requirement when applying.

I contacted Upwork about these issues twice and this was the last response:

“Hello Cristina,

I understand your sentiments. However, please be advised that Rising Talent cannot be given manually. If you are selected, you will receive an email welcoming you to the program. We can not send the email manually since this is thru invitation. Also, there is no guarantee that you will receive an invitation even if you’ve completed the requirements. Only a small, randomly selected subset of eligible freelancers can participate at this time.

Regarding your JSS concern, please know it can take a while for you to receive a Job Success score on Upwork. Since this score reflects your overall contract history with your clients and is based on your relationships and feedback, we wait until you have worked with several different clients before posting your score. At a minimum, you will need to work with at least three different clients over a 24-month period to be given a Job Success score.

Keep in mind that projects and client needs can vary widely. You might be working regularly and completing multiple projects for one client only, and therefore not yet eligible for a Job Success score. Or you might complete multiple, short-term projects from different clients and receive a score quickly. On average, more than 90 percent of freelancers on Upwork will receive a Job Success score after completing five projects in total. Nearly all freelancers on our platform will have a score after eight projects have been completed.”

Upwork has some benefits. It is simple to apply for work and there is protection for payments to freelancers.

You cannot withdraw any funds from your account unless your balance is at least $100 but you don’t have to wait for the scheduled pay day. You can request payment immediately and there is no charge. The funds will be in your bank account within the next couple of days.

I’ve seen some absolutely ludicrous job postings there (1,500 word blog post for $10 which, after Upwork’s fee would be $8!) but also some very good job postings to which I have submitted proposals.

Competition is FIERCE and you have to be quick and readily available. I live with my phone connected to me wherever I go, listening diligently for the familiar “Ding!” that signifies a new email so I can respond quickly.

No “Dings!” lately but I have over a dozen proposals submitted and my fingers and toes crossed.

I am certain that having private clients outside of any platform is likely much more lucrative but also riskier. I cannot count the number of complaints I’ve heard from other freelance marketing writers of non-paying customers and that’s a headache I am simply not prepared to take on.

Upwork offers freelancers a membership for $14.99 a month. I recently got a membership just to see what bonuses it included. To be honest, the only real benefit I have found is seeing the bid ranges for job postings which can give you a good idea of what others are offering.

You also receive 70 connects each month with the membership and unused connects are rolled over. Each time you submit a proposal for a job, you use these connects (ranging from 2 connects up to 6).

I don’t feel that is worth the fee and next month, will just buy more connects if needed, rather than renewing the membership. It was worth a try but I think my money is better spent on a Linkedin Premium membership than Upwork’s.

Edited to add:
I received a follow-up email from the “Executive Escalations” department which included an apology for my “discomfort” and provided me with a three-months-free membership promo code.

The freelance giant reported last year that Revenue increased by 16% year-over-year to $68.9 million for the first quarter of 2019

Writing About The Unfamiliar

I’ve said it before and will likely say it again: One of the greatest benefits of being a writer is learning so many new things!

Since it is just a natural part of the process, it never really occurred to me that researching and writing meaningful content about unfamiliar categories (No, I’ve never used a “clone-a-willy” but the client needed a post on it so I wrote one) is a talent in itself, beyond writing.

Recently, I was tasked with writing a product review about an item I have never used nor anything even close to it. Many see this type of thing as immoral (how can you provide an accurate and authentic review if you’ve never used it?) because the internet is wrought with fake reviews which, sadly, the majority of consumers don’t realize is a big problem out there. I, too, find it irresponsible and inauthentic to write such reviews.

However, in this particular case, it was not a slanted review in favor of the client.

Rather, it was just an informative piece on what the product is, what it does, how it works, and who is most likely to benefit from using it. I was able to put this post together by researching other reviews – both positive and negative, researching the company (including their corporate office), weeding my way through their (extensive) website and getting a feel for who they are and what they stand for, as well as checking the Better Business Bureau to ensure it’s a reputable company by BBB standards.

Even more recently (today, in fact) I was asked what my process is for writing about something I’m unfamiliar with. Good question.

It never occurred to me that I have a “process” and, I confess, I  can be quite disorganized so I’ve never paid much attention to it. So my intention here is to clarify my “process” of writing about topics I do not have experience with.

First and foremost, get to know your client and their voice and brand.

This is crucial. I’ve had clients (such as the one mentioned above) who are quirky and fun and Fortune 50 clients whose sense of humor was non-existent. Imagine if I wrote with the same “voice” for all of them.

Every brand has a unique mission and vision so when writing about something unfamiliar, make sure you are very clear about your client’s voice and their target markets.

Start Researching

I’m going to use a scenario and walk you (and myself) through my subconscious, automatic research process.

Glass Blowing. I know nothing about it at all (except that it looks really neat to see them doing it) so let’s start with that.

Google: Glass Blowing

Immediately google’s auto-finish gives me:

• Classes
• Classes near me
• Kit
• Netflix
• Torch
• Tools
• Seattle
• Supplies
• Atlanta

This tells me that glass-blowing classes are a popular search query so, since I’m making this up as I go, let’s assume I’m writing a post for a company that has glass-blowing classes and I need to find the topic.

Mind Your Sources

Often when researching something unfamiliar, I will read general information about the subject from regular ol’ bloggers like myself. However, when it comes to finding factual, solid information, I stick with reputable sources that are either:

• .gov
• .edu
• .org
• .pdf
• Or otherwise an expert in the specific topic (without being a competitor for my client)

So in this case, I scroll past the fold of Google which is usually “near me” results on the SERP to get to the good stuff.

In this case, I clicked on the “Classes — Gather Glass Blowing Studio” link and see they have some (really cool!) classes at various rates for different things.

Boom! Ideas galore!

Start Brainstorming

Of course, you can also just google “glass-blowing blog ideas” but, for me, my brain is immediately bombarded with questions:

• How hot does it need to be for glass to melt? (X Things About Glass-Blowing You May Not Know)
• Oh! I wonder what kind of tools they use. (X Essential Tools Every Beginning Glass-Blower Needs or X Tools Necessary for Blowing Bowls/Paperweights/etc)
• Who discovered how to do this stuff, anyway? (The History of Glass-Blowing)
• I bet they need insurance for sure! (Best Insurance For Glass-Blowing Schools)

You get the gist.

I’ve written about countless things I know nothing about to begin with, and my writing has been made richer for it. It’s not as hard as some may think and, with practice, will end up feeling like second nature, as it does with me.

So there’s the simple process I use to write about things I’ve never dealt with or clients whose products/services are unfamiliar to me.

And, yes, I’ll say it again: One of the greatest benefits of being a writer is learning so many new things!

Do you have a research process you use to write about unfamiliar things? I’d love to hear about it!

A Simple Analogy Of Why Every Human Matters

Look at this picture.

Obviously, it’s a beach. We know what it is because even if we have never visited one, we have seen them on television shows, in movies, postcards, vacation photos of family and friends.

But imagine if you had never been to Earth. It looks like something solid, doesn’t it? This strip of sand along the landscape, meeting up with the aqua green of the water. Looking down, this looks like a solid place you could land your spacecraft.

Even here, with this picture, if you were a martian showing it to your martian friends, they would see this the same way we see a tile or linoleum floor. Solid. Hard.

Looks solid. Like you could drop a glass on it, and it would shatter. Especially when looking at it from a distance.

Moving closer to it, however, we see…

 

 

It is malleable. Not solid at all. Soft, in fact. And made up of more than just a big line of something solid. Rather, it is a collection of billions of tiny parts. While – from a distance – it looks solid, the truth is it is constructed of all of these grains of sand, together forming a walkable surface. Like this:

Each grain of sand, serving the purpose of making the surface beneath our feet.

 

But wait…

Let’s look even closer:

 

 

Clearly, that “solid-looking” strip of coastline is the result of a collection of individual grains of sand that is not, in fact, solid at all.

But there’s more.

What if we put a single grain of sand under a microscope?

Magnified at 500x under an electron microscope, a grain of sand looks like (a) [(b) is soil]:

 

 

But, if you go even further, you will discover that sand – like everything else in existence – consists of atoms, a piece of matter that is made up of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. In a grain of sand, there are more atoms (10 sextillions) than there are stars in the universe.

Just like that skyview of a coastline that looks solid but, when magnified, shows it is not solid at all, humans are much more complex than what is seen with the eye. We are a collective source of energy, all vibrating at different frequencies.

The point I want to make about this blog post, is the illusion we have of our separateness and the actual connection we all have. We are all a part of the same organism, much as each atom in a grain of sand is an integral part of a sandy beach.

So while we are each, individually, a collection of unfathomable atoms, this is also what connects us collectively as an organism and, why it is so critically important that we see the value in one another as a part of a whole.

Some beaches have brown sand, some have red, and some combine any number of colors but all are collections of grains of sand upon which we walk.

As an evolving species, we grow and adapt to changes in our environments so, when one grain of sand dissolves or ceases to exist, the remaining grains will work together to continue strengthening the beach.

No matter what color, culture, race, religion, age, or sex we are, we are all magnificent parts of the human race, and we need each other to stay whole.

 

Cheapening of Labor

Lately I’ve become aware of the many ways that outsourced, crowdsourced, freelance labor is undermining the expertise of their respective fields.

As a journalist, I never questioned the amount of my pay. It was there, regularly, every week, and was a competitive wage.

Now, however, I find that I my work can be undermined and cheapened by, say, workers in another country whose standards of living are far lower than, say, those in the U.S.

Likewise, it appears I am cheapening the work of my fellow freelance content marketers because, as I have discovered, they are making a whole lot more for their work than I do.

Almost four times as much as I do, in fact.

That’s an eye-opener for me!

Now I do realize that some people will inflate their earnings just so they can appear to be big fish in the pond but that’s not always the case.

The research I’ve done on the subject has led me to countless unsubstantiated articles on how much writers should charge without any concrete guide.

Per hour? Per project? Per article?

What I must constantly remind myself is that I am not just a writer or journalist; I specialize in selling things with an inbound marketing strategy that enhances a client’s brand and increases their web traffic and leads.

So a freelance writer doesn’t just get paid for putting pretty words on a page. No.

We know what keywords and key phrases to use, internal and external links to include, and how to match the tone and voice of our clients to suit their target audiences.

While my journalism career was a healthy one, I feel that my freelance content writing career should be considerably more healthy because my customers are not just buying my words; they’re buying my knowledge.

What’s that worth? Definitely more than $50 for a post.

Merry Christmas (Please Remember Us!)

Today’s global workforce is increasingly mobile and flexible, offering remote work. From IT and security to freelance writing, over half of today’s companies outsource some of their departments and in the U.S. alone, there are 53 million freelance workers.

The benefits of freelance/remote work are many, including:

• Flexible hours.
• Choosing your preferred clients.
• Being able to work in your pajamas.
• Parents can stay at home with children.
• Students can work around their class schedules.
• Improved work/life balance.

Remove the inconvenience of commuting, reduction in air pollution, and the time saved by not having to travel, as well as how remote/freelance work allows people with disabilities access to sustainable income, and you can see why remote/freelance work is appealing.

Slow Seasons

Although I thoroughly enjoy my career as a freelance content specialist, I am – like many – plagued by the annual lull in income during the holidays between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Of course, not all industries experience this sluggishness. Retail, for example, sees significant increases in activity during Christmas and Thanksgiving.

But for those of us writing for these companies, often we are facing a dreadful Christmas with ramen noodles and a slew of invitation declines because we simply don’t have the finances to attend our former neighbor’s Christmas party or participate in a Secret Santa exchange.

Please Remember Your Freelancers

The holidays are a time of joy and cheer and hospitality with family, friends, and coworkers.

Working as a freelancer – with all of the benefits and perks – can also cause a high level of stress and anxiety during the holiday seasons because of the unpredictability of income.

In the spirit of giving, I implore those with outsourced writers to please reach out to your writers and remember they, too, wouldn’t mind having at least a ham sandwich for Christmas dinner. 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Busy Ignoring Myself

When you are a freelancer, everything is about self-discipline (which I suck at) but the more you do it, the better you get at it (like using chopsticks or driving a standard).

But guess what I did tonight.

I bagged an almost whole meatloaf.

That’s right.

My ex-mother-in-law told me the hardest part of being a lover of cooking is when your husband dies and the kids move out, you gotta learn to cook for one.

As a freelancer who writes pretty much on spec, my paycheck might be $1000 next week or $20.

And, whether it’s $1,000 or $20, it’s always the same quality of writing and just as much work, and you have to be certified in inbound marketing or some other thing that educates you on how to convince companies that you’re the writer who will convince their customers that they need what they’re selling.

Never mind. You won’t understand.

My point is, I just bagged up an entire meatloaf (absent three pieces I’ve eaten) because ….gah!

Singleness sucks totally but it also doesn’t.

At least the toilet seat is always down, the TP is always correct, and I can eat whatever I want (just gotta freeze the leftovers).

Funny thing about it, as much as I loved my ex (dang I almost just typed “ass” and have no idea where that came from)…continuing on…as much as I loved my ex(-ass), and as much as he did to help me while I was working at home, it was HEAVY! Here are things he did:

Cook

I forget to eat because I am so focused on my work that I pay no mind until it feels like I will faint. So he’d remind me to eat by shoving a plate of food in my face as I worked. Whether I liked it or not. That was awesome and as much as I love my dogs, they won’t do that.

Clean

My ex could work every day – he could – but he didn’t. Not entirely his fault. Sometimes work wasn’t available and, in those cases, he “worked at home” (which is a total insult in Belize. You guys, get your shit straight. A girl loves a man with dishpan hands!). When there was no work available, he did emasculate chores like washing dishes or sweeping and mopping the floor. While I think these are REDEEMING qualities, other men might call them “batty bwai” (in American, “Gay”). I call it “Fair.”

Fix

He could fix ANYTHING. Seriously! Squeaky door? No problem!
Tack in your shoe? Got ya! Truck broke down? No prob! Zombie Apocalypse? Neighbor is a serial killer/rapist? Stand behind me! I got my machete! Light or fridge cuts off inexplicably? Fixed!

Knows what is safe to eat

We are in the jungle during a deadly meteor shower, no problem. He’d know what leaf, fruit, bark, whatever to eat plus build a house…with his machete.

I’m happy – kinda – where I am right now. And this is the most personal I have ever gotten on this blog.

My point of writing this is that you never know who you will need, until you need them. As humans, we judge people by socioeconomic status but I have a friend bringing me plants tomorrow so that I can make a nice, fresh, tomato, basil, salad and he doesn’t even know what it’s like to pick up a squishy ball of real mozzarella cheese (my New England friends understand).

You also never know who is suffering. Maybe trying to learn how to cook for one, when they have always cooked for the whole family.

I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer because I try not to judge but, to me, the answer is always the same: Do the right thing.

P.S. Anyone want some chilli or meatloaf? I have plenty.   🙂

 

 

America’s Brand is Being Destroyed

America’s brand is in decline and Trump is the catalyst.

But before we get into America’s brand, let’s first discuss what a brand is, exactly.

According to the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands IndexSM (NBISM), the brands of nations are rated according to five criteria:

• Governance
• Culture
• People
• Tourism
• Immigration and Investment

It’s easy to see – just based on these six categories – where America’s brand image is taking a beating but let’s dig a little deeper.

Different people will identify with different components of America’s brand but it’s safe to say America – for most people – stands for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. The brand of America is one of inclusion, technological and medical research, superior education and endless opportunities for people who choose to pursue the American Dream.

In the past, America has stood at the top of the rankings as a global leader but recently – in 2017 – the country’s ranking has declined. Where the U.S.A. was rated #1, Germany took over first place, followed by France, the UK, Japan, and Canada.

Where is the US now? Due to a “substantial drop in global perception of the USA,” the US is now in sixth place.

If you think about it, it make sense.

As with any business, bad publicity can have significant impacts on an organization’s reputation and governments are now under the same scrutiny as any business and are held to the same standards.

Donald Trump has certainly had his share of bad publicity and it’s not helping American businesses, organizations, or workers that the perception of the US is in huge decline.

In fact, Pew Research has found that globally, the image of America is quickly tarnishing with the policies and shenanigans of Donald Trump.

Nations – just like businesses – need to maintain good reputations and images to continue their growth and consumerism but with bad press comes bad consequences. Of course, every president is under intense scrutiny and all presidents receive bad press but Donald Trump was the topic of 41 percent of all news stories—three times the usual amount in his first 100 days in office.

So how is Trump ruining America’s brand?

Tourism

With the global tension created by the constantly unpredictable and erratic behavior of President Trump, it’s no surprise that people are not as quick to book a trip to the US. But Travel and Tourism is an $8 trillion market but experts say this downward spiral of America’s reputation is costing not only in dollars but in jobs.

Specifically, “80 percent of foreign travel to the U.S. is for pleasure, which means foreigners can switch easily. Surveys show foreigners feel less safe and welcome in the U.S., thanks to President Trump’s Muslim travel ban, anti-immigrant policies, and rhetoric about Mexican rapists and “shithole countries.” Last year, those 3 million fewer foreign visits cost us nearly $5 billion in business and about 40,000 jobs.”

Culture

Across the world, images of protests, shootings, violence, bigotry, sexism, and a host of other social hot-button issues are flashed day and night. Exposure of America’s underbelly might be a good thing if it were in the process of finding solutions. However, as Time reports, Trump’s mostly white followers are now much more vocal because of their philosophical alignment. They have a backer now. This sends a message to our friends and enemies all over the world that the leader of our country is divisive.

Governance

When it comes to presidencies, Donald Trump has taken the cake. It would be refreshing to have a non-politician in the White House if they were conscionable, attentive, intelligent, well-spoken, and otherwise possessed the kinds of attributes that a good leader should have. However, when rated by “public opinion about national government competency and fairness, as well as its perceived commitment to global issues,” Donald Trump’s news presence doesn’t scream commitment to much of anything unifying. Withdrawing from the UN Human Rights Council is not a sign of global commitment, competency, or fairness.

Immigration and Investment

Needless to say, the immigration policies enacted and enforced under the Trump administration have been an abysmal failure and global humiliation. From immigrant “cages” to the removal of educational rights, to rigorous security measures at airports, Americans have flocked to protest and scorn Trump’s immigration policies. These images, too, serve as black eyes to the country’s global impression.

Imagine using any of these techniques with your business. How do you think it would work?

Take a grocery store, for example, and let’s draw some parallels.

Tourism

It won’t matter what kind of items you sell or how great the quality is if people are afraid to enter. Would you have someone representing your grocery store who was unfriendly – even rude – to your potential customers? If you had the face of an unwelcoming individual at your front door, yelling that some people are not welcome, how would that affect your business?

Culture

If your grocery store became popular for only a certain type of customer base who were generally depicted in angry and unsatisfied scenes, what type of business environment would you have? What kind of new customers would you bring in? How would your business thrive inside and out?

Governance

Imagine your success rate if you were known to be a bully who cared nothing for the betterment of your neighborhood (for example) or the well-being of your workers, how do you feel your popularity would affect your business model?

Immigration and Investment

And imagine what would happen to your business if you turned away opportunities to work with different suppliers that provided unique options, alternatives, insights, and experiences to your store.

If businesses espoused the same policies and procedures that the Trump administration is using, their brand would also flounder. The surprising – if not ironic – fact is President Trump may have been a businessman before he became president but he has not run the US government the way I would expect a successful businessman to run it.

Running a business in such a way would surely lead to its demise.

As President and CEO of the US Travel Association, Roger Dow says in this Forbes article, “The latest government data is deeply concerning not just to our industry, but to anyone who cares about the economic well-being of the United States…These numbers are an undeniable wake-up call, and correcting this troubling trend needs to become a national priority.”

Why Having a Niche Is More Important Than Any Time In History

I remember when I got my life coach certification. I was ready to take on the world! I wanted to use my training to help any- and everyone who was having any problem of any kind, anywhere in the world.

Although I had a particular passion for at-risk youth and survivors of sexual assault/domestic abuse, I did not want to limit my “help” to just one set of people, even if my training did include the need to find a niche’.

So I began building an all-encompassing website to cater to… everyone.

Or so I thought.

Although I had some successes as a Life Coach, I couldn’t credit my website for it. Any successes I had really came down to my personal interactions in my small community. As for the World Wide Web, well, I was just a molecule of a drop in a bucket.

I am no longer a practicing life coach but I continue my writing career which has spanned more than two decades. And in the past couple decades I’ve seen many, many shifts in the way my work, works and now I am seeing that my trainers at iPEC were absolutely right: find a niche.

It is the nature of my work as a freelance writer that I research and study the things I write about. Whether it’s a short, 300-word post or a long, 1,000+ word paper, I am required to research as much as possible to ensure my content is accurate, appropriately aimed, and professionally presented.

I find that a lot of the content I write is aimed at marketing and sales. Particularly, internet marketing.

In researching this stuff, I have learned the importance of being an expert at just one thing.

Technology has changed our lives in irrefutable ways and part of that is the need to really focus on one thing within a core group or organization.

Where the model used to be having a manager who would lead the teams to success, now those people have to be specialized in their own ways. Organizations have to have a specialist in each arm of their teams which can be whittled down to the most pinpoint specific specialties.

For example, a marketing team is no longer just about doing research and reporting to their managers what the current market trends are. It involves needing people who are technologically savvy and have the wherewithal and diligence to recognize not only trends, but specific marketing needs that have not even been developed yet.

It’s like a cell that works within an organism, that makes up another organism. Each cell has a certain function (reproductive, endocrine, etc.) even though the cell is the tiniest part of a whole.

That’s how technology is changing everything at the core.

Each part of the cell [team member] has a purpose and – without those particular parts – the cell [team] cannot work as a cohesive part of the whole so it will wither and die and, thus, affect the organism [organization] as a whole.

So when you are trying to figure out what to do with your future, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options but what I am seeing is the need for the niche. This is a good thing because – as opposed to needing to be an expert in accounting, for example – you need only be an expert in a certain part of accounting because now, accounting firms have teams that include accountants, marketers, analysts, design teams, and all the different aspects of those “organisms” that are required to succeed.

Pick apart the things that you are passionate about all the way down to a cellular level and you can find many different aspects of that particular passion that are categorical.

Although it seems counterintuitive to focus in on one single specialty, in the future that’s what is going to be necessary and technology is the place where specialties are going to be vital.