Sunday, April 19, 2020

Professional Resume Writing Costs - How to Estimate Costs in Columbia, Missouri

Professional Resume Writing Costs - How to Estimate Costs in Columbia, MissouriEstimating professional resume writing costs in Columbia, Missouri can be quite a daunting task if you do not know where to begin. There are several factors that come into play when you want to properly advertise yourself on the resume that you submit to several job providers.One thing you will want to do is to generate at least one or two leads for every job you are contacting and then you should send out these email messages with the 'Buy now' buttons in order to generate the necessary web traffic so that you can make the most out of the money online. Your idea of a professional resume should also convey to your reader that this is a well written document and the prospective employer will not just sit on the job without first getting to read it. You will have to try and sell yourself as much as possible, if at all possible, because many people will never bother to visit the link after you submit your res ume.It is very important to understand that the cost of professional resume writing in Columbia, Missouri is dependent upon the number of resumes you submit and what category you select. Those who are beginning in the job market will have a harder time advertising themselves online, because they do not have the time nor the money. The more time and money you spend doing this, the more likely you are to actually get hired and earn a higher salary. It is therefore imperative that you save up the money before going out and trying to find other opportunities because the odds of you making money online are very slim.Some business managers also believe that there is no point in hiring a resume writer because the candidate is unlikely to produce anything of substance, but this can not be further from the truth. You need to understand that professional resume writing is not just about writing a resume, but it is much more about establishing yourself as an expert on certain topics.A resume t hat is well written and is genuinely designed to get you the job is all that matters, because you will not even get interviewed for the job if you do not have a strong grasp of the subject matter. For instance, if you are looking for a job as a digital image retoucher, you would be wise to avoid simply filling out a resume of 'all I know' and simply submit your resume as a digital image retoucher.Although the cost of professional resume writing in Columbia, Missouri is high, it is possible to lower the total cost by opting for services offered by freelancers. They are capable of writing resumes as part of their fee but you do not have to pay them if you only have a few jobs to do.In order to create the best resume possible you need to be both professional and creative. Remember that professional resume writing costs are largely dependent upon the number of resumes you submit. Therefore, if you have a strong resume and it will get you the job, then it will in fact help you save money by generating more leads to apply for jobs.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Board Member Connect How Founder Plays Nonprofit Matchmaker

Board Member Connect How Founder Plays Nonprofit Matchmaker In this series of “Passion Plays,” learn how aspiring entrepreneurs turned their interests into innovative and rewarding second-act businesses. David Lewis Age: 45 Hometown: Murrieta, Calif. BUSINESS: Board Member Connect, a for-profit executive search firm that finds board members for nonprofit organization The idea David Lewis began working for nonprofits in college and never wavered. He went from counseling foster children and assisting homeless families to fundraising for other organizations. “It becomes part of your fiber,” he says of the nonprofit world. “It’s really who I am.” More than 20 years later, Lewis still loved his career, as well as his $100,000-a-year job as executive director of a community health education foundation. But with a mortgage to payâ€"and a stay-at-home wife and two children, now 9 and 7, to supportâ€"he also felt hemmed in by the limitations of his field. “No matter what effort I put in, I was going to get paid more or less the same,” he says. “And I always worked for someone else.” Happily, he saw an opportunity to stay in the nonprofit world and gain more control over his financial and professional life. From his years in fundraising and development, Lewis knew that many nonprofits struggled to find qualified board membersâ€"people who are passionate about the mission; who bring expertise in, say, marketing or accounting, as well as connections to potential donors; and who, in some cases, could themselves write five- or six-figure checks in support of the organization. So seven years ago Lewis began envisioning a business that would solve this problem by matching charities with board members. The groundwork His first move was market research, starting with the websites of BoardnetUSA and BoardSource, two national nonprofit board sites. He saw that BoardnetUSA had a large database of candidates looking for positions, and nonprofits seeking board members. But it didn’t give either party the resources to determine whether they were a good match. Lewis also studied the groups’ member surveys, hoping to confirm his hunch that for nonprofits, filling their boards was a pain point. It was. Read next: How This Teacher Turned Her Love for Peanut Butter Into a Winning Business Next, Lewis sought advice from nonprofit executives he’d worked with in the past, and he sent web surveys to nonprofit CEOs across the country (many of whom he found via LinkedIn) asking if they needed the service he envisioned. “The overwhelming response I got was yes,” says Lewis. Meanwhile, he paid $5,000 to a web designer to create a site where charities and prospective board members could, for free, fill out profiles. But his research made it clear that, to make money, Lewis had to offer more than an online forum. He needed to be a true matchmaker, offering a hands-on service that identified and vetted suitable candidates. A soft launch Even after identifying this opportunity, Lewis didn’t quit his job when he launched Board Member Connect (BMC) in 2010. “My wife was supportive but cautious,” he says. They agreed he wouldn’t leave the health foundation until BMC was established and he had built up a cash cushionâ€"about six months’ earningsâ€"and a reassuring number of clients in the pipeline. So for five years Lewis ran the startup at night and on weekends. Unwilling to sacrifice time with his family, he waited until the kids were in bed on weeknights to work on the business. On weekends, he got to work only when they were asleep or otherwise occupied. It wasn’t easy, Lewis concedes: “I was burning the candle at both ends.” It also slowed the growth of BMC, says Lewis. But running the business as a sideline had benefits beyond the strictly financial. “I didn’t have the pressure to get paid or to close a deal in order to pay the mortgage,” he explains, “so I could try things out to see what would work, and I was able to gradually build relationships with nonprofit CEOs.” Those relationships proved crucial because Lewis had to create a market for a service that didn’t previously exist. In this case, he had to persuade nonprofits to pay a placement fee of between $1,200 and $25,000 (depending on the scope and level of the search) for something that had never been in their budgets before. The pitch: BMC could find them high-level business executives that the nonprofits couldn’t find on their ownâ€"professionals with extensive business experience that could be applied to the organization, deep pockets, and extensive networks that could open doors to potential financial support and partnerships. Read next: How a Hard-to-Open Package Inspired a Million-Dollar Business Idea Keeping his expenses near zero by working at home and relying on LinkedIn for marketing, Lewis put most of his revenues in the bank. And in November 2015â€"with sufficient cash set aside to supplement BMC’s revenue to match his old salary, and with confidence the business was on the upswingâ€"Lewis left his day job to run BMC full-time. The path to growth Over the years Board Member Connect has matched more than 1,000 individuals with some 200 organizations. Still, revenues were only $50,000 last year. Lewis hopes additional personnel will help. Last year he hired two part-time recruiters who are paid a percentage of the contracts on which they work. And several years ago, Lewis made contact with Anne Wallestad, CEO of BoardSource, which works with more than 100,000 nonprofit leaders on improving board effectiveness. That has resulted in a formal partnership in which BMC provides its services at a discount to BoardSource’s members. Lewis is already handling 20 times as many searches as a year ago and expects more business when BoardSource links to his website this spring. “Things are moving so fast and furious that it’s a challenge to maintain a high level of service,” says Lewis. But it’s a problem he’s happy to have. “I’m tapping into everything I’ve learned over a 20-year career and staying true to my heart,” he says. “But instead of working for a single nonprofit, I’m helping a wide variety of nonprofits with great missions across the country, and I’m able to reward myself financially in a way I’ve never been able to do.”