5 Tips to Empower Female Entrepreneurs

By Cailee Burke 

Below are five empowering tips designated for women who seek to become female entrepreneurs, since female entrepreneurship is quickly growing, and many women seek guidance. 

Tip 1: Do not be afraid to fail. In order to grow, you must move outside of your comfort zone. Do not let failure impact your self worth or confidence, everyone fails, it is apart of life. Failure will set you on the right path to succeed, since you will learn from your mistakes. 

Tip 2: Ask for feedback. Feedback is a necessary component of validating a business. In depth research can help you understand what customers want and do not want from a product. Remember to read reviews, find articles, and interview customers. Doing so will help you determine your competition’s strengths and weaknesses, which you will inevitably use to your advantage. 

Tip 3: Define your goals and go for it. This is pretty simple. Identify what you wish to accomplish and include the necessary steps to get there. Goals should be things that you’re passionate about, and reflect basic morals that you stand for. Your goals should reflect what you want to get out of your life and how you want to impact the world around you. Remember to reflect on previous goals and past successes. 

Tip 4: Get support. As time goes on, you must seek out support from other individuals, since entrepreneurship can get a little lonely. This support will make the process less overwhelming and you will also learn new things from others that you previously never knew before. Try to build a support system. This support system can include friends, family, other entrepreneurs or individuals who work for various businesses. Make sure these relationships are authentic as well. 

Tip 5: Avoid the “haters.” Every business gains a great deal of attention from potential consumers, however, some people will only have negative feedback. Although this feedback can be disheartening, it is important to recognize that not everyone is going to like your business, and that is okay. Try to tune out the “haters” and instead focus on making your brand the best that it can be for you. Some of the negative feedback that individuals will give you will be helpful, but some of it will not. 

Recognize what aspects of your business you should change, and what aspects you should keep, regardless of what others say. 

“She believed she could, so she did” - R.S. Grey.

How to Study Effectively

By: Riley Carter

College academics are like a rollercoaster. One week you may find that you have nothing to do and no tests to study for, and the next week you have 5 tests, a paper and a project all due within 2 consecutive days of each other. Here are some studying tips to help you become your most productive self: 

Be Organized

Tests and papers can seem like they come out of nowhere. Keep up with your homework every week, make sure to check Moodle or your planner for what’s coming soon to prepare yourself. 

Keep Your Room Clean

Different from mind organization, how organized your room is can dictate how well you study. Studies show that working in your room is most effective in a clean environment, free of distractions. 

Go to Office Hours

Whether the hours are for your Professor or your TA, go. Even if you don’t think you need to go, go. They will help with any questions you may have about the test material, the test format, or on what the most effective way to study is for that class specifically. 

Listen to a Specific Playlist 

Studies show that listening to a certain playlist when you sit down to study trains your brain to associate that music with working. It can help put your brain in the working mindset to achieve effective studying. 

Study in Spurts 

Don’t cram in three nonstop hours of studying till you take a break. Studies show that the best way to study is to use twenty-minute intervals for work then take a 5-10-minute break. Doing this allows your brain’s attention span to utilize it’s time wisely to study effectively. 

Feed. Your. Brain.

Many students, when cramming, forget to take care of themselves because they are so busy studying. Make sure that you consistently eat meals and drink water to provide the nutrients your body needs as well as your brain needs for optimal focus. 

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep! 

Another habit many college students have is skimping on their sleep. Make sure to set boundaries as to when you go to bed and wake up. Try to stick to at least 8 hours a night. It may be hard to put your books down, but sleep is more important! Sleep helps your brain to process what you learnt that day so the next day, you’re more likely to remember it! 

Set Small Goals. 

If you have 6 different things due in one week, it is very likely that you will be stressed. Look at the small picture, instead of the big one. Pick your hardest task and tackle that first. Then check it off your to-do list. Complete the second hardest task next, and so on and so forth. 

Focus on Your Notes

Your notes can make or break a good grade in a class. Dedicate time to organizing your notes in a manner that helps you to understand the material while making it easy for you to review them later. Every day, look over your notes just to reiterate to your brain what you learned that day. 

Keep Going

Sometimes, you’re going to make mistakes and fail. But that’s okay. You have to pick yourself up and keep working. Grit and determination are qualities that employers look for in candidates for internships. Start creating habits that help cultivate those skills and watch as the positive results roll in.

Isenberg Hacks

By: Rachel Hall

This week, E-Board Members Alyssa Towle and Tyler Spellman taught us a few Isenberg Hacks! 

Since enrollment for Spring 2020 has now begun, make sure you put your classes in your shopping cart and know when your enrollment time is so you register as soon as possible! Be sure to check course pre-requisite requirements before you put them in you shopping cart to be sure you can register in the class when its time. Some are only for certain majors or years and some require certain classes to be taken beforehand. Your enrollment time is based on your year and can be found on SPIRE. If you have class during your time, most professors are very accommodating so be sure to talk to them beforehand. 

You can also meet with any of the seven academic advisors before registering for your classes. If you are an Isenberg major, you can make an appointment at any time to discuss next semester plans and non-Isenberg students can walk in at anytime outside of registration and add/drop periods. Be sure to review your ARR, fill out your core and/or major requirement sheets and prepare questions before your appointment. If you don’t have an appointment before, give yourself lots of time in case you have to wait for an advisor to be available.

Your ARR (Academic Requirement Report) can be found on SPIRE. It’s super helpful for knowing what requirements you still need and which ones you already have covered. However, make sure to look at your major and core requirement checklists to be sure the ARR got it right! If anything is under the wrong requirement, just email and advisor and they can fix it for you.

When trying to override into classes, here’s a few things to keep in mind. The BBA core course override form is only for non-Isenberg students. If you are trying to override from within Isenberg into a class for another major, you can find these forms online or in the advising office, depending on the major. Classes outside Isenberg have their own override process, so be sure to contact the department for those classes.

The Breadth Requirement is a 21 credit requirement for classes outside of Isenberg. Only one of these courses can be an economics class. Lots of people take these courses while abroad as well. If you are taking a GenEd that fills a diversity (DU or DG) requirement and nothing else, this will count as well. One great tip is to make your GenEds Pass/Fail, so a D or better will get you a pass and won’t affect your GPA. If you do better in the class than you thought, you can revoke the pass/fail and it’ll fill a GenEd, and if not it will still count toward your Breadth. Keep in mind you can only do this once a semester.

If you’re applying into Isenber from another major, the info can be found online. Make sure you know the deadlines and the specific requirements for BBA, HTM, or Sport Management. Each one requires different predictor courses to take before applying and the soonest you can do this is your second semester of freshman year.

Declaring and changing your major from within Isenberg is super easy! Major declaration happens at the beginning of each semester and an email is sent out to all Isenberg students who are undeclared. To change your major from within Isenberg, simply go into the advising office and fill out a form. 

To book breakout rooms in the Hub (located on the second floor), just go to this link (https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/room-request) and fill out the form. From here, you can book breakout rooms, tables, and even classrooms. 

Finally, make sure to use the Chase Career Center. You can make appointments on the same website you would make advising appointments, and meet with a career coach who can help you with anything from building your resume to a five year plan. Chase also provides resources like IsenberWorks, Handshake, and BigInterview!

Interview Questions You Should be Prepared to Answer

By: Ziling Huang

I read an article on glassdoor.com that gives a few interview questions you should know for your interviews. I hope it will help with some upcoming career fairs.

Talk about yourself!

• Be confident!!!

• Don’t give too much of your accomplishments in the beginning. You want to keep it for later questions.

• Skip your personal history and give 2-3 sentences about your career path, and how you ended up in this job interview.

• You want to leave enough curiosity to the recruiter and be brief in the beginning.

Why do you want to work for (company name)?

• Be sure to know the company’s background/history.

• Know about your desired position and the company’s requirement.

• Express your enthusiasm for the job, and also maybe talk about your connection with this company.

How do you hear about this job?

• A great opportunity to show the recruiter about motivation and why you want to work in this company.

• If you have a personal connection at the company, this could be a good time to mention their names.

Why should we hire you?

• From this question, the recruiter is looking for your skills that you can bring to the team.

• If you have had work experience before, it’s a good time to mention the number of years, and your past position.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

• This question is a more profound question that asks your future career goals, be realistic.

• If you plan to work at this company for up to five years, you need to make sure this is the cultural environment you want to work for.

• If you don’t know your future career goals, you could say this job will lead me in the right direction.

There are more interview questions in detail on glassdoor.com. If you would like to know more, click on the following link:

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/interview-questions-you-should-be-prepared-to-answer-this-month/

Budgeting Tips 101

By: Kajal Rohatgi

Almost every college student's biggest stressor is money. Whether it's paying off their student loans or just day to day pocket money, everyone is trying to save. Saving can be very hard sometimes. Here are a few tips on how to budget yourself for the rest of the semester that have not only worked for me, but for many other students as well.

1. Get rid of Netflix and get the deal with Spotify and Hulu for college students 

Netflix costs $9 every month, which adds up to over $100 every year for just shows and movies. In order to save money on not only TV and shows but also music, Spotify has a student discount deal that costs only $4.99 a month. With this $4.99 you get premium Spotify, Hulu, and SHOWTIME all for a low monthly fee of $5. Not only will you have saved $4 every month, but you will also have gained access to music, TV, and movies which you did not have before.

2. Wait until Black Friday to go shopping

As we enter November the holidays start to approach fast, which means money tends to leave your wallet even faster. However, this next tip is very helpful when thinking about saving during the holidays. Black Friday is typically when stores sell a lot of their products for discounted prices. So instead of waiting to buy your holiday gifts in December, buy them during Black Friday. This will definitely save you money as you will not be buying any item full price. This can also work when it comes to buying winter clothes. 

3. Thrifting and outlets

Instead of buying clothes at the mall, there are many alternatives that save a lot of money. First, shop at thrift stores as they have super cheap clothes that you can wear how you find them or can DIY them to make them fit your own style. Shopping at outlets can also help you save a lot of money if you don't want to purchase used clothes. Outlets are products big brands can’t sell very well at a regular price so they send them to an outlet to get rid of all the products they had made and reduce the price drastically. This is a great place to shop at if you like name brands but don’t usually like their prices. 

4. Sell old clothes you are getting rid of on PoshMark 

A way to make money while essentially putting in no effort, is to sell old clothes you were about to throw away. Poshmark is one of the top apps used to sell clothes ranging from new to old anywhere in the world, meaning someone is bound to buy some of your clothes. While on the topic of selling used items, selling old textbooks on amazon is also a great way to make back the money you had spent when buying them. Setting up these accounts are super easy and convenient making it so that anyone can start making money by simply doing nothing. 

5. Meal Plans 

If you live off campus or have a limited meal plan and don't want to spend too much money on food, prepare a big meal, like lasagna, on Sunday and eat it for dinner for the rest of the week. Eat fruits for breakfast and lunch on campus instead of going out for every meal. You will only need to spend money on buying a few groceries at the start of the week just to buy ingredients for the meal you are preparing. 

I hope these budgeting tips help you keep your bank account alive until the end of the semester!