Do you run a remote team? Are you a member in a remote team? Below, we highlight 5 easy to use tools to help you collaborate better with your team members wherever they may be.

1. Slack
For Communication
With this app, you can communicate in real time with your team members wherever they may be in the world.

2. Google Docs
For creating and editing documents
Google Docs is one of the best apps for real-time collaboration on documents with your team members from any part of the world. It enables you style your texts, add pictures and do so much more.

3. Trello
For project management
Trello is an all encompassing project management tool for organizing and project management. It is a must have tool if you are thinking productivity.

4. Dropbox
For file sharing
Dropbox is a cloud storage service which allows you to save your files in the cloud and also share with people whom you’d like to access the shared files. It enables you save space on your device and ensures that your files are safe in the case of damage to your device.


5. Zoom
For meetings and trainings
Zoom enables you to hold live trainings and meetings with your team members or even third parties from any part of the world.

You can even ask questions and take feedback in real time.

Are you making use of any of these tools with your team members?

Do you have any recommendations you’d like us to add to the list?

Comment below.

Originally published at https://moreview.com.ng/5-easy-to-use-collaborative-apps-for-remote-work/

Heniola1:
Amazing advice! Thanks for dis.

Thanks for stopping by.

You will agree with me that Instagram is fast becoming the number one marketing platform especially for those businesses that cater to the younger generations. Makeup artists, event managers, photographers and other visual based businesses are taking advantage of this platform to showcase their creativity to their audience.

However, to stand out from the crowd you need to create a solid brand that would put your business in the memory of your audience. Below are 5 steps you should take to create an effective branding on Instagram.

1. KNOW YOUR COLOR CODES

Knowing your color codes will help you use the exact shade of color in your banners or any graphic design you prepare for upload on Instagram or even any of your branding materials.

The easiest way to know your color code is through a simple search method. Here is how to go about it:

STEP A

Pick your brand color. You can determine this based on several factors as highlighted in this post.

STEP B

Let’s assume you picked color pink in Step A, to know the exact shade(s) of pink to use across your branding, go to COLOR HEX http://color-hex.com, type PINK in the search bar to reveal different hex code for color pink.

If you are on a mobile device, click on the menu button to reveal the search bar then type in your preferred color (for this example, I am using color pink). The result will display several categories such as color hex, color spaces, base numbers, shades of pink, etc.

The column you need is the SHADES OF PINK (or any color you types in the search bar). It is from this category that you will see the HEX of your preferred shade of pink (or your chosen brand color). Do make sure to note it down for easy reference.

2. PICK A FONT TYPE

This has to do with the font you want to use for writing your content. There are different classifications of fonts such as serif, sans serif, cursive, etc. Ensure that the font you choose is not the scarce type (there are some fonts that are not usually available in most applications). Also, pick a font that is readable so that your readers will not have difficulty digesting your content.

You can use a font in all caps or lower caps depending on the type of graphic you want to design for upload. There are many font options available online and if you use apps like Canva or Desygner you would come across most of these fonts.

Also, if your blog is targeted at women, you may want to use feminine fonts such as Lato or Karla. Princess Sofia which is also a beautiful font is what I used in the first lines of the Pinterest banner below, however I would not advice you to use it in all caps.

3. HAVE A THEME

Have a theme for your timeline overall. This will form part of your posting calendar and will help you remain consistent with posting.

A theme is like page branding which creates beautiful aesthetics if you plan your theme well. A well planned theme will give your page a cohesive look and make it easily recognizable. To achieve this consider the following:

Using the same image filter
Snapping your photos from the same angle
Having similar background, etc.

4. USE IMAGE DESIGN

Do not just pick any image from the stocks. You may as well add some filters, or edit it with apps like Canva or Desygner to fit your brand colors or page aesthetics.

5. BRAND YOUR IMAGES

Add your URL or logo to every image you upload. This simple act will make your brand travel far especially if you always upload good content that people will share across several social media platforms.

Branding will also save you a bit from online property theft or from people using your work without attribution.

What Instagram branding tips do you have? Do share them below, let’s learn further from you.

https://thegirlboss.com.ng/5-steps-to-effective-branding-on-instagram/

When you work from home, you have several freedoms that are usually not available when working in a traditional office. You are able to start work when the work needs you, not when you are asked to resume (the major goal for you here is to accomplish all that you need to do for that day at the appropriate time).

Another freedom you enjoy when working from home is how you choose to dress. You do not have to wear shirts and pant or suit skirts. It is left for you to decide whether certain outfits make you productive or feel comfortable.

Also, you may switch your mode of dressing between work days depending on the agenda you have for each day. E.g. you may decide to go all corporate if you have a business Skype meeting. Even in this situation, you might decide dress half corporate and half whatever you feel like as someone mentioned in the comments from my poll on Instagram and Facebook.

Go here to see the results https://thegirlboss.com.ng/should-you-dress-corporately-when-working-from-home/

Starting a business is overwhelming enough that adding the issue of cash flow to it might just wear you out. However, cash flow is important because how do you survive when you are still setting up and have only few or no paying client yet?

In this post, I share 10 ways you can solve this problem without entering into debt nor giving up on your dreams.

10 ways to survive while building a busines

1. Work on the side
This might seem hard but you can scale it. At the setup stage, make your business a side hustle and set aside substantial hours of the day to work on it after your day job. The secret to doing this successfully is to carefully plan what you would be working on after your day job. Having a plan will help you maximize the little time you are able to set aside.

https://selar.co/p/lrpx-daily-planner

2. Save before you start
Make a rough estimate of how much you can survive on for two years, then save as much as you can before starting your business. This method will help you focus on your business when you eventually start.

3. Do side jobs to make quick cash
To avoid being broke, consider taking jobs that require less commitment but can pay the bills while building your business. Some jobs you can do are:

Joining brand activation programs
Promotion jobs
Cleaning shifts
Event staff
Part time modelling
Errand jobs, etc

4. Live lean and plan your budget
Only spend on necessities and avoid luxury. Always be on the lookout for coupons, discount sales and giveaways so that you spend minimally and save as much as you can for the rainy days.

5. Take a routine job
Routine jobs require less thinking to accomplish. With this type of job you will be able to think well for your business and also get money to run daily activities.Examples of these jobs are clerical jobs.

6. Get help from family and friends
You can rely on your family and friends to see you through the humble days either in cash or kind. Just make sure you are neither too demanding nor too needy. Also, be appreciative whenever they assist you.

7. Leverage on your network
Your network is a rich resource for getting almost anything done, so make good use of it when setting up your business. You may ask them to spread the word about your business to their connections. To be successful in this, you should offer a trial service or sample product so that the people in your network are confident and persuasive when they mention you to their connections

8. Build your social media profiles and monetize
Honestly, this is quite some work but if you do it well, you will enjoy great rewards. The key to monetizing is to always post valuable content and be consistent. Also, avoid having a chaotic feed especially on Instagram. You can monetize your accounts by doing influencer marketing, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, etc.

9. Join affiliate programs
No, you don’t need to spend money on building an affiliate website. You can promote your affiliate links on social media, by word of mouth and on your blog. Just make sure to agree with the company/product owner on how to track sales that come from your efforts.

10. Outsource/use a virtual team
If you’ve grown your business to the stage where you can no longer work alone, then you should hire a virtual team or outsource as much as you can. This will save you a lot of costs such as office space, employee benefits, office welfare, etc.

What have I left out? How did you cope/how are you coping with finance as you set up your business?

Original source: https://thegirlboss.com.ng/10-ways-to-survive-while-building-a-business/

Most kids start to learn how to act from their parents right from their infancy. Acts such as walking pattern, speeches, attitude and table manners are common behaviours that your children mimic.

Here are some cool table manners to show your child as a parent

1. Show them examples

Being a parent comes with being a teacher. If you want your kids to follow strict conformable table etiquette, you must be willing to teach them the acceptable eating pattern. This pattern includes sitting posture, chewing manners, the right usage of cutlery, etc. You can start by eating at the same time and table with your kids.

2. Ask them to be thankful

Appreciation in the sense of thanking whoever cooked the meal, either a family dinner prepared by a member of the family or an invitation to dine with a different family outside the home. A kid who learns appreciation would value the effort that was put into preparin the meal.

3. Be a good host

Being a good host is also a perfect way to show your child good table manners. The way you serve your guest matters a lot. Arrangement of cutlery, and how you respond to everyone’s needs at the eating table is also important. After eating, you should appreciate the guests for eating the food. The fact is that your kids watch you more than you watch them, so your actions are examples to them. If you entertain your guests with buoyancy, your child too will surely become a good host.

4. Napkin usage

The importance of napkin usage cannot be overemphasized. Kids are great watchers and learners, and as much as they see their parents practice napkin usage, they tend to follow suit. You can teach your kids how to put a napkin on their laps while eating so as to avoid food crumbs staining their wears. Hygiene practice such as cleaning their hands and mouth immediately after eating is also included.

5. Show them through books

Allowing your kids to read books related to eating manners is another way to teach them good eating etiquette. Most importantly, its advisable for parents to engage their kids in materials related to edible food consumption and balanced diet. This will create an avenue for them to learn ways that will promote good eating manners as they grow older.

What are the strategies you use to teach your children table manners? Share with us below.

Source: https://thegirlboss.com.ng/five-ways-to-teach-your-kids-table-manners

Twitter is a fast paced social media platform where over 6000 tweets are sent per second. The aim of this post is to equip you for achieving good engagement rates and traffic flow to your website despite the fast nature of this microblogging platform. Below are 5 tips for boosting your engagement on Twitter.

1. Optimize your bio

Your bio is your front office on Twitter. It gives a first impression of your business to your followers and what they see will determine whether they will do business with you or not. Your bio should describe what you do or the type of content you are interested in. It should also include a call to action (CTA).

There are numerous creatives on Twitter and since the auto DM (direct message) is no longer available to introduce yourself to your new followers, you should make use of your bio to stand out from the crowd. Optimize your bio to kindle the interest of your tweeps and have them want to stay tuned for more.

Compare the following profile information (bio) and tell me which you would feel more inclined to engage with:

1. Female blogger writing about the world from my lens. Click link below to visit my blog.

2. Fashion blogger writing about everything outfits and makeup. Click link below to enter my makeup kit giveaway contest.

2. Engage with your new followers

If you used auto DM feature before it got banned, you will know the usefulness of engaging with your new followers. With auto DM, you can welcome your new followers, appreciate their follow, tell them what you do and also include a call to action in your message.

However, now that you can no longer use this feature, you should take the time to manually welcome your followers to acknowledge their connection and also draw attention to yourself.

Before sending your welcome message, endeavor to take action on your new tweep’s profile/timeline, then mention it in your message. The essence of this is to create a reciprocation urge in your follower (this might not always occur especially if the tweep does not have interest in your account/content).

RELATED POST: 11 ways to market like a pro on social media

3. Have a pinned tweet

Use your pinned tweet to promote events, opt-ins, collabration requests, etc. With this, you will easily draw the attention of your followers to action you would like them to take such as visiting your website, downloading your lead magnet or signing up for your upcoming event.

4. Tweet more about your services

Send out more tweets about your offer, however, avoid being too salesy. Post more tweets that explain the values buyers will enjoy when they patronize you. As you tweet valuable contents, you will enjoy increased engagement as people like free information that offer value.

5. Optimize your call to action

Adding Learn more or Find out more to your tweets will no longer suffice in the pool of call to actions that your intended audience see daily. Highlight what the action taker will benefit when they click on your link. What awaits them on the other side?

Optimizing your call to actions will make people click on your links compared to other links due to short attention span. Use your benefiting offer to attract people to your content by posting clear and concise messages. You should also include images, infographs and videos in your content.

Bonus tip

Always use hashtags. One is usually enough but you can do a max of three. Happy tweeting!

Source: https://thegirlboss.com.ng/5-tips-for-boosting-your-twitter-engagement/

Companies are relying more heavily on social networking sites to recruit talent. Recruiters are checking social media profiles to gain more knowledge and insight about a candidate and they are using this to make hiring decisions. Although you may consider this your private life, this is in the public domain and it will be considered in the recruiting process.

You can use this in your favour by keeping a ‘clean’ profile online and showcasing your skills and talent. However, any questionable activity on social media can negatively impact your chances of even getting so far as landing the interview. Here are 4 tips to maintain your brand on social media.

How to maintain your brand on social media

1. Avoid posting pictures which are considered racy

Do not post any pictures on your social media profile that you would not want a future or current employer to see. The reality is that pictures which are too ‘controversial or racy’ can be off-putting for recruiters. Maintain a ‘clean’ profile.

2. Did you tweet that?

Rather keep any controversial opinions that you have to yourself or position them in a constructive way. Sharing content that is provocative in your industry is one thing and may be considered thought leadership, however avoid topics that are divisive (politics, religion, etc.), can be potentially offensive to someone accessing your profile, keeping in mind that 70% of employers have advised that they have not hired someone based on what they found online.

3. Avoid any form of negative commentary

Steer clear of making any negative comments about your boss or colleagues as this will come back to haunt you. These types of comments will depict you as someone who does not address issues constructively but who would rather share them online. In general avoid complaining online, as you will come across as someone reactive in dealing with issues.

4. Do use social media to show your knowledge and skills

Social media is an excellent way to showcase your personal and professional interests and to reflect your well-rounded personality. This will complement your CV, and shows some of your personality to a potential employer. Over and above this, networking sites such as LinkedIn is an excellent way to join professional communities where you can connect with others in your industry to share and gather insights.

Lastly, add value to the communities you are a part of. Your competence, skills and personality can shine through on social media if you use it to positively.

Do you have any unique ways you use social media to enhance your career?

Originally published at https://thegirlboss.com.ng/social-media-reputation/

You are a new mum whose maternity leave is spent and it’s time to get back to work. This means spending hours away from your baby during work days.

If you have no option of keeping the baby at home with a family member nor have the privilege of taking him/her to work, you are probably left with the daycare option.

This post will show you the important areas to focus on when you go searching for a daycare.

1. The environment

Your baby deserves to be kept in a neat environment as that is where he/she would spend over 5 hours of his/her days five times a week.

So be a detective and take note of every minute detail. You might even create a checklist and cross out the following questions as necessary:

* Is the environment neat?
* Are the nursery rooms bright or gloomy?
* Are there harmful objects lying around?
* Is the area noisy or not?
* Is there air pollution or not?

The list goes on. You must be satisfied at least up to 90% in terms of conducive environment before making the daycare your choice.

2. Childminder’s appearance

How is she dressed? Make sure you see her palms, fingernails, hair and her general appearance. You can judge a person’s hygiene from their appearance. Be free to make your judgement at first glance and do not look back if you are not satisfied.

You cannot be too choosy when finding a perfect daycare for your little one

3. Facilities

Facilities range from social amenities to the items a baby needs to be comfortable. Are the cots well placed? Do they pass acceptable standards? What about the play area? Are the toys in that area neatly arranged?

Even if you would supply your baby’s toys and cot, the daycare center should at least be ready for good business and have their tools in place.

4. Decorum

For safety and security reasons, do not enrol your baby in a chaotic daycare environment. Ensure and take note of the following arrangements which must be available and functional in your daycare of choice.

* Feeding area must be neat
* How many children are paired per childminder?
* Is the nursery choky and gloomy or airy and bright?
* How were you admitted into the area? Was there any security vetting at the gate post?

Be concerned about how the workers conduct themselves and how they carry out their duties. Although, you may not be able to conclude just in few minutes if they are rude or kind but your motherly instincts will give you a glimpse of their real attitude at first meeting.

5. Proximity

In addition to the above points, your definition of finding a perfect daycare should be that your choice is close to your place of work. With this, you are able to check on your little one during office breaks.

Also dropping him/her in the morning and picking him/her up after close of work would be a smooth process.

While the above considerations​ are not exhaustive, they are basic arrangements that must be available at a standard daycare where safety and security is guaranteed.

Have you ever been in a position to put your child in a daycare after maternity leave? How was your experience in finding the perfect daycare for your baby?

Source: https://moreview.com.ng/finding-the-perfect-daycare-for-your-little-one/

If you do social media marketing for your business, below are quick tips to help you market like a pro.

1. Have a social media calendar

A social media calendar will help you remain organised every day of the week without having to rack your brain about what to post to your audience because you have everything planned out.

You can keep a simple calendar by jotting post ideas in a notebook, or go technical with apps. You may also use a spreadsheet to plot different ideas for the days of the week.

Download this simple social media calendar to help you get started >> http://moreview.com.ng/get-social-media-calendar

2. Schedule your post

Now that you know what to post on your social media timelines, the next question you probably have is how to post in a timely manner. This is where scheduling comes in, and most importantly where important apps like Hootsuite and Buffer are very useful.

You can schedule directly on Facebook without using any third party app. See this post for how to go about it.

Scheduling enables you to update your timeline without having to add content every now and then. You can load up as much as 2000 posts per social media account in advance, and they will be published at the specified date and time. Is that not blissful? Check out the aforementioned apps and start scheduling your posts. You can even start with their free plans.

3. Use the right image sizes for each platform

Using the right size will make your content outstanding and give your branding a professional outlook. Have you seen posts on your network with cut-out words? What came to your mind when you see such posts? That exactly is how people feel when you upload shabbily arranged content.

You should show your audience that you put precision into your content and that your messages are deliberately composed for them.

4. Engage with your followers

Do you ignore your followers comments on your posts, or at worst, reply with an emoji?

No, that is not how it is done. You should interact with them on a human level. Have you heard that selling is no longer business to business but human to human? Here are some pretty easy ways to keep engagement with your fans flowing:

- Give them shoutouts
- Reply their messages
- Like their own contents too
- Retweet their contents of interest
- Comment on their uploads of interest
- Wish them happy birthday
- Take time to reply their comments on your posts instead of using a single emoji
- Be human on any social media platform because people want to engage with humans not robots, so, do not behave like a bot.

5. Do not buy followers

I wonder why people take this route anyway. If you buy followers, be ready to destroy yourself in the following ways:

Bot followers are capable of spamming your real followers, putting you at risk of getting suspended or even banned.
Fake followers are not interested in your business, so if you buy followers, you are losing money in two ways. One is the money you paid to the seller, and the other one is the money, time and effort you invest in social media marketing. You will also lose credibility if you buy followers, because it will always show in your engagement rate and several other factors. Take your time to build a fanbase of people who are interested in what you have to say. If you do your marketing with consistency and offer real value, your followers will definitely patronize you or refer your business when the need arises. Get to work and stop being obsessed with numbers.

6. Use hashtags

Hashtags are like magnets that attract people outside your network to your content. They are not options in your posts, but a must. Hashtags can help you widen your reach and also organize your contents.

On Twitter, you can join conversations with hashtags. If the hashtag is related to your career, it will expose you to a huge number of people who are also interested in your profession. What better way there is to network online?

Using hashtags on Facebook will show up your posts in the search results of such hashtags. That is a free people reach if you understand the way post reach now works on Facebook.

With hashtags, you can find events, targeted followers, build your fanbase and give your posts a wider reach. Start using them today if you don’t do so already. Remember to use it wisely, do not #fill #all #your #words #with #hashtags #like #this #phrase.

7. Do not be too salesy

There are other ways you can sell on social media without having to push your products in the face of your audience every now and then. Know that you are not the only one offering that service or selling that product on your platform. You should instead show people why they should buy from you and not your competitors.

Remember, you are a professional, so, you must know how to be heard above the noise without raising your voice. You need only one strategy to attract your audience to buy from you – offer value.

Listen to their questions and answer them in your tips, image posters and blog posts. Offer eBooks, teach them, be nice and consistent. Let people know what you do, but do not sell the item, sell the value the item will offer the buyer if he patronizes you.

8. Be consistent

Consistency has to do with your branding and posting frequency.

Let your profile and timeline be recognizable at first glance. Brand your images with logo, use matching filters, and have a consistent voice. Also, your posting frequency should be well planned such that your audience will read or hear from you when they expect you to show up.

9. Do not post sporadically

You need to be around constantly for people to trust you enough to buy from you. If you only show up when you are running a promo or have new stocks, do not be surprised if no one looks your way.

Try to post as often as possible, even if it is once per day on all your social media accounts. If you are too busy to post daily, you may hire a personnel to be in charge or outsource your social media marketing.

10. Always use descriptions in your posts

Don’t just upload images and leave them without caption. Craft a compelling story around your photo and keep your audience engaged. You may even include a call to action to get them more involved in your campaign.

11. Do not make your timeline all about you

No one is really interested in your business, unless you have proved to them severally that your business is genuinely interested in them.

Avoid posting your personal photos and too many sales pitch on your timeline. You may create a behind-the-scene story about your business once in a while but do not make it about your personal interest, people are not interested. You will do well to create your own account separate from your business account and post to your satisfaction.

Take action with these 11 strategies and you will see yourself enjoying social media marketing while enjoying cool returns on your efforts.

Learn more at http://moreview.com.ng/11-ways-to-market-like-a-pro-on-social-media/

As a momprenuer, the way you run your business will definitely be different from what is obtainable in other businesses. This is so because you are saddled with the duties of full time mothering and that of a business woman.

The resulting effects of the aforementioned on your business marketing may be that:

✓ You probably run a small business from home with tight budget and busy daily schedule
✓ Unless you have a marketing department, you are going to do marketing by yourself
✓ Due to your busy schedule, being consistent with marketing might be difficult

This post will look at five budget marketing ideas you can explore as a mompreneur if you are looking at saving money and time while creating or maintaining awareness for your business. Let’s go.

1. Emphasize on the value of your products or services

Competition is at an all time high and coupled with the present economic situation, buyers are very skeptical about what they spend their money on. They want to make sure that whatever they are buying is what they really need and of high value. So, take advantage of this trend and focus on telling your audience about the actual value they would benefit from your product.

How will you know where they really need the value?

You have to take the advantage of your intuition as a woman and apply it to marketing in this instance. Below are some tips that can help you identify value gap and how to fill it.

By communicating with your existing customers. Suggest a modification of existing product and ask if they would patronize you for it. E.g. as an event hall decorator, you may offer to do event venue search along with your services. Your clients would love this because not only does it remove the stress of having to search for venue, it would also leave them with good hours to do other things.

By offering event venue search as part of your event venue decoration service, your client would definitely think of you over your competitors if they need your services because of the added value you offer.

Getting feedback or review of your product. You have to be open to receiving feedback whether it is negative or positive. This will help you make necessary adjustment on your product or service. If you keep improving based on customers’ feedback, you would surely remain the preferred business that buyers patronize. A good example of this instance is the baby diapers war in Nigeria. A particular very popular brand remained deaf to the complaints of its users until a new brand overtook its position. Now only the once popular brand knows where it hurts in advertising costs.

Read full post at http://moreview.com.ng/five-budget-marketing-ideas-for-mompreneurs/

This position is still open for FEMALE only.
Selected candidate will resume immediately with an attractive pay.

ayommy12:
Please, which area in Ibadan?

Liberty Stadium Road

An experienced female law firm secretary is urgently needed in Ibadan. Interested applicants should forward their application and CV to delsamat@hotmail.com before 12pm Wednesday 29th March, 2017

Lazypoet75:


Hi, I already submitted a sample on your website. Awaiting your reply.

We have sent you a response.

Our blog focuses on educating the public especially women on fashion, parenting, homemaking, relationship and lifestyle. We write short articles in the simplest and easy to understand language. If you have a flair for writing and you are very good with words, join us as a writer.

Please do not bother to apply if you are in love with copy and paste!!! We dislike plagiarism

For now, we need only one female who is versed in parenting and career for women.

Learn more and apply here http://moreview.com.ng/write-for-us/

Most kids start to learn how to act from their parents right from their infancy, acts such as walking pattern, speeches, attitude and table manners are common behaviours that your children mimic.

Here are some cool table manners to show your child as a parent

1. Show them examples
Being a parent comes with being a teacher. If you want your kids to follow strict conformable table etiquette, you must be willing to teach them the acceptable eating pattern. This pattern includes sitting posture, chewing manners, the right usage of cutlery etc. You can start by eating at the same time and table with your kids.

2. Ask them to be thankful
Appreciation in the sense of thanking whoever cooked the meal, either a family dinner prepared by a member of the family or an invitation to dine with a different family outside the home. A kid who learns appreciation would value the act of cooking a delicious meal and the effort that comes with it.

3. Be a good host
Being a good host is also a perfect way to show your child good table manners. The way you serve your guest matters a lot. Arrangement of cutlery, and how you respond to everyone’s needs at the eating table is also important. After eating, you should appreciate the guests for eating the food. The fact is that your kids watch you more than you watch them, so your action are examples to them. If you entertain your guests with buoyancy, your child too will surely become a good host.

4. Napkin usage
The importance of napkin usage cannot be overemphasized. Kids are great watchers and learners, and as much as they see their parents practice the napkin usage, they tend to follow suit. Parents can teach their kids to put a napkin on their laps while eating so as to avoid food crumbs staining their wears. Hygiene practice such as cleaning their hands and mouth immediately after eating is also included.

5. Show them through books
Allowing your kids to read books related to eating manners is another way to teach them good eating etiquette. Most importantly, its advisable for parents to engage their kids in materials related to edible food consumption and balanced diet. This will create an avenue for them to learn ways that will promote good eating manners as they grow older.

What are the strategies you use to teach your children table manners? Share with us.

http://moreview.com.ng/five-ways-to-teach-your-kids-table-manners

Honeymoon is the best time for married couples to explore, enjoy and have memorable experience of a lifetime. But most times the forces of nature and the harsh realities of the economy hinder the lovebirds from having a lasting experience. This may happen if the wedding ceremony was sponsored or much of the budgeted cash went into the wedding proper.

Take a look at the practicable tips below to help you have a free and happy honeymoon.

Shut out the outside world
There is absolutely no moment like spending the entire time after your wedding with the one you love. Take a break from work and other projects and focus on your partner. Keep away your friends and family for this period. You do not need an exotic island; just make your home cozy for two. You should gather bits and pieces from the wedding, which will sustain you two for the period without breaking a bank. This action will be memorable even in years to come.

Free entertainment
Honeymoon is a time for you to enjoy yourselves. You could attend concerts, or good events, although these idea may cost you a little cash, it is all good. The trick is to plan your wedding and subsequently the honeymoon around that period of festivities when most of these activities are free. Look into your calendar and mark when your locality would host free entertainments and take advantage of those free outings.

Have an adventure at no cost

This is how I enjoyed my own honeymoon, taking a road trip. Road trips can be quite exciting and thrilling. You don’t need to be stuck up in your home or take long flight for hours to any destination. Pack your food and snacks with enough liquids to avoid unnecessary spending. Get all you need for the journey and zoom off with your spouse. Go to the places you had always wanted to visit, have a jolly ride, explore the surroundings and enjoy yourselves for days.

There you have them. Instead of postponing your honeymoon or cancelling because of limited cash you could use this free honeymoon tips and enjoy with reckless abandon so that in years to come, the memories will sure live on.

http://moreview.com.ng/three-honeymoon-ideas-that-are-absolutely-free/ #weddings #love

The hard truth is that letting go of pastries is a really tough one. Think of it, the deliciousness, the sumptuous look and oh! the beautiful colours. But, here is another hard fact, indulging in pastries without slowing down will do you more harm than good. Sorry.

However, if you are a lover of pastries, here are some healthy ways you can indulge in them without too much compromise to your healthy diet.

Prepare the pastries yourself

This gives you the power to add or subtract ingredients that are detrimental to health, unlike when you order them from your favorite fast food joint where they come with loads of calories, unhealthy toppings, dressings and preservatives.

When preparing them yourself, you can eliminate or substitute some ingredients like swapping trans fat with healthy oil. If you are frying, a good non–stick pan should be used to dry fry instead of deep frying. This gives you the advantage to cut down calories, fat and oil, unhealthy dressings that are usually not required.

Eat a little portion a time

Moderation is always important. Do not stuff your system with too much junks. Avoid valued sized items and go for small sizes when it comes to snacks with a lot of dressings and toppings. Satisfy your appetite with little at a time, i.e. eat a slice at a time and save the rest for later.

Customize your orders

If you do not have the time to prepare the pastries yourself at home, then, you can take advantage of special order offer granted by some fast food restaurants. Order for healthier options that are tweaked to suit your desire. You could swap a hamburger for a wheat bun, or a white flour pizza for a wheat pizza.

Go for quality

Go for pastries with quality ingredients, like pastries with more fiber, whole grains and high quality protein. If it means paying more, then don’t hesitate to pay instead of gping for cheaper options that are loaded with unhealthy oil, fats, sugar and calories.

Steer clear of cheap pastries that are kept fresh with trans fat. Eat healthy pastries with quality toppings of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cottage cheeses etc. Alright, these recommendations do not come cheap, however, your health is safe when you eat quality food instead of cheap alternatives.

Load up on veggies

Do not be confused about this. Ignore the baseless rumours that adding loads of veggies to your pastries reduces taste and crunchiness. Rather adding veggies is really an easy way to add loads of flavor and vitamins to your food. Load your pizza, pies, buns, hamburger etc, with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, green, red, pepper, mushroom, spinach, broccoli and so on.

Eating healthy is actually fun and it can help you unleash the creativity in you. Now go create some healthy recipes.

http://www.slimfitu.com/fooddiet/five-ways-to-consume-pastries-the-healthy-way/

How to identify your hidden skills

If you followed the last discussion, you will recall that I dropped some tips on how you can find out some of your inner abilities by asking yourself the question of “what are my skills”. Read it at https://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/what-are-your-skills-and-abilities.

Those skills and abilities you jotted as answers are your own opinions and they matter most. That is why I suggested you ask yourself first. Now you need the opinion of others to help you identify some other skills you probably possess.

The first thing to do is ask. Ask your immediate family, friends, and colleagues. Ask at least 20 people what they think about you, what are the things they have seen you do perfectly when you are with them, or since they have known you. If you ask sincerely, you will receive unbiased feedback on some of the things you can do, which you are probably not aware of.

The second step in discovering where your strength lies is to look at what you love doing most. Here are some sample questions to help you discover your abilities with this method:

√ Do you tick when you hear just the word (insert your interest e.g interior décor), or when you read a fashion news about handbags?
√ What are those things that you can do for long without getting tired?
√ Do you love to (insert your interest e.g babysit), or you just feel comfortable around kids?

These questions are numerous, and you know what? The possibilities of what you can achieve if you search yourself, ask around and take notes of what you enjoy doing are endless.

Identifying your skills can open doors of career excellence and business ideas for you. Most importantly, if you know what things you are capable of, you would feel more fulfilled as an individual. Fulfilment is a sure way to feel when you enjoy what you do either for profit or personal development.

https://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/how-to-identify-your-hidden-skills/

It can really be frustrating to juggle job and family especially during the formative years of the child. There must be a strong bond at this critical point in time or else, it may not augur well for the family.

Bonding with a child at the tender age have more merits than any reasons not to put together. No matter the situation, family time should not be jeopardised.

Do not take office work to your home

Be careful not to turn your home into a second office. When you get home after the day’s job, focus on home based struggles.

Let all career related things end in the office. Try to get home on time and have dinner with the family, if lunch wasn’t possible. Ask them how the day went, their fears and exciting moments, check their school work; and retire together.

Get into the child’s room, read him a book, tell him bed time stories, sing lullaby and see him sleep off. I know it could be energy sapping but you do not have to do it every day, however, dutifully inculcate it into your tight schedule.

Go on days out or take a holiday with the child

Your day off or annual leave are good periods to also bond with your child. Go out together and do fun things. You could go swimming, take lots of photos, visit the parks, engage yourselves in your hobbies like writing, dancing, and exercising, to create a relaxing and bonding moments.

Always have a heart to heart talk with the child

It is common knowledge that a child comes into the world in a tabula rasa form. Their sense and brain get fed with what they see, hear and conceive. So do not let your child get wrong information or be misled while you are alive. Be your child’s counselor and confidant. Give him words of wisdom, create time to educate him on life experiences and allay his/her fears. Let the child draw strength from you.

Be more accommodating

Draw the child closer to you, let him understand that you are a friend and ally. Use the carrot and stick approach of discipline, whereby the child is praised and rewarded when he is good, and appropriate punishment meted out for wrong doings. Avoid corporal punishment, just some scolding that would make the child realize that he or she was totally wrong is sufficient.

Pay attention to the child

Devote time and attention for your child; don’t leave him at the sole mercy of an attendant or nannies. A child needs your loving arms, and whom to relate with. Nothing beats bonding time with a child especially the one between a mum and child, it can be heavenly.

It delights a child to see that mummy listens to him or her, see things from the same perspective and is very supportive. So even with all the childish rhetorics, please pay attention. It gladdens their heart to know that they are being heard; and sometimes let them have their way especially, if they are not in any harms way.

Lastly, in as much you also want to make your money, be self independent and self reliant, it is important to always spend quality time with your family.

http://moreview.com.ng/how-to-bond-with-your-child-as-a-career-mother/

What are your skills?

Give yourself 30 minutes of solitude to ponder on this question. It may sound simple and require no brainstorming to answer. However, if you really give it some thoughts, you will realise that there is a lot of ability in you to create something that people will pay for.

Often times you miss the chance to make a difference becasue you fail to analyse the situation and think of ways to make positive imapct around it.

The same thing happens when you get too busy to think of what gifts you possess that you can manifest to make a difference.

To give you an example of how to answer this simple but thought provoking question, I will end today's discussion with the followng tip:

1. Get a notepad
2. Try to be alone for a period of 30 minutes and think of only one thing - The abilities that you know and think you possess
3. Write down everything that comes to your mind this way:
I can ....
I can ....

Your abilities do not have to make sense or resemble the ones you see or read about everyday. Remember that you are special.

Keep believing in the things that you can do, and do not stop searching yourself for more of what you can do.

Join the discussion at http://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/

How often do you ask yourself that what are the things you can actually do to solve some of the problems around you? How have you scaled issues in the past with the resources you have and some thinking? You should document all of these situations and turn them to money making vetnures. Find out how you can achieve this in today's discussion. Join the discussion at http://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit

I will be live today by 3pm to discuss one question that we fail to ask ourselves or give more thoughts to. This is a recap on our previous discussion http://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/starting-2017-with-a-growth-intent/

Today's discussion

Start 2017 with growth intent

Starting something with intent means starting with a purpose in mind, that is, doing that thing, going to that place, taking that action with a defined goal in mind. In a simpler way, it means you take actions with the sole purpose of achieving things that would grow you or move your endeavours forward.

That exactly is how you should start your 2017. If you have some major goals that you left behind in 2016, now is the best time to start achieving them. It is never too late, and you are not a loser unless you give up.

Writing a new year's resolutions is not enough. Taking action is what brings you results and the desired growth, in your business, education or personal affairs.

Here is how you can start taking actions achieve your goals:

1. Write down your goals
2. Break them down into little tasks that you can achieve at most 1 hour per day
3. Motivate yourself daily by seeing the big picture in your mind
4. Commit to completing each task at the same time everyday.

If you are unable to work at the same time everyday, draw up a schedule of three different times a day and work at any available time within those times. Just make sure you keep to an organised schedule.

If possible, get a writing pad, or jotter, or even sticky notes and write down individual tasks to be completed daily on them.

What are your goals for this year? Mention them in the comments and we will work through simple ways to achieve them.

Join us now and be a part of this purpose driven group. http://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/

Are you struggling with what kind of services you can offer for profit? Join our Facebook group "Turn your skills to profit" to learn how you can identify your skills, develop and grow it into a profitable business.

You stand a good chance to win lots of freebies, including but not limited to a standard website to showcase your products/services. What are you waiting for? Join us now at http://excellaid.com.ng/skillstoprofit/

To lose weight, as in really lose weight, you need to be consistent in your program. Consistency requires determination and a strong will. This means that you need to make up your mind about shedding that extra pounds of flesh.

Here are some tips to help you make up your mind to lose weight

Picture yourself in your desired new weight

Think of all the activities that you find difficult to do due to your excess weight. Picture yourself in that dress you so much love but cannot wear due to too much extra flesh. Also, think of the health issues that are linked to excess weight and see yourself living long without those issues.

You should think of all the aforementioned and let them serve as motivation to get you started on your weightloss journey.

Listen to or read weightloss success testimonials

By getting familiar with people that have gone through the weightloss phase and their stories, you will find yourself wanting to also start your own journey.

Most of these people are always glad that they made up their minds and you would see their faces glow whenever they recount their experience.

Each of them also has a unique narrative that includes the stage at which they realised that they are overweight and also when they had to make up their minds.

You should seek out these people for the much needed encouragement and positivity.

Get a weightloss/fitness coach

A weightloss coach is not just someone that will force you to eat ugly food or exercise. He/she is also there to guide you, motivate you and give you some gentle nudges to help you make up your mind.

A good coach would breakdown the concept of weightloss in such a way that you will now see it as a lifestyle. This is against the hypes that you are probably bombarded with by “magic” weightloss outfits.

Making up your mind to lose weight is not rocket science. Look within you, picture your future self, get familiar with those who had previously lost weight. Finally, speak with a coach.

Are you finding it difficult to start your weightloss journey? Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWXxfKPaVTBHlAxT9fNw1KAqbjeEOnragRiePI19cMWuLwVw/viewform?c=0&w=1 for a free weightloss consultation.

http://www.slimfitu.com/fitness/how-to-make-up-your-mind-to-lose-weight/

We have opened our doors once again for you to join in our free weightloss programme. We held the same programme in August in form of a consultation for ten lucky people, most of whom have joined the SlimFitU group for their entire weightloss journey.

Come and experience the effectiveness of weightloss coaching, group support and gentle nudges. We don’t do hypes, wonder diets or artificial supplements. We do workable diet made up of everyday food and moderate fitness routines.

Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWXxfKPaVTBHlAxT9fNw1KAqbjeEOnragRiePI19cMWuLwVw/viewform?c=0&w=1

Terms and conditions apply.

Registration closes Friday, 23 December, 2016.

Please share with your loved ones. Healthy living is happy living.

http://www.slimfitu.com/fitness/invitation-to-our-free-weightloss-programme/

Excellaid requires a smart individual with a flexible daily schedule to join its team as an Intern Business Assistant.

Job type

Temporary (6 – 12 months)
90% remote work
10% commuting
3hrs daily

We offer a flexible work environment for a candidate who is willing to learn business communications, social media marketing and entrepreneurial activities.

Learn more and apply at http://excellaid.com.ng/business-assistant-intern/

Aside quenching hunger, eating plays a great role in your life but most of you are not aware of this fact because eating is a routine activity.

There are some eating abnormalies you exhibit without plans to curb them. Some of this habit include:

Not eating at the right time: for one reason or the other other, breakfast becomes brunch, lunch becomed dinner.

Finding it difficult to cook your own foods at times, instead you resort to eating fast food, junk or even skipping meals.

All of these habits summed up greatly affect the nutrition in your body. When trying to lose weight, it is pertinent to be mindful of what you eat, how and when you eat.

Mindful eating is learning to pay attention. Instead of eating mindlessly, putting food into your mouth almost unconsciously, not really tasting the food you’re eating … you notice your thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

In mindful eating, you learn to pay attention to:

Why you feel like eating, and what emotions or needs might be triggering the eating.

What you’re eating, and whether it is healthy or not.

The look, smell, taste, feel of the food you’re eating.

How it makes you feel as you taste it, as you digest it, and throughout the day.

How full (or sated) you are before, during and after eating.

Your emotions during and after eating.

Where the food came from, who might have grown it, how much it might have suffered before it was killed, whether it was grown organically, how much it was processed, how much it was fried or overcooked, etc.

If you adopt this technique to your weightloss routine, you will lose fat once and for all, and all your subsequent activities will be geared towards remaining fit. Mastering this technique takes practice. However, learning it is worth the time and effort.

At Slim Fit U, we will help you become conscious of your food consumption process as part of your weightloss routine.

We believe in the 80/20 rule, that is, 80% diet and 20% exercise. So when it comes to diet, and eating generally for weightloss, you can trust us to give you the best coaching, encouragement, group support and gentle nudges.

Aside for weightloss, some other benefits of mindful eating include:

Learning to eat when you’re hungry, and stop when you’re sated.

Really tasting food, and to enjoy the taste of healthy food.

You slowly start to realize that unhealthy food isn’t as tasty as you thought, nor does it make you feel very good.

As a result of the above three points, you will often lose weight if you’re overweight.

You learn how food affects your mood and energy throughout the day.

You learn what food best fuels your exercise and work and play.

Stop eating for eating sake. Eating is not supposed to be a mindless routine activity. Instead, eating is a well planned activity that should take extra care because, you are what you eat. And you know what? The saying, garbage in garbage out, is as real as tomorrow being Wednesday.

Our door is always open for questions, your weightloss concerns, and suggestions. If you are interested in joining our weightloss group on WhatsApp register at https:///forms/t3eykIv7Ef13UPQC2 for a free starter session.

http://www.slimfitu.com/fooddiet/concept-mindful-eating-weightloss/

Diabetes and obesity are deadly disorders of the human body.

The symptoms of the first is chronic high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) which is caused by the failure of the human body to produce any or enough insulin to regulate its glucose levels.

The other is shown by excess weight gain and is caused by the inability of leptin hormones to send signals to the brain or the blocking of leptin signals in the brain by insulin hormones.

Insulin hormone in the body controls diabetes by regulating the level of glucose in the blood, but it also causes obesity by blocking leptin hormone signals from the brain.

Leptin is secreted by fat cells. It is responsible for telling the brain that we have enough energy stored and that we do not need to eat. Because of this, extremely high levels of insulin may be one of the reasons that people become leptin resistant and grow obese.

Excess insulin may be created in the body when the body cells do not see the insulin signals and the pancreas thinks it needs to produce more. This is known as insulin resistance.

According to Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist and an expert on child obesity, ‘excess dietary fructose from added sugars’ is one of the main drivers of insulin resistance. And, insulin resistance leads to critically high insulin levels.

Classification of diabetes

Diabetes is classified ‘type 1’ or ‘type 2’. Type 1 is about the body’s inability to make insulin and type 2 is about the body’s inability to react properly to insulin. Type 2 diabetes is the most common though. It makes roughly 90% of all diabetes cases reported.

Obesity Society, in the post ‘Your weight and diabetes’, explains that, ‘the single best predictor of type 2 diabetes is overweight or obesity.’ It says, ‘Almost 90% of people living with type 2 diabetes are overweight or have obesity.’

The body of overweight or obese people have added difficulty using insulin properly to control blood sugar levels, so overweight and obese people are more likely to get diabetes.

Insulin also sends signals to the fat cells, telling them to store fat and to hold on to the fat that they are carrying.

The link between diabetes and obesity

There are many other factors linked to type 2 diabetes. These include age, race, genetics, pregnancy, stress, family history, high cholestrol and some kinds of medications.

It is good news that type 2 diabetes is preventable. Diet, physical activity and weight management are among ways to prevent the development of diabetes.

A study that lasted three to six years found that lifestyle changes and small amounts of weightloss in the range of 5-10% can prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes among high-risk adults, according to Obesity Society.

More good news

You do not have to get confused on how to modify your lifestyle or lose weight in order to avoid obesity, and diabetes altogether. Attend SlimFiU’s Health Seminar themed:

Diabetes and Obesity: The Link

Join certified health practitioners and weightloss coaches on Saturday November 19, 2016 at our health seminar where we will discuss the link between diabetes and obesity, debunk weightloss myths, simplify healthy living jargons and share workable tips on avoiding obesity.

Free registration details will be out soon.

http://www.slimfitu.com/lifestyle/understanding-the-relationship-of-diabetes-and-obesity/

Women have always been put in second place by the society in almost all facets of life, except in areas where they have to perform domestic chores such as homemaking.

However, the reverse is rapidly becoming the case as we now have women making names and flexing muscles in all aspects of everyday living. One of such areas is physical fitness activities.

Growing up, I had this notion that vigorous physical exercises were for men only as I was used to seeing only men lifting weights, or doing some push-ups.

All I used to do for physical activity along with my female friends were skipping, running, walking, and the likes.

Nowadays, more women are becoming renowned personal trainers and gym instructors.

What is the rationale behind having almost the same number of women as men hitting the gym or sidewalks on a daily basis for some vigorous physical exercises?

Below are the three major reasons behind this trend.

To keep up with their new lifestyle
As more women enter into the corporate industry and work in offices, their routine become disorganized and stress becomes the order of the day.

Normal routine such as meal time, sleep time, nap time, all became scanty activities that are carried out without order.

This has led to lack of adequate sleep, unhealthy eating, reduction in creativity, and weight gain among several other health issues.

The normal routine exercises such as walking and jogging may not be enough to combat situations such as weight gain.

A busy woman would like to shed her fat fast in order to remain active. As such she looks up to more rigorous exercises such as weightlifting, or playing football.

She hits the gym or uses the services of a personal trainer in order to maintain her fitness activity schedule.

To maintain good health
Another reason that women indulge in vigorous physical activity is to improve the state of their health.

Based on this table by CDC, vigorous paced exercises burn more than 7 calories per minute, while moderate paced exercise burns between 3.5 to 7 calories per minute.

When they need to keep fit or prevent health conditions such as osteoporosis or heart related diseases, women tilt towards vigorous exercises.

They incorporate it into their moderate activities by intensifying the speed at which they run, jog, or walk without increasing the amount of time they spend on it.

To boost self confidence
Women also indulge in vigorous fitness activities to boost their confidence.

There is an increased need to exert self confidence in order to face the daily challenges that come with their new status as career women or business owners.

Being in a high position requires that we make serious decisions and take actions that affect a lot of people.

If the situation arises to be a lead decision maker, some women tend to engage in physical activities while they think through and weight the pros and cons of their own contributions.

What about you? What is the rationale behind your choice of physical fitness activity?

http://www.slimfitu.com/lifestyle/the-rationale-of-physical-fitness-for-women/