Digital Writing Competition
Write your way to a job with 2Stroke! 2Stroke is a Cape Town-based award winning digital marketing agency. They’re looking for a new generation of writers to join their content team and are offering two internships – starting in early 2014 – to the winners of their ‘WORDSTA’ writing competition. The chosen candidates will be given a three month writing internship where they will work on live projects conducting research and writing copy on a wide range of topics. During their time with 2Stroke they will be tutored, guided and enlightened by a team of experienced writers, digital marketers and PR professionals. And the agency will even pay interns a basic allowance to cover their every-day expenses. The details: Entering is pretty straightforward. Register online (follow instructions), select the topic you want to write on, let your imagination / pen / fingers do their thing and post your piece. It does not need to be a magnum opus … 600 – 800 words will do. Once it’s live, get your friends to like it, share it and comment on it. At the closing date the agency will evaluate all the posts and pick their winners. Scoring will be largely based on writing ability, but 2Stroke will add bonus points for pieces that have been shared, rated positively or attracted large numbers of comments. Competition opened on 11 November 2013 and closes on 31 December 2013. Winners will be announced on 24 January 2014. Interns are expected to start their internships on Monday 3 February 2014. Rules and Ts&Cs...
Read MoreMake a Difference! Volunteer
Community service is a selfless act of kindness undertaken by volunteers to improve their neighborhood. It is generally intended to promote good fellowship. Volunteering also promotes skill development, socialization, allows one to make contacts for possible employment, and to test-the-waters before selecting a field of further study. While some volunteers might receive specific training in the areas they plan to pursue as a career, such as medicine, education or emergency rescue, others serve their community on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster or helping out at a retirement home or animal shelter. People have the option to volunteer as much of their own time as they are willing, still allowing them to remain focused on their personal lives. Young people are encouraged to volunteer not only to gain life experience but also for character building. Another incentive to become involved in community service is to include the capability gained in the motivational letter required for admission to a university or college. It is recommended that students volunteer in subjects and projects that they have an interest in. Students could volunteer at soup kitchens, museums, retirement homes, and school development projects, such as establishing extra mural workshops in horticulture, photography, amateur dramatics, and journalism or coaching scholars in starting a small business. What a volunteer puts into their volunteering experiences will show immensely in their character. Most people have toiled with the notion of wanting to find some way to give back to their community, and help those who cannot help themselves. Those in this situation have been able to have discussions with people who may benefit from some guidance, brightening up their day and making them smile. Others have volunteered their time at a hospital and aided the elderly, having conversations with them and listening to stories of a time long ago. Volunteers can also help out pre-schools by reading to children or teaching them crafts. One of the easiest things about volunteering is getting involved. There are countless organizations and charities that are always looking for an extra person to make a difference in someone’s life. Here are some ideas: Volunteer to do office work at a local non-profit agency; set up a web page for them. Share a talent through teaching a class. Help township resident’s paint and repair their homes. Make maps of local parks, libraries or historic sites. Adopt a pothole and raise funds to repair it. Help fix a run-down public playground. Identify corners where bushes and trees make it difficult for drivers to see. Create a campaign to encourage biking and walking. Volunteer at an animal shelter; help clean up and play with the animals. Become a foster pet-owner; some animal shelters have temporary foster care programs — you take care of a pet until they can find a permanent home for it. Words by Theresa Lutge-Smith...
Read MoreWhat Makes A Homepage Brilliant!
You never get a second chance to make a first impression! For this reason your homepage — your virtual front door and showcase to the world — is undoubtedly one of the most important pages on your website. It must be visually striking and has to be slick in its navigation. If a new visitor is not impressed straight away they will simply click away! What makes a homepage brilliant? Clearly answer “Who we are,” “What we do,” and “What can the visitor find here” questions. Even if you are a well-known brand it is still important to clarify these standard searches. The content must be succinct and address your target audience, written in uncomplicated language. The homepage is the first thing Search Engines see when crawling your website, which makes it the most important page of your site. Increase your domain authority and website rankings by engaging in active SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and back-link building campaigns. Make sure your homepage contains a fair amount of content. The aim of a well-designed user-friendly homepage is to compel the visitor to identify with your value-proposition and explore the rest of your site. Utilize the homepage to introduce prospects to your value proposition through persuasive content. Avoid ‘flashy’ objects that might get in the way of browsing. Incorporate Calls-To-Action (CTA) to direct visitors to the next logical step, such as “Read More”, “Free Consultation,” or “Buy Now.” The objective is to navigate visitors further down the funnel. Calls-To-Action turn your homepage into a mouthpiece that allows you to communicate with customers and prospects to facilitate customer relationship management. The best homepages are active, always offering something new to reflect the needs, problems, and questions of their visitors. The intention of a well-designed home page (and the rest of the site) is to build mutual trust; anticipate unmet requirements and offer solutions to problems; invite constructive comment and an opportunity to express grievances; communicate information that is of personal interest to your target audience; and steer visitors to take action. Accordingly, effective homepages utilize inspired layout, Call-To-Action placement, white space complimented by color and font choices, illustration, and other supporting elements such videos, blog icons and company symbols. Words by Theresa Lutge-Smith (ecottage@gmail.com). Contact Theresa for Web Design, Custom Web...
Read MoreHow to Prepare for the Next Economic Upturn
The economic environment in which a business operates significantly affects its performance. One central responsibility of a business owner or manager is to manage the business in a way that makes the most of prevailing circumstances. You might need to trim your non-core expenses and replace fixed costs with a higher variable cost component; this could mean hiring temporary as opposed to full-time staff, or leasing equipment on a pay-per-use basis. Cash flow crunches have ruined many a good business;when business is slow look for unmoved inventory and slow selling products to put up for sale at discounted prices. Replenish merchandise in controlled quantities only as needed. It is also important to maintain price stability; be mindful of how consumers are experiencing the downturn and its impact not only in terms of their buying decisions but also their ability to pay their debts if you sell to them on credit. What has caused the current economic slump in South Africa? Besides unemployment, inequality, poverty, crime, and HIV/AIDS that continue to plague the country, sectors like agriculture, mining and manufacturing are in decline while the trade and current account deficit (CAD) has widened. Household indebtedness has reached worrying levels in a low-interest rate environment parallel to mounting inflationary pressures. Overall growth has slowed down, which is a risky proposition for South Africa. Luckily, the sound fiscal position has cushioned the economic slowdown somewhat. Consider how your business can help improve the lives of people struggling to survive. Such families have either limited or no resources, such as money, education, and reliable contacts. If your business is a bakery or grocery store you could incorporate a mobile food truck service to your business and sell goods in low-income areas at discounted prices. As long as you research the feasibility of this kind of venture you can let your creativity soar. You will need to comply with relevant regulations (consult the Department of Health) and obtain the necessary permits. Other worthwhile ideas to help poor communities include sponsoring an amateur sport team (uniform, equipment, coaching); or upgrade a public recreation park (liaise with the local municipality to plant trees and lawn, install children’s playground equipment). These projects will not only contribute to the well being of the community, but will also attract media attention and gain publicity for your business. There exists a common belief that the development of small-scale industry could become a prime mode of economic growth that will impact positively on poverty alleviation. However, two prime obstacles hamper this vision, namely a shortage of entrepreneurial skills and a scarcity of technological know-how and job skills. An economic downturn offers a business the opportunity to train jobseekers that you may want to employ in the future or equip them with essential skills to pursue self-employment or seek formal employment elsewhere. This gesture to train and develop human capital places your business’ social responsibility in a strong position within your community. Structured on-the-job training must however be cost-effective to the business; the process should ideally be outcomes-based, which means the learner is taught relevant theory that is supported by practical demonstration (through mentoring and feedback), followed by practical application of newly learned skills. Once the learnership is completed, the employer can decide whether to sign the learner on for a new learnership, employ the learner or release the learner for future employment by another organization. To be successful every business needs a focused strategy, a philosophy of continuous improvement, decisive and resilient management, loyal personnel and top class customer service, more so in an economic slowdown. Yet it is common during a period of...
Read MoreStrategy to upgrade South Africa’s nursing profession!
A growing imperative – to implement a strategy to upgrade South Africa’s nursing profession! Nursing is one of the most honorable professions, yet adverse conduct of poorly trained nurses is witnessed in South Africa’s hospitals and clinics on a daily basis. The local healthcare sector – both public and private — urgently needs more nurses with advanced nursing skills and leadership education, which in short calls for a long overdue shake-up of the nursing profession. A general consensus is held that the training provided by some nurse’s colleges fail to adequately prepare trainees in theoretical knowledge and expected outcomes (specialist theory and practical experience) necessary to execute relevant duties to a professional standard. In 2012 the National Department of Health convened a nursing summit to address nursing challenges in the country. From that summit, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi appointed a ministerial task-team to develop a plan of action to address education and practice issues to rebuild and revitalize South Africa’s flagging nursing fraternity. The Minister launched the National Strategic Plan for Nurse Education, Training and Practice for 2012/13 – 2016/17. It is critical that South Africa’s healthcare system be brought up to standard by the time the National Health Insurance rolls out, to ensure that nurses are fully operational to address the country’s healthcare needs. Lifelong Learning The healthcare sector is regularly criticized for its lack of resources, inconsistent staff-patient ratios, poor management, long queues and waiting times, and overall lack of sanitation control. The plan focuses on fostering a culture of lifelong learning in an effort to attain high standards of professionalism and well-resourced practice environments for nurses and midwives. It also aims to boost strong leadership skills at all levels within the healthcare sector, including advanced clinical skills in mental health nursing, pediatric nursing and post-operatory nursing. Nursing is a lifelong educational commitment. Working nurses will be duty-bound to go back to school to constantly upgrade their credentials to gain greater employability, higher salaries, and explore diverse career options in fields like disaster response, emergency preparedness, and wellness promotion. While many leadership education programs do not require you to be a nurse, they do help refine communications skills; teach the fundamentals of healthcare economics; identify and harness resources; and relate critical thinking to problem solving. SA Nursing Council at helm Regulations affirm that all nursing colleges in the country have until 2015 to upgrade their syllabus and tertiary education methodology to meet the criteria to register as higher education and training institutions with the Council of Higher Education. This means about 300 operational nursing colleges will not only be regulated by the SA Nursing Council, but will also have to be declared higher education institutions in compliance with the provisions of the Higher Education Act (as amended in 2008). The qualifications of teachers and lecturers will be scrutinized. The expectation is that professional nurses on completion of their studies would be competent to run wards and teach junior nurses. Professional nurses must be trained to drive an ambulance, serve as an undertaker, and adapt to work proficiently in poorly equipped facilities, operate a generator, and practice transpersonal human care and caring to facilitate patient recovery. The intention of higher education is also to increase the number of nurses accredited to initiate anti-retroviral treatment without a doctor. Retired Nurses’ Forum In an effort to preserve task-specific expertise within the healthcare sector members of the Retired Nurses’ Forum agree to guide and mentor ward sisters, student nurses and new recruits to correct behavior that is observed as not professional, reinforce a personal approach to professionalism, and inspire excellence. Proficient retired nurses work in labour wards,...
Read MoreWhat Kind of Guy Are You?
He is independent and determined, and does what he wants when he wants! Seeking validation from others about what kind of guy you are is not necessarily about gaining control. Movers and shakers of global conglomerates, innovative inventors and men of note did not achieve their formidable status by being sweet, tolerant and patient. Their formative years, from gawky adolescence to celebrating their birth year at age thirty, were fraught with yearnings to be accepted, admired, adored and acknowledged, not unlike the rest of the male population. Yet these achievers chose to live life with intent, kept their eye on the prize, threw caution to the wind, scoffed at doomsayers and soldiered on despite major intolerable waves of ignorant resistance. Theirs is a proud history of exploring life way beyond the normal parameters of mundane society, embracing the seemingly impossible in the midst of a vicious storm that threatens to destroy the fragile structure of what has already been painstakingly attained. These Rebels of Society acknowledge their success and standing in life as sacrifices worthy of their triumph. They have no regrets, only a wealth of tried and tested experience. Every endeavour has its rewards. Young, vibrant males brave the unknown with eyes wide open, a heart filled with courage and optimism, and an attitude that is single-minded yet beckoning new awareness. The world needs more strong-minded visionaries who stand firm on their convictions; men, who turn their back on staid principles, and defy manipulative threats of imminent failure if they reject conformity. It’s a myth that in order to get ahead you must be a compliant team player and dance a slow tango with corruption and betrayal as your partner, or compelled into achieving fixed milestones within a 10-year plan like graduating cum laude, earning a six-figure income, signing up for membership to the right kinds of social club, starting a family, moving in the right circles, keeping healthy, and building that elusive nest egg to ensure a comfortable old age. Finding your passion is everything. Every young man, even the warrior, stumbles upon challenges that make him feel insecure, stupid and a dismal failure. Don’t believe that every battle is easily won purely based on the audacious image he presents to the world. Despite his rogue exterior, good looks and style he does not earn favour with every woman he desires. A daily diet of rejection, limitation and ridicule nourishes his soul to nurture ever higher expectations of himself and an understanding of how cause and effect rally to make him stronger. Yet, on many occasions his dreams are crushed and need to be recycled, often reduced or reinvented. Disappointment rains daily on his scarred ego, making him more determined than ever to delve in the unfamiliar and the unknown. A scarred ego is a badge of honour. To succeed in life you have to stand up and take some blows, to be a warrior. Yet, even brave warriors fall along the way, chip a tooth or break a limb, but they get up, brush themselves off and emerge victorious. His rogue public image masks a secret life that advances selective inner aspirations. He knows what he wants and searches relentlessly for opportunities to expand his knowledge about things often labeled peculiar and outrageous. He intentionally shuts his mind to the eternal mad chatter of the world and welcomes the inner-connectivity of Spiritual Awareness. While it’s not his intention to be viewed as rebellious, the growth process is often painful. And while not willfully looking for trouble, there’s an aura of danger about him. He is independent and determined; and...
Read MoreAbout Theresa
I’m a published author of four business books and have written a number of self-study tutorials [creative writing; editing and proofreading; business writing; and self-publishing] and an eBook [Workplace Harmony]. I am an experienced writer, editor and publisher. 
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