[WATCH] How to negotiate a raise and strike a deal

[WATCH] How to arrange a raise and strike an arrangement Barely any things are all the more testing, and in reality painful, than haggling for a raise. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-advertisement 1467144145037-0'); }); And not many individuals in our general public are increasingly cultivated, consequently qualified to talk about this issue, than Betty Chu. Betty is a MD who had a flourishing clinical practice yet chosen she needed to help something other than her patients. She chose to seek after her MBA and accepted a situation as a medical clinic director, where she can help a large number of individuals, while as yet proceeding to serve her current patients. Betty plunked down with Daily Fuel and strolled us through the most significant parts of this basic conversation.Source: [DailyFuel]

Padded Cap May Protect Baseball Pitchers

Cushioned Cap May Protect Baseball Pitchers Cushioned Cap May Protect Baseball Pitchers Cushioned Cap May Protect Baseball Pitchers Spring is close, proficient baseball players are limbering up all through Arizona and Florida, and around the nation guardians are marking their youngsters okay with spring recreational baseball and softball programs. In contrast to football, where the discussion over how to shield players from blackouts is tightening up, baseball presents less dangers. In any case, line drives broke straightforwardly back at the pitcher do happen, with possibly lamentable outcomes. Players searching for insurance currently have a choice, with Major League Baseball as of late supporting an infusion shaped cushioning that can be fitted into a players top. The item, called isoBLOX, gives frontal head insurance from line drives arriving at 90 mph and side security along the sanctuary of 85 mph, as indicated by its maker. MLB, which has been working with different merchants on the venture, set a security edge of 83 mph, which it says is the normal speed of a line drive arriving at the pitching hill. The cushioning is made of hexagon-formed infusion shaped polymers associated by a pivot, and fitted with a froth substrate, says Bruce Foster, CEO of 4Licensing Corp., parent organization of isoBLOX. Upon sway, the cushioning flexes and diffuses the power, he says. The cushioning adds one-half inch thickness to the front of the top, an inch as an afterthought and it gauges seven ounces. Encourage says his firm will visit all significant group spring preparing camps to present the cushioning and instruct players on dangers. There is no order on utilizing the security and Foster recognizes the trouble in getting purchase in, at any rate at the expert level. Other than engaging convention, When youre 21 you think youre invulnerable, Foster says. Also, there is no one not any more eccentric than a pitcher. Pitching is a fine art. Producer claims, IsoBLOX joined with customary adjustable foam brings about prevalent effect obstruction. Picture: isoBLOX Contrasts In view of the fundamental contrasts between the games, head security in baseball has never been the concern all things considered in football. There, worries over numerous blackouts and related cerebrum harm have started investigation into how different brands of head protectors and their inside cushioning and insurance framework perform against rotational speeding up powers that contort and player the mind inside the skull. Prior this year, the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Bioengineering and Sciences evaluated 18 brands of head protectors for security against straight speeding up and rotational increasing speed. Direct speeding up are the front-to-back powers that can cause wounding and seeping in the cerebrum; rotational increasing speed are powers that wind the mind inside the head, causing blackouts. In any case, baseball doesn't for the most part need to stress over blackouts. For baseball, tests were performed by autonomous research centers under MLB rules calling for security at 83 mph. That is underneath the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment standard seriousness list of 1,200, considered the limit for skull breaks and horrible mind wounds. Cultivate says his firm drew nearer MLB in March 2013 and finished testing late in the year. Five significant alliance pitchers were struck in the head by line drives in a five-month stretch of 2012-13, and seven others inside the previous six seasons, as per distributed reports. While Foster recognizes the trouble in getting significant leaguers to utilize the security, he says his firm has been overpowered with questions from guardians, and sees the adolescent market as fruitful for development. This is well past what we thought and shows how fixed guardians are on the security of their children, he says. The firm intends to start selling cushioned tops and a shirt fitted with the cushioning in retail outlets this spring. Creation The cushioning is delivered in sheets that can be handily cut to the suitable shape, says Foster. Planning head insurance was more intricate than just embeddings the cushioning into chest assurance or security for legs and arms. There is air behind a chest defender, says Foster, calling attention to that the airbag impact diffuses the effect. That impact is lost in head insurance, so builds consolidated two kinds of the cushioning to be fitted into a top. isoBLOX can be made out of various polymers, he says. You can make it fragile or make it adaptable. With the head, we needed to consolidate two kinds of isoBLOX sheets. He says the twofold layer beat different variants of single-sheet insurance. While the cushioned top can offer some assistance, notwithstanding a face insurance, pitchers stay helpless against balls hit legitimately at the face. Due to the weight and security level, be that as it may, this offers a level of wellbeing never found in baseball, claims Foster. In any case, change comes gradually in the game and Foster knows the weight and distinctive look of the top is sufficient to pursue away most players. The speed of the ball is inconceivable, he says. We need to instruct the player with respect to, what are the dangers? The early adopters will most likely be the individuals who have been hit previously. It is a way of life change. In the long run well arrive. For Further Discussion This offers a level of wellbeing never observed in baseball.Bruce Foster, 4 Licensing Corp.

When one company lets employees pick their own salaries

At the point when one organization lets workers pick their own compensations At the point when one organization lets representatives pick their own pay rates Aaron Dignan is the originator of eminent association structure and change firm The Ready, and the writer of the Next Big Idea Club Spring Finalist, Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?He as of late plunked down with Next Big Idea Club Editor Jeremy Price to talk about how to keep your association from disrupting itself, and how to begin accomplishing the best work of your life.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders' magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!This discussion has been altered and consolidated. To see the full form, click the video below.Jeremy: You center around the thought of administration and how there's regularly decidedly a lot of it. You have this surprising tale about how organization can nearly looks like sabotage.Aaron: Yeah, a [government document] composed during World War II was declassified a couple of years back, and it had to do with how to disrupt a company.It makes stat ements like, Hold gatherings when there's increasingly significant work to be done, and Talk at incredible length, utilizing individual tales, and Have three individuals affirm everything when one individual would do.Most of us who are in organizations that are greater than 500 individuals resemble, That's right, I've seen that, and that, and that.What was clearly damage a lifetime prior is currently undefined from work.Policies, understandings, rule of law-these are on the whole beneficial things, yet administration has metastasized into something unmistakably progressively malevolent and inescapable. There's formality folded over each handle, and I think individuals are detecting that.Jeremy: Absolutely. I've been in such a significant number of gatherings, particularly on warning sheets in school, when we were simply wasting our time, with individuals talking and talking yet not doing anything of consequence.So I love the delightful way your book brings up that we have a bigger n umber of gatherings than we truly need. Truth be told, you really suggest attempting a time of about fourteen days where there are no gatherings by any stretch of the imagination. Reveal to me increasingly about that.Aaron: Meetings are the microcosm of the association. Whatever occurs in gatherings sat around idly, absence of arrangement, absence of genuineness is most likely occurring over the entire organization.We like to consider gatherings a beginning spot for building new propensities and new mentalities. Groups regularly have such a significant number of gatherings, and gatherings to plan for gatherings, since's everything part of the performance center of, Let me present immaculate work, and get the endorsements, and the criticism, and the gold stars.It's simply inside theater, rather than client centered work.So one approach to manage that immense measure of gatherings is simply to quit having them. Since changing and tweaking every one working together with everybody's su pport is an enormous undertaking.But simply concurring, For the following a little while, we're not going to have any repetitive gatherings- that is really an extremely straightforward thing to execute. It's difficult to consent to, however it's anything but difficult to execute. At that point you get the opportunity to discover what you miss.The the truth is, I wagered you'll miss a tad, however not a ton. When you make sense of what you do miss, you would then be able to plan significantly more conscious, organized, group possessed gatherings so as to get directly at that stuff.Jeremy: I love that. In case you're hoping to roll out a positive improvement in your association, the motivation is regularly to state, OK, what new thing would we be able to do? What new strategy would we be able to authorize? But in your book, you notice that an incredible spot to begin is really to state, OK, what would we be able to take away?In this case, it's the consistent stream of meetings.So when associations start with that mindset of, Alright, what would we be able to do less of?, is there whatever else that individuals cut back on with positive results?Aaron: Removing limitation is an extraordinary method of seeing what's truly going on, and seeing what rises. Instead of saying, Goodness man, the movement strategy isn't working for us. What should we supplant it with?, the appropriate response may be, Imagine a scenario in which we didn't have a movement strategy for a little while?Maybe something awful would occur, yet all things considered, the world would remain precisely the manner in which it is. So then it's only one thing we don't need to record, or manage, or go along with.If you're cultivating, you feed the things that you need to see occurring, and you starve the things you don't. You weed the things you don't need, and you give additional water and compost to the things you do want.You notice what happens when you communicate with it, isn't that so? Tuning an association is [similar]-it's crafted by attempting things, regardless of whether that be including or expelling, taking care of or starving, and afterward seeing what happens next.You're not going to fix it-you're involved with it. You're simply overseeing it.Jeremy: I feel like Morning Star is an association that is adequately trying these strategies. Would you be able to take me through precisely what they're doing?Aaron: Morning Star is a fascinating one-they're the world's biggest tomato processor, and keeping in mind that tomato handling may not be the most alluring thing on the planet, they adopt a human-focused strategy to the work.They have a self-arranging condition where individuals have a ton of independence, and there's a great deal of straightforwardness and trust.Team individuals compose their own sets of expectations and set their own pay rates utilizing a counsel procedure that permits their partners to give criticism on what they're doing. In any case, [each employ ee] has the last say to chip away at the things they need to take a shot at, and make what they need to make.And it works truly well-the organization has been strikingly beneficial, sometimes multiple times more productive than their competitors.Profit is one proportion of progress, however what I care about is [whether or not] individuals love to work there, and in the event that they feel associated with their locale, and on the off chance that they have an inclination that they're accomplishing something meaningful.That stuff matters. What's more, you see at places like Patagonia that when individuals feel associated with the reason for their work, the outcomes tend to follow.Jeremy: For sure. I still can't accept that they're setting their own compensations and composing their own activity titles. There's a staggering measure of trust that you have to put in your workers in case you're setting up those policies.You compose that the manner in which we sort out our organizations i s an impression of our suspicions about human instinct. What are the hidden suppositions about human instinct that are as of now out there in the work environment? What's more, what are the convictions about human instinct that you are attempting to encourage?Aaron: So, harking back to the '60s, Douglas McGregor was taking a gander at perspectives about work, laborers, trust, and self-governance, and he had this thought of Theory X and Theory Y. Hypothesis X was this thought individuals were essentially deceitful and apathetic and uncreative, and should have been determined how to manage carrots and sticks.And then Theory Y was the possibility that no, individuals are innovative under the correct conditions, and they need to learn, self-complete, and take responsibility.McGregor's postulation was that Theory X individuals really don't exist, that we're all Theory Y ordinarily but since we accept there are Theory X individuals, we manufacture these intricate pens for individuals. And afterward, on the grounds that we're chameleons, we begin to show up that way.When he would ask individuals, Are you Theory X or Theory Y?, everyone would state that they're Theory Y. You may state, Well, shouldn't something be said about the individuals who work at your market, or your gas Station?they must be Theory X. But we can't all be Theory Y, aside from every other person is Theory X, right?Look at Sam's Club versus Costco-it's precisely the same business, in precisely the same business, yet one treats its laborers in an unexpected way. It pays them in an unexpected way, and trusts them differently.And you see the outcome in the experience of strolling in the store; you see the outcome in the PL; you see the outcome in what feels like the bore of talent.And a few people would contend, Well, one of them is showing signs of improvement individuals. But at whatever point we begin discussing better individuals or the top ability, I get dubious. Since it resembles, Well, would t hey say they are truly getting the great individuals? Or then again is it simply that nature is causing individuals to accomplish more, causing them to acknowledge what they're able to do, and helping them show up differently?Jeremy: Right. We've been discussing administration, and how a few associations smother human imagination and human prospering, and everything makes me think about this story by Franz Kafka called The Trial. It's about a man who gets up one morning, and there's a few men in his house.They state, Hello, no doubt about it, and he resembles, For what? They won't let him know, yet they state, You have to appear at court on this specific day, at this specific time, and set everything straight. So he does, yet and still, after all that, the appointed authority won't mention to him what he did wrong.So he just bobs around to all these various legal advisors and judges and individuals from the nearby legal executive, yet he can never make sense of what the hell is goin g on-he's lost in this labyrinth of bureaucracy.So I'm pondering, with regards to the thoughts in your book, do those apply to the administration and our legitimate framework, or is it extremely only for businesses?Aaron: It's interesting you bring that story up, in light of the fact that it was quite the main draft of the book. What I'm expounding on has to do with how individuals meet up to take care of issues and make new things, so it isn't just for revenue driven organizations.We're discussing the manner in which we cooperate, so I think government is unequivocally in that space.And from numerous points of view, government is one of the spots where administration and broken joining is progressively articulated right now.We're seeing huge polarization, immobilization, and powerlessness to get anything wear

Are you nuturing and protecting your career - Hallie Crawford

Are you nuturing and protecting your career I had a workshop yesterday at a law firm in Atlanta. I spoke on the topic “Your Job As Your Best Asset”. As our world and economy continues to change, our jobs and careers have now become our best assets. If you’d like to learn more about how can nuture and protect your career, I recommend you check out “Your Job As Your Best Asset: 6 Ways to Nurture Protect Your Career”. In this downloadable audio program, you will receive six ways to effectively nurture and protect your career during this unsettling and scary time â€" and beyond. From this audio, you will be able to develop an action plan for how to stay competitive, beef up your resume, and protect your best asset your career! You will learn: * How to stand out from others in your industry* Tools to help you nurture your career* Ways to define your unique skills set and brand yourself* Specific steps to help you take action now* And much more! Learn more here: www.halliecrawford.com/yourjobasyourbestasset.html Hallie CrawfordCareer Coach

Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process

Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process Five Ways to Improve your Healthcare Hiring Process Boerner Moving repayments. Readmission punishments. Thirty million patients recently protected under social insurance change. The approaching retirement of a great many Baby Boomers. Set up, its a formula for a particularly testing medicinal services recruiting process. Here are five different ways to sharpen your employing rehearses for social insurance recruiting, both today and later on. Recruit a Team Player The release board behind Eileen Rowlands office at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City records in any event twelve gatherings her medical caretakers can join. Rowland, HHSs executive of medical caretaker enlistment, utilizes the rundown as a collaboration test for work competitors. I point at it and state, Can you envision yourself on one of these committees? she says. A few people are truly energized. Others, you can tell they dont care the slightest bit. On the off chance that they dont care, this isnt the perfect spot for them. With the ascent of facilitated care, human services associations are reorienting towardrecruiting cooperative individuals and that implies the employing procedure needs to target actually adroit competitors who likewise have delicate aptitudes: relational abilities, a capacity to work with various characters and gathering critical thinking abilities. Rowland suggests that once you vet a competitor, get explicit about their cooperative person experience: Have they been a piece of groups in their present employments? What jobs did they play? How could they add to an emergency clinic activity or undertaking? What's more, she asks these subsequent meeting inquiries: Were they engaged with sports? It isn't so much that somebody who hasnt [played sports] cant be a decent colleague, she says. In any case, when youre taking a gander at new graduates, hoping to perceive what bunch exercises individuals are a piece of is consistently a smart thought. Meeting Smartly On the off chance that youre adopting a group strategy, it bodes well to carry the group into the recruiting procedure too, says David Twitchell, co-executive of HR for Rutland Regional Medical Center in Vermont. This fills two needs: cautious checking of recently recruited employees and representative commitment. Make certain to incorporate at any rate one individual in the meeting procedure who will be the recently recruited employees associate, just as somebody on an alternate medical clinic group with whom the recruit may need to facilitate care. Recruiting directors and administrators ought to likewise be given a shot to vet the applicant. These should be possible over different meetings, however too challenging a recruiting procedure can blowback, leaving the up-and-comer with an awful impression of the organization and eventually harm the companys notoriety among work searchers. The main exemption to this, says Esther Cuno, selecting administrator for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, is official authority. Its regularly difficult to get all the players for those positions together on the double, requiring different visits. Something else, says Rowland, attempt to keep the meetings to one visit, if conceivable. Great individuals wont wait available even in this economy, she says. I dont need to offer the competitor a chance to meet another selection representative since I couldnt complete it today. Make a Consistent Interview Process Cuno has heard it again and again: A recruiting administrator will advise her, I figured he would do so well. He truly gelled with the group. He had an extraordinary character. Be that as it may, its not working out. You totally can get blinded by character in interviews, she says. The way to evading that, she says, is to be readied and predictable. Solid characters can pull questioners off course, leaving them to acknowledge later that they didnt get all the data they have to decide if the applicant could prevail in the activity. On the off chance that youre steady and ask everybody a similar meeting inquiries, youll be better ready to get rid of up-and-comers who meeting admirably however may not serve your hierarchical crucial. Recruit Tech Savvy Candidates The rise of electronic clinical records has included another layer of screening to Twitchells recruiting forms. You need to ensure applicants are PC educated and adroit, says Twitchell, likewise pioneer of the Society for Human Resources Managements HR Disciplines Expertise Panel. Since the time we went to electronic clinical records two years back, weve done an appraisal over our association inside, to see where we needed to create chances to mentor current staff. New staff should as of now have the right stuff. Fortunately numerous competitors are HITECH clever to such an extent that in the technically knowledgeable Pacific Northwest, Cuno thinks of it as a center capacity. Rowland checks that individuals have involvement in the projects they use and, at long last, tests applicants tech aptitudes to give an additional layer of security. Put resources into Your Staff Its been demonstrated again and again that workers acknowledge or decay an offer situated in huge part on the representative advantages advertised. That will turn out to be progressively significant as recently protected patients ensures flood the framework. One of our present difficulties is anticipating ahead of time of real needs, Cuno says. So as to truly get ready for the future, its critical to enroll at all unique experience levels, so you dont have a tremendous rush of retirements and an immense flood of progress. So take your enrolling further. Cuno plans to grow enrollment past the area this year and target up-and-comers broadly. Shes likewise investigating new temporary position projects, residency and preceptor programs, and is looking outside the oncology field for possible recruits. Shes additionally searching for better approaches to give representative preparing and progression to their momentum staff. Rowland even welcomes proceeding with human services instruction nearby for staff comfort. While such venture can be costly, Cuno says, so is employing an inappropriate individual. Understand more: Connect New Nursing Graduates for Future Hiring Needs IT Staffing for Healthcare: Recruiting for HITECH Holding Healthcare Professionals with Education Benefits

Job Boards Dont Get Eaten by Monster!

Job Boards Dont Get Eaten by Monster! TweetOnly 1.3% of hires happen through Monster.com, although many job seekers spend a lot more than 1.3% of their job search time there. I came across this interesting fact on the JibberJobber Blog. (JibberJobber is a contact management software designed for job seekers). The article is a few months old, but I doubt the facts have changed a bit. Im not picking on Monster in particular. Im making a point about job boards and their role in job search. Many sources estimate that only a fraction of jobs are obtained by people who arent in any way known to the employer maybe 20% of hires. Thats the category youre in when you apply to a job online without any networking or referral involved. So why spend more than 20% of your job search time doing this? Also, be efficient in your online searches by using aggregator sites my favorite is Indeed to search thousands of job boards at once. Save a search, or a few searches with different keywords, to see which work best. Have the results emailed to you regularly. To search company career pages in addition to job boards, add LinkUp.Statistically, more jobs are found through companies own websites than through job boards. Plan a multi-pronged job search strategy with a strong emphasis on talking to people. If that thought makes you shudder, coaching can help to build good networking skills and habits that make it a lot easier. Search smart and get a great job, sooner! Job Boards Dont Get Eaten by Monster! TweetOnly 1.3% of hires happen through Monster.com, although many job seekers spend a lot more than 1.3% of their job search time there. I came across this interesting fact on the JibberJobber Blog. (JibberJobber is a contact management software designed for job seekers). The article is a few months old, but I doubt the facts have changed a bit. Im not picking on Monster in particular. Im making a point about job boards and their role in job search. Many sources estimate that only a fraction of jobs are obtained by people who arent in any way known to the employer maybe 20% of hires. Thats the category youre in when you apply to a job online without any networking or referral involved. So why spend more than 20% of your job search time doing this? Also, be efficient in your online searches by using aggregator sites my favorite is Indeed to search thousands of job boards at once. Save a search, or a few searches with different keywords, to see which work best. Have the results emailed to you regularly. To search company career pages in addition to job boards, add LinkUp.Statistically, more jobs are found through companies own websites than through job boards. Plan a multi-pronged job search strategy with a strong emphasis on talking to people. If that thought makes you shudder, coaching can help to build good networking skills and habits that make it a lot easier. Search smart and get a great job, sooner!

Daniel Price - QA with the Co-Founder of My 1st Years

Daniel Price - QA with the Co-Founder of My 1st Years Daniel Price QA with the Co-Founder of My 1st Years Image Source: Daniel Price, My 1st YearsIt’s very fitting that a company named My 1st Years should be co-founded by two guys who’ve been best mates since the age of three years. Johnny Sitton and Daniel Price always had the hand of entrepreneurial inspiration on their shoulders. Even in school, they were trying to figure out how to turn a profit by selling sweets to their friends.“If you believe in it, work hard, and GO FOR IT!!”Given this enterprising  and pragmatic streak, it makes sense that their successful baby gifts brand startup, My 1st  Years, was born out of the difficulties Daniel Price and Jonny  experienced in trying to find a special gift for a close friend’s newborn baby daughter.Perhaps they were being a little ambitious  with gift-shopping tick-boxes that included  timelessness, originality, and affordability. But in any event, they were unable to source a gift they would have been happy to give the little newborn. Undeterred, Daniel Price and Jonny decided to make a gift themselves.Typically, they didn’t do so half-heartedly. There was notable toiling, countless hours of research, and numerous trials before they completed their first pair of personalised baby shoes. Even at this point, their simple wish was that baby Lola would like them.Not only did Lola like them, so did her parents, and so did their parents’ friends, and so did their relatives and friends overseas, and pretty soon, Jonny Sitton and Daniel Price were  inundated with requests for the baby shoes from all over the world.The pair soon realised that they were not the only people who discerning in purchasing gifts for babiesâ€"that other people wanted  timelessness, originality, and affordability as well. So they decided to expand on this initial gift idea and create a much wider offering. And that is how My 1st Years came to be.Video Source: YouTubeAmazingly, it has taken the pair  just six  short years to go from sorting out their own baby-gift purchasing dilemma to answering the prayers of thousands of customers, with a full My 1st Years gift range that includes teddies and toys, blankets, clothing, bed, bath and home accessories, and the firm’s signature luxury gift box in which the items are packaged, is a particular hit with customers. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11 Questions for Daniel Price, My 1st YearsSpeaking to AGENT recently, Daniel Price was quietly confident that My 1st Years was on track to realise the two co-founders’ dream of becoming the world’s top personalised baby gift brand. Poised on the cusp of a  US breakthrough  (their pair have just raised £5m in finance to help fund this expansion), Daniel reflected on their pair’s lifelong friendship  and their business story, as he spoke about their goals, challenges and inspirations, their enthusiasm for everything from Gmail to  Instagram, and their novel take on successful work-life balance (“we get up early and go to bed late!”). (adsbygoog le = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Briefly tell us how you first got into the business, and describe your business goals.I’ve been friends with my co-founder, Jonny Sitton, since we were three-years-old. We went to nursery, school and university with each other. At university, we used to buy and sell things for a profit.  We knew we were good at it and made a great team, so it made sense for us.Six years ago,  we spotted a gap in the market for unique, personalised childrens gifts. Personalisation was already popular but we didnt see many people personalising childrens and baby gifts to a great standard, so we decided we could.Our goals are to continue growing our company in the way it has been, and to become a recognised destination for personalised children’s gifts.2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business?We’ve always been entrepreneurial. Even at school, we used to buy sweets and sell them to our friends in the playground for a pro fit! So, I guess, we’ve always known we wanted our own business. But  it wasn’t until after we were at university that we decided what we wanted it to be. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?We aspire to lots of people. Neither of us were handed this on a plate. We started from nothing. Hard work, determination and passion has got us to where we are now.4. What has been your biggest challenge in business, and how did you surmount it?To grow the business, we needed investment and that was always going to be our biggest challenge. However, we have just raised £5m finance which will aid our growth into the US market. This was a long process but we’re  delighted with the result and cant wait for what 2020 has in store for the brand. This was achieved by our belief in the brand.  We always receive amazing feedback from suppliers and customers and knew that with the right investment we could turn this into something sp ecial. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. Work-Life balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?This is extremely important to us. It is possible, but we are the first to admit it is very tough. We both love to travel, keep fit, eat well and keep up with whats current. We always make time for these passions as well as spending time with our friends and family. Maybe its because we get up early and go to bed late!?6. What is the first thing you do every day?Check our phones! (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. What is the screen saver picture currently on your phone?My fiancee. Jonnys screen-saver is his wife.8. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?I always use Gmail for my emails, because you never know what opportunities await! And we both use Instagram, always keeping  our eyes peeled for any customer and celebrity babies and kids wearing our products. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. What is t he last thing you Googled?My honeymoon destination.10. What item do you never leave the house without, and why?My phone I cant be without it! From getting the news to knowing my schedule, its essential to me. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. What advice would you give to your younger self-starting out in business?If you believe in it, work hard and GO FOR IT!Image Source: My 1st Years