Four Things Every Freelancer Should Have on Their Website

For freelancers, a website is a crucial gateway to more business. Clients use freelancers’ websites to scope out their work, decide if the freelancer is a good fit for their needs, and ultimately hire them. That is why every freelancer must include the following four things on their website.

Why a Client Should Hire You

Every aspect of your website should be designed so that clients know right away why you are the best choice. Your site should state the services that you provide upfront. If clients have to hunt through your website to find out if you are a copywriter or someone who can design their logo, they’re likely to move on to another freelancer.

Your website should also have information that explains how you stand out from other freelancers. Include more details about your niche or any special skills you have.

Your Portfolio

Explaining why you are the best freelancer for the job is not enough. Potential clients will want to see examples of previous work you have done for other clients. You should have a dedicated space on your website to showcase your portfolio. This can include sample designs, clips from writing projects, or other accomplishments from your career.

Easy Booking Tools

Once clients have expressed interest in your work, your website should make it easy for them to contact and hire you. Include a contact form or booking tool directly on your website to make the hiring process easy.

Make Your Website Work for You

Your website is not just a way for clients to find you. It should be a way for you to grow your profile and increase your network without doing much active work. A website can work for you by collecting email addresses for marketing materials and pitches. Include a sign-up sheet or subscription box on your website to collect contact information.

Building an effective website may seem like a daunting task for many freelancers, but including these four things can help you generate business and grow your profile.

Originally published on JenniferPowersNYC.Medium.com

How to Really Listen to your Children

This may seem obvious, but listening is more than just hearing what someone is saying. When parents are engaged with their children, they’re actively involved. This means that the speaker feels heard and validated through physical touch (holding hands) or eye contact (looking into your child’s eyes), as well as verbally (asking questions). Listening properly takes practice, but it can be learned. Here are some tips to help you listen to your children:

Use a Good Question

If your child is speaking to you, but you’re not listening to her, then she’s probably not going to feel that she has your complete attention. Be careful not to interrupt. A good question will let your child know that you’re interested in what she has to say and will keep her talking. A good question will keep your child talking and help you learn more about your child’s experiences, feelings, and thoughts. So ask open-ended questions that encourage your child to talk about things that are new and interesting.

Sit Back and Listen

When you listen, sit back and give your child your full attention. If you’re watching your child’s every move, then you’re not really listening properly. Try to be still and look into their eyes as much as possible, without turning or interrupting them with questions or comments.

Summarize What You Hear

Good listeners don’t just listen to their child; they also listen to the child’s experience. They’re able to summarize what the child has just said and present it in a way that makes sense to them to apply it in the future.

Focus on the Child Fully

Try not to look at your child’s face while you listen — instead, listen to what they’re saying. Watch your child’s hands, arms, or legs to see if they are expressing themselves through body language. You may find your child’s expression is speaking louder than their words.

Use Non-Verbal Communication

As parents, we try hard to communicate our love for our children verbally, but sometimes all the words in the world aren’t enough. Your non-verbal communication can help your child to feel you are genuinely listening to them.

The Value of Praise for Children

Raising children can be stressful. A lot of the time, they may do things that you don’t like, but that’s to be expected since they don’t know what they’re doing yet.

When they do behave the way you like, you need to praise your kids, because it’s actually quite a valuable parenting tactic.

Praise and encouragement for kids tells them that you like how they are behaving at the time. It works best if you describe the specific behaviors that you prefer. Encouragement is a form of praise because it might mean you’re letting your kids know you see them trying really hard. Encouragement and praise can work for kids of all ages. You can use rewards to reinforce desired behaviors, but don’t overdo it.

All you have to do is say things like:

Good job!
Nicely done!
That’s awesome!

It’s very useful to add their name to the end of whatever you say because they automatically know that you’re paying attention to them and the praise is specifically meant for them.

Using praise helps your child know how they can think positively about themselves, and talking positively comes from that. Your kids should know how to recognize the times they do things well so they can feel rightfully proud about it.

Kids of different ages can be praised for a variety of things. Younger kids might be praised for sharing something or just leaving a park at the time you ask. Teenagers might be praised for getting home on time or starting their homework without reminders.

To further reinforce things, your praise should be descriptive. Instead of saying your teenager is a ‘good daughter’, tell her you’re happy ‘she came home in time for dinner so we could all be together.

You can use praise and encouragement to support positive behaviors that you see, but you can also add in rewards that get them to change undesired behaviors you don’t want. All kids will have them at some point. It’s just a part of the process of learning and growing up. Treats, extra privileges, and even surprises might all work to your benefit when applied properly. Just remember they are a tool and not a form of love, so don’t go overboard and spoil them.

Top Parenting Podcasts

Whether it is a new parent or one in the process of raising teenagers, there are a few podcasts that offer helpful and relatable advice for all stages of parenthood. Here is a list of some highly rated podcasts for parents organized by age.

For parents to be, there are several podcasts that can help prepare moms and dads for this new stage in their life. Pregnancy Confidential offers answers to all pregnancy and motherhood questions, even those that are embarrassing to ask. This podcast gives an honest and witty perspective of a soon-to-be mother in the preparation of their child. Another podcast for a mom-to-be is FearFreeChildbirth. This podcast is intended to acknowledge the fear of childbirth and replace the mother’s concerns with the excitement of what is to come. Both of these are great options for mothers to be.

New mothers could use advice as well. The Boob Group is a podcast for all new moms and gives them all the necessary information for raising an infant. This podcast addresses everything from breastfeeding to latching and more. Newbies is another podcast that addresses the struggles of raising a newborn and the challenges many mothers face during their baby’s first year. Most importantly, this podcast also addresses the mother’s physical and emotional wellbeing.

Some podcasts for parents with kids under the age of six include Little Springs, Parenting Beyond Discipline, and Good Inside. All of these features common struggles of parenting young children and techniques to improve communication with young ones. The goal of these podcasts is to better the relationship between the child and parent as well as dealing with challenges.

Raising school-age children requires an entirely new style of parenting. Podcasts like The Mom Hour and Sunshine Parenting attempt to make this stage of parenting more clear. Both of these podcasts focus on encouragement and strategies for child development to raise well equipt adults.

Finally, when it comes to raising teens and young adults, there are a couple of podcasts that provide insight into emotional and social challenges that arise when parenting these age groups. Talking to Teens gives effective communication techniques between parent and teen that help tackle the struggles of dating, social media, and other challenging teenage activities.

This article was originally published on JenniferPowers.me

How Moms Can Make Time for Themselves

Moms literally do it all. Between work, kids, household chores, and some semblance of social life, it can be challenging to find any time for themselves. We’re giving some great tips to help busy supermoms enjoy a little “me time.”

FINDING THE TIME

The first step towards enjoying “me time” is finding the time for it. It involves rearranging your schedule a bit so you can sneak in an extra 15 minutes here and there to unwind.

Instead of using your kid’s nap time to work or clean, spend it doing something you enjoy instead. You can get the kids involved with the household chores, so you don’t have to take up your valuable alone time doing that.

Getting up a little earlier than the kids or going to bed a little later also allows you to have a bit of alone time. You may be exhausted, but you’ll be surprised at how rejuvenated you feel after having your morning cup of coffee in peace or relaxing with a glass of wine and a good book at the end of the day.

WHAT TO DO WITH THAT TIME

Once you find the time, you have to decide how to spend it. While the obvious is merely sitting in silence and enjoying the quiet, the more “me time” you carve out, the more fun things you can do to relax. Try:

Reading a book
Listening to music
Binge-watching a show
Having an at-home spa session
Playing online games
Eating your favorite food
Talking to a friend
Taking a walk
Getting crafty with some scrapbooking, crocheting, etc
Having coffee with friends
Going shopping

CONTINUING “ME TIME”

Now that you’ve found it, you want to keep the trend going! Scheduling alone time gets more manageable as your kids get older, but there are always ways to find more kid-free time in the present. Surround yourself with supportive mom friends who are willing to trade off valuable “me time” moments. With a good community and these helpful tips, “me time” is within reach.

How to Keep Your Children Focused During Remote Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced radical changes in virtually all sectors, including education. The stay-at-home government directives have pushed schools to adopt the concept of remote learning for our children. The short attention span of children could, however, easily threaten the success of this initiative. Here are some tips on how, as a parent, you may come through for your children to help them stay focused during remote learning.

Provide the resources

The success of remote learning for children dramatically depends on the availability of the necessary resources, including laptops and internet connections. One of the essential parenting tips for distance learning requires you to provide your children with laptops or desktop computers connected to the internet. You may also have to show your children how to navigate basic computer programs essential for the remote learning sessions.

Nurture a routine

Unlike adults, children may take some time before they adapt to the discipline of unsupervised learning via the internet. To help them stay organized and disciplined, you should help them set a routine, such as a calendar or digital organizer, to keep track of daily events. The routine should match that of the digital learning program for the kids’ schools. Such a routine helps the child to keep pace with the learning program and not fall behind.

Review progress

Like in classroom-based learning, remote learning should be monitored in terms of the student’s progress. As a parent, you should supplement the distance learning program assessment by regularly checking your child’s progress. Progress review may involve doing some spot checks and asking some basic concepts taught during the remote learning sessions.

Think big

To make remote learning work for your children, you may have to come on board and help them create bigger goals and gradually achieve them. It would help if you showed your child how to look at the bigger picture regarding how the pandemic is slowly shifting the education sector’s dynamics and creating challenges. After demonstrating this, you may show the child how they can come on board and help resolve the pandemic’s problems by thinking creatively.

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Why Poker Is So Popular

Poker is a classic table game that almost everyone has played. It is among the most popular game at casinos all over the world. Most players find it easy to learn and fun to engage in. There are plenty of options when it comes to poker, and many compelling reasons to play the game.

One of the reasons why poker is so popular is that it encourages friendly competition among players. Nothing brings people together like enjoying their favorite card game with others who enjoy it just as much. In general, most Poker players are easygoing and understanding of each other. They know that luck plays a significant part in who wins and who loses. Poker players are some of the most empathetic players found in any casino.

Another reason to play this game is that it provides a mental workout that keeps players’ minds sharp. This is why poker players are great at quick-thinking—they know the game will keep their brain active and healthy.

Excelling at this game is almost impossible for someone whose math skills are lacking. Many people will play the game just to keep their skills sharp. Aside from math, any game of poker also calls for players to use strategy and logic to beat their opponents.

The most successful poker players are the ones that understand their opponents as well as the mindset of each one. They have also learned to keep their emotions in check when they are having a winning or losing streak. This kind of emotional awareness and control goes a long way in helping people thrive throughout their life.

So many people play poker that the game is also a valuable social experience. This is especially true for those who compete in events such as the World Series of Poker. Fans of the game watch this tournament from home and see all the dynamic characters that participate in it. The professional poker players that compete come from all over the world. Many of them immigrated to the U.S. from other countries, and some went to prestigious universities while others never even completed higher education. Yet all of these people were still able to come together to play a universally loved game.

Read more about poker at JenniferPowersNYC.com.

How To Host A Socially-Distanced Family Halloween Party

Skipping Halloween 2020 might be tempting, but having a little fun, tradition, and normalization in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic may be a healthier and happier choice. Everyone needs a little joy, right? And Halloween is a great way to connect with people during these times.

Let’s look at some tips for how to go about celebrating Halloween while respecting social-distancing practices this year.

Decide To Either Go Small Or Virtual

You have two main options for a healthy Halloween party in 2020. Some people may prefer to take advantage of both options, having small and virtual Halloween parties with different groups. For example, they may have a small family party with their inner circle and then host a virtual party with plenty of friends. Find what feels right for you.

Have A Masquerade Party

This is the perfect way to take advantage of the fact that everyone must wear masks anyway. Hold a masquerade party this Halloween 2020 and make it a fun part of the night!

Host Your Party Outside

One of the safest ways to host your socially distanced Halloween party is to move it outdoors. Depending on the weather where you live, it may be wise to have your party during the early afternoon. This isn’t traditional, but nothing in 2020 is going to align with tradition! You can also consider getting outdoor heating options set up. Decorate your yard with spooky decorations, mask up, and set up some hand sanitizer stations for everyone to feel comfortable.

Watch Spooky Movies Together Online

Many streaming services now offer a “Watch Together” button. Host a virtual scary movie night!

Alternatively, you can set up a projector in your backyard to do this socially-distanced and in person.

Hold a Pumpkin Carving Contest

Again, this can be done virtually or socially-distanced. Post your photos online to show off each person’s work!

Ask Your Guests

One of the key takeaways this year is that everyone handled the pandemic differently. Once you have some suggestions in mind, get in touch with your potential guests to ask how they feel about them, and let them chip in with any tips that may make them feel more comfortable. This will ensure everyone attending feels safe and free to have a fun time.

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The Best Poker Podcasts

With millions of fans around the globe, poker is easily the world’s most popular card game. The critical reason poker is so popular is that it is easy to learn but challenging to master. In addition to understanding complex strategies, poker players also have to read their opponents. A great way to keep up with your favorite card game is by listening to podcasts. These are the four best poker podcasts.

Thinking Poker

While Thinking Poker spends time covering strategy, it is best known for its behind-the-scenes look at the poker world. If you have ever wanted to know what life was like for a celebrity poker player, then this is the podcast for you. The Thinking Poker hosts regularly interview poker’s biggest names to reveal their unique takes on the game. Listening to these stories is a great entertainment source that can also help improve your skills at the table.

Red Chip Poker

When it comes to poker podcasts, none of them are more popular than Red Chip Poker. This podcast has built a dedicated following thanks to the high-level strategies discussed in every episode. While many podcasts only cover no-limit hold’em, Red Chip Poker covers virtually every poker game imaginable. Listening to this podcast is practically like hiring your own personal poker coach.

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Education Charities To Support This Fall

Children living in poverty and under harsh regimes are often unable to enjoy a well-rounded education. In extreme cases, it’s up to concerned philanthropists to donate the time, finances, and resources to help these children grow. Education-based charities are looking for donations now more than ever. Are you going to step up and help kids in need?

The Turing Trust

Named after Andrew Turing, the nephew of British mathematician and logician Alan Turing, the Turing Trust helps students in Malawi and Ghana by providing thousands of computers to schools. It has supported 39 schools in Malawi and 76 schools in Ghana. Thanks to this program, more than 41,000 African students have become I.T. literate. Those wishing to support this program can donate to the Turing Trust through their businesses.

Mobile Education Partnerships

An educational charity working in Myanmar (formerly Burma) that has been operative for 20 years, Mobile Education Partnerships provides teacher training in remote communities and marginalized areas. Since 2011, this charity has contributed to the preparation of nearly 2,000 teachers. It has also brought 350 teachers through Cambridge teaching exams and produced textbooks used by almost 18,000 children. People’s donations to MEP through their businesses can support this charity.

Lightyear Foundation

This foundation brings science education to children with disabilities in the U.K. To gain the interest of these students, one program, Sensory Science, is a creative and immersive experience that also provides practical knowledge that can improve their lives.

Read the full article at JenniferPowers.info.