Welcome to this week’s News Roundup, where we chat about what happened in the news around working women and moms’ careers, businesses, parenting and lifestyles. Read up…
Black Enterprise reveals groundbreaking ophtalmologist Dr. Patricia E. Bath is set to become one of the first Black women inducted in the National Hall of Fame;
Need to audit and re-design your life? Forbes defines how the Intentional Pause project can help you do just that;
Changing careers? Recruiterblogs suggests you consider a few additional options;
Are you into backpacks? Fast Company lists the most fashionable backpacks for adults;
Feeling rushed all the time? Zen Habits suggests ways to feel more spaciousness in your day;
Want to sound more confident? Lifehacker tells you to drop a few phrases from your vocabulary;
With the end of Daylight Saving time, Mother.ly has a few tips on how to “fall back” with kids.
If you’ve ever wondered about how to deal with change in your career and life, you owe it to yourself to read this book. “Who moved my cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson was recommended during a professional training, igniting my curiosity. I literally devoured it in one evening…
This short story featuring two mice and two little humans faced with a shortage of cheese at their usual cheese station reminds us the only constant is change. When both the little mice and little humans show up one day to no longer cheese at their usual cheese station, they’re surprised and unprepared to deal with this seemingly new turn of events. While the “simpler” little mice accept their new circumstances without much questioning and embark on a search for new cheese, the little humans go through a more laborious process, questioning the change at hand and hesitating to adapt to their new reality. Through their thought process, behaviors and lessons learned, they reveal to us the intricacies of our own nature when faced with the “new” and the lessons learned along the way.
It’s quite easy to identify with the characters, especially the little humans who are more hesitant to recognize and adapt to change. In a few short words and a powerful anecdote, Dr. Spencer Johnson expertly manages to place a mirror in front of us as readers, confronting us with the reality of our core instincts of self-preservation, comfort and predictability. He presents the dilemma of change so many of us face with a simple tale of humanity that can be applied to any area of work or life.
“Who Moved My Cheese?”, in its simplicity and truth, is a game-changer when it comes to dealing with change at work and in life. It not only prompts us to look within at our own beliefs and attitudes about personal and professional transitions, but also to realize and confirm the necessity of change in life. More importantly, it teaches us all to anticipate change, adapt to it, and enjoy the process.
Welcome to our #AskACPA feature, where we answer accounting, financial and business questions. Send us your questions at corporate@thecorporatesister.com.
Question: Should I report my side hustle income in my taxes?
The answer is yes! Any money you make through your side hustle is income, and should be added as such as part of your income taxes. Whether you babysit on the weekends, walk dogs every now and then, or freelance as a writer, in addition to your main job, the income you generate on the side should be reported.
If you hustle on the side by working for a company, and earn more than $600 in the course of the year, most likely you will get a taxable income form (1099-K or 1099-MISC) from the company outlining the amount of money you earned.
Your side hustle income affects your total taxable income, which is why it’s so important to track it. You can do this by opening a dedicated business checking or savings account, and setting money aside out of your revenue for taxes.
Got more accounting, financial or business-related questions. Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com
As we’re starting to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic, one thing we can all say is that we’ve become quite familiar with change. From one day to the other, we’ve gone from going about our daily lives the way we’ve always known, to being hunkered down in our homes, homeschooling our kids, and working remotely. Talk about a total change…
For working women and moms, this change has been even more drastic, as society unconsciously reverted to a more traditional setting with traditional gender roles. What this means for working women and moms is having to shoulder the unfair and unequal weight of household, child-rearing and elderly care responsibilities, in addition to work and other duties. What this also meant during this pandemic, and still means to this day, is that the type of drastic change we’ve been forced into has been so much more detrimental to working women and moms. No wonder so many working women and moms have been pressured into a mass exodus out of their careers for lack of adequate childcare, among other reasons…
Yet, change is not all bad. Quite to the contrary. In his best-selling book, “Who Moved My Cheese”, Dr. Spencer Johnson teaches an edifying lesson about change through the short, yet powerful story of a couple of mice and little humans dealing with change. His book, a masterpiece in simple, practical change management in my opinion, reminds us all of that the only constant is change. As such, change should not be avoided, or resisted, or even worse, fought against. Instead, we’re reminded to embrace the gift of change, along with the opportunities it brings along.
As beneficial as change may be, its recent manifestations have not necessarily been good to working women and moms. How then can working women and moms leverage change in their careers especially, when the latter are being particularly threatened by the current societal and business changes at play, from remote work to lack of childcare? Can otherwise seemingly challenging circumstances be reframed to allow for positive change? The answer is yes.
Here are three tips to consider:
Actively expect change (and prepare for it)
The only constant is change. As much as we may be creatures of comfort, we have to contend with the reality that nothing stays the same. For many, if not most of us, this requires a mindset change in how we see ourselves, the people surrounding us, and the environments around us.
By making peace with the fact that change will happen, we can develop a preemptive inner resilience to bring us through change in a positive and productive way. We’re also better equipped to monitor ourselves and the world around us for signs of change, and begin to prepare for it while adverting the related inevitable negative consequences.
As working women and moms, it can mean setting up systems and processes in our work and lives that can stand change. For many, it’s creating additional streams of income through side hustles and businesses, building investing resources, or automating certain tasks to make room to pivot when needed.
Adapt!
Adaptability is one of the most valuable personal and professional skills. For working women and moms who juggle so many balls in the air, and face so many more opportunities to experience change, it’s literally indispensable.
Think of it as cultivating the resilience, creativity, innovative spirit and strategies to reinvent ourselves as environments, people and circumstances around us morph. While adaptability requires courage and the aptitude to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations, it also offers the incredible gift of reinvention and pivoting, both professionally and personally.
For many working women and moms during the pandemic, it’s meant learning to adapt to remote work while homeschooling kids and running a household, among other responsibilities. This in turn has generated treasures of creativity, resulting in cutting-edge new businesses, innovative ways to work, and fresher ways to approach the always-elusive work-life balance.
Enjoy the process
Change is not to be feared. Rather, it’s an opportunity to face uncertainty with an open mind and positive perspective. In many ways, it’s an adventure back to the core of who we are, uncovering layers of our personalities and mindsets we may not have suspected unless faced with the prospect of change. More than anything, it’s an inevitable process whose rewards, most of which are unseen, well outweigh the costs . Enjoy it!
If we can’t avoid change, especially as working women and moms, then we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to maximize its potential in our work and lives. By preparing for it, adapting to it, and enjoying the process, we have the potential of turning what most fear into some of the biggest opportunities of our lifetimes.
To PhD or not to PhD? Making the decision to pursue a terminal degree is no easy feat. Making the decision to pursue a terminal degree as a working woman or working mom may downright be one of the toughest decisions you’ll have to make in your career and life. Going for your doctorate degree also means preparing for one of the most challenging balancing acts of working studying and taking care of your personal life. While you may decide to complete this degree at your own pace, whether it be on a full or part-time basis, the challenges will still be there.
Some of these challenge, to cite only a few, include the sheer amount of work, sacrifice and research involved. For most working women and moms, the time and effort commitment required can stand in the way of family and personal life, and even work. Many, if not most traditional PhD programs, tend to require full-time availability for years, making it close to impossible to work while studying. Thankfully, there is an increasing number of professional programs, geared at more experienced candidates, which may allow you to keep your job while you complete your doctoral program. Money can also become an issue, unless you’re offered a scholarship or significant financial assistance. This is why finding the right doctoral program can make a world of difference for you…
Women have actually earned 52.9% of doctoral degrees in the US in 2018-19, as revealed by the Council of Graduate Schools. However, it appears they are under-represented in elite PhD programs, particularly in maths-skill oriented fields, creating a notable “prestige gap”. While the data does not reveal the reasons behind the under-representation of women in high-prestige doctoral programs, patterns of gender inequality are undeniable. Some of the reasons behind the “prestige gap” may include women opting out of the application process to elite programs, scoring lower on average on the math GRE, or having different constraints than men. On the other end of the spectrum, this could also be explained by admission committee bias, rooted in deeply-seated cultural beliefs about gender and ability.
Despite the obvious, and not-so-obvious, obstacles standing in the way of working women and moms pursuing a doctoral program, there are strong benefits to doing so. These can be summarized in the three categories below:
Impact
If making a difference in your field is a priority for you, then a doctoral degree can help you achieve this. One of the main benefits of completing a doctoral program is learning the art of research. Through research, you may be able to contribute to the existing body of knowledge in your field, thus potentially creating change and tremendous impact.
Career Growth and Influence
Completing and earning your doctoral degree also means you are an expert in your field. Research allows you to exponentially grow your expertise in your chosen field, and sets you up to grow in your work.
Additionally, you may be able to boost your career prospects once you complete a doctoral program. You may be able to start a career in academia as a professor and/or researcher. If academia is not in the cards for you, then a variety of high-level industry careers may open their doors to you.
Another area of career growth is monetary. You can reasonably expect to earn a higher salary with a doctoral degree in hand, along with additional opportunities to increase your income. These may include but are not limited to consulting, speaking, teaching and other expert-related opportunities.
Potential
Last but not least, earning a doctoral degree will help you develop exceptional critical thinking skills through research, expert knowledge in your field, in addition to the resilience and fortitude to resolve complex problems. The challenges presented by a PhD program will certainly develop your potential to its fullest, and prepare you not just for a successful career, but also for a greater purpose in your work and life.
To Phd or not to Phd? It’s a question whose answer may vary from individual to individual. Despite its great rewards and long-term benefits, it’s also a journey that’s just not for everyone. It requires not just tremendous resilience, dedication and sustained effort, but also a solid passion to stay the course when the going gets tough. Yet, if you’re attracted by the prospect of contributing to greater knowledge, overcoming the challenge of a terminal education process, and achieving a sense of purpose through your work, then you may want to consider making it a part of your career and life path.
