Professional Development

consultants working together

What Are Soft Skills and Why Are They Important in the Workplace?

By MBO Partners

What are soft skills? Soft skills, often called people skills or emotional intelligence, are defined as the ability to interact amicably with others. They are personal attributes that can affect relationships, communication, and interaction with others. Soft skills can be invaluable to business success, but why are they so important? While soft skills can at…

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How to Become a Self Employed Consultant: 5 Steps to Starting Right

By MBO Partners

While becoming an independent contractor may sound great, you might not feel 100% ready. Being confident in your decision is important, and luckily there’s a lot you can do to prepare for self-employment so you feel completely informed in your choice. Building a strong networking base, preparing financially, and establishing the unique services you bring…

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consultant

Top Certifications for Small Business Owners in 5 Key Skill Areas

By MBO Partners

When building out your resume as an independent professional, a portfolio of past work, and strong recommendations or testimonials paint a picture of your skills and services. Adding professional certifications to that list can help you stand out from your competition and give your clients a way to verify the skills you say you have. Not only…

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Transitioning to Self Employment: Advice from Consultant Wade Forbes

By Wade Forbes

In 2017,  Wade Forbes, a cyber security contractor, transitioned from a traditional corporate work role to independent consulting. Now, he takes pride in the fact that the relationships he forms with clients are a true representation of his hard work. “In the past, someone would tell my boss, ‘Hey, Wade is great,’ and that would…

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4 Learning Agility Skills that Will Help You Succeed

By MBO Partners

Apply the four key components of learning agility to continually grow and improve your business.

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3 Non Verbal Communication Skills to Improve Sales

By MBO Partners

Whether you’re meeting with a potential client for the first time, giving a presentation about the services you offer, or leading a project kickoff meeting, non-verbal communication skills are incredibly important. Your actions give meaning to your words, and your movements subtly indicate your thoughts, feelings, and personality to the person you are speaking with. In sales,…

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Consultation

3 Productivity Tips for Small Business Owners

By MBO Partners

When you run your own business, it is important to maximize your most valuable resource—yourself. And that means squeezing every last drop of productivity from your day. While schedules and to-do lists can help, boosting productivity is not so much a matter of time management as it is producing quality work within the time you have available….

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Independent worker

How to Be Your Own Boss

By MBO Partners

One of the biggest perks of becoming an independent professional is getting to be your own boss. While there are a lot of rewards that come with this power, being the No. 1 decision maker is not always easy. Those that thrive as independent professionals often have key traits that contribute to their success. Follow…

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consultant

12 Must Have Productivity Apps for Self Employed

By MBO Partners

While your favorite apps might involve matching sets of candies, launching birds at unstable structures, or chasing around lovable pocket monsters, you don’t always have the luxury of playing the day away when you run your own business. Luckily, there’s another category of apps that are equally engaging—and can help you maximize productivity. We’ve assembled…

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10 Valuable Skills Consultants Need to Succeed

By MBO Partners

Keeping your skills and knowledge current is important to remain competitive as an independent professional. As the workforce landscape continues to evolve, your skills will need to do so as well. By forming these abilities now, you won’t be caught off guard by future needs and requests from clients. Here are 10 skills for the…

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