Running a modern business is all about how you adapt and evolve as a brand. Whether your brand is your company, or YOU yourself, incorporating change early on, continuously learning new skills, and focusing your marketing efforts will not only keep your business relevant in an ever-changing market, but help it soar to the top. 

You can find countless tips on the internet and in self-help books on how to improve upon your company moving forward. Today we'll pare it all down to 3 tips to help you surge forward. 

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If you want to start your own business, you need to channel your ambition in the right way. With all of the competition in the marketplace, it'll take direction to stand out from the crowd. A clear business plan, preparation, and the skills and knowledge to back it up will make it happen. To get you started, we are going to talk you through four of the key principles of starting a business. Let's go!

We confront external obstacles every day, but they aren't the only ones. Our perspective on the world is colored by our own expectations of ourselves and others. Your perspective is often what makes or breaks a successful career, because it can push you to meet your potential, or it can get in your own way. Your perception of external obstacles shape how you manage internal obstacles. Is that barrier a puzzle to solve, or is it a signal that you've failed? Allowing these internal obstacles to keep you from continuing on the road to success will drain your motivation and work ethic.

In this article we'll talk about 4 big obstacles that you can overcome just by recognizing them, and by taking steps to tear them down.

There's several ways you can think about the future, and start planning. Preparing for life after graduation might seem daunting, but these 3 techniques will help you plan for the future without feeling overwhelmed in the present.

With all the effort you put in during your college years, it can be frustrating when you get to your first job and find yourself less prepared than expected. 

At no other time in your life will you learn so much information as when you're in college, but the majority of it is content knowledge, not interpersonal skills. If you've developed keen critical thinking and big concept mapping skills, like when studying for big exams, those will transfer well to the workplace. But some of the other challenges won't be overcome as easily.

As you jump into your first job after graduation, you might find yourself feeling unprepared. These three challenges stem from a differences in your schedule, your work responsibilities, and your peers.

Moving into "real life" after you finish school can be a shock, whether its undergraduate, graduate, or professional school. Of course, it does depend on what you study. Many people get a taste of what their postgraduate life is going to be like during school, especially if their field is more hands-on than others. But the reality of finally being on your own can still be tough to take. If you feel like you're entering the adult world for the first time, without the bubble of student life to protect you, you should think about how to prepare yourself for new experiences. Being totally independent can be scary, but it's worth it - probably.

​If you feel like your current career plans are not really going anywhere for you, you might be tempted to take a new approach and to find a career that is more in line with your personality. And if you’re the kind of person that likes other people and enjoys communicating with them, you should find a career that can play to that particular strength. There are many of them out there so you won’t be left short of options. Here are some great career paths to consider you’re a real people person.

There's a difference between having people-facing skills and being a people person. And often in academia, the mix is weighted more towards people working hard to develop interpersonal skills, but not jumping up and down to do people-facing work. So if you're considering alternatives to academia, don't pass up these positions.

Cumulative final exams, licensing exams, masters comprehensive exams, doctoral qualifying exams - all are BIG! And effective study strategies focus on consolidating large amounts of information into tenable concepts that can be applied to whatever question thrown at you. Instead of getting bogged down in the details, painting the big picture is where you want to start. ​

Materials in this photo: Arc Discbound Notebook (Letter Size, Poly Cover)  |   Office by Martha Stewart Discbound Dividers (5-tab, also available in 8-tab)      |  Planner by Blue Sky, no longer available   |   ​ Printable Graph Paper

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In this post, I'll walk you through some strategies that will help you make this process as painless as it could be. Be forewarned, these are not your typical lecture-quiz-exam study methods, so they'll feel foreign and uncomfortable. But practice makes perfect, and after about a week long learning curve you'll look forward to study sessions and feel efficient and knowledgeable.