All entries by this author

Taking on Hollywood: Designing Her Own Ambitions

Oct 15th, 2008 | By Career Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 3.75 out of 5

jhensen4 Taking on Hollywood: Designing Her Own AmbitionsThe Conscious Snob meets with Jessica Hanson — 24-year-old Hollywood socialite intent on defining her own career ambitions.  In the music industry since she was 15, Jessica has since started her own music agency, represented and booked acts opening for Justin Timberlake, launched online marketing campaigns for the likes of Jamie Kennedy, and amidst all of this, promotes events at some of Los Angeles’ premier clubs.   In the process of developing a reality television show based on her day-to-day life and everything that she’s involved in, Jessica shares her philosophy on life and career with Conscious Snob.

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Career Snob: What inspires you to do everything that you do?
Jessica: I really believe in doing what makes you happy. What inspires me to do everything I’m doing is my happiness. I love working. I work as much as possible just because it’s what I love to do.

Career Snob: What’s a normal day’s schedule like in your life?
Jessica: I don’t really have a normal schedule. Every night I make a to-do list of things I need to get done the next day and I schedule out my hours to make sure it’s all done. If there’s something with a deadline, such as marketing for a movie release, a big holiday event to promote, or one of my bands is touring, I’ll spend more time on that.

Career Snob: What’s key in helping you balance everything?
Jessica: Definitely time management. There’s no way I’d be able to be doing everything I do without time management.

Career Snob: Have you ever found working in entertainment disparaging?
Jessica: Occasionally there are some clients that aren’t so fun to work with, but I really love everything I do so it kind of weighs itself out.

Career Snob: Do you have any advice for people who are considering careers in entertainment?
Jessica: Don’t do it unless you love it or you’ll be miserable.  A lot of people get into the entertainment industry thinking it’s all glitz and glamour, when in reality it’s a lot of hard work and not so much time with the glitz and glamour. Also, always be networking. Networking is a very big part of the industry. If you’re wanting to work hard, and you have a passion for something in the entertainment industry then follow your dream. No dream is too big or too small, just do what makes you happy, and always have goals to keep you focused and accomplished when you reach them.

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Work to Win, and Nothing Less

Jun 18th, 2008 | By Career Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 3.00 out of 5

goal4 Work to Win, and Nothing LessHaving a job can be hard, but it can also be wonderful. The first thing is to realize is that work is everywhere. It is not just in the workplace, but also at home and in our personal life. I will focus this topic specifically on work in the professional level, but the same acts of perseverance, commitment, and inquiry apply to life outside the business.

Whether you are working for an employer or you own a business, you have to work to win. To succeed, you have to know your own personality type as well as the personality types of your colleagues and employees in order to create and participate in a team that works well together.

Know Yourself Understand what environments you thrive in as well as what makes you uncomfortable. Then choose the projects and tasks that you know you will thrive in to continue building and honing your skills. Also, know the personalities of other colleagues, so you know which tasks they can do better than you, and learn from them.

Challenge Yourself Start challenging yourself to consider other points of view if you are the type who must always be right. If you are the reliable type who does a good job at what you do, try new challenges to push yourself and aim for higher knowledge and expertise. Learn to speak your mind if you are the type who hates conflict.

Work to Win Find the drive and motivation to what you are doing, and always think about the next step. Definitely do what you are doing now, but have a direction so that you are not all over the place. Have the tenacity to dream big and go for it. Who says you can’t be the best? By being a leader of your own goals, you can take yourself or your company to new heights.


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Get Rich By Thirty

Jun 7th, 2008 | By Career Snob | Category: Sustainable Living
Rating 3.00 out of 5

chairsI am 24 years old, and my net worth isn’t much. In fact, it’s near zero. I just got out of debt, so all I have saved up is a small savings account, a new 401K and a Roth IRA, both of which have not been maxed out. Since I can’t even touch my retirement accounts until I’m 60, I technically have nothing. Your net worth should be your age, multiplied by your current gross annual income, divided by 10. I am FAR from that number– like eons away. I haven’t even saved for long term purposes, just for vacations and splurges.

Lesley Scorgie, the writer of Rich by Thirty, is a millionaire at my age. She started saving money in her teens and hasn’t looked back since. She lived simply and developed her own business with teaching other young adults the power of managing money for financial freedom. She owns a home and is comfortable with where and who she is.

The book discusses our current generation of young adults who are sucked into a world of consumption, and guides us to get out of debt and to start saving for bigger and grander things. Scorgie outlines debt, savings and investments in a simple format and breaks it all down where it is not too overwhelming. She uses language that is easy to understand, but not groundbreaking. A lot of her information is logical, but it was good to read it in such a matter of fact fashion. Here are some tips I got most out of it.

Get organized Start filing your receipts and documents in folders and boxes. Here is a link that tells you what to keep and for how long.

Budget Understand how you need to spend and save the rest. Allow room for some fun, but keep the future in focus so you have the finances ready for when you truly need it, such as fixing your car.

Invest Join your company’s 401K if you haven’t done so already. If you can’t max it out, then contribute up to what your company matches. It’s essentially free money. If there is no 401K, you can do a Traditional IRA, which are pre-tax contributions, or a Roth IRA, which are post-tax contributions. I have both the 401K as well as the Roth IRA.

Emergency fund Contribute a small percentage into an emergency fund that you will not touch. This is for major emergencies, such as losing a job or a medical payment. You should aim for three months’ worth of living expenses for your emergency fund, if not six months, which is more optimum.

The book has a lot of great info and facts that talk about credit cards, types of investments as well as tips to purchase a home. You can purchase a copy here.

I don’t know about you, but I am truly reformed. Now that I am out of debt, I am so focused on saving and learning to invest. I am fascinated by the world of finances and am ready to be rich by thirty.


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