Lots of people are losing their jobs. Many of them seem to be people I know.

Two weeks ago, the Salvation Army thrift shop near me shut down. Every worker lost his or her job. The people I talked to said that they couldn’t find other work in the area. Now, those are low-wage jobs … certainly, there are low-wage jobs available?

Then I learned about an executive-level manager who was unable to get a job at the Whole Foods store near her. Why? Because unemployed engineers – a vast and still-growing local population – have taken the hourly jobs. Rocket scientists bagging groceries.

An artist friend was just laid off from her job glazing high-end pottery products. She asked me to take a look at her resume. And that gave me an idea:

If you’ve recently been laid off, be one of the first 10 people to contact me here (or renee@whistlecorps.com). I’ll polish your resume for free.

Give me the old one, give me your most recent job experience, and tell me what kind of job you’re looking for. I will edit your resume, format it and prepare you for a successful job search in every way I know how.

You’ll get three files back: a Word document, a PDF version and a plain text file (useful for online applications).

I’ve helped people before with this service, and I can help you.

Here’s my caveat: if you’re used to million-dollar bonuses, then I reserve the right to charge you out the proverbial ‘wazoo’ and dance in a pile of my ill-gotten booty. I could use it.

Things are just not that great right now. Perhaps, like me, you feel as if your already-small business is shrinking with the GNP, while the gaps in your safety net (home equity, IRA, etc.) continue to widen with every awful news cycle.

I find myself, lately, ground to stasis by the national misery: depleted of the alternative energy I need to fuel those rainy-day projects that really ought to get done (e.g., address my pathetically incomplete LinkedIn profile); finding funny dog videos more enthralling by the second. At least the geniuses at AIG are alright. Whew.

When business is slow and days … are … slow … motivation is first to go.

It’s the Great Small Business Depression. We’re in it. I’m talking psychological reality, people, not economic reality. But the reality of psychological reality is that we control our own. That means that there is something you can do today to positively affect the state of your small business.

A colleague (and prolific video link source) wrote yesterday:

“I read an article in the May issue of More magazine. I tracked down one of the women in the article through LinkedIn. We exchanged emails, talked on the phone for 45-minutes and are meeting next week for lunch.”

Will anything come of this meeting?

Something already has!

Mary Kay, with one bold action, injected a massive dose of capital into her personal stimulus plan. She wrote New Deal for her business.

There were no funny dog videos in my inbox this morning.

Here’s how she ended:

“Now, it's your turn to do something daring.”

That’s a challenge to all of us, people. What will we dare to attempt today?

A client recently wrote with a question about hyphenation: “Is it ‘non-evasive’ or ‘noninvasive’?”* It seems both versions appeared on the company’s Web site and in various sales presentations.

Whatever industry you’re in, you probably wrestle a term that makes sense either one way or the other, depending on (1) the author’s mood and (2) local breezes caused by flapping rainforest butterflies.

Take a moment to think about your troublemaker: how many folks in your organization communicate that term to customers every day – through marketing materials, white papers, presentations … even invoices? Why, a single customer might experience that term presented in as many varieties as you have people or materials.

How does that reflect on your business?

Not good. If consistency is the first jewel in the sparkling crown that is your brand, then without it, your company is, well, not so pretty.

Lucky for you, implementing consistency as an organization goal is a low-cost, low-risk investment that produces immediate results:

Appoint a Consistency Czar. Choose a detail-oriented person who has access to (and the ability to communicate with) everyone in your organization.

Direct that person to establish a well-researched log of common terms, their correct spellings and usage.

Publish: laminate, post online, assemble binders or simple folders. Whatever you choose, make certain your guide is available to everyone and that it is easy to update.


Viola! Instant, cheap credibility.

How do you prioritize and enforce consistency? What tools does your Consistency Czar(ina) use?


Starter Kit
AP Stylebook, in print or online (by subscription). The online version is fully searchable and allows you to customize with notes and tags. At $25 p/year (one user), it’s a worthwhile investment. www.apstylebook.com

Merriam-Webster online: www.merriam-webster.com Free service includes a searchable medical dictionary. Subscribe to the unabridged, ad-less version for $29.95 p/year or $4.95 p/month.



* The answer, by the way, is “noninvasive”. Here’s why:

Don’t use a hyphen if the compound you’re forming does not have special meaning and can be understood if not is used before the base word. (www.apstylebook.com)