Although things are changing, the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are still largely male-dominated. There has been a recent push to get more women into STEM, but things are starting to slow down. If you're interested in a career in one of these fields, you're probably aware that it can be tough for women to make it. A number of things can make it difficult, from sexism in the workplace to long hours that make it hard to balance your career with having a family. But if you want to work in a science or technology field, you need to be prepared to tough it out.

Keep Educating Yourself

One of the things you should do if you want to make it as a woman in a STEM field is to keep working on self-improvement. You usually need to be degree-educated to enter one of these fields, although it isn't always essential. Whether or not you go to university, it's important to keep learning and educating yourself so you can keep up with colleagues and others in the field. Whether that means completing a PhD or just keeping up with the latest research in your subject area, it will ensure that you have the knowledge and experience you need to succeed.

Looking to start up a new business venture? Doing so in the wedding industry can be extremely lucrative. Not only do wedding vendors generally make more money than others in their sector, but you also get to be part of people’s big day which is always rewarding. Let’s face it, everyone loves a wedding! Here are some of the ideas you could consider for your business venture. 

Transport

Wedding transport is great business, from chauffeur services to horse and carriage rental, even wedding buses are all popular!  If you’re planning on driving a vehicle, you will of course need a full license as well as a number of years driving experience. You may also need to take an advanced driving test. You will then need to contact your local taxi licensing office to apply for a private hire license. Your local council/ licensing authority will control the age and type of vehicle you will be able to operate. Normally it will have a maximum age limit on the vehicle to ensure safety. You will also need a DBS check. While there’s some hassle involved in sorting out the paperwork, once it’s done and out of the way you’re good to go. 

Photography

If you already have a background and understanding of photography, why not become a wedding photographer? You don’t need any specific qualifications to become a wedding photographer, although some professional training in the form of various courses will be invaluable. Most importantly, you will need experience and a good portfolio to do well as a wedding photographer, this may mean working for free for a while so you can build up a range of photos. When people are looking to book a wedding photographer, it’s their previous work they will be interested in and will book you if they like your style. This is something you could do in your spare time as a hobby until everything is set up and you’re ready to make a go of it full time. It’s important to develop a good understanding and knowledge of what people want, you have the important job of documenting the most important day of people’s lives. So plenty of experience is a must.

Catering

Do you have a passion for food and cooking? Have you already gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in a professional kitchen or food industry? Then a catering business is a fantastic option. You could provide the food for engagement parties as well as wedding receptions. There are a number of certificates and licenses you need to deal with food, which if you already work in the industry you will be familiar with.

Credit, finance, borrowing money. Whatever you want to call it, having money or goods up front and being able to pay it back in affordable installments can seem like the ideal situation. Instead of spending ages saving you can spread the cost, what could go wrong, right? Well, of course, lots can go wrong. It’s easy to become overcommitted or get into a habit of spending money you don’t have, and before you know it your monthly repayments are higher than what you can realistically afford to pay back. The problem with debt is it can spiral, and if you’re not careful, you can find yourself in a right old pickle. However, that’s not to say that debt should always be avoided. Providing you follow the tips below and use good common sense, there are ways you can borrow money without getting yourself in trouble financially. In fact, done properly lending will have a positive impact on your credit score since it shows you can pay back money on time each month.

Know What You Can Afford To Repay

This doesn’t mean guessing or hoping for the best. Work out your incomings and outgoings for the month and find out exactly what you can pay back. Don’t allow repayments to take up every spare penny you have, or if you get an unexpected expense, you’re going to end up in a bit of a muddle. Budget carefully and you stay in control of your money. 

Only Borrow For Worthwhile Purchases

Getting a mortgage on a house, getting finance or looking at unsecured loans to buy a car or lending student loan money, for example, are useful on credit. They’re expensive purchases that you wouldn’t necessarily have the funds to be able just to buy outright. For less important purchases, consider saving up money and buying outright instead. Do you really need a load of new clothes from the catalogue or is this just a luxury? Do you really need those new homeware items or could you spend a few weeks saving for them instead? Once you start making unnecessary purchases and buying things just because you want them now is when things start getting out of control. Sometimes there can be a fine line so just use common sense. For example, taking out a loan so you can make home improvements is a useful thing to borrow for. But if you simply want to go on a shopping spree in your favourite shop then that's a little different.

Don’t Open Further Credit

Often when people find themselves getting into trouble with debt, it becomes tempting to open further lines of credit to pay them off. A consolidation loan is a good way to go since it means you can pay off multiple credit lines and only pay one rate of interest. However taking out further credit cards to pay bills or having the attitude ‘I'm already in debt now so who cares’ is a dangerous game. If you find yourself on a slippery slope financially, your best bet is to seek debt advice as soon as possible. It will help you get back on track and pay things down more quickly without further debt mounting up

One of the many issues that many new businesses can come up against, is the fact that it can often be very difficult to get noticed in any way. The modern marketplace is so crowded with businesses all vying for the attention of a limited number of customers that it can be almost impossible for a lot of businesses to stand out at all, especially those without the kind of marketing budget that bigger, more established businesses might have. Fortunately, there are still plenty of things that smaller businesses can do to get the attention of potential customers. And this is incredibly important because the old saying is true, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Because of this, the initial impact you have on potential customers should be very high on your list of priorities. With that in mind, here are some things that you can do to get your business noticed and make a long-lasting and positive first impression.

Have Clear Branding

If you want people to notice your business, then you need to have a strong focus on branding. Customers are drawn in by visuals before just about anything else and without a clear, dynamic visual element to your business, it's likely that it will end up getting overlooked. This goes for office based businesses as much as street level, retail style businesses. If your business is present at things like trade fairs, then have an eye catching exhibition stand designed to help you make the best impression. When there are so many other stands at a single event, it's important to make yours stand out as much as possible.

Starting your own business from home can be a daunting task - especially if you have gotten to the point where you need to hire more people than just yourself. This can be a great thing; it means that you are bringing in enough work to sustain both yourself and another person, which can only mean one thing … business is booming! It can only go from strength to strength from here. But how do you move your plans forward once you’ve gotten yourself past this stage? 

Communicate

There is still a certain amount of networking that you will need to do throughout your business career, regardless of how well you are doing. Promoting yourself through social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can do amazing things for small businesses, especially as people are more inclined to turn to the high street/home business markets rather than the big brands in the current climate. It’s becoming more and more well known that we, as a generation, have to support these smaller companies in order for them to survive, and chances are that we probably know an owner ourselves, be it in our immediate circle or an associate. Communication is key, and no matter how successful you are at present, you need to keep it up to see the success grow. 

There are so many little jobs that we need to carry out in order for our life to tick over nicely. Things like grocery orders, paying bills, and organising your professional and social calendars. For busy people, all of these necessary jobs always tend to get in the way, and they can often be neglected when work or our personal lives take over.  It shouldn’t be like that, though, as life admin is extremely important. If you forget to take care of some of it, you could end up facing some big issues, such as fines for late payments. But how are you meant to manage it all when you are so busy in other areas of your life? Here are some great tips to help busy people with their life admin.

It doesn't matter who you are or the kind of lifestyle you lead, I think it's fair to assume that we all find mornings a challenge. If I haven't had enough sleep I'm quite honestly the worst person to be around, meaning that mornings are often not my favourite time of day! But as I've gotten older I've realised there's so much you can do to make your morning run more smoothly, and so even if you're still tired your day can get off to a much more positive start. With a little bit of organisation (and simplifying and streamlining tasks) you can set a good start for the rest of your day.

Wake Up Well

Even if you have to wake up at what feels like an unnatural time, doing it in a natural way can help a lot. Alarm clocks that start low and gradually increase in volume (or that gradually fill the room with imitation sunlight) will help you feel much better as the day begins. Personally I find that choosing the right alarm tone can make a huge difference too, anything too harsh has me wanting to throw the thing out of the window the second it goes off! Open the curtains as soon as possible after you get up, and having a shower will make you feel instantly refreshed and more awake.

 Plan Your Outfit

This is definitely something I've learned to do over the years, and ideally your outfit (including shoes and accessories) should all be laid out the night before. The amount of times I used to assume something was hung up in my wardrobe just to wake up late and realise it wasn't where I thought. Full morning meltdowns usually followed where I've been rushing around trying to locate a certain item of clothing or a lost shoe. Do yourself a favour and spend five minutes the night before making sure everything is set out, while you're there you could check that your bag has everything you need for the following day too.

Take Charge of Breakfast

I find the best way to jolt myself fully awake and get rid of that morning fuzzy head feeling is with a hot cup of coffee. Coffee machines take the hassle out of making it, leaving you free to prepare breakfast. Get yourself a high quality bag of beans from a company like Iron and Fire and you're good to go. A good healthy breakfast will get you off on the right foot, you could even pop on the radio while you're preparing and eating it to catch up on the day's news. If you're feeling particularly enthusiastic you could walk or cycle to work which will not only mean you avoid traffic but means you get a bit of exercise into your day too.

Keep Organised

It’s a whole lot easier to get things done if you have familiar systems to help you manage your activities. Some things like washing up, laundry and general tidying will have to be done daily but for other chores you could assign different tasks to set days so you know exactly how your week is going to run. Keep track of things in a diary or on a calendar so you know what you need to do, where you need to go and when- this will help to avoid missed appointments and deadlines too. Keeping your home tidy and organised will make the daily jobs in your routine much easier, and so it's well worth keeping on top of.

Treat Yourself

Making your way through weeks where everything seems much the same can be daunting, but planning regular treats for yourself really livens up your routine. Studies show that people tend to feel lowest on Tuesdays because they don’t have as much energy as on Monday but there’s still most of the week to go. A Tuesday treat, whether it’s a meal out, an evening with friends or a long pampering bath can give you something to look forward to just when you need it. Being organised like this can be time consuming at the outset but it will soon pay off and leave you with a lot more energy for enjoying life. 

What do you do to make your daily regime as simple as possible?

Household bills are expensive, and along with your rent or mortgage chances are most of your wages are taken up by them each month. And while bills are an inevitable fact of life, it doesn’t mean to say you have to pay well over the odds. There are plenty of things you can do to reduce your bills, and free up cash for the things you’d rather be spending it on. 

Save on Your Gas Bill

Getting your windows double glazed and having wall and loft cavity insulation is a great start to saving money on your gas bill. But there are things you can do that don’t involve getting builders in- if like me you’re renting you can’t exactly start changing things like this and so have to work with what you have. So to save money on your gas bill, turning off radiators in unused rooms is a good idea (as well as keeping the doors shut to those rooms!) You could also have your heating on a timer so it’s not being left on all day, and get plenty of cosy throws for your sofa to cuddle up with in the evenings. That way you’re not having to put the heating up so high all night too. 

Save on Your Electricity Bill

So much electricity is wasted every day just from leaving products on standby. The Energy Savings Trust claims that up to £80 a year is wasted in most homes due to appliances left like this. It’s not difficult to switch something off properly when you use it, so try and get into the habit as much as possible. Another easy way to cut down your electric usage is to switch to energy saving bulbs. They're not expensive and it takes a matter of minutes to do, it's such an easy change to make but can massively help the environment as well as save you money. 

Save on Your Water Bill

In the UK the prices for your water bills are set, and there’s nothing you can do to haggle a lower price or ask them to reduce it. Between 1973 and 1990, the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue put a valuation on all homes, and it’s based on these valuations that the water companies work out your bill. Of course this is crazy, the value of a property can change drastically in that time (for better or for worse). The Valuation Office no longer changes these rates either, and so you’re stuck with the water bills you’re given. However there are a couple of ways around this. The first one is to have a water meter installed, this means that you only pay for the amount of water you use instead of a set bill. However this does mean that your bill could end up being higher if you use a lot of water, and is only really worth doing if you’re a single person living in a property (or are a particularly thrifty household when it comes to water). The second way is to get your own private water supply. This can be achieved with borhole drilling, it saves you money and also means you’re not at the mercy of the water companies for things like hosepipe bans. Boreholes can be done even in small gardens, and gives you access your own clean private water source. 

Save on Your Shopping Bill

One of the key ways to save money on food shopping is preparation. Draw up a weekly meal plan, and then write a list based on exactly what you need. Then follow the list religiously, if you’re easily suckered into deals and things you don’t need at the supermarket then consider doing your shopping online. When you know what you’re eating for the next few days you can be prepared, you’re never caught short wondering what to make and won’t end up resorting to expensive and unhealthy takeaways. If you’re strapped for time during the week, batch cooking at the weekend can be helpful. Make a big meal and portion it into freezer bags or tupperware boxes ready to grab and reheat when it’s late and you’re tired. Another great way to reduce waste and make your money go further is to add some store cupboard recipes to your weekly rotation. The kinds of meals that can be made cheaply using the dried and frozen food you already have on hand- no need to run out to the shops to buy more fresh ingredients. Think things like chicken pasta using dried wholemeal pasta, frozen chicken breasts and homemade tomato sauce using tinned tomatoes and herbs from the storecupboard.

Running a beauty salon is incredibly rewarding, as you get to make people look and feel great about themselves. It's a great business for those who love speaking to and working with people, and you get to develop your creativity too. If you already have years of experience of working in beauty, starting your own business and becoming the boss could be the natural progression of things. But what does it take to get set up in the business of beauty? Here's a beginner's check-list that will help you to make a success of your salon business. Ready? Let's go!

Finances

First of all, you need to think about money. Now setting up a business is expensive, there's no denying it. If you set out a budget and have a small emergency fund set aside though, you won't be left with too many nasty surprises. There are ways that you can save money too. Finding a premises that needs renovating but which you can work on yourself is a great place to start. If you want to create a unique look for your salon too, check out markets, auction sites and second hand shops for some bargains too. Remember, we all have to start somewhere. Do your paperwork! Rules and regulations don't inspire much enthusiasm, but they are important. By staying on the right side of the law you won't run into any trouble. So make sure that you have all the correct licenses, have liaised fully with your local authority and have taken all the appropriate training before you even think about opening.

What Will You Offer Customers?

One of the main things you will need to decide is what services you will provide at your salon. A lot of this will be based on your skills and qualifications, but you can also hire others in the beauty industry to work in your salon to provide extras to clients. You could consider hair, makeup, tanning, nails, waxing, brow and lash treatments and much more. It can be useful to take a look at established and successful salons and see the route that they've gone down. For example, Mimosa Beauty, an award winning beauty salon in Chelmsford offer pampering packages for mums-to-be, think of what you can offer on top of your standard treatments. 

Marketing Your Business

Now, you're about to open for business and you want to drum up some publicity. So get yourself out there! Network with journalists from local papers, fellow business owners in your area and even reach out to some bloggers and ask them to come into the salon for a complimentary treatment. Getting to know a broad range of people will really help you get your name out to a big audience. Don't forget to set up a website and some social media accounts too. These are a great way to keep your customers in the loop about any special offers and upcoming events. You can also use them to build up a friendly rapport with people– vital if you're going to get people coming back again and again.

Here's To Your Salon!

So there you have it – your quick guide to getting your beauty salon up and running. Of course, you'll need to do much more in-depth research but this is a good place to start. If you've got the funds and plenty of enthusiasm, there's no reason why you can't make your business a success. So here's to 2017 – a beautiful new year where the sky is the limit!