Nicole Lapin (0:00)

You know what I'm really over? Fees. Concert ticket fees, cleaning fees on weekend rentals, a processing fee for existing. It is endless. And the worst part? These fees hit hardest when you're already trying to get ahead. Fees are everywhere and they hurt you most when you're down. That's why Chime offers fee free banking, which means no monthly fees, no overdraft fees and no minimum balance fees. I once got hit with a $15 maintenance fee just because my account dipped below the minimum bal for a single day. I wasn't overspending, I was just timing my rent payments around payday. That fee felt like a big penalty just for budgeting. But with Chime, I wouldn't have gotten charged for not being rich yet. No minimum balances, no hidden fees, just breathing room when I actually would have needed it. It is so simple. Banking should not cost you money. And with Chime, it doesn't open your account in two minutes@chime.com Help Wanted Chime feels like progress. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members, FDIC spot and eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file. Fees apply at out of network ATMs, bank ranking and number of ATMs, according to U.S. news and World Report 2023 Chime checking account required.

Jason Pfeiffer (1:20)

This is Help Wanted, the show that makes your work work for you. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, editor in chief of.

Nicole Lapin (1:26)

Entrepreneur magazine, and I'm money expert Nicole Lapin. On Tuesdays, Jason and I answer the helpline and solve their work problems.

Jason Pfeiffer (1:33)

And on Thursdays, I give you one way to improve your work and build a career or company you love.

Nicole Lapin (1:39)

And it starts now.

Jason Pfeiffer (1:42)

Can spouses give good advice? It's an interesting question, isn't it? And it's one that I recently received from a reader of my newsletter. And I'm going to read the question to you, and then I'm going to answer it. This is a question that comes from a woman named Tatiana Dumitru, and she says this My husband is incredibly supportive, but he's also an engineer, so he's super realistic. Every time I bring up a new idea or business opportunity, he immediately points out all the reasons it might not work. Not because he doesn't believe in me, but because he wants to protect me from investing time and energy into something that might lead to disappointment. While I do appreciate that honesty, it can stop me from pursuing things that I'm genuinely excited about. I wonder, are partners or spouses the best people to ask for advice, especially in business situations, or are they too close to give the kind of feedback we need? Tatiana, I love that question, and I'm going to answer it here along with a couple other questions from people. This is a special mailbag edition of the Thursday Help Wanted episode. As you may know, every Tuesday it is me and Nicole. Every Thursday it is just me giving one solid piece of advice. But today it's actually going to be three pieces of advice because I get so many interesting questions. And this is a show called Help Wanted. So it is time to deliver some help. We are going to be answering three questions here. The first is can spouses give good advice? The second is how do I hit reset on my career? And the third is do I really have to sell myself on social media? All right, well, we've heard Tatiana's question about spouses and her husband, and now here is my answer. You know, I think it's great to ask partners or spouses for advice so long as these three things are also true. Number one, you are prepared and your partner is prepared for you to not take their advice. Number two, if things go wrong, the phrase I told you so is not allowed. And number three, you ask other people for advice, too. I know this can be an emotional issue. If we ask a partner or spouse for advice and then we don't take their advice, they might feel ignored. Like, well, why'd you ask me if you weren't going to listen to me? But that's the wrong way to think about it. This is really a simple issue of logic. And it looks like this. If you always ask your partner for advice and you always take their advice, then you are always locked into their perspective and that robs you of personal agency. Your partner must understand you are the CEO of your life and they are simply your closest advisor. The CEO's job is to hear many perspectives and then to decide. An advisor's job is to add meaningful perspective and then to support the final decision. Tatiana, that is not to say that your husband's perspective is worthless. In fact, I think your husband is playing an important role. In any business decision and frankly, in any life decision, there are always reasons it might not work. It's important to hear them and to consider them and if you decide to move forward, have good answers for them. So don't view your husband's feedback as discouragement, just view it as a tool to strengthen your argument. His no can help you reach a clear, more Confident and prepared. Yes. All right, that is question number one. It's time to move on to question number two. And by the way, I said that these questions are coming in from newsletter readers. That is because I write a newsletter. It is called One Thing Better. It is like a companion newsletter to Help Wanted. And that is what I always read on the Thursday episodes of this show is something from One Thing Better. So these are people who read One Thing Better and they wrote me. And now it is in One Thing Better and also in Help Wanted and it's one big happy family. All right, here it is. Question number two. How do I hit reset on my career? This comes from a reader that I'm going to call Diane and she just asked me this. She wrote me. I am in a period of transition and uncertainty. I took a 15 month medical leave of absence from my job and embarked upon a difficult quest of self reflection. Then I returned and realized I have changed, but this job has not. I'm now planning an escape. I want a new career. I want to write a memoir. I have ideas for side gigs in residential landscaping and as a private chef. I'm also a full time single mom, so my ambitions now seem both daunting and exciting. What advice would you offer as I take my first anxiety inducing steps? Diane, here is my answer to you. Number one, I am excited for you. When people feel stuck in a job, they often get tunnel vision, unable to imagine their future paths. But you have done the opposite. You have detached from your job and now you are overwhelmed by the infinite opportunities and options ahead. That I think is a much better problem to have. So here are two things that I strongly advise. Step one, Pace yourself. There's something called the tyranny of choice. It is the distress and paralysis of facing too many options. The best way to combat the tyranny of choice is to focus and move slowly but steadily. Take one small step, then another, then another, and build momentum. You can start like this. Make a list of everything that you want to do in the next few years. Now ask which one or two of these will be most impactful and are most within your reach right now. Maybe you'll get to the other ideas later. Or maybe not. That's okay too. The road ahead will be full of surprises. It will require time and exploration. And the greatest joys of tomorrow will likely not come from the list that you made today. They will come from the lived experiences that you just haven't lived yet. Which means that your top priority is to just start moving forward and living and as you do this, here is one other piece of advice. Find your new people. Change can feel lonely because it can feel like leaving something behind. But change is also the act of going somewhere new. And wherever you're going, you are in good company. Find the people who share your new thinking and relate to your new vision and are seeking that for themselves too. You want folks who relate to who you are becoming, not just who you were. These people will give you new ideas, new energy and new belonging. You will be on a path together. I speak from experience here. This was critical for me as I evolved my own career. And here's the simple way that I expanded my network. I was relentlessly proactive. When I find someone interesting or exciting, I make the effort to keep in touch. Email, text, voice memos, suggestions to get coffee, invitations to things, whatever. Sometimes it goes nowhere and you know, that's too bad. But sometimes it produces incredible new friends who inspire and drive me. In short, Diane, narrow your focus and expand your network. The adventure begins. And now here is question number three. Do I really have to sell myself on social media? This comes from a realtor who I'm going to call Tim. And Tim emails me this. Tim writes, there are many realtors where I live and they are all trying to be funny on social media. Do I need to do that too? Because honestly, I detest it and when I try social, I don't see great results. Anyway, I want to stand out and be noticed, but I'm not sure how. Tim, I assure you, so many people will relate to this question, but you're not really asking a question about social media. You're really asking this question, should I do what my peers are doing? But that's not actually the question to ask. Instead, what you really should be asking is what actually drives business and what are my peers missing? As you may know, I am a big advocate for personal branding. I even created a course on it. If you have the time and bandwidth, I really do think that it's worth finding your voice on social media. It doesn't have to be funny, it just has to be you. It is incredibly effective. It's a great asset. It has transformed my career. But as we look at what other people do on social and anywhere, it is most important to remember this. The gulf between what looks good and what actually matters can be very, very large. There is a big difference between those two things. For example, I have a friend who goes on national TV a lot and I jealously assumed that it drove a ton of business for her. But she recently told me that it doesn't. It is a lot of time and energy for basically nothing. And she is now wondering why she keeps doing it. And this reminds me of a realtor that I once met who also, like you, Tim, didn't like doing social media. He built his entire thriving business off of community events. He went to local events, then sponsored them, then started organizing them himself. He says that it works great. So, Tim, I give you permission. Do not make funny realtor videos. The world has plenty of them. You don't want to do it. Nobody needs more of them. Instead, just figure out what drives results and then do that. And that's the mailbag episode of Help Wanted. I hope you liked it. Maybe it sparked a question from you. Maybe it inspired you to reach out with some burning thing that you are struggling with. And wouldn't you know it? This is a podcast called Help Wanted. We have many ways that we can answer your questions. I might do it here in a mailbag episode, but also maybe you just come on the Tuesday episode with Nicole and I and we talk it out. We do that with listeners all the time. If you have a question, just email us help wantedoneynewsnetwork.com if you have a question. We got some help. Talk to you soon. Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason.