Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 25 October 2020

Screenshot 2020 10 18 at 19.06.37 copy

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

"It ain't so much the things that people don't know that makes trouble in this world, as it is the things that people know that ain't so." This is one of the many quotes attributed to 19th Century American writer Mark Twain and it definitely applies to presenting.

Many people think they are good presenters – mostly because people are too polite to tell them they are not, or in the case of senior people because no one dares tell them!

Presenters themselves also have a blind spot. This month I was asked to train a number of speakers taking part in virtual conferences. I blocked time in my diary and waited for the Doodle calendar to fill up. Two things happened – some people were too busy, others left it to the last moment.

This only confirmed to me another great quote about public speaking. This time by the American comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, who said, “According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” People who don’t like public speaking tend to put off preparing their presentation until the last minute.

: Published: 24 September 2020

Know2

By Melitta Campbell, www.melittacampbell.com

Why have a business coach when there is so much great FREE information and amazing ‘virtual mentors’ on YouTube?

I was asked this question by a business owner, and I thought it was a fantastic question. It’s true, there is a lot of great people and content offering free advice on YouTube and I whole-heartedly encourage you to find one or two of these ‘virtual mentors’ to help you in your business education. However, their advice will be limited in its ability to move your business forward for these five reasons:

1. A Video Offers Advice – not Feedback
When you work with a business coach, you get access to someone who can give you feedback and advice on everything you plan and everything you do within your business – a video can’t provide these valuable insights.

2. Great Advice is not always the Right Advice!
Businesses go through different phases and, while there are certainly no-fail strategies that work for all businesses, knowing how and when to implement them is an art that will save you time, effort and money.

On the flip-side, not knowing when or how to adopt these strategies will lead to overwhelm and cause you to feel stuck, and can destroy your mindset.

Your business coach knows you, your business and your ideal clients, so can help you understand when to implement certain strategies, and guide you in adapting them to your business. Saving you hours, weeks or even months of trial and error – not to mention saving you money and a lot of frustration!

3. No Accountability
We do two things in life. We do what we love and we do what we are being watched on.

As your own boss, you are accountable to yourself and, as you’ve probably already experience, this often leads up to get caught up on doing the little things, instead of remaining laser-focused on the important activities that really move the needle in your business.

This is where your business coach is invaluable, in helping you stay focused and consistent in your business.

: Published: 21 September 2020

Screenshot 2020 09 14 at 19.35.09

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

Are you getting bored of virtual events which go on for hours, with one speaker after another or one panel after another? Often the most gripping moment is seeing how the moderator copes with the technical glitches or closes down the speakers who go over time!

Far too many event organisers have not understood the difference between what goes into a virtual one as opposed to face-to-face. They try to replicate their usual half-day, full-day or two-day event online without thinking about the audience experience.

Having moderated many virtual events in the past 7 months, I firmly believe that organisers will need to work harder as the pandemic continues to retain audience share. Audiences are going to be more selective, only tuning in to events that are well produced, informative and insightful.

: Published: 09 September 2020

By Aurea Fagel, text and photos

Mention The Tulip Festival in Switzerland and everyone imagines Morges, the alluring petite town in the canton of Vaud. This year in late March, The Tulip Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary at the famous venue Parc de l’Independence, albeit with less grandeur. Now the season has passed, one might think there is nothing to see. But I beg to disagree! With Jêune Genevois and Jêune Fédéral this month, this is the perfect season to spend time in this lakeside city.

For one thing, the Parc de l’Independence is a magnificent place for a lazy Sunday or weekend escape. One Sunday while I picnicked I noticed many others doing the same, or reading a book, or taking a nap on the grass, or simply taking a stroll overlooking Lake Geneva with a backdrop of the Mont Blanc. When you stroll past the park towards the port please indulge in the artisanal ice cream stand just beside the port. Their pistachio ice cream is one of the best I have tasted; make it a double and pair it with cassis noir.

: Published: 07 September 2020

Expatriation

by Patrick Hoza, US Tax & Financial Services

Lefty Gomez 1936 Lefty Gomez, an all-star pitcher for the New York Yankees in the 1930's, is credited with saying "I'd rather be lucky than good." He is also credited with earning the nicknames "Goofy Gomez," and "El Goofo." Still, I often think Lefty had it right and today could very well be your lucky day.

If you are a US citizen and want to give up your citizenship but have fretted over unfiled returns or the fact you do not have a US social security number, then the IRS has a procedure for you! It’s called ‘Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens’.

This procedure allows an individual that meets the following eligibility requirements to have a “get out of jail free” card.

Your past compliance failures were due to non-wilful conduct.
You have relinquished your U.S. citizenship after March 18, 2010.
You have no filing history as a U.S. citizen or resident.
You did not exceed the threshold in Internal Revenue Code Section 877(a)(2)(A), relating to average annual net income tax for the period of 5 tax years ending before your date of expatriation. This amount is $171,000 for 2020 and is indexed for inflation each year.
Read more ...