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By Emma Sayers, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Eastern Area
There are numerous ways to accomplish things with FBLA. You should be pleased with the effort you put into the organization. Here are three suggestions for how to highlight these accomplishments. Create a Linkedin profile You just need to sign up with your email address to create a LinkedIn profile. You can use this website to showcase your awards, your resume, and other work you may have done. You have the chance to interact with lots of people. Linkedin might be the ideal social media platform for you if you enjoy making connections online. You might be able to connect with fellow FBLA members from the state or in the country, numerous FBLA members use this social media platform to promote their FBLA involvement and so can you. Build your resume Building up your resume is valuable whether or not you are currently looking for a job or if you already have one. Be sure to add your role in FBLA to it. If you are an officer for your local Chapter, Area, or State be sure to describe your role to the organization. Prospective employers value these accomplishments. Also you can use your Area, State, or National events to show proof of the knowledge you have learned. Create a professional portfolio A professional portfolio goes further than a resume and cover letter. It is a chance to demonstrate to a potential employer your range of abilities and work history. Although it takes time, building a professional portfolio can be rewarding. You should emphasize your volunteer work, accomplishments, leadership development, and projects in your portfolio. Do any of those sound like things you have done in FBLA? Well I hope so, maybe you volunteered for a March of Dimes project, or attended Summer Leadership Workshop, these activities should be recorded and showcased in your portfolio. By Katie Bach, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Southern Area
“The comfort zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.” When leaving the comfort zone, fear doesn’t always equate to being in the panic zone. Fear can be a necessary step en route to the learning and growth zones. It takes courage to step from the comfort zone into the fear zone. Without a clear roadmap, there’s no way to build on previous experiences. This can be anxiety provoking. Yet persevere long enough, and you enter the learning zone, where you gain new skills and deal with challenges resourcefully. While occupying the comfort zone, it’s tempting to feel safe, in control, and that the environment is on an even keel. It’s smooth sailing. Aside from pushing yourself and personal growth, there are benefits to leaving the comfort zone:
These benefit your personal growth, mindset, and social development. By pushing yourself to be uncomfortable in your surroundings you push yourself to the beginning of a new experience of growth. By Avani Rai, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Central Area
FBLA is proud to partner with its Service Partner, the March of Dimes — the leading nonprofit focused on preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality — in working to end preventable maternal health risks and infant death. The organization was first founded in 1938 and pioneered the vaccine research that eradicated polio in the U.S., before expanding its mission to address issues of birth defects. FBLA has raised millions of dollars for moms and babies and has consistently ranked as the top March of Dimes youth fundraising partner for over 45 years. Want your chapter to get involved? Ask your adviser about Illinois FBLA's first-ever March of Dimes Champion Chapter award! In an effort to support chapters in their endeavors to raise funds and awareness about the March of Dimes, our State Officer Team has created a series of tasks — from chapter events to community fundraisers — to galvanize greater education and fundraising for the organization. Completing the tasks for varying amounts of points also offers chapters the opportunity to gain recognition at the upcoming State Leadership Conference! The final date for submission of the projects is March 15th, so be sure to check the program out and get your final submissions turned in before then. By Sonika Tamilarasan, Illinois FBLA State Treasurer
Apart from having fun, chapter bonding events have many benefits to your overall FBLA chapter! They are a great way to bring the members of your chapter together and build a strong sense of community. Bonding events can help members get to know each other better, understand their strengths and weaknesses and work collaboratively as a team which can lead to more effective communication and better participation in the club's activities and projects. Club bonding events can also provide opportunities for members to network and build professional relationships. Networking can be especially valuable for students looking to build their careers. Now, here are some ideas for FBLA chapter bonding events:
All of these activities can help create a positive and supportive environment where chapter members can collaborate, motivate, and grow together! By Jahnavi Kolli, Illinois FBLA State Parliamentarian
The State Leadership Conference is just under two months away! While this may seem like a long time to prepare for your competitive events, the conference has a tendency to sneak up very quickly. Starting event prep early is crucial to success (and a trip to Atlanta), so here are a few tips to help you prepare: 1) Stay consistent; coordinate a practice schedule with your teammates (or yourself). For presentation events, weekly or bi-weekly meetings will help with consistency and productivity. Think of it like a mandatory meeting; for example, my parliamentary procedures team practiced weekly for months leading up to SLC and NLC (the bronze medal at nationals was worth it!) Even if you are a test-taker, setting aside time to study will help you stay focused and consistent. 2) Use your resources. In addition to the countless Quizlets, Youtube videos, and practice tests online, Illinois FBLA has a competitive event resource bank coming out to ensure you are well equipped to compete. Use these resources to prepare so there are no surprises on the day of! Also, be sure to check out your event’s rating sheets and rubrics to maximize your points. 3) Ask for help when you need it. If there are members in your chapter that have previously competed in your event, don’t be scared to reach out and ask for advice. After reaching out to alumni that competed in my event last year, I understood exactly what to expect during my presentation; nothing beats experience! 4) Dress for success during the conference. Be sure to compete in professional, appropriate business attire regardless if you’re competing in a performance or written event. Violating the dress code can significantly impact your score and placement! Good luck with your event preparation, and we look forward to seeing you in April! By Revanth Poondru, Illiniso FBLA State Vice President, Central Northern Area
National Councils are a great way to get involved with FBLA. There are 9 National Councils available for FBLA members to apply for. They are listed below:
Councils are involved with many of the national officer’s POW items. For example, as the National Communications & Sponsorship Director on NTEC, I am regularly engaged with National POW items that our National Treasurer has taken on. Along with these items, councils will hold their own events, competitions, webinars, and online sessions. For example, a few weeks ago, NTEC had a Fundraising Friday Webinar during FBLA week! We also hold financial literacy competitions, send out weekly market digests and investing strategies, and even hold other finance-related events for FBLA members. To get involved with National Councils, you must complete an online application. The national officer presiding over your council will go through the applications and handpick students to serve on the council. Being elected to serve on a council is a tremendous privilege and offers you an opportunity to give back to FBLA. I encourage you to apply for the councils you are eligible for. They are a great way to gain experience with FBLA and network with other high-achieving FBLA members who will inevitably be our organization's future! By Advait Rajmane, Illinois FBLA State Reporter
Networking is a crucial skill in today's business world. By definition, it involves building relationships with people who can help you achieve your professional goals. Whether those be to find new job opportunities, learn about industry trends, or to simply establish valuable connections. However, networking is not solely about collecting business cards or growing your LinkedIn connections, it should be approached strategically and with genuine interest in building relationships. Below are a few simple steps so that you can begin your networking journey! 1. Know Your Goals Before you start networking, it's important to know what you want to achieve. Do you want to expand your professional circle? Find a mentor? Land a new job? Once you have identified your goals, you can focus your networking efforts on meeting the right people and building relationships that will help you achieve those goals. 2. Attend Networking Events Networking events are a great way to meet new people in your industry. For example, there are many FBLA conferences throughout the year (SLW, NFLC, Area, SLC, NLC). Utilize these opportunities to garner new interests while exploring current ones. It is also a good idea to research the speakers, attendees, and/or sponsors to identify potential contacts beforehand. 3. Connect on Social Media Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram can help you connect with professionals in your field from anywhere. Join industry groups, follow leaders, and engage with their posts. It is important that you demonstrate interest by sharing your own insights and content to showcase your knowledge and expertise. Do make sure to be mindful of your online presence and ensure that your profile and posts align with your professional goals. 4. Focus on Building Relationships Be in the mindset of forming relationships with people. What is vital is that you are in a position to reach out to these people in the future in order to achieve your goals. Also take an interest in the other person's professional goals and seek ways to help them succeed. Focus on developing meaningful connections by being genuine, respectful, and supportive. When you approach networking with a mindset of building relationships, you will find it easier to establish connections that are valuable and long-lasting. 5. Follow Up After meeting someone, follow up to thank them for their time and express your interest in staying in touch. There is no benefit if you do not connect with them later. Send a personalized message or email to remind them of your conversation and offer to connect on LinkedIn. Remember to keep the conversation going and find ways to add value to the relationship. I hope these steps helped you outline your networking approach. Although these steps are more generic, FBLA has all of these resources already in place! I am confident that you are now able to employ these tools to their fullest. :) By Megan You, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Southwestern Area
Have a powerpoint or case study you have to present in front of judges? Have a bad case of stage fright? Do you get hot, cold, shaky, or dizzy when it comes to speaking to an audience? Here are some tips & tricks to help calm your nerves and to present like a pro! For a little background, I used to never speak in front of anyone apart from my family or close friends. I was always sheltered and too afraid to have a voice, whether it was for presentation purposes or outside of it. However, involving myself in clubs and organizations like FBLA taught me how to properly break out of my shell of discomfort. Acknowledging this, I’m extremely proud of the achievements I’ve made through solely competing in presentation and case study events like Public Speaking, Sports & Entertainment Management, and Entrepreneurship. Speaking in front of a crowd of either 10 people or 3,000 people gets easier over time, trust me. Through the tips I’ll mention, hopefully this will not only strengthen your leadership, but also make you confident in yourself the next time you speak in front of strangers! I know this sounds easy, but the first thing you have to do is to take deep breaths and drink tons of water. Sometimes when you’re really nervous, you forget to do common, menial tasks like these! Forgetting to breathe and hydrate yourself will only heighten your nervousness and could possibly force you to mess up. Another tip is to act confident. Whether you feel like it or not, when judges or strangers from a crowd pick up that you’re confident in what you’re about to present, they’ll have more trust in your words and be more attentive to what you’re saying. If you forgot what you were saying before or forgot part of your line/script, pause, take a break. The judges/audience will appreciate silence more than stuttering. Lastly, if you have a presentation or visual aid to present, make sure that the audience isn’t geared to the slideshow or object but more so yourself and how you’re presenting it to them. Don’t focus too much on pointing things out on a slideshow but also don’t refer back to your prop a heavy amount of times. Point, mention, specify. Hopefully, these tips & tricks helped you! While these may seem a little introductory or small, they’ll help you massively in the end. So make sure you breathe, drink fluids, be confident, and present like a pro. By Yash Sharma, Illinois FBLA President
Hello Illinois FBLA! Today I will be walking you through some of the overlooked steps of how to preside like a pro! This bootcamp will be a summation of the process of how to become a president with a leadership style that reflects your values. 1. Deciding to run Your decision to run should be based on one primary question: am I running for the right reasons? Running to serve the members is a priority and should be acknowledged as the primary objective of each officer. 2. Set your platform Make sure that your platform and goals are a reflection of yourself! Your campaign promises should be presented so they are achievable and characteristic of the changes you want the make! There is no singular best practice or improvement. 3. Conference Day Do not only interact with voting delegates! Spread your efforts to as many members, advisers, and guests as possible. In the long run, your impact will be monumentally more effective if you consider the needs of a more diverse population 4. First Steps Immediately connect with your membership once elected! Build comfortable spaces in which members can suggest improvements and provide feedback so you are able to continuously learn from as many members as possible 5. Program of Work Continue to refer back to your program of work as a basis for improvement and goal setting. These objectives that were set on your program of work reflect your promises to your membership and will build a great reputation for your team’s contributions 6. Transition Start your transition early! Even though the next president may not take office for months after their elections, start to acclimate them to the practices for a president. This will ensure your legacy and efforts continue past your term. Feel free to reach out to me (president@ilfbla.org) with any questions! More information is also available on the National President’s Executive Council Instagram (@fblapres) In 2022, the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at O’Fallon Township High School sent 35 competitors to the State Leadership Conference in Springfield, Illinois. Several students placed at SLC, and 15 of these students continued on to compete in Chicago, Illinois for the National Leadership Conference. After having our local chapter president elected into the Illinois FBLA state board, we had our local board reelected with a mix of underclassmen ranging from Freshman-Juniors.
Preparing for the 2023 school year, our main focus was member retention, so we created an Instagram account, had a booth at the Fall Fair and advertised more at the Freshman campus. Overall, in 2023, OTHS FBLA hosted the Southwestern Area Conference, and ⅘ of the Southwestern Area Board are members from our chapter. Outside of competing, OTHS FBLA hosts several collaborative and intellectual meetings, featuring speakers ranging from small business owners to larger corporations like the St. Louis Blues and Disney. This competition season, OTHS FBLA sent a record-breaking 62 members to the Southwestern Area Conference - hosted by our local chapter president and advisers - with 50 members advancing to the State Leadership Conference this April. We’re hopeful that we can send about 25-30 members to the National Leadership Conference hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. We’re beyond thankful for our advisers Mrs. Haislar and Ms. Clark for giving us these amazing opportunities, such as guest speakers, fundraisers, and trips like NLC. We hope to break the records we’ve already broken and will continue to work our best not only regionally, but state-wide and nation-wide. By Emma Sayers, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Eastern Area
One of the most impactful effects of FBLA is the connections you build with others. But they can be intimidating. I want to give you some ways to grow your relationships with others by simply speaking and listening like a leader. When making a connection you may feel as if you want to explode with all this information about yourself. Try getting to know the other person first. Of course, introduce yourself properly with your name. After the introductions, be sure to listen to them. Find value in the words they say. Most people listen with the intent to reply. Instead, listen to understand. Enjoy this inspiration from Dr. Steven R. Covey's fifth Habit of Highly Effective Teens. “If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Your interactions with someone may be short or long. Either way, you should not decide prematurely what the other person means before they have finished communicating. Great leaders make others feel comfortable not intimated. I promise your connections with others will grow stronger when you seek to understand them first. By Katie Bach, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Southern Area
With the holiday, winter sports, organizations, as well as other activities throughout the winter months heading into second semester, your life may become slightly more hectic than normal so you’ll need to figure out what works best for you when attempting to manage your time wisely. Here are the dos and Don’ts of Time Management! Do:
Don’t:
By Avani Rai, Illionis FBLA State Vice President, Central Area
Among the vast offerings that involvement with FBLA provides, Conferences often stand out as the highlight of many students' experiences. The opportunity to travel, make new friends, and learn about everything business and beyond is always something to look forward to. While most FBLA students are familiar with competitive conferences (Area, State, and Nationals,) FBLA typically hosts a few additional Conferences throughout the year as well—one of which is the National Fall Leadership Conference (NFLC). However, this year FBLA's NFLCs were farther away than in previous years, and many schools would be unable to take their students to attend. Thus, Illinois FBLA decided to host its own Illinois Fall Retreat! In early November, 312 Illinois FBLA-ers and advisers from 16 chapters across the state united for a weekend of professional development, networking, and fun at the first-ever Illinois Fall Retreat hosted in Normal, Illinois. Attendees learned from phenomenal speakers, FBLA alum, and Illinois FBLA State Officers to develop a stronger understanding of the business world and get the "Conference experience." Don't let that fool you though—from a private Children's Discovery Museum experience to a late-night trip to Insomnia Cookies, the conference was filled with tons of activities with the purpose of pure fun as well! So, what if you didn't have the opportunity to attend? Well, I've got some good news: moving forward IFR will become a staple of the Illinois FBLA experience, allowing more Illinois FBLA'ers than ever before to experience Conferences. Plans are to host the Conference around the same time period but shift the location between northern, central, and southern Illinois to ensure every student has an equal opportunity to attend and give our attendees a varied experience each year. Until then, stay involved with FBLA through your upcoming Area Conference so that you have the chance to qualify for the State and National Conferences this year. Also, be on the lookout for the annual Summer Leadership Workshop in late July. Every chapter has the opportunity to send a delegation of students to attend and take part in this great Conference as well! By Sonika Tamilarasan, Illinois FBLA State Treasuer
Need more money for chapter social events or for travel expenses? Fundraising can help you out! However, when it comes to fundraising, it is vital to choose the right one, or it can end up eating the funds you already have. This article will cover a few tips and tricks when it comes to choosing the perfect fundraiser for your chapter. Tip #1: Find a fundraiser that will suit you. The first step in conducting any fundraiser is choosing the right one. If you are a larger chapter, you can fundraise with your members themselves, but if you are a smaller chapter, consider expanding to your school or even to outside businesses. Here are a few ideas that can potentially help you out:
Tip #2: Choose the right fundraiser company! When deciding to do a selling fundraiser, don’t partner with businesses that require you to buy your fundraising items beforehand. This could potentially result in a loss. Additionally, ensure there are no additional costs for brochures and other advertising materials. Tip #3: Choose the right items. You don’t want to do a fundraiser for an item that won’t be popular. This could waste not only your money but also your time. Look at the list below for popular fundraiser items!
By Jahnavi Kolli, Illinois FBLA State Parliamentarian
Meetings are an integral part of every chapter in Illinois FBLA- after all, what is a chapter without frequent gatherings of people (the official parliamentary definition for a meeting)? Regardless of if it’s a chapter meeting or an officer meeting, it is important that everyone’s voice is heard while ensuring maximum efficiency. That is exactly where parliamentary procedures comes into play. There are many simple parli rules that any chapter can incorporate, regardless of how informal one wants a meeting to be. Instead of interrupting each other, members can obtain the floor, which is the parli pro term for being called on by the president or adviser (known as the chair). They can then make a motion by saying “I move to…”, which is a way of bringing the new business, or new idea, to the meeting. After another member seconds, or acknowledges that the motion should be brought up, the motion is then debated. For more tips on how to quickly become a parli pro, refer to Robert’s Rules of Order Simplified and the National Parliamentarian Council’s Instagram (@fblaparli). And if you were at the Illinois Fall Retreat this past November, you already know that parliamentary procedures is as easy as pie! By Reventh Poondru, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Central Northern Area
Competing at your area, state, and national level is an incredible experience and provides many future opportunities. This blog post will detail tips and tricks you should always keep in mind as you progress through your competitive events journey because they’ll allow you to succeed at all levels of competition. Tip #1: Pick an event that you find enjoyable!
Tip #2: Practice! Practice! Practice!
Tip #3: Have Fun!
With these tips, you’ll be ready to succeed in the Competitive Events Series. We’ll see you at your respective area conferences, so be sure to say hello! If you’re not a senior, look into getting more involved with FBLA through board positions! If you are a senior, look for FBLA Collegiate chapters! Have fun! Sincerely, Revanth Poondru By Advait Rajmane
Illinois FBLA Reporter Social media has become an inherent part of our lives. Every second there will be someone goofily sending a snap, mindlessly liking a post, or endlessly scrolling through the void of TikTok. Although the reliance we have on these platforms has its drawbacks, it is no surprise that their utilization has led to a very connected and efficient world. Even with the rise of social media, networking consistently remains essential to forming relationships and building careers. Using a few simple techniques, we can expand the extent of our networks and acquire contact with professionals in their industry. Using the FBLA network as an example, there are countless members and alumni that use Instagram or Linkedin to make and maintain connections with people around the country. They are able to connect with a multitude of individuals all from the comfort of their own bedrooms. To begin the networking process, start by sending a short introduction about yourself. Within that message, it is also helpful to include a commonality that you might have with the individual. Here is a quick example: “Hey Yash, my name is Advait! I am the new State Reporter for Illinois FBLA. I saw that you were also a State Officer for Illinois FBLA, and I would like to connect with you to talk about any advice you have for an incoming State Officer.” That’s it! Although intimidating, it is quite simple to take the initial step that will begin a connection which could last for life. My final point is to remain safe online. Even though the benefits that come with the convenience of social networking outweigh the drawbacks, there will always be possible unintended consequences. To combat this, we can refrain from engaging with offensive posts/comments, maintain digital privacy where possible, and don’t do anything you wouldn't do in front of your parents! With all this in mind, you are ready to begin your network expansion. Let's Grow Membership In The New Year
By Megan You State Vice President from Southwestern Area When wanting to grow member retention within your chapter, think of it this way: what made you want to stay in the first place? Was it the benefits of competing, traveling, and learning more about possible post-secondary success? Or was it the community service aspect and being able to make new friends? Regardless of what it might be, use your passionate drive of the organization and place it within your fellow classmates/under their hearts. By doing this, it’ll not only make them realize how much they’re going to be gaining by joining, but they’re also going to share this light with others, ultimately creating a domino effect. Also efficiently utilizing social media, school broadcasting systems, newsletters/posters, and school-wide events can be just as successful as word-of-mouth. Speaking from personal experience, my local chapter always balanced on the cusp of having a “good amount” of members, but not enough when being compared to larger chapters around the area. When being installed into my position as president, I used word-of-mouth heavily but also understood the power of social media. By posting my past memories of being at SLC/NLC along with my awards and scholarships, many classmates, both young and old, came and asked me where I got this experience from. From then on, we’ve held a strong balance of 60+ members, which is more than we could’ve asked for! By mentioning this, I hope you gained some form of knowledge as to how you can better gain more members for your chapter and to place higher goals for yourself! Hello the one and only Illinois FBLA!
My name is Yash Sharma and I am beyond excited to serve as your state president for the 2022-2023 membership year. I wish all members, advisers, and leaders across our state a warm welcome to the transformative year the state officer team has been vigorously planning for all of you! This year our team aims to match the mass changes which have occurred at the national level to bring an elevated experience to Illinois FBLA. Never seen before programs, scholarships, resources, and even fundraisers will alter how your chapter views the Future Business Leaders of America. We hope to skyrocket membership with newfound Chicagoland chapters and innovative programs. We aim to further increase conference accessibility by providing substantial scholarships to fund the trips of well deserving leaders across the state. Additionally, to validate these scholarships we have made it a priority to expand the influence Illinois FBLA has on a national level. A mass competitive event resource bank created by the members for the members will catapult Illinois FBLA stage appearances to monumental heights. This resource bank will also encompass information vital to progressing any member towards post-secondary success with potential internship opportunities in their communities. This drive for success will also transfer to the chapters which are the humble homes of our membership. Chapters will be actively encouraged and incentivized to embrace their philanthropic side by completing recognition challenges for our national partner, the March of Dimes. Even the resource bank will be vital at the chapter level. Parliamentary procedure and chapter efficiency resources can ensure that every meeting is running at its maximum ability. All of this information will be effectively circulated by our pending local chapter president connectivity program. Our state will be bound tighter than ever before as we plan to advance our state as a whole. To stay on top of these programs follow @illinoisfbla on instagram for frequent updates and reminders. Also, each of our state officers has an instagram account dedicated to FBLA, so make sure to reach out to these accounts with any questions. Help Illinois FBLA contribute to the national theme of one association for service, education, and progress by following us on our journey! Best regards, Yash Sharma We are changing our news page to blog posts! Check back for updates!
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