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How To Finance A Pharmaceutical Project

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Pharmaceutical projects are essential for the development of new drugs and therapies that can improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world. However, these projects can be incredibly expensive and time-consuming, often requiring significant financial resources to bring a new drug from the initial research stage to market.

In this article, we will explore the various options available for financing a pharmaceutical project, including government grants, venture capital, partnerships, and more. We will also discuss the importance of having a solid business plan and understanding the regulatory environment in which your project will operate.

1. Government Grants and Funding.

One of the most common sources of funding for pharmaceutical projects is government grants. These grants are typically awarded to projects that have the potential to address significant public health issues or unmet medical needs. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary source of federal funding for biomedical research, providing billions of dollars in grants each year.

To apply for a government grant, you will need to submit a detailed proposal outlining your project’s objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes. This process can be highly competitive, so it’s essential to have a well-prepared proposal that clearly demonstrates the potential impact of your project. Additionally, you should be prepared to comply with any reporting and auditing requirements associated with the grant.

2. Venture Capital.

Venture capital (VC) firms are another potential source of funding for pharmaceutical projects. These firms invest in early-stage companies with high growth potential, often in exchange for equity in the company. VC firms can provide significant financial resources, as well as valuable guidance and connections to help your project succeed.

When seeking venture capital funding, it’s essential to have a solid business plan that outlines your project’s potential market, revenue streams, and growth strategy. You should also be prepared to pitch your project to potential investors, highlighting the unique aspects of your project that make it an attractive investment opportunity.

3. Partnerships and Collaborations.

Forming partnerships and collaborations with other organizations can be an effective way to finance your pharmaceutical project. This can include partnering with other pharmaceutical companies such as Scorpius BioManufacturing to leverage services, research institutions, or non-profit organizations that share a common interest in your project’s goals.

These partnerships can provide access to additional financial resources, as well as valuable expertise and resources that can help advance your project. In some cases, partnering with a larger pharmaceutical company can also provide access to their established distribution and marketing channels, helping to bring your product to market more quickly and efficiently.

4. Licensing and Technology Transfer.

Another option for financing your pharmaceutical project is through licensing and technology transfer agreements. This involves granting another company the rights to develop, manufacture, and market your product in exchange for upfront payments, royalties, or other forms of compensation.

Licensing agreements can provide a valuable source of funding for your project, as well as the potential for ongoing revenue streams as your product is commercialized. However, it’s essential to carefully negotiate the terms of these agreements to ensure that you retain control over your intellectual property and receive fair compensation for your work.

5. Crowdfunding.

While less common in the pharmaceutical industry, crowdfunding can be a viable option for financing smaller-scale projects or specific aspects of your research. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo allow you to raise funds from a large number of individual contributors, often in exchange for rewards or early access to your product.

Crowdfunding can be a useful way to generate public interest in your project and build a community of supporters. However, it’s essential to carefully plan your campaign and set realistic funding goals, as failing to meet your target can result in the loss of all funds raised.

6. Debt Financing.

Debt financing, such as loans or lines of credit, can be another option for funding your pharmaceutical project. This can be particularly useful for established companies with a strong credit history and the ability to repay the borrowed funds.

Debt financing can provide a more immediate source of funding compared to other options like grants or venture capital. However, it’s essential to carefully consider the terms of any loans or credit agreements, as high-interest rates or unfavorable repayment terms can create significant financial burdens for your project.

7. Understanding the Regulatory Environment.

Regardless of the funding source you choose, it’s essential to have a thorough understanding of the regulatory environment in which your pharmaceutical project will operate. This includes understanding the requirements for clinical trials, manufacturing, and marketing of your product, as well as any potential risks or challenges that may arise during the development process.

Having a clear understanding of the regulatory landscape can help you make more informed decisions about your project’s funding needs and ensure that you are prepared to navigate any potential obstacles that may arise.

 

Letting People Go: The Secret To A Peaceful Exit Lies In A Transparent Entrance

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by Gary Harpst, author of “Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others“

No one likes to lay people off. It’s upsetting, painful, and even traumatic — and not just for the person losing their job. In fact, studies have found that managers are almost twice as likely to suffer a heart attack in the week after they fire someone. Unfortunately, letting people go is part of being a leader — and, as many companies ramp up layoffs, it’s a task you might have to face sooner rather than later.

There’s no such thing as a completely painless firing or layoff, but there are things you can do to make the exit more peaceful for both parties. And, surprisingly, leaders should start laying the groundwork up front.

The secret to a peaceful exit has almost nothing to do with the actual firing itself. It’s all the things you do in the beginning and along the way that make a difference.

The key is being open, honest, and clear about expectations from the minute the employee is offered the job. When we fudge the truth, or let people assume things, or slide on holding them accountable, we get into trouble. And that trouble can end in a painful layoff.

Here are a few tips:

Don’t put off the hard conversation. Broach it before you hire someone.

Here’s what I suggest. When you’re ready to hire someone, you sit them down and say: “I’d like to hire you, and you’d like to work here. Neither of us knows if this is going to work out. In two years, you may begin to think we are not a good fit for you. On the other hand, we may begin to think the same thing. Let’s be open with each other and see if there are ways to make things work. No surprises. And if either of us decide it is not going to work, let’s agree to partner together on a good exit. If you are leaving us, give us as much advance notice as you can so we can find someone else. We will do the same for you — give you plenty of time to find the next job and even help you with contacts if we can. Let’s agree up front that we are going to support each other.”

This is a two-way conversation. After all, the new hire also doesn’t know if they’re going to be satisfied with the job. Ask them to agree with you that, if it gets to that point, you’ll tell each other the truth. Openness and honesty create a better situation for both people. It lays the groundwork for mutual trust going forward. 

Clearly define your expectations. Be sure the new employee has the resources to meet them.

Make sure they know what you expect them to do and when they’re expected to do it. Ask them to repeat back what they heard so you’re on the same page. This sets them up for success from the beginning. Lack of clarity is a huge driver of failure.

This is also a good opportunity to create buy-in. Ask them if they think these expectations are doable, and make sure they agree with the plan. You might also point out trainings or other resources that can help.

Have regular face-to-face check-ins early on.

Sometimes we have a tendency to hire someone and kind of let them sink or swim. Don’t. Check in on a regular basis. Leaders have to view caring about people, not as a means to an end, but as worthwhile in itself.  Build the kind of relationship where you know if there are any issues outside of work weighing on their mind and see if there is anything you can do to help. Also, hold them accountable if they drop the ball on something.

These check-ins keep people on track, but they also build the bedrock of a solid relationship. They help you communicate that you actually do care about the person. They also create psychological safety and build trust, because you’re showing them again and again that you want to hear the truth. Even if things don’t work out, you’ll be glad you built this trust as it will make the exit easier on both of you.

Don’t let problems slide.

Good leaders are compassionate, which can make it difficult to let people go. When we care about people, we naturally want to give them another chance. Sometimes, though, “another chance” crosses the line into enabling. While kindness serves us well most of the time, there are some instances where we must prioritize the success of the team and remember that there are other people counting on us to keep things running smoothly.

Communicate early and often when things aren’t going well. Ask the other party to do the same. You both want ample notice if you need to make a shift. The last thing you want to do is surprise the person with bad news. Make sure they can see this coming, and when it’s time to part ways, they’ll remember the warnings you gave along the way.

Make sure honest feedback and accountability are a two-way street.

You’re telling the employee the truth, but, just as important, be clear that you want the truth from them. By encouraging feedback, you may discover there’s a deeper organizational problem driving their poor performance, or something you could do better to support their success. Likewise, don’t just hold them accountable. Hold yourself accountable, too, and admit it when you mess up.

Don’t let them shift blame onto your shoulders and escape accountability for their own actions, but also make sure you aren’t doing that either.

Finally, you might want to offer some tough love on the way out the door. One of the kindest things you can do in this circumstance is to be truthful about why things didn’t work out. Be clear that this conversation does not change your decision to let them go, but is about your helping them to be more successful in their next role.

You might be surprised by how well people take this kind of ‘exit feedback’. People get defensive defending their job, but are sometimes more willing to honestly listen once the decision has been made. Just make it clear that you have their best interests at heart. People will be grateful that you cared enough to speak up. Never burn bridges in relationships. Treat people with integrity regardless of how they treat you.

 

Gary Harpst

Gary Harpst is author of “Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others“. He is the founder and CEO of LeadFirst. LeadFirst was founded in 2000 (as Six Disciplines) with a mission of building effective leaders and helping small and mid-size companies manage change, grow, and execute. Gary is a keynote speaker, writer, and teacher whose areas of focus include leadership, business, and the integration of faith at work.

 

[Interview] Harmony Vallejo: Going From Communications To CEO

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Daniel Goh
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harmony vallejo

harmony vallejo

Harmony Vallejo has always been passionate about creating a better future for tomorrow. With years of experience in communications and marketing, she founded Universal Events Inc. to help support nonprofits and ethical businesses in providing their services to communities. Harmony leads a team of social media, communications, copywriting, accounting, and administrative professionals in a collaborative environment focused on their main goal: providing support to nonprofits.

Harmony earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Youngstown State University, where she worked for her school’s newspaper and played varsity volleyball. Today, we’re asking Harmony about her experience going from communications to owning her own business and managing a team.

Q: What inspired you to found Universal Events Inc.?

Harmony Vallejo: My passion for helping others inspired me to found Universal Events Inc. I realized that many nonprofits and businesses needed help with branding and back-end administrative functions and that many simply didn’t have the in-house resources or experience to handle it all. I wanted to help these organizations get the recognition they deserve and provide them with the support they need. You could say it’s all a part of my own personal mission of making the world a better, happier place.

Q: How did your prior experience benefit you once you transitioned to being a CEO?

Harmony Vallejo: My background in communications and marketing gave me keen insight into what an organization needs to be successful. It allowed me to not only identify what an organization would need in terms of support but also find the right people to fill vital functions in the company. No company can truly succeed with the efforts of only one person – you need people in your corner that are simply better than you at what they do. Those are the people you want on your team.

Q: What do you look for in a person when building a solid team of professionals?

Harmony Vallejo: Passion is the most important quality that a person can have for a position. When you love and care about what you do, you bring a kind of grit that you can’t find anywhere else. I look for people who not only have the experience, but the desire to make a difference in the world. You won’t find success with people who only see their job as an obligation, you need people who share the same vision as you, and who believe in the process.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone looking to turn their passion into a career?

Harmony Vallejo: Keep at it and don’t let anyone’s opinions sway you away from what you truly want to do. Take your passion and find a way to make it into something bigger. Don’t be afraid to make a few mistakes along the way; it’s rare that any venture, in life or in business, goes off without a hitch. Take it as a learning experience and be better for it. You can handle it, trust me.

 

Maximizing Your Reach: How To Promote Your Webinar Effectively

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Webinars are an effective way to engage your audience, provide valuable information, and generate leads. However, even with the best webinar tool, webinar software, or webinar platform, your efforts will be futile if you fail to promote your webinar. To maximize your webinar’s reach, you need to develop a comprehensive promotion plan that targets the right audience, promotes your webinar through the right channels, and effectively measures and evaluates its performance.

In this post, we’ll provide you with a detailed guide on how to promote your webinar and maximize its reach.

Preparing for Promotion

Before diving into promotional strategies, it’s essential to set clear goals, define your target audience, and establish a timeline.

  • Define Your Goals – What is the purpose of your webinar? Are you trying to educate your audience, generate leads, promote your brand, or sell your products? Defining your goals will help you create a compelling webinar that caters to your target audience’s needs and interests.
  • Target Audience – Who is your target audience? Knowing your audience’s preferences, interests, and needs will help you tailor your promotion efforts to meet their expectations. Creating a buyer persona can help you visualize your ideal audience and craft a message that resonates with them.
  • Establish Timeline – Establishing a timeline is essential to ensure that you have enough time to promote your webinar effectively. Determine the date, time, and duration of your webinar, and then create a schedule that outlines your promotion efforts leading up to the event.

Promotion Strategies

Once you’ve established clear goals, defined your target audience, and established a timeline, you can begin developing a comprehensive promotion plan.

Leverage Email Marketing.

Email marketing is a powerful tool for promoting your webinar. Create email lists of targeted audience members and craft a compelling email that engages them and entices them to sign up. Send follow-up emails to encourage signups and create a sense of urgency.

Social Media Marketing.

Social media is an effective way to reach a broader audience and generate engagement. Choose the right social media channels that align with your target audience’s interests and optimize your social media profile. Share teasers, sneak peeks, and promotional materials that promote your webinar effectively.

Paid Advertising.

Paid advertising is an excellent way to boost visibility and reach a broader audience. Set up campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads and target your audience based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Utilize retargeting campaigns to encourage conversions and bring back visitors who abandoned the registration process.

Utilize Influencers.

Collaborating with relevant influencers in your industry can help you tap into their followers’ audience and generate more signups. Identify influencers that align with your target audience’s interests and collaborate with them to promote your webinar. Developing long-term partnerships can lead to more promotions in the future.

Content Marketing.

Creating engaging content that promotes your webinar can help you generate leads and build brand awareness. Publish blog posts, social media posts, infographics, and videos that link back to your webinar registration page. This content should provide valuable insights, teasers, and actionable takeaways that entice your audience to sign up for your webinar.

Post-Webinar Strategies

After your webinar has ended, it’s essential to continue engaging your audience to maximize your reach.

  • Follow-Up Emails – Send thank-you notes to attendees, provide a recap of the webinar, and include the next steps or actionable takeaways that further engage your audience. This approach can help you generate goodwill and build long-term relationships with your audience.
  • Social Media Engagement – Share highlights or key takeaways on social media, engage with participants and followers, and encourage them to share their experiences with others. This approach can help you extend the lifespan of your webinar and attract new participants for future events.
  • Repurpose Content – Repurpose your webinar content into blog posts, infographics, and videos that can be shared on various platforms. This approach allows you to reach a broader audience and provides valuable content for those who missed the live event.
  • Evaluate Performance – Measuring your webinar’s performance is essential to identify areas for improvement and optimize your future promotions. Collect data on registration rates, attendance rates, engagement rates, and conversion rates. Analyze the data to understand what worked and what didn’t and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Promoting your webinar effectively can help you maximize its reach, generate leads, and build brand awareness. Using the right webinar software and leveraging multiple channels to reach people will help you achieve your goals. By defining clear goals, understanding your target audience, and utilizing the right promotion strategies, you can achieve these objectives. After the webinar, continue engaging your audience, repurpose your content, and evaluate your performance to optimize future promotions. With the right approach, you can create a successful webinar that engages your audience and generates leads for your business.

 

How To Find The Best Car And Freight Shipping Company?

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Are you looking for the best car and freight shipping company? Shipping your car or freight can be a daunting task, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Choosing the right shipping company is crucial to ensure the safety of your vehicle or goods. One of the biggest advantages of choosing a shipment company is convenience. You don’t have to drive your car across the country or take time off work to transport your vehicle. Instead, you can leave the transportation to the experts and focus on other important aspects of your move or trip. This can save you time and reduce the stress of moving. Many people assume that shipping their car is expensive. However, the cost of shipping can be equivalent to or even less expensive when you consider the price of petrol, housing, and meals while on a long journey.

Additionally, some car shipping companies such as Dreamline Logistics Car Shipping‍ Service offer discounts for military personnel, students, and seniors.

Here are some considerations to make while picking a shipping business

You must ascertain your shipment requirements before shopping for a shipping business. This includes the type of vehicle or freight you’re shipping, the destination, the timeframe, and your budget. Once you have determined your shipping needs, start researching potential shipping companies. Look for companies that specialize in car and freight shipping and have experience shipping to your destination. You can also ask for recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues who have used shipping services before.

It’s important to check the credentials of the shipping company you’re considering. Look for companies that are licensed, bonded, and insured. This will ensure that your vehicle or freight is protected during the shipping process. Accidents can happen during the shipping process, so it’s important to look for companies that offer insurance options. This will protect your vehicle or freight in case of damage or loss during shipping.

Ask the shipping company for references from previous customers. You may judge their level of dependability and service from this. Obtaining numerous quotations from various shipping providers is always a smart idea. You may then compare costs and pick the business that provides the most value for your money. Verify the shipping prices to see if there are any additional, hidden expenditures. This covers the costs of handling, fuel, and insurance.

Good customer service is essential when choosing a shipping company. Look for companies that are responsive and helpful, and that provide clear communication throughout the shipping process. Online reviews can be a great resource when researching shipping companies. Look for reviews on websites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook to get an idea of the company’s reputation.

Ask the shipping company about their tracking options. You can do this to keep track of your shipment’s progress and make sure it gets there on schedule. Open-air transport, enclosed transport, and container transportation are just a few of the shipping options accessible. Pick a strategy based on your needs and financial constraints. Before selecting a shipping firm, make sure you are familiar with the shipping process. This includes the pickup and delivery process, the estimated transit time, and any special instructions.

 

Breaking The Mold: How To Build A Corporate Culture That Encourages Creativity

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If you’ve ever been involved in manufacturing, you probably know the term “breaking the mold.”

This expression is rooted in destroying a mold so an object can never be duplicated. It’s also a term of admiration for someone who does something outstanding.

Encourage open communication

Creating an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas and giving feedback is essential to cultivating a corporate culture that encourages creativity. Inviting team members to share their thoughts in one-on-one and group sessions is a great way to do this.

Employees can more confidently share their ideas when leaders are open to feedback and genuinely encourage dissenting opinions. According to organizational behavioral scientist Amy Edmondson, this can be a crucial driver of innovation and creativity.

Developing an abundance mentality instead of a scarcity mindset is another way to foster creativity. An abundance mentality encourages individuals to let go of weak ideas and welcome strong ones.

Create a judgment-free environment

A corporate culture that encourages creativity starts with a judgment-free environment, like the expert’s opinion of Shohreh Abedi. This may look like a brainstorming session focusing on the best possible idea or simply providing employees the time and space to work independently.

A judgment-free environment might not seem like a big deal, but it can positively impact your company’s productivity and overall well-being. The best way to create a judgment-free environment is to remove all social barriers that deter people from sharing their ideas. You can provide the following:

  • A suggestion box around the office.
  • Making anonymous idea submissions easier.
  • Simply allowing your employees to voice their opinions.

Give people the freedom to make mistakes

One of the best ways to cultivate creativity is by removing employees’ fear of failure. This creates a free-flowing environment for brainstorming and experimenting with new ideas.

When employees are afraid to make mistakes, they stay in their comfort zones and never work outside of them. This prevents them from developing fresh ideas to improve and help the company grow.

Allowing people to make mistakes will enable them to explore their ideas and test them out on a small scale before committing to large-scale projects. This will enable them to see if their ideas are feasible and how they could be improved. It also helps them better understand how the business works and how they can contribute.

Encourage risk-taking

Many employees are hesitant to take risks because they fear negative consequences. However, a corporate culture encouraging risk-taking can help employees think outside the box and create innovative solutions for their company.

In addition, a culture that supports risk-taking can attract top talent. This can benefit a business, as it can help it stand out in the market and improve profitability.

Leaders should encourage risk-taking by sharing successes and mistakes with their team members. This can dispel the fear of failure and help employees learn from past experiences. It can also encourage other employees to try new things as well.

Create a culture of collaboration

To foster creative thinking in your workforce, you must create a culture allowing people to collaborate and share their ideas freely. Fear of judgment or rejection is one of the biggest obstacles that prevent employees from putting forward their best ideas.

Great workplaces understand the importance of collaboration and know that removing roadblocks to communication can make it more efficient and effective for everyone involved.

Leaders also have an essential role in fostering a collaborative environment. They need to become collaborative role models, and they need to encourage their team members to adopt the same behaviors that they promote.

In addition to encouraging open communication, leaders must offer constructive criticism when necessary. This is a critical component of creating a culture that supports collaboration, and it’s something that should be communicated clearly and regularly to everyone in the organization.

 

Focus On People Over Tasks To Give Your New Role A Flying Start

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by Liesbeth van der Linden, owner of GLTD Ltd and author of “Connect, Inspire, Grow: The Executive’s Framework for the First 100 Days“

Whether you’re promoted to a new role or just hired at a new company, you want to make the best possible start to your new job. What you do in the first 100 days in your new role will lay the foundation for your success in meeting your goals and KPIs.

Any business we do is rooted in relationships. Our work on a project, in teams, as freelancers always boils down to the people involved, what they bring to the table, and how well we collaborate with them. Building trusting relationships is the most important thing we need to work on if we want to excel in our roles and succeed in our assignments.

It’s essential that you initially focus on people over tasks. As you prepare for your first meetings, start by identifying who you need to connect with during the first few weeks of your assignment. You can move around the company meeting and getting to know people, but you want to take an efficient approach. It’s, therefore, crucial to zero in on the specific people you need to build relationships with in order to accomplish your mission.

Suppose you’re working in a larger company. In that case, you’ll likely be offered an onboarding program typically designed to meet with people in the organization and become familiar with the company’s policies and protocols. The HR department or your manager will schedule meetings for you with managers, senior leaders, peers, and team members to have conversations that can give you a fuller perspective. The biggest mistake I see people make during their onboarding is that they go too passively from meeting to meeting and don’t get the most out of these conversations.

Denise, a friend, relayed to me how important it is to meet with the right people at the beginning of a new assignment. When she first arrived in her new position at an international bank, she made the mistake of trying to connect with as many people as possible rather than the specific people she needed to work with. She wasn’t entirely clear on what she needed to accomplish her goals and ended up wasting a lot of time talking with people who weren’t relevant to her project. This slowed her down in ways she later regretted, but she learned an important lesson about consciously preparing those initial conversations in the future.

Who do you need to connect with when starting your new role?

To quickly build the right connections, I recommend that you focus on creating your new network based on the capabilities and knowledge of people who will help you achieve the goals of your assignment. Seek out the people who have what you need. Figure out exactly how they can help you. The people you form your network with should fill in the answers to these ‘who’ questions.

  • Who has the know-how I need?
  • Who will be impacted by the work I’ll be doing?
  • Who are the main influencers of my project?
  • Who are the other experts that I need to involve?
  • Who else can help move my project forward?
  • Who has the power to pull my project back?
  • Who can I go to for support?

You know your expertise, but also be honest and clear about where the gaps are. Who can supplement that knowledge? By getting those answers early on, you’ll spend your time more efficiently and be able to focus on building relationships with the people who have the knowledge, skills, and capabilities you need to achieve your goals faster.

By being more intentional and proactive in building relationships with the people who can help you in your role, you are laying the foundation of trust in these first vital weeks. But trust is never built immediately. You’ll have to meet with people regularly to create more solid bonds. Over the course of future meetings, conversations, and encounters, trust will grow as you continue to show genuine curiosity and focus on getting to know the other person better and listening to how you can help them in their role. When trust is there, they will be open and willing to return the favor and help you achieve your goals.

 

Liesbeth van der Linden

Liesbeth van der Linden is the owner of leadership coaching company GLTD Ltd. An expert in helping high-level leaders achieve thriving careers, Liesbeth has coached leaders in over 25 countries and is credited for creating insights that changed their minds for good and expanded them as leaders so they could make a real impact. She is author of “Connect, Inspire, Grow: The Executive’s Framework for the First 100 Days“.

 

Is Hiring A Salesperson Worth It For Law Firms?

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by Raquel Gomes, CEO of Stafi

Law firms have always had a sales function in terms of bringing in new clients, but that has hardly been efficient. Hiring a client intake specialist would completely change the model of many law firms by putting a more qualified, effective person in that role.

The job of an intake specialist encompasses a wide range of duties, including greeting clients, answering and making phone calls, and handling administrative and billing tasks. The role is rooted in business development, which is pivotal in the growth and management of law firms.

The essential element for success in an intake specialist role is having the right personality. A successful intake specialist must love dealing with and helping people, because all the other skills they need to succeed in the role can easily be taught through training.

Qualities of an effective intake specialist

It is important to remember that part of working at a law firm is dealing with sensitive situations. To be successful in a law firm environment, an intake specialist must have great listening skills and empathy. Clients must feel cared for, and these qualities are necessary for success in this regard, but not everyone can handle this pressure every day, all day.

As such, when finding an intake specialist, it is important to emphasize their behavior and psychology. Intake specialists benefit from ongoing psychological support, as this can help prevent the emotionally taxing nature of the job from taking too much toll on the employee’s performance or mental well-being. It is important for law firms to conduct psychological and behavioral assessments of candidates for intake specialist positions, and that they remain stringent about who they hire for these roles.

Many law firms make a huge mistake by just allowing anyone to interface with clients or partners over the phone. Although a good intake specialist doesn’t necessarily need a background in law, they do need a background in client care and dealing with people. It’s important to remember that no one can do every job, and not everyone can do a good job at all things.

The benefits of hiring an intake specialist

Hiring a qualified intake specialist to answer the phones can be a substantial boost to a law firm’s reputation. People tend not to put the right amount of importance on the person answering the phones, but this person is the most important client-facing role. The person who answers the phone has the only chance to cause a good impression, and since it’s difficult to undo a bad impression, it’s essential to put the right person on the phone.

One of the most significant benefits for lawyers hiring an intake specialist is saving time. Time is the most precious resource of a lawyer — after all, lawyers bill for their time, so time is money. Lawyers must be selective about who they use their time for, focusing on clients that can be billed. Wasting time (particularly on free consultations) with clients who are not qualified or are not a good fit for the firm costs money in the long run.

Having a dedicated intake specialist trained to identify ideal clients will ensure less time is wasted, increasing your deal-close ratio and revenue. Properly trained intake specialists will only book calls and consultations worth the lawyer’s time, and although these may not always pan out, their likelihood of success will be much higher.

Intake specialists also help save lawyers time by substantially shortening the consultation process. If an intake specialist asks the right questions beforehand and inserts the answers into the law firm’s management system, that record can have all the information necessary to make the consultation short, sweet, and to the point. Law firms who effectively implement intake specialists into their business model could shorten their consultations from 1 hour to as little as 30 minutes.

Having a dedicated intake specialist also ensures that other people in the organization — such as paralegals, legal assistants, and associates — can do their jobs effectively. Additionally, since answering the phones is hardly in the job description of these individuals, they’re unlikely to be happy to answer the phones. On the other hand, intake specialists have the people skills they need to not only succeed at the role, but enjoy it.

Although hiring an intake specialist might seem like a luxury to some law firms, it is an investment that will pay off, both in the short term and in the long run. Law firms should have someone who is thoroughly trained and dedicated to providing great client service on their phones, as this will ensure that the first point of contact gets off on the right — and most profitable — foot.

 

Raquel Gomes

Raquel Gomes is passionate about helping business owners, and especially women entrepreneurs, understand that they can, in fact, have it all. That’s why she founded Stafi – a virtual assistant company that finds and places highly qualified, highly-educated offshore staff that can complete all the tasks that keep business owners from their most valuable work: serving their clients and growing their companies.

 

Why Your Strategic Plan Isn’t Enough: How To Adapt And Thrive In A Fast-Changing World

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by Martin Rust, Principal at Martin Rust Strategic Advisory Services Inc.

I have seen firsthand how businesses can struggle to keep up with the fast-changing business environment. The static nature of traditional strategic plans can hinder a company’s ability to adapt and pivot quickly in response to changes in the market, emerging technologies, and unexpected events. To address this issue, I have developed an approach that emphasizes the importance of being responsive to the current moment – the ‘Optimize the Moment’ management approach.

The ‘Optimize the Moment’ approach is all about identifying opportunities and challenges that are unique to the present situation. By using this approach, companies can create a strategic plan that is not only relevant to the current market environment but also agile and responsive to changes as they occur. Rather than rigidly adhering to a long-term strategic plan, companies should be flexible and nimble, able to pivot quickly to respond to changes in the market.

‘Optimize the Moment’ (OTM) is a pragmatic business approach that permits leaders to make better decisions and lead more effectively in the moment. By understanding how to gather and apply market analysis, intelligence, and data points, the OTM approach serves as a necessary real-world enhancement to strategic plans. The OTM approach accounts for unforeseeable shifts in factors that can heavily impact your organization.

Collaboration is also essential to success in a fast-changing world. Building strong relationships with partners, suppliers, and customers is vital to share knowledge and insights and co-create solutions to problems. Companies that foster collaboration are more likely to succeed and adapt to changes in the market.

To ensure that the new strategic plan is dynamic and responsive to changes in the market, I help companies identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that will measure the success of the plan and develop a feedback loop that allows for continuous monitoring and adjustment. This ensures that the plan is resilient and able to withstand unforeseen circumstances. Crisis management and risk mitigation can help companies identify potential risks and prepare contingency plans in case of unexpected events. This ensures that the new strategic plan is not only relevant, agile, and resilient but also able to withstand unforeseen circumstances.

Having a static strategic plan may no longer be enough to ensure success in today’s fast-changing world. To thrive and succeed, businesses must develop a growth mindset, be agile and adaptable, prioritize customer satisfaction, foster collaboration, and prioritize sustainability. By adopting this approach, companies can create a new strategic plan that is responsive to the current market environment, agile, and resilient, enabling them to succeed and thrive in uncertain times. These principles become even more critical to achieving success in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry.

Tips for Startups

Founders and employees need to be constantly looking for opportunities to innovate and improve their product or service. They should be open to feedback and willing to iterate and pivot as necessary to stay ahead of the competition. Businesses need to foster a culture of innovation and continuous learning. Employees should be encouraged to experiment and take calculated risks, and new technologies and trends should be embraced.

In addition, agility and adaptability are key factors for startups as they must be able to pivot quickly in response to changes in the market, emerging technologies, and unexpected events. Being nimble allows startups to test new ideas and approaches without being overly constrained by a fixed plan.

Prioritizing customer satisfaction is also crucial for tech startups. The industry is highly customer-driven, and companies must understand the needs and preferences of their customers to build a product that resonates with them. It’s essential to collect and analyze customer feedback to continually improve the product and ensure that it meets their needs.

Collaboration is also a critical factor for tech startups. Building strong relationships with partners, suppliers, and customers is essential to share knowledge and insights and co-create solutions to problems. Startups that foster collaboration are more likely to succeed and adapt to changes in the market.

Finally, startups must prioritize sustainability in their business practices: adopting sustainable practices not only reduces the environmental impact of the business, but it also creates long-term value for stakeholders. Investors and customers are increasingly looking for companies that prioritize sustainability, so it can be a key factor in attracting and retaining both.

Overall, these principles are crucial for tech startups to thrive and succeed in a highly competitive and ever-changing industry. By adopting an approach that emphasizes growth, agility, customer satisfaction, collaboration, and sustainability, startups can create a new strategic plan that is responsive to the current market environment, agile, and resilient, enabling them to succeed and thrive in uncertain times.

 

Martin Rust

Martin Rust is a strategic consultant with a proven approach to inform decision making. He works with organizations, both in Canada and around the world, often at the intersection of geopolitics and corporate goals. For more information, please visit: martinrust.ca.

 

Enhancing Your Trading Skills: The Top Prop Trading Firms

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In the fast-paced world of trading, finding the right environment and resources to hone your skills is crucial. For many traders, prop trading firms are the perfect solution, providing a supportive atmosphere and the tools needed to succeed in the industry.

As you embark on your trading journey, it’s essential to understand what prop trading firms are, how they can help you grow, and which ones are the best in the business.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the top prop trading firms that can help you elevate your trading abilities to new heights.

Whether you’re a novice trader looking to learn the ropes or an experienced professional seeking a more challenging environment, these firms can offer the support, resources, and opportunities you need to excel.

What Are Prop Trading Firms?

Before diving into the top prop trading firms, let’s discuss what they are and how they operate. Prop trading firms employ professional traders to trade the firm’s capital. These firms provide traders with resources, such as capital, technology, mentorship, and a collaborative environment, to help them succeed in the competitive trading space.

Benefits of Joining a Prop Trading Firm

If you’re considering a career in trading, joining a prop trading firm can be an excellent choice. Not only do these firms offer unique opportunities for growth and success, but they also provide a wealth of resources and support.

Here are the benefits of joining a prop trading firm and how they can help you excel in your trading career:

1. Access to Capital.

One of the several benefits of joining a prop trading firm is access to capital. Prop firms provide traders with the funds to trade, which enables them to take larger positions and increase their profit potential.

2. Mentorship and Learning Opportunities.

Prop trading firms often provide mentoring and training programs to help traders develop their skills. This guidance can be invaluable, especially for those new to the industry or looking to improve their trading strategies.

3. Collaboration and Networking.

Working at a prop trading firm allows you to collaborate with other professional traders, learn from their experiences, and share insights. This collaborative environment can help you develop new strategies and improve your existing ones.

4. Advanced Trading Technology.

Prop trading firms invest in cutting-edge technology to stay competitive in the market. As a trader, you will have access to these advanced tools, giving you a significant advantage over retail traders.

Top Prop Trading Firms to Consider

SMB Capital.

SMB Capital is a well-known prop trading firm based in New York City, focusing on equities and options trading. They offer extensive training programs, a supportive trading environment, and access to advanced trading technology.

Earn2Trade.

Earn2Trade is an education company that partners with prop trading firms to help traders develop their skills and gain funding.

They provide an extensive range of educational resources, trading tools, and a comprehensive evaluation program called The Gauntlet. Check out our Earn2Trade review for more information.

T3 Trading Group.

T3 Trading Group is a US-based prop trading firm that offers a variety of asset classes, including equities, options, and futures. They provide traders with cutting-edge technology, mentorship, and a collaborative environment to help them succeed.

Maverick Trading.

Maverick Trading is a prop trading firm specializing in options and equities trading. They offer a comprehensive training program, risk management tools, and capital access for experienced and novice traders.

Axia Futures.

Axia Futures is a London-based prop trading firm that focuses on futures trading. They offer various services, including training, mentorship, and access to advanced trading technology, to help traders excel in the market.

How to Choose the Right Prop Trading Firm for You

To find the best prop trading firm for you, consider the following factors:

1. Trading Style and Asset Classes.

Choose a prop trading firm that aligns with your trading style and preferred asset classes. Some firms specialize in specific markets, such as equities, options, or futures, while others offer a broader range of opportunities. Ensure the firm you select caters to your interests and provides the necessary support to help you succeed in your chosen market.

2. Training and Mentorship.

Look for a prop trading firm that offers comprehensive training and mentorship programs. This support can be crucial in helping you develop your trading skills, refine your strategies, and gain confidence in your decision-making abilities.

3. Technology and Infrastructure.

Choose a firm that invests in cutting-edge trading technology and infrastructure. Access to advanced tools and resources can give you a significant edge over your competitors and help you make more informed trading decisions.

4. Company Culture and Environment.

Consider the company culture and environment when selecting a prop trading firm. You’ll want to join a firm that fosters a collaborative, supportive, and competitive atmosphere, as this can be critical to your growth and success as a trader.

5. Payout Structure and Compensation.

Examine the payout structure and compensation offered by the prop trading firm. Each firm may have a different compensation model, so it’s essential to understand how you’ll be rewarded for your trading performance. Look for a firm that offers a fair and transparent payout structure with the potential for growth based on your success.

Is a Prop Trading Firm Right For You?

Joining a prop trading firm can be an excellent way to enhance your trading skills, gain access to capital, and leverage the support and resources of an established organization.

Considering the above factors and researching the best prop trading firms, you can find the right firm to help you succeed in the competitive trading world.

Remember to do your due diligence, read reviews, and explore your options before committing to any prop trading firm.

Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be well on your way to advancing your trading career and maximizing your profit potential.

 

Are You Ready To Raise?

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by Donna Griffit, author of “STICKING TO MY STORY:  The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups“

I wrote Sticking To My Story as the ultimate guide for creating winning pitch decks. But before I gave my winning recipe, I did something that had my editors balking – I told founders to ask you themselves a very serious question. Are they truly ready to raise?

Now, if you’re a startup raising funding, I want you to ask yourself the same. This is not an easy question to answer, but if you aren’t ready, stopping now and getting the traction needed to be ready can be the make or break of your fundraise – and your company. If you are not ready to raise, even the best story or storyteller will not be able to tell a story that gets you funded. It would be a bit like trying to cook a gourmet meal when all you have in your fridge is some ketchup, a half-eaten yogurt and some leftover Chinese takeout. No matter how hard you try, a gourmet meal will not be cooked.

Over the years, I’ve had to stop working with founders on their pitches not because their idea didn’t have potential or they weren’t great founders. It was because it was obvious to me that their startup was simply not ready for funding.

Too many entrepreneurs are focusing on raising capital as the end goal, forgetting that it’s only a means to a greater end. You should be driven by what your startup can achieve with the funding rather than the funding itself. Think of it as a pit stop on a very long road trip, and you better buckle up because it’s a bumpy road ahead.

Television can make fundraising look so easy. You might have seen an exciting deal close on Shark Tank. You may have thought that fundraising is as simple as going into a room for twenty minutes and coming away with a new business partner and a sizable check. The truth is, fundraising becomes a full-time job for founders and takes over their entire lives.

With the funding frenzy in 2021, some founders began to think that investors hand out money like hotcakes. In the bleak reality of these starkly different times, investors will only fund you if you can prove you’re ready. If you try to fundraise too early, your business will be ripped apart, and you’ll burn a future bridge for not respecting the investor’s time.

How do you know when you’re truly ready? There are three critical aspects you need to have nailed:

You satisfy a real need.

When a startup tries to raise too early, the product still needs to be at the stage where it can afford the lack of attention it receives during the fundraising phase. It’s not uncommon for a company to backpedal while the founders are busy trying to raise the funding to grow. A bit of a catch 22 that makes it even harder for the startup to raise money and makes he founders more desperate.

And you have to be doing the actual work and getting out there to talk to potential customers and if you don’t have them yet, you’re missing a major piece. You need to talk to as many potential customers as possible about this pain point. You need to validate that it is a pain — that they either lack a solution or the solution they are currently using is missing the mark, and they need something much better. Don’t be obsessed with your solution — be obsessed with solving their problem.

Investors will not be impressed if you turn up to a pitch and haven’t done as much research as possible. You can’t expect them to validate your market for you. Investors might ask you some questions that take you by surprise about other companies that are attempting to solve the same issue. They may ask you what sets you apart. Do not be caught off guard. Find every single company working on this pain – enterprise solution or even early-stage startups, know what they’re doing and identify how your approach is truly different.

You can only explain how your product is differentiated if you have a deep understanding of your customers’ struggles and the gaps in the existing products. And for this, you need customers, or at least, design partners, meaning a pilot customer who are involved in the actual building of the product, giving you direct insight into their needs and wants. Get them BEFORE you try to raise.

Have an MVP or beyond.

Many founders dream of the “idea on a napkin” funding story, when in truth, they should be sketching on fewer napkins and putting in more sweat equity before seeking investment from external investors. Instead of spending the bulk of your precious time fundraising, roll up your sleeves, dig deep, and work on creating an MVP — or minimum viable product. Have something that works on a basic level or beyond to show investors.

Remember the conversations you had with potential customers about the pain? Now, come back to them and see what kind of product they fantasize about. Build your product with them in mind, and have them come on as design partners. Hopefully, they will become early adopters who will fall in love with your product and convert to paying users. And having lots of paying users is the best way to persuade investors that you are a great investment opportunity.

Your plan is executable.

The final piece of the puzzle is whether your idea can realistically give investors the ROI they expect. You need to remember that most startups will fail, so the potential upside must be massive for it to be worth taking the risk.

I turn down working with many founders because their ideas are simply not venture-scale businesses. Not to say that they can’t become very nice lifestyle businesses and make their founders a significant income. But if they can’t scale to a venture-level businesses, there’s no point in spending time and money on creating a great pitch deck and talking to investors. You can’t use a small sample and then extrapolate to say you’ll be a hit worldwide. This is especially true if your home country or market is tiny. Even if you’ve got customers who love you and pay you on your home turf, you must have a plan of how you will then penetrate major markets and compete with big players.

Don’t go into a pitch meeting with the vague idea of wanting to expand overseas. Come armed with clear next steps to which markets you will target first and why. Then, explain to them how their funds will help get you to your next milestone/s.

Also, before you even toy with the idea of fundraising, have the right team in place to manage the company effectively, especially when you’re out fundraising. You need to trust these people with all your heart and soul. It’s one of the most important partnerships you will ever have. In your pitches, it’s not just you being scrutinized, but your team and your team dynamics too. Startups close due to bad relationships between founders. If you can pull together a group of truly great people who respect each other and have healthy working relationships, everything becomes more manageable.

VCs know that you’ll likely need multiple rounds to reach your big end goal. One Silicon Valley venture partner said to me, “Once I write a check, I’m on the hook to help them raise their next round. Having clarity on what they will achieve in the next 18 months is super important for me to see how they’ll raise their next round and how I’ll onboard the best investors for them.”

If you can tell them what you hope to achieve in this round and where you’ll be positioned after, you prove to them that you’re ready for funding. If you don’t meet these criteria yet — that’s okay! Just get to work and accomplish as much as you can before you hit the roadshow.

 

Donna Griffit, author of “STICKING TO MY STORY:  The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups“, is a world-renowned Corporate Storyteller and Pitch Alchemist. She has helped over 1000 startups, corporates and investors raise over one billion dollars and accelerate their sales with a personal touch and unmatched messaging savvy, in any industry, at any phase.

 

Build A Fast Personal Bond With New Customers And Business Contacts

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by Larry Jacobson, author of “Insta-Trust: The Proven Trust Building Process to Create Instant Rapport & Long Term Relationships“

Your success as a businessperson depends on building quick trust with new customers and business contacts. Nothing is more important for your future.

It is Valentine’s Day. You and your spouse picked a nice (and expensive) restaurant to celebrate. You wait 15 minutes for the waiter to come to your table, and when he arrives, he acts in a robotic manner. He does not give you a warm greeting, he does not present an ounce of warmth, and he does not go out of his way to make you feel like he cares one iota about either of you.  How does that make you feel?

When a new customer visits your office, they are coming for a specific purpose. The same is true if you are meeting a person for the first time to negotiate a deal, obtain financing or achieve some other business objective. Regardless of the setting, you need to build a fast and personal bond with the person sitting across the room with you (literally or virtually). This is where so many businesspeople are inadequate.

Why a Personal Bond is So Essential in Today’s World

In today’s world, customers and financial companies have a multitude of choices in terms of who they decide to work with. With all due respect to you, even if you have world class technical skills or a great product or service, you are going to lose business opportunities to those who have mastered the skill of making others personally comfortable FAST. While the stakes are far more important than the Valentine’s Day interaction described above, people have little tolerance in terms of working with others who make zero effort to find out about them as a human being. I am not suggesting that you become a schmoozer or chatter box, but you need to not treat potential customers or vendors as someone who is solely a human money-making candidate.

How Personal Should You Get and For How Long?

You don’t need to ask about their family, or their favorite sports team or TV show, until or unless you know them quite well.  Superficial icebreakers are almost as bad as showing no interest in a person have just met.

You can take a personal interest by asking in a very general manner about how they are feeling, what they perceive as their specific problem, and how they think you can help them. This is true whether you are in a sales situation, pitching a bank or investor, or in the beginning of a negotiation. The initial focus should be on them, not you. Then say nothing and let them speak (not forever, but for a professionally realistic time period).

Trust builds when you let the other person feel they have the ability to open up to you. Nothing is more important to the success of a business than making others feel they are not on an assembly line for your benefit. So, the number one thing you can do is ask them open-ended questions about themselves and their issue, and let them speak interrupted.

Be Empathetic

Another thing you should do is to show empathy. You can show empathy four ways.

First, acknowledge their issues and their feelings. You would be surprised how many businesspeople say nothing to the other person after they describe their concerns and jump right into problem-solving mode.

Second, through nonverbal cues, acknowledge them and their concerns. Head nodding, a soothing voice and not interrupting all demonstrate strong empathy on your part.

Third, try to assess their personality and adapt your interactions to who they are. A person who is nervous and unwilling to volunteer information needs to be addressed differently than a person who is willing to volunteer even non-germane information.

Fourth, and perhaps most important, convey both in word and action that you are partners with the other person and collaborators in helping them get what they need.

Assume They Assume You are Qualified

Virtually all businesspersons feel the need to show a new customer or counterpart that they are highly qualified to do the required work. There is a simple response to this type of behavior: Don’t do it. Show quiet confidence and start from the mindset that the other person assumes that you can actually perform with excellence what is being discussed.

When you are meeting a business contact for the first time, start the meeting by letting them describe their issue, mindset, and concerns. Only once that occurs should you start your diagnostic questioning, and even then, you should constantly ask if they have any questions. Your questions should be designed to establish needs, not to show how smart you are. Businesspeople who start out trying to impress the other side solely with respect to their technical skill set run a huge risk of turning off those with whom they’re interacting. Meet them on their level and they will equate your skill with your interest in them on a human level.

Remember: IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM

You have a huge knowledge base in terms of what you can provide for the other person. Not only do you have the knowledge, but you have the experience. The most successful businesspeople understand that knowledge without human connection is like a high concept movie with a star but no compelling story. The movie needs both a star and a story. You need first class technical skills as well as first class personal bonding skills to help others achieve their goals. If you start out minute one from a mindset that everything you do is all about making a connection with the other person, you will convey an attitude that is outward centric. The person who conveys strong outward centricity will always reach their goal.

 

Larry Jacobson

Larry Jacobson, EdD, JD is a practice transition specialist and attorney who has represented professionals and professional service firms for over 40 years. He developed his proprietary Wheels of Insta-Trust™️ and personality archetype analysis in working with his clients. His new book is “Insta-Trust: The Proven Trust Building Process to Create Instant Rapport & Long Term Relationships“. Learn more at  protrustconsulting.com.

 

Understanding The Different Types Of Cash Loans Available

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There are many different types of cash loans available to borrowers. Understanding the different types can help you find the right loan.

These loans can range from short-term to long-term. Depending on your needs, you may need a cash advance to pay off unexpected expenses, such as car repairs or medical bills.

Payday Loans

Payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that typically require repayment in two weeks or less. People with poor credit commonly use them or need access to other sources of short-term cash.

In many cases, they are a last resort for people with no other option and who need to cover urgent expenses. However, they can be a significant financial burden, as their vast interest payments can leave people in worse financial situations than before they took out the loan.

Despite the large footprint of the payday lending industry, several state laws and regulations protect borrowers from the high cost of these loans. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia regulate payday lenders by establishing reasonable small loan rate caps or other prohibitions.

Despite these safeguards, payday lenders continue to prey on low-income consumers who need access to other sources of credit or have low credit limits due to past financial problems. These predatory lenders often do not consider the borrower’s ability to repay, which can lead to an expensive cycle of debt that can be difficult to escape.

Personal Loans

A personal loan is one of the most common types of cash loans. These are available from various lenders, including banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions.

A personal loan typically funds a one-time purchase or pays off existing debt. However, they can also be used for a variety of other expenses.

The best way to determine whether a personal loan is correct is to consider your situation and goals. These include your budget, income, and debts.

Some personal loans are secured, which means you put something of value as collateral. These loans are easier to qualify for than unsecured loans.

Installment Loans

Installment loans are a type of loan that you borrow and repay in installments, usually over months or years. These are available in secured and unsecured forms and can help you achieve significant goals like buying a car or building credit.

Unlike revolving, debt products, such as credit cards or home equity lines of credit, installment loans like MaxLend are a better way to manage your money. They offer fixed monthly payments and a predictable payment schedule, which can help you make a budget and stick to it.

Making timely payments is one of the most important ways to use in  MaxLend reviews and quick loans to build and sustain strong credit. Your payment history is the most significant factor in your credit score.

Cash Advances

Cash advances are one of the most common types of cash loans. They are short-term loans you can access through an ATM or online lender, allowing you to borrow against your credit card’s available balance.

These advances can be helpful if you need money quickly and immediately need it. However, they can also have high fees and interest rates, so knowing your options is essential before deciding whether to get a cash advance.

Another option is to look into personal loans, similar to cash advances, except they come with lower interest rates. These loans allow you to borrow a fixed amount of money you pay back over time, usually through monthly installments.

 

Why Time Management Skills Are Crucial To Career Development

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time management

Time is a precious commodity everyone possesses in equal measure, yet it’s one of the most elusive resources. In today’s fast-paced and competitive professional landscape, efficient time management enables individuals to maximize their potential, attain goals, and reduce stress.  

By understanding the significance of effective time management, individuals can unlock new opportunities, accelerate their career trajectories and ultimately achieve personal and professional satisfaction. Time management courses can be useful for learning new strategies and techniques to improve time management skills. 

This article explores the importance of time management skills in career development, delving into how mastering this art can boost productivity, enhance work-life balance, and pave the way for professional growth. 

Importance Of Time Management Skills To Career Development

As professionals navigate the complexities of their work life, efficiently allocating and utilizing time becomes a cornerstone for success. Here are some reasons why time management is vital to career development.   

It Improves Decision Making.

Having good time management skills can lead to better decision-making. With adequate time management, individuals can avoid procrastination, which leads to hasty or impulsive decisions. When individuals manage time efficiently, they have more time to consider their options and weigh the pros and cons of each decision.  

It Results In High-Quality Work.

Strong time management skills can significantly improve the quality of work an individual produces. Time management allows more time to review and refine the job, ensuring it meets or exceeds expectations. This makes it easier for individuals to complete their work methodically and thoroughly. 

Also, effective time management gives individuals more time to plan and prepare, resulting in a more polished and professional end product. Over time, consistently producing high-quality work can help to build a positive reputation and increase opportunities for career advancement. 

It Increases Team Productivity.

With efficient time management, individuals can prioritize tasks and ensure all team members work towards shared goals. This will significantly impact team productivity as team members can complete tasks more quickly and efficiently when they work in a well-organized and coordinated manner. Effective time management also helps to minimize distractions and interruptions, allowing team members to focus on important tasks without being sidetracked. 

Time management strategies help team members optimize their workflow, prevent delays, and identify areas for improvement. This consequentially leads to tremendous success and better outcomes as they achieve more in less time. 

It Reduces Stress Or Anxiety.

When tasks are scheduled according to priority, individuals can easily avoid the last-minute rush, allowing them to complete assignments on time. When individuals have more control over their schedule, they can focus on the task at hand and accomplish more in less time. 

This, in turn, leads to positive work experience, reduced stress levels, and greater overall job satisfaction. Also, by reducing stress and anxiety, individuals can maintain a healthier work-life balance, improving mental health and well-being on and off the job. 

It Allows More Free Time.

Appropriate time management can give individuals the valuable benefit of more free time. Organizing and prioritizing tasks allows individuals to complete their work promptly, leaving more time for leisure activities, personal pursuits, and family time. Effective time management can also minimize the time spent on less important tasks, reducing the likelihood of working overtime or taking work home. 

For instance, a professional who manages their time well may find extra time to use for professional development, such as attending workshops or taking online courses. They may also have more opportunities to network with colleagues and build stronger relationships with clients, which can help advance their careers. 

Time Management Skills Tips

Time management is a crucial skill that can help individuals be more productive and achieve their goals effectively. Below are tips that can improve time management: 

  • Create a to-do list and prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. 
  • Use time-tracking apps to identify time-wasting activities. 
  • Learn to say no to tasks that are not a priority. 
  • Set achievable goals and break them down into smaller tasks. 
  • Take regular breaks to avoid burnout. 
  • During focused work periods, eliminate distractions like social media and emails. 
  • Delegate tasks to team members who have the required skills. 
  • Use project management tools to keep track of deadlines. 
  • Take a course on time management to learn new strategies and techniques to improve time management skills. 

All these tips help you efficiently and effectively manage your time.  

Conclusion

Time management is one of an individual’s most crucial skills to advance their career. By managing time effectively, individuals can prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, reduce stress, increase productivity, and achieve success.  

However, mastering time management skills can be challenging, especially in today’s fast-paced work environment. That’s why it’s essential to use a combination of personal effort and tools to develop and enhance these skills.

 

Marketing To Millennials: Strategies For Marketing Success

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By population, millennials make up the largest percentage of the US population. As a result, their buying power significantly eclipses that of other generations, especially since they are poised to enter their prime earning years. Unfortunately, marketing to millennials has been a challenge for most businesses and brands globally. This might be due to their constantly changing mindset, finicky nature, or other reasons.

If you’ve been struggling to market your brand to millennials, the following strategies might come in handy.

1. Prioritize mobile-first marketing.

Creating a mobile-centric marketing campaign is a surefire way of reaching millennials. Several brands, including the canned cocktail trend, have seen the benefits of using mobile-friendly marketing strategies. While millennials own laptops and desktops, they spend more than 211 minutes on their smartphones daily and 31 minutes on desktops.

However, you should learn how millennials specifically use their smartphones. This includes identifying their preferred sites and apps. Unlike other generations, millennials can listen to ads only if they come across them in the right space. Millennials are also more likely to watch video content on smartphones than on TVs.

2. Make your online presence felt.

Businesses and brands can also reach millennials better through social media platforms. Millennials have come of age and have witnessed the inception of Facebook, Instant Messenger, Twitter, and other social media platforms. These channels have made it easy for people and businesses to interact.

Millennials have adopted express connectivity and instantaneous communication in their homes and work. However, it has brought along convenience, which is vital for them. Brands should use these platforms to provide timely and consistent information. Like other age groups, millennials have their preferred communication platforms for interacting with brands.

Besides identifying favorite platforms, brands should learn millennials’ preferred correspondence mediums. This includes text messages, social media, emails, calls, and in-person meetings. The following tips can help your brand connect with millennials better:

  • Create a mobile-friendly website – Optimizing your website for mobile devices makes it easier for visitors.
  •  Install chatbots and live chat – Live chats and chatbots provide around-the-clock customer service.
  • Respond to customer comments and inquiries promptly
  • Educate your followers online – Share informative articles and videos about your products and services.

3. Be authentic.

Millennials easily gravitate toward brands that seem authentic. While authenticity cuts across all age groups, millennials prioritize its importance over Gen X and baby boomers. Like other customers, millennials like making their decisions. They will happily click a Facebook ad if they resonate with your brand’s values. However, they can quickly disassociate from your brand if there’s suspicion of inauthenticity. The following tips can help brands build authenticity:

  • User-generated content – More than 60% of online customers consider user-generated content to be authentic. Online reviews and word of mouth can boost your brand’s authenticity.
  • Social media posts – Most millennials like sharing their triumphs and frustrations online. Similarly, brands should maintain an active social media presence and respond to customer feedback. Your followers might suspect something sketchy if you don’t reply to their comments and queries.
  • Customer segmentation – Brands should invest in customer segmentation to avoid the common clash between the target market and marketing messages. You shouldn’t blanket your audience with general marketing messages. Instead, create tailored marketing messages that target a smaller group.

4. Use CRMs to reach your target audience.

Marketing campaigns are as effective as the data used to build them. This is why brands should invest in a reliable customer relationship management platform. CRM tools help marketers and businesses collect and organize their audience’s demographic data. Having the right data increases the accuracy and success of your targeting and customer retention marketing strategies. Below are a few things you should know about the importance of having reliable CRM software:

  • More than 62% of social media users look for product information and news on social platforms. 60% of this population communicates with brands on these platforms. As such, social media platforms are the best place for brands to collect customer data and tailor marketing messages to target already motivated buyers.
  • CRM software can help brands triangulate user data, behavior, and lifestyle. For instance, you can use CRM data to identify smartphone devices being used by your target audience. These insights can help you improve your communication technology, responsiveness, and other marketing features.
  • CRMs and social channels can help brands improve their customer service and conversions. Customers prefer seeing their preferred brands online.

Endnote

Marketing to millennials is a problem faced by many brands. However, they respond to authentic and content-focused marketing strategies. They also listen to influencers and known personalities. Knowing how to market to millennials future-proofs your business because they share a lot with Gen Z.

 

5 Tips For Hiring The Right People For Your Startup

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Your employees are an essential asset in your startup. They significantly impact the success or failure of your business. Startups can be vigorous. They require the right people to manage the work to achieve optimal success. With a workforce that owns your startup’s goals and dedicates its hard work and passion, you’re assured of its success and growth.

Working with the right team is essential to actualizing your visions. Hiring the right workforce with the desired qualifications and skills for your business saves time and costs, improves productivity, betters team dynamics, ensures effective decision-making, and enhances the achievement of organizational goals.

This article outlines five tips for hiring the right people for your startup.

1. Conduct background checks.

Bad hires can cost your startup a lot of time and money. Considering how much you invest in starting a business, conducting a background check, such as a criminal record check Edmonton, should be a part of your hiring process priorities. Conducting background checks helps you spot any threatening convictions that pose a possible threat to your startup.

Violence, embezzlement, or fraud convictions can be a major issue that could expose your customers, business, and team members to risky situations. Background checks help verify if individuals are qualified for the job, obtain quality hires, safeguard your reputation and brand, and boost startup success.

2. Develop a recruitment strategy.

An excellent recruitment plan helps attract and recruit top candidates for your startup and build solid, capable hires. It also saves you resources and time by recognizing the most qualified individuals, cutting the lengthy and expensive recruitment process. An effective recruitment strategy enables your startup to find suitable candidates, improves inclusivity and diversity, and boosts employee performance and satisfaction, reducing workforce turnover and enhancing the hiring experience.

Partnering with the best employer of record is great for compliance with local labor laws, and streamlining your hiring process, providing further support in managing your global workforce effectively.

3. Know what you want in a potential hire.

A job description is essential when recruiting for your startup because it gives a clear picture of what you’re looking for in a prospective employee. It’s your initial encounter with possible applicants. To create a good job description, note that there are specific factors that candidates look for and others that may convince applicants to submit their resumes.

A great job description should have a job title, duties and responsibilities, performance goals, company information, and remuneration. Ensure your formatting makes it easy for people to scan through the job description. The job description should also be of a good length.

4. Develop and showcase an excellent startup culture.

Creating a startup foundation gives your business a foundation to grow from. Launching your startup without establishing the right culture may result in bad hires and toxic work environments. It directs you to candidates who reflect your core values or possess the skills to bring in new values that expound on what you want to build. To create a solid startup culture, define your company’s core values and purpose, keep the communication channels open, and promote agility among employees.

5. Create an employee referral program.

Developing a referral program as part of your recruitment strategy in your startup’s early stages is crucial. It’s a dependable source of qualified candidates. Referred workers are likely to perform better and stay longer. Referred employees take less time to train and onboard, saving the essential resources your startup needs.

Endnote

Recruiting suitable candidates for your new business is crucial for its success. Use these tips to hire the right people for your startup.

 

The Secret Chemistry That Will Make Interviewers Love You 

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by Vicky Oliver, author of “Live Like a Millionaire (Without Having to Be One)“

Any competent job candidate knows to come prepared with astute answers to stock interview questions. And while preparation goes without saying, it’s important to know that, often, it’s the chemistry between you and the interviewer that will make or break an interview.

But chemistry can be enhanced with a few simple tips. You should feel that the people and the place are the right fit for you, just as the hiring manager should feel that you are the right fit for the team and the company.

When you’re able to showcase your natural confidence, your ability to think under pressure, and your dazzling personality, you have a good chance of projecting the person that others will take to.

Here are some ways to build the chemistry that lets your interviewer know you’re the right match:

1. Dress the part.

Appearance matters in the professional world. Stand out in the right way by taking a modest approach to displaying your flair for fashion. Look up the company’s website and try to glean what others wear. Then resolve to look even more professional on the day of the interview.

2. Arrive early.

Showing up 5 or 10 minutes ahead of your scheduled meeting gives an impression that you take the interview seriously and can be counted on to be reliable. If you interview is on Zoom, it’s best to arrive 5 minutes early. Check your mic and the lighting in advance.

3. Give a firm handshake.

Put some muscle in your grip, but not so much that it’s painful to the other person. A simple hand clasp will make a favorable impression.

4. Look the interviewer in the eye.

Eye contact exudes confidence. Especially when you meet your interviewer, be sure to look right at the person for about a second or so.

5. Be you at your most enthusiastic.

Present a positive attitude. Be aware of how an upright body posture gives the impression of energy and vibrancy. Don’t slouch!

6. Be present.

Listen carefully to the interviewer. Rephrase a question if you’re unsure. Don’t allow your mind to wander when the other person is speaking. Give a relevant answer that’s on-topic to show that you’re paying attention. Above all, don’t talk over or interrupt your interviewer.

7. Answer by sharing an anecdote.

Rather than just sticking to a self-scripted litany of your skills, tell a story. This keeps the exchange conversational and lets your personality shine through. (Pro tip: Practice a bit in advance to nail the timing.)

8. Prepare several insightful questions.

Show that you’ve done your homework and have researched the company by asking insightful questions. The interviewer will know that you’ve given careful thought to the position.

9. End on a positive note.

Graciously thank the interviewer and reiterate your interest in working for the company. Inquire about the next steps. If appropriate, hand the interviewer your business card and ask for theirs. If an executive recruiter sent you, be sure to follow up with that person the moment you arrive home.

10. Send a note of thanks.

Follow-up is nearly as critical as making a good in-person impression. A gracious Thank You note and a few insights about what you took away from the interview will remind the Human Resources manager why you’re the one who should be hired.

Meanwhile, take note of your interviewer’s attitude and the impression it leaves with you. Does this person project the chemistry that you’re looking for? If so, and if through your confidence, enthusiasm, and positivity you exude the type of chemistry that appeals to the interviewer, then you have both found the right match for a promising and productive professional relationship.

 

vicky oliver

Vicky Oliver is a leading career development expert and the multi-best-selling author of five books, including “Live Like a Millionaire (Without Having to Be One)”, “301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions“, and “Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers, and Other Office Idiots“. She is a sought-after speaker and seminar presenter and a popular media source, having made over 901 appearances in broadcast, print, and online outlets.

 

VoIP’s Growth Is Changing How Businesses Operate Across The Globe

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As more businesses expand their use of telecommunications technology, the growth of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market is transforming the way companies interact with customers.

VoIP systems allow businesses to place calls from handsets, desktops, laptops, and mobile apps, increasing employee flexibility while also providing robust data and analysis of customer interactions. The VoIP systems offer businesses greater flexibility as they expand hybrid and remote workplace options. The systems also offer effective and efficient solutions that can reduce telecommunications costs and eliminate the need for expensive, upfront infrastructure installation.

Since emerging in the 1990s, VoIP technology has greatly evolved. The market includes a number of providers, including OnSip.

VoIP growth in the U.S. is significant

Businesses in the U.S. have helped fuel the popularity of VoIP systems. The number of VoIP lines increased from 6.2 million to 41.6 million between 2010 and 2018. That is significantly greater growth as a percentage than the use of VoIP in residential telephone lines, indicating that continued growth across industries can happen quickly for businesses as they learn about the advantages of VoIP systems.

The greatest opportunity for growth lies with small to medium-sized businesses as they discover the technology. The biggest growth drivers appear to be the need for more cost-effective telecommunications technology and the expansion of distributed and remote work opportunities. The technology also has the added benefit of improving worker satisfaction because of the powerful tools available in many VoIP solutions.

VoIP systems save money

Another benefit of VoIP systems is that they save data. Unlike a traditional landline that sends data even when a caller is not talking, VoIP systems use about half of the data because it is not transferring when a line is silent. The silence suppression feature of VoIP systems recognizes when a caller is silent and won’t transfer data at that time, transmitting only when it detects when a caller is speaking. This reduces data transmission costs for both the VoIP provider and the business using the service.

The costs of VoIP systems can be as low as $20 to $30 a month, a flat rate charged to users. Traditional landline services can be much more expensive because providers often charge by the minute of call time used. Additional features can increase the cost of VoIP, but the return on investment can be significant for these services that help businesses analyze customer interactions and sentiment.

In some cases, businesses have reported significant cost savings with VoIP, by as much as 50%. The savings realized will depend on the size of the company and the VoIP system used. Large savings comes from the lack of any required special equipment and the use of a cloud-based system that reduces upfront capital costs.

Future savings expected from VoIP

The cost of VoIP is expected to continue declining as technology advances and the market consolidates. The cost of VoIP is expected to decline annually between 3% and 5%, according to Gartner. This trend continues with annual declines recorded from 2017 to 2018. .

VoIP savings also will continue to increase as businesses use the technology, which can reduce team member calls by 32 minutes a day. These savings are primarily the result of improved availability, flexibility, and functionality of VoIP technology. That’s particularly true for small businesses that experience a disproportionate cost burden from personnel expenses required to staff call centers.

Businesses will also experience future savings as they shift into more remote work opportunities, eliminating the need to pay for large call center offices while allowing workers to take calls from anywhere.

Growth in the VoIP market continues

The greatest growth in VoIP is expected in North America, with the region expected to make up to 40% of the market by 2025. Much of that growth is attributed to telecommunication infrastructure advancements, increased reliance on remote workers, and the popularity of cloud services.

The global market is expected to grow to $55 billion by 2025 from about $20 billion in 2018. That growth will continue to surge as the internet becomes more widely available across the globe and more businesses have the option to switch to VoIP in the future.

 

The 3 + 1 Essential Success Skills Every Business Leader Should Master

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by Alex Brueckmann, author of “Secrets of Next-Level Entrepreneurs – 11 Powerful Lessons to Thrive in Business and Lead a Balanced Life”

As a young entrepreneur, the thought of starting a business can be both exhilarating and intimidating. The excitement of being your own boss and the possibility of achieving financial independence is tempered by the fear of failure and uncertainty.

Here are some of the critical skills and insights that every young entrepreneur needs to develop to create a thriving business and build a life filled with happiness.

We are Different, with Many Commonalities

Collaborating with many types of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders over the last twenty years, I have come to realize that despite their differences, they share some commonalities. They all operate in a marketplace with competitors, they all want to sell their offerings to clients, and they are all affected by consumer demands for a more sustainable way of doing business.

No matter the size of your business, your industry, or governance structure, these commonalities have major implications for any business leader: they need essential hard on business strategy, pricing, sustainability, and leadership.

Understanding Strategy, Pricing, and Sustainability is Key

Leaders need to harvest the benefits of strategy as a discipline to paint a compelling vision for their business and create a strategy to bring that vision to life. Without, businesses lack clarity and direction, resulting in allocating resources to topics that aren’t mission-critical priorities. This quickly can become a threat as it leads businesses to stretch themselves too thin and miss out on what really matters for success.

Pricing is the biggest lever of profitability. Especially during times of high inflation, pricing plays a crucial role in protecting your bottom line. Unfortunately, few business leaders understand the power of value-pricing and a differentiated pricing model. They use outdated approaches to pricing, such as ‘cost plus’ or purely competitive pricing, rather than understanding what customers value about the different aspects of their offerings relative to their price.

Companies embracing their responsibility to impact this world positively can strongly benefit from changing market demands. Increasingly, consumers are spending their hard-earned money on services and goods that resonate with their own set of values. This is especially true around social and environmental conscious buyers. Entrepreneurs should embrace the opportunity and build businesses that benefit people, planet, and their pockets.

Leadership is a Success Factor for New Entrepreneurs

Moving away from the three essential hard skills for entrepreneurs – strategy, pricing, and sustainability – let’s talk about one additional, people-related skill: leadership. In countless coaching sessions with clients, I have observed that many business owners underestimate the importance of leadership. They often tell me something along the lines of not having much of a team to lead. They fall back on the misconception that there’s not much you can do in a small part of the sandbox.

Fortunately, most of my clients eventually arrive at a definition of leadership inspired by John Maxwell who said, “The true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” By that definition, we are all leading in one way or another. We all make choices that influence others, just by how we show up at meetings with clients, suppliers, or employees. How we treat people and our planet has an effect. When we act as leaders, we contribute to shaping more equitable workplaces and social society.

Leaders Build People-Centric, High-Performance Workplaces

We live in an age of disruption, which makes people feel out of control. We want

to be in control of our lives and businesses, but the reality is that we cannot control everything. The best we can do is to be prepared for change and have an adaptable mindset. Leaders need to be able to navigate through uncertainty and adapt quickly to new circumstances.

To create a people-centric high-performance culture, leaders must prioritize their team’s well-being and happiness. A happy team is a productive team. Leaders should invest in their team’s professional development and ensure that they feel valued and appreciated.

Retaining Talent by Leveraging Conflict

The talent gap is a significant issue for businesses today. It’s becoming more challenging to find and retain talented employees. Leaders need to create a workplace culture that attracts and retains the best talent. This means offering competitive compensation packages, creating a positive work environment, and investing in employee development.

An additional way is to leverage the power of conflict. Conflict is inevitable in any workplace, but leaders should see it as an opportunity for growth. When handled correctly, conflict can lead to better ideas and stronger relationships. Leaders need to be skilled at conflict resolution and creating an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

Acquiring these skills and focussing on what truly creates value to consumers, employees, and society, entrepreneurs can create a thriving business. As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, remember that you are not alone. Seek out mentors, advisors, and a supportive community to help you along the way. With hard work, dedication, and the right skills, you can thrive in business and lead a balanced life at the same time.

 

Alex Brueckmann

Alex Brueckmann is author of “Secrets of Next-Level Entrepreneurs – 11 Powerful Lessons to Thrive in Business and Lead a Balanced Life”. He facilitates strategy processes and leadership programs for CEOs and executive teams around the world. A board director and speaker, Alex works at the intersection of business strategy, leadership, and empowerment.

 

6 Lucrative Benefits Of Healthcare Mobile App Development

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In recent years there has been a massive expansion of technology in the healthcare market. One of the key areas of development is mobile apps. Mobile technology is incredibly versatile, and has a variety of uses in healthcare, such as patient monitoring or assistance in taking care of conditions.

As an app developer, there are several benefits to branching out into healthcare, and we’ve compiled six reasons as to why you should enter this new market.

1. Many Providers want to Digitise.

Following the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the benefits of having digital services were made more obvious than ever. With many patients unable to regularly visit a clinic, application-based medical services were sought out to bridge the gap. This has made mobile apps a staple of the healthcare industry, and many clinics are still looking to expand their selection of mobile apps that they can offer to their patients.

2. Both Patients and Providers need Apps.

Many aspects of the healthcare system can be easily digitised, creating markets for both healthcare patients and healthcare providers. Some apps can even target both groups, such as Electronic Health Record (or EHR) applications, which display a digital record of a patient’s medical history. A healthcare app developer could even create two versions of the same app, one with less medical jargon for patients, and one with more detailed information to benefit providers.

3. Easily Gather Customer Information and Feedback.

As a digital health app developer, you are in a unique position where gathering key information about your customer is part and parcel of your application. The user data provided from your app can be used as part of your development cycle to inform which features users depend on, and what health conditions you could support in future iterations. In addition, gathering customer feedback is quick and simple, as many customers will be invested in improving something key to their healthcare experience.

4. Select from Several Monetisation Options.

Healthcare mobile apps can be monetised in a variety of ways, and developers have the luxury of choosing one that works best for them. Patient focused apps can offer free and paid versions, or an ad-based application with a subscription option to remove ads as well as unlock extra features. For healthcare providers, you can offer a subscription model that covers usage for any of the provider’s patients and staff.

5. Cultivate a Dedicated Customer Base.

Mobile healthcare apps will quickly be integrated as part of a patients daily routine, quickly building customer loyalty in ways other application types can struggle to do.  In addition, you can build app engagement through reminder notifications, as well as notifications around any other relevant healthcare apps you are developing. If you develop a solid app that healthcare clients know they can trust with their data, many will be using your products for years to come from sheer force of habit alone.

6. Create a Product that can Save Lives.

Digital health app developers have fulfilling work in a way that few other app developers can claim to. Healthcare apps can make a world of difference to the patients they aid, transforming the way they can engage with the medical system, improving their quality of life and, in some cases, creating apps that can prevent patients from losing their lives. By developing healthcare apps, you can know you are changing the world for the most vulnerable members of society.

 

How These 6 Industries Can Benefit From Time Lapse Technology

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Time-lapse photography is a technique that allows you to capture a series of images over a long period. After that, you can play them back in a shorter period. The effect is mesmerizing, and people can watch a project or activity unfold in a matter of seconds. 

By looking at the sped-up versions of a video, it could cover months of activity in one smaller video clip. This technology is used in various industries to capture and monitor different processes. Many companies have started adopting new technology, like time-lapse photography, as part of their digital transformation.

Below, we’ll explore the benefits of time-lapse technology and how various industries can use it to their advantage:

1. Construction Industry.

The construction industry has been using time-lapse technology for a long time to monitor the progress of their projects. Time-lapse photography can capture the entire process of a construction project – from the first brick to the final touches. 

This technology can also help construction companies in the following ways: 

  • Visual Updates for Stakeholders: Investors clearly understand how the project is progressing. It could also help them envision the result better.
  • Boost Project Management: With the help of time-lapse images, construction companies can keep a closer eye on their projects, including stock management and usage or staff monitoring.
  • Be an Influential Marketing Tool: Potential customers can have an intimate view of the new development. In turn, this could create hype and improve sales or investments.

There may be many more benefits for this industry to discover. To learn more about construction time lapse, check out all available resources.

2. Film And Television Industry.

The film and television industry can use time-lapse technology to capture stunning natural world images. Imagine the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Filmmakers use time-lapse photography to create exciting and engaging special effects. 

For example, it can show the movement of clouds, stars, and other celestial bodies, which would be difficult to capture with conventional photography. Furthermore, the industry benefits from this technology such as:

  • Drawing an audience into an experience rather than just one image.
  • Prompting viewers to share the visuals socially.
  • Condensing long processes into mere minutes.
  • Creating an innovative video promotion.

Time-lapse technology has revolutionized the film and television industry. Producers and artists can therefore live out their creativity on a whole new level.

3. Manufacturing Industry.

The manufacturing industry can use time-lapse technology to monitor the production process of their products. Time-lapse photography can capture the entire manufacturing process, from the raw materials to the finished product. 

Furthermore, it can help manufacturers to identify inefficiencies in their production process and improve their overall productivity. The aspects below are some of the reasons manufacturers now include time-lapse technology in their daily activities:

  • Reducing Costs: The technology allows manufacturers to reduce waste, improve worker efficiency, and produce higher-quality products.
  • Optimizing Supply Chain Functions: All aspects of service delivery could improve – from procurement to production to delivery. With time-lapse monitoring, the supply chain can optimize effectiveness by seeing the shortcomings and correcting them.
  • Encouraging Safer Work Environments: Inefficient practices show up on the time-lapse images so manufacturers can identify risks and develop better, safer processes.

As the technology improves, many other parts of the manufacturing operations could also benefit.

4. Agriculture Industry.

The agriculture industry can use time-lapse technology to monitor the growth of crops. It captures the entire growth cycle of a crop. All starting from the planting of the seeds up to the harvest. Moreover, farmers can identify any issues that may arise during the growth cycle, such as pests or diseases, and take appropriate action to mitigate them.

5. Tourism Industry.

The tourism industry can use time-lapse technology to showcase popular tourist destinations. Time-lapse photography can capture the entire day-to-night cycle of a tourist destination. Additionally, it can catch the breathtaking morning sun to the exotic evening lights. 

This technology can help promote the destination and attract more tourists by appealing to each step of their journey:

  1. Dreaming of their ideal getaway by watching time-lapse videos.
  2. Researching the best destinations and seeing all it offers in a short presentation.
  3. Booking the most comfortable accommodation after viewing every facet.
  4. Immersing themselves in the tourist attractions and experiences before actually arriving.
  5. Sharing their holiday with others through a comprehensive time-lapse video.

Instead of trying to remember all the fleeting moments, capture them as memories of a lifetime with this remarkable technological advancement.

6. Medical Industry.

The medical industry has implemented time-lapse technology to check on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. Previously, lab technicians had to monitor the progress manually by looking through a microscope.

Choosing the most viable embryos is crucial to the success of the procedure. Providing them with an optimal environment to increase and grow could be tedious to monitor unless time-lapse technology can do it for you. 

With imaging happening at regular intervals between five and fifteen minutes, the technology reduces the workload. Additionally, lab workers can enjoy a more flexible schedule to focus on other tasks.

To Conclude

Time-lapse technology undoubtedly revolutionized many industries. It can capture and monitor different processes, create stunning special effects, and promote products or destinations. Whatever the sector, time-lapse technology proves to be a game-changer.

 

10 Quick Tips For Better Email Negotiations

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by Cindy Watson, founder of Women on Purpose and author of “The Art of Feminine Negotiation: How to Get What You Want from the Boardroom to the Bedroom“

Negotiating by email is an unavoidable fact of life. In today’s world, technological interactions without traditional human connection are on the rise, and there are pros and cons to this mode of negotiation. It’s worth taking a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of email negotiations.

Let’s start with the benefits of this mode of bargaining:

  • Email negotiations can save time, money, and the travel that’s required with face-to-face meetings.
  • Email reduces stress by allowing for delayed response times. With time on your side, you can contemplate and measure your response. The immediate reactions required in face-to-face and telephone negotiations can induce anxiety, making email negotiations a welcome relief.
  • Email’s slower response time can prevent knee-jerk, explosive outbursts or ill-considered quick deals.
  • Email tends to give the illusion of insulation, allowing people to ask questions that would be difficult to pose face-to-face. I’ve listed this as an advantage, although some people consider this a drawback.

Despite these benefits, it’s estimated that email negotiations end in an impasse half the time, and studies suggest less satisfaction with the process. Why is that?

Negotiating by email isn’t the same as face-to-face (or even telephone) negotiations. Ignore this simple fact at your peril. Email’s pitfalls include:

  • The potential for miscommunication. Body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and touch are fundamental aspects of communicating in person, and they’re all missing in email negotiations.
  • Only the words on the screen appear; there’s no context or ability to gauge others’ reactions. This can be a significant handicap (both in understanding the other party and being understood yourself).
  • Email tends to elicit concise exchanges. People are less likely to build rapport. Instead, they get straight to business. This style can often come across as terse, rude, or confrontational.
  • There’s a higher likelihood of misreading someone’s tone. You’ve no doubt been at the giving or receiving end of this conundrum.
  • Some suggest there’s a greater tendency to bluff and outright lie in email communications. The screen offers a buffer that reduces accountability, empathy, and concern about the bargaining counterpart’s reaction.
  • Arguably, there’s less focus on mutual interests and more focus on positional bargaining.
  • It’s easier to say “no” to a computer screen than to someone in person.
  • Email agreements may not last. Parties may be more likely to back away from commitments they’ve made via email.
  • There’s a tendency to prepare less for email negotiations. When not properly prepared, people are more likely to make commitments they later regret and try to back away from.
  • Privacy concerns also raise their ugly heads in email negotiations. Controlling access to emails can be challenging. With blind copies and forwarding, this holds true both during and after discussions. This can inhibit open communication.

So how do you offset the risks posed by email bargaining? How can you find ways to establish connection and trust?

Here are 10 simple strategies to get started:

  1. Try to meet in person first. Meeting with someone before starting email negotiations allows you to observe nonverbal cues and gauge reactions to each other. And, as you do, you’ll build rapport and connection.
  2. Mix it up. Try to schedule phone calls or in-person meetings at some point during protracted email negotiations.
  3. Be human. Personalize the communications and add human emotion. Give the other party a sense of your personality, and try to elicit the same from them. Seek out common ground.
  4. Express your emotions. Don’t be afraid to express empathy, concern, or doubt while still projecting optimism about reaching a mutually satisfactory resolution.
  5. Make digital small talk. Share stories or anecdotes and ask about the other party’s personal circumstances when it’s appropriate. Make the exchanges mimic “real life.”
  6. Enhance your text. Consider supplementing your email communications with other media, such as images or videos.
  7. Make it personal. Use personalized greetings and sign-offs rather than being “all business.”
  8. Ask questions early. Ask questions early and often to avoid ambiguity. This also draws the other party into problem-solving mode.
  9. Don’t overreact. Words in an email may come across as rude, even when it’s not intended. Don’t overreact or respond in kind. Take a breath. Consider calling rather than emailing a response. Try to keep the atmosphere positive.
  10. Prepare. As always, be sure to prepare well in advance. Know your resistance point and your BATNA — your best alternative to a negotiated agreement—before going in. Consider your strategy and what tactics you may use.

Negotiating by email is here to stay, so it’s important to neutralize potential pitfalls and maximize your opportunity for success. Words alone are a powerful means of communication, as is evidenced by the many classic books that make us feel deeply and move us in profound ways. However, like those classics, finding the right words takes care and work. But mastering this skill is worth it.

 

cindy watson

Cindy Watson is the founder of Women on Purpose, a TEDx international speaker, and the award-winning author of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller “The Art of Feminine Negotiation: How to Get What You Want from the Boardroom to the Bedroom“. Learn more at ArtOfFeminineNegotiation.com.

 

Advice I Would Give My Younger Self When Starting My Business

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by Marta Hobbs, founder and teacher of SoulCare and author of “Unraveling: A Woman’s Search for Freedom and the Journey of Coming Home“

I was 25 when I started a Caribbean online travel company with my husband. Less than a decade later, I was the Founder and COO of a billion-dollar business with over 500 employees and multiple offices located throughout the United States. I was also a mother of two young children. We ran the company for fifteen years until we sold and retired – all before I turned 40.

The ride was fast, exciting, extremely rewarding and thankfully, highly successful. That doesn’t mean there weren’t many ups and downs and painful lessons learned along the journey. It was also stressful, hectic and chaotic. It took a lot of hard work, all our time, most of our energy along with a somewhat delusional belief that we could do anything if we put our minds to it. And a solid, steady trust in that belief.

What do I know now that I wish I knew twenty years ago?

It’s not financial strategies or return on investment advice. It’s not some brilliant marketing strategy and slick, glossy presentations to potential clients. It’s not anything to do with knowing my marketplace, studying the competition and the ability to change direction and adapt as an organization. It is not brilliant exit strategy, company org charts, a sound growth plan, efficient spend or a well-projected balanced budget. It is not knowing your product well, who your core client base is, where to find them and how to talk to them. It’s not even a beautiful, user-friendly and technologically advanced website. Yes, all of those are important. But it was all common sense to me – it came naturally as the business grew. What nobody talked to me about was investing in myself as a leader – that my overall personal well-being was directly reflected in the overall well-being of my business.

“How the leader goes – so does the company.
How the leader’s heart goes – so goes the leader.”

Three things I wish I knew two decades ago that I would like to share with you:

1. “You are not your job.” Your job is an extension of who you are.

Find yourself first, love yourself well and learn how to stay connected to your heart no matter what the external circumstances might be. Your business and your work are an overflow of the love, creativity and passion that is your spirit, your soul. Find it within you and know who you are at your core – then allow your job or your company to be the way you get to express it. Your identity is not what you do – it is who you are. A strong sense of identity and self-awareness is crucial to your success. Stay rooted in that.

2. “Slow down and be present.”

Stop multitasking. Take a breath. Stop running. Stop filling your schedule and constantly doing things. You miss life this way. If you are always on the run to the next appointment or the next big task – you are never present to the beauty of life and the love of the people around you. Nobody died and said, “I wish I attended more meetings.” Many have uttered “I wish I spent more time with family and loved ones” as they took their last breath. Be present where you are as often as possible. Practice this. Life is about the dance between DOING and BEING. Find your prefect balance. It will allow you to keep your health and wellbeing, maintain the quality of your relationships, and to enjoy your success rather than chase the next goal or target.

3. “Stop looking for validation outside of yourself. Find it within.”

If it comes from other people, your balance sheets, sales, followers, promotions at work, invitations to parties, how big your house is, how nice your car is or compliments from others – it will never be enough and it will never last. Look for it within. Give it to yourself. Find love for yourself, find acceptance for yourself, show up to life “already full” rather than looking for external things to fill up the “empty” within you. If you can feel valuable by yourself, to yourself and with yourself – it will pour out into everything else that you do. It all starts within. This is the only lasting way. Everything else is fleeting and leaves you wanting more which leads to endlessly chasing goals and pushing your employees too hard and ends in burnout. Come to your business healed, whole and worthy and then lead. See those qualities in others. Show them how to find them within themselves.

If you have a good business idea and are passionate about it – go for it. No dream is too big, and no desire is too much. You deserve it all and should absolutely pursue it. Life is what you make it, and I believe we all deserve extraordinary experiences – it is up to us to create them! Surround yourself with solid mentors and, above all, lead from your heart and a deep understanding of who you are at your core. Lead with love. I’m rooting for you!

 

Marta Hobbs

Marta Hobbs is founder and teacher of SoulCare – a spiritual practice to slow down the body, quiet the mind and reconnect with the soul. Marta now guides others toward healing, self-discovery and living a heart-centered and soul-led life. She is author of “Unraveling: A Woman’s Search for Freedom and the Journey of Coming Home“.

 

How To Create A Paperless Startup Office

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man tearing paper

man tearing paper

More companies see the convenience of going paperless as the corporate world delves deeper into the digital realm.

A few, however, may still be on the cusp of phasing into a more paperless environment. That may keep them from enjoying lower costs and decluttered office spaces.

Fortunately, your office can make the shift by utilizing digital tools that are very much available.

This article lists and discusses feasible ways your startup can go paperless:

Set Printing Restrictions.

One way to seamlessly transition into a paperless startup office is by setting up paper printing restrictions. You can minimize printing with your fax machine and use digital documents more.

That keeps you from stocking paperwork that eats up your shelf space, providing more leeway to efficiently store and organize your documents. It also lessens the need to do manual audits, which can be time-consuming.

You can start by limiting printing to essential documents and using digital files more often. Although it can seem challenging initially, having a clear mindset should keep you and your team members on track. 

Once you switch to a fully digital setup, you can dispose of your paper printers or keep them on hand if you need to print occasionally.

Remember that faxing remains an essential office practice in certain industries. For the best practices on efficient use and practical questions like ‘how to get a fax number,’ consult the experts today.

Use Cloud-Based Tools.

You can store your essential files in cloud storage as digital copies. That eliminates the need to keep your information on hard copies that occupy your office shelves. 

Authorized personnel can access digital files in a shared cloud storage and transfer copies into their hard drives without printing them, which is convenient.

Another great thing about cloud storage is that it provides an ideal place to back up all essential documents. It’s an easy way to secure data from theft and mishandling. 

Furthermore, cloud-based tools let you avoid possible data loss due to malfunctioning hardware drives. You can access documents as long as you have an internet connection.

Utilize Digital Notetaking.

Digital notetaking involves recording information on electronic platforms instead of paper. You can either type notes or use voice recording features. 

From there, you can use mind-mapping apps to create flow charts representing data more comprehensively. 

Digital notetaking is less high-concept or challenging than you think. You can use the tips below to make the process much easier for you:

  • Use bold text or subheadings to separate topics and sections.
  • Use short phrases in bullet point form for more concise and easy-to-read notes.
  • Focus on noting the essential details and cut out the fluff.
  • Organize your notes using folders and categories to access them later easily.
  • Section the messages according to dates, numbers, and names.

This form of notetaking is slightly nuanced from traditional notetaking. But it all represents the same thing—capturing essential details quickly. Keep these tips in mind to keep the task seamless.

Use Digital Signature Stamps.

Do you wish you didn’t have to manually print documents to set up signatures? 

Thanks to digital signature stamps, now you can.

Traditional document signing involves putting ink on actual paper, which requires printing and can be costly. Digital signatures let you bypass that.

Digital signature stamps are also as official as traditional signatures since they comply with various regulations, including the Uniform Electronics Transactions Act (UETA) and Electronic Signature in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN).

Use Electronic Billing And Invoicing Systems.

You can use an online billing system as part of your paperless startup. 

Try liaising with your bank to send you electronic paperless statements. You may get rewards from those that appreciate customers going online. This practice also eliminates the need for paper-based invoice bills, smoothening your billing processes.

Digital electronic billing and invoicing also save printing time and are more secure ways to transfer financial information. 

Consider using accounts payable automation (AP) software, as well. It provides numerous benefits that you can find helpful and complementary to your effort to create a paperless startup office. 

For example, besides helping you minimize your carbon footprint, using AP software to automate invoicing and billing can improve your accuracy, cash flow, and financial information security.

Is It Time To Make The Switch?

Going paperless in your startup office is a commendable way of minimizing paper usage and becoming sustainable from the start. 

But as appealing as this option seems, it helps to have the proper infrastructure, including digital devices and wireless internet connections. Now is a time as good as any to do it.

 

[Interview] Brian Smith, PhD, Founder Of IA Business Advisors 

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Daniel Goh
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Brian Smith

Brian Smith

Brian Smith is founder and senior managing partner of IA Business Advisors, a management consulting firm that has worked with more than 20,000 CEOs, entrepreneurs, managers and employees worldwide. Together with his daughter, Mary Griffin, he has authored his latest book in the “I” in Team series, “Positive Influence – Be the “I” in Team“, which shares how to become our best self with everyone we influence.

Smith recently shared insights on how to become aware of and use our positive influence.

Describe your professional background and how it led you to create IA Business Advisors.

My professional background had its own foundation; first, I was a soldier. That season of my life laid the foundation for an understanding about structure, policy, procedure, and teamwork. Growing up, I had always wanted to be an accountant and becoming a soldier actually fit well with that dream when I began working with numbers.

This path led me to succeed in the work that makes up my professional background. In the beginning, I implemented accounting and ERP systems and later dealt with change in the workplace as technology began to influence humans in both positive and negative ways.

Through my work in implementing systems, I became aware of how to resolve conflict between humans, technology, policy, and procedure, which has allowed me to be an amazing advisor for all the issues our clients bring.

Why is it important to define our individual influence?

First, it is our single greatest responsibility. Each of us began influencing the world before we were even born; the moment our parents learned of our conception, we influenced their lives and others. Our influence continues and grows through our thoughts, words, and actions. Our influence is one true constant we can count on.

When we define our influence, understand what influences us, and determine how we want to be perceived by others, it helps us become more mindful and aware of our very existence. Through this mindfulness, most will work to achieve positive thoughts, words, and actions to influence the future we’d like to make happen.

How can we better understand our individual biases and rise above them?

If you wish to better understand your biases, you will need to slow down and pay attention to your emotions and your intuition. This means you need to remain present and mindful. Additionally, you need to have situational awareness and listen to your internal dialogue to learn about yourself. You need to gain an understanding of the things you dislike or immediately challenge, and engage in an attempt to understand yourself and those feelings before you judge or react.

When you find that you harbor a bias, determine if you can locate the source of that bias — is it rooted in a memory or perhaps a cultural way of thinking? If you can’t determine where your bias stems from, it’s likely an unconscious bias and it will be more difficult to reconcile. However, if you can pinpoint a moment where your bias originated, you can gain awareness questioning more about what drove that moment and what has followed. Rising above bias is a conscious choice, but one that can only be made if you slow down and give yourself a chance to remain curious rather than judgmental.

How can anyone, no matter their professional level, constructively use their influence to improve their team?

Be S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). It’s not just a goal management program; it’s a way to influence constructively and positively at every level. When you incorporate S.M.A.R.T. into your communication, delegation, task management, and more, you inherently slow down and gain more control of your influence.

How is transparency an important part of positive influence?

Transparent communication is paramount to our influence. To understand what direction is smart, to decide what it is measurable, to determine attainability, to plan from a realistic perspective, and to know if the outcome is timely, communication from all participants needs to be transparent. Being transparent feeds the S.M.A.R.T. process and ensures that teams have what is needed to succeed. As communication is the foundation of how we interact with others, the more transparent we are, the better.

How do we maintain our influence in our ever-changing business world?

Be consistent in both words and action. Your influence is constant, while at the same time change is constant. If you must navigate change, ensure you are S.M.A.R.T. about the change. Consistent communication will allow you to maintain trust and credibility, and with them your influence will also remain consistent. When you apply S.M.A.R.T. goals to any change, you ensure that those influenced by the change have a clear understanding of it, and how it pertains to them. If you are truly implementing S.M.A.R.T., you will remain transparent in your communications and also maintain your influence.

Learn more at IABusinessAdvisors.com/the-i-in-team-series/.

 

Taking Step Zero Towards Monetizing Your Creativity

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by Miriam Schulman, artist and founder of The Inspiration Place, and author of “Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity“

Moving forward feels scary. “Step zero” is finding the courage to monetize your creativity — and taking the practical steps that will ready you to receive money. Remember, finding courage doesn’t mean having no fear. Courage is being afraid and deciding to act in spite of it.

There’s no need to feel fully confident before you start asking for sales. Confidence is a choice
to set an intention. Step zero is just setting an intention to monetize your creativity. No need to feel ready or get rid of that fear first! Assigning a value to your art and asking others to pay that full value feels uncomfortable, and this is normal. But you can reach a point where the discomfort of staying stuck outweighs your discomfort with changing. When I was in college, the discomfort of struggling on financial aid and wanting more income to keep up with the lifestyle of my wealthier classmates fueled that desire. After I left Wall Street, my determination not to return to the corporate world continued to motivate me.

Know What You Really Want

Ask yourself: how much do I want to earn from my business? When I speak to artists who don’t have money goals, I spend a good part of our time coaching them on believing what’s possible for them, and then attaching a number to their goal. In addition, if a prospective client shares that they don’t care about the money, I won’t work with them. To make money from your art, you need to want it — and money doesn’t go where it isn’t wanted.

Recently, I coached a client named Sara. She was gearing up for a three-day art show, and I wanted her to get clear on her goals. When I asked what she wanted from the show, she admitted she “hoped to collect some emails and sell some prints.” When I pushed her to get more specific and create a bigger goal, she resisted. She felt that setting a bigger goal could bring disappointment. But with a wishy-washy goal, she doomed herself to mediocre results. This is very common, and in the past, you might have set unambitious goals for yourself to avoid disappointment. That’s got to stop. You’re not going to go any further than your goal, and if your goal is too modest, it will limit you.

On the other hand, not having a goal at all is like driving your car aimlessly until you run out of gas. You should even set the goal beyond the goal so that your upper limit is high. The best way to explain the concept of a goal beyond the goal is with my grandfather’s favorite quote by Robert Browning: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.” You’ll want to create a goal that makes you feel excited, since those feelings will motivate your actions. Remember, your thoughts generate feelings that fuel your actions, which ultimately drive your results. That’s why it’s important to monitor your thoughts — to make sure they’ll lead to the outcome you’re looking for. Big goals generate positive energy to make your art career soar.

“How Do I Price My Art?”

Pricing art is very subjective and often feels arbitrary. So many factors determine a sufficient price: the venue, materials, subject, presentation, affluence of your market, and so on. Regardless of what you’re selling, if you’re willing to make mistakes as you find your pricing path, you’ll learn faster than wanting to get everything perfect in advance. You’ll always make faster progress when you’re willing to make mistakes along the way. We’ll dive deeper into pricing and buyer psychology in chapter 7, but for now I want you to see the big picture of how pricing fundamentals come together.

Be Willing To Ask

Let’s say you want to sell T-shirts. (This is just an example — you can replace the T-shirt with anything you create.) Up until now, you’ve been giving them away at charity events. You have no idea how to make this into a business because you’ve never priced your T-shirts. Someone you met at a charity event now wants to buy one of your shirts. What do you charge?

A T-shirt might seem reasonable at $10 or even over $100. To test that theory, I did a quick search on Bergdorf Goodman’s website for black T-shirts. I chose black T-shirts as an example because they come in a range of prices, and I wanted to see how the prices could differ based on venue, design, and materials. For this search, I found a plain, short-sleeved, black T-shirt priced at $120. Then I did a second search for black T-shirts on the Neiman Marcus site and found Givenchy men’s tees priced at $455. In both cases, the high-end department stores recognize that luxury buyers equate a high price tag with greater value. Now let’s imagine that Brandon Maxwell, Lady Gaga’s designer, custom-made a black T-shirt just for you. What would you expect to pay for it? There are countless answers on how to price a simple black T-shirt — yet all are correct if the seller is willing to ask and if there’s a desire match with the right buyer.

 

*Excerpted from “Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity“, HarperCollins Leadership, 2023

 

miriam schulman

Miriam Schulman is an artist and founder of The Inspiration Place, where she helps other artists learn how to profit from their passion or become better artists. She is author of “Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity” by HarperCollins Leadership.

 

How Brands Can Build A Positive Reputation And Grow Customer Loyalty In 2023

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by Christena Garduno, chief executive officer of Media Culture

Growing customer loyalty is more important than ever these days. Consumers are feeling twice as pessimistic about the economy, and they are being extremely careful when making decisions to spend their money. For this reason, it is vital that brands do everything they can to stand out from the competition. Proving to consumers that they can trust your brand is a solid way to remain a top choice for your target audience, as brand trust is an essential factor in consumer decision-making. If trust is lost, customers are less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt and more likely to be critical — and in our digital world, a critical perspective can be shared wide and far with just a few clicks.

Consumer expectations are also rapidly changing, which means keeping a finger on the pulse of those expectations is vital to building a positive brand reputation, growing customer satisfaction and driving loyalty.

Building a Positive Brand Reputation

 A solid brand stays true to its identity. During periods of rapid growth, it can be hard to keep a brand consistent, but even when adapting to change… the main focus should always be on the brand’s core values. Commitment to your brand’s mission and values will help control consumers’ perception of your company across all channels, including product branding. Whether it’s your website, advertisements, marketing materials or social media platforms — all channels should offer a unified look and voice. Brands that stay true to their identity foster stronger customer relationships and ultimately drive consistent long-term sales.

Another way to elevate your brand reputation is through thought leadership. Thought leadership opportunities provide access to educate existing and new customers by sharing information on different outlets that is relevant to their interests and unique to your brand. Thought leadership content can live permanently on your website and can also be leveraged in your email marketing, lead generation campaigns or throughout other parts of your customer’s journey. When considering thought leadership opportunities, remember that your unique insights are not limited to your products or services. Company values, growth strategies and more can all be leveraged to create impactful thought leadership. As an added bonus, off-site thought leadership content that includes backlinks to your website also improves your overall SEO ranking potential.

For a brand to be authentic and effective externally, it must also be authentic and effective internally. Leaders must bring the brand’s promise to life internally through their company values and then create the alignment needed to effectively manage external promises as well. When brands create a culture where living the values is part of the job, employees will become their greatest advocates. Customer experiences will also improve when they witness your employees living your culture, as those customers will become great advocates for your brand as well.

Keys to Earning Trust and Growing Customer Loyalty

To encourage consumers to commit to your product or service, your brand must be worthy of trust. When customers do not trust a brand, they will start looking for other brands that demonstrate the authenticity they are seeking. To gain the trust of consumers brands must be transparent, open and honest with them. Creating ways to engage with your customers is a great way to show full transparency. For example, invite customers and followers along for an exclusive virtual tour via your social media platforms or invite them to shadow your company’s CEO for a “day in the life”.

Consistency is another key to growing customer loyalty. Consumer confidence increases when consistent results are produced, therefore it is critical to ensure that customers recognize the delivery of the promises your brand is making. This requires proactively shaping your key messages and communications throughout the customer journey. Never promise what you can’t deliver.

To grow the trust and loyalty of both new and existing customers, the goal should be to provide the best possible experience from the moment they first land on your website or enter your place of business, to after their purchase has been made. While some capture brand intent in their advertising, many ignore it in delivering customer service — and helping customers step by step along their journey shows them that you truly care about them. Sharing case studies is an effective way to gain consumer trust as they highlight how your brand has helped others succeed or solve a problem.

At the end of the day, building customer trust is relationship building. The same as any relationship, it takes time and effort to first establish trust. Once that trust is established, brands must make an ongoing commitment to invest in their customers. In doing so, brands are sure to see more loyal fans and a boost in sales!

 

Christena Garduno

Christena Garduno is chief executive officer of Media Culture, a multichannel brand response media agency that drives growth for global clients with innovative and performance-driven media campaigns. She is a member of Forbes Agency Council and the recipient of an Echo Award for her work with Turbo Tax.

 

Things To Consider For Building A Successful Fitness App

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There has been a significant uptick in interest in exercise and anything associated with it. For a sizeable portion of the world’s population, maintaining their physical health has become almost compulsive.

At-home subscriptions, wearables, internet specialists and trainers, and similar services are gaining popularity. And this is exactly why people are interested in learning how to create fitness apps, even though fitness apps are already very popular.

Before beginning the process of developing the app, there are a few things that you, as the owner of a company, need to consider first if you are one of those business owners planning to create a health and fitness app.

Here are some things that you must consider before building a fitness app:

1. Decide The Features of Your Fitness App.

The features available on mobile applications for health and exercise vary greatly depending on the kind of program.

You must make informed decisions regarding the features you want while considering the social component of fitness and exercise applications. Some of the shared characteristics include:

Community building

To maintain the users’ engagement and motivation, you can plan a feature to help create a community of people interested in health and exercise.

Integration of Wearable Devices

It doesn’t matter what kind of app you’re creating; if you allow users to integrate it with their wearable device, your app will have a deeper and more significant purpose. For this, you must know how to services to share data with your application.

2. Learn About Your Target Market.

Developing fitness apps for the iPhone, Android, or Windows platforms is essential because this choice can directly influence the app acceptance rate among users and, eventually, the revenue.

When choosing the platform, it is important to determine where your community is located. Based on this information, you can choose the most appropriate platform.

3. Finding the Most Popular Fitness App in Your Target Market.

Before you start looking for advice and suggestions on how to develop mobile apps, you need to decide the kind of fitness app you want to create, such as:

  • App for tracking one’s workouts
  • Running program
  • An application for monitoring activity
  • Application for diet and nutrition
  • App for health clubs and gyms
  • Fitness Software
  • Application for personal trainers

4. Developing a Financial Strategy for Your Fitness App.

When preparing a budget for an exercise program, there are a few factors that you need to keep in mind, including the following:

  • Determine the motivation behind the development of the program.
  • When we analyze the platform cost, we’re referring to the amount of money it takes to create an app for personal trainers, exercise aficionados, or gadget manufacturers for a particular platform.
  • Decide whether to develop the fitness app in-house or hire a third-party business.
  • Conduct a detailed analysis of the functionalities and characteristics.
  • Putting the program up for sale on various app marketplaces
  • Distribution of the available funds for promotion

After going through all of the different variables that affect costs, you will eventually be able to settle on an overall budget for producing a fitness app.

 

Crafting A Comprehensive Benefits Literacy Plan For Your Employees

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by Frank Mengert, founder and CEO of ebm

Employer-sponsored benefits are crucial to maintaining competitiveness in the ongoing fight for top talent. According to a survey, 80% of workers said they would prefer a job with benefits over taking a new job with higher pay and no benefits. Another survey supports these findings, with over 70% of companies saying that retention was the main reason for increasing their benefits package.

Still, benefits packages only help so much if employees struggle to understand their place in the compensation package. Many employees report feeling unsure about their benefits offerings, particularly with healthcare.

Worse yet, employees are generally risk-averse with benefits, so if they don’t fully understand what’s available, they often choose the “safe” option – which could leave them with benefits that don’t satisfy their needs. They may pay more for benefits than necessary, not to mention choosing less-than-ideal options for their future.

What can you do as an employer? It’s clear that benefits literacy is an important part of employee satisfaction and engagement with benefits, not to mention overall financial well being and maximizing resources.

Here’s how you can drive the benefits literacy process for more engaged and employees.

Take the Time to Assess Employee Needs

A needs assessment helps you determine what employees need awareness and education about specific benefits. 

For example, Gen Z employees are just entering the workforce and have little-to-no real-world experience with health benefits or wealth protection benefits. These benefits can be complex, and neither high school nor college provide adequate education on how to select these benefits strategically based on needs. Without this knowledge, your employees could be making decisions blindly and harming their future financial health.

To conduct a needs assessment, begin with your existing workforce’s demographics, job titles, roles, and responsibilities within a company. Then, consider which employees need awareness about certain benefits, such as older employees who may not understand unconventional perks or customizable benefits plans. You should also consider employees who may be undergoing major life changes, such as starting a family, which may change their benefits needs.

Establish an Effective Communication Plan

Benefits are important to employees, but they need to understand them to get the most advantage out of the package you offer. This includes what options are available, what is covered, and how they need to go about selecting their plan.

For many employees, a lack of awareness and education is the biggest barrier to maximizing their benefits. Having an effective benefits communication plan for them can shed some light on the benefits program and ensures they participate.

Different people respond to different communication methods. According to generational research, Gen Z is the generation of digital natives – they grew up with technology and the internet. As a result, this generation developed specific communication preferences, including a desire for online communication. They also expect rapid responses when they pose a question or send a message.

That said, in the workplace, Gen Z employees prefer face-to-face communication, which is particularly helpful with benefits education.

Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, grew up before or during the start of the digital age. Still, they’re comfortable with technology and prefer texting or messaging using apps over phone calls.

In the workplace, millennials tend to avoid face-to-face interactions, instead preferring to use online messaging apps or email to communicate with colleagues or bosses. When it comes to benefits education, using similar tools is the best way to communicate with millennials – though leaving the option for face-to-face education as needed.

Gen X, the generation born between 1065 and 1980, had some digital technology in their youth – mostly email. Whether at home or at work, Gen X generally prefers email communication or face-to-face interactions over messaging apps.

Finally, the baby boomers are the generation born between 1946 and 1964. They saw the telephone evolve into a smartphone, though some may be comfortable with more tech-savvy communication through texting or online platforms. In the workplace, most baby boomers prefer face-to-face communication and email over other methods.

Most workplaces have a mix of different generations, so it’s important to tailor your conversations to the employees you’re educating. Always offer the option for employees to address benefits in the communication mode that’s most comfortable for them. Just because a generation prefers one type of communication overall doesn’t mean that everyone will fall in line with that generalization.

In addition, be sure to strategize your benefits communication plan. It’s not enough to talk about benefits only during open enrollment. Establish a timeline for when and how information is shared to employees. If questions or concerns come up throughout the year, make sure that employees know they can seek information – and where to go – to get answers.

Leverage Employee Benefits Technology

Benefits technology platforms for open enrollment can automate tedious tasks and processes for more streamlined benefits enrollment. From an employee’s perspective, it’s easier to use a single benefits portal for benefits enrollment and information access, rather than having to use separate sites or forms. The entire process is more straightforward and seamless.

Benefits technology that has a rules-based platform also helps employees explore and compare different plan types, carriers, coverage options, and more. Having all the essential information laid out for them demystifies some of the benefits complexity and helps employees make timely and more-informed decisions about the benefits that work best for them.

Not all employee benefits technology platforms are created equal, however. A cumbersome or complicated platform will only hinder the benefits education experience, so be sure to evaluate options for a user-friendly platform.

Utilize Educational Workshops and Training Seminars

Educational workshops and training seminars are excellent options for empowering employees to take control of their own benefits education. Paired with regular benefits communication, these tools can be archived to allow employees to seek education and answers as needed, no matter the time of year, and learn about benefits at their own pace.

Be sure to include a mix of education options to help multi-generational employees learn in the way that’s most comfortable for them. For example, some people learn best with context, so include real-world examples that employees can apply to their own situation.

Some benefits technology platforms offer options to include learning resources as well, such as group benefits exercises or virtual one-on-one sessions. Consider these options when you’re evaluating benefits technology platforms.

Encourage Feedback from Employees

Feedback is essential for gaining insight into your employees’ concerns while you’re creating benefits literacy solutions. It’s important to understand what your employees need, what motivates them, and where they experience roadblocks in the benefits enrollment process.

Listening to your employees is one of the most important aspects of being a leader. When you receive feedback – positive or negative – it’s an opportunity to reevaluate your approach to benefits education and create a better experience. You’ll also show your employees that you’re invested in them and their future.

There are several options for how you can request feedback. Focus groups help you get feedback from a cross-section of your employee base with open discussions. It doesn’t have to take long. Send a request for participants and schedule a few hours in a conference room.

Depending on the size of your company, one-on-one interviews are a great way to get candid and honest insights. Some employees may not feel comfortable discussing private matters in a group setting. Prepare your questions in advance to keep the meetings practical.

Another option is observation. You can observe employees through the usability testing of your benefits technology to see how they navigate the site and whether adjustments need to be made, or employee behavior during open enrollment. Do some employees seem to decide quickly while others seem unsure? That’s a good start for determining areas of education may need to be more robust.

Finally, surveys are a great way to capture specific information from your employees in a confidential manner – especially if you have a large company. Make sure to include open-answer questions that allow employees to pinpoint some specific challenges they encounter.

Incorporate a Results-Driven Approach

Without goals and a way to track them, you have no way of knowing if your education is working. Begin with goals and objectives with specific timeframes, which you can evaluate the progress against. If necessary, use industry benchmarks to see how your benefits education plan stacks up.

Assess your benefits literacy program regularly to ensure it’s meeting your objectives and the employee’s needs. See which topics or segments are more successful with employees, whether in engagement or direct employee feedback. If there’s any aspect of the program that’s falling short, develop strategies to improve it and increase employee engagement.

Develop a Robust Benefits Literacy Plan for Employees

With rising healthcare costs and a tough labor market, benefits are an important part of recruiting and retaining top talent. With a benefits literacy plan, you can equip your employees for success and long-term financial well being, as well as maximizing the resources you devote toward benefits packages.

 

Frank Mengert

Frank Mengert continues to find success by spotting opportunities where others see nothing. As the founder and CEO of ebm, a leading provider of employee benefits solutions, Frank has built the business by bridging the gap between insurance and technology driven solutions for brokers, consultants, carriers, and employers nationwide.

 

Unique Obstacles LGBTQ+ Business Owners Face And How To Overcome Them

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by Chris Davidson, Head of StartOut Growth Lab

As the head of StartOut Growth Lab, a 6-month startup accelerator that offers top quality mentoring, education, and networking opportunities for young companies that happen to be founded or co-founded by LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, I’ve found that LGBTQ+ business owners face two key obstacles in building and maintaining a successful company: Access and representation.

1. Access.

LGBTQ+ founders do not have the same access to resources like talent, startup capital, growth capital, and skills development as non-LGBTQ+ folks. Access to these valuable resources are typically based on one’s personal network and ecosystem, and I find that our networks and ecosystems may not be as broad as some of our allies due to our upbringing or the communities that we find ourselves in. 

I see numerous business owners who do not have the ability to borrow money from friends, family members, or banks to get the money to either start a company or to allow for it to grow quickly. Additionally, once the company is up and running, I have witnessed LGBTQ+ founders not able to attract or be able to pay for top human capital resources to compete with other non-LGBTQ+ founded businesses. At times, we can be at a competitive disadvantage in our businesses because of this factor. 

2. Representation.

A few key aspects of being a successful business owner are having a great blueprint of what a successful business is, having the right plan to build out that blueprint, and being able to limit one’s mistakes. Just as it is important for LGBTQ+ folks to have representation in the media, it is also a huge advantage to see this representation in the business arena. 

I find that business owners who have business role models or a company and founder to learn from and ideate with have a higher likelihood for success. They also have more opportunities to navigate the business planning and execution stages more effectively. Unfortunately, the large majority of business owners can’t find a role model or business mentor who looks like them to learn from. 

Strategies to Overcome These Challenges

These are some challenges LGBTQ+ business owners face, but what are some strategies or resources that can help them overcome these challenges? The most successful folks I’ve worked with have overcome these challenges by 1. Finding a mentor/role model, 2. Intentionally expanding their ecosystem, and 3. Leaning into their resourcefulness. 

1. Find a Mentor.

The best single advice I received in business was in 2000 from John Havens, a successful business friend of my father’s, and he said, “To be successful, you need to figure out what not to do and that will show you, through the process of elimination, the correct path.” 

Learning from someone else’s mistakes, or as I like to say, “Leveraging someone else’s learning curve,” can structurally shift one’s company. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen companies with great mentors avoid disastrous mistakes because they have someone to ideate with and bounce ideas off of. And more specifically, being able to bounce ideas off of someone that has done a version of what you are trying to do is a huge factor that contributes to one’s success. 

StartOut is an amazing resource to find a business mentor. Additionally, most major metropolitan areas have a National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce which also serves as an epic resource. 

2. Lean into Resourcefulness.

Another key strategy successful LGBTQ+ business owners implement is leveraging their unique ability to be resourceful. Growing up LGBTQ+ allows many members of the community to be resourceful and creative. 

When I remind a founder that they have been through much more challenging situations in their lives than the struggles they find themselves in business-wise, a little light goes off in their heads. I can even see it in their faces. I will then ask the business owner, “I can see a change in your face and how you are looking. Where did you just go in your head?” Nine times out of 10, I hear something along the lines of, “Oh, I have gotten through much more challenging times, thank you for this reminder…I can figure this out.” 

3. Intentional Ecosystem Expansion.

The final strategy I have seen work for LGBTQ+ business owners is intentional ecosystem expansion. Essentially, ecosystem expansion is just networking and building your network. However, there is a distinction: most folks think that networking is an accidental process that happens naturally. The truth of the matter is that to network and to network well, you need an intention and process to get the most benefit. 

The easiest way to start is to create what I call a “Hit List.” Create a list of 15 to 20 connections or relationships that you currently do not have, but would structurally benefit your network or business. Once you create the “Hit List,” you need to get to work to create strategies on how you are doing to create these new relationships. 

As discussed above, the LGBTQ+ business owner is uniquely qualified based on our resourcefulness and ability to be creative to achieve these connections, allowing for your business to be more successful. 

Final Thoughts

An LGBTQ+ business person is uniquely qualified to face the many challenges they will encounter in the business world. Using the resources available to them and trusting themselves to get through these challenges will make all the difference. 

Over the past six years of the StartOut Growth Lab’s existence, 65 companies have graduated from the startup accelerator, raising $763 million in funding and creating more than 3,650 jobs. When we work together to navigate the obstacles our community faces, practically anything is possible.   

 

Chris Davidson

Chris Davidson has a 25+ year career investing in and advising companies starting in investment banking, real estate private equity and development, hedge fund, commodity fund and culminating in venture capital. He is part of the LGBTQ+ community and is an advisory board member and Head of the StarOut Growth Lab, an incubator for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

 

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