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Common Ecommerce Myths You Should Ignore

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Ecommerce has grown rapidly in recent years, but there are still a lot of myths and misconceptions out there about how successful it can be. From tales of overnight success to the idea that you need a big budget to make it work, it can be difficult for people to know what to believe.

In this article, we are going to look at five common ecommerce myths and explain why you should ignore them.

Interested in learning more? Then let’s get started!

Your Customers Will Come Automatically.

It’s easy to assume that once your store goes live, customers will flock to it automatically – but this isn’t always true. Most businesses underestimate how much time and effort goes into finding customers and convincing them to purchase from their stores.

Without proper strategies in place, your store won’t be able to bring in consistent revenue over time – no matter how great its products may be.

It takes time to build up a great reputation, and it’s certainly not something that happens in just several days. You’ll need to figure out the best way to get your products to your customers, such as with this 3PL fulfillment Los Angeles.

You Need a Big Budget.

One of the most pervasive myths is that you need a huge budget to get started with ecommerce. While some businesses do have a large loan for their online stores, this isn’t true for everyone.

With the right strategies, you can get your store up and running with little or no money down. There are plenty of affordable options when it comes to hosting, designing, and marketing your store – all you have to do is find them.

You Don’t Need to Invest in SEO

Search engine optimization or (SEO) is an important tool for any ecommerce business. It helps customers find your store more easily, which leads to more sales.

Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that SEO doesn’t matter or that they don’t need to invest in it because they already have organic traffic coming from other sources. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s essential if you want your store to succeed in the long run.

You Can Make Money Overnight

Another common misconception is that ecommerce businesses make money overnight – or at least within a few weeks of launching their stores. The reality is much different; while some stores may see quick success, it usually takes several months before an online store starts bringing in consistent revenue.

It’s critical to remember that building an ecommerce business is not easy. It requires time and dedication in order to then make a great income.

Your Store Has To Offer Something Unique

Some people think that their store has to offer something unique if they want it to stand out from the competition – but this isn’t necessarily true. Sure, it has benefits – but what really matters is how well your products meet customer needs and how well you market them!

If you can create a great product offering coupled with effective marketing tactics then even without something unique your store can still reach its goals. It’s all about doing the right research.

Final Words

There are many misconceptions about starting an ecommerce business, and while you need to address them, you shouldn’t let all of them overwhelm you. Before you know it, you’ll be on your way to success!

 

7 Simple Ways Startups Can Increase Visibility And Expand Their Reach

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As a startup, increasing visibility and expanding reach is crucial to success. With so many businesses competing for attention, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. However, with the right strategies and techniques, startups can increase their visibility and reach their target audience.

In this post, we’ll explore 7 simple ways startups can increase visibility and expand their reach.

1. Use Social Media.

Social media is one of the most effective ways to increase visibility and reach for your startup. By creating profiles on popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can connect with potential customers and share information about your business. You can also use social media to run targeted ads and promotions, increasing visibility and driving traffic to your website.

To make the most of social media, it’s important to develop a content strategy that aligns with your business goals. You should aim to create engaging, informative content that resonates with your target audience. This could include blog posts, infographics, videos, and more. You can also use social media to run contests, share user-generated content, and interact with your followers. You can also make your content more likely to be shared by adding share buttons like a Facebook share button to your website’s pages.

2. Use Content Marketing.

Content marketing is another powerful tool for increasing visibility and expanding reach. By creating valuable content that educates and entertains your target audience, you can build brand awareness and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. You can create blog posts, videos, infographics, and other types of content, and share them on your website and social media channels. This will help drive traffic to your website and increase your visibility in search engines.

When creating content, it’s important to keep your target audience in mind. What are their pain points, interests, and questions? How can you provide value and solve their problems? By creating content that speaks directly to your audience, you can build trust and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

3. Partner with Influencers.

Partnering with influencers is a great way to expand your reach and gain credibility. Influencers are individuals who have a large following on social media and are seen as experts in their niche. By working with influencers, you can tap into their audience and gain exposure for your business. This can help you build brand awareness and reach new customers.

When partnering with influencers, it’s important to choose individuals who align with your brand values and target audience. You should also develop a clear plan for how you will work together, including compensation, content creation, and promotion. By developing a strong relationship with influencers, you can tap into their reach and build a loyal customer base.

4. Attend Industry Events.

Industry events are a great way to network and connect with potential customers and partners. By attending conferences, trade shows, and other events in your industry, you can learn about new trends and connect with other professionals. You can also use these events to showcase your products and services and gain exposure for your business.

When attending events, it’s important to have a clear goal in mind. Are you looking to generate leads, build partnerships, or gain industry knowledge? You should also prepare marketing materials, such as business cards and flyers, and develop a clear elevator pitch to introduce your business.

5. Offer Free Samples or Trials.

Offering free samples or trials is a great way to get your products or services in the hands of potential customers. By offering a free trial or sample, you can generate interest and build credibility. You can also use this opportunity to collect feedback and testimonials, which can help you improve your offerings and attract new customers.

When offering free samples or trials, it’s important to develop a clear plan for how you will follow up with potential customers. How will you collect feedback? How will you convert trial users into paying customers? By developing a strong follow-up strategy, you can make the most of your free sample or trial offer and turn it into a powerful marketing tool.

6. Provide Excellent Customer Service.

Providing excellent customer service is essential for startups looking to increase visibility and expand their reach. By providing personalized, attentive service, you can build trust and loyalty with your customers. This will not only lead to repeat business but also positive word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals.

To provide excellent customer service, it’s important to be accessible and responsive to your customers. You should offer multiple channels of communication, such as email, phone, and live chat, and respond to inquiries in a timely manner. You should also be proactive in addressing customer concerns and resolving issues, demonstrating that you care about their satisfaction.

7. Build an Email List.

Building an email list is another effective way to increase visibility and reach for your startup. By collecting email addresses from website visitors and customers, you can keep them informed about new products, promotions, and other important updates. Email marketing is also a great way to drive traffic to your website and increase sales.

When building an email list, it’s important to offer something of value in exchange for contact information. This could include a free e-book, a discount code, or access to exclusive content. You should also be transparent about how you will use the information and offer a clear opt-out option for subscribers who no longer wish to receive your emails.

In conclusion, startups looking to increase visibility and expand their reach can benefit from a range of strategies, including social media, content marketing, influencer partnerships, industry events, free samples or trials, excellent customer service, and email marketing. By developing a clear plan and executing on these strategies, startups can connect with their target audience, build brand awareness, and establish themselves as leaders in their industry.

 

Five Ways IT Services Can Benefit Dentists

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IT Services Can Help You Protect Your Data

When talking about IT services for dentists, one thing that may come to mind is protecting your data. If you are a dentist, then you have your own practice’s internal data and plenty of data about your customers, as well. It is important to make sure that you protect both kinds of data properly. You can do this by choosing an excellent IT service provider and setting up data security for your business.

In addition to protecting the data from unauthorized access, it can also help protect it from other problems like software failure. Many top IT service providers back up your data so that it is not lost if something happens to your computer system. This can prove invaluable and gives you additional peace of mind when it comes to your data.

IT Services Can Help You Keep Track of Patient Data

It is also critical that you keep track of patient data properly so that you can provide the right dental treatment for each patient. To that end, many IT services provide you with software solutions that allow you to easily access a patient’s previous dental data. It is ideal to access this information digitally rather than keeping it in paper records. Paper records can be easily lost or destroyed and are less secure. These software solutions help you stay on top of all the relevant patient data that you have.

IT Services Can Help You Evaluate Marketing Campaigns

Another thing that you have to do to make your dental practice successful is to promote it effectively online. However, it is not always easy to tell if an online marketing campaign was a success or not. When you get digital marketing services as part of IT services, you can track how well your campaign did in terms of bringing traffic to your website. This helps you evaluate the campaign and move forward from there. You can then run more effective campaigns as you focus on what worked in the campaign and eliminate what did not work.

IT Services Can Make Appointment Scheduling More Convenient

One more benefit of IT services for dentists is that you can make it much more convenient for patients to schedule appointments on your website. You can set up a simple appointment form that patients fill out and submit on your website. As a result, they can easily make appointments without much hassle. This will improve customer satisfaction and give you a digital record of all appointments for your own convenience.

IT Services Can Help You With Any Technical Issues

Of course, it is possible that you may encounter technical issues with your website. However, if you go with a top IT services provider, they can help you resolve these issues. You won’t have to try to do it on your own. Because of this, you can get the problem resolved quickly and effectively and get back to focusing on your dental practice. This also ensures that customers who encounter technical issues with your website can get them resolved quickly via the IT services provider you use.

 

Key Aspects Of A Successful Educational App

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Educational institutions of all sizes and functions have invested money into applications designed to help students learn effectively. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, applications have become more important in the educational field.

In this article, we run through some of the most important aspects that are shared by good educational apps. 

Good User Experience  

User Experience – or UX – in web design refers to how a user interacts with a website and the emotions and perceptions they have during and after their visit. A good UX design ensures that the website is easy to use, efficient and provides a positive experience for the user. UX is especially important in the creation of a successful educational application. Users need to be able to engage with the content provided by the app easily, and they need to be able to reinforce their learning successfully. Most educational apps are designed with specific user types in mind, and it is crucial that the UX of the app is tailored to their specific needs, age range and interests. Poorly designed educational apps can lead to frustration and disengagement, ultimately leading to decreased usage and a negative impact on learning outcomes. 

Simple Navigation

The best educational apps – such as those designed by Concept4 – feature extremely simple navigational pathways. Simple navigation is important for educational apps for several reasons. A simple navigational design makes it easier for students to access the content they need, allowing them to quickly find the information they are looking for. This can reduce the time it takes to complete tasks and improve the overall user experience. Simple navigation can help reduce cognitive load on the user, allowing them to focus on learning and retaining information. If navigation is complex or confusing, it can lead to frustration and a negative experience for the user.

Dynamic Database

Good educational apps cannot be static. They have to have constantly updating and evolving sets of educational data in order to be useful for long periods of time. Most educational apps are regularly updated with new lessons, games, help features and a great deal more. An app that does not update may as well be a pamphlet in real terms. Most experts suggest updating educational apps at least once a month. Updates can contain important changes that ensure the ongoing security of the app creators, clients and users. Insecure educational apps can lead to massive embarrassment for school and university convenors.

Live Seminars

The rise of video conferencing technology in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled students of all ages to become familiar with the concept of a remote seminar. Seminars are key learning opportunities – they allow students to both learn and interact with the information they have learned in a reciprocal setting. Many educational apps include video conferencing functions that allow students to take part in seminars without leaving the app. 

Social Features

People learn best when they learn socially in many cases. Good educational apps regularly feature zones where students can discuss and build upon their education.

 

The Impact Of Divorce On Office Culture And The Bottom Line

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by Nanci A. Smith, Esq., author of “Untangling Your Marriage: A Guide to Collaborative Divorce“

We tend to think that divorce is a strictly personal issue. Yet, if your employees are facing divorce or other significant life changes, your company will face some challenges, as well. The main reason is related to a general decrease in employee productivity – and that casts a wide net both in terms of financial costs and team obligations.

The Financial Burden of Divorce

You may be surprised to learn that relationship-related stress — especially divorce — can cause companies $300 billion a year. It is estimated that at least six months prior to announcing a divorce and at least one year after a divorce, an employee’s productivity drops by 40%. It will gradually increase each year after, but it’s not until six years after a divorce that an employee’s productivity is back to par. This is a significant financial loss for employers.

The Divorce Cascade

While someone on the team is dealing with their divorce, everyone around them in the office or on the team is affected. If their colleague is distracted and having a hard time staying focused on the job, or needs random time off to deal with their lawyer or court, which is a common side-effect of divorce, other team members must pick up the slack. The productivity of the divorcing employee’s co-workers is said to drop by 4%, while that of their supervisor drops by 2.5%.

According to financial analyst Rosemary Frank, over the course of several years, the divorce of a single employee making $60,000 a year costs $85,934 in lost productivity. This includes absenteeism, presenteeism (being on the clock but otherwise checked out), and other factors.

The Company’s Role

There is a way to help reduce the impact of divorce by educating employees about non-adversarial divorce processes, such as Collaborative Divorce, a voluntary, out-of-court settlement process that is less stressful than an adversarial divorce. The human resources team can be instrumental in sharing this model with employees contemplating divorce.

Many companies already have strategies to deal with a variety of employee-related personal issues that impact productivity. Family leave policies (for childbirth, a death in the family, the need to care for a sick child or parent) or for health issues, such as medical treatments or addressing a long-term illness. Although an estimated 10% of the workforce goes through a divorce every year, most companies have no resources for helping these employees and likely don’t know where to start.

How HR Can Help

The role of HR is to balance employee well-being, workplace culture, and profitability. When an employee’s divorce is going to cost the company money and impact morale, having a plan to help can be beneficial.

Let HR know when an employee is contemplating or in the middle of a divorce. Talk with the employee if you’ve noticed a drop in their productivity. Ask what the company can do to help them get back on track. Before you suggest a course of action, take time to listen. They may already have something in mind, such as taking time off to deal with the issue, or they may not have a clue, and sharing information about different ways to divorce, could help them move forward with less stress.

Keeping up with the modern trends in non-adversarial divorce options, such as mediation and Collaborative Divorce, will assure the employee that the company understands that this is a major life transition and HR can be a source of reliable information.

Real Life Assistance

Consider adding a Collaborative Divorce consultation or representation as part of your employee assistance plan. This can assuage the anxiety an employee is bound to feel when facing divorce. A simple consultation with a Collaborative Divorce attorney can offer the direction a confused or anxious employee needs before things get more adversarial and tense.

If you have an employee assistance plan that includes psychological counseling, be sure the employee knows about it. Employees are more productive when they are not stressed about their divorce process. A survey of workers who recently went through divorce or separation reported that 42% felt their employers could have provided more mental health support.

Since Collaborative Divorce doesn’t involve the court or the court schedule, an employee who chooses this option can have more control over their schedule, allowing them to plan divorce meetings around work duties and important business deadlines. In a traditional, adversarial court-based divorce process, employees may have little say and may need to reschedule business meetings or presentations around court hearings and attorney consultations that take place during normal business hours. If possible, your company should offer flexible work schedules to accommodate these necessary interruptions.

An employee’s marital status affects a wide range of practical issues: health insurance, retirement and pension plans, life and disability insurance. If their health insurance has been covered by their spouse’s plan, they may need to apply for health insurance through your company. Divorce is a qualifying life event that allows an employee to apply outside of the usual enrollment period. On the other hand, if the employee’s spouse is on the company plan, informing them about continuing coverage under COBRA, and the cost, will be welcome information.

Does your company have a leave policy? Allowing a team member to use their paid personal leave is a way to show support through this difficult time. Some companies also allow employees to take unpaid leave, if necessary.

Entering Into Collaborate Divorce

A contentious fight over how to split up assets or decide on custody of a child – which is common with most traditional divorces – is stressful and expensive for everyone. That’s why some companies are informing employees about alternatives like Collaborative Divorce.

Collaborative Divorce is a modern, interdisciplinary approach to divorce. It involves specially trained attorneys, financial experts, and mental health professionals who work together, which allows both parties to safely work through their marital issues and resolve their divorce in a civil, dignified manner. Collaborate Divorce is an out-of-court process designed to result in an uncontested divorce which is filed with the court. No one threatens to go to court, and no one goes to court to fight about children, property or support. The only time that court is involved, is at the end of the process, when the final settlement documents are filed by the attorneys. The actual divorce order may come in the mail!

Collaborative Divorce can help an employee get through the process more quickly and with a minimum of stress. It’s a win-win for everyone; the divorcing employee can get on with their life sooner, and by helping an employee avoid the contentiousness of family court litigation, the company supports its team members through difficult times, while maintaining productivity.

 

Nanci A. Smith

Nanci A. Smith, Esq., is an attorney licensed to practice in Vermont and New York. She is chair of the Collaborative Divorce section of the Vermont Bar Association, a leader in her collaborative divorce practice group, and a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Smith is the author of “Untangling Your Marriage: A Guide to Collaborative Divorce“.

 

Navigating Complexities Of The C-Suite: Executive Coaching For Top Leaders

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executive coaching

The C-suite is a complex place. For leaders, navigating the maze of politics, personalities, and expectations that come with being in such a position can be difficult. Executive coaching is a great way to gain some perspective on how things work at your company’s highest level.

Here are some reasons why executive coaching can help you develop as an executive:

What Is Executive Coaching?

Executive coaching is a professional relationship between an executive and a coach. Executive coaching aims to help leaders identify and achieve their goals by providing feedback, guidance, and support. 

Executive coaches are trained professionals who have completed graduate degrees in psychology or counseling. They’ve also had hundreds of hours of training that help them understand how organizations operate so they can work effectively with top executives.

In addition to providing feedback on performance issues, executive coaches may advise on areas such as career planning or personal development initiatives like leadership training programs or mentoring relationships within the company.

Executive coaching services have proven beneficial in multiple circumstances. They have always helped executives develop leadership skills that ultimately benefit the company. Hence, many people are already leveraging professional coaching services. According to data from IBISWorld, the global executive coaching market has reached a whopping $15.2 billion in 2023.

Benefits of the Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals, develop new skills, and improve your performance. It’s also an effective way to deal with stress, conflict, and change.

In addition to helping you develop leadership qualities, executive coaching can help you deal with people management issues by providing tools for managing yourself in challenging situations. This will increase productivity and reduce absenteeism among staff members who are struggling because they feel overwhelmed or stressed out by their work environment.

While there are many benefits, one of the biggest ones is developing skills that help engage employees. According to the Leadership Coaching Report 2021 by Sounding Board, 67% of the surveyed respondents identified employee engagement as the most significant benefit of leadership coaching and training.

How Executive Coaching Can Help Tackle C-Suite Complexities

The role of an executive coach can help you navigate these complexities, whether you’re just starting or have been in the game for years.

  • Executive coaching is a great way to address the complexities of the c-suite because it helps you learn new skills and become more effective in your role. For example, suppose there’s something about your company culture that makes it difficult for other executives to collaborate.

In that case, an executive coach will work with you on building relationships within your company, so everyone feels supported by their peers. This ultimately leads to better decision-making overall.

  • Coaching can also help build clarity around what kind of leader someone wants in their career path. Is this person interested in leading teams? Or perhaps they’d instead focus on individual growth?

An experienced executive coach will help determine which path makes sense based on each person’s passions and motivations. No matter where someone wants their career trajectory headed next year or five years down the line, there should always be something valuable gained from working together.

Can Executive Coaching Take You to the Next Level?

Considering executive coaching, it’s essential to know that the benefits of coaching are numerous. Coaching can help you remove barriers, make better decisions, and be more effective, efficient, and productive in your job.

In general terms:

  • Coaching helps you see things differently. It gives you new perspectives on yourself and others around you. This allows individuals to take a step back from their day-to-day activities to look at the big picture instead of getting bogged down by details or distractions that may prevent them from achieving success in their field.
  • Coaches help clients explore new ways of doing things by asking probing questions about their values, beliefs, and attitudes toward certain situations before offering suggestions for improvement based on this evaluation process. This results in more positive outcomes over time than if left alone without guidance from someone who understands both sides well enough to know what works best and why it does so well.

Is Executive Coaching Worth It?

Executive coaching is a growing trend in the business world, but is it really worth it? The answer is yes. Executive coaching is an essential tool to help you achieve your goals. It allows you to be more confident and focused on what you need to do for your company or team to succeed.

Coaching helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses so that you can work on improving those areas. It also gives you the tools necessary to be more productive and successful with less stress on yourself or your team members.

So why do people get executive coaching? Well, there are a few reasons:

  • Some individuals find it helpful because they don’t have anyone else who can give them feedback on how they’re doing.
  • Some people just need an outside perspective on their work.
  • Some want help with specific issues like communication or time management.
  • Some individuals feel like their job requires them to constantly learn new things and want someone who can help keep them on track with learning those things.
  • Some people just want someone else to tell them whether or not they’re doing as well as they think.

The investment in executive coaching is far less than the value you gain. According to the data, executive coaching has offered a 600% ROI for many Fortune 500 companies. The reason behind this huge ROI is that coaching directly impacts business growth and revenue.

American Express surveyed over 200 small businesses in the USA to find the impact of coaching. The results showed that around 92% of small businesses agreed that having mentors can directly impact business growth and survival in the long term. Since most companies start making money in the long term, survival becomes vital.

Conclusion

The executive coaching industry is growing at a rapid pace. The demand for high-level executives who can navigate the complexities of the C-suite is on the rise, and organizations are eager to invest in coaching services to help them achieve their goals.

Hopefully, this article will help you understand the importance of hiring executive coaches. You can research whether you want an executive coach or not. And once you have decided, many coaches will help you with your requirements.

 

Why Nonprofits Need Digital Marketing Now

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by Kevin Xu, CEO of MEBO International

There are more people using the internet today than ever before. In America alone, 31% of surveyed adults in early 2021 said they were online “almost constantly” — a jump from 21% in 2015. With 5.03 billion people using the internet around the world, it’s safe to say that now is the time to prioritize digital marketing strategies.

With so many people and businesses online, it makes sense that digital marketing has skyrocketed. Successful marketing is all about location, after all, so why not go where the customers are? Brands know that a well-timed email blast, advertisement, or targeted social media ad will go a long way in attracting the right audience. And with that huge audience at stake, nonprofit organizations can’t afford to put digital marketing on the back burner.

What are the challenges of digital marketing?

The biggest challenge in any digital space is finding and connecting with the right audience. In fact, business experts note that not knowing your audience is among the top marketing mistakes to avoid. Consider Huggies’ failed television ad campaign, “The Dad Test,” in which a commercial portrayed dads as silly and incompetent. Mocking fatherhood in this way alienated a big part of their customer base, including single fathers and same-sex couples. Misunderstanding their customers and their values ultimately backfired on the brand, big time.

The last thing a nonprofit wants is to put out a message that misses the mark — or worse, one that pushes potential donors away. When leaders know their audience well, an effective digital marketing campaign can strike the right cord with consumers.

What are the benefits of digital marketing?

Marketing in digital spaces means reaching a wider audience in a shorter amount of time. A nonprofit organization that needs to reach the public after a natural disaster to extend help isn’t going to want to rely on a flyer in a mailbox. Quick accessibility is a huge part of what makes digital marketing so valuable to nonprofits who need to spread the word about their services.

This type of marketing is also inherently creative. Digital spaces can handle more than simple images and text — in fact, the more creative, the better. Sound, video, and other multimedia elements make people want to stop and click. And for nonprofits who use marketing to showcase their mission statement, a video clip goes a long way over a block of text. The creative element of digital marketing is ultimately a huge benefit when it comes to reaching audiences.

For nonprofits wanting to reach new members (and keep established ones), digital marketing makes outreach easier than ever. A steady stream of volunteers is often vital for nonprofits. And while an annual newsletter asking for help only goes so far, monthly emails emphasizing volunteer opportunities keep members engaged. Digital marketing methods like these are a key part of boosting audience engagement.

Moreover, digital marketing is a worthwhile investment, and one that’s far more cost-effective than other marketing approaches. Nonprofits that ignore an internet audience are missing out on potential big gains.

How can nonprofit leaders optimize marketing efforts?

Digital marketing is an essential part of building connections and engagement — and ultimately attracting new funding. With so many people using the internet every day, investing in digital marketing isn’t just a smart move; it’s also a necessary one. Here are a few ways to make the most of your efforts:

1. Seek out learning opportunities.

If leaders are new to digital marketing, start with learning the basics. Explore digital marketing conferences where attendees learn how to implement digital marketing strategies and build necessary skill sets. Explore other successful nonprofit digital marketing campaigns to see what works and seems accessible. These steps will set leaders up for moving forward with a digital marketing campaign that works for their organization.

2. Use SEO and SEM to improve visibility.

Everyone wants their organization to benefit from internet search results. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are key steps in that process. Both organic and paid search results are valuable for the connections they build between nonprofits and internet users. Leaders can also consider programs like Google’s Ad Grants, which provides grants to nonprofits for advertising purposes.

3. Don’t be afraid to promote to supporters.

What’s the use of a strong digital marketing campaign if audiences don’t see it? The key to successful promotion is knowing where to promote. Nonprofit leaders should know where their supporters are on the internet, and then target their marketing to supporters within those spaces. If supporters are highly likely to engage with email marketing, for example, that’s a good place to invest time and energy.

4. Segment audiences to create connections.

It’s important for nonprofits to create personal connections with supporters. This is where segmenting audiences comes in. This means dividing supporters into groups, based on their history with the nonprofit — those who attend events, those who volunteer frequently, those who are frequent donors, and so on. The benefit? Leaders can create marketing campaigns targeted directly to those groups. Audiences will be more likely to engage when a message speaks to their interests.

 

Kevin Xu is the CEO of MEBO International, a California- and Beijing-based intellectual property management company specializing in applied health systems. He also leads Skingenix, which specializes in skin organ regeneration and the research and development of botanical drug products. Kevin is co-founder of the Human Heritage Project.

 

What Extras Can You Add To Your Restaurant To Make It More Popular?

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If you own a restaurant or bar, you’ll want to ensure you’re doing all you can to find new customers and keep old ones coming back. Although there are a number of different things you can do, something that you can always be thinking about and refining is the little extras you add in to make customers feel valued, comfortable, and as though they want to keep coming back to you time and time again.

Much of the time, these small additions won’t cost much, and perhaps not anything at all, but they can certainly go a long way in making your restaurant more popular. Read on and you’ll see just a few ideas about what you can do.

Outdoor Seating

Outdoor seating is always an advantage if you own a restaurant, especially during the summer months. You’ll need to check the zoning laws in your area, and it might be that you’ll need special permission to set this up, but if you can do it, it’s definitely worthwhile.

When you add outdoor seating to your restaurant or bar, you’ll obviously give yourself the potential to serve more customers, thus boosting your income. Not only that, but people enjoy eating and drinking outside, so this will potentially set your establishment apart from the others in the area. Plus, people enjoying their meal outdoors where others can see them is a great form of marketing.

Music

There are very few people who don’t like music in some form in their lives. Even if they wouldn’t choose to listen to music over a podcast or watching a TV show, if they’re in an environment where music is playing, it can make them feel much happier and more comfortable. For those who would choose to listen to music anyway, it’s something that will improve the atmosphere and make them enjoy their experience with you even more.

When it comes to background music for bars, there are some important things to consider. To begin with, you’ll need to investigate whether you need a license and what music you can play with that license. You’ll also need to think about the style of music; if you have a fine dining restaurant, pop music might not work well, but classical music would set the tone perfectly.

A Greeter

When people eat out they want to feel special and they want to be taken care of. Going out to eat is a treat for most people, so they want to be treated well and enjoy the experience that they can’t get at home making their own food.

One way to ensure this happens is to employ a greeter for your restaurant or bar. Being greeted with a smile and a salutation will instantly make your customers feel great and give them a good impression of your establishment. This is a small thing in practice, but it can mean a lot, and although this will cost you money to hire someone, it may well bring in more customers than you would have had without it.

 

The Meritocracy Myth: Seven Ways Merit-Based Organizations Perpetuate Privilege (And Oppress Everyone Else)

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by Amri B. Johnson, CEO of Inclusion Wins and author of “Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable“

Many organizations pride themselves on being meritocracies. This isn’t surprising; who wouldn’t want to reward employees based on talent, effort, and impact? But the idea of merit-based reward isn’t just flawed, it’s a myth. From a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) perspective, meritocracies not only harm those employees who have long been excluded from your culture and success, they harm your entire organization.

We love to talk about performance-based systems because we want to believe that this is the fairest way to compensate employees. While in theory, a person who has honed insights and skills should be granted opportunities to engage in their work at higher levels and be rewarded for doing so, meritocratic-based systems have a dark side that often fosters inequity.

It’s clear that no organization wants to hurt their most vulnerable employees — in fact, many are fervent advocates of DEI today. But embracing meritocracy does just that. Building true inclusion means finding a better way to reward and recognize everyone, not just top performers who are often “on top” in large part due to their privilege and powerful networks.

Read on for some reasons why the meritocracy myth is flawed and damaging.

A meritocracy operates on the assumption that opportunities are fair. (They aren’t.)

For many, the playing field itself is imbalanced from the beginning. Unequal opportunities too often lead to grossly unequal outcomes. Further, the people of greater privilege who rise to the top believe their ongoing reaping of rewards is because they “deserve” it. They are further convinced that their merit is superior to others who have accumulated fewer extrinsic rewards.

People lacking in power and privilege are more likely to struggle in a meritocracy.

Less advantaged people can and do succeed in merit-based systems, but it often takes longer for them to encounter those who create the space for their merit to shine. For everyone who rises to the top, there are thousands of people with great potential who don’t have the fortune of mentors who recognize them. Too many cannot get a foot in the door, not for lack of capability, but for lack of social capital, access, and exposure to networks that can shine light on a path forward.

Surprisingly, meritocracies increase bias.

In 2010, research by MIT professor Emilio Castilla discovered “the paradox of meritocracy,” in that merit-based values had a counterintuitive effect in organizations. It showed that study participants primed for meritocratic values rewarded male employees a 12 percent higher bonus than females. This shows that when an organization emphasizes meritocracy, it could lull individuals into a false belief that their decisions are unbiased because, theoretically, meritocracies are inherently fair.

“Different” and “best” are a false dichotomy.

During the past 50 years, many organizations have been simultaneously working toward establishing meritocracy and committing to increased representation of underrepresented groups. The conflict here is obvious. Leaders often say, “We just want the best candidate,” but in this regard, people are dealing with a false dichotomy: best versus different. If the best candidate happens to be different from the predominant archetype, decision-makers may assume they aren’t the best — simply because they’re not in alignment with the narrative of a meritorious value system.

Meritocracies are still impacted by “who you know.”

Very often, the people who advance fastest or are invited to be part of the most popular projects have had parents, grandparents, and a broad network whom they have been mentored and coached by for years. Yes, these people are usually smart. But they aren’t smarter. They are simply more exposed.

Often the ‘best of the best’ candidates in organizations have had greater opportunities than their less fortunate counterparts. That’s because organizations have long evaluated talent by pedigree and network. This does a disservice to employees or would-be employees who are evaluated based on what is often exclusive criteria—full of requirements mirrored by those who created and are disproportionally advantaged by them.

Meritocracies often identify and then remove “weak links” (to the detriment of the organization).

We’ve all heard that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” But in organizations, the success of the organization depends on the strength of every link. And yet, when people get low ratings in organizations, they often become targets for dismissal. Instead of being strengthened, the weakest link is eliminated. This is a flawed process that leaves people less than empowered, and often victim to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, that eventually wreaks havoc on the entire organizational system.

Eventually, the people on top burn out. That’s bad for business.

One unintentional effect of promoting the “best of the best” is that those people get burned out. Yes, they perform well for a certain amount of time, but when their virtues are weighed down by organizational pressure sans adequate complimentary skills from their colleagues who don’t have the highest performance ratings, they go from the “cream of the crop” to sediment on the bottom.

With meritocracy so deeply hardwired into our culture, it will take significant effort to resist the paradigm. That doesn’t mean we can’t find a better way, or that it’s not worth the effort to do so.

So called ‘top performers’ are not the only people who deserve to thrive at work. When people are supported, they are nearly always capable of becoming their best. If you give your employees — all of them — the tools to develop their gifts and talents, they will pay you back with unprecedented confidence, commitment, and great results. That’s a big win for everyone.

 

Amri B. Johnson

Amri B. Johnson is the author of “Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable“. He is a social capitalist, epidemiologist, entrepreneur, and inclusion strategist. As CEO/founder of Inclusion Wins, Amri and a virtual collective of partners converge organizational purpose to create global impact with a lens of inclusion.

 

Four Design Trends Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know In 2023

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by Caitlin Collins, Head of Communications & Brand Marketing at 99designs by Vista

If you’re an entrepreneur launching a brand in 2023, taking inspiration from trending designs is a great place to start. Not only to ensure that your business branding is looking up to date, but also because design trends are often a reflection of wider societal shifts – and it’s safe to say the last few years have brought us many of these.

These changes and challenges have a huge impact on consumer sentiment, and tapping into visual trends is an effective way to communicate that you understand this and are willing to meet customers where their needs and tastes are currently at.

Whether it’s a new business or product you’re taking to market, or refreshing an existing brand, here’s four graphic design trends you can tap into to meet and exceed customers expectations in 2023.

1. Mysticism.

No longer confined to the back pages of magazines, astrology and mysticism are having a moment in 2023. It feels unsurprising in a world still very much in flux that many people (particularly younger generations) are feeling a sense of uncertainty and lack of control, leading them to look to higher powers for guidance and escapism from current events.

This trend leans heavily on esoteric symbolism, including zodiac signs, stars, moons, sacred geometry, tarot cards and all-seeing eyes. Delicate line work paired with soft, muted colors create gentle and calming brand design that consumers can find comfort in.

While horoscopes and spirituality might not be your thing personally, there’s power in these mystical and mythological aesthetics in 2023.  Perfect for social media campaigns, or limited edition product packaging, this is a great trend to personalize your branding to your customers and show that you ‘get’ them and their experiences.

Image credit: by brandstrategy on 99designs by Vista

2. Retro line art.

You may already be familiar with this design trend as it has been growing rapidly in popularity over the last few months. But in 2023, expect to see cheerful and playful retro line art popping up everywhere.

The power of these marker pen-style illustrations lies in their nostalgic feel. Cheeky, rubber hose characters paired with bubble fonts and oval and starburst sticker motifs remind many of us of vintage magazine ads and comics.

Humor is a time-old coping mechanism to challenging times and these humorous and quirky designs are perfect for lighthearted projects such as a limited edition merch or product range to offer your customers some much-needed comic relief. Additionally, bringing that charm and charisma front and center of your branding can really strengthen your brand’s personality.

Merch design by Anastasia S. on 99designs by Vista

3. Folk Botanical.

Nature always crops up on our design trends lists in one form or other – and for good reason. Getting out into nature offers us escapism and calming, grounding experiences. Given the trials of the last few years, now is the perfect time to infuse this into your branding if you’re seeking to offer the same sense of reprieve to your customers.

In 2023, nature is being expressed through the doodles, rough textures and unexpected coloring of the folk botanical trend. These designs reject the precision of digital vector art and reinterpret natural themes into more unexpected and playful illustrated patterns, giving  digital art work a hand-drawn and hand-made look and feel, rather than appearing too polished.

As this style works well as full bleed pattern illustrations, it is the perfect choice for packaging design and great for positioning your brand as down to earth and welcoming.

Design by Kamilla Oblakova on 99designs by Vista

4. Mixed dimension.

If you have an existing brand that you love but want to add something fresh to in 2023, mixed dimension is the perfect trend for you. Rather than completely overhauling your visual brand, this style enables you to take existing assets and apply an illustrated layer to bring them to life.

Perfect for limited edition products or marketing and social media campaigns, simply add swashes of color to lifestyle photography to infuse some personality, or animate doodles and patterns on product photography to call out new or important features.

Leveraging creative trends is a great way to reinvigorate your brand but it’s vital to maintain consistency with your existing design work to ensure customers continue to recognize and trust you. Working with your current color palette will help you stay closely aligned with your visual brand, while still bringing a little joy and fun with this trend-forward spin.

Image credit: Crif Dogs, New York

While design trends can serve as great inspiration when you’re at the start of your branding journey, they aren’t meant to be prescriptive: the last thing we need is more rules! Whether you choose to go all in one style, or leverage certain elements, applying them thoughtfully and in consideration of your overarching brand personality and mission is the best way to ensure you stay true to who you are as a business, whilst getting the most value out of keeping up with the visual times.

 

Caitlin Collins is Head of Communications and Brand Marketing at 99designs by Vista, the global creative platform that makes it easy for small businesses to work with professional freelance designers and bring their brands to life. Having worked with startups and scale-ups from all around the world, she is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and small businesses shape and share their stories. 

 

Never, Ever Close!

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by Mark Petruzzi, co-author of “Selling the Cloud: A Playbook for Success in Cloud Software and Enterprise Sales“

In many industries, being defined as a “closer” is the highest accolade a sales professional can be given. The term encapsulates the skills and traits necessary to become a top-level performer. Closers are the most highly recruited and sought after – the true elite.

And yet, in Cloud Software/SaaS, there is never a “close.” There is a start, but the only close I know of is when your client leaves and you close down the account.

SaaS is marketed at professional buyers, who no matter how good the selling, will buy when and only when it is appropriate for them to buy. There is no impulse or pressure buying occurring at GE, Pfizer, or Microsoft. At the same time, it is a myth that they buy solely on rational criteria. Issues like the character and integrity of the salesperson are critical.

Lessons from a Never, Ever Closer

Jim Campbell is a prominent real estate developer in Tucson, Arizona. From the 1980s until the early 2000s, Jim was the president and co-founder of The Application Group, the first PeopleSoft consulting partner. He is the kind of special leader from whom people naturally learn, beginning the day they meet him.

The first time I met Jim, it was for my final interview for AG, my first choice to begin my consulting selling career. I remember thinking, “This is where I close the deal.”

But as I walked into his office, I noticed small white notes everywhere, and they all had the phrase, “Never, Ever Close,” written on them. I had already been told that my interview with Jim would be complex and challenging. On top of that, this was my closing sales meeting. And here were notes telling me I was exactly wrong.

Was this a psychological gambit to throw me off-guard? Did he actually mean it? How could I leverage my newly minted Marketing/Sales MBA in this discussion when everything I had learned in school screamed “no!” to these words?

I quickly learned why Jim worked so hard to remind himself and his team of this belief. Jim, an engineer by training, not a salesperson, has never sold in a conventional sales process way. Though he was in a marketplace that constantly focused on sales processes and closing methodologies, he found success via a different route – by being himself.

Jim values his business relationships deeply; each one of them is based on an unrelenting level of trust and respect. He cares about every one of his clients and business partners. He is a consummate builder of relationships founded on principles of trust.

Become Trusted and Respected, Sell More

How did Jim get that way? He is the kind of person who loves life, has deep spiritual beliefs, and has the philosopher’s knack for reflection and insight about relationships.

Jim’s inclination and intimate concern for his client’s well-being translate naturally into trust-based relationships. His whole demeanor and personality are such that his clients genuinely desire to see his business grow. It is very easy for them to give Jim the business whenever they can. Jim has discovered that when you bring this kind of belief system to a sales process, you don’t have to close to win.

How Do You Win Without Ever Closing?

The process of closing burns up a great deal of “Trust Capital.” Trust capital is what you generate throughout the sales cycle that will allow you to win. The one with the most trust equity created by decision day wins the deal.

Some small part of trust capital is based on external factors, many of which you do not directly control. In most cases, you can only affect the perception of items, such as product quality, your firm’s reputation, and the risk associated with your product or service.

However, trust capital is also significantly affected by every act, comment, and message (or lack thereof) delivered throughout a prospect relationship. It is also based on your own personal attributes, which you have the responsibility to manage.

Moreover, like a solid product design, it matters a great deal what characteristics you begin with and how you develop these traits throughout your lifetime. Integrity and other personal virtues that we often consider too “soft” to be meaningful are, in fact, tremendously powerful influences. They help you become more successful or mitigate against your success.

These intrinsic personal capabilities (IPC’s) are what allowed Jim to become one of the most renowned business developers in the application software and consulting marketplace. Jim knows that the way he is perceived affects his success ratio. He also knows that the level of consideration and respect he gives his clients translates into more business for him as a sales professional.

The No-Close Win

Really successful selling in SaaS is not about having the best sales methodology or always saying the right thing at the right time. It is about continuously and steadfastly building your own IPC’s.

Jim believes that by pressuring a prospect into a close, trust is lost. He instead finalizes a sale by ensuring that every question that could be asked by the prospect is answered and every step of the decision process is fulfilled. He does so naturally, out of an outgrowth of his IPCs, because he is focused on total client satisfaction. By conducting his affairs in that way, he doesn’t have to “close” in the way we traditionally think of that term.  Instead, the close occurs naturally.

Jim has learned that he never, ever has to close.  You don’t have to, either.

 

mark petruzzi

Mark Petruzzi has worked in the enterprise and cloud software ecosystem for 25 years. He has worked as a serial entrepreneur, founding, growing, and successfully exiting boutique consulting firms in the Salesforce, Oracle, and Peoplesoft ecosystems. More recently, Mark has focused on innovative sales transformation as a board and leadership advisor for Genpact, BCI, 4L Data Intelligence, and more. He is co-author of “Selling the Cloud: A Playbook for Success in Cloud Software and Enterprise Sales“. 

 

3 Ways To Improve Your Business’ Cash Flow

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by Blake Bobit, founder of Solution Scout

Good, healthy cash flow is necessary for you to run your business. You need to have access to the funds that will run your business in an easy, timely manner. If your clients are taking too much time to pay their account, your business will encounter countless issues. 

You may not be able to pay your employees, your fixed costs, or make necessary investments in your business. Simply put, good cash flow allows your business to run smoothly. 

Invoice Factoring 

Invoice factoring makes the most sense for businesses experiencing slow payments from customers and they need cash to cover expenses. It can also be a good choice for businesses that are just starting out, since traditional financing may be difficult to access.

What is Invoice Factoring?

Invoice factoring is the practice of selling your invoices to a third party, who will then immediately give you the majority of the invoice, and then collect payment from your client. When they collect, they will then pay you the remainder of the balance and subtract a small fee. 

Invoicing companies exist to give you access to the funds you invoice for immediately. Having the lump sum from the invoice immediately can allow your company to pay needed expenses and operate with greater financial flexibility. Some of the industry leaders will be able to give you the funds immediately, 24/7. 

The Best Invoice Factoring Companies 

Deciding which factoring company to work with can be a difficult decision. The companies vary in the percentage of the invoice they provide up front, what fee they take, and when they can deliver payment. Here’s a breakdown of the factoring companies worth considering. 

Different companies specialize in different sectors. Some offer benefits depending on your industry, like special fuel deals for trucking companies. If you work in an industry like trucking or construction, consider working with a trucking factoring or construction factoring company. 

Difference Between Recourse and Non-Recourse Funding 

One of the most important things to think about when deciding which factoring company to work with is determining if they offer resource or non-recourse factoring. What’s the difference? 

Suppose the situation where you give an invoice of yours to your factoring company, collect the lump sum payment, and go about running your business. Later, the company you invoiced goes out of business and cannot pay the invoice. Who is responsible for that debt?

If your factoring company is non-recourse, then you will not be responsible. You will get to keep the lump sum, and the rest of the invoice will be paid to you whenever the factoring company is able to track down the debt. However, if your factoring company is a recourse invoice factoring company, you will be responsible for the debt. Before working with any factoring company, carefully read their factoring agreement.

Utilize High Interest Savings Accounts 

How you store funds for your business can make a tremendous difference in terms of both liquidity and cash flow. A good, high interest account will allow your business to generate profit when funds aren’t needed, and keep your assets secure. It can also increase the efficiency at which you can run your business’s finances. 

Benefits of Business Banking

  • Accrue interest
  • Increase financial security
  • Improve cash flow
  • Improve financial flexibility

There are many options to consider when opening an account for your business. Each bank has strengths and weaknesses, and some better to work with than others. Here are some of the savings account options which are available. 

Consider What Lines of Credit are Available to You

If your business has a good credit score, it may make sense for you to consider a loan. Many banks offer attractive loans to small businesses, especially when there are favorable macroeconomic conditions. 

If the economy is strong, and the Fed has maintained low interest rates, you may want to consider taking out a loan. This can be a short term boost to your cashflow, allowing you to make investments to grow your business. 

Loans are not a permanent cash flow solution, as they don’t structurally change your business. This means you should not consider them a long term solution to cash flow problems. 

 

Blake Bobit has been an entrepreneur and business owner for over 25 years. He is the CEO and founder of Solution Scout, which he made to provide the most helpful answers to questions about business solutions. Blake provides strategic advisory services to businesses in many industries nationwide and is passionate about helping others reach new levels of success.

 

 

How To Create An Effective Cutover Plan 

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A cutover project is when an organization switches from one system to another. This may include upgrading technologies, switching vendors, or changing old processes. The main challenge with cutovers is they signify change for everyone involved, such as the customers, employees, and partners.  

Creating a cutover plan can help you outline the transition process from one system to another. It should detail every step of the process. It also helps to include the people involved, how long each step will take, and what will happen if something goes wrong. 

When managing cutover projects, it’s crucial to plan ahead of time. This way, you’ll be able to minimize any negative impact on your business. To help you, here are six tips for developing an effective cutover plan: 

1. Brainstorm With Your Cutover Team.

As you plan for your cutover initiative, gathering your team to brainstorm is necessary. A brainstorming session can help you identify all the possible problems that could arise during the cutover and how you’ll solve them.

You can make a checklist of items to address and assign them to each team member. This way, all parties will be on the same page regarding carrying out the plan.  It also adds accountability to the tasks as they’re being completed. 

2. Audit Your Current Processes.

Once you start brainstorming with your team for the cutover project, it’s an excellent option to audit your current processes. You need to know where you are before deciding where to go. By auditing your existing procedures, you can spot areas of improvement and determine the cost associated with making those changes. 

Furthermore, you can identify bottlenecks in the current process flow or understand where time could be better spent. You can use the information to create a new process flow that can reduce time and save money, optimizing your productivity. 

3. Develop A New Process Flow.

After identifying areas of improvement and assessing your current process flow, it’s time to develop a new one. A rough draft can be helpful at this point. Keep in mind that you still need to develop detailed plans for each step of your new process flow. Nevertheless, creating an effective cutover plan needs careful organization. 

Meanwhile, any hiccups can cause significant delays in your project timeline and affect your budget. So, when establishing your new process flow, you can set parameters to evaluate its efficacy both before and after its implementation. Also, it helps to identify any required tools to make the entire process smoother. 

In addition, communicating changes to all affected parties is essential to help adjust the flow accordingly. You may also need to provide employee training, especially to those who need advanced skills to perform their tasks after the cutover is complete. This way, you ensure everyone is prepared for their new roles post-cutover. 

4. Identify Potential Issues During Beta Testing.

After creating a new process flow in your cutover project, you must determine possible issues that might arise during beta testing. These may include problems with the latest software or system, difficulty with the new process flow, or inability to access the data required for it. It’s also necessary to anticipate user resistance because some team members may not show support. 

You can minimize these problems by identifying all possible ones during beta testing, especially those that may disrupt business activities. You may also start preparing solutions for difficult situations. 

For instance, if there’s a critical data collection you can’t do the beta test without, ensure you have a backup plan ready. If everything is prepared this way, the transition to the new system will go more smoothly. 

5. Plan For The Worst-Case Scenario.

While you may hope for the best, preparing for the worst-case scenario is still essential. Hence, a backup plan in place is needed if something goes wrong. It’ll help you prioritize which systems need fixing first. 

For instance, suppose you have to choose between prioritizing tasks that bring higher revenue and ones that are critical for delivering product or service offerings. A backup plan can help you sort things out by providing alternative solutions. 

On the other hand, you may include a testing phase where you’ll evaluate each system after completing the cutover. This scheme can ensure that everything is working correctly and that no significant issues will stand in your way to success. 

6. Prepare A Post-Cutover Checklist.

If everything goes according to plan, it’s time to celebrate. This is also an opportunity to evaluate your efforts for this transition. Nevertheless, ensure a post-cutover checklist is ready if something doesn’t go as expected. Your post-cutover checklist may include a review of the cutover plan to see if any gaps or improvements need to be made. 

In addition, you can reconsider your disaster recovery plan if any problems occur during the cutover phase. Also, reviewing your transition process is essential in making necessary adjustments to improve it further. 

Key Takeaway.

Planning is essential for cutovers because they require careful preparation and planning before you can execute them successfully. A successful cutover will help your organization save money, improve productivity, and reduce downtime risks significantly. However, if not planned properly, it can cause serious problems, such as system downtime or poor user experience. 

To avoid these issues, you can gather a team to determine potential hurdles. You may also need to plan for the worst-case scenarios and ensure you have a backup plan to reduce downtime. 

 

Why You Need To Develop Your Non-Technical Skills In Your Working Life

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by Joanna Gaudoin, managing director of Inside Out Image and author of “Getting On: Making Work Work“

Throughout school, university and even into first roles, your focus is predominantly on technical knowledge – learning information and being able to apply it. Technical knowledge will always be an important foundation to your work life, but it isn’t enough to help you navigate your professional life and progress your career.

Why does this matter? It’s because we don’t work in isolation – we work with other people. No matter what size of organisation you work in you will need to work with others interdependently, in many cases both internally and externally. This is likely to include colleagues, suppliers, clients and prospective clients as well as other business contacts

For example, if you end up running your own business, building your client base will be essential. You’ll need to build a good network to find direct clients and to get referrals. Once you’ve won clients, managing those relationships positively will be key: retaining clients is essential for business growth and happy clients tell others about you. In time, you may need to recruit people – so understanding how to work with and manage people is important.

If you go into a larger organisation, you’ll need to build great relationships with your colleagues – they will need information from you and vice versa – and you’re likely to need to work on challenges together.

In my new book “Getting On: Making Work Work“, there are three parts – the first one ‘It all starts with you’, the second ‘The relationships you need’ and the third ‘Professional scenarios’. In part two, I cover trust and relationship building in-depth, including my top ten relationship skills – and here’s a sneak peek of the top five:

1. Your personal impact.

Take the time to understand how others could perceive your demeanour, words and behaviour. You impact others in how you engage with them which can in turn affect how they respond. You can’t change others’ behavior, only your own.

2. Empathy.

This is an important way to show you value someone and that you have taken the time to share in what they are experiencing. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you agree! When people feel you empathise with them and understand where they are coming from, they are far more likely to engage with you positively. As humans, we all want to feel understood and valued.

3. Listen.

Very few of us truly listen. In the worst case we can end up responding to what was not said. And at best we can leave someone feeling unheard. You need to be able to really listen and for people to feel you are listening too. This is often a challenge when we all have shorter attention spans than ever before!

4. How you react.

Reacting to new news or feedback that generates a negative reaction immediately is rarely a good idea. If necessary, say you’ll have a think and go back to the person in a certain amount of time. It’s better to go back with a considered response as it may change your response and even if it doesn’t, it shows the other person you took time to consider what you heard.

5. Understanding others’ perspective.

People’s frames of reference, assumptions and beliefs vary. If you are struggling to understand someone’s point of view, consider in what circumstance you might think the same as them. Sometimes you may have information the other person doesn’t to inform your view and vice versa. 

If you make time for building relationships with others and working on your non-technical skills in your career, you will reap the rewards – both in terms of navigating your professional life more easily and progressing your career.

 

Joanna Gaudoin helps bright, knowledgeable people with great technical skills and experience improve their non-technical skills so they can progress their careers and boost their firm’s performance. She runs Inside Out Image and is the author of Amazon bestseller “Getting On: Making Work Work“.

 

 

How To Discover Your Most Fulfilling Career Path

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by Jim Panos, author of “Find Your Passion”

Are you unsure about your next move? Do you want to discover your most fulfilling career path? Then, keep reading.

Career clarity is all about maximizing your self-awareness. You can accomplish the latter by identifying your No.1 passion as well as your unconscious biases.

1. Unconscious biases.

If you want to discover what you’re really passionate about, whether you work as an entrepreneur or an employee, you need, first, to change your mindset. By “mindset,” I mean not only the way you think, but most importantly, what you believe. The difference is that your beliefs are stored in your subconscious mind, whereas your thoughts, desires, and wishes are manifested through your conscious mind, specifically in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of our brain that’s responsible for reasoning, analyzing, and rational thinking. Why is this difference important? Because 95%–97% of all of our daily activities are monitored by our subconscious mind. In other words, for most of the things we do — such as eating, dressing, and driving—we do them automatically, in a “default mode.”

How’s this relevant to your career clarity? Because each and every one of us has our own beliefs. These beliefs can be empowering or harmful to us. For example, an empowering belief would be, for example, “I can do work I truly love and be highly rewarded.” On the other hand, a limiting belief would be, “Work exists only for the purpose of making a living.” With this limiting belief, you eliminate any opportunity to enjoy what you do while also making a living.

You might believe that you’re “too young” or “not ready” to make this career change for yourself. Or, you might believe that you cannot do what you truly love because of your gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, political, religious, or social beliefs. Perhaps you believe that you should be doing the work your parents, or anyone who was a role model for you, did or does, and for the simple reason that you want to show them your love for them. You believe you can only fulfil this by trying to be like them. However, remember this: You don’t have to be like the person you admire to show them your love for them. You can hug them, look them in their eyes, and tell them “I love you.” Yes, it’s that simple; but simple does not mean easy.

What are your limiting beliefs? What unconscious statements in your mind hold you back from finding your most fulfilling career?

2. Passion Awareness Model.

To discover your No.1 passion, you need to be aware of the 6 key elements of passion, and explore them yourself. They are:

  1. Values
  2. Purpose
  3. Vision
  4. Interests
  5. Favorite Skills
  6. Favorite Strengths

Your passion is at the harmonic integration of these 6 key components. All of them are unique and strictly personal.

  1. Values.

Also called “principles,” one’s main values can be family, fun, and adventure, whereas for someone else, they can be social impact and justice. They can be anything. For example, a value of mine is “Think & Play Big.” What are your core values?

  1. Purpose.

You have a purpose in this world. You have a mission to accomplish. A destiny to follow. A calling to serve. You name it. The bottom line here is that you, as a human, are designed by your very nature to serve something greater than yourself. And it doesn’t matter whether it has to do with climate change, tackling poverty, bringing more justice in the world, curing cancer, inventing something that improves or/and saves lives, or mental health. You can serve and change the world for the better in infinite ways! The question is: What is your way? Your purpose?

  1. Vision.

What is your vision, your ideal situation for your career, finances, personal life, and social contribution? I want you to go as wild as possible here! No restrictions. That’s why it’s a vision. Your vision.

  1. Interests.

What are your hobbies? What things do you love or like to do? What things do you dislike or despise? What are the challenges you went through in your life and managed to overcome? If you can answer the last question, you can turn the pain you have experienced into knowledge, the “know-how” to support others to overcome the same or a similar challenge you overcame! And yes, you’ll be blown away to know that you are not the only person who had this challenge, but there are so many people who’ve been in that specific situation!

What is more important though for you to know here is that there are people right now, and people who will be in the future, in that challenge you overcame. That means you can organize this invaluable life experience and knowledge you learned and use it to support others in the same situation. Your past pain and challenges can lead you to your passion by giving you new insights about yourself.

  1. Favorite Skills.

What can you do well? Not only in a professional concept, but generally things you’ve learned throughout your life experience, whether as a volunteer, or by helping your friends and family, or activities and projects you were a part of in and out of your formal education.

Which of them do you enjoy doing?

  1. Favorite Strengths.

What comes easy to you? What can you do well and easily without too much effort? What are your natural strengths and talents?

Which of them do you enjoy doing?

Tapping into your intuition before answering these questions is paramount because it is the most powerful tool you can use to maximize your self-awareness, including getting clarity on what you’re really passionate about. You can access your intuition through mindfulness as well as by remoting yourself to a place where you feel most comfortable and peaceful, away from distractions, and ideally in nature.

So, from now on, will you be “waiting” for your dream career? Or, are you going to start creating it?

 

Jim Panos is author of “Find Your Passion”, a Transformational Career Coach, and founder of Passion to Career Academy. Jim empowers career-driven professionals to discover their greatest passion and turn it into a more successful and fulfilling career. He went from depressed law school graduate trying to win his father’s approval, to having served professionals from the U.S. and seven different countries to discover and pursue their most fulfilling career path.

 

5 Beginner Strategies For Franchisee Success

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Do you want to become a businessperson and be your own boss? There are three ways for you to achieve that. You can either start from scratch, purchase an existing business, or buy a franchise. If you’re the type of person who prefers a structured environment, the franchising route may be for you. With nearly 300 industries offering franchise opportunities, you’ll have many franchises to choose from to open up your own business.   

While buying a franchise right away is easy, remember that it requires a massive investment. Not only are you purchasing an existing brand, but you’re also buying a business system and signing yourself up for a larger network of businesses. And one mistake that most franchise buyers make is automatically assuming and being too confident that a franchise means guaranteed success. In reality, buying and managing a franchise requires proper planning and managing, the same as starting a business from scratch.   

If this is your first time, you might find yourself wondering, “How can I start my own business with franchising? What can I do to be successful?” Don’t worry. There are a few tips and strategies you can learn.

Read on to discover the five beginner strategies that will help you turn your franchise into a successful business venture.  

Assess the demand for product/service in your area.

Assess first if there’s a demand for that product/service in the particular area you intend to open your franchise. Suppose you’re considering opening a soccer program for kids and buying from an overseas franchising license in Australia. Keep in mind that just because the soccer program in Australia is doing so well doesn’t mean it will be equally successful in your country or state.  

So, research and determine how well a kids’ soccer program will be in-demand in your area. Are you planning to open it in a city with nearby schools and daycare centers? Are plenty of kids in your area enthusiastic about playing or practicing soccer? Is soccer a popular sport in your state? If the demand is high and you don’t see any competitor offering such a product or service, this may be a good sign of investing in that franchise and opening your own business. 

In contrast, if the demand is high, yet there are already existing competitors offering the same product/service, do more research and determine what you can do to make your franchise stand out from the rest. 

Prepare enough capital for the startup costs.

The franchising costs may vary for each business. So, before you invest in one, prepare and save up enough capital for the startup costs that can keep you in business for at least six months or longer.  

How much should you budget for the startup costs? Franchise startup costs may range between USD$10,000 to as high as USD$5 million. Ultimately, it depends on your chosen industry, location, and type of franchise. Home-based and mobile businesses are known to be the cheapest franchise types, while full-service and reputable hotels and restaurants are the most expensive. 

If you don’t have enough cash to cover the startup costs, you may have to apply for a loan with the franchisor, your bank, or other lenders. Ensure you have a good credit score to apply for a loan and open a franchise.  

Be prepared to market and advertise your business.

One of the perks of starting a franchise is that your marketing and advertising efforts won’t have to be as heavy and tedious as promoting a brand-new business. This is true, especially if you’ve purchased a reputable or internationally known franchise.  

Nevertheless, you must still invest in marketing to maintain the brand’s reputation and increase your business sales. Remember that even with a famous franchise, people wouldn’t know that your business exists if they don’t know where you’re located. 

If you’ve bought a franchise that isn’t as well-known as, say, McDonald’s or Taco Bell, you’ll need to establish enough budget and create a franchise marketing plan. Remember that marketing your franchise not only helps promote your business, but it also benefits the rest of the franchisees and overall businesses.  

Provide high-quality customer service to maintain a good reputation.

Managing a reputable franchise doesn’t mean you can cut corners in your services or product quality. Otherwise, this could impact the quality of service your customers receive and negatively affect their level of satisfaction. 96% of customers are more than willing to leave a business the moment they receive bad service.  

Furthermore, whatever mishap or poor-quality service you provide can reflect badly on the rest of the franchises around the state or country. So, always aim to provide high-quality customer service to preserve the reputation and credibility of your franchise’s brand. 

Be passionate about your chosen franchise and your offered product/service.

Running a successful franchise isn’t always determined by the numbers. It’s also about the satisfaction your customers feel towards your business. And one way to boost customer satisfaction is being passionate about your chosen franchise and offered product/service. That’s why choosing a franchise that aligns with your passion or skill is recommended. 

For example, you’re a former soccer player or a soccer enthusiast for several years, and you’ve chosen to buy a franchise for a soccer program for kids. Managing a franchise that syncs with your passion will make it easier for you to bring in that energy and enthusiasm when talking to your customers, or in this case, the kids who wish to learn and play soccer.  

Conclusion.

The success of your franchise doesn’t depend on how popular or reputable it is. It’s about how you put consistent efforts into maintaining high-quality services, marketing, and following the set processes offered by the franchisor. Even as a beginner, you can incorporate some of your unique ideas to help your franchise embrace the dynamic changes in customer demand.

 

How Does Microsoft Dynamics Consulting Help Advertising And Digital Marketing Agencies

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by Charulatha Velumani

Microsoft Dynamics Consulting can provide a wealth of benefits to advertising and digital marketing agencies. By leveraging the powerful capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, these agencies can streamline their operations and gain a competitive edge in the market. This article will explore how Microsoft Dynamics consulting can help advertising and digital marketing agencies and what makes it an ideal choice for these organizations.

One of the key benefits of Microsoft Dynamics consulting for advertising and digital marketing agencies is its ability to provide a unified view of customer data. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM allows agencies to gather and manage customer data from multiple sources in one central location. This includes data from websites, email campaigns, and social media. Having all this information in one place enables agencies to gain a complete understanding of their customers and make more informed decisions about their marketing campaigns.

Another benefit of Microsoft Dynamics consulting is its ability to automate many manual advertising and digital marketing tasks. This can include lead management, email marketing, and campaign tracking. By automating these processes, Microsoft Dynamics consulting can help agencies save time and resources, freeing up their teams to focus on higher-value activities that drive business growth.

One of the most valuable aspects of Microsoft Dynamics consulting is the ability to integrate with other business systems. For example, the Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM can be integrated with marketing automation platforms, accounting systems, and other enterprise software. This means that agencies can share data and automate processes across these systems, streamlining operations and improving overall efficiency.

Microsoft Dynamics offers a range of features specifically designed to meet the needs of the advertising and digital marketing agency industry. Some of these features include:

  1. Lead Management: Microsoft Dynamics provides a centralized database for managing leads, enabling agencies to track and nurture leads throughout the sales process.
  2. Campaign Management: Agencies can use Microsoft Dynamics to manage their marketing campaigns, including the creation of email campaigns, lead nurturing, and campaign tracking.
  3. Customer Relationship Management: Microsoft Dynamics provides a comprehensive CRM solution that enables agencies to manage customer relationships by tracking customer interactions and customer data.
  4. Marketing Automation: Microsoft Dynamics integrates with popular marketing automation platforms, enabling agencies to automate marketing tasks, such as lead nurturing, email campaigns, and more.
  5. Financial Management: Microsoft Dynamics provides robust financial management capabilities, including invoicing, expense tracking, and budgeting, to help agencies better manage their finances.
  6. Reporting and Analytics: Microsoft Dynamics provides real-time reporting and analytics, enabling agencies to measure the success of their campaigns and make informed decisions about their marketing strategy.
  7. Collaborative: Microsoft Dynamics provides a platform for collaboration and communication between team members, enabling agencies to work more efficiently and effectively.
  8. Mobile Access: Microsoft Dynamics is accessible from any device, enabling agencies to access and manage customer data, campaigns, and more on the go.

These features and the ability to integrate with other systems provide advertising and digital marketing agencies with a comprehensive solution for managing their operations and improving performance. An ERP consultant can help agencies determine the best way to use these features to meet their needs.

One of their solutions, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM includes robust financial management capabilities, such as invoicing, expense tracking, and budgeting. By using these features, agencies can better manage their finances and make informed decisions about their spending. Moreover, Microsoft Dynamics consulting can help advertising and digital marketing agencies better handle their finances.

Therefore, Microsoft Dynamics consulting can provide a more personalized experience for customers. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM allows agencies to gather and manage customer data, including their preferences and buying habits. This data can then be used to create more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns, improving the customer experience and increasing the chances of making a sale.

In conclusion, Microsoft Dynamics consulting can help advertising and digital marketing agencies streamline operations, gain a competitive edge in the market, and provide a better customer experience. With its powerful capabilities, including data management, automation, integration, financial management, and personalization, Microsoft Dynamics consulting is ideal for organizations looking to improve their performance and grow their business. An ERP consultant can help agencies navigate the implementation process and ensure they make the most of the platform’s features.

 

Charulatha Velumani

Charulatha Velumani has been a proficient content strategist for B2B and IT industry-based content since 2019. Content Marketing is one of her key strengths as much as discovering new cuisines to eat. At times, she likes to get lost in her favorite parallel universe of reading books and discovering new integrated marketing communication campaigns.

 

 

Customer Financing 101: Understanding The Basics Of Offering Financing Options

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Consumer financing is a broad term that describes lending products customers use to purchase goods or services by using credit, allowing them to make payments over time. Interest rates and credit limits are generally based on the customer’s creditworthiness which can be determined by a variety of factors such credit score and debt to income ratio. As new options for financing have entered the market, it is becoming increasingly popular for businesses to take advantage of the benefit of offering financing options to their customers.

In this guide, we will explore the different types of customer financing, the benefits of offering customer financing options, and best practices for implementing customer financing.

Types of Customer Financing

There are several different types of customer financing, each with its own unique features and benefits.

Revolving Credit.

Revolving credit is a type of credit line that allows customers to borrow up to a certain limit and make payments over time. This type of financing is used for credit cards and home equity lines of credit. They allow the customer to draw funds from their account as long as they don’t exceed the credit limit. One benefit of revolving credit is that customers can use it repeatedly.

Installment Loans.

These are loans that customers repay in regular payments, usually over a period of several months or years, depending on the loan amount. These loans are often used for large purchases such as cars or appliances and come with a fixed APR. This lets customers know exactly how much they will need to pay each month, which makes it easier to budget for the loan.

Leasing.

This is a financing option that enables customers to obtain the use of a product or service for a specific period, usually several years, by making regular payments. At the end of the lease term, the borrower usually has the option to purchase the product, return it to the lessor, or extend the lease. This option is frequently employed for expensive items such as cars and equipment. An advantage of leasing is that customers are not responsible for maintaining or fixing the item, which is typically the duty of the lessor.

Rent-to-Own.

This enables customers to rent a product or service for a specified period and then have the option to buy it at the end of the rental period. This option is commonly used for items such as furniture and appliances. Customers have the opportunity to test the product before making a commitment to purchase it. Often the terms leasing and rent-to-own are used interchangeably. 

However, while rent-to-own offers the borrower an option to buy, a lease agreement can include conditions that obligate the borrower to purchase the product at the end of the lease.

Benefits of Offering Customer Financing

Offering customer financing options can bring many advantages to businesses.

Increased Sales.

By offering financing options, businesses can make it easier for customers to purchase goods and services, which can lead to increased sales.

Enhanced Customer Loyalty.

Customers who are able to finance their purchases are more likely to be loyal to the business and return for future purchases.

Improved Cash Flow.

Providing financing options can improve cash flow for businesses by allowing them to receive payment for their product or services in full.

Reduced Risk.

By partnering with a lender, businesses can reduce the risk of non-payment by having the lender assume the credit risk.

How to Implement Customer Financing

Implementing customer financing can be done in a few different ways, depending on the needs of the business.

Partnering with a Lender.

One way to implement customer financing is to partner with a lender who can provide financing options to customers. This can be done by working with a bank, credit union, or alternative lender.

Offering In-House Financing.

This can be done by setting up a line of credit for customers or by offering a layaway program. This is a good option for businesses that don’t want to partner with an outside lender.

Using a Third-Party Financing Platform.

Third-party financing platforms can be advantageous for businesses in several ways. They often have a variety of lenders and financing products available, allowing businesses to customize options for their customers. The onboarding process with these companies is often quick and the platforms are designed to be easy to use.

Best Practices for Customer Financing

To ensure that customer financing is beneficial for both the business and their customers, it is important to follow best practices.

Clear and Transparent Terms.

The terms of the financing should be clear and transparent so that customers understand exactly what they are agreeing to. This includes the interest rate, repayment schedule, and any fees or penalties.

Flexible Repayment Options,

Offering flexible repayment options, such as the ability to make extra payments or change the repayment schedule, can make financing more accessible to customers.

Regular Communication with Customers.

Communicating regularly with customers, including sending reminders about upcoming payments, can help to ensure that payments are made on time. This applies to businesses offering in-house financing. If a business chooses to partner with a lender or third-party financing platform, repayments are generally handled by the creditor or servicer of the loan.

Providing Education and Resources.

Supplying customers with education and resources, such as financial literacy resources, can help them to make informed decisions about financing and budgeting for their purchases.

Offering customer financing options can bring many benefits to businesses, including increased sales, increased customer loyalty, improved cash flow, and reduced risk. To successfully implement customer financing, it is important to understand the options available and determine which solution will work best for the business.

By following best practices, such as clear and transparent terms, flexible repayment options, and regular communication with customers, businesses can ensure that customer financing is beneficial for both the business and the customer. Overall, customer financing is a great lending solution that can help businesses to grow and succeed.

 

The Praise Sandwich: Employee Feedback And Coaching

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by Paul Seabridge, author of “Buy, Build, Sell“

I am a strong believer that, as a leader or manager, you should always strive to help your team members improve. A great way to do this is through feedback and coaching. I have a method for this, used and refined over twenty years, which I have found to be effective. I call it the praise sandwich. You have two pieces of bread with a filling in the middle. The two pieces of bread are the positive feedback you want to deliver; the filling is the not so good part that the employee needs to change.

The way you deliver that feedback is also important. If I said to you, ‘You are great at this, not very good at that, but really good at this’, I am simply telling you my feedback. This is not productive. Instead, you want to get the person receiving the feedback to do most of the talking; you want them to tell you what they’re doing well and not so well.

For instance, instead of saying, ‘That call wasn’t good’, I might ask, ‘How do you think that call went?’. Or ‘If you were to do things differently next time, what would you change?’ If they struggle to say what you need them to say, you can probe further. ‘When you said this to the customer, how did they respond? How do you think they perceived that? Would you word it differently next time? What would you say?’

I try to have 70% of the feedback focusing on three positive things that you appreciate and want them to keep doing, and 30% focused on development. Roughly speaking:

  • The first piece of bread equates to 50% of the conversation, talking about the positives
  • The filling is 30% of the conversation, speaking about the areas for improvement
  • The second piece of bread is the final 20% of the conversation, recapping the positives

Make sure you signpost each section. For instance, ‘In summary, I need you to keep doing XYZ. Now let’s talk about the areas you think could be improved/ changed. So next time, you will do XYZ.’ Be sure to always circle back and finish on a positive.

You can use this type of feedback to improve processes/methods and behaviour. For example, if you had an employee turning up late for work you could have a conversation like this:

  • ‘What time did you arrive to work this morning?’ (Late)
  • ‘Why did you not arrive at the start time?’ (Overslept)
  • ‘How can you ensure you arrive for work on time?’ (Set the alarm clock earlier)

With this way of delivering feedback, you get the team member to answer probing questions so that they identify the feedback themselves without you having to state it for them. The reason you want to get the person to tell you what they’re doing and what they need to change, is that no one likes being told off or told what to do. A level of emotional intelligence is required, to show empathy towards all members of your organisation and ensure they feel valued within the business. Using kind language and balancing out any criticism with positive comments is important to maintain a consistent level of positivity.

Coaching is leading from the front and showing an individual what to do. When coaching someone, I always focus the session on a particular topic. Back when I hired trainee recruiters, I would make sales calls with them and show them how I did it. Then I would ask them to make a call while I observed, giving feedback afterwards. Coaching also involves setting goals and taking actions. It is a great way to help people develop skill sets and grow their competence within a business, especially if the coach/ mentor has specific and relevant expertise in an area of knowledge. This is one of the more direct ways in which a leader in the business can help to develop the expertise and skill sets of the team.

 

 *Extracted from Buy, Build, Sell by Paul Seabridge

 

Paul Seabridge is a global entrepreneur, published author, private investor and corporate advisor. He has been an active investor in SMEs for almost two decades and is CEO and Founder of Mergers, Acquisitions, Private Equity firm Opulentia Capital. He is author of “Buy, Build, Sell“, which covers topics such as recruitment, sales, business finance and accounting and then how to sell on a business through an IPO, merger, acquisition or similar.

 

5 Ways Your Company Will Come Out Ahead With SOX Compliance

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If you operate in an industry subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002, you understand that failure to comply can lead to dire consequences. 

SOX is a U.S. federal law governing certain aspects of business financial reporting and record-keeping. It imposes stringent penalties on businesses that fail to comply with the act. For instance, Section 302 of the act says that officers are subject to criminal penalties, including possible prison sentences, if they knowingly sign off on inaccurate financial statements, making data transparency a critical component for SOX compliance.

But besides your desire to avoid penalties, what specific benefits does compliance afford your business? Continue reading to see five benefits of SOX compliance for your company.

1. Risk Prioritization.

One way SOX compliance can benefit your company is by prioritizing risks. You’ll want to minimize all risks, but some are more essential to safeguard against than others. Using the right SOX compliance reporting software will allow your business to conduct risk assessments. You’ll be able to evaluate risks and determine if the risks pertain to confidentiality, availability, or integrity. 

Knowing your business’ risk landscape is essential if you’re to launch a focused risk assessment. With a SOX compliant reporting tool, you can then focus most on safeguarding against the risks that present the most significant challenges.

2. Higher-Quality SOX Compliance Audits.

SOX compliance will also help your company conduct higher-quality internal audits. Your business will be more efficient and productive if it conducts internal audits. That’s why it makes sense to get the right audit software to help manage and scale higher-quality audits. Conducting better internal audits will have a trickle-down impact that leads to better external audits. 

SOX compliance efforts will also lead to better future internal audits, more transparent financial reporting, and enhanced internal control structure. When you get the right Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) compliance software, control owners can update their own narrative and certify controls in one central financial reporting platform.  

3. Better Control Awareness.

When consulting the SOX law, you’ll find that Sections 302 and 404 mandate documentation for controls. Required documentation includes personnel policies, operations manuals, and recorded control processes. It’ll take effort to meet the requirement for controls documentation, but complying with this SOX requirement also means your company will have a full audit trail and enhanced controls awareness. A SOX compliant reporting software like Workiva can link control narratives and flowcharts directly from your RCM, so your team always has access to the most up-to-date data for your next stakeholder report. When concentrating on internal controls through SOX assessments, your business will realize the importance of having the necessary controls in one, centralized cloud platform.

4. Better Financial Reporting.

SOX compliance is about helping businesses to achieve streamlined financial reporting. The primary purpose of SOX is to ensure financial reporting transparency, after all. While it’ll take time and effort to assemble documentation and bolster controls, doing so will translate into financial reporting that is more accurate and more efficient. In addition, this will ensure compliance with the financial reporting transparency annual SOX audits call for. With a financial reporting platform like Workiva, controllers can ensure their accounting team can collaborate, meet important deadlines, and improve SOX compliance and record-keeping inside one, centralized cloud reporting tool. With automated financial reporting you can rest easy knowing your financial reporting is accurate and you won’t waste time and money on fixing errors.

5. Better Company-Wide Collaboration.

Does your business encourage collaboration and communication across the enterprise, or do different departments operate independently with little interaction? SOX compliance requires collaboration amongst the various departments in your company. If the departments operate as proverbial islands, your SOX compliance efforts are doomed. Internal auditors, controllers and anyone overseeing SOX assessments must cooperate with anyone involved in information and financial controls.

As you can see, compliance is essential for SOX compliant audit reports. But it’s also in the best interests for your business, both now and in the future. It’s not just nice to have — it’s a must-have. You’ll find SOX compliance to be more manageable when you find the right software. It’ll simplify a process that can otherwise be complex and time-consuming, freeing your employees to focus on other core responsibilities. 

 

4 Things To Know About Startup Financing

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You’ve been sitting on a great business idea for a while. You’ve created a business plan and are preparing to get things off the ground. But there’s still one crucial requirement you’ve yet to fulfill.

Financing a startup is one of the most common challenges for entrepreneurs. You’ll need to acquire capital if you don’t have it yet. Fortunately, there are several approaches you can take, each with its advantages and disadvantages. 

This post will cover the four main things you need to know about financing your startup: what financing is, two funding categories to be aware of, why a business plan is important, and some financing strategies to consider.

What ‘Startup Financing’ Means (And How Financing Differs From Funding)

‘Startup financing’ and ‘funding’ are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the same thing. But they’re separate concepts that share somewhat of a gray area.

‘Startup financing’ refers to the money acquired to launch a new business venture. Businesses typically seek financing for capital expenditures, business operations, expansion, globalization, acquiring real estate, or onboarding new team members. However, financing is typically money the lender expects you to pay back with interest (nondilutive financing) or given in exchange for partial ownership (dilutive financing). 

‘Funding’ is a similar but much broader term. It’s money procured for a business to achieve a specific goal. It differs from ‘financing’ in a way that some types of funding aren’t expected to be repaid, such as a government grant. Essentially, though, it can be given as a debt, in exchange for equity, or as sponsorship money to fulfill a mutual interest.

The Two Main ‘Categories’ To Keep In Mind

Gaining capital for a business might be considered from various perspectives and looked at from multiple categories. And there are many types of funding or financing you could gain. But there are two specific sorts of funding to be aware of.

Namely, these are dilutive and non dilutive funding. Without going into too much detail, whichever of these types of funding you acquire will later affect your ownership of the business or how much debt it has.

Here’s a quick overview: 

Dilutive funding dilutes your business ownership by exchanging equity, or shares, in exchange for capital. Alternatively, nondilutive funding grants capital without sacrificing equity, but you’ll likely be promising something in return.

It’s important to consider how each of these will influence your business and the decisions you’ll need to make. For example, dilutive funding often means you’ll need to consider the interests of other equity holders. Would you want to do that long-term?

You Should Create A Concise Business Plan

A business plan is an almost nonnegotiable requirement when negotiating third-party financing or funding. They’re not as tricky to create as you might expect. Having one helps you define your goals, keep your business on track, and reach the milestones you set. You can also use it when reflecting on your business strategies after reaching those milestones.

Not only that, it’s your opportunity to show you’re doing everything mentioned above. Nobody hands out money for free. Everyone who gives you money expects to gain positive financial returns from you. A good business plan helps inspire confidence that their investment won’t go to waste.

Different Ways To Fund Your Startup

By now, you must be asking how to get startup financing. There are too many options to cover them all. But these are some of the most common methods used by new entrepreneurs.

1. Personal Financing.

This is when you use your personal funds to finance something your business needs. It can minimize debt or equity dilution even if you can’t finance everything. You can also take on personal credit lines, which you must be prepared to pay back in installments with interest. It can minimize debt or equity dilution even if you can’t finance everything.

2. Business Loans.

Applying for a small business loan is another valid path. You can get one from a bank or another lender. To apply, you’ll usually need your credit history and something to put up for collateral. You may also be asked to define exactly what the loan is for, which is where a business plan will help. Most loans can be considered an example of financing.

3. Crowdfunding.

A relatively new and popular way to amass business capital. With crowdfunding, you publicly publish a detailed description of your business and product. The goal is to garner the interest of those who want your product. Then anyone can either donate money or give you money as a ‘preorder,’ and you promise they’ll receive your product when you’ve gained sufficient funds. Crowdfunding is a type of nondilutive funding.

4. Venture Capital.

You’d usually consider venture capital when your business already generates revenue. It’s essentially a type of equity funding provided by private investors. It’s a good idea to learn about your investors before taking this route. They’ll also want to know about you, so you should know your business well and be prepared to answer any question.

Conclusion

Starting a business is never easy; finding enough financing for a startup can become one of your biggest hurdles. Luckily, there are multiple ways to get the capital you need. And if you’ve put effort into creating a valuable product or service, you have a good chance of finding someone to invest in you.

Prepare your business, yourself, and any business partners because it can be a challenging search. Ensure you know your business and understand what each financing option you seek entails. Good luck!

 

Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: Five Inclusion-Friendly Acts To Help Coworkers Feel Safe And Welcome

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by Amri B. Johnson, CEO of Inclusion Wins and author of “Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable“

Most of us would never dream of ostracizing our coworkers — and especially not those who have historically been excluded in the workplace because of their perceived “otherness.” And yet, many people routinely feel left out of the workplace culture. Often, it is because truly good people, who wholeheartedly support the tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion, don’t go far enough to show they care.

Real inclusion is rooted in what’s in our hearts, but it must live in our daily actions. Good intentions aren’t enough. While leaders can set the tone for everyone to follow, caring peer-to-peer interactions make the biggest positive impact.

Here are a few ways to ensure your colleagues feel seen, heard, and valued.

1. Actively seek out new people at work.

If you don’t, you might collaborate only with those who are just like you. (This can happen.) So go out of your way to forge connections with people you don’t know.

2. Give others a chance to share ideas too.

Refrain from interrupting, speaking over others, or holding the floor for too long during meetings. Instead, work on your active listening skills. It’s an excellent method for hearing others and being heard. When listening, give the speaker your full attention (e.g., put away your phone). If you are unsure of their meaning, wait until the speaker has finished and summarize what you heard in your own words. Give the other person a chance to clarify if necessary. Be curious. Ask insightful and thoughtful questions.

3. Do the “little things” that make people feel a sense of belonging.

Thoughtful gestures can show someone that they are seen and welcomed in the group. For example, if you’re getting yourself a coffee or tea, ask a coworker you don’t yet know well if you can grab them one too (or, if you are remote, place an order at their local coffee shop via your app and then get on a video/audio chat while you drink it). Instead of sharing a funny story with just your closest coworker, invite the person within earshot into the conversation. When religious or cultural holidays roll around, don’t hesitate to say, “Ramadan Mubarak,” “Happy Easter,” or, “Happy Hanukkah,” to those who observe.

4. Ask people to share where they are “local.”

While it is worthwhile to share personal preferred pronouns, it might be more impactful to hear about the places and spaces where people practice rituals, have formed meaningful relationships, and have also experienced restrictions in some cases. A TED Talk by author Taiye Selasi details more about this powerful mechanism to more meaningfully connect to people with different and, in some cases, surprisingly similar experiences to yours.

5. Be authentic and encourage authenticity.

Most, if not all, people do some level of “covering” or hiding their true identities to conform at work. It makes everyone fearful of being judged or discriminated against for being themselves. To break this cycle, bring your authentic self by cultivating a willingness to be influenced by people different from you.

These are only the first steps — don’t be afraid to go further to build strong, lasting relationships with those different from you.

It’s really pretty simple: Inclusion comes down to choosing to take good care of one another. Treat everyone as if they belong, and you will make an important impact on your colleagues’ work lives.

 

Amri B. Johnson

Amri B. Johnson is the author of “Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable“. He is a social capitalist, epidemiologist, entrepreneur, and inclusion strategist. As CEO/founder of Inclusion Wins, Amri and a virtual collective of partners converge organizational purpose to create global impact with a lens of inclusion.

 

Innovating For Common Good

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by Alex Goryachev, author of “Fearless Innovation: Going Beyond The Buzzword To Continuously Drive Growth, Improve The Bottom Line, And Enact Change“

Now is the best time to expand technology innovation beyond efficiency and profits, and put it towards common good. The innovation-change cycle can be illustrated by the work of Abraham Maslow. If you’re not familiar with Maslow, he was a twentieth-century American psychologist, best known for developing the concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, typically depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels that address our material and immaterial human needs.

At the bottom level, we have our most basic physiological needs, such as food, shelter, and clothing. The next level up is safety, covering aspects like personal safety and financial security. Level three is that of friendship, family, and a sense of connection, known as the love and belonging level. The fourth level is esteem, including self-esteem, status, and the feeling of accomplishment. And the top level is self-actualization, basically a level that’s all about being the best people we can be, focused on a sense of morality, personal development, and creativity.

This pyramid shows that as one set of needs are met, others arise, and they always will until we reach the “self-actualization” zone. And though self-actualization is an excellent concept we should all strive for, it seems that for most people, more material desires will continue to replace any that have been met. (I’ll leave whether or not this is an endless cycle to the psychologists and real therapists.) The point is that, depending on time, place, and circumstances, fulfilling all of these needs presents challenges, especially as we move on up the pyramid.

Maslow’s hierarchy can actually be seen as one of innovation in practice. Innovation solves the issues society faces at each level, meeting demands of our physical safety, human collaboration, and social, cultural, and economic change. It’s a forward-looking mindset and attitude, and it can’t exist on its own, but only in relation to the world around us.

This concept can be illustrated by observing the earth at night. In 2017, NASA scientists released new global maps of the earth after the sun goes down around the world.  Produced almost every decade for the past twenty-five years, these “night light” maps contribute to a better understanding of our world, including changing economic, social, and environmental implications. When looking at the map, the first thing that jumps out is how dark it actually is throughout much of the globe despite a number of bright clusters. The dark areas are mostly spread out in developing countries, many of which have yet to begin experiencing the effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

While some of us are living in smart houses, with amenities like connected irrigation systems, and are sending off cotton swabs of DNA to learn about our personal genomics, almost half of the world has yet to get connected to the internet. While we’re playing on our smart phones, swiping left on Tinder or watching YouTube videos, one-third of the world population lacks access to clean water and half of the world population doesn’t have access to basic healthcare.

I don’t make these comparisons to be flip or to embarrass or shame anyone — there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s opportunities to pursue a variety of experiences. I bring these issues up because I firmly believe that we all have a responsibility to improve the living conditions for people everywhere. Such improvement can only happen through innovation and economic opportunity. Organizations that are leading this change by investing in making the world a better place end up benefiting more than just their shareholders — they benefit everyone.

 

Alex Goryachev, author of “Fearless Innovation: Going Beyond The Buzzword To Continuously Drive Growth, Improve The Bottom Line, And Enact Change“, is the former managing director of Cisco’s global Co-Innovation Center, where he spearheaded programs and initiatives to accelerate innovation. He is a Silicon Valley veteran who is a sought-after speaker on innovation and is often referred to as the ‘innovation therapist’.

 

Managing Your Online Presence During A Recession: Where Not To Scrimp And Save

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by JoAnne Gritter, COO, ddm marketing+communications

Who will be visiting your website or downloading your app today? What about in the future? Who in your organization will be responsible for serving online customers, clients, and employees long after your own career has taken you elsewhere?

Investing in your company’s digital infrastructure goes beyond protecting what you know to be vulnerable now ― particularly your organization’s proprietary data, plus the data of your customers and clients. It involves investing in what you can’t predict about tomorrow. Even if you understand your business inside-out, that knowledge only goes so far toward maintaining an online presence.

When budgeting for a possible economic downturn, it’s tempting to cut spending wherever possible. That might include your company’s digital experience. There are many valid reasons why the cost to maintain websites and apps remains high. Where can’t you scrimp and save, even when times are tough? That answer requires a forward-thinking mindset and plenty of digital expertise.

Here are five areas not worth compromising on your website during a recession:

1. Security.

Corporate investments to protect against cyberthreats have risen dramatically in the last five years. Issues of cybersecurity, user privacy, and accessibility are major concerns across every digital platform.

Threat modeling is the necessary, step-by-step process of ensuring the security of any online asset: identifying its function, the potential threats to that function, prioritizing the vulnerabilities, then taking action to resolve every issue. If your organization is collecting and storing information a hacker could use ― contact information, financial data, etc. ― threat modeling can help identify that data and secure the digital infrastructure needed to protect it.

Not every website will require a high degree of security, but any consumer or client data your organization collects can pose a potential security threat. Consider an intranet site containing proprietary pricing information. Most medium- to large-sized companies have an intranet of some kind, often with API integration to CRMs like Salesforce. Those integrations might be tremendously useful, but they make projects more expensive and are a high target for hackers.

2. Maintaining interconnections.

B2B and B2C apps, websites, and intranets are all interconnected now. Maintaining those connections are more important than ever. If one link in the chain is accidentally disconnected, an organization must consider the ramifications.

Look for broken links. Know the necessary security patches. Expect that not everything will work smoothly, and consider having an extra set of eyes ― a third-party risk assessment ― to identify points of vulnerability.

Depending on the degree of interconnectedness among your organization’s digital assets, an eye toward the future can be critical. An especially complicated network is difficult to hand off when there is turnover among the key players in your organization’s IT department. Consider the next IT team, and build a digital interface that will be easy for them to use and update depending on tomorrow’s needs.

3. Content audits.

The customer journey is an essential consideration for any organization. For those tempted to take a “set and forget” approach to building a website or app, consider your customers’ journey and how it might change. Is your content “evergreen” enough to stand the test of time as your business evolves? Does the content solve the problems and answer the common questions shared by your customers? Does the content reflect the current voice of your brand?

Auditing any outward-facing content might not be a pressing need for a website that doesn’t integrate with a CRM system, doesn’t store a relatively large amount of data, or doesn’t rely as much on interconnectedness. Other considerations are universal. Can a color-blind user see what is on the screen when they visit your site or download your app? Would a visually impaired person be able to hear the on-screen content they need? Depending on the function or service of your app, such safeguards for persons with disabilities might be mandated by law.

4. Project management.

Whether in-sourcing or out-sourcing a special project, smooth execution is critical if your budget offers little margin for error. Consider a new product or service being promoted on a website or app that’s designed to live online less than a year. Your organization has a relatively short window to make an impression. Advance planning and troubleshooting will be necessary ― tasks better left to an experienced project manager.

If your organization is small or medium-sized, or for large organizations that lack experience in digital project management, consider outsourcing the project. Choose a vendor that will not balloon the budget, the timeline, or the deliverables. An experienced vendor will be clear when communicating deadlines and budgets, and able to translate technical jargon into plain language for any client.

5. Privacy impact assessments.

In recent years, legislation has been enacted to protect the privacy of anyone visiting a website or an app. California and Europe now require businesses to offer a “do not track” option, which restricts the collection of consumer data on their websites and apps.

The Federal Trade Commission defines a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) as “an analysis of how personally identifiable information is collected, used, shared, and maintained.” In some cases, a PIA is required to ensure conformance with the applicable legal, regulatory, and policy requirements for privacy. Cutting a PIA out of your IT budget risks running afoul of the law.

The amount of labor each PIA requires depends on the amount of data your website and app collects. If you’re merely tracking Google Analytics ― not credit card information, HIPAA information, mailing addresses ― there’s much less risk in tracking what pages users are visiting. When personal information is collected, the laws are more rigorous.

 

JoAnne Gritter

JoAnne Gritter is Chief Operations Officer with ddm marketing + communications, a leading marketing agency for highly complex and highly regulated industries. JoAnne is responsible for overseeing and facilitating collaboration between all major functional areas at ddm, including Finance, Human Resources, IT, Operations, Sales and Marketing.

 

Surefire Business Tactics For Good First Impressions That Last 

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The importance of first impressions cannot be stressed enough in the world of business, with 13 percent of consumers reportedly being willing to pay 50 percent more to companies that they have a positive impression of, according to Customer Thermometer. The first impressions you create will be one of the most definitive factors to your business’ trajectory, and is something that any business would do well to pay extra attention to, especially newly established ones.

It’s arguably just as crucial for a startup to cover your bases when it comes to worker’s comp and other employee benefits. Whether you’re new to the world of commerce or could use some brushing up, these tactics are sure to give your business that extra impact it needs to put itself on the map.

Maximize Your Visibility.

A good first impression is only going to be worth making if people are there to see it. That’s why the most important part of setting up a good first impression is to make sure that you’ll be able to reach as large an audience as possible. After all, who’s going to pay any mind to a company with very few followers?
Back in the days of purely brick-and-mortar enterprises, businesses would sometimes commission a commercial to generate buzz. In this day and age however, many are skeptical of promotions, be it buying ad space on social media feeds or sponsoring influencers. The best way to make sure that people get a good impression of you is by using trusted avenues of communication. That means word of mouth, establishing yourself as an authoritative figure in your niche, and other organic ways to make your company more prominent.

Project an Air of Quality.

The key to first impressions is consistency. You have to make sure that the quality you present at the very first moment a person hears about your company carries all throughout their experience with you. At the same time, you also need to see to it that that quality encompasses all aspects of your business.

This mostly pertains to how you present yourself. Everything from the clothes you wear, designs you choose, and even your company car will affect people’s perception of you. This extends even deeper, right down to the appearance of your physical branches and the steps you take to be more sustainable and helpful towards the communities you’ve established yourself in. Sometimes all you need to do is update your business aesthetics, dress smartly, and give your building a good pressure washing. Other times, you may need to plan out a sustainability drive and other social programs to ensure that your image is immaculate inside and out.

Engage Your Audience Effectively.

People want to do business with businesses that they can interact with easily. This is why companies with good customer service ultimately triumph over ones that don’t. But more than meeting problems when they arise, you’ll also have to proactively converse with your client base at every opportunity. This will let you hone in on what truly needs to be done for your business to best serve its clientele, and you won’t even have to do any investigating to do it. Given an easy channel to communicate with you, your customers will tell you that themselves. Try and think of other creative ways to engage with your clientele.

The more you engage with your customers, the more you present yourself as a put-together company that can handle its business. Moreover, maintaining the image of a business ready to extend a helping hand rather than another corporation that only wants to sell things goes over incredibly well with today’s consumers.

The key takeaway from all of this is that today’s customers want you to deliver quality service, but they also need to see you display authenticity, passion, and commitment. After decades of the public being inundated with disingenuous marketing ploys, the best marketing in this day and age is honesty and transparency.

 

How To Become A Professional Novelist

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Many dream of becoming professional novelists, but only a few take the required steps to write a novel. If you’re still considering the idea of being a professional novelist, this article discusses a few ways to achieve this.

Read Extensively

Samuel Johnson once said that writers spend most of their time reading; they would even turn over half a library just to make one book. To become an excellent writer, you must absorb fantastic literature. And the more books you read, the more you expose yourself to high-quality writing. Through reading, you internalize text elements and later implement them in your work. Reading also gives you ideas you can use as inspiration to start writing.

Explore the World

Although you can read books and learn about storytelling techniques, you cannot write someone’s story as yours. You’ll need to create your story from real-life experiences, and here’s where traveling and exploring the world comes in.

Exploring the world and recording your experiences can help create a good story. Most successful novelists write stories based on their experiences. Even if you have specific experiences for your first novel, it’s not wrong to explore and gather more. Travel more, meet new people, try new things, and record anything that spikes your interest, even if it’s a story someone told you. You may be interested in using it in your writing with their permission, of course.

Find the Story You Want to Tell

As you read extensively and explore the world, you’ll come across numerous story ideas. This may tempt you to choose one and start writing but don’t. A story idea may be great, but that’s not enough. You need to write about something you’re passionate about, so you won’t easily be fatigued or demotivated to work through the nights.

When a story idea crosses your mind, think deeply about how it connects to your experience and whether you strongly desire it to be narrated in literature. Take time and feel the story’s impact on readers and society. All these factors will help you establish if the story idea is a must-write.

Build On Characters

Once you have a story idea, the next thing is to build on characters. Characters make a story great, and there are different types of character archetypes you can choose to have in your work. However, having characters alone is not enough. Your characters need to have inner and outer lives. The outer part is the story idea, events, climax, twists, conflicts, and resolutions occurring in the novel. Then there’s the inner component you have to establish.

Write Often

If you commit to writing every day, your thoughts will become clearer, your grammar will improve, and you’ll enjoy writing more. Choose a specific number of words you can write daily, and ensure you consistently hit your target. With time, your writing will be more successful, and you’ll become a professional novelist.

Becoming a professional novelist involves much work, but it’s worth it in the long run. The most crucial thing is reading extensively, exploring and recording the world, building on characters, and practicing writing daily. With time, you’ll master the skill of writing and become a great author.

 

Lost In A Sea Of Data?

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by Elizabeth Thede, director of sales at dtSearch

Ever feel like you are in a leaky canoe barely staying afloat atop terabytes of data? Transform that leaky canoe into a state-of-the-art exploration submarine with a search engine.

When you think of a search engine, you probably conjure a scan-the-Internet search engine such as Google. Enterprise search engines are in a different product category from your typical online search engine. With an enterprise search engine like dtSearch® one or more exploration submarines can instantly plumb oceans of data and emerge with treasures from the deep.

An enterprise search engine works its search magic after first indexing the data. While indexing requires a lot of effort, all you have to do is point to the folders, email stores, etc., to index, and the search engine will take it from there. When you review files and emails, you typically retrieve them in their associated applications: Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat Reader, etc. For efficiency, however, the search engine must bypass the associated applications’ retrieval and go straight to the binary formats of files.

While associated applications optimize their file displays for readability, binary formats can look like a sea of binary codes, making it hard to make out any words at all. To identify the text, the search engine needs to apply the right parsing specification. These specifications can be hundreds of pages long and vary dramatically not only across different file types, but sometimes even within different versions of the same file type. While a file extension can suggest the file type, it is far from definitive, as it is not hard to save a PDF with a .DOCX extension or a Word document with a .PDF extension. For accuracy, the search engine needs to rely on the binary format itself to determine the parsing specification to apply.

After applying the correct parsing specification, the search engine is ready to start indexing. The index is an internal tool the search engine builds recording each unique word and number in the data and also tracks the location of each. Expect the search engine to go quite deep here in its indexing reach. For example:

  • Text that blends in with the background color in an associated application view, like aqua blue writing against an aqua blue background, may be nearly impossible to spot in an associated application view but is just regular text to a search engine
  • “Hidden” metadata that may take a lot of clicking around in an associated application before you even know that it is there is on par with any other metadata to a search engine
  • Indexing covers multi-tiered nested structures down to the innermost level, like an email with a ZIP or RAR attachment with an embedded Word document inside, with the Word document itself containing an Excel spreadsheet.

After indexing, the submarines are free to start their explorations. For shared work environments, there are no limits on the number of instant concurrent search threads (or submarines) that can all dive at once without affecting other search threads. Searching can span all data, or hone in on specific metadata only. Queries can range from simple “all words” or “any words” search requests to highly intricate word and phrase Boolean (and/or/not) along with proximity search formulations.

Search covers not only European languages, but also right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic, and double-byte text like Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Fuzzy searching sifts through minor deviations in spelling such as mistypes (or mistypos) in an email. Concept searching finds synonyms of search terms. The search engine can also locate numbers and numeric ranges as well as dates and date ranges across different date formats. The search engine can even flag any credit card numbers that may have wormed their way into data.

A search engine has multiple options for relevancy-ranking, letting you sort and instantly re-sort search results by relevancy or other criteria. After a search, the search engine will dive to the bottom of the ocean to pull out a complete copy of retrieved items that you can then browse in full with highlighted hits. And if your ocean of data has new content flowing in and out, no problem. Instant concurrent searching can continue uninterrupted even while an index updates to reflect data additions, deletions or modifications.

Lost in a sea of data no more!

 

Elizabeth Thede is director of sales at dtSearch. An attorney by training, Elizabeth has spent many years in the software industry. At home, she grows a lot of plants, and has a poorly behaved but very cute rescue dog. Elizabeth also writes technical articles and is a regular contributor to The Price of Business Nationally Syndicated by USA Business Radio, with current articles on the USA Daily Times and The Daily Blaze. 

 

Three Reasons Why Personal Trainers Need Insurance

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If you’re here, you’re looking for reasons to buy personal trainer insurance from the Insure Fitness Group. Insurance might seem unnecessary if you’ve never had a claim. However, many things could go wrong throughout your career, and liability insurance provides you with a safety net when they do. In this article, we’ll explain how personal trainer insurance can benefit you.

What Is Personal Trainers Insurance?

This is liability coverage for damages or injuries resulting from your professional services. It could also be a protection plan for the equipment and gear you use to run your training business. Whether you train at a gym, in different facilities, in your home, or online, you’re faced with several accidents that could occur daily. It only takes a few seconds for your gear to suffer damage or for someone to get hurt.

When an accident happens, your personal trainer’s insurance helps to significantly lower or eliminate the amount you’ll have to pay out of pocket. Some of the costs it could cover include legal fees, malpractice cases, clients’ medical bills, stolen property, etc. Your policy usually covers damages or injuries your service might have inflicted on third parties like a location or client. This could be a client breaking an ankle during a session or someone breaking the equipment you’re helping them use in the gym.

Three Reasons Why Personal Trainers Need Insurance

Now that you know what personal trainers’ insurance is, below are some benefits of having this coverage.

1. Your Gym Insurance Doesn’t Protect You.

If you work at a gym or contract with one, they have insurance protecting them. However, even though the gym provides you with a spot for hosting your clients and the equipment you need for the job, they don’t offer you insurance. If someone sues you, the gym’s insurance cannot protect you and doesn’t cover your legal fees or settlement costs.

2. Protects Your Business from Accidents.

A lawsuit could easily ruin your business. With legal fees draining your bank account and the stress of dealing with these expenses affecting how you work, there’ll be little to nothing left of your business to manage. However, when you purchase insurance from Insure Fitness Group, they’ll deal with your lawsuit’s costs.

3. Makes Your Business Appear Professional.

Having insurance can be the differentiating factor between you and your competition. It will show your clients that you’re a professional and they can trust you with your health. An insurance policy indicates that you’re ready for the worst-case scenarios and need to manage your risks as a business owner. Therefore, having insurance will make you stand out and help to build trust between you and potential clients.

Final Thoughts

Being a personal trainer comes with some risks that could impact your career. Your clients could get hurt and file a lawsuit against you as their trainer. You should protect your gadgets and career from frivolous claims by seeking personal trainer insurance from the Insure Fitness Group. Insurance gives you peace of mind because you know that if anything happens, the costs for legal services don’t come from your pockets.

 

How To Secure Venture Capital Funding Even If You’re A New Entrepreneur

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by Karl Swanepoel, CEO and founder of Revolancer

The world of venture capital fundraising has seen an interesting year in 2022. The previous year has witnessed high raises. According to Pitchbook, U.S. venture firms raised $150.9 billion across 593 funds throughout the third quarter of 2022.

Although that is an impressive amount, that peak is paralleled by the slow distribution of assets to the startup market. Venture capitalists have not only lessened their number of investments but have also been more selective about the startups they want to cultivate.

The reason why fundraising has been significantly harder last year is that venture capitalists have become more risk-averse. Investors are taking time to deploy their capital. With 2021 raising 333 billion U.S. dollars for funds, 2022 is a period where investments “cool down” as they wait for their initial investments to get traction.

Entrepreneurs still have high hopes for 2023. Since there has been a significant hold on capital last year while still raising funds in the billions, there is a chance that we will be able to see investors loosening that grip to fund more startups in 2023 Q1.

While there is no way to predict the trends of how investors will use their money, there are some key tips on how considerably increase your chances of securing the funding you need even as a new entrepreneur.

1. Make sure your company is solving a problem.

Roots run deep. Investors are no longer swayed if you call your product, “The next big thing”. Problems create a certain demand, and demand gives you an opportunity to create value.

2. Have a solid pitch deck that explains your business with the least detail possible.

An average investor spends about 2-4 mins reading through an entire deck. It needs to be digestible that fast so less is indeed more.

Try to approach your pitch deck using a LEAN model. When making your slides, make sure you’re not shoving too many ideas in one slide otherwise you’ll risk having investors focus on trivial things and not the main idea.

Investors only have 30 minutes – 1 hour in an ordinary call. So, you ideally want to minimise your pitching time and maximize your time for the Q&A conversation. By having investors ask questions, you are able to clear any objections rather than babbling on about your company.

3. Have an ask in your pitch deck.

When you show your pitch, the main question that investors get is, “What now?”. You need to show what you are looking for, and where it will get you. Investors want to fund milestones, not time.

4. Highlight what makes your business impressive.

When creating a narrative, you can put the spotlight on the people or communities you’ll be helping, previous funding, and high-profile advisors guiding your company, revenue, & user growth.

Determine the key metrics or the industry standard. That way, you can position your company as a rising player in the startup ecosystem.

5. Reach out to investors in ways other people are not.

It is not enough to just submit a deck and leave it all to chance. As a founder, you have to actively seek out and build relationships with investors. That includes communicating with them aside from the usual platform such as LinkedIn.

Think of avenues of reaching them others may not think of, and stand out quickly.

6. In pitch calls, ask them questions.

You want to make sure they are the right fit for you too. Asking investors questions gives you a pathway to knowing what they’re particularly looking for.

7. Finally, practice, practice, practice your pitch as much as possible.

You can ask for the insight of other founders or any investors. If they do have feedback or questions, tweak your value proposition accordingly.

If they say no, it doesn’t mean it will always be a no – reach out to them again in the future, and keep them in the loop.

This will likely make a good impression on you as it shows you don’t just give up.

At the same time, if investors say it’s not for them, you can still turn it around by asking politely if they will hop on a call anyway and offer you feedback on your pitch.

You become memorable by taking feedback from them and they’re more likely to introduce you to their network if you decide to ask.

 

Karl Swanepoel is a tech entrepreneur based in the UK. Because of his passion to improve freelancing work conditions, he became the CEO and founder of Revolancer, a freelance marketplace startup that charges zero commission fees. He was the youngest-ever brand ambassador for Britain’s largest business conference, The Business Show, and is now currently helping fellow founders in their journey to starting their own company.

 

Your Comprehensive Guide To Starting Your Business In 2023

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The first step in becoming your boss is deciding to take a huge risk. If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve already taken the most crucial first step. Congratulations! You are now ready to learn the foundations of creating a business from the ground up. But where do you even begin?

Let’s go through the essential steps in starting your business in 2023.

Find Your Business Concept

The bulk of business advisors will tell you to earn money doing something you’re passionate about, but this misses two critical criteria: the idea must also be profitable and something you’re talented at. For example, you may have a love for music, but how likely is it that you will be able to establish a music-related business if you are not a very excellent singer or songwriter? You may have a love for making soap and want to open a soap store in your little town, but there are already three soap businesses in the region. Cornering the market will be difficult if you manufacture the same product as other firms in the nearby region.

Research Your Competitors and Market

The majority of businesses invest more time in their products than they do in analyzing their market competitors. If you decide to seek outside funding, the potential lender or business partner will want to know what distinguishes your business idea. If the findings of your market research suggest that demand for your product or service in your area has peaked, you may want to explore a different approach. Consider housekeeping; instead of providing general cleaning services, you might, for example, focus on houses with dogs or on cleaning garages.

Develop Your Business Plan

A business plan is a living document that serves as a road map for the development of a new company. Prospective investors, financial institutions, and corporate management will find it easy to understand and absorb the information and elements included. Even if you intend to fund your firm entirely on your own, drafting a business plan may help you refine your idea and identify potential stumbling blocks.

Evaluate Your Company’s Financial Situation

There are expenses connected with starting a business, and you must design a strategy to meet those expenditures before proceeding. Will you need funding to start your new business endeavor, or will you be able to fund it on your own? Do you have enough money saved up to cover your necessities until you start earning a profit if you wish to quit your current job to concentrate on your business full-time?

It’s a good idea to conduct some research and figure out how much the first investment will cost. Many businesses fail because they run out of money before they become profitable. It is never a good idea to overestimate the amount of start-up capital you will need since it may take a long time for a firm to generate consistent income.

Make It Legal

It is essential to incorporate your firm as a limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or corporation to establish a distinct legal structure. This is a financial structure between you, the owner, and your company.

Make Your Brand an Online Presence

Whether you have a conventional storefront or do all of your business online, your customers need a way to discover more about your company and the items or services you provide. Consider who your ideal customer is and what information you want them to know about your company. If your business does not already have a website, creating a central spot for it online is critical to get your message out there and building a client base with the help of BANG! Web Site Design ideas.

Find Your Premises

It might be difficult to know where to begin your search for a new office site. However, there are several tools accessible that are meant to aid. You can look at the websites of local governments, which often have a list of the business parks and knowledge districts in the area. You can also talk to private landlords and look at places yourself.

If you wish to do something similar, you may speak to universities and other public institutions that foster innovation. New businesses often get extra benefits from these sites, like the chance to connect with other creative businesses.

Build Your Network

Partnerships made along the way are often very important to the success of new businesses. They could be good for your business in terms of growth or money, which can help you find complementary businesses and referrals that drive your growth.

There is a broad variety of contexts in which people might engage in networking activities. There are always going to be possibilities available for you to take advantage of, regardless of whether you are attending a conference or event.

The quality of the connections you make through networking is typically higher, which makes it simpler to follow up with referrals and convert them into clients. You might get good business from the new leads you get from your marketing efforts.

Grow Your Business

At this stage, your small business should be functioning like a well-oiled machine. Take some time to celebrate your accomplishments. If you’ve arrived at this stage, it implies you’ve successfully developed a germ of an idea into a living business. So, what are we to do now? It’s conceivable that you’ll choose to retain your organization on a smaller scale, concentrating instead on building more strong relationships with a core group of loyal consumers and managing all operations on your own.

 

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