Building A Website For the Non-Technical Entrepreneur

If you’ve started your own business, you’re no doubt aware that creating a website is a must in today’s increasingly digital economy. Yet, at best you may not know where to start, and at worst technology may even intimidate you. The good news is, this process doesn’t have to be as difficult as you imagine, due to recent changes in how websites are created. Rather than having to learn html from scratch and spend months trying to get your site off the ground – you can be up and running in a matter of hours (or even minutes).

Speed isn’t the only difference either, as the level of technical proficiency required has fallen precipitously. If you’re familiar with surfing the web, using Windows and word processing software – you probably have enough skill to build your very own site. This may come as a surprise, but through the use of website building software, you have more power at your fingertips than ever before. To help you discover just how easy this process can be, let’s cover a few of the basic steps that you’ll need to go through.

#1: Choose a Theme.

If you’ve never been described as tech-savvy, then choosing a theme for your site is probably the appropriate option. While many website builders allow you more freedom to create a design in piecemeal fashion, for the beginner a theme can be a godsend. How does it work?

You’ll look through the database of available themes, which you can typically narrow down by style, type of business, and more. Once you’ve found one that fits your company well, all you need to do is select it. Your pages will be automatically populated with the correct elements, such as a background, menu for navigation, contact box for customers and so on. A good theme will also create the right pages for you, so you don’t have to build these manually.

As you can see, a theme can get you most of the way to the finish line, and you’ll just need to make some rather minor adjustments to complete your design.

#2: Build Your Brand.

This step can be a bit challenging if your branding visuals are complex or highly unique. This is because you probably won’t be able to find a theme that has the precise color scheme of your logo, or the same stylistic feel. You can usually come close, however. If your corporate logo has already been created, then you can simply upload that image to your site. When coupled with a theme that boasts a similar color palette, your site will look as if it was custom-built to fit together as a whole.

Additionally, the most powerful website builders allow you to choose a theme and then alter the color scheme. This enables you to select a theme that’s in keeping with the style of your branding, and then customized the colors to suit your exact needs.

#3: Select the Right Website Builder.

Perhaps this step should be first on the list, as you should start by choosing the right website builder. If the idea of designing a website leaves you feeling lightheaded, then the best website builder for you will be mostly automated. Wix (and others) currently offers a builder that uses robust artificial intelligence – to do the lion’s share of the design work for you.

All you’ll need to do is provide overarching stylistic direction, such as letting the program know what type of business you have, the emotion you wish to convey on your site and the type of layout you prefer. It does most of the rest, by going into its large database of themes, graphics, fonts, color schemes, layouts and more to create a unique combination just for you. This type of minimal input design process can be fun, fast and produce results that are impressive.

So, don’t let building that website for your business intimidate you any longer – just take advantage of the power offered by website building programs instead. This can allow you to create a site you’ll be proud to call your own, with the minimum of fuss and only a small degree of computer aptitude.

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A Short, But Important, Checklist Of Startup Business Wisdom

by Les Trachtman, author of “Don’t F**k It Up: How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth“

Money.

• There is lots of it available in the market. VCs and PEs have more capital than they are capable of managing well.
• Valuations are always astronomical for other companies (i.e., not yours).
• Angel capital usually comes from people who have too much time on their hands and like to put their noses in places in which they have no expertise.
• Just because you have money to invest does not make you smart; there may be an inverse correlation.
• Money alone can’t help a bad venture or a good venture with a bad management team.
• You probably can’t succeed without it.
• If your venture continually has too little of it, you either are spending too much time looking for it, your valuation is stupid, your management team is inept, your venture is not worthy, or more likely all of the above.

Management Talent.

• There is not enough to go around.
• In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king, but not a kingdom worth owning.
• It is rare to find someone with a combination of business savvy and engineering talent.
• Most techies would disagree.
• Just because you are a founder, does not mean you deserve to run an organization (unless you are the only employee).
• Good management techniques will apply across most industries.
• If you think your industry (or business) is different, you are wrong.
• Founders who hold the title of CEO only because they started the company are usually in the wrong job.
• Founders who have this epiphany, may actually become good CEOs.
• Friends and family teams are usually all that is necessary to burn down a very promising venture.
• Most bad management teams don’t agree with any of this.

Technology.

• You can’t risk your success on the back of one person or a small team of technical people who don’t believe you are smart enough to understand their technology.
• As a CEO if you don’t understand it now, over time you still won’t get it.
• Companies that start with great technology and ultimately succeed have figured that out.
• In order to succeed, your technology actually has to solve some problem.
• Creating the problem just so your technology has something useful to do is a dumb idea.

Sales & Marketing.

• Great sustainable sales only exist in an environment where there are processes and metrics.
• If you claim to have metrics, but don’t track them or can’t recite them, you are fooling yourself.
• If you think your business is different and you don’t need metrics, you are wrong.
• Great sales talent is not personality based — it is process based.
• If you are not concentrating on how to create reproducible sales — you won’t have any.
• You can always spot a sales driven organization — their employees wear company-logoed clothing.

Founders.

• Every organization has at least one founder; adding more usually adds more complexity than it is worth.
• Most will require adult supervision.
• Founders always believe their ventures are worth at least an order of magnitude more than people with money do.
• They think that the money guys don’t get it.
• Founders often believe that splitting the equity pie with you is not warranted.
• If you are a successor to the founder and care about how people feel about you, you’re probably not the right successor.

Details.

• Some people thrive in the details.
• This isn’t because they are bad.
• There is a need for someone to worry about the details in every organization.
• If it isn’t you, find someone who is focused on them.

Quality of Life.

• In today’s world this often takes center stage for employees.
• There is no work/life balance. If work is not enjoyable, doing less of it will not really make a difference.
• Working with great people, having a flexible work environment, and controlling your own destiny is more important than money or long hours.

Risk.

• There is a direct correlation between the one’s willingness to accept risk and the weight of their pocket books multiplied the size of their mortgage.
• Potential participants in any venture have different short-term vs long term needs.
• Everyone says they are looking for long-term wealth generation.
• Most people can’t afford to really mean that.

People.

• No good person wants to work with assholes.
• Most assholes would love to work with you!
• You are only as good as the company you keep.
• That includes clients and investors, and employees.
• Even a bad technology can succeed with good people.
• The converse is never true.

 

 

Les Trachtman is currently the CEO of The Trachtman Group – focused on helping companies grow and scale, as well as managing director (and majority investor) of Purview, an early stage company focused on disrupting the medical imaging business. He is author of “Don’t F**k It Up: How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Clichés That Inhibit Growth“.

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Methods To Improve Your Website Content

If you have a website, then content improvement should be one of your primary goals as a way to increase visitors. Although there are many different actions you can take to gain search engine recognition, content creation is the one with the most staying power. It makes sense, too – after all, other ranking methods may get people to the page; but only good content can actually make them stay on it.

Let’s find other methods to place the best version of your website in front of the public.

Fast Page Speeds Are a Must.

If the pages on your website load too slowly, you run the risk of losing visitors long before they have a chance to even convert. Patience is a virtue, frankly, not many people have – because they don’t need to. You have plenty of competition, and you’ll lose traffic to them if your pages aren’t optimized for speed.

The professionals at Brown Box Branding understand that website design plays a crucial role in page speed. If your website is losing visitors via bounce rate, you probably need a better template and behind-the-scenes code to rectify the situation. It’s an investment that will definitely pay off.

Curate Content.

What better way to attract visitors than to find out what content other popular websites are churning out? Of course you most certainly shouldn’t plagiarize; curation doesn’t entail this at all. Just use their content to give you ideas. Expand on their content, make it more authoritative, or turn a short white paper into a list for easy digestibility.

Integrate Your Content with Social Media.

Using the most-trafficked social networks, you can place snippets of your content on Facebook, tags on Instagram or even turn an article into a video for YouTube. This way, you get more mileage out of a well-written post, and bring in new visitors from other channels.

Additionally, even as the search engines crawl your posts and deliver the best content to viewers, you have the separate avenue of social media to pass your URL on; if the post is good and your network is large enough, you’ll start gaining direct visits – as well as build backlinks.

Use Google Analytics to Improve Content.

You can actually use any analytics platform; Google Analytics is powerful and free up to 100 websites, though. The method here is simple: find out which one of your posts are the most-trafficked, and expand on the content in a new post. Similarly, you can update the old post for even longer on-page time metrics, as well as more recognition from Google Search.

Consider Outsourcing Your Content.

This can work out wonderfully for some businesses; it really just depends on what service or product you offer. If you sell LEDs, for example, you would do well to find a writer or team of writers who are well-versed in the specifics of the technology, and who can write very well. Aim for a content provision rate of about 2-3 blog posts per week in an easily-digestible format, and you’ll see your targeted traffic rise steadily as the months go by.

Most importantly, outsourcing allows you to maintain the all-too-important regular schedule of updating your website. This is actually a ranking metric in the most current iteration of Google’s Search algorithm.

Although many of the methods for ranking your website have changed in recent years because of the Penguin, Panda, Hummingbird and other updates by search giant Google, the end goal is still the same: to build quality backlinks. Quantity no longer matters as much; so don’t waste too much time finding low-value sites as backlink partners. Focus on your content, and let everything else (more or less) fall into place as a result.

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Creating Effective Digital Habits For Yourself And Your Company

by Terri R. Kurtzberg and Jennifer L. Gibbs, co-authors of “Distracted: Staying Connected without Losing Focus“

As an entrepreneur, you will likely end up with two completely different jobs. One is to produce or offer something that the world values and thus create a line of revenue. But in addition, you also hope to end up in the position of having to manage other people, and thus will need to set the tone for a company as it grows and thrives, to decide what rules and behaviors will work best not just for you but for others who will look to you to make these kinds of decisions.

One of the tricky areas to get right in today’s world is the balance between being connected to work through our wireless devices and protecting some pure time off. By now, this is probably a familiar tension for nearly everyone — while being able to keep tabs on work even while out of the office creates some impressive freedoms, it also strips us of having any reliable down-time, as emails and messages creep into our nights, weekends, and even vacations.

Some people defend this “bleeding” of work into home-life, stating that addressing things as they arise allows for so much more efficiency, and prevents a miserable stacking-up of messages and tasks upon return to the office. Some even justify working through vacations for just this reason, as well as a sense (real or imagined) that tragedy will ensue if all questions and issues aren’t handled immediately. Others just hate the intrusion and resent the colleagues and bosses who expect round-the-clock attention and fast response rates. Many people feel pressure to keep up this pace only because others are doing so.

The thing is, your company when it’s brand-new and it’s mostly just you (or you and a small team) is a very different thing from your company once you have an actual list of employees of any real size. At the very beginning, your decisions about how you work only affect yourself. Now, this doesn’t mean that it’s healthy or even productive to try and cram in as much as possible into every minute of your time—burnout in the long term is a real and serious problem, and higher rates of error and an actual slowdown of progress can result from trying to do too many things at the same time in the short term. People need breaks, and sleep, and full-on vacations to recharge. But that being said, deciding when and how to work is still a personal decision when it’s just you who is affected.

But once other people depend on you to set the tone and create the policies by which they will work and live, the burden changes. Not only for their happiness and satisfaction should you care about these issues, but also for your bottom line. Research shows that people are more productive, and stay with their companies for longer periods of time, when they have more predictable down-time, including required vacations. People need to know that there are “blackout hours” when work email cannot be sent and nobody is required to be available — if all nights and weekends is too much to expect, then perhaps even just certain nights of the week and certain weekend hours? Even this would help employees feel a sense of balance about their workload, and would relieve some psychological pressure. Other options being experimented with by some companies include closing the entire business for the same two-week period to give everyone true time off with no backlog of work upon return, or even offering a small bonus for using all vacation time (given that only 25% of Americans currently use all of their vacation time).

Keep in mind, your career, and your growing business, are a marathon, not a sprint. You will want to make sure you set the wheels in motion so as to sustainably get the best out of all of the people who are there to make your idea grow into the best business it can be.

 

Terri R. Kurtzberg, PhD is associate professor of management and global business at Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick, NJ and Jennifer L. Gibbs, PhD, is associate professor of communication at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information in New Brunswick, NJ. They are co-authors of “Distracted: Staying Connected without Losing Focus“.

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From Age-Old To Modern Day: 13 Tips For Professional Email Correspondence

by Sharon Schweitzer, author of “Access to Asia: Your Multicultural Guide to Building Trust, Inspiring Respect, and Creating Long-Lasting Business Relationships“

Once integrated into the professional business world, email becomes second nature. Communications are synthesized through these messages and it can be quite repetitive. The constant emailing causes some to become less formal in their communications, and it is easy to commit electronic etiquette snafus.

Common errors in your emails may give the wrong impressions to your colleagues and clients. Also, what you are trying to portray can be interpreted differently by your clients on the other end. No matter what brownie points you gain around the office, they are all null if your digital communications are not up to par.

Here is my professional break down of the do’s and don’ts of business email etiquette:

1. Do pay attention to the subject line.

Write a clear, concise subject line that reflects the body of the email. Avoid subject lines with, “Hi,” “Touching Base” or “FYI,” and do not leave a subject line blank.

2. Do use a proper salutation.

Remember “Hi” and “Hey” communicate a lack of professionalism and maturity. Begin your email with phrases such as “Good Morning,” “Good Afternoon,” “Good Evening” or “Hello.” “Good Day” or “Greetings” are other phrases used frequently in the international arena. 

3. Do use an Introduction.

In direct cultures like the U.S., the best practice is for the sender to introduce themselves by first and last name with some background information in the first few lines. For example, “Dear Ms. Mandell: My name is Sharon Schweitzer, founder of Access to Culture; I was referred to you by …” or “My name is Sharon Schweitzer and I am an International Business Expert writing to you about …” This is especially important when introducing yourself to new contacts, potential customers, clients and employers who want to know how you received their contact information.

4. Do know the culture.

When sending email to people from indirect cultures, it is proper protocol and a best practice to research country customs. For example, in Japan it is polite, appropriate, and customary to inquire about the weather in the first sentence of a business email. Contrastingly, it would be inappropriate to send an email introducing yourself to a potential Japanese contact. In indirect cultures, introductions are only made by mutually respected third parties due to custom; cold emails are ignored, deleted, blocked and/or marked as junk.

5. Don’t include humor and sarcasm.

Emails can easily be misinterpreted through text without context. Humor is culture-specific. Avoid both humor and sarcasm in e-mails as the recipient may be from a different culture and may be confused, or worse, offended.

6. Do double-check your attachments.

When you attach a file, be kind enough to take a few extra seconds to paste it into the body of the email as well. This shows consideration to the recipient, by saving them time and risk in opening attachments. Is this more time consuming for you? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

7. Don’t hit “reply all”.

Avoid Using “Reply-to-All” unless everyone needs to know. When the C-Suite (CEO/COO) or administrative assistant sends an email to 10 staff members requesting volunteers for a community service project, reply to the admin, not to all 10 members. Why make ten others delete your email? Reply-to-All is a function for ongoing deliberations on a particular subject.

8. Do reply expediently.

Replying within 24 hours is common courtesy.  Leaving someone hanging for any longer and you are not only perceived as rude, it could cost you business in the long run. If you’ve unintentionally kept someone waiting longer than 24 hours or extenuating circumstances arose, politely explain the situation and express your apologies. 

9. Don’t use emojis.

Those little blinking icons are for text messages. They are inappropriate and unprofessional in a business email.  Emoticons may divert email to a spam filter or junk mail box. And, it looks very immature and unprofessional.

10. Do protect privacy.

Email is public. Even though an email is deleted, online services and software programs can access messages on the hard drive. Before you click “send” consider what may happen if a business colleague, your competitor, an employer, the FBI, or any unintended recipient reads your email. Think of it this way: how would my email look if it were posted on Facebook?

11. Don’t be negative.

It’s inappropriate to email negative comments. Negative or antagonistic words are referred to as “flames” in cyberspace. An email in all uppercase letters connotes anger in an email. These antagonistic messages cause awkwardness long after the email has been sent and received. If you must relay bad news via email, use objective words and state the facts. Face-to-face communication is best when relaying bad news.

12. Do proofread.

Check and recheck for spelling and grammatical errors. These errors look unprofessional and reduce the likelihood that the email will be taken seriously.  Email software comes with many professional tools such as Spell Check.  Use them.

13. Don’t forget the conversation closer.

By letting the recipient know that a response isn’t needed, the email cycle doesn’t continue on in perpetuity. Close with “No reply necessary,” “Thank you again,” “See you at the board meeting Tuesday,” or “Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.” End your email with a closing such as “Best,” “Best Regards,” “Sincerely,” “Thank you,” or another appropriate phrase.

Aim to create concise and cohesive thoughts in your business emails. Keep the personal chats to a minimum and choose full sentences rather than slang. Proofread your emails to condense them for only the most critical information. If you feel the need to include more and more information, perhaps you opt to schedule a call. Ask for feedback from a colleague if you need to reign in your misguided professional emails.

Most importantly, make sure your message is to-the-point with manners included. With the proper formalities and a succinct thought, everyone can stay on-message and get the job done. Remember that perception is different for everyone. What you think you are conveying is often interpreted differently by other people.

 

Sharon Schweitzer is an international business etiquette expert, cross-cultural trainer, and the founder of Access to Culture. She is the author of “Access to Asia: Your Multicultural Guide to Building Trust, Inspiring Respect, and Creating Long-Lasting Business Relationships“.

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‘Game Of Thrones’ And The Cunning Side Of Emotional Intelligence

by Steven Stein, Ph.D., author of “The EQ Leader: Instilling Passion, Creating Shared Goals, and Building Meaningful Organizations through Emotional Intelligence“

Most people think “emotional intelligence” (EI) is a wonderful character trait. If you’ve got it, you’re often deemed “nice,” meaning you’re attuned to reading people and want to understand and help them. Not surprisingly, it’s a huge advantage for C-suite executives who can use their EI acumen to help create kinder and more transparent and stable workplaces.

The reality is that not all EI-savvy people focus on the positive. All you need to do is watch “Game of Thrones” (“GoT”) to see how EI skill sets can be used as a force to create mayhem. And zeroing in on the show’s Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish amounts to a front-row seat in an EI master class.

Just as an EI-gifted person can spot someone else’s pain, Littlefinger, in his pursuit of power and wealth, instantly recognizes most individuals’ glaring vulnerabilities and their willingness to trust him. His genius is emotional attunement of the very worst kind.

Over the course of “GoT”’s run – the drama’s final seventh-season episode broadcasts next Sunday – the character has provided viewers with stunning examples of his cunning and nefarious actions, which are tied to his ability to read his victims’ fears and insecurities. These deeds have had huge ramifications. He lies about a dagger, which triggers a war. He betrays a lord, which leads to an execution. He encouraged and effected an abusive marriage, and was instrumental in poisoning a king. Most recently, he planted seeds to cultivate a power struggle between female siblings. Littlefinger, whose hallmark is somehow getting those around him to unwittingly participate in his endless stream of lies, memorably said to an unfortunate character, “I did warn you not to trust me.”

Littlefinger’s doings are fictional, out of the fertile mind of George R. R. Martin. But if you’re sensing that much of this character’s behavior suggests the cut-throat world of business leadership, you’re not mistaken. Littlefinger’s profile is indeed corporate – he was both Master of Coin and a small business owner (brothels, to be specific) – which makes his skilled psychological maneuvers that much more intriguing. The guy’s nothing if not entrepreneurial.

Many C-suite and other executives abuse EI, just as Littlefinger does. They’re cunning, ego-centric, narcissistic and talented at using and manipulating people. And it’s not inappropriate to call them bullies, who instantly spot a person’s weakness, insecurity and vulnerability, the way an animal of prey pounces on a wounded member of the herd.

Here’s how EI works in a positive, caring way. Let’s say a supervisor observes that something seems not quite right with an otherwise able team member. A supervisor who’s truly concerned about that person’s welfare and future ability to contribute will gently query about the behavior change, learning, perhaps, that there’s been a sudden family illness.

In contrast, bosses who are self-aggrandizing use EI skills for their own – rather than the organization’s – benefit. For example, they might have manipulated an employee to share some delicate or confidential information. Down the line, such supervisors won’t hesitate to use that information to goad the person to work harder or even blackmail that individual.

In other words, the main goal of those who use EI in a negative way – some of whom are CEOs – is to increase their power, wealth and prestige. Typically such people have spent their entire lives pushing people around, which is how they’ve risen to their current ranks. That’s the same strategy used by Littlefinger, who rose from lowly born obscurity by knowing what buttons to press to get those around him to do what he wanted.

It’s no surprise that “GoT” aficionados look forward to Littlefinger’s demise. Those who use EI for bad ends – either in Westeros or in the corner office – have few fans in the end.

 

Steven Stein, Ph.D., is a leading expert on psychological assessment and emotional intelligence. He is the founder and CEO of Multi-Health Systems (MHS), a leading publisher of scientifically validated assessments. Dr. Steven Stein is the author and coauthor of several books on emotional intelligence, including his new book,”The EQ Leader: Instilling Passion, Creating Shared Goals, and Building Meaningful Organizations through Emotional Intelligence“, and the international best-seller, “The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success“.

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Why Allowing Customers To Transfer Ownership Is Good Marketing Strategy

by Anand Srinivasan, founder of LeadJoint.com  

What exactly is the success rate of an eCommerce store? Some experts claim that only 20% survive. Others argue that the failure rate can be as high as 97%. If you are a company that sells eCommerce tools, this cannot be good news. How do you plan on retaining customers when so many of them are failing?

Several months ago, Shopify, one such eCommerce platform provider, launched Exchange, a marketplace that allows users to buy and sell online stores that are hosted on their platform. Looking to liquidate your hugely successful store? You could put it up for sale. Did you just realize eCommerce is not for you? You could sell such businesses too to someone who understands the game better. In other words, Shopify is making it easier for customers to end their relationship with the platform by transferring their ownership.

This raises an interesting question – what is more important to you as a marketer? Should you be looking at retaining your customers, or merely their transaction? At a time when customer retention teams go out of their way to cling on to their base of customers, should you be making it easier for them to quit?

The opportunity cost.

One way to look at this is through opportunity cost. In the marketplace scenario explained above, there are two customers you are working with. The seller is someone who wants to end their transaction. This is a customer you might be losing anyway (unless they already own multiple stores, like is often the case with eCommerce platforms like Shopify). On the other hand, the buyer might be a new customer who may either sign with you or with one of your competitors. By making it easy for the seller to transfer their business to the buyer, you might be losing one customer, but could be retaining a relationship that might have otherwise ended.

Better customer experience.

Taking your focus away from customer retention and instead focusing on a transaction-based relationship is also good from a customer experience point of view. If you run a sports facility or a theater, you may be able to sign up only a finite number of customers for any particular event slot. Such businesses often prohibit the transfer of ticket ownership. This is typically done to prevent black-marketing of tickets. But these types of measures can often lead to having empty seats in the stand. By permitting the customer to leave and allowing others to take their place, you are focusing on the transaction. This way, you enable only the most desperate customers to stay with you. This also improves customer experience since your biggest fans come to you while others are given a chance to go elsewhere.

Enables continuity of business.

Paypal is a good example of a business that is against transfer of ownership. If you are operating a subscription service over Paypal, you will not be permitted to transfer these subscribers to another Paypal user when you sell this business. Subscribers are required to unsubscribe from the service and re-subscribe once again once the ownership has been transferred. This disrupts business continuity and impacts a B2B service provider like Paypal in two ways. Firstly, business customers lose their subscribers during the transfer process which also means loss of commission fees paid to Paypal. Also, the discontinuity in business operations forces the new owner of the subscription service to migrate the subscription service to a competitor platform that allows transfer of ownership. Either way, this creates friction in the process and makes your customer unhappy.

So are there any drawbacks at all?

While allowing customers to transfer ownership of their account improves experience and lets you retain the more valuable customers, this strategy is not without its fair share of issues. In some industries, such a policy can be a legal landmine. This is especially true in the case of the ownership of mobile phone numbers or social media accounts where it can be difficult to establish ownership in the event of a crime. While mobile network providers don’t always deny transfer of ownership, they may require extensive paperwork precisely for this reason. From a marketers’ perspective, account ownership transfers can also disrupt your customer lifecycle. Marketers look at customer behavior, including their termination to understand the issues with their product; this is a critical component of the feedback loop. Ownership transfer can distort this information and relay misleading data to marketers which could lead to wrong inferences.

Overall, the benefits of allowing customers to transfer their accounts to other customers far outweigh the regulatory and analytical challenges that this process presents. It may not be a bad idea to give this method a try in your business.

 

Anand Srinivasan is the founder of LeadJoint.com, an online lead generation tool for digital marketing agencies. He is also a part-time marketing consultant and has previously worked with some of the most promising Indian startups.

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Top 10 Worst DIY Tricks SMBs + Tech Users Take To Recover Data From Damaged Computers, Hard Drives And Mobile Devices

by Jeff Pederson, Kroll Ontrack

When starting a new business, it is wise to develop a response plan in the event that you lose your company’s data. Functioning a business without critical data not only delays operations, but can stall potential revenue. With no established IT department readily at hand, small businesses will attempt to recover their own data.

Here are the top 10 worst DIY data recovery hacks you could ever try on a computer, hard drive or mobile device:

1. A common DIY Fail.

When a hard drive fails, it is an initial reaction to run CHKDSK, a system tool in DOS, OS/2 and Windows, that verifies the file system integrity of a volume and fixes logical file system errors. CHKDSK destroys data that would have otherwise been recoverable.

2. Common RAID 5 Error.

When a drive fails in RAID 5, it will continue to function in a degraded mode. Most people are unaware of this because they do not monitor the array, but when a second rive fails, the array fails, which leads to inaccessible data.

To bring the RAID online again, individuals will pull the drives out, reset them and reboot. At this point, the original degraded drive may power on and become functional. The RAID controller will notice the data on the degraded drive is not in sync with the data on the other drives, so it rebuilds parity with the invalid data from the degraded drive. This can overwrite days, weeks, months or even years of data.

3. Forever Encrypted.

Certain external drives are encrypted and the encryption key resides on a chip inside the external casing. When these drives fail, users will throw away the casing and then try the drive in a different one. When drives like this are sent in for a recovery, they cannot be unencrypted.

4. Software Fail.

Attempts are often made to recover data from a hard drive with physical damage / read errors using data recovery software. Some users will load the software onto the damaged drive. This results in further damage to the drive and the data. In addition, there is a potential that the data can be overwritten.

5. Sticky Rice.

Due to a popular internet remedy, people will put wet cell phones in rice in order to dry them out. Phones are then sent in for recovery, covered in rice and rice residue.

6. Technology Guru.

Most people have a friend or relative that is thought of as an “expert” in technology, but when a data recovery is needed, this technology guru will attempt to open the drive in a non-cleanroom environment and dust will fall on the drive. Then trying to clean the dust, fingerprints are left behind, causing additional data loss.

7. Open Me.

People will often try to open hard drives and miss the screw(s) hidden underneath the labels. Prying the top open with a screwdriver causes scratching, divots and in some cases, breaking of the platters.

8. Freezer Recovery.

Another DIY internet myth, proven to be ineffective. People will often put their drives in the freezer to try to run the still-frozen hard drive. While the drive is in the freezer, the water will condense and freeze to the platters of the drive, causing the frozen hard drive to crash.

9. Old Tricks.

Years ago, a person could swap out a circuit board on a drive to fix it. However, today, without the original drive, it will never function. Data cannot be recovered from a drive if the original drive is not present.

10. Something is Missing.

An internet tip states that if you remove the platters from one drive and move them to another, then you can recover the data from the platters. Individuals will then send the platters in for data recovery instead of the entire drive, resulting in a confusing situation without knowledge of the hard drive model. Without this vital information, the data is unrecoverable.

There are ways to avoid these top 10 DIY methods. Instead of damaging your media further, I would advise you to stop what you are doing, keep calm and make notes, check for backups, notify a specialist and package your device properly.

 

Jeff Pederson utilizes his strong data recovery engineering background to manage the remote data recovery operations and Minnesota lab team for Kroll Ontrack (www.krollontrack.com). Specializing in data recovery, email extraction, ediscovery, data destruction and tape services, Kroll Ontrack is the leading provider of data solutions for both enterprise and user levels. Follow Kroll Ontrack on Twitter: @KrollOntrack.

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LLC vs. S Corp: What’s The Best Setup For Your Startup?

by Tricia Hussung

Entrepreneurship enables business professionals to work on their own terms and create impactful, solution-based products and services. However, entrepreneurs face many decisions that can determine whether or not their business is sustainable in the long term. Deciding on a new business or startup’s structure is one of the most critical decisions an entrepreneur will make. This means considering LLC vs. S Corp.

Choice of corporate structure affects issues ranging from “financing and growing the business, the number of shareholders the business has and the general manner in which the business is operated,” according to Investopedia.

Defining LLCs and S Corps.

Both LLCs and S corps are types of corporations. Many business leaders choose to incorporate due to the limited liability corporations enjoy, though there are other reasons that corporations are attractive: “It’s traditionally the reason businesses incorporate. It is also a structure people understand. A separate legal entity, it is owned by shareholders, ruled by a board of directors who elect officers to do day to day management,” according to Forbes.

An LLC combines many of the characteristics of a corporation, a partnership and a sole proprietorship. It is a corporate structure in which “the members of the company cannot be held personally responsible for the company’s debts or liabilities,” Investopedia explains. The limited liability that defines LLCs is what makes them similar to corporations, while flow-through taxation to LLC members is a feature of partnerships.

S corps are corporations that have 100 shareholders or less. This structure combines the benefits of incorporation with partnership taxation. “The corporation can pass income directly to shareholders and avoid the double taxation that is inherent with the dividends of public companies, while still enjoying the advantages of the corporate structure,” according to Investopedia. In addition to the shareholder requirement, a company must be a domestic corporation and have only one class of stock to be considered an S corp, Inc. contributing editor Darren Dahl says.

Advantages of an LLC.

One of the main benefits of choosing an LLC structure is that entrepreneurs are able to maintain their status as sole owner of a business while still forming partnerships with other agencies. As the name suggests, LLCs also offer limited liability, protecting owners in the case of judgments and debts. This means that assets like homes and vehicles are not subject to risk. While LLCs do have to file articles of organization with the state, they have a more flexible management structure than corporations and owners can create a structure based on their specific requirements.

Owners of an LLC can also decide to be taxed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation, All Business points out. Finally, LLCs face fewer compliance issues than other structures. “In most states, an LLC doesn’t need to have an annual meeting, and the LLC isn’t required to have a board of directors. Plus, there’s less paperwork and recordkeeping required compared to a corporation,” All Business continues. 

Advantages of an S Corp.

A key advantage of choosing an S corp structure is that doing so eliminates double taxation because profits and losses are passed to shareholders. In general, this means that taxes must only be paid once. S corp owners are also free from paying the self-employment tax. It is important to note that in some states, S corps are taxed as C corporations. In addition, some states charge S corporations a state tax.

Because this type of business structure can have up to 100 shareholders, it is easy to attract investors. In addition, S corp owners benefit from liability protection. Similar to LLCs, personal assets remain separate from those of the business. Another benefit of choosing an S corp is that, provided the S corp doesn’t have inventory, it “can use the cash method of accounting, which is much simpler than the accrual method,” All Business explains.

Graduate Business Education at King University.

Deciding how to structure your business is just the beginning. Entrepreneurs should be prepared for the challenges and demands of running a business, and one of the best ways to do this is through advanced education. King University’s online MBA program gives professionals the skill sets required to create financially solvent businesses. With multiple specializations available and coursework in management, research, quantitative analysis, ethics, and more, you will graduate with the knowledge and competencies for ongoing success. Find out where an MBA from King University can take you today.

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How To Start An LLC

 

by Rebecca Bernstein

The day a company turns “official” is an exciting milestone for any small business owner. However, getting there can prove confusing for first-time entrepreneurs. For those considering taking their businesses to an official level, here are some helpful tips for how to start an LLC.

What Is an LLC?

An LLC is a type of legal structure for a business. Like other business structures, the LLC status dictates how a company will be taxed, as well as who will be responsible for its liabilities. According to Incorporate, benefits of making your business an LLC include:

• Avoiding double taxation. With LLCs, owners can’t be taxed twice on the same source of income.
• No residency requirements. Owners do not have to be U.S. citizens.
• Legal protection. When your business is an LLC, your personal assets are protected against business debts.
• Better credibility. LLC status improves the public profile of your business.

The process of forming an LLC is straightforward, but must be approached with deliberation and thought for the best possible results.

Naming Your LLC.

Choosing a name for your LLC is more than just a fun exercise. The name of your company will be a legal identifier. Therefore, great care should be taken when choosing one. FindLaw suggests the following tips when choosing a business name:

• Make sure the name is descriptive enough for potential customers to immediately understand the nature of your business.
• Keep the name general enough so you can easily expand your company’s services should you desire.
• Try to make sure the company name is unique in your field.
• Ensure the name does not violate trademark laws.

Once you’ve decided on a name, FindLaw recommends performing a thorough hunt to ensure that no other companies share it. A detailed internet search of databases should do the trick. Useful databases include those of fictitious names, LLCs and limited partnerships, as well as those for registered trademark names. A general Google search is also helpful to identify any overlooked information.

After it’s certain a business name is not duplicated, you must then file Articles of Organization with the state. In most cases, this is your state of residence. The requirements for this filing change depending on your location. In Ohio, for example, business owners must include the LLC name and address, the signature of the LLC’s registered agent (the person liable of the company) and the dissolution date. Once this information is sent to the secretary of state, business owners can take the next step in the LLC process.

Create and File an Operating Agreement.

After the Articles of Organization are successfully filed, you must then create an operating agreement, which outlines all legalities of how the business will operate. It covers topics such as:

• Percentages of company ownership
• Sharing profits and losses
• Company roles and management
• Accounting
• Member withdrawal
• Dissolution of the company

While operating agreements are not required in every state, they usually prove to be an excellent failsafe against owner conflicts. Operating agreements are changeable even after adoption and are best written with the help of a lawyer.

Obtain Business License and Permits.

Business owners must also obtain licensure and permits to operate. All LLCs must register with their state government. At the federal level, LLCs must acquire permits if they deal with one or more of the following:

• Agriculture
• Alcoholic beverages
• Aviation
• Firearms, ammunition and explosives
• Fish and wildlife
• Commercial fisheries
• Maritime transportation
• Mining and drilling
• Nuclear energy
• Radio and television broadcasting
• Transportation and logistics

Starting an LLC can initially seem daunting. However, completing the process is a reward in itself. Doing so allows entrepreneurs to arrive one step closer to their goal of running their own successful companies.

Additional Sources: NOLO, Bplans, Ohio Small Business Development Centers

Starting Your Business the Right Way.

Those who want to fulfill their dreams of entrepreneurship can benefit from the right training. The online MBA from the University of Findlay provides a practical curriculum in a convenient format designed to fit busy lifestyles. With four concentrations to choose from, students can tailor their education to fit their unique interests and goals.

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Entrepreneur vs Intrapreneur: Understanding The Difference

by Tricia Hussung 

The term “intrapreneur” first appeared in the 1980s when management consultants Gifford and Elizabeth Pinchot published “Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur“. In this book, they defined intrapreneurs as “dreamers who do. Those who take a hands-on responsibility for creating innovation of any kind, within a business.”

Though the term has been part of the business world for decades, there is still some confusion about how intrapreneurship relates to entrepreneurship, and vice versa. While the two terms are different, there are similarities and advantages to both approaches in practice.

What Is an Intrapreneur?

The central difference between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs is the setting in which they work. “An intrapreneur is an inside entrepreneur, or an entrepreneur within a large firm, who uses entrepreneurial skills without incurring the risks associated with those activities,” Investopedia explains.

In many cases, intrapreneurs are able to work on a special project that fosters innovation within their organization. Another key difference is that intrapreneurs don’t take on as much risk as entrepreneurs because they work within a company rather than leading ventures on their own.

According to Investopedia, “An entrepreneur is an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risks and rewards of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale.” Intrapreneurs often use entrepreneurial skills to launch a new project or initiative within their organization.

Shared Traits of Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs.

Despite their differences, the drive to innovate is something entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs share. They tend to have certain traits in common, such as the following:

Leadership: One of the most important characteristics of successful intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs is strong leadership skills. A key part of success is being able to get others onboard by motivating them to achieve a shared goal. Creative management and diverse approaches to leadership are typical among both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.

Intelligence and vision: Intelligence can mean having the right skill sets and tools to complete a project, while vision refers to recognizing trends and capitalizing on emerging opportunities. Successful entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs are able to balance passion and innovation with business acumen.

Adaptability: Both intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs are able to shift direction quickly when problems and challenges arise. Even the most promising plans and strategies can encounter roadblocks. However, adaptability means responding effectively to any situation. Making decisions to “navigate you out of trouble and allow you to thrive in environments that would sink those that aren’t adaptable” is what makes these professionals stand out, states Entrepreneur. 

Entrepreneur vs Intrapreneur: Advantages.

For intrapreneurs, working within an existing framework offers many advantages. One of the main benefits is that their organization is able to provide them with the resources they need. This can include human resources, a legal team, and financial oversight.

In addition, intrapreneurship enables professionals to utilize funding from their existing organization. There’s no need to raise capital once the project is greenlit. Intrapreneurs also have access to mentors. They are able to learn from supervisors and others within the company and utilize them as a valuable resource.

Entrepreneurship may offer more freedom because entrepreneurs are able to determine work culture, schedule, and even dress code for their business. They also have the agency to make final decisions and effect change at a high level. Though entrepreneurs take on more risk, they stand to gain the most if their venture is successful. 

Graduate Business Education at King University.

Whether you are looking to advance your career through entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship, the right education can put you on the path to success. King University’s fully online MBA prepares students for leadership positions in a variety of settings. Specializations are available in the following areas:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Healthcare Management
• Human Resource Management
• Management
• Marketing
• Leadership
• Project Management

In this program, you will learn advanced business skills related to management, decision-making, communication, and more, along with specialized coursework that prepares you with the skills you need no matter what your career goals are. Find out where an MBA from King University can take you today.

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5 Factors For Choosing The Best Web Host

You probably already know how crucial it is for you to choose the best web host for your website’s success; you do have to determine the things that you should consider when choosing the right one for your needs.

While there are several factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing a web host, here are 5 of the most important ones. For more points of consideration, MangoMatter has a decent page on website hosting for India.

Reliability.

When it comes to a web host, you need one that’s reliable. Reliability is measured by a web host’s uptime and speed. For a 99.9% uptime guarantee, you get about 40 minutes of downtime each month. The more downtime your website has, the less chances you have to gain the trust and patronage of your target market. However, you shouldn’t choose a web hosed based on uptime alone, as a log of web hosts are already meeting the increased demand for higher uptimes.

That’s why you need to look at a web host’s speed as well. Most people aren’t very patient and don’t continue on to websites that load slowly. If you want to increase the chances that people will go to your site and actually see what your business has to offer, get a web host that will allow you to load your website speedily.

Accessibility.

This refers to how easily you can manage the inner workings of your website even without the help of a professional web developer. Does the web host have a user-friendly interface that tells you exactly how you can change up the appearance of your website, manage settings like passwords, and so on? The presence of a control panel that you can easily understand is something you should consider about the accessibility of a web host server.

Customer Support.

No web host server is totally safe and foolproof, but you need to know that someone will be available to address your queries and concerns when the time comes. Whether it’s something as simple as a technical issue or something as serious as a security breach, the presence of a 24/7 customer support can influence how your website fares in these events. Apart from being available, the customer service should also be competent enough to address your concerns in a timely manner. The quality of the support matters just as much as its presence.

Some web hosts offer varying degrees of customer support availability depending on the pricing plan that clients avail of, but the truth is that customers deserve equal priority as they are all customers. Choose a web host that offers customer support regardless of how much you’re paying them.

Scalability.

While it’s important to know your short-term goals for your website, your web host server should also allow room for further growth and development somewhere down the road. And if you’re really serious about your business then expansion should be part of your long-term plan. Choose a web host that allows and support such developments to your website.

Price.

Last but not the least, consider the price. More specifically, the value you get for the price you’re paying. Don’t over or underspend. Base your purchase on your website’s needs, and determine the best web host that offers the best pricing plan that covers those needs and a little bit more for space to grow.

Conclusion.

Don’t forget to take these things into consideration when choosing the web host server for your business’s website. Remember that prevention is better than cure and that paying for more features now can save up on more costs in the long run.

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How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Your Business

Artificial intelligence is increasingly making inroads into different areas of our lives. Many of the current and proposed uses for artificial intelligence are things that only a short time ago would have sounded right at home in speculative science fiction. As more and more of these seemingly magical uses of artificial intelligence come to be realized, there is also an increasing awareness developing of just how much we can achieve with truly intelligent machines and pieces of software.

The world of business is, in many ways, rooted in math and the ways that we respond to data. For some time now computers have allowed us to perform breathtakingly complex mathematical operations in just fractions of a second. The problem is that, currently, we have to tell our computers exactly what we want them to do with our data and for the most part the software we use is only capable of following instructions. Truly intelligent applications will not only be able to identify the best ways of interpreting data, they will be able to identify why certain methods are better than others. They will gradually become more sophisticated in their ability to interpret and appropriately analyze data.

Until our artificial intelligence is that good, though, there are still numerous roles that our current AIs are capable of performing that can be a real boon to any business.

Troubleshooting.

Perhaps the main use of AI within the context of businesses is currently as a means of improving technical support and troubleshooting. A fairly basic artificial intelligence can take a query from a user, for example ‘When I try to open the app I receive error message 0012 H’. By looking for keywords in the query and then analyzing surrounding words and phrases in order to give the query context, a bot with even a basic degree of artificial intelligence can search through its database and return the most suitable piece of advice. With more sophisticated AI algorithms this same bot could create its own database of user issues and identify patterns within the data that could identify new issues and even the connection between disparate issues, where such connections exist.

Social Media.

Although many business owners currently hire virtual assistants to curate content for a business’s social media profiles, it is likely that this is also something an AI bot will be able to do in the future. By analyzing the number of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ different posts receive, an AI program can begin to understand exactly what kind of updates are of the most interest and which will generate the most publicity by being shared.

Stock Management.

Not long ago, effectively managing a business’s inventory required frequent manual examinations and recording of stock levels. This process was time consuming as well as potentially inaccurate due to human error. Most businesses now employ some kind of AI to automatically order stock when levels are low. Now that most shops run items through an electronic till as part of each sale, it is much easier to keep accurate stock levels. The potential for AI in this arena is huge; from identifying buying trends that can be used to efficiently merchandise stock, to understanding and identifying patterns in when certain stock sells. Information of this kind can be very effectively deployed by a savvy manager.

The role of AI in our lives is always growing and within the next decade it seems likely that AI and virtual assistants will be making significant contributions to the world of business.

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Driving Growth: Three Tips For Small Trucking Companies

Anyone that has found themselves working as a business leader within the world of trucking and transport will know that there is money to be made. However, in order to capitalize on this fact, it is absolutely imperative you know how to ride the crest of success and grow your operations. That is true of any business, but none more so than those within the logistics industry.

Unfortunately, growing your business tends to mean hard work, commitment, dedication, and funds. But above all this, it requires you to make the right decisions when it comes to choosing where to focus your time, money and effort. To help you with this side of things, we have come up with a list of ways you can take your small trucking company and take it to the big time.

Oh, yeah, achieving your growth goals is totally doable, it just means following a few steps.

The Right Equipment Is Crucial.

When it comes to growing your business, the thing you need to first and foremost is the right equipment to meet the added demands. Of course, this produces one major hurdle that needs leaping over – with or without grace –  and that is funding. Fortunately, there are numerous places where you can find funding as an operator. What you do with that funding is up to you, whether you buy or lease, so long as you increase your fleet. The more trucks you have your disposal the more work you can take on and the more profit you can turnover. Of course, the increase in trucks could also mean you need to improve other aspects of your business, such as your storage facilities, your security, your depot space, loading docks and cleaning equipment, not to mention the added staff. So make sure this is all accounted for in your growth plans.

Growth Comes From Diversification.

Another important factor to consider when it comes to scaling your business is the ability to diversify. By diversifying your operations you have the chance to grow your customer base by attracting a wider range of needs. It could be that you do this through your fleet expansion to allow you a more specialized offering, in which case you should check out Truck Dealers Australia and consider investing in refrigerated trucks that could help you break into the catering market. It could even be that you invest in tippers and recovery trucks too, allowing you to become a much more overarching business, which will see you cement yourself as the go-to company for all trucking needs. The more people you are able to please, the more business you are able to win. It is that simple.

Gain A Steady Stream Of Profitable Loads.

This is arguably the hardest part of running a trucking business because, while it is all well having the vehicles to grow, finding the business is not so easy. That is why you should look at using load boards and maintain a constant eye on which load boards are offering the best rates, clients, and consistencies. We know that this isn’t a viable route to go down in the long run because of the competition, meaning you tend to get rock bottom returns. However, if you use a load board as a starting point, you can then lever your contacts and start building up your relationship with different direct shippers. This is the key. Why? Because those companies that use load boards tend to make around $10,500 a month per truck, while those that have access to direct shippers make around $20,000 a month per truck. That is a substantial difference and gives you the chance to keep growing.

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Startups – Beware The Changing Palo Alto Investment Model

by Germán Montoya is the Chief Strategy and Creative Officer at Rokk3r Labs

Venture Capitalism is changing. Almost synonymous with this startup-focused era, the once indomitable VC investor sector is changing and adapting to deal with the changing nature of entrepreneurship.

Traditionally, VC investors would invest $X million in a startup for a certain percentage of equity, decision making rights, and the power to block things they didn’t agree with. As an industry, VC essentially acts as a broker between investment banks, who can’t invest in risky startups due to laws on loan interest, and entrepreneurs who desperately need capital.

However, this investment model is starting to evolve. Due to lowering capital costs, global competition that spans industries and continents, quicker market validations, and facilitated iteration, the nature of the investment game has changed. Startups, naturally, need to be aware of how these changes affect the current investment environment and how they can be leveraged to their advantage. .

Cheaper capital costs.

Just like everything else, VC investment is subject to the whims of supply and demand. Currently, we are experiencing an abundance of available capital as emerging economies jump feet first into the VC game. As it happens, in the last 30 years, available capital has tripled to stand at roughly 10 times global GDP. Subsequently, the price of capital has plummeted and with it, borrowing costs.

This has massively incentivized swathes of organizations to start investing in startups and entrepreneurship. Now, investment in innovation is prized above and beyond efficiency savings as a means of increasing profit margins. What this translates into is that traditional VC investors must share investment opportunities with corporations. Startups are increasingly seen as a new asset class for big businesses. In this new breed of Corporate VC, 711, General Motors, and Johnson & Johnson – as well as many more – all boast VC funds that focus on startup investment.

The influx of large corporations to the venture capital space has only enhanced funding opportunities for startups and startups no longer need to have their sights solely focused on venture capitalists.

Extinct by example?

To an extent, VC success has contributed to the situation we currently face. VC investors were once billed as the mavericks, the risk takers that no one else would follow in pumping money into unknown businesses and industries. That has now changed for good. Mid-sized VC firms are increasingly being squeezed by large corporations and private equity firms that are following VCs’ timeless example and starting to take increasing risk.

The most pressing advantage for startups, in this, is an increased number of options when it comes to staying alive in the early days of the company. This can even include angel investing, and platforms like AngelList and Crowdfunder have put new vigor – and hope – into early stage startups. Now, startups no longer have to hold out for a Series A investment from a VC, infusion of capital can now come earlier, faster, and easier. This is boosting access and reach for entrepreneurs to the global pot of available funding.

Expanding tech talent.

It’s an aging adage but it’s true; tech talent can increasingly be found outside of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. As well as hubs of tech innovation springing up all over the United States – locations in Utah and Colorado, for example – the world is also getting behind tech.

All over the world, cities like Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, London, Singapore, and countless others are closing in on Silicon Valley’s previously untouchable position. As access to the internet increases from the current 3.5 billion people to the predicted eight billion in a few years, startups are starting to appear in places inside the developing world. For example, Silicon Savannah – the name given to Nairobi’s (Kenya) growing tech scene – and Chilecon Valley, found in Chile’s capital, Santiago, demonstrate the global appetite for tech entrepreneurship.

As startup hubs expand, there are increasing numbers of accelerators, too. They have a growing presence all over the world, including online. This expanding talent – and the subsequent drivers behind it – offer opportunities for startups to receive investment far beyond the traditional remits of VC that were established some three decades ago.

Changing times.

The traditional VC model has changed. Cheaper capital and more competition forces investors to offer more attractive deals to startups. Gone are the days when VCs got to call all of the shots. However, the global expansion of tech, the booming startup hubs all over the world and so forth, mean that there are increasing opportunities for all involved. The lower costs of capital also mean that startups are less risky bets, allowing for more diversification among portfolios. Startups should leverage these changes in venture capital to their advantage.

Germán Montoya is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy and Creative Officer at Rokk3r Labs. He sets, communicates and executes the strategic direction of Rokk3r Labs and its portfolio companies. As a creative leader, Germán is responsible for developing new and engaging ways to enhance value and recognition of the Rokk3r Labs brand globally. Germán is also Founding Partner of Rokk3r Fuel, Rokk3r Labs’ first global venture capital fund.

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Four Ways Knowledge-Based Software Know How To Create A Happier Customer

Once in a while a product comes along that is just so effective, even a basic explanation of what it can do ends up sounding like an infomercial. For instance:

“Want to increase customer engagement? Improve customer experience? Increase conversions? How about reduce the rage aimed at your customer service reps? Then your organization needs a knowledge base software, one of the most essential solutions on the market.”

However, unlike a self-coiling hose that promises to never snag and definitely snags by the third time it’s put away in a shed, knowledge based software delivers on all customer engagement and experience promises and then some.

What it’s all about.

Knowledge based software is a solution that creates a centralized, organization-wide base of, well, knowledge. A knowledge base software, a good one that is, will gather up all of your content, FAQs, customer queries and every other question entered into the system as well as the relevant answers to build its own ever-expanding knowledge base using artificial intelligence. It can then serve up requested information instantly to customers over a variety of communication channels as well as provide instant answers to customer service reps, enabling a faster and more satisfying customer experience.

Not only is knowledge based software an efficient dispensary of nearly all a business’s information, it also uses a range of analytical tools to provide an organization with insights that enable immediate, dynamic action when it comes to things like information quality, sales funnels and marketing campaigns.

That’s what knowledge based software does in general, but here’s what it can do for organizations looking to attract customers and keep them by building brand loyalty through an optimal customer experience.

1. What you want to do: increase engagement by speaking directly to each customer.

When potential customers land on a company’s website or social media, they buckle down for the search – hunting around for information relevant to their specific needs and wants. This can mean jumping from social media to website, from menu to menu, scrolling through products, trying to figure out shipping costs to their location, and other tasks generally filed under ‘irritating things.’

How knowledge based software gets it done: When selecting a knowledge base software, get one that integrates with your customer relationship management software. This will allow for answers that are automatically personalized based on geolocation, language and past purchases and interactions. Hello cross-selling and upselling, and hello to a happier customer that has to expend less effort to find what he or she might be looking for. As digital customer service solution provider Nanorep points out in their guide to the customer engagement benefits of internal knowledge base software, 94% of customers that have a low-effort experience while be repeat purchasers from that company.

2. What you want to do: improve the customer experience by making information easily available.

Your customers are busy and their time cannot be wasted, especially not by content that sort of answers their questions, but not really, or by a fruitless search for an essential piece of information that does not seem to exist. When customers can’t locate what they want, they’ll go looking for a competing company, and that is something they will definitely find.

How knowledge based software gets it done: As touched on above, knowledge base software isn’t just a big efficient encyclopedia of your company’s knowledge – it also provides actionable insights. By gathering instant feedback from your customers on the answers provided for their questions, a knowledge base software identifies knowledge gaps or information that just isn’t good enough, allowing your company to take corrective action as quickly as you’d like.

3. What you want to do: increase conversions without demanding more from sales and marketing,

With all the competition for sales and conversions, one simple fact can get lost: customers are very often ready to give you money. If a customer is checking to see if a hotel is pet-friendly or a rice flour is certified gluten-free, for example, that customer could be very close to pulling the trigger if they get the answer they’re looking for. So why not get them from answer to action faster?

How knowledge based software gets it done: A knowledge base solution developed with machine learning will integrate relevant calls-to-action within the answers being provided by the knowledge base. “Yes, we are pleased to offer pet-friendly rooms for your four-legged family members. Click here to make a reservation.” This effectively eliminates the steps that give people time to hem, haw and keep on browsing and gets them right to converting.

What you want to do: give your customers and customer service reps an easier support experience.

Even customers who have all the understanding in the world for what customer service employees go through on a daily basis would have to admit it’s blood-boiling to explain an issue to an agent only to be told the issue will have to be escalated…to a brand new agent with zero knowledge of the situation. Oh look, it’s square one again.

How knowledge based software gets it done: They’re called personalized escalation paths, and they are here to solve so many problems. These paths can be defined within the knowledge base software to automatically route specific customer support issues to the agents with the skill sets and permissions necessary to resolve those issues. Bonus: information on the issue will be recorded during the initial customer contact and made available to the agent to whom it is routed, eliminating the need for a customer to re-explain themselves. These escalation paths cut down on customer frustration (and cut down on the terse words agents may receive) while also hacking away at wait times. A more pleasant experience all-over.

Great expectations.

As much as explaining knowledge based software can come off like a lofty infomercial script, there is a stark difference between this software and most if not all infomercial products, which is that it actually works. Customers now are more demanding than ever, and if you don’t meet their expectations, they can find a company that will with the tap of their fingertips, so put a knowledge base software to work, and meet and exceed those expectations.

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This Is Why You Should Start A Subscription Box Business

by Stefan Pretty, founder of Subbly

Subscription business models have been around for a pretty long time, but thanks to modern technology, this model has evolved from milk or newspapers delivery to a versatile eCommerce experience.

One characteristic remains: the products subscription businesses can provide, ranging from magazine subscriptions to literally anything, can appear on a customer’s doorstep every day, week, month or year.

As a starting entrepreneur, you might wonder: why on earth would I want to start a subscription (box) business? The term itself sounds confusing, so should I even bother?

Subscription business brings recurring revenue.

There are not many business models that provide such freedom and steady growth as a sub-segment of eCommerce – subscription business. As an example, my personal favorite and the most popular subscription box model, is a true example of the lifestyle business. The secret is hidden in the subscription fee your customers will be paying for the recurring delivery of, well, anything imaginable really.

It is all about turning a single purchase decision into a repetitive (daily, weekly or monthly) purchase behaviour to increase that critical lifetime value (LTV). This allows you to enjoy a constant source of incoming revenue, as long as you’re keeping the subscribers satisfied (that is of course essential). More importantly, a subscription business model enables you to manage the cash flow, upgrade your business planning and optimize metrics such as churn rates, the lifetime value of a customer, expansion, and more.

It is a bootstrappable model.

In most cases, urgency and overwhelm can create a lot of stress. This is not the case with subscriptions, because your customers are actually expecting to wait for days, even weeks until their package arrives! A time gap like this one, in a combination with the positive cash flow, helps you manage the ordering, packaging, and paying without stress. Plus, starting an online business of course has it’s costs, but with a multitude of solutions out there (with Subbly being one of them) you don’t need to spend thousands on software development or marketing to validate your business idea. Through customer acquisition, you’ll work to grow the revenue and then, use that revenue to cover operational costs. It’s clear why positive cash flow is a holy grail of lifestyle businesses, but is there more to it?

SubCom offers ultimate flexibility.

Often, you can see a subscription business owner at a beach, enjoying a cocktail on a workday. Listen, the true power of SubCom, especially subscription box business, lies in flexibility. There is more to positive cash flow created by subscriptions, than large time margins and solved operational costs.

Meaning, if you want, you can pick a month and reinvest all your profits to just grow the business during that period of time. The next month, you’re free to hit the brakes on marketing efforts and focus on logistics or (and this is the best part) just take the money home to unwind a bit. Of course I advocate and recommend you reinvest and let the pay day happen later when the yield is even greater!

What we’re all yearning for as entrepreneurs is flexibility and decision-making freedom. This is why the subscription business model has lately been experiencing dramatic growth. And rest assured that any young entrepreneur with a vision will not miss that opportunity.

Conclusion.

Subscription eCommerce, or SubCom for short, is simple and can be easily used as a lifestyle business. As a rising entrepreneur yourself, you’re probably aware that just about anything can be sold on Internet, so why couldn’t it be a subscription? Of course it should have demand and the business idea be validated, but there is plenty of opportunity with this model still.

In my humble opinion, the beauty of subscription (box) business is that you do not need regular office hours, nor an office at all. Simply, pick amazing products, package and advertise them nicely, send them out and you’re done for a month. Most of these operations are perfectly doable in the coziness of your own home.

Now, if you’re thinking about where to start, some the most popular niches for subscription boxes you could explore are:

1. Fashion
2. Organic food
3. Kids, Crafts and Activities
4. Eco products

With all the tools available, including our own subscription website software platform, it’s straightforward easy to start a subscription based business – all you need is a little cash and a creative, service-focused mindset. And a cocktail, of course.

 

Stefan Pretty is the founder of Subbly, an ecommerce (management) platform for subscription based businesses. Subbly’s mission is to make running a Subbox business as easy as possible, providing tools and resources for rising subscription entrepreneurs all across the world. Stefan is focused on bootstrapping and sustainability through profitability, and devoted to sharing lean business principles with future founders through webinars and interviews.

 

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Creating A Successful Brand Ambassador Program

by Brian Engard

Word-of-mouth marketing remains one of the most effective tools at a company’s disposal; 74 percent of consumers identify word of mouth as one of their top points of influence. Rather than hoping word-of-mouth marketing occurs organically, many companies are taking matters into their own hands by creating brand ambassador programs.

A brand ambassador program takes advantage of the passion of your most enthusiastic fans. By giving them exclusive benefits and the autonomy to carry your message to consumers, you can create a word-of-mouth marketing campaign that thrives for years to come.

Successful Brand Ambassador Programs.

Lululemon

Lululemon does more than sell athletic gearThe company’s target audience is youthful, active, vibrant and hip, and its brand ambassador program reflects this. Lululemon’s brand ambassadors have the kind of lifestyle the company encourages, and they do so in a public way. In return, Lululemon rewards them with autonomy, free products and, most importantly, recognition.

Because the brand ambassadors reinforce the company’s mission and values, Lululemon’s audience can relate to them. Lululemon involves athletes specifically as ambassadors, ensuring its products will be used in a context that makes sense and looks good.

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark has long been a big name in bourbon, and the company works hard to stay that way. Its ambassador program, the Embassy, achieves this by treating its members as VIPs. Members of the Embassy get a variety of exclusive perks like business cards and access to special tastings; they even get their name burned into the side of a bourbon barrel.

In exchange, members of the Embassy are knowledgeable about Maker’s Mark bourbon, talk about it frequently and recommend it to everyone. The ambassador program creates a level of enthusiasm and loyalty for the brand that members feel good about passing on, turning people into Maker’s Mark customers or even recruiting more members for the Embassy.

Mercedes-Benz

Luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz enjoy exceptionally loyal owners. To connect to them, Mercedes-Benz officially sponsors a number of car clubs throughout Europe, providing members with Mercedes-Benz membership cards. Members gain access to the Mercedes-Benz museum, discounts at a variety of locations and even exclusive trips with the company. In addition, members get discounts on parts and maintenance, making them more likely to keep buying Mercedes-Benz cars.

Because Mercedes-Benz owners are often seen driving their cars, that simple act creates brand awareness for the company. Because club members are treated well and given exclusive benefits, they’re likely to extol the virtues of Mercedes-Benz cars to those they meet.

How to Create a Successful Brand Ambassador Program.

According to brand ambassador software provider Upward Labs, brands should follow several key steps when creating a brand ambassador program:

Set Realistic Goals

Knowing what you want to achieve with your brand ambassador program is critical and informs how you structure and implement it. If you want more brand awareness, that requires a different structure and different incentives than a brand ambassador program designed to create blog or social media content. Come up with one or two specific, measurable goals you want to achieve.

Define Program Structure

What do your ambassadors get in return for their service? What do you call them? How will you support and reward them? Outline a plan for the program. Get as specific as you can about how it will work, how you’ll deal with expected issues and how your ambassadors will interact with the program.

Define “Value”

What does success look like? Know the metrics you’ll use to measure the program and determine whether it’s providing value. Think about this from the ambassadors’ perspective, too: Are you providing value to them? Brand ambassadors are so passionate about your company that they’re willing to do work on their own time to help you succeed. Are you rewarding their behavior in a way that makes them feel valued?

Highlight Community Members

Make sure you recognize specific members of the ambassador community for their efforts. This has more than one purpose. First, it makes the ambassadors feel like they’re getting recognition for a job well-done. Second, it allows you to highlight someone who’s modeling behavior you want to see more often. Finally, highlighting community members helps spread brand awareness. The ambassador and other members of the community will share the story, bringing it to the people in their circles.

Allow Community Control

Giving brand ambassadors control over how they promote your company not only inspires creativity, but also gives them a sense of ownership and investment in the company. Giving a non-employee control over your message can be scary, but it implies trust. A brand ambassador who feels trusted is more likely to have positive feelings about your company and spread the word. You can learn about marketing strategies, such as brand ambassador programs, through an online degree in business management.

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