Don’t Let The Mountain Get In Your Way, Or Your Boss

by Laleh Hancock, founder and CEO of Belapemo

We all encounter stumbling blocks in our lives and careers, but what action do you take when those barriers becomes an impediment to your success or happiness?

What if you could stop making anything or anyone bigger than you and create beyond it all with ease? No matter if your particular ‘mountain’ to overcome is a boss who doesn’t acknowledge your value, or a particular area in your own business that has you stumped and frustrated, you can out-create that thing or person.

Is it really a mountain, or a mole-hill?

One of the first things I say to clients who feel frustrated or stuck in their business or career, with their perceived obstacle, is: “Get out of your head.” Have you ever noticed that the more you think about a problem, the bigger it gets?

I have a client, Frank, whose biggest problem was with actual mountains. He is a high-achieving executive, and a cyclist who hated climbing hills and did not feel strong enough to conquer the upward terrain. It became such a sticking point for him, that he would mentally defeat himself long before the race, inevitably struggling when he got to the inclines. He was constantly focused on trying to solve his looming problem and it just got bigger in his mind.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the issue is never as big in real life as it is in your head.

If you truly desire for nothing and no-one to get in your way, stop thinking about your problem. Instead, ask a question: “If I wasn’t fixated on my problem, what possibilities might I see beyond this?” Take a step back, widen your focus, allow yourself to consider possibilities other than the worst-case scenario might actually exist!

Whatever (and whomever) you make most significant – rules.

At one point I asked Frank, “Are you willing to be bigger than the mountain?” His reply was, “Well obviously that’s impossible – the mountain is bigger than me!” I then asked him, “What if it wasn’t? What would you do or be different if you knew you could be bigger than the mountain?”

If you work in a situation with a difficult boss, you could easily conclude that because he or she is in a ‘higher’ position within the business, they are more significant or more powerful, but what if they’re not?  What if you are making this person the significant element only by choosing to see it that way?  What would change if you altered your point of view?

You can choose to let yourself be helpless, where you are always the insignificant one; or you can be a leader, where you never assume anyone or anything is greater or lesser than you.

Until you can see the greater possibilities, you will only see the challenges. As a leader, you must be willing to explore every possibility.

If you realized that nothing and no-one in your life was greater than you – what would you actually choose?

Frank realized that while he was willing to be a leader in many areas of his life, in this situation, he’d had not learned how to conquer the climb ahead. Once he realized that by making the mountain more significant he had given up being a leader, he needed to change it.  He began enjoying the challenge of the mountains, improved his times on the inclines, and started winning first and second places in the races!

Turn your obstacle into opportunities.

What if your biggest hurdle could be your greatest springboard? Even if it is your boss?

The golden key to turning even your biggest obstacles into opportunities is to ask questions that get you to look at your situation from a completely different angle:

• If this wasn’t significant, how could I use this to my advantage instead?
• What other options are available here that I haven’t yet considered?
• Who or what has information and /or expertise that can assist me with this matter?
• If I flip this on its head, or turned it 180 degrees, what possibility or opportunity could this be?

If you have a boss who won’t acknowledge your contribution or put you forward for promotion – you could ask questions like: who or what could you add to your life that would assist you to leverage your capacities?  Are there opportunities both in your current position and elsewhere where your contribution can be better received? And how can you use the boss you currently have to your advantage in ways you might not have considered before?

Start asking more questions. Put your attention on possibilities, not problems. When you make the mountain significant, you will always stand in its shadow. When you are willing to acknowledge nothing is greater than you – that is where the fun begins!

 

Laleh Hancock, founder and CEO of Belapemo, is a transformational facilitator and business coach with more than 25 years of experience building companies and individuals that win. As a Certified Facilitator for Access Consciousness, Laleh facilitates specialty classes including a Right Riches for You, a specialty program of Access Consciousness.

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6 Costly Employment Contract Mistakes To Avoid

Many startups make the mistake of not establishing a proper legal structure right off the bat. However, getting off on the right foot means that you need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s in every aspect of the business — including contracts — to prevent potentially costly problems down the road.

One of the key areas in which you need to focus is on employment contracts. When you hire others to work for you, employment contracts are vital to outlining what is expected of employees, the terms of their employment, company policies, ownership of intellectual property, and certain financial agreements. Without these contracts, should the relationship between you and an employee be severed, you could find yourself facing a lawsuit — and significant losses when you have to pay damages to a former employee.

Despite the importance of employee contracts, many startups make certain common mistakes with them. As you develop your contracting processes and procedures, keep these mistakes in mind so you don’t make them and land in hot water later.

1. Not Creating Employment Contracts at All.

Some businesses assume that drafting a written offer letter is enough, that it covers the entire agreement between the employer and the employee. However, most offer letters don’t cover everything that should be included in an employment contract, nor do they represent a binding agreement between both parties. Therefore, you must develop a specific employment contract that addresses all of the important factors in the employment agreement as well as any negotiated clauses that can be signed by both parties. Contract management software can speed this process, allowing you to use templates and negotiation tools to quickly draw up these typical documents.

2. Using the Same Contract for All Employees.

Most companies have a variety of different employee types, including full-time, part-time, temporary, and contract workers. Because the laws and regulations governing each of these employee types is different, and because each employee type is likely to have different contract terms, you cannot use the same employment contract for each. Should questions arise in the future, using the wrong terminology on a contract (calling someone a consultant when they are actually an employee, for example) could nullify the agreement and lead a court to award damages to an employee. If you have different classes of employees, you need different contracts for each of them.

3. Not Differentiating Between Employment Contracts and Employment Policies.

Some employment contracts do include clauses that could be considered employment policy issues, such as outlining the hours to be worked or dress codes. However, a contract is primarily designed to outline the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and the employee, not cover every single rule and regulation governing day-to-day operations. More to the point, the provisions of a contract are legally enforceable and binding, and cannot be changed without both parties agreeing in writing. Therefore, employers need to maintain separate employee policies, which offer more flexibility while still outlining how the business will be run. For example, while a contract might specify that an employee will have access to a company mobile device for work purposes, a policy will outline how the device can be used. Making that a policy ensures that the company can make chances that are in line with current industry standards.

4. Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete Clauses That Are Too Broad.

One of the most common problems with employment contracts is that these clauses do not specifically outline what constitutes confidential information or disclosure, or includes language that could potentially prevent an employee from earning a living. While you have a right to protect your business, you cannot do so in a way that is harmful to an individual. In other words, you can prohibit employees from going to work for a direct competitor, but you cannot ban them from working within the industry as a whole.

5. Ignoring Current Laws and Regulations.

Employment law is constantly changing, making it imperative for employers to continually revise employment contracts to ensure compliance with the most up-to-date laws and regulations. Contract terms that are not in compliance with the law can and will be nullified in court, so stay abreast of current regulations.

6. Not Updating Employment Contracts.

Finally, employment contracts are not static documents that should be filed away and forgotten. Contracts should be reviewed annually and revised to reflect current laws, policies, and changes in employment status or responsibilities. Failing to do so could create costly loopholes should there be a lawsuit.

Contracting is complex, and should always involve legal counsel to ensure it is correct. Use the tools you have available to you and avoid these mistakes and you will have one less thing to worry about as your launch your startup.

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Bring Your Business Into The Digital Age

by Jesse Wood, CEO of eFileCabinet

Have you pondered the idea of an entirely paperless office, could you settle for the “less paper” office? It’s not merely a goal, it’s a fact and it is being implemented by many businesses. If it’s possible to envision your entire office with less paper, the time to bring your workplace into the electronic age is now.

It will require commitment and some planning, but don’t fret we will make it seamless. Our white-glove customer service will guide you through the entire process, step by step.

Search and Store, mastering the basics.

Mastering document management search and store features is one of the first steps in effectively leveraging a document management solution. In fact, successful utilization of these systems hinges on mastering its more basic components.

We’ll begin by assessing some of the cloud-based document management functions of these solutions.

For instance, SecureDrawer can integrate with both Desktop and Online products, showcasing how the cloud harnesses a growing amount of bandwidth.

The Speed of Information Drives Document Management Search and Store Success.

The speed of information is what drives success.

That is why Google is the busiest site on the internet. It is the ultimate search engine. But a document management system (DMS) is the equivalent of Google for document search within an organization. That’s right, a DMS is to files what Google is to websites.

With a document management system, you can search by names (files folders or drawers), profiles all within the OCR engine.  Together with a DMS, you don’t have to go to cabinets or drawers or folders or subfolders to find documents again, but you simply search by these terms, if you wish.

As is true for a Google search, you can look for a title of a record and find it almost instantly.

You can also search via indexing and OCR.  You are creating a digital copy of document if you scan a physical piece of paper, and when that happens, a DMS turns it into a pdf.

The computer doesn’t recognize what’s contained in the document until a very advanced and powerful software is run, called OCR. Once that’s happens, it becomes searchable in the OCR engine. (zonal OCR is different). This is an enormous part of Document Management Store and Search features.

Then, by indexing it you can find documents that contain certain words within the document management solution.

Zonal OCR helps us identify areas within the document, which are all the same. But the unique identifiers are the information contained in the fields.

Within document management search and store features, you can leverage the OCR confidence of certain fields.

For instance, if you know the form is a W-2, because you understand the particular fields that are going to be in that w-2). The field or text identification is the thing that simplifies storage and business and also assists with all the routing of documents. This eliminates the need for manual data entry.

This document management search and store feature can save bundles of time just by itself for small to mid-sized organizations.

Pretend you’re an enrolled agent (EA) and one of your clients’ last name is Smith. And you want smith’s w-2. Say for some reason you forget his name, but you remember the street he lives on, which is Briarwood.

If you hunt briarwood, you’re going to have the ability to detect his w-2 because of the metadata fields, even if the term briarwood isn’t in the pdf document’s name. It found it through the metadata of this record not the information contained within the document’s profile.

The power of Full Text Search.

If you type in Briarwood and click full text search, the w-2 will still come up. If you left click on it the highlighted word you searched for will come up.

This is full text search. Full text search lets you look inside documents and gives you a result in the HTML 5 viewing pane with documents that have words you searched for inside them, not just in their titles.

Name search: click on a cabinet, and then a drawer, say you’re looking for George Washington’s Tax return.  Then go to search box and type in tax return, then click the box beneath the search bar that says “search in current container.” It then retrieves the matched documents for you to view in the previewer.

Watched Folders: Admin Functionality Only.

Watched folders are an effective workaround for administrators of the document management solution, and serve the organization in maximizing document management search and store capacities.

The best practice for this feature is to have a dedicated scanner to your computer. If you do not have that, admins can set up watched folders that you can scan in to, and they’ll be directly mapped into the document management solution.

 

Jesse Wood is the CEO of document management software vendor, eFileCabinet. Founded in 2001, eFileCabinet, Inc. began as a cutting-edge tool to digitally store records in accounting firms. As it grew in popularity, eFileCabinet developed into a full-fledged electronic document management solution designed to help organizations automate redundant processes, ensure security, and solve common office problems.

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4 Tips To Help Startups Grow Your SEO Client Base

by Itamar Gero, founder and CEO of SEOReseller.com 

Each day is an opportunity for SEO agencies and experts to peddle their services to businesses who aim for online marketing success and have the money for it.

If you’re about to embark on growing your SEO agency, you’ll quickly find yourself in the thick of this competition.

First, let me point out that there are many ways to get ahead. That is to say these are not the only ways, just that they’re the ones that have worked for us. They’re not only effective at winning new clients, but also at winning the right kinds of clients.

I’m talking about the people who respect, trust and value your advice and are a breeze to work with. This is where you will perform best and achieve the best results.

So, how do you find these people? It starts with looking at your initial market, and then establishing trust and credibility.

Get Your Foot in the Door.

The first step to our approach is to examine and evaluate your initial market – who do you plan to sell your SEO services to? You can build your initial market in two ways: focusing on a niche or targeting businesses that already have digital marketing services.

Here’s how each approach would benefit you:

• Delve into Niche Marketing (and Go Local).

Over the years, my company has had the fortune of working with thousands of agencies and marketing professionals, coming from different locations and backgrounds.

I noticed that the most successful agencies have one thing in common: they know how to market not just their clients, but themselves. They invest in marketing their own brand and focus on a specific niche, either by industry, location, or business size.

Targeting a niche means cornering the market so you can embark on a course of effective and deliberate growth. And often, that entails establishing a local presence that makes it easy for your prospects to find you and shake your hand. Ask yourself if your potential SEO clients are competing nationally or locally. For agencies that are just starting out, the local market is often the best place to start. Start local, and then perhaps later, when you have the capacity to perform more, grow from there.

• Target Businesses with an Incomplete Digital Marketing.

Some businesses have an optimized website, but no off-page SEO in place. Others are investing in social media, and not much else. Targeting businesses with a digital marketing budget is often the practical approach. If they have an existing provider and are keen enough to mention it over the phone, it’s all too likely that they’re not open to change. Maybe because they’re comfortable with their current provider or don’t feel compelled to switch agencies.

You can either change their mind by being a more effective salesman or providing better results. Show the results you’re getting from your methodology and leverage the premium experience you can offer with the technology you have.

• Positioning.

The more specific, exact, and differentiated your positioning is, and the more clients you’ll be honest with by stating exactly how much value you can provide them – the easier it will be to attract and close the right clients.

Quite often, it’s a hard concept to fully embrace. After all, if you’re saying no to 70% of the people who approach you (because you can’t provide what they’re asking for), then you must be saying no to 70% of potential profit, right?

Wrong. The more specific you make your positioning, the easier it will be to attract your best buyers and your most ideal clients. It allows you to laser-focus your marketing efforts, and then later, your pitches.

If you’re a dental practice, you’re more likely to be interested in working with an agency with the tagline “Attract New Patients – We do SEO for Dentists and Dental Professionals”, than a tagline that reads, “John’s SEO Firm – We do SEO for everyone.”

• Being on the Ground.

To build your initial market and get leads, go where your prospects are.

• Get Referrals – It goes without saying that the best clients are from direct referrals by happy, existing clients. It’s one of the easiest, more surefire ways to close a prospect.
• Attend Local Events – Your presence in local events presents opportunities to meet potential clients, attract leads, and build your reputation. There are resources that make it easier to find events expos, or trade shows in your area. I recommend EventBrite and Facebook.
• Conduct Workshops – Free workshops offer value to prospects outright. The workshops present a great opportunity to convince businesses that are unfamiliar with the industry to invest in your services.

It’s All About Trust.

If you’re targeting businesses that have digital marketing but have had bad experience with another provider – it’s no longer about selling SEO as a service, but selling you.

These clients already understand the value of SEO. What they need to know is if you’re a provider that they can trust. This presents an excellent opportunity to demonstrate expertise and leverage trust signals in order to set yourself apart from other providers.

Keep in mind that clients are adamant about not hiring an agency that badmouths other companies, so be careful not to speak ill of a previous provider or put the client in a negative mindset.

Instead, focus on your agency’s strengths. It may be on-page optimization, link building, content development, or a combination of these aspects. Focus on one strength at a time to avoid over-promising and under-delivering.

The goal is to show you are an expert at what you do, so that means going beyond simply telling – but showing. You can achieve this by providing clients with resources and collaterals, such as SEO reports and case studies.

• SEO Reports – Providing reports that highlight key areas is a testament to how solid your strategies are.
• Case Studies – Publishing case studies supports the effectiveness of your methodology and gives SEO prospects and existing clients assurance in your service.

Automate What You Can.

Time is of the essence, especially when you’re a business that’s supposed to focus on getting more clients. Don’t do in five hours when you can finish in 6 minutes. In my agency, my team uses a suite of SEO tools to make their jobs easier and their time more productive. These are some of the tools we use for our SEO campaigns:

Keyword Research

• Semrush
• Ahrefs
• Keyword Planner (AdWords)
• Moz Keyword Explorer

Site Audit

• Screaming Frog
• OpenSite Explorer
• SEOQuake

Backlink Analysis

• Ahrefs
• SEMRush
• Majestic SEO

PageSpeed

• PageSpeed Insights
• Think with Google

Pull Up a Contract.

Although it might be tempting to seal a deal with nothing more than a handshake, you still need to find a way to secure your cashflow. Have a contact ready when you’ve made the sale. Putting agreements on paper projects professionalism, a quality that can’t afford to be understated for a company that’s only starting out.

More importantly, a contract is a show of commitment. Offering your service on a contract basis eliminates some of fear and second-guessing that many freelancers face every day.

Determine the minimum length of contract that works best for you. SEO is a long-term process that takes time to generate results. SEO clients usually don’t leave (or stay) based on execution of tasks, but rather based on what the campaign has achieved (or hasn’t achieved) so far.

Some firms require a minimum of 6 to 12 months, with no possibility of cancellation within that period. If 6 months feels too long, then a month is too short. You can go somewhere in the middle. A 3-month minimum contract can give you enough time to show progress in SEO efforts, and provide the type of results that the client is expecting.

Conclusion.

In summary, to build your client base, you need to:

• Target the right niche
• Target businesses with incomplete digital marketing
• Have an exact, specific positioning
• Go where your prospects are (local seminars, events, conferences)
• Establish expertise and leverage whatever tools you have at your disposal
• Automate, automate, automate
• Prepare a contract

Being able to do and promise all of these, you’ll be guaranteeing value – which is ultimately what all clients want to hear when you’re making that pitch. With a strong value proposition, you’ll be steps ahead and on your way to building bridges with SEO prospects and becoming a stronghold in the digital arena.

It’s not an overnight endeavor – building your client base is a long, hard trek. But once the momentum starts, the journey can be rewarding.

 

Itamar Gero is the founder and CEO of SEOReseller.com, a White Label SEOdigital marketing solutions provider that empowers agencies — and their local business clientele — all over the world. When he isn’t working, he’s traveling the world, meditating, or dreaming (in code).

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What You Should Cover When Employees Travel

Most travelers forgo the option to purchase travel insurance. But, as a business owner, if your employees are routine travelers, having travel insurance offers peace of mind in the event that travel plans don’t go as intended. With travel insurance, there are all sorts of coverage options. Want to provide coverage for your employees but don’t know what should be part of the insurance you select?

Keep reading for 5 scenarios you’ll want to cover when your employees travel.

1. Trip Cancellation & Interruption.

Trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage are the most common and most usable parts of travel insurance. Business trips often cost thousands of dollars. Travel can be unpredictable. From weather to a lack of airline employees, there are all sorts of factors that can interrupt or cancel travel plans. But, for a fraction of the cost of a business trip, you can rest assured that your travel investment is protected. Trip cancellation and interruption coverage applies if:

• Missed flight or emergency flight for reasons outside of control, such as weather, airport strike, etc.
• Travel cannot occur because of layoff, sickness, death, or some other acceptable reason
• The tour company goes out of business

If one of your employees fall sick days before the trip and can no longer attend, the trip can be rebooked or cancelled with minimal loss of funds. This type of coverage makes most sense if you’re paying high upfront costs, especially when the costs aren’t typically reimbursed or if there’s high cancellation fees.

2. Flight Delays & Cancellations.

Flight schedules can change a week before a business trip or the day of. Since travel delays and cancellations can interrupt the entire trip, this type of coverage is a must. Travel delay coverage offers reimbursement for meals and hotel expenses that are incurred because of a delayed departure or return flight. Commonly covered travel delay reasons include:

• Natural disasters
• Inclement and severe weather
• Lost or stolen passport, money, or travel documents
• Airline strikes

Fly American Airlines? Be well aware of the American Airlines flight delay policy (or whichever airline that you’ve selected). More often than not, airlines aren’t required to reimburse travelers for cancelled or delayed flights. With flight delay or cancellation coverage, you don’t need to worry about losing the money you paid towards flights.

3. Medical Coverage.

Before purchasing medical coverage through travel insurance, it’s best to check with your company’s health insurer to determine what’s covered under the existing health plan. Most U.S. health insurance companies provide coverage throughout the country as well as overseas, but not all do. For example, Medicare does not cover foreign medical bills or hospital stays.

If your existing health plan does offer international coverage, it may still make sense to purchase coverage through travel insurance. This would serve as supplemental coverage that can be used for other expenses like deductibles.

4. Loss & Theft Protection.

No one is safe from theft, especially when traveling. Loss and theft can be extremely expensive, especially when considering items that are often brought along with business travel. Laptops, smartphones, and tablets are very expensive to replace. In the event of loss or theft, travel insurance can cover the value of stolen or lost items. In order for this type of coverage to be useful, it’s important to have a running list of what items your employees are taking with them on the trip. Create an itemized inventory that provides a listing of high-value items along with their value and purchase cost. It’s also helpful to take pictures of each item in the event that something is stolen.

Luggage Insurance.

Each year thousands of bags and luggage go missing. If luggage is delayed, lost, or damaged, you’ll want to know that your employees are covered. The cost of replacing lost luggage, to include the loss of clothing, shoes, and jewelry, can be quite expensive. Luggage can contain some pretty high-value items, including clothing, shoes, and jewelry.

To ensure your employees can be reimbursed in the event of delayed, lost, or damaged luggage, ask each of them to create an inventory of their items. This should include the cost of the luggage as well as the value of the items inside of the baggage. This will allow employees to submit a thorough claim in the event of a luggage issue.

Conclusion.

As with any type of insurance, there are a lot of coverage options when it comes to travel insurance. If you want to ensure your employees are fully covered no matter when or where they travel, ensure the 6 scenarios above are available in your plan.

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Getting Paid 101: How Startups Should Accept Payments

You’ve stressed about your startup’s name; you’ve fretted about funding; you’ve worried and worried about your workplace and workforce — but not until now have you even thought about how you’ll get paid. The primary goal of any business is to make money, but if you don’t have a system for accepting payments, there is no way you can be successful.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take much work to receive payments, which means you haven’t yet made a massive, startup-destroying mistake. This guide can help you through the basic process of setting up your business to receive essential payments — and point you toward a few less obvious payment-related considerations.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Receiving Payments.

In the past, you could hang your shingle in front of your house and start accepting coin for your work. It takes a bit more effort to accept payments in the Digital Age, but the following guide should help your business accept whatever payments you deem appropriate:

Step One: Obtain a tax ID number. If your business makes money, by law it must be taxed. Before you can take any other step, you need to contact the IRS for an ID number. You should fill out IRS Form SS-4 and fill out any appropriate documents for your state.

Step Two: Set up a business bank account. Once you incorporate your business under a business name — i.e., once you are no longer operating under your name — you need a place to put money addressed to your company. Thus, you should set up a separate bank account for your business, from which you can take and make payments. The bank should request your tax ID and articles of incorporation as verification for your account.

Step Three: Create a merchant account. To accept card payments, you need a merchant account. Merchant account providers deliver the tools necessary to perform credit transactions, which requires moving money from customers’ accounts to yours. Typically, there is a startup fee and monthly payments required to maintain a merchant account, which means it is worthwhile to shop around.

Types of Payments to Consider.

Now that you have all the basic elements to accept payments, you can consider the types of payments you are willing to accept. There are pros and cons to all payment types, which means you must carefully review your options while you are setting up your startup. Here’s a brief rundown of payment types:

Cash.

Money in its purest form, cash is usually king. There are no transaction fees associated with cash, and some companies can get away with claiming less taxable income by accepting cash — though this is illegal. Still, cash is bulky, laborious to measure, and a liability for physical theft, so cash isn’t always sensible for every startup.

Credit/Debit.

It is expensive to accept credit and debit cards. First, merchant account providers charge a variety of fees to complete transactions. Additionally, you must ensure your business is PCI compliant, which means maintaining extensive digital security systems. Finally, you need the tech to manage credit and debit purchases. However, because an overwhelming majority of customers use plastic to pay, you would be limiting your earning potential significantly by refusing to accept credit and debit.

Check.

Checks are the more annoying version of cash and the cheaper version of credit/debit cards. Though bad checks can cost businesses money, some customers simply prefer to write checks, and you might not want to lose this portion of your audience.

Online.

Ecommerce is becoming essential, especially for startups. If you want to offer your products or services over the web, you need to be able to accept online payments. Fortunately, there is a bevy of online payment systems to choose from, so you can find a service option that fits your baby business perfectly.

Mobile.

The newest payment option to develop, mobile payments have many entrepreneurs scratching their heads. Not quite credit or debit, not quite online, mobile payments are confusing and divisive, but they might be the future of payments.

How to Decide on a Payment Acceptance Strategy.

The payments you accept shouldn’t be decided on your whim; they should be carefully calculated to provide the most benefit to your business and your customers. As you are considering your payment options, you should keep the following questions in mind:

Who will your customers be? Different groups of consumers pay with different methods, and business and governmental entities also have unique payment preferences.

How large will payments be? Large transactions differ significantly from small transactions.

How often will you accept payments? Recurring transactions differ from one-time transactions.

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Modernising Your Business: Time To Keep Up

Have you ever felt like your company feels a bit… outdated? Not in the timezone sense mind you, but more in the “doing things like in the good ol’ days” way? Not that sticking to your guns is a bad thing in itself, some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs have made it to the top by sticking to their own and what they know. But sometimes, you have to take a step back and look at what is just an objectively better decision to make for your business. Might be a tough task to get started with initially, but the less stubborn and adamant you become about your ways, the more change you will see, hopefully for the better.  

Let’s go through a few ways in which you could modernise your company, and stay competitive in this brutal business world.

 

Why not start a newsletter?

Though newsletters are not exactly new technology, they have started popping up much more prominently within the recent years in the virtual world, getting sent off to hundreds of customers basically free of charge. All sorts of businesses now run their own newsletters, updating their customers on promotions, limited time deals, sending out pictures of new stock or products, stock and whatever else they can possibly fit. Mostly, they are sent out to customers who signed up for the newsletter on your company’s website, if you do not have an existing page or registration widget for it then consider implementing one. People will not only be more incentivised to visit your site, but will see all the new deals you are advertising  on it by result.

A social media presence.

You might think to yourself that your business is in the category where it just doesn’t benefit from a few social media accounts. Chances are, you could not be more wrong. No matter how unfitting it may seem, having a few social media accounts as a business will surely boost your popularity amongst potential customers as well as people who will possibly tell others about you. It might not seem like a surefire success at first, but keep in mind that social media, first and foremost, is free. Anyone can go and make an account on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or whatever else the flavour of the month social media app is. Due to its free nature, and the fact that it is on just about every platform imaginable, mobile or otherwise, social media has grown in popularity an insane amount over the past decade. This meaning that advertising, and putting your business out there on social media tends to be rather effective. Of course, you can do it for free too, as long as you are willing to run the accounts yourself, the only fee you will be paying is your time. If you find yourself unable to manage, hiring a social media person or team might be a great option for you.

Improve your current tech.

Chances are, by the year 2017 your company has seen quite a few changes if it has been around for a while. Maybe your computers are still utilising old, extremely large and light gray monitors with a distended backside and pixely displays that show scalines on camera, if that is the case, then it’s probably just about time to move on. If you are indeed interested in purchasing some new PCs for your employees, but want to stay on cheaper side of the things, you can easily do just that investing in some generic office computers which all use Microsoft office and not really much else other than the occasional internet browsing. This means you do not needed to buy the “latest gaming rig” for around 2 thousand with DDR4 RAM and a GTX 1080. Of course, if you do actually need a good computer for your employees to do work effectively, spare them their mental health, and get them decent PCs. Another thing that might be outdated in your company is the way you handle faxes. In order to keep them secure, consider looking into making use of a HIPAA fax service, to keep everything running in tip-top shape. By this point, faxes are a tested and stable technology, and while other alternatives may have come up, there’s a reason why they are still around.

Communication between staff.

If you are in a big building with all the offices split apart and everyone in their own little corner, communication and a sense of team spirit often disappears along with it. If you feel like your team could greatly benefit from much easier and quicker communication, you should look into a way to allow them to do so without having to walk across the whole building. With programs such as Slack, which is absolutely free, you can get your teams to have a simple, organised and intuitive way of communicating with one another. Allowing for voice calls as well as instant messaging, different channels and servers for categorising projects or teams, it is the perfect work-related communication platform. If you feel like setting up a Slack system wouldn’t go through with your employees, you can always resort to something a bit more basic that may be lacking in functionality, however, it is bound to have more people already on it. Smartphone apps such WhatsApp provides support for group chats and easy access.

Decentralise.

Having your own trusty staff members which have been by your side for years is definitely invaluable, the only problem being that your staff members most likely have no idea how to do some things. Now this is normal, like everyone they have a direction in which their expertise is, and unless your staff is extremely extensive, chances are you will need something done at one point that is sadly not covered by your staff’s ability. Outsourcing work to other people, no matter if they work for an agency or if they are freelance, definitely has it’s positives. Getting  a helping hand from someone who specialises in something your staff cannot provide is simply the cheaper and wiser option, especially when all you need done is a quick job like vectorizing a logo.

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The Perfect Working Environment Might Very Well Be Your Home

Finding the perfect working environment is not as easy as it should be since there are so many distractions that can affect us on a day to day basis. If you want to be really good at your work and be as productive as possible, you may want to consider all available options. This does include working from home. Modern workspaces have evolved and there are various businesses that allow workers to do their tasks remotely. It is something you want to seriously consider because of different reasons, including:

• Reduced Commute Times

As you work from home you do not have to travel to an office so you save a lot of time and even money you would pay for transportation.

• Better Job Opportunities

You no longer need to move to a different city in order to get a better job. Working from home means you only need an internet connection so you can get a job in the big cities. You could automatically get better income because of that.

• Working More Jobs At Once

As commute time is removed you can easily get a secondary job, which is something hard to get in a regular office work environment. Alternatively, you can just opt for getting some freelance projects for some extra income.

Setting Up Your Home Working Environment

Most people think that you do not need much in a home office. The truth is that you need much more than a couch and a laptop. Buying some furniture is an absolute necessity. The idea is to create an environment that is similar to what you see with businesses that rent out office space, like http://ift.tt/2nddSff. When you have a space dedicated to work in your home you can reap the benefits of remote work.

What is really important is to have a desk. Wake up in the morning, get dressed as if you were going to a regular job and then move to your home working space. This gets you ready for work. Make sure that you add some plants since statistics show that this will increase productivity by 12%.

Any great home office should be properly lit. The best thing you can do is to be close to large windows. In the event you do a lot of late night work be sure that your desk and working areas are lit with lights that are not too strong or too low.

Always be sure that the home office is clean. You need to dedicate weekly time to cleaning and you should try to keep the entire working area as aery as possible. That is important because being in a room that has enough space and proper lighting will improve productivity.

Conclusions

Be sure that you consider the things mentioned above and that you take the home office option into account. Obviously, you can always personalize the entire area, add some art and the technology you need. Just be sure that there is not too much clutter as this reduces productivity.

 

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5 Tips To Build A First Website That Will Grow Your Business

by Kristy Campbell, Chief Operating Officer at Rev1 Ventures

You’ve validated your market and designed a minimally viable prototype. You’re in discussions with strategic partners and potential beta customers. Advisors agree your startup is on the right track.

Now is the time to get your web site up. Here are five tips to help build a first web site that will help your business grow.

1. Think of your first B2B web site as one step beyond your elevator pitch.

It’s the first place a potential customer will go to check you out. Present a professional appearance; Show that you are a real company with solutions to help real businesses solve problems, grow revenue, or reduce cost. Don’t be over-ambitious; in the beginning, the goal is to spur interest, not close deals.

2. High quality messaging is the cornerstone of your website.

If you are a good writer, go for it, but if you are not, don’t try to be. It’s better to pay an expert to craft your message and make it clear and appealing than to flounder with an unfinished site. Ask around. Request references and links to web content they’ve written before.

Focus the content on the core of what you do. What value will customers receive from doing business with your company? How is your solution different from competitors? Never lead with your technology—make a brief mention at most. If you have a white paper or customer testimonial, feature it.

Profiles of founders and advisors add credibility. Call out strategic relationships with business partners, research institutions, or industry groups. Do not start a blog unless you can reliably post multiple times a month.

3. Keep it simple.

Whether you create the site yourself or hire someone to help you, choose a proven website building platform, like WordPress, with templates that are easy to update and modify. You don’t want to have to pay someone every time you change a photo or a paragraph. Secure a domain name that makes it easy for people to find your company. Then sign up with a web hosting service that is reliable and compatible with WordPress. Resist any urge to add a bunch of bells and whistles that you don’t need. Don’t boil the ocean with flashy technology.

4. Educate yourself on how people come to your site and how they flow through once they are there.

To create a website that becomes a useful element in the company’s lead generation process, understand the back-end. What are people searching for? What content and keywords bring them to your site? Google Analytics provides free tools and the training to use them. Understand the basics around how your message resonates and how to identify more customers that match your target personas.

5. Successful businesses are always working on their websites.

Your website provides feedback on your messaging and market positioning. It’s a way to see how your message resonates with potential customers. Plan to iterate. Invest an hour a week looking at competitors’ web sites or viewing web designers’ portfolios.

No matter the stage of business, industry, or marketing strategy every startup must have a presence on the internet; it’s the first place a prospect will go. Creating a professional website doesn’t have to be a giant task. Just be clear. Be Actionable. Be concise. And don’t boil the ocean.

 

As Chief Operating Officer of Rev1 Ventures, Kristy Campbell leads Rev1’s innovative approach and is one of the designers of the company’s stage-based studio that helps new and experienced entrepreneurs identify, build and scale disruptive companies. In addition to developing the company’s entrepreneur and partnership programs, Campbell works directly with Rev1’s growing portfolio to help them execute strategic sales and marketing efforts that help companies generate awareness, customers, and a repeatable sales pipeline.

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[ADV] Essentials In Professional Copy Editing Service

It refers to making your copy easy to read and understand, so copy editing service is very compulsory element for the assignments. Basically the copy editing prices incorporates proofreading which is included the most valuable elements of writing. Various things are always essential and compulsory always in copy editing like the punctuation of sentences, use of grammar etc.

Separately from being a tiring activity that takes a lot of time and copy editing holds various other challenges that make the complete way even more difficulties. While in the process of editing we have to determine important factors that are involved in this. Structure is the key element for our qualities checking and proofreading assignments, and rechecking.

Getting Copy Editing Services online.

There are lots of services which are being provided with internet and from the online means and ways. It is some kind of risky fact to take services from online, it is possible that may we not get the accurate services of editing or maybe we could not get our assignment to time etc. But apart from all these kinds of services we have some online best copy editing services online here.

A lot of people are individually available for providing editing services against the assignments and topic related to the studies. Various online copy editing service providers is very cheap; they also provide their best to check the whole assignment. It is a range of services which are offered by editors to all genres of writers. Whoever check the assignment or involved in the act of copy editing he must complete his assignment to time.

Professional Copy Editing Services.

When creating different type of content of editing and checking we should go through completely. In this case you know the overall text and message the content is supposed to show. It is also very easy about the editor and checker to complete the assignment to time. It can be hard for you to notice the small errors in to the spelling and grammar. If you want some Professional copy editing services I found good paper editor on http://ift.tt/2j29Xxd.

As like the professional proofreading services is able to offer pair of eyes that are well experienced in making sure your best promotional material are perfect. It is also another fact that world is full of experts and profession people. It is important to our assignment to cover with all the mistakes and corrections in our first choice.

Professional editing of these calibers can only be carried out with a complete knowledge of language and formally written. All the things like capitalization, spelling, punctuation and grammar might seem pedestrian to any doctoral candidate.

Important slants for Copy Editing.

Some of the experts expect the drastic changes in your original writing with this level of editing. Some of the people that are involved in the services of editing are server more as the consultants and the counselors. Using own editing skills may seem like a money saver, but the reality is that your eyes are probably tired from going over and above the written material.

If you are not seeking some major heading or points as your first effort then it is best thing. Sometimes it is very hard for the individual even for the professional copy editor to proofread or edit own written work. The familiarity is the most important part in the copy editing.

Why Editing Service helps us for our assignment.

If you really want your assignment to be checked and to grow a vast or at least a decent audience, be reviewed professionally and get tips of internet. It is best to use your own editing skills and that may seem like a money saver. The real thing is that your skills must be involved in your Copy Editing services.

There are some things which are necessary to be corrected and checked at the first effort, like if we are assigned to edit we have to check grammar of written material and then the correction of spellings. With the support of good editors and suggestions we can easily complete our assignment of editing.

Tips for Copy Editing Services.

Under the standards of this particular service copy editing we have to correct all faulty spelling punctuations and the grammar. Not only checking these factors but also we have to fix all incorrect word usages. There are people that are in the problem of doing lots of grammar mistakes they must need to get some tips and instructions of copy editing services.

In the basic elements of copy editing Services we should take step for correction of sentences, correction of grammar, correction of preposition and the adjective. Consistent with material is compulsory for our editing and rechecking services. If the assignment or material is comprehensive then it is sure we will fulfill our work of editing very soon.

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[ADV] Best Digital Marketing Tips For Growing Your Business

If a person wants to market the website on the internet, that person had to be aware of the fact that the competition in this channel is very while. With evolution of some basic media networks the platform has broadened up so much what is there it is very hard to make a difference.

Digital marketing has been gathering a high attention because of the numerous benefits it provides as evaluated to the cost that is invested in it. As the basic matter of fact the digital marketing can work in a very effective manner provided it is used the right way.

Actually with the help of digital marketing a particular company or an organization can explore greater heights of fame and target. If we are involved in the business of digital marketing and Search Engine Optimization we will get to know its importance.

Best tips in digital marketing to follow.

Digital marketing is helping us to establish a website that could be in proper language as PHP or in word press. Online marketing is very necessary as now so the each and every person is connected to the internet.

The rates of conversion, on the internet it is better than the traditional marketing. This is a very easy way and time saving digital marketing is not only an easy way but also not at all very expensive till a certain point.

Through the digital marketing it becomes very comfortable for the purpose of communication with the potential buyers. It is also helpful for the organizations to increase the conversion ratio as they can exchange ideas.

As unlike the other marketing terms it is very affordable and not costly, in this term of social digital marketing you have harness social media or you may stay for behind.

Services of digital marketing for your business.

The areas of services in digital marketing very high and wider, there are lots of promotional factors are involved. People usually wrongly perceive that digital marketing or internet marketing can be achieved through the SEO. In the practice this is not the case, there is also a particular effort is required for digital marketing.

Modern world of copy editing services is now very easy to consult with and we can admire its features of benefits. If we need best copy editing services and professional copy editing services are here – https://essayseek.com.

A service of digital marketing currently in the market, but it is very compulsory that you analyze the market first and select right provider. Important thing is to study about their previous experience references and the level of work.

Social Effects in Digital Marketing.

If people are using different marketing methods then he can track and monitor you campaign results with ease and very simple.

Brand development is the big and large social effect in the world and you may not relay it but social media presence can make your customer become more and more devoted.

Competition is the general effect of digital marketing for our business and for our website; it will also let you compete with your competitors.

It is more beneficial and according to Search Engine business that make use of online marketing make a lot more money than other business.

Digital marketing tips for successful business.

Digital marketing is all about creating publicity, hype and a plug about your product or services in all around the world. If you want to make your business successful then it is important to let your visitors from the website know what your organization has in the bag of them.

By using the power of social media to communicate, interact and respond to your potential forecast. This thing is one of the best ways to engage and attached to your target traffic. We all know that ranking of any website or traffic through digital marketing will get higher rating. It is helpful for increasing value of our business or blog very comfortable.

With the websites your online marketing tricks have a key role to play here and make your website more popular. With the different solutions and tricks which we can show from our site we can make lots of fans and followers to our website.

Favorite things we should know about digital marketing.

There are lots of facts in the digital marketing we have to know, it is about not going to cost you an arm and a leg. It is also an easy term of promoting the website in all around. If a person is looking to get single factor that can support you then digital marketing will give you many more from that particular person.

Focusing on our aims and future plans we can make our business very strong. The modern businesses are planning to create competition and monopoly. The fact of the matter is that it all boils down to storytelling so you can project your products and services. If we have used video affects for our online digital marketing business then you.

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Intrapreneurship – Why Is It Important?

by Aditya Singhal, co-founder of Transtutors

You must have heard about the term Entrepreneurship. We all know that who entrepreneurs are, what roles do they play etc. but have you ever heard of “Intrapreneurship”. Who are Intrapreneurs?  What they do and what qualities you need to be an Intrapreneur?

Entrepreneurship is the process of setting up your own business, taking financial risks in order to make a profit. Whereas, the employee who acts like an entrepreneur within a company is known to be an Intrapreneur.

Intrapreneurship is doing same thing like an entrepreneur, but being on a job. An Intrapreneur can be an entrepreneur but an entrepreneur cannot be a Intrapreneur. For both of them, success is the motivator and profit is the reward.

In broader terms, an Intrapreneur is the employee who uses his creative streak and entrepreneurial skills to achieve the goal of the organization. Usually intrapreneurs are self-motivated, risk takers and proactive. They can easily identify the coming opportunities and risk as well. They can do experiment with the given project without having the fear of loss. Failure doesn’t affect intrapreneurs, they don’t have to bear the loss arise from failure, it’s the organization which bears all the losses and even then also intrapreneurs get paid. It’s a practice of intrapreneur to be an entrepreneur in future.

Here are some essential qualities of an Intrapreneur:

Passionate: Intrapreneur passionately do assign task and it can be seen in their body language and actions as well. They are highly motivated and take every responsibility passionately and do their work with “can do” attitude.

Courageous: There is a saying called “more risk more gain”. Intrapreneur have the courage to take risk, they do experiments with their work so that they can achieve the goal of the organization.

Determined: Intrapreneurs know what they want to do, they are very focused towards their work. However they know everyone will know not believe in their ideas and vision.

Resourceful: Intrapreneur makes best use of the given resources. This makes them different from other employees as others ask for more resources. Intrapreneurs try to use the given resources to the fullest.

Result driven: Intrapreneurs need to focus on outcome in order to achieve desired results.

Now a question arises, why is Intrapreneurship important?

So, there are many reasons for Intrapreneurship being important for any company:

Business growth: Every organization want growth in their business, nobody wants to face downfall. Business grow with the contribution of each and every member working in the organization. Intrapreneurs contribute in the profit of the company with their entrepreneurial skills and mindset. Intrapreneur’s creative mindset helps them to deal with any given situation.

Leadership: Intrapreneurs have the quality of leadership in them. They work passionately and know what they want do, they have the ability of decision making and risk taking. They acquire an ability to lead and control a team.They can do assign work solely and with other fellow employees, which makes them a better leader who can lead and guide the team.

Strategy and planning: Intrapreneurs strategy and ideas will always help the organization to achieve their targeted goal, intrapreneurs with an entrepreneurial mindset will always make best of their strategy. They know which idea will work on which situation. However, Planning is the first step of every future action, so it is important to make perfect plans to achieve goal.

Support and sustain innovation: Innovation plays vital role in growth of the organization. Intrapreneurs try new things, implement new ideas without the risk of going it alone. Innovation gives organization a new perspective to see things from different side. Improving existing products and services will bring a new change in the working environment. Innovation attracts investors and shareholders which is also a very good thing for organization.

Organizations which embrace Intrapreneurship achieve more profit and growth as compared to other organizations which do not practice approach of Intrapreneurship. Organizations need to find the Intrapreneurship quality within their employee to grow the business which is must have for the overall success and growth.

 

Aditya Singhal is the co-founder of Transtutors, an Online Assignment Help platform for Graduation and Post-Graduation level. It has been his passion and vision to help the students across the globe that he along with his co-founder started with this venture.

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How To Find The Best Company Car

Choosing a personal car can already be a challenge, so imagine when you’re choosing a vehicle for a whole company fleet. There can be tons of variables involved in the buying process and things you wouldn’t have to consider if buying a car for you or your family. But, it’s possible to find a great company car if you break down the whole process correctly and break down what you essentially need in a car.

Here are a few tips on how to choose a proper company vehicle:

Think about Carbon Emissions.

For many people, carbon emissions are really an afterthought when it comes to picking a car. But being environmentally sound in your choice of cars and in your operations, in general, can pay off in a variety of ways. First off, cars with lower carbon emissions usually burn much less fuel. But, more importantly, using eco-friendly cars could be used as part of your branding, especially if transport plays a major role. A simple sticker could be more than enough to generate a positive response from environmentally conscious customers.

Focus on Reliability.

A car that won’t cost you an arm to repair is essential if you don’t want to be stuck with outrageous maintenance fees. It’s easy to run a search on most reliable car companies and look at their most reliable models. The only way to know which vehicles are truly reliable is to do the proper research. Look for reviews online and get second opinions from people online and offline as well. Pro tip – look at which models your local police department or taxis use. They rely a lot on their vehicles, and chances are that if these are good enough for them, they should be good enough for you.

Don’t be afraid to talk with your current mechanic as well. If you trust them and they have been there for many years, they will give you a few advice on which models to avoid and which ones to buy. They are aware of problem vehicles and can identify patterns with particular car makers. Certain vehicles may be notorious for having electrical issues while others may have faulty transmissions. Only an expert will be able to give you a rundown of the best and worst vehicles for your operations.

Appearance.

Depending on your line of business, the appearance of your vehicles can make a world of difference. They also have to complement your brand image as well. If your target audience is young millennials and you’re trying to convey a fresh image, then grey sedans might not be the best idea. However, if you represent an insurance company, you may consider going for more upscale executive models. Either way, you have to make sure that the vehicles you choose are in perfect condition and work as an extension of your brand.

Conclusion.

Choosing a company vehicle isn’t that complicated at all. It’s all a matter of understanding your needs and the brand image you want to project and doing your due diligence on which types of vehicles would be able to carry the load.

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How Can A Home Office Make You More Productive?

Freelancers and home workers normally love working from home but in many cases there are unexpected problems that appear. It is not that easy to work from home, especially when there is no home office in place. Most people just use a laptop and work in various parts of the home. This is not something that works on the long run.

People that work from home will find it just as difficult as working in an office when referring to how much work is actually done, as you can see in this clip.  The big problem that often appears is productivity. There are many things that can happen every single day and distractions are much more common around the home. Home offices will always be more productive than just staying on a couch. This is due to various reasons, including:

Separating Work From Day-To-Day Activities.

Having a space dedicated only to work is a vital part of being productive. Set up your home office and be sure that there are no distractions close-by. When you separate a work area from a “play” area productivity is automatically increased.

Easy Breaks.

A very important part of being productive is having relaxing breaks. When you are at home you can do whatever you want to relax whenever you want to. When you work in an office there are some limitations that appear. The things you do to relax tend to be the same every single day. Variation helps you to relax better and have a break whenever you want to, thus making you a more productive worker.

Eliminating Commute Time.

There are only 24 hours in a day so what you can do is highly limited. As you work from home you completely eliminate commute time. Although you need to still get dressed and get ready for work, transport is taken out of the equation. You save money as you get rid of commute and more time can be dedicated to work or pleasure.

What Should Your Home Office Contain?

It is difficult to make a recommendation that will be great for everyone since the needs you have for your home office will be different than those of someone else. This is why you want to think about what you should add to the home office. However, here are some recommendations you can take into account:

• A Desk

While many believe that working at home is all about staying on a sofa with a laptop, a desk is always necessary when the priority is productivity. It is very important to have a desk as this helps with organization. Options like from Furniture at Work will normally work great.

• A Comfortable Chair

A very good desk is nothing without a very comfortable chair. You are going to spend many hours doing work every single day so comfort is vital. Always take the necessary time to find a chair that is perfect for you. This may be the very best investment you ever made for your career.

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Most Important SEO Tips For Startup Websites

Every single startup owner understands how important it is to have a strong online presence, which always starts with the website. Running a really good SEO campaign is not as easy as you may think. In many cases startup owners have problems because the budget that they have is not enough to hire a very good SEO company. That is normal and the good news is that you can take the first steps alone, laying down the foundation of great results in the future.

In most cases you start by reading a good SEO advanced guide but the foundation is the one that counts the most. With this in mind, here are those SEO tips that are the most important for a startup website.

High Quality Content Counts The Most.

No matter how good the links you get are, if the content is not of a very high quality, results will be a lot lower than they could be. Modern SEO always starts with developing high quality content. Generally speaking, long form content works best. This means that the old formula with 500 words articles is no longer enough.

What you want to do is to find topics that the target audience is genuinely interested in. Then, you want to create content that offers all the information needed to help solve the problem people have. When you do this you get natural organic backlinks and numerous social media shares. This automatically jumpstarts your SEO campaign.

Without A Plan Results Do Not Appear.

A huge mistake many startups make is doing SEO work without a plan. That leads to uncertain results. What a smart startup owner has to do is to plan an SEO campaign in order to reach the desired results. This includes researching the very best keywords and planning how backlinks will be gained. Even content creation need to be added to the plan.

Unfortunately, planning is not as easy as many believe. It requires a lot of market research and even figuring out what influencers to contact can be difficult. Invest enough time to develop a good plan for the SEO campaign before any work is started so that every step taken is one that is effective.

Quality Related Backlinks Are Vital.

No matter what many believe, the number of backlinks gained for the website is not the most important thing in SEO. What is very important is to get backlinks that are of a very high quality. This means you need to look for a backlink that is as relevant as possible coming from a website that has an authority as high as you can find.

Conclusion.

There are countless things that have to be said about SEO and most startup websites do not reach their potential because of a lack of knowledge. If you want to be successful in SEO in general, generating high quality content and starting the campaign with a plan count the most. At the same time, be sure that you keep learning as SEO always evolves.

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3 Steps Millennials Can Take To Disrupt The Business Waters

by Ari Rabban, CEO of Phone.com

Will they, or won’t they? Millennials have us perched on the edge of our beach chairs when it comes to deciphering their entrepreneurial futures. Even Nostradamus would scratch his head at the statistics. After all, 62 percent of Millennials report that they want to become their own bosses, but as of 2014, fewer than 2 percent took the leap.

Although Millennials’ actions seem to point away from the entrepreneurial dream, they may have serious surprises up their sleeves. Not only are they just entering the mid-age “sweet spot” (between 35 and 50 years old) when most founders go solo, but they also possess high degrees of pragmatism.

In other words, they’re better at understanding the flexibility being an entrepreneur requires, as they’re more accepting than Baby Boomers and Generation Xers of the fact that you can’t rely on one job for life these days. And they’re patient — waiting to get married, buy property, have children, and start a business.

While they might not be following in the entrepreneurial footsteps of previous generations right now, choosing instead to watch and plan, they can begin to take certain steps to ensure that when they do dive headfirst into a new venture, they won’t drown their businesses.

Testing the Waters.

Who can blame Millennials for their reluctance? As a whole, they’ve come out of college with tremendous financial burdens. An ORC International survey suggests that 63 percent of degree-program graduates carry at least $10,000 in student loan debt. Add to that debt the erratic, post-recession economic climate at odds with the commerce-rampant 1980s or the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and early 2000s, and it’s no wonder they’re hesitating.

Consequently, as a group, Millennials aren’t seeing a clear path to entrepreneurship yet. They’re navigating the currents of adulthood and the global marketplace, gaining expertise and investing in education, and networking to prepare them when they’re ready for the plunge.

For some, that plunge will come very soon. And when it is time for Millennials to unleash their tech-savviness and creative, collaborative thinking into the entrepreneur scape, they can gain a clear advantage by keeping a few startup mantras in mind.

1. Don’t leave essential tools on the beach.

The best way to get and remain pivot-ready is to have the proper physical and online tools, starting with a smartphone that can handle communications software such as a Voice over Internet Protocol solution.

A lightweight laptop or two-in-one device with automatic cloud-syncing options is another must-have, as is a reliable data plan and internet connection. Finally, spend the needed dollars to get a decent WordPress or other website with blog, as well as an all-in-one word processing package like Microsoft Office.

2. Tread the top of people’s minds.

When you’re working for yourself, you’re a walking billboard with digital footprints. Make sure people can find you both off- and online. For instance, attend local, national, and even global — if relevant — networking events and spend time talking to others.

Regarding internet-based engagement, create a strong and professional presence on social media by promoting yourself as a thought leader in your preferred industry. Also set up your website to attract customers, making sure your business is accurately listed on search engines like Google. In today’s marketplace, you don’t need a physical address as long as you can be found on the web.

3. Keep your strokes as organized as possible.

Smart entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who wait for opportunity to present itself; they plan out their days to generate and maintain momentum. Without a strategy, it’s far too easy to miss deadlines and lose productivity. Still, you aren’t a machine, so budget for downtime. One way to keep a steady rhythm is to work in 20-minute bursts followed by two-minute breaks. Doing so prevents burnout and allows you to concentrate on a single task at a time rather than trying to multitask, which can lead to errors.

As of now, Millennials haven’t become the entrepreneurs everyone thought they might. But their generation certainly isn’t lost at sea — it is, in fact, only beginning to emerge. Within the next five or 10 years, chances are strong that we’ll see founders in ever-increasing numbers, bringing with them new ideas and disrupting the business waters for the better.

 

Ari Rabban is the CEO of Phone.com and a veteran of the IP communications industry. Phone.com’s virtual phone service builds on the digital VoIP industry experience of its founders to deliver a complete suite of enterprise-grade unified communication services at an SMB price. Ari was named among the Top 20 Most Influential People in VoIP 2012 and currently serves on several boards, including the New Jersey Tech Council.

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5 Ways To Kick Off Your Entrepreneurial Venture

by Lewis Robinson

Running a business can be a thrill, but it can also be a huge pain. If you don’t have the right tools, processes, and strategies, you’ll end up failing more often than not in your business career. So don’t fall into the common traps that most people do.

Instead, use the five ways below to really kick off your entrepreneurial adventure, whether it’s your first business or you’re a veteran:

Get Organized.

Have you ever spent countless hours searching your room, your office, and every corner of your home for some long lost item? Most people have. In the real world, this might just be a minor issue. However, in the world of business, losing key documents, information, and tools is a disaster scenario. Organization of your data is crucial. It could mean the difference between legal consequences and being set free, or winning a key client and losing them.

Furthermore, if you’re not organized you will be slower and miss out on opportunities that require great timing and efficiency. So take the entrepreneurial skill of organization to heart and make it one of your core mantras. That will, you’ll get more done in less time and your wallet will thank you for it.

Have Your Finances Straight.

There is no such thing an entrepreneur that starts a successful business without knowing something about finances. Or at the very least they will hire someone who does know and is an expert. That’s why the smartest business minds use fund accounting for nonprofit organizations, spreadsheets, asset shielding, and more to get the most out of their money. That way, their runway is longer and they can outrun the competition in a tough market, even when a recession is in play.

Rise Early.

The fact is that early risers get more done. It makes total sense when you think about it logically. The earlier you get up, the more time you have to yourself before you have to start the work day. This extra time can be used to come up with brilliant ideas while your creative mind is still fresh and untapped.

Furthermore, you give yourself the opportunity to beat your opponents to the marketplace. If there is a customer asking two companies about pricing on a product, who do you think they will buy from: the one that responds first, or second? Obviously, they will go with the first and quickest since they are so pressed for time. So set your alarm and instill discipline into your daily routine like a true entrepreneur.

Make Everywhere Your New “Office”.

Being able to be productive, even out of the office, is essential to your growth as an entrepreneur in your business career as you really begin to kick it off in the right way. Long gone are the days when you could simply stroll into the office a few past the hour, work for maybe a few hours a day, and go home without taking any work with you. If you are trying to get your business off the ground, you have to be a different kind of person. You have to max out your productive time by making your home, cafe, and car your new office.

Dream Big.

Small dreams don’t make mega businesses. You have to dream big if you will ever have the traction to get your idea off the ground. It will infuse you with excitement and the energy necessary to break through barriers and see your idea through to the end.

Kicking off your business can be a difficult challenge sometimes. However, it doesn’t always need to be. Using an entrepreneurial mindset, you can overcome common challenges and enjoy a high rate of success. If you don’t think and act smart, you’ll end up regretting it because you will miss out on opportunities that you would have had otherwise. So take the above hints to heart and start seeing massive results in your business today.

 

Lewis Robinson is a business consultant specializing in social media marketing, CRM, and sales.  He’s begun multiple corporations and currently freelances as a writer and business consultant.

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Want To Make A Career Out Of Leading Teams? Here Are Some Key Steps To Take

If you’ve always dreamed about being the “top dog” in the office, leading a team and looking after big-picture strategies, it’s important to start grooming yourself for this kind of career as soon as possible. Even if you have only just recently graduated from a course, or are about to enroll in one, it’s never too early to start thinking and acting like a leader.

Read on for some key steps you should take to progress down the right path and get noticed for your leadership potential.

Be Clear on Your Goals and a Plan for Your Career.

To begin with, it’s really important to be very clear about what your actual goals are for your career. While you already know you want to become a leader, if you want to progress quickly through the ranks and end up where you have always imagined, you need to work out what your ultimate dream is.

For example, do you envisage leading a team of thousands of people as the head of a Fortune 500 company, or do you want to manage a small team in your own business, or something in between? Are you interested in doing lots of travel as part of your dream job, or do you want to be able to work from home and care for a family while you manage team?

There are lots of different ways to be a leader, and each will require slightly different strategies to get there. The sooner you get some clarity on where you see yourself in 10, 20, or even potentially 50 years, the sooner you can start working specifically towards these goals. You also won’t get waylaid along the way wasting time and energy on roles or activities that will take you away from your end point.

It pays to put together a career plan too. Work backwards from your ultimate goal and come up with jobs you need to land or places you need to be at during certain points along the way. From there, it will be easier to put in place short-term and long-term goals, and to know what you need to learn to get there.

Never Stop Learning.

Speaking of learning, in order to become a top leader, it is necessary to continually develop new skills, gain more knowledge, and improve personal qualities such as communication and public speaking, delegation, decision-making, negotiation, conflict-resolution, patience, creativity, perseverance, and resilience. The best leaders are people who never stop learning, and who don’t assume that just because things have been done a certain way for a time, that they need to continue to be done the same way indefinitely.

There are many different avenues you can take to learn new things. For example, if you don’t have a higher degree as yet, consider enrolling in a business- or management-related Master’s program where you can really hone your skills and knowledge. Even if you don’t already have a Bachelor’s degree there are options to choose from, such as a no-GMAT online MBA or similar program. These types of courses can be completed while you work part-time or full-time, because they’re flexible and can be studied from home or the office, plus they will keep you up to date on the latest management practices and market conditions, and help you learn about a diverse array of helpful topics.

If you’re not keen on such structured study, or simply want to focus on specific areas where you have gaps in knowledge, you won’t have to look far for assistance. For instance, you can attend workshops, conferences, and training programs; hire speakers who specialize in a particular field; or obtain a knowledge from reading books, magazines, reports, newsletters, and research studies.

Be Proactive.

Lastly, keep in mind that leaders aren’t people who sit back and wait for things to be handed to them, or for “luck to strike.” Instead, top managers search for opportunities, take charge, and do everything they can to make things happen. As such, to propel yourself forward as a leader, always look for ways to be proactive.

If you want to get promoted regularly or land top roles, you need to be noticed by the right people at the right time. To do this, start by handling your current job in the best way possible. Always do what you say you’re going to; find ways to go above and beyond and to get along well with everyone; continually demonstrate tact, diplomacy, positivity, and trustworthiness; search for innovation solutions to problems; and pre-empt the needs of your managers.

When it comes to getting noticed by people at outside firms, be proactive by networking regularly online and in person. Online, you should be taking advantage of social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to develop new connections and demonstrate your expertise in your field. In person, attend key local and industry events so you can meet new people and make it known what job you are looking for next.

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How Mobile Tech Has Impacted On Business

Many people these days use mobile devices for personal reasons but this technology has also become increasingly invaluable to businesses. The freedom, flexibility, and convenience that mobile tech offers to entrepreneurs and businesses means that it has become a staple part of most business setups.

When you have mobile tech at your fingertips, you can even run business from your smartphone, which makes this an invaluable tool for most people. Those just starting out and those who spend a lot of time on the road as part of their business often rely on being able to continue running their business via their mobile devices.

Why has it become so important for businesses?

So, why has mobile technology become so vital for businesses and entrepreneurs? Well, there are many reasons behind this. So, let’s take a look at some of the key ones:

Greater flexibility.

Many business people and entrepreneurs spend a lot of time on the road for meetings, appointments, and to travel from site to site. Without mobile technology the most you would be able to do is call into the office to see what was going on. However, with mobile tech, you can stay up to date and even access documents and data via the cloud should you need to.

Greater convenience.

Having access to mobile technology means that when you are off work or you are away on vacation, you don’t have to worry about finding somewhere you can get online in order to check on business. Instead, you can simply turn to your mobile device and use it get online, check emails, contact colleagues, and access business data as and when you need to.

Flexibility with staff.

Mobile technology also makes it easier to provider staff members with flexibility, as they can more easily work while on the go or on a remote basis. This is something that can benefit business hugely, as it means that staff can more easily multitask such as being able to go out to meetings while still being able to check messages or access documents while out.

Improved communication.

With mobile technology, businesses can benefit from far greater communication. You can now video chat with employees and colleagues or even with clients using a variety of apps such as WhatsApp. In addition, you can instant message people rather than having to rely on email responses, which makes communication for more efficient and effective.

Saving time and money.

Using mobile technology can help to reduce the time it takes to carry out many tasks. This in turn means cost savings, as time is money to any business or entrepreneur. It is therefore well worth the investment in mobile technology for your business.

There is no doubt that mobile technology has come a long way over recent years, and this has had a huge positive impact for businesses. By using mobile technology you can enjoy these and many other benefits for your business.

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