5 Services You Haven’t Thought About Outsourcing

Many business owners shy away from outsourcing because they believe it’s easier to control work done in-house, and because they really don’t want to outsource business services. However, it’s very hard to scale a startup with a small team and a small budget.

If you insist on doing everything yourself, it’s likely your business will grow at a very slow pace, and might even hit a plateau of zero growth. In other words, you’ll be stuck at a level where all your resources are stretched to the limits.

Outsourced services can provide a quick solution to this dilemma. You can choose to pass tasks that are not part of your core business to remote specialists, which frees up your in-house resources to focus on growing your core business.

While there are some services that are commonly outsourced, such as customer support and software engineering, there are actually hundreds of other tasks that can be effectively done by outsourcers, thereby helping to scale your business.

Here are 5 outsourcing services that can have a huge impact on helping your business grow:

1. Proofreading.

If your business creates a lot of written content, it can take hours and hours to proofread all of it. In addition, even native speakers often struggle with grammar and spelling.

Also, if your business is small, chances are you don’t have a professional editor for this task, which means it will be carried out by non-specialists, whenever they can find time to fit it in with their other work.

Outsourcing gives you instant access to professional editors with a university degree, who will get the job done in a fraction of the time, and at a lower cost.

2. Data entry.

Every business runs on data. The better you manage your data, the more effective your business efforts are. Unfortunately, that often means many hours spent transferring data manually from one place to another. 

Cleary, data entry is not the best way to make use of your highly paid on-site specialists. Instead you can easily outsource this task, which frees up your staff to do more demanding tasks.

3. Lead generation.

Generating new leads is one of the most important tasks for growing any business. 

However, lead generation often involves a lot of tedious and time-consuming steps, such as finding and listing contact information of potential prospects.

Instead of using your time for these tedious tasks, you can hire an outsourcer to do them systematically every day. That way you’ll get more results faster, while freeing up your own valuable time.

4. Copywriting.

Quality content is essential for any company nowadays, as potential clients will check out your website before they even decide to talk to you.

Copywriting is very different from “ordinary” writing, since it’s crafted to convey your sales message in the most powerful and succinct way possible.

Most people who visit your website have a very short attention span, and you only have a second or less to convince them to engage further with your brand.

Copywriters create attention-grabbing headlines, subheadings, and short paragraphs that present your service in a powerful way, and help to convert website visitors into customers.

Since good copywriting is a highly specialized skill, and is essential for the success of your business, it’s much better to hire copywriting specialists, as in CopyCrafter, rather than trying to figure it yourself.

5. Transcribing video and audio content.

if you or one of your staff members creates valuable video or audio material, it’s a great idea to transcribe that into written content that you can use on your website, social media, etc.

These could be public talks and presentations, seminars, or how-to videos. In any case, they contain valuable content that should be reused. Instead of asking your on-site staff to laboriously transcribe the material, it’s much better to hire an outsourcer to do the job for you.

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How To Create A Dedicated Software Development Team

Making your development team can be difficult at first. There’s a myriad of deadlines, employees who don’t understand the scope of the project, and other issues that can lead to failure.

But, as a project developer, it’s your responsibility to build a team that’s going to benefit you. With this guide. We’ll give you some tips on how to set up a good team so that you can get everyone onboard with your project.

Limit Distractions.

Creating software takes a lot of concentration. The more complex the solution, the more logic relations your developers will have to keep in their mind. When you remove distractions from the environment, the developers can obtain high levels of concentration more often and faster.

For instance, the desire to check the notification on social media or the buzz coming from a smartphone can reduce the amount of concentration. For some workers, having colleagues, family, and an online network of friends within hands reach can create a serious distraction.

When you remove distractions, you increase the productivity through the day. We suggest that you tell your developers to place their mobile device in their drawers, front desk, or a locker to help create a dedicated software development team.

Determine Your Needs.

As the project leader, you have to find out exactly what your team needs. For instance, you need to know the amount of hardware, research, and employees are needed in order to complete the project. In order to find individuals to assist your on your team, you’ll have to ensure that you are reliable and ready to make it happen.

When creating a dedicated software development team, you need to stay notified about what’s going on with the project. Your project’s vision and the steps needed to reach it must be clear. We suggest that you use a project management system, package manager, and folder structures so you can stay on track with your project.

Most startups rarely function without a tech-pro on their team. Since technology is important in making a dedicated software development team, these individuals will help the company sail smoothly.

Hire Quality Not Quantity.

If you’re a startup with low or limited funds, then you might fall under the temptation to hire a second-rate developer. While this will be an inexpensive option, this could result in issues with your development team and the end results of your project.

• Picking the right employees isn’t just a first step in making a dedicated software development; it’s the most important one.
• Place the brightest and best employees in one team.

Give Your Founding Team Equity.

One of the most difficult parts of getting the right team is ensuring them that the project will reach its completion. Then, you have to let them know that the project will succeed. One of the easiest ways to show this belief and confidence in the project is by giving them a competitive salary and giving them equity.

By doing this, your developers will feel like they are working for a greater cause and not just another project that’s made to aid a corporate entity.

Conclusion.

Avoid the issues by giving access to the right resources and tools, picking the right members, give creative freedom, allowing incentives, getting the right ideal space, and working on a project that benefits everyone.

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4 Reasons Startups Fail And How To Avoid Them

by Steve Owens, Founder and CTO of Finish Line Product Development Services

The reasons for startup failures are well documented in numerous sources. A recent survey by CBINSIGHTS came up with 20:

No Market Need – 42% of those surveyed
Ran out of Cash – 29%
Not the Right Team – 23%
Get Outcompeted – 19%
Pricing/Cost Issues – 18%
Poor Product – 17%
Need/Lack of Biz Model – 17%
Poor Marketing – 14%
Ignore Customers – 14%
Product Mis-Timed – 13%
Lose Focus – 13%
Disharmony on Team/Investors – 13%
Pivot gone Bad – 10%
Lack Pasion – 9%
Bad Location – 9%
No Financing/Investor Interest – 8%
Legal Challenges – 8%
Don’t use Network/Advisors – 8%
Burn Out – 8%
Failure to Pivot – 7%

There are many other surveys with similar results.

We have always argued that these lists are not very enlightening, as they do not point to root causes; they are merely symptoms of poor execution.

No one decides to run out of cash.  Running out of money is a symptom of poor execution, not a cause in itself.

Our work with hundreds of startups has lead us to a remarkable conclusion – the root cause of most startup failures are the result of violating four golden rules:

Rule #1: Seek out the best, not the cheapest
Rule #2: Revenue is your first priority
Rule #3: Learn how to make effective collaborative decisions
Rule #4: Everything else is dependent

Startups are hard – much harder than running an existing business.  There is no existing market to instruct strategy.  There is very little capital. There is very little time for the team to find its way to being functional.  There is no product, processes or history to guide decisions.

Many startups fail, but some, despite all the impediments, succeed.  Why do some succeed and others fail?  Our research has shown the answer is simple: successful startups are willing to do what the unsuccessful ones are not – namely, follow the four golden rules.

Rule #1: Seek out the best, not the cheapest.

Unsuccessful startups often underestimate the difficulty of execution. Some believe the “idea” is the real value, and anyone can accomplish the “tasks” that need to be performed.  Our work has shown that the reality is much more complicated.  Separating the idea from execution is difficult.  It’s not unusual for the execution to modify the idea in significant ways.  Startups that focus on finding those who execute tasks for the lowest cost, instead of seeking out the best, are much more likely to fall victim to poor execution.

One key attribute of great entrepreneurs is to surround themselves with the best.  They find ways to attract the best despite lack of capital.

Rule #2: Revenue is your first priority.

In this context, revenue can be an investment as well as sales.  One big difference between successful entrepreneurs and unsuccessful ones is that successful entrepreneurs are continually testing their ideas.  They understand the best way to check the idea is to ask people to buy.  They are constantly probing investor/customers for objections and pivoting the idea based on this learning.

The “revenue is your first priority” philosophy is in contrast to the idea of the entrepreneur who spends most of his time focused internally on building the perfect product.

Unsuccessful entrepreneurs are much more likely to believe they have all the answers.  Successful entrepreneurs are more likely to think the market has all the answers and it’s their job to find them by focusing externally.

Rule #3: Learn how to make effective collaborative decisions.

The world has become incredibly complex.  No one person is likely to know everything necessary to make effective decisions about a startup – even a simple one.  Technology, marketing, legal, distribution are all changing and evolving at an incredible pace.  Further, our research has shown that each of these function can and does, affect each other.  The technology you choose for your product will change your Go To Market strategy.  Your distribution method will modify your product, etc., etc.

To execute well, it is imperative to make good decisions.  Making good decision takes a functional team – with emphasis on “functional.”

This functional team philosophy is in contrast with the idea of a single person who, being smarter than all the rest makes all the crucial decisions.  There is a myth in the startup community that a “know it all” entrepreneur is what creates success.  Our research shows just the opposite – a functional team, making collaborative decisions has a much higher correlation with success than the dominant alpha male entrepreneur surrounded by his serfs.

One word of caution here:  teams can non-functional.  Even a team of really bright people can be non-functional.  Creating a functional team takes time and effort.  Start with clear roles and responsibilities, so it is clear who makes what kind of decisions.  Model good collaboration and reward the same behavior in others.  Purge members who cannot check their ego, or ulterior motives at the door.   Set Up an environment where there are space and time for team members to socialize their idea to each other.

Rule #4: Everything else is dependent.

There is a lot of advice out there for startups.  Our experience is that most of it comes from individuals, usually former entrepreneurs, investors or executives from existing business, who have only experienced a handful of startups.  Often this advice is based on a few strategies that worked in these former companies.  Typically they are unaware that this same strategy did not work for a different company.  Most people do not study failure and thus can attribute success to things that also correlate with failure.

In our work with hundreds of startups, both failures and success, we are unable to find any other attribute that always correlates with success.  This finding does not mean that there are no rules that work some of the time or that always work for a specific type of startup or industry – there likely are. What it does mean is that these rules are conditional, not universal.

Steve Owens, Founder and CTO of Finish Line Product Development Services, has over 30 years of successful product development experience in many different industries and is a sought after adviser and speaker on the subject. Steve has founded four successful start-ups and holds over twenty five patents.  Steve has worked for companies such as Halliburton and Baker Hughes.  He has experience in Internet of Things, M2M, Oil and Gas, and Industrial Controls.  Steve’s insight into the product development process has generated millions of dollars in revenue for start-ups and small businesses.

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3 Ways To Invest More In Yourself As A Professional

The job market – and the market as a whole – is only going to get more competitive. As the economy grows at a fast yet sustainable pace, companies continue to expand their operations. This means there are more strategic positions available today, leaving you with plenty of opportunities to pursue.

As stated in the beginning, there are more professionals pursuing those opportunities too. If you want to stay ahead of the competition and have the ability to grab the best opportunity when it is presented to you, here are the 3 investments you need to make in yourself.

Invest in Creativity.

Working a fulltime job often makes remaining creative and open-minded more difficult. You are most likely stuck in a routine and, after a while, you’ll start following the norms more than you should. Thinking out of the box, coming up with better solutions, and having that ability to maintain creativity will make you a better fit for strategic positions that are available.

Fortunately, creativity is a skill, which means you can take steps to train and improve your creativity. Learning new things, exploring skills that you haven’t mastered before, and allowing yourself enough time to work on personal projects are among the things you can do to invest in creativity; all of these investments are easy to make too.

Invest in Education.

Many companies encourage their employees to go back to school. There is a simple reason for this push: it is better (and more cost-efficient) for companies to promote an existing employee than to recruit a new professional.

Investing in education is also a lot easier to do thanks to reputable universities like Touro University Worldwide or TUW. The best universities now make their top programs available as online courses. Since you don’t have to attend classes to pursue a higher degree, you have the option to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree while working a fulltime job.

Short courses are worth looking into as well. Sites like Coursera offer thousands of short courses designed to help master specific skills. Need to stay up to date with the latest digital marketing tactics? There is a course for that.

Invest in Your Network.

The best opportunities are much easier to find when you are connected to the right people. In today’s market, having a strong and relevant network is a must. Of course, there are more ways to expand and strengthen your network too.

You can turn to LinkedIn to get started with investing in your professional network. Connect not just with industry experts but also with everyone you find interesting. Don’t hesitate to share your expertise and write articles that others find useful. With a stronger online presence and network, it won’t be long before opportunities start to come.

Attending seminars and catching up with old friends offline are also among the things you can do to expand and strengthen your network. You’ll be surprised by how the right connections, a new degree and set of skills, and of course your ability to remain creative can catapult your career to incredible heights.

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Connectivity Disrupts The World Of Logistics In Asia

by Dr. Karen Reddington, President of FedEx Express, South Pacific

Connectivity is changing the face of business in Asia Pacific and the world. Today, the globe is more connected than ever, by way of advanced technology that was unfathomable a decade ago. The momentum of connectivity will continue and play its part in all aspects of our daily lives even if we are unaware of their existence. Think about the sensors that monitor urban conditions such as traffic, air quality and noise, the technology is almost invisible but is bringing us critical information to improve sustainability, efficiency and quality of life.

The rapid advancement of technology that boosts global connectivity is a powerful trend set to impact individuals and businesses of all kinds, and the logistics industry is no exception. While it is difficult to predict what exactly will happen next, there are four key trends that we believe are important to the business world, especially in Asia.

1. Small businesses will flourish in the online marketplace.

Online commerce has revolutionized how the world conducts businesses. In particular, Asia Pacific, home to four of the world’s top 10 e-commerce markets, is leading the charge.

Traditionally, small businesses have fewer resources and budgets. However, nowadays, a business idea can be realized with as little as a mobile device, allowing business to happen anywhere. Businesses, from a new start-up to a long-established medium-sized business, can now ride on opportunities provided by our hyper-connected world and be part of international e-commerce.

2. The digital and physical world must co-exist.

While the digital economy is experiencing high growth in Asia, its growth cannot be standalone; a strong physical support is required for all e-commerce activities to flourish. A good example would be the global transportation network. It is a fundamental ingredient in the magical formula to make the two worlds – the digital and physical – work.

With a strong global transportation network that is making trade easier, more affordable and faster^[3], companies of all sizes now have access to global markets that were once unreachable. This is a key factor contributing to a global trade market worth in excess of US$15 trillion.

3. Global supply chains: the match point of business success.

Digitalization has lowered the barriers for small businesses to enter global markets, but this also means that the competition is intensifying. To achieve long-term business success, a global supply chain that run smoothly and meet growing customer needs is critical.

Especially nowadays, customers expect businesses to be accountable for the entire customer journey, even the parts they are not directly responsible for. If a business can ensure end-to-end experiences from order to return, it’s one step ahead of the game to inspire loyalty and drive repeat business. This ecosystem must encompass global reach and the power to reach millions of consumers, but also secure payment, fulfilment, tracking, returns, even shopping cart management – but also the right intelligence to expand choice, flexibility, and to customize the overall service experience.

4. The influx of high-tech businesses and high-value added goods.

In Asia, one of the most prominent challenges faced by many is the aging population. As such, demand for high-tech and high-value added goods for the healthcare industry is on a rise, fuelling remarkable growth across the region. The transportation of such packages comes with unique requirements like temperature-control.

With the proliferation of Internet of Things, high-tech and high-value added goods can be transported with near real-time visibility in a way that you couldn’t before, ensuring the goods remain viable and safe.

While connectivity is impacting businesses of all kinds, it’s important to know that it’s the underlying trends like the rise of small businesses that are fundamentally reshaping the business landscape today. All in all, the above trends are just the beginning to the hyper-connected world. We expect businesses in Asia will continue to grow and evolve as the contents of our planes and vehicles keep changing.

 

 

Karen Reddington is President of Asia Pacific Division of FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company. In this role she heads up Asia Pacific from its headquarters in Hong Kong. The Asia Pacific Division comprises three regions: North Pacific, based in Tokyo; China, based in Shanghai; and South Pacific, based in Singapore. Dr. Reddington is responsible for leading the FedEx business across the region, including overall planning and implementation of corporate strategies and operations across 30 countries and territories with more than 18,000 employees.

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You’ve Had Some Success With Your Entrepreneurship, What Now?

Skeptics who haven’t encountered many success stories in this genre hear “unemployed” when someone says he’s an “entrepreneur”. The truth is that many of the biggest success stories (think Mark Cuban and Arianna Huffington) are people who went the entrepreneurial route.

Dictionary.com defines “entrepreneur” as “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.” That risk is exactly why a good entrepreneurial success story is always so inspiring. What people might not tell you is that once you succeed on this venture that has been your focus so long, you might actually feel a bit lost.

If you’ve had some success with entrepreneurship and are thinking to yourself, “What now?”, we have some suggestions.

Sell High.

If your business is performing like the well-oiled machine you hoped it would be and then some, you’ve likely got bigger companies eyeing it. Now is the time to decide if this is your lifelong baby so you’re going to hold onto it, or if you’re ready to sell it to the highest bidder. If you want the best of both worlds, you can always sell with the caveat that you become a board member, so you’ll still have a say in how the company is run. This is what you’ve been waiting for, right? Now go for it.

Take a Breather.

Being a successful entrepreneur means you are a highly and internally motivated self-starter, and what this also might indicate is that you are a workaholic. Even the best minds need to be turned off once in a while, though. If you’ve just sold your business for a large sum or simply have it going gangbusters, it’s time for you to think about doing the things you missed while getting it off the ground. Travel. Visit with family. Take a vacation or two. Doing so will allow just enough rest to make sure you’ve got the energy for life’s next challenge.

Plant Some Roots.

A lot of entrepreneurial ventures require long hours and travel, so you likely were living out of a suitcase for a while. That kind of life can be fun on a temporary basis but now that you’ve had success, you might think of planting some roots in an area you love. Whether it’s to provide stability for a family or simply to be part of a community, settling down can be one of the most exciting life decisions. One thing you’ll want to do is to buy a house, and webuyhousesdenver.co can help. It’s not without stress but now that you’re (hopefully far) in the black, you’ll have the time to have some fun with this.

Spread Your Knowledge.

Many entrepreneurs want to scream their successes from a mountaintop, and who can blame them? They’ve often been the brainchild of an incredible project, have gone out and gotten the funding, and put in the blood, sweat, and tears needed to get that off the ground. Why not share that entrepreneurial spirit with others? From writing a book on being a “mumpreneur” and going on a public speaking tour to teaching a class and creating an online manual, there are plenty of ways to share your two cents with others. And the good news is you’ll make much more than two cents for doing so.

Start Your Next Venture.

Even if you’re suddenly a millionaire (hey, it happens), your entrepreneurial spirit likely lives on. Once you’ve taken the time to perhaps buy a house and satisfy your wanderlust, it might be time to turn to your next project. You’ve surely already got your next big thing in mind, so form your idea into a business plan, hire your dream crew, and dig into your love of start-up ventures. This is where you truly shine, so why fight it?

There is life after entrepreneurship. Whether you take some time off, retire, or are on to your next venture, just make sure to move forward in a way that will allow for no regrets.

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Tips For New Moms Looking To Start Their Own Business From Home

Becoming a new mom is a very exciting and often overwhelming time in a woman’s life. A new mom can feel as though she’s being pulled in a million different directions at once. So what happens when it’s time to return back to work? If the idea of leaving your new little one is enough to send you into a panic, then heading back to work may not be the right answer for you. This is exactly why so many new mothers look for a different way to pursue a career, a way that still allows them to be at home with their child.

If you have been considering starting your own business but aren’t sure it’s the right path for you, or how you would go about it, here are some tips that could help make your decision and your new career much smoother.

Consider Turning Your Current Job Into a Telecommute Position.

Before you start thinking about business ideas and coming up with a whole plan, you may want to speak to your current employer and see if they would be interested in allowing you to work from home. Telecommuting can be the answer to all your problems.

What are Your Skills and Passions?

The first thing you’re going to want to do is start thinking about what kind of business or work you could do from home. You may be surprised with just how many career opportunities there are. A brainstorming session can help you to identify what your skills, experience, and expertise are, as well as what kind of work you feel passionate about.

By picking something you feel comfortable doing, have knowledge in, and feel passionate about, the business will feel more organic and will be that much easier for you to succeed in.

Bounce Ideas Off Family Members and Friends.

Once you come up with some business ideas then you can bounce those thoughts off friends and family. Get their input on whether they think it’s a viable business and if it’s something they could see you in. Obviously you are the one that decides your career path in the end, but it can be helpful to get an outside opinion.

If you know people in the industry you are eyeing, you can also speak to them and get a sense of where things stand in that field.

Create a Schedule for Your Little One.

Because you will need time to work on your new business you’re going to want to be sure you set up a schedule for your little one. Chances are you’ll need to work while they sleep during the day, and possibly in the evening too, so creating a schedule can help you to plan your work day.

It can also be helpful to do as much in advance as possible. For example if you like to make your own baby food for your little one, check out recipes in advance, make the food up, and then store it in individual reusable containers in the fridge ready to go when you need it. It’s all about making your day easier and smoother.

You Can Have it All.

Being able to have a successful career and give your all as a mom is possible, sometimes it just takes a bit of creativity and planning on your end.

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How To Build The Perfect Website For Your Startup

If you think you have a good business idea and want to sell your product or service online, you will need a website that is attractive and appealing to the eye. It also needs to be of interest to your target audience and this is where research is vitally important.

Get To Know Your Audience.

Before you start the actual building of your website, some preparation work can make the difference between it being successful or not. Researching your audience will help you to know what type of content your site should have. Ask yourself if you will be aiming for the older generation, young mums, the gaming community or any other specific group of potential customers. When it comes to a successful website, content is king and it needs to be interesting to the audience of the genre you want to sell your product or service to.

Researching your competitors is also a worthwhile exercise. See what mistakes they are making and try to find a reason why your product is better than theirs. It only needs one thing about your start-up to stand out above theirs, and this could be something like their customers service is bad or their site is not very user friendly.

There are many analytics available online to look at for information, as well as forums that can be a very useful way of gathering the data you need.

Ready To Start.

So now you have your product and have done your research you are ready to start building your website, but where do you begin? You could build your own, and this might be easier than you think if you use a service dedicated to helping you achieve a brilliant website. They will have a variety of website templates for you to choose from, and the most arduous thing about this is finding one that you think will be suitable for your product. Decisions on which menu bar type will be best, whether you want a full screen or a boxed screen and the sort of header design may all sound complicated to the uninitiated, but with the choice and help available, you will soon get past this first step.

The Right Information.

Your research will hopefully mean that you have the right content for your site. This could be pictures, text, slideshows or videos, whichever shows your product or service in its best light. When someone clicks on your website for the first time they will get an impression of your brand. First impressions tend to be last impressions, as if they do not like what they see they will not return.

If your content appeals to them, they will come back again and again rather than going to competitors’ sites. These return visits will hopefully turn into conversions, and your sales will start to grow.

Assistance is Available.

If you feel you haven’t got a clue and are worried about building your own website perhaps instead you would be better getting help from a professional web designer or website building platform. For example, the website building experts from Webeden.co.uk can create the entire website for you or help you get started, that choice is yours. They have several pricing plans to help you budget the costs, without having to pay huge amounts of money upfront. This is a boon for any new business, at a time when keeping your overheads low is particularly important for most new start-ups. As well as this, there’s also a plethora of guides online to help you build a website if you don’t want professional help. An example can be seen with this guide: How to Make a Website in 2018.

Whether you decide to create the site yourself or use the experts to do it for you, building the perfect website for your start-up need not be as expensive as you might think.

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The One ICO Marketing Checklist You Need To Succeed

Initial coin offerings or ICOs are one of the hottest opportunities in the world of blockchain and tech for companies and teams to get needed funding without sacrificing equity or long wait times. As such, every individual and group with an idea (and some without one) is trying to conduct their own ICO for one reason or another.

Why ICOs Fail.

Some succeed, and others fail for some reasons, but most often, its due to having a terrible marketing plan. They either don’t think about it enough or just try and throw money at it. Many bad ideas with great marketing have hit their hard cap.

Even more great ideas or teams have failed to even hit half their hard cap because of their arrogance or lack of a marketing strategy that is realistic. They assume their product or idea is so potent that the market will just take it up and spread it without any effort.

This is the equivalent of praying that your ICO will be successful. It may feel good but direct action is the only guarantee of some result. Most coders and business owners aren’t marketers. Its hard for most ICO teams to perceive just what goes into marketing.

What makes it harder is there are so much dense jargon and lofty language used by marketers that when ICO teams try and research what to do can’t pick out what’s important and what is not.

So, let’s take a look at an alternative ICO marketing checklist that focuses on the why and how more than abstract terms.

Condense Your Benefits/Offering.

Your team needs to look at what your team has to offer, what your product has to offer (what problem it solves), how it solves it better than anyone else, and why it’s needed. This needs to be broken down into easy to digest terminology for both the tech savvy and the layman.

• Your prospective customers need to understand why they need what you are creating.
• Your prospective investors need to understand why this is a good investment.
• Your community needs to know what they are rallying behind.

Craft Your Story & Tell It.

There is nothing people love more than a story. But, most ICOs don’t say anything beyond what they have. You need to look at what aspects of your team, your product, or what you are solving can be sold to the general public as interesting.

This can be how your team came together, how the idea came about, why it is necessary. Look at Elon Musk as an example of a great marketer that knows how to make things happen and makes it a spectacle.

Telling your story also means keeping your community engaged. Don’t make it a half effort. Run a blog with weekly updates, get guest posts on tech blogs, whatever you can to establish your brand’s authority.

Have Your Details & An FAQ In Order.

One of the most problematic things is how many ICO teams can’t answer questions well. It doesn’t inspire confidence from users or investors. Your team needs to be able to hone in one details just in case anyone attempts to dig for any weakness.

Also, while having a white paper and one pager is good, it takes more than that.  Having an actual FAQ for the layman will go far. Many of the same fifty questions are asked repetitively during the hype process before an ICO happens and even after. It’s important to ensure anyone interested is as educated as possible.

Bounties & Community Managers.

One final note, bounty programs convert average users into evangelists for your brand. Bounties need to be utilized, both because it brings more than one kind of investor into your ICO process, but it also helps with press that can be leveraged later on.

Beyond that, having a community manager that can handle the bounty and the flood of telegram and emails is essential to ensure your ICO grows and runs smoothly. Don’t skimp on any of these ico marketing checklist details, and you are well on your way to successful ICO.

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What Benefits Do Modular Buildings Bring To UK Businesses?

Modular construction could be the building solution that domestic and commercial clients are looking for to establish and extend their homes and business premises. MTX Contracts take a closer look at the benefits of modular building for UK businesses.

Modular building is fast becoming the construction method of choice. With remarkable examples of domestic homes and commercial premises, more and more people are looking to modular construction as a means of creating their ideal property, whether that is a family home or another kind of domestic dwelling, or a business premises.

And it seems that this versatile method of construction offers an array of solutions. A revolutionary modern technique of building, for any business, irrespective of size, there are many benefits to this form of construction.

#1. It’s fast without compromising on quality.

For any business, time is money and waiting months – or even years – to have an extension or new premises completed and ready to take possession of is simply unacceptable. But with traditional construction methods, there has been no choice. Modular construction is 30 to 50% quicker than traditional build methods, a benefit every business client can take advantage of.

#2. Built off site.

Any kind of building work is disruptive, whether that is building a small extension or whole new premises. Essentially what off site modular construction means is far less disruption at your current place of work. No traffic lights to clog traffic, and far fewer health and safety hazards to identify and negate. The pods are then transported to site and placed in situ, with the final finishing touches being completed.

#3. Minimal overall disruption.

Of course, it is not just about the physical disruption on site. Building work is noisy, dusty and uncomfortable. It seems to seep into every aspect of your business’s daily routine. But again, with the majority of modular construction taking place off site, there is less overall disruption. Your business can carry on operating, without being squeezed by noisy construction.

#4 Ups your eco-credentials

Can any business afford to ignore their impact on the environment, or how waste impacts on their business resources and budgets? Customers have an expectation that businesses are making strides to reduce environmental impact and so when it comes to upping your environmental credentials, modular building is a fantastic opportunity. Using sustainable materials and less-wasteful construction methods, it forms part of your commitment to the environment.

#5. A cost effective option.

You may think that a bespoke building would come with a hefty price and no doubt, using a traditional building method it would. But not with modular construction. In effect, you get more for your money. And modular building can save you money too. An NHS framework is making it its mission to save the NHS £1 billion with more cost-effective buildings, something MTX Contracts is proud to be part of.

#6. Attractive.

Want an extension that fits with your current building aesthetic? Or maybe you want an almost space-like modern finish to your new premises? Or maybe you want a mix of both, but you just know you want it to look attractive. There are no set options when it comes to the final look and appeal of your new build because with modular design you create the whole thing, inside and outside.

#7. Fits your business exactly.

Just to re-emphasise the point, it is within your budget to create a truly unique bespoke modular building whether like previous clients of MTX Contracts you want forensic laboratories, operating theatres, clinics and other specialist medical facilities or educational premises.

#8. Super-flexible solutions.

Your business changes with the ebbs and flows of commerce. There may be time your business rapidly expands in terms of volume of order, or it could be a physical expansion. The impact of technology also places pressure on the space you have to work in. Modular building interiors can easily be changed and modified. Open up the space if you need to or add walls to create zoned areas or separate rooms.

#9. Quality, quality, quality.

There is no business client who doesn’t want the top end of quality when it comes to new premises. The quality of finish, construction and building methods are second to none and for turnkey business clients, the benefit of walking into a fully functioning new business premises is ideal.

#10. Durable, robust, warm, energy efficient.

There is no denying the quality therefore there is no deny the robustness of modular building, nor its durability nor its comfort rating. Cool in summer, warm in winter, the thermo-performance of a modular build property outshines that of any other.

From its green credentials to the lower price tag, there is much to be celebrated about modular building which is why more businesses are turning to it as a solution for their property needs.

MTX Contracts create stunning modular build solutions for businesses and commercial clients all over the UK including medical and educational facilities. Hop on over to Twitter for their latest project news @MTXContracts.

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Will Food-Focused eCommerce Create Waste?

Many people are concerned about the impact of waste on the environment and the economy. Across the board, processes are just inherently inefficient — causing massive amounts of resources to go unused. Food is one of the worst cases of waste. And, the United States is one of the worst perpetrators.

Every year, $165 billion worth of food is thrown away in the U.S.

It is imperative that we find ways to reduce food waste. With that said, the question now becomes how we should go about accomplishing this?

Will food-focused eCommerce create waste, or alleviate the problem?

What You Want, When You Want It.

Part of the reason so much food is wasted in the U.S. is consumers don’t use the things they buy. When people go to the store, they tend to get what they think is enough food to last until the next time they go shopping. Thus, people tend to overbuy. This isn’t necessarily an issue for things that can just sit in the freezer. But what about all of those perishable items like fruit and dairy products? Consumers usually want them when they buy them; but the tendency is often to forget about those items and accidentally allow them to go bad.

One benefit to eCommerce food delivery is it will lower the amount of food people need to purchase at any given time. When goods are brought directly to your home, you won’t need to plan so far in advance. The time-consuming aspect of shopping is negated in this way. By having the option to get groceries and other foods delivered, people will be more likely to buy only what they will eat in the immediate future.

How Can You Get In on the eCommerce Food Trend?

Many companies—large and small—are trying to find the best way to enter the eCommerce food space. As with most things, being an early adopter of a trend positions you for more success down the line. The first step is to find the best website builder for eCommerce. There are many options out there; but some are superior to others. You also need to figure out your product niche. Are you going to sell pressed juices or homemade meals? Whatever you do, make sure it can be delivered in a timely manner and arrive fresh — in one piece.

Won’t Home Food Delivery Be Wasteful in Other Ways?

It’s easy to assume delivery is less efficient than people going to the store to pick things up. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. It actually makes more sense to have food delivery from a fuel consumption perspective. A few trucks can fill the role of a fleet of cars. Further, there will be fewer cars on the road if people aren’t all going to the same places. This means efficiency will increase for those vehicles still out there dealing with fewer impediments.

Containers are another potential concern of food ecommerce. Food and food packaging makes up about 45 percent of landfill waste in the U.S. under the current paradigm. Imagine how much of that could be cut down if food ecommerce companies offered reusable packaging? This could singlehandedly reduce the amount of waste food service contributes to our environmental problems.

No one has figured out the perfect system for food eCommerce yet. However, it’s safe to say that, if done correctly, food-focused eCommerce has the potential to reduce overall waste.  Plus, we’ll all be eating fresher and potentially healthier — that registers as a win-win for everyone.

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Why Emotional Intelligence Will Become A Key Leadership Skill At Work

by Soulaima Gourani, founder and CEO of Tradeconductor

In the future, when information and knowledge become available to everyone and robots begin to replace humans at work, the question is – what will the future of workplace look like? Many believe that robots represent the future workforce and it is just a matter of time when technology will replace a lot of jobs. If that is to happen, then what will be one’s most valuable skill at work?

If you want to be competent in the future, it is not your education, business skills, or expertise that makes you valuable at work. What you need to develop are soft-skills, such as empathy, ability to work with others, and integrity.

I consider Emotional Intelligence (EI) as one of the most valuable skills one could have in the future because people with good emotional skills can make a positive working atmosphere. Studies, show that a that positive environment can boost workplace creativity and productivity. When you feel safe, you are willing to take risks.

Digitalization and automatisation will replace a lot of employees, but they cannot replace meaningful human connection. In that condition, your ability to understand each other, form supportive relationships, and build trust becomes the backbone of creativity and innovation.

You cannot grow and learn in the working atmosphere of distrust. Until you feel safe, you will not step out of the comfort zone. Under those circumstances, you withdraw your ideas to yourself and expect to be judged.  The judgmental atmosphere will not encourage anyone to be authentic, creative and innovative.

True understanding can broaden your perception and help you embrace mutual differences. When you form your relationships based on similarities instead of differences, you will create the atmosphere of trust.

Elon Musk is a leader with a good emotional intelligence – an example, in an email he sent to his Tesla Employees. The future of leadership is to step down from a pedestal, share their struggles, and connect. Future leaders will be the leaders you can trust. You cannot buy anything from a man just because of his expertise or fancy suit. You will buy from people you can trust. This principle will apply at every level – customer, employee, personal, etc.

Only trustful leaders inspire confidence in others. They possess a good self-knowledge and are not afraid to share their stories.

Future demands of the workplace do not expect good emotional skills only from leaders. These skills become essential for everyone. Because of that, instead of investing your time, money, and energy on building intellectual skills and expertise, you will benefit the most from training your emotional intelligence. Build great emotional skills, especially when facing difficulties and conflicts. When you see problems as challenges and conflicts as an opportunity to connect deeper, you will stretch your emotional muscles. This practice can help you grow and train these precious skills and be ready for the future.

 

Founder and CEO of Tradeconductor Soulaima Gourani is a lecturer, corporate advisor, and author. In 2012 she was announced as one of the Young Global Leaders by World Economic Forum and later that year named to be the chairwoman of the non-profit organisation Global Dignity.  In 2013 she was announced as one of the greatest thinkers in the Nordic by Nordic Business Forum. and in 2014 chosen as one of the “40 under 40” European young leaders. She was elected as a TED mentor in 2016.

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LinkedIn: It’s Not the Only Game In Town

If Harry Potter had a LinkedIn profile, what would it look like? His headline would probably read something like “Classically trained wizard with a proven record of conflict resolution.” Harry would do all the right things in his profile (with help from Hermione Granger, of course). He’d have a great profile picture and use relevant keywords and phrases in his about section. He’d share often, comment, add original content and post exciting visual elements.

But even Harry might not realize the professional benefits other social media channels offer. To be sure, your business needs a comprehensive and engaging LinkedIn company page; after all, LinkedIn is the most widely used professional and business social media platform. But it’s certainly not the only game in town. If you’re in business, check out the following platforms. You know Harry would.

Facebook For Business?

Unlike LinkedIn, Facebook wasn’t built for enterprise. But it has reputation, visibility and communication tools that make it an invaluable business resource. Consumer and small-business owners have long understood the value of Facebook for building relationships. More than just an easy platform for communicating directly with customers, Facebook is a force when it comes to networking, learning, sharing and building a community of loyal followers.

One of Facebook’s most overlooked features is the groups option. Click or tap the “Groups” link in the left sidebar navigation. Browse through the “Explore” section to find the “Business” and “Professional Networking” sections. From there you can browse the lists to find groups related to your profession or industry, or you can search using specific keywords and phrases. Join groups you’d like to participate in.

After becoming a group member, you can connect with other industry professionals, share news and links and discuss hot topics. If you’re in a highly specialized field and can’t seem to find the right group, create your own and recruit members. You can also create a group within an existing group for more focused discussions.

Tweet Your Way to Hogwarts.

Twitter has a reputation for being a fast-paced breaking news platform. And that’s just what it is. But Twitter can also be an effective networking tool and online reputation builder. Follow your profession’s industry leaders and retweet newsworthy events and posts. Share plenty, follow others, add your own comments when you share posts, and engage daily.

Take time to learn the value of hashtags. Hashtag searches can help you find peers, connect with influencers and quickly discover industry-specific posts and threads. Create searchable hashtags for your own company events, news and announcements. The most popular hashtags make it to Twitter’s Trending list which increases visibility even more.

What’s a Quora?

Former Facebook employees Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever founded Quora in 2009. In simplest terms, Quora is a community-run knowledge database. Users post questions and answers on a variety of topics, including all things business.

Only registered users can post. Registrants must use their real names—no screen names allowed—to ensure authenticity. Community users rate answers, suggest edits, provide more information and discuss various points relevant to the question asked. Other users check content for validity and worthiness, but Quora maintains a small staff of editors who intervene in the case of egregious violations of the site’s terms of service.  

You’re thinking, This is all interesting, but what does it mean for me? Shortly after its founding, business owners and professionals began to flock to the platform, realizing its value. Forming new connections, networking with colleagues, discovering learning opportunities and sharing expertise are part of what makes Quora such an effective professional tool. The platform provides an easy way to share posts via email as well as other social media platforms. Even better, Quora posts rank well in search engine listings.

The Quora platform is an underrated tool for professionals and businesses. It’s free and easy to use, and engagement only takes a few minutes each day.   

Google Plus, You Say?

You’d think Google Plus would be one of the most widely used platforms for businesses and professionals. But for some reason, it fails to appear on a lot of social network popularity lists.

Google Plus offers many of the same tools LinkedIn does, including a professional or business profile, website and blog links, and the opportunity to post your own content and share content posted by others. In addition, Google Plus gives you the ability to connect with fans and customers. It’s also easier to see and respond to comments on Google Plus than on Twitter. In other words, the platform’s got a lot going for it. It just doesn’t have the huge user numbers … yet. But, it’s Google — it’s a good bet it will.

Google Plus for business has another advantage other platforms don’t—it’s owned and administered by the company synonymous with search engines. Sure, your profile, content, summaries and descriptions on other social media platforms show up in Google searches. But it couldn’t hurt to use the social media platform also owned by the most widely used search engine in the world, could it?  

I See YouTube.

Believe it or not, YouTube isn’t only for cute cat videos. They may be the most fun, but finding and connecting with potential business partners, reaching out to customers and attracting a global audience are all possible with YouTube.

Video lets viewers see who you are and learn what you know. Create short, elevator pitch-style videos to tell potential partners or customers about your business. Make brief bio videos to explain your services. If you’re looking for clients, explain why someone should hire you. Make how-to videos in your area of expertise. Explain difficult concepts. YouTube is an effective platform to prove you’re an expert and a human being as well.

Once you put videos on YouTube, it’s easy to post them to your various social media platforms and embed them into your website or blog.

Of course, a video is a bit more difficult to create than a tweet or Facebook post. Look at videos made by partners and competitors to see what you’re up against. With practice, you’ll get the hang of it—remember, it took Harry Potter a few tries to levitate his first feather.

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Multiple Marketing: Why Consistency Matters In Advertising

Advertising and marketing serve one essential purpose: to bring in business. Your logos, patterns, color choices, word choices, and more all are designed to persuade people to do business with you, whether you’re offering tutoring services or selling a product.

Marketing is only effective, however, if you do it across multiple platforms (digital, print, etc.) and if you keep it consistent.

Multiple platforms.

Whatever your business offers, you can’t rely on one method of advertising as your sole marketing option. You need to utilize a mixture of digital methods and offline methods. Digital methods include having a website, using social media, and buying online ads. Offline methods include billboards, ads in magazines and newspapers, vehicle wraps, the sign outside your physical location, and things like business cards, branded pens, t-shirts, and tote bags.

Consistency counts.

All of those methods are only useful if potential customers are able to recognize that they’re all for your business. The only way that can happen is if you use a consistent logo, name, and color choices. Hired printer services like Nonstop Signs and Graphics and digital graphic designers should be on the same page when it comes to the specifications of these advertising elements. Even a change as small as the same logo with different colors can be enough to throw someone off and give consumers the impression it’s two different companies.

Repetition keeps you in mind.

This consistency isn’t just important for recognition purposes. The other reason your advertising works is because the customer sees it over and over again, and this puts you firmly in their mind. They might not need a plumber but once every few years, but if they see your ad on social media and pass by your billboard every day, when their toilet backs up, your name will come to mind because of the constant repetition.

But again, if you make even small changes, that can be enough to make a marketing method seem like it came from another company and they might not remember you as easily then.

How to stay consistent.

You want to be consistent, but you also don’t want to be boring and offer the same thing every time. So how do you manage consistency along with the freshness of new and different advertising? Try the following ideas:

• Keep your company logo in the same place every time, such as the top right corner or bottom left.
• Use the same or very similar colors in every advertisement. For example, a plumbing company might use shades of blue to represent water, or a jewelry store might use shades of silver and gold.
• Keep signs and graphics the same. If you make magnets to go on company vehicles, for example, keep them as close to the same as your business location’s sign so the connection between the two is made.

Don’t forget to apply this to anything you use for marketing purposes. Apparel, pens, business cards, tote bags, fridge magnets, keychains, and other promotional items designed with the intention of reminding people of your business should use the same logo, patterns, colors, and other graphics.

Consistency in advertising is critical to making your message cohesive across all marketing avenues. Keeping your business in the forefront of potential customers’ minds happens when they see your ads in multiple places and ways, and can connect them all to your business. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by creating an ad that is so wildly different that people can’t immediately connect it with your business.

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Hiring Matters More Than Ever At The Startup Level

Despite records being broken on Wall Street, the economy is not the best it has ever been, a reality that most people will acknowledge. However, this does not mean that you are out of luck when it comes to making money. If you have a special skill, you can start a business and be your own boss. If you end up needing a startup staff for your business, this can present a whole new challenge because of the money that needs to be invested into hiring people. However, what a lot of people do not know is that you do not need to spend a lot of money hiring and paying people if you are trying to launch your startup business.

One option is to hire a remote workforce for your startup. Depending on what your specific business is, there are many ways that you can go about this. If all you need are freelance skills, you can go on different types of job boards and websites that will be accessed by all sorts of skilled professionals. You can post an ad, or you can look at ads posted by potential employees detailing their skills. Furthermore, getting connected with an entity specializing in international payments for business, such as Veem, allows for startups to easily utilize talent located anywhere on earth, greatly increasing the odds of finding the best person for the job.

Many people who are starting out in their respective freelance businesses are looking for any work they can find and are willing to accept cheap rates. This is particularly true of people who live in developing countries, as because of inflation, they do not require the high wages that people would require and developed countries. Money simply goes further in most developing countries, so they will be willing to accept rates that are very hard for anyone in a developed country to compete with.

If you are wondering about how to hire the best in these situations, all you need to do is look at the people who will be willing to work for you on the budget that you are offering. You can ask them for related work samples so that you can see that they truly are capable of good work in the field that you are exploring. You can then give them paid trial assignments so that you can see for yourself that they will be good at the tasks that you assigned to them. Then, just hire the ones that you feel have passed your tests and that will be good employees for your startup company.

If it is a product that you are trying to sell, there are ways to outsource production and manufacturing to other countries as well. Many companies in the United States actually use factories overseas to manufacture products or parts for them for much cheaper cost than they would have to pay if they were paying people in the United States to do this.

As you can see, there are many ways that you can save money when trying to hire a startup staff for your new business. You can hire a talented staff without having to spend an arm and a leg on their salaries. However, you should be aware that many people who are talented are not going to stay working for low pay for a very long time, and you should also be aware of the possible pitfalls of working with people who are spread all around the globe. As such, when your startup starts becoming successful, you may want to start incorporating some local workers as well, so that you can make sure that you have loyal and dedicated staff who will stick with you.

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Importance Of Cryptocurrency That You Need To Know

Cryptocurrency has created quite a buzz ever since the prices of certain types of cryptocurrencies suddenly rose. As we see, this has become a new trend in the world of investment for real fair reasons. People who invested in them have been benefitted in unimaginable ways.

Here are the reasons why cryptocurrencies are really important:

1. Cryptocurrency is one of the safest and trusted kinds of digital currency that people prefer nowadays. In a world where there is an abundance of conmen and looters, we all need to trade in the safest possible ways. Cryptocurrencies give us that assurance which makes them an important source of investment right now and in the future as well.

2. Another reason why cryptocurrencies have become extremely in demand is because of their policies. You don’t really need to deal with a third party when it comes to cryptocurrency. This gives people a reassurance and a feeling of safety. The fact that cryptocurrencies are digital currencies alleviates the need for a third party. You can transact no matter where you are situated at.

3. Cryptocurrency is a low-cost means of transaction. You don’t need to shell out money in order to exchange digital currencies. All you need in order to be able to transact is your cell phone and a basic knowledge of cryptocurrencies.

4. Most of the digital currencies have to pay for transactions. In the case of cryptocurrencies, you don’t really need to pay for the transactions. The reason is that the people who mine the cryptocurrencies; called as miners get their compensation from the network itself.

5. You can store your cryptocurrencies in a safe wallet. Cryptocurrencies give you the option of storing your money in two kinds of wallets which can easily be transferred to your account. And the wallets don’t have any charges in order to be able to store your digital currencies.

6. For most people, privacy is the top-most priority. When dealing in cryptocurrencies, you can expect your transactions to be highly confidential. You can carry out your transactions and be anonymous.

7. The amount of money that you want to invest is totally up to Cryptocurrencies give you the liberty of buying them in fractions as well. If you feel like one bitcoin is too much, you can split it and buy half or one-third of it. This reduces the cost for you and does not require you to spend out of bounds. Using a crypto converter, you can find out the price of any cryptocurrency in your country’s currency and invest accordingly.

8. Since the senders and recipients of cryptocurrencies don’t directly transfer any money to the credit cards, you don’t have to share your credentials with anyone. This helps you in avoiding identity theft. You decide what information you want to share with the merchant if anything at all makes you doubtful.

9. You get complete autonomy that you look for. When it comes to cryptocurrencies, there is no third party involved to demand for any fee or money. You are the only person who is managing your account.

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4 Things Millennials Should Consider Before Forex Trading

Millennials have a reputation for jumping into things and thinking about them later. When they hear about the opportunities forex trading provides, they may not stop to consider everything they need to be successful and minimize their chance of risk.

If you’re a millennial who has considered forex trading, be sure to consider the following issues before you initiate your first trade.

Read Up on Scams.

While there are a lot of perfectly legitimate forex brokers out there, not all of them have such good intentions. One of the biggest risks of entering the market is falling prey to a scammer. Forex scams can come in a number of forms, including fake forex software, the creation of false customer accounts, the theft of your trading account information, and getting swindled by an ineffective trading scheme.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any service or company that claims it can get you over a 30 percent return in as little as two months.

Make Sure You Have Enough Income.

Unfortunately, 71 percent of the class of 2015 graduated from college with some form of student debt. The average amount of debt was over $35,000, which is more than many millennials make per year in an entry-level job. If you have student loans, chances are you don’t have the income to start forex trading.

However, if you’re in the lucky 29 percent of graduates that don’t have any debt, congratulations. You’re probably in a good position to create some variable income with the extra money you earn each month. Just don’t quit your day job, as forex trading rarely becomes a steady stream of cash when you first start out.

Don’t Let Emotions Take Control.

Forex trading can be frustrating, particularly at the beginning. You might lose all of your money on a bad trade, meaning you’ll have to start back at square one. When this happens, you can’t let your emotions take control. Never make a move out of anger, as this will only make matters worse.

Forex trading isn’t just a hobby — it’s like a part-time job. You can’t just go into it for the fun. Instead, you’ll need to keep a rational head and make good decisions that won’t cost you your income.

Don’t Expect to Get Rich.

You won’t be able to get rich quickly with forex trading. Rather, it’s sort of a long-game situation. Ideally, you should never risk more than 1 percent of your money in any given trade. It’s guaranteed that you will lose some trades, so doing any more than this could cost you big.

Most seasoned traders see trade win rates of over 50 percent, with 55 percent being a good goal. If you can get to this number, you might be able to get a 20 percent return every month, but most likely, it will be far less than that to start.

Jumping into the forex trading market is a great way to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. Just make sure you’re prepared for the journey and know exactly what you’re getting into before investing too much.

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5 Tips For Product Startups Wrestling With State & Federal Regulations

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, burdensome government regulations are directly responsible for the long-term decline in small business formation. Despite a 40% increase in population, Americans started about 11% fewer businesses in 2013 than 1980. It was never easy to strike out on your own, but it’s even harder today.

Some companies know this better than others. Take Zen Magnets, a Colorado-based magnet distributor run by entrepreneur Shihan Qu. Zen Magnets endured a years-long battle with an overzealous Consumer Product Safety Commission over the supposed risks of its Small Rare Earth Magnets or SREM’s — spherical, high-power magnets that can form a dizzying variety of shapes. The battle nearly bankrupted Shihan’s business, and though he ultimately prevailed, many entrepreneurs facing similar assaults aren’t so lucky.

That’s why it’s so important to understand and get out ahead of the regulations that might apply to your enterprise. Here are five things you can do to improve your compliance position. 

1. Contact Your Local Small Business Administration Office.

First, contact your local Small Business Administration office. The SBA is arguably the most business-friendly federal agency around — its sole purpose is to make life easier for entrepreneurs. While the SBA can’t hold your hand through every step of the compliance process, its expert consultants can certainly help set your expectations for what lies ahead, and its regulatory workshops provide valuable insight into regulatory changes.

2. Appoint a Compliance Officer or Point Person.

No matter how small your organization is, it needs a compliance officer or regulatory point person — even if that person is you. Designating one person responsible for all compliance matters reduces the likelihood of oversights and blame-shifting. 

3. Subscribe to Industry Publications and Other Reliable Sources for Regulatory Information.

Look for reliable sources of regulatory and compliance information in your industry: trade magazines, legal newsletters, government agency bulletins, publications from business associations, and so on. The more independent sources of regulatory information you collect, the more prepared you’ll be to tackle regulatory challenges head-on.

4. Retain a Qualified Business Lawyer With Experience in Your Industry.

Connect with a qualified business attorney with a proven track record advising clients in your industry. They don’t necessarily have to have litigation experience — though, if you find yourself facing an enforcement action like Zen Magnets did, that’ll come in handy.

5. Automate Straightforward Compliance Processes. 

Lastly, automate simple compliance processes that don’t require hands-on attention. For instance, you might set your payroll software to alert you when your hourly workers hit 35 hours worked in a single week — giving you plenty of heads-up to trim the remainder of their hours before they reach the 40-hour overtime threshold.

Is Your Regulatory Burden Under Control? 

As an entrepreneur, you have plenty to worry about besides state and federal regulations. But, like death and taxes, it’s not really possible to avoid the regulatory state. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — society needs commonsense laws and enforcement policies, after all. Do yourself and your bottom line a favor and learn the lay of the land in your locality and industry before you make a potentially fateful mistake.

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