How Team Building Can Help Your Business

Brexit. It’s a word that we hear so often, and rarely in a positive way. With a withdrawal deal still very much up in the air, business owners all over the UK are wondering where they stand.

If you are worried about how your team will hold up in the coming months and years, it could be time to invest some time and money into some team building activities to really strengthen workplace relationships.

Brexit is set to affect every business.

With Brexit just around the corner, business owners are facing a lot of uncertainty. From stocks and shares to medical supplies, from food to property prices, it seems as if every industry is affected by it. It doesn’t matter if you run a multi-million-pound enterprise or you’re only just getting a company off the ground – it’s natural to feel a little worried. With 2019 set to be a big year, it’s vital that your team are ready to tackle it head on.

Strong teams are needed now more than ever.

Strong teams are needed in tough times, but those tough times are when people are going to be lacking in confidence and motivation. Brexit is one of those landmark events where everyone is going to be feeling nervous, whether they are a UK national or an EU citizen. If your workforce is made up of people from all over the world, tensions could arise. So to boost morale and promote unity within your staff, invest in some team building. Theresa May could certainly do with some positivity in her Cabinet right now!

Benefits of team building.

There are so many benefits to team building. It gets everyone working together, and if there is one thing that a company needs in post-Brexit Britain it’s a strong focus on collaboration and communication. Team building activities also help people to become more confident, and you may find that those who aren’t typically leaders in the work place really step up and find that inner belief. Plus, it really helps with productivity and working under pressure.

Have fun while you build for the future.

There’s a misconception that team building events are overly corporate and full of cliches, but that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Zing Events team building company, for example, are totally changing the way team building days work, and offer a huge range of activities for all kinds of businesses. You can take your pick from creating cocktails, making pizzas, completing treasure hunts and even investigating a ‘crime scene’. That’s about as far away as you can get from a boring boardroom!

Start bolstering your team now.

By investing in some team building activities now, you’ll be able to end the year on a positive note. There’s no predicting how Brexit will turn out, but by taking some steps to build a strong team you’ll be much better prepared for whatever our exit from the European Union brings. So why not arrange a team building day as a special end of year treat for you all? It’ll be a great way to unwind, have fun together, but most importantly of all, lay the foundations for a strong future for your business.

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5 Reasons Why Your Business Is Losing Out By Not Having A Mobile App

Although smartphones haven’t exactly replaced desktop computers like experts believed they might a few years ago, there is no doubt about the fact that people now use their phone a lot more frequently than desktops or laptops. From the perspective of a business, this means that unless you are paying attention to the mobile aspect of your online business, you are losing out big time.

In case anyone needs more reasons than just the ever-increasing popularity of smartphones, here are five other reasons why most businesses need to invest in app development sooner rather than later.

Branding.

The most important long-term factor that every company cares about the most in terms of marketing is the establishment of the brand name, and having a dedicated mobile application is an important part of getting there. Every big name in almost every industry already has an app, so by having one yourself, you automatically take one giant step towards establishing the company name as a reputed brand. If you don’t have a mobile application though, you are running the risk of being seen by potential clients and customers as outdated and uninformed.

Even if you think that you are too small to need a dedicated mobile app, you are probably wrong because business is just as much about appearances and foresight as it is about immediate practicality. For example, if a client asks you why the company doesn’t have a mobile app and you tell them that the company is currently too small to invest in app development, you have just branded your business as small-time and your own perceptions regarding its future as unambitious.

Ease of Communication.

Every one of your employees already has a smartphone and it’s so much easier, faster, and more convenient to communicate and update in real time via a dedicated company app that doesn’t require opening the computer. What this does is allow for faster communication because everyone has easy access to a smartphone most of the time; something that cannot be said about even the smallest of laptops. When your workers and managers don’t have the locational freedom of a cloud-synced app to work with, every little delay in communication can add up to significant losses.

Unprecedented Customer Engagement.

The average Australian spends multiple hours every day with a smartphone, so it should be obvious that there is no better platform than iOS and Android to engage the attention of your customers. However, if you ever visit the mobile version of Amazon.com from your smartphone, you will notice that it’s not nearly as fluid as the dedicated Amazon application which you downloaded from the App Store or the Google Play Store. If Amazon can’t get the site’s mobile version on a browser to work as well as its application, rest assured that no one else has the technology to do any better either. To make your website mobile-friendly is a good first step towards embracing the importance of smartphones in business, but it isn’t enough anymore because apps provide a much better experience by default.

People always come back to places that deliver the best experience and, therefore, in order to engage the attention of your customers, you need a mobile application that can do exactly that. To deliver the experience your customers need to stay interested in your app, look for a mobile app developer like Appetiser to develop it for you. Appetiser has a history of business app development for multinational corporations such as Lego, Cadbury, and even Samsung, so they are more than qualified to listen, suggest, and deliver exactly what is required.

Staying Close to the Customer.

Every time your application is downloaded, you are gaining ground with customers, even if they don’t use it too often. The very fact that you are on their phones mean that people are already aware of you. Thanks to push notifications, the app can always keep reminding them of the latest developments, offers, and such to make sure that they remain in the loop. When a business depends solely on their mobile website to do the same, they will lose ground to a dedicated app and are much more likely to be forgotten.

Customer Expectation.

A modern mobile app is a one-stop solution for customers and most of them are so used to the ease of finding everything directly from one place that when they do not find the same convenience elsewhere, the business is both consciously and subconsciously branded as sub-par or harder to deal with. If you don’t have a mobile app, then that’s very bad news for your business prospects, irrespective of how good the company might be in practice.

App development isn’t anything that can be considered too complicated, not from where we stand today at least. However, it is an entirely different thing to have an app that works flawlessly to represent your business in the exact way that you want it to be represented. Therefore, you will need a good mobile app developer to work with, and probably a few updates after launch, before the software is able to function as expected.

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Bringing Your Office Environment To Higher Productivity

You may have heard it before, but the workplace environment is one of those deal makers or deal breakers when it comes to worker’s productivity. If you want to make your employees more productive and boost their creativity, you should start by now to redesign your office space and give it a little extra pampering and cleaning treatment, because according to multiple studies, this is the easiest way to tackle this.

Interior designers certainly have plenty of information available on how to optimize the workplace in such a fashion to make your employees’ time there more enjoyable, creative and productive.

Follow the tips below and test those theories yourself.

Plants and greenery.

Plants are an inexpensive and effective way to beautify all spaces. And expert interior designers and psychologists advise business owners to bring in some plants if they want to register higher rates of workplace productivity. This research paper shows that those employees that work in office spaces where plants and greenery is part of the environment are 15% more productive.

If you think that keeping plants alive in office spaces if more than difficult, remember that you can always choose out of various species that react differently when exposed to different levels of light and care. After all, there are plants that don’t need to much light to thrive. On the plus side, you can always invest in plants with air-filtering properties and make sure that your employees are not only more productive but also healthier.

Succulents are those types of plans that are very low-maintenance and widely available. However, note the fact that these plants require plenty of light. For lower light requirement plants, opt for water lily. These have incredible air-filtering properties, while not demanding plenty of natural light.

Natural light.

Another must-have element in an office space is natural light. Thus, when selecting your office space, make sure that you choose one with wide windows that are south-oriented. This way, your employees will feel more relaxed and creative in the workplace.

Low natural light levels can deregulate one’s circadian rhythm and make them feel progressively more tired and depressed. Those winter months when the hours of natural light are fewer are more likely to make your employees less creative, continuously tired and sick. If you simply can’t offer your employees natural light, consider investing in SAD lamps to compensate. This is an affordable and effective solution which you have to consider.

Offer your employees noise-cancelling headphones.

We all have different working styles, depending on our personality. Some of us love some music in the background when working on an important task, other might simply get lost in information whenever they are disturbed by various office noises, even small chatter. To make things easier for everybody, you want to invest in some noise-cancelling headphones and offer your employees the opportunity to choose the way in which they are more productive.

Plus, putting headphones on will make certain employees more productive because, in this way, they let others know that they’re not particularly up for a chat. This is a win-win situation for everybody in an office!

Keep it clean.

Clutter is killing you mentally and your productivity levels at the same time. If you want to have more creative and mentally relaxed employees, consider a closer collaboration with a professional commercial cleaning team, the experts at WeCleanIt advise. Clutter and dirt are not only visually unappealing, but they might make your employees depressed, fall out of focus easily and get stressed.

There are many negative results from working in dirty, cluttered spaces.

Clutter is a focus killer. Clutter of all kinds (mental, physical, or digital) can make you fall out of focus progressively and it always makes it more difficult to organize your daily tasks. In dirty and cluttered spaces, this is one of the biggest productivity killers out there. So, make sure that your employees enjoy a tidy and clean office space.

Clutter and dirt will make you feel stressed. When you’re surrounded by clutter and dirt, your mind is bombarded with information from multiple sources which will overwork its processes. Most frequently, dirt and clutter will make those living or working in similar conditions feel like they are more stressed than they actually are.

You’re slower in dirty workplace environments. Dirty workplaces make us work slower and deliver poor-quality results. Even the slightest stressor will cause us to take longer to accomplish even the simplest tasks.

Offer your employees small perks.

Free snacks, a relaxation room and a lounge area, maybe a workplace gym are all environmental factors that contribute to making your employees more productive and happier, overall. You don’t know when a wave of mid-day hunger will strike your employees and make them less focused and less productive. Plus, employees who enjoy similar perks in the office are more likely to deliver more because they feel valued and cared for. Make sure to show your employees that they are more than a simple mean of boosting your company’s revenue. Show them that they really matter and that they are valuable to you and your establishment as individuals.

Have some fun at work.

The workplace environment is more than the way in which you decorate your office space and how clean it is. It’s also about the company culture and the way in which you allow your employees to interact and socialise. Multiple studies have shown that employees that work in fun and entertaining workplace environments are more likely to be not motivated but extremely motivated. Dedicate a day per month in which you allow your employees to have fun at work in a commonly established way. Whether is having fun with snacks or play dough, there are many options out there in which you can establish a similar culture in your workplace.

There are so many great ways in which you can turn your good employees into great employees. Simply make sure that you create all the necessary physical and cultural adjustments that will make your employees feel appreciated and healthier than ever before.

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10 Essential Financial Tips For Young Entrepreneurs

Starting a business can be financially tough, especially when you are younger. Check out these life-saving financial tips for young entrepreneurs.

There are over 25 million entrepreneurs in the US alone and it should be no surprise that this number is continuing to rise every year.

This is because there are numerous benefits of being your own boss (higher salary, better control, more freedom, choosing your hours, etc.) and it’s no wonder new businesses and the gig economy is booming.

Of course, being your own boss also means taking on all the risk yourself. The following financial tips will give you everything you need to navigate the difficult waters of running your own business.

1. Work Smart Not Hard.

This cliche is actually one of the most critical pieces of advice for any entrepreneur because any time you waste is money you lose.

Before undertaking any new task ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is this necessary?
2. Does the survival of my business depend on this?
3. Is there an easier or faster way this can be done?

Every decision you make has to have money in mind because if there’s something more productive you should be doing then it isn’t worth your time.

2. Financial Tips: Budget.

Most entrepreneurs start their own business because they have goals and dreams they want to fulfill.

Often, spending hours doing mathematical projections and budgets are not part of these dreams. It may bore or frustrate you, but if you truly want to achieve your goals then you must create a realistic budget.

3. Expect the Unexpected.

A supplier could go bankrupt or an angry customer’s tweet could go viral, there is an infinite number of things that can cripple a new business.

For that reason, you must think about what you would do if something went wrong. Whether it’s having a PR plan or back up finances, being prepared will ensure your business can survive.

4. Record Every Transaction.

There is nothing worse than a business which doesn’t know where its money is coming from or going.

Setting up the infrastructure to record transactions means that if anyone tries to claim they don’t owe you money or that you didn’t pay them, you will be able to easily protect yourself.

5. Secure Repeat Clients.

Every business has their “bread and butter” clients who they rely on for stable income. Having a contract that guarantees a source of revenue gives you a lot of breathing room.

It lets you create more concrete forecasts, projections, and budgets while also giving you the ability to be a bit riskier and more selective of your other clients.

6. Figure Out a Salary for Yourself.

When you’re stressing about all the costs and budgeting, it can be tempting to pay yourself nothing at all.

Sure, this keeps costs down on paper, but realistically you need an income to continue living and running your business.

No matter what, always make sure you pay yourself at least enough to get by.

7. Cut Unnecessary Costs.

What’s inefficient about the process? Is there anything that could be done to make things smoother, faster, or cheaper?

Again, time really is money so if anyone’s time is being wasted then it takes away from other projects they could have been working on.

Read more for other ways you can help save on costs.

8. Create and Follow Distinct Milestones.

It is crucial that you and your team have a clear direction and goal to follow.

By achieving goals, you’ll be proving your ability to accurately forecast to potential investors.

Even if you get your forecasts wrong, it’ll give you plenty of experience to learn from so you can improve goals you set in future.

9. Learn About Taxes.

Businesses big and small enjoy an extensive range of tax breaks for a wide range of expenses.

For example, if you buy a laptop to use exclusively for work it can be deducted as a business expense.

Learn about the options available to you, you may be surprised how much money you can save.

10. Save for Retirement.

While retirement may seem far away it’s actually better to start putting in money now.

Every year, the money you put aside will gain interest and help secure future income no matter what happens to your business

Be Smart.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and stress of starting your own business. Hopefully, these financial tips have given you some perspective on where your priorities should be.

Check out our other articles for more advice on how to take your small business to the next level.

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5 Tips For A Traveling Entrepreneur

by John Lim, founder of Ansel

Over the last 24 months, I’ve had to adapt to live in places with limited connectivity like Patagonia and the Sahara Desert to places made for the digital worker like Seoul, South Korea.

In order to run my business, Ansel (a growth agency for brands, non-profits, or individuals who want to make a positive impact on this world), I’ve picked up several tips for success. In the last year, I paid off over $40,000 in college debt thanks to mentors and fellow entrepreneurs (as well as a handful of professionals, including expat tax experts).

Because of technology, becoming a “digital nomad” is so incredibly possible. There are tons of places popping up that focus solely on serving young people who are working while traveling (Selina, WIP, Cartel House, La Maquinita, K10). All of these places have wifi, conference call booths, rooms, and coffee.

Here are some tricks I pulled together that have been useful over the last year to help me travel the way I want while continuing to work the way I need to:

1. Send one email a day.

You don’t have to quit your day job to become an entrepreneur. In fact, I strongly recommend against doing so. Instead, when people ask me how to get started, I tell them to send one email a day. If you’re unsure about what to do, send that email to an entrepreneur who’s been there and can help walk you through it. If you have a skillset you’re confident in, send an email to a brand that needs you. In 3 months time, you’ll have sent 90 emails & had dozens of productive conversations that will guide you to your goal.

2. Don’t be afraid to spend money… in order to make more money.

Spending extra money comes up the most for me with trade shows/conferences that are out of town. It really sucks to see that it’s going to cost you $700 for a plane ticket and then $300 for the show, but if you get 5 leads from the conference and land 2, you’re looking at profiting off that conference. Let’s say you do really well with those 2 clients and they refer you to 2 more… you just doubled, tripled, and quadrupled your initial investment.

Another example might be an online course. Would taking the course give you a marketable skill that you can sell online?

3. You must find something you can do online.

One of the main benefits of traveling out of the US is how crazy cheap the living expenses are. I certainly don’t miss paying $20 for avocado toast in SF. That being said, even if that avocado toast costs $1 instead of $20, if you’re unable to work while traveling, you still won’t be saving any money.

Here are some jobs you can do on the road:

• Graphic Design
• Video Production
• Copywriting
• Teaching English
• Virtual Assistant Work
• Ads & Marketing

4. Travel to warm countries.

This one is pretty simple. Winter clothing is heavy ($150 overweight baggage fees are no fun), take up a lot of space, and costs a lot of money. Stay in warm countries and minimize how much you need to be carrying (and overall wellbeing!).

5. Take advantage of the tax benefits.

THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE. If you’re outside of the USA for 330 out of 365 days in the year, you can qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exemption (talk to a tax professional to see if your situation applies). This income exemption covers your first 101.5K! If you were to make $101,500 – you’d be paying $26,246 in taxes. That’s a lot of money to be saving. There are expat tax experts online who can really help with the filing process.

 

John Lim is a 24-year-old entrepreneur and full-time remote worker. He founded his company, Ansel, with a mission to help positive-impact companies grow its brand through marketing and advertisement strategy. Prior to Ansel, John moved to South Korea to teach English and “figure things out.” From there, he applied to and was accepted to travel with Remote Year. From 2017-2018, John has been (and continues to be) a “digital nomad.” By the end of Summer 2018, he was able to pay off over $40,000 in college debt from Swarthmore College.

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3 Things You Should Definitely Do If You Want Your Business To Grow

Some businesses and websites seem like they became successful overnight. Sadly, that usually isn’t the case. It takes the right combination of hard work, strategy, the right team and many other assets. Sometimes your company will get lucky, but it will be with the right inner workings and strategy behind it. Also when trying to grow a business, there can be set backs. The key is to not give up while also setting yourself up for success to make things easier.

Here are three things that will definitely put your business in the right position to grow.

Make sure to invest in SEO strategy.

SEO is an amazing asset to any company web page. With the right strategy, you have the ability to fully optimize your page views across the board. Getting your site ranked for the right keywords can have a significant impact on your business and its success. SEO can be completely maxed out with the right strategist behind it. This is why it is perfect when you find an agency that excels in SEO strategy. There are details that can be optimized all around a business and its digital presence.

SEO is also going to always be a constant in web page views and success. How SEO works will probably change continuously, but it is worth it when you are staying ahead of your competitors. SEO is the best way for all the hard work you are doing for your business to be seen by as many relevant people as possible. One of the best ways to start is by working on a link building campaign. Link building means other websites linking to your website, which essentially makes Google like your page more.

Don’t neglect social media advertising.

Social media is a powerful and achievable way to take advantage of your target audience’s patterns online. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are platforms that most people use. You should be able to find which one works best for who you are targeting by doing some research on your demographic. Then allocate part of your budget for social media advertising and build some effective campaigns to put on these platforms.

Sometimes hiring an agency is also a good idea when thinking of social media advertising. Some of the platforms can be complicated and there is a lot to monitor. Experts will know the ins and outs of the platforms and keep up with the trends for you. They also can often make creative suggestions regarding what performs best for certain audiences. You can increase your leads and conversions significantly through social media marketing, so make sure this is a part of your strategy to growing your business.

Hire an agency that excels in digital marketing.

When looking at the larger scope of growing in a digital space, there are a lot of small details that need to be paid attention to. To optimize successfully and smoothly, hiring a top digital marketing agency should be on the list of things to do. When looking at Orlando SEO or other large cities, there are definitely top digital marketing agencies to look for such as Central Florida Media Solutions.

Hiring an agency also can make your business grow faster. There are often small details that will be missed if there isn’t someone solely focusing on your digital strategy. SEO and social media advertising have areas to constantly improve. You’ll want the right team behind this part of expansion.

Take these tips into consideration when making a plan for the coming year. Your best bet is to allocate a social media advertising and an SEO strategy budget to use when searching for the perfect agency in your area.

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Tips For Tracking Your Website Performance Metrics

Building a website is now easier than ever. Even if you have no prior experience in digital commerce, you can easily get your website online and see heavy traffic from it. All you need is a domain name, hosting, a website template, and you’re good to go.

But don’t expect to see instant success once the site is up. You have the ability to see high traffic from your site, but you’ll need to pour some time and energy into this process. It starts with setting goals and then tracking your website performance metrics.

Without this analytic information, you’ll have no way of knowing your website is performing as well as you hope. For those who aren’t sure where to start, use this useful guide to help you accurately track performance metrics.

Use web page monitoring.

Websites should be monitored regularly to spot changes that need attention. For example, your website might go down due to a hosting error or you might have threatening content posted to your site that could come with a virus. If left unchecked, these problems can cause serious issues with your website traffic.

Utilizing services from a company like Link Laboratory will allow you to monitor your web page changes which will give you round-the-clock details about your website. It will alert you the moment that it senses a change that requires your attention. The faster you attend to a problem, the fewer lasting issues you’ll see as a result.

Know which metrics to watch.

How can you know how to track your performance metrics if you don’t know which ones to watch? The Content Marketing Institute says that the most important metrics to watch will fall into four categories.

Consumption: This refers to the content your visitors see when visiting your site. You’ll want to monitor page views, video views, document views, downloads, and other metrics that show your content is being consumed.

Sharing: This refers to the number of people sharing your content, whether by email, text, or social media. You’ll want to watch social signals, email open rates, email forwards, backlinks, and mobile access from a direct link.

Lead generation: How many leads have you generated from visits to your website? Look at conversion rates, form completions, call-to-action clicks, blog subscribers, and more.

Sales: One of the most important metrics, this refers to the amount of products or services you sell. This can typically be measured in profit numbers.

Focus on social media.

Although you’re trying to improve your website performance metrics, it pays to watch social media. This is one of the best digital marketing tools you have at your disposal, and it’s useful to see how much traffic comes from social media.

Penny C. Sansevieri of Huffington Post says she believes half of your website traffic should start with social media and the rest should come from organic Google searches. You can use analytics tracking to compare these numbers and make sure you’re on the right track.

Look at your bounce rate.

You should also look at how many people end up on your landing page and then leave. This is called a bounce. If you have a high bounce rate, it probably means that there’s something (or multiple things) on your website that aren’t working. Not only does this decrease leads and conversions, but it can also impact your search engine optimization.

Pay close attention to your bounce rate. Try to determine which page has people leaving, and analyze what changes need to be made to keep viewers’ attention. It might be irrelevant content for the user, bad web design, unclear calls-to-action, slow loading times, or difficult navigation.

Monitoring your website performance will help you to create a website that you can be proud of. You’ll have steady traffic and see increased conversions as a result of the changes you make.

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Why Your Business Needs An App

Running a business isn’t easy. Business owners need to keep tabs on everything related to their business. That doesn’t just mean the core stuff that the business does for customers and clients — it also means all of that stuff that needs to get done for the business to reach its customers and do its work in the first place, such as payroll, training, advertising, and digital marketing.

And, these days, there’s even more to worry about. In our internet-obsessed world, business owners need to understand things like search engine optimization (SEO, which is the practice of making a web presence as appealing as possible to search engines) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements.

To that, add this new responsibility: In many cases, business owners need to make sure their businesses have apps. Having an app is a key part of reaching customers in the age of smartphones. Here are a few reasons why, along with some quick tips on getting the right app with the least possible stress and expense.

More people have smartphones than ever before.

Apps are for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. So there’s one simple reason that your business needs one, and that’s that more people own and use smartphones than ever.

It wasn’t always this way. Before 2007, when the iPhone first debuted, smartphones were much rarer and were usually owned by businessmen and women. The Blackberry was the big smartphone back then — and before the Blackberry, smartphones were virtually nonexistent.

But by 2011, 35 percent of Americans were toting around a smartphone. By 2018, that figure had exploded to 77 percent. The trajectory is clear, and the number will only keep rising.

Customers own smartphones, so your business needs to be on smartphones. You need an app!

Apps are good for communication.

You want to be able to reach your customers. You want to be able to share exciting news and promote new products and services. You want to be able to field customer questions, requests, and complaints — preferably in a private chat. Apps can do that for you. Once your customers download your app, your business will have a constant presence of their home screens and will be able to communicate through push notifications and in-app messages.

You can learn about your customers as they learn about you, too. Data from your apps can inform your business decisions as well as your marketing and PR strategies.

Make money.

More and more Americans are doing their shopping online. If your business is working smart, it probably already has a way to take orders, reservations, or other money-generating customer actions online. But does your business have an app?

Apps make powerful tools for payment and billing. You can gain customer billing info or bill customers through their phone, rather than asking customers to enter tedious billing information or relying on them to log into a web profile each time they access your website. Apps make sales sense.

Getting the right app.

You know a lot about running your business, and now you know that you need an app. But you probably don’t know how to create the perfect app from scratch. That’s OK. You just need to turn to an app design agency. By outsourcing your app design to professionals who really understand app development, you’ll get a better app in a shorter period of time.

Relying on the pros will be the most cost-effective solution in the long run, as you’ll get a more efficient and effective app. And the investment will pay off when you reach more customers, improve your business’ reputation, and make money through mobile customers. Your business needs an app, and now is the time to get one.

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Investment Planning: How Gold Helps Balance Equity Risks In Your Portfolio

Those who have been investing in stocks and equity will know of the risks that it carries when it comes to long-term wealth creation. The volatility associated with equities and stocks can, however, turn investors away. Not all investors have it in them to handle the roller coaster ride provided by equities, which is why they try their luck at creating a balanced portfolio of low and high risk equities.

The volatility of the market and the decreasing consumer confidence can be gauged by the fact that even those who believe in the merits of equity investing, run away from it in the face of volatility or other periods of declining rates.

We have currently been witnessing such a period, as equity holders are turning away from the market in their search for greener pastures. What if we told you that it is possible to get exceptional returns from the equity market without bearing the risk that it carried? Would that sound unbelievable? Or, better yet, would that make you invest in the equity market? There is a simple way to do so, and it involves gold.

Diversify with Gold.

For some reasons, gold has not been the favored class of asset for investors and stakeholders alike. Interestingly, investment advisors and portfolio management firms barely allocate it in investments. But gold has shown golden potential as a means of diversifying your stocks and reducing the risk involved in it.

Assets that come with low, or better yet, negatively correlated returns, are considered as the best options for diversification and risk reduction. While investors will agree that negative correlation is hard to find nowadays, we can all agree that gold comes closest to this cause, as its correlation value is close to zero and sometimes even goes into the negative.

You might still be curious. How much do I invest in gold? Are you sure about this? Should we invest 10 to 15 percent of our total equities? No, to use gold as a means of diversification, you need to form a ratio of 50 percent equity and 50 percent gold.

Nifty TRI.

Gold has performed much better in the last 15 years, than what most people expect from it. Nifty stocks have delivered some 14.98 percent of Compounded Annual Growth Rate over the course of these 15 years, with an annualized volatility of over 27 percent. The compounded growth rate is just 3 percent more than that for gold. Interestingly, it has double the volatility of gold. Just like we would have expected, gold delivers more but with a higher risk.

A passive portfolio, consisting of a 50:50 split between gold and equity would have delivered you a CAGR of 13.49 percent with an annualized volatility of 15.52 percent. The zero correlation between gold and Nifty has done this trick. The return is still significantly high, but the volatility involved with the stocks has significantly come down. The power of diversification has worked, and you can now get a similar CAGR, at almost half the volatility.

Visit https://goldrate.com/ to keep an eye on the latest gold prices.

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Fun Ways To Attract More Customers To Your Brick And Mortar Store

Getting noticed on the internet comes with a long list of challenges, but so does getting noticed from the street.

Having a brick and mortar store should make increasing your bottom line easy. People who don’t know you exist can wander into your store when they drive or walk by. But, that’s assuming they’re interested enough to walk through the door.

Just like you have to design a website for your business, so too do you have to design ways to get people interested in walking into your store for the first time.

Promotional Signage.

Promotional signage is a great way to get attention for your store, but it is important to choose the right kind of signage.

For example, spinning signs are eye-catching, but they are nearly impossible to read. Instead, create custom feather flags with a current promotion and people are sure to come in for a closer look.

Other great sign ideas include:

• Creating a memorable monument sign
• Hang flag bunting for a celebratory look
• Fly flags that feature your company’s logo

Get Creative with Your Displays.

Displays are key to brick and mortar stores. Unfortunately, most businesses aren’t very good at designing displays. They end up designing a display they think looks good, but it isn’t necessarily designed with marketing in mind.

Creative displays will always get noticed over boring displays that feature a few mannequins. Think bold colors, feature your newest products, and choose unexpected elements that cause people passing by to lean in for a closer look.

If you really want to be bold, create a moving or interactive display. You could get a lot of attention by having live models in your display during high-traffic times!

Use QR Codes in Your Displays at Night.

A wonderfully designed display can beckon people into your store during the day, but they are also sure to get noticed at night. Unfortunately, people wandering by after you’re closed are likely to appreciate your display without actually taking action. After all, they can’t wander into your store when the doors are closed!

That’s where QR codes come in. These digital barcodes can connect passersby with your company, even if you aren’t behind the counter.

Include them in your displays so people wandering by can quickly scan them to learn more about the items in your window. You can also customize your codes so that they can make it easy for people to buy items from your store, even if they are wandering by long after the sun has gone down.

Do Some Decorating.

It’s true that showcasing your products is the best way to decorate the inside of your store, but what about the outside of your store? Flags were mentioned earlier, and they are a great way to decorate outside, but you shouldn’t stop there.

Consider hanging fliers, posters, and other decorative elements outside your storefront. Folding signs are an option, as are product cards and even sample and freebie tables.

If your storefront has a bit of green space, consider doing some landscaping. Flowers can really brighten up the exterior of your store, and they can prime people to do some shopping. Flowers have been shown to increase happiness levels, which can encourage people to spend a little money.

Get out on the Sidewalk.

You ultimately want people to come into your store, but sometimes that means stepping foot outside your store. You can do that with flags and decorations, you can do it by decorating displays and hanging signs, but don’t forget to look below your feet.

The sidewalk is a great way to attract people to your store. Special deals and sales can be written on the sidewalk directly outside your store as a way to encourage people to come inside. A welcome mat can make your store seem more inviting.

Utilize the sidewalk as a sort of yellow brick road to your store. Write arrows on the sidewalk that point in the direction of your store, or sprinkle something, like flower petals, in a trail to your door.

A little creativity can go a long way. One company even figured out how to display ads on the cement only after it rains!

Unfortunately, having your products in the window isn’t enough if you want people to enter your store, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun getting new customers! With the creative tips on this list, you are sure to attract attention to your storefront.

 

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Should You Use Google Consumer Surveys?

Google offers a wide range of different services, including email, website hosting, drive space, website analytics, and even consumer surveys. While Google may seem like the all-encompassing mastermind of web services, there are benefits and drawbacks to using their consumer survey service for your business or products.

Benefits of Using Google.

Google has millions of users daily. Throughout the world, it’s the most used search engine and email service provider. Their consumer survey service offers many advanced features, including:

• Screening to target specific demographics
• Worldwide reach
• A high response rate
• Large samples to work with

To ensure your survey covers your target demographic, Google uses screening questions before the individual is ever asked to do the survey itself, to ensure you’re getting the most accurate results and targeting only those that will use or currently use your products or services.

Google also has the advantage of advertising on a wide variety of platforms, offering nationwide, and worldwide reach.

Most Google surveys are able to be completed on a wide scale within several days, due to large samples and a high response rate. The benefit here speaks for itself: you can have your results sooner and based off of a larger volume of customers.

Drawbacks of Using Google.

Using Google Consumer Surveys also has its drawbacks. Like any widespread platform, there is room for error and inaccuracies when dealing with large volumes of people.

Google offers a limited number of options when it comes to question types, including multiple choice and short answer. The lack of diversity in this field means that the questions start to look the same after you’ve done so many surveys, taking away from the unique identity of your product or service.

Google Consumer Surveys does not have a direct customer support line, leaving you in the dark should you have any questions on the specifics of your survey or how the analytics were generated. You can still use the Google general helpline, but may have trouble finding a representative with specific knowledge of the consumer survey service.

The data from your survey is automatically sent to a google spreadsheet, allowing limited filtering and access to the details of your survey. You get basic results in a basic template.

Google Vs. Pollfish.

While Google offers a wide base of consumers and several advertising platforms, Pollfish is an excellent Google consumer surveys alternative. Pollfish offers an extensive filtering process so you can find the best demographic for your survey.

You can choose almost every detail related to your demographic, including age, sex, location, survey language, cost comparison, household income and education, and more. These extended options offer an extremely efficient and specific survey experience, ensuring you’re getting the most out of your money.

Pollfish also offers screening questions to exclude those customers that wouldn’t be interested in your products or services, and their questionnaires are designed to be engaging and attractive. They offer several question types, including traditional multiple choice and short answer. The questionnaire design makes it easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye.

When you receive your results from Pollfish, you can filter them in many ways if you’re looking for specific information. Country, age, time, and gender are just a few options offered to users. You can view your results in a pie chart, bar graph, or list format, per question. That’s right, you can view your results in any of these formats and apply your filters directly to any single question, giving you the ability to edit and focus on only those questions which you feel are most important.

Pollfish, being its own entity, has its own dedicated customer support system in place as well, for when you don’t understand the results or how the process works. As soon as you navigate to the web page, a Pollfish representative is already on standby to offer prompt customer service for any questions or concerns that you might have.

What Does It Cost?

Both Google and Pollfish charge based on a per survey basis unless you choose one of the Pollfish monthly plans. While both Pollfish and Google cost $1 per completed survey, there are some differences in the pricing:

• Google charges an extra $3 per completed survey for their screening questions, whereas Pollfish only charges $0.05
• Google charges an extra $0.05 per completed surveys for location targeting whereas Pollfish offers this at no additional cost.
• Pollfish offers quotas at no additional charge, a service Google does not offer.

So, Should I Use Google?

While Google offers wide reach and excellence in the basics, Pollfish surpasses Google consumer surveys in several ways, including price. Many of Google’s surveys “force” participation by making the survey mandatory to access a service (such as a Youtube video). Pollfish never requires a survey to access any content, making the answers more honest and less forced to get to the originally promised service.

Google provides limited options for its pricing model regarding demographics and filters. Generally, any specifics such as age and location will cost more on a completed survey. Pollfish only charges small amounts for these and offers additional filtering options for no extra cost.

Overall, if you’re looking for accuracy, reach, and price, Pollfish is your best option.

Not only do you get excellent customer service. You also get the ability to view your results how and when you want to, in many different formats. This means that you can spend less time sifting through heaps of data and more time focusing on what you wanted to know in the first place.

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How To Handle Difficult Members Of Staff

In a perfect world every member of your team would be hard working, dedicated and have a positive attitude. But unfortunately this isn’t always the case and every now and then you may find yourself up against difficult employees.

Preparing yourself with the skills you need to be an effective manager through training and online business courses is a great first step. But what happens when you’re on the front line and it’s time to put these skills into practice!

If you’ve found yourself up facing a challenging member of staff (or perhaps a few members of staff), here’re five simple steps to help you combat the problem.

1. Tackle the problem head on.

Though it can sometimes feel easier to simply brush the problem aside, particularly if you’re not being directly affected, leaving the problem to worsen can have a more damaging impact further down the line. Instead, it’s best to address difficult members of staff right away.

Addressing any problems head on means you can ensure that all members of the workforce are happy and hardworking, and those that aren’t are dealt with in an appropriate manner.

2. Communicate effectively with your staff.

When it comes to managing difficult staff, there could be a number of reasons for their behaviour. Therefore, you need to keep the lines of communication firmly open if you hope to identify and address the problem. You also need to be clear with them about what will happen if there behaviour doesn’t change.

Organise a catch up with those involved. Create an open space where employees can be honest about any issues they may be having at work. Whether that’s because they’re no longer happy in their role, they’re bored at work or they can’t get along with their colleagues. Whatever the issue may be, identifying the problem is an important first step.

3. Put a plan in place to address the problem.

Once you’ve given your staff the chance to have their say and have hopefully discovered where the problem lies, it’s time to put a plan in place. This might mean re-thinking their workload, changing their daily tasks or offering more support/training. Put some practical steps in place to show your employee that you’re invested in them and working to combat the problem.

At this stage, you must also explain to them the actions you’ll have to take if their behaviour doesn’t change. After all, it’s good that they’ve told you why they’re unhappy or have been acting up at work, but if they’re not prepared to fix the problem, it might be time for them to move on to a job they’ll be more committed to.

4. Provide constructive feedback and be prepared to issue a warning.

As well as giving your employees a chance to be honest, you need to be honest with them in return. Once you’ve put measures in place to improve their behaviour, you need to offer feedback. Organising regular catch-ups gives you a chance to find out how your staff are getting on, if they feel any better and if their behaviour and feelings towards their work have changed at all.

If you’re still facing difficulties or they seem reluctant to even try and fix the problem, it might be time to issue a formal warning. This will of course depend on the attitude of your employee, if they are trying hard to fix the problem – then great! But unfortunately there will be times when it would be better for both parties if they found another position.

5. Keep a record of everything.

It’s helpful to keep a record of your meetings with difficult staff for a number of reasons. Firstly, to keep note of any problems they may have or feedback they might have given about your company. Secondly, to keep track of the steps you put in place to help things improve and how you’ll be assessing if their behaviour has changed. This will help you to provide them with constructive feedback.

But finally, if push comes to shove and you need to let your employee go, you need to make sure you have a good reason for doing so. Keeping a record of all your meetings, the plans you’ve put in place and the progress of your employee can act as a safety net should they challenge your decision to ask them to leave. But let’s hope that doesn’t happen!

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Roofing Exec by Day, Firefighter by Night – Joe’s Timely Leadership Lessons

by Keith Martino, head of CMI and author of “Expect Leadership“

Eddie scaled the catwalk, looked back and heard a loud boom.

Out of nowhere, chemicals exploded. Workers scattered. Smoke clouded the first floor. And faster than a sow chews corn the blazing facility lit up the sleeping neighborhood. Local fire professionals trembled at the probability of a second and larger blast.

It was a bleak picture. Most folks panicked. Some shed tears.

Joe calmly sipped coffee two townships away. He had already put in a full day’s work. Serving his community that evening as their Volunteer Fire Chief, Joe diligently scanned his first responder radio for any sign of distress. Nothing showed in his immediate vicinity. But Joe instantly recognized the address of a rapidly burning building miles away. It was home to his corporate office.

Joe gave the signal and his unit sprang into action. When they arrived on the chaotic scene, Joe’s counterpart, a locally paid Fire Chief, promptly tossed in the towel. He shook his head and mumbled his regrets. His unit had decided to let the massive building burn to the ground. “It’s too late. The risk is too high,” he rationalized. Joe was stunned, but not deterred. Joe’s group offered to step up and take over. The first Chief sighed with relief and handed Joe the reins.

Joe’s team brought intensity and passion to the fight. Simply put – they cared! They cared enough to put every ounce of energy into making a difference. They fought hard on behalf of the 300 families who depended on this long time employer for a paycheck. Joe himself had invested almost a decade working for this world class roofing manufacturer. He wasn’t about to watch his dreams and his peers’ future go up in smoke. Joe had not yet begun to fight.

As you know, not every leader runs towards the flames.

Some leaders run from every smoking object they see. They spot a looming disaster and hightail it for the hills before they are singed. Or they quickly look for someone else to blame. Sometimes they duck their heads and pretend not to notice. Others ignite the torch. Not Joe.

Joe’s Legacy: Apply Courage, Judgment and Intellectual Stimulation!

Joe brought a different style of leadership to bear. He was a motivated steward with a steel resolve and an unrelenting passion to solve the problem. Instinctively, he interjected courage, judgment and intellectual stimulation into his steady stream of communication. It was his legacy. 

#1 – Courage is an essential character trait for an extraordinary leader.

Real leaders are not afraid to take a stand regardless of the prevailing political winds. They view each dilemma (large or small) as a challenge that can be overcome. And when others wave the white flag in premature defeat, they pick up the banner and charge the hill.

Sure, there usually is personal risk involved when they verbalize a strong position. Courageous leaders balance the cost versus the potential rewards and take decisive action. Like Joe did.

#2 – Judgment is also crucial.

While the first Fire Chief arrived at the premature conclusion that the building itself wasn’t worth saving, he never considered the livelihoods and dependent households represented therein. He simply looked at the aged building and assumed it was not worth his unit’s efforts to stop the raging fire.

Furthermore, the first Chief never asked questions. He had no idea where the stockpile of chemicals was stored in the factory. He could have sought insight from Joe who knew the landscape well. Instead, he was quite willing to hand off the responsibility at his first and most opportune moment. When the fire was ultimately extinguished by Joe’s squad there was minimum damage. Of course it later became an embarrassment that the home town team had bailed out so early.

Great leaders get the facts, weigh the options and make the right decisions even when they are inconvenient. Courageous leaders exercise sound judgment and motivate their staff to think outside the box.

#3 – Intellectual stimulation is the ability to get peers to think about old problems in new ways.

Joe encouraged his guys with intellectually stimulating queries. He challenged his guys to find more rapid and direct ways to extinguish the flames. Joe’s approach identified and eliminated the ineffective fire fighting methodologies employed by the first unit on the site.

As usual, Joe’s guys loved the challenge of finding new ways to reposition each piece of their gear. They refined action items through the lens of clear-eyed judgment. Then they implemented a courageous solution that soon brought this escalating nightmare to a halt. No one was injured. The building was saved.

I saw Joe the Chief Operating Officer and Volunteer Fire Chief recently. He wasn’t fighting a building fire. He was waist deep in his day job and had just de-escalated another hazardous event. This one potentially threatened his direct reports at work.

As a student of great leaders, I had to ask Joe’s subordinates how Joe had handled the emergency situation. No surprise here! It was another classic story for their corporate history books. Once again, Joe calmly and courageously stepped forward in the midst of a costly error made by co-workers. He demonstrated clear judgment by surveying the situation to see if anyone was hurt. He never placed blame. He took charge and challenged his team to put together a creative plan to ensure it never happened again.

Are you an executive and a firefighter in your company?

Apply courage, judgment and intellectual stimulation!

 

Keith Martino is head of CMI, a global consultancy founded in 1999 that customizes leadership and sales development initiatives. Martino is the author of “Expect Leadership“, a series of leadership books – The Executive Edition, in Business, in Engineering, and in Technology. He has also published three sales handbooks, Get Results, Results Now, and “Selling to Americans“. After more than 20 years and numerous awards at FedEx, Xerox and Baxter Healthcare, Martino and his team provide world-class counsel and proven web-based tools that produce consistent results.

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Jacques Poujade Shares: 3 Ways To Start Saving For Your First House

Owning a house is a dream for a lot of people, but in order to get there, people need to be smart with their money and also have a plan. My name is Jacques Poujade, and I am the CEO at LendPlus, an alternative lender. A common question I get asked is how to save for that very first home.

I decided to put together the three biggest tips I can think of to really get the ball rolling.

1. Pay Off High Interest Credit Cards.

Credit card debt can get a lot of people in trouble. While it might not seem like a big deal at first, interest can start to really pile up and waste a lot of money in general. Nobody wants to be paying off a lot of interest for months and possibly years. It might be tempting to continue to buy and spend like you normally do, but take a break and make sure that the credit card is paid off in full before trying to move forward.

Not only does paying off the credit card free up a lot of money, but it improves a person’s credit score as well. It shows that you can be trusted now and in the future.

2. Make A Budget and Stick with It.

Every single person spends money on things that they shouldn’t. A big reason why? It is so easy to spend money with credit cards and debit cards that it can sometimes be lost. By setting a budget, a person can see exactly what they are spending and where they can cutback in certain ways.

A monthly budget works well for people who just need a little bit more discipline in their life. With a budget, make sure to include a way to start saving little by little if possible. Every little bit counts in the very beginning.

3. Cut Back on Expenses.

This tip is related to making a budget, but it takes things to another level. Once a budget is set, a person can really start to look at what they can cut back on to save additional money. There are so many ways for someone to cut back spending and save money. One example is taking a hard look at your current vehicle. Do you really need a vehicle the costs hundreds of dollars a month to lease or own? How about the current living situation? Is there any way to get roommates or even move-in with family? It is obviously difficult to give up things you are accustomed to, but this is all supposed to be temporary while saving up for something great.

If just a little bit of money is holding you back, the best thing to look at is eating habits. Even the eating out one or two times fewer per month can help a person save some money. A coffee addiction also adds up monthly. Perhaps you like those expensive workout leggings or shoes. Could you sacrifice brand loyalty to save a few bucks? Just look at how money is spent and go from there.

Final Thoughts.

I realize that saving money is not usually fun, and there are sacrifices that must be made in most cases. Being able to save to buy a first home is such a huge milestone, making it all worth it. For more financial tips, or to simply reach out to me in general, please visit my website www.jacquespoujade.com or follow my Medium blog.

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Dr. Briggs E Cook: 4 Tips For Balancing A Successful Career And Family

Hi, my name is Dr. Briggs E. Cook. I’m a plastic surgeon located in North Carolina, currently serving as the Medical Director of Pure Facial Plastic Surgery and MedSpa. Between work and five kids at home with my wife, Kia, days can be pretty long. Adding to the difficulty is dealing with twins diagnosed with PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Association with Strep). They require extra medical attention throughout the year. I’m often asked by others how I’m able to balance out family and work.

Here are my four biggest tips that help me.

1. Keep Weekends for Family.

I’m very thankful that my job has a pretty typical work schedule. There are times I do have to work on the weekend, but I try not to as much as possible because that is family time in my opinion. I try to always be there for my family because they put up with having me only part of the time for five days.

2. Mixing Business and Personal is Fine.

There are a lot of people, even within my industry, that want to avoid talking about their personal life at all costs during the days with patients, colleagues, and more. While I agree that there is a time and a place for all of that, family is just too important to completely avoid throughout the work day. A lot of people like to hear about family for a variety of reasons. For starters, it humanizes me and perhaps makes me a little bit less intimidating. Also, it gives people an idea of what I am going to through and some of my struggles, including PANDAS. It also gives me an outlet to advocate for this often-misdiagnosed disease.

The fact is, everyone has their own struggles and a lot of times we try to avoid sharing them at work. By sharing stories, it can put everyone at ease a little bit more. You do not want to wear people out by constantly talking about personal information, but do not be afraid to mix business and personal.

3. Family Can Help with Work.

Some people end up joining the family business. For me, that doesn’t really seem to be the case since I am working in a very specific field. However, there are ways in which family can help with work, even indirectly. They can provide support when times are tough and an extra hand is needed. You shouldn’t completely separate your family from your work or you risk building animosity with spouses and other family members, as they may often see you choosing work over them.

4. Don’t Overcommit.

Early on in my life after having kids, I was trying to do everything and refusing to say no. Eventually, it pretty much wore me out to the point that I was not in a good place. I had to step back and realize that I can’t overcommit or I am not going to be able to live the life I wanted.

It is fine to say no to certain invitations, especially if it means spending extra time with family. Our mentality is to always work, work, and work some more, but sometimes that can be detrimental. It is fine to put in 60 hours of work a week or more, but doing it on a consistent basis might ruin the balance you’re working on.

Don’t feel obligated to go to every dinner with vendors or partners. Don’t feel like you have to make an appearance at every party your patients or clients invite you to. They, too, have families and understand that many times family comes first. That’s not to say you shouldn’t go to any, after all you are trying to grow a business. Keep it in balance, and when times allow bring your family along.

More Business and Plastic Surgery Tips.

For more business and plastic surgery tips, or to simply connect with me, please visit my website at https://drbriggscook.net/, or follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

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What To Prepare When Starting Your Own Business

Starting your own business is always a fascinating thing. It’s the start of something new. However, starting a business is not as easy as it seems. It’s a complicated process and requires a lot of hard work and multiple proposals. If you want your small business to expand and be profitable, you have to be serious about the preparation process.

Here’s a list of what to prepare when starting your own business.

Start Saving Money.

If you have a plan to start a business, then you should start saving. You can’t start a business without a substantial amount of capital, no matter how small the company is. Don’t take out a loan, if not necessary, as this will become an extra burden for you just in case your business doesn’t succeed. Having enough cash on hand will help you not only with startup capital but also with the additional running costs that you will incur before you start earning a profit.

Some tips to save for your business include:

• Have a budget.
• Save for needed equipment. Do not be afraid to buy used equipment, as you are still starting up anyway. As long as the equipment is in good condition and functioning well, you’re good to go.
• Spend only on the essentials. Now is not the time for you to buy your wants. Focus only on your needs.
• Deposit your savings on an account that will yield a reasonable amount of interest.
• Stay away from your credit card. Do not buy anything that you cannot pay in cash.

Make Sure Your Product Solves People’s Problem.

The best business strategy that you should remember is that your product should answer a problem. When your product solves a customer’s problem, it will most likely stay on the market. Customers will be willing to patronize products that will make their life easy and comfortable. Here are some tips to know if your product solves a problem:

• Study and do your research. Having existing competitors sometimes can be a good thing. It means that the type of product that you are trying to sell is currently in demand.
• Go ahead and sell it! Your product solves a common problem if it sells. If it doesn’t, then most likely your target customers do not need it.

Work on Your Business Plan.

It’s wrong to start anything without having a concrete plan to back it up. Your business plan will show you an outline of your mission, vision, business strategies, target market, and financial goals. This overall plan will also help you check from time to time if you’re still on track with your goals, if you need to change your business strategies, or if you need to tweak your product a bit. Tips on how to create a business plan include:

• Make sure your business plan is focused on the market that you wish to reach.
• Your business plan should also include a study on your competitor(s).
• Answer this: Does your business plan offer a solution to a problem? Be sure it does.
• Never make any claims as regards your product when you have no study or research to back it up.
• Your business plan should be achievable.

Consult a Lawyer.

When you’ve already finalized your business plan, have a sit down meeting with a lawyer you can trust. If you have an attorney friend, go for it! Let him give you a rundown of all the legalities that starting and running a business will entail. It is crucial for you as well to know the basics on labor standards – basic pay, overtime pay, holiday pay, and the like. Things to ask your lawyer include:

• Does my planned business follow regulations?
• How do I register my business and obtain permits, and what are the costs?
• What are the existing standards in labor laws?
• Can you give me a brief background on obligations and contracts?

Set a Goal in Mind.

Your goals should not just focus on the financial aspect. If you thought about starting a business to get rich fast, then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. Think of the lives of your employees that you’re going to change by giving them employment. These goals will keep you motivated and happy while running your business. Some tips when setting goals include:

• Be sure your goals are achievable.
• Undertake a financial study so that your goals are backed up and realistic.
• Ask for advice from other people in business and even from your employees.
• Keep this question in mind: What should I consistently do to achieve these goals?
• Make sure you have the time and the resources to achieve these goals.

Study and Understand Your Market Well.

Know what your market is looking for and study how to penetrate your market effectively and efficiently. If you’re choosing the wrong target market for your product, your sales will most likely have plodding progress. Your marketing strategy should focus on your chosen niche as well. Study the spending habits and trends of your market, so you’ll know when to bring out that big SALE.

Here are other ways to know your market and target audience:

• Know what customers suit your product best.
• Study the basic demographics of the market that you wish to reach: age, gender, location.
• Research on the financial capacity of your predicted target market.
• Study how your competition is able to reach your target market.

Get Some Experience First.

Refrain from jumping into business immediately without having the necessary business background. If you haven’t worked in the business industry, enroll yourself in basic seminars first (or read on blogs like this one that gives you tips on how to start – AND STAY – in the business industry). Many aspects come into play when you’re managing a business, and you don’t have a lot of employees yet to help you, especially in the beginning when you can’t afford their services. It’s best for you to know the basics in marketing, finance, sales, and human resource management. Your learning should never stop.

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses.

You may be a small business owner for now, but one day, you may be managing several employees. Not only are you an owner, but you’re a manager as well. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. Evaluate yourself. Know what you can and cannot do. Nobody is perfect, and no matter how hard you’ll study and prepare, there’ll always be that one thing you’re not good at doing. Hence, you have to engage the services of a clerk, an accountant, an engineer, or a lawyer. If you’re extremely busy, avoid from being a one-person show and start by employing a secretary to help you keep things organized.

Build Connections.

Know whom to connect to – and keep your connections as these will be your network. Here are the roles of your network:

• These people could be your first target market, as they are most likely to purchase your product first because you know each other.
• This group could also be your first marketing network to help spread the word of your business to their respective families and friends. Word of mouth is one of the simplest, most inexpensive, and most effective marketing strategies.
• If you have connections to business owners, they can give you the most honest advice and be your mentors – even before you launch your business to a more significant market.
• Some of the people you’ve established relationships with may also help you if a problem arises.

Building connections are vital and helpful for a businessman like you who is still “testing the waters” in the industry.

Overall.

Now that you have all this in mind, remember your end goal. Do note that no matter how challenging it is to start a business, most business owners would still choose to do it all over again because of the rewards that they are able to reap. Don’t be afraid to start small. Take a look at your model entrepreneur and think: “Someday, I can be that person, too!” One day, you too will be your boss.

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