4 Failsafe Strategies To Help You Lead

by Jason Scott, founder and CEO of 120VC, and author of “It’s Never Just Business: It’s about People“

When you lead an organization, part of your job includes addressing critical problems and communicating new directives to your team. What’s the best way to do that?

Throughout my career, I’ve found four failsafe strategies that prepare me to lead when moments like these arise. I’d like to share them with you in this article.

Strategy #1: Gather Your Thoughts.

If I have to address a company issue, I first schedule a meeting with myself. I take fifteen quiet minutes, write down the issue and desired outcome, and let myself mentally engage so I am completely at ease with the details and potential solutions.

In my pre-meeting, I write down and underline the facts that are observable about the situation. I detail what I know and outline the assumptions I am making.

It’s human nature for us to jump to conclusions. Knowing this, I like to spend time unraveling the story before a meeting so I can be an effective leader.

Once I have briefly outlined the situation, the impact, the observable facts, and my assumptions, I consider the story each team member might be telling themselves.

I simultaneously think about the people on the team and remind myself not to expect them to see the situation the way I do. It’s not often that a group shows up really excited about a problem. It takes a very optimistic person to see a problem as an opportunity; when we do that, the situation almost always turns out better than it was before.

Strategy #2: Don’t Treat Anything Like a Problem.

Treating an issue like an irritating problem you just want to make go away sets the stage for negativity and blame, which is the opposite of what you want.

When preparing to lead a problem-solving discussion, I have three objectives:

1. Solve the immediate problem
2. Learn what we could have done to achieve a better outcome
3. Put that knowledge to work to ensure we don’t make the same mistake

To prepare myself to accomplish those objectives, I typically assume that the team will be defensive and then remind myself to expect this reaction and not get triggered.

I know as we explore the problem, they might be reluctant to be forthright about their roles, discuss their mistakes, or consider what could have been done differently, in a public space. However, if we can’t openly analyze the situation, we will struggle to come up with a solution, we won’t learn anything, and we are likely to repeat the mistake.

Remember, the idea of addressing a critical problem isn’t to find someone to blame; it’s to identify a solution and a lesson we can use to improve. In order to reach this objective, people need to own their part of the problem and communicate openly to the group — something that’s hard to do, even for the best of us.

Strategy #3: Encourage Transparency.

Go into a problem knowing you need to encourage people to open up.

Openly applaud those on the team that are willing to be vulnerable about their role in creating the problem in front of other team members. Make it more than safe; give them rock-star status! Make vulnerability sexy! Make vulnerability the next rock star.

As I said, it’s common to face silence or only murmured responses in a group setting.

Prepare yourself to walk into a room with people you know are likely to be disappointed or reluctant to talk. Their nature might be to protect themselves and cover things up, and it requires efficient emotional preparation to face this situation in a productive way.

Be prepared to encourage transparency and vulnerability by asking for it and then rewarding it publicly. If you shoot the messenger, you just fucked innovation.

Strategy #4: Don’t Solve it Yourself.

With a reluctant team, it’s easy to fall back on the instinct to just solve the problem yourself. But doing that is like giving someone driving directions to any location without first asking them their current location. In your mind, the team is in Los Angeles and you start telling them how to get to San Diego. They’re nodding because they just want the problem to go away and you have a solid track record of saving the day.

The meeting ends and they all jump to action. The next day, they show up to give you an update and the results are not even close to what you expected. Now you’ve lost a day, the problem isn’t solved, and you have no choice but to ask how they got here.

What you learn is that they were not in Los Angeles; they were in San Francisco. You assumed you were giving them directions to get to San Diego from Los Angeles; they assumed you knew they were in San Francisco. Turns out, everyone was lost.

The point of this ridiculous analogy is twofold: to remind you that this has happened to you and to remind you why leaders don’t solve problems for their teams.

To Summarize: Get Everyone on the Same Page.

Instead, you help them self-actualize a roadmap to a shared goal that you are super comfortable with. Leaders help their teams identify solutions by asking questions and challenging assumptions until a plan materializes that everyone is happy with.

When your team leaves the room, you are clear on their next steps and so are they.

The results you hope for are inevitable. Remind yourself to listen, be patient, don’t solve, and engage them in the game. Reward transparency; continue to peel the onion until your team is fully on board and has an aggressive solution.

 

*adapted from “It’s Never Just Business: It’s about People“

 

Jason Scott is a father, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist whose purpose is to inspire people to reach for their potential. He is founder and CEO of the project portfolio leadership and change leadership consultancy 120VC, and the author of “It’s Never Just Business: It’s about People“. He has enabled his Fortune 100 clients to successfully execute project portfolio management and enterprise-wide change efforts that have generated breakthrough results and created meaningful jobs.

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7 Savvy Tips For Women To Grow Their Businesses

The number of women working to start up their own small and medium sized businesses is ever-increasing. There is a potential to grow the proportion of entrepreneurs in the UK massively if business driven females are given the support and advice, they need to start their venture.

Here are 7 savvy tips women can use to feel more confident in improving and expanding their small businesses:

1. Invest in your growth.

Whenever you do any task, I am sure you think to yourself: what will be the final result? Whether you are working towards a sale or a daily profit, or gaining a new client, these are all examples of end goals that you might want to achieve for your business. In order to achieve these goals effectively and quickly, you often need the help of outside funding.

A good funding option for business growth, that will also allow you to maintain complete control over how your business is run,are known asmerchant loans and cash advances. You can borrow up to £500,000 and repay flexibly and affordably using your card terminal. There are no fixed repayments, as the amount you pay back is calculated as a percentage of your daily card sales. In other words, repayments are always in sync with your business’ cash-flow (if you earn less, you also repay less) making it a great funding option for start-ups.

2. Be known inside and outside your industry.

By making yourself known in the industry you are going into, you will be immediately placing yourself at an advantage over competitors. Well known businesses (with a positive reputation) are more likely to gain returning, loyal customers and new customers will be willing to try something new if they have heard positive reviews about it first.

Outside of your industry it is helpful to be known in order to make connections and have a good relationship with a range of suppliers. Your image is crucial as an enterprise for other companies as what they see from the outside is how they will judge you and through this perception decide whether or not you are a company worth investing in.

3. Listen to your employees.

While it is a huge asset to be known in and out of your industry, you will not manage to do this successfully without the support of your employees.

They are the backbone of any organisation as no matter how dedicated and independent you are in terms of running a small business, it is never a one-man job. By having a healthy relationship with all of your employees you will be helping them help you as the quality of work will be so much better if they are treated well. Listen to their ideas and suggestions for growing your business and build up a strong network within your own company so that other industries can see how stable you are as a whole.

4. Talk to other women.

As a female entrepreneur it can be daunting, particularly if the field your entering ismale dominated. This should not put you off creating and managing a small business of your own.

Talking to women who are also developing their entrepreneurial skills and can share their own struggles, should help you feel more encouraged and inspired to make your business the most successful it can be. Discussing your wins, losses and where you are stuck, is essential to all women-owned business leaders. On the Government website there is a whole section on women in enterprise which gives useful links to different support and advice that may be a good aid for growing your company.

5. Prepare to make sacrifices.

Managing an early business can be a lot of work and it is imperative that you are always aware of how your company is being run, from paperwork, to employees, to your customers.

In order to be completely successful with a business you would also like to grow, it does unfortunately mean that some sacrifices have to be made in other areas of your life. You may have less time for recreational activities and running your own company is not a 9 to 5 job. Expect some early starts and late finishes – don’t be too disheartened because a venture you have invested all your time, effort and money into will be sure to give you rewarding results.

6. Simplify your business.

It is easy to jump in the deep end when you have an amazing business idea and want to see it succeed immediately. However, any business takes time to grow and you must be patient. Yes, you probably have loads of great plans and schemes but rather than becoming muddled by all the possible ways you could run your company, take a step by step approach.

That means getting all your financials in order to begin with, so you at least have something to invest. Then you need to plan and re-plan until it is concrete. Sometimes it is better to keep it simple and perfecting a simple idea that is reliable for your employees, your customers and yourself the owner.

7. Take risks.

Although it is important to simplify your business in order to make every aspect manageable and successful, your business won’t change,or ever improve and grow if you don’t take a few risks. The risks do not have to be a massive financial investment because for a small business this could be a fatal decision. Instead, you can change a product line, or the way your employees manage their tasks, or the design of your shop to suit the constant change in customer trends.

Again, it is always possible to use alternative funding options, like merchant loans and cash advances, which could help you with an ambitious idea that you want to carry out for your enterprise. Risk taking can be carried out in many areas of your business and if you have a stable plan in place and the financials sorted to make a change, it could create a more profitable future.

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7 Tips To Help Grow Followers On Instagram

If you have been on Instagram for some time, and keen on popular and trending feeds, you will notice they have one thing in common – they have similar aesthetics.  Striving to provide your target audiences with the same can see you attract more high-quality followers.

Proper planning is however required to make it happen. To do this, you’ll need to:

1. Identify What Thrills You.

You need to figure out the things you like on Instagram, and which users you follow to have an idea of what aesthetics to use on your profile. Take some time to scroll through individuals you follow, as well as your timeline to see what stands out best. Are you more attracted to muted tones or enjoy vibrant colors. This should help you identify what might be missing on your feeds.

2. Plan Ahead.

The secret behind every perfectly-styled Instagram is planning. Planning well for your Instagram can help you maintain consistency even when time isn’t on your side. For instance, many of the successful Instagrammers take dozens of photos in one or two shootouts, then use these through the week. This makes it easier to prepare the images perfectly, as well as plan when to post them. This increases consistency even when you have a busy week.

3. Ensure Your Images Have A Consistent Look.

Be sure to maintain a consistent look and feel on all pictures.  Pick one look, or a filter, then stick to that. Using too many filters won’t do your brand any good.  It would also be advisable to stick to the same editing tools for your images. VSCO, Afterlight, and ColorStory are good examples of tools you can use.

4. Only Upload Meaningful Content on Instagram.

Your feeds don’t just need to be pretty; they need to have some substance on them as well. Do not try to sell only the lovely part of yourself either. Post the real you in pictures and especially what everybody is accustomed to. Include relevant descriptions, and if possible, get creative with the same. Using the same Rumi Quotes everyone has been using on Instagram makes it too generic.

It would also be advisable to mention your blog posts, products, and services regularly in the descriptions. This helps your audience know what/who you are or represent. The main idea behind using Instagram is to woo more audience to follow you, and most importantly, bring them to your email list. Simply posting pretty photos won’t help them either.  Loosening out a bit enables potential customers to reach out and even come to your workshops. Most of these will turn to be loyal customers in the long run.

5. Consistency.

Consistency is paramount if you wish to grow your Instagram followers. To be safe, consider posting at least 2 pictures every day. Consider posting one in the morning and another one in the evening to avoid spamming.  Instagram is yet to introduce a scheduling option to enable users to post content at set times. For this reason, you are stuck with using your device to post the pictures. Alternatively, you could use a third-party app to do this for you.

Identify the best and convenient time to post on Instagram. Experts recommend posting when more followers are likely to be online.

6. Use Hashtags – But Wisely.

Hashtags make it easy to find your content and inspire other users. Posting all your photos with a hashtag means users can search the content on search engines, find it, and even contribute to the collection. The other good thing with the hashtag feature is that it keeps a compilation of all pictures, videos, and text linked to the hashtag. It therefore helps create a link between you and your target audience.

To make maximum use of your hashtags, consider:

1. Using a hashtag relevant to your audience
2. Consider using a unique hashtag for better results
3. Only use one hashtag for each original post. You can then add several others in a comment immediately after the post
4. Invent your own story and get creative with the hashtags

7. Connect and Engage with the Audience.

Engaging with the audience on Instagram and connecting with them increases your chances of attracting even more followers. To do this, you’ll need to follower other users with a similar goal, comment on other user’s posts, like their ideas, and build a community.

Following other people and commenting on their posts and images makes it easier to notice your presence. While it may take some time for them to ‘show the love’ back, they’ll certainly follow you back.  As long your feed is rich with insightful and beautiful content, more people will want to connect with you.

These are seven simple ways you can grow your following on Instagram. As a rule of thumb, social media is all about giving to receive. Following and engaging with other users will bring you closer to your goal.

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The Advantages Of Borrowing From Alternative Lenders

Whether you’re trying to finance a new startup, or your company has an unexpected expense, the only constant in the world of small business is the need to access cash. When many entrepreneurs need capital, they automatically think of growing straight to their bank. While that may work for some people, others need to get around the lengthy approval process and slow turnaround time of a traditional bank loan.

For many, small business loans from alternative lenders are a perfect solution. Here are some of the ways they might be better for your company than a bank loan!

Easy Approval Process.

Banks are built on the principle of making “safe” investments. That makes sense, but in practice, their methods for determining the bankability of a company are exhausting and subjective. In many cases, it all comes down to a combination of the business’ credit score and the personal credit score of the business’ owner. Again, that sounds like it makes sense. The reality, however, is that many small companies in a position where they need small business loans haven’t established enough credit for banks to deem them acceptable borrowers.

Alternative funding sources are much more interested in positive cash flow and steady revenue than credit. To approve a small business loan, they only need to see receipts and statements from a short period of time, usually only a couple of months.

Quick Turnaround Time.

Another advantage of a small business loan from an alternative lender is that they move quickly. Typically, it only takes days-not weeks, for them to put cash in your hand. They’re able to do this because they don’t have to take the time to evaluate the volumes of information that banks require, and their decision-making hierarchy is small.

No Restrictions on Use.

For many traditional small business loans, banks will dictate that the borrower must specify a use for the funds they’re supplying. If you need a loan for equipment, it must be used for equipment. If you apply for a loan to make payroll, it can only be used for payroll, and so on and so on. Small business loans from alternative sources can be used for any business expense you need. If you’re approved to borrow, that’s the bottom line. If you agree to the terms and make the payments, the money is yours to do what you need with it.

It’s hard enough to run the day-to-day operations of a small business. When you need an influx of capital, the last thing you need is the anxiety of waiting for a bank’s decision. A small business loan from an alternative lender may be the answer!

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Why Your Employees Are Your Company’s Number One Cybersecurity Threat

A company cannot exist without its workers – that’s a given. But as much as workers are an integral part of any company, they are also the ones most likely to take a company down – at least when it comes to online security. According to a recently published study, employees are the number one cause of data breaches.

The Most Common Reason For Data Breaches? Employees.

The question, of course, is why employees are the number one cause of data breaches. The answer is simple: your employees are humans, and as such, they are prone to making mistakes.

But how do such mistakes happen, and more importantly, what can be done to prevent them? Here are four common causes of data breaches in the workplace:

Stolen/lost devices: When employees do not protect hardware devices (such as laptops, portable disks etc), they can get stolen or lost. If these devices fall into the wrong hands, the sensitive data that’s on them can be turned into a goldmine.

Phishing Emails: Every one of us can fall victim to phishing scams, including your employees. If a work email is compromised, then all of your company’s database is at risk.

Unprotected Logins: Public wi-fi can be a goldmine for hackers. If your workers access your company’s data from an unprotected network, it can jeopardize your entire company.  

Employees’ personal devices: Personal devices are far less likely to feature the same security measures as company devices do. They may even be infected with malware or spyware that would then infest your company’s network. This risk increases exponentially if your company employs remote workers as they are more likely to access your network using unprotected public wi-fi.

How To Protect Your Business From Your Employees’ Negligence Or Mistakes.

The only way to reduce the risk of cybersecurity breaches is to understand exactly how they happen and how to protect your company against them.

Here are some simple steps that every business – no matter how small – should follow to maintain cybersecurity in the workplace.

Create a Cybersecurity Policy.

A strong cybersecurity policy is essential, and should include instructions on how to create secure passwords, where and how to store sensitive data safely, how and when to access sensitive files, and how to store physical devices at home or in the workplace.

The policy should also include concrete ways to dispose of hard drives and portable devices. Bear in mind that if a device is not disposed of properly, information can still be retrieved even if the data has been deleted.

If your company doesn’t yet have an IT person, you should appoint a trained staff member who can be contacted in the event of a cybersecurity breach. The designated staff member’s contact details should be readily available to all company employees.

While it’s easy for employees to see additional roles as a burden, you’ll need to make sure that the person designated to deal with cybersecurity concerns recognizes the importance of this role. Ideally, the person should be someone who is tech savvy and is not intimidated by a bit of tech jargon. He or she should produce quarterly reports on cybersecurity issues that are readily available to everyone in the company. The secret to preventing cybersecurity breaches is to be aware of the risks 365 days a year.

Train Your Employees To Spot Phishing Emails.

Create regular lessons intended to teach your employees how to spot the tiny red flags in phishing emails. Try to make the lessons as entertaining as possible. There are many good interactive quizzes out there, like this one by Google.

Make sure your employees live by the mantra: whenever there’s any doubt, there is no doubt – at least when it comes to cybersecurity. Your online security policy should clearly state that employees must immediately forward any suspicious-looking emails to the IT department before (and even after) clicking on any links. And if there’s no IT department? Make sure the emails are sent to your designated cybersecurity person.

Keep Intruders Out: Use A VPN.

VPNs are everywhere these days. From large corporations to government agencies, VPN technology is often used to provide remote and secure access to the networks of an organization.

VPNs create specialized servers and by doing so encrypt your data. VPNs encrypt data as it travels over your company’s network to prevent hackers from harvesting it.

Business VPNs will provide your company with a dedicated server and IP address. This will allow your employees to connect to the network from anywhere in the world, while preventing others from being able to access your company’s data. This is especially important if you have remote workers who might be accessing your network from unprotected wi-fi networks.

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How Effective Business Storage Can Save You Money

Any SME owner will be able to improve their bottomline if they are getting the best out of their storage. Whether you own or rent your business premises, maximising the use of space is essential for efficient working and profitability. Regardless of the sort of enterprise you run, there will be a need to provide adequate storage. Few modern enterprises cannot operate without a decent goods-in and goods-out system which, in turn, means being able to stow items in a rational way.

Talk to the experts at Warehouse Storage Solutions for your pallet racking needs or read on to find out how to make the most of your stockroom.

Store and Pick Quicker With Pallet Racking.

The longer it takes to receive a delivery and process it so that it can be stored where you can later find it, the more man hours are spent on such tasks. Equally, inadequately stored items which are hidden behind other items take longer to find and pick for order completion. With a pallet racking system, you can store items virtually as they come in without the need to even remove them from the pallet they came in on.

Keep Better Stock Control.

When items are arranged on multiple aisles of pallet racking, you can see what you need to from the front and the back. This makes keeping tabs on your stock much easier. Full inventories can be taken during the working day, if needed, rather than needing to fork out for warehouse operatives to do stock checks at evening and weekends when you invest in a properly managed storage solution.

Save Space.

With cantilevered storage racks and pallet racking, you can use all of your available space. In turn, this means you are much less likely to have to pay out for another storage area elsewhere or to hire a container temporarily to keep things in. By using the space from the floor to the top of the stockroom, you will end up saving both time and money in equal measure.

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Taking Big Action – For The Big Dreamer

by Jay Bedi, founder of Nylero Entertainment

In the modern entrepreneurship era, words such as ‘hustle’, or ‘grind’ may seem like just words being thrown around with no weightage anymore whatsoever. It’s an almost omnipresent frame of mind nowadays – that starting your own business means you are a proactive, independent thinker. Sadly, it’s just people ultimately seeking to conform to the trending label of a self-entitled ‘business owner.’

However, amongst this crowd are the rare entrepreneurs who are actually striving for a unique, big dream, that separates visionaries from these conformists. This rare breed of entrepreneurs isn’t looking for fame or fortune. Rather – they have their own larger-than-life goal in mind which doesn’t rely on outcomes of success of failure. It’s simply what they were made to do. Not just your standard business, but an unfaltering purpose.

You’ve heard about them for a while now, the Elon Musks of the world. However, the ones who are standing at the starting-line usually have nothing but their wits, dreams and their unshakable confirmation.

Looking at the path to come from the starting line – it’s a scary view. But not one that regardless stops these big dreamers from walking the talk.

1. Stay Grounded: Don’t Let It Overwhelm You.

Having all you ever wanted – it’s a scary thought. Big dreamers often find themselves victims of clouded planning and anxious thoughts.

What am I doing?

This is so unrealistic.

Am I wasting my life away?

And if it hasn’t hit you yet, it’s not unreasonable to think that these uncertainties will one day fill your mind. It’s often the mammoth nature of these big dreams which causes these doubts in the first place. But it’s also what makes it so beautifully fulfilling in the end.

Don’t let it overwhelm you. Take a moment to breathe. Compose yourself. The best validation you can receive is that there is no secondary venture. You have no backup profession that will solace you as deeply on your deathbed – unfulfilled or not.

And this isn’t a one-off deal. These uncertainties are here to stay, and forever play with your mind now and again. But it’s the eventual vision of beginning to see the never-ending path as a challenge, which means that you’re ready to embark towards action.

2. Strive For The Long-Game: Plan, Plan & Plan.

Planning should be the utmost present keyword in your life now. The planning phase may even seem like an overly elongated stage – quite stretched out more than necessary. All big dreamers have larger-than-life goals that don’t follow the simple, start-up step-by-step routine that others around you may have developed. This is because the big dreamer doesn’t have a wish-wash goal. Rather, it’s the vision of themselves that poses an almost unrealistic endgame.

Whether you want to change a country, make an industry, or revolutionise a product. These big dreams frequently seem unreachable or impractical due to their uniquely great nature. But really, it’s just the scary thought that your passion may one day actually come to life. This can be enough to cloud your first step to taking action.

As Muhammad Ali said; ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.’

And it’s often these large goals which require a lot (sometimes years) of planning, and aren’t confined to a specific deadline or timeframe. The dreamers often have an unfathomable level of passion behind them, to the extent that it is clearly their lifelong purpose. So, where do you start planning? Whichever way allows you freedom of brainstorm creativity. Whether it’s as an Excel spreadsheet or going freehand on an A2 paper – give the following a try:

1. In a vertical manner mark a start-line and a finish-line – with a large, blank gap in the middle. Write the current month and year on the start-line. Leave the finish-line undated.
2. Sectionalise the gap with the subsequent phases to your project’s completion at the finish-line. The first section should be your current ‘planning’ phase. Don’t use the entire gap.
3. In the gap – estimate and number the days, months or years your current planning phase requires.
4. Roughly do the same for the next phases. If you are unsure of any upcoming phases – leave it be.
5. Start at your current week and work your way to the top.
6. Remember that this phase or any upcoming phases are very likely to change as your progress. Don’t be alarmed if a phase oversteps into the next planned phase, or if you are required to revisit a phase you thought was completed. Quality is always better than a rushed approach.

This approach helps those projects which contain a vast variety of steps. An otherwise unplanned approach will leave you hastily alternating between tasks for the sake of completion. Laying your path in front of you for clarification will ensure a focused approach. Coupling reminder applications like Wunderlist with this master-plan keeps you accountable for deadlines in a timely manner. Resultantly, it will keep you as compliant as possible to your planned phases.

Don’t beat yourself down if things aren’t going to plan either. It’s common for deeply desired plans to take longer than estimated. As I said – the big dreams often aren’t confined to a specific deadline or timeframe. Be prepared to readjust, realign and swallow your pride to take more unplanned steps than initially desired.

3. No Ideas Wasted: Every Thought Counts.

Good or bad ideas – every thought counts.

Unfortunately, as we’re not in the generation that allows telepathic-to-digital recording, the best method to save those randomly appearing ideas is simple. Notetaking. Applications such as Evernote, allow for instantaneous recording of those spur-of-the-moment ideas that spring up unexpectedly. I often find myself spontaneously notetaking, and sometimes don’t revisit that specific note for years. You never know when an idea that seems weak at first will come into play.

Not all ideas require urgent action, and not every idea is your best. It’s nonetheless those random thoughts and ideas which should stay with you for a later date. There have been instances when I’m going through my Evernote vault, and rediscover a business idea from years ago that is directly applicable to current circumstances.

Remember; your passion derives from your subconscious, gut feeling. Don’t let any thought process slip into the empty pit of the forgotten.

4. Doing & Dreaming: Strike The Right Balance.

Both are just as important as each other. While dreaming helps maintain that high-level of motivation – doing something about it is inevitable.

It’s a self-feeding cycle which constantly demands a balance to get your ambitions moving forward towards fulfilment. You may find that some days, weeks or even months are comprised of purely day-dreaming. That’s fine. Don’t force yourself to stop picturing your vision coming to life. These are all motivation-fuelling thoughts that will ultimately help clarify the perfect picture of your final destination. Often these are also great phases for spewing out your cleverest ideas.

Dreaming about your goal is best thought of as an unlimited supply of free fuel for motivation. Your growing desire will eventually lead you to automatically take the next step towards these envisioned plans yourself.

 

Jay Bedi is an Actor, Screenwriter & Founder of creative film agency, Nylero Entertainment and Content Marketing Strategist at Indago Digital. Jay’s currently pursuing commercialising Australia’s film industry through his own, aspired film productions.

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Simple Ways To Boost Social Media Engagement

Statistics show that there are over 2 billion users of social networks all around the world. This is why it is really important for every single business to be present on social media. However, just having a page does not mean benefits will appear. Social media is all about engagement. You want to have posts that people talk about, share and like. It does not matter if the social media profile is for an Illinois nursing home abuse attorney or a large corporation.

Many things can be said about how to boost social media engagement. Books can be written about the topic. However, some tips are much simpler to use and apply than others. This is what we will focus on below.

Use Social Media Monitoring/Listening Tools.

Online reputation can so easily make or break brands. This is why you always need to know what people say about the brands you try to promote. Use tools that listen to social media activity and monitor brand mentions.  Many companies do not actually use such tools as they think they are really expensive. In reality, numerous tools are completely free. You can simply use services like Google Alerts or Hootsuite to monitor branding on social media.

Stay Visual.

When you use social media, it is really important that you use graphics, images and videos. According to official research conducted by numerous industry professionals, images have a higher Facebook interaction rate than text posts, by around 85%. This is so much more than what many imagine.

It is true that creating infographics or really good graphics is expensive. However, you can always share what others did when you do not have money. Try to find ways in which you can add images to your social media profiles and you will see increased engagement.

Giveaways, Contests And Games.

People use social media in order to relax. They also really love to get things for free or discounts for products they appreciated. Social media is a great way to both engage with the current and potential customers and to help them have some fun.

Think about contests that would keep people engaged and try to play games once in a while. People want to see brands that are fun and that interact with the audience, not corporate entities that are cold and do not care about anyone. Giveaways are self-explanatory.

Engage In Conversations With Your Audience.

Asking questions is another great way to stay active when using social media. For instance, you can ask for content ideas or advice. This gets people involved and they end up feeling as if they are part of the brand. You will often see the big brands having Q&As on Twitter or Google Hangouts. This is why they do it. Such an approach will instantly increase social media engagement, which is exactly what you want. The only situation in which you should not hold a Q&A is when the brand is controversial and it is possible that problems would appear during conversations

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How To Write A Proposal Cover Letter

by Aaron Beashel, Head of Marketing at Qwilr

Cover letters may seem insignificant, but they can make an impact in the event that you’re sending a business proposal.

Make the right impression by crafting a great proposal cover letter. But how does one get started?

What Are Proposal Letters, And Why Should You Use Them?

Cover letters are, for the most part formal written introductions to a client you wish to do business with.

But that’s not all, used right, cover letters add a personal touch and can lead to a more favourable response. You’ll need to include key differentiators, or how you’re the best option and present enough facts to make them want to read the business proposal.

It can be said that a cover letter can make or break a business plan proposal. Any and all effort towards making one, whether from scratch or using a template like this one, will be well worth it in the end.

When To Use Cover Letters.

As powerful as they are, cover letters aren’t needed for all business proposals.

The necessity will depend on the project’s scope and nature. For instance, a large, multi-national corporation will expect a cover letter to go along with your proposal or else it will get ignored. For informal and smaller settings, heading straight to the proposal should do just fine.

Write A Proposal Letter In 5 Easy Steps.

Having to write another piece of content may sound tiresome, but here are 5 easy steps you can follow to come up with a professional, engaging and informative cover letter.

Before you start, keep in mind that a cover letter should be short, focused and have enough facts to get the reader to jump on the actual business proposal. Refrain from filling it up with qualifications, achievements and experience, or convincing the client to hire you. That kind of content is reserved for the actual proposal itself.

Also, there should be no mention of any dollar amount or figure anywhere in the cover letter. This is a rookie mistake, and it gives busy executives a reason to not continue with your proposal plan. The only exception to the rule if when they specifically ask for it, or if a bargain price is one of your main selling point.

Step 1. Determine Your Client’s Needs.

A proposal letter largely addresses what the client is already thinking- their needs. What difficulties are they facing right now? What factors are missing that prevents them from growing?

Acknowledging the client’s needs will give them the impression that you’re already on their discussion table and that you’re playing an active role. They feel understood and are now more receptive to your ideas.

Step 2. Outline the Solution.

The next paragraph should give the client the outcome they need to solve their problems. A short, concise sentence should be fine; don’t go over in detail so you’ll have something they can look forward to in the actual proposal.

Step 3. State Your Approach.

Touch on a few details that show your action plan. Remember, the larger the project the more moving pieces it has. Give the client a picture on how you’ll carry out the solution. For the best results, you should offer a few products or services that work very well when combined together.

Step 4. Highlight Your Unique Value.

This is the time you start promoting your brand, product or service. More importantly, this part should answer the question- why should the client hire you?

List a few key differentiators and highlight what you think are the most important ones. If possible, use breaks and bullets often to make it easier to scan.

Step 5. Conclude With a Call to Action.

Your role doesn’t stop there; add a call to action and invite the reader to peruse the rest of the proposal for a more in-depth look of what you’re offering. It should be a convincing, straightforward appeal that also sets expectations on what they should do after reading your business plan.

An example goes like this – “After you’ve read the proposal, sign electronically if you accept. I’ll give you a call on Monday to answer any concerns you may have.”

The basic framework outlined above should give you a strong, compelling proposal cover letter and favourable results. More than that, don’t forget the value of formatting correctly and structuring to make everything easy for the reader. Add a company header and a stationery to convey utmost professionalism.

With just one page, you can entice your future client to take a look at what you have to offer with an open mind. So go ahead and get writing!

 

Aaron Beashel is Head of Marketing at Qwilr and has developed a wealth of knowledge and passion bordering on obsession. He started by co-founding a SaaS startup and has then gone on to lead marketing teams at some of the fastest-growing B2B SaaS companies in the world.

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Why Your Startup Needs To Analyze Data From The Beginning

Unless you’re a serial entrepreneur well on your way with a 5^th startup, then much of the work involved with your new business is something you’re doing for the very first time. Indeed, corralling the many moving parts, activities and people to get the business up and running smoothly is tough enough. Doing so while taking all the right actions is near impossible.

That is, unless you develop business intelligence through data analysis to provide some much-needed guidance.

Too Busy to Stop to Analyze Data?

When you’re being pushed and pulled in 50 different directions as the CEO, a focus on data is the last thing on your mind. That’s data collection and review. That comes later, you convince yourself.

Well, actually… not so fast.

While the opinions of different staff members will vary depending on their previous experience in the industry and their unstated biases, the data doesn’t lie. For instance, by tracking the sales day-to-day and week-to-week, it’s possible to spot trends faster than waiting for a monthly report.

How Data Can Be Useful to Entrepreneurs.

For startups with a limited amount of capital which they need to stretch out until profitability or be forced to enter a new funding round to give away another chunk of equity, it’s far better to do business smarter.

By using early data, the CEO and marketing team can examine what is working, what needs an adjustment in approach or design, and those initiatives that simply aren’t performing. This type of review is useful when adding new features to an SaaS or when developing a range of physical products around a connected theme.

Instead of running the business by feel, data analysis provides a valuable second opinion. It’s also an impartial one with an absence of emotion which is beneficial when it’s necessary to be painfully honest at the upper levels about how the startup is really performing.

Data Analysis is An Advanced Field.

Data analysis has grown as a subject. It now commonly incorporates different related topics such as econometrics, advanced forecasting using analytical data, data analysis and big data econometrics too.

For leaders interested in delving deeper into the subject matter, the data analytics certificate from Boston College provides an in-depth online training over an eight month period divided into 8-week term blocks of study.

Whether you want to create more accurate forecasts of your startup’s financial future, run different analyses and filtering to confirm various possible scenarios, or to begin to integrate big data thinking into a startup business framework, these are all covered in this type of certificate. Furthermore, it can form part of a future Master of Science in Applied Economics degree, if so desired.

When analyzing data from the first day of business, it’s possible to avoid mistakes and take additional steps in the right direction. Continuing to invest in areas that aren’t showing promise when the data is there to prove it is then avoided. This leaves more capital available to fund sensible expansion projects and to survive as a startup through to eventual profitability.

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Home Decor And Accessories For Women – Two Very Successful Home Business For Sale On ExchangeMarketplace Reviewed

Home businesses today are getting a lot of attention as customers now are looking for one-of-a-kind products curated and customized for them. As an owner of a home business, you bear lesser costs because you don’t have to worry about paying rent for office space or commute. When it comes to your business, you also get to be your own boss and take independent decisions. With nobody to fire you, home businesses are a great way to experiment with products and creative marketing strategies!

Exchangemarketplace has two such e-commerce home businesses that are now up for grabs – ‘Everything a girl wants’ and ‘LumoDecor’!

Here’s a review of both these businesses for you to quickly decide which one you want to put your name on.

Everything A Girl Wants.

Everythingagirlwants.com sells an exclusive handpicked collection of clothing, beauty, accessories,  homeware, and pet care products. Everything A Girl Wants has good potential to grow with the right digital marketing strategies. With a good chain of suppliers and followers on social media, the buyer only needs to spend about 12 hours a week to maintain this business.

The average revenue being earned by everythingagirlwants.com is $20,057 per month with an average sales of 700 products per month. The business has been seeing an average profit of $11,500 per month with a 31% profit margin. The website has an average of 18,991 sessions/month. Some additional costs the buyer would bear when purchasing this e-commerce business includes:

• $29/month on a Shopify plan
• $1/month on domain
• $10/month on apps

Everything A Girl Wants has gained a total revenue of $80,229 since it kicked off. The e-commerce website is up for sale on Exchangemarketplace for a total of $55,000. The website gained total traffic of 75,967 sessions in the past five months. The sale of the website includes product photos, supplier contacts, logo and branding assets, domain name, and social media handles.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, buying this home business would be a good option for you because the seed here is already planted and all you have to do it is water it every day!

LumoDecor.

Lumodecor.com is an e-commerce website that sells affordable and unique home decor. The website also offers free worldwide shipping. The owners of the website have good supplier contacts and offer the lowest price available on the market. With total traffic of 112,836 sessions, this store has a conversion rate of 3.7%.

With an average revenue of $29,251, the company makes an average sales of 2,458 products per month. The company keeps a profit margin of 20% gaining an average profit of $10,749 per month. The business website receives an average of 28,209 sessions per month. The buyer of this website can easily continue this home business as the owners of the website have a good foundation in place with reliable suppliers and access to a niche market. The additional costs that the buyer would bear on a monthly basis are:

• $79 on Shopify plan
• $1.17 on the domain name
• $400 on employees
• $70 on Facebook Ads
• $70 on Shopify Apps

The company has witnessed a total revenue of $117,003 since its inception in July 2018. The company is up for sale on exchangemarketplace.com for $21,000. The purchase also of this business includes product photos, domain name, supplier contacts, a mailing list of about 5000 subscribers, logo and branding assets, social media handles with 4,500 followers. Moreover, the owner of the website will even help you get into this business’ groove for the next 2 months!

Both these home businesses are a great choice for people looking to get into the business game. Home businesses are a great start because it comes with fewer investments and costs. It lets you spend time with your family as well as maintain your business side by side.

Check out Exchangemarketplace.com for more business opportunities.

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How Startup Cultures Can Engrain Smart Protocols From Day One

by Manish Dudharejia, President and Founder of E2M Solutions Inc

Startups require unique, passionate environments, especially during those first few months. Everyone is full of ideas and ready to embrace something new. Birthing a new company can be a stressful process, but it’s also a time of powerful change and excitement for those who are involved.

Because those first weeks are often so uncertain, it’s common for things to dissolve into chaos, especially once the ball starts rolling. It’s essential to establish a strong culture from day one that pushes your organization toward success, even as your startup takes off.

Here’s how startups can begin instilling a productive system of action from the get-go. Not only will establishing these effective protocols save you time and money, but it will also make your new company a more enjoyable place for old and new employees to work.

Eliminate Confusion About Brand Standards. 

Now is the time to firmly define the company’s standards and protocols. Ideally, the values you come up with here should reflect from the logos and colors to more permanent details like the business name. Doing this early on will help avoid problems with inconsistency and prevent your team members from spending hours debating details. Plus, by establishing the brand standards at the beginning, you’ll make it easy for new employees to understand the rules as soon as they join in the future.

Brand standards aren’t just about designs. These guidelines can also dictate how your company behaves in certain situations by defining the core values, mission, and personality of the business as a whole.

When content is produced, what is the brand’s voice? When customer service issues arise, what is your number one goal? Answering these questions can steer you toward a clear picture of your future and establish your branding power.

Although this may seem like a complicated task at the beginning of a startup, it’s smart to work on shaping the future of the company from day one. This leaves less room for errors, especially once you bring on new employees.

Determine How Time Will Be Tracked.

In a startup environment, it’s easy to track time and responsibilities with the honor code. The team is likely small and close-knit, making it easy to hold everyone accountable without rigid standards in regards to project management. However, that will change as the business grows and takes on new employees. Managing half a dozen team members is very different from working with a team of twenty or thirty.

Start planning ahead now by looking into task management tools and systems that will help with productivity and time management. Platforms like Wrike, Trello, and Asana make it simple to assign projects to people and monitor their progress.

Additionally, these services provide a form of in-house communication that can dissuade people from scheduling unnecessary meetings.

According to Atlassian’s surveys, roughly 59 percent of United States workers say that communication is their team’s biggest obstacle to success, followed by problems with accountability. Although you might not see these problems now, they will come with time. Avoid them as much as possible by establishing a time-tracking task management system today. Even though the cost might seem tough to justify early on, having concrete processes established before rapid growth is priceless in the long run.

Make Your Work Environment Fun But Productive.

More and more companies today are focusing on promoting “fun” workplace environments. It’s not just for enjoyment – it’s also to foster a healthy work environment. When the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list came out in 2018, 81 percent of the employees that worked at “great” companies also claimed they work in a “fun” environment. Clearly, there’s some kind of correlation between success and fun, even if we’re not sure exactly what it is.

Research has indicated time and time again that employee happiness is an integral aspect of a company’s success. That’s why an increasing number of businesses, especially new companies, are focusing on employee wellness and positivity alongside productivity. A Deloitte 2018 Human Trends report revealed that more than 40 percent of all workers suffer from high stress that negatively impacts their productivity.

Some great ways to facilitate a happy workplace environment and culture include:

• Giving positive and negative feedback with constructive advice
• Promoting professional and courteous behavior among all employees
• Rewarding good work with praise and promotions
• Handling HR problems discreetly so everyone feels safe
• Treating all employees fairly

A word of caution: beware of “fun” additions to the office that don’t actually contribute to a productive culture or care for employees’ wellbeing. In other words, no, you don’t need that ping pong table. It’s okay (and even beneficial) to establish a workplace that loves to laugh, but you certainly don’t want to encourage a company culture that thrives on wasted time.

Be Transparent and Hold People Accountable.

Although you don’t want to waste time in pointless meetings, communication is key in a startup culture. Ideas are born with discussion and brainstorming sessions, of which you’ll have plenty of in those first few months.

In these many discussions, don’t shy away from transparency and accountability on a company scale. Be direct about who is accountable for what tasks and how projects are progressing. Even if the news isn’t great, you want your startup to be built on a culture of authenticity.

About 31 percent of employees surveyed by Kimble Applications said that more transparency regarding the overall health of the business would allow them to better understand their employer’s goals. Additionally, 23 percent of these employees said that transparency would make them more motivated.

People value being in the loop, so establish that as a precedent now. Let people have a say in the future of the company, and hold people accountable to both company goals and their personal goals.

In Summation.

Being a part of a startup company provides you with the unique opportunity to build a culture of productivity and success from the ground up. Don’t wait until the business has grown to start implementing these aspects; plant the seeds while the core concepts of the company are still growing. The stronger your protocols are from day one, the better off your organization will be in the future.

 

Manish Dudharejia is the President and Founder of E2M Solutions Inc, a San Diego Based Digital Agency that specializes in Website Design & Development and eCommerce SEO. With over 10 years of experience in the Technology and Digital Marketing industry, Manish is passionate about helping online businesses to take their branding to the next level.

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Running A Home-Based Business? 5 Ways To Make Clients Feel Special

Home-based businesses have been around for decades, even before computers were a standard in every home in America. In the 1980s, the most popular home-based business was word processing services. Today, home-based businesses range from varied computer services, coaching, massage therapy, and even counseling.  

Once you get a taste for it, running a home-based business is a convenience you don’t want to lose. The happier your clients are, the more business you’ll retain.

Regardless of your industry, here are five ways to keep your clients happy and feeling appreciated:

1. Be flexible.

It’s unrealistic to expect clients to be exactly on time and always keep their appointments. Being flexible will go a long way. While you don’t want to let clients walk all over you, it’s important to be flexible enough to flow with life’s demands.

Remember, not everyone has the luxury of setting their own schedule. Most people – including your clients – have to work around a schedule set by someone else. When one aspect of their day changes, it pushes everything around. Your clients probably have other priorities like children and pets. Be understanding when they need to reschedule or cancel at the last minute.

2. Ensure clients have a safe place to park.

Parking is a major source of frustration. According to USA Today, American motorists spend 17 hours each year searching for parking spots. If you’re located in a busy downtown area without ample parking, you might lose some new clients when they see your parking situation.

If you don’t have a driveway to park in, your clients will need to park on the street. Some clients won’t feel comfortable parking on the street in certain neighborhoods. If the street parking is full, they may need to park in a garage and walk several blocks back to your house.

The solution is to give your clients your parking spot to make their visit as convenient as possible. If you have clients coming and going frequently, you may want to start parking on the street regularly so you don’t need to run around at the last minute to find street parking.

3. Ensure clients have a clean place to park.

Finding parking in the city is tough, but in the country, you’ve got other issues to worry about. Dust, dirt, pollen, and tree sap are unavoidable in many areas. You might be used to having a dirty car all the time, but your clients probably won’t like it. Especially if they’re from the city. There’s nothing like going in for a simple car wash and being told you need an expensive clay rub to get the tree sap off.

If you live on a large property out in the country where clients can park anywhere, set up at least one car shelter to provide covered parking. If you often have more than one client over at a time, get two. If you’ve never had a car shelter before, once you get one for your clients, you’ll want one for yourself.

4. Set up a self-serve station for water.

Set up a water jug with a spout and some clean cups wherever you spend time with clients. Some clients feel awkward asking for a glass of water, even when they really need it. Making water available to clients to grab whenever they need it will make them feel more comfortable in your office and with you.

5. Mail cards on special occasions.

Once or twice a year, for a holiday or birthday, send your client a physical greeting card thanking them for being your client. Be sure you know what holidays they do and don’t celebrate before sending a card.

Don’t overdo it, and don’t get too personal. Avoid sending anniversary cards if you’ve never met their spouse. If you’ve sent a card for your client’s birthday last week, don’t send one for a holiday coming up next week.

The best cards are the ones without reason. Completely unexpected, and authentically written in appreciation for their continued business.

Tell your clients you appreciate them.

While there are plenty of ways you can show your clients appreciation, nothing beats telling them directly. Next time you part ways with a client, let them know you appreciate doing business with them. You’ll start to build stronger rapport, and they’ll be more likely to refer you to other people.

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How To Detect A Good Lead

It’s a priority for every business to be aware of their target market. Since there are many factors to consider, from age and gender to lifestyle, one way of simplifying is to devise a customer persona. This is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer. By keeping the persona in mind, you can come up with a product or launch a marketing campaign that’s strategic and tailor-fitted, catering exactly to the desires and pain points of your target market.

In the process of attracting sales, businesses scout for leads, which are contacts that can possibly become buyers. The more aligned a lead is with your persona or target market, the more likely it’ll result in a sale. Leads are obtained through all sorts of channels, including subscribers to website content, attendees during events, and using social media profiles that match typical customer demographics.

However, not all leads are of the same quality. Although having a lot of leads is desirable in general, bad leads can end up wasting your resources and muddling your marketing, so it’s important to be able to distinguish which leads have the highest potential. These are the leads that you can pour more of your attention to — and get significant results.

Detecting a Good Lead.

The definition of a good lead is simple: the person with high potential to turn into a customer. However, detecting a good lead is another matter altogether.

A basic way to weed out bad leads is to check if the data given by the lead is valid. For example, leads with sensitive information such as phone numbers, company names, a company domain business email address are a good sign, while leads that give invalid values or only blanks for these would become lower priority.   

Lead Scoring.

Checking for valid data can work as an initial filter, but a more thorough method would be lead scoring. You literally assign each lead a score based on a set of criteria that your team decides on, and the leads with the highest scores are the best. The criteria generally revolve around two basic questions: how similar is the lead to past customers, and how engaged is the person with your product or service?

To gauge similarity, you can list down characteristics of the customer persona or those that consistently appear among your customers. If your clients are individuals, these can involve age, gender, and location, or number of employees and industry for companies. On the other hand, you can track engagement by observing the lead’s activity pattern. How do they interact with your business? Instead of characteristics, think about actions that indicate interest, such as opening emails, responding to phone calls, nor booking product demos.

Once you’ve gathered factors for both of these, assign weights to them, with the assumption that the highest total score for a lead would be 100. You can even boost the accuracy of your system by adding negative factors. These signal that a lead is less likely to buy, indicating disinterest or dissimilarity—for example, never opening any email from your business. To get a lead’s score, look at the factors that it checks off and add up their weights. No need to worry too about trading off efficiency for precision—with marketing tools such as Hubspot and ScopeLeads, the process is already automated, even to the point that you’ll receive notifications for high-scoring leads.

When you determine the quality of each lead, you can systematize your efforts and tweak your campaigns to appeal to the best. This will bring in more sales for less effort, taking your business to new levels if consistently applied.

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How Is Your Company Dealing With Diversity?

by Jesmane Boggenpoel, author of “My Blood Divides and Unites: Race, Identity, Reconciliation“

As the world becomes more globalized and advancement in technology continues to evolve, diversity in the workplace will continue to grow, making it more common to deal with clients, customers, and employees from all over the world.  Companies, organizations and leaders must adopt a global mindset in order to remain viable and relevant in today’s global marketplace.

However, the possible challenges of diversity cannot be ignored and should be recognized early on. The ability for leaders and companies to manage and leverage differences in ways that allow everyone from all backgrounds to be heard, understood, and work together productively is critical to a productive and effective team. Language barriers may make it challenging to communicate effectively, and cultural differences may prevent employees from being comfortable enough to open up, bond with one another, or even work comfortably and closely with members of their team.

So, what can companies, organizations and leaders do to promote workforce diversity? Check out these some strategies for fostering inclusiveness in companies and organizations.

Promote appreciation of cultural differences.

By gathering a small group, and allocate time for a corporate break-away, where everyone can foster open, candid conversations among each other by share each other’s stories, journeys, identity, forgiveness, and lingering emotions.

Instill a culture of empathy.

As stated in my book, “My Blood Divides and Unites“, “listening to the other person with an open heart and connecting with the other person’s feelings even if you don’t agree – can put you in the other person’s shoes, and that can often be a catalyst for repairing and strengthening broken, even hostile, relationships.’’ If someone voices a complaint about bias or discrimination, listen carefully, and let them know that you care and will work to address their concerns. Even if you think that someone is being hypersensitive, make sure you follow up and take action as appropriate.

Try individual counseling.

Set aside funds from the company’s human resources budget for staff to receive counseling that will help heal them from past racial incidences which may have caused trauma and hinder effective race relations going forward.

Find a common cause.

There is much power in bringing people together around a common cause. Currently, technology is helping to solve some of humanity’s most complex problems that affect lower-income people and address inequality. Corporates can have its staff champion and get involved in such tech impact investing projects.

Instill the right skills in the future leaders.

Encourage everyone at work to be inspirational leaders in a diverse and tolerant society. One way to do this is by conducting formal diversity training sessions among employees that will help them explores the roots of conflict, to fears of lacking, and the desire to dominate.

 

Jesmane Boggenpoel, author of “My Blood Divides and Unites: Race, Identity, Reconciliation” is an experienced business executive and former Head of Business Engagement for Africa at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. Jesmane was honored as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, is a Harvard Mason fellow and a shareholder and founding board member of African Women Chartered Accountants Investment Holdings.

 

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How To Profit From Day Trading Gas-Related Stocks

As of 2019, natural gas is experiencing a rapid growth phase. According to a report by International Gas Union and The Boston Consulting Group released in 2018, the average worldwide gas consumption has grown in the last decade by 1.8% per year. Thus, it is the fastest growing energy source after renewable energy. The market expansion is driven by the rapid increase of liquid natural gas (LNG) use, the surge in North American shale industry, and the continual development of gas infrastructures in the Middle East and Asia.

Stock day traders can benefit from the potential growth of the gas market by trading gas-related stocks. To increase the chances of potential profits, you should aim for a funded traded account, which will allow you to enter the market with a more generous deposit. On a side note, Tradenet, the day trading academy founded by Meir Barak, enables clients to access funded accounts and secure up to 70% of the net profits. This is where you can trade gas stocks like a professional.

Major Gas Producers and Consumers.

The gas market is poised to expand given that this energy source is clean, flexible, cost-effective, and quite abundant. Many sectors, including steel, food, and automobile industries require a lot of energy, and gas is among the most convenient sources of power.

Today, the largest gas producers are the US and Russia, with around 766 billion m3 and 635 billion m3 respectively as of 2015, according to CIA’s World Factbook data. Iran, Qatar, Canada, China, Norway, and Saudi Arabia come next. When it comes to proven reserves, Russia and Iran have by far the largest resources of natural gas, so they will continue to be the main players in the industry for the coming decades.

While Iran has the second largest gas reserves in the world, it cannot convert this advantage due to the US sanctions. Thus, the country controls less than 1% of the global natural gas market, with many gas projects being heavily affected by the political conflicts with the Western world.

Russia and China don’t have the best relationships with the US, but their gas exports are not impacted by any form of sanctions so far, as the EU and Asian countries are depending on the natural gas produced there.

When it comes to consumption, Russia and the US hold the first positions as well, with China, Iran, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, the US, and Mexico also making the top 10 list. By 2023, China will account for the largest share of global gas consumption growth, surpassing all the continents.

How to Analyze the Gas Market.

Traders who want to deal with gas-related stocks have to analyze the supply and demand changes in different countries in order to spot good opportunities and avoid risks.

Thus, if a natural gas exporter is moving toward an economic or political crisis, it wouldn’t be profitable to buy stocks of companies operating in that particular country. This is a situation when the shares can be shorted. For example, Venezuela would have the potential to become a major gas producer, given that it has considerable reserves. However, the current political crisis doesn’t let it develop in the right direction.

Currently, China and the US are in the midst of a trade war that has some economic consequences. When the situation eases, gas producers might note a bullish mood as the trade of natural gas will increase, especially when both countries play a huge role in the gas market.

Largest Companies in the Gas Industry.

If you plan to trade gas-related stocks, you should start with the large and sometimes emerging companies. Today, the largest gas producing companies in the world are Gazprom, Exxon Mobil, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum (BP), Chevron, Total, Statoil, ConocoPhillips, and Eni. As of 2016, these companies accounted for about 30% of global gas production, with Gazprom alone account for 11%. All of the mentioned companies are listed on stock exchanges except CNPC, which is state-owned.

You can trade the stocks of gas companies by watching the news and reports related to changes in supply or demand, which trigger volatility in prices.

If you want to increase the potential profits, you can attend online day trading courses, which can significantly contribute to your trading skills.

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