Saturday, August 31, 2019

A Startup Founder’s Guide To Reducing Risk

The concept of risk is interesting, to say the least. The idea of risk keeps us honest and ensures we don’t make foolish decisions. In this regard, it’s a good thing. But the consequences of risk realized are painful and costly. In this sense, risk can be deadly. 

As a startup founder with a fledgling business, the goal is to reduce/eliminate as many risk variables as possible in order to give your young startup an unimpeded runway to fly to new heights. Do you know where to start?

There’s certainly a place for risk in the business world. But for the purposes of this article, we’re using broad brushstrokes to paint risk as a bad thing. In this regard, here are five surprisingly straightforward ways you can reduce risk and increase your chances of success.

1. Start Lean.

Most startups fail. This is a fact. And while each startup fails for its own set of reasons, many blow up as a result of trying to do too much too soon. As tempting as it can be to do everything at once, be patient and start lean. 

Building a lean business with lean products ensures you don’t pigeon-hole yourself into a situation where you’re unable to back your way out. It gives you an opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t before fully investing in an idea. (Practically speaking, it also keeps your costs down and prevents you from blowing through all of your cash on one failed project.)

2. Keep Excellent Records.

Documentation and meticulous record keeping is a must for startups. While you can probably get away with sloppy organization for a few months or years, it’ll eventually catch up to you.

Most importantly, you have to ensure that your accounting is pristine. A failure to stay up to date on accounting will put you in all kinds of legal danger zones. You should never leave the office at the end of any day or week without having all finances reconciled with the proper supporting documentation. It’s easy for one slip-up to snowball into another. Avoid this effect by being a stickler for the rules.

3. Keep Cash Burn Low.

Every startup, no matter how small or large, should have a clear understanding of its burn rate. (This is the critically important metric that tells you how much of your cash you’re spending on a monthly basis.)

“Burn rate, much like fire itself, must be managed effectively, or your start-up—like the nearly 30% of all small businesses who fold due to cash flow problems—will burn too hot before sinking below the waves,” PurchaseControl explains.

The first step is to calculate your burn rate. The second step is to lower your burn rate and effectively increase the longevity of your startup. Here are some ways you can do this.

4. Protect With Insurance.

Workplace injuries are common. Things like slips and falls, vehicle accidents, heavy machinery malfunctions, and even repetitive motion injuries in an office environment can leave employees unable to work. Workers’ compensation claims are a big deal and it’s imperative that you secure the right insurance policies to protect yourself when these incidents do occur.

It’s also smart to protect yourself against any ill advice you may inadvertently give clients by securing a strong errors and omissions policy. When combined with other layers of insurance, this will significantly reduce your liability.

5. Hire the Right People.

People are the lifeblood of any business. While you may be a one- or two-person team at the moment, there will eventually come a time when you have to expand in order to scale up. Make sure you take hiring seriously and don’t make foolish mistakes that put your company on unstable footing.

The right employees don’t just have skills and experience. They need to be the right fit for your culture and objectives. Otherwise, conflict will erode the relationship and leave your company worse off than before.

Putting it All Together.

There’s a time for embracing risk and a time for avoiding it. For startups in the early stages of growth and development, it’s almost always better to avoid high-risk scenarios in order that core interests can be preserved. As your business matures and becomes strong enough to withstand some of the potentially negative side effects of risk, you can become more aggressive in your strategic decision making. For now, continue to insulate your startup from unnecessary and lethal threats.

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Should You Accept A Settlement For A Personal Injury Case? 

At some point, you may be the victim of personal injury, due to the negligence or malicious actions of another person. There are many types of personal injury to consider, such as getting involved in a vehicular accident, being injured at work, or being attacked by an unleashed dog, but all of them share some basic principles — at least in the legal sense. 

If you’ve been injured as a direct result of someone else’s actions or negligence, you’ll be entitled to compensation; the responsible party will often be required to not only pay for your medical bills and ongoing treatment, but also compensate you for the subjective pain and suffering you experience throughout the endeavor. 

As you begin your legal case, and sometimes before you even contact a lawyer, you may be offered a settlement. The person responsible for your injuries, their lawyer, or their insurance company may reach out to you with an immediate cash offer; for example, they may offer to cover all your medical bills and give you $1,500 extra. In exchange, you likely won’t be able to pursue legal action. 

Is it good to accept this settlement? 

The Basics of Settlements.

Settlements can take many forms, so it’s tough to reach a general, overarching conclusion. However, when you choose to accept a settlement, that’s usually the end. Once you sign that you accept this offer, you won’t be able to take additional legal action against this person or entity, and you won’t be able to renegotiate your rate (at least in most situations). 

If you don’t immediately take the settlement, you’ll have more options. You’ll have the chance to negotiate the settlement so you can receive more money (or alternate forms of compensation). And if you can’t reach a reasonable price, you’ll have the option to take matters to court. 

The Problem With Settlements.

At first glance, the offer you receive may seem attractive — especially if you weren’t sure whether you’d get one. However, it’s important to know that insurance companies and the people they represent are intentionally operating in their own best interests. They have a team of lawyers and underwriters helping them calculate the lowest possible price they can pay you; in other words, they’re trying to minimize their expenses as much as possible. If you blindly accept this offer, you’ll miss the opportunity for more robust coverage. 

Settlements are also problematic because the average person doesn’t fully understand how many costs they face from the personal injury. Medical bills are easy to understand, but what about the future physical therapy you’ll need? What about the psychological therapy you’ll need to resolve the trauma of the incident? What about the work you missed, or the opportunities you missed while you were recovering? Most initial settlements are low-ball offers, so they don’t take factors like these into account. 

Variables to Consider.

Does that mean you should always reject an initial offer? Not necessarily. There are several variables to consider, including: 

The extent of your injury. Obviously, the more serious your injury is the more skeptical you should be of the initial offer. If you slipped and fell, but only wound up with bumps and bruises, a decent settlement may be plenty to account for your medical care, pain, and suffering. 

The complexity of the case. The complexity of the case is also worth considering. If the case is straightforward, it may be a simple matter to consider whether or not the offer is worth accepting. If there are multiple confusing variables in play, such as how fault is split, it may be better to seek legal help. 

The amount of the offer. The average compensation for personal injury cases is $52,900, with typical amounts ranging from $3,000 to $75,000. If you receive a lucrative offer that more than covers all your conceivable costs, it may be worth accepting. 

Your time and effort. You should also consider the amount of time and effort you might have to put in to fight for more money. Entering a negotiation could add weeks, if not months to the time it takes to complete the transaction. If you go to court, you could end up spending months to years fighting this battle. 

Talk to a Lawyer.

The bottom line here is that if you’re the victim of personal injury, it’s in your best interest to talk to a lawyer before you accept or reject a settlement. A legal professional with experience will be able to dissect the settlement offer, analyze your situation, and determine what the best course of action is. Best of all, most lawyers will offer an initial consultation for free, so you won’t need to worry about covering a fee.

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How AI Can Help Your Business

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is technology that is here to stay.  Most of us actually use some form of AI in our everyday lives and many of us do not even realize it.  Cortana, Siri, and Alexa are AI-driven virtual assistants that most consumers are familiar with.  Google translate and your banking app are other forms of AI used by most U.S. consumers. However, sources like Forbes are heralding the use of more complex AI like Evisort in our work lives.  Since it has become so prevalent in our personal lives, it is only logical that is becoming more and more common in the business world.

This article will explore just a few areas where AI can help your business by improving efficacy, boosting exposure and ultimately helping your bottom line.

1. Automate customer communication with a chatbot. Product and service-based businesses are using chatbots on their website to increase customer interaction.  This helps smaller companies who may not have a dedicated customer service team still make customers feel valued while helping direct them to the products or services they are looking for.

2. Apptus is based on machine learning and give recommendations to companies to boost their sales. The sales solution is designed to automate merchandising based on a predictive understanding of consumer behavior.  It combines machine learning with big data to determine which products will most appeal to a customer while they shop online.  This takes targeted marketing to an entirely new level.

3. Using AI for business insights, such as predicting repairs and upkeep of machinery. Programs that track maintenance in industry, as well as physical equipment being digitized and monitored by AI, are technologies that can help companies reduce downtime, schedule repairs to help prevent equipment failures.

4. Contract management software that uses an AI-based learning platform has changed the way legal firms and large corporations manage contracts. AI Evisort is one such software that can understand meaning and context in legal language.  This helps companies to track, manage, organize and understand their contracts with just a few keystrokes.  It is also a valuable tool to ensure contract compliance and it can alert users to problems within the contracts as well as notify them of deadlines and renewals.  This once labor-intensive job of contract management can now be accomplished almost solely with AI. The company keeps growing and hiring, so the market is definitely there.

5. One of the more controversial ways that AI is being used in businesses is to monitor employees. Digital data gathering tools can range from email and IM gathering to microphone chips on employee badges.  Companies defend this technology saying that it helps increase productivity and protects employees from bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace.

AI is often viewed with suspicion, but that is true of all great leaps in technology.  Instead of worrying about machines taking away jobs, and acting as a new “Big Brother,” businesses and consumers alike should view it as another tool to increase efficiency, decrease cost and make the workplace more productive.  AI can be a great tool for repetitive and mundane tasks.  This allows businesses to focus their employee resources on things like creative problem solving, team-building and improving skillsets.  Businesses who invest in AI should not be seeking to replace employees with machines, but instead focus on getting the best out of employees by allowing them to work on things that give much greater job satisfaction.  When that happens, productivity goes up, and the bottom line reflects having a more creative and focused work environment.  Whether you like AI or not, it is here and its capabilities are expanding every day.  Instead of fighting the inevitable change, embrace it and evaluate where your business could benefit from incorporating AI.  Before long, it will be a necessary tool to stay competitive in virtually any sector.

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4 Things You Need In A Marketing Partner

Every business needs marketing. However, not every business has a dedicated marketing department. Many small businesses muddle through as best they can, but ultimately you are going to want to partner with a dedicated marketing agency.

When you do decide to take that step, here’s what you need to look out for.

A Track Record.

Any convincing actor or good salesperson can make you think that they are an expert in just about anything. When it comes to marketing, a world full of nebulous terms and buzzwords, one that can often seem impenetrable to the outsider, the portfolio of any potential marketing partners you meet with is clearly going to be very important.

As you look over their past work, remember to consider its creative merits and business merits. Both of these are important, so you want to pair with marketers who are creative and whose work produces results. But you will also find some examples of excellent creativity that haven’t landed with audiences. Or, you might see a series of uninspiring lackluster campaigns that have done well on paper.

Fosters Creativity.

The best marketing ideas will come from groups where people feel able to express themselves and their ideas. Spitballing is important for any business – these are the sessions where rare and unique talent can really shine, bringing their creativity to the forefront.

However, some businesses aren’t just bad at encouraging creativity, they actively suppress it. Whether this is intentional or not, workers who are afraid to express an idea, in case it’s deemed to be a bad one, are anathema to creative marketing. Any business can talk the talk when it comes to creativity, but you should look for businesses like Saint Paul marketing agency Upswing Creative who also walk the walk.

Marketing Expertise.

As well as having a trail of successful campaigns behind them, your marketing partners should also be able to demonstrate to you that they still have that expertise in the here and now. It would be terrible if you hired a marketing partner on the basis of an awesome past campaign, only to discover that the key talent involved is no longer a part of the business.

Arrange to sit down with any potential marketers, or at least speak to them on the phone or over Skype. Grill them about what they do, how they do it, and how they can help your business. Don’t jump into business with anyone until you are certain that they are the right fit for your business and can deliver what you need.

Clear Communication.

At its heart, good marketing is all about good communication. The goal of any marketer is to convey a particular idea or emotion to the audience. The best marketing does this almost instantaneously because the marketers that made it are able to take advantage of cognitive shorthand.

In the past, stereotyping was acceptable in advertising and often presented as the easiest and most obvious example. However, anything – the music, an on-screen image, the tone of a voice-over – can completely change the meaning of a scene and the viewer’s response to it.

There needs to be clear communication between you and the marketers, and the marketers and your audience.

Don’t partner with the first marketer that comes your way. Instead, take the time necessary to ensure that the marketing partner you choose is one you can work with in the long-term.

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Friday, August 30, 2019

10 Tips To Create A Meaningful And Impressive Business Logo Design

Businesses in 2019 depend a lot on effective communication. They have expert marketers who make complex strategies so that people can engage with the company in various ways. Therefore, a lot of businesses are spending money on creating visual content to attract people, and part of those visuals, a logo has become a must.

A logo is not just your brand, it helps in identifying you and your services. A meaningful and impressive business logo design will serve you many purposes, including getting your brand image instilled in your followers.

For example, when someone searches for Tampa criminal attorney on Google, they are more inclined to interact with a site that has a meaningful and impressive logo.

If you want such a powerful impact, follow these 10 tips to create a meaningful and impressive business logo design.

1. Know your Brand.

Before you get to design your logo, make sure you know your brand throughout. A logo has to be designed keeping in mind your target audience. Write down what your business and brand is all about and then create a logo following these principles.

2. The Logo Must Reflect Nature of Your Business.

You have to make sure that your logo fully represents your business. The image and colors you choose should align well with your services and products you intend to deliver. If you take this step seriously, your logo will resonate with your business naturally.

3. It Should Have a Lasting Impression.

The logo design has to have a lasting impression on your clients. It has to be designed in such a way that even looking it for the first time should mesmerize people. To achieve this, your logo has to be unique and must stand out in the crowd of mediocre logos.

4. Make Good Use of Colors.

Colors always play a crucial role in sending out the brand message of the business. For example, if the color of your logo is red, it sends out a message of passion, aggression, and energy.

5. Pick the Font Carefully.

Fonts play an equal part in bringing out the personality of the brand. For example, if you’re a children’s site, you would rather go with playful and large fonts. If you’re a musician, you need to pick a bold font that resonates with your music band identity.

6. Choose The Type of Logo Carefully.

Logos come in shapes and fonts. The type you choose will depend on how you want to send your message out. You could go with a logotype with text only or with a shape that works best for your business.

7. Keep the logo simple.

Logos perform a lot better when they are simple and easy on the eyes. Don’t overuse colors and text.

8. It Should Be Attractive in all Forms of Media.

Your brand name will likely be shared on newspapers, social media, and elsewhere. Make sure the design of the logo is capable of making itself feel comfortable in all forms of media.

9. The Logo Should Look Great Even Without Color.

Try stripping the colors away from a logo and it will start to look bland. Your aim with a logo should be that if it appears on a black and white surface, it should look impressive nonetheless.

10. The Logo Should Have a Meaning.

The perfect logo is something that has a message behind it. If you’re not sure about that, just look at the meaning of Amazon’s logo.

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How To Frame A Winning Argument

by Carla D. Bass, Colonel, USAF (Ret) and author of “Write to Influence!

Need to persuade others to your point of view? Representing a contentious position at a meeting?

Try these seven tips to frame a winning argument. They comprise a two-pronged strategy – composing and then presenting your message – and apply to written products and in-person exchanges.

1.  Know the topic. 

Your credibility rests squarely on this. First, ensure participants agree on the issue to be resolved and parameters of success. Then, research the subject thoroughly to argue from a position of strength and knowledge. Identify key points and fortify them with supporting evidence, the strength of which can make or break your case.  Think around the corner – anticipate and answer questions your communication might elicit. Next, identify the counterarguments and their underlying rationale. Communicate with those holding contrary views, who might welcome the opportunity to elucidate!

2. Know your audience. 

Identify key participants’ opinions on the topic at hand. Know who supports and who opposes your position. The latter is especially important. Think like an investigative reporter to comprehend contrary opinions and competing agendas they might reflect. Like a coach readying his team for the big game, you must discern the various views and strategies in play and prepare to address them. 

3. Form a like-minded coalition. 

Prior to the meeting or sending a communication, collaborate with members of the group who agree with your stance. Hopefully, their thoughts are based on facts and rationale similar to yours. Ascertain the degree of their support. Will they quietly concur or keenly advocate? Discuss the anticipated countervailing views to discover new facts, deepen your understanding, and determine how best to respond; perhaps colleagues can provide additional insight. 

4. Address possible courses of action. 

Propose two or three credible alternatives to resolve the issue, further demonstrating your expertise and enhancing your credibility. Then conduct a trade analysis, highlighting the efficacy of each in conjunction with the issue at hand. Next, contrast the alternatives amongst themselves, noting individual strengths and weaknesses. Conclude with your recommendation. Ensure that all aspects of the issue have been fully addressed… or at least to a level of satisfaction based on available time.  Be prepared to discuss items not discussed and why.

5. Present all positions objectively. 

Counter the alternatives presented and participants’ opposing views while advancing your own. Do so equitably and rationally, displaying accurate observation, sound reasoning, and specific facts, as necessary. This is an essential element of analysis and composition. It means treating a subject thoroughly, honestly, consistently, and accurately while diligently avoiding bias and self-interest in presenting the material. In Hollywood parlance, it means addressing “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Conveying material with the goal of persuasion is acceptable if your message is courteous, professional, forthright, and unprejudiced.

6. Triage and sequence the information. 

Determine how much material you can address in the allocated time and space (the latter applies to written communication). Begin by identifying aspects of the issue upon which participants might agree. This generates positive momentum and rapport that, hopefully, will facilitate resolving more difficult aspects that follow. Prioritize your points from strongest to weakest recognizing some will fall below the cut line.

7. Build to the crescendo. 

Bottom-line up front (BLUF) is not always the best approach in messaging. This seems counterintuitive in today’s intense, fast-paced business environment. However, BLUF is precisely the wrong approach when addressing a disputatious issue or one requiring a difficult decision or even when leading a series of meetings to reach a consensus. Why? Without laying the groundwork, you risk alienating the audience in the opening minutes of your communication – game over before you swing the bat. Instead, build to the crescendo by setting the context. Logically and factually present the circumstances that promulgated the current situation. When engaged in a series of meetings, memorialize interim decisions and reiterate them at the onset of each gathering to baseline and provide context for the ensuing discussion.

Consider this scenario, which applies the above-mentioned tips (shown with italics). 

A company must take a 20 percent budget cut. You led a 4-person team that conducted a 5-week study on how to best accomplish this. Your charge now – brief results of the study to the corporate board, propose courses of actions, and recommend a solution. Attendees will be edgy at best, overtly hostile at worst. Why? They feel threatened, fearing job cuts – their own and those of their staffs; implications of budget reductions for their respective lines of business; resulting diminution in their corporate spheres of influence; and on a larger level, devaluation of the corporation’s stock prices and debasement of its credibility and reputation. 

How do you proceed? Certainly not with the BLUF! Set the context. Briefly recap circumstances that culminated in this predicament. Be thorough, honest, and accurate – not judgmental or condescending. Next, review the organization’s baseline resources. Done correctly, you are establishing credibility while simultaneously cultivating tacit agreement of attendees. 

Continue to build credibility by scoping the study. Explain its duration, number and experience of team members, the methodology, and perhaps sources of information foundational to your report. You’ve now set the stage, preparing the audience to consider difficult choices. 

Next, present a few courses of action, highlighting advantages and disadvantages of each. Again, be thorough, honest, and accurate in presenting them.  Since you already identified board members from whom to expect resistance and their concerns, you are equipped to address them. Conclude with your recommendation. Contrast it with the alternatives presented and indicate how it will best benefit the company. While conducting the study, you also identified those who concur with your evaluation and the strength of their support. Hopefully, these like-minded individuals will champion your recommendation during the deliberation and, if your recommendation is accepted, throughout its implementation!

 

Author of “Write to Influence!” Carla D. Bass, Colonel, Air Force (Ret), served 30 years active duty, working directly with general officers and civilian equivalents, ambassadors, congressional delegations, and foreign dignitaries. She wrote letters for executive-level signature; reports for senior military leaders; hundreds of personnel appraisals; nominations for awards, congressional fellowships, and other competitive packages. Carla developed her writing methodology and taught thousands of Air Force personnel for 15 years.

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Two Check Points Before Starting A NonProfit

The business world is often thought about as a cut-throat environment where everyone is simply looking out for their own investments. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be the story or practice that defines your operations or even your own business personality. If your goal in life is to make a difference in the lives of those who are disadvantaged, overlooked, socially outcast, or simply need help, you can do this on your own terms by running a non-profit. You would be in business for yourself, but you will also be in the business of helping others.

Starting a nonprofit isn’t something that can be done overnight. It takes a lot of paperwork, special nonprofit training webinars, some financial investment, and the right cause if you want the venture to be effective.

However, here are two important things you need to before getting involved with nonprofit work.

1. Honestly assess your motive.

While it would be nice to assume that all nonprofits are started out of the goodness of the heart, it isn’t always the case. You are also going to encounter a lot of people who won’t have the same passion or vision, and they will discourage your from moving forward. If you aren’t firmly grounded in your mission, your commitment, and your abilities, it will be easy to give up before you even start.

Ask yourself if the world needs your organization and how it will create real change. Are you looking to make a name for yourself or simply make the world a better place? If you are honest, while also optimistic, about the potential your organization holds, you will be better equipped to make important decisions along the way.

2. Cultivate a love for the project.

There are many areas where you feel you can make a difference, but choose the one that represents your passion the best. It is better to have a narrow focus that you can do well than several projects that get a minimum amount of attention. Saying no to special interests and opportunities can be hard, but with a focus on something you truly love, it will be easier to remain committed.

You will also want to create this love in your donors and volunteers, but more importantly with the group or area you are seeking to help. If you are needed, you will be loved. Conversely, working with those who share your love and passion will generate long-term support and interest. This is crucial when it comes to fundraising. Financial investments as similar to those of other businesses; donors want the most for their money. By doing one thing remarkably well, you display the progress and impact of the funds that are being used.

The nonprofit sector has a lot of competition in the U.S., but rather than see this as a negative, you could be optimistic about the humanitarian work that is being achieved. However, if you are planning to join in the fight against hunger, illiteracy, affordable healthcare, immigration support, or any other worthwhile cause, be sure you have an interest that is worth the investment and will create real change.

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Significance )f Data Science – How It Can Help Online Businesses Succeed

It has become a universal truth that modern businesses are flooded with data. The digital era has generated an enormous amount of data, with overall data likely to escalate to 44 zettabytes by 2020. As a result, big data has become the lifeblood of the business world. 

As per the Harvard Business Review, the majority of the modern-day businesses, including startups, intend to implement Artificial Intelligence and big data analytics in the near future. Some have already started implementing it. 

With that said, it is getting more evident day by day that there is significant value in data processing and analysis. These technological advances are vital for businesses to grow and succeed. This is where a data scientist comes into the play. You can sign up for a learning path module if you want to pursue a career as a data scientist

What do Data Scientists do?

Data scientists are skilled professionals having advanced training in computer science, math, and statistics. They gather vast ‘lakes’ of information and use their experience that extends to performing information management, data mining, and visualization. 

Big data users have typically been large organizations who can afford data scientists to make use of the data. It is fairly common for the data scientists to have previous experience in data warehousing, cloud computing, and infrastructure design. 

  • Data scientists are accomplished in identifying information that stands out in some way. They create big data methodologies, path, network, and statistics to prevent any fraudulent activity. 
  • Data scientists can easily identify when and where the product sells best. This helps organizations to deliver the right products at the right time, also enabling them to develop new products according to the customers’ needs. 
  • Data scientists can help the sales and marketing teams to better understand their targeted customer base on a huge scale.    

Example of how A/B Testing and Data Analysis Helps to Take Great Actions in any Business .

A/B Testing, also known as split testing or randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a powerful tool for product development. It is a randomized experiment where you have to pick the best approach from the two hypotheses (A and B). The use cases of initiating A/B Testing can be banner testing, headline testing, landing page redesign, and so on. 

Suppose you are a data scientist and trying to determine whether reorganizing a website into a new layout influences conversion rate; that is, the number of visitors to the site who become customers.   

One approach would be to run both versions to selected consumers and make a decision based on these numbers alone: 

Format A Format B
Visitors 125 110
Customers  27 19
Conversion % 22.3% 15%

 

Considering the given table, it can be concluded that Format A is superior to Format B. 

However, this approach could suffer from two possible errors –

  1. Type I Error – Misleadingly concluding that your approach was successful. This is also known as false positive result
  2. Type II Error – Misleadingly concluding that your approach was wrong. This is also known as false negative result   

A/B Testing will allow you to effectively and accurately quantify your errors and effect size. 

Ways to Learn Some of the Data Science Skills.

If you want to get the exposure to data science, you can start with the internet. From watching YouTube videos to reading blogs about data science, you can take notes and understand the concept before jumping right into it. 

However, the best ways to learn data science skills is to master the following skills: 

  • Programming and coding – excellent skills in tools like SQL and Python 
  • Statistics – excellent skills in reading and understanding statistics 
  • Critical Thinking – excellent skills in ignoring irrelevant details 
  • Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, and Machine Learning 
  • Comfort with Mathematics 

You need to work on the mentioned skills in order to become a data scientist. If you want to make a career out of it, you can sign up for Learning Paths and other online courses. 

Conclusion.

Data science is changing the way people are doing business. There will be immensely more data to process in the coming ten years than you saw in the last 20 years. 

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Thursday, August 29, 2019

The Need To Understand How To Keep Business Assets Safe

When starting a business, considerable time goes into figuring out how to find a market, create a product or service, and launch. Getting beyond breakeven to generating a profit is the next challenge.

Along the way, often little thought is devoted to how to keep business assets safe because, in the beginning, there’s little of tangible value to protect.

In this article, we look at how to use technology safely, limiting potential losses and the need for legal advice too.

Use Technology Safely.

When anyone in the company works with a PC, they need to be using it in a safe manner.

It’s a good idea for network administrators to install usage software to restrict what websites can be accessed on the premises. This avoids time-wasting and inappropriate websites being looked at either accidentally or on purpose.

Every computer must use the company’s adopted anti-virus and malware protection. This type of scanning software, e.g. Avast, Malwarebytes, Symantec, can find viruses and malware, quarantine what’s found, and eradicate them safely before much damage is done.

Use anti-intrusion software to protect the company’s network. It will detect intrusion attempts, block any that occur, and avoids a hacker stealing the business’ intellectual property.

Avoid Losing Company Data.

The mindset needs to be: What would happen if our data stores were wiped out at the office? Then create sufficient protection to recover from such an eventuality, so the company could survive it.

Performing on-site backups is essential but there also must be ones kept off-site too. These can be on physical storage or backed up in the cloud.

Business cloud storage offers greater capacity, faster speeds, multiple file versions to roll-back to a previous version of a file, and more. Data can also be encrypted at the cloud service to protect it from intrusion and viewing if accessed improperly.

Get Legal Advice.

Various legal agreements, business contracts, and employment contracts must be created by a lawyer who’s experienced in drawing up these types of agreements. Not every law firm has the depth of people to satisfy the wide range of requirements that their clients’ need.

A law firm is going to regularly recruit for specialist lawyers to ensure they have the right talent on board to satisfy every client request. Given the variance in the type of requests from clients, finding the best person for specialist in house lawyer jobs is very important and solves this problem.

Just having a law firm representing the company’s interests provides reassurance that the business is set up to avoid obvious potential legal issues, so the management team can focus on running a smooth operation.

Employee Handbook.

An employee handbook contains a set of rules and expectations for the employee. It essentially lays out the do’s and don’ts, along with what is expected from the employee and what the employer agrees to offer.

By having these types of documents provided to each employee, it makes clear what conduct is acceptable and what is not. Then no one can say that they didn’t know or were not informed.

For companies just getting going, doing things right from the beginning makes business life much easier going forward. Otherwise, what you didn’t do correctly early on can come back to bite you later.

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Why Choosing The Right Admin Solutions Is Important As A Start-up

When you are starting a business, you are probably a lot more interested in getting on with winning your first clients and providing the best services or products you can than with things such as organisational processes. However, there can be far-reaching consequences when you don’t choose solutions that do everything you are likely to need for the mid-term when it comes to running your business.

Many start-ups begin life with so many important things like CRM, HR and even payroll on basic spreadsheets rather than with tools better suited to the needs of a company and here, we are going to look at why that can end up creating issues:

Rapid Growth Can Lead to Messy Processes.

You may well be able to get by without having proper IT solutions in place for admin when you first start out and only have yourself or a few staff. You can create business processes on the fly involving emails, spreadsheets, and shared files, and these will allow you to keep things running. However, if you have big ambitions for your start-up, you need to be prepared that growth may happen quickly and suddenly, and you need to have systems in place that will support this.

If you need to take on a lot of staff all at once and your HR usually consists of a few documents held in a folder somewhere, this is either going to make onboarding new people more of a pain than it needs to be, with extra unnecessary steps involved in everything you need to do, or is going to mean doing a lengthy overhaul of those early processes and implementing new ones.

Either way, you are wasting time that could have been saved if you had chosen a better toolset and thought about your business processes in the early days!

Industry Standard Tools Make Working with New People Easier.

As you move forward, you may hire people to take over aspects of your admin, finance, and HR, or choose to outsource some of this work to third-parties. If you are using systems and products that are widely used rather than your own files and spreadsheets, it is much easier, not only to find the people who have the skills you need, but also for them to be able to get straight to work without having to learn any idiosyncratic things you have been using as a smaller company. Something like the CoreHR payroll system, which is designed to make life easy for businesses. will be far simpler for new staff to work with, too.

Scalability.

Many tools these days can be used on a software as a service (SaaS) basis, and so this can mean they can scale completely with your business, keeping costs down when you have very few users and still having the functionality you may need later available, without you having to move to a new system.

As you can see, it is definitely worth putting some research into choosing the suites you will use for your business’ administration while you are still in the start-up phase.

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A Guide: Building Your Reputation As A New Business Owner

If you want to attract clients to your new business, first, you need to establish a reputation for yourself. You need to prove that you’re someone that can be trusted to complete deals, and you need to showcase the fact that you’re true to your word.

Building both yours and your business’s standing is not going to be easy, and it’s certainly not going to happen overnight. It will be worth it, however, when your reputation alone is drawing custom and turning over profit for you.

Here’s what you can do to build your reputation as a new business owner.

Pay all of your debts.

You don’t want to be known as that business owner that never settles their debts or pays up on time. With this kind of reputation, clients will be too scared to enter into deals with you in fear that you will leave them on high and dry. In order to avoid garnering such a disparaging reputation, you need to resolve to pay all of your debts by the deadlines imposed on you to do so.

Fear not, as there are always ways to stay on top of the money that you owe, even when you don’t have any money to fall back on at the time. If a customer owes you cash, for example, you could always get a factoring company involved to chase down the rogue invoice and get you what is rightfully yours. Or, if you have a deadline looming but no potential income to cover it, you can always opt for a quick cash injection. The best online payday loan companies offer you the chance to borrow money to cover your expenses and then pay back the borrowed amount at a time that suits you. The point is, there’s always help out there, so there’s no excuse for you not to pay your debts and ruin your reputation as a result.

Always go above and beyond.

If you promise to save a customer 10% on their renewal quote, do your best to save them 15% instead. When a client asks for a reference from you, go that extra mile and offer them three. If you promise to follow up on a query within 24 hours, get your response sent over within 12. Going above and beyond in this instance, even if it is only a small gesture that you can afford to offer, will make it appear like you are working harder than your competitors to provide the best possible service on offer in your market. With this kind of hard-working reputation, your business will no doubt find itself drawing more and more custom going forward, clawing itself to the forefront of its industry.

Be professional with everything that you do.

From the emails that you send to the coffee that you offer your clients, make sure you are professional with everything that you do. Even the tiniest of slip-ups in this instance can cause serious damage to your reputation, so you have to remain focused on professionalism at all conceivable points.

In order to run your business like a true pro and ultimately build a professional reputation for yourself, you should:

  • Get a public relations team in place
  • Remember, the customer is always right
  • Keep your personal and professional lives wholly separate
  • Set romantic boundaries within your workplace, and make sure to adhere to them yourself
  • Always dress to impress
  • First impressions are critical, so always strive to make a good one
  • Respect your workforce to ensure they do not make disparaging comments about you
  • Never commit to anything without considering the repercussions

Care for the interests of others.

If you only ever care for yourself in the world of business, you’ll quickly be deemed selfish. To combat this particular reputation plight, you need to care for the interests of others just as much as you care for your own.

You can do this in a number of different ways on a number of different levels. Should a local student want help breaking into your industry, for example, you could either offer to give them tips, offer them an internship position in your office, or actually fund their education. Again, it all depends on what you can afford to offer. No matter what your relative circumstances dictate what you can and cannot do, however, the essence of what you try to do should remain the same: help other people at all costs.

When caring for the interests of others, don’t forget your employees! Not only will investing in them improve them as workers, but it will also make you look like an employer that values their staff members.

Go green.

Forget your reputation for the time being; going green and embracing eco-friendliness is something that you should be doing regardless of your goals as a businessperson, as planet earth needs all the help it can get at this point.

Aside from playing your part in reducing the earth’s carbon footprint, taking this kind of venture would no doubt do wonders for your standing in the world of business. It will show you to be conscious of and willing to tackle climate change and global warming, and everybody respects businesses who adopt that kind of mantra.

Don’t know where to begin when it comes to going green? Take these simple steps, and you’ll be sure to get your eco-friendly endeavor off to the best start possible:

  • Make eco-friendliness a part of your business’s culture
  • Swap to LED lighting
  • Install a water filtration system
  • Only ever enter into deals with green vendors
  • Recycle and re-use as much as you can
  • Make use of green cleaning products

If you’re to stand a chance of succeeding in the world of business, you need to build a good reputation for yourself right away. You need to prove to customers that you can be trusted to provide them with a service befitting of the fee that they pay you. You need to prove to clients that you aren’t going to leave them high and dry when things get tough, and you need to prove to potential employees that yours is a company they can commit themselves and their careers too.

Be sure, then, to put the above advice into practice and build that rep of yours!

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019

How To Engage Millennials Into Small Business

The Millennials, the generation with years of birth ranging from 1980 to 1996, is a large and diverse group – so vague generalizations would hardly be correct. However, at the workplace and the labor market, they are not like other generations.

What’s so special about them?

The controversy of the Millennials: they want to work hard and make the world a better place, but show low engagement at work. They want to be emotionally and behaviorally engaged in what they do, but are job hopping.

Remarkable fact: that’s not the case for those who work for innovative businesses. It’s not necessarily about giants like Google or Tesla – even small startups are part of this trend.

In pioneering fields, the Millennials tend to stay committed, be engaged and broadcast their companies’ achievements in social media like their own ones. They are a great asset – but often hard to motivate and retain.

This invites the thought: what if your business doesn’t involve anything revolutionary, but you as a business owner still want to have the Millennial workforce?

1. Use your strong points.

Even if you stay away from revolutionary trends, such as artificial intelligence and environment-friendly vehicles, you still have a lot to offer.

First of all, it is stability and well-being.

Since the Millennials are burdened by student loan debt more than any other generation, they prefer full-time employment and appreciate stability of their income.

Inform your employees about your company’s success and growth. Let them know that they can rely on your company in terms of job security and fixed income.

2. Implement flexibility.

Make sure your employees can have a comfortable schedule and a healthy work-life balance. Check out some of the time-tracking tools. They help to control and improve productivity in the environment with the flexible work arrangements.

According to the Deloitte research, the Millennials are more loyal to the companies with flexible working practices. That means, the ability to work remotely, have more autonomy in defining their work scope, and adapt schedules to the non-working activities.

What’s important here is communication and feedback. Stay informed about what’s essential for your employees, and try to respond to their needs.

3. Stay healthy.

The Millennials tend to take more care of their health than any of the previous generations, so they appreciate sports, healthy food, and ability to include physical activities in their routine.

Promoting healthy lifestyle doesn’t necessarily involve high costs. There are many options that any startup can make use of – for example, creating a soccer team or organizing a jogging group. Participate in these activities: it will strengthen your leadership and create less formal environment.

4. Automate and optimize.

Avoid manual work as much as possible, increase flexibility and create transparency of your work process.

To make this process even more efficient, involve some of your employees in implementation and adaptation of new approaches. Be open-minded, and don’t avoid experimenting with optimization techniques.

5. Create a perspective.

Millennials tend to consider professional growth and new skills as essential factors in their work activities. Give them an opportunity to increase their competence. Participating in webinars and online conferences, having a professional library in the office or extra time off for studies might be your solution.

6. Be mindful about the world around you.

Even if your business is not related to social problems, consider participating in environmental events and charity. If you have Millennials as your employees, this will definitely resonate with their intention to make the world a better place.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Your actions may vary, depending on the interests of your employees and your financial capacities.

In any case, it’s crucial to communicate with people who are working for you, understand their attitudes and respond to their requests and opinions.

To sum up, provide financial stability, make sure your company’s values match the employees’ mindset and create work environment that makes your team members feel important. Offer opportunities to your employees and fuel their sense of purpose.

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The Role Of Virtual Data Rooms In Keeping Information Secure

Making use of technology for storing confidential files and data is getting more in-demand. More companies are utilizing modern online facilities not just to enhance their services but also to secure company assets in the form of documents. For instance, using online storage to back up physical files can help secure sensitive data from possible theft inside and outside company premises.

If you are looking for an online storage solution to keep, share, edit or distribute files, the Virtual Data Rooms or VDR is your best resort.

The VDR is cloud-based storage that makes use of software to keep critical information of companies in one place. It accepts all file formats such as audio, video, and documents. It is widely used for mergers and acquisitions to help entities collaborate and disclose data for transparency.

VDR Applications in Different Industries.

Aside from mergers and acquisitions, the VDR can also be used in different industries. This technology is even utilized in the real estate industry for buyers to work closely with their brokers or advisors. Some software applications also allow high volume data sharing, which is integral for different sectors such as banking and real estate.

VDR also provides a private platform for service providers and clients to interact and co-edit a particular file. In the advertising and digital marketing fields, getting the feedback and approval of clients before finalizing the project are made easier using data-sharing software.

The highlight of the VDR is personalized and high-level security, which is perfect for banks and financial firms. Because there are built-in security features that protect sensitive data, business owners can rest easy knowing that their assets will not be compromised in any form. Bank-grade security ensures that authorized people can only access all data and information.

What Makes VDR Secure.

The Virtual Data Rooms have distinct features and capabilities that protect all documents. Some of the features include tracking movements by investors, clients, board members, and auditors. Besides, administrators can also make files secure by enabling print-blocking, download prevention, and more.

Legal compliance is another thing because the VDR automatically conducts the due diligence necessary for legal processes. Smallest deletion or alteration can be monitored in such a way that members of the VDR members are notified of recent actions. The digital log can serve as proof of compliance for legal documentation.

Some of the most notable security features of the VDR include the following:

  • Track documents leaving the VDR
  • Trace data room activities
  • Get insights on user logs
  • Set access levels
  • Provide a complete audit trail

Final Thoughts.

Business deals and transactions are treated with the utmost importance because of the risks and money involved. Having a reliable and modern platform that can be used to store information and share it to the other party is essential to complete deals without any issues. Consider the security features listed above as an investment to keep every data and information safe from theft and unauthorized disclosure.

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How To Transfer Monero To Bitcoin At Best Rates

Monero is considered a better version of Bitcoin because of its anonymity and privacy but Bitcoin is and grows to become more popular.

So, if you want to convert XMR to BTC at the best exchange rates, here’s a quick and easy guide to get started.

First things first, you need to have one of the best Monero wallets and Bitcoin wallets or a wallet that supports both. This is crucial when it comes to the transaction as you will realize later on in this article.

You could pick between a hardware and a software wallet or a mobile or desktop wallet depending on your needs. A software wallet offers more versatility and online integrations making it a much better candidate for micro transactions. However, a hardware is the more popular choice because hackers can’t get into Hardware wallets easily and they are usually protected from malware attacks.

Next, you should locate your Bitcoin wallet address. It is usually a string of letters and numbers followed by 1.

Now you should set about trying to find right cryptocurrency exchange.

Here’s what to look out for –

  1. Best Exchange Rates – A given but hunting for exchange rates can be quite a hurdle. You could look for an aggregator that compiles the best rates in real time so that you don’t have to.
  2. Customer reviews – Read all the online reviews – both negative and positive. It is easy to buy reviews so you should pay close attention to negative reviews to make sure that you’re choosing for the right exchange.
  3. Reliable and secure – Do a quick Google News search to find any incidents if previous hacks. This is usually not a good sign as it shows that the security of the exchange was compromised before. You should also consider the measures they took to compensate their users and protect the exchange from further attacks.
  4. User friendly – For first time users, this is an important criteria to keep in mind. The site must be friendly and easy to navigate.
  5. Privacy – Exchanges that maintain privacy without asking for verification are hard to find. If you value your privacy, you must look for an exchange that allows you to convert Monero to Bitcoins without setting up an account.

CoinSwitch is the world’s largest aggregator of crypto exchanges and meets all these requirements and then some.

CoinSwitch: XMR to BTC exchange guide

Here’s how you can transfer your Monero to Bitcoin on CoinSwitch.

  1. Enter the amount of Monero you want to convert and the right trading pair i.e. XMR <> BTC on the homepage. Clicking on ‘View All Offers’ will allow you to choose the best offer or choose another site that has a price locked in.
  2. You will be able to see more information on individual exchanges here. If an exchange has been banned in your company, you will be able to see that too.
  3. Next, you will need to enter your BTC wallet address
  4. You will receive a wallet Address and a Memo. This is held by CoinSwitch. You can just scan the QR code to get the address instead of entering it manually but the memo has to be entered manually.
  5. You will have to deposit Monero to the address from your Monero wallet for the transaction to begin.
  6. The order page will reflect that the XMR has been deposited. Your transaction will now begin and not take more than 15 minutes. It can take longer if the blockchain speed is low and the size of the transaction is large.
  7. Once the transaction is completed successfully, you will receive a transaction hash.

It is possible to find a peer to peer website to convert Monero to Bitcoin but it takes time and it isn’t as safe as CoinSwitch.

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Filipino Functions – How A Virtual Office In Manila Can Help Your Business Growth

Manila represents a great opportunity for emerging entrepreneurs and startups. The city’s bustling business climate, internal market, and proximity to many other Asian countries make it ideal for those seeking to expand quickly.

If you are looking for an affordable but highly useful means of establishing yourself in the city, consider using a virtual office in Makati. While the concept of a virtual office is decades old, the contemporary benefits your business can reap from this tool are essential to rapid growth. 

Let’s look at some specific ways in which a virtual office in Manila can help your business to grow quickly. 

Establish Your Reputation.

Nothing can turn heads and get people talking about your business more than having access to impressive buildings to conduct your business. In Manila, premium providers of virtual office services, such as Servcorp rent out space in the Ayala Center. This tower is in the heart of a prominent commercial and cultural district in the city and if you are new to the area there is virtually no better way to begin making connections and getting noticed than with this prestigious address on your business materials. Consider a virtual office to help expand your business through this reputation-boosting benefit.

Get Connected. 

It is imperative that you stay connected with your team and target audience as often as you can in order to continually expand and improve. With a virtual office, you can reap several connectivity benefits that can keep you in the loop with ease. With access to a virtual assistant and a receptionist, you can ensure that your incoming calls are handled and forwarded by a real human being. Nothing can throw off a potential business lead faster than to continually gt through to your voicemail. Make the effort to have professional administrative staff handle your calls when you are busy working on your current projects.

Get A Leg Up On The Competition.

One of the critical things you need to do to keep your business growing is to keep an eye on your competition. Watch what they are doing that seems to work and think of ways to improve on these. One of the actionable things you can take from this is to minimise your expenses wherever you can to ensure that your operating costs fall far below those of your competitors. This can ensure that your business is sustainable even during times while others in your industry are struggling. Virtual offices are a great cost-effective tool to reap a variety of business benefits at a fraction of the cost. Find a premium provider who can give you top-tier service at an affordable rate. You will be able to find a package option that works for you and the needs of your company.

Use Physical Space When You Need It.

To thrive and grow as a new business, you will certainly need to host meetings on a regular basis to impress potential investors and customers. Needing a place to conduct these events does not present a problem if you use a premium provider of virtual office services. Your provider will offer you a variety of meeting room types to facilitate your meetings and on an as-needed basis, making this a convenient choice for those on a humble startup budget.

Take Off In Manila. 

If you are Manila-bound with your business plans, consider using a virtual office to give your company a great opportunity for rapid expansion. Through all of these benefits and with many more left to explore you can be sure that this tool is a great choice for those seeking to get established right away.

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How To Choose The Best 401k Providers For Your Small Business

It is not easy as it sounds, and a lot of thought process and evaluation has to be taken in to account. To begin with, 401K is a pre-qualified retirement savings plan set up by employers towards the benefit of their eligible employees. It involves taking a chip off the employer’s salary for savings or investments before it is taxed. Taxes will be paid when the money gets withdrawn from the account.

Thanks to technology, a new breed of 401K providers are emerging that is focused on small businesses, with the objective of providing low cost and high-quality retirement plans for all. This is the criteria to use to identify the best providers.

1. The impact fees have on retirement savings.

Price is what sets many comparative items apart, and 401K should be no different because this is a lifetime investment. In reality, 401K fees will have a significant impact on the success of your plan. As it even fees at that is a few tenths on the higher side will dent the outcome of the savings and the amount in the employees’ accounts come retirement. So make sure you compare prices and pick the 401K providers with the lowest in terms of fees.

2. How easy are they to use?

Time is of the essence for everyone and usually running a small business leaves no time for other tedious work. 401K providers are heavily regulated and will take lots of work to be run properly and to keep in compliance with government regulations if only to avoid costly audits.

For this reason, you will need to settle for the best 401k providers for small business that covers all the tedious and complex administrative work for you.

3. Flexibility.

Most employees are unaware of the different investment products available for them and will be content with a simple plan of low-cost index funds. There are so many investment products such as the index fund and mutual funds that attract different fees and with relative pros and cons. It is, therefore, important that employers and employees have access to a variety of investment options that can accommodate their investment goals.

4. Employee experience.

A good provider will need to offer an exceptional saving experience, and to achieve this they must encourage the following

  • High Savings rate and participation.

The IRS will check every year to see if your retirement benefit plan is still on schedule and will carry a compliance test to see if everyone is enjoying the plan benefits. IF not, the provider will be asked to refund contributions already made. To prevent this from happening, you must get a provider that encourages participation and savings.

  • Financial wellbeing.

In addition to active participation and savings to make sure your retirement plan remains on track, your 401K provider should also provide investment-related advice and service. They should offer employees financial advice on other personal finance matters that may impact employee productivity positively and encourage continuity and success of your retirement plan.

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How To Choose The Right Communications System From The Very Start Of Your Business

It’s no secret that an effective communications system is one of the most important investments in itself your company can make. Communication systems are the various processes (both formal and informal) by which information is passed within a business, either between managers and employees, or between the business and external forces like customers. This includes electronic, written, verbal, nonverbal, and visual communication – all of which have a significant impact on the way business is conducted. The goal of any communication is to secure the complete understanding of a message, and so a breakdown in communication – where that message has been lost or misinterpreted – can be devastating for any business.

To prevent a breakdown in communication, it’s crucial that you choose the correct communications system for your company right the offset. Here are some top tips for making that choice:

Understand the importance.

As we’ve touched upon, picking a communications system for your business is a decision which shouldn’t be taken lightly. Rather than opting for the first provider you come across, or sticking with a well-known company, do some research to make sure that your system provides the best value and features for your business.

Assess your company’s needs.

Providers now offer a variety of communication channels and platforms; packages are designed to accommodate any business. Choose a plan that is best suited to yours. Think about the way your company currently communicates – what is essential, what is working well, and what you’ll need to expand in the future. Talk to the competing providers and find out who is offering the most appropriate features for you.

Consider the support provided.

When choosing a communications provider, don’t underestimate the importance of the customer support they provide. Problems will inevitably occur within communications, but when there’s an issue with your system, you need it handling quickly and effectively. Consult other business owners, read reviews, and conduct thorough research on the customer support side of things.

Shop around!

Considering how quickly technology is developing, it should come as no surprise to you that the market for business communication is rapidly expanding. This means that there are plenty of providers to choose from. With this in mind you should be calling around, getting quotes, and generally comparing providers – securing the best deal possible for your company.

Ask about updates.

The business communications industry is fast-growing, so you don’t want to miss out on new features and updates simply because you’re tied to a contract with a provider. Before you sign on the dotted line, ask whether the company is working on any new features and how often they expect to update their technology.

Try a unified system.

Unified communications systems are becoming all the rage; they combine many forms of communication into one platform, ensuring that your company is using its technology as effectively as possible. The Office 365 Roadmap by Addin 365, for instance, helps you to utilise the many features of Office 365, maximising your return on investment in the platform.

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