Luxury Jewelry And Watch Rental Is On The Rise

The trend has changed especially in the “luxury world”. With consumers’ desire to experience rising luxury, watch and jewelry rental services are increasingly promising. A report just released showed that consumption of goods that can provide luxury experiences, such as cars, helicopters, jewelry and watches, has been growing at a rate of 15% per year.

This increase is justified by the emergence of new online platforms that broadened this desire for luxury objects, such as watches and jewelry, for those seeking to gain status in specific events such as parties and weddings. We can find luxury brands like Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breitling, Tag Heuer, Vuitton, Prada and many more. They are classified as jewelry.

How the market operates.

To get an idea of ​​how this market operates, a London jewelry store, Glitzbox, offers an online jewelry rental service for a one-month subscription fee of £ 50 (which decreases to £ 43 for an annual subscription) . Its 26-year-old founder Tamsin Ivy, who created the company with its savings, cites her generation’s fear of joining a jewelry store as one of the reasons behind its creation. She also challenges the notion that the only way to enjoy jewelry is to buy it: “I find it strange that everything you wear has to have forever.” Although Ivy initially targeted the demographic profile of Instagram, she soon realized that her most loyal clients were professional women in their 30s who “lead busy lives and don’t want to waste time looking for jewelry.”

Jewelry rental services break down other barriers that come with price tags, such as capital and knowledge. These are particularly significant for watch enthusiasts. Realizing that there was no way for buyers to test a piece before spending large sums of money, Roy Tong co-founded Acquired Time, a Singapore-based monthly subscription service that provides luxury watches. Founded in 2017, the company lends its customers a luxury watch per month, costing $ 73 to $ 375 per month with a minimum subscription of six months. This allows a customer to hire a Rolex for only $ 7 a day.

“Think of time purchased as an extension of the collection itself,” says Tong, whose company controls its customers and charges a deposit before granting access and holds customers accountable for damage or loss. Customers can also buy watches through the site, while collectors can assign their watches and make money from them.

Bentley & Skinner has rented jewelry for men and women in all price ranges “from a few thousand pounds to several thousand pounds, with an average of 50,000 to 60,000 pounds [per piece],” says Omar Vaja, director of sales. The London-based jewelry service provider began offering rental items about 20 years ago in response to customers saying, “I like it, but I don’t want to buy it,” explains Vaja. He adds: “Buying is expensive, and there are also insurance costs to take into account while when you hire, you pay your fee and get free.”

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Retire A Millionaire: 5 Ways You Should Already Be Planning For Retirement

It’s easy to understand why you don’t have a thriving retirement fund when you’re in your 20s. You just graduated from college, you’re attempting to climb the corporate ladder and every extra penny you make is deposited right into the “Things I’m Going To Do Before I’m 30” fund.

But starting to save for retirement in your 20s is a fool-proof way to ensure that your future self is well-provided for, rich and happy. Here are five simple tricks to get your retirement fund growing faster than your bar tab on a Friday night.

1. Start Saving.

This may seem like the easiest tip, but can be the hardest step to take. If you have never contributed any money into a savings account, you’ll quickly find that living without a chunk of your paycheck can be painful. According to Forbes, even in your 20s, you should only be living off of 85% of your paycheck. Your additional income should be put away in a separate bank account or investment opportunity.

It’s hard to consider retirement savings when you’re still paying off your student loans, but everything saved in these early years will be so important when you’re considering that lovely retirement villa in Florida.

2. Start Learning.

Sit down and try to learn at least some of the “money” words thrown around in banks. Concepts like “compounding” and “high-yield savings account” can be life-saving when trying to build your savings. For example, the “compounding” process ensures that the money in your savings account is accruing interest over time. A typical interest rate is 5% annually, which can add up quickly. If you initially start your savings account with $10,000, your annual interest will be $500 right off the bat. This means that in ten years, you can make over $6,000 just by leaving money in the bank.

3. Start Investing.

According to Money Under 30, the best way to start investing is through mutual funds. These are basically investment security blankets that allow you to put funds in various stocks to diversify your portfolio. Starting the investing process can take as little as $50 a month which is the price of one week of groceries or that new shirt your favorite influencer wore on Instagram. If you really enjoy investing and have the money to spare, look to real estate moguls like Aubrey Ferrao, who invest in land or housing properties early in their career and have the ability to tap into those funds over time.

4. Start Cashing in on Employee Benefits.

Most companies offer 401(k)s as an employee benefit. If you’re not enrolled already, sit down with the HR department and set this up. A 401(k) is an investment account, set up by your company, that pulls a few dollars out of each paycheck to painlessly start your retirement fund. Many companies also offer “matching plans,” meaning that they will match every dollar you contribute to your 401(k) account.

5. Start Planning.

Make sure you have a plan for the future. Be kind to your future self and figure out how much you should save up in order to live in one of the Aubrey Ferrao Naples resorts and live the beach life you always wanted. If you’re in a relationship, have a discussion with your partner about financial habits and future plans to ensure they aline.

It’s never too early to start planning for retirement. Even starting a meager savings account will help your future self immensely. And if you take strides with compounding, investments, and employee benefits, you will be retiring a millionaire in no time.

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5 Tips On Creating A Killer Digital Marketing Plan For Your Startup

Every month of the year, approximately 540,000 people start new businesses and become self-employed entrepreneurs.

That’s over half a million new startups every month, all fighting for customers’ attention. If you’re starting a business and hope to reach those customers, you’ll need a killer digital marketing plan to get noticed.

Let’s look at 5 tips for creating a powerful digital marketing campaign.

1. Target the Right People.

One of the most important components of your digital marketing strategy is to find the right target audience. If you’re not reaching the right people, it won’t matter how good your product or service is, how good you are at selling, or how great a value you have to offer – they’re not likely to convert very well.

Instead of trying to reach as many people as possible, work on reaching the right people. Do some thorough market research to figure out who your ideal customer is, then figure out how to find them.

Dig into your competitors’ marketing plans to see who they’re targeting, what they’re doing well, and what they’re not doing so well. Sign up for their mailing list, get into their funnel, and buy their product. Become their customer so you can see what they’re doing from the inside.

Create an “avatar” or persona for your ideal customer. How old are they? Are they married? Do they have kids? What are their biggest fears? Sketch out everything you can about that imaginary customer and when you plan your marketing, imagine your speaking directly to them.

2. Create a Compelling Story.

If someone asked you what your startup does at a party, how would you respond? Saying something like “we sell widgets to help with problem X” might be a factual response but it’s not very compelling.

The same goes for your marketing campaign. If it isn’t compelling, your audience isn’t going to leap at the chance to buy what you’re offering.

Spend some time coming up with a story – why you do what you do. Tell people what’s special about your company. Was your service passed down your family through several generations? Do you donate a percentage of every sale to a worthy cause? Is there something unique about your product or service that isn’t available from any other company?

Make those things part of your marketing. Grab your audience’s attention with something cool about your company. Think of this as your elevator pitch but instead of a short pitch to give someone in an elevator, it’s a short pitch to stop them from clicking on the next link.

3. It’s All About Offering Value.

Having a compelling story is important but it has to be backed up with value. Your marketing plan can’t be all sizzle and no steak.

Give your target audience a ton of value, before they ever see a sales pitch. Make them feel like they owe you something for all the valuable information you give them for nothing.

Write good content for your website, create helpful videos, send them useful information in your emails, and over-deliver on everything you can. Make them so happy they won’t think twice about paying you for your product or service. You want them to think, “If they give this much great information away, their paid offers must be fantastic!”

This doesn’t only apply to your customers though. It also applies to potential partners. If you’re working with other businesses that complement your own, do everything you can to bring them new customers. The more you help your partners, the more they’re likely to do for you in return. This can even help you get in front of workers if you’re looking for help in your business.

4. How to Get the Most Out of Social Networking.

Any effective digital marketing campaign should include a social networking component but you need to approach it with the right attitude. Most people who use social networks like Facebook and Twitter aren’t looking for something to buy – they’re looking to be entertained and informed.

This goes back to the last tip, providing value. If you write useful blog posts, create helpful videos, and make other “shareable” content, it can help you reach a wide audience on these social networks. The more people that share what you have to offer, the more new people it will reach.

Don’t try to sell your products or service directly on social media. Treat it as a way to get more people into your funnel by giving them valuable information. Once they know who you are and trust what you have to say, you can push them over to your own website where you can get them into your marketing system.

5. Email Marketing – Your Secret Weapon.

Email is one of the oldest technologies still in use on the internet but that doesn’t mean it’s old news. Email is still one of the most effective ways to reach your audience and convert prospects into customers.

One of the most powerful things about building an email list is that you own that list. If you rely on Google for website traffic or Facebook and Twitter for reaching customers, you’re at their mercy. If they change their algorithm in some way, it could wipe out your connections overnight.

With email, you can always reach out to your list. As long as you treat them well, provide value, and don’t spam them with too many sales pitches, you’ll be able to leverage that list to get sales, send visitors to new content on your website, or promote one of your partners’ offers.

Create Your Own Digital Marketing Plan.

These digital marketing tips apply to almost any type of business but you need to personalize them for your business and your personality to get the best results. Taking another company’s digital marketing plan and cloning it to use as your own rarely works as well as you’d hope.

Knowing your market and understanding what your company does better than your competition gives you the edge you need to make your marketing message land with the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

If you’re not reaching the right customers or you’re reaching them at a bad time, a lot of your time and effort will go to waste.

Did you find this post helpful? Check out the rest of our blog for more interesting articles.

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5 Greek Startups Making Big Waves In The Travel Industry

The tourism and travel industry is one of the most important and profitable in Greece and of major importance both for local personal trips and for foreign tourists who decide to spend their holidays in Greece, helping greatly the country’s economy.

Below we will take a look at 5 Greek startups that have made some innovations and are making big waves in the travel industry.

Masticulture.

The first of these companies is the Masticulture, a tourist office, located in Mesta, Chios. This office specializes in ecotourism and in addition to all the common services (lodging, travel facilities etc), it gives its clients the opportunity to try out a number of alternative experiential activities. For example, such activities include demonstration of mastic production, hiking, dance lessons, basketry, cooking lessons and much more. These activities aim to integrate the anthropogenic and natural environment, businesses and clubs with the tradition and culture of Chios. The tour packages organized by the Masticulture office combine alternative activities with all the features that make up the island’s culture and the result is not only to diversify the economy of Chios, but also to bring visitors in touch with its customs and traditions.

Greek TravelTellers.

The second company is Greek TravelTellers, a startup based in Athens which offers tailor made and personalized tours in the capital city of Greece.  These tours give the opportunity to travelers to experience a genuine Athens from the inside as they have been specially designed for each individual group of travelers and are meant to show an authentic side of the city most tourists miss. It is the type of tour that will give you lots of stories to tell for years to come.

Aegean.

Next on our list worth mentioning are Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines, which, adjusting to the economic conditions of our time, have reduced air freight costs as much as possible. Of course, on airline flights, the earlier you book a seat, the cheaper you will pay and that is why there are differences in the price of the same seat depending on the season. However, these two companies, offering the same quality, lowered their prices to make air travel more accessible to Greek travelers and expatriates alike so they can visit their families in Greece more often. Note that they also allow pets for a small extra charge, thus offering the option for those with pets to take them with them on their vacation. They have both received awards for their various offers.

GS Travel.

The fourth company we will introduce is GS Travel. This company is a provider of travel services such as corporate travel, leisure travel, airline reservations and the like. The company has been active in the field of tourism for many years and is one of the best professionals and is a member of the travel agencies HATTA and PETAGA. The company’s travel consultants are available 24 hours a day.

Focus Greece.

Focus Greece is another Greek company that has been making massive waves in the travel industry directing travelers to the best the country has to offer. Usually Greek startups focus on welcoming and offering services to incoming travelers but Focus Greece instead tries to attract them to this beautiful country with its platform of accumulated resources and information. Focus Greece is more than a booking site, it’s a hub for travelers and locals who love Greece.

By closing this article, let’s hope that the number of such startups keeps increasing in the future, and that there are certainly a lot more to mention. There are so many more, small and big, that unfortunately cannot be mentioned in one article and we hope they continue to grow and contribute to the travel industry of Greece!

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The 5 Character Traits Of Extraordinary People

by Darren J. Gold, author of “Master Your Code: The Art, Wisdom, and Science of Leading an Extraordinary Life“ 

I study extraordinary people for a living. I look for patterns to understand what separates average leaders, professionals, athletes, teachers, and parents from extraordinary ones. What’s the one thing that’s clear from my research and experience? Exceptional people typically possess a healthy dose of each of the following five character traits: responsibility, persistence, delayed gratification, a thirst for knowledge, and conviction.

Let’s discuss each briefly.

1. Exceptional People Are Responsible.

First, people who sustain success over long periods of time take responsibility for their actions. They are much less likely to blame others. The first question they usually ask is, “What might I have done to cause this outcome?” or “What could I have done differently to produce a more favorable outcome?” As a result, they tend to learn from their mistakes and improve. In my experience, and from my work with senior leaders, I believe that responsibility is a critical driver of long-term effectiveness.

2. Exceptional People Have Grit.

Second, because extraordinary people assume their actions can directly affect outcomes, they tend to persist for much longer than those who doubt their ability to influence or alter situations. This quality of persistence, or grit, has been shown to independently drive effectiveness.

Angela Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania professor, is the author of the bestselling 2016 book Grit and is widely known for her 2013 TED Talk that went viral. (As of the time of this writing, it has more than 18 million views.) Duckworth’s work describes research showing the connection between grit and success in people as diverse as West Point cadets, spelling bee champions, and highly paid salespeople.

3. Exceptional People Delay Gratification.

Third, exceptional people believe they’ll be rewarded through persistent effort, so they’re willing to delay gratification. Like grit, delayed gratification has received a lot of attention as a major driver of effectiveness.

In a series of famous studies conducted in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Stanford Professor Walter Mischel, children were left alone in a room with a single marshmallow. They were told that if they waited to eat the marshmallow, they would be rewarded 15 minutes later with another one. Of the 600 children studied, about one-third were able to hold off long enough to receive the reward.

Follow-up longitudinal studies of these same children into their adult years have shown a remarkable correlation between their early ability to delay gratification and later measures of success and well-being, such as increased SAT scores, higher rates of college completion, lower rates of divorce, and better measures of health.

4. Exceptional People Seek Out Information.

Fourth, extraordinary people have a thirst for knowledge and seek out information. Believing that their actions can shape their circumstances, they see data as critical, even if the data may not be immediately useful. Average performers, on the other hand, believe that their circumstances are more likely to be affected by luck or fate. This group is less motivated to seek out information, even if it’s potentially helpful. In contrast, successful people are learners. They have a growth mindset. They use failure or setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than reasons to give up.

5. Exceptional People Hold Deeply Held Beliefs.

Finally, people who sustain high levels of performance over time almost always possess a high degree of conviction. Convinced they can shape every situation they face, they are less likely to be persuaded to change unless presented with information that convinces them that their position isn’t accurate. The great leaders who have defined history — think: Galileo, Gandhi, and Churchill — were those who had the conviction to challenge the conventional wisdom of their times.

 

Darren Gold is a Managing Partner at The Trium Group, where he advises and coaches CEOs and leadership teams at many of the world’s most innovative companies, including Roche, Dropbox, Lululemon, Sephora, Cisco, eBay, Activision, and Warner Bros. He is the author of the new book “Master Your Code: The Art, Wisdom, and Science of Leading an Extraordinary Life“.

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Tips For Travelling By Train For Business

Some people love travelling by train for business – it gives them a bit of time to themselves to collect their thoughts, and unlike commuting by car, they’re able to work en-route, as well as sit back and relax. Not to mention it’s far better for the environment than sitting in traffic in a car along with the other 62% of the population.

So, with that in mind here are some top tips for travelling by train for business. 

Research the routes.

It might be that there are several routes to your destination of choice, as well as a fast and slow train service. By researching the different routes you might find a cheaper alternative or a time that suits you better. Don’t forget you can travel to and from your destination by different routes and the combination of two single tickets may be cheaper than a return.

Look for deals online.

Many train operators release Advance tickets up to 12 weeks before departure, as well as last minute deals. Signing up to receive emails is a great way of finding out first-hand about any train deals.

Buy tickets in bulk.

If you’re a frequent traveller Carnet tickets offer major savings. Sold in books of 10 tickets, they are valid for a whole year and are available for Standard and First Class.

Use the First Class lounge.

First Class lounges are perfect for those longer train journeys, or if you’re experiencing a delayed train. Not only are they quieter than the main concourse providing you with the perfect working environment, the seats are much comfier too!

Anticipate delays.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned with train travel, it’s to anticipate the delays. There’s nothing worse than running late for a meeting and feeling rushed on arrival. Build delays in to your journey and if you arrive on time, you’ll be able to arrive looking poised- perhaps with a coffee in hand!

Reserve seats.

Where possible reserve the seats that best suit your requirements. If you need to do work on the train, reserve a seat with a table. If you’re travelling with a client upgrade to First Class, not only does this look more professional, First Class carriages are often quieter making it much easier to converse.

Use mobile ticketing.

Downloading your tickets on to your mobile not only saves the frantic panic of looking for your them, it has the added benefit of the saving on paper. But don’t forget to invest in a portable charger to ensure your battery doesn’t run out.

Train travel is much underutilised as a way of travelling for business but could provide the perfect antidote to a stressful commute as well as helping to save the planet.

Do you have any tips for travelling by train for business?

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What Does Sharia Law Mean For Islamic Businesses?

As far back as the 2011 census, the Muslim community in the UK was at 1,012,823. Of course, those numbers have grown exponentially since then. It is only to be expected that a large portion of that growing, expansive population is interested in starting up their own business or growing an existing one. Without following Sharia law, it would be hard for a Muslim business in the UK to genuinely grow and expand.

As a Muslim entrepreneur, you already known that Sharia law is a system of rules and regulations designed to help you lead a life in accordance with God’s will. ‘Life’ refers to more than just your personal dealings, but also to your business dealings too. The Sharia law system is based on the Quran and the rules according to Islamic scholars. As such, they provide a guide to living that covers absolutely every aspect of Muslim life, from donations to the poor, to fasting and prayers offered. To you, it’s a code for living – to your business it’s an ethical business model that must be followed.

Sharia Law Forbids 3 Elements in Business Transactions.

Sharia law doesn’t seek to manipulate or confine a business, but rather wants to root Muslim businesses in strong ethical foundations. Every business decision made by an Islamic company must be ethically driven with the morals of Islam in mind.

Because of this, when an Islamic company is conducting business, 3 things are forbidden according to Sharia law. These are:

1. Riba
2. Gharar
3. Maysir

If you aren’t a Muslim and don’t have much experience in dealing with Islamic companies, you might not understand what these 3 elements are all about, so let’s delve a little more into them briefly.

• Riba.

Riba is interest that is charged on an account or finance. Interest is strictly forbidden according to Sharia law. This can make it quite tricky for entrepreneurs to find providers of Islamic business finance that operates within the confines of Sharia no-interest laws. According to Sharia law, interest is a way to gain an unjustified advantage and is therefore forbidden.

• Gharar.

If you look up Gharar in an Islamic dictionary, you will find the definition to be “the sale of what is not yet present”. What does that mean? It basically refers to any risk or uncertainty that is typically around transactions on commodities that don’t exist yet. Think of the sale of fish not yet caught, or plants that have not yet been grown. Sharia law considers Gharar to be a form of unjust enrichment that is derived by a contract that is not completely defined or certain. Sharia law frowns on uncertainty.

• Maysir.

Maysir quite literally means gambling or taking chances. In Islamic law, Maysir is prohibited because the agreement between the two parties involved, is immoral and based on the personal hope that they may gain by chance, without considering the possible losses.

In addition to the 3 elements that are prohibited, Sharia law also imposes some restrictions on Islamic businesses which are presented below.

Restrictions on Islamic Businesses by Sharia Law.

The restrictions on Islamic businesses by Sharia law are in place to protect the business, any other parties dealing with the business, as well as ensure that the Muslim entrepreneur can live in strict accordance with his faith. The following areas within an Islamic business, experience some restrictions by Sharia law.

• Finance/loans.

As already mentioned, Islamic business finance can seem tricky to acquire. The high street bank will certainly want to charge a start-up business interest on their business loan, but as you know, that is forbidden according to Sharia law. When it comes to Islamic finances, it is believed that money is only a form or token of exchange and has no real value itself. The belief is that the monetary value is exactly equal to another item or token of the same denomination and therefore, Sharia law does not allow one to make any profit on money exchanges. As a Muslim entrepreneur, you cannot make any profit on the lending or receiving of money in any way.

For this reason, the unsecured business finance world has seen leaders in the market carefully creating ethical Islamic business finance options for Muslim entrepreneurs in the UK. Now, Islamic entrepreneurs can apply for interest-free Islamic finance of between £1,000 and £500,000, which is typically paid out within just 24 hours.

What do you need to qualify for an interest-free, unsecured Islamic business loan? Requirements will vary from one provider to the next, but most require the applicant’s business to be registered in the UK and for the business to have been trading for at least 6 months.

• Contracts.

Contracts can be a tricky business even for non-Islamic enterprises. However, Sharia law requires the terms and conditions of a contract for a joint venture to be drawn up in such a way that there is no possibility of any dispute arising throughout the term of the contract, especially in terms of operations, profit sharing, and loss bearing.

• Joint Stock.

When it comes to joint stock companies, according to Sharia law, the shareholders have no agency rights and are considered co-owners. In joint business ventures, the measurement of productivity and profit is also dependent on the invested capital. The share of profits that a co-owner gets is not determined by the portion of capital invested alone.

• Trade.

An Islamic business may only trade with Sharia compliant businesses in terms of the core business activities. This means that Muslim entrepreneurs cannot start-up businesses within certain industries. This also means that Muslims running businesses, that sell certain prohibited products and services, cannot apply for Sharia-compliant finance or ethical Islamic business finance. According to Sharia law, prohibited industries include:

• Financial services business where interest is charged or profit is made on money (banks, gambling businesses and so on).
• Production, sale or handling of weapons.
• Entertainment industry products and services that involve or relate to any adult materials (pornography of any kind).
• Food and beverage management and sales that include alcohol, pork, or meat products from suppliers that don’t slaughter in a way that is acceptable to Sharia law.
• The acquisition and trade of drugs (tobacco and other illegal drugs).

The Real Meaning of Sharia Law for Muslim Entrepreneurs.

While it might seem like Sharia law imposes great limits on the Muslim entrepreneurial community to those looking in (with no background or understanding of Islam), that is certainly not the case. Islam holds its business owners to a high standard and expects ethical practice. Most of the laws in place protect the business and ensure good dealings for all parties involved in a transaction. From here it looks like Sharia law enables Muslims to behave ethically in business and gives them access to reliable, unsecured, interest free Islamic business finance amongst other things.

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Five Tech Solutions For Client Retention And Communication For Freelancers

Remote work and freelancing are professional roles that involve an incredible amount of effort, tech-savvy, and time management. Entrepreneurs and freelancers generally struggle with this balance more than companies that hire dedicated salespeople to oversee client relationships. Something shared by every remote professional is the need to retain current clients and develop relationships with new clients without restricting the time that he or she spends on productive work.

Fortunately, there are technological tools that can maximize working time by making meetings more efficient, improving your office workflow, and better managing client interactions. Here are five of the most tech-forward ways to improve how you do business.

#1 – Time Tracking Software.

Time is the greatest asset to any business, a fact which is doubly true for freelancers and project workers. Every day, you must balance working on current projects, marketing new projects, overseeing client relations, and honing the skills that you need to remain relevant in your field. Without the ability to schedule your time effectively, you’re certain to waste minutes here and there each day, ultimately producing less than you should.

Programs such as Toggl allow you to track the time that you spend on different projects so that you can analyze where your day goes. You can either follow it in real-time or enter your minutes later to determine how to most effectively update your daily schedule.

#2 – Upgraded Capabilities.

Another significant way that you can improve your business savvy is to take advantage of powerful software alternatives that go beyond the mainstream. For example, many freelance professionals rely on standard programs such as Adobe to display and capture proofs and client edits, but there are other providers that offer significant advantages.

For instance, Kofax Power PDF improves client and team collaboration by allowing you to edit PDF files and easily share via cloud services like Evernote or send contracts out for digital signatures using DocuSign. You can rapidly convert documents between PDFs and JPG formats, as well as Office file formats for Word and Excel. Additionally, this program gives you tremendous control over text and image editing, and makes it easier to protect your documents.

A few choice software changes such as this one could shave hours off your workweek and help relieve the hassle of client communications.

#3 – Remote Meeting Software.

Face-to-face meetings can be time-consuming or cost-prohibitive if you live far from your clients, but there are times when a phone meeting won’t suffice. Modern remote meeting software empowers you to communicate with clients anywhere in the world without leaving your home office.

Programs such as Zoom or Whereby permit you to share screens, record meetings, and review your projects in detail during a meeting without disrupting the conversation. As a result, you can keep communicating with your clients and collaborators from anywhere.

#4 – Online Organization.

While shared workspaces support collaboration, such a space no longer needs to be a shared physical location — organizing and collaborating online is easier than ever thanks to Asana, Basecamp, and similar programs.

These services allow your team to keep track of projects through milestones assigned to individuals complete with internal communication. With Asana, you can create a basic template for project types then modify it to suit individual client requests while keeping each of your collaborators informed about when a step should be completed. Get the best of both worlds by maintaining a bird’s-eye view without losing track of a single task.

#5 – Cloud-Based Mobility.

There are many programs that help you use the internet as your workspace. Freelancers and entrepreneurs benefit from mobile technologies that allow workers to travel anywhere and still work on long-term projects. Maximize your working efficiency during travel by bringing a laptop or tablet with Wi-Fi access or arrange for extended stays offsite and remain connected to your clients.

Many leading programs already include this functionality, but you can create dedicated storage space and control access by using Google Docs or Dropbox to access any kind of file that you need from wherever you are.

Making Technology Work for You.

If you integrate some of these technological tips into your workflow, you’ll immediately begin to see results. Over time, you can dramatically improve how you do business, secure new clients, and maintain positive relationships with your current clients. Explore these programs to see which can fit into your workstyle to become more productive, focused, and organized.

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3 Ways Blockchain Technology Can Increase Your Business Productivity

If you own a business, it’s highly likely that you’ve experienced a quarter or year in which you’ve captured and performed a large amount of work, served thousands of clients, and ended up barely breaking even.

The current business ecosystem is difficult for businesses of all sizes. Hundreds of different factors can cut into profits, creating cash flow issues that are virtually impossible to trade through. Procedural delays, overheads, middlemen, and human errors all contribute to the cost of doing business, making it difficult to scale and generate profit.

The primary factors that cause the obstacles outlined above are a lack of automation, siloed data structure, poor intra-business communication, and middlemen. Blockchain technology, however, holds the potential to eliminate these obstacles, allowing businesses to speed business up, prevent human error, and deal directly with other parties without middlemen.

But what is blockchain technology, and how can it enhance your business productivity?

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain technology is a decentralized means of recording transactions to a digital ledger that prevents the falsification of data. Blockchain networks are the moving parts beneath major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum but are capable of far more than transmitting or storing value.

A blockchain network exists across thousands or hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, which all run the software that powers it. This process is called cryptocurrency mining and it means there’s no central point of failure or control — nobody is in charge of a blockchain network.

Blockchain networks are self-policing by nature, with all network participants working together to prevent the recording of false data. Transactions that are made on a blockchain network such as Bitcoin are collected into “blocks” by participants called miners, who then encrypt the block and publish it to the network in a manner that makes it impossible to alter.

Each block in a blockchain contains a reference to the previous block, ad infinitum — a “chain” of self-referential blocks. What does this mean for your business, though?

Major blockchain networks such as Ethereum offer programmable functionality. It’s possible to build applications on blockchain networks that leverage the immutable, transparent, and the decentralized nature of the technology that drives them.

Blockchain can dramatically boost the performance of your business. Here’s how.

1. Eliminate Counterparty Risk with Smart Contracts.

“Smart contracts” are self-executing, programmable contracts that exist in the blockchain environment. A smart contract has all of the terms outlined by the parties involved written directly into its code, and can’t be interfered with once it starts.

Smart contracts ensure that the parties that sign it follow the terms of the contract and are enforced by code, not other humans or law.

Why are smart contracts important to your business, though? Smart contracts can be used to establish escrow, ensuring that your business gets paid once you’ve performed the work you’ve been commissioned. Smart contracts eliminate the need for lawyers or other intermediaries that exist to settle contract disputes. By bringing your contracts onto the blockchain, you can ensure that they’re enforced by immutable code.

2. Accept Faster, Cheaper Payments.

The primary use case of blockchain technology is as a means of storing value and transferring it between individuals. Cryptocurrencies have experienced rapid adoption across multiple industries, with major tech players such as Microsoft offering Bitcoin as a payment method.

Cryptocurrencies offer a number of distinct advantages over traditional payment methods. Debit cards and credit card payments are susceptible to chargeback fraud in which customers fraudulently dispute the payment with their card provider after receiving a product. Cryptocurrency payments, once sent, can’t be unsent — it’s not possible to chargeback a cryptocurrency transaction.

Cryptocurrency payments are cheaper than credit card payments. Major card payment processors typically charge between 2 percent and 10 percent of a transaction in fees, which can rapidly eat into profits. Cryptocurrency payments, in contrast, can be executed for as little as a fraction of a cent.

Choosing to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method gives your business the option of either holding crypto to make a long-term profit, or trading it for fiat currency immediately. Major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Rubix.io allow cryptocurrency holders to rapidly and easily trade cryptocurrency for other currencies, allowing businesses to access fast fiat cash flow when needed.

If you’re considering accepting cryptocurrency as a payment method at your business, it’s best to understand your tax obligations. Professional small business accountants can point you in the right direction and help you understand what you need to report and well in order to avoid overpaying on crypto tax.

3. Reduce Your Marketing Costs.

Effective marketing is essential to the success of almost every business — but marketing is expensive. The number of businesses competing in any given marketplace makes it difficult to establish a point of difference between your business and your competition.

Blockchain networks provide several solutions to the problems presented by the modern marketing paradigm. The digital marketing ecosystem, for example, is saturated with middlemen that sit between companies that want to advertise and the publishers that will distribute their ads, increasing the overall cost of marketing.

Blockchain-based projects such as the Brave Browser reward internet users with small amounts of cryptocurrency for viewing ads instead of blocking them, allowing businesses to spend marketing budget on connecting with prospective customers without the need for marketing middlemen.

Other blockchain marketing platforms solve the problem of ensuring your message is delivered to your target demographic. Marketing campaigns that integrate blockchain-based tokens allow advertisers to view a vast amount of analytics that reveal who is viewing your marketing campaigns, and for how long.

Lastly, the publicly verifiable nature of blockchain technology allows businesses to ensure that their marketing analytics aren’t being boosted by bots, ensuring that each campaign viewer is a real human.

Key Takeaways.

Blockchain technology isn’t restricted to currency applications only. Integrating blockchain technology into your business processes will allow you to eliminate counterparty risk, chargeback fraud, high payment acceptance fees, and extortionate marketing costs.

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How To Grow Your Business In 4 Simple Steps

You made the brave decision to leave your 9-5 and start your own business. Good for you.

Many people talk about becoming an entrepreneur and starting their own business from scratch but not that many people actually follow through with their dream. Of course, it probably took you a lot of money, time and effort to get where you are today; to have an established business with a loyal customer base.

However, arguably the hardest part is still to come. Growing your business.

Don’t get too stressed though as this process can be made easier and more effective if you are able to identify the ways in which your business could potentially grow and then actively implement strategies to help you achieve this.

Having a killer sales funnel.

If you don’t have the basics in place, then you cannot ever hope to expand your business, and this starts with building an effective sales funnel.

• First of all you need to identify your target audience.
• Then create your buyer personas so you can tailor your marketing efforts to these types of consumers.
• Come up with a lead generation strategy.
• Use content to engage with your audience.
• Finally, convert leads into sales.

Know your competition.

It is not as simple as just being aware of your competitors and the products they offer; you need to take the time to thoroughly investigate their advertising strategies and their website. Not only can this give you a better idea of what works and what doesn’t, but it will also help you identify gaps in the market that you could potentially fill.

Make sure you have the best employees.

The importance of loyal and motivated employees should never be underestimated when trying to grow your business. You may not be aware of this, but a good employee is worth their weight in gold and can lead to more sales than any marketing campaign ever will. This is especially the case for smaller businesses that rely on local support as well as online startups that rely heavily on reviews. You need to make sure your production team are making the best products, your customer service team are offering a top level of service each and every time and that your creative thinking people are, well, being creative.

An easy way to ensure you recruit the best employees is to carry out pre-employment testing which will ensure that you are matched with the best possible candidates for your business. This way, you will know that you have the best of the best and that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Always be on the lookout for new opportunities.

You should also look for new opportunities, whether that be attracting new customers by increasing your email list or by forming partnerships with other companies to improve your offerings. You could even reach more potential clients by utilizing worldwide platforms to expand your business in a short amount of time.

Becoming complacent is the easiest way to stop expansion dead in its tracks.

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How To Communicate Your Digital Marketing Message

It doesn’t matter whether you are offering a product or service, there is a lot to think about in terms of digital marketing. There are a lot of different digital marketing techniques and strategies for a business use, some of which will work better than others depending on the specific industry and business type.

Regardless of the marketing approach that you are taking, it is vital to communicate your message well.

Here’s How To Successfully Communicate Your Marketing Message.

There are a lot of different tips and tricks for successfully communicating a marketing message, all of which are bound to be helpful. To help you out, four key ways to boost the reach of a digital marketing message are listed below.

Be Consistent With Branding.

With both digital e.g. websites ands apps and non digital messages e.g. business cards and pop up banners, it is extremely important to ensure that your content has the same branding across all platforms. This means being consistent with colours, logos, tone of voice and context. Business branding should be clear and concise, and it should be recognisable to customers. When a brand is recogniseable, customers are much more likely to return again and again. Branding helps a business to become memorable whilst also clearly showcasing who you are and what you do.

Have a Localised Message.

If you are marketing a product or service to different cultures and places, you may want to localise your message. Some digital marketing elements will work well in a specific country or culture, whereas others will not. It can create a negative perception of a company if something does not translate well every individual place that it’s used. Think about how content and images may be perceived in different locations around the world.

Use Analytics.

Though you may assume that you are successfully communicating your digital marketing message, this may not always be the case. You can find out a lot about your digital marketing strategy by using simple analytics. This information is helpful as it will help you to see how people are finding the message and whether it is working well. If there are changes to be made, analytics will highlight them.

Think About Empathy.

Throughout the day, your customers will find themselves in different situations. By mapping this and thinking about empathy, you can decide on the best time to convey a specific marketing message. Doing so will highlight when customers are most empathetic to your message and when they are most likely going to take note of what’s being said. What works perfectly first thing in the morning, may not work quite as well at the end of a busy working day.

There is no set way to perfectly communicate a digital marketing message, which is why success often comes down to trial and error. Successfully convey a digital marketing message often comes down to what works for your specific target customer, the type of industry you operate in and the product or service that you are offering.

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6 Steps For Startups Looking To Throw An Awesome Team Building Event

While you might think team building activities are easier to organise in a startup environment, many of the challenges that exist for large corporations are still prevalent. This includes gathering everyone together at the same time, motivating them to take part, and thinking of a fun and original activity. However, this shouldn’t put you off the idea of organising one, as a well delivered and memorable team building activity can do wonders for office morale and bring your workforce much closer together.

In this article, we’ll explain how startups can organise and deliver a fantastic team building event that will not only interest and entertain your colleagues, but also leave them even hungrier for the next one.

1. Plan in advance.

Organisation of team building events can often fail at the first hurdle so it’s important to put the wheels in motion as early as possible. While startup offices are generally small, don’t be fooled into thinking you can leave the planning until the last moment, as activities will be booked, attendance will be limited, and motivation will be low. Start your planning early by suggesting a handful of dates a few months in advance and see which ones are preferred most amongst the office in order to get an initial idea of your date and numbers.

2. Begin organising. 

Having done your initial preparations, it’s important to begin organising as early as possible. Here are the most important things to do:

Set a date – Based on the general consensus in your office, select a date that the majority of people can attend, as well as a time and expected duration.

Seek help – No successful event can be planned without a solid team of helpers, so try not to bite off more than you can chew and ask for a few helpers from the rest of the office. Doing this will not only provide you with vital assistance in planning, but also offer an inside perspective on what activities will be popular to choose and what would interest the majority of people.

Define a budget – Your budget will determine almost every aspect of your event, so make sure you factor in absolutely everything when setting this figure. If the funds are available, try not to save on a less exciting activity or cheaper venue as this will negatively impact the success of your event. On the other hand, try to stay within your budget and avoid unnecessary splurging on things that add no extra value, or can be bought for the same quality at cheaper prices. This is especially important for startups, who will be looking to gain maximum value from what will be a smaller budget than that of a large company or business. 

Choose an activity – A huge part of your event will hinge on the success of your chosen activity so it’s important to research a few different activities that are popular, trending, and would fit with the interests of your workforce. If you’re struggling for ideas, there’s plenty of posts online to give you inspiration for activities. After this, select a handful of your favourites, together with your helpers, and let the rest of the office vote on their favourite. This method not only allows you to keep activity ideas within reason and budget, but also gives a voice to your colleagues, which will increase their motivation to attend and start generating excitement.

Book a venue – If you need a venue for your event, it’s important to get this right as this will set the tone for the whole evening – try to think about the style of activity you’ve chosen and whether or not the venues you’re looking at will fit in with their theme. Also make sure it has the capacity to comfortably hold your party, as well as easily provide catering, or facilitate external caterers.

Advertise – While you might have a pretty clear idea of the numbers you’re expecting, it’s always likely that you’ll get some last minute sign-ups, especially if you’ve been able to generate some excitement around the event. Creating an event in everyone’s calendar, spreading the word around the office, and offering some event teasers is a nice way of getting people talking before the event, as well as encouraging late sign-ups, who don’t want to miss out on the fun.

3. Create an agenda.

Creating a brief agenda will make sure everything is clear and avoid any miscommunications across your team. Certain activities may require specific arrival times, or that people bring certain clothes, items, or gifts with them, so be detailed and make sure everyone knows where to be, when to arrive, and what to bring.

4. Get involved. 

While startups may not have the same disparity between boss and employee as larger corporations, do not underestimate the impact your continued engagement will have on motivating everyone to join in. Seeing you get stuck in and having a great time will help erase any inhibitions that may exist in your team and set the tone for the rest of the event perfectly. Not just that, after a long time preparing, planning, and working together with everyone to create this event, the least you deserve is to celebrate alongside everyone that made it happen and create a culture of togetherness.

5. Prepare a small debrief.

A few days after the event, try and get some feedback from everyone who attended about what they thought of the activity, how it went, and any suggestions for improvement. This will not only help you with your planning for the next time, but also give a voice to everyone who attended and allow them to share their thoughts which otherwise might have been unheard. Don’t forget to also extend your gratitude to whoever helped with the event organisation, as well as to everyone who attended and contributed to making it a team building activity to remember.

6. Start planning the next one!

After a successful event, the best thing to do is to strike while the iron is hot and begin putting in motion plans for the next one. By doing this you’ll get the whole office talking and increase the motivation of everyone to attend the next event, as well as encourage those who didn’t attend to come along. Startup environments tend to be much closer-knit than larger offices, so by showing your team that you’re serious about trying to boost morale and encourage interaction, you’ll receive a great amount of enthusiasm back, which contributes to a much healthier workspace.

 

Christian Schramm is a content writer at Tagvenue.com, an online venue booking platform. His writing is focussed on venue hire and event planning, targeting a variety of different international markets including Singapore.

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Guide To Becoming A Beauty Entrepreneur

Beauty services and products are found in a certainly crowded and competitive market and it can be extremely tough for young entrepreneurs to carve their niche. On the brighter side, it is a lucrative industry with a lot of potential to generate huge profits. The beauty industry generates billions of dollars every year.

For young entrepreneurs, the beauty market can be intimidating, but opportunities are there for all to exploit. Here is a guide to become a successful beauty entrepreneur.

Keep ahead of trends.

This is an important aspect of operating a successful beauty business. All the successful beauty products manufacturers and service providers are always ahead of trends, they are trend setters who dictate what direction the industry should go. You need to keep your eyes on what direction the industry is going in terms of products and technique. You must be innovative.

There is always a new trend, and you must be quick to align with it. In the hair industry there have been trends such as box braids, man buns, crazy coloured hair and many more. We hear crazy coloured hair is trending at the moment.

In the cosmetics sector, dermal fillers are still a thing. In fact they have now become so mainstream that many salon owners are considering taking dermal injection courses to meet the current demand.

Organic beauty has grown so big over the past couple of years, falling in line with the green trend that is currently on every one’s ears.

Social media is important.

Do you really have a beauty business if you are not on social media? Majority of beauty enthusiasts spend a lot of time on Instagram and Pinterest looking for the newest beauty trends, products and services. You must learn how to use social media to your advantage if you are serious about becoming a successful beauty entrepreneur. Check out Footpharmacy.com for ideas for setting up your beauty business.

Pay attention to your customer base.

Feedback from your customers is important to building a long-lasting beauty business, and it can serve as a guide for your decision-making process when creating a business plan. You will notice that top beauty brands have an effective structure in place for collecting customer feedback, and that is why they are successful. Give your customers the opportunity to tell you how your products affect them, whether positively or negatively. This is a core aspect of customer service that will help you keep and win new customers.

Hire experienced business partners.

For most new businesses in the beauty industry, recruiting can be extremely tough. If you want the right talent, it might be difficult to convince them to join your newly established beauty business. For many entrepreneurs, the recruitment stage is the toughest and most difficult stage.

Have a solid business plan.

This should be the first step in becoming a beauty entrepreneur. A business plan will help outline the goals and steps that you need to take to launch your business. You will be able to have a clear vision of when your business will break even and where your business should be in a few years time. Business experts recommend overestimating running costs and underestimating sales to avoid shocks.

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How Sharing Content Via Social Media Can Help Your Business

Because of modern technology, social media has become a useful marketing tool for several businesses. With the growing number of people using different social media platforms for interaction, it’s something that most business owners like you should take advantage of if you want to grow your business.

On social media, your company and customers can interact with each other. You can comment on each other’s posts, and, more importantly, share content to promote your business on these channels, and effectively at that.

But, how can sharing content through social media really help your business?

Helps Content Go Viral.

Posting on social media can increase your chances of making your content go viral. As soon as people begin liking, commenting, and sharing your posts, your content will more likely be exposed to a wide range of audiences throughout the world. This exposure can help your business become more visible across the Internet. And, the more you are visible online, the more you can generate sales conversions.

Also, by spending a few hours sharing content on social media, you can significantly increase your brand awareness. People will take more notice of your company, which further encourages clients to go to your site and purchase your offerings.

If you’re up for creating engaging and useful social media content, using Boost Apps for small businesses can be an excellent idea.

Helps Gain Website Traffic.

You’ve already understood the importance of creating a website for your business. Ideally, it can enable your prospects and existing customers to reach out and say something about your products or services. And, when you respond, you’re able to establish a business relationship with them.

Fortunately, you can further enhance your online presence by joining social media sites and sharing content. When you share useful information via social media, you can further educate them about your offerings, and, as a result, drive more traffic to your website. Remember, the more web traffic you generate, the higher your chances of turning visitors into loyal customers.

Allows Your Business To Get Personal With Your Customers.

By sharing content through a variety of social media channels, you’re able to reach out to your customers, get personal, and build a bond with them. The posts you share can go a long way in keeping them updated about your company’s offerings and latest events. It can also help in making them feel connected to your business, which further attracts more visitors to go to your webpage and take action.

Helps Build More Brand Authority.

When it comes to growing your business, it all comes down to having more brand authority. The more that your customers see your business sharing valuable content on social media, the more you can build a great image in their minds. Besides, the content your business regularly shares will give your prospects and customers the idea that you’re an authority in the industry you’re in.

Not only that, but it also shows that you care about them by making your business more accessible across the Internet. However, you need to make sure you have the right social media content to avoid some common mistakes in content marketing.

Helps Increase Sales.

Primarily, sharing content via social media can be an effective marketing strategy. It usually has a positive effect on your sales as the posts you broadcast can get people talking about your offerings. Moreover, it gives your products and services  the opportunity of having a more extensive reach.

With that, you can draw more people to your site and encourage them to purchase. In turn, you’re able to set your business up for more sales, which helps your business achieve more success.

Help Satisfy Your Customers.

When you share content through social media, you are more likely to encourage your customers to engage with you by liking and commenting on your posts. Through that, you’re also able to connect your business with a lot more clients, interacting with them on a more personal, less pragmatic level.

And, because of the engagement you build with your customers, you have the opportunity to know what they want, the problems they might be facing, and how you can actually serve them right. That way, you can provide the utmost level of satisfaction to your customers.

Conclusion.

There’s no question that using social media can be crucial to your marketing efforts. With the increased competition on social media sites day by day, you should be one step ahead of your competitors in terms of customer engagement. By sharing content via social media channels, your business will benefit from increased traffic, improved brand awareness, increased sales, and a lot more.

Therefore, if you want to achieve the best social media marketing results, keep these points, and start growing your business until it becomes bigger than you initially imagined. To get started, choose your platform, make a profile, share content through social media, and engage with your customers.

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The Heartfelt Holiday: Nine Ways To Show Your Employees You Care This Holiday Season

by Deb Boelkes, author of “The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture“

As the holiday season approaches, leaders are starting to look for ways to show their teams they care. Yes, that’s what bonuses are for. But cash gifts aside, there are plenty of other ways to show your employees that you appreciate their hard work, creativity, and dedication during the season of giving. This sense of heartfelt gratitude and caring is a pivotal part of creating a workplace built on what Deb Boelkes calls the “WOW Factor.”

One of the greatest gifts you can give employees is building a culture so great that they can’t imagine working any place else. It all comes down to offering them the support, encouragement, guidance, and compassion they need to flourish and thrive.

Creating a WOW workplace culture is a gift that keeps on giving all year long. When you show employees you care, they will be loyal to you in return. What’s more, putting employees first inspires them to give their best efforts, which drives customer loyalty, which drives profit.

The holidays are actually one of the easiest times to ‘wow’ your employees. Spirits are high, and you can take advantage of the festive mood to strengthen these relationships, which benefits everyone.

Here are just a few ways to show your workers you care this holiday season:

1. Do everything you can to make their holidays easier.

WOW leaders care about their people and want to make their lives easier. No question: Life can get busy and stressful this time of year. Doing simple things to take some of the pressure off means more than you may realize. For instance, announce the holiday schedule in advance and communicate it several ways so they can plan. Also, keep the schedule flexible and light. Let people leave work a few hours early, or work from home, or close down the office a day or two in advance of the holiday.

You’re showing them you see them not just as cogs in a machine but as whole human beings with lives outside the office. This works best when you make an effort all year long to get to know what’s going on in their lives and what matters to them.

2. WOW them with some grace.

If an employee realizes at the last minute that she needs to leave in the middle of the day to attend her nephew’s holiday play, let her. Tell her, “Oh, it’s fine and no need to come back in. Enjoy your afternoon.” These are the kinds of things that make a lasting impression and build loyalty in people.

3. Don’t send a bland corporate holiday card.

Instead, share a heartfelt (and customized) thank-you message. Successful leaders, especially heartfelt leaders, make sure the people working above, for, and with them know they and their contributions are appreciated. A simple “thank you” can have more power than you think. Give meaningful credit when credit is due.

Make your ‘thank you’ meaningful by giving each employee a handwritten thank-you card along with any bonuses you distribute. Be specific in listing some of the reasons you value each employee and thank them for making each day a WOW experience.

4. Help employees connect to purpose and meaning.

WOW workplaces are infused with meaning. People don’t just go through the motions. They know that their work touches people’s lives in real and often profound ways. Britt Berrett, former president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, says purpose and meaning are crucial for creating employee engagement in all fields — not just the “obvious” industries like healthcare, education, or social work.

He says:

We get to take care of people and touch their lives every day. That’s a divine calling in life. Colleagues outside of health care, I think they, too, can find that purpose and that meaning. That’s why Southwest Airlines is doing what they’re doing. I think they consider it a great calling in life. I’ve heard them speak to that, on opening the airways, on opening travel for families and friends to connect. I think that’s meaningful. But it does take courage, it really does. It’s exhausting, too. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not for those who are “kind of,” “sort of,” “sometimes,” or “maybe.” It’s for purposefully driven people.

The holidays are the perfect time to remind people of the larger “calling” behind their job. At the holiday party, share an example or two that illustrates this — maybe read a thank-you letter from a customer or even invite one to speak on how your company made their lives better.

5. Don’t skimp on the holiday party.

Workplace celebrations are deeply important. Not only does it give everyone a chance to relax and socialize, it’s a way to say thank you to employees. Make it special. You don’t have to spend a ton of money but give a lot of thought to what might be meaningful to people. (You might ask for their feedback first.) Whether your holiday celebration is as simple as a potluck where everyone brings a favorite dish, or an elegant catered affair, make sure it’s well thought out, well planned, and fun.

6. Declare a moratorium on after-hours emails for the last half of December.

When I conducted 360 reviews of CEOs, one of the biggest complaints I heard was from employees who resented getting emails from the boss on weekends or late at night. They felt they must respond immediately, even when the boss said it could wait until the next business day. I recommend that for the last two weeks of the year — while most employees are juggling end-of-year workloads and holiday family visits — leaders declare email-free evenings and weekends for the entire two-week holiday period.

If you feel compelled to write an email after normal business hours, simply save it as a draft until 8:00 a.m. on the next business day. This is a small way to give employees their personal time back, and yet it makes a HUGE difference.

7. Designate a volunteer day to spread goodwill.

The holidays are about giving, so find a way for your organization to give back to the local community. Choose a non-profit organization and select a day or partial day to volunteer as a group. You might decide to walk dogs at a local shelter, or serve lunch at a soup kitchen, or play with children at an orphanage.

8. Challenge employees to make a holiday connection with customers.

Ask them to come up with their own ideas for connecting with customers around the holidays. Then set them free to implement their plans. A customer service representative might send freshly baked cookies to the clients she normally assists, or a group of workers might decide to make a funny holiday thank-you video to send to their clients. When employees are able to engage customers, it makes them more engaged in their jobs. It’s an all-around delightful experience for everyone.

Take a cue from Donald Stamets — general manager for Solage, an Auberge resort in Calistoga, CA — and don’t make employees ask permission. As part of his Expected, Requested, and Delighted philosophy, Stamets encourages them to go above and beyond what the customer expects or requests and try to delight them at every turn. For instance, if a guest is sick, employees can bring them tissues and chicken soup without asking a manager.

Likewise, tell your employees their goal is to delight customers this holiday season. Let them use their own judgment and tap into their creativity. Being allowed to do it ‘their way’ will encourage and inspire them to go in whole-heartedly.

9. Give the gift of (positive) year-end feedback.

At the end of the year, you’ll want to send employees off on the right foot to enjoy their holiday breaks. A great way to do that is by holding a year-end review in which you focus mainly on what employees are doing right and asking them to share their ideas for making next year even better.

It’s okay to give them some improvement goals as well but keep the majority of the feedback upbeat and encouraging, and let them know that you believe in them. With this approach you’re likely to notice improvements in the new year.

When employees feel supported and appreciated, they will give you their best time and time again. So be sure that you don’t squelch the holiday spirit. Take advantage of the holiday cheer and infuse some festive joy and inspiration in your organization. It pays off for you, your workers, and your customers.

 

Deb Boelkes is not just a role model heartfelt leader; she’s the ultimate authority on creating best places to work, with 25+ years in Fortune 150 high-tech firms, leading superstar business development and professional services teams. As an entrepreneur, she has accelerated advancement for women to senior leadership. Deb has delighted and inspired over 1,000 audiences across North America. She is author of “The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture“.

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