Why It’s Important To Invest In Your Conference Room

Any upstart company has a lot on their plate in terms of what gets done first. There’s this wave of things to do that could make anyone lose their footing for a second. Young upstarts especially need to invest in the right things at the right time so that they don’t end up missing key investments while other less important features took priority out of not knowing better. Out of experience, there are a lot of business men and women out there that can tell you how important it is to invest in a proper conference room.

There are multiple uses for a conference room and making sure that everything is up to par in that room is very important. Let’s take a look at why it’s important to make the conference room as good as possible.

It’s important to have a great conference room because it’s where you will be sitting down most of the times to take very important actions regarding the company. This means that the furniture has to be comfortable for long sessions. This means that you must get chairs that won’t make you so cranky after 2 hours that you’ll end up making the wrong decision.

Having a great conference room also means making a great first impression to anyone that comes to visit. Remember that the conference room is not just a place where internal employees gather but also where guests and business associates or soon to be collaborators come to do business. It’s not just about how it looks but also about how efficient it is. Making sure that everything is up to par will ensure that all points are communicated across properly and that you will have an understanding with the other party at the end of the discussion.

If you’re looking for ways in which you can enhance you conference room, keep reading for tips on how to get your conference room up to par with high professional standards:

You need to get proper audio equipment.

Even if you’re not going to play music loud all day long, it’s important to have great sound in the conference room. Material used during meetings can have audio clips attached as well or be audio files themselves depending on your business. Also make sure that you get good microphones if there will be any talking to a large crowd. Depending on how large the conference room is, your voice might not be enough to get through to everyone in the room.

Invest in proper viewing equipment as well.

Don’t be cheap and get a really small screen that people can’t read from unless they’re right in front of it. Get a large screen or multiple screens. Even better, invest in projectors because they can be adjusted to any size you want them and everyone will be able to see your presentation just as well.

There are a lot of electronic demands when you’re trying to build a conference room but luckily these things aren’t hard to get. A quick trip to www.icrfq.com and you can get what’s on your list.

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5 Reasons You Should Be Using Coworking Spaces In New York City

There’s no getting around the fact that New York City is one of the most expensive places in the world to rent an office. Yet, there’s good reason for this. It is also one of the most desirable and, if you make the right moves, it can be hugely profitable too. The bad news is that it can be very difficult for small businesses, with tight budgets, to get their start here.

Fortunately, this is something which entrepreneurs are already trying to solve. For many years, people have tried to invent new types of work environment. The aim is to move away from rigid, lock in leases and create corporate conditions which nurture without stifling creativity. Coworking, for example, is one of the most popular methods among SMEs in the Big Apple.

This guide to the basics of coworking and shared office space will help you to grips with what is fast becoming a collaborative revolution:

Happier Employees. 

It’s taken a surprisingly long time for businesses to realise that not everybody thrives in the same conditions. When you work with high-end providers like Servcorp coworking space in NY offers something for all personalities and strengths.

If you love to soak up an energetic atmosphere and bounce ideas around with fellow entrepreneurs, this is the perfect place to do it. If you want to create and innovate in a dynamic environment, without having to give up your right to privacy when needed, try coworking.

Greater Productivity.

The common assumption is that sharing office space must lead to major distractions. This isn’t usually the case because you’re in full control of how you operate. When you don’t want to chat or be part of a team, you can find a quieter spot and leave the noise and activity behind.

Then, when you’re ready to share ideas again, all you have to do is move into a livelier part of the office. Coworking spaces are designed to fit around your needs. They don’t tell you how to structure your day or carry out tasks. They just give you the right tools to get the job done.

Friendly Competition.

The idea that contact with market rivals should be distant or suspicious is a very old fashioned one. The truth is that entrepreneurs tend to become more creative and productive when working among those in similar industries.

Coworking spaces encourage friendly competition and challenge small businesses to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of their peers. It isn’t all about rivalry though, because there’s plenty of chances to team up, come together, and unite for bigger, stronger profits.

Minimal Expenses.

One of the best reasons of all to opt for coworking spaces is the fact that they’re so affordable. The physical office environment and the resources it contains (broadband, ergonomic furniture, phone lines, IT support, etc.) are shared with other tenants.

This can take a little while to get used to but the cost benefits are huge. The rates are normally very low – much lower than they would be for private office – and there are no logistical expenses either. The rolling access fee is paid each month and includes all utilities.

Freedom to Change.

Finally, it is worth remembering that, without long-term leases, you retain a degree of flexibility and independence. For small businesses, the ability to respond to market changes is vital. When your profit margins are narrow, survival is a matter of adapting to fit current conditions.

This applies to both up and downgrading. If you find that your business grows much faster than expected, it’s natural to want to start expanding. However, you can only do that if you choose a flexible office provider that is keen to accommodate your development.

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You’ve Got Your Degree – What Next?

 This summer marks the end of an era for those graduating in 2017- and after three or four years of solid work, you can finally collect your hard earned degree. But what do you do next? Some people have a clear plan and have their lives mapped out, but others might be a bit more unsure- or just plan on taking it as it comes.

If you’re wondering what to do now you’ve gained your undergrad degree, here are a few options to consider:

Go on a Gap Year.

For some people, it’s best to strike while the iron is hot, and go straight from university to the next step in their plan. For others, a year out might be exactly what’s needed. Maybe you really struggled to get through your course, or are left feeling completely wiped out and exhausted. Maybe you’re not sure what the next logical step for you is? Taking a gap year allows you to travel and see new places before settling down to a life at work. You could volunteer, you could spend some time with your family who you’ve probably been away from for a significant amount of time.

In your free time, writing a blog, starting a Youtube channel or creating an Etsy business could allow you to earn a little extra money, or you could get some ‘easy’ work in a non-academic field to allow you to save a little while you’re off.

Continue Studying.

Continuing studying is another option once you finish university. If you have a specific career path you’re hoping to reach, you will have to specialize and continue your studies further. If you don’t fancy living away from home for another couple of years (or your university doesn’t have the subject you want to take), you could look into postgraduate courses online. You could even move back into your family home and save yourself money on rent and bills. Online courses are generally more flexible too, so you should still have time to do some part-time work, socialize and have hobbies around it.

You could continue studying in your chosen degree area at postgraduate level, or you could use the opportunity to broaden your horizons a little and go with something else. It’s ok to change your mind about your career path at postgraduate level, in fact now is a great time to do it. If you realized that the original course you chose three years ago isn’t what you want to do, better to change now than end up in a job later down the line, you’re not passionate about.

Find a Job.

If you’re done with studying and want to get out into the world of work, applying for jobs after university is a logical step. It’s useful doing this now as you can seek the advice of your tutors during the application phase, and they can write you references while you’re still fresh in their minds! Since universities teach so many students, in a year or two they might not even remember you. Applying for jobs in your field once you have a degree is tough and something you need to get right since there will be intense competition.

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Are You Wasting Your Potential?

The employment world is absolutely filled with young people working jobs that they hate and get absolutely no satisfaction from. The real tragedy of this is that so many of those people could well be doing something more with their lives, but they let a combination of fear and comfort stand in their way. Rather than chasing down what they really want, thousands of young people are willing to let their potential go to waste because it’s just easier to stay in one place rather than taking a risk on doing something that they might really love. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to meet the same fate.

It’s incredibly important to ask yourself, are you wasting your potential? Are there more things that you could be doing with your life than just slaving away at the same job day after day? The answer to these questions is almost certainly yes! With that in mind, here are some of the things that you need to be ready to do in order to make the most of your working life:

Take risks.

It’s incredibly easy to play things safe. After all, if you never stick your neck out, you’re never in any danger. However, that also means that you completely reduce the chances that you have of actually being able to make any changes in your life. Your comfort zone might be the place you go when things get scary, but it also keeps out many of the most positive and exciting things in life. If you want to make the most of your life, then you’ve got to be willing to take some risks. Fortune favors the bold, and if you never take any risks, you’ll never be able to make the most of the time you’ve been given.

Think long term.

One of the issues that a lot of young people have is that they tend to only ever think in the short term. They look at the job that they’re currently working and struggle to imagine doing anything else. Of course, anyone can tell you how wrong this is. It’s important to think of everything that you do as a stepping stone. Working as a mechanic might seem like a thankless job, but it’s the kind of thing that can lay the groundwork of experience needed to become a master of engineering. Your office job might be boring, but it can be your first step on the ladder towards bigger and better things within that company. Thinking long term not only pushes you forward into the future but it makes the present that much more bearable.

Be ready to fail.

You will fail. That might sound harsh, but it’s much better to rip that band-aid off sooner rather than later. But don’t worry! Far too many young people see failure as something that they can never come back from. On the contrary, failure can be an incredibly valuable tool, if you’re willing to treat it as a learning experience. Failure gives you the opportunity to come back stronger than before, with a new understanding of what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.

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E-commerce Is So Easy, Anyone Can Do It

If you want the easiest business possibility to get right for budding entrepreneurs, it’s ecommerce. Before we get into why this is, let’s explain e-commerce. Ecommerce used to be the sale of goods and services over the phone. Then the internet came along and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Now, we can sell goods and services online, all over the world to literally massive audiences. You’ll make a profit too because no matter what you’re selling, there will always be a market. You just have to make sure you know how to target it directly and appeal to the audience in question.

A key example of this type of business venture would be Diapers.com. Diapers.com, as you may or may not be aware, was a business plan to sell diapers online at lower prices then you could get them in store. It’s fair to say that the plan wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking success. In fact, when the business opened it actually started at a loss. With each diaper sold, the company was losing money. Still, they stuck with it and eventually, they grew their audience to the point where they were able to make a fortune from their product. But they didn’t stop there. They then sold their ecommerce business to Amazon for a fantastic price and the rest, as they say, is history.

You would be right in thinking that this isn’t the rule, this is the exception. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s remarkably simple to set up an ecommerce business. Making it a success? Well, that’s where things get a tad more tricky. But let’s start at the beginning and think about the home point of your ecommerce company:

Setting The Site.

You should always start with the development and creation of your website. Immediately, you must avoid the mistake that most business owners make of setting up the website for free. You might be saving money, but you will definitely be losing the potential for profit. Instead, you shouldn’t be afraid to spend straight away.

For instance, everyone knows that the domain name of a site is important. What you probably don’t know is that most of the great domain names are owned. During the dot-com boom, a lot of investors bought up hundreds of thousands of domain names in the hope that someone would come knocking and desperately want to buy that specific domain. It worked too with certain cool domains coming with a price of nearly 10K.

Still, even that price tag might be worth paying if it’s unique and memorable enough. Remember, you want to make things as easy as possible for customers. If they can accidentally stumble on your site simply by typing a word + .com into the search bar, you’re already on the right track.

Of course, that’s not the only way you’ll need to spend money on your business. You need to think about the design as well. A fantastic website design agency can ensure that your ecommerce site stands out from the rest because it’s visually appealing and runs like an absolute dream.

You might have noticed something about the plan so far.

It’s Not DIY?

Absolutely not, and this is the biggest mistake that budding entrepreneurs make about the ecommerce industry. They think that the people who have come before them did it all by themselves as solo ventures. Even if it seems like this is the case, it probably isn’t, and the reason is quite simple. If you do it yourself, you won’t have the knowledge or the experience to get it right, and a key example of this is marketing.

Remember we mentioned that it doesn’t matter what you sell because everything has a market? Well, that’s absolutely, indisputably true but to do this, you have to know how to market to them. You’re probably not going to be able to do this by yourself. Instead, you need to look for the right marketing agency for your company. This is the defining difference between ecommerce business owners that rise and the ones that fall. Successful owners choose the right companies to work with that can catapult their company towards success.

Choosing the right companies is all about getting a feel for the market online. Make sure you understand what you need the business to deliver. Check around to see if they have helped similar companies to yours in the past. For instance, you might be selling to a niche market. You need to make sure that the business you are using is ready to find and capitalize on that particular audience demand.

Building The Brand.

 

Aside from choosing the right companies to work with when building your own online business, you also need to build your brand. Remember, customers don’t just want to see a name or a logo of a business. They want to understand and connect with the people behind it. For this reason, the figurehead or the individual at the head of the company is going to play a huge role in your business. If that’s you, you need to make sure that you are engaging with customers and clients, creating a fantastic rapport. Do this and you will earn their loyalty and that’s crucial because it will keep them coming back for more.

Building the brand can be as simple as remaining active on social media. Social networks are a key way that customers and clients interact with businesses on the modern market. The added perk is that by using social media effectively, you can also build up your website ranking online at the same time. You can do this by sharing content that you think they will find interesting and that they’ll share with other people online.

You might have noticed that we didn’t actually mention what you’ll be selling and that’s because it genuinely doesn’t matter. This business strategy will work with any product or service. You can sell absolutely anything online. You just need to find the right market for it.

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4 Shocking Cases About Insurance Fraud That Might Surprise You

When it comes to crime, insurance fraud is up there with the most despicable acts of violence and vandalism. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), insurance fraud totals more than $40 billion each year and costs the average American family between $400 and $700 due to increased premiums. Some fraud cases are shocking, others amusing — but behind all instances of insurance fraud there lies a sincerely sad story.

Here are four shocking insurance fraud cases that might surprise you:

Funeral Phonies.

In 2010, Jean Crump — with the help of three other women — allegedly created a man, faked his death and even staged a funeral (with actors filling the crowd to make it seem legitimate) in order to claim the $1.2 million life insurance payout. When the FBI started investigating this claim, the con artists were so spooked they had the empty remains exhumed and filled the casket with cow parts and a mannequin to ensure that it had the proper weight. Once it was unearthed, they sent it to a crematory and offered a doctor $50,000 to create medical records supporting the fake death certificate stating that “Jim Davis” was cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

Inside Job.

A Washington state life insurance salesman thought his intimate knowledge of the industry would give him a leg up in completing an insurance scam worth millions of dollars. Prosecutors claim that the Washington man not only skimmed $2 million from his clients but convinced a friend of his family to purchase a $2 million life insurance policy. Once the policy was confirmed, the man claimed that the friend died in order to cash in on the scam.

When police came looking for him, they found his car parked by a bridge with a suicide note on the dashboard confessing his crimes and signed ‘Travis the Scam Man.’ He was later found quite alive and charged with two counts of wire fraud.

A Grave Mistake.

In Texas, the Insurance Journal reports that Clayton Daniels dug up the corpse of an 81-year-old woman and dressed her in his clothes. After she donned his tennis shoes, jeans and a baseball cap (complete with attached fish hook) he placed her body in his car, set the car on fire and drove it off a cliff. Later, his wife, Molly Daniels, attempted to collect the life insurance policy of $110,000 by claiming that it was her husband who died in the car crash. Investigators knew something fishy was going on when the autopsy report came back and they learned that the body they found in the car belonged to a woman.

Police eventually found the man, very much alive, and sporting a new hair dye. Molly Daniels was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Twice as Nice.

While most of these schemers are toiling away for one scam, Nicholas Di Puma of New York was boldly forming plans to scam his homeowners insurance and his auto insurance. According to Di Puma, it began when the pans on his stove caught fire, which he tried to put out with a dishrag. When that didn’t work he threw the first pan out of his front door where it landed in the backseat of his convertible. As he was trying to throw the second pan out of the door, he tripped and the pan fell onto his couch.

Local law enforcement saw through his shenanigans quickly and the man received five years of probation, with no insurance benefits. Maybe if he compared auto insurance rates a little bit better, he wouldn’t have gotten himself into the mess he’s currently in.

Many people seem to think of insurance fraud as a victimless crime, or payback for the high premiums they’ve paid for years. However, insurance fraud impacts everyone who pays into insurance; as people make these outlandish claims, it makes premiums soar even higher.

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Employee Retention: 7 Ways To Attract And Keep Top Talent

by Kevin Faber, founder of Silver Summit Capital

In today’s business world, the ongoing battle to increase profit and competitive advantage rages on like never before. But the playing field has become more crowded and leveled out. As a result, more and more organizations are realizing that their greatest assets are their employees. And as the trend of employees changing jobs every three years continues to gain traction, organizations need to do all they can to attract and retain top talent.

Losing a top employee is costly in a number of ways. As The Wall Street Journal points out, “Experts estimate it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement.” But the costs aren’t only monetary. Losing quality employees can damage morale among the employees that remain, causing further workplace attrition down the road.

With so much at stake, managers and organizations need to do a better job at attracting and retaining top talent. And here are seven proven ways to do just that.

1. Provide Fair Compensation.

Pay isn’t the only motivator for today’s job prospects. However, in order to attract top talent it’s essential that your organization offer prospective new hires competitive pay and compensation. Once the hiring takes place, that rule applies within the organizational workforce as well. Employees expect, and should receive, the same pay and benefits as other co-workers who have the same job responsibilities.

2. Recognize a Job Well Done.

Some organizations get so used to their top achievers doing great work that they fail to recognize those achievements. But this can make an employee feel taken for granted, to the point that they start wondering if another company might appreciate them more. Taking the time to recognize a job well done, whether through some ongoing award and reward program, a shout-out on the company’s social media site, or even a personal note of thanks on a Post-It, can go a long way to keeping valued employees on the payroll.

3. Offer Job Flexibility.

Millennials are quickly replacing Baby Boomers in the workforce. And while the latter older demographic was all about job security and a steady paycheck, today’s younger employees are looking for greater job flexibility to help them achieve a healthier work/life balance. For some employees, job flexibility might mean compressed work schedules or offering on-site day care services. Others might picture flexibility as the opportunity to work from home through telecommuting. Remote work is a growing trend. According to FlexJobs, 79 percent of full-time workers would like to work at least part of the time from home. More importantly, 65 percent of employees who work from home report that it makes them more productive.

4. Cultivate a Positive Corporate Culture.

Great employees want to work in a healthy environment where they can collaborate and associate with their co-workers—in and out of the office—and where they feel that leadership and management supports them as they stretch, grow, and even make mistakes. Cultivating this type of positive corporate culture within your organization will help to create happy, fulfilled employees who look forward to coming to work everyday. This will also help to build your organization’s brand in a way that will attract great employees who share your company’s core values and want to be a part of all that that entails. Aetna, Intuit, and Nu Skin are just a few of the many companies that cultivate a corporate culture where employees are empowered to flourish and do their best work.

5. Provide Real Opportunities for Growth.

No employee likes to feel stuck in their job or career, and this is especially true of today’s young high achievers. As a result, it’s absolutely critical to provide genuine and ample opportunities for growth and advancement. This means that managers must be trained to recognize potential and act as coaches and mentors to help top employees set and achieve goals that will improve their skills and advance their careers.

6. Promote Collaboration.

The days of the cubicle workspace are over. Having grown up with technology, today’s younger employees want to work in a company that provides them with tools that promote communication and collaboration. If your organization is still clinging to outdated, intuitive averse technologies, it’s time to invest in technologies that enhance and streamline employee collaboration. The benefits of increased productivity and decreased employee turnover will be worth it.

7. Hire the Right People.

It seems like common sense, but the first step in retaining employees is hiring the right employees in the first place. To that end, The Wall Street Journal offers the following advice, “Interview and vet candidates carefully, not just to ensure they have the right skills but also that they fit well with the company, culture, managers, and co-workers.”

All and all, work to continue to attract and keep top talent happy so they can produce the best work for your business.

 

Kevin Faber has been in the commercial finance and banking industry for most of his professional life. He graduated at UC Davis with a B.A. in Business/Managerial Economics. His experience in credit analysis, finance, and management led him to be the founder of Silver Summit Capital. He enjoys working in the financing industry and building connections with industry leaders.

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