Is Your Company’s Bench Deep Enough During Difficult Times?

by Bill Higgs, author of “Culture Code Champions: 7 Steps To Scale & Succeed In Your Business“

In the uncertain times that the coronavirus produced, business leaders were forced to face the fact that employees might not be available every day to do their jobs – either because of their own health concerns or because they were scrambling to make childcare arrangements because of school closings.

And, as the economy takes a hit, some businesses may even need to downsize, leaving the remaining workers to take on duties they are unprepared for and weren’t hired to carry out.

That’s one reason why it’s always a good idea to cross-train employees, allowing someone else to step in when circumstances necessitate it. Ultimately, you want everyone who works for you to broaden their knowledge and expand the scope of what they normally do.

The result is a more efficient and productive workplace.

In my younger days, I was an Army Ranger, where the need to cross-train was inescapable. If you are on a critical military mission and someone goes down, another Ranger needs to take over that person’s duties. Otherwise, the mission would be scrapped.

The average business day may not be as severely distressing as a military mission, but just as in the military, cross-training comes with benefits. It prevents mistakes. It improves accuracy. It saves time. It saves money.

And each additional duty an employee can take on during uncertain times could make the difference on whether a project or order is completed on time, and whether missed deadlines leave customers unhappy, costing the business money – or even leading to it going out of business.

Some business leaders may say they just can’t work in the time for cross-training because they and their employees are too busy. They probably are busy, but it needs to be a priority and they need to figure out a way to find the time. We’re probably seeing right now just how important it can be.

A few suggestions he has for working cross-training in to harried schedules include:

Make use of downtime.

Few people are busy every minute, so take advantage of any downtime to slip in cross-training. That way no one is just sitting around waiting for the next project. At Mustang, for example, if an instrument engineer’s work slowed down, then we moved him or her over to automation or some other functional area that was related to, but slightly different from, the person’s regular job.

Schedule time.

I’m skeptical when people tell me they don’t have any downtime, but let’s assume that’s so. Then I recommend you set aside time specifically dedicated to cross-training. It’s that important. Figure out who you need to cross-train, and find the areas of your business where cross-training will pay off the most.

Implement “lunch-and-learns.”

Nearly everyone eats lunch or takes a break at mid-day, and that’s a great time to set up some lunch-and-learn times when someone in the company can teach others about what they do. At Mustang, we even had vendors come in and talk about their products and services.

An added bonus to cross-training is people who don’t normally interact are brought together and develop a better appreciation for what others do. That helps to create an even greater sense of team throughout the organization, which is especially important during difficult times like these when everyone needs to pull together.

 

Bill Higgs, an authority on corporate culture, is author of “Culture Code Champions: 7 Steps To Scale & Succeed In Your Business“. He recently launched the Culture Code Champions podcast. Higgs is also retired CEO of Mustang Engineering Inc., which he and two partners started in 1987 to design and build offshore oil platforms. Over the next 20 years, they grew the company from their initial $15,000 investment and three people to a billion-dollar company with 6,500 people worldwide; since then, it has grown to a $2 billion company with more than 12,000 people.

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Things You Should Know Before Freelancing

These days, more and more people are freelancing. Some might have gotten into it by accident while between regular jobs while others made a conscious decision to start their own freelancing business. This is definitely challenging but can be very rewarding at the end of the day.

If you are considering freelancing, it’s important to know a few things first.

Success Takes Time.

Freelancing is not an overnight success. You will not see the money pouring in immediately after you have established yourself as a freelancer. Just like with any other type of work, it takes time to build up your success and see the money pouring in. There are many details that go into being a freelancer that determine how long it might take to reach that point, even if you already have impressive skills in your chosen field. The bottom line is that you should always give yourself at least a good three months before you expect to see truly positive results from your work.

Being Your Own Boss is Hard.

While you might think it’s easy, being your own boss is anything but that. Most people are fairly lousy bosses when they are freelancers who work for themselves. It’s difficult and you might not be as disciplined as you think. Additionally, there are certain things you might have issues with as your own boss. For instance, you might not stop to take a lunch break, take time off, take a much-needed vacation or even know when to stop working. You may also have an issue with not knowing how much money you may earn or how much you can afford to spend as a freelancer.

Expensive Office Space is Unnecessary.

Overall, when you start your freelancing or have already established yourself as a freelancer, you don’t have to go all out and spend a lot of money on office space or even equipment unless you really need the latter. Clients only care that you provide quality services. You can simply work from your own home office or even a specific space like your living room or bedroom.

You Should Expect Droughts.

It’s important to be aware that freelancing does not guarantee a regular, steady salary. There will be moments when work will be scarce and you won’t have work to do and income to earn. Unfortunately, this is normal in the life of a freelancer. You should always be prepared for times like that and look toward your savings account to cover your expenses. As a general rule, you should have at least three months’ worth of money on which to rely in case of an unexpected emergency. If you don’t have ample savings, you will want to do your research on alternative funding sources, such as credit cards or direct lenders online, which may help you weather the storm following an unexpected emergency.

Clients Won’t Always Pay on Time.

Unfortunately, another normal part of freelancing is that many clients won’t pay on time. In the daily life of an average freelancer, you might wait several days before a client pays you for your work. As a result, it’s important to have a contingency plan in place for just such a situation.

When you create your invoices for your clients, you should add in clear and concise payment terms. Generally speaking, the standard for this should be 30 days. You may also begin charging interest from your clients once they have passed the 30 day limit for paying you for your work. You should know that the law is on your side as a professional freelancer. These are in place to protect you.

If you have larger projects that you are having difficulty getting paid for, you might want to consider charging deposits upfront. From there, you can set up a payment schedule to recover the remainder of what your client owes. This can lower the risk that you don’t get paid at all.

These are all important things to know before committing to freelancing. Once you know what to expect, being a professional freelancer is easier.

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To-Do List For Developing An Effective Online Course

From earning a degree to taking the next big leap towards the career, there are many reasons why people study. No matter why they choose to do it, learning offers a lot, helping you to achieve your goals in a career. The traditional approach to education cannot fulfil the modern-day requirements. The lectures provided in the classroom remain limited to the students available in the classroom.

However, with constant technological advancements over the past few years, educational space has come across a considerable shift. Today, students are largely inclined towards online courses. Both online courses and online course development have made a massive impact on the education industry. Everyone gets the opportunity to avail engaging means to pursue their desired course. You will find it really interesting to know what makes these online courses so successful. Let’s dig in further!

Easy Accessibility.

It is a wide-known fact that people, due to their personal or professional commitments, are unable to take certain courses. In such cases, online courses are an appropriate option as it affords them people with the opportunity to learn from the comfort of their home.

Interactivity.

Online courses are engaging and interactive as compared to conventional counterparts. Seminars, video, and audio support and presentations, quizzes, discussion boards, etc. are used in online courses. These provide students with a personalized learning experience, unlike textbook courses. Leading VR training companies are offering their broad range of services to ensure interactivity between the learners and instructors.

Things To Consider While Developing An Online Course.

With the diligent development efforts of online course developers, online education and its solutions have evolved as a flexible way to study. Let’s have a look at the different factors to consider when developing an online course.

Devise A Clear And Concise Content Strategy.

A comprehensive program content is the first step in developing online courses. Ignoring this may lead to the overemphasis of some points and the understating of certain others in the online course, irrespective of how good the subject matter is crafted. It enables you to understand your learners and their distinctive requirements. Consequently, it helps you to design the course content that revolves around providing your learners with what they need to know.

Schedule The Duration of Course.

Setting the course duration is another good practice along with the aforementioned. Keep the learners continuously engaged by delivering the content in comprehensible chunks. Ensure that your training module is no longer than 30 minutes. Such practices will enable you to set expectations in line with the attention span of your learners.

Use real-Life Scenarios.

Cognitive theory states that a vantage point makes any learning possible as it has a predefined model that facilitates the learners with more natural retention of information. Using real-life scenarios in your training material enables your learners to understand new information related to familiar situations. This further improves the level of knowledge retention.

Understand Your Learner’s Preferences.

As a good practice, you must ascertain your learner’s preferences during the development of an online course. By understanding your learner’s learning preferences, you can deliver an excellent online learning experience to your learners.

Take Feedback And Conduct Assessments.

Including feedback is one of the most contemporary features that you can employ while developing an online course. You can assess learners’ knowledge of how much they have gained at different stages of the course. Implement assignments, quizzes, and more. Share your feedback immediately after the assessment of every test. This way, learners can make necessary changes and develop further learning.

In Conclusion.

The strategies listed here hopefully gives you a good idea for the creation of online courses. When appropriately followed, it will undoubtedly reap significant benefits for both the trainers and learners.

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Using Your Business To Give Back To Your Community

One of the great things about running a business is that it allows you to give back to your community in so many different ways. This means that you not only get to generate a profit for yourself, but you can help out those around you and allow them to share in your success. If you’re running your own business, you may be wondering how you can use it to give back to your community.

Below are just a few methods that you can try:

Hire Locally.

An easy way to give back to your community through your business is by hiring locally. No matter where your business is located, there are likely people in that area that could use a job. When hiring, you should make your preference for people who live nearby. This will help your business to have stronger ties to the community and you’ll have employees who all live close to their job. No one likes to commute far to work, so your employees will be happier landing a job in their hometown rather than somewhere an hour away.

You can hire locally even if your business is conducted entirely online. Local doesn’t have to mean within a 1-mile radius when you’re operating online – it can simply mean within your city, state or even country. For example, rather than outsourcing some of your services to workers in other countries, you can hire locally by getting people from the United States. There are many things you can outsource in your business, but try to focus on sending that work to people as near to you as possible.

Provide Decent Wages and Benefits.

Hiring locally is a good start, but you should also ensure that you are providing those employees with decent wages and benefits. While there is a minimum wage across the country, that doesn’t mean that’s how much you need to pay. Offering employees competitive salaries will not only make their lives easier, but it will make your business an attractive place to work.

When you provide decent wages and benefits to your employees, you may also set off a chain reaction in your area. For instance, other local businesses in your area may see what you are paying your employees and raise their wages as a result. Now you have the people in your area earning more money, which means they have more money to spend at your business. Of course, every business is different, so you may not be able to pay your employees as much as you’d like. You should still take the time to do the math and figure out what the maximum amount you can pay your employees is while still turning a profit.

Produce Your Goods Locally.

Depending on your type of business, you may have products that need to get made. It’s often cheaper to outsource this operation overseas, but this doesn’t allow you to support your community. Instead, you should look for ways to produce your goods locally. Customers love when their items come with a tag that says “Made in the USA”, whether it’s union made clothing, furniture or automobiles. This benefit may even come to outweigh any additional costs you incur from producing locally. So, look to see what production options are available near you and focus on producing your goods as close to home as you can.

Support Local Organizations.

A great way to give back to your community through your business is by supporting local organizations. For instance, there may be some children’s sports leagues that could use some funding. By contributing to these organizations, you not only get to support great local causes, but you get to improve your brand’s reputation. Neighbors who see your business’s name on youth baseball uniforms are much more likely to become customers.

Host or Sponsor Charity Events.

Along similar lines, you can also get your business involved with different charities. If there’s a cause you care about in your local area, see if they could use some financial assistance. If you’re unable to provide financial help, see if there are other ways you can contribute. For example, maybe the charity is looking for a place to host their next event, and you could offer them your office space after hours. Another option is to provide a stack of discount cards to the charity that they can give out at their next event. There are several ways that your business can assist local charities – contact an organization that interests you and offer your help.

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How To Spread The Word About Your First Business

Spreading the word about your business is vital to enable you to create a constant stream of customers and to generate a buzz around your company within its first few weeks of opening. However, if you are starting a business for the first time, letting everyone know that you are open for business can be daunting.

This guide will take you through some of the easiest ways that your company can become a permanent mark on the landscape before long.

Become Part of the Community.

If you decide to open a physical store or another real-world location, it is paramount that you choose to integrate your business with the community that you are hoping to garner the support of.

Most communities across the country are willing to aid and support small businesses in their area to allow them to continue to thrive. To catch the attention of your whole community and ensure that the news of your opening spreads like wildfire, you should choose to attend community events, such as local fairs, or become a sponsor for events and celebrations in your area.

Contact the Press.

Not only do 69% of the US population still read the newspaper, but most press outlets have e-magazines and social media pages where they can post and share articles. Then, to communicate with a broader audience, you should consider contacting your local press office. If the story that you pitch appeals to them, they may be able to conduct an interview or feature piece in conjunction with your wishes that can be read or watched by thousands of residents. Press outlets are also likely to be interested in any launch events that you host, as these can generate buzz and make your business a hive of activity during the first few days of your opening.

Attend Trade Shows.

If your business appeals to a professional audience or is a B2B business, you might also consider attending trade shows to put your stamp on the market and allow other vendors to hear about your business and the products that you offer. This is the perfect time to make direct sales, as well as to give out business cards with all your information, which could generate leads that may later develop into regular custom. Trade shows also allow you to showcase your products and to create memorable display stands that will enable your business to speak directly to potential customers.

Pin Banners Everywhere.

To garner attention around your local town and further afield, or to simply help your online business to make a statement in the real world, you should consider pinning promotional banners everywhere that you can. As well as using window fronts and billboard space, you should consider investing in large format banner printing. Banner printing creates attention-grabbing visual displays that can instantly arrest the interest of a passing audience, even at a great distance.

Utilize the Internet’s Potential.

However, it is not just in the real world that you can promote your new company and ensure that it gets the custom that it deserves. Instead, harnessing the internet’s full potential will help a much more significant portion of your target audience to find out about your business. If you want to spread the word online, you should create a social media account to create viral posts. You may also consider joining online networking platforms, such as LinkedIn, where other professionals can hear about and connect with your company. Additionally, you can use SEO to help your business to appear at the top of specific search results, and invest in PPC advertising to allow potential customers to see your carefully curated advertisements.

Network with Other People.

However, there is no better way to spread the word about your business than through connecting directly with other people in a face-to-face capacity. One of the best ways that you can do this is through joining networking groups or professional online meeting groups, which you can often find on websites such as Meetup. By finding a networking group near you, you can share information about your business through talks and presentations, hand out your business card to others, and gain referrals.

Create a Referral Scheme.

To ensure that the word about your business continues to travel exponentially, you should consider enacting a referral scheme that can send customers back to your business and allow you to get one or more customers for every single customer that joins the scheme. You can start a referral scheme by offering a discount or free product in exchange for your original customer spreading the word about your business. Then, when a new customer buys an item using the original customer’s details, the original customer will be able to receive the benefit that has been promised to them.

Send Out Newsletters.

However, you do not only want to spread the word about the initial opening of your business. Instead, you want to make sure that customers can follow all your latest developments, including changes to your opening or delivery times, as well as information about the new products that you have on offer. This newsletter can be in a paper or digital format, and it should read remind old customers about your business and encourage them to return shortly. You can entice people to sign up for your newsletter by offering a small discount in exchange for their email or postal address.

Give Promotional Freebies.

To spread the word about the quality of your products and create a constant reminder of your business for potential customers, you should consider giving away promotional freebies in your local town, outside your store, or in a crowded shopping space. This allows people to try out your products, which will pique interest in your brand and the products that you offer, rather than leaving them to spend their money on a brand which they do not recognize. This also increases the likelihood that they will recommend your business online or through word-of-mouth.

Put Your Logo on Everything.

It is not good enough to simply put your logo on your webpage or above your shop door. Instead, you need to ensure that your logo design is placed upon all of your business items, whether that is packaging, your van, your employee’s uniform, or even t-shirts that advertise your company. This will allow your customers to promote your company to others simply by walking around the streets of your local town.

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The Development Of Blockchain: Creating Opportunities For Accountants

Blockchain is an accounting technology. It enables the transfer of ownership of assets and maintains an accurate ledger of financial information. So, accountants need to understand Blockchain technology and keep up-to-date with the latest innovative developments if they want to stay on top of their game and be prepared for the changes and opportunities Blockchain brings.

Read on to find out more about the development of Blockchain and how it is creating opportunities for accountants.

The Role of Accountants Will Change.

Seeing as Blockchain can replace bookkeeping and reconciliation work, you may think flesh-and-blood accountants will soon be out of a job. But the truth is there will be more opportunities for accountants in the future. Only, the role of accountants is changing. However, there will still be a need for professionals like Certified Public Accountants in the accountancy industry. And CPAs will still be the most qualified and respected accountants out there because they have to pass the four sections of the rigorous CPA exam before they can become eligible to work as CPAs.

Learning More About Blockchain.

To discover what Blockchain means for the accounting profession, it is highly advisable you read up on Blockchain technology as much as you can. You could enroll in a Blockchain course, but studying books about Blockchain is a much less expensive option. Reading Blockchain books is a fantastic way to learn the ins and outs of Blockchain. In a relatively short space of time, you will drastically improve your knowledge and skills. The only problem is there are lots of books about Blockchain on the market, so you need to find the best and most accurate ones. To help you get started, check out these top Blockchain books that are most-recommended by Blockchain professionals.

Blockchain’s Positive Impact on the Accounting Industry.

The accounting industry has the ability to change for the better with Blockchain technology. Blockchain has the potential to reduce the costs of maintaining and reconciling ledgers and provide certainty regarding the ownership of historical assets. Also, Blockchain could help accountants to gain clarity about the resources and obligations of organizations. In turn, that enables accountants to concentrate on other essential tasks, like planning, valuation, and recordkeeping. Ultimately, Blockchain could dramatically enhance efficiency.

As well as eliminating reconciliations and providing certainty regarding transaction history, Blockchain enables growth in the scope of the accounting industry, by bringing more elements into consideration that were previously too unreliable or complex to measure, such as the value of a company’s data.

How Blockchain Is Creating Opportunities for Accountants.

Before Blockchain can become an integral part of the financial system, it must be developed, standardized, and optimized more. But it looks like it will be several years before that comes to fruition because although there are lots of Blockchain applications and startups in the field, there are few who have gone beyond the proof of concept or pilot stage.

Moving to a financial system with a significant Blockchain element will provide many opportunities for accountants. Indeed, because accountancy professionals are experts in record keeping, business logic, and the application of complex rules, they have the opportunity to guide and influence how Blockchain is used and embedded in the future. Crafting regulations and standards for Blockchain is no small challenge, but accountants can bring their expertise to the work that is being performed.

Another opportunity for accountants is an advisory capacity, working for companies who are considering joining Blockchain. With a combination of business and financial expertise, accountants can become key advisers to firms that are looking to implement new Blockchain technologies.

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5 Types Of Visual Marketing Content Every Growing Business Needs

by Erin McCoy, director of content marketing and public relations at Killer Visual Strategies

When 96 percent of people have viewed a branded explainer video, it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in — visual content is a crucial way to reach your audiences.

Videos, GIFs, and other visuals from Instagram stories to Snaps are driving the way we communicate on a daily basis. And that means that customers are demanding the same type of visual communication from brands.

What’s more, stock images and icons are no longer enough: they don’t just fail to represent your brand, they can even misrepresent it. And marketers can attest that custom-designed visual content performs better: 40.2% told Venngage that original graphics such as infographics perform best, with just 12.5% attesting that stock images were most effective.

Still, it can be hard to know what types of content to produce, and how each can help you achieve your goals. Let’s take a look at your options.

Motion Graphics & Video.

With more than four-fifths of all internet traffic driven by video, motion graphics and video content are an essential tool for any brand. In fact, 87 percent of people want to see more branded videos.

What video-based medium is right for you? If your industry lends itself naturally to live-action video, go for it! Or opt to overlay animated data visualizations, labels, illustrations, and more to help viewers understand and interpret what they’re seeing.

A fully animated motion graphic is another great option. Animation can bring any story to life, including stories that can’t always be caught on film: how you developed a new type of software, or the ways in which your company is revolutionizing medicine.

Social-Media Micronarratives. 

Motion graphics and videos can be cut up or repurposed into bite-sized GIFs for sharing across social media channels. But they’re not the only type of visual content that’s right for social. Posts with visual content are proven to boost engagement and sharing for brands.

So whether you’re looking to drive traffic to a new ebook or sharing an infographic online, use mini-infographics, data visualizations, standalone illustrations, and other types of social-media micronarratives to drive success for your brand.

Visual eBooks & White Papers.

Gated content is great for building your list of potential customers. But you need to offer them something of quality. Giving them a text-heavy reading assignment will leave most people pretty disappointed — and unlikely to share and recommend that content.

That’s why all ebooks and white papers today should be visually driven. And that doesn’t mean just including data visualizations here and there — though you absolutely should. Visual ebooks and white papers can include everything from custom icons to illustrations and charts.  

Visual Annual & Financial Reports.

More and more organizations are opting to make their annual reports and financial reports just as visual as their ebooks. That’s because, even if you’re only sharing that content internally, your employees are just as attracted to visual-first content as your customers!

Visualizing key data and metrics can help your organization recognize patterns and business opportunities. That’s why, for many companies, making their reports visual is no longer a choice — it’s a must.

Interactive Infographics & Sites.

Interactive sites, widgets, and infographics boast a stunning 70-percent conversion rate. That’s because they incorporate clickable and reactive elements that encourage the user to engage with the content in multiple ways. An interactive graph allows people to see precise numbers; a clickable map helps them delve deeper into the data at the state or local level. They can explore what interests them most and ignore the rest. The result is content that feels personalized to them.

These are just a few types of content that your business can use to drive content marketing success and build brand equity.

 

Erin McCoy is director of content marketing and public relations at Killer Visual Strategies. She holds 2 master’s degrees from the University of Washington: an MFA in creative writing and an MA in Hispanic studies. She has won nearly 2 dozen awards in photojournalism, and has dedicated those skills to boosting Killer’s brand recognition and thought leadership in visual communication.

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