Archives for December 2021

Why Your Website Matters

December 31, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Your website is the window to your business world. It’s your portfolio, a point of purchase, a space for content, connection, and conversions.

So the bottom line is if your website is bad – you’re missing sales.

Businesses large and small are all doing the most to ensure that their website is fast, effective, and a dream to use. Something worth keeping in mind is that even companies with billions behind them can have a website that is awful to use. Working with website design services will give you what you need.

So why does your website matter? Apart from being a shop window – what does it bring?

Photo by Pankaj Patel on Unsplash

Authenticity

Your current customers and those who find your site (because you have great SEO) will learn a lot about your company very quickly. They are looking for a reason to trust you. Your website is a direct reflection of you and your company.

Everything from your Facebook bio to the About page on your website will create a cohesive experience with the same tone of voice.

An authentic experience should be the goal for your website.

Representation

Do you have time to personally introduce people to your products and service one by one? No. but with a website, you can welcome, inform and introduce millions of people to who you are, what you do, and how they can buy it in seconds.

While the user is doing all of the hard work by finding your website and navigating it, your website gives them everything they need.

Your website represents you and what you do without you needing to say a single word.

Easy

Not everyone has the luxury of browsing around a store for hours. Social anxiety, chronic illness, lack of transport, lack of time… there is an endless list of reasons that some of your customers simply can’t get to a land-based store.

What most, if not all, will be able to do is spend hours browsing your website. They can look through your details, read your terms and conditions, look for your other products, and soak it all up – from the comfort of their home.

A website makes the shopping experience as easy as possible – and that cannot be taken for granted.

Brand recognition

Your company’s website is the most powerful expression of your brand, from content and design to user experience. Your website communicates your narrative, presents your items, and gives several chances for buyers to interact with you at various times along the purchase process.

Customers identify good encounters with your brand when providing an exciting and pleasurable online experience.

And finally, one that might not need an entire section is that your website will keep you competitive with other brands both locally and globally. A website allows you to do business on a global level in a way that a brick-and-mortar store just doesn’t.

Your website matters in more ways than you might think, but one this is for sure. You need one. Once you have your website, now what? How To Run A Successful Business Website | Mike McRitchie | “Ageproof” Career.

Keeping Your Worldwide Employees Happy

December 30, 2021 by Katie Conroy Leave a Comment

Virtual companies are popping up everywhere these days. Just as a brick-and-mortar business, it is important to find the right staff and keep them productive and happy to ensure success. Communication, organization and human resource skills are key to managing worldwide employees and can be easily accomplished with online tools and some imagination.

Finding Freelancers

It is reported that by 2028 over 90 million Americans will be a freelancer. Finding talent that suits your business needs can be accomplished through online job boards. Guru.com is one example that allows you to find capable contractors in various countries. For example, if you wanted to hire someone from the Philippines, you can go to https://www.guru.com/d/freelancers/ and enter ‘Philippines’ for the location. You are also able to filter all-time earnings and the number of employers to allow you to sort through various candidates.

The Fiverr job platform is another resource. Here, you are able to sort prospects based on services. If you are looking for a ghostwriter, type that in, and ghostwriters from all over the world will appear. You can sort through rates, job experience, and view portfolio samples and past clients’ reviews and ratings.

Communicating and Organizing

Virtual companies can have successful communication just as brick and mortars that utilize face-to-face meetings. Consider a streamlined communication system like Slack, Zula, or eZTalks Cloud Meeting. Depending on your business needs these platforms can offer integration with other tools and apps to make file sharing and video conferencing easy regardless of location. Using online meetings effectively is important in keeping colleagues involved and productive.

Efficiently handling documents can be accomplished by utilizing a PDF merging tool. This will keep documents all in one file and in one format when multiple people are working together on a project. It saves time in searching for documents, and once all PDF files are combined, you can move PDF pages to get your content in the desired order.

Paying Freelancers

When hiring internationally, remember that wire transfers can be costly to your bottom line. Consider using a low-fee money transfer service like Remitly where you can deposit money directly to the contractor’s bank account. Keeping with the Philippine example, you have the choice of sending payment within minutes using the express option or having the money transferred within three to five business days using the economy option which provides a better transfer rate. If you are sending over $1,001, there are no fees regardless of how you send it.

Keeping Staff Happy

All work and no play makes anybody a grump. Keep your people socially active and involved with their co-workers. Hold contests, enlist social conversation through Yammer, hold monthly luncheons and recognize staff for extra efforts. You can send electronic gift cards for birthdays, holidays, and special thank yous. Consider setting back funds to hold an annual centralized retreat so your staff can personally meet and work together face-to-face.

A monthly newsletter can be a fun tool to keep everyone engaged and current on various departments. Have staff participate in articles to maintain a sense of belonging.

You can run a successful online business with the right tools. Finding the right freelancers that fit your company, maintaining professional and efficient communication, and using your imagination to engage and recognize your staff will produce a successful worldwide virtual company.

For more marketing, business, and career-related content, visit Mike McRitchie’s blog.

4 Things You DON’T Need to Start a Business

December 29, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

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You might be sitting there with a great idea for a business that you know people will love, but you’re too scared to actually do anything about it because you don’t have this or that thing that you just KNOW you will need to turn your great idea into a successful company.

Well, you know what? Chances are you will need much less than you think to make your business a success. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the following things you don’t need to start running your own company right now:

1. An office space

You might think that, in order to run your own business, you need your own dedicated office space in a fancy office building or maybe your own store, but that is really not true, Thanks to the internet and modern technology, you can start a company from your spare bedroom, kitchen or even garage right now. Once you have the money coming in, you can then think about upgrading to a more professional premises if you desire to do so.

2. A business degree

Sure, it couldn’t hurt to have a degree in business studies or similar, but many of the most innovative and successful entrepreneurs of all time did not even finish high school, and with resources like Fox Sales Legends, which teach you the skills you need to start an online business from scratch, it is of even less importance, if you have an idea and a desire to excel then you absolutely can degree or no degree.

3. A professional business plan

Okay, so if you’re planning on seeking a formal business loan, you undoubtedly will need a professional business plan, but if you plan to bootstrap your business using what little savings you have and your existing skills, then you really don’t need to have a formal business plan in place. Sure, you’ll want to have a rough idea of what you’re going to do and how viable your company is, but you need not spend vast amounts of time and resources on it.

4. Employees

When you’re just starting out, you might think that you will need employees to help you with things like bookkeeping or customer services, but when your business is tiny you can get by doing most of it yourself with help from automated apps like QuickBooks and maybe the odd freelancer worker should there be a task you really cannot manage yourself, You absolutely do not have to invest in staff before you’ve even made your first sale, let alone any profit to speak of. In fact, unless you have a huge contingency fund behind you, it is probably not a very good idea to do so!

As you can see, if you have a good idea, you almost do not need anything else to get started, so don’t delay and start working on your great new business idea right now because there will never be a better time to do so!

4 Tips Small Business Owners Should Learn

December 29, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

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The rules of the game for being a small business owner tend to change year by year. There’s no doubt about it that nowadays business owners need to be able to adapt and adapt quickly. Businesses are constantly looking into ways that they can appease their customers. This can include hopping onto trends, trying to be trendsetting, going against the grain and showing their beliefs, or thinking outside the box with marketing.

Nowadays, businesses need to show how they’re different from their competitors so they can continue growing. Any business owner should always be open to learning. Always being willing to learn will allow them to avoid mistakes that many other business owners have made, and it also allows them to get the upper hand as well. These are some helpful tips that any small business owner can learn from.

Be open to automation

Work smarter, not harder. That’s the beauty of modern-day technology, you can still have a very effective business without having to overwork yourself or your staff. Nowadays more and more businesses are turning towards automation, and it’s something that you should fully embrace as well. One great example would be automating marketing content such as newsletters or social media. Why go through all the trouble and effort of posting each day when helpful scheduling tools can do that for you? Automation software and platforms are a business owner’s best friend, they can save you a lot of time and stress.

Look into consulting

Consulting is more than just giving helpful advice, this even includes gips consulting. Consultants can help business owners find weak spots in their business, this even includes spending. Then the consultant will think of creative solutions and methods in these weak areas to help the business out. This can even include doing research for low sales by doing research. Consultants do a lot, and it’s a great service that no business owner should look over.

Trends aren’t always good

There’s a lot of preaching that when it comes to marketing, a business should try to hope on as many trends as they can. But why? Sure, sometimes it can be helpful. But you can’t expect your business to keep up with every trend, our fast paced society and low attention spans make it where trends die off within a matter of days, not weeks or months, but days. You can even try being the trendsetter. But don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, you have your own business and your business is one of a kind.

Your customers make your business

If you treat your customers wrong, words will spread and it can be detrimental to your business. Unfortunately, many businesses and business owners believe that they’re invincible. You should never put in the bare minimum for your clients. You should try to go above and beyond when you can. You want customer loyalty, not a bunch of enemies. Always be open to learning from mistakes, improve your customer service. If you mistreat your customers, they can and will turn to another business to get what they want. So if you want a business to thrive and grow just remember that you must respect your customers.

Essential Steps in Growing Your Medical Private Practice

December 24, 2021 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

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The medical industry is ever-growing. In addition, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a demand for more hospitals due to the influx of patients. As more people become eligible for health insurance cover, it is essential to provide medical services that meet your patients’ needs.

Here are a few practical steps to consider to grow your medical practice.

Update Technology

As mentioned, the medical sector is ever-evolving. Medical systems are continually shifting to more technologically advanced equipment. You should board the wagon as well.

Improve your patient engagement by using ‘patient portals.’ This makes it easier for your patients to access lab results and prescriptions without leaving their houses.

The update applies to your medical equipment as well. It is best to work with reliable and up-to-date companies to supply your medical equipment, such as Spectrum Plastics.

You can also consider implementing medical imaging software development in your practice to upgrade the “brains” of the operation. While having advanced equipment is great, giving it the ability to think for itself may improve patient outcomes even more. Artificial intelligence is currently revolutionising the way people view the world and what they think is possible. And it’s coming to a clinic near you.

Once your patients see that you are updated with the latest technology, they will give a good word to family or friends.

Get Active on Social Media

Do not underestimate the power of social media. According to statistics, approximately 4.48 billion people use social media globally. You can leverage this statistic and market your services on social media platforms.

Since Facebook is a widely used platform, you can build your online presence and encourage your patients to follow you.

You can use your social media sites to provide medical advice on wellness and offer lifestyle tips.

Grow Reputation

Since the medical industry is advancing, quacks emerge claiming to offer medical care. Therefore, you must separate yourself from this lot. A fundamental way to do this is through building your brand and growing your reputation.

As you offer satisfactory medical services, you can encourage your patients to leave a review on your site. The more positive reviews you receive, the higher the chances of acquiring new patients.

A great place to start is to speak to your long-term clients. Have them write an online review about your service. It is also essential to consider negative feedback. You can use this as a learning point to improve your business.

Foster Potential Patient Engagement

As a medical doctor, it is essential to also get in touch with your community. For example, you can participate in various charitable events or fundraising within your locality. This increases your potential patients’ confidence in your service.

A simple charity event will go a long way in attracting more patients. In addition, you can also consider offering free services for common health issues such as cancer screening. This action acquaints patients with the type of services you offer.

Meet the Growing Demand

It always helps to be prepared to meet the growing number of patients. Therefore, it would be best to plan by hiring adequate staff and having sufficient medical supplies.

As you grow your practice, hiring dedicated staff such as pediatricians or ENT specialists is also essential. After all, you can’t attend to each patient yourself.

Conclusion

Good health is a fundamental right for everyone. You should ensure that your practice complies with the health regulations. Always aim to provide exceptional health services to your patients.