Archives for January 2022

Essentials you Need to Start a Business

January 9, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Starting a business can be exciting, but it’s also filled with difficult decisions and challenges. You have to make tough choices about who you hire, what products you sell, what the company name should be, and more. If you want to launch your business successfully, here are five essentials that will improve your chances of success tenfold.

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Identify Your Target Market

Before launching your business, you need to understand your target market clearly. Who will you be selling your products and services to? There are several ways to find out who your target market is. If you already have a product idea, you can conduct a survey or poll potential customers to find out what they want.

A survey can help you narrow down your target market to people who have expressed interest in your product or service. Another option is identifying potential customers through demographics, such as age groups, income levels, and location.

If you are launching a brick-and-mortar business, then physical location could be an essential factor as well.

Hire The Right People

In addition to selling your products and services, the people who work for you will also help with marketing efforts, customer service and customer relations, inventory management, pricing strategies, bookkeeping tasks, etc. There’s a saying in business: “People are your most valuable asset.”

That is certainly true in the vast majority of cases. You can have the most incredible idea in the world, but without a team to bring that idea to life, you’re going nowhere. Many entrepreneurs fail because they never bother to hire good people and work way too hard themselves.

Create Your Sales Funnel

This might be the most important tip of all: don’t set up your business like a lemonade stand. If you don’t understand the value of a sales funnel, you might be better off selling your products and services on Amazon or eBay. A sales funnel is a series of steps that lead your potential customers to make a purchase decision. Ideally, you design your sales funnel to get prospects to take the next step toward purchasing your product by supplying them with information about buying from your business. If they like what they hear, they move onward to the next step in the process.

Business Mentorship

One of the best ways to raise your company’s visibility and credibility is by placing your business in a positive presence. Suppose you’re running a small business and have no network of business professionals working for you.

In that case, you probably aren’t getting the exposure that would cause people to learn about your product or service. You will go a long way toward raising your company’s visibility by getting mentorship from a professional such as Jonathan Dax Cooke. It will also make you more likely to succeed.

Create and Promote a Brand

Businesses are not just about products and services; they’re also about brands. Your brand is your reputation as a business, and it’s what sets you apart from everyone else in your industry.

Whether it’s through an innovative product idea or by doing something that people have never seen before, your brand is what makes you stand out. That’s why you need to plan, nurture, and protect your branding needs carefully. If you don’t have a brand, it’s time to start developing one right away.

Summing Up

Starting and growing a business involves a lot of moving parts. It’s not easy and requires a great deal of effort. The above are some of the questions you should ask yourself before starting your business. You will be glad you did. Once you meet these five essentials, you will exponentially increase your chances of early success.

Here’s a Guide to Securing Your Business Digitally

January 9, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If there is one thing that threatens the stability and security of your company in present times, it has to be a data breach. Data breaches happen every day and can cost your company a lot of money and your reputation. If you have no idea where to start when securing your business digitally, here is a guide on how to go about it.

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Find the loopholes

No matter how safe and secure you think your data is, there will be certain loopholes that make your data vulnerable. The only way to deal with these loopholes is to run diagnostic checks. Ensure your technicians are always on the lookout for any chance that your data might get compromised. It also helps to set up enough firewalls so malicious activities will get flagged in good time.

Get secure storage

Another area where your data might get compromised has to be when you finally store it. Most companies that offer storage packages have really weak security systems. Look out for genuine companies like Innogrit Corporation that will look after your data well. A good data storage system stores your data in an encrypted format. That way, in case of a breach, one will not be able to access the information on your data.

Get stronger passwords

If you are working with a large group of employees, there is a chance one to two of them might not be using strong passwords. They can be the reason why your system is susceptible to an attack. The best way to deal with this is to get a team of managers to monitor the passwords you use. They can then change your passwords and those of your staff after some time. That way, if anyone has the habit of setting an easy password, your password engineers will take care of it.

Use a VPN when accessing your company website or email

Another way you might be compromising the safety of your company’s data is not using a secure internet connection when accessing it. If you are in a public place and using their WIFI, it is best to use a VPN. You can use VPN so no one can track your activity when you are in public. The other thing that would also really help would be avoiding using public WIFI when accessing your emails.

Work with a credible service provider

The other thing that might work against you would be getting internet and storage services from shady providers. Do thorough research on whoever comes in contact with your data just so you are sure of their credibility. That is the only way to be sure that you are dealing with an honest person. If the company you subcontract has had an issue with other people’s data, stay clear of them. It will have you from experiencing huge issues later on.Running a business in this digital era can be daunting at times. The one thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with how cyber threats impact your business. It will help you be keen, and you will not make simple costly mistakes that impact your business.

Effective Ways To Keep Your Employees Motivated

January 9, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

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If you want to manage your business efficiently and ensure it succeeds, you will have to consider the well-being of your employees. But keeping your employees motivated and productive takes a little extra work.

Read on to learn a few straightforward and remarkable ways to keep your employees motivated and boost the productivity of your business.

Regular Team Building and Meetings

A company that works together is highly likely to win together. Therefore, as a business manager, you should always encourage employees to work together on projects, especially the most challenging ones.

Working together is an excellent way to source ideas and get diverse perspectives on a problem. Additionally, working together should not start and end in the office.

Foster friendships in the workplace through team-building events and activities. Team building activities will be a good time for forming strong bonds with them, knowing them personally, and understanding their different personalities and characters. You can also go ahead and encourage having meals together in the office. Get even more creative with it by including Asian sauces and other exotic dishes on the menu.

Invest In Your Workplace Aesthetics

The culture you cultivate in your business and the surrounding you select plays an essential role in attracting, retaining, and enhancing the productivity of your employees. Therefore, it is crucial to design an office space that is easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and inspiring.

Make the spaces large enough, free from noise and other distractions such as clutter and smoke. When designing the workspace, use cool colors and arrange stations to promote creativity and collaboration. Add a few motivation quotes at strategic positions and a few office plants.

Even better, hire an interior design professional to do the task for you and save on time.

Reward Small Wins

Everyone loves to be appreciated, and the same applies to your employees. Therefore it is important to take note of their efforts and reward them every time they do something excellent.

For example, if employees in your marketing department carried out a campaign that successfully increased sales, congratulate and award them and let the other employees know of their achievement.

As a result, this will boost their confidence and make them feel that their efforts are seen and appreciated. It will also motivate the other staff members to do better and get rewards for their exemplary work.

Encourage Open Communication

Communication in the workplace is more than briefings and workshops. It is also about listening to the grievances of your employees and operating from the same page.

It should be built on trust to allow your employees to talk freely and be aware that their actions affect the well-being of the business. Communicate your business goals to your employees, your expectations, and allow them also to add what they expect from you as their employer.

Making your interactions with them honest and open will promote accountability and make it easy for them to let you know of any issues or challenges they may be experiencing.

Conclusion

A motivated workforce means less stress for you as the employer and huge milestones for your business. Identify the things that matter most to your employees, and nurture them effectively with the tips on this list.

How To Find The Job Of Your Dreams

January 7, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

In life, we all have to work. Some can get by with a few hours here and there, and some have to put in real grueling shifts in order to get back. The fact is, we all have to keep ourselves useful. If you’re in a dead-end job and you’d like to get out of it, then you’re going to be in the same camp as so many others. While there are jobs that just simply need to be done in order to keep business/society running, there is ample opportunity for you to find the perfect placement.

It may sound like a fantasy, but you really can go and find the perfect job for yourself. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that you make a very handsome living doing what you absolutely love. How can you find this kind of thing? Well, here are five things to take in:

List Down Everything You’re Passionate About

We’ll start with something pretty simple. If you can literally grab a pen (or open a word processor) and write out everything you love doing and even love thinking about. Get it all out there and make it real so that it doesn’t just remain a concept in your mind. When you write them down, you may be able to brainstorm and piece together different ideas.

Do The Same For Things You Really Wish To Avoid

Now you have to do the opposite. Just list down what you absolutely do NOT want to do. The whole idea of this is to put together the perfect career for you piece by piece. You may not figure it out straight away, but you’ll get there if you stick at it.

Never Stop Learning

You should never ever cease figuring out new things. This is due to the fact that your brain needs to be exercised and because society is always evolving. Things change quickly. You’ll also want to make sure that you’re constantly learning because it may help you find something you’re passionate about. Whether you are applying a semi permanent mold release agent to a piece of equipment one day or you’re figuring out how to use a particular piece of software, you may be triggered into loving something new.

Take A Look At Some Of The Whacky Job Titles Around

Understand that there are so many different kinds of jobs out there. You are all kinds of ridiculous job titles, so there’s no need to panic when it comes to finding something that might just be perfect for you.

Understand That You Can Literally Do It If You Put Your Mind To It

This might sound like a stretch because there are so many different challenges we all face, but you have to adopt the mentality that you can achieve what you set out. If you don’t think this way, you’re going to be beaten before you even start. All of the most successful people in the world are just ordinary people like yourself and those you walk past every single day. Nobody’s special, they just put in the work and have a few things go in their favor from time to time!

Your Rights When You Terminate Your Employment

January 6, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

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People leave their jobs for a myriad of reasons, but in many cases, the primary reason is to move on to a better employer. On the global scale, 41% of workers have already contemplated or taken proactive steps to leave their current jobs for another that provides fulfillment. Whether you leave your job or were laid off, there are some rights you are still entitled to with your former employer until the needful is done. Below are a few examples.

Payment of outstanding wages, claims, and compensations

Whether you resigned from the job or were a victim of redundancy, your employer is responsible for fulfilling all outstanding payments due to you. This includes your last salary for the month, severance package, and any unresolved injury claims or compensation. Especially regarding injury claims, it will be necessary to seek an experienced attorney in your specific case.

Assuming you got involved in an accident while driving a company vehicle that failed to meet routine maintenance checks, you have a valid injury claim case. If that is the situation you are facing, it would be advisable to get a car accident lawyer to lead the legal process. You have a higher chance of getting any outstanding injury claims paid quicker when you seek a lawyer. While at it, your annual vacation pay, overtime, and statutory holiday pay that may have been withheld are other payments you are entitled to.

If your employer terminated you on misconduct grounds or other serious reasons, the company lawyer may argue in favor of withholding all outstanding payments owed to you. According to the law, it is up to you and your legal team to fight back for what you deserve. Standard employment law states that all outstanding wages owed an employee should be paid no more than six days of the final exit day.

Unemployment insurance

In the period when you are without a job after exiting, you have a right to apply for unemployment insurance. It is a support system that provides financial security for people without jobs. While the monthly allowance may be lower than what you received as your salary during your last employment, it can be better than not having anything at all. With that said, the period within which you can receive unemployment insurance may range from 26 weeks up to 99 weeks. However, it can be a longer period depending on your peculiar circumstances. There is a condition to unemployment insurance. You are only entitled to it when you lose your employment through no fault of yours. In this case, redundancy may be the right reason to apply immediately.

Right to ask for your pension benefits

If you signed up for a 401(K) or became a part of an employee retirement scheme, you certainly have the right to claim your benefits. Sometimes, this can be paid as a lump sum when you leave the job. If the arrangement was a defined benefit plan, you might have to wait until retirement age to start receiving the funds.