Author: anwaryusef

Anwar Y. Dunbar is a Regulatory Scientist. Being a naturally curious person, he is also a student of all things. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology from Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Prior to starting the Big Words Blog Site, Anwar published and contributed to numerous research articles in competitive scientific journals reporting on his research from graduate school and postdoctoral years. After falling in love with writing, he contributed to the now defunct Examiner.com, and the Edvocate where he regularly wrote about: Education-related stories/topics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Financial Literacy; as well as conducted interviews with notable individuals such as actor and author Hill Harper. Having many influences, one of his most notable heroes is author, intellectual and speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of books including Outliers and David and Goliath. Anwar has his hands in many, many activities. In addition to writing, Anwar actively mentors youth, works to spread awareness of STEM careers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, serves as Treasurer for the JCSU Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, and is active in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. He also tutors in the subjects of biology, chemistry and physics. Along with his multi-talented older brother Amahl Dunbar (designer of the Big Words logos, inventor and a plethora of other things), Anwar is a “Fanboy” and really enjoys Science-Fiction and Superhero movies including but not restricted to Captain America Civil War, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Prometheus. He is a proud native of Buffalo, NY.

Keeping Your Work Phone Organised

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Whether you are a business owner, or you are in management in a company or a government agency, you likely have a work phone. A key to doing your job using the phone is not over-cluttering it and using up its memory with things you shouldn’t be. The following contributed post is entitled, Keeping Your Work Phone Organised.

* * *

Phones are becoming a big part of the running of a business; they help us with a lot of everyday jobs like keeping notes, updating your calendar, and making phone calls, to name a few. Phones have progressed a long away, that most of the population own one, and we spend most of our time on it, scrolling down social media, attending video calls and sending emails all in which keep you up to date with the latest changes in your workplace.
Over time your phone will be overcrowded with everything you do. You’ll find that you have a build-up of photos, applications and files across multiple areas of your phone, making it hard to keep organized and being easy to find. It’s never a good look when you are trying to find a document, and it’s lost in-between restaurant menus and photos of your dog.

Photo from Pexels.com

Phone pouch

Phone organization starts with being able to find your phone when you need it, rather than fumbling around in the bottom of your bag. Investing in a Reiko pouch will ensure that your phone is on you all the time, leaving your hands free for your laptop and paperwork, stopping your phone falling when you have too much to carry between meetings. This could be an excellent option for if you’re a person that stores your phone in your back pocket as it will decrease the risk of smashing the screen.

Applications

Although it’s lovely to have all your apps separate so you can see them all at a glance, it can take time to find the one you’re looking for. Creating different categories for your apps to sit in, simplifies your phone. Having social media platforms in one folder along with a photo and video editing in another takes the pressure off trying to find a specific app that you’re trying to search for. While you’re setting all your apps apart, this is a great time to delete any unwanted icons, as well as the ones you haven’t opened in the last five months.

Files and documents

Keep your documents organized in folders, along with renaming the file name to the category of what the files are to do with. It will be worth taking the time to adjust the titles of each document to make it clear what everything is without having to open each file. Having your laptop desktop empty can leave room for any current files and projects that can be placed onto the desktop to give you the space to spread out.

Back up your files

It’s the worse feeling when you’ve done loads of hard work, and then you lose it. Backing up your files and photos through something like Dropbox, Google docs can avoid frustration and having to reproduce it again. They are easy to use systems that can store everything, making it simple for you to go back and find the documents that you need when the worse comes. If you have Apple products, then you will find iCloud has its backup system for all your documents, music, videos and photos. However, once you reach over a specific limit, you will have to pay monthly for extra storage, this can also be the case with Companies like Dropbox but if you don’t want to pay for storage then investing in an internal hard drive to copy everything over can be a cheaper option. Just be aware that if this system is tampered with, then it can result in losing it, this is why people copy everything over onto two hard drives to cater for this.

Linking calendars

Are you using your calendar to its advantage? Taking the plunge from paper planners to digital calendars can be a big change, but it can save you a heap of time. Firstly, using a platform that can be automatically transferred to each of your devices makes your life a lot easier. There’s nothing worse than having to write a meeting date down in multiple places. Platforms like Apple and Google calendar, link up on all your devices which are logged into the same account. Using your schedule effectively by colour-coding each category makes you instantly see what is work-related, birthdays or events while knowing if you are free when people ask you.

Hopefully, with these ways to stay more organized using your phone, you can take your work to a new level, taking away the stress of losing your work whilst keeping your phone in a pouch, so it’s with you all the time.

What You Need To Know About Selling Your Funeral Home

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Funeral homes are businesses that will never go away as death is a part of everyone’s life. At some point business owners may want to move on and will consider selling their funeral home. There are considerations for doing so. The following contributed post is entitled, What You Need To Know About Selling Your Funeral Home.

* * *

Preparing and organizing everything together so you can get the most value out of selling your funeral home can be overwhelming, and it can be hard to know where to start. To maximize your sale, you need to take into consideration how far in advance you need to plan for the sale before going on the market. This will ensure that you fly through this sale with ease. A Lot of banks will want you to gather up to three to four years of paperwork so they can flick through it, so having this organized into categories and planning can take the stress off your shoulders.

Photo from Pexels.com

What’s its worth?

The best place to start when you are beginning the process of selling your funeral home is to get a funeral home valuation because its a great starting point. This can be done in several ways, but comparing your company to other funeral homes that are in similar size is easiest, followed by organising your cash flow listing and putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes. It gives you a good idea of what you are working with and the confidence you need.

Financial paperwork

When the potential buyer comes along, you may be asked to produce specific paperwork and calculations so they can get a feel for the business and see if they are able to set realistic goals to make it work for them. Remember that the buyer could ask for up to four years of paperwork, tax returns and statements. You’ll thank yourself later when you have all the paper you need when you are asked for it, instead of rummaging back through years of paperwork. Investing in some files and binders to keep your stats in separate categories is essential to make your business liable.

Continue the hard work

After spending all those years working hard as well as going the extra mile to please your clients, don’t let it end now. Taking the time to continue the work ethic until the final day is essential to running a quality business, don’t let your hard work go to waste, after all this time. You can often earn an extra sale by doing so. Sometimes your buyer will want to keep your staff members so leading by example and going the extra mile will ensure that your staff make a good impression, potentially securing their jobs.

These are the basics about selling your funeral home so if you are new to the world of selling your company then these tips will help you to maximize the value along with being sure that you are continuing your five-star service for your clients.
Keeping your paperwork will be a big part for your buyer to have confidence in your company, a great way to keep documents is to keep them in folders and backing them up by taking photos or scanning them into a computer. These are all tips that can help your sale to run as smoothly as possible.

Fishing Dos and Don’ts All Beginners Need to Know

A key focus of my blog is Athletics and Sports. Fishing while a relaxing activity is also a competitive sport which requires quite a bit of knowledge and skill. As with most activities, there important aspects for beginners to consider. The following guest post is entitled, Fishing Dos and Don’ts All Beginners Need to Know.

* * *

Do you like the idea of spending a lazy afternoon being surrounded by nature? How about the thrill that comes with not knowing what can happen next? Then one activity you should consider doing is fishing.

Fishing can be both a relaxing activity bursting with fun and excitement. It allows you to de-stress and appreciate and understand nature more. The fact that there is no way to learn how many fish you can catch and what kind of fish is on the other side of the line makes it an exciting adventure. This is the very reason many continue to fall in love with fishing.

If you finally decide to go fishing, then it is a must to know more about the activity before testing the waters. We’ve gathered some dos and don’ts that newbie fishers like you will find extremely useful.

Don’t forget to secure your fishing license

To make sure that you don’t get in trouble, secure a fishing license before you plan your fishing trip. But why would you need such a license in the first place? Acquiring a fishing license is an act to protect fish populations. There are state regulations that will tell you what kind of fish you can legally fish in a day and what species are legal. The fees you pay will not only support wildlife departments. These will also help finance wildlife research that also costs much.

Don’t buy fishing equipment that you can’t afford

Even if you already set your mind to learning how to fish during your free time, it is wise to buy only fishing shackles that you can afford. Take reel shopping, for instance. When buying reels, it is a good idea to buy Shimano spinning reels, as you can choose from a variety perfect for beginners. Of course, you need to consider your budget before buying one. As for your fishing lures, you can choose cheaper ones so that you won’t regret buying expensive lures only to lose them while fishing.

Be wise when choosing between saltwater and freshwater fishing

For beginners, freshwater fishing is a common choice. When choosing lake fishing, you still have two options to choose from: natural and man-made lakes. Knowing the differences between the two and doing a bit of research will help you understand the best way to fish.

Be confident

Being the newbie in the block is not enough reason to feel wary about not catching a fish. Remember that in everything you do, your confidence is your key to success. The same goes for fishing. If you are not confident, then it can be hard to attract fish. Having the best equipment and learning the best techniques are not enough. You will need to learn how to be confident enough so that you can succeed.

Fishing is not easy. But know that before expert fishers became great, they had once been newbies, too. Don’t lose hope if you fail to catch a fish or two. Get your fishing license, invest in the right fishing tackle, and choose the perfect place to start learning how to fish. Keep practicing and build up your confidence, and you will succeed in no time.

Portray Higher Levels of Professionalism With Your Small Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the actual quality of your product/service, you level of professionalism has to be high-level and arguably impeccable. A low level of professionalism will hurt sales and your overall reputation. The following contributed post is entitled, Portray Higher Levels of Professionalism With Your Small Business.

* * *

Trying to establish your brand as a reputable and trusted one in your industry is very tricky when you don’t have the budget for global marketing campaigns. However, there are still so many entrepreneurs who manage to create an excellent reputation for their emerging company. When you’re running a small, niche business you need to come across as polished and professional as much as possible. This is going to establish you as a thought leader in your industry and grow trust between you and your potential clients.

Professional Contact Details

If you want your business to come across as professional you need to provide contact details that position your company as trustworthy to your ideal clients. Make sure you invest in a business email address rather than using a personal one. You could also consider a virtual address so that your post is sent to a location that isn’t your personal place or residence. There are even professional phone numbers that you can purchase that direct calls straight to your mobile. All of these forms of contact will make your business seem professional and authoritative.

High Levels of Customer Service

When you treat your customers well they will respect you and come back for more of your products and services over and over again. A lot of consumers admit that they won’t return to a business if they were treated poorly or rudely by business owners or their team members. Delivering high levels of customer service will always work wonders for your business.

Clear and Concise Messaging

If your business isn’t honed in on a particular niche, you definitely need to find your focus. Your company will come across as much more professional if you have clear and concise messaging that doesn’t blur any lines. It is time to get into the head of your ideal client and speak to them as if you know them personally. This works wonders for leading companies and it can work for your small business too.

Delivering Products and Services as Promised

It is so important to follow through with any promises you make to your potential clients and customers. If you want your business to flourish and grow, you always need to sell with integrity. If you know you can’t deliver products in the way you’re selling them then steer clear from this. You may have to reassess your marketing strategies or the way you present your services, but it will all be worth it in the long run when you have built trust between you and your audience.

If you try all of the ideas mentioned above, you will be well on the way to achieving all of your business goals. You don’t need to pretend that your company is something that it isn’t; be authentic and true to your brand. You could even become the face of your brand if you think that will help you grow your reputation. As long as you aim to give your customers the best experience possible, you will always see growth and improvement for your company.

Image from Pexels – CC0 Licence

5 Ways to Enrich Your Life While Working 9 to 5

Three focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, Health/Wellness and Professional Development/Skills. Many people stagnate once setting into a 9 to 5 career/job while others continue to grow and thrive. There are ways to continue thriving both personally and professionally while working your 9 to 5. The following guest post is entitled, 5 Ways to Enrich Your Life While Working 9 to 5.

* * *

Time is a precious resource not everyone has. This becomes especially relevant when you reach your adulthood. The typical set-up for most working adults is a 9-5 job. Some work for as long as 10 hours, or work during nighttime. You might be cursed with daily 3-hour commutes. Much of your adulthood will be spent on earning a living and a lot of times you won’t have a weekend well spent aside from lounging around.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t live your life to the fullest while working hard. There are many ways you can enrich your life and get the most out of every situation-if you make time for them. Here are some ways you can step out of your 9-5 box and enrich the moments in your life:

Learn New Skills

The advent of new technologies like the Internet and smartphones paved the way for easier access to things you might not know yet. More often than not, if you don’t know something, you Google it. You can go to online schools and open universities to learn something new. Better yet, you can even learn new skills from YouTube, like learning how to cook or fix the sink.

Also, if you can manage your time, you can try to go to take vocational courses from accredited institutions or continue your education and take a graduate degree. All these can add something new or further hone your skillset, which can help you in the long run.

Declutter Your Life

Take a page from Marie Kondo’s minimalistic way of living and declutter your life. Fill your life with things that spark you joy; get rid of things that don’t make you happy or you have no use of anymore. You can donate old clothes, recycle your stack of papers, or even cut contact with someone toxic from your life. When it comes to work, categorize and sort everything. Make everything in your life valuable and it’ll help you in the long run.

Practice Mindfulness

Become more self-aware. Mindfulness brings you to the forefront of your very situation instead of being stuck in the past. You can do this kind of meditation whenever you’re feeling pressured with your work, or with making a very important decision. You can do things with a clear mind. It lets you become objective; you attune to what’s happening right now, regulating your emotions.

Apart from being a good stress reliever, you gain control that otherwise would’ve been lost when you panic or freeze.

Don’t Forget to Relax

When you have no plans for the weekend, sometimes you might be thinking to yourself: “How do I make the most of my weekend?” Well, there’s more to life than doing a Netflix binge, so do whatever relaxes you. If it’s reading by a warm fireplace, then do that. If you’re more of an extrovert, try doing volunteer work. Be creative, express yourself.

Take Control of Your Narrative

“Live your life so it’s a story to tell,” says one lifehack. Sometimes, there are things that hold you back from achieving great heights. Although, other times, it’s you who’s holding you back. You need to gain the courage and confidence to step up and take a leap of faith. You know yourself well; you know well what you can do.

You don’t have to leave your 9 to 5 to do anything rewarding for your life. Go in headfirst with no regrets. If you stumble along the way or get to the finish line in the end, it’ll be a rewarding, learning experience for you.

Master Your Marketing in 6 Simple Steps

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. To optimize your business’s performance, one piece that will need to operate at maximum efficiency is your marketing. You have to effectively get your message and your products/services out to your customer base. The following contributed post is entitled, Master Your Marketing in 6 Simple Steps.

* * *

Having the right marketing strategies can help grow your business. However, when marketing is done wrong, it can be similar to lighting a money bonfire. As a business owner, you have to provide whatever your business needs all the time. However, sometimes it can be challenging to master all the fine details that go into sales and marketing.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Tips to Help You Master Marketing in Your Business

Know your business

Knowing your business is not only a way of making your marketing successful but also your business. Ensure you understand your business in its entirety. Understand clearly the goals and objectives of your business. Knowing your business will help you to choose marketing strategies that are in line with the mission and vision of your business.

Know your customers

For your marketing strategies to work, you must understand the people in your target market. Examine your existing customer base and take down all the information of previous customers you have already worked with. Examine whether your existing customer base shares the same tastes and preferences and determine all the common traits that your customers have. This information will help you in creating buyer personas. Your marketing strategies should now be aligned with the tastes and preferences of the buyer personas.

Know your competitors

It is also crucial to know and understand your competitors with whom you share the same market. Examine their marketing strategies and determine how they do it. Determine how effective those marketing strategies are, and acquire as much information as possible to help you form those strategies. Implement the best strategies carefully without violating intellectual property rights.

Don’t sell a comparison, sell the benefit

Most marketing managers make the mistake of implementing marketing strategies that imply how their business offers products at a lower price compared to their competitors. The marketing strategy you implement should focus on what extra benefits the consumer will get from purchasing and consuming the product. Therefore, ensure your marketing strategy emphasizes more on how your products are going to improve the life of your customer.

Continuous generation of ideas

Marketing can be categorized as an art as well as science. Your marketing team should continuously generate creative ideas that will reach more and more potential customers. For creative idea generation to happen, you need a team with a healthy imagination. A healthy imagination can be triggered by factors such as constant reading and research. Additionally, find podcast guests who will produce podcasts for marketing purposes.

Marketing automation

Marketing automation is a technological innovation that automatically manages all marketing processes and campaigns across multiple channels. Marketing automation is made possible by specially designed software such as HubSpot Marketing Automation. Marketing automation saves you a lot of time, energy, and money as it replaces all the tedious manual marketing strategies with automated ones.

Bottom Line

Marketing plays a significant role in the success of any business. It helps create awareness in the market about the existence of your product. Therefore, the marketing discipline is significant to your business. As a business person, ensure that you continuously improve your marketing strategies for the growth of your business.

What the Heck is Upfitting?

A key focus of my blog is Technology. Something we see everyday but are relatively unfamiliar with is the concept of “Upfitting”. Automotive vehicles are are upfitted for varying reasons depending on the intended purpose. The following contributed post is entitled, What the Heck is Upfitting?

* * *

(Photo by Zhen Hu on Unsplash)

Ever considered going into the ambulance business?

Probably not a question you get asked very often.

Here ambulance business does not mean the brave men and women who frequently risk their lives to save and help others, but the business of equipping ambulance with the gear that keeps people alive. It’s a rather obscure concept to think about, but interesting nonetheless.

Let’s Talk About Upfitting

Now, what the heck is upfitting?

It’s outfitting a vehicle with specialized equipment that enables the vehicle for emergency use. Upfitting can also mean custom interior and exterior design that makes a non-emergency vehicle simply look cooler. Essentially, it is vehicle customization and upgrading with equipment that was not initially added by the manufacturer.

Most of the time, it’s emergency vehicles that get upfitted. They will need to routinely change their equipment so that it’s always up-to-date and abiding by state or federal regulations. Upfitting these kinds of emergency vehicles increase their efficiency for peak performance. It can also make the vehicle and job for technicians easier and safer. No wonder upfitting is such a crucial process in maintaining emergency vehicles.

Upfitting usually starts with painting and servicing the chassis. Think of the chassis as the “bed” of the vehicle; it holds the wheels and body of the car.

Here is a chassis, FYI (Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)

Planning could be the most crucial aspect of upfitting. Involving the technicians who will be using the vehicle can create a more thorough, safety-oriented upfitting. You will achieve the best results if you have a thorough understanding of the vehicle’s future application. One factor to consider during the upfitting process includes the end-users and how they will utilize the vehicle. Keeping the end goal and people in mind throughout the process can help upfitters better understand what kind of experience they want the users to have. Another critical factor to consider is whether the vehicle is going to serve a single purpose or multiple purposes. The upfitting process will look a lot different for the upfitting of single-purpose vehicles versus multiple-purpose vehicles.

The devil is in the details when it comes to upfitting, and that’s why it’s so important to have all concerned parties involved in the process from start to finish. Of course, it’s essential to be realistic with your clients about time constraints and any budgeting problems that may arise during the process. Otherwise, your customers could be left disappointed, and that is undoubtedly a place in which no business owner wants to be.

If you happen to be considering upfitting an emergency vehicle, check out https://tcsupfitting.com/. Not only do they deliver top-quality upfitting service for emergency vehicles in the Wichita, Kansas area, but their team is knowledgeable, efficient, and personable. Any emergency vehicle upfitted by TCS Upfitting is a faster, safer, and better-equipped vehicle to help those who need responsive care. Call today for more information or to discuss how you can get started upfitting the emergency vehicle of your dreams.

Advice When Investing In Cryptocurrencies

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money. For years now, cryptocurrencies have been regularly discussed in the investing world. While they may be the wave of the future, and while some have profited from them thus far, they are still speculative. The following contributed post is entitled, Advice When Investing In Cryptocurrencies.

* * *

Cryptocurrencies are something that are still being understood on the financial market, and digital currency is something that not everyone is convinced will be successful. However, before you dismiss the opportunities and financial gain it could present to you, here’s some advice when investing in cryptocurrencies.

Image Source

Do Your Research

Firstly, like any investment, it’s worth doing some research into how it all works. It might not be something you’re very familiar with at all, and so it’s good to develop your knowledge of what it is and how it works as an investment. You may already know some information, but there’s probably a lot that you’re still needing to understand in terms of the process. So with that in mind, try to do some digging into how it works and who you might want to speak to who may already be involved in the realm of cryptocurrency and can explain it all a little better to you. Some people find it easy to learn from just reading, while others like to put it into practice and learn that way. From Genesis Mining Review to forums on digital currency, it’s all worth exploring.

Keep Your Coins In Wallets

The coins you make need to go somewhere and so they are good to put into a digital wallet. There are different wallet options and these are often defined between hot and cold wallets. It’s worth doing your research on which are best and whether you might wish to opt to use more than one. Consider your options and most importantly, you want your currency to be secure as some wallets can be easily hackable if you’re not careful. Cold wallets are suited for more long-term investors who don’t require their access to coins for months if not, years.

Take Note Of Any Risks

Like any investment, there’s always going to be risks, and it’s worth knowing what these are. As far as digital currency goes, it’s still not so commonly accepted as a legitimate currency, but there is progress in it being recognized a lot more now than before. Make sure you know what you’re signing for and that you are aware of the risks that are involved with this type of investment. You might invest in something for it only to lose terribly within the space of twenty-four hours. Be aware of how volatile this market can be and don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Be Prepared For A Bumpy Ride

It’s good to be prepared for all eventualities, and one thing to know about cryptocurrency is that it can be a bumpy ride. You want to ensure you’re prepared for what could happen and what might not happen. Diversifying your investment portfolio is important and something you should definitely consider doing. You shouldn’t be investing on the hype and noise that comes from other people and what is the best option for you.

Use these tips to invest in cryptocurrency wisely and knowingly of the risks that are involved.

Encouraging Ultimate Efficiency In The Workplace

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, one of you goals should be to maximize efficiency. Maximizing efficiency will allow you and your staff to get the most done and save money in the long run. The following contributed post is entitled, Encouraging Ultimate Efficiency In The Workplace.

* * *

Running your own business can be an extremely rewarding project, as there’s scope for respectable profit and a great reputation amongst many other benefits. However, when your company is not reaching the goals that you had set out to achieve, it can be much more of a disappointing and infuriating scenario that may seem impossible to work through. One of the biggest reasons that productivity can take a hit is the overall efficiency of your business, and luckily there are many different things that you can do to start moving forward. So, if your business is struggling to achieve targets and may need some restructuring to become more efficient, then read on to uncover some of the best tips and tricks that you can make the most of today!

Image Source – Pexels

Training Is Key

One of the worst things that you can do as a business owner is to scrimp on staff training, as without the right knowledge your employees will not be able to do their jobs properly. You need to make certain that your staff have access to constant training sessions and extra learning opportunities that can allow them to understand their role inside and out, and help to ensure that they can use machinery in a safe and secure way whilst working as fast as they can. You simply cannot expect your employees to learn everything they need to know on their own, and if you leave them to fend for themselves then their productivity rates will no doubt be at an all time low. Efficiency will take a huge boost as soon as your staff know how to get their jobs done in the best way, so it’s up to you to set the standard and show them exactly how it’s done.

Don’t Be Afraid To Outsource

When your business is going through tough times, it’s tempting to let go of staff and appoint more work to other employees to reduce your overall spend, however this will do nothing to improve your efficiency or standard of work. Many business owners are afraid to let go of the reigns and ask for help, and that’s why so many tasks are completed in house – yet, outsourcing other professionals to perform just a few tasks can take a huge weight off your staff’s shoulders, and allow them to focus on their regular tasks too. It needn’t be expensive to seek out services like stock plan administration, marketing campaigns and other specific topics that your employees don’t have the time or skills to cover, and it will really help to improve your efficiency quite dramatically at the same time. These professionals would not be able to function if the service they provide isn’t top quality, so you can still retain ultimate peace of mind knowing that your projects are in good hands.

Encouraging ultimate efficiency in the workplace has never been so simple when you are able to make the most of the top tips and tricks detailed above.

Why You Can’t Afford Not To Practice What You Preach In This Age Of The Conscious Consumer

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, you must consider the presence of consciousness on the part of the consumer. Consumers who once supported your business may divest, if they feel as though you’re practices are fair or ethical. The following contributed post is entitled, Why You Can’t Afford Not To Practice What You Preach In This Age Of The Conscious Consumer.

* * *

Unsplash Image: CC0 License

Being seen as a business that cares is non-negotiable in the age of the conscious consumer. No longer are customers willing to put their money towards companies that don’t align with their goals. What’s more, the booming online market means they don’t have to.

This has been the case for a few years now, and it’s led to fantastic ethical shifts in company processes. More businesses than ever now donate to charity, and even major corporations are implementing environmental focuses. If you’re to stand any chance at competing, the chances are you’re doing the same.

The trouble is that, as the internet allows consumers to delve deeper into business processes than ever, surface appearances are no longer enough. In fact, the reputational damage of customers learning that you don’t practice what you preach behind closed doors could see you struggling or even having to shut shop.

Ethics really do matter that much, and you should be implementing focuses like these at every level to ensure results. For proof, consider the following company failures that have left consumers questioning whether brands care at all.

Partnerships that go against ethics

Once, consumers had idea what companies were partnering or selling. Now, this information is online for everyone to see, and it can be damaging if you make agreements with businesses that don’t share your upfront ethics.

In recent years, this has most notably been the case for cruelty-free makeup brands, many of whom are owned by some of the worst culprits for animal testing. As can be seen on https://ethicalelephant.com, such consumer discoveries in recent years have led to boycotts on even front-running ‘cruelty-free’ brands.

The moral of the story is simple. Don’t preach one thing, then let money sway you to the opposite. Or, in other words – never partner with a company that doesn’t share the same outlook.

Only making an effort where people can see

Unsplash Image: CC0 License

Companies have also been caught out for only prioritizing ethics in the public eye. For instance, countless brands claim to care about recycling yet come out as the worst contenders for landfill under the surface.

Again, remember that nothing goes under the radar anymore. In an age where consumers can access recycling reports and more, even something seemingly small like pouring vegetable fat down the drain could throw your ethical makeup into question.

Companies should, therefore, be making an effort to maintain ethical focuses, even behind scenes, either by turning to companies like https://gfcommodities.com/our-services/used-cooking-oils-recycling/ to recycle fat instead of draining it, or making sure to separate warehouse plastics ready for recycling. And, all of this should be standard even when no one’s looking.

Conclusion

Presentation matters in modern business but, make no mistake, so does what you do behind closed doors. In fact, given that claiming an ethical focus and being found to go against it is worse than making no effort at all, you could say that sticking to your supposed ethics business-wide is vital for staying on top in 2020 and beyond.