Big Words start conversations and open doors to new places.
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.
Two of focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of your goals in running your business is to keep it secure. There are some simple steps you can take to do this. The following contributed post is entitled, Keep Your Business Secure In 3 Simple Steps.
Keeping your business safe needs to be your number one priority, and if that is not the case right now, you need to make sure it is as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to do this, then you have come to the right place because we are going to be talking about three of the simple steps that you can take to keep your business secure. If you want to know more about this topic, keep reading down below.
Erase Your Non-Important Files
The first thing that we are going to suggest to you is that you erase any files that you no longer need whether they hold sensitive information or not. Erasing computers can be easy, here’s how with WipeDrive, so you don’t have to be worried about your business being at risk. If you get rid of the files, then there is nothing that anyone can do to your company as they won’t have the evidence or the data that they require. We suggest that you do this a few times per year so that you can be sure there is nothing on there that you wouldn’t want to get out to the public.
Invest In Anti-Virus Software
Something else that we highly recommend is that you invest in anti-virus software. Now, there are a number of places that you can purchase this from, and if you go online, you are going to find a list of the best antivirus softwares on the market right now to help you choose which one you are going to use to protect your company. If you make this investment, then your online presence is going to be far more secure, and you are at less risk of someone gaining access to your network remotely. If this happens, your network is going to be completely vulnerable to the whim of the attacker, and this is not something that you want to happen which is why it is so important that you take this precaution.
Hire Security
It is not just online that you need to be thinking of, you are going to need to protect your business premises. Security guards are going to be a good idea and having CCTV installed around the building is going to give you that extra layer of security. You don’t need to panic about the cost either as you need to treat this like it is an investment into your business, because at the end of the day, it is. You need to know that your business is secure no matter what the cost is. This isn’t a difficult process to do, you just need to make sure that anyone you hire is trained properly and knows what to do in case of an emergency.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know how to keep your business secure in three simple steps. Put these steps into practice, and your business is going to be far safer for it both online and offline.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you’re creating a product for use by others, you must figure out how to ship it to your customers. Businesses which ship products to their customers must understand the most efficient ways to do it. The following contributed post is entitled, Everything a Small Business Owner Needs to Know About Shipping.
Nowadays, it’s increasingly easy for businesses to engage with customers spread all across the country – or even all over the world. E Commerce is on the rise, which means customers don’t have to come into a brick and mortar store. Instead, they can just visit a website, place and order, and have the item sent to them in the comfort of their own homes. This is highly beneficial for small business owners. After all, it means more custom and more profit. But it does mean that you have a huge are you need to lay a lot of focus on – shipping. An effective shipping plan is essential to getting your products to your customer in good time and maintaining good customer bonds. So, here’s everything you need to know on the subject!
Packaging
You need to make sure that anything you send is correctly packaged. There are all sorts of packaging out there. From standard parcel paper and parcel tape to these polymer mailer bags here. All packaging should be secure and tightly taped together. This will prevent items falling out and you losing profit (and potentially a customer) in the process. Make sure that the recipient’s name and address can be clearly read – sometimes it’s better to print out labels than handwrite these details. You should also ensure a returns address is clearly visible on the back of the parcel. This will ensure the items make their way back to you if they do get lost in the post.
Different Shipping Methods
When you first start out, it’s highly likely that you’ll make use of your standard national postal service when it comes to sending goods to buyers. But as you grow and expand, you may find that you begin to cause queues in the post office as you’re trying to send too much. You will also end up spending more than necessary. At this point, you might want to consider using a courier. This service will be able to deliver larger numbers of items and at a lower cost.
Tracking
If you’re sending items of high value, it’s generally best to have some sort of tracking on them. This will ensure you know where the item is at all times and that you know if the customer has received it or not. Unfortunately, some people will pretend items haven’t arrived in order to request a refund. Tracking will let you see a signature of the recipient once they’ve received the item, meaning you needn’t worry about this sort of theft. It can also help to trace items that seem to be taking longer than expected. A tracking number gives customers peace of mind that their item is definitely on its way to them.
These are the bare basics of shipping for small business. But they’ll help to get you started out on the right foot. At the end of the day, shipping is something you’re likely to have to deal with at some point or another. So, it’s best to start familiarising yourself with the process as soon as possible!
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Business takes place all around the world. In some instances businesses are based in specific countries but have operations all around the world. Expanding your operations overseas is a major step. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Top Tips For Launching A Business in a Foreign Country.
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So business is booming and you think you’re ready to expand into a foreign market. Congratulations! Exciting and lucrative times lie ahead.
However, launching a business in another country is hard work and there are lots of things to consider before you take the plunge. You can expect it to be considerably tougher than getting set up at home, and certainly more time-consuming.
The good news is, with careful planning, some fantastic opportunities may be available to you. So check out the list below for some pointers.
There’s no way around it – this is going to take time. Rushing the process is only going to cause problems later down the line.
So do your research, seek experienced counsel, and make considered decisions. Some countries are more welcoming than others to foreign start-ups moving in, and some even provide useful benefits for those that do.
New Zealand and Denmark have made the process of launching a business easy with their online registration procedures and pro-competition regulations.
Singapore has a super quick system for solving commercial disputes, something which can really slow down businesses in other countries. Whilst setting-up in a location like Mauritius can save you on tax – check out mauritius offshore company formation to see exactly how.
What is going to be essential for the success of your business abroad? And which locations will aid, rather than hinder this? Once you’ve picked a location, study the laws and requirements of that country thoroughly before laying the groundwork.
Consider the Political Climate
The laws, economies and business practices of any given country evolve over time. This is a given. But some areas have a more stable political history, providing a less risky prospect for your start-up.
As a business owner in a foreign country, you don’t want to find your profits are being unexpectedly taxed, or that your assets are available to be seized because the political climate is spiraling into turmoil.
The key word here is ‘stability’. Read into the modern political history of your chosen country and be sure to exercise caution where necessary.
When searching for a legal representative, the ideal candidate is an expat lawyer from your home country who has experience of the country you wish to set-up in, or better yet – someone who is currently living and working there.
This way you get the best of both worlds. A lawyer with the same cultural background who can clearly explain everything you need to know, who also has the knowledge and contacts to help you navigate a foreign environment.
However, the sooner you start making your own connections locally, the better. Finding friendly business allies in the country where you plan to open your business will provide invaluable support and advice, and help you find solutions to problems you might not even be aware of yet.
And there we have it. There’s lots to consider when launching a business abroad so take your time and plan carefully. Use these tips to get you started and of course – best of luck!
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Career Discussions. If your career choice has landed you in a government agency, private company or a non-profit, a key to your advancement is getting promoted. Some individuals get promoted while others don’t. What are some ways to get promoted? The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Ways To Boost Your Chances Of Getting A Promotion.
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It can be so frustrating when you keep getting passed over for promotions. If it happens once or twice, that might just be a bit of bad luck. But if you lose out to somebody else over and over again, you need to make some changes. It might just be that your boss isn’t treating you fairly and you should think about moving to another company where there are more opportunities. But sometimes, you might be missing out on promotions because you aren’t presenting yourself in the right way or you don’t have the right skills. The good news is, there are some simple things that you can do to improve your chances. These are the best ways to boost your chances of getting a promotion.
A lack of skills and experience may be the reason that you are not getting promotions. If there are other candidates that have a higher level of education than you, that might be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing, so you will miss out. But if you invest in your own education and personal development, you can pick up new skills and show your employer that you are willing to go the extra mile. There are some great online education and career training courses available in all sorts of different areas. You can take these online courses in your own time, and fit them around work, so when it comes time to promote somebody, you will be a more attractive prospect.
Be Confident
People are often overlooked because they are not confident and they don’t put themselves out there enough. Your employer won’t promote you if you don’t make it clear that you are looking for opportunities to progress. So many people are held back by their fears and it limits their career progression. If you are going to get anywhere, you need to let go of any self-doubt and be more confident in the workplace. You also need to make it clear to your boss that you want a promotion, otherwise, they might assume that you are happy where you are.
Take Initiative
Somebody that does the bare minimum is never going to get promoted because that is not what your boss is looking for. If you come in, do your job, and collect a paycheck without going above and beyond, you won’t even be considered for promotion. You need to demonstrate that you are capable of doing more than your current job requires of you, which is why you need to take the initiative sometimes. Look out for opportunities to improve processes and do things more efficiently at work, and try to take a leadership role and help out your colleagues with their work. If you can demonstrate that you have good ideas and you can be a good leader, you’re far more likely to be considered for senior roles.
If you want to climb the career ladder, you will have to put a lot of hard work in and be patient. But if you follow these tips, you can improve your chances.
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. Our Military Servicemen and Servicewomen have made the ultimate sacrifice for your country. While some decide to make a lifetime career our of military service, some come out early, and some even come out earlier than expected. For many the transition to civilian life is difficult. The following contributed post is entitled, Life After The Army: Now What?
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When people leave the army, they do so for various reasons. It might be down to a wish to return to civilian life. Or, it could be because of unforeseen circumstances, such as health problems. Whatever the reason in your case, you will no doubt be wondering what to do next.
For many veterans, it can feel alien going back to a civilian lifestyle; this rings true if they have devoted many years of their lives to the army. Still, one thing is for sure: there is a life after military service. If you’ve recently left the army, you may be wondering what’s in store for you as a civilian.
Today’s handy article is by no means a “do this all right now” list. It’s a guide to give you some ideas of where you can go from here.
Register with Veterans Affairs (VA)
You might not realize it, but you could get practical support and financial help from the VA. There is help available with things like education, health care, and disability benefits.
All you need to do is contact your local VA office and ask for their requirements. You can check out their website at va.gov for more details.
Spend quality time with your family and friends
One of the downsides to being in the army is that you spent a long time away from your old civilian life. Now that you have come back to it, you should start reconnecting with everyone.
Make a conscious effort to spend time with those closest to you. Remember: you’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
There is a vast choice of career options for you out there. You may not realize it, but you will have a lot of skills transferable into the civilian world!
Take a look at the Military Skills Translator over at military.com. You can use that as a guide to see what kinds of civilian jobs you could do.
Find somewhere to live
For the first time in a long while, you can now decide where you are going to live! As you can imagine, you have an almost limitless choice. You might even choose to move to another state or even another country!
If you’re thinking of buying a home, it’s worth speaking to a VA loan lender first. That way, you will know for sure what you can afford.
Update your wardrobe
There is no denying that you may be lacking somewhat in the clothing department. After all; you’ve only had to wear a uniform while you served in the army!
Now is the time to update your wardrobe. Remember: when you’re out looking for a new job, you need to dress for success. Invest in some suits and smart shoes. It will result in you looking AND feeling good too.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Last, but not least, if you need help adjusting to civilian life, or for anything else, don’t be shy. You are not an island – ask for help if you need it.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Business is a team sport. You’re far more likely to run a profitable business if you’re establishing relationships with other businesses versus doing it on your own. The following contributed post is entitled, The Advantages of Building a Good Relationship With Other Businesses.
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A good working relationship is always a huge positive when it comes to growing your company. Having friends in different industries and companies, especially if they can work together with you, will help your business grow faster and scale to greater heights. Unfortunately, building these relationships is difficult and it takes a lot of networking in order to get your foot into the door.
Building good relationships with other businesses means that you should be attending as many networking events and trade shows as possible. Handing out business cards, following-up on interactions and generally just being a helpful and approachable manager will go a long way. But what exactly are you aiming to do and what are the advantages of building a good relationship with other businesses?
You’ll get professional assistance with things you aren’t familiar with
Whether it’s cybersecurity, networking or even construction, building a good relationship with other businesses will ensure that you get professional assistance with things you don’t completely understand. There are many advantages of having IT companies on your side and having legal professionals on your side is pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to building a successful company. Industry professionals are always capable of helping you grow your business with their advice and connections, hence the importance of developing good relationships with other businesses.
Superior service, better prices and exclusive discounts
Plenty of companies offer better pricing and exclusive discounts when you’ve built a good relationship with them. However, some companies like Ridge Concrete offer 24/7 delivery regardless of the size and time of the order, meaning that you don’t need to develop a strong relationship before you can start seeing benefits. Even so, building a good relationship with companies that are known for their customer service will just mean that they’re willing to go the extra mile when you need help.
This can mean 24/7 consultancy, advice and even recommendations for businesses that you wish to work with in the future. They may even offer bespoke services as long as you’re willing to describe the issue carefully and also offer a contract that is beneficial to them. In other words, the closer your relationship with another business, the more personalised the services will become.
Building a good relationship with other businesses
Now that we’ve explained some of the big advantages of building a good relationship with another business, here are a couple of suggestions on how you can do so.
• Reach out to different businesses and don’t be afraid to break the ice
• Always pay on time so that you don’t make things difficult for the other company
• Give other companies plenty of lead time to ensure that they can provide you with the services and products you need with minimal rush
• Don’t be afraid to talk more to other businesses, such as sharing industry information, visiting their offices in person or even inviting them to events hosted by your company
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. Two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In most businesses, the product being created or sold is some form of intellectual property. If you’ve created something, it’s important to consider how to protect it. The following contributed post is entitled, Looking After Your Intellectual Property.
Whether you operate within a business or you are a freelancer of some sort, you are always going to have some kind of intellectual property, and that is something that you are going to want to protect as well as you possibly can. The truth is that looking after your intellectual property is something that you can be sure of as long as you are aware of what you need to do – and that is easier than you might think. Doing this will mean that you feel a lot safer in your business or personal endeavours, whichever it might be, and that you can expect for your ideas to remain yours in law. So what do you need to do to protect your intellectual property and look after it as well as possible?
Seek Advice
Although there are generally things which you can say for anything to do with intellectual property, it is also true that each case varies from the next. As such, any help you can get on a specific case is going to be very useful, so that is something that you might want to try and seek out as soon as you can for that reason. By seeking advice, you will know that you are doing everything you should be doing to protect yourself. So what advice should you look for? One of the best places to go is to IP consulting, as they are going to be able to inform you as to what you need to do and where your personal dangers are and so on. That will absolutely make a difference when it comes to taking care of your intellectual property in this way.
Remain Legal
It is hugely important that you make a point of remaining legal at all times. If you fail to do that, then it could mean that you struggle to actually get what you need out of the whole situation. It’s easy enough to remain legal, however, and mostly it amounts to not abusing others’ rights in the process. As long as the property is really yours, and you are not stealing from someone else, then you will find that there is no reason you can’t hope to protect it as well as you would want to. That is something that you should absolutely aim for if you are keen to keep on top of all this as best as you can.
Seek Protection
Finally, make sure that you seek protection from the law in whatever way you feel might be necessary. It varies hugely on how to do this depending on your property and what it is, but the main thing to be aware of is that anything you create which is original work is already copyrighted by law. If you want to protect something further, then you will need to look into what you need to do to make sure of that. Seek protection in whatever way you can, and you will find that it is going to make a huge difference.
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. A significant portion of the lives of employees is spent at their jobs, such that their jobs can almost become the basis for their lives. As such they can have adverse effects on the employee’s personal health. There must thus be a balance. The following contributed post is entitled, Don’t Put Your Job Before Your Health.
Many of us work hard so that we may be able to enjoy a better quality of life. However, hard work can have the opposite effect and it can make our quality of life worse by damaging our health. Here are several ways in which you should you be putting your health first.
Don’t put off seeing a doctor
Many of us don’t take time off work to see a doctor. This can cause health concerns to get gradually worse. Whether you’ve got an employer or you happen to be your own boss, there’s no excuse not to see a doctor. You can schedule an appointment with a primary care doctor in advance allowing you to time to make arrangements or you can look into out-of-hours services. There are even doctors that you can call out to your workplace.
Pay attention to health and safety
Health and safety in the workplace is important. Make sure that you’re wearing the right equipment to protect yourself against injuries and follow safety protocols to minimize further injuries. If you’re self-employed, it’s your job to implement these health and safety measures. Consider talking to a health and safety adviser who can help you to introduce health and safety measures into your business.
Protect against RSIs
RSIs (repetitive strain injuries) often get overlooked because they’re long-term. However, these injuries are just as important to avoid, so that your quality of life isn’t negatively affected later on. If your job involves a repeated action such as typing, make sure that your posture and hand position is right as you type to avoid strain (ideally, your wrist should be the same level as your keyboard). Using specific equipment may also help to prevent RSIs in certain cases. For instance, power tools that don’t vibrate as much are less likely to lead to RSIs.
Know when to take a break
Everybody needs a break now and again. If you’ve recently sustained an injury, taking a break from work could be essential for helping it to heal, especially if certain job tasks are likely to aggravate the injury. Taking a break could also be important if you’re experiencing a lot of stress at work. As well as causing mental health problems, stress can take its toll on your physical health leading to high blood pressure and fatigue. In fact, stress is thought to be a leading cause of heart attacks. A break could not just allow you a chance to destress, but it could help you gain perspective as to whether your job is worth the stress.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the sector of business or niche, one of its key pillars is its customer service. No matter how good the product is, if the customer service component is broken, the business will ultimately be hindered. The following contributed post is entitled, What Does It Take To Deliver Great Customer Service?
It is certainly one of the fine arts of getting a business to transcend to the next level. While there are numerous aspects of a company that needs fine-tuning on a near-constant basis of the major issue that any business needs to overcome is improving on that relationship between them and the customer. As the golden rule, customer service is vital. This means that we have to ensure that our business delivers it in spades, but what does it really take to deliver great customer service?
Keeping Behind The Scenes Well Oiled
The front of house services cannot function unless the people behind the scenes are operating at 110%. This means that come out regardless of the business you have, you must think about everything that goes on behind the front line so that the people that have the duty of dealing with customers face to face can have the ability to forge that important relationship. This means utilizing one very simple component: technology. Whether it is restaurant accounting software for your small eatery, or it’s is organizational software so that everybody knows what’s going on at any one time, as well as new changes, keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes makes it easier for the people at the front to do their jobs properly. It’s not a case that the people on the front line rely on those behind the scenes, but it’s about providing a symbiotic relationship between the two. You have to remember that the bigger picture is the important thing especially when it comes to delivering customer service. With something like a restaurant the premise is simple, you deliver food to the customer that tastes great alongside impeccable service. These things as simple to explain, but in order to ensure that everything is running like clockwork, there are so many different components to get right.
Having The Passion To Deliver Customer Service
There’s a major disparity between the millennial generation and the baby boomers. While this is not the place to get into major quibbles about either generation, it appears that the younger generations that have been raised on social media have to work that little bit harder on face to face communication and soft skills. Having that passion in a business and striving to deliver amazing customer service is the bedrock of any successful company. Customer service is about going the extra mile for them, but when we look at the skills our employees have, we’ve got to make sure that they know the basics before they can build upon those. Something like soft skills and establishing that rapport with a customer can be difficult to implement, but some tips and tricks can help, such as open-ended questions. It’s these things that our workers need to know because when an employee develops this rapport with the customer, the relationship will soon follow, and then we make a great impact on the customer. As such, when we see an employee delivering excellent customer service, even when we are the customer, we will remember this. These days, you provide feedback forms, but we remember the person more than anything, and maybe they did something for us that day to make our experience more pleasurable, or even easier. And we can see that those people have the passion, not just to deliver customer service, but it’s a part of who they are. That doesn’t mean that we need to hire exclusively people that can have a passion for customer service, but for those people who want to do well and have the skills of building a rapport, they are like gold dust.
Providing Morale In The Ranks
The focus is on the customer for her, but we have to remember about the people that are providing this service. We have to keep the morale up, and in one respect, we need to treat our employees like our customers. Giving them the respect that they need, listening to the problems they have, and being genuine in our support for their development. As customers need to see the journey that we go through, we have to remember that our employees can have much more of an insight into what we do, and this can easily filter back to customers. For example, if an employee is unhappy, we can see it plastered all over their faces, and the service they will deliver will naturally be subpar, even if they phone in the performance. This will make us think, as the customer, what is the problem here? Is it to do with them, or is it a much wider, more endemic issue? This is why we have to ensure our employees are happy, and morale is up. It’s about creating that environment which belies a dynamic and thriving workplace. It’s a very difficult thing to implement, but if we start to work on morale, by imbuing the company culture with something more than a strict hierarchy where the people at the very bottom don’t feel supported everybody can feel the benefit. It’s not enough to tell them to put a smile on for the sake of the customer, because this is fake. But at the same time, if we don’t give our employees reason to smile anyway, we can’t be surprised if we have complaints from customers.
Encourage Employees To Have Awareness Of Their Language
On the most basic level, soft skills work wonders at building a report that we’ve also got to think about how our employees present themselves. It isn’t just about the clothes, please to do with how they stand, the intonations they use, as well as the body language, all in conjunction with the words that come out of their mouths. Having employees develop an awareness of how they are in one respect, productive, but in another way, it could be counterproductive because they are constantly watching themselves. We don’t want our employees to feel that they are being marked for grammar and poise all the time. At the same time, we need them just to have some sort of awareness of what they do that inspires a certain adverse reaction. Body language is an essential thing, but when we have employees speaking to others over the telephone, we might think that it’s not so important. But body language does have a lot of sway, especially in terms of how we communicate. There have been plenty of resources over the years that highlight just how you stand can impact your vocal strengths. Something like the Alexander technique, which, in essence, is a series of stretches, can have a great impact on how somebody performs. And when we start to get into these things, we can realize just how much of an impact we can have on a conversation, by saying it in a certain direction. Naturally, we cannot afford to send all employees on a mini drama course to become aware of their body, but by asking them to get a better understanding of the words they use, the posture a present, and how they sound, these things will all work towards a more self-assured employee.
Document!
If we document times when we interacted with a customer effectively, we can use these moments as benchmarks. Documenting interactions that we have with customers gives us the opportunity to build on our rapport with them and also understand where we may have fallen flat. Going back to the soft skills it’s about those subtle movements that we can undergo within the course of a conversation, vocally, physically, and even in terms of the subtext. Ultimately, we’ve got to work at selling something to a customer, that the customer is so sorry now that they don’t appreciate the hard sell. Instead, taking the counseling approach where we offer to help and provide a resolution for their problem makes it a more subtle approach to selling. And when we start to document the approaches that work in the ones that don’t, we are investing time into research and development so we can improve our business across the board.
A business will always be judged on the prowess of its customer service. And delivering a great experience to a customer is most definitely a fine art. When we start to look at each individual component, we can be here until the cows come home. But we have to think about giving the customer the experience that they deserve. You can look at your marketing, your products, your employees, and how they all work together, but when we deliver great customer service, we can sell ice to an Eskimo. Because customer service is the pinnacle of any great business, we have to invest more time into delivering a more effective strategy. And while we can entice people in with flashy gimmicks, when they walk away, they will remember how they felt. As such, delivering great customer service is something that we need to delve deep into. It will be the savior of the company.
Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. A major business sector is health and fitness. If run properly, these businesses can be very lucrative business niche for those who run them. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Health And Fitness The Business Niche For You?
Health and fitness has become a huge industry in the last couple decades. If you’ve been considering starting a business within this niche, here are just several tips to help you succeed.
Choose your business angle
There are many different roles that you can take up within the health and fitness sector. You could become a personal trainer, you could start your own gym, you could start your own nutrition class or you could invent a fitness gadget (that’s only a handful of the options). Consider where your strengths lie.
Find your sub-niche
Health and fitness is one of the few sectors where it really benefits to specify in order to help you stand out. If you’re becoming a personal trainer, you may want to cater your training to a specific type of fitness – this could include long-distance running, strength training or weight loss. You could even cater to a certain group such teenagers, pregnant women or people with disabilities. The same applies to nutrition or fitness tech.
Get educated
Being an expert in your field is important both for providing the best service and gaining trust from customers. By getting educated, you can feel confident knowing that you’re qualified. You’ll find all kinds of specific courses such as physical therapy courses and macrobiotic courses online. Take your time to compare courses so that you’re getting the best education for your needs. Online courses have the advantage that they can be studied around other commitments.
Do your competitor research
Whatever sub-niche you get into, you’re likely to have competition. Researching your competition is important so that you can find a way to single yourself out. Don’t get too caught up trying to offer the cheapest service – think about what will make you unique. For instance, if you’re starting a gym, you could try investing in unique gym equipment, hosting unique classes or offering unique benefits to members (some gyms offer discounts to local services or even give out free wearable tech to loyal members).
Invest in marketing
Marketing is how you will attract customers in the first place, so it’s worth investing money into a variety of marketing channels. This could include designing a website, printing off business cards, trying SEO, getting involved in social media marketing and even designing your own app. Word of mouth is also a valuable marketing strategy and it could be worth dedicating time to networking to build connections.
Lead by example
Health and fitness is more than an occupation – it’s a lifestyle. You need to be an inspiration to the people that you’re marketing to, which means keeping in good physical shape and taking on healthy behaviours. Make sure that you’re committed to such a lifestyle and that you’re not simply going through a fitness phase.
