Amahl Dunbar discusses his new Helmet Tubing Impact System (HTIS) invention

While one of the purposes for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is the pursuit of new knowledge, a second purpose is to use that knowledge to create new innovations and products to improve our lives. Likewise, while one of the goals of my blog is advocacy of STEM awareness, a second goal is to use my platform to give exposure to others and their own projects. The following interview – the first of its kind on my blog accomplishes both goals, and it aligns with one of the principles of my blog which I haven’t discussed much up to this point; Creative Thought. Creative Thought is a key component of all the innovations that have emerged from the STEM fields that have changed the world.

Over the past couple of years, inventor Amahl Dunbar has worked on an invention to increase the safety of football helmets; the “Helmet Tubing Impact System” (HTIS). He recently agreed to the following interview to give the world a glimpse of the HTIS, to introduce his new idea, and his goals for it going forward. The pictures used in this post of the HTIS attached to football helmets were graciously shared by Amahl Dunbar himself.

Anwar Dunbar: Hello, Amahl. Thank you for agreeing to talk about your new system for making football helmets more protective. As my brother, I know who you are and what you’ve been doing. For the readers though, talk a little bit about your background. Haven’t you always been a ‘design and build’ type of guy?

Amahl Dunbar: Yes. Around the time I was in the third or fourth grade, I enjoyed using hand-held tools to disassemble and re-assemble my toys. My “Transformers” toys were very complex in terms of design. They were an endless puzzle of hinge, sliding, and ball joints. Usually I’d have everything reassembled before our mother got home from work. In parallel with those experiences, I began to do the same process with my bikes, though when it came to bikes, the stakes were higher because a bike could fall apart while in motion. Over all, I have more years of experience learning the visual arts versus engineering or product development.

Anwar: At Hutch-Tech High School, didn’t you major in Architecture?

Amahl: Yes, I had dreams of an office-oriented career. Architecture is more of a ‘design studio’ career. During high school my understanding of Architecture was limited. I thought it was just good to design. Years later, I learned the best forms of Architecture involved designing and customizing around the lifestyle of the occupants.

Anwar: How did you come up with the idea for the HTIS?

Amahl: The idea for this invention came to me while watching an NFL game during the 2014 or 2015 season. A highly valued player for the Buffalo Bills took a bad helmet-to-helmet collision. As I watched this player writhing in pain, it occurred to me that the standard helmet is as much a weapon as it is a system of protection. Also, I thought the sound of a helmet to helmet hit may be damaging to players as well. Imagine being inside of a large speaker when it receives sudden microphone feedback or static. The sound would be jarring, disorienting, and unpleasant.

Anwar: What makes your system unique from what’s currently on the market?

Amahl: The Helmet Tubing Impact System (HTIS) is lighter than similar exterior helmet products. It distributes forces ‘longitudinally’ versus absorbing or muffling direct strikes. The tubes are transparent, so team colors and logos stay visible.

Anwar: Are you referring to something like the “Gazoo” helmet shell that the Buffalo Bills’ Mark Kelso used the wear?

Amahl: The Gazoo was never brought to the mainstream market, which speaks to its effectiveness. Most products that attach to the exterior of helmets are modeled after boxing head gear. From that perspective, players are still receiving a muffled version of helmet strikes. Those products are made of foam and absorb impacts without dispersing the forces. The HTIS distributes forces cylindrically and longitudinally.

Anwar: We see a lot of head and brain-related injuries in American football. Is your new system designed to prevent paralysis? Concussions? Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?

Amahl: Those conditioned athletes won’t escape the wear & tear of American Football. The HTIS will lower the amount force in head impacts over years of practice and play for players. Specialists in those fields have found that the repetitive and cumulative number of impacts is what hurts players over the long-term.

Anwar: Now I imagine at this point, you’ve legally protected your system, you’re being very prudent in terms of whom you’re sharing your data with. In terms of your initial findings for the HTIS, what have you found thus far in terms of its ability to mitigate the force of collisions? Which test have you used to generate your data?

Amahl: As of now I do have a patent on the HTIS. I used the “Weighted Swing Test”. This test shows that the HTIS lowers impacts forces by an average of 70 – 73%. Again, the force of helmet strikes is distributed over the soft, cylindrical, hollow, plastic surface area of the tubes. The HTIS is designed to divide the linear and rotational transfer of impact forces.

Anwar: What are your plans for this going forward?

Amahl: In the near future, I’m looking to form an LLC for production and sales of the product to individual customers, teams, and leagues. I’m open to licensing or selling the patent, if a fair offer is presented.

Anwar: If anyone wants to directly reach out to you regarding the HTIS, what’s the best way for them to contact you?

Amahl: If anyone would like to contact me for sales or to purchase the patent, contact me at amahldunbar@gmail.com

Anwar: Well thank you, Amahl, for sharing your exciting project. Do you have any other comment?

Amahl: Yes. The HTIS has the best chance for success of them all.

To find out more about how to draft and file your own patent application, Patent Hacks has its own free online resources. Find out key information about patent and intellectual property, and gain the knowledge you need to patent your own inventions.

Thank you for taking the time to read this interview. If you’ve found value here and think it will benefit others, please share it and/or leave a comment. Please visit my new YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. To receive all the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Lastly, follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.

Dominate That First Second – A Reliable Approach To First Impressions

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An old slogan says that, “You never get the second chance to make a first impressions.” The same is true for your business. Whether it’s your business’s physical space, your social media or your communications, you are always making an impression. The following contributed post is entitled, Dominate That First Second – A Reliable Approach To First Impressions.

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All businesses know that first impressions matter. In fact, we all know it. It’s part of how we form our judgements to get us through the world. Sometimes, our first impressions are wrong. You’ve likely met people in your life whom you took an instant disliking to, only to realise that actually, they weren’t as bad as you had imagined.

The same goes for businesses, and of course, the reverse is also true regarding that sentiment. However, often, with so many options available, consumers do not wish to wait to hear you out – they want to be impressed. This means that dominating that first second is one of the most appropriate goals you could have as a business trying to expand its reach.

But it’s not as if this just happens on one frontier, it happens on many. Let us see how appropriate that might be for you when making your decisions as a firm, and how worthwhile you might apply your future endeavors to this end.

Consider:

Keep Your Offices Clean

We’re not just talking about the interior. Sure, providing a comfortable office, a clean office, and a hygienic working space is essential if you hope to run your office well. But on top of that, you must never neglect the exterior on your building. Even if you have no retail stores, your headquarters looking neglected from the outside speaks terribly about your firm, and with social media in everyone’s pockets, it might come back to bite you. This is where firms such as Propel Pressure Cleaning https://propelpressurecleaning.com can help you rid yourself of some of the grime associated with long-standing industrial offices. Keep a squeaky clean approach where you can. You never know just how beneficial this could be in the long term.

Keep Your Social Media Clean

Often, social media is the first time someone will hear from you. Engage in humor that doesn’t quite work, reply vindictively to a trying criticism, or allow your staff to get out of hand on their own profiles, and good golly, you’re in damn trouble. It’s essential for you to consider how to dominate that first second in the online space because, for better or worse, that’s how the perception of cultural opinion moves these days.

Messaging

Your messaging is important whenever you need to announce or speak as a business. For example, it could be that your product announcement is unclear, and people have to question exactly what it is you’re teasing. There’s being mysterious to drum up interest, and willingly diffusive and causing frustration accidentally.

Have your announcements looked over by trained marketing writers, or PR individuals. Again, stay consistent. This way your optics are reliable, and when you do break the mold? Things will be much more interesting as a whole. This way, you needn’t ever worry about how to be perceived, because you will be directing and choreographing the whole affair.

3 Clever Tactics That Will Help Protect Your Business From Ruin

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. There’s always the potential for the unexpected when it comes to your business, and likewise its important to have precautionary measures in place. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Clever Tactics That Will Help Protect Your Business From Ruin.

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Disaster in business is all too common. In fact, fewer than 50% of new companies make it to the five year period and beyond! Happily, there are some tactics you can use to maximize the chances of the business you are running, making it. Read on to find out what they are.

Go green

One way that you can help protect your business from disaster is to take a more environmentally friendly approach. In fact, going green can help your company succeed in two ways.

The first being that as one of the prime goals of environmentalism is to reduce the number of fossil fuels that are used, it can save you a great deal of money. After all, the energy you use to power your business is probably one the most significant expense you have to deal with. That means if you implement methods of preserving this, such as shutting down machines and lights when they aren’t being used, you can save a pretty penny.

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The second way that going green can help to protect your business is linked to the PR and marketing side of running a company. This is because to be found to be using un-environmental practices in 2019 is akin to PR suicide. In fact, you will find that many businesses are using the ways in which their company, product, and packing are green in their marketing as well. This being something that can help them to stand out above their competitors and also create a positive rapport with potential customers.

Get covered

The next tactic that you will want to use to protect your business from ruin is to ensure that you are covered by insurance for all possible situations that could arise.

Of course, they mean that you will need to familiarize yourself with the type of business insurances that are available. This is because a company with an office or shop will need things like third party insurance, which mean that if anyone is injured on their premises, they will be covered.

However, a business that is primarily logistic-based will also need to budget for things like semi truck insurance as well. In fact, as there is a higher risk for your business when you have vehicles that you are responsible for out on the road, this is one type of insurance that cannot afford to be missed if you want to keep your company from ruin.

Be proactive

Finally, if you want to save your business from disaster, it’s always a smart idea to run it in a proactive way. What this means is instead of allowing things to back up until they become a significant problem, you monitor each area of your business and deal with issues as they occur.

In fact, by taking a proactive approach for everything from recruitment to IT, you can minimize any productivity losses and downtime. Thus ensuring that your business keeps running profitably for as long as possible and is not under threat of ruin.

11 Ways To Make Your Business More Memorable

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the type of business you’re running, it’s important to understand how to make your business unique so that it stands out from the others. The following contributed post is entitled, 11 Ways To Make Your Business More Memorable.

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Making your business memorable is key if you want to stay in the forefront of the minds of your audience, and make them think of you every time they have a need that fits what you offer. There are probably many businesses out there offering something of a similar nature to you, so you need to make sure you differentiate your business by being memorable.

Below you’ll find 11 ways to make your business more memorable:

1. Know Exactly Who Your Audience Are And Market To Them
The first thing you need to do is clearly define your audience. You must know who they are and market to them if you’re not only going to be memorable, but successful. You won’t be a memorable business to every demographic, usually – unless you end up becoming the next Coca Cola or the next Ford. Chances of that are pretty slim (not that we’re trying to limit you or anything) so start by knowing your audience and finding ways to make them remember you. What will they respond to? What are they interested in? It’s time to learn as much about them as you possibly can.

2. Come Up With Cool Social Media Campaigns
Social media is a must for any and all businesses, so make sure you’re making the most of it with cool social media campaigns. You don’t even need to do anything super fancy. You could share user generated content from fans and followers, hold a contest, post behind the scenes videos, and more. Thinking outside the box a little and keeping people interested in your brand via your social media channels will really help you to succeed.

3. Aim For High Quality Branding Across All Channels
Your brand should be carefully designed by experts with your values, brand personality, and audience in mind. When you’re sure you’ve got your branding right, you need to make sure that it is the same across all channels. Whether you’re emailing, sending an invoice, or somebody is browsing your website, it should all be in sync.

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4. Attend Events and Plan Them Carefully
Going to events can be a great way to meet more people and get your brand name out there. Don’t just attend these events, though; plan them in a way that forces people to remember you. Offer something different. You could give out goodie bags, have a game or competition, or have cupcakes. Whatever you do, give people a reason to associate positive thoughts and feelings with your brand. You should also pay attention to how your booth/stand looks, so visit chicagobannerprinting.com to see what can be created for you. Maybe you could create a branded backdrop to have pictures taken against, and even use it to encourage your audience to create user generated content.

5. Create Great Copy
You could offer a great product, but if your copy isn’t high quality, it’ll bring you down. People will get an impression of your business from the copy you produce. It shouldn’t have spelling errors or grammatical errors, and it should be interesting. Why should people read it? Create blog content to help people learn more about your business, industry, and what you offer. You could answer frequently asked questions in this way. You should also pay attention to the copy you use to introduce people to your business and even to describe your products. If this isn’t something you have time for, it could be a better idea to hire a copywriter with experience in your industry to do it for you.

6. Come Up With Brave Ideas For Advertising
Come up with a brave idea for your advertising campaign – like that time Vodafone planned a flash mob. Don’t stick to the norm, and do something a little crazy to get people talking. Just make sure it isn’t controversial or offensive if you want to keep your audience on side.

7. Always Deliver On The Promises You Make
You’re likely making promises to your customers, such as delivery times, the quality of your product, and so on. Whatever promises you find yourself making, make sure you go above and beyond to stick to them. People will quickly lose faith in you if you constantly fail to make good on your promises.

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8. Be Completely Transparent And Authentic
Being a transparent and authentic brand isn’t something all businesses deem to be important. This doesn’t mean you have to tell your audience about the affair your IT guy had two years ago, or what you all had for lunch today, but you should make sure you’re not misleading your audience. Many brands do this and it only ends up alienating their audience. Get them on side by being honest with them about what you can and can’t do, and what value your service provides.

9. Make Sure Your Customer Service Is On Point
Your customer service should be second to none. If somebody has an issue, go above and beyond to fix it. Reply to queries as quickly as you can. Really give people an amazing experience so that they have a reason to want to work with you again and recommend your product or services to friends.

10. Choose Your Colour Palette Carefully
Selecting the colour palette is something you’ll do when branding your business, but don’t make the mistake of picking colours you like without researching what they really mean. For example, blues and greens can give a tranquil feel and could be great for an eco-friendly business. Many businesses that use red are often bargain businesses, as red is supposed to make people feel a sense of urgency when buying. Consider things like this when you select your colour palette.

11. Send Thank You Notes
A handwritten thank you note can go a long way to making your business memorable and getting recommendations. It only takes a minute or so to jot a quick thank you along with the customer’s name.

How will you make your business more memorable?

Marketing Tips You’d Be A Fool to Ignore

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Arguably the most important part of your business is its Marketing. Properly executing your marketing strategy can cause your business to soar. The following contributed post is entitled, Marketing Tips You’d Be A Fool to Ignore.

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When it comes to your business, you need to be able to move it forward and one of the best ways that you can do that is getting your marketing strategy on point. You need to advertise, you need to attract new customers and clients, and you need to keep building upon the success. So how do you make that happen? Here are some of the marketing tips that you would be a fool to ignore.

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Keeping in contact with customers

Being in contact with your customers and clients will often be one of the most important aspects of marketing. But with so many ways to do it, often the best advice is to stick with convenience. Most people have their mobile phones on them, and so using an SMS delivery option could be the answer. You can then manage your sms marketing online simply and effectively to ensure that you are always delivering the right message and information. This can also work with email marketing and direct mailers, but SMS can be a simple and effective way to get a message seen without the chance of it being ignored.

Focusing on the local area

The next thing you may want to think about would be your local area. There is so much focus around people wanting to use small businesses and shop locally that this can and still could work in your favour. You can start by sponsoring local events. This could be a great advertising opportunity for you but it could also give you the chance to share and sell your products and services. You might also want to consider things such as working with local charities as this can also give you decent exposure. Last of all, advertise in local community magazines, or use social media to get messages across on local community pages or groups.

Having a social media strategy in place

There is no denying that social media is still going to be one of the best choices to make when it comes to how you advertise your business. You need to be able to be in a position where your business is constantly sharing content, and not just in a sales focused way. You also need to consider that you need to have an engaged audience, so making time to think about more topical posts that could interest them will help you stay relevant. This is when a strategy in place for the content can really help you out.

Digital billboards and physical advertising

Finally, digital billboards and physical advertising is also something to think about as this is something that is making a huge comeback. You want to be able to ensure that you get your message seen, but at the same time, you need to be able to pick the right messages and where to advertise in order to be successful. This could be a great move to make for your business.

Let’s hope that these marketing tips have you advertising your business in a more successful way.

Factoring Receivables Gives Small Players The Chance to Compete

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A major component of any business is properly managing its receivables. Having the systems in place to take orders can be the difference between your business succeeding or failing. The following contributed post is entitled, Factoring Receivables Gives Small Players The Chance to Compete.

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Have you ever had to turn down an order because you don’t have the resources to fulfil it? You are not alone. It is a tough old world out there for small businesses. You always feel like you have a mountain to climb because you don’t have the luxury of an unlimited budget as the large companies in your industry do.

This can make it feel impossible to compete. You feel as if you are constantly remaining stagnate and never expanding. Does this sound familiar? Well, it doesn’t have to apply to you anymore. Factoring receivables gives all businesses the platform to succeed and compete against the big players in their industry.

Whenever a customer orders a product or a service from your company you can use a factoring receivables service to get the cash straight away. This ensures you don’t have to wait around for weeks and weeks for the customer to pay their order. The service provider will take a small percentage for releasing the funds to you, and you will benefit from instant cash as soon as a purchase is made. This ensures that you never have to turn down an order again!

There is nothing worse than having to put your business on hold because a client hasn’t paid what they owe you. A lot of the time this client is stalling because they are waiting for someone to pay them too. It is a never-ending cycle. Yet you get the opportunity to break out of this by using factoring receivables because you get your cash straight away no matter what.

Don’t underestimate how much of a massive platform this can be for your company. Establishing yourself and growing as a small business is extremely difficult. You make one order and then you often have to wait to receive the cash before you can start on the next. You don’t have the capital free to have the luxury of funding the manufacturing of a product with supplies from companies like C and C EDM, Inc. or the delivery of a service through using your business’s float. With factoring receivables, you eliminate this problem as you will always have the capital there. This allows you to take big orders. And as you know; once the large orders start following you really begin to gain momentum and establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with.

And don’t make the mistake many others do and try to carry the workload by yourself! There are far too many business owners out there who are attempting to do an 80 hour work week so that they can complete orders – as they evidently cannot afford to pay their employees if they are waiting on funds. You don’t need us to tell you about how damaging this is to your health!

Now is the time to eliminate the panic. Stop worrying about when and if orders will be paid. Stop trying to take on the job of seven other people. And start becoming a big player in your industry!

How Can You Get The Target Market To Notice You?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A aspect of any business is getting recognized by your target market. Doing so will ensure that you’ll be in business for a while. The following contributed post is entitled, How Can You Get The Target Market To Notice You?

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If your business is struggling to make a name for itself in the marketplace then you need to start trying to stand out. Still, it’s hard to do things differently to your competitors when you’re all selling similar products and services. How can you get the target market to notice you? Here are a few suggestions.

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Research your intended audience.
You should definitely research your intended audience if you want to get the target market to notice you. There’s no point in guessing what your potential customers might want from you. Find out directly from them. That’s how you’ll get ahead of your competitors. Get feedback from your existing customers and potential customers in the industry. Find out what changes they want to see in your particular marketplace and your company in particular. In turn, you’ll be able to develop solutions which set you apart from your rivals and increase your likelihood of winning over customers. You need to differentiate yourself.

Start networking.
If you want to get the target market to notice you then you also need to start networking. This is a crucial aspect of getting the word out about your business. If you can make direct connections with big names in the industry and simply talk to potential customers on a one-to-one basis then you might start to get the recognition you deserve in your marketplace. The key is to make yourself stand out from the competition. Perhaps you could host your own event and invite the press so that your business gains some good publicity in the industry.

You should also attend networking conferences with other businesses. Just ensure that your brand makes a powerful impact on potential customers. After all, people will be presented with plenty of different companies that all promise enticing goods and services. You should check out the exhibit booths found here for a high-quality trading stall. It’s important that your booth is well-designed and captivating. If you present yourself in a professional and exciting way then your target audience will assume that your business is professional and exciting too. Networking is all about enticing potential customers by presenting your brand in an engaging way.

Improve your profit margins and investments.
It’s so important to make investments if you want to improve your business and get the target market to notice you. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Which investments are the right investments? And how can you afford those investments if your company is still growing? Well, you need to start by improving your profit margins. Take a look at your business’ expenditures because you’re probably wasting money in more ways than you fully appreciate. Perhaps you could save money by insulating your office’s windows and walls to trap heat and reduce your energy bills. Perhaps you could stop using paper and go fully digital. There are plenty of ways to reduce costs without cutting back on your operations.

Once you’ve started to mitigate business costs, you should have larger profit margins on a regular basis. That means you’ll have more money to invest back in your business. Still, which investments are going to get the target market to notice you? Well, you should aim to increase your operations. Instead of hiring new full-time employees, however, you might want to consider outsourcing. It’s a cheaper investment, but you’ll still be getting assistance from professionals. It’s important to spend your money wisely without cutting corners. The more you invest in your company’s growth and improvement, the more the target market will notice you. Make sure you invest in quality control, for instance. You don’t want unhappy customers to ruin your reputation and deter potential customers in the target market from giving your business a go.

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Treat your current customers well.
If you want to get the target market to notice you then you have to treat your current customers well. It’s important to chase new leads, of course, but you can’t forget about your existing client base. If you’re going to get new potential clients to notice you then you need to build a reputation for yourself, and you can only achieve that if you have a loyal following that’s leaving rave reviews for your business online. Make sure you talk to your customers on a regular basis. Get to know them. Show that you care about them and want to deliver the best possible service to them.

So, how can you impress your current customers so they spread the word about your company? Well, you can surprise them with discounts and deals they didn’t expect. This is a good way to keep people interested in your business. You could email discounts or even freebies to customers as a way of thanking them for their custom. Perhaps you could even start a loyalty points scheme that gives people discounts or free gifts every time they redeem their points; that’ll give people a reason to keep buying your goods and services so they can rack up more points. Treat your current customers well if you want to boost your reputation and get the rest of the target market to notice you.

Own up to your mistakes.
Consumers like businesses with human values. We all know that humans are prone to making mistakes, so you’ll probably find that customers are understanding when your company makes a mistake. However, you have to own up to that mistake. When delivering bad news, your business has to show customers that it is genuinely sorry. This authenticity will remind your clients that your company is run by human beings. It’ll also remind them that you really care about your customers because you don’t want to just sweep your issues under the rug and pretend that nothing is wrong. Owning up to your mistakes means that you’ll control the narrative surrounding your company. It means that you’ll develop a good reputation rather than a bad one, and you won’t have to worry about the target market deciding to steer clear of you if you make some sort of blunder.

Looking To Run A Small Farm Business? Read this!

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If run correctly an Agriculture business can be very lucrative. If you’re a novice to the business though, there are some important points to understand before getting in. The following contributed post is entitled, Looking To Run A Small Farm Business? Read this!

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If you want to start a small scale farming business, you may be wondering where to begin. You may have the land ready, which is one of the essential things that you need to do, but you do not know what the next step is. Here, we look at what you need to think about when starting up.

Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

1. Understand how farming works

There is minimal point in starting a small farm business if you have no idea how a farm works. It may sound straightforward enough, but in reality, it really isn’t. It involves long hours and lots of stress, and at times, there can appear to be very little reward for it all. However, in the long run, if you put the effort in and follow some important farming guidelines, you will see it all pay off.

The majority of your learning will happen on the job, and you will make plenty of mistakes along the way. Some things will work, and some will not, and you may feel like you are getting nowhere at times. Before jumping into owning a farm, see if you can get some experience by working or volunteering as a farmhand. If you are purchasing your own far, seek out a farm manager or a mentor with the expertise to guide you through the process.

2. Have a business plan

It does not seem to be the sort of thing that needs a business plan, but if your ultimate goal is to make a profit from it, you need a well thought out business plan. Consider the supply and demand for your products, the markets, the management structure, financial strategy, and how you will be pricing goods. You may also want to look at taking advantage of any grants or loans to get your farming business up and running, which you often cannot do without a plan.

3. Investigate grants and subsidies

As we mentioned above, in some cases there are grants and programs available to help you to purchase essential farming equipment such as mowers, tunnels, seeds, and various other things, or for an injection of cash to get you on your feet.
Other places may provide subsidies on equipment, especially if you are a startup or a young farmer. Don’t forget animal feed if you are looking at that area of farming – learn more here about the things you may need.

You may well want to start off by using whatever budget you have available and see how things go. Do bear in mind that farms often make a loss, to begin with, so make sure that you have enough savings, or a secondary form of income to keep you ticking over until you are consistently making a profit.

4. Set up business licenses and permits

It depends where you are based, but once you have decided on the business type, you are going to work as, whether a sole proprietorship or an LLC, you will need to register it and purchase any relevant business licenses. You may also need to look into insurance, and take out any insurances that may be appropriate, particularly if you are employing other people.

5 Interesting Careers In Science You Should Consider

Three focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, Education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). It’s a good time to get into one of the STEM fields. There are particularly numerous career opportunities in the Biomedical Sciences. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Interesting Careers In Science You Should Consider.

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Photo by Ousa Chea on Unsplash

The first thing to come to mind when thinking about a career in science is most probably the image of a lab technician in a white coat, mixing chemicals. You wouldn’t be wrong that a fair few careers in science involve this, and they are very much worth considering as a career. You shouldn’t forget that you do have sciences such as medical sciences, theoretical sciences, physical science, life sciences in roles such as zoologists and even some food hygienists need to have a background in biology. The level of education can vary from college level right through to 10 years and up at university levels and often the schooling is continuous is a career in science. Have a look below at three lab coat careers you should consider when thinking about science.

Pharmacist
With a wide variety of job role options, a pharmacist is definitely an attractive career option in science. A pharmacist is responsible for managing all the aspects of a commercial or hospital pharmacy. On top of this, they are also responsible for sourcing and dispensing medications, a pharmacist makes sure that each individual patient receives the correct medication and dosage. Often if in a hospital pharmacist will even attend patient rounds to help consult and advise physicians. You can expect to study for around 8 years to reach this level and it’s advised that you look into a college degree in biology, chemistry or pre-pharmacy.

DNA Analyst
Often seen and known because of crime dramas a career as a DNA Analyst could be a very rewarding and interesting path to take. It plays a critical role in crime investigation and you will work closely alongside criminal investigations. They are sometimes referred to as forensic biologists, someone in this line of work would look at things such as blood, saliva, body fluids and hair found at crime scenes and deliver the DNA results to the criminologist for their investigations. It’s considered a highly important role, especially as a lot of investigations, now rely on DNA as a reliable source of conviction. Sometimes they are even asked to testify and appear in court and it can become a night and day job as unfortunately, crime doesn’t sleep. A college degree in biology is a necessity for this job. You should also look into taking extra courses in forensics, such as toxicology and drug analysis.

Biomedical Engineer
If you’ve dreamt about changing the world or finding the next big cure in medicine, then this is the career for you. Using sophisticated technology and equipment such as test tubes, DNA extractors and a 96 well plate in research facilities, laboratories and hospitals to conduct research biomedical engineering is a type of science that is continually developing and adapting to find the next solution. Some people choose to use their knowledge to educate in teaching positions and pass on their skills. You will need a high level of education for this type of role and you can expect to study continuously to adapt along with science. Looking at an array of courses is ideal for this role such as chemistry and physics. You may also find it beneficial to complete an internship in a biomedical engineering laboratory to gain the essential practical experience to you will need for your own lab.

Do you have any other careers in science that should be on this list? Please share them in the comments section below.

Maximizing Your Laboratory Spend

A key focus of my blog is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Whether you’re running a lab in academia, in industry or in some sort of government capacity a key consideration are the amounts being spent to accomplish the mission. Labs that are run wisely tend to stay open longer than those that aren’t. The following contributed post is entitled, Maximizing Your Laboratory Spend.

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It does not matter what sort of laboratory you own or run, one of your most important tasks will be to maximize your spend. After all, labs do not have unlimited budgets, and so they need to make sure that their funds are being put to best use. There are a number of different ways you can do this, so read on for some critical information.

Identifying whether to buy – There is only one place to begin, and this is by identifying whether to buy. Of course, there are going to be somethings, like basic instruments and testing materials, like synthetic urine, which are simply a necessity. However, there are other items that are considered nice-to-have, rather than being a necessity. Therefore, you really need to think about whether you should buy this equipment, or whether leasing would be better. When you consider the rapid pace of technological innovations today, you could easily buy something and then it could become outdated very quickly. This is why it is a good idea to consider leasing in a lot of circumstances. Nevertheless, if you know the equipment is going to be used again and again, buying could be just the thing you need.

Compare prices and suppliers carefully – There are many different tools online today that enable you to compare products across all industries, and the same goes when it comes to laboratory equipment. Nevertheless, you still need to be careful when you purchase. You should make the effort to ensure that all of the suppliers you are considering are 100 per cent legitimate. The last thing you want is to end up falling victim to a fraud company who either does not supply the products at all or does not supply lab-grade equipment. Doing a bit of digging and reading reviews that have been left by others are both essential steps.

Look for ways to reduce spend without taking any risks – The final piece of the puzzle is to look for different ways that you can save some money without taking a risk in terms of the quality of your equipment and your supplies. There are a number of different ways that you can go about this. For example, you can simply try to negotiate with your vendor. This is more successful than a lot of people realise. In addition to this, you should find out whether there are any discounts for group purchases or bulk buys, as this can lead to significant savings overall.

We hope that this blog post has assisted you when it comes to maximizing laboratory spend. There is no denying that money management is critical for any business but when you are involved in something as vital as lab work, there is heightened importance on making sure you maximize your funds. Use the tips provided above to make sure that this is the case.