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.

How a Poor Name Can Lower the Value of your Brand

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When starting a business, one of the most important components is building and maintaining your ‘brand’. A key component of your brand is your name. Choosing the right name can be the difference between life and death in the business context. The following guest post comes courtesy of Squadhelp.com and is entitled, How a Poor Name Can Lower the Value of your Brand.

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When you are brainstorming a name for your brand-new startup, you might notice that certain people you run into will tell you not to worry about the name you select for your business. They will say to you that a startup name lacks any tangible value because they believe that names are just frills. They will tell you it is not worth investing your time and resources into, but they would be wrong. In actuality, research shows that easy, memorable names outperform non-captivating and lackluster names on the stock market by 33% or more.

A Poor Name Won’t Set a Solid Brand Foundation

In today’s fast-paced market, first impressions matter more than ever before. Generally, your brand name will be the first thing that a possible client or customer will learn about your brand. You brand encompasses many aspects of your business including your logo, beliefs, values and name.

The name is basically the foundation and the identity of your new company. If the name is too weak, it will not be able to support the weight of your brand and will hold your business back from growth. You ideally want to choose a name that sets the stage for your success.

Fail to Capture Audiences

Your target audience is very likely overwhelmed by the vast number of options available in today’s modern market. It’s very likely that your business offers special services or products, but without a great name that captures the attention of your audience, you might lose customers. If your name does not get their attention right away, they will move on to the next business without checking out the options your startup offers.

A name should create a strong connection between your business and your target market. Ideally, it should give them something to hold on to and remember about your brand.

Drive Audiences Away

Although making your brand name attractive is very important, you need double check that it does not drive any potential customers or clients away. Difficult, boring, or offensive names risk alienating a large segment of your customer base. Make sure that you don’t select a company name that is cringey or awkward, as something like that will likely drive customers away and send people the wrong message.

A great example of this would be a salon with the name Curl Up & Dye. Although this name is clearly descriptive and witty, but it could accidentally send the wrong message to any potential customers about the quality of services that the salon offers. The name heavily relies on the audience’s sense of humor, but you risk losing potential clients that do not find the funny brand amusing.

Audience testing is a quick and simple way to make sure that your startup name will do well with your chosen target audience.

A Forgettable Name = A Forgettable Brand

Even if a customer really wants to remember your brand name, if it is boring or too perplexing to pronounce and spell, they will likely not remember it. When your target demographic cannot remember your name even when they want to, it is a bad sign for your business.

A memorable name will ensure that your brand is something that your customers will never forget. Double check that your brand name does not fall by the wayside by brainstorming a catchy, memorable name that will capture your target audience’s attention. Peruse some of these winning company name suggestions to give yourself a better idea of what type of names catch your attention the most.

Lose Referrals

In the end, your brand name needs to be appealing and memorable enough that it establishes your brand and sets you up for success in the future. If you cannot create a solid foundation for your company with a great name, you will not only lose out on any potential clients but also the potential referrals you would have gotten from those clients.

Conclusion

Each and every tiny aspect of your brand adds up in the end, and if your name can help you get some extra of press coverage or a couple more chains of referrals from customers, it makes all the difference. A brand name really has the power to impact your business success.

When you are coming up with a business name, make sure you remember that a brand name is way more than just a word. It establishes the foundation for your business, and it can be a very useful tool making your business successful.

Grant Polachek is the Director of Marketing at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with nearly 20,000 customers from the smallest startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation. Get inspired by exploring these creative business names.

The Dangers Of Diagnosing Yourself Online

Two of the focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness and Technology. One of the advantages of our current digital age is that the profuse amounts of information available and our access to it. The danger though is that not all of the information is accurate, and it is so readily available. In some instances false information about health can have harmful effects. The following contributed post discusses and is entitled, The Dangers Of Diagnosing Yourself Online.

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The internet is a pretty wonderful invention and one that’s changed our lives – mostly for the better. We have the ability to connect with people from all over the world with the touch of a button, can learn basically anything about anything, and really have so much knowledge and information at our fingertips than we’ve ever had before.

We can start businesses, organize our lives, make money, order things without ever leaving the house, and even get things like doctors to speak to us over the computer – basically we can do anything we want to do from our computers and smartphones these days, which is a good thing if you choose to look at it that way.

However, we can’t pretend it’s perfect. Like everything, there are always going to be downsides, and the internet certainly isn’t exempt from that.

One of the things that the internet is pretty famous for – especially since the rise of social media is the amount of false information “fake news” if you will, and basically a lot of misinformation that can cause feelings of fear and impending doom.

This is very commonly seen when it comes to our health. You will know yourself if you’ve ever had something perfectly innocent like a bad cough or cold and suddenly a Google search has you dead and buried before you’ve even opened the first link it produces.

The rise in things like health anxiety is directly linked to the amount of people now being able to access so much information without limits online, but the danger is that they’re attempting to self-diagnose themselves and this is a very dangerous practice.

Now, of course, this isn’t to say that you won’t find genuine medical literature online, but the fact of the matter is, if you’re genuinely concerned about symptoms such as a cough being something more serious, then it’s time to speak to a doctor and get a proper diagnosis. Even if it turns out to be something, then they will talk you through things like Lung Cancer Treatment if that’s what you need.

Googling your symptoms from questionable online sources is not going to lead anywhere good, and in this post, we’re going to share with you some of the real dangers of diagnosing yourself online.

It will make your anxiety soar:

If you’re already someone who suffers with anxiety – specifically health anxiety, then trying to look up symptoms online os going to make this completely unbearable for you, so it’s really not advisable.

It causes stress:

Anxiety is going to stress you out far more than you already are – add to that the ongoing worry from what you’ve just read and it will be a miracle if you can sleep or function normally.

You can miss a real health condition:

Diagnosing yourself online doesn’t always give the worst case scenario – sometimes it can tell you it’s nothing when it’s actually something that you should see your doctor about, but if you follow online advice then this could lead to a much bigger problem if you don’t actually go to the doctor.

The Power Of The Personal Touch

Two of my blog’s key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending upon the type of business you’re running, a key to its success is its personal touch. The more customers connect with your business, the more they’ll support your operations and return. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, The Power Of The Personal Touch.

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It should come as no surprise that the personal touch matters in business. Providing a reliable point of contact for each customer can streamline the selling process. The employee in question can then get a feel for what your customers want, and sell as much as possible. On top of which, customers will come to feel at ease with that one person. As a result, they may trust your company more than they would otherwise. For proof of how important this personal aspect of business is, consider social media. Here, companies focus on building strong voices and personal connections for just this reason.

What you might not realize is that getting personal with products can also make a difference. In the same way, this personal touch can improve customer relations. Whether you make items to order or personalize as you go, it can also benefit your business in the following ways.

A chance to give customers what they want

Any company would like to cut customer complaints wherever possible. Disgruntled customers are never pleasant to deal with. Dissatisfaction can also stop people from coming back, and damage your reputation in the bigger picture. If you choose to make items to order, though, you could cut back on complaints in a significant way. That’s because each item will be tailor-made with a customer specifications in mind. That removes any real margin for error and makes sure customers can’t pin anything they aren’t 100% happy with on you. They told you what they wanted, after all. Before you know, operating in this order-by-order way can see satisfaction levels skyrocketing. Your reputation might just rise along with them. It may be more work on the outset, but you can bet it would be worth your while.

A way to add sentimental value

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Sentimental value is an invaluable product addition. In many ways, all business owners would love to achieve this with their ideas. The things already have enough sentimental value for you, after all. And, if you can accomplish the same for customers, they’re more liable to remember your company and tell others about it. So, how do you add sentimentality with products? Through things like engraving, of course. By investing in laser cutting equipment, you can include unforgettable personal messages. All you would need to do is read up on something like this boss laser cutter review to make sure you’re investing in machinery you can trust. Then, you could offer this service to anyone who comes through your doors, and enjoy the rewards.

An increased chance of loyalty

Any business owner knows that customer loyalty is one of the best ways to make money which keeps on coming. And, loyalty is exactly what you’ll get with personal products like these. At least, you will if you do things well. Before you know, meeting with every customer need can see people coming back to you time and again. And, when that happens, you can really start to consider your company a success.

Finding Your Team

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the key aspects of building your business is building your team. You have to find the right people to put the team possible together. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Finding Your Team.

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Your business has become, let’s face, it something like your baby. You are extremely protective of its growth and well being and are determined to see it succeed. And it’s this protective attitude that makes it so hard for some entrepreneurs to let go and relinquish some control. This plays out, more often than not, when it comes to hiring extra members of your team particularly those first hires.

In this blog, we take look at how to go about hiring for the first time and why you should let go, just a little bit for even greater business success.

Plan For Success

Whether you manufacture physical goods such as safety railing systems or sell your creative skills and talents as a service, you will have planned for growth and been prepared to expand as your business goes from strength to strength. The hard part is admitting that you now need help but you know that if you want your business to carry on its present trajectory, you’re going to need to hire someone in.

The first thing you’re going to need to do is set aside some time to figure out exactly what role you’re going to want your new hire to play. Think as specific as possible. Avoid vague headings, such as ‘admin duties’ and instead pinpoint exactly what will be required. The more specific you are, the more likely you are to find someone with exactly the skills and experience you are looking for.

Alongside your job description, you’ll also need to create a person specification document. This moves away from just the role the person will take and centres more on the skills and personal qualities a candidate should bring. You’ll be focussing in on both their hard and soft skills.

The Interview

If you have limited experience in interviewing people, then this part of the process can be almost as daunting for you as it is for the interviewee. Stay calm, professional and friendly. You want to see that your candidate can perform well under the pressure of an interview but that doesn’t require a good cop/bad cop routine.

Keep an open mind, the role of an admin officer might be easily filled but when someone brings some soft skills outside the remit such as a proven record in negotiation techniques, you might want to use this to your business advantage further down the line. Candidates who perform well on paper may not do so in person and vice versa.

Image from Pexels

Trust Your Gut

If you interview someone who seems like the perfect person but you just don’t seem able to connect with them, that feeling is perfectly valid and should not be ignored. If your business is small and you’re going to be spending quite a lot of time together then finding a candidate you click with is vital for operational success.

The same can be said for a candidate who may have only ticked the basics when it came to the job description but shows a strong ability to adapt and learn and who you can see fitting into the ethos of your business.

Build In Some Wriggle Room

Whoever you hire you want to be sure that they are fully on board with your vision for the company and share your overall goals and short-term objectives to reach that end point. With that in mind, it’s perfectly valid to build in a six month, or less, probation period agreed to by both parties. At the end of this period, either party can step away from the role for whatever reason with no recriminations.

If that does happen, then taking some time to learn what went wrong and why is a crucial part of the learning process and will help you to avoid making the same mistakes again.

When you’ve made the right hire once, the subsequent times will become easier and easier as you figure out how to make the recruitment process work for you and become more discerning at narrowing down the right candidates.

The benefits of building a strong team are tangible. Having people on your side who share your determination and drive will give you a real boost in productivity and should help to take some of the load off of your own shoulders. Being the boss might not be natural at first but when you’re all pulling in the right direction, you’ll be glad you made the decision to let go a little of the responsibility and allowed others to help take the strain.

Building A Business? It’s All About Making Connections

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Some key aspects of building a business are: raising capital, marketing, and recruitment of talent. Another key piece is networking which will allow you find partners in addition to finding customers. The following contributed discusses the importance of building networks and the post is thus entitled, Building A Business? It’s All About Making Connections.

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Image via Unsplash

The more you look into it, the more it becomes apparent that everything we do in life is dependent on a community. Nowhere is that more true than when you’re trying to launch your own business. Be it academic networks or entrepreneurial ones, the connections we are able to make are a major factor in determining our success. We go through life forming new communities. We need to find others who connect with what we are writing or selling. People who will share what we have to say with their own networks via social media or word of mouth. Communities function through the building of relationships and the exchange of ideas, and if you’re trying to get a company off the ground, then having the opportunity and the ability to form those relationships is absolutely vital. Forming a quality connection is about finding the common ground, having a shared vision or set of ideas. Once you have this, you’ll have an audience of brand advocates that can support, challenge and improve what you do.

Developing An Audience-Centric Content Strategy

But how do you find this community and connect with them in the right way? You have to begin by putting yourself out there – taking a few risks, showing what you’re all about and laying out your stall – literally and metaphorically! Find your voice and see who responds to it. It all starts with creating some quality content introducing your brand and it’s products or services. Work with the best web developers or Video Production Companies to refine your messages and positioning and make content which truly reflects who you are and what you’re aiming to do. This is your chance to show the world what your intentions are, so make it the best you can.

Establish A Feedback Loop

Once you’re out there with some content, put in place mechanisms to ensure you’re getting an accurate picture of the reactions people have. Use an audience discovery tool such as Mention to set up alerts around phrases and keywords relevant to your business. Topics you care about will guide you to your audience. They can be geographically related, related to a particular industry or even just a be a quirky subject that you have a particular interest in. Monitoring these topics will allow you to discover potential community members and further expand your networks of people and relevant interests. You can also use social listening to understand what people are saying about your business, what they love that you do, where you could improve and even ideas for future development.

Join In The Discussion

Reaching out on topics of interest or customer support issues can quickly gain you a reputation and a following, but it does take a bit of work to get off the ground initially. The key is to have a great CRM system which allows you to manage all your data centrally and connect with other services such as social media scheduling software, customer support tickets and email. Use this source to gather a fuller picture of who you are talking to using a tool like Riffle and then make those valuable connections that can really take your business to the next level.

Hidden Costs For Small Business Owners and How To Avoid Them

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Small business owners must be aware of cash flow and hidden costs. Control of these two things are life and death for any business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Hidden Costs For Small Business Owners and How To Avoid Them.

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When you start out with a plan to create and build your own business, you will get a business plan and a budget together. In fact, it is usually so precise and specific that you will have all of your costs mapped out for quite a while and know exactly what needs to be spent where, and what you need to be selling in order to cover any costs. But the reality is, when it actually comes to running your business, there are many hidden costs that arise that you can forget about.

Think about maintenance of equipment, replacing broken chairs in an office, or adding insurance; it all adds up, and may not be what you are initially thinking about when it comes to making your business plan. But if theses costs get out of control, then it can be damaging. So with that in mind, here are some of the things that you can be thinking about and doing, to make sure that you are able to reduce your ‘hidden’ costs and stick to the budget that you have planned.

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Rent Equipment

When you rent a home, you pay for the home and essentially cover the mortgage, but you are not responsible for any of the things that might stop working, like the washing machine or dishwasher, for example. The same goes for when you rent equipment. As long as you have not purposely damaged any items, any repairs that need to be done, tend to be covered by the person that you are renting off. Take rental boilers, for example, they can be pricey to buy and repair yourself. Which is why renting could be better, so that you don’t have the hidden cost of having to pay for it to be fixed, should your boiler break.

Strict Expense Policy

If you have employees that are going to need some expenses paid for business related work, such as travel and so on, make sure that you have a clear and strict expense policy when it comes to what you do or don’t allow. If you keep the policy quite general, then you could be paying for expenses that aren’t really a legitimate business expense. So that is certainly something to be thinking about, as it can add up, especially if you have employees expensing a lot of items.

Negotiate

There will be plenty of deals and contracts that you will have as a small business owner over time. But if you just take things at face value, and don’t look into the contracts or even try to negotiate things on your contract, then you can be missing out. You can reduce some of your necessary costs through negotiating; it is always worth a try to ask. Otherwise, these kinds of thing can quite quickly spiral out of control, especially when things auto-renew before you’ve had to chance to ask for money off because of repeat custom.

Your goal should be to swim and get this business going, not be drowning in hidden costs. So take control and you can have business success.

Locked Out of the Property Market? Go Abroad

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Purchasing a home is the greatest purchase and investment many people will ever make. In many places across the country, the housing markets have become exclusive to the point where people can get in. One option is purchase property abroad. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Locked Out of the Property Market? Go Abroad.

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Back in the days, our parents were able to buy their first home for next to nothing. Getting their first job was a fairly easy achievement as well and, sadly, something that many young adults find to be a much bigger challenge.

While some people are able to get a hold of their very first house or apartment with the help of their family or a degree in a field that needs more candidates, most of us are still struggling to make ends meet – and the real estate dream seems further away than ever.

Image by: Pexels

Luckily, there are options out there and you won’t necessarily have to be renting a flat until you’re in your mid-forties either. Here is a handful of ways to achieve the property dream abroad instead of in a difficult market at home so that you can make a passive income that way – or just become an expat instead. Just make sure to consult a real estate lawyer first!

First: Research the country

If you have never considered buying property abroad before, you’re probably at a loss in terms of where to even start. Where you decide to invest should, of course, depend on a few factors: how much money you have to invest, whether or not you’re looking for a tropical holiday home, and how profitable it is for foreigners to invest in the country.

Some of them are up-and-coming and may give you a decent profit if you manage to hang on to it for a few years or even a short decade. Others, however, may seem tropical and dreamy but make it tricky for foreigners to invest. That’s why you need to do some decent research first and consider your own intentions as well.

Start by checking out this site to learn more about the best countries to invest in, at the moment, and keep in mind that the political climate and the country’s general economy may affect how great of an investment you’ve made.

Research is the keyword here – and the more you know, the better prepared you’ll be when it’s time to make a decision.

Next: Figure out your mortgage options

While a lack of knowledge tends to be the first thing that puts most foreign investors-to-be off from a real estate project abroad, to begin with, they’ll often be thrown off when they try to find funding for their new property.

Keep in mind, however, that some countries are a lot cheaper than others and, if you’re able to, you’ll save yourself a massive amount of hassle if you can just pay everything off at once. Consider your inheritance options, for example, and see if you’re able to get some of it in advance – that way, you might be able to buy a smaller flat without having to take up a loan at all.

That’s the kind of stuff that will make you quite a bit of money when you rent it out as you’ll only have maintenance expenses on the property.

If not, it’s a good idea to ask your parents if they can take out a mortgage on their property and lend you this money – either as an inheritance in advance or just as a pure loan. It will be much easier for you to pay them back once you’re able to rent your new property out, after all, and their generation can start to feel a bit less guilty about the terrible real estate market they’ve left us in.

Have a look at this article on mortgage loans as well, by the way, to learn more about your options when buying property abroad. There are other ways to obtain a real estate overseas besides from depending on your parents or using the lump sum you’ve saved up, though, so consider other options such as financing it through a bank here at home.

While it may be difficult to get a mortgage loan for a property abroad through a bank in your home country, it’s not necessarily impossible. Do your research before you settle on anything final and keep in mind that buying a property at home would have been just as difficult – and much more expensive.

Remember to read up on whether or not you’re allowed to rent this property out as well. Some countries, such as Spain, depend on tourism and make a large amount of money from accommodation during the high season. It just doesn’t make sense for them if foreign investors step in and rent out their own property for next to nothing through Airbnb or similar.

Research, ask a professional for help and keep in mind that you’ll always get there in the end.

Why Organization Is Key To Make Success Of A Side Hustle

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two of its key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While many people have nine to five jobs, having an income generating ‘side hustle’ can prove to be very lucrative and a wise investment of time and resources. A key to effectively having this type of side hustle is organization. Many people in fact have these side hustles. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why Organization Is Key To Make Success Of A Side Hustle.

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It’s easier than ever to try your hand at something new in the twenty first century. Millennials are savvy human beings with a thirst for interconnectivity and innovation, which is why they are reluctant to simply let their nine to five income wallow in their bank accounts. To make your money work more aggressively, you need to seek out more creative opportunities. Playing to your strengths means focusing on what you love such as craft, wine, real estate or stocks and shares and turning your hands to these ventures as an amateur. While you might not become an investment banker, you can develop a portfolio to help you prepare for your retirement. Organization is key. Take a look at these side hustle investments that you might want to look into.

Real Estate

Property is as safe as houses (excuse the pun) when it comes to making money in the long term. If you are willing to utilize some of your hard earned cash to put down a deposit on a pad, like those listed with William Pitt, you could find yourself with an exceptional asset on your hands. You could look into long term, short term or holiday rentals depending on the property type, target market, and location that you are after. Beachside, country or idyllic locations tend to lend themselves for the more lucrative vacation rental. In the high season, you could be charging over ten times your mortgage repayment weekly to cover costs and top up your nest egg.

Long term rentals may be a safer bet if you are looking for maximum financial security. By handing over the responsibility for the rental to a property management company, you can watch the money come in while not having to worry about a leaking washing machine or a burst pipe. For the long term investor, property is hard to beat.

Wine

If you love partaking in a tipple or two of the finest vintage, you might already have a decent amount of knowledge regarding vintage years and vineyards. Put it to good use and invest in some historic wines that will only grow more scarce and increase in value. You have to think of investing in wine in the same way as you would art. It has to be sought after, rare and have the ability to increase in value. Store it in your own cellar or ask for a wine storage company to look after your magnum or two for a decade or more, and you could have made a tidy profit.

Forex

If you’ve always wondered what trading currencies was all about, why not have a go. You don’t have to be investing hundreds and thousands straight away. Head online and set up a dummy account, and have fun investigating the markets. You might find that you’re a dab hand at buying dollars against the yen, and pounds against the krona. Take your time and learn the ropes, watching some tutorials along the way. When you’re ready, have a go for real but only ever spend what you can afford to lose.

By mixing the low, medium and high risk investments, you’ll create a portfolio that will see your side hustling go from strength to strength.

Getting Prepared For The Unexpected

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Health/Wellness. In life, we never know what is going to happen which is in part exciting but problematic at the same time. It is likewise important to understand this, and to try to figure out ways to be proactive about the unexpected. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Getting Prepared For The Unexpected.

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Image by stevepb on Pixabay

While it’s great to think positively about the future, it’s also good to be prepared for the unexpected as you never know what might happen – good or bad, it could be an unplanned pregnancy, a new job opportunity or you could lose your job, have an accident or get ill? Any of these events could have and probably will have a significant impact on your finances. So, are you prepared?

Be Realistic
Nobody plans for illness and no one prepares for a tree falling on their car. However, if you do prepare for unexpected events then, you’ll know how to deal with them, it won’t be such a shock and will hopefully mean you have some money or people or access to cash or the right people to help you through it. It’s tough to focus on adverse and traumatic events until you have to, however, if you do and you can think about what could/might happen, and what you would do about it, mentally walking it through, it can help you to work out what you might need.

Start with an Emergency Fund
A priority step for preparing for the unexpected is to have a substantial emergency fund in place. Your emergency fund should ideally cover you for 3-6 months of living expenses. If you are single, or you are a single-income family, you may want to consider building an emergency fund of up to a year, which will provide security for you and your family should you lose your job and have a hard time finding another one, or suffer an unexpected illness or gap in your earnings.

It is nice to know you have the money there while you are dealing with other issues such as job loss, illness or anything that might affect your income. Think about what you already have or is there anything you can sell, can you sell annuity payment for example? Do you have any money coming in from an inheritance that you could put by in case of an emergency?

Think About The People You Know
Professionally and personally, do you have people in your life who will be willing and able to help you if you need them? Do you know people to give you advice, coaching, or counseling? Each person you know will be able to offer something different; some people will be great at providing practical help such as meal deliveries, or personal friends who will stop by your home to help out. Having a support system can be invaluable when an unwelcome event occurs.

What About Your Job?
If you have an accident or fall ill and find yourself having to be away from your job for an extended period, this can add additional stress as you might be worried about your work, your clients and your team. Will they be able to manage without you? If you get a system in place for these kinds of eventualities, this will help to keep your mind at rest, as well as improve your team and employer know that everything will be taken care of.

Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age, it’s critical that your business runs on the most up to date technologies possible. Likewise it’s critical to keep your systems up to date. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why You Should Upgrade Your Office Technology.

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There are aspects of your business that are ever in flux. Your ideas need to evolve; your customer’s experience develops in accordance with the feedback you receive, your staff learn new skills, and so on. One thing that you may think holds steady is the nuts and bolts of your business: the location of your office, the furniture, the technology and software you use to push your business forward. But in fact, these things should also be in flux, especially your technology Below, we take a look at a few reasons why you’ll want to consider upgrading your business technology.

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You’re Behind the Times

You might think that you’re operating at full capacity, but are you? F you’re using outdated technology, then the chances are that while you’re running at 100% with the technology you’re using, in comparative terms you’re only doing things at 75%. You can only do the best with what you have, but what if the best you have isn’t good enough? If it’s been some years since you last updated your equipment, take a look at any developments that have happened since then — you might just see what you’re missing out on.

Your Competitors Are Doing It

Even if you think you’re working well enough with what you have, it’s worth keeping in mind that what you’re doing is only one small piece of the jigsaw puzzle of running a business. What your competitors are doing is also important to your long-term business success, too. So while you may assess things and decide that you’re happy with what you have, cast your mind to the companies you’re in competition with for customers. Would you be quite as confident in your decision if you knew they were upgrading their technology?

It’s Easier Than You Think

There are normally two big considerations that prevent a company from upgrading their technology: the time involved to make the transition, and the cost. Both of these issues, however, are based on incorrect assumptions. For starters, let’s think about the cost. You shouldn’t think about the technology as a dead cost, because it’s not — if it helps you work more productively, then it’ll boost your profits. It’s an investment. In any case, the costs will be offset by the sale of your old equipment, which can be achieved by working with a company that offers data center liquidation. On the time front, if you transition your data into the cloud, then there’ll be no great data migration process. You can just have your new equipment installed, and be back to work at full speed in a day or two.

It’s Safer

Finally, keep in mind that keeping your technology and software up to date is an important part of staying protected about malware and other cybercrime threats. This type of crime has risen significantly in recent years and is especially targeted at small businesses. With the latest tools at your disposal, you’ll be in the best position to keep the threat at bay.