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.

3 Important Changes You Need To Make To Your Online Delivery Process

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital age, many individuals are moving their products using an online store. If you have an online store, it’s important to be able to deliver your products as efficiently as possible. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 3 Important Changes You Need To Make To Your Online Delivery Process.

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A good shipping process is vital for online retailers. Customers have high expectations and they want their products to arrive as quickly as possible. Even if they love your products and the prices are great, they’re not going to come back to you if you make them wait a week for delivery. You’re not going to be able to match the next day or even same day delivery that the big companies are offering because you simply don’t have the resources to do it, but you do need to make sure that you’re getting products out as quickly as possible. You also need to make sure that you’re doing it in a cost-effective way and products aren’t getting broken in transit. It sounds tough, but if you follow these basic tips you can handle your shipping efficiently.

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Consult Professionals

Supply chains are a difficult thing to manage and there are a lot of different steps to consider along the way. You need to get the products from the manufacturer delivered to your warehouse, then you need to pack them all and plan routes for your delivery vehicles. If this is your first business and you’ve never dealt with a supply chain before, you probably haven’t got a clue where to start. That’s why it’s a good idea to consult professional companies like the Moresby Group and get their advice. They’ll have a lot more experience than you and they’ll be able to help you set up and manage an efficient supply chain so you don’t make any costly mistakes.

Route Planning Software

Giving your driver a list of addresses and sending them on the way isn’t the most efficient way to handle your deliveries. Everything will still get there on time but it’ll take longer than it needs to and you’ll be using more fuel. But if you use route planning software, you can create the most efficient routes possible. That saves your drivers time, saves you money and makes your business more eco-friendly because you’re using less fuel.

Barcode Scanners

Picking items from the warehouse is quite a long part of the shipping process, especially if your employees are doing it all manually. You’re wasting so much time if people are searching the warehouse for products every time they need to load a shipment. That’s why you need to invest a bit of money in some inventory software and barcode scanners. Your employees will be so much quicker if they can scan their picking list and find out exactly where the products that they need are stored.

Consider Outsourcing

If you’re selling products on a large scale, it might be more cost-effective to run your own warehouse and shipping process. However, if you’re a relatively new business and you don’t make that many sales yet, you probably don’t have the capital for that. It’s also not necessary at this stage in your business career. Instead, you should consider outsourcing to a courier company. They’ll already have the infrastructure in place and the necessary experience to handle your deliveries in a timely fashion.

If you don’t have a good shipping service in place, you’re never going to get your online retail business off the ground.

More That a Cog: Show Your Employees That You Care

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Whichever kind of organization you’re running, taking care of your employees is key. If you do that, they’ll continue to give maximum effort. The following contributed post is thus entitled, More That a Cog: Show Your Employees That You Care.

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These days, employees want more than a paycheck from their employers; they want to feel like they’re part of something more important, to believe that they’re not just slogging away at a job so that a salary ends up in their bank account each month. Of course, money is a factor – a big factor – but there are others, such as knowing that their boss sees them as more than a cog in their machine. Showing a more caring approach doesn’t just affect your employees, either – it’ll be good for you, too, and the culture of the company. Below, we take a look at a number of ways you can become a more caring boss.

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Beyond Business Chat

You’ve hired your employee to do a job for you, but that doesn’t mean that all of your interactions have to be solely about business. If they are, then you can’t have any complaints if they think you just see them as an expendable employee. Get to know your staff on a deeper level. No, that doesn’t mean you should spend every Friday night bar-hopping; it just means getting to know what makes them tick, what they want to achieve in life, what their dreams are, things like that. Their chief aim in life isn’t to work for you — but maybe you can help them along on their journey to wherever they want to go.

Give Trust

There are some bosses who really shouldn’t have hired any employees at all, since all they want their employees to do is whatever they’re told to do. They’re micromanaged to death, and when that happens, there’s no amount of personal chit-chat that can make up for what is painfully obvious — that the professional side of the employee’s life is of no importance. As such, one of the best ways to foster a deeper relationship is to give the employee the opportunity to do the job they were hired to do, without looking over their shoulder. It’ll be a big step along their professional journey, and you’ll have been responsible.

Sympathy

In the cold-hearted corporate world, you’re told to park your personal problems at the door when you arrive at work. This might work if the human switched to robot mode once they entered the workplace, but it’s not realistic if that’s not an option. If you’ve got a huge personal problem in your life, then there’s not much you can do about the influence it has on your life, nor should you need to. No-one likes a boss who puts the company’s profits above an employee’s personal problems. Show some sympathy, and do what you can to alleviate any problems that they may have, such as giving them extra time off from work.

Look After Their Health

Employees are working longer hours than ever before, and it’s beginning to take its toll. There’s been a sharp rise in work-related health conditions, especially those connected to mental illness and prolonged periods of sitting. This, of course, does nobody any good — not the employee nor the company. So put making sure your employees are fit and healthy at the heart of your employee wellness programs. If someone’s feeling the mental strain from work, give them a few paid days off. You can also initiate a telemedicine system at the office, so your employees can get their health virtually assessed by a professional. These types of workplace initiatives will, primarily, show that you care about your staff’s wellbeing, but also boost morale and reduce sick days, too.

Take Their Side

If you’re in business for long enough, eventually you’re going to have to deal with a rude or hostile client. Or, to put it another way, your staff may have to deal with such a client. Now, in business, it’s generally recommended to make believe that the customer is always right, but to do this, this may sometimes mean throwing your employee under the bus. Once you side with a client who was rude and in the wrong, you’ll have lost the trust, and most likely respect, of your employee. You do not have to take the side of a customer who is rude and insulting towards your staff — side with your employee, and tell the client that their business is no longer welcome.

Employee Perks

You are, of course, paying your employees a salary, which is hopefully relatively generous in the first place. But just think about how much money they’re making for you; it likely greatly exceeds their salary. While your staff will know that this is part of the deal of a job, a few employee perks that go beyond their pay are always appreciated. Even small things, like buying a few drinks at Friday happy hour, will be a good start. Treat them well, and they’ll treat you well — it’s the same in business as it is in life.

Tell The Truth

An employee will always be skeptical of a boss who says nothing but good things. And why wouldn’t they be? There are problems in every aspect of life, including business. If the boss isn’t mentioning anything contrary at all, then what’s the deal? Get into the habit of telling it to your employees straight. This could be about the health of the company, your expectations for their work, or any mistakes the employee has made. It’ll make the praise all the more believable. And talking of which….

Genuine Praise

Let’s never forget that employees are human, and, like all humans, like praise! So if one of your workers does something praise-worthy, then tell them. And don’t just say “good job” and punch them on the shoulder; tell them specifically what they’re being praised for, including what it was about their work that impressed you.

All In It Together

Finally, work hard to avoid any divisions between you and your employees. You do not exist on a higher plane to your “regular” workers, you’re just the leader of the team. Emphasize that you’re all in it together!

Even Beautiful Products Fail

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Some products looking picture perfect on the outside but don’t sell. If you’re selling a product, it’s important to know what things will give it the best chances of being successful. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Even Beautiful Products Fail.

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Products such as Apple devices or even luxury cars tend to be perceived as both elegant and performant.
Their secret lies in the careful balance between their stylish appearance and their practical functions. At the heart of the creation and life of a product, functionality is, of course, a priority. A product that fails to performs will undoubtedly struggle to maintain its presence on the market.
But when the competition becomes harsh on the market, differentiating factors can play a significant role in its success. As a result, countless manufacturers invest time and energy in developing aesthetically pleasing items that can stand out from the crowd.
Yet, the shops are full of beautiful products that nobody wants. So what went wrong during the differentiation strategy?

Is a real Vuitton bag? Is it counterfeit good?

They lack purpose
A product is born from an idea, which provides it its functionality. The entrepreneur has identified a niche in the market and intends to tackle it with a brand new creation. However, at this point, it’s important to consider not only the market competition but also the intended purpose for the item. Think of the ice cream industry, for instance. While there are cones and other containers available, there is no motorized cone that would turn the scoop for you to lick it regularly across the surface. But it doesn’t mean that the product has a profitable niche. Indeed, a motorized ice cream cone is not an innovative solution, but a purposeless gimmick that fulfills no existing need. Ask yourself first what you’re trying to achieve and who would benefit from your creation!

They are sold without your knowledge
Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery in social interactions, but when it comes to selling your products, it’s a crime. Counterfeits and gray goods – a product that is legal but not intended by the manufacturer – are, unfortunately, putting your revenues at risk as they provide potential customers with the same product at a lower cost. That’s precisely why it’s essential to protect your business against these harmful practices. Gray goods are especially dangerous as they carry your brand.

They don’t have enough support
Don’t you hate it when you can’t set up a new system to your needs? That’s the issue that 1 in 3 US adults experience with their smart home devices. Unable to get the system to operate, 22% of frustrated customers decide to return the product and ask for a refund. Why does it happen? Because they can’t receive the support, they need from the customer care service. What happens after you’ve sold the product matters just as much as before the purchase.

Is your product too confusing?

Terrible pricing mistakes
What’s the best pricing policy? Make it too low, and nobody will want to take a chance on your product. Make it too high, and you might miss your demographic target completely. Keep it uniform across the board, and your audience will reproach you the lack of offer diversity. There’s no way around it: if you want people to buy into your creation, you need to set a price that is right for them – and for you too.

Even the most beautiful products fail when they lack strategic planning, from protecting your revenues to ensuring the item is right for your audience. There is no successful product without someone questioning every stage of the creative and commercializing process.

5 Things to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Starting a business isn’t easy and it’s important to assess one’s self before starting down that road. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 5 Things to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business.

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More people than ever before are starting up their own business. They start businesses out of their own house, catering, baking, designing and creating. They begin online businesses like ecommerce stores. They turn their blogs into a business. They work as writers, designers, social media managers and virtual assistants online. People are still opening brick and mortar stores and salons. Some work alone, others employ staff. The internet has made things much easier to start up on your own, without lots of money or training.

This has, unfortunately, lead many people to think that it’s easy. They rush in with nothing more than an idea. They start with nothing, throw themselves in and quit their jobs straight away, believing that they’ll make a success of things quickly. They don’t realise how much time, effort and hard work goes into starting their own business and unfortunately, this means that many small businesses fail within the first year or two.

If you want to start your own business, great. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t. But, there are some things that you should ask yourself before you get going. Here are five of them.

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What Do You Want To Do?

If you are considering starting your own business, chances are you’ve already got an idea of what you want to do. But, it’s always a good idea to give it a little more thought and ask yourself more in-depth questions. If you’re going to sell a product, how? Will you create it yourself and sell it on existing sites like Etsy? Or would you rather launch your own website and store? If you are selling a service, do you need further training? Or do you already have the skills that you need? If you want to launch a real-world store like a salon or a shop, where will it be based?

If you don’t yet know what you want to do, write a list of your skills and ask yourself if anyone else would be willing to pay for them.

Do You Have Time?

How are you going to run your business? Will you quit your job? Or will you be working around another job? Do you have a family that needs you? Starting a business takes time and commitment, especially in the beginning when you can’t afford staff and you are doing most of the work yourself. Ask yourself if you’ve got time to commit before rushing in.

How Will You Finance Your Business?

Some businesses can start with very little. You might already have what you need to get going. Others, don’t. You might need startup costs or even small business equipment loans. Ask yourself how much you need to get going, and where it’s going to come from. Loans, investors, your own savings and crowdfunding are all options. If you face a loss of income while you start out, can your family cope?

Is There a Market for Your Business?

A big question that you need to ask is, do people want your business? Is there a gap in the market that you can fill? Is there too much local competition? What is your target market and where will you find them?

Is It the Right Time?

Look at your current situation. If you’ve got a young family, personal debts or a large mortgage, is this the right time? Or, would you be better taking the time to improve your personal finances first?

Natural Ways To Fight Anxiety

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. Many people suffer from anxiety which is greatly impacted by any number stimuli in their environment. In some instances its something from one’s personal life, and in others its something career-related. In either case it’s important to understand how to manage anxiety. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Natural Ways To Fight Anxiety.

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Levels of anxiety and despression are now at an all time high within our society, and the problem is that so many doctors are, not only not taking these illnesses seriously enough, but they’re not looking at the root cause of the issues causing them and are only providing things to mask the symptoms.

Now, whilst there’s nothing wrong with taking medication to fight things like anxiety since they’re definitely proven to be very effective with some people, it’s essential to look at the root cause and be able to identify things like triggers to know what’s really causing the anxiety before it can fully be treated successfully, and the best way to be able to identify the root cause and fully treat anxiety either without conventional medication or in combination with it is to look at making lifestyle changes that are known to greatly reduce, not only the anxiety symptoms, but the recurring episodes that someone suffering from anxiety will have to endure.

That being said, if you feel like you do need some conventional medication for your anxiety or would at least like to find out more about the different types of medication availble, then you should definitely make an appointment with your doctor who will be able to look at your individual case and offer you the best solution for you.

If it’s decided to start you on a certain medication, then you can order repeat prescriptions from your local pharmacy to pick up your prepackaged medication when it suits you until you’re feeling like you could do with lowering your dosage or even coming off of the medication altogether.

In this post, we’re going to look at some of the ways you can benefit from some simple and natural lifestyle changes when looking to beat anxiety.

Speak to someone:

Even above medication, cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven to be one of the most effective treatments for anxiety and helps people all over the world every day. You should certainly ask your doctor about referring you for this treatment if you think it will help, and even if you don’t want to go down that route, simply joining a support group – either online or offline can help massively since it helps you know you’re not alone in dealing with this.

Daily exercise:

Daily exercise is something that should always be used as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but can be even more effective in helping you beat anxiety. Not only does exercise help keep your body fit, but it’s one of the most natural mood-boosters and relaxants there is.

Journal:

When you feel anxious, a good practice is to journal. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what to write or if what you write makes sense, but it’s simply a way of clearing out the thoughts in your head and getting them onto paper. Journaling is something that’s been used by many dealing with all kinds of things, so even if you’re a complete beginner, you can find ways to get started with journaling that will truly help you.

Breaking Down The Constructs: What Are The Things We Need To Back To Be Happy?

A key focus of my blog is Health and Wellness. Several things going into being happy. Often in the pursuit of careers and mimicking the images of success we see in the media only make us more unhappy. What are the actual keys to being happy? The following contributed post is entitled, Breaking Down The Constructs: What Are The Things We Need To Back To Be Happy?

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Happiness is a very subjective term, people can go their entire lives feeling happy without needing to exert themselves, whereas others need a purpose to every minute of every day. But for so many people that are looking for that reason to exist, they may find themselves searching too hard, and in fact, the real route to being happy involves then cutting back on certain things. What are the things in the real world that we need to cut back on?

The “Perfect” Job
With the abundance of choice out there, so many people feel static in one place, so they’re always looking for the next challenge. But certain careers, even though they appear rewarding on the surface, can house an abundance of problems that don’t suit certain people. Perhaps it’s not about finding the perfect job but finding the job that gives you a reason to get up in the morning. When it comes to looking for the ideal working setup, we can struggle to see the wood for the trees.

Preconceived Notions Of Security
Money defines everything but it’s what we do with it that counts. We can spend so long worrying about the financial forecast over the next 12 months, that we’re not focusing on the present. The fact is, providing a nest egg isn’t about a cash injection right now, it’s about playing the long game. Even the big names like Warren Buffett know it’s about sticking with something over a long time, whether it’s an investment, real estate, or cryptocurrency. When it comes to real estate, we can be a landlord and rent out a property to others, and while there are residential property management services that can help us to acquire an extra income, we have to give consideration to so many other variables. From a personal perspective, an extra income is excellent, but it means we’ve got to dedicate that much more time into it to see the fruits of our labor. If you are dominated by money, will you be happy?

Falling Into Line
We worry so much about what other people think of us when we shouldn’t care a jot. We can learn so much from our children in this respect; they have an innate ability to question everything. And when they begin to conform, while it makes life easier, if they begin to lose the one aspect of their personality that makes them unique, is this something that we should be proud of? With independent thought comes creativity, inspiration, and a veritable zest for the world. We get bound by social constructs, and we feel that falling into line and playing “the game” is easier. But does this really make us happy? We know, deep down, it doesn’t.

Happiness is subjective, but we can spend years believing that we are after a certain thing that will make us happy. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and the sooner we learn this, the better. Sometimes, it’s not about getting more, but it’s about getting less that will make us happy.

The Things People Don’t Consider When Becoming An Entrepreneur

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many people say they want to become entrepreneurs, but they don’t understand all that goes into becoming one. There are a host of other considerations involved than when being an employee. The following contributed post is there entitled, The Things People Don’t Consider When Becoming An Entrepreneur.

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When trying to become an entrepreneur, you’ll often find that people are only thinking about a few things, and nearly all of them are positive. People think about the money, the opportunities it could bring, and the general happiness of being their own boss. Does this sound like everything that’s going through your mind at the minute, or perhaps did go through your mind when you were setting up your business. But there really are some things that we know people just don’t consider when starting up their own business, for one reason or another. Perhaps the positives really do cloud the vision, and it becomes hard to see what the reality is behind it. Which is why we want to create this article for you, because we really do want to highlight some of the things you might not think about when becoming an entrepreneur. It’s not even if you’re just considering to become an entrepreneur, because we know that some of you reading this might actually already be an entrepreneur, and trying to deal with the scary realities yourself now. We want to make this journey easier, and we think the tips we’ve got below for you will do just that, so keep on reading to find out more.

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The Personal Losses

There are some personal losses that you will feel alllll along the way of your business journey, and the first will start at the very beginning. The first loss you’re going to have will be financial, because we hope that you’re not just going to rely on the banks to give you a loan. Do this, and the money you could be racking up will drown you in the coming years. Unless of course you do become that successful entrepreneur that can control the money of their company without having to keep dipping back into bank money to move forward. So, if you’re investing so much money, you probably want to know how to make sure it doesn’t become a personal loss, and more a personal gain. Well, all you have to do is grow, grow, and grow some more. If you take it steady, seek out opportunities, and focus on getting your company name out there in every way that you possibly can, then you’re heading towards success already.

We think another big personal loss that people never seem to consider, is the loss of your time that you’re never really going to get back. You might think that your working life was restricting, but those of you who run your own business at the minute will know that your time just melts right away, and your main focus does become your business. All hours of the day are controlled by it, and if not because you physically have to do something, then because you’re thinking about it constantly. Don’t even get us started as to what it’s like when things start going wrong. You have all of these worries going on, and you just know how much is riding on it, yet you still have to try and balance normal life as well. Our top tip is to always communicate your fears with the people closest to you, and perhaps even have a business advisor on hand to help you through any of the tricky situations. Someones to talk to, and someone to guide you is actually going to be so beneficial.

The Problem Solving

Problem solving is something you’re going to have to become good at, but we don’t think people are actually prepared for how many problems they’re going to have to solve. It can become a serious issue for a business when there’s just so many problems present, but we think we have a few solutions for you. A big problem a company has is tracking what their employees are doing, and what they should be paid for. For example, some companies pay mileage if their employees are out on their road, but tracking actual business mileage can be hard. However, if you check out companies such as triplogmileage.com, you’ll find your solution to your problem. All you need is an app or software to track it for you, and you’ll find it’s so much more trustworthy than your employees. You also need to be able to track the hours they’re working, and we promise you there’s software for that to. We think that pretty much any problem you have can be solved with software, so check out what solutions you can find today!

Lingering Feelings

The biggest lingering feeling that every entrepreneur has to go through, is the one that they’re going to fail. It’s the feeling that your business is going to drop at the minute, and the financial weight is going to come crashing down on you. Because if you have a big investment from the banks and your business fails, you’re just going to have a whole world of problems to deal with. But these lingering feelings are something you’re most likely going to have to deal with everyday. The slightest change in your monthly profit, a slow day in the office, an employee leaving… it can all trigger these feelings. But, we think the best way to battle them, is to focus on turning them all into positives. If you know you’ve had a really slow month with your profits, figure out a plan that will ensure you more than make up for it the next month. If you feel like your business is becoming a little stale and that’s why you might not be able to attract as many customers, think of ways that you can jazz it up a little bit! We also find that business owners have the lingering feeling of success in their mind, which can only be a positive. If you always have that thought that you’re going to succeed in your mind, it’s going to be so much easier for you to have that drive to win. We think it pays for a business owner to be a little cocky in this respect.

Making Your Legal Practice More Enticing To Prospective Clients

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As with any field, the legal world is competitive. It’s thus important to understand how to set yourself apart from your competition. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Making Your Legal Practice More Enticing To Prospective Clients.

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Running a successful legal business requires a lot of dedication and perseverance. It’s an industry that fosters fierce competition, so you need to continuously reinvent your business plan in order to help your practice grow. Still, it can be difficult to turn heads when there are so many other firms with highly professional teams of lawyers in the market. You need to be unique in order to stand out from the crowd. What can you do to make an impact on the target market? Well, in this article, we’re going to discuss some ways in which you could make your legal practice more enticing to prospective clients.

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Focus on your company culture.
It’s easy to become laser-focused on clients when you run a law firm because your reputation is important. And it’s true that your clients are important – you need to become known for delivering an exceptional legal service to clients. People and businesses choose firms to represent them based on their success rate; it’s a highly competitive industry. But you need to start by improving your legal practice behind doors. You can’t deliver an exceptional service to clients and take the industry by surprise unless you have an exceptional team of attorneys to help you out. A strong workforce is important in any company, but law practices entirely depend on the legal expertise of their employees. You can’t just hire any average candidate, and you also can’t take your members of staff for granted (even if they are exceptional). You need to treat your team well and foster a strong company culture. Not all cases will be easy to solve, so you need employees who are going to work well together.

Additionally, you need a balanced workplace. Take a look at firms such as Ogletree Deakins which have taken huge strides forwards and achieved balance in terms of gender. This isn’t just to avoid workplace discrimination; it’s about creating a more diverse and varied work environment. In the legal industry, this is essential. Creativity is involved in unpacking many legal claims and protecting individuals. You don’t want a team full of employees who are carbon copies of one another. But it’s important that your team works together. You don’t want senior attorneys who make newer and less experienced attorneys feel stupid. This might cause newer members of staff to shy away from offering the full extent of their legal advice to clients because they’re afraid they’ll get something wrong. If your team is cooperative then everyone can learn from one another. In turn, you’ll create a team that can solve any legal problem or simply offer exceptional advice to clients by pooling together their expertise and experience.

Deliver customer service that is second-to-none.
Again, this is important for any business in any industry, but it’s particularly important for legal practices. As stated above, you need an exceptional reputation if potential clients are going to trust you, and this starts with you impressing your current customer base. For example, you need to understand clients on a personal level. In other words, keep the technical legal jargon in your head and try to relate to them on a human level. Understand their problem or their concerns, depending on the type of legal representation they need. You might even be able to offer a more appropriate type of legal coverage or protection if you get to know them and their situation more thoroughly. This will give you a reputation as a business that cares about its clients. In turn, you’ll be able to make your business look more enticing to prospective clients.

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Project the right message.
Branding depends on more than a pretty logo. It’s about the message that a business presents to the target market. And in the legal industry, it’s vital to craft the perfect statement. As has been discussed throughout this article, reputation is important for legal practices. Clients put a lot of money and trust in attorneys. They’re not buying some menial and unimportant product; they’re buying a service that has value to them in more than just a monetary sense, whatever the field of practice in which you operate. A good rule of thumb is to keep quiet if you’re ever in doubt. Saying the wrong thing can really damage your company’s reputation. As a law firm, you are expected to say the right thing on behalf of your clients, so you need to prove that you can say the right thing on behalf of your own brand.

How Aquaponics is Changing Agricultural Practices

A key focus of my blog is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. All industries evolve and Agriculture is no different. “Aquaponics” is becoming a viable alternative to traditional terrestrial Agriculture. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How Aquaponics is Changing Agricultural Practices.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

Agriculture is an industry under a lot of pressure. As the world population increases and the climate changes, there are more and more issues when it comes to producing enough food for everyone. Indeed, when you consider the number of people starving in some countries and the number of people dying due to conditions caused by overeating in others, there’s clearly a problem.

Luckily, there are plenty of scientists looking into new ways to improve everything from crop yield to energy and water consumption. One way that scientists and farmers are experimenting is through the use of aquaponics. This is the combination of fish farming and crop farming and though it sounds weird, there are plenty of advantages to consider.

Crops Meet Fish

When large farmers choose their crops, they tend to go for miles and miles of the same thing. This is fine in theory but it isn’t as good for crop yield as polyculture. If you want the best results from nature, you should look at what nature does well. There’s a reason that plants are literally growing on top of each other in the rainforest – the plants are helping each other flourish.

One of the main reasons that aquaponics and crops go so well together is that fish create a lot of waste that plants really enjoy. Plants need a lot of water to grow and, surprise surprise, fish are pretty hot on water too. When you look at the very basic needs of each, there is a remarkable amount of crossover – even where waste products are concerned.

Though fish obviously need a lot of water to survive, the water they use can be used over and again. Rather than using large hose pipes to push water out into the atmosphere where most of it will evaporate, this water is circled again and again between the fish and the plants. This idea is so simple that just a Shinmaywa 50cr2.75s pump would do the trick.

A Circular System

In order to survive, fish require plenty of fresh water. Unfortunately, fish excrete waste including ammonia which can have a devastating effect on the water they live in if it is not removed.

In order to survive, plants require plenty of water and nutrients. Luckily, one of the nutrients tomato plants particularly love is ammonia. In fact, for the tomato plants to thrive, they actually need the waste water the fish need to be rid of.

By combining the two problems, a circular system is formed. The plants filter the excess nitrates out of the water and ‘exhale’ clean water through their leaves which is collected on the ceiling of the greenhouse.

As our needs increase the pressure on our planet grows exponentially as a result of our activities, it is important that we can find better ways to produce food without having to damage the environment to get the results we want. There is always a solution in nature if we look carefully enough and, strange as it sounds, aquaponics could be just that.

Heading To A New Commercial Premises In 2019? Here Are Some Things You’ll Need To Consider

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Most successful business enterprises eventually reach a point where moving to a new location makes sense. A change of location requires a lot of thought and consideration. The following contributed post discusses this and is entitled, Heading To A New Commercial Premises In 2019? Here Are Some Things You’ll Need To Consider.

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Who knows what new heights of growth, prosperity and productivity 2019 will bring for your business? You may well find that this is a transitional year for you. A year in which you outgrow the limitations of your current business model, throw out the rule book and rewrite a new one as you go along. This can be extremely exciting and liberating… It can also be kinda scary! As you take baby steps down the path to sustainable growth you may feel like a novice all over again, grappling with the inherent challenges of growth like you’re still a year one entrepreneur.

Image by Pixabay

This is all part of the learning curve of entrepreneurship and should be embraced. Take searching for a new commercial premises, for example. When you first started out and were trying to make waves in your community and industry, your selection criteria for a premises was probably pretty simple. The only real question was “what’s available”. Now that you’ve reached a period of growth, however, you need to think a little more strategically. You’ll need to consider…

Footfall

Not only will you have to consider footfall in a very general sense, you’ll also need to consider exactly which feet are falling as they pass your business. Do the passers by match your target demographic? The best market research you can do is position yourself outside for a couple of hours and take notes about the age groups, genders and groupings of people who pass by your prospective new place of business.

Surveying

Whether you’ll be moving into a purpose built commercial premises or making one from scratch on a newly acquired plot, you may need to consider the surveying needs of the project. These may have a knock-on effect on your budget and moving date. Potential surveying needs may include;

• Topographic surveys
• Property boundary surveys
• Zoning and land use investigations
• Subsurface utility mapping surveys

Knock-on effect on punctuality

Your new premises’ location may well have a knock-on effect on your employee punctuality and productivity. How easy is your new premises to get to from where they live? What is the parking situation like compared to where you currently do business? You may find that even if you’re able to find a spot in a great location in terms of customer footfall, it may be harder to get to and park in for your employees which could have a residual effect on punctuality and productivity, especially if employees wind up fighting over parking spaces.

Layout

Your premises’ layout can have a knock on effect on productivity and profitability whatever the nature of your business may be. For retailers, for example, it’s essential to have your store set out in a way that makes the products easy to find and showcase, while lending a sense of journey and progression as customers move around the store.

Security

Security is an important consideration for all kinds of businesses. Will your site be safe and secure from prospective thieves or saboteurs? Will the site have its own security staff or will you be expected to provide your own? Will the lease agreement prohibit the installation of CCTV cameras, fencing, window bars or other anti-theft measures?

Physical security is important, but let’s not forget digital security too. Premises using a shared Wifi network, for example, can face potential security risks that could compromise your data.

If you shop around for a new premises with the above in mind, you’re likely to find a great fit for 2019!