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Author: anwaryusef
Anwar Y. Dunbar is a Regulatory Scientist. Being a naturally curious person, he is also a student of all things. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology from Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Prior to starting the Big Words Blog Site, Anwar published and contributed to numerous research articles in competitive scientific journals reporting on his research from graduate school and postdoctoral years. After falling in love with writing, he contributed to the now defunct Examiner.com, and the Edvocate where he regularly wrote about: Education-related stories/topics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Financial Literacy; as well as conducted interviews with notable individuals such as actor and author Hill Harper. Having many influences, one of his most notable heroes is author, intellectual and speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of books including Outliers and David and Goliath.
Anwar has his hands in many, many activities. In addition to writing, Anwar actively mentors youth, works to spread awareness of STEM careers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, serves as Treasurer for the JCSU Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, and is active in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. He also tutors in the subjects of biology, chemistry and physics.
Along with his multi-talented older brother Amahl Dunbar (designer of the Big Words logos, inventor and a plethora of other things), Anwar is a “Fanboy” and really enjoys Science-Fiction and Superhero movies including but not restricted to Captain America Civil War, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Prometheus. He is a proud native of Buffalo, NY.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Construction is its own sector with it own set of nuances and considerations. If you’re working this sector or plan to, there some aspects to be aware of. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 4 Issues You Will Have To Build Around In Construction.
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When you are working in the construction industry, you need to be aware of some of the issues that you could end up facing. If you don’t know what these are, then it is going to be hard to prepare for them when the time comes, so it is a good thing that you have stumbled across this article! We are going to talk about four of the issues that you are going to have to build around in construction and how to do this.
It is likely going to be the place that not all of your workers are going to be in the same place, at the same time. As such, you are going to need to find a way to stay connected to all of your workers, or else you aren’t going to know who is where, and doing what. This is an important issue that you are just going to have to navigate your way round, and you can do this by using something like Google Hangouts. This way, none of your employee’s personal information has to be shared with others, and you can all keep in touch when necessary.
Paying The Cost Of Business Equipment
Business equipment can cost you a lot of money, and it renting it isn’t going to make it much cheaper. Some companies like to rent the equipment as they believe that it is going to save them money. While this is going to be the case in the short term, it might have dramatic impacts on your finances in the long term. Buying your equipment may seem like a hefty bill now, but further, down the line you are going to thank yourself for putting all the money up at once, and you can always use construction invoice factoring to free up some cash flow if you need to buy equipment in a hurry.
Handling Waste Management And Removal
You are going to have to handle waste management and removal before you can even think about starting a project. There needs to be a plan in place long before you get your equipment set up, and that is why you need to look into hiring environmental consultants. They will be able to come up with a plan for you, tell you everything you need to know and help you in any way possible.
Running A Safe Environment
Safety needs to be your number one priority on the worksite at all times. It doesn’t matter what this means for you, if it means you have to pay a little extra to have safe working conditions, this is what you have got to do. Construction can be dangerous work, but it is your job to ensure that everything is as safe as you can before you let your employees set foot onto a site. Make sure that everyone has the correct safety equipment before they enter, and all your equipment is up to code.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know about four of the issues that you are going to have to build around in the construction industry.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Advertising and promotions is a major part of any business. It’s therefore important to understand the most effective ways for promoting yourself. Knowing to effectively do so can cause your business to thrive while not knowing how to do so can cause it to falter. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Could You Be Using More Creative Ways To Promote Your Business?
One of the most difficult things about running any kind of business in the modern era is the fact that there really has never been so much competition out there. After all, thanks to the internet, there are more and more people starting their own businesses and the modern marketplace really has never been more saturated. This means that reaching your customers comes with extra challenges that many businesses simply aren’t ready to deal with. One of the most common challenges is that many of the more traditional methods of marketing your business simply aren’t going to be as effective as they once were. In order to avoid falling into that trap, here are some more creative things that you could be doing to promote your business.
Video content
If there’s one kind of marketing content that become more popular and effective than just about any other it has to be video content. Sites like Youtube have become such a natural part of people’s daily lives that ignoring video content would be irresponsible. Putting out content that is well made, funny, and engaging is a wonderful way to create positive associations with your customers. You can easily find royalty free music online to give it some extra sparkle, and finding someone who can present on camera effectively is going to be a godsend. It doesn’t have to be particularly complicated stuff, just think about the kind of content that your customers would enjoy.
Behind the scenes
One of the biggest problems that a lot of businesses run into when it comes to connecting with their customers is that their customers don’t have much interest in connecting with faceless companies. That’s why it’s such a good idea to give your business a face. Behind the scenes blog posts are an amazing way to show your customers the human side of your business. They’re going to be far more invested in the success of your business when they see what the people behind it are really like and read their stories.
Direct contact with customers
One of the biggest developments in the modern era has to be that of social media. It has completely changed the way that people talk to each other and it has definitely altered the way that businesses and customers interact. One of the best things about it is that it has made your interactions with customers public. This means that if you can show that you’re offering great service to customers and that you’re always willing to offer help and support, that’s something that other people are going to be able to see. This turns your customer service into an incredibly effective promotional tool.
Now, it’s important to think of these kinds of things as an addition to your current marketing model rather than a complete replacement for it. Remember that the more popular marketing methods out there are popular for a reason: they’ve been effective for a very long time. In the same way that you don’t want to rely exclusively on traditional marketing techniques, relying purely on the more unusual methods can cause just as many problems.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An important part of running any business enterprise is recruiting and retaining talented staff. Doing so often requires competition for qualified individuals. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Low Unemployment Levels: How Can Your Business Compete For Staff?
For business owners, the unemployment rate of a country is perhaps the strangest of all the economic indicators. On the one hand, a low unemployment rate is undeniably good news; more people are in work, thus more people are paying taxes and – importantly for businesses – that means there are more people who will be spending money on goods and services.
On the other hand, a low unemployment rate can be rather troubling for businesses.
Why can low unemployment be a problem for businesses?
Essentially, the more people that are in work, the harder it is to recruit and retain staff.
If unemployment is high, staff recruitment is relatively simple; there is a large pool of – often highly qualified – potential employees to choose from. Furthermore, existing staff are also more likely to stay in their existing job, as they are aware there is more competition for other roles.
However, if unemployment is low, the pool of potential employees diminishes. Worse yet, businesses can find that their existing staff are more likely to leave, as competing businesses begin to offer tempting deals to attract highly qualified, experienced workers.
As a result of the above, low unemployment levels are something of a double-edged sword: it’s good news, as there are more consumers looking to purchase goods and services, but the bad news is that companies may lose, or struggle to recruit, staff – which, in the worst case scenario, could mean that businesses cannot take advantage of the beneficial boost in consumer spending.
What are the current trends for unemployment levels?
Unfortunately – or, in some ways, fortunately – analysis shows that unemployment is low across the globe; not quite at pre-financial crisis levels, but the trend is definitely in a downwards direction.
What does this mean for businesses?
Essentially, low global unemployment levels mean that businesses now find themselves having to actively compete to both hire and retain the right staff for their company. What’s more, this competition is a truly global competition; so even if business owners wanted to try to hire overseas workers due to low unemployment at home, they are still likely to struggle.
How can businesses compete for staff in the current environment?
If you are a business owner, this question is by far the most crucial – and so below, we’ve sought to answer it, by providing a list of five tips that can help you both hire and retain staff even when unemployment levels are low.
#1 – Provide written employment contracts
Written employment contracts have fallen out of fashion in recent years, with employers preferring “at will” contracts that are more flexible – the employee can quit whenever they choose, and the employer can dismiss the employee at any time, provided their reason for doing so is not illegal.
However, written employment contracts are definitely beneficial for employees, as they offer robust job security. Prospective employees will be attracted to any job posting that provides a long-term, formal written contract, while existing employees will be less likely to leave a job with a written contract, especially if other employers will only offer “at will” contracts. As a result, written contracts mean that everyone benefits: your staff enjoy security, and your business’s ability to hire and retain staff increases.
#2 – Shorten probationary periods for new employees
Probationary periods are tough for new employees, causing a kind of ‘suspended animation’ – they might have a long-term job, but they also might not. This uncertainty is generally disliked, especially for probationary periods that stretch for up to six months.
Realistically, a three-month probationary period provides plenty of time to assess an employee’s skills and ensure they are suitable for the job. Alternatively, if a role is particularly complex and you need longer to evaluate your new employee, opt for a shorter probationary period as mentioned, but then only initially offer an “at will” contract for a longer period. You can then offer a full written contract after a set period, informing any new candidates of this arrangement during interviews.
#3 – Offer retirement benefits
Fuelled by multiple stories in the media about how much of the modern workforce tends to be unprepared for retirement, many people have made retirement benefits a specific focus when considering their career options.
To keep pace with workers who factor their post-career life into their present-day working concerns, it’s best to look for a specialist company that is experienced in providing group retirement planning and similar services, then formulate a customized plan that is suitable for both your business and your employees. Furthermore, when your plan is in place, advertise this fact in your job recruitment adverts and on your website to catch the eye of prospective employees.
#4 – Allow remote working
Over the past ten years, remote working has moved from a rather odd concept that few businesses implemented to a mainstream norm. There are two reasons in particular for this change: technology advancements have made remote working more viable, and secondly, employees simply like having the opportunity to work from home rather than having to commute to an office every day.
It is also worth noting that, in addition to attracting and retaining employees, remote working is actually beneficial for businesses, too – so there really is every reason to consider making a change.
#5 – Break away from the weekday/weekend structure
A conventional working pattern is five days “on” and then two days – usually Saturday and Sunday – off. Unfortunately, this working pattern may be well-established, but it’s far from beloved – which means you could seize the opportunity to do something different.
For example, you could consider switching to a four-day week, wherein employees work for 10 hours Monday to Thursday and then enjoy a three-day weekend. Alternatively, you could move to a rotating pattern; for example, employees work for seven days in a row, then have seven days off. A huge number of employees will embrace these innovative working patterns, and your business doesn’t need to suffer: employees will still, across the course of a year, work the same number of hours – just arranged a little differently than has been seen as “normal”.
Low unemployment levels can be detrimental for businesses due to their impact on the ability to hire and retain staff. However, with the measures above, you should be able to ensure your business enjoys only the positives of low unemployment; a rise in workload and custom, which in turn results in higher profitability overall.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When your business is in its early stages, it’s important to understand how to maximize your visibility and presence. This will increase your patronage, sales and potential return customers. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How To Make Waves As a New Business.
When you’re brand new in business, your future can seem overwhelming. For some, it’s always going to be exciting. Because the prospect of being able to reach goals or take your business to new heights is always going to give you endless opportunities. But then to some of us, this is scary. Because you’ll never really know what your future looks like or what you can do to get results. Instead, you need to have faith and then a plan to back it up. Sure, you really don’t have to spend hours pouring over how you’re going to make money and the exact way it will all pan out. Sometimes, you just need to have determination, a gut instinct, and then work hard enough to make it happen. And, it also helps to be able to make waves too. So, what can you do to stand out as a new business?
Have Personality
Now, one of the most important things that you can do to make waves, is have some personality. If you’re memorable or likeable or outspoken or you have something about you that stands out, you’ve got something to work with. So think about what it is in your personality that is going to be your ticket to making waves.
Be Everywhere
When you want to rock the boat and start to get noticed, you have to be noticeable. So the first thing is to make sure that you are everywhere. At industry events with different branded merchandise options, check them out here. Or writing articles online, which you can search for in your industry. Or affiliating yourself with big names. Just be everywhere and you will get noticed.
Show Up
However, you cannot be fooled into thinking that a lot of publicity and marketing is enough. Because it’s not. If you really want to make waves, then you need to show up and put the work in. You need to be at bat. Working harder than anyone else. And this will often speak for itself.
Get Your Name Out There
But not only that, you’re going to want to be talked about as much as possible. Because if you want to make waves and be known, people need to write about you. This is why you should invest in PR or spend time on it yourself. Because if you can get your name out there, and you can be features in articles or referred to as someone to watch, an up-and-comer, or even an expert, then you’re making it happen.
Be Audacious
But above all else, you just need to put yourself out there. You need to have the audacity to knock on doors and make opportunities for yourself. If you’re shy and you hide away, you’re just not going to get anywhere. But, instead, if you understand how important it is to have grit and to just keep on going, and keep asking for the opportunities, you are bound to make waves. So just keep going and go get your success!
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. There are numerous ways invest money for a ‘return’. One was way is to become a shareholder. The following contributed discusses what’s involved in being a shareholder and is entitled, Top Tips For Being A Shareholder.
If you are looking for a new direction to take within your professional career this year, one of the things you could consider doing is taking up the role of a shareholder. A shareholder or a stockholder is any person who decides to buy a small share of a company or a product. As a shareholder you will often be able to get benefits such as discounts on products, dividends as a reward and also a hand in the decision making of the business.
Today we are going to take a look at what it takes to be a shareholder and some of the top tips which you need to know if you want to be a successful shareholder this year. There are some amazing opportunities to be a part of when you become a shareholder and you can see this with Ogletree Deakins Shareholder Appointments, and this is why we want to bring some handy tips and tricks for you today.
1. Look into the business
When you want to become a shareholder the first decision you will have to make is to choose which business you want to invest in. This is a big choice to make for yourself and for the business and this is why you need to make sure you take your time and think it through. A good idea if you have the money will always be to take a share of a brand you know and trust because this can lower your risk. If not though, you need to be very careful with your decision making. Take some time to come up with a budget and narrow down your search to a few different companies. When you do this you will want to take some time to look online and look for any evidence of bad reviews and scams associated with the company. If your search comes back clean and the company seems to be trustworthy then you have no reason to worry and you can go ahead and invest in the company.
2. Do you know the shareholders?
One of the other ways that you can get into the world of shareholding is by being asked to join by someone else. If this does happen to you, be sure that you take a moment to consider before saying yes right away. Have a think about who asked you and decide whether or not you trust them and know them enough to do this with them. It can be a dangerous choice to trust the wrong person so be sure that you take the opportunity to do this and be sure that you know what you are signing up for.
3. Responsibility
Depending on how much of the company you decide to buy, you will be asked to have an input in the decision making of the business to help guide it to success. Therefore because of this you need to be sure that you have a contract on the dotted line of what you are responsible for and what you are not. The reason for this is that you want to make sure you aren’t held accountable for a bad decision which could lose the company some money.
4. Money
The big question to ask yourself and of course the biggest reason why people invest in the first place is to make money. Before you spend money be sure that you check how much you can reasonably afford. When we say reasonably, we mean that rather than adding your whole savings to an investment you will want to make sure that you have a buffer which is kept safe in your bank account. Take the time to come up with a realistic budget and be sure that you only pay what you can afford to risk. Think about the risk of failure with your new shareholding position and this will help you decide how much to put in.
5. Death
If you are to invest highly in a company which only has one other partner, you need to consider what will happen if your partner suddenly becomes ill or dies. It is one of those things that no one wants to think about but you will need to have some measures in place in case the worst does happen. Make sure that you take the time to plan out what would happen if either of you died and this can be a huge decision to make which can save you later on.
6. Exit strategy
As much as knowing what you want to do when you are investing in a business, you may want to know what to do if the business starts to fail. It is always important to have an exit strategy should anything g go wrong and it can be what saves you from losing a lot of money.
Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In any business, it’s important to know when you’re making decisions to help your business, or if your decisions are hurting it. What kinds of things can hurt your business? The following contributed post is entitled, Are You Running Your Business Into The Ground?
There are few things more appealing when it comes to running a business than the idea of getting to be in charge. After all, many of us start our own businesses specifically because we get sick of having to listen to orders from people above us who clearly don’t know what they’re doing. However, becoming too attached to this idea of yourself as a business owner with all of the answers can actually be pretty dangerous for your business as a whole. Here are some things that you can do in order to make sure that you’re running your business properly rather than running it right into the ground.
Learn to outsource
Outsourcing has been the saving grace of so many businesses, big and small. Part of the reason that Apple has been so successful over the last decade is that they outsource almost all of their manufacturing to other companies. This means that they have more in-house resources to use on research and development as well as branding and marketing. From SEO to outsourced IT support, being able to hand different parts of your business over to the experts with the most experience is one of the best things that you can do. Leaving you free to focus your energy on the areas of your business where you have the most skills.
Stop micromanaging
If you want to get the most out of your employees, one of the most important things that you need to do is to trust them. If you spend all of your time staring over their shoulders and nitpicking every little thing they do, they’re going to end up getting extremely frustrated. That’s going to kill their motivation entirely and leave them feeling pretty resentful of your business as a whole and you as an employer in particular. Remember that you hired these people for a reason, let them do their jobs.
Take a break
For some reason, a lot of people seem to entirely forget that a work/life balance is important as soon as they start running their own business. They assume that they need to dedicate all of their time to their business no matter how much of a negative impact it has on their life and their health. The truth is that taking a break can be just as good for your business as it is for you. It means that you’re able to come back to your business with fresh eyes and you’re far less likely to end up getting burnt out.
The idea of letting go of any part of your business can be incredibly stress-inducing. However, one of the most important lessons that you can learn as a business owner is that your ego has no place within your business. You need to make decisions that are right for your business first and foremost. If you’re making decisions based purely on what you want then your business is always going to suffer for it. Make sure that you’re keeping your ego in check and always do what’s right for your business before anything else.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending upon which business you’re in, one of the first decisions you’ll have to make is what model you will choose. It’s a critical consideration as it will dictate how you carry out your operations going forward. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How To Choose The Business Model That Suits You Best.
One of the first things you’ll decide when you’re starting your business is the business model that you’ll use. The business model is simply the way in which you’ll deliver your services or products.
For example, you could choose a more customized and one-to-one service based model that’s often used by people like coaches and consultants, or even by companies like praxent.com – or you could go for something that’s more hands-off such as a subscription based model like that of Dollar Shave Club, or even something like Affiliate Marketing.
The point is, when it comes to choosing your business model, there’s really no right or wrong way to go about it – it’s just about finding what fits with your overall business vision, your goals, and your current lifestyle.
So, in this post we’re going to share with you how to choose the business model that suits you best.
Think about your solution:
The solution is basically the thing you offer, so your product or service, and ultimately this is going to determine a large part of your business model. So, for example, if you’re looking to sell custom t-shirts online, then you’re obviously going to be looking at an e-commerce model. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to be constantly designing all day long and splitting your focus between designing and then getting online to sell – there are things you can utilize online such as dropshipping and building a team or just developing systems and processes to help sell your products online.
Of course, you’re not going to be fully restricted to an e-commerce model – well, not in the traditional sense, anyway. If that’s not really what you want to be doing, but you really want to get your t-shirts out there, then you don’t have to it just because that’s how it’s always been done. You could go for a subscription-based model. Plenty of fashion companies offer this, so subscriptions aren’t just for digital products or services – in fact, some of the most successful subscription businesses, such as Dollar Shave Club are offering physical products.
Think about your customer:
The next step is to think about your customer – who they are and how they like to shop. Of course, your decisions shouldn’t be based fully on this, but it’s important to consider them in the process somewhat. If you know your ideal customer well, and you should do by this point if you’ve taken the time to do your research, then it’s important to think about the way they like to experience their purchasing – for example, do they want a one-to-one experience, or do they want downloadable materials and products that they can use in their own time?
Think about the lifestyle you want:
This part is very important when coming up with your business model and is actually the part that many people overlook when they’ve considered the parts above. Remember you started your business so that you don’t feel like you’re working in a job, so you get the luxury of designing your business model to suit the kind of lifestyle you want. If you don’t want to have your schedule dictated to by private client calls, then perhaps a one-to-one business model isn’t going to be the best for you.
Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Outsourcing can be very helpful to your business operations. In some instances you can use an outsourced IT company and it’s important to understand how to get the most out of the collaboration. The following contributed is thus entitled, How to Collaborate with an Outsourced IT Company.
It is now quite evident that many businesses are reliant on IT to be successful but what many aspiring entrepreneurs don’t understand is that they don’t have to be IT geniuses – they just need to hire an IT genius to realize their vision.
Outsourcing is now so fundamental to business that almost any function can be outsourced from PR, HR and Accounting to Cloud Computing. It stands to reason that even the heart of your business idea could be successfully outsourced if you find the right professional to help. Then all you need to focus on is coming up with new ideas and strategies for growth.
Many IT companies such as http://www.sabioit.com/services-solutions/it-consulting-cio-services/ offer a wide range of services from CIO services right through to email management. However, finding the right company and working well with them can be two mutually exclusive ideas.
Here’s how to manage your relationship and make the most of your outsourcing.
Be Clear With Your Vision
As an entrepreneur you really only have one main job: to have awesome ideas and be able to explain them to other people (preferably people with the cash to buy into it!). This is a fundamental skill and yet for so many of us, finding the language to explain a complicated idea so that it can be translated into an IT solution is tough.
If you can’t explain your idea to a company – either because they simply don’t understand or because you don’t have the right approach – your project is going to stand still until you can. A good IT company will try to suggest what you might mean but a great IT company will ask questions until they are sure they know what you mean.
Clarity isn’t always immediate so work on your relationship to develop a common ground you can work with. This should make future collaboration easier.
Welcome Alternative Ideas
Of course, it could be that you are struggling to communicate your idea because your IT company knows that there is a simpler solution. In this case, it is vital that you are able to let go and welcome new ideas. Being more open minded and focusing on the results is the best way to work. Does it really matter whether you use your idea or their idea to get to what you want?
If you are not an IT expert yourself, it is very likely that the company you outsource to will have all kinds of alternative ideas for you to consider. To work well together, you might find that it is actually easier to present them with a problem first rather than a solution. Compare and contrast the solutions you both come up with and you could just find a game-changing alternative to bring to your industry.
Collaboration with an outside company may not seem as sensible as bringing in your own employees but when you are right at the beginning, it is important that you save money where you can but also get the highest quality product you can afford. It makes sense.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When running a business of any kind, no one can possibly know everything, and no can has the time to do everything. This underscores the importance of outsourcing. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why You Need to Become Comfortable with Outsourcing in Your Small Business.
You know, entrepreneurs are pretty notorious for being desperate to micromanage absolutely everything in their lives. This isn’t too surprising when you consider the fact that they put themselves in the uniquely difficult position of having to be solely responsible for the success and performance of an entire business.
Of course, any entrepreneur worth his salt will need to be able to take responsibility and ownership for what happens in his professional life. That being said, though, there is such a thing as too much.
Entrepreneurs who fail to become comfortable with outsourcing elements of their business at some point, inevitably end up sabotaging themselves and having a much more difficult life than is necessary.
Here are some reasons why you really need to become comfortable with outsourcing in your small business.
Your time is a limited resource — you’re only human — so you need to be able to focus on what will really move your life forward
Have you ever looked at an extremely successful figure in business, such as Warren Buffett, and asked yourself the question “how is it possible that one person can achieve so much?”
Well, a major part of the answer is that these people treat their time as the most valuable resource they have.
Warren Buffett may have far more money than you think you could ever even dream of owning yourself, but he only has the same 24-hours in his day that you do. What makes the difference, is that he knows how to leverage time as effectively as possible.
Outsourcing allows you to focus your time and energies on those areas where you can make the biggest impact. By allowing companies such as Outsourced IT Support to handle your IT support, for example, you may save hours in a given week that can then be spent on more fruitful activities.
If your business ever grows beyond a certain point, you will likely need to be able to comfortably defer tasks anyway
When you first start your business, it may seem almost inconceivable that it will one day become large enough that you absolutely need to bring in additional team members.
Nonetheless, if you are running your business right, and it becomes as successful as you might hope, it is almost inevitable that you will need to learn to work with employees sooner or later.
Suffice to say, unless you become comfortable with outsourcing tasks to other people, you will end up being one of those bosses who everyone hates, who tries to micromanage it all, and who stalls the progress of the business as a result.
Certain third party professionals will simply do a better job in certain areas than you would
If you are an entrepreneur, you are likely a very enterprising person.
But no matter how enterprising you may be, there is no chance that you are going to be the best at every possible dimension of a given business.
Inevitably, certain third-party professionals will simply do a better job in certain areas then you, yourself, would.
Outsourcing, therefore, may actually improve the overall performance of your business. You just need to have the humility to step back a little bit.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. It’s important to know what customers value most about your products. This will ensure that they come back for repeat business. It’s important for all business owners to ponder their products and what customers like. The following contributed post is thus entitled, What Really Matters About A Product.
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Any business that creates products to sell needs to have a strong idea of how to design those products in a way that will actually, well, sell. This simple enough fact is nonetheless very often hard to really grasp the details of, and for that reason most entrepreneurs find that they struggle for a long time before they manage to actually create products which sell well and which customers get a lot out of. If you are keen to try and better understand what your products need to have in order to sell better, then read on. In this post, we will discuss some of the things that really matter about a product, and what you can do to make sure that you have fully considered them when you are designing your own products.
First of all, you will want to make sure that any product you develop actually has a strong purpose, and that it is highly original in this more than anything else. Having an original purpose is hugely important in ensuring that people are actually going to buy and enjoy using it, and so you will want to think about this when you are first sitting down to start designing product ideas in the first place. As long as a product has an original purpose, you will find that plenty of people buy it and find it useful, which is ultimately what you are going for here. So make sure that you lead our product design with the question of what you are hoping to achieve first. If you work that way around, you are bound to much more easily satisfy this aspect of product design.
Packaging
Although you might consider it to be something of a last minute decision, actually the packaging that you choose for your product is hugely important in terms of whether or not it will actually sell. If you want to make sure that customers feel a sense of affinity with your product in the moment when they actually see it on the shelf, then packaging is going to need to be just right. A big part of this too is the labelling, which you will probably want to leave to professionals such as Pro-Motion Industries to make sure it is just right. The label itself, as well as conveying important information, becomes an important part of the marketing process, and ensures that the product is much more likely to sell.
The more professional a product is, the more likely it is that people will respect it and want to try it out, yet this is something which a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs fail to really pay attention to. The truth is that you need to make sure your product is as professional as possible if you are going to sell plenty of units, in part because professionalism displays that you take it seriously and that you actually put effort into the product and in part because it will make it look more impressive as an end result. Be professional, and the rest will surely follow.
