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 Technology Is Freeing Up Entrepreneurs’ Cognitive Resources

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. Like every other facet of life, technology has changed the entire landscape of business. Many of our new technological innovations have freed up the minds of entrepreneurs from the simpler tasks and are now allowing them to focus on the more critical aspects of their enterprises. The following contributed post is thus entitled; How Technology Is Freeing Up Entrepreneurs’ Cognitive Resources.

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Entrepreneurs have to think about a lot of things on any given day. Some of those things are profound and uniquely human, but a big chunk of it is formulaic and not particularly exciting. What’s interesting, however, is that technology is increasingly taking over much of the grunt work, freeing up entrepreneur’s cognitive resources.

Over the last couple of decades, technology – especially digital technology – has improved enormously. But not, with the advent of artificial intelligence, we see the emergence of machines which can perform cognitive tasks. For a while, smart software has been able to do things like reading handwriting – helpful for keeping a record of expenses – but today’s AI is moving far beyond that to do more sophisticated things, giving business leaders more time to focus on the things that matter.

Distributed Computing

Take the cloud, for instance. Managed IT services mean that businesses no longer have to worry about providing their own IT solutions. All that’s required for most companies today is an internet connection and a few notebooks connected to the network. In many cases, it’s no more sophisticated than a setup you might find at home. All the servers, admin, security and updates get done automatically, off-site by professionals who have a deep understanding of what they’re doing.

The role of the cloud shouldn’t be underestimated. It means that entrepreneurs don’t have to wrestle with IT issues in the same way as they did before. There’s no need to troubleshoot networking problems or do anything of these non-business critical activities. Founders are free to pursue the ideas which matter most to their business – they can deal more directly with their customer’s needs.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence helps too. Although powerful applications of the technology are still relatively new, they’re helping those at the top of business automate much more of the dull, day-to-day stuff that needs to get done to run a business. Accounting apps, for instance, have made it so that small businesses no longer need to spend hours filing away receipts or calculating VAT. Instead, it’s all done automatically by the app with minimal user input using AI technologies. AI is also helping businesses with their customer service, with things like chatbots on their websites. Chatbots can provide customers with timely information on a range of issues without ever having to use the resources of real people in the business. These automated, website-based programmes can answer most questions.

Other technologies, like RSS feeds, are also reducing the difficulty of doing research. Articles posted straight to one’s feed reduces search time and conveniently provides updates.

The Long-Term Trends

This trend of freeing up entrepreneurial time for the most creative and high-value-added activities is set to continue. Economists at the University of Oxford suggest that the majority of formulaic work – stuff that can be broken down into a series of tasks – will be automated by smart software over the next twenty years. Thus, technology, in their opinion, will reduce the value of doing rote work and increase the earning potential of entrepreneurs with creative flair.

Making The Most Out Of Your Entrepreneur Skills

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur requires a different set of skills than being an employee. Before becoming an entrepreneur it’s helpful to know what those skills are, and even are starting your business activities, it’s important pay attention to those skills and intentionally grow them. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Making The Most Out Of Your Entrepreneur Skills.

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Life as an entrepreneur is never going to be dull, wouldn’t you agree? Your mind is constantly buzzing with fresh ideas, new approaches to things or even the next step on your business journey. However, there are always you can improve things so that you are living your best entrepreneur life. You may be wondering how you go about doing that? After all, the main impression of any entrepreneur is you either have the gift, or your don’t. However, there are ways you can improve your life as an entrepreneur, making things easier on yourself and even advancing your business in some way.

Many people choose the life of an entrepreneur. They enjoy the thrill they get from creating something out of nothing. They are money magnets, always wheeling and dealing and able to turn their hand at anything. Some people envy them. However, one thing that people don’t think is that the life of an entrepreneur is hard. These things come easily don’t they? But that is where they are wrong. It takes work, dedication, and a lot of hours slugging away to make things a success. The thing that does come easy is the passion. But if you are hoping to make things a little easier on yourself as an entrepreneur then read on to find out more. I have shared with you what I think could help you make more of the entrepreneur skills that you have.

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Improve your general business knowledge and skills

Perhaps you feel that you may have more that you can learn regarding business practices. It might mean that you choose to do things a little different, perhaps having a different approach or process to implement into your own business empire. You could take on a business management course, or even be very specific such as focusing on areas like marketing. Courses such as that can really enhance your skills and make you more confident in new trends and different ways of doing things. Other ways you can improve your knowledge is through networking. Heading to seminars and being around people in a similar industry or share similar interests can really help your business and you.

Be open minded to where technology can help you out

There is so much great technology out there these days, that you definitely need to be open minded to know exactly when and where it can help you out. Let’s start with the basics and the advancement of smartphones and tablets. Now as an entrepreneur you can be on the move and still working wherever you are. You might also want to think about the smoothness of transactions between technology and your servers and this is when server movers could be beneficial to your business. Other advancements in technology has to be in terms of how quick and easy you can reach people nowadays. Thanks to the digital platforms of a website and social media, you can be up and in business i a matter of hours. Having the right strategies in place to ensure that your business is seen, from a decent social media marketing plan to ensuring the content you use is optimised for search engines, can both be extremely beneficial to help you build a successful business life.

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Change your attitude towards business

Your attitude could be your biggest hindrance. It can be your biggest asset or your worst flaw. A bad attitude is never received well. People don’t respond to negativity, and they certainly don’t respond to frustration and disrespectful attitudes. However, an attitude can be your biggest saviour in business, especially if you are prepared to put in the hard work and graft that is required of you. Sometimes you need to be able to ensure that you as a person come off in the best possible light. No matter what you do, first impressions still count for a lot. It is just these days you are able to make a first impression without needing to be face to face with someone. Think about what you say, how you act, and how you portray yourself online to ensure that you do all that you can to have the right attitude.

Have a more positive outlook on life

Positivity breeds positivity and having this sort of outlook on life can really help you as an entrepreneur. Naturally, you should be a fairly positive person anyway, many entrepreneurs are, but it can dwindle from time to time if things aren’t going your way. Many famous entrepreneurs believe in the power of positivity and things like the law of attraction so it might be worth acquainting yourself with some positive affirmations. Ding this daily and having the right affirmations and outlook on life can actually make you a much more productive person in other aspects of your life. It is about being proactive and having the tenacity to go out and get the things that you want out of life.

Look at the nitty-gritty of your business model

Finally, look at the nitty-gritty of your business model and see if there are any improvements to make. Things like a change in social media strategy, a different marketing campaign to sink your teeth into, or even something like a change within ranks in your business model such as offering other team members different roles, so you get a fresh set of eyes on different departments. You may also want to think about the benefits of outsourcing. It can be so tempting to want to do everything yourself, but this can often mean that you don’t complete tasks, or perform them with mediocrity. There is always something you can do, and your business is always there to be improved. Which helps you to grow and succeed in other ways. Doing this regularly can often ensure that you don’t miss out on potential opportunities.

I hope that this helps you to make then most of your entrepreneur skills and to make the most out of what you have available to you for yourself and for your business.

Business Finances: Simplified

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Keys to successfully running any business or enterprise is: sound money management, control of cashflow and control of expenses. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Business Finances: Simplified.

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As a business owner, you will likely find there are countless demands on your time. However, there is one demand that is undeniably the most important of all: sound financial management.

The financial state of a business is, after all, the dividing line between business success and failure. While it is undeniably important to think about the future, plan for growth, assess your competitors, keep your staff happy and so on and so forth, without good finances underpinning your company, all of these tasks are rendered irrelevant. Finances are everything… but they are also incredibly complex.

This is far from an ideal solution: the finances relating to your business are important, but they are also confusing, detailed, and in need of constant nurturing. It could be argued that dedicating all your time to good financial management would mean you had relatively little time to do anything else – so how can you cope with the demands of the rest of your business, and managing the finances of that business?

There is, thankfully, an answer to this question: you simplify your business’ financial management; and below, we’ve put together a few ideas that can help you achieve this goal.

#1 – Reduce the number of companies you make payments to

A standard business could find themselves making payments to individual providers for the following products:

● Gas
● Electricity
● Your business cellphone
● Internet service
● Business insurance
● Liability insurance

This means that – at a minimum – you may find yourself juggling six different providers just to establish the basics of your business. That’s six different companies you have to research prior to purchasing, six different account numbers, six different provider terms and conditions, six different customer service phone numbers to remember in case things go wrong, six different monthly direct debits – and that’s just the bare minimum.

Such a scenario is all too common, and it is the enemy of simplified finances. Instead, look for providers that offer a range of services; you could buy your cell phone plan and landline from the same company, click here to find out more about companies that can provide more than one type of business insurance, and group together your utility needs under a multi-fuel account. These measures would halve the number of companies you have to research and deal with, greatly simplifying the management of your outgoing costs as a result.

#2 – Note every single purchase you make

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Imagine a scenario where you use your business credit card to make a stationery purchase. You’re busy, so you make the payment, tuck the receipt in your wallet – or archive the receipt email, if shopping online – and move on with your day, assuming you’ll record the transaction in greater depth at a later date.

There is, of course, a chance you’ll do just that – but running a business is demanding, and there’s an equal chance you’ll forget to do so. This means you’re effectively storing up a problem; a moment when you’ll study a bill, or go through your tax-deductible expenses, and be completely unable to recall the transaction. In the best case scenario, you’ll be able to find the receipt and track back, but even then, you’ve still spent more time than necessary on a small task.

Instead, record the following details about every purchase you make for your business:

● The amount of the payment
● The payment method you used; i.e. debit card, credit card, or cash
● The purpose for the payment
● The payment recipient
● The date of the transaction

You can then set a reminder on your phone to input the transaction into the relevant records and file the receipt for safekeeping as soon as is convenient.

#3 – Schedule account debits for the same time every month

If recurring outgoing payments debit from your account throughout the month, life can get confusing very quickly. You may find that you have to run the numbers and check you have the funds you need to cover future payments every time you wish to make a non-recurring payment or debit, which is far from ideal.

To avoid this, set up all of your recurring payments for a single day every month – ideally the first, as this remains the same date every month. You may find that you need to pay more for the first month on a new payment plan to change the dates, but this is well worth doing in order to achieve a more streamlined approach in future.

#4 – Use a “traffic light” system for financial tasks

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When managing your business finances, it can often feel like you have a plethora of tasks demanding your time – you have to make payments to suppliers, manage your receipts, balance the books, issue customer refunds, and many more besides. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, implement a “traffic light” system.

To do this, start by making a list of all the financial tasks that are demanding your attention.

● Red: tasks that must be completed as soon as possible, with potentially severe ramifications – such as fines or fees – if they are late.
● Amber: tasks that must be completed as soon as possible, but that will not result in financial ramifications if they are not completed immediately.
● Green: tasks that are important, but that are without a pressing deadline or a set point at which they have to be completed.
● Any task that does not fit into one of these three categories should be set aside to be perused at a later date or potentially discarded entirely.

When every task is assigned a color, you can then begin to work through them in order of priority: red, then amber, then green, accomplishing as many as possible in the time you have available.

In conclusion

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For your business to succeed, your financial management has to be excellent – but without consuming your entire schedule. If you give the tips above a try, you should find that you’re able to streamline your finances and exert positive control, while still managing to leave plenty of time for other business-related tasks. Good luck!

The keys to learning college-level Physics

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“Physics is a different way of looking at the world.”

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A key principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is awareness of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Several years ago, I tutored in the former Northern Virginia Tutoring Service to earn some extra income outside of my federal science career. The subject that gave me the most business year after year was International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) General Chemistry for high school students – both college-level courses.

On a few occasions I tutored some students in Physics – the ‘Grandfather’ of all the sciences. Physics has a special place in my heart as it was a milestone for me during my growth as a student. I didn’t take to ‘Physical Science’ as an eighth grader, and I struggled with high school Physics as a junior. Midway through my junior year, I figured out what was going on and ended the year respectably. I discovered that I could succeed in a ‘quantitative’ science course.

With a younger cousin now taking IB Physics as a freshman in high school and struggling early on herself, I’ve decided to craft a piece about the keys to learning college-level Physics. As a Pharmacologist/Toxicologist, I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible in this piece. Please excuse me if I’ve misspoken about anything or even leave a comment below this post.

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“Physics is a different way of looking at the world,” my father, a Physics major himself in college said when I was a junior in high school and didn’t understand the class initially. It was a vague explanation and I still didn’t get it. My teacher at Hutch-Tech High School in Buffalo, NY also didn’t give a nice comprehensive explanation of what the class was about before going into his discussion of “Scalars” and “Vectors”. He was a very robot-like, studious-looking, middle-aged gentleman, with a graying beard and glasses who almost never blinked as one classmate humorously pointed out one day. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I’ll say that he might’ve given us a nice introduction and perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention.

In terms of my cousin who is struggling with Physics, one of the first questions I asked her coincidentally was if she knew what Physics was all about. She of course quickly answered, “No.” When learning anything, I believe that context is critical because it lets us know the ‘why’ and makes attacking the ‘how’ much easier. I explained to her that Physics itself is a broad field, but most importantly that it’s a way of mathematically explaining the natural world around us: calculating the masses of things, the speeds of objects, understanding how light and sound travel, understanding gravity, etc.

When NASA, SpaceX or their collaborators and competitors send astronauts and rockets into space for example, there’s a whole series of calculations that need to be performed and worked out ahead of time. Understanding “Time Dilation” in outer space requires some knowledge of how gravity and light work together. This gives us insight as to why individuals age more slowly in low-gravity environments. Calculating how fast a football ball travels, understanding the acceleration of cars, building high-speed rail systems, building bridges and buildings, and understanding how cell phones work – this all involves Physics.

Partway through my junior year struggles, something ‘clicked’ and I realized that we were being asked ‘word problems’ – problems where we were given multiple pieces of evidence and then having to solve for an unknown – usually having to use an Algebraic equation. I’ll use an example from the ‘Mechanics’ chapter of most Physics curricula. Mechanics deals with the movement and speeds of objects and thus involves concepts like: ‘Force’, ‘Momentum’, ‘Velocity’, ‘Acceleration’, ‘Friction’, and ‘Inertia’. The word problems typically involve giving two to three pieces of the puzzle and then asking the student to solve for the unknown.

An example is being given the mass of car, the speed of the car and then being asked to determine its Momentum (p). To answer the question, students must understand what Momentum is in terms of ‘units of measure’. In this case, Momentum is represented as: mass (m) * velocity (v) – the units usually being kilograms (kg) for mass and meters per second (m/s) for velocity:

p = m (kg) * v (m/s)

The measurement of speed is a ‘rate’ and in the United States, we typically measure speed in miles per hour (m/h). Canada uses kilometers per hour (km/h). Most Physics curricula express it as m/s. Underneath the Mechanics umbrella there is also Acceleration (a) which is very, very close to Velocity except for one subtle difference – the units are meters per second squared (m/s²). Instead of Momentum (kg*m/s) this one little change creates the unit for Force (F) (kg*m/s²) which is referred to as the “Newton”. The actual formula is:

F = m (kg) * a (m/s²)

This is just a piece of Mechanics. There are many more calculations in the: Circuits and Electricity, Dynamics, Kinematics, and Thermodynamics chapters just to name a few. This meticulousness with formulas and units of measure is what my father meant by, “looking at the world differently.” He meant looking at the world mathematically and in terms of formulas, laws and ‘constants’. And with that, I’ll discuss some simple keys to excelling at college-level Physics. They are as follows:

Understanding Physics at a high level: While the goal is to understand the world in a mathematical way, context is critical in my opinion because otherwise you’re just needlessly doing calculation after calculation. Again, my high school Physics teacher may have given us a nice comprehensive introduction and I was either daydreaming about basketball or girls, but my first memories of the class were ‘Scalars’ and ‘Vectors’ as described above. Once I got older and understood that Physics is everywhere, and its great history, I developed a great respect for the field and those who work in it.

Understanding the scientific and mathematical relationships: At some point during my junior year of high school, the ‘light bulb’ in my brain turned on. I realized that most of the questions we were being asked involved a principle of some sort and there were corresponding equations and formulas. The examples cited above involved Mechanics but there are many other modules in Physics. Students must be able to quickly read a question and identify which principle and the corresponding formula/equation being called upon. From there it’s pretty much ‘plugging and playing’.

Students must become meticulous about the units measure and your calculator must become your ‘best friend’ just like in Chemistry. Some questions give the student two different units of measure and the units for the answer may be a combination of the two, a constituent of the two, or something completely different if a ‘physical constant’ value is involved – the speed of light or sound for example or the Earth’s gravitational constant. Some questions even involve multiple equations. You get the point, and this is what makes the final key is so important; practice. By the way, many teachers and professors allow their students to write down their equations and formulas and bring them to the tests eliminating the need to memorize them.

Being disciplined about practicing the problems and seeking help: The final important key in my opinion, is taking the time outside of class to go over the practice problems and being ruthless about it. Depending on how long a given test is, students will usually only have about an hour to complete the questions. For that reason, it’s critical to be able to identify what’s being asked quickly, and then being able to quickly calculate the answer. To do that, students must practice as many problems as possible in their spare time – if the teacher assigns only the odd numbers in a chapter, then the student must also be willing to do the even numbered questions to master the principle.

Religiously doing the practice problems takes a certain amount of discipline, foresight and drive. More importantly it also builds confidence. This is the point I tried to drive home to my cousin and others in her situation. If students are confused about something when practicing their problems, they should seek out their teacher or a knowledgeable peer for more help. Once again, a key pillar of science is asking questions and knowing when you’ve arrived at the boundaries of your own personal knowledge.

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“I want to congratulate you. You’ve really turned things around this year,” my high school Physics teacher said to me late in my junior year. His words surprised me, and they showed that he was paying attention to how his students were doing. He saw me flounder early in the year, and then start to grasp the material as time went on. My early grades in the class were in the mid- to high-60s, but I recovered to finish in the high-70s to low-80s. As an undergraduate, I knew what to do immediately and scored in the 90s both semesters.

So, there you have it. Keep in mind that this is for high school and college-level Physics and it can get much more complex. There is for example “Calculus-Based Physics“, which gives me the chills just thinking about it. I imagine that the keys I gave still apply though the material is far more complex. Lastly Physics in addition to being a prerequisite class for many STEM-hopefuls, it’s also a bit of ‘gatekeeper’ course which can derail the dreams of many Medical School hopefuls and other aspiring healthcare professionals.

Undergraduate Physics is as far as I went, though some of the principles did come into play once I started my graduate research. For the sake of this piece though, like Chemistry, students can get overwhelmed and lose hope once they fall behind early, which is dangerous because some may never want to participate in the STEMs afterwards.

Thank you for taking the time read this blog post. If you enjoyed this piece, you might also enjoy:

• The keys to learning college-level Chemistry
• The story of how I earned my STEM degree as a minority
• The transferrable skills from a STEM degree in the basic sciences
• A look at STEM: What is Pharmacology?
• A look at STEM: What is Toxicology?
• A look at STEM: What is Inhalation Toxicology?

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

Looking To Grow? You Have To Let Go? How You Can Work With A Remote Team Effectively

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. With today’s technology, many workers are working remotely. There are certain keys to working with remote teams. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Looking To Grow? You Have To Let Go? How You Can Work With A Remote Team Effectively.

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Growing a business these days means having to find ways to cut financial corners. If you’re someone that’s on the road constantly, remote work is an essential cornerstone of a developing company. Many businesses use remote workers now, but for all of the pros and cons associated with remote working, if this is essential right now, how can you work with a remote pool of workers effectively?

Don’t Confuse Brevity With Clarity
When we looking to maximize our effectiveness and we need to communicate with remote teams via email, we can feel that the fewest number of words possible is the only course of action. But, we can confuse brevity with clarity. You have to think about getting your point across, not just so your workers know what to do, but so you can avoid any bounce back. A lack of clarity will result in more confuse responses which will triple your workload and reduce your productivity for that day, meaning you will have to work hard to catch up later in the week. Regardless of your type of work, whether you’re growing a digital agency, a pool of bloggers, or an e-commerce business, if you have remote workers that have to be firing on all cylinders, you have to ensure that you are able to distill exactly what you mean into a message so that it leaves no stone unturned. This is a fine art.

Breathing Space
The anxieties that creep in when we’re running a remote team is that we, very simply, have no idea how our employees are working. There are ways for us to ensure they are on the right track, regular meetings, either in person or via video call work perfectly fine, but part of the draw of remote working, especially when you are starting up a business, is that the employees have some sense of freedom. They are working from home, so they are able to do things, within reason, their own way. The temptation can be for us to breathe down their necks a lot more and metaphorically look over their shoulder. But you have to think about the overarching productivity. If you are constantly pinging messages to an employee to check on their work, you’ll have to think that this will invariably slow them down. This is why it’s better for you to instigate communications first thing in the morning or the end of the working day. It all depends on the feedback you have to give, but working at home comes with its own unique set of challenges, and we have to think about this, because if we are sending numerous little emails, messages, and we are one step away from picking up the phone and speaking to them, the number of little tasks that they have to do throughout the day that purely involves messaging you back could slow them right down and impact you at the end of the week.

To work with a remote team, it requires the ability to say what you mean, but let them work in their own way. In many ways, you are relinquishing a lot of control, but if you are looking to grow, then you have to let go.

Vital Signs: Essentials To Keep A Healthcare Startup Functioning

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The healthcare industry is booming today and many healthcare startups have been started. As with any enterprise, it’s important to know how to survive in your chosen sector. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Vital Signs: Essentials To Keep A Healthcare Startup Functioning.

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The healthcare industry is booming. And it’s hardly a surprise; a service that provides support to every single one of us in our hour of need is naturally going to reap the benefits. But when there are so many healthcare startups nudging for space at the proverbial operating table, so many can fall by the wayside. In order to keep a healthcare company functioning, what are the essentials we need?

A Solid Workforce

Now with the necessity to outsource certain processes, the notion of a solid workforce can seem as old as the hills. But it’s a fundamental of any great business. Regardless of the procedures that you outsource to contractors and various freelance workers, a solid workforce can still be nurtured. It isn’t to do with who you hire, but the culture you nurture. We know that the healthcare industry struggles with retaining its workers, which is unsurprising due to the high levels of stress involved, but if you go into this with the knowledge that you are going to be firefighting multiple blazes at once, and you reinforce the notion of a solid workforce that bandies together, this will be the tie that binds in every aspect of your company.

Working With The Right People On Their Terms

Understanding your place in the supply chain is invaluable. Having an understanding of the knock-on effects and problem-solving supply chain issues as they come up is even more important. And this, in many ways, goes back to the team you have around you. Specialists are numerous in the medical field, which can mean that each individual doesn’t feel that they need to work as part of a unit, but this is where you come in, and your management expertise helps to bring the entire unit together. Taking this ability to work with various strands of the pecking order and making each piece of the puzzle work together as one is an essential skill that the best entrepreneurs have. You may not have deep-seated knowledge of the medical coatings that provide lubricants and hygienic support to the equipment, nor may you understand any aspect of a tracheostomy, or even if the word “Mayo” makes you think of the word “sandwich” instead of “Clinic”, if you have the ability to work with people on their terms, but still keep track of the bigger picture, this is how your startup will continue to function.

The medical industry is bound by rules and regulations, but we need to remember that it’s a business, and so, many the aspects need to be treated as such. But what really makes a healthcare business succeed isn’t just the, pardon the pun, clinical approach to business, but it’s about understanding the overarching importance of the human factor. It needs to continue to function for the people that need it. Patients, customers, whatever you want to call them, they are the bread and butter to keep you functioning. And this means, as such, you have to work hard on the reasons to entice them. This goes back to marketing, promotional materials and the like. It’s important not to treat a medical business as its own entity; it is, after all, a business.

Save A Sinking Business This Year

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key to running any business is understanding how to ‘course correct’ and make the necessary adjustments in your operations when necessary. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Save A Sinking Business This Year.

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If you are either working for or own a business who is struggling to make ends meet, it can feel as if all hope is lost and the idea of saving a business like this can seem out of the realms of possibility. However it is not impossible to save a sinking ship even when on board, and today we are going to have a look at how you can do it.

Sell

The first thing you will want to think about doing if your business is failing is to sell things you no longer need and let go of staff to save as much money as you can. It might mean you have to downgrade the office and work from your own house for a while, but the money you can save here will be used later on to help you get back on track and dominate your industry once more.

Increase cash flow

Cash flow is of course always going to be the be all and end all of business, and you might think if you are struggling to sell your products that increasing cash flow will be a mammoth task. However, from a simple point of view, if you can sell product you will make money, and you can use https://businesslineof.credit/ and other methods to increase cash flow by reducing the prices of your products or offering bulk buy discounts for people. It will never be totally ideal but it is better to have cash flow than nothing at all.

Save on office rental

Office rental is likely one of the biggest costs you are incurring each month to keep your business alive, but this isn’t always a necessary cost and it can be doing you more harm than good in the long term. Think about moving to a smaller office space or taking up some spare desks in a new office and this can make a big difference to your profits each month and mat just be your saving grace. You can find co-working spaces in mot big cities and have a look here for more info: https://www.manchesterdigital.com/co-working-space

Outsource

It is sad to admit, but a lot of the time the biggest costs you will see in your business are the employees who work for you every day. The idea of having to let employees go is never nice however it is something which sometimes is necessary for the security of your business venture. You can think about hiring outsourcing companies to come and do things like marketing and finance and this will be much cheaper than paying someone a full time wage.

Save on everything

Need paper? Get recycled paper. Looking for a desk? Find one on eBay! There are so many ways you can save on every day items when you come to run a business and taking the time to research and locate the best deals might be just what you need to bring the business back from the brink of failure.

You Need to Keep Your Technology Up to Date: Here’s Why

Three of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurshp and Technology. A major component of running any successful business today is properly leveraging technology and making sure that it’s up to date. The following contributed post is thus entitled; You Need to Keep Your Technology Up to Date: Here’s Why.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

We all keep saying that technology is at the heart of every business – from your website to your business processes, technology keeps the world going round. But if this is really the case then why do so many businesses make do with ancient computers, outdated systems and lacking security systems?

The main reason is this: laziness. New technology might cost a lot but given the return on your investment, this shouldn’t be a stumbling block for most businesses. No, laziness is holding lots of businesses back but there are a few things that might get you out of your seat and into action!
You Don’t Have to Go It Alone

Though you might be worried at the prospect of new technology, any IT support company will be able to get you set up and running on a new system really quickly. They will also be able to offer you constant access to support so that if anything goes wrong, you will have someone to help fast.

Generally speaking, the latest technology is easier to fix up faster for 2 reasons: 1. it is already much faster than other technologies and 2. technology is always evolving and many programs are now updated regularly. This means that even if there is a problem, it is much more likely that a fix will be available.

If you want to keep your business open 24 hours a day, the right technology is crucial.

Increase Your Productivity

Technology has always been about increasing productivity by improving efficiency. From the first machines that took workers from their living rooms to the factory floor, technology has made work faster and cheaper to produce – no matter whether that is writing a blog or building a car. And with ever more creative technologies appearing on the market, you have a lot to take advantage of.

When it comes to upgrading your technology, you have 2 choices: to keep up with the crowd or to get ahead. Keeping up should be the bare minimum you do but getting ahead of the crowd could be the difference between being part of your industry and leading it. As any business owner knows, the more productive you are and the greater your efficiency, the better your reputation will be and the more likely you are to attract star talent – even better!

Impress Your Clients

It’s not just prospective job candidates who will be impressed by your use of technology – customers and clients are always looking for the companies who are pushing the boundaries of their industry. Even in businesses where you might think that technology would take a back seat, it can have a great impact – just consider the way that the internet has changed the retail industry.

The key is that your technology should be used to demonstrate to your clients that you aren’t just forward-thinking, but you are considering every aspect of their experience with you. The more innovative you are in finding technological solutions, the more impressive your business will look.

7 Things That Will Help You To Prevent Issues Within Your Organization

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When running any organization, it’s important to know how to proactively keep everything running smoothly. What are some keys to doing so? The following contributed post is entitled, 7 Things That Will Help You To Prevent Issues Within Your Organization.

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Experiencing issues within your organization is never fun, and you want to be able to overcome them as quickly as possible so that you can learn from them. Learning from any issues that you do face is a must if you want to keep on moving forward.

Here, we have 7 things that can help you to prevent issues within your organization. They don’t mean that you won’t experience another issue ever, but they can help to reduce them and make them far easier to manage. Take a look and see what you can do:

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Write Out A Business Plan
If you don’t have a business plan, this is nothing but a pipedream. You don’t have to write a novel on your business, but you should be writing out specific objectives, strategies, financing, a sales and marketing plan, and a determination of the cash you need to get things done. This is one of the most important things you’ll do in the beginning.

Stay Flexible
Ok, so you spent some time writing a plan. This doesn’t mean you can’t stay flexible. You should stay flexible if you want things to work out! You need to be prepared to change, as so many things change quickly these days, whether you’re looking at your industry or marketing.

Don’t Let Your Ego Get the Better Of You
Having mentors and advisors is a good idea because you need people to bounce ideas off. Not only that, they will help you to achieve greater accomplishments, hold you accountable for what you are committing to do, and more. They can help you to look at things objectively when you are struggling to do so, too. Never let your ego get in the way.

Keep Track Religiously
Keep track of everything, and manage by the numbers. This will allow you to retain consistency and train your employees. Keeping track of everything is crucial, whether you’re a multi million pound business or a non profit. Looking into things that could then be improved based on what you have tracked will help you to grow, for example, IT support for nonprofits if your staff are currently struggling with issues.

Delegate Effectively
Although you want to avoid micromanaging them, you should be prepared to delegate to your employees when needed. This is one of the greatest things that an entrepreneur or business owner can learn to do. You can’t be a control freak, though, so bear this in mind.

Use Social Media
Social media is where it’s at for business marketing and finding customers, as well as relating to old customers and bringing them back. It’s super powerful and very cost efficient, but it takes time and some skill to figure out how to use it properly. It is about creating a community, so it could be a good idea to hire a social media manager to start this off for you.

Above all, make sure you have fun in business. You can survive if you stay passionate, have fun, and keep a positive can-do outlook.

The Journey Your Imports Must Make To Become Inventory

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In today’s highly digitized and global world, commerce can easily take place between businesses in multiple countries. Part of this involves understanding how and where your products of interest are being shipped. The following contributed post is thus entitled; The Journey Your Imports Must Make To Become Inventory.

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The beauty of the modern business is that everything is inherently global. You might consider yourself as a humble ‘ma n’ pa’ shop but even you can and should take advantage of free markets. This is international trade that has taken off in every country whether advanced or even third world. Your humble pizza shop might be using mozzarella cheese that is home grown but you can import the best from Italy if you wish. And it’s not going to be wallet-busting either because aforementioned, everything is global nowadays. Businesses of all kinds look for other businesses in other countries to do business with non-stop. Striking a deal isn’t the that big of an issue if both parties are on the same page. You’re probably not the only one your import partner is contracted with. Many times wherever the best product is, there’s always a handful of businesses trying to use it, and almost none of them will ever have exclusivity to it. The real challenge isn’t in doing good business, it’s what you do with the imports when they arrive in the ports. Obviously, you need to formulate a tactful journey that will be cost-effective but also efficient; not to mention fast.

Unloading and loading at ports

When your imports arrive after their long arduous journey, the port companies will be raring to go. The entire ethos of a port imports company is to offload everything off the vessels as quickly as possible. However, some cargo ships will store their loads pertaining to how valuable the contents of their containers are. For example, it’s worse losing a container of jewelry than it is a container full of clothes. So many will stack their containers in a way that not only protects the best assets abroad but also makes them easier to unload when they hit port. It’s up to you to work with the port companies to find the best deal you can or rather, the cargo transport companies.

Okay, so it’s your turn to have your containers unloaded, what do you do? Well, you must have some kind of loading team that will identify products, different loads, locations where they must be sent and start to load up your transportation service. No doubt, that you will either have 18-wheeler trucks that will be transporting your goods or you will load up new containers so that they can be loaded onto a freight train. It depends on where your location is. Once the train has arrived at its station where it will offload containers, you need a new team to load the containers onto trucks. The end goal is to transport them quickly to the warehouse from which then, distribution can begin.

Where the warehouse comes in

Whatever kind of transport system you use, you’ll need to be ready to accept the imports at the warehouse. Just like the port offloading companies were ready and waiting to pounce into action and stay true to the saying of ‘time is money’, now your warehouse team need to do the same. Since you now have two categories of products, both the domestic and the imports could be separated when it comes to storage if you want them to be. Some businesses decide not to do this because it’s simpler for the storage and selection process for the employees. However, you might have a little trouble detecting when your imports are running low in storage. Counting inventory is difficult enough, and now that your imports are spread around can you always get an accurate number?

You should make a special day for the unloading of imports or rather, just make the warehouse managers and head of the storage department aware that new imports are arriving on a certain day. Bear in mind that you have most likely paid a lot for your imports, at least probably more than your domestic products, so great care needs to be taken when unloading them off the trucks. If your imports are particularly precious and cost a lot, you may want to use brand new containers such as those made by Equipment Management Services. They have brand new shipping containers that are made from better materials than previous generations, better usages of the total size and strong locking mechanisms. These containers can be put in a special part of the warehouse or just away from the other products so as to not mix domestic and import inventory together.

Acknowledge their presence

Once the products have arrived at the warehouse, they need to be acknowledged by the managers. They have travelled a long distance, maybe even thousands of miles across oceans, roads, highways and now they are here. So each item needs to be counted and accounted for by your managers. The reason why it’s such an urgent job is, because it’s not like you can just order a new batch of your imports and they’ll be with you in a day or two. Usually it takes a long time to get from your business partner, to your warehouse. It could take up to a week or more for example.

Thus, your managers now need to convert your imports into inventory. What products have you ordered, and how many? Did any get damaged on the way to your warehouse? If so, how much money did you lose in the process? Whose fault was it, your employees, port companies, the business partner? What are the different types of products you have ordered, and what in what kinds are they? For example, if you ordered a series of ceramic vases with the same design, how many are in the color blue, red or green? Once your managers and the head of the storage department has retrieved all this information, they can accurately log what the new inventory count is.

Becoming a business that has partners overseas is a very prestigious moment that you should enjoy. However, all the while your imports have not been sold, it’s money floating up in the air. You need a good and fast system to offload and load your products at the ports. Your transport to your warehouse needs to be able to make the journey quickly and keep the products safe from damage. Finally, your warehouse employees and managers need to unload the products and account the imports as inventory.