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.

Making Good Use Of Your Money

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. One component to being successful with money is making it. A second key is knowing what to do with it and then executing a plan. The following contributed post is entitled, Making Good Use Of Your Money.

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Being savvy with money can make all the difference to your day to day life. If you are irresponsible with money, or have to make tough decisions that place you in debt, you can experience a lot of struggle and hardship down the line. If you are financially savvy, you should be able to keep yourself above the water and can even start to invest and save. This gives you a security blanket that you can rely on during harder times or difficulties. Here are a few simple steps you can take to manage your money well.

Clear Debt

If you have any outstanding debt, it’s important that you do what you can to clear it. Clearing debt can feel difficult, especially if you’re already living on a tight budget, but by clearing it, you can lift a huge weight from your shoulders. Start out by determining your budget. Find out your take home pay (this is your pay after tax and national insurance deductions – you may also find you have pension or student loan deductions if relevant). Next, take away all of your essential costs. This could include things like rent or mortgage payments, energy bills, groceries and water. It should also include payments that you are contracted or committed to, such as car payments, financial agreements, broadband costs, mobile costs and more. The figure you’re left with is your disposable income. If you have debt, you should try to dedicate as much of this disposable income as possible to clearing your debts. If you’re experiencing difficulty and feel you’ll never realistically be able to clear your debt, you may want to consider options like bankruptcy.

Make Investments

If you are debt free, you may want to consider investing some of your disposable income. This means using some of your disposable income to invest in projects that could make you money going forward. There are short term investments and long term investments. Only you can know which will best suit you, or you could talk to a financial advisor for advice on your personal circumstances and the best investments for rising interest rates.

Save

Saving money is important too. By having a savings account, you will have money available for situations where you might need it, such as having to repair your car, replace a broken appliance or other situations. Alternatively, you can save for something. It could be a mortgage deposit, a dream holiday, a car or anything else. Find a savings account with a good interest rate for the best return on your money while it’s sitting waiting to be used.

These steps may not be possible for everyone, but if you can take them into account, you really should. They will make all the difference to your financial status and security and can help you to lead a more comfortable and less stressful day to day life!

How To Improve Cashflow As A Small Business

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. While the focus of a business is the generate profit, a key aspect of that is controlling costs and improving cashflow. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Improve Cashflow As A Small Business.

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One of the problems facing small businesses, even profitable small businesses is cash flow or lack thereof. Having a steady cash flow is important for all businesses as it is the means to meeting all overheads such as rent and bills. If payments are due to be made but cannot be met even a successful company could run into difficulty and uncertainty over their future. Here are some tips to consider when it comes to keeping your company cash available.

Photo credit Pixabay from Pexels

Lease instead of buy

Choosing to lease over purchasing property or even equipment and goods may at first seem counterintuitive as commonly you will end up paying a higher amount over the duration of the lease than you would if you bought the property outright. While this may be the case outlying large sums of money into property or goods will tie up your company funds and could have a very detrimental effect on its access to cash and cash flow. It may also be that your lease agreements can benefit from certain tax advantages, advice on which should always be sought.

Liquidate assets

If you do choose to buy your goods or equipment then you will always have the option to sell them to liquidize those assets. Or, it may be that you have surplus inventory to your requirements that you can dispose of to increase your cash flow. Take a look around, and consider whether everything you have is truly needed. Your company tools or equipment will always be worth something and there are specialized companies available who can help value your stock and offer you competitive rates. If you are in the restaurant trade for example take a look at this site to see what services they offer for liquidating your inventory.

Stay on top of invoicing

It sounds like an obvious one but you would be surprised how many companies lag behind when it comes to invoicing. Firstly be sure to invoice as soon as possible and make sure all invoices are clear and easy to read with all of the relevant information easy to find. Relevant information such as payment terms and payment methods should be top priority. It is also a good idea to include a due date and to make it visible from several locations on the invoice. Finally be sure to chase unpaid invoices regularly. Set yourself weekly or even bi-weekly reminders to send out follow ups as the payment deadline approaches. If an invoice is unpaid after the due date be sure to charge late payment fees.

Consider how people pay you

If your cash is coming from your customers, which it will be, consider the payment methods you offer and whether you can expand these. There are so many viable payment options available from Paypal, Venmo, Apple Pay or even Bitcoin. The more possibilities you have and the more convenient it is for customers to pay you the quicker you will receive your money and improve your cash flow.

5 Ways To Survive Your Remodeling Job

Two focuses of my blog are Home/Living Discussions and Home/Property Discussions. If you own a property, chances are you’re going to look to remodel it at some point. Remodeling jobs can be a lot of work if you don’t know what you’re doing. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways To Survive Your Remodeling Job.

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Remodeling. The word itself inspires at once feelings of excitement for the project that lies ahead while still being mixed with a healthy dose of rampant fear at all the upheaval and chaos that can sometimes come along with it.

If you’re adding an extension or doing a complete overhaul, we got you.

We think that that needs to change, so we’ve created a cheat sheet for you that covers everything from planning to clean up and the bits in between because a remodel, like a change – should be as good as a holiday.

Image By Geralt

#1 PLAN FOR CHANGE

This applies whether you’re planning for a remodel at home or the office. You first have to know what you’re planning on achieving, your budget, and what skills you have access to in your area that can bring about your end result as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible.

Remember the triangle of expectation: You can have it:

Fast and high-quality – but it won’t be cheap.
You can have it cheap and fast – but it won’t be high quality; or
You can have it high quality and slow – but it will be affordable.

Ideally, you want to fit all of your planning within that triangle based on the time, space, and budget resources you have at your disposal.

#2 STICK TO YOUR GUNS (BUT BE PREPARED TO CHANGE)

Once you’ve plotted out and planned for your remodeling job, appointed your contractors, and found your suppliers, stick to your plan! You are going to get nowhere, and you’ll end countless wasted hours and dollars to your endgame if you keep changing your mind. A good artist knows when to put down his brush, but also know this: things can and will go wrong, and when that happens, you’ll make it through a lot more efficiently and with way more sanity if you’re prepared to accept that sometimes not everything is going to go your way all the time.

So that means that having a plan B is always a good idea.

#3 PLAN FOR THE MIDDLE PARTS

Set up a plan to meet with all stakeholders around the midpoint of your remodel to ensure that everyone is on track, spending is in line with budget and that if there has been overspend, it can be discussed and assessed and perhaps saved on other non-essential elements to keep your budget on track too.

#4 WASTE MANAGEMENT

This needs to be factored into your ongoing planning and project management and should start at the very beginning of your remodel. You will need professionals to handle certain types of waste where it’s appropriate. Still, for all of your “regular” trash, you can’t go wrong with a dumpster rental service that sets up a bin on your property and, seven days later, fetches it. Easy as pie.

#5 QUALITY CONTROL AND AUDITS

As your project nears its end before your contractors leave the scene (trust us on this one), you should plan to have all of your contractors and suppliers (where applicable) start conducting regular walkthroughs and provide you with reports on issues, damage that needs to be repaired or what is not going to be delivered on time and what the plan for that is.

You will find that regardless of how complicated your remodel project is or the scale of the project, using these five easy principles can be a solid guide towards remodel heaven.

Tips For Maintaining Your Customer’s Attention

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Arguably the most important part of any business is its marketing. A part of marketing is figuring out how to maintain your customer’s attention. The following contributed post is entitled, Tips For Maintaining Your Customer’s Attention.

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Maintaining the attention of your customers is super important so that they don’t lose interest. Non-interested customers will slowly hinder your business sales, which will decrease profits and make it harder to grow and expand your business. To make your business more effective and successful, it is important to engage your customers.

On that note, here are the best tips for maintaining your customer’s attention.

Inside Restaurant Bar – Free photo on Pixabay

Make an engaging website
If your business runs an online website, that it will need to be as engaging as possible to maintain the attention of your customers. If your business doesn’t have a website, then it will benefit your business to work with a website design team who will help to build your site. A business website will help your business be more discoverable, which will boost sales and success.

Your business website should be as responsive as possible, which will maintain the attention of your customers. Using an expert in the field will ensure that your website is easy to use and smooth so that your customers do not lose interest.

Fast responses
An effective way to keep your customers engaged is to respond to their comments and questions as fast as possible. Although it would be ideal to offer your customers immediate responses, sometimes it simply isn’t possible. Therefore, ensure to stay on top of your comments/queries so that you can turn around quick responses.

If you do want to try and increase your response time and offer more frequent immediate responses then it can help to build a live chat service on your website. During business hours, customers can contact you there and attain an immediate response to their query, which will keep them attentive and interested.

Never promise anything
You should avoid promising anything to your customers because if you fail to meet the expectations that you have set out for yourself, then you will lose your customer’s trust. Therefore, never hand out promises.

Instead, fulfilling your own expectations should be enough to satisfy your customers and keep them interested.

Get to know your customers
The more personal you are with your customers, the more engaged they will be. Simply knowing their name or their preferences will ensure that you can be friendly and create a relationship, which will keep them coming back to use your business.

Getting to know your customers will also mean that you can rely on them for regular and honest feedback. The more feedback you attain from your customers about your business, the more you can improve and ensure that you provide your customers with what they want.

Offer regular deals
Every customer will appreciate a good deal from time to time. Therefore, offering regular deals to your existing customers will make them feel appreciated and encourage them to keep shopping with you to attain more deals.

You could offer a reward scheme whereby you offer a free product for every ten purchases made. It will keep them interested and engaged with your business, which will maintain their loyalty.

The Best Road Safety Tips You Need

Two focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness and Technology. When you’re on the road by yourself and even with other drivers, you must stay alert and be ready for any and everything. What you know and how you react can literally save your life. The following contributed post is entitled, The Best Road Safety Tips You Need.

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Road safety is essential for the sake of your own health and safety, as well as others on the road. Even if you are the safest driver possible, it is still possible to feel or be unsafe on the road at times.

If you have ever been involved in a car accident then you will likely be looking for ways to feel safer on the road. Likewise, if you are a new driver looking for safety tips, then this post will help you attain the best knowledge for staying safe on the road.

Road Nature Travel – Free photo on Pixabay

Find a car you feel safe in
Feeling safe in a car is essential so that you can remain calm on the road.

Whether you want to find polaris atv dealers near me or places that sell small SUVs, sports cars, or sedans, simply search online and find your nearest dealership. You can go and look over the car and test it out to see how comfortable you feel in it.

Be alert, even before you drive
Should you feel unenergetic or tired, it is a good idea to avoid driving. It is best to feel energised and as alert as possible to stay safe on the road. Being alert will ensure that your reaction times are optimal, which will help should you hit sudden traffic or be put in danger due to another driver on the road.

To be the most alert it will help to have plenty of sleep/rest, stay hydrated, and eat (especially before a long drive).

Take breaks
Speaking of long drives, it is important to take breaks should you suddenly feel tired. Likewise, taking breaks on long drives will help you regain focus.

If you are on a long journey, make sure not to power through as your alert times could be significantly reduced. Taking breaks every hour or so should help you stay alert. During these breaks make sure to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and fuel yourself for the next leg of the journey.

Drive slow in wet conditions
When the weather changes and it starts to rain, the tires on your car will react very differently to when they drive on dry roads. Therefore, ensure to drive extra slow when it’s wet. Your braking distances might be significantly longer. In which case, you will need to break a lot earlier. If you are driving slower, the stopping distance can be better judged.

Likewise, if it is snowing then make sure to drive even slower and with more precaution. Driving in higher gear will help you maintain traction.

If you have never experienced driving in the snow, then it could help to get some experience with someone who has so that you can witness how to effectively handle the car. You will see how slow to drive as well as what gear to be in. If driving in snow (or any other condition) worries you, then avoid it at all costs as you need to be confident to be as safe as possible on the road.

Daily Habits That Can Help You Protect Your Back

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. A key to our physical health is protected our backs and keeping them strong. Back issues can be detrimental because they can cause a plethora of issues with other parts of the body. The following contributed post is entitled, Daily Habits That Can Help You Protect Your Back.

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Your back is an area of the body that is usually under constant stress. Our back contains many different muscles that help us maintain our posture, and there are many situations in everyday life where we can put unnecessary strain on it. Whether it’s lifting something incorrectly or sleeping in an uncomfortable position, these are things that can negatively affect your back, causing a number of issues that will get worse if you leave them.

So in this post, we’ll be taking a look at a few daily habits that can help you protect your back and ensure it’s in good shape.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/XiCEx98PnUA (CC0)

Remind yourself about your posture

Constantly remind yourself about your posture. Set alarms if you have to or use apps that notify you now and then about adjusting your posture. This is especially important for people that work sitting down or have a history of bad posture.

Be more cautious about how you use your back

There are a number of health problems that come with aging and a bad back is usually something that will limit your range of movement while also making it difficult for you to carry out certain tasks that you’re used to. If you experience back pain, make sure you’re more cautious about how you use your back, such as adjusting your lifting technique so that you’re not straining your back muscles.

Make sure you get a good night’s sleep

A good night’s sleep is a great way to recharge your body, but it also helps you sleep in a comfortable position that doesn’t hurt your back. This isn’t a major problem for most people but if you do wake up feeling sore or with back pain, then it may be worth taking a look at how you sleep.

Do plenty of walking throughout the day

Walking is great for exercise to help you burn calories and fix your posture. Whenever you can, do a bit of extra walking so that you can take advantage of these benefits. You could walk to a different station on the way home or you could take the stairs instead of the elevator in your workplace.

Try and fit in some light exercise now and then

Light exercises are important for maintaining our weight and also improving our overall health. Some exercises are also a great way to promote back strength and relieve tension in our back muscles. Some light exercise throughout the day is a great option and it really doesn’t take much time out of your day.

Experiencing back pain? Then you may need to see a specialist

There are some cases where you might want to consider seeing spine surgeons or doctors to help you diagnose the problem. A specialist will help analyze your spine and your muscles to see if there are any outstanding problems. If there is, then you’ll be given suggestions on how to fix it so that your back can be protected for the foreseeable future.

Conclusion

In short, make sure you’re more careful about how you use your back. Plenty of people take their muscles and joints for granted, but if you’re noticing back pain now and then, you’d be wise to take it easy and start being more conscious of how you might be mistreating those muscles.

Running Drills: Training Your Employees For Emergencies

Two focuses of my blog are Organizational/Management Discussions and Workplace Discussions. Workplaces are not just places we go off to everyday. As we’ve seen throughout history, work is a place where crisis and emergency situations can arise unexpectedly and it’s important to have some level of preparation. The following contributed post is entitled, Running Drills: Training Your Employees For Emergencies.

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You’ll really get to see human nature in all its variability when you run drills for emergencies with your employees. Some people panic, they don’t know what to do and are at the mercy of the unfolding events. Some people go into survival mode and they just manage to do what will save them from harm. There are a few that have a good head on their shoulders, they don’t panic nor do they go into autopilot mode. They are conscious and ready to help others while saving themselves. You’ll only know what group of people you have working for you, if you do some drills around emergency training.

Fire drills

This is perhaps the simplest to undertake for any business. It is going to be a test to see the employees’ reaction time, their understanding of protocols, how they interact and help each other, but also, their ability to think clearly under immense stress. As the business owner you want to see that your employees remain calm. Panic spreads faster than a fire can and if people are not thinking clearly, they are more likely to end up harming themselves or others around them. So you want to hire a fire drill training service, that can teach employees how to react during a scenario whereby the office they are in is on fire, or the floors above or below are engulfed in flames.

Hazardous spills

If you work in warehouse storage or perhaps manufacturing, you are no stranger to hazardous spills. Training for this sort of thing is of course vital, but you also need a good biohazard spill kit. The kit will have absorbent material in it, which you pour over a spill. The material will quickly stop the spread of the liquid on the floor and make it easier to collect. It forms little solid clumps which can be swept up and removed. Personal protective equipment for the employees tasked with the cleanup is also going to be in the kit. We have found that if you have a reliable spill kit for hazardous liquids, employees are more likely to get the job done quicker and with more confidence.

Unconscious employee

Most people know what to do when they see an injured person. You know, stop the bleeding, put pressure on the wound, lay them back, lift their legs and check their pulse every 30 seconds. But what do you do when you come across someone who is unconscious? This kind of drill is very useful as the knowledge gained can be utilized in multiple scenarios. You should check the airway, check for any obvious signs of lacerations, punctures or impact trauma. Then provide CPR if required, warm their body, lift their feet above they head level and try not to move their back or neck.

Every business should run these types of drills at least once a year to keep with good common practice. It’s something that will come in handy during very rare but deadly situations.

Is Adding A Home Extension A Smart Choice?

Two focuses of my blog are Home/Living and Home/Property Discussions. A part of homeownership is making updates to your property if you so desire. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Adding A Home Extension A Smart Choice?

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A home is never just a place to live. It’s also the most important investment that you will make and manage in your adult life. You need to ensure that you are handling this the right way. There are a few factors to keep in mind here and one of these is whether you should increase the size of the home once you purchase it. Adding an extension does provide significant benefits. For instance, you will be able to make sure that you do increase the value of the home, often beyond 25%. It can also give you more space which is great if you have a growing family. However, you will need to make sure that you approach the extension the right way. Let’s look at the key considerations that you must keep in mind here.

Pexels Source CCO License

Cost Concerns

First, you need to think about the cost of the extension. You must make sure that you are not spending more than you are likely going to regain when you sell your property. This is going to depend on when you are thinking about selling the home. If you have a deadline as to when you need to sell, it’s important to keep the cost as low as possible.

You might have the money that you need to cover the costs of your extension available in savings. Or, you could need to borrow to cover the expense. If you need to borrow, then you should think about exploring short term loans. If you are looking for a loan, then do make sure that you understand the interest rates and the cost that you will need to handle in the future. It’s important to guarantee that you will be able to cover the costs of the extension for the long term. This will be easier to guarantee if you are planning to sell your home shortly rather than in the next couple of years.

Quality Guaranteed

If you want to see the greatest benefits from your extension then you do need to make sure that it is built to the right quality standards. Quality issues will impact whether you can sell your home on the market for the price that you hoped for. It could even leave you liable to a lawsuit after you sell if it is revealed that the extension was not built to the right safety standards and leads to an incident. One of the ways that you can handle this is by being careful to choose the right contractor. You need to make sure that they have reviews that suggest a great level of service. You might even want to think about using a referral. Relying on a referral will provide you with the peace of mind that you are using a team that you can trust.

You need to make sure that you avoid cowboy contractors that are going to deliver a poor solution and then disappear. You should also be ready to ask any of the key questions that you need answers to. Transparency is an essential requirement when you are searching for the right business team. You need to make sure that any contractor that you are working with is going to remain honest and open to answering any queries that you might have.

Size Considerations

Next, you should think about the size of the extension that you are considering adding to your home. The size is obviously going to impact the price but there are other implications to keep in mind here as well. For instance, adding a larger extension to your home may be more difficult to secure. But, if the extension is too small then it could be rather pointless compared to the rest of your property.

If you choose the right contractor, they should be able to help you effectively navigate the process for a change like this to your home. Don’t forget, if you are looking to add value, making an extension as large as possible might seem like a good idea. But, there is the possibility that you could outprice potential buyers who would have been interested in your home. You might also significantly reduce the amount of land a homeowner has around the property. Do be aware that a lot of buyers are looking for at least a modest-sized garden to ensure that they have plenty of room outside for their kids.

Purpose

Finally, you should consider the reason for your extension. You may have a specific reason why you want to add an extension to your home. For instance, you might be interested in adding a sunroom or a family room that can be used for entertainment purposes. If the extension has a reason for existing, then it’s far more likely to add value to the property.

Do be aware that the aesthetic is important. You should consider the aesthetic of your extension inside and out. It needs to look great with at least one unique feature that is going to ensure that buyers are impressed by the additional space.

The design is also a place where you might be able to cut the costs down. There are various materials that will provide a stunning aesthetic without adding to the overall expense of a home addition like this. Again, your contractor might have some ideas about the right choices.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key factors that you should keep in mind when you are deciding whether to add a home extension to your property. Ultimately, an extension could be the right option, but only if you approach it the right way. For instance, it needs to reach the same quality levels as the rest of the home. If there are issues here, then you will struggle to see the ROI that you hoped for when it’s time to sell the property on the market. You could also be required to fix the extension which will then add to the overall costs that you are managing.

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Investment Tips Anyone Can Profit From

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A critical piece to winning with money is learning to invest. As with most things, there are numerous important aspects to learning to invest money. The following contributed post is entitled, Investment Tips Anyone Can Profit From.

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Whether you are new to investing, investing for yourself, or for your business, there are many avenues you can go down. Creating more wealth is a sensible life choice that offers you a lot more choice. How you choose to invest will play a huge role in how successful you are, and your choice is always going to be affected by your personal circumstances. So, when you look to invest, always be honest with yourself, invest only what you can afford to lose, and never get into an investment that you do not fully understand. Let’s have a look at a few options:

Image from Pixabay

Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is still rising in popularity. In fact, more and more businesses are seeing this as a viable investment option and making investments this way. The rise in technology such as blockchain has made cryptocurrency easier than ever to use. There are also a lot more financial; institutions that can help you create an investment portfolio with cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency may well be the future of all online transitions, so this could be a very good long-term investment. However, there are risks, such as law changes and the volatility of cryptocurrencies. So, be careful.

The Stock Market
The Stock Market is a great way to invest, you can make money on the share price increasing, and you can make money in dividend payouts too. The short-term, high-risk investors may not be so interested in dividends as they are about making big returns on the stock increasing over a short period of time. Long-term investors may well be more interested in the dividend payouts than they are about huge increases in the share price value over the short term. Decide what kind of investor you are and choose something that suits your needs. Younger people may well be more inclined to take risks, whereas older people may find the less risky, pretty much sure thing dividend payout a more attractive option. It may well be worth your while speaking to a financial advisor such as Prio Wealth Management, who can advise you on the best form of investment for your situation.

Spread betting
Spread betting is another way you can make money off the stock market. Instead of buying and selling shares, you make informed bets on whether the value of a particular share will go up or down in a predefined period of time. If you have put in the work, this is less like gambling and more like educated betting.

Real Estate
Investing in real estate is a great thing for both the individual and the business to do. The buy to let market is always thriving, as is buying something as a project to do up and sell later. Property is currently on an upwards trend, and having a few properties in your portfolio can be a very business savvy choice. If you end up with enough properties, you can even create a property sideline or use a realtor to take control of the properties for you, so you can make money with minimal stress.

Phone Etiquette Tips For Business

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A component of your business is its customer service. Even in today’s digital age, a key aspect of that is communication over the phone. The following contributed post is entitled, Phone Etiquette Tips For Business.

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Phone etiquette is very important for maintaining customer satisfaction and representing your brand professionally. Your manner on the phone matters, and will change how your customers feel about you and how effective your business is.

Image – free for commercial use

Here’s what every business owner needs to know about managing phone lines, whether you’re a one-man band using your mobile phone, or a larger business with a voip phone provider.

Be Consistent

Make sure everyone answers the phone in the same way. If it’s an inbound call, all the customer wants to know is that they have called the right place. Keep your hello brief. Choose a professional greeting that mentions the company and then your own name. Don’t waste time with extras like, “How can I help you?”. Something like, “Hello, Mary’s Cafe, Ryan speaking,” is enough.

Never Interrupt

Don’t interrupt a complaining customer. It can be hard to do this, but listen to the whole problem, no matter how long the customer talks. Even if you use call center that will hand off the call to a member of your staff, listening to the whole problem is important so that the customer feels you are taking them seriously.

Use The Hold Button

Make sure everyone at your company knows how to use your phone system, including the hold button. Never put the phone to your chest to muffle the mouthpiece so you can talk to someone in the office. Clients might hear things that you don’t want them to hear.

Use The Transfer Button

You need to know how to transfer someone to another member of your team. Tell your customer something like, “The best person to handle this is Claire, so I’m going to transfer you.” If you need time to find Claire or explain the customer’s problem to her, tell the customer this, and put them on hold, so they understand why they’re waiting. Make sure Claire takes the call with some knowledge of what the problem is.

Keep Customers Informed

It’s important to train your team on this. They need to give the customer a list of what they are going to do, then a longer timeframe than necessary. Do this, because when you solve their problem faster than you said you would, the customer is pleased and feels you went above and beyond to help them. If you take longer than you said, they’ll be annoyed.

Smile When Your Talk

You can hear when someone is smiling. When you smile while you’re speaking on the phone makes a detectable difference to your tone of voice, so make sure that your team sounds as though they’re in a good mood when they’re on the phone. If a member of your team sounds bored or miserable, it will be worse on the phone, as the customer can’t see their body language. Words and inflection are very important over the phone, more so than they are in a face-to-face encounter. Smile, and keep your tone friendly and professional when you talk.