Category: Business/Entrepreneurship

Building A Business From Your Passion

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the best businesses you can start is a business built on your passion. You have to be smart about it though. The following contributed post is entitled, Building A Business From Your Passion.

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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

There is a saying that if you love what you do, then you will never work another day in your life. Those that say that, probably haven’t ever run their own business, the truth is, if you love what you do, you will work harder, lose all your boundaries and take everything quite personally. You will, however, enjoy every part of it.

Starting a business is simple; anyone can do it. You don’t even need to have a particularly good idea. Sustaining a company and making it work is different. This is much harder to achieve but, if what you do is what you love then you’ll make it happen. If you don’t love what you do, then all of your stakeholders will feel that. When you are genuinely passionate about your work, everyone will see it and your enthusiasm will become infectious.

You must know enough about the industry you love before you embark on starting a business. If you are a jewellery maker, then you need to know what is the material that everyone wants to buy right now. You might be creating stunning pieces that are gold plated, but if the market prefers 925 sterling silver, you might need to adapt your work. You also need to know all of the best places to source equipment and materials. If you don’t have any experience, you might make some simple mistakes. This could lead to overspending or under budgeting.

Talk to other people in the industry. Check on LinkedIn or Facebook to see if there are any networking events in your area. This is a great place to pick up vital tips from people who have shared a similar journey to the one you are about to start.

Don’t sit still. You haven’t got to throw the towel in at your current job and go head first into business. Take some time to create a strong business plan and an economic forecast. You need to understand what money and time you need to make this work. It’s a good idea to speak to a financial advisor to help you work through all the figures and make sure you haven’t missed anything. This will also help you understand any tax obligations that you may not have known about.

When you do take the plunge, you need to surround yourself with positive people. However, you also need at least one friend to help keep you grounded. If no one in your circle challenges your decisions, then you might not make the right decisions. We need people to cheer us on but guide us too, as sometimes we can be blinded by our passion.

Whatever you choose to do, if you have the passion, then you will find the dedication, and this will help lead you to success. Prepare to work harder than you have in your life and understand you will need to make sacrifices, the journey is a long one, but you will have a future enjoying every moment of what you do.

Inspired Merchandise Ideas For Any Event

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending upon the type of business you’re running, the need may arise to host special events. As such, lots of thought must go into event planning. Events can be made more memorable and successful just using the right merchandise. The following contributed post is entitled, Inspired Merchandise Ideas For Any Event.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Everyone loves collecting merchandise when they attend trade shows or events. It’s one of the perks. Company’s go to great lengths to attract people to their stands, so having a few lonely branded pens and note pads aren’t going to cut it in today’s competitive market.

You don’t have to break the bank, but you do need to get creative if you want to compete for people’s attention.

ID Lanyards & Holders

Many companies issue employees with cards that allow them to swipe in and out fo the office. Why not hand out branded lanyard that can go around the next, or connect via reels to a person’s clothing?

It’s a super useful piece of kit that might not seem very exciting but it’s something that a lot of people need, and will use multiple times per day.

Power Banks

Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days? A portable power bank that lets you recharge your phone, tablet, or even laptop on the move. Produced in your company color, with your logo, it’s a great way to position yourself as invaluable to your target audience.

You can choose from a smaller unit, that is good for phones, through to a more expensive, larger one that will easily charge a laptop. This is an item that is likely to be kept for a long period of time.

Desktop charger/dock

Many people like to keep their phone on charge when they’re working at their desks, that way they know that if they have to leave the office, they’re taking a phone with a full charge.

A desktop charger will let them just place their phone in the dock, upright, so that they can still see notifications when it is being charged.

Mini Bamboo Speaker

Good quality, portable speakers are priceless. People love taking them on holiday or using them in places around the house where they don’t have another way to listen to the audio. A speaker can usually last for around 8 hours on a single battery charge.

A bamboo speaker is a great option for those people looking to lessen their impact on the environment by reducing the amount of plastic.

Go for the best quality you can afford.

Umbrellas

If you live somewhere with a less than perfect climate. An umbrella is a good idea. Large golf umbrellas are popular but if you want more people to carry around your branding, go for the smaller, telescopic umbrellas that can fit into a bag or briefcase.

If you’re really looking to up your umbrella game, there are even such things as smart umbrellas that can track the weather and have a built-in tracking device so you can find it if you lose it.

Wireless Mouse

Laptops are great, but if you’re using one for a long period of time, the trackpad can become a bit irritating to use all of the time.

A compact wireless mouse that connects to their laptop via Bluetooth will come in handy and light up your logo when in use.

Smart Backpack

Briefcases and old-fashioned work bags are becoming a thing of the past in a lot of industries. To take advantage of this, a smart backpack can hold your phone in its strap, so that you can use it hands-free if you need to. It also has a charging cable that can recharge your phone or any USB device directly from your bag.

RFID Card Holder

Contactless payments are great. They are so convenient but one of the downsides to this contactless technology, is the opportunity for people to steal your money with wireless payment readers. An RFID protector is a sleeve designed to hold your credit or debit card and block anyone from being able to read your card details. It fits inside a wallet or purse like a standard credit card.

Bamboo Coffee Cup

Even though it’s reported that younger generations just aren’t drinking coffee anymore, it’s still a multibillion-dollar industry. Why not give your customers a beautiful, reusable, and eco-friendly travel mug in which to have their favorite drink. You’ll also be saving them money too as many places offer discounts for people who bring their own cups.

Ice Scraper Glove

Another product to file under the boring but useful category. If you’re in the right industry and the right location, then an ice scraper glove is a perfect piece of equipment, which will likely remain with someone for years. If, on the other hand, you live in a place that hasn’t seen snow for 50 years, you might want to reconsider your choice.

Webcam Cover

The world seems to conduct it’s meeting on Zoom at the moment and we’ve all heard the horror stories about people accessing our webcams without our knowledge. A webcam cover is a small, branded sticker which sticks over your webcam that you can slide back when you need to use it, and close again when you want to be sure you have absolute privacy.

Jute Bag

Another chance to show off your green credentials by providing an eco-friendly and useful item. A well designed, reusable just bag is a huge attraction at events. Choose a size that people can fit a lot into but is easy to store away.

If you want maximum longevity out of it, be creative with your design and branding. No one wants to be a walking advert, so think about clever ways to weave your branding into an attractive design.

Key takeaways

Everyone loves merch but you have to put effort into thinking about what is useful and what is gimmicky and will be thrown away. The best items are good quality, well designed, and have a practical purpose which will see them used over and over again, ensuring that your brand is getting the maximum value of its promotional spend. That’s not to say that pens and notebooks don’t have their place, everyone loves a good quality pen, but you need to look beyond that if you’re going to keep up with the competition.

How Can You Improve Your Chances of Business Success

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Once you start a business venture of any kind, you must always think about what’s coming next. Improving your operations will assure its survival. The following contributed post is entitled, How Can You Improve Your Chances of Business Success.

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Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-writing-on-notebook-669615/

Have you always fancied yourself as a business owner? Maybe you’re sick of being trapped in the rat race, or maybe you’ve always been told you have entrepreneurial qualities. If so, putting in the groundwork surrounding your knowledge and experience will massively increase your chances of success long term. Here’s how you can go about it, from the beginning.

Define what ‘success’ means for you
It goes without saying that a business can’t be successful unless it’s making money, so a lot of your success will come down to profit. However, there’s generally much more to it than that- most people want to be entrepreneurs and start their own companies for reasons in addition to money. Do you want your business to be a flexible way to earn money around raising a family? Do you want to do something that feels rewarding to you? Do you want to build your skills? Setting out these goals in the beginning can help you to carve your path in the world of business, it can help you make decisions that will bend and shape your business. Even if these objectives change over time, going into things with a good idea of what you want ultimately is a smart move and can help you gain success.

Get educated
Many people have started businesses with no previous business education and gone on to do incredibly well. However, this isn’t usually the case, and if you want to increase your chances of success then getting educated is always a good idea. This could involve going to university and studying in a business related topic, if you’re early on in your career (such as being a school leaver or not being established in your career yet) then taking the time out to study full time is well worth considering. You will build an excellent foundation of knowledge surrounding all areas of business which can be absolutely invaluable when it comes to starting your own venture. While it’s possible to learn as you go, this involves a fair bit of trial and error which might not be something that every business can get away with financially. If you’re sure you want to be a business owner and are serious about success then start at the beginning, get educated and build your way up from there. It’s a better way to go about things than starting a business with no idea and hoping things work out.

Gain experience
Once you’ve completed your formal education you might be keen to jump into something of your own right away. However, what can be better is to gain experience working for someone else first. Whether it’s paid or voluntary, working in a similar company to one you eventually want to run yourself can teach you lots of valuable things. From what works to what doesn’t, which softwares is best and how they’re run, how staff are dealt with and much more. Again, it just means that you’re not starting up a business and then being clueless as to how to go about things. Education really does go a long way but it’s best combined with experience so you know how to apply it. Aim to do at least a year working in a similar setting to the kind of business you want to start up yourself, and pay attention to the way everything is done. By the time you come to start your own venture, you’ll know exactly how things work and won’t just have to guess.

Build up your savings
While you’re working for another company, this gives you time to save money. Starting out your business venture with a healthy bank balance is one of the best things you can do, while there are lots of business loans available, taking one out means that you’re starting out ‘in the red.’ This can put a lot of pressure on you in the early days, as not only do you need to be making a profit but you need to be making enough money to cover your loan repayments too. In the year or so before starting your venture, work on building up a healthy level of savings which you can use to launch your business, and have something to fall back on too if things don’t pick up as quickly as you’d hope. Even if you do need to take out loans too, it will mean borrowing a smaller amount and generally make things easier when it comes to repayments. So while you’re gaining experience working for a company you could be building your bank balance at the same time.

Network
You don’t need to wait until you’ve started your business to start networking and building connections. Having a strong network before you start can be incredibly helpful when you come to start your own business. So attend networking events, open a linkedin account and take up any opportunities to meet professionals or relevant individuals in your field. Your college or university alumni is a good place to start when it comes to networking. These people can provide invaluable advice when you have questions that need answering or guidance if you have a good relationship with them. These can introduce you to new contacts, customers and clients too. Be mindful of connecting with direct competitors, what can be better is to find experts in related but different industries so that you’re not competing with them and instead your business can work with theirs.

Improve your skills
Finally, even once you’ve started your business and things are running well, don’t rest on your laurels. Things change so quickly that being successful involves keeping up, adapting and moving with the times. Even when you’re running a business you could take shorter courses such as diplomas and certification in your spare time. Having as much knowledge as possible, particularly up to date and relevant knowledge really can help you to succeed. Some courses to consider:

● Accounting and Bookkeeping.
● Business Economics.
● Business Finance.
● Business Management and Operations.
● Business Marketing.
● Business Support and Administrative Services.
● Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development.
● IT Security Degree

Even if you don’t plan on running these areas yourself since you’ll be outsourcing or have your own team, it’s useful to have the background knowledge to allow you to make the best decisions as a business owner.

How to Take Your Concept From Idea to Reality

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An important step for all businesses is taking your concept to reality. There numerous steps that follow it, but it is arguably the most important step. The following contributed post is entitled How to Take Your Concept From Idea to Reality.

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When you have a great idea for a product or a business idea you think would work out great, the feeling of not knowing how to take it from vision to reality can be really frustrating. But sometimes you need to take a leap into the darkness and have faith in your idea. That’s not the same as having blind faith, however. There are lots of things you can do to help you take your concept from idea to reality, and that’s what we’re going to talk about right now, so read on.

Seek Advice

It’s a good idea to start out by seeking help from people who really know what they’re talking about. There are many people out there who’ve been in the same situation as you’re in now, and their experiences and insights can really help you to develop your ideas and find the next steps forward. There are plenty of people out there willing to help if you reach out to them.

Embrace the Risk

You’re going to have to accept that there’s a significant risk involved with developing a product or starting a business. There are certainly no guarantees of success or riches. But you should embrace that risk and everything that comes with it. It’s part of the ride and no one ever manages to innovate if they don’t take a few risks along the way.

Work Closely with Others

You’re going to need to work closely with others if you’re to have a chance of getting your product to market. For example, you’ll need to create a product requirements doc when working with designers and manufacturers. You need the specialist expertise of all kinds of people throughout the process because there’s almost no chance that you will know how to do it all yourself.

Test and Trial It

When you have a prototype of your product in place, you should test and trial it. This means putting it to the test in practice and also seeing how the target customers of your business respond to it. You can use things like focus groups to do this and you can then use the feedback you get in the next stage of development when making improvements to it.

Make Adaptations

Making adaptations is something that will happen many times over when you’re developing a new product. Something’s wrong if you feel like you’ve got it right the first time because that’s something that simply never happens and it’s not going to happen for you either. The process of adapting and improving your concept is one that’ll take time and resources, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

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When you have a great idea, you should act upon it. So many people have great product or business ideas but don’t know how to translate them into reality. It’s not necessarily as difficult as you might expect, so why not take a risk and try to make it happen? It might be the best thing you ever do.

The Importance of the Home Office as a Business Owner

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the type of business you own, having a home office can provide a tremendous advantage and be an asset as well. Don’t underestimate its importance. The following contributed post is entitled, The Importance of the Home Office as a Business Owner.

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Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/architecture-business-clean-computer-389818/

When you run a business from home, your office space is so important. It’s a place you need to feel relaxed yet productive, and so creating something that works for you is key. There are lots of different things you need to be keeping tabs on when you’re running a company, from data to documents and much more, so you’ll want to make sure everything stays organised and you can work comfortably. Here are a few ways you can go about it.

Choose the right computer for you
Your computer will play a major role when you work from home– most of your work will be done from this device. So you absolutely need the right machine that will be fast, reliable and perform all of the tasks you need. If you’re planning on using an old, outdated PC or laptop then you could be putting your venture at risk. Invest in something that’s going to perform well and is suited to you, don’t choose the first thing you see and read lots of reviews. Your best bet would be to go to different computer stores to check out different models and be recommended something by an expert which suits your venture and what you’ll be doing on the machine.

Focus on the desk and chair
Go for the largest desk you can fit in your space, since you’ll be more comfortable and have enough room to complete all of your daily tasks. Something solid and sturdy will stand the test of time, and you can always install shelves above it if you need the extra storage space. Don’t overlook the chair too, you’ll be sitting here for long periods so something comfortable and supportive is absolutely essential.

Keep it clean, unfussy and organised
There’s a lot going on in the home office, to keep it organised it’s crucial that you’re regularly cleaning and decluttering. Regularly remove dust and debris since computers and other electronics tend to attract it- a good electronic contact cleaner can make the job easier. In terms of decor, keeping it minimal can help with productivity- it doesnt need to look cold and corporate, but avoid too much personal clutter. Paint the walls a light, neutral colour, add in some plants to decorate since they add colour and texture without looking fussy and research shows they actually boost productivity while you’re working. Finally, in terms of data and documents, move what you can to the cloud as you won’t need to mess around with paper files and hard discs, you can store it online and access it from any other computer without compromising your security. It frees up space in your home office too and makes it feel less crowded and cluttered. You’ll find that you’re much happier and more productive in an organised space.

Outsourcing Could Be The Solutions To All Your Problems

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the keys to a successful business is knowing which tasks you can competently do in house versus those that will need outside hands. Knowing this will increase your profits and save you time. The following contributed post is entitled, Outsourcing Could Be The Solutions To All Your Problems.

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It has been the case for a while now that outsourcing has been the solution to some of the problems that business owners face. As such, it has become a more popular option over the years, and you could be missing out if you’re not taking full advantage of outsourcing. So, in this article, we’re going to be looking at how some of the problems that outsourcing could solve for you, so keep reading down below if you want to find out more.

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Lack Of Expertise

The first problem that it could solve for you is the lack of expertise that some people have when you hire them to do a job. Now, we’re not saying that this is the case for everyone, but many business owners can agree that sometimes they hire someone, and they are not as competent as they appeared to be. This is dangerous for your business because it means that there is a role in your business that is not being completed to the best possible standard. This is one of the ways that outsourcing can help.

When you choose a business to help you, such as with technical support, you can be sure that they have the knowledge to complete the job to a high standard. Having experience on the market should be enough, but if you’re still not convinced about a company, you can check out some of the reviews that people have left. This way, you’ll have confidence in them to perform for you.

Lack Of Funds

Outsourcing is also helpful when it comes to the funds of your business. It is going to cost you more money to have one, full-time salaried employee than it would to outsource to a professional business. There are many areas of your business that are probably costing you a lot of money that you could do with that could be outsourced instead. Marketing and HR, while important to your company, can be outsourced with no problem at all. You don’t need a full-time team to take care of these tasks for you, just a company on hand to handle things as and when you need them.

Lack Of Space

Finally, if you only have limited office space, then you aren’t going to have enough room for everyone that you might think you need. Outsourcing solves this problem because the company that you hire to help you doesn’t need to come anywhere near your business office. They stay in their location, and you stay in yours, freeing up space if you need it, and allowing room for the essential workers that must be in your office.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now understand how outsourcing could be the solution to all of your business problems right now. Outsourcing isn’t something to shy away from just because you won’t be able to oversee everything that is going on, you need to put your trust in the experts in their field. Good luck.

Making Sure Your Office Space Is the Best It Can Be

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key to the success of your business is it’s office space. It needs to be as efficient as possible and allow your staff to accomplish what they need to accomplish. The following contributed post is entitled, Making Sure Your Office Space Is the Best It Can Be.

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When you first start running a small business, you will generally work alone and from home, calling in help from freelancers to complete any tasks that you can’t complete yourself. But as things begin to grow and expand, and as you begin to experience success, chances are you’ll begin to take on some employees and will need to provide them with a space to work in. This is where most businesses will make a move into an office. This is a major step for any startup. After all, it shows success and it also shows commitment and dedication to continue, as you’ll have to sign a contract for the space. Of course, you’re going to want your office to be the best space possible. There are various reasons for this. First, you need the space to be comfortable and functional for staff to complete their roles within, boosting productivity and maximising your business’ profits. Secondly, you want to establish yourself as a serious competitor in your field. You want visitors and clients to see a professional working environment when they check in for meetings or presentations. So, what can you do to achieve all of this? Here are a few simple steps!

Make Sure There’s Plenty of Natural Light

Every office space should have as much natural light as possible. This is essential for your workers’ wellbeing and for their productivity. Natural light regulates the body’s circadian rhythms and lets us know when we should perk up and be awake, or when we should begin to wind down to go to sleep. If your workspace is dim, your workers’ bodies will automatically begin to wind down and they won’t work as hard! So, avoid dim or blue artificial lighting and focus on natural light within the professional space!

Keep On Top of the Plumbing

When we think of plumbing, we tend to think of homes. But offices will require plumbing too! Largely for the toilets and for the shared kitchen space. It’s absolutely essential that you keep on top of the plumbing in your office – whether that’s implementing preventative methods such as Back Flow Prevention or whether it’s calling a plumber at the first sign of a problem. Faulty plumbing can see you having to send staff home (if there isn’t a toilet or water available), spend money on further and worse repairs from ignored problems, or major repair costs for flooding or other major issues.

Invest in Ergonomic Furniture and Equipment

Staff spend a lot of time at their desks. This can be bad for their posture and, consequently, can be pretty bad for their health in the long run if you don’t have the right support for them. This is why every employer should invest in ergonomic furniture and equipment for their staff. This is specially designed to support staff in the right way and increase their wellbeing. It can also prevent you from being faced with a compensation case, which staff could create if they experienced injury or strain from unsupportive office furniture. Consider ergonomic desks, chairs, footrest, back supports, keyboards, mice and more. They may cost more than other, standard furniture and equipment at the outset, but in the long run, they could really make all the difference in regards to your employees’ wellbeing. They’re well worth the investment!

Have a Staff Kitchen

Nobody wants to be stuck behind their desk day in and day out. It’s bad for morale. Instead, make sure that there’s some sort of office kitchen where staff can retreat on their breaks. A good space will have a sofa or other seating for your employees to make use of. It will also have a table and chairs for those who want to eat properly away from their desk. A kettle or coffee machine is ideal for tea breaks and some sort of fridge is good for keeping staff’s food fresh until lunchtime. This communal space can also prove positive for staff bonding – creating a stronger team who will work better together!

These are just a few pieces of advice that you might like to bear in mind when it comes to making sure that your office space is all it should be. This is an area of your business that you could greatly benefit from focusing on and improving. So, get started as soon as possible to reap the rewards sooner!

Here Are The Biggest Challenges Facing Businesses Right Now

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The Coronavirus/Covid-19 Crisis/Pandemic has put businesses in unprecedented challenges and stresses. As such it’s important to figure out how to survive our current conditions. The following contributed post is entitled, Here Are The Biggest Challenges Facing Businesses Right Now.

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Are you wondering how your business is going to cope in the ongoing storm that is the coronavirus pandemic? It’s true to say that businesses are facing a lot of challenges right now. Here are some of the issues that could be on the horizon for your company.

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Remaining Profitable

Of course one of the most significant challenges that businesses are facing right now is simply being able to remain a certain level of profitability. This is going to be more difficult for certain businesses and industries than others. For instance, some are warning that the travel industry won’t return to normal for three years. That’s going to be a harsh reality and the sad truth is that a lot of businesses just won’t be able to survive for that long.

Other companies are coping better and have been able to put more focus on their online model. However certain companies have discovered the dangers of not having any form of an online presence. For instance, Primark bosses reported that they haven’t made a single sale since the pandemic began. That’s understandable because they don’t have an online sales platform. Customers have also abandoned certain sectors completely including businesses that sell luxury goods and services. This always occurs before a recession and we’re definitely headed in that direction.

Ensuring Customers Feel Safe

To get customers buying and visiting businesses they need to feel safe. Businesses will be responsible for ensuring that this is the case and there are numerous ways for them to do this. Take Disney as an example. Bob Iger has already suggested that they will use temperature checks at the park gates. However, it’s not quite understood how this would be logistically possible. The Mouse House has also suggested that park capacity would be significantly limited and disinfectant standards would be increased. Water Parks are unlikely to reopen at all for quite some time. However, Disney has no choice but to push ahead with its plans to restart their business model. They are bleeding right now with millions of dollars going down the drain every day.

Some businesses are facing a greater struggle. People are likely to return to the magical world of Disney. But 40% of customers reportedly won’t return to cinemas until there’s a vaccine. That’s an issue with chains hoping to reopen in time for Warner Bros. next big Hollywood blockbuster Tenet, in July as well as Disney’s Mulan.

Ultimately, even if certain businesses do reopen there’s no guarantee that customers are going to rush back to them.

Questions With Team Members

Right now, a lot of businesses are being supported by a furlough scheme. Ultimately, this means that they can benefit from the government paying the majority of the wages for employees. However, it’s fair to say that a scheme like this can’t continue to run indefinitely. Eventually, the governments of the world will leave businesses to essentially fend for themselves and float or sink. This presents an issue with team members. With the possibility of a lower demand level, particularly in an oncoming recession, businesses need to let a large number of team members go. Potentially the answer will be yes and this is also going to depend on social distancing regulations. A lot of businesses operate with teams in tight confinement. It could be necessary to cut back on numbers to ensure that they are able to social distance effectively.

Of course, this isn’t the only problem related to the workforce. It’s also likely that businesses are going to deal with a higher number of workers going off sick. While this might balance out and ensure that social distancing is possible, it could also leave key talent gaps for certain companies. Services like a construction labour supplier could help here and ensure that industries like this can gain the support that they might desperately need.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key challenges that your business could face in the future. It’s important to note that while these obstacles may seem impossible to deal with, most businesses have been effective at adapting.

For instance, many businesses have near seamlessly switched to a home business model. It would be worth exploring whether this option could suit your company. You might find that it will provide the best solution, allowing your company to remain profitable and keep team members socially distanced. The trick will be to ensure that quality levels also remain and there will undoubtedly be some growing pains to tackle at least at first.

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The Benefits Of Using A Translation Service For Your Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Not all business is done domestically and with our world being now more connected, language barriers have to be crossed. In order to that, a translation service might be very helpful. The following contributed post is entitled, The Benefits Of Using A Translation Service For Your Business.

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In 2015 the Internet was used by nearly half the world’s population; that’s a lot of different languages.

Reaching global markets with ease is one of the great innovations of the Internet, and while this has been a net gain for companies worldwide, it has raised new challenges, namely, how to communicate.

At one time, English was thought to be the global language. While it is still used predominantly for business purposes, more and more languages are being integrated as the Internet matures. Users of the Internet have come to expect a seamless experience of their technology, whether it be on mobile devices, desktop interfaces, or tablet computers; they expect the layout and languages to be in their recognizable formats.

This is where businesses with global reach can hugely benefit from a professional translation service, one can be accessed on this page.

Localization, as it has become known, is not just about translating the language on webpages, which can be done by a freelancer. It is the process of optimizing your graphics, your brand, and any multimedia components to be in-line with what consumers expect in different cultures. A modern translating service will also be a localization expert with experience in the target culture, target markets, and technology preferences. They will have worked with similar brands in the past, giving businesses confidence that their brands will launch without lost revenue or reputation.

Partnering with professionals is a popular trend in 2020, with an increasing number of companies recognizing the benefits of working with one integrated agency instead of a selection of freelancers; read more here. Ask any company who works with IT professionals, and they will tell you this is the most reliable approach. Don’t think of it as outsourcing; these days, collaboration is a more useful ‘big idea.’ Companies are interested in working with agencies who understand their corporate culture and business goals, who are dedicated to their products and services, and able to build long-lasting relationships.

When it comes to launching brands globally, a professional translation company is always the best choice, since they can profile the brand more holistically and maintain consistency across all platforms.

Additionally, a translation service can keep costs down by utilizing translation memory tools. These are different from machine translation tools such as google translate that can be inconsistent despite improvements in accuracy in recent years. Professional services are more likely to use software that identifies keywords and phrases then store them in a database for future use; human translators are then able to accelerate the process of translating using this remembered data.

This means a translating service can ensure a higher level of detail and consistency across a project; they can work faster and with more confidence, improving overall costs, and turn around times. Get more information here.

So when looking around for an excellent translation service, remember you are not just searching for someone who can translate your website into the target language, what you need is a localization expert with experience in the target culture. Find the agency and build a lasting relationship; it is a strategy proven to reduce headaches and increase revenues.

Keeping Your Business Agile

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, you want your business to be able to agile and to be able to adjust. Doing so will increase its chances of survival in circumstance like the current Covid-19. The following contributed post is entitled, Keeping Your Business Agile.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us a lot of things about a lot of things. It’s shown us which governments step up to the plate in times of crisis, and which do not. It’s reminded us how something as simple as washing our hands regularly can save lives. And it’s proven an emphatic reminder to many businesses just how ill-prepared they are for crisis, even though they’ve enjoyed robust turnovers and healthy profit margins for many years. In times of fair weather, we can lose our introspection. We can fall back on old familiar processes and lose the urge to change them. After all, if it ain’t broke, why would you want to fix it? The problem is that when a crisis comes along like a huge market shift, a disruptive technological revolution or a worldwide pandemic, complacency can mean death for businesses. Look no further than Blockbuster video for a reminder that crises come in all shapes and sizes.

Image by Yogendra Singh via Pexels

Businesses need to be agile in order to counter the changing nature of the challenges it faces. In an era where technology is changing with alarming speed, and consumer habits are changing in kind, it shouldn’t take a global pandemic to encourage us to shed weight, make our operations leaner and make our businesses more agile.

Here are some ways in which you can restore your business’ agility…

Don’t be afraid to outsource

You’re the best there is at what you do. But don’t mistake that for being the best at everything. When it comes to your digital infrastructure, for instance, doing everything yourself can make you unnecessary unwieldy and sluggish. Investing in managed IT and Computer Support Services, however, can not only make it easier to adapt to changing technological environments, it can help you to put out little fires faster and minimize potentially crippling downtime.

Shorten the communications cycle

As businesses get bigger, communications between teams can become needlessly complex. Multichannel environments can make communications harder to keep track of and reference for future conversations and strategy meetings. Make your communications more efficient, both in terms of channels and in terms of content and you’ll avoid ambiguity and miscommunications while also streamlining your response to crises of all kinds.

Stay aware of what’s going on around you

Your business doesn’t exist in a vacuum. While it’s understandable and admirable that you’d want to keep your attention firmly on your own work, you should always maintain an awareness of what’s going on inside and outside of your industry. Every book, every newspaper, every blog post, it all helps to weave a tapestry that can help you make better informed decisions and react decisively to market change. This means carrying out market research and competitor analysis regularly. It means A/B testing your digital marketing materials, and it means keeping both hands on the proverbial wheel at all times.

If the recent months have taught us anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as being too agile, and that businesses that can’t adapt quickly and decisively to crises can suffer fatally.