Category: Contributed Posts

Hone Your Online Presence For Business Success

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. So much business in done online today and thus if you don’t know how to conduct business online then you’re at a considerable competitive disadvantage. It’s thus important to evolve and maximize the online tools for doing business. The following contributed post is entitled, Hone Your Online Presence For Business Success.

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If you want to compete in the twenty-first century, you need to hone your online presence to help your business to thrive. It’s not good enough to have a website and some social media channels. You need to use these media online to maximum effect to help expand your customer base, drive traffic to your little patch of the Internet, and to give your brand more exposure. Your business will need to compete with its industry rivals, some of which will have been market leaders for decades. Take a look at how you can hone your online presence for business success.

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Social Media

The power of social media cannot be underestimated. Many ventures even employ specialist social media managers or outsource their Facebook and Twitter updates to an offsite expert. Twitter gives you the opportunity to find your company voice. Customers are savvier than ever before and want to get to know what is at the heart of a business. They want to speak to a human, whether this is over the phone or online. Millennials are eager to communicate in a chatty and more informal tone rather than being confronted by a corporate voice.

Alongside Instagram, a highly visual media, and Facebook, the most popular social media interface, you can post meaningful and relevant content that directs traffic to your site. This can increase sales and profits for your startup. Make your content readable, and it could be shared widely, resulting in increased followers and more exposure for your brand.

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Wider Policy

It’s vital that you pay more than lip service to your digital marketing policy by creating a special section in your business plan dedicated to your online presence. This encompasses your social media channels, and also your website design, your SEO requirements, and your growth forecasts via analytics. As your digital marketing progresses, you may adapt your strategy. This can be detailed in your plan to keep a record of your online marketing journey. You don’t have to keep all of this in house, and instead, you could consider outsourcing your marketing requirements. This is convenient if you don’t have the staff team with the skills necessary to get your brand more visible online.

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Website

You could have an all singing and all dancing website that looks aesthetically beautiful. However, if no one knows about it, then this becomes pretty redundant. Instead, hone your online presence by managing your SEO effectively. Consider the keywords that your target market will search in Google and consider administering an AdWords campaign. With relevant keywords alongside a nuanced social media launch, you could find more people heading towards your homepage. If you are keen to drive more traffic to your site and shop pages, analyze where your traffic is coming from and how long they spend on your site. Doing this will dictate the direction of your digital marketing vision.

Follow this guide, and you can hone your online presence to ensure that your business will thrive.

Great Promotional Gift Ideas For Your Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending upon the type of business you are in, promotional gifts may be smart idea to expand your brand and generate more profits. The following contributed post is entitled, Great Promotional Gift Ideas For Your Business.

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Building a great business is a difficult task and often requires careful planning and real dedication. Maintaining a successful business is difficult and many budding entrepreneurs fall at the first hurdle.

To ensure that you aren’t one of these unlucky companies, you need to build a strategy for success. One of the ways you can build a rapport with customers and market your business this year is to send out promotional gifts.

Promotional gifts can be given out at trade shows, sent with purchases, and even sent to potential clients as a way to show credibility. We want to talk today about some of the best promotional gifts you can send to people this year to build the reputation of your business.

T shirts

When choosing products to add branding to, the main thing you want to ensure is that the product is useful. There is nothing more useful to people than clothes, and adding branding to T-shirts and hoodies is a good way to gain traction and free marketing. By designing clothing with your branding, you will provide something useful to the customer and when they wear it in their daily lives, people will become familiar with your brand logo.

Water bottles

It is important to advocate for health and wellbeing these days, and one great way to do this is through products. As a company, investing in branded water bottles can be useful and it will encourage your customers to drink more water. Everyone needs a water bottle, and by providing this you will do something good for your customers and give off a good impression.

Badge holders and lanyards

Sometimes branded products aren’t to be used as gifts, but as something useful for your own workers and visitors. For example, online you can find badge holders and lanyards with your logo on, and you can give these to staff, visitors, and hand them out at trade shows. A simple, small item, but one that will be incredibly useful to those working.

Toys

Who doesn’t love a good toy? If you are sick of the boring old gifts of pens, bags, and lanyards why not go in a new direction and put your logo in a toy? One of the best choices for this is a tennis ball or a football. People can use these in their everyday lives and it will allow them to associate your brand with something fun. Another good idea is to brand your logo onto a stress ball. Stress Balls are something a lot of us need, and it can become a staple member of many people’s desks.

Food

If you are planning to attend a trade show and want to get more people at your stand, offer food and drink. Food and drink is the perfect vehicle for promotion and it will be enjoyed by all. You can hand out bottles of pop or beer with your branding on, cookies with your logo on, or more sweet treats. There are lots of possibilities with edible gifts and let’s face it; everyone loves food.

The Benefits Of Taking An Active Role In Money Management

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Money is one of those things that will literally disappear without a trace if you don’t take an active role in its management and tell it what to do. Immersing yourself in its management is the key to being successful with it. The following contributed post is entitled, The Benefits Of Taking An Active Role In Money Management.

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Did you know that a quarter of Americans claim to be worried about money constantly? With an uncertain future ahead, and the economy sharing headlines with health news on a daily basis, it has never been more important to take an active role in money management. Here are some of the key reasons to keep a firm grip on your finances and some tips to help you cope if money is a source of stress.

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Controlling spending, reducing the risk of getting into debt and saving with a budget
One of the most beneficial steps you can take to manage your money effectively and tip the balance in your favour is living with a budget. If you don’t already budget every month, you may well be surprised at what a difference it can make. There are now several ways you can create a budget and track spending, including traditional pen and paper, spreadsheets and apps. The primary aim is to enable you to gain an accurate insight into the comings and goings of your accounts, so that you know how much you’re earning and what proportion of your income you’re spending.

With a budget, you can control spending, lower the risk of getting into debt and save more money. Use your budget to set a spending limit for each week or month and analyze your outgoings carefully. You might find that you stumble across payments you thought had ended months ago, or you might suddenly remember that you’ve still got subscriptions or memberships you don’t even use anymore, for example. Your budget might flag up overspending on groceries, or you might be shocked at how much your insurance policies have gone up. Use the data, update your budget as you go to ensure that it’s always precise and look for areas to make cuts.

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Keeping a close eye on your financial activity
It’s simpler than ever before to track spending with online banking and money apps, but it’s also incredibly easy to forget about payments you’ve made due to the fact that we rarely use cash now. With contactless technology, smartphones and direct debits, money can be flying out of your account without you so much as signing your name or entering a pin code. Make sure you know what’s going on in your accounts every day. Download apps to check on the go, and don’t ignore statements or texts with warnings or balance updates. Keeping an eye on your accounts can help you regulate spending and ensure you notice any potentially suspicious or fraudulent activity as soon as possible.

Seeking expert advice for financial issues
It is not uncommon for people to get into debt and find it difficult to get out. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, your credit card balance is increasing day by day, and you’re falling behind with your rent or mortgage, the best thing to do is seek expert advice as early as possible. There are multiple debt management solutions you could consider, and a financial adviser will help you select a route that caters to your needs. Examples include credit counseling, debt consolidation, and in cases where you can’t cover your debts, a consumer proposal. It can be daunting to reach out, but debts can spiral very quickly, especially if you have a high-interest credit card, or you’re borrowing on a regular basis. If you’re in a tricky situation, there are ways to reduce debts, to prevent creditors from pursuing you and to protect your income.

Working towards a stable future
Most of us would like to have a financial cushion, but it can be very challenging to save when you’ve got a household to run. If you can use your budget to make savings and analyze your spending habits to create a wider gap between your income and your outgoings, try and put a little aside each month. It’s also critical to look into employee benefits or separate pension programs if you are self-employed. If you have an emergency fund and a retirement pot, this will stand you in good stead in the future, particularly if your circumstances change. Look for savings accounts with a high interest rate or consider putting your money into an asset that will appreciate. If you have a healthy balance, and you’re keen to invest, you could look into buying a rental property or stocks and shares, for example.

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Budgeting, analyzing bank statements and tracking spending might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but it’s so crucial to have a handle on your finances. Taking an active role can help to prevent overspending, lower the risk of getting into debt and facilitate saving.

Using Smartphones To Promote Your Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital world, smartphones and wireless technology have become valuable tools, especially in the area of promoting your business. The following contributed post is entitled, Using Smartphones To Promote Your Business.

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Smartphones are, well, smart! They have so many different uses that make them highly beneficial in the modern age. Ironically, a lot of people claim smartphones are dangerous as we spend too much time on them, yet this is precisely why they are such a useful tool for businesses.

People use smartphones almost every minute of every day. Therefore, they present some serious advertising possibilities for a savvy business owner. The trick is learning how to use smartphones to promote your business and find lots of new customers. It’s a lot easier than you might expect!

SMS Marketing

Firstly, we can go down one of the more traditional routes. This was one of the first ways in which people used mobile devices for marketing purposes. If you’re wondering, what is SMS marketing, the short explanation is that it uses text messaging to market your business. You gain contact details of leads, then send promotional texts now and then. When done correctly, it can yield a high ROI. The benefit of this is obviously that you can directly get marketing material to your leads. Plus, the fact that you have their contact details means you’re using targeted leads as well. If they gave you this information, they must be interested in what you have to offer, right?

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Mobile Apps

Developing a mobile app is almost seen as a rite of passage for modern businesses. It can be a great way to grow your business and find lots of new customers. There are many ways you can develop a mobile app, and many purposes it might bring. Some companies use apps as an extension of their online store. In effect, consumers download the app and make purchases on it. Others will develop apps that serve as more of a tool for customers. For example, you run a financial services business and create an app that lets people track their expenses. Either way, the benefit of an app is that you are literally in the palm of the hand of your target market. From here, you can use the app to create exclusive promotions. As such, it encourages more people to download the app. Furthermore, using push notifications via the app also allows you to promote new things direct to your audience via their smartphones.

Social Media

That’s right, this counts as using your smartphone to promote your business. Why? Because most social media users are using mobile devices. Plus, you can easily use your phone to compose social media posts on the go. Take pictures or videos using the camera, then upload them to Instagram or Facebook. It’s almost like on-the-go marketing in the sense that you can promote your business wherever you are, whenever you like. Also, encourage your followers to turn notifications on for your posts. As a result, they will always know when you’ve updated your profile, even if they’re not using the social media app at that specific time.

Essentially, you have to appreciate that you’ve got a very powerful device in your hands. All of your customers will use smartphones every single day. It makes sense to take advantage of this by utilizing smartphones as best as you can.

Why E Learning Can Drive Your Motivation Forwards

Two of the focuses of my blog are General Education and Technology. Even before the current circumstances, elearning was a wave of the future. It’s different than the traditional classroom setting which own set of caveats. The following contributed post is entitled, Why E Learning Can Drive Your Motivation Forwards.

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eLearning is a type of learning that is done through a different medium to that of a classroom set up where a teacher conducts a lesson and the students take notes. It has many benefits and is actually cost effective as compared to traditional forms of learning. The reason for this price reduction is because learning through this mode happens quicker and can be done at a faster pace depending on the life of the student. If you are learning in a classroom, lessons days and times are set, which can allow the student in between these days off, to slip and for their motivation to weaken. If the eLearning courses are available whenever, then their creative and motivated journey can continue at any time, with access whenever they wish. It also assists companies who are paying for their employees to educate themselves on a new area of learning, because it reduces time. A lot of training time is reduced with respect to trainers, and course materials. The learner does not have to travel and spend additional money to get to classes and all the necessary learning skills are learned in a setting to suit them.

Any modern business is going to come into contact with other businesses that have advanced technology that will drive the business forward. So it’s essential that all workers have a vast knowledge of any new technology to ensure that the business can be driven in the right direction. This may include having to train up your staff and even give them a whole new skill set in order to continue. If you are a company and are stumped on which path to take when it comes to eLearning then you can always look at Mindflash. It’s good to look at Mindflash LMS reviews and see just how they could benefit you. Most of the time, good eLearning sites are run via the Cloud which just makes things easy when any students wish to reassess files or research further.

● E-learning saves time and money – your workers can still be available to work and can take on any additional learning in their own time, such as lunches and afterwork as well as weekends, without having to compromise to go to classes at set times. It works for them too.
● E-learning leads to better retention.
● E-learning is consistent.
● E-learning is scalable.
● E-learning offers personalization.

It is convenient and flexible and is going to offer you extra time. Your employees need to learn new skills to grow and once they have learned, then it frees up time for them to try a new course. It’s a never ending chain and it’s easy to access which makes it good for everyone. Motivating your staff to learn new skills and offering these facilities is a boon to you as a company and proves your dedication to your staff which will serve you well. Offering eLearning to your team members, will give them the skills to take onto their next position with you or even a new job in the future.

4 Key Steps To Streamline Your Business and Save Time

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Your most valuable asset is your time and thus as a business owner, you have to think about how to optimize your operations so they can be as efficient as possible. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Key Steps To Streamline Your Business and Save Time.

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Time is money in business and every penny saved is a penny earned. Being able to streamline your business and cut down on wasted time helps massively in your quest for business success. However, if you are new to running or owning a business it can be a bit confusing, or even overwhelming, wondering what areas of your business that you can save time in or even eliminate altogether. Here are 4 key steps you can take to better streamline your business and maximize your time.

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Standard Operating Procedures

Standard operating procedures, or SOPs for some, are a method of operating that lays out clear guidelines and procedures for performing certain tasks. They should be clearly written down and accessible, especially if you plan on bringing new hires into the company. What these procedures do is help you set up new hires and existing staff with the tools they need to complete tasks quickly and efficiently. By ensuring that all parts of any given task are laid out clearly and with attention to detail, there should be no excuses when it comes to performing tasks correctly and with speed.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a great way to take some of the stress of running a business away from yourself, so that you may focus on other more important areas, such as customer acquisition and actual work. Anything can be outsourced these days, including your HR, payroll, and general administration. Finding a company that provides all of these services in one place is a huge benefit as you don’t then have to deal with multiple agencies who provide your services. For time and cost-saving, it is worth looking into what companies are out there and how they can help, such as the company at the next link (https://employeradvantage.com/payroll-service-management-and-the-latest-software-solutions/)

Automation

Automating certain parts of your business allows you to save time on smaller tasks that would normally take up your day. You can automate most things from email responses to invoice generation. Remember though that just because you can automate something doesn’t mean you should. Some tasks still require a human touch so if you are going to set up automation make sure that you can keep an eye on it. Some software can be found for free or some can be paid for so If you do end up paying, make sure you are considering how much you are paying to how much time you are saving. Make sure it’s worth it.

Reduce Paper Usage

Reducing your paper waste is a great way to streamline your operations. By removing paper usage you can remove the time that it takes to process and digitize. Doing this will save a number of hours in the long run which will again save you money as well. However, there are some documents that just cannot be eliminated no matter how hard you try. For these documents, it is recommended that you implement a solid and function paper filing and documenting system. It isn’t enough to just put them in a folder and hide them in a drawer somewhere. You must be able to access them as and when you need them, and to be able to do so quickly and efficiently.

Team Cohesion Is Not Rocket Science

A key focus of my blog is Organizational and Management Discussions. One of the keys to successfully running any business or organization is promoting team cohesion. Many managers don’t understand this but it’s absolutely critical. The following contributed post is entitled, Team Cohesion Is Not Rocket Science.

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Brand cohesion is only achieved when you have boardroom cohesion. But brands are built off of the backs of incredible employees who are able to deliver the message you want, effectively. This is why so many companies are investing so much in team cohesion as the lockdown has shown us all, employees need to stick together through thick and thin. So how do you, as a business owner go about making each and every single employee, feel connected to the colleague sitting next to them? It’s a task that requires deep thinking and excellent leadership skills which personify a people management know-how that’s on another level.

Go around the room

If you want to send a powerful message to your employees, the next time you’re in a meeting, go around the room and ask them how they feel. It sounds so simple and obvious, right? But, what you’re doing as the leader is, showing everyone who works for you that you want to hear their professional opinion. It’s very easy to pull someone into the office to see how they’re doing and if they are finding some things difficult. But when you’re in the process of making decisions and you ask a low-ranking employee what their opinion is, you blow their mind. It’s generous, caring, thoughtful and most of all, shows you don’t have an ego that overrides your ability to hear differing views.

Take the time to give employees that aren’t in a management role, to speak their mind. What you should make clear to them is, you’re not going to judge them or hold them responsible for a decision you make based on their opinion. The buck always stops with you.

Encourage employees

When employees feel scared of being in doubt, this is a sign of poor leadership. In the world of rational reasoning, when you’re in the midst of problem-solving and you feel doubt about something during, this is a sign that you need more clarity. Leaders are there to provide just that. Employees should be encouraged to ask questions when they’re not sure about something. But what is their method?

Middle management should regularly ask employees at their desks if they need help or support with something. Ask are they sure what their responsibilities are in a task or project. Many times, employees won’t say anything until they hit a wall and simply cannot complete a task. But this ends up wasting time and money, so just cut to the chase and ask them in a friendly tone, if they need clarification on what they are supposed to be doing for the day.

Forming a visible team

You need to show employees that at the end of the day, talk is cheap. You’re ready and willing to make them part of your team. Using commercial photography, you can take headshots and group photos of employees and teams, so that they can feature on your website, social media, and to the industry at events on banners and posters. The photographers are experts at lighting and they will make sure the background is clean so that focus is on their faces and figures. This is so important for brand identity because you want to show the world that people make your business what it is.

The after-hours club

Businesses used to have events that were outside of work but this practise has largely died out. Only large companies like Google and Apple are refusing to let this pastime fade away. And guess what? It’s super effective in building team cohesion. Work isn’t just working anymore, it’s a lifestyle. When you feel as if your colleagues are your friends, you care more about them. Thus, this comes in the form of loyalty and working harder as to not put them in a bad position, like when deadlines aren’t being met.

What kind of events should you have? Focus on things everyone can do. Go out bowling with the gang, go to a sports event or perhaps hire a holiday home and invite employees to a house party. After-hours events are brilliant for businesses because it breaks down the walls between employees that they didn’t even know existed. Being away from each other for 3 months due to lockdown, colleagues will want to reacquaint with one another, which is best done with a leisurely gathering.

Business owners yearn to be experts in team-building. So many don’t realize that it’s not rocket science. Don’t be too complex, just ask employees to share their views and show each of them that you have the time to make them feel welcome.

3 Tips for Being More Respectful of Your Time

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. A key problem many people have is not respecting their own time. Unfortunately time management is not something that is taught across the board. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Tips for Being More Respectful of Your Time.

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In life, there are all sorts of resources of various types that you might have plenty of – or very little of – depending on a broad variety of circumstances.

One thing that everyone has equal access to, however, is the time available in a given day. No matter whether you are the most quick-witted and enterprising business guru in the land, or someone much more ordinary, you will never have more than 24 hours in a day to spend attending to your chores, chasing your dreams, and all the rest.

Very often, we end up convincing ourselves that the reason why we don’t do the sorts of things we would ideally want to do in life, is because we just “don’t have enough time.”

While time constraints are obviously real, it’s also true that we frequently sabotage ourselves and develop a distorted sense of what is and isn’t possible, due to the fact that we aren’t as respectful and thoughtful of our time as we should be.

In her book “168 Hours,” the writer Laura Vanderkam details many examples of successful people in a variety of fields who have nonetheless managed to juggle their hobbies and personal lives alongside fruitful careers. The secret? They always found a way to squeeze in a bit of time on a regular basis for the things they were really passionate about, even in spite of all the odds.

Vanderkam shares one particularly telling anecdote in the book, where she describes having read a publication where various members of the public waxed lyrical about the brilliant things they would do if they only had an extra 20 minutes or so a day to spend. Predictably, there were a lot of people who were apparently going to live out their dreams and pursue their hobbies if only that extra sliver of time would materialise.

Considering the fact, however, that the average person spends several hours a day watching television – this can’t help but ring a bit hollow.

Here are a few tips for being more respectful of your time in general, so that you can live your life in line with your true values, hopes, and principles.

Consider auditing your time for a while to see just where it’s actually going

In “168 Hours,” Vanderkam proposes a great exercise for raising time-awareness – that is, keeping daily “timesheets,” detailing how you spend all your time for at least a week or two at a stretch.

This isn’t necessarily meant to be a permanently ongoing exercise. The key point is that it will shine a light on just what’s actually happening with your time, so that you are no longer likely to be so inclined to feel as though the minutes and hours have just swept by in a blur.

After doing this exercise for a few days, you might be shocked to find just how much of your “working hours” were actually spent on browsing the web. Or how many of your evening leisure and relaxation hours were not actually spent on entertainment, time with friends and family, or relaxation, but were rather dedicated to checking work emails after hours.

There is a famous old saying that “what gets measured, gets improved.” By the same token, if you never actually track how you’re spending your time, you will inevitably have a very limited scope for mastering it and treating it with more respect.

Realise that outsourcing certain things is often a great way of freeing up more time

Generally speaking, it’s quite common for people to be reluctant to spend money outsourcing things that they could – if pushed – do by themselves.

Of course, it’s good to be self-reliant and not to spend money gratuitously, but both in your working life and your personal life, it will often be the case that “outsourcing” various tasks, projects, and chores, is one of the best and most reliable ways of freeing up more time that you can then spend more fruitfully.

If you are an entrepreneur, for example, there is quite a good chance that you will naturally be predisposed to try to micromanage your business as much as possible. But everyone has limited time, a limited range of skill sets, and a limited amount of energy to spend on a given day.

Bringing a third party network management company on board, for example, might therefore not only mean that this dimension of your business gets handled more effectively, but that you also suddenly find you have far more time and energy available in your day to spend on other things.

Use the power of your environment to keep you focused and on point

There is a popular idea in productivity-focused circles that suggests that willpower is the end-all-be-all when it comes to things like proper time management.

While willpower is certainly important, however, it is not a resource you can draw on endlessly in order to try and structure and arrange every aspect of your daily existence. According to the psychologist Kelly McGonigal, author of “The Willpower Instinct,” research suggests that willpower is actually a finite and expendable resource. If you try to rely on it too heavily for too many things, you’re setting yourself up for burnout and failure.

In order to be more respectful of your own time, and to manage your time more effectively, one of the most powerful things you could do would be to use the power of your environment to keep you focused and on point.

What exactly does this mean?

Well, essentially it means that as human beings we are all inclined to follow the path of least resistance, by default. The way you structure your environment can therefore serve to nudge you down more or less fruitful and intentional paths, requiring varying degrees of willpower.

When it comes to being more respectful of your time, a good environmental shift might be something like installing a web blocker on your computer to keep distracting sites at bay during certain hours. Or, surrounding yourself with people who will keep an eye on you and keep you accountable if you’re supposed to be meeting a certain deadline by a certain time.

5 Keys to Consider When Searching for the Best Commercial Property Management Firm

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Once your business gets big enough, it becomes important to find a commercial property. At that point a good commercial property firm also becomes necessary. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Key to Consider When Searching for the Best Commercial Property Management Firm.

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In 2018, the United States commercial property market value hit an estimate of $16 trillion. The industry continues to expand each year. If you own commercial property, whether it’s a retail outlet, an apartment block, a storage facility, or perhaps some offices, you will be familiar with the burden that comes with its management. You will definitely need the services of a professional commercial building management firm to coordinate the full management of your building.

By working with the most experienced property management companies, you will get good deals to maximize your financial returns. Moreover, they will ensure that your property stays in perfect condition without depreciating in value. With this in mind, here are some factors to consider when searching for the best commercial property management firm.

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1. Lists of Services Offered

More than 90% of real estate property managers are into rent collection, leasing out units, and doing some repair works. However, property management companies differ greatly in terms of the services they offer. The idea is to work with a reputable company offering a vast range of services such as commercial building pressure washing, which keeps the outside of your building sparkling clean. After all, the more services offered means that they are masters in their business, and can meet your requirements. Use the following criteria to decide on which services are good for you.

• Contract specifications
• Maintenance management
• Rent analysis
• Rent collections
• Lease negotiations
• Budget development
• Tenant relations
• Purchasing procedure
• Marketing strategies and programs
• Project management
• Compliance procedures

2. Coverage on Assets Classes

While a versatile company may manage assets across different classes, other companies just cover only a limited number of assets in one class. Assuming you are an investor who diversifies your investments, you may want to choose a company that specializes in several asset classes. Similarly, for investors who limit themselves to one asset class, your best option is to partner with a property-specific firm.

3. Level of Experience

As the saying goes, ‘experience is the best teacher.’ The greater the level of experience of a company, the better their services. An experienced firm will assist you in overcoming property challenges such as maintenance projects and marketing constraints. Inexperienced property managers may act as if they have the Midas touch, but in reality, they may end up causing you more harm than good. So, how do you know that a specific company is skillful in commercial property management? Well for one thing, you can start by considering the number of years they have been in existence. More years can suggest that the company is top-rated. Then you can ask for their clientele list and see if they service buildings similar to your own.

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4. Reputation

Two firms can offer the same services, but their reputation will vary. You will have to consider the reviews on their websites in order to arrive at a conclusion. A high number of positive feedbacks means that the brand is a reputable one, and will not take you for a ride.

5. Management Fees

In the UK, property prices rise by about 0.7% with respect to the previous month, and by about 0.9% with respect to the previous year. This is the most important deciding factor that will tell whether you can afford to pay for the services of a property management company or not. Usually, the fees are expressed as a percentage of the rental charges. For example, it can vary between 4–11%, with some management companies charging a flat fee.

In summary, the decision is always yours. Use the above factors to guide your decision-making. Whichever property management company you choose, just be sure you are budgeting for your money.

What’s Your Flavor: 5 Reasons To Set Up A New Beverage Brand

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A potentially lucrative industry to do business in is the beverage industry. It’s an industry that’s all about creating a unique beverage product with a unique flavor. Once you create a created brand. The following contributed post is entitled, What’s Your Flavor: 5 Reasons To Set Up A New Beverage Brand.

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Some people might tell you that the beverage industry is teeming with all kinds of weird and wonderful drinks. But, there’s always room for improvement. And for unique fusions of flavors that many consumers are bound to love!

Have you created a drink that tastes divine and is unlike any other flavor you, your relatives, or your friends have ever tried before? If so, and the general consensus is that all those people would willingly buy it, you’re likely wanting to bring your beverage to market.

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The thing is, how on earth do you start a business and set up a new beverage brand? After all, isn’t that what only the big well-known brands can do? It might surprise you to learn that many individuals – not large corporations – set up beverage brands each year.

You’re doubtless reading this article because you want to learn more about how to turn your idea into a successful business. You want to share the delights of your flavors with other people, and show the world what they’ve been missing!

Of course, you might be thinking that doing something so ambitious is risky and even scary for one person. The good news is the pros outweigh the cons on this occasion. Here are five reasons why you need to set up a new beverage brand today!

1. You’ll never know if you don’t try

Fear of the unknown shouldn’t be the reason that stops you from pursuing your dreams and goals. You already know there’s a market for your drink, so you shouldn’t be worried that people aren’t likely to buy your beverages. That’s why you should just go for it!

2. You get to enjoy the fruits of your labor

Crafting your unique beverage doubtless took you a lot of time, money, and experimentation. It would be a shame if all that didn’t count for anything when deciding whether to set up a new beverage brand or not. That’s why it makes sense to share your drink with the world.

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3. You can quit your day job

Are you doing something that isn’t particularly rewarding but pays the bills? If the answer’s yes, and you know your drink will be a success, now’s the time to quit your day job and follow your dreams. It’s a leap of faith, but one that will take you to a more rewarding career.

4. You’ll be selling something unique

You’ve done your homework and checked the latest beverage industry statistics. You know that there isn’t a drink on the market even vaguely similar to yours. Use those facts to your advantage and you can introduce a product that people will keep wanting to buy!

5. You’ll unleash your hidden entrepreneurial talents

Last but not least, setting up a new beverage brand will also showcase to the world your hidden entrepreneurial spirit. You may not realize it, but much of the country’s economy is built on the products and services of entrepreneurs like yourself.