A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. Unfortunately not every visit for medical care results in healing for the condition or sickness in question. Some end with greater illness, and in the worst case scenario injury. The following contributed post is entitled, What To Do When You Are a Victim of Medical Negligence.
When you go into a hospital or a clinic you do not expect to be leaving the premises in an even worse state. Unfortunately however, there are occasions when doctors, nurses, surgeons or any medical staff can make a mistake, which can then end up costing you your health or leave you with an injury. Here is some advice on what to do when you find yourself in this type of scenario.
Report the Incident
As soon as you realize that you have experienced medical negligence, whether it is yourself or a member of your family then you will want to report it immediately. You can get in contact with the local state medical board to start proceedings. There are different medical boards for each state so you will want to contact the correct one in which you had the treatment and not necessarily the state you actually live in. Ideally the sooner you report it the better.
Keep Any Paper or Digital Records of Your Visit
It is a good idea if you put together all your digital and physical paperwork of your recent visit so that you can start to gather evidence together of your medical claim. The more information you have, the better it will be for your case.
Find Out What Tools Medics Are Using
You should also find out which tools your medical professionals are using. They should be providing you with those that meet basic medical and legal standards, not anything outdated.
TestDynamics points out that tools are now much more advanced than many medics realize. AI is transforming the sector in ways unimaginable just 10 years ago. As a patient, you should receive cutting-edge services to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, but your healthcare provider may not have provided that.
Seek Legal Advice
If the medical negligence you experienced has left you with life changing problems as a result of the medical professional you saw, then it will be likely you will need advice from medical malpractice attorneys. You may find that you will need to initiate a lawsuit against the medical professional that has caused you injury or harm as a result of the treatment they have provided for you.
Although you may be tempted to post on social media about your recent medical experience, you may want to avoid writing a hostile post as this could affect your legal case. So you will want to check with your attorney whether it could be harmful to write a post about the staff or location which you visited. So try to refrain from doing so until you know further information.
Seek Alternative Medical Help
If it’s an issue that still needs to be attended to, then you are going to require a medical professional that knows what they are doing. So now you will need to seek medical care elsewhere so that you can finally resolve the issue that you went to the hospital or clinic for in the first instance. Do a bit of research and seek a better alternative by looking at their medical qualifications and checking out reviews.
A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. No matter what career/profession you’re in, a major is striking a healthy balance in life. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Strike The Wellbeing Balance.
Everyone knows their levels of optimal wellbeing; it’s that experience of letting out a deep sigh and feeling as though everything has settled seamlessly into the right places. But life is busy and demands much of our attention and productivity, leaving us weary and worn out – that’s why it’s so important to get the balance right in order to maintain our working levels of wellbeing.
Healthy Habits
Human beings are habit-forming creatures; think about it, you probably perform the same tasks, in the same way, several times throughout the day and week. That’s because we find patterns that work well for us and stick to them even if they’re detrimental, like smoking or overeating.
Becoming aware of your nature as a habit-forming creature is one way to break the cycle of bad habits and adopt ones that benefit you more. For instance, if you get into the habit of eating fresh organic food, you start to crave healthy stuff instead of greasy burgers and salty fries.
Routine Treatments
Speaking of health habits, what better way to boost your wellbeing than to go for a healthy treatment such as a massage, a facial, a manicure, a spa day, or an acupuncture session. Wellbeing is very individual, so it’s a good idea to explore what works for your best.
After you have found some treatments that work for you, it’s time to make a regular routine out of them. It’s easy to think of treatments as a once-in-a-while luxury, but consider how far you are pulled in the other direction during everyday life. Regular treatments help you strike a balance.
Regular Regimes
Broadly, there are two ways to look after your health and wellbeing, one of them involves looking after your outer health – that means your skin, hair, and teeth. The other is about looking after your internal wellbeing by eating a top-class diet and exercising regularly.
Once again, it’s important to form healthy habits and integrate wellbeing practices into your life if you want to strike a balance that’s sustainable in the long term. Take dental care, for instance; you need to visit http://www.pasoroblesdentalcare.com routinely for the best dental care.
Talking Therapies
Internal health is not only about diet and fitness; it’s also about your mental wellbeing. Of course, maintaining an excellent diet and fitness regime is going to improve your mental health; you will feel sharper and more productive, but it might not resolve deeper emotional issues.
Some people find emotional issues difficult to confront and prefer to ignore them or bury them away, but this only leads to stress and mental fatigue, and it does nothing to support your wellbeing. Talking therapies are helpful for your emotional life, even when things are going well.
Regular Downtime
Maintaining optimal states of wellbeing in your life is all about balance; that’s because we live in a productive growth-driven society that demands a lot of our attention and energies. Remember to strike a balance with regular downtime and self-care that allows you to recuperate.
Two focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. No matter what line of work you’re in, health issues can compromise you effectiveness. You thus need to think about how your diet can impact your career. The following contributed post is entitled, Overcoming Health Issues That Can Hurt Your Work And Career.
Most people want to make sure that they keep their health in top form as they go through life. Working hard to maintain a good diet, do plenty of exercise, and avoid things that could be unhealthy, it can feel like you are doing everything in your power to keep your health in check. Of course, though, it can be impossible to foresee every health issue you might face throughout life. It’s always worth being aware of the health issues that can easily tear you from your work. While most people are able to enjoy a career free from issues, the problems in this article can impact just about anyone.
Injuries
Humans are hard-wired by instinct to protect themselves and those they care about from injuries, and this is something that shouldn’t be too hard to avoid in day-to-day life. Sometimes people do get hurt, though. No matter the type of injury you sustain, being seriously hurt can make it very hard to work. This may only be a temporary part of your life, but injuries can also impact people for much longer, and this makes it worth having insurance that will protect you from issues like this. Of course, you can also look for ways to claim compensation if an injury isn’t your fault.
Long-Term Sickness
Much like injuries, there are a lot of medical conditions out there that can strike when you least expect it. Going through a period of long-term sickness can make life very hard, often leaving people unable to work their normal job. You can get insurance that will cover you in times like this, though many employers will also be able to support you. In some cases, people will have to rely on government support when they are living with long-term sickness.
This can be a particularly challenging medical issue to overcome when you are working. There are some long-term conditions that can be avoided by making healthy life choices, but there are others that can impact just about anyone. This makes it crucial that you take your health seriously. Regular appointments with your doctor will help you to keep track of your health, but it can also be worth taking the time to visit the doctor when you feel like something is wrong with your body.
Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
Mental health is a big challenge for humans. The complex emotions you feel can be hard to understand, and it can be all too easy to develop issues like anxiety and depression without the right support and methods. Some people are more susceptible to this than others, though anyone can get therapy and other support with their mental health. This can be very important, especially for those working in stressful jobs, as it will be very hard to continue working properly if you are struggling with your mind. Thankfully, most employers are able to help their team members with issues like this.
Addiction
The modern world can be a stressful and challenging place to live, and many people end up falling on addictions that make them feel as though things are better. Whether you are addicted to drugs, gambling, or anything else, this can easily have a negative impact on both your work and personal lives. Visiting sites like https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/texas/garland/ when you’re looking to overcome an addiction. Anyone can find themselves addicted to substances in the modern world, but anyone can also get support if they want to make a change.
As you can see, there are a lot of health issues that can impact your work and career. It isn’t always possible to foresee this sort of problem, and most people don’t expect it. Preparing yourself with tools like insurance can be a good way to make sure that you don’t have to compromise on your life if you ever find yourself out of work because of your health.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key component of your business is its insurance. Your business insurance can help you stay open and generating profit for a long time. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Your Business Insurance Fit For Purpose.
There is a lot that needs to be considered when looking for insurance for your business. Depending on the nature of your company, there are going to be various policies that you may require. In this blog post, we are going to focus on some of the main ones, helping you to find a policy that is fit for purpose.
Insurance for your office Office property insurance, also known as business owners insurance, is something that is widely considered a necessity for all businesses. It is vital to have all areas covered to ensure that you do not experience a massive loss in the case of an unpredictable event or circumstance at your office. If you don’t have one of these policies already then you certainly need to look into getting one.
Office insurance will cover you, your employees, the building, the equipment and more. Therefore, it is certainly worth its weight in gold. Moreover, policies such as this one are pivotal to giving you peace of mind. You know what if something happens which is out of your control – you won’t lose everything.
Nevertheless, finding the right policy for your business can be a very difficult, complex and frustrating process. After all, there are so many different policies available. Obviously, in one sense, this is great because it means that there is a lot of choice. However, for most people, it simply confuses them as they don’t know what to go for. The best thing to do is to make a list of the aspects that you need to be covered by your policy. These are your requirements and you will not go for an insurance policy if these are not covered.
Protecting yourself if something happens to a key person This is one area of insurance that a lot of businesses have a tendency to overlook. However, have you ever wondered what would happen if one of your key owners or employees fell ill? It would have a serious impact on your company, right? Well, there is insurance in place to assist with this, and it is something that we certainly recommend considering carefully.
When looking for this type of insurance, you need to carefully consider the key person disability risk to determine what level of cover is going to be the most suitable for you. The policy will protect you from the monetary loss that you would experience if a key employee, business owner, or executive was to experience a disabling illness, injury, or accident. You will receive a cash benefit that is designed to help you through this difficult period. This can cover the likes of keeping your business viable, any overtime pay you need to cover staff working longer hours, and the cost of training and hiring a replacement.
Advice for all business policies It is crucial that you read everything in the policy. This sounds like an obvious point but it is something that a lot of people overlook. It’s understandable; after reading through five different policies you may want to skip a couple of lines. But don’t do it – you may end up regretting it.
When searching for a policy it is important to look around on different websites and compare different deals. You can even use a price comparison website if you find it easier. This is good because it will give you a basic understanding of the price options available, and it will also help you narrow down your search in order to find the best deals and make the best savings. You should also look at ways to secure your premises, as this can then result in your premiums being lowered as well.
In addition to finding the best-priced policy that covers all the aspects you require, it is also highly important that the company you buy the policy from is credible and has a good reputation. In order to decipher whether this is the case, you should type the name of the company in a Google search box and then go to the relevant comment forums. If people have been dissatisfied with the service that they have received then they will be more than happy to express them and to warn people from using the insurance company in question. Nevertheless, remember to use the comments as a whole – you want a general overview. If there are 60 good comments and one bad one, don’t acknowledge the negative review as it is likely to be a one-off.
Three focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness, Organizational/Management and Workplace Discussions. If you’re running a manufacturing plant or the owner of one, employee safety should be one of your primary concerns in addition to profit. The following contributed post is entitled, Health and Safety Tips For Employees In Your Manufacturing Plant.
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The manufacturing industry is a significant contributor to the economy in the United States, and it employs millions of people. With such an essential role in our economy, many safety guidelines must be followed by employees at all levels. Both employers and employees must understand what health and safety mean not only on a general level but precisely when working with hazardous materials or equipment. By following these simple tips, your business can have a safer workplace environment for everyone!
When a new employee is hired in a manufacturing plant, they must receive the appropriate training for the job. This includes health and safety training and specific training on the equipment or materials they will be working with. Employees should be familiar with all of the hazards associated with their position and know how to work around them safely. It is also essential to keep employees up-to-date on any health and safety protocol changes. When new dangers are identified in the workplace, employers must ensure that employees are aware of these risks and understand how to protect themselves. Training should be tailored to each worker’s needs so that everyone can stay safe on the job.
2. Be open to listening to employee concerns
While your manufacturing plant may have strict safety protocols, employees who work in these environments feel free to voice their concerns if they feel like the company’s guidelines mustn’t offer sufficient protection. As an employer, you should be open and willing to listen when employees bring up potential problems or hazards in the workplace environment. Employees will better understand how dangerous a situation could become if management knows that their opinions are taken seriously and respected. With companies such as The Health and Safety Company (HSC) providing guidance on health and safety matters for employers across all types of industries, there has never been a safer time to start working! With so many opportunities available within the United States alone, manufacturers employ more than 12 million workers.
3. Improve waste disposal systems
One of the most critical aspects of workplace safety is ensuring that employees are not exposed to hazardous materials. This can be done by properly disposing of waste products and using correct storage methods. If your manufacturing plant has a poor waste disposal system, it could lead to serious health problems for employees. It is crucial to have a designated area where all hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials are stored and disposed of correctly. Improper handling and storage of these materials can put everyone at risk, so these measures must be taken seriously.
4. Have an emergency evacuation strategy in place
Emergencies don’t always happen when it’s convenient, so you should have a written emergency exit plan that covers what would happen in the event of an accident or injury. All employees need to be made aware of their responsibilities during these situations and know who they will need to contact if there are any problems. The employee at fault should also report immediately after the incident occurs to be taken to fix any damage caused by their actions. If your manufacturing plant does not currently have a prepared emergency response plan in place, contacting an experienced health and safety consultant like HSC could prove invaluable!
By following these simple tips, your manufacturing plant can have a much safer working environment for all employees. With the help of a professional health and safety consultant, you can create or update your emergency action plan to ensure that everyone is prepared for any situation. Stay safe on the job by following these guidelines!
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Businesses have different stages. There different considerations during the “start-up” phase versus when your business is further along. The following contributed post is entitled, Making The Right Decisions For Your Business Start-up.
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If you’re like most people and dreaming of starting up your own business, it’s important that you get things right from the very start. Of course, they’ll never be perfect, as that requires experience, but you can’t afford to make huge mistakes right out of the gate.
If your business is going to see a smooth start, you need to properly evaluate what’s right for you, and what would put your business in the best position. What could improve your chances of success, and what might hinder you?
The location of your business will play a huge role in your ability to bring in customers. If you set up in an area where it’s difficult to find people who are interested in what you’re selling, you can only rely on your reputation. If you don’t yet have a reputation, then it’s going to hinder your ability to make the sales necessary. You want to be in plain view of your customers, not hidden away somewhere out of sight.
The kind of building you pick is also important. A lot of businesses at the moment are opting in to set up industrial steel buildings. There are a lot of benefits to the different materials used for a building, and it would depend on what your business specializes in. if you’re not in need of a huge amount of space, you could choose something smaller and cheaper.
Start-up capital
The amount of money that your business has to start with is going to determine what you’re capable of from the point of opening. The supply you can stock, the marketing you can afford, and the equipment and location you can pick for your building. If you haven’t got the money but you’re confident that your idea for the business is promising, you might be interested in approaching an investor. Sure, they would like to see a return on their investment, but if the investment is going to mean the difference between failure and success, it’s a benefit to your business.
Establishing online presence
Something you should be doing as soon as possible is taking advantage of all of the free resources that are available to you. Luckily, businesses have been able to use social media for years to promote their business and gain a following. Businesses with an online presence have an easier time finding customers, as it’s a great way for them to advertise themselves. Even small businesses that don’t distribute their businesses through online sales can use it to make themselves more known to the public.
Product evaluation
Your product matters the most out of everything, and even if you’re confident in it yourself, you should still get some more opinions. There are a lot of businesses that start on the idea that their product is going to be the next trend, only to fail because they misjudged the popularity of what they were selling. Getting second opinions on your product can help to further develop a more promising item to sell instead.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. No matter what business you’re running, it’s import understand what processes you need to take care of in house versus those which can be done by some other entity. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Processes Your Business Does Not Need To Handle.
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Running a small business can have your hands full at all times, and you don’t always need to take care of everything yourself. Just because your team isn’t big enough to handle all that needs to be done, doesn’t mean you need to take that responsibility on yourself. You can entrust a lot of your work to other companies for a fee, and find that it’s cheaper than having your employees doing it and that you have a lot more time to focus on things that are more important.
Outsourcing is something that many businesses take advantage of, and it’s the logical solution when it comes to growth. If you were to start delivering your products over a broader area, would you invest in your own fleet of delivery vehicles? It’s impractical and much cheaper to entrust that to another business entirely.
Looking for new employees can take a long time, and that’s time you could be spending working on something else. The whole process can be stressful, especially if you’re going to approve applications and be present for the interview process. You don’t have to do that, and there are plenty of recruitment companies out there that can work with you. They can find applicants that are a good fit for your job, all you need to do is communicate with them on your own needs.
Distribution
If your business is small and struggling to gain an audience in your local area, a logical answer would be to try and broaden your consumer base. To do this, you would have to be able to deliver your products, and when your store is online; finding those customers is no problem at all. The only issue is, a new fleet to deliver your products would be incredibly expensive. Looking into a freight forwarding company to help you take care of that can save you a lot of money, and it’s a load off of your mind.
Manufacture
Most retail businesses don’t manufacture all of the supplies that they sell, and they’re usually taken care of by the supplier. It’s impractical to manufacture everything yourself when a business that’s well-equipped could mass-produce what you’re aiming to sell. To be equipped enough to meet demands would take years of preparation and a lot of investment. Your business doesn’t need to be in charge of this, and there are many manufacturers you could work with.
Marketing
Marketing is something that requires a lot of experience if you want to get it right. Connecting with your audience is challenging, and getting the message right is going to take some experimenting. It’s expensive, and you could save yourself a lot of money and resources if you were to leave it to a marketing firm. They have the experience, the tools, and the people to help your business gain the recognition it needs, and not only is it good for your own time; but you’re more likely to see a positive ROI if you’re no marketing expert.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many forms of business require travel. Likewise traveling for business isn’t a vacation and must be treated accordingly. The following contributed post is entitled, Tips For Heading Away On Business Travel.
If you are frequently on the road travelling for business, then making the journey as easy and comfortable as possible will make the whole process more enjoyable. Unfortunately, travelling for work can be a necessity for a job and you might need to travel in a truck if you are a delivery driver, or head to meetings if you work in sales. You might have to regularly fly around the world, or you could just have to travel to different places in the country where you live. No matter where you have to travel, it is important that you are as organised as you can. Here we have put together some top tips for heading away on business travel.
Condense Your Packing
Whether you are flying, travelling in a car/truck or using public transport, the last thing you want to be doing is lugging around a large suitcase. Before heading off make a list of the key things you need for your business trip. Try to be strict with what you are picking and if there is any doubt, the chances are that you don’t need it. The lighter you travel the smaller your case can be making the journey a lot easier. If you are able to reduce your suitcase size to a carry-on when flying, you then won’t need to wait in the ques when checking in. Plus, always remember, if you have forgotten something you can always purchase it whilst you are away.
Ensure you have all the relevant insurance
As well as being prepared for the actual meetings and things when you are travelling for business, you will also need to have other insurances in place. If you are travelling abroad you will need travel insurance that will cover you in the instance that your flight or ferry gets delayed, if your luggage is lost and if you fall ill for any reason while you are out there. You will also need to know what to do if you are driving and get into an accident. In this case, it would be a good idea to look into getting a truck accident attorney who will help you.
Think carefully when book accommodation
When you are heading away on business, you will probably need to book accommodation to stay in if it is a long journey from home. When choosing your hotel there are many things you will want to consider. Price will probably be a factor as if your company is substituting they will likely give you a budget. For this, you can consider using a hotel booking engine to help you. You will also need to think about where your hotel is based. It is a good idea to be near the place where you will be having meetings or attending conferences to make it convenient for getting there and back during the day.
These are just a few top tips that can help you be more prepared the next time you are heading away on business. Business travel is necessary but these tips can help to make it more bearable.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many people arrive at a place in their lives where they want and in some instances need to make a second income. There are many creative ways to do this in 2021. The following contributed post is entitled, Four Simple Ways To Build A Second Income.
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One of the most beneficial aspects of technological advancements in recent years is that it now allows people to work from home and make use of their knowledge and experience. Many people have already made the decision to either start a side business to supplement their income or make the transition to working from home full-time. Even though more people are beginning to do so, there are still those who are unsure of how they will be able to accomplish this. Beginning to make money online is extremely simple, especially if you have a small amount of spare time on your hands. Some people even travel around the world while working and earning money online from the comfort of their own homes and laptops. Anyone can participate; the key is to find a method that works for you and stick with it.
Here are some of the options for working from home that you might consider:
Become An Amazon Store Seller
Making money as an Amazon seller is one way to generate a good secondary income for yourself. You aren’t even required to keep the inventory or ship the inventory yourself. Investigate the Amazon business strategy to see if it could be applied to your situation.
Put Your Photography Skills To Use On The Internet
Do you enjoy taking photographs? If you are successful, you may be able to turn it into a source of passive income. You can sell your photos on photography websites such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto, which are designed to help you make money. They may offer a percentage of each photo that is sold to a site client or a flat fee for each photo that is sold.
An individual photo can be thought of as a cash flow generator because it can be sold over and over again in this manner. You only need to create your photo portfolio and upload it to one or more photo sharing websites, after which the activity becomes completely passive. The web platform is in charge of all of the technical aspects of the photo sales transactions.
Finding Easy Tasks
Even though this isn’t the fastest way to make money online, and you’re unlikely to make enough money to quit your day job, it is a fantastic way to supplement your income while working part-time from home. The internet is flooded with websites and apps that encourage you to engage in activities such as playing games and taking surveys in exchange for points that can be redeemed for cash or Amazon gift certificates. Maintaining sufficient points to qualify for a payout may take some time, but it is something you could do while watching television in the evenings or on your way to work.
Consider Stock Trading
Investing in stocks may appear to be a minefield at first glance, but with careful research and the use of online tools and apps, it can be a viable way to supplement your income at home or while travelling. Begin with a small investment and conduct extensive research into the trading markets. Keep in mind that you are investing your own money, and as a result, you stand to lose as much as you stand to gain from the investment. However, if you strike it rich with stock investing, you stand to make a substantial profit if your investment is successful.
Credit Cards With Cash Back
There are credit cards that offer cash-back benefits ranging from 1% to 5% of the purchase price. Isn’t it true that you’ll be out shopping and buying anyway?
Rewards will allow you to earn some passive “money” (in the form of lower outgoing) by doing what you’d be doing anyhow.
We’ve just begun to be more conscious about collecting reward points on our credit cards, especially because we enjoy travelling. We were able to use our reward points to pay for nine round-trip flights and a couple of hotel nights in the last year. That’s exactly what I’m referring to!
Create A Blog
Another fantastic option to make money online is to start a blog. A growing number of people are turning to blogs to share their thoughts and views with others. The fact that it is possible to make a living from it, however, is not widely known. There are currently a large number of professional bloggers and freelancers that make a living solely from the content of their blogs. You’ll need compelling content that appeals to a specific demographic in order to succeed. Whatever you want to talk about is fine, covering anything from lifestyle to health and fitness to motherhood to technology and everything in between. Even while it is not the most expedient method of earning money, once you get your blog up and running and have a reasonable following, you may begin earning money through sponsored content, free vacations and gifts, and affiliate relationships.
These are just four options for making money online; do you have any others that you can share in the comments section?
This blog post is going to involve the areas of Blogging/Writing, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. As many of you know, I was able to monetize my blogging platform a couple of years ago. With multiple projects, I only have a little bit of time throughout the year to generate pieces here for myself now. Much of the content is generated by customers/collaborators. By the way, my new blog entitled, ‘Big Words Authors’ is now up and running and has a more literary/storytelling focus. Take look if you want to read creative writing narratives, stories, poetry, and my new book project entitled, “The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story”, and the many supporting promotional pieces that are on the way.
This piece, while it will discuss how I monetized my blogging platform, will also talk about two important aspects of starting your own enterprise: monitoring your business receipts and customer service. Over the years I’ve heard that systems are an important part of any successful business, and I’ve found that to be true. I will thus also discuss what happens if some of your critical systems breakdown, compromising important aspects of your business like your customer service.
There are currently numerous documents on the Big Words Blog Site involving blogging. Some were written by me, and some were written by a customer. A year or two after starting the Big Words Blog Site, I unexpectedly entered the business of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I plan to discuss SEO in greater detail in a separate post. For now, however, I’ll just say that I started collaborating with other entities to publish content, for which I’ve been compensated. I’ve worked with several collaborators, and each involved the generation of business receipts and customer service.
Checking Your Business Receipts
In one of my Fathers’ Day posts (2017), I shared a memorable experience where my father reprimanded me for not taking my receipt and counting my change – a life changing experience for me. It turns out there’s a business context for checking your receipts. As I’ll describe in the business context, checking your receipts not only ensures a given transaction was executed properly, but it can ultimately save your business.
In short, I was able to monetize my blogging activities through the area of SEO. I’m no expert in SEO, by any means, but essentially it involves increasing your rank in the Google search engine by being linked to other websites. This is a big thing in our modern digital age and there are companies that specialize in this. The client/company/partner I started working with created short informational pieces of all kinds, linking companies in them.
Our partnership involved my publishing the content they sent to me perfectly, meaning that the final published version needed to match the draft they sent me in terms of content, structure and the weblinks inserted in the original piece. Once I sent them the published link and it was satisfactory, they would send me a receipt letting me know that the piece was perfect. I have partnered with other customers performing the same service, and still others who simply want their links added to specific contents. When the partnership with my main customer started a couple of years ago, I couldn’t believe it. It involved me publishing large amounts of content and it became profitable.
Interestingly, in some instances with large numbers of pieces being generated and passed back and forth, inevitable mistakes occurred. These were either on my end or on theirs. This was understandable as they were generating thousands of pieces (from me and others), and I was publishing as many as they could send me. Occasionally, I would unintentionally leave a link out, to which I’d receive a polite message saying, “Can you please put the X link back into the piece?”. In some instances, they’d send me an apology and would ask me to change something to update it from the draft they sent me – an error on their part.
In some cases, a link that was anchored to text would need to be changed to a naked link (the actual ‘https’ web address), or sometimes the other way around. Either way, the receipts were communications that we were good to go, and that I would be paid, or that a change needed to be made, and typically, quickly. These communications also occurred when I was offered a piece, when I accepted it, and in some instances, when they needed me to delete a narrative for whatever reason. They were very important communications for our partnership.
The Importance of Customer Service in Any Business
Up to this point I’ve discussed an important element for any business/organization without explicitly stating it, Customer Service. Depending on the office in which you work, many federal employees are rated for their level of customer service every year. Simply put, customer service is the proficiency, quality, and speed with which you see to the needs of your customers.
An example from a McDonald’s restaurant comes to mind. Years ago in a McDonald’s Restaurant I ordered an extra value meal. I could taste the food as I ordered it and was set to scarf it down as I picked the tray up from the register. Somehow, I tipped my tray in such a way that my fries all fell on the floor, spilling out everywhere in front of me. Embarrassed and sure that I’d have to pay some more, I turned back to the register.
“Can I have another medium french fry, please?” Within seconds the girl working at the register got me my new fries fresh out of the fryer, and she didn’t charge me for it. This was an example of stellar customer service.
In terms of bad customer service, how many of us have had to call technical support for your cable/internet provider? Maybe you’ve had to call for your new technology device you just purchased. How long did you have to wait on the line and did the person even speak English? Was your problem resolved or did it linger for hours, days and weeks? Depending on your answers, you may have experienced poor customer service and have either complained about that particular business, or you may have never returned to do business with them.
In a nutshell, they say that the reputation of your business spreads by word of mouth. Thus, if your customer service is poor, the word could spread quickly. The same is true if your customer service is stellar. You want to stay in the latter group as it can affect your profits. That goes for whether you’re in the food service industry or SEO.
Business Receipts, Your Business Systems, and Your Customer Service
It is said that the most important part of your business is its systems. When I started the Big Words Blog Site, I set up a Microsoft Outlook account to handle the email correspondence for the site. I eventually downloaded the Outlook app onto my smartphone and upon using it, I could quickly see the notifications my customers sent to me once we started working together. From the palm of my hand, I could see if the published pieces were satisfactory or if something needed to be changed. Outlook and its app allowed me lots of agility, so to speak.
Unfortunately, there is generally at least one technical glitch per year for my business. Earlier this year something disappointing happened. My Outlook account was hacked and I could receive emails, but I couldn’t send them. This threw a major wrench in my operation. If I couldn’t send emails, how was I going to accept and confirm the documents from my customers? Immediately, I had a light-bulb moment and decided to set up a G-mail account to conduct my business while the host attempted to fix my Outlook account.
In short, it worked, but it wasn’t the same. Fortunately, my customers started sending their content to my new G-mail account so that aspect of our partnership continued. One problem I encountered though was the functionality of the G-mail account wasn’t the same as the functionality of the Outlook account. With the G-mail account, I could see when new emails were coming in, but I couldn’t quickly differentiate when an action was needed. Also, when I opened the account on both my PC and my phone, it was difficult to differentiate between the new posts that were sent, when they were sent, and if they were satisfactory.
Because I was multitasking and was a little lax in terms of checking my business receipts, I was slow to accept documents and slow to react to errors in the pieces I published. My response time had become embarrassingly slow, and frustration built for both me and my customers. One issue went unresolved for a week and half, which was unfortunate because my customer worked according to deadlines. This was confounded by the fact that my blogging software didn’t always update in the most expedient way. A customer wrote me back once saying that they would slow down sending content and I came to the sobering realization that I may have permanently destroyed our collaboration.
Restoration Of My Outlook Account, Moving Forward and Lessons Learned
It took my webhost about three months to fix my Outlook account. In the meantime, my troubles using the G-mail account with my business taught me a valuable lesson. I paid much closer attention to every piece my customers sent to me, as they had not abandoned me. I refocused and attacked problems with a renewed intensity. I closely watched my business receipts and responded to customer emails expeditiously. Once my Outlook account was restored, things were pretty much back to normal and hopefully they will stay that way.
Closing Thoughts and Conclusions
I learned several lessons from the entire turn of events. They are as follows:
• Check your business receipts and ratings regularly. • Make sure your customer service ratings are as high as possible. • Have a backup plan should one or many of your business systems go down. • In the business arena, you must remain ever vigilant.
Thank you for reading this piece. For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my first blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign up button at the bottom of the announcement. Regards.
