Category: Contributed Posts

How Your Mental Health Affects Your Physical Perception

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. So much our lives depend on our mental health. Likewise there are numerous external stimuli that impacts our mental health that we don’t consider on a daily basis. The following contributed post is entitled, How Your Mental Health Affects Your Physical Perception.

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Everybody wants to be healthy, but we’re not all motivated by the same reasons and this is where the issues may arise. The way that we perceive ourselves and others differs from person to person, that is simply because of our lifestyles, our circumstances and the ways in which our minds are wired. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is good no matter what the motivation may be, but appearance is often the key motive which can lead to some serious issues with our mental health and leading to disorders. The benefits of being healthy physically and mentally balance out well. They come hand in hand and have been said often over the years by medical professionals. Here are some reasons why good health requires clarity and not just the notion of vanity.

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How you see food should be a positive not a negative.

This is perhaps the most important element of a healthy lifestyle because so many people have a poor relationship with food. How we eat and what we eat not only assist our bodies in the aesthetic sense but also in the sense that it provides your body with generally better health. Look into alternatives too, that’s important in your quest, to explore all options, such as Caduceus Science. This can be of assistance to those with long term pain and chronic conditions that really need a chance of diet in order to improve your symptoms. If you change your long-term diet to include such foods, cut out the bad sugars and starches, and start exercising more to keep your body active then you’ll definitely notice a healthy difference in your weight and general demeanour as well as energy levels.

You should be looking after your face for the right reasons

Your face likely gives you no end of grief, as it does for many people. We are our own worst critics, and that means we often punish our bodies to alter our appearances when there’s actually nothing wrong with us. When it comes to looking after your face, you should be appreciating the way it looks on a natural basis but striving to look after your health on a practical level. If you can take the time to look beyond taking care of your skin, you might also want to start visiting the dentist more regularly also as this is important also for your physical health. If you do not look after your teeth it can lead to heart disease or other blood issues that can cause problems later on in life. Get a healthy smile and a healthier body in general.

Mental health is crucial to being healthy not just in terms of external appearance but in terms of internal thoughts and feelings. Your body can be massively affected by your mind and of course this will put a spin on how others see you. Using your speech and your intelligence to its highest ability is going to earn you some points. Speak well and articulately always. A strong mind can lead to a strong body, and practicing daily meditation could really help you to re-align with your mind with your body and lead to a better future.

Essential Principles Of Good Money Management

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Good money management isn’t taught in every home and thus there are many individuals who don’t anything about it. Some of the principles are actually pretty simple. The following contributed post is entitled, Essential Principles Of Good Money Management.

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Many of us struggle with decent money management throughout our lives, and it is something which can negatively affect almost every part of one’s life. If you feel that you could probably do with improving the way in which you approach your use of money, then there are many ways in which you can hope to do that. The truth is that there are a few essential principles to good money management which you might want to consider, and as long as you have done so you should find that you are going to be able to have a much better approach to money in no time.

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Know Your Position & What You Are Owed

A lot of people struggle to actually get to grips with what they are owed and by whom, and for that reason they find themselves in a position of not really knowing what they should be doing. You need to pay close attention to the specifics of your own situation so that you can ensure you are going to get whatever you deserve. You might be a soldier returning to civilian life in need of making va disability claims, or you might be a carer who is eligible for a government grant. Whatever your situation, ensure that you are fully aware of it and what it entails, so that you can always claim what you are owed.

Put Aside Ten Percent

If you are keen to ensure that you are thinking about the future, a good rule of thumb is to always put aside ten percent of what you earn into savings. As long as you manage to do that, you should find that you are going to have a much stronger financial future, and that you will feel secure in your future in a much better way. Of course, that doesn’t mean putting aside only ten percent – if you are able to do more, then that is what you should do, the ten percent being only a minimum figure to aim for.

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Pay Off Debt Before Saving

If you are saving money in a savings account and also paying off debt each month, then you are not really doing the most sensible thing you could be doing for your money overall. Chances are, you are paying more in interest on the debt than you are making in savings, so actually you’re not achieving anything at all. You will be better off over the year if you make a point of first paying off all of your debts before you start to save anything – apart from having a little emergency fund in your savings account just in case you should need it. Other than that, pay off your debt as a priority, and you will be better off in the long run by a long way.

As long as you take these on board, you should find that you are in a much better position with your money in no time.

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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How To Become More Competent And Confident In The Things You Do

The overarching principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. No matter what your field or passion is, you eventually want to get to the point where as competent and confident as you can be at it. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Become More Competent And Confident In The Things You Do.

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Life is all about taking advantage of opportunities and getting as much out of them as you can. We don’t exactly know the specifics of why we’re here, but we can all agree that living it to the fullest is what someone should be striving for. We all have our definitions of what that entails, of course, but the fundamental point still stands.

In order for us to do that, we need to have a little confidence in our own ability. Confidence makes us get out of bed in the morning, and it gives us the boost we need in terms of completing whatever’s in front of us. Just look at all the timid and nervous people on this planet – they get very little done and live a life of regret, don’t they? It’s no disgrace, obviously, but nobody wants to miss out on what could be an amazing few decades here.

So, we’ve established that confidence absolutely makes us or breaks us. How can we build such confidence in order to get out there and live life to the max? Well, here are a few ways of doing it:

Find A Passion And Work Towards It

When we have meaning, that’s when we feel as though we’re valuable. When we’re idling and don’t really know what’s going on, we tend to feel as though we’re pointless and worthless. That can lead to overthinking, which will lead to toxic thoughts that lower our self-esteem. When we have a project to complete, we then become a little more important. We also have things to talk about with others if we feel like showing off! Whatever you like, be it computers, fishing, fighting – anything – try and work towards it and make it into something tangible and, perhaps, even profitable.

Be A Little More Social

If you’re comfortable and charismatic around others, then you’re going to feel a lot more confident in your ability to do things. After all, how we behave in front of others is the main point when confidence is the subject. Those with low confidence worry about how they’re perceived. If you worry less about the opinions of others, then you’re good to go. Get out and talk to people – realise that there’s little to be afraid of.

Know Your Rights

When you know exactly what you can and cannot do, that’s when your freedom to do things becomes a little more specific. You’re then able to go out and live out a life with more zest. If you know what you’re allowed to do, you’re then less likely to be bound or impeded by uncertainty – you know exactly how you should go about the world. Legal professionals like Police Misconduct Attorneys and alike will be able to advise you on the limits and rights you have as a person looking to make their way in life.

Adopt A Positive Mindset

Negativity gets you absolutely nowhere. When you’re negative or stressed about a certain upcoming task, you only suffer more. If you’re positive and optimistic, then you’re going to feel a lot more at ease with whatever’s thrown at you. You’ll respond to failure with the right mindset, and you’ll often attract positive outcomes. The law of attraction isn’t absolutely set-in-stone, but it’s a darn good way to live your life.

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.

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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.

Get The Mortgage That Makes The Most Sense With These Tips

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Choosing the right home is important but getting the right mortgage is arguably more important. Choosing the right mortgage product will assure that you’ll stay in the home for as long as you want to. The following contributed post is entitled, Get The Mortgage That Makes The Most Sense With These Tips.

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The vast majority of homebuyers, whether they are first-time purchasers or have been on the market before, aren’t going to have the cash ready to buy a property outside. As such, you may need to rely on a loan, or a mortgage, that covers the cost of the home for you to then pay back monthly. However, many buyers make the mistake of arranging a mortgage that keeps them locked down, paying too much for too long. Here are a few tips on how to get a mortgage that’s more cost-effective, more flexible, and a better investment overall.

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Check your credit health, first
A mortgage is a loan and may be the largest loan you’re likely to take out. As such, like all lenders, mortgage providers will look at your credit score, which is a numeric value that’s supposed to show how reliable you are when it comes to managing loans, credit, and other financial agreements. If you have no credit history or one that’s marred by a broken agreement, it can limit your mortgage choices. Credit reporting bodies like the TransUnion have to offer you one free credit report check a year. You can see what issues might be pulling your credit rating down and fix them, if possible. For instance, reducing your credit card utilization and challenging fall credit reports can help raise your score.

Have a down payment ready
When paying for a home, most people are going to pay in a two-step arrangement. The first step is paying a lump sum of cash, the down payment, directly. The total of this down payment is then removed from the total of the home value. The price that’s left over is then split into monthly payments. As such, a larger down payment will mean a lower overall mortgage and can help you get more advantageous mortgage rates and payment plan arrangements. It’s recommended you have at least 20% of the home’s total value saved up in a down payment. If you don’t have enough, you may have to pay homeowner’s insurance, which is an additional expense that’s highly avoidable.

Get the right experts on your side
When it comes to finding the best mortgage rate, then you’re going to need to take the time looking over all the different offerings on the market. Rates and fees change from place to place. However, you don’t have to go it alone. Expertise from broker teams like Altrua Financial can help you find the mortgage rate and arrangement that best suit your needs. Brokers bring a working knowledge of the mortgage market, who offers what, including which deals may suit your individual needs or have advantages that are specific to you. You can look through the mortgage market yourself, but it’s not wise to deprive yourself of some expert help.

Have some cash reserves at your side
When it comes to saving for a home, a lot of people will save what they need for the down payment, as well as any services and fees they might have to pay along the way. However, most banks are also going to need you to have at least two months’ worth of cash reserves on hand. This is the money that will ensure you can pay your mortgage for those two months. The cash reserve requirement may be higher on higher risk mortgage, but you can also get cash reserves together to leverage your way into a better mortgage arrangement, so it’s important to get as much money together before buying a home as possible.

Bear in mind that you can change things around in future
You might have looked through the market and, whether due to current financial realities or the fact that you don’t have as much time to improve your credit score as you would like, your options are limited. If you’re not willing to wait, you can buy a house with the best mortgage available, but that might not be the best mortgage available to you, forever. Remortgaging is always an option. It’s not always a smart option, as the costs can often outweigh the savings. However, if you take a fixed-rate mortgage that’s about to expire, you could save money with a switch.

There are no quick fixes when it comes to finding a good mortgage. You need to be in a good place, financially, and you need to comb through the market in detail. Hopefully, the tips above show you how to do that a little better.

Essentials Every Business Should Have in Their Company Cars

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Some businesses use company cars. If you business uses them, there some basics you need in your cars. The following contributed post is entitled, Essentials Every Business Should Have in Their Company Cars.

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Company cars can be a great investment for any business to make. At the end of the day, your employees will often have to get from one place to another. This can vary according to your business’ field of specialism. Some may need to attend meetings with clients. Some may have to visit different sites. Whatever they need to do, a company vehicle can prevent delays that are so common with public transport. This not only helps them to do their job as expected, but it can also help to maintain your business’ reputation. Now, there’s plenty of help out there when it comes to choosing a company car. But what about once you’ve got one? Very few talk about how you can combat problems that you may experience with a company car. Here are a few essentials that you should make sure are present in your company car at all times!

Breakdown Cover

Technically, you don’t store breakdown cover in your company car. But it’s a good idea to have some. If the vehicle breaks down or experiences problems, they can simply call your company’s breakdown cover provider and be back on the road as soon as possible. It’s a good investment to make.

Jump Leads

Sometimes the battery in a vehicle will die. Perhaps lights have been left on. Maybe the engine’s been running too long. Sometimes people just can’t figure out why the battery’s gone. Regardless of the reason, jump leads and a helpful passerby can help to get the vehicle running again!

A Spare Tyre

Every car should have a spare tyre on board. Flats can happen at any time. There’s glass and debris present on many roads and a flat can prove extremely dangerous. Having a spare tyre on hand can allow an employee or a breakdown assistant to replace a punctured tyre and, again, have the car up and running again in next to no time.

Snatch Straps

Driving in a muddy area? Or near ditches? Hopefully, you don’t find your company car stuck anywhere. But if this does occur, heavy-duty snatch straps can allow a tow truck to get the car out of its sticky situation quickly.

A First Aid Kit

First aid kits are always useful. Whether that’s for a small issue, such as a cut, or a much bigger issue that requires more serious first aid to be carried out. You can purchase ready-made kits with all the basic equipment a first aid kit needs already packed up in them.

A Warning Triangle

Should the car break down, it’s a good idea to have a warning triangle on board that can be placed metres behind to alert other road users that they are approaching an incident where the car may be blocking a road.

All of these additions can come in extremely useful in any road situation that you or your employees may encounter when using the company vehicles. So, invest in them and make sure to have them in your company car at all times!

Cloud Computing Technology: Why Your Business Needs It

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In our new digital age, the cloud has become a major piece for many businesses. Learning to maximize its usage is key to any business that wants to survive as the years go on. The following guest post is entitled, Cloud Computing Technology: Why Your Business Needs It.

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Over 83 percent of business workloads will be done on the cloud by 2020, according to a recent report by infrastructure monitoring firm LogicMonitor. Despite concerns with security and implementation, cloud adoption continues to grow, as the industry is projected to earn 17 percent more in 2020 compared to last year.

A lot of articles and experts that talk about the importance of technology in business cite cloud computing is the future. This is because it has a wide variety of cost, collaboration, and efficiency benefits to companies, especially small and medium-sized ones.

How does the platform work and what are its benefits to your company?

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing involves using applications and storage on the internet instead of your computer’s hard drive or office servers. Think of it as renting computing capacity from an outside provider.

It comes in three categories:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – This involves renting the servers, virtualization, and other network hardware and software of your provider to create software based on your chosen platform.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) – PaaS has everything that IaaS has, but with development and business intelligence tools built-in. All you need to do is to develop your enterprise software.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) – Here, the provider hosts applications on its servers and makes it available for customers to use immediately. This includes applications you probably already use in your business, like Salesforce, Google G Suite, MailChimp, and more. For small businesses, it’s best to stick with SaaS since all you need to do is learn and use the software instead of developing it yourself.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing usage continues to grow, and it’s because of the following advantages:

• Work Anywhere, Anytime – Cloud applications can be used on any device with a browser and an internet connection. Some providers even provide mobile apps. As such, you can check on your company’s productivity or even get some work done from anywhere you are in the world.
• Better Collaboration – Gone are the days of passing files manually either through hard copies or email. Cloud applications, like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offer collaboration tools that let you and your team edit and comment on the same live document. This provides one source of truth instead of multiple revised files.
• Scalability – Cloud providers often have a pay-as-you-go model, which means you only pay for the resources you use. If your company is still starting out, you can get a basic subscription that provides usage for a few users. As you expand, you can scale up your subscription to accommodate more employees. Because you don’t need to install any kind of software or hardware, the modifications to your plan happen immediately.

If you want to improve and save on your business processes, try to look for ways to take them to the cloud. Apart from freeing up your office space of large stacks of servers, it provides you with flexible, scalable, and collaborative applications that can increase the productivity, quality, and efficiency of your work. As long as you have a trustworthy and experienced cloud computing provider, your business is sure to enjoy these benefits and more.

How COVID-19 Is Affecting Garages

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The Coronavirus/COVID-19 Crisis/Pandemic has caused a lot of changes to numerous business sectors. One sector that has been severely impact by people social distancing due to COVID-19 is the auto repair garage business. The following contributed post is entitled, How COVID-19 Is Affecting Garages.

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COVID-19 is changing the way we interact with vehicles. Cars are an essential part of everyday life. In a normal situation, your car would be the preferred mean of transport to get to work. As more and more companies are moving their business into the digital sphere, the commute to work has been temporarily transformed, except for essential workers. Nevertheless, people still rely on their vehicles to support them in their everyday trips. From grocery shopping to necessary doctor appointments or helping vulnerable relatives, the car makes it possible to stay connected and alive during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, essential repairs and services are being interrupted as a direct consequence of the quarantine. For garages, COVID-19 creates an impossible dilemma. How do you keep people safe on the road when you can’t get the parts you need?

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Social distancing means remote solutions
When most businesses are going remote, there’s a practical argument for garages to do the same. Unfortunately, as most manufacturers have stopped activities worldwide, mechanics and garage owners find it impossible to get essential automotive parts for repair and servicing. However, they can jump on the digital bandwagon to teach their customers how to perform essential maintenance on their vehicles. It is crucial to remind customers how to look after their vehicles at a challenging time, such as now. Cars that are left untouched for several days or weeks will face difficulties restarting. The battery could go flat; the brake pads could rust, etc. Basic maintenance tutorials during the quarantine can make a difference!

Many businesses are facing monetary issues
Most small-town garages are independently owned. For them, a loss of income could put their survival at risk. When you consider the costs of a lease, insurance plan, and basic business maintenance, many small companies have to find ways of borrowing money to survive. While commercial loans are typically available to businesses, banks and other money lenders may not be willing to take the risk. Consequently, garage owners need to think outside the box. Joining a credit union and taking a secured loan against an asset are some of the most popular options.

Businesses have to face unfair complaints
Unfortunately, garages still face demands for last-minute repair works. Clients who have postponed repairs or services before the lockdown are now in a rush to get their car road-safe. But, as it can be difficult to secure car parts, garages have to focus on the repair works they can make. As such, it’s not uncommon to face complaints when a vehicle is not fixed to the owner’s expectations. Automotive defense attorney William Ferreira is the first to warn mechanics and garage owners against unnecessary activities during the pandemic. Clients have to understand the risks related to the supply situation.

Post quarantine is going to be worse than the holiday rush
As soon as it is safe to go back to normal life, garages are likely to face a rush of clients. Cars that have been left unmaintained during the crisis will need servicing and repairs. Preparing your business to meet the rush will make a difference. Small garages need to start planning to face demands as quickly as possible.

In those difficult times, car specialists need to get creative to support their community safely. From offering online tips and tricks for everyday maintenance to explaining to your customers why you can’t provide full repair services, maintaining positive communication with your audience could help save your garage business.