Category: Financial Literacy and Money

How to Save Money when Running your Small Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When running a small business as with all businesses, the control of cashflow is critical. Doing so will ensure that your business continues to thrive. The following contributed post is entitled, How to Save Money when Running your Small Business.

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Running a small business can be both difficult and time-consuming. If you’re not careful then you may find that expenses slowly creep up on you, and this can cause you major problems in the future. If you want to avoid all of this, here are a few things that you can do to stay on top.

Lower the Cost of your Office Space

In some instances, it may be possible for you to take advantage of a decreased rental rate in your area. If this is not possible or if you don’t qualify for this type of benefit, then you may be able to renegotiate with your current landlord so you can get some better lease terms. If you don’t need to run your business from a commercial premises, then you may want to think about operating it from home. This will significantly lower the cost of your rent and it will also help you to lower the cost of your gas and energy usage too. In addition to saving on bills, you’ll also save on your business tax and even your utilities. This can go a long way and it can also make it way easier for you to keep an eye on the outgoings that you have.

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Reduce Staffing Costs

If your business has slow periods, it may be worth trying to reduce your staffing costs. Nowadays older employees are more than happy to take some unpaid time off so they can go on vacation or even see their family. If you want to get the best result out of your team chats then see if anyone would like to volunteer. You may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome and in some instances, you may be able to save a small fortune too. Another thing that you can do is to try and hire family members wherever possible. They will be much more flexible when it comes to payment and they may even be willing to give you some additional support when it comes to the finer details of your company too.

Always Barter

Bartering has been around for thousands of years, and it is a great way for you to get the edge on your competition . If you want to help yourself here, you need to try and talk with your vendors to see if they can give you a lower rate on any products you need. They may be willing to set up a contract, or even bulk discounts. If your current vendor is not willing to do this, there are other options available. For example, you can easily go to someone else and then revisit the original vendor with a counter-offer. Sometimes this is more than enough for them to loosen their pricing structure, and you may even end up getting a way better deal as a result.

Vehicle Expenses

If you are running a service or even a contract business that requires the use of a vehicle then you probably know how expensive it can be. Fuel and servicing costs for bigger vehicles or even crew can be astronomical. One way for you to reduce the costs of operating a fleet would be for you to buy used vehicles. It doesn’t even matter if the vehicles require a good level of repair either because it’s still way cheaper than you buying a new truck brand-new. If you still feel as though the expenses you’re paying are far too much, then it may be worth trying to reduce your fuel consumption. Diesel and hybrid vehicles can be more expensive for you to purchase but they can really pay off and they may even save you a small fortune in terms of maintenance too.

Cut down on Supply Costs

When it comes to supply costs, you have to make sure that you budget. As a business owner, you need to ensure that you constantly monitor supplies and that you also check for occasional discounts too. Don’t be afraid to look around and make yourself popular with suppliers. This can be done by paying your bills promptly and also displaying loyalty.

Cut Down on Advertisement Costs

A lot of businesses often spend 5% of the revenue that they get on advertising. This figure may be higher for service businesses, or those who are just starting out. With more and more customers shopping online when compared to ever before, it’s safe to say that you need to at least have a website or even a Facebook page. Having SEO and even television advertising is great and it can help your exposure, but they can also be expensive and they can put a real hole in your budget. One way for you to get around this would be for you to try and advertise organically through Facebook and Twitter. It doesn’t cost you anything to do this, and when you combine it with a weekly newsletter you will soon find that it’s easier than ever for you to gain a lot of traction with your customers.

Cut down on Insurance

Your annual insurance bill will probably cost you a small fortune every year. If you don’t have enough insurance however then this could be enough to bring your business to its knees, and this is something that you do need to make yourself aware of. If you want to help yourself, you need to annually review the insurance that you have. If you don’t feel as though you need one part of your policy anymore, get rid of it as this will save you a huge amount of money. If you have a larger business with a ton of insured assets, then it may be worth doing an asset review too. This will help you to make sure that you are not insuring assets that you no longer have.

Make the Most out of Your Time

If you are a business owner then you’ll know how important time management can be. Business owners should always be prioritising and they should also be using their time accordingly. If you don’t, this could have a huge impact on your bottom line and you may even find that your company suffers as a result. If business is slow then now is the time for you to invest more money into advertising. If your business is taking off and really getting sales then it may be a good idea for you to invest more in things like software or even additional ways for you to manage your workload. Either way, the way that you manage your time will make a huge difference to your business income and it will also help you to save on expenses too.

Watch your Energy Bills

If you have a ton of energy bills coming out, then something needs to be done. You need to make sure that you always turn off lights when they are not in use, and it also helps to keep an eye on standby technology. This will be eating away at your energy usage and it will also stop your business from being efficient too. If you want to do something about this, consider installing a motion sensor light in your offices or have a power strip that shuts everything off when you leave the premises. This will stop you from forgetting about those little things and it will also help you to be more green in general. Another thing that you can do if you work in the industrial sector is invest in slimline water tanks. When you do, you will be able to collect rainwater rather than using it from the business supply.

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Tax Bills

Minimising your tax bill is one of the best ways for you to save a lot of money over the year. You need to get in the habit of writing down exactly how much your business spends on things and you also need to make sure that you detail them properly too. Saving receipts and recording mileage is also essential, as this can all be claimed back at a later date. If you have family members who work in the same business as you then treat them as employees, and file for any expenses that they incur too. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it will help you to pay the right amount of tax when the end of the year comes along.

Utilise the Cloud

For a lot of businesses, cloud computing is a fantastic way for you to reduce the expense of your business. It can also help you to operate more efficiently too. When you invest in cloud computing, you don’t need to worry about maintaining your servers on-site and you also don’t have to worry about ongoing software upgrades either. You will have access to all of the applications you need with the flexibility of the cloud. If you want to get some additional support here, then consider chatting with the cloud providers in your area to see if they can talk you through the solutions they have.

Keeping Your Industrial Machinery In Tip-Top Condition

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you’re in an industry that uses it, maintaining your industrial machinery is critical. Maintaining it will allow your business to continue thriving. Neglecting it, will give the opposite result. The following contributed post is entitled, Keeping Your Industrial Machinery In Tip-Top Condition.

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If you’re in a business that uses a lot of heavy industrial machinery, then you’ll already know that it’s in your best interests to keep them in the best condition possible. For starters, they’re expensive, and second, how well they’re working directly impacts the success of your company. So there are advantages to making sure that everything is in order. However, it’s one thing to want to do this, and another to actually do it. So how do you make sure that your machines stay in the best condition? We take a look at a few tried and tested methods below.

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Invest in the Best

It’s not always true that you need to spend money to make money, but sometimes it is. And it is true when we’re talking about heavy industrial machinery. While there’ll be plenty of options available for you to buy (or rent), it’s generally sound advice to avoid the cheapest options out there. They might look better from a bank-balance perspective, but there will be a reason why they’re cheaper than other options. You might find that you’re continually running into problems that could have been avoided had you invested in a reliable machine.

The Right Systems

Since you’ll have invested a lot of capital into your machines, you’ll likely be getting heavy use out of your machines. But the more you push them, the greater the chance that something will go wrong. As such, it’s important that you have the right systems in place for your machines. For example, you’ll need to have a process cooling system. This will help to keep your machines operating at the maximum potential for longer. It’ll make your machines more reliable, too. If you don’t have these systems in place, then you’ll run the risk of unnecessary downtime.

Regular Maintenance

Industrial machines are complicated, and even if you’re investing in the best and using them wisely, then there’s always a chance that something will go wrong. While this is sometimes unavoidable, you can help to reduce the chances of it happening by scheduling regular maintenance for your machines. Having it looked over by a professional will mean that small issues are handled before they have a chance to become big problems. Make sure you have a timetable of maintenance for each of your machines — it’ll give you a little bit of downtime, but it’s better than having to replace it completely.

Employee Training

It’s unlikely that your machines are running all by themselves. They’ll have human hands doing a lot of the work. And there will be a big difference in the longevity of a machine that has been handled by a well-trained, responsible member of the team, and one that hasn’t. If you train an employee on how to use a machine, they’ll be able to identify any issues with it at the first sign. They’ll also be more likely to treat it with a level of care and understanding that’ll help to keep problems at bay, too.

Think About Protecting Your Business Online Today

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. So much of today’s business is done online today. There are individuals and entities out there who are looking to wreck havoc on even the smoothest running operations. The following contributed post is entitled, Think About Protecting Your Business Online Today.

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A lady called Paige Thompson gained access to 100 million credit card applications and accounts at Credit One in recent months. From social security numbers, names, addresses, credit scores, limits and balances, millions of customer records were violated. What does this mean for Capital One and it’s CEO Richard Fairbank? With Capital One and a string of other companies who have been hacked, it provokes uncertainty amongst the public and business owners about their data. Such as how the data breach occurred and what can be done to stop it. If you want to seek solutions and create a strong defence against criminals invading your business intelligence online, there are a few things you can do.

Anti-Virus Software

If you’re currently risking the safety of your business intel with no anti-virus software insight, you’re gambling with the likelihood of your data being deleted or tampered with by a virus, or stolen by cybercriminals. The type of software you will need depends on the scale of your current business. Only you can decide whether or not purchasing well-known software such as Akismet, McAfee or Norton 360 will suffice. Or alternatively, whether you need to hire an expert IT service company to defend your company information for you.

Back-Up Solutions

Whether you’re just starting out with a new business venture or running a long-standing successful company. Either way, you need to find a way to back up your business data immediately. Depending on the scale and type of information, your existing PC(s) hold will affect what source of back-up is right for your company. Your options span from purchasing an external hard drive to regularly back up your data and keep in a separate place away from your business. Alternatively, it could mean hiring a cloud service company to frequently back-up and store your data on your behalf. Or, it might mean purchasing large servers to continuously keep track of the mass of data your company consumes daily. Find the source of back-up that is right for you, and then revisit your processes regularly to assess whether you need to upgrade your back-up solutions.

Business VPN

A VPN for businesses provides end to end encryption for your company devices internet connections. This secures the network for your employees and makes it much safer to share company details while protecting your data from unauthorised access. Securing your internet connection this way prevents the issue of hackers, competitors, advertisers and the government from infiltrating your confidential digital files. Anti-virus software and firewalls are not sufficient enough to ward off threats alone, and so finding the best VPN for torrenting and securing your business data is a smart way to defend and protect your business activities online.

Now you’ve thought about protecting your business intel, it’s time to do something about it. Research the options that are appropriate for the scale of your company, incorporate anti-virus software on your systems and keep these updated. Find a route to back-up your files to keep them safe from intruders and of course, delve into using a VPN for your business to safely share your business information with end to end encryption.

The Importance of Business Resilience- in a Changing Climate

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the only constants in life is change. When running a business, one must keep their finger on the pulse of where things are going in order to survive. The following contributed post is entitled, The Importance of Business Resilience In a Changing Climate.

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The changing pattern of our climate is a hot topic of conversation these days, isn’t it? And the focus of much debate – understandably. But, if you’re in business, is its impact something you’ve given proper consideration to? It should be…

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Why is it important?

Businesses across the world need to build their resilience to extreme weather incidents – and prepare for climate change.

Virtually all sectors are affected by the impact of these factors on their supply chains, for example. As well as costs associated with any damage to properties, declining productivity, illness and accidents. And, if you’re involved in hospitality, food production, or construction – being resilient is especially crucial.

How you can respond

So how can you make sure your company is responsive to change – and able to deal with these issues effectively? The solutions are sometimes industry specific, but there are many key areas that everyone should look at.

The importance of planning

Firstly, you need to create a clear business continuity plan, which sets out your response to weather related challenges.

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What should it include?

Look at where you are now and analyse realistically how the weather affects you and your company. And draw up a business impact analysis too – taking into account all possible scenarios.

Set out the threats and potential benefits of any unexpected change in the weather – in the present. A warmer winter could result in increased disruption to supply chains due to flooding, for example, but fewer snow related ones. Or it could impact on your building’s fabric and structure – but make it easier and cheaper to heat. How do you respond ?

We’re not suggesting for a moment that changes themselves are positive – but that we have to be ready. Even more predictable fluctuations in climate, or weather incidents, need to be considered, in business.

Maintaining the right staffing levels

One important area to consider is your staffing level – and how to balance that alongside business demand.. If a heatwave or storm arrives, for example, you need to be ready – how will it affect you? Even more moderate switches in temperature or conditions will have an impact.

Staffing has been, and will be, a challenge in these kinds of situations so it’s crucial to have a well considered, robust plan in place. Imagine you own a small manufacturing company, for instance, and shut down operations because of storm warnings.

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It would be unfair to deny your employees a day’s pay if that forecast was inaccurate. And your profits would suffer. But, if you keep the doors open, that has to align with your legal obligation and duty to keep people safe. And maintain a functioning working environment. If you fail to meet the correct standards in all of these areas, your staff could rightly apply for workers’ compensation. This illustrates one of many practical applications of having accurate, timely information.

In conclusion, it’s crucial not to underestimate the effect of unpredictable weather conditions on your business. But, if you stay fully informed on their impacts and forward plan effectively, you can get ahead of potential challenges.

Then you will be best placed to respond successfully to a changing climate. And remain resilient.

Why Teamwork Is Essential In Your Business

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two of its key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Teamwork is critical in any organization and having the right staff working to together as a seamless unit, can make all the difference in the world in terms of achieving your mission. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Teamwork Is Essential In Your Business.

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Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

Teamwork is essential in business, if you have a team, then they won’t work well without teamwork, and your business will not succeed. Everyone must work together towards the same goals and achieve the targets. In your business, if it doesn’t already exist, then it is essential to instill a culture of working together and getting your team to bond. It is important for them as individuals as well as for your business, and here’s why:

Teamwork Brings New Ideas
Businesses can only succeed with new, fresh ideas as it’s such as competitive world out there. Your business has to bring something different and have a unique perspective, and businesses thrive when they have a team of diverse people who can contribute to individual ideas.

Teamwork Helps To Solve Problems
Two heads are better than one; four heads are better than two and so on. People working together can help solve difficult problems. Brainstorming is a great opportunity for your team to exchange ideas and come up with creative ways of doing things. By working together, teams can find solutions that work best.

Teamwork Gets The Best Result
Teamwork ensures that deadlines are met and that there’s high-quality work. If one team member falls behind, there are other people there to help, support, and to pick up the pieces. When work is divvied up among members of a team, it gets done faster, making the overall business operate more efficiently. Your team will develop a sense of comradery as you work toward a common goal.

Teamwork Builds Morale
You’ll feel that your work is valued when you contribute to something that produces results. If you offer an idea that helps improve productivity, such as a new filing system, confidence and trust are built within the team. Each different person has something special to bring to the table, and by working together, team members feel a strong sense of belonging and commitment to each other and the common goal they are working towards.

Teamwork Enhances Learning
What someone learns from their individual experiences is entirely different from someone else’s so as teamwork maximizes shared knowledge in the workplace and it helps people to learn new skills which they can use for the rest of their career. If you want to encourage more collaboration among your staff and enable them to learn more, then you can encourage this by improving the technology that your company uses, such as cloud computing.

Teamwork Builds Trusts
When you have to rely on other people, you have to learn to trust them. Teamwork helps to build strong relationships with coworkers, and while there will always be the occasional disagreement, an effective team enjoys working together and shares a strong bond. Trusting teammates also gives a feeling of safety and allows employees to open up and encourage each other. Working in a team means that people learn that winning and losing affects everyone on the team.

A team is one thing to have a team, but teamwork is something entirely different and very special.

3 Ways To Show Your Patients You Care In Your Healthcare Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. The Healthcare Business is one that will likely always be needed. That said as a business, there is still level of competition. How do you separate yourself from your competitors? The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Ways To Show Your Patients You Care In Your Healthcare Business.

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Running a healthcare business is much the same as any other business. If you show your customers that you care (or in this context, your patients), you will retain their loyalty and receive the financial rewards to your business. And if you don’t show that you care? Well, the reverse is true. You won’t be the only healthcare business in your community, and you might lose your patients to somebody who is doing more than you to care for their needs.

So, to ensure you stand out in the healthcare sector then, here are just a few of the ways that you can show your patients that you care.

1: Listen to what your patients have to say

Do your patients feel cared for? Are you meeting their needs? You would never know unless you asked them, so to ensure they know that you have their best interests at heart, make every effort to listen to what they have to say. This begins at the reception desk when your patients express their needs to your receptionist, and it continues into their appointments when they are talking to your healthcare professionals.

So, ensure your receptionist staff have customer training behind them. Make sure appointment times can be scheduled so your care staff have sufficient time to get to know and understand your patients. And ensure feedback forms are available, so if your patients have something to say, be it good or bad, you can then take the appropriate actions when necessary.

2: Show your patients your appreciation

If it wasn’t for your patients, you wouldn’t have a business, so to retain those that you do have on your books, show them that you care for their needs by finding ways to reward their loyalty to you.

So, you might offer your loyal patients discounted services, or you might show your appreciation by revamping your practice’s waiting areas. Check the medical fit-outs at Levitch, for example. You might also adopt an incentive scheme, so if your patients can direct others to your business, you might reward them with a free gift (such as an electric toothbrush if you were in dentistry) or money off their next visit.

What you do depends on the area of healthcare your business is in, but for some general inspiration, here are some other ideas on how to show patient appreciation. Your patients will then show you their appreciation by returning to your business.

3: Educate your patients

To show your patients that you care about their health needs, you can take extra steps to keep them informed. So, you might run special classes in your business, with expert advice from your clinicians and outside professionals to educate your patients on any health issues that pertain to their situation. You might also send out newsletters to your patients, be that through e-mail or snail mail, not only to market yourself to them but to give them new information that relates to their needs.

By educating your patients, you are showing them that you aren’t only interested in their money. They will see that you are going the extra mile to give them better care through the information you relay, and this will do them and your business a world of good.

Thanks for reading!

Mindful Ways to Challenge Your Consumerist Habits

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. A major part of winning with money is controlling and understanding your spending. Just controlling your habits as a consumer can effectively give you a raise. The following contributed post is entitled, Mindful Ways to Challenge Your Consumerist Habits.

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The world has turned us all into consumers at heart thanks to the wealth of money poured into promotional campaigns and marketing. It’s difficult to enter a conversation without some kind of brand being mentioned and no matter what common sense tells us, it’s hard to break free from the clutches of big-name companies that rip us off with their expensive purchases.

So in this post, we’re going to look at a couple of mindful ways to challenge your consumerist habits.

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Understand what makes you purchase things on impulse

Everyone has their own weaknesses when it comes to shopping. Some people just love certain colors, others always seem to buy excess clothes and some people just can’t resist a good deal. Once you understand what triggers your impulse purchases, you’ll have a much easier time combating them since you’re more mindful and can avoid those unnecessary purchases. You might even be affected by specific emotions, such as having a tendency to make large purchases when you’re feeling down or depressed. Once you recognize the patterns and find ways to deal with your triggers, you’ll save yourself a lot of money and regret from impulse buys.

Look at the hidden costs of each purchase you make

Every purchase you make comes with hidden costs that need to be considered in the long term. For instance, buying a new television might seem like a cool idea, but there are other costs involved outside of just the unit itself. For example, you might feel tempted to upgrade your subscription TV service for better quality, you might end up paying higher electricity costs and it might even tempt you to buy more DVD and BluRay films just to use your TV on a regular basis. This is just one example of how a seemingly innocent purchase can spiral out of control and make you spend a lot more than you would’ve first imagined.

Stop following what your friends and family members do

Just because your friends and family members are buying expensive Apple smartphones or going for Microsoft-only laptops and computers, it doesn’t mean that you need to follow with them. Your life is unique and so are your choices, so don’t let other people affect your purchase decisions. Instead, you should consider doing your own research such as looking at websites like ReviewNerds to make your own purchase decisions. Don’t just follow trends–look at what the purchase is for, understand what makes a good product or service and then make your own choice based on that information.

Do an inventory of your belongings to see how much you’re really spending

One of the best ways to realize just how much money you’re spending is to inventory all of your belongings. Look at your electronics and hobby-related items to get a better idea of just how much you’re actually spending on a regular basis. Once you realize that you’re spending far too much money on things and leaving them stored away never to be seen again, you’ll start to be more careful about your purchases.

Min-Maxing Your Finances

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A major part of your business is budgeting and controlling costs. Doing so will ensure your business’s success. The following contributed post is entitled, Min-Maxing Your Finances.

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When it comes to looking after your business, you need to be very clear about what is going in and what is coming out. Where your money is stashed, and how you can make the most of it.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

It is harder in the early days to truly see what is coming your way. But, that is why you need to really lay that business plan down and make sure your cash flow forecast is as tight as possible.

Here are some extra tips to help you make the most of your money when it really matters.

Accounting
It would do you well to hire a bookkeeper and accountant. You can, of course, get yourself some really good accounting software and so it yourself but that will only help you out for so long. You can weigh up the costs in advance and make your mind up based on the money that you have available at the moment.

Costs
No matter what it is, if you can get it cheaper – for the same quality, then do it. For example, if you know that you need a medical refrigerator, carpeting in your office, a new computer – anything. Do your research and make sure that you are going to get the cheapest that you can get. And whenever possible, you are going to need to haggle on the extras. More extended warranty, free delivery, and installation – always push for more.

Projections
Having very clear financial projections will be you are keeping a closer eye on where your money is and where it should be. It will have you anticipate where your significant costs are going to be leaving your accounts and to make sure you have a buffer for them,

Invoicing
It is so tempting to let invoicing slide. A friend of a friend purchased 6 of something, but can only pay for 2 and will give you the rest of the cash later on. You can’t run a business on a hope and a maybe. Here are some tips for your invoicing –

● Send out invoices as soon as possible
● Have a definite date that the money is due by
● Include your terms and conditions
● Have a late fee applicable after the payment date has passed
● Follow up after you send an invoice and mention you have submitted it – could they check it has been received?
● Keep your references in good order.

Business Banking
If you use your personal account for everything, it can get very messy, very quickly. It is better that you open a business bank account, so you can keep track of all of your business transactions. It is also better for you come tax time as everything can be added up very easily. You will also have a clearer idea of what your profit really is.

Pay
You should always pay yourself first. If you aren’t paying yourself first, and instead you are paying all the debts and services for your business, your profit is not your actual profit. You are supposed to be able to make a living from your company. Of course, you aren’t going to be taking a full wage in the early days, but enough to cover your personal expenses is going to be ideal.

Thrifty
There is a temptation that because you own a business, you can then act far too big for your boots. Renting expensive cars, hotel rooms, and very lovely meals – all to impress potential clients. But the fact is this will all still need to be paid for, and it is going to land on your shoulders. It is much smarter to take care of the pennies and cents at all times. Set your salary as low as you can, and you will find that the lean months pay off in the future.

Traveling
For some reason, so many freelancers and small business owners want to travel as much as they can. Which is great – the world is big and beautiful, but for those few thousand dollars on flights – you can have a skype call for free. Most of the time, it is not really cost-efficient or required to have a face to face meeting. So try and hold off on them for as long as possible.

Marketing
For as long as you can manage it, do your own marketing. There will come a time that you are going to want to work with another company but in the meantime – you will learn so much about your company, clients and reach that you can remain relatively hands-on and involved. As well as having a really great set of marketing skills and experience.

Rent or Buy
If you don’t need to buy a giant piece of machinery or a building, then simply don’t. In the early days of business throwing, stacks of cash at long term commitments can backfire massively if anything happens. So leasing equipment can help you avoid maintenance costs, and depending on the item, you might get the opportunity to get a new one every 12 months – which is pretty sweet.

Loans
If you need a business loan, then take one. You will be able to see what your finances are doing long before it happens. And if you know that there will be some rough patches coming up, you’ll need to have some bounce. If you have space to use your own capital and savings, then try to do that too. The key is to know what is a sinking ship, and what is a small blip.

Eyes wide open
When it comes to money, far too many people try to duck the situation and refuse to deal with cash when they have the opportunity – which is sad really, because many a small business could have been saved if people paid attention to the small change as much as they do the big numbers. Minimize your expenses and maximize your income by making smart decisions.

The Things You Need To Think About When Launching A Website

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Properly launching a website can make all of the difference in the world in terms of launching you business and or blog if you have one. The following contributed post is entitled, The Things You Need To Think About When Launching A Website.

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In the digital age that we live in, your website is going to be one of the most powerful tools your business can have when it comes to marketing. Launching a website and managing it can be quite a daunting job, especially if you have little or no experience. Don’t worry, though, because, in this article, we cover some of the things that will help to make launching and running a useful website a lot more straightforward.

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash

Carefully select your team.

Before you do anything, you need to choose whether you are going to do it all yourself, whether you will use an in-house web team or whether you will outsource to a third party. All of these options have their pros and cons, and most of it comes down to your budget and how much control you want over your website. Creating a site that looks good, but most importantly works with little downtime is a demanding and skilled job, so many decide to leave it to a professional. It is also worth having general IT backup from Real IT Solutions, Inc. to protect against any loss of data.

Develop the content

Before you spend ages building a website, you need to make sure that you have plenty of content prepared and ready to go on there. Many commercial sites now have a blog section, where they can share information, thoughts and relevant content linked to the industry, or give their clients and customers a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the business. One thing that you should be aiming for is not only to be selling your product or service to your audience but to be an industry expert. If you are using your website purely for sales, people will only come to your site when they are looking to purchase something. If you have a blog attached to it, people will be checking in regularly, so you need to be updating it regularly with fresh and exciting content. Google now considers interaction when ranking websites, so having material which encourages interaction and discussion with your customers will only help push your content higher up the search engine.

Social Media

You more than likely already have a presence on social media, but if you want to promote your website, it is even more critical. Business pages on Facebook and Twitter are essential, and Instagram is growing in popularity for businesses. Make sure that it is regularly updated, and that you don’t just push your own content. Try and aim for an 80:20 balance – 80% of your content should engage your customers and encourage interaction and conversation, and 20% should focus on your brand. Sharing content from other people may sound counterproductive, but it is the best way to find out what interests your customers, what they are looking for, and to increase the overall visibility of your website.

Make sure it all works.

Before you go live with your website, make sure every aspect of it works. This includes looking at every page, and every link, every plugin that you may use in the backend, any analytics software that you are using, and that is mobile responsive. Check regularly – broken links can be infuriating for your customer and can also harm your website ranking if there are too many, so make sure you update or remove if they are flagged up.

How To Find Your Property Investment Niche

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Investing in real estate can be very lucrative if you know what you’re doing. No matter which part of it you choose to get into, much of succeeding in the real estate investment game involves finding the right property. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Find Your Property Investment Niche.

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If you are considering getting into the property market, you may want to explore the possibility of finding a niche area in which to grow your investment portfolio.

While many people will buy based on the outlay, and the level of work needed to a property before renting or selling-on; so many investors don’t focus their attention on specific areas of investment. Being a specialized investor will allow you to develop significant experience within your sector. Once you have gained that, you can apply your knowledge into getting the best investments.

Investing In Apartments

Often, private investors overlook buying apartments. With an ever-growing population, particularly in concentrated urban areas, apartment living is trendy. A small space within a popular area with excellent links to business hubs, as well as social amenities offers the opportunity for a premium price tag when it comes to renting or selling on.

Take, for example, at these Zetland apartments. Zetland is an area of Sydney that is currently undergoing gentrification and urban renewal. Businesses will begin to flock to the city once developments are completed. Buying into an area that looks set for a significant culture shift now, would pay dividends when the demand for real estate in the neighborhood hits its peak in the coming years.

HMOs

Houses of multiple occupancies, or HMO for short, offer a high return on investment. By splitting the property into smaller flats or apartments, you can have various rental streams. You will have more tenants to manage. However, you can always hire a letting agency to deal with this process for you.

Given a substantial rise in HMO properties, and the prevailing of landlord exploitation of tenants, there are quite a few regulations surrounding HMOs. It is recommended that you research the specific rules in your area, as you may be required to have a license and undergo regular inspections.

You may want to consider renting this type of property out furnished. And, often, due to the nature of the property it is common to include any utility bills within the rental cost.

Generally speaking, the yield on a house of multiple occupancies is significantly higher than a single-occupancy property of similar square footage.

Student Lets

Students offer an excellent opportunity to gain maximum rental potential from a property. Again, this is similar to an HMO in that you may want to divide up a property into smaller units or rent out on a room-by-room basis. Student rentals are generally in very high demand, and you are almost guaranteed to find tenants. Your income will be dependant on term times, so consider using the summer holidays for any refurbishment works that need doing.

Holiday Lets

Buying to rent out in a popular holiday area can provide an excellent yield during peak seasons. As you will generally be letting on a nightly, weekly, or fortnightly basis, the price can be much higher than if you were to rent out a property permanently.

You will need to consider any downtime, such as periods where there are less likely to be visitors to the area such as during the winter months.

You will also need to market the property continually, and also deal with housekeeping whenever visitors leave.