Category: Financial Literacy and Money

Creating a Successful Business from You Art

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The art business is a niche all with its own caveats and nuances. If you’re interested in this type of business, it’s important to know how be successful it its unique arena. The following contributed post is entitled, Creating a Successful Business from You Art.

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To build a business with your art there are three things you need to do. Of course, the most important is to be able to create work that people want, but you also need to be able to market what you have produced and put the whole thing on a proper business footing.

Create Appealing Work

This is the first thing you have to do as without any appealing work you will not make any sales. You need to make work, whether that is painting, sculptures or some other art form that people will be prepared to pay for and then you will have taken the first step.

Research Your Target Audience

Once you know the type of work you are producing you will need to do some research to find the audience that is most likely to buy it. There is no point in marketing to consumers that will not purchase items of art, as that will just be a waste of your time and effort.

There are also other things you need to be aware of such as how big is the potential market you will be aiming to engage with, and what competition are you up against? Information like this can affect your marketing strategy and the time spent on research will be well spent.

You also need to know the best places to show your pieces of work. Would that be in a public exhibition space, a commercial gallery or a studio of your own that consumers can have access to?

You can make it simple for fans of your work to connect with you by using the various social media platforms. Posting images of your work on the like of Facebook and Instagram can create a lot of interest in your products. Joining local art groups can also help to build a circle of fans that will hopefully become future customers.

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Develop A Business Plan

Businesses do not just happen; you have to work at them for success. You should start with a business plan to work out how much finance you will need when you expect sales to start to happen and how much work you need to produce each week to make the business viable.

There are other things to consider too, such as how will you move a piece of art to the address of the purchaser. There are specialist art movers that deal with these matters, but you need to have spoken to them and let them know that you may need their services in the near future.

Having Business You Love

It is really good to be able to turn a passion into a business and if you are prepared to work hard and plan every stage there is no reason why this should not work for you. Creating a successful business from your art is a great idea and one that you should start on now and not just leave it as an idea to be forgotten.

Common Mistakes Companies Make When Buying New Tools

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending on the type of business or company you’re in, there will come a time when you’ll need to upgrade you tools and technologies. Doing so properly will prevent any interruption in your operations, while doing it incorrectly can interrupt your operations. The following contributed post is entitled, Common Mistakes Companies Make When Buying New Tools.

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Buying new tools for your business? Here are a few common tool-buying mistakes to avoid.

Skimping on quality

When it comes to tool quality, you get what you pay for. Cheap tools tend to be less reliable and less efficient, especially if you’re buying used tools. As a result, you’re likely to pay more in repairs and replacements in the future. Such tools also tend to look cheap, which won’t do any good for your professional image.

Consider the factors that affect quality control before buying and research into these. If you’re buying a cutting tool for instance, consider the cutting tool material. You’ll generally pay extra for this added quality, but it’s worth it in the long run.

Splurging on gimmicks

Whilst spending a little extra could guarantee better quality, you should avoid splurging your money on tools beyond your needs. If you need to buy a printer for your office, consider whether you really need an industrial printer capable of printing hundreds of copies per minute. Make sure that you’re likely to use the tool to its full potential.

Buying single-use tools that could be hired

If you’re using a tool once, there’s no use in buying it only for it to gather dust for the remainder of its life. When it comes to these tools, use rental companies to hire them for a short period instead. You’ll save a lot of money by doing this. Just make sure to hire from a reputable company – the best companies will look after their equipment and ensure that it is top quality.

Using too many different brands

Whilst you don’t need to stay completely loyal to one brand, there are advantages to having several tools of the same brand. Firstly, it’s likely that such tools may have similar controls – a die cutter and a vacuum mold machine from the same company may have similar buttons and dials making it easier to learn the controls. There may also be a certain level of integration and cross-compatibility. Hand-held tools of the same brand for instance tend to use the same battery packs or the same chargers. Two types of software from the same brand meanwhile may be linked together so that you can easily move data from one to the other.

Overlooking energy-efficiency

This one applies only to electrical machinery, but it’s an important factor to consider. Machinery that uses up lots of electricity will cost you more in energy bills. Such machines tend to be older used machines – most modern machines are very energy efficient. You can usually find energy ratings for machinery online.

What It Takes To Be A Great Business Leader

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many people want to start businesses know much about becoming great leaders of business. There are a couple of keys to it, and the following contributed post is entitled, What It Takes To Be A Great Business Leader.

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Leadership is a funny thing. Many people compare themselves to a lion, and there are many memes that talk about how to be fierce and forceful. But perhaps a real leader looks more, a wolf. One single leader, with a pack underneath them that includes workers, managers, and the weak and elderly.

But what does it take to be a great business leader? To have the acumen of people like Kheng Ly, to take things and turn them into success stories?

Photo by Eva Blue on Unsplash

Work With Your Strengths

Not everyone is good at everything, and personality matters. Being ‘strong’ looks different is pretty much any situation. But working with your personality, knowing what makes you tick can help you as you then put that to use and learn how to get the best out of other people. Being open and knowing where your personal weaknesses are is a great asset. You don’t have to label them as a weakness either, acknowledge their existence and work with them. Your personality will be a big part of your brand, and it should be celebrated rather than broken down and rebuilt.

Flexibility

Business changes so quickly it can make your head spin. Being able to roll and adapt is going to make a real difference in how you run your empire. Seeing when things are going to disrupt your company and making the necessary changes will mean that your staff and support won’t feel a significant impact, but instead, they will be able to adjust too. Following the example, you have set.

Care

While you do need to keep a keen eye on your bottom line, you also need to be aware of your staff, production line, and the people all the way down to the office cleaners. Showing that you care about their job and them as a person. Learning names, building an office ecosystem that rewards your staff and being available when you are needed will make a huge impact. Remember in Happyness, when the 5 dollars was returned? It can be something as simple as repaying kindnesses.

Focus

Focusing on your goals is going to be essential to getting things done. Avoiding distractions and not getting pulled into things that just don’t make an impact on your business is one of the best things that you can do for yourself and your business.

Authenticity

You can’t build a global brand if you are faking it. This feeds into the point about personality and your strengths too. Develop your own voice, one that staff and customers can all trust. Leaders, in most cases, can be trusted and speak honestly on any topic – no matter how difficult.

Great leadership comes in many forms, some people are said to be natural born leaders due to their confidence and curiosity, others get there in time while growing their own voice and learning. Leadership isn’t always about leading the charge, it is often about being at the back supporting others in their goals too.

Taking Care Of Your IT In Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s modern age, most businesses use some form of technology. Information Technology (IT) services that aren’t operating properly can be costly and hurt productivity and thus their maintenance is paramount. The following contributed post is entitled, Taking Care Of Your IT In Business.

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Any business in the world needs to use a considerable amount of IT if they are to keep on top of things and to keep moving in the right direction. If you are starting up a new business, and you are unsure how to approach the whole issue of IT, then there are many things that you might want to consider in order to make it a little easier. For most entrepreneurs, the tech behind a business is one of the more challenging aspects, and it might be something that you find you need to work on in order to improve it and keep the business going strong. In this article, we are going to take a look at just some of the things you might want to do in order to properly take care of your IT. Do that, and you will find that your business is much better off for it.

Only Have What You Need

One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is trying to get technology to do absolutely everything, even that which is clearly not intended to be completed in that way. The trouble with overusing tech is that you only end up causing more issues for yourself, as you inevitably will find that you are going to have to spend more time fixing and keeping it running than the amount of time you will have saved by using it. Therefore, you should make a point of only making use of technology where you need to, so that you can hope to keep it as simple as possible, and also keep the process of looking after it simple too.

Outsource IT

Something that the vast majority of business do these days is outsource their IT. There are many great benefits to doing this, and it is one of those things that you will find you absolutely have to do if you run a smaller business or a startup. When you outsource your IT, you effectively free up time and space in your own business for whatever else you want to do. At the same time, you will find that it is inevitably going to be looked after considerably better, and that you will run into few problems. Any problems that remain are likely to be fixed quickly by that team, and you might never even heard of it. If you visit https://www.ribbitbusiness.com/ you will see a great example of this kind of service which you might want to consider for your business.

Consider Training

If you do have any IT teams in your building, you will want to make sure that they know exactly what they are doing. In order to do that, you will need to think about training them up wherever necessary, in order that you might be able to keep the IT running as smoothly as possible. The more training you give them, the more likely it is that they will be able to do whatever is required to keep it going.

How Does EDDM Work?

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key aspect of any business is marketing and there are several ways to market. Marketing need not be high-tech with a lot of bells and whistles and can sometimes be simple. The following contributed post is entitled, How Does EDDM Work?

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If you’re looking to put your small business on the map, have you thought about embracing the tried and tested marketing concept of EDDM, or every door direct mail? If you’re keen to increase customer numbers, target a local audience or get your name out there, this could be an excellent way to attract more attention. If you’re not familiar with EDDM, here’s a handy infographic to tell you more.

EDDM is different to conventional direct mail marketing, and it is ideally suited to businesses that want to reach out to clients in the local area. Using a service offered by the United States Postal Service, you can use EDDM to advertise your business to local residents.

The process involves a series of steps, the first of which is to create a USPS account. Once you’ve done this, use the map to select a route and choose areas to cover. The next stage is to design your flyers, postcards or leaflets. For the best outcomes, keep things simple, and make sure you get your brand message across in addition to the services you offer, your contact details and information about any promotions. Next, print your mailpieces at home or via a printing company and select a drop-off date. Arrange your mailpieces in tidy stacks of 50-100 sheets that are no higher than 6 inches. Fill out your processing forms, attach a facing slip to each order and then pay for the shipping online via your USPS account. Finally, take your bundles to the post office on the drop-off date selected and your customers will receive them shortly after.

If you’re searching for a local marketing method that will drive your business forward, why not consider EDDM?


Infographic design by Direct Mail by Catdi Printing

How to Get the Most from a Recruitment Company

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending on the type of business you’re running, a key to success is recruiting the right talent mix. Recruitment companies can valuable tools in these instances. It’s important to understand how to get the most out of your partnerships with them. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, How to Get the Most from a Recruitment Company.

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When you need to find the best talent but don’t have time to sift through 100s of average applications to find “The One”, you should definitely consider hiring a recruitment company. Recruiters spend all their time matchmaking talented executives with their ideal roles. This means that while you have to start from scratch every time, they already have a great talent pool to choose from.

However, when you hire a recruitment company, you can’t just pick the first one you happen to stumble across. You need to look for certain qualities that suggest that you will work well together, and though a brilliant executive recruiting portfolio is a good place to start, it’s not the be all and end all of partnerships. You have to put some work in too.

Knowing Who You Are as a Business

When you are working on your branding, you are most concerned with how your customers see you. But when you are looking for new talent, you also need to think about how your company reputation will be seen on the job market.

Communicating your company ethos to your recruiter is vital as they will be able to use this information to refine the candidates they present. It’s important to remember that when candidates approach recruiters, they are also looking for something specific. By showing off your company’s personality, you are much more likely to attract someone who will fit in.

Employees aren’t just looking for a steady paycheck anymore, they want a healthy culture and greater prospects too. When you are looking for new talent, don’t forget that the interview goes two ways. They will be looking for the qualities they want too.

Knowing What You Are Looking For

Writing a job description is much more than a list of responsibilities, it should also clarify the type of person you are looking for and how they will fit in with the rest of the team. It’s at this point that you really need to be certain about what you want. The job description is also a good chance to put across a bit of your company’s personality so please don’t hide behind buzzwords!

Though you might be determined to get an experienced candidate in, the reality is that most people who use recruiters are looking for roles that will challenge them and build their skill sets. This is important to remember because it’s pretty rare for someone to make a sideways move. Instead of looking for experience, you should be looking for potential.

Look for the Best in Every Applicant

When you have a list of requirements, it’s pretty easy to work through applications and simply discard those that don’t immediately tick every box. Instead of doing this, you should give every applicant a fair chance to show you their best – and this goes for the interview too.

Recruiters are bound to send you a few curve balls now and then so take the time to see how these applicants might fit in. You never know when you might hire the person who makes a real difference to your company.

The Benefits Of Starting On The First Rung Of Any Business Ladder

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Career Discussions. Arguably the most critical aspect of your experience in the business world or any career is your start. There are advantages to breaking in on the ground level versus ascending right away. The following contributed post is entitled, The Benefits Of Starting On The First Rung Of Any Business Ladder.

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When it comes to starting in any career, most of us are loathe to start at the bottom. It’s no wonder when you consider that such jobs tend to involve long hours for little pay. Not to mention that, if you have your eyes on the prize, low-rung jobs may not be anything like the positions you imagine yourself in. Instead, then, we ignore those starting jobs and reach for the skies.

The trouble is that, while vision is crucial, it’s not always the best way to get a job. Often, aiming for high positions when entering an industry will set you back. There’s no way, after all, that you’ll be able to stand out against someone who’s worked their way up. Even if you do manage to get a high role from the off, you may find everything a struggle. You won’t know what you’re doing, after all, and that will be plain to everyone around you.

While reaching high is essential, then, you could see the following benefits by sucking it up and starting at the bottom.

It’s the easiest way into any industry

Breaking into a new industry is never easy. Even qualifications aren’t a sure bet into a decent job anymore. Now, employers love to see experience. And, that’s not something you’ll have if you’re starting. As such, you may find that you don’t even get interviews when applying for those higher roles. By comparison, the first rungs of most ladders are entry positions. They don’t require experience or even qualifications in many cases. Yet, they could provide your resume with the boost you need to get to the top.

You’ll be able to learn from the bottom up

When you gain a high position, it’s always beneficial to know every area of the business you’re in. All the better for running things smoothly and keeping on top. The trouble is that there’s no way you can do this if you enter at the top. You’ll have no clue about those bottom rungs you bypassed, and that can be problematic. By comparison, starting at the bottom and working your way up is a sure way to success when you reach the top. Consider professionals like Anton Kalafati of B Side Construction, who managed to work his way to up to be a majority owner in a leading company. His beginnings as an on-call repairman are part of the reason why he’s able to keep things afloat. Follow in his footsteps by accepting that lower position and learning everything you can from the bottom up.

A sure way to earn respect

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It’s no surprise that, if you enter a field from the top, you’re going to struggle to gain respect. Employee engagement is near enough impossible when you’re attempting to manage a team who know more than you do. That’s a fact. If, however, you’ve worked in their positions before, you’re pretty much guaranteed more respect. You’ll undoubtedly be able to manage everyone better as a result.

5 Ways To Make A Fleet of Vehicles More Affordable

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. For those who get into it, the trucking industry can be very lucrative if run the correctly. A major component is managing your fleet so that it runs as efficiently as possible. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways To Make A Fleet of Vehicles More Affordable.

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Owning and maintaining a fleet of vehicles can be very expensive. If you’re looking to trim costs for your company, here are five ways in which you can make owning a fleet more affordable.

Weigh up the costs of leasing vs buying

There are two ways to acquire a fleet of vehicles – lease them or buy them. Both options can have their financial perks which are worth considering.

Leasing involves paying a monthly fee to effectively rent out the vehicle. This saves on initial costs. Whilst maintenance is still your responsibility, leased vehicles tend to be brand new and so are generally more reliable, saving you money in repairs.

Buying vehicles could be more expensive initially, but it can be cheaper in the long run. That said, the most affordable vehicles to buy are likely to be used vehicles, which may require more frequent repairs.

In either case, always buy through an official vehicle dealer. By shopping around and negotiating you may be able to lower costs.

Shop around for fleet insurance deals

Insuring every vehicle in your fleet can also be a big cost. Fleet insurance can save you a lot of money compared to insuring each vehicle individually. Make sure to shop around thoroughly to find the best deal at comparison sites such as this one.

You should also consider some of the factors that affect fleet insurance such as the quality of your drivers, the quality of your vehicles and your claim history. Adding surveillance cameras to all your vehicles could also save you huge amounts (this provides insurers with footage of any accident that occurs and can make drivers take more care behind the wheel).

Track your vehicle’s running costs

It could also be a good idea to track the running costs of each vehicle. When it comes to fuel, consider getting your drivers to log their fuel or to use a card as found at this website. This could help to ensure that drivers aren’t spending too much on fuel.

As for vehicle maintenance, keep a record of this too so that you know how much you’re spending in repairs on each vehicle. Try to shop around to beat repair quotes (just make sure to read reviews of repair centres so that you know you’re likely to get good quality service).

Tracking these expenses could be useful simply for tax purposes as they’re likely to be tax deductible. Make sure that you’re deducting all the expenses that you’re entitled to.

Prioritise energy efficiency

Encouraging energy-efficiency is important for saving you money on fuel. This should start by choosing the right type of vehicle – ideally you want something with a high MPG. Modern vehicles tend to be greener than older ones, so factor this in when choosing a vehicle.

Taking steps to encourage energy-efficient driving can also make an impact too. This could include rewarding drivers that drive more smoothly and conserve more fuel. This guide offers just a few incentives that could help you to encourage drivers to watch their fuel consumption. You may also be able to recommend routes to save time and fuel. Be careful however of laying down too many rules regarding how to drive and this may negatively affect the morale of your drivers.

Know when to replace vehicles to save costs

It’s important to know when to replace vehicles too so that you can save costs. Many companies overextend the life cycle of their vehicles to the point that parts start deteriorating. This results in more frequent repairs and more costs.

By keeping a record of repair expenses for each vehicle you can tell when a vehicle is starting to cost too much in maintenance – at this stage it’s best to cut your losses and buy a new vehicle.

Seasonal Business and Your Company: Things You Can’t Afford To Forget

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Seasonal businesses are in a class all their own. They have their own unique considerations and rules to think about if you’re getting involved in one. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Seasonal Business and Your Company: Things You Can’t Afford To Forget.

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Everyone in business knows that success levels tend to fluctuate with the seasons. Of course, to make the most out of this as possible it’s crucial that you know what to expect at the different times of the year. Luckily, that is something you can find out by reading the post below.

Spring

For many businesses, spring can be partially busy. After all, it’s past the winter lull brought on by Christmas the New Year and trade should be steadily picking back up again. Of course, there is the end of the tax year to think about as well, which can make the month of April particularly challenging.

Although it’s worth noting that if you get your accounts up to date for all months apart from this beforehand, you can save yourself the April tax rush and make it much easier on everyone too.

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Additionally, spring is the right time of year to start thinking about any possible issues you may encounter some summer. That means not only getting in an air conditioning contractor to service your current units, but also get extra ones installed if you are expecting it to be a hot year.

Additionally, taking some time to check who is off when during the summer vacation is a smart move, as then you can start filling any absences early to be sure that things keep on running as usual.

Summer

For some business, especially hospitality ones, and retail that focus on vacation items, simmer is their busiest time. This means that while many companies are slowing down for the summer vacation, they need to keep their focus on fulfilling orders and keeping things ticking over.

Additionally, any business whose busiest time is Christmas will need to begin thinking about new lines around this time. After all, they will have to be developed and produced ready for the beginning of December, so the sooner that you start, the better.

Autumn

Autumn tends to be reasonably constant for most business news whether they are B2B or retail. In fact, you can often expect a short lull once the kids have gone back to school in September. However, due to all the celebrations in autumn such as Halloween and harvest festival, many businesses can expect custom to rise this season steadily.

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Of course, that means that your business needs to keep up, so be sure that you have the staff and resources to cover any increased demand!

Winter

Depending on the type of business you have, winter can be your most hectic, or slowest time. Companies that sell to other companies tend to slow down around Christmas because of the break that most people take.

Although those in or supplying the hospitality industry will still be busy. To that end it’s important to know your business well, so you are able to predict if you will need to increase or reduce resources and staff.

Additionally, if you are in a location where weather can cause issues with deliveries and people getting into work, then it’s pretty crucial that you come up with a plan B For when the snow starts to fall. Otherwise, even if it’s your burst time customer wise, you may not have anyone to work which can be devastating to your business!

Settling Your Fears When Considering Your First Home

One of the key focuses of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. One of the largest investments any of us will ever make is our primary residence. There can be a lot of fear associated with purchasing one’s first home. The following contributed post is entitled, Settling Your Fears When Considering Your First Home.

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Your first home is often one of the largest milestones of our life. Of course, we enjoyed living in our childhood place, but there’s something much more prominent, and something that signifies the next chapter of our lives when we decide to purchase a home. But, like anything exciting and anything signifying wonderful change, it might be that this progression scares you a little. That’s good. It shows that you care.

But too much fear and you’ll neglect making a move at all. Sometimes a nice middle-ground can be found, and might give you more to think about while still helping you structure your cautioned approach. Settling your fears when considering your first home is not an easy task, but it can be achieved if you consider the underlying foundations of why this decision is being made in the first place.

With the following advice, we hope you can move forward, or pause this approach, with a little more surety.

Square Yourself Away Financially

It’s essential for you to have an ideal idea of what your financial limits are when considering a home. If you have slightly less than that you might need to set yourself up ideally? It might be worth waiting just to grow your savings a little more. If now is a fantastic time to invest in a certain area and you can stretch to the cost relatively comfortably? It’s worth considering. This is where SBA loans can come in very handy, as with an excellent arrangement you may not need to worry about staying within too-difficult limits, and instead give yourself that room to breathe.

Longevity

It might be that the idea of signing yourself away to a financial commitment that could last decades is worrying. Well, that’s true. Thinking so far ahead in the future could be a strange prospect to even consider, especially if you’re only just married or have only just brought a baby into the world, and are having to deal with those responsibilities too. This is where considering the current progression of your life is important. Remember, you won’t experience all that time in one fell swoop. You’ll take it one day at a time. If your relationship has been incredibly stable, if you have the support structure in place, if you have job security or alternate transferable skills, it might be that the future is something you know you can deal with. Plus, it will only get easier as you progress.

Jumping In Blind

It can be hard to know if you’re making the right decision. What if the home has hidden damage and rot you miss when inspecting it? What if this area isn’t as nice as it might have been advertised? What if you might not be guaranteed a spot in the best local school when your child grows? This is why it’s best to conduct research as you grow, to prevent jumping in blind yes, but also to give you a competent means of understanding the finer deals. With hired professionals to help you inspect or conducting online research, you will tick off those variables well.

With these tips, you’re sure to settle your fears well when the prospect of finding home ownership comes up.