Category: Financial Literacy and Money

Old School And New Approaches: Essentials For Running A Store In The Modern World

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. Doing business has changed significantly in today’s digital/information age. Many ‘brick and mortar’ retail stores have folded altogether, while others have had to rethink their business models in order to survive. What are the keys to running store in the modern world? The following contributed post is entitled; Old School And New Approaches: Essentials For Running A Store In The Modern World.

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There are two schools of thought when it comes to setting up a retail store in the modern world. Firstly, you may find that your target audience doesn’t physically go shopping, but prefer to go online. But, conversely, the demand for a physical store in recent years has seen a rise. And if you are selling products of various types, the temptation could be to go via an online marketplace, but you could find that you are neglecting certain parts of your target market. But, are there things we can do to harness the online capabilities with the offline capabilities in a physical setting?

Implementing The Quick Checkout Service
The best way to marry the fast checkout service of an online store with the personal approach to the modern retail store is to have online payment services inside the store. The vast majority of stores have self-service methods to pay now, as well as various ways in which to provide payment, such as through your cell phone. But in addition to this, you need to still implement a personal approach to your customers, and this can be quite tricky to get right because it depends on each individual customer. At the end of the day, the customers come into a physical store because they want ease of access to a product, and they want to see it themselves. So, as soon as they find that the product suits their needs, they want to be able to pay for it without lengthy queues. On the other hand, others still prefer that old school approach. Implementing both covers all bases.

Taking Responsibility For Your Customers
And as the physical setting requires a lot more consideration in relation to health and safety, this means that you have a few more things to consider in comparison to an online store. Whether this is employers liability insurance just in case of accidents in your store, or ensuring there’s enough space for your customers to walk around, this is a deft combination of legal compliance with common sense. Taking responsibility for your customers isn’t just relating to the safety side of things, but also ensuring they have a good experience in your store, and this boils down to how your employees interact with the customers.

Looking After Your Workers
A very easy thing to overlook nowadays is the impact that your workers can have on the customers. Because personal interaction is at an all-time low, with the reliance of the internet to do the vast majority of our work for us, the personal touch is a very difficult thing to achieve. This is why you have to work with your employees to ensure that they are not just representing your store properly, but they have the common courtesy that we demand as customers. But in addition to this, the retail industry is notoriously underpaid and overworked, which this is something else you have to think about when it comes to making your employees work effectively for you, but that they’re also happy in the position.

The best retail store is a component of the old school personal methods, with the modern technological approaches. It’s a tricky balance, but they are both essential in the modern retail store.

Could You Be Making It Easier For Your Employees? Here’s What To Think About

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A key to effectively doing business in today’s world is creating the best possible work environment for your employees. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Could You Be Making It Easier For Your Employees? Here’s What To Think About.

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When it comes to running your business often as you start to expand, you get to the point where you may end up having employees working for you. However, if you do end up having employees working for you, then you may want to ensure that you do what you can keep them happy. After all, happy employees means a happy and productive business workforce. So what can you do to make things easy? I thought I would help you by sharing some of the things your and your business could do.

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Making the working environment comfortable

One of the first things you may want to think about is the working environment that you have for your staff and whether or not you feel that it is comfortable. There are things that you can do to ensure this. First off, thank about their workstation and seating, their desk and where they are positioned. You may want to think about room temperature, not too hot out too cold especially on hot and cold days outside. You may also want to think about the facilities you have in place, such as drinking water, places to store food and drink for lunch breaks and lastly whether there is outside space for fresh air. These things can make life easier on your employee in terms of how they feel in work.

Making the work levels simpler for your employees

There are things that you may want to think about internally to help simplify the workload that you have for your employees. Such as document management. After all, there is a likelihood that there will be a lot of documents passing through your business. Things like invoices and receipts, contracts and signed papers, and a software system to manage them may help matters. This is when looking into websites like https://www.templafy.com/document-management-software/ could really help you out.

Keeping your staff and employees safe

When you have staff and employees working for you, you have a responsibility to ensure that you keep them safe. So you may want to think about how you can do that as an employer. Things like having a decent health and safety p-solicit in place is probably a good place to start. Regular rose assessments and ensuring things are checked over is a great way to do this. It can often be the simple things such as this, that can have employees feeling valued and respected while they are in the working environment. Having a policy booklet on hand can also help ensure that everyone is aware of the policies your business has in place.

Being approachable as a boss

Finally, being approachable as a boss is a crucial to ensuring that you can keep things going. Your employees will need to feel comfortable talking to you about things such as their career development, but also feel comfortable and confident enough to talk to you about personal issues that may involve them having time off etc. Being approachable is something you may need to work on, but it could help ensure that you do right by your employees and your business. Articles such as https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141008154953-152548954-6-steps could help you do this better.

I hope that these tips help you make things easier for your employees.

Finding Your Target Audience

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A major key to succeeding in the business world is understanding your target audience and clientele base. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Finding Your Target Audience.

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When it comes to creating a marketing strategy for your company, one of the things you will want to think about is finding the right people to market your business towards. There is no point for example trying to market a teen fashion brand to people in their 50s and visa versa. In order to get your name out into the world and be as successful as you can in your business you need to make sure to find the right audience and target all of your marketing to them.

Business or Consumer?

The first and easiest question you can ask yourself to narrow down your market is whether you are aiming to sell to businesses or consumers. Both b2c and b2b sales have their own style of marketing and you will notice that B2B companies will often be more formal with their work than B2C because it is seen as more appropriate. Make sure you know which one you are going to choose for your business and this will have a big impact on the type of content and the tone of voice you use later on.

Age and Gender?

One of the biggest things you will need to consider when looking for your ideal target audience is their age and their gender. Let’s say for example that you plan to sell birth control products or sanitary products. You can’t focus your marketing towards men because this wouldn’t make any sense, and similarly you wouldn’t target it to women who are under the age of 13 or over the age of 60. Make sure you understand how your product or service is going to fit into people’s lives and how you can put across your point in a clear and interesting way.

Hobbies and Interests

One of the other things you can bring into your decision as far as your target audience goes is their hobbies and interests. With sites like google analytics you can monitor what your audience is interested in and this allows you to use their hobbies as part of your marketing campaign. For example let’s say you are a food company and you often share recipes on social media to demonstrate your cookware. You might notice that a lot of the people who follow you and engage with your brand also enjoy Game Of Thrones. Here is the ideal opportunity for you to create some Game Of Thrones style video content such as a recipe for Arya Stark’s Pie, Daenerys’ dragon eggs or the beer which the nightwatch drink at the wall. Think of being relevant and make sure that you can interact with your audience on a meaningful level.

Who will value the product?

When you are trying to gain an insight into who will use your products, think about what everyday problem your product solves. If you are selling a bathroom cleaning product which can make the job much easier, to won’t be targeting this towards teenagers. You would instead be targeting it for new homeowners and anyone who stays at home for work or runs their home full time. Really sit down and think about what your product does, what value it will add to your customers lives, and who would appreciate it the most. This will allow you to narrow down your audience easily to find the ideal one for you.

Choosing Social Media Platforms

When it comes to finalising your target audience and narrowing down the field of who you will market towards going forward, the main way you can do this is to choose a social media platform which fits in with the customers you are looking to target. For example, if you are a fashion brand looking to target women between the ages of 18-30, the best social media site for you would be Instagram, because most of Instagram users fall into this demographic. Think about what social media accounts will suit the type of content you share and who exactly you need to reach out to.

Creating great content

Now that you have chosen your target audience and you are set up on social media, you need to start making content to draw them in. People are visual beings and video content is becoming more and more popular on platforms outside YouTube. If you are struggling to know what kind of content you should create, you can always take a look at your competitors and see what kind of things that they are doing. This can be a huge help and it will give you the inspiration and ability to get out there and reel in your customers.

Healthcare Business Ideas You Can Set Up Yourself

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, and Business and Entrepreneurship. It is predicted that there will be a lot of opportunities for growth in the Healthcare industry. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Healthcare Business Ideas You Can Set Up Yourself.

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If you are looking for a business idea which makes a big difference to people’s lives, you need look no further than setting up a healthcare company. With a rising and ageing population, there is always going to be a demand for a wide range of products and services directly related to people’s health and wellbeing. There is also more of a widespread focus on health and wellness than there has ever been before. However, you may feel like you need a bit of focus when it comes to what sort of healthcare business you would like to establish. To give you a helping hand, here is some inspiration in this regard, here are some possible ideas about the type of company that you could set up.

Home Healthcare Service

Nowadays, there is a greater and greater strain being put on hospitals. And as beds continue to fill up, there is a call for more healthcare at home to pick up the slack. Just some of the types of people who could utilise home healthcare include those recently discharged from hospital, senior citizens, and those in regular need of personal support. Of course, you will need to have all the proper skills and qualifications, as well as equipment like a portable ultrasound machine for sale. With all of this, you could have a very rewarding business concept on your hands.

Medical Records Management/Admin Business

One of the main problems which many medical professionals have is trying to keep up with the mountain of paperwork which regularly comes their way. You could help to alleviate this issue by setting up your own medical records management and administration business. Of course, you will need to have a high level of organisational skills and a keen eye for details to make a success of this particular venture.

Physical or Occupational Therapy Centre

Another area of medicine which comes in for high demand these days is physical or occupational therapy. Pursue this particular business path and you can play a central role in helping patients recover from their injuries, regain a full range of the motions which they had before, and perform some of the tasks involved in daily living. Again, you are going to need to have the correct certification and qualifications in order to pursue a business of this variety.

Nutritionist or Dietician Business

A lot of people are highly concerned with what they are putting in their bodies these days, and if you are one of these people, you could start your own business as a nutritionist or dietician. Since this is becoming a more complex field these days, you could even specialise further to focus on an area such as sports nutrition, weight loss or something else.

As we mentioned at the start, healthcare is always going to be a field which requires dedicated people working to improve it through innovative businesses, and these are just some of the business types which you could set up yourself.

How To Beat The High Co$t of Living

Two major focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, and Wealth Building. A key part of both of these areas is budgeting, planning and controlling costs. The following contributed post is thus entitled; How To Beat The High Co$t of Living.

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Another day, another bill. Another day, another dip in the bank balance. Another day, another moment when you wonder how you are going to cope with the rise in energy prices, bank charges, insurance costs, and more.

Rather than confront another day like yesterday, we wouldn’t be surprised if you huddled under your duvet in the morning, fearful of losing yet more money simply by going about your daily life.

Don’t despair! It is possible to beat the high cost of living, but you are going to have to work at it. You can put the ideas we give you in this article into your five-year plan, or better yet, your yearly planner. You see, you don’t have to let the financial aspects of your life get on top of you.

For starters, quit those bad habits that are eating away at your monthly income. Not only will you have more money in your pocket, but you will feel better as well. We are thinking of smoking and drinking alcohol, two expensive habits that are harmful to your health. We are thinking about watching too much tv; despite the many wonderful things to watch (and the utter drivel), you will save on your electricity bill if you spend time doing other things, such as (dare we say it), exercise! And quit your spending addiction. If you’re forever buying things you don’t need, then it’s little wonder you have no money for the essentials in your life. Put that credit card away!

Don’t let your utility companies take more money than they should. They are forever putting their prices up, but you are in your right to ditch them. You can get the same gas and electricity from another supplier, so use a price comparison service to find a cheaper deal. After switching, instill good habits around the home to make further energy savings. We have already told you to stop watching so much tv, but there are further ways to save money. Ensure your family are up to speed with your energy-saving habits as well, because as you know, they can often be responsible for draining your bank account!

Cut down the cost of driving too. For starters, don’t use your car if you are only travelling short distances. Why waste money on fuel when you can save money (and feel healthier) by using your two legs. As with your utility companies, use a price comparison site to save on your insurance. We use this site, https://cheapautoinsurance.co, but there are there are plenty of others available. Then practice safe driving. You see, the less reckless you are on the road, the less likely you are to do damage to your vehicle, and the less likely you are to pay out on huge maintenance bills. Driving safely saves money on fuel too!

Don’t let your bank take you for a ride. If they are charging you monthly fees just for having an account with them, it’s hardly fair! As with some of the other things on this list, you can do yourself a favour by ditching those banks who are inflicting damage on your account and transferring to another. You should be able to find lower rates and fees, and may even get rewarded for making the switch too. Check out this banking guide as a way to make the most of your money.

You can beat the high cost of living by making changes in your life, and by doing your homework into finding cheaper alternatives to the people who take your money away from you. So, don’t delay, start to make savings today, and continue to practice good habits and price comparisons in the months and years to come. It does make perfect financial sense, after all!

 

 

Your Five-Year Plan

Two of the principles of my blog are “Creating Ecosystems of Success” and “Long-Term Thinking and Delayed Gratification”. A key to being successful is looking into the future, setting goals and planning the steps towards achieving those goals. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Your Five-Year Plan.

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Do you often find yourself just going through the motions of your life, without any clear goals or targets? Just living life day to day, without purpose or focus? Many of us do. Then, a few years down the line, we look back at what we’ve achieved and find that nothing has changed. We still have debts, we still live in the same place, our relationship hasn’t developed or grown, we’re no closer to getting what we really want from our life, and our career has stalled.

Well, this happens when we don’t have a plan. You’re never going to hit your goals if you don’t have any. You get one life, you should be making the most of it. A five-year master plan can help you to do this. Five years is a great period of time. A lot can change in five years. Think about who you were five years ago, what you enjoyed doing, who your friends were. Now, look at your life today. In five years, we grow, we change, we start to enjoy different things, we meet a lot of people. You might eat differently, look after yourself more or less, and even go to bed at a different time. Five years is long enough to make massive changes and achieve a lot, but not too long that you can’t look ahead with focus and determination. So, here’s a look at how to create a five-year master plan to help you to develop and get what you want from life, as well as some ideas of things that you should include.

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The Benefits of a Five-Year Plan

If you are the kind of person that just lives day to day, you might not see the point of a five-year plan. But, it can have some definite benefits. It gives you focus. Instead of a general idea of what you want to do with your life, you’ll have clear and well-defined goals for all areas. Five-years means that you’ve still got time to be spontaneous and do what you want, as long as you get back to your plan and continue working towards your aims. It also helps you to prioritize, to stay on track, to keep motivated and to say no to things that would take you off course.

Merely sitting down and writing goals forces you to think about what you want and reflect on your choices so far. You are also statistically more likely to achieve things if you’ve written them down. Something about writing down a target makes it real and gives you a greater focus to achieve it.

How to Create One

Sit down and think about your life so far. Think about what your dreams were when you were younger, and if you still want the same things now. Then, write yourself a Wishlist. Think of your ultimate goals and dreams, no matter how outlandish they might seem. Write them all down. Even those that might take longer than five years to achieve.

Then, ask yourself why you want these things? Will hitting these goals make you happy or improve your quality of life? Try to picture your life if you reach these targets? Take some time to imagine your ideal life. Now, look at your list again, do you need to add or remove anything?

Now you’ve got the what’s and the why’s. It’s time to think about the how’s. This is potentially the most crucial part of your master plan. Without plans, your goals are vague and unreachable. Ask yourself what you can do to meet your targets, or to get significantly closer to them. Write these down too. Now, let’s take a look at some of the things that you might want to include.

Money

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Money is often a big part of our future plans, and your goals might depend heavily on your current financial situation and what you want from your future. If you need to borrow to help you achieve other goals, this is the website to help. If you need to save, or pay off debts, work out how much you need to save each year.

You might have something specific that you’d like to achieve financially, perhaps saving enough to start a business, or to buy a house. Or, you might want to improve your credit score and pay off your debts. Five years is long enough to make massive changes to your financial situation. Think about your goals and take the time to make a household budget to match.

Relationships

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Your relationships will also depend on where you are now and what you want in the future. If you are in a relationship, marriage and children might be in your near future. If not, you might want to think about meeting the right person and starting down the road to settling down.

Wherever you are romantically, there will be other relationships that you need to nurture. Make giving your friendships plenty of love and attention a goal. You might also want to rekindle old relationships, mend family feuds or meet new friends and expand your circle.

Career

Your career is a big one. Getting your career right can improve your financial situation and allow you to take more time for your relationships. Do you have any burning ambitions? Do you want to start your own business, or would you like to dive into a career change? If you are happy where you are now, you might just want to aim for a promotion or try to learn more about your industry to become more confident at work.

Health and Fitness

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Our health is something we often neglect when making plans for the future. Especially when we are young and healthy. But, it shouldn’t be. Your health and fitness are essential to a happy and long life. But, your goals don’t need to be huge. They might just be to carry on what you are doing or to make small improvements to your diet. Think about small, realistic changes that you can make that will improve your health and fitness.

Break it Down

Now you’ve got your five-year targets, you should think about breaking them down. A five-year master plan is fantastic, but it can be hard to stay focused when something is so far away. So, break it down and make plans for the year ahead. Thin about what you can do in the next 12 months to help you to reach your goals.

Is Your Company Using Social Media Correctly?

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A key to effectively doing business in today’s world is the proper and most efficient use of Social Media. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Is Your Company Using Social Media Correctly?

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There is no getting away from the fact that social media has revolutionized the way in which most companies operate these days. If you’re just starting out in the business world; you might struggle to work out how to use those platforms to your advantage. With that in mind, take a moment to read this post, and it should help to point you in the right direction.

Use social media for marketing

Sites like Facebook and Twitter are excellent tools for promoting your business and reaching lots of new customers. There are paid advertising tools on both of those platforms, and there is no minimum spend. So, you can mess around with the targeting options until you find something that works. You can then make a more substantial investment.

Use social media for customer service

Facebook is one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with people these days. So, maybe you should undertake customer service duties on that platform? The infographic below will let you know more about social media and customer service so make sure you check it out!

Use social media to keep up to date

As an industry leader; you need to keep abreast of the latest news. Social media platforms are often the best way to make sure you don’t miss anything, and you’ll usually find the news on those sites first.

Now you know how to use social media correctly; nothing should stand in the way of your success. Remember to take a look at the infographic below for extra tips and tricks.


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Know When To Call Upon The Power Of A Loan

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. In some instances, it’s important to know when to take out a loan if there is a financial crisis and there are no other options left. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Know When To Call Upon The Power Of A Loan.

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The rut of financial baggage is relentless and tiring. It happens to us all at least once through our lives, but because it can go on and on, we feel like it’s normal. Well, newsflash, it isn’t and no one should ever think that it is something we should be okay with either. Firstly you need to pinpoint the reasons as to why you are in this mess whereby you can’t seem to pay your bills on time, you’re cutting back on the things you need for your family such as groceries and clothes, and yet still here you are sat up late at night with a calculator in your hand. Life shouldn’t be a game of catch up but it ends up being that way when we are irresponsible with our finances, going in over our head and getting into debt. Slowly but surely, if you cannot seem to stop the ball of debt and financial burden from rolling, eventually it will roll over you. But when is it really the best timing to go for a loan to help alleviate the pressure?

Living lavishly

Human beings are just strange creatures at the end of the day, we mostly cause our own problems. It’s hard to admit but you need to seriously question if you’re living a life that you honestly should not be. Have you bought a car that looks and feels good to drive but the gas mileage is pathetic? Do you buy too many clothes just to look good at events that don’t really matter? Could you possibly be a little too passionate and keep buying tickets to your favorite sporting team’s matches? We need to stop living lavishly when we know we don’t have the money. Many people will try to make excuses such as needing to feel good about yourself when you’re sad and depressed, or trying to live a normal life for the family etc. well, tough luck, it’s time to seriously question whether you should be buying some things when you know you are in a pinch.

Do you have a plan

What if you had a bag full of money thrown at you, what would you do? Just for the sake of argument, it’s only enough to pay off your debts and start to control your finances. Do you know what you would do first? What bills, debts, credit cards and such would you pay off immediately? If you haven’t even thought about the long-term solution to your financial burdens, your short-term plans are almost nonsensical. Paying off this week’s debt is a single drop in the ocean, what about the tens of thousands of dollars you owe for your mortgage, car payments, phone contracts and more? Create a plan that deals with a point by point analysis of what is most important financially, and then come up with monetary rules for paying off those problems first and foremost.

Measure the deepness

Loans are a great financial tool to use when you need to just throw money at the problem to make it go away. They do provide you with a lot of power to end some financial crisis situations, that much cannot be denied. But, they come with their own set of rules as they are a solution but also a new addition to your financial responsibilities. Use this information that compares direct lenders only and see what kind of APR rate and interest is best suited to you. Some lenders charge high rates as they want to aggressively control how and when you start repaying them. Others are more open to allowing you to figure out what the best plan would be. You can get a small loan of around three to four figures or you can get into the five-figure sums if you need a large quantity of cash.

Take the hit

No one wants to dip into their savings account to get from under a financial jam, but you have to be willing to do so. If the worse comes to worse, then you need to set a limit on how much you will be eating into the money you have been saving all your life. Take the hit and stop yourself from going under. Filing for bankruptcy is going to be much worse than halving or completely devouring all your savings. As much as it hurts, set a plan in place for how much money you will take out of your savings account to help pay for your debts. Setting a threshold for how much money you have left in your main bank account is a common way of doing this.

Loans have the ability to put a large chunk of money right in your hand, in a very short amount of time. Therefore they have a lot of power to aid you in your financial troubles. However, know when you need to call upon a loan and devise structures so you make good use of the money.

Overcoming The Fear Of Business Failure

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A significant number of businesses fail within the first five years of their being started – something all entrepreneurs should understand when starting their businesses. To be successful however, each must overcome the fear of their business failing. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Overcoming The Fear of Business Failure.

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Ask a would-be entrepreneur why they haven’t started out in business yet, and chances are, you will receive one simple answer.

“I am afraid of failure.”

You don’t need to ask why they are afraid of failure, as this is something many of us feel in varying aspects of our lives. We are afraid of failing in marriage, education, and in our careers, as examples. But if you did ask the would-be entrepreneur why they were afraid of failure, they may answer in this way,

“Statistically, I am destined to fail.”

And this is true, according to statistics, the possibility of failure is relatively high. It’s little wonder, then, that many people don’t risk starting a business, despite the opportunity to escape the rat race of the 9 to 5.

But here’s the thing. While there is the risk of failure, there is also the possibility of success. There needs to be a change in attitude; a shift from fear to courage. Sometimes, the risk is worth it, as business failure is not always on the cards. It’s about turning fearful mindsets around; finding ways to bring a positive outlook to negative thinking.

So, what about you? Do you run a business, or have you taken the decision not to because the fear of failure has gotten the better of you? Aside from statistics, you may not have started out on your own because of the following reasons.

“I’m not good enough.”

Nobody’s perfect, so it’s unlikely you will be good at everything. But you can still improve matters. Look at areas where you are weakest, and rather than let these things undermine the possibility of you succeeding, conquer them. If you suck at all things money-related, hire an accountant or take a money course. Don’t know how to put together a decent business website? Hire a web designer or take HTML Training classes. Whatever your weakness, you can overcome it, whether that’s through outsourcing or building up your skill set. You’re not perfect, but then again, you don’t have to be!

“It’s a one-way ticket to poverty.”

Giving up your full-time job is a risk, so you may not want to begin something that could be a financial disaster. However, there are at least three ways to defeat this. For starters, don’t give up your job just yet. If you are reliant on the income from your career, begin your business, but start slowly. When profits do start coming in, only then consider resigning from your job. Secondly, do all you can to market your business to ensure customers know about you. Focus on branding, send the word out on social media, and broadcast your business in other places online, as well as talking about it to others offline. Lastly, know that many businesses struggle to make a profit within the first year, but this is why it’s important to find ways to cut costs in those early days. Financial wisdom is key, so don’t overspend and don’t splurge your cash reserves on anything you don’t need. This way, you will reduce the risk of financial collapse.

Something to think about.

Here’s something to think about if you do relate to the above. While you may face failure, you might also succeed. Statistically, many businesses don’t fail, so it may not happen to you at all. As we have said, planning is key, focussing on both your skills and your finances. And there are people to help you deal with any area where you may struggle. Surely then, it is worth the risk. You will never get anywhere if you don’t try, and you may later regret it if you don’t. Provided you don’t do anything dumb, there is every possibility that you will make it in business. And if you do screw up? Well, at least you tried, and that’s better than not trying at all.

Are you afraid of starting your own business? Consider our advice and think again. It may be a wise decision not to start out on your own, but then again, it could be the best decision you will ever make!

Why Have A Company Uniform?

Some of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. Many businesses and services involve the use of uniforms as a form of branding and image. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why Have A Company Uniform?

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Company uniforms can have a number of benefits. Here are just a few reasons to consider adopting a uniform for your business.

It can make you look more professional

Uniforms can ensure that you and all your staff keep up a professional appearance. Whilst some companies like to introduce a dress code, it’s often easy to bend the rules – the line between smart and casual can easily be blurred. With a dress code there’s little leeway to do this and you can have more control over the level of formality.

It promotes equality

By making your employees dress the same way, you can help to build a sense of equality and unity. Fashion after all can sometimes create a social hierarchy with people judging each other based on dress sense. Having a uniform forces everyone to be on the same level creating a greater sense of equality.

It can save employees money

By having to wear a uniform, employees won’t feel as pressured to dress differently each day and therefore won’t feel the need to keep buying as many clothes. This could save your employees money in some cases. When supplying a uniform, make sure that it is free for your employees – you should only ever charge money if somebody keeps losing part of their uniform.

You can use it to promote your brand

A uniform can be a good form of branding in some cases. You can look into making your own shirt with a company logo on it. Other options could include branded overalls, branded blazers or branded aprons. Branding will help to build awareness of your company and add to your overall brand consistency. It could even be a form of advertising, helping to bring in new business.

It can help clients identify staff

If everyone is dressing in casual clothes, it can sometimes be difficult for clients to identify who is a staff member and who isn’t. A uniform makes it easier to immediately tell who is staff and who is a customer. You can also use varying colours or designs to single out management staff so that customers who want to speak to someone higher know who to talk to.

It can be used to enforce health and safety

In some jobs, a uniform could also be used to help enforce health and safety. The most obvious example of this is the construction trade in which hard hats, hi-vis jackets and gloves all help to protect staff members from harm. Uniforms can have a similar function in other roles – in medical and cooking roles, short sleeves are now often favoured because they don’t get in the way. Consider ways in which you could integrate health and safety into your uniform.

If you take a look at workers compensation laws, you will see that PPE is something that is discussed a lot. A lack of PPE is one of the main reasons for injuries and subsequent compensation claims. Of course, if a worker has failed to use PPE in the way they are directed to, the fault would then fall onto their shoulders. Nevertheless, it is critical to understand how uniform plays a key role in terms of health and safety.