Financial Literacy and Money – Page 94

A full-time income on part-time hours revisited part two: Motivations for joining the business

“When my job told me that I’d have to go back to school to get another degree in order to get a promotion, I didn’t want to do that!”

This is part two of my series entitled, A full-time income on part-time hours revisited. Part one of this series introduced Multi-Level Network Marketing businesses (MLMs). Part two will discuss the motivations of people who join these types of businesses.

“Bruce, I want to ask your opinion about a business informational meeting I recently attended. This group helps people get out of their financial debt, but they also aggressively recruit more people into their business,” I said in a discussion with talk show host Bruce Williams in 2007. “It sounds like I could make a lot of money if I join. It also sounds like pretty hefty commitment time-wise, one that I’m not sure that I can fulfill in tandem with my scientific research.”

“What you just described sounds like a Multi-Level Network Marketing company,” Bruce casually commented in his burly, grandfatherly voice. Bruce Williams’ talk show covered a range of topics including politics, current events, economics (personal finance and business), as well as life’s daily issues. “Look guy, I don’t know what it is that they’re selling, but I think you’ll be better off focusing your time and attention to launching your career in science!”

Everyone’s motivation for going into to business is to make money. Unfortunately, not everyone can cook, invent a social media site that will change the world, create a new operating system, or buy a McDonald’s franchise, coincidentally the one franchise often referenced in the Rich Dad Poor Dad books and in Network Marketing informational meetings. It’s not uncommon at a meeting to hear, “McDonald’s may not make the best hamburger, but they are the model franchise,” or something similar. Many also state that, “McDonald’s isn’t in the business of fast food, they’re in the business of real estate,” or something to that effect.

Likewise, Multi-Level Network Marking businesses offer the opportunity to start a business with only a little money down (usually $100-$500), and the potential to make more money than one could ever make on their job through generation of ‘passive residual incomes’. At least that’s how they’re sold. In terms of making money in your sleep which passive income empowers you to do, who wouldn’t want to do that? By the way, business models that are already set up and only require you to buy into them are called ‘turnkey businesses’. Michael E. Gerber has written several books about this, the most popular is entitled, The E-Myth.

The thought of making passive residual incomes is very enticing for people who understand what it is and represents. Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad books were my first introduction to this powerful concept, and I recommend at least reading his first two books. The second is entitled, Cashflow Quadrant. Robert’s books also introduced me to the idea of making money ‘exponentially’ instead of ‘linearly’.

Whatever your venture is, the more passive income you can earn, the closer you come to financial freedom. This is the perfect segue into the time factor. What also gets people’s mouths salivating is the potential to not have to punch a clock, go to an office, and answer to a supervisor. These businesses are also seen as ways of circumventing battling for promotions every year and having to work your way up the corporate ladder as they say. As Robert Kiyosaki says in his books, and as many people have personally experienced, promotions often don’t result in significantly more income for various reasons.

Personally, people have multiple reasons for joining. Some people who have held traditional jobs and careers, eventually sour on a life of having to “climb the corporate ladder” as described above. Some sour on having to be chosen for promotions which often results in more responsibility but not necessarily significantly more take home pay. Others have reached middle age and don’t see themselves being able to retire on what they’ve saved or haven’t saved.

“When my job told me that I’d have to go back to school to get another degree in order to get a promotion, I didn’t want to do that. This business is allowing me to make larger sums of income than my job could ever offer and save for my retirement,” the speaker at a meeting said. Finally, others don’t like the idea of having to go back to school to get more degrees in order to qualify for promotions in their respective organization.

And those are just educated people. Some people haven’t gone very far school-wise for any number of reasons and don’t have the potential to ascend in any job long-term. These businesses thus represent a fast track to wealth which can bypass a traditional education.

“My mother who is deaf and some of her friends weren’t very educated and they saw the business as one of the only ways they could make good money,” a friend shared with me. Her mother got involved in a home-based business that sold water purifiers and they had to go door to door to sell them.

In general, these businesses are ways for people to:

• Achieve financial independence
• Have more control over their lives
• Bypass the traditional paradigm of working for someone else to make money – trading money for time every day

While the benefits of joining like this type of enterprise seem to be limitless, what happens when you pay your entrance fee and sign on the dotted line? And when one does join, what are the actual rigors and expectations? These questions will be addressed in part three of this series.

Thank you for reading this blog post. If you enjoyed this piece, you might also enjoy:

• Are you getting your Matching Contribution? A discussion on saving for retirement
• A look at the Law of Compounding Interest and why you should care
• Your Net Worth, your Gross Salary, and what they mean
• Is there power in budgeting your money?
• I still don’t have a car in 2018: A story about playing financial chess
• We should’ve bought Facebook and Bitcoin stock: An investing story

If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave comments. To receive all the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Please visit my YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. Lastly follow me on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM, and Financial Literacy, there other blogs/sites I endorse which found on that particular page of my site.

Keep Your Business Secure In 3 Simple Steps

Two of focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of your goals in running your business is to keep it secure. There are some simple steps you can take to do this. The following contributed post is entitled, Keep Your Business Secure In 3 Simple Steps.

* * *

Image Location – CC0 Licence

Keeping your business safe needs to be your number one priority, and if that is not the case right now, you need to make sure it is as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to do this, then you have come to the right place because we are going to be talking about three of the simple steps that you can take to keep your business secure. If you want to know more about this topic, keep reading down below.

Erase Your Non-Important Files

The first thing that we are going to suggest to you is that you erase any files that you no longer need whether they hold sensitive information or not. Erasing computers can be easy, here’s how with WipeDrive, so you don’t have to be worried about your business being at risk. If you get rid of the files, then there is nothing that anyone can do to your company as they won’t have the evidence or the data that they require. We suggest that you do this a few times per year so that you can be sure there is nothing on there that you wouldn’t want to get out to the public.

Invest In Anti-Virus Software

Something else that we highly recommend is that you invest in anti-virus software. Now, there are a number of places that you can purchase this from, and if you go online, you are going to find a list of the best antivirus softwares on the market right now to help you choose which one you are going to use to protect your company. If you make this investment, then your online presence is going to be far more secure, and you are at less risk of someone gaining access to your network remotely. If this happens, your network is going to be completely vulnerable to the whim of the attacker, and this is not something that you want to happen which is why it is so important that you take this precaution.

Hire Security

It is not just online that you need to be thinking of, you are going to need to protect your business premises. Security guards are going to be a good idea and having CCTV installed around the building is going to give you that extra layer of security. You don’t need to panic about the cost either as you need to treat this like it is an investment into your business, because at the end of the day, it is. You need to know that your business is secure no matter what the cost is. This isn’t a difficult process to do, you just need to make sure that anyone you hire is trained properly and knows what to do in case of an emergency.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know how to keep your business secure in three simple steps. Put these steps into practice, and your business is going to be far safer for it both online and offline.

Everything a Small Business Owner Needs to Know About Shipping

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you’re creating a product for use by others, you must figure out how to ship it to your customers. Businesses which ship products to their customers must understand the most efficient ways to do it. The following contributed post is entitled, Everything a Small Business Owner Needs to Know About Shipping.

* * *

Image Credit

Nowadays, it’s increasingly easy for businesses to engage with customers spread all across the country – or even all over the world. E Commerce is on the rise, which means customers don’t have to come into a brick and mortar store. Instead, they can just visit a website, place and order, and have the item sent to them in the comfort of their own homes. This is highly beneficial for small business owners. After all, it means more custom and more profit. But it does mean that you have a huge are you need to lay a lot of focus on – shipping. An effective shipping plan is essential to getting your products to your customer in good time and maintaining good customer bonds. So, here’s everything you need to know on the subject!

Packaging

You need to make sure that anything you send is correctly packaged. There are all sorts of packaging out there. From standard parcel paper and parcel tape to these polymer mailer bags here. All packaging should be secure and tightly taped together. This will prevent items falling out and you losing profit (and potentially a customer) in the process. Make sure that the recipient’s name and address can be clearly read – sometimes it’s better to print out labels than handwrite these details. You should also ensure a returns address is clearly visible on the back of the parcel. This will ensure the items make their way back to you if they do get lost in the post.

Different Shipping Methods

When you first start out, it’s highly likely that you’ll make use of your standard national postal service when it comes to sending goods to buyers. But as you grow and expand, you may find that you begin to cause queues in the post office as you’re trying to send too much. You will also end up spending more than necessary. At this point, you might want to consider using a courier. This service will be able to deliver larger numbers of items and at a lower cost.

Tracking

If you’re sending items of high value, it’s generally best to have some sort of tracking on them. This will ensure you know where the item is at all times and that you know if the customer has received it or not. Unfortunately, some people will pretend items haven’t arrived in order to request a refund. Tracking will let you see a signature of the recipient once they’ve received the item, meaning you needn’t worry about this sort of theft. It can also help to trace items that seem to be taking longer than expected. A tracking number gives customers peace of mind that their item is definitely on its way to them.

These are the bare basics of shipping for small business. But they’ll help to get you started out on the right foot. At the end of the day, shipping is something you’re likely to have to deal with at some point or another. So, it’s best to start familiarising yourself with the process as soon as possible!

3 Top Tips For Launching A Business in a Foreign Country

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Business takes place all around the world. In some instances businesses are based in specific countries but have operations all around the world. Expanding your operations overseas is a major step. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Top Tips For Launching A Business in a Foreign Country.

* * *

So business is booming and you think you’re ready to expand into a foreign market. Congratulations! Exciting and lucrative times lie ahead.

However, launching a business in another country is hard work and there are lots of things to consider before you take the plunge. You can expect it to be considerably tougher than getting set up at home, and certainly more time-consuming.

The good news is, with careful planning, some fantastic opportunities may be available to you. So check out the list below for some pointers.

Image Source: Pixabay CC0 Licence

Patience and Planning

There’s no way around it – this is going to take time. Rushing the process is only going to cause problems later down the line.

So do your research, seek experienced counsel, and make considered decisions. Some countries are more welcoming than others to foreign start-ups moving in, and some even provide useful benefits for those that do.

New Zealand and Denmark have made the process of launching a business easy with their online registration procedures and pro-competition regulations.

Singapore has a super quick system for solving commercial disputes, something which can really slow down businesses in other countries. Whilst setting-up in a location like Mauritius can save you on tax – check out mauritius offshore company formation to see exactly how.

What is going to be essential for the success of your business abroad? And which locations will aid, rather than hinder this? Once you’ve picked a location, study the laws and requirements of that country thoroughly before laying the groundwork.

Consider the Political Climate

The laws, economies and business practices of any given country evolve over time. This is a given. But some areas have a more stable political history, providing a less risky prospect for your start-up.

You are making a long-term investment, so it’s essential you consider the political climate of the country you’re entering, as well as its history regarding taxation and asset seizure.

As a business owner in a foreign country, you don’t want to find your profits are being unexpectedly taxed, or that your assets are available to be seized because the political climate is spiraling into turmoil.

The key word here is ‘stability’. Read into the modern political history of your chosen country and be sure to exercise caution where necessary.

Image Source: Pixabay CC0 Licence

Legal and Local Advice

When searching for a legal representative, the ideal candidate is an expat lawyer from your home country who has experience of the country you wish to set-up in, or better yet – someone who is currently living and working there.

This way you get the best of both worlds. A lawyer with the same cultural background who can clearly explain everything you need to know, who also has the knowledge and contacts to help you navigate a foreign environment.

Image Source: Pixabay CC0 Licence

However, the sooner you start making your own connections locally, the better. Finding friendly business allies in the country where you plan to open your business will provide invaluable support and advice, and help you find solutions to problems you might not even be aware of yet.

And there we have it. There’s lots to consider when launching a business abroad so take your time and plan carefully. Use these tips to get you started and of course – best of luck!

The Advantages of Building a Good Relationship With Other Businesses

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Business is a team sport. You’re far more likely to run a profitable business if you’re establishing relationships with other businesses versus doing it on your own. The following contributed post is entitled, The Advantages of Building a Good Relationship With Other Businesses.

* * *

A good working relationship is always a huge positive when it comes to growing your company. Having friends in different industries and companies, especially if they can work together with you, will help your business grow faster and scale to greater heights. Unfortunately, building these relationships is difficult and it takes a lot of networking in order to get your foot into the door.

Building good relationships with other businesses means that you should be attending as many networking events and trade shows as possible. Handing out business cards, following-up on interactions and generally just being a helpful and approachable manager will go a long way. But what exactly are you aiming to do and what are the advantages of building a good relationship with other businesses?

Image Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/q3o_8MteFM0 (License CC0)

You’ll get professional assistance with things you aren’t familiar with

Whether it’s cybersecurity, networking or even construction, building a good relationship with other businesses will ensure that you get professional assistance with things you don’t completely understand. There are many advantages of having IT companies on your side and having legal professionals on your side is pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to building a successful company. Industry professionals are always capable of helping you grow your business with their advice and connections, hence the importance of developing good relationships with other businesses.

Superior service, better prices and exclusive discounts

Plenty of companies offer better pricing and exclusive discounts when you’ve built a good relationship with them. However, some companies like Ridge Concrete offer 24/7 delivery regardless of the size and time of the order, meaning that you don’t need to develop a strong relationship before you can start seeing benefits. Even so, building a good relationship with companies that are known for their customer service will just mean that they’re willing to go the extra mile when you need help.

This can mean 24/7 consultancy, advice and even recommendations for businesses that you wish to work with in the future. They may even offer bespoke services as long as you’re willing to describe the issue carefully and also offer a contract that is beneficial to them. In other words, the closer your relationship with another business, the more personalised the services will become.

Building a good relationship with other businesses

Now that we’ve explained some of the big advantages of building a good relationship with another business, here are a couple of suggestions on how you can do so.

• Reach out to different businesses and don’t be afraid to break the ice
• Always pay on time so that you don’t make things difficult for the other company
• Give other companies plenty of lead time to ensure that they can provide you with the services and products you need with minimal rush
• Don’t be afraid to talk more to other businesses, such as sharing industry information, visiting their offices in person or even inviting them to events hosted by your company

Looking After Your Intellectual Property

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. Two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In most businesses, the product being created or sold is some form of intellectual property. If you’ve created something, it’s important to consider how to protect it. The following contributed post is entitled, Looking After Your Intellectual Property.

* * *

Image Source – CCO Licence

Whether you operate within a business or you are a freelancer of some sort, you are always going to have some kind of intellectual property, and that is something that you are going to want to protect as well as you possibly can. The truth is that looking after your intellectual property is something that you can be sure of as long as you are aware of what you need to do – and that is easier than you might think. Doing this will mean that you feel a lot safer in your business or personal endeavours, whichever it might be, and that you can expect for your ideas to remain yours in law. So what do you need to do to protect your intellectual property and look after it as well as possible?

Seek Advice

Although there are generally things which you can say for anything to do with intellectual property, it is also true that each case varies from the next. As such, any help you can get on a specific case is going to be very useful, so that is something that you might want to try and seek out as soon as you can for that reason. By seeking advice, you will know that you are doing everything you should be doing to protect yourself. So what advice should you look for? One of the best places to go is to IP consulting, as they are going to be able to inform you as to what you need to do and where your personal dangers are and so on. That will absolutely make a difference when it comes to taking care of your intellectual property in this way.

Remain Legal

It is hugely important that you make a point of remaining legal at all times. If you fail to do that, then it could mean that you struggle to actually get what you need out of the whole situation. It’s easy enough to remain legal, however, and mostly it amounts to not abusing others’ rights in the process. As long as the property is really yours, and you are not stealing from someone else, then you will find that there is no reason you can’t hope to protect it as well as you would want to. That is something that you should absolutely aim for if you are keen to keep on top of all this as best as you can.

Seek Protection

Finally, make sure that you seek protection from the law in whatever way you feel might be necessary. It varies hugely on how to do this depending on your property and what it is, but the main thing to be aware of is that anything you create which is original work is already copyrighted by law. If you want to protect something further, then you will need to look into what you need to do to make sure of that. Seek protection in whatever way you can, and you will find that it is going to make a huge difference.

What Does It Take To Deliver Great Customer Service?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the sector of business or niche, one of its key pillars is its customer service. No matter how good the product is, if the customer service component is broken, the business will ultimately be hindered. The following contributed post is entitled, What Does It Take To Deliver Great Customer Service?

* * *

Image – CC0 Licence

It is certainly one of the fine arts of getting a business to transcend to the next level. While there are numerous aspects of a company that needs fine-tuning on a near-constant basis of the major issue that any business needs to overcome is improving on that relationship between them and the customer. As the golden rule, customer service is vital. This means that we have to ensure that our business delivers it in spades, but what does it really take to deliver great customer service?

Keeping Behind The Scenes Well Oiled

The front of house services cannot function unless the people behind the scenes are operating at 110%. This means that come out regardless of the business you have, you must think about everything that goes on behind the front line so that the people that have the duty of dealing with customers face to face can have the ability to forge that important relationship. This means utilizing one very simple component: technology. Whether it is restaurant accounting software for your small eatery, or it’s is organizational software so that everybody knows what’s going on at any one time, as well as new changes, keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes makes it easier for the people at the front to do their jobs properly. It’s not a case that the people on the front line rely on those behind the scenes, but it’s about providing a symbiotic relationship between the two. You have to remember that the bigger picture is the important thing especially when it comes to delivering customer service. With something like a restaurant the premise is simple, you deliver food to the customer that tastes great alongside impeccable service. These things as simple to explain, but in order to ensure that everything is running like clockwork, there are so many different components to get right.

Having The Passion To Deliver Customer Service

There’s a major disparity between the millennial generation and the baby boomers. While this is not the place to get into major quibbles about either generation, it appears that the younger generations that have been raised on social media have to work that little bit harder on face to face communication and soft skills. Having that passion in a business and striving to deliver amazing customer service is the bedrock of any successful company. Customer service is about going the extra mile for them, but when we look at the skills our employees have, we’ve got to make sure that they know the basics before they can build upon those. Something like soft skills and establishing that rapport with a customer can be difficult to implement, but some tips and tricks can help, such as open-ended questions. It’s these things that our workers need to know because when an employee develops this rapport with the customer, the relationship will soon follow, and then we make a great impact on the customer. As such, when we see an employee delivering excellent customer service, even when we are the customer, we will remember this. These days, you provide feedback forms, but we remember the person more than anything, and maybe they did something for us that day to make our experience more pleasurable, or even easier. And we can see that those people have the passion, not just to deliver customer service, but it’s a part of who they are. That doesn’t mean that we need to hire exclusively people that can have a passion for customer service, but for those people who want to do well and have the skills of building a rapport, they are like gold dust.

Providing Morale In The Ranks

The focus is on the customer for her, but we have to remember about the people that are providing this service. We have to keep the morale up, and in one respect, we need to treat our employees like our customers. Giving them the respect that they need, listening to the problems they have, and being genuine in our support for their development. As customers need to see the journey that we go through, we have to remember that our employees can have much more of an insight into what we do, and this can easily filter back to customers. For example, if an employee is unhappy, we can see it plastered all over their faces, and the service they will deliver will naturally be subpar, even if they phone in the performance. This will make us think, as the customer, what is the problem here? Is it to do with them, or is it a much wider, more endemic issue? This is why we have to ensure our employees are happy, and morale is up. It’s about creating that environment which belies a dynamic and thriving workplace. It’s a very difficult thing to implement, but if we start to work on morale, by imbuing the company culture with something more than a strict hierarchy where the people at the very bottom don’t feel supported everybody can feel the benefit. It’s not enough to tell them to put a smile on for the sake of the customer, because this is fake. But at the same time, if we don’t give our employees reason to smile anyway, we can’t be surprised if we have complaints from customers.

Encourage Employees To Have Awareness Of Their Language

On the most basic level, soft skills work wonders at building a report that we’ve also got to think about how our employees present themselves. It isn’t just about the clothes, please to do with how they stand, the intonations they use, as well as the body language, all in conjunction with the words that come out of their mouths. Having employees develop an awareness of how they are in one respect, productive, but in another way, it could be counterproductive because they are constantly watching themselves. We don’t want our employees to feel that they are being marked for grammar and poise all the time. At the same time, we need them just to have some sort of awareness of what they do that inspires a certain adverse reaction. Body language is an essential thing, but when we have employees speaking to others over the telephone, we might think that it’s not so important. But body language does have a lot of sway, especially in terms of how we communicate. There have been plenty of resources over the years that highlight just how you stand can impact your vocal strengths. Something like the Alexander technique, which, in essence, is a series of stretches, can have a great impact on how somebody performs. And when we start to get into these things, we can realize just how much of an impact we can have on a conversation, by saying it in a certain direction. Naturally, we cannot afford to send all employees on a mini drama course to become aware of their body, but by asking them to get a better understanding of the words they use, the posture a present, and how they sound, these things will all work towards a more self-assured employee.

Document!

If we document times when we interacted with a customer effectively, we can use these moments as benchmarks. Documenting interactions that we have with customers gives us the opportunity to build on our rapport with them and also understand where we may have fallen flat. Going back to the soft skills it’s about those subtle movements that we can undergo within the course of a conversation, vocally, physically, and even in terms of the subtext. Ultimately, we’ve got to work at selling something to a customer, that the customer is so sorry now that they don’t appreciate the hard sell. Instead, taking the counseling approach where we offer to help and provide a resolution for their problem makes it a more subtle approach to selling. And when we start to document the approaches that work in the ones that don’t, we are investing time into research and development so we can improve our business across the board.

A business will always be judged on the prowess of its customer service. And delivering a great experience to a customer is most definitely a fine art. When we start to look at each individual component, we can be here until the cows come home. But we have to think about giving the customer the experience that they deserve. You can look at your marketing, your products, your employees, and how they all work together, but when we deliver great customer service, we can sell ice to an Eskimo. Because customer service is the pinnacle of any great business, we have to invest more time into delivering a more effective strategy. And while we can entice people in with flashy gimmicks, when they walk away, they will remember how they felt. As such, delivering great customer service is something that we need to delve deep into. It will be the savior of the company.

Is Health And Fitness The Business Niche For You?

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. A major business sector is health and fitness. If run properly, these businesses can be very lucrative business niche for those who run them. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Health And Fitness The Business Niche For You?

* * *

Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

Health and fitness has become a huge industry in the last couple decades. If you’ve been considering starting a business within this niche, here are just several tips to help you succeed.

Choose your business angle

There are many different roles that you can take up within the health and fitness sector. You could become a personal trainer, you could start your own gym, you could start your own nutrition class or you could invent a fitness gadget (that’s only a handful of the options). Consider where your strengths lie.

Find your sub-niche

Health and fitness is one of the few sectors where it really benefits to specify in order to help you stand out. If you’re becoming a personal trainer, you may want to cater your training to a specific type of fitness – this could include long-distance running, strength training or weight loss. You could even cater to a certain group such teenagers, pregnant women or people with disabilities. The same applies to nutrition or fitness tech.

Get educated

Being an expert in your field is important both for providing the best service and gaining trust from customers. By getting educated, you can feel confident knowing that you’re qualified. You’ll find all kinds of specific courses such as physical therapy courses and macrobiotic courses online. Take your time to compare courses so that you’re getting the best education for your needs. Online courses have the advantage that they can be studied around other commitments.

Do your competitor research

Whatever sub-niche you get into, you’re likely to have competition. Researching your competition is important so that you can find a way to single yourself out. Don’t get too caught up trying to offer the cheapest service – think about what will make you unique. For instance, if you’re starting a gym, you could try investing in unique gym equipment, hosting unique classes or offering unique benefits to members (some gyms offer discounts to local services or even give out free wearable tech to loyal members).

Invest in marketing

Marketing is how you will attract customers in the first place, so it’s worth investing money into a variety of marketing channels. This could include designing a website, printing off business cards, trying SEO, getting involved in social media marketing and even designing your own app. Word of mouth is also a valuable marketing strategy and it could be worth dedicating time to networking to build connections.

Lead by example

Health and fitness is more than an occupation – it’s a lifestyle. You need to be an inspiration to the people that you’re marketing to, which means keeping in good physical shape and taking on healthy behaviours. Make sure that you’re committed to such a lifestyle and that you’re not simply going through a fitness phase.

Top Tips For Creating A Good Social Media Presence As A Small Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. It’s a much different world than it was 20 years ago. Social media permeates everything in 2019 and everyone is using it. As such, you must effectively do business there. The following contributed post is entitled, Top Tips For Creating A Good Social Media Presence As A Small Business.

* * *

It’s apparent now that social media is here to stay and it is quickly becoming apparent that to succeed as any business you need to be able to show that you have a good online presence on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Just because it’s now becoming a necessity to have an excellent online presence, doesn’t mean that you will already have your plan of action when it comes to the steps you need to have in place to succeed.

Image by Pixelkult from Pixabay

There is still plenty of time and ways that you can optimize your social media presence and with so many benefits it’s bound to be worth the time and effort. Have a look below at some of the ways you can create a good social media presence as a small business:

Look At The Networks

With so many social media platforms available it can be really hard to know which ones are the best option for your business. You should try to think about the platforms that your customers are most likely to be using or start with the four most popular. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and, Pinterest. Maintaining and creating content for each of these platforms can at times, be very time consuming and it has been known to take up almost the hours of a full-time member of staff. As it’s imperative to succeding online to be regularly seen and provide a constant flow of content it might be an idea to use outsourcing to help get you started and to maintain your accounts. By outsourcing for things such as social media videos productions you are freeing u your time for focus on areas such as your goals and strategy.

Goals Are Good

There are a number of benefits for a business that is active on social media, and there are several things you can achieve purely from having a social media presence such as being able to provide a second to none level of customer service. Not only this you’re able to engage with your customers, learn about them, expand your audiences and gain valuable insights and feedback about your products or services. In order to achieve any of this though you need to make sure you are setting goals. Think about what you want to achieve from using social media and how you’re going to get there. Think about areas such as whether you’re going to consider hosting a blog, are you going to share reviews of your products or are you planning on using influencers to promote your products?

Create A Solid Strategy

Having that plan for improving your online social media presence is all good and well but in order to achieve it you need to make sure you have a solid strategy in place. Once you have your goal you need to make sure you are putting a plan into place to help you reach it. You should start off by deciding who and how you’re going to manage the social media accounts and then set clear guidelines across each platform to make sure they are united in the flow and appearance of your business. Once you have this inplace you need to think about the content you are going to include and the frequency you plan to post, once you’ve decided this then you should try sticking to it for a while so you can monitor your engagement success.

Do you have any other tips for helping to create a good social media presence? Please share your top tips in the comments section below.

Why You Should Manage Your Money Ethically

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Something that’s rarely associated with money management is ethics. Do the two go together? Who decides what ethical money management is? The following contributed post is entitled, Why You Should Manage Your Money Ethically.

* * *

Image Credit: Pixabay CC0 Licence

Ethical money management is a pretty niche topic but it’s something we should be talking about more. How we spend and how we manage our money has a big impact, not just on our own fates, but those around us. Indeed, the American dream is just that: a dream that is unlikely to become a reality for more than a lucky few.

When the world’s 26 richest people have roughly the same amount of wealth between them as the poorest 3.8 billion, there is a serious problem and the inequality is growing every day. But, while you might like to think that this has nothing to do with you, the reality is that everyone has spending power and your ethical practice matters just as much as a billionaire’s.

Taxes and Compliance

Paying your taxes comes first and foremost in ethical money management. Tax can be incredibly controversial and while some people believe in lower taxes and greater individual spending, others prefer a higher tax rate with more community services and assets.

You must also make sure that you comply with any relevant laws. Most compliance applies to business owners but some laws apply to individuals too. For example, you should declare any interests overseas through the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program OVDP. Whether you believe in high or low taxes and whether or not you agree with the law, this is a basic requirement for ethical money management.

Considerate Shopping

Ethics and shopping are often difficult to navigate together. As shoppers drive down prices, the conditions of manufacturing workers diminish, unsustainable practices aren’t challenged and, ultimately, everyone is worse off as products don’t last as long as they should. But considerate shopping is easier than you might think if you are willing to put some time into research.

Considerate shopping often comes down to the difference between frugal and cheap. Someone frugal will do their research, buy good quality, fair trade and sustainable products but might wait until the sales. Someone cheap doesn’t care how something was made or whether it is good quality – they are just interested in saving money no matter what.

Ethical Investments

Ethical investments require a bit of research too though you can find funds that are dedicated to ethical investments alone. Choosing ethical investments can be difficult, though. Some unsavoury companies have been known to present themselves as ethical and then be anything but. However, this shouldn’t put you off trying to uphold your values.

The best way to get started is to research the areas you are most interested in. For example, if you are particularly interested in the environment, you should look for investment opportunities that align with your beliefs. Remember: you’re not going to find a perfect opportunity so you will need to think carefully about what is most important to you.

Ethical money management is perfectly possible as long as you are willing to do some research and think carefully about where you put your money. Ethics are never clear cut, so see this as a chance to grow, not a one-off.