Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Even businesses who become more digital and green, generate wastes. Efficiently doing so can be efficient for operations and profits. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Recycling Tips for Businesses.
In recent times, more and more businesses are going green, not just because it’s viewed as a social responsibility, but it’s ultimately the right thing to do. One of the major practices businesses take up once they go green is recycling. Altogether, recycling is a very important step to take to reduce overall waste production on a larger scale.
This is especially useful because offices are known for generating a huge amount of waste on a daily basis, and recycling is able to cut that amount by at least half. If you are looking for ways to ensure that your business is environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible, here are 5 helpful recycling tips for businesses.
1. Go over your paper consumption Paper contributes to one of the highest forms of waste produced in an office. This is why your business needs to be more conscious of the amount of paper it consumes. One practical action you can take is to incorporate measures that limit excessive paper consumption.
So, instead of printing out documents and files, encourage your workers to use emails and online document sharing platforms instead. You can also use pull printing technology so that all print jobs are user-activated. Why? Well, up to 30 percent of print jobs are never even collected, so this can drastically reduce printing volume.
2. Carry out a waste audit As much as businesses try to recycle, sometimes, they still end up producing a large amount of waste as a result of throwing out materials that can actually be recycled. Yes, paper, plastic, and metal are commonly recycled materials, but businesses could honestly recycle more. A waste audit educates everyone in the office about waste production as well as other kinds of materials that can be recycled.
3. Choose a good recycler Your business can partner with a recycling company that will, in turn, provide them with waste management advice. They can equally ensure that the company produces zero waste to landfill. Nevertheless, before choosing a recycling or waste management company, you need to carry out some research to make sure that they are the right fit for your business.
Some things to consider include whether your recycler is environmentally friendly and if they are an efficient, reliable, and professional business. You can read more here from this recycling and waste management company.
4. Collect organics Recycling is one thing, but having your business collect organic food waste is another platform for it to go green. Organic food waste includes things like coffee grounds, tea bags, food scraps, and even cup sleeves. Collecting these types of compost waste can potentially put your business on the road towards achieving zero waste.
5. Centralise recycling bins There’s nothing worse than wanting to recycle but not having a recycling bin close by. One very easy action that your business can take is to centralize the recycling bins. Ensure that they are placed in positions where everyone in the office can see and access. This will encourage employees to recycle more and can lead to less waste production.
Three focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and STEM. Agriculture is an industry need by most of the developed world. In modern times though, many consumers are putting more and more of their trust in little farms for various reasons. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Little Farm Businesses Are Role Models.
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More and more people prefer to buy their food from trusted sources. While large farming organizations used to be a reliable food source in the past, more and more modern customers are turning to small, family-sized farming and food businesses. The reason is simple: They can’t trust corporate food magnates anymore. The list of controversial decisions taken by large farming companies is too long to write down here. But to name only a few examples, customers demand controlled origins, sustainable productions, and ethical choices from their food suppliers. As such, small farm businesses are making a name for themselves because of their positive management choices.
They are more likely to be eco-friendly While the agricultural industry is one of the first skills developed by mankind, it’s strange to think that many businesses have lost their ways and used environmentally-adverse approaches to exploit the soil or the animals. On the other hand, small farming businesses have maintained their planet-friendly strategy and remained accountable for their results. A sustainable farm can be profitable, especially at a time where buyers demand to see your green strategy. As such, vegetable farms can rely on homemade compost and natural repellents to keep their harvests. Fish farms can look into getting ethical certifications to convince customers of their green intentions. Additionally, as a fish business, you can also rely on reliable equipment, such as the Delta Net and Twine tools, that are handcrafted and made to measure. As such, you can have the best tool for your environment.
They are close bonds with the local community Do you need to own farm fields to become a farmer? More and more dedicated businesses choose to rely on community efforts to build a farming environment that supports local needs. For instance, Boston Medical Center grows its own food for the benefits of patients on top of the hospital. The rooftop farm grows more than 25 crops and guarantees the best products for the patients. Ohio City Farm is an urban farm that trains refugees to help them integrate and acquire the skills they need for their lives in the US.
People trust people Corporate farm businesses are faceless. On the other hand, a family-sized farm is made out of people that you can meet and get to know. Human beings are social creatures, and, as such, they naturally put their trust in other people. Customers find it easier to bond with individual farmers than with a global brand. As such, they are more likely to support local farms.
The rise of leisure farming More and more homeowners are moving outside of towns and into the rural regions. Millennials and Generation X quit their urban lifestyle to buy an abandoned farm and grow their own vegetables. Farming may not be a commercial activity for these. It is a life choice. They want to go back to their roots and learn to cohabit with Mother Nature. As they do, they develop a deeper understanding of environmental challenges and build a new appreciation for small farming businesses.
Small farm businesses are the unsung heroes of the planet. They dedicate their efforts to grow plants or keep animals that are healthy for consumption. Additionally, their decisions are dictated by their love for the environment and the desire to put the community’s needs first. Family-sized farms are the role models we all need to combat climate change and health crises. They are built on respect and values.
“Integration hurt black businesses. There used to be black businesses all up and down Jefferson Avenue and William Street!”
This essay is a follow up to my piece discussing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the burning house, and Dr. Claud Anderson’s prophecies involving the issues plaguing Black Americans today. In this piece I will discuss whether a result of “Social Integration” was the destruction of black businesses. While we celebrate the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, many have questioned the aftereffects of those historic victories.
Different Generations And Experiences
Many of my writings discuss growing up in Buffalo, NY as a member of “Generation X”, specifically, some of the familial, social, cultural and racial aspects. My generation grew up in Buffalo following the exodus of the city’s steel industry, in addition to the ‘post-Civil Rights’ era. Our elders, the “Silent Generation” and the “Baby Boomers”, grew up in Buffalo when the steel industry boomed and experienced the Civil Rights era. You could argue that we came of age literally in two different worlds and are now existing as adults in two different worlds mentally.
The opening quote of this piece comes from a gentleman named “Gus”. Gus is a retired black business owner, a Baby Boomer who owned a steak shop near the corner of Jefferson Avenue and William Street in Buffalo. In addition to the pizza and wings it’s classically known for, there are also numerous steak shops that make nice greasy Philadelphia-style cheese steaks which is what Gus’s restaurant, “Gusto’s”, specialized in. They were very tasty, let me tell you.
Gus was the stepfather of one of my best friends and at many holiday gatherings, there were talks of the ‘old Buffalo’ when there was an abundance of black businesses. Readers familiar with our city might associate that time as being the pre-Humboldt Parkway expressway era. In addition to the steel industry and a vibrant city economy, not having the Humboldt Parkway expressway there is something else I can’t imagine, as it has been there my entire life, running from downtown Buffalo out to the suburbs and to the airport.
Gus’s revelation amazed me as I couldn’t imagine our city any other way than what I’d seen in my 20 plus years, at the time. If what he said was true, there was an abundance of black proprietors and entrepreneurs located on real estate which is now considered blighted and more than a little bit rough (now being gentrified). I went into that neighborhood quite a bit to play basketball at the William-Emslie YMCA, but I didn’t hang around there much otherwise.
So, what happened to those black businesses? Where did they go? And why does it matter 40-50 years later? Gus and many others attributed it to “Social Integration” following the Civil Rights Movement.
Civil Rights And Social Integration
Civil Rights and Social Integration are most discussed in terms of education, access to jobs and the right to use the same facilities as other races. Key efforts of the Civil Rights Movement involved securing voting rights and desegregating society in general; most notably in education, the professional world and the desegregation of public institutions down to drinking fountains and bathrooms.
The end result was that black people could now go to the same schools as white people and could, in theory, have equal employment and access to all parts of society. I said in theory because there was still separation of races and ethnic groups. Growing up I heard stories of white flight in my hometown (and other urban areas) as black families spread out into white communities. Apparently, the neighborhoods which were mostly black in the era that I grew up in, were once mostly white, but gradually became all black as those white residents fled to the suburbs.
Growing up, the definition of Social Integration was usually discussed in societal contexts. One was dating. My father once told me the story of a classmate in college taking a verbal jab at him, saying that ‘integration’ was his favorite subject mathematically, because it was a thought that he liked white women. But what are the other contexts for integration? Yes, and perhaps the biggest is Business/Economics.
Black Buses, Black Taxi Cabs, Black Theaters And White Ice
The prelude to this piece is my essay regarding Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the burning house. In the second half of that document I introduced Dr. Claud Anderson, a staunch advocate of reparations and black economic empowerment. Check out that piece for an in-depth discussion of Dr. Anderson and his philosophies. I also referenced Dr. Anderson’s interview on the popular radio show, “The Breakfast Club”. I wanted to include excerpts from the interview in my Dr. King piece, but I realized that it warranted its own separate essay. The following dialogue between Dr. Anderson and one of the hosts, Charlemagne “Tha God” sheds light on what happened to black businesses across the United Sates following Social Integration:
Dr. Claud Anderson: I grew up in Winston-Salem, NC and we weren’t looking for any Social Integration. Do you know why? It’s because we had our own businesses there. My family had the only black bus line in the entire United States, the only black bus line! And when I say a bus line, I’m not talking about two or three buses. We had over 500 buses in Winston-Salem, NC! And guess what, we had that from 1927 up to about 1967.
In Winston-Salem we Blacks also had our own cab companies, our own restaurants, our own hotels, our own school systems. Do you know what killed our buses? Social Integration. When suddenly you all started talking about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. going down to Montgomery, AL wanting to integrate the bus lines – integrate whose bus lines? White bus lines! They didn’t want to own or control the resources. They just wanted to sit in the front of them (the buses).
Now you tell me. What does that indicate? That you want to get on the bus and just sit on the front of it? Now if the bus is moving, then the back of the bus will be where the front of the bus was in a fraction of a second, and everybody gets off at the same time. So, in Winston-Salem we had our own buses, so when that movement was successful and the blacks who were in Alabama came up to Winston-Salem, blacks in Winston-Salem said, ‘We want to ride in the front of white buses!’ We said, ‘We don’t have any white buses.’ They said, ‘Well get some, so we can ride on the front of them!’
Charlemagne “Tha God”: I feel like a complete asshole because I never thought about that. That whole time they should’ve been trying to establish their own bus companies as opposed to wanting to ride someone else’s. You all boycotted for a year just to want to ride in the front? I never thought about that (laughing).
Dr. Claud Anderson: You’re a smart man! In our “Safe Bus Company” – you can find out about that on your computers. See, we owned the buses. We owned the resources. All our mechanics were black. All our drivers were black. Our electricians were black. Everything was black!
We each had two cab companies in Winston-Salem. The whites had the Blue Bird and the Yellow Cab Companies. We had the Harris and the Camel City Cabs. But guess what. Once that integration movement started, do you know what they wanted? Blacks didn’t want to ride in black cabs anymore. They wanted to ride in the white cabs. In Winston-Salem, we had our own movie theaters, the Lincoln and the Lafayette. There was a Lincoln and Lafayette in every black section of every major city in the United States. The whites had three movie theaters. They had the Far Sight, the Carolina, and the State Theaters. We didn’t care, because we had our own movie theaters. So, guess what. Blacks didn’t want to go to the black theaters anymore, we wanted to go to the white theaters.
Charlemagne “Tha God”: We swear white ice is colder!
Dr. Claud Anderson: I saw that happen once. I was in Tallahassee, FL giving a speech. I was standing on the corner talking to a black real estate developer. A black guy owned a grocery store across the street. A guy pulled up and we watched him, like me and you are talking now. He pulled up to the grocery store and went over to the ice machine. He opened an ice container and pulled out a bag of ice. He looked at the ice container, rolled it around and then put it back into the machine.
He then turned around, backed his car up to where we were standing to a place called Jack’s Liquor. He went into the ice machine and it was made by the same company. He looked at it, rolled it around and then went inside and bought it. I told the person I was with that, ‘I’d never seen that before! I’m going to ask him about it when he comes out of the store. I said, “Sir, let me ask you a question. Why is it that you would not buy the ice from the ice machine over there at the black grocery store, but you came over here to Jack’s Liquor?”
He said, ‘Oh I don’t want to buy Mr. Williams’ ice. I don’t like it. It’s too lumpy! White ice is smoother.’ I said, ‘I know white ice is colder, but now I also know it’s smoother.’
The Ownership Position
“Black folks never learned the importance of owning and controlling!” I think this quote from Dr. Anderson sums up this whole discussion. I must admit though that it’s much more nuanced than that. Why would a race of people completely forsake their own businesses to patronize someone else’s? I think that after enduring chattel slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and segregation, I believe that there was a mass psychological need to feel whole, to feel equal and for acceptance by the larger white society, which is understandable. But is there a point where it went too far?
Something black people in the United States still struggle with as a race today is a sense of belonging. This happens both within our own race, and then regarding what’s referred as the Dominant Society. It’s crazy to wrap your mind around all of it, but it’s real. If you’re black and are perceived as having too many white qualities, you’re not black enough. And there are black people who feel more comfortable assimilating into the Dominant Society. Some are accepted, but it can also be a never-ending quest for some, with consequences on both sides.
Though we had what we needed in our communities, there was still a need to be accepted and to have access to things that were denied to us, socially and in terms of white-collar careers. But did that require forsaking our own businesses and economic power? Not only were there once black businesses, but also black institutions of all kinds. Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK comes to mind and there are numerous stories about it being destroyed and why.
But there were also the Negro Leagues. It’s amazing to think that all the great black baseball players were once all concentrated in one league and that league eventually died out so they could integrate the Major Leagues. The same thing is true for our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There was a point at which they got the best and brightest black students and even athletes. Now they’re competing with larger and more well-funded Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Many have permanently closed for this reason.
The Modern Challenges In Running Black Businesses
Not only have we put most of our emphasis on attaining white collar careers to work in institutions created by others, but there are also issues about creating and sustaining our own black businesses today. In many circles you hear stories of black people not supporting each other’s businesses, but supporting those of other groups. You hear stories of poor service. You hear stories of the services or goods being too expensive and of lesser quality. Then there are also many, many stories of black patrons wanting ‘hookups’ or discounts simply because the proprietors are black. There are also discussions that black entrepreneurs must be careful about solely targeting black people as their customer base, based upon the issues described.
Nevertheless, I do think that we must figure out how to retake ownership of our economic power. In my essay about Dr. King’s vision of the burning house, I listed Dr. Claud Anderson’s points for rebuilding black communities. He first described building communities and families and then figuring out how to keep the dollars within the community. Growing up on Buffalo’s eastside, I only have memories of corner stores being owned by Asians and Arabs. Go into any inner-city now and you’ll see the same thing for the most part. Most of the convenience stores, beauty, hair and nail shops are, in fact, owned by Arabs and Asians, some of whom have responded to customers with violence in retaliation to toxic behaviors towards them which in some neighborhoods are the norm.
There have been numerous stories in recent times of violence being perpetrated against black women at beauty supply shops, for example. Men, such as Tyrone Muhammad in Chicago, took steps to protect the women and tried to send a message to the foreign proprietors by throwing a brick through their window. After getting out of jail, he returned to the shop to see the same women getting their nails done, like nothing had ever happened, as opposed to her finding black nail shops.
Closing Thoughts On Black Businesses And Social Integration
I’m going to close this piece by saying that I’ve been blessed based upon the family I grew up in, and that I was able to ascend academically and professionally. One of my professors at Johnson C. Smith University told me numerous stories about the racism he endured when working on his Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. Aside from the challenging work itself, my doctoral studies as the University of Michigan were mostly smooth. I do acknowledge though that the Civil Rights Movement was critical in providing me the opportunities to go to school.
Furthermore, after being locked out of parts of society and suffering through the hardships endured by the descendants of African Slaves in the United States, it’s understandable that the focus would be on inclusion and assimilation into society. That said, much of it seems to have been done at the expense our own black economy, and going forward, if possible, we must figure out how to rebuild it as most everything seems to stem from it. Other groups have maintained and built their economic power. We should too.
The featured image of this piece is that of the street signs of Grider Street and Kensington Avenue on Buffalo’s eastside. The McDonald’s I worked at in my late teens, which was black owned, sits further down the street from that sign on Delevan Avenue and Grider Street. During that time, I think there were two other McDonald’s restaurants on the eastside that were black owned. The image in the middle of the piece was once again generated by “Creative Designs” by the very talented Tamara Coleman. If you want to learn more about Tamara and her work, contact her via email at: Tammy-cole@hotmail.com.
Do you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said in this piece? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. If you enjoyed this one, you might also enjoy:
If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and/or leave a comment. I’ve recently started a YouTube channel, so please visit me at Big Discussions76. To receive all the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add my RSS feed to your feedreader. You can follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, and Twitter at @BWArePowerful. Lastly, you can follow me on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Not every business is the same and there are aspects that separate the winners from the losers, and the great from the average. These are things you want to pay attention to if you want your business to be exceptional. The following contributed post is entitled, Real World Examples Of Businesses Going The Extra Mile.
Should you be a business owner, you will be familiar with the phrase ‘going the extra mile.’
When standing at a business conference, you will hear keynote speakers proclaiming it from the podium. When reading business blogs, you will be instructed to go the extra mile to make your business more successful. And when you’re paying attention to marketing ads, you will notice this common phrase within the pitches being offered to customers. “We go the extra mile” you will see or hear.
But what does it mean in reality? How can you relate the phrase ‘going the extra mile’ to your business?
To find out more, you need to consider real-world examples of businesses who have gone the extra mile. These are the businesses who put into practice what they preach.
They are the businesses who focus on quality
These are the businesses that are among the best in their field when it comes to quality of product.
We are thinking about companies such as Creative Motion Control who have innovated within the field of linear motion control products. They pride themselves on ‘delivering new game-changing motion control technologies,’ such as roller screw actuators that stand apart from the competitive technologies used by other businesses. They have gone the extra mile by creating products that are kinder to the environment, that have a longer life, and that have an unmatched performance when compared to others on the market.
In this example, going the extra mile refers to innovation, being better than the competition, and taking steps to protect the environment. It also refers to greater customer service as, by producing the best technnologies, customers can benefit greatly from an unrivalled product they can rely on.
They are the businesses who care about their customers
We all know that customer care is important, but some businesses go the extra mile that others wouldn’t consider. We have already alluded to this above, but we have other examples.
We are thinking about Pizza Hut who, after noticing a regular customer had gone MIA, actually called him to see if he was okay. They also sent him a ‘welcome back pizza’ to encourage his return custom. Then there is LG who discovered one of their younger customers had lost her phone after she shared the story on social media. Most companies wouldn’t bother themselves with such stories, but in this case, the higher-ups did a very honourable thing and sent her a brand new phone!
In these business examples, going the extra mile means surprising the customer, caring for the customer’s welfare, and taking steps to know more about the customers who buy their products.
Think about your experiences
Think about the customer service personnel you have encountered who have impressed you with their kindness, generosity, and professionalism.
Think about the products you have bought that have been better than those offered by the competition, and in some cases, innovated.
And think about those businesses that have impressed you for reasons not listed here. What did they do to meet your personal needs? And what did they do to exceed your expectations?
Going the extra mile can stand for innovation, ethical responsibility, and customer care. And it can stand for anything that you have noticed when you have been dealing with other businesses.
Finally
You don’t have to look far to find a business who has gone the extra mile, so think about our examples, think about your personal experiences, and then consider how you might relate what you have learned to your business.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Arguably the most important part of your business is its marketing. In theory, effective marketing will lead to more sales. Your marketing formula may need to evolve over time. The following contributed post is entitled, How Businesses Can Transform Their Marketing Strategies For The Better.
If you want to make it in the modern business world, it’s all about marketing. You can’t expect your business to grow if you don’t market, so finding marketing schemes and campaigns are essential to keep your company afloat.
There are many forms of marketing. You have traditional methods such as newspaper ads and TV spots. You have passive marketing, where you trust people to see your ads around town to build interest. You also have new marketing models: digital marketing, which is what the majority of businesses rely on now.
However, not everyone has gotten on board. There are some businesses and industries that neglect to market their business effectively. This itself could be a cause for lack of growth, so it might be time you start looking at better ways to spread awareness of your business.
Small Businesses
Often, small businesses cannot afford to engage in comprehensive marketing strategies to get the word out. But as a small business, they don’t need to yet.
Instead, they need to find a way to compete with similar businesses in their area, but with a lack of funds, they can’t make witty ad campaigns or sass customers on social media. Instead, perhaps its better to go back to traditional methods.
Local areas love businesses that engage with the community, so showing that your company cares about the goings-on in and around the town or city will put you in the good books. It could shift their loyalty from faceless multi-nationals to someone who knows their names and says hello every time they step into the store.
Healthcare Industry
Healthcare is something that everybody needs in their life. Whether it’s routine checkups or ongoing prescriptions, healthcare is a basic human need. It might be because of this, though, that the healthcare industry is not as forward-thinking than other sectors when it comes to marketing. Maybe they think if it’s something everyone needs, then why waste resources telling them what they already know?
However, that’s not the case. There are different levels of healthcare, and they demand different approaches. Mental health marketing will differ from dental marketing, and vice versa, so it’s finding out how to best target your potential customers.
With a big focus on social media’s negative influence, mental health campaigns can be found on Instagram. In contrast, a dental marketing strategy could be used at the supermarket (where you buy dental supplies). This targets both patients where they are most likely to see it, which sounds like a win.
Marketing Firms
Who markets to the other marketers? It’s a strange one, as you’d expect many marketing firms would undertake their own marketing duties. However, with client campaigns to focus on, this isn’t always so easy.
The problem is that marketers can recognize when they’re being duped. Instead of following the same old routines, it’s better to look at new, more subtle ways to market your marketing firm. We’ve seen it through content marketing, and this has worked moderately well. But there could still be a better way.
Spreading Awareness
You cannot expect growth and recognition if you neglect to embrace the potential options to help you better market your product or business. Even if you stagnate, the world will continue to evolve, so follow it as best you can.
“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:
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.
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.
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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?
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
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Over the course of time, some businesses will thrive will others will fail. Depending on the environment of the time, some will be favored and times change, so each must eventually adapt. The following contributed post is entitled, Darwinism: It’s The Key To Your Company’s Success.
Evolution has everything to do with businesses. The ones that don’t fail are the ones that have the best chance to thrive, which is the epitome of the survival of the fittest. Still, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and begin each day without the right attitude. Too many bosses roll out of bed and start their routine without thinking about the impact on their business.
Think about it – adaptable businesses are often described as flexible and a team player. These are character traits you’re going to need to appeal to a consumer base and get them to make conversions. There’s a reason more businesses are investing in emotional intelligence: it’s to shift their focus and change their industry view.
Here are the reasons you should never underestimate the importance of Darwinism in your business plan. Incorporate the following and you should hit your targets on time.
You’ll Be A Great Leader
Great leaders are born, right? People like to think this is true because it’s romantic; plus, it self-congratulatory because they are the ones who see themselves as leaders. The truth is that you can become a great leader if you work hard at it and understand your weaknesses. The main one is the lack of flexibility.
Employees come in all shapes and sizes and don’t react well to a general management style. They need a tailored approach that makes them feel valued at times as well as giving them much-needed perspective at others. Inflexible managers often make the mistake of treating everyone the same and it backfires. After all, yelling at someone who needs an arm around their shoulder is bound to have negative consequences.
Sure, you have to be able to spot the people with different personality traits, but when you do, you must be adaptable enough to change for their benefit.
To Keep Up With Technology
It’s not okay to say you’re an old-school entrepreneur and that’s why you don’t take technology seriously. Tech is the cornerstone of the industry today because it can change your fortunes in a matter of days. Worse, it can give your rivals the ammunition they need to infringe on your market share and leave you in their dust.
Evolving with the times means you are likely to adopt the necessary trends for the sake of the company. Some, such as telephone answering services, might not seem essential at first but read between the lines and you’ll see the impact they can have on customers. The likes of Ivy Answer is popular today because they evolved with the industry and find a profitable niche.
But don’t forget that modern businesses also can say no. Understanding technology means knowing when to invest and when to decline. Otherwise, every company would outsource all of their tasks and make a fortune, but that isn’t the case. With the right knowledge, you can decide what is outsourced and what stays in-house.
To Recruit Effectively
The “New Competitive Advantage” theory doesn’t only apply to employers – employees are affected too. Essentially, you need workers that can adapt to the company’s processes first and foremost. Then, you need them to evolve during their time with the business to ensure they don’t miss out on crucial opportunities.
To do this, the business has to hire the right people, and it’s not a simple task. There are tips you can use to help, but the thing you should keep in mind adaptability. When you understand it’s importance, you are more likely to look for the character trait in your recruits. Be honest – how often do you think about Darwinism when you interview a candidate?
Surveys already suggest that the ability to deal with change is going to be a vital component of success in the future.
Mistakes happen and it’s your ability to bounce back that’s the key to success. Working hard and having drive isn’t going to be enough when your business is on the line. Help is essential; otherwise, a bankruptcy application might be on the cards.
Adaptability is vital because it encourages you to review your goals and objectives. Once you fail, you need to be able to see where and why and adjust your targets accordingly. Those that don’t will make the same error and never learn. Plus, you’re more likely to use tools to your benefit. After all, you understand their importance and how they can get you out of a tight spot.
Thanks to evolution, you’ll do more than survive – you’ll flourish.
Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. No matter what arena it is, there will always be some element of human error. When you’re in a healthcare business, errors can be particularly dangerous. As such its important to figure out how to minimize errors in your healthcare business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Human Error In Healthcare Businesses: What Are The Solutions?
While human error is by no means limited to healthcare businesses only – every industry has to battle the issue – it could be argued that human error is particularly costly when it comes to medicine. Medical staff are highly-trained, dedicated, and expert individuals, but everyone is human, and – to borrow a famous quote – to err is one of the most human of traits.
For years, owners of all healthcare-related businesses – ranging from private clinics to pharmacies to research labs – just had to accept that human error was inevitable, and to try to limit the damage when it occurred. However, modern medicine is very different indeed, and if you own a pharmacy or medical practice, you’re sure to be delighted by such a development.
Understanding the reasons for human error
When anyone makes a mistake, most of us are trained just to accept it, telling ourselves that these things happen. This is a fairly reasonable response, and there is no benefit to seeing a single error as a reflection of an individual’s overall capabilities, it is perhaps overlooking a key issue: well-being.
Simply put, errors are more likely if someone is not at their best. If they are tired, stressed, anxious, or feeling physically unwell, then an individual is more likely to make mistakes. Over recent years, a societal trend has emerged acknowledging that while some errors will always happen, many more are preventable. You might need to look at increasing your staff levels to reduce pressure or hire more experienced staff who can better handle the complex challenges facing your business. List vacancies on niche sites such as the allied health jobs board for the best applications.
In the course of running your medical business, embracing the above approach can be hugely beneficial. If you focus on ensuring your staff are at their best by managing their schedule, encouraging good employee health practices, and encouraging staff to approach you if they feel unwell or off their game, you stand an excellent chance of reducing human errors that may otherwise have caused huge problems.
The introduction of tech
An understanding of the reasons people make errors is important, but in terms of reducing human error in medical businesses, nothing is quite so efficient as automation. Machines and technology are unencumbered by issues such as stress and overwork, and are thus able to perform tasks with greater accuracy and consistency than their human counterparts.
There are few areas of medicine that are not benefiting from automated interventions. From the well-known benefits of devices that facilitate pharmacy automation and analysis of test results to futuristic ideas such as robotic surgery, automation is changing medicine for the better.
Due to the incredible abilities offered by modern technological advances such as those described above, human error is no longer a factor that just has to be accepted. By investing in tech, you can ensure that your staff have more time to spend interacting with patients, while automated technologies work hard in the background to produce excellent, almost entirely error-free results.
In conclusion
As the above demonstrates, owners of any kind of medical business are now able to better manage human error than at any other point in history. By combining a focus on employee health and well-being with automated technologies, you can embrace a new, exciting future that significantly improves the working life of your staff, reduces overall errors, and ultimately boosts your business’ chances of success.
