Tag: Startup

Why Startups Succeed: The 6 Keys To A Successful Startup

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many of the businesses that are integral parts of our lives today were once startups. There were many startups around that same time as well that didn’t make it. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Startups Succeed: The 6 Keys To A Successful Startup.

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Up to now, more than half of all startups have failed. The reasons are different in each case, but the result is still the same. Something went wrong, and the business idea didn’t take off as expected. What could be the reason? Many things play a role here – you can have a look at this article if you are interested in learning more about why startups fail. This blog post will cover some of the most critical factors that make or break your startup within the first couple of months of its existence. These tips will help get your company on track to success and prevent failure from creeping up on you from behind unexpectedly.

Have a good business idea and plan

The idea itself is, of course, the most crucial element. It needs to be something that people need and that you can monetize – the more people who need it and will pay for it, the better. Make sure you have a detailed plan behind the idea that outlines how you will achieve your goals and make your business profitable. The more specific your project is, the easier you will find it to attract investors and build up trust with potential partners, customers, and clients. Your business plan should have a timeline that outlines when you plan to hit certain milestones and what you will do to get there. It should also have a budget and cash flow projections that show how you plan to get the money you need to start the company and stay afloat until it’s profitable enough to be self-sustaining.

Put thought into you name

Your name is a part of your branding, and it should reflect the values of your company, who you are, and what you do. If it doesn’t, it will be much more difficult for you to find customers and build your brand. Be thoughtful when naming a new business, and make sure it resonates with your target audience. There are many factors to consider when choosing a name for your company. You want to make sure you stand out from the crowd. You also want to make sure your name is easy to pronounce and spell and available as a domain name, like HackPad by Alex Graveley for example. . You also want to make sure your name isn’t too similar to another company’s name, as this could lead to confusion or trademark disputes.

Know your target audience

Who are you trying to reach with your product or service? What is their age? What is their gender? Where do they live? Do they have kids? What are their hobbies? What are their biggest problems? If you can answer all of these questions, you have an excellent idea of your target audience. Knowing your target audience will help you find the right words to reach them. In turn, this will help you create better content. Better content ultimately means more sales. You can also use this knowledge to improve your marketing. Knowing who you’re targeting allows you to create better ads, write better emails, and select your audience’s good social media platforms.

Execution timing

Thanks to the right timing, the startup world is full of stories about companies that took off at light speed and achieved great success. Snapchat, for instance, was a big hit and made millions of dollars in the first few years. However, many other startups don’t have such good timing and make the mistake of releasing their product into the world too early. Luckily, you can avoid this problem by doing proper market research and finding out when your product is ready to be introduced to the public. You can also find out when your competitors release their products and when some special events or holidays could affect your business. For example, winter is the best season for ski resorts to open, but it’s the worst season for most beach vacations.

Market research

When you are ready to start marketing your product, you need to know your customers and your target audience as well as possible. That’s why market research is an integral part of every marketing strategy. You need to know your target audience, where they are, and what they want from your product. You also need to know who your competitors are and what differentiates you from them. This information will help you tailor your marketing to your particular audience, better understand what they want, and stand out from the competition.

Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis is another essential part of market research. When you know your competitors, you can see what they are doing right and wrong and learn from their mistakes. You can see what your competitors are up to and see what marketing strategies are working and what aren’t. Understanding your competitors is an excellent way to figure out where your company lacks. You can use tools like SimilarWeb to learn more about your competitors, including where they get their traffic from and the performance of their online marketing campaigns. This can help you make better decisions about your marketing efforts and give you plenty of ideas for improvement.

Putting Your Finger On The Pulse Of Funding For Your Digital Heatlhcare Startup

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you’re creating a startup in the digital healthcare space, you want to have a thorough understanding of how the business works. The following contributed post is entitled, Putting Your Finger On The Pulse Of Funding For Your Digital Heatlhcare Startup.

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Famed for its ability to improve patient satisfaction using timely and concise services and outcomes, digital healthcare is the industry’s golden child of the moment, making it hardly surprising that last year alone saw a record $37.9 billion poured into this field. Unfortunately, with eye-watering high costs for everything from the software to the sensors and equipment necessary to make digital healthcare possible, this investment is more than necessary for most. And, if you’re considering making any ripples in this digital healthcare market that’s only set to keep on growing, you’re going to want to consider how you can also tap into those funding benefits.

After all, even high-value startups in this area will struggle to compete unless they, too, benefit from investment deals. That’s why we’ve put together a fast-fire guide to help you put your finger on the true pulse of funding for your digital healthcare startup.

Understand your options

The funding routes you choose can impact everything from your finances to the speed with which those are delivered, highlighting the need to understand your options. Specifically within the healthcare world right now, investment options include private investment, healthcare capital, and even special purpose acquisition companies. In each instance, you want to take the time to understand amounts, repayment expectations, and the level of control that you’ll ultimately be handing over. Depending on your in-house expertise and visions, the best option will typically be one like capital, which keeps you in control while ultimately providing access to the largest possible sums of money to bring your digital healthcare vision to life.

Follow in the right footsteps

Digital healthcare is a relatively new field, but that doesn’t mean you need to enter the investment arena blind. In fact, ensuring access to the widest possible pool of investment opportunities is often as simple as taking note of successful existing enterprises like BetterUp and Cerebral, both of which secured investment packages exceeding $4 billion last year. Specific areas where these high investments are most often commonplace especially include telehealth, mental health tech, and digital therapeutics, making these fantastic areas of focus for funding you can rely on.

Cut costs where possible

It’s also worth cutting costs wherever you can, ensuring that you’re seeking more realistic, low-level investments that are often far easier to find. While this should never be done at the expense of service quality, viable savings across digital healthcare solutions especially include the effective use of telehealth in general (which can also help to appeal to investors in the first place), the automation of administrative tasks for reduced payrolls, and more. Given that these examples are especially proof of digital healthcare done well, cost savings in this manner are guaranteed to bring investment opportunities within far easier reach for a wide range of reasons, not least the lower amounts that you’re requesting.

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Even the experts are dubbing digital healthcare as the future right now, but make sure that you bear in mind these crucial considerations when seeking funding for a startup in this ever-arising area.

3 Reasons Outsourcing Is Good For Your Startup

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. If you have a startup business, you may want to consider outsourcing tasks that you cannot complete yourself. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Reasons Outsourcing Is Good For Your Startup.

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Referencing existing businesses, a startup can go any way, but majorly, it all depends on your efforts and ability to make it a success. First and foremost, you must take calculated risks to ensure that your decisions and actions will positively impact your business in the long run. Even though said risks can be unpredictable, outsourcing equipment and services can minimize them and significantly cut down costs. Here’s why you should outsource;

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Saves You Money

Often, the equipment you need for your business can be quite expensive, making purchasing them a relatively costly decision than renting. Therefore, if your business relies on machines, it’d be best to consider a commercial scale service to help you achieve your business goals with significantly lower costs.

Furthermore, outsourcing eliminates overhead costs such as repair and maintenance and insurance, allowing you to spend more on other important areas.

Other than outsourcing equipment, you can also outsource services from contractors to manage your business well. Bear in mind that you should only outsource functions you don’t have resources to perform. For instance, if you lack an IT team, you can easily hire an IT firm to perform all related functions effectively.

Plus, you’ll not incur healthcare and insurance costs for external personnel as they’re typically under the managing company.

It’s Convenient

As a business owner, you need your business to run smoothly for better outcomes and easy expansion. Fortunately, outsourcing can be your go-to, thanks to its readily available resources you can use to grow your company.

Startups need to have a good first impression to have a chance at competing in the market. You can do so by availing products/services to your customers on time through outsourcing essential functions.

In many ways, this will help you shape your company’s image, leading to the astronomical growth of your brand.

Outsourcing companies have varying catalogs, which allows you to conveniently work with more than one firm for optimum business operations without compromising your relationships.

Such convenience promotes flexibility in decision-making because you’ll have a ready backup if a company makes last-minute changes.

Ultimately, putting your business in a unique position where you get the best out of outsourcing, maintaining peace of mind.

It’s a Good Business Model

When you hear about outsourcing, you probably only think of its money-saving benefits. While this may be true, remember that it also strengthens and prepares your business for future growth.

For instance, you’ll be in a better position to hire more contractors who’ll work efficiently to cut down on labor costs and increase profit. Moreover, it’s the best decision you can make for your startup because it guarantees quality work and better outcomes.

Because outsourcing directly affects your expenditure, it makes your company appealing, attracting relevant investors and partners for continued business.

Running a business requires research, creativity, and sometimes a ton of experience. However, you can just as effectively run your business with good business models like outsourcing without the latter. When you decide to outsource, ensure the company you’re outsourcing from lives up to your business standards for streamlined operations and good business relations.

What Do You Need For A Successful Startup?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. All businesses initially go through the ‘startup’ phase. If you have the training and experience, the steps to this are obvious. If it’s your first time, you may need some guidance. The following contributed post is thus entitled, What Do You Need For A Successful Startup.

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Starting a business requires you to have certain things in place to give yourself the best chance at success. Without these things, you could be in the 97% of startups that fail every year. We know that you don’t want that, so you are going to have to ensure that you have got everything on the list we are about to give you to avoid this from happening. You might think that you already have everything you need, and if that’s true then great, you’re good to go. But, we suggest that you read this article first, and make sure that you have thought of everything that we have.

An Awesome Website

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The first thing that you are going to need is an awesome website. If you don’t have one of these, you are going to have a high bounce rate meaning that people are going to click onto your website, and then click straight back off. You need to have content that grabs peoples attention, you need to have images and videos to engage with them, and perhaps most importantly you need to have a great web design. You can hire a professional to take care of this for you, and we would highly recommend that you do as they know what clients are looking for.

By doing this, you are giving your business the best possible chance of success by ensuring that you have a website that is easy to use. Your clients aren’t going to spend more than two minutes trying to figure out how to work your site, so you need to ensure that they can do this in one.

Money, Money, Money

People say that you can start a company with next to no money, and while this is true, it is only going to make your challenge all the more difficult. You may also have heard those same people say you need to spend money to make money, and this is also true. It is possible to do it both ways, but one gives you a better chance. Yout business is going to have an easier time if you have the money to invest in it. You need resources, employees, and so on which don’t grow on trees.

If you are struggling to find the money yourself, you could always take your business idea to a tradeshow. Here you will find investors and other companies like yours who are looking for something new to try out. So, if you can get the attention of an investor, or a bigger company here, they may be able to help you fund your startup.

A USP

USP stands for unique selling point. While you might think that you are offering your customers something they need, other companies on the market are going to be offering the same thing. What you need to do is find something that you can offer that nobody else can. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it is going to appeal to your customer base. People like to go to a business that knows who they are, and what they can do for their clients. By establishing a USP for your business, you are doing just that. Ensure that you market this effectively to get the best results when you enter the market.

Marketing Strategy

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The final thing that you are going to need is a marketing strategy. Without one of these, your business is doomed to fail before you have even started. If you don’t know anything about marketing, then you are going to need to hire a team to take care of this for you. It might be a little pricey for you in the beginning, but if you have no prior knowledge of how to market effectively, you are going to have to take this chance and run with it.

You should make sure that your company is going to be utilizing all of the main marketing strategies both online and offline. Getting your content to be a little different from the current trend in your industry is more likely to make you stand out to prospective clients. The marketing is all about targeting your customer, and telling them why they need you, so keep this in mind when you are strategizing.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now know some of the things that you are going to need for a successful startup. Following this advice will help you to hit the ground running as soon as your business is ready to launch, good luck!

Why You Just Can’t Attract The Right People To Your Startup

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. An important part of any business/organization is attracting the personnel you need to for it to achieve its mission. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Why You Just Can’t Attract The Right People To Your Startup.

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The early days in most startups are a lot of fun. You’re usually among a team of people you respect and admire and with whom you get on well. There’s a degree of necessity in this: you need to get on so that you can pay back angel investors and venture capitalists.

But over time, startups need to take on more people, whether it’s to develop new products or support the work of the core employees. And here’s where the problems can start. New people joining an organization can often cause conflict and chaos. New arrivals may leave after several weeks if they’re not happy with the conditions. And you, as the founder, are left with the headache of trying to find somebody else to fill the role: something that’s often expensive to do.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you might not be able to find the right people for your business, and how you can fix it.

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You Have A Poor Brand Or Reputation

Today’s labor market is entirely different from the labor market of the 1970s and 1980s, yet many businesses still operate as if nothing has changed. For starters, there’s far less unemployment than there was in the era of unionization and coal mining. There are many jobs, and workers have a lot of choices. Low unemployment means that workers can demand higher wages and find better jobs more easily than ever before. They don’t just have to stick with the same employer, decade after decade.

Secondly, talented people know that they’re capable. They know that they can show their CV to another firm and get a job with them quickly. Companies are crying out for people with the skills necessary to drive their businesses forward: there’s a chronic shortage right now.
Startups, therefore, need to be savvy. They can’t just rely on the fact that they provide jobs to attract people to work with them. There’s far too much choice available to people these days, especially at the high end of the market. People who are in-demand can pretty much choose who they work for and when.

Startups, therefore, need to think about how they appear as both a customer and an employer brand. Google, for instance, is one of the most attractive companies to work for in the world because of the well-known job perks the company offers to staff. Incredible office spaces, health cover, exciting days out, time each week to pursue side projects: you name it, the company does it.

Lower down the skill ladder are other companies like Zavvi, which offer excellent pay and conditions for warehouse workers, in stark contrast to some other online retailers.
Successful startups are those who can market their desirability as an employer. It’s not just about great pay: it’s also about what it’s actually like to work at your organization. Most workers would be willing to sacrifice a lower paycheck for a great relationship with their manager, for instance.

Building an employer brand isn’t as difficult as you might think. If you’re a new company, try becoming a member of the employer review site Glassdoor. Glassdoor allows employees to post reviews about their experience of working with you. Their reviews often reveal a lot about the company culture, how they can expect to be treated, and whether their peers would recommend working with you.

You Don’t Do The Basics Right

It’s no secret that startups can be chaotic. When Elon Musk and Peter Thiel were working on Paypal, it wasn’t unusual for them to put in 90-hour weeks. But just because running a startup is difficult, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get the basics right. Just as you would judge an applicant on any spelling or grammar mistakes they made on their CV; high-quality people will do the same for you.

Make sure that you do the following:

● Check your website for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Pay particular attention to the candidate-facing parts of your site. If you’re not a native speaker, find an internal colleague or external professional to proofread your content for you.
● Make sure your emails are well-written. Good email writing is a hallmark of a professional company and a signal to high-quality people that you are an excellent employer. Yes, it might seem trivial, but people who don’t know you or your startup usually have very little to go on, and so any obvious and silly grammatical errors may count against you. Make sure that your HR staff knows the difference between “your” and “you’re” – a particularly common mistake.

Your Recruitment Process Does Not Respect Applicants

Some companies are still stuck in the past, believing that there are thousands of people lining up to take a job with them, no matter how rude or obnoxious they are. Firms will host application days where candidates attend mass meetings together only to be berated and ridiculed by company bosses.

Startups should avoid this kind of thing altogether and instead focus on investigating each promising individual based on their merits. They should also be respectful of candidates’ time. That means reducing the length of the application process and ensuring adequate notice of any interview days or on-the-job assessments.

You’re Not Using The Right Recruiters

Inexperienced startups can fall into the trap of thinking that all recruiters are the same. But labour hire is a multifaceted process that involves creating the right linkages to relevant people and knowing where to look. Too many startups focus on building links with a single recruiter, without really thinking about whether that recruiter specializes in the right areas.

Using the wrong recruiters can result in all kinds of headaches for startups. The first issue is the fees, which can be quite substantial. But the main problem is not getting the people you need with experience to drive growth in those critical early months and years. It’s people who drive growth, and so when it doesn’t materialize, it can have a severe impact on your overall business.

You’re Focusing Too Narrowly

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Many inexperienced entrepreneurs believe that they must get the people with the exact qualifications and experience that they need, and with a personality that fits their company. If not, they should just keep on looking. But it turns out that this might not be the best strategy.

Elon Musk has repeatedly said in interviews that he wishes that he hadn’t paid so much attention to candidate’s CVs in the early days. He would often find that somebody would have the technical skills on paper, but that they just wouldn’t be very good at their job or fit in with the people around them. Over the years, he found himself regularly surprised by people who weren’t particularly good on paper, but ended up doing exceptionally well once employed in his companies.

Companies, especially startups, shouldn’t expect people to come to them fully-fledged. Instead, they should view candidates as a work-in-progress: something that requires further development as time goes on. Smart entrepreneurs choose people they believe have the potential to develop into the leaders of the future rather than just people with the right skills on paper.

Your Job Advertising Is Boring

If you’re trying to attract exciting, talented people to your organization, you need to give them a reason to read your job ad. Just stating the salary and listing bullet points of the responsibilities of the role is hardly inspiring stuff.

There are all sorts of ways that you could add a bit of “oomph” to your advert:

● Give them a flavor of your company culture. People want to work in exciting, stimulating environments where people are friendly and engaging. If this describes your startup, say so in your job ad, and make it clear that you want people with a similar approach to work as you.
● Talk about purpose. Talented people are rarely satisfied with going to work to get a paycheck. They want real meaning in their lives. If your startup is trying to do something that will make the world a better place, then talk about this in your ad. Make it clear that the candidate who gets the job will have meaning and purpose in their role.
● Use exciting, personable language. Finally, it’s worth thinking about how you present the job. Many startups believe that they have to be as dry as possible to come across as professional, but doing so is unlikely to attract the most interesting people. It’s much better to use exciting language and to really tell a story about what the job entails. Draw them in – don’t push them out.

You Haven’t Described The Role

Newbie entrepreneurs sometimes struggle to accurately define roles in their businesses, just because their needs change all the time. A startup that needs a software programmer may not know exactly what kind of programmer they need, or what additional responsibilities they may have.

Unclear job ads can lead to employing unsuitable people who leave after a couple of weeks when they realize that they cannot do the work. Be precise about what you need in your advertisements, or consult with external recruiting professionals if you’re not sure.

Successful Startups Turn Their Size To Their Advantage

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money, and Business and Entrepreneurship. Many large companies were once small ‘startup’ businesses. While these companies are smaller initially and have challenges, they do have some advantages over their larger counterparts. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Successful Startups Turn Their Size To Their Advantage.

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The first thing that comes to mind when you consider startups is their size. Startups are tiny businesses run on a tight budget. When it comes to tackling entrepreneurship dreams, however, startups have become an attractive and even profitable alternative to mid-size companies. Indeed, allowing your size to affect your impact on the market is a mistake that no successful startup is guilty of committing. On the contrary, using their small size as an advantage to navigate the complexity of their market, startups can build a positive company reputation, develop highly productive strategies and build profitable relationships with business partners and interlocutors.

Personal interactions matter

Too small for an office? Go remote
When every expense matters, startups need to be creative about creating an engaging work environment that doesn’t go over budget. The preferred solution is to offer more flexibility to their staff by introducing non-traditional working options. Flexibility can allow large teams to work in a small space by creating early and late schedules throughout the day. When there is no budget available to rent an office space, home-based offices and remote locations – such as for staff who prefer to work from their favorite coffee shops, for instance — can keep costs down while boosting staff satisfaction and productivity.

If you don’t have the right skills, someone else will
Mid-size and large companies cultivate an in-house pool of skills, which can be associated with high recruitment and training costs. Startups keep their in-house skills on the minimalist side, ensuring that project outsourcing with dedicated experts fills up the blanks. With startup teams focusing on core activities, agencies that offer dedicated human resource management system provides the skills you need in your organization without hiring new employees. Aside from keeping recruitment and team management costs low, the policy of leaving it to an expert allows startups to spend their time doing what they do best.

They’re the perfect human size
In a small team, every co-worker is known and trusted. As a result, startups are more likely to naturally develop a camaraderie culture that places the human element at the center of the attention. Their personal interactions keep the emotional engagement close to the business activities, which ultimately affects the team’s morale and productivity positively. Indeed, while startups cultivate a digital environment for work, they also tend to leave more room for individual interactions. In a large-scale company, emails, hierarchic structure, and internal politics can interrupt the natural use of interpersonal skills.

Investors invest in an individual dream, not corporate figures
As a result of building their personality within a small team, startups are more likely to win over an investor in face-to-face interaction. While most investors want to see the calculations behind your strategic pitch, they also make a decision that relies on their emotional engagement with an individual dream. The fast pace and reactivity of the startup environment ensure that you will be more relaxed and open during a stressful pitch, which ultimately creates a better first impression on an investor.

Success comes in all sizes. For startups, being small is a crucial factor to their success if they embrace the advantages of their human structure.

What’s The Best Way To Fund Your Start Up?

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money, and Business and Entrepreneurship. No matter what your business idea is, figuring out how fund its startup is key. Likewise many new businesses don’t successfully get off the ground do to difficulties securing startup capital. The following contributed post is thus entitled; What’s The Best Way To Fund Your Start Up?

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Starting a business can be expensive. Whilst some companies can started from home with nothing more than a computer and a phone, others require specialist equipment, licensing, inventory, insurance, work premises and a team of employees. The right type of funding for you depends on your circumstances and the type of business you’ve got planned. Here are just three of the main options available when funding your startup.

Take out a loan

For most people with expensive startup costs, a loan is the best option. This can give you instant access to the funds you need, allowing you to get your business set up straight away. It pays to have a good credit score – this will allow you access to lower interest loans. Banks and peer-to-peer lending sites offer some of the cheapest interest rates. For some people, there may be specialist loans available such as these personal loans of veterans at https://personalloan.co/personal-loans-for-veterans/. Other options could include an equity release or accessing your 401(k) early. Borrowing money is the best option for those that want to get started as soon as possible – you’ll soon be paying off monthly loan repayments, so you want to be putting this loaned money into action quickly so that you’re making an income to pay off this loan.

Seek investment

An alternative option to borrowing money is to seek investment. This involves finding someone willing to give you the funds you need in exchange for shares in future business profits. Seeking out investment can be a longer process than taking out a loan, however unlike a loan in which you have to start paying back interest straight away, you won’t have to start paying shares to investors until your company is up and running making a profit giving you a little more time. You could seek out an individual investor or investment company willing to give you the entire amount you need or you could look into crowdfunding which involves raising the funds from lots of different people. The latter option is most popular and there are sites such as https://www.indiegogo.com/ for doing this. Encouraging investors to fund your business involves having a good business plan – you may want to hire a financial advisor to help you generate projected costs. Having business experience behind you can also help your cause.

Save up

The final option is to save up the funds yourself. By using your own savings, you won’t have to pay any interest fees or shares in the long run. It is however the longest way of raising funds and not ideal for people that want to get their businesses started straight away (it’s probably only best for startups that require a small amount of funding, otherwise you could be saving up for years). There are business savings accounts out there that can collect interest and allow you to build up funds more quickly – it’s shopping around at sites such as https://www.businesscomparison.com/bank-accounts to find the best account for you. Bonds and CDs can also be a good option.