John Maddox - 2/13 - Serious Startups

The Challenges In Operating A Global Business

There are many reasons why a business should consider operating globally. These include:

– A consumer demand in the global market.

– The possibility of added profits in line with the expansion.

– An increase in reputation.

The advantages are clear, but there are hurdles ahead. If you are considering taking your brand to a global level, consider the following challenges that await you should you take the leap.

Challenge #1: Documents getting lost in translation

Writing an instruction manual (or any other form of documentation) is difficult enough in your own language, but when operating internationally, you need to prepare each and every document in line with the culture and language involved. Because of the intricacies involved, you shouldn’t use one of the many internet translation tools to get this job done. The wrong wording could offend an international client, for example, so it’s safer and easier to hire an international translation company to do this for you.

Challenge #2: Dealing with the physical distance

If you are selling a particular product or service to an international client, you can communicate with them over the telephone or internet. However, there will be times when you may need to fly overseas for a face-to-face meeting, perhaps to build trust between the two of you. There is also the shipping to consider, with the need to logistically transport your product overseas. In both cases, you are looking at significant costs. One way to alleviate this is to expand your business into an overseas premises. Again, this will be costly in the short-term, but it may make better financial sense in the long-term provided you get the expected rise in profits with the expansion.

Challenge #3: Managing the changes in each culture

As alluded to within our first point, you need to be careful when working with a culture that is unfamiliar to you. This applies to the way you do business with your clients, and the way customers shop in another country. These changes in behaviour will directly influence the way you operate, so you need to carry out research to ensure you don’t make a cultural faux pas and break certain taboos within the country. Again, by having a base of operations abroad, you can hire people local to the country to work for you. Of course, you still need to have an understanding of that country’s employment laws – not every country works 9-5 for starters. You might also consider hiring an international consultant to alleviate this challenge within your expansion plans.

Challenge #4: Understanding rules and regulations

We have already alluded to this point earlier, but there are a number of things to take into consideration. This includes the aforementioned changes in employment laws that may not be in line with the way you operate within your own country. There are also the varying fees attached to exporting and importing goods that need to be adhered too. Then there are tax laws, distribution agreements, and all manner of other legal issues to get your head around. You could simply bury your head in the sand and ignore them, but you will run into serious trouble if you do.

Challenge #5: Changes in marketing

This again comes down to cultural differences, as you will need to adapt or completely change the way you market your product or service. Again, having an understanding of the target country is essential, as you don’t want to use wording or images that could be misinterpreted in your marketing efforts. To help you, have a look at what other businesses have done before you, look online at international media and print advertising for an idea of what works, and consider hiring a transcription service for your copywriting and digital marketing tasks.

Challenge #6: Coping with the demands of an expansion

There are demands both at home and abroad that will directly affect your business. There is the time factor – will you have enough hours in a day to manage the expansion, or will you be hiring new staff to take on new responsibilities? There is the cost factor – do you have enough funds to cover you for any potential losses while setting up a new base elsewhere? There is the location factor – there will be overriding demands in whichever location you set yourself up in, so you need to do your research before committing to a particular country. In short, are you prepared for what’s ahead of you?

Final thought

Having considered the above, you may decide to not operate globally after all. There are many challenges ahead, so it may be easier to take the safe route by sticking with what you know. Still, there are advantages to operating globally that may outweigh the difficulties with such a move, including the profits and reputation status we mentioned earlier. There is much to think about, so weigh up all the pros and cons before you take the leap abroad.

Startup Ideas for Animal Lovers

If you’re an animal lover and your dream is to spend all day playing with animals, being around animals or doing things that will benefit your furry friends, then why not build a business around them?

There are lots of interesting animal-based startup ideas that could see you earning a good living in your own terms while doing what it is that you love the most. Sound good? Check out these great animal startup ideas and see if anything suits you:

Pet Photography

If you’re the creative type, you know your way around a camera, and you love animals, starting your own pet portraits business could be just the idea you have been looking for. All you need is some basic equipment like a decent DSLR camera, lighting and a backdrop – all of which you can obtain for as little as $1,300 – and you can start advertising your services online and with some cheap business cards. You’ll need to be patient because dogs and cats won’t always just sit still and do what you want them to do, but it will allow you to be creative and meet lots of beautiful animals – what could be better?

Open Your Own Dog Park

If you happen to love dogs and you either already own some suitable land or you are able to raise the capital to buy some, setting up your own dog park could be a lot of fun. You can charge upwards of $39 for a membership, so if you open in an area that is home to lots of dogs, it could be quite lucrative. Of course, you’ll need to but various pieces of dog park equipment and you’ll have to set up a website and do some advertising, but it should be fun. It’ll certainly be fun when you can mingle with the local dogs at your leisure.

Pet Sitting

Pet sitting is a good option for those of you who are looking to build a startup on a small business of less than $1000. It’s good because basically, all you need to get started is an insurance policy, a website and some business cards and leaflets. Once you’re up and running, you will actually get to play with and care for animals for a living!

Pet Subscription Service

Another affordable option – again under $1000 – is to start a pet subscription service. Think of Birchbox, but instead of beauty products, you’ll be selling dog treats, toys and grooming products. This is a great way to pamper pets without getting too involved with them and while using your sales and marketing experience. You may also want to use your cooking or craft skills to create homemade gourmet treats or unique toys and accessories that won’t be found elsewhere. Doing so will give you a competitive edge.

Pet Baker

Baking gourmet treats for pets could, of course, be an excellent startup idea in its own right. People love their pets, and many of them are willing to spend lots of money pampering them, especially when it comes to foods. If you can develop recipes that are luxurious, healthy and attractive to pets, then there will be a market for it, and you will be able to start your own pet bakery online for as little as $1000. If you want to open a bakery offline, you could be looking at between $10,000-$50,000 to get things off the ground.

Pet Groomer

Setting up your own pet grooming business will put you in regular contact with lots of animals, which is the animal lover’s dream. You will need to undergo training to offer this service as well as paying for grooming equipment and a van. If you want to open a parlour rather than just being a mobile groomer, you will also need to factor in rental costs or the cost of buying an appropriate space, so it is not the cheapest option, but it is one of the best in terms of time spent with animals.

Pet-Matching Professional

If you’re good with technology, but you want to spend some of your time with animals too, you could become a pet-matching professional for around $100. What is a pet-matching professional? It’s someone who visits animal shelters, boarding kennels and pet shops and then helps to create a service that matches people with pets or pet owners with products and services that are likely to be suited to them. You only really need a computer and some programming skills to get started too!

Found an animal-based startup idea that you like? Start researching it and you could be living your dream much sooner than you think!

The Famous Five Golden Rules of SEO

No matter what kind of website you run, making sure that you can be easily found online should be one of your top priorities. And there is no doubt that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) holds the key to you achieving your goals. However, to people not in the know, it can seem like a seriously confusing area which is difficult to navigate.

Of course, the solution of many people is to head to the SEO Experts for some much-needed help. But it still helps to know a few of the golden rules and things which you can do yourself. This is where this article comes in.

Content

Google and the other major search engines love to see fresh content being produced on a regular basis. So, populating your website with regular, well-written words should be one of your highest priorities. Of course, you should be aiming to produce content which provides genuine value to people’s lives, so make sure that you write with your audience firmly in mind.

Keywords

While you should tailor your content to be read by a human audience and not a machine, you still need to input some keywords to give yourself the best chance of being found when these terms are searched. However, this doesn’t mean that you should simply stuff your articles full of a certain word or phrase as this is going to seem totally unnatural. Make sure that you check out factors like monthly search volume, competition level and bid value to decide which keywords to target.

Responsive

With so many people using the smartphones to access the internet, you are missing a trick if your website is not responsive to their requirements. If your website needs to be redesigned to suit the preferences of your users, this is a step that is certainly worth taking. Different devices are used to access the internet and you need to accommodate everyone’s individual requirements.

Links

You should be actively seeking backlinks on other websites which redirect users back to your site. However, the website that you are seeking to obtain backlinks on should be genuinely high-ranking or ‘valuable’ sites. One of the most popular ways of achieving backlinks these days is with guest blogging, and this is certainly something which you could look into.

Speed

In today’s fast-paced world, your website needs to suit the demands of your users. So, your sire should be to be both quick and responsive. This is not only important for SEO; it also ensures that users stick around to check out your content. Make sure that your images are no larger than they need to be and that they are in the correct file format.

The above points should provide you with a good starting point in the world of SEO. It is not an exact science, but keep doing the right things, and you should start to receive the rewards that you seek.

A Word For Business Leaders: Why It’s Okay To Say ‘I Don’t Know’

As a business leader, the last three words you would expect to say to anybody are ‘I don’t know.’ The risk of appearing vulnerable is a common fear, as you don’t want the people you work with, be they staff, customers, or clients, to know that you aren’t always in full control. After all, as the person in charge, you need to inspire confidence in others. However, despite your better instincts, it is okay to show vulnerability. It is okay to show weakness. It is okay to sometimes say ‘I don’t know.’ Here are the reasons why:

You don’t know everything

You don’t – it’s as simple as that. You aren’t a walking encyclopedia, with knowledge about every facet of your company. You probably don’t have qualifications in every skill set that makes your company run smoothly. You will never have all the answers to everything, and nobody expects you too. Saying ‘I don’t know’ is the logical solution. That doesn’t mean you can’t commit to a little research. It doesn’t mean you can’t understand certain facets of your business more. But you will only overwhelm yourself if you try and learn everything, and the quality of the work you produce will suffer as a result.

You have your own job to do

You are in a leadership position, with your own duties and responsibilities for your working day. To have your finger in every other aspect of your business will only undermine the people you have working for you, and you will have less time to get on with the tasks your position dictates. So, do what you do well and don’t sweat the details in other areas. You don’t need to know what a Piezo buzzer is, for example, if you don’t have skills in manufacturing, and you don’t need to know everything about SEO if you already have a marketing team. Get on with your own job, fulfilling the job description that befits your role, such as inspiring others to do their job well, instead of involving yourself in places where your time will be wasted.

Other people are better than you

Following on from the above, you need to remember that you are employing people for a purpose. They are there to make your life easier, to achieve your company’s vision; and to cover the gaps in your own skill base. Your employees have a job to do, with training and qualifications that may be well out of your remit. And that’s okay. You don’t need to be better than them as a leader. You have nothing to prove to them, other than your leadership credentials. You will only come unstuck if you try to be a ‘master of everything,’ and your employees will see right through your ill-fated attempts at ‘expertise.’ Let them get on with their jobs, admire the skills they possess, and rather than trying to get hands-on in different aspects of your company, do what you’re there for, and give your staff the tools to do their job better.

Finally

Saying ‘I don’t know’ requires you to show your human side. By being vulnerable and admitting to not knowing all the answers will inspire confidence – it’s better to be honest than to lie or to give an ill-informed answer, right? Educate yourself on the areas that matter, especially if you don’t know the things you really should within your business, but rely on the strengths of others in those areas where you don’t need to have full control. You will gain more respect if you do.

Common Startup Mistakes: What Not to Do When Starting a Business

It’s not at all uncommon that a brilliantly imagined startup gets ruined only months after its launch. The number of new businesses that end up bankrupt before they even start functioning is seriously high.

The reason behind this is that new, inexperienced leaders simply fail to think things through. So, they act on impulse, and make rash decisions that aren’t based on knowledge or data.

Starting a business has its protocol; it’s simple to gather all the documents you need. However, due to a lack of experience, chances are that you’re unfamiliar with beginner mistakes that quite often drive a business into the ground.

Failing to Do Marketing Research First

You can’t just start sailing without preparation, set off to unknown horizons, without a compass or any sense of direction. That’s how you get stranded.

Before launching your startup, you need to get closely familiar with your market. For your startup to have a chance of survival, you need to research the demand, and learn about the wants and needs of your target audience.

Having No Interest in Your Business

If you’re starting a business just because someone gave you an idea that sounds plausibly profitable, chances are you won’t give your best to make it work.

Your startup needs to be based on a passion of yours, something that drives you. That will keep you pushing even in the hardest, most desperate moments.

Not Being Ready to Sacrifice Your Social Life

A startup demands as much attention as a newborn. So that it can grow, you need to nurture it and provide it with a means for proper development. You will have to give up on weekends for a while if you want this to work out.

Not Knowing How to Treat Customers

Considering the market saturation, the only way your business to stand a chance is if you know how to build strong relationships with your customers. If you’ve never been in direct contact with customers, and if your previous jobs kept in you the back office, you should know that you have a lot to learn.

Being Cheap

Startups count a small number of employees; for it to be highly functional, each of those employees needs to be equipped with a narrow expertise – they need to be true professionals in their fields. However, that doesn’t come cheap.

Have in mind that valuable workers and talents deserve a fair price for their services. Otherwise, they won’t be properly motivated to contribute to your business.

Ignoring Results of Analytics

Taking risks is one thing; every accomplished business leader faced risky challenges in their career. However, you first need to develop an intuition so that you can later allow it to guide you.

Until that time comes, you need to lean on numbers. Every move you make needs to be a result of fine calculation. Pay close attention to tools for analytics and the data they show.

Trying to Take Care of Everything by Yourself

If you’re lead by that old “If you want something done, do it yourself” saying, you won’t be able to accomplish much with your startup.

You need to place trust in your team. Naturally, that implies that you need to wisely choose your employees beforehand. The key to your success is delegation of responsibilities. For your startup to flourish, every employee needs to pull their weight.

Forgetting about Insurance

Although you shouldn’t have a fear from failure – negative thoughts can cloud your judgement – you still need to think about your safety net.

Business leaders who got irreversibly bankrupt forgot about this matter – insurance. It might be another expense the moment you’re counting every dime, but it will allow you to bounce back in case of an unfortunate event. Therefore, check out a startup insurance agency, and explore your options.

A business consists out of many different aspects, and for it to actually develop and become functional, you need to have all of them in mind. The truth is that, with careful planning, through research, and precise data, you’ll be able to recognize and make the right moves. Just make sure you steer clear from the mistakes we listed above, and your chances for success will significantly increase.

Shop Window To The World: What Does Yours Say?

You only get one chance to make a first impression. And never is that truer than when it comes to your company website. Studies show that web users allot an average of 3 seconds to their initial scan of the page – and if what they see doesn’t appeal, isn’t fit for purpose or it isn’t clear how to do what they want, you’ve quickly lost them. That’s why it’s a business essentially to continually invest in updating, refining, user testing and optimizing your website. Essentially, your site is your shop window to the world – if you don’t get it right, you’ll never entice potential customers and clients to come inside and take a closer look. The sheer volume of information we all process on an average day means that getting our attention is much harder – and your business needs to compete. So what are the crucial factors you need to take a cold, hard look at?

Design

What message do you want to give to the world? Smart design should never be an afterthought. Look for examples of amazing web design to inspire you as to what’s possible. If you want your website to tell people that you’re comfortable with mediocrity, wont go above and beyond, don’t care about your customers and won’t spend money to improve your business then you can afford to be comfortable with second-rate design. Not sounding good? Then you need to pay attention to the small details. Color choice, branding, fonts, image – what message are they sending out? Do some research with your intended customers, as their perceptions may well surprise you, especially if it’s quite a different demographic from the one you belong to.

Navigation

Think about your own experiences with websites that bury key information within child pages, or are slow to load. What if you can’t find a way to do what you want to do? Immediately you get an impression of a company that doesn’t care about your business. Small business can be big offenders as they don’t have the necessary expertise to develop marketing-driven web design. Make working with a professional high up your list of priorities. You’ll be surprised how much they can boost your conversions and minimize bounce rates. Design an information architecture that is intuitive and easy to navigate for your target audience and avoid cluttered pages and menus with too much information.

Mobile Optimization

Increasingly, web browsing is mobile browsing. As use of tablets and smartphones continues to grow year on year, you simply cannot afford to leave mobile optimization of your website as an afterthought. 48% of web users state they will immediately go elsewhere if they land on a site that isn’t geared up for mobile, and they believe it’s a sign that a business doesn’t care about their custom. Good modern design is mobile responsive, designed for browsing on a smaller screen. It’s regarded as a hygiene factor now, not even good service. Spend time improving the mobile experience and you’ll win a lot of business.

Helpful Degrees Which Will Prepare You for Being a Business Owner

When you start a business, there is a lot to learn, and much of this has to be done as you go. However, you can certainly prepare yourself more effectively by learning as much as you can about business-related topics before you actually launch a venture. Read on for some of the most helpful degrees to consider studying if you want to be an entrepreneur.

Computer Science

Read any business magazine or newspaper article these days and you’ll see entrepreneur after entrepreneur who has made their fortune by developing an app or other software program which has been used and purchased by millions of people. In this digital age, knowing how to come up with tech-related products or services can be one of the best ways to become a successful business owner. As such, a degree in computer science can take you a long way.

Studying this area is useful in ways that goes beyond an actual product or service you create to sell too. Big data is extremely helpful in all industries, in many ways. For example, it can be utilized to cut costs, increase productivity, market and sell to consumers, improve customer service, streamline processes, and a whole lot more.

Having a background in computer science can help you to use and/or develop programs which automate tasks or reduce the amount of time required to complete them. It is also of benefit when you need to create a website for your business or use other tools to market it; plus knowledge in this area can help you understand and tap into emerging fields before your competitors.

You might wonder: how hard is a computer science degree? and, will the investment of time and money be worth it? However, just take a look at all the industries and businesses being disrupted by tech tools these days and you’ll soon see the commitment will be of great benefit on your entrepreneurial journey.

Business

Another degree that’s top of mind for budding entrepreneurs is, of course, a business one. Programs such as MBAs and Bachelors of Business courses are the perfect options when you want to give yourself a thorough, overall understanding of how organizations work, not just locally, but all around the world.

When you complete a business degree, you will learn about topics such as sales, marketing, accounting, finance, economics, leadership, psychology, organizational management, administration, communication, international markets, and so on. You will have lots of different areas to choose from when deciding on subjects, and get the chance to enjoy practical placements and internships for on-the-job experience too.

Another benefit of business degrees, particularly MBAs, is that you get the chance to meet like-minded people from around the globe. You will connect with people who could go on to become not just your friends but also your sounding board, client, partner, investor, or employee as the years go by. As well, because business degrees tend to be made up of such diverse groups from many different nations, backgrounds, and cultures, you’ll have the chance to learn from and exchange ideas with people you might never have otherwise met.

Psychology

In business, to achieve success you’ll regularly need to think about how other people view the world, and the wants and needs they have. This ranges from customers and employees, through to journalists, investors, lenders, suppliers, and more. As a result, if you learn about psychology, this can help you to run your business more profitably and effectively.

Through studying a psychology degree, you will become versed in theories on how the human brain works; how different personalities learn, interact, clash, and otherwise vary from each other; and how needs and wants can be determined by the actions, body language, words, and tones of people.

When you complete psychology courses, you’ll obtain knowledge which helps you to design products and services to best suit particular market segments, and you’ll better understand how to target the right potential clients, and how to cater to their desires well. You’ll be more effective at inspiring, motivating, engaging and leading a team, and at communicating with all sorts of people in all sorts of situations.

Psychology skills will guide you when it comes time to brand your business and to market your wares as well. Providing customer service that really satiates clients will also be easier, as will your ability to hire the right people and otherwise surround yourself with the best team possible.

Five Things That Can Help Your Business Stand Out

Every business owner wants their business to thrive, don’t they? After all, you don’t start this journey wanting to mediocre, you start it with the vision of making it a success, am I right? However, apart from some of the fundamental aspects of running your business efficiently, is there anything else that you can do to make your business stand out? Sometimes thinking outside of the box, being creative and doing things differently can work in your favor. I thought I would share with you five of the things to help get your started.

Offer different levels of communication

There are customers out there who like to talk, customers out there who prefer email, and there will be customers out there that like to send an old fashioned letter or even a fax, believe it or not. Having a fax machine for your business won’t be a bad thing, and this is when you need to ensure that you are fax GLB compliant. In truth, with your lines of communication having all options means that your business is open to every type of customer, which expands your reach.

Use social media as a marketing tool the right way

Social media is an amazing marketing tool for your business, and it is so good that people are trying to now use it in different ways to promote their businesses. If you think outside of the box in terms of your marketing, then you can really stand out in the world of social media. This might mean improving your images, using Facebook live or Instagram stories as a behind the scenes look. If you can add personality and passion to your social media ten your business will thrive.

Have a business blog

Blogging is fast becoming a useful tool that your business can capitalize on. It opens up another way of driving traffic to your website without it feeling like it is an aggressive or direct sell to your customer. Blogging can also be used in conjunction with search engine optimization, which in theory, will help boost your search engine ranking and direct more people to your main website. It is a great tool to have for your business.

Consider your branding

Your branding is your key message to your customers and other businesses out there, so it needs to be right for your business. It is relevant to your logo, the colors you use, the message you want to say, and it needs to be true to your and your business. There are digital agencies out there that can help devise the perfect brand for your business.

Having a fantastic website

Finally, as we live in a digital world it is important to ensure that your website works efficiently. It needs to load up quickly, be bright and have good quality images and to also hold all correct information. This enforces trust into your business and to your brand.

I hope that these tips help you to ensure that your business is able to stand out from the crowd.

Fill In The Potholes On The Construction Industry Roads

You may not think it, but the construction industry can actually be a very profitable sector to enter into. If you think about it, there are always businesses, governments and private individuals who need construction work completed and it is a specialist skill. Not everyone can succeed working in construction, that’s for sure. That said, there are a few issues on the road to profit in this industry that you need to be aware of. If you don’t tackle these issues head-on, they could bring the bricks of your construction business toppling down.

Watch Those Hours

The first issue that you need to be prepared for is allowing your employees to work long hours. You have to keep a tight control of how long you’re letting employees work for and make sure that they don’t get overstretched. While not in the construction industry, recently attention has been brought to the dangerously long hours that the cast and crew members on hollywood sets work. This will no doubt cause a ripple effect and make every industry explore just how long workers are on the clock and on the road without breaks. As such, it is crucial that you keep this under control and make sure that you are protecting the safety of your workers and the safety of your company.

Keeping Costs Constrained

One of the biggest issues in the construction industry is definitely the cost and from that the competition. You will constantly be up against businesses that can promise a much smaller bill for their projects. If that’s the case, then you can bet that you will lose contracts with your clients. One of the best ways to handle costs is to consider what work you need to do yourself and what should be outsourced. Obviously, you will want to handle the actual construction work yourself. But what about getting rid of waste materials or bringing in materials that you need. That’s a basic level job and can be completed by an outside company. If you click here for more info, you’ll see that you can hire a plant company to complete this work for you and make sure that you’re not spending a fortune on equipment and transportation.

Gaining Attention

It’s quite common for construction business owners to think that their hard manual labor company should play by different rules compared with the typical office business. But actually, a lot of the requirements are the same, and that includes marketing. You need to make sure that you are marketing your company effectively, making sure that you do get the interest you need on the market to succeed. Otherwise, you will be left in a position where you’ll be struggling to keep up with the bigger construction companies.
We hope this helps you fill in the potholes on the construction industry roads. Once you do, you’ll find it’s smooth driving traveling from profit to profit, without any trouble at all. Take our advice and there will be nothing in between you and great success.

Is Technology Causing More Problems For Your Business Than It’s Solving?

There’s no doubt that we live in the age of technology. Just about everyone has access to the internet, and most of us have devices in our pockets that let us connect with anyone and everyone at the touch of a button. Of course, it’s no surprise that, because of this, the world of modern.business has changed in some pretty significant ways. Most of these changes have been for the better, but if you assume that technology is always going to improve your business no matter what, then you’re sorely mistaken. With that in mind, here are some ways that technology could potentially cause more problems in your business than it solves, and how to avoid letting that happen.

Network problems

The vast majority of businesses in the modern era take place almost entirely online and for a good reason. After all, people spend more time on the internet than ever, and it allows you to connect with people all over the world. Of course, if you’ve got a network of customers that involves dedicated software or ecommerce, then there’s almost always going to be the potential for something to go wrong. If something goes wrong with your network then there’s a good chance that your customers are going to to be pretty unhappy about it. That’s why keeping track of it is so important. You can download a free trial of network monitoring software to see just how much easier things become when you’re able to see what’s going on with your network at all times. That way you can solve a lot of problems before your customers even realize they’re happening.

Security

As wonderful as the internet is as a tool for your business, it does leave you vulnerable to attack in a number of different ways. You might have previously been mostly concerned about security in terms of your premises, but now, cyber criminals are the largest threat to your business. In order to make sure that your business isn’t vulnerable online than you need to be sure that you’re taking care to keep all of your firewall and anti-malware software up to date. Something so simple really can make a huge difference to how secure your business is.

Data loss

Data storage has become so much easier since the dawn of the digital age. Rather than keeping things in physical form in large boxes, you can store everything on a hard drive, or even in the cloud. However, if you’re not backing up all of your data then you could end up in serious trouble. As secure as digital storage can be, it’s not totally bulletproof which means if you don’t have your data backed up, you could lose all of it in one fell swoop.

The most important thing to remember is that technology is a tool. If you treat it as though it’s going to solve all of your problems and instantly turn your business into a success, then you’re almost certainly going to end up in a pretty dangerous position. However, if you think about it as a tool to solve specific problems within your business, then you’re going to avoid relying on it too much.

3 Strategies For Increasing The Speed Of Your Company’s Computer Network

Do you have issues with the speed of your company’s internal computer network? That could cause you many problems related to a lack of productivity and efficiency. If you don’t want to spend a fortune and ask IT specialists to come to your workplace to conduct an assessment; you might like to try some of the suggestions mentioned on this page. Of course, at some point, there is no getting away from the fact that you will have to invest in a better system for your office. However, right now, there are probably some actions you can take to improve the situation.

Compress as many files as you can

There are lots of tools you can download that will enable you to compress files and create some extra storage space on your network. That should help to increase the speed and take some of the stress away from your computers. Those who use Apple devices just need to search online for the best app that enables you to compress documents and to unzip files. That way, you can make sure that old data doesn’t clog your system and make it run slower than it should. Entrepreneurs who use Windows or Linux can follow the same strategy.

Store your documents in the cloud

Cloud storage will provide many benefits to your business and your customers. Firstly, you should never have to worry about hacking and data theft again because most cloud solutions use advanced security technology. However, you also need to consider the fact that storing your documents in the cloud will free-up lots of storage space on your computer network. You can still access the records from anywhere in the world if you have an internet connection. So, your employees and clients won’t notice the difference, but you won’t have to hang around or deal with lengthy loading times.

Remove unnecessary programs

There is a reasonable chance that you have some programs on your network that might slow the computer system down. For instance, most companies have no need for internet browsers because their workers don’t work online. Removing them from your system could help to create extra space and ease the strain on your resources. So, do yourself a favor and take the time to perform an assessment. Work out which software applications you don’t need and then uninstall them as soon as possible. You could double the speed of your computers in extreme cases.

You should now have a decent idea about the strategies you need to consider when increasing the speed of your computer network. As mentioned at the start of this article; there will come a time when you need to invest in new technology. However, you don’t have to do that right now if you can make some of the changes highlighted here today. Just remember there are professional IT consultants out there that you can employ if you get stuck or need some assistance. The purpose of this post was just to try to save you some money.

Are You Getting The Customers You Deserve?

There can be no argument that one of the most vital things in all of business is to bring in as many customers as possible. However it’s not just the numbers that count; you also want to make sure that you are bringing in the kind of customers that you want for your business. If you are wondering what that means, we are referring to having the customers that your business needs and deserves. The caliber and quality of the customers is hugely important as it ensures the likelihood of your business being able to continue in the same vein in future. With that in mind, let’s look to how you can make sure that you get the customers you deserve and need for the success of your business.

Understand Your Goals

The better that you know what you are actually trying to do in business, the more likely it is that you will be able to attract those who are keen on that kind of product or service. Being clearer in your goals means that you will automatically begin to act in ways which draw in the kind of people you need in your business, and this includes both customers and employees. So the first step here is to make sure that you fully understand what your goals are, and why they are what they are. As long as you do, you can be certain that you will start to draw in the customers that your business needs, and that will mean that your business has a much stronger base from which to work.

Focus On The Right Leads

There is much to be said for trying to get leads, but you need to make sure that you are approaching it in the right way. As well as finding enough leads, they need to be of a decent quality, otherwise there is really no point at all. Of course, that is easier said than done – but the trick is to simply make sure that your lead generation and forensics is the right kind for your business. For this, it helps to look at how much it is likely to set you back. If you feel that the Lead Forensics pricing is not suitable, then it is unlikely that it will really help you in the long run, and the same is true if it is not delivering in the4 way that you would ideally hope. Focus on your methodologies here for a better future.

Go Wider

Of course, there is still much to be said for the act of going wider as a means to bringing in more of the customers you need. The wider you cast your net, after all, the more likely it is that you will end up with the customers you actually deserve in your business, so that is worth considering as much as anything else. If you feel that you could do with looking wider, then make sure you do so – but don’t just do it randomly. Instead, focus on those areas where you are most likely to find the people most interested in your business and its various goals.

Why Brand Is Your Most Important Tool

Nobody wants to put weeks, months, even years, into their business only for it to fall at the first hurdle. And if there is one thing that is crucial to the success of your business, it is your brand. Your brand is not simply your logo or your slogan; it is your reputation. It is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In a global marketplace that is quite often saturated with competition, it is important that you have a way of standing out from the crowd. Below are a few reasons that having a strong a trustworthy brand will benefit your business.

Employee retention

If there’s one thing that’s going to keep your staff loyal to you, it’s pride. If they are proud to say that they work for you, you’ve already won them over. You can even develop your brand further by speaking to your employees about what they need. Good pension schemes, and Employee Assistance Program and even an Outplacement service can all provide some strength to your company’s reputation as a good place to work. Try your hardest to cultivate a positive and supportive culture around the workplace. Do everything you can to ensure that your employees are looking forward to heading back to work on a Monday morning.

Customer retention and growth

This is where you can really start to see those dollar signs in your eyes. Not only will your reputation as a good employer mean that your customers will want to use your services, but you can also build on your reputation by providing a first-class service. You can work hard to nurture lasting relationships with your clients. If your customers feel valued and taken care of, they will be more likely to recommend you to their friends and colleagues. This means that you will experience a growth in your customer base without incurring any heavy marketing costs. Word of mouth recommendations are the kind of marketing that people trust the most, and you can’t buy. You must earn it.

Hiring process

As your customer base grows, you will likely need to hire more staff to deal with the increased workload. For every day that you have a vacancy that is unfilled, your business is essentially losing money, so you want to hire the right people as quickly as possible. Good quality staff will naturally gravitate towards good quality businesses. How do they know which are the best businesses to work for? They find out what their reputation is. If you have built up a reputation as a good provider for your customers, and a good employer for your staff, you will find that the best job seekers are lining up at your door.

Building a strong reputation takes time and consistent hard work, but once you have earned it, it will pay dividends to your business growth. Be wary not to relax and simply ride on the coattails of success though, a good reputation can be lost much quicker than it is made, and a bad reputation is not easy to shake off.

When Your Office Harms Your Business

There could be quite a few reasons your office needs a bit of a redec, so make sure the areas we mention below aren’t ones bothering your employees! It could end up severely lowering the productivity of your workplace at the end of the day, and no one needs that when they’re in business. Check a few of these most hazardous areas to make sure they’re not disturbing the livelihood of everyone you work with.

It Doesn’t Look Good from the Outside

Curb appeal is something we’ve all heard of, but we usually apply it to the residential sector. Yet it applies to the business world as well; when something looks out of place, as soon as someone sees this they’re going to be off on a badfoot with you! It’s simply human nature at the end of the day, so make sure you’re using it to your advantage, rather than working against it.

Call in some commercial roofing contractors to make sure you’ve got no rotting tiles or thousands of moss patches on the roof of your building. These are unsightly and can immediately inform someone’s opinion on you and what you’re offering; even if you are a hidden gem, people will walk away! Don’t let your deals come out unfruitful simply because people place value in appearances.

When the Cold Runs Straight Through You

Similarly, psychology tells us time and time again that environment perception has an effect on how we feel. With that in mind, make sure you use more warm colors around the rooms of your office. When people feel comfortable, they’re more likely to settle into the tasks they need to get on with, instead of wasting their energy shivering to themselves!

Buildings get worn down all the time, At the end of the day, make sure all your employees are feeling appreciated, and that they’re being treated fairly by the people around them. A lot more work is done as a result, and you’ll be in good business surrounded by talented people for years to come!

When There’s No Space

So work can feel cramped a lot of the time, especially when we’re in a bad mood. However, when you’re fitting 10 or so people into one room, it can be an extreme squeeze. You need to be able to get all the necessary furniture in the same space, and the computer wires can be a real hazard for someone to trip over.

It’s time to increase on your space without actually having to build some new walls. Put some mirrors up if you’re on a bit of a budget, as these can immediately make a room feel a lot bigger due to the reflective element. They can also make the space feel a lot more aesthetically pleasing!

Is your office harming your business operations? Sometimes we don’t even notice it, but make sure you check things out every so often. It’s all for the good of your business, and the effort pays off!