Author: Nibletz Staff

When you run an online business, the one thing your business really depends on is your ability to get clients.

So many people go into business thinking that if they just throw up a pretty website and create Facebook business page that magically all of these ideal clients are just going to be tripping over each other to work with them.

Unfortunately it doesn’t quite work that way, though it would be brilliant if it did, but the old “build it and they will come” mentality is really quite damaging, so it’s time for business owners to understand that if they want to be successful and stay in business, then they actually have to be investing time and/or money into getting new leads and clients.

The good news is, this is actually not anywhere near as complicated as it sounds. Sure, if you look around online, you’ll see endless stories of struggle when it comes to marketing and sales, but honestly, people are just making things far more difficult on themselves than they really need to be.

As with so many things in life, we humans do like to over-complicate things, but to keep it simple is actually a far better overall strategy – regardless if it’s life or business.

So, let’s look at a few easy, and totally non-sleazy ways for you to start getting more clients and actually start growing your business the way you know you’re capable of.

Be Personal With Them:

Now, before you get any ideas, I don’t mean personal in an inappropriate way. What I mean is, remember that your clients and potential clients are actually humans, too. They’re not just there to open their wallet and keep you in business. Get to know them as people, both before and after the sale. This shows that you care and that you can be trusted. There’s nothing more crucial in business than your reputation, and in the online world, especially, word gets around fast, so make sure people are saying and hearing good things about you.

Deliver Lots Of Value:

It’s said a lot that people don’t buy products or services, they buy people – meaning they buy into whatever you’re offering because of you and how you offer it. This is why you can easily look at one copywriter or business coach online who’s completely crushing it with their business and is totally booked out, whereas you have another who’s offering more or less the exact same services and products, but can’t even give their free stuff away. The reason is because that first coach or copywriter has taken the time to nurture their clients before they became clients, they showed up consistently with the same message, and they proved they know their stuff because they kept giving lots of value in their trainings and through their emails, etc. This is such a simple approach and concept, yet so many people fall short on this one. People will buy into you and will likely become customers for life, even if they really need what you’re offering or not because if you show up all the time and deliver real value to them, then they will trust you, and trust is what gets people to buy in the end.

Be Real:

While everybody loves a good rags to riches story, they seem to be dominating the online space over the past two years. I’ve honestly never known of such an epidemic of people once broke, living in their cars, and now all of a sudden making 6-figures and living the laptop life. Yes, they’re good for inspiration when they’re actually true, but the sheer volume of these stories does make you wonder, doesn’t it? Sharing your story with people is one of the best ways to really connect with your audience and ideal clients, but be real and raw with people. They’re not stupid, and they can tell when you’re lying, so it’s completely off putting. A great way to share your story is through places like Facebook, blogs, with your email newsletters, and even through advertising, which you can help with at places like advertiseworld.com. You can certainly try being fake in business, but it really won’t get you anywhere.

Set Up A Sales Funnel:

These are amazing for generating a consistent flow of regular clients and sales to your business, and although they do take a bit of work to set up, they’re actually easy to do, and completely worth it when you look at the benefits. A sales funnel can really look however you want it to, and obviously has to fit in with your business model and goals, but a very simple and easy to set up one would look like this: create a simple Facebook, Instagram or Twitter ad that drives targeted traffic to a high-value freebie known as an opt-in, which people sign up for in exchange for their email address, then you would deliver a continuation of that freebie through an equally high-value email series over a certain period of time, and ultimately this leads in to you then making an offer for your paid product or service.

Reach Out To People:

So many people are afraid of doing this because they think it makes them look sleazy, but if you approach it the right way, there’s nothing wrong with this old-school marketing method at all, and it’s highly effective. Simply reach out to people on your contacts list, old colleagues, even old clients and just start a conversation with them. Don’t send a message offering them a product or giving them a link (that is sleazy and will get you nowhere), but simply open up the conversation and show genuine interest in them and what they’re up to, let them know what you’re up to, and if they ask for more information, then just give it to them. They may not become a client themselves, but they could know someone who is looking for exactly what you offer.

A credit union is essentially a financial cooperative set up within a community for members of the community. They usually offer brilliant loan rates with a mission to help people of the community get out of debt and generally educate them about banking and the financial sector. They can help communities grow and play a vital part in supporting and increasing the local economy. If you wish to set up your own credit union, here are some tips.

Do Your Research

First you need to investigate whether there’s already a credit union in operation in your area, then you need to find out how many members of your community actually want a credit union and would use its facilities. You can use forms known as non-committal pledge forms. These can be great to show potential colleagues who you want on board that there really is space for a credit union in your area. Don’t forget you’ll need a diverse team around you too, people with financial nouce like accountants but also people who have some knowledge of running financial businesses like a bank manager. Once you’ve done this and come up with a business plan, you can apply to the relevant financial authority to outline your plans and prove you and your members all share a common bond.

Begin Marketing Your Credit Union

Once your credit union is open you’ll need to start marketing it. Primarily because you’ll need members as soon as possible to keep is sustainable. In smaller communities the majority of this can be done via word of mouth, but use posters in local libraries and community centers. Perhaps arrange to speak to a local community association and highlight the benefits of you’re going to provide. You should also set up your own website, if people hear about your union they can simply find you online, this hits a wider audience too and could reach potential members from outside your immediate area of operation. You can even use online application forms to take some strain off of your in house staff, the setup of these can be quite complex but there is some great commercial web design for credit unions out there. They can help you set your site up so it looks professional and works properly.

Make It Attractive

Find a great premises, you can do this by appealing to the community, perhaps there is some cheap office space to rent or an old building that hasn’t been occupied for a while. You need to use this space to attract savers, because without savers you won’t have money to load out to people who need them. It should be professional, and well set out. Go into your local banks and see what they’re doing, you’ll likely see clean open spaces and well lit side offices. Follow suit, it’ll lend your union an element of professionalism and experience that can put potential savers at ease. There are many challenges for financial businesses, but by using a premises you lend yourself some credibility. People will know they can come and speak to you if something has gone wrong, instead of having to phone you.

For a lot of people, starting a blog is more than a hobby. It might be a passion that drives you. It might be part of the marketing arm of your business. It might even be your business itself. If you want to get serious about starting a blog, for profit or otherwise, you have to formulate a real plan. You have to strategize its design, its delivery, and its dissemination. In this article, we’ll look at the organized approach to giving your blog the best start it can get.

Set up the site

Real thought has to go into the design of your blog. From the URL to the design, you have to avoid the generic approach as much as possible. For the name, if you have a business, then keep the name as close to the business or what the business provides as possible. Otherwise, take your time writing the topics your blog deals with and make one of them the main aspect of the blog name. You want a format that’s easily customizable and fit to purpose. WordPress is going to be the most likely choice, as it’s used by most of the top blogs on the net and has all kinds of functionality for custom changes. You want to avoid generic hosts, too. Instead, look at options like the best managed WordPress hosting to find a host that works exactly to your needs.

Organize your blog like a business

If you’re serious about growing a quality blog, it can’t be something that you only approach when you feel like it. You have to approach it like a business. For instance, if you have more than one writer or you have others in your business, then assign them specialties and delegate the responsibility of thinking up or covering topics. Find out how often they can contribute and whether they need the help of another writer finalizing. Set up a real schedule for when blogs need a first draft done, when they need to be proofread and edited and when they need to go out. You don’t have to worry if the content isn’t always the exciting subject you wish it could be. So long as it has value and it’s consistent, that’s the main thing that matters.

Start building a community

Swimming alone in a sea of blogs isn’t going to do yours any good. You need to have a proper marketing and audience building plan for it. This includes getting set up on social media and networking with other bloggers near to the subject you cover. Ask them to do guest posts and offer to do guest posts on theirs. Ask your readers questions and publish their answers with some input or use giveaways and competitions to get them directly involved. You can even ask if they have any topics they want covered. You need to get them engaged. This means going directly to your community.

The growth of a blog isn’t always a straight and narrow path. Some months will be wildly successful while others might seem to have little impact at all. As long as you keep a steady, planned approach, however, you can keep growth as consistent as possible from your end.

A physical storefront is where businesses of the past two to three hundred years have thrived, but that is changing. The internet is the hill your business will live and die on for the far-flung future, and it’s up to you to take advantage of that.

No matter the purpose of your start-up, there are plenty of ways the internet, digital media and technology can help you transform your business into a company that can truly utilise all facets of the digital age.

Start off with getting your staff equipped. Get used to performance management. There are plenty of processes and software for your whole team. Once you’ve got the employees in order, you can move ahead with organizing new solutions.

Now that your staff and yourself are equipped with the techniques, it might be time to sort out gadgets. You should look to dole out smartphones and laptops as required to ensure your workforce is mobile and can work from anywhere that is required of them. This is essential especially if your headquarters is ever changing and your staff are based in many different locations. This basic level of equipment will help with productivity and connectivity.

If you do have a solid headquarters, it’s important to equip it with a wifi router that can allow both yourself, clients and guests access to the internet. A wifi router enables some capabilities that don’t just revolve around access to the web; you can connect devices such as a printer or coffee machine to your network.

Get your workforce using Google Drive to collaborate on a cloud-based platform. All your work and admin can be stored on Google’s servers meaning you can access it from anywhere. This is incredibly important as it removes the work from the workplace and stores it anywhere you need it. For a start-up, this is incredibly important as it solves some issues with one solution. You don’t need to worry about backing up documents because Google Drive will do that for you.

Like Google Drive, you should invest in cloud storage. Services like Dropbox and Onecloud offer a storage solution that can combine with Drive to offer you a number of solutions to storing your work and files. If you’re scared of one of these services failing, you can actually utilize a number of them!

Social Media is something that should never be ignored and allows you to basically promote your business for free. Sites like LinkedIn also enable you to network with new clients and collaborators. Twitter and Facebook can also act as a customer service platform. A integrated platform like Hootsuite will allow you to control all of these at once and ensure the same message is heard across all of these sites.

These are just a few ways you can get started, but these tips are among the most powerful. Once you get going, you’ll master these tools and your start-up will benefit from being a truly mobile digital beast.

Every year more and more businesses are being targeted by cybercriminals – particularly small businesses. Sometimes it’s only a prank – a few inappropriate social media posts to get people reacting. At other times, it can be something far more malicious and can put the details of you, your stuff and your clients in danger. Whatever the extent of the hack, here are the steps that you should take to save your business and prevent it ever happening again.

Notify all your clients

Don’t try to hide what has happened. Yahoo had a cyber-attack back in 2014 that led to at least 500 million of its user accounts being stolen – something the company didn’t reveal until this year. They are now under intense court scrutiny.

Make sure to contact all your clients straight away, letting them know what has happened, that you are doing everything possible to fix it and the precautions that they should take. Depending on how many customers you have, you may need to send it out as a mass email.

Notify your employees

Anyone on your payroll will need to know about the hack, as their details could be under threat too. If you are in a small office this shouldn’t be a problem. However, if you have staff that work remotely, you will have to notify them all too.

Notify the authorities

Now that the embarrassing part is out of the way, get the authorities involved and let them know there has been a breach of information. If you have been struck by ransomware and a hacker is demanding money, a specialist cybercrime branch of the police will be able to notify as what to do.  Once the hacker has been dealt with and your business has been safeguarded, they will be able to tell where you need to improve your security. You should book regular checks to prevent another attack.

Prevent future attacks

Hackers are likely to attack the same target twice, especially if they were successful in getting a ransom the first time. Make sure you have heavy-duty internet security installed and that it is up-to-date. Encrypt all your important files and create a backup folder in case one is compromised. To protect against ransomware, you can minimize your downtime with immediate disaster recovery by Infrascale or other related failover software. To protect against email or social media hacking, make sure that you regularly change passwords and that they are difficult to guess.

Seek cyber insurance if you don’t already have it in place. This will make sure that any clients or employees whose details are stolen are compensated in the future.

Create a response plan for if you are ever attacked again. This should speed up the recovery process, so that you can continue with business as usual. If you feel your reputation has been tainted, ensure people that your security has been heightened and that you are now more readily armed against potential attacks.

If you own a business you’re going to need people to know about it. If they don’t, they aren’t going to solicit your services and give you money. Keeping your business and brand recognisable is one of the core tenants for business success, here are some tips on how to keep your brand in the minds of your customers. There are many reasons businesses fail, don’t let this be what drags you down.

Use an Impactful Mission Statement

To ensure you build a great brand you need to think what your business does to provide value to prospective customers. The mission statement basically defines a purpose for existing. It will inform every other aspect of your brand building. Everything else you create should potentially reflect your mission statement, what you’re trying to achieve. It should be witty, but not isolate any groups of people.

Create A Powerful Logo

When you think of a business sometimes the first thing that comes to mind is the logo. Think about Apple, for instance, or Nike. Their logos are super powerful and allows you to stamp a memorable picture into the mind of the consumer. If you’re arty you can create your own logo, this gives you a way of creating exactly what you want and need, adding a personal flair to your business. If not, you can outsource the logos creation to a specialized company, when you highlight exactly what you want they can come up with some great ideas. There are some great cheap logo design companies out there who can do a great job and help your brand grow.

Form Your Business Voice

Depending on what kind of business you’re going for you need a specific voice. It could be informative, conversational, professional, friendly, humorous, the list goes on and on. You need to decide exactly how your website rhetoric is going to appear.  For example, if you’re setting up a law firm it would be foolish to use a consistently humorous voice, people want a professional service not a giggle.

Use The Power Of Social Media

Everyone is on it these days, facebook, instagram, twitter, and then you have all of the various populist blogs on tumblr and blogspot, the advertising potential is limitless. There are many ways to harness the power of social media, but one of the easiest is by creating meaningful content that is shareable. If you create content that other viewers want to share then you’re only going to attract more people to your page and business. Just resist the urge to use clickbait strategies, people hate them and it’ll reflect badly upon your company. Also do not be afraid to use visual content. Articles with images receive 94 percent more views. Twitter content with images receives nearly twice as many views as text posts, even though there are seven times more text posts on Twitter.

Pay Attention To Your Customers

Ask for customer feedback and if they suggest something try to cater to it. Feedback truly is a gift, and you can attract more customers by showing you’re listening to what they’re doing and changing. If you use a feedback facility it allows customers the ability to show you what’s wrong with the website too, there could be bugs and typos. Interacting with your customers through your website and social media keeps it recogniseable and shows people who care.

Back in the 1980s when courier companies first became big business, how they were run was very different from today. Back then, it was the couriers who dictated as and when a parcel would arrive. Today, however, it’s a much more customer-led industry, with clients expecting their parcels to be delivered as and when they need them. People want good service, a small delivery time slow, and fast delivery. If a company can’t offer those things, they’ll lose a customer; it’s as simple as that.

Today, all the best courier companies are those that are run by small firms. The reason for this? Because smaller companies are able to offer a more personal approach and one that puts the needs of the customer first. So, if you’re thinking of starting a courier service but are worried about your chances of success as a small company, there’s no need to be. As long as you get the fundamental parts of your business right, you’re sure to be successful.

With that in mind, below is a guide to everything that you need to know to launch a successful courier business. Have a read, take note, and you can ensure that your new venture is a soaring success.

Decide what areas to cover

The first step that you need to take is to decide what areas you would like to cover. Some couriers choose to cover the entire country, while others prefer to only offer local deliveries. Then there are couriers that offer overseas shipping. However, international shipping can be expensive to do, so probably isn’t a good idea when you’re first starting out. Instead, it’s best to opt to offer either regional or national shipping. (Ideally, you want to offer national shipping, as this will increase your chances of success.)

Write a list of what you will need to get started

The next step is to put together a list of what you will need to get started. This is important, as, without a list of the essentials that you need, such as a certain amount of trucks or vans, GPS fleet tracking software, and handheld parcel scanning devices, you’ll have no idea of the size of the budget that you will need. So it’s important to write a list of everything that you will need to get started so that you are able to budget effectively.

Take on a team of staff

If you want to make a success of your courier company, you need to take on a team of staff and train them up before you launch your new venture. Otherwise, the chances are that you will struggle to make a success of your venture. You might think that you can manage everything yourself, but the truth is that soon enough things will get too hectic to deal with by yourself. So it makes sense to train up some team members beforehand, so that when you need them, you’ve got them.

There you have it, everything that you need to know to start your own courier business and make a success of it.

Some people prefer to save money when they have ‘extra’, however, smart people know that it’s much better to make investments. Why? Because eventually, you’ll be making a much larger return on your investments than the interest you’re receiving in your savings accounts. After all, savings actually depreciate over time. If you want to start making investments, here’s what you need to know to make lucrative investments for life:

Invest In Things You’re Interested In

Instead of investing in things you don’t have any interest in, make sure you’re at least a little interested in what you’re investing in. This will give you more of an incentive to learn more about what you’re doing, and it won’t feel like a chore.

You Don’t Need Huge Amounts To Get Started

You don’t need a large amount of money to get started. You can get started with just a small amount of money. In fact, this approach is best, until you truly understand the different kinds of investments and what works for you. You’re probably going to make some mistakes and experience dips in the beginning, but it won’t matter so much with a smaller amount of money.

Learn As You Go Along

Make it your mission to learn as you go along. Although you should know some stuff before you start, such as how different stocks and things work, getting started is important if you’re ever going to do it. The sooner you start, the more money you can have later on!

There Are Things Out There To Help You Get Started

There are certain things out there that can help you to get started, so you don’t have to to and fro any longer. You can look at the orion code system review to help you get an idea of what could help and how you can become successful.

Be In It For The Long Haul

You must be in this for the long haul. It’ll take some time, we’re talking years, before you can make a significant return on your investments. You’ll want to invest more money later on too, to get the most out of your investments. However, starting with smaller amounts will give you more confidence and allow you to prepare.

Vary Your Portfolio

It goes without saying you need to vary your portfolio in order to get the best results. You can invest in stocks and shares, property, and more. By making sure you aren’t putting all your eggs in one basket, you’ll get a much better result.

Take A Few Risks

Investing is all about taking risks. By taking a risk or two when you’re feeling brave, you’ll get better results. Playing it safe will usually only ever get you mediocre results.

There’s a little more to understand about investing before you go off and do it yourself, but that’s for you to go and find out. What will you invest in first? There are lots of YouTube tutorials and other things out there to help you reach your financial goals. Good luck!

Every startup knows the importance of having the energy to get the job done. But what does it take to get then excited and ready to face the challenges of the day, other than just pumping them all full of coffee? Take a look at this.

Get To Know The People You’re Working With

It’s often said that the best managers are those who adapt their management style depending on the personalities of their team members. Some people are motivated by targets and by challenges. Others get out of bed in the morning because they want a pat on the back and to be told that they’re “a good boy.” But how are managers supposed to differentiate their management techniques unless they actually know their employees? According to Forbes, it’s worth spending some time to get to know your colleagues outside of work. Often, you’ll be surprised by just how much you have in common. Getting to know as many different people in your business as possible during coffee breaks helps you adapt your management practices to better suit the needs of the individual. Plus, it helps you to grow your internal network: always a bonus.

Don’t Avoid A Problem

Entrepreneurs sometimes tend to push problems in their business to the back of their mind. There’s just so many other things to deal with that they can often feel overwhelmed. But safety issues, like faulty electrical equipment, have a habit of biting back when you least expect it. Jim’s Test & Tag, an electrical safety firm, recommend that companies regularly test their electrical equipment. Safety issues at work can severely damage staff morale and dampen the mood at work, especially if somebody gets hurt. Spend an hour in the morning every day getting all the things that you really don’t want to do out of the way. You’ll soon notice the benefits in your team.

Never Gossip

There’s probably not an awful lot you can do to prevent gossip in your own team at work unless you happen to have employed a bunch of saints. But there’s definitely a lot you can do as a founder to avoid gossip and saying negative things about co-workers. Communication in the office is probably a lot more fluid than you imagine, so anything you do say is likely to end up back at the colleague in question. If there’s something negative you need to say to a colleague, it’s probably a good idea to say it directly to their face. Always look for opportunities to praise colleagues too, as this can be a real motivator on a cold, dreary morning.

Be Grateful

One of the things that sets happy people apart from everybody else is the fact that they are generally grateful for what they have. Gratitude towards employees is equally important. Everybody likes to feel appreciated once in awhile, so creating a culture of gratitude in your organization is key to making people feel good about their work. It’s always worth praising those employees who go above and beyond in their work, as it’s often these people who are adding the most value to your firm and to your product.

If you own or run a customer facing business then you’ll already know how important it is to keep them happy. Businesses thrive from customer satisfaction, there are a number of things which can hurt your business but angry customers who vow not to return can be the most damning of all. Here are some tips to keep your business falling into any of the traps.

Pay Attention To What They Want

If you offer a service of some sorts then as time goes by you’ll get feedback, it’s logical to act on negative feedback because if you don’t then the customer will likely go somewhere else and if it annoys one it probably annoys others. To get a real scope of what the customer wants you can take out a survey, this will give you a wide range of opinion from customers of different ages and backgrounds. You can even incentivise your survey to make them feel more engaged, or, if you just don’t have the time there are companies that’ll help you with your surveys.

Offer Differing Finance Options

Whatever business you operate you should endeavor to accept all kinds of finance. The future of retail financing allows customers the option to buy how they want. You you don’t have certain facilities then you’re isolating a clutch of customers. You should be able to accept hard cash, EFT payments, credit card and have a contactless facility. Apple and Android pay are the new must haves too. If your products are quite expensive then you should be able to offer finance options, this allows people to pay who haven’t got the full amount at hand.

Be Kind

All interactions with customer service should be done in a kind and professional manner. No gruffness or rudeness, just be kind and professional. Otherwise it’s going to damage your brand

Irrevocably. You’re employees should consistently model this, and you should give them the correct training so they can deal with unhappy or even angry customers. They should always stay calm and be willing to represent your brand in a positive way.

Go above and beyond.

Your skillset may be more than what’s been scoped for you, so think beyond your assigned role. You may be retained to help on pure marketing but have expertise in product marketing, which falls under a different domain. Why not offer ideas, tips and suggestions? We can all do that little bit more, and it’s really what sets you apart from the competitors. If you go above and beyond in the right way then you can earn a customer for life. Customers talk, and they’ll tell each other about what you do that your competitors don’t.

Think of customer satisfaction as the lifeblood of your company. The happier they are with you, the more they’ll spend. If they’re waiting, offer them a tea or coffee, if you think they weren’t offered the right kind of service then send them a coupon in the post. It’ll impress them, sure, but it also means they have to come back to spend it giving you another chance to impress. Think outside the box, and stick to the years old mantra of the customer is always right.

Stepping into the world of business can be intimidating. It can take a lot of investment to start a company up. What’s more, you’ll need to do a ton of market research and learn about how to run a business. Setting up an office and hiring all the right people can be tough. But there are other options.

For many aspiring entrepreneurs, creating a home business is the best way to start. There are plenty of businesses you can start at home with limited funds. What’s more, many can be done solo, so you don’t need to deal with the challenges of employment. Here are some of the best ideas for businesses you can start from your house.

Managed Service Provider

Apps and web software are becoming increasingly popular. Providing these for businesses and individuals is profitable. But not everyone has experience in software developing. Becoming a managed service provider allows you to act as a middle-man, providing services to customers.

There are many companies on the web which can provide you with the right resources to become a managed service provider. You can become a reseller, offering customers services using a CSP platform.

It can be competitive, so you’ll need to market your business and reach out to customers. But with no investment required and a high potential for profits, it’s a great home business idea.

Event Planner

Are you great with keeping organized? Can you talk to all kinds of people and understand their needs? Do you know how to put on a great party? Maybe events planning is for you!

You can start an event planning business from home. You can talk to clients using the phone or even VoIP services and keep notes of what they want in their event. You will need to get out to look at venues and get the supplies you need. But most of the work relies on organization and getting in touch with people.

You could organize all sorts of events for people. You might want to become a wedding planner. Maybe you want to set up charity events for businesses. As long as you know how to put on a successful function, you can start getting clients fast.

Consultant/Mentor

If you have a wealth of knowledge in a particular area, why not profit from it? Those who show a high level of expertise in a certain sector can make a lot of money.

For instance, if you have legal knowledge, you could become a law consultant. Many people will pay for advice on legal situations. The same applies for if you have experience in entrepreneurship, or perhaps you could advise people on financial matters.

Another alternative is mentoring. There are sites which let you become a mentor for people online. You could also offer home lessons in your area of expertise, be that guitar playing or yoga.

Content Creator

Content creating is becoming a valuable skill. Companies often employ various content creators. But it’s also something you can do yourself, and something that can lead to a lot of profit.

Many people make money by blogging. You can start out using a free blogging service and attract readers with engaging content. You could also expand to create videos on YouTube and get on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram. If you develop a following, you can profit from your audience and sponsorship’s.

It’s something you can infuse your passion into. For instance, perhaps you want to make a travel blog or video tutorials on arts and crafts. It’s a highly enjoyable way to work from home.

Managing a business with your iPhone has never been easier than with all the new features Apple has provided in the latest hardware and software updates for their line of iPhones. Browsing through the App Store you will find many apps that provide an easy to use interface along with the sleek and well-designed hardware features that can only be made by Apple. Other core features of the phone like voice recognition and the enhanced camera help change the way business is conducted in today’s mobile environment by allowing meetings to seem as if you were in the same room as each person. 

Going Remote – Facetime

As more people venture out to start a business, they want to make sure they maintain a solid device for communication when they are on the road and building their professional network. The iPhone 7 Plus’s dual camera system gets better and better with almost every new device release and when used with apps like the built-in Facetime or Go To Meeting, you can meet face to face with a client or employee anywhere that has a reliable T-Mobile network.

Hotspots for Mobile Access

One of the most useful iPhone features for on the go entrepreneurs is the Hotspot feature. Hotspots allow you to convert your phone into a wireless access point and connect your laptop to the internet via your phone when no Wi-Fi is available. This is key for those that always need to be connected and often find themselves out of their office giving important presentations. The ability to always be connected to your data, without having to ask the client for their Wi-Fi password is an invaluable time saver.

App Store

Another feature that sets the iPhone ahead of other smartphones on the market is the App Store. Running a business today often means relying on a multitude of different services for project management, accounting and keeping track of your clients and the Apple App Store is full of excellent business and productivity apps.

Apps like Freshbooks and Harvest can keep track of your invoices, timesheets, and expenses. While Asana and Trello manage your projects and keep track of all your due dates to make sure everything is completed on time. Using these apps means you can always have the latest information about your business operations in your pocket.

Hardware

In addition to the hardware built into the iPhone, there are a number of useful adaptors and connectors for different lines of business. For example, the Square credit card reader plugs directly into the headphone jack to provide a credit card reader that works on both traditional magnetic stripe cards and new chip cards to provide vendors and other professionals a way to accept credit card payments on the spot.

Bigger Screen and Better Resolution

The line between phones, tablets, and small laptops is becoming more unclear every day. New phones with larger screens like the iPhone 7 and 6 Plus offer consumers screens that are easier to use, cause less eye strain, and can display more information than their predecessors. Even the glass used to make the touchscreen has become more durable and resistant to scratches and cracks in more recent versions.

iPhones and Business Moving Forward

The past five years have seen mobile business explode at a rate that no one could have ever imagined with the iPhone leading the way. Facetime, Hotspots, professional apps, new hardware, and larger screens have all made it easier for business owners to change and improve how they conduct business in 2016 and beyond.

You should have confidence in your business and you might be surprised how far confidence can get you. Just think about what would happen if you shook hands with the right person at the correct level of grip. You could persuade them to invest in your company. You could make sure that your business gets the investment it needs to reach the next level. But, it’s important to distinguish between confidence and nonchalance. You shouldn’t just assume that your business is going to be a hit because it might not be. It certainly won’t happen if you’re not putting the work in. Then there are the disasters that could hit your business that you may not have even considered. All this leads to one important lesson. You need to hope for the best and always prepare for the worst.

Never Say It Won’t Happen To Me

Last year, thousands of businesses were hit with PI claims from disgruntled employees and even some clients. You might have been one of the lucky ones. In fact, it’s possible that you’ve never had to deal with a PI claim for a customer in your life. That’s absolutely fantastic but that doesn’t mean that you’re immune to this problem. Just because it hasn’t hit you yet doesn’t mean that it never will. Eventually, you could find that an accident causes an expensive lawsuit in your office. Particularly if you are running your business under the impression you’ll never have to deal with this issue. You won’t be watching for potential hazards. By knowing that it’s always a possibility, you will be taking the right steps.

You will hire health and safety officers who will check your office for problems on a regular basis. Due to this, you won’t be blindsided by a health and safety issue.

Always Have A Backup

If we’re still looking at the case of personal injuries, you might find that you do everything right. You hire health and safety officers, you check for hazards, and you train staff. Unfortunately, your business is still hit by a claim due to what was an almost completely unavoidable accident. What happens then? Well, you’ll be forced to pay damages and here lies the problem. Those damages could range between anything from a couple of thousand to half a million. Small business won’t be able to afford that type of unforeseen expense. That’s why you need to think about arranging insurance for your business.

You can use a service offered by companies like Ventiv Technology to do this. They specialise in working out risk and insurance for business owners. They will determine the chances of an issue occurring in your business. They will then make sure that you’re paying the cheapest possible cost for the maximum coverage.  

Don’t Forget About Theft

Credit Link

Theft and crime is a major problem for every industry across the world today. If your business is on the market, we guarantee at some point it will be targeted by a thief. These days, that means a cyber attack. When this happens, thieves aren’t targeting you. Instead, they are using you to indirectly hit your customers. They will use the information they steal from you to hit them with fraudulent attacks. If this happens, customers will eventually find out that you were the source. They won’t blame the criminals, they’ll blame you. You can’t afford to be blase about this potential disaster. You must make sure that your business is equipped with the latest security to prevent an attack like this taking down your company.

Sailing On An Uneasy Market Current

Image Source

The world economy is currently not as stable as it seems. At any point this year leading into the beginning of next, we could be hit with a recession. When this happens, customers stop buying and your business starts to struggle. Most owners make the mistake of not preparing for this type of occurrence. You don’t want to follow in their footsteps because it could ultimately spell doom for your business. Instead, we suggest that you always think about what would happen if demand slumped. By doing this, you can keep your costs under control. There’s another advantage to this of course. Your company will be more competitive on a market that is always changing and not usually for the better.

As you can see, there are multiple disasters that can hit your business and you must be prepared. Do not make the mistake of having too much confidence in your business.

There are a lot of things that a business needs to be successful. It needs a product. It needs capital and investment. It needs relevant technology. These are all incredibly important. But there’s one thing that a business needs more than just about anything else. A business needs people. Without people at the heart of it, working hard to make it as great as possible, a business is doomed to fail. The problem is that it’s not just a matter of getting anyone into your business. You need to find the right people for the right roles. But don’t forget that it goes beyond just hiring. With any luck, these people will be a part of your business for a long time to come. You can’t simply expect them to stay satisfied working in the same way forever without you making any extra effort for them. People need to be rewarded and appreciated for the hard work that they put in. If you take your employees for granted, that’s a pretty fast way to create an atmosphere of resentment. This will have an immediate effect on productivity. If people don’t care about what they’re doing, then why should they bother to put in their full effort? It’s absolutely crucial that you take care of your employees and make sure that they feel valued and important to the business. Here are just a few ways that you can care for your employees, for the good of them, you and your entire business.

Have their back

The most important thing that an employee needs from you is support. If they’re struggling in some way, they need to feel as though there’s someone there who’ll be able to help them. If an employee doesn’t feel like there’s anywhere they can go for help and support, they’ll be more likely to get discouraged. Create an environment where, instead of being afraid of the consequences, employees are happy to discuss any problems. This isn’t just limited to their work either. If an employing is having problems at home or with their health, then make sure that you let them know that you care and are concerned for their wellbeing. Likewise, if an employee raises an issue with someone else in the office, take that seriously. You should have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to harassment or inappropriate behavior. Make sure that employees know that there’s no issue that they can’t come to you with. This creates an environment of trust. And when there’s an environment of trust, a business works better for everyone. This also goes for clients or customers. The cliche might be “the customer is always right, ” but you should make sure that your employees are never put in a vulnerable position. If a client or customer is being rude or abusive, make sure that you step in to offer the employee your full support. Letting them know that they don’t have to deal with these problems alone can help them feel much more comfortable and confident at work. By the same token, make sure that you’re setting aside regular time to speak to them and make sure that they are happy and comfortable. A lot of employees might not feel comfortable coming to you out of nowhere. So setting up a dedicated time that they can be open about any problems they have can make an enormous difference.

Meet their needs

No two people are the same. Then why do we act like all office environments should be the same? Your employees are varied, unique, dynamic individuals. You should create a workplace that complements that. Don’t just shut them away in identical cubicles to sit and work in silence until the end of the day. Try to create an environment where they’re able to support each other and communicate. Open offices are a great way to do this. But also make sure that there are places that people can go if they need to work independently and quietly. By being more dynamic in the way you approach your employee’s needs, you’ll create an environment where they do the same. Do you have extroverted employees who work best in collaboration? Allow them to be in the center of things and communicate with their colleagues. Are some of your employees getting sick of sitting at a desk for hours at a time? Then why not offer them alternatives? Standing or kneeling desks are a fantastic option. And you can make sure they’re comfortable with floor mats like these that are new from Sky Solutions. Of course, if you wanted to create an even more active environment you could look into even more dynamic options. Yoga balls or treadmill desks are a fantastic way to stop your employees doing themselves damage sitting at a desk. Not only that but it helps them to stay fit and active in their body and their mind. Whatever the needs of your employees are, you should create a workplace that responds to those needs the best it can.

Be honest with them

One of the most frustrating things in the world for an employee is when their boss isn’t being straight with them. If there are changes coming up in the business or adjustments to the way people work, don’t keep them to yourself. Be as open and upfront with your employees as much as you possibly can. This might mean that you’ll sometimes have to be the bearer of bad news. But you employees will appreciate your honesty far more than if you kept them in the dark for extended periods of time. This is a great way to maintain an atmosphere of trust. If employees don’t feel like you’re being honest with them, any trust and goodwill that you had will go out of the window pretty quickly. Not only that but it helps to bridge that divide between employee and boss. Obviously there will always be a gap between you and your employees. But the last thing you want to do is create a environment where they feel like they’re below you. By being honest and upfront with your employees, you remind them that you’re on their side and that you’re there for them. Even if it’s difficult, make sure that you don’t keep things from your employees that you should be talking to them about. A difficult discussion early on is better than having to explain why you kept them in the dark further down the line.

Show your appreciation

Consider just how obvious and easy this is, it’s shocking how many employers forget about it altogether. Don’t just leave your employees to get on with it and never let them know how much you appreciate them. Eventually they’re going to start to resent their work and by extension, you. It’s just human nature to want to be rewarded for a job well done. This doesn’t mean you need to offer a raise or a promotion every time someone completes a task. But if you do little things every now and then to let your employees know that their hard work is being acknowledged, it can make a big difference. Offer a small bonus near to the end of the year. Maybe set up small outings for your employees as a team building exercise. Not only with this offer them something fun and different to do, but will bring them closer as a team as well. Bring it down to an individual level as well. If an employee has really gone above and beyond the call of duty then make sure that’s recognised in some way. It could be anything, gift cards, bonuses, extra vacation days. It’s really up to you but whatever it is, make sure that they know how much you appreciate the extra work that they’ve put in.

It can be easy to slip into a habit of complacence where you start to take your employees for granted. The problem is that if you’re not taking care of your employees properly, they’re going to wonder why they should be doing the same. Unhappy, frustrated employees produce work that is shoddily done and half finished. I you want your employees to help your business run as successfully as possible then you need to make sure they’re well taken care of. Even just small things like this advice will make a massive difference to the attitude of your employees. They’ll feel more appreciated and much more likely to put in that extra amount of effort. Not because they have to, but because they want to. To borrow and adapt a fairly common phrase: take care of your employees and they’ll take care of you.