Nibletz Staff - 8/87 - Serious Startups

Credit Card Debt Isn’t Insurmountable!

Now, it’s generally considered impolite conversation to discuss your finances with people. Never mind your debts. It’s not surprising, then, that so many of us feel completely isolated when it comes to discussing and dealing with credit card debts. Many of us actually assume that nobody else is in the same financial position as us. But believe it or not, most adults have some sort of credit card debt to their name. They just don’t tend to divulge this information to you. So it’s important that you don’t feel alone while trying to clear your own! That’s where we come in to help. We’re here to break the silence surrounding credit card debt and to let you know that while it may be an intimidating facet of your life to face, it is by no means insurmountable. Whether you have just a couple of hundred to pay off or figures are edging closer to four or five figure sums, you can surpass this and pay your dues off much sooner than you’d imagine. Here are a few tips and tricks that will help to make the process more simple for you.

Know What You Owe

When you find yourself in debt, it becomes extremely simple to bury your head in the sand and ignore what’s going on around you. So many of us ignore letters or reminders from our banks and other lenders. But this doesn’t help anyone! At the end of the day, the problems won’t go away. They will only get worse. So, you need to start out by getting to grips with your personal finances. Know exactly how much you owe out and who you owe each sum to. Sign into your online banking or check your statements. These will provide you with your balance. Total up all of the outstanding balances and then you can begin working out how to best deal with them.

Consolidate Your Debts

You’re likely to owe money to more than one source. This is problematic for several reasons. It’s difficult to remain organised and on top of your finances when you have multiple balances, passcodes, minimum repayments, and repayment dates. But there is a way to make life a little easier for yourself: you can consolidate your debts. This involves taking out one large loan and using the lump sum of money to clear all of your existing debts. While you will still owe the same amount out, it will be to one lender, such as Personalloan.co, with a consistent interest rate and a whole lot less information to remember.

Stick to Your Agreements

Somewhere that people often slip up with lending is repayments. You will be expected to make repayments, most likely on a monthly basis. However, if or when you miss this, you will accrue fees and fines as a penalty. So rather than wasting your money on this, make sure that everything is always done on time. Make a note in your calendar or set up a direct debit.

By following these three main steps you will eventually work your way out of debt!

6 Ways To Get Your Business Back To Black

Starting up a new business is exciting, scary and liberating all at once. Throwing off the shackles of working for someone else and going it alone is a big deal and it takes a lot of research and a lot of preparation to be ready to start a business. The problem, is that lenders everywhere are really tightening their belts when it comes to business finance, so managing to get the funding to get the business idea of a lifetime off the ground is difficult. Companies are struggling to get the funding for everything from materials to health care insurance, and it’s a big reason why half of all new businesses fail in their first year. Money may make the world go around, but so many businesses aren’t going anywhere due to struggles with debt and trying to get their heads above water.

Bankruptcy is a popular option for small businesses that are failing, as it is an avenue that can save a company in the long run, but it comes at a hefty price. Read this article to learn about how much bankruptcy can cost a business, and not just financially. While bankruptcy is an option, it’s one that causes damage to both the business credit score and the credit score of the owner personally, so it should never be the first option that you use to dig yourself out of debt. Don’t worry though, you can avoid a similar result for your business. You don’t have to opt for bankruptcy as a way to salvage the company you have worked so hard to raise from the ground. We’ve got six ways you can steer your business away from the red seas of debt and back into the black.

Cut Costs & Free Your Cash

In a business, you can easily spot where it is that is putting you in debt. You can see exactly the areas that are pushing your business into the red, and attack those areas directly. If you have customers that aren’t paying you in a timely manner, your utilities and shipping costs are too high, or your business rent has slowly climbed over the time you have been there, you need to work out how to rectify these issues. Start ramping up collections efforts with customers and so a comparison on your utilities so that you are getting the best deal. Talk to your landlord about the rent and if there is no wiggle room on your rental amount, start looking around for cheaper premises. Sell your unwanted or unused office equipment for cash and scrap. There are a lot of ways you can cut costs in the office, you just have to find them.

Revisit Your Budget

When you find yourself in debt that is growing rather than reducing, it’s usually because the company budget is very much off. You have to look at the current financial situation of your business and build a new budget based on that. Previously, your budget has been all planning and guesswork, but you’re now in action and up and running, so you can now paint a more realistic picture of the budget you are working to. Pay off more than just the minimums on business credit card debts so that you aren’t adding more money in interest and charges through the year.

Prioritize Debts

When you are looking at the debts your business has accumulated, you need to work out where you pay the highest interest and tackle those first. If you want to tackle them altogether, you should look into how you can get an application for a debt consolidation loan approved. You can read it at DebtConsolidationLoans.com so that you can really learn the best way for your application to get the green light and get you out of debt. Paying off business debt isn’t always easy, and if you’ve guaranteed any of your debts, you need to get those paid off quickly so that your creditors don’t come for your assets.

Communicate

One of the best things that you can do to get your business back to black is to communicate with creditors. Believe it or not, the people that your business owes money to are not going to eat you! Talk about the hardship that your business is going through right now, and discuss the financial situation that you are in with great detail. Most of the time, your creditors will offer you a payment plan that you can stick to. If they don’t offer you one, then you can request one and you can even request a reduced amount to settle the debt entirely. You can negotiate so that you can settle the debt faster if they give you better terms to do so, but you don’t have to be demanding about it. The worst thing that you could do, though, is to get that coveted payment plan and then default, so stick to it.

Get Advice

It can be daunting to speak to and negotiate with creditors, so get the help of a credit counselling organization like these. They can liaise with you on the best course of action with your creditors for your business.

Debt Management

Professional debt management companies that work specifically with businesses can really help you to get the best deal on your debt repayments. They can negotiate with creditors on your behalf and sniff out any inefficiencies that could be keeping you up to your eyeballs in debt. Be careful though, as there are far too many debt management companies out there that scam businesses out of their money without helping them to pay off debts.

Getting your company out of debt isn’t always easy, but if you have a plan in place and you speak to the right people you can ensure that your company gets back its solvency without heading down the bankruptcy route. Take the chance with your company and help it to swim rather than sink – you won’t regret it.

Where Does Competence Come Into Marketing?

How do you define marketing? Is it simply being able to propagandize well, as in trying to spin a product to look better than it is? Is it deception? Is it exposure? Or does it have more of a significant social element?

Marketers are often viewed with some form of disdain by the public. They know when an advertisement is silly, on the nose, or simply doesn’t respect their intelligence. This is why clever and well-crafted advertising campaigns are celebrated so much. They’re rare, and when they hit, they hit with impact. Competence is a large factor in the creation of such content. What does this mean? Well, when it comes to developing a more profound and affecting campaign, reading social humor and the general climate at large is essential. In the interests of developing our understanding of marketing competence, we’re going to talk about what it comprises of:

Subtlety

Subtlety is important when it comes to developing competence. In order to develop your message more thoroughly, you need to allow it to transcend mere marketing. It needs to be affecting, worth content of its own. Think of a video advertisement, the first one you can remember being impressed by. It’s likely this has stuck in your memory for a reason. Either it was very funny, clever, impressive or a spectacle. You likely remember the product that was being promoted along with the advert.

However, we’re willing to bet you didn’t feel sold to during your time experiencing the advertisement. That was a necessary companion, but it wasn’t the focus. This is where smart and subtle advertising is heading. People are so aware of being sold to that they are great at filtering it out. Walking down the street often brings us in contact with a plethora of brightly lit signs all snapping for our attention. It’s likely we give these not even a moment’s notice unless we’re looking primarily for something to buy. This subtlety previously explained can give you the power of magnetism regarding the public who deeply desire to have their intelligence respected.

Reach

Marketing is only as good as the reach it has. You can pull off the best and most intelligent campaign ever, but if it only reaches one hundred people, then you’ve missed your opportunity. Thankfully the internet has made this easier than ever, particularly methods of social media marketing. If you’re able to, it’s very instructive and enlightening to see how tracked advertising can work for your firm, and how it affects you personally. For example, we suggest you type in ‘guitar packages’ into Google or Amazon right now. Search a few links, and continue with your work or reading blogs. The next time you watch a YouTube video, or read your Facebook timeline, you will see tracked ads next to your profile or before your video. Just imagine how your business could profit from this. Work using tracked advertising ID’s, sponsored Facebook and Instagram posts, and search engine optimization. Use it wisely and willingly. It can gift you much more reach than any billboard or magazine space can, and with more specificity.

With these things combined, your marketing competence will never be called into question.

Relax, Replenish, And Restore: How Entrepreneurs Should Work At Relaxing

Being an entrepreneur is a tricky game, not only do you have to run a business and be all things to all people in your company, but you’ve also got to find a way to continually develop yourself. You need to find the time to go away and properly recharge, so ypu can come back rejuvenated and ready to lead your company into the next key stage. What ways are there for you to actually step away from the game, relax, but also give yourself the opportunity to come up with new and exciting approaches to developing your business?

Distance Helps You To Go The Distance!

Sure, time away from any situation in a physical sense gives you the opportunity to reevaluate everything. But lots of people feel like they can’t leave their business alone for five minutes for fear that something will happen in their absence. This is why delegation is such an important aspect of entrepreneurial ambition. Remember, it’s not just about you and your attitude towards running a business. The great thing about spending time away in a physical sense is that it’s teaching you the importance of delegation, but it’s also giving the business the opportunity to stand on its own for a short period of time. In addition to this, distance, and a new location for a well-earned break gives you that opportunity to digest everything you have done in recent months and years. Sometimes we can feel so hemmed in by the endless dealings that we have no opportunity to step away from the rat race. But now, you’ve got the opportunity, but also the finances, to get away, you should take advantage of a new location that gives you the opportunity to recharge properly. You may want to venture out into nature, or you may want to purchase a property that is so far removed from your business dealings, that you can gain a truer appreciation of what is important, not as to your business, but to yourself. You can go to rmabrokers.com to see properties that have a real close-up view of nature, and this may be the thing you need to step away from the hustle and bustle of endless noise, not just of the life in the city, but the decisions you have to make on a daily basis.

Take Time Off To Educate Yourself

Bill Gates goes on reading breaks, where he jets off to a beautiful island somewhere, takes a pile of books, and goes through them all. And that’s not just his opportunity to recharge his mind, but also get new ideas on board. We can be going so fast in business that we don’t have time to replenish our intelligence stores. If you really want to start gaining a new perspective on the whole process, but you haven’t had the opportunity to feed your mind, taking time away to educate yourself in the things you’ve been desperately missing out on could be just what the doctor ordered. There are some fantastic reads on forbes.com to get you started, but if you know exactly what you need to replenish in terms of your own personal goals, no doubt you have already found the tomes that you feel will give you that extra edge. Whether this is in improving your confidence, or dealing with the upcoming trends in technology, whatever it is, you need to make the time to get yourself clued up in these things. The big issue we all have as entrepreneurs is that when we are on the rollercoaster, it’s can be very difficult to get off it, but also getting back onto it becomes a mammoth task because we are so used to the speed of life that being an entrepreneur entails. But it’s vital for you to take time away, not just for recharging, but it also gives you that opportunity to replenish your mental stores. So take a leaf out of Bill Gates’ book, grab a pile of books, and isolate yourself somewhere so you can learn. If you haven’t even read a book since you started your business, this gap in your knowledge will soon become apparent, if it hasn’t already!

Taking The Opportunity To Relax

Again, the rollercoaster nature of running a business can be that you are, not just loathe to get off, but scared to get off, just in case you lose your momentum. If you feel like this, you are not alone, but it’s important for you to take this time away now and again because you will learn a lot more about yourself, but it will help to prevent the onset of extreme stress and nervous exhaustion. And while some entrepreneurs go on a vacation for a month, for the vast majority of us who runs small businesses, this is not feasible. So what is the solution? The best approach to take is to make time to relax, little and often. While most of us say that we need a vacation, for those that are unable to book time away, either due to financial constraints or time, your best option is to schedule in moments of relaxation, not just once a week, but every single day. When you hear about entrepreneurs, politicians, celebrities, or anyone who have a lot of pressures on their shoulders, the one constant is that they all take time out to meditate. Regardless of your opinion on meditation in the traditional sense, the benefits of slowing down and putting yourself in an emotional position where you are able to take stock, and focus on your breath and actually learn what feeling calm is like, will do a lot more for you than you realize. There are there are resources online, a site like Headspace has millions of subscribers and is helping so many people to, not just relax, but find that little bit of meaning to what they are doing. And for so many people, where money is still tight, this is a fantastic solution.

Being an entrepreneur means a lot of exhaustion, either mentally or physically, so, you need to find better ways for you to look after your entire well-being. If you don’t, the business will not succeed, but you will suffer also. This is why you need to find the best ways to relax, replenish, and restore your enthusiasm for the company.

How Credit Can Benefit Your Business

Credit has come to be something that business owners look at with a sceptical eye. Many of us prefer a traditional approach to controlling our professional finances and will avoid spending money that we don’t have at all costs. But every now and then certain situations arise where credit could be extremely beneficial for your company. Here are a few situations where you might want to consider applying for credit and using it to your advantage.

Making the Most of Offers and Sales

Chances are that you use the same stockist or wholesaler for the raw materials that your company uses. Whether you specialise in clothing and customise plain wholesale tees and tote bags, or sell edible arrangements and source your ingredients from fruit wholesalers, there’s bound to be someone who you go to for the main components for your products. Every now and then these companies are likely to let large amounts of stock go at a much lower price than usual. They may be trying to clear out warehouse space, old stock ahead of the launch of new stock, or they might simply be having a sale. You want to capitalise on these kinds of situations, getting as much cheap stock in as you need to tide you over. But sometimes you won’t have enough cash on hand to make the most of flash sales. Nothing is more frustrating than having to fork out the standard price for a product knowing that it was on sale just a few days before. It’s situations like this when credit can be used to your advantage. If you have credit of some sort you can use this, then pay back the amount in full a few days down the line when it becomes available. Just remember to try to always make repayments in full, as this will help you to avoid hefty interest costs mounting up. If this sounds like something that you want to have ready and at hand for the future, apply for a credit card and ensure that the lender knows you intend to use it for business purposes. They may be able to offer you preferable interest rates, higher credit limits or other perks if they know that it will be used for large sums.

Rebranding

Sometimes you’ll notice that sales lull. Chances are that your brand no longer has the appeal that it used to. Consumers quickly become tired and want to see something new before they’re willing to part with their cash. This is where rebranding comes into play. You can rebrand your company, making it exciting and fresh again! When doing this, you’re likely to have low funds so credit can give you sufficient means to successfully rebrand your business and start profits rolling in again.

As you can see, credit can prove extremely profitable if used in the right way. Just remember to never take out a loan or credit on something that you are unlikely to be able to pay back. Always make sure to make repayments on time too. This will help you to avoid fees and fines which could prove troublesome in the future.

Accounting Tips for Freelancers

Freelancing has many benefits. Freelancers set their own hours and fees, work well around other commitments, get the chance to follow their passions and dreams and make something for themselves. But, the life of a freelancer isn’t all rosy. One area many people struggle is money.

The first challenge comes with knowing what to charge and preparing invoices. Then, many freelancers spend time chasing clients for payments, and even more time learning how to look after their own accounts and filing tax returns. And, that’s when everything is good. At some point, as a freelancer you may want to apply for a loan or mortgage. In which case, you’ll need to jump through multiple hoops to prove your income.

Accounting is often the thing that freelancers dread. Many even hire an accountant, even when their income is relatively low because they can’t face the idea of doing it themselves. But, there is no need. Freelance accounts don’t need to be difficult, and you certainly don’t need to spend money on an accountant to help. Here are some tips to help.

Keep Track

One mistake many freelancers make is not realizing that they need to record their income straight away. As soon as you earn money you need to register as self-employed and start tracking your income. Or, you could find yourself in trouble at the end of the year.

One issue freelancers face is making money from a variety of different sources. This can make it harder to track your earnings. Create a template for invoices, so you only need to fill in the details before sending them. Save a copy to your own files, with a number. Use a Check stub maker, and then a spreadsheet to record everything and keep things organized.

Create a System

Once you’ve got your invoices, check stubs and spreadsheets set up, find a system that works for you. Some people sit and file invoices and fill in spreadsheets every time they get paid, others have 30 minutes for admin at the end of every day, and then some leave everything until the end of the week or even month and set an hour aside to do it all in one go. What works for you will depend on how often you get paid and how much time you want to devote to admin in one go. Whatever you choose, make sure you stick to it and don’t let yourself put it off.

Keep Track of Expenses

As a freelancer, you may not have too many expenses. But, whatever they are, record them. This could include things like stationery, subscriptions and other supplies. Keep your recipes together and set up another spreadsheet, recording date, expense, amount and receipt number.

File Early

One thing many self-employed people struggle within the first year or so is remembering to set aside money for tax. Then, they’re faced with a massive bill at the end of the year. Filing your return as early as you can, means you could have around nine months to pay anything you owe.

Should You Know More Than Your Employees?

As human beings, we like to multitask and be able to get multiple things whether connect or not done simultaneously. In the heat of passion, business becomes somewhat of a baby of ours. We feel it personally when it is criticized or even changed in the slightest. Being a leader and owner of your own business means this will happen to you on a daily occurrence, relentlessly. But you should never allow your emotions and mollycoddling instincts to get in the way of branching out, spreading your wings and trying new things. Sometimes you can be at loggerheads with your own employees. Every leader has been there when those who are working for them come up with suggestions to alter a project, product, marketing ploy and or service. The question comes up, should you know more than your employees or should you take them for their word and trust them?

Spotting challenges ahead

One of the most frustrating things in the professional world is a boss that is not wary of what you as an employee are. The simple case of not knowing what is going on at ground level in your own business and therefore the industry as a whole is without a doubt a fatal flaw. Running a small business has its own unique challenges, but sometimes where there are similar patterns that brings up the same symptoms over and over, you may class as a recurring or popular issue. Reading journals and magazines that report on your own industry is something you must make as part of your weekly habit. Reading publications that offer insight into the broader spectrum of business such as Forbes, Business Insider, Spectator Money, Bloomberg, Entrepreneur and Telegraph Business section keeps you up to date and informed.

Leading by example

A good leader would know exactly what he or she is asking for from their followers. At times you may wonder and even doubt yourself when giving orders to your employees; especially in fields that you know little about. It’s only natural as it’s not your forte, but taking steps to ensure you’re by no means a novice could take you to new levels of understanding. Once you better understand something, you can then probe, experiment and expand on your ideas with greater effect. Take for example a course from an online school marketing, where you can take an MSc in marketing in which you’ll learn brand development. You’ll learn how marketing and consumption work at the individual and societal levels. The marketing field is full of big characters as well as artistic egos. Showing you know just as if not more in connecting with the audience and conjuring an accurate image of your brand would show you’re leading by example.

Should you know more than your employees? It’s always going to be yes and no. You should try to lead by example by first making yourself more knowledgeable than those you lead. By the same token, you can’t be a jack of all trades and master of none. You must, however, guide your employees to be bold and creative while at the same time keeping an eye on the potential hazards of what may be ahead.

Building A Loyal Audience

The key to any successful business is having a loyal audience which returns and will purchase over and over again. You may think as you start out in the business world that you simply need a killer website, social accounts and thousands of followers. But it is the integrity of these followers which you need to look out for, and maintain if you are to succeed.

1. Quality, not quantity

The biggest misconception when you are building up your empire is thinking that you have to have more followers to make a more successful business. Of course, the more followers you have the more likely you are to get a sale, but it is the quality of your followers which you want to look out for. Think about if you have 10,000 followers- only 1000 of them may actually purchase your product and engage with the brand. However a similar company with 1000 followers may have 800 people who purchase and engage. This is a huge difference in the percentage of engaged audience members. When you are creating a promotion, you need to track the people who visit and see if they are the people who come back again and again.

2. Emails

Email has always been a large part of good marketing, however you need to make sure that the quality of your emails is good enough for people to read. Instead of simply creating a poster with 20% off written on it and sending that out, take time to write an engaging email, share a funny story and add links to your products. You are much more likely to gain a loyal, engaged audience this way.

3. Partnerships

Collaborating with similar brands can be the key to helping you grow and nurture your online family. By exposing yourself to their audience and visa versa, you can all come together and create on big community.

4. Test, test, test

Whatever type of marketing you do within your business, test it. Keep testing and testing again until you can see where you need to improve and what is successful for your brand. Use google analytics to test if referral traffic is booming, look at your social posts for likes and comments, see how many sales you gained through that email campaign… every little thing should be tested and analysed so that you can make the best campaigns for your audience and pull people in.

5. Content is key

Content is at the heart of any marketing strategy, it is the glue which holds everything else together. Creating content can be varied and it must always be engaging. Think about guided digital commerce, images for social media, blog posts, social posts and everything else in between. Every piece of content you share with your audience should be well thought through and checked out. For example if you look at images for social media and your website: you could just use stock images, or you could go out and about and take photos of your own. They might not be as perfect as stock images but they will show your individuality and show your audience that you are making the effort for them. The same applies to blog posts. Writing informative and helpful posts will give you a much more loyal following than simply posting to say that a new product is on sale.

6. Design

Most of what will attract people to your website in the first place is your design. Humans are visual creatures: whether it be a person, a cute puppy or a stunning landscape- everyone loves to look at clean, clear and bright things. Think about your design and create a color scheme which fits the type of business you are. Add lots of images to your website because images are known to drive twice as much traffic.

7. Consistency

The most important thing to bear in mind if you are thinking of starting your business and building a loyal audience is to stay consistent. You need to make sure that you are posting on social media every day, engaging with your audience, replying to comments, creating blog posts, promoting your products and updating your website. It is an on-going job which you need to take the time to work on and get better at each and every day. If you stay in the forefront of your customer’s minds, you will be the first one they think of when they need something. You will have a loyal, recurring audience in no time.

If You’re Not Supporting Your Employees, You’re Letting Them Down

Your employees are the most powerful tool in your business’s arsenal. Their importance for the overall success of your business really cannot be overstated. Sure, there are a lot of things that go into making a business successful, but your employees are the ones who are able to take your ambitions for your business and actually put them into practice. Without your employees, your business could never be the success that you want it to be. Which is what makes it that much more of a shame that so many business owners simply aren’t taking the right level of care of their employees. If you’re not able to provide the support that your employees need, you’re never going to be able to get the best out of them. With that in mind, here are some of the most important ways that you need to be supporting your employees.

Professional

Employee development is one of the most important things that you need to think about as a business owner. Your employees aren’t just cogs in the mechanism of your business; they’re also professionals who want to improve and develop their skills. You need to be able to provide them with the tools to do that. Things like employee training and sending them on outside courses to improve and learn new things are crucial to their development. Not only will this help them but it will also be a huge benefit to you as well since they’ll bring those skills back into their work.

Financial

Of course, it shouldn’t come as much of surprise that your employees are going to be somewhat financially dependent on you. After all, the salary that you pay them allows them to afford everything from a roof over their head to any luxuries that they want. However, you need to be sure that you’re taking the right financial care of your employees. This can mean everything from a fair, living wage to employee financial perks. By being able to support your employees on a financial level, you can be sure that they’re able to focus and aren’t spending their days worrying about their bank balance.

Personal

It’s crucial that you remember that your employees are not just a tool for your business to use. They’re people. People with individual needs, desires, and emotions. If you’re pushing your employees too hard, then they could end up burning out which is bad news for everyone. It’s incredibly important that you never forget that your employees are individuals who you should support on a personal and emotional level just as much as you do on any other level. If you don’t, you could end up with employees who come to resent your business and even quit.

It might seem as though doing all of this is going to be a lot of work, but the truth is that you need to put in this amount of effort if you really want to get the most out of your employees. Remember, if you support them and put effort into their well-being, your employees are going to be far more likely to return the favor.

How To Keep Your Business Secure

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In a competitive global economy, nothing is more important than protecting your company’s assets and information. We are living in a data driven world, where every gigabyte is as precious as a brick of gold. Cyber-attacks and corporate espionage aren’t just the premises of bad 80’s movies—they’re a real threat to businesses all across the globe. Whether you are a company that specializes in foreign exports or a large law firm in LA county, the need for data security is unquestionable. These days anyone with enough free time, the know-how, and a wifi connection can potentially wreak havoc on your company’s databases and communication lines. Finding secure ways to share and exchange information has become a necessity in the modern business world.

Here are 5 easy steps to keep your business secure:

Step One: Build a Strong and Dependable IT Department.

Having a top notch IT sector within your company is an absolute must. This department is going to organize, maintain, and secure all of your data and communications. The IT department will be the technological backbone of your infrastructure. Implementing a secure network and network database will give you peace of mind when it comes to communication between employees and exchanging data between departments. Providing your IT department with the hardware and tools is equally as important as hiring quality professionals. Much like an artist is only as good as his tools, an IT department is only as good as its hardware. Spare no expenses when it comes to equipping your IT department with any equipment they might need.

Step Two: Set Up Secure Avenues of Communicate Outside the Company Network.

Security is difficult to maintain when exchanging data and information off of your company’s secure network. International communications can be especially difficult and finding methods to send secure data overseas can be daunting. Most IT departments within companies don’t have the manpower or resources to have a devoted sector for information interchange outside of the company network. This is where the use of third parties for international data exchange can be useful. If any of the documents are going to be translated or encrypted these third party services are especially convenient and economical. If and when there is a data breach many of these third parties can also provide litigation translation, making them an important asset in the world of data exchange.

Step Three: Use Data Encryption.

Data encryption has become a staple in the tech industry, so common that there are even applications for our phones to exchange encrypted text messages. Much like an extremely complex puzzle, the encrypted data can only be cracked by algorithms written by geniuses or the encryption key. Data encryption is not foolproof, and it’s always best to double up on security by using secure networks or drop points as well as data encryption.

Step Four: Perform Thorough Background Checks on Your Employees.

As mentioned, corporate espionage is a serious threat to companies that deal in technological innovations and private information. Even major law firms can be subjected to infiltration. Making sure that all of your employees have credible backgrounds with employment screening and references from respected and known employers is crucial. If HR fails to do a complete a thorough background check, it can be easy, especially for entry and low level employees, to slip through the cracks.

Step Five: Hack Your Own System

It might sound crazy to suggest hacking your own system, but trust me when I say this is one of the best ways to ensure that your systems and networks are secure. Whether you hire someone into a permanent position or hire a freelance penetration tester, having someone periodically attempt to break through your security measures is the best way to maintain and update security. A gifted white hat hacker or penetration tester can be the greatest possible asset to a company’s cyber security. As previously mentioned, doing a thorough background check on security specialists is of the utmost importance. These people will have access to all of your data and secure information. If you manage to hire a sophisticated and reliable white hat, make sure that your company is doing everything they can to keep them.

If you follow these five steps, maintaining your company’s security will be as easy as the click of a button.

4 Ways To Improve SEO Without Rewriting Content

Typically, ranking highly on Google is about content. After all, the more material you have, the easier it is to leverage keywords, which means there a better chance of being noticed. It’s a simple piece of logic which website owners use to maintain their high SEO standards. However, one mistake they make is to churn out new content or mess with the old material for great results. Although it works, it’s also a time-consuming process which can be annoying and stressful. Usually, it’s best to avoid rewriting altogether and focus on alternative methods to boost SEO.

Here is a handful of the most effective ones at your disposal.

Update Title Tags

Every page has a tag – it’s the thing which pops up at the end of the domain name. For something small, it has a huge impact on pagerank because it’s a chance to optimize content. All you have to do is think about the titles of your content and include words and phrase which you know rank highly. Google will pick this up and adjust the page accordingly. Of course, if every page on the site ups its title tag game, then the entire website will get a boost.

Keywords In Existing Content

Okay, so you can’t touch or don’t want to rewrite the content which already exists on the platform. No problem because you can use Google to tell you which words and phrases are relevant to the content that already exists. With a tool such as a keyword planner, there is no reason to let old material get stale and lose points. Instead, consider inserting the terms which the planner believes is relevant to the content now. You can do this by including it in the main body or playing around with tags, meta tags and headings.

Purge Content

People laugh when experts like Skip The Line Backlinks recommend purging content. What kind of professional tells you to get rid of the thing which boosts SEO? Well, the type that knows what they are talking about! It’s tempting to think that all content is terrific because it has the potential for keywords and backlinks, yet it isn’t the case. Sadly, bad content will negatively impact your ranking because search engines rank pages based on added value. If you aren’t adding anything, it’s best to delete the dead wood and opt for quality over quantity.

Play With Page Speed

The Fred algorithm only convinced the SEO community or what it already knew: Google values speed. The reason is simple: it increases the user experience. After all, the quicker the page loads, the happier the customer is and the less time they waste. So, any pages which load slowly are going to reflect poorly on the king of search engines. Therefore, ensuring images aren’t too big or that videos don’t lag are tricks which can boost SEO without much hassle. Just general maintenance goes a long way also.

It’s true that content is king, both written and video. Still, there’s no need to rewrite or re-post everything you have ever done to optimize SEO.

Types of Business Theft and How to Avoid It

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If you own a fast-growing company, then you know that protecting your business is your number one priority. Depending on the industry, your business will have different security needs and protections. Let’s take a took at some of the most successful businesses, identify their theft-prone areas and learn what owners can do to protect those businesses.

Finance

In the finance industry, companies are prone to identity theft, fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. Unfortunately, most of this type of theft comes from employees themselves. To prevent this, business owners should have regular audits; hire third-party bookkeepers; never give one person sole responsibility for accounting; conduct thorough background checks; educate and train employees properly; promote trustworthiness and integrity throughout your company. You can’t always prevent everything, but being mindful and taking extra steps to protect your business can prevent a huge disaster from striking in the future.

Tech Companies

With the ever-changing world of technology, digital marketing and other tech companies are on the rise. Unfortunately these companies don’t just have to worry about theft inside their physical businesses, but they have to worry about internet theft as well. These types of cybercrime include data breaches, computer viruses, hackers and more. But there are a few ways in which tech companies can protect their business:

Keep all software up to date
Set up strict admin rules so that software and other applications can only be download with approval
Block access to restricted sites to avoid viruses and prevent hackers from interfering
Backup all files
Hire a trustworthy IT team to monitor activity and set up cyber security tools
Monitor employee computers

Although not all types of cyber theft are avoidable, measures can be taken to make it harder for hackers and prevent it from happening in the future.

Construction

On the other hand, some forms of technology can actually prevent theft. With the need for more houses and buildings, the construction industry is booming trying to keep up with the growing economy. But with that comes the risk of construction site theft, and this is where technology comes into play. Mobile surveillance units provide wireless visual and audio to property owners any time, anywhere. These means that even when the construction workers are away, the construction site can still be monitored 24/7. With the help of these portable security systems, owners can keep their construction sites safe no matter where they are. Mobile surveillance trailer rentals are available if buying is not cost effective.

Retail

Similarly to construction, retail stores face the risk of having their business site robbed. Retailers like clothing stores are at risk because shoplifters find creative ways to sneak away without paying for clothes or shoes. To help prevent theft inside their stores, business owners can do the following:

Organize the store so that all exits are visible to employers
Never leave your register unlocked or unattended
Keep more expensive items in locked cabinets
If your business has a dressing room, make sure there is an attendant and all items are accounted for when entering and exiting the fitting room
Install security cameras throughout the store
Keep the outside of your business well-lit, even outside of business hours

Other retailers that sell laptops or smartphones face the most risk since their products are expensive and can be stolen and sold on the internet. For those business, more drastic security measures may be needed, such as hiring a security guard for your building. However, all of these easy loss-prevention techniques are sure to keep you, your employees and your merchandise safe.

If you are a successful entrepreneur with a thriving business, you may want to consider the tips above to protect yourself and your business from theft. And remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Instagram or Pinterest for Business: Which Works Better?

The human brain processes images thousands of times faster than text. The majority of information transmitted to the brain, no matter what its origin, is visually based. In other words, when most people read text, the text transforms into an image before it reaches the brain.

If you sell products directly to the public, such as this example on the Filippo Loreti Instagram page, or graphic services online, visuals become even more important. Online users have short attention spans and limited time. If you don’t catch the eye in seconds, you’ve lost them.

Pinterest and Instagram are the two most widely used photo sharing platforms. If your business sells products, graphic services or engages in visuals of any kind, engagement in one of the photo sharing channels gives you another opportunity to expand your reach. Which platform is better for your business? Here’s what you need to know.

Who Uses What?

Like other social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram have different audiences. Here’s the breakdown:

Instagram: At one period of time during 2016, Instagram gained 100 million users per day. The latest counts indicate more than 800 million people use Instagram for photo and video sharing. According to Pew Research, the majority of Instagram users live in urban or suburban locations and belong to the 18-29-year-old age group.

The dominant gender is female, but Instagram does have a substantial male membership as well. Small business numbers increased to a substantial 25 million in November 2017, up 10 million from the reported 15 million in July 2017. Recent data indicates that 80 percent of active Instagram users follow a business within the platform. The free Android and iPhone sharing app allows the addition of filters to images, making them more attractive and eye-catching.

Pinterest: Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board where users save, or pin, and share graphic images of interest. It’s not wrong to say that Pinterest is pretty much a female domain. Nearly half of women online use Pinterest. Only 17 percent of men use the platform.

Pinterest users tend to live in urban or suburban areas, but a substantial group of users live in rural adults areas. Approximately 200 million people use Pinterest and its signature use of “pins” is well over 100 billion to date. Pinterest is the fastest-growing social platform ever — faster than Facebook, faster than Twitter. Pinterest is made to allow users to collect and organize images for the long haul.

What Do I Do With the Numbers?

Now you know who’s using which channel, define your target audience and determine the goals you want to achieve. Is your target customer a young person? Is your customer predominantly male or female? Do they live in the city or a rural area?

As a general rule, if your customer trends toward a young demographic, Instagram is the right platform. An older female demographic target is better suited to Pinterest. Both platforms offer similar engagement tools, such as the ability to run contests, promote events and share options. Choose the platform with users that most closely match your customer and spend most of your efforts there.

Dynamic Content Strategies That Will Get Your Startup Noticed Online

The Internet, it seems like we just can’t enough of it. So much so that we carry instant access to it around in our pockets each and every day. Capitalizing on this is, of course, essential to the success of your startup you and to do this, you need to create fantastic content that will grab the attention of the consumer and put your brand and product in the forefront of their mind. To find out how to do this read on.

Advice is good for brand awareness

One of the best content strategies that you can use to get your startup noticed is proving advice, tips, and information to those that fit your customer demographic.

Why? Well, the reason is that it allows you to reach them without having to advertise directly to them. Something that can easily put people off. Instead, by offering them something of use you can create in them a positive opinion of your company, as they are receiving something helpful from you, without having had to make a purchase first.

To do this, you may choose you may choose to offer instructional videos, webinar, forums, or even blog posts. Just make sure to do your research to check which format would most appeal to your demographic.

Vital statistics

If Content is king, then the analytic is queen, and anyone trying to get there startup noticed online would do well to remember this. In fact, they are like two halves of the same thing, with statistics and metrics informing and allowing improvement of content so it can be made more effective.

Of course, not everyone loves or can even make sense of statistics, so it’s always a good idea to use some Solid SEO Tools as part of your content strategy. Then at least you have some chance of drawing out the meaning from your analytics and putting it to good use.

Funding and marketing go hand in hand

What if I told you that you could fund your company while marketing it, and get your first production wave paid for all in one go? Sound like a dream doesn’t it but with crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, it is actually a reality.

Funding sites combine the customer role with that of company sponsor. They offer the opportunity for normal folk to back ideas that they like, usually for exclusive early access to the product or special bonus features or items linked to how much money they put up.

Yes, your campaign will need a few additional marketing materials such as websites, professional photos, a video and a logo to be used in addition to your post on a funding site. However, remember that you will gain backers directly from the sites itself, and like anything that is to do with social media and sharing, once your proposal gains a little momentum it has the potential to go viral and come to the notice of many other potential customers ( and backers in this case) too.