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If you are thinking of launch your next business and looking for the big idea: Look no more. Software, marketing agencies and fitness coaching are not successes from the past. The next big thing in the business world is the packaging industry for the cosmetic sector. While you may be thinking of the next brand of lipstick or your favorite shampoo, the packaging side of cosmetics is a lot broader than what it first appears. There are primary packaging, which refers to the direct container of your product, such as a bottle of perfume, and secondary packaging needs, which relate to the cardboard box that you find on the shop shelves. And each packaging solution has to be compliant with the market needs, the local and international regulations, the local culture, the marketing messaging of the brand, and finally the customers’ needs. So that’s a world of possibilities for your next business!

#1. It’s an exciting sector that innovates

The cosmetic sector is one of the most innovative industry sectors. It is in constant evolution, and packaging solutions are pushing the boundaries every day. Hourglass Curator has launched a new mascara and primer bottle that can revolutionize the average makeup bag. Indeed, the mascara is sold in a separate glass bottle. The application wand is the first brushless mascara tool on the market. On the other hand, the designer Christian Louboutin has launched an exciting range of nail colors, called Loubichrome, that is designed to match the mix-and-match style of its famous shoes. The Loubichrome colors are sold in a multicolored luxury chrome box. You can be certain that this kind of exciting product packaging creates an ever-evolving market that constantly comes up with new ideas.

#2. You can rock it with digital marketing trends

The cosmetic sector can be a sector of high-quality packaging solutions, such as the one employed for Christian Louboutin’s range of nail colors. But it doesn’t mean that you should forget one of the key function of good packaging: Seduce and attract customers. In other words, there is a brand new and innovative world of products that is open new hot marketing trends. Maintaining a positive customer engagement is at the core of new packaging solutions, such as using QR codes on cosmetic boxes. Other brands are using digital 3D design to enhance the sensations perceived by the customers as they hold the product.  

#3. You can be a thinker or a doer

The packaging industry offers a variety of roles for your business. If you are looking to start a production business, you need to be looking for the relevant machinery and certification to ensure that you can build safe cosmetic packaging. But if you prefer the consulting side of the industry, you could be working on the design of a brand’s packaging solution or on ways to reduce the footprint on the environment with an eco-friendly solution. Whether you are a creative person, a strategist, or an expert engineer, the packaging sector has a lot to offer.

#4. There are many challenges to tackle

Being still a booming sector, the cosmetic packaging industry still needs to tackle a lot of exciting challenges. You can make a difference by bringing something new to the market. On the one side, it’s a sector that needs to focus on the quality of the packaging process and the compliance with production and market regulations _ from using CPVC fittings to transport the necessary packaging materials to printing visible and detailed labels. On the other side, it’s not enough to use a high-quality container: It also needs to be exciting for the customers. A successful packaging solution has to address all these different challenges.

#5. You can create the beauty brands of tomorrow

The secondary container – the cardboard box – conveys the branding image of the company. Your role could be to design the packaging solution for new brands of cosmetics, therefore helping them to pierce through the market. Styles are varied: A minimalist design like for Mr Smith shampoo products or the exciting futuristic design of the MAC Lightfully collection, the packaging can make the brand stand out on the shelf.  

#6. It’s a profitable market

The cosmetic market is a huge market. In makeup only, it’s been estimated that women spend over $15,000 on beauty products in a lifetime. The obsession with beauty has opened the door for new vanity trends that recommends the purchase of several products at the same time. You only need to read one article about contouring or party makeup to know that women can use over 10 products at the same time. In other words, the need for ergonomic and sexy cosmetic packaging is extremely high! After all, when you consider that the beauty industry is worth over $382 billion across the world, there’s no reason not to seize this business opportunity!

#7. There are many opportunities

What is interesting about the cosmetic sector is that it is growing steadily and constantly, in all product categories – including beauty products but not limited to it. As a result, the packaging and machinery market is enjoying a positive growth. With the amount of competition, there’s a need for brands to constantly invest in innovative cosmetic packaging to gain the competitive edge. While all big companies have their own research lab for packaging solutions, small and medium cosmetic brands still need support to launch their product. As an example, the Asia-Pacific market for cosmetic packaging is currently the leading region in the packaging market, contributing to over 24% of demands.

#8. You can support the environment

A newcomer to the cosmetic sector is the rise of organic products, which have increased by over 20% in sales. The demand in organic cosmetics goes as well with an increased demand for eco-friendly packaging solutions. From carefully sourced materials to recyclable containers, an environmental proposition can help to turn an organic brand of cosmetics into an overnight success.  

#9. Who doesn’t like cosmetics?

The last question is a reflection on your lifestyle. Whether you are a makeup enthusiast or someone who prefers a natural appearance, your bathroom cabinet is still filled with cosmetics. Cream, shampoo, deodorant, soap, to name but a few, are part of the cosmetic family. In short: It’s one of the rare industry sectors where you can be sure to make an impact on everybody’s life.

Building a business usually takes a lot of time and money. You have to buy a lot of products to get yourself off the ground, building up to a huge cost, if you’re not careful. This cash sink doesn’t stop once you’re started, though. Instead, for the lifespan of your business, you will always be having to make buying choices which impact it. When doing this, a lot of people miss out on the money that can be saved as a company. So, to help you out, this post will be going through some of the easiest ways to save some money when you’re buying for your business.

To start, there are a couple of important considerations to make. Businesses often have the chance to buy items in bulk, saving on each item because of the volume they’ve ordered. This sort of saving can go a long way, making it important to buy in large quantities where you can. Along with this, some items may offer cash back or tax relief when you buy them. Choosing options with these qualities can be a good start to saving money. But, it’s just that; a start. There’s plenty more you can do.

One of the most power tools a small business can have is contacts. Being connected with the other companies around you can be a great way to save money. A lot of the time, you can save money just by knowing the right people. To work on this goal, you can start by going to networking events and using social media to contact other traders. From there, you can start to build relationships based on saving each other money. This sort of relationship has to be mutual, with both sides benefiting; otherwise, it might fall apart.

Along with getting to know small business, you can also get accustomed to the bigger ones which are close to you. A lot of bigger companies will offer special deals to other organizations. Using a resource like this, you can save a lot of money. A great example of this is Microsoft’s Office 365. Using a site like https://products.office.com/, you can explore the options they have. Saving money like this could have a big impact on your business, especially as you get big enough to notice the difference.

If you’ve ever bought something online, you’ll have experienced the research you need to do to make it cheaper. Thankfully, though, there are loads of tools to help you with this sort of job. Say you are starting a transport company, and need some trucks. You might not be aware of all of the companies you can use to help you, making it hard to branch out and choose good options. To solve this, you could use https://truckdealersaustralia.com.au to help you find the very best truck companies you have access to. This sort of resource can save a lot of time and effort, and it could even save you some money.

Hopefully, this post will give you a good idea of what can be done when you’re trying to buy for your business. A lot of people ignore this sort of work, simply spending when they could be getting things cheaper. This will only benefit you in the future.

You’ve already done a major amount of hard work to get to the point where your startup is ready to expand; well done. However, there’s more challenges and logistics to consider further down the line, and it won’t be an easy road ahead. Therefore, it’s crucial that you carefully plan and prepare each of your next moves, so that you can expand as seamlessly and smoothly as possible and there won’t be any costly mistakes. Whether you’re just beginning the expansion process, or you need to sort out a new strategy as soon as possible (time waits for no business); the following are the areas you’ll need to take into account and organize thoroughly.

Relationships

Whatever it is that your manufacturing; there will be suppliers and buyers to consider. Therefore, it’s vital that you build strong, reliable relationships with those who keep your business running, and ensure that everyone is made aware of your expansion plans. It may be that because of the new scale of your company, and what you will need; you have to change your suppliers, and work with businesses that will be able to fulfill your quota. Make sure that you research into any new supplier; their history and who they work with are great indicators of how you’ll get on with them and if they’re a suitable fit for your startup.

If you are able to stick with businesses that you’ve already been working with; great, your relationship with them will only grow stronger the more that you invest your money and time. However, it’s important to know when to cut the cord with a supplier or service when they are not performing as you’d wished. You should have the legal side pre-organized with your contract with a company so that ties can easily be broken and you can move on with minimum cost to your business. See what advice Winman have to offer on the importance of long term supplier relationship management and apply their advice to your startup.

Visit new providers and services onsite where possible; it’s the perfect way to see if you’re happy with how things are run. Ensure that you have a clear probationary period set in place from the start, so again, you can see whether you’re going to be a successful alliance. Bad alliances are going to be the downfall of any business, so this is why it’s essential to get the right relationships in place as soon as you begin your expansion process. Don’t be fearful of checking out competing companies and openly comparing their quotes; this will get you a great deal of what they provide, and save you money in the long run. However, don’t always go with a business just because they work out to be the cheapest; sometimes, paying a little more for something will ensure that you get a higher quality of service, products, and processes, so choose wisely.

Equipment

You’ll already have a good idea of the equipment you’ll need to continue producing what you sell; now is the time to look into investing in new equipment, to expand your abilities, or even replacing what you already have. Purchasing new machinery can be one of the most expensive parts of expanding a manufacturing startup; however, it’s vital, as it’s the only way you’re going to be able to increase what you make and grow as a company.

You can release the equity in what you currently own so that you can invest in more assets; see what Equify can offer and learn more about your potential financing options. After working out your budget; invest wisely in equipment that will last and continue to make your money back for the years ahead. Again, you should remember that the cheapest deal isn’t always the smartest; spend wisely, but be willing to pay a little more to ensure that what you have is of the best quality.

When it comes to what equipment to choose; consider all your processes in detail and be innovative with your choices. Research into the latest products on the market and seek professional advice and opinions on what’s best to use. Think outside of the box when it comes to methods and process strategy; now is the time to put in place the very latest in manufacturing, so that your company’s machinery and operations will last you into the future of a competitive an ever-expanding market. Find out what your competitors are using and how success manufacturing businesses run their systems.

A larger scale operation will not be the same as your current situation; therefore, it’s vital that you’re willing to embrace changes, new equipment and operations, and develop the way that you run your company as a whole. You won’t be a startup for much longer, so start acting like a large business so that you can make a significant impact on the market and continue to work successfully.

Premises

Now that you know what equipment is coming your way; you’ll be ready to plan the premises you’ll need to expand your business. Size will be the main factor; you’ll need to ensure that there’s plenty of room in a warehouse, or factory setting, to house all of your old and new equipment. You’ll also need to consider the space you’ll need for storage, as you’ll have produced a larger volume of products than ever before. Bear in mind that if you plan to grow and expand further; your equipment and storage needs will grow as your business does, so it’s a smart choice to have a contingency in your new environment for further development. It’s always best to lease premises over purchasing one when you a fairly new business; this will give you more security should you need to downsize or move on in the future.

The location of your new workspace is another crucial aspect of your manufacturing business. You’ll be based around the concept of supply and demand, so access to your premises needs to be straightforward and easy to find. Take into account where your regular delivery drivers will come from, and where yours need to get frequently; this will help you make a decision on the area of the country you’ll need to reside in and what highways, airports, and shipping ports you’ll need to be near.

The land and premises themselves will need to have adequate access for large vehicles to visit, to drop items off and pick items up; so bear that in mind when you’re arranging your stock storage and equipment placement. Logistics are vital in any business, so make a smart plan regarding your strategy and where things will be. You will need to think about an onsite office area so that you can be close to the action and oversee what’s going on each day. You don’t need to micromanage; however, you’ll be able to make changes as quickly as possible if and when you see an issue in the running of your system. The first year of your expanded company is the teething year; so expect to be adjusting, moving, tweaking, and improving on a regular basis.

You’ll likely have to employ new members of staff; so ensure that your new premises have enough space for a team area to relax in and eat during their breaks. It’s also a smart idea to have somewhere that you can congregate for regular meetings, away from the noise of the machines, so that you can discuss and improve your business further.

Employees

As previously mentioned; you’ll need to take into account that you’ll have expanded your workforce to ensure that your production levels will rise. Choosing the right people for your company can be a challenge. Therefore it’s a smart option to have everything that’s been mentioned so far in place, ready for your new staff to utilize. Once you have the supplies, equipment, and space, you can begin to look for the right individuals for the roles you’ll need to fulfill.

Make a thorough list of attributes and qualifications that a person will need for each area of your business before you start interviewing people; this will help you filter out resumes, and you won’t waste time on hiring your team. Try to ensure that your new team members will fit in will your current workforce; you’ll want the people in your company to work as well as your new machinery, so it’s worth thinking about personality types and their work ethics.

Much like you did with your new suppliers; give your fresh employees a probationary period, to ensure that they can handle the workload and the new equipment. It’s always great to have staff who embrace improvements and changes in a business, and your company will be evolving in various directions as you expand, so it’s good to hire people that are happy to adapt. Team building and social activities outside of the work environment are an excellent way to tighten the bond between your workers, so organize a few get-togethers early on, to solidify the relationships in your business. As long as you and your staff are prepared for challenges, and are willing to adapt to change; there’s no reason that your manufacturing startup won’t expand successfully and you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

For fashion-conscious industries, appealing to a certain high-end clientele is more important than being on-trend, and digital marketing is as important as the clothes themselves – they both have to stay up-to-date. For luxury brands looking to maximize their profits and widen their audience base, here are the latest trends in digital marketing that you need to keep an eye on.

Engage with the customer

Customer experience is what makes or breaks a luxury brand, which prides itself on selling not just a product but a lifestyle. The most successful businesses today understand the importance of customer experience in their marketing strategies. Create opportunities to engage with the customers, particularly on social media, and focus on customer-centric philosophies when drafting your next marketing campaign.

Keep it personal

This is particularly important for luxury brands, who have long roots in creating bespoke, exclusive products for their customers. Nowadays, brands from Maserati to Coca-Cola are customizing names and colors for their clients. However, personalization also means creating marketing campaigns, whether they’re on social media, via email, or on blogs and websites, which are relevant to various segments of the market you want to engage with. Run multiple projects across different platforms specifically targeted to key demographics, and your customer base will respond positively to your campaign.

Get more social

Social media has changed the way products are marketed online, and luxury brands are no exception. Many companies use social media accounts to produce generic content which, in reality, isn’t all that relevant to anybody. Reach out to your customers by channeling influencers and other online personalities to engage your consumers. The use of influencers revitalized luxury brand Gucci, who enlisted influencers to create their own interpretations of Gucci content. Using the existing audience base and creativity of influencers could be the kick-start your brand needs to revamp its digital marketing strategy.

Roll the camera

Content is still king, but the way we’re consuming content is changing. While people are still reading blogs, newspapers, articles and reviews online, videos are set to rule the internet. This doesn’t just include traditional video advertising, but customer-submitted reviews and live video. Real-time visual streaming is a new opportunity to boost brand engagement as customers can interact with companies in real time, and is growing exponentially in popularity. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, live videos are easy to set up and inexpensive. They’re also urgent and promote an air of exclusivity – customers have to get in there quick before they miss out.

Crunch the numbers.

Even established brands need to keep on top of their customer base. With technology developing further by the day, we’re starting to see sophisticated software that analyzes customer data to determine age, gender, income and location of potential customers to create a truly targeted marketing campaign. If you’re serious about developing your brand recognition, then enlist the help of an advanced electronic application to really pinpoint your customers and their needs.  

The world of marketing has changed. From traditional to modern methods; marketing has adapted, becoming more digitalized. Why? Because traditional marketing is failing to reach audiences as the public start to focus on different platforms – most notably, the internet.

Newspapers, magazines and the directory are obsolete, and nowadays, TV and radio very rarely make an impact. Overall, traditional forms of marketing are losing its effectiveness, and what is called “digital marketing” is now considered “marketing.” For the foreseeable future, digital marketing is the most effective means to market your business.

Building an efficient marketing team can, however, take time and money. Digital marketing can take the shape of social media, email marketing, SEO and content marketing; therefore, you will to employ individuals who understand the specific requirements and job specifications for each digital marketing branch. If you’re an employer who is also hazy on digital marketing, then you will also need to educate yourself.

For those who are yet to convert from traditional marketing methods to the innovative digital age, here are five forms of digital marketing you can sell your products through.

Social Media Marketing

Social media isn’t a direct selling platform; however, it is a means to promote your brand and create a trustworthy reputation. Nowadays, people love to log into Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and see what businesses have to offer. On Twitter, you can send response Tweets to your customers; either funny or serious, and on Instagram, you can bond with your customers by ‘regramming’ their photos and revealing new releases.

The foundation to a social selling success, is by carefully selecting the most relevant social media platforms. If your product is visually stunning Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all suitable platforms. However, if you’re a web hosting company, Instagram may be a waste of your marketing time.

Email Marketing

Many people will think ‘spam’ when they hear the phrase ‘email marketing.’ This is, however, the complete opposite. Email marketing, if utilized correctly, can drive sales, increase your brand’s awareness, acquire new customers, and retain your loyal patrons. To fully optimize your email marketing, you must collect clean data on your customers, and then create relevant and personalized content. Customers become frustrated when they’re sent irrelevant emails.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to your website. To do this, you must ensure your business appears high on the list of search engine rankings. Ways to do this is via content marketing and link building, as well as having an SEO friendly website. Utilize SEO by finding keywords related to your business and having a relevant domain name; refrain from using black-hat techniques. Due to Google’s constant algorithm updates, ensure your digital marketing team remain knowledgeable in their field.

Digital marketing is most definitely the future of marketing, however, marketing in general can be quite fickle. Although it can produce spectacular results, technology and digital trends are constantly adapting. You can spend a lot of money in a single marketing campaign, only to produce poor ROIs. Ways to protect your business (and digital marketing team) is by applying for a business line of credit. Fast access to emergency funds can save your business from unexpected situations.

Although there is still a place for TV advertisements, the internet is paving the future, and will continue to do so. Businesses without digital marketing teams or campaigns will soon find their sales dropping; it’s time for traditional marketing teams to transform into the modern age.

Technology now plays an integral role in modern business, and its presence is felt in every aspect. The phenomenon of smartphone devices has unquestionably seen things evolve to a new level. Nowadays, virtually all entrepreneurs will now use an iPhone or Android in some form. The more pertinent question, however, is whether you’re getting enough from your devices.

Smartphones can be utilized in a variety of different ways. Here are some of the best ideas that can revolutionize your business with almost immediate impacts.   

• Communicate with the team in a more efficient manner. Every business owner should appreciate the importance of great staff management. Smartphones can certainly help. Whether it’s through email, team messaging Apps or traditional calls doesn’t matter. Communication is the primary function of all cell phone technology, but is sadly one that goes criminally undervalued. Use your smartphones to maintain cohesion and direction throughout the company, and it will pay dividends in the long run. Aside from the physical benefits, it’ll give you a far greater sense of confidence.

• Interact with customers in real time using social media. Let’s face it; most consumers use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, et al. on a daily basis. This makes them the perfect resources for marketing your business on the cheap. Moreover, they pose the opportunity to show creativity to generate interest in the brand as well as the products. Those platforms can also be utilized to answer customer queries or seek feedback. If this information can help you keep clients happy and tweak your approach to business, you’d be a fool to ignore it.

• Sell products directly through online systems. A fully mobile optimized website can double your potential audience. After all, over half of online interactions now take place via handheld devices. To truly take things to the next level, though, you should launch an App too. Not only does it provide easy access, but many consumers actively trust Apps more than browser websites. Having the icon showing on their home screens will keep your brand fresh in their minds. Ultimately, gaining sales revenue is the chief aim of any business. In today’s climate, smartphones are integral to that goal.

• Adopt easier management for a smoother operation. Track assets using your smartphone to increase accuracy and maintain greater control even on the go. As a business owner, those feelings can make a world of difference, not least when analyzing potential upgrades. Meanwhile, there are various banking and wage handling Apps to ensure financial elements are in great health. Aside from anything else, this enables you to use your time in a more efficient manner. Given that time is money, this can only be great news for the company.

• Protect the company both physically and digitally. Setting up automatic notifications to inform you of potential data hack attempts will help you stay safe online. Meanwhile, the best surveillance cameras come with software that can be tracked from your smartphone as well as other devices. Your business is your baby, and you can never be too careful. Knowing that you’re ready to combat any potential threats also enables you to concentrate on more important tasks. Now, if that doesn’t constitute smart phone usage, what does?

It’s time for your business to wake up. If you find your workforce sleepwalking through the motions, as is the case for so many other waning companies, then you need to reignite the passion and desire for success which may have once made your business stable. Your company only fails if you let it fail because there are always ways to reinvent a failing brand, reinvent failing products or services, and reinvent the very workforce itself if certain toxic employees are having a negative effect on the rest of the workers. You call the shots as the business owner, so it’s up to you to do something about your situation. The following ideas might inspire you to turn your sinking company into a thinking company.

A solid team.

You need to have a strong and efficient team. Of course, a strong and efficient team starts with strong and efficient management from a boss or a team leader. There are many levels to this, but it all starts with the hiring process. It’s your job as the boss to ensure that the people you hire are the perfect fit for the job role. Hiring the wrong person is damaging not just to that job position but to workers in all manner of surrounding positions; there’s a knock-on effect whenever you hire anybody. It can completely damage a team if you hire lazy people, negative people, or simply people without the necessary expertise for the role.

Of course, hiring the right person is still only part of the equation. Somebody might have the relative expertise, but they still have no experience within your company. It’s important to help workers get settled into your business’ family. It’s also important to continuously re-train your team in good practices and the ever-changing objectives of your business so that you’re all on the same page. Your team needs to work like a well-oiled machine because it’s people that keep businesses running.

Better yourself as a boss.

This applies to every point in the article, essentially, but it’s important that you work on your individual strengths and weaknesses. You’re at the helm of your business, and it’s crucial that you never forget that. You need to retain your entrepreneurial mindset and the passion that drove the creation of your company, but you also need to be prepared to continuously learn. The industry is always changing, and your research is never over. You need to always be thinking about the best ways in which your business can make an impact on the market. You might even consider educating yourself further with a PhD in organizational leadership so that you can better lead your team. We talked about the importance of team cohesion in the previous point, but it’s also important to have a strong leading figure to whom the team can look at in times of crisis.

Regaining customers.

You may feel that your business has a strong core: your team is driven to succeed, and you’re always pushing them further. The problem might not be your passion and energy but your understanding of the modern market. If you’re losing customers then you need to think about why that is. Consumers are always changing, even if the game stays roughly the same. It’s important that you try new methods to secure a loyal client-base; referral schemes are a great idea. Offer customers rewards for bringing new customers to your business’ front door.

Working in the medical field can be extremely rewarding, whether you’re a doctor, nurse, surgeon, or something else. However, the medical field is full of challenges that you’ll need to know about and consider. Being prepared for these challenges ensures you have the best time working in this industry.

No Day Being The Same

Not knowing what the day is going to throw at you before you start it can be a huge challenge in the medical field. You’ll meet a variety of people, and have to do things depending on priority patients, emergencies, and so on. You always need to be on your toes and prepared for anything.

Being On Your Feet All Day Long

An ideal medical professional needs to be fit and healthy, as they stay on their feet a good portion of the day. You’ll be going backwards and forwards discussing things with work colleagues, visiting patients, and even assisting with operations and other important things. Rest assured it’ll be rare you get a chance to sit down.

Developing New Medical Approaches

Developing new medical approaches is something that has to happen in the medical field in order to cure illnesses and diseases in the most efficient, pain free way for the patient. Clinical trials are a huge part of this. Whether you do these yourself isn’t important; you should know how important they are to the industry. To get an idea of how important they really are, take a look at the infographic pictured below:

Credit to Online Healthcare MBA Program at the George Washington University

Way too many small and medium sized businesses believe mobile apps are exclusively reserved for the companies at the top of the food chain. But that just isn’t the case. In the same way mobile-friendly websites were once the must-have asset for a business determined to grow, having a native app developed for you is a phenomenal weapon to add to your arsenal.

With an app, you are able to interact with your customers in a way that was possible before. But that isn’t all because the data you can extract through an app can help your business in two major ways: marketing and monetization. Yeah. An app isn’t just a trend you should follow for the sake of following, it is a serious way of boosting your revenue.

The big question that is probably now whirring away in the front of your brain is how. So, to enlighten you as much as possible, we have come up with some of the best ways you can turn your app into an unbelievable money-maker.

Advertising

One of the most prolific ways of adding an income to your operations is through mobile app advertising. Banner ads, notification ads, advanced overlays and capture form; these are all types of ads that are frequently used in apps as a way of offering the app for free while still generating a profit. To maximize this even further, by using a real-time bidding exchange, you can get your inventory or advert in front of the highest-paying source. Double-whammy.

Email

The more engagement you can encourage from your customers the more likely they are to spend money. That is why you should try and include an email strategy into your app. Even in this day and age of social media, emails are still the most effective form of engagement. The reason is, Facebook posts only lasts two hours and Tweets about an hour. Emails, however, have a lifespan of around twelve days. That is why you need to speak to your development team right now and have the include a subscription form whereby they have to enter their email address.

Freemiums

Another option available to you is to create two different versions of the app; a fully-functioning and all-inclusive version, and a freemium version. The way this works is users will opt to download the free version so that they can get an understanding of what this app can do for them, kind of like a teaser. Once they realize how this app can benefit their daily life, they will then be far more likely to pay for the complete version that offers a more rounded experience.

Data-Driven

Data offers an incredible chance to target those users that are spending the most amount of time and money on your app. By focusing your efforts on them you will be able to reduce the amount of resource you waste on acquiring new users. This is an important thing to understand when trying to monetize your app because a lot of new users don’t tend to revisit an app more than once. So by knowing who you are engaging with you can better mine them for money.

What is the definition of a company? It used to be quite straightforward. It was an entity that took inputs, combined them with labour and then produced a product it sold on to the next person in the chain of production. But today, the lines around what makes a company are becoming increasingly blurred thanks to outsourcing.

Outsourcing has always been a part of business. Ever since the earliest days of capitalism, firms would take advantage of ancillary companies and get them to do the tasks in which they had no expertise. But since the digital revolution, outsourcing has accelerated, and now many companies are able to outsource vast swaths of their operations.

From an economic perspective, all of this is rather exciting. With greater specialisation comes greater efficiency and lower prices for consumers. But it’s also an exciting prospect for businesses themselves. No longer do companies have to expend enormous amounts of money and effort carrying out basic business functions: somebody else can take care of all that right now, allowing companies to focus exclusively on value added.

Cutting costs is important, of course. But there are plenty of other reasons why companies are now choosing to outsource.

To Get To Market Faster

In many startup environments, getting to market quickly is essential. Often the best protection against competition is to be the first mover. But getting to market quickly is difficult if you’re trying to do everything yourself.

Even large companies have found that outsourcing some tasks can help get them to market more rapidly. Take Procter & Gamble, for instance. The company realized that it needed to adapt its consumer products to the rapidly changing market. Instead of trying to do all the research in-house, it outsourced the projects to third party companies. Procter & Gamble says that it experienced a 60 percent uplift in R&D productivity with the move which helped the firm generate more than $10 billion in additional product sales.

For software startups, the rewards may be even larger. If you’re looking to launch a platform which relies on a network of users, then you could benefit from getting your administration done by a third party company. Without having to worry about accounts on marketing, you’re free to get on with the core business, such as building robust code and ensuring that your product has the features that your users want.

To Add To Existing Product Stack

Companies tend to think of outsourcing as a way to reduce their costs and the burden of administration. But in many cases, outsourcing can actually add to their existing product stack.

Synergist Medical Management says that an increasing number of medical practices are experimenting with outsourcing medical services which they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to perform in house. Things like cancer and screening which are expensive and difficult to offer within any particular doctor’s office can now become a part of the medical services available by connecting with outside facilities. For doctors and their patients, it’s a win-win. Patients get access to the latest treatments through a single provider, and doctors are able to monitor the progress of their patients without having to liaise with multiple institutions.

Essentially, outsourcing is turning more and more businesses into supermarkets. Just like supermarkets, they’re increasingly able to offer everything under one roof that a customer might associate with their business. This isn’t something that’s limited to the hospitality industry anymore – where hotels might have connections with local attractions. This is something increasingly found in financial services, tech and health.

To Move Beyond Traditional Business Models

Today, one of the world’s most successful computer companies is Acer, just behind Dell in terms of its market share. But what made the company so successful wasn’t actually it’s in-house development: it was its ability to coordinate multiple companies to produce incredible products.

Back in 2005, Acer was struggling as a company. It was widely considered to be a third-rate, knock-off personal computer manufacturer with a poor quality rating. The company tried to do everything by itself. But it realised that it simply couldn’t compete with the larger manufacturers. Instead of carrying on as normal, the company decided that it could only rise to the top of the computer market if it radically changed its business model.

Thus, instead of trying to develop its own products in house, the company started outsourcing different aspects of development to specialists. One of its most successful strategies was outsourcing its high-end gaming peripherals, like monitors. Before the change, its products were boring, and consumers simply weren’t interested. But by jumping on new refresh rate technologies early and packaging monitors in a style that consumers actually wanted to buy, the company won market share and a big slice of industry profits.

Today, the company employs just 7,000 staff, less than 10 percent of its nearest competitor. Why? Because it’s outsourced the vast majority of its production to cheaper, better alternatives.

To Benefit From Booming Local Markets

Outsourcing can benefit companies that are looking to break into new, overseas markets. The reason for this has to do with the difficulty of adapting business models to unfamiliar cultures. For decades, international brands like McDonald’s, have struggled to find the perfect formula to break new markets. But because of a whole host of cultural subtleties, this is difficult. That’s why smart companies don’t bother actually trying to learn the local culture. They just employ people who already do.

When AstraZeneca wanted to break into the booming Chinese pharmaceuticals market back in 2010, it didn’t do its own marketing. Instead, it hired a bunch of Chinese marketers to do the work for it, allowing it to penetrate the market much faster than would have otherwise been possible. It also used other companies to manufacture its drugs so that it didn’t have to go through the complexities of setting up its own facilities in the country.

The result? Now AstraZeneca is the largest drug company in the whole of China. With the country’s massive and increasingly wealthy population, that’s a great place to be.

Everyone knows the trope. The new startup that has plenty of capital thanks to a recent investment, or the entrepreneur with more ambition than sense starting a marketing campaign that they hope will reach all corners of the globe in no time at all. This marketing ambition only usually serves to alienate potential customers, and there are good reasons why this is so.

Marketing plans that seem too aggressive to those it appeals to can seem like a pain. For example, take Google’s recent approach to advertising through YouTube. On some videos, if you are unlucky enough to be stuck with one as you click on new content, you might be subject to a 30-second unskippable advertisement that you must watch before the video is available to you.

This has gained almost universal criticism because sometimes those advertisements might even have played on YouTube videos that are less than 30 seconds in length themselves. Watching content that is shorter than the gate you had to pass to view it not only makes YouTube look bad, but it can reflect badly on the state of the company who chooses to implement these methods.

As a result, more and more people converted to using Ad Blockers as extensions on their web browsers, thus nullifying the advertising revenue of websites from all over. Google has taken a pledge to abandon this marketing strategy as soon as they can. This case study serves to inform you that subtle, indirect methods of marketing that eschew aggressively locating customers with smart, forward thinking strategies is always the best way to proceed.

SEO

SEO is widely becoming the most popular method of advertising and exposing oneself online. It’s important to realize just how many uses SEO marketing actually has. Utilizing a professional SEO company, you will be able to embed your affiliate link using keywords you want into informative online content that allows you to develop a holistic strategy for gaining exposure online.

The informative content that your link is wrapped up in will only be appealing to those who are looking to learn more about the content in question, so hunting down consumers with marketing isn’t a problem here – they are hunting you.

SEO marketing will allow you to stay on top of the modern internet trend of ‘Googling it,’ a verb that has become synonymous with ‘finding out more about it.’ Instead of subjecting your potential clients to an advertisement, SEO allows your clients to feel as though you have provided them with something, in this case, information, before they are referred to your relevant website showing products and features. What’s more, they needn’t know that you were the one to commission the article.

SEO marketing can be used by anyone who owns a startup, runs an event, or wants an important piece of government legislation to gain exposure. It is the most all-encompassing method of giving your audience a natural and organic way to view whatever you want them to view. Unlike those YouTube videos, it does it while respecting their time.

Remember, seamless marketing strategies are a must in today’s seamless online age. Be sure to take advantage to keep your firm relevant, competent, and modern.

If you are looking to start your own business, then it will be a natural desire to get going with things as soon as possible. You will want to get your business name out and about and establish yourself in your chosen industry. However, there are certain overhead costs that can mean paying a lot of money up front that your business might not necessarily have. Many small businesses make the mistake of doing certain things for their business, just because they believe that they have to. But in order for your business to grow, there are certain overheads that really just aren’t that necessary. There may come a time when they are, but to start with, they are spend that can be avoided.

So in order to keep within your startup budget and avoid unnecessary spending, this article is for you. It will go into some of the ways that you can save money as you start up your business and help you to cut some of your overhead costs. The more profit that you’re making, the more you can help your business to grow and get your business’s name out there. You can reinvest the money straight into the business, rather than paying out for various people’s wages or staff benefits, for example. Where to start, though? Here are just a few of the overhead costs that you don’t always need when you are first starting up a business.

Permanent Staff

When you hire a permanent team of staff, things can get pretty expensive. You become an employer, and with that, comes extra costs. Think about the benefits that employers should be expected to give. Some will help medical insurance costs or other similar benefits. Then there are legal obligations like sick pay or maternity leave. All of which you have to be looking at, as well as covering the costs of. Then there are things like a desk, office supplies, somewhere to park, and certain business expenses. It all adds up when it comes to hiring permanent employees. Some full-time will be needed, but you need to explore the option of hiring freelancers too. There are many benefits to it, even if they might on paper, cost more per hour than permanent staff would.

Freelancers are going to be experts in their field. If you need a graphic designer or an IT specialist, then a freelancer in that field will know exactly what they are talking about. The same goes for accountants or human resource specialists. You can hire them to do just the one job that you need them to do, and that is that. They will get the done quicker than a colleague would who has other obligations in the office. Then there is the benefit of them costing less overall. You quote a single price and are not responsible for their tax, insurance, or any other benefits. You don’t cover the cost of their laptop repairs or internet bills; they are all things that they will cover themselves. There is no set contract, so you don’t have to hire them again at any point.

The same goes for contracts with agencies. Before you jump in and set up a contract with an agency to run your social media or for the business public relations, you need to check if it would be cheaper to hire a freelancer to do it for you. In many cases, it might be. So figure out the sums and don’t get yourself tied into a contract if you don’t need to be. Make sure that you are getting value for money if you do decide to go down the agency route; be clear on what you expect them to do for you. In the early days, there are plenty of things that you can get done by hiring freelancers. Is this something that you would have considered before?

Office Space

This will really depend on what your business is and what space you need. But to start with, is an office a necessary cost? Rent of an office in a city can be pretty expensive, and you might not get much for your money either. So looking into other ways of doing things can be a good idea. First of all, will you be able to work from home or build an office space at home? You could convert an old barn or shed into a small office space for cheaper than buying a suitable building elsewhere. You could simply use a spare bedroom and have that as a dedicated space for your business. There can be a couple of issues that you might be thinking about with that, though. What about space for all of your documents or inventory? There are solutions that you could do for that, that will still cost less than getting an office of your own away from home. You could look into document storage or renting a storage space for any of the office supplies that you need. You don’t need to be overrun with filing cabinets or boxes of business related things in your home unless you really need to.

What happens if you have client meetings that you need to schedule? It won’t look very professional inviting them to sit around your dining table, right? Luckily, there are options here. Many offices that have space for meeting rooms will hire them out to businesses for meetings or conferences. It helps to pay their bills for the office space after all. So you can hire out rooms in existing offices, or even hire out a function or conference room at a hotel that caters for that kind of thing. In the grand scheme of things, and based on how often you actually have client meetings, it could end up being much cheaper than having to get an office space of your own.

If you think that you really do need an office space, then you could be one of those businesses that I’ve mentioned; rent out some floor space to other businesses or hire out your meeting rooms. At least then you can be making some money to cover some of the costs of your rent for the space. The key to starting up a business is to not spend more than you need to.

Company Car or Expenses

As soon as you start a company, you might make the mistake of going all out on various different things that you can spend on, just ‘because you can’. So think before you buy or spend. Can you use what you have already and just make a business expense claim against the business, meaning that it is tax deductible? Otherwise, things like a company car can get quite expensive. It be worth speaking to an accountant, someone that knows their stuff in terms of expenses and taxes. Again, as mentioned, hire a freelancer to pick their brains for an hour or so. Then you will know what they advise to keep your costs as low as possible.

The key thing when starting a business is looking at your outgoing versus incoming. You might get to the point where your business can only grow with permanent staff, for example. But until that point, follow these steps and you will be making greater profit margins to give your new business a boost. Have you ever considered any of these points before? Would be great to hear what you think and if you have had experience of doing any of these points.

You might be able to create a great marketing strategy, and you might be a whiz with computers, but leadership won’t come easy. The truth is that everyone struggles with being a leader because it is one of the hardest parts of being a boss. After all, leaders are born and not made. But, what if someone was to say that transforming into a Winston Churchill type wasn’t difficult? In fact, what if they said it was easy? The chances are you wouldn’t believe them because it goes against everything you know. The thing is they are right, and below are the reasons why.

Look To Others

Leadership isn’t a quality that has appeared in the past couple of years. Since men and women have been around, people have been leading. As a result, there are tons of people to look to for advice and inspiration. Of course, the obvious ones are the famous or infamous characters that achieved great success like Henry Ford. However, layman and your peers have the same qualities. So, it isn’t difficult for most people to turn to someone and ask for tips, or steal their processes. It is even easier to do now thanks to the World Wide Web.

Communication

All great leaders understand the importance of communication. The reason for this is that talking to people is the main part of the job. Braveheart fans might think that riding into a battle against suicidal odds is the key, but that isn’t the reality. Usually, all a boss has to do is sit down and speak to someone to reassure or give them instructions. Then, they sit back and watch as they use the notes to go to the next level. Plus, communicating with people creates a bond that doesn’t break. As soon as they see results, the people you touch will believe in your skill and your advice.

Qualifications

Do the two tips above still not fill you with confidence? Okay, don’t worry because there is an ace up your sleeve. Yep, it’s there, but you just don’t know it yet. The diamond in the rough is a bachelors in business leadership from an accredited university. Schools now understand the role that leadership has to play in success. So, they provide courses which teach students the basics. Anyone that doesn’t have the first clue can enroll and learn the tricks of the trade. In the past, knowledge wasn’t available at the click of a button.

Delegate

Outsourcing has a major role to play in the industry. Any firm that wants to be successful has to outsource. Now, not only have financial impacts, but it also has leadership ones, too. Quite simply, outsourcing limits the number of people you have to manage. As a result, there is a smaller base to worry about and fewer people to lead. Leading is still important, but you don’t have to connect as effectively. Sure, liaising with third parties is a priority, but it isn’t the same as leading by example.

See, it isn’t so difficult after all.