Category: Business
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How to Save a Struggling Company
Operating a struggling business can feel like an extremely stressful uphill battle, especially when there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily, there are dozens of ways to bring a failing business back from the brink of failure. However, it will take some willpower and a multifaceted approach to pull it off. Things aren't going to fix themselves, and in most cases, a full recovery will require the implementation of some radical changes. That being said, here are some steps you can take to save even the most troubled business from its own demise: How to Save a Struggling Company: 1. Apply for a Loan: Regardless of which approach you choose to take, chances are you'll need a bit of extra funding to facilitate a full-fledged reform. If you have decent credit and can show proof that the business is earning some form of revenue, you can probably get approved for a loan on a same-day basis. Small business loans from Become. Lending Express has become a popular option for struggling companies that need extra cash flow to get out of the hole. 2. Find New Customers and Clients: While a loan can keep you from going under, to really get back on your feet you'll need to start focusing on generating additional revenue. Be competitive in your niche, provide unique products/services, and utilize aggressive promotional techniques to spread brand awareness. Most struggling businesses simply aren't making enough sales to cover their operating expenses, so the straightforward solution here is to bring more business in the door or to your site. 3. Halt All Unnecessary Expenditure: Excessive overhead is the last thing a struggling business needs hanging over them. Make a minimal list of everything your company needs to continue operating and scrap everything else immediately. After all, if you're at the stage of needing a loan or a ground-breaking ad campaign to keep the business afloat, you don't want to be wasting borrowed money on expenses that aren't even necessary. 4. Bring in New Management: When you're trying to find the root of where your business went wrong, nine times out of ten there is somebody that can be held accountable. Assess the company's primary mistakes and try to ascertain who was responsible for allowing those decisions to be made in the first place. While letting go of employees can be a difficult adjustment to make, bringing in fresh perspective and talent could be all that's needed to turn things around. Better yet, consider the advantages of taking matters into your own hands for a while. Create a Comprehensive Recovery Plan: In closing, all of the above steps should be incorporated into an overall recovery plan that will guide the business back into a state of solvency and profitability. Try to be as detailed as possible when coming up with specific goals, budgets, deadlines, and agendas. The more specific and realistic your plan is, the greater your chances of success will be, so it's important to take everything into account, even if it takes days to run all of the calculations and brainstorm it out. Read Also: Importance Of Flexibility With Business Technology 6 Loan Mistakes Every Business Owner Must Avoid
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Investing In Office Space For Your SME: What To Consider
So, your business is thriving. All the hard work is paying off and you’re starting to reap the benefits – repeat customers, growing workload, increased revenue, so is it time to move out of your 3rd bedroom-turned-office, into a more professional environment? It can be tricky to take the leap as an SME owner – so here are key things to consider when buying or renting office space for your business. Shared or Private Space? There are many options for professional working environments, including the private vs shared space debate. There are pros and cons for each option, so it really is down to how your business operates. If you are currently the only worker or you have 2 to 3 employees, you may benefit best from a co-working environment. This means you will be in a larger office space which other business people are using at the same time. You can take advantage of an office environment with internet allowance, desks, lockable storage units, and telephone systems without having to pay a hefty price tag for private space. Alternatively, if you have a larger amount of staff, or the business you run is highly confidential or sensitive, you may be better off in a private space where you can discuss business freely and openly without worrying about being overheard. There are many serviced offices across the country, with companies such as BE Offices and Prime Office Space offering both shared and private spaces so you are sure to find something to suit your business. Renting or Buying? When looking to set up your first office, you will no doubt deliberate over renting or buying. The rental market is extremely popular as it gives you the flexibility to move on at the end of the lease. So, if your business grows significantly and you need more staff, you can move to a larger space in line with business requirements. This flexibility may also be useful if you decide an alternative location may be better down the line for your business, due to localised demand for products or services. Renting also usually means fewer upfront costs than buying, but you do run the risk of rental values inflating, with a subsequent high impact on your finances. Buying is obviously a huge commitment and requires a larger investment up front. This may be suitable for you if you have a good idea of your long-term business requirements and you know that the property will serve these. This may be the case for businesses requiring large factory spaces, for example. It also gives you the ability to make any changes to the property that you desire –you own it, so you can do what you like to it. Is It Practical? It is also important to consider whether the location is suitable for you and your staff. It is easy to get to via public transport? Does it have sufficient car parking? Finally, always put your Health and Safety hat on and make sure the building abides by current health and safety standards. It may look pretty, but it needs to be a safe place to work with comfortable conditions for you and your staff. Undertake a risk assessment before you move in to highlight any potential issues and implement strategies to mitigate risks. Read Also: Choosing Open Office Space Vs Cubicle Office Space Necessary Spaces To Include In Building Your Office
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Car Insurance For Electric Vehicles Explained
You’ve taken the leap into electric vehicles, leaving behind petrol fumes and high bills at the forecourt lured by the prospect of low running costs, no vehicle tax, and low emissions. Or maybe you’re just considering ditching fuel tanks for plugs and are doing the maths, calculating whether the savings you can rack up with an EV, from the government’s rebate to lower servicing charges, can offset the higher initial outlay. While electric vehicles are exempt from vehicle tax and from charges in London’s congestion zone, and you can rack up discounts on parking permits from many councils, you can’t avoid some of the standard costs of owning a vehicle. A major, unavoidable expense is for car insurance, which is a legal requirement for any vehicle using or even parked on public roads in the UK. If you’ve never sought out or arranged insurance for an electric vehicle, you might be baffled about where to start. Cost and Providers: You may heard electric vehicles are significantly more expensive to insure and that you’ll need to see out a specialist provider. It’s true that the market for electric vehicles, and therefore for insurance for electric vehicles, is still in its infancy. As of the end of September 2018, there are just 178,000 plug-in vehicles (including fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) registered in the UK, out of a total of 37.3m vehicles on our roads. But the number is rising quickly: there were 5,000 new registrations of plug-in vehicles each month of 2018, while in 2014 just 400 new plug-in vehicles were being driven off lots. With the increasing uptake of EVs and hybrids, especially in the run up to the 2040 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, the cost and complication of insuring them will fall. Electric vehicle insurance policies will become standard fare from mainstream insurers. Today, the higher purchase price of EVs drives up insurance premiums for them, as insurers need to consider to cost of replacing your vehicle if it’s stolen or damaged beyond repair. But even now you might find insuring an electric vehicle might be comparable to, or even cheaper, than insuring a petrol- or diesel-powered car, owing to the small size and less powerful engines on EVs and the discounts some insurers can give you for driving environmentally-friendly cars. However, the process of obtaining insurance quotes and policies for an electric vehicle is different than that for EVs and a rundown will be helpful as you start your electrically-powered journey. What Impacts Cost of Insurance for Electric Vehicles: You’re probably familiar with the features of a standard vehicle that can inflate, or reduce, your monthly premiums for its insurance, including its car insurance group, the size of its engine, and purchase price. For insuring electric vehicles, there’s a new calculus, accounting for who owns the battery and the risk posed by (not kidding) power cables. leased batteries: Some EV manufacturers like Renault and Clio offer motorists the option of buying the vehicle outright but leasing its battery, with a monthly fee and mileage agreement. These arrangements spare you the steep cost of replacing batteries when they lose functionality after a few years. But if you’re leasing the battery, you’ll need to inform your insurer when obtaining quotes, as a leased battery will affect who needs to be paid if your electric vehicle is written off. Additionally, some policies may not cover leased batteries. power cables and liability: Much like your smartphone, your electric vehicle will need to be charged, just with a very big cord. If you’re charging in your driveway or garage, you won’t have to worry about the cord trailing large distances. But if you’re charging your vehicle while it’s parked on the street or at a public charging station, that cord could pose a tripping hazard. When obtaining an insurance policy for your electric vehicle, you should ensure it provides enough liability cover to protect you if a member of the public face-plants over your cable. fires from at-home charging: If your electric vehicle or cable fire while plugged in in your driveway or garage you might wonder which insurance policy will pay out: your home insurance policy or the one for your car. That ultimately depends on where the fire originates, but the risk of an electric fault within your vehicle causing a fire that then destroys you home can push up premiums for car insurance for EVs. green discounts: Some insurers will offer discounts of up to 5% on your annual premiums as a reward for you driving an environmentally-friendly car. Others will make charitable donations to green causes in your name from your premiums or plant a certain number of trees. Read Also: Why You Need Classic Car Insurance? 7 Reasons Why Teenagers Pay Extra For Car Insurance
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Proper Waste Disposal and Recycling: Things to Remember
Proper waste disposal is something everyone must remember these days. Gone are the days of indiscriminately throwing out the trash. Now we need to separate biodegradable waste from non-biodegradable waste. For example, when cleaning the yard after a party, you’ll have to separate the tissues from the plastic cups and the leftover food waste. There are a lot of things that can be found in the garbage, and a lot of them can be harmful to the environment. It is essential that you learn to segregate trash so that it can be appropriately disposed of and avoid being detrimental to nature. With that said, here are some things to remember when disposing of your waste: 1. Make sure to segregate your waste properly: Biodegradable waste like used medical supplies and broken sharp objects like glass are separated from the rest of the trash. Use different colored garbage bags or garbage containers to differentiate the items. This will ensure that contaminated items will be disposed of properly and the sharp objects will be handled properly, so no one gets hurt. 2. You can reduce the biodegradable waste you throw out: If you have a backyard with some soil or garden, dig two holes and bury biodegradable materials there instead of throwing them away, to create compost. It is a simple procedure: you dig a hole, put biodegradable waste into it, and cover the top portion again with earth. You don’t fill up the rest of the hole with dirt if you just threw in a small amount of waste. Instead, cover the trash with just enough soil to block it from smelling, and you do this until the hole is filled up. 3. Some materials, like eggshells or bones, take very long to become compost or don’t degrade at all: You may have to crush them into powder before burying them with the other biodegradable waste. If you don’t want to, you may dispose of your chicken eggshells and bones. 4. Recyclable materials must also be sorted out based on what they're made of for easier disposal: Grouping together aluminum cans separate from plastics will make it easier for the removal services. Also, you may want to find some things that are usable enough to keep, such as glass jars, which make excellent containers if cleaned well. Moreover, if you are looking for a trustworthy rubbish removal company then click here to find the best one. As an option, you may also want to call a yard waste removal service instead of waiting for the weekly public service to pick up the trash, especially if you have been clearing out a lot of things in your home to get ready for a home improvement project. These removal services will ask for some details regarding the junk that they will be picking up, so if, for example, you have a huge amount of garbage you want to get rid of, you’ll probably need to send them a picture and details about the trash. Not only will you be helping the removal service if you follow the tips above, but you can also help contribute to a cleaner environment by reducing your waste. It doesn’t take much to act on the suggestions above either, and you can plan on doing these tips in your own time thanks to junk removal services now being available to contact even on the internet. Read Also: 8 Plumbing Myths Busted 6 Tips For Keeping Your Home Clean (With Pets And Kids)
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Importance of Flexibility with Business Technology
The rapid advancement in technology has disrupted businesses in more ways than we can imagine. What was once executed by a team of professionals in a conventional context can now be accomplished by technology. Through this innovative technology, businesses have become more interconnected than ever before and employees have had to keep up to remain productive and valuable assets regardless of their location. This strategy has essentially made flexible work schedules a much more convenient option to tap into new markets and attract more customers. As a business owner, it’s imperative to consider intertwining business technology and flexibility to attain exceptional services. Enhance Unmatched Competitiveness: The most successful companies have consistently gone above and beyond to integrate new technology into their existing businesses. A flexible and tech-oriented company responds promptly to market changes by recognizing that change is inevitable and keeping up with emerging tastes and preferences has become essential in optimizing competitiveness. Remember, the notion that your company is too big is nothing short of an illusion that can spell adverse consequences down the road. As a business owner, you need to be quick in managing change and adopt technology tailored to your specific consumer needs to only earn substantial profits but also stay relevant within the industry. Optimal Efficiency: Visionary entrepreneurs have never shied from adopting new sales strategies even their current systems are working just fine. Continuously harnessing your craft as a business speaks volumes about your commitment to reinventing your operations to foster innovation and deliver better customer experience. By prioritizing on optimal efficiency, your business will be in pole position to cut down on operational costs and earn substantial profits in return. Harnessing Teambuilding Efforts: Technology has consistently proven to yield substantial benefits by harnessing teambuilding efforts. As a business owner, it’s in your best interest to incorporate technology and identify each employee’s strength and weakness. While two employees can never be the same in terms of reasoning, productivity and efficiency, managing change in this crucial juncture should be your utmost priority to nurture seasoned employees. An exceptional business owner understands the need to unite employees from various backgrounds with different skill sets to not only complement each other but also work as a synergetic team. Flexible Work Schedules: Flexible work schedules have progressively built up momentum to become a norm in upcoming businesses and startups. With millennials well versed with the highly evolving technology through applications, video calls and instant messaging, it makes total sense incorporating flexible work schedules to harness optimal productivity from each employee. Each team member is unique in their own way and location shouldn’t be misconstrued to be a barrier to efficient productivity. Rather than confining them in an office setting on a 9 to 5 schedule, consider introducing flexible schedules and monitor the substantial productivity yielded. Eliminate Communication Barriers: Achieving employee efficiency is a hallmark of shrewd planning and execution that many businesses have strived to achieve. This essentially means letting your employees exercise their creative freedom to communicate however and wherever they are without location or communication barriers. This doesn’t mean letting them get away with whatever they want. Far from it, it simply means introducing cloud-based platform through which your employees can access and upload work content wherever they are and still enjoy prime features such as screen sharing and video calls. Read Also: Information Technology And Business Success: The Things That Connect Them How Does Modern Technology Propel The Success Of Your Business?
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6 Loan Mistakes Every Business Owner Must Avoid
If you’re a business owner, it’s highly likely to come across situations where you’ll need a business loan. In such events, a business loan can fulfill the fiscal deficit to help keep the business on track. The only catch is taking a business loan can sometimes be a complicated process, and owners might end up making uninformed decisions. We’ve listed below some common loan mistakes that every business owner must avoid while taking a business loan. Here are 6 Loan Mistakes Every Business Owner Must Avoid: 1. Waiting Until Last Minute: Business loans are not only for covering up last-minute emergency expenses. The best use-cases of a business loan can range anywhere from hiring new people to investing in new technology. Waiting till the last minute, when the business cannot go without an immediate availability of cash is a recipe for disaster. It’s always a good idea to prepare for the future, more so, in the case of a business. Last-minute decisions are often hasty and a result of poor judgment where business owners are likely to take any loan deal that comes their way. It can backfire and incur more losses in the future. 2. Borrowing More Than You Can Afford: Just because you are eligible for a huge business loan doesn’t mean you should take one. Before even applying for a business loan, you should evaluate your business’s present financial situation. If you end up borrowing more than you need, paying it back can get difficult. Furthermore, not spending everything will lead to ‘dead cash’ in your bank account. So, do your math, check your statements, and only apply for an amount that your business actually needs. 3. Not Knowing About Collateral-Free (Unsecured) Business Loans: Most banks will insist on having sufficient collateral before they approve any loan. Banks that require collateral will only provide secured loans. However, some banks and lenders offer business loans without any collateral. This type of loan is known as an unsecured loan where the business owner doesn’t have to pledge any business or personal assets to the bank. Unsecured business loans with bad credit are the best option for you if your credit score didn't reach the standard requirement of most lenders. 4. Not Keeping a Good Personal Credit Score: Different financial institutions will have different criteria for giving out business loans. However, most of them will definitely consider the credit score of the owner while processing any business loan application. A good credit score shows that you’re a good steward for your money. It also helps in negotiating better rates. Hence, maintaining a good personal credit score becomes critical for business owners. 5. Not Solving Current Cash Flow Problems: As a business owner, your entity may require money for different needs. However, if you’re looking to get a loan to fix irregular cash flow in your business, it might not be the wisest thing to do. Analyze why your company has irregular cash flow and don’t be a statistic of the sunk cost fallacy. Sure, you can have a temporary fix, but once the loan money is utilized, a business can again go back to the same. In such a situation, it’s important to make sure that finances are under control after utilizing loan money. 6. Not Knowing the Agreement: Signing an agreement without reading the finer details will put you as a business owner in an undesirable situation. Sometimes the financial institution giving out a business loan can put a little remark in the agreement that will require the borrower to pay additional fees. More than that, the agreement can even have a clause of variable interest rate. Hence, it becomes essential to read the documents carefully before signing. At any point, if you’re uncomfortable with the offer, talk with the lender to negotiate a better deal. Conclusion: It’s not unusual to hit occasional financial hurdles when running a business. To help overcome these situations – business loans from financial institutions can help owners get over financial difficulties. Gone are the days of lengthy processes or huge collaterals to take a business loan, so don’t be nervous if your business is losing some steam over money. Today, the online mode for business loan applications has made the entire process seamless, and financial institutions like ABFL Direct offer loans with no security whatsoever. There are minimum paperwork and a flexible tenure for business to pay it back. Read Also: Resolutions To Help The Small Business Owners To Avoid Being Bankrupt Benefits Of NBFC Business Loans
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How to Protect Your Business from Downtime
One of the costliest experiences your business can face is network downtime. It can result in tremendous loss of profit if contracts are not fulfilled or services are not provided simply because you cannot access the relevant information you need. While there are many advantages to moving to a cloud network, there are also some things that can go wrong. As with any business practice, it is important to plan for what can go wrong and protect yourself when this happens. Expect the Unexpected: Downtime can occur at any point with little notice. When this happens, it can fully interrupt your daily business plan and can leave you spinning and looking for something to do until you can get online. To minimize the loss in this time, it is imperative that you develop a full continuity plan to be utilized in the event of downtime. You may also need to check any service level agreements (or SLAs) that you may have with a third party to make sure that you are protected from any action from then during downtime. Appreciate That It Might Sometimes Be You: These frustrating periods of downtime are not always caused by the cloud provider. Sometimes it might be as simple as a dodgy script or piece of code causing your cloud to go down. In this scenario, the onus is on you to fix it and not upon the cloud provider since the problem originated from you. Check everything frequently to ensure that you are completing things to the best of your ability. Any coding needs to be properly checked before it goes live on the site and bugs need to be found and fixed as quickly as possible. If you are introducing something from a third-party developer, make sure that is from a reputable source so that it does not damage any of the structure that you have worked so hard to build. Do not add anything to your cloud unless you know exactly what it is and where it has come from. Use a Multi-Cloud Structure: By using a multi-cloud structure which operates across different accessibility zones, you are decreasing the likelihood of your business being completely cut off from its work. This may not eliminate your downtime risk but it can certainly help to minimize it. Check that the individual cloud providers you are using for your hybrid structure aren’t using the same data centre and the same resources. If this is the case, having a multi-cloud structure for the purpose of reducing downtime is completely redundant. Prepare for Recovery: Sudden downtime can result in some awful loss of data and projects if you are not careful. Sometimes, this loss can occur even if you follow the best online practices. To best recover from downtime and data loss, you will need to use some proactive measures and potentially contact an expert to help. Disaster Recover as a Service (or DRaaS) is a service which can be implemented as part of your overall cloud package from the right provider. Along with other services like infrastructure or software, many should be able to offer disaster recovery. Find out more about DRaaS from ukcloud.com; these experts know all about it. Downtime may seem like a scary prospect which can seriously affect your performance depending on how you handle it. Like many aspects of business, you will be able to weather even periods of unexpected downtime if you have a proactive business plan in place. Be sensible, and you will be able to protect your company properly no matter what is thrown at it. Read More: 5Tricks for Using Twitter to Grow Your Business. The Top Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Security Guard. Thinking of becoming an entrepreneur? What is the cost to start a business?
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Top tips for inspecting and maintaining garage
A large percentage of homeowners stroll in and out of their garage and don’t give a second thought about it. But it is extremely important that you don’t neglect your garage and keep it in the best condition possible. For maintaining garage you have to understand the facts that can help you to achieve your goals. After all, it protects one, if not a couple of the biggest investments you and your partner have ever made (your cars), along with whatever else you have in there. Think of it this way, the odd maintenance job could save you and your family from losing out on thousands. If you’re looking for a brand-new concrete garage to protect you, your family and your belongings from the dangers of the outdoors, look no further than Dencroft Garages. Their friendly, experienced staff are always at hand to help out, give them a call now. Different Ways You Can Apply For Maintaining Garage Keep the door running smoothly A lot of new garage doors these days are self-lubricated, but if they aren’t, it is recommended that you apply oil to the rollers, hinges, and tracks every couple of months. Another important note to take is this – occasionally be checking the rubber seal at the bottom of your garage door as it can tear and wear, and allow the elements to creep under (replacing this seal can cost £100). Also, regularly check that the sensors on either side of your garage door still work by closing when something crosses its path. Clean the floor To prevent hazards, slips, and from occurring, clear your garage floor and hose it down. If there is a serious trip hazard due to a bit of concrete which has crumbled or separated, you can try to patch it back up yourself or call a contact a concrete contractor. If you’re looking for further tips and instructions to clean the floor in your concrete garage, this article has five fantastic tips to make sure your garage floor is looking the best it can be.For maintaining garage Monitor the walls You should check your walls at least twice a year to see if there any cracks or moisture. If you see any discolor or mold on the walls, then moisture is seeping from the roof or the walls and needs to be seen to straight away – call a building or roofing contractor for the further inspection. For maintaining garage you have to monitor walls. Clean interior doors Your interior door plays a huge part in the safety and insulation of your home, so once a year you should clean it and make sure that all the weather-stripping is still intact. If not, then replace the weather-stripping – this stops all the elements from entering your home. Watch for pest invasions Insects such as termites and carpenter ants can seriously damage the quality of your garage walls, so to prevent them from invading your garage, inspect dark, cool and moist spots – particularly where the walls meet. If you see chewed wood you will most likely have termites, or if there are trails of sawdust, it’s carpenter ants – this is when you should call in pest control experts. Read Also: 5 Factors To Consider When Buying A New Garage Door 5 Other Uses For Your Garage
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Creative Marketing Strategies to Put Your Small Translation Business
As the owner of a translation business, you know firsthand just how much a good marketing strategy can make or break you. However, your current advertising strategy often makes you feel like your company is getting, well, lost in translation. You need to make a change as soon as possible. But you're just not sure where you should start when it comes to updating your marketing plan. In this post, we're sharing both print and digital advertising tips that you can't afford to miss out on. When you're ready to dominate your target market and outrank your competition in the search engine results, keep on reading. Start with Your Website Especially when you're running an international business, you need advertising tips that can reach everyone on the globe -- at the same time. In short, while a strong website is important for every company, it becomes even more essential for brands who need to reach people in different time zones and across different languages. In other words? Even though you're running a translation business, it doesn't change the fact that nearly 3/4 of consumers say they prefer to read content in their first language. Start by looking for the right tools and plugins that will automatically change your site's language to the language of the user. But don't stop there. Having an intuitive and branded web design are also key digital marketing tips. This matters because people will stay on a site they find easy to use for much longer than average. Pop-ups, autoplay features, or just sites that take forever to load won't cause them to click away after three seconds. This helps you rise in search engine rankings. First of all, ensure your site loads quickly and completely on desktop and mobile devices. Use menu options at the top of your page to help users find exactly what they're looking for as fast as possible. If you're blogging (more on that in a minute) make sure you've taken the time to properly categorize your past posts. Above all, keep your homepage engaging and organized, like on this website. Finally, don't forget to include your company's contact information on not just the homepage, but every page of your internal website. Remember that consumers won't always come to the homepage first. Don't make them hunt around on your site to find out how to get answers to their questions or sign up for your services. Blogging and Guest Posting Now that we've covered how your website will drive more customers to your translation business, let's talk about how blogging can increase your site visitors by around 300%. We understand that blogging is a lot of work -- and, if you have to hire professional content services to write your posts for you, it can also be expensive. So, why is it worth it? First of all, it helps to increase your authority and brand recognition within your target market. By providing information-based (as opposed to sales-driven) blog posts, you strengthen consumer trust in your brand. Plus, blogging also tells Google and other search engines that you update your entire website more often than companies who just have a static site. This means that you'll be able to outrank your competitors in the search engine results. Plus, you'll also have more indexed pages (AKA, pages that have been read and categorized by Google.) This also helps you get higher up in the search engine result pages. Blogging also gives you an amazing opportunity to connect with your target market and shorten your overall sales cycle through the use of keywords. By naturally including keywords (what people type into search engines when they need a translation business) in your content, your website will show up in front of people who are ready to buy exactly what you're selling. But blogging alone isn't enough. You also need to get into guest posting. This is one of the best online advertising tips because it gives you the chance to broaden your market and increase your brand awareness at the same time. Write articles and blog posts for popular online journals, websites, and even forums that are relevant to the translation industry. Other Key Digital Advertising Ideas Of course, your digital marketing strategy shouldn't begin and end with site design, blogging, and guest posting alone. There are a few other digital marketing tips you should take into consideration, too. Make sure that you claim your third-party listings on platforms like Google My Business, and fill out your profiles as completely as is possible. This is especially helpful when it comes to connecting you to your target market. Those third-party listings are also important because they allow your customers the chance to leave online reviews for your business. While having a testimonials section on your website is a good idea, most consumers feel that third-party site reviews are less biased. Make sure you frequently read and respond to these reviews -- yes, even the bad ones. You want to prove to potential and current clients that you take their input seriously. Social media is also essential in the online marketing world. However, especially since you're a smaller business, we suggest that you conduct some market research to find out which platform your customers spend most of their time on. Focus your efforts there first, and then expand to other platforms. If possible, aim to post three times a day: morning, noon, and night. Finally, never underestimate the power of an e-newsletter. Not only will this allow you to let your leads and current customers know about new product offerings and flash sales. E-newsletters can also help to build up a personal connection between you and your market. You can feature employees of the month, tell customer stories, and even ask for feedback in survey form. Offline Advertising Tips for Your Translation Business Yes, having a strong digital marketing strategy is incredibly important for your translation business. However, it doesn't mean that you can completely ignore print marketing or offline marketing in general. Now, let's take a look at some seriously effective marketing ideas that don't require an Internet connection. Host an Event One of the best ways to get your name out there is by hosting an event in your local market. You don't have to spend a lot of money in order to increase your brand recognition -- you just have to focus on inviting the right people. Invite other local businesses to a dinner at an international restaurant in your area, or host a "language night" at a local school. Focus on event spaces that have a global feel -- even having a "movie night" where you show a popular international film could work. We suggest handing out promotional products at these events. This way, even if attendees don't need translations services now, they'll know who to call when they do in the future. Don't Underestimate Mailings Relying on the cousin of the e-newsletter, paper mailings, to get the word out about your business is still an effective marketing idea. People love getting "snail mail," especially as it becomes rarer and rarer. Whenever possible, hand-address your envelopes to increase their open rate. When you send out mailings, think outside the holiday card or business pamphlet alone. Instead, consider including things like a magnetic calendar, so that customers can have your company in their heads all year long. You could also include a paper card with a discount code. The same goes for simply including a physical coupon offering them a percentage off of your services. Also, slip in a few of your business cards, and handwrite a note on the back of them. You may also want to create a branded letterhead or stationary, in order to increase your brand recognition. It's all about building a personal connection between you and your leads. Grow Your Translation Business with These Tips We hope that this post has helped you to better understand how to market your translation business both on and offline. Remember that conducting thorough market research -- and knowing when to ask for the help of a professional marketing team -- will take you a long way. Looking for additional advice about how to build your brand? Want to ensure you're creating evergreen content that your market will love sharing on social media? Want to understand how good web design increases your conversions and grow your traffic? Our blog can help you to learn all of that and more, so keep coming back to us for more advertising advice. Read Also: What To Look For In A Transcription Service Provider
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Explain Your Solution in 60 Seconds or Less – Here’s How
Do you have an elevator pitch? Whether you’re an ambitious entrepreneur with nothing more than a good idea, a fully funded startup gearing up for further funding rounds or your long-anticipated go-to-market, or a mature company looking to retake control of its reputation, a succinct encapsulation of your identity and solution(s) is crucial to a cogent market strategy. Elevator pitches are important for individual professionals, too. “Your elevator pitch is a way to share your expertise and credentials quickly and effectively with people who don't know you,” writes personal branding expert Alison Doyle. Here’s what you need to do to develop and refine your elevator pitch. Your ultimate goal: a comprehensive spiel that answers one question — “what do you do?” — in 60 seconds or less. 1. Start With a Concise Directory Description The nub of your elevator pitch is a company description (or a personal one, if you’re still pitching an idea) that factually describes what you do (or hope to do). If you haven’t already done so, develop a descriptive statement for your social media and business directory profiles, along with the lines of this Crunchbase profile for Florida entrepreneur Steve Dorfman. This statement won’t be compelling enough to build your entire elevator pitch around, but it’s a good skeleton for the initial who-what-where. 2. Identify Your Core Audience Groups How much do you know about audience segmentation? If your answer is, “not much,” get up to speed on the process and spend some time drilling down on the core audience groups to which your pitch needs to speak (if you’re not already reaching out to them in other ways). Remember, you can draft multiple iterations of the same pitch, depending on who’s in the room or on the page. 3. Set Yourself Apart from the Competition (Without Disparaging Them) Now comes the real meat of your pitch: a unique selling proposition that differentiates your idea or solution from competing concepts — theoretical or otherwise — without throwing shade. Generally speaking, you don’t want to name names, unless your solution is an explicit offshoot of something that came before. 4. Isolate One or Two Key Factoids or Stats You don’t have a lot of time to throw facts or stats out at your audience. Nor should you dwell on specifics, for their (and your) sanity. But a well-placed nugget or two may well be what’s needed to concentrate minds. Again, your audience may dictate which nugget you choose to include in any given iteration. 5. Make the Ask You won’t know if you don’t ask — to make the ask, smoothly. Regardless of who’s listening, your pitch should conclude with a clear call to action that doesn’t read like a pro forma sales pitch. Make your audience believe in what you’re asking them to do. You’re Talking — Is Anybody Listening? We’ve all been there: explaining a concept near and dear to our hearts so earnestly that we become lost in our own narrative — only to pull back and realize that the audience has nodded off or lost the plot. A concise, well-articulated, well-organized elevator pitch should hold your audience’s attention, if only because it’s not long enough to put anyone to sleep. Striving to be the entrepreneur who listens twice as much as they talk doesn’t preclude you from being the entrepreneur who effortlessly commands a room, too. Read Also: Green Business Opportunities For Eco-Entrepreneurs Why Do Entrepreneurs Put Up Their Drop Shipping Websites For Sale? Thinking Of Becoming An Entrepreneur? What Is The Cost To Start A Business?
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How to Pack Clothing Properly for Shipping
If you have a business which is engaged in the shipping of various clothing items, whether you have a small online shop or a retail brick-and-mortar store, you need to know how to pack and ship clothing in the appropriate way. Clothes are some of the most common items shipped today, but not everyone knows how to pack and ship clothes properly. You want your customers to open the parcel and be impressed not just with the clothing itself, but with how it’s packed and presented. But more than this, you want to make sure that the parcel doesn’t get damaged during transport, especially if you are planning to ship it overseas. It’s important to lessen the risk of damage to your parcel so that your customers can receive it in tip-top condition. Here, then, is how to pack clothing for shipping properly. It takes but a few minutes to pack clothing, but it's essential that you know exactly what you are doing and what materials to use. It also pays to be as quick and efficient as possible. The materials you need You don’t need much in terms of packing materials, but you do need the right ones. Most clothes being shipped will be sent in a simple envelope, but sometimes, the clothes can come out wrinkled or crumpled. So aside from making sure you have the right packaging materials (which includes scissors, the envelope or box, and tape), you also have to fold it properly. If you want to be sure that the clothes are packed well and will not be damaged, it's often better to go for white postal boxes which look sleek and simple. There are postal boxes that are specially designed to be easy to use and to offer ample protection for the items inside, and these postal boxes are made in such a way that they already come with tabs which are self-locking, reducing the need for tape. Your step-by-step guide to packing clothing for shipping First, make sure you have ample space in front of you on a flat surface where you can fold the clothing. Never try to roll the piece of clothing up – this will only make it look wrinkled and crumpled, and it doesn't give the right impression. Fold the clothing as neatly as you possibly can and avoid creases. There are various guides that can tell you how to fold specific pieces of clothing, so it pays to educate yourself as well. When you have folded the clothes, make use of some extra wrapping (bubble wrap is often a good choice). This will help you make sure that the clothing will not become water-damaged while it is in transit. Also, see if you can place any additional padding in your box or parcel so that you can further reduce the likelihood of damage to the item. You don’t have to worry about the weight of the bubble wrap or other padded materials you use, as they shouldn’t weigh enough to affect your shipping costs. The next step is to seal the box's lid; this is where those self-locking tabs can really come in handy because you don't have to use tape to seal the box. But here's one more tip for you: avoid attaching the shipping labels after you have already inserted the clothing into the box. The clothing can plump up the parcel, and this can make the shipping label peel off. Simply attach the labels prior to putting the clothes inside the box, so the label is less likely to peel off. Read Also: Ship Packages Often? Why You Need A Courier Broker! Important Things To Consider When Packaging Your Product Simple Packaging: Your Guide To Branded Design
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Is Equity Release Worth It?
You might be having second thoughts on whether or not to get an equity release loan. On the one hand, you want to use the money for a significant transaction. On the other hand, you are afraid that the interest rate will be too high over the years, and it could result in the drastic reduction of your property's value. If it is your only property, and you have nothing else to leave your children, you want them to enjoy its full value. How to make a decision It is understandable if you are having a hard time choosing. To help you decide, think about where you wish to use your money. If you are paying hospital bills and other emergency expenses, and you have no other choice, proceed with your plan. It is reasonable for you to take it. You are also making the right move if you intend to use the money for home improvements. You will be staying in your property until you die, so it does not hurt to invest in home improvements. Besides, it could help boost the value of your property. On the other hand, if you are thinking of using the money to invest or start a business, it is a bad idea. You are at an age where you can’t wait to see where your money goes, or if it will someday grow. You need to enjoy your money at this point since you worked hard your entire life. It is also reasonable to use the money if you wish to travel the world. It might not be reasonable if you were young, but at this age, do whatever you want to satisfy your desires. You might not have this opportunity someday, so while you still have it, make the most of it. Check the details Aside from how you want to use the money you borrow, you also need to check if the terms and conditions are fair enough. There are equity release schemes that are reasonable, while others seem to take advantage of your age. You can seek help from a consultant to tell you the details you don't understand. The information online might not be good enough for you to make a sound decision in the end. Look at the repayment scheme, and if there is a fee if you complete the payment earlier. You also need to look at the steps involved once you die, and your family needs to pay back the loan. If it is too difficult for them, and you think they will not receive a significant amount, you might as well look for other options. Should you get one? After consultation and research, you can decide whether or not you will take the loan. You already have the necessary information at this point to choose. When choosing, think not only of what you need now but in the long run. Think of how it will affect your family, but it does no harm to be selfish and think about its impact on you. Read Also: Lining Up For A Loan – How To Secure A Good Loan Benefits Of NBFC Business Loans Title Loan Requirements: What You Do And Don’t Need
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