Business.com |
- How to Deliver Excellent Content for your Audience in 2019
- How Entrepreneurs Can Use AI to Perform Better in Digital Marketing
- 6 Procurement Tips All Small Business Owners Need to Know
- Need Public Domain Art for Your Website? It's Now Easier to Find
- 20 Top Career Paths for the Tech Geeks
- Choosing a Time and Attendance System: 2019 Guide
- What You Need to Know About Predictive Scheduling and the Law
- How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are Changing CyberSecurity
- States With the Fastest-Growing Small Businesses
- After the Interview: Sample Thank-You Letters
- Turn Your Genealogy Hobby Into a Side Business
| How to Deliver Excellent Content for your Audience in 2019 Posted: 01 May 2019 04:30 PM PDT  Business owners know that content is the key to educating and entertaining customers, which translates to more conversions. According to PointVisible, 91 percent of B2B and 86 percent of B2C businesses intend to use content marketing to reach their audience. The genuinely shocking statistic here is that 63 percent of business owners do not have a strategic content marketing plan. In other words, marketers and CEOs want to offer content but seem unsure of how to proceed. Know your audienceIf you want to create great content for your business blog, it's vital that you know your audience. Publishing 100 posts a month sounds ambitious and fantastic, but if your readers don't care you won't see a significant increase in conversions. On the other hand, if you publish ten articles a month and they are specifically targeted for your audience you could see substantial growth in your company. The best way to figure out what your audience likes is by just asking them. You can take to social media, create a customer satisfaction form on your website or create a quiz that all readers can take. You'll gather a ton of data from these surveys, quizzes and social media inquiries – providing you ask the right questions. Make sure you're asking customers what problems they are facing, what topics they enjoy, and what you can do to improve their experience. Your answers can help you figure out what interests your audience and you can create content to reflect their interests and questions. Think about the best content you've personally read online. The chances are high that this content provided value to you in some way. Perhaps the article answered a question you had or revealed new information about a topic that interests you. You must inspire this same feeling of value in all of your content, and customer insights and your Google analytics data can help you pinpoint these topics. Share on social mediaIt's hard to question the importance of social media in the content marketing process. Your goal is to get as many eyes on your posts as possible. Social media can help expose your content to millions of people via platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Make sure that you're always sharing your articles on all of your business profiles as well as your personal account. Sharing your content encourages others to take a look at what you wrote, and there's a chance that they could find value in the information, which could spark their interest in your brand. Social media can be a bit of a snowball effect. The more people who view your content, the better. After you gain a large following, you'll establish social proof, and new readers will understand that people find your content relevant and helpful. When you take into account that Twitter announced in a study that 66% of consumers purchased something from a business that they follow, showing the world your content is a no-brainer. Explore different types of contentCreating content takes more than just sharing and relevancy. You should experiment with different types of content to keep your audience interested and engaged in what you have to say. Certain content is deemed more "shareable" online and switching up the type of content you're creating could improve your sales and encourage new readers to dive into your content library. The most popular kind of content shared is infographics, followed by blog posts, then videos. The blog post category is spread out between lists, how-to articles and guides. As you're reviewing the analytic data on your audience, think about ways you can incorporate the information they want to see more of into different formats. For example, if you're publishing a lengthy study, can you also compress the information in an infographic? Do you have a YouTube channel where you can create a video explaining the data for people who would prefer to hear the information? All of these factors should be considered if you want to create engaging and shareable content. Bottom lineMany facets of marketing have changed over the years. Content marketing remains remarkably the same. The most significant difference is that now business owners are focused on creating content that has value, as opposed to the dark days of keyword stuffing. It's expected that as time goes on companies will continue to create excellent content for their audience by using social media, varying content types, and by listening to the people who read their blog. |
| How Entrepreneurs Can Use AI to Perform Better in Digital Marketing Posted: 01 May 2019 04:00 PM PDT  From the smartphones, we carry in our pockets to the cars we drive and from the banks, we store money in the platforms we use on our daily online interactions. Every aspect of our daily lifestyle is managed and optimized by AI. But the most successful applications of AI and machine learning have been recognized and utilized in the field of e-commerce. E-commerce market currently controls a global retail sales share of 14% and is set to become the largest retail channel by 2021. With its booming market, online entrepreneurs are investing millions in digital marketing to build a robust digital footprint, increase their online exposure and generate more revenue. With AI's innumerable benefits now in the picture, it becomes imperative for online entrepreneurs to leverage form its powerful applications and maximize efficiency in their online business strategy. AI is now an essential ingredient in every startup's marketing mix, capable of decreasing business operation costs, delivering improved customer experience and streamlining your marketing tasks. But how exactly can online entrepreneurs use it in their digital marketing strategy? Content curation and search optimizationContent has always remained one of the deciding factors in any successful marketing model. Thanks to AI, content can not only be created but also curated according to the targeted customer segment. AI applications have helped online entrepreneurs develop better performing content, allowing them to reach the right audience with more enticing propositions. With AI, online entrepreneurs have increased the accuracy of their marketing campaigns by eliminating all the guess otherwise human resources had to do. Most AI algorithms use data on user habits, buying behaviors and interactional patterns to select areas of interest the target customer before presenting with relevant recommendations. By bringing user-selective content to the customer's search log, AI helps raise the probability of conversions by several folds. Netflix, one of the world's biggest media-services providers, also uses AI to suggest video content to its subscribers. Eighty percent of what is watched on Netflix is due to an AI recommender. Chatbots and data learningChatbots make another key addition to the digital marketing toolbox. With the late intervention of AI, the role of chatbots have become more significant than ever, offering marketers with unmanned customer support services that increase engagement, reduce business costs and improved sales. Chatbots help online stores in running 24/7 customer service, providing answers to basic inquiries in real-time, generating unique content for emails, tracking customer behaviors and providing product recommendations. Through artificial intelligence and machine learning, chatbots are now capable of creating human-like replies to complex queries and use natural learning processing to analyze keywords and influence buying decisions in customers. Starbucks, one of the biggest names in coffee beverages uses an AI chatbot for its Facebook messenger to take complex orders from customers. According to an infographic compiled by FME, chatbots will help save $8 billion worth in Business costs by 2022. Voice Search and virtual assistantsVoice-empowered shopping has been the most discussed technology trends of the last few years. According to PR Newswire, voice shopping is set to increase 20-times over and reach $40 billion mark by 2022. Currently, an overwhelming majority of online customers use voice search to look up businesses, search products and communicate with brands. Against traditions textual input methods, voice search has gained significant popularity thanks to its integration with powerful AI virtual assistants such as Google, Alexa, Siri, and Cortana, etc. According to Gartner, the year 2020 will experience 30% of all web-browsing sessions without a screen. Its rising trends have also complimented the growing use VPA enabled speakers in homes to perform voice-commands for different types of home appliances. Therefore, optimizing your content with voice search is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in the market and ensuring your online business remains futureproof. Predictive Analytics and Sales ForecastingOne of the biggest advantages of AI in digital marketing is its ability to predict customer behaviors and forecast sales. Using predictive analytics, AI combines data mining, statistics, and sales modeling to predict future outcomes for online businesses. Moreover, with the rise of machine learning and big data, possibilities have further diversified for digital marketers who can measure their activities more accurately and focus on specific areas in their digital stratagem. For example, predictive modeling has shown impressive results in customer segmentation, using AI to segment target groups that belong to multiple variables. Similarly, predictive analysis has helped online entrepreneurs in scoring leads with better maturation, nurturing their campaigns from demographics and behavioral data, increase their bottom line with upselling and cross-selling, while allowing detailed research on customer preferences. Walmart, the American multinational retail giant observed 10% to 15% increment in online sales for $1 billion using AI sales prediction. User experience and personalizationA good user experience is a defining metric of any successful digital marketing model. Since every online customer seeks a seamless user experience when they interact with an online store, many online entrepreneurs focus on providing tailored UX for their customers to increase conversion potential. However, with a highly diverse online community divided with their own regional preferences, identifying customer types becomes a challenging task for marketers. With AI algorithms, marketers are able to individually personalize their store outlooks for different customer groups, using AI for geolocation and behaviors tracking to offer preferential user experience on their stores. This not only self-optimizes the website but improves the store's Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and generates a solid brand identity in the market. A 2017 Evergage survey on personalization in real time showed that 33% of the marketers surveyed used AI to provide personalzied web experiences. Bottom lineWith AI's precedence widely acknowledged among online entrepreneurs and corporates, AI has also had a fair share of controversy and skepticism in the Tech-world. While AI is far from causing any life-threatening events on our lives at the moment, its benefits in e-commerce are irrefutable and must be implemented to achieve better productivity in online businesses. By adding these five key AI applications in your digital marketing model, you can not only increase the productivity of your online venture but largely influence the choices of your customers in online shopping as well.
|
| 6 Procurement Tips All Small Business Owners Need to Know Posted: 01 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT  As a result, procurement is often overlooked. It is sometimes considered a low-priority issue and gets less strategic attention. This might be your biggest mistake. That's because you spend most of your sales revenue on procurement, and a non-strategic approach could result in mistakes and losses. Let's put it this way – a small improvement in your procurement can have a huge impact on the bottom line of your business. So with an organized and well-developed procurement process, you should expect to see impressive results and increased productivity. Let's take a look at six actionable and effective procurement tips that you and your business can use to run a hassle-free procurement process. 1. Don't fall for false promisesThis might sound like pretty obvious and simple advice to follow. However, believe it or not, it is one of the most complex parts of procurement. You might end up investing more money than you initially intended to if you're not careful. There are chances of this happening if you don't research potential vendors enough. When a vendor promises you the lowest cost, it might excite you because you want to cut down on costs. If you're not careful, however, you might end up paying more than you initially anticipated at the end of your purchasing cycle. That's because the vendor might have sneakily avoided highlighting the multiple overhead costs in the contract. So, you need to take careful precautions to avoid this. Leverage a strategic sourcing platform. This will help you analyze your vendor's overall past performance and identify performance benchmarks. It will also help you estimate your savings and advise you on who's the best performing vendor. That way, you can easily avoid all sorts of risks. 2. Maximize supplier incentivesWhen a business is on a shoestring budget, they may prefer to pay invoices at the last moment. It might seem like a smart step and the practice can quickly evolve into standard practice. This leads vendors to add financial incentives to their contracts. Vendors usually offer discounts to motivate early payments. Efficient procurement management involves maximizing cost saving solutions proposed by vendors. Interestingly, such financial considerations are not entirely new but they have become more commonplace. But some organizations still fail to make these considerations that can help them reduce costs. Despite all of the benefits of early payment, many companies still release their payments just on the due date. So they lose out on financial incentives that could have helped them cut costs. Taking advantage of an automated e-procurement system will help you avoid this mistake. You can use the system to release payments early and take advantage of financial incentives. 3. Hire procurement professionalsIf you are under the impression that procuring is the same as accounting or clerical work, you cannot be more wrong. Procurement professionals have an entirely different and specific skill set that is not similar to the above-mentioned professions. So you cannot expect professionals from other teams and departments to handle the job. You need to hire a procurement professional if you are losing your money through the procurement department. Make sure to hire a professional who possesses skills like data analysis, industry knowledge, interpersonal and negotiation skills, etc. Professionals with such skills will help you evaluate your vendors and conduct the negotiation to save money. Even if you're tied up with the wrong vendor in a long-term contract, they can help you renegotiate your deal and use procurement best practices to save your money. 4. Streamline the procurement processYou need to streamline your procurement process and make it more transparent. You can leverage IT software solutions such as an Enterprise Resource Planning system, supplier management system, business spend management software and supply chain management software. However, you need to pick the right technology because it will have an impact on your organization's overall business performance. While it might cost you a bit at the beginning, it's a great investment as it will help you save time and get more organized. You also need to invest in your staff to train them how to use the software. If you are a small business or have a shoestring budget, you can opt for an open-source software platform. Open-source software tool will help your organization effectively run the procurement process. 5. Abandon a decentralized supplier databaseA decentralized database will lead to several issues like cash leakage, information duplication or outdated information. This results in wasting money and time on repetitive work to update each database individually. Also, your procurement department might end up using old agreements or pay too much for services and/or goods. So, you need to create a centralized supplier database to make sure that there is no cash leakage. This is one of the best procurement practices to adopt as it helps you avoid the duplication of information by using the most updated information. But how exactly will a centralized supplier database help you with procurement?
6. Build strategic partnershipsGreat vendors may be all around, but there are only a handful of vendors that are perfect for your organization. Once you've found them, you cannot afford to lose them. So make sure you build long-term, strategic relationships with them. Those relationships will help you win the trust of your vendors. As a result of these strategic partnerships, you will get opportunities to discuss your procurement needs and budget. Also, a good partnership enables you to negotiate the price with your vendor. This will help you and your vendor to mutually benefit from your partnership. Bottom lineThere you have it: six powerful procurement tips for you to maximize your savings and run a flawless procurement process. Some of these may be a bit harder to implement than others, but they will definitely amplify your efforts with the right approach. Do you know any other effective procurement tips business owners should know? If so, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. |
| Need Public Domain Art for Your Website? It's Now Easier to Find Posted: 01 May 2019 10:40 AM PDT  Finding free and legal art for your business's website got easier yesterday, as Creative Commons launched a search engine to help users sort through its over 300 million images. The announcement marks the end of two years in beta for the service, with multiple collections serving as its initial bank of public domain content. Creative Commons' new website functionality joins other photo search engine services, including Flickr and Wikimedia Commons, and gives users an easy way to find images that are free to use in the public domain. Along with public domain imagery, the nonprofit organization's new search engine will pull from a set of 3D designs from Thingiverse. "There is no 'front door' to the commons, and the tools people need to curate, share, and remix works aren't yet available," wrote Creative Commons CEO Ryan Merkley in a 2017 blog post announcing the search engine's beta. "We want to make the commons more usable, and this is our next step in that direction." Touting the "huge amount of work" that Creative Commons' engineering team and volunteer developers put into the new search function, officials said the new release comes with some upgrades to the site's aesthetics and overall user experience. Changes include more streamlined attribution options, easier navigation and quicker load times. [Interested in a web hosting service for your small business? Check out our best picks and reviews.] What Creative Commons licensing means for your businessTaking an image from the internet and using it on your business's website without permission can be legally problematic from several angles. International copyright law entitles content creators to a certain level of protection from the theft of their content. Improper use of a creator's original content can result in cease-and-desist letters, the forcible removal of items from your website, and other forms of legal action. One way to avoid litigation is by using content that has a Creative Commons license. When content creators license their work out under the Creative Commons banner, it becomes free to use noncommercially – as long as you give the creator credit for their work. Creators can place additional licensing conditions on their work. Creative Commons makes the process easier to understand by structuring the public copyright licenses in a "three-layer" design. At the top layer is the requisite legal language that goes along with copyright law. The second layer is an easier-to-understand version of this information called the "Commons Deed." The final layer is a "machine-readable" version of the license, meaning it can be read by software and other technologies. According to the Creative Commons website, the layers "ensure that the spectrum of rights isn't just a legal concept. It's something that the creators of works can understand, their users can understand, and even the Web itself can understand." Plans for Creative Commons' search engineAs the nonprofit's search engine continues to grow, officials said they will continue to follow its publicly shared roadmap. For the remainder of this quarter, which ends in June, Creative Commons expects to add more features, with some help from Google Summer of Code students next month. These features include more advanced filters for its homepage, as well as the capability to browse collections without having to enter a search in the first place. Further down the road, Creative Commons will add other forms of media to its search engine, making it easier to find CC-licensed content from textbooks and audio sources. Ultimately, officials hope that the search engine will be capable of sifting through all 1.4 billion works under the organization's purview. |
| 20 Top Career Paths for the Tech Geeks Posted: 01 May 2019 10:30 AM PDT  Are you looking for an attractive career opportunity to pursue? Keep on reading and find out some of the best career paths that will work best for you. 1. Data scientistBy being a data scientist, you will need to understand the algorithms behind data science, engineer data sets and communicate solutions that are tailor-fitted to the specific needs of the client. You can work with big brands and you can also choose to pursue a freelance career if you are seeking freedom. To start with, check out MastersinDataScience.org's Data Scientist Guide and learn how the latter can help you build your knowledge and skills to be able to pursue an opportunity in data science. 2. Computer systems analystIn this modern age of business, companies rely on the use of computers. Therefore, they will need an expert with the main responsibility of evaluating and improving the computer systems in an organization, making sure that it is fool-proof. According to Forbes, the median salary is $78,000 and the demand for this position is expected to grow as much as 22% from 2010 to 2020. 3. Software developerWhen we talk about jobs for tech whizzes, being a software developer is one of the first things that come into mind. If you are good at programming and creating software solutions that will meet the needs of an organization, you are in for a treat. Some of the specific job roles include coding and testing new software, troubleshooting existing software, and collaborating with the stakeholders to develop the right software. 4. Mobile application developerIn an age when people are always on their smartphones, there is a huge demand for a mobile application developer. Basically, you will need to develop a mobile app that satisfies the needs of a business. You will need analytical and programming skills to be successful in this career path. Essentially, most of the things that you will do will be similar to a software developer. Nowadays, even small businesses are utilizing the power of mobile applications to propel success, providing plenty of work opportunities for mobile app developers to tap. The challenge is to create an app that is engaging, relevant, and unique. 5. IT security specialistOrganizations are confronted with different types of cybersecurity threats, which can be a significant risk. Hackers can use confidential and sensitive information in such a way that it can be a significant danger for the business. Hence, there is a high demand for professionals who can provide a secure IT infrastructure, which can provide the management with peace of mind. They also help to provide customers with peace of mind knowing that any information they share with the company stays safe. 6. Video game developerBeing a video game developer is a good career for those who love playing video games. You will be designing the actual game, including aesthetics. From the characters to the plots, you will have control over how you want the game to be. Aside from designing the games, you will also program and test them to make sure that they will satisfy the needs of the players. According to Glassdoor, being a game developer can yield an average annual base pay of $101,932. 7. Legal hackersThe mere mention of the word "hacker" already conjures negative images. However, you can do it legally and receive generous compensation for your skills. Also called white hat hacking, the practice involves testing the IT security of an organization's system and evaluating its vulnerabilities. Certified Ethical Hackers have an annual income of up to $99,000. 8. Computer hardware engineerIf there are software engineers, there is also a computer hardware engineer. Basically, this profession involves design, development, and supervision of computer hardware, including circuit boards, chips, printers, modems, and keyboards, among others. Their job is similar to electronics engineers, but the main difference is that their concentration is on computer technology. They create prototypes of new hardware and supervise manufacturing, among other things. 9. StatisticianStatisticians use available data to make well-informed decisions. Aside from deciding the data they need, they also collect information, design experiments, and report conclusions. According to U.S. News, the median annual salary is $84,060 with more than 12,600 jobs available in the country and an extremely low unemployment rate of 0.9%. Statisticians work in a variety of settings, such as education, healthcare, sports, public safety, environment and social sciences, among others. 10. Computer network architectThis profession involves designing, building and keeping data communication networks. The specific duties include the creation of plans for data communication networks, upgrading current hardware to meet the requirements of the computer network, and implementing innovative technologies that help the organization to confront the future and become more competitive. It requires analytical, leadership, interpersonal and organizational skills, among others. 11. Cloud administratorCloud technology provides plenty of benefits, including improvements in collaboration and accessibility. It is also a green technology. With this, it is important for organizations to have a cloud administrator and take advantage of that person's ability in making the most out of the company's adoption of cloud technology. The job entails making sure that the cloud platform tools are delivering the best performance without compromising security. 12. Business intelligence analystBusiness intelligence analysts gather the information that an organization uses to make the right decisions. They maximize the utility of data and ensures their accuracy, making it useful in decision-making. They mine data from various sources, analyze data trends, recommend solutions for a more profitable business, and determine the actions the management needs to undertake to fulfill its goals and objectives. 13. SEO consultantIf you want to crunch numbers and analyze results, being an SEO consultant is an attractive job opportunity. Your primary concern is to make sure the presence of high-quality content that ranks the client on the first page of search engine sites. Increasing traffic and optimizing content are some of the main responsibilities. Aside from the textual content, you also need to know how to optimize videos and photos to achieve the top spot in search engines. 14. UX designerUser experience design is all about creating products that will provide a meaningful experience to customers. The main job of UX designers is to design for a better experience. It is a user-centered design that involves thorough desk and field research to determine what exactly users want. 15. Artificial intelligence engineerA lot of organizations are embracing AI to improve efficiency, cut down costs, increase profitability, and become more competitive, among others. To make this possible, companies need to have a knowledgeable AI engineer. They are IT professionals who make sure that AI and machine learning implementation is not confronted with serious problems. They help in making the most out of AI to come up with faster and better decisions. These professionals need knowledge in software development, data science and data engineering, among other things. 16. Accessibility specialistThese professionals improve the accessibility of certain products, making sure that they will be easy to use. They work with product, user experience, and user interface designers. From websites to devices, the job requires the need to make products more accessible to all users. Experience and expertise in assistive technology will help to land a job as an accessibility specialist. 17. Interaction designerThis isn't as popular as the jobs mentioned above but equally promising for tech geeks who are looking for attractive job opportunities. It belongs under the umbrella of user experience since it has the main goal of delivering better experiences. It is the creation of interactions between products and users. The job entails the need to create engaging interfaces for more effective communication. 18. Agile software developerAgile software development requires sustainable development to ensure that the software will not have security issues and performance problems, among others. There are certain principles that guide agile software development, such as simplicity, regular adjustments, building projects around motivated and trusted individuals, face-to-face communication during the development of the project, and welcoming changing requirements, among others. 19. Front-end developerFront-end web development or client-side development is involved in the creation of interaction and user experience to run a website. The core elements of front-end development are JavaScript, CSS and HTML. It brings into life the concept of the designers. It also creates custom user experiences and implements a mobile-responsive site. 20. Full-stack developerWorking as a full stack developer entails the need to be familiar with server and client software. This is a technical job that requires knowledge of programming servers, browsers, and databases. Full-stack developers are not experts of a single skill. The job requires horizontal technology development, which is why there is a need to be an expert in different modules or stacks. |
| Choosing a Time and Attendance System: 2019 Guide Posted: 01 May 2019 09:53 AM PDT  Time and attendance systems can benefit businesses in numerous ways, With so many choices, though, it can be hard to figure out which one will best fit your needs. If you are looking for a time and attendance system in 2019, here's everything you need to know about what they are, what they offer and how to choose one. If you already know what you're looking for, visit our best picks page to see which ones we recommend as well as a complete list of timekeeping systems that might work for you. What Are Time and Attendance Systems?Time and attendance systems allow employees to clock in and out electronically via timeclocks, internet-connected computers, mobile devices and telephones. Some solutions also offer the ability to punch in and out via text messages, social media programs like Twitter, and other communication programs, such as Slack. When an employee clocks in or out, the data instantly transfers to software that can seamlessly import it into your payroll solution. These systems do more than just track when employees come and go. They also monitor mobile employees via geolocation and geofencing, manage paid time off (PTO), create employee schedules, provide detailed labor reports, and give real-time data on who is working, who is not, who showed up late and who is nearing overtime. Time and attendance systems offer self-service that allows employees to handle many time-tracking tasks on their own, including reviewing the hours they've worked, their current and future schedules, and their PTO accruals. Many of these systems offer both cloud-based and on-premises solutions. The on-premises systems are stored on servers within your business, while the cloud-based systems are housed by your time and attendance system provider and accessed online. Pros and ConsThe biggest benefit of these digital systems is they eliminate the need for manual timecards. All the time is collected electronically, with the calculations made for you. This cuts down on the chance of errors and frees up the person who was responsible for tallying all of that information to work on other tasks. Another positive is that these systems manage all your time needs – employee attendance, PTO and scheduling – in one program. This can be both cost-effective and a boost to productivity, as employees won't waste time toggling between different programs to ask for time off or look at their schedules. The biggest drawback to time-tracking systems is that they are more expensive than the old manual method where employees write down their hours each day or punch in and out on a paper timecard. Another potential downside is that they often force employers to curb the perception that asking employees to track their time is a form of micromanagement. Editor's note: Looking for information on time and attendance systems? Use the questionnaire below, and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you need:
CostsThe cost structure of time and attendance systems depends on whether you choose a cloud-based or on-premises solution. Cloud-based systems have smaller recurring monthly costs, while on-premises systems have larger one-time fees. With on-premises systems, you pay all your costs upfront. You can expect to pay several hundred to several thousand dollars for the software, licenses for each employee and installation. There aren't any monthly fees for the service after that. However, the one-time costs don't typically include any ongoing support or software updates. For a cloud-based system, most services charge a per-user fee that ranges from $1 to $10 per employee per month. Some services also assess a base monthly charge or a minimum monthly charge. Some providers charge a one-time setup and implementation fee. Unlike with on-premises systems, however, all software upgrades and support are included in your monthly expenses. Another cost you might incur for either option is for a timeclock. Many time and attendance systems work with a range of timeclocks. These timeclocks can work with PINs, swipe or proximity badges, or biometrics such as fingerprint or facial scans. The complexity of the clock you select will determine the cost. Prices typically range from a couple hundred for a basic clock to several thousand for a sophisticated biometric clock. What to Look for in a Time and Attendance SystemWith so many systems on the market, it can be difficult to know which one is right for your business. When you're shopping for a system, experts say there are several things you should look for:
Now that you've got the basics, you might be ready to make a decision on which time and attendance system is right for you. To learn about the options we think are best for various business types, check out our best picks for time and attendance systems. Time and Attendance FAQsStill have questions about time and attendance systems? Here are some questions and answers that may help you reach a decision. Q: How are time and attendance systems different from traditional timeclocks and timecards? A: The biggest difference is that everything is digitized and automated. Traditional timeclocks and timecards require manual entry of data for everything. Time and attendance systems just require the push of a button for all of the information to sync with your software. That software then seamlessly integrates with your payroll solution. This eliminates duplicate entries and guesswork. In addition, time and attendance systems log hours, job codes, and information about breaks and PTO digitally and in real time. Q: What types of timeclocks are compatible with time and attendance systems? A: No longer are there simple punch timeclocks. Today's timeclocks collect time in several different ways, including via punch cards, magnetic swipe cards, barcodes, PINs, and biometrics such as fingerprints or facial scans. Q: Is there a difference between a time and attendance system and a biometric system? A: Any time and attendance system that works with a biometric timeclock is a biometric system. Because nearly every time and attendance solution that works with physical timeclocks offers biometric options, there is very little difference between the two. Biometric timeclocks are typically used by businesses concerned about buddy punching. The only time and attendance systems that don't have biometric options are those that don't incorporate biometric timeclocks, relying instead on computers and mobile devices to punch employees in and out. However, even some of those systems now offer fingerprint scanners that plug into computers or use programs that take employee pictures with a computer camera as a way to incorporate biometric options. Q: Do you have to use a timeclock with a time and attendance system? A: No. Some businesses prefer that employees clock in and out only through a computer, mobile app or telephone. Not using a timeclock can cut down on costs, as they can run anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars each. Q: Are time and attendance systems only good for businesses with hourly employees? A: While it might seem like time and attendance systems are only necessary for businesses with hourly workers, businesses with salaried employees can reap a number of benefits from them as well. A system that tracks how long employees work on specific projects can help with labor projections. Additionally, businesses with salaried employees may appreciate the PTO management aspects of the system. Q: How do time and attendance systems work for remote employees? A: These systems use GPS technology to monitor remote employees via mobile devices. Some systems use geofencing to limit where employees can clock in and out from, while others use geolocation to record exactly where workers are when they punch in and out. The systems can also use geolocation to track employees throughout the day, not just where they start and end their shifts. Q: How do time and attendance systems integrate with payroll systems? A: Time and attendance systems integrate with payroll systems by allowing you to transfer your time and attendance data into your payroll program with the press of a button. This cuts down on errors and streamlines the entire payroll process. Q: How do time and attendance systems manage paid time off? A: Time and attendance systems manage PTO in several ways. They can track how much time off employees have earned and used, as well as accruals for sick time, vacation, bereavement and any other type of time off employees may receive. Some time and attendance systems also handle the request and approval process. This allows employees to ask for time off directly within the system, and managers can either approve or deny those requests. If you think a time and attendance system is right for you, we encourage you to check out our best picks. Editor's note: Looking for information on time and attendance systems? Use the questionnaire below, and our vendor partners will contact you to provide you with the information you need: |
| What You Need to Know About Predictive Scheduling and the Law Posted: 01 May 2019 08:15 AM PDT  In the hospitality industry, retail businesses, and quick-service restaurants especially, on-call scheduling has been the norm, making it difficult for employees to anticipate pay, establish a healthy work-life balance or even determine the number of hours they are likely to work each week. In response to these difficulties, many cities are adopting a new type of law known as predictive scheduling, which requires an employer to notify an employee of their work schedule in advance. While these laws are designed to provide employees with a "good faith" estimate of their upcoming schedule, they pose new challenges for business owners as well. Here's what you need to know about predictive scheduling, the law, and how you can implement a program that benefits both your employees and your business. What is predictive scheduling?Predictive scheduling is when an employer provides an employee with their schedule in advance. For employee schedules that frequently fluctuate, part-time employees who do not work full workweeks, or anyone who works for an hourly rate, predictive scheduling can help establish a predictable schedule and help employees better estimate their expected pay for a weekly or monthly period. Predictive scheduling is largely a response to the challenges associated with on-call scheduling, a workforce management method that availed hourly workers when needed in order to accommodate influxes of customers at irregular times. On-call scheduling offered business owners flexibility, but at the expense of predictable employee schedules. In the past few years, predictive scheduling laws and regulations have become more common, especially in industries where part-time jobs and minimum wage positions are prominent. Editor's Note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the time and attendance software that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free. How does predictive scheduling impact the employee?Any employee who has been subject to an unpredictable work schedule knows just how difficult it can be. Without any stable pay or a structured work-life balance, employees are often unable to schedule important things around work, such as child care or medical appointments. Predictive scheduling legislation seeks to ameliorate these challenges by giving employees a window into their upcoming work schedule, either by banning on-call scheduling altogether, requiring employers to give employees their schedules a week or two in advance or by offering compensation for on-call shifts that never materialize. "[Predictive scheduling] laws give hourly employees fair opportunities and the ability to achieve an unprecedented work-life balance," said Steven Power, global president of Deputy. "By knowing their schedule beforehand, employees have more control for how to plan their lives. This is especially necessary for workers with family and other ongoing commitments. Predictability leads to employee retention and can be a boon for talent recruitment." Predictive scheduling and the lawMany cities and more than a dozen states have proposed regulations around predictive scheduling or are considering legislation that would create a predictive scheduling policy. In San Francisco, for example, employers are required to provide employees with their schedules at least two weeks in advance and make no changes to that schedule with less than seven days' notice. San Francisco's law also requires that on-call employees are paid for two to four hours of a shift whether they are called in or not. Seattle similarly requires 14 days' notice of schedules, as well as compensation for schedule changes after work schedules have been posted. In New York City, employers are required to post schedules at least 72 hours prior to any shift, as well as schedule all retail employees for a minimum of 20 hours of work for every two-week period. States that have adopted predictive scheduling laws also include New York, California, Washington and Illinois, as well as several others. While predictive scheduling legislation varies from city to city and state to state, it is becoming a more common practice in public policy. As an employer, it is your responsibility to confirm your compliance with the regulations the govern your local and statewide operations. Failure to do so could open your business to financial penalties and lawsuits. [Interested in time and attendance software for your small business? Check out our best picks and reviews.] What industries does predictive scheduling impact most?Predictive scheduling laws are specifically targeted to businesses in industries where on-call scheduling, hourly employees and minimum wage employees are most common. The law also focuses on those industries that reserve a portion of their hourly employees for fluctuations in activity, such as retail businesses during holiday seasons, restaurants that have anticipated peak hours and seasonal businesses in the hospitality industry. Predictive scheduling offers benefits to employersPredictive scheduling doesn't only benefit employees solely at the expense of business owners in these industries, however. Adopting a predictive scheduling policy goes beyond compliance, sometimes generating benefits for employers as well. For example, an effective predictive scheduling program helps employers recruit and retain employees, reducing turnover and the costs associated with training new hires. "More predictable scheduling can also lead to happier, more engaged employee," said Atif Siddiqi, founder and CEO of Branch. "Without the added concerns of an unpredictable schedule, employees are less likely to have stress that will impact their work productivity. This can lead to decreased turnover for employers as well, as the cost of replacing an hourly employee is about $2,500." While it represents an adjustment to current practices in many cases, predictive scheduling also establishes a routine that helps managers more effectively anticipate and plan for spikes and dips in business activity. Leveraging time and attendance software for predictive schedulingImplementing a predictive scheduling policy could pose some unique challenges at first, but with the help of careful planning and rapidly developing software, including machine learning algorithms, many employers might find it is easier than it sounds. "For smaller business owners using manual scheduling processes, the rollout of these laws can cause confusion, which leaves themselves open to risk around noncompliance, and the consequences of rectifying non-compliance can be expensive," said Power. For those businesses, Power recommended moving away from manual scheduling processes to online employee scheduling software, which can ease the burden of adopting a predictive scheduling policy. "Most scheduling software has the ability to autoschedule, which ensures that the employer is meeting all of the laws across all locations," Power said. "The online platform also enables employees to check and change their schedules from anywhere as well as pick up additional shifts if they're eligible, which gives the employee more power and control over their schedule resulting in an overall happier and more productive workforce." Be sure to communicate the changes to your workforce as well, and train them on the use of any automated systems you might implement to support it. As it is with any major changes to business process, communication is key. Transparency can help ease your staff through any changes and reduce the obstacles you encounter while adapting to the new system. Predictive scheduling isn't going awaySince predictive scheduling is increasingly enshrined in local and state law, it is an unavoidable aspect of doing business in the industries it impacts today. Rather than begrudging the new requirements, employers that embrace predictive scheduling and implement software solutions to not just ease the burden but make predictive scheduling a more effective part of the way they do business will find success. Working to develop a seamless and easy predictive scheduling policy can result in happier employees, reduced turnover costs and a more efficient workflow that still meets the fluctuating needs of your business. Predictive scheduling isn't going away, but it doesn't have to be a challenge; in fact, it could be a great opportunity. |
| How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are Changing CyberSecurity Posted: 01 May 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Generally, in machine learning, computers learn on their own. Machine learning creates the capability to acquire and absorb knowledge in computers without predetermined and overt program writing. Machine Learning, a sub-topic of artificial intelligence, is headed for the technological expansion of human knowledge and intelligence. Machine learning permits computers to cope with unfamiliar circumstances, locations, arrangements by the use of analysis, self-training, observation and experience. Machine learning makes uninterrupted progression of computing easy by subjecting computers to a lot of different, contemporary, untried unfamiliar settings, challenges, innovations, versions, etc. The idea here is to better a computer's decision-making (while using pattern and trend detection) and streamline its progress toward superior assessment in circumstances (not as similar) later on. For example, the current Facebook News Feed is an epitome of the combined effect of human and machine learning. The News Feed is automated to reveal client friendly content. So, if a patron regularly tags or jots down on the wall of a friend, then the News Feed also adjusts its actions to present more subject matter from that friend. Machine Learning has applications for old remediesAlthough the masses often couple machine learning with colossal corporations, nowadays it is influencing just about everything and everyone in the digital world. For example, the applications of machine learning in agriculture to give crop yield a shot in the arm. In June 2016, the pilot of a novel sowing app as well as a custom-made village advisory dashboard was unveiled for the groundnut cultivators in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh; using this app, the average yield per hectare rose by nearly 30%. The Sowing App was set up to assist farmers bring about best possible harvest conditions via recommendations on the most favourable time to sow (subject to weather conditions), soil and other pointers. What are cyberattacks and what really happens during them?Looked at simply, cyber-attacks occur when hackers try to harm or ruin a computer network or system. Typically, cyberattack (also known as a computer network attack-CNA) is an intentional, premeditated and methodical abuse of computer systems, networks, firms and operations reliant on technology. The approaches and methods that hackers employ in their cyberattacks involve malicious code that change and wreck prevailing computer code, logic or data, eventually prompting disruption of the existing arrangement and co-ordination. This corruption, manipulation and mistreatment of facts and figures pave the way for cybercrimes like information and identity theft. Cyberattacks may result in the following outcomes:
Machine learning has been introduced to cybersecurity AI and machine learning are rallying round to reduce crime – both in the digital world and in real life. Artificial Intelligence, aptly described as the 'Industrial Revolution of our time' is progressively becoming an influential factor in our cyber security armoury to protect, perceive and computerize incident response. Cybersecurity is one area that profits the most from machine learning. With AI and machine learning slowly gaining prominence in the cyber security landscape, different types of machine learning techniques are being custom-built to get to the bottom of specific problems in cyber security. What is more, deploying multiple artificial intelligence or machine learning based solutions magnifies the defence-in-depth attitude to security. Thanks to AI, machine learning and far-reaching acceptance of these solutions, the basics of cyber defence and offence are undergoing transformation. For example, machine learning with substantial data sets offers extraordinary insights and anomaly detection capability besides uncovering malicious network traffic. A case in point is Microsoft utilizing the dexterity and scope of the Cloud to save its indispensable facilities, services, installations and customers from harm. Gargantuan data, amassed by its voluminous and varied systems and services are handled using data mining, machine learning algorithms and security domain learnings. ML and AI: A momentous increase in the quality of human lifeAI and ML are proving to be powerful tools in ensuring security, especially cyber security. Clearly, these weighty influences have both positive and negative facets, considering that it's a forceful instrument in the hands of both cyber security professionals and hackers. In particular, machine learning based software development is highly competent at recognising resemblances between a number of different cyber-threats, notably when the attacks are synchronized by other automated programs. Here, the masterstroke is that the most recent AI-based algorithms are getting better at figuring out the data that emanates from disparate tools and identifying those decisive correlations that humans might overlook. AI will have a major impact on our futureMachine learning is facilitating trade and industries around the world but several organizations aren't yet prepared for it. Companies worldwide need to train and prepare themselves to judiciously assess the foundations of future generation AI powered cybersecurity tools by comprehending:
They need to get directly through to the heart of the problem and embolden themselves to ask knowledgeable and incisive queries that either authenticate or unmask vendor claims with respect to AI cybersecurity solutions. |
| States With the Fastest-Growing Small Businesses Posted: 01 May 2019 07:34 AM PDT  A recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce revealed that Mississippi, Nebraska and Maine are the three states where small to medium businesses have grown the most year over year. This is according to sales in Amazon stores, specifically. More than half of the items sold in Amazon stores are from small to medium businesses. "We're thrilled to see so many small businesses in states with large rural populations like Mississippi, Maine, Vermont and North Dakota growing their sales fastest in our stores," said Nick Denissen, vice president at Amazon. "Online selling enables rural businesses to complement their offline sales in physical stores by reaching customers they wouldn't otherwise have access to as easily. Research shows that increased adoption of online tools and digital services could grow annual revenues of rural small businesses by 21% over the next three years and create 360,000 jobs in rural communities. Amazon continues to invest billions of dollars to develop tools and services that help small businesses reach new customers." The top 10 fastest-growing states breaks down as follows:
The report looked at year-over-year sales growth in Amazon stores across 50 states. The third-party physical product sales, which is what gets sold on Amazon stores primarily, passed $160 billion in 2018. Nearly 20% of rural small businesses generate 80% of their revenue by selling products online. And the digital potential of rural small business could add $47 billion to the GDP per year. The study also found that online tools make the biggest impact on rural small businesses that earn less than $100,000. One of those tools, in theory, is Amazon Handmade and Amazon Storefronts. "Small businesses in rural America are significant contributors to the U.S. economy. Access to digital tools allows rural small businesses to successfully start, scale and compete in a global economy – regardless of their size and location," said Tim Day, senior vice president of C_TEC, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's technology engagement center. Mississippi's economy grows slower than average – 1.6% overall versus the 2.2% nationwide average. Small business makes up 96.3% of the employers in the state. Amazon Storefronts lets small to medium businesses create a separate section where it highlights curated collections of unique products. Amazon claims that Storefronts contains a curated collection of more than 1 million products and deals from 20,000 small to medium businesses. You can sign up for more information about this expansion by visiting www.amazon.com/storefrontsinfo. "Since joining Amazon Handmade in 2015, my sales have doubled year over year," said Casey Everett, owner of Hearth and Harrow based in Rockport, Maine. "Selling online has allowed me to create a business I love in a community that I love. With Amazon, I'm able to reach customers in Germany from my home studio in Maine – it's incredible." In a competing study, Lending Club and Guidant Financial found that California, Florida and Texas ruled the roost in terms of small business in 2018. In that study, New York and Illinois round out the top five. It surveyed 2,700 current and aspiring business owners across the country. |
| After the Interview: Sample Thank-You Letters Posted: 01 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT  They're two simple words – thank you – but they could be the very thing that lands you the job. So, what does your thank-you letter need to contain?
As the hiring process moves more toward automation and speed, taking the time to write a thank-you letter helps you stand out from the crowd and humanizes your application. Sending a thoughtfully written thank you note goes a long way for your interviewer, plus it provides you with the chance to reiterate your qualifications and add a touch of personality. "Sending a personalized thank-you note is exactly that – personal," said Rebecca Kiki Weingarten, career transition coach and co-founder/education director at RWRNetwork. "In our high-tech world, it makes a high-touch impact that stands out." Why are thank-you notes important?Aside from showing common courtesy, a thank-you note serves other purposes, such as increasing your salary. According to a study by iCIMS, 63% of recruiters said they would be more likely to hire a candidate who asked for more money and sent a thank-you note versus a candidate who asked for less but did not send a note. Additionally, failure to follow up could leave the impression you're not interested enough to go the extra mile and reach out afterward. "First, it is a basic appreciation of the time the interviewer spent with you," said Jodi RR Smith, author and etiquette consultant at Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting. "Second, it is a signal to the interviewer that you are aware of higher-level interpersonal skills. Lastly, the thank-you note expresses your ongoing interest in the organization and the job opening." Smith added that sending a note could show that you know other proper business etiquette, like standing when a client enters the room, not chewing gum in front of the CEO, holding doors open for others, arriving to meetings on time, dressing appropriately, etc. Following up with an email should be done within 24 hours of the interview, while you're still fresh in the interviewer's mind. Keep the content of the email brief, no more than two to three paragraphs, and reference particular points from the conversation. Matt Ross, CEO and co-owner of The Slumber Yard, remembers a candidate who went the extra mile in mentioning personal details from their interview. "I briefly discussed my hometown, but what was amazing was that the candidate remembered my hometown and found a way to include it in his follow-up. He said his brother would be passing through [my town], so he made sure to tell him to pick up a cake from a popular bakery there. This not only showed me he was a good listener but also that he was willing to go above and beyond by doing research. It left me with a pretty good taste in my mouth (pun intended)." What is the preferred method of sending a thank-you note?Amanda Augustine, career advice expert for TopInterview and TopResume said that email is the most common method for sending a post-interview thank-you note "because of its immediacy and ability to attach materials or hyperlink to additional information that can help advance their candidacy to the next interview round." Augustine suggested that it is still important to check out the culture of the company and figure out which method they would prefer. If you're interviewing at a tech startup or see the company utilizes technology, email would likely be the most appropriate. On the flip side, if the company seems more old-fashioned and stays to the more traditional side of things, a handwritten note mailed to the office might get you further. "I prefer handwritten notes," said Rachel Sutherland, founder of Rachel Sutherland Communications. "Everyone loves getting mail, especially something you're not expecting. It's kind of funny to think of snail mail as being special, but in this case, it works." If you're doing a handwritten note, your method of delivering it depends on the timing of the hiring process. Smith said that if you know they'll be making their decision the next day, write the note as quickly as possible. In that instance, Smith suggests writing the thank-you note in the lobby and asking the receptionist to deliver it as soon as possible. "The content of the message is more important than the method of delivery, be it email or a handwritten note," said Beverly Friedmann, content manager at MyFoodSubscriptions. "That said, a handwritten card is certainly a nice gesture that you don't typically see these days." What should be included?Smith suggested including the following elements in your thank-you note:
Augustine cautioned against recapping your entire resume in your thank-you note, since the interviewer has already reviewed it and discussed it with you during the interview, but summarizing your qualifications is appropriate. As with your resume and cover letter, customize your thank-you note. Double and triple-check it for grammatical and spelling errors. A typo-filled follow-up can easily ruin the stellar impression you made during the interview. If you met with multiple people, send one note to each person, if you have his or her contact information. Does sending a thank-you note really work?It can, if the note is well written. "There are times when the candidate has a terrible first round, usually due to nerves. But they took the time to write a sincere and well-considered note explaining their interest in the role and how their experience makes them uniquely qualified," Smith said. Other times, Smith notes, there are phone screens instead of in-person interviews, and those who write a thank-you note are automatically invited back for an in-person interview. Sutherland had a similar experience. "I got my college internship at the Detroit News because I hand wrote a thank-you note," Sutherland said. "How do I know? One day in the newsroom that summer, the editor told me I was the only one who wrote a thank you." Augustine noted that sending a thank-you note doesn't automatically increase your chances of getting the job; however, dismissing this bit of post-interview etiquette might decrease your chances of receiving an offer. "While not every recruiter or hiring manager cares whether a candidate sends a thank-you message, I've never heard of a single one, in any industry, think poorly of a candidate for sending a thank-you note," she added. Sample thank-you lettersBased on these tips, here are two templates you can follow for a thank-you letter after the interview: Good afternoon, Jeanette, Thank you for taking the time to speak with me yesterday about the staff writer position with Business News Daily. It was a pleasure meeting with you, and I truly enjoyed learning more about the role and the company. I especially loved hearing about your in-office MVP vote – it sounds like a great way to boost employee morale! After our conversation, I am confident that my skills in business writing and experience as a copy editor are a great match for this opportunity. I am very enthusiastic about the possibility of joining your team and would greatly appreciate a follow-up as you move forward with the hiring process. If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone. Thanks again, and I hope to hear from you in the near future. Best Regards,
Dear Ms. Smith, I wanted to reach out to thank you for taking the time to speak with me yesterday about the social media manager position at Business News Daily. I really enjoyed meeting you and learning more about where your team is headed. Based on our discussion, it sounds like you have a very exciting year ahead with the site updates and customer base expansion. With the team at such a critical juncture, I'd love to lend my experience and skills to help the team build a stronger customer base and social media presence – particularly bringing my unique lens as a marketer that we discussed from my time working at agencies. I look forward to speaking further with you and your team to see how I might be able to help you reach your goals. If we're a good match, I would be very excited at the prospect of working together. Sincerely,
Take the time to personalize every letter you send – avoid copying and pasting the same basic form letter. Recruiters will notice these right away, and it won't do you any good. After you send your email, keep an eye on your inbox. Joyce noted that you shouldn't panic if you don't hear back from the recipient right away, but if several days or weeks go by, you should follow up to see if there's been any progress in making a decision. However, don't take this as an invitation to bombard the hiring manager's inbox. One or two well-spaced follow-ups is plenty – don't contact the person daily, or even weekly, asking for a decision, Joyce said. For more tips on writing a great thank-you note, visit this Business News Daily article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. Additional reporting by Jennifer Post. |
| Turn Your Genealogy Hobby Into a Side Business Posted: 01 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT  This guide to starting a home-based genealogy business will focus on four main areas:
Launching a genealogy business: First stepsA genealogy business is not for everyone, especially if you're hoping for a lucrative income stream. "Only a very tiny percentage of us actually support ourselves full time on genealogy," said Barbara J. Ball, CG (Certified Genealogist) of Copestone Resources LLC. But it is a relatively simple business to start. You don't need official certification to call yourself a genealogist. It helps though if you already have some of the attributes needed to be successful in the field. In an article for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly entitled "Transferable Skills: You're Quitting Your Job to Do What?!" author and professional genealogist Pam Anderson identified these five skills as key attributes that successful genealogists and business owners have:
If this describes you, you're off to a good start. Depending on your level of experience, you may want to gather additional expertise before you start. The National Genealogical Society offers "American Genealogy Studies" as an online course developed by certified genealogists. The course is self-paced. Boston University offers a Professional Education Certificate in Genealogical Research online. These classes are only available at specific times. Genealogists we spoke to also recommended the ProGen Study Program, which is based on the textbook Professional Genealogy. This program covers both the practice of genealogy and the practical aspects of running a genealogy business. A good next step is defining your business. Craft your mission statementDefine what you will do for people in a few interesting words. This can be the guiding star of your business. It will help you stay focused on the problem you want to solve without defining how you'll solve it. Some examples for a genealogy business:
Define your revenue modelHow will you make money? There are many different ways to generate revenue. It will help focus your efforts if you decide on one model that makes the most sense for your genealogy business. These three models are the most likely to succeed for a genealogy business. Fee-for-service modelThe fee-for-service model is the most common for people with specialized skills and the most common in the world of genealogy. Think of doctors, lawyers, fitness trainers. You pay them all (typically on an hourly basis) to provide you with their unique skills. Why? Because you don't have these skills yourself. Or, maybe you do. Think of a house cleaner or a babysitter. You can clean your house or watch your kids, but sometimes you just want someone else to help. Sometimes it's specialized equipment that requires a fee-for-service arrangement – think of a plumber or a photographer. Genealogical research is another example of a unique talent. Most genealogists use the fee-for-service model. Asking clients to pay by the hour is the most common method of billing. Being a genealogist is a little like being an auto mechanic in that you don't know for sure what the solution is until you "pop the hood." Genealogists never know for sure whether they will find what their client seeks. Many genealogists start projects with an agreed-upon set of hours meant to address a particular question such as, "Where was my mother's father born?" If that research provides a tidy answer to the client's question, so be it. But if more research is needed, the client can agree to pay for an additional block of time. A client might agree to additional time to get records from an overseas archive, for example. "I like to do it in small phases," said Pam Anderson, a genealogist in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. "I don't like to do more than 20 hours at a time so that we can see how we work together." Production modelThe production model is very simple. You make something, and someone pays you for it. Think of a car manufacturer, or a jewelry designer ... or a farmer! Genealogical research itself is not a product, but you could turn it into one. You could set a standard price for a 20-page family history or for a family tree going back at least five generations. Subscription modelSubscriptions are an increasingly popular model, thanks to the advent of automatic renewal billing. A fitness gym is another business that runs primarily via the subscription model. The basic idea is that you pay for access to a service, whether you use that service or not. The benefit to the consumer is convenience. It's there when they need it. Ancestry.com has proven that the subscription model is appealing for folks interested in genealogy. But subscribing to Ancestry.com only gives customers access to their resources – the customer still has to do the research. Perhaps potential customers would be willing to pay monthly for access to your expertise – if they have the curiosity but not the time. What's the competition?When people think of competition in business, they tend to think of two companies battling it out for supremacy like Coke versus Pepsi, but competition for most businesses isn't as simple as that. Your competition isn't just other, similar services. Your customer can also be your competition, or your competition could come from completely different industries. Before you answer the question of who your competition is, you have to understand the customer's problem, your solution and how to make that solution unique. What is the problem your customers have?
These are all "problems" that can spur a person to seek a genealogy expert, but your competition is very different for each issue above. For example, with the first issue, you are competing with tests provided by the medical profession. For the second issue, you are competing with other genealogical researchers as well as online services like Ancestry.com and Family Search. For the third, you are competing with non-fiction books and online learning courses. There is another category of problem: Problems that people don't know they have. A silly hypothetical: What if you discovered a forgotten daughter of Henry VIII who has thousands of descendants? These people have a problem they never knew about – how to prove they're royalty! On a more serious note, as medical research continues to uncover the genetic causes of many serious diseases, reliable genealogical research could alert people to potentially serious health risks. Once you've identified your competition, next you need to identify how your service is a better solution for your customers than the solution offered by your competitor. Winning products and services are often:
Which of the above benefits are you uniquely positioned to provide to potential customers? If you have 30 years of experience in the genealogical research field and a Ph.D. in American History, you may be able to provide a higher quality service than your competition. If you're a fast researcher and writer, you may provide research more quickly than your competition could, or you could charge less. If you have specialized knowledge about Portuguese immigration in the 1830s, you may fill a niche that no other genealogist is addressing. Pam Anderson, the genealogist in Pennsylvania, lives in a rural part of the state. She's the only person in her area who offers genealogical services. When people from outside the state want to research an ancestor who lived in the area, Anderson is the best resource they have. Why would someone choose you over the other options they have to solve the same problem? If you don't have a reason, you don't have a business. Once you come up with a solution that gives you a competitive advantage, you'll want to adjust your mission statement to align with your niche or advantage. MarketingYou've already thought deeply about the problem you want to solve for customers. Now, it's time to think about the customers themselves. Creating a customer personaCustomer personas are a key tool that the most successful marketers share. A company like Nike creates detailed customer or buyer personas about the people most likely to buy athletic shoes and apparel. When Nike creates products, plans advertising campaigns, or writes social media posts, they do so with these personas in mind. Creating personas for your business maximizes your marketing efforts. These 10 free customer persona templates can help you get started. To complete them, you'll need to answer questions about your potential customers like:
You'll probably find that you have more than one potential customer, but keep your number of total personas manageable. Three to five personas is a good starting point. Reaching potential customersNow that you know who your customers are, it's time to find them. Where does each segment of your genealogical research customer base hang out? Here are some possibilities:
And where do they go to get information to solve the problem you've identified? Here are some of the most likely options:
Once you know where your customers are, you can go about delivering your message to them. AdvertisingAdvertising is the most direct method of sharing your service with customers. Most advertising is interruptive, so your message must be clear and direct. Social mediaOn social media sites, you can target potential customers based on their demographics and their interests. For example, if one of your customer personas is women in their 40s who live within 10 miles of you, you can create an ad that's shown only to them. Or you could target anyone in your state with an interest in African history. Facebook is the social media network that has the most extensive and effective targeting. TelevisionTelevision ads are expensive to produce and place. They usually only make sense for companies selling at a high volume (like fast food restaurants) or companies selling an expensive product (like car dealerships). A genealogy business doesn't fit either of these criteria. RadioRadio ads are less expensive than television ads, but they also reach a broad audience. You'd likely reach people in your target audience, but you'd reach many more who aren't. Radio advertising is unlikely to be cost-effective for a genealogy business. PodcastsThe podcast industry is flourishing. There are more than 500,000 podcasts, and most of them are targeted to niche groups. History podcasts are among the most popular categories, and people who are interested in the past are likely interested in their own past as well. Podcast sponsorships are also relatively inexpensive. The right podcast might help you reach your audience. Search enginesThe most popular search engine, Google, lets businesses display ads that appear when people search a certain term. To get the lay of the land, Google these key genealogical research terms and note which advertisers appear:
We'll bet you saw some of the main players in the genealogy field. Common search terms can be the most expensive for advertising (try searching "buy a car" or "fly to Paris" if you want more evidence). Alternatively, you can put your search engine ad on any term. Think about your customer segments. What specific genealogical search term (or phrase) might they put into Google? It might be something like "church records Sonoma County" or "ancestors Korea." These are called "long-tail" terms. You can target your advertising to these specific phrases to reach the customers most likely to need your service. Direct advertising is the fastest way to generate customers, but it is also the costliest. Direct referralsThe most profitable customer is one you don't have to pay to acquire. If you can figure out how to attract customers for free, your business will be much more profitable. Local genealogy spotsPam Anderson, the genealogist in South Central Pennsylvania, got her start partly by accident. While volunteering for the local historical society, she answered queries for people researching their ancestors. Sometimes, those people needed a record that was only held at the courthouse. "I started feeling bad for these people because there was no one else who could do this for them," said Anderson. She began offering these services herself, and direct referrals from the historical society are still the backbone of her business. She said that of a dozen new clients she added in 2018, six were referrals from the historical society. Genealogy directoriesIf you join the Association of Professional Genealogists, you can be added to their directory. The directory is searchable by location and research specialty. Content marketingYou don't have to advertise in order to be visible on social media and in search engine rankings. Content marketing is the practice of making your own website, blog posts, e-newsletter, graphics, videos, and other assets gain exposure for your business. With content marketing, your potential customers find you. For example, you could create a Guide to Finding Greek Ancestors on your website. Through the use of search engine optimization, you may be able to get this page to rank high in Google for "finding Greek ancestors" and related terms. In this way, people who cared about the topic would be introduced to your services. Content marketing is an effective way to reach customers, especially for knowledge-based businesses like a genealogy research service. However, it is a long-term investment, because most content marketing programs take at least 18 months to show results. Word-of-mouth advertisingYou've probably heard that word-of-mouth advertising is the best form of advertising. It is very powerful when a trusted friend or associate recommends a product. However, this is no way to start a business. You have to first get a customer before you can get a recommendation from one. Word-of-mouth advertising will help grow your business. As you complete projects for customers, consider how they might help you meet your next one. Is there someone they could introduce? Don't wait for word of mouth to happen on its own. Be a catalyst. Business expenses: location, equipment, resourcesYou need a place to work, and you need certain items and services to do your work successfully. It's wise to determine these needs initially so your first few months run smoothly. First of all, where will you work? Home-based businessesThe beauty of a home-based business is that you don't need to budget for office space. You'll have a quick commute, too. But there are drawbacks. Working at home can be distracting, even overwhelming, depending on your home environment. You may want to meet in person with potential clients. Are you OK having them come to your home? You can always meet in a coffee shop, but does that send the right message about the stability of your business? These are questions only you can answer. If you believe you can stay focused at home and don't feel you need an office to meet potential customers, you'll have lopped a big expense off your monthly startup costs. Office or co-working spaceAn office is a dedicated space for you to get work done and conduct business, but that luxury comes with a cost. Besides your monthly rent, you have to supply things like phone service, internet access, and, of course, a coffee maker. You're an office manager as well as a worker, so you'll likely have to sign a lease that ties you to the space whether your genealogy business makes money or not. A co-working space is a relatively new option for startup businesses. Most offer basic business services like internet and coffee, as well as the opportunity to network with other business owners. Typically, you pay month to month rather than assuming the burden of a long-term lease. If working at home isn't an option, a co-working space could be a good option for a startup genealogy business. Genealogy business equipment and expensesYou've decided where to work. Now you need to decide what you need to do your work. Some potential items that might be on a genealogy researcher must-have list include:
Taking the monthly expenses and your anticipated income into account, develop a basic budget for your business. Writing a business planNow that you've identified what you'll sell, how you'll sell it, where you'll reach customers and how much running your business will cost, you've got just about everything you need to write a business plan. The U.S Small Business Administration hosts an excellent online business plan builder. Why create a business plan? For one thing, it's a good exercise that helps you answer key questions about the foundations of your business and how it will grow. A business plan is also a requirement for getting any type of formal funding from banks or other investors. Funding your businessEvery new business has upfront costs. They can be huge – say, starting an airline – or relatively small. In the case of a genealogy research business, your initial expenses are quite low. That list above may include things you've already purchased when genealogy was just a hobby. Some potential funding options for a genealogy research business follow. BootstrappingBootstrapping means using your own money to start and grow your business. The benefit is that you don't need anyone's permission to start. However, depending on how much you feel you need to spend on marketing, you may not have enough to keep going. That's fine if you want to start as a side business while you have income coming in from other sources, but you can run out of funds quickly if bootstrapping is your only funding source. Bootstrapping is a good option for a genealogy research business because your startup costs are so low. Personal loansBusinesses that require substantial initial investments in equipment or marketing may need additional capital to provide a runway for launching the business. Typically, personal loans have lower interest rates than credit cards, which makes them a better choice than maxing out your Visa. For someone starting a genealogy research business, a personal loan could help cover expenses while you focus on building your reputation and customer base. Government fundingLoans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can help get a business off the ground. The loans aren't offered directly by the SBA, but instead by private institutions like banks, community development organizations, and microlenders. Use the SBA's online referral tool to connect with participating lenders. An SBA-approved loan requires much more documentation than a personal loan, so it isn't the fastest way to get funding. For a business with startup costs as low as a genealogy research business, the time might be better spent focusing on marketing. Venture capitalVenture capital firms invest in lots of different companies with high growth potential. They take part ownership in the company, and then profit handsomely if the business hits it big. The SBA connects entrepreneurs with Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC), which offer loans or purchase equity in companies. A venture capital firm isn't likely to be interested in a genealogy research company unless you have a plan for high-growth (we're talking revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars range). CrowdfundingBusiness owners with a unique idea can often generate public support through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe. These "investors" don't receive any equity in the companies they support, but they often receive rewards, like the company's first product. If your genealogy research company targets a specific audience, or you plan to develop a written product, crowdfunding might be an option. Many authors have used crowdfunding to support them during the research and writing of books. VendorsMany businesses can't function without the support of reliable vendors. Coffee shops need paper cups. Architects need drawings printed. Gardeners need potting soil and mulch. Any product you'll need on a regular basis is key to the success of your business, so identify a reliable, trustworthy, and cost-efficient vendor to get it to you. Vendors are experts at what they do, which saves you time and likely gets you the best possible product. For instance, as a genealogical researcher, you may decide to deliver printed reports to your clients. Rather than taking time out of your day to produce these at the local copy shop, you might identify a good local printer who can do the work for you. They'll probably be able to suggest improvements to make your reports look even better. Consider the vendors you might need and develop these relationships before you need them. Naming your businessYour business will need a unique name for tax record purposes, but also to set it apart from your competitors. Your business name must be available in your state, and your state business licensing office will give you a way to search online so you can see whether your preferred name is taken. You may also want to choose a name for which a website domain name is available. Having your domain name match your business name makes it easier for people to find you online. This lightning-fast search is a good way to see available names. Choose a compelling nameYour business name should be more than just a couple of words that no one else has put together. Ideally, it should emphasize something unique about your business that your customers will care about and want. For example, Speedy Plumbing is a popular name for plumbing businesses. What do people care about when their toilet is overflowing? They want it stopped fast. Think again about the unique facet of your business that makes it a better solution than your competition. Is it that your business is the only one in town? Maybe you want to call yourself: [Name of Town] Genealogy Research. Is it your own unique skills or personality that will make your business successful? Then a good name might be [Your Name] Genealogy Research. Maybe you specialize in finding ancestors from a specific region. You might consider calling your business Irish-American Genealogy. Do you believe you deliver results faster than your competitors? In that case, maybe you'd take a page from the plumbing playbook and call your business Speedy Genealogy. Licensing requirements and business organizationAll businesses require a license to operate. The licensing requirements are different depending on where you live. You will probably need a state business license, but you may also need a city or county one. If you are registering as a sole proprietor – meaning that you assume all liability for the business operations, and you'll report all the income on your personal taxes – registration will be very straightforward. Other forms of organizationMost businesses start out as sole proprietorships, but you may consider starting out by incorporating your business as an LLC or C-corporation. There are benefits and drawbacks to incorporation you should consider. The main advantage of incorporation is that it may protect your personal assets from liability if the business fails or if you are sued. The main drawback is that it requires extra paperwork, such as filing articles of incorporation, and it costs more. If you're dipping your toes into genealogical research as a side business, a sole proprietorship might be the best way to get started quickly. If you intend to make your genealogy business your main source of income, consider a more formal structure. Also, check the sales tax requirements in your locality. You need to determine whether to charge sales tax (and how much to charge) based on the type of product you sell and where your customers live. Typically for a professional service like genealogical research, sales tax isn't required, but if you provide a specific product, it could be. Consult the department of taxation in your state to make sure. Training and special licensesSome businesses, such as restaurants and day cares, require special license requirements. Certain jobs, like hair stylist or commercial truck driver, must pass certification requirements as well. We are not aware of any special requirements for genealogical researchers. There is a certification offered by the Board for Certification of Genealogists, but you can still legally charge people to research their family history without it. Registering with the IRSHaving an EIN (Employer Identification Number) is required if you incorporate, if you plan to hire employees or if you plan to sell certain products. It's also a common expectation if you're applying for business loans, or doing other advanced business paperwork. A sole proprietor may not need one (though they can still get one). Contact the IRS directly if you aren't sure. You can apply for an EIN online. Open a business bank accountA business bank account will help you keep track of costs and revenues associated with your business. This will be a big help at tax time. Most banks offer a business account and a business debit card for a reasonable fee. Marketing materialsMake a list of the basic marketing materials you need for your business and get started on creating them. LogoA logo is a unique visual representation of your name or brand that will add consistency and professionalism to all of your marketing materials. The cost of a logo can vary wildly. You can make your own logo online for free. Another option to an online freelancer who can create one for you. Many print shops offer logo design services. A professional graphic designer will cost more, but they can deliver a more polished, unique logo. Speaking with a professional designer is always a good place to start. Ask around in your personal or professional network. Basic messagingA few standard messages will help you spread the word in person and on social media networks. At the very least, have a 15-second elevator speech for when people ask you what you do for a living? Your elevator speech should touch on what you do, how you do it, why you're unique and finish with an ask. Use your mission statement as the starting point for these basic messages. For example, let's say your mission statement is "I help people of Panamanian descent find out more about their ancestors." Your elevator speech might be something like: "I'm a professional genealogical researcher. I specialize in helping people of Panamanian descent identify the towns their ancestors emigrated from. I speak fluent Spanish, and have personal contacts at all the main museums and archives in Panama. Do you know anyone of Panamanian ancestry?" A tagline is a sentence or less that encapsulates the purpose of your product, service, or solution. Example: "Helping Panamanians connect with their past." You may also consider creating FAQs (frequently asked questions) specific to your new business. This could be a resource for you, or it could be a page on your website. The FAQs save you time by answering basic customer questions when a client would otherwise have to call or email you. Some FAQs for a genealogical research business might be:
Remember to update your FAQs when you get new or surprising questions from customers. WebsiteIf you have a website, customers can learn about your services whenever they want, and thanks to smartphones, wherever they are. Many services exist that make getting a website a quick and relatively painless process. As a genealogist, you're running a knowledge-based business. You may want to put your website on a platform that's optimized for creating content. WordPress, an open course blogging platform, is the most popular of these. WordPress.com offers low-cost web hosting and creation tools to get you started. Social media pagesSocial networks are a popular place for people to gather and to connect one-on-one with each other and with businesses.
For a genealogy business, Facebook is probably the most important social network to direct your focus. If you have a unique, funny, controversial voice, Twitter could be worth considering. Business cards and other print collateral materialsA business card is the one critical piece of printed material you'll need. It should include the name of your business and logo, your name, your contact information, and your website address. You may also want to design (or have designed) a basic invoice for billing your customers. Some businesses need additional print materials to get started. A restaurant needs a menu, a contractor needs a quote sheet. Consider your requirements, because additional printed materials like brochures may not be necessary at launch. For your new genealogy business, a business card and an invoice template are good places to start. If you plan to present your findings in the form of a report, consider hiring a designer to create an attractive layout template you can use. Employees, contractors and time-saving servicesRunning a business means wearing many hats. Some people enjoy it when their day consists of being a salesperson, office manager, financial planner, bookkeeper, social media manager, administrative assistant, in addition to whatever they're business actually is. Others do better when they focus on what they do best, or when they can cherry-pick a few of the more interesting additional tasks. Think about some of the things you'll have to do and whether you'd rather have someone else do them, such as scheduling appointments, bookkeeping and writing social media posts You have many options for delegating these common business owner tasks either to employees you hire, contractors you pay, or, increasingly, subscription software services. As you launch your genealogy research business, you aren't likely to spend substantial time on administrative tasks. You may want to keep monthly expenses low by handling these things yourself and then outsource them as the business grows. Tips for a successful genealogy businessIf you're thinking of leaving your current career to transition into genealogical research, you aren't alone. Nearly everyone who becomes a genealogist started out doing something else. Your business will be stronger if you find others like yourself who are starting out in the genealogy world. "You work by yourself so much," said genealogist Pam Anderson, "it's important to develop a network." Anderson stated she's met many valuable contacts at conferences and at research institutions. Such contacts can turn into resources if you get overwhelmed with requests, or if you need help with specific issues that arise. "It's good to have people to bounce ideas off," said Anderson. Most importantly, be prepared to continue learning. Genealogy is a study of the past, but the tools that genealogists have are constantly growing. DNA research is relatively new, and yet some genealogists completely specialize in it. If you don't have your niche now, you may develop one over the course of your career. At least, you won't be bored. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Business.com. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
No comments:
Post a Comment