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How to Increase the Productivity of Remote Workers

Posted: 02 May 2019 03:00 PM PDT

You have to manage your marketing campaign, social media profiles, website analytics, and customer complaints and inquiries – amongst other things. There's one topic in particular that's occupying the minds of business owners around the world. They want to know whether or not they should let their employees work from home.

A two-year study from Stanford revealed that remote workers are generally more productive than their office-dwelling counterparts. The remote workers in the study were 13% more productive, took fewer days off and were more likely to work their full shift every day.

If you're considering letting your employees work from home, here are some insights you can use to make their time as productive as possible.

Invest in time management software

Procrastination is the biggest hurdle that many remote workers face. Time management software can help employees in allocate and use their time efficiently. You may have to pay to give your remote workers access to these tools, but it could drastically improve their productivity.

When employees use programs that track their time – and more than likely track their work through periodic screenshots – they are far more likely to stay on task and get their allocated work finished daily.

Establish quarterly goals (with rewards!)

Another way to help your remote employees stay on task is by assigning them quarterly goals. For example, if you have an employee that is working remotely as a cold call marketer, you may want to establish a goal of at least 200 calls per day and an average of two sales per day.

As the quarter progresses, you may notice that some days they exceed their goals and on other days they don't hit their targets, but that's expected. The important thing here is your employees know exactly what you expect from them, and they understand their job criteria and goals, which helps break up the confusion that may arise when you're not meeting with your employees face to face every day.

You could take it a step further and offer incentives to employees who reach their established goals. Let's go back to the cold call example. If your employee goes above their goal of two sales per day, you could offer them a per-sale bonus on their paycheck. This tactic is commonly used in-house by telemarketing companies. These companies offer their employees an extra five dollars per additional sale, which could easily add up to an extra $100 to $200 on their paycheck if they do exceptionally well.

Hold video conferences

Video meetings are a great way to help employees be more productive. Isolation is a massive problem among remote workers, and a face-to-face meeting can help with this problem. There are certain behaviors and nuances that we lose over basic text chat. A video conference is a great way to connect with your remote workforce.

You'll build solid working relationships with people when you're able to talk freely, ask questions and discuss barriers. There are plenty of video conference software options you can use to hold your meetings.

Besides fighting isolation, a weekly video meeting can help your remote team stay on track with their weekly or quarterly goals. If you have a meeting where everyone discusses their goals and whether or not they are on track, you can smooth out any task management issues before it escalates into a problem that costs your company time and money.

Editor's note: Looking for the right video conferencing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Communicate with remote workers every day

In conclusion, there's one core element to making your remote workers more successful. The key is communication. We've all grown accustomed to seeing our employees in person every day, so it makes sense to have daily check-ins with remote workers.

As you're planning to switch your employees from office to home office, think about some of the ways you're more productive when you work from home. Also, consider what you do to stay productive when you have work-related things you need to complete from home. Odds are, these are the same factors that will help you create a happy and productive remote environment for your employees.

How to Stop Spending More Than You Need to on Cloud Applications

Posted: 02 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT

In fact, 83% of businesses will likely be operating in the cloud by 2020.

That growth of cloud services is terrific, but many of the companies that subscribe to them end up throwing money away. Cloud service providers increasingly bundle applications, which means unsuspecting business owners might end up paying for tools that they already have.

Microsoft's Office 365 package, for example, provides small businesses with a suite of cloud-based tools and includes the cloud storage application OneDrive. I've helped plenty of clients migrate over to Office 365, and I often find that they're also paying for cloud storage with Dropbox or another provider.

Likewise, people love Slack. It's a great messenger app. If you have the Office 365 bundle, though, then your business is already paying for the same functionality in the form of Microsoft Teams.

As a startup or small business working to grow, your job is to maximize the value of every dollar you spend. Don't waste money on applications that provide functionality you already have.

The rise of the bundle

Companies like Microsoft and Google continue to bundle more features into their business software packages. Cloud-based suites of products often have some interconnectivity or dependency that justifies selling them together for a higher price – even though users might not want or need everything that's included. Bundling also helps reduce sales and marketing costs, test the market for products and provide a more consistent user experience.

That price isn't as reasonable, however, if you're already paying for similar products. Most business owners subscribe to the Microsoft 365 suite for tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but they might not be familiar with every product included with that subscription. As a result, they end up paying for stand-alone products that perform the same functions.

In my experience, these are a few of the most common redundancies to avoid if you're looking for value. Check your bundled cloud services for these tools before paying for stand-alone applications.

  • Email
  • Email filter
  • File storage
  • Note taking
  • Team chat

Editor's note: Looking for the right cloud storage or backup solution for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Rooting out redundancies

One of our clients was paying $12.50 per user per month for an Office 365 Business Premium subscription, which the company used primarily for email. This same client used DropBox for file storage (for $12.50 per user per month) and Slack for team communication (at a cost of $6.67 per user per month).

The company's needs for file storage and team communication could be met by Microsoft OneDrive for Business, SharePoint and Teams, all of which were included in its Office 365 subscription at no extra cost. Our client made the switch, which has saved it $19.17 per user per month. The company has 100 employees, which means that it saved $23,000 a year by eliminating redundant services.

Small businesses cannot afford to leave money on the table – especially with IT costs. If you want to ensure you're not paying twice for overlapping services, here are three tips to help you find and eliminate redundancies:

  1. Check your list. Pay attention to every item on your cloud services list. Make sure you know precisely how each subscription adds value to your business. If you're not sure about the specifics of an item, don't hesitate to ask your service provider.
  2. Identify customization opportunities. Before investing in a suite of tools, figure out whether you can create your own bundle – often with little or no change in price. Speak with your cloud service provider to develop a plan to cover your needs without duplication. Your provider should assist you in creating a customized plan that meets your needs and price point. Even if you're already into a subscription plan, ask for help eliminating the redundancies and streamlining your costs. A reputable provider should work with you to make that happen.
  3. Know who needs what. Determine who in your company is actually using each service, and then ask about their average use. If you're paying for services that your employees never use, get rid of those tools. If you're paying for 25 software licenses but only 10 employees in one department actually use them, then you have 15 wasted licenses. Make those subscriptions available to employees in other departments or adjust your package to better fit your team's needs.

As large cloud service providers acquire smaller companies and add associated services to their offerings, redundancy will only become more pervasive – we could ultimately see a consolidation of cloud vendors that offer only a single product suite. Until that day, however, it's up to you to make sure you're not spending money on tools and services you don't need.

How To Unlock The Potential Of Introverted Employees

Posted: 02 May 2019 12:00 PM PDT

Far too often, extroverted managers and business owners allow introverted employees to fade into the background where they struggle to be productive or feel like part of the team. It's time to reconsider thinking that the quiet people in your office are the lackluster, unproductive ones. Here's how you can unlock the potential of introverted employees.

Introversion is not shyness

First and foremost, you need to arrive at a thorough and accurate understanding of introversion if you want to effectively lead your introverted employees to greatness. After all, many misconceptions about introverts plague society today, with countless people (many of them extroverts) believing that what makes someone an introvert is the fact that they're shy. In reality, though, being an introvert has nothing to do with shyness and everything to do with a preference for low-stimulus environments.

This is fundamentally different than being shy, or timid and reserved around other people. As a matter of fact, few introverts are nearly as shy as the extroverts around them seem to think, and you're making a crucial mistake if you think that the workers in your office who prefer low-stimulus environments somehow aren't "people persons" and shouldn't be put in front of clients or customers. It's critical not to overlook your introverts in your search for future leaders, as those who you may perceive as "hiding away" are often just waiting for an opportunity to present themselves to the world at the right moment.

Don't force introverts to be something they're not

Now that you have a more accurate understanding of introversion, you won't make the silly mistakes that countless other managers have made in the pursuit of "changing and improving" their introverted employees. God only knows how many business owners have spoiled the ultimate potential of an introvert by putting them on center stage in an effort to transform them into a happy-go-lucky extrovert. What these managers didn't realize is that to unlock the amazing potential of introverted employees you need to forge an environment where they can feel comfortable and thrive.  

Create a low-stimulus environment

Creating a low-stimulus environment is a vital part of making your office welcoming to introverts, yet it's easier said than done when managers and business owners are extroverts who prefer a vibrant, busy office. Those business owners who have been struggling to tap into the potential of their introverted employees should be prepared to make changes to their work arrangements in order to bolster productivity. However, they'll soon realize that everyone benefits from a low-stimulus environment that allows employees to focus on their work.

You should provide private work spaces, like individual rooms or cubicles, rather than large group tables or open workspaces. Similarly, you shouldn't hesitate to offer flexible working hours to employees, many of whom may want to trade the traditional nine-to-five schedule for earlier or later hours.

You may think that a quiet office will lead to lower productivity, but in reality, the opposite will occur. This is because introverts feel at home in low-stimulus environments, as author Susan Cain recently explained in an interview with the Harvard Business Review. Whereas extroverts feel they need group meetings to survive and thrive, introverts are happier to meet in one-on-one situations where things are quiet and more controllable.

Also, managers who assign team projects should consider a more siloed approach when working with introverts if they want to bolster productivity.

Finally, managers and business owners should understand that taking care of introverts doesn't have to come at the expense of extroverts, and that both can be managed with the right skills and outlook.

Google Launches Cloud-Based Phone System for SMBs

Posted: 02 May 2019 10:54 AM PDT

  • Google's CallJoy service launched yesterday on an invite-only basis.
  • The system was created to give SMBs "access to the same customer service options that have historically only been available to larger corporations."
  • It handles multiple phone answering needs for $39 per month.

For a small business owner, communicating with your customers is a top priority. While social media and other online channels are paramount, speaking over the telephone is still a major point of interaction for SMBs and their customers.

To make phone interaction easier, Google announced a cloud-based, AI-driven service yesterday to handle small business phone services for $39 per month, dubbed CallJoy.

In a blog post announcing the service's launch, CallJoy General Manager Bob Summers said it was built to give small businesses "the same customer service options that have historically only been available to larger corporations."

Prior to CallJoy's creation, Summers said, his team at Google's experimental workshop Area 120 conducted a study and found most small businesses receive approximately 13 calls each day. Considering there are approximately 30.2 million small businesses in the U.S., the number jumps to about 400 million incoming calls from potential customers. [Looking for a business phone system? Check out our best picks and reviews.]

"High call volume can overwhelm any small business, especially when coupled with peak call times and the ever-increasing monsoon of spam callers," Summers wrote. "CallJoy helps small business owners offer better customer service, make more informed business decisions and ultimately increase productivity."

Answering the call

To keep high call volumes from hampering productivity throughout the day, CallJoy provides a sort of virtual customer service representative to handle calls.

Rather than someone answering common questions like a store's business hours over the phone, CallJoy's virtual agent can provide that information through its integration with Google My Business. Similarly, if the answer to a caller's question is available online, the virtual agent can offer to send a text message with a link to the relevant answer.

Along with the service's ability to answer queries, CallJoy includes a local phone number – you can't port existing numbers – and allows users to set a custom greeting for the AI to use. Once online, the service also immediately begins blocking spam calls.

Editor's note: Looking for a phone answering service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

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Analyzing the conversation

While Google says this new service could make it easier for customers to get basic information about a business, it claims the service will also give business owners a better understanding of what their customers expect from them.

Whether the virtual assistant handles the entire call or an actual person picks up the phone to finish a conversation, CallJoy will record and transcribe each call. Transcripts are then stored in the cloud, where users can filter and tag conversations for future use. It can also compile additional data – including call volume, call length, and the number of new vs. repeat callers – and share it in a daily email update.

CallJoy is still in the invite-only phase, though small business owners in the U.S. can fill out an application to receive more information when the service is available to more users. Given Google's propensity for announcing new products and initiatives only to ax them later, we'll see if this virtual answering service takes off.

The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Insurance Coverage

Posted: 02 May 2019 10:00 AM PDT

But what if you overcome these hurdles only to watch as a customer slips and falls in your store and sues you for the resulting medical bills? What if a cybercriminal steals customer credit card information – a crime that could result in lawsuits from angry patrons? These incidents, and a host of other crises, could wipe out your savings and shut down your business.

This is why it's essential that small business owners invest in the right insurance protection. At a minimum, it must include general business liability and property insurance to protect you financially and help keep your business open.

But that is just the start. Depending on your business, you might need everything from a commercial auto insurance policy to business income insurance to an overall umbrella policy that will protect you from the most expensive lawsuits. If you're worried that your business isn't adequately protected, call your insurance agent. He or she can study your business and determine just how much insurance you need.

Here's a brief look at some of the coverage options small business owners might need to keep their doors open, should the unexpected happen.

Business general liability insurance

All small businesses must invest in general liability insurance. This policy covers any financial damages you suffer if someone is injured while visiting your business and sues you for the resulting medical treatment. It also protects you if your business's products or services injure customers or make them ill.

For instance, say you are using a ladder to stock cans of paint on a shelf at your business. If a can falls and injures a customer, and the customer sues you and wins, liability insurance would pay for the costs of any medical treatments that customer receives. Or, as another example, consider what might happen if a defect in a lawnmower that you sell sends a rock into the eye of a customer. If that customer sues you and wins, general liability insurance would cover the costs of the customers' medical expenses.

Worker's compensation insurance

Worker's compensation is another key type of insurance that your business absolutely needs. It protects your employees if they are injured while working for you, providing them with health benefits and payouts while they are unable to work.

Employees who receive worker's compensation give up their rights to sue you should they injure themselves while on the job. This provides important protection for your business.

Don't try to skip out on this insurance. Every state requires that business owners provide worker's compensation insurance for any W-2 employees. If you don't adhere to this regulation, you can face expensive penalties.

Editor's note: Looking for the right worker's compensation insurance for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Commercial property insurance

Business property insurance covers the costs of any needed repairs if your property is damaged by a covered event, such as burst pipes, storms, fires, vandalism and theft. For instance, if a fire swept through your office and destroyed your computers, furniture and equipment, property insurance would pay for repair and replacement expenses. Or, if a heavy storm damaged your business's roof and required expensive repairs, your property insurance would pay for them.

Business interruption or loss of income insurance

If your small business's physical property is damaged severely enough, you might have to shut down for several weeks as you rebuild. Property insurance helps cover the costs of replacing damaged equipment and rebuilding your business space, but what about the income your business isn't generating because it is closed?

This is where business interruption insurance comes in. If your business is forced to temporarily shut down, it will provide some income while you rebuild your business' space. How much this policy pays out will vary depending on your policy, but it can serve as a financial safety net for business owners struggling with a temporary loss of income.

Commercial auto insurance

This type of insurance will pay out if the vehicles that your business owns are damaged or destroyed. Or, if your employees drive their own vehicles to deliver your business's products or food, you should invest in non-owned auto liability. This protects your business if your employees lack their own auto insurance or do not have enough coverage.

Errors and omissions insurance

If your business regularly provides advice to consumers – such as law office, accounting firm or tax-preparation service – you need to invest in errors and omissions insurance. This insurance protects you if customers who are unhappy with your advice decide to sue you.

For example, if a client follows your financial advice and runs into money problems, that client might sue you, blaming your advice for the problems. This insurance will cover your legal costs if you are sued and will cover the cost of judgments and settlements if you lose a lawsuit.

Cyber insurance

Data breaches are all too common and despite what you might read online, most of these breaches target small businesses, not giant corporations. Cyber liability insurance will protect your business if it suffers a data breach that results in lawsuits from angry customers.

Say you operate a dental office and a data breach exposes your patients' personal and financial information. Some of these patients might sue you. Cyber liability insurance will cover the costs of defending yourself against this type of lawsuit and will pay out if you lose the case. This insurance will also cover the costs of investigating the data breach and repairing any hacked computers or equipment.

Business owner's policy

Instead of purchasing separate policies, you can invest in a comprehensive business owner's policy that includes all these protections in one package. This might be an easier task than purchasing so many individual policies. Again, call your insurance provider to ask about these business insurance packages and get advice about whether they are appropriate for your small business.

Apple's Credit Card: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Posted: 02 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT

The Apple Card is a rewards-based credit card that gives consumers cash back on various categories of purchases. Because Apple is pushing the card as part of its ecosystem, users reap more rewards when they buy Apple products and use Apple Pay on their iPhones to pay for purchases. But you still get a 1% reward if you purchase anything else – even from vendors that do not accept Apple Pay – with the new titanium credit card, an unsurprisingly sleek and stylish item with your name etched into the surface but devoid of information like your credit card or CVV number, expiration date or signature.

Observers note some respectable and unique, if not revolutionary, touches to the Apple Card, such as machine learning and geolocation tracking of your spending. 

Apple credit card fees

In a helpful move for consumers, Apple has dispensed with late fees, annual fees, cash-advance fees, international fees, over-limit fees, financing fees and many more pesky fee structures that other cards charge. It shows you exactly what and where you spent your money and automatically breaks down your spending into color-coded categories and awards you cash back on a daily basis to spend immediately.

Editor's note: Need financing for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with free information.

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Image credit: Apple

The entire system is geared toward giving customers more control over how much they spend and get back, combined with the flexibility of using the iPhone for purchases and your Apple Card at places that do not accept Apple Pay. In the U.S., an estimated 70% of merchants will support Apple Pay by the end of 2019, compared with about 80% in Canada and 99% in Australia. That's despite the fact that, as PYMNTS reports, fewer than one-third of iPhone users have used Apple Pay once or more.

Apple credit card for small business

These can all be exciting features for many consumers, but what about for small businesses? Apple's presentation gave no clue from the merchant angle. While this offering is aimed squarely at consumers, small businesses may have good reasons for at least keeping an eye on the Apple Card as it enters the marketplace this summer and for the future, analysts say. Right now, the consensus is that it's a good solid offering, but the only thing that's genuinely flashy about it at the moment is the titanium material. The Apple Card encourages merchants to install Apple Pay systems, but they can also profit from allowing the card to be used even if NFC-based contactless payments and Apple Pay are not yet available. That may attract a more affluent Apple customer base.

"In terms of small businesses accepting the card, it is going to be run through Goldman Sachs and the Mastercard network, so in terms of a company looking into whether or not to accept it, the real question is whether they want to integrate the whole Apple Pay system," said Chris Kuiper, equity analyst at CFRA. "That's just going to come down to how much convenience they want for their customers and if they think that's going to open up a whole new swath of clientele or customers that they wouldn't have before – like, would someone pop into one store over another because they accept Apple Pay or don't?"

It may also benefit merchants in urban centers where people are already using their phones for other things, like mapped directions and finding places where to get a quick meal or needed item.

Alongside the opportunity to rope in some additional Apple Pay customers is the no-fee structure. It may be helpful that there's no foreign transaction fees for habitual travelers or for folks who order products internationally, though other cards offer that benefit too.

According to Kuiper, "it's not a bad card. It's got cash back. It's got 1% on everything – 2% if you use Apple Pay, which is becoming a bigger thing, and 3% on Apple products. But for all the other benefits, other cards already offer them, or you can get specialized cards for those things."

Rivka Gewirtz Little, research director for global payment strategies at IDC, says that Apple needs to "do something to make the Apple Card more relevant" for small companies because, despite "some nice and usable elements, it is a consumer product. This does not appear to be a business or corporate offering."

Nonetheless, Little thinks there are some attractive management and visibility features that would benefit very small companies and solopreneurs who don't mind using personal cards for business expenses.

Image credit: Apple

For example, certain Apple Card features may benefit business manageability after credit – reports of where and how money was spent – that's easy to access through the app. Built-in fraud protection and instant sign-up and deployment may also throw the Apple Card into the plus column for very small operations, since it cuts back the waiting time generally needed to get a credit card up and running.

But there are limits to those advantages. "There are some nice features in terms of manageability and visibility of spending, so if you're really a small company, it could help you," said Little. "But if you have more than a few people, then you want to have a view of what everyone is spending on your company card, and at that point you're going to need a procurement card and some sort of management app."

Lisa D. Ellis, partner at MoffettNathanson, also cites intriguing differentiators of the Apple Card compared to other co-brand credit cards, like the Amazon Card, PayPal Card and Nordstrom Card.

"The primary differentiator of Apple Card is that Apple is launching a set of 'financial health' tools tied to the card, analogous to the 'physical health' tools Apple has tied to Apple Watch, like monitoring your heart rate or tracking steps," Ellis said. "The financial health tools will enable the cardholder to better track expenses [and] manage credit. We haven't seen exactly what they will look like yet, and whether they are really a game-changer or whether they are pretty run-of-the-mill, but these financial health tools are really what is differentiated about the Apple Card."

If Apple translated that concept to small business owners, it would be beneficial in helping them separate personal and business expenses, for example.

Nonetheless, "as a co-brand credit card, it's a pretty normal and boring one – there are hundreds of co-brand credit cards (nearly every major retailer has one), and the rewards and other benefits of the Apple Card are pretty paltry compared to most major ones," Ellis said.

Bottom line on the Apple Card

Some observers take a distinctly optimistic view of the overall Apple Card zeitgeist because accepting the Apple Card will be a straightforward process for small companies, especially those already familiar with Apple Pay.

"For small businesses and retailers that operate online and already accept Apple Pay, this is a huge benefit, as consumers will be anxious to use the card and begin shopping online at participating stores," said Bart Mroz, CEO of SUMO Heavy, a consulting firm specializing in digital commerce strategy, design and development. For businesses that do not yet support Apple Pay, having the titanium card linked to Mastercard will only encourage its use, widening the potential for additional customers and profits.

Mroz believes there will be processing fees associated with accepting Apple Card, but that they probably won't be as high as for other credit cards, since Apple currently charges a lower transaction fee for Apple Pay purchases than traditional credit card purchases.

Whatever judgments small companies may have about the Apple Card, they can be sure that certain basic hallmarks will benefit them: simplicity, privacy and instant reward. Beyond that is the ability to offer the card as a convenient choice to their customers, which can in turn draw in new clients interested in using the card – and eventually even sign up for Apple Pay, if they don't already have it.

Nearly 400,000 New Worker Training Opportunities Opening in the U.S.

Posted: 02 May 2019 08:10 AM PDT

America has more high-tech jobs available than we have qualified people to fill. That reality has prompted the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to join the Trump administration's Pledge to America's Workers. As part of that pledge, the organization promises to create 392,214 new U.S. worker training opportunities over the next five years.

Why do Americans need technical training programs?

The CTA is a collection of member companies, and 42 of those companies are part of this effort, including Bosch, Canon, Phone2Action, Sony Electronics, T-Mobile and USAA. The technology market makes up 18.2 million jobs in the U.S. economy, which is 12% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). But there's definitely a shortage of workers to fill those jobs, particularly in emerging sectors such as 5G, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

"We now have 500,000 high-tech jobs open here in the U.S., but we don't have enough workers with the skills needed to fill all these jobs," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the CTA. "If we want to maintain our nation's global leadership as a tech innovator and keep these jobs in America, we must help our workers develop the skills to succeed throughout their careers."

According to the CTA's own Future of Work survey, tech executives say that over the next five years they will struggle to fill software development, data analytics and engineering job openings. Some 92% of respondents indicated that they will need more employees with technical skills, and 66% say those employees will work remotely.

What are the training programs?

Amazon's Technical Veterans Apprenticeship program, which offers veterans on-the-job training in fields such as cloud computing, is one example of a training program in progress. Career Choice, another example, prepays 95% of Amazon's hourly associates' fees for courses in high-demand fields. Alternatively, Lockheed Martin's apprenticeship opportunities include internships for aerospace-minded high school students.

However, not all of these training programs or promises are a wild success. IBM, which had previously joined the pledge, fired workers and offshored jobs in 2017 despite reiterating plans to hire 25,000 people in the U.S. Some of the lost jobs were due to automation. That said, IBM did develop a career and technical education model called P-Tech that is now used in 80 high schools across the U.S. Students can earn a high school and an associate's degree in science, technology, engineering or math. [Interested in getting an IT certification? Check out our list of the best options in various high-tech areas.]

Who is participating in the Pledge to America's Workers?

The Trump administration's pledge was first announced in July 2018. It was quickly joined by other CTA members, including Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Best Buy, Deloitte, Ford, HP, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Toyota, VISA and Walmart. Those first companies have committed to developing more than two million training opportunities. The CTA is continuing to accept pledges from others.

The CTA is a trade association is made up of more than 2,200 companies; 80% of those are small businesses and startups. The organization helps them via policy advocacy, market research, technical education and fostering strategic relationships.

Here is the complete list of the new companies who have joined the pledge:

  • A&K Robotics
  • com
  • American Automation & Communications Inc.
  • Audio Warehouse
  • Bjorn's Audio Video
  • BloomBoard Inc.
  • BlueSalve Partners
  • Bosch
  • Canon U.S.A. Inc.
  • Crestron Electronics
  • Digital Creative Institute
  • eForCity Corp.
  • Founders First Capital Partners LLC
  • Franklin Apprenticeships
  • FulTech Solutions Inc.
  • Future Ready Solutions
  • Hedgehog Technology Services
  • HiberSense Inc.
  • Humetrix
  • InstallerNet Inc.
  • Invisionate
  • LED Systems LLC
  • Living in Digital Times
  • Logic Integration
  • education
  • Phone2Action
  • Postmates
  • Pribatis Inc.
  • ROYBI
  • Senclo Inc.
  • Sony Electronics, Inc. North America
  • Sprint
  • Starpower
  • TargetPath LLC
  • TeamPeople
  • Titan Power LLC
  • T-Mobile
  • T-ROC
  • Up Sonder
  • URC
  • USAA
  • Voxx International

Why Businesses Can’t Afford to Ignore Instagram

Posted: 02 May 2019 08:00 AM PDT

In the beginning, Instagram was just a hip place for teens to share their selfies. But over the years, it has transformed into a social network that offers unique growth opportunities to businesses of all sizes. Currently, the photo-sharing app boasts as many as a billion monthly active users – and counting.

But are you on Instagram yet? If you're a business owner, you should definitely start using Instagram as a tool to help you achieve your sales goals – especially since the platform has e-commerce in its sights. To make it big on Instagram, all you need to have in your arsenal is engaging visual content. By posting quality, eye-catching and relevant content to this platform, you can build an online community of vibrant followers, boost sales and forge a deep connection with your audience. The best part is that you'll have lots of fun using Instagram, too.

If you're still wondering if your business should use Instagram, here are six reasons why you should start using it now.

Competition on Instagram isn't too fierce . . . yet

Small businesses are having a hard time on Facebook. Apart from the rising levels of competition, the sharp decline in the organic Facebook reach has become a nightmare for business owners. Unlike Facebook, this social media platform doesn't filter what is shown in user newsfeeds. Every post that you share on Instagram is visible to all of your followers.

Plus, Instagram is still growing and most businesses haven't yet joined this social network, which means that any business that starts now will have edge over those that arrive late. Starbucks, Gucci, and Lego all have massive followings on the social platform and have been seeing great results.

Editor's note: Looking for the right social media management service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Instagram is the best platform for visual branding

Visual branding is a powerful technique that helps you shape your audience's perception of your business. Whether you want your customers to associate your brand with happiness, a fun attitude, support for feminism, care or authority, there's no better way to communicate your business's values than through visual or graphics-based content.

It's important to understand that visual branding goes beyond photos. The colors, text size, font style and imagery of your content work together to create a visual experience for your audience. Instagram has several features that make it easy for your business to use images in a way that support your branding and connect with your audience.

Instagram is a mobile platform

Mobile phones have deeply penetrated our everyday lives. By the end of 2019, the total number of mobile phone users will touch the five billion mark, and many users spend a significant amount of time on social media. In fact, 80% of traffic to all social media networks comes from mobile devices. As a mobile social media platform, Instagram offers businesses a huge opportunity to tap into this ever-growing mobile audience on a worldwide level.

It's also worth noting how smartphones have altered the way people shop online, as 80% of shoppers use their mobile phones to check out product reviews before buying a product. If you want to cash in on this trend, you need to use Instagram to expand and boost your online sales.

Instagram has a very high conversion rate

While selling your products shouldn't be your focus when you use social media platforms, this doesn't mean you shouldn't or can't sell on social media. The point is to offer real value to people and build trust, and the sales will follow automatically. Instagram is for building genuine relationships and the social platform is thriving with real customers. As a result, it offers some of the highest conversion rates.

Instagram Stories is an excellent business promotion tool

One of the coolest tools this platform offers is Instagram Stories, which are videos and photos that are only available for 24 hours. As a business owner, you can leverage this feature to present an interview, showcase what goes on behind the scenes at your business, demonstrate a product or inform your viewers about an upcoming event.

While designing Instagram Stories, you should try to be funny and creative, while adhering to your brand guidelines. If you do it right, the vanishing content you create with this tool is a fantastic way to get more viewers, drive traffic to your website and generate more sales.

The platform's interface is easy to use and after you learn the basics, you can create Instagram Stories in minutes. If you want to more design tools to enhance your content, you can find many free third-party apps that offer customizable layouts.

Instagram makes it easy to connect with influencers

Collaborating with influencers in your industry is another great way to market and grow your business.

While using Instagram, you should identify and follow the influencers in your industry or niche that have a strong following. You can then send them your products and request a review. If influencers like your product, they may use it and mention your brand in their posts. In this way, you can reach the followers of those influencers and expand your audience.

How to Fire a Partner or Co-Founder

Posted: 02 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Running a small business is a complicated endeavor, and it can complicate otherwise healthy personal (or even professional) relationships. If you're in a partnership with someone and it's not working out, it's important to take the right steps to ensure your business and financial future are safe.

If you decide you want to move on with your business without input from your partner, it's important to work directly with an attorney to determine the best course of action. Each business situation and partnership is different, and you want to have all your ducks in a row before you confront your business partner about your plans. It's also important to understand that if you don't have predetermined exit strategies or dissolution plans, firing your business partner is likely going to be expensive and potentially difficult.

If you've decided you want to move on with your business on your own, it's important to understand the legal and professional implications and processes before you move forward.

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Build in legal mechanisms at the outset of your business

If you're entering a partnership or starting a business with other individuals, you need to work with a lawyer to set up your business properly. By defining ownership stakes, exit strategies and day-to-day responsibilities, you can eliminate any potential issues where many problems arise. Walter Gumersell, a partner with Rivkin Raddler, said general partnership law is not deeply defined in many states and can involve statutes that are only "six pages." This can create a lot of gray area.  

"There's a lot of gaps to fill," he said. "You don't want a court filling the gaps."

By sitting down at the outset of your business and establishing legal parameters, you can save time and money in the long run. While establishing ownerships stakes is vitally important, there are a couple exit plans that are worth understanding.

Many companies, private or public, will set up vesting options for business partners. These agreements usually say that partners "earn" their ownership in the company as they work on the business. This usually means that a partner who owns, say, 20% of a business will have those shares in the company vested over a period of four years. There are many scenarios for vesting options that include cliff periods, which is usually an initial blackout period where no shares are vested and if a partner leaves, he or she is entitled to nothing.

Vesting options can be an ideal setup for some partnerships as it incentivizes partners to be present in the business for a designated time period. It also provides a road map should a partner decide to leave or if a partner is fired by the others.

Other exit plans that can be set up at the outset of the business involve buyout terms and structures. By establishing a buyout price and terms at the beginning of the business, you can avoid any legal headaches down the line.

Gumersell said oftentimes minority partnership owners (49% and below) can negotiate for discounted buyout terms. According to Gumersell, another exit plan is what's known as a shotgun buyout, where one partner puts a buyout offer on the table and the other partner(s) can either accept that offer or match it to buy out the original partner.

There are several options for small business owners that can eliminate the need for expensive court proceedings and other financial and emotional strain. [Interested in business plan software? Check out our reviews and best picks.]

If you have no formal agreements, consider dissolving your business

General partnerships and handshake agreements with no predefined exit plans can be very complicated. There are two scenarios worth exploring: 50/50 partnerships and majority/minority partnerships. In a 50/50 partnership, if you want to "fire" your co-founder or partner, Gumersell said it may be worth dissolving your business entirely.

With no predefined legal structure, your partner owns 50% of the business. That means you can either negotiate a buyout, if that co-founder is willing to sell you his or her share of the business, or you can dissolve the business. In most states, you don't need to get your partner's approval to dissolve the business in a 50/50 agreement.

By dissolving the business, all your assets will be liquidated, your creditors will be paid, and then you'll be able to keep your share of what remains. Gumersell said that if there are trademarks, both partners still have a right to use that name, so if you plan on reopening the same business under the same name on your own, be aware that you partner could technically do the same. [Need help deciding the best legal structure for your business? Check out our sister site, BusinessNewsDaily.]

In majority/minority partnerships, you'll have to buy out your partner – you can't take away someone's property, even if you own over 51% of the business.

Deciding to fire someone is never easy

Firing a co-founder or trying to take full control of your business can be a stressful decision. It's important to work with lawyers and mediators to make it through the process in the best possible position. By having a third party, especially a mediator, to help you and your partners work through the details, you can keep things professional and not personal.

The fact remains, however, that if you're going to start a business, you need to set up a proper legal structure for it first, and that means establishing exit plans.

"The expense of trying to get to a dissolution, whether a corporation or partnership, will be five times to 10 times more than what it would be to sit down at a table to iron this out at the beginning," said Gumersell.

Raising Awareness About Hearing Loss: Shark Tank Star's Method

Posted: 02 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT

For Daymond John, Shark Tank star, founder of FUBU and storied investor, he was unaware of a personal challenge until he attended a gala for the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Starkey, which makes hearing aids, was giving out free hearing tests. John decided to give it a try.

"I got my hearing checked and realized I was suffering, at some point, from hearing loss," John said. "I didn't want to face it; I didn't understand it."

The test opened John's eyes, not only to his own hearing loss, but to the extent of hearing loss in America, and the stigma that, unfortunately, can come with it. Nearly 50 million Americans, or 1 in 5 people over the age of 12, suffer from hearing loss. It's also the second most prevalent health issue globally, according to the Hearing Health Foundation.

As a frequenter of music events early in his career and an avid fan of loud music, John said he knew something was going on before he took the hearing test. Once his hearing loss was confirmed, John didn't shy away from the issue. Like any great entrepreneur, he dove right into this new challenge: Since the gala, John has been wearing Starkey hearing aids.

"It just made such a big difference in my everyday ability to communicate and what I didn't realize I was missing," he said. "I realize how much more effective I am. At the end of the day, communication is going to get me where I'm going."

Combatting a stigma

While John has benefitted from using Starkey's hearing aids, he's working with Starkey to raise awareness about hearing loss and its unfortunate stigma.

"I started to get more and more educated on the facts of hearing loss," he said. "It has a stigma, and young kids who shy away from academics in school … they can't really understand what the teacher's saying – they don't raise their hands."

John, who is dyslexic and is an advocate for learning disability awareness, said as he learned more about hearing loss, it became clear that he wanted to work with Starkey to address the social preconceptions attached with it. John's current hearing aids are bright red.

"I want people when they see me on TV, I want people to ask about them," he said. "I think the biggest thing is not that people don't realize they have hearing loss. I think the biggest thing is stigmatizing it [as] being so negative."

John has worked with Starkey and other celebrities and organizations, like the New York Yankees and the Wilf Family Foundation, to raise awareness and even provide free hearing aids to individuals with hearing loss.

Starkey's high-tech hearing aids

As for his own hearing aids, John started with Starkey's Halo hearing aids and now uses Starkey's Livio AI, which is built out with artificial intelligence and a lifestyle app. John said he uses several features daily, like streaming TV audio, listening to music, adjusting settings to focus on a single person's speech, translating languages and streaming audiobooks. John said he also uses the locate feature, which allows him to find each hearing aid in case they get lost. All of these features are controlled through Starkey's smartphone app called Thrive Assistant.

In addition to these features, Starkey hearing aids come with voice-to-text transcription, fitness and health tracking, Alexa compatibility, and even fall detection and alert capability. The technology in Starkey's hearing aids goes beyond just restoring hearing, and John said these features have made using the devices convenient.

For John, working with Starkey has helped shine a light on an important issue. He also has been able to benefit from combatting his own hearing loss.

"Ever since I put them in, I can't live without them," he said.
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