Business.com |
- 11 Innovative Ideas for Handling the Client Conundrum
- 20 Résumé Mistakes Keeping You From Getting a Job (and How to Fix Them)
- A Step-By-Step Process for Making the Right Business Decisions
- The Most Interesting Office Equipment Stories Imaginable
- How California's Consumer Privacy Act Will Affect Your Business
- Most Companies Fail to Engage With Seasonal Workers
- 5 Ways to Build Customers' Trust
- How to Create Alexa for Business Skills Without Coding Experience
- How Leaders Can Inspire in the Workplace of the Future
- How New Tariffs Will Impact American Consumers
- How to Become a CIO or CTO
- 7 Steps for Hiring Great Employees
- Small Business Credit Card Processing: What You Need to Know
- How to Know Your Numbers and Manage Your Sales Department
- How To Become a Software Tester
- 16 Things to Know When Expanding to a Second Location
- 10 Books You Need To Boost Your Freelance Writing Career
- Top E-Commerce Challenges Facing SMBs
- How to Ask for a Raise at Work and Get It
- How to Assemble the Right Team Before Going Public
| 11 Innovative Ideas for Handling the Client Conundrum Posted: 06 Aug 2019 08:00 AM PDT  Client handling is important but things get tricky when you encounter hard-to-please individuals. Some even thwart the agents and customer service executives. And there are a few who would like the concerned organization to push in more offers, just to be accommodative. However, whether a business grows not, depends on how the client conundrum is dealt with. To simplify things, note that while a business usually encounters normal and happy clients that are actually looking for services, the difficulty of an entrepreneurial venture is determined when difficult clients pose numerous challenges, including the ones pertaining to services, after-sales support and more. In the subsequent sections, we shall talk about 10 innovative strategies that can help companies please a diverse clientele without losing sleep over CTAs, ROI and other aspects of marketing. Reevaluate and reorient pricesBefore you plan out an extensive client-pleasing strategy, it is necessary to cover the existing loopholes. Based on independent findings, a majority of customers refrain from converting due to higher prices. A company must reevaluate the service and product rates besides reorienting them for suiting the clientele. You, as a business owner, must also realize that every client has his or her precise budget considerations, and instead of avoiding the irritable clientele it is necessary to convert them making the pricing and services extremely flexible. However, lowering the prices way too much can backfire. There would be a certain segment of people who would consider you as a cheap agency and remain displeased even when the best deal has been offered. This is where discretion and personal client handling becomes necessary. Help clients make better decisionsCompanies need to realize that more isn't always better when it comes to customer satisfaction. A business must concentrate on improving the decision-making capability of the client instead of confusing him or her with an extended repertoire of selections. While this often means offering fewer options to the clients, it also signifies concentrating better on the existing set of possibilities, to give customers the best product or service. A company finding it hard to deal with difficult clients must instruct the concerned project managers to minimize the choices and better the output to input ratio. The main idea is to take the client ideas into consideration and come up with a strategy that bests their expectations. Make room for watertight communicationClients that pose challenges are known to defer deadlines, respond late to request and even make delayed approvals. While these make some of the most unfortunate issues, you need to make sure that watertight communication, preferably in the form of contracts, is made available. Clients, if intimated that delayed deadlines come with penalties, will certainly make better efforts toward quicker fund remittances. Contracts must be predefined and should have the following details:
Inform and educate the concerned clientsThere are certain clients who have minimal technical expertise regarding the product that is being delivered. Lack of knowledge, therefore, makes them difficult ones to cater as they fail to understand the project requirements and the completion challenges. You, as a business, must realize that not every client is supposed to be well-informed and therefore proper information and education regarding the particular topic must be provided, before starting with the project. Therefore, it is necessary for a business to:
The best advice for a business would be to create a communication plan with client education at the fore. QR codes come in handyClients do end up asking difficult questions, which the project manager or even the agent might not be able to answer. In cases like these, it is necessary to depend on QR codes that serve a host of purposes for the concerned businesses. Moreover, the best QR codes make sure that every bit of information is available without the clients having to interact personally with the business. Moreover, these codes can also be used for simplifying payments as clients cannot typically bargain and defer finances. Put yourself in the clients' shoesFor a business to succeed, it needs to understand the client's outlook, including his or her expectations from the project. Inability to do so is the reason why clients become difficult to handle. To follow this strategy to the T, it is necessary to be empathetic while gauging unfortunate situations at the client's end. Review promisesWe, as businesses, make numerous promises to clients and when some aren't fulfilled, it becomes obvious that an expecting client would create some ruckus. This is why businesses must continuously review the promises made to clients, especially to minimize the number of unhappy clients. Businesses must:
Establish standardsBusinesses are bound to market themselves in the best possible manner but without being unrealistic about the goals and client expectations. However, if you are as good as the client expects, try to establish standards before taking up the project. While this increases client expectations, it also makes room for a better payout. Being upfront with a client regarding the quality of deliverables minimizes the chances of meager payments, upon project completion. However, a difficult client would still try to defer payments. Keep recordsThe client conundrum can be best dealt if the company keeps a track and record of all the conversations. Clients often create issues before making payments and having substantial records can help you stay ahead of the issues in hand. The record-keeping habit must include emails, invoices, quotations, deadlines and anything or everything that can be documented. Minimize lossesWhile most of these strategies are expected to work and pacify almost every kind of client, there are a few who would never get satisfied. They shall continue being unrealistic and rude and this is when you should cut them off without worrying about losses. A client is worth a lot but never worth the self-respect that you have acquired. Rely on automationTechnology helps businesses with improved levels of client satisfaction. Automating interactions is a good way to start as businesses can integrate live chat support to the websites for minimizing actual interaction with the more difficult clients. InferenceAgencies and other forms of businesses are expected to handle clients that are hard to please. However, if the following ideas are followed, it would be possible for any business to convert even the most snobbish clients into recurring and loyal customers, sans hassles. |
| 20 Résumé Mistakes Keeping You From Getting a Job (and How to Fix Them) Posted: 06 Aug 2019 07:50 AM PDT 
For ultra-keen job seekers, there's nothing more patronizing than being advised to double-check your résumé. Yet anyone in the recruiting industry will tell you it's shocking the number of résumé they receive that are either rife with errors or openly flout the job posting's instructions. Part of that may be a mismatch in résumé advice and recruiter expectations. We can assume you already know to use proper spelling and correct grammar, but who knew that using a Microsoft Word 2003 program could be the mistake that's landing your resume in the (digital) trash? When resume mistakes become deal-breakersFor those who need further convincing to read on, in a 2018 survey conducted by hiring site TopResume, 70% of employers said that personal deal-breakers of theirs – like missing contact information or an unprofessional email address – were enough to reject a candidate before they even finished reading the resume. "It's all subject to the type and level of position you're pursuing and the individual recruiter's personal preferences," said Amanda Augustine, career expert at Talent Inc, parent company of TopResume. "If you're new to the workforce, it's more acceptable to include a list of hobbies on your resume because, frankly, you have less material to work with and may need the information to fill an entire page for your resume." Another exception to hobbies is if they're relevant to the work you're pursuing, Augustine said. On the other hand, there are some résumé mistakes to be avoided no matter the industry. Such mistakes alone may not be deal-breakers, but they still leave a bad taste in the employer's mouth. Augustine broke it down: Lack of interest in the position. If you can't be bothered to properly proofread your résumé for typos and tweak the content to demonstrate how you're qualified for the job, how interested can you really be in the position? All things being equal, the candidate who best represents their experience, talents and interest in the position will end up with the job offer. An employer will begin assessing all those things in the first glance at a resume. Lack of judgment and/or attention to detail. Aside from making sure a candidate has all the technical skills and experience to execute a job, employers also look at soft skills that may not be explicit in a resume. "While it can be challenging to demonstrate that you possess certain soft skills on a résumé, it's fairly easy to send employers the signal that you lack other soft skills, such as sound judgment and attention to detail," Augustine said. "When you include details and images that recruiters find to be inappropriate, opt for an over-the-top résumé design, or don't proofread your application, you're allowing employers to question your judgment and decision-making skills." We asked recruiters and hiring professionals for the most common résumé mistakes they're confronted with. 20 common resume mistakes1. Giving vague employment dates"When headhunters or gatekeepers see dates on your résumé that don't include months, they automatically assume something's wrong. If they suspect you're hiding a gap in employment, they'll assume the worst, and they'll view you as dishonest for attempting to deceive them. If they're busy, they'll trash the résumé instead of wondering what the gaps are about." – Giacomo Giammatteo, owner and author at Inferno Publishing Company "Use a chronological format with an emphasis on results over the past three to seven years. Many candidates, especially those with lots of experience, are being encouraged to keep their résumé at a page or less. The fact is, we need context, so if a résumé [is two pages], that is OK. Having said that, most of the details need to be in the recent time frame so that your audience gets clarity on your context, responsibilities and accomplishments." – John Light, partner at Evolving Talent Group 2. Letting inconsistencies slip through"Every once in a while, someone will forget to recheck their dates, job titles or job duties. For me, this is worse than typos. These days, most HR professionals search on LinkedIn and across social media accounts to vet potential employees. If your start dates, titles or duties do not line up, it can raise red flags to employers. It leaves us thinking, 'Are they lying on their resume or on LinkedIn? Or both?' It immediately disqualifies a candidate. I always encourage people to double-check their résumé. An inconsistency could be an honest mistake that costs you the job." – Adele Alligood, HR consultant and engagement manager for EndThrive 3. Failing to identify and delete irrelevant work experience"One résumé mistake many people make is that they feel obligated to include every job, including part-time work, that they've had since college. For example, including that you were a Subway sandwich artist for three months is superfluous if you're applying for a technology job – unless, of course, the company's technology improves the sandwich-making process. Including information like this shows laziness and a general lack of understanding." – Joshua Goldstein, co-founder of Underdog.io 4. Bolding the wrong information"Do not bold the company you worked for; bold your position with the company. This is what the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for. One exception – if the company is highly recognizable (Facebook, Google, etc.)" – Bill Benoist, leadership and career coach 5. Making claims without measurable evidence"If you're going to boast about increasing sales or improving process efficiency, support these claims with real statistics and an explanation of how you accomplished these feats. When I read 'improved department sales revenue' on a resume, I'm not convinced." – Tyson Spring, co-founder and head of business development at Élever Professional 6. Adding too much fluff to your job descriptions"One of the biggest mistakes I have seen in résumés floating around today is people amplifying their qualifications with fancy words. They are not lying on their resume; they are just turning a task they once completed into years of experience. Once you sit down with them and utilize them in something practical, you quickly realize their résumé was a lot of hot air and little practicality." – Victoria Ley, founder of Life Levels INC 7. Including obvious skills"Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are no longer skills to call out on your résumé. These days, employers assume that all good applicants have a working knowledge of the Office suite. Instead, use that space to highlight experience with more advanced technical tools in your sector – e.g., SQL, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Mixpanel and Adobe Creative Suite. These skills are very compelling to employers and will help you stand out from other contenders." – Maisie Devine, co-founder and CEO of recruiting app Savvy 8. Failing to explain a career change"This is a byproduct of the generally bad job search approach founded in keeping your options open and, therefore, applying for practically anything and everything under the sun. For example, your professional background and experience is in marketing, but after months of searching for a marketing job, you decide to expand by considering other objectives … All the employer does is look at the resume for a few seconds and ask herself, 'Why is this person applying for this job?'" – Jewel Bracy DeMaio, resume coach at Perfect10Resumes.com 9. Getting too cute with the design"Write a résumé that has a clean, neat and simple-to-read layout. Many times, people try to invent and do something new but forget that employers read hundreds and thousands of résumés and want to quickly find what they are looking for." – Hugo Pereira, former head of product and growth at Talentsquare 10. Listing education at the top of the page"When moving beyond the entry- and intern-level position, schooling, education, and GPA no longer need to be listed at the top – your experience should speak for itself." – Hannah Landau, PR consultant 11. Choosing weak verbs"All too often, applicants bury the lead when it comes to describing their past experiences and accomplishments. A great resume paints a picture of an active, inspired and engaged professional. A verb like 'helped' or 'assisted' does neither. Skip the setup and get right into the actual work you carried out for your past employers." – Andrew Jones, senior consultant at Source One 12. Failing to use enough white space"The notion of white space is often overlooked as we try to cram all of our accomplishments onto two pages. You may even be guilty of playing with the margins and the fonts to fit everything in. But this only makes it overwhelming for the reader. Bear in mind that your résumé will be skimmed over in just a few seconds before the hiring manager decides if they want to give it closer attention. Make it inviting and readable. Less is more." – Maryna Shkvorets, communication consultant and coach 13. Copying and pasting job descriptions"Do not copy and paste the job description that you were hired under (in the past) into your résumé. Recruiters do not want to read what they already wrote. They want to read how you accomplished those tasks and responsibilities in your current and past jobs. Recruiters are looking for skill sets, experience related to those skills in achieving a goal for current/past employers, what you personally did to help those goals get reached, if you managed or supervised others who performed your career-related tasks (oversight), if you trained anyone in your job (cross-training), if you brought in revenue or reduced overhead costs, and if you handled or managed a budget (of how much money?)." – Dawn D. Boyer, CEO of D. Boyer Consulting 14. Including personal hobbies"Unless your personal interests relate to the job, then it's best to leave them out. We don't necessarily need to know that you like watching The Office (even though I do too). Those details can wait. We'll get to know you better if we hire you." – Adele Alligood, HR consultant and engagement manager for EndThrive 15. Giving a nondescript objective"Your objective should never be, 'I want to work at X company in Y role.' That's a no-brainer; the act of submitting an application indicates interest in the role. What do you want to do with your career? What do you want to bring to a company? If you can't come up with something unique and engaging, leave the objective off your résumé altogether." — Bethany Perkins, people growth manager at O3 World 16. Selecting a tiny font"For most fonts, size 10 is the absolute smallest, and even then, it might be too small, depending on the font you are using. If your reader needs to take out his/her reading glasses to read your résumé, you have already aggravated them, and your résumé is heading for the trash can." — Michelle Riklan, founder and managing director at Riklan Resources 17. Saving your resume using an outdated file format"Avoid using dated Microsoft packages for your Word doc résumé, as new systems don't always read the document accurately. Many résumés come through unreadable at the worst or unaligned at the best." — Chris Delaney, founder of Employment King 18. Ignoring application instructions"I just hired an assistant and had to review over 250 résumés and cover letters for this position. My ad asked to not send a generic cover letter and to visit our website and explain why their skills are a good fit for us. About 70% of the time they'd shoot off a non-customized résumé, and 90% of the time they wouldn't include a cover letter. Because of this lack of following directions, [I] weeded out a huge portion of applicants." – Julie Weinhouse, principal at HERO Entertainment Marketing 19. Choosing a bad file name"People should name their résumé by their first and last name. A lot of times candidates will send in résumés named "espence_résumé91.pdf, Résumé2013, or even revision5résumé. I'm glad you have revised your résumé five times, but it would be great if version six had just your first and last name." – Pete Juratovic, president of Old City Press & Co 20. Including a photo"With the widespread use of social media sites like LinkedIn, there is no need to add pictures to résumés. Use the space for more detail." – Mark Frietch, senior recruiter at Redfin Lying on your resumeWhile careless mistakes may cause a candidate to appear inept, résumé lies paint a far shadier picture. Neither create a very compelling case for employment. However, according to a study from Hloom, a provider of résumé templates and samples, such lies can have varying degrees of harm. "People find lies about education fairly serious, while fabrications about specific skills are deemed more harmless," the study's authors wrote. Here are the complete rankings, based on a 1 to 5 scale (with 1 being not serious and 5 being extremely serious), of the significance of each résumé lie:
When résumé lies are uncoveredIt's easy enough for a candidate to lie when pinging off their résumé via email. The interview process, however, can bring such lies to light, especially when the candidate finds themselves unable to speak in detail about the things they've lied about. "In addition, background checks and reference checks often expose a résumé's lies," said Augustine. "Lying about your education is pointless, because it's simple for an employer to call the institution directly for verification or to use a service, such as the National Student Clearinghouse, to confirm details of your educational background." Getting caught in a lie won't only cost you the job, but it may lead to further repercussions. Worst-case scenario, you'll get blackballed from your desired industry. "Some job markets are small. If the lie you told was egregious, you may find it has spread beyond the office walls of this prospective employer," said Augustine. "Also, if you are working with a third-party recruiting agency, there's a good chance they may cut ties with you. Lying about something that's easy to catch also speaks to your judgment – or lack thereof – which can be a deal-breaker for most employers." Additional Reporting by Marisa Sanfilippo, Dave Mielach, Jennifer Post, and Chad Brooks |
| A Step-By-Step Process for Making the Right Business Decisions Posted: 06 Aug 2019 06:15 AM PDT  Starting a business is a major feat that comes with endless decisions. Many small business owners find themselves paralyzed in decision-making phases of their businesses, so it is important to employ various strategies to help you successfully make the right choice. Business decisions must be made starting at the ground level, like knowing if your business idea is good enough and choosing the right business name, all the way through the lifespan of your business. Having board members or a decision committee on your team can help with the process, but if you're a solopreneur, you'll make tough choices on your own. Whichever route you go, Logan Allec, CPA and owner of personal finance site Money Done Right, recommends always, at the very least, having a reliable person to act as your sounding board. "The biggest thing business owners need is a reliable sounding board, someone who they can talk through difficult decisions with that they know will listen and give them advice," said Allec. "It is important that a business owner's sounding board is honest, because honesty will ensure that the business owners are making the right choices in difficult situations." In addition, Allec recommends that business owners always trust their instincts when it comes to making tough decisions. You might be wondering whether you should just make the decision and stick to it. Should you test different options? Should you use statistics to make a business decision or implement a multistep process? The answer to these questions depends on what type of decision you are making. How do you make business decisions?Jon M. Quigley, founder of the training and consulting agency Value Transformation LLC and author of several management books, recommends using a testing approach that allows you to figure out important parameters and evaluate them accordingly. Quigley suggested using this multistep process for effective decision-making:
This is a general guideline to follow for making informed decisions; there are other strategies and variations that you can incorporate as well. For example, you can use different forms of testing. You can either repeatedly test on a small scale to see its effect before implementing on a larger scale, or you can A/B test, which consists of testing two different methods at the same time. Quigley said to explore these methods with small, inexpensive, trial-run experiments. "[Creating] a small prototype run of a product that has the key features to allow the company, and perhaps key customers, to examine and use the product and give feedback on will aide in the decision-making," said Quigley. "Low-cost exploration can help us understand the true things that matter in the decision." When you are in the research phase of making a business decision, learn from your past achievements and failures, see what competitors are doing and possibly even survey your consumers. It is also a good idea to seek the advice of relevant experts, trusted colleagues and other business owners. They can help you obtain an objective opinion that is clear of your own biases and judgements, and they can play devil's advocate to help you see the pros and cons of each scenario. If you are unsure whom to turn to, Allec suggests finding a mentor from a chamber of commerce group. "There are many experienced and well-connected business owners who are members of their local chamber of commerce who would love to help business owners with decisions they are unsure of," said Allec. For certain business decisions, you might be able to play out a reverse outcome scenario. Start with your desired outcome and work backward to see what steps need to be taken to get there. Some decisions that don't have a monumental impact on the company can be made with the "just do it" mentality. Regardless of what decision you make, it is important to stick with it. Feel confident in your choice, and don't look back. If you have taken the proper steps to make the decision, don't second-guess yourself. Give your decision time to make an impact, and then re-evaluate the results. What are good decision-making skills?Every entrepreneur will face a challenging decision at least one time in their career. There are several skills and traits you can develop, though, to become adept at accurately judging the situation and making wise decisions. If you already possess these decision-making skills, even better. Quigley and Allec believe the skills and qualities below are the most beneficial for making decisions:
It is also important to know and accept that your decision might not please everyone, and that's OK. Common business questions and decision techniquesWe posed five common questions entrepreneurs and business owners face to Allec to see which strategies he would use to make a proper and thoughtful decision. Q: What business should I start?A: Research – find out about the demographics of your community, and survey the different groups to figure out their interests. Find out what businesses already have an established market or which markets are very competitive so you know in advance. Q: How do I know if my business idea is good enough?A: Communication – ask friends, family and business leaders in the community about the idea. Coherently describe and detail the idea, read it out loud (and to another person), and make sure everything sounds correct and complete. Q: Should I quit my full-time job?A: A cost-benefit analysis would be best, because it involves calculating how much money would be lost versus the social capital gained from starting a business. A plus/delta chart would also be helpful, as business owners could analyze the areas that are positively affected by quitting and what changes would occur. Putting your thoughts on paper helps process the reality of a decision. Q: Is this the right [X] to buy?A: Information and data gathering – investigate the market and find out what other companies are using [X], or find out what companies are using in place of [X]. Acquire [X], and gather the data of whether it works for you or not. Q: Should I franchise my business?A: Consult with other business owners, employees and, most importantly, an attorney. Big decisions with cross-state legal implications and changes require expert advice. Some business decisions may seem more obvious than others, but it is important to consider your options and weigh the benefits versus the consequences. Trust your instinct, consult with others, and do what is best for your business. "The most important thing business owners and entrepreneurs should remember is to always trust their instinct but never to take any constructive criticism about their ideas personally," said Allec. "If a business owner or entrepreneur wants to be successful, they will learn that they may not always have the best idea." |
| The Most Interesting Office Equipment Stories Imaginable Posted: 06 Aug 2019 05:55 AM PDT  Whether it's a jammed printer, faulty technology or an uncomfortable office chair, few things are as frustrating as bad office equipment. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to avoid these failures.
If you work in an office, you know that office equipment malfunction is part of the job. These frustrations can also hinder productivity. Emails can stop sending, your printer can randomly spit out paper, and your computer can randomly decide to stop working. These office equipment malfunctions are both frustrating and time-consuming. Sometimes, office equipment problems can make one's heart skip a beat. We talked to business owners about their office equipment horror stories. Here are the five most embarrassing, scary and cringeworthy stories we heard. 1. Our neighbors used our printer and hundreds of pages of paperJames Pollard, owner of TheAdvisorCoach.com, has a heavy-duty wireless printer in his office. He loves the printer because he works from different computers and will print documents from his phone. However, one day, the people next door accidentally selected his printer and printed a document more than 300 pages long. "We had no idea what was going on," Pollard said. "Because the people next door couldn't find the document on their printer, they kept hitting Print again and again and again. It used up all our toner and thousands of pages." Printers and copiers can be expensive; when you add in a mistake like this, the costs really add up. This is a good reminder to take your time setting up your office equipment, and ensure that everything is installed and connected correctly. Even if your work neighbors aren't using your machine, it's easy to accidentally print unnecessary pages, and waste ink and money. Avoid that mistake by taking extra time to get your employees and team clear on the installation process. 2. The printer sensor went badRichard Pummell, founder of Workonnex, once worked for a large payroll processing organization and used the office printers to print payroll – sometimes tens of thousands of checks and pages of reports – which he would print at night. "Every once in a while, the sensors in the printers would have a mind of their own," he said. "They were supposed to ensure everything was in sequence and stop the printer if they encountered an issue." Sometimes, though, the sensors wouldn't detect there was a problem. When this happened, Pummell and his co-workers had to manually sort through thousands of checks and reports, and put them in the right order, often late at night. When an office product breaks down, it can make life more challenging. Finding the right office equipment and products for your business matters. Whether it's a printer, or any other type of office equipment, take time to read reviews on different products. Find printers that print efficiently, find durable and comfortable chairs, and consider including your employees in the purchasing process. 3. My chair and computer screen broke"One of my biggest entertainments in the office has always been balancing myself on the executive chair, back and forth, or turning to the sides," said Sophie Miles, CEO and co-founder of elMejorTrato.com. "I prefer to think that it helps me to have better ideas," she added. "Once, I was doing this, and when I leaned my back firmly on the backrest, the chair broke in half, and I fell to the floor." Not only did the chair break, but Miles was also holding the mouse, which caused a chain reaction of small, catastrophic events. Her entire desk ended up on the floor and her computer screen cracked. Office furniture doesn't seem like an important aspect of a business, but when you find yourself lying on your back after the furniture gives in, you gain a newfound appreciation for stable office furniture. 4. A chance encounter leads to a new petWhile the office equipment side of this story falls into the "horror story" category, the ending is quite happy for everyone involved. "We had a client that worked with popcorn, and as a thank you, they sent us boxes and boxes of kettle corn," said Alex Shvarts, CTO of FundKite. "It was a fun snack to have around the office, even a little too addicting. Well, maybe a month later our copier machine is broken, and we call in someone to come fix it. While fixing the machine, the repair guy mentioned that his Dachshund had recently had puppies, and he was looking for homes. It just so happens that one of the company employees was looking for a Dachshund puppy. The copier repairman discovered the problem: a popcorn kernel was stuck in the copier. Since the reason he was connected to the employee looking for a puppy was a popcorn kernel, the puppy was adopted and named Kernel to honor the chance meeting of them finding each other." This is the only office equipment malfunction story we've heard that ends with an employee getting a puppy. Most printer jams and broken office equipment leads to frustration, but this story has an extremely happy ending. It also serves as a lesson to take care of your equipment. 5. The near 911 mishapRob Stephens, founder of CFO Perspective, faced an issue as he started working with his office equipment after starting a new job. "I needed to download some information securely from the internet," said Stephens. "This was 20 years ago so that meant using the internal computer modem to dial directly to the secure site. My computer didn't have a modem, so I used my boss's computer. I needed to dial 9 to get an outside line and then dial 1 plus the area code and phone number. I was having trouble connecting and decided to add an extra 1 before the area code. Of course, this caused me to dial 911 from my boss's computer." Dialing 911 from your boss's computer is less than ideal. Luckily, Stephens avoided an embarrassing situation in the end. "The 911 dispatcher answered, but there was no microphone on the computer to reply to them," Stephens said. "I panicked and immediately hung up. They called back, and I now had visions of police and fire trucks arriving at the 15-story office building to try to find who had dialed 9-1 and whether they needed help. The computer modem picked up and, thankfully, replied back with the standard modem/fax screech tone. The dispatcher realized that the call came from office equipment, hung up, and didn't send anyone to check it out. Crisis averted." How to avoid office equipment disastersThe easiest solution for avoiding office equipment disasters is buying or leasing quality office equipment. Spend time researching the best office equipment on the market, and pay for quality office furniture and solutions that will hold up. Getting the right equipment, whether it's an expensive printer or a sleek file cabinet, puts you in a position to avoid office equipment disasters. Consider what equipment your office needs. Does your business still use a fax machine? What type of printer best suits your business? Look for office equipment and machines that best fit the unique needs of your operation. It's also important to prepare for any potential natural disasters that could hit your business, especially if you live in an area commonly hit by natural disasters. Matthew Berman, president of Emerald Digital, dealt with an issue like this just last month. With heavy rains and flooding hitting New Orleans, Emerald Digital had to adjust to the coming weather. Luckily, the business avoided costly equipment damage by finding a sensible solution. "As soon as we understood the situation was dire, we quickly removed all of our servers from the office, relocating upstate where the flooding couldn't damage our equipment," said Berman. "We did have one desk that we left on the first floor of our office space that was damaged, but for the most part, we know to leave all important equipment on the second floor." Another tip is to make sure people on your staff can fix or handle errors. Multiple staff members should be well versed in how to operate your office equipment. Don't rely on one person to know the ins and outs of the printer. Having multiple staff members who can troubleshoot issues can help your team avoid any major disasters. If you do experience issues with your office products and technology, you might want to speak with a technology expert or customer service specialist to fix the problem. If it's a one-time error that doesn't require customer service help, go ahead and laugh it off. Office equipment malfunctions happen to the best of us. Additional reporting by Saige Driver. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. |
| How California's Consumer Privacy Act Will Affect Your Business Posted: 06 Aug 2019 05:35 AM PDT  California passed its California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on June 28, 2018. It's a law that protects the privacy rights of consumers within the state. Similar to Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the CCPA will affect many businesses who collect personal information from those in California. The law allows Californians, known for being litigious, to sue businesses if their personal information is compromised in a data breach. It will go into effect on January 1, 2020, but most businesses don't know how this will affect them. A recent survey by ESET polled 625 business owners and executives to gauge the business readiness for this regulation. Nearly half (44.2%) had never heard of CCPA. Only 11.8% know if the law applies to them, and 34% are unsure if they need to change how they capture, store and process data. It's worth noting that 2018 was the second-most active year for data breaches, according to Risk Based Security. There were 6,500 reported breaches, including some 5 billion records, ranging from mega-breaches of companies such as Facebook to much smaller ones. Here's everything you need to know about the act, and what you can do to prepare as a small business owner. What is the CCPA?Matt Dumiak, director of privacy services at CompliancePoint, and Greg Sparrow, senior vice president and general manager of CompliancePoint, said that the CCPA is a bill that will require businesses to implement new policies and procedures to ensure the protection of personal information. This includes privacy policies, security protections and facilitation of consumer rights. However, businesses are not required to honor all consumer requests. Each should be analyzed to ensure the business is only honoring those applicable, they said. According to the CCPA website, the act protects the following consumer rights:
Dumiak and Sparrow said that business have 45 days to respond to consumer requests; and any damages that occur due to a breach are limited to $750 per consumer per incident. The CCPA, before it was in amendment with Assembly Bill 375, originally had more stringent regulations that might have nearly paralyzed the tech industry, which has thrived in California's Silicon Valley. But Dumiak and Sparrow noted that the official CCPA allows businesses a 30-day window to amend any violations, so long as they can prove they have been amended and that no more will occur. Otherwise, violators might face penalties of up to $7,500 per intentional violation. How does it affect SMBs, and what can they do to prepare?Dumiak and Sparrow noted that the bill will apply to "any business that earns $25 million in revenue per year, sells 50,000 consumer records per year, or derives 50% of its annual revenue from selling personal information." This includes businesses that collect or sell personal information from consumers in California, regardless of where the company itself is located. The average annual revenue for a small business is less than $25 million. In fact, for businesses with between 20 and 99 employees, the average revenue is $7,124,000 million, according to Quickbooks. While the qualifications to be affected by this bill might exclude many small businesses, it doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare. "The CCPA provides small businesses with incentive and motivation to start thinking about the personal data processed and protected within their business environment," said Dumiak. "Most organizations feel resource-constrained and small businesses are no different, if not more so." "California's law will raise the bar significantly, and this won't be the last time it's raised as states seek to emulate the EU's new GDPR," added Robert Cattanach, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney who helps clients navigate regulatory law. "This measure is likely to increase litigation as more consumer rights are created and expanded." But the lack of awareness could lead to a lack of compliance, which could expose businesses to significant financial penalties. "It's clear that businesses are confused about this upcoming regulation, they do not know whether they are subject to the law and what they need to do to become compliant," said Tony Anscombe, global security evangelist at ESET. "The penalties will be severe, and the financial harm could be grave to these firms. Businesses should particularly focus on the 'reasonable security' aspect of the law by ensuring they have stringent processes and practices in place, including strong endpoint protection and encryption, throughout their organization." [Are you in the market for internet security and antivirus software for your small business? Check out our reviews and best picks.] While California is just one state, its regulations are spreading awareness and encouraging like-minded individuals to speak up and take action. Businesses should expect similar laws to be passed across the country in the next few years. In fact, Nevada passed an amendment to its online privacy law, requiring businesses to offer consumers a right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. It will take effect on October 1, 2019. New York, Washington and Texas each introduced similar bills to CCPA. A federal privacy law is still under consideration in Washington, DC. "Congress will feel pressure from both pro-privacy advocates to endorse the rights created by California, and businesses to try to bring uniformity to what is increasingly a dynamically evolving policy area," said Cattanach. "The bottom line is that this leverages on the concepts contained in GDPR and is certain to be picked up as the standard by other states." The CCPA will go into effect in January of 2020, so small businesses have a little time to prepare. But not a lot. To do so, Dumiak said, they should review areas of business including:
"Further, the fines and privacy right of action while having an impact on any organization, will arguably be a larger percentage of their revenue and more impactful on business operations and revenue," said Dumiak. "While many see regulation as a headache, this regulation is a terrific opportunity for organizations, small and large, to get much-needed resource help in the security and business operations space." If your small business hasn't already hired a data processing consultant to make sure your company is compliant with GDPR, now may be the time to investigate such a professional. You may want to look for someone who is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). It is the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community, which contains some 40,000 members. Even if you are already compliant, it's worthwhile to keep an eye on California regulations, as there are two bills currently under consideration that would expand CCPA. And there are nine bills being considered that would narrow the scope of CCPA. Additional reporting by Sammi Caramela. |
| Most Companies Fail to Engage With Seasonal Workers Posted: 06 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT 
Depending on the audience your small business caters to, certain times of year are busier than others. For instance, retail store owners know that foot traffic generally spikes from Thanksgiving until just after New Year's Day. Regardless of when your busy season takes place, most businesses rely on seasonal hires to temporarily fill staffing needs. While the gig economy is expected to take up half of the American workforce next year, a recent study found that most employers don't do much to engage and motivate seasonal hires. Throughout June, Speakap polled 500 HR, management and operations employees from large organizations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands about how they are trying to change their internal communications to include the rising tide of gig workers. Despite how important gig workers, such as seasonal hires, are becoming to businesses around the world in the coming years, Speakap CEO and Co-Founder Erwin Van Der Vlist said the company's survey shows employers are not keeping up with the times. "We're now seeing that the way in which companies traditionally engage, motivate and speak with their employees is not evolving with or reaching this growing, often deskless, workforce," said Van Der Vlist. "Many companies still see gig workers as temporary employees, failing to future-proof their organization by ensuring this growing workforce is engaged with the company, feels valued within the workforce and is thus more productive than workers of their competitors." Employers are more likely to engage with younger workers.For most people, working as a seasonal hire generally takes place while they're still in school, opting to earn money during extended breaks between semesters. While that may be the case for most, that's not how people typically enter the gig economy. These days, plenty of age groups re-enter the workforce to help make ends meet. According to Speakap's data, age plays a big part in whether a seasonal hire finds themselves feeling more engaged at work or not. Workers who are 45 or older reported feeling less engaged with their employer than employees aged 34 and younger. Furthermore, regular employees said they felt conversations with seasonal workers between the ages of 35 and 54 were a "one-way street" roughly 60% of the time, while the same was said only 37% of the time for their 18- to 24-year-old counterparts. Respondents also told researchers that their companies were often more likely to do "nothing" to engage with older seasonal workers than they were with younger employees. "This suggests that organizations put more effort into engaging younger seasonal workers than they do in older ones," researchers wrote in the study. Many companies struggle to onboard and communicate with seasonal workers.Along with the age factor, researchers found that companies with a higher number of seasonal helpers were failing to engage with those workers. In fact, companies that had a majority of seasonal employees treated those workers "less personally and are less engaged" than organizations that employed a smaller percentage of seasonal workers. In companies with 51% to 75% of its workforce made up of seasonal hires, 42% of respondents said they would rather finish their workday on time than make sure the seasonal help was being properly onboarded. Companies with 1% to 25% of its workforce made up of seasonal workers saw 70% of respondents wanting the opposite. As such, a company could end up lacking clarity on how their seasonal workers are performing. According to researchers, 43% of the employees who onboard seasonal help said they felt those workers regularly performed "above expectations." Only 27% of the employees who managed and instructed a seasonal worker every day felt the same way. Respondents from companies that had many seasonal workers told researchers that communication was often more difficult than with full-time, regular staff. According to researchers, employees in charge of hiring and onboarding seasonal gig workers found communications more difficult (38%), along with those in charge of seasonal workers' day-to-day tasks (24%). "While the study's findings clearly indicate that companies have not been updating their internal processes to accommodate the growth of the gig economy, there are relatively easy ways to improve," Van Der Vlist said. "Technology ... can be a vital tool in helping to make employees feel connected to both the wider company and fellow colleagues across the entire organization." |
| 5 Ways to Build Customers' Trust Posted: 06 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT  If there's anything that customers value more than price, it's trust. At a time when consumers have to worry about their data being breached, their identities being stolen and their faith being shaken, building trust with your customers is key. Fortunately, this may be one area of competition where small businesses have a distinct advantage over their behemoth counterparts. Building trust has always been an important business strategy. It helps with employee retention, B2B partnerships and a whole host of other business functions. But these days, building trust is about more than fostering goodwill in some theoretical sense. By at least some measures, today's consumers value trust and transparency even more than price, opting to spend more for a product when it comes from a business they can rely on, according to a study by Label Insight. When you consider the sheer number of threats to consumer data and privacy in today's marketplace, this valuation of trust makes sense. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, more than 26.9 million consumer records were compromised, according to the 2019 ForgeRock U.S. Consumer Data Breach Report. Plus, it's not just data breaches that have consumers worried. It is now more important than ever to build a brand on being a "trusted partner" and backing it up with consumer-friendly practices. Once untouchable, large, out-of-touch retailers may increasingly find themselves falling out of favor with U.S. consumers because of a lack of transparency. For small businesses, of course, this presents an opportunity. Small businesses have always thrived on a "good neighbor" business model that leverages community-based relationships and word-of-mouth marketing. Now more than ever, it's essential to earn – and keep – your customers' trust. Here are five ways you can build that trust. Be genuineIt turns out, consumers do want to see how the sausage is made. Showcasing your business online, in video or on social media, gives customers a genuine perspective. While you want to keep things professional, not every photo or video has to be a picture-perfect snapshot of a carefully staged, finished product. Instead, show customers your workflow and invite them into that process. Do you spend hours toiling away at your craft? Do you experiment with new recipes? Do you treat your team to coffee in the morning? Giving your customers a behind-the-scenes look at your business can humanize your brand and create a lasting connection with your followers. Not to mention, this also allows you to diversify the content you post on social media, which helps boost engagement and cut through the algorithms. Transparency starts with the messages you share about your business, so make sure to show your customers what is "real" about your business. Shout out to your suppliersConsumer trust goes deeper than the people behind the brand. It's also about the materials or ingredients used to create the final product. Your customers undeniably want to know where their product comes from and what it is made out of. That way, they can better understand the quality and value of the product. This explains the strategy behind marketing campaigns like Kind's promise to use "ingredients you can see and pronounce" and Patagonia's commitment to causing "no unnecessary harm" to the environment. It has worked for these big brands, but it's just as important for small businesses. As a small business owner, you likely work with a network of local or regional vendors and suppliers. Enrich your brand messaging by giving a nod to this network. If you source wood, fabric or some other material from the community, give a shout-out to your source on social media. If your ingredients are grown in your neighbor's backyard, add that information to your menu board. These tactics allow you to cross-promote your partners, but they also foster trust between your business, your products and your customers. Engage with the communityLocal businesses have a certain advantage over their big-name competitors: they are closer to the customer. As a local business owner, you aren't limited to interacting with customers only in your store. Rather, you can find your customers and make new connections all around town. Many small and local businesses build their connection to the community through a Main Street organization. By joining a Main Street group, your business can participate in downtown revitalization projects, seasonal celebrations and buy-local campaigns. These groups make it easy to stay up-to-date with community projects, and they often offer valuable promotional opportunities for their members. Whether you set up a booth at the local flea market, enter a float in the downtown parade or sponsor a local Little League team, your business can become more familiar with and connected to the community through regular engagement. By getting out in the community, local consumers can come to know your business as more than the billboard they pass on their commute or the shop they visited last year on Small Business Saturday. Take advantage of these additional touchpoints you have with local consumers, compared to out-of-town or online retailers. As they get to know your business throughout the community, consumers will naturally come to trust your business. Focus on the customer experienceTrust is a two-way street. As much as you want customers to value your business, your customers want the business to value them. Customer service goes a long way to building customers' trust because it allows your business and – on an individual level – your employees to show customers that they matter. Small businesses tend to excel at customer service, but it nonetheless bears repeating: treat customers the way you would want to be treated. Perhaps more importantly, make sure that your employees do the same. Greet customers as they come into the store, answer their questions and offer to improve their experience. Enrich the in-store experience with opportunities to demo or sample products. A positive experience will lead to repeat visits and long-lasting trust. Give backIf your business wants to be good, it has to do good. Today's consumers trust businesses that give back. This is particularly true for millennial consumers, who grew up at a time when recycling campaigns and Giving Tuesday became mainstream. However, consumers of all ages are more inclined to support businesses that have a charitable streak. Most savvy business owners likely know the value of giving back, but it's just as important to consider how you're going to do it. Compelling causes exist at every scale, from the neighborhood level to the international level. For most small businesses, it makes sense to give back at the local level. Finding a cause that disproportionately affects the local community, like hurricane relief, can allow local businesses to have a more visible and more meaningful impact. Ultimately, though, it's important to find a cause that fits your brand. If breast cancer runs in your family, then supporting a nationwide campaign for breast cancer research can make sense for your business. Remember the first point: it's all about staying genuine. For many consumers, trust is the new currency. They put their money where their trust is by supporting businesses that focus on transparency and goodwill. Fortunately, small businesses are in a strategic position to earn what consumer trust has been lost by big brands. By staying true to the community and the customer, small businesses can turn consumer trust into long-lasting patronage. |
| How to Create Alexa for Business Skills Without Coding Experience Posted: 06 Aug 2019 04:55 AM PDT 
While Amazon's Alexa has become a popular tool for turning on lights, playing music and storing your shopping lists at home, it is now providing some added benefits in the workplace. Whether it's answering employee questions or scheduling meetings, Alexa for Business is finding itself to be a useful device for increasing productivity around the office. However, some professionals are hesitant to use the voice assistant because they are unsure how difficult ‒ and costly ‒ it will be to create the tasks they want to implement. The good news for nontechnical professionals is that Amazon has released its own "Skill Blueprints" that allow you to create your own skills, no coding required, in just minutes for free. What is Alexa for Business?Similar to how it is used in homes across the world, Alexa for Business is an intelligent voice assistant that can complete tasks for you. While your Alexa at home is likely focused on more personal tasks, Alexa for Business is designed specifically to help employees stay organized, answer their questions and boost productivity. With Alexa for Business, employers can install shared devices throughout their workplace. For example, they can be placed in conference rooms and used, among other things, to launch and control conferencing systems. Shared devices can also be placed in other areas, like common areas, copy rooms, lobbies, etc. Among the Alexa devices you can use as shared devices are the Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. In addition, employees can have their own devices in their offices to help them boost productivity by managing their calendars and to-do lists. When used in personal spaces, like an office, employees are considered enrolled users. As an enrolled user, employees can tap into Alexa for Business on any Alexa device at work or at home. Being able to access Alexa for Business from their home Alexa devices gives employees the ability to access their calendar and other personal skills regardless of whether they are in their office or their own living room. Setting up Alexa for Business is a simple process. You first register and set up your account in the Alexa for Business console. You then purchase the devices you want for your business. Once they arrive, follow the steps in the Amazon Admin Guide for device setup and to start enrolling individual users. The cost for Alexa for Business consists of two parts. There are monthly fees for each shared device your organization has and how many enrolled users there are. The specific monthly costs are:
If, however, your business just wants to take advantage of Alexa for Business in common spaces like conference rooms and lobbies, and not have employees using the service on a personal basis in their offices or at home, you don't have to have any enrolled users, and can just pay the monthly fee for each shared device you have. How to use Alexa for BusinessThere are many different ways businesses of all sizes can take advantage of what Alexa for Business has to offer. Shared devices can be placed in a number of different places around your office. One of the most common is in a conference room. Alexa for Business can integrate with a number of popular video conferencing equipment, including Cisco TelePresence Systems, Cisco Webex Rooms kit, Polycom Group Series, Zoom Rooms and Crestron 3-Series. Additionally, Alexa for Business is builtin to Polycom Trio 8500 and 8800. [Are you looking for video conferencing systems for your small business? Check out our best picks and reviews.] Alexa for Business also integrates Office365, Google G Suite and Microsoft Exchange calendars. The integration allows you to use voice commands to look up your scheduled meeting. In addition, it can automatically join meetings from a number of unified communications systems, including Amazon Chime, BlueJeans, Cisco Webex, RingCentral and Zoom. Among some of the specific functions you can ask Alexa to handle while in a meeting include asking it to start a meeting, join a meeting, end a meeting, or if you are having technical difficulties, to call the IT department. You can also use Alexa for Business to book meeting rooms, find out who has booked certain rooms, ask when the next meeting in that room is scheduled for and to extend the time you have booked in a conference room. Editor's Note: Looking for a video conferencing solution? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help. Harsha Reddy, co-founder and editor in chief of SmallBizGenius.net, was considering hiring an office assistant who could help with meetings and keeping other loose ends in order. Instead, their business opted for Alexa for Business to handle some of those tasks. "We are mainly using Alexa for checking in to meetings and taking care of schedules, as well as checking in on various processes' progress," Reddy said. "We had her connected to our company Google Calendar and our individual working calendars." Employees who are enrolled users can use Alexa in a number of ways: to schedule and joining meetings, access companywide applications, check their calendar, create to-do lists, set reminders and make calls. Ollie Smith, CEO of Energy Seek, said he has seen great value from using Alexa for Business. "In my experience, the service has enabled my employees to become much more productive through the automated management of schedules, reminder alerts and the option to dial into team conference calls remotely," Smith said. "In addition, the intuitive system allows my managers to monitor individual device usage from the central dashboard, saving valuable time in the process." Digital marketer David Alexander said he has used Alexa in his office for the past two years and has found it beneficial. He believes the digital assistant can speed your workflow if you are using the right skills. "Using Alexa as a digital virtual assistant can definitely save you time in the office, but it largely depends on the type of recurring tasks you can automate, and this differs from person to person," Alexander said. "I do expect to see more enterprise suites and features become available over the next year or two that will broaden the possibilities of Alexa." How to create your own Alexa skillsYou are likely to get the most benefit from Alexa for Business if you create the type of skills that support how you run your business. While there are a lot of prebuilt skills that can help, many organizations want specific skills tailored to their needs. While some organizations may turn to coding experts and developers, Amazon has made the process of creating your own private skills a relatively simple task. Using its "Skill Blueprints," those without coding skills can create private skills to be used only by their organization and employees. According to Amazon, Alexa private skills are voice-powered capabilities that enhance the Alexa experience while remaining private to members of an Alexa for Business organization. "With Alexa for Business Blueprints, you don't need to write a single line of code to create a private skill for your workplace," Amazon writes on its website. "Select one of dozens of easy-to-use Skill Blueprints, add information, such as common questions and answers for your workplace, and publish the skill to Alexa for Business as a private skill." There are two main types of business skills you can create without knowing any code: business Q&As and onboarding guides. The Q&A skills allow you to create questions and answers that your employees may ask that they need quick and easy answers to, such as "Who handles our social media?" or "When is the help desk available?" Using Blueprints, you can log in, and type out a specific question and then variations of the same question in case someone doesn't ask it exactly as you have it written. You also type out the answer. You can then customize the experience by typing out welcome and ending messages. Finally, you name the skill and publish it. Unlike public skills, these private skills can only be used within your organization and by enrolled users. The other main type of business skill you can create using Amazon Blueprints are onboarding guides for new employees. Instead of providing new employees with a link to a website with all the information or a printed handbook, you can create an onboarding guide that allows new employees to simply ask Alexa the questions they have. For example, it might be "Alexa, tell me how to set up my email on my phone?" or "Alexa, how to I mail a package?" You can also include information on where things are in office, such as the cafeteria or copy room. Finally, you can include contact info for different departments and employees. For the onboarding guide, you include all of the questions you want to answer and then type out the steps involved in completing each question. Once that is complete, you can include welcome and exit messages, and then publish the guide. Once your private skills have been published, you can then decide what rooms you want them available in and whether you want each individual enrolled user to have access to them from any of their devices. While this technology can help boost your productivity and ease some of your administrative tasks, you should be cognizant of what companywide information you are including in your skills. Based on Amazon's recent admission that some Alexa conversations are listened in on by employees, avoid including sensitive information in your skills. "The truth is, a malicious threat could also figure out how to hack into Alexa," said Will Ellis, founder of Privacy Australia and an IT consultant. "Most hackers won't care about what you're talking about at home, but you can bet that some will care about what is going on in a business setting." |
| How Leaders Can Inspire in the Workplace of the Future Posted: 05 Aug 2019 11:15 AM PDT  Cheryl Cran shares how leaders can adapt to the workplace of the future. The business.com community is a place where business owners and professionals come together to learn from each other. Those looking for advice can solicit it from their peers, while others share their extensive expertise with those who need it. It's that peer-to-peer give-and-take that makes the community such a valuable part of business.com. The site has more than 190,000 members worldwide. The community thrives because of members' eagerness to drive conversations, whether through asking questions, answering questions or contributing articles. Each month we spotlight a community member for their contributions. This month, we are recognizing Cheryl Cran, the founder of NextMapping.com and author of seven books, including NextMapping: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Create the Future of Work. Managing remote workersCran has been a frequent contributor to the business.com community. She regularly answers questions from small business owners seeking advice and writes articles as a way to share her expertise with others.  One question Cran recently weighed in on was from a community member asking what the key was to managing remote employees. Cran said it is all about communication. "Leverage video for communication using platforms like Skype and Zoom to be able to connect face to face on a regular basis," Cran wrote. "Include remote workers in team events by bringing them in virtually." She also said it is important to inspire remote workers to stay engaged. "Incentivize them to perform at peak levels ‒ i.e., they can have a Friday off once they achieve X," Cran said. "Coach consistently and check in weekly to ensure connections." Cran also shared her thoughts on another question about how best to motivate employees. "Constant communication, weekly coaching, rewarding results, real-time performance feedback, caring and inspiring communication," Cran wrote. Cran's most recent article was on how to improve employee loyalty. Cran said that the definition of loyalty, as it relates to loyalty in the workplace, is quickly shifting. "It's not that workers are less loyal today – there are more choices for workers, more technological solutions, and more workers want to work on their terms," Cran wrote. To solve loyalty challenges employers are grappling with, Cran said it is critical leaders ensure that when workers are hired that management communicates a clear pathway that shows the future for the worker. "Leaders should partner with HR and senior leadership to clarify who does what and what types of workers are needed," Cran wrote. Leaders should also re-evaluate their leadership approaches to determine what makes employees happy and more engaged at work. "Companies need to build in remote work, flex work and shared jobs to align changing worker needs and to increase loyalty," she wrote. "Finally, leadership attitudes must adapt to the reality that worker loyalty is not what it used to be. Employees have more options than ever before. They want open and trustworthy leaders who share power, share resources and help workers succeed." Bio
Q. What attracted you to the leadership development industry?A. I was a leader early in my career at the age of 23 and was highly successful quickly. I had great bosses who were great coaches and leaders, and it inspired me to seek out what it meant to be a great leader. I started the consulting firm in 1997 after a highly successful career as a leader in finance and insurance. I feel that leadership is the key to solving problems, to inspiring people and to making the world great through business. Q. What is the future of work, and why is it important for businesses to be prepared for it?A. The future of work is now ‒ it is the trends, the shifts and the impacts of both people's values, as well as technology innovation. Businesses need to be flexible and adaptable to a fast-changing reality of how people want to work and what customers want. Further, businesses must be able to anticipate change as well as lead change toward creating an optimal future. Q. What are the biggest changes leaders and teams need to make to ensure they are prepared for the workplace of the future?A. Mindset, willingness to collaborate beyond current methods, leveraging technology to better collaborate and the ability to be "change leaders" with a people-first focus. Q. How should the future of work, which includes robotics, AI, automation, etc., impact the way entrepreneurs think when starting a business?A. Entrepreneurs need to be thinking with a futurist focus ‒ what are the trends of people's values, how people are living their lives, how people want to work and live? Entrepreneurs also need to be focused on how to leverage technology tools to do more with greater efficiency so that they can work on high-value projects for their clients. Entrepreneurs need to partner with their outsourced suppliers and internal teams and be able to lead people that work remotely and keep them engaged and inspired. Q. Why did you join the business.com community?A. It offers relevant information to running a business and is a great resource for all aspects related to being a successful entrepreneur Q. What do you enjoy most about being a part of the business.com community?A. The information, the success examples and the resources Q. How do you decide what to write about when contributing an article?A. I write about issues and challenges facing businesses and then look to provide insights and solutions that move things forward for business owners. Q. What makes you want to answer other community members' questions?A. If I can help or if I have experience or a success tool, I will share it Q. What is the best professional advice you have received?A. Leverage the business beyond the "founder's" mentality. The business is only as successful as the ways you can scale to reach and help more people Q. What is the biggest professional mistake you have made, and how did you overcome it?A. Trying to do too many things on my own and resistance to delegate. I overcame it with a coach who helped me see that I could get more done and I could, at the same time, grow my people, which gave me incentive to get better at sharing the workload and developing my team to deliver the quality of work I wanted. Join the business.com communityAt business.com, we understand the stress of running a business. You are so bombarded with advice on the importance of marketing, improving your website or training employees that you can barely focus on day-to-day operations. Our community was created to cut through the clutter of information and be a place for business professionals to connect and share advice to overcome business challenges. To join our community (which is free), click here. As a business.com community member, you'll have access to:
If you are already a community member and want to be considered for our Member of the Month feature, send an email to editor@business.com. We'd love to share your business story. |
| How New Tariffs Will Impact American Consumers Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:24 AM PDT 
Starting Sept. 1, a 10% tariff will be imposed on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports coming into the U.S. despite objections from President Trump's economic advisers. Such moves have a direct impact on American consumers and small businesses. According to the results of a newly released survey, many shoppers are already planning to switch up their spending habits. Conducted by the shopping rewards app Shopkick between June 28 and June 30, a survey of 30,799 users revealed that 60% said they planned to "adjust the retailers at which they shop" if the tariffs stick. Researchers also found that nearly 40% of that group said they've already noticed increased costs as a result of the Trump administration's trade policies. This new batch of tariffs is expected to take place just months after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping brokered a trade war "truce" during the G-20 summit in Japan. Prior to that breakthrough, both countries had imposed tariffs on $250B of imported goods. According to the survey, 38% of shoppers anticipate seeing household costs increase by as much as $500, while 30% expect a spike of more than $1,000 as a result of the ongoing trade war. As a result, businesses of all sizes should gear up for slower sales. Trade policies will hamper shoppers.Figures like $250 billion and $300 billion are hard to quantify, but consumers understand that a 10% and 25% tariff on imported goods will drive up costs on many items – which means that American shoppers can expect to see their buying power squeezed. Researchers said they found that 44% of respondents are planning to curtail their shopping habits. Furthermore, 29% said they were stocking up on items before the next round of tariffs take effect. Despite the tariffs' intended effect of driving consumers to purchase more American-made goods, researchers found that only 25% are planning to make the switch. Tariffs prompt a generational reaction.Given the amount of coverage the proposed tariffs have received in recent months, it would be easy to imagine that most people know they're happening – even if they don't understand what they are. Through Shopkick's survey, researchers found that awareness of the tariffs and how people plan to react to them varied by generation. According to the survey, only 34% of Gen Z members said were aware of existing and proposed tariffs, compared to 74% of baby boomer respondents. As for how people will react once the Trump administration's latest tariffs take effect, 50% of millennials said they were getting ready to dial back their spending while 38% of boomers said the same. Rather than cut back, a majority of boomers (62%) said they would "seek alternative options to cut costs." Looking forward, 40% of millennials told researchers that they expected the tariffs to raise their household costs by up to $500 annually, while 31% of Gen Zers anticipated the same amount of impact. |
| Posted: 05 Aug 2019 10:05 AM PDT  Many IT professionals listen to speeches delivered by CIOs and CTOs and think, "I'd make a great CIO or CTO," or "I am clearly more knowledgeable and capable than that person." This is a fun daydream, but it also raises this interesting question: What does it take to become an effective CIO or CTO? Do you have the right C-level stuff? If not, do you know how to hone your skills and develop your expertise so that you can, one day, be a chief information officer (CIO) or chief technology officer (CTO)? Here are some thoughts and ideas to ponder as you prepare to walk that walk and talk that talk. What is a CIO and CTO?CIOs are typically responsible for leading an organization's IT staff and related assets, projects, and personnel. That position may report directly to the CEO or another C-level executive, such as the chief operating officer or the chief financial officer. CTOs typically own the overarching technology strategy for a company and how that strategy meshes with and supports that company's business requirements and objectives. A CTO may also report directly to the CEO or another C-level executive. Of course, there are many different types of CIOs and CTOs. Though there is no single definition of what constitutes a great CIO or CTO, we can identify some common traits and skills that are shared by the best of these many breeds of humankind. Leadership and team-buildingThere are managers, and there are leaders. Managers tell people what to do and how to do it, while leaders seduce, cajole and, well, lead an IT organization to achieve the goals defined by executive management. It's likely that you've worked with IT managers and IT leaders, and there are advantages to each type of management style and capability. Managers are usually tightly connected to a traditional IT hierarchy and organizational processes. Many managers work their way up through the ranks and have earned their managerial roles through hard work, relevant experience, and technical competency. IT leaders may also come up through the ranks, or they may earn a leadership role through force of personality, communication skills, political acumen, or industry knowledge. It's not unusual for CIOs and CTOs to be recruited from outside a company, usually because they possess outstanding management and leadership skills. The Holy Grail for IT executives is someone who is both a good manager and a motivating leader. That is, someone who can comprehend an IT project plan and budget while also effectively communicating big-picture goals and priorities for an IT organization. This requires a heady mix of both hard and soft skills. Technical and industry knowledgeThe typical job requirements for a CIO or a CTO include technical, financial and organizational experience. Efforts over the last 10 years to more closely link IT to the business side of a company adds in-depth business skills and knowledge to the CIO and CTO job requirements mix. Gone are the days when a CIO or CTO could ignore the business and deliver IT on IT's schedule. CIOs and CTOs who don't fully support an organization's business goals could find themselves looking for work elsewhere, such is the requirement for integrating business needs and requirements into IT planning and operations. Following high-tech industry websites and influential CIO/CTO blogs is a great first step to understanding, and eventually attaining, this exalted role. Learn the CIO/CTO lingo and see for yourself what working CIOs and CTOs are talking about and why they care about such things. For the technical foundation, a CIO or CTO needs to be successful. Avail yourself of advanced technical training and IT project management training at every opportunity. If your company offers tuition reimbursement or a technical training budget, you should advance your technical skills and knowledge through those vehicles. And don't forget to learn all you can about how the business side operates within your company or industry sector. If your technical chops and your business chops are both well-developed, you put yourself in the best possible position to eventually become a CIO or CTO. CIO/CTO education and certificationMany companies prefer a CIO or CTO with an advanced degree, usually an MBA, considering the complexity of IT budgets, governance and processes. That said, we've met outstanding CIOs and CTOs with no more formal education than a high school diploma or a bachelor's degree. We've also met CIOs and CTOs with doctorates in unrelated fields. We'd rather work for a non-degreed CIO or CTO who makes well-informed decisions and can lead the IT staff into battle than for a CIO with a Ph.D. who lacks knowledge about the culture and internal workings of IT and the business it supports. Beyond college or university degrees a CIO or CTO may or may not have, several key areas in IT suggest themselves as worthy of pursuit for aspiring C-level executives who wish to remain active and functional in that field. Governance and IT/enterprise architecture are incredibly relevant, as are project management, budgeting, and leadership skills. Ambition and driveBeing a CIO or CTO is a difficult job that requires dedication and persistence. Most CIOs we know are basically on call 24/7/365 should any IT-related issues come up, especially if those issues impact the ability of the company to perform day-to-day business operations. That level of personal sacrifice means it's not the right job for everyone. It usually takes years of hard work to make your way into the executive ranks. The timeline is often shorter at smaller companies, so working as a CIO or CTO in a smaller IT shop can be a great way to get your foot in the C-level door and gain valuable experience that can be a steppingstone to a similar role at progressively larger companies. For an interesting look at how CTOs of several large corporations reached their lofty positions, visit The Path to Tech CTO page. This interactive content, by Agil8, lets you hover over the steps for each CTO to see his or her career moves, the length of time in each job, and how long it took each of them to make the grade. Communication skillsWe've saved the most important CIO and CTO skill for last: the ability to inspire and lead your IT troops through excellent communication skills. If you do not have experience talking in front of large groups, spend time at a Toastmasters club gaining the confidence to communicate with individuals, teams and organizations. All of the CIO/CTO skills we mention in this article are important, but if you can't communicate clearly and concisely, with passion, you will struggle to be the people leader most companies look for when filling a CIO or CTO position. CIOs and CTOs must also be able to communicate clearly and concisely through the written word. If your writing skills need honing, consider taking a business writing class to learn the specialized way that IT communicates. Learning terms and acronyms specific to your company or industry is also an effective way to gain a common vocabulary that will serve you well in IT. Is this for you?Pursuing a CIO or CTO position is not a decision to be made lightly. It takes years of hard work and maybe even a little good luck for you to achieve your C-level goal. If your company has an IT mentoring program, that is one excellent way to gain relevant knowledge and skills while also identifying yourself to executive management as someone who has the will and stamina to climb the IT leadership ladder. Make the decision with your eyes wide open about the challenges ahead, then never take no for an answer. Remain focused and committed to your goal, and good things will surely come your way – if not sooner, then perhaps later! Ed and Earl met in the late 1980s when Ed hired Earl as a trainer at an Austin-area networking company that's now part of HP. The two of them have written numerous books together on NetWare, Windows Server and other topics. Earl is also a regular writer for the computer trade press with many e-books, white papers and articles to his credit. |
| 7 Steps for Hiring Great Employees Posted: 05 Aug 2019 07:00 AM PDT  In a small business, any one person can greatly impact the company and the working environment, so it's essential to take your time to ensure you're hiring the right person for the job. If you rush the process, you may hire someone who isn't a good fit. They could leave your company quickly and leave you right back where you started. Recruiting qualified employees can be challenging for small businesses – especially if you try to compete with larger companies who can pay more and offer better benefits. Nevertheless, these seven steps can help you optimize your recruitment process and ensure you find great employees that are just right for your team. 1. Know when you are ready to hireBefore you dive into the recruitment process, decide if you're prepared to take on a new staff member. You may be ready to hire more help if the following statements are true:
If you already know what the position is that you're hiring for, you'll be able to write a great job posting that attracts the types of candidates you want. Waiting until you are prepared to compensate a new hire will help ensure you don't have to lay them off because you can't afford their salary or don't need them in the long term. Letting go of employees shortly after hiring them can severely injure your reputation as an employer, making it more difficult to recruit great workers in the future. 2. Determine salary and benefitsBefore you write your job announcement, consider whether you're willing and able to offer, both, in terms of salary and benefits. Candidates will almost always ask about these during the interview process, so be prepared and know what you can afford. To get a good idea of what applicants will expect, use a website like PayScale to find out the average market rate for the position. Remember, if your salary offer is too low, you may attract people who don't have the appropriate experience or qualifications. Of course, job seekers will most likely be looking at more than just salary. They will also consider your benefits package as a part of their overall compensation. Things like health insurance, retirement plans and paid time off can be valuable to your future recruits. Larger companies may have an advantage because they can afford to offer better benefits, so it's up to you to be creative when you're considering what benefits to provide. As a small business, you can choose work perks that appeal to an individual candidate and will help them achieve a healthier work-life balance. These can include things like flexible schedules, floating holidays, or the ability to work from home occasionally. In the end, create the best salary and benefits package your small business can afford and don't try to compete with the larger companies in your area. 3. Write a compelling job announcementNow it's finally time to sit down and write your job announcement. It may be the first impression job seekers have of your company. So, make sure it's accurate and professional while still showcasing your business's personality. At the very least, your job posting should include basic information about your company, the position's responsibilities, the ideal candidate's qualifications and how to apply for the job. If you have more space, consider discussing your company's culture, values and mission statement. Job seekers don't just apply for specific positions; they also consider whether they want to work for the company. Sharing your culture can attract people who align with your values and are excited to work for you. They'll then be more engaged and stay with your company longer. Share your culture through the way you write the announcement. If your company is laid-back and casual, write the post like you're having a conversation with the applicant. If you pretend that you're something you're not, you're likely to attract people who won't excel in your company. You may even share examples of how your employees live out your culture daily. For example, if you value relationships, talk about how you try a new activity as a team once a month. Explain why someone would want to work for your company. Share your reputation as a great employer by asking members of your existing team to tell you why they love working for your business. Then, describe the benefits and perks you can offer. You might include things like:
You might also include benefits of working for a small business, like the ability to wear many hats, which allows your team to learn new skills. Not everyone is suited to work for a small business, so don't try to hide the fact that you are one. Include details about the position. Although it's crucial to attract people who want to work for your company, you still have to give information about the open job. List the job's primary responsibilities and consider discussing what the employee would do during a typical day. You should also describe your ideal candidate. Mention the preferred skills, experience and qualifications. But remember, you can always train skills; you can't teach attitude. To that end, you might just describe the attitude and personality traits that would make someone successful in this position. For example, if you're hiring a new daycare teacher, you might want someone with a lot of energy and patience. If you're hiring a salesperson, however, you're likely looking for someone with initiative who's willing to pound the pavement looking for new opportunities. Tell potential candidates how to apply. Do they need to fill out an application or email you a resume? Let them know if you would like to see references. If you're asking for a cover letter, give examples of what to include so you don't end up with a reiteration of their resume. For instance, ask them to describe a time they used a specific skill in a previous job, or how they would handle a particular situation. 4. Promote the jobOnce you're happy with your job announcement, it's time to spread the word that you're hiring. As a small business owner, you have several affordable options:
5. Review applicationsAfter you've posted your job ad, you'll start to receive applications and resumés. It can be tempting to schedule interviews with every applicant. As a busy small business owner, you don't have time for that. Instead, split the applications into three piles:
You can further narrow down the list by conducting phone interviews before committing to an in-person interview. Phone interviews will give you a chance to learn more about each person to decide if they would be suitable for your company. 6. Interview applicantsOnce you've narrowed down your list of candidates, schedule in-person interviews. Ask each candidate the same questions to ensure you're treating them all equally. Include follow-up questions to get each person to open up and share more with you. For example, if they tell you what their biggest weakness is, follow up by asking them how they overcome that weakness. Be careful, however, not to ask any questions that could reveal information that might lead to hiring bias. Avoid questions about:
If anyone reveals this information voluntarily, don't write it down or pursue it any further. Leave time at the end of each interview for the candidate to ask you questions. During the conversation, you're trying to determine if the candidate is right for the job. But, they're also trying to decide if you're the right company for them. 7. Review and contact candidatesAfter the interviews, check references and verify employment histories of your top choices. When you're calling their previous employers, consider trying to speak with past co-workers, subordinates and bosses. That way, you'll be to get a full view of the person's work ethic and ability. Once you know who you want to join your team, offer them the job quickly, so you don't lose them to another company. Start with a verbal offer so you can share how excited you are for them to join you and can answer any questions. Then, follow up with a written offer to avoid misunderstandings. If you found someone who is an excellent fit for your company but may not be right for the position, follow up with them and keep the lines of communication open. Make sure they had a pleasant experience with you and encourage them to apply for future positions. |
| Small Business Credit Card Processing: What You Need to Know Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:45 AM PDT  As a small business owner, you have a lot of decisions to make, including whether or not you want to accept credit and debit card payments. If you do, you'll need to work with a credit card processing company. Finding the right card processor for your small business can be daunting, but here are three questions to ask potential partners to make your decision easier:
Should your small business accept credit cards?If you run a small business, it's almost impossible not to accept credit cards, but the decision is ultimately up to you. The number of people who carry cash on them daily is rapidly shrinking. Phillip Parker, founder of CardPaymentOptions.com, said, "People prefer to pay with cards, and fewer people are carrying sufficient cash for all of their purchases." If you don't accept credit and debit card payments, you risk losing out on a large percentage of sales. Editor's note: Looking for a credit card processor for your business? If you're looking for information to help you choose the one that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have Business.com, provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free:
According to the 2017 Federal Reserve Payments Study, total credit card payments increased from 103.5 billion in 2015 to 111.1 billion in 2016 with 22% of those credit card payments being remote. The number of mobile wallet users increased, too. The number of Apple Pay users jumped from 15 million in 2015 to 86 million in 2017. Accepting digital payment methods – including contactless card payment – is just as essential as accepting credit and debit cards. More small businesses and merchants have implemented the near-field communication (NFC) technology required for these types of payments. Digital wallets such as Venmo and PayPal are fast becoming customers' preferred payment option. Because this payment process connects directly with a customer's banking information to send and receive payments, it's an ideal payment option for e-commerce businesses. With the low cost of processing these payments (much lower than processing credit and debit card payments) and the ease of integration into most websites and payment gateways, it's a great mobile payment option to offer. How much does it cost to work with a credit card processing company?There are costs involved with using a credit card processing company, including:
The amount of money you'll be charged to accept credit card payments depends on a few factors, but on the whole, credit card processing fees are on the rise. Visa and Mastercard increased their card processing fees in April of this year. Other factors that influence the fees you pay include the transaction amount, how the payment was processed, and, ultimately, the credit card processor's pricing model. Some processing companies charge a flat rate plus a percentage of the sale, while others only charge a percentage of the sale. If your small business sells big-ticket items, being charged a flat-rate fee and a percentage of the sale might be more beneficial than if you only sell lower-priced items, in which case, forking over a percentage of the sale to the processor might be better for your business in the long run. When you're researching card payment processing options, ask for a sample bill to give you an idea of how much you'll spending monthly on fees for their service. In addition to the above-mentioned fees, consider whether or not it's more cost-effective for you to rent or purchase the necessary processing equipment. Some processors provide the equipment for free. Others may charge you a monthly rental fee or an upfront fee for using their equipment. Is there a difference between processing in-person credit card transactions and mobile credit card transactions?The type of business you run (brick and mortar, e-commerce) dictates the type of payments you process. Ideally, you want a credit card processor that accepts all major credit and debit cards; prepaid and gift cards; and digital wallet payment methods, including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay. If you have a physical store, your processing system should allow customers to insert and swipe cards or tap their smartphone to complete the transaction. If you run an ecommerce business, your payment processing solution should work on both mobile and desktop devices. For B2B companies, the most common form of payment accepted, according to the Federal Reserve Payment Study, is ACH electronic bank transfers. Which credit card processor is the cheapest for small business?Finding the cheapest credit card processor possible might not wind up being the most cost-effective option for your small business. If your small business processes less than $2,500 per month, payment facilitators – or mobile credit card processors – like PayPal, Square or Stripe are the best options for you. While payment facilitators charge a higher percentage compared to other rates, you'll save money in the long run because there aren't any other fees, including setup fees and annual PCI compliance fees, associated with using a payment facilitator. [Are you looking for the right credit card processor for your business? Check out our reviews and best picks.] If your small business processes more than $3,000 per month or has large sales totals, you'll want to work with an ISO/MSP – independent sales organizations (ISO) and merchant service providers (MSP) processing companies – such as Helcim, Flagship Merchant Services, Fattmerchant or Payline. These companies can set up a merchant account for your business, and although they charge additional fees that payment facilitators don't, you'll save money because of the lower rate they charge for processing transactions at a higher volume. If your small business processes a low volume of credit card payments each month, look for a processor that won't charge you a monthly minimum fee, which is the minimum dollar amount of credit card processing fees you must meet each month. If you don't hit the minimum requirements, you'll have to pay the difference. For more information about accepting credit card payments and finding the right credit card processor for your small business, check out our guide for accepting credit card payments and our comprehensive review of credit card processors. |
| How to Know Your Numbers and Manage Your Sales Department Posted: 05 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Recently, I had one of my top clients come to me with a problem. He said, "Susie, I know I make a million in revenue, but sometimes I can not pay my rent. What is the problem?" Unfortunately, this is a problem for many entrepreneurs. They fail to see the bottleneck in their company, and that is because they do not know the numbers. Gathering up the data, in the beginning, will be challenging; however, once you're in reality with where you are - you can make the necessary decisions to scale. Knowing my way around business accounts did not come naturally, but I understood its importance, and I was serious about growing my business. So I invested some of my time and effort to learn the basics of keeping accounts for my business. In the end, I never had to do all the accounting since the business outgrew my capacity to do so. However, due to the knowledge, I gained while tracking my business's numbers, I am still able to review my records and tell which direction my business is taking. Here are six essential points that will help you keep track of the numbers in your business. Get clear on where your bottleneck isWhen I looked at my client's numbers to see what his cost per person was, I was able to quickly determine where the money was going and why he had cash flow issues. Each person within the company was expected to sell $3,100 per week, but they were only selling about $2,500. That is a loss of $600 per person. He had 30 people, which comes out to $18,000 per week. If you multiply that out, it equates to $864,000 a year. That is a lot to lose. To think, it all started with that small leak of $600. When was the last time you looked hard at your sales numbers? One way I tell my clients to manage sales by the numbers is to use a sales member analysis tool. I have a particular worksheet for this that will appear in my upcoming book Bootstrap to Bigtime. This strategy tells you what each salesperson in your business needs to make for you to reach your numbers. Know which numbers to trackTo understand which numbers to track in your business, you need first to understand what numbers matter. All numbers matter, but there are those that top the priority list. These include cash flow, profit, business wealth and value. To keep track of these numbers, you need a couple of resources and some little skills you can learn in a day. You will need cash flow reports to know how much money is coming in and going out regularly, income statements to function as your establishment's financial scorecard, and balance sheets to let you know how much you own and owe, as well as your net worth. You need to know what expenses you have each month and where your money is going too. Not only will this help you identify where you're spending where you shouldn't be, but it will also show you how much you need to generate each month to break even. This knowledge should be basic, but to many people, it is not. Do you allocate money to invest in growth every month? It is important to allocate targets for each member of your sales team. It is a great way to know who is producing how much, and what they need to reach their goals. This formula holds you accountable to a certain number. If your sales team is not meeting the threshold, then you share that with them to make things work for your business. Get all the help you canWhen I was starting my entrepreneurial journey, there was so much fire and determination in my heart that I almost thought I could do it all on my own. However, I had learned something about life, and I was going to use it to get where I wanted in the business. I had learned from all the successful people I knew that asking for help is not a show of weakness. When you ask for professional help, even from your head of sales, you acknowledge that there is still room for additional value. There will come a time when your business will be so huge that you won't be able to keep track of the numbers on your own. That's why it is wise to invest in advisors, accountants, and/or auditors. Professional financial consultants can help your business grow by giving you detailed information on all the financial pitfalls in your business and how to best deal with them. Know your datesIf you are ever going to be successful in keeping track of the numbers in your business, you have to get it right with the dates as well. Proper planning always involves the setting and meeting of deadlines. To scale my business, I have had to target and achieve my financial goals by setting and meeting timelines. I always know when to pay my dues. I also always keep a record of all past important dates in terms of my purchases and sales. The reason is not that I still want to remember when I made the most money or the least; it is just that it makes it easier for me to refer back. You will need these records when you hire a financial consultant. Take pride in your numbersBe proud of how much you are making in your business. Don't get comfortable, but appreciate where you have come from, where you are and where you are headed. It does not matter at what stage your business is on in the development process. Most businesses that fail to keep track of their finances during the initial developmental phase are likely to have a problem tracking progress. At some point in my business, I was making just enough money to keep the company on its feet. A friend, who also doubled up as my adviser, always reminded me to keep records even if it didn't make sense. She assured me that I would thank her later for the advice. Honestly speaking, I did. Every time I went back to making entries on my records, I would study the patterns, consult with my advisor and use that knowledge to plan. I started seeing a gradual improvement in the way the finances in my business were being handled. On another note, when you learn to appreciate the little things in your business, it gives you the motivation to go for more and prepares you to recognize and manage the big bucks in the future. In closing, when you create these systems, please share them with your team. Make sure they're clear that if they're not meeting targets, you need to work on a plan that helps improve your sales process. You can manage results a lot easier than you can people's behavior. So, pull your numbers, determine what each person should make and what the goal is so you can have profit within your business. After you do that, hold your salespeople accountable through a system that's replicable and solve bottlenecks in your business by analyzing the data. |
| How To Become a Software Tester Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:30 AM PDT  Software testers play a critical role in application development. They are quality assurance experts who put applications through the wringer to root out bugs, poor performance and funky interface issues. To do this, they run all kinds of tests – stress, performance, functional, scalability, user acceptance – at different stages of the software life cycle. Because software testing is so important to the quality and usability of the final product, testers are typically brought in at the planning and design stage, and often remain involved throughout post-release support. Most testers work on teams that develop vendor software. Today, a lot of software is pushed through DevOps (development + operations) teams, where development, testing, and delivery are on a continuous loop using the Agile, Lean, or Scrum frameworks. The software tester is an unsung hero for most development projects. They save end users from working with highly buggy software or applications that just don't work well, greatly reducing tech support calls from frustrated customers. They also make the development team and the software vendor look good in the eyes of customers by ensuring that there are no critical bugs that prevent the software from operating as designed and advertised. Essential education, background and skills for testersMany employers look for software tester candidates with a bachelor's degree in computer science, math or engineering, although it's not always required. If you've got a lot of experience, a stable work history and solid references or letters of recommendation, it's possible to land a job without a college degree. An intermediate-level position typically requires three to six years of direct experience in software testing, or some combination of education and experience. Regardless of how you prepare for a software testing career, here are the skills you should have or plan to develop:
Some positions require programming skills and an understanding of databases. You don't necessarily need years of programming experience to be a tester, but it doesn't hurt. Many government or military jobs in national security and intelligence, as well as some federal contractors, require a TS/SCI clearance. TS/SCI is short for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information. It's sometimes referred to as a "TS/SCI poly clearance" because a polygraph is usually part of the process. If you already have a TS/SCI clearance, that gives you a significant competitive advantage in the software tester job market. Must-have certificationsSoftware testers should consider getting one or more certifications to prove their mettle and to get the attention of hiring managers. Most software tester certifications are vendor-neutral, and recognize knowledge and skills applicable across all facets of software testing. Here are the two most popular software tester certifications:
Vendor-specific or platform-specific software development certifications are plentiful, but it's harder to find vendor-specific credentials that focus on testing. However, if you have experience with a specific software testing platform and want to work on projects built on that platform, find out if the vendor has a certification program and whether any of its developer certifications include a testing component. Software tester training and resourcesCandidates interested in software tester training can take advantage of some free starter courses available online. Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) offers several relevant courses, such as the six modules in the Software Testing Fundamentals suite and Live Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2017. And the ASTQB website has a New To Software Testing page that includes its glossary of software testing terms in PDF and online searchable formats as well as sample ISTQB exam questions. Interested candidates should also check out the Association for Software Testing (AST) website. This site is full of resources, including a link to the AST YouTube channel, which features webinars and keynote presentations from the group's annual conference. The International Institute for Software Testing (IIST) lets anyone sign up for interactive and on-demand webinars and live seminars in select U.S. cities, when available. If you're willing to pay for training, head back to the AST site to read about the four-week Black Box Software Testing course and then follow the link to see other AST courses on test design, bug advocacy, and so on. Udemy's QA Software Testing Training Course has 27 hours of on-demand videos. At $100, it's a bargain and can cost as little as $12 during Udemy promotional campaigns. Lynda.com, a well-known subscription-based training/learning service, also offers testing courses as does Pluralsight. You'll find plenty of other software testing courses and boot camps by doing a quick search on the web. Surveying software-tester opportunitiesPayScale says the average salary of a software tester in the U.S. is almost $56,000, but it can climb much higher depending on the company, city and your qualifications. Like any other career, getting started usually means spending time on job boards like Monster, Indeed, Dice and LinkedIn Jobs. Consider posting your resume on each site, and be sure to set up alerts to be notified of new software testing and quality assurance job listings so you can apply right away. Once your resume is online, you'll probably be contacted by recruiters with inside opportunities at companies that don't necessarily advertise publicly. And if you want to work for a specific company, cruise its online job board regularly and reach out to HR to make a contact. Take advantage of free resources like LinkedIn software tester groups, Reddit, and other forums and online communities. They can be great sources of information about good/bad employers, which tools you should learn and leads on jobs. |
| 16 Things to Know When Expanding to a Second Location Posted: 05 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT  After your business has seen success, a natural step is to consider expansion. When that expansion includes a possible secondary location, then there are more questions that need to be asked. What do you need to look for in a location, for instance? How much of your time will setting up a new location take? What do you need to know about communicating ideas or processes? To help you with all of these questions, and others, we asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to share what they think you should keep in mind when considering expanding to a second location. Here is what they said: 1. Know that it will become another separate business"Oftentimes people assume that because they have had success with one location, they can just replicate everything they did at store one and have success at store two. I have learned that each location, even though it's the same company with the same policies, will become another separate business. You will have to tweak your offerings to accommodate that location and its clientele. Be open." - Lisa Song Sutton, Sin City Cupcakes 2. Make sure there's enough demand"Before expanding to a second location do your due diligence to confirm there is enough demand in that area for a new location. You may be very busy at your current location, but that doesn't necessarily mean the expansion office will be as well. Research the new market thoroughly before making the financial commitment to expand." - Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, P.A. 3. Consider the costs and benefits"It's crucial to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of an expansion to a secondary location. Ask yourself what you have to gain and what you have to lose in the near future, mid-term and also long-term. If you can afford it, try to get third-party perspectives, so you don't risk having your own biases influence the decision." - Frederik Bussler, bitgrit Inc. 4. Establish consistent communication"One of the most important things is consistency — not only with your brand but with the attention given to your employees. Ensure that across the board communication and direction are being established to keep everyone on track with set goals. Weekly mass communication from leadership is an easy way to make sure everyone is receiving the same messaging to protect brand consistency." - Elisabeth Swardstrom, PixelFish 5. Research neighborhoods"Always make sure you research the neighborhood you plan on using for your second location. You want to make sure you're positioning your second store around your target audience. It's also a good idea to check out the crime rate in the area. It's important that your business is in a safe neighborhood and close to the people who will benefit the most from your product or service." - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner 6. Stay on top of your budget"When you're opening a second location, you have to be mindful of your budget. It's easy to lose track of what you're spending when you're using tens of thousands of dollars across various contractors and businesses to build your business. A best practice is to check your weekly budget and compare it to your goals to make sure you don't get in over your head." - David Henzel, LTVPlus 7. Have all processes documented"Since you can't be in two places at once, you need to be sure to document your processes and systems. Creating a company manual will help the manager of your second location run your business like you would and make sure everything goes smoothly when you're not around. Plus, it will also be helpful to new hires down the line as well." - Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms 8. Evaluate how your business is doing"If the business you have right now isn't as strong or valuable as it should be, then it probably isn't wise to expand until it is. It's much better to have one business that's thriving than two that are just doing OK. Look over the numbers to determine if your current brand is strong and profitable enough to perform well in a second location." - Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights 9. Make sure you will have enough cash flow"More locations can mean more headaches and overhead, which can translate into less profit, not more. Now that I've seen this cycle firsthand, I would only expand to more locations if I could support that new location with the cash flow of my old location, without needing any additional revenue. Absolutely maximize the footprint you have before expanding and you'll avoid the dreaded profit dip." - Peter Kozodoy, GEM Advertising 10. Avoid being too close"When considering expanding your business to a second location, it is crucial to remember the importance of avoiding cannibalization. For example, while it may be tempting to open in a geographical area close to your existing location for operational reasons, doing so could hurt your original business, diverting customers of the first location to the second." - Adam Mendler, The Veloz Group 11. Make sure your team is ready and wants this"Is your team invested in expanding the business to the second location and getting the company to the next level? An expansion is much easier when your team shares and supports the move. While making sure all the legal and logistical elements are in place is important, your company will expand more organically and smoothly if all the "human" elements are in place as well." - Shu Saito, Fact Retriever 12. Have an SEO plan"Ask yourself whether your SEO and marketing are ready to manage a new location. Since your first location was likely in a niche or built-in community, the growth was easier. However, with a new location, you will have to build this network from scratch. Use your current online strength to help get the new location started and make sure you understand these new demographics and geographic audience." - Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc. 13. Establish your company culture"Company culture has an immense impact on your day-to-day operations and when you start up a new location you will have to build it from zero. Try to understand the dynamics of your culture and what makes it work and then figure out how to create consistency between locations. You'll also want to be there physically in the early days or have a senior employee do so." - Karl Kangur, Above House 14. Consider alternate growth opportunities"If opening up an entirely new location seems a bit crazy at the moment, consider how you can expand in other ways before taking the big leap. This doesn't mean you can't open up a second physical store, but there may be other steps you can take in the meantime that aren't as scary and can better prepare you for what's to come." - Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster 15. Make sure you have time"Opening a second location is going to take a lot of work and it's also going to take a lot of your time. So, consider if your current lifestyle allows you to put in those much needed extra hours. If you've got way too much on your plate at the moment, it might be better to wait until you can give more of yourself and your time to the project. It shouldn't be a rush to open a second location." - John Turner, SeedProd LLC 16. Keep the same level of quality"People make places, so even if you have the company culture principles spelled out, the atmosphere will never be the same. However, the quality of service should be equally top-notch, and that's something that can be achieved with the right team in place. And since you won't be able to spend enough time in both locations, make sure that your location managers and you are on the same wavelength." - Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS |
| 10 Books You Need To Boost Your Freelance Writing Career Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:05 AM PDT  If you plan to start a freelance writing career, there's a lot you need to know before you take on a life of self-employment. There's much more to a freelance writing career than creating a blog, setting your own hours and working full-time from home. It can be one of the best decisions you make for your life and overall wellbeing, but too many people start their freelancing journey only to realize they know a lot less than they thought. In 2019, there are more than 62 million freelancers working in the U.S., and that number continues to increase year by year. Freelance work isn't going anywhere as more people are discovering they'd rather indulge in a flexible work lifestyle than sit in a chair inside a cubicle 40 or more hours per week. Reading about what you're interested in is the best way to figure out if it's right for you as well as sharpen your skill set and prepare for what's ahead. In this post, we're going to look at books that cover the following:
Here are 10 books you must read before launching your freelance writing career this year. The basics1. The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing: How to Write, Work, and Thrive on Your Own Terms by Zachary PetitThere's a lot that goes into a freelance writing career that someone new to the idea will, understandably, have tons of questions about it. Petit does a great job of diving into the basics and does so by explaining things in a way that anyone can understand. This book covers multiple facets of freelancing life which include how to build a writing platform, which niche of writing to break into, and how to conduct interviews. 2. The Freelancer's Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Have the Career of Your Dreams―On Your Terms by Sara HorowitzAnother great read to devour when you're just getting into freelance writing is this book by Sara Horowitz, founder of the Freelancers Union. It's not only for those new to freelancing but also gives valuable insights to those who are already self-employed. Every freelancer is going to come across challenges while building their career, and Horowitz outlines how to do all of those things even though it's overwhelming at times. The book delves into topics like setting up a home office, creating contracts, negotiating with clients, and much more. Writing excellent content3. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann HadleyIf you're going to make it as a freelance writer, you better know how to write and do it well. Ann Hadley's novel goes into great detail about how to create content that sells. Content marketing is how you market to your audience without them knowing that's what you're doing, but only good writers are able to master this art. Communicating through writing is an absolute necessity in this line of work and will determine your income, so it's best to read up on how to perfect your craft so you can be a successful freelance writer in your niche. 4. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne LamottThough this book doesn't specifically cater to freelancers, it's a must if you want to learn more about writing for an audience and writing well. Many writers go into the industry with unrealistic expectations failing to realize that it's a real job that takes real hard work and dedication to master. Lamott doesn't shy away from sharing the truth about writer's block, horrible first drafts, and how you can be your own worst enemy standing in the way of your success. Landing clients5. Warm Email Prospecting: How to Use Short and Simple Emails to Land Better Freelance Writing Clients by Ed GandiaAnyone who's self-employed will tell you that the most crucial step to success is landing the right clients for the right price. Part of that process is being able to write excellent emails to prospects. Email marketing is an essential part of any business, but it especially applies when freelancing because it's how you make your money. You pitch ideas, make network connections, and speak to clients all through email, so if you aren't well-versed in the craft, you'll be left behind. Gandia takes you further into "warm email prospecting" where he teaches you how to email clients like a pro. 6. Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael PortBeing a freelancer means learning to sell yourself to others, especially when just starting out. When you're new to freelancing, the most challenging part is convincing clients to take you on when you have little to nothing in your portfolio. That's why self-promotion is so important, which is what Book Yourself Solid teaches you how to do. In this business, you need to learn how to sell all sorts of things, including your reputation, image, skill set, expertise, and more. It also includes information on how to build a positive self-image, how to create brand credibility, and how to perfect your pitch. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance7. Lead With Balance: How To Master Work-Life Balance in an Imbalanced Culture by Donnie HutchinsonWhen you're your own boss, it can prove difficult to achieve a work-life balance that leaves you feeling rejuvenated to get back to work while being able to take time off without feeling guilty. Donnie Hutchinson does a good job of breaking down how to achieve your business goals without sacrificing your mental and emotional health. It doesn't cater specifically to a freelance lifestyle, but emphasizes prioritizing your social and personal life even when work feels overwhelming. 8. It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier HanssonThis day in age, if you aren't working yourself into the ground, you aren't getting closer to achieving your goals. Fried and Hansson argue that working long hours, losing sleep, and taking on excessive workloads is unnecessary to reach success. Solopreneurs, contractors, freelancers, and employees alike struggle with taking on too much work. This book outlines a strategy to embrace a calm work life without feeling like you're falling behind. It uses practical insights to guide you through having fulfilling workdays that don't leave you feeling burned out. Managing self-employed finances9. The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed: The Only Personal Finance System for People with Not-So-Regular Jobs by Joseph D'Agnese and Denise KiernanKnowing how to manage your finances as a freelance writer is perhaps the scariest part of the entire endeavor. You're the only one responsible for saving enough while trying to live comfortably. This read guides you through how to build your finances as a freelancer so you don't have to worry about how you'll pay the bills and make enough to live off of. What's even better is that it's written by two freelance writers with first-hand experience and expertise. 10. Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Gig Workers of All Types by Stephen Fishman J.D.If you're going to commit to the life of a freelancer, you need to learn the technical part of managing your finances. When you work for yourself, you become responsible for the legal requirements that come with your business. You have to file your taxes differently, set up legally binding contracts, and perhaps even hire a lawyer to make sure your books are set up correctly. Whether you're freelancing as a side hustle or doing it full-time, this book is necessary so you aren't sued or end up in legal or financial trouble down the road. Over to youIf you're going to take on the life of a freelance writer, you need to read up on it as much as you can before you take the official plunge. Freelancing isn't for the faint of heart and reading up on it will give you insight into if it's the right decision for you and how to get there successfully. What books do you recommend for freelance writers this year? |
| Top E-Commerce Challenges Facing SMBs Posted: 04 Aug 2019 08:00 AM PDT 
As an e-commerce business, you might feel like things are more of a struggle for you than if you ran a brick-and-mortar shop, and that may be true. As an e-commerce business, there is a different set of rules and regulations you must follow ‒ cybersecurity becomes more important, both to the function of your business and its longevity. Editor's note: Looking for the right e-commerce website design service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. We spoke with industry experts about the challenges e-commerce small businesses must contend with and how to overcome these hurdles. What are the big e-commerce challenges for SMBs?1. CybersecurityVictor Congionti, chief information officer and co-founder at Proven Data, knows that small e-commerce sites need the proper cybersecurity practices and tools in place. "Small businesses that focus their attention in the e-commerce space need policies and procedures to create a solid cybersecurity framework for the organization. In the case of a cyberattack, a small business cannot afford to have downtime in operations and sales, because every transaction is a marginal financial success that the business depends on," said Congionti. Because a small business depends on that income, Congionti said business owners need the proper cybersecurity framework to keep data safe and secure while helping employees at the company feel empowered and safe to implement policies and tech to combat cyberattacks. Businesses, added Congionti, must have an incident response plan in place that establishes what to do in the event of a cyberattack. "In the case of a ransomware attack, the organization might not be able to access files and data that is necessary in providing service to customers (such as inventory reports). Having a response plan can help the business reduce downtime in operations and continue providing service to clients through other means (such as phone sales)," Congionti said. 2. CompetitionCompetition comes in many forms for small businesses, especially in the e-commerce space. You have to keep up with competitive pricing, products and service. "As a small business, you can overcome price competition by having a very clear company value proposition that consumers can't get elsewhere," said Calloway Cook, founder of Illuminate Labs. The e-commerce space has become so saturated that standing out from other e-commerce businesses is really difficult, through no fault of your own. "Distinguishing yourself from your competitors is crucial to standing out and attracting new customers for your business. This can be accomplished by making sure your website looks professional and is optimized correctly to suit today's Google algorithm," said Harsha Reddy, co-founder of Small Biz Genius. "Also, by providing a unique product or service, you can focus on a smaller demographic, making it easier for you to increase your domain authority." 3. Order fulfillmentNot everything has to fall on the back of the small business owner. You could be inundated with more orders than you are prepared to handle on your own. "Order fulfillment should be outsourced to a third-party fulfillment company whenever possible for increased efficiency," Cook said. 4. Customer experienceAs a primarily e-commerce business, or a business that has an e-commerce site as a secondary means of selling its products, figuring out how to offer your customers the same experience they would get in a brick-and-mortar store can be challenging. "One of the most overlooked areas of the customer experience in moving to e-commerce is pricing and customer segmentation. Customer experience is especially important when launching an e-commerce initiative, because customers expect to be treated as well or better online as they are face to face," said George Dunham, CEO of epaCUBE. Dunham said that companies struggle to meet these new demands because it requires very precise handling of pricing, analytics and customer segmentation. Successful experiences in the e-commerce space require the same, if not greater, clarity in product offerings, pricing and more, as is required in a face-to-face buying process. "In a world where everything is happening online, your customers expect more, and they also know more about your products, prices, and competition. They expect to be treated the same way online as offline, so if they can get a certain price in person but can't get that price online, they get frustrated and purchase somewhere else," Dunham said. Consistent and profitable pricing is a requirement these days for an e-commerce venture to succeed. 5. Quality website traffic and visitor conversion.Building, designing and running an e-commerce website is hard, but receiving quality converting traffic is even harder, according to Lisa Chu, owner of Black n Bianco. Philip McCluskey, commercial director at One erTH, said that average conversion rates globally are less than 3%, making driving relevant traffic to your site a sticking point. "To turn your traffic into converting customers, you must have a website that is modern, clean, user-friendly, trustworthy and virus-free. Every industry is different, so understanding your audience is crucial to designing a website that resonates with your audience," Chu explained. Designing an attractive website is just the beginning, though, Maximizing the content on your website through SEO is the next, and maybe most important, step. "Extensive short tail keyword research should be conducted to ensure you are optimizing your pages for relevant search terms. It is likely that the competition for these terms when [they are] just starting out will not realize immediate web traffic; therefore long tail keyword research should be conducted to understand the relevant 'what,' 'how,' 'who,' and 'where' within your niche," McCluskey said. Shirley Tan, partnership manager at Yahoo Small Business, said many businesses used to take the approach of, "If I build my online store, customers will somehow discover it." "Today, that is no longer the case. When there were fewer e-commerce stores, they may have been able to rely on a 'stumble-upon' effect, but now the internet is too crowded and noisy. Therefore, engaging the customer and getting their attention has to be more meaningful and impactful," Tan said. To combat the noisy e-commerce space, Tan said e-commerce SMBs need to understand who they are targeting, so they can create a select group of customers who will be their constant source of revenue and their loyal shoppers. 6. VisibilityHow are you supposed to get quality traffic to your site and turn visitors into customers if people can't find your site to begin with? It's a big issue for e-commerce businesses, and one that could make or break a business. "If the company doesn't show up on the first page of Google's search results for relevant keywords, then it's unlikely that prospective customers will find them," said Michael Anderson, marketing and SEO specialist at GeoJango Maps. "The best way to overcome this challenge is to invest in SEO. E-commerce companies should conduct keyword research, implement on- page SEO best practices and work on building high-authority links to their website." Anderson continued to say that if all of the above is done correctly, it will lead to higher search visibility and an increase in qualified leads. "For clothing businesses, influencer marketing works very well, but if your e-commerce business is based around a product that solves a problem, getting your website to rank on Google for keywords related to that problem through SEO efforts might be your best bet," said Nicholas Rubright, digital marketing specialist at e-commerce market research firm Zik Analytics. "Understanding your audience is key to figuring out which marketing channel will generate traffic that actually converts into sales." 7. Return/refund policyHaving a good return/refund policy could be the difference between success and failure. That sounds extreme, but it's true. "If you want your brand to stand tall, then customer satisfaction should be the first priority, and whatever you're selling should be the same as what's advertised," said Syed Ali Hasan, digital marketing manager at Film Jackets. In an ideal world, yes, there would never be an issue with the product you're selling, but that's not always the case. Sometimes the purchaser has buyer's remorse, or it wasn't what they thought it would be. "Be transparent and create a smooth, fast and easy return policy. Make it easy to understand and not too strict so the customer won't have to go through hassles [to return an item]," Hassan said. Rubright said that if you don't have a good return/refund policy, people are less likely to trust you're selling something worth the money. "When a site says 'no returns or refunds,' it makes the customer much more likely to think it's a risky purchase, or worse, a scam, since online businesses can be less known," said Rubright. 8. Finding the right market"The first step of any business is to find product/market fit, and e-commerce is no different," said Rubright. "Product-market fit is the degree to which a product satisfies market demand. The easiest way to find that fit quickly is to build a product that solves a problem you have." Finding the right market for your product isn't the easiest task, though. Rubright offered insight into how to make it easier. "If you haven't figured out your ideal customer yet, I recommend making some assumptions as to what your target market is and running Facebook ads to this audience. When you finally do make a sale, try and understand everything you can about who bought your product and find more of those people by any means necessary," Rubright said. "Once you have product-market fit figured out, then you can figure out the best way to reach your ideal customers." 9. Making/increasing salesOnce you have your products figured out, your website set up and your marketing set, the next step is making sales! It seems like a no-brainer; however, it's not always that straight forward. "To increase sales, e-commerce SMBs need to have the right product at the right price and ensure they are top of mind when the customer is ready to make a purchase," Tan said. "This traffic can be hard to get; to drive sales, it's important a brand endears themselves to their customers." Aside from customers already having you in mind when they need something and feeling positive about your product, your website plays a big part in how many sales you'll make. Tan suggested asking yourself the following questions to determine the efficiency of your website:
"Website functionalities like these can greatly increase conversions and make the customer experience more enjoyable," said Tan. |
| How to Ask for a Raise at Work and Get It Posted: 02 Aug 2019 01:00 PM PDT  Getting a raise at work is sometimes as simple as just asking for it. Yet most people never ask. According to PayScale, 57% of professionals have never ask their boss for a raise in their career. Yet if you ask the right way, you can earn more money and gain your boss' respect at the same time. The science behind your compensation – how employers decide how much to payWhen employers offer you a job, they look at a few different factors before choosing what salary to offer. They consider what you made in your last job (if you tell them). They look at what other people in their company are currently earning for similar work. And they look at what other companies are paying people with your skill set right now on the open market. However, those last two factors change over time: Maybe your skills are more valuable now, maybe market rates have gone up, maybe the employer has paid newer people more money for the same job. (This is often the case. As a recruiter, I've seen that the lowest-paid people in a company for a given role are often the people who have been there the longest. Hardly fair, right?) So that's why I recommend asking for a raise if you've been in your current role for at least nine months, and haven't asked for a raise already in that time period. How to ask for a raise at work – setting yourself up for successIdeally, you want to show your value to your employer before asking for more money. My favorite way to do this is to take on additional responsibilities within your current job before you ask for a raise. Most people don't think to do this, so it's a great way to stand out. I'd recommend looking for ways to take on more responsibilities as soon as possible if you want to get a raise in the near future. Assuming you're already doing a good job with your core tasks, go to your boss and tell them you want to learn and grow, and then ask if there's an opportunity for you to be given more responsibilities. You can ask to:
This will make the upcoming steps of asking for a raise much easier. Preparing your argument before asking for a raise at workThe best way to ask for a raise is by using facts and logical arguments. There are a couple of angles you can take, so I'll walk you through the different options. First, we already talked about taking on more responsibilities to increase your value to the employer. That's one angle you can take. You can also point out how much more productive/competent you are since you joined the company and agreed on your starting salary. Point out how you're helping the company save money, make money, save time, grow, become more efficient, etc. (This will depend on your role). Reminding them of how much more you're producing now compared to when they hired you (and assigned your salary) is one of my favorite tactics because it's an easy argument that practically anyone can use. Finally, you can also research what your skill set is worth on the open market. How much are other companies paying people like you? To get a sense of this, I'd recommend reviewing the following salary websites:
Try to find comparable roles in your specific city or region, and gather data from at least two or three of these sites if possible. This will make your argument more convincing if you use this to ask for a raise. If you only had one salary data point from one job board, your boss might say, "Well, I try not to put too much weight on any one single source, because these salary surveys online aren't always the most reliable." Whereas if you have data from three or four of those sites, it will be more convincing. It's also possible to combine these different angles; for example, you could present your salary research, and point to the fact that you're much more productive and valuable now that you've been in your role for a full year.
How much of a raise to ask forNow that you know some basic arguments you can make, let's talk about how much of a raise you should ask for. You should ask for a number on the top end of what you feel is fair so you're still left with a nice raise even if they counter-offer. However, you always want to be reasonable. Asking for an unrealistic number will cost you the respect of your boss and possibly damage the relationship. So aim to get what's fair. As a general guideline, it's usually considered appropriate to ask for a 10 to 20% increase. Doing the online salary research via the websites I mentioned earlier will also help you decide how much is reasonable to ask for. How to ask your boss for a raise: Starting the conversationOnce you've decided which angles/arguments to make, and how much to ask for, it's time to ask your boss for the raise. Start by scheduling a meeting. Don't bring this up at the end of another conversation or weekly check-in. This is important and deserves its own time. Email your boss and say, "Do you have 20 minutes available to talk this afternoon? I was hoping to discuss something with you." When you go into the meeting, start off by saying, "Thanks for meeting with me." Don't be apologetic or say, "Sorry to bother you." Remember: you're not taking up their time or bothering them. It's literally part of your boss' job to discuss this with you. Stating your case for why you deserve a raiseOnce you've sat down face-to-face, it's time to state your case. You want to start off by sounding grateful/positive about the job. You're not there to threaten or give ultimatums. That's NOT how to get a raise. Tell them you're excited about how things are going and you're really happy to be on this team and in this company. Then be very clear about why you wanted to meet. Present your facts and reasons and then tell them you were hoping to receive a raise, including the number you were hoping to receive. Use clear, direct language: "I wanted to ask if my base salary could be increased to $59,000." Or: "Based on what we've discussed here, I wanted to ask if my salary can be increased by $3,000." Don't ask for a range. If you say, "I was hoping my salary could be bumped up by $3,000 to $5,000," your boss will immediately be thinking of the bottom number of that range. There's no point to doing this. Instead, plan on asking for a precise number and taking the negotiation from there. Then stop. Don't ramble on. Don't keep talking after you've made your main point. The best thing you can do at this point is go silent and let them respond. They might agree right away. They might ask you further questions. They might try to compromise and meet you in the middle. A lot of things can happen from this point, so here are some negotiation tactics to help you navigate the conversation after you ask your boss for a raise. Overcoming obstacles when negotiating your raiseIf you don't hear "yes" right away, don't get discouraged. There a couple of tactics you can use as the conversation goes on to back up your argument. Many top negotiation experts, like former lead FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, suggest empathizing with the other person and showing you understand their perspective before trying to push your point. Here are examples of what you might say:
The goal here, according to Voss, is to get them to say, "That's right." Once you've done that, you know they feel heard, which now means they'll be more receptive to listening more to your side! If you're not sure what their main concern is to begin with, try asking open-ended questions. If you're not familiar with open-ended vs. closed-ended questions, I'll explain. Closed-ended questions are questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no." They provide you with very little information, especially if you're not sure what the other person is concerned about or bothered by. Instead, try to ask open-ended questions that allow the other person to speak freely and feel relaxed. Here are some examples of open-ended questions:
Another tactic you can use is allowing them to negotiate against themselves. For example, if you ask for $55,000 and they say that they just can't fit that into the budget, you could say, "OK, I understand. What's the best you can do?" Now the pressure's on them to come up with their best possible offer without you having to keep going back and forth. If you reach an impasse and can't seem to get around it, also remember that you can also discuss forms of compensation other than base salary, like bonuses and profit sharing. However, when it comes to maximizing your compensation in the long term, you should negotiate for base salary first and foremost. Mistakes to avoid when asking your boss for a raiseNow that you know the steps to follow when you ask for a raise, let's cover a couple of mistakes to avoid. First, never position your request as a threat or ultimatum. You shouldn't be positioning this as, "If I don't get this, I'm leaving." That's not as likely to get you a raise, and even if it does in the short-term, it could severely damage your relationship with your employer and cost you your job in the long run. The next mistake to avoid is acting emotional or bringing personal reasons into the discussion. You're more likely to receive a raise by sticking to fact-based arguments like we discussed earlier. I'm not going to lie and say I've never seen someone get a raise using personal reasons (long commute, gas prices, etc.), but it's not your best shot. Finally, don't make it sound like a big deal when you ask for the amount of money you want. Even if this is a lot of money to you, it's probably NOT a lot of money to the company. So remember that. I'd recommend practicing at home a few times to make sure you sound confident and casual when saying the dollar figure. You can practice in the mirror, or my personal favorite is using your smart phone sound recording app and then playing the recording back to hear how you sound. Asking for a raise is a win-win if you follow the steps aboveIf you ask for a raise using the steps above, you'll give yourself the best possible chance of success, while also strengthening your relationship with your boss and employer. Not every boss will have the budget to boost your salary immediately, but you'll find out the best they can do while setting yourself up for long-term success with the company as well. |
| How to Assemble the Right Team Before Going Public Posted: 02 Aug 2019 11:00 AM PDT  Listing your growth-stage company on the public markets could give you access to a diversified pool of investors who are interested in seeing your business succeed.
But before you list, it's important to develop a strong ecosystem – a team of vital players – that can attract the right support, help spread your message, and set you up for success. Business leaders looking to the public markets as a source of funding and development need to first establish strong ties with the various players and entities involved. Building a solid team that ties together multiple perspectives will be a foundational step for how you adapt to this new phase. Independent dealers act as a source of insight into investment opportunities with compelling returns, and investors pay attention to them. In particular, the structure of Canadian independent investment dealers uniquely sets them up to support venture stage companies. These dealers typically have a larger risk appetite and are willing to put their balance sheet to use through transactions like bought deals. In this capacity, having an investment dealer as a coach figure can help you grow your investor base. Venture companies that see support from independent dealers today can grow larger tomorrow. We've seen this in the cannabis space: Canada's first cannabis company listed on TSX Venture Exchange in 2014. Today, there's a community of publicly listed cannabis businesses on Canadian stock exchanges representing approximately $60 billion in market capital (as of May 31, 2019) – due in large part to the initial support from independent dealers. It's not just cannabis, though. Independent dealers are crucial in making industries like battery metals, mining, blockchain, and disruptive technologies more accessible to investors. When partnering with a dealer, you'll need to look out for two key capabilities. First, look at dealers' track records in your space. If a dealer has tangible experience in your industry, you can trust that dealer to know which investors are best suited for your company. The next thing you should look for is experience working with companies at the same stage as yours. Where established large cap companies tend to attract investors by broadcasting their successes, small cap companies are likely still in the early stages of building a business and will need to attract investors with potential for future opportunities. Find an investment dealer who understands how to get investors to buy into the future vision of your business. 2. Deal makers Behind most successful companies on the public markets, you'll find deal makers that helped them get there. Consider JJR Private Capital, Varshney Capital, County Capital, or Kin Communications, all of which have decades of experience in bringing growth stage companies to market. Acting as strategic quarterbacks, deal makers are investors who hunt down interesting growth stage companies and use their track records and existing followings to generate buzz in the brokerage community. Then, they use their in-depth understanding of the regulatory environment to help venture companies navigate the structuring of a successful deal. Ask your current bankers or investors to introduce you to deal makers in your space. In this case, it's also important that they have experience working with companies similar to yours so they'll better understand how deals in your space come together. By engaging deal makers to take an equity stake early on in your company's development, they stand to be rewarded in the long run with returns on their investment, which aligns them with the success of your organization.
A lack of investor interest is among the top 20 reasons why startups fail. To nip this trend in the bud, companies can engage with media outlets, which have a broad reach that goes far beyond that of press releases and SEDAR/EDGAR filings. For entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world, it's important to leverage media to tell that story to the right audience of retail and international investors and customers. When engaging potential investors, start with a strategy that's based in education. Choose a theme that relates to your business and share practical, usable content that will give them insights not readily available anywhere else. Encourage engagement: Media strategies should never be a one-way street. Share content on your company's platforms and respond to questions and comments in a timely manner. A strategy based around education and engagement will position you as a reliable, knowledgeable company in your sphere – attracting investors and customers alike. The media can also help keep investors aware of your organization's performance beyond its initial listing. And don't forget to get personal. Investors will appreciate direct insight from your management team, whether it's through social media or in person. 4. Data providers and platforms Within the public market landscape, there's a noticeable gap when it comes to coverage of early stage or venture companies. And if investors don't have access to credible third-party insights on a company, they're less likely to include it in their investment portfolios. Employ data providers that will put your company in front of the right investors and best engage your target audience. VRify, for instance, is focused on helping retail investors understand complex mining disclosures by providing visualizations. TMX Matrix, meanwhile, is meant to provide a platform for companies to engage retail investors using video, investor relations content, and key business metrics. You can choose the right platform for your business and share information to provide investors with better insights. 5. Regulators A robust investment community sits within a structured regulatory framework. Regulators are tasked with maintaining a fine balance between addressing the public interest, protecting investors, and creating an efficient market. Within Canada, for instance, regulators understand the value of the venture market to the economy, as the companies within it present the promise of new jobs and potential global expansion. Aligned with this sentiment, regulatory bodies such as the Canadian Securities Administrators are working toward reducing the regulatory burden placed on public companies. Growth companies can seek guidance from exchanges and regulators well before listing to address any confusing requirements or barriers. You can also continue working alongside regulators after listing to ensure compliance into the future. It's important to work with these bodies throughout the listing process, as they often offer resources to prepare and better educate companies. Some exchanges hold prefiling sessions with guidance on how to avoid potential hurdles or a space in which to test products and services. The CSA, for instance, has the CSA Regulatory Sandbox, which allows fintech businesses to test their business models in a more flexible format. 6. Retail Investors and Stockbrokers Generally, retail investors are passive investors, which means they often allocate most of their portfolio to large cap companies and structured products instead of venture stage companies, which may pose more of an investment risk. Allocating a portion of an investment portfolio to those earlier stage businesses typically ignored by ETFs or index-based funds has the potential to allow investors or active fund managers to outperform the market and to engage with dynamic venture stage companies. To capture this pool of capital, companies need to deliver regular news flow on the state of their businesses or – if they're in developing spaces – industries. As you work to attract these investors, align regular updates with your media strategy so you have timely content to share across your platforms. Remember that investors are attracted to news that creates a sense of urgency. This includes items that might materially move stock prices, such as a company getting its cannabis sales license or a material M&A event. While you won't be able to give specific investing guidance on these events, you should communicate their timing to the market. Supporting companies in communicating to their audiences, brokers are responsible for investigating companies and interviewing stakeholders to gather information the average person wouldn't know to ask. Because of this, they can present informed opportunities to retail investors based on risk profiles, making them a valuable resource that may help communicate your story to a broad audience. With this in mind, make sure you engage your network of brokers when you have big news to share. Building a better business Once listed, the best way for you to analyze how well your ecosystem is working is to look at stock performance measures. An increase in liquidity or growing attention in the markets is a good sign. If you're not seeing that, it might be that investors don't have sufficient insight into your company. Consider changing how you communicate your story and who you're engaging to tell it. Start by focusing on the dealers, investors, and deal makers – the people who understand your vision for changing the world and can portray that effectively to other interested parties. And once you've secured a supportive investor base, be fully transparent and not overly promotional, communicating true key performance indicators to show your growth. Think about the ecosystem in place to support your company's growth. This is the collective puzzle that will guide you and help ensure that your organization is a successful public entity, so if you're missing key pieces, now might be a good time to figure out where you can find them. |
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