A New Leader for WeWork

As WeWork continues to face challenges in the wake of its failed attempt to go public in 2019, the appointment of David Tolley as CEO signifies a fresh start for the company. Tolley brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as the CFO of satellite operator Intelsat from 2019 to 2022. With his extensive background in finance and leadership, Tolley is well-positioned to steer WeWork towards a path of stability and profitability.

WeWork’s Turbulent Journey

WeWork’s journey has been fraught with turmoil since its failed IPO in 2019. The company’s business model, which involves taking long-term leases and subleasing them for the short term, came under scrutiny as investors grew concerned about its profitability and sustainability. The company’s shares have since plummeted in value, leading to significant financial losses for investors.

In May of this year, WeWork saw a leadership shakeup with the resignation of CEO Sandeep Mathrani and the subsequent departure of CFO Andre Fernandez. These changes, coupled with the company’s admission of “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operations, highlighted the urgent need for a turnaround strategy.

Focused on Turnaround

With the appointment of David Tolley as CEO, WeWork is signaling its commitment to turning the business around. Tolley’s proven track record in finance and his experience as a WeWork board member make him well-equipped to lead the company through this critical phase. Tolley’s appointment has already generated some positive momentum, with WeWork’s shares experiencing a 2% increase in premarket trading.

A Strategic Vision for WeWork

Tolley’s immediate priorities as CEO will be to address the issues that have plagued WeWork and develop a strategic vision for the company’s future. One of the key areas of focus will be restoring investor confidence by demonstrating a clear path to profitability. This will involve implementing measures to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

Additionally, Tolley will need to reassess WeWork’s business model and explore alternative revenue streams. This may involve diversifying the company’s offerings to attract a wider range of clients, such as small businesses and freelancers. By expanding its target market, WeWork can tap into new sources of revenue and mitigate the risks associated with its previous reliance on large corporate clients.

Rebuilding Trust and Relationships

Another crucial aspect of WeWork’s turnaround strategy will be rebuilding trust and relationships with stakeholders. This includes not only investors but also landlords, employees, and members of the WeWork community. Tolley will need to prioritize open and transparent communication to address any lingering concerns and instill confidence in WeWork’s ability to deliver on its promises.

Embracing Innovation and Technology

To stay competitive and adapt to changing market demands, WeWork must embrace innovation and leverage technology. Tolley will need to explore opportunities to enhance the company’s digital infrastructure and offerings. This may involve investing in workspace management software, IoT devices, and other technologies that can improve the overall experience for WeWork’s members.

By integrating advanced technology solutions, WeWork can streamline operations, enhance productivity, and provide a seamless experience for its members. Additionally, leveraging data analytics can help WeWork gain valuable insights into member preferences and optimize space utilization, leading to increased efficiency and profitability.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Collaborations and partnerships will also play a vital role in WeWork’s turnaround efforts. By forging strategic alliances with complementary businesses, WeWork can expand its service offerings and provide added value to its members. This could include partnerships with coworking space aggregators, technology companies, or service providers that cater to the needs of small businesses.

Through these collaborations, WeWork can tap into new markets, access a broader customer base, and create a more diverse ecosystem for its members. By fostering a sense of community and facilitating connections, WeWork can differentiate itself from competitors and position itself as a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and professionals.

See first source: Reuters

FAQ

Q1: Who is David Tolley, and why was he appointed as WeWork’s CEO?

A1: David Tolley is a former Blackstone executive and WeWork board member. He was appointed as WeWork’s CEO to lead the company through a crucial turnaround phase, leveraging his extensive experience in finance and leadership.

Q2: What challenges has WeWork faced in recent years?

A2: WeWork has faced challenges related to its failed IPO in 2019, questions about its profitability, and leadership changes. These issues led to financial losses and the need for a new direction.

Q3: How has David Tolley’s appointment impacted WeWork’s performance?

A3: David Tolley’s appointment as CEO has generated positive momentum, with WeWork’s shares experiencing a 2% increase in premarket trading. His leadership is seen as a step toward turning the company around.

Q4: What are David Tolley’s immediate priorities as WeWork’s CEO?

A4: Tolley’s priorities include restoring investor confidence, reducing costs, improving operational efficiency, diversifying revenue streams, and reassessing the company’s business model.

Q5: How will WeWork rebuild trust and relationships with stakeholders?

A5: Rebuilding trust involves open and transparent communication with investors, landlords, employees, and members. Tolley will prioritize addressing concerns and delivering on promises.

Q6: How will WeWork embrace innovation and technology in its turnaround strategy?

A6: WeWork will explore digital infrastructure enhancements, workspace management software, IoT technology, and data analytics to improve member experiences, streamline operations, and increase efficiency.

Q7: What role will collaborations and partnerships play in WeWork’s turnaround efforts?

A7: Collaborations and partnerships with complementary businesses will help WeWork expand its services, access new markets, and create a diverse ecosystem for members, fostering connections and community.

Featured Image Credit: Sargent Seal; Unsplash – Thank you!

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Below are some of the new technologies available to help you cut your electric bills.

Advanced IOT software development has given us new motion sensors that can be used in the home to reduce electricity use. New motion sensors are coming on the market that can turn off lights in rooms that are not being used. Motion sensors also can turn off overhead fans if it senses there is no motion in the room for a certain period.

These motion sensors can help you save on electricity every day. And the devices don’t cost a lot and are easy to install.

Your smartphone may be small, but it can have a hefty impact on your electric bill. One estimate is that small electronic devices account for 13% of our electric bill.

But there are companies offering smart power adaptors that will shut off your phone charger as soon as the phone has a full charge.

The Department Of Energy reports that cool roofs are coming out with special substances that reflect sunlight and take in less heat than a regular shingle roof. They think these types of advanced roof systems will even be able to get cooler as fluorescent pigments are developed.

Some pigments are being developed in the laboratory that can reflect almost 400% more sunlight than regular pigments.

Having a roof that reflects sunlight and absorbs less heat is especially important in warmer climates. Think of states such as Texas and Florida. The air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard because the home doesn’t heat up as much with the reflective roof.

Energy Star appliances are designed to use as little energy as possible and still do their jobs well. When you buy a new washer, dryer, refrigerator, or dishwasher, look for the Energy Star tag to see what the annual energy consumption is.

You’ll save a lot on electricity bills with Energy Star appliances.

Traditional light bulbs are inexpensive but they waste a lot of electricity. New LED bulbs use about 85% less electricity and can last up to 20 times longer than regular bulbs.

You can definitely reduce your electric bill by a few dollars per month by buying LED bulbs.

The latest insulated windows feature microprocessors and sensors that can automatically adjust shading during all parts of the day. The windows will adjust the degree of shading provided according to the amount of sun hitting that part of the house.

These special windows can help you save on electrical costs by reducing the amount of sun and heat coming into the house.

Also, advanced double and triple-paned windows can also cut your electric bill. Single-pane windows are inexpensive but do a poor job of blocking heat. When the hot summer sun hits a single-pane window, put your hand on it. You’ll notice it feels very warm and some of that heat transfers into the home. This means the AC must keep running to cool things down.

Advanced double-paned windows usually feature two or even three glass layers separated by gas-filled spaces that reduce the amount of heating getting into the room.

Don’t Forget Saving on the Water Bill

Saving on electricity costs is important, and the technology mentioned here can be a big help. Also, technology can help you save on your water bill, too.

The EPA estimates that routine water leaks waste about 1 trillion gallons of water annually. That’s more than 1,000 Olympic-sized pools!

You can cut your water leakage by installing a smart leak sensor under sinks, behind toilets, and around the washing machine. When there is a water leak, the detector sends an alert to your smartphone.

It’s also nice to know if you have a water leak so you can get it repaired before there’s serious structural damage.

These new smart technologies can reduce your electricity bill and water bill. And you get to help the planet, too, so what’s better than that?

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Over the past few decades, the middle class in the U.S. and the U.K. has faced numerous setbacks. Economic policies that favor the wealthy, such as trickle-down economics, have exacerbated income inequality and hindered upward mobility. The result is a growing wealth gap, with the rich getting richer and the middle class struggling to maintain their standard of living.

Trickle-down economics, a theory that advocates for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, promised benefits for the less well-off. However, it has failed to deliver on its promises. Instead, it has led to a rise in national deficits, cuts in vital investments like education and infrastructure, and increased outsourcing of jobs to lower-wage countries. The U.S. and the U.K. have witnessed the negative effects of this approach.

In the U.K., privatization under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has affected essential services like water utilities. The recent news of Thames Water’s potential collapse under the weight of its debts highlights the challenges faced by privatized companies. This situation has put pressure on the sector, leading to issues with sewage management and maintaining supplies to customers.

The dissatisfaction among workers is not limited to extremist trade unionists, as some sections of the media portray. Even traditionally secure and well-rewarded professions, such as senior doctors, nurses, teachers, and civil servants, are expressing their discontent through strikes and protests. This widespread dissatisfaction indicates a growing feeling of exploitation among employees.

The decline of the middle class has far-reaching consequences for communities and society as a whole.

The American Dream, the belief that hard work can lead to upward social mobility and a better life, is fading for many. Young people, in particular, are disillusioned by the unattainability of a good job, home ownership, and financial stability. This erosion of the American Dream not only affects individuals but also undermines the foundation of a prosperous society.

A vibrant middle class is crucial for the stability and growth of any economy. Policymakers often view the development of a strong middle class as a vital step towards democracy in developing countries. Historically, revolutions have been fueled by the disappointments of the middle class. Therefore, the decline of the middle class in countries like the U.S. and the U.K. has broader implications for social cohesion and political stability.

Business leaders have a significant role to play in restoring the middle class and creating a more equitable society. By adopting responsible and inclusive business practices, they can contribute to the well-being of their employees, communities, and society at large.

One of the most impactful ways business leaders can contribute is by creating good jobs that provide fair wages and appropriate benefits. Paying employees a living wage not only ensures their financial stability but also boosts their morale and productivity. Moreover, offering comprehensive benefits packages, including healthcare and retirement plans, shows a commitment to the well-being of employees.

Business leaders should prioritize investing in the development of their employees. Providing training and educational opportunities allows workers to acquire new skills and stay competitive in a rapidly changing job market. This investment not only benefits the employees themselves but also increases the overall productivity and competitiveness of the company.

Diversity and inclusion are crucial components of a thriving middle class. Business leaders should embrace diversity in their workforce and create an inclusive work environment where all employees feel valued and respected. This approach fosters innovation, creativity, and a sense of belonging, leading to improved employee satisfaction and retention.

Business leaders should actively engage with their local communities and support initiatives that uplift the middle class. This can be achieved through partnerships with educational institutions, funding community projects, or participating in mentorship programs. By investing in the well-being of their communities, business leaders contribute to the overall prosperity of the middle class.

The decline of the middle class in countries like the U.S. and the U.K. calls for urgent action from business leaders. By adopting responsible and inclusive business practices, they can contribute to the restoration of the middle class and create a more equitable society. Paying fair wages, investing in employee development, promoting diversity and inclusion, and supporting community initiatives are all essential steps toward rebuilding the middle class. Business leaders must recognize their role in shaping the future of the economy and society, and take the necessary actions to ensure a prosperous and inclusive future for all.

First reported by Forbes.

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Interpersonal skills, communication, and problem-solving help every type of organization function at its highest level. One common thread that’s required for these skills to be deployed effectively is kindness. But kindness isn’t just checking in with others’ personal lives or letting them use the breakroom microwave first. Kindness at work can lead to stronger teams, talent retention, and better results across your business. Leaders can up the kindness quotient in their business as early as today using these easy-to-implement strategies.

1. Lead the Way

Your team looks to you for guidance on strategic initiatives and organizational priorities, but they’re also watching your behavior. Leaders set the tone for workplace cultures and if your behavior doesn’t match your core company values, you’re already behind. If creating a kindness culture at work is a priority, leaders can see quick progress by simply modeling kind behavior. Humans naturally mirror one another, especially when interacting with those in leadership roles. Your tone, body language, and message delivery can seep into your organization simply by being an example.

Top consultants are integrating kindness into their workplace culture initiatives, which can further support more tactical programs. Culture master and kindness catalyst Marissa Andrada has developed culture strategies at Chipotle, Gamestop, and Starbucks. This work led to her kindness-first mantra. She believes “being kind is infectious and is the foundation for the willingness to give.” When leaders take the first step toward encouraging kindness, it will help optimize team performance and drive business outcomes.

Addressing unkind behavior is also a requirement for leaders to consider, especially as toxic negativity can dismantle otherwise positive workplaces. Work with managers to identify colleagues whose kindness quotient could use a boost. Take the opportunity to speak with them individually, getting to know them and exploring the source of their current behavior.

This personalized touch may reveal unmet needs at work that can be easily addressed. By extending empathy and kindness to even the most negative colleague, you’re modeling the behavior you’re instilling organization-wide.

2. Establish a Relationship-First Culture

Workplaces are made up of people, so investing in cultivating kind, productive relationships between them is essential for producing results. While ticking off items on a to-do list is necessary, the rigidity of status updates can deteriorate human connections. Hold space and create the expectations that teams should allow time to get to know one another. Establish guidelines for meetings and reinforce these best practices consistently to solidify their adoption.

Conduct listening tours among your executives and leaders to gain a greater understanding of the workplace as a whole. Offer rotational opportunities for individual contributors to better understand the business and the work lives of their colleagues. Organize affinity groups and social gatherings to bring people together under a common interest. These tactics provide opportunities for people whose roles may never intersect to get to know one another.

When teams build relationships outside of projects, they’re happier and produce better results. By establishing rapport, employees understand the intricacies of the factors influencing work. Provide time before meetings to connect using icebreakers or sharing stories. At first, these habits will require nurturing, but as colleagues get to know one another better, it’ll become second nature.

3. Train Leaders on Feedback Best Practices

Annual reviews, project assessments, and metrics reports can be stressful events for even the most confident employee. Team leaders aren’t always well-trained in how to deliver feedback that’s actionable and leads to desired results.

Human resources leaders have been increasingly moving toward 360-feedback cultures, where managers, direct reports, and colleagues weigh in on work. But simply providing feedback isn’t enough. Message delivery, even when the results aren’t great, makes a major difference in what happens after the review.

Conduct organizational training on delivering constructive feedback in any situation and empower them to deploy these strategies often. Authentic, kind, and empathetic feedback is possible with the right training and reinforcement. First, state the purpose of providing feedback, share observations, and allow time for the recipient to respond. Open-ended questions allow the recipient to share their perspective and additional context.

By shifting toward a kindness-first model, where everyone assumes positive intent, workplaces can thrive. Without fear of admonishment, shame, or extreme consequences, colleagues can collaborate, re-adjust strategies, and pursue greater results without setbacks. Over time, this approach can create open dialogues before issues arise, which can further improve outcomes and employee satisfaction.

Adopt Kindness as a Core Company Value

With kindness at your core, teams can focus on doing their best work. Integrate language, principles, and the expectation of organization-wide kindness just as you would your revenue targets. Reinforce the adoption of kindness by recognizing its presence every time you witness it in action. Acknowledgment during a meeting or through an employee award goes a long way to solidifying kindness as a core value.

Those outside of your organization are taking note of kindness in the workplace, too. Potential candidates scour website reviews of employee experience for red flags and encouraging reviews. Clients pay attention to your company’s reputation heard first-hand and through more widely-distributed mediums. Ensure your company culture is telling the right story by protecting your kindness quotient. When you do, your employees can do their best work alongside colleagues that care.

The post How to Up the Kindness Quotient in Your Business — And Why You Should appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

One hallmark of resilient leadership is emotional intelligence, another term that’s gained a lot of traction in recent years. Emotional intelligence means focusing on more than just a mission. Successful small business leaders understand how their team members feel—and how their words and behaviors impact team effectiveness. When you lead with empathy, you cultivate a strong culture that can bend with the winds of change and flow with uncertainty.

In Unbreakable: Building and Leading Resilient Teams, Bradley Kirkman and Adam Stoverink make the case that professional teams must demonstrate resilience to rebound from setbacks. In the face of volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business environments, emotional intelligence comes into play.

Kirkman says, “If I had to share one piece of advice, I’d tell leaders that they need to create teams where individuals can be open and honest… If people can trust one another, they’ll feel safe and confident, be more likely to improvise, and be able to do the right thing at the right time when adversity strikes.”

Real-Life Team Resilience

Sports coaches understand how to build resilient teams; it’s the bedrock of what they do. The same holds true in emergency response teams. Front-line workers in government agencies such as FEMA need to stay adaptive in order to manage events as they occur. We all saw that during the COVID-19 pandemic medical personnel reinvented resilience on a daily basis.

Kirkman and Stoverink have worked with hundreds of team leaders across a variety of industries to learn what makes teams resilient. This background forms the basis for their innovative approach to teamwork and leadership.

They discovered that truly resilient teams embody four core traits:

1. Team Confidence

One notable example of a team that embodied team confidence was the 2004 Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team. Before the 2004 season, the Red Sox had not won a World Series championship in 86 years. This created a sense of doubt and negativity among the team and its fans. However, the team’s new general manager built a roster of talented players. He instilled a sense of confidence and belief in the team’s abilities.

Throughout the season, the team faced numerous challenges and setbacks. But, despite the odds stacked against them, they remained resilient and maintained their confidence. They rallied together, focused on their strengths, and executed their game plan. This unwavering belief in themselves and their teammates allowed them to make a historic comeback, winning four consecutive games to advance to the World Series.

2. Teamwork Roadmaps

The successful landing of the Mars Rover in 2020 serves as a prime example of a team that fully embraced teamwork roadmaps. The mission involved collaboration between NASA, international partners, and various scientific and engineering teams. Each team had specific roles and responsibilities, all working towards a shared objective.

Their roadmap outlined the sequence of events, from the launch of the spacecraft to the precise entry, descent, and landing on the Martian surface. The teams followed the roadmap meticulously, ensuring that each step was executed flawlessly. By having a clearly defined roadmap, the teams were able to effectively communicate, synchronize their efforts, and anticipate potential challenges along the way. This level of coordination and collaboration ultimately led to the successful landing of the rover, showcasing the power of teamwork roadmaps in achieving complex goals.

3. Capacity to Improvise

During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, a team of engineers and experts demonstrated a remarkable capacity to improvise in the face of a challenging and unprecedented situation. The spill resulted from an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, causing a massive oil leak that threatened the environment and coastal communities.

As the crisis unfolded, the team faced numerous challenges and uncertainties. They formulated innovative solutions on the spot to contain the oil leak and reduce the environmental damage. This required them to think outside the box, adapt quickly to changing circumstances, and leverage their expertise to develop unconventional strategies. Their ability to improvise and find creative solutions in real-time proved crucial in decreasing the overall impact of the disaster and ultimately capping the well.

4. Psychological Safety

Google’s People Analytics team provides a compelling example of how psychological safety can foster innovation and collaboration. This team’s mission was to use data and analytics to improve Google’s employee experience. To achieve this, they needed an environment where team members felt safe to take risks, share ideas, and provide honest feedback. The team’s leader emphasized the importance of psychological safety by creating a culture that encouraged open communication and promoted a non-judgmental atmosphere.

As a result of psychological safety within the team, individuals felt empowered to experiment with new approaches and take calculated risks. This led to innovative solutions and insights that significantly contributed to Google’s understanding of employee engagement and well-being.

Building Your Unbreakable Team

What will a resilient team look like for your business? It can be broken down into three stages: Readiness, Response, and Recovery. As you can see from these real-world examples, resilient teams succeed because they are prepared. Resilient leadership has created a culture of resilience in the workers they support.

Second, in a crisis, resilient teams are able to respond with a coordinated, cooperative approach born of trust, belief, and a mental model of how to work together.

Third, after the crisis, resilient teams debrief and continue to adapt.

Here’s your playbook:

• Prepare. Adversity will strike; the only question is when. So just as we prepare for earthquakes and floods (or ought to!), resilience readiness must be intentional. Take the four core team resilience traits as a template to build a culture of confidence, trust, purpose, and the ability to improvise. Create hypothetical situations in which to role-play unique solutions. Discuss outcomes and build strong inclusivity for novel ideas.
• Act. When it’s game on with an unexpected challenge, coach your team to tap their resiliency training. Set the tone and direction. Support each team member in knowing they have the tools and knowledge to create and deliver the best possible outcome.
• Evaluate. When the crisis has passed, assess how well the team did, and what could be improved for the future. Look at both successes and failures with an objective eye. Applaud what worked and encourage your team to discuss what might be changed.

A resilient team that can save the day under duress starts with a resilient leader. Cultivate your own inner resilience first. Now you’re the ideal model for building a team that can adapt to any circumstance and improvise an achievable solution.

The post How Resilient Teams are the Key to Business Success in Uncertain Times appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

One of these is, of course, the concept of working from home. Whilst the majority of businesses turned remote during the pandemic lockdowns, many are now implementing a new way of working for their employees as lockdowns have ended – hybrid working.

With part working from home and part working in the office, how can businesses leverage the best of both worlds and help their employees adapt to it?

Hybrid working

The hybrid working model has become incredibly popular as one report in 2022 discovered that ¾ of employers offer hybrid working. The time split between remote and office work varies from employer to employee. But, you will find that the ratio is often 60% in the office or remote and 40% in the office or remote, or 50% remote and 50% in the office.

Some employers may also only offer one day of the working week as a work-from-home day. Despite the differences in the frequency of remote work, the fact that they offer hybrid working arrangements in the first place brings forth a bigger question:

How can employers guarantee employee productivity and satisfaction in both remote and in-office work?

The best of both worlds

It goes without saying that if you are an employer offering hybrid work, you will most likely have employees who prefer either remote or the office. Nonetheless, you still need to consider how you are able to provide your employees with the best of both worlds.

The first step is to implement a unified communications (UC) approach (https://www.gamma.co.uk/products/horizon-collaborate-unified-communications/) within your organization. This means that you will need to optimize your business operations to suit both remote and office environments. If you persevered through the COVID-19 lockdowns, it is possible that you may have already done this. But if you have not, then now is the time to start.

In particular, you will need to incorporate an integrated platform that encompasses organizational communication channels that foster collaboration and productivity. For instance, apps and tools such as:

• Direct messaging (DM) app
• Voice and video conferencing
• Email
• Centralized drive/file locations
• Screen sharing
• Project management software/Workflow app

All of the above are useful in ensuring that your employees can stay connected with each other. This is regardless of their location. This is the most crucial aspect of boosting your employees’ productivity and motivation in both remote and office working. It’s their ability to stay connected!

On top of this, make sure that you also give your employees tools to help with collaboration. This way, they feel empowered to cooperate and be able to build excellent relationships with each other and with your company.

By leveraging UC tools and software, you are on the right track to making sure that your employees can work to their full potential in a hybrid working model.

The post Hi There, Hybrid: How to Help Your Employees Work Well Both from Home and the Office appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Control the Environment

It is common practice to believe that there are no distractions in a healthy and productive work environment. And well that is typically true, but that may not always be the case. However, when looking to figure out how your employees work best it is imperative that you find the proper consistency.

By having a consistent environment you can begin to add and eliminate factors that you can measure for finding each individual’s most productive work habits.

Set Up the Units

How do you measure the productivity of your employees? Once your environment is stable you can begin finding out the units of productivity you are aiming to measure. This is how you will measure everything and is inextricably tied to the question you want to ask. How much work is being completed?

Keep in mind that any survey will not be completed in a vacuum so there is an extra amount of incentive to make sure that whatever tasks are deemed as “measurably equal” are indeed close to being so. As well as understanding any confounding variables that may affect the work from external departments, or a catch in the pipeline that may be unavoidable and throw off your data.

Several reputable metric ideas are:

• Projects Completed
• Work Hours/Overtime Rate
• Effectiveness Ratio – Achievables, Assets & Inventory
• Turnover Rate
• Sales Growth
• Revenue Per Employee

Establish the Baseline

This is a three-part metric, How fast for the person, how fast for the company, and how fast for the industry. And while speed is the chosen metric for this article, replace “fast” with “well”, “diligence”, or “competency” and you have a similar slew of insights with which to be presented.

Similarly, when interrogators are trying to read the habits of a subject they often establish a level of baseline characteristics as they are searching for a particular deviation, more so than any specifically direct indicator.

By deciding which metrics are important you can begin to map them in the “stable” environment discussed. By understanding an individual’s baseline you then alter aspects to find out how it affects each employee.

Add in Variables

Life may do this for you. Throwing in numerous variables like having to work remotely, employees getting sick, on the days leading up to, or coming off of a major holiday, and off-work happenstances resulting in debilitating physical or mental issues. The possibilities are endless. If you have established the ways that you effectively measure what productivity you are going for – hours worked, tasks completed, inquiries given, you will easily be able to begin to cross-referencing aspects of life – good and bad to find what stimulus makes each of your individual workers most productive.

Maybe one of your workers uses the weekend to recharge and is most productive on Monday but by the time Friday returns, is something of a distraction. Perhaps a worker is incredibly effective remote and you need to rearrange some desks. Potentially a worker performs exceptionally well under the very prominent stress of the holidays. Or maybe a typically productive worker has fallen off and you should inquire about their personal life.

Most importantly as an employer or supervisor, your best undertaking is to create a stable and suitable work environment. This way, you begin A/B Testing your employees and find a way to optimize their best attributes. Everyone has a distinct way they like to work. Yet, it works even better when they find efficiency. So in this case, how do you measure the productivity of your employees? By finding their baseline you can begin to shape your company to the productivity of your most important resource.

The post How to Measure the Productivity of Your Employees appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you’re spending more on contractors and employees than the industry average for a company your size, dig a little deeper. Is there a staffing shortage in your area? Do you operate in a region that has a very high cost of living? If you answer “yes” to either of those questions, you might consider taking your talent search worldwide. Here are three ways to prepare your business for global hiring.

1. Research the Legalities

With international hiring, the potential for value is definitely there. You can reach a much bigger applicant pool and potentially cut down on overhead costs. However, hiring abroad does present some hurdles. You cannot hire employees from another country using the same process as you would for local applicants. Legally, you are not allowed to hire a foreign citizen unless your business has a physical presence in the country of hire.

So does that mean that you need to establish a brick-and-mortar location in every country you might hire from? Thankfully, no. To get around the requirement of maintaining an international business entity, you can instead engage an employer of record. An EOR will set up locations in a variety of countries and can hire employees on your behalf.

Naturally, you will need to make sure your third-party provider has a presence in the countries you’re interested in hiring from. There are 195 countries in the world, and it is unlikely any EOR has legal entities in every single one of them!

If you hire contractors instead of employees, you are more likely to be able to engage with those individuals directly. However, you’ll need to make sure the worker qualifies as a contractor rather than an employee. Typically, this hinges on the degree of independence the contractor has in their work. If the law decrees an employee was misclassified as a contractor, it could result in stiff penalties and fines. Regulations on contractor classification also vary by country, so do your due diligence on the applicable laws.

2. Update Your Technology

Hiring remote workers abroad means that you’ll need to rely on efficient and stable technology for business tasks. Ideally, your computer programs should be in the cloud to enable easier communication and sharing of information. Cloud-based software also makes it simple to allow and restrict access as employees onboard or offboard.

If you’re not using cloud-based programs, you’ll at least need to make sure to have a secure way to transfer information. Sending sensitive data via unsecured email is risky. Not only is the information at risk of being intercepted, but it’s easier to have multiple copies of data zipping around. That can lead to confusion as to which version is the most current.

So take stock of your current setup and see whether different software or processes could increase security or efficiency. Getting those processes upgraded to allow for international hires might even increase the efficiency of your local workers.

3. Reassess Regularly

If you take the plunge and engage with international employees or contractors, you’ll want to make sure the decision pays off. At least once a year, run the numbers to make sure the balance of expense and work accomplished is beneficial to your company. If international hiring hasn’t provided financial benefits that are sufficient to justify the endeavor, you might discontinue — or at least pause — the initiative.

If global hiring has proven effective, you’ll still want to regularly assess whether the countries you’re hiring from are the best choices. There are numerous reasons to do so. Certain countries require minimum pay that may not justify hiring employees there. Or you might need to find workers from a country with better mastery of the English language. Finally, your EOR may add new countries to its roster, presenting additional opportunities.

Aim to get your international workers on the same review schedule as your local employees. Just because you don’t see them in the office regularly doesn’t mean you can just forgo regular performance analysis. You’ll want to check in with any local team members your global hires interact with to ensure their work is being completed satisfactorily. Providing international employees feedback and assessing their performance gives them the ability to do their jobs better.

Alternatively, if your global team members are underperforming, you’ll notice it much sooner if you check in regularly. If you don’t catch errors and omissions until major consequences get brought to your attention, your review processes need to be updated.

Check Out Global Talent Options

Part of building or maintaining a business is keeping an eye out for opportunities. If international hiring might provide the opportunity to cut expenses or increase efficiency, investigate whether it could benefit your company. With the availability of modern third-party administrators and tech advancements, the world’s workforce has become more accessible.

So whether you want to open up your applicant pool or just cut some overhead costs, remote hiring is something to consider. Putting global hiring into practice might just be easier than you think.

The post 3 Ways to Make Global Hiring a Reality for Your Small Business  appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here are the four most prominent KPI examples are:

1. Customer Satisfaction
2. Employee Satisfaction
3. Internal Process Quality
4. Financial Performance Index

Other places exposit that there are 11 or 12 types of KPI, here are three of these as follows:

1. Quantitative Indicators that Can Be Presented with a Number
2. Quantitative Indicators that Can’t Be Presented with a Number
3. Leading Indicators that Can Predict the Outcome of a Process

When targeting KPIs for your business, it is important to keep in mind the idea of what metrics matter most to the business you’re operating. Generally, KPIs that focus on time and finance budgeting include variables for all businesses to focus on.

• What is the Estimate Time for Completion
• How Much is the Actual Cost for Project Completion

These both stand as Project Management KPIs. Set with keeping things to task and focused on the actual campaign itself as the starting hub. With all questions answered intent on responding to that. Additionally, others focus on Human Resource KPI and monitor things like:

• Total Revenue Per Employee
• Employee Satisfaction Index

Another big KPI metric falls under Financial KPI.

This is the bread and butter for a lot of major companies looking to set themselves apart and stretch their margins. Financial KPIs include:

• Profitability KPIs
• Liquidity KPIs
• Efficiency KPIs
• Valuation KPIs
• Leverage KPIs

These smart KPIs examples allow for growth and to make sure a company holds itself to tasks. However, the KPI itself potentially sets barriers to entry that make it harder to acquire success if it adds that restrictive cap.

The post How to Define Smart KPIs Examples and Milestones: What the Experts Say appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Breaking down the fundamentals of sales we can see where low energy and motivation can adversely affect parts of the sales process and construct significant countermeasures.

Motivation

Motivation itself may be at the core of the issue. There are numerous schools of thought on this. Motivation is the core of pushing the sale. Motivation does not exist. It is just a label for our behaviors. Regardless, the concept of motivation is one of action toward a goal. But, motivating a sales team can be difficult.

This is something low morale can adversely affect to a staggering extent. Here are several ways how to motivate a sales team.

Create Deeper Value

Whether it is from a higher purpose, a sense of community within their team, or even a vision for a better position and brighter future, motivation to action comes from a deep place. By finding value agents and servicing them toward the team’s individual needs you can harness a much more powerful response.

It is unlikely that many of the people on the sales team aspired to be in this place as children and even less likely to aspire to remain here into their final days. Truly motivating a sales team stems from a deeper sense of purpose and calling. Think about what the team needs. What are the team’s individual callings?

Make People Feel Good

Make people feel wanted, valued, and respected. Heck, make people feel special. It does not matter so much what the nuance of the term is so long as you can tailor what you do to make each individual feel good. That feeling of reward from doing a job well is all that many individuals need to propel themselves forward.

It could be as simple as allowing performing salespeople to have greater involvement in decision-making. They are important and their opinion matters. It may take the form of a flexible work schedule. They are important and their time matters. Compensate them fairly and offer them growth opportunities and autonomy in their providential future. They are important and the work they are doing matters.

Create the Right Environment

This involves building the right sales team. However, once you have collected that sales team with all the proper moving parts and people you need to begin fostering your environment. This will in part be a piece of company culture. That means the demeanor will be tilted in the direction of whatever job you are aiming to accomplish. One could presume that a professional football team will have a different mentality than a bakery. Maybe not, I don’t know.

Regardless then it is your job to take that group and define where you need to be within the space of that industry. This depends largely on the skills and demeanor of the people you have hired. Cultivate the environment that works best for them.

Concise, Clear, Consistent/Confident/Complete

It seems there are believably endless amounts of “3 C’s of ______.” Well here is another. Technically three others, because ironically “experts” are unclear on what the final C actually is. No matter, I can break down all five of them and how a lack of motivation can impact each along the sales line.

Concise, Clear, Consistent, Confident, and Complete. These are the three (five) C’s of communication. They exist to streamline conversation and messaging so that they can be held in high regard throughout the duration of the sales opportunity. Sales mean communication.

Concise

This is keeping the conversation inbounds. It does not necessarily mean that the conversation itself needs to stay “on point.” However, it does mean that only things that help the conversation need to be said. Concise, means letting the prospect speak. Then using your mind to return their problem to the solution that what you are selling can solve.

A lack of motivation in this area could result in the salespeople not listening and understanding the prospective client or failing to keep their pitches highly efficient.

Clear

Clarity is the baseline of understanding. If the client cannot understand you then you will have difficulty selling to them. You must be understood as a salesperson. Being concise will help with this. Conciseness should keep it simple. Simplicity acts as a favor to clarity. Clarity is paramount to being understood by another. It could be favorably argued that sales and communication as a whole are most fully reliant on this one, singular aspect. You must be understood.

The lack of motivation could affect this by instilling apathy in the salesperson to be understood. If the salesperson is not understood and does not aspire to be understood, the result will likely be flubbed sales. Even with potential eager clients sales will fall short.

Consistent

Get the idea across. Increase familiarity and conversational rhythm with having intermittent “touchstones.” Fair enough? Being consistent establishes confidence within the prospect which is what this driving part of sales is all about. Confidence and reliance within the client’s eyes.

Again, no motivation here will take form in the conversation going off the track. The salesperson will likely not keep it to a point. From there the lack of flow will likely stunt the sale for anyone unsure of their desire to purchase the product or service.

Confident

This element serves the same function as “consistency.” It serves to create confidence in the potential customer. While you are trying to sell the customer on the product. The savvy salesperson is trying to sell the individual on their own confidence throughout the conversation. High-end selling is the transfer of emotion from the salesperson to the client.

Belief in oneself commonly lacks with loss of motivation and in regard to confidence. The lack of motivation here is one of the most apparent as this is one of the exposing elements of the idea of “selling” someone on something. That energy and verve is once again paramount and a lack of motivation heavily affects that.

Completeness

Pull it all together. Completeness is the “trial-ready” version of your pitch and style. Likewise, this involves taking the other person’s perspective and fear’s into account. From there it asks how to tailor your messaging to best work off of that. Completeness additionally asks that you make no assumptions within that and are understanding and open to the parts of the conversation that may change the course of the plan. From there be able to review and fully break down the natural elements at play during the process.

No motivation here will likely take the form of disorganization and scattered thinking. Like “confidence” there will be the feeling of a missing element. Which is why these two are so often exchanged. They provide the unspoken backing of the other areas of good communication.

The post Low Morale? How to Motivate Your Sales Team appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What is Mail Merge in Word? Mail Merge helps you create a personalized batch of documents for a given recipient. Emails, letters, envelopes, directories—Mail Merge covers all of these. It works by amalgamating data and automatically placing it in the appropriate location.

It does this by using “merge fields.” These fields go even further than mere location placement, by ordering the information in the proper places as well. 

To do this you will need to choose where you are pulling the data from. Most commonly it is pulled from either a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or an Outlook contact list. However, while these are the most common, any database that can be connected to Microsoft Word will work as a source. If you do not yet have a pool from which to pull the data you can type it up in Word.

Each process is fairly streamlined, and follows the same general procession however here are individual links to each:

• Letters
• Directories
• Email
• Envelopes
• Labels

Beyond this, the personalization allows for an extra air of professionalism and when done in bulk as demonstrated can save copious amounts of time in the administrative backend.

Let’s walk through this process for “Letters.”

1. Prepare the Letter

In general, the process begins when an individual opens Microsoft Word and goes to “Mailings.” From here the new “Mailings” menu bar will appear below. In this bar will appear a button near the front-left corner: “Start Mail Merge.”

Here you can pick between the paths of Letters, E-mail Messages, Envelopes, Labels, or Directories.

For this, you will select “Letter.”

Now go type the body of your letter in the Word document. This will be the letter that you send to your mailing list. 

1. Set Up Your Mailing List

Your “Mailing List” is the data source that Word uses to compile the information that it will use to fashion your individual letter.

Here are potential data sources for you to implement in your “Mail Merge” experience with Word.

You can edit your mailing list as well if you want to be more particular in your mailing selection.

1. Add Personalized Content Within Your Letter

Go to “Mailings.” Look for “Address Block.” Here you can change the format you want the recipient’s name to appear, specifically find this in the “Insert Address Block” box.

From here choose “OK.” Then continue by navigating back toward the Address Block option. Next to this button, you should find a “Greeting Line” option. By clicking on this a similar box will appear and you can select the style of greeting line you would like to use.

Click “OK.” Now would be a good time to save as well. (File > Save).

1. Preview the Letters

Go to “Mailing.” Then “Preview Results.” Choose either “Next” or “Previous” to make sure the data is appropriate and names are thus, apt.

Selecting “Preview Results” again will switch you back to your merged fields from your merged file. 

1. Printing the Letters

Select “Finish and Merge”, then “Print Documents.”

Here you can choose to “Edit Individual Documents”, “Print Documents”, or “Send Email Messages.”

While the minutia of each field is particular to the medium’s nature, nearly all fields function similarly in Word. By the simple approach of individual personalization to a mass disseminated letter, or the filings of subsets of labeling. 

The key takeaway is to have an established database. By doing this you will be ready to approach Word’s “Mail Merge” feature readily, without any time lost. Beyond this, having the substantive text ready for whatever you are pushing through the Mail Merge feature can also ensure limiting any spare time that may get lost in the projects.

With these two areas closed, the time saved within the process is extreme and more than beyond checking out or learning the experience of.

The post How Use Mail Merge in Word appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

This isn’t surprising. Freelancers like to think of themselves as their own bosses.

However, in reality, they have as many bosses (at least) as they have clients. Each of those mini-bosses works on a different schedule, has a different management style, and communicates in different ways. (If they communicate at all…experienced freelancers know this is not always a strong suit for clients.) Juggling all this is exhausting. More than that, it’s discouraging.

Frustrated with the grind, many freelancers burn out. As a result, many seek the relative predictability of traditional employment, even if it means giving up some earning potential. They want to keep freelancing but are having a hard time envisioning a happy path forward in balancing it all.

Others would love to grow their freelance business. However, many either don’t know where to start or can’t find the time and mental energy to scale. So they pull back, content to work with a manageable, comfortable set of core clients.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Maybe you sense burnout creeping in, extinguishing whatever joy you once found in your work.

Worse, it’s diminishing the quality of your output. Or perhaps you remain perfectly content as a freelancer, but unfulfilled. You’re always beating back that nagging sense you’re capable of doing (and earning) more.

The problem isn’t that you live off 1099s instead of W-2s. Nor that you’ve fallen out of love with your specialty and need to find a new line of work. More likely, it’s that you’re not managing your freelance business as efficiently as you could — and that inefficiency is preventing your business from becoming something more.

You need a tool that automates and streamlines the nitty-gritty details of freelancing, freeing you to focus on the creative work you do best and work toward the growth or income goals you’ve put off because you’re so busy with everything else.

Harlow is that tool. No, it can’t work miracles. However, it can significantly improve your efficiency and strategic discipline. Both of these are critical if you’re serious about scaling. Here’s how.

Proposal Templates (And Contracts) You Can Take Pride In

Feel like you barely have time to prospect for new clients, let alone put together thoughtful, attention-grabbing proposals to win them over? Harlow’s professionally designed proposal and contract templates make this time-consuming part of freelancing that much easier.

Find a template you like, customize it with your logo and brand colors, and save it for easy access whenever a new opportunity presents itself. No more time spent building branded proposals and contracts from scratch — or, worse, using plain text documents that scream “boring” and “anonymous.”

Harlow gives you the option to add e-signatures to your proposals as well. Whatever nostalgia you might feel for the old-fashioned “print, sign, scan, email” process, you have to admit e-signatures are faster and less error-prone.

Legalese, Done

You know that what your proposals and contracts say is just as important as how they look.

Especially your contracts. If a client relationship goes south — they delay or refuse payment, or threaten legal action over something you did or didn’t do — you need a contract that’s actually legitimate (and legally binding).

Harlow takes care of that for you. While they don’t provide legal representation, their contracts are written by legal professionals. No need to write your own legalese, which you have no business doing anyway unless you’re a freelance lawyer.

No need to worry, either, about whether the random freelance contract template you found online for free will actually protect you.

Fast, Organized Invoicing

One of the many advantages of freelancing is being able to dictate your payment terms. Not only how much you charge — if a client doesn’t want to pay your going rate, they can negotiate or end the relationship — but how frequently you get paid and by what method.

Maybe you’re a Stripe fan. Or a PayPal enthusiast. Perhaps you’re a credit card die-hard. Or, inexplicably, you prefer the crisp thwack of a paper check, mailed monthly to your P.O. box.

Whatever the case, you know it takes work to get paid. You have to generate a new invoice, fill it out with the client’s information and a description of services rendered and dollar values and all the rest, and send it off by email or snail mail or text.

Multiply this by however many clients you have and however many times you invoice per year and you’ve got what’s practically a part-time job as an invoice manager — an unpaid one at that.

Harlow’s invoicing suite uses pre-built invoices that you can custom-finish rather than start from scratch. You choose the frequency — one-off or recurring on your preferred schedule. You build in your preferred payment method. If you have clients in different countries, you can accept currencies other than U.S. dollars. And Harlow automates follow-up and payment logging, so you can focus on the next project while awaiting payment for the last.

Seamless Integration With the Rest of Your Digital Work Life

Calendar management (or lack thereof) holds countless freelancers back. Add in the multitude of apps the typical freelancer relies on to get work done and the whole thing can feel unworkable at times. Taking on more complex projects under these conditions is a nonstarter.

Harlow can’t make you better at managing your time; that’s still on you. But it does integrate with Google Workspace (the former GSuite) so you can spend less time toggling between your calendar, your client contact list, your invoices, and your to-do list.

The less time you spend running down this or that detail of your finances or meeting schedule, the more time you have to focus on finding new clients or expanding your relationship with existing ones.

Project and Task Management to Keep You on Track

Do you use a project or task management app to stay on top of your assignments and strategic objectives? Or do you just wing it, maybe updating handwritten or Google Doc-based to-do lists when you have a free second?

Either way — and especially in the second case — you’re probably spending too much time thinking about what you should be doing and not enough time actually doing it.

Harlow’s built-in project and task management tool is appropriate for simple, small-scale personal tasks (say, paying estimated taxes) and more complicated professional needs (mapping out milestones for a six-month project, for example). You can track time against any task right in the interface. This means you won’t lose out on billable work or fail to compute exactly how long you spent on essential non-billable stuff, like prospecting for new clients or onboarding your own contractors.

Get Serious About Scaling

If you’re a freelancer, that means you’re a business owner, even if you don’t feel like it. Which also means you’re already walking a path that only a small fraction of your peers dare to follow.

Yes, it’s risky, and it can be lonely and thankless. But it’s exhilarating and full of potential. With a few tweaks to your routine and the right tools to support your operation, you can turn that potential into reality, all the while growing the success of what you so bravely started.

The post The Tool That Will Help Scale Your Freelance Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

People use Jotform every day, especially our solopreneurs and SMBs who use Jotform to manage data, including customer information and sales. People use Jotform to cut down on administrative time and speed up processes. For instance, prior to Jotform, one of our customers used to use Excel spreadsheets to keep track of customer orders and information, and doing so was tedious and time-consuming. When the pandemic hit, their business needed to scale quickly, so they began using Jotform to digitally transform business processes and scale to keep up with an influx in sales.

Q: What are the different ways in which Jotform assists small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)?

Jotform helps small and medium-sized businesses scale operations by helping them digitally collect, organize and visualize critical data/information. No longer do people have to manually input data collected over the phone or in person. And it all starts with the online form.

Q: Tell us about Steve Hartert’s, VP of Sales Operations at Jotform, background.

I’ve been at Jotform since 2016 and have worn many hats. I have decades of experience in sales and marketing and received my MBA from Cal State Bernardino.

Q: How does Steve see inflation and supply chain issues impacting SMBs for the holiday season?

SMBs and solopreneurs are expected to see a massive influx of sales of products and services this holiday season, which is great but inflation and supply chain issues are still creating challenges for businesses. Online shopping continues to grow at a rapid pace and consumers see online as the default, and brick and mortar as secondary shopping options.

Q: Is there anything SMBs can do to work through these issues and optimize their businesses and sales?

To help manage inflation and supply chain issues, SMBs and solopreneurs should look for tech that can help them streamline business processes that quickly fit into workflows, and also boost productivity and cut costs. For instance, with Jotform, SMBs and solopreneurs can scale sales. They do this by expanding online and using online forms to collect orders and manage data. They can also manage customer information with our Tables feature and collect signatures using Sign.

Q: What else would you like us to know?

Jotform is a non-stop shop platform that SMBs and solopreneurs can use to scale sales and operations.

Move everything online to boost productivity and cut costs spent on administrative time. It starts with an online form that customers fill out. But from there, SMBs and solopreneurs can stay organized with the data collected using Jotform Tables and can keep track of orders too!

The post A SmallBizTechnology Interview with Jotform and Steve Hartert appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Improved accuracy and error reduction are some of the most promising benefits of digital transformation. If you can capitalize on technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), you can unlock more informative insights, higher productivity, and less disruption. Here are five ways how.

Consolidating Information

The first and most straightforward way to achieve these benefits is to maximize your visibility across your organization. Digital tools enable you to keep all your critical information in one place, making it easier to spot errors and providing more context for this data.

One of the biggest advantages of cloud computing is that multiple users can access the same files simultaneously and see each other’s changes in real time. These features provide a single, continually updated source of truth for all parties. This visibility, in turn, reduces confusion and makes it easier to collaborate.

Of course, things can get complex and spread across separate programs, even in the cloud for SMEs. You can avoid this by using management software that consolidates multiple apps or employing AI to gather and organize your data.

Improving Accessibility

Similarly, digital transformation can also make important data and tools easier to access. On top of consolidating once-disparate resources, cloud platforms can make everything remotely accessible. This lets you see and respond to changes faster, minimizing the risk of overlooking critical information or delaying time-sensitive action.

Digital tools like remote collaboration software take these benefits further by enabling remote work. Studies show that home-based employees are often more productive, thanks to fewer distractions and a more comfortable working environment. These improvements help them pay more attention to their jobs, reducing the risk of errors.

Other digital resources, like Internet of Things (IoT) devices, can give you and your employees real-time updates about mission-critical processes. As a result, you can adapt better and minimize disruption from unforeseen circumstances through speedier responses.

Automating Time-Consuming Tasks

Digital transformation lets you automate your most inefficient and error-prone tasks. Manual approaches to administrative duties like data tracking or inventory management are often time-consuming, and their repetitive nature makes them unengaging. As a result, people are more likely to make mistakes or spend too much time on them.

People struggle with highly repetitive and data-heavy tasks, but this is where computers excel. Consequently, tools like robotic process automation (RPA) can accomplish them faster and with fewer mistakes, freeing employees to focus on other duties they find interesting.

Automating data entry, scheduling, and other non-value-adding, back-office tasks will also reduce the workload on your employees. As a result, they’ll be able to focus more, further minimizing errors and boosting accuracy.

Gaining Deeper Insight

Going digital in more areas for SMEs will also increase the amount of available quantifiable information. Using digital systems instead of traditional workflows and resources means virtually every action generates data. This gives you more insight into your organization’s operations, informing more accurate decision-making.

You should feed all this information through AI algorithms to make the most of this insight. Data analysis, like other administrative tasks, is repetitive and highly detailed, especially with large datasets. As such, it’s easy for humans to miss some patterns in all the noise. Using AI instead can reveal trends you may have overlooked otherwise.

AI-driven data analytics can reveal what’s working in your business and what isn’t. You can then make the most informed decisions to adapt and improve as your company grows and faces new challenges.

Increasing Accountability

An easier-to-overlook advantage of digital transformation is its ability to hold people accountable. Everything generates a virtual paper trail in a digital environment, so it’s easier to trace problems to their origin. That informs ongoing improvements in some areas and, in others, helps ensure employees and partners work as they should.

Project management software, which just 23% of organizations use, shows who’s responsible for each task in a project. This makes it easier for people to understand their roles and responsibilities, avoiding mistakes.

Accountability is about more than just ensuring people aren’t lazy or break the rules. In many cases, good, talented employees can overlook or forget about certain responsibilities or deadlines because things need to be clarified. Providing more clarification with these digital tools helps prevent that and provides the direction people need.

SMEs Need Digital Transformation

Digital transformation can be intimidating, but the benefits speak for themselves. Organizations that implement these tools can improve accuracy and prevent errors across every aspect of the business.

These improvements are becoming increasingly crucial in today’s crowded business market. Companies that don’t implement them risk falling behind the competition. Capitalizing on digital transformation early will help you succeed now and in the future.

The post How SME Leaders Can Improve Accuracy and Prevent Errors Through Digital Transformation appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Communication Tools

There are a variety of communication tools available to remote workers that can help facilitate and collaborate online. Some common options for remote, real-time communications include:

• Voice and video conferencing: Platforms like Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet allow users to connect with one another via voice and video calling, making it easy to have face-to-face conversations even when you’re not in the same room. All three can be used on any connected device: laptops, desktops, mobile phones, and tablets.
• Instant messaging: Services like Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and Jabber provide instant messaging capabilities that make it easy to have quick back-and-forth conversations with colleagues.
• Project management software: Asana, Trello, and Basecamp can help teams keep track of tasks, deadlines, and progress on projects. They also typically include features like file sharing and real-time discussion forums that make collaboration easier.

Each of these tools has its own strengths and weaknesses. So it’s important to choose the right platform for your needs. Most of them offer free trial periods. This way you can test them out with your whole team before purchasing subscriptions or license fees.

Tracking Projects and Tasks

There are a few different ways to keep track of projects and tasks when working remotely. The most important thing is to find a system that works for you and your team.

One popular method is using a project management tool like Asana or Trello, both of which work very well to support small business teams. These tools allow you to create projects and tasks, assign them to team members, set due dates, and add notes and attachments. They also have features like calendars and Gantt charts to help you visualize your project timeline.

Best of all, if you use one of the communication tools recommended above, in particular Slack, you can integrate them. So, your team can update tasks right from Slack and vice versa.

Whichever method you choose, the important thing is to find something that works for you and your team. So that everyone is on the same page about what needs to be done and when it’s due.

Managing Calendars

Assuming your team is already using a calendar tool like Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, or Apple Calendar, you can take advantage of some features to help manage everyone’s schedules.

For example, if you need to schedule a meeting with people in different time zones, you can use the “world clock” feature in Google Calendar to see what time it would be in each person’s location to better collaborate online. You can also set up calendar sharing so that everyone on your team can see each other’s schedules and know when someone is available or busy.

If you have recurring meetings or events, you can use the “repeat” function in most calendaring tools to save yourself some time. And finally, if there are certain days or times when no one on your team is available, you can block off those times on your calendar so that people won’t try to schedule something during that time.

Calendly is a scheduling tool that integrates with your calendars, so you can share your calendar with people outside your organization so they can set meetings with you. They offer a free version, so you can try it before you buy. The paid subscriptions allow more users for your company, as well as more functions.

Sharing and Storing Files

There are a variety of ways that remote workers can share and store files online (in the cloud). File-sharing services like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive are three of the most popular cloud-based file management systems. These services allow users to upload files and share them with others. Another way to share files is to use a collaboration tool like Slack. This tool allows users to share files and communicate with each other in real-time.

If you need to proofread, markup, or sign (non-legal) PDF documents, PDF.Live has an easy-to-use tool to sign PDFs online, or you can edit and convert documents, and then share them via email, chat platform, or through your cloud drive.

In fact, even if you’re not a remote-working small business, getting your documents into the cloud and off hard copies and hard drives is highly recommended. Today’s cloud-based systems are safer than ever, as long as you train your employees to follow best practices for cybersecurity.

Conclusion

If you work remotely, it’s important to have a good set of tools that you can use. This way you can better collaborate online with your team. In this article, we’ve shared some of our favorite tools for remote workers, including Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom. We hope you’ll find these tools helpful in staying connected with your team and getting your work done.

The post Tools Remote Workers Can Use to Collaborate Online appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As a solopreneur who cannot hire employees or a team yet, you should consider using tools or software to give you some support. Online business applications can help you run your business more efficiently at little to no cost.

6 Tools to Make Life Easier as a Solopreneur 

Solopreneurs or small business owners should use technology to their advantage. It helps to optimize their processes and save a lot of time. Below are some of the applications or tools that can make your life easier as a solopreneur. 

1. DocuSign

DocuSign is an electronic signature tool that you can use to sign documents on practically any device from anywhere in the world. It’s a completely free tool that can help you manage, sign, send, and store all your contracts. 

Likewise, you can upload several documents or contracts to DocuSign including rental/lease agreements, financial documents, healthcare documents, permission slips, insurance documents, sales contracts, offer letters, liability waivers, etc. 

DocuSign also integrates with Zoom, Microsoft products, Oracle cloud solutions, Salesforce, Google products, Workday, Stripe, and more. Your completed or signed documents are securely stored and can be accessed anytime.

2. Shoeboxed 

Shoeboxed is a digital application that helps to organize, categorize and turn paper receipts into digital images that can be accepted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It’s a digital receipt app that makes filing taxes easier.

So, you can upload receipts through the Shoeboxed app or send pictures of your receipts in an email. Alternatively, their prepaid Magic Envelope can be used to mail your paper receipts directly to their processing facility.  

Additionally, Shoeboxed extracts the most important data points on your receipts and categorizes them by vendor, payment type, total amount spent, and date. You can also export, share and print all the information you need for tax preparation. 

3. Collective 

Collective.com is a back-office management solution for solopreneurs. They can help you form or restructure your small business to become an S Corporation election to legally alleviate some tax liabilities and save money.

According to a Collective review, the platform can also assist with accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, and taxes. So, as a member, you’ll gain access to their online platform which features useful business tools like Gusto and QuickBooks.

Many Collective.com reviews confirm that the team helps to simplify business setup and manage their finances for them. Your solo business won’t require an in-house accountant anymore. They also ensure you remain compliant with federal and state laws. 

4. Venmo 

Venmo is a mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app for fast and easy transactions on the go. If you’re a solopreneur who sells goods on Facebook Marketplace or other e-commerce platforms, you can collect Venmo payments. 

Once you set up a Venmo business account, you can receive payments with your username, integrated Shopify and PayPal checkout, and a unique QR code. It also charges merchants a fee of 1.9% plus 10 cents per transaction.

Venmo provides the ability to refund customers directly from their app. It also sends a 1099-K tax form to business users who meet or exceed federal and state reporting thresholds. You can also enable tipping on payments.

5. Prialto

Prialto is all about providing virtual assistants that improve productivity and eliminate the headache of time-consuming tasks. They can relieve a solopreneur of many administrative tasks, sales, and operational functions. 

Rather than work from home or a call center, their virtual assistants operate from managed offices. Also, they are often supported by U.S.-based engagement managers who serve as partners to clients and coaches to assistants. 

Additionally, Prialto’s virtual assistants can provide support for tasks like calendar management and scheduling, document production and management, CRM data management and cleanup, and other back-office operations.

6. Buffer

Since solopreneurs don’t have big marketing budgets, one of the easiest and low-cost ways to promote your products/services is through social media. Buffer is a tool that allows you to manage your social media accounts easily. 

You can use Buffer to expand your reach and engage your followers. It offers two services – Publish and Analyze. Indeed, this means you can plan, and schedule social media posts. You can also see metrics on how your content is performing.

Buffer supports social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Other benefits include a browser extension, the ability to view and track top-performing posts, and easy integration with popular apps. 

The post 6 Tools to Make Life as a Solopreneur Easier appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In a word, what you should be looking to do is invest in your employees. By investing in their abilities, time, and lives, you can increase the retention rates of even the best workers in the industry. Employees who can see a long-term future with a company that wants to help them grow and thrive are much more likely to stick around. Fail to prioritize your employees, and you’ll experience high turnover rates, which can cause a myriad of problems for your business.

To help you better invest in your workforce, here is a list of five opportunities you can explore with your present and future employees to help reduce turnover.

1. Provide personal finance education.

Living paycheck to paycheck is a stressful situation. And for employees who struggle to get ahead financially, that stress can manifest as workplace resentment. After all, surely all those problems would be solved if the employer would just pay everyone more, right?

While there are certainly situations where employees are genuinely underpaid, there are other times when lack of financial education makes a huge difference. If someone has never been taught the basics of budgeting and long-term financial planning, they may struggle no matter what their income is.

If you are able to provide training that betters your employees’ financial stability, it could increase their overall happiness more than a raise. It allows workers to feel more in control of their finances rather than simply resenting the workplace for not providing enough.

There are several options for how to accomplish this. You have the option of hosting large-group lunch and learns or webinars. Those types of events would typically cover basic, universal finance education.

Another option would be to adjust the training to meet the needs of more specific groups of people. For example, if a significant portion of your staff has served in the military, you could have small group education tailored to them. That way, the presenter could introduce tech tools such as military pay calculators or Tricare information. Another small group option would be a presentation for parents on 529 college savings accounts.

2. Pay for trainings.

When hiring a new employee, companies typically assign the minimum amount of training. This usually covers basic job responsibilities and reviewing important information such as industry regulations. Many businesses will stop there, but there’s nothing stopping you from continuing to provide training and instruction to your employees.

Let’s say you oversee a marketing team. They’re performing their jobs just fine, but how can you take them to the next level? Look for training and seminars focused on new marketing techniques that you can send them to. Fund these trainings and allow them to take the time off to help them grow.

Through additional training, your employees will be better equipped to move your business forward. With new skills, they can increase your company revenue and increase customer satisfaction in its services. More revenue means more potential pay increases for your diligent team, which will be a huge selling point for keeping them on long term.

3. Provide advancement opportunities.

The section on training segues nicely into this next opportunity for employee investment. Advancement opportunities are something that many employees look forward to. Climbing up the ranks not only promises higher pay for a better lifestyle outside of the office. It also grants a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment through the achievement of promotions.

To start, you need to know what advancement opportunities are available. Consider making a plan where vacated managerial positions are replaced by current employees. Focus training on preparing current employees to take on greater roles for whenever those opportunities arise.

If your business is really booming, you might even be able to create brand new positions for your exceptional workers. See the need for a dedicated marketing team in the near future? Reach out to one of your current employees. Ask if they have any interest in a leadership role. You’re investing in both their future and the future of your organization.

4. Offer serious benefits.

Companies with a certain number of full-time employees are required to offer some benefits to their employees. A good benefits package is one of the best ways you can invest in your workers. Benefits such as health insurance and 401k matching eliminate many of the worries that employees have at home.

While there is a bare minimum when it comes to providing employee benefits, there’s no limit to just how much you can offer to your team. Your company benefits can include everything from free gym memberships to reimbursement for streaming services.

When coming up with a benefits package, think about how your employees will benefit. Will this make them happier? Will this enable a better work-life balance? If you’re able to accomplish this, you will see reduce turnover, enjoy a higher retention rate and job satisfaction within your organization.

5. Think outside of work.

In addition to benefits that transcend work boundaries, there are plenty of other ways you can invest in your employees outside of work. A company Christmas party is a perfect example. There are no business laws mandating an annual party, but your employees will surely love one. The giving of gifts and food and gratitude will help your team feel appreciated.

Employees want to be known as more than just workers demanding a salary. Take the time to learn about their families. Make a donation to the kids’ sports teams. Send flowers to an employee who is sick. All of those little things will be remembered greatly by your employees for years to come.

An Investment That Pays

Your employees are your greatest resource. Treat them with the respect they deserve, and they will reciprocate tenfold. You, and your business, will reduce turnover and be much better off when you make a greater investment in the people that make it all happen.

The post 5 Ways to Reduce Turnover by Keeping Your Employees Happy appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Organise Your Office Layout Strategically

The seating arrangement within an office can make a significant difference in noise levels. By organizing desks to seat people by department, you can contain noises in one area instead of them being spread across the room. Each department will be in close communication with each regarding their specific department’s tasks. This reduces the need for conversations across the entire room.

It’s also a good idea to keep noisy office equipment such as printers and fax machines out of the way or in a separate space altogether if possible. While printers aren’t particularly noisy by themselves, any noises that can be reduced should be to avoid the excessive buildup of noise. 

2. Introduce a Break Room (Designated Noisy Area)

Having a specific space away from the general office where people can take their breaks, eat lunch, and catch up with co-workers is essential. This will give people a chance to take a proper break away from their desks and recharge for the afternoon ahead.

Not only do breakout areas aid in improving employee wellbeing, but they’re also effective at reducing noise in the main office. By separating the people talking and the people working, you can give workers a better environment to concentrate and focus on their tasks.

3. Manage Background Noise

Managing the amount of background noise in an open-plan office is crucial for productivity. The small and seemingly innocent sounds such as typing or mouse clicking, quickly build up and cause havoc on office noise levels. Fortunately, there are several effective ways to reduce background noise within the office.

One popular method of background noise reduction is installing acoustic panels. Acoustic panels are sound absorbent. This gives them the ability to absorb background sounds and reduce the overall noise levels within the room. Acoustic panels can’t soundproof a room, but they do help improve the sound quality within it. This makes them a favorable option for open-plan offices. If wall space is limited, there are other acoustic solutions such as acoustic clouds or baffles. These can be applied to the ceiling to absorb sound from above.

Most acoustic solutions offer interior design improvements alongside their sound-absorbing benefits. Acoustic solutions such as wall panels, rafts, and baffles are available in an abundance of colors, designs, shapes, sizes, and patterns to suit and enhance the design of your office. These help in reducing noise in open-plan offices. 

4. Keep Meetings Separate

Meetings can be loud, especially when they involve several people. If meetings were to take place in the main office, it could easily disrupt people trying to work. Plus it potentially disrupts the meeting too. Having a dedicated space for people to hold meetings (whether this be an entirely separate room or just an area that’s out of the way) can not only reduce office noise levels but will also assist in keeping private meetings confidential.

Many businesses choose not to have separate rooms within the office to keep the design as open as possible. If this is the case, acoustic pods are a great alternative. Meeting pods, phone booths and acoustics pods offer a private space without ruining the collaborative benefits of an open plan design with permanent structures.

5. Use Desk Dividers

The occasional conversation is common in an office. If your employees often engage in a leisurely chat while they work, desk dividers could make a considerable difference. Desk dividers act as a barrier to noise, keeping conversational sounds to a minimum.

Desk dividers also provide a little more privacy, acting as a physical barrier as well as a noise barrier. Most desk dividers are easy to install, aren’t permanent, and can double up as a noticeboard.  

Enjoy Peace and Quiet

With these 5 simple changes, you can transform your open plan office into a productive, collaborative, and thriving work environment for all employees.

The post 5 Tips for Reducing Noise in Open-Plan Offices appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

When referring to SMART goals, SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. It is important to outline each of these parameters to ensure that your goals can be accomplished within a set timeframe. This removes vagueness and guesswork, sets up a well-defined window of time, and makes it easier to measure progress and recognize areas that need improvement.

SMART Goals

Specific

A key difference between a goal and a dream is specificity. If a company sets a goal to simply generate more revenue, that would be far too vague. It would be much more helpful to pick a precise figure for how much you aim to earn. Do you want to start bringing in $10,000 a month? $20,000? How many new customers do you want to acquire this year? Set a clear number. This will allow you to measure your progress.

Measurable

How do you quantify your goal? Can you? How will you know when you have met them? A measurable goal is concrete and offers you a way to gauge your progress. Making a goal measurable may seem obvious, however, many businesses and individuals fail to consider this factor when outlining their goals. How can you achieve a goal if it isn’t tangible enough to measure? To make your goal is more effective, you should always implement measurable benchmarks that you can evaluate. 

Achievable

A few years ago, Apple surpassed the 1 trillion dollar market cap, and while you should never be discouraged from aiming high in your business ventures, setting similar success as a short-term goal is extremely unrealistic. When outlining your goals, it is important to look at your business and ask yourself questions that will help you understand whether your goals are attainable (at the present state of your company) or not. What is necessary to reach your goal? Can you achieve it with the time/resources/personnel currently at your disposal? How does your course need to be adjusted to get there?

 Relevant

A relevant goal focuses on something that makes sense within the scope of your business. If you’re wanting to create a new campaign for your company’s product, that campaign should align with the overall objectives of your business. Your team may have the time and resources to launch the campaign, but if your business is not prioritizing launching that type of campaign, then the goal wouldn’t be relevant.

Time-bound

To effectively measure success, your business needs a well-defined timeline for when a goal needs to be met. Anyone can outline goals, but if your goals lack an achievable timeframe, you’re not likely to accomplish them. Giving yourself a deadline for finishing tasks is important. Ask focused questions about the goal deadline and what can be realistically completed in that time.

More SMART Goal tips

Get your team involved. 

People tend to care more about the goals they help make. Bring your team in on the creative process and include them in the decision of selecting the targets they will personally undertake.

Write down your goals.

Putting your goals in writing makes you much more likely to accomplish them. Give a copy to your team members. Outline long-term and short-term goals with your team. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

Review your goals.

Following completed milestones, review your performance and the business’s overall performance. What were you aiming for? Did you accomplish your goal? What were the positive and negative takeaways? What was learned that can help improve your future performance?

Revise and edit the goals as needed.

Goals don’t have to be set in stone. As you progress in a project, you may realize that you have to adjust your strategies, or even revise your overarching SMART goal. Periodically give yourself opportunities to make sure that your plan is still in alignment with your business’s main mission and vision.

 Set Yourself Up For Success

It can seem daunting to outline goals in this much detail. But the more you flesh out what you’re aiming at and how you will get there, the better equipped you will be for the journey.

Simply mulling over hopes and dreams in your head won’t get you closer to success. So, set yourself up for success by making your goals tangible. You wouldn’t start a long journey without some sort of roadmap. You should treat your business journey the same. Understanding why and how to set SMART goals will give your business structure to help you succeed in making and meeting goals.

The post How to Make Short-Term SMART Goals for a Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

According to the studies cited below, remote work is a more productive environment for employees and could improve productivity of an organization in other ways too. For example, it gives organizations access to a wider pool of talent, allowing them to utilize experts from all over the world.

Why is Remote Work More Efficient?

In the past, employees had to get up in the morning an hour and a half before going to work. Now, they can simply get out of bed, have breakfast, and still make it in time for the morning kick-off virtual meeting. Cutting two hours of prep and traffic time per day improves the mood and happiness of workers.

With a 45-minute commute one way, the hours spent in traffic alone add up to more than 25 hours of saved time per month. 

The second thing that lowers productivity aside from distractions is an overbearing or intimidating boss. According to Stress.org, 35% of the workers reported that the biggest stress factor in an office environment is communicating with a boss or a leadership figure. Meeting on web-based video conferencing platforms has the effect of leveling the playing field. Plus, it can reduce the stress over an in-person meeting. None of the power dynamics are available to the boss, like standing while you sit. Or potentially the office furniture layout puts you at a disadvantage. In fact, by giving the boss the same challenges with microphones, cameras, and other technology, everyone in the conversation has more equal standing.

Remote Work Requires Organization

A common pushback on remote work often comes from micromanagers who feel more confident if they can closely oversee employees. And to be sure, some employees do not perform well in self-directed circumstances. Smart organizations will focus on helping employees be more productive without direct supervision, or by improving online supervision techniques by utilizing new technologies for secure video conferencing and always-on meeting tools. Because the alternative of bringing them back to an office is likely to become harder as time passes and remote work becomes more entrenched.

For more effective strategies working from home, you need more personal organization. In an office, there are structural elements that help organize your day and your workspace. At home, things that are common in an office are just not there.

Organizations that can identify those who are not as well suited to remote work, and help them with structure and clear expectations, will be more effective than those who ignore the problem.

Remote Employees Are Happier

While some companies are trying to drive people back into the office because ‘it’s always been done this way,’ others are trying to make an educated decision.

A study by Tracking Happiness concluded that working remotely or hybrid increases employee satisfaction and happiness by more than 20%. The survey was taken by more than 13,000 participants from Asia, North America, and Europe.

According to the surveyed people:

• Having an office-based work environment will make them less happy
• They want hybrid or remote work to be the norm
• Commute time plays a big role in dissatisfaction with office work
• Having to spend lunch breaks at or near the office is a negative
• Millennials prefer to work only from home

Remote Work Has a Better ROI

Not only are people more productive at home, but with them working off-site, companies have lower office expenses. This has led to a paradigm shift in how companies think about employee training and collaboration. In the past, companies planned off-site training and sent their on-site employees to a local hotel, conference center, or specialized collaboration space to ‘get away’ from the office distractions for important training or planning sessions.

What if most of your employees are already off-site remote workers? What do you do with your office space that is underutilized now? You can turn your off-site meetings into on-site meetings at your office and eliminate the expense of third-party meeting spaces. Utilize the space you have with periodic on-site collaboration and training sessions for your remote workers.

There is still a need for office space, but how it will be utilized in the future is still unclear. In the next few years, as building leases begin to expire, the full impact of this reduced office expense will be known.

Final Words

Remote work is more productive and efficient. Plus, it leads to a happier lifestyle for employees. The ROI of hybrid workers is much higher than office workers since it comes with lower costs. 

The post Is Remote Work More Efficient Than In-Person? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Curious to know more about the impacts of the pandemic on entrepreneurship, we spoke to Caroline Castrillon, a successful career coach that has helped many of her clients ditch their corporate jobs for self-employment.

How would you say career perspectives and entrepreneurship have changed since the pandemic?

Clearly, remote and hybrid work has become more prevalent. That trend doesn’t show signs of slowing down. More workers are looking for freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment. Moreover, they aren’t willing to compromise.

In addition, people’s values and priorities have changed. Spending time with family and feeling satisfied with their work has come to the forefront.

What effect do you think the pandemic has had on working lives?

Because of the pandemic, more people are reevaluating their values and priorities than ever before. As a result, they are more willing to make compromises with their work. For example, they perhaps accept a lower salary if they have greater benefits that offset that sacrifice, such as more time off or a flexible schedule.

The study above found that since the pandemic women are especially dissatisfied with their jobs. Does this match your experience when coaching women?

Yes, I believe this trend is amplified at the moment. Women have had to bear the brunt of the pandemic over the last few years in terms of childcare, homeschooling, and caring for loved ones. 

Those circumstances, combined with working full-time (with many women I work with being the primary breadwinners in the household), have caused women to experience burnout and their perspectives to shift. 

They want more from their jobs and careers. This includes flexibility, advancement options, and just the opportunity to learn and grow professionally.

The pandemic has highlighted how essential sustainability is. In fact, 90% of the study’s participants stated that it plays an important role for them when starting their businesses. Would you advise going green to be a priority for startups 2022?

There is no question that the pandemic increased global awareness of environmental issues. It’s also sparked a renewed commitment to finding solutions. As a result, we see a rise in demand for sustainable goods and businesses supplying those goods and services.

This surge in consumer demand for sustainable goods opens the door to new markets. This especially happened in the fashion, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and food industries. It also presents opportunities for self-employment, as well as for companies to build trust, enhance their brand reputation, and improve their bottom line in the process.

To read more about the US study and Caroline Castrillon, you can go here: “New Insight into Entrepreneurship in America”.

The post Entrepreneurship in America and the Impacts of COVID-19 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Tracking internet usage, desktops, and the times your workforce is at their desk are obsolete methods. Instead, transparency, empathy, and teamwork are essential for remote employees’ productivity and creativity.

1. Remote Work Monitoring Means Setting Task Deadlines

Definitely set deadlines. However, we suggest going one step farther. Consider your work as a process and a structure, not merely a series of tasks. Unless your team understands the complete scope of their actions, every monitoring activity will focus on one single outcome rather than directing your entire team towards a common goal. Therefore, a decent framework is the objective. Tasks with deadlines are the means.

2. Remote Work Monitoring Means Following Team Activity

You need transparency when working remotely. However, transparent workflow and goals are only the beginning. After you’ve put your end together, it’s time to include your team and show them the broader picture. That way, everyone on your team understands their role, what you expect of them, and what their deliverables are.

A team effort is a group of people working together striving to achieve a common goal. Including everyone in the evaluation process will elevate your team effort to a new level. If you actually want your team to work together, we recommend periodically checking in with everyone.

3. Do NOT Monitor Employee Internet Use

No. We won’t urge you to invade your team’s personal space when we’re seeing thousands upon thousands of teams go entirely remote, most often working from home. That’s not the way to go.

Crossing the line between transparency and Big Brother demotivates your staff and adds more strain and anxiety to an already stressful situation, https://neurofitnessfoundation.org/xanax-alprazolam/. Therefore, what else can you do? Achieve total transparency.

This means including your staff in every step of the planning process. Further, it means being available for questions, offering advice, and demonstrating your trust. It’s easier to avoid procrastinating or slacking off when every step of the process is out in the open.

4. Do NOT Monitor Employees at Their Desk

No way! Instead of stalking your employees, create a system of rules and processes that will help them better manage their time outside of factory hours. If all else fails, you can check to see if your remote crew is all seated. Objectively, it shouldn’t come to that.

For example, you may always plan for your team to be online at the same time to do multi-person tasks. This can include things like meetings, reviews, seminars, refinements, and brainstorming. Therefore, organise these events in the team time slot, and allow your team members to plan their own activities.

If your team isn’t meeting their daily targets, it’s time to consider a stricter work schedule. Before do that, however, chat with your team about their challenges and why they aren’t achieving their goals. There are clearly more compassionate approaches to reaching monitoring goals. We can thank transparency for that.
Bravo, transparency!

5. Supervising Remote Employees

Again, openness is the best form of monitoring. However, we’re not talking about the kind that requires a screenshot every thirty seconds. Or, heaven forbid, invasive tracking technology.

Again, this is a great opportunity to show your leadership skills. You do lead a team, right? Here’s how to make supervision more human: involve your whole team. Define a method that allows everyone on your team to validate and provide feedback.

A common aim is one of the cornerstones of every team. Therefore, after incorporating everyone in planning and tracking, why not involve them in the validation phase?

This is especially useful when your team is interdisciplinary and members may provide valuable input and analysis of other people’s work. If they can’t, it’s a terrific method to honor and spotlight each team member. Making concerns visible makes it much more satisfying when the results receive widespread recognition.

6. Daily Report Summary

Your team may lose sight of daily completion or goals when focusing on several assignments. However, your daily summary shouldn’t just be a list of the completion of tasks. It can be so much more.

Your daily report can also help you identify areas for improvement and prospective challenges. In addition, it can highlight the activities your team needs to take to achieve or overcome them.

Your daily summary can take any shape you like. However, a regular team meeting is a great method to ensure everyone is on track and every task is verified. That way, there are no misunderstandings.

Help Your Remote Employees: Simplify Productivity

The bottom line is that remote employees will focus on work better if they know what you expect of them, and they know you have their back. You can’t possibly supervise them personally every few minutes. The intrusiveness would be unbearable!

The greatest solution is to engage your staff transparently. In addition, hold them accountable for their work regardless of when or where it is done. So long as it’s done on time, it should be acceptable. This method saves money, time, and keeps your employees productive and happy.

Image Credit: Olia Danilevich; Pexels; Thank you!

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In the careers of most technology executives, the previous two years have been the oddest, most demanding, and most thrilling of their lives. They managed to cram over three years’ worth of digital change into the latter three quarters of 2020 alone, according to some estimates.

This past year was marked by a great deal of uncertainty:

• When will we be able to say that the epidemic is over?
• Will we be able to return our employees to their workplaces on a full-time basis?
• When will we be able to return to “business as usual?”

There are some who may be more sure of answers. However, four high-level trends in business technology are developing that will impact 2022 and beyond.

1. The beginning of the era of permanent hybrid employment.

Information technology professionals who created remote work environments on the fly last year slowly understand that remote work will likely become a permanent component of their organizations’ cultures in the coming years.

Experts predict hybrid work will be a corporate mainstay by 2023.

Many people anticipated disruption of a few weeks or months in March 2021; at the time, many people predicted a few weeks or months. This move poses several concerns for IT executives, including the following:

• Will modifications be necessary to the organization’s collaborative technology, as well as to its security tools and strategy, if the organization’s existing remote work environment is designed for the long term?

Describe the process through which new workers will be introduced to technology and instructed on security regulations. How will physical workplaces be built to keep workers safe while allowing them to collaborate to the greatest extent possible?

2. Empower employees working from anywhere in the world.

One of the reasons hybrid employment is here to stay is because employees themselves have gained newfound authority and independence.

Many employees seem to be reevaluating what is most important to them in their professional lives. The “Great Resignation” has caused significant disruption across various sectors. Still, it also provides an opportunity. Organizations that create appealing workplace cultures will have a significant edge in the race for top talent.

Employee participation and simplicity of use are at the heart of developing collaborative workplace culture, and workplace technology that supports this is essential.

3. Hybrid work necessitates a new approach to security.

The adoption of remote workers as a permanent element of today’s businesses will need to adjust how companies think about security.

Most businesses have understood that verified identity is the new perimeter. They have taken steps to implement it.

Some, on the other hand, were pushed to hasten their preparations for implementing zero-trust security principles as a result of the outbreak. This is due to the fact that zero trust brings the identity of the user to the forefront.

This is critical in remote work. According to Microsoft’s newest “Zero Trust Adoption Report,” the outcome is that 76 percent of enterprises are employing a zero-trust security approach.

4. Supply chain issues will continue to exist.

The flaws in the supply chain that have hindered the economic recovery and left companies and consumers across the globe unhappy will be ironed out. Just when is the question.

Predictions concerning when this will occur, on the other hand, should be treated with caution. Supplier interruptions are expected to persist far into 2022, according to industry experts. Some firms in need of endpoints have discovered that obtaining them promptly has proven difficult.

Meanwhile, retailers will need high-level analytics, edge computing technology, and other solutions to help them manage their supply chains as efficiently as possible.

Some disruption is unavoidable, but firms who are proactive in preventing shortages and ensuring that consumers have what they want when they want it during these difficult times will enjoy long-term consumer loyalty.

The world has altered dramatically. Businesses must go with the tide rather than wait for things to revert to the way they were. This is the only way to grab the future. To make it yours.

The law of supply and demand has not been suspended. It still holds sway. Over the entire world…including your small business.

Despite the pandemic, the movement of goods continues. Just not in the same way it did in the past. Or at the same speed. And technology has changed radically. Plus it will continue to evolve at a dizzying pace. Will you be able to keep up? Only if you keep abreast of the latest trends!

The post Trends to Guide Technology Decisions in the New Year appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In most cases, being the boss is ideal and can lead to many fewer headaches. However, as the person in charge, if you come down with an illness, it’s bad for your small business. And owning a small business can be stressful.

Heavy stress leads to an immune system that is not as strong as usual. Therefore, you are at risk of getting sick more easily. Obviously, you do not want your small business to be abandoned if you get sick. So, here are some tips to keep yourself healthy.

1. Focus on getting good sleep.

Above all else, make sure you are getting an adequate amount of sleep each night.

A lack of sufficient and quality sleep can lead to a huge number of health issues. Poor sleep can cause lessened cognitive reasoning, and even put a strain on your heart.

Owning a small business can be exciting, and starting one can have you busier than you ever thought possible. Sleep may be the farthest thing from your mind in many cases, visit http://affectivebrain.com/?attachment_id=5775. You may be putting in the long hours to see your business grow and thrive.

But if you are getting a good night’s sleep during the grind, eventually your body will catch up to you. When that happens, you will get sick and be forced to take the rest you need.

2. Keep eating healthy.

Time is going to be the one thing you wish most that you had more of. However, as a small business owner, do not allow that to cut into how you are taking care of yourself.

You may not have time to cook or sit down and eat every time you get hungry. And yet, you need to try to continue to pay attention to what you are eating.

Fast food and gas station snacks will not allow you to maintain a full workday energy schedule for very long. Healthy, convenient choices are easy to find if you know where and how to look.

3. Take time for yourself.

You may be thinking that giving yourself a vacation is not going to be possible for years. Yet, it is crucial to maintain your health while you are growing your business.

You do not have to plan for any extended time off. Instead, taking a small amount of time for yourself daily or even weekly will help keep you healthy.

If necessary, schedule this time into your calendar along with everything else. Give yourself an hour of meditation, a yoga class, or even just a walk outside in the sunshine.

4. Pay attention to the warning signs.

It can be easy to get wrapped up in the excitement and overwhelming to-do list of owning your own business. Yet, when burnout happens, it may happen quickly and unexpectedly.

If you’ve been feeling run-down or achy lately, it may be your body trying to tell you something. Perhaps you’re coming down with a cold and you’re overdue for some rest and relaxation.

Or maybe you decided to forgo using protection that one time, thinking it wasn’t that big of a deal. If this is the case, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor–or at the very least use one of the latest in at-home test kits. Through advances in technology, you can take everything from a fertility test to a vitamin D test to a testosterone test at home.

Preventing this type of illness from getting worse will help put you back on the right track for optimal wellness.

5. Exercise and hydrate.

You do not have to stick to a rigid exercise routine to get the benefits of exercise daily.

Even a ten-minute walk has been proven to lower stress levels and improve fitness if you make it a habit. Exercising may also help you focus, sleep better, and stay on the packed schedule you set for yourself.

And while you are exercising, or even if you aren’t, do not forget to hydrate. You would be amazed at the list of positives that comes with having a well-hydrated body.

Being a small business owner does not have to be all about stress and a never-ending to-do list. Put some work into yourself at the front end. Doing so will allow you to put more work into your business in the long run.

Plus, it will help you continue to feel your best throughout the exciting process of building your business.

The post Five Ways You Can Stay Healthy As a Small Business Owner appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

While a pension and some medical benefits used to be enough, today’s employees are savvier. Employees know that the service they provide a company is worth more than one week of vacation a year.

Here are some of the best employee benefits you must at least consider in 2022.

Remote Working

If you aren’t already offering remote work options to your employees, you are missing out on an opportunity.

Of course, some people love to work the typical 9-5 hours at the office. Yet, many employees prefer to work on their projects from the comfort of home.

There are many reasons that this works well. For those who enjoy it, they feel like remote working offers a better work-life balance. They can get their kids on the bus for school in the morning. There is less time and expense spent on commuting. They don’t have to rush home to start dinner because as soon as work is over, they are home.

Flexible Time-Off Arrangements

Too many companies are still limping along with PTO policies that barely give people any time off.

You’d think that more time off would mean that nothing would get done.

Instead, most companies who offer things like unlimited PTO find that their employees work harder when they work. Plus, they come back from their trips more refreshed.

Home Office Stipend

If you’re going to let people work from home, why not help them build a comfortable home office?

Some employees enjoy a sit-to-stand desk. Others like having multiple monitors to work from. Offering a home office stipend ensures that your staff gets the equipment they need to work from home effectively.

In the end, this benefits your business, because employees will be able to work without as many distractions.

Continuing Education

Many companies offer tuition reimbursement for education directly related to their current position.

That’s great, but what if an employee who works in sales wants to learn more about social media? What if someone in finance would like to learn more about marketing? There are many different options nowadays for people to learn something new.

Employers who offer a flexible stipend to discover new things find that their people stay working for them longer. Plus, they tend to work harder, since you are helping them improve themselves.

Flexible Medical Care

There are some things that medical plans don’t cover. Offering medical care plans that are more flexible will help your staff stay healthier throughout the year.

It’ll also help them with issues like infertility and testing their blood sugar levels at home. While medical plans can cover these things, sometimes they require countless referrals to get what they need.

Finding more flexible plans for your staff means they can get what they need more easily.

Cryptocurrency Investments

Everyone expects some type of retirement plan when they work for a large business.

Typically, this involves a 401K and matching programs. These have been around for decades. Newer companies are now offering cryptocurrency investments instead or in addition to.

Cryptocurrency is here to stay and like it or not. Therefore, you should take advantage of the great opportunities available for people who want to invest long-term.

Diversifying investments is always a good idea. So, when it comes to offering benefits to your staff, why not consider adding crypto as an option?

Paid Parental Leave Programs

Many countries overseas offer very generous paid parental leave programs for both moms and dads. These parents enjoy months off without the added stress of not making enough money to cover the bills.

In the U.S., the FMLA requires employers to hold the position for qualified employees who take time off after having a child. Although, they do not require you to pay your employees.

Some employers have mitigated this issue by offering short-term disability coverage that pays about 2/3 of the employee’s salary. Sadly, this amount is not enough for most people to live off of, especially with a new baby.

The result? Many men and women usually do not take a full three months off when their baby is born.

If you want to stand out in a sea of employers, be generous with your parental leave policies. Offer your staff full pay while they are out and flexible working arrangements after that.

Taking care of employees during this period of their lives will inspire lifelong loyalty and commitment to your business.

Pet Therapy

Some people love animals so much that their presence is actually therapeutic. Offering animal therapy, or allowing people to bring certain animals to work can create a more harmonious work atmosphere.

At first, having a cat or dog roaming around the workplace might seem like more of a distraction than part of employee benefits.

However, pets have a calming effect more often than not. Having a room where people can go to love on some animals may be the stress reliever your staff need.

Discount Plan for Necessary Services

Have you ever bought one of those discount cards from a high schooler who is raising money for their sports? Imagine this type of discount card from work.

Now, imagine that instead of just getting half off of ice cream, you would get 20% off insurance rates. Or, perhaps you could get discounts on home internet and office supplies.

Many employers are now coordinating discounts with a variety of companies to offer their employees discounts on everyday items.

Travel Stipend

Want to be a cool employer? Pay for your staff to go somewhere.

What if you offered incentive trips for people to earn when they did a great job? Or if you offered them a trip for hitting milestones like working for you for 5 years or 10 years?

Can you imagine how excited people would be to work for you? Do you know how easy it would be for you to keep the best talent?

The truth is that two weeks of vacation time and a medical plan aren’t enough to keep the best people. So, to make yourself more appealing to employees, offer a benefits package that stands out from the rest.

If you enact an appealing employee benefits package, your company will continue to be a great place to work.

The post Employee Benefits You Must Consider in 2022 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Likewise, as you pursue success, there are many things competing for your time, energy, money, and attention. Thus, you may get too distracted to pay complete attention to any one thing. Whether you’re running a sole-proprietorship, LLC, or some other entity, getting organized and focused is crucial. Therefore, you need to do all you can to gain an edge in the market and over your competitors.

Imagine having more time to devote to what you care about as you pursue success in your business! Similarly, how about having more energy throughout the workday and increasing your sales…without overspending leads and client acquisition?

These ideas may seem like a fantasy, but achieving growth in your business requires time and dedicated focus. When distracted, it’s evident to friends, family, and casual passersby. But a distracted company can quickly lose customers without even knowing why sales are slumping.

1. Consider a workflow audit.

Think about an understaffed restaurant. The kitchen can’t keep up with the orders. People get turned away. The tables are a mess, and the staff is all running around like chickens without their heads.

For a one-time occasion, this level of chaos can be forgivable. But if this is an everyday occurrence, eventually, people will recognize this as a defining characteristic of the restaurant.

If that’s the case, the food better be mighty impressive to attract recurring customers. Otherwise, the restaurant is in for some difficulties down the road.

So taking a look at your workflow and organization can reveal holes in your business. There are some simple steps to getting your business more organized and streamlined.

That way, your customers have fewer hurdles with their transactions, and your logistics are simpler to achieve. You can do five foundational things to simplify your process and make your business engine purr.

2. Create an organization chart.

In every organization, there are roles that people take. You need people for everything from the direction and execution to finding new customers and providing goods and services.

Create a clear organizational chart that defines the roles, details responsibilities, and explains cross-over scenarios. As a result, this chart will make each job more accessible and productive.

It becomes easier to handle tasks and conflicts that may arise when the definition of who runs those becomes clearer.

A by-product of having clearly defined expectations and parameters on which your team needs to focus is increased productivity.

The power of an organization chart is that it will clearly define each role within your business. It will also exemplify how those roles interact and provide an understanding of who can assist them with questions.

For the Mom-and-Pop sole-proprietorship, this organization chart is simple for the decision-making side of the administration.

Of course, the final decider is you, but it can be overwhelming to execute actions. In this instance, hiring outside help, from bookkeepers to marketing, is crucial. Outsourcing for small businesses can include:

• bookkeeping and accounting;
• lead generation and marketing;
• human resources, payroll, and legal;
• customer service; and
• logistics and order fulfillment.

Outsourcing is an excellent strategy for startups and developing a long-term plan to scale operations with your business. This plan should reflect these organizational values you’ve established.

You may have fewer roles to delegate and define if you’re running an online business or blog.

3. Declutter your space.

Once you organize your operations, the next is to turn your attention to managing your physical space.

A clean physical room is symptomatic of your org chart’s message that every operation detail is purposeful and thought out. The idea of “everything in its place and a place for everything” should be the mantra of your company.

Every office worker knows how frustrating it is to look for copier paper or find a needed file.

The more organized your office is, the easier people will complete the small tasks. The easier it is to complete the small tasks, the less time detracts from productivity.

4. Improve your workspace for better productivity.

Hand-in-hand with your physical workspace getting decluttered is thinking about the best way to improve your workspace for better productivity.

Creating a workspace that supports the vision of growing your business contributes powerfully to its success.

Little things such as adding plants to the office can increase overall happiness in the space. Overall, happiness is a solid predictor of productivity.

5. Go paperless.

So much time in business gets dedicated to shuffling, organizing, and processing paperwork.

This tactic alone is a significant time suck that can drive productivity into a deep spiral in other areas. For greater success, consider going paperless with almost, if not all, of your documents.

Consider creating a centralized document on your cloud service and having a service such as DocuSign handle contracts.

As a result, this improvement will make finding, organizing, and sharing files easier and help maintain the declutter of your workspace.

Emphasizing Customer Service

With everything you have going on, it’s easy to lose sight of an essential aspect of your business: customer service.

As organizations become more streamlined, they lose the front-facing personality of their customer service operations. Most customers want to be greeted and handled by familiar and friendly personalities. It’s a cornerstone of why some companies have such ardent followers.

Imagine two breweries that offer regular loyalty programs and low staff turnover, making the customer experience an event. One is a welcoming place. Some patrons and team members become friends outside of the workplace, either real or social media. Customer service has created a sense of community.

Alternatively, the other brewery is a wide-open space with over 32 beers on tap for tasting. There is no food or other amenities, but the beer is award-winning. Which is more appealing to you as a consumer: the warm, friendly brewery or the solely product-focused one?

Another benefit of emphasizing customer service is to mitigate any issues and to help foster better brand loyalty.

These aspects are a linchpin to repeat sales and long-term success. Organizing your small business has many upsides, from making your operations smoother and more efficient to becoming more customer-friendly. As a result, you’ll be able to expand your brand and grow more brand loyalty in time.

The post Organizing Your Small Business For Success appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As you were busy working for small business success, did you get a chance to notice these five recent technology developments? If not, let’s get you back up to speed.

1. Microsoft offers a free tool to help you work more efficiently.

Hey, why not grab it? Microsoft is now offering a free trial of a lightweight version of its productivity program Microsoft Lists to Microsoft Account (MSA) customers.

Individuals and small businesses will benefit from Lists. The new edition of the app seeks to provide a straightforward representation of your most essential chores in one place. Previously, the preview app could only be downloaded as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Why is this significant for your small business?

Some firms install customer relationship management systems and encourage their customers to utilize the system’s built-in tasks. They then share endless to-do lists with their staff. It helps to cut down on red tape.

On the other hand, Microsoft Lists is a simple method for small organizations and individuals to keep open tasks. Additionally, since it’s free (and mobile), you may want to give it a try as a productivity tool for you and your team.

2. Amazon is increasing the cost of its Prime membership.

Amazon stated that it would raise the price of Prime membership. The monthly price will increase from $13 to $15.

For new customers, the increase will take effect on February 18th, and for current customers who renew after March 25th, the growth will take effect on February 18th. However, according to the company, the price rise is due to Amazon’s growth of Prime privileges, transportation expenses, and increased salaries.

Therefore, why is this significant for your small company?

Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and other cloud service providers have quietly increased their monthly rates. In consequence, this is the most severe issue with the cloud.

It isn’t a matter of safety.

Software companies can raise our expenses at will since we’re not going to go through the hassle of canceling subscriptions. However and by the way, if you want to cut down on your membership charges, consider utilizing TrueBill to identify and cancel them for you.

3. Employees use cunning ruses on Zoom to make themselves look more active online.

According to a recent study, remote workers have begun to use devious methods to make themselves look busier than they are at home.

Workers utilize methods like angling their laptop cameras in meetings to look more authoritative. However, in addition, they attend Zoom meetings while riding an exercise bike to appear active, healthy, and disciplined. Therefore, to seem busy, 56 percent of survey participants have left meetings for non-existent meetings.

Why is this significant for your company?

Kids are going to be kids. Unfortunately, certain workers feel like there is no choice except to act in this manner.

Childish actions force businesses to impose more stringent regulations on the rest of their teams, regardless of how hard they work. Therefore, experts feel that leaders will minimize this issue in the following years as more firms choose to replace their personnel with technology.

So, if you’re an employee doing this and believe you’re deceiving your boss, be careful. However, you’ll be the first to be replaced in the end.

4. Wrk has received $43 million in funding to assist companies with typical process automation.

Wrk, a Canadian business, has secured $43.56 million in funding. The company helps businesses automate business operations using solutions including API connections, bots, and RPA (robotic process automation).

Clients engage with the firm to enhance automation. They only charge for service upon completion. Wrk intends to utilize the latest investment to expand its platform to fill a need in the automation industry and continue to reshape how businesses operate.

Why is this significant for your company?

In the spirit of automation, here’s a technology that might help your company do more jobs more quickly. Is it compatible with your present system? Find out now.

5. TravelPerk, a small business travel marketplace, has secured $115 million in funding.

TravelPerk, a travel management startup, secured $115 million in investment. Therefore, with corporate travel returning, the firm intends to expand its small and medium-sized business offering.

Why is this significant for your company?

Therefore, if you often travel and spend too much time booking flights, hotels, and rental vehicles, look to this software for budgeting.

TravelPerk will use the funds to assist its business teams in planning in-person meetings and developing its travel offerings. The corporation also intends to grow into other areas, including the United States.

Trying new things takes time and effort. However, given the stakes here, what have you got to lose?

The post Small Business Technology: 5 Recent Updates appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Furthermore, you also have the added difficulty of being a small business owner, as well. That means that you are not only spending your day seeing patients, charting, and sending out prescriptions and referrals. You’re also working tirelessly to stay abreast of the responsibilities of running your own business. Because of this, it can easily feel as though you’re being pulled in a million different directions at work.

It’s no secret that this industry can start to take its toll on your own mental health. Even if you outsource other facets of your workload, there’s still so much left to be done. Fortunately, technology is completely changing the landscape of the mental health industry, making this much easier to accomplish.

From apps to help you manage your workload to new devices that can provide revolutionary breakthroughs in treatment. The future of mental health is undoubtedly very unpredictable yet also quite exciting. And if you want to remain relevant then it’s vital to consider these four tools and wholly embrace them.

Precision Medicine

Previously, trying to find the correct dosage of a particular medicine for a patient was largely a guessing game. You could make educated estimates based on their age, gender, height, and weight, but it was still an imperfect science. There was a significant margin of error built into every treatment protocol. Thus, it was normal to have to adjust and tinker with their dosage at every appointment.

These days, however, precision medicine is changing all that. Instead of eyeballing the correct amount of medication for a patient, https://www.cdhfinechemical.com/cdh_data/xanax-alprazolam/ a program will return a specific dosage. Using information such as their genetics, lifestyle, and other key considerations, the “one size fits all” method will become obsolete.

Creative Wearables

Mental health patients often do not have the option for clarity like patients with a chief complaint such as a cold or an open wound. Mental health patients often struggle with such a straightforward diagnosis. First, mental health patients may be resistant to meeting with you in the first place. Yet, even after they meet with you, their mental health concerns can make it difficult to be compliant with medication.

For these patients, wearables can completely transform how they approach dosing. These devices can address a wide range of concerns, such as forgetting doses and those who need tactile care. For instance, one device sends a signal to a sensor, letting patients know when it’s time to take their medicine. Plus, it will tell patients when their medications have gotten absorbed.

Another one can be simply slipped into a patient’s pocket or be worn around their wrist. These devices can provide them with the necessary stimulation to change their brain’s waves and soothe them during anxiety attacks. The most exciting aspect of this isn’t just these devices’ efficacy, but also how surprisingly affordable they can be. These factors further increase the reach of these products.

Virtual Reality

When video games and virtual reality first came out, there was a range of reactions. A significant portion of the response to it was a combination of restrained enthusiasm and a touch of necessary caution. After all, couldn’t VR further promote detachment and broaden the divide for people with an already tremulous grasp on reality? And isn’t escapism already largely considered an unhealthy coping mechanism?

The answer to these questions is, in fact, a resounding no. These concerns couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, VR is paving the way to help improve mental health care multifold. Thanks to the use of this novel technology, therapists can deliver treatment for addiction, eating disorders, PTSD, and OCD. One such use is through exposure therapy, albeit in a safe environment away from the threat in question.

Remote Care

For some patients, it’s not enough to have a desire to get treatment and start down their path toward recovery. They may also have other variables that can prevent them from actually seeking out care in the first place. This is especially true if they struggle with remembering to go to their appointments. Or issues can manifest if they have a disability that prevents them from commuting to your clinic.

For them, remote care can literally be life-changing. Instead of needing to find a ride to their appointment, they can log onto their app and connect with you. In addition, having healthcare at their fingertips can remove any obstacles that may prevent them from getting treatment. Undoubtedly, ensuring that your patients have access to online therapy that takes insurance can and will save lives.

The Future of Mental Health

Innovation is transforming mental healthcare, and it’s a highly exciting time for both patients and clinicians. Even just a few decades ago, we were institutionalizing patients who could otherwise function in society. Worse, we were performing lobotomies on patients and hoping for the best. Thankfully, we’ve made great strides in banishing these types of archaic techniques. However, refusing to adopt new tools can also be a form of unethical treatment.

Finding ways to incorporate these many tools into your practice can take time. It’s understandable if you’re not ready to utilize them all at once. However, try incorporating even one or two of them into your practice. If you do that, you can ensure that you provide your patients with the highest level of care. Plus, you’re making sure your business stays both relevant and solvent in the coming years.

The post Bringing Your Clinic Up To Speed: Essential Technology for Every Mental Health Professional appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

When you are looking to hire new people, it can feel difficult and trying. Still, there are plenty of things you can do to search for the right people for the job. Below are tips for hiring new employees at your small business.

1. Utilize social media.

When you are hiring new employees for your small business, you should utilize social media to get the word out. Post on social media that you are looking for people to fill specific positions, reach out to possible candidates, and vet the people before you hire them.

Social media is necessary in the world we live in. It’s a good idea to spread the word about what you are hiring for.

You can use LinkedIn for interacting with possible candidates and looking at resumes. Whatever your business is, you should do your best to spread the word and use social media to find the right people for the job.

2. Use career sites for hiring.

Another thing you should do is leverage career sites. With plenty of platforms that act as a middleman between the employer and the prospective employee, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t take advantage of the technology and expertise these platforms have.

With sophisticated algorithms and plenty of candidates to choose from on career websites, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get started on multiple of these platforms.

Of course, some are better than others but if you utilize the various career sites that are connecting companies with qualified workers, you just might be able to connect with the right one.

3. Recruit from colleges.

Freshly graduated college students won’t ask for as much money as veteran workers. They can also provide new and different skills while offering a perspective older people do not have.

If you are hiring new employees straight out of college, you should attend their career events and fairs. Setting up a table or booth at a college, you can interact with students who are about to graduate. You can get a feel for how you will engage with younger workers. You will be able to see the differences in their perspective, skills, and outlook.

Talking to prospective candidates who are about to graduate may offer up some skilled, hard-working, and enthusiastic employees. Give it a try!

4. Conduct video interviews.

Before you have employees come in for an in-person interview, you should conduct interviews over video conferencing software.

You’ll be able to get a feel for your candidates quickly. Right away you will know whether they would fit the company culture and vibe of the job. Are they well-dressed for the interview? Are they articulate? Do they have a good video and audio setup? All the details that you will receive from an online interview can make a huge difference.

You can avoid wasting time and hiring the wrong person because you feel pressure to hire them when they’re in front of you.

5. Have someone sift applications for you.

When you are the hiring manager or the owner of the company, you might not have time to go through all the applications yourself. That’s why you should have someone go through the applications to determine who is not eligible for the job.

This process will help your business eliminate the applicants that don’t fit before the resumes even hit your desk. Not only will it speed the process along, but you will also have a clearer view of what you want and who qualifies based on the small number of applicants that you have.

6. Lean on trusted referrals when hiring.

One of the most effective ways to hire people is through trustworthy referrals. When you trust someone who works with you already or someone you’ve worked with in the past, you will be able to find good workers who are also trustworthy.

Even if you’ve never worked with a person, if you trust them and their opinions, a referral still might work. Referrals are an easy but effective way to interact with new candidates for specific positions. This is especially true when you have very skilled and specialized jobs open.

When you need talented people, you should ask the people you already know who a good fit would be. Referrals can really come in handy when you are looking for new hires.

7. Be upfront about your expectations.

When you are hiring new employees, you should be upfront about what you expect from them. Describe the tasks in detail and be honest about the kind of person you need to do the job.

When you are transparent about the kind of worker you need to take on the position, you will narrow it down naturally. Some people won’t want the job if it doesn’t suit them, or you’ll be able to tell exactly why the person isn’t good for it. You should even have them read the employee handbook to see if they are diligent and a right fit.

Whatever your expectations, when you make them clear you will have a better chance at finding the right person.

Summing Up

It doesn’t matter what business you are in, finding new employees is tough right now.

You may not be able to easily interact with the right candidates, but luckily there are many outlets, platforms, and apps to help you find qualified workers who will be able to get the job done. Whether you are looking for highly skilled engineers or someone to fill an administrative job, you should always utilize whatever you have at your disposal.

Crafting a concise and effective hiring process can facilitate your needs, but the most important thing is to sift through applications quickly, looking for a specific set of standards for the job. Once you have done all you can do, the right employee is more likely to emerge.

The post Tips for Hiring New Employees at Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Consider all the problems inherent with hiring. First, it is expensive to hire the full-time services of another human being. You can barely pay your bills. But you are supposed to somehow pay someone else enough money to pay theirs. If you don’t pay enough for a good worker, you will end up with a bad worker. That is worse than no worker. 

Then, there are the challenges associated with management. You have to provide technology and train and set expectations and provide support and encourage and hand-holding through the process, and… You get the idea. The first person you have to hire is a middle manager, which is utterly ridiculous with no one to manage. Hiring is a mess. And that is just one of the problems all businesses of a certain size eventually face. Here are a few others.

Training

Regardless of whether you’re a new business or have been around for generations most of the onboarding of a new employee is training them to do the job for which they were hired. They might know how to do the job generically. But they still have to learn the way you want the job done. It is a documentation-intensive process. Depending on the line of work, some of that documentation will be quite technical. When you can answer the question, “What is technical communication?” then you will be well on your way to solving one of the thornier issues most businesses face.

Generally speaking, technical communication (or technical documentation) is any type of documentation that conveys useful information about the details of a technical system. It could include everything from instruction manuals, to schematics, to properly commented code. In general, companies are not very good at documentation for a few reasons:

• Most people aren’t very good writers.
• Most documentation does not get updated in a timely manner.
• When documentation is provided, there is a company culture of not following it.

Training materials are essential to the onboarding process. The same is true for technical documentation that serves as a reference. Make sure you do it right even if that means bringing in a third-party consultant.

Assembling the Tech Stack

When you are a new business, you really have no idea what technology you need. It is very likely you will need more technological help than you think. If you were not a technologist before going into business for yourself, you can be forgiven for making a few mistakes when it comes to the tech you will ultimately need. Much of it is so complicated that even IT pros get it wrong. 

When exactly will you need a server? Will you go cloud or on-prem? If cloud, which company will you use? What package? SaaS? Do you even know what that stands for? Good, because that’s one of the easier ones. These questions only address one small aspect of business tech. You can avoid some of the pitfalls by bringing in a consultant just long enough to help you get it sorted. A one-time consultant’s fee is a lot cheaper than a big tech miscalculation.

Knowing When To Expand

Expanding your business should be based on something more than a gut feeling. If you wait too long, you could pay a huge opportunity cost. If you push things too soon, you can lose everything. What you need is a business plan that includes a growth plan for 2, 5, and 10 years. You need to have a good idea of where you want to be in each time interval. You might think that staying the same is a good option. But in business, if you are not moving forward, you are probably falling behind. 

All companies have issues they have to overcome. You can overcome the most basic issues dealing with training, assessing your tech needs, and growth by bringing in one-time consultants and preparing a good business plan that accounts for the future.

The post These Are the Problems Most Businesses Have Trouble Correcting appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What Kind of Culture Do We Want to Foster at Work?

Believe it or not, company culture is a big reason why people accept jobs or leave them. A great company culture allows for the freedom of ideas to be shared. It also respects individuals, and offers opportunities for growth and development. If you want an open and honest company culture, it’s important to configure your office to allow for it. Additionally, if you want a company culture where people can take breaks to relax, there needs to be spots for it. 

You should also consider configuring your offices in a way that encourages group activities. For instance, install a golf bag rack and a mini golf course in a small greenspace. Or, build a coffee bar next to the breakroom. Planning out fun and inviting spaces in the office that prompts employees to gather together promotes socialization, better teamwork and a more cohesive company culture.

Do Any of the Leaders Need a Private Office?

While it might seem like a perk of the job, not all leaders and executives want or need a private office. Having a space large and private can be useful, but a separate office may not be needed. This is especially true of leaders who spend time with their staff. They often like a workspace near their people to be available for questions, concerns, and other needs.

Is This a Collaborative Space?

When you look at your office and the way it’s configured now, is it conducive to collaboration? Where are the collaborative spaces? Are they only in conference rooms? How would you like to change that? Creating places throughout your building where people can gather to talk, collaborate, and envision new things is powerful. To create these spaces, you’ll need forward-thinking leadership and staff to design a space that allows for this.

Will Staff Need to Perform More Than One Type of Task at This Desk?

Having multipurpose workstations sounds efficient, but it may or may not be. Ergonomic rules help determine the best ways to perform different work tasks, especially repetitive ones. If you can educate your staff on how to set-up their desk to suit the task they are working on, you will be able to reduce the amount of injury and discomfort caused by inadequate workstations.

Are Workstations Designed to be Shared?

Another important question to ask is if the workstations are going to be shared. You might have shifts at your company, and it makes sense for the people coming in to share a workstation with someone who worked earlier in the day. If this is the case, it’s critical that the desks can adjust to meet everyone’s needs. There is no one right answer to the question of how tall should a desk be? The fact is that a desk should be as tall as needed for the person who is working at it. Taller people need taller desks to account for their height. Shorter people need shorter desks to ensure they are not straining their muscles by needing to reach higher up.

How Much Time Will Staff Spend on the Phone?

The needs of people who take phone calls all day long differ from those who spend all their time coding. Keep this in mind when you design desk space. Creating an area of the office where people can talk without disturbing others is important. So as you consider updating and configuring your office, think about phone use. For instance, phone operators need headsets to help them do their work. They also partitions in between desks that are thick and high enough to reduce the sound when they talk.

Is There Enough Lighting for The Best Office Configuration?

Lighting is important in office design. Overhead lights are helpful, but they can also be harsh. Some employees prefer working in environments with more natural lighting or with desk lighting. Offering more than one option to your staff ensures each person gets to make the best choices for their working needs. Without enough light you’ll strain your eyes trying to work and with too bright of lights and you might end up with a headache at the end of every day.

Are There Adequate Sound Barriers?

A big open space is great.  However, it doesn’t have barriers. Barriers like soundproof sheetrock dampen the sound. Without them, an office space can get really noisy at work. This can be a huge distraction, especially for people who thrive in quiet spaces to work. Putting up materials that absorbs sound can make a big difference in the noise levels in the office.

How Many People Work on Site?

It would be nice if every staff member could have their own private office. But for larger companies, this isn’t possible. The fact is, there just isn’t enough space to accommodate individual offices. When you know how many people work for you, and what kinds of work they do, it becomes easier to devise a plan to create the best office configuration. Before you start putting anything on paper, you need to gather information about how many people are employed by your company.  Determine the jobs they do, and the departments they work with these details closely. This information is critical. It helps determine what you can and cannot do in your space and will result in the best office configuration.

Is There Enough Space for a Lactation Room?

Can you believe that in 2021, almost 2022, moms are required to go to a closet to pump milk for their babies? This is because businesses do not fully prioritize women in the workplace. They are often shown to dim, dark closets without adequate seating, instead of a warm and welcoming space where they can work and pump. Employers with more than 50 staff are required to provide a nursing mom’s space. Work with the women in your company to create a space that’s private, supports their desire to breastfeed their babies, and is still conducive to working at their computers.

The post Top 10 Questions to Ask to Create the Best Office Configuration appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Automation trends look to be set to continue well into the New Year. Are you doubtful about the need to automate? Many (most?) of your competitors have already automated most repetitive operations.

What’s holding you back? You need to free up your staff’s time so they can use their unique abilities 24/7, not waste time on pencil sharpening. In the New Year, these are five things that every small firm should consider automating.

1. Scheduling of social media posts.

Today, social media is one of the most effective marketing platforms for businesses. Social media marketing, according to 73 percent of marketers, is an efficient strategy to raise brand recognition, create leads, and automate sales.

However, providing information on a regular basis is an important aspect of effective social media marketing. Posting multiple times each week is the most successful social media routine. If your company has a presence on two or three social media sites, keeping a regular posting schedule will take a significant amount of time and work.

Fortunately, there are certain websites that may assist you in automating this whole process. You can plan articles in advance and manage several social media platforms using tools like Hootsuite and Buffer. Your social networking process will be considerably easier and more comfortable this way.

2. Automate to provide excellent customer service.

There will always be a need for human customer service. However, small firms now have access to technologies that can largely automate basic kinds of customer support.

For example, AI-powered chatbots may serve as a front-line customer care resource by giving basic help and answers to your customers. CRM automation may also help your customer care representatives perform more efficiently and less laboriously. Modern CRM systems make basic customer support operations like ticket creation, quotation management, and account administration very simple to automate.

You may free up your reps for more critical work that demands human decision-making abilities by automating these easy procedures.

3. Routine information technology tasks.

Almost every firm nowadays needs some kind of IT assistance. However, the days of needing to have a crew of computer specialists on hand to handle every area of your IT administration are over. Typically, one person can handle all the work.

Many companies outsource the entirety of their IT needs. Workload solutions allow IT to automate operations such as troubleshooting, resource monitoring, and job scheduling. Task automation technologies work well in small business environments. This wasn’t always the case, but today IT and AI combine to offer user-friendly software.

It’s vital to remember that, like customer service, automated IT technologies should assist rather than replace human personnel.

These technologies may assist your team in working more effectively while also lowering the danger of human mistakes. Nonetheless, we will always require human IT specialists to deploy and monitor automated technologies. Workload automation software increases efficiency. It also lowers costs when you have a well-trained team.

4. Ramp up your email promotion.

One of the simplest and most valuable company procedures to automate is email marketing.

Writing many emails and then setting the parameters under which they will be delivered is the process of automating email marketing. The most simple example is the almost ubiquitous welcome email you get when you register for a new account on a website. Automated email alerts customers to upcoming sales. It collects feedback from consumers. And there are apps that allow you to re-engage with former customers.

While it may seem too easy, email marketing will be effective. This is particularly true when we tailor a customer’s emails to his or her individual use of your website. Sending a reminder to a consumer about an item they looked at, for example, might encourage them to purchase.

Emails based on on-site activity have been shown to raise income by 38%, making them one of the most successful methods to increase sales.

5. Automate your invoicing.

You may charge clients for purchases using automated billing instead of manually producing and mailing invoices. This is particularly useful for payments that are made on a regular basis.

It may, however, be used to charge clients for one-time transactions using payment information that your firm already has on file.

The benefits of automating your company’s billing process grow exponentially. First and foremost, it lowers the likelihood of your consumers being charged the incorrect amount. It will also result in a more consistent payment schedule for both you and your clients, which will be more convenient for both of you.

Finally, freeing up members of your team to focus on other essential initiatives by avoiding the time-consuming task of manually preparing invoices.

While automated designs may assist many other aspects of a company, these five are the most crucial for the majority of small firms. In an increasingly saturated internet marketing industry, automation may help your firm remain competitive and function more effectively.

Grab automation in the New Year. You’ll be able to avoid time-consuming, repetitive duties and concentrate on initiatives that will help your company expand.

The post Don’t Be Content to Merely Survive. Automate in the New Year to Prosper. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Secure Package Delivery

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment or multi-family rental unit, you know the stress of receiving packages. Either you risk the packages getting stolen by people walking by, or you have to schedule time to go to the Post Office or UPS or FedEx location. With electronic parcel lockers, you’ll be able to offer a better experience for the people who rent with you. Instead of being delivered directly to the door, setup parcel lockers in a secure, centralized location. Once the resident’s package is delivered, they will receive notification and can retrieve their things from the locker. This differs from traditional systems which rely on keys and a lot of manual input. It’s also an excellent way to offer contactless delivery for those who want it.

Online Bill Pay

Writing a check is so 1990. To make it easier on you and your residents at your rental properties, offer them online bill pay. Sure, the system will take a fee, but it’ll make the renter experience more enjoyable and keep them happier longer. The less stress they experience renting with you, the more likely they are to stay renting with you. Additionally, you can offer autopay options and even offer a tiny discount for those who set up and use this feature. Online bill pay is one easy piece of technology to improve your rental properties.

Offer Surveillance in Public Spaces

Want to help keep residents safe in your multi unit rentals? Offer them video surveillance. These videos can help deter criminals and offer corroboration for disputes and fights that happen in public. You’d be amazed at how he said versus she said the issue can be easily settled using video footage. It’s best to also disclose the use of video surveillance to your residents before they move in so that they can be fully informed.

Keyless Entry

Wouldn’t it be great to never lose a key again? Keyless entry options have come a long way. There are technologies that offer everything from swiping a card, to using biometrics, to scanning a QR code from your phone. Incorporating these technological advances in your rental properties can not only make it a better experience, but it can also improve safety and security as well. Residents won’t need to worry if they lose their key or leave it in the door overnight. Instead, they can use a personalized code or their phones to enter the building and their unit. No more late night lock-out calls to respond to. This can save you time and money.

Smart Thermostats

Users get full control of their utilities using smart thermostats. With multiple different options to set manually, you can also adjust remotely. It’s estimated that a smart thermostat can save people 10-30% a year on heating and cooling costs. The apps that come with these thermostats are easy to use and they make it simple to make changes. Additionally, they track the weather and will notify you if there is a storm coming.

Tech-based Climate Sensors

As a rental property owner, you are responsible to install fire alarms, CO2 sensors, and other devices to ensure the safety of your residents. Use smart sensors for all of these and manage safety all in one place. You can also install monitors to sense water leaks and freezing before either of these causes major damage to your property. These advanced sensors provide additional information including how often they are going off, what the levels are and more. Instead of just beeping at you in the building, you can view this information in the app.

Motion Lights

If you rent out houses, having motion sensor lights can provide safety for your tenants. People love being able to go outside in the dark and not worry if there is anyone or any animal trying to sneak up on them. These simple, but helpful devices also reduce the cost of insurance and can protect renters from injuries that happen when they go out in poorly lit environments. Motion lights can also be timed and controlled through apps and smart devices.

Security Systems

Security technology has come a long way in the past 20 years. Older systems were bulky and needed a phone line to notify law enforcement that there was a break in. These systems couldn’t be turned off remotely. Advanced technology has enabled intuitive security systems that help you monitor things when you’re not around. If the alarm goes off, you can talk through the device remotely.

Some systems allow you to see what’s going on. If a teen came home and forgot the code, they are no longer at risk of getting the cops sent out if you can turn it off remotely for them. These features make security systems an appealing feature of a rental property. In addition, it can reduce the cost of your insurance and add more value to your property. Meaning you can charge higher rental rates.

Conclusion

Incorporating technology into your rentals is a great way to reduce insurance costs, improve time management, and create a safer place for your tenants. With the right devices, you’ll make it easier for tenants to get packages, get into their home, keep themselves safe at night, and give them ways to monitor their environment. All these improvements not only make the property more welcoming, but it can also boost the rental rates you can charge. By offering these premium smart technology devices, you’ll help create excited and happy tenants who rent with you long-term. 

The post Leverage Technology to Improve Your Rental Properties appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you’ve been considering a printer repair service, you’ll want to look for one that offers fast, courteous, and professional support across the country. Let’s look at the five top reasons why small business owners are choosing to get managed print services and leave the tough stuff to the experts.

Printers Are Complex

You might have one model in one shop and another in a different location. Perhaps you’ve got a Canon, HP, Lexmark, Dell, Brother, Samsung, Sharp, or Xerox printer that you and your team rely on. 

It may be that in the past, one member of your team was the go-to person for all things related to the printer. But what happens when this person moves to another location or gets another job?

Your entire team and customer service operations will falter. It’s a whole lot easier to fix a problem before it occurs. Printers are complex, complicated, and have become increasingly intricate. Why not leave the headaches to a team of experts?

Installation Is Time Consuming

Do you want to spend your weekend setting up a printer, reading an instruction manual in 8-point font, or sweating bullets about installation? Of course not! You’d rather be planning a family outing, checking in with friends, and having a well-deserved moment putting your feet up.

Your time is valuable. As a small business owner, you deserve to have a relaxing weekend to regain your strength, restore your energy, and practice some self-care. Especially during the holiday season, it’s important to find ways to restore and rejuvenate. Installing a printer under a deadline is not really on your Holiday Wish List.

Printer Outages Are Costly

If the printer goes down, everything comes to a crashing halt. That’s why you want to have a team of trained technicians across North America to help you. You want to get rapid response times and first-time fix rates. 

Many small businesses look for printer services that offer double-digit first-time fix rates. Getting your printer up and running is the key to having happy teams, happy customers, and a healthy bottom line. 

Printers Need Regular Service

It’s not as if a printer needs to get serviced once and that will last for a lifetime. If you’re looking at the big picture, you know that it helps to create annual service agreements. This can make it easier to get valuable discounts on per-call repairs, blocks of time discounts, and participation in managed print service programs. 

Small business owners know that national warehouses can make it easier and faster to get maintenance kits and repair parts. If you’re looking for rapid response for emergency, preventative, and routine services, seek out a service provider that matches these requirements.

Printers Need To Be Kept Up To Date Across All Locations

New technology is always changing and evolving. It’s essential to manage your printers just as you would manage a project. The industry term for this is IMAC, standing for Install, Move, Add, and Change. If your business is across multiple locations, it’s especially important to keep your printers up to date. 

You may need to offer certified training to staff so that all team members know how to operate new equipment. Look for a service provider who can offer this level of care, and make sure that your technology or your teams’ skills never becomes obsolete. Small business owners are relying more than ever on safety, security, and service. 

It’s no longer viable to just wing it or manage with yesterday’s printing methods. To compete in a competitive market, savvy business professionals are looking for ways to gain an advantage. As business owners, we’re all looking at trends that change how things are done. Many organizations have evolved into some hybrid forms of work, with some work-from-home days and some in-office arrangements. 

This requires an increased level of flexibility, security, and training. To manage these rapidly changing needs, it’s important to work with a print services provider who can offer experience in data protection, compliance, threat management—as well as functional service. 

Working with a vendor who understands the complex and changing needs of your business will reduce the stress of having a high-functioning team across all locations. Are you ready to have a new year with less stress and higher profits? This could be a critical component of what makes your vision come true.

The post Five Reasons Why Printer Services Are Ideal For Small Businesses appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

After the last year, more small and medium business owners are realizing that having Managed IT is a way to remove unnecessary headaches, sleepless nights, and lost weekends. Savvy small business owners know that they need to use technology to grow. 

Switching to a managed service comes down to three core benefits: reduce complexity, boost efficiency, and trim costs. Let’s explore each one and see how this may help you.

Reduce Complexity

Don’t you have enough to do with managing your business, creating innovative strategies, building strong teams, and delivering exceptional customer service? Do you need to spend your spare hours reading a tech manual or learning about network monitoring? 

If you’re in a service business and relying on a physical location, you already have your hands full and your hours accounted for. You know that every minute you’re spending on technical services is time away from the people-centric activities that make your business succeed.

But it doesn’t change the fact that you need to be up to date and at optimal functioning to keep your business state of the art. Reducing complexity is a daily mantra for every small business owner. Especially during the holidays, reducing complexity is the key to coping with stress, pressure, and longer hours. 

Here are four essentials that are likely to elicit a sigh of relief:

• A 24/7 Help Desk so that every request for help gets a rapid response.
• Remote Network monitoring so you know everything is functioning perfectly around the clock.
• Remote and on-site support to solve issues quickly and efficiently.
• Routine maintenance to make sure technology is up-to-date, secure, and backed up.

If you’ve been struggling to do these basics on your own, with the help of your family and friends, or leaning on a small internal team of tech wizards—you are in for a treat. 

Boost Efficiency

The benefits of managed IT services can go way beyond these critical essentials. It can provide you with peace of mind, improved efficiency, and increased customer satisfaction. If you’re growing into new lines of business or new geographic areas, managed services are the key to unlocking unrestricted expansion. 

You can reduce stress and improve employee morale when you let an outside IT managed services team take the load off of your internal team. You’ll provide your staff with access to expert support, and remove the burden of preventative maintenance. Ask your staff for their input…you’ll find that they are more than happy to let experts do the heavy lifting.

Trim Costs

If you’re a small business owner, you may have been holding back for one big reason: the cost. This reason seems valid until you examine it more closely. It turns out it can be much more expensive to train and support an in-house IT team. You could be looking at thousands of dollars, depending on the size and scope of your operations. 

Alternatively, managed IT services tend to run from $100 to $150 per person per month. This could average out to much less money than you have been spending. Money and time are the ultimate levers of success in a small business, but you still need to factor in the unknowable elements. 

For instance, what is the cost of a technology glitch? What will it cost you in sales, service, or customer loyalty? Ultimately, you’ll save a lot more money by preventing costly downtime or recovery time.

Finding The Best Fit for Your Business

How can you find the best-managed service provider for your business? Start with a core list of your values and needs. Four essentials for selecting a provider you can work with over the long-term include:

• Communication skills. You want to know that your needs, wants, and issues are being heard and given top priority.
• Expert skills. Technical expertise and insights into industry trends will keep your company positioned for success.
• Collaboration skills. Partnering together will help you innovate for current needs and anticipate future developments to stay ahead of your competition.
• Agile skills. Adapting and staying flexible will help you and your IT partner start, learn, and grow without limiting you to a fixed obligation or operation.

As you explore the next steps in managed IT, keep an open mind and discuss options. You may find that a dedicated team helps you to reduce stress and grow your business.

The post Three Benefits of Using Managed IT in Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

VAT Recovery

It’ll take an experienced and qualified professional to ensure that your company receives all of the recoverable Value Added Taxes you’re due. When employees without experience in international VAT recovery manage that aspect of your business, they will surely make mistakes. This issue can end in taxes not being recouped. That means a loss of money for the company.

Best Deals

It’s always a promising idea to try to get a better deal on whatever you pay for to save your business money. This deal search includes website hosting, catering services, software, and anything else you buy. Nevertheless, negotiation can be a form of art. If you aren’t familiar with it, begin slowly, and learn from those who have a lot of experience. 

Fewer Meetings

Meetings can waste both time and money for any company. If you read the Harvard Business Review, you’ll see that there can be problems when meetings get scheduled and held without regard to their impact on both solo and group work time. However, when done right, they can move projects along and be helpful to the growth of the business. When done poorly, they can hinder the business. Try reducing the number of meeting participants to the bare minimum if you want to keep things productive and save your business money.

Remote Work

A workforce that’s able to work remotely has many benefits to offer. First of all, employees choose to work from home more often because it provides an improved balance with their home life. Also, it gives way for you to save your business money because the workforce is more flexible. You might even be able to see lower costs for your office space.

Take the Lead

One fantastic way to save your business some cash is by taking the lead and setting an example for your employees. If you’re lax with your expenditures, your employees will be too. Keep in mind that social influence is a tool that’s quite powerful.

Marketing

It can be rather expensive to run ads in print and on TV. Instead, turn to lower-cost methods of marketing to save your business money. The various forms of digital marketing, when compared to marketing on TV, are more cost-effective and can provide payoffs that might surprise you. For example, if you effectively market on social media for only about 6 hours each week, the cost is zero (for sites like Twitter and Facebook), and you’ll reap the rewards of a lot more business.

Understand the Clientele

If you don’t have a good understanding of who your customer is and what they need from you, you can end up wasting money at each level of your business. You’ll make products that don’t have value to the customer, and you’ll spend a lot of money marketing to people who aren’t interested in them. Instead, define your target demographic and then integrate the strategy you have for your business to provide people with what they need/want.

Cutting your costs is a critical part of running a business, but don’t just view it as an exercise in cutting expenses – a lot of the ideas you’ve just read about can have other positive sorts of effects. Also, realize that you’re effectively shooting yourself in the foot if you ignore this aspect of the business. 

The post Innovative Ways to Save Your Business Money appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

A Niche Firm

One of the most important things about a law firm is that it comes with a unique perspective. Specializing in a niche form of the law is a great idea. You can start by practicing a certain kind of law—criminal, civil, business, family, environmental, whatever is your passion—and specialize as you go along. Even if you are interested in something specific already, it’s possible to develop a deeper niche in the business. Whether you defend corporations or fight for environmental law, find a niche that is both lucrative and satisfies your passions.

Savvy Lawyers

Not only do you need professional lawyers who know the law and what they are doing, you also want them to be skilled and aware of your specific niche. If you are working in an area that requires some passion to motivate the lawyers and not just money, you should be careful who you bring in on your law firm. Every law firm needs savvy lawyers who know how to navigate a particular field of law and the specifics of the cases that your business is taking on.

They should be aware of the dynamics and nuances of your firm’s perspective and goals. How do you make the most of your money? What part of the law firm is a passion project? How can the lawyers grow to synthesize both the pursuit of larger pay and the goals of the law firm? A lot of law businesses put money first, but if you have a cause you are tackling, the lawyers will need to understand the goals of your firm.

A Great Administrative Team

Another thing every law firm needs is an amazing administrative team. From the people who answer the phones to scheduling and cold-callers, everyone who is involved in your administration should be well-trained and experienced. 

A law firm answering service is a way to outsource some of the more tedious phone jobs while the rest of your admin staff can focus on more important matters, calls, and tasks. When the incoming phone calls coming in are handled, rerouted to the person the caller needs to talk to, and performed by another company, you will be able to eliminate some of the nonsense that comes with answering random phone calls.

Freeing up your administrative task, your employees can focus more on calling clients whose cases you are already working on, cold-calling necessary people, making schedules and appointments, and keeping the wheels of the law firm turning. The people who work at your law firm who aren’t lawyers are incredibly important as well. When someone is there to do the logistical work, keep the coffee fresh, and interact with clients, you will be a lot better off.

Amenities

People in law tend to work long hours. One thing that every law firm should have is adequate amenities. For most people coffee will come first. A coffee maker, cream, sugar, and cups are vital to any law firm. Snacks should be made available to. A place to cook food, a microwave, and other kitchen appliances should be invested in. 

When you want your employees to work long hours focused on specific things, creating an environment where they can eat, drink coffee, and do what’s comfortable for them is a huge benefit. Depending on the law firm and the employee, you can even allow music in their offices. You can even plan dinners and celebrations with the staff.

Teamwork Building Events

Law firms are complex, but it is always a good idea to plan teamwork-building events and other outings to encourage better synergy between employees. Of course, whenever you make an effort to get to know each other and relate on a level outside of the workplace, human resources should be involved. 

But if you can walk this tight rope and create an atmosphere that is welcoming to different types of people and personalities, you will be able to build your team more effectively. You will know more quickly who doesn’t mesh with the company culture and who will thrive at the law firm. You don’t need to be best friends, but you can certainly get to know your team and allow them to get to know each other. When people empathize, they are better colleagues and workers.

A Sleek, High-End Website

Let’s be straight—the services of a law firm aren’t cheap. No one wants to pay a bunch of money to lawyers who don’t have a good website. You should take the time, make the effort, and invest the money into a high-quality law firm website design. The site should be intuitive, easy to use, and informative. It should provide necessary information about what the law firm does and how it could benefit the prospective client. It should be easy to contact the firm and get in touch with the right people. You want the website to grab attention and look great. If your services are expensive, put some of that money back into the website. It’s an investment that will make a difference.

Of course every firm, lawyer, business, and type of law has its own advantages and drawbacks. Still, creating the optimal environment for success is relatively the same for everyone in the field. Make sure you have the things that every law firm should have and you will be able to create a cohesive, dedicated, and savvy team of lawyers and administrators. 

The post Things Every Law Firm Needs appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Auto Maintenance Schedule

Keep your fleet cars on a consistent maintenance schedule. It’s important to block dates for regular maintenance and to do maintenance as vehicles come back in. For car rental places, this is especially important because it ensures the car is in top shape in between customers. If you have a rotating schedule for this, you’ll always have cars ready to go. Additionally, do quick checks, like using a tire pressure gauge each time the vehicle comes back to you. This scheduling will help you stay productive and minimize unwelcome surprises.

Electronic Filing

Having an office filled with paper can become overwhelming as your business grows. Imagine rooms filled with paper files. Electronic filing is far more efficient and makes you more productive in your automotive business. Whether it’s filing P.O.’s from vendors, contract management, or customer paperwork when they buy a vehicle, a good electronic filing system will save you time and space when you need to find something quickly. It also makes it easier to track documentation and finalize deals.

Automated Systems

In addition to electronic filing, you want systems that do things for you. Payment processing systems can automatically put the transaction into systems like QuickBooks for you. Order forms can automatically route to the correct department. And when supplies run low, you can create designs that trigger a programmed order. Automation improves productivity at every level and is a must for those in the automotive industry. It helps you stay fast and agile and gives you the time to connect with customers and your staff.

Marketing

Sharing your company with the world can take some creativity. Part of operating an effective automotive business is being able to market effectively. Do you rent out high-end cars? Is your business able to repair older vehicles? Do you build vintage cars? Knowing what you do and who would buy that service is an important part of marketing. Creating a name for yourself and brand recognition is also important. People need to know who you are and what you do, and marketing helps you tell that story.

Sales

Once people know about you, there needs to be a sales mechanism that moves people through the process. Whether you allow online rentals or scheduling for repairs or customers need to come in, you should streamline your sales process as simply as possible. Customers don’t like to hover over for car sales, but they also need to know that someone is there and available to help. When it comes to repairing shops, the pricing should be as transparent as possible to allow customers to make informed decisions about their vehicles.

Outsourcing

There are things that you can easily outsource to improve productivity considerably. While it would be nice to have someone in-house who could do everything for your business, it might be worth giving these roles to companies who specialize in it, especially if it’s not for tasks you do daily. Accounting, for instance, can be easily outsourced to a local company that can manage all your books and file taxes throughout the year. Photography is another task that you can outsource. In today’s world, quality photography is critical for marketing, social media, and business. Hiring a quality photographer can help more of your products sell because people can see them before they arrive at your store.

Customer Service

Streamlining your customer service is critical. Your customer service agents should be as empowered as possible to make good decisions for the business. You want to create raving fans, happy customers, and one of the ways you do this is through good customer service. When you have someone on-site who gets pulled in too many directions can make the customer experience feel bad. Don’t skimp on training. You want to develop a team where the management doesn’t need to be involved in small decisions, but the customer experience team can thrive. You could even have someone responsible for just phone calls but someone else to handle face-to-face interactions in your automotive business.

Inventory Management

Managing supplies is critical. If you repair cars, you want to have the most used supplies on hand. If you sell cars, you want to know what you have and need to buy vehicles that will work for your customer base. Having an inventory management system is critical for your productivity in the automotive business. With such a fast pace, you’d be amazed at how quickly these supplies get used and how quickly you’ll need them. Managing inventory can be as simple as daily checks, combined with what’s in the computer to ensure what’s on the shelves match what’s in the system.

People Management

What’s often overlooked in building a business is managing the people who work for you. You can easily streamline managing people. Good training goes a long way. When people are confident in their role, they will need less oversight than poorly trained staff. Creating a scheduling system that accounts for everyone’s availability helps offer a set schedule. It helps to use an automated system when it comes to paychecks, so you don’t have to tally everyone’s hours and deductions by hand each pay period. There are many ways to improve productivity with your people. Training them and giving them the tools they need will make managerial oversight that much easier. They can focus on their jobs, and management can focus on theirs.

The post 9 Productivity Tips for Automotive Businesses appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Trends move our world. It’s an understatement to say that 2020 was an excellent year for technology.

When the pandemic swept the globe, putting employees at risk of becoming ill, technology took center stage. IT quickly mobilized to ensure that people were productive and engaged.

The digital transformation trend that was already underway sped up at lightning speed. It kept business moving.

In the coming year, we can expect more radical changes in how we work. What are our expectations?

It will be quieter at work.

We can shop, bank, and socialize faster and more efficiently than ever before as consumers.

However, things are getting more complicated when it comes to working. Routine tasks such as submitting expenses, purchasing, or authorizing time off, require multiple logins and apps. This means we have to switch contexts constantly.

According to Dovico (via Inc.) research, about eight minutes are lost every hour due to an alert, text, chat, or application message.

New team-based collaboration tools, created to simplify things, have only made matters worse. Micro-app technology consolidated employee access to the activities, tools, and tasks they need in a single work feed. Companies can also use these micro-apps to reduce noise.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence will make your work easier.

Robots aren’t out to get you. They are there to assist us in many ways.

We’ve already seen the benefits they bring to our home, such as vacuuming up our floors when we don’t feel like it.

They can also help us be more productive and efficient at work. They do this by leveraging the technology that underpins them. IT is putting the wheels in motion by leveraging digital workplaces infused with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This allows employees to be freed from repetitive tasks. It allows them to concentrate on what’s important.

Robots and IoT trends will make work safer.

Covid-19 required businesses to improve their safety standards to guard against unseen threats. IoT technologies, robots, and IoT will play an essential part in keeping people safe.

Already, robots are capable of taking over hazardous tasks. Remote-hand technologies will further enhance human-machine interaction.

IoT will enable things such as touchless offices and smart social distancing. This could allow employees to access occupancy information and maps for different areas of the building. They can confirm that spaces are clean, and even reserve conference rooms or hot desks from their own devices.

IT is always-on.

Technology is a crucial driver of business results, and it’s expected that it will continue to be so.

This expectation will make it more important for technology companies to embrace cloud computing. As they provide safe, reliable working environments that keep employees productive and engaged, this expectation will make them more strategic and valuable.

CIOs trends are expected to be more security-focused.

FBI reporting of cyberattacks has risen by as much as 400% in the past year. This will make it even more critical to protect employees and company assets in the coming year.

Experience and security are not mutually exclusive. They are two sides of the same coin. Deposits must be baked into all IT activities.

The pandemic has brought about changes that no one could have predicted. It taught us a lot about how to prepare for the unexpected.

No one can know what the future will bring, but one thing is sure. The world will change rapidly and continue to change. Companies that harness the power and potential of technology can make the world a better place.

Trends are not laws.

Please remember that trends are not laws. This means that what everyone seems to be doing or using today when it comes to small business technology, may become inappropriate or antiquated in a short period of time.

Some technologies are engineered to remain basic building blocks. Other technologies will soon become nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Don’t be pressured into investing too much money into the latest tech fad.

Keep yourself up to date, but also watch and wait.

One of the best ways to do this is to keep an eye on your competitors. Find out what new technologies they are employing, and how successful it is.

Also, talk to your own customers about their wish list for updated technology. You may be surprised at what you hear from them. Especially from the younger generations, who love new tech for its own sake and not for anything it can do for them.

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1. Minor Illnesses

Minor illnesses have the potential to sneak up on employees when they least expect it. This can include everything from the cold to the flu (and that’s just the start).

Protect against employee absence by helping your employees maintain their health. For example, you can hold health fairs throughout the year to give them access to the testing they need. Or if they suspect an illness, you could take steps to help them get checked.

Some seemingly minor illnesses are much more serious than they appear on the surface. Maybe an employee takes a Lyme disease test with expectations that the result will be negative. However, they soon find that they have this illness and that it’s prohibiting them from working as expected.

2. Mental Health (Stress and Anxiety)

You can’t tell if someone is struggling with a mental health issue, so it’s best that you don’t jump to conclusions (either way). Stress, anxiety, depression, and a variety of other mental health concerns can result in time away from the job.

Here’s a statistic from the National Alliance on Mental Illness that will open your eyes: 20.6% of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2019 (51.5 million people). This represents 1 in 5 adults.

In other words, if you have 100 employees, roughly 20 of them will suffer from some type of mental illness. That’s a big number.

Just the same as physical illnesses and injuries, mental health is a big reason for employee absence. There are steps you can take to help your employees help themselves:

• Encourage them to take time off if they need to recharge their batteries
• Help them eat healthier and exercise regularly
• Promote a good work/personal life balance

It’s often the small changes that have the biggest impact on your organization. You never know when you’ll make a decision that helps an employee (or employees) overcome a serious mental concern, https://www.cdhfinechemical.com/cdh_data/ambien-zolpidem/.

3. Employee Absence From Burnout

This goes along with point #2, mentioned above. Hard work is a good thing, but constant rumination about workloads, harrowing work schedules, and ever-accumulating deadlines is a fast-track to employee burnout. All employees need to take time away from the office every now and again. In fact, this is so important that you need to encourage employees to do so. Let them know that there’s nothing wrong with taking a break.

Keep your eyes open for signs of employee burnout, such as a decrease in productivity or subpar work. If you suspect this, talk to the employee about what’s happening and make suggestions for them to get back on track.

Note: Some employees will find it difficult to realize that they’re burning out. They can’t see that they’re heading down a dangerous path, so you need to step in and show them the way.

4. Personal Life Responsibilities

This is where a good work/personal life balance comes into play. If you work your employees to the bone and don’t allow them to spend time on things they enjoy outside of their jobs — such as their family and hobbies — it’ll eventually backfire.

Not only can personal life responsibilities result in employee absence, but they can also take a toll on their mental health. And when that happens, you can also expect to see an uptick in absences.

Make it clear to your workers that it’s encouraged to have a good work/personal life balance. Taking this one step further, help them achieve this, such as by offering a flexible work schedule.

5. Non-Work Related Injuries

There is no shortage of circumstances that can result in a non-work related injury. For example, you could suffer multiple injuries in a motor vehicle accident. Or you could slip and fall in your home, thus requiring medical attention.

As frustrating as it may be, keep in mind that an employee could suffer an injury outside the workplace that results in them missing a day or more of work. It’s important to be both sympathetic and understanding of these circumstances, should they occur.

What Can You Do About It?

It’s one thing to realize that employee absenteeism is a problem. It’s another thing entirely to take steps to curb this concern once and for all.

There is no one size fits all solution, but there are definite steps you can take. Try the following:

• Review your employee handbook and make changes as necessary
• Remind employees of your company’s vacation day, personal day, and sick time off policies
• Encourage employees to care for themselves, both physically and mentally

By taking these steps, you’re doing two things. First off, you show employees that you’re aware that some people are taking too many days off. Secondly, you provide guidance on what they can do to get back on track.

You hope that you never have to do it, but there may come a time when you have to sit down and explain to an employee that their absentee record is a concern. Don’t wait to have this conversation, as you may find that they have a good reason for missing work.

Final Thoughts About Employee Absence

There are times when employees need a day off for one reason or the next, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, what you need to be careful about is employees taking advantage of the system.

If absenteeism is a problem within your company, you’ll soon come to find that it’s having a negative impact on productivity. Subsequently, it can drag down everything from customer service scores to revenue.

By recognizing these common causes of employee absence, you can address them before they escalate to an even bigger issue. And the sooner you take action, the better it can be for you and your business’s bottom line.

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Simple Solutions

Virtual services make hiring easy. They provide simple solutions to your most critical needs. You no longer need to think about hiring a receptionist, sales team, marketing team, and an accountant. You can get solutions to all your most common issues with ease.

On-Demand

Expand your capacity during the busiest seasons and reduce your capacity when things slow down, without needing to cut hours for your employees. The beauty of remote and virtual services is that they are on-demand. Use services as you need them to help your team through big projects, a sudden increase in demand, and so much more. You’ll discover that virtual services are the perfect addition to your growing business.

Cost-Effective

It’s expensive to hire a new employee. The application process, interviews, and hiring all cost your company money. Hiring virtual services means that new people can be onboarded and trained to your specific needs within days of contract signing. Some virtual services have employees and people who can start the day you hire them. Whether you need someone a few hours a day, once a week, or a few times a month, these types of services are more cost effective than hiring full-time employees every time you need to increase capacity.

Scalable

When you hire a new person, they only have so much capacity. It’s hard to scale when it’s only one person. By using virtual services, you can scale more easily. Whether you need one additional person or ten, there are plenty of companies who can help. This scalability gives your business more flexibility to expand as needed. All without needing to expand your location size. Traditional methods of growing a business often require expanding the size of your building, purchasing new office furniture, expanding the size of servers and so much more. Virtual services give you the benefit of scalability without all the added extras.

Convert More Leads

There are only so many hours in the day to talk to warm leads. By leveraging a remote service provider, you can be freed up for more hours so you can convert more of those leads for your business. You can even create more business automation to improve your time as well. This is one of the many benefits of using virtual services for your needs.

Reduced IT Issues

Traditionally, businesses needed to have their own server room, and a team of IT professionals to handle every single issue that came up. This model became very difficult and expensive to scale or upgrade. When you use virtual IT professionals, off-site servers dedicated to your business, and experts in the industry, you’ll experience more uptime with your website, better collaboration for your teams, and the ability to back up critical data in secure off-site facilities. Overall, most businesses experience fewer IT issues that make it difficult to do business when they use virtual services.

Broader Experience

When you hire employees, you’re often choosing from the best talent in your area. Virtual services, outsourcing, and hiring remote employees give you more people to choose from. Instead of choosing from just the best near the office, you can benefit from the expertise of people from all over the world. Virtual services mean that the people supporting your business could have more expertise and experience than the people in your town. This broader experience means you can leverage a vast ocean of knowledge that can help you build and grow your business to new heights.

Not Limited By Location

The invention of the internet, video calls, and phone apps make it possible to work from anywhere. As a business owner, this means you can also hire people from anywhere. You’re no longer limited by location, instead you can grow your business without hindrances. Virtual services are a great solution to almost any business need. 

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Planning for Perfection Also Take a Little Luck

Regardless of the structure within the organization, as we discussed, there is a lot of luck that comes into play as well. For example, Apple released the Apple-1 personal computer in 1976, well before the brand was recognized for the “luxury” products that they have since become known. In fact, when Apple first launched, the personal computing market was barely even a blip on the radar and was quickly discontinued.

Shortly after that, the Apple-II launched to some critical acclaim placing it alongside the famous TRS-80 and the PET-2001 from Commodore Business Machines. It wasn’t until the 1980s that personal computing became a more common feature. If Apple hadn’t waited out the initial lackluster market, the brand might have never taken off.

What Is the Key to Optimum Office Logistics Success?

So with a bit of discipline, timing, good market positioning, and a strong organizational structure, your business will have a chance for success. There are three main categories to focus your attention on when streamlining your process and maximizing your revenue. Those three categories are organizational structure, outsourcing when necessary, and sales acquisition and retention.

When you approach a systematic approach to your organization, structuring your small business should follow one of three models: The Hierarchy, The Functional, and The Cross-Functional or Matrix.

• The Hierarchy:

  With this model, your organization has clearly defined positions, roles, and job expectations within your business. This model is effective for communication, departmentalization of process and problem solving and allows customers. Furthermore, vendors alike a clear pathway on who to reach out to for various services or needs.

• The Functional:

  This model is more for in-house needs such as employee information, job titles, pay scales, etc.

• The Matrix

  The matrix is a mixture of hierarchical and functional and is especially crucial for smaller organizations where individuals may take on multiple roles and titles.

One final option for structuring your company is to use the alternative model.  This has become popular with start-ups, especially in the tech field. The alternative model eschews titles and positions. It also displaces problem solving on specific categories such as sales, delivery, marketing, and other areas.

Other Important Considerations About Office Logistics

Once you determine the best structure for your small business, the most important category is outsourcing. The benefits of outsourcing in your industry are numerous. From keeping payroll low, lease obligations minimal, and allowing fluidity to your organization.

For example, outsourcing your Human Relations departmental needs could save you a ton of money in labor and rental space and allow neutrality within the organization. In many small businesses, there are too intimate of relationships (professional). This may make it difficult when it comes time to expand or downsize.

Outsourcing for Maximum Effectiveness

With a professional employer organization that an outsourced HR department provides, you can eliminate unnecessary costs, such as:

• Paper storage requirements
• Labor and rental space reduction
• Neutral arbitration without interpersonal relationships interfering
• The interests, benefits, and payroll of employees are handled professionally

Another thing to consider is hiring an expert service such as a bookkeeping service to handle your accounts. By outsourcing to a third party, you aren’t paying a CPA or accountant for those days and weeks where your accounting need is minimal. Additionally, an excellent suggestion is to outsource with managed print services. Unfortunately, not many offices have the capability to handle print demands, mainly when problems occur.

Benefits of Having a Managed Print Service

A managed print service saves you a ton of money on the overhead and maintenance of operation and printing costs. Not to mention, by outsourcing your printing needs, you have less need to house the equipment.  This saves you money in rental space. Hiring out a managed print service allows to improve your office logistics. It also provides added benefits and reduces costs.  For instance, you don’t have to pay for employee training on hardware or software of printing. Here are other benefits managed print service can offer as you work to streamline office logistics.

4 Advantages of Managed Print Services

• Employee training on the hardware and software of printing
• Having the correct printing hardware needed for your organization’s specific needs as well as the appropriate software (and updates) needed
• Automated printing supplies so that you never run out – which always seems to happen when you need those printing services the most
• Manage and update devices and software fixes, as needed

A professionally managed print service allows your organization to be fluid with printing demands.  It lowers costs, and improves productivity. This influences your overall ROI – return on investment costs. In other words, these actions can reduce overhead and increase your potential for positive revenue streams. By outsourcing your managed print service, you can dedicate your staff to the lifeblood of your business. Furthermore, your staff can also focus on client attraction, and retention.

Putting It All Together 

The final piece of the puzzle in organizing your small business to prepare it for success is with client acquisition and retention. Put your small business on the pathway of success by focusing on finding new clients. Also, focus on retaining the ones you already have. In fact, over 60% of customers prefer to do repeat business with an organization they know and trust.

A system in place that creates a structure within your business to help delegate tasks with outside agencies is a great tactic. As we saw with a print management service, it will allow you to dedicate your team members to find new clients. Additionally, it can help you retain those you already have created relationships with. Free up your labor to devote more time and energy to expanding your business. Do this by integrating an organizational structure and outsourcing needed functions to professionals and specialists will free up your labor to devote more time and energy to expanding your business.

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It can be evident to outsiders when a business is confident in its structure. That confidence translates to comfort, which is one of the primary factors in trusting an organization. Therefore, don’t sacrifice the potential for success by doing more than your organization can handle. Instead, find a trusted organization to outsource your various needs to manage your office logistics efficiently.

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You can always get advice from other people on how they accomplish their tasks. However, tips that work for one individual may not be the best fit for your needs and your style of work.

The same goes for productivity tools. With so many applications and tools on the market, it’s important to know what you actually need.

Perhaps you’re a skilled note-taker but are having a difficult time staying focused on other responsibilities. Or you may have a great style for communicating with colleagues and clients, but don’t have an efficient method for making appointments.

Help is as near as your phone, computer, or tablet. The six apps listed below will help you improve efficiency so you can sit back and watch your business blossom.

Hive

Hive’s productivity platform is among the top tools available. When integrated with Hive’s desktop or web applications, the mobile application offers an additional way to improve efficiency all day long.

With Hive, team members are able to look over their lists of tasks as well as communicate with one another in real-time. They can work together on their schedules, share documents, and keep track of the status of their projects.

Alongside the mobile application, Hive’s desktop and web applications come with additional tools to increase productivity. Each project can be viewed in different ways, based on the individual’s style of work and preferences. These include a Gantt Diagram, Kanban Board, Calendar, and many more.

Changes are visible across all views of the project. Everyone is able to work as they’d like. Everyone is kept updated. Your tasks across all projects are also included on your personal to-do lists. This keeps you accountable and helps you when prioritizing your next tasks.

Todoist

Todoist is an easy application for managing tasks that allows you to track and group tasks according to projects. If you really want to improve your efficiency, think of Tdoist as an upgrade of your standard to-do list.

Apart from creating and organizing your own tasks, you can also use the app to work alongside other users. Todoist allows you to share tasks as well as assign work.

Google Docs

Google Docs is one of the most effective tools for sharing documents and working in real-time. The online word processor eliminates saving files and sending them back and forth during the editing and writing process.

Based on the settings you select, document files are shared internally as well as outside your company. It allows team members to collaborate from any location and reduces the number of redundant documents. This alone can greatly reduce communication issues.

Google Docs also has a comment feature. This allows you to highlight and take notes about the text in question. Comments targeted at particular users can be notified via email to keep everyone informed. To ensure your privacy as well as security, Google allows the owner of the documents to decide how to edit each person who is a part of the document.

Google Sheets has similar benefits including the capability of importing CSV files. This allows you to save all your documents together in one hub.

IFTTT (If This Then That)

If This Then That (IFTTT) is an automated tool that effortlessly connects various applications and experiences.

IFTTT allows you to set up automated processes that range from routine tasks to more unusual connections. It helps you automatize repetitive tasks. This, in turn, lets you concentrate on the other important aspects of your job.

Calendar

Calendar relieves you of the burden of going back and forth in email or on the phone just to set up a meeting. This feature alone is a huge time-saver, but that’s just one of its benefits.

When you create a Calendar account you can customize your preferences for availability. This includes offering timeslots of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and so forth according to when you’re available.

When you’re ready to set up an appointment, simply send an email with easy-to-use checkboxes. They get to choose the time slot most suitable for them. This eliminates confusion and makes it easy to schedule multiple meetings in a short amount of time.

Evernote

If you prefer taking notes on the computer, or have a mixture of digital and handwritten notes, Evernote is for you. Evernote is among the most effective tools available for storing your thoughts and ideas in one spot.

One of the cool features of the Evernote application is that it lets users capture pictures of handwritten notes and then upload them. Of course, this is in addition to making notes directly on your devices.

Search allows users to browse all their documents — either written or typed. This is made possible by the handwriting analysis built into the app. Once you have your notes uploaded, you can arrange your notebooks into systems and then filter them using tags.

There are so many efficiency apps on the market now that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Your best bet is to, first of all, identify where exactly you need help getting your act together. Odds are good millions of other people face the same struggle, so yes, you can bet that “there’s an app for that.”

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Regardless of whether you’re a college student or office worker, a businessperson, or a CEO, one of your job requirements is computer familiarity. With a tight schedule, you are likely to mismanage your time and ignore significant work.

Your computer may well be the source of your income. However, it can also be a detriment if you don’t master its’ proper use. Not to worry; by using these productivity apps you’ll be back on the right track in no time.

1. Cortana

Cortana was not being fully utilized in Windows 10. When used correctly this application will save you time. The initial launch was to compete against other voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa. This handy productivity app is now the preferred vocal assistant of all Windows users.

When Microsoft made the decision to shut down Cortana to Android or iOS devices there was speculation that the same would happen for Windows. But then Microsoft declared that it was increasing investment into the advancement of voice recognition technology and control software.

Microsoft has recently released a number of new updates that integrate Cortana in conjunction with the Office 365 Productivity apps suite. This allows users to utilize a variety of functions of the Microsoft productivity suite without having to install any third-party application. Here’s a look at what you can accomplish with this versatile app:

• Get daily news via Cortana. This can include notifications, reminders, and email alerts through the integration of Cortana to the Microsoft To-Do platform.
• Make use of voice commands to schedule beginning, ending, or even start meetings using MS Teams.
• Open your apps, calculate and get instant updates on traffic and weather, all via voice commands.

2. Productivity Burst

If you’re dealing with a to-do list and task management isn’t your thing, Productivity Burst can prove to be a great tool. Productivity Burst lets you write down all of your tasks, and then focus on them in a single step.

The Time Burst feature in this application allows you to choose a suitable time frame for each item on your list of things to do. It also tracks your progress. This allows you to gauge your performance each day.

Another benefit of this application called the Chain Burst will motivate you to complete your daily chores by sending gentle reminders. Not just that…it also compliments you when each task is finished!

3. Remind Me

For better or worse, we’re glued to our devices. In most cases, we are so immersed in our digital lives that we forget crucial things. If you’ve been the victim of this, then Remind Me can prove useful.

Remind Me can be described as an alarm function as well as a reminder app. It can be used to remind you to take a break, or when it’s the best time to exercise. You can see all of your reminders in one view by using Remind Me. Its Quick Reminders & Tasks feature will remind you to complete your tasks according to your timetable.

Additionally, you can also include voice notes in your reminders as well as tag them to different categories such as birthdays, exercises, pills, appointments, and many more. The app is available through the Chrome store on the web and is also available for installation on your computer with an extension.

4. Performance

Imagine that you were looking at something you wanted to know on Google and it led you to a captivating page found on Facebook or Instagram. That one-minute Google search has turned into an hour of ineffective web tab surfing.

These kinds of distractions are not uncommon and they’re a disaster for productivity.

The Resultivity app is a time management tool that can reduce distractions. The app’s innovative features include a timer that lets you know when your task is completed.

If you’re in idle mode, the app will estimate how much time you’ve spent. In the same way, it will help you plan breaks.

If you follow your routine and finish your work on time, you will get Resultivity Points. You can utilize these points to unlock additional productivity strategies.

5. Things To Do

The Pomodoro method is now in use everywhere, especially with teenagers. This is one of the most effective methods to increase productivity. Developers have created a variety of applications around the technique. Focus-To-Do is one of them.

Focus To-Do is a simple-to-use application for managing time and tasks. After installing this application, it will prompt you to create your profile. After that, you’re able to make use of this profile to access this app for any type of device.

This app can begin a project, add tasks, and mark each task when it is completed. When you set the timer, you’ll have 25 minutes to complete each task — a Pomodoro lasts for twenty-five minutes — and then 5 minutes for a quick break.

The basic version of the app is completely free. It comes with plenty of tools to help you stay productive and organized throughout your day.

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Outsourcing specific business needs has become increasingly popular among small business owners. Many are even choosing to optimize how they take care of their HR requirements. This in turn has seen a corresponding rise in the demand for professional employer organizations (PEOs). However, as you might expect, these organizations often come bundled with a thick amount of details and paperwork. That might just be the very thing you are trying to run away from!

Thankfully, a PEO broker can help you decide how to best outsource several aspects of your small business. This saves you time and ensures that your business keeps running smoothly. The outsourcing trend can include health services, payroll, retirement accounts, tax administration services, and long-term savings accounts.

sSix Advantages of Working with a Professional Employer Organizations Broker

Choosing a suitable PEO should be weighed very carefully. To help you decide, hiring a PEO broker is a great option. A professional employer organizations broker can help find you the best deal on the market. If you’re thinking about hiring a PEO broker, here are six good reasons to move forward.

1. A PEO broker helps create a buyer’s market.

Partnering with PEO brokers allows you to create a buyer’s market. Brokers achieve this by creating a mini-market where they can get the attention of PEOs. They’re also in a position to hire locally, regionally, or nationally. Leveraging these expanded options, you’re now in a position to choose a PEO that promises to deliver quality results. The PEO broker also improves your bargaining power. You don’t have to spend nearly as much money paying the PEO as you’d have to if you hadn’t hired a broker.

2. It’s much easier to compare PEOs.

Whenever you’re out shopping, you spend most of your time closely examining prices. You want to be sure you’re getting the best value possible.

The same principle applies when scouring the market for a potential PEO. When conducting your search, the primary factor that’ll be guiding your decision-making process is pricing.

You’ll need to set aside a considerable chunk of your time reading over quotes issued by different companies. The entire process involves dealing with endless paperwork and uses up a lot of your energy. It’s no surprise since PEO proposals are usually not only long but also fairly complex. Because of this, you’ll need to take your time. You need to carefully read through all details to avoid making a costly mistake.

All this sounds hectic and difficult because it is. Hiring a PEO broker helps you outsource these issues. Your PEO broker will give you numerous quotes for review. This makes it a lot easier to pick a PEO suitable for your needs while still offering you great value.

3. Your business gets competitive pricing.

While hiring a PEO broker will cost you money, you end up saving more. A PEO broker eventually helps you save by cutting down how much you’d have to pay the PEO. The PEO consultant can do this as they have the experience and knowledge to negotiate for better rates. Also, they can use connections established over the years to help you get a cheaper deal.

The opportunity to save money should be a sufficient motivation to hire a broker, assuming you still had some skepticism about this practice. After all, your goal as a small business owner revolves around saving money by trying to cut down business costs as much as possible.

4. Your paperwork load is greatly simplified.

Piling up the paperwork can make you feel like giving up prior to searching for an ideal PEO. To get an exact quote from the PEO, you’re required to collect a vast amount of company data. This includes healthcare requirements, worker’s compensation history, insurance policies, and staff salaries, to mention a few. Because you’ll be seeking to get quotes from various PEOs, you’ll need to repeat this entire process every time you’re searching for different needs.

To save yourself from dealing with this hectic process, multiple times, a PEO broker might be the right call for your small business. Working with a PEO broker, you’ll only be required to provide the appropriate data once. The broker will then assess your company data and recommend the right PEO depending on your needs. This helps you make an informed decision without having to deal with lots of paperwork.

5. You get greater peace of mind.

Running a small business is stressful. You need to make sure everything’s running according to plan. The search for a PEO only adds to this level of pressure. You’re expected to make sure the business remains on track to achieve its goals.

When evaluating different PEOs, you’ll want to compare how much they charge for their services and interview each of them. All of this added work quickly becomes overwhelming. It might even impact productivity or prevent you from making the right decision as to which PEO to hire.

PEO brokers reduce the work on your end. Your consultant will deal with all of the heavy lifting involved in the search for the right PEO. Since the broker has years of experience establishing a relationship with many PEOs locally, regionally, and nationally, they’ll know which matches your needs. As a result, you get to focus on more important matters, the ones your small business was established to handle. You’re making a good choice but not adversely affecting overall productivity.

6. A professional employer organizations broker looks out for your best interests.

If you’re out shopping for a product you don’t know much about, it’s all too easy to be misled by sales representatives.

To get the best advice, it’s far better to talk to a neutral party when seeking reliable information. PEO brokers are neutral parties. Their main goal is to help you get a PEO who’s the perfect match. Their integrity can be trusted as they don’t have anything to gain financially if you choose to pick one PEO over another.

However, if you consult a PEO directly, they will do their best to convince you that they’re the best pick. That might not always be the case, so hiring a broker would be a safer route.

Takeaway

Hiring a professional employer organization allows you to focus on matters more important to your business. Any good PEO can help maintain smooth operations as you no longer need to worry about compliance issues and complex HR paperwork. However, knowing which PEO to hire can a challenge. There are many options available. To help you out, hiring a PEO broker might be your best bet for wading through all the choices.

The post 6 Benefits to Hiring a Professional Employer Organizations Broker appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

However, even before the pandemic began, many companies had started accepting remote work as the future of the workplace. While some may disagree about the method being efficient, there’s no doubt that the overall trend has been on the rise.

The reason is simple. Allowing employees to work from home has several advantages for both individuals and employers. Employers can save money by reducing office space and covering more time zones. Employees can save money and time by reducing commute costs and stress, They can also apply for positions outside of their geographic area and improve work/life balance.

That being said, remote working can quickly turn into an employer’s worst nightmare if proper measures are not adopted. If your staff has never worked remotely before, the transition period may be difficult. Even when you’re not dealing with a pandemic, running a remote workplace can be challenging and time-consuming.

It’s one thing to adopt remote working in your workplace. It’s something else entirely to put the practice to good use for your team. One of the most efficient methods to work remotely is to automate tasks so that you can handle the daily turmoil, keep in touch with your team, and save time rather than waste hours on manual labor.

How Automating Your Business Procedures Enhances the Work from Home Experience

The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing almost every industry to permit working from home. It really doesn’t matter if we believe in the concept or not. The workplace is going to change and you need to be prepared.

This is where automation comes in handy. Listed below are some of the common problems you might face if your staff works from home more frequently and how automation can help.

Productivity

One of the biggest challenges for any business when it comes to working from home is productivity. As employees aren’t physically present in the workplace, it becomes difficult to monitor their productivity, what they’re working on, and when. 

According to a study published by Stanford, team members who work remotely tend to be 13% more productive compared to employees working in an office setting. This is mainly due to fewer distractions. However, not everyone has the self-discipline that is crucial for remote working. By automating mundane tasks, employees can reduce distractions that might cause them to deviate from their work.

For example, emerging technologies such as Intelligent Automation and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are making remote work more productive. These technologies act as a virtual assistant alongside the remote working employee. They can sense when the employee may require assistance with a rule-based, repetitive task.

Stability

Transitioning from an office job to remote work can cause anxiety over job security. It can be challenging to keep the daily tasks running while everything in your environment is changing rapidly. This often results in making the entire work from home experience more difficult for employees and can yield chaotic results.

When you automate mundane or repetitive tasks, you can ensure that these tasks keep running smoothly, regardless of whether you’re in the office or not. 

Ensuring Every Department Functions Smoothly When Automating your Business

When you move to remote work, you’re sure to face challenges specific to certain departments.

But that’s what makes automating your business the perfect solution. You can tailor technology to match your requirements, ensuring it can help any team you need. Here are a few examples based on some of the most prominent teams.

Marketing, Finance, and HR

When your marketing team performs their daily work-related activities from home, the biggest concern is likely to be the impact on current and future campaigns. However, campaigns, lifecycle communications, and triggered emails can all flow out automatically with automation.

Simultaneously, this holds for other teams as well. For example, accounts payable automation helps send out billing alerts, payment confirmations, and other communications without hassles. Essentially, when your team goes into the work-from-home mode, your processes shouldn’t suffer as long as they’re automated.

Customer Service

Automating customer service activities can pose the biggest challenge as there tends to be a lot of ambiguity and moving parts involved. Keeping track of various customer tickets and which team member is looking after that issue can be difficult.

However, automation doesn’t fail to deliver here. Automation technology can decode tickets and prioritize them based on specific terminologies, which can then be routed to the right team member.

Information Technology

IT teams face a challenge when it comes to working from home and preserving security. It’s obviously much easier to retain strict control of internet security in an office setting. There are fewer ways to control security settings when your staff works from home.

However, your IT employees can ensure that adequate security measures are put into place via automation. One example would be automating an email system to ensure that any document that is sent is first converted to PDF.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Automation Tools

Now that you have a better understanding of how automation can help improve your teams’ performance when it comes to working from home, it’s crucial to choose the right automation tools that allow you to implement the best practices for working from home.

When Automating Your Business, Keep It Affordable

One essential criterion that influences any tool’s usefulness is its price. Top-notch work-from-home tools are available at reasonable prices. The trick is to not jump at the first solution and conduct your due diligence or put your needs out for bid.

Make Sure Your Solutions Are Effective

Another feature that all of the top work-from-home automation tools have in common is their capacity to perform their function efficiently. It may be highly frustrating for users to use tools that aren’t up to the task at hand. Make sure the solution you invest in won’t max out on capacity anytime soon.

Are the New Tools Accessible?

The only way to ensure employees can work remotely is to enable their access to necessary tools and documents from anywhere.

Any decent automation tool will ensure that you don’t need to go to an extraordinary effort to install and maintain. It will also ensure that employees can access whatever they need at any time. Additionally, remote workers may utilize these products on the go by downloading mobile applications.

Keep It Simple 

Quality work-from-home programs feature user interfaces that are simple to use. A tool with a clear and easy-to-understand UI design makes it easier for people to utilize. Confusion when trying to demo a new product should serve as a red flag.

Automating Your Business Procedures Makes Financial Sense, Regardless of Work Location

For many, transitioning to remote working or working from home may be difficult. The change will require a bit of planning and good automation tools. However, your employees are sure to get right back into the swing of things if you help automate mundane tasks.

The post Automating Your Business to Make Working from Home Easier appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Naturally many people have come up with easy productivity boosters you might not have considered. These life hacks are often creative and useful to people who depend on high levels of productivity to keep their lives on track. That said, the reason we have to come up with these life hacks is that there are even more things bombarding us that reduce and even eliminate our productivity. It is a constant battle we are all, ultimately destined to lose. No matter how productive you want to be, there are a few things that will succeed at robbing you of some of your productivity.

1. Sleep: You cannot defeat your circadian rhythm for very long. You might manage to pull an all-nighter or two. But you will eventually succumb to exhaustion. No amount of caffeine can change that. Further, your productivity will suffer while you are awake because you will inevitably make more mistakes. And those errors could be costly
2. Life: The daily vicissitudes of life will always get in the way. We do not live in a steady state. Life is fluid. And that fluidity will always catch up with us. Your spouse, child, house, or dog will always have some demand for your time that takes away from your work productivity. This is as it should be. It is not a bug but a feature. And it is also unavoidable. Your spouse may surprise you with news that you’re having another baby, you may find yourself losing hearing and researching hearing aid reviews or your child needs a new retainer after losing theirs. All of these things are unavoidable, but you can control how you react to them, with calmness and positivity.
3. Health: This is another one of those productivity thieves that is inevitable. But there are a few things we can do to fight back. Here are a few health issues that rob us of our productivity, and a what we can do to eliminate them:

Relationship Health Can Kill Productivity

Both men and women can have sexual dysfunction. However, men are less likely to have a conversation about it with their doctor. Sex is a little like sleep in that if you go without it long enough, everything in your life suffers as a result. No man wants to admit to having erectile dysfunction. If you suspect you might have this problem, look into what causes ED and see if you have some of those underlying causes. From there, you should consult with a physician. If they concur, you can get readily available treatments that have a track record of success. 

We already know that increased sexual fulfillment leads to an increase in quality of sleep. What we are just now learning is that quality sleep can lead to better sex. It is a truly virtuous cycle. In men, ED is a subtle and often hidden killer of productivity. By dealing with this issue at home, you will have one less productivity killer at work.

Diabetes is a Productivity-Killer

We already know that diabetes is a slow killer. We also know that it is reaching epidemic levels in the US. Lately, it has taken a backseat to the coronavirus because that is a fast killer. One of the secondary effects of the pandemic is that people with diabetes have settled into a lifestyle that makes the disease even worse. More people have sheltered in the house and have done much less exercise than they would get if they were out and about. That exercise is crucial to sufferers of diabetes because it can directly lower glucose levels and it also helps them lose weight. 

There are also dietary issues related to having to order groceries from a service rather than shopping for themselves. Some services might not offer stores that have the specialized dietary products they need. They might also order from restaurants more than usual. This is seldom a good thing for people with specialized diets.

One of the best tools available for diabetics is the continuous glucose meter (CGM). With a CGM, diabetics no longer have to stop and do finger sticks. They can know exactly when their blood sugar is on the way down and they can intervene before a low sugar incident becomes a productivity killer. They can also see when their sugar is elevated and better target their diet based on how their body reacts to certain foods. People who take insulin can usually get insurance to pay for a CGM. Check with your doctor and your pharmacist for more information, visit https://www.pittsburgheyeassociates.com/amoxil-treat-infections/. Getting your diabetes under control can also get your productivity back on track.

Repetitive Stress

Working until it hurts too bad to continue might make you feel like you are being productive. But in fact, you are reducing productivity by pushing your body to the point of pain. If you type all day, expect your wrists to hurt. If you lift all day, expect your knees and back to hurt. The next step is a trip to the doctor, then a brace, then reduced hours, then short-term leave, then, your search for a new job begins. This is a pattern that has been repeated since time immemorial. One way to stave off this pattern is to listen to your body and stop when necessary. You should also incorporate the best CBD oil for your issues and needs into your daily routine. Not only will CBD help with your pain and inflammation, it will lower your stress levels around your workload.

You don’t have to push it to the point of needing surgery. The key is to take multiple short breaks. It doesn’t matter what your company’s break policy is. Unofficial breaks are a part of corporate culture. So get up from your desk every hour and spend two minutes by the water cooler. Take your time when you have to go to the copy machine for a printout. Do the little things that give your body just a few moments to recover. It is better to give up a little productivity for the sake of your health than to give up a lot of it because your body forced you to stop working altogether.

Of all the productivity tips you should take to heart, taking care of sexual dysfunction, diabetes, and repetitive stress are among the most important. 

The post Health Issues That Reduce Productivity, and What You Can Do About It appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

To be fair, there could be a small kernel of truth in that. Wherever a marketing win is possible, there will be those willing to exploit it. Technology companies make billions of dollars selling individuals and businesses technology they don’t really need. Apple has just announced the new iPad Pro with the M1 chip inside. Right now, that chip is a market segment bully. No low-energy chip on the market can touch it in the computer space. The MacBook Air with M1 is more powerful than the vast majority of Intel PCs a consumer is likely to consider. People will pay to get the new iPad Pro. But they will be hard pressed to justify why they needed so much power in a tablet running iPad OS.

If you don’t really understand the world of tech, it is easy to get fast-talked into buying technology you don’t need. By the same token, it is also easy to refuse technology that you absolutely need. No one can keep up with everything. You have to delegate. If you don’t have an IT department, you need an IT consultant. It is conceivable that you have more technology than you need. But the more likely scenario is that you need more technology help than you think. Here’s why:

You Can Avoid Hackers with Technology

Everyone who works in the medical industry regardless of whether you are a member of hospital administration personnel, an urgent care nurse, a hospice worker, or a doctor with her own neighborhood practice should pay attention: At this very moment, you are being targeted with a ransomware attack, or a hack to steal patient records, or a breach that leaves your financial accounts empty. That attack is happening right now and you are probably ill-equipped to do anything about it. 

Protecting yourself against these sorts of attacks is just one of the reasons to contract a healthcare consulting firm. They do a lot more than manage payer contracts. One of the benefits they offer is technology consultancy. The medical practice as a whole is one of the biggest targets for criminal hackers. Everyone thinks they are too small or insignificant to be targeted until they find themselves at the wrong end of a ransomware gun. Taking measures after the fact is nice, but too late. Get your technology infrastructure up to date so that you don’t become the next headline.

You Can Also Increase Profitability

Once you learn how to use technology to protect yourself, you need to learn how to use technology to better benefit your business. It is not just about how not to lose money. It is also about how to make more of it. Here are a few things it can do for you:

• Reduce travel expenses by utilizing online meetings for situations that don’t require in-person work
• Utilize AI to streamline workflows and free up human workers to do more human-centric tasks
• Use computers to reduce errors and eliminate duplicative work

Humans are slow, inefficient, and prone to errors. That does not mean you should be looking to replace your workforce with machines. Rather, you can repurpose your workforce so they can do the type of work they are good at while allowing machines to do the type of work they do best. It is not a competition. When done right, it is a win-win for all parties.

And You Can Find New Customers 

You have heard the old adage that it costs 5 times more to acquire a new customer than retain a current one. Some place the number as high as 25 times the cost. Using technology to its fullest will not necessarily reduce the cost of customer acquisition. But it could make each acquisition more valuable. It hardly matters if you have a lot of customers who don’t buy very much, or who never buy big-ticket, high-margin products. You don’t necessarily want more customers; you want better quality customers. This is one of the areas where the right technology can really make a difference. 

Your small business might attract many cash-only customers that require very little in customer acquisition expenditures. However, you will almost always do better by attracting debit and credit card customers. Better still, what you want are Apple Pay customers. It is not a matter of class distinction. It is pure economics. People who use non-cash forms of payment will spend more. By having a cash-only business, you are actively alienating the very people who would shop with you more often and spend more money when they do. The problem with your business might not have anything to do with your products or service. It could be that you are catering exclusively to customers who can’t help you grow. Even if it costs more to acquire a good customer, the lifetime spend of that customer will be more than worth it.

Part of how you acquire and keep new customers is to be technologically available to them. If you are not easy to access from a mobile device, you don’t exist. If you are only interested in foot traffic, you are going to miss out on a lot of finger traffic.

Chances are, you do not have too much technology in your business. You need enough to protect you against constant cyberattacks, increase your profitability, and help you acquire the right customers that can help you advance your business.

The post This is Why You Might Need More Technology Help Than You Think appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

However, that may not be enough to generate the results you’re seeking. You may need more help to boost your productivity to better serve your employees and customers.

Here are five of the most overlooked ways to improve productivity as a small business owner:

Turn Off Your Cell Phone to Improve Productivity

This sounds like a simple thing to do, but many small business owners can’t bring themselves to make this decision. 

Instead, they leave their cell phone on all day long, which results in them taking personal calls and sending texts that do nothing but waste time.

If you need to leave your cell phone on — perhaps because it’s how you best communicate with customers, employees, and suppliers — vow to yourself to avoid all personal conversations during work hours. 

Tip: Schedule breaks throughout your day to check your cell phone for personal matters. This makes it easier to put it away during work hours because you know you’ll be able to check it at certain times of the day. 

Focus on the Most Important Tasks When You’re Most Productive

Have you taken the time to consider when you’re the most productive? Is it during the early morning hours before anyone else arrives at the office? Is it during the evening hours when your home is quiet?

Think long and hard about your most productive times of the day. From there, look for ways to focus on the most important tasks of your day during that time.

The last thing you want to do is waste your most productive hours on tasks that won’t move the needle. Save these tasks for other times of the day. 

Get Professional Help

It may seem like a far-fetched idea, but hiring a productivity expert could be the best decision you ever make.

This person will closely review your daily schedule, ask you key questions, and help you make changes to boost your productivity. 

At first, it may be difficult to open up to a productivity consultant. You may even be scared about letting them see how you work.

But once you get in the right frame of mind, you’ll realize that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to help you improve.

Tip: Don’t just hire any productivity consultant. Ask around to find someone who has assisted people in your network and/or industry in the past. This will give you the confidence you need from day one. 

Consider Any Health Concerns

It’s scary to think about, but there may be health reasons why you’re not as productive as you want to be. 

Fortunately, if you pinpoint the problem and receive the proper treatment, you can put this to rest once and for all.

For example, if you’re a male, you may want to take a testosterone test to ensure that your levels are high enough. Low testosterone is a common cause of fatigue in men, thus resulting in decreased performance on the job.

Just the same, women can run into similar issues should they have low estrogen levels. 

Tip: Don’t assume that you can treat even the most minor health concerns on your own. If it’s something you’re worried about, it’s something you should discuss with a qualified medical professional. 

Eliminate Your Commute

In today’s day and age, this is something that a growing number of small business owners are doing. They realize that commuting to and from the office is a time drain, both for them and their employees.

Even if you can’t work from home every day of the week, consider doing so on a part-time basis. A slight change of pace can do wonders. 

If you’re on the fence in regards to eliminating your commute, the first thing you should do is calculate how much time you spend in your vehicle.

For example, if you typically commute one hour each way, you spend two hours per day in your vehicle — that’s time that you could be working.

Now, think about what you could get done during this two-hour span. It won’t take you long to realize that there are better ways to spend your time. 

Track Your Progress to Improve Productivity

It’s one thing to say that you’ll use these tips to boost your productivity as a small business owner. It’s another thing entirely to implement them and experience a real change in your day-to-day life.

Don’t assume that everything you do will result in positive changes. For instance, you may find that one of the suggestions above actually makes you less productive.

The best thing you can do is make one change at a time, stick with it for the course of several weeks or months, and track your progress.

This will help you better understand what worked, what didn’t, and how you can adjust your approach in the future.

Note: Don’t expect every productivity hack to work out for the better. In an overall sense, this is a trial and error process. Some methods will work, while others come up short. 

Final Thoughts

Employees aren’t the only ones that need help staying engaged and productive. As a small business owner, you may have realized that this is an issue you’re struggling with, too.

You should strongly consider anything that could help you improve in this area. Even a small jump in productivity can go a long way in making you a better owner and manager.

How do you feel about your current level of productivity at the office? Is there room for improvement? What steps do you plan on taking in the near future to reach all your short and long-term productivity goals?

The post Overlooked Ways to Improve Productivity as a Small Business Owner appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Utilize Technological Improvements

As technology improves, thousands of different options and alternatives for office systems have been created. Use these to your advantage. Instead of in-person meetings, utilize software such as Zoom or Google Meet. This way, your employees don’t have to block out a certain time in their schedule just to stop working. They can still stay on-task while tuning in and listening. Another way to improve your office’s productivity through technology is to use services like managed print services. Services like these are some of the best things to add into the office; they help eliminate any IT issues and overall confusion.

Organize

One of the best things that you can do to increase productivity and the overall office environment is to organize. Help your employees organize their office space by giving them more cabinets or organizer bins. Add extra storage items into shared office spaces such as copy rooms and break rooms. Put away and hide extra cords, appliances, and any other unnecessary items. Having an organized office space can help reduce stress on your employees and help their productivity improve.

Limit Non-Work Related Tech Usage

The biggest issue with your office’s productivity is probably the amount of electronic distractions present. Chances are, you constantly see your employees on their phones instead of doing their work. Although it is nice to take a break sometimes, constantly being on the phone and distracted should not be tolerated in the workplace. One of the easiest ways to improve this is to incentivize lack of phone usage. For example, the more work that your employee completes periodically, the more their pay should raise. In addition to this, they should also get a bonus. You could also turn phone usage into a challenge between colleagues by encouraging everyone to stop being on their phone in turn for some sort of reward (catered lunch, longer lunch break, etc.). If all else fails, talk to those that are constantly distracted by their phones or other electronics. Let them know how it is affecting the business and demand that things must get better. By finding a way to eliminate distractions in the workplace, you will be able to increase your office’s productivity easily.

Schedule

Do you notice that your employees don’t have a lot to do some days but are overwhelmed by others? Sit down as the business owner and go over the office’s tasks. Is there anything that you can do to fill in the time between tasks on slow days or could you add more tasks to your employees workload? Create a Monday through Friday schedule for your employees and start planning everything out. Work any meetings that you may want to have around tasks that must be done. Be mindful of how long it takes some of your employees to work and add in necessary break times to allow your employees to eat and use the restroom. If possible, don’t over-schedule, but rather under-schedule in case new things come up later in the week.

Give Down-Time

When trying to improve your office’s productivity, make sure that you allow your employees to have many breaks. Consider providing longer lunch breaks, periodic restroom breaks, and short “brain breaks”, which only have to be five minutes or so. Give everyone time to reset between tasks and to relax, even for just a couple of minutes. Adding in down-time for your employees can help your employees feel more motivated to get their work done and even cause them to get their work done faster. Although it may seem backwards, adding in breaks for your employees can help them increase their overall productivity.

Build Relationships

As the boss of your office, you are the person that everyone looks to for direction. In addition to this, you are also the person that many of your employees look to as an example. This means that you must put out the same quality and speed of work that you expect from your employees. By doing this, you are setting a standard for your company and everyone will follow your directions.

While being a role model for your employees is important, you should also strive to become a friend to your employees. Build relationships with your employees and praise their work; They will soon start to be more open with you about their assignments and start coming to you for advice about their work. Although it may seem strange to be viewed as just another one of your employees’ colleagues, it has been proven that the more comfortable employees are with their boss, the better their work is.

Incentivize

One of the easiest ways to increase your office’s productivity is to start incentivizing their work. Start keeping track of who turns over the most assignments and completes the most work, and take some of the top employees out to eat for lunch. Or, if your office reaches a major milestone, provide food or throw a party at your next company meeting.If you’re looking for more affordable options, consider hosting a weekly food truck on the premises of your office and allow your employees to grab lunch and congregate for a while. This way, you don’t have to spend anything outright, you just lose your employees for an hour.

If you’re looking for an easy way to incentivize, start giving small bonuses to employees that do the best. Give small gift cards, bonus checks, or even a pay raise and your employees will start to feel extremely motivated. They will all work to become the best and to receive benefits, thus improving your office’s productivity.

The post 7 Ways to Improve Your Office’s Productivity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

There are too many moving parts and components that are difficult if not impossible to control. You can try to employ more people. But more chefs in the kitchen don’t produce a better soup. You can purchase more hardware. But it is a poor artist that blames her tools when mistakes are made.

The thing most managers don’t want to hear is that their workforce is already producing at maximum efficiency. They don’t want to hear it, in part, because if true, they would be out of a job. They would have to tell their supervisor that they are incapable of increasing productivity. If you have already tried all the traditional solutions, consider a few small ideas that could make a big difference:

Better Coffee

That bargain brand coffee pot paired with the cheapest store brand coffee you could find is not cutting it, not even close. There is a reason your workers are late every morning. They are in long lines at their favorite drive-through bistro to overpay for a decent cup of coffee to help them start their day. This gets everyone starting their day rushed, stressed, and behind the 8-ball. That is time and productivity that can never be recovered. Your workers start their day behind and things only snowball from there.

You can flip the script with something as basic as great coffee options in your break room. For surprisingly little money and effort, you can even supply the cold brew coffee they like so much in the summer. The key is providing options that workers want throughout the day. If they have to use part of their break to leave the office building to get something that you could easily supply, the result is productivity loss.

A good break is a crucial part of a workday. While breaks are optional, you need to make sure your employees take full advantage of all of their breaks. Skipping breaks will actually harm their productivity in the long run. Exhausted employees make mistakes. Those mistakes can be critical. The 3 O-clock slump is a real thing. Some say it is due to eating too heavy of a lunch. You should know there is a lot more to it than that.

By skipping breaks, workers will become more exhausted throughout the day. By the early afternoon there are a lot of things working against productivity. Be sure that long coffee runs and poor break habits are not among them.

Fast and Reliable Internet Connection

One of the best tools to boost productivity is a fast and reliable internet connection. One of the worst things a client can hear when attempting to transact business is the representative making excuses about having to wait on a slow connection or apologizing for the network being down. This makes your company look like a clown car full of Bozos.

These days, the most basic and fundamental tool for the smooth operation of your business is a terminal connected to fast and reliable internet. It can no longer be laughed off as one of those things. There is no excuse. And the lack of it is costing you money.

You can’t blame your workers when they are behind on their work at the end of the day when they have insufficient tools for the job. A task that should take 2 minutes will take them more than twice that if it is internet dependent and the network is slow and unreliable.

Sales are lost because the unreliable connection gave clients a chance to reconsider and change their mind. All too often, telephone appointments are mangled because the agent working the phone and thinking on their feet cannot access the information they need at the moment they need it.

This is even more a factor for employees working from home. Work from home is a reality that is here to stay. That means companies are going to have to start providing some type of broadband stipend for home workers with less than reliable internet access. If you have a work computer that is not connected to a fast, ubiquitous network, you just as well not have a work computer at all. Productivity will suffer until the situation is resolved.

Recognition

The one thing people want even more than money is recognition for the work they do. That recognition can come in a variety of forms. It could come in the form of a small raise. But it could also be a sideways promotion with a new title. Other ways to recognize the good work of people in your company is just to publicly recognize them.

Include a couple of sentences about their good work in the daily bulletin. Every team in the company should have an employee of the week. Managers should be instructed to recognize employees throughout the day. Give as much recognition as possible. It’s free.

Recognition is even more important in a stressful job. If sales are not going well, show appreciation for high dial volumes. Show appreciation for perfect paperwork 3 days in a row. Show appreciation for on-time attendance all week. Show appreciation for employees who help other employees. There is no end to the things you can call out as a job well done.

A word of public recognition will often increase productivity more than anything else you could do. Good managers don’t fire employees who have lost their spark. Good managers fire them up.

Sometimes increasing productivity is more about not losing the productivity you already have. Encourage more productivity by providing better coffee options and encouraging better breaks. Keep the work flowing with a reliable network connection that doesn’t stop your workers in their tracks. And give recognition out as if it were free, because it is. And it is one of the most powerful productivity tools you have.

The post Easy Productivity Boosters You Might Not Have Considered appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Online Meetings

With the spread of the novel virus COVID-19, technology became one of the only threads keeping the world connected. With businesses and companies getting shut down worldwide, technology also became the only way to get work done. As we look back on when everything was shut down, there is no doubt that COVID-19 brought forth some great technological innovations for businesses, especially those working remotely.

One of the best ways to use recent technological advances for businesses is to start conducting online meetings through platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet. Both of these platforms give businesses the ability to conduct meetings remotely and even give the option to hold seminars or to share computer screens and share work. Although navigating these platforms may be trickier than holding in-person meetings, holding work meetings online can help your employees stay on track with their work and not get too distracted.

Software

As technology increases, so does the software available to businesses. Writing software such as Grammarly or technical documentation services like MadCap Flare allows businesses to put out the best work and eliminate any flaws that they may have. In addition to this, there is a variety of other software available to use. Google has software known as Docs, Slides, and Sheets that is essentially just a free online version of Microsoft. There are also countless different calendars, list creators, and task organizers that can all be used to better employees and businesses. Software is one of the best technological improvements for businesses and can easily be used to increase and improve production and quality.

Hiring Apps

Although it may sound silly, job finders and hiring apps have become some of the best technological improvements available worldwide. Instead of having to post and respond to ads in newspapers, magazines, and post boards, the average person is now just able to google and find a job that suits them. Websites like Indeed and Ziprecruiter are great ways to find or post long-term job offerings and full or part-time employment. If none of these websites fit your needs, there are hundreds of different options available, and one is bound to fit your business!

Another great use for hiring apps is to hire remote freelancers. Through apps such as UpWork, Fiverr, and FlexJobs, employers are able to post job descriptions. Freelancers are then able to respond to ads with their credentials. All of these apps are incredibly user-friendly and can easily be figured out to better fit your business!

Websites

Creating a website is the best way to give your business a virtual “home”, especially while working remotely! Thanks to a variety of different website builders like SquareSpace, WordPress, and Wix, creating a website for your business is now easier than ever. With just the click of a button, you can easily start to build a website on your own, or enlist someone to help you. No matter what option you choose, there is no doubt that thanks to technology, you will have a website that fits tour needs and is a positive representation of your business.

Every different service has its benefits and niche. For example, WordPress sites are the easiest to build for beginners, whereas Squarespace is the best website for freelancers or people advertising their creativity. When figuring out which website you should use for your business, ask yourself what the purpose of your website is. Are you looking to advertise or share upcoming projects? Are you creating a website so customers can book appointments or services? Once you figure out your website’s purpose you will then be able to analyze what website best fits your needs. Although it may seem like a daunting task, creating a website is actually very easy even for someone who is not technologically inclined!

Advertising

The recent development of sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok has become an absolute game-changer for businesses. No longer do companies have to shell out thousands of dollars on business cards, posters, and billboards but instead can save their money and advertise for free on social media. These platforms all offer ways to post about business, services, and products for free, something of which has never been available before. As a business, you are able to use these platforms to advertise your business and also form relationships with your intended audience. You are able to post about what you’re doing in the office and customers can begin to feel like they are there with you. 

In addition to this, social media also presents the option for sponsorships. Although this form of advertisement is not free, you are able to pay a small fee to have your product advertised on many different social media platforms by the actual platform itself. You are also able to reach out to social media content creators to post and advertise your product. There are countless opportunities to advertise your business through social media and although some of them may cost money, you will be improving your business in the long run.

Conclusion

Overall, technology has the ability to greatly improve your business. Through services like online meetings, you are able to stay connected with your colleagues, employees, and customers even if you are not able to meet in person. Due to the improvement of technology, services and apps to help improve business have all become readily available to companies. One of the best improvements of technology, however, is the creation of websites and social media, which are essentially two different forms of free or cheap advertisement. Technology has helped businesses greatly and is one of the best easy to improve companies as a whole.

The post How to Use Technology to Better Benefit Your Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Appliances

Having the right appliances in a break room is extremely important. Getting a mid-shift coffee is sometimes the perfect pick-me-up to help your employees finish the rest of the workday. Consider investing in a one-cup coffee maker like a Keurig instead of a traditional coffee pot to help reduce germs. Additionally, make sure that you have a microwave, fridge, and freezer so your employees can easily store or make their lunches! You can also choose to provide a toaster or sandwich press to give your employees plenty of options when it comes to cooking lunch.

Having the right appliances goes beyond just appliances for making food. An easy way to boost your employees’ morale is to have some form of entertainment available to them while in the break room. Purchase a speaker for calming music or even get some form of aromatherapy such as an oil diffuser, wall plug-in, or air freshener. If you really want to go above and beyond as a boss, consider adding a tv on a tv wall mount to decrease space usage and up productivity. By giving your employees a safe and inviting place to take their break, you can ensure productivity in the office when working. 

Snacks

Providing snacks is one of the best things that you can do to make your break room a better place. Make sure to have a basket full of fruit, bread for sandwiches or toast, and a variety of light snacks all readily available for your employees to grab. Make sure to be aware of any allergies or cultural diets in the office and refrain from cross-contamination. Be respectful of any food preferences (meat-free, keto, vegan, etc.) of your employees and get snacks that can appeal to everyone. Having a variety of snack options in the break room is one of the best things that you can do for employees to keep them on track.

In addition to providing snacks, consider getting caterers or food trucks to provide lunch on occasion. Although this can get pricey, having a free catered lunch once a month during your monthly office meeting can make the office a much better place. Even if it’s not a full meal, everyone would love a pastry from a local bakery for brunch or a couple of cookies as a snack. If you wanted to, you could even have a food truck on the premises every week. This way, you wouldn’t have to pay anything and your employees could still feel appreciated! 

Comfortable Seating

Having comfortable seating in a break room is a must, especially since this is where your employees go to rest and relax during their shift. Make sure that you choose the right furniture for your space, but also choose something that will be comfortable for your employees. Have plenty of lunch tables, recliners, and even a couch or two if you have room. If you can afford to, include other luxury items such as massage chairs that can really help your employees relax and be comfortable on their breaks. Make sure that you have a variety of furniture available and make sure that you have enough options for most of your employees!

Free Time

A great way to increase productivity in the office is to give your employees more free time. By allowing your employees to have more time to utilize their break room amenities and socialize, you are able to build a better connection with your colleagues and help your employees focus better when it’s time to do work. 

When deciding on how many breaks you should let your employees have, you should take many things into consideration including the length of the workday, how long their meal breaks are, and how many other breaks they take during the day. Do you notice that many of your employees start to get off-task a couple of hours into their shifts? Add in a paid break to allow them time to relax and then refocus on their work. Do some of your employees struggle to finish their lunch in time? Consider adding time to their lunch breaks to allow them to finish their lunch and get prepared to be back on the clock. There are many different things that you can implement (yoga, mindfulness breaks, etc.) that can better benefit the office.

Keep Spaces Clean 

One of the most important things concerning a quality breakroom is its cleanliness. Make sure that your employees are cleaning up after themselves, and even consider hiring another employee just to help clean up the office and break room. In addition to this, make sure that the break room stays organized. Organize any cords, excess snacks, and any other items that may need a home. Utilize storage space such as cabinets, storage bins and baskets, and moveable drawers. Maximize on storage while also maintaining cleanliness and your break room will start to become incredibly popular within the office.

Overall, creating a break room, although a daunting task, can easily become one of the best things to do to increase employee morale and creativity. By keeping your employee’s needs in mind, you can purchase many appliances and furniture that will fit your space and budget. As the leader of the space, you have the ability to bring forth luxuries such as a snack bar or catering that can really improve the quality of your employee’s work. By creating a break room and implementing many break tactics and strategies, there is no doubt that your employees will start to enjoy their work better!

The post 5 Things You Need to Have in Your Break Room appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Shipping quickly requires manpower and additional costs typically for your business. How can you juggle customer expectations and not overspend on your shipping expenses? You can start by lowering your expenses so that you are spending less on shipping as a whole. Keep reading to learn how to lower the cost of shipping. 

Proper Packaging

This is a huge area of improvement that most businesses can adapt to. Have you ever received a package personally for a small item that was in a large box with plastic taking up 90% of the content of the package? Your first thought was probably about the size of the box and how unnecessary it was. 

You are an expert on your products and know their size and dimensions. With this information, you can choose packaging that the products fit in properly. Creating a few different options depending on the size of the orders will allow you to package your products for shipping in a more efficient way. Why pay for the cost of a large box when it can fit in a small one?

Your customers will enjoy not having to store and recycle the large packages too, so it is a win-win for everyone.

Include Shipping Fees When Pricing Products

If you want to offer free or discounted shipping options for customers, you can start by including the shipping cost in the price of the product. Free shipping is enticing to many consumers and studies have shown that they are willing to spend more just to achieve a free shipping option. 

Every business is aware of how pricing can affect their sales, so this is a collaborative effort to help the product and shipping cost work better together. The small change in cost is not likely to affect a customer’s purchasing decision if they feel like they are getting a deal on shipping. Paying attention to the importance of shipping can help in your overall customer service approach as well. 

Shop Around for Shipping Insurance

Just like with any other insurance, it is important to shop around before landing on shipping insurance for your products. There are many options out there and sometimes the third-party vendors can offer a more affordable insurance rate for the same coverage that the larger insurers have.

Getting a clear idea of the exact coverage you need and how much your budget allows you to spend on insurance can help narrow down your options when it comes to the insurance coverage. Sticking to what you need and changing it as you grow is better than spending too much on coverage that you aren’t maximizing at this time.

Research Fees

Hidden fees are no fun for anyone. Are there fees if you don’t meet a specific shipping quota for the year? Do you have to spend a certain amount to get a discounted price?

Knowing what fees each carrier charges can play a huge role in which carrier or carriers that you decide to use. If you know about them in advance, you can plan properly to avoid them and not have your budget affected by fees that you could have avoided.

Finding out if there are carriers that promise no fees or offer flexible quota options when you partner with them. 

Buy Supplies in Bulk

Once you know the size of boxes that you need to meet the order needs, as well as the other shipping materials, you can order these items in bulk. By ordering more at once, you can cut down on the cost per unit and spend less. As you reach peak times of the year, you may need to put in additional orders but can be prepared by ordering ahead of time. 

Last-minute shipping is costly, especially for materials. Avoiding spending extra money to package 10 boxes can be beneficial for your business and cause less stress for your shipping team.

Look At Regional Options

Regional is local in terms of your business location. If most of your customers are buying within your region, why use a national carrier to deliver their products? Regional carriers can be more affordable given that they are already located in your area and specialize in deliveries within the region you are in. This can make your overall shipping more efficient when orders don’t need to bounce around multiple shipping warehouses before arriving to the customer. 

Check Out Free Packaging

Is there a free packaging option with certain carriers? Are you able to utilize these packages for your business? 

Whenever you get anything for free, it equates to cost savings for your business. Properly strategizing the use of these free materials can allow you to spend more for the custom orders as needed. It can also be a reason to partner with a specific carrier if they offer certain items for free and you only are responsible for the shipping cost. 

Optimize Your Shipping

How is your shipping handled currently? Do you have a few people or a team in charge of this area? Are there ways to contact your carrier to follow up on invoices or concerns? 

If there was an option to reduce shipping costs AND transit times, would you invest in it? The answer is likely yes and this is commonly referred to as logistics optimization. Instead of looking at your shipping operations as a stress and expense for your business, it can be a profitable area for you.

No longer will you have to spend days editing contracts with carriers to reach your desired result because you can do it all in one place now. 

Start Saving Today

Now that you have read more about ways to lower shipping costs for your business, you can get started with saving today. Lowering shipping expenses will allow you to reallocate the funds into other areas of your business. Check out our website for more informational business articles like this one!

The post Are You Spending Too Much on Shipping? Here Are 8 Tips to Lower Your Shipping Costs. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Is this just the way of the work world? Some people think so, but that’s not true. To be sure, you can’t get around the need for back office work. And you can’t ignore it, either. But that doesn’t mean your internal systems can’t be improved. By implementing at least one of the following solutions, you could see substantial and immediate benefits. 

1. Integrate your workflows.

These days, most back-end workflows leverage several platforms from MS Office to Slack. In fact, the tech stack of any back office can end up growing a mile high. This can be a productivity nightmare in the making, especially when workers have to move from one system to another. 

What’s the answer to avoiding the need to constantly log in and out of platforms and screens? Rely on a cloud-based Integrated Platform as a Service, or IPaaS. The role of any IPaaS is to foster communications between the systems your people use everyday. That way, employees can avoid cutting and pasting the same data, which can lead to unintended errors. They can also start creating shortcuts to help them do their jobs faster without losing accuracy.

Ideally, the IPaaS provider you choose as a partner needs to be plug-in ready. After all, your employees shouldn’t need to understand how to code to make integrations work. (Let’s face it: Few back office team members possess coding backgrounds.) Once your IPaaS is up and running, your back office personnel can work more effectively and confidently within all their systems. 

2. Automate whenever possible.

Repetitive tasks aren’t just annoying for your back office crew. They’re also eating up around 10% of your employees’ at-work time. During a 40-hour week, that’s a whopping four hours of waste per person. But you can chip away at all that waste pretty quickly with automation.

Any job that’s done repeatedly can and should be automated. Which redundancies exist in your back office? You don’t need to guess. Just ask your employees to think of activities that they duplicate on a regular basis. Then, review their feedback and look for opportunities to automate. For instance, you may discover that some of your administrative staffers are hand-entering sales lead information. Could the lead information be scanned into a system, evaluated with AI software, and uploaded more conveniently? You’ll never know until you think outside the (repetition) box.

Of course, automation may require equipment upgrades. So be ready to put some funds behind automation. Just remember: Investing in the right type of technology will pay for itself.

3. Modernize your payroll and benefits systems.

Do your back office employees complain that they’re always working on payroll or answering benefits questions? While you want to give your employees great service—and on-time pay—you can still streamline these workflows and functions.

Let’s say your team members are handling payroll on their own. Would working with a cloud-based payroll provider make sense? It does for a lot of businesses. Payroll partners can take a lot of “grunt work” off your employees’ shoulders. At the same time, many payroll systems enable employees to log in, see information, and download tax forms. Plus, the systems may be outfitted with self-service chatbots to solve workers’ common finance-related questions.

In the digital era, there’s really no reason to accept a clunky payroll interface or experience. Explore the wide world of payroll systems providers ideal for your company size.

4. Move everything into the cloud.

Did your business model move to remote work in 2020? Plenty of organizations had no choice but to make telecommuting their main way of working, even for back office personnel. At this point, your back office team still may work from home. Or, some may work hybrid schedules. Either way, you’ll want to move as many processes into the cloud as you can.

Having all your information and knowledge in the cloud solves several back office problems. Foremost, it enables remote access anytime, from anywhere, and with nearly any device. That means your employees can easily log in, even if they can’t get to the office. Secondly, cloud-based systems remove worries about backing up your data. Why? Reputable cloud-based providers have backups in place. Plus, they encrypt data to keep your back office data secure.

Best of all, if you’re looking for an economical solution to untangle your back office spaghetti, trust the cloud. Many cloud-based partners allow you to pay for subscriptions monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, and annually. That means you can fold the cost of cloud computing into your fixed costs. Additionally, you may be able to get added savings if you pay upfront for several years.

5. Go paperless like you mean it.

Walk into any back office and you’re bound to see it: loads of paper. While some paper may be necessary, not all of it is probably relevant. Quite honestly, your back office is likely overflowing with more paper than anyone needs.

From an environmental perspective, all that paper isn’t exactly eco-friendly. But that’s hardly the only issue with a paper-laden back office. Papers can easily be misplaced, destroyed, or even stolen. It’s much harder for that to happen to digital items that exist on a cloud-based, protected server.

Moving to a paper-reduced back office model won’t happen overnight. It might take months to figure out how to make a (practically) paperless workflow part and parcel for your company. Arrange a time to talk with your back office staff members about your desire to get rid of unnecessary paper. Their insights will help you understand exactly how to make this goal a reality.

Will every worker automatically jump on board with changes? Maybe not. It can take a while for people to become comfortable with different ways of working. Give the process time—but be clear that you intend to unravel all the knots in your back office functions. 

The post 5 Ways to Untangle Your Back-Office Spaghetti appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In this article, we’ll go over the best business tools to boost your productivity. Some of these categories may be familiar, but others might be new as the business landscape is changing rapidly these days. Thus, equipping yourself with the best business tools will help you save time, be more productive, and simply get more things done in the day.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing was already an important technology in an increasingly global world before COVID-19, but the pandemic made it essential. And this is not just a trend: many companies are allowing people to work from home permanently. Thousands of workers are even moving out of higher cost of living cities to more remote areas, further solidifying this sea change.

The best thing about video conferencing software is that it can be very affordable. Some of them start at just about $10 per month and let you conduct meetings with thousands of participants (if you have that many!). As a bonus, that leaves more money to save and invest.

Plus, video conferencing applications have gotten very advanced these days, letting you use voice commands, record meetings, and screen share. And, of course, you can join using your phone, too.

Project Management Software

Completing your projects effectively requires a high level of organization. Fortunately, there are project management tools out there to make your life a whole lot easier. This software has plenty of features built in to help you keep track of every part of your projects. That includes to-do lists, budget trackers, project boards, and plenty more.

Once again, you can purchase this software at a very affordable price, with some at just a few dollars per month. If you are looking for agile tools specifically, there is an abundance of those available, too. You may have heard of some of the agile tools out there that are heavily advertised, such as Jira. Thus, whatever your project management style may be, there is something available for you. 

Google Docs Add-Ons

Lots of people love Google Docs because it’s simple, can be accessed anywhere, and most importantly, it’s free. But if you’ve simply been using Google Docs “as is,” you might be missing out. To take things to the next level, there are Google Docs add-ons that come in the form extensions and add various functionality.

For instance, you’ll find add-ons that allow you to do lots of cool stuff:

• Create decision charts and graphs
• Make mind maps and flow charts
• Set up mail merges
• Sign documents digitally
• Send faxes
• Add citations
• Translate documents

And these are just a few of the highlights. Another very useful tool that can improve Google Docs is Grammarly. This extension automatically checks your spelling and grammar and suggests corrections. Plus, it works on a number of different websites–not just Google Docs.

I would recommend browsing a list of Google Docs add-ons to find ones that make sense for your business.

SEO Software

If you are using web content marketing to generate sales leads, then having good SEO software is a must. While you could use a hodge-podge of free tools to try to conduct your SEO research, that ends up being a very time-consuming process. And even if you spend hours digging through free SEO tools, you won’t be able to find the same insights that good SEO software can.

eCommerce has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic solidified it as a crucial part of many businesses. Thus, you’ll want to be sure you have SEO tools at your disposal to help market your business more effectively online. Even if you don’t sell products in an eCommerce store, it always helps to gain more exposure through SEO.

Customer Feedback Tools

Collecting feedback from users and potential customers is very important, but it’s not always easy. How do you gather input from your users? Surveys? The reality is that most users won’t take the time to fill out a survey on a separate page.

To make it a better experience for everyone involved, you can try putting customer feedback widgets on your website instead. As a result, you’ll make the process easier for customers, which makes it more likely you’ll receive feedback. Actionable insights means less time spent with trial-and-error as you work to improve your products.

Password Manager

Finding yourself a good password manager is the logical last, but not least here. After all, we just covered several different types of software, and each of them will have its own login. Sure, you could try the old “writing it down in a notebook somewhere” method, but that isn’t very secure. Plus, it’s actually nowhere near as convenient as having a tool directly on your computer to seamlessly store and recall your passwords.

And just in case you are wondering, yes, password managers are very secure. They all come with industry-leading 256-bit encryption and two-factor authentication. Encryption turns your data into a bunch of cryptic characters so that even if a hacker gets in, it won’t look anything like it does to you. Two-factor authentication requires the use of a secondary code, which is usually sent via text message or email. An app such as Google Authenticator is also a possibility.

Start Improving Your Productivity Today

Most of these tools are an essential part of many successful businesses today. After all, technology can be convenient, but it can also make things more complicated if you don’t manage it properly. Fortunately, having the right tools available can make things a whole lot easier.

So, go ahead and get organized and start improving your productivity. The business world is increasingly competitive these days, so there’s no time to waste on tasks that shouldn’t take much time.

The post Best Tools to Boost Business Productivity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Scientists around the globe have long proved that there is a natural correlation between happiness and productivity. Therefore, if an employee is more satisfied within an office space, they will more than likely be more productive. 

The following list of innovative ideas can be very helpful when looking to improve an office space’s productivity. These ideas focus on lighting, color, noise levels, temperature, and several other factors. 

1. Bring In Natural Light

An office space filled with dimly lit rooms or excessively bright light fixtures will generally have a disorienting or otherwise negative effect on employees. Therefore, planning your office’s layout to take advantage of natural light that floods through your office’s windows is one of the best ways to increase productivity. 

If your office space does not have many windows or does not receive much natural light, you can still achieve a natural lighting effect. In today’s lighting market, there are several technological developments that mimic and replicate natural lighting.  

2. Add Color

It has long been common knowledge that certain colors stimulate certain moods and emotions. This information can be utilized in an office space to increase productivity, but the key is to strike a balance. Too little color and the office can become boring and unstimulating; too much color can be exhausting and overstimulating. 

3. Include Natural Accents 

Natural plants, flowers, and succulents are great for increasing productivity and stimulating the human brain. These quick pops of natural greens and other colors can have astonishing effects on an employee’s happiness and morale. 

When the weather is nice and the sun is shining outside of your office’s windows, employees working in your office will want to be outside. Therefore, bringing the outside in with the use of plants and other natural accents is a great way to keep your employees satisfied and productive. If you are looking to splurge, another way to include natural accents into your office’s space is to have countertops made of quartz installed in office bathrooms.

4. Consider Temperature

Controlling the temperature in your office space can have great effects on an office’s productivity. Employees who are freezing in the office or who are sweating profusely are going to be less satisfied at work for obvious reasons. Yes, keeping the air conditioner turned off in the summer and the heat turned to low in the winter can save your business money. However, in the long run, this practice will cause your business to not be as successful because your employees will be less productive. Business owners should always bet on their employees and take the necessary steps to ensure their happiness and productivity. In this instance, thinking about your office’s temperature can lead to a positive increase in company morale. 

5. Invest In Furniture

Most of the office furniture that is situated within your office space is going to be used every day by a variety of employees. Therefore, it is pertinent to invest in high quality furniture for your office. This furniture will not only have a longer lifespan but will increase employee productivity due to its comfort and overall design. Supportive chairs and barstools can also prevent employees from developing a variety of health problems that may cost your business time or money years in the future. 

6. Be Mindful Of Noise Levels

Nothing can stifle an office’s productivity quite like an excessive amount of noise. However, some workers may work better in a busy and noisy environment. When thinking about the noise levels of your office, it may be important to survey your employees and become aware of their habits and preferences. Achieving a good balance between quiet rooms and busy spaces is the best general practice. Office owners looking to lower noise levels in any given room can have acoustic cloud panels installed. 

7. Utilize The Latest Technology

Last, but certainly not least, an office space’s productivity can be greatly improved by a variety of hardware and software technology. These improvements can range from installing tablets that control temperature and lighting on your office’s walls to entry code panels and turnstiles that allow for secure office access. Installing digital messaging software and other software aimed at task management is another way to greatly improve employee productivity using technology.

Welcome To Your Productive Office

The perfect office space design should inspire and satisfy every employee. This satisfaction and inspiration will greatly improve happiness and subsequently your office’s productivity. The innovative ideas listed above are sure to help your office and its employees achieve their full potential. Employees who are performing at a high caliber will allow your business to continue to experience expedited growth. This growth will not only be seen within the opportunities granted to your business but can also be measured by a business value calculator.

The post 7 Innovative Ways to Improve Your Office Space’s Productivity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

When looking for a scheduling app, you’ll come across a variety of options. Each one serves a similar purpose but has unique strengths and weaknesses. You’ll have to keep this in mind as you determine which app best fits your needs.

Two of the best scheduling apps on the market are Calendar and Calendly. As industry leaders in the scheduling and online calendar field, they should be the first two options you consider. Today, we’re going to be comparing Calendly to Calendar to help you make the best decision on which scheduling app makes sense for you to use for your business.

This article will dive into both Calendar and Calendly, comparing their features so you can select one for your own use.

Calendar

An industry leading online calendar, this app provides features not just for managing time, but for mastering your scheduling techniques. The ability to do both makes Calendar a powerful and capable tool.

Scheduling Links

Back and forth emails determining meeting times can take up more of your day than you’d like to admit. A much easier way to schedule meetings and interviews is with a scheduling link.

You can set the hours and days you are available in Calendar for an upcoming phone call or meeting. Calendar then provides you a link to send to others. Through that link they can request one of your available time slots, making it much faster and easier to schedule appointments than ever before.

Meeting Suggestions

There are two problems that scheduling links don’t solve on their own: meeting location, if applicable, and group meetings. 

It can take a long time to come up with a meeting location. As a solution to this problem, Calendar makes recommendations for you, so you can spend more time on important projects and less time looking up lunch spots that are equidistant from both parties.

You can’t send a scheduling link to a group of people, as their availability and preference might differ from the rest. So, Calendar also makes time suggestions that work for everyone according to their Calendar accounts.

Event Creation

Calendar uses AI to make event creation faster and better than ever. It learns your tendencies in order to make suggestions that speed up this process in just a few clicks.

Other useful tools include time zone recognition and calendar syncing. You can easily coordinate with people around the globe, and have it all match up with any other online calendar you use.

Calendar Time Analytics

The crown jewel of Calendar is its time analytics tool. The purpose of a calendar is to organize your time and ultimately use it more efficiently. That can be hard to do without the data Calendar provides.

With time analytics, you can see exactly how much time you spend on each activity. This gives you a concrete look at how much time you spend in meetings, traveling, and looking through emails. Just record your activity in Calendar and it will do the math for you, presenting it in captivating, easy to view graphs.

Security

Calendar authenticates each and every calendar in its system. When you have a team, your team can’t see what’s on your personal calendar and you don’t have to share your personal appointments with your team. Your work calendar and personal calendars are 100% secure and separate.

Keeping your personal account secure is one of Calendar’s biggest emphases. Thanks to its continued efforts on security, you can focus on other things. Take comfort in knowing that all your team can see are the time spots on your calendar that are blocked out.

Pricing

Calendar has two packages, one for individuals and another for teams. There are free options for each with only the essential features. Teams cannot exceed 10 members in the basic package, but can reach up to 200 members in the paid version.

Calendar offers discounts for its paid plans when purchased annually. For individuals, the Pro version is $8 a month when purchased annually, or $10 a month otherwise. For teams, the price is $6 per person when paid annually or $8 per person on a monthly basis. 

Calendly

When you rely on meetings, you can feel stressed about fitting everything into your schedule and fulfilling all of your commitments. Calendly takes a load off your shoulders, making it easier to schedule your meetings and fit them all in with zero stress.

Scheduling Links

While Calendar finds its strength in security and time analytics, Calendly prides itself on top-of-the-line scheduling links. This tool helps you create and organize multiple meetings without breaking a sweat.

Calendly gives you a lot of flexibility with your scheduling links, including buffer times to prevent meeting overlap and a meeting cap so you don’t get overwhelmed in a single day. Notifications remind meeting participants of commitments and also prevent last-minute meetings from being scheduled. 

Meeting Flexibility

Not all meetings are created equal. Some will be one-on-one while others will be in groups of various sizes and functions. You’ll need a scheduling tool that can fit every type of meeting, which Calendly can do for you.

Calendly offers four different meeting plans;

1. One-on-one: Lets a single invitee to schedule an appointment
2. Round robin: Automatic meeting distribution based factors such as availability and priority
3. Collective: Allows an invitee to schedule a meeting with multiple team members
4. Group: Multiple invitee hosting for events such as webinars and training

Each works with a specific goal in mind, matching your meeting needs perfectly. Each meeting type has its merit, and it’s nice having a scheduling tool that caters to every possibility.

Pricing

Calendly also offers a basic package that’s free for all users. While limited, it’s a great start for new users. It’s important to note that you can only create one calendar under the basic package, and most of the integrations are unavailable.

Two paid programs are available for extra scheduling power. The Premium package is $8 per month when paid annually or $10 per month per user. This gives you access to two separate calendars as well as numerous integrations and customization options.

The Pro plan is all-inclusive, with every feature made available. Pricing starts at $12 per month when paid annually or $15 per month per user.

Integrations

An online calendar won’t be the only tool you need. There are a multitude of apps and programs to help you operate your business and manage your time. When these apps work together, it makes things that much easier for you.

Calendly realizes this, which is why it has enabled integrations with apps such as Zoom and Salesforce. This takes out the extra steps needed to run your meetings and go through your day. It also connects to your online calendars, so you won’t get dates and times confused and crossed over.

Team Features

Scheduling tools aren’t just meant for the individual; they can also be used by your entire team. Calendly added some additional features to help your team get everything done. 

Team pages make it easy for everyone to be in contact with one another. Other features include centralized billing, scheduling metrics, and reporting. Leaders can use these tools to further manage their teams in various ways. 

Both of these apps have great qualities which will improve how you approach scheduling. Compare and even experiment with both so you can see which fits your needs better. Doing so will optimize your time, and unlock more opportunities for you and your business.

The post Calendar vs. Calendly: Which Scheduling App Makes Sense For You appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

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Society is already beginning to see some of the negative aspects of tech overflow, and some are taking action. The next generation is already being raised to be more tech-conscious, with the introduction of scaled-back kid phones and tech-free childhoods. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late for their parents.

The first step to developing a healthy relationship with your workplace tech is by being intentional with it. If you’re not careful, technology will creep into every corner of your life.

Here are a few ways to prevent that:

1. Disconnect at the end of the day.

Before anything else, you need to draw a firm line between your professional day and your personal evening. A 2018 study found that working outside regular business hours seriously hindered workers’ ability to sleep, recover, and maintain the necessary levels of energy to work the next day. For your own health, disconnecting is a must.

Set clear, firm guidelines for yourself on when you’re allowed to work and when you aren’t. Once the workday is over, take a break from all electronics entirely for a while. This time can give you the space you need to decompress and shift into a less professional mindset. Preventing work from bleeding into your free time allows you to appreciate both more.

2. Take mini-breaks.

When you’re on the job, don’t get sucked into endless tech usage. Regular breaks from technology on the job ensure you’re more purposeful when you do use tech — actively completing tasks instead of mindlessly browsing.

One of the best ways of doing this is with a modified version of the Pomodoro technique. The technique involves 25 minutes of work, followed by a five-minute break. Following this schedule has been shown to boost productivity, but reworking it for tech can have benefits as well. Take five minutes out of every half-hour to put down all devices entirely. When you pick them back up, you’ll notice the difference.

3. Use website blockers.

Nearly 60 percent of employees admit to spending an hour or more surfing the web at work every day. Most office workers know the real number is likely much higher. If other disconnecting techniques aren’t working for you, it’s probably time to shut down your access to time-wasting sites entirely. A number of great apps block certain sites; doing so can keep you from getting sucked down a rabbit hole while working.

4. Establish “techless” times.

Even the most tech-focused workers have duties and tasks they can do without their devices. Rather than constantly switch between your laptop and notepad, develop a schedule to separate one from the other.

Businesses are increasingly opting to host off-the-grid hours. Employees take advantage of their liberation from devices to collaborate, talk, and problem solve. Having a tech-free hour early or in the middle of the day can give workers the opportunity to take a step back and think outside of the box. Then, they can get back to their devices and put their ideas into practice.

5. Use one device at a time.

At work, you’re rarely just on your desktop. You might also be on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, smartwatch, or any number of other devices. While it’s tempting to take full advantage of the connectivity at your fingertips, doing so is almost never to your benefit.

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Context switching — frequently changing the platforms you work on — can slash your productivity by up to 80 percent and cut your mental state in the process. One of the best ways to stamp out device switching is by scheduling which devices you use when. Keeping tools siloed off ensures you don’t lose your mind juggling all at the same time.

Intentional tech use is the first step toward maximizing your productivity and well-being on the job. By assessing exactly what your regular tech usage looks like, you can develop an understanding of what’s wrong — and what you can do to make it right.

The post 5 Tips for More Intentional Tech Use at Work appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In order to mitigate the financial effects caused by the confinement as a result of the pandemic state by the Covid-19 is recommended to use the best money transfer so that the purchase processes of your companies are accelerated generating a better confidence in your customer.

We’ve developed a list of five tips that will help your small business succeed after COVID-19 is no longer impacting the world economy.

1. Restore Your Business’s Credit Worthiness

Your small business’s ability to access capital is more vital than ever. As we emerge to a post-COVID-19 world, it’s critical that small business owners can obtain funds to cover costs, revenue gaps, and other financial obligations. While interest rates are now lower than ever before, banks will be hesitant to provide financing in such a turbulent market.

If your business has already run into financial issues, you may be missing payments on your debt obligations or other bills. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on your business credit score, which will impact your ability to borrow money in the future. Restoring your creditworthiness as a business owner will be paramount to your success.

To do so, it’s critical to work with lenders, suppliers, and other creditors to work out arrangements that won’t impact your reputation or bottom line. Initial signs point towards many businesses being flexible with clients to help them avoid bankruptcy, defaults, and other financial stresses.

Being open and honest BUSINESS NEWS may help you avoid damaging your business’ credit score. It’s important to put as much focus as possible toward navigating your business without incurring too much damage.

2. Encourage Card Payments

As consumers return from lockdown, they may be apprehensive about handling physical items in your store. If you own a business that has traditionally taken a large number of cash payments, it might be time to consider pushing consumers toward using credit cards and other digital payment methods.

Having EMV payment options and other convenient credit card processing platforms is an excellent way to reduce hand-to-hand contact for your customers. Not only will this help your customers stay safer, but it will also ensure you reduce staff exposure to undue risk. As a responsible business owner, it’s critical to protect staff safety when we emerge to a post-lockdown world.

3. Focus on Your Customers

It’s impossible to predict the full business landscape in a post-COVID-19 world, but it’s safe to say that consumers may be a bit shy before the economy makes a full recovery. This means that business owners will have to be particularly wary of consumer demands and preferences.

If you want to compete for a scarce number of consumers, it’s essential to bring them what they want. Making the shopping experience more convenient is an excellent way to ensure customers give your brand attention.

If you’re still operating during the crisis, make sure to take note of what customers appreciate. Offering fast, reliable services in a pandemic situation can go a long way in helping your brand remain resilient through the crisis.

4. Don’t Waste time

No matter what, it’s critical not to waste time. Depending on your small business’ location, you might not be operational at this time. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be planning for a post-COVID-19 world – it’s essential to take advantage of downtime.

It’s important to view this as an opportunity to revamp your business into a more efficient company that can offer more to its customers or clients. Finding a way to remain successful in a considerable downturn can be applied to many other financial crises.

If you’re worried your services or products won’t have the same allure in a post-COVID-19 world, this is the perfect time to reconsider your approach. There are countless small businesses repositioning themselves in various niches and industries that they believe have a future.

There’s no doubt that small businesses will be struggling to emerge successfully in a post-COVID-19 world. For this reason, focusing on preparing your company as much as possible may help you rise above the competition when the opportunity presents itself.

5. Continue Searching for Digital Capabilities

While many states are starting to emerge from lockdown, this doesn’t mean that consumers will have the confidence to enter brick-and-mortar locations. Ensuring that customers feel safe inside your store can go a long way in instilling confidence in your business, but it might not allow you to capture the amount of market share that you need to remain profitable.

For this reason, it’s essential to keep tabs on digital solutions that can help you gain market exposure in a world where physical shopping might not be as prevalent. Setting up an online store, processing to-go orders, and a host of other ideas can help you position yourself in a post-COVID-19 world.

This also means increasing your online payment facilities. If you’re not currently accepting online credit card payments, now is the perfect time to upgrade your payment capabilities.

As more consumers turn towards eCommerce for everyday needs, this is a trend that might last long into the future. Offering quick and secure digital payments to your customers can help you facilitate online transactions and avoid barriers to new customers or clients.

Meet Your Challenges Head On

As a small business owner, your previous business successes are a result of your resilience and commitment to competing in your industry. While there’s no doubt that COVID-19 will create new and unfamiliar challenges in the business landscape, you should view this as another opportunity to improve your business and its approach to your industry.

For business owners that continue operating in a post-COVID-19 world, the experience of this global pandemic may provide valuable lessons on how to build a resilient business model that can withstand the pressures of an unexpected loss in consumer confidence and overall demand.

By meeting your challenges head-on, you stand the best chance to improve your business in the future.

The post 5 Tips On How To Make Money For Small Businesses Post COVID-19 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Sleep Deprived People Tend To Be Less Charismatic

To be a good leader, you need to have a certain level of charisma. Those with a higher level of charisma are more adept and getting their workers to act as a unit that is working toward a common goal. One study found that those who were sleep deprived were viewed as less charismatic than those who were allowed to sleep normally through the night. Poor sleep quality has a number of significant negative effects on daytime function. However, few studies have examined sleep quality in patients with dizziness. Do you know the common medical complaint that often puzzles doctors? Roughly 40% of individuals will seek help for this symptom a minimum of once in their lives. it’s usually the sign of a treatable condition, though occasionally it signifies a significant ill health . I’m talking about dizziness, an unpleasant symptom with one among many possible causes. As you’ll see, there are numerous reasons why you or someone you recognize could also be affected by dizziness. Treating the matter means treating the underlying condition that causes it. Familiarizing yourself with some typical causes of dizziness will assist you know what to expect once you consult your physician about this health concern. Here you can find multiple solutions to your health problems on coolsculptny.

The Most Common sort of Dizziness

The most common sort of debilitating dizziness is vertigo, or the false sensation that you simply and your surroundings are in motion. Vertigo usually originates within the internal ear , which is liable for balance and receiving sensory signals and sending them to the brain. Get that good night sleep you always wanted with the best cbd oil for anxiety and you’ll feel your mood improve to go to work.

When it involves vertigo, 25 to 40% of cases are thanks to B.P.P.V., or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Certain motions, like tilting the top back to seem up (think of sitting during a dentist’s chair), can cause otherwise harmless calcium deposits to become lodged within the internal ear , triggering B.P.P.V.

The treatment for this common sort of vertigo is surprisingly simple. It requires a series of head movements called the Epley maneuvers, which must be performed by a physician. In effect, the movements shake the calcium deposits back to an area where they will not cause trouble.

In other cases, vertigo is triggered by inflammation of the internal ear , that the cause isn’t known. presumably , it’s the results of a virus infection , which clears abreast of its own during a few days. Sometimes people that suffer from vestibular migraines experience vertigo and dizziness. The migraine makes them sensitive to motion, and vertigo can occur albeit a full-blown migraine doesn’t happen .

Other causes of vertigo are Meniere’s disease , which is treated by reducing the body’s fluid retention with diuretics or a low-sodium diet , and rare but serious neurological problems, like stroke or brain hemorrhage.

Other Reasons Your Head is Spinning

Though it’s not technically vertigo, faintness often involves similar unpleasant feelings and sensitivity to movement. It are often caused by a sudden drop by vital sign or insufficient blood flow to the guts due to heart condition , partially blocked arteries or arrhythmia.

Often, lightheadedness and dizziness occur once you get up too quickly. This phenomenon, referred to as syncope, is said to inadequate blood flow to the brain. once you get up after eating an important meal, you would possibly feel lightheaded because more blood is flowing to the gastrointestinal system than to your head.

Low blood glucose also can cause you to feel lightheaded, so it’s important to eat regular balanced meals, stay hydrated and not wait until you’re starving to possess your meal.

Dizziness is additionally a symbol of most anxiety disorders. you’ll feel this unpleasant sensation during a scare or once you are under great stress. Unfortunately many useful medications cause dizziness as a side effect. First, confirm you’re taking the right dose and if so, ask your dizziness doctor about making an adjustment to your dosage or choosing a special treatment.

In cases like these, or anytime you’ve got an attack of dizziness, herbs can help. Gingko biloba is understood to scale back symptoms. Many of my patients have also found relief with Sunergetic Products Quercetin Bromelian Supplement and ginger.

If you’ve got a history of dizziness or vertigo, you recognize it can make everyday activities difficult or maybe impossible. Working together with your doctor to uncover the explanation for your symptoms will direct you to an efficient treatment plan. albeit doctors must first do tests to rule out variety of possible causes for dizziness, their ultimate goal is to seek out the basis of the matter and obtain you on the trail to renewed health. You can also visit this Doctor’s Directory Site for more information.

Adequate Sleep Allows You to Stay In Control

One of the benefits of sleeping at least seven hours a night is that you are better able to control your emotions. This is important because your employees are not going to be enthusiastic about working with someone who belittles them or who is prone to bursts of anger. Furthermore, employees who work for a person who is stressed are more likely to be stressed themselves.

To get adequate sleep ensure you create a bedroom that is peaceful and promotes rest. Understand your sleep position and find the best mattress for your sleep behavior. Finally, create a routine that helps you wind down from a stressful day and helps your fall asleep faster. Also, Read More at gotta sleep about mattress dimensions and get the right one for you.

I was put on Ambien because of my anxiety and depression, I wasn’t able to sleep more than an hour or 2 a night. I buy Ambien 10mg and took for about a week and I had horrible indigestion the whole time and on top of that I still only slept 4-5 hours a night tops. And I have been off them for almost a week and I’m still having horrible stomach pains and possibly a swollen liver.

You Want to Set a Good Example for Your Workers

If you believe that working 18 to 20 hours a day is normal and healthy, you are more likely to expect that your people do the same thing. However, it is not normal or healthy to work so much during a day or to do so for many days in a row. By establishing a health sleep routine for yourself, it signals to others that they should also make it a point to get plenty of rest each night, in our blog vpnchef we will share with you advises for a healthy routine.

Your Employees Will Like You More

Employees who are allowed to stick to a regular sleep schedule will view you as a more charismatic leader simply because they are well rested. Therefore, they may be willing to overlook some of the pitfalls of working for you or working for the company because they want to make you happy.

All Leaders Should Strive to Get Adequate Rest

Research has clearly uncovered the link between sleep and the ability to leadership at work. Additionally, getting adequate rest can help leaders in other facets of life as well. For instance, a coach who wants to get the most out of his or her players is encouraged to make time for sleep. A teacher who wants his or her students to do well on a test should make sure that he or she is rested enough to provide the type of leadership necessary to achieve that goal.

As a leader, it is important that your people like and respect you. Otherwise, your business may fail or your boss may decide that someone else can lead your department more effectively. Ideally, you will choose to sleep in a dark room that is set to a relatively cool temperature. An eye mask can be an effective tool to help you sleep during the day if you’re required to work at night.

The post Why More Sleep May Make You A Better Boss appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Subscription services have a lot of benefits for business owners, the most notable of which is predictable revenue. Cable companies figured this out years ago. When customers are happy with a product, monthly revenue flows in. It’s easy to forecast revenue and plan for the future when you’re automatically charging customers at a scheduled cadence. 

Although subscription models make sense for a lot of reasons, they do come with pitfalls. But rest assured that for each potential challenge, there is an answer:

Risk No. 1: Churn, either at the beginning or after a big change

Predictability is a key benefit of a subscription-based model; however, subscription creation and change can still create uncertainty. If the subscription service itself is still in the startup phase, it can be difficult to predict how many customers will sign up and how many will cancel after the first month. 

Soulution: Conduct customer research, including surveys and focus groups with current subscribers, as well as research into additional segments you expect to reach by making any significant changes. Then, if you decide to move forward with the change, you must carefully manage the communication process with your existing customers.

Allot 12 months for your customer base to become familiar with your new subscription service. Watch for cancellations after you make a change to your service, such as a price increase or a change in the product or delivery. The reality is that if you change what you’re offering, it will no longer be valuable enough to some customers to justify the price, and it might become more valuable to others who will start a subscription.

Do your best to retain current customers. Consider grandfathering them into a special rate as a “thank you” for their loyalty and flexibility. Be transparent about why you’re making the change. Invite them to provide feedback or help make decisions around the change when possible. Treat your customers as a community, and give them time to adjust.

Risk No. 2: Surprising credit card decline rates

It’s a big advantage to have the majority of your customers’ payments lined up each month. But did you know that up to 10 percent of payments get declined on the first attempt?

That figure varies by industry, and about half of those payments typically go through on the second attempt. However, it means you could be leaving 5 percent of sales on the table every single month, not to mention that having a card declined leads to a poor customer experience. If users encounter any problems providing their payment, they’re likely to blame your site — fairly or not — and leave your brand for good.

Solution: There are several ways you can combat this challenge. The most straightforward solution is to offer alternative payment methods in the event of a declined card. Partnering with PayPal, Venmo, or other digital wallets will open up the most avenues for your customers to complete their transaction and get on with their day.

If you’re still nearing that 10 percent threshold of declined payments, another solution is to work with a company like FlexPay. FlexPay uses AI to salvage declined transactions by optimizing payment timing and processing. You receive your payment, and customers can have faith that their payments are being processed correctly. 

Risk No. 3: The need to consistently keep offerings fresh

Unless your business is one of those old-school cable companies, your customers likely won’t be satisfied paying the same price for the exact same product month after month. Subscription service experts like Dollar Shave Club and BarkBox know that the best way to retain those customers for months and even years is to constantly refresh what’s included with the subscription.

Solution: For subscription box services, this can be as simple as switching out one product for another. For example, Dollar Shave Club offers customers several product options to include in their boxes based on their hygiene needs.

Another way to provide subscribers more value for the same price is to think outside the box. Beefing up your content strategy is a great way to achieve this without devoting costly resources to product development. Create FAQs, blog posts, or video content related to your subscription. For example, BarkBox might put together a canine-friendly cookbook. Making digital content available exclusively to your subscribers is a great way to provide new value while keeping your core offerings the same.

Subscription services are rising in popularity and can add value to a variety of industries. If this model is a good fit for your business, don’t let these pitfalls deter you from pursuing a subscription-based offering. 

The post 3 Pitfalls of Subscription Services You Might Not Expect appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Whether you want to roll out a new marketing strategy, slay your sales quota, deepen your customer relationships, or expand your reach with new audiences, new technology can help you get there. 

But no tool, task, or team exists in a vacuum. Integrative software makes collaboration and reporting easier, giving not just one team, but your whole company, an edge. Before the calendar turns, add these five complementary tools to your collection:

1. Vast Conference

Today’s business world is powered by remote work. A 2019 study found that over half of the global workforce works remotely at least two and a half days a week. With so many employees collaborating from afar, companies need a reliable way to keep everyone connected.

Video conferencing tool Vast Conference provides high-definition audio and video meetings that integrate with Outlook, Google, or Microsoft 365 calendars to increase convenience and minimize compatibility concerns. And because Vast Conference is a web-based application, users can join online meetings with just one click, with nothing to download or install.

2. ZQ Intelligence Behavioral Tracking

Luth Research’s ZQ Intelligence uses proprietary technology behavioral tracking. In other words to capture behavior-based digital insights from consumers’ PCs, smartphones (iOS and Android), and tablets. By integrating this unique digital perspective with survey and qualitative research, you are able to uncover the “why” behind digital activity. ZQ Intelligence is a single-source solution that delivers accurate, granular insights in your own dashboard or custom reports

3. Shopify

As e-commerce platforms proliferate, small businesses need an easy way to access them. Shopify helps retailers sell through online marketplaces, social media, and traditional point-of-sale systems. It includes marketing and analysis tools to show which channels are retailers’ top performers.

If you prefer to sell directly from your own site, Shopify makes that simple as well. Users can find a domain, design their site with drag-and-drop tools, and create a company blog. And because Shopify is an online platform, there’s no need to hire IT to keep everything up and running. 

4. Animoto

Video is having its moment in the sun. Research shows that more than half of consumers engage with a brand after watching a related video on social media, a number no other type of content can match. 

If you want to enter the video marketing game but don’t know where to start, Animoto is an excellent tool for amateurs. The web-based platform includes drag-and-drop templates and editing tools that, despite their simplicity, produce professional-level videos. Use them to boost your brand on social media or develop digital ads. 

5. Hootsuite

Social media is one of the easiest, least expensive marketing tools that small businesses have at their disposal. But as new apps like TikTok and Twitch join the lineup, maintaining a presence on all the sites your audience uses is becoming more difficult.

To manage all your social media platforms from a single dashboard, give Hootsuite a try. Scheduling a whole week’s worth of social posts is not only more efficient, but it also makes creating a consistent experience for multi-platform users easier. Hootsuite also offers social media monitoring services so small business leaders can see how their company is being talked about online. 

Ultimately, selecting the right software is about understanding your business model and goals. Invest in affordable tools that provide real value, and your business will be that much stronger in 2020. 

The post Get Ahead in 2020 by Investing in These 5 Tools appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

But with so many moving parts in play for the typical enterprise, cracking the code of better productivity can be difficult to achieve. There is always need of time to time inspection in the business. Risk Assessment Software guide in a better manner what kind of maintenance, inspection need to your business.

It’s important for business leaders to zero-in on the most important factors affecting workplace productivity:

Technology

The utilization of technology has been a fundamental ingredient for improving productivity for thousands of years. Today’s organizations continue this tradition by making the most of digital technology. Using modern tech to be more productive can be applied to several areas of most business operations. For example, an AI-powered business phone system capable of supporting voice, video, and messages across all mobile devices improve productivity by streamlining business communications. Using business apps for task management helps with staying organized. There’s really no end to the ways in which technology aids in efforts to boost workplace productivity.

Location

There are several ways the location(s) of a business has a direct impact on productivity. For instance, an organization’s ability to hire and hold onto qualified employees depends a lot on the talent pool available in that part of the world. This has an impact on training and turnover, which affects the productive capacity of a company.  A business location also plays a role in the daily commute times of your employees, while the local climate creates potential disruptions for operative capacity. Whether these and other location-related factors influence productivity day-to-day or once or twice a year, they matter enough for business leaders to take location seriously.

Organization

Tracking down mislabeled, misplaced or misfiled business information takes a big bite out of a company’s ability to sustain or improve their productivity. It’s estimated workers spend an average of 2.5 hours per day trying to find the things they need to complete their tasks. The importance of keeping business information organized cannot be overstated. Software designed to provide companies and their employees with an optimized system of organization is an essential asset for any business with aspirations for boosting their productive capacity.

Personnel

We often hear about how we’re in the age of automation. There’s no denying the increasing role of, and reliance on, automated systems to do tasks that were previously done by people, but human resources are still the heart of virtually every type of business. While technology takes the productive capacity of organizations to new heights, people are still required to utilize tech and put the finishing touches on the final product. With this in mind, the qualifications and integrity of a workforce will influence productivity for a business.

Management

The way a company is managed is probably the most significant factor affecting workplace productivity, second only to technology. Organizations dependent on personnel need strong and influential leadership. From the CEO to the shift manager, leaders in the workplace are tasked with making the most of teamwork and resources. What’s more, effective managers have to be capable problem solvers to stay on top of small but significant impacts on day-to-day levels of productivity. You can also opt for the different software for management of risk. Fоr Quality Management аnd Compliance, thіѕ іѕ a common trend, but whаt аbоut Environmental Health аnd Safety Management? Risk іѕ equally аѕ important іn EHS processes, аnd саn help drive better compliance tо initiatives іn tracking аnd improving safety wіthіn thе organization.

Aѕ safety professionals know, EHS software mоѕt commonly hаvе a wау оf tracking adverse safety events – “Incidents”. Incidents саn tаkе mаnу forms, whеthеr Injuries оr Illnesses; Fires оr Explosions; Chemical spills оr Hazardous Materials; thе list goes оn. Aѕ раrt оf compliance, іt іѕ important tо record incident data thoroughly аnd collect аѕ muсh information аѕ possible. Thіѕ іѕ partly good business apractices, but аlѕо іѕ a requirement оf mаnу regulatory reporting initiatives, ѕuсh аѕ thоѕе mandated bу OSHA. Risk саn bе a critical factor іn furthеr identifying incident data. Using Risk Assessment, safety managers саn filter incident data bу risk factors ѕuсh аѕ severity оr frequency. Risk matrices саn help tо make better decisions оn hоw tо handle incidents. Mоrе critical incidents rise tо thе tор оf thе list, аnd hаvе mоrе importance thаn lеѕѕ critical events. Thіѕ enables thе safety team tо address thе mоrе important issues wіthіn thеіr Incident Management program.

A business where productive capacity is not taken seriously is unlikely to survive very long. With that said, the hunt for more productivity can easily turn into a wild goose chase if business leaders don’t know where to focus their attention. It’s important to zero in on the primary factors involved and find effective methods of addressing them.

Finance

Liquid capital is the lifeblood of every business. Without the ability to pay bills, cover expenses, and provide payroll, the entire operation eventually grinds to a halt. Lack of funds to quickly address production disruptions leads to untold amounts of lost revenue. This cripples a company to the point where getting back to prior levels of productivity isn’t enough to recover the losses. Simply put, companies need continuous cash flow to avoid the devastating consequences of being unable to afford the costs of doing business.

Production

The relationship between productivity and production is pretty straightforward. The way a company utilizes its means of production will determine how much quality output they’re able to generate. This boils down to developing a smart operational design. Business leaders need to perform a systems analysis of the organization in order to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their production process to effectively zero in on the ways the company can be more productive.

Government

The influence of government on business productivity occurs in a number of ways. The most apparent examples of the government’s impact on productive capacity involve regulatory controls. While many business leaders resent the depth to which government regulations seem to permeate the way they can run their companies, many of these interventions are not without good reason. Business regulations are often the result of safety precautions and guard railing the extent to which companies can negatively affect the communities around them.

The post 8 Factors Affecting Workplace Productivity appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

According to a September 2018 World Economic Forum study, more than half of the work done worldwide by 2025 will be completed by some form of automation technology. In some fields, that tipping point will come even sooner: Information technology and data processing, for instance, is on track to reach the more-automated-than-human mark by 2022. 

While 2022 might sound a long way off, the truth is that workflow automation software is already taking on remarkably human roles. Today, automation conducts one-fifth of business decision-making as measured by task hours, the World Economic Forum report claims. By 2022, that ratio will be close to one-third.

The report also notes, however, that there are broad disparities in automation’s applications. While some enterprises use it for everything from data entry to recruiting to content creation, others have yet to touch it at all.

Automation for All

Fortunately, no matter where your company lies on that spectrum, there are four ways in which it can start or strengthen its application of automation:

1. Kick busywork to the curb.

Every industry, company, and role involves a certain amount of rote work. Although some, like data entry, are obvious targets for what’s called robotic process automation, others may not be so clear-cut. Government agencies like NASA, for instance, use RPA to “read” budgets and distribute funds between offices. In the next five to seven years, a Deloitte report found, such RPA applications could save the federal government 1.1 billion working hours per year — or around $37 billion annually.

But it’s not just the public sector that sees the sense in RPA. Email automation provider Mixmax’s latest suite of tools, known as “Mixmax 2.0,” features Beast Mode, a task automator that customer-facing roles at enterprise companies use to efficiently complete batches of tasks. In a press release, Mixmax CEO and co-founder Olof Mathé described Mixmax 2.0 as a broadside against busywork: “Our goal with Beast Mode, Dialer, and Auto Create is singular: empower business users to focus on their jobs.”

2. Do more with data visualization.

To focus on their jobs, however, business users need a clear picture of where opportunities lie. Again, automation has an answer, or at least a partner: exploratory data analysis. In a nutshell, EDA is the process of using algorithms to point out patterns, identify anomalies, and check assumptions through graphical representations. Although EDA can visualize “fun” issues, like who’s actually the main character in the television show “Friends,” its business applications are almost endless.

“At the very least,” argues Dino Fire, president of market research and analytics at datadecisions Group, “the EDA may reveal aspects of your company’s performance that others may not have seen.” For newer users, Fire suggests using a logistic model for a new take on customer segmentation. By ingesting customer data like net promoter score, purchasing behavior, and demographic variables, logistic models can show similarities between the company’s most satisfied customers and predict whether unscored customers are satisfied.

3. Create an automation center.

Data analysis, however, is one small area in the vast landscape of business automation. To keep up with the ballooning number of types and tools, four in 10 enterprises will have created automation centers by the end of this year, according to Forrester’s Predictions 2019 report. The point of these platforms, Forrester vice president and principal analyst J. P. Gownder explains in his report analysis, is to align the right automation solution with the right use case.

Although choosing a tool to complete a task might seem simple enough, Deloitte’s “Automate This” report makes clear it’s not. Two types of automation the report explores, for example, sound awfully similar: robotic process automation and intelligent automation. In fact, their use cases are practically opposites; RPA tools can tackle methodical, routine tasks at a relatively low implementation cost. IA ones, on the other hand, are for narrow, non-routine tasks that require thoughtful consideration and involve steep startup costs.

4. Integrate AI with other technologies.

Enterprises don’t use RPA, IA, or any other AI tool in a vacuum. As companies become more comfortable with AI, digital transformation expert Daniel Newman predicts, they’ll combine AI technologies with others in increasingly complex and valuable ways. “Convergence should be a top priority for leaders across industries everywhere,” Newman stresses.

Take, for example, how the oil and gas industry has paired AI with Internet of Things technology. By using machine learning to analyze data gathered by IoT sensors, operators can diagnose malfunctions, predict part failures, and optimize pump performance. Not only does the system reduce downtime and increase output, but it improves worker safety and decreases the possibility of environmental disaster.

Artificial intelligence might seem like it’s years away from its professional prime, and it certainly may be. But while automatons aren’t walking around most workplaces yet, AI is making its mark in more subtle, software-centric ways. By freeing workers from routine work, identifying hidden opportunities, and optimizing existing processes, AI is charging toward a tipping point that employees and employers alike should welcome.

The post The Tipping Point of Automation Is Coming. Here’s How to Stay on the Leading Edge appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Electronic signatures have assisted many firms and individuals in handling high volume transactions as well as document processes. Also, firms using electronic signatures have experienced greater efficiency of document workflows. However, there are numerous electronic signature providers; hence clients should be cautious while choosing the best solution.

Peppol is a small and easy-to-use, yet powerful, signature application for Android mobile devices. A number of contract templates are available to use for your business needs. Once you download the app, you’ll have a list of templates at the top of the screen to choose from. You might having a doubt What is Peppol that you can check answer of it here.

Here’s how you can ensure you find the right e-signature provider for your business.

1. Compliance of services

When opting for an e-provider, check how compliant their services are regarding the laws governing the use of electronic signatures. The managed service provider should establish and state that its application is compliant with the primary legislation and also provide details on how the software works under the specific provisions of the laws.

2. Usability of the e-signature software

This will affect your use of the application over the long term. Therefore, examine the software with a free trial to gain the full experience of sending, receiving, and signing documents online. If you have questions, try reaching out to the support team to gauge the responsiveness of their customer care department. 

3. Integration with your internal systems

The platforms ability to integrate into your internal processes is systems is also vital. Electronic signature technology should enable you to tie the app into your current business processes.

Electronic signatures are investments and clients should be able to use them wherever they wish. However, not all electronic signatures allow for such capabilities

Therefore, firms soliciting electronic signature providers should examine their common document workflows and ascertain how they are going to integrate the technology in their business processes.

Also, investigate the Reviewapi (Application Programming Interface) of the electronic signature solution as well as review examples of how other firms have integrated their systems with the e-signature vendor’s API.

4. Verification of documents

The best electronic signature should be adept with the confirmation of materials from outside the organization. Workers require flexibility; therefore the electronic signature should permit them to work on documents, for instance, signing even while traveling.

5. Use of various applications

It should create leeway for the use of multiple applications for example; Adobe Acrobat, TIFF images as well as Ms-word. There are electronic signatures which allow only one signature once; this makes additional signatures impossible. Therefore, cross-platform capabilities should be possible with a unique electronic signature.

6. Compliance with law

An excellent signature is compliant with the law. There is a specific standard that all e-signatures have to follow just as with ink signatures. For instance; the authenticity of the signature, integrity and also a signature that cannot be accessed by unlawful users.

7. Verification

The verification of e-signature is also very crucial. One should ensure that all parties could verify it. It should also be un-refutable, meaning that it cannot be denied.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of how you choose your e-signature provider, the right electronic signature solution will aid you in controlling document workflows and transactions a lot more efficiently than with paper. Once you opt for an electronic signature provider, be assured that you’re on the way to making your document workflow a lot easier for your business.

The post 7 Things to Look for When Choosing an Electronic Signature Provider appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Invest in advertising

When it comes to advertising your small business, it’s not something to take lightly. You don’t want to spend a fortune advertising in every direction – it can be a waste of time. Consider the options and which make the most sense for your business like technical seo. It may be a good idea for you to advertise in local newspapers. Placing ads in various newspapers offers a wide visibility – you extend your reach to those who read hard copies and online readers.

You can also network at trade shows. If you sell home décor, a trade show will attract your target customers and is the perfect place to gain maximum visibility, you just need to make sure to use the best Trade Show Booth Design to attract customers. When it comes to “first hires” we always suggest to get them from a Trade Show Booth Staffing where you can find more options.

Now is also the time to advertise on social media. Decide which platforms are the ideal place to show what your business believes in and offers. If you aren’t sure you can take this task on alone, look at pros and cons to outsourcing social media marketing. No matter who does the marketing, make sure it’s done well.

Invest in training

There are numerous ways you can further train your team — even if they come to you with years of experience, every new employee needs proper training. However, when you’re overwhelmed running the business, this very important task can get brushed aside.

Instead, as a small business owner you should write down every element of the training. Record each job’s tasks, how-to’s and notes on company policies. This is very helpful with each new hire, so you can follow the list to complete the essential training without any lost time.

Remember that if you simply can’t make the time to train your employee, you don’t have to do it all yourself. You can also use online sites like the Amazing Selling Machine review by GFKamerica.com. This is a great resource that breaks down how to effectively sell on amazon, teaching employees about everything from how to build the product opportunity list to how to make the perfect product page and launch the product. There are a wealth of excellent training resources online; you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Invest in your employees

You know that employees are your most important assets. They’re the ones who communicate with customers, adhere to your brand values and in turn help to grow your business. Keep in mind that employee turnover is a bigger problem than you may imagine – the cost of replacing each employee is between 6 and 9 month’s salary, based on the role.

This is why you have to invest in your employees. When you offer perks such as flexible working hours, professional development, fitness and health options and the ability to work remotely, you better support your team. When you support your employees, you keep them happier. The higher morale means higher productivity and higher employee retention. How you treat your employees affects the reputation of your business, especially now that sites allow employees to explain what it’s like to work for any business online for the world to see. When you treat your employees well, your brand will be seen in a more positive light.

It’s time to see the importance of investing in all areas of your business; whether it’s something you’re yearning to do or approaching with a large dose of trepidation, do your due diligence to make sure you are taking the necessary steps to make your business thrive.

The post 3 Resources to Make Your Small Business Grow appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Too Many Tools!

These are great tools and include – Buffer, LeadPages, Quickbooks. Zoho, Google Docs, Wix, Infusionsoft (now Keap), Stripe and TypeForm. But this also means 9 different payments, 9 different logins, 9 different systems to learn. This all means that the information is stored in 9 different databases.

Customers who pay, tracked via Quickbooks (or Freshbooks or another tool) can’t be properly marketed too through a sales tool like Zoho CRM (or Salesforce SMB Essentials or Keap).

Campaigns launched in Infusionsoft (or Hubspot or Salesforce or Wix CRM) work well but one can’t see in a unified fashion the financial side if the payments are received in another system.

Integrating Into 1 Solution

At Zoho Day, held at the end of January 2019, Sridhar Vembu, CEO and Founder of Zoho stressed the importance of one database to better serve customers.

In the past, Zoho has had a growing list of 40+ different tools for its customers, but with the launch of Zoho One, enabling one database and set of tools for marketing, financial and collaboration, Sridhar stressed the importance businesses having integrated applications.

Does this mean that services such as TypeForm, which specializes in feature-rich forms are going away? NO.

But this does mean that more and more companies, providing “point” solutions will be enabling more services to their core platforms. For example, Wix has been known as just a website creation company, but, it’s quickly moved into CRM and finance with Wix Ascend.

If you’re using a “point” solution and LOVE IT – keep it for now. Don’t rip it out and cause disruption in your business. However, test and see what parts of your business you can start to migrate to more unified solutions. You’ll see many companies increasingly making it easier to integrate your core finance, marketing and collaboration functions.

An integrated solution means you can get ONE view of the customer and your company’s overall operations and finances.

At ZohoDay we learned much more than the “speeds and feeds” of Zoho’s suite of applications but we also were refreshed about the culture of Zoho and what it’s all about. Sridhar’s opening presentation focused on two important things – educating young professionals without the need to go to college and why startups can thrive without going public and/or VC funding.

The post Why Smart Companies are Integrating Everything appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As you ponder setting resolutions and perhaps forgetting them all together, think of where your weaknesses lie and how you can turn those weaknesses into strengths. For most entrepreneurs and small business owners, problems often relate to time. With these small changes, you can actually add time to your day and become more productive.

Get a Planner

While you’re at it, get your favorite pen to write in it, too. A planner – a physical one, not the one on your phone – will actually help you be more productive. You will be able to cross off the tasks you have completed. And, you can see your entire day in an easy-to-read space. College students are encouraged to use planners as the habit ties nicely into their post-college professional lives. Find a planner that fits your lifestyle and is easy to carry. We love the Passion Planner. It helps you celebrate wins and get super organized.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, #PashFam. Remember that sometimes we are our own worst critics. Celebrate the little wins by writing them in the “Good Things That Happened” section. pic.twitter.com/96UGe00dt2

— Passion Planner (@passion_planner) January 19, 2019

Use Schedule Chunking

This involves taking similar, mundane tasks and doing them at the same time. For example, chunk together things like answering emails and reading texts. Instead of letting those occupy your entire day or your most productive time of day, turn off notifications and spend a dedicated time dealing with them. Doing this lets you focus on other tasks with fewer interruptions. It’s easy to get started, check out the steps, here.

Wake-Up Early

It’s no secret that productive people wake up early. When you wake up earlier, you get more time in your day. Many productive people use their early wake-up to exercise, read, address their agendas, or just enjoy quiet time alone. If waking up early is intimidating, try setting the alarm 10 or 15 minutes earlier than you usually do.

Invest in Automation

This doesn’t mean that you need to buy robots and redo your entire business. What it does mean is that you can automate your social media posts and your emails. Use a CRM so you do not have to push enter yourself on every single email that comes from your business.

Delegate Appropriate Tasks

If you have employees, then you should delegate. Responsibility should be proportionate to the level of the employee. The easiest way to decide what to delegate is to make a list of what you absolutely must do yourself, then give the rest of the tasks to your employees or to freelancers. You should expect to do some training and to be patient if things do not go the way you expect immediately. But, after that short investment of your time, you will have more time to give to the things that really matter.

The post 5 Tips to be More Productive in 2019 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Over the past few years, Infusionsoft has sought to market to main street small business owners, but many have found its flagship software confusing and difficult to use. On the other hand, it’s software is one of the most feature rich and best solutions to fully automate the marketing of your company from lead, to nurture to sale.

To solve this problem, Infusionsoft, has rebranded itself as Keap.

In speaking with Clate Mask, co-founder and CEO of Keap, he explained that the CORE tenant of Keap is all about follow up. It’s about ensuring the small service providers are able to look great to their customers (and prospective customers) and do marketing and invoicing all in one central place. Clate explained that each customer a small business has is like an engine. Visit us  retainedfirefighter  for more products details. That engine needs to be cared for and nurtured. Hence the importance of automated software to help care for all their little engines – or customers.

Keep sets out to provide a simpler and easier to use solution that all business owners can use for themselves with minimal training and support needed.

While Infusionsoft competed in some ways with Hubspot or Salesforce and Aweber or Click Funnels and MailChimp, Keap is built from the ground up to be simple for busy business owners to use right out of the box – with no training.

Some of Keap’s features include:

Organizes and centralizes all customer information and daily work in one place – From lead to satisfied client and all the follow-up in between, Keap organizes customer information and daily work in one place so it’s connected and organized. A mobile app provides easy, 24/7 access to client information from anywhere.

Frees small businesses from repetitive tasks to save time – Keap’s online appointment scheduling, simple auto-reminders, and personalized follow-up communications give small businesses back their time. No more playing phone or email tag with clients to set up meetings, follow up on proposals or quotes, and chase down late payments.

Helps small businesses provide great service to their clients – Keap’s online tools help small businesses wow clients by making it simple to book appointment times, view or accept personalized quotes, and pay online invoices in seconds with a one-click “pay now” button. Customizable, automated reminders and updates help small businesses and their clients stay informed every step of the way.

• The space for simple CRM solutions is very crowded with Wix Ascend adding CRM to Wix;
• MailChimp has simple but functions CRM solutions;
• Thryv is heavily marketing to small service providers as well.
• Clate said that Keap’s turn for its software category is smart client management.

Infusionsoft has a 15-year track record of marketing to, sell to and servicing small businesses will this track record and experience give it a headstart as it launches Keap.

The post InfusionSoft Rebrands and Launches New Product – Keap appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Pros

1. It will Save You Money

One of the biggest benefits when it comes to using freelancing is the cost savings. You only need to hire and pay a freelancer when you have work you need done. This is much more cost effective than having a full-time employee on your staff to do a task that’s only needed intermittently. You also save money by using freelancing as opposed to full-time employees in regard to health insurance, paid time off, and sick days. Since most freelancers work remotely, you don’t have to provide a workspace, computer, internet access…etc.

2. Specialized Talent

Freelancers come in all shapes and sizes in terms of their specialties. You can take advantage of freelancing talents for just about anything. Freelance services on sites such as Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn ProFinder that help in remote hiring, range from tender writing, artists, photographers, musicians, graphic designers, computer programmers, and marketing professionals. If you need some help with your WordPress site, instead of spending hours learning how to code, simply hire a freelancer who specializes in WordPress design.

3. Go Getters

When you utilize freelancing services, the person you are hiring is an independent contractor. They work on their own and are responsible for creating their own success. That self-discipline often bleeds over into the work they do for you as their client. Freelancers also only get paid when they finish an assignment that’s up to par. Since time is money, most of the time they are going to do their best to get it done right the first time rather than spending precious time reworking and retooling. Freelancers also get taxed, and every so often they seek help from professionals who deal with freelance taxes such as this one http://daveburton.nyc/taxes-for-freelancers. They help lower taxes and help the freelancers to save hundreds or even thousands of money on taxes.

Freelancers also usually strive to get work done as soon as possible in order to free up more time for other contracts.

4. They Are Easy to Hire

With the boom of the gig economy, hiring a freelancer is easy than ever! There are tons of sites out there that make hiring and paying a freelancer easy. Using these freelancing platforms can save you time and money that would be better used somewhere else in your business. You can read about some of our favorite freelancing platforms here: [link to Hiring a Freelancer article?]

5. Working with Freelancers Is Flexible

Corporate America is losing more and more highly skilled professionals every day as talented employees are fed up with the grind. This is good news for you as a business owner. It means those knowledgeable employees-turned freelancers are now at your disposal. And you didn’t even have to pay to train them. Also, because most freelancers you will come across are remote employees, you have access to infinitely more opportunities and options than if you were to hire someone local to work in a physical location.

Cons

1. Lack of Supervision

While hiring a remote freelancer can be a huge pro, it can also be a con. You don’t have the ability to check in on a freelancer as you do with a traditional employee. This means that you will need to have trust that they will be open and honest. Freelancers are also not required to work the same hours as you unless you specify so in their contract, so communication can be a challenge, especially if the freelancer you hire is slow to respond or lives in a different time zone.

2. Less Loyal than a Traditional Employee

You aren’t paying benefits or other company perks. A freelancer may be quicker to cut ties than a traditional employee. If they don’t like the projects or feel they aren’t being paid fairly, they might be quick to jump ship. Freelancers who seek out better-paying opportunities with little to no notice can leave you with an incomplete project and you’ll find yourself back at square one.

3. You Probably Don’t Have Their Undivided Attention

Almost all freelancers work for more than one client. This means they aren’t focused on your business 100% of the time. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s a conversation you should have upfront when you are in the hiring process. How available do you need your freelancer to be?

4. They Can Sometimes Drop Off Your Radar

Just like online dating, you could get ghosted by your freelancer.

There were definitely sparks flying during the interview process, but as soon as you assign them the first project, you never hear from them again. Maybe they don’t like the assignment, how to order accutane online maybe something more lucrative came up. Either way, not all freelancers will give you two-weeks’ notice. Keeping compensation and open communication can help avoid this issue. If you ever need to resolve a quick workers compensation quickly, then consider contacting a workers comp attorney for assistance.

5. Upfront Risk

If you do end up with a freelancer who decided to call it quits with no notice, you are the one who is out of luck (and possibly time and money). It’s important to take the time to do your research, read previous client feedback, and only hire freelancers with positive work history.

The post Using Freelancers to Jumpstart Your Small Business Idea: The Pros and Cons appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

By removing paper from a small business, processes that rely on paper have to change. This means that businesses no longer will send bills or invoices through the post office. Everything will need to be sent electronically. Documents will need to be electronically stored and easy to access. Even the process of getting signatures from employees has to change. Fortunately, there are entrepreneurs who have gotten help from a Mobile App Agency and have developed apps and software that support paperless companies.

Apps & Companies to Help You Go Paperless

Invoicely:

If your business is going paperless, then you will want an app that lets you send electronic invoices. Invoicely can do that for you. The website will send invoices for free and over 100,000 businesses use their services. Their paid plans are affordable and offer features like branding and accepting online payments from services beyond Paypal.

Salesforce:

Their small-business CRM is easy to use and affordable. It allows small businesses to

• Automate emails and track them
• Control sales procedures
• Customize reports and dashboards
• Provide top-notch customer service

G Suite:

This is the business version of Google Docs and the suite of apps. It is a user-friendly and low-cost alternative to the Microsoft suite of apps. Google Docs uses the cloud for storage so Docs, Slides, Calendar, and Sheets can be accessed anywhere that users can get online. All of the files can be shared with multiple users, which increases productivity. Google Docs is used in schools all over the United States, so younger employees will be familiar with the suite of tools, which reduces the need for training.

Hello Sign:

Because every business will require signatures at some point, every business will need an app for it. Hello Sign is a useful tool that allows people to sign from Google Docs and other common apps. There is a free version available and there are four different paid versions of the app for businesses of all sizes and needs. Gathering electronic signatures through an app like Hello Sign is legal, according to the American Bar Association.  

CamScanner:

Even if your office is completely paperless, other businesses that interact with you will not be. You will appreciate having access to a scanner so you can save documents quickly and easily. CamScanner is a great tool that uses your iPhone or Android to scan documents and put them where you want them to go. There is a free version, but businesses benefit from the premium features like having group folders and 10G of cloud storage.

The post 5 Apps & Software Companies To Help Your Small Business Go Paperless appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Transactional Virtual Assistant

Transactional virtual assistants are typically someone from a country outside of the US, often in Asia or South America. You can find transactional; virtual assistants on sites like Upwork.com and you’ll notice very quickly that their businesses are booming. This is usually because they are able to charge a much lower rate due to a lower cost of living outside of the US. Typical rates for these folks charge around $10-$15 per hour versus the $20-$50 per hour someone in the US would charge.There are  language converter services which are more easy to use.

  Transactional virtual assistants are great for doing prescribed tasks such as:

• Editing a spreadsheet
• Entering data from business cards
• Online research

The English-Expert Virtual Assistant

Hiring a transactional virtual assistant is a great start. However, you might want to start taking things up a level, which means you will often need a native English communicator or someone who has very strong English language skills. An expert understanding of the English language becomes a priority in a virtual assistant when you start having them do things to ease your day-to-day workload such as:

• Writing documents,
• Helping you communicate with your clients, and
• Drafting contracts.

Keep in mind that the increase in skill level also means an increase in cost. So, you may want to bring that work back into the US.

The Online Business Manager

These folks can certainly do transactional tasks. But, they can take can also take things up a notch and help you with more administrative tasks and helping you with travel. Even more, they can take on multi-city travel logistics and managing an Eventbrite page, or landing page, for the event you’re going to and manage photos and updates for that event. Going even a step further, they can manage your team of designers.

The Digital Operations Ninja

The next kind of virtual assistant isn’t even so much a virtual assistant, they’re more of a project manager. Ramon Ray likes to call his virtual assistant of 3 years, Jaime–a digital operations ninja!

This kind of virtual assistant is really taking it to the next level. They are someone who is working with you side-by-side. This person is managing or working with a team, they are lockstep with you in your vision for the growth of your company, they can challenge your assumptions and say, “should we really be doing this?”.

They know where your business is going, they know where you want to be, and they can help you get there.

To have a virtual assistant whose priorities are your priorities, you’re going to have to compensate them accordingly. Expect to pay someone anywhere between $40-$70 an hour, because at that point, they really are digital operations ninja, and that’s what you want in your business. That is the only way to grow.  

The post What You Need to Know About Hiring a Virtual Assistant appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

There are only 24 hours in a day. You can’t buy more time, but you can make better use of the time you have. Being more productive isn’t hard, but it does take effort and the right tools. Here are 5 apps we love to help you fire up your productivity as you charge into 2019:

Asana

Asana is a popular and easy to use project management tool. The app was created to “help humanity thrive by enabling all teams to work together effortlessly.” The tool was designed by two former Facebook executives to improve internal productivity by streamlining how an organization tracks a project’s status and updates, allowing small business owners to manage important tasks and goals in one place. Asana sends users automated emails when new tasks are assigned, when the task is due, as well as daily or weekly task tracker updates. It’s free for teams of up to 15 people. Their only paid plan runs at under $10/month and allows for unlimited team members, unlimited dashboards, priority support, data export, and admin controls. Asana also integrates well with other applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.

Email Automation

Email is a black hole. The thought of opening your inbox in the morning to 2,000 unread emails is daunting. But, email doesn’t have to take up so much time in your day! You can use the features already built into your email service provider to give yourself back some precious time. Nearly all email clients like Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook have filters and rules that can make your inbox so much more manageable.

• Set a rule to automatically flag or star all client emails so they stand out.
• Add a rule that labels and archives all notification emails from marketing platforms, social media, and online business tools.
• Create a rule based on subject line keywords to identify new clients or prospective customers so you can reply to those emails first.

Upwork (Outsourcing)

Productive people know that time is money. If you’re spending time doing tasks you’re either not good at or don’t enjoy, maybe it’s time to consider outsourcing some of those tasks so you can focus on what you do best and why you started your business in the first place—to do what you love. A great place to get started is hiring freelancers through an app like Upwork. Your first step could be hiring a freelance virtual assistant to cope with the growing needs of your business. Don’t spend hours doing something you aren’t qualified for when you could hire someone to do it for you in half the time.

LastPass

How much time have you wasted at work because you couldn’t remember a password to a site that requires 18 characters, an upper- and lower-case letter, 3 numbers, the blood of your firstborn, and a special character?  Let the password reset process begin…again. You are wasting precious minutes that add up with reattempt after reattempt to no avail and it’s killing your productivity. In 2019, it’s time for an upgrade. If you’re looking to increase productivity this year, give an app like LastPass a try. It keeps track of hundreds of strong, unique passwords without breaking the bank. Unlike other pay-for products in the same market, LastPass allows you to sync an unlimited number of passwords across your devices for free. This simple browser extension could be saving you so much time.

EverNote

Getting organized can tremendously increase your productivity. With EverNote, you can do just that. Sync your notes across all of your devices and share even whole notebooks with coworkers and colleagues. You’ll never have to lose time searching for a dropped sticky note or lost notebook. Your desk will thank you too because you will finally be able to finally clear off the stacks of notes and folders.  Evernote has a ton of helpful features to help you keep track of everything you could possibly need to write down or remember for later. You can add photos, voice notes, attach files, create a to-do list, set reminders. EverNote does offer a free version, but it’s pretty bare bones and you’d be much better served by signing up for one of their pay-for plans. They offer individual plans starting at $34.99/year and Business plans at $12 per person/month.

Looking for other ways to stay productive in 2019? Check this, out.

The post 5 Apps to Fire Up Your Productivity in 2019 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Swiftpage was founded in 2001 by Bob Ogden as an email marketing company similar to Constant Contact or MailChimp. John Oechsle was an early investor in the company and provided advisory services as a board member. He was subsequently named the company’s CEO and it’s been on the fast-track ever since.

Growing companies is John’s specialty, and he says he’s definitely not a startup guy. However, he does say, “if you start it up and get it going, I can grow it for you.” He focuses on acquisitions, organic growth, and geographic expansion and either takes those companies public or sells them.

The 4 Pillars

John shared that he believes SMBs need 4 digital pillars in order to grow:

1. Presence- websites, Facebook pages…etc.
2. Traffic- drives traffic to the presence, which then creates leads
3. Conversion- conversion and retention converts those leads to customers, retains them, and grows them
4. Optimization- things like financial software, HR software, payment systems…etc.

Swiftpage’s goal was to own conversion and retention for the SMB market. They wanted to be the anchor of conversion and retention and they believe that anchor is CRM. So, the next step was that they needed to go out and acquire that anchor.

Buy vs. Build

The Swiftpage development team wanted a new building automation system, but John wanted to buy it and says his decision was based largely on time the market. It would take too long to build a brand-new CRM system, at least a couple of years. “A really good small business CRM that already has an existing base, you can take that, rapidly get it in the market…and grow it.”

So, the search began and not long after, they were contacted by Sage who owned both Act! and SalesLogix, both of which Swiftpage was already integrated with. “We knew the customers, we knew the base, we knew the channel.” John shared. “We went from a 4 million dollar, 15-person company and we acquired two CRM system companies, just acquired 65-70 million in revenue and 300 additional ‘Swifites’ and 4 locations around the world all in about 4 or 5 months. We’re going to write a book about it,” John laughed.

A Time to Change

Oechsle is confident that the Act! brand is the anchor of the SMB market conversion and retention. It was a strong, well-known brand that had a robust, global customer base. But, with every acquisition comes a series of challenges and this one had its challenges: “It was a distressed asset when we bought it. It had sort of died on the vine, it was losing market share and the technology was old,” John admits. So they had some work to do and had a plan to get the product where they wanted it by taking it through 3 distinct eras:

The Transformation Era: They had to transform the technology. It was a closed desktop system and they had to move it to an open cloud-enabled platform, they had to completely revamp the entire office/business model and systems to subscription and SaaS-based. John said “We had to rework the entire sales process, retool the channel. It was an enormous amount of work.”

The Conversion Era: Next, they had to convince their 60,000 customers to convert from desktop software to the cloud and to subscription, and they were essentially changing the dynamics of the business.

The Growth Era: There is still a lot of room for organic growth John said, but they currently have 85,000 customers and over 300,000 users

• Geographic expansion– they service 100 countries worldwide. The US, UK, Canada, Australia, France Germany are the largest subscribers. But, there is a lot of room for growth in Latin America and other European countries.
• Acquisition- CRM + Marketing automation and service management = conversion and retention. Switchpage needed to add Marketing automation to their resume and of course, they were going to buy it, not build it.

Marketing Automation

Swiftpage just recently acquired Kuvana, the maker of InboxGuru, an email marketing automation solutions for SMBs. John said that it was really easy to integrate that technology right into their existing platform. The next generation of Act! is one platform that has CRM and marketing automation built into it.

“You need to understand what we call the 4Cs of information: Currency, correctness, consistency, and completeness” said Oechsle If you don’t have current information about your customers and prospects, it’s not correct. And if it’s not correct, it’s not current, if you don’t have those two, you’re not even going to be able to get out of the gate.”

CRM helps SMBs capture that information. There is an enormous amount of cheap technology out there and small businesses are probably using multiple tools to run their business that each store information about your customers. If that information isn’t consistent across the platforms you’re using, you don’t know what the authoritative source of information was. If the information is getting pulled from something that’s not getting updated, you’re back to the first two C’s, it’s not current and it’s not correct. You need consistency across your platforms. The 4th C is probably the most important and that is Completeness.

“Capturing every single interaction you have with a customer or prospect and storing it in one place so you can do something with it, and that’s really what a CRM does. It’s your anchor, your authoritative source for all interactions and all information about your customers.”

Marketing automation says, “Now I have all of this phenomenal information about my customers, how do I have relationships with them, how do I have interactions with them?” Marketing automation allows you to do just that. It sets out a workflow and allows you to have an interaction with a certain kind of customer or prospect you have in your CRM. Email marketing, lead capture, asset tracking, workflow management, campaign management…etc. It ties interactions together and your CRM stores it and you can manage it all from there.

“It’s not just CRM, it’s conversion and retention, as one platform.” That bring John to his 5th C, Connected–SMBs don’t want to have to worry about connecting different systems.

You’ve Got What It Takes

Oechsle  gives some advice for small businesses who are looking to scale and grow:

“Three words: courage, tenacity, passion. You have to have those three.”

Courage- to do something, to start, to grow, take the big step

Tenacity- when you have the courage to take the step, it’s going to be tough, you have to work through it

Passion- If you don’t wake up every morning and say ‘man, I’m going to kill it today’ then you’re not going to do it.

In addition to courage, tenacity, and passion John advises SMBs to “look for something simple that is purpose-built for the small business.”

The post Changing the Game: CRM and Marketing Automation for SMB appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Big data is key to competing successfully in today’s market. While it’s true that small businesses may not have the same resources as larger enterprises such as researchers, data scientists, and analysts, they do have access to a broad range of data collection and analysis tools that can help level the playing field. You don’t even need expensive or fancy software to do the job. Le Wagon can teach you data science completely and you will able to work in data science as per the industry standard.

Understand Your Customers

Small businesses can leverage big data to better understand customer behavior, propensities, and preferences but for this it is necessary to use business intelligence tools like the ones found at https://www.microstrategy.com/us/resources/introductory-guides/data-visualization-what-it-is-and-why-we-use-it. Equipped with this information, businesses can customize the customer interactions more than ever. This is increasingly valuable as consumers demand a more personalized experience. Knowing your customers’ wants and needs will also help you better develop your products to suit their needs. Analytics can also prove valuable in targeting new customers and help you understand how and where you are losing engagement on your website.

Refine Your Marketing Strategy

Big data can help you make better marketing decisions for your company. Big data makes it possible to know the demographic details of who is buying from your business. You can see trends related to certain age groups, ethnicities, geographic locations, or income brackets. This information can allow you to target certain groups with marking strategies that are website design specifically with customers who live in a certain region, for example, in mind. Getting the right message to your customers is essential to getting them to buy from you.

Social media is another marketing bubble that big data is bursting. Nearly all of the major social media outlets, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…etc., provide their own version of data analysis. See which ad campaigns are reaching your customers and if they are working well for your business. New features, like Facebook Stories, are a fantastic way to gain free insight into who is engaging with your brand online. Leveraging big data in marketing is changing the game and you don’t want to get left behind.

Quality Over Quantity

Leveraging big data is about more than having access to unlimited information. It’s about receiving quality information in a timely manner and being able to understand and apply it to make your business better.

Big Data Doesn’t Have to Cost You

Big data has a lot to offer, which must mean it comes with a hefty price tag. But, luckily for small business owners, that isn’t true. There are plenty of free tools to help you gain insight into your customers’ behavior on your website as well as social media. AI has made it possible for big data to be accessible to businesses of all sizes.

• Google Analytics offers a free service that is easy to install and requires very little maintenance. It provides insight on website traffic and source, session duration, bounce rates, and conversions.
• MixPanel is another great analytics tool that tells you things like at what point site visitors are dropping off or if they are filling up their shopping carts but abandoning them at checkout.

If your small business isn’t taking advantage of all that big data has to offer, now is the time to jump in. Big data provides valuable insight and takes out the guess work—you know what customers respond to and what’s not getting their attention–allowing businesses to make more informed decisions.

The post How to Leverage Big Data in Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here is how you can use schedule chunking to shake up your workflow strategy:

First, what is Schedule Chunking?

Schedule chunking is when you break up your day into manageable chunks where you focus solely on one task instead of constantly reacting to interruptions. You can implement schedule chunking by applying it to the hours in a day, or the days in a week. The former allows you to break down your tasks and get them done piece by piece. The latter lets you see the big picture. Both work hand in hand to help you get more accomplished. Another way to think of schedule chunking is that you are creating a budget for your time, just like you would for your finances.

How to Get Started

• Sit down with a pen and paper and write down your long and short-term goals.
• Decide which tasks are a priority, the ones that you need to accomplish contribute to your goals.
• Group tasks into categories of related items. Career, family, education, chores…etc.
• Determine which categories and tasks are a priority and start plugging those into your schedule first.

Just Say No

An important part of schedule chunking and productivity, in general, is learning to say ‘no.’ Saying no to things that don’t align with your goals. The idea behind schedule chunking is to put a specific task, or group of tasks, on your calendar and give it 100% of your attention. If you dedicate a chunk to working on a certain project, that means saying ‘no’ to checking emails for that hour or anything else that could distract you from accomplishing the task you scheduled. You might know this more commonly as multitasking. Each time you move from one task to another and then back to the one again, your brain has to reset and refocus your attention. If you use schedule chunking and only focus on one task or goal at a time, your productivity will increase simply because you aren’t constantly refocusing your attention. All of those little moments add up, which means you’ve now given yourself more time which, in turn, means you can get more done.

If You Put It on the Schedule—Do It!

If you don’t add it to the schedule it more than likely won’t get done. But, if you do put it on the schedule, hold yourself to it! You’ve already budgeted the time for it. Things like

• exercising,
• dedicated family time, and
• a good night’s rest,

are all important to achieving your goals and should be scheduled first. Don’t steal time from other chunks. If you scheduled an hour for a morning workout, don’t use that time to check emails—checking email has its own block. It’s ok to make revisions or make occasional exceptions, but in general, you should stick to your schedule.

Schedule in Chunks

You are essentially making appointments with your tasks, so get out your calendar and start scheduling. Try starting with something small. Give yourself 30 minutes to write a report.

Set your mind to focus and work only on that report.

• Don’t answer the phone.
• Don’t check your emails (they’ll still be there when you’re done).
• Stay off social media.
• Write the report.

Once you’ve got the feeling down, start adding other chunks to your schedule. If possible, group all of the phone calls you need to make together in an hour block, allotting 10-15 minutes per call. If you have multiple meetings, try and schedule them back to back so you don’t have 15 wasted minutes in between, because let’s be honest, you’re not getting anything done in 15 minutes.  The more you integrate schedule chunking into your routine, the more comfortable it will feel and the more you will start noticing the extra time you have on your hands.

The post How to Increase Your Productivity with Schedule Chunking appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

“As connected as we are now, there is still a fundamental disconnect between people and the companies that attempt to reach them through these technologies.” -Danny Chan for Huff Post

In a world of social media and digital technology, it almost seems counterintuitive to focus on human connections. But, the reality is, business owners have to be more aware, and work harder than ever, to build and maintain connections with customers and to be as human as possible in this digital world.

Quality Over Quantity

One quality, in-person exchange with a customer will build more trust and go farther than 1,000 unopened emails. A firm handshake, eye contact, and a friendly smile make you so much more relevant to a customer than an unnoticed aggressive email marketing campaign. Since we do operate in a digital world, face-to-face interactions sometimes aren’t an option. Pick up the phone. Not to send a text message, but to make a good, old-fashioned phone call. To your customer, you just took the time to show them that they are worth your time, and they know your time is precious.

Try Something New and Go Live

When it’s not possible to make direct contact with your customers, social media has wonderful tools for connecting with your audience in a way that resonates with them. A step above Stories, Live streaming is changing the marketing game. You can deliver information to your customers in real time! Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have live functions. Tap into this fantastic resource and let your customers into your personal, or your brand’s, world. Live streaming is designed to be interactive. Users can comment during your stream and you can respond to their questions. It allows you to have a conversation.

Don’t Forget About Yourself

While we’re over here focusing on how to maintain the human connection with our customers, it’s equally as important for YOU, the small business owner, to maintain human connection. Being a small business owner can be a lonely existence. All of your free time is spent building up your brand. You’re tight for cash because you’re using all of your funds to fuel a new start-up. It’s so important to take time to invest in human connection for yourself. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few ideas:

• Start co-working—it’s where remote employees who generally aren’t otherwise connected, gather to work side-by-side. It can really help create a feeling of “office morale” that you may be missing.
• Attend industry and networking events—you’ll get to chat with clients, stay relevant on current industry standards, and you will probably make some great business contacts that might turn into friends.
• Reach out to other small business owners in your community—if you’re lonely and looking for support and human connection, chances are there are others in the same boat.

The post Human Connections in a Digital World appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Institute Telecommuting

One impactful change that helps the environment is telecommuting. With computers being the focal point of many businesses, employers and employees have realized they can work from home and still be productive. In fact, in a study published in 2012 by Energy Policy, researchers found that telecommuters in Ireland saved an average of 9.33 kWh per day. They also found that people who work from home helped reduce energy usage and vehicle emissions.

If you are worried about the productivity of your workers if they work from home, have no fear. Harvard Business Review published a report that people who work from home are more productive than if they work from a dedicated office space. The benefits of working at home were numerous as employees:

• Began work earlier
• Continued working later into the day
• Took fewer breaks
• Had no commute
• Took fewer sick days
• Were not distracted by the noise of the office
• Were 33% more productive

With telecommuting, you get a double bonus of having more productive employees who also have less of an impact on the environment if they work from home but if you are holding a manufacture plant and work form home is not an option you can still hire this, find out if bitcoin is bad for the environment here.

air quality services to control your emissions.

Provide Reusable Swag

Another simple way to have less of an environmental impact is give your employees “swag.”

• Instead of having paper cups or foam cups for coffee, give your employees reusable coffee mugs.
• Install a water bottle filling station and give your employees water bottles so they do not have to use plastic water bottles.
• Give them tote bags so they do not have to use plastic bags.

Be sure to emblazon the company name on the swag! Think of the things your employees use and see what you can reuse. Your employees will appreciate the free gear and your name will be exposed to everyone who sees the eco-friendly items.

Consider the company ChicoBag out of Chico, California. This small business is taking reusable bags to a new standard. Their Pay It Forward Program asks everyone to send any reusable bag to them so they can repurpose it, recycle it, or send it to low-income families who want to use reusable bags. Their address is: ChicoBag Company, c/o Zero Waste Program, 747 Fortress Street, Chico, CA 95973.

According to Lafayette College, “1.5 million barrels (about 910 million gallons) of oil are used annually in the production of plastic bottles.” And, those numbers are only for plastic bottle production for the United States alone. Instead of using all of that oil to produce plastic bottles, it could be used elsewhere. Since fossil fuels, like oil, are in limited supply, using it for plastic water bottles is wasteful.

Reduce Electricity Use

When and how you plug in can also help the environment. In too many offices and homes, lights are left on when no one is in a room. It’s a simple fix – just turn off the light when no one is using a room. You don’t have to sit in the dark, but making a concerted effort to turn off lights can help reduce your business’s environmental footprint. Moreover, if you have problems with fiber optics, contact a certified electrical services company to do the job for you. 

It is also helpful to only plug in appliances when you plan to use them. Mount Holyoke College released a report about common myths relating to energy use. Small appliances like TVs, microwaves, and coffee makers use a small amount of power even when they are “off” – but they cannot use any when they are unplugged. Small appliances left plugged in when not in use consumed the yearly production of 12 power plants in the United States. So, unplug the appliances in the break room when they are not being in use.

We only have one planet and it is up to each of us to do what is in our power to make it last for generations. These simple steps can make your small business more energy efficient and it can even save you a little money along the way, make sure to talk to energy providers like Amigo Energy to find out other steps you can implement to reduce your energy use.

The post 3 Easy Ways to Make Your Small Business More Environmentally Friendly appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

It can also open doors for your career or company. In most cases, your professional achievements have been aided by others who have coached you, offered introductions to get you in the door, or inspired you to think in new ways.

Your network is the most important career tool you have, which is why networking app, Shapr, hopes to make meeting likeminded professionals part of your daily routine.

Shapr is a completely free app that facilitates introductions with nearby professionals. The app uses your self-selected #interests, location, and goals to narrow your search, by curating a daily batch of people worth meeting in your neighborhood. Keeping with the goal of networking more mindfully, Shapr intentionally limits the number of new connections to 15 profiles a day. The focus is on quality over quantity, so that users have time to meet in person. The app is growing a devoted following with 2 million professionals already using the platform.

Shapr can be used to find mentors in your field, allies in your community and collaborators for your side hustle. It’s a perfect tool for entrepreneurs who hope to meet co-founders, partners and investors for their ideas.

The result is a pool of smart, like-minded people who are actively interested in expanding their networks.

With more than 2 million user matches each month, Shapr is positioned as the lifestyle app that will make networking a daily habit. Swiping your daily batch takes less than two minutes a day, and no endless search is required to find professionals who are geographically close and ready to meet up in person.

With any networking activity, your goal should be to open a long-term dialogue, not close a sale. When you meet someone new, be inquisitive. Ask how you can help and offer to make an introduction or share a resource. Set a great foundation for a meaningful and long-term relationship.

So what are you waiting for? Download Shapr today and start swiping!

Published in partnership with Shapr.

The post This App Will Help You Network More Mindfully appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

You set goals for your small business every day. Why shouldn’t the start of the New Year call for some big goals?

Don’t let the word “resolution” intimidate you. The New Year is the perfect time to set new goals and make resolutions for your small business! Here are five small business resolutions that will transform your business in the New Year:

Save for Retirement

If you don’t have a financial retirement plan in place, what are you waiting for? The time to start saving for retirement is NOW. As a small business owner, you are responsible for your future. You don’t work for an employer with a robust retirement plan, which means you have to make the retirement plan yourself.

• Stash some money away in a 401(k),
• Invest in a Roth IRA, or
• Make low-risk investments in an index or mutual fund.

It’s also important to have a plan to sell your business when you are ready to retire. There are tons of options out there, and if you aren’t sure where to start, hire a certified financial planner (CFP) to advise you. Your future depends on it.

Delegate

As a small business owner, you’ve likely been doing everything to get your business off the ground. Once you got off the ground, you’ve probably been doing everything to keep it running smoothly. But, now you’re starting to grow, which means it is time to delegate.

For many small business owners, delegating can be a challenge. You’ve been your own go-to guy or gal for the lifetime of your business and the thought of letting someone else steer the ship may make you a bit nervous.

There is no better time to commit to your small business resolution of delegating than January 1st. It’s time to hire new employees to help you with some of the workload so you can focus on your strengths and what you’re good at.

• A good place to start is with hiring freelancers. Are you a creative small business owner and the technology side isn’t your forte? Hire a freelancer to update your web design or security infrastructure.
• Are you a magician with numbers but the thought of writing makes you cringe? A freelancer can manage your marketing and content strategy. Maybe what you need is a virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants are also usually freelancers. While most focus primarily on administrative support, you can delegate any number of tasks to them to help lighten your workload so you can focus on doing what you love and the reason you started your small business in the first place.

Invest in Technology

Make a tech upgrade one of your small business resolutions this year. Sometimes the word “investment” can be a scary one because it means you have to spend some hard-earned money. But “investment” also implies that there will be a sweet reward. This is especially true when it comes to the technology your small business uses. If you’re looking for a cost-effective one-stop-shopping experience, consider a platform that has several technologies already integrated such as Salesforce Essentials. They’ve got you covered on things like security, HR functions, artificial intelligence, reports…etc.

Commit to Productivity

Is one of your personal New Year’s resolutions to have more time to spend with your family, travel, or engage in your hobby? If you’re looking for a way to make space on your personal calendar, prioritize increasing productivity as one of your small business resolutions this New Year. One great way to increase productivity is by employing the principle of schedule chunking. Schedule chunking helps you reach your goals by breaking them down into attainable components, which in turn will keep you from getting overwhelmed, therefore allowing you to make progress toward your goal. Here are the 5 tenants of effective schedule chunking:

• Define your goal
• Set a deadline
• Break the goal down into underlying, or smaller, tasks
• Start tackling the underlying tasks by plugging them into your daily schedule
• Assess progress and course correct as necessary

You can read more about schedule chunking and how to implement it, here.

Professional Development

Make it your small business resolution to invest in professional development and continuing education. The reward will be sweet, plus– its tax deductible! Professional development courses make you and your business more credible and more marketable. You might learn some new skills or techniques to make your operations more efficient and productive. Education is a broad area and can take on so many different forms. You could get your MBA, get a certification, or attend a Digital Marketing Bootcamp at a General Assembly workshop. If you’re on a really tight budget and can’t work in some more formal education options, look to resources such as podcasts where you can still glean some great info and get smarter on a variety of business topics. If you have employees, get them on board too, encouraging their education will only add value to your company. The options are endless but the results are priceless.

The post Crush 2019: 5 Killer New Year’s Resolutions for Small Businesses appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

• Autonomy,
• internal promotions,
• greater job satisfaction and opportunity,
• easy access to management all top the list.

Glassdoor has just released its “2019 Best Places to Work” guide for business with 1000 employees or less. The rankings distill over 45 million anonymous company reviews from former and current employees who were satisfied with their work place and management strategies. If you are planning on starting your own business, then you should keep your employees motivated with rewards like these businesses, you can contact a Corporate Plaque Supplier for those special occasions if you need great bronze plaques. If you’re on the hunt for a new job, here are 12 of the small businesses to work for:

Cyber Security

Especially relevant and increasingly more important, the cybersecurity field is rapidly expanding and small businesses are leading the pack.

Sail Point Technologies

SailPoint helps organizations securely and effectively deliver and manage user access
HQ: Austin, TX
Year Founded: 2005
Number of Employees: 501-1000
Employees Say: “SailPoint is the greatest place I have ever worked. The leadership values each person and fosters an environment of innovation.”

Our research found that new technologies are creating new areas of risk for organizations https://t.co/OMura3YCpW pic.twitter.com/2Rif5A0Ar5

— SailPoint (@SailPoint) December 13, 2018

AI/Machine Learning

“Machine learning is still the number one trend for businesses of all sizes.”-www.i4u.com AI is still a relatively new concept, which means the opportunities are endless!

Moogsoft

Moogsoft is an AIOps technology developer that helps enterprise IT Ops and DevOps teams become smarter, faster, and more efficient.
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Year Founded: 2012
Number of Employees: 51-200
Employees Say: “Looking forward to see where Moogsoft goes and am excited to be along for the ride.”

Learn how Moogsoft #AIOps provides KeyBank with real-time insight across their entire monitoring stack.

— Moogsoft (@moogsoft) December 18, 2018

Advertising and Marketing

Marketing and advertising are changing rapidly with the social media revolution and these businesses are staying ahead of the curve.

Horizon Innovations

A forward-thinking marketing and advertising firm.
HQ: Jacksonville, FL
Year Founded: 2012
Number of Employees: 1-50
Employees Say: “There are a lot of great reasons I work here. The biggest one is the opportunity to move very quickly. I’m already getting promoted and I haven’t worked here that long!”

Looking for Entry Level jobs? We’re hiring! https://t.co/VVrOxaDoNx pic.twitter.com/uTRd4Zcg8d

— Horizon Innovations (@floridahorizon) December 17, 2018

Marketing 360

Marketing 360 is a small business marketing platform that specialized in design, marketing, and CRM.
HQ: Fort Collins, CO
Year Founded: 2009
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “Great hours, wonderful culture, consistent raises, awesome leadership, consistent feedback, and lots of resources on how to improve. I can’t say enough good things about my experience so far with the company.”

Design of the Day: Homepage design concept for a tattoo parlor by our talented designer Rachel Tschanz. pic.twitter.com/hLl0XJayqc

— Marketing 360® (@marketing360) December 18, 2018

GetUWired

GetUWired is a full-service Internet marketing firm.
HQ: Dahlonega, GA
Year Founded: 2003
Number of Employees: 1-50
Employees Say: “GetUWired has an incredible culture of motivated professionals that work in a tribe mindset.”

We’re looking for a couple of new Junior Full Stack Developers to join the Tribe in early 2019. Do you have what it takes? https://t.co/mwKA9ohaIq https://t.co/Qqr6UcrWTd pic.twitter.com/hp9DzJi8ce

— GetUWired (@getuwired) December 18, 2018

Software Development

Software developers are in high demand and there is no indication that the demand will wane any time soon.

Silverline

Silverline leverages best practices with significant expertise in the Financial Services and Healthcare industries.
HQ: New York, NY
Year Founded: 2010
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “Salesforce consulting at its best. Silverline is run extremely well. The seasoned leadership team is top-notch. Additionally, benefits are fantastic for a company this size.”

Continuous delivery is the guiding light and your technology, people, and processes are the navigational tools that get you back on track. The next #10Keys blog is here, and it’s a good one! Check it out: https://t.co/yd85Xl26er pic.twitter.com/TjEXbOys2A

— Silverline (@silverlinecrm) December 13, 2018

Weave

Weave provides a unique office and client communication tool with the goal to bring local businesses and the communities they’re in closer together.
HQ: Lehi, UT
Year Founded: 2012
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “Amazing culture with caring people. Plenty of fun perks like free snacks and massage chairs but when it comes down to it this is a company that recognizes that there is more to life than work. They care about their people and are willing to put their money where their mouth is. This translates into things like an unparalleled maternity/paternity package and great health care.”

“Very seldom do I care about the resume. I want to know the person,” said our very own @Bobbycooper81 at today’s event. Huge thanks to Inside Real Estate, https://t.co/iiOIrDOwHZ, and @degreed for participating in the Customer Success Panel at Weave’s headquarters. pic.twitter.com/FllhBjS4qx

— Weave (@getweave) December 18, 2018

Service-Based SMBs

People will always be looking to buy services. However, the buying experience is more important than ever.

Sundance Vacations

Sundance Vacations crafts destination-based travel and vacation plans.
HQ: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Year Founded: 1991
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “Sundance Vacations is the most upbeat positive company I have ever worked for. Great pay. Good benefits. Promotions from within the company.”

If you love adult beverages, Drink Williamsburg would be the perfect activity for you to bond with your significant other and have a great time! https://t.co/z1qpFXI44K pic.twitter.com/VCxgvzM3vd

— Sundance Vacations (@travelsundance) December 14, 2018

Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds provides an employer-based technology solution that connects members and their families to high-quality health care.
HQ: San Francisco, CA
Year Founded: 2011
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “It’s not just a job, the Grand Rounds office is a community that gives and comes together.”

Proud to be named to @Wealthfront’s 2019 Career-Launching Companies list for the 4th year in a row! https://t.co/iRRhuKc7BR

— Grand Rounds (@GrandRoundsInc) December 18, 2018

driversselect

driversselect is a late-model, low-mileage vehicle retailer.
HQ: Grand Prairie, TX
Year Founded: 2004
Number of Employees: 51-200
Employees Say: “I still can’t believe that such an amazing place exists in the car business. We are not employees we are family. Not only are you allowed to be yourself you are encouraged to do so.”

Congratulations to the newest member of our family – EchoPark Houston opens today! If you’re in the market for a “nearly new” car and want an exceptional deal and guest experience in… https://t.co/AGLU1d8AQ1

— driversselect.com (@driversselect) December 7, 2018

Finance

The big banks don’t own it all. There are some really great financial institutions to work for that are also small businesses.

NBKC Bank

A community bank with a focus on innovation, creativity and a culture of caring.
HQ: Overland Park, KS
Year Founded: 1999
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “Good work life balance and ability to earn ‘work from home’ days”

We’re honored to be named a @Glassdoor Best Place to Work! See why our company made this year’s list. #BPTW https://t.co/5n3gkn0fiT pic.twitter.com/2V1Zh3s6Im

— nbkc bank (@nbkcbank) December 5, 2018

South Carolina Federal Credit Union

A community bank that aims to anticipate and provide simple solutions for members’ financial needs.
HQ: North Charleston, SC
Year Founded: 1936
Number of Employees: 201-500
Employees Say: “The benefits are absolutely amazing but the environment is what I love most about working here. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere else. Team Blue is more like a family than a company.”

Is a new #job on your wish list? This week’s #opportunities:

• Financial Service Rep
• Contact Center Rep
• Financial Center Manager
• Lending Quality & Appraisal Specialist
• Employee Benefits Client Manager

Apply online at https://t.co/8FPtvPlJ93.#careers #nowhiring pic.twitter.com/lEOPs7iwwD

— SouthCarolinaFederal (@SCFederal) December 11, 2018

The post 12 Best Small Businesses to Work For in 2019 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

They’re doing more than simply recycling paper or turning off the lights. Some small businesses are taking green to the next level by not only being eco-friendly but also by helping people along the way. Here are 5 green initiatives making waves in small business.

1. Stylish Green Bags and Accessories

Hamilton Perkins Collection is a small business who makes stylish tote bags and accessories out of recycled plastics. The company was founded on the idea of creating textiles out of sustainable pineapple fiber, recycled plastic bottles, and billboard vinyl. Since its inception in 2014, Hamilton Perkins has recycled thousands of bottles.

Hamilton Perkins Collection takes recycling to the next level. Their factory is located in Haiti, where they are empowering the locals with jobs and taking the influx of plastic waste and turning into something beautiful.

2. Keeping Cars Clean Without Using Water

Maintaining a car and doing it in an eco-friendly way is getting easier. Washing your car in your driveway is not earth-friendly, it uses an excess of water and the chemical heavy soap washes into storm gutters. While taking your car through a carwash is slightly more green, there is a better way. EcoGreen is a car detailing company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has taken car care to the next level of sustainability.

According to EcoGreen.com, the car detailing company will come to your location to clean your car in an eco-friendly way and even if your windshield or window get broken the use of the Hamilton Glass Experts could be the best option for this. When they clean your car, they use an organic, biodegradable waterless cleaner and gentle microfiber cloths. Their detailing process does not use any water.

EcoGreen partners Water4, an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs in developing nations learn to drill wells and use the water to improve health and welfare in their communities.

3. Keeping it Local

Breweries are not just trendy, they are also becoming eco-friendly. Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids, Michigan is leading the way. The brewery is located in a repurposed funeral home and while remodeling the building the architects and builders made it the first LEED-certified microbrewery in the United States.

The microbrewery opened in 2010 and has continued to reach its sustainability goals. Every year, the brewery releases a report on its sustainability efforts. In 2017, the company purchased 62.5% of its purchases from Michigan. They also had less than 1% of their waste go to a landfill and they recycled over 35,000 pounds of packaging and kitchen materials. In 2017, Brewery Vivant added a 192-solar panel while also getting Panel Service Upgrades to significantly reduce their electricity usage in 2018.

Brewery Vivant are pioneers in sustainability by keeping things local. Even the majority of their employees live close enough to ride their bicycles to work. They buy most of their products, produce, and meat from local farms, bakeries, and dairies within a 50-mile radius.

4. Greening the Motor City

When you think of sustainable communities, Detroit isn’t top of mind–but, it should be. Green Garage Detroit is just one small business that is leading the way. Green Garage Detroit isn’t just a small business, it is a place where small businesses get support. Businesses can rent desks, offices, and workshops with all of the necessary tech amenities on a monthly basis.

Green Garage Detroit is located within the city in the former Model-T showroom. The original space was built in 1920, but it now has solar thermal heating and repurposed materials to make it eco-friendly.
With its eco-friendly structure, the building uses 90% less energy and water than a typical office building. It also produces 90% less waste than typical offices.

Instead of small businesses needing to fill several small spaces, they use one space to work together to make Detroit a more sustainable place. This is eco-friendly because, instead of 10 business using 10 different buildings that require 10 different sets of utilities, those 10 businesses only need one space with one set of shared utilities.

5. 3D Printing with Recycled Materials

RE:3D is a company from Texas that has redesigned 3D printing. The company developed Gigabot, a 3D printer that can print on a large scale. Gigabot is used in over 50 countries and in a variety of industries like health science, education, and manufacturing.

3D printers use less waste than traditional manufacturing techniques and the Gigabot large-scale printer is helping people all over the world by repurposing and recycling. A Gigabot at Michigan Tech University successfully printed skateboard decks out of plastic water bottles. In Puerto Rico, buy accutane online legit entrepreneurs created a Low-band Frequency Network with a Gigabot that could help people stay connected in the post-hurricane conditions. It required less electricity and bandwidth making it more affordable.

The company gives back by helping developing nations print 3D composting toilets out of recycled materials. The printers are helping people recover from natural disasters, move around in 3D-printed wheelchairs, and clean up the environment with eco-friendly toilets.

Green Initiatives take all shapes and sizes. Even if your small business, you can make a big impact. Start small and take a page out of the companies above to inspire change in your community.

The post 5 Small Businesses Taking Green Initiatives to the Next Level appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. OctoPerfOctoPerf offers an easy-to-use SaaS load-testing solution because of its drag-and-drop system. You can easily design virtual users and simulate the complete journey of users browsing your application without any code at all. – John Turner, SeedProd LLC

This tool is an excellent all-around solution for load testing any web-based application. You can easily set up tests to meet your requirements, but what sets this apart, in my opinion, are the analytics. WebLOAD gives you all the information you need, identifies pinch points and suggests solutions. – Ismael Wrixen, FE International

The post Load Test Your App or Website With These 11 Entrepreneur-Recommended Tools appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Purpose is what drives you to do more and what brings you excitement. Ramon Ray recently discovered that his vision, drive, and passionate purpose to help people. He is driven to build wealth, not for himself, but to give to others, impact his community, and change lives. He’s not talking about billions of dollars, but enough that he could help.

When Ramon talks about gaining wealth, he wants enough to be able to do a few things:

1. Help the immediate community.
2. Invest in family and friends who need it.
3. Travel with his wife for leisure and to help people in other countries.

What can you do to drive your purpose?

Find what excites you.

This might be difficult to answer if you have never done anything that excites you. The easy answer might be riding a roller coaster or flying in an airplane – simply because these things make your heart race.

But think about it this way: what would you do if you could do whatever you wanted to do?

That’s what excites you. That’s what will drive your purpose.

Find what is easy for you to accomplish.

When you are good at something, it is easy for you to accomplish. For Ramon, public speaking is easy for him and he is good at it. Your easy thing might be

• reading,
• exercising,
• following directions,
• raising money … it’s all about you.

Knowing what is easy to accomplish can help you work towards your purpose – it could also be your purpose.

Decide what you would like to accomplish.

This is a tough one. What you want to accomplish could be something big or small or in between. Ramon has mentioned in a few videos that he wants to help a young person start a business or go to college. That’s not easy to do, but Ramon has decided that he will do it when the opportunity arises.

Build gratitude and listen to your heart.  

It is amazing what happens when you develop gratitude and listen to your heart. Ramon is grateful for the life he has lived so far. He opened his heart and expanded his mind to make his world bigger. Your gratitude might manifest in different ways that Ramon’s did. Gratitude makes more gratitude. It’s kind of like smiling. The more you do it, the more others around you will do it, too.

Listen to people.

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. We should listen twice as much as we talk. Listening is learning – plain and simple.

Become part of a community.

One of the most gratifying things that you can do for yourself is to become a part of a community. Join a church, get a job, go to exercise class, join a book club, walk at the mall, just do something that puts you in contact with other people. Those people and your experiences will help you develop, express, and fulfill your purpose.

Explore.

When you explore, you learn. Exploring can take place in the wilderness, in a movie theater, in a book, in a restaurant. It can happen anywhere you go and expand your world. We get comfortable in our boxes, exploring might be scary, but not for long. Seeing what and who is out there in the world is life-changing. Get out there!

Give back.

Ramon clearly has discovered that his purpose is to give back. But, to do it, he needs to make some changes to his current way of life. He wants to make an impact in a big way. But, you can also make an impact in a small way, too. Whatever you do to give back should be satisfying for you.

Stay tuned to see how Ramon fulfills his purpose and satisfies his goals of giving back in a big way.

The post 8 Steps to Discover What Excites You to Drive Your Purpose appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What is your favorite appointment scheduling app, and what do you think sets it apart from the rest?

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.

The post Booking a Meeting? Try One of These 13 Appointment Scheduling Apps appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In October, the popular app was upgraded to meet the requests and needs of users. Snagit already distinguishes itself from similar apps with its ability to edit images and record a screen. With the latest features, Snagit stands alone in the screen capture marketplace. Here you will get the best video converter software to change file formats.

The newest features of this impressive app give users the ability to

• Combine images
• Designate favorite tools
• Search for stamps, icons, symbols, and cursors to place on images
• Use a simplify tool

Combining images for easy training and learning

Snagit is a popular tool with anyone who trains or teaches using a distance learning model. Snagit allows teachers and trainers to record videos of their screens so their students and trainees can see exactly what to do with their computers. Now that users can combine images, trainers can easily showcase a step-by-step process by putting several screen captures into one convenient image.

Build a collection of favorite tools

Instead of searching for your favorite tools, keep them all in one place in what the Snagit app calls “Favorites”. This simple change adds efficiency to the app allowing users to get the job done faster than ever before. 

Search for the stamp you want

Another popular feature in the Snagit app is the impressive number of pre-made stamps. With nearly 2000 available for users, it can be challenging to find exactly what you are looking for  – until the upgrade and redesign. Now, you can search and browse the stamps to find the cursor, icon, symbol, or other images that you want to add to your production. All you have to do is use keywords and the matching stamps will appear.

Keeping it simple

The new Simplify feature is designed to keep your content up to date by converting your screenshots into simplified graphics. As technology changes, so does the quality of a screencast. They quickly become outdated, but with the Simplify tool, your videos remain timely because Snagit changes your screen into an abstract version with a color scheme of your choice. You can use the Simplify feature to hide elements you don’t want your viewers to see or you can have the Simplify tool do all of the work automatically. This tool could quickly become the one you love the most.

These new upgrades have made a favorite app even better. It comes as no surprise that Snagit won The Top Screen and Video Capture Software in 2018 from the G2 Crowd. With Snagit working seamlessly with Microsoft’s suite of apps, Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, and more, it will continue to be a favorite with users everywhere.

The post A Review: Snagit added useful features in its latest upgrade for 2019 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Marketing. How are You Getting Customers?

“Brand and position in the market.” Molly Moon’s was the first homemade ice cream shop in Seattle. Today they own 8 out of about 35 or so homemade ice cream shops in Seattle. Molly attributes their success to the strength of their brand and it being,

“really fun and beautiful visually and really value-forward. For any business, being loud and proud about what your values are if you think that a lot of your customers will share your values can be a really huge benefit and win customer loyalty, and I think that’s been very true for us.”

Less than a year into owning her business, Molly hired Eric Anderson for her second shop. Eric was an ice cream scooper, fresh out of college. Now 10 years later, he manages much of the operations as their North Area Manager and has some great insight for growing and keeping a business healthy. “Creating great experiences in our stores. Making sure our employees are happy, supported, and have the tools that they need to do a good job and delight people when they come in our stores.” Eric also insists that “some of the most valuable marketing is word of mouth about a great experience,” whether that’s eating delicious ice cream or having a great interaction with an employee that is scooping that ice cream.  

Slack Keeps Growing Companies Connected

Ramon also talked with Molly and Eric about Slack–in his own words, “a collaboration communications tool used by zillions of people all over the globe.” Molly shared that as her company grew, she felt more disconnected and inaccessible to her employees. But, Slack has reversed that. “I can slack on some channels and be talking to everybody in the company, or people who don’t get to interface with me a lot. And they get to see that I’m a real person, I make typos, I have my own opinions. It’s not all talk from the big, scary HQ.”

Out with the Old, In with the New

Eric is a fan of the visibility of the communication. You can send a private message to someone, but you can also write in threaded communication in channels. Slack replaced many of the old-world communication tools like email and texts.

“I’m not sure the last time you bumped into a 19-year-old, but they’re not super all over email,” Eric laughed.

He’s found Slack to be a very effective way to communicate quickly with their teams. He also appreciates the ability to customize notifications. He did like how texts were pushed straight to their phones and that employees were dealing with work notifications on their personal time.

“We can post in channels to all the folks for who the communication is relevant, have them see it whenever they choose to see it. All that we ask is that they check it when they clock in for work.”

Molly Moon’s employees can set up notifications however they’d like on Slack on both the desktop and mobile app. Slack sends notifications just like a social media app and you can even turn them off after a certain hour.

Increasing Efficiencies

Molly shared one way that Slack is increasing efficiencies over at Molly Moon’s. Molly’s dad is the facilities manager and he has Slack notifications turned on based on certain keywords such as “broken” or “not working.” Molly said, “not every 18-year-old knows who they are supposed to tell when something is broken. But now, no matter who they tell, the facilities manager gets the notification and resolves the problem.” Using Slack allows an issue to be fixed the same day. Before Slack, it would be several days of back and forth email and missed phone calls.

Slack offers some cool features that Molly has been experimenting with. She’s planning to use Slack to host a town hall or virtual meeting with the CEO. She usually offers a monthly coffee that everyone is welcome to attend, but admits that they aren’t super well attended. Using this Slack features, she’s able to give employees the chance to ask questions and she’s willing to answer in public.

How They Deploy Slack

Eric shared how they use Slack and some of their different channels:

1. General Channel- everybody at any level has access. Great for things like companywide announcements or pushing new product info to store employees.
2. Each Shop Channel- things that aren’t impacting the business broadly, but are shop specific such as customer feedback for a certain shop, anybody who is working that day will see the relevant communication
3. Office HQ Channel
4. Front of House Managers
5. Marketing
6. Culinary
7. Kitchen

The communication doesn’t always have to be actionable for everyone., employees feel more plugged in and like they know what’s going on.

Picking Up the Slack

Molly’s voicemail says, “please don’t leave me a message, send me a text or an email.”

She eliminated checking voicemail from her daily and weekly routine. Slack has taken quite a bit out of her email inbox. Her voicemail messages now go into a place that’s easier and quicker to check.

“My inbox is still insane, but I don’t feel that it’s as important to keep up with email as I once did, because I know all of my internal communication with the people who impact the company’s success the most, and who I impact on a daily basis the most, I am pretty caught up on and in touch with.”

Go All-In

Eric admits that he was the most resistant and skeptical about using Slack. He advises anyone making the transition to “try to be enthusiastic about using this tool from day one even if you have reservations”. Don’t be all business, having some fun can encourage team members to buy in. They have a Random Channel for non-work-related stuff. Commit to using it and embrace it. If you make it important and important things are happening on Slack then your employees will get on board. Within a month or two, Eric said they had great participation. Molly’s advice is to not limit using Slack to one department. In the beginning, only their marketing team tried it and they just couldn’t get into the habit of consistently using it. It wasn’t in use enough in their work life. Implement it across all departments.  

The post Ice Cream and Slack: A Match Made in Heaven appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Desktop management, which is one of the components of systems management, can be particularly challenging without a formal IT service desk. In a modern IT infrastructure, it includes not only supporting desktops, but other computing devices such as laptops, servers, and mobile devices.  But for most IT pros in a small organization, supporting end-users can take a variable amount of time, with some tasks easy and quick to address and other tasks requiring a deep dive.

To focus IT department’s time on critical work, some small businesses have tried a different approach: empowering end-users to take matters into their own hands. As a result, their employees have had to spend time fixing their own computers instead of working on their own tasks. Rarely does this approach work.  For one thing, non-IT team members don’t have the same training and may take longer to solve technical problems. Further, from a security perspective, it is never a good idea to grant admin rights or privileged access to all end-users as it exposes the systems to exploitable vulnerabilities on a massive scale.

So how do you support your IT infrastructure with minimal disruption to the end-users, your IT team or your business? The answer is simple, WorkPal is a job management solution that streamlines your business operations, implement remote support best practice and leverage remote access technology.

Avoiding Desktop Management Pitfalls

Efficient desktop management means keeping the focus on both reducing time-to-resolution (a measurement of the time it takes to fix a technical issue) and increasing first-time-resolution (the ability to fix an issue the first time around), you can approach this like you would when using active directory tools to speed your process. Thus, it is important to understand which factors create friction within IT management processes and how they can be eliminated.

1. Asking End-Users to Provide Technical Information

If you ever worked at an IT service desk and you had to ask your end-users to find their computer name, their IP address, or the version of a software they are using, you must know how difficult it is for them to get it right on the first try.

The truth is that more often than not, end-users are confused about where to find that type of information on their computer. This can be a source of frustration on both ends – and this process is more time consuming than what is necessary.

2. Systematic Use of Remote Control to Fix an Issue

Remote control software is popular among IT pros. As its name suggests, it is a tool that allows an IT professional to take control of a host machine’s desktop, keyboard, and mouse from a remote location. When a technician initiates a remote control session, the end-user usually has to sit idly and cannot do any work until the session is over.

While remote control was once the only option, remote support software feature sets have come a long way, and nowadays there are a lot more tools available for troubleshooting and performing systems management tasks, including some that will minimize end-user interruption.

3. Juggling Too Many Tools

Support technicians usually have to perform different types of systems management tasks to re-mediate an issue or close a ticket. If they have to use one tool for troubleshooting, one for Active Directory management, another one to repair a software or dispatch an update, It makes their job more tedious.

4. Siloed Techs With Not Enough Cross Training

Some organizations silo their techs by specific job functions. There is a person in charge of active directory management and another takes care of software deployment or systems updates. While it is important to have a person in charge of overseeing those areas of IT management, he or she shouldn’t be the only one allowed to perform such tasks. He or she should delegate the basic work to the other members of the IT team. Otherwise, solving a simple ticket requires to involve too many technicians. This will greatly increase the time-to-resolution. Obviously, delegation without proper training doesn’t make sense either. But there must be a happy middle.

How Remote IT Support Software Simplifies Remote Desktop Management 

One of the benefits of remote support software is that it greatly reduces the frictions between tech staff and end-users, improves their productivity without jeopardizing security.  Furthermore, It aligns with a more modern and fluid method of providing IT support by leveraging data.

The right remote support software makes accessing a computer and troubleshooting a lot easier. There is no more asking an end-user for his or her computer name or IP address. The more advanced platforms provide a search tool that detects the user logged-in workstation in real-time. A good IT software will have a User Interface that provides a 360-degree view of the end-user IT profile, including details about hardware, systems, Active Directory, software, along with performance statistics such as CPU and memory usage.

Remote support software should also feature background system management tools, which enable a technician to troubleshoot or work on a computer behind-the-scenes without having recourse to a remote control session.

Most remote support platforms now consolidate a broad tool-set that can be used to manage, users, systems, devices, Active Directory, patches, and software. They are a great alternative for IT departments who are currently using a series of fragmented tools.

Finally, the top remote support software features a more advanced remote control. They usually include a set of collaborative tools, so a console operator can invite other technicians to join a session and collaborate on resolution.

IT Process Automation: Streamline Desktop Management & Keep Infrastructure Clean

Taking it a step further, automation of IT support processes can significantly streamline desktop management and maintain a more up-to-date and secure IT infrastructure.

It does this in the following ways:

• Keeping systems up-to-date through regular patching.
• Automating user provisioning and de-provisioning.
• Monitoring compliance and quickly detecting problems and issues.
• Tracking inventory to better manage the asset life cycle.

The best thing about it is that those automations run in the background.

Desktop Management Does Not Need Have to Be a Nightmare

For small businesses struggling with tech support challenges, a better solution may be available. It may require a small investment in remote IT support technology, but they are guaranteed to see a ROI in the form of increased productivity and security.

The post How Remote Access Software Creates Value for a Small IT Team Managing a Modern Infrastructure appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s in Zoho CRM Plus?

This is an exciting product for both small and large businesses. The CRM is loaded with features, but the most exciting is Zia – an AI support system that is voice activated and offers support beyond the typical CRM platform. Since Zia is an AI system, it learns about your business’s experiences with customers to help you deliver unparalleled service.

With Zia AI support, businesses have more power at their fingertips. With this intelligent platform, Zia allows businesses to have

• A better understanding of customer sentiments.
• Real-time insights about effective times for customer contact, sales actions, and deal closings.
• Quick access to information through easy voice commands.
• Help with sales and support for customer problems.

The features that come with Zoho CRM Plus platform make collaboration more accessible. The features include

• Process-management components that allow customer-focused employees to work on sales and returns with ease.
• A simplified Customer Experience Platform that manages potential and active problems to improve customer service and reduce the need for case resolutions.
• Robust content from all segments of the customer-service process for all decision-making employees.

What you get with Zoho Analytics

Along with the release of the state-of-the-art CRM platform, Zoho also released Zoho Analytics allowing users to access artificial intelligence to analyze data both effectively and efficiently. Go ahead and check out the latest pc gaming news and more information you’ll love if you play video games. Not only Video games, the artificial intelligence also changed the online gaming experience especially casino gaming. The Mafia88 casino uses the great artificial intelligence technique to improve the experience of the user and provide them many more new bonuses.  There are also some other casino like Situs Judi Slot, that uses technology like artificial intelligence and also provide the storage facility to store your last game and continue where you left. The Situs Judi Slot іѕ referred аѕ thе mоѕt preferred game оf chance enjoyed bу mоѕt gamers based world wide. Gambling bеіng a wonderful option for money system, еvеrу player desires tо bесоmе rich thrоugh іt.Well qqturbo88 is one trusted and popular platform for betting or casino. Hоwеvеr, nоt аll players саn gеt lucky аѕ ѕоmе mау end uр losing еvеrуthіng. Thіѕ іѕ whеrе соmеѕ thе importance оf knowing whісh game tо select, whеn tо start playing аnd hоw muсh ѕhоuld a player bеt аnd lastly whеn tо stop. Yоu саn play online casino malaysia games, like Bingo, idnplay, Roulette, slots (Gaminator аnd Book оf Rа аrе immensely popular), Blackjack, & poker оn уоur personal computers аnd enjoy thе thrill оf wagering. Players аrе offered joining bonus аnd payback percentages, аnd еvеn thоugh thеrе іѕ аn in-house limit (because оf whісh уоu саnnоt simply walk оff аnу time), уоu саn ѕtіll make a fortune! Yоu саn check thеіr authenticity оn thе regulatory credentials оf thе site. MicroGaming аnd PlayTech аrе reliable software companies tо try.

Video games are evolving continuously. From the times of straightforward two-dimensional video games, they’re now being created as action-packed 3-D worlds. during a number of games, designs are complex and targets are often reached after following strategies. it’s a standard practice to make shortcuts or cheats codes to achieve high scores in video games.

Just about every computer game system that has been created permits the utilization of a cheat code at one stage or another. Progress and development have allowed video games to maneuver from one generation to a different . Video games are now available with endless possibilities, cheat codes and cheat information available at tarkov hacks. However, over the years cheats, codes, and Easter eggs are a staple in video games.

According to Raju Vegesna at Zoho,

“With this deep understanding of business requirements, we have crafted dashboards that decision-makers and executives can use out-of-the-box from within Zoho Analytics, a unique analytics solution in the self-service BI market. Now, organizations can leverage AI-powered technologies via Zoho Analytics, to correlate data that traditionally resided in departmental silos, into meaningful metrics that span across business functions. For example, being able to determine the impact of marketing spend on new sales.”

Zoho Analytics includes capabilities that have never been together in one place.

• The automatic blending of data from several sources – including third-party apps – into a simplified dashboard.
• Voice-activated artificial intelligence support, Zia. The AI assistant can answer questions regarding analytics.
• Predictive analytics that uses past data to forecast future trends.
• Enriched third-party connections for over 100 reports, KPI dashboards, and social media platforms.
• Optimized visualization with Geo-maps, flexible dashboards, and dial gauges.
• Cloud-based and on-premise editions for Linux and Window operating systems.

All of Zoho’s products are ad-free (even the complementary versions) and they put a strong focus on customer information and security. So, not only will you provide a better customer experience, but your data will be safe.

The post How Zoho is Changing the Customer Experience Game with AI appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

To top it off, you’re using multiple tools to manage this bombardment of pings and project updates. And these collaboration and communication tools, like Slack, WhatsApp, and Microsoft Teams, are actually hindering your productivity. You spend hours switching between tools to get work done and communicate with your team and customers. You are searching for documents (was it sent in Slack? Is it on the Google Drive?), and probably banging your head against the keyboard before finally finding the information.

So how are these workplace tools hindering your productivity?

First, they operate like closed silos, a members-only club. This means you need to download the app then invite people to communicate and collaborate with them.

Traditional email formatting is clunky and cluttered. Email never evolved to support the look and feel of 1:1 human communication. That’s why messaging apps became so popular in the workplace, equivalent to mailchimp that can offer a great interface and fantastic features, all the while having better prices and giving your brand a better chance to grow, without charging too much.

Personal or private email servers live in your own space, unlike the usual Apple, Google and Microsoft server farms. This way, you can set up your own disk drive and fully control how your emails are accessed, managed and stored.

For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that want to cut costs, administrating mails may seem expensive. Similarly, running their mail servers seems difficult because of the incessant spamming. They probably also don’t have the in-house tech personnel or tools to properly configure and run one, while managing the threats.

Thankfully, you can run a secure, spam-filtered mail server for your personal or small-business use, check this out servermania.com/kb/articles/setup-your-own-email-server/ if you want to use the popular, free, and open-source Mailcow software. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create and set up your own email server right on your PC.

Third, and finally, you spend a lot of time switching between tasks and tools every day. Most professionals spend an average of one minute and fifteen seconds on a task before some kind of interruption. So this constant task switching results in reduced productivity and a ton of wasted time.

But this is all changing now thanks to conversational email.  

Kick Your Work Days Into High Gear

Instead of adding another tool to the mix (and more stress to your life), get your favorite workplace app features right where you are — your inbox.

Meet Spike. It’s the world’s first conversational email platform. It puts the clutter aside and brings in your favorite features of messaging and productivity apps into one place. It’s the less is more approach — simplifying your tools so you and your team can excel and save time.

Spike only requires the use of an email address. That means no more time-consuming account set-up or cumbersome training on how to use a particular tool. Spike is intuitive, fun, and resembles the natural flow of conversation.

Best of all — you and your team can use Spike and all its superpower features but your client can use any other email client. The magic: you can collaborate and communicate no matter which email tool everyone is using. It’s the truest form of open communication.

Traditional email is cluttered and messy thanks to threads, headers, signatures, and other unnecessary details. Spike transforms your emails into real conversations with instant, short, and simple messages, so you can focus more on the people you’re working with instead of the mess in your inbox.

As a small business owner, you probably want to get as far away from your email inbox as possible. But email actually transforms the way you work for the better. It’s a surprising hero to the productivity and collaboration world — Spike is here to save you from those hours of inefficient work and the endless search for important information (so you can finally stop asking yourself which Slack channel you put that quarterly presentation in).

There are plenty of features that will transform you into productivity powerhouse, but Spike revolutionizes your workday by saving you tons of wasted productivity hours:

• It’s a truly open form of communication. It seamlessly integrates with your current email addresses (works on top of Gmail, Outlook, any IMAP) and is multi-platform, so you can use Spike everywhere: iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Web!
• Removes the unnecessary noise from your email inbox and threads so you can focus your time on the deep work that moves mountains in your business.
• Consolidates your favorite features of workplace apps into one tool so you can stop that productivity-killing habit of context switching and get more done in less time during your workdays.

The Power Of Productivity Is At Your Fingertips

Spike was built with one thing in mind—to improve team collaboration and boost personal productivity so you can spend less time in the weed and more time enjoying your life.

Kiss messy inboxes and inefficiency goodbye and say hello to the new way to firing up your work days.

Authored by:

Dvir Ben-Aroya
Dvir is Co-Founder and CEO of Spike and has over 20 years executive experience leading technology and internet companies. As an entrepreneur, he is passionate about creating SaaS businesses and nurturing them throughout their entire lifecycle.
When he’s not talking about how to improve modern communication, you can find him surfing with friends or running after his 3 boys.

The post Boost Productivity With This New Email Service – Spike appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s your favorite low-cost file–sharing service that can be used easily by an entire team, and why?

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)  is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs.

1. Google Drive

Google Drive is our favorite file–sharing service. It combines fast and trustworthy syncing for files of all types with powerful collaboration and communication tools like Google Docs and Sheets. Most of Google Drive’s competitors do one or the other well. Just as important for a business, Drive’s authentication management service gives us granular control over who can access what in our shared drives. – Vik Patel, Future Hosting

10. Asana

11. Resilio Sync

The post 12 Affordable File-Sharing Services Your Whole Team Can Use appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s one creative way to get rid of old (but still functioning) computer/ tech equipment when upgrading your office’s machines?

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC)  is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.

1. Pass It On to a Startup

Find an early-stage company with limited capital, and pass it on to them. Give them a boost when they need it most, and hopefully, the karma will continue. – Ben Lang, IT Kit

The post Upgrading Your Tech Equipment? 9 Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Gear appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

However, for the past few months, I’ve been testing out and actively using a new presentation design tool called Beautiful.ai. It’s free, fast, easy to use, and saves automatically to the cloud. So, needless to say, I’m excited to partner with them.

There are two parts to creating a great presentation:

• The Presenter (and that’s a topic for another day), and
• The Slides.

How many presentations have we all sat through where the slides are hard to read, boring, confusing, or not aligned with what the presenter is saying?

Beautiful.ai is built from the ground up, or the cloud up, to help you create awesome presentations. Here are a few things I like:

1. Smart Templates

   With dozens of built-in and purpose-built templates, Beautiful.ai lets you go right from your idea to a well-designed visualization that adapts automatically as you add milestones. I don’t ever want to spend time tinkering with text boxes and aligning shapes again! These smart templates not only ensure your presentation slides look great, but also that you don’t try and fit too much on one slide. I appreciate that it keeps me in check and forces me to focus on the key points.

2. Stock Photos, Icons, and Logos

   We all know that imagery spices up and adds interest to any slide. Beautiful.ai has a library of great royalty-free stock images and icons built right in. Gone are the hours wasted searching Google for images and icons that are good quality and consistent with my project. Same goes for logos – just type in a company name and it will find the logo for you. Also, you can quickly access images you’ve uploaded previously and used in other presentations.

3. Automatic Animations

   Similar to the way imagery can aid in grabbing attention, animation is another great way to keep your audience engaged. I’ll admit I haven’t done much of it in the past. Not because I didn’t want to, but because it was tedious. With Beautiful.ai it’s just done for you automatically, and it looks great!

   Pro tip – if you have to present with no internet connection, download Beautiful’s player for the PC or Mac.  It can play with all the animations offline.

4. Easy Sharing

   With just a couple clicks, you can share your masterpiece with one person (or thousands!) via a simple link that will let your audience view it in all its animated glory. If you prefer the old way of sending files, you can export to  PDF or PowerPoint, too – but they don’t animate if exported. Another great capability they offer is the ability to embed your presentation on your website or blog. This is a fantastic way to jazz up a page with extra content easily!

After I started using Beautiful.ai, I asked my executive assistant and project manager to start using it, as she helps me with my presentations. Her response after using Beautiful.ai? “I love it!”

When giving a presentation, most of the time you’re either: informing someone of important information; advising someone, or convincing someone to take a different course of action. If you’re a professional speaker, as I am, and giving lots of keynote presentations, you KNOW presentations are important.

But for everyone else — even if you’re simply “presenting” your ideas at a weekly business meeting or in a more casual setting — presentations are still a powerful tool to communicate your ideas.

Great presentations, require you, the speaker, to convey a clear message to your audience. And leave them with clear takeaways and motivation. The main way you can achieve this is with is a well-designed presentation. Beautiful.ai lets me focus on my message — while they make it look beautiful.

Why I like Beautiful:

Here’s ONE of my Beautiful presentations:

The post Make Better Presentation Slides With This New Tool. Ramon Reviews Beautiful.ai appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. First of all, who is Ramon Ray, and how did he become the successful businessman he is today?

Ramon got started on his way to success by starting four businesses. Two of these are still his today, including his web-based business, Small Biz Technology, and his magazine, Smart Hustle Magazine. Small Biz Technology is an online resource that small businesses can use to find out how to best use technology in their favor. Ramon mentions that he “works with large brands to help them better reach small businesses.” Essentially, Ramon works to connect small businesses with large corporations so that both benefit.

2. What is the number one most important thing that all small business owners should know based on what you’ve learned along the way?

Ramon admits that small business owners don’t always understand their audience. In order to correct this problem, he says that small business owners need to learn who they are targeting and make sure that their company is niche oriented. Ramon mentions that it isn’t a bad thing to begin small and expand later. An initially narrow market can be broadened later once a certain level of success has been reached. Starting a business on too large of a scale could end up being overwhelming and backfiring in the long run.

3. Between marketing, sales, and operations, or another aspect entirely, what area should a small business owner master before all others?

Ramon says that due to his own experience, he struggles with the right answer to this question. He says that he “normally would say sales or marketing,” but has discovered that operations is truly the root for all areas of the business to grow from. Without a solid system in place for your business, there is no room for growth. Small business owners need to have a solid foundation so that sales and marketing can be orchestrated in an organized and productive manner from this base. Ultimately, having the operating system for your business established will allow your business to run like a well-oiled machine.

4. What sales and marketing tricks would you share with small business owners to help them better those skills?

Small business owners must focus on the purpose and intent of their business first and foremost. They need to have a solid understanding of their goal, whether this is to sell a product or to simply get people into the sales funnel leading to sales and memberships or subscriptions.

Ramon mentions that it is also important for business owners to know where to best market their business. He isn’t on Snapchat himself, as his clients and network all tend to use other platforms, but Ramon says if your clientele are all on Snapchat, then go there for your marketing. If you see a large interest in your product or service on Twitter or Instagram, use those platforms as your marketing focus.

It does you and your users no good to market on platforms where there is little to no interest. Lastly, Ramon says that small business owners should experiment as they are growing their business, and if they aren’t able to spare the funds to do this, then they should reevaluate how their business is going altogether and regroup if necessary.

5. How can a small business owner best optimize their time?

Here, Ramon lets us in on his “day to day secrets no one else can know.” This advice is geared more towards those very small businesses – he says – those that have one to ten staff members. Ramon says that a small business owner needs an assistant. He says this is so important because this person can help you manage your calendar, make important phone calls, or just simply help to keep you on task so that you can best manage your time.

Next, Ramon says to build a team. Adding people to the administrative side of things can allow you to spread out the necessary tasks so that they aren’t all on your shoulders, which then works well with the tip to learn how to delegate duties among your team. A business owner cannot do everything themselves, and it is just fine to ask your team to take on some of the duties to clear up some time. Ramon also mentions that he personally uses a task management tool to keep everything in order for his day-to-day.

Most importantly, Ramon says that it is ok to learn how to say no. While we may not always want to, it is important to recognize when to postpone something or turn down something to save time and better utilize your time for business growth and development.

6. What are some common mistakes made in small business startups and how might others avoid these as they begin their journeys as small business owners?

Ramon states that he learned from being through the ringer himself that not planning ahead was the biggest mistake he ever could make in the business world. He mentions that he is very much a “shoot first, ask later…shoot first, aim next” type of person. To avoid doing this, Ramon advises that small business owners deliberately plan out their projects and be thoughtful in their goals.

It is important to take baby steps to get somewhere rather than running headfirst into something without having thought out the process first.

Second, Ramon says that another big mistake that a business owner can make is not being financially literate, or being irresponsible with their money. Small business owners need to have a focus on their accounts and funds at all times. If you aren’t aware of where your business stands financially, you take many a great risk with your business falling under. While you can hire an accountant or bookkeeper for your business, it is wise to be very involved in this process yourself as well.

7. Is there any additional advice you can provide for the small business owners looking to make their way in the business world?

Ramon says that most importantly, you should be having fun with your business!  He says that we all get into small business to do something we are excited about, that we want to do, so you must be having fun along the way to balance out the harder times. Ramon also emphasizes the importance of constantly learning while growing your business. While he says that he is just naturally curious, Ramon says that being able to continually learn in the process of your business will only better serve you and the business for time to come. Last but not least, Ramon says that it is imperative to network. He tells small business owners to leave their comfort zones and get to meeting people. You never know where connections could lead.

To see OnDeck’s Facebook Live interview with Ramon, click here.

The post Big Mistakes, Optimizing Time and More. OnDeck Interviews Ramon Ray appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Although Bernard and his business partner, and wife, started ICSPlus in their spare bedroom 13 years ago, they have grown into a successful small business due in part to the integrative capabilities of Salesforce.

Salesforce Can Do It All

“The easy question is, ‘what don’t we do with Salesforce’ at this point,” said Bernard with a laugh. Because every project ICSPlus does is completely custom, there is an enormous amount of information to bring that requires interfacing with a number of different people on the projects.

“We’re talking to so many different systems, there are so many different points of the lead, on different things so being able to find out who’s doing what part of the project at any time [is important].” Bernard shared that Salesforce technology gives ICSPlus the convenience of a consolidated view. Bernard uses Salesforce for more than sales. “Although we do it for the sales side, we actually use it for the service and as our project management system as well.”

Project management is essential in running a service-based small business. Bernard shared some solid advice, “You can’t tell the customer, ‘I don’t know.’” By leveraging Salesforce as a project management system, Bernard is able to, “keep all the moving parts together on one platform so I could get one single point of truth to find out who’s on this project. Our entire project management system is on Salesforce.” Did you know Salesforce was so versatile?

Using Salesforce as a project management system allows Bernard and ICSPlus to have cases, servicing, and invoicing all on the same platform. The result is that all of the data comes in and consolidates in one location enabling Bernard to then conveniently review and digest the information.

You Don’t Have to Do It Alone

There are people and business out there looking to use Salesforce, but they’re struggling. We asked Bernard, “what didn’t they do right?” He wisely responded, “You didn’t ask for help.” There are so many resources available to make Salesforce easy to use. You can do it yourself. Bernard gave the example that he posted a question on the message board and by morning had 7-8 incredibly helpful answers. If you find you’re still having a hard time, you can get a consultant. But, Bernard said to ask yourself, “’what do I need?’ and if you get stumped, ask for help.”

Businesses Who are Growing

Bernard had some great advice for businesses who are developing and going through the mountains and valleys of growth. He emphasized the importance of having your data accessible, accurate, and reliable. “You’ve got to have that data. Without the data, you don’t know what you’re doing.” He also relayed that you need to read the data and be able to see what the data is telling you. “Make sure your information is up-to-date and accurate so you can make a good, informed decision.”

The post How This Small Tech Powerhouse Uses Their CRM To Do More appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

An army of consultants, freelancers, and temporary staffers, they could represent at least 75 million workers in the U.S., with the power to make serious changes in the ways businesses work.

How Gig Economics Reconfigures Relationships

Gig workers, who have the option of working from home or working for multiple companies at once, often acquire broad skillsets that allow them to work faster — and more intelligently — across departments and channels.

For employers, the opportunity to hire gig workers on an as-needed basis allows them to reduce redundancy rates, healthcare costs, and facility overhead without compromising service.

In fact, smart businesses can capitalize on multi-talented gig workers to increase their range of services, all without the risk of overstaffing.

But there are issues.

In order to cement a reliable workforce, businesses must learn to foster loyalty among freelancers who have the choice to work for anyone, keep ahead of changes in platforms, and embrace a new kind of flexibility.

3 Ways Businesses Must Change to Take Advantage of the Gig Market

There are many things businesses must rework, revise, and reconfigure to make capitalizing on the gig economy not just feasible — but profitable.

Let’s explore some of the most impactful strategies businesses can use right now to increase their utilization of this burgeoning market.

1. Develop Strong Relationships

To capitalize on freelance talent, businesses must learn to foster real relationships with their gig workers.

Keeping them engaged is one way to increase loyalty and help freelancers feel like part of the corporate culture.

Businesses should include gig employees in engagement campaigns, corporate communications, and company milestones, with an emphasis on celebrating successes.

To avoid the frustration that often develops between geographically widespread employees, companies must develop clear channels of communications along with easy-to-use platforms for assignments, and most importantly, pay.

2. Implement Intuitive — and Reliable — Pay Platforms

Pay is a critical touchpoint for freelancers. In fact, 74% of freelancers in a recent research survey indicated they would have, or already have, dropped a marketplace due to a payment issue.

And losing freelancers is a kind of churn businesses can’t afford.

Even though you’re saving money on health care and benefit costs with freelancers, you have appreciable expenditures in onboarding, training, and continuity.

Losing a valuable asset after the onboarding and training process is wasted money that can be retained using the proper, flexible, transparent pay platform.

3. Use Online Talent Platforms Wisely

Online talent platforms like Upwork, Monster, and LinkedIn can effectively connect talent with opportunities.

But it’s not just about hiring. Companies can not only recruit from these platforms, but motivate and improve productivity once new freelancers start work.

A McKinsey study estimates that using platforms in this way can increase company output by up to 9%, while reducing recruiting and human resources costs by 7%.

Pivoting to Join the Gig Economy

With the pool of diverse, renewable talent sources growing, it would be a mistake not to opt in to the multi-faceted world of gig economics.

Smart businesses will find intuitive ways to cultivate relationships with their best freelancers.

Providing extensive onboarding and inclusion methods, swift and transparent pay platforms, and using proper motivation through buy accutane in thailand recommendations on online talent platforms are all sound strategies for fostering freelancer loyalty.

As the gig market continues to grow, businesses must be flexible and willing to face the challenges that multiple hiring platforms, long-distance workers, and changing technology bring to the hiring table.

The post 3 Ways the Gig Economy is Changing the Way We All Do Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Many question what exactly this new device is capable of, what features the device may offer to increase information security, and how this device may benefit small business owners. As a tool for video networking, Facebook Portal could be the new ‘it’ item hitting the market soon. We investigated what Facebook Portal is, its importance, how it’s being received, and how it stacks up with the competition.

What is Facebook Portal?

Facebook Portal is a smart device that is equipped with a camera. The purpose of the Facebook Portal is to stay connected via video messaging anywhere. No longer would you be tied to your phone or have to worry about a small frame for video messaging. Facebook Portal would serve as a standalone device that allows you to connect with people through Facebook Messenger.

Anyone that has Messenger could be contacted using Facebook Portal, even if they do not have Portal themselves. Portal also acts as a smart device, allowing you to use it for streaming, photo and video display, and functions available through Alexa.

How Important is Facebook Portal?

Facebook Portal is offering a new platform for video messaging that allows you to connect with people without typing on your mobile device. Additionally, Portal has a larger video frame, allowing you to capture everything you need in the frame while video messaging. This could become important in the business world for any necessary charts or examples to be shown during a video meeting.

Should Businesses Consider Using Portal?

Portal could be a very useful tool for small businesses out there. If your small business is social media based, Facebook Portal could be even more useful. While not the same as Live, Portal would allow you to connect one on one with your clients via Messenger for business meetings and conversations. Facebook Portal has the potential to make business easier and more efficient for those who utilize video messaging as an important tool for their marketing and networking.

How does it Measure up to Competition?

Many may question how Facebook Portal measures up to the competition of social platforms such as Skype, Zoom, and GoToMeeting. While a small business would need to evaluate which platform works the best for their clientele and business set up, Facebook Portal is an actual device that frees up your phone or computer for other aspects of a business meeting. Additionally, Facebook Portal can offer the functions available through Alexa for the sake of business questions or details as well.

Facebook Portal is a device that functions through the social media platform, and should not be considered one and the same with the social platform itself. Instead, remember that it’s the device being used for the video messaging.

What are People Saying?

Facebook Portal isn’t coming to light without its share of controversy. Many are questioning just how secure the information shared over Portal may be following the data breach that Facebook was in the middle of not too long ago. In September, the data breach exposed the personal information of 29 million people. The announcement of a smart device so soon after this breach has users questioning the safety of their personal information.

To add to the controversy is the fact that executives with Facebook can’t fully disclose what type of data will or will not be collected using the portal. This is because it has become unclear as to what data will be collected. With a back and forth on that information, it is clear why some potential users may be skeptical. While certain information collection is to be expected, with the majority of Facebook revenue coming from ads and the like, users can’t help but question whether or not more information than they bargained for will be in jeopardy.

The post SBT Investigates: Should You Use Facebook Portal appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Introducing Chevalo Wilson De Briano

Chevalo is the owner of Charleston Gourmet Burgers. He was a first responder to 9/11 and continued to be a firefighter for many years after 2011 serving New York City. Chevalo served the community and truly enjoyed doing so. “I loved it, I saved lives. I was a paramedic, I loved it,” Chevalo praised his time with the New York Fire Department. Chevalo saved lives and lived a fulfilling, purpose-driven life, yet he wished he had become an entrepreneur sooner. Sure, there was the thrill of adrenaline running into danger to help others, but there was something missing. There was also the promise of a paycheck at the end of every pay period along with a comfortable pension that allowed Chevalo to relax and know that he had what he needed for him and his family to survive. After a certain point, Chevalo knew it was time to go after his dreams.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset

In becoming an entrepreneur, you are opening your world up to a vast new set of possibilities. You are realizing that there are options out there for business that you never thought of before, and you are opening yourself up to those options and the potential for growth in your brand. Chevalo says,

“When you’re an entrepreneur, you have to reinvent yourself every single day. You have to come up with new ideas.”  

This is the type of creativity that Chevalo says he was longing for and missing in his previous career as a firefighter. He says in entrepreneurship, you use parts of your brain that you never had to use before. The daily hustle to build business and to grow as an entrepreneur is what gets Chevalo going. You can also visit https://www.ph-el.dk/aspirationsanlaeg-asp for better information.

After finalizing the entrepreneurship, my next goal was to hire a good team, who has experience in the fire watch but a good team leader plays an important role and as a team leader, it can also train other people on how to deal with the fire watch. Then I decided to Get a Fire Watch Officer in Los Angeles for my business.

“If I would have known about being how exciting being an entrepreneur could be, I would have started it earlier.”

With Great Risk, There is Great Reward

While taking the leap into entrepreneurship and starting a business may seem like a rewarding new start, it doesn’t come without its fair share of risks. As Ramon says, “it’s not all roses and good things”. You have to understand what you are getting into before diving in with your whole heart. You will struggle, and there will be tough days, that’s a given. But, you must ask yourself if the struggle is worth the reward.

“Being an entrepreneur does not mean you’re going to become a millionaire right away.”

Starting your own business does not and will not make you an overnight sensation, millionaire, or success. As Ramon says, “most of the time people {become entrepreneurs} to do it for the passion and the love of serving others.” It takes work, passion, and willpower just to get through the first few months (or years) before you begin to see the fruits of your labor. Sure you could get lucky and have a very successful start, but you shouldn’t bank on that when getting started.

Odds are you are going to start a business you are passionate about, one that you want to see helping others in some way, shape, or form. If this is truly your heart’s desire, then your ultimate reward will be in your outreach and service. Your struggle will be worth it, and you’ll be happy in your entrepreneurship.

So, the value of entrepreneurship? Helping others, being creative, and seeing your hard work pay off, it’s that simple.

The post The Value of Entrepreneurship: Former Firefighter Shares Why He Became an Entrepreneur appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

First, what is 5G?

5G s the 5th Generation of cellular networking. Just as every new release and generation of cellular networking has changed the way we interact with the internet and our phones, 5G will do just that.

TheVerge.com explains that even more than being the 5th generation of cellular networking,

‘“5G” is an agreed upon set of standards defined by the International Telecommunication Union (the ITU) and the 3GPP, who work together with hardware companies and carriers to define what exactly a 5G network actually is.’

Verizon’s 5G Launch

Verizon has been working on their launch for quite some time, continually pushing their partners and others in the field to do more, faster. Currently, Verizon is spearheading the 5G network world with its 5G Technology Forum and 5G Labs, working together with other companies and developers to bring the 5G Network to fruition. Rather than wait on the competition or sideliners to bring what they have to the table, Verizon has decided to bring about the launch of 5G Home to get the ball rolling for the 5G world. There is no doubt, however, that we will soon see 5G networks from many other providers, all with various add-ons. You an even compare broadband plans online at Usave to get the cheapest and reliable plan too.

In early-mid September, 5G Home was available for ordering ahead of the official launch date. Initial users were part of an offer called the “First on 5G” members, who received three months of 5G Home Service for free. Following the introductory period, Verizon customers could add the service to their plan for only $50 a month. Those customers interested in the network who were not Verizon customers could get the service for $70 a month.

What does 5G mean for Small Business?

With the rate of mermobil and digital nomads growing, many small businesses are beginning in homes. Entrepreneurs often don’t have the seed money to open a storefront right off the bat, so many begin in their home. With a 5G home network, the speed and efficiency at which you can conduct your business will increase dramatically. You will be able to manage your business with the comfort and reassurance of a reliable network.

For more traditional brick and mortar small businesses, transiting to a 5G networking isn’t just a simple upgrade. 5G will bring about crazy fast speeds– some estimates claim up to 10 gigabits per second on a given device.  With 5G, companies can now customize networks based on the devices they’re using and their individual needs. Lag times will almost cease to exist, and customization will become king. Small businesses will soon become inundated with offers from startups and large providers with tales of how 5G will change the game– and it just may.

The Future of 5G

Verizon is currently setting the pace for the rest of the 5G world. Planning to launch a series of other 5G services, Verizon has made it known that a 5G mobility plan is in the works. Verizon has already made leaps and bounds into the 5G world including making the first 5G video call, the first 5G data transfer, and even the first Hologram call. (What!?)

There is no doubt that other companies are working on similar projects sure to be just as promising. AT&T has hinted at a launch later in the year of their own 5G network, and are even working on improving their 4G network as a stepping stone to 5G. There is soon to be a technological 5G arms race amongst competing companies, with the promise of competing offers, incentives, and specialized features across the board.

Thеrе аrе many factors affecting уоur іntеrnеt ѕрееdѕ, ѕuсh аѕ peak usage tіmеѕ, numbеr оf connected dеvісеѕ аnd uѕіng Wi-Fi. A hіgh-ѕрееd internet рlаn is one that саn wіthѕtаnd thеѕе ѕtrаіnѕ on уоur соnnесtіоn аnd ѕtіll give you plenty оf speed fоr all уоur оnlіnе асtіvіtіеѕ.

Fоr mоѕt hоuѕеhоldѕ, high speed internet provider with dоwnlоаd speeds of 100 Mbрѕ wіll gіvе еvеrуоnе the ѕрееdѕ nееdеd to engage a variety of online асtіvіtіеѕ аt thе same tіmе. Hіghеr ѕрееdѕ, lіkе the 1,000 Mbps max ѕрееdѕ оffеrеd wіth gig іntеrnеt plans, will give you еvеn more оf a ѕрееd buffer ѕо уоu can аlmоѕt аlwауѕ соunt оn a fаѕt соnnесtіоn.

With the bar set high speed internet provider and the race started, it will be only a matter of time before the next 5G possibilities are launched and reaching into the stratosphere for success. This all is great news for the small business world. Having these technological advantages and advances at your fingertips will only prove most efficient and promising for your small business. Take full advantage of any 5G services that you can, as a small business that is up to date in a technological world will be able to grow rapidly and successfully.

The post 5G: How Fast Mobile Broadband will Affect Your Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Understand the Why

Why do you need to communicate right now? What’s your purpose in having that conversation or meeting? Simon Sinek does an exceptional job of explaining exactly what makes the “Why” so important. Knowing the purpose of each communication can help you get your point across quickly, concisely, and in a way that will inspire others to get on board and take action.

2. Choose a Platform

Decide how best to communicate. Email might be best, or perhaps you need to have a face-to-face conversation. If you need to communicate with an entire team, ensure that you leverage the power of technology to streamline your employee communication and avoid confusion. Software such as Sapho makes it simple to send essential information, deliver insights, and so much more.

3. Cultivate an Optimistic Outlook

Optimism can boost performance and make every aspect of your workday better. We’re not suggesting that you see the world with rose-colored glasses – instead, we’d like to recommend that you seek a positive approach and use positive words when communicating with others. Inc.com offers sound advice for cultivating a workplace where optimism is more than just a buzzword.

4. Don’t be Afraid to Use Humor

Humor makes us seem friendly and approachable. It encourages others to open up, relax, and communicate freely. Of course, it’s important to use the right approach to  humor in the workplace.

5. Know Your Audience

Who is involved? What communication style will they best respond to? Forbes notes that by demonstrating that you know your audience, you’ll earn respect, in turn making every aspect of your work life smoother.

6. Keep Criticism Private

Although there’s a school of thought that says the old adage “Praise in public, criticize privately” is wrong, Kim Scott of Radical Candor does an excellent job of outlining the importance of keeping criticism private. This post also explains how private criticism can lead to greater clarity.

7. Abstain from Gossip

Sure, it’s tempting to join the crowd and chat about others when they’re absent. Unfortunately, it’s pretty easy for the shoe to end up on the other foot – and when that happens, you’re suddenly the target of workplace gossip. Check out The Muse for some quick, easy tactics for avoiding workplace gossip. Not only will you seem more professional, avoiding gossip is a great way to be more trustworthy.

8. Demonstrate Empathy

It takes very little effort to care for others as individuals, but a little bit of empathy goes a long way. Discussing empathy in the workplace, Forbes mentions that empathy drives motivation while enhancing productivity.

9. Don’t Overdo It

When people are bombarded with a steady stream of information, they tend to feel numb, and this means that critical elements can be lost in the shuffle. Have a goal for every message and conversation. It may seem difficult to be both personable and succinct, but with a little effort, you can master the art of getting to the point.

10. Listen

Really – listen to your colleagues. Active listening can help with clients, too; for example, it’s a well-known tactic for boosting sales. Everyone wants to be heard and when you listen, you’ll gain incredible insight and build rapport with others.

The post 10 Tips for Communicating with Your Colleagues appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s one innovative solution you use to check in with your remote team, and how is it effective?

Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and have created tens of thousands of jobs.

1. Monday

Monday is an amazing project and team management tool we began using a few months back. It is extremely intuitive and visually appealing. Monday allows us to see what each team member is working on, communicate with one another, review deadlines and more. This tool has proven to be extremely effective in managing our team that is composed of both in-house and remote team members. – Duran Inci, Optimum7

The post 10 Smart Solutions for Checking In With Your Remote Team Members appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

However, over an hours discussion with  Andrew LeCates, Director of Platform Evangelism at FileMaker I was pleasantly surprised to learn that FileMaker is alive and well and in fact powering the database needs of many growing businesses.

Sure, FileMaker is a great relationship database, able to connect simple tables of information to each other. But it does so much more. Its base of loyal customers (and new ones) are using FileMaker to take their data and connect it to IoT devices, other datasets via API calls and more.

It’s companies like Tucci Lumber Company whose founder Pete Tucci needed a solution to track the sales of his baseball bat business. He worked with a developer to custom build a solution using FileMaker.

“Today, every order entered into Tucci’s custom app is tracked using QR codes. From the moment a bat is lathed to when it’s painted and engraved, every bit of information is stored on a FileMaker Server and made available on the iPad. An employee using an iPad (one of five in the company) tracks each bat is it flows through the rest of the manufacturing process. Orders are never lost, and customers never wait on the phone while an order is tracked down.”

Another example is Tasty Fresh Food. They started building a custom mobile app to help their drives get food to customers as FAST as possible. While building this custom app, they discovered FileMaker. Doug Newman, Tasty Fresh IT Manger, tinkered with FileMaker and over a weekend he was able to build his own mobile database connected to Google Maps. This saved them time and thousands of dollars in development costs.

Business owners who leverage the power of databases in their business are able to compete FASTER, more EFFICIENTLY and serve their CUSTOMERS much better. If you’re using spreadsheets and static files you’re not able to share information, see information or make decisions as fast as you would be able to with a custom database built for your business needs.

Resource – Is Excel Starving Your Productivity?

The post FileMaker – Powerful Database That’s Evolved For Today’s Growing Businesses appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The biggest factor that separates a successful startup from an unsuccessful one is actually taking the necessary steps to get started. Thinking about starting a business gets you nowhere; you must take action to become successful. Great ideas do not a business make. The way to use podcasts as a tool to success is by taking action from the information provided. Here are our 5 top tips for using podcasts to help your business grow.

1. Network – Podcasts are really a live action, audio blog. The people who put these business podcasts on have been where you are. They, too, started their business from the bottom and worked through the ringer to get where they are now. Odds are they have some solid advice for others that are just getting started. Podcasters started talking about their experiences to help other people. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who’s podcast stands out to you. If you have questions, comment and ask them! They will more than likely answer you and offer wise advice. If they weren’t willing to dole out advice when questioned, they wouldn’t have put it out there to begin with. Don’t fret!
2. Choose Wisely – Don’t get overwhelmed with trying to listen to every podcast on business that you can find. Instead, focus on those most in line with the type of business you plan to start and those that are most in tune with your mindset and goals. Listen to these podcasts and truly listen to what they’re saying. Devote even just an hour a day to listening to the podcasts that most match your business plan. These will give you the better ideas for what you need to focus on. Take notes, apply the ideas to your plans. These are the steps you need to take to make your business better through the advice given in your favorite podcasts from other business owners just like you.
3. Invest – They say it takes money to make money. Simply put, this is the truth. The way you can do this from podcasts is to listening to what products or programs worked well for them. If there is a particular software that will help your business run more smoothly or efficiently, go ahead and purchase it. They say that wise investments will pay for themselves in the long run. This is also a true statement. Do the research and see if multiple podcasters are using these programs. If you don’t need a particular software, maybe your favorite podcasts mention using a specific organizer or planner. No matter how simple or little of an investment, these could still be very important in following through with the plans you need to get your business going. Invest wisely, but listen to what those who have tested the tried and true tell you.
   • *ProTip: Look for episodes where podcasters ask entrepreneurs about the best $100 they’ve invested in their business or an episode which catalogs the best tools.
4. Practice what is Preached – If you are truly working on using podcasts as a way of learning how to start and grow your business, it is imperative you actually try out the different things that are talked about in the podcasts. Do they offer up some coaching advice? Maybe you find a podcast which has a step by step program of tackling a certain aspect of business. Try it out! It never hurts to try something new. If you don’t branch out, you could be missing out on exactly what your business needs. Don’t sell yourself short just because something is different from your usual approach.
5. Learn – At the root of it all, learn from the podcasts you are listening to. Don’t just use podcasts as background noise that you may absorb a small detail or two from. Engross yourself in what you are listening to. Note important things you may want to dive deeper into. Question things you don’t understand – whether directly to the podcast or by jotting it down to address later. Address the notes you take; revisit old ideas and questions and dig up some research on them. Don’t just listen, learn from the lessons being told.