Month: May 2021

Digital Branding

5 Smart Ideas to Earn Money Without Having to Work

Working a nine-to-five job can be fulfilling, but earning money without having to work? That’s even better. Passive income provides extra cash flow, especially in today’s economic upheaval. It can even give you financial freedom and a ticket to early retirement. But aside from starting your own business, there are many other lucrative ways to earn while you sleep.

Here are some passive income ideas to inspire you on your journey to being your own boss:

Generate Rental Income

One no-brainer way of earning passive income is to put a property up for rent. Those who have a home or condo can host on Airbnb. It doesn’t have to be an entire property. Listing an extra room in your home for rent also earns well on the side.  

Store owners can even host an extra space in their store for a vending machine owner. The former can get extra income from the rent, while the latter can generate passive income from their machine.

The good thing about this money-making idea is that property owners can rent their extra space if they’re short on cash or use the property themselves if otherwise.

Anyone can still get a piece of the real estate pie even without property to rent out. Real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate-themed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real estate crowdfunding platforms allow the average Joe and Jane to invest in this industry without owning property. 

In particular, crowdfunding platforms allow investors with as low as $500 to participate in real estate deals they could have never dreamed of before with that money. 

Of course, as with any type of investment, you must do your due diligence when selecting a platform to trust your money with. Do your homework, and read authentic investor ratings and reviews on your platform of choice. 

Sell Digital Products

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

Digital products are an excellent source of extra cash. This is especially helpful for content creators, educators, and creative professionals. They only need to generate content so they can start selling them online and generate sales indefinitely.

For example, social media marketers can create calendar templates to help professionals plan their social media content. Photographers can sell stock photos. Meanwhile, educators can create ebooks about their areas of expertise and sell them online.

Create an App

For developers and programmers, creating apps can help them add to their income stream. Like selling digital goods, apps can keep bringing passive income as long as users keep downloading them. App creators can do it two ways: either putting a price tag on their app or making it free and monetizing it through ads.

Startups can also fund their big idea through trusted crowdfunding platforms. This helps them raise capital from investors to launch their app. If the company grows, investors can benefit by receiving a good portion of the profit.  

 

Start a Blog or YouTube Channel

Photo by Los Muertos Crew from Pexels

We’re now seeing a trend here. Creating stuff helps people earn extra. This is similar to creating content through blogs and a YouTube channel.

Blogging has been a popular passive income stream since the beginning of websites. 

Entrepreneurs earn passively through sponsored posts, affiliate links, and digital products. Content creators can also turn to YouTube to generate income from ad revenue and sponsored videos.

The trick to becoming successful on both platforms is always to be consistent with posting. In the online world, what’s out of sight becomes out of mind. Creators can be easily forgotten, with tons of competitors vying for attention online.

Invest in Stocks

Stocks have made rich people even richer, but that’s not to say average-earning people can’t take their shot at it. By investing in the right companies, stocks can generate extra income beyond what one usually earns from a nine-to-five.

While investing in stocks is a passive act, investors should do their homework to earn huge success. Studying business’ annual reports helps us better assess which companies to place their bets on.

Get That Bread

Nothing is impossible if you only put in the work. Working to earn can bring food to the table, but having a steady source of passive income can fill in the gap that a regular job can’t. And if we can, why not do both? This way, we’ll at least have a safety net and extra savings for the rainy days.

Now, all you need to do is find the right passive income source that suits your skills and interests best.   

SaaS Branding

5 Ways for Companies to Appeal to Younger Customers

Businesses worked hard to appeal to baby boomers because they were the biggest block of consumers for a long time. That’s no longer the case. Millennials and younger are some of the biggest blocks of consumers now. The following are five ways to appeal to younger customers so that your business has a chance to grow.

  1. Social Media Platforms Make a Difference

If you want to reach younger customers and drive them to your website, it’s essential to get on social media platforms. Everyone is online, including older folks, but none are more active than younger customers. You want to get on every social media platform you can get on and be active. It’s important to show some care with these platforms. You have to invest in the pictures and videos you post because quality matters. Be sure to share meaningful posts. All of this matters to the younger consumer, and it will help you in the long run.

  1. Eco-Consciousness Matters

Another way to appeal to younger consumers is to focus on sustainability. Millennials and younger care about the environment and want the companies they visit to care about it, too. Do everything you can to show that you care. For example, you can install an EV charging station in the customer parking lot as a way to welcome young consumers who are driving electric cars. Even if they aren’t your customers yet, they might become interested if they need the charger. Make other changes to your business, like going paperless to be green.

  1. Socio-Consciousness is Important

Being eco-conscious is one thing, but your business should also be socio-conscious. Being a good corporate citizen is a good thing because it shows that you care about what’s going on in your community. The way you do this is up to you. For example, you can show your support for LGBTQ+ rights, or you can simply make sure everyone in your community knows that your business sponsors the local football team. Both of these make you look good, but one of them is a little more controversial than the other. You should honest about what you support, and make sure you do so because people do care.

  1. Being Authentic Really Wins

The next thing you want to consider doing is working on your transparency. Younger generations want to feel like they know you and what your company stands for. They want to feel like they can find out everything about you and that you’re always going to be honest with them. You’re going to have to work on transparency, and there’s a lot of ways to show transparency. For example, you can introduce a traceability feature. This feature allows customers to trace back the products you offer to their origin to make sure your products were made fairly and everyone was paid well. Authenticity also means owning up to mistakes before you’re exposed.

  1. Start Hiring Them and Listen

It’s important to hire some of these young folks. The more young people you have working for you, the more you’ll learn about them. Be open-minded about what they have to teach you even if you’re used to doing things in a certain way. Try to hire some of them to help you reach younger generations. The reality is older generations usually have a hard time connecting with younger ones. They have trouble speaking their language, often coming off as fake, and that’s not what you want. Do your best to be open to their suggestions. The more diverse your workplace is, the better things will be for you.

These are some things you could do to try to reach that young block, but there’s always more you can do. Consider hiring a marketing team that’s had some success reaching younger customers if you want this to work.

Brand
Legal Branding

Learn How You Can Grow Your CBD Business Online This 2021

CBD (cannabidiol) seems to be quite popular everywhere in the world these days. CBD products are available widely on the shelves of health stores, high streets, pharmacies, and even cafes. It is a trend that’s swiftly gained traction and will continue to expand in the coming years.

The CBD industry in the United States alone is to top $20 billion US dollars by 2024, so if you are searching for a lucrative opportunity in a rapidly developing sector, you have come to the perfect spot. However, selling CBD has its own set of obstacles, especially if you are selling it online. There is so much to think about, from which products to sell, to designing your website, to considering how to best set up dispensary payments for customers to make their online purchases. Let us discuss what you need to learn to grow your CBD Business Online in 2021.

What is CBD?

The trend of Cannabis cultivation and utilization for medicinal, leisure, and economic reasons is since ancient times. The most popular cannabinoid, THC, is famous for its recreational properties. Cannabidiol (CBD), the next is a cannabinoid,  has no psychoactive essence. The plant can grow in different conditions, each with a large amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabinol.

Hemp extracts contain fibers and a large percentage of CBD, which may come in use to process oil. Marijuana plants cultivated for leisure purposes have more Tetrahydrocannabinol than common hemp plants. Hemp has less than 0.3% of THC, according to the code of conduct. It has various forms, including candies, tinctures, vapor, wax, and more. CBD reduces inflammation. It helps with anxiety, reduces depression, and pain reduction, among the other traits.

CBD has different versions like CBD Oil, CBD Tinctures, Gummies, Cigars and CBD Candy. You name it, and there is already a type of product available for you. It is one of the unique selling points of CBD, as it can target a wider audience. Younger individuals incline towards CBD Gummies because of their taste, and Older individuals prefer CBD Oil because it is easy to consume. The college-going young adults prefer CBD Vaping as it is very famous among their circles. There is a  form of CBD for dogs, as premium treats, which are liked by animals a lot. 

Tips to Grow your Business

SPECIFICALLY, TARGET THE WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS

The CBD product range has many options, making it necessary to pick the product you want to sell. It is easy to get lost in the wide variety of products Cannabinol has to offer. The firm should choose a product and stick with it in the starting. The marketing should revolve around the particular product, and your website should have all the details about it. It helps the consumers to associate a specific product with your brand. Niche marketing is a must for any seller who is new to the CBD market.

With time when the business expands, the seller can enlarge their business to other products. The additional products can complement the other products as well. For example- a seller starting her/his business by selling CBD Gummies can sell other products. It can include CBD Wax and CBD Oil, which complement CBD Gummies. Seasoned sellers, which already have existing consumers, can expand their horizons. The ones selling human CBD-Based products can also include CBD-Based animal products, ensuring more revenue streams. The more the revenue streams, the more stability your business has.

Good UI/UX Design

Homepage and the website design are everything, coming from the general user experience and the interface design. A user experience firm encourages that your main website is uniform. User Interface/UX company works on many aspects such as style, colors, size, and visual features with a team of web developers to give your business domain a different appearance and feel. Your company website design will have a consistent and uniform user experience thanks to the distinct UI/UX.

Customer Service

Customer service is critical to your company’s success because it keeps customers happy and allows you to extract more profit from them. Businesses may recover client acquisition expenditures and create a loyal following that recommends consumers and serves as case studies. It gives testimonials and reviews by delivering excellent customer service.

  • Adds Revenue to your service

You can only go so far with a decent product or service. When you add excellent customer service to the mix, the value of your product skyrockets.

  • It Increases Customer Retention and Recurring Revenue

Retaining an existing client is always less expensive than acquiring a new one. As a result, delivering excellent customer service is an efficient strategy to keep people returning and purchasing your items.

Lead Generation

A company’s lead generation is crucial. Without it, a company will struggle to grow and produce sales. A robust lead-generating strategy is essential for every company. As a business, you’ll have a hard time generating leads since you’re not clear who you’re trying to market. Many companies now rely significantly on lead generation to drive visitors to their websites, where leads convert into consumers. Google has simplified the process of linking individuals with companies, allowing companies to showcase how their products and services vary from their rivals to the rest of the globe.

It lets you reach out to a consumer base that is actively looking for your product or service on the internet. Furthermore, directing the lead to your website enhances the likelihood of the lead purchasing from your company.

 Catalog of Products

Because of how effectively a catalog connects with the Internet world, catalog marketing plays a significant part in business success today. If you’re a digital seller, you could discover that sending out print catalogs helps your business in many ways. All thanks to the introduction of short-run printing and customization. It is now accessible to every business of all sizes — you can start with as few as 250 copies.

Create an app for your store

A well-designed mobile app is substantially faster than a mobile website in doing tasks. In contrast to web pages, which often require web servers, apps keep their data locally on mobile devices. As a result, data retrieval in these localized applications is fast.

Conclusion

CBD is an enthralling product to work around. On the one hand, giving life-improving items to your consumers will allow you to make a meaningful impact. On the other hand, you must keep the general population informed about the effects of your medications, their legal status, and their lack of connection to THC-dominant marijuana.

A combination of prudence and innovation will set the firm up for success in the CBD area. Now is the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and create a company that will survive while also standing out with a high-quality product.

Digital Branding

The Benefits of Digital Signage for Employee Management

Consistent communication is the backbone of business success in 2021. Despite the rapid adoption of cloud-based team collaboration tools, many employees forget to read emails, miss phone calls, check task management tools, and fail to hear spoken announcements. 

To improve the information flow and retention in corporate settings, many organizations rely on digital signage. Screens are easily customizable and attention-grabbing. They convey information fast and consistently across various departments.

Want to learn more about the benefits of digital signage for employee management? Let’s start!

Informing Employees about Safety Measures during Coronavirus

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, organizations needed to update their workplace health and safety policies

Based on a detailed workplace hazard assessment, HR managers need to develop detailed infection prevention and control strategies. Most importantly, they should train workers on how to behave amid COVID-19.

Using commercial digital signage is a perfect way to keep your employees updated about COVID-19 prevention measures they need to take. It helps HR managers encourage employees to maintain the highest safety standards. 

For example, you could use screens in your office to create a list of employee responsibilities, such as wearing a mask, avoiding close contact, washing hands frequently, etc. 

Digital signage also helps employees understand the process of reporting any action or behavior that may compromise workplace safety, such as someone going to work sick. For HR managers, that is an opportunity to resolve the problem before it morphs into a bigger issue. 

Finally, use digital signage for other health and wellness initiatives, such as gym membership sign-ups, stress release classes, or weight loss contests. 

To ensure the effectiveness of your digital signage, make sure it is prominent and placed in high-traffic areas.

Keeping your Employees Updated

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, many companies have shifted to cloud-based communication platforms. These channels provide seamless communication between your on-site and remote teams. Employees can stay on top of their interactions, deadlines, and tasks irrespective of their location.

To improve employee engagement, consider integrating your employee management platforms with digital signage.

  • Post essential company updates on big screens positioned around the office. They are harder to miss than mountains of emails and notifications your employees get throughout the day.
  • Integrate digital signage with project management software to publish reminders of upcoming deadlines. 
  • Create employee shifts and make them visible to everyone in the team. Preventing workplace overstaffing in the era of Coronavirus is essential. 
  • Distribute team performance reports, publish sales reports, and answer employee questions.

     

     

In a corporate setting, using digital displays can significantly improve company transparency. They provide consistent information sharing across all departments without breaking social distancing rules. With the help of digital signage, HR managers ensure vital information is passed on to employees fast, without clogging their inboxes.

Announcing Employee Achievements 

Your employees expect you to recognize their contribution and incentivize it accordingly. Whether tangible or intangible, employee rewards programs boost employee satisfaction, enhance their performance, and encourage loyalty to your company in the long run. 

While most brands rely on monetary rewards, they should not neglect the power of public praise. Use your in-door displays to inform your teams about the company-wide milestones and give kudos to your top performers. Digital displays keep all staff members apprised of the events outside their departments. Most importantly, it keeps them feel good about their accomplishments.

How to Measure the Effectiveness of Digital Signage in the Workplace?

Now that you understand the benefits of digital signage in the workplace, it is time to measure its effectiveness. 

Measurement starts with choosing the right internal communication KPIs. Here are a few essential KPI types you should track:

  • Reach: How many employees are you reaching via digital signage?
  • Engagement: How does your digital signage content engage employees?
  • Behavior: How does digital signage change the behaviors of employees?
  • Impact: How does digital signage influence employee productivity, performance, engagement, retention, communication, etc.?

Surveys are an effective way to measure the impact of digital signage on employees. For example, compare changes in employee engagement or performance before and after the implementation of digital signage. 

You can also use them to gather qualitative data on digital signage benefits. For example, you can ask employees how often they view the content presented via digital signage or whether they find this information valuable.

When creating surveys, provide employees with anonymity. That helps you get honest and unbiased answers. Make sure all questions are clear and concise, making it easier for employees to respond. Also, they should be easily measurable. For example, you could create a scaled survey, where your staff should assess the value of digital signage in the workplace on a 1-10 scale.

Over to You

Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, companies are looking for out-of-box solutions to engaging employees and enable effective communication. That is where digital signage helps. Visual communication is a non-invasive way to deliver essential workplace information across departments and prevent message overload. 

Contacting your colleagues
Digital Branding

Unique Ways to Boost Your Business

Increasing the efficiency of your firm allows you to experiment with new procedures, products, and ideas. It has the potential to act as a catalyst for your company’s growth and adaptation in the marketplace. 

However, this innovation does not entail completely overhauling your business paradigm to provide better products or services. Instead, it must be integrated into your business plan, allowing you to foster an innovative culture and encourage creative thinking.

With that, here are unique ways to boost your business:

Try Something New

In today’s hyper-competitive, modern world, you either swim or sink. To keep afloat on the market, companies do their best to swim. With that, there are many different sorts of innovations that companies can explore in the business world. Individual products, internal procedures or workflows, and business models frequently link up with these innovations.  While innovation can focus on a particular factor, some businesses combine all three to drive growth while adjusting to a rapidly changing market. 

Take a Class

With the wealth of resources available online and offline, there is always something to learn and discover. Moreover, you will need to learn new skills and expertise, especially when learning a new business strategy or beginning a company. Furthermore, you should be excited to take on the task because there are numerous advantages to lifelong learning.

Mainly, prospective business owners can attend business seminars, join clubs, network with other business owners, and read professional journals in addition to formal education.

Find a Business Mentor

Having a trusted and experienced business mentor provides direction, encouragement, and support to give a mentee many personal and professional benefits. Having someone guide you can ultimately help you achieve better personal and professional performance.

Curate a Higher Customer Value

The higher the customer lifetime value, the higher the revenue. Without a doubt, you will always have to spend money to get new clients and keep old ones, but the former is five times more expensive than the latter. Thus, once you realize a customer’s lifetime value, you can optimize it.

Go to Trade Shows

Attendees at trade shows can serve as the ideal focus group for aspects of your business that require input. When visitors visit your booth, take advantage of the opportunity, ask them questions, and encourage them to give honest answers. Trade shows are a great way to promote new products or services while also learning and getting the pulse on what people think about them right away.

Talk to Your Target Audience Online

It is crucial to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with your customers. As a prospective business owner, you want to be able to explain your company’s procedures, policies, and other aspects to customers so that they leave with no questions. Thus, customers will have a positive impression of you and your company if you speak clearly and effectively.

Establish Yourself as an Authority in Your Field

Although not the most accurate, word-of-mouth marketing is still the most effective marketing tool. When you provide advice and knowledge to other business owners who have a customer base similar to yours, whether locally or in a complementary industry, you will be the first person they refer to other clients.

Moreover, people are also more likely to buy items and services from people they know and trust. As the internet grows exponentially by the minute, bad people result in newer ways to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. Thus, if your company got established decades ago or its founder knows a field that few other business owners have, make sure to highlight such information as people are always on the look for a reliable source of knowledge.

Ultimately, understanding the necessity of continuous improvement is a critical component of lean and agile approaches, whether your company is a startup or a large enterprise. On a small scale, these approaches can help your team collaborate more efficiently. Moreover, on a large scale, these approaches can help your company stay at the forefront of the competition.

Put in mind that the most successful businesses are never satisfied with their current state of affairs and never settle with the status quo. They are always looking for the next breakthrough, the next degree of achievement, as they understand the value of constant improvement in all aspects of the company.

Ultimately, The most successful businesses are constantly inventing and creating new ways to provide high-quality service to their clients. Even when things are going exceptionally well, people in successful companies continuously look for ways to improve their performance, figuring out how to work smarter, not harder.

Digital Branding

Get Positive Publicity And Media Coverage For Your Small Business!

“Without publicity, there will be no prosperity.” -Yakov Borisovich Zel’dovich.

For small businesses, brand recognition plays a significant role. Correct? It helps in making a small brand become big and achieve all the organization’s goals. However, the process of brand recognition is long and requires impressive strategies.

Nonetheless, as you might be aware of the fact that the beginning of every process is small. So, what is the beginning of getting brand recognition? Yes, you are absolutely right! It is by getting the attention of local customers. But how? No! Providing discounts and offers is not going to benefit you. These are temporary solutions only. You need to think of a strong strategy that creates a buzz and makes your company a talk of the town.

And this brings you back to square one! So, what else can you do to create a buzz? The answer is to grab the local media’s attention and get famous in your target market.

Having said that, we should also remind you that there are generally two types of publicity, i.e., positive and negative. Both are good for a company to improve its industrial exposure and generate more leads. However, in this article, we are going to talk about positive publicity. So, are you ready to learn? Let’s get started!

Understand your target audience

First of all, just like any other strategy that you plan for your company’s success, you have to consider the target audience. Who are the people that you want to reach? However, as your motive is to attract the media’s attention, this time, your target audience is not your customers but the journalists and media outlets.

Yes! You read it correctly! You need to understand what “beat” you want to attract. In more simple terms, every news outlet has different sections for different types of audiences. Thus, you need to decide whether you want to get recognition in the entertainment, CSR, or an informative section. So, kindly select cautiously! 

Contact the right person for the pitch.

Once you have decided your beat, you need to approach the right person. Why? Well, several journalists and editors can write a story for you. However, you need to contact the person who, according to you, can understand your intentions and help you achieve your goal.

You might agree with us that every word used by the press has a significant impact on society. That’s the reason why you need to select the right person. Who can show you the company as its own and help you grow?

Try to take advantage of breaking news.

Another thing that you can do is to take advantage of burning topics of the news. For instance: Consider the situation of Covid-19; you can take the help of this pandemic to get coverage. You can offer free masks and hand sanitizers to needy people. It’ll help you complete your CSR (corporate social responsibility). This gesture will also make you a hero in front of the eyes of your target customers.

Keep in mind that every time you try to be a part of a burning news topic, think and speak from the perspective of a layman. It will help create a soft spot in their heart, and they’ll be more interested in knowing about you. Results? The media will try to reach out to you to get more stories.

Invite the press to your events

If you plan on hosting any event either for a product launch or for sharing news. Inviting competitors and press should be on your priority list. Give them some exciting and intriguing stories. Besides that, you should also address them from time to time throughout the event and give them a media kit.

In addition to that, you can also add a question-and-answer round. So that in case any person has a question they can answer. Believe it or not, it’ll create a great impression about your organization which will take you a step forward towards your dream goal.

Remember, press releases can do wonders.

Needless to say, that press releases are one of the effective tools to get media attention. Not only it helps in providing excellent and captivating content to the media, but because the information is provided by the company officially, it is a great way to spread positive information about the company.

Nonetheless, as reporters will write a few short yet different articles, everything in the press release must be written precisely. If you want to learn more about how to overcome writer’s block and how to write an impactful press release, you can read more here. It’ll help you write a press release as per your target audience and the announcement you want to make.

Use social media to create stories.

Social media isn’t just for connecting people and getting entertained. You can use the power of social media to help your business get famous, especially among teenagers. With your marketing team, you can create an impressive social media campaign that makes curiosity in the mind of viewers.

Understand that the more fascinating your content on social media is, the more people will engage with it. You can also collaborate with social media influencers and budding artists and help each other out. Good content will not only help you gain more followers but will also grab the attention of local media channels. They would contact you on their own and learn more about your campaign idea, eventually helping you get more publicity.

Be philanthropic

Last but not least, you should keep in mind that as an organization, people expect you to do good for society. The reason being is that your organization uses the resources of the community. Thus it is their responsibility to give something in return. You can do that by being philanthropic! Organize charitable events, take steps to help nature, and provide opportunities to society with employment and quality standards of living. Believe us; your excellent work will speak for you and give you positive media coverage.

To conclude! It isn’t easy to operate a business and take it to new heights. Everybody knows that. However, what people don’t know is that the media can help businesses to get successful. And now that you have read the whole article, you can use the techniques mentioned earlier and help your small company grow big!

Digital Branding

Select The Right Type Of Loan For Your Next Business Project!

“Every decision that you make for your business has a financial consequence.” – Barbara Vrancik.

The life of an entrepreneur is very simple. They start a business with the help of an idea and finance; once the company is established, they begin to earn money, and then they use the same money to expand their business. And this circle goes on.

So, if we eliminate money from the entrepreneur’s life, they are left with an unexecuted idea. Was it an excellent idea or not? We don’t know, and we can never know. Confused? Okay, we’ll explain it clearly to you. What we want to say is that without money or finance, a business can not survive.

Arranging money for the startup is the most crucial yet challenging part. And if anything in this part goes wrong, its direct impact can be seen on the startup idea. However, along with arranging capital deciding its source is also essential. Generally, people take the help of banks or money lending institutions to borrow a loan. And it is the correct approach.

But, what type of loan should be taken is the question of primary concern. You see, there are numerous types of loans available for an entrepreneur, but selecting the right option is vital. Therefore, in this article, we’ll guide you through the different types of loans available for small business entrepreneurs.

You can read them thoroughly and then can decide the best for your business. So, let’s dive right into the article! Let’s go!

Term loan

These are the most basic types of business finance, which are repaid over a fixed tenure with interest. The amount is generally paid in a lump sum, and the repayment principal amount is also fixed. It is just like a personal loan that you can use for any purpose. You can use it to pay company overheads, payment to creditors, invoice payments, or employee salaries. To be specific, it is flexible to use.

Equipment financing

Not every organization works to sell products or services. Some organizations are involved in the manufacturing process as well. And to manufacture something large heavy-duty equipment, machinery, vehicles, etc., is required. Needless to say that this equipment is expensive, and an organization can’t afford them with the capital investment.

In such a situation, you can use equipment financing. It’ll also help improve business credit and not forget that the asset can also be used as collateral to get more finance.

SBA loan

SBA loans are federal government agency-backed financial borrowing options available to small entrepreneurs. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Small Business Administration Loans are one of the best types of financing options available to budding entrepreneurs. Why? The reason being is that the rate of interest is comparatively low, the repayment terms are also favorable to the borrower, and it is flexible.

If you think that’s all, then our dear reader, sorry to say that you are wrong. It is just a glimpse of the benefits of SBA loans. These loans are further also divided into different types. As per your requirement, you can select any of the following types and avail yourself its benefits:

  • SBA 7(a) Loan
  • SBA express
  • SBA Disaster Assistance Program
  • SBA International Trade
  • SBA 504
  • Community advantage

You can read about each of these and decide which financial assistance will help you achieve your company goals.

Invoice financing

Sometimes a company needs money to balance the current cash flow. There are several types of company overhead that need to be paid daily, such as payment to suppliers, employee salary, and other daily operations. To make these payments, the company needs positive cash flow. But sometimes circumstances are not in the favor. In such situations, invoice financing can help companies overcome the cash crunch.

It is a great option when an entrepreneur is sure that he/she will receive the payment in some time and, in the meantime, use this financing to mitigate cash flow emergencies.

Merchant cash advances

To say that is a business loan would be incorrect. It is a cash advance that you can get on your future credit card sales, just like the old times. In simple terms, you’ll get a lump sum amount as a cash advance and have to repay it from the money earned from sales. It is a good option if you need fast cash because, as compared to others, the interest rate is relatively high in it.

Note: This financing option is only available to those businesses that use credit cards for payments.

Microloans

As the name suggests, it is a type of small loan that ranges from $500 to $50,000. This option is suitable for those who are starting their company or don’t need much investment. These are generally offered by the federal government and non-profit organizations such as CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) to underserved startups to get the capital amount they need. Nonetheless, the repayment terms and interest rates are reasonable in this type of borrowing, and there is flexibility for using the amount as entrepreneurs want.

Business line of credit

Also known as “revolving line of credit,” this type of borrowing is perfect when the borrower doesn’t know about the amount required. Getting confused again? No worries! We’ll explain it in easy language! Generally, few organizations face the issue of seasonal fluctuations. So there is a possibility that for a month or two the sales will be lower than expected. To survive those times, organizations can take the benefit of the business line of credit.

However, you’ll be able to receive this amount only when the lender evaluates the creditworthiness of your business. And, for that, they will get information regarding the time in the industry, annual revenue of the company, cash flow situation, credit score, and others. When the lender is satisfied, they will give you the money.

To sum it all up!

All these types of credit borrowing options are available to the company, and you can select among these as per their requirements. It will help the company to stay in the competition race and grow its business.

So what are you waiting for? Take your company to heights!

Digital
Legal Branding

4 Things to Outsource in Your New Law Firm

As a lawyer just starting in your own law firm, you already know that time is money, especially in the legal profession. In your profession, you’ll be wearing many different hats to help you get established, bring in clients, and make your new law firm successful. 

There are some things that you can do yourself, and some that are just more manageable and wiser to outsource. If you’re considering outsourcing specific tasks but aren’t sure which ones, we have some tips that will help you decide. 

Your Branding

If you want your law firm to be successful, then you have to have a brand that people can recognize and trust. Branding is vital in any business but critical when you’re a lawyer who’s just starting out. It’s best to outsource your branding to a marketing firm, especially if you know nothing about creating a brand and getting it out there to possible clients. 

Many firms out there specialize in branding, some in legal branding only, so that’s one thing that you can take off your own plate and be sure it’s being done the right way. 

Legal Research/Writing/Deposition Services

You’re tired, your junior associates are tired, and you still have to do your own legal research and writing. On top of that, you’re paying a full-time employee for deposition services and court reporting when you really can’t afford to pay full-time benefits, full-time pay, vacation and sick leave since your firm just started. Take the initiative and outsource not only your deposition services but your legal research and writing. Find a reputable company that will cost you much less than hiring full-time employees and working yourself and your junior associates to the bone. 

Your Marketing

From social media marketing to SEO content, there’s a lot more that goes into marketing a law firm than there used to be. In the past, it was simple for lawyers to get the word out there about their business. Spread the word, slap your name, face, and phone number on a billboard, and leave some fliers on cars in the local Walmart and be done with it. Today, there’s the internet, social media, and many, many different ways to market your business. So many ways, in fact, it can get confusing and a bit overwhelming. 

If you don’t know anything about digital marketing, social media, or even SEO, then it’s time to outsource your marketing. It’ll save you time, money and ensure the word gets out there about your law firm at the same time. However, there is one marketing strategy that is tried and true and still works. That marketing strategy is word of mouth, so make sure your clients are happy and the word will spread. 

IT Services

Everyone has been there. You’re in the middle of something crucial to a case and the Wi-Fi goes out. It’s not your internet company, and you have a deadline. For the life of you, you can’t figure out what the problem is, and you can’t afford a full-time IT department to take care of IT problems for you. Outsourcing your IT services means that someone will be available to fix problems when they happen, and it’ll save you money in the end as well. 

These are just a few of the things you should outsource when starting your own law firm. As a new business owner and an attorney, you have a lot on your plate already. Outsourcing your marketing, IT services, and court reporting, among others, can do a lot to relieve stress and make your law firm successful. And then you can focus on what’s really important — your clients.

SaaS Branding

Best Practices to Drive Productivity

Nothing is more important to a small business than its people. Thus, employees’ productivity will rise if they are happy, which is just what business owners need to drive their company towards growth and development.

Minor modifications in the workplace can dramatically boost a company’s production and efficiency. With this, companies can complete more high-quality work in less time and spend less time on non-essential tasks, a win-win situation for both business owners and their stakeholders. 

With that, here are the best ways to boost business productivity:

Focus on Employee Satisfaction

While increasing employee satisfaction is not a cure-all pill, it can have some remarkable effects on a company. Specifically, a happy, engaged, and motivated employee contributes to the company’s success, positively impacting the rest of your team.

The most important advantage of ensuring high employee morale and overall satisfaction is that people rarely consider quitting their current positions. Veritably, employee satisfaction is critical for employee retention. For long-term growth and guaranteed success, companies must drive to retain deserving and skilled personnel, that is, by upholding employee satisfaction.

Communication is Key

Communication is essential in every aspect of a business. It is also critical that an organization’s internal communication and their employees’ communication skills are effective, particularly now that the economy has driven a rising number of people to work from the comfort of their homes.

Furthermore, a united company attempts to build strong communication among its employees. When everyone understands what their coworkers are working on, they may better assist one another, achieving a common, shared goal of increasing productivity.

Get the Right Equipment  

Nothing is more inefficient and frustrating than wasting time waiting for important documents to print because a company lacks quick printing technology. Thus, it is critical to provide employees with the appropriate tools and equipment to do their tasks efficiently and on schedule. 

Not only do high-quality, current programs and equipment benefit employees, but they also improve how a company gets perceived across different lenses. Companies should seriously consider investing in the correct equipment.

Examples of this are a production printer or an upgrade to the payroll software. Ultimately, you do this by getting equipment that will save employees time and effort.

Become as Efficient As Possible

The best possible utilization of resources is what efficiency is all about. Efficient businesses optimize outputs from limited inputs while lowering expenses. Furthermore, you can reduce a company’s costs and its competitiveness improved by increasing efficiency.

For one, automation minimizes the amount of paper that passes through a company and allows employees to be more strategic in their job. As employees get rid of mundane, tedious tasks, they become freed to devote themselves to higher-value duties essential in company growth.

Positive Reinforcement Goes a Long Way

Every day, small business owners get challenged with their employees’ actions. Thus, it may be time to join the legions of behavioral experts who believe that creating a pleasant workplace — one that encourages positive reinforcement — is just as important as writing a business plan in terms of business success.

Positive reinforcement is an effective, evidence-based method for increasing workplace productivity and morale. Moreover, positive reinforcement always leads to better behavioral results. Bosses must deliver positive reinforcement correctly and immediately to be effective.

Set Realistic Goals

Setting realistic goals will provide companies a firm, clear direction. Business goals provide a tight framework for business owners, preventing them from straying and keeping them focused on a specific path. Moreover, it is common among successful businesses to have started from setting realistic goals that are:

  • Specific: The objectives should be specific, clear, and devoid of ambiguity. You must define the goals in a concise and detailed manner.
  • Measurable: The objectives should be quantifiable. Setting a goal such as “greater revenues” or “better quality” is not a good practice and may not help companies. Rather, goals should be measurable and scalable to allow for progress assessments toward them.
  • Timely: Efficient goals are time-bound, having a clear start and finish date. Company objectives may become redundant if there are no time constraints, and their achievement may never even come to a realization.
  • Simple: There should be no jargon in the goals. They should be simple enough for everyone working in a company to understand, allowing unity to work on a shared goal.

Undoubtedly, it is pleasant – although sometimes ignored – to show employees how much a company appreciates, respects, and values them on a personal level. Thus, if employers want their employees to work to their full potential, they may consider and use a couple of these suggestions and prepare to reap a wealth of benefits.

White Dolomite and kitchen
Legal Branding

5 Lucrative Ways Photographers Can Promote and Sell their Works

Marketing and advertising are a bit challenging for the photography profession. You probably mastered your skill right and practiced it. However, you cannot make enough money without a selling platform. As a photographer, you may wonder, “how do I sell my work?”. You probably came across several ways online but never get the suitable one for you. The secret is not in many options, but the best working option.

In this guide, there are five most popular lucrative ways you should consider. As you read further, you will discover strategies to put them to use and profit with.

1. Sell your Work Online.

If you want to attract target customers, here is a strategy you should consider. 

An average person goes online every day. Either people accidentally or intentionally come across your work, there is a bigger chance of selling than keeping them in stores.

You can choose a less expensive method by using an online seller platform. All you need is to give a commission from the profit, and you are good to go.

2. Creating a Getty and Flickr Images

These platforms help build upcoming and professional photographers by showcasing their works to the public.

After creating an account on Flickr, you can let people pay for your work before using them by licensing with Getty Images. 

Whenever a person requests for your work, Getty images would contact you for permission and pricing. Hence, ensure you upload your best photos on Flickr.

3. Share your Stories

People believe stories more than facts or statistics. Many people assume that every picture has a story behind it. This is especially true for travel photographers. If you love to travel, it becomes a plus for you. You can sell while having fun at the same time. A convincing and relatable story would attract just the right audience.

4. Create a Photo Book

Photo books allow you to customize your products and people with your photos will be able to decorate the walls. You can add a text or quote of your choice. It is also a good deal for clients that want to save family and friends memories in a book. This may sound traditional, but creativity wins people’s hearts.

5. Try Other Photography Niches.

If you are stuck with a particular photography type, it is high time you moved on. You can explore the trending and most selling photography options.

  • Getting involved in wedding photography to promote yourself.
  • Club photography can spice your selling point. Also, you are likely to meet potential customers at this place.
  • Try real estate photography and get yourself rich gigs. Housing and estate are the fastest selling industries in the world today.
  • Collaborate with a real estate agent or interior designer and get your works out there.

Summary

Your personality determines the best-selling point for you as a photographer. For instance, serving under another photographer, allows you to build your portfolio. Also, being a good photography teacher can fetch you some money. Gather interested students, and use the referral approach to attract customers and sell your works.