Digital BrandingLegal Branding

Five Key Takeaways for Building a Customer Portal in 2019

on October 1, 2019

Andrea Pretorian manages content at BitIRA, where for the past year she’s been leading efforts to get women more involved in crypto and blockchain. When she’s not crusading to empower people with knowledge, she’s likely firing up her camera or learning to play drums. She’s prepared this awesome article below to help you build a better customer experience and scale your business:

Building rapport with prospects is a critical step on the way to conversion, but it’s just important to maintain—if not, develop—relationships with existing customers.

In our world of cryptocurrency IRAs, we have to tackle a healthy dose of lingering skepticism. Alongside the public’s knowledge of the wild west days of early crypto, some reservations may from a thirst for more information surrounding retirement savings and investment options. But the nuances of these specific needs betray the same central problem every business faces: retention, which in turn relies on keeping customers satisfied and engaged.

Earlier this year, we released our My BitIRA portal to give our customers 24/7 access to their accounts. We were strategic about how exactly we went about doing this.

1. Listen to what your audience asks for.

Ask your customers for feedback. This can be a quick online survey you share with your audience or even a brief add-on to a phone call. Offer up a few quick ratings to gauge where you most need to grow, and then end with an open-ended question.

It became clear that our users wanted to be able to check their account information 24-7, as well as flexibly initiate transactions. We knew that these two features were vital to our portal, which we then built to center around them.

2. Know when to say no.

Listening to your customers is extremely important, but this is only true when you also remember that your business is the industry expert. While you should meet your customers’ needs, it is also your job to remain the authority and to serve your customers with best practices. They are paying in part for your expertise, and so it is your responsibility to wield it towards their best interests.

Practically this often means saying no to some requests. It’s a good idea, whenever possible, to shed light on why and to turn this into a learning moment for your public. In fact, a lot of strong brand product and messaging relies on this.

For us, there were some features that wouldn’t have made sense within the portal because they could compromise security or lead to complications. We have to be protective of the process behind transactions in order to make sure that our customers continue to receive the service and security that they expect.

3. Use design to translate your product.

As you dig into the feedback on what your customers want, you will find that specific themes and trends emerge. These should inform not just what you build, but they should also guide how you design and explain it. Great features and applications of your product can go missing if you do not explain them in a way that makes sense.

Our cryptocurrency IRA customers said that they wanted more control over their accounts. We created our portal to grant customers access to their accounts at any time of the day along with the ability to launch transactions and read curated news content. We saw an opportunity to give our customers a level of transparency that translates into more control over their retirement—which is just what they were looking for.

4. Go where the people are.

How is your audience actually engaging with your brand and your products? Knowing as much as you can about the platforms and devices they are using—and even sometimes demographic information including age and geography—can help you optimize their experience. The easier it is for users to engage with you, the more likely they will continue to choose you over the competition.

For us, knowing that 40%—or almost half—of our users were on mobile devices, we knew that we needed to make our portal mobile-friendly. We designed it to be efficient and easy-to-navigate on both desktop and mobile so that all of our users could have the most positive experience possible.

5. Stay true to your values.

As you work to build solutions to meet customer needs, make sure you always stay true to your core brand values. Being very aware of these during the entire design and execution process will keep your voice consistent and your offerings strong.

Security is a top concern and value for us. As we designed this portal, we focused on making sure that we not only built a secure platform but also subjected it to rigorous quality control checks and heavy testing. While we continue to add more functionality to it, it was—and remains—important that our users know, first and foremost, that we are following industry best practices to protect their security.

While the release of this portal has been a critical step forward, we’re always looking to see what new features and strengths we can add to our products. Our customers are on the path of growing their retirement savings with us, but we’re on the path of growing with our customers and our industry.

After all, at the end of the day, it is the commitment to growth and action that sets apart successful brands from the rest of the pack.

Digital Branding

5 Home Office Productivity Hacks You Can Start Using Right Now

on September 29, 2019

Working from home is considered “the dream” for most people. Some companies even offer to telecommute, giving their employees this is an added benefit. However, there are a lot of instances where productivity can actually go down due to poor office design and planning. 

Today, we are going to focus on five home office productivity hacks that you can start using right now. In fact, there is a good chance that you will not have to spend anything extra to become more productive and more creative in your home office.

Are you ready to see what can be done RIGHT NOW?

1. Turn Off Your Cell Phone

We have become extremely engrossed with our cell phones. We get onto our kids for using them all day long and then we do the exact same thing (just at work). So, turn your cell phone off.

Do not check the messenger. Do not play games on it. Do not look for a new outfit. Do not look for new toys. All of this can be done on your break or whenever you are done with your work for the day. If your cell phone is your work phone, set it across the room and only answer it when it is a phone call (no text messages).

2. Change The Ergonomics

Ergonomics is a broad term used in a plethora of ways. Today, we want to focus on your body and office space. You need to make sure that you have a chair with proper support and height for your body to sit comfortably. Also, the chair should have wheels so that you can move back and forth quickly. According to 10Desks.com, your desk should be high enough that your arms rest comfortably at close to a 90° angle. However, your desk should not be so large that you have to reach across it to get to your keyboard or other devices.

When considering office design, place your trash away from your desk giving you a reason to get up and move every now and again. Do not bring drinks and/or food to your desk, instead leave them in another room where you need to get up and move. Again, you should find a way to stay mobile throughout the day – this is extremely important.

3. Take Breaks

Another office productivity hack that you can use right now is taking breaks. There is no way you can work eight hours straight and be productive. Sure, you might be able to pull it off for a day or two, but it will wear you out over time.

Breaks give your mind the ability to rest, making it easier to focus and complete tasks. There are numerous recommendations on the amount of time you should work between breaks, with the most common being a 45/15 schedule. On this schedule, you would work for 45 minutes and then take a break for 15 minutes. There are other schedules as well such as the 55/5, the 40/20, and the 50/10 (x4) + 40/20. As we said, there are plenty of schedules to work with; find one that works for you.

4. Save Easy Tasks For The End Of The Day

Most people like to knock out the easy stuff first. However, it is best to focus on the tasks that are hardest first as you are the most alert and/or productive when you start working. Basically, save your mindless jobs for the end of the day.

For instance, instead of waiting until the end of the day to finish that four-page report, knock it out first; this can help in two ways. First, you will not be stressed out trying to get everything done before your deadline/time to clock out. And secondly, you will be able to take it easy for the rest of the day while you knock out the smaller/easier tasks. In fact, you could even take it a step further and work on some of tomorrow’s harder projects if you have the time and/or energy.

5. Leave The Office Early (Sometimes)

And finally, make sure that you do not get “stuck in a rut” per se. A lot of employees get overwhelmed with monotonous tasks in the long, drawn-out hours. Instead of getting burned out, make sure to leave early on Friday (if all of your work is finished or can be delayed).

Now, we are not suggesting that you only work for one or two hours. Instead, we are suggesting that you leave at three or four o’clock instead of five. While this may seem insignificant, it can rejuvenate your mind as well as increase the time you can spend with friends and family.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, all of these office productivity hacks are free/cheap. And, they can all be implemented today or by the end of this week. If you have been struggling with keeping up with your deadlines while working from home, these five tips should help you tremendously in getting back on task.

Local Branding

Latest Workout Trends – Train Like a Celebrity

on September 29, 2019

Celebrities care a lot about their personal appearance and health, which is precisely why most of them engage in various types of workouts to maintain their good looks. Obviously, the things they do work amazingly, and luckily for the rest of us, it’s not impossible to learn more about the workout trends and gear that celebs tend to swear by! If you want to get in shape just like someone from the red carpet, definitely consider the following options.

1. Boxing classes

You might not have expected to see boxing on this list, but this particular activity seems to be all the rage among the popular crowd. Essentially, practicing boxing with a partner or boxing bag is a great way to stay in shape, carve out the muscles, and boost one’s strength. It’s not just about how hard you can hit but strengthen your core as well together with your legs and overall posture. Boxing also leads to improved flexibility and coordination, which is something both celebrities and the rest of the world can always benefit from.

2. Dance cardio

Keep in mind that celebrities are also human, and just like the rest of us, they can get bored after a while when it comes to the same workout routine. This is precisely why more and more celebs, runway models included, opt to spice things up with a dance cardio workout. As you probably already know, cardio is amazing for toning the body and shedding excess weight. And if you want to bring fun into this particular workout, dancing is definitely the right way to do so. The combination of different moves and music is bound to make this sweat parade more enjoyable for everyone and not just celebrities.

3. Home gyms and workouts

As you can imagine, not all celebrities have the time or desire to leave their home in order to get their body in shape, when they can do the same in the comfort of their own home. Of course, you probably think that it’s easy for them to fit a gym inside their huge cribs, which is probably true, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most out of your own place if you dislike going to actual gyms and other workout centers. With an exercise mat, a couple of weights, an exercise ball, and a jumping rope you can achieve a lot, especially when following instructions from fitness videos. You can also save space with one of the most popular celebrity trends nowadays when exercise gear is concerned and get a whole-body vibration machine which provides more results in less time for a lower cost.

4. Running

There’s nothing new or special about running in order to get in shape and tone your body,\ but it’s still one of the most popular workout trends in the celebrity circles. After all, this is a simple exercise that you can do wherever and still get a complete body workout from it. Not to mention that running improves your mood, strengthens your joints, and can effectively increase your energy levels and motivation for whatever you have planned to do next. However, celebrities always find a way to make things more posh, even if we are talking about something as ordinary as running. That said, if you want to up the effect of your physical effort, you might want to consider using one of the latest celebrity workout trends during your jog, and put on cumulative resistance bands.

5. Aerial fitness

If regular aerobics just isn’t exciting enough for you, don’t feel bad – neither is it for the celebs. And if you enjoy a bit of adrenaline rush, why not make flying a part of your fitness routine, just like many celebrities are doing? Thanks to aerial fitness, you can shape and tone your body by performing workouts in the air, hanging from the ribbons suspended from the ceiling. It might be a bit more challenging than what you’re used to, but if your goal is to get a celeb-like hot bod and to simply add more excitement to your workout routine, definitely consider aerial fitness.

We spend so much time following the lives of our favorite celebrities on social media, which has become a norm in this day and age. With that being the case, why not focus more on the things they do for their great looks as well?

Digital Branding

5 Ways to Scale Your Content Marketing Campaign

on September 27, 2019

Struggling to scale your content marketing campaigns past where they are right now? You’re in the right place. It’s easy to get started in content marketing, but it can be tough to get past campaign bottlenecks.

Results slow down and it’s common to become demotivated. Today we’ll be teaching you how to grow your content marketing efforts so they generate more traffic and leads for your business if you continue reading.

Take an omnichannel approach to distribution

What’s your main channel for reaching customers through content? Is it your blog? YouTube channel? Podcast? No matter what platform you focus on, there’s one simple thing you can do to instantly improve the performance of content campaigns: use other channels.

It seems simple, right? You’d be surprised how many companies forget to expand onto other platforms despite it being so easy. 

Let’s say that you have been growing your business through a blog, for example. You could begin producing videos for YouTube and podcast episodes for iTunes. It’s free to reach and brand awareness at no extra cost besides your time.

This brings us to our next point.

Repurpose your content into different formats

Being on many different platforms is efficient, but do you know what’s more efficient? Repurposing content.

This is the process of taking one piece of content and reformatting it into different types. Most of the work is already done for you as you simply have to turn it into a different format.

You should be taking your content and turning it into the major content types, such as:

  • Blog posts
  • Videos
  • Podcast episodes
  • Slideshows
  • Infographics
  • Social media posts

Hire more content writers

Blogging is one of the most common strategies within content marketing as you turn your website into a content hub that attracts visitors directly to your own platform.

Some of the best marketers like Neil Patel and HubSpot produce several long-form pieces of content every day. How often are you publishing?

Don’t worry if it’s not as often as them because they have one thing many businesses don’t which is a large team of content creators.

One of the secrets of scaling content marketing campaigns that they understand is to simply grow your team. If you have more people able to blog, do outreach, create social media graphics, and other content marketing tasks, campaigns explode much faster.

You should consider using freelance writing job boards like ProBlogger that are designed for finding talented writers.

Invest in content marketing tools

You can do everything by hand in marketing, but that will require a fair amount of elbow grease. You’ll be working harder, not smarter. Businesses can scale campaigns while being more time efficient by investing in content marketing tools.

These web apps and software help with outreach, discovering content ideas and keeping tabs on the competition.

One tool that is very popular in the digital marketing community is BuzzSumo. The free version allows you to find the most viral content in any industry which is great for producing fresh and relevant content.

Learn to do industry outreach

Creating relationships in your industry and leveraging their audiences is one of the most effective content marketing strategies to date. It’s also a great way to scale any campaign as you quickly broaden your reach.

Industry outreach begins with narrowing down websites that share a similar audience and topics. You can do this by using Google queries like:

  • Keyword + “blog”
  • Keyword + “service”
  • Keyword + “magazine”

Visit their website and look for contact information on the contact page or via the footer. Once you have their email, organize it into a spreadsheet.

Begin sending customized emails to each prospect via your email provider or a CRM. Introduce yourself and send them a high quality piece of content you produced which you believe their audience could benefit from. Ask if they’d be willing to give you feedback or share it.

The best part about his technique is that you don’t need a ton of conversions to see drastic improvements in performance. Getting your content shared by a few sites can produce big traffic jumps.

Wrapping up content marketing scaling

Content marketing is crucial for the success of any modern business. It helps attract leads to you naturally, build trust with customers, and turns your brand into an authority. However, scaling campaigns is a tough obstacle.

You can ramp up your campaigns by first expanding onto more channels and repurposing existing content into different formats.

Businesses can also hire more content creators to produce more content on a regular basis and use tools to automate processes.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of connecting with industry influencers to share your content.

Combining all of these strategies will help you scale your content campaigns to reach a wider audience and drive better results.

About the author

Carmine Mastropierro is a copywriter who has written for Neil Patel, GoDaddy, Smart Insights, and other popular publications. He helps businesses generate traffic and leads through copywriting.

Digital BrandingLegal BrandingPersonal Branding

3 Ways to Increase Brand Awareness with Content Marketing

on September 26, 2019

What measures the success of a business? Without a doubt, the number of sales and revenues are pretty clear indicators. However, those are not the only things you should keep track of as a business owner. The way you interact with the masses is often much more critical.

No matter what service or product you offer, it can be rather challenging to encourage your potential clients to buy it if they have no idea who you are. That brings us to another indicator of success – brand awareness.

Let’s face the truth, increasing awareness is not as easy as riding a bike downhill. As a rule, positive changes don’t happen overnight. It is a long-term goal that can be reached through consistent actions and a well thought-through strategy.

Now, let’s look at some common techniques that businesses use to reach this goal:

  • SEO;
  • Advertising;
  • Branded packaging;
  • Effective use of corporate social media accounts.

Each of these techniques can potentially help you in this endeavor. However, some of them may not suit everyone due to high costs or other issues.

Are there any alternatives? Luckily, there is another way to reach the goal. Content marketing is one of the best ways to increase brand awareness and, in this article, we are going to tell you about some of the most effective ways to alert potential customers through delivering high-quality content!

source: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/content-word-wooden-background_4973634.htm#page=1&query=content&position=14

Content Marketing for Brand Awareness

The key to success is a solid strategy that considers your company’s spirit, the needs of your target audience, and a bunch of other factors. Another vital thing is the quality of the content itself. If it’s not written well, the chances of success will be much lower. Thus, if you have never done anything like that before, you might want to get some help from a professional writing essay service or freelance specialist.

This technique is much different from traditional advertising that focuses on bringing one-time profit. Unlike it, content marketing focuses on what really matters. It delivers relevant, compelling, and value-adding content that establishes your authoritative voice notifies people about you and eventually grows your customer base.

As you can see, content marketing is not much about selling stuff, it is about adding value, and it really works! How to get your content marketing strategy off the ground and succeed? Here are some of the best ways to do this:

Newsletters

For decades, marketers and businesses were using email as a primary channel for advertising and marketing. Today, despite the broad availability of alternative channels, email still remains widely used.

Email newsletters are great for keeping your customers engaged and increasing brand awareness. Such newsletters can share news, give valuable tips, deliver new and relevant information, and even offer free services/products.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  • Make sure it is valuable, relevant, and engaging;
  • Create an eye-catching topic to make the customers want to open your letter and read it;
  • Include contact details and links;
  • Engage potential clients in friendly, personable, and encouraging conversation.

If you follow these tips, you will create excellent newsletters that will help to keep your company at the forefront of customer’s minds, so be sure to try this method!

Blog

Running a company’s blog is another effective way to empower your content marketing strategy and increase brand awareness.

As a matter of fact, having a corporate blog can give you plenty of benefits if you approach it wisely. Thus, if you still don’t have one, be sure to change this as soon as possible!

Have no clue where to start? Here are a few ideas on how to build your brand through the corporate blog:

  • Choose topics that are interesting and relevant to your audience;
  • Make sure that each article brings real value;
  • Don’t hesitate to adopt some SEO techniques to make your articles more visible on the Web, but don’t get too hard on it;
  • Deliver unique content.

These tips should help you create an excellent blog that grows customers’ awareness and trust. Also, be sure to check out what your competitors deliver to their clients. This can help you get on the right track and grasp the general idea of what works well.

Social Media

Finally, building a brand is possible with various social media channels. Today, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have already become viral tools for marketing, advertising, interaction with the audience, and other goals.

source: https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/new-idea-creative-concept-business-woman-hand-holding-light-bulb_2752038.htm#page=1&query=brand%20awareness&position=13

Wrapping Up

Businesses have discovered the benefits of social media and use them to accomplish their ultimate goals. It is another effective way to grow brand awareness with the help of high-quality content, so be sure to try it!

Digital Branding

5 Design Hacks that Cannot be Ignored by UX Designers

on September 26, 2019

If you are designing a website for a small business, then the main purpose of the site would be to improve conversions. While a well-optimized site with the help of enterprise SEO can attract more audience to the page, if the website is not designed for a good user experience then the conversions may fail.

Building a user-friendly website has some basic rules to be followed but many times designers get indulged in implementing complicated designs while they forget simple design parameters hence, we have highlighted those design hacks below that cannot be skipped while designing a UX website.

1. Include Microcopy

While providing any online forms which has blank fields that need to be filled, many users do not understand the format in which it needs to be filled, hence the submission may fail. For example, if the field says ‘card number’, you would assume that the user would be aware of it but you never know who is visiting the site and may be new to this hence providing an example of how the card number looks like will help them fill-in the fields easily. Similarly, if you are asking them to fill phone number, make it clear that the field only accepts numbers and no alphabets. Instructions will make sure that users find it easy to fill the form and can go through the process smoothly.

2. Provide Previews

Providing the writer’s and the website owners with a preview option is just not questionable as it makes it clear how the blog post or the page will look when published. Text editor does not really give a complete idea of how the page looks until previewed hence make sure to add the preview option in your design for ease of use by the site author. If such options are not included, broken or under-optimized pages will cause negative user experience hence adding preview will help author’s edit the page after checking the preview for a better user experience.

3. Allow Editing After Submission

Another important website design element which cannot be ignored is providing an editing option to the audience when they post a comment or submit a registration form. Users are skeptical to click on the save button as they do not wish to submit a form or comment with an error.  Also, let the users know by adding it below the form that they can make the required changes in the form which will encourage them to take immediate action.

4. Re-Confirmation Before Submission

Many times you take certain actions which you may regret later, for example closing a page without saving the changes made hence in such a scenario, add double confirmation by asking questions like, ‘Are you sure you want to close the window without saving it?’, this will avoid any errors in submission.

5. Giving Submission Confirmation

A confirmation pop-up as soon as someone saves a form or subscribes is also important as, if nothing happens then the user will not know if the form got submitted or not. A confirmation will make it clear that the form has been submitted and you can also show the users some gratitude for taking the time to fill in the form.

Another important design technique is to show a message that, ‘you have already subscribed’ to the users who have filled the form previously so that they do not double submit it.

Conclusion

These design rules may seem basic, but it is something which a UX designer cannot ignore as simple solutions like these will make accessing the site much smoother by the users and that is what you intend in the first place.

Digital Branding

7 Basic Digital Marketing Terms You Need To Know

on September 25, 2019

Digital marketing has revolutionized the way the business industry operates. It has done so by ignoring the benefits of traditional methods and taking advantage of the endless benefits that the internet brings. More specifically, it has reversed the way the business industry works in a way that no one expected. In many ways, given how this field has been in such a short amount of time, it’s safe to assume that there will never be another industry tactic as effective as it. Even better, it was designed so that the average everyday business owner can understand the platforms and take advantage of them. With all of that being said, it may come as a surprise to see how many people can’t even get a grip of the simplest digital terms that are needed to get the fullest effect. Without knowing so much as a simple definition, it’s difficult to get the most out of digital strategies such as paid advertisement and search engine optimization which can get technical in some areas. In extreme cases, not knowing some of these terms can do more harm to a campaign than good. While knowing these terms can’t guarantee success for your campaign, at the very least, it will give you a heads up on the competition. With this in mind, let’s go over seven basic digital terms you need to know.

#1: Return On Investment(ROI)

One of the most important digital terms to understand is Return On Investment. Otherwise known as ROI, knowing this term will allow you to structure the rest of your campaign with efficiency. More importantly, it holds more weight than people realize. Apart from a campaign, this is a golden business term every business owner needs to know to be successful. It’s a simple term that allows you to simplify your business. Overall, the business lesson this term teaches you is to earn more money than you invest.

#2: Return On Ad Spend(ROAS)

Not to be confused with Return On Investment, Return On Ad Spend is a separate term that has to do more with online strategies than business as opposed to the other way around. Also known as ROAS, this term is similar to ROI in that it deals with figuring out a way to see a higher return on the amount you invest. The only difference is that ROAS has to do with the amount of money that is invested in ads. More than anything, this term provides a more detailed analysis that the broader ROI term does.

#3: A/B Split Testing

On the technical side of a campaign, it’s hard to find a term that is more important than A/B Split Testing. This term teaches you what is arguably the most important rule in the field, test everything. However, it is usually associated with testing different ad copy as a way to find the best performing one.

#4: Remarketing

Another important technical term you need to know is Remarketing. Quite self-explanatory, this term deals with the strategy of sending new ads to potential clients who might have been lost within your sales funnel.

#5: Quality Score

Quality score is a determining performance factor of your ads and other similar contributors. However, it is one of the most controversial terms in the entire field. It’s controversial in that no one knows exactly what it takes to receive a higher score. All there is to go buy are the guidance tips that Google gives.

#6: Bounce Rate

Given how important a website is to implement any digital strategy, a term you will need to know is Bounce Rate. This term shows how long a website visitor stays on a page before they leave. It’s an important metric term in that it shows you what web pages can be optimized to perform better.

#7: Call To Action

Perhaps the most important digital term to know is a Call To Action. This term is important in that it entails virtually every part of the field. From website content, website pages, and ad copy, this term will remind you to always keep the client in mind.

Legal Branding

5 Tips to Increase Productivity in the Workplace

on September 24, 2019

Assuming that the motivation of your employees is their own personal thing that every one of them has to resolve on their own is not just lazy but also quite counterproductive and inefficient. Sure, some people are determined on slacking and there’s nothing you can do about it, however, the majority of your employees are just looking for slightly better work conditions in order to unleash their full potential. Fortunately, with just a couple of tricks on your side, you can make your workplace productivity skyrocket. Here are five such tricks.

1. Restructure your team

The first thing you need to understand is the fact that there are some people who, although decent employees, just don’t work well with others. While their performance might not falter, they might often get into arguments with their coworkers or do other things that make the performance of people around them go down. While firing these people (after identifying them first, of course) would be the simplest solution, in the digital environment, you might have a more humane alternative. Simply allow these people to work from home as telecommuters and you’ll do everyone a favor without having to fire anyone.

2. Show appreciation

When it comes to motivating your employees, all you can do as an employer is show some appreciation for the effort that they’re investing. While some may immediately think about promotions and raises, these aren’t great solutions to this problem. Sure, you give one promotion and motivate them for a couple of days, weeks or months. Still, what do you do the next time they’re in the same spot? Promote them again? Realistically speaking, how often do you expect you can do such a thing? The same thing goes with giving one a raise. Therefore, you need to look for alternative ways of demonstrating appreciation.

3. Minimize distractions

Another thing you can do to boost productivity in the workplace is to minimize the number of distractions that your employees are exposed to. First of all, you should give every person in your employ enough personal space and do as much as you can to make the room soundproof. For instance, you can order rugs online in order to lower the volume of foot traffic across the room, thus making the place both quieter and more serene. Other than this, you can also invest in some silent peripherals like noise-canceling earphones and silent keyboards. This way, you give your entire team a significant boost.

4. Ownership of the workplace

The next thing you need to do is make everyone feel like the company in question is their own. In theory, this means that you should give them some shares in the company, however, there are a couple of ways you can do this even without undergoing such trouble. For instance, by giving them more responsibility or a chance to customize their work hours, you may ensure that your employees take you more seriously. Apart from this, the method of allowing them to work from home (which is something that we’ve already discussed) can be seen as a major reward for some of your employees.

5. Help them out

The last thing you need to understand is the fact that it’s basic human nature to care for your own wellbeing first and then worry about others. Each of your employees is primarily concerned with their own income, job stability and career path. Provided that you can satisfy these three basic needs, it’s completely realistic that you expect optimal productivity in return. If you can just show them how giving their best is in their own interest, you’ll already ensure that your business is in a much better position. For instance, by telling them how good their participation on a major project would look in their resume, you can easily make them want to volunteer for it.

Conclusion

As you can see, all of these methods are fairly simple and their effect on the productivity of your staff is quite self-explanatory. Just keep in mind that motivation isn’t always an intrinsic thing. Sometimes, suitable short-term rewards, work environment and even coworkers may have a strong psychological impact on one’s abilities and motivation. Fortunately, all of these things are something that you, as an entrepreneur, have direct control over.

Personal Branding

How to Revive the Best 90s Fashion Trends

on September 23, 2019

The 90s were, it’s safe to say, a weird time for fashion. If you were a kid in the 90s, you probably remember all the staples – some embarrassing, some amazing, but all of them secretly still with a place in your heart. Well, if you’re longing for the good old days of the 90s, don’t fret! Some of the faves are coming back into style, so you can go dust off the stuff from your childhood closet because we are bringing the crazy-colored freestyle back!

Birkenstocks

When we were kids, we really never paid attention to the shoes our moms made us wear, and later, we somehow convinced ourselves that Birks with socks are totally cool. No matter how you feel about the styling, there’s no denying that the trend is back and Birks are now a trend that is sweeping us off our feet once again. They are objectively very comfy shoes and they are particularly popular for vacations and other touristy activities because you can literally walk for hours in them and they will compliment every casual, street outfit. If you want to really push the limit, you already know that crazy-printed socks are popular now, so go on and slip them underneath to really be a trend-setter.

Mom jeans

Remember when we would literally take the jeans from our moms and wear them even though we never had the hips to fill up the denim? Well, mom jeans are definitely in again with the rise of casual street fashion. You can pull off such an effortless everyday outfit by wearing some mom jeans with sneakers, a T-shirt cropped or tied at the waist, and a bandana around your head to really channel the mom style. But, if you want to be dressier, don’t be afraid to glam it up. Put on a pair of heels, a party top and you are ready to hit the club. Word of advice: keep the bandana to keep with the same energy.

Chokers

Oh, the edgy beginnings of our rebel years. Everyone had a choker, whether it was a DIY from an old piece of cloth or lace, or whether you bought a “real one” made of velvet and with proper clasps. Chokers fizzled out for a long while, only being worn by people who wanted to express a more edgy or goth part of them. But today, they are back in a big style and you can find them everywhere. They were definitely an LA staple back in the day, but you can now find the best choker necklace in Australia and all over the world. If you want to stay away from looking goth, go with something that isn’t black – a soft color like pastel pink will do the trick just fine.

Fanny packs

These were so incredibly practical and who was it that said they weren’t cool anymore?! Well, they did, and fanny packs literally died for a good decade. But now they are back and my God is there a big debate around them. Most people who have a problem with the comeback of fanny packs are just complaining about the way they are worn. Tossing them around your shoulder like a quiver doesn’t do anything to flatter your figure. Just wear them around your waist or hips like they were intended to be worn and everyone will be happy.

Scrunchies

Your hair will no longer have to suffer the tight grip of elastics – spiral or otherwise. The original, fabric-covered scrunchies that were amazing both for your hair and as a bracelet are now back in style and people with long hair everywhere are rejoicing. Do keep in mind that scrunchies aren’t exactly discreet, so make sure you are matching them to your outfit and rocking hairstyles that work well with an exposed tie. You might want to stock up on them while they’re popular because they might go out of style and out of stock soon.

So whether you’re a 90s’ baby longing for your youth or just a gen Z who wants to experiment with styles that are from previous eras, these styles are great for everyone, and if you’re nervous about going all out and trying something big – start with a scrunchie and learn about sustainable fashion.      

Local Branding

Learn About the Benefits of Outdoor Adventures

on September 16, 2019

As a parent, it is your responsibility to expose your family to the gift of nature. Children love outdoor activities; introducing them to refreshing activities can have a lifelong impact on them. Allow them to have various experiences with nature so that they can share stories, have aspirations, and learn first hand about natural sites and mechanisms. You can enjoy nature through the following activities that will not only help you explore endless bounties, but also discover new vibes in yourself:

Choose Your Travel Destinations Easily

When it comes to outdoor activities, a few things, if taken care of in advance, can make your travel much easier and enjoyable. For instance, getting your camping spot ahead of time. There isn’t a greater feeling than driving straight into your campground and knowing you have your own spot waiting for you. You can get set up your camping spot and then set out for strenuous activities planned for the day.

You might find navigating on the web and on the road both dreadful. But now, software such as campground reservation software from Astra makes camping so much easier. This software was built to help campground owners and campers in various ways when it comes to campground properties. It has made the following features instant: searching, reservations, online booking, and property management. This is done by integrating them all into a single program. Astra makes interactions between campground owners very convenient. It also helps streamline important processes with strong accounting and financial capabilities. It allows users to view and manage campground availability by map and grid.

The fast-paced world you live in today has made certain processes less time-consuming. Almost everything is undergoing changes in favor of going instant. This explains why automation is important. It saves businesses time and helps them operate with greater efficiency. With less human errors and improved interactions with customers, business owners aspire to generate higher revenues.

Fishing

Fishing has traditionally been a big part of American culture. It is a family activity enjoyed by adults and children alike. Introducing your children to fishing is important as it can teach them some great techniques such as casting a line, preparing the bait, and reeling in the fish. A fishing trip is ultimately full of lessons as children get to learn and operate fishing equipment, they learn to be patient as they sit and wait for the fish to pull on their fishing cable, and they learn nautical terminology and the basic functions of the boat. Not to mention, the whole process of reeling in fish and cooking it for dinner carries a strong message that hard work pays off.

Hiking

Hiking is a good way to connect your family with the outside world so that they can get past the tech addiction and experience actual obstacles and learn how to get past them. Hiking is a combination of struggles and adventures. It teaches you how to push your limits, reach your goals, and taste the fruit of your hard work. Alongside, the beauty of mountains, hilltops, and trees fills your eyes with dazzle. You develop skills like climbing, setting your pace, testing your stamina and learning how to bypass hurdles. Hiking is an opportunity that teaches you how to look after your loved ones too. You stick together as you climb higher and higher.

Kayaking

Kayaking is a perfect way to get to know a beautiful mountain lake. Kayaking also proves a good way to introduce children to the water at an early point in life. As for older children, they not only get to paddle around the lake, learn how to navigate in tough conditions, but they also get to jump into the water at various points and swim around. In addition, you can bring the elderly family members along with you and enjoy the trip as you build beautiful memories. Kayaking is suitable for people of all ages.

Sight-seeing

Sightseeing is a highly inclusive activity that proves to be interesting and enriching. Visiting tourist spots like museums, monuments, and national parks help you learn a great about facts. You acquire tons of information and terminology that adds to your general knowledge. Likewise, your children also get the opportunity to explore what they have mostly just read in textbooks. Sightseeing broadens your horizon and gives you a new perspective on many things.

Camping

Camping helps remove fear from children’s minds, which is the first step towards building self-confidence in them. The highly competitive world requires children to learn and develop socially by taking risks, thinking straight, and resolving problems. To do so, exposure to settings that are outside their comfort zone is necessary. Taking them to camp helps them learn survival tips such as setting up a tent and gathering firewood. They also get good exercise from hiking and climbing. As children camp in beautiful, serene locations they get to test their strengths, discover their weaknesses and fears, and develop a strong interest in the real world.

With campground software and plenty of things to do, you are ready to begin your adventure in the great outdoors. You had better get packed—nature is waiting!

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