As the world continues to evolve, develop and change, there will always be a need for entrepreneurship to provide the products, tools and services that meet the demands of the consumer. That’s why a list of new business ideas can never be complete, there’ll always be new things added to it, new niches and new areas where investment dollars flock to.
Whether you’re a business owner looking to invest in a niche, or you’re a corporate worker looking to leave traditional employment and seek a career that’s more on your terms, you can find new opportunities in the countless industries that are growing tremendously. Here are 4 you should be paying attention to.
Cryptocurrency
The world of finance and money is going through a huge disruption thanks to the rise of cryptocurrency. This is set to keep growing and expanding as more and more people adopt the currency, and as it becomes ruled as transactional tender in everyday purchases. This huge potential for growth is great news for entrepreneurs who want to get involved in this space. From education to just investing in cryptocurrency, there are many ways you can build an incredible business in this influential space.
Real Estate Investing
Real estate remains the best way to build passive wealth, and right now is the perfect time to start building your own long-term portfolio. Many people who really want to escape the 9 to 5 trap and truly build a business start with real estate. You don’t have to have a whole lot of money to get started – there are many creative capital-raising strategies that can provide the initial investment that you need.
That includes borrowing money on an existing asset, raising money from your social circle, or building a relationship with smaller, local banks. The wisest way to invest is to buy-and-hold for the long-term so you can see a large increase in your initial investment.
Ecommerce Businesses
As the saying goes, “when there’s a gold rush, sell shovels”. At this moment in time, one of the most lucrative business opportunities is in ecommerce. Creating an ecommerce company is easier than ever today. Finding manufacturers, wholesalers, and dropshippers isn’t as complicated as you might think. And furthermore, setting up a website is easier than ever, and if you design with ecommerce merchandising in mind, you can create a great user experience.
For people interested in building their own businesses, this is probably one of the best times in history to make it happen. There’s so much happening in the world of technology and every single day, it carves out new opportunities and ways of making money.
You can very easily take advantage of all this and build your own brand and reputation. If you have some great ideas, you can start gathering the knowledge you need or even start building a team that can help you start building the foundational pieces of your business. Entrepreneurs are a very important part of moving humanity forward and improving the products and services we rely on every day. If you decide to take on this awesome responsibility, you can create a great life for yourself. Keep in mind that how you structure your business is a fundamental part of starting an e-commerce company. Depending on your products, services or objectives this may vary completely.
Artificial Intelligence
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a rise in the use of AI, and this is set to continue on an upward trajectory. That’s because AI technology has the potential to improve so many areas of human life. AI can be used to make retail better, it can help serve consumers with exactly what they need. There are so many ways you can get involved in this space if you have the technological chops or a really great idea to make the industry better.
4 Fast-Growing Industries to Start a Business In was last modified: April 14th, 2022 by Scott Fluent
If you intend to open an online store, you will soon find yourself looking for a good B2B eCommerce platform. But before you get started, you need to understand that there are multiple online portals to choose from. Even though they are somewhat standardized, their features and functionality tend to vary.
Moreover, businesses have different needs. A platform that is perfect for a beauty shop may not be the right one for an electronics shop. As you begin your hunt for a great B2B eCommerce platform, this is what you should look for;
Scalability
Most online enterprises start small. During the early stages, a simple online portal may work well and be incredibly convenient and easy to choose. However, the needs of the business change as it grows.
Before you launch your business, you need to have an idea of how much you’d want it to develop. Maybe you want to serve thousands of customers. Investing in a B2B eCommerce platform that is scalable highly advisable.
With the right lead generation software at your disposal, you can attract and manage a growing customer base effectively, ensuring your business scales smoothly as demand increases.
The bottom line is that you should look for an eCommerce platform that will grow your business.
Customizable
Online businesses evolve. Yours will not be an exception. As your business begins to serve more customers or clients, you will need to keep improving the customer experience. Clients might give some feedback in regards to areas of improvement or other valuable add-ons. If your online portal is somewhat rigid, making the necessary improvements may not be possible.
Choosing a customizable B2B eCommerce platform for your business from the get-go helps you adapt to changes. You can check this site out for more ideas.
Mobile Ready
Today, many consumers prefer using their mobile phones to order online. They like the convenience of purchasing products from the comfort of their homes, while on the go, and so on. A mobile-friendly portal allows them to shop hassle-free.
A mobile-ready eCommerce platform for your online enterprise will quickly endear your brand to your prospects. Since many people use their phones to search for products online, they’ll find you easily. This will help you grow your sales and brand.
Advanced and Search Navigation
Have you ever searched for a specific product from an online shop without success? The chances are that you gave up and looked elsewhere. Your clients might easily do the same if your online portal is not well designed or lacks easy searching and navigation.
An efficient search function allows your site visitors to find the items they want quickly. It is one of the features of a B2B eCommerce platform that you should not overlook.
Business people shaking hands in a meeting room
Simple Order Flow
Some B2B e-commerce portals are complex. This makes the buying process slow and tedious. What is more, is that there is massive competition in the online shopping space. Customers want a simple order flow, which allows them to purchase products quickly and easily. An online portal that’s too complicated can easily lead to a loss of business.
It is crucial to interact with the platform of your choice before buying it. Ensure that it is easy to navigate for your prospects.
If you’ve read this post carefully, you should now be aware of what you need to run a successful online enterprise.
What to Look for in a B2B Ecommerce Platform was last modified: October 14th, 2024 by Bailey Merton
Lawyers are under a lot of pressure to stay up to date with technology to provide the best possible service to their clients. While some larger firms may afford to have a dedicated information technology (IT) staff, most smaller firms rely on their lawyers to be tech-savvy. In addition to helping lawyers stay connected with their clients, modern technology can also help lawyers stay organized and efficient.
Here are some ways that a lawyer’s office can use modern technology to improve its performance:
1. Use Cloud-Based Storage and Software
Cloud-based storage and software allow lawyers to access files and applications from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection. Most legal firms use Clio for solo practicing lawyer software to make their lives easier. This can be helpful for lawyers who need to work from home or on the go. In addition, cloud-based storage can help lawyers save money on office space and hardware. One benefit of cloud storage is that it can help lawyers securely store and share confidential files. For example, a law firm could use a cloud-based storage service to share case files with opposing counsel.
2. Use Online Conferencing Tools to Meet with Clients
Whenever a client gets into legal disputes, they need a lot of engagement to understand their rights, especially those not conversant with the law. With the help of online conferencing tools, a lawyer can easily have face-to-face meetings with their clients from anywhere in the world.
Many online conferencing tools are available, such as Skype, Google Hangouts, and GoToMeeting. These tools allow lawyers to share their screens with clients so that both parties can see the same information.
3. Use Case Management Software
As the legal tech landscape continues to evolve, solutions like personal injury case management software provided by CloudLex are transforming law practices across various fronts. Case management software can help lawyers manage their caseloads more effectively. Also, the software can track deadlines, client information, and billing information. This information can be accessed from any computer or mobile device. Many law firms prefer using cloud-based software to manage their cases. These programs allow lawyers to create pleadings, invoices, and other legal documents. Lawyers can also use these programs to keep track of their billable hours.
4. Use a VoIP Phone System
VoIP phone systems allow lawyers to make calls over the internet. This can be helpful for lawyers who need to travel or work from home. VoIP phone systems are also more affordable than traditional phone systems. This does not only come in handy for lawyers but also their secretaries, paralegals, and assistants. Imagine a situation where a lawyer is in court and needs to hold their secretary. With a VoIP phone system, the lawyer can easily make a call from their cell phone without using their minutes.
Law offices should also use an online billing software. This can allow them to keep track of unpaid invoices and native online payments.
5. Use Social Media to Connect with Clients
Social media can be a helpful tool for lawyers who want to connect with their clients. The lawyer can use the social media platform to share articles, blog posts, and other legal information. Lawyers can also use social media to answer client questions and provide customer service.
Firms like Cooley law firm use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with their clients. LinkedIn is beneficial for lawyers who want to build their business. It’s relatively cheap and easy to create a LinkedIn profile and start networking with other lawyers. Lawyers have to make sure that they are using the most up-to-date privacy settings to protect their clients’ information.
6. Use Online Legal Research Tools
Online legal research tools can help lawyers find information about the law quickly and easily. They can use these tools to research cases, statutes, and regulations. The most popular online legal research tools are Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Fastcase. These tools are also learning materials that keep you up-to-date.
Online legal research tools can help lawyers research cases and statutes. These tools are available for free or for a fee. Lawyers can also use these tools to find contact information for court personnel and other lawyers.
7. Use E-Signature Software
E-signature software allows lawyers to sign documents electronically. It also helps them save time and money. E-Signature software is also more secure than traditional signing documents, such as faxing or mailing.
It is beneficial when a lawyer needs to sign a document quickly. Many law firms use e-signature software to sign contracts, pleadings, and other legal documents. e-signature software is available for a fee or for free. Some popular e-signature software programs are Jotform Sign, Adobe Acrobat, DocuSign, and RightSignature.
Lawyers who use modern technology can improve their performance by staying organized and connected with their clients. In addition, they can save money on office space and hardware costs. By using the tips listed above, lawyers can provide the best possible service to their clients.
How Can A Lawyer’s Office Use Modern Technology To Improve Its Performance was last modified: November 2nd, 2023 by Charlene Brown
Business continuity and data recovery planning are essential for any business, large or small. By having a plan in place, you can minimize the impact of a disaster on your business. Here are seven essential elements of business continuity and data recovery planning:
Risk Assessment
The first step in business continuity and data recovery planning is risk assessment. To identify and understand the risks to your business, you need to gather information about your business environment, its critical systems and data, and the potential threats to those systems. Threats can come from a variety of sources, including natural disasters, human error, cyberattacks, and others. Once you have identified the risks to your business, you can begin to develop strategies to mitigate those risks.
Data Backup and Recovery Plan
One of the most important aspects of business continuity and data recovery planning is ensuring that your business data is available and accessible in the event of a disaster or system failure. Your business data is essential to your operations, and it needs to be protected. A business continuity plan should include a strategy for ensuring business database continuity at every point in the business. This could include backup and recovery procedures, data archiving and storage solutions, and other measures to protect your business data.
A data backup and recovery plan is a key element of any business continuity plan. Your business should have a specific process for backing up your data, as well as a plan for recovering that data in the event of a disaster. The backup process for secure data storage should include both on-site and off-site storage of your data, so you can continue to operate even if your business is damaged. The recovery process should include a plan for restoring your data to its most recent state, as well as a plan for recovering any lost data.
It’s important to remember that a data backup and recovery plan is not just for disasters. Regular backups can help you protect your data in the event of accidental deletion, data corruption, or a hacker attack. When creating your data backup and recovery plan, be sure to include the following.
Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
Your business should establish a recovery point objective, or RPO, which defines the maximum amount of data you are willing to lose in the event of a disaster. This will help you determine how often you need to back up your data.
Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
Your business should also establish a recovery time objective, or RTO, which defines the maximum amount of time you are willing to wait for your data to be restored. This will help you determine how much storage space you need for your backups.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
This is the process of developing a plan to ensure that critical business functions can continue to be performed in the event of an incident. It helps you to identify which systems and functions are most critical to your operations and what the potential business impact would be if they were to go down. The plan will identify alternative solutions and procedures for performing essential activities in the event of a disruption.
It is important to conduct a business impact analysis regularly, as your business changes and evolves. The results of the BIA can help you to make decisions about which systems and data are most critical to your business, and what needs to be done to protect them from potential disruptions.
Communications Plan
One of the most important aspects of business continuity planning is developing a communications plan. The plan should identify who will be responsible for communicating with employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders in the event of a business interruption. It should also specify how those individuals will be contacted and what information they will be given. In order to ensure that everyone is on the same page, the communication plan should be clearly outlined in writing and distributed to all stakeholders. It’s also a good idea to practice communicating under simulated emergency conditions so that everyone knows what to expect and how to respond.
Employee Training
When it comes to business continuity and data recovery planning, one of the most important aspects is employee training. Employees need to be aware of the company’s business continuity plan and understand their role in it. They also need to know what to do in the event of a disaster or data loss. They also need to know where to find information about the plan and how to access it in case of an emergency. The best way to ensure that employees are properly trained is to conduct training drills. This will help employees become familiar with the plan and what they need to do in case of an emergency. It will also help them identify any potential problems or areas where they need more training.
Testing And Maintenance
It’s important to regularly test your business continuity and data recovery plans to ensure they will work as intended in the event of an emergency. This includes testing your backup and recovery procedures, as well as your communication and evacuation plans. In addition, you should schedule regular maintenance checks for your disaster recovery equipment and facilities. By doing so, you can help ensure that your plans will be effective in the event of an actual emergency.
Equipment And Facility
One of the most important aspects of business continuity and data recovery planning is ensuring you have the necessary equipment and facilities to support your operations. This includes everything from servers and backup systems to office space and telecom equipment. If you don’t have the infrastructure in place to support your business, you’ll need to make sure you allocate the necessary resources before a disaster strikes. This can be a costly undertaking, but it’s essential for ensuring your business can continue operating in the event of a disaster.
Disaster recovery planning is essential for any business and should include a variety of elements to ensure your business can continue operating in the event of a disaster. By ensuring that you set up risk management, you have a data recovery plan and you have the necessary equipment and facilities in place, as well as regularly testing and maintaining your plans, you can help ensure your business continuity and data recovery plans are effective.
7 Essential Elements Of Business Continuity And Data Recovery Planning was last modified: October 5th, 2024 by Charlene Brown
A lot of complexities go into managing employee absences. The HR department needs to stay on top of paperwork with all the reports, claims, and support for returning to work, all while ensuring the company is compliant with state and federal legislation. To make it worse, their work needs to be flawlessly coordinated with other departments and systems. This results in prioritizing the company processes over the welfare of employees, in which case everyone suffers.
However, that needn’t be the case. The simplest solution is installing absence management software.
What Is Absence Management Software?
Absence management software helps employers track the attendance and absence of their employees. Usually, this system is integrated with the leave management system, which tracks paid time off (PTO), scheduling, and payroll. Employees can also directly log in attendance or request time off using this software. They can also update their employers about urgent absence leaves.
By doing so, employers won’t have to waste time on every late or absent employee and inquire about their circumstances. Moreover, this system automatically documents employee attendance records all year long, which will be a great help in complying with US federal laws. Managing employee absences can be easy with the right software. Here’s some examples:
Key Features of Absence Tracking Software
There are multiple benefits to adopting an absence management system in the workplace. Although the features may change according to the software you use, you can generally enjoy the following:
1. Streamline the Absence Tracking System
As previously mentioned, the biggest benefit to using this software is streamlining the absence tracking of employees. As the management team of TeamSense explains, the software is quite easy to navigate; all that is required is for the employee to log in and send their employer a text message. This will directly alert the employer about the absence, which will enable them to allocate work accordingly. The message will also be delivered to HR so they can automatically document employee absences.
2. Reporting Attendance
On normal working days, an employee can document their attendance by logging into the software. The system will track attendance online to the minute, reporting whether they were on time, late, or absent.
3. Automatic or Manual Time Tracking
Since employees will also log off using the system, accurate working hours will be documented. These reports will give both employees and employers insight into their productivity and strong work ethics. You can also use a free timesheet app for time tracking.
However, this feature works best if turned on before starting on specific tasks, after which a timer will track time. If an employee remains inactive for some time, the system will send a pop-up to confirm whether they are still working or have gone on a break. There’s also an automatic timer feature that runs as soon as the employee starts their computer, which can come in handy in case of forgetting to turn on the timer manually.
4. Viewing Screencasts
In case the employer wants to confirm their employees’ productivity, they can use the screencast feature. This feature enables them to view screencasts of the employees’ monitors at random times. By doing so, employees become more conscious of their work, so they’ll be less likely to give in to distractions during work hours. However, the employer should still respect employee privacy by deleting or blurring screencasts containing sensitive information, like personal contact information or passwords.
5. Creating Work Schedules
Manually creating spreadsheets to allocate workload can be terribly time-consuming. Even more so, adjusting the schedule according to urgent absences can make any manager hate their jobs. Luckily, many absence tracking software programs enable employers to create and edit their employees’ work schedules seamlessly in a way that ensures no employee is overworked.
6. Compiling Real-Time Analytics
The best way to optimize performance is by analyzing the work trends. However, generating these reports is easier said than done when attendance is tracked manually, or not tracked at all. That’s when attendance management software saves the day.
This software keeps track of everything in the workplace, so all you’ll need to do is download the report you want to generate. You’ll find any report you need, starting from activity summary reports to projects and tasks, timelines, hours tracked, or web & app usage reports.
7. Integration with Other Platforms
Although you can use the software independently, its edge really shines when it’s integrated into other platforms you normally use. Most of these programs have add-ons or extensions that can be downloaded in Chrome, Slack, or other team coordination programs. This makes streamlining the tracking process easier for everyone.
8. Other Features
The features you get will largely depend on the software of choice. In addition to the previous features, you may find the following ones:
Customizing employee policies
Employees can have access to view other available employees
Filter projects using tags, per user, or per department
Tracking GPS location
Tracking remote work hours
Benefits of Using Absence Management Software
The benefits of using absence management software are infinite, both for employers and employees.
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of this software is ensuring compliance with state and federal legislation, but that’s not all. By using this software, employers can streamline the absence management system. This automated process saves a lot of working hours for HR and managers.
Moreover, the system allows employees to submit their circumstances, enabling the employer to understand their employees better, take note of absence trends, and tailor the absence programs according to employees’ needs. The result is increased employee welfare, which will definitely reflect on their work ethics, productivity, and loyalty.
Absence management software is a great tool to maintain a direct line of communication between employers, HR, and employees; a more sustainable and reliable workflow can be established to effectively stay on top of daily situations and tasks without having to burn energy and time trying to reach different people or departments. It gives the employees a chance to express their needs and explain their circumstances. For the employer, it allows them to tailor to their employees’ needs while safeguarding their business. All in all, absence management software is an excellent friend to have in the workplace.
How You Can Easily Track Employee Attendance With an Absence Management Software was last modified: January 29th, 2024 by Allen Brown
Starting a company can be a daunting task, but with the help of modern technology, it doesn’t have to be. You can use technology to help you manage your finances, keep in touch with customers and suppliers, and market your product or service. Here are just a few ways you can use technology to your advantage when starting a company.
Going Global
The internet has made it possible for businesses to reach customers all over the world. You can use online tools to create a website or blog that introduces your company and its products or services. You can also use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with potential customers in other countries. Another great thing is you can easily register your company in a different country. If you’ve always wanted to work in England, you can choose company formation in London online. This makes it easier for businesses to grow globally, instead of just selling and having clients globally. You should also consider all of the benefits of going global, such as expanding your customer base, learning new skills, and networking with other business professionals.
Using Technology to Stay Organized
One of the advantages of starting a company today is the availability of technology that can help you stay organized. Several software programs can help you manage your finances, including bookkeeping programs and billing software. You can also use email and online calendars to keep track of appointments, meetings, and deadlines. And several websites offer free or low-cost templates for creating business documents such as invoices, purchase orders, and contracts. Having this type of technology at your disposal can make it much easier to manage your company’s day-to-day operations.
Cutting Costs
There are also many ways you can use technology to save money when starting a company. For example, you can use online accounting software to keep track of your expenses and income. This can help you stay on top of your finances and make sure you’re not spending too much money. You can also find low-cost or free marketing tools online. For example, you can create a website or use social media to market your product or service. And finally, you can use conference calling instead of traveling for business meetings. This will save you time and money on travel expenses, as well as the cost of renting meeting space.
Digital Marketing
In today’s world, it’s essential to have a strong online presence if you want your company to be successful. You can use digital marketing tools such as websites, social media, and email marketing to reach potential customers. And you can use search engine optimization techniques to help people find your website when they’re searching for products or services like yours. By using these digital marketing tools, you can connect with more potential customers and increase the visibility of your company.
Social Media Marketing
You should consider using social media marketing as an element of digital marketing to promote your company. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer a great way to connect with potential customers. You can use these sites to share information about your company and its products or services. And you can also use them to build relationships with customers and suppliers. By using social media marketing, you can reach a larger audience and create a strong online presence for your company.
Long-Term SEO Strategy
If you want your company to be successful in the long run, you need to have a solid SEO strategy in place. This means using keyword research to find the right keywords to target, and then using those keywords throughout your website. You should also use them in your blog posts, articles, and social media updates. By doing this, you’ll help improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more potential customers.
Content Marketing
Another important element of SEO is content marketing. This involves creating high-quality, original content that’s relevant to your target audience. You can use this content to attract website visitors and convert them into customers. By using a variety of content marketing strategies, you can reach a larger audience and boost the visibility of your company.
Better Supply Chain Management
Technology can also help you improve your supply chain management. For example, you can use online tools to track inventory levels and order supplies when necessary. You can also use shipping software to get real-time shipping quotes and track packages. And you can use RFID tags to keep track of items in your warehouse. By using these types of technology, you can streamline your supply chain and improve your overall efficiency.
Fleet Management
Technology can also help you manage your company’s fleet of vehicles. For example, you can use GPS tracking to track the location of your vehicles. This can help you optimize your routing and improve fuel efficiency. You can also use driver performance monitoring to track how well your drivers are performing.
Technology can also help you manage a remote team. For example, you can use video conferencing to hold meetings with your team members. This will allow you to save time and money on travel expenses. You can also use online tools to track employee productivity and communicate with your team members. By using these types of technology, you can effectively manage a remote team and improve communication between team members. You can also use apps like Slack for remote team management. This helps you keep track of all the communication that’s happening within your team. Also, it’s an effective way to archive important conversations and files.
Technology has come a long way in the past few years, and it’s now possible to use it to help promote your company. By using digital marketing tools such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and content marketing, you can connect with more potential customers and increase the visibility of your company. You can also use technology to improve your supply chain management and fleet management. And you can use technology to manage a remote team. By using these types of technology, you can help your company grow and succeed in the competitive business world.
How to Use Tech Advancements to Your Benefit When Starting a Company was last modified: March 14th, 2024 by Allen Brown
Finding freelance developers is easy but looking for a skilled developer is daunting. Not all freelancers who claim as developers have the right skill set to be considered for the job. To ensure you find freelancers who are the right fit for your job, you need to scour developers on the right platforms. If you’re unsure where to find the best developers, we’ve listed the top five platforms to look at.
5 Best Places to Find and Hire Best Freelance Developers for Projects
The platforms mentioned below have stringent screening processes so that you find only the best of the best. You need not worry about spending too much time combing candidates as these platforms connect developers specific to your requirements.
1. Stack Overflow
While StackOverflow is a community to help developers with their coding queries, it’s also the go-to place for hiring developers on a freelance agreement. You need to use their job board to look for skilled candidates, and the best part about Stackoverflow is you get to check candidates’ projects and technologies they are proficient in.
By looking at their projects, you’ll be able to differentiate between a skilled developer and an average one. So, if you need programmers who are great at their job, StackOverflow should be the first platform to look at.
2. Fiverr and Upwork
Fiverr and Upwork are both great platforms to find the best freelance developers. While Upwork uses a sorting algorithm to find developers of your niche, the company doesn’t do much in terms of screening the candidates during the initial stages.
You need to do the essentials, which can be difficult if you have a time constraint. Fiverr is another platform like Upwork to find talented developers. They have excellent customer support and also a refund policy if you’re not satisfied with the candidate. You can find international talent from both platforms easily without much hassle.
3. Toptal
Toptal is one of the best sites to find and hire freelance developers, and they claim to have the top 3% of developers on their platform. Since the developers are incredibly talented, they will be charging a lot more than developers found on other platforms. You can find freelancers with many skills proficient in different languages. You get only the cream of the crop, and if it suits your budget, this is the right platform for you.
4. People Per Hour
As the name hints, People Per Hour allows you to hire people by the hour. It is one of the oldest freelance platforms that is safe. You can find skilled freelancers in every niche here. You can find the best developers by looking at their CERT score based on engagement and trust. You can fill in your needs, choose the category, and hire people on an hourly basis or on a project basis.
5. Freelancer
If you’re looking for an affordable option, Freelancer is the best platform. The hiring process is made simple here, and companies like PwC and Microsoft hire developers from Freelancer. It is one of the largest platforms where you can find freelancers worldwide. It operates on a bidding system where freelancers bid on every job posted. Hundreds of freelancers place a bid for the job so you can find a developer in minutes. Though there is no vetting process, you will find good developers if not great.
How to Choose the Right Platform to Hire?
Now that you’re aware of some of the best platforms, here’s how to find the right one for you. Most freelance platforms are broadly divided into three types: vetted talent websites, bidding websites, and order-based websites. If you’re looking for the best developers globally, vetted talent platforms are most suitable such as Toptal.
If the project is for a short duration, you can go with order-based websites such as Fiverr. Bidding websites such as Upwork are good too, but it will be challenging to find highly skilled developers quickly due to high competiton.
Most Effective Way to Hire a Freelance Developer
Hiring a freelance developer is not different than hiring full-time developers. You need to get on a call with them, talk about their projects, and maybe even assess their skills by giving a paid project. Though you need to do the groundwork, it’s essential to run a quick background check and review their past work.
Final Thoughts
Hiring freelance developers is quite challenging, but these platforms help you find the right fit quickly. Some platforms follow a stringent recruiting process making it easy for you. Therefore, always go with the platform that fits your requirements and budget. If you’re running out of time to find the perfect match for your company, these platforms help you find developers easily.
Top Places to Find and Hire Best Freelance Developers for Your Software Development Projects in 2022 was last modified: March 12th, 2024 by Liza Katiushchenko
A Landing page is designed majorly to get leads and close sales after your content have been posted on the internet. The page helps deliver the promise that was made in your content and gets your consumers to take another step towards becoming your customers. It is the page where your customers are asked to either subscribe or get a free product or just do something logical.
The goal of a landing page is to get sign-ups (emails or phone contacts). According to convertkit.com, you’re more likely to convert visitors on your page to a carefully designed landing page than to a list of your products, homepage, or long-form article. Therefore, landing pages are great for running a successful online campaign.
It takes hours and technical know-how of CSS or HTML to build a landing page. But, thanks to the advancement of technology, you can create a landing page without having prior knowledge of coding. You can use a landing page builder to aid in the accessible building of your landing page. However, there are a lot of landing page builders, which makes it rather challenging to know which to settle for.
This article will guide you by showing you some of the best landing page examples to inspire you in 2022, their benefits, and their importance. But before we delve into that, it is essential to know the importance of Landing pages and why you should have one.
A landing page is a great way to drive traffic to your website or build your brand.
It leads customers to a specific product or service and encourages them to take action.
Landing pages are what makes the hard work you’ve done on your website lead to sales.
They are an effective lead conversion tool.
Elements of an Effective Landing page
To build your landing page, you need to include some significant elements in your layout. An effective landing page addresses a clear issue, provides a solution, and encourages your customers to take action, which leads to an increase in conversion rates.
A Simple Layout:
An effective landing page is simple and easy to navigate. If the forms are too lengthy, it can chase your potential clients away. Instead of what the landing page was meant to achieve in the first place – encourage them to take action. Your landing page should also be in tune with your branding, from the style to color palette and other elements to layout images, among others. Although the singular goal of the landing page is to create traffic to your website, it still has to be in line with what your brand stands for. Look for ways to integrate the general outlook of your website into your landing page to create a lasting impression on new subscribers.
Keep your pages simple and clean, not too cumbersome, and be able to communicate in clear terms what your audience will get if they decide to get what you’re offering. You may feel compelled to put a lot of information on the page, but this can give your audience some doubts about claiming your offer. To the extent you can, provide clear steps for your users to proceed with your site. For example, on im-a-puzzle.com, they show you the specific steps to start solving online jigsaw puzzles on their site.
A High Converting Headline:
You have just a few seconds to keep your audience on your page once they click that link. And your headline is the first thing that catches their attention. In addition to that, 8 out of 10 people only read the headlines on a page before deciding whether to continue the content or move on. Whether your product or offer is free or not, your headline can be the determinant factor to people clicking it or not. The headline should catch the attention of your prospective client, appeal to their emotion, and give them reasons to continue reading the content.
The headline should be short and direct. However, you can include a subheading to elaborate on your message and drive home the point more to your readers.
Optimized For All Device Types:
You never can tell what type of device your audience uses, and your page should be able to accommodate all device types. This is so you can offer the best user experience to your customers regardless of the size of their browser window. When creating a landing page, you should invest in a well-designed WordPress that allows the creation of mobile-responsive pages. The ultimate goal of a landing page is to increase conversions, so you should design the page so that it accommodates all devices and gives your audience a smooth user experience. You don’t want your users to keep zooming in and out, adjusting their screen size to understand what your landing page is about.
Provides a Special Offer:
Your landing page is to provide a specific solution to your audience’s problems before they can be encouraged to click on the link. You ought to have surveyed to know the particular problem your target audience is facing and then create a landing page that addresses that problem. Your content can get as many readers as possible, but to convert them to new subscribers and new leads, you’ll have to provide them with a unique offer that addresses their pressing needs.
Clear and Relevant Images:
Humans are visual creations, and images can help lighten your landing page. You can use images of people to humanize your offer, or you can use images of the product or service you’re offering.
This helps the readers visualize the proposal and makes it easy to sign up. However, too many images will choke up your page and distract readers. You can also create competitor comparison landing pages to highlight your better features.
A Clear Form With a Clear CTA (Call-To-Action):
Keep your form as clear and straightforward if possible by asking for specific information from your new subscribers. For instance, if you’ll be sending the product to them via email, just their names and emails are enough. However, you should also include a clear CTA that allows your audience to click to submit their information and claim their offer.
For example, here’s a landing page from adamconnell.me
It fits the above-described requirements perfectly.
The landing page is simplistic, with lots of white space. The center of the page is dominated by a carefully crafted headline, below which lies an enticing CTA button surrounded by a reassuring microcopy.
There’s a quality image of Adam on the right to instill some trust, and of course, this landing page is built to be pitch-perfect on all mobile devices.
Best Landing Page Examples
1. Unbounce:
One of the most recognized landing page builders that help capture more leads customers and increase sales. This page builder supports A/B testings that help users test their landing pages before launching them out. It has a drag and drop builder that creates landing pages without the help of a developer and technical knowledge of coding. With Unbounce, you get over 100+ landing page templates with over 850,000+ free professional images from Unsplash. You also have access to over 950 Google typefaces. You can change the keywords to suit your brand, and what your audience is looking for. It aligns with CRM providers, such as MailChimp, WordPress, HubSpot, Zapier, among others.
Unbounce has four payment plans which all come with a free 14-day trial period: Launch, Optimize, Accelerate and Scale.
The Launch plan is suitable for small businesses using landing pages for the first time to increase their sales.
Optimize plan is suitable for companies who need to optimize their website pages for higher conversion rates.
Accelerate and Scale plans are perfect for businesses and companies who want to move their growth to the next level.
2. Landing
This poses to be the best landing page builder for non-programmers. It requires no IT or coding skills. It comes with flexible options to increase the reach of your campaign and thereby increase conversions. This software has a drag and drops editor to edit the page to your taste and brand preference. With Landingi, you enjoy over 100+ landing page examples and over 5000+ free images, and 600 free icons to create your page. Fonts are essential for a good landing page design. This page builder has over 800+ Google fonts available on the platform.
It has an A/B test feature that allows users to test the effectiveness of the landing pages with different marketing to know the best one that suits their campaign. In addition, Landingi has a unique feature called the “landing page import feature,” that other landing pages do not have. With this feature, you can clone other landing pages to benefit. You can also automate your campaign to save time and improve outcomes.
Landingi has three payment plans which do not require the use of credit cards, and all have a 14-day free trial: business, agency, and enterprise.
Business plans include creating, automating, and core plans. They are suitable for businesses that want to increase their conversions.
Agency plans include agency and agency pro plans. They are great for large agencies that want to increase their sales.
Enterprise plans are ideal for large enterprises that benefit from its advanced features.
3. Instapage
The speed of this landing page builder attracts a lot of brands to it. It uses Thor Render Engine technology and AMP to increase the speed and thereby increase conversion rates.
Instapage requires only a few minutes to build, and it is ideal for creating multiple landing pages. It comes with over 100+ landing page examples and over 5000 web fonts. The software is user-friendly and suitable for beginners with no design or coding skills. It is perfect for mobile-responsive pages. With the A/B and multivariate testing feature, you can test the effectiveness of your landing pages. You have access to the Bigstock image library for free. Instapage has integration with Facebook Ads and Google Analytics. It also has integrations with email services such as HubSpot, MailChimp, AWeber, and the likes. In addition, you have the option to change the keywords to help optimize your page for SEO.
Instapage has two pricing plans: Business and Conversion Cloud plans.
· The Business plan gives significant features like the analytical suite, Thor Render Engine, Ad maps, multi-step forms, and robust integration. The plan is suitable for businesses that want to increase their conversion rates. It has a 14-day free trial period.
· Conversion Cloud plan is perfect for businesses that want to optimize their conversion and access unique features such as dedicated launch specialists and AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). The plan comes with a custom pricing scheme determined by the size of the need of your landing page.
4. Wishpond
The best landing page builder with marketing automation. It provides four marketing tools for its users: contests and promos, landing pages, popups and forms, and marketing automation. It comes with an unlimited amount of landing pages, popups, and forms. The software has a drag and drop builder that helps you create appealing designs even with no prior coding experience. It has pre-designed landing page templates that are user-friendly for all mobile devices. There’s no limit to the type of information you can collect with the forms. Wishpond offers optimization tools such as tracking tools, analytics, testing variations, and A/B testing that helps to increase conversions and sales. It has a library full of eBooks, articles, and webinars on marketing topics available to its users. Customer live support is also available, where you can chat with an expert if you need help navigating the platform.
The software has three pricing plans that come with a 14-day free trial: starting, everything you need, and rapid growth.
The starting plan is suitable for beginners with no experience, and it has a monthly lead cap of 1500.
Everything you need a plan is ideal for businesses who want to scale up their business, with a monthly lead cap of 2500.
The rapid growth plan is perfect for businesses that generate more than 10,000 leads per month. The pricing is based on the number of leads you require.
5. GetResponse
This is another landing page with advanced marketing features such as cloud-based marketing software that provides landing pages, marketing automation, email marketing, and conversion funnels services. It has an unlimited number of landing pages and is suitable for small businesses and individuals who want to automate their marketing campaigns. It comes with lead generation tools that help to build your email list. It also has an autoresponder that allows automated emails. In addition, the landing page has prebuilt conversion funnels that include a webinar funnel, lead magnet funnel, list-building funnel, and sales funnel. It also has in-built tools to run campaigns such as Facebook Pixel, Facebook Ads, and Social Ads Creator.
The software has a 24/7 customer support team in eight different languages.
GetResponse has four pricing plans with a 30-day free trial: Basic, Plus, Professional, and Max.
The basic plan is for businesses just starting and building a contact base.
The Plus plan is perfect for businesses that want lead generation, sell physical products and online courses, and increase their conversion rates.
The Professional plan is ideal for businesses who want to optimize their results and access its pro automation and integrations.
Max plan is for large businesses who want to enjoy its personalized, flexible, and advanced features.
Final Words
If you are ready to step up your conversion game and need the inspiration to get started, Unbounce, Landigi, Instapage, Wishpond, and GetResponse are some of the best places to begin 2022. You may also check this out for other inspirational landing page builders as well.
Author:
Andrej Fedek is the creator and the one-person owner of the InterCool Studio. As an experienced marketer, he is driven by turning leads into customers. His goals always include White Hat SEO. Besides being a boss, he is a real team player with a great sense of equality.
It’s vital that you look for the best solutions and that you have an IT staff on hand to help you solve problems. It is critical to have IT service help not just to fix your laptop, but also to provide you with the finest possible assistance with other internal IT issues.
Organizing the Data
Improving data management is one of the most compelling reasons to use IT support services. Humans are unable to manage enormous volumes of data through manual processing. The IT support team is in charge of maintaining the information, categorizing it, and ensuring that it is supplied to the proper domains and procedures.
Supporting Your Customers
Customer service will be considerably better if you have an IT staff to assist you with problems.
Partnering with managed IT services Raleigh can provide your North Carolina based business with expert support to address technical issues promptly and efficiently. This ensures smoother operations and enhances the overall customer experience by minimizing downtime and improving service reliability.
It will improve service while also facilitating communication. Emails and social networking sites, for example, are two channels that might be problematic. You do, however, have an IT support team to help you manage your company’s communication channels. It would help if you also took advantage of the IT support team for customer service.
Maintenance
System maintenance may be assisted by the IT support staff. When a system isn’t working properly, it slows down over time, resulting in a plethora of issues. When your system fails and you seek a solution for both internal and external demands, the IT support department will be able to provide you with the technical resources you require to speed up the system while also supporting you with the system’s essential requirements. Because they do not use IT services, the vast majority of businesses are left behind. IT services will not only save you money but will also provide you with a wealth of technical resources and other benefits. To keep your business going forward and ensure that it expands, you may need to hire more support employees or hire a third-party managed IT services firm in Toronto to give you the best possible help.
Since so many businesses do not have in-house IT assistance, they must rely on third-party services. Third-party organizations can easily aid you if you have a small company and don’t want to hire a lot of people just for the IT department. But, in the first place, what is the point of having an IT department? Most firms neglect the most critical question. The advantage of having an IT service, whether in-house or outsourced, is that it helps with problem-solving. You can’t always take your laptop to the store to get it fixed.
It’s vital that you look for the best solutions and that you have an IT staff on hand to help you solve problems. It is critical to have IT service help not just to fix your laptop, but also to provide you with the finest possible assistance with other internal IT issues.
Important Reasons Your Company Needs Managed IT Service was last modified: December 12th, 2024 by Milos Radakovic
In an increasingly competitive environment where the number of businesses operating in most sectors is growing, and everyone is chasing a shrinking pot of consumer cash, good productivity is essential. Often, it is what makes the difference between a business being competitive and profitable, or failing.
Enhancing your productivity gives you an edge, which is usually enough to enable you to out-compete even large competitors on price. While at the same time improving the quality of what you offer your customers. A winning combination, which results in higher growth and profit. As well as creating a more robust business. One that is agile enough to adapt to even the most challenging changes in market conditions. You can start your own business by getting an LLC in Georgia.
The tools and software we talk about here are all designed to help you to improve productivity. None of them are particularly expensive and we have chosen tools for which there is plenty of support, including user-generated how-to videos.
Process Mapping Software
Let´s start with what is possibly the most productive tool – process mapping. It takes time to map and tweak your processes. But it pays dividends. Once you have mastered the skill you will find it easy to do it for anything new you do in your business.
Using a process mapping tool like Gliffy or Visual Paradigm enables you to see the workflow involved in everything you do. The steps that need to be taken to achieve important tasks, which are what makes a business tick. When you start mapping those processes out, you quickly see where valuable time is being wasted. Often, you will be able to drastically simplify your processes, which will make everyone much more productive.
There are paid tools out there, but the free ones like these do a good job. Use this guide to gain a better understanding of what process mapping is, its benefits, and how to do it. The guide is designed for any type or size of business to use.
It takes time to map and tweak your processes. But it pays dividends. Once you have mastered the skill you will find it easy to do it for anything new you do in your business. Leveraging the right technology can streamline operations and improve client engagement, making it an indispensable tool for productivity and growth.
Project Management Software
Project management tools like Monday, Trello, and Asana are invaluable. Even if you are running a small company, using one has benefits. It keeps everybody accountable as well as organized. A lot of businesses start using project management tools when they are making big changes. For example, for a refit or to develop a new product or service. Usually, they also end up using it to control day-to-day processes. If you want to know how it works and read some case studies, click here.
Data Syncing Tools
For any business data analysis is vital. Any firm that is not gathering, collating, and analyzing its data is leaving a lot of money on the table. For example, it is now possible to display in-store adverts using digital display screens. Which ad is displayed when is automatically tracked and the data is saved in a format that enables it to be combined with the sales data for the item that is being advertised. It is a really easy way to identify which ad formats convert and which don´t. It´s one of the reasons that the use of retail digital signage has taken off so quickly. Especially given the fact that ads that convert well in-store typically also do so when used online. For those retailers that run e-commerce stores as well as physical ones, this is a quick way to measure the effectiveness of ads, which saves them a lot of time and money.
The more automated the data syncing and report production is the more likely it is that a business will be able to use that information. Nobody wants to employ a data entry clerk to pull data together into one place.
Data syncing can also play a role in keeping everyone organized and working efficiently. For example, the software enables people to synchronize their schedules across multiple calendars, devices, and operating systems. This means they do not have to enter meetings into Outlook, then get their phone out and do the same for Android. This takes time and, of course, there is a high risk that they will forget to put it on their phone and maybe even miss the meeting.
CRM Software
If you sell services or use a sales team or leads for attracting buyers, not using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a big mistake. It is all too easy to lose track of where a potential client is in your sales funnel. You do not want your sales team to end up calling them too soon, which could make them feel that they are being pestered. Equally, you do not want a lead to be wasted because someone left it too long to follow up. Using CRM software makes sure this does not happen. In the process, this greatly increases the effectiveness and productivity of your sales team.
The above are just a few examples. There are many more tools that can help improve productivity, including those specifically designed for your sector. So, if you have not explored what is available for a while, it really is worth your while to do so.
Four Productivity Enhancing Tools Many Businesses Are Still Not Utilizing was last modified: February 19th, 2024 by Georgia
Among digital promotion channels, influencer marketing stands apart. It is one of the few channels that has not lost but only increased its relevance in recent years. And attract more and more advertisers. We have collected everything you need to know about this way of promoting both goods and services and the brand.
How to Find B2B Influencers?
Today, the influencer marketing sphere consists of advertisers, bloggers, and audiences. In addition, a layer of intermediaries and services has formed that make it easier for advertisers to find and interact with opinion leaders. Among such intermediaries, can be distinguished:
Agencies. Many top bloggers work through agencies. Agencies enter into exclusive contracts with bloggers, so you can hardly negotiate placement directly. Agencies are suitable for brands that benefit from completely outsourcing the development and implementation of the campaign to the contractor.
Blogger exchange. These are online platforms for working with bloggers. As a rule, there is a catalog with search and filters, analytics on the accounts of each blogger together with influencer categories, the ability to conduct secure transactions, and other functionality to facilitate search and cooperation. This type of cooperation is helpful for small and medium-sized companies that plan to work with several bloggers at once and other customers who want to make working with bloggers as easy as possible without overpaying the agency.
Blogger directories. Just lists of bloggers, sometimes with filters, but no other functionality to work with. As a rule, they are free and suitable for cases when you need to find just a couple of bloggers for one-time posting without comparing and analyzing them.
If the question of how to find B2B influencers is still unsolved for you, it is a wise decision to try https://getprospect.com/b2b-contact-database or other similar databases and save your time.
B2B Influencer Content
We propose a straightforward definition. Influencer marketing is a way to promote products and services through b2b influencers. Any person trusted by the target audience can be an opinion leader. Famous bloggers or media personalities are most often considered opinion leaders in influencer marketing, but it can be any authoritative person whose opinion is listened to. For example, a frequenter of a thematic forum is respected for his competence and helpful advice.
In addition to opinion leaders, there are also “agents of influence.” An influencer is not necessarily an opinion leader. It is the name of people who can influence other people’s opinions through their actions and authoritative comments. Agents of influence form the attitude towards a particular brand. Their task is to direct the discussion in the direction necessary for the customer and set the “correct” tone from this point of view. It can even be small discussions, and correspondence within various forums, thematic platforms, commentary feeds on social networks, and other resources where the target audience can hang out. Such posts attract the attention of regular users and even companies who get involved in the threads – for this reason, their posts are called the B2B influencer content.
Another person often takes part in the process of forming loyalty – the brand ambassador (the “face” of the brand or the “ambassador” of the brand). It is a well-known, famous person who is invited to represent the values and ideals of the company. Most often, with b2b influencer marketing, the target audience associates with the company’s visual image.
Who is Influencer Marketing For?
Best of all, such marketing works in projects with vast geography – online stores, financial services, cinema, and cellular communications. Also, good results are shown by projects aimed at sales in metropolitan cities. Emotional or situational goods that can be ordered immediately or are easy to subscribe to are not wrong – food delivery, games, mobile applications, and so on. If you target a specific region, pay attention to how many subscribers the blogger has from your city or region.
Helpful Tips for Working With Bloggers
To work with an influencer, you should prepare in advance. Speak out your requirements and the desired result. If you work directly, then agree on the provision of advertising services. Here are some tips for working with influencers that always work:
Respond to comments, even negative ones. Ignoring negative comments under the post nullified all efforts. There is no need to ask the blogger to delete them – show professionalism and write worthy and adequate answers on the merits. And if the commentators are right, admit it publicly and promise to get better. Often this works better than the most positive review.
Ask the Youtube blogger not to remove the promotional video or link you. Such videos continue to be indexed in Google and video hosting itself. And this means that by placing a link under a popular video, you provide yourself with traffic and leads for months and even years in advance.
Come up with promo codes related to the blogger’s name. Unique promotional codes are used to receive a discount, additional service, or other bonuses. On the one hand, this will increase the audience’s interest in your product. On the other hand, it will demonstrate the blogger’s concern for his subscribers. And you will get another tool for marking and evaluating the effectiveness of the channel.
Influencer Marketing Examples
It’s time to look at examples of b2b and understand what type of influencer marketing is right for you. There are lots of influence marketing examples on the Internet, let’s review one of them.
Business Case. Natural cosmetic
The company produces and distributes a youth brand of facial care cosmetics, mainly through a network of offline distributors. The competition is high. You have to fight for the client’s attention to your brand and the best places on the shelves of pharmacies and stores.
Goals: Create an association with the brand, expand the audience by increasing the reach, and show the product’s benefits.
Audience: girls from 17 to 26 years old. The most relevant audience is the so-called “beauty bloggers,” girls who keep video blogs about self-care and beauty.
Criteria for choosing a blogger: From 100,000 subscribers, the channel’s topic is personal care and beauty, the age of the bulk of the audience is 17 years old.
The blogger is tasked with making a detailed review of several brand cosmetics to achieve these goals. In one of his videos, the blogger talks about the existence of the brand and demonstrates some cosmetics. This approach increases subscribers’ interest in the brand and builds trust in its products.
Influencer Marketing – a New Word in Advertising was last modified: February 15th, 2022 by Maxim Grigoryev
Technological advancement can affect every aspect of the business ranging from employee efficiency to faster delivery and better customer service.
Technology has become an integral part of our society and economy. Almost any professional can benefit from software and gadgets, regardless of their industry. Digital tools can be used by someone like a dental marketing consultant or shipyard worker.
So much so that the companies are creating a competitive advantage not by improving their internal processes but instead by introducing new technology.
Having said that, certain industries benefit more from technology than the other fields. By not improving your systems and keeping up with the competition, you can quickly go out of the business. Here is a list of 4 businesses that experience major improvements from continuous technological advancement.
1. Manufacturing
When we talk about automation and digitalization, the first thing that pops into mind is manufacturing. This field has always benefited from doing things faster and more efficiently. Often, this is the main differentiation between two companies and products.
Although the emphasis is usually on efficiency, technology can improve every part of the process. For example, you can utilize advanced software to create a better product design. Or, it can serve the production and logistics team as they try to quickly deliver an order to end-users.
What people don’t realize is that technology affects other things as well. For example, it can significantly improve workplace safety. As written by Protex AI in a guide on how technology helps improve workplace safety, employees working in high-risk industries such as construction, manufacturing, or pharmaceuticals need to take proper precautions to mitigate the risks posed by hazards in the workplace.
Equipment is made to serve employees and ensure their job is much easier. Furthermore, with advanced technology, you can create perfect units, with each one being the same as the previous.
2. Healthcare
As one of the most daunting and stressful industries, any small improvement in medical equipment can increase the longevity of the patient but also make lives easier for doctors and nurses. Technology has also allowed like minded individuals to form communities to help each other out, for example dental partnerships organizations help people in the dental field relieve some of the stresses of the day to day and focus on what matters.
Due to its noble purpose, we always perceive technological advancements within medicine as a necessity. One of the reasons why tech and equipment are so important within healthcare is because HIPAA controls the standards regarding machines and IT. So, while healthcare benefits from almost any minor improvement, that doesn’t mean you can use any application or device.
Among others, tech can have a major impact on the satisfaction rates of medical professionals and patients. It can significantly reduce the amount of paperwork while simplifying menial tasks. As a result, doctors are able to treat much more patients during a working day.
Keep in mind that this industry can benefit from various solutions. For example, you can utilize mobile apps to control several devices through one access point. Or you can monitor the patient’s state from a distance. Whatever the case, each one of these solutions has a very practical purpose.
3. Construction
Using technology within the construction industry is somewhat similar to how manufacturing companies are using it. Simply put, you’re trying to hasten everything and make it as safe as possible. Software and devices make it easier for businesses to deliver timely results.
The software allows companies to communicate between the office and job site and relay instructions. It is also very important for improving planning and bidding. Nowadays, the majority of administrative processes within the construction industry are done via the cloud.
Lastly, technological advancement can also play a role when it comes to logistics. You can use various apps to find the optimal travel route, or in other words, it makes it much easier to deliver construction material to the yard.
4. Hotels and Restaurants
No matter which hospitality business we’re talking about, technology can have a major impact on customer experience.
Simply put, when people go on a vacation, they would like everything to be simplified. Efficiency and quickness are imperative, as you’re trying to provide the best experience possible. Small delays in orders can cause major dissatisfaction and, given that it’s so easy to leave online reviews, mistakes such as this can shut down your establishment.
So, how does technology affect restaurants and hotels? First off, it allows you to connect everything in one centralized system. Mobile ordering has become a big thing as it allows people to order on the fly. Similar goes for check-ins. In both cases, you want to be as quick as possible and to avoid making errors. Instead of taking orders the traditional way, you can monitor everything from a phone app.
Lastly, we also have to mention payment processing and reservation status. In other words, technology can have a major impact on customer experience even before they arrive at your establishment.
4 Businesses That Experience Major Benefits From Technology was last modified: March 14th, 2024 by Scott Fluent
With the world morphing into a digital sphere, using technology for your business is a necessity that will help you keep up with the competition. With access to information and analytical tools, your company can complete business operations faster than ever, boosting its productivity and profits. Unfortunately, digitalization means that your company becomes vulnerable to malicious activity from outside sources.
As industry giants possess more valuable data, they should be the prime targets for hackers; however, it’s usually the smaller companies without sufficient cyber security that suffer the most. When your company is under cyber attack, you’re risking a breach of confidential information that may halt your operations. That’s why, as a successful business owner, you should realize the importance of cyber protection as it’ll keep your data safe, prevent losses, increase productivity, and preserve your reputation.
With the constant threat of penetrating your company’s system, it’d be best to hire professionals that can ensure its protection. Below, you’ll find some of the reasons why you and every other business owner need cyber security services.
Alongside these preparations, understanding the financial implications of cybersecurity investments is crucial. Business owners can effectively measure these benefits by using tools designed to calculate ROI for cyber security, ensuring that resources are allocated wisely and that protective measures yield tangible returns. This approach not only enhances security but also demonstrates fiscal responsibility to stakeholders.
Protect Your Reputation
When you’re dealing with a cyber-attack, you risk your company’s reputation. When your data is breached or stolen, it becomes vulnerable to malicious use by cybercriminals. It means that your clients are in danger as their sensitive data like credit card numbers or addresses is leaked to third parties.
Unable to guarantee your customer’s safety, you might lose their trust. That’s why it’s necessary to have protection when an attack occurs. With a tarnished reputation among clients and the general public, you may suffer a decrease in your profits. What’s more, even one such accident could affect you for a long time if you’re deemed as unreliable.
By hiring professionals who can do a complete audit of your IT infrastructure and keep up with its security needs, you’ll be able to avoid this type of problem altogether. To ensure that your company’s sensitive information and those of your clients are protected at all times, you also need to check the compliance efforts of the software tools you use and what external certifications they obtain. For example, specialists from Rescale have a separate Security & Compliance page on their website.
Offer Protection Against Malicious Activity
The constant threat of an online cyber attack is real, and businesses are the biggest victims. When it comes to safeguarding your company’s information and assets, you can’t afford to take chances.
Every business should know that most cyber criminals come from outside sources, and that’s why it’s necessary to have protection from the moment an attack occurs. It’s why you need to hire cyber security experts who can identify and block any malicious activity that might occur in your network. These professionals are the ones who choose cyber security solutions, assess your company’s risks, and develop a business continuity plan to defend against cyber-attacks.
The moment a device is connected to the internet, it becomes an entry point for hackers; therefore, you should ensure that they’re protected at all times. A good cyber security service will provide continuous protection for all your devices, such as laptops, PCs, mobile phones, tablets, and servers.
Enable Your Business to Operate Faster
Every successful business has a powerful strategic vision; however, it doesn’t mean you can make it a reality without technology on your side. A good solution will boost your productivity and keep your business running smoothly.
With sufficient cyber protection in place, you can use your time more efficiently by focusing on other aspects of your business, such as marketing or sales. You’ll be able to access information quicker, complete tasks faster, and get a competitive edge with superior efficiency.
Help You Cut Costs
You might think that cyber security is expensive; however, the costs of dealing with a data breach are even more substantial. If you let malicious activity go unnoticed, you risk losing valuable data that compromises your company’s reputation and earnings.
If a cyber-attack occurs, your company will experience many operational losses. The lost essential resources might include employee time spent dealing with the breach and money spent on repairing systems; therefore, it’s wise to invest in cybersecurity services as soon as possible.
If you hire professionals with CISSP certification and other cybersecurity certifications to protect your business from cybercriminals, you’ll save money in the long run by avoiding paying for damages.
Keep You in Compliance with Regulations and Laws
The world is becoming increasingly digitalized, which has led to the establishment of regulations and laws that govern the use of technology by businesses. This is meant to protect users from possible breaches of privacy or security; therefore, every organization has an obligation to meet these standards to comply with local laws.
As a responsible businessman, you should understand the importance of meeting all regulations so that your company doesn’t suffer from legal issues in the future.
Conclusion
Protecting your company from cyber attacks is no longer an option; instead, it’s a necessity for your business to keep up with the competition. With technology developing at a rapid pace and its wide implementation, every company must make sure that it’s protected from cyber-attacks because they can affect your operations as well as profits. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to do everything in your power to protect your clients, employees, and shareholders.
If you want to be sure that your company is safe and secure, you don’t need to worry because there are numerous solutions available on the market. When you hire experts who are capable of securing your IT infrastructure and incorporating new security measures, you’ll be able to save money in the long run. Your company’s data and reputation are at stake; therefore, don’t let a breach of security happen to you.
5 Important Reasons Why Every Business Needs Cyber Security Services was last modified: November 12th, 2024 by Jennifer Clare
In a rush to impress the clients, small business owners often forget to rectify unintentional mistakes after generating estimates. And if they hand over the estimate without checking those errors, then it will look unprofessional. Consequently, they are more likely to lose their potential clients.
Estimating and invoicing process could be complicated, especially for young entrepreneurs who want to level up their construction business. Freelancers or those who are associated with small-scale construction businesses may have more difficulty sending the estimates to their new clients.
But how can one avoid such estimating mistakes? One of the easiest ways is to start using the estimating software where one can get online assistance. Here, we will discuss more common mistakes occurring while creating estimates and their solutions.
These 8 simple mistakes must be avoided when it comes to preparing estimates for clients.
1. No On-Field Visit
As a business owner, not visiting a job site means that the service provider will not have an idea about the possible damages. Also, there are chances that they may have a wrong calculation of cost and materials.
Such an on-site meeting is necessary to judge the condition and to measure the working area. On the basis of the measurement, a contractor can then submit their bid via estimating actual cost.
If they refrain from visiting the site, unknown issues may come during the ongoing construction work. These issues need more time and cost which might not have been included in the estimate. Hence, it is suggested to visit the job site.
Solution: Construction contraction must inspect the working area before beginning the work. If possible, contractors can also take sub-contractors for detailed analysis of the site and structure.
2. Simple Mathematical Errors
Minor errors or wrong calculations in estimates can often take place when contractors want to wrap up the task in hurry. These silly mistakes can have a negative impact on the construction business. And clients might refrain from recommending such services to their friends and family members.
In terms of calculations, contractors usually make mathematical errors while adding line items, local taxes, and offering discounts. These calculation errors are human errors that are quite possible when contractors generate estimates manually.
Solution: Creating an error-free estimate could only be possible when it is not done by humans. The best remedy for such errors is to generate estimates by using online invoicing and estimate software.
3. Sending Incomplete Estimates
Those who are into the construction business will agree on how incomplete estimates can put a dent in their business reputation. The partial estimate sent to the client could be the result of not itemizing the products and services. Therefore, it is recommended to include every detail of the material cost, overhead expenses, and other necessary instructions.
By doing so, clients will have more clarity on the estimated cost for their construction work.
Hence, the business owner can expect a quick approval. Whereas, incomplete one will make the customers choose other services.
Some contractors may only itemize the line items, which may not help the clients have a clear picture of service charges. So, before sending the estimates it is crucial to recheck the estimates whether it is completely filled or not.
Another important aspect of making accurate construction estimates is to take into account any potential foundation issues. For example, if you’re working on a project in Toronto, it’s important to consider the unique soil and weather conditions that can cause foundation damage over time. By factoring in the cost offoundation repair in Toronto, you can ensure that your estimate is as comprehensive and accurate as possible.
Solution: It is safe to use an online estimate generator so that it shows a preview of estimates before a contractor hits the send button.
4. Forgetting to Assess Risks
Little the construction contractors may know that if they don’t pay a visit to the client’s house, they are not aware of the risks. Since the construction work has the potential to damage valuable assets, contractors must complete the risk assessment before they start making estimates.
It is the necessary step to ensure customers about the possible threats. However, if they skip assessing risk factors, then it will be difficult to manage in the later stages. And as a result, an estimate will have no important notes of possible risks.
Solution: Construction contractors should closely inspect the job site and inform the customers before creating estimates. If there are risks involved in the job, they should be mentioned in the estimate.
5. Making Random Guesses
Local contractors who are connected with the construction industry often prepare estimates by making random guesses. It won’t help them when it comes to clearing the payment. In this case, the asking price may vary at the time of the payment and this may lead to disagreement between the client and contractor.
Professional contractors usually don’t make guesses when they are unsure about the actual price. Instead, they ask the experienced person to get the correct price. Thus, contractors should refrain from making the guesses, or else it would negatively influence the business profit.
Solution: Contractors should stay updated with the current prices in the construction industry. Before visiting the site, have a brief idea about the construction job and discuss it with the subcontractors too.
6. Insisting for Contract Agreement
Contractors might have no idea why they should not insist the client accept the contract agreement. Though it is not considered an error, contractors must take care while offering contracts to their clients. Some of the clients will not accept the annual contracts if asked frequently. And it would have adverse effects on their business.
Therefore, contractors should discuss with the clients prior to the work. In case, if the client agrees to the contract, offer them an annual contract with discounted rates. In this process, they should be confident while analyzing the working areas. With the proper analysis and judgment, making an estimate would be easy and the client may accept contracts as well.
Solution: Let the client trust your services and thereafter advise them to choose the annual contract.
7. Not Highlighting the Payment Terms
Many construction contractors often describe incomplete payment terms which might create differences with the clients. To avoid such last-moment issues, they should clarify the payment policy so that their client will not have any payment-related problems.
Mainly, contractors should include the various payment modes, accepted currency, and refund process. When they forget to highlight the payment policy, new customers won’t be ready to trust their services. Thus, one must clearly mention the payment instructions and necessary guidelines in the estimates.
Solution: Contractors should make payment policies in one go so that they do not need to change frequently. Else, re-writing the policy every time means there would be errors.
8. Applying Hidden Charges
When the person is connected with professionalism like construction, there is no such place for undisclosed matters. Therefore, contractors should not surprise their clients by asking the prices which were not discussed previously.
If contractors want to add more charges for extra activities or material costs, they must inform their clients. Otherwise, slight hesitation to reach the customers will create communication gaps and customers would not be ready to pay the added costs.
Solution: Create an estimate that is easy to understand by the clients and refrain from applying any hidden costs. If there are extra charges that need to be added, then discuss additional costs with clients.
8 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making Construction Estimates was last modified: March 31st, 2023 by Mehedi Sazal
If you want your business to succeed, automation is the way to go. As long as you know how to use it, web scraping technology will at least put you on a level playing field with the competition. There are countless ways gathering online data can improve your operations, and we’ll cover the most common ones.
Ten Important Applications for Data Scraping
Web scraping is the act of obtaining large amounts of data through automation tools. In order to stay competitive in the business world, it has morphed into a necessary practice, and its uses are ever-expanding. Here are some of the most popular ways companies will utilize this technology in 2022.
1. Brand Monitoring
Crawling channels to see who’s mentioning you is a wonderful way to stay in the loop and give a response. Navigate search engines to find out what’s going on. Just be sure to always pair your bot with a proxy to ensure safety and protection. A Bing proxy, for example, will keep your searches private and undetectable.
2. Lead Generation
Social media accounts, emails, and phone numbers are necessary for lead generation. Scraping will gather and organize this contact info for you. Rival company press releases, promotions, and announcements are also important finds you’ll dig up to help with your marketing efforts.
3. Price Comparison
Pricing insight is easily one of the most important aspects of a web scraping operation for any business. See what the competition is charging for services or goods. Even factors like shipping and availability come into play. Use this information to stay on pace with everyone else or get an advantage.
4. Market Insight
If you’re entering a new market or endeavor, you have to do your homework first. Investigating all aspects of a particular industry should be your top priority for a successful start. Whether it’s academic or commercial research, know your field before you begin.
5. Candidate Screening
If you’re hiring, you definitely need to scour the pool of prospects. Professionals take advantage of sites like Indeed and LinkedIn to promote themselves, so it pays to scrape the data they provide. Resumes and Curricula Vitae (CVs) are readily available for your perusal. Screening the public information potential applicants post is a fantastic way to get a feel for who’s right for the job. Recruiting based on automated CV and resume scanning is a practical and simple way to find ideal candidates.
6. Product Data
Manually extracting data for particular products can be an uphill battle. If you need to prepare descriptions, web scraping will find what you need. Obtain images, features, and more with ease. Especially if you have a massive amount of inventory to present, automation is your best bet.
7. Brand Protecting
Trademark and copyright infringement are very common, unfortunately. Many businesses worldwide also deal with counterfeiting and patent theft. These can go on without your knowledge. But web scraping will catch all this. It’s able to quickly identify questionable moves undertaken by others and make you aware of them. Then you can investigate and pursue legal action if necessary.
8. Keyword Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is how you get noticed. Keywords are the cornerstone for this recognition. Data scraping will clue you in on all the latest SEO buzzwords for your industry. Stay up-to-date in order to take your ranking to new heights and keep it there. Scrape weekly to monitor and adapt to any changes.
9. Customer Opinions
Scraping will net you a tremendous amount of customer reviews. See what people are saying about you, good and bad, then act accordingly. This information is critical, but remember to also take a hands-on approach in this situation. Chat sites like TinyChat and Omegle can direct you to topic discussions. This information might be useful to broaden the wingspan of your research safely.
10. Routine Testing
A web scraper is a fantastic tool to have at your disposal whenever you want to test-run your site. Maybe you’ve made some updates or changes, so to see if they’re on the up-and-up and functioning properly, let automation loose to sniff out any problems.
Concluding Remarks
Automation tools paired with proxies are what you need for a successful business in 2022. These suggestions are invaluable methods to keep you on an even keel with your competitors. Try them out, and you’ll see the bottom-line difference in only a short period of time.
The Top 10 Most Popular Web Scraping Use Cases in 2022 was last modified: January 20th, 2023 by Marius Ilgauskas
A Quality Management System (QMS) is a series of written procedures for key processes and methods put in place to ensure a business can meet customer requirements consistently and effectively. A well-maintained and implemented QMS can boost productivity and ensure your business hits performance targets. If you haven’t yet implemented a quality management system, read on to learn more.
Why is a QMS Important?
A QMS is very important, particularly in sectors like manufacturing. Implementing a QMS will help you reduce waste and boost efficiency. It can also help you meet the standards required to achieve your compliance. If a business is not compliant, it could trigger all kinds of problems, legal or otherwise.
A QMS can support a business, but there needs to be a robust framework in place for managing the QMS processes. There are software QMS solutions available to help businesses put a quality management system in place. Enterprise software is ideal for larger businesses, and EQMS are essential tools in any manufacturing process, where lean methods are used to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
Building a QMS Framework
A QMS framework, whether software or actual paperwork, is all about maintaining accurate records. The QMS will include records, reports, and help employees carry out their tasks in a compliant manner. If there are incidences of non-conformance, the QMS will record these, as well as the outcome. An effective QMS creates an accurate paper trail, so when processes are audited, perhaps for compliance purposes, data is accurate and up to date at all times.
All quality management systems have a hierarchy of essential documents. The first is a Quality Manual. There should also be a list of policies, procedures, instructions for how to carry out various tasks, forms, and lists.
Essential Steps in Implementing a QMS
Implementing a QMS can seem like a challenge, but many companies already have a lot of documentation already in place. However, all documents must adopt the same template and be easy to read and understand. All existing policy documents and procedural manuals must be brought up to date, checked for accuracy, and imported into the new format.
Map all areas of the business and decide which ones should fall under the umbrella of a QMS. It may be that some areas are left out of the process. Include all members of the business in the process. It is very important that everyone gets involved, so any areas of non-compliance or missing documentation are highlighted early on in the process.
Documents must be drafted according to the master template, and accessible to everyone. Ensure documents are reviewed by department heads to check for inaccuracies. Documents must be filed in a way that they can easily be identified and retrieved (this is one benefit of using a QMS software solution, as all documents are stored electronically in the cloud, and accessible to everyone, from anywhere).
Note that staff training will probably be needed so employees know how to use the QMS.
How to Implement a Quality Management System was last modified: February 2nd, 2022 by Ink Elves