Tag: Business Tips

Most corporate businesses understand how to get the most out of their employees. Payment is simply not the best method of ensuring loyalty and creative work from your employees. Their future success and growth are in the employees of the business.

As a corporation, the board can use incentives and rewards to not only save money, more, but they can grow their business at a consistent pace and have employee satisfaction at a higher rate. This will ensure that the star employees stay with the company.

There are multiple incentives to choose from, and all of them have different goals and outcomes set for their use of them. Managers and business owners must first decide what the goal is of the incentive, and what outcome they desire before determining which incentive to use. All incentives will save the business money in the long run. This is the case as long as it is accompanied by other business goals and values.

What is a Business Incentive?

Business incentives come in all shapes and sizes. However, the basis of all incentives is clear. A business incentive is when an encouraging reward or benefit is used to obtain a desired outcome through the employees. Employees are more likely to chase a goal or work towards a deadline when they know a reward is on the other side.

There are a few factors that can determine the choice of incentives businesses end up choosing. The first element that has the biggest impact is the financial budget. A budget sets the boundaries for the maximum amount of finances that can be spent on a set area within the business.

There are many ways to plan and create a financial budget. The focus when deciding on financial spending when planning an incentive program should be on the regularity and the number of incentives the business wants to hand out throughout the year.

Another factor that will have an impact on a budget of a company is traveling for incentive programs. Even though the incentive will cause the company to spend money, the business should take into consideration the chance of employees needing to travel to the incentive. Traveling to a holiday destination received as an incentive bonus is an example of this.

The Goal of Incentives

Incentive programs will have an impact on the business. The impact can be either beneficial or negative for the business, however, if a company makes great use of these incentives, multiple benefits and targets can be achieved.

Achieve or increase sales goals

Sales are the driving force that produces finances for the company. The money being collected ensure that all expenses are paid. It is up to the sales teams to provide the company with enough finances to lead to a profit and all company growth.

A sales incentive aims to provide the team with clear objectives and tasks to pursue. Employees receive a set of tasks to complete before a set deadline, which ensures a set of productive days to reach the goal. The key to setting goals is to provide a reward system that will pay out when the goal is reached.

Most companies have incentive programs, but the lack of a set reward for achieving the goal can cost the high productivity that drives employees to perform. Sales incentive programs will increase sales and income if done properly.

Of course, the goal must be clear from the top management. If the objective is to sell more of a specific product or to increase sales of a service, the communication to the team must be clear and precise. This will prevent the team from facing any challenges of unclear goals. With this the reward must be stated from the start, To ensure a boost in productivity and motivation behind the goals set by the business.

Education and learning programs for employees

Incentive programs can be a great tool to use to ensure employee growth and education. When the company employees grow, the team and corporation have the opportunity to grow with them. Simply allowing employees to learn and grow their education, the higher their value to the company. The individuals will now be able to provide new solutions or ideas to old or recurring problems.

United States companies have spent 358 billion dollars on training and education for their employees. Showcasing the importance of spending and investing in employees. The incentive program implemented can ensure that the company invests time and money into their employees on a regular base.

This will provide the employee with an opportunity to grow and experience recognition. The incentive will allow the employee to learn new skills from industry leaders that will increase the employee’s value to the company.

Another benefit for the company can be that the employee has time away from the office, which will allow the employee to rest and recoup. They have time to spend with the new information without a manager requiring the knowledge from them. The goal of education is to release the employee to grow and feel valued by the company.

Employee engagement and morale

A business can not only succeed by simply only allowing input from top management and the directors. Even though they provide clear directions and set core values for the company, the employees are part of driving the business forward.

Employees are the face that customers encounter daily, thus receiving input and queries from them is key. Multiple incentives can be added to ensure that employees are productive and to ensure that they feel valued. Productivity is not the only key factor to ensure employee engagement.

Business management must ensure a safe and healthy work environment that accepts different opinions and ideas. Corporations can have easily implemented incentives that will ensure higher engagement from their employees. However, most companies have a 54% unengaged employed workforce. This means that the employees will do the bare minimum in their workday. These employees do not want to improve or grow inside the business.

With low employee engagement, companies face severely low productivity and insight from their key section of the business, the employees that work with customers on a daily base. Incentives such as working from home can create a work culture that allows engagement. This incentive must focus on bringing out the creative side of the employees. Additionally, managers must be open to listening and appreciating the input that the employees have.

Prevent burnout

Employees face tough decisions on a daily base, which can lead to high-stress levels. Moreover, work-related problems have been stated as 66% cause of most individuals’ stress. Employee occupations have been linked to a high level of burnout throughout the last few decades.

Employees that face burnout will experience exhaustion, reduction of personal accomplishments, and cynicism. These symptoms can be due to high-intensity work or working longer hours without the adequate rest needed to recover. According to clinical psychologist Dan Pelton, employees spend 85% of their workweek communicating through instant messages, emails, and texts. This enhances the burnout that employees encounter in the workplace.

Corporations can target burnout by implementing incentives that allow employees to work shorter hours, or have more time off to rest. An incentive program that allows individuals to rest more often when the company goals are achieved, will allow the employees to come back well-rested and ready to hit the next goal or objective.

Companies can introduce another incentive in the form of working from home. This will allow employees to work a percentage of the time from home and the rest of the time in the office. The office stress and constant communication will be reduced and productivity will skyrocket. Employees will have more time to focus on the task, and not on constant communication and workplace distractions.

Employee retention

Employee turnover can come at a high cost for a business. The term employee retention refers to the company’s ability to keep its employees. The longer an employee works at a company, the more time can be invested to ensure the employee grows within the business.

A study shows that it costs a company 1.5-2 times the annual salary of the employee lost to find a replacement for the company. The cost of advertising, researching, and conducting interviews are reflected in the time and financial loss. Other costs such as training and educating the new employee can lead to a loss in a certain department for certain businesses. The productivity is lost and most employees will take up to two years, depending on the position to gain back the high productivity.

High employee turnover can be prevented by simply placing incentives in place. That will ensure that all staff members feel valued and rewarded for the hard work that they do for a business. The incentive will ensure that the employees are productive in chasing a goal and then reward them for reaching their goal. This showcases the business’s effort to improve employee retention by simply adding more value to its employees.

The Different Types of Incentives

There are two main categories for business incentives. The incentive must either have a monetary value. This refers to a financial benefit such as bonuses, promotions, or other forms of financial gain for achieving a goal set by the company. This financial reward can be provided when the goal is achieved or at the end of a set time.

Monetary Incentives

Monetary incentives are programs that will reward employees with financial benefits when a goal or objective is reached. Employees can receive a promotion at the end of the working year, which will showcase the company’s appreciation for them. Another form of monetary incentive is bonuses and financial rewards that are paid immediately when the goal is reached can be paid.

Promotions and bonuses

Financial benefits can have an everlasting impact on the company’s employees. This incentive rewards employees with a financial benefit. Companies will pay a set amount of money straight into the employee’s pocket once they have achieved the goals and objectives set by the company.

The difference between a promotion and a bonus is that a bonus is a once-off payment, mostly immediately after an employee has achieved the set goal. The employee will receive the financial benefit and will be able to move to the next goal. No added responsibility or consequences are connected with a bonus.

Promotions on the other hand provide the employee with a cash reward either after the completion of the goal or annually. This can be seen as a raise for constantly achieving goals set by the company. The promotion can include more responsibilities due to the increase in monthly financial benefits.

Profit sharing

Profit sharing is when a business rewards its employees with a percentage based on the profit made throughout the year. This can be in the shape of a cash reward, stock incentive, or adding finances to the employee’s retirement fund.

This incentive is not as popular but can be used for managers or employees in higher positions. This will ensure that employees are motivated to grow the business. Business owners use this incentive to create a sense of personal connection for employees to their workplace. Owning their stocks in the business they are working for is a great way to ensure that they continuously pursue growth and profit.

Commission based incentives

Commission-based incentives are a well know method within every sales team. This program sets goals for sales teams, either for each sale or when a target is reached. The employee receives a set percentage of financial gain. This incentive aims to ensure that the sales team is motivated to increase the sales of products or services.

A commission incentive reward the employee immediately after reaching the goal. The incentive program motivates employees by simply rewarding them with instant gratification after acquiring a sale.

Not all employees love the pursuit of persuading or selling products. However, most employees do enjoy a financial benefit for their hard work to sell products to their customers. The incentive is a great tool and can lead the company to grow at a rapid pace.

Non-monetary Incentives

Non-monetary incentives are programs that will reward the team or employee by providing them with rewards that have no financial benefit to them. They can be as simple as receiving a few days off or working an extra day at home. Other forms of this program can be an all-paid travel experience or educational seminars and input that the employee would enjoy. Consequently, gift cards can be included in the non-monetary incentive programs.

Recognition for employees and managers

Employee recognition can have a major impact on the workplace. This is one of the easier reward incentive programs to incorporate into any business. Corporations can simply recognize the hard work of employees by thanking them in front of others.

A simple gesture of praising the employee for reaching a goal in front of their peers and managers can motivate all of them to be more productive and work towards their goals. There are multiple different forms of recognition but the aim of the incentive stays the same. To ensure that the employee is recognized for their hard work, and valued for the time and energy placed into to company.

Retreat

Planning and scheduling retreats can be of great benefit to all employees. A retreat works best when rewarding a team within a company. The retreat will allow the team to leave the office and head to a location where they can relax and spend time connecting with the team members out of the office.

A retreat can be used to provide the team with education on a certain topic or problem that they face. While sharing knowledge at a retreat is great, companies must ensure that the team has time off. This will ensure a well-rested and motivated team that will return to the office ready to break new records and achieve all set goals.

Leave and employee breaks

Providing employees with well-structured breaks or time away from the office in a form of leave is a great incentive that can grow the company’s productivity. Individuals can work under high stressing conditions and long hours, however, this does not produce the best results.

Break incentives will allow employees to recoup for a few hours, or days. This will ensure that they return with more energy and creativity to take on objectives and tasks that lie ahead. Additionally, these incentives can easily be added to employee benefits and companies will be able to draw from the benefits in no time.

Traveling and education incentive programs

Incentive programs that include traveling and education must be chosen and evaluated carefully. The impact the incentive program will have is massive if it is rewarded to the correct employee.

Not all employees enjoy the same training or traveling destinations. Thus, rewarding a travel incentive to an employee that desires to be home with their family can lead to a demotivated employee. Or by rewarding an employee that has been to a set location multiple times, with the same traveling incentive. This keeping the options open as to where the employee wants to travel to is of utmost importance.

The educational incentive is a good method of ensuring that the employees learn and grow on a consistent base. Most employees do not educate or learn new skills outside of working hours. This will ensure that the team constantly grows, which will bring a fresh and creative solution to the table.

Also, conferences, virtual meetings, or trade shows can all be used as educational incentives. The education incentive aims to provide the employee with a reward that will provide them with new knowledge that they can use within the business.

The Benefits of an Incentive Program for Business

The financial benefits of the inclusion of incentives will be felt through a majority of systems within the business. These incentives will not provide the company with physical, financial benefits per se, however, they will increase productivity, team work and growth within the business.

Particular non-monetary incentives can be implemented without the company spending any money. The recognition incentive can be done weekly by calling an employee into the office, calling them out in front of other staff members, and thanking them for their hard work and time at the office. This step will show the employee’s appreciation and that the company values their input.

While other incentives might need some financial backing, the benefits will outweigh the money spend in the long run. A retreat will not only boost morale but will motivate the team to work together to increase sales.

Companies can include incentives in business trips — and in this way save money and provide an employee or team member with some time away from the office. Corporations will extra money to ensure that the employee can travel to a location for business purposes. Additionally, by simply adding a bit of finance to the trip, the employee can rest an extra few days. The employee can be given the option and the only expenses for them will be leisure activities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, employees are the backbone and driving force of any business. It falls on the corporation’s shoulders to ensure that the entire team is motivated and well looked after. Well-thought-out incentives are a great way to ensure the employees that they are important to the company.

Not all incentives will cost the company money, hence choosing both monetary and non-monetary incentives is of crucial importance. The business must ensure that the incentives are solely for the benefit of the employees will appreciate it.

Deciding an incentive that motivates the employees and not the head of the business. Corporations can be selfless and provide their employees with constant motivation throughout the year to ensure that they as well as the company grow, and achieve new heights.

The post The Importance of Business Incentives and How They Can Save You Money appeared first on Due.

Some people believe launching a startup in their retirement years is counterintuitive. Startups are unlike regular small businesses. Compared to small companies, they are high-stakes, disconcerting, and unpredictable. 

As a new startup founder, you must adapt to a fast-paced technological environment, learn new skills such as fundraising from venture capitalists, understand scaling, and be ahead of the tech curb. It would help if you were comfortable taking on tremendous responsibility. For example, building a fintech app or platform involves ensuring safe personal and financial data among your users.

As a startup founder in your retirement, you must assess whether you are ready for high pressure and disruption. Startups tend to be heavily demanding on your psyche, energy, work hours, and finances. Nevertheless, retirement can be the perfect time for that big idea. You need to be mindful of the risks and rewards.

What is a startup? 

How is a startup different from a regular business? You can differentiate a startup from a small business by its goals.

A startup aims to:

• Enact change and transform society
• Disrupt industries
• Generate tremendous value and ROI (return on investment)
• Grow rapidly
• Deliver everything at scale

Startup culture is rooted in innovation. Therefore, the goal is to develop novel products, services, methods, and technologies. Such novel ideas, when successful, tend to create social change. They also accelerate technological movements and reshape economies when they become trends.

Given the power of today’s startups, it’s no wonder aspiring founders want to take on the risk of creating them. There are many potential rewards when you achieve startup success.

Startups are funded differently compared to a typical small business. Fundraising typically involves several rounds: pre-seed and seed, followed by Series A, B, C, and D. An initial public offering (IPO) is very much on the table. So is an acquisition by a SPAC or special purpose acquisition company. When mature, a startup can also list directly on a stock exchange.

By contrast, small businesses do not have the growth pressure that startups do. You can start a small business without aiming to be disruptive. A small business is also called a “main street business.”

Examples of main street businesses include coffee shops, restaurants, souvenir shops, hair salons, laundry shops, and many others. Such businesses can earn a decent income and be passed on to family members or sold for a nice sum to add to your future retirement income. However, they do not have the scaling requirements that startups have. You can be comfortable with one or a few branches of your small business. 

What are the critical steps to launching a startup?

When founding a startup, you need to know where to begin. There are many ways to frame the steps to launching a new startup. Some guides emphasize the technical aspects. In this article, we aim for simplicity. As a retiree, you don’t need to be intimidated by jargon. If you have a great idea that will work, you’ve already taken the first step.

1. Come up with a great idea

Your startup idea may have been brewing for some time. In your pre-retirement career, you dreamed of building something new and exciting. It may even be related to your previous job. If you were a banker, you could start a digital bank and launch an app with agile features.

Your idea can be something other than technologically sophisticated. It might be a development over a current product. Many have succeeded in developing large businesses by making a current product or technology one percent better. You need to find that feature that clicks with the user base. That way, you can steal market share.

2. Develop a sound business plan

Business plans are standard in any endeavor. They are designed to keep your eye on the ball. However, most startups are developing businesses, so assume the business plan is not set in stone. Think of it as a guide or roadmap. It is also helpful when speaking to investors.

A basic business plan should include a background on the industry you plan to join or disrupt, your market, strategies, product information, your team, and financing or raising the target.

3. Build a strong core team

Teams are core to a startup’s success. When your idea and business plan are ready, you may already have your core team members in mind. Often, these are people you’ve worked with before and whom you believe have the skills to see your idea through. You can also find new people with rare skills if your startup requires them.

Startup teams are unlike regular business partnerships. They can be very intense, potentially lasting decades if a startup succeeds. Ensure your co-founders and early team members are long-term people aligned with your goals. 

Find those who are genuinely excited about the company’s mission statement. Your earliest hires are crucial to your startup’s success, so choose wisely. 

4. Begin raising funds

You may dip into your retirement funds as a retiree. Using retirement savings to fund your startup, however, could turn out to be a bad idea. Even if you have excess funds for your retirement, consider going the usual startup route of doing your initial fundraising through a friends and family round and contacting angel investors when possible.

Look for venture capitalists who might be interested in your idea. Only some investors are suitable for your startup. Do your homework and find the funds most interested in a product or business model like yours. 

Why raise funds the conventional way and not dip into your retirement savings? The answer is simple: to spread out the risk. Moreover, as a first-time founder, you will benefit from the advice of seasoned investors who can act as mentors. 

A pitch deck is one of the crucial tools you need for a raise. Master what makes a great pitch. A solid angle begins with clarity. Make sure you are clear about your business idea, and present the picture and the data in the most transparent and impactful way possible. If you can afford it, hire a good designer for your pitch. You can find many free templates or use design software to save money. 

Raising money for a startup can be challenging. It would help if you had the stamina for the long haul. You must build networks and approach people you’ve never thought of before. 

5. Create a marketing plan

Marketing is crucial for startups because it helps bring awareness and traction to your business. You need to invest enough time and money in your initial marketing moves. Well-conceived marketing will help you identify your brand values, develop your brand identity and its elements, and identify your value proposition. It will also help create an edge for you in the market, target ideal customers, increase your brand’s visibility, and establish the beginnings of a good reputation for your startup.

As startups usually look to bootstrap or lower costs initially, you should look into digital marketing techniques. Not only are they practical, but they also help you scale in a way that traditional marketing can’t. 

These are some digital marketing strategies you should include in your startup’s plan:

• Content marketing
• SEO or search engine optimization
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• PPC or pay-per-click
• Marketing analytics
• Mobile marketing

6. Have a legal strategy in place

Some startup founders need to consider a legal strategy early on. However, this can be a mistake, especially in disruptive environments where you are a first mover. Even when you are not a first mover, you must still comply with essential business registration requirements in your area. 

Make sure you have all the legal foundations covered. Consult a lawyer or an accounting firm to ensure you’ve covered your bases. You should also be familiar with registering a new startup in the United States.

Some of the legal basics you need for your startup include:

• Creation of a company bank account
• Trademarks and patents, when necessary
• Business name registration
• Business license registration
• Obtaining a federal tax ID number
• Basic contracts for investors, customers, partners, and others involved

In addition, you need to study the current regulatory climate of the industry you are entering. As startups tend to bring about change, you need to see how your startup can comply with existing regulations even as you seek to bring new elements to the sector.

7. Pick a good place to register your startup

Most startups have both physical and online elements to them. However, your physical location could matter greatly, depending on your business model. 

Look for the top-ranked cities that are friendly to startups. Silicon Valley is one of many hotbeds for startups. 

The list of the best U.S. startup cities for 2023 includes:

• Austin, Texas
• Miami, Florida
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Los Angeles, California

Be sure to consider the overall environment, including taxes, benefits, proximity to venture capital, and metrics. These include the rate of entrepreneurship, high-growth company density, early-stage funding deals, and net business creation.

As a retiree, you must be comfortable being mobile and moving to a different state if it favors your startup. However, only some people need to do this, and you must carefully weigh the pros and cons. 

8. Focus on building a loyal customer base

Attracting customers should be a top priority no matter which phase you are in when building your startup. Gaining customers and traction makes your startup attractive to investors. You should embed customer- or user-acquisition strategy in the foundations of the technology you are building.

For example, if you are making an e-commerce site, you should design it with the right calls to action, customer benefits, and hooks to attract more users. Your pricing strategy also needs to be in place to be effective at gaining customers.

Other strategies you can use to attract customers to your startup’s website include:

• Establishing a good customer service program from the get-go
• Using targeted online promotions, such as on social media 
• Advertising the strengths of your product or service in your marketing materials
• Developing customer loyalty by leveraging customer feedback
• Conducting market research and applying it to your business model

Is it too late to build a startup?

One of the big questions people of retirement age ask is whether they are too old to get into startups. There are no rules for starting businesses or founding startups. While startup culture tends to be youth-oriented, some retirement-age founders have managed to thrive. Many of these founders are subject matter or domain experts and have evolved into innovators.

However, you do need to be mindful of some key points. These include the following:

• Risk appetite and risk perspective – In your forties to sixties, you may not think of risk as you did in your twenties. Sure, you may be excited about your startup idea. However, having worked for several decades, you could have a more conservative approach to risk. After all, every dollar lost is not a dollar you are likely to get back. 
• Fewer safety nets – Young founders have more chances to get it right. By virtue of time, older founders have fewer shots at success. Younger people tend to shoot for the stars because, apart from time, they have several other safety nets, including supportive parents, the chance to return to work or school and take on second jobs, a vast network of friends, and more. If they fail, they have time for a do-over. 

Use Your Experience To Gain an Edge in Startups

Despite the risks, you’ll be surprised to learn that middle-aged and even retirement-aged founders have distinct advantages over younger ones. You’ll be amazed to know that your forties and fifties may be the perfect time to begin a startup. 

Regarding startup success statistics, the young Silicon Valley wunderkind is a myth. A team of Benjamin Jones, a Kellogg School professor of strategy, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Javier Miranda, and MIT’s J. Daniel Kim and Pierre Azoulay conducted a study to challenge the notion of the young startup unicorn founder. They discovered that the best results in tech startups tend to be generated by founders with an average age of 45. They also found that an entrepreneur aged 50 has twice the probability of startup success than someone in their thirties.

One of the key findings in the study is that years of experience in the same industry contribute to the likelihood of success. The researchers found that having over three years of experience in a startup industry doubles your chances of being among those one-in-a-thousand, fastest-growing companies. 

These findings contrast with our ideas of runaway startup success by young founders. Sure, stories about young founders might be compelling. Still, we need to make room for older founders’ higher statistical rates of entrepreneurial success. 

This knowledge is a breath of fresh air for retirement-age aspiring founders. The math is in your favor. Be sure to leverage your industry experience to gain an advantage for your startup. 

 

The post Important Information for Founding a Startup During Retirement appeared first on Due.

Does it seem like everyone these days has a home-based business? You’re half right. About 50% of businesses are run from the founder’s primary residence. If you’re one of those intrepid entrepreneurs, congratulations. You’re already saving money by not paying rent for an office space or a daily commute. However, you can’t afford to leave other dollars on the table. That’s why you need to focus on frugality.

Being careful about where you spend your finances can pay off handsomely in terms of your net revenue. Even if you can just hold onto 5% more per year, you’ll be ahead of where you were. Fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of work or sacrifice to trim some pennies here and there. By making just a few adjustments, you could see a sizable payback.

1. Keep all your business receipts.

Let’s start by talking about “tax time”. It’s not as dreaded as you might think, especially if you run your company from home. The federal government allows you to take a home office tax deduction as long as you meet all its specific requirements. This saves you money right off the bat and gets you on the right track.

Be sure to stay on that track by keeping copies of all your business receipts. Whether they’re in paper or digital form, you’ll be glad you stashed them away. In fact, they’ll give you two very important advantages. First of all, they’ll ensure you don’t miss any deductions. It’s easy to forget that you spent $5 on a new pack of highlighters 10 months before. Having a receipt jogs your memory. Secondly, you’ll need to offer up those receipts if you’re ever asked to present proof of the expenses you’re deducting.

2. Cut down on your energy costs.

Depending upon your home office setup, you may be able to deduct a portion of your utilities on your taxes. Or, if your home office is an actual separate building, such as a former carriage house in your side yard, you can deduct all those utility costs. Even so, you don’t want to shower your utility providers with money every month.

A good way to pull back on your utility costs without incurring any discomfort is to look for alternative energy sources. For instance, you may want to invest in solar panels which will eventually pay for themselves. What if you don’t have cash on hand to front the money for an installation? PosiGen, an emerging leader in the solar panel installment industry, offers a unique leasing arrangement whereby you can get panels — and savings — immediately with little down. Another quick way to cut back on the need for something like air conditioning is to keep your windows open on temperate nights. You’ll spend less time running your HVAC equipment.

3. Buy all your supplies in bulk.

Maybe you only need one ream of paper right now. But what about in the future? Would it benefit you to buy a case of 10 reams to get the discount? If you use paper and haven’t moved to a paperless office setting, your answer will probably be “yes”. After all, going for bulk supplies can significantly lower your per-item price tag.

You may want to join a membership-only warehouse like Sam’s Club or Costco to get deep savings. Amazon Prime can sometimes be valuable, too, depending on what your regular office needs are. Do a little “number crunching” to see how you can whittle down the amount you pay for any type of supplies you use.

4. Treat yourself to pre-owned furniture.

Many companies aren’t going out of business but are selling off their office furnishings. Why? They’re making the move to become remote-only or hybrid businesses. Around 25% of companies are thought to offer their employees some type of flexible scheduling. As a result, they just don’t need all the desks, chairs, and filing cabinets they once did.

This is where you can swoop in and get yourself terrific bargains. Try snooping around on Facebook Marketplace or eBay. Or, try going “old school” and poke around your local or nearby Craigslist. Etsy can sometimes hold some upcycled finds as well. If you hear of a business in your hometown that’s shuttering, stop by or give a call. The owners may want to unload some of their furniture. You’ll get a refreshed home office workspace, they’ll get money, and your bottom line won’t suffer for the style upgrade.

5. Keep yourself on a schedule.

Is time really money? Absolutely, especially when you’re in business for yourself. The more efficient you can be with your time management, the easier it will be to handle all your responsibilities. That’s why it’s so critical for you to keep yourself on track with a digital or physical planner. Having a calendar keeps you focused on what you need to do and lowers your likelihood of frittering away your working hours.

You don’t have to feel bad if you struggle with time management. Even great entrepreneurs have their shortcomings. A good way to start getting on a schedule is to put all your to-do items into a daily list. Mark them by priority and schedule them throughout your day. At night, create a new list and schedule for the next day. Eventually, this process will become routine. When it does, you’ll be running your professional and personal life more smoothly.

6. Invest in AI-based software.

Another way to give yourself more time is to invest in software to take care of some of your manual tasks. Many home-based business owners assume that they can’t afford AI-based systems. Not true. Some programs are free or low-cost to use and they can be hugely beneficial.

Perhaps the most emerging of all these tools is ChatGPT. Though there’s been a lot of debate about ChatGPT’s promises versus its problems, it’s clearly worth tinkering with. One safer way to lean into AI is by finding out which of your current tools is or plans to integrate AI into its system. MarketMuse, a content planning and optimization tool, has recently launched a version with ChatGPT integration. The update allows users to create outlines and optimize content without investing more hours, making it a great option to save time for business owners.

7. Weigh different payment options.

How you get paid can either save or cost you money. Now is a good time to conduct a deep dive into how you receive payments from clients or customers. Do they send you checks? Do you accept money through a service platform like PayPal? Are you set up to use credit cards for a fee? There are plenty of ways to get the cash you’re owed. However, not all the ways may be putting dollars back in your pocket as quickly as they could.

For instance, if you receive checks in the mail, you have to wait for them to come. Then, you have to wait again for them to be processed. This could mean an extra few days between when you deposit your money and when you can actually use it. Who wants to risk a cash flow gap, particularly if you’re a small business owner with bills to pay? Even if you have to pay a fee for a faster payment service, you may find that it’s worth it in the long run.

8. Spend time on organic content marketing.

You’ll definitely need to pay for some of your online marketing. For example, it’s fairly uncommon these days for businesses not to have a website. Although you can certainly create and manage your own site, you’ll still need to pay something to keep it live. Nevertheless, there are innovative ways for you to get some free advertising. One of them is through SEO measures like blogging and posting on social media.

Organic, non-paid content marketing can help spread word about your brand and its abilities. While you may not be able to completely cut yourself from paid advertising, you shouldn’t discount the power and value of organic SEO. The better your SEO, the better your visibility will be online. Again, SEO won’t put you in front of people the way paid Google or Facebook ads will. Still, it can be a good way to temper those other expenses and still be seen.

9. Examine your expenses every quarter.

Three months can fly by when you’re growing a home business. Just don’t let each quarter slip away without undergoing a quick evaluation. Pull out your expenses and study them carefully. What were your top five expenses for the past quarter? How many were one-time expenses, such as the purchase of a laptop? How many were ongoing costs? The ongoing costs are the ones you need to think about for the next three months.

Explore ways to make your top ongoing costs smaller, if possible. You may be able to negotiate with a vendor, for example, or switch to a different, lower-priced product. Get imaginative. Just remember that you shouldn’t make cuts that will put your effectiveness, product or service quality, or optimization at risk. But some cuts may be reasonable to implement, at least for the following quarter.

Spending wisely always makes sense when you’re in charge of a home business with limited resources. All you have to do is take a few extra steps and you could wind up saving a bundle.

The post Running Your Business From Home: 9 Ways To Save Money appeared first on Due.

If you have been using Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a while, you are probably familiar with AWS reserved pricing. The concept is well-liked because of EC2-reserved instances. However, it applies to other AWS services as well. This guide walks you through some fantastic tips to save money using EC2. In addition, there are a bunch of other attractive ways that allow you to save significantly on reserved capacity purchases in AWS. What’s more, you will find some live examples and calculations and a series of steps to follow to save some bucks in EC2. Read on!

Hack 1: Pay for EC2 Using Your Amazon Credit Card

If you are a frequent shopper on Amazon, you probably have heard about Amazon credit cards. This giant online retailer offers different types of credit cards, including Amazon Prime Rewards, Amazon Rewards Visa Signature, Amazon Store Card, and Amazon Prime Store Card. If you have an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card, you are eligible for 5% cashback for all purchases made through Amazon.com.

In addition, this card entitles you to 2% cashback at restaurants, drug stores, and gas stations and 1% cashback on other purchases. For Prime members, the card doesn’t involve any annual fee. Moreover, it features a welcome bonus – leveraging this, you can earn a $200 Amazon gift card upon approval. The card also allows you to transfer your balance. The APR varies from 18.49-26.49%.

Offered through Chase, this credit card allows you to save a sizable amount on your EC2 purchases. If you don’t have a Prime membership, you can consider Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card. It also allows you to save significantly for every purchase made through Amazon, including EC2 hosting. You can expect to enjoy a generous 3% cashback.

In addition, you can enjoy benefits like zero foreign transaction fees, specific travel benefits, and 2% cashback at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores.

Besides the two mentioned above, you can also check the Amazon Store and Prime Store Cards to enjoy lucrative savings on your purchases from Amazon.

Hack 2: Leverage Reserved Pricing

To amplify the benefits and price-saving opportunities offered by Amazon credit cards, you can leverage AWS reserved pricing. However, before you go ahead and follow the trick, let’s take you through a detailed technical analysis of the concept so that you can make the most out of your purchase.

What Does AWS Reserved Pricing Refer To?

Reserved pricing is a simple strategy. If you agree to a one-year or three-year commitment for a specific AWS resource type, you can save up to 75% more than the default pricing alternative. While it’s a fantastic saving vehicle, there are a number of considerations associated.

The reserved pricing concept is available with AWS services like RedShift, EMR, RDS, etc. Though there are no official statistics from AWS about EC2, several reports state that EC2 is the highest-spent area of AWS. Thus, if you can cut the EC2 costs, you are expected to reduce your holistic AWS bill.

Understanding the Payment Alternatives and Terms

With reserved pricing, you can buy compute capacity in one-year or three-year terms. The payment options you can expect to come across include the following –

• All upfront: A lump sum payment for the entire one or three-year period.
• Partial: A partial payment for one or three years and then switching to monthly payments.
• No upfront: Zero upfront payment with regular monthly charges for one or three years.

The more upfront payment you make, the greater savings you bag. The following chart may help you understand the difference better.

Note that you are less likely to experience a huge difference between the three alternatives. However, the amount may depend on the cost of the service, which, in turn, may raise the percentage of difference. Ideally, before making any substantial payment, you should compare it thoroughly with the no-upfront alternative.

In some cases, the “no upfront option’ may enable you to save an equal amount of money as the upfront alternative. As an added benefit, you won’t have to make a big hole in your pocket when the reserved period starts.

Identifying the Scope

Before you proceed with a reserved alternative, it’s crucial to figure out the scope of the reservations. They usually include the following alternatives.

• Availability zone: Here, you can access a specific discount applied to different instances under one specific availability zone. Here you can expect a guaranteed EC2 capacity, but you won’t have the flexibility to update the instance size.

• Regional: This alternative allows you to access discounts on any EC2 instance of an applicable instance family and operating systems under any availability zone within the AWS region. This alternative doesn’t involve any reserved capacity. Therefore, it will prioritize other buyers who have paid for reserved capacity in case of hardware shortages.

The following example will help you understand both cases or scopes better:

Suppose you have decided to buy an m5.xlarge Amazon Linux, regional scope. In this scenario, you are permitted to launch two m5.large instances using Amazon Linux.

You can achieve significant cost savings over the long term by applying the reserved discount on both instances, regardless of the availability zone. However, if you purchase a reservation with a specific availability zone scope, such as m5.xlarge in US-east-1B, it cannot be applied to other instances outside that zone. However, you may launch a new instance in the same zone if EC2 capacity is low in that region.

To simplify, choosing a regional scope that prioritizes flexibility over capacity and does not affect the cost is recommended. Unless critical capacity requirements exist, sticking to a regional scope offers more flexibility and helps reduce costs.

Offering Classes

In AWS, you will typically encounter two offering classes, including the following.

• Standard: This less flexible alternative requires you to commit to a particular EC2 instance type. Once you are done with the commitment, you cannot change the instance family. While you can change the instance size, it’s possible only for regional reservations and Linux instances.

• Convertible: This alternative is way more flexible than the standard one. It allows you to try various families and sizes. However, the convertible offer class makes you less likely to save money.

The offering classes generally strive to help you manage risk. While the convertible alternative allows you to reduce a portion of the risk by offering flexibility, the standard one lacks this parameter. However, the standard offering class is much more affordable than the convertible. In addition, it allows you to sell reserved capacity in the reserved instance marketplace.

The price differences between the convertible and standard alternatives typically start at around 10% or higher.

Why Is It Crucial to Choose the Appropriate AWS Region?

The amount of savings for EC2 reserved instances may vary depending on the AWS region you choose. Thus, you should exercise a little caution when executing the task. When choosing the region, you may consider the following factors.

Latency: Low network latency can substantially enhance the user experience. Therefore, always choose an AWS region close to the user base location. This way, you may increase communication quality as the network packets need to travel through fewer exchange points.

Features: While every AWS region tends to have the same service level agreement, you can expect larger regions to launch newer features and services more frequently.

Compliance: If your data is bound by local regulations, you should check for regional compliance when choosing your AWS region.

Cost: AWS services feature different prices for different regions. Some regions have lower costs than others. Therefore, check thoroughly to enjoy a reduced cost for the same deployment.

You may find it complicated to evaluate all the said factors. However, it’s important for making an informed decision. Ideally, you need to allow your business priorities to influence your decision.

Does Reserved Pricing Pose Any Risk?

While the best-case scenarios with reserved pricing expose you to massive savings, there are trade-offs. The cost or benefit consideration associated with reserved pricing may include the following.

Inappropriate Provisioning

You can alter your applications’ commute capacity and instance type when you walk with the default payment alternative for your EC2 instances. If your business adapts to any changes and you don’t find your current EC2 capacity adequate, you can add more instances or cut some of them. This provisioning is, however, not available with reserved pricing.

Therefore, you should always analyze system metrics before investing in reserved instances. This will help you choose the right instance type for your workload. Furthermore, you can consider the regional scope and increase the capacity gradually.

Cash Flow

For application owners, it’s crucial to understand how their applications relate to their business. Indeed, you will always find it lucrative to save up to 75% on your EC2 spending lucrative, but it’s important to note that a reserved purchase can make you spend thousands of dollars upfront. If you find this huge expenditure rational and value-generating because of tax or accounting reasons, go ahead!

On the other hand, if you have just started and are yet to develop solid finance, you may probably use your money on other essential areas like product development, testing, advertising, hiring, etc. As such, you should devise a perfect calculation before proceeding with the investment.

More Affordable Generations of EC2

EC2 keeps on introducing newer and better versions. However, you cannot switch to those upgraded versions if you have already committed to a one- or three-year reserved purchase. Moreover, you can miss the modified cost benefits. For example, the latest c5.large instance is 15% more affordable than its previous generation. However, those already invested in reserved purchases can’t leverage these cost benefits.

Considering this possibility, choosing a one-year reservation over a three-year reserved term is wise. Besides, if you find holding a particular reserved capacity useless, sell it out in the reserved instance marketplace. This alternative is available only with the standard offering class. Moreover, you must hold a US-based bank account to sell a reserved capacity in the reserved instance marketplace.

3 Vital Metrics to Consider When Committing to Reserved Purchases

Before you go ahead to commit a reserved purchase, it’s crucial to consider the following metrics.

The Recovery Span

This is a crucial metric to evaluate when committing to a reserved purchase. It lets you know how long you will have to wait before you enjoy seeing the savings you have grabbed by dodging the default pricing. In most cases, the span ranges from 8-12 months. However, it may vary depending on the payment alternative, your EC2 instance type, and the AWS region you have chosen.

Comparing On-Demand and Savings

You should always figure out the percentage and the amount you could save by investing in reserved purchases. You should compare the alternative with the default one to calculate the benefits.

Savings vs. Upfront Fee

The upfront payments for reserved purchases may have various degrees, including everything upfront, no upfront, or partial upfront. Before investing, you should carefully analyze which alternative will help you save the most in the long run.

Steps to Save With EC2

Now that you know the primary components and savings fundamentals of EC2, let’s help you figure out the ultimate strategy to save with EC2. All you need to do is follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Start With Relevant Data Collection

The entire saving methodology is dependent on this important pillar. Committing long-term to an EC2 instance type involves numerous variables. Therefore, you won’t be able to make the right decision without analyzing adequate data. The said data may include the following.

• System metrics: You can analyze and gather system metrics by executing detailed load tests. These tests will help you determine how your applications are expected to perform when they go live.
• Billing data: You can configure usage reports and AWS costs by scrutinizing the billing data. To execute the job, you can leverage the dedicated AWS cost explorer. Your calculation should include two primary considerations – how much you pay for EC2 every year and what EC2 instance type allows you to justify the cost.

Besides the above-mentioned metrics, you should also check the network usage, disc i-o, and throughput to ensure data relevance.

Step 2: Performance Optimization

Here, you should configure auto-scaling to compute your baseline capacity. Autoscaling allows you to configure a fleet of EC2 instances, which may increase performance and reduce costs later. Once you are done with the autoscaling, you should monitor the system and customer experience metrics to ensure that you are not under/over-utilizing the EC2 instances.

Step 3: Calculation

This is the final step in the decision-making pyramid. Once you are sure your application has the right number, size, and family of EC2 instances, you can calculate the baseline cost and determine if you are investing in the right instances. Besides, figuring out the instance size and calculating the number of instances will enable you to choose the right scope, payment alternative, offering class, and duration. This way, you can make a rational decision that helps you save significantly.

To Sum Up

To save on Amazon EC2 hosting, you must be calculative and rational. You should start with getting the system and billing data and then move forward to analyzing the gathered data. Once done, you can apply performance optimization and verify if you have chosen the right EC2 instance type and number. Finally, you can calculate the baseline instance and choose the right EC2 alternative. This way, you may enjoy saving thousands on your Amazon EC2 hosting.

FAQs

Can you save money on Amazon EC2 hostings?

Amazon EC2 costs are variable, and you can enjoy saving significantly by implementing the right strategy. You can refer to AWS saving plans. Besides, you can switch to EC2 versions with updated pricing. Moreover, you can rightsize your workloads with the right instances to enjoy big savings. Finally, you can enjoy cashbacks on your purchase by paying using Amazon credit cards.

What is the downside of Amazon EC2?

EC2 comes with a default resource limit. This may vary from one AWS region to another. You can launch a specific number of instances per area. In such cases, you can miss out on hardware-level changes or upgrades, leading to poor performance.

How much does EC2 cost?

EC2 instances are available in different sizes and different pricing options. The sizes include micro, small, and medium. On the other hand, there is on-demand and reserved pricing. For detailed cost breakup, you can refer to the official website of AWS.

Will you lose data if you stop your EC2 instance?

Once you stop your EC2 instance, all information on the local hard drive will be lost. However, the data you store on your EBS volume will still be available. In fact, it will continue to persist in its availability zone.

How to schedule EC2 to save money?

AWS instance scheduler manages AWS EC2 scheduling. It usually works with the idea that you use only what you need and when you need it. The technology allows you to set a time of operation for a specific AWS EC2 instance which automatically spins up once the time expires. This helps you use EC2 in a cost-efficient manner.

The post Dear Business Owner, Here is a FREE Way to Save Thousands on Amazon EC2 Hosting appeared first on Due.

Relationships have been a consistent part of professional activity since the beginning of civilization. Egyptian laborers had to collaborate effectively as they dragged stones to the pyramids of Giza. Serfs had to work together to grow and distribute enough food during the Middle Ages. Arctic explorers had to support one another as they sought the location of the Earth’s two poles.

In the 21st century, the need for workplace relationships endures — even if things like remote workspaces and asynchronous work schedules are changing how workers build and maintain relationships. Despite these challenges, healthy relationships between and among employers and employees must remain a priority for modern professionals not just because they make work life easier. They can directly impact a company’s bottom line, too.

What is a workplace relationship?

When the term “workplace relationship” is used, it can conjure up a variety of different images. Some people might picture intimate connections with coworkers. Others could think of a great boss they’ve had in the past. They might think of group events they participated in, too.

These are all examples of workplace relationships at play. Forbes contributor and editor Chauncey Crail and Rob Watts, respectively, define the concept of relationships amongst coworkers as follows: “Employee relations concerns the building of positive relationships and interactions among employers and employees, and at a broader level helps foster a sense of community within an organization.”

In other words, the umbrella term “workplace relationships” applies to any positive relationship or interaction within the workplace. This is both a vertical and horizontal concept.

Vertical relationships are important as authority figures within a company interact and build connections with those further up or down the org chart. Horizontal relationships are also important, as they knit together coworkers within teams, between departments, and even across branches of a company.

You might even choose to expand the idea to key clients, customers and vendors. There’s no doubt that the quality of those working relationships can have a huge impact on your happiness and success.

The nuance of “good” workplace relationships

One more thing worth noting here is the understanding of what a “healthy” workplace relationship looks like. The term doesn’t mean everyone is your best friend. On the contrary, much like a family’s natural dynamics, professional relationships come in all forms.

Some coworkers connect so strongly that they become friends, even outside of the office. Others remain acquaintances with their fellow professionals, and still others rub their coworkers the wrong way. This spectrum of interhuman connections is normal.

What matters is that you maximize each relationship to its fullest and most operable potential. Coaching guru Michael Bungay Stanier (popularly known as MBS) addresses this concept in his book “How to Work With (Almost) Anyone.”

Bungay Stanier refers to this optimal relationship goal as “BPR” (Best Possible Relationship). “When you commit to a BPR,” he explains, “you commit to intentionally designing and managing the way you work with people, rather than just accepting what happens. With a BPR you create relationships that are safe, vital, and repairable. That’s the foundation for happier, more successful working partnerships.”

Workplace relationships come in all shapes and sizes. To keep them healthy, you don’t need to turn everyone into your bestie. You simply need to focus on the BPR that each connection offers.

How do healthy workplace relationships impact revenue?

The value of healthy workplace relationships is easy to see. When coworkers have strong relationships, they are happier. They have greater loyalty to their company and feel empowered to thrive within it.

The still-unanswered question is how this impacts your company’s bottom line. Let’s consider how some of the primary benefits of workplace relationships have a positive impact, specifically in the context of revenue.

1. Healthy work relationships lead to better retention

When workplaces operate with healthy relationships, they cultivate a greater sense of loyalty within an organization. As people connect in positive ways, they will naturally feel more invested and be less willing to leave.

This leads to a simple (yet significant) cost factor in the form of greater retention and lower turnover. SHRM calculates that the combined soft and hard costs that come with replacing an employee can be as much as three to four times the position’s salary. That is a significant cost for a business.

Technically speaking, this is a form of cost savings, not higher revenue, but it’s important to consider, all the same. When healthy relationships improve retention, it keeps your employees in-house longer, reducing your hiring costs in the process.

2. Healthy work relationships foster greater engagement

When employees invest in one another, they feel that they’re part of a larger organizational culture. This offsets the profound sense of loneliness that many modern workers struggle with.

Remote workers often feel disproportionately isolated and a substantial majority find building and maintaining work relationships more difficult than they are in an in-person setting. When a company encourages and facilitates relationship-building within its workforce, it fights this tendency toward loneliness and encourages engagement and happiness.

Happy employees are more engaged which affects revenue. They tend to be more productive, collaborate better, and work with customers more effectively.

3. Healthy work relationships improve employee development

Effective vertical workplace relationships are also important for ongoing development. When employers are able to intimately understand their employees, it increases their ability to promote their professional growth.

On the one hand, when issues arise, workers can communicate a problem or need to an employer with confidence, opening the door to collaborate on a solution. On the other hand, when things are going well, employees and employers can work together to find ways for proactive professional growth.

By quickly addressing problems and improving existing skill sets, employees become more efficient. In either case, the result is a net positive for the company.

4. Healthy work relationships provide greater insights

It’s no secret that diversity improves a company’s bottom line. In fact, diverse companies have statistically Happy employees.

However, to fully unleash the power of DEI initiatives, you have to look past your hiring practices. You have to develop healthy work relationships, as well.

When a diverse workplace prioritizes good vertical and horizontal connections among its coworkers, it exposes those individuals to a variety of perspectives and worldviews. Employees from different backgrounds and experiences feel empowered to speak up and share their personal insights.

How to improve workplace relationships

Understanding the impact that healthy workplace relationships can have on revenue is one thing. Improving your workforce’s relationships to tap into those financial benefits is another. If you’re uncertain how to promote better workplace relationships, here are a few thoughts to get you started.

1. Start things off on the right foot

In his book “How to Work With (Almost) Anyone” (mentioned above), along with defining BPR, Bungay Stanier provides a blueprint for improving healthy workplace relationships. This centers on an activity that MBS refers to as “the Keystone Conversation.”

This is a conversation that should take place early in a professional relationship. It aims to dig into deep, important work-related questions right away, such as learning how a person has grown from past mistakes or discovering their personal practices and preferences.

The Keystone Conversation accomplishes a few critical things early in a working relationship. It shares responsibility for the relationship, deepens individual understanding, and opens up permission to talk about the serious stuff when things are good as well as bad. If you want to create a structure within which to improve workplace relationships, this is a good place to start.

2. Set clear expectations

Expectations are everything — especially when you’re talking about connecting with coworkers that you have to collaborate with on a regular basis. If you set expectations, they create the framework within which a professional relationship can remain effective.

This is where it’s important to remember that workplace relationships aren’t all sunshine and roses. At times, they are practical, and occasionally, they’re simply making the best of an undesirable situation.

Whatever kind of relationship you’re working with, make sure you’re setting expectations. Be clear about what kind of help and support a person should expect from you. Provide feedback and communicate often to keep everyone on the same page. Make sure that everyone, including yourself, understands what to expect and what others expect of them to make the relationship function smoothly.

3. Develop yourself

Yes, we already pointed out that healthy workplace relationships are an outward-facing activity that is focused on others. However, in order to participate in and build healthy relationships, you need to start with a good, hard, introspective look inward.

What are the relationship-building areas that you need to focus on? Do you need to listen better? Do you lack emotional intelligence? Do you need better people skills?

Identify the key areas where your own ability to build relationships is lacking. Then work on improving those items as you seek to contribute to a healthy, profitable workplace.

Improving revenue through better workplace relationships

Workplace relationships are important. On an individual level, they ensure that you have positive experiences as you go about your work.

On a company-wide level, improved workplace relationships are also a major factor in maintaining a healthy revenue stream. They ensure that a company’s primary asset (its workforce) remains positive, focused, and efficient as it collectively works together.

The post Healthy Workplace Relationships Boost Your Bottom Line. Here’s How. appeared first on Due.

Move over, P.T. Barnum. Make way, Sarah Bernhardt. Today, anyone can make an income being a headliner thanks to the upsurge in popularity of the humble online podcast.

Though podcasting has been around for more than 20 years, it’s only recently begun to take off. Just how big is the podcast scene? Spotify boasts no fewer than five million titles. Apple Podcasts promises millions as well. And those are just two of the many places to find podcasts to whet your appetite.

Here’s the thing, though: You aren’t relegated to just listening to podcasts. Thanks to the low barrier to entry, you can work your way to the top of the podcasting charts and start earning an online income. Plenty of podcasters with significant followings have hit the big time. Had you heard of Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark before 2016? Maybe not — the duo’s rise to fame was on the spectacular success of their My Favorite Murder podcast.

In other words, your next side hustle might be behind a shiny new microphone setup. And the hustle could net you a pretty penny. Although not every podcaster gains traction with listeners, many do. If you’re able to monetize your popularity, you can enjoy a sustainable online income stream. Who wouldn’t want an extra few hundreds (or thousands) flowing into your account every month?

What’s the catch? Only that you have to put some measures into place to increase your chances of doing well. You can’t just set up a podcast and hope all goes well. Planning is essential, starting with seven of the biggest podcasting must-dos and must-haves.

1. Name and claim your topic area

Every solid, memorable podcast focuses on a particular subject matter. It doesn’t matter what the subject is — politics, sports, midwifery. Anything goes. You just have to bring some interest and passion to your show.

This is very important and shouldn’t be trivialized. Unless you care about something deeply, don’t make it the core focus of your podcast. You need to be able to create multiple episodes, after all. Therefore, write down what interests you and try not to hold back.

Once you have a bulky list of potential things to discuss on your podcast, start labeling them. Which are most intriguing to you? Which would offer the most opportunities for tangential topics? Are there any that would be easy to get guests for? Eventually, you’ll hit upon something that makes sense — and maybe be a bit provocative like some top podcasters.

2. Research similar podcasts

Guess what? You can’t come up with a great podcast title yet. Sure, you’ve figured out your preferred topic. However, you don’t want to enter a red sea with lots of competition. In order to drive an online income from it, you want your topic to be differentiated in some way. The best way to do that is to know what other podcasts are out there.

Spend a couple of weeks listening to podcast shows with subjects related to the one(s) you’ve chosen. Take notes on what you’re hearing. What’s the show’s format? How do they present the topic area? Hopefully, you’ll realize that there are a few gaps that you can leverage.

For example, let’s say that you want to talk about dogs. That’s a broad subject. Accordingly, you narrow it down to dogs representing larger breeds. But wait: After conducting some research, you see that you’re still not going to stand out with a large dog breed show. Unless, of course, your podcast features some aspect of large dog breeds that few other podcasters are discussing. Maybe it’s end-of-life considerations or training for older large-breed pooches. The objective is to present a fresh spin on your subject.

3. Publish on the right platform

You can go many publishing routes when you’re a podcaster. However, you won’t make as much money if you’re not on a platform that’s going to help you. Not all platforms are built the same, particularly if you’re hosting a podcast to augment your income. Your job is to find one that makes the process as streamlined as possible.

Take ShowPlatform, for example. The site features 35 modules set up to assist with everything from managing guests to building a website. (More on advertising later, by the way.) By investing in an all-in-one platform, you’re making life simpler. You’re also taking the guesswork out of trying to turn on a podcasting income stream.

Ideally, look for software with a free trial period. Even if you don’t actually upload and publish your first podcast during the trial, you’ll have time to investigate. Learn the software ins and outs so you can quickly get your podcast up and running every time.

4. Buy decent equipment

Forget about having to outfit a room in your house with soundproof flooring and walls. And toss the notion that you’ll go broke buying podcasting equipment. Just go for middle-of-the-road tools that you won’t be paying off for months on your credit card. As long as you have a somewhat insulated room — yes, walk-in closets count — you’ll sound decent.

What equipment do you need to get started? Obviously, you’ll want a mic. Remember the earphones, too. You need to be able to hear yourself. From there, you should order an audio mixer. While not absolutely necessary, pop filters will remove scratchy and annoying sounds.

Some equipment suppliers like Shure and RODE offer all-in-one podcasting kits. Buying in bulk has its pros and cons, though. On the one hand, everything should work well out of the box. On the other hand, you don’t get to be selective. Just don’t go extremely cheap. You want your podcast to sound as professional as your budget will allow. Adding a video element can be a nice addition, but you may not be ready to invest in videography equipment right away.

5. Decide on a format

Podcasting consistency on all levels will encourage more people to tune in to your episodes. Consistency isn’t just about publishing your podcasts regularly, however. It’s about having a systematic framework that all your podcasts follow.

As an example, you might want to start all your podcasts with an overview of the angle you’ll be covering. Just give a taste so people know what they’re about to hear. Hit the 35,000-foot overview. You’ll dive into the weeds later on either with a solo setup or perhaps with a guest or panel of guests. Then, you could do a quick wrap-up.

Having a regular format for your show gives it personality, punch, and predictability. Record one or two podcasts after determining what kind of setup appeals to you. Afterward, listen to them. Do you still like the way everything’s arranged? Or do you feel you should switch up your original format? Making changes before you have too many podcasts online will get you to your podcasting “sweet spot” faster.

6. Bring in advertisers

When you start to get some traction with audiences, think about becoming an influencer. Many brands are willing to advertise with podcasting influencers. You’ll need to show that you’re an attractive match, of course. Buzzsprout suggests you should have no fewer than 200 downloads to snag a sponsor. Obviously, the higher your provable listenership, the more you can ask.

You won’t get rich instantly by bringing aboard advertisers. A standard rate is around $18 per 1,000 impressions per Influencer Marketing Hub. That means you’ll need to up your game to start seeing more online income revenue. But what better incentive to improve your show than to know your efforts will literally pay off?

As with setting up and publishing your podcast, you can use different platforms to connect with advertisers. There’s nothing wrong with asking entrepreneurial friends if they want to sponsor your show as well. They might say yes. And if the fit is right, it could benefit you both.

7. Develop your online presence

Social media and the Internet have made it incredibly streamlined to get your podcast noticed. You can’t just set up a website (mentioned above) and business social account and expect it to attract people. You need to stay up to date with SEO and social media trends. Otherwise, you’re basically ignoring would-be listeners (a.k.a., the people helping you make your online income.)

While you definitely need some kind of website, you only need to be on one or two social sites. It’s very hard to control your social posting on more platforms. Unless you don’t have a day job, take away your stressors and just choose a couple of social sites. The best ones to pick are those where your target audience “lives”. For instance, maybe you’re trying to reach the estimated half of all podcast listeners ages 35+. In that case, Facebook is going to have your back. TikTok? Not so much.

In addition to staying active with all your online accounts, be sure to use them to connect with readers. You can’t just post and disappear over and over. To become a podcast other people want to tune into, you have to interact. If you can’t find the time, you may need to outsource the role to someone else on an hourly basis.

Entering the gig economy isn’t limited to driving for Uber Eats or opening an Etsy shop. With a bit of ingenuity and spirit, you could launch an online show to net you a nice, steady online income. It’s hard to imagine anything better than a hobby that more than pays for itself.

The post How to Build Sustainable Streams of Income With an Online Show appeared first on Due.

There are many old phrases that address authenticity and whether or not results back up guarantees. “Put your money where your mouth is” immediately comes to mind. While this saying might seem trite and old-fashioned, there’s some truth in needing to see actions backing up words, especially when it comes to beliefs of financial brands.

It’s no different for businesses. When a company creates a mission statement or profession of values, we as consumers want to know if those assertions are true. This is particularly true with financial brands since they can have a huge impact on their customers’ wealth and retirement prospects.

So before you engage with a financial brand, either for your personal or business finances, do your research. Make sure that what they claim is accurately represented in their products and other activities as a company.

1. Look at nonprofit funding and affiliation

While the process can entail a great deal of research, you can also examine which nonprofits a financial brand has aligned itself with.

For example, Experian has marketed itself as a champion for average consumers increasing their financial literacy and success. Rather than claiming that their products fulfill that mission statement, they have taken steps on financial literacy that don’t directly benefit them. Jump$tart Coalition is one nonprofit that Experian has both promoted and seen officers serve on its board of directors.

“Our approach can’t be one-and-done. There must be a continuous effort. As an industry, we need to come together and create education programs that resonate with young children and adults during life’s teachable moments—whether that’s saving for college or buying a home. Financial education and financial literacy need to begin at a young age; there needs to be a stronger investment in our youth. And organizations, such as the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has been leading the charge – Pushing for more financial education in schools, creating standards for personal finance knowledge, hosting a library of financial education resources,” said Rod Griffin, Experian’s Senior Director of Education.

Sometimes a company professes certain values and beliefs but doesn’t expend any money or time toward those endeavors. Alternatively, they might directly go against their supposed mission. It could be an instance where a financial company claims to value giving affordable financial mentoring and advisory services to individuals of all income levels. But in practice, customers in lower income brackets might experience vastly inferior levels of service compared to their higher-earning counterparts.

2. Assess the purpose of rebranding

Rebranding is something increasingly common for companies across all industries for a variety of reasons. Sometimes a more valuable or memorable business name has been acquired or has suddenly become available. Sometimes the product line is expanding, specializing, or taking a drastic shift in focus. Other times, the core beliefs of the business have been revised to convey a new mission statement and path into future operations.

There is nothing wrong with rebranding as long as it comes from a place of stability and logic. When it comes to backing up core beliefs, however, a close look at a company’s rebranding efforts are in order.

Rebranding Frequency

Firstly, how often has the company gone through rebranding? If it happens frequently, that is a huge red flag. Not only does it paint a picture of general mismanagement, but it also suggests the business’s professed core beliefs might be weak. If a business changes its mission statement or focus often, its core beliefs might merely be attempts to hop onto the latest trend.

If a shift in core beliefs is intentional and sincere, the rebranding process should have a sense of purpose behind it. Also, there will often be some change or growth that has driven the need for the company to present itself in a new way. When rebranding is the result of “what we’re doing isn’t working, so we’re going to try something else,” core beliefs are likely an afterthought.

In the case of Clear Digital, growth and expansion out of a niche industry necessitated rebranding. And in this business’s case, it was especially purposeful since their service is assisting other companies with rebranding procedures.

“What started as a niche web design agency has now evolved into a full-service Silicon Valley digital agency providing solutions for the world’s most recognizable B2B brands,” said Valod Amirkhanian, co-founder and Director of Technology at Clear Digital. “We pride ourselves as leaders in providing creative solutions for innovative clients. Our new name represents that vision more clearly.”

3. Compare established reputation vs. current practices

There are instances where companies create reputations that overshadow any advancements or changes that occur after that reputation is established. It can be a matter of an industry shift, process change, or specialization within their field.

For example, decades ago, Quicken was a major bookkeeping software competitor to QuickBooks. These days, Quicken software is still around. However, its usage has declined, and Quicken as a brand tends to be known for something completely different–mortgage lending. But someone who is operating based on decades-old information may not be aware of the shift.

But evolution in businesses isn’t exclusive to product lines and specialization. So if a company is known for certain core beliefs, it may be possible that they are no longer practicing what they preach. And if they have a long-standing reputation that shields what they’re actually doing, they might not see a need to.

Here’s a theoretical example. What if a financial company was founded by designing a platform helping individuals create a well-rounded investment portfolio resilient against market volatility? If this financial brand believes their product should protect people’s retirement against economic fluctuations, their service lines should support these core beliefs.

And maybe their reputation was established early on as doing just that. But maybe after a few years, they started making more money off of financial methods that are riskier. Maybe in order to appease some of their industry partners, they start recommending portfolios less diversified and more prone to extreme vacillation. In such a case, you need to look beyond their founding reputation and compare it to how they actually operate.

4. Check reliable reviews

Reliable reviews are hard to find these days. Any financial company with good funding is likely trying to get as many favorable mentions and reviews online as possible. Also, those same companies could be using search engine optimization strategies to bury unfavorable reviews far down on search results.

So where can you go to get an unbiased review of a financial brand and its beliefs? If review websites or online blogs are untrustworthy, who will talk to you truthfully about their experience?

The first place to reach out is amongst your circle of peers. If you’re a business owner, you’ve hopefully built a quality system of relationships with your field and in adjacent fields. Or even if you have friends and family members who have used various financial providers, reach out.

You might be concerned about bothering others and wasting their time by asking for their opinions. But here’s something to remember: in general, people love having opinions. And the thing about having opinions is that it’s especially satisfying to share them. That goes double when it comes to recommending against a product or provider who failed to live up to their standards.

Additional ways to research financial brands

In the case that your direct circle of peers or acquaintances doesn’t have any useful information, you can always pose the question within forums. And don’t worry, you don’t necessarily have to go down the Reddit rabbit hole to get a response.

Most industries have professional organizations that you can apply to be a member of. In the world of CPAs, one professional organization is AICPA. Membership in AICPA, like many other organizations, includes the ability to access member forums. There, a CPA can ask about a financial brand and others’ experiences with it to find out more about its core beliefs.

Using a specialized forum such as this serves two purposes. First, it’s a member-only forum, and therefore companies would be hard-pressed to manipulate results and responses. Second, anyone who answers is in a similar field and would therefore have similar expectations and needs from the brand.

If a CPA is trying to determine which tax preparation software company to use, AICPA members would have a plethora of information. Maybe the brand they’re looking at claims to be committed to providing seamless software patches throughout the season. On a forum of a large-member organization, there will certainly be numerous people who have first-hand experience with any finance software. It should be fairly easy to get a consensus on whether or not the brand is fulfilling its professed beliefs and prioritizations.

Beyond face value

Brands may express a certain set of values and beliefs. However, it’s not a given that they back them up with action. But when it comes to feeling confident in where you spend your money and the expectations you have in return, it’s important. So do your research, use critical thinking, and make sure the financial brands you’re investigating has beliefs that are truly aligned with your values and needs.

The post Gauging Authenticity: How to Tell if Financial Brands Back Up Their Core Beliefs appeared first on Due.

Venture capitalists or “VCs” are always on the lookout for the next big thing. They keep their finger on the pulse of the business sector, watching for the latest trends, startups, and experiments that offer that 10X return with minimal comparative risks.

Being a VC takes experience, knowledge, and of course, cash. Even when you have all of these things, it can be difficult to decide where to invest your assets at any given moment. In 2022, there were so many startups and so much investment money floating around, it was easy to suffer from analysis paralysis. In 2023, the situation is reversed, and inflation-fearing investors are backing companies with more care.

Regardless of the economic climate, it’s important for VCs to consider the right factors when choosing what fledgling companies they’re going to make an investment in. Here is a list of things, both internal and external, that you should be looking at when you’re investing in a project.

Let’s start with an introspective perspective. What are some of the internal elements that a VC should analyze when looking at a startup?

1. Consider C-suite competencies

Leadership is one of the first units of a company that locks into place early on in its life. No matter how large an org chart gets over the course of a company’s growth cycle, the C-suite will always be limited to a specific and important group of individuals.

Before you invest in a company, consider what personnel they already have in place to guide their enterprise through its early days. Along with key positions, like a CEO and CFO, look for the right traits in each executive.

The AESC (Association of Executive Search & Leadership Consultants) recently identified “new skills & capabilities for leadership roles” as the primary factor driving the need for top talent. The organization broke down these skills and capabilities further into six key core competencies that all leaders should possess, including:

• Adaptability
• Agility
• Innovation
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Customer centricity

Along with looking for these core traits, you should also consider the coachability of each team you want to invest in within the context of how hands-on or hands-off an investor you want to be.

2. Look for lean teams

When you invest in a younger company, especially in the early stages, it’s all about leadership. The core team within each startup is responsible for finding the best product-market fit and identifying a profitable path to growth.

With so much resting on the skills and competencies of this initial group, this naturally raises the question: What should you look for in a team?

Performance analytics company, Two Story, considers “lean teams” an ideal approach for startup teams. The brand’s Head of Performance Science and Growth, Michael Mueller, encourages early-stage startups to resist the vanity metrics associated with growing headcount and instead, build and scale their business with a lean team.

Lean teams consider strategic measurement a business imperative. They understand their KPIs, particularly the leading indicators that drive impact for the business. Look for companies that resist growth for growth’s sake and only expand their team by design and with carefully crafted roles and objective criteria.

3. Identify unique features and benefits

Every company is only as good as the value that it offers to its customers. Before you invest in a brand, evaluate its offerings and its USPs. What are the key features of its products or services? How do these benefit the customer? Do they meet real pain points? What is it that gives a brand a competitive edge?

Along with a general analysis, go to the facts. Look for proof of concept. Does the product or service a startup is offering actually work? Where’s the data showing that it does what is promised on the label or sales page? If a project is worth investing in, the answers to these questions should be clear and satisfactory before you put a penny into their coffers.

4. Review for clean finances

Financially speaking, as a VC, you want to see clean accounting activity before you make an investment. That doesn’t mean a company has to be profitable. On the contrary, they’re looking for funding to help them become so. However, a well-run startup should have a clear path to financial viability in place before they ask investors to help them.

What does a clean balance sheet look like for an investor? On the one hand, a small number of high-profile accredited investors is always encouraging. On the other hand, a large number of smaller donations or large stakes owned by friends and family members is a bad sign.

In addition, look for plenty of capital and a solid cash burn rate (how fast is the startup going through its cash?). Ensure that the company has a clear roadmap for how to convert customers to increase (or in some cases begin generating) revenue before that capital runs out. Other startup metrics to look for include:

• Customer acquisition costs: What does it cost to acquire a new customer?
• Monthly recurring revenue: How much money does a startup generate in a given month?
• Weekly revenue growth: Is revenue growing not just occasionally but on a weekly basis?
• Customer lifetime value: What is the entire value of a customer (proven or at least estimated) over the course of their patronage of a brand?
• Churn rate: How quickly does a startup’s current customer base erode?

A new company’s financial condition is never predictable. Even so, it should be clean enough to reassure you that they’ll use your funding wisely and maximize your chances of a solid ROI.

Along with the company itself, you want to consider the environment within which a new business will operate. Here are a few factors to keep in mind.

5. Size up market potential

Customer centricity is a major factor for modern businesses. Everything from customer service to growth marketing requires a continual focus on the customer. As a VC, one way to gauge the viability of an investment option is to do your own customer analysis.

What kind of market does a startup serve? Is it tending to a basic need, such as food or clothing, or are its offerings inessential, such as entertainment or luxury items? Is a brand’s target market niche or broad? Does it consist of a large demographic of consumers or a few high-profile customers?

If you’re looking for a baseline market value for any investment, veteran entrepreneur Kathleen Utecht recommends that startups target a market with at least $1 billion in value if they want to attract VCs. To reverse engineer the advice, if you’re a VC, don’t shop below that billion-plus price tag.

6. Consider the competition

Along with end users, analyze the competition that a company faces. A startup should already have conducted its own competitor analysis, and as a potential investor, it’s always worth reviewing those findings.

Before making an investment as a VC, you should go further than information filtered through another brand, as well. Do your own competitor research. Compare other companies’ products and services to the brand you want to invest in. What makes your potential investment stand apart? What are competitors doing right that the startup should emulate? Do they have plans to or are they willing to consider doing so?

Contrasting investment opportunities to market comparables is a great way to gauge if an investment has real potential. If there isn’t something special to help a new brand stand out (not just to you but to their target market) think twice before investing.

7. Assess every possible risk

It doesn’t matter if you’re funding a strong idea backed by a stellar team with an immaculate track record …or a hyper-risky experiment with huge boom-or-bust potential. You should always do your homework when it comes to risk.

As a VC, your official function is to assess liabilities and decide how to risk your own capital based on the potential business-building actions of others. Once you’ve looked at the internal operations of a new brand and considered the market conditions that surround it, balance risk versus reward and use that to gauge whether it’s worth investing or looking for something else.

It’s estimated that 96% of businesses fail within a decade. Venture capitalists may generate massive returns at times, but they also face steep risks with each company that they back. As a VC, make sure you’re taking everything into consideration, regardless of the type of investment. Whether you’re investing in a cutting-edge crypto company, a small-town retailer, or anything in between, be sure to review everything involved with the investment.

Whatever the situation, look for the signs that a company is set up to operate at peak efficiency in a fertile economic environment. When those stars align, invest with confidence, knowing that you’ve maximized your chances for the best returns.

The post 7 Internal and External Factors VCs Should Look for in Each Investment appeared first on Due.

Whenever an ecommerce team wants to spark intentional, targeted revenue growth, they must choose between two distinct paths: broadening their target audience or deepening their investment in their current customers.

Each of these has its pros and cons, and often circumstantial factors can help a team decide which one to pursue. If your company is debating between investing in breadth versus depth with your ecommerce brand, here are a few thoughts to help guide your decision.

Focusing on a niche

The first way to grow your ecommerce revenue streams is by doubling down on what you already do well. If a company has found an eager audience that is loyal to its vision, message, and products, the simplest way to grow is to continue working with that same consumer base.

Remember, customer retention is five to seven times more expensive than customer acquisition. If there are simple or obvious ways to meet existing customers’ needs, this can often be the quickest way to revenue growth.

How to deepen offerings for existing customers

How do you cater to the same audience in ways that can grow revenue? If you answered “more products and services,” you’re part way there. But you can’t just create more things to sell in your online store. You need to make sure your new offerings provide more value for your customers.

This requires an open mind, an innovative mindset, and plenty of research. For instance, you can discover new ways to generate value for existing customers by:

• Studying your competitors: This is one of the best ways to grow a business. Consider your competitor’s offerings and services. Look for key features and benefits. Read reviews, too, and consider which unique value propositions resonate with their customers.
• Ask for feedback: Your own customers are an excellent source of inspiration, too. They can provide insights not just on how to improve existing offerings. They can also shed light on how you can meet other needs.
• Engage with customers: Along with asking for direct feedback, you can also interact with customers in their own environments. Creating branded online communities, like a social media group, can help you learn about customers in an organic setting.

As you discover more needs from your existing customer base, you can begin to develop solutions. This requires more investment in R&D. It can also take time.

If you’re addressing a stubborn problem, you may have to come up with a never-seen-before solution. If you’re catering to a common issue, chances are there will be well-established competition.

When that’s the case, you need to go beyond mere solutions and ensure your product or service has a unique element that makes it superior to alternative options. You might offer a higher-quality version of a product or include a never-seen-before feature. You could also ensure a better customer experience or utilize bulk prices if your existing customers lump new offerings in with pre-existing purchases.

Case study: Dungarees hones in on its customers

Dungarees is a good example of this “depth” approach to revenue growth. The online and brick-and-mortar retailer sells work gear and operates with a single-minded mission: to exceed customer expectations at every point of the customer journey through impeccable service and genuine expertise.

Two entrepreneurial brothers built the Dungarees brand after working as contractors and realizing the limited selection of quality work gear. In response, the young men launched their own retail brand, beginning by reselling their favorite work apparel: Carhartt.

Being the first company to take the Carhartt brand to ecommerce, the Dungarees team emphasized the digital customer experience. They hired employees with hands-on knowledge of wearing and comparing work gear. This gave its customer service team targeted insights that could help customers make informed purchase decisions. The company also maintained competitive pricing and timely delivery.

To spark growth, the Dungarees team pushed deeper into their service to existing customers by expanding their brand selection. Over time, they added more high-quality household names to their ecommerce portfolio, including Timberland PRO, CAT, Ariat, and Wolverine Boots & Gear. The brand has added each of these products to its catalog with existing customer needs in mind.

Since its founding in 1999, Dungarees has become a brand that knows its target market inside and out. It specializes in meeting the needs of a very specific audience (those in need of premier workwear) and has focused every revenue expansion effort on improving its value with pre-established customers. The result is a base of loyal patrons that remain happy well past the point of sale and continue returning for more.

Expanding your audience

The other way to grow your ecommerce revenue streams is by finding more customers. In this case, you need to put less effort into expanding your product selection and more emphasis on market research and customer acquisition strategies.

As already mentioned above, acquiring more customers can be more expensive up-front. But cost isn’t the only deciding factor. If you’ve optimized current customer value, the best path to viable growth is through new customers. When that’s the case, investing in new markets and defining a larger target audience can pay off — if done well.

How to broaden revenue through new customers

Finding new customers starts with introspection. Consider your current product offerings. What are their features and benefits? Which problems do they address? What consumer pain points do they answer?

Now, consider what groups have these same or similar concerns or problems outside of your current customer base. You can do this in a few different ways, such as:

• Using competitor research: Once again, look to your competitors. This time, don’t focus on their offerings so much as their audience. Who are they catering to? How are they different from your existing customers?
• Working with influencers: Influencers come with a loyal crowd of followers. If they don’t overlap with your existing customer base, influencers can help you discover and reach new audiences that don’t yet realize you have a solution to their problems.

Expanding your audience doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t need to grow your offerings. On the contrary, as your customer demographics expand, you may find complementary products or entirely new services that you can offer.

However, if you want to expand the breadth of your customer base, you need to start with, well, the customer.

Case study: Amazon broadens from books to everything

The best example of the concept of expanding an ecommerce store via broadening the target market comes from the top of the online retailer pyramid. When Amazon started way back in July of 1994, the company only sold books. It even sported the slogan “Earth’s biggest bookstore” right on its logo.

At that early stage, the company was an unusual entity in a brick-and-mortar world with an owner that dreamed bigger. When it came to growing revenue, it didn’t take long before the future mega-ecommerce brand opted to look beyond its core audience.

By the late 1990s, the company was selling hundreds of millions of dollars every year in books. It had clearly maxed out its original audience, and owner Jeff Bezos began looking for other consumer needs that he could meet through his innovative online company. The company began using its book-selling infrastructure to ship everything from shoes to kitchen items to electronics and much more.

The company didn’t stop its revenue expansions with diversifying physical product offerings, either. In the early 2000s, the development team realized they could cash in on the technology it had built over the past half-decade by turning it into a web service, as well.

The rest of the story is common knowledge. Amazon remains the most diversified ecommerce seller to this day, with incredible revenue streams coming from Amazon sales as well as those selling on the platform or using its web services.

Breadth versus depth: which is right for your brand?

Both focusing on a niche and increasing the size of an audience can lead to impressive revenue growth. In either case, the essential element is choosing which one makes sense for your company at the moment and then implementing it with a strategy in place.

Take a look at your brand’s current offerings. Then consider your customer base. Does it make more sense to push into your area of expertise by expanding your products or services for your existing loyal customers? Or have you maximized the low-hanging fruit with your existing target market and aiming to expand makes more sense?

Invest in making that first decision wisely. It will dictate where your time, energy, and resources go for a long time to come as you seek to build on your existing success by growing your ecommerce revenue streams.

The post Breadth vs. Depth: How To Expand Ecommerce Revenue Streams appeared first on Due.

The news is full of doom and gloom about the bank crisis and a potential recession, causing many consumers and business owners to fear the future. A bank crisis does, in fact, have impacts on the economy and can particularly affect entrepreneurs and small business owners. However, knowledge is power, so the key is for entrepreneurs to know the potential impact on their business – but also what to do about it.

Here we’ll discuss how the bank crisis may affect the future of entrepreneurs and what you can do to protect your business.

Banks, by nature, face numerous risks. These risks include credit risk, meaning loans may not be paid turning them into non-performing assets, and liquidity risk, which is when withdrawals from the bank are more than the bank’s available funds. They also face interest rate risk, meaning, in simple terms, that when interest rates rise, the value of the bonds they hold decreases, which causes them to pay more interest on deposits than they earn on loans.

These risks can lead to insolvency, which is when the liabilities of the bank are greater than its assets. A bank crisis occurs when multiple banks in a country are facing insolvency at the same time. This can have a snowball effect and cause insolvency in other banks for a variety of reasons.

Funding Challenges

Funding is always a challenge for entrepreneurs, along with all the other challenges that entrepreneurs face. A banking crisis increases this challenge because during a banking crisis, banks are more risk averse, meaning they tighten their lending standards. This means that it becomes more difficult for entrepreneurs to obtain bank loans or lines of credit.

Additionally, if business owners are able to access funding, the rates and terms are likely to be less favorable, which can affect cash flow and the bottom line.

Currently, investors are also less willing to take on risk, so entrepreneurs seeking angel investments, venture capital, or private equity funding are going to face a more difficult road.

The result of these funding challenges is that many entrepreneurs have to resort to using their own funds to start or operate their businesses while the bank crisis runs its course.

Decreased Consumer Confidence

The bank crisis also has a huge impact on consumer confidence, and when consumer confidence is low, they tend to pull back on their spending, thus affecting the revenue of businesses. This impacts businesses of all sizes but is a huge challenge for small business owners who generally can’t afford to face significant declines in revenue.

Additionally, consumers face the same funding challenges that business face, with tighter lending guidelines and higher interest rates. This means that businesses whose customers rely on financing face additional challenges in terms of revenue.

Possible Recession

The banking crisis has also, by some predictions, increased the likelihood of a recession, which is a common result of a bank crisis. A recession has a general definition which is a “slippage in economic activity,” but a common definition is two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

A recession can impact businesses in a few different ways. First of all, in a recession, lenders often tighten their lending standards even further, particularly when it comes to small businesses, which are the most vulnerable during a recession.

Second, during a recession, people are spending far less money, which means that most businesses will face a decline in sales. Some industries are more vulnerable to this, including the energy and manufacturing sectors, as well as retail.

Additionally, small businesses often can’t pay their existing debt, leading to decreased business credit scores or even bankruptcy. Again, small businesses are the most vulnerable, so during a recession the number of small business bankruptcies often increases significantly.

Finally, the financial woes of businesses caused by the recession often lead to layoffs to reduce costs. This can impact the productivity of the company, as well as the customer experience the company provides.

How to Protect Your Business

The good news is that “this too shall pass”. The bank crisis and the potential recession are temporary, so the key is to weather the storm. The economy is cyclical, and while the recent economy has been impacted by events that were unpredictable, it will cycle back up at some point in the near future.

More good news is that there are several things you can do things to try to keep your business alive until the economy improves.

Reduce Costs

The first thing you should do is an analysis of all your costs to find expenses that you can reduce or even eliminate. One of the biggest costs that you can reduce is, unfortunately, your labor costs. At lower sales levels, it’s likely that you don’t need all the labor you’re currently paying for, so try to reduce your labor costs to just enough to manage the business at your current sales levels.

You can also analyze your company processes to see if they can be automated or made more efficient. Doing so may enable you to reduce your labor costs even more.

Reducing your labor may also enable you to reduce your overhead by downsizing your space. If that’s not an option, you can try to negotiate a lower rent and try to keep your utility costs done.

Another way to reduce costs is to try to negotiate lower prices from your suppliers to reduce your cost of goods sold. You could also shop around for vendors that offer lower prices.

Finally, analyze all your smaller costs for anything from credit card processing fees to office supplies. Go line by line and look at every cost – saving small amounts here and there can add up.

Cash Is King

While normally you may focus on your bottom line, you should be focusing on cash flow, particularly during rough economic times. Cash not in hand is cash that can’t be used to meet your business obligations and keep your business afloat.

There are three key ways to improve your cash flow:

1. Accounts receivable – Accounts receivable are an asset for your business, but they are not cash. You’ll need to manage your accounts receivable so that the money you’re owed comes in as quickly as possible. You can increase your collection efforts and shorten your payment terms to get money in your pocket faster.
2. Accounts payable – On the flip side, you’ll want to delay paying your accounts payable for as long as possible so that your cash will work for you longer. Pay your payables as late as you can without incurring a penalty and try to negotiate with your vendors to lengthen your payment terms.
3. Inventory – You can have the largest impact on your cash flow by keeping your inventory at optimal levels. Inventory that you hold, like accounts receivable, is an asset, but not cash. You need to find your optimal inventory level that enables you to fulfill orders on time, but not have so much inventory that your cash level is too low.

If you currently “push” your inventory, meaning you keep inventory and then sell it, you may want to consider a “pull” strategy if it’s feasible for your business. In a pull strategy, you purchase inventory as you receive orders so that you are not holding inventory. That can significantly increase your cash on hand.

Increase Customer Retention

Since new customers are probably going to be slow to acquire during a recession, you need to focus on keeping the ones that you have. Engage with them often by emailing or texting special offers, or by emailing a newsletter regularly. Regular communication can go a long way.

You might also consider implementing a rewards program if you don’t already have one. Giving special rewards after spending a certain amount or making a certain number of purchases can help keep those customers coming back. You can also send members exclusive offers to make them feel as though they’re getting something special.

The point is that if these customers feel as though they’re getting a good deal, they’ll be more likely to spend money in spite of the economy.

Finally, in non-financial terms, make sure that your customers are getting the best experience possible from your business. Make sure that your customer service is on point and go out of your way to make them leave your business feeling great.

Offer Special Prices

Sales with reduced profit margins are better than no sales at all, so offer special promotions so that everyone feels like they’re getting a deal. You can do this with your products or services that are already the most profitable, so that you won’t feel the pinch quite as much.

You can also bundle products at special prices to increase your total sale amount per customer.

Another tactic is to offer a reward for new customers, such as a discount on their first purchase, or some kind of freebie like a t-shirt or mug.

Promote these special deals heavily and use an empathetic approach to your marketing. Customers want to feel as though you’re trying to do something good for them to ease their current financial issues.

When your efforts bring in new customers, just like with current customers, make sure that you’re providing the best customer experience possible. Give them personal service, and make sure your employees know to do the same.

Don’t Give Up on Financing

While a financial crisis can make getting financing more difficult, don’t give up on trying to get a loan or a line of credit that can help you keep your business afloat. You’ll likely have to personally guarantee the loan, so be sure that you’re willing to do so.

A line of credit is the best option because you can use it only when you need it, such as when cash is too low to pay your obligations or to market your special promotions.

Just use it as sparingly as you can, pay it on time, and pay it back in full as soon as your finances allow.

Develop Partnerships

If there are companies in your area that sell products that are complementary to yours, you might be able to form partnerships with them to share resources for marketing. For example, if you have a remodeling company, you could join forces with a plumbing company to market your services jointly. This will save you and the partner marketing dollars, and still allow you to get the word out about your company.

You could even offer discounts on both of your services so that customers really feel like they’re getting a deal. That’s a win for everyone.

Don’t Stop Marketing

While you may have to cut your marketing budget, you still need to be able to reach your target customers. Focus your marketing efforts on what you know has worked best in the past, and step up your low cost or free marketing, like social media posts. Consider trying something you’ve never done before too, like making a video about your products or holding a webinar to share your expertise.

You can also put a blog on your website if you don’t already have one. If your business caters to local customers, you can use location-based keywords in your blog content that can make it easier for customers to find you online.

You can also implement a referral program, where current customers get a reward when they refer new customers to you. Send an email to your customer list asking for referrals and offering some kind of discount or gift card when their referral makes a purchase.

In Closing

The bank crisis and the potential recession affect entrepreneurs in several ways, but it doesn’t have to break you. You just need to put in some extra effort and get creative to help your business ride out the storm. Remember, this too shall pass, and when it does your business could come out stronger than it was before. Don’t give up, roll up your sleeves, and fight to keep what you’ve built.

The post The Bank Crisis and How it Will Affect the Future of Entrepreneurs appeared first on Due.