Michael Levitt's Blog, page 100

How to Help Your Business Compete in a Competitive Digital Landscape

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If you want your business to succeed in 2021, you need to take into account the importance of competing effectively in your particular digital niche. These days, most businesses compete online and in the digital space, and if your business is currently lacking in that department, it’s up to you to change that. We’re going to talk about some of the ways in which your company can compete better, so read on to find out more.

Create a Website with Incredible Design Standards

First of all, you need to think about whether your business has a website presence that’s modern and up to date. The quickest and easiest way to turn off customers is to have them arrive at a website that looks out of date. It’ll show them that your business is behind the times, and why would they want to work with a business like that? It’s up to you to create a website with incredible and undeniably strong design standards.

Get on Top of Your Google My Business Website

One thing that no business can afford to overlook is their Google My Business presence. This profile will help people who don’t yet know about your business and have maybe never heard of you before find you easier. By creating a strong profile on Google My Business will push clients towards contacting you or at least visiting your website and finding out more.

Create Informative Content

A good way to attract more people to your website is to create content that people want to consume. It should be informative and deliver information that people are genuinely interested in. When you create content like that, you also improve the SEO ranking of your site and make it easier for you to be found by new people, and that’s something that’s always important. 

Work with the Right Expert Professionals

Working with the right professionals at the best digital agencies will give you a much better chance of getting ahead and finding success in your chosen niche. If you have a particular problem or something you’re struggling to get right, work with people who know what they’re doing and the issue will be sorted out much faster.

Learn to Engage Effectively on the Relevant Social Media Platforms

Finally, you need to learn how to engage and interact with people via social media platforms. If you’re not engaging with people effectively, you’ll struggle to generate new leads and create new customers. Understand which platforms your target audience is most commonly found and how you can engage with that audience with content that they want and find appealing on those platforms.

If you take into account all of the things discussed above, you’ll find it much easier to reach your audience and compete with other businesses in the digital landscape. It’s important to know what’s going wrong and what you need to improve before you take relevant action though. It takes time to get it right, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

5 Ways To Avoid Laying Off Staff

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When times get tough, it can often be necessary to make big cutbacks in business. Laying off staff is often an effective way of cutting back - but it means taking away people’s livelihood, which no employer wants to be responsible for. Many business owners will try to make cutbacks elsewhere first. But what if you’d exhausted all other options? Below are just 5 ways in which you may be able to avoid making staff redundant. 

Freeze hiring

If you’re already contemplating laying off staff, then there’s no way you can afford to take on new employees. Freezing the hiring process should be the first step. If you own a large company with a large turnover of staff, you may find that some employees choose to leave of their own accord - if you’re not hiring new employees to replace them, you’ll find that your workforce naturally shrinks without you having to lay anyone off. 

Suspend employee benefit programs

The next thing to consider could be to suspend employee benefit programs. Employees may not like having these privileges taken away, but it’s preferable to reducing their wages or making them redundant and will help you to cut back on employee-related expenses. When choosing benefits to suspend, consider the likes of bonus programs, paid lunches or travel expense reimbursements. Avoid stripping away benefits like health insurance, which your employees still need. 

Temporarily cut employee hours

Cutting employee hours is preferable to laying employees off. In situations such as the current pandemic, employees are likely to be understanding and will appreciate that they still have their job. Law in some states may allow staff who have had their hours cut to apply for unemployment benefits - this could help to top up their income so that they’re still receiving the same amount they usually would. 

Consider furloughing staff

Furloughing staff is a way of temporarily letting go of staff. This allows employees to take a long period of absence while your business recovers - they are eligible for unemployment insurance during this period so that you don’t have to pay them. Furloughing has become very popular during the pandemic, because it allows businesses to cut back on the cost of employees without physically letting them go. Some businesses have taken a part-furlough approach which may involve still hiring employees for a few hours per week. Because it can be quite complicated to keep track of furlough schemes, it may be worth using software such as this one found at unemploymenttracker.com. Using such a program, you can more easily make unemployment insurance claims for your staff, while adhering to the individual laws of your state. 

Explore loans and grants

Throughout Covid-19, federal and state authorities have been offering various grants and loans to businesses to help them stay afloat. Using this financial support, it may be possible to avoid laying employees off. You can also try loans from private lenders, however you should bear in mind that you’ll have to pay back these debts with interest - which could be more financial pressure in the long run. 

Things To Look Out For When Picking Your Business Location

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According to research, 78% of consumers go online to search for places to make in-store purchases. It tells you that even though the internet is taking over almost everything, people still enjoy in-store experiences. Thus, as an entrepreneur, it is advisable to take great care when picking the location for your business; so customers can reach you. Here are a few things to consider.

Monitor foot traffic

Before selecting a location for your business, consider monitoring the foot traffic of the potential location options. For instance, if you want to operate a retail business, picking a location with a lot of foot traffic is the best. Since it means there is a higher probability of getting access to customers. However, if your business is the type that thrives on some level of privacy, then it would be better to stay away from high traffic areas. 

Know the setting that will best suit your business

You'll need to consider the type of business you plan on operating and the style that fits it. Know whether your business would fit perfectly into a formal, casual, or elegant setting. Then, with this in mind, you can find the location that best suits the style and image you hope to portray. Knowing your style will also help you decide what type of space to opt for. You will be able to choose whether to operate from a fixed location, such as a traditional store, an office space for rent, or in a mobile location such as a cart or truck. 

Look out for the existence of competitors

Some healthy competition in all fields has its benefits, but sometimes reaping benefits depends on the type of business you plan on operating. Knowing whether you have competitors nearby can be of great help. In some situations, having competitors nearby can be good, since you may enjoy the overflow of an existing business. Industries dominated by comparison shopping also benefits from having competitors nearby. However, if your business falls into a category where having competitors nearby might make things difficult, then reconsider the location. 

Look out for good parking and accessibility

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Try to consider the accessibility of your potential location to your customers, suppliers, employees, and even to yourself. Find out the availability and overall convenience of parking space for your customers and employees at the potential locations. You could do so by monitoring the demand for parking at different points of the day and also checking whether the parking lot is well-lighted or not. You may also want to get to know how easy it is for vehicles to move in and out of the premises for the sake of your suppliers and small package couriers. Be sure to factor in people with disabilities also. Depending on your work schedule, you may have to find out if the potential locations will be fully accessible to you on weekends.  

You may gather a lot of useful information, as well, from locals to help you make a concrete decision. Remember that the right or wrong location can either make or break your business, so don't rush into any situations you are not well aware of. 

Why You Should Consider A Role In Real Estate

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If you are looking to switch careers or you want to follow a passion for property, the world of real estate has a lot to offer. Being a real estate agent gives you the chance to specialize, to become an expert in your field, and to earn lucrative amounts of money. Working with a basic salary alongside limitless commission, you could enjoy a superior quality of life. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen people all over the globe reassess their priorities. Many have chosen to change up what they are doing for eight hours a day, five days a week. Consider the world of real estate to give you an incredible new career.

Commercial

While many real estate agents choose to settle into the residential market, few take on the unwieldy yet lucrative world of commercial investments. You could have a career finding bona fide investors for new construction projects. You might even want to link up with a property attorney like Jacob Kupp who can give you advice on how to set up your commercial property business. Commercial projects tend to be larger and more costly to get off the ground. This means that your commission rates would be all the more weighty. Complete three or four construction builds a year and you could find your quality of life improving. The buzz of securing investment for a mall, seeing a new hospital be built, or having an integral role in finding the funding for a new office block is addictive.

Residential

If you want something a little more mundane yet still lucrative in its potential, consider becoming a residential real estate agent. You can choose to specialize in your locality or region, selling niche properties to the wealthy or great starter homes for the young family. By becoming a specialist, whoever has that sort of home to sell will come to you. By keeping a portfolio of properties and by monitoring how long it takes for you to sell a pad on average, you can enjoy a long list of clients who will want to sell their dwellings with you. Being a real estate agent means getting to know people, finding out what makes them tick, discovering their motivations, and tapping into their money dreams. You need to be a people person, otherwise, you could find real estate a real struggle.

Going It Alone

As a side hustle, you could even purchase your own pad to do up and list in an effort to sell at a profit. By being a real estate agent in the first place, you will know the most sought after areas, the property market fluctuations, and the sorts of buyers who could be interested in your pad. This makes flipping a property much easier and could see you selling quicker, releasing equity for you to reinvest or pocket. Make sure that you have the time to do this as a side hustle otherwise you may find that the quality of your real estate business may suffer. Stay positive, learn lots, and become a great real estate agent.

Follow this guide and consider the joys of real estate when figuring out your next career move.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A Case Study

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown to be one of the standard business practices of this day and age. Despite its presence in academic literature for more than 50 years, there is still a lot of ambiguity regarding its definition. At its broadest, CSR is concerned with what is – or should be – the relationship between businesses, individual citizens, and national governments. More locally, it is defined as the relationship between a business and the local society in which it is based. A corporation being viewed as part of society is not a new concept.

With suppliers, employees, customers – and, indeed society more broadly – placing greater importance on CSR, many executives have started viewing this as a creative opportunity to fundamentally strengthen their company while also playing a vital role in society. As Marc Spizzirri will tell you, purpose-driven businesses boast greater development. It is evident that this is an opportunity the supermarkets in the UK recognize, as the so-called ‘big four’ - Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s – post yearly CRS reports. As it is now widely accepted that being ‘good’ is sound business, we aim to quantify how accurate this is by assessing how much of an impact CSR truly has on business performance at Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s. This is something that companies in the U.S. can use as inspiration for their own CSR approach. 

In recent years, the supermarket sector in the United Kingdom has become increasingly competitive. The industry is also the largest private sector employer in Britain. Key statistics also give an indication of the impact supermarkets have on society. For example, it is reported that supermarkets throw away a combined 300,000 tonnes of food waste per annum. The International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) also warned that farming incomes in the UK are at the lowest they have been for 60 years. This is widely attributed to the fact that supermarket domination has led to a disregard for the need of farmers. Others also accuse supermarkets of creating unnecessary carbon emissions through sourcing most of their products abroad.

In an attempt to combat the negative criticism, supermarkets are taking active steps to be more socially responsible. Developing CSR strategies has become vital for large corporations like Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, and Sainsbury’s, as the general public is becoming increasingly concerned over their activities. All four supermarkets now publish CSR reports, which outline their extensive efforts to have a positive impact on society. In their most recent report, Morrison’s covered their efforts to reduce carbon footprint, prevent waste, source responsibly, satisfy all stakeholders, and operate with integrity with regards to their supply chain, as well as being neighborly, helping to encourage a better standard of living, and being an employer of choice. 

But how do these efforts impact their bottom-line? Do they have a negative or positive effect on profits? We can see that businesses that are purpose-driven are significantly more profitable, and their staff retention levels are higher too.

5 Vital Reasons Why You Need To Insure Your Business

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It is the norm by law for every company to get business insurance. Though it may be expensive for smaller businesses, it is crucial to ensure that your business is secure against unfortunate incidents that may happen.

You should ensure you insure your business just after establishment. Be sure to also keep up with the insurance policies and premiums to benefit from the insurance.

1.      Protection Against Natural Disasters

Unfortunate and unforeseen incidents like acts of God (natural disasters – floods, typhoons) or fire may cause your business to be grounded to a halt unexpectedly. If your company is insured, you can recoup some of your invested capital by filing for claims of the business.

You can use matter management software to help you track and file claims to the insurance companies. You may be lucky to start over with the money you get from the claims.

2.      It Builds Your Business’s Credibility

People are more likely to associate with your business if it is insured. The business insurance exudes assurance and confidence to the clients, associates, investors, or business partners. The associates will be sure that the business always has a backup plan – the insurance.

It builds a trustworthy relationship between the parties through its credibility. The foundations of a good business deal lie in its credibility and viability; thus, it can become a useful bargaining chip in any agreement. The insurance acts as a protective shield for the business and its associates.

3.      Protects You against Lawsuits

It is inevitable for any business to get sued. There are various reasons that a company gets sued: employee frustrations, customer complaints, contractual disputes, or accidents at work. You must include a matter management software to keep tabs on the legal files in the various lawsuits.

The legal department needs to closely follow up on the cases to ensure that the claims are filed and followed through the verdicts.

4.      Protects Your Employees

An insured business is more attractive to employees than non-insured companies. The former offers a risk-free employment opportunity that can be backed even in the most challenging economic periods steered by pandemics, political instability, or monetary inflations. It provides a haven for employees.

5.      Attract New Customers and Clients

Customers will prefer entering into contractual agreements with insured businesses because of the credibility that these businesses offer. It is challenging to take a risk against uninsured business as you will doubt the feasibility of a plan if the company comes to a halt.

It is not easy to recoup money once the company goes down. You will have to count your losses and recover the little you can get. However, in insured businesses, you get to claim your full amount in the event of an awful experience.

 To enjoy these insurance benefits, you need to ensure that your policies are up to date and frequently checked to avoid any losses. You can involve the IT department to ensure that the insurance documentation is synced and stored safely. If you still have doubts about insuring your business, you should look into yourself and think of the consequences. 

Why Should a Startup Outsource?

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The startup companies of today are operating in some very exciting times. There are some endless opportunities with amazing advances in technology helping your business to grow and to succeed. How businesses are run these days has changed massively too, with some business partners working in different countries and able to carry out roles remotely. 

When it comes to a startup business, though, there are two things that you will always feel short on, and that is cash and time. There will never feel like there are enough hours in the day to get done all that you want to, and you may also feel like there isn’t enough cash to get what you want to do either. This is why outsourcing is something that is fast becoming the norm for startups. In fact, many entrepreneurs will recommend it as a genuine growth strategy for startups. If you look to outsource IT department, for example, then you don’t have any of that to deal with, but will still have it all in place. So there are a number of benefits. SMEs are using outsourcing, but there are some significant advantages for startups.

Scalable Operations

As a startup, the money will be tight. If you need to hire someone to do something for you, then you have to think about the costs of having a full-time member of staff. Not only do they have a set hourly wage, but there are other expenses that as an employer, you would have to cover. That is where the fees of outsourcing help, because they are only when there is a specific task of job to complete. By doing this, it means that startups can use experts in a particular industry, on a per need basis, which frees up cash and flexibility, to help to scale your startup operations. 

Level Playing Field

When you outsource it helps you to have success as a startup. You will be able to have access to experts in different sectors, which is just what larger companies can also have access to. As a startup, you may not be able to pay a top-class professional the wage that they deserve if you were to employ them. But to just hire them for a specific task will be something that you would be in a position to do. This helps you to be competitive and can mean that you stand a chance against larger competitors in your industry. 

Improved Efficiency

When you outsource, you can make some decisions more quickly as there will be certain things already in place. That means jobs and tasks can be completed more quickly, helping to create more efficiency for the business and better overall service for customers. 

Real growth can occur when startups decide to outsource; the benefits of doing so are very real. So why not help your startup with time, money, efficiency, and scalability? If there are tasks that are easier to outsource, then it will be worth your startup looking into.

Most Companies Don't Understand Their Customers - And That's A BIG Problem

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Companies like to believe that they understand their customers fully. After all, they’re selling products and making money. Surely, that’s the litmus test, right? 

Unfortunately, that’s only a part of the story. You could be shifting a lot of goods - but your business might not be secure. Customers might only be sticking with you because there aren’t any alternatives. However, the moment one comes along, you could find yourself haemorrhaging sales - not what you want. 

So what can you do to understand your customers better? Check out the following ideas.

Ask Them What They Want

If you really want to know what your customers are thinking, the best thing to do is ask them. Don’t assume that you already understand what they want. Usually, you don’t. 

Ideally, you need to get them to provide no-holds-barred feedback. So if you send out a survey, make sure that it’s anonymous. Also, make it clear that you have thick skin. You want to hear their complaints, criticisms and things they believe will make your company better

Remember, once you have this information, it helps you improve your bottom line. You can make changes and completely overhaul your offering, increasing your profits in the future. 

Revisit Your Buyer Personas

Creating B2B buyer personas has always been a challenge. Unlike the consumer market, appealing to other companies in the supply chain involves reaching out to multiple stakeholders and creating quasi-personalities. 

Even so, it helps to revisit your buyer personas and think about whether you’re capturing them correctly. Remember, if your appraisal is even a little bit off, your marketing will fall flat, and you’ll reach out to the wrong enterprises. 

Learn About Their Values

Like it or not, values, ethics and morals are playing a larger role in the modern economy than ever before. Nobody wants to associate their brand with companies that operate illegal or unscrupulous practices. Everybody wants their audiences to see them as holy. 

Before you embark on multiple corporate responsibility initiatives, take the time to find out a little more about what your customers and clients actually find important. For some, the overriding issue will be the environment; for others, freedom of speech. You don’t know until you ask. 

Discover What Makes Them Loyal

Loyal customers know why they choose the same company over and over again, but relatively few will write you a letter explaining their decision to stick with you. 

Finding out what makes people loyal, though, is critical for ensuring that you continue to win their business. You don’t want to inadvertently make changes that rock the proverbial boat!

The best way to find this out is via questionnaires and just asking people what they think. After enough probing, common themes will emerge that you can then use to boost your business and avoid certain types of changes. 

Given the pandemic and current business conditions, it’s never been more important to understand your customers. Getting under their skin and recognizing what they want is your best defense against the current uncertainty. 

Protect the Future of Your Business with These 4 Strategies

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Your business might be very competitive and prosperous currently, but do you know how it will perform in the future? What are you supposed to do today to benefit your business in the future? Contrary to what many people think, protecting the future of your business isn’t that difficult. You cannot know what the future will bring, but you can surely prepare your business to face unpredictable challenges. The following are some four strategies to help protect the future of your business.

Know your Customers

According to various researches, customers are the major dependable source where you can look to future-proof their business. Unfortunately, not all businesses have any official solution in place for actually following the response sent by buyers. Your customers will help you appreciate and shape the future of your business. There are many companies out there that offer competitive services and products like you and by failing to adapt to that environment you will lose the most important asset of your business, which is your customers.

Future-proof your business by having a constant source of business ideas including cost-effective and creative ways to stay relevant in the industry.

Identify and Manage Risks

Predicting the future is almost impossible, but there are steps you can take to protect your business from the coming challenges. First, you need to identify the risks or possible weaknesses your business has. There are many risks that a business can have, for example, risk can be in your business processes, legal compliance, and data security. And depending on the size of your business, the challenges might even be big in the future.

This means that you have to find the risks and address them even before they become big problems. Also depending on your business type and size, you might have to buy new materials, improve customer support or utilize digital imaging. Data is your other asset and losing it means that your business will be affected adversely. As the owner, you are in the best position to identify risks in your business and try to mitigate them as soon as possible.

Insure your Business

The right coverage can be the difference between running out of business and succeeding. There are many policies that are offered by insurance companies to protect your business from multiple threats. Additionally, you can get the financial support your business will need in the future just in case it loses a key player. Your business can get the financial support it needs to stabilize during such times from life insurance coverage.

There other insurance covers that can come in handy when it comes to protecting the future of your business. The covers include;

Business income

Business liability

Business property

Work with Advisors

An advisor can help you build a more valuable business now and in the future. The people with whom you invest your time and provide you with actionable assistance are the ones that can help you shape the quality of your life as well as your business. Have a team of advisors that include, bookkeepers, technology experts, and accountants who are familiar with your business needs.

Bottom Line

There are many means of protecting the future of your business. As a business owner, it is significant to get your team member to find new ideas on how to protect your business. Knowing who your customers are will also help you understand and shape the future of your business. Work with advisors that understand all your business needs and try to identify and mitigate risks before they become bigger issues.

How To Make The Most Of Your PTO During Covid-19

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Taking PTO (paid/planned time off) sounds like a great plan during Covid-19. Whether it is to unwind and rejuvenate to prevent burnout or spend more time with the family, or just go for a road trip, it must be fulfilling. Learning new hobbies is a great way to unwind, while engaging in family activities is a great way to bond with the family. And if you plan to spend your on the road, getting a 6.0 powerstroke oil cooler for your engine is an excellent way to prep for the road trip. Whatever your plans are, here are some tips to make the most of your PTO during Covid-19.

Consider the length of your PTO

Before you proceed on your PTO, be sure to consider the adequate amount of time that you will need. First, factor in the number of vacation days you have accrued, then consider that you may be doing yourself a disservice by not using your PTO. Be sure you have enough days for the PTO that will suffice for the reasons you are taking time off. If you want to lengthen your PTO, consider attaching it to a weekend. That should provide you with ample time to rejuvenate yourself.

Have a backup for work situations

For most people, the major reason for not having PTO’s is that they are worried that they will have to come back to deal with a pile of work on their desk. Others also are of the view that their superiors will see it as not being dedicated to their jobs, especially in the current climate of economic unpredictability. But all these can be easily dealt with if you have a backup for such work situations.

The first thing to do is to make a projection of the work that needs to be done in your absence and figure out if there is a way to tackle it bit by bit before your PTO. If you find a way around that, then you can begin working on that without overburdening yourself. If there is no way around it, talk it over with your superiors and set a suitable schedule to get it done when you return. This will greatly lessen your workload on your return and will show your superiors that you can handle your workload efficiently.

Set contact limits

Before embarking on your PTO, setting contact limits is relevant as it allows you to have enough time to yourself without having to think about work. Let your superiors know when they can get in touch and how often you can respond to work-related emails or phone calls. You should consider setting an out-of-office message for those who get in touch when you are away so they can leave messages you can respond to later. Or, if someone is covering for you at work, you could include their contact information in your out-of-office message so that any information could be relayed to them. In the case where you have different devices, you should put all work-related devices away.

Plan ahead of time

Many people return to the office after taking PTO and feel no different, and this is because they failed to plan how they will spend their time off. PTO’s are meant for relaxation and rejuvenation. So if your daily routine on your PTO is no different from your regular work routine, then, of course, you will still feel worn out. Taking a PTO during this pandemic is meant to take a break from the mental and physical strains that have risen exponentially in these tough times. Plan activities that you will love to engage in that will have you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the work environment’s challenges when you get back.

Participate in novel activities

Studies indicate that participating in new activities and exercise improves brain function. As much as possible, try participating in new activities, whether on your own, with family at home, or with friends online. You can try going on a road trip, outdoor camping with your family for a day, experimenting in the kitchen with some recipes, and reading books or watching movies that are not in your favorite genres. You can also attempt some interesting DIY or register and take online classes.

Irrespective of how you decide to spend your time off, it is imperative to have fun and wind down. The pressures of work and Covid-19 has taken a toll on all of us. Fortunately, you can use this as an opportunity to rejuvenate before going back to the work environment.