Michael Levitt's Blog, page 102

Quick Guide to Getting a Startup Off The Ground

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If you want to start a new business and create a new startup, then what ideas do you already have in mind? If you do, then you are already onto a winner that will really benefit you. If you are in need of some more advice, then launching your own business is something that can be quite a long-term process; it won’t happen overnight. There are some specific things that would-be entrepreneurs would be looking to do, before leaping off into this journey. If you’re new to the world of being an entrepreneur, or are looking for some tips and advice to get your startup launched, then here are some things to consider.

Solution to a problem

If you already have a business idea in mind or are struggling with one, finding a solution to a problem is going to be appropriate for both. If you have a business idea already, you need to think about what problem you are providing a solution for, and if it really is a problem that needs solving in this way. If you don’t already have an idea, then you need to think about what kind of problems there are and if there is a solution that you could create to help. When you get it right, with a stellar solution to a problem, then it can make such a difference to how successful the business will be.

Licenses, insurance, and permits

To get your idea off to a good start, having the right kind of licenses, permits, and insurances in places really key. No matter how small the business is, you will want your business to be a legal entity, so that there is no costly trouble down the line. If you are going to be hiring employees, or even using freelancers, then having a business owners policy for insurance is going to be needed, to make sure that you, and they, are protected. When you sell things, you also need insurance, so it is worth taking your time to look at all of the areas that you will need to cover.

Ideal customer

In order to really reach out to your customers, and attract them to your business, you need to think about really understanding who your ideal customers are. When you simply define a target audience, you aren’t delving deep enough into them and what they want. You need to be quite specific with your ideal customer, in order to truly reach them through product design, marketing, social media, and advertising, as examples. Creating a customer persona for your ideal customer is a way that you can get some real data and market research, as it allows you to be quite specific. Knowing some relevant information, like their background, budget, demographics, and other background information will help you to launch the business in an ideal way for them.

This is just the beginning when it comes to launching your own business. Start off with these steps and you will be knot a very good thing, giving your startup the right kind of launchpad for success.  

Here are Some of the Top Reasons why your Website Sucks

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If you have a site then you will know how important it is for you to keep it maintained. If you don’t then you may find that you end up compromising your overall message and that you end up failing on the SERPs. If you want to stop this from happening then you’re in luck because a few simple steps are all you need to take in order to guarantee success.

Your Content is Poor

Imagine going on a website and then seeing absolutely nothing there. It may be that you see a picture or two and a few words but at the end of the day, if there is no value then your customers won’t be staying around very long. If you want to make sure that this isn’t the case, then you have to make sure that you are letting your visitors know what you do and you also need to include descriptions and pictures of the products or services you have to offer. Reviews or even testimonials will boost your site even more here, so make sure that you keep that in mind as much as possible.

Your Site Loads Up Slowly

People are usually very impatient. Even if your content is gripping and your site is great, your visitors are not going to sit around while it loads. 40% of people give up and click off a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to fully load up. This can be a huge loss for your site. For every additional 1 second, your site takes to load, you may find that your conversion rate drops by 7%. This is the last thing that you want, so take the time to make sure that your site is quick and easy to use, for the sake of your customers.

You Don’t have a Clear Level of Organisation

People visit your site because they want to gain information about your company or even your products. Don’t make it difficult for them to find what they need. You have to make sure that you have a search box that is nice and easy to find and you also need to have clearly defined headings too. You should always let your visitor know what kind of content they should expect to see in absolutely every section. This is very beneficial from an SEO standpoint. If you want to take things to that next level with your SEO, then explore the idea of Core Web Vitals.

Your Content is Buried

One good thing about the internet is that it can be a very anonymous place. This can also translate to being bad though. If your customers are not familiar with your company then they need some degree of familiarity. They need to feel confident that when they place an order with you, they are going to get what they expect. Something simple will work in your favor here, such as by having your contact information in the right place or even trying to have various trust signals working in your favor. Either way, it’s important to make sure that your contact information is super easy to find because if it isn’t then this can really work against you.

 

Four Ways to Bootstrap Your Business

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It's a good thing to have a business idea you know will be a hit. Getting it off the ground and out to customers is an entirely different thing to do. You want to build a business that works to be self-sustaining and self-funded, but it doesnt always stay that way. You are going to pour your blood, sweat and tears into your business, and sometimes, you're going to pour your cash into it, too. You need to be able to bootstrap your business and get it off the ground whether you have outside help or not, and we've got the tips that you need to get it going.

There are people out there who took a concept and grew it into a multi-million dollar idea by choosing to scrape cash together, to sell annuity for cash of their own personal money and more. They don't build a business without a lot of hard work and they don't always need investors and venture capitalists to get them there. You're going to work all hours and you're going to be exhausted - but it's going to be worth it! There are some strategies that you can use to begin bootstrapping your business yourself, and we've got four of them.

Take Action, Make Mistakes

Failure is the biggest part of success. Thomas Edison understood that he didn't fail ten thousand times, he just learned thousands of ways not to make a lightbulb. You should allow yourself to make mistakes in business because beating yourself up gets you nowhere. Failure helps you to learn, and you're going to learn an awful lot about your industry as much as you will about yourself when you bootstrap your business on your own. Stick to short-term, daily goals and shoot for the moon with the others. The more you work on the small goals, the bigger chance you have of achieving the long-term options.

Be Passionate

There are going to be long days and hard nights and the worst thing that you can do is to hate what you're doing. You can't pour your everything into a business you are bored of working or a job you hate to work in. Be passionate about what it is you're offering and how you offer it. Without passion, you have no conviction about what you're doing. Deeply passionate people do not give up.

Avoid Borrowing

If you have the money to sort your business yourself, don't borrow a dime from anyone. You need to do this on your own if you can and bootstrapping is about getting there on your own. Before you even launch your business, save and save some more. If you really want something, you'll get it.

Get Out There

If you want to generate sales and make money, you need to get yourself and your people out there and knock on doors. Pick up the phone and start talking to people. You need to speak to people and the more people you speak to, the more you can get interested in what you have to offer. Word of mouth is very powerful, so take the time and grind, grind, grind to up your numbers.

How To Keep Your Warehouse Assembled And In Fine Fettle

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If you have a lot of stock or you operate out of a warehouse as your main hub, then you’re going to know just how much work goes into keeping everything in order. If you have an awful going on and don’t really have the time to keep it all in order, then you’ll know first-hand just how difficult things can get. 

Fortunately, running a warehouse isn’t all that difficult once you get a few patterns going and have a little more knowledge of things. If it was impossible, then no businesses would be able to stay afloat and their stock would be a mess. 

From the outside looking in, it can feel like quite a tedious and awkward set of jobs. It’s just a case of experiencing certain aspects and picking many things up as you go. Once you’re in the groove, you’ll be way more productive. Here are five ideas, if you’d like, that can help you to keep your warehouse in fine fettle: 

Always Have A Written-Out Plan With Contingencies

If you have a plan, then you’ll have a much better idea of how things will work. It’s very easy to make mistakes when all of your ideas are firmly and exclusively within your head. Having a floor plan with a list of stock will help out an awful lot. You’ll likely run into issues along the way because things never go as smoothly as the initial plan describes. Make sure you have things handled in terms of continuity in that case. 

Add A Second Floor

Smaller warehouses often consist of one floor and will have stacks of different things. One of the best things you can do is install a second floor. While the cost might be quite high (and you’ll need to gather permission if you’re renting), it will be worth the hassle. While it’s just a case of partitioning the room much better, it still feels like you have a much bigger space to work with. 

Look For Creative Ways To Create Space

If you adopt a little creativity in your work and figure out ways of moving your stock around, then it’s going to make everything a lot easier in the long-run. You could get in touch with the likes of a Pallet Manufacturer and use pallets for shelves and cases that might not have been available before. You could move certain items around that may be clogging up space. There will be things you can do to smoothen everything out – it’s just a case of sitting down and thinking about it. 

Hire Staff Who Know What They’re Doing 

This is obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many businesses hire people who are both lacking in the necessary qualities. When you interview prospective employees, you should make sure you check out their personality as well as their experience and qualifications. You’ll want people who are driven and ready to work with new, fresh ideas. 

Make Sure It’s Safe And Secure Every Single Day  

So many different businesses that work out of warehouses are broken into each year. It’s frustrating and heartbreaking to see so many goods and items stolen. Make sure you have a secure area so that bad people cannot get anywhere near your premises. Cameras, alarms, and fences are just three examples of what is necessary.

How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business

The photo was taken by Niklas Patzig from Pixabay

If your hobby is not currently making you money, maybe you should ask yourself why that is. Of course, not every hobby is capable of making your money and becoming a business, but many of them are, even if you don’t realize it yet. We’re going to talk today about some of the steps you can take to turn your hobby into a business that’s capable of turning a profit and becoming your full-time source of income. Read on now to find out all about that.

Research the Market

Before you go ahead and start trying to turn your hobby into a business, you should think about how you can research that market and what that knowledge might do for you. Well, it should show you where the gaps in the market are and where the opportunities lie. Aside from that, it should also help you to gain a better understanding of what it’ll take to succeed with a small business in your chosen niche.

Start Small and Test the Water

Because this is something that’s entirely new to you, it makes the most sense to start things small and take things from there. When you do that, you can test the water and ensure you don’t end up making rookie errors. It’s better to make mistakes when you’re testing the water than when you’ve already thrown all of your capital, your heart, and your soul into your new business.

Create a Business Plan

Having a business plan in place is not something that’s just for big businesses or for people with lots of startup investors. No, every new business should have a written plan in place before they get off the ground; it’s as simple as that. So be sure to find out how to write a business plan and what it should include. If nothing else, it’ll help you gain a better understanding of what your plans are and what you want to achieve in the next year, 5 years, 10 years, etc.

Work on Ways to Efficiently Source Supplies

Working with suppliers is something that many small business owners need to do. And you’ll need to find ways to efficiently, affordably, and effectively get your hands on the supplies you need as soon as your business is up and running. Whether you need a 1206 smd led, some fiber optic cabling or packaging supplies; you should source them from people you trust who have experience supplying businesses in your niche.

Learn the Basics of Marketing and Customer Service

Finally, you need to take steps to learn the basics of marketing and customer service so you can get your business out there and look after your customer effectively once they’re on board. By doing so, you’ll be able to grow your business sustainably.

Turning your hobby into a business is a dream for many people, and if you have the opportunity to make that a reality, you should go out there and make it happen. It could be one of the best decisions you ever make for your career as well as for your personal finances and your free time.

Learning From Covid-19: Stopping The Spread Of Sickness In Your Workplace

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Businesses all around the world have had to put in place strict measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Some of these measures could be worth clinging onto in the future - not only could they help to prevent the spread of any possible future pandemics but they could also help to prevent the spread of other everyday illnesses in the workplaces. By stopping the spread of illnesses, you could reduce the numbers of employees sick and improve productivity. Below are just several ways to stop the spread of illness in your workplace.

Encourage sick employees to stay at home

Working from home has become the norm during Covid-19. When everyone eventually returns to the office, it could make sense to keep in place a policy in which employees must work from home when ill - even when it comes to colds. 

In industries where working from home isn’t an option, you may want to allow employees to come in with colds, but may want to still discourage employees coming in with other more serious illnesses. Offering sick paid leave can give employees the freedom to do this without financially suffering for any time taken off. This is likely to encourage less employees to take the risk of going to work ill.

Clean your workplace thoroughly

Illness can often spread throughout the workplace as a result of dirty equipment being shared or contaminated surfaces being touched. By thoroughly cleaning all equipment and surfaces on a regular basis, you can prevent employees from coming into contact with harmful bacteria. This could include equipment such as computer keyboards and POS displays and surfaces such as light switches and door handles.

You may want to hire a specialist company to carry out office disinfecting if an outbreak of a serious illness is detected (such as coronavirus or the flu). Employees should be asked not to go into the workplace until this disinfection is complete. This will ensure that the office is completely sanitized and safe to return to. 

Encourage hand washing/hand sanitizing

Keeping hands clean has been a key policy throughout the pandemic. In certain workplaces such as restaurant kitchens and medical clinics this has long been a workplace policy. Other workplaces could benefit from taking it up as a permanent policy too. Putting up signs in bathrooms and strategically locating hand sanitizer dispensers around the workplace could be a way of encouraging clean hands. 

Keep your workplace well ventilated

When it comes to airborne diseases, ventilation is also important to consider. Many offices have very poor ventilation, which can allow particles to stay in the air for long periods. By improving ventilation, you can encourage contaminated air to be pumped out while keeping clean air flowing in. Opening windows is one way to keep your workplace ventilated. If this isn’t possible, consider installing extractor fans to help pump dirty air out. You may be able to upgrade your HVAC system to help improve ventilation - some modern HVAC systems are very effective at keeping air flowing and can even help to purify air by filtering out various contaminants.

How to Start a Successful Online Business

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There has never been a better time to start an online business than now. Some people are still in lockdown and they rely on online shopping to get what they need.

If you have a service or product and can find a way to sell it then you should try to get started sooner rather than later. If you are ready to begin then check out these tips to get you started.

Create a Business Plan

Before you can even begin you need to have a business plan. Proper planning is the only thing that will help you to get started successfully. 

Your business plan should be niche specific. You need to do this because, in the beginning, you will need to be very focused. If you want to branch out you can do that later.

Know Your Market

You can create the best product in the world but if you do not know your market, it will be tough to target them. Your target market is something that you will need to think about thoroughly. 

You should try to get into the head of the consumer and think about who they are, what they love, and what they would like from your service. Once you do this you will be better able to know how to target them.

One of the things you can do is do a spy analysis of your competitors to check out what they are doing.

Start By Offering Services

When you first begin you may have more time than money. This means that even if you do have a product in mind you may not have enough money to create it and get it manufactured.

The best alternative to get you started is to sell a service. If you have been studying your demographics and spying on your competition you should already have some idea about what kind of service your target customer will be interested in.

Choose Your Product

Just because you are not going to be selling a product right away does not mean that you should not start thinking about the kind of product you wish to sell in the future.

Having an idea will help you to tailor your services in such a way that your customers will find the product invaluable. If you aren’t able to manufacture the product yourself, then you should go ahead and find a good supplier.

If you are still strapped for cash during this phase you may want to consider getting a business partner. You can always consider buying out a business partner later on if they are no longer interested in the business.

Get Online

The heart of any online business is your website. This means that you need to select your domain name and hosting provider. You may choose to pay for our hosting plan monthly or every year. It all depends on what you can afford.

You may also want to go ahead and set up your website so that it is powered by an online eCommerce platform. These platforms will often have templates for you to use to make your store look organized. 

Most of them are also connected to payment gateways so that you can have a seamless purchase and checkout experience for your customers.

Start a Blog

It may seem like the last thing you want to do is create more work for yourself but starting a blog for your website is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get noticed by search engines. Make sure that you put relevant keywords in your blog posts to attract search engines to your content.

However, you should be aware that search engine optimization is a long game especially if you have a new website. It will be worth it in the long run. Free search engine traffic is one of the best ways to grow your business and drive sales.

Get on Social Media

The real question you should be asking yourself when it comes to social media is how many platforms you can manage. The more you can do the better it will be for your business.

A social presence will get you noticed so that you can begin selling your products. Get involved with people on social media. Like their pictures and comment on their posts, this will spark people’s interest and win you a lot of new followers.

You can use social media to start growing your email list. Get people on your list by offering them a valuable freebie on social media. Your email list is where you will find continued support for your business. 

Make sure that you nourish this list as much as you can. Communicate regularly but do not overdo it. People do not want to see emails from you two and three times a day this is an easy way to get people to unsubscribe.

Advertise as Much as You Can

Advertising is essential, this is what will grow your business fast. In order, for you to do this you will need to create an advertising budget.

When you create this budget you should ensure that you stick to it. A good advertising campaign can take your business to the next level.

The good thing about advertising is that many social media platforms will allow you to do it at a reasonable fee. Advertising is now very affordable for small businesses.

Become a Success

In order to become a success in business, you need to have a plan. Once you have this plan you need to know the best way to execute it so that it becomes a reality.

You will also need to have a good strategy for social media as well as an advertising plan. Focus a lot on growing your email list because this is a great way to continuously connect with your target audience.

When you develop a relationship with your customers through an email list they will be more willing to buy from you in the future.

Mental Wellness In The Workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental and physical well being of many people across the globe, but the workplace is the most impacted.

Even if your workplace is your office or your home office, the stress that work and the world creates is burning out many.

This infographic sheds more light on why mental wellness in the workplace is critical.

Graphic created by Pillar.

4 Things That Can Change Your Business for the Better

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Serious entrepreneurs prioritize sustainable growth above many other goals. However, change does not always occur naturally, and you may need to put in some effort to transform your business in the near future. Unless of course, you think your idea is beyond correction, taking actions to re-strategize your business model is always a good idea. Here are the top 4 things that can drastically change your business for the better.

Update your business technology

Technology grows at a breakneck speed, and so, you may need to adopt advanced business technologies as the years go by. Cutting-edge tech tools allow small businesses to expand into more prominent brands as their processes become more efficient and streamlined.  How well do you leverage modern business trends to your advantage? Assess which business technologies are vital to your business and adopt them. This may involve upgrading your software, computer hardware and switching to more sophisticated business applications. 

Organize and outsource aspects of your business

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the tasks on your table? Then lighten the load by outsourcing some of your tedious tasks to professionals. Following the massive outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it's possible that you have gone digital with some aspects of your business. Nevertheless, there may still be a lot of paperwork to be done, such as filing tax reports. Thanks to SPS/GZ, you can obtain comprehensive solutions to all your 1099 nec tax reporting services. During busier seasons, it makes sense to outsource your 1099 reporting so that you could save some time and money. Organizing your office will also save you a lot of space. So, get rid of the clutter.

Understand your customers

A tremendous disservice you can do to yourself as a business owner is not knowing your customers. That's because clients are the pivot point upon which successful companies revolve around. Therefore, a profitable business model should capture an in-depth knowledge of your customer base. Tracking your web analytics helps, but it's not the only way to get a better view of your clientele; syndicated third-party research could also prove useful for understanding your end-users. These reports are generated with much emphasis on market research via observations. Therefore, make good use of the available research out there about your target audience.

Review your finances

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At a time when the COVID-19 has laid its icy hands on thousands of businesses, getting a firm grip on your finances is vital. Review your sales and finances, and project whether you will need funding in the future. If yes, then you should plan. Examine the credit rating of your business and find ways to build upon it when necessary. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to cause mayhem in the financial landscape, you may want to ensure that you have a contingency plan.

Change may just be the right response to the rising incidents of uncertainties that abide in the business world. So, embrace the idea of upgrading your business technology, reviewing your finances, understanding your customers, and outsourcing at the opportune time.

How To Drive More Traffic To Your Website

Infographic design by Rockerbox Inc.

Let’s face it: the only way you’re going to get more customers buying stuff from your website is by having more active visitors. The question is, how do you get more genuine website visitors that are likely to spend their money with you?

The answer is simple: be proactive with your online marketing approach, as the following illustrates:

Make sure your website is functional

How does your website look on both desktop and mobile browser screens? Is it quick to load? And does the site’s structure make sense? Those are just some of the questions you need to answer before doing any promotional work.

If there are concerns about any of those points, you’ll likely need to spend some time getting your website redesigned. The good news is that visitors will stay on your site for longer and be more inclined to purchase items once that happens.

Check that your content is up to scratch

Once you know that your website is accessible to all and is quick to load, you must turn your attention to its content. Does it pack a punch? Is it good at delivering the key messages you wish to convey to your target audience?

There are many ways you can improve your website’s content:

Use professional product photographs to help customers visualize your products in their intended setting;

Embed demonstration videos that showcase the main features and benefits of your products.

Use the right marketing platforms and tools

Lastly, it makes sense to use the most common marketing platforms and technologies to drive traffic to your website. The following DTC marketing stack gives you a comprehensive example of what and who you should be using:

Infographic design by Rockerbox Inc.