Michael Levitt's Blog, page 15

Internet Safety Rules To Protect Your Company

A business thrives on the protection of its information. Employees work together daily to create products or perform services, interact with customers and clients, and file information. This process of filing and storing confidential information is necessary, and if any of it gets out, the company could face negative consequences. Read on to learn how to protect your company with these internet safety rules.

Require Strong Passwords

Everyone logging into a company computer or website uses a password. Unfortunately, people have many profiles and systems they log into inside and outside of work they reuse the same passwords. This perspective is troubling, as a powerful way to protect user accounts and information is through strong passwords, changed at least every three months. It may be a hassle for many to remember their new passwords, but this will protect your company information from any potential information or data leaks.

Control Access to Systems

Another rule you need to put in place to protect your company is ensuring individuals can access only necessary information. There is the physical access side, where computers, hard drives, and servers need authentication and passwords to get into, but there is also the cyber side. Many companies use firewalls to ensure that employees cannot access unsecure sites. You should limit who you grant administrative privileges to so that you can control the data someone can view and download, guaranteeing only the pertinent individuals can do so.

Be Aware of Email Scams

One of, if not the most important rule of cybersecurity is to be aware of email scams. Emails and social media fraud has increased as more people spend their lives online, and technical literacy has struggled to keep pace. Consequently, many bad actors can get access to private company information by impersonating staff or using phishing scams. Educate your employees on how to recognize and avoid these attacks. On top of this, increase your spam blockers so attacks like these cannot reach your employees in the first place.

Invest in Monitoring Services

As mentioned previously, many security issues happen because of human error—you and your employees are the top cybersecurity risks to your business. Unfortunately, no matter how careful and educated you and your employees are, mistakes can still happen. Thankfully, monitoring services can help protect your online data and decrease the risk of cybersecurity breaches.

These internet safety rules will help protect your company and teach you and your employees to work smarter. You can boil a lot of these rules down to common sense and critical thinking. On top of protecting your company, the principles behind these rules will also help everyone work together more efficiently and convince clients that their information is safe.

Things To Look For When Buying Hi-Vis Clothing

When purchasing hi-vis clothing to provide for your employees, it’s essential to invest in quality and efficient pieces. However, it may be hard to identify what you need if you don’t know what to look for. Continue reading to learn how to identify key markers when buying good hi-vis clothing.

Reflective Material

Your hi-vis clothing needs reflective material. It’s in accordance with OSHA standards, and it offers high visibility under dimly lit or poor visibility conditions. Most of, if not all, hi-vis clothing should have reflective material on it. There are even clothing items that have patterned reflective material on them, like the “x” shape.

Bright Colors

Brightly colored vests, jackets, or overalls are great markers in hi-vis clothing. Bright colors are eye-catching, and people can see them from far distances, which is ideal for construction or industrial workers. If you want to reduce accidents, you should consider looking for bright, neon-colored hi-vis clothing.

Coverage

Coverage is important when it comes to buying the right class of hi-vis clothing. The more coverage the clothes provide, the more protection and visibility you have. That’s why it’s essential to look for hi-vis items that are longer, like jackets, overalls, and raincoats. Your workers will feel safer and more well-equipped to take on their tasks.

Special Environmental Protection

Another thing to look for when buying hi-vis clothing is special environmental protection. Is it rain resistant? Fire retardant? Having hi-vis clothing with these features allows your workers to remain protected and prepared through the worst.

You can trust that your employees will have the coverage they need to carry out outdoor tasks even in the rain, which is great for productivity. In the event of a fire, you can rest assured that your worker has some coverage and protection.

Before securing a purchase, be sure to consider these essential factors to get the best hi-vis clothing your workers deserve.

The Different Types of Injection Molding Technology

What started as a simple design to create production convenience rapidly evolved into various methods and technologies. Nowadays, there are several different injection molding methods available for a business, and each serves a fundamental purpose of achieving quality parts manufacturing. Let’s look at some of the most common technology used and see which injection molding form is right for your respective industry.

Thin Wall Molding

The technology involved in thin wall molding helps create plastic parts containing thin walls. This method of injection molding is suitable in applications for tubes, vessels, or apparatuses.

The engineers who work with this intricate form of plastic injection molding must consider all contributing factors from mold design, product design, and overall process details. The products must contain a certain level of geometrical perfection to pass quality control and meet consumer demands.

Metal Injection Molding

Plastic injection molding technology isn’t the only method of injecting molding available. Metal is another prominent material in producing goods and parts and serves many industrial applications.

It is worth noting this technology is significantly more expensive than plastic, but it’s essential, nonetheless. Metal injection molding plays a crucial role in crafting shields in the mobile device industry to protect the device from microwaves or radio waves that can impair its functionality.

3D Printing

3D printing is a relatively common and significant molding technique today. This technology contributes to prototyping various parts across industries and improves the level of design. A common use for 3D printing is reverse engineering parts.

Through 3D printing, manufacturers and engineers can review models before total production begins, perform testing, and use a CAD system to examine renderings in detail. This technology can produce plastic or metal molded parts, making it applicable across the board.

Liquid Silicone Injection Molding

The vast majority of injection molding with plastics falls under the thermoset category. This process is the injection of a cold material into an exceedingly hot mold, resulting in the desired part.

Industries such as auto parts and medical device manufacturers use a thermoplastic injection molding process because this method can withstand high-temperature values. For a thermoplastic method to occur, the engineers must use liquid silicone in the molds. Medical devices and instruments use an over-molding method to further ensure sanitization.

There are many unique methods in parts manufacturing, and each serves specific purposes tied to the consumer. Regardless of the technology your business needs, the injection molding process has come a long way from the beginning days of molding buttons and combs. To ensure your industry maintains cost-effectiveness and quality production, consider one of these technologies for parts manufacturing.

What Every Data Center Needs To Be Successful

Life in our modern times is centered around data collection and storage. Data centers are integral to the IT industry, and demand for their use is growing yearly.

If you’re interested in getting into the data center business or just want to learn more about this fascinating industry, we’ve put together a brief explainer of what every data center needs to succeed.

Environmental Cooling

Computers, whether for large data centers or our laptops, can overheat without proper cooling procedures. For our small laptops, it doesn’t take much anymore, but the large servers of data centers require more than a small fan.

Data centers use many environmental cooling methods, but one of the most popular is the hot aisle/cold aisle strategy. Data centers use this method to reduce energy consumption and efficiently use physical space.

EMI Shielding

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is something that we all have to deal with, even if we don’t realize it. EMI can disrupt electronic devices due to the strong relationship between electricity and magnetism.

Left unprotected, EMI can wreak havoc on electronic devices close to each other, so you can see why EMI shielding is essential to data centers. EMI shielding ensures that the electronic devices within a data center don’t disrupt one another or allow outside EMI to cause malfunctions or failures.

Thorough Documentation

Thorough documentation is crucial in almost any business, not just data centers. The best-run data centers are the ones that are meticulous and comprehensive in their documentation, from training methods to activity monitoring.

Having as much information and operations history is crucial when working in IT to ensure personnel can solve problems efficiently. It may be tedious, but proper paperwork means better communication, training, and collaboration amongst data center employees.

High-Level Security

In some ways, a data center is like a vault of information that many people want and are willing to go to illegal means to attain. Data centers aren’t inherently dangerous, but high-level security is a necessity.

Some of the proper safety protocols and technologies a data center should utilize include:

Perimeter protection

Caged and locked cabinets

Biometrics

Keycards

24/7 video surveillance

Hopefully, these security measures are just deterrents and never have to be used, but you can never be too careful when securing a data center.

Those are a few common traits of every successful data center and what they need. It’s a growing industry, and if you adopt the right techniques and strategies, it could be lucrative for you as well.

New Customers: How To Grow Your Business Audience

Businesses have many ways they can grow, but one of the main ways is by drawing in new customers. However, that’s not an easy task, as drawing in new people to your product costs money and requires success to recoup that cost. That’s why you should learn some of the consistent methods that help businesses grow their audience.

Build a Community

The first thing you should do is look at building a community for your business. You already have regular customers who could help you grow your brand. Using forums and social media, try getting groups together to create communities that can grow and bring new people into your business.

Add in New Services

One way you can reach new people is by offering new client-facing services that make your business more accessible. One common example is adding an e-commerce aspect to your business, reaching people far outside your current reach. However, you must be careful to avoid the unique challenges that come with services, like the common mistakes of e-commerce fulfillment.

Run New Marketing

Trying out a fresh marketing campaign is a great way a business can grow its audience. Look for marketing methods you haven’t tried before to reach new people you can use in your audience. For example, local listings in newspapers can be great, and starting a free social media page can reach a lot of people quickly.

Expand Your Products

Sometimes the products you offer just won’t draw in enough customers because they’re too niche. A store that only sells meats will often have a tough time competing with a local grocery store. That’s why offering other products that are similar to your original product can draw in plenty of customers. For example, a dog walking company could add house-sitting or dog washing to their services to attract new customers.

These are just a few methods other businesses use successfully to bring in new customers. By using these methods and ensuring your business can match the potential growth, you can start growing your customer base and spread the word about your company and offerings.

How To Double The Size Of Your Business In 12 Months

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Many entrepreneurs want to double the size of their business in a short period of time, but relatively few ever achieve it. Making an enterprise larger often requires a dramatic shift in thinking, something that most leaders find challenging. 

The problem with most leaders is that they think linearly. They believe that if they want to grow their business, they will have to do more of the same. 

The trick is to think differently. The goal shouldn’t be to “double down” on what works. Instead, it is about paying attention to the business environment, and then striking when the opportunity arises. 

So what, exactly, should you be doing?

Focus On Your Brand Image

If you can’t increase the amount of money consumers spend on your products and services, it is difficult to increase your profits. Your only option is to increase production or the number of hours you work. 

However, if you can find ways to convince prospects to spend more money with you, then you can really begin to build your income. 

Why is it, for instance, that some lawyers can charge $1,500 per hour, while others only charge $150? Usually, it has nothing to do with their knowledge or even the quality of their advice. Instead, it’s all about their ability to convince other people that they are worth the money. When a client spends a large amount per hour on a lawyer, they feel as though they are getting the best service. 

Therefore, brand image is everything for most companies. It’s what helps you escape cost competition and increase your margins above the industry average. 

Start Upselling And Cross-Selling

Your existing customers are a resource: one that you should leverage in every way possible. Unfortunately, many companies don’t realize this and, instead, put all their effort into expanding their customer base. 

Evidence suggests that this approach is far more expensive. And, in many cases, it is a false economy. Most firms are better off investing in their existing customers than trying to reach new ones. 

Why? The answer is simple: happy customers become brand ambassadors. They do all the selling for you, so you don’t have to. 

Create More Incentives For Your Customers

If you really want to supercharge demand, it’s important to create incentives for customers. The goal is to get customers to spend more than they were originally contemplating. 

Remember, most customers go into business transactions planning to spend the lowest sum of money possible. Your job is to convince them that there is real value in spending more. 

In many cases, customers aren’t even aware of what they want. They arrive with one idea in mind but leave with another. 

Expand Your Physical Capital

Expanding your business often requires you to invest in physical capital. You need new storage facilities, warehouses, and depots.

According to Butler Buildings, an expert in the field, new technology makes physical capital expansion easy. However, many companies still aren’t aware of this. 

If you’re looking to expand a business, look for ways to cheaply build out your infrastructure. Then use accounting tricks, such as depreciation, to lower the long-term costs. 

Once you have physical capital in place, you’re free to increase marketing spending, add new sales channels, and sell in new markets. 

Set Better Goals

When doubling the size of your business, you’ll need to think carefully about what it is that you actually want. Do you really want to double sales volume? Or would you be just as happy doubling profits? 

Most business leaders would actually prefer the latter. Increasing the money you take home is better than increasing the number of sales you make. 

If this is your goal, focus more on margins. If they are currently five percent, increasing them to ten percent in one year will double your take-home pay (assuming that sales remain the same).

In practice, this means reducing costs from 95 percent of your revenue to 90 percent. 

You can also look at it from a different perspective: increasing sales without increasing costs. For instance, if you can increase sales to 105 percent of your current revenue while keeping costs at 95 percent, you’ll achieve the same effect. 

Think about the type of margin-increasing goals that make the most sense to you. Then begin looking for micro-opportunities in your business that can help you get there. 

Rethink What You’re Selling

The key to going from a regular business to one that grows consistently over time is to constantly refine and redefine what it is that you sell. Most company leaders believe that they already know what they sell. It’s obvious. 

But, in reality, they’re rarely right. The real thing they’re selling isn’t a product or service, but emotion or feeling that their customers experience. 

Take some time to consider what your company actually does. Yes, you might offer plumbing or accounting services, but try to go a little deeper. Ask yourself what your customers are fundamentally getting from you. 

Kodak is a good example of a company that misunderstood what it was selling. In the late 1990s, the firm believed that it sold reels of film and disposable cameras. It was highly successful in what it did for a time, but when smartphones came along, it was suddenly obsolete. 

Kodak’s problem was that it didn’t understand what business it was in. It thought that it was in the camera business whereas, in reality, it was in the “creating memories” business. People don’t care about how they take pictures; what they want are the pictures themselves.

Make Your Pricing More Flexible

Here’s a dirty little secret most high-flying entrepreneurs don’t want you to know: you can charge different prices depending on the customer. This way, you can maximize your margin for each sale. 

Some customers can only afford to pay the minimum price. However, others are able to pay much more (and are often willing to do so as long as you provide value). 

Find ways to “upgrade” your customers to better services while avoiding dedicating any additional time to the process.

How to Make Your Hotel Stand Out in a Competitive Industry

Photo by @rhemakallianpur

It is no secret that the hotel industry is competitive, and that is why services like a hotel marketing agency are needed to assist those who are all over the place. In order to attract guests and be successful, hotels need to find ways to set themselves apart from their competitors.

If this is something that you need help with, then here are some tips on how you can make your hotel stand out in a competitive industry:

Offer unique amenities and services

One way to make your hotel stand out is to offer unique amenities and services that your competitors do not have. This could include things like an on-site spa, complimentary breakfast, or a concierge service.

If you can offer something that your guests cannot find at other hotels, they will be more likely to choose your hotel over others. Guests have different needs, so if you can widen your net as far as possible, you will be able to gain a larger demographic.

Have a strong online presence

In today's digital age, it is important for hotels to have a strong online presence. potential guests will often research hotels online before making a reservation, so it is important that your hotel is easy to find and has a website that is user-friendly and informative.

People need to know what they are getting themselves in for, they do not want to find out whilst they are there that a hotel is not a good fit. Make sure that you have everything about your hotel on your social media pages and website.

Update it as much as possible so that your future guests do not miss anything important. Promoting yourselves online is an essential part of running a business.

Provide great customer service

Another way to make your hotel stand out is to provide great customer service. This includes things like being friendly and helpful, responding to guests' needs quickly, and going above and beyond to make sure they have a positive experience.

If you can provide excellent customer service, guests will be more likely to choose your hotel and recommend it to others. A smile and a chat can go a long way towards a positive review that will show up online.

It does not take much to offer good customer service, all that is needed is decency and care for guests, and that can make all the difference.

Keep your hotel clean and up-to-date

An important way to make your hotel stand out is to keep it clean and up-to-date. This means regularly cleaning all areas of the hotel, including the guest rooms, public areas, and back-of-house areas.

It also means regularly inspecting and repairing any damages or wear and tear. If guests see that you are keeping your hotel clean and well-maintained, they will be more likely to choose your hotel over others.

Your electrics should be checked constantly, and machines should be assessed to make sure that they are not on their last legs. This will be highly beneficial in creating a welcoming environment for guests.

Offer competitive rates

Finally, one of the most important ways to make your hotel stand out is to offer competitive rates. Guests are often price-sensitive when choosing a hotel, so it is important to offer rates that are in line with or below your competitors. You can also offer special discounts and promotions to attract guests.

If you have seasonal discounts, then promote them on your webpage. Do you do a special weekend package or romance package? Promote that as much as possible, especially around the holidays when people are looking for a nice getaway.

By following these tips, you can make your hotel stand out in a competitive industry and ultimately attract more guests.

5 Advantages To Having an Electronic Cash Register

When running a business, you want to ensure that you have the best equipment possible to keep it running smoothly. Not only should you have quality security systems and easy-to-follow return policies, but you should also have a cash register that helps you instead of hindering you.

Electronic cash registers are particularly helpful for tracking sales and providing swift check-out times—not to mention that they help businesses run more smoothly. So, let’s look at electronic cash registers and the five advantages you should know.

Easy To Use

One perk of electronic cash registers you should know is that they’re straightforward to use and designed for maximum efficiency. This includes the keyboard design, cash drawer operation, and sales display.

Additionally, they are easy to take care of and repair. When you need a repair or replacement for your cash register, the manufacturer tends to carry the parts you’re looking for or offer warranties for replacements. Lastly, little training is required, as electronic cash registers have straightforward programming to make anyone an expert.

Data Recording

Electronic models offer high memory capacity and data recording, a helpful feature for how often you use a cash register. When you need to run a purchase report for the day or track any returns, you can easily find it in the cash register’s system.

Because the internal computer system tracks every transaction, it’s simple for managers to compare various sales numbers to the cash in the drawer. It makes discrepancies easier to find and less time-consuming for staff to trace back other instances.

Affordability

When deciding which electronic cash register model to use, the cost usually hinders business owners from making the switch. Some companies have hidden fees that businesses won’t learn about until later.

Thankfully, most cash registers remain affordable, especially for small businesses. The cost typically includes your warranty, premium accounts, spare repair parts, and more. Ensure that you check prices in advance.

Low Check-Out Time

A significant benefit to using an electronic cash register is that it provides a shorter check-out time. Electronic cash registers provide user-friendliness and accurate record-keeping, making finding inventory numbers and transactions quicker than ever.

A surprising feature of electronic cash registers is that most can handle dual currencies. Most cloud-based POS—Point of Sales—systems may not always have this feature, but most electronic cash registers do, making it easier for customers to use foreign currencies.

Top-Quality Security

As you put cash purchases away in your electronic cash register, it provides high-quality security and automatically locks the drawer. That way, only authorized users with specific passwords can access it. Additionally, you can also have limitations for regular staff, making programs and data accessible for higher-ups in your business.

Owning an electronic cash register offers many perks for your small business. Not only will it look sleek and aesthetically pleasing in your shop, but it will also allow for easier tracking and transactions.

Simple Tips for Speeding Up Your Production Line

In manufacturing, there are a lot of factors at play. While this is true, some factors are much more significant than others, and the speed of your production line is one of the biggest. If things slow down there, your entire production falls behind, losing you both time and money. Here are some ways to speed up your production line and get your products coming out faster than ever before.

Optimize the Production Line

When first creating a business and starting your production line, it can seem like there is only one option when putting everything together. Unfortunately, the most straightforward assembly process may not be efficient, as you can get belts and products traveling across the entire warehouse before reaching the next station. To speed everything up, you should minimize this transitional process and invest in vertical lines. A lot of the production line is wasteful, and by streamlining it with quicker vertical lines that maximize your use of space, your products can go through the line much faster.

Choose the Correct Lubricant

In a production line, a lot of heavy machinery works together to bring parts down the line for assembly. That machinery does not work on its own. Instead, it has a considerable volume of gears, motors, and belts moving everything down the line, and those pieces need proper lubrication. Choosing the wrong lubricant can slow production, if not stop it entirely, and damage your machines. The suitable lubricant with the optimum viscosity and used in the correct amount will navigate these issues and deliver you a production line that hardly ever fails.

Invest in Employees

A lot of production lines that are out there today have fewer people on the line. Everything has become so automated that human assemblers are often needed elsewhere. While this is the case, there are still plenty working on the line, and to speed up your production, you should recognize their importance. It’s easy to see these employees as replaceable and not invest time and resources into them, but if you spend a lot of time training them, they will reward you by excelling at their job. On top of this, paying them a good wage for their work increases worker retention and turns your employees into more valued parts of the team.

These simple tips for speeding up your production line will significantly help you and your business save both money and time. Faster production means that you are selling more items and have more resources to streamline the process and create new products.

How Do I Sell A House Fast In Maryland?

Source: @tierramallorca

No matter the reason, when it comes time to sell your home, you want to do so quickly and efficiently. Depending on the state of the housing market and your home's location, this can be easier said than done. If you're looking to sell your home fast in Maryland, you can do a few things to help the process go more smoothly.

Get Your Home Ready to Compete

Before you even list your home, it's important to ensure it looks its best. This means taking care of any necessary repairs, giving it a fresh coat of paint, and decluttering every room.

Other small steps you can take that don't involve a complete renovation include:

Window Washing/Exterior Power Washing

A home service that can help your house sparkle is window washing. This is especially important if your home has a lot of windows, as they can become dirty quickly. Not only will clean windows make your home look more inviting, but they can also let in more natural light.

Similarly, hire a company to power wash the outside of your house—this cost-effective way to make your home's exterior look almost new. The service includes cleaning everything from your siding to your driveway and walkway.

Another popular area to power wash is your roof. Although it's often a separate service, it can help reduce the work for your home's gutters by removing leaves, dirt, and other debris. Also, most companies use eco-friendly solutions, so you don't have to worry about harming the environment.

Lawn Maintenance

Another way to ensure your home looks its best is to keep up with your lawn. This means regularly mowing grass, trimming your hedges, and planting flowers. You can do this yourself or hire a professional service.

If you don't have the time or energy to keep up with your lawn, consider hiring a professional landscaping company. This is a great way to take the stress out of lawn maintenance and ensure that your home always looks its best.

Hiring a Gutter Cleaning Service

Another home service that can help you sell your home fast is a Bowie MD Based gutter cleaning company. This is especially important if you live in an area with many trees. Gutters can quickly become clogged with leaves and other debris, which can cause water damage to your home.

A gutter cleaning service will clean your gutters and downspouts and remove debris from your roof. This is a great way to keep your home in good condition and prevent future damage. Also, if a section of your gutter needs to be repaired or replaced, the company can also take care of that.

Use These Tips to Sell Your Home Fast

When you're ready to sell your home, use these tips to help the process go more smoothly. From hiring a gutter cleaning company to maintaining your lawn, there are several things you can do to make your home more appealing to buyers.