Mohit Tater's Blog, page 517

Tips to Write a 5-year Strategic Plan for your New Business

For any business to thrive, there ought to be a strategic plan that keeps it on track. This is a well thought out plan, usually made before you start your business.  Without this, your business will be running without any goals or direction. Creating a strategic plan, however, depends on a number of factors. The type and composition of your plan will be dependent on factors such as the type of business and projected period of the said plan. For instance, if you are planning to draft a five-year plan, you ought to look at the current position of the business and what you hope to achieve within the five-year period. Having said this, the following are notable tips that will help you draft a five-year strategic plan for your business.

1.     Executive summary

Creating a strategic plan requires that you come up with an executive summary that details each of the various sections of your plan. In most cases, this will be drafted last. An executive plan comes in handy to help offer a quick layout for the key constituents of your business like financiers, employees, and advisors. With this, it becomes much easier for these constituents to understand and support your plan. While at it, you may consider including an elevator pitch in this section. This gives a brief introduction and description of your business. An elevator pitch should, however, be updated yearly to ensure it remains relevant based on the dynamic business environment.

2.     Perform a SWOT analysis

The success of any business depends on the ability to take advantage of the opportunities available within the business realm. It is with this realization that a business owner worth his salt will see the need to perform an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the business in question. Performing a SWOT analysis not only helps you understand the business environment from a professional point of view but also helps you pursue your growth goals.  It also helps a business identify its strengths and the need to reinforce the same even more. Talking of business strengths, finance is one of the key factors. Apart from your savings, you may sometimes see the need to go for external financial help. If you are currently in employment, then payday loans will come in handy to salvage the situation.  This may be done through OpenCashAdvance or other such short term loan sources.

3.     Draft a mission statement

Any business worth its salt has to have a goal or target.  This explains the importance of coming up with a mission statement that will drive and guide the business through the five-year period. With a clear mission statement for your business, it becomes much easier for your employees to understand the direction of the business. This becomes the driving factor that will help in internal decision making and general day to day operations of the business. On the other hand, a mission statement helps inspires external parties to like, partners, investors and customers to take action and in turn push the business towards achieving its goals.

4.     Understand the key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

 A great business will not thrive if the drivers do not understand the basic indicators and metrics of their growth. As such, it is important for a business owner to track their KPIs to understand how the business is performing periodically and work to adjust the areas lagging behind as needed. For instance, a business owner may see the need to focus on a given KPI like Total Sales as this is one of the basic tenets of a business’s growth. Take your time to fully understand the various operations of the business and how these affect your business growth.  In this case, you may be prompted to ask the following questions:

Are your sales affected by the traffic to your website?

How does the number of people who complete a contact form compare with those that finally close a deal?

What is the success rate f your proposals?

 By tracking and correcting any loopholes on the go, it becomes much easier to manage the business and thus, rescue a business before the sales plummet.

5.     A look at the target customers

Your strategic plan will not be complete without an analysis of your target customers. This is the section where you identify the needs and wants of your target audience depending on the type of business you hope to start. This will come in handy when you finally commission your marketing campaign. This will mean better budgeting in your advertising expenditures and subsequently a higher return on investment (ROI). In line with this, you will also need to understand that through the five-year period, so much can change in terms of the needs and preferences of your target audience. As such, take your time to create room for adjustment and realignment to fit into the dynamic business environment.

6.     Come up with a realistic marketing plan

Having identified and analyzed your target audience, the focus shifts to the marketing part of it. A five-year strategic plan requires that you develop a comprehensive marketing plan that fully describes how you hope to attract your prospects. This is a critical aspect of helping maximize your lifetime customer value.  This will, however, not be possible without the right marketing team by your side.  This human resource will come in handy to help you execute the most important tenet of your business and thus help achieve your goals.

Potentially, there is no specific set period for a strategic plan. However, five years is usually a feasible and practical period that offers a better timeframe to execute the plan. However, it may also be important to sneak in some yearly projections to help act as checkpoints along the way.  This will help you track your progress intermittently even as you hope to meet your five-year goals. By taking your time to identify, analyze and execute all the basic sections of your strategic plan, your business operations become much smoother. Create a solid strategic plan today and take your business projection to a whole new level.

Author’s Bio

Jim Hughes is a content marketer who has significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business topics for about 3 years. He likes to share all the insight and knowledge he has. Currently, he works as content writer at OpenCashAdvance.com.

The post Tips to Write a 5-year Strategic Plan for your New Business appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Content Marketing Trends for Today and Tomorrow

Content has been the monarch of marketing for decades, and it should continue its reign into the next decade. Yet, even though content remains a top marketing technique, how content looks and functions is ever-changing. In 2020 and beyond, content marketing experts predict the following trends to dominate — so you best learn about them now.

However, before you dive into the latest and greatest content marketing trends, it might be wise to ask yourself an important question: What is content marketing? Many business leaders immediately offer answers like “creating content that engages audiences” — but that is only half-true. Effective content marketing entails not just creating engaging content but also following up with analysis to understand what effect that content is having on the business’s bottom line. Ultimately, if your content isn’t driving sales in one way or another, something might be wrong.

Then again, if you are diligent about analyzing the performance of your content and tracking its success, you might be ready for the best content marketing trends of today and those likely to continue being successful into the future.

Video Content

Written content remains important, but more and more web users are drawn to the ease, convenience and entertainment value of video. The video format makes it easier to tell a story, which in turn makes it easier to connect with an audience’s emotions. This can be exceedingly valuable for some brands, which rely heavily on pathos to attract and engage consumers.

In addition to produced video content, live videos are becoming more common and more clamored for by audiences. On platforms like Instagram Live or YouTube Live, you can directly address your audience, answer questions in real time, demo your products, show behind-the-scenes processes and more. Because live videos aren’t scripted or edited, audiences are more apt to trust your brand messages and products, driving up interest and loyalty.

Voice Content

It just might be that 2020 is the year of the voice. Today, more than one in four U.S. households have at least one smart speaker; the average smart home actually has 2.3 smart speakers, through which users communicate with smart assistants, who control their smart devices. As a result, fewer people are searching the web with the stilted search language picked up through decades of trying to manipulate search engines to get the right results; these days, people are searching the web through voice-enabled smart assistants using more natural human speech. 

Google has begun adapting to this shift with a machine-learning tool called BERT, which helps the search engine better understand what certain words and phrases mean. However, content creators — that’s you — need to offer voice-activated content, which can be delivered to users through their smart assistants. Audio is obviously an important consideration, especially narrative news snippets in podcast form. You should feel free to experiment and be creative with your content to make it more accessible via voice.

User Content

There is a reason why word-of-mouth marketing remains the most impactful method of spreading awareness of your business and building brand loyalty: People trust other people, especially people they know, more than they trust your marketing messages. This idea has spawned all sorts of ratings and reviews websites which deliver real people’s opinions of businesses and products. 

Yet, instead of encouraging your customers to visit other websites to learn what others have to say about your business and product, you should consider hosting user-generated content on your own site or social media pages. You might contact an influencer who has spoken about your product and ask them to create sponsored content, or you might reach out to positive reviewers, asking them for an interview about their experience using your product. Your audience appreciates a real person’s perspective and will use user-generated content to make more informed purchasing decisions.

It is valuable to know about content marketing trends and act on them, but you should also recognize that adhering closely to trends won’t necessarily help you achieve your marketing and business goals. As you begin to adopt some of the content trends for 2020 and beyond, you should work with content marketing experts to ensure that everyone is getting what they need from the content you produce.

The post Content Marketing Trends for Today and Tomorrow appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

What All Should I be Conscious of while obtaining a Personal Loan?

Stuck under an ever-rising pile of debt? Or have a medical emergency? Or have to urgently pay fees for your kid’s college? Don’t worry! No matter what your financial emergency is about, the personal loan will come to your rescue. 

It is amongst the quickest ways of getting funds. And you know the best part? You don’t even have to keep any of your valuable assets as security. However, the no-collateral part is not as amazing as it sounds. Since there is no security involved and the risk is higher for them, the lenders charge high rates of interest on the loan, making it costly for you.

Also, you need to make sure that you manage your loan properly otherwise, it will put you in trouble rather than taking you out of it. In order to manage your loan properly, you must consider the following things while applying for this finance. 

#1 Considering all the Options Available

A personal loan is indeed a quick option for taking care of your financial emergency. However, these loans have high rates of interest with short duration for repayment. Therefore, the amount of repayment becomes large. 

You must consider all the available options and their monthly payments and make sure you are capable of making the repayment. Some Bank also offer personal loan in UAE 3000 salary employees. You should also assess whether you are going to opt for a personal loan in UAE without a salary transfer or with salary transfer.

#2 Taking your Credit History in Consideration

The first and hands down, the most important thing that any lender would check before approving your loan request is your credit rating. Since this type of finance does not require any kind of security or collateral, the eligibility requirements are pretty strict.

Your credit score is the most essential amongst the various eligibility requirements. It helps the lender in judging your credibility and assessing the potential risk that may come with you. 

Those who have a good credit rating have higher chances of getting approval for personal finance easily that too at a competitive interest rate. 

#3 Haggling for an Economic Rate

The lenders always have a competition between them for providing loan to the borrowers who are credit-worthy. Hence, you must put your best efforts to haggle for a better rate on the finance deal. 

You may not realize it now, but even a single percentage may lead to a considerable reduction in the repayment amount. 

#4 Determining the Loan Amount Smartly

No sane and knowledgeable person is ever going to recommend you to borrow more than what you require. You must analyze the reason why you are opting for the loan and then make an estimate of the amount you may need. 

The lender may even offer to provide you with an amount higher than what you have asked for if they find you credit-worthy. However, going overboard with your loan amount won’t be the best idea. 

Wondering why? The answer is very simple. More loan amount means more debt, and obviously more interest as well. Hence, you must only borrow the amount that you need.

#5 Keeping in Mind How Unhealthy Defaults can be for Your Credit Score

You all must already know how defaults make you brush with the courts and authorities. But, do you also know that these defaults can have a bad impact on your credit ratings too. 

You may be able to pay off your current loan successfully, but your chances of obtaining the loans sometime in the future may get harmed big time because your credit history shows all the defaults you have made in your past. If you have a clear credit report, it may also help you in haggling for more economic rates later. 

#6 Opt for this Loan Only When there is an Emergency

The banks do promote their finance products for leisure activities such as purchasing the latest gadgets or a long-planned vacation. However, it is recommended that you opt for a loan only when you are under a financial crisis. 

Your loan cost includes interest and various other fee and charges and must not be taken for not-so-important expenses such as these. If in case you fail to pay even a single installment, it may cause harm to your credit rating, hence making it difficult for you to obtain finance when you get stuck in an actual cash crunch. 

#7 Taking Your Current Financial State into Consideration

This particular point is not just valid for your personal finance, but all the other kinds of credit. You should consider your present as well as future financial state before you go for a loan. 

Personal finance may seem to you as the ideal solution in case of a financial emergency; however, if you fail to manage it properly, this potential solution may mess up your finances. In such situations, a personal loan calculator may come to your aid. 

You just need to put in the loan amount and the interest rate for finding out the monthly expenses and savings. Then, you need to assess whether the estimated EMI suits your budget. 

#8 Checking if the Bank Offers Overdraft Facility or Not

If you already have an account with the concerned bank, and the amount of loan you are looking for isn’t that big, then overdraft can be a resort. 

Usually, banks offer the facility of overdraft to their account holders who are credit-worthy. An overdraft is not a very heavy financial burden as opposed to a personal loan. 

#9 Going Through the Loan Agreement Carefully

Although it is necessary for your lender to disclose all the necessary rates and fees while you apply for the loan, it is still recommended that you go through the fine print very carefully. 

There are many charges that you must consider like foreclosure fees, rescheduling fees, processing fees, loan cancellation fees, and many more. Apart from that you also need to consider the tenure of the loan. 

There can also be some hidden charges, which if not identified in the beginning, may become a problem for you later. Hence, it is important that you go through the terms & conditions of the finance properly yourself rather than relying on the representative of the bank. Shop around and select the most suitable one. 

To Sum Up!

Personal finance is amongst the top solutions for handling a financial emergency, that too quite easily. However, it is necessary that you keep the above-mentioned points in mind before you sign the dotted line. 

If in case any issues come up in the future, then it will not only affect your financial status negatively but will harm your credit score also. This may later become a hurdle for you while opting for loans. 

About the Author:

Pardeep Garg is online entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and author. He is passionate about Market Research and loves to write on topics Market Research, Business, Digital Marketing, Finance, Information and Opinions to success in life.

The post What All Should I be Conscious of while obtaining a Personal Loan? appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

3 Storage Tips for Digital Start-Ups Looking to Grow Quickly

Digital start-up companies usually struggle in the first few years as they could lack funds and investment to move forward, as such they need to save all the pennies to make sure they are not another statistic in terms of start-up companies that have failed.  This includes the storage of equipment and they may look at secure storage options to help support their equipment. Digital companies will generally have a lot of IT equipment that could include computers, cameras and lighting that take up a lot of space, therefore, trying to optimise this is the best way to grow the company to their full potential.  Here are 3 storage tips to help you on your way.

Secure Storage

There are many different secure storage options where you can place your equipment in one of these facilities and access it whenever you want. This sort of facility is rented out based on the size that you need. This can be amended to suit you whether it is larger or smaller.  You can also take out a level of insurance for this area which will help protect you in case something gets damaged. The great thing about this option is that specifically for digital start-up companies, not all the equipment is needed all the time.  This could be specific lighting and cameras for projects that happen occasionally.  

These pieces of equipment will take up a lot of room and this would then mean that your office would need to be of a size to help store all this which would cost a lot more money.  You are not in a contract with the secure storage companies and generally are charged a small amount per day so if your circumstances change, it is normally easy to get your equipment quickly and move to another location.

Built-in Cabinets

In any office, the space is at a premium and if you have lots of digital equipment, storing this in the office could become a hassle.  This is exactly why if you are set on keeping the equipment in the office, it could be an option to store this in cabinets that are out of the way and minimise any space that you would waste.  If you are renting the office and it is not something that you own, then before you go ahead and start building cabinets you will need to get the permission of the landlord.  These cabinets should be constructed in a way to best utilise the storage space within.  

Rental of Digital Equipment 

Digital equipment could be a big expenditure, especially if you are looking for good quality IT, as a result, start-up companies may struggle to purchase these.  An option to help with the finances but also with the storage dilemma would be to initially rent this.  This would not only support the need to rent when you need to minimise storage issues, but it would also allow the end user to try out the equipment before committing to spending a lot of money on a purchase.  When the rented equipment is in the office and not returned to the owner, it is really crucial you consider the secure storage option as due to the price of these items, if something happens you could find yourself forking out a fortune in repairs.

Summary

Rental space for offices can be expensive, therefore, it is crucial that you do your best to minimise the expenditure on this by considering the above 3 options above that could help grow the business for start-up companies.

The post 3 Storage Tips for Digital Start-Ups Looking to Grow Quickly appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

What Should You Know About Misclassified Real Estate Worker?

If you are in the real estate industry, you must have heard about misclassified real estate worker. Misclassifying the employees as independent contractors is one of the serious problems and the most affected group comprises probably real estate agents. For the employee, being misclassified carries severe problems. You may find that the broker is making deductions, which are not apt if you are independent contractor.

Misclassifying refers to a situation where real estate agencies or brokers misclassify their employees and label them as the independent contractors, which results in denial of the critical benefits of employees.

A real estate agency requires the Realtors to spend a huge amount of money to pay for things like brochures, videos, business cards, insurance, and websites. If real estate agent is an employee in real, the agency is legally bound to reimburse the amount, which can be several thousand dollars per year.

How are Independent Contractors Different From Employees?

It may be difficult to ascertain what your proper classification is. There is no clear line. You may have independent contractor agreement, but, as per National Association of Realtors, this does not prove that you are independent contractor by itself. The court will look at several factors depending on situation. There may be various tests used depending on whether the problem is a wage dispute regarding overtime or federal tax issue.

Independent contractors should be independent. Thus, the more control an employer exerts over a worker, the more likely the worker should be considered as an employee and so, they are entitled to a broad range of benefits given to the employees. While there are not set factors that qualify a worker as an independent contractor or employee, some factors that serve as degree of independence and control are –

·         If the business is providing training to the worker

·         If the employer exercises control over how the work outcomes are achieved

·         Instructions given to the worker, such as, where and when to work, where to buy services and supplies, what equipment or tools to use, what work should be performed, etc.

·         Written contracts describing relationship the parties wish to create, including the duties and tasks worker agrees to perform

·         Permanency of the relationship

·         Whether the worker offers services outside the usual course of the employer or places of business. If they do not, they look like the employee

·         Whether the person is free of control and direction of the realtor. If the worker is independent contractor, then realtor should be focused on whether a house sells and nothing else

·         Whether the person has an independent occupation, trade, or business. If they do, then that person probably is not an employee and must not be treated as one

·         The degree of which services performed by worker are an important aspect of regular business of a company

·         The extent to which worker has unreimbursed expenses of the business, including whether there are current costs that would incur whether or not the work is being performed

Conclusion

Independent contractors and employees are often misclassified in the real estate business. Until and unless there is a contract signed stating the position of the worker, determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contract remains an issue of debate. However, with the factors mentioned above, a worker can know about their real position in the company. 

The post What Should You Know About Misclassified Real Estate Worker? appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Top 5 Must-Have Features for a Car Sharing App

The car ride industry has skyrocketed over the past few years, and many companies have taken an interest in how to create a car sharing application to cling onto this trend.

This business model has seen a dramatic increase in popularity due to its innovative ways to solve some problems that the world is currently facing, and that is traffic congestion and pollution by making a vehicle available to a much wider range of people.

At the same time, it solves day to day problems, like getting rid of the cost of owning a car has. Also, regular people can create side income by putting their own cars to work, be it by using it as a taxi or simply renting it trough these apps.

So, it’s a win-win situation. People get a much more convenient means of transportation, with the opportunity to earn some cash on the side while companies don’t have to buy an entire fleet of cars.

There are a lot of car-sharing apps, each having a different purpose. However, here are some key features that all apps like these need to have.

1. GPS Tracking and Maps

First of all, the location of the vehicle and of the clients is most important. Whether you’re a client and you try to find the car closest to you, or a driver trying to figure out where your client’s exact location is. With the help of GPS tracking, things become much easier.

Also, by having maps integrated into the app, people will be able to filter the fastest route to get to their destination.

2. User Profiles

Knowing your customer or your driver is also very important. Letting users rate the people they previously worked with is very helpful for other future clients to know what they are about to get into.

Nobody wants to get driven around by a guy who road rages at every intersection, and nobody wants to drive a rude customer that making a mess in the back of the car.

3. Notification

This is another handy feature that must be integrated in apps like this. With notification, people can know that the car they’ve hired some time ago is waiting at the front door, or that the renting period of the car is almost up.

4. Scheduling

Having the ability to schedule your rides in advance definitely saves a lot of hassle. This way, you will no longer have to look desperately for a car, or a driver while being on the pressure, trying to show up late for a meeting or day to day activities.

5. Online payment 

We live in the digital era, where pretty much everything can be done using the internet. Online payments are a must-have for this sort of app. 

It is more convenient and it saves a lot of hassle.

Conclusion

With all of those being said, car-sharing companies differentiate themselves in many ways, however, these are some of the key features any enterprise that operates in this domain should have in common in order to find success.

The post Top 5 Must-Have Features for a Car Sharing App appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Why Your Business Needs Employee Safety Devices

Within a business, nothing is more important the safety of its employees. The employees should not be afraid of where they work. As a manager, you want your employees to leave work in the same condition they came to work. Workplace injuries affect your employees’ personal lives, as well as the life of the business.

Injury

An injury at work is a tremendous loss for the employee or employees involved as well as the business. Injuries hurt the morale of everyone involved. They can cause negativity among the employees because they may start thinking the business is not a safe environment in which to work. As a manager, you need to think about how injuries impact the human side of the business.

Financial Loss

Beyond the human side of the incident, injuries can result in serious financial loss. The cost of workers’ compensation, possible litigation, and other factors far outweigh the cost of purchasing safety devices. Utilizing such sources as Blackline Safety for your safety devices can have a large impact on building a safe and productive environment for your employees.

OSHA Reporting

Injuries that occur in the workplace will undoubtedly trigger an inspection from OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration. Besides a negative mark from OSHA, the unsafe workplace could be hit with severe fines. This again results in a financial loss. In some cases, the OSHA filing could be visible in the media, resulting in a public relations issue which would make the company appear as though they don’t care about their employees.

Litigation

An employee who is injured may decide to proceed with litigation against the company, citing negligence. This would result in a public shaming of the company as all legal activity is for public scrutiny. Beyond the financial loss due to the one injury, other employees who have been injured in the past may decide to sue the company based on past negligence.

Employee Actions

While management is responsible for ensuring the safety of the workplace, employees are responsible for pointing out specific safety issues. Most workplaces will have a safety committee where issues of safety are discussed, and ideas for safety are presented. Employees should be encouraged to share their ideas and observations to play a critical part on the front line. Their ideas may become reality, therefore protecting the workplace from situations that could possibly result in tragic consequences.

Safety devices are always important. It serves the company’s public perception. It takes care of employees and keeps them free from possible injury. A valued employee is one who feels safe in the workplace, and free from the stress associated with unsafe conditions. The morale of employees will improve, as well as their productivity and connections to management. If employees work with management on possible safety issues, ideas and observations will result in a much safer working environment. This will improve, in whole, the company and the workplace.

The post Why Your Business Needs Employee Safety Devices appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Legal Protections to Consider as a Freelance Worker

Freelancing means you own a business and work under your own terms and conditions. It includes jobs such as data entry, blogging, programming, copywriting, graphic design, and online writing, to name a few. As a freelancer, you are not protected by employee rights; as such, you need to protect yourself and your business by yourself. It would help if you had protection from failed payment, discrimination by clients, content theft, premature contract termination, and many other challenges facing freelancers. Here are some of the ways you can legally protect yourself and your business:

Contract

A legally binding contract will protect you from exploitation by clients. It is essential to send the clients a contract that you have tailored personally to cover everything aspect of your business and service. The contract should state all the services you will offer, the agreed price, when to be paid, and the period of the contract. You can also include a policy to protect you in case an issue arises, and you are forced to cancel the project.

Having a contract for reference will protect you from being assigned duties that you did not initially agree upon. Since it also states the period of the contract, you will be protected from an early termination. If the clients sign the contract, you can use it as proof in case they fail to pay you the agreed amount on time. They will have no choice but to comply with everything stated in the contract. 

Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Did you know your audience can sue you for misleading with your content creation? This is why you have to include a privacy policy, terms of service, or disclaimer section in your work. It should provide information such as eligibility, how to collect and withdraw consent, the security of personal data, how the information was collected, contact information, possible questions, disclosure practices, and third party services. As a freelancer, you need these to protect you from an audience that may use your content against you.

Licensing

There are various aspects of licensing. You can decide to give license to other entities to grant them ownership of your content’s copyright, allow them to use, as well as sell or copy your content. Without your authorization through licensing, breaching your copyright is illegal.

It would help if you also considered getting a license for your business, although it may not be mandatory. This depends on your country’s regulations and your profession. For instance, freelance accountants, estheticians, attorneys, and contractors require a license permit to show proficiency. In some regions, you are required to have a general business license from the city, town, or county council to run your business. Adhering to these requirements protects you from crossing paths with the government.

Copyright

Copyright refers to the rights you have as a freelancer to claim ownership, claim financial compensation, and reproduce the content you have created. However, if you reveal ideas you have not used to produce any work on, someone else is free to create anything from them. In this case, you have nothing to show you are the copyright owner. You do not need to register with any copyright office. The second you publish something original, you automatically become the copyright owner.

 Trademarks such as brand names, logos, and slogans are also subject to copyright. To avoid being sued in a federal court for trademark infringement, you can hire experts to assist. The entire process of getting for both government filing and trademark search. Copyright ownership will protect you from people who want to steal, sell, or make copies of your work

Insurance

To protect your freelance business, you may need to purchase freelance insurance covers. There are different forms of insurance covers, including general liability insurance, commercial insurance, professional liability insurance, cyber liability insurance, and so on. You need to do a lot of research or get an expert to help you come up with the perfect cover for your business.

Professional liability insurance coverage will pay for losses and an attorney fee in case a client sues you for errors or delays during your services. Cyber liability insurance, on the other hand, will protect you from a data breach lawsuit in case you collect sensitive client information, and your data is stolen. General liability insurance covers claims of slander, copyright infringement, libel, or any other damage caused by your work.

Business Registration

If your profession requires you to choose a business structure, do it wisely. You can register it as a sole proprietorship or a corporation. You must select a business category that defines your business to prevent yourself from incurring enormous tax charges that don’t match your income. In a sole proprietorship, you are the owner of the business, thus personally liable for it. In a corporation, the company is a separate entity from you as the owner. If a client sues your corporate business because of debts, your personal property and bank accounts will be protected, unlike in sole proprietorship.

The post Legal Protections to Consider as a Freelance Worker appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Improve your Restaurant’s Image in Five Easy Steps

Word of mouth travels a lot quicker than it used to because we now live in a digital world. Having a positive image for your restaurant is vital. Continue reading for our five easy steps showing you how it is possible to improve yours.

1. Social Media Presence

Engaging with customers, both existing and potential, is fantastic and social media makes it ever so easy to do. Unfortunately, simply posting a new menu and doing nothing else is not good enough and people will become frustrated if you do not respond to their questions. Replying to queries and commenting on people’s words are both important things to do to ensure people keep returning to your accounts, whatever social media platform you are using. 

2. Good Quality Images

Every single time you use a photograph of your delicious food, people will judge based entirely on that. No one can smell the aroma of your pasta dish nor taste the amazing flavour combinations, so ensuring that the quality of your images is top notch is imperative. Food photographers can help with this as they know the right kind of light to use and can make everything look as good as it possibly can. Use these photographs on social media, especially Instagram, as well as on your menu, as part of an advertising campaign and within any blog posts you may choose to write.

3. Encourage and Respond to Feedback

Encouraging your customers to provide you with feedback based on their experiences in your restaurant is a really great thing to do. Showing that you have nothing to hide and that you welcome all reviews, whether positive or constructive, means that people will view you as a restaurant trying to be the best you possibly can. Responding to feedback online and in person shows that you care. Furthermore, showing that you have taken action in order to reflect customer suggestions also shows your caring side.

4. Invite Food Bloggers and Reviewers In

Having food critics or bloggers visit your establishment is a fantastic way of helping to raise its profile. Although the temptation is to up your game if you know someone is there to review your food and service, it is important that they receive the same experience as any other diner. If you do have room to improve, surely this should be an aim of yours to do regardless of having a critic visit. 

5. Help Your Local Community

Being known for your generosity and support of local good causes can really help to improve your restaurant’s name. It is fantastic advertising too. Whether it is a local youth football team whose kit you sponsor or you donate a meal for two voucher as part of a charity raffle, doing this will give you a massive sense of achievement, knowing that you are able to do your bit. Charity nights are another thing to consider. You could donate a certain amount of your profits to a local good cause. Alternatively, allow use of your premises for an event the charity organises.

The post Improve your Restaurant’s Image in Five Easy Steps appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Small Business Financing: Business Loan Brokers vs Direct Lending

As an entrepreneur, you’re probably well aware of the impact that external capital can have on a small business or start-up. 

Sure, given enough time and energy, you might be able to bootstrap your business onto the market or into a revenue-positive position. However, in most cases, an external source of financing is what’s needed to establish a stable position in your target market, thereby giving your business the financial breathing room to test and refine product/service proof of concepts.   

If your start-up or small business provides services or develops products within an advanced sector of the economy, you might have a chance at securing financing via the technology-driven world of business incubators, angel investing, and venture capitalism. However, in addition to being notoriously competitive, obtaining business capital from private equity investors is a time-consuming and high-stress process, two of the last things an entrepreneur needs in the early stages of their company’s development. 

Even if you do manage to negotiate a business financing deal, the cutthroat world of private, commercialized financing will often leave your company sapped of equity and straddled with third-party partnerships or suffocating levels of management supervision. 

Luckily, there are ways of acquiring business financing that don’t involve undesirable deals with equity investors. One of the most common methods of procuring business or start-up financing is through a business loan broker. Unfortunately, business loan brokers aren’t necessarily great options for entrepreneurs across the board. Depending on your business or entrepreneurial goals, you may find that a standard loan application is a more suitable financing option.

What is a Business Loan Broker?

Business loan brokers share many characteristics with mortgage loan brokers. Put simply, business loan brokers act as the middle man between you, the business owner looking for financing, and a wide array of local and national business loan providers. 

Because of their experience in the industry, business loan brokers will usually have a rough idea of business loan eligibility requirements across different loan providers. With this information, business owners are less likely to waste their time sending futile loan applications. If you’re looking for low-cost rates on a specialized business loan, a business loan broker can also leverage their longstanding relationships with loan providers to access more favorable loan conditions or discounted interest rates.  

Why Not Apply Directly to Small Business Lenders?

If you want to finance your business without the help of a middle man, you can easily deal with small business lenders directly. To kick-start this process, you’ll need to go online and start completing business loan applications. In addition to meeting all eligibility and collateral requirements, successful business loan applications typically include the following documents: 

Management resumes.Personal and business tax returns.A comprehensive business plan. Business license.Commercial lease.Business credit report. Accounts receivable and accounts payable report. Any third-party business contracts. 



3 Things Entrepreneurs Should Consider When Applying for Broker or Lender Financing 

To avoid getting bogged down in the minutiae of loan agreements, most entrepreneurs just want to know what the optimum route is to flexible, cost-effective, and safe business financing. To determine the most optimal financing option, entrepreneurs will need consider the following three questions. 

1. Are You Actually Saving Money by Going Through a Loan Broker? 

While it’s true that loan brokers can negotiate lower financing rates, this benefit typically comes at the cost of a hefty brokerage fee. According to aggregated industry data, business loan brokerage fees range from 7% to a whopping 17% of the loan’s total value. To save yourself from getting ripped off, make sure your loan broker discloses their brokerage fee and their markup atop the loan provider’s initial interest rate.

2. Can You Trust a Loan Broker Over a Direct Lender?  

Another consideration for entrepreneurs is that — in comparison to personal loans — financing for small and medium-sized enterprises typically comes with less regulatory protections. As a result, regulatory oversight towards the loan broker industry is generally quite lax. Remember, this doesn’t mean that all loan brokers are scammers. It simply means that entrepreneurs should take reasonable precautions when dealing with lesser-known loan brokers.   

3. What Type of Financing Product Do You Need? 

With the right personal or business credit score, entrepreneurs can choose from a wide range of business financing products, including high-interest cash advances, one-time lump sum loans, fixed-interest equity loans, or variable-rate lines of credit.

In most cases, working with a loan broker is only cost-effective if you, the business owner, are looking for a more affordable interest rate on an exotic loan product. If you’re just applying for a standard business loan, you’ll usually be better off working directly with a reputable lender.    

Key Takeaways

When it comes to small business financing, the two most important things to remember are: 1) minimize your leverage and repayments; and 2) retain control over your company’s majority ownership stake.  

The last thing any entrepreneur wants is to impair the long-term growth of their company by committing to a poorly thought-out financing agreement. As long as you do your due diligence, it shouldn’t really matter whether you go to a lender or business loan broker. However, as a rule of thumb, the general consensus amongst entrepreneurs is that business loan brokers are rarely worth their added cost in fees.  

The post Small Business Financing: Business Loan Brokers vs Direct Lending appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.