Mohit Tater's Blog, page 537

5 Marketing Trends Your Competitors are Using that You Need

Technology is the driving force of change in the world today, either directly or indirectly. This includes marketing. Emerging technologies like AI will create new ways of reaching customers. They also create concerns such as a company’s stance on current events, customer data, and cybersecurity will dictate marketing efforts. Technology has made it so that companies aren’t just selling a line of products. Companies are also selling emotion and their corporate persona. This new paradigm is what creates the driving forces behind a consumer’s decision to buy. The businesses that know this are the ones that are coming out on top. These are the trends they are using to grow their business strong.

Privacy and Security

How big of a concern is cybersecurity? In April, May, and June of 2018, 765 million people were affected by data breaches. We are regularly bombarded with stories of hackers stealing personal information and selling it on the dark web. What’s worse is that the individuals affected may not be informed about the data breach until months after it happened.

A related issue people are growing more concerned about is privacy. Most people signed up for the myriad of free web-based services and social media platforms like Facebook with an understanding that these companies would use their information. They expected it was to send them targeted ads. What they didn’t expect was the Orwellian level of intrusion, where major corporations file patents for the technology, which would give future smart devices the potential to eavesdrop on our conversations.

The way a company handles cybersecurity and privacy concerns will determine if some customers will do business with them. Aside from that, recovering from a data breach or getting hit with ransomware can cost tens of thousands or more in costs.

Respecting the Customer’s Feelings

Ignoring the generation snowflake and ok boomer jokes, the importance of how a customer feels about a company remains. This goes much deeper than a momentary reaction to one tweet or official statement about a product release. It’s about the long-term emotion-based opinion a customer has about a company and how they believe the company feels about them.

Customers form deep and complex views on companies. Part of it is based on the company’s actions. What are their stances on the environment and social responsibility? Are these positions and actions good, or just lip service? How customers believe a business feels about them is another critical factor. People want to feel valued as individuals, and not only as an open wallet for greedy corporations to reach into. 

Communicating with Customers Effectively

Effective communication begins with understanding one’s customers, especially the best channel to reach them and how to speak with them on their level. The most well-crafted email is useless if your customers are the type to delete without opening it automatically. Finding out which communication channel works nest can be challenging since there are so many ways for businesses and customers to communicate. Experimenting and soliciting feedback can tell a company which channels work best.

Communicating with customers on their level is a matter of common sense. A trendy nail salon will use a more casual and familiar tone when communicating with their clients than a B2B IT professional sending an email to a button-down law firm. What gets tricky is walking the line between friendliness and professionalism. Again, this depends on a business’s clientele, but correspondence should feel like it is part of a natural conversation. Even an AI chatbot shouldn’t make a customer feel like they hear canned responses.

The Importance of Peers

Customers have preferred reviews from peers over ads and other traditional forms of marketing for a while now. It’s a trend that will remain relevant for years to come. 92% of customers trust peer reviews over ads. Businesses should encourage their customers to leave online reviews. Some companies have found that offering incentives to do reviews such as free products or coupons highly effective.

Reconnecting

The advances in technology that have brought us e-commerce has also created a barrier that can isolate businesses and customers from each other. The convenience of email marketing and automated responses are addicting for a busy small business owner who spends eighty plus hours a week running their business.

Making an effort at person to person contact can show customers that they matter and that a business sees them as living breathing individuals. Communication doesn’t only mean a face to face meeting. Something as simple as a phone call following up a good sale, or signed holiday and birthday cards can give enough of a human touch to show customers that you see them as people.

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Buy Premium Quality Car Parts and Accessories Online

We are one of the fastest growing online car parts and accessories company. We provide top quality spares and accessories to help customers maintain their cars in the best condition. Here on Buycarparts.co.uk our portal, you can buy spare parts for Mercedes Benz a modern German car brand produced by Daimler AG’s concern, which is a global leader in the automotive market. The brand historically began with the merger of the Benz automotive business with DaimlerMotor as early as in 1926. The top Mercedes Benz cars are produced and made available to the public in many forms such as a minivan, hatchback, sedan, SUV and other crossover bodies. The customers can also avail of the same brand in other variants such as trucks, vans and buses. So if you are looking for spare parts for your Mercedes Benz, then you are at the right portal. 

When you are looking for the replacements parts for your car which is available at low prices then just tell us your brand, model and modification. This you can even do by entering these details on the website on the finder which will just help you to select the auto part which you are looking for. You may choose from a wide range of accessories such as service kits, brake discs and pads, shock absorbers, clutch kits, batteries, oil filters and many more. We believe in providing car parts at not just reasonable prices but at the best quality. As we make bulk purchases of the car accessories, we can establish long term relationships with the suppliers to help you receive the best possible deal. Thus the savings made out of bulk purchases are passed on to the customer. On the majority of our products, we have up to 2 years of guarantee ensuring high customer satisfaction.

The car parts of Mercedes Benz are widely popular as they have their inherent benefits. High-quality products offer excellent performance, passenger comfort, strong and stylish body along with a good level of maneuverability. Some other benefits are efficient engines, dynamic acceleration, excellent assembly and good handling of the body. The modern-day Mercedes Benz cars come with inbuilt climate control features, parking assistant with sensors to manage blind spots and drive fatigue control systems. Our experienced team of members are familiar with all car models and offer you the most detailed reply over your car spares queries. 

The customer has a wide choice from over 500,000 car parts to choose from. For the parts which you shop online, we offer you to make payments through the most secure payment gateways. You name it and we have it, make payments through bank transfer, Visa Card, Pay pal, American express and pay securely for the most genuine replacement parts. We offer free shipping when you order for the bulky items, tires or exchange parts. We specialize in the workshop consumables and specialist hand tools. We sell car parts to both trade and public customers for Mercedes Benz car parts and accessories. Enjoy the exceptional service and buy premium quality car parts online. 

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7 Financial Tips For Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, you must be intelligent with your finances so that you can run an efficient business, avoid falling into debt and build wealth. This is, of course, easier said than done and will come down to the success of your business ventures, but there are a few financial tips for entrepreneurs, which will hopefully help you to be intelligent with your money. An entrepreneur can enjoy wealth and success even with a modest income if they are smart with their money, but if you do not have good money management skills, then even a highly successful business can create money issues.

1. Separate Business & Personal Finances

One of the most important tips is to separate your business and personal finances. This can make both much easier to manage and also for the ability to take advantage of tax deductions.

2. Keep Business Costs Low

Keeping your business outgoings low is a smart way to improve your bottom line. There are many ways that you can reduce your business costs, but just make sure that it does not interfere with the quality of the product that you provide or place too much strain on your staff.

3. Get Legal Support

It is worrying when you start to encounter money issues, but you absolutely must not ignore these. If you begin to owe more money than you can afford, the best thing to do will be to find help in your area, in the form of a bankruptcy law firm. They will be able to provide guidance through this process and help you take action towards a debt-free life. An example in Arkansas is Brandon Haubert, a North Little Rock bankruptcy attorney. 

4. Create A Personal Budget

Creating a personal budget will help you to manage your finances and avoid overspending. One common personal budget to use is the 50/30/20 rule, where 50% of income goes on essentials (food, mortgage payments), 30% on savings and debt payments, and 20% on non-essentials (clothes, entertainment).

5. Avoid Lifestyle Inflation

One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make when they start to find some success is lifestyle inflation. This means that they begin to spend much more money, which, essentially, keeps them in the same financial state. While you certainly need to be able to enjoy your success occasionally, you also need to make sure that you are using the money smartly, such as reinvesting back into the company or putting money aside.

6. Create A Rainy Day Fund

Additionally, every entrepreneur should have a rainy day fund in case things go wrong with your business venture. This fund should be enough money to last you around three months so that you have enough time to get back on your feet. 

7. Supplement Your Income

Alternatively (or for more money each month), you could supplement your income. You may not want to commit to another job, so an online job is an easy and flexible way to boost your income each month.

Smart money management is crucial to success for any entrepreneur. These tips will helpfully help you to be better with your finances so that your business can succeed, and you can start to build wealth.

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A Guide to Understanding What a Limited Company Accountant Does

Why should you hire an accountant for your limited company?

Unless you have some experience in these matters, you will find the numbers’ dance to be a stressful job. It will also be extremely time-consuming and impede your daily business management. Therefore, outsourcing these tasks to a specialized professional is the way to go, especially in the early days.

A good limited company accountant can be of great help during the initial phases of setting up your business, and afterwards you can entrust them with overseeing your accounting and tax processes. With the recent proliferation of online accounting systems, it has become much more cost-effective and overall convenient to hire an accountancy firm or an individual accountant.

What can the accountant do for your limited company?

Well, it would depend on your specific needs and their specific expertise level, but there are some staples to the service. When you are just setting up your business, they can help you handle tax registration of all sorts (like Value Added, Corporation, etc.).

They can also navigate you through registering your business as an “employer” legal entity. This is extremely important because otherwise you will not be able to pay your employees and director (if someone other than yourself is filling that role). You will also likely need a hand with processing the salaries through a payroll system.

Your accountant will also be able to properly set up a limited company-specific bank account for you, and provide you with tenancy references and mortgage paperwork (though they might charge you separately for this). For a more detailed look into accounting services for small businesses, check out this informative article: https://www.companybug.com/accountant-service/

Bookkeeping services may or may not be included; sometimes you have to specifically request them. A good accountant will, however, do your Company Tax Return, Personal Tax Return, Annual Accounts, and quarterly VAT. Keep in mind that the Personal Tax Return service may cost you something extra.

How much would it cost to hire one?

Unfortunately, there is no fixed answer. Costs will vary. However, there are some common factors that influence them, so consider the following to predict your approximate expenses. What level of expertise and specialisation will you expect from your accounting firm? How much work will they need to do for you?

Will you need only core monthly support for a straightforward series of transactions? Or will you need a flexible worker for more delicate money management? You can expect their monthly or annual fee to rise with every added service you require, such as keeping your books, inclusive insurance, and so on. Read more about cost factors for small business accounting services at this link.

What should you do for the accountant?

There are a few things that you ought to take upon yourself, to ensure smooth communication and good cooperation over an extended period of time. First up, keep your numbers wizard up to date with any changes in the company structure which might affect its fiscal processes. This includes adding or removing any personnel, changing people’s salaries, giving or revoking bonuses and so on.

If they ask to see any kind of tax-related paperwork, or your bank statement, or other similar records, accommodate those requests in a timely fashion. Also, make a point of regularly providing them with your income and expenditure records. Finally, keep in mind that meeting tax return deadlines and confirming paperwork accuracy before submission is your responsibility. After all, even though an accountant does the pedestrian work, you are the director. You are responsible for everyone’s work quality, and that includes the numbers work as well.

How do you choose a good one?

Since you will be entrusting them with a lot, choosing the right person for this job is important. Probably your best way to go is to get recommendations from living, trustworthy acquaintances, as opposed to online reviews.

Decide by quality of service rather than price – remember you get what you pay for. Also, confirm in advance if you will be directing your query to one individual, or several accounting company representatives. In either case, always have detailed communication records duly saved!

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6 Ways to Build a Better Relationship With Your Bank

When you’re looking to start a business, you’re going to need some capital in order to start your business. Even if you have the greatest idea in the world, it can’t go anywhere unless it has some financing to get it off the ground.

There are plenty of different ways to obtain that financing: looking for investors, finding a partner, asking your family members, or asking for a loan. Obtaining a loan is a long, arduous process that involves you checking out numerous lenders.

One of the tried and true places to look first is your local bank. Bank loans have been booming over the past few years, so it’s an ideal place to start.

Getting a loan from your bank may not be just a one-stop activity though. It helps to have a great relationship with your bank, staying on their good side for the future.

Below, we’re going to outline some of the ways you can maintain a strong relationship with your bank. You may not be BFFs, but you may be close.

Be Open About Your Goals

With your business, you want to make sure you’re an open book. It’s more than making casual conversation, but it’s also a way to guarantee that you’re getting the best help possible.

The more the bank knows about what you’re trying to accomplish, the better they can help. They may have insights on any hurdles you may have to jump or experience helping others in a certain situation. Keep them updated and make them aware of any changes or decisions that you’re making. It always feels great to have someone in your corner as well.

Lay Out Your Business Plan

Even though it may seem obvious, there are some people who will try to hide certain financial or budgetary information from a lender.

Opening up your books is an easy way to gain trust and establish a quick relationship. Plus, they can help and advise on certain business plan strategies. The more open you are with them, the better help you’re going to be receiving in the future.

Even if you don’t have the credit score you want, they may be able to help you out here and there with certain rates of loan terms.

Stay in Contact

Remember how we said that getting a loan wasn’t just a one-stop activity? That’s because you need to stay in regular contact with your lender and bank. This doesn’t mean you need to be calling them every week, giving them an update on how the business is going.

A good general rule is making sure to reach out at least once a quarter. Share any news (good and bad) and overall progress updates. You can also share any changes you may see with your business, seeking out their advice and keeping them aware of the new developments.

If you have bad news, you’d rather not let your lender fight out through a third-party. Be proactive with your communication.

Be an Active Member

It’s important to remember that your advisor is not the bank, they are your access point to the bank as a whole. THey are representing you to the bank and you want to make sure you’re getting the best representation possible.

Ask lots of questions, find out what changes could be made, and see what they’re doing to represent you to the rest of the bank. You want to make sure you’re getting the best attention and customer service possible. It’s your business, you don’t want to cast it to the side. 

Remain Consistent Financially

It may come as a surprise, but making your loan payments on time is a good thing for you, your business, and your relationship with your bank. Your advisor is going to respect you more and represent you better if he can show you’ve got solid financial standing.

If for some reason you can’t make your payments on time, be sure to reach out ahead of time and speak with them to let them know why or see how they can help.

Add the Personal Touch

Throughout all the numbers, spreadsheets, business plans, meetings, and more, advisors are still people. While it is their job to provide great customer service, it’s also on your shoulders to be a good customer.

Ask them about their life, their kids, where they went to school, and more. Include them on your Christmas mailing list and drop a birthday card off if you can remember it. Adding a little personal touch never hurts. 

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Break Down Your Tasks and Time to Achieve More

Usually, people feel overwhelmed because they see a task as this mammoth mountain that they need to tackle. This is a rather natural response to when a new task comes our way. When you receive a new work, a new project or some new opportunity comes along – always take a moment to reflect on it and your approach regarding the work that it is going to need.

Breaking Down Your Tasks

Breaking down the tasks in small workable parts is something people either overdo or don’t do enough. The reason why breaking the work is important is that it brings your task into perspective. This helps micromanage your way through the work without being overwhelmed. When I say micromanage, I don’t mean fretting over every little detail, I simply mean paying attention to every part of the work.

What happens when you overdo it?

When you divide the tasks into a million pieces where even subtasks have a mile-long list of subtasks – you will end up complicating the process. Seeing so many things on your list is also bound to get you overwhelmed. This also stops you from taking into account the tasks that are co-dependent.What happens when you don’t do it enough?

When you divide the work randomly, without regards to what task is dependent on what other task or what tasks go in the same work-family, you aren’t making your work efficient. You need to first analyze the aspects of the work and then divide them.



Breaking Down Your Time

Nobody is productive all of the hours they spend working. To make most of the hours you spend working count, you should break down your time in blocks and take breaks in between. Taking breaks in between helps you work the next block of time with renewed energy.

You can either break your work down to each hour or make rough blocks of the hours before lunch, after lunch, before snacks, etc. Design the time slots according to how much time you can spend working without it starting to get to you.

Final Thoughts

Breaking down your time and tasks into smaller chunks is a smart way to help you complete the said tasks more efficiently without doing something extra. You know what time works best for you for what work and when you are the most productive, so you can group similar tasks and do it in the timeframe that works for that particular job.

Alternatively, you can also try different productivity techniques that will help you like the Pomodoro technique. This Technique basically breaks down your time in chunks of 25 minutes each and allowing a 5-minute break after each session (or Pomodoro). After four Pomodoros (four 25 minute sessions), you can take a longer 15-minute break.

This makes bigger tasks much more manageable. You can start making progress every day by achieving small tasks, rather than being overwhelmed by one big task on which you don’t make any progress.

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How To Advertise Your Hairdressing Salon?

Hair is an important part of our body, which plays an active role in presenting the external beauty of our physical appearance. Most of the women, as well as men, are aware of the importance of hair as it always reflects their ultimate fashion sense. Hairdressing salons are the savior in any of the fatal issues related to hair.

So a good number of salons are set up nowadays across the state. Then being a hairdressing salon owner, you must advertise your business perfectly to get a good marketing result. Here we are going to provide you some fantastic ideas to grow your business of salon on the basis of advertising.

Take your business online

The Internet is the best platform of this era to get the attention of millions of customers at once. So try to list your salon at online review sites. Positive reviews will work in your advertisement. Make a website of your hairdressing salon so that clients can know about your business from the vicinity of their home, and also, they will be able to book a session online.

Provide discounts

Discount is an effective idea to create a customer base initially when you are not so popular in the domain of salon business. You can also provide these discounts at a particular time of the day like happy hours or lunchtime discount. You can also check this link to get new ideas for haircuts for women over 50. This will help you create custom discount offers. You may also distribute coupons previously to share out the idea of a discount. Discounts are proved to be the best marketing approach in numerous cases.

Get into social media

Social media is the fastest medium to reach target customers in the present era. Most people have a smartphone with an operational internet connection. So people used to be active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. very much. So make your ads promoted on these platforms. It will show the advertisement to the interested audiences by filtering. Social media is a good option to attract young aged customers to your hairdressing salon.

Generate your visiting card

Visiting card will help you to take your work to the unknown folks. It will also increase the area of your reach so that you can expect customers from a considerable distance. Distribute the visiting cards with your customers also so that they can use it whenever any other guy enquires about his or her hair cut. You may also distribute the cards in the local shops where a good number of people used to visit frequently. In this way, you can reach a wide number of persons in a very short time.

Conduct a small fashion show

Organizing a fashion show will popularize your business to a great extent. As you will stage the show, a lot of fashion enthusiasts will come to know about your salon business. Many customers will be added to the list of your returning customers from the fashion show. If electronic media would be invited to the program, then a good public relation will be established from the show.

Marketing is directly proportional to the number of people you can reach. Thus following the above five innovative proposals can increase your orbit in the outer world effectively.  

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5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Why Should I Care About My Credit Score?

If you are reading this, you probably already know how important good credit is. But for those of you who are wondering, what’s the big deal? Here’s why you should be concerned about your score.

All lenders base their offer to you on your credit score, among other things such as your income and other expenses. Credit card companies, auto lenders, mortgage lenders… they all take your credit score into consideration when you apply. Those of us who have a higher score will get credit offers with a lower interest rate because we are perceived as lower-risk of default (non-payment). Those of us with lower scores can still get credit and loans, however, at a higher interest rate, because we have defaulted or paid late in the past and are perceived as higher-risk.

The upshot is, borrowing money is more expensive the lower your credit score is. It’s a catch-22 – those of us who are less likely to be able to afford to pay a higher interest rate must, and therefore are more likely to pay late or not at all because it’s unaffordable.

Do what you can to preserve and improve your credit score – it will literally pay off for you.  Here are five easy tips.

1. Pay All Monthly Bills In Full and On Time

This is so important – it is number one for a reason.

Paying all bills in full and on time is the most effective way to improve your credit score.  If you’ve had any late payments, you probably have already seen that they are recorded on your credit report and your score suffers as a result.

If it is difficult to pay a certain bill in full or on time, contact that entity. If it is the electric or gas company, you will likely be offered a payment plan or a change of due date.  If it is your credit card company, you might get one monthly payment waived – but take care with this, interest accrues in the meantime! If it is a service provider, like your family doctor, call the office and ask for a payment plan.

No matter who your creditor is, the only thing they want from you is to get paid. It is likely they will work with you if you are honest about your struggle and your desire to make good, even if it has to be over time. If you don’t ask, you don’t get! Don’t let pride ruin your credit score.

2. Pay Off Your Credit Cards

Credit card debt is the most expensive loan you’ll ever take out, and it can easily get overwhelming and unmanageable if you only pay the minimum payment each month. This is because the interest rate on credit cards can range from 12% to 22%, or even more.

Conventional wisdom dictates that to start paying off your credit card debt, pay the most you can to the one with the highest interest rate and the monthly minimum on the others. When that first card is paid off, pay off the card with the next-highest interest rate, and so on. This process will take some time, however, imagine how great it will feel to be free of credit card debt!

If you have a large amount of credit card debt and know that you don’t have enough income to pay it off and pay your monthly fixed expenses, consider contacting a bankruptcy and debt relief attorney to schedule a free consultation and discuss your options.  

3. Maintain an Emergency Fund

If you have six month’s worth of expenses in reserve, you should be able to weather most financial calamities, like unexpected medical expenses or car or home repairs. Some financial experts say that your emergency fund should be as much as nine or 12 months!

However much you decide you are comfortable with having in reserve, start saving by putting aside 10% of your income until you have that amount. So, if you make $500/week, you’ll put $50 of that aside for your emergency fund. That might seem painful, but actually, it’s going out to eat one less time each week, or maybe turning the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer to save on heat and air conditioning, or perhaps cutting back on your cel plan or cable package.

A small cut to discretionary spending will get you there and it will feel so worth it when that first emergency occurs – because you know it will! –  and you have the funds to deal with it, without relying on credit cards.

4. Perform Regular Maintenance on Home, Automobiles – and Yourself and Family Members! 

Okay, that was meant to be funny. But seriously, everything needs regular care to stay in good shape. For your home systems, your car, and you and your family, if you don’t invest in regular maintenance it will cost a lot more if something breaks!

Your heat, AC, and appliances will have owner’s manuals that recommend what regular service needs to be performed, and how often. If you do not have that regular service done you are in for a big repair down the line, when something breaks or fails.  And who wants to be without hot water or heat? A small expense now saves you big money and inconvenience later.

Your car requires regular oil changes as well as regular maintenance. Keep on top of this because the last thing you need is your car failing to start one day and you can’t get to work or are stranded somewhere. Again, the relatively small expense of maintaining your car will save you money down the road.

You and your family must each meet with your doctor and dentist for regular check-ups. Why? Because this way you are each screened for problems that you might not be aware or – things like an infected tooth, high blood pressure or cholesterol, or any other hidden condition that, if not treated, can turn serious – and costly! 

5. Budget for Fun

Don’t be so strict with your finances that you neglect to have fun. If you are working hard to stay on top of your bills, pay down your debt, and create or maintain your emergency fund, you should not feel guilty about putting a small amount aside for fun for you and your family. It does not have to be something expensive, but a weekly movie night on the couch together, a picnic, a day at the aquarium or museum… these improve your family connections and quality of life. Isn’t that why we work and save?

About the author:

Veronica Baxter is a legal assistant and blogger in the Philadelphia area. She works frequently with David M. Offen, Esq., a busy bankruptcy lawyer in Philadelphia.

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Business Trip: 8 Smart Tips for First-Time Business Travelers

Business trips are still exciting even though you are traveling because of your work.

How often do you get to travel to a new place while working and using the company resources to fund your trip? It is something to look forward to.

If it is your first time getting assigned to a business trip, then you should properly prepare so that you will not be disappointed. Although it can be fun and exciting to go on a trip, you are doing it for your business. So you have to be professional and on point throughout the trip.

To help you make the most out of your business trip, here are eight smart tips that you should keep in mind so that you stay on top of your game:

1. Join loyalty programs

If you think you are going to be traveling on business trips quite often, then you should consider joining loyalty programs.

A lot of airlines, as well as hotels, provide loyalty programs so that customers can keep coming back to them. Loyalty programs offer discounts to people who come back so you can use this if you are going to be often traveling.

Do not be tempted to sign up for every big hotel chain or major airline, though. The point of a loyalty program is that you get a discount every time you go to a particular hotel or airline. Signing up to one or two programs should be sufficient.

2. Sign up for TSA precheck

If your business trip is not happening anytime soon, then you should consider signing up for a TSA pre-check.

A TSA pre-check will cost you only around $85, and this will last you for about five years. Even if your business trip is coming up soon, it is still worth your time and money to sign up for TSA precheck.

The US Department of Homeland Security offers this pre-screening program so that you can get a different check-in line at the airport security. It is that extra convenience that you will appreciate once you start going on more business trips.

3. Get travel insurance

When going on an overseas trip, you can never be too sure of your safety. Thus, you need to invest in excellent travel insurance. Some travel insurance companies offer an annual policy, so you do not have to worry every time you leave.

Do check your travel insurance coverage, though, as its scope varies depending on your provider. Ideally, it should have worldwide travel insurance coverage.

Moreover, make sure that you check the risk assessment of the country you are going to before going on an overseas trip. And then see if your policy covers the place you are heading towards.

4. Manage your time wisely

Since you are on a business trip, you are not going to be on a schedule that is as strict as the one that you have when you are back home. This means that you are going to have to manage your own time and know when to book or not book yourself for a specific meeting or appointment.

Do not just agree to every invitation that you get and remember to schedule smart so that you have enough time to rest between appointments. Also, you are not going to be aware of how the traffic is like in a new place, so make sure you consider that as well.

5. Limit your luggage

You should make sure that you pack only your essentials for your business trip. The best carry-on will serve you well as long as it is relatively small and sturdy.

Having this sort of limit for your luggage will ensure that you do not overpack for the trip.

As you take on more business trips, you are going to want to learn how to pack efficiently. That way, you can bring everything that you need without overloading your luggage.

6. Build relationships

Since you are out and about in a different country all by yourself, you should make sure that you build bridges and establish relationships with new people while you are there.

Establishing a great relationship with companies that you might encounter during your business trip, like car hire companies and hotels and airlines, can make your next visit much more comfortable.

At the same time, if you go on business trips often, the same companies may recognize you as a loyal customer and treat you as such.

7. Stay productive

Sure it is fun to go to a new place by yourself and meet new people, but do remember that you are still there to work and not for fun.

You should make sure that you stay productive while you are there and be aware of when to take a break — know when to buckle down and do the work.

You are the only one who is going to be holding yourself accountable unless you are traveling with your colleague. Hold yourself responsible and be disciplined enough to do the work you have for each day.

8. Take some time to enjoy the destination

Although you must stay productive, once you finish the work that you should be doing, then you can relax and enjoy yourself. You are in a new place, so why not enjoy the destination while you are still there?

You can try eating local food at a local restaurant while you are there. Also, You can also visit great sights near where your accommodation is. At the same time, why not try and get to know the locals and experience a little bit of their culture?

Wrap up

Business trips are for your professional growth, but at the same time, it is an opportunity to unwind in a different place.

Although you can relax while you are on a business trip, you should make sure you are in tip-top shape and can present yourself professionally.

The tips listed above are supposed to help you become prepared enough to tackle your upcoming business trips. Make sure you do (or try to do) the tips listed above, and you’re going to see positive results come out of your business trip.

Good luck and bon voyage!

Also Read- Using a VPN While Traveling: Benefits and How to Choose Best VPN

The post Business Trip: 8 Smart Tips for First-Time Business Travelers appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

The IT you Need for your New Office – a Quick Guide for first-time Business Owners

There is a lot of advice out there for new business owners, but the IT infrastructure you put in place is the beating heart of your business. This will not only be running all your computers but most likely a hosted phone system will running off the same IT network. 

No two businesses are the same, so it is hard to find one guide that can tell you everything. There is nothing better than an in-depth knowledge of IT networks, but you don’t have to be an IT expert to know what your new office needs in term of IT requirements – and this quick guide should help you get the basics right from day one.

IT Network

A Business IT network links and then connects your devices to – and usually through – the internet. Once your devices are connected there are an array of useful business functions available to you, including:

Storage – Rather than having your data saved independently on each computer, keeping your business data in one place allows so-ordinated access for your whole workforce 

Remote Access – Certain roles require people to be in the field or away from the office.     Done properly you should still be able to access your IT network remotely with the same level of security as if they were still in the office

Applications – Every company will have certain applications that are essential to their daily activity – such as controlling a machine. By controlling these systems through a network, everybody can access them as requires

Sharing Accessories – This is one of the most basic functions of all business IT networks and allows for accessories like printers to be quickly available to everyone

Hosted Phones

The days of clunky phones with metres of wire trailing across the office and waiting 3 days for a technician to come on-site to fix a problem are long gone. Hosted phone systems run off your IT infrastructure and allow telephone calls to come through the computers as well a large range of functionality in other areas of the business such as:

Data Input – For customers making payments over the phone, they can just enter their details through the phone system

Voice Recognition – This can improve security and customer experience

Call Forwarding & Routing – Allowing the customer the option of directing their call to where it needs to go 

Information Services – FAQ’s as well as business information like opening times can be available via this system

Managed Service Provider

A Managed Service Provider (MSP) takes all the worry of recruiting and staffing an IT department to look after your IT Network. With an MSP you get a guaranteed level of service via special agreements (Usually called an ‘SLA’) meaning both you -and your MSP – know exactly what is expected. 

Any downtime from your IT network can potentially cost you 5 figures and upwards, and so making sure that if this happens you have experts on hand to fix this for you – without having to have the cost and the hassle of recruiting, training and paying a team of experts to work in-house. You know they are there when you need them – and like an emergency service for your IT network – they will come and do what they do best if called upon

Starting up a business is tough, but it is imperative the IT is done correctly. If you get this wrong to start with then this could cost your business dearly in the future both financially and in terms of time and resources – and could be almost impossible to put right – done well, your business can hit the ground running and be a success from the start.

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