Mohit Tater's Blog, page 567

5 Tips to Make Your Business a Success [Complete Guide-2019]

Every entrepreneur wants their business to be a success. However, studies have shown that about 50 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years, which means that success isn’t guaranteed. Instead, it’s up to you as the business owner to do everything that’s in your power to ensure your business makes it. Do this and not only will you achieve financial freedom but you may even end up fulfilling your entrepreneurial dreams. But what can you do to make your business a success?

5 Tips to make your Business Success



Build a good team

Hiring the right employees is extremely important, but what’s even more important is to shape them into a winning team. Your staff members will probably come from all kinds of different backgrounds and may have different views on how they’re supposed to do their jobs. Your job is to understand every employee’s biggest strength and utilize it in the best possible way. Another thing you need to do is ensure they know how to collaborate.

This is usually achieved through team-building exercises such as paintball, rafting, or escape rooms. In order to encourage every team member to help your business succeed, you also need to think about their careers. Don’t make it all about the company. Give them a chance to grow their careers by sending them to courses and assigning them tasks that require more responsibility and they’ll try much harder.

Get online

There’s no need to say that the internet has completely changed the way we do business. Small businesses can now use the web to attract a large number of customers, even if they don’t have millions to spend on marketing. With that said, it’s obvious that you should look for ways your business can get online. Start by hiring a web design expert who’ll help you build a website for your company. With 72 percent of people expected to browse the web using mobile devices by 2025, optimizing your site for mobile users also makes a lot of sense.

When it comes to social media, using the same platforms your target audience does is recommended. Just don’t forget to post regularly and interact with your followers as much as possible. Another good idea is to use the same visuals across all the platforms you use in order to make your social media presence consistent.

Know how to manage your money

Many business owners decide to join their personal and business finances. This may seem like a good idea but when you think about it, you’ll see why this is something you should avoid. There’s nothing wrong with using your own money to help your business grow, but if you keep everything on just one account, you’ll lose track of how well your business is doing. Not to mention that doing your taxes will be a lot more difficult when your personal and business finances aren’t separated.

Also, if you plan to take a loan and use it to finance your business, take every necessary step first. For example, check your credit score and determine your creditworthiness before you apply for a loan. Being aware of your financial fitness should help you get a better grip over both your own and the company’s money.

Focus on customer service

According to research, 78 percent of customers have canceled or decided not to make a purchase due to poor customer service. Also, customers say it takes multiple positive customer service experiences to make up for a one they didn’t enjoy. Therefore, customer service plays a huge role in how many customers you’re going to have and ultimately, on how successful your business is going to be. No matter what kind of product you sell, knowing how to offer quality customer service is a must.

Choose an employee who’s best at dealing with customers and have them take all the calls. Just don’t forget that there are other channels you can use for customer services such as social media and email. You can even send employees to courses and have them learn how to be as helpful to customers as possible.

Build for your market

Obviously, the happier your customers are, the better your business will do. This is why you need to shape your operations and product according to their needs. Do this and you’ll be able to build a base of loyal customers who’ll even recommend you to their friends and family. Always ask customers how satisfied they are with your product and whether there’s anything they’d like to change.

Keep track of their responses and you should be able to build the perfect product for your audience. The same goes for your service, as there are so many ways to tweak your team’s approach. When launching a new product, you can also turn to websites that allow you to conduct surveys online and see what people you identify as your target audience thinks about it.

Final thoughts

Running a business isn’t easy and with so many companies failing every year, it’s natural to be worried about who you’ll do. Start by employing these five tips and you’ll give your business a fair chance to succeed.

The post 5 Tips to Make Your Business a Success [Complete Guide-2019] appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How To Make Your E-Commerce Platform More Diversified

Diversifying an eCommerce platform gives a businessperson the same protection as a diversified portfolio gives to an investor: less exposure to risk. You never know when an audience will shift its interest from one product type to another. It is best to have your finger in many pots so that you will be ready when the changes in your digital business do happen.

How can you diversify your portfolio within eCommerce? Here are a few best practices that you can implement right now.

Complementary Products

One of the best ways to expand your burgeoning
empire is to focus on products that are related to your target market and
specialty. This also helps you maintain a brand on your store and a finger on
the pulse of your industry niche. It is also very possible that people who have
bought from you before will have a need for some sort of complementary product.
They will be very happy with the convenience you offer.

Keep in mind that complementary products do
not necessarily mean products that you think are complementary. There are
always ways to tell what your audience is trying to do within a marketplace.
Make sure that you ask them instead of trying to determine for yourself how
they are using something. This leads directly into the next tip for
diversifying your platform – dealing with the data instead of with your gut.

Leverage Other Platforms

If you want to diversify quickly and easily,
you don’t have to necessarily do it with new products. You can simply sell the
old stuff in a new place. Although many sellers are focused on Amazon, there
are plenty of smaller niche sites that will bring you a higher percentage of
hot leads. Less competition means more people will find you.

If you’re focused on building your own website or platform, there are obviously more factors at play. One such factor is search engine optimisation, or SEO, which is vital if you want to make sure your products are visible on Google. This post: Best eCommerce platform for SEO provides some insight into key considerations such as site speed, infrastructure and content marketing. Choosing the right platform could be make or break for your business.

Go With the Data

There is really no need to guess at what will be your next big seller. There is more data in the ether these days than anyone knows what to do with. If you can access it, organize it and analyze it, then it will tell you exactly how to diversify your store and who to sell the new stuff to.

If you have trouble looking into data, you may
need to learn how to look at it. It can be quite overwhelming, and you have to
match the data that you gather and organize by the KPIs that you are trying to
improve.

No matter which industry you sell in, you can
always be sure of one thing. The market will fluctuate here and there without
warning. The sellers who survive will be the ones who know how to go with the
flow. Do you have the flexibility in your eCommerce to handle the winds of
change? Stick with the best practices above for great results.

The post How To Make Your E-Commerce Platform More Diversified appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How to Make Your Remote Teams More Efficient with One Simple Tool

Learn How Time Clock Software Is Helping Startups Grow

Regardless of the career path they ultimately
pursue, many people have remarkably similar first job experiences: working the
register at a fast food chain, waiting tables at a local restaurant, folding
t-shirts at the mall. Now that you’ve moved on to bigger and more
entrepreneurial ventures, the time clock software you used to keep track of
hours during your first job experience probably couldn’t be further from your
mind.

However, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Even businesses that rely on remote teams completing tasks can benefit from time clock software. Not convinced? Don’t worry. We’ll break down how time clock software can help remote teams:

Track time spent working with different clientsCoordinate schedules to ensure someone is always available to provide client supportSupport workers who are always on the go with smartphone apps



Remote teams can be difficult to manage, but time clock software with duration tracking makes it easy to see what tasks are getting the most attention.



Time Clock Software Makes Tracking Where Your Time Goes a
Breeze

Picture this: you sit down at your laptop to
work on a task, when ping! An email notification pops up. You get sidetracked
reading and responding to that email, and from there you happen upon another task. And another. And all of a
sudden it’s… lunch time?

Looking back, it’s hard to remember exactly where all of your time goes when you’re doing “work stuff.” Time clock software with duration tracking allows employees to log how much time they spend working on different tasks or completing work for different clients, helping your whole team stay organized and spot opportunities for improved efficiency.

One way startups can blow their competition away is by offering superior, round-the-clock service and support.



Time Clock Software Gives You an Edge Over the Competition

The first few years after you launch a company are the hardest, and no matter what you’re doing, you need ways to put your business a step above the competition. One way of doing this is by providing superior support around the clock, but coordinating which members of your team are available to answer client questions and ensuring there are no gaps in your schedule can be a nightmare, particularly if your teams are working from different time zones.

Time clock software takes the hassle out of scheduling shifts, leaving you with more time to do what you do best– growing your business!

Modern time clock software offers smartphone apps, which makes it easy to fit into your team’s routines.



Time Clock Software Isn’t Like It Used to Be (Thank
Goodness!)

Many things have changed in the years since you held your first job, and thankfully time clock software is one of them. Many options now offer apps compatible with smartphones, making it easy for your team to stay connected on the go.

Whether your business is remote or brick and mortar, time clock software can help your team stay efficient so that you can grow your company.

There you have it: time clock software isn’t
just for restaurants and retail stores — it can help you improve the
efficiency of virtually any company. Does your business use time clock software?
Let us know in the comments below!

The post How to Make Your Remote Teams More Efficient with One Simple Tool appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How to Promote Collaboration in the Workforce

A happy workforce is one that works
together.  When all departments can
effectively work as one it creates a much happier and healthier environment –
as well as one that’s much more productive. 
In this article we discuss how business owners can promote better
collaboration within the workforce.

Creating the Right Organizational Design

The first thing you need to do is ensure you have the correct operational model within your business. If you seek organization design consulting services from companies like On the Mark who have 30 years of experience behind them – they will be able to put a strategic and operational design in place that will create team structures that will perform at their optimum level.  Taking advantage of an organisation design consulting service could be the first step to creating a workforce that collaborates as they should. 

Shared Inbox Software for Teams

You need to have the right technology in place to promote collaboration.  There are some fantastic shared mailbox software’s out there that will allow departments to work together much more cohesively than they do.  Rather than feeling frustrated as an employee as you aren’t sure what other teams are doing or frustrated as an employer – as there isn’t great visibility in what’s being done and by who – this creates much more transparency all round between teams.  Conversations can be easily traced back, it’s much simpler to become involved in a project or discussion and everyone can be held accountable. 

Team Building Days

Team building days can be a great way for people who wouldn’t perhaps communicate frequently on a day to day basis to get to know each other.  When people are put in a situation where they need to problem solve together, they find themselves communicating in a different way.  The great thing is, your team can take the relationships they have built outside the office back to their office as part of their job.   They are also likely to feel more comfortable with one another making collaboration easier. 

Corporate and Social Responsibility

Getting people together to do a good deed is a great way to work together.  It could be that every so often a team member or department chooses a charity – and host an event or do some sort of sponsored activity to fundraise as much as possible for that charity.  CSR is becoming increasingly important within organisations. 

Promotion of Innovation

Promoting innovation is a big thing in any
company.  You always should be
forward-thinking and have a vision of what you see yourself as becoming.  Why not include your team as part of that,
and create a collaborative culture.  If
there is a problem at the workplace, even something like a parking crisis, why
not present it to your staff, and ask they find a solution in teams.  You will be amazed with what they could come
up with when they collaborate with one another.

Collaboration is key to a successful and
effective workforce, especially if there are multiple departments within your
organisation.  Hopefully these tips will
have your team working better in no time. 

The post How to Promote Collaboration in the Workforce appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Five Careers for People who want to Work in Finance

Working in the finance sector is a goal for many
people. At the end of the day, in a capitalist society, the goal for many
people is to make money. While this can be done in many ways, being directly
involved in the finance industry puts you up close and personal with the money
– which in short is the means by which capitalist success is measured. But
working in the finance industry is very broad as there are lots of jobs and
career paths that you could follow. If you know that this is the direction that
you want to head in, then here are a few angles or career paths that you might
want to consider.

Auditor

Auditors are essentially the referees who make sure that everyone plays the commercial game according to the same rules. These are the people who come in and make sure that the books are not being cooked, that the investors are getting out what they should and that the correct taxes are being paid. For those who are interested in this field, there are plenty of auditing courses available to study at tertiary level. It certainly requires some qualifications, but it also requires attention to detail and the willingness to ask awkward questions.

Stockbroker

These are the guys who buy and sell shares and make
trades on behalf of their clients. They will often manage large portfolios of
assets. Typically, these portfolios are full of listed companies and it is the
role of the broker to know what is performing well, what is struggling, how
much of each stock to hold and when to offload. It is a great job, seriously
challenging and one that requires an intimate knowledge of the stock market –
both locally and internationally.

Book-keeper

These are the people who run the finances for their company. It is a more one the ground role, keeping track of receipts, making payments and updating the various cash ledgers and accounts. The bookkeeper is essentially the ground floor of the accounting and auditing chain. It is often a role that can be filled by somebody with nothing more than school accountancy.

Banking

The banking field is vast and varied and it could be a
great place to start your financial industry career. In terms of banking, you
could even start out as a teller. The teller is the person who handles the
transactions between the bank and the client. But behind the teller, there are
bankers and managers and loans consultants. These are all critical roles in the
creation of a functioning banking ecosystem.

Advisor

The independent financial
advisor is a role that more people should consider making use of.
This is a person who looks at your overall financial health and planning. They
will assist with retirement planning, income protection, insurance, estates,
and general financial planning. Often trained as chartered accountants or
brokers, make sure that if you do end up in this position that you do so as an
independent broker representing the interest of your clients, and not employed
by a financial services institution and representing their interests.

The post Five Careers for People who want to Work in Finance appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Benefits of Crowdfunding Your Business

There are many ways to take an idea and grow it into a thriving small business. A lucky few can get their concepts off and running with the backing of family and friends, while others work with professional finance companies like Dealstruck Small Business Loans to research lending options. There’s another approach some industrious entrepreneurs are taking to reach out to the public before their business has even moved beyond the planning stage. Thanks to the Internet, it’s known as crowdfunding. While it may seem like an intimidating process, the extra work put into a crowdfunding campaign is a proven tactic that can keep you on course and help your business to hit the ground running.

Just like any other phase required to establish a business, it isn’t
going to be easy and will necessitate a significant amount of time spent on
effective marketing. You need people to trust that your brand holds water, and
you’re not running some fly-by-night scheme. This is the opportunity to
showcase all the hard work you’ve invested to date and how their valued
contribution will be rewarded once your business is fully funded and
operational.

A major struggle for many businesses when they are first starting
out is establishing brand recognition. Even then, most consumers will hesitate
before conducting business with a company that hasn’t managed to garner any
reviews yet. With crowdfunding, you can solve these problems by putting your
product name in the marketplace and building up a potential customer base
upfront. Reviews rack up and legitimize your business early on.

When you invest time and money into a crowdfunding ad campaign, it’s imperative that you formulate a responsible business plan. It’s easy to get caught up in the buzz and excitement that your idea generates. However, crowdfunded businesses aren’t immune to poor financial planning and practices, ending up bankrupt even when they have had hugely successful crowdfund backing. Business owners must be committed to deliver on the promises made to those who funded them. Crowdfunding injects additional pressure into the process, but if your business is confident in what it can produce, then the faith people bestow in you should fuel your motivation.

Know you’ll also have to be prepared to offer more than just your
base product when it comes to crowdfunding. You should consider a limited time
reward for those who contributed and believed in your vision early on. If
you’re only willing to give them what any other customer can ultimately buy,
then there’s less incentive for crowdfunding investors to contribute when they
can just wait to make the same purchase as the general public. Offer exclusives
such as early access, additional items commensurate with the size of their
donation, or even the opportunity to see the inner workings of your fledgling
company.

Setting out on your own to build a business isn’t for the faint of
heart, but you’ll find that there are large segments of the Internet population
rooting for you. Many of those cheering you on are willing to go a step beyond
to support deserving self-starters who exhibit the entrepreneurial spirit
that’s driving the economy. Crowdfunding is a phenomenon you can leverage to
help realize your vision while taking Internet strangers along for the ride.
It’s a massive amount of added responsibility and accountability, but
crowdfunding may just be the glue that keeps your plan on track.

The post Benefits of Crowdfunding Your Business appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

The A-to-Z Guide on Getting Mind-Blowing Guest Blogging Success

Guest blogging has become mainstream. There is no doubt about it. In fact, it is one of the most used inbound marketing strategies these days.
Strategic guest posting has various advantages which include building brand awareness, generating loads of leads, attracting backlinks, and driving traffic.

Since it is a popular and advantageous strategy, everybody out there is already leveraging it. That said, getting tangible results is getting harder and harder. But if you use the right techniques, you can surely make guest blogging work and reap all the benefits it has to offer.

Nevertheless, in today’s post, I will guide you through everything you need to know to make guest blogging a success. Ready? Let’s get started –

Determine Your Purpose

Guest blogging success starts with identifying your purpose. There are plenty of reasons to do it. For example, driving more traffic to your site, building brand authority, or even forming a strategic relationship with popular influencers in your space.

Trace down your intent first, and let all your further actions follow that intent.

Reply To Comments On Your Post

Many bloggers disappear the moment their article has been published. BIG MISTAKE. If you’ve been that guy/gal, then I’m afraid you’ve lost plenty of juice.

There are plenty of reasons to reply to the comments on your post. First, it’s just given, a duty of yours. You’ve put that content out, it’s crucial that you hear and get back to people taking the time to leave their comments.

Second, comments can help you get to know your audience better. You can identify more of their problems. And when you solve such problems in comments, you make an instant connection, which makes the reader connect with you more. Ultimately, making the reader perceive you as an expert in the space.

It’s a massive opportunity to increase your authority and make new connections in the blogosphere.

Create A List of Blogs

If you’re just starting out, it’s fine to write a blog for a friend. That said, don’t make this a habit, because in all honesty, this is only the training ground.

What’s more, if you want to gain confidence, you have to set a high target. That said, before starting this venture, you need to create a list of blogs that you want to write. In fact, you can search on Google for the top blogs in a certain niche.

Get a spreadsheet and note them all down.

If You Don’t Receive A Response – Follow Up

I can’t emphasize this point enough:

The moment you deliver the email or blog, don’t expect that your editor will respond immediately. It may possibly take them a few days or weeks before they come back to you. That is why you have to be persistent.

But, it is a good idea to send a courteous follow-up email if don’t hear anything from them after three to four days.

Write long guest posts

When it comes to guest blogging, writing a long post around 1500 to 1700 words is highly recommended because editors like them long.

In fact, some studies proved that long content doesn’t only rank high in SERPs, it attracts more social works and backlinks as well.

Here is a study by Backlinko showing the relationship between search rankings and content length.

Get Your Posts Ready

Getting your guest posts ready is one of the surefire ways to
attain success in the guest blogging. When we say ready, it should be free from
errors, meaning your posts should be well-crafted, rich in images, and stashed
with value.

Create An Eye-Catching Headline

Keep in mind that a weak and boring headline may get your blog
rejected without a look from editors.

In fact, a study shows that 80 percent of people only read
headlines if they are worth their valuable time.

So, if you want to become a successful guest blogger, make headlines that are compelling and generate readers’ interest.

Build Credibility

Even though you don’t have enough experience covering
particular topics, your main goal is to stand out among others. 

To do this, you need to build your credibility briefly by
telling the things you do, your credentials, as well as your experience, and leave
a link/URL to the content you published case which showcases your finest works.

Make Sure You’re Open For Changes

If you want to become successful with guest blogging, being
open to changes is very important. As a matter of fact, the majority of
bloggers love to edit the headline, post and even create a new post.

Aside from that, don’t take the editor’s comments personally.
Better yet, if your client wants a particular format of creating headlines, do
your best to match it. But if they alter it, just accept it. After all, it
isn’t worth hassling over.

Promote Your Blog Everywhere

Promoting your works or blogs in various social media
platforms is also worth considering if you want to attain success in the guest
blogging.

By doing so, a lot of opportunities will come your way and the image of your brand will improve.

Nevertheless, here’s how to promote your guest posts:

Share
them with relevant FB groupsShare
your posts with your list of email subscribersInteract
with the Twitter users in your niche and inform them regarding your guest postsShare
them on Facebook and Twitter and make use of Buffer to share it in various time
zones repeatedly.Lastly,
make sure the host blog knows you are promoting your posts aggressively. You
can also do this by simply tagging them in promotional activities

Here is a good sample of how to promote or share your posts in different social media platform.

Do Not Undervalue Yourself

Whether you’re just a beginner or an expert, do not undervalue
your expertise, time, and most importantly, your effort.

Keep in mind that it has likely taken you a decade of tears,
blood, patience, and sweat to reach the level where you can provide valuable
and relevant insights to people.

Get Acquainted With Your Target
Blog

A typical mistake is to style blogs with guest post proposals
without acquainting yourself with the content style.

Actually, your pitches will have a higher opportunity of
getting acknowledged especially if you know the voice of the blog you are
targeting and even the topics as well as formatting style.

Here are some of the important things that you need to look
out:

Look
for popular posts on the blog so that you will have an idea about the topics
its readers love to read.Explore
the blog’s archives and find the posts which are similar to the topic that
you’re thinkingCheck
the comments on popular posts to see the opinions of the readers about the
topic



Stay Connected With Your Editor

A couple of hours after your content has been published
successfully, send an email of appreciation to your editor for letting you
write their content.

In addition, let the editor know that you are open to new
ideas and you are willing to work with them again.

Offer Additional Resources along
with the Blog Posts

In order to increase your chances of having your content
acknowledged, drive the extra mile.

Provide the host blog valuable resources which complement the
post you made. Below are some of the kinds of content upgrades that you can
make:

List of
references or resourcesChecklistCheatsheetChecklistCase
studyPDF version
of your post



Pitch Fully Written Customized
Posts

Webmasters are looking for high-quality content so they can keep
their content marketing engine going.

That’s why, if you offer a website owner a customized and
publish-ready post, you’re likely to get a yes.

Nevertheless, if you want to nail this method, perform the
following:

Use
BuzzSumo or other tools to evaluate the highest performing content on the website.
Then model them afterwardLink to
other correlated content on the host website. Most webmasters like it since it
saves them a lot of timeLook
for content gaps to fill. You can do this by simply polishing the comments of
top posts to find out what people want to know more aboutAdd
their favorite websites in external links. However, you use Monitor Backlinks
and Link Explorer to examine the websites backlink profile so that you will be
able to find out their favorite websites



Pitch Like An Expert

Without stellar pitches, your guest blog campaign will
definitely fall flat. So if you want to come up with winning pitches, you need
to pitch like an expert and avoid the following mistakes:

Not
adding links to your past workNot
adding the name of the hostGlaring
spelling and grammar issuesNot
following and reading the guidelines provided by the webmaster/editorPitching
topics that are not related to the website



Prepare Your Site For Traffic

What happens the moment your guest posts go live?  Referral traffic starts to come in.

That’s why you need to prepare your website. For sure you do
not want visitors to visit your website one time and never return. When preparing
your site, don’t forget to set up a landing page.

Incorporate The Guest Post’s Link
To Your Own Blog

Guest posts are actually votes of assurance for your posts
from other reputable sites. You can use them to endorse the credibility of your
business and blog.

Nevertheless, you can either do this by adding a “guest post”
page to your own blog. And then outline the links to your recent guest post on
it or transform the links to no-follow to make sure that they are safe from
Google penalties for mutual linking.

Develop A Relationship With A
Niche Influencer

Developing a relationship with an influencer can surely help
you if you want to become successful in the guest blogging.

However, if you want to interact with niche influencers, you
need to:

Comment
and share their postSend
thank you notesReach out
to them on social media platforms



Utilize an Imaginative Author Bio

Typically, popular blogs allow a two to three lines bio briefly
defining you as an expert. What’s more, it contains a backlink to your website.
This bio can even be used to impress the editor you’re pitching.

Rather than wasting this valuable space with unnecessary
words, use the language which resonates with your audience and defines you as a
possible answer to their difficulties.

Use Infographics When Guest
Blogging

When you’re crafting content for guest posts, you may also
want to use infographics. In fact, some editors prefer infographics over
thousands of words since they are easier to read and visually appealing. 

Produce A High-Quality Masterpice
That’s Hard to Reject

Another excellent way to approach editors is to produce a full
article rather than article pitches. This strategy works very well, and
crafting an excellent one won’t be much of a problem since there are plenty of
tips online on how to write high-quality content that can greatly help you.

Offer Free Content

People will only trust if they see you as a great source of
relevant and valuable information.  The
best way to earn their trust is to offer value-based content thru free eBooks,
blog posts, as well as social media.

Having a Call to Action is a Must

Depending on your marketing funnel, where you throw your call
to action matters. For example, if you’re planning to make sales using email
newsletters, make sure your emails have solid call to actions.

Choose Your Target Websites Carefully

Some business owners claim that guest blogging is not an
effective strategy. Often, the main reason for rejection is targeting the
incorrect websites.

Remember that jumping into the trend of guest blogging without
properly picking your target website will lead to failure.

Nonetheless, the secret to victory is choosing your targets
carefully. Select blogs that suit what your business/company wishes to
attain. 

Last Words

There you have it. Twenty-six tips that are certain to make
your guest blogging success.

How do you go about getting the most out of guest blogging?
Let me know in the comments below.

The post The A-to-Z Guide on Getting Mind-Blowing Guest Blogging Success appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Strategies You Can Follow Today to Successfully Deploy Your Online Training

Deploying your online training can be challenging, as you want to successfully engage all your learners, and provide them with the right resources for upgrading their skills. You want to help them hone their skills, and acquire new applicable knowledge that will help them become more efficient and productive.

All of this can be stressful at times, but you can easily turn it into an effective and satisfying experience for both yourself and your trainees.

Here are the key strategies that you can start implementing right away.



Personalize Online Training

Personalizing your online training courses will help your employees grasp and retain all the learning material much better. You need to embrace a targeted approach to learning and adjust your training courses to the needs of each learner.

Every learner has a different learning style, and personalization will help them follow a learning path that caters to all their preferences and habits.

So, utilize eLearning software that helps you personalize your training, and enable your employees to learn at their own pace.

You can also combine it with AI-powered tools that use machine learning to cater to the users’ needs in a better way. These tools collect and analyze data from courses, and help you personalize learning more effectively.

Embrace Micro learning

With microlearning, you can help your employees learn faster, and retain more information in a shorter time period. This approach to learning means breaking your course material into bite-sized, easily-digestible chunks, which helps learners understand and retain information more efficiently and effectively.

Microlearning is beneficial to every learner, but it’s especially crucial for businesses working on a tight schedule. It saves a significant amount of time and helps employees stay productive at work. This is simply because it doesn’t require too much time and effort.

It includes small learning units such as infographics, animated and interactive videos, whiteboard animations, flipbooks, interactive PDFs, podcasts, webinars, branching scenarios, etc.

Make Courses Mobile-Responsive

Given the trend of mobile phone usage nowadays, it’s absolutely necessary to make online training courses mobile-responsive. By doing so, you’ll enable your trainees to learn on the go, which will save them a lot of precious time. It will also enable them to get through more learning material in less time, which is especially useful if they commute daily.

With mobile learning, they can access their courses 24/7, and train on any mobile device. It’s very convenient and motivational, so be sure to enable it.

Utilize online training software that can make your online training courses mobile-friendly without any coding on your part.

Gamify Online Training

Your online training courses need to be convenient and personalized, but they should also be interesting. Not everyone likes the learning process, even if they want to learn new stuff. But if learning is fun, they’re more engaged, and their knowledge retention goes through the roof.

Enter gamification. Gamifying your online training course will engage your learners on a whole new level. It will inspire friendly competition because it includes points, badges, levels, and scoreboards. Everyone wants to see their name at the top, so they’ll work harder to pass the levels and complete the course.

When you learn through games, you don’t really feel like learning, but you effectively retain every little thing. This is why more and more L&D professionals are utilizing eLearning software solutions that enable gamification, that is, adding game-like elements into training courses.

Engage Both Introverts and Extroverts

It’s easy to engage extroverted learners during online training. They greatly benefit from group projects, and any other kind of social collaboration. They love communicating with people and engaging in real-time interactions, such as brainstorming and various other group discussions.

Group collaboration and communication does improve knowledge retention, but it’s mainly beneficial to extroverts. Having said that, you can’t ignore your introverted trainees if you want to truly help them hone their skills. But how can you effectively help them?

Introverts are often shy when it comes to social interactions. Group discussions, or any other kind of group projects, may not be their cup of tea.

If you focus only on providing value to extroverted learners, you will be slowing down the training for the introverts. This is another instance where AI can come in handy.

Combine your eLearning software with an AI-driven virtual assistant. It is available 24/7 for all the questions your trainees may have, and provide them with real-time, relevant answers. They can also ask for any learning resources, and your virtual assistant will provide them instantly.

Motivate Trainees and Recognize Their Efforts

You need to constantly motivate and incentivize your trainees so that they work harder to achieve your training goals and objectives. Gamification can greatly help you, but be sure to implement other motivational strategies you can think of as well.

But the most vital thing is to recognize the efforts of your employees. Show them that you appreciate their accomplishments and that you’re genuinely proud of them. Recognize their achievements in real time and publicly. This will encourage their further efforts and growth.

Apart from face-to-face interactions and recognition on your course’s discussion boards, you can also leverage online training software. Most of the advanced eLearning software solutions have a feature for creating training certificates. Use your chosen software to create custom certificates, as they will incentivize and motivate all your trainees.

Key Takeaways

Deploying your online training courses may be challenging, but these strategies will help you do it effectively. You can use each of these strategies separately for every training course, but it’s much smarter to combine all of them.

Mixing them all will result in much better performance, and help your employees take their knowledge and skills to a whole new level. Therefore, make use of an online training software solution that comes with plenty of features, and start creating personalized, time-efficient, convenient, and engaging online training courses.

The post Strategies You Can Follow Today to Successfully Deploy Your Online Training appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

7 Keys to Scaling a Remote Workforce

Your small business has started to grow? Before we congratulate you on this milestone, we must warn you about a few common pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid once you start scaling your remote workforce. Like scaling too fast, for instance.

Running a remote business can be a huge money-saver, but it still requires some smart investments. Today we’ll talk more about why you should not be frugal when it comes to talent and technology, just as well as why company culture is key to success.

Here’s How to Scale your Remote Workforce in 7 steps:



1. Find the Best People for the Job

There’s one thing you should never be tightfisted about as a remote employer – talent. In the long run, hiring an under-qualified employee will cost you not only money but also time. If you get them for cheap now, you’ll have to pay for this decision later.

In 41% of companies, a bad hire can cost $25,000 or higher.

In 25% of companies, this can grow to $50,000 or higher.

When you’re not careful about the applicants you’re accepting, you’re risking decreased productivity and teamwork, dampened morale, increased turnover, and reputational damage. Skilled hires don’t want to waste their time working with inept people.

Besides, having a team of competent experts means faster ROI.

These employees will not only know how to contribute to your business goal without your guidance but will also nurture enthusiasm about being a part of a successful collective. Qualified hires will boost both your revenue and your brand.

2. Remote Training and On-boarding

Onboarding is never easy, not even in a traditional workplace environment. Remote employees don’t get to enjoy the same level of guidance and support as their in-house peers, and your onboarding program must compensate for that lack of immediacy.

But first, your remote employees need to be trained.

This is one of the few instances where remote hires don’t fall behind in-house teams, as both models rely on online training to provide the best possible results. Statistically speaking, eLearning saves time and money and boosts retention rates by 25-60%.

But when it comes to onboarding, remote employers must go one extra mile in helping their hires assimilate into the company. Assigning each of them an onboarding buddy can compensate for the lack of informal mentorship and traditional work friends.

3. Invest in Collaborative Technology

It goes without saying that every remote team depends on high-quality technology. Without smart digitization, there wouldn’t be remote work in the first place. At least not in the modern sense of the word. Here’s what you need to get, software-wise:

LMS software to help you create engaging online training coursesEmployee training software to help you distribute learning materialTime management software to collect time-track and billing dataTeam management software to keep everyone on the same pageCollaboration software to help employees brainstorm togetherVideo conferencing software to provide quality face-to-face time

Collaborative tools are designed with remote teams in mind. They allow them to communicate in real-time, exchange ideas, and swap documents. As a financial investment, many of these platforms won’t burn your pocket – they will make you richer.

4. Invest in Shared Incubator Hubs

Remote teams are so tempting because they ensure significant savings. How much money have you already saved on office space, for instance? Having said that, the need for a physical meeting space becomes greater once your remote team begins to grow.

Many brands are chipping in for shared incubator hubs.

The benefits of this investment are multifold. Your remote employees will be able to use this hub for face-to-face meetings with clients, brainstorming sessions, and team-building activities. The further they are from each other, the more they need it.

Having someplace to turn to when they can’t work from home will help boost their engagement. They will see their company logo on the wall and feel like they belong. And shared incubator hubs are inexpensive too – you share rent with other brands.

5. Build a Positive Company Culture

Positive company cultures boost employee satisfaction and reduce unscheduled absences. Because they make employees happy and fulfilled, they also help increase company-wide productivity and collaboration, thus saving employers a lot of money.

But building a company culture is not as easy when your employees are scattered throughout the world, most of them knowing each other only digitally. But it can be done. Onboarding buddies and collaborative platforms are a great way to start. Preventing isolation is an obvious concern.

That’s why incubator hubs are such an effective solution as well. Scheduling one-on-one face time with remote teams is just as important. If you have two or more hires working near to each other, encourage them to meet up and form a subgroup.

6. Establish a Delegation System

The bigger the team, the bigger the responsibilities.

But this is also a good time to start letting go of your bad habits. You cannot possibly micromanage a scaling remote team, no matter how hard you try. The best you can do is set up a reliable delegation system and establish a couple of uniform rules.

Think about the new structure of your company. Will it have different departments? Are you going to need a separate communications infrastructure for each team, geographically and departmentally? How are you going to ensure accountability?

It’s never too early to start thinking about these things. If it so happens that your company’s growth rate exceeds all your expectations, you need to be ready to catch the momentum and take the next step. You need to start looking ahead now.

7. Stay Patient and Thought-Out

The last key to successful scaling? Don’t do it at any cost.

Improvement is much more important.

If your business is flourishing and you’re finally earned an opportunity to invest in the future, it may be better to perfect your main selling point first. Many companies take a leap and end up lowering their quality standards in the name of quantity.

Whatever you decide, make sure you’ve done your research. If necessary, hire a consultant to help you with opportunity analysis. Maybe this is not the best time for expansion due to external reasons such as economy, unstable market, or talent pool.

Closing Remarks

But if you decide to start scaling your remote team anyway, we wish you all the best. Equip yourself with the best people, high-quality technology, and time-tested training practices, and you won’t need us to wish you good luck.

The post 7 Keys to Scaling a Remote Workforce appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

5 Ways 5G Will Revolutionize Business

5G networks are something we hear about
constantly in the news, tech updates, and in general conversations about the
future. 5G is often called the future of the internet, and for a good reason.
With incredibly fast speeds, stable connections, and greater available
bandwidth, 5G is on course to change the world as we know it, including
business small and large.

Here are a few predictions about how 5G
will specifically impact the world of business.

1. Greater IoT Implementation

The Internet of Things (IoT) already exists
and is being used in different industries. IoT devices create a network of
communicating devices that can all be controlled and monitored centrally. While
they’re convenient and have many applications, they’re difficult to use on
existing networks.

A major problem with IoT tech is the high latency. Latency refers to the delay in communication between devices, or how long it takes data to get from one point to another, also known as lag. High latency means devices are not communicating efficiently. 5G will reduce latency exponentially.

With lower latency, IoT devices will be
able to communicate across a vast network almost instantaneously. The ability
to reduce latency will make IoT more attractive for use in varied industries
that may or may not already be interested in the tech. Once 5G networks are
available, vast IoT networks that weren’t viable before could become a reality.

2. More Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is limited at the moment
because of accessibility. Although it’s a popular solution for data files that
aren’t constantly being accessed, it’s harder to use for everyday file
transfers. It takes too long to access files stored away on the cloud. Even
with a very strong network connection, cloud access is generally not seamless,
especially when multiple users are accessing a cloud server from the same
connection.

With the speeds brought by 5G, it will
become easier to access the cloud at any time. Large and small companies will
all be able to integrate cloud storage seamlessly into their daily operations.
Instead of keeping devices with large data storage capabilities or maintaining
in-house storage networks, cloud storage can become a regular feature for all
businesses connected to 5G.

3. Accelerated AI Usage

A large chunk of AI tech that already
exists or is ready for development isn’t fully compatible with existing
networks. While it can work with these networks, the AI systems need a much
more powerful connection and higher speeds to operate at full capacity.

Many AI, AR, and VR technologies are just
waiting for 5G to bring them to life. They’re underutilized and impractical
now, but they won’t seem so futuristic and out of reach once we have 5G
networks in place. These tech innovations are set to change the business
environment massively in everything from customer service to client
interactions and user experience.

4. Reduction in Phone Line Dependence

Once 5G has settled in and phone carriers
have adapted to it, we’re going to rethink how we use our phones. Any landlines
still around will need traditional phone line access, but there’s little reason
that cell phones will need to call through traditional lines anymore.

We could see a dramatic shift towards VoIP
(Voice over IP) calls because of the abundance of excessively fast bandwidth.
When you think about online calls now, you always have to think about dropped
calls and poor signals. Considering most internet providers operate at speeds
less than 100Mbps (mega-bits per second) and 5G is set to operate at or above
1Gbps (giga-bits per second), there’s no comparison.

Even now, finding the right VoIP service can save you money spent on phone calls. If you have a solid enough connection, VoIP is already a solid solution. Imagine how much better it will be once you don’t have to worry about connection speeds and dropped calls. With 5G, you could have a voice or video conference with multiple people around the globe in full HD without any risk of dropped signals or poor connections.

5. Increase in Remote Workers  

There are already more than 8 million fully
remote workers or digital nomads in the US alone. This number is set to rise
even with existing network speeds and capabilities. With the growth of 5G, it
could happen even faster.

Part of the reason remote work isn’t an
option for more employees is the problem of communication and connection
between co-workers, bosses, and the office in general. If you could use 5G to
host AR or VR meetings with remote staff, it would almost feel like you were
all together in the same room. This stronger connection would make it a lot
easier to keep up with one another and work as a team.

The other thing 5G will do to increase
remote work is make it simpler to access and share data. No more long waits and
slow transfers. You can instantly access shared networks, make changes in real
time with other workers, and submit documents or files of any size within
seconds. Even traditionally data intensive tasks like video editing, rendering,
and uploading can be done faster on 5G.

Overall, remote work is set to benefit from
5G introduction. We’re probably going to see people from many different
industries getting the option to work remotely once 5G accessibility is more
widespread.

BONUS: 5G will usher in new products, services, and
industries

A survey conducted by PSB Research asked business leaders, analysts, tech workers, and other professionals about 5G predictions. The results revealed that 91% of respondents anticipate new industries, products, and services coming into existence. These are completely new industries and offerings that don’t exist right now.

5G will breathe life into new industries and create opportunities for radical innovations. It will break down the barriers of entry into many industries and offer people the chance to build new and exciting tech solutions. Some of these new things we can expect probably revolve around high-tech solutions like AI, IoT, and VR.

Get Ready for 5G

No matter what it brings in its wake, 5G is
coming. It’s time to position yourself now to respond appropriately and adapt
to industry changes when they happen. If you don’t adapt quickly to the new
tech, you could miss out on great opportunities!

The post 5 Ways 5G Will Revolutionize Business appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.