Mohit Tater's Blog, page 592

Why It’s Important to Use Professional Invoices as a Freelancer

When you first started freelance, you were likely asking all sorts of questions such as how do I find clients or what is an invoice? Luckily over time you’ve learned the tricks of the trade and know the ins and outs of being a successful freelancer. But, there’s always room to grow and learn.

One
of the most important skills to master as a freelancer is invoicing. Proper
invoicing is crucial so that you’re paid the money that you’re owed for the
work you’ve completed. But, invoicing is much more than just sending your
client a list of assignments and their cost.

Keep
reading to learn about the importance of invoicing and how you can make the
process a lot less cumbersome and time-consuming.

Invoices Reflect Your
Professionalism

It
pays to be a well-rounded freelancer. From your communications to the work you
provide, clients like knowing that they can depend on you for prompt responses
and top notch work. To make yourself a better-rounded freelancer, it’s
important to send clients professional invoices that don’t look as if they were
thrown together at the last minute.

While
invoices don’t need to be over the top intricate, they need to include certain
pieces of information so that clients (and you!) can keep track of the numbers
over months and years.

Before
sending an invoice, you’ll want to ensure you include this information:

NameContact informationClient’s nameInvoice numberIssue and due date

Most
importantly, you want to provide line item descriptions and the total amount
due. The line item descriptions provide a breakdown of the goods and services
that you provided during the invoice period.

While
it may be easier to bulk goods and services together, it’s best to break them
down so that clients can have detailed tracking information. Each line item
should have a description, quantity, rate, and subtotal.

For
example, if you’re a freelance writer, you may have created several blog posts
and social media posts for the client. For each line item, you’ll want to
provide the title of the blog post along with the set per-word rate. For social
media posts, you can lump them into a bulk assignment and just change the
quantity.

Once
you’ve completed all of the line item descriptions, the last step to creating
an invoice is to provide information as to how and where a client should pay
you. most freelancers prefer to be paid using web-based payments like PayPal or
Venmo while others have checks mailed to their homes.

Tips for Making Invoices More
Efficient

Now
that you know what information you should provide on an invoice, you’re likely
dreading the idea of having to manually create invoices every few weeks.
Luckily there are many ways you can make the invoicing process much more
efficient.

First,
create a template that you can reuse for each invoice. You can create an
invoice template using programs such as Microsoft Word, InDesign, or an invoice
creator. This way you don’t have to create an invoice from scratch each time.
If you’re billing multiple clients using the same invoice, be sure to change
relevant information such as invoice number and the client’s name.

Automation & Invoicing

While
using a template cuts down on the time you have to spend on creating invoices,
there’s still a lot of time spent sending them to clients and filing them
appropriately. To make the process even more convenient, consider using an
automated invoice generator. This software does all of the hard work for you.
You simply input the data and the generator creates a professional looking
invoice for you.

By using an automated invoice generator, you never have to worry about printing, filing, or mailing invoices. Many invoice generators interact with other types of software, especially accounting software. This means that a good portion of your bookkeeping and accounting is already done for you!

Lastly,
automation makes you a more efficient freelancer. You can minimize accounting
and bookkeeping mistakes that can be costly come tax season. using an automated
invoicing process also allows you to spend more time writing, editing, or any
other freelance service that you provide.

Conclusion

As
a freelancer, there are all sorts of daily and weekly tasks that you have to
complete. But, one of the most important items on your list is to send invoices
to your clients so that you can get paid! If you’re new to invoicing or want to
make your invoicing process more efficient, be sure to keep this information in
mind so that you can get paid on time.

The post Why It’s Important to Use Professional Invoices as a Freelancer appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

5 Tips for Selling Your Business

When you’re
selling your business, you need to be properly prepared. Failing to prepare for
the sale of your business will ensure a low sales price. Continue reading this
article to learn five tips for selling your business.

Before you get
into the following tips, you need to make sure you take the emotions out of the
process. It is understandable that you have emotions taking place when you’ve
built your business from the ground up, but your emotions won’t serve you in
this case.

1. Work with Legal and Financial
Experts

You know you’re
great at growing your business. You’re great at putting strategies into play
and making sure the day-to-day is running well. You may not be a financial and
legal expert, and it is unlikely that you know all of the finance and legal
clauses you need to understand.

Consult with
professionals that have done work with similar companies. Finding experts that
are legal professionals in your specific industry will allow you to get the
best results. You would be surprised at how specific of an industry niche you
can find professionals.

As you go through
the process, there could be issues that come up, but you need to make sure that
you have a legal professional on hand. It is very helpful when they are already
up to speed on your business and how they can help you through the process.

2. Non-disclosures

When you start to
talk about selling your business, everyone needs to sign non-disclosure
agreements. If you don’t get people to sign non-disclosure agreements, you
could end up with a leak. You want to keep the sale of your business as quiet
as possible.

Preparing to sell
your business years in advance is the best practice, but you don’t want the
news to get out to the public. If your shareholders or employees find out about
the potential sale of your business, they may get scared and start looking for
an out.

Keeping the sale
of your business quiet will enable you to keep your business running properly
instead of worrying about your employees making an exit before the sale.

3. Work with a Professional
Business Broker

Business brokers
sell businesses on a daily basis and have a Rolodex of people that are
interested in buying businesses. Since you may not know people interested in
purchasing your business, it is helpful to have these resources.

A business broker
also helps you keep up with your day-to-day operations by taking care of
initial meetings and fielding potential buyers before you come into the
equation.

When you work with a business broker, they are likely to have advice that can help you from the start to the finish of your business sale. Make sure you talk to multiple brokers before making the decision to hire them. You will be working with them closely, and you want to make sure they know what they are doing and that you work well together.

4. Understand Your Company’s
Value

Valuing your
company is a necessary part of the process. You should get the value of your
business as soon as possible so you can see where you are now. When you know
where you are now, you can start working on areas of your business that might
need improvement.

You can use the small business valuations calculator on Valuator to find out how much your business is worth. There are many ways to calculate how much money your business is worth, but some are more favorable than others depending on your circumstance.

If your business
is growing and flourishing, you need to look at more than your business’
assets. You should look at your business assets as well as its potential to
generate a profit in the future. Some formulas will make it easy to figure out
the value. Having a professional take care of this process is often the choice
of many busy owners.

When you know the value of your business, you have a great starting point for negotiations. While you might set a price for your company, you should be willing to negotiate if you want to sell your business. Depending on your motivation, your business might sell for more or less.

If your business
is in trouble and you need to sell quickly, you are likely to get less money.
On the other hand, if you can hold out for the right offer, you are going to
get more money for your company in most cases.

5. Get Your Offers In Writing

If your business
is popular and you get multiple offers, you want to have them down on paper. If
you don’t have your offers down on paper, it is more difficult to compare them
to see which offer is going to be the best for your company.

Price may not be
the only thing you want to look at when it comes to these offers. There could
be other terms and conditions that make an offer a deal breaker even when the
offer comes in higher than the others.

Getting the Best Selling Price
Out of Your Business

Following the
preceding tips will help you get the best price for your business. The
preparation stage of selling your company may not be glamorous and exciting,
but it is necessary if you want to get the money you deserve.

The post 5 Tips for Selling Your Business appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Online Calculator as a Lead Boosting Tool

Launching a business website doesn’t seem to be a complicated task at first sight. However, when you start working on your website development, you realize how many aspects have to be considered to make a project a success. Actually, you can get a website in one of the following ways – either by using a website builder or CMS. The choice of the best option depends upon your web design skills and business objectives. If you are not a web design pro, then it makes sense to use a website builder. If you are ready to fight with code editing nuances, then CMS might also be a good choice. You’ll need to take care of hosting installation in advance, however many top rated web hosting providers come with site editing tools that notably simplify the web design process.

Today, there are many different tools that can not only
improve a website and make it more user-friendly, but also attract new
customers and increase sales. One such tool is an online calculator.

Calculators are a go-to tool for any owner of a corporate
website or an online store. They help attract attention of a target customer
who is ready to make a purchase. With the help of a calculator, site visitors
are able to calculate the costs of the desired goods and services on their own,
thus significantly saving your time. On top of this, by engaging visitors with
an online calculator, you can get positive feedback from search engines, such
as better behavioral metrics and higher site ranking.

There is a number of options to create an online calculator
for a website:

Hiring a
developer — you may want to have a calculator built for you by a freelancer
or a web studio. In this case you’ll need to go into detail on how you’d like
to see the end result or even prepare a technical specification. After all, the
functionality of your calculator will depend on this.



It’s good to know that the fees of a freelance developer and that of a web
studio can be very much different. Ordering a calculator from a web studio will
be more expensive because it is the entire team that will work on the program
logic, design, code and finally connect the calculator to the site.



Should you decide to hire a freelance developer, keep in mind that you’ll need
to contact her or him every time you’ll want to make changes or delve into the
program’s code yourself.



Ready-to-use
scripts — there is a ton of scripts on the Internet that are immediately
available for your use to create a calculator for any topic. Such scripts can
be downloaded absolutely free of charge and used on your website as you see
fit. However, if you want to change something in them, you will have to do it
yourself, or contact specialists, which comes at a price.



More often than not, the source code of these calculators consists of a large
amount of non-documented and incomprehensible parts that even developers
themselves find hard to decipher. In addition, free calculator scripts don’t
provide any guarantee of proper and safe operation. Of course, there is no more
talk about the stable operation of such solutions. Since the source code of
calculators is open to everyone interested, it often attracts criminals and
especially spammers.



If a calculator in addition to regular cost calculations includes the function
of sending quotes to clients by email, be prepared to be overwhelmed by spam.
Ready-made scripts are more suitable for developers and studios who know how to
code and are able to use them correctly. If you’re an entrepreneur, and all the
more a large businesses, it’s not recommendable to use ready-made scripts. And
if you do, it’s at your own peril and risk.



Online widgets
— there’re quite a few sites and entire catalogues featuring calculator
examples. These calculators can be used by installing a special widget on your
website. However, these widgets have disadvantages. All widgets’ files are
loaded from third-party sites. If the site is unavailable or someone deletes
the files, the calculator will stop working. Editing the content and design of
these widgets is not always possible, which means it’s impossible to add
something or change it. Widgets of this kind are more suitable for
demonstration purposes, for example, for a blog article, rather than for
serious use on a business site.



Ready-to-use
plugins — if you’re on a tight budget and want to create a calculator
absolutely for free, plugins are your best solution. Yet, in the case of using
free plugins, no one can guarantee a high-quality calculator and the
availability of the necessary functionality. If you need custom options, you
will have to resort to developers. In addition, not all site management systems
allow the integration of calculator plugins. For example, it won’t be an issue
to find a plugin compatible with WordPress, whereas other CMS may not be
suitable.



Excel
calculations — Excel spreadsheets have gained quite a lot of popularity due
to various financial and accounting functions. The spreadsheets were in active
use and continue to serve people for creating price lists and lists of products
for estimating the cost. However, the way Excel is used for estimating the cost
is outdated and has many drawbacks. First of all, a client has to download the
Excel file on an ongoing basis in order to find out its contents and calculate
in it. Secondly, not every user has Excel software at hand. Finally, to make a
calculator using Excel, you need sufficient knowledge. And the whole calculator
creation process may seem difficult for you. Also, for your customers such a
calculator may not be that user-friendly. If clients do manage to download the
file and use the calculator option it provides, they may find themselves having
a lot of questions not only about the products, but also about the cost
calculation logic itself.



Calculator
builders — this is the best way to create a calculator for those who not
only value their time and budget, but also want to get a quality solution with
the ability to easily change the contents of a calculator on their own. It is
worth noting that at the moment there are not that many decent calculator
builders that actually offer powerful tool sets for creating calculators and
meeting the needs of any business.

Yet, we managed to find one tool that looks quite promising
in terms of creating a modern online calculator for business.

uCalc is a calculator and form builder that makes it possible to create a calculator of any kind in the visual editor. It could be easily integrated in all CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Concrete5 etc.). Some modern website builders like uKit, for example, has even integrated the online calculator widget it their interface. To date, uCalc is the strongest solution with the significant audience on the global market.

The key feature of the builder is its simplicity and
convenience. To create a calculator, you don’t need to be a programmer or a
designer, not to mention third-party developers or web studios. The whole
process of constructing a calculator is extremely simple, so you can easily use
the builder yourself.

Due to the well-thought-out visual editor, the construction of a calculator involves only adding and dragging blocks with elements. A flexible system for working with formulas allows you to make financial calculations of any complexity. The builder offers a range of widgets: drop-down lists, checkboxes, radio buttons, text and numeric fields, dates, buttons, and more.

In addition, it allows you to customize the receipt of
orders by email and phone, as well as send the results of the calculation to
the client. Using the created calculator you can immediately accept payments
from clients, for example, through PayPal. Another useful feature is the
connection of analytics systems and goal tracking with Google Analytics.

At the same time, if you are an experienced user and want to
add custom things to the calculator, you can take advantage of the HTML code
integration option. Due to all these useful features, uCalc will be the most
suitable tool for each of us.

The advantages of using the calculator builder are the
following:

You can easily change the contents of the calculator
and customize its design to match the style of your site;Connect additional scripts and services and edit the
calculator codeNew orders from the calculator can be received by email
and phoneLots of ready-made calculator templates are available
for various industriesFlexible system of mathematical operations and formulasAccepting customer payments directly from the
calculator through PayPal Calculator data and payments are protected by a 256-bit
SSL protocolNo special costs are required to maintain the
calculator

At the moment, calculators are being actively used by a wide range of businesses. A calculator is not just a beautiful and useless toy, it’s a great tool for increasing lead generation on your business website.

The post Online Calculator as a Lead Boosting Tool appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

4 Tips for Starting Your Own OT Private Practice

Starting
your own occupational therapy, OT practice is a big step in your career. The OT
profession, or any profession for that matter needs those with expertise to
elevate the industry by being entrepreneurs and authorities.

This is especially essential in the healthcare space, since therapy and medical care is perpetually changing. Occupational therapists who strike out on their own need to stay up-to-date on best OT practices in order to grow a private practice into a success.

All
great things aside, starting an OT practice, or any new business in any
industry can be challenging. There are a lot of intricate aspects that business
owners need to understand and employ for growth and success.

To
help you put your best foot forward in starting your new business, we compiled
a list of tips to draw from at those important early stages. Let’s dive in!

1. Find Your Occupational Therapy
Niche

If
you don’t already have an OT niche, like if you are coming from a hospital
setting where anything goes, you may need to do a bit of business soul
searching. Why? Occupational therapists with private practices need to meet the
ever-changing demand of their potential patients.

Some
niche finding questions to ask are:

What is the market for the OT
niche?What type of OT do you like
to practice the most?Who are you ideal patients?Do you have the niche
experience needed?What OTs are already having
success in this niche?

If you need niche help, visit The American Occupational Therapist Association (AOTA) website to get some great niche ideas.

2. Creating Online Visibility For
Your Practice

Once
you have an occupational therapy niche you want to pursue for your private
practice, it’s time to create a space for you to attract online consumers. This
can be very expensive if you outsource, but the good news is that you don’t
have to. With a bit of research and knowledge, you can launch an OT business
website easily.

First start with your theme. You can find a great medical-minded theme using Themeforest for under $100. These themes are already geared toward medical and healthcare services, like an OT business.

Next you’ll need to find a place to host your website and host your blog if you choose to start one. There are several hosting options available based on the type of server, traffic, SSL certificate and more. Starting out you can keep it simple, but a hosting service is a must.

Before
launch, make sure you develop content that resonates with your future target
audience. This means creating a value proposition and mission statement that
you will showcase on your OT private practice website.

3. Marketing Your New OT Practice

Marketing
is very important for growing your OT private practice into a successful one.
Since you are most likely going to serve a specific region and/or community,
you need to leverage local marketing strategies to build your client-base.

Google My Business is the perfect place to start. Google makes it very easy for people looking for specific businesses or services to find them locally. Register your occupational therapist website with Google My Business by adding your business name, phone number, address, hours of operation, and images.

To
really maximize your OT local marketing, include your local community in your
business name. So instead of naming your business, “OT Specialists” you could
leverage local search on Google by using, “OT Specialists of Austin” for
example.

Other
local marketing tactics include, free OT sessions at senior community centers, OT
fitness classes, taking out local ads in newspapers and other local media
outlets, and more. These marketing tactics do depend on your niche and target
clients.

4. Be Easily Accessible

There
may already be a few occupational therapist practices in your area. This makes separating
yourself from the pack a bit more challenging. One way you can ensure you are
unique is to be easily accessible to clients, as well as future clients.

The
personal touch is what consumers want and being able to provide that type of OT
service will move mountains. Not only will your clients love you, they will
also talk about you with their friends, family, coworkers, and even promote
your practice on social media.

In Conclusion . . .

There are a number of ways to launch your private practice, whether it is providing OT for children, or focusing on other niches, like sports or geriatrics. The possibilities are endless, but starting any business takes work. Going for it and having a well-thought out strategy will make a big difference in how fast your practice grows.

The post 4 Tips for Starting Your Own OT Private Practice appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

6 Guiding Tips to Make Your Flower Girls Look As Cute As Ever

Flower girls could be your
niece, your neighbor’s daughter or even your own daughter. They can be
understated or side-lined in the wedding preparations. But don’t forget, their
presence will set the mood for your arrival.

If you plan everything perfectly from choosing different flower girl dresses to keeping them chirpy, you will ace everything. These little angels will look like they’re descending from heaven as they pave the way for you.

Different
sites offer different guides for different aspects of flower girls. But this is
not your regular site. We have created an ultimate guide for you to perfect the
art of hosting flower girls.

The Ultimate Guide to Flower
Girls

These
are the ultimate tips that you must know if you want the best flower girls
walking down the aisle.

1. Match the Theme:

Regardless
of whether you’re having a traditional wedding, Malibu wedding or a trendy
reception, you need to match the girls. A perfect flower girl is one who is
dressed according to the fit and feel of the occasion.

2. White Is Not Important:

The
ivory color family is reserved for the bride. However, that doesn’t mean that
the flower girls have to spot white flower girl dresses. You don’t have to
limit the options because the traditions say so. You can switch to pastel or
pale pink color.

3. Cheap Works:

There
are several brands that create cheap flower girl dresses which are of good
quality. So don’t commit a mistake of buying an overpriced dress. The parents
will definitely offer to pay so as a courtesy, don’t burn a hole in their
pocket. The child will anyway outgrow her attire.

4. The Length is Noteworthy:

Tall
flower girls should be given a longer dress. But if she’s younger and shorter
in height then a frock would fit perfectly. Lace flower girl dresses come in
all shapes and sizes. They look extremely adorable too. So you may want to
check. The length should be such that it doesn’t make your flower girl trip, while
also make her look elegant and cute.

5. Perfect Time:

There’s
no perfect time when it comes to wedding shopping for the festivities. It is
usually believed that the sooner the shopping is done, the better it will be.
For flower girls, however, buy the dress close to the occasion. Kids are known
to grow quickly at their pre-teen stage. Hence, it is the best if you don’t
want to buy another dress which actually fits.

6. Kid’s Choice:

It may seem chaotic at first but if you let the girl pick her own dress then it will be fruitful. Kids can be fuzzy when they don’t like the attire they’re wearing. Hence, it is important that she absolutely loves what she’s wearing. She will definitely pick a few lace flower girl dresses because that’s in fashion right now.

Wrapping-Up:

Don’t forget to take lots of photos and videos together. Your flower girls will definitely want to remember these precious moments. Also, this will make the flower girls thoroughly enjoy during the wedding.

The post 6 Guiding Tips to Make Your Flower Girls Look As Cute As Ever appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Cement Your Startup by Using Analytics

When you’re launching and then building a new business, there are so many tasks to handle that it can get overwhelming. Plus, of course, you’re always looking for ways to stand out from your competitors and searching for ways to ensure your startup stays around for the long term. One strategy not enough new entrepreneurs concentrate on is utilizing data to their advantage. These days, even the smallest of businesses can take advantage of this asset, as it is low cost for a high impact.

Analytics can be used to help your startup move forward in a variety of ways. It will help you to decrease your workload, and it will enable you to better create an increase in profits. Read on for some key ways you should start using analytics this year to cement your startup and your place in the business world.

Learn Key Info About Your Customers

One of the most important factors in
startup success is winning over customers, so they buy from you the first time
and then hopefully again and again. To generate interest from shoppers, you
need to know things like what specifically people or organizations are looking
for when they browse and how they shop and when. Furthermore, once you have
already convinced people to buy from you the first time, you need to understand
their needs so you can offer them more of the wares they want and get more
repeat sales over time as a result.

Analytics can be your best friend when it comes to your customers because it will provide vital information about shoppers. In particular, B2C and B2B intent data is useful as this will let you find out who is looking for the types of offerings you sell. In addition, you can use analytics to work out how to best segment your different customer types and in turn direct targeted marketing to each group.

Sort out Inventory Management

If your new business involves you holding inventory of any sort, whether whole products or spare parts or other stock, you won’t be able to succeed and create a sustainable business unless you handle inventory management effectively. Happily, though, analytics can assist with this, too, and ensure you don’t have too much cashflow constantly tied up in slow-moving or damaged inventory.

Use programs that analyze data to provide you with reports on the amount of stock you have on hand of each item and how long these things have been setting in your warehouse. Reports can indicate how many products you have in each category, how many you’ve sold of each type since you first starting stocking it, when it was last sold and at what times of year things are most in demand.

Use the information you gather to decide which old or unmoving stock has to be discounted to clear funds and room for better-selling items. Make decisions about how much to buy of the stock that does do well and when you should order more of it. By analyzing data, you will also get a better indication of which types of goods your customers want and therefore which products or parts to bring in next to better serve your clientele.

Service Customers Better

Successful entrepreneurs know that having a
thriving business isn’t purely about converting leads into sales but also about
making people happy through the sales process and beyond. Clients who are not
just satisfied but actually blown away by your business will be much more
likely to buy more, buy more often and rave about you to others, which in turn
helps to generate more sales (and at a more affordable cost price).

Use analytics to help you wow customers in
numerous ways. For example, check out the data to learn what types of questions
people most ask, at various stages along the buying journey, then take steps to
provide answers to these questions on your website, social media pages, in
advertisements, etc. Also, study when people most need assistance to find
wares, complete a sale or work out how to effectively use products or services
after a purchase is made. With this information, ensure you have plenty of
customer support staff on hand at busy times to be of help.

Similarly, analytics can help you to see which
forms of support people are most interested in using, whether website contact
forms or live chat, phone conversations, social media messages, in person
inquiries or another format. By catering to this preference, you will be able
to increase client satisfaction significantly.

The post Cement Your Startup by Using Analytics appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Three things to keep in mind when selecting an FBA Freight Forwarder

Becoming an eCommerce seller on Amazon in 2019 is probably the
best thing you’ll do. Last year, a study found out that nearly 43 percent of
all sales were being done through Amazon, and this is expected to grow even
bigger by the end of this year. 

In fact, Business Insider once wrote in an article that even
if Amazon is facing huge competition in the e-commerce industry, it is still
the biggest platform when it comes to brand awareness and customer loyalty.
Where there is online shopping concerned, no one can match Amazon. 

With such prominent dominance over the online shopping industry,
your eCommerce business has the potential to aggressively expand through
Amazon.com. The site already offers excellent programs for all their sellers,
this includes their fulfillment services, the Amazon FBA. 

What exactly is Amazon FBA?

Amazon FBA is fulfillment service by the eCommerce site where
Amazon will store your product in one of their distribution centers and ship it
out to its purchasers on your behalf. Using this service means you’ll also get
access to the Amazon Prime Program which gives your customer free two-day
shipping. 

But how do you get your products to Amazon?

While the eCommerce giant is responsible for shipping your
products to the customer, you have to get your product to one of their
fulfillment centers first. A parcel company might be able to do that for you
but it is only a temporary fix. When you start selling a large number of
products, shipping companies can become a very expensive option which may limit
your growth.

This is where a Freight Forwarder comes in

Luckily for you, there is a very decent solution available for
getting large amounts of products to Amazon fulfillment centers. International
freight forwarders can help your e-commerce
business grow by taking care of all your logistics needs. 

A freight forwarder that provides Amazon FBA service will not
only help you save money and money, but your products will also be in good
hands. Freight forwarders like FBABEE can help you streamline the shipping
process, just like Amazon has its shipping sorted out for its users. 

But before choosing any Amazon FBA freight forwarder, it is important to keep three very important things in mind. 

They should have experience with Amazon FBA

Don’t just work with any freight forwarder company. You must
select the right freight forwarder that has plenty of experience dealing with
Amazon FBA because the e-commerce site has very specific requirements when
it comes to what they’ll store in their centers. All products need to be
properly packaged and labeled which only an expert FBA freight forwarder can
provide. 

They should be able to communicate with you on time

Amazon is always on the move and having your product delivered to
their centers on time is crucial. You need to work with a freight provider that
keeps in touch with at all times and gives you a priority. 

They should have a large network

The ideal freight forwarder should have a large network of
partners around the world so they can access multiple shipping lanes. By
choosing the right freight forwarder, your business will see exponential
growth. 

The post Three things to keep in mind when selecting an FBA Freight Forwarder appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How to Write an Effective ‘About Us’ Page That Converts

Regardless of
the industry you’re catering to, the About Us page is going to be one of your
most important pages on the website. It will help explain to your potential
customers how you started your business, what problem you’re aiming to fix with
your products or services, and how you want to earn their loyalty.

It is
unfortunate that not a lot of companies spend time writing their About Us page.
Other than the reasons mentioned above, this page is one of the highest
performing on the website.

True, it is awkward to write because there has to be a balance between selling your business and avoiding too much self-focus that it drives people away. But do it right and it will do its job of persuading people, taking advantage of an opportunity to connect with existing and potential customers.

So here is a
rundown of tips in writing a killer About Us page that converts.

Begin with talking about your customers

It is in our
nature to talk about ourselves first than acknowledging other people. That’s
why if your current About Us page starts out like this, it is totally
understandable. But using the same logic, your customers are also looking at
your website for themselves and finding out what you can do for them.

You can start
by laying out the challenges your customers are facing, which is basically why
they are visiting your website in the first place. Take this chance to show
them that you have their needs in mind. Next, tell them exactly how you can
help them. Mention the benefits of buying or availing of your products or
services.

Highlight customer testimonials

Most people
base their decisions on recommendations and reviews. You can urge them to
choose your brand more when you highlight testimonials coming from satisfied
customers. Make sure you ask your customers if you can include their full name
and photo with their testimonial.

Include awards and recognitions

Showcasing
awards you’ve received is simply just stating facts: that you’re the best
choice. Highlight ones that recognise your products and services, at the same
time, awards that were given because of your customer service.

Add a variety of media

Don’t just
stick to text, because that will look like a huge paragraph block. Add
different kinds of media like a video of you explaining your vision for the
company. You can also add infographics and other ways you can play with images.

Humanise your brand

Lastly, share
your story with your customers. What made you start this business? Why do you
want to provide them with a solution? Show them how you conceptualised your
brand and how it all started. This humanises your brand, which means your
customers can connect with you on a personal level. And if you can do that,
you’ve earned yourself loyal patrons.

Of course, this goes without saying, you have to check that your brand stays unique. One of the ways you can do this is to do a to see if there are websites out there posing as you. Check whether they’re using the same domain name with a different extension, if they’ve stolen information from you, and so on.

Go back to
your About Us page and see if you were able to tick all of these boxes. Craft a
write-up that will show customers that you have the best for them in mind and
that you want to form a relationship with them that goes beyond customer and
seller.

The post How to Write an Effective ‘About Us’ Page That Converts appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How to Spot a Phishing Email

So you were pretty quick to figure out that the
Nigerian prince that sent you an email wanting to share his wealth is a common
Internet scam. You may even be able to recognize spam when it hits your inbox.
But how do you know when it’s a phishing email or text? Phishing emails are
intended to dupe the reader into clicking an included link for some nefarious
reason, usually to send you to a fraudulent website or open a dangerous attachment
that will infect your phone or computer with malware, worms, or install
keylogging software to obtain your personal information. So how do you spot a
phishing email?

Spam and phishing emails have been around as
long as the Internet has been in existence. Telemarketers used to make phone
calls and send letters through the postal service and that was the extent of
the annoyance. Nowadays phishing emails can be extremely dangerous and highly
sophisticated, so much so that you may not even realize that you are being
duped. “Phishing” is what happens when criminals try and trick you through an
email into handing over personal information such as credit card numbers,
social security numbers, bank account information, or any other financial
information. Their intent is to steal from you. Now that the Internet is so
widely used and available, these criminals have millions of email addresses
that they can steal or buy to use for their phishing schemes. Here are some signs
to watch for when trying to identify a phishing email.

Check the sender’s email address very carefully. If you don’t recognize it, delete it. If it looks like it comes from one of your contacts but doesn’t appear “right” for some reason, that contact’s email may have been compromised. Alert them and delete the email immediately.If the email contains multiple spelling and grammar errors, be very suspicious. Most legitimate companies will take the time to edit and/or spell-check their marketing materials and other communications so that they always appear professional. Many phishers – especially those located in foreign countries with no Internet oversight – will send out badly written, grammatically incorrect emails that are a dead giveaway that they aren’t legit. Delete them immediately.Take a look at the sender’s “from” address and see if it includes an international code. If you know you signed up for email coming from the BBC, their address will be www.bbc.co.uk and their emails will come from johndoe@bbc.co.uk. If you signed up on a website such as www.associatedpress.com and their email shows up as coming from johndoe@majesticmoney.co.is, then that is a pretty good sign that the sender is not legitimate and you may have been hacked. Always check the actual sender line to see if it contains an international ending such as .al (Albania), .ng (Nigeria), or something similar. Some of these phishing emails have become very, very sophisticated. They contain common company logos, a personalized greeting is included, and everything looks legit. Many of us automatically trust emails from companies that we use every day such as banking sites, PayPal, Google, eBay, and so on. If ANYTHING looks off or suspicious, do not click on the links. Most legitimate companies will tell you upfront that they will never solicit financial information over email, so if you get an email from PayPal requesting such, open a new browser and log in to your account to verify it. Never, ever click on an attachment if you don’t recognize it or the sender, especially if it’s an executable file! This is how the phishers can install malware on your computer or phone that could potentially track and steal passwords, user names, and any financial information that you use on legitimate websites. Random attachments being sent to you are never a good thing so just delete them immediately and run your antivirus/malware protection software just to be on the safe side.

Hopefully with these tips you can protect yourself by deleting the phishing schemes before they can do any harm. If, however, you have fallen victim to one and accidentally clicked on the link or responded to the sender, it may take an outside source to help you navigate the clean-up process. Catching and prosecuting phishers is difficult, especially if they are located in foreign countries with different legal systems, but a professional can help you fortify and secure your computer before any important data are stolen.

Hiring a private investigator may be your best move to help protect your assets and reassure yourself that you have the proper software installed to prevent malware and viruses. Investigators can also track down the source of the email, its IP address, and the ISP to obtain the owner’s contact information if necessary. As Manhattan private investigator Darrin Giglio says, “Professional investigators can track down the perpetrators using cybercrime techniques, and use their expertise to help you follow the cyber trail to make sure you aren’t a victim ever again.”

The post How to Spot a Phishing Email appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

5 Tips to Acquire Financial Assistance for Launching Your Startup

Online lending platforms make the most of
technologies that interrupt conventional lending. These platforms form a
crucial segment of the firm and fast financial technology sector. Being a small
business owner, you may consider securing funds through some internet provider
and avoid your local banking partner, who may have turned your offer down
already.

Does it sound alright? In an attempt to let
your business grow, you’ll need to acquire a capital fund worth a considerable
amount. Again, you must obtain this loan within a stipulated amount of time and
for a qualified price worth the least amount.

Check
out the Guidelines and Find out a Preferred Lender Online:

1.
Arrange things at the home front

Before you get in touch with a lender and
decide on seeking funds, you must arrange all business records properly. Being
organized is of great importance for a startup business owner regardless of
whether he enters into paperwork. A young businessman needs to keep an eye on
his business plan and cash flow. Do you need to borrow a substantial amount? Do
you have a specific repayment plan in mind? You’re bound to come across several
low-cost and free resources that can help you figure out how much you need to
borrow. You may seek quality information from the SBA (Small Business
Administration).

2.  Get out of bad debt

You must pull yourself out of the debt trap laid by any high-priced lender. Ideally, you should opt for a long-term loan that comes with a low rate of interest. By securing such a loan, you can save a significant portion of your monthly budget and refinance an expensive debt. The APRs are usually much lower with that of the SBA loans. Compared to a traditional lender, the movement around lenders offering small business loans is much faster within the online marketplaces. They can help align the requirement of your small business with that of the right lender that the SBA backs.

3.
Check out your lender options

Technical advents are leaving a
far-reaching impact in the modern business world. It’s entirely necessary for
small business owners to do their research. You must ensure that you edge past
all hollow instant-funding offers and eye-catchy lending websites if you wish
to identify the real potential of the lender. You must keep an eye on a lender
that offers excellent customer service, long repayment tenure, online security
verification, and rates of interest worth single digits. You may consider
checking out a few unbiased views shared by customers over various social media
platforms. You may even seek qualitative case studies from a few small business
loan providers to track their service records.

4.
Keep yourself from teaser rates

The loan terms offered by legitimate
lenders are usually quite transparent and reasonable. You might come across
advertisements depicting much lower prices from particular lenders, but you
need to check these offers in details. Don’t accept such loans at face value.
It’s in your interest to do detailed research in advance. The interest rates
are likely to rise soon after you sign up with them.

5.
Find out the APR

Information about pricing often seems
misleading and confusing with unscrupulous lending websites. They’d prefer
describing their price factors under the heading “cost,” “factor rate,” or
“rate” in place of defining the APR vividly. The loan term, fees, and rate of
interest are all included in the APR. Comparing various lending options gets
more effective when you lay your focus on the all-inclusive figure. Be cautious
if you don’t achieve a clear APR from the funder.

Small business loans are an excellent fit for startup companies. Your business shouldn’t find any difficulty in reaching the future goals once you achieve a small business loan.

The post 5 Tips to Acquire Financial Assistance for Launching Your Startup appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.