Mohit Tater's Blog, page 645

4 Steps to Turn Your Idea Into a Physical Product

With today’s technological capabilities, we live in an age of unprecedented innovation and opportunities for entrepreneurs. Global patent applications reached a record 2.9 million in 2015, driven by growth in China, the U.S. and Japan, the World Intellectual Property Organization reports. But just over half of patent submissions in the U.S. actually get granted, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office data shows. Turning a great idea into a physical product takes more than just a spark of inspiration. Producing a tangible product is a process that takes know-how and hard work. Here’s a four-step guide to developing your idea into a physical product.

Start With a Sketch

The journey toward a physical product starts with a concept sketch. Putting your idea down on paper will help you visualize your concept with greater clarity, fleshing out the details you will need to turn it into a working product.

While doing this step on a computer has become more popular in recent years, there are some advantages to doing your initial concept sketches on paper. Sketching on paper can inspire you to develop multiple versions of your idea. Additionally, preserving your drawings in a notebook will create a paper trail you can use when you submit your patent, which can help you protect your intellectual property rights. To verify when you made your drawings, date them and have them signed by a witness. Follow the guidelines for drawing submissions found on the USPTO website, which specify requirements such as what size of paper to use and how to properly label drawings.

Digitize Your Design

After getting your ideas down on paper, the next step is to create a digital version of your product design. A popular digital drawing tool used by engineers is AutoCAD, which can create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional digital models of your product. A 3-D rendering helps you visualize your product more realistically by rotating it and animating it, which can stimulate new inspirations and help you work out bugs. For an even more realistic view, you can use tools such as NVIDIA to turn your 3-D rendering into a photo realistic rendering. If you don’t have access to these types of tools or aren’t skilled at using them, you can hire a graphic design or prototyping company to help you with creating digital drawings and photo realistic renderings.

Build a Tangible Prototype

Your virtual design gives you a basis for creating a physical prototype of your product. You can build a prototype yourself if you have the skill and the means. Otherwise, there are several resources you can use. Rapid prototyping services specialize in helping companies build prototypes quickly and inexpensively. Many 3-D printing companies also offer rapid prototyping services. You can also hire an engineer or a designer. If you’re on a tight budget, you can place an ad at a technical college or hire a handyman.

After building your prototype, you may discover design flaws. These should be fixed before you apply for a patent. You may end up building several prototypes. To save money, consider building your first prototypes out of less expensive materials until you’ve debugged your design. Materials such as modeling clay, hand moldable plastic and sugru can provide an affordable way to work on your initial prototype.

Find Manufacturing Suppliers

You can apply for a patent for your product once you have a prototype. However, before you settle on your final design, research manufacturing suppliers to get an idea of what your production costs will be and whether you should consider alternative designs or materials for cost reasons. Research different suppliers to compare costs by consulting a resource such as ThomasNet. Contact multiple suppliers to request quotes and find out other important information, such as what their minimum order quantity is for bulk purchases.

It’s wise to test a sample from your supplier to verify it meets your needs before going into full-scale production and paying for bulk orders. Many suppliers are willing to provide samples at a reduced cost or free. For instance, seal manufacturer Apple Rubber provides a form on its site where clients can order free samples of customized o-rings in thousands of sizes. Testing a sample can save you the expense of paying for a bulk order of a part that doesn’t fit your product.

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How to Create your First Website and Start Seeing those Online Conversions

Starting your own business can be an exciting time, the buzz of planning and seeing your dream come to fruition. But planning the marketing of your new startup can be stressful and time consuming. People need a way of finding your business and services and the best way for them to do that, is through a website.

You may be a one man band at the moment and your budget might be limited, so finding a designer and a developer to create your website may not be an option. That’s where site builders like Webeden.co.uk come into play. These types of ‘build your own website’ tools can help you create a user friendly and fully functional website in just a few hours.

H3: Finding the perfect template

Many of the free or affordable website builders will have a library of templates for you to choose from. Many of these will have features which cater for a particular type of site, such as ecommerce, portfolio or service based businesses.

Many of these sites will allow you to filter certain templates depending on what you need your website to do. You can then pick one of the designs that appeals the most to your business branding and the layout you like best.

Using a template that is easily customisable will help you to mirror your existing business branding. It is also vital that the template has the option to support any other media you may want to include such as photography, video or audio.

H3: Choosing the right functionality

Choosing the right functionality means that there will never be something you want to do on your website, but aren’t capable of. Make sure, right from the start, that you will be able to add everything you want to, to your site.

If you are a video production agency, making sure your template can support video and that the layout opens itself up to the embedding of videos, is crucial. For a graphic designer, it will be essential that their site shows off their amazing work, so a gallery feature needs to be available.

It helps to write down all of the content you are planning to add to the site, before choosing your template. You can then group this content into categories like imagery, video, interactive elements etc. This will give you a clearer idea as to what functionality you will need from your template.

H3: Making sure your CTAs are clear and concise

To be able to make sure you’re seeing conversions from your website, you’ll need include plenty of calls to action, across all pages. Making your CTAs easy to understand and positioning them in the direct eyeline of users, will help to boost click through rates tenfold.

Large and well-labeled buttons are always a good place to start and can help to easily link pages and content. CTAs may change over time and it is worth opting for a template that allows you to easily add and remove calls to action, to allow you to test consistently.

In order to see your very first conversion, there are plenty of elements that have to be put into place. The user experience needs to be simple enough for your customers to find what they are looking for and your CTAs need to be clear enough so that users know what you need them to do. An attractive looking site also helps, as many users will make a snap judgement as soon as they land on the site and a poor design may put users off.

These website builders are a great way of getting a professional looking site together quickly, with a limited knowledge of HTML code. So why not save some budget and opt for this more affordable route?

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Legal Aspects you Should Consider When Launching Your Business

Deciding to start your own business is an important decision and the process can seem both exciting and demanding at times. Apart from having a solid business plan, the minimum share capital for starting the company and a proper location, you will also have some legal aspects you should consider when launching your business.

The company registration

Your new company needs to operate under the laws of the country in which you decide to open the business. The corporate law and the tax laws in the country are of utmost importance. Three initial important legal steps before company registration are choosing a business form, selecting an available business name and drawing up the Articles of Association.

Most jurisdictions have similar legal structures to choose from. The private limited liability company is one of the most popular business forms worldwide, though it may be found under a different name. In Germany, for example it is called the GmbH. If you are interested in knowing more about your options in this jurisdiction, you can call a law office in Germany or in your country of choice.

Special permits and licenses

Regardless of where you choose to open your new company, you will need to observe the local laws and regulations for doing business. These include registering the company with the Trade Register but also obtaining additional special permits and licenses from the local authorities or regulators in a certain field. These include permits for selling foodstuffs, for transporting individuals, importing or exporting products and many other activities.

Hiring employees

Business owners need to comply with the local Employment Law. This regulates the minimum wage, holiday leave, and benefits an employee is entitled to. Moreover, employers need to take into consideration the expenses associated with hiring staff. For example, a legal advisor in Ireland can give you detailed information about the social security requirements in this country, which you will have to comply with as the owner of a company that hires Irish employees.

These steps are only a few general ones that you will encounter at the least. We suggest that you contact a lawyer or a company formation expert in the country of choice to find out more about the laws governing foreign investments and company incorporation.

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Harnessing CRM Key Competencies to Foster Better Customer Relations

If your business is still using basic databases and spreadsheets to track your customers, then you are missing out on an opportunity to build better customer relations. Improved customer relations translate to more profits for your business. The technological landscape is growing, and your data management tools need to keep up. It is cumbersome and time wasting to manually record and retrieve customer records.

Customers are now smarter and vocal. There is a much greater need to build customer relationships and maintain the ones you have. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a viable investment towards boosting customer loyalty and increasing revenue. The increase in cloud based tools has made it easy even for small businesses to afford CRM tools. Click here to learn more about how to harness CRM competencies to your firm’s advantage.

One of the most vital customer relationship management tools is the CRM software. This software can help you automate tasks that can impact the revenue of your business. With a smart and integrated software, all the customer information is centralized. This means that you can email a marketing campaign, make a phone call and share data whether you are at home or in the office.

CRM allows you an effective follow-up process. Your business deals with many customers, and you cannot remember all the interactions. This is where a CRM system comes in. The software also allows you to conduct sales surveys and update customer profiles with the orders they make.

Marketing is the backbone of every business. CRM uses smart marketing tools to ensure that you remain informed on your customer relations. For instance, the system can tell you what every customer has bought and at how much. This data can help you establish purchase trends. It is also useful when you want to launch a promotion campaign.

The CRM tool will ensure that you target the right customer based on the sales patterns. Retrieving this information would otherwise be very hard without CRM. You would have to go through sales invoices to get these records. An added advantage is that CRM also allows you to profile or segment your customers. This can be done based on their purchase history. Profiling can be done in a matter of minutes.

One of the major hurdle that sales and marketing teams experience is a lack of integration. This means that tasks take longer and roles can be duplicated. However, with a CRM software, the sales and marketing team update the dashboard with current information. This means that suppliers can be informed early on any expected rise in demand for certain products. CRM efforts ensure that everyone is kept in the loop from customers, to suppliers and the personnel as well. Marketing and sales efforts now become a breeze.

Customer relationship management has the potential to grow revenue by fostering better relations. This is why it needs to be well integrated to fit your specific business. Happy customers mean that your profit margins grow and your business doors remain open.

Author’s Bio

​Judy lees are a super-connector with AYC Web Solutions who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.

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Striking the Work-Life-Study Balance as A Student

No matter what type of major commitments you have as a student, chances are that pursuing some part-time work has crossed your mind. Yes, while so many people sell these years as the “best years of your life” with plenty of extracurricular activities, learning opportunities, and other fun things to do, money will always be a concern. Indeed, nearly 14 million U.S. college students are working at least part-time while pursuing a degree, and not necessarily for the same reasons. As a result, when you’re talking about working as a college student, you need always to be thinking about balance to make sure you get a full experience in these four years.

How Much Is Too Much?

We’re going to start with a sobering statement regarding working during college. The days of working your way through school are over, as school prices have gotten to the point that you are extremely unlikely to find a part-time or even full-time entry-level job that will cover your costs completely. This doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it to work, though. The money you can make can do a lot to reduce how much you need to take out in loans, resulting in lower debt. Just don’t expect a free ride. As a result, when you are looking for potential work for students, it pays to be both realistic and specific in your job goals.

One thing you should look for is the potential value for your college job for your plans. Many people look for jobs that will provide relevant experience for their field of choice. In some cases, your professor or your school’s career development office will be able to help you find something appropriate. Even if you can’t find an exact match, there may still be some value for your resume. Many part-time jobs can provide valuable experience in time management and work in a team, which can benefit you indirectly. So, when looking for a job, don’t expect to solve all your issues magically, but know that all value doesn’t end with money.

Setting Yourself Up For Success

If it seems like you’re being pulled in a bunch of different directions, you may be right. After all, you still need to study, handle this job, and some time for yourself would be nice. The best thing you can do is start getting ready to handle your time to get an understanding of how large your workload is, and what you can handle. Many people have different ways to go about this, but some of the best ways to start are:

Plan your schedule
Make a weekly to-do list
Prioritize your work
Break large tasks into their smaller components
Set goals and deadlines for projects
Avoid perfectionism
Honestly assess the amount of time you waste

At the same time, there is also a mental component to work life balance. Stress is a very real thing, and should you stress yourself out too much, it is very likely that you will hurt your efforts rather than help them. Be ready for things to go wrong sometimes, and focus on how you can minimize things from happening in the future rather than how bad they are in the present. Also, keeping a healthy lifestyle can mitigate stress. Don’t neglect exercise, a good diet, sleep, or relationships with friends and family. It may seem like more things to add to your list, but these items help you work through the tougher parts of balance rather than just eating up your time.

Managing your time, in and of itself, is an essential workplace skill, so it makes sense that you should start honing it now. Ironically, work-life balance is starting to become more and more of an important topic in companies across the country, so there is no time like the present to start learning to craft a lifestyle where are your responsibilities get equal time and attention.

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How to Promote Your Business Online?

If you have a website up and running, it is not the guarantee of your business success. Your site is just one of 15 million resources on the Internet, and most users do not even know about its existence. But what should you do to promote your business and make people visit your website? Is there any rule to follow?

Of course, the Internet is an excellent platform where you can expand the potential audience for any business, whether it is an online casino NZ, news portal, or online shop. The promotion of any business should be based on the general principles, which are often not familiar to entrepreneurs. Let’s see what may help you increase your traffic.

Competitors

When making an online campaign, the first problem many entrepreneurs do not take into account is the need to compete with a large number of producers. The problem of rivalry is extremely important on the online gambling market. Undoubtedly, the “fight” will be much more productive if your product is original and possesses a number of unique features. Otherwise, you will have to conduct research, reveal the promotion strategy of your rivals, and implement a better plan.

Reviews

Posting reviews on different forums and thematic platforms is a fairly effective way to promote your business on the Internet. In these publications, you can provide information about your project, its main features, advantages, and benefits. It is only you who knows your business in the best way. So provide this information to the audience, make them interested.

Targeting

For those who do not know what targeting is, it is the creation of an advertising message for a specific audience. Such a campaign covers interests of the audience, their place of residence, age, and gender among other criteria. With the help of targeting, you can increase the effectiveness of advertising in just a few days. You can use targeting in all the social networks and search engines; there are no restrictions. When creating a campaign, you should consider the following aspects:

Geographical – decide residents of what region, city or district can see your campaign.
Socio-demographic – users of a specific gender, age, and marital status can have access to your advertising message; for others, it will be simply unavailable.
Contextual – you can adjust the display of advertising according to the interests of the user.

Content

Content posted on your website is another important thing in the promotion of the resource. It will be simply impossible to promote a website without quality content; no promotion tools will help. So assure all the texts posted on your online gambling platform are original, unique, relevant, and are easy to read. On the top of that, it is necessary to remember that many customers may use mobiles and tablets to access your website; make sure it is responsive on all the screens. Otherwise, gambling fans will leave it and will never come back to your resource.

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4 Easy Ways To Improve Your Lead Generation

The whole point of lead generation is for you to collect the information you need to reach out to potential customers; without this, it’s very difficult to maintain and grow a business. This is a critical part of the process and one that must be well executed to succeed.

Use techniques and best practices that are going to help you capture more quality leads. Be sure you’re offering the customer value in return for their information, including special offers or white papers. You want to attract leads who are genuinely interested in your product. See easy ways to improve your lead generation.

Optimize your Website

The first order of business is to optimize your website for lead generation. You want to give your potential customer the best chance possible to stay on your site and fill out the form. Your goal is to keep the consumer on the page and not distract them away from the content. Keep visitors going down the right track of content, depending upon their interests. Get them to stay on the path that leads them all the way to the contact form you want them to complete by optimizing your website. Develop clear calls-to-action and don’t overlook the thank-you page, which should also include additional calls-to-action.

Utilize Technology

Use technology to help you find the right customers. Run social media advertisements and build communities online. There are target marketing features that let you pinpoint the exact type of customer you’re looking to reach. Another option is implementing a lead generation app to collect information and identify potential leads and partners that can help grow your business.

Focus on Quality Content

Draw potential customers in with interesting and quality content. The information must be useful and desirable for someone to want to read and stay on the page. Design a blog that catches the reader’s attention and offers different perspectives and how-to tutorials. Hook them with content and lead them down the path to fill out the informational form. They’re also more likely to share the content if they find it helpful, which will deliver your message to more people. Create a variety of content that keeps customer’s attention and has them coming back to revisit the page.

Improve your Form

The shorter the form, the better the conversions. Be precise and eliminate any extra white space. You need a lead generation form that converts. Try to make your form look like a fun tool with clickable images and toggle bars, instead of an actual form. Study the layout and type of language you’re using to make sure it’s optimized to bring in the most amount of leads. It’s important to do this so you not only get more leads, but better ones.

Lead generation is a tricky business, but one that’s achievable with the right research and implementation strategy. Be patient and if an idea doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to change it. These are four easy ways to improve your lead generation.

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Put an End to the Junk Emails, These Are the Marketing Tricks You Need

How many junk emails do you get every day? It’s probably upwards of 20 emails you never read from companies who’ve somehow got your email address, or from brands you’ve since lost interest in.

Think about your own email marketing – are you just feeding junk filters? How many of your emails are read and acted on? How many are deleted without opening? With average open rates of around 20% and click-through rates of between 2-3% being seen as favorable, you probably already know the answer.

So what can you do?

Marketers have overused the email method. Brands send out too many, so even the truly interesting, informative ones lose their value. While emails are useful as a base method, and to keep your audience engaged, you shouldn’t be relying on them for your leads. Instead, it’s time to look at new methods of marketing, and the good news is that there are a number of other tools at your disposal.

Social media marketing

Nearly every brand has its own social media account now. From LinkedIn and Twitter, to Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, there’s a platform to suit your business’s aims and brand. For example, if you’re a formal, serious brand, you’re probably better off on LinkedIn, compared to being a fun, young brand, which might do better on Twitter or Instagram. Find out where your audience is, and put the most effort into their most visited platforms. It might not look like you need to put much effort in, as posts are often short, but that makes it even harder. You need to have a strong tone of voice and know what you want to post and where you want to direct your readers to. However, it’s a more personable way to engage with your followers.

Influencer marketing

You’ve probably seen a lot about influencers in the media recently. These individuals have cultivated enormous communities who follow them and their recommendations. Influencers are valuable allies to have, as you appeal to your audience via someone you trust. Being given suggestions from a person you follow will always have more impact than being told that a certain product, brand or service is best, from the company itself. Before you hire an influencer, you can use an influencer intelligence platform to draw analytics from bloggers and countless social media accounts; telling you which influencer would be best for your brand.

Interactive events

Old school methods are coming back. More and more people are using direct mail to attract new leads. In the same way, hosting events are growing in popularity. With so much being online and digital, people forget the importance of meeting their customers – both existing and potential – in person. So, start putting on small events, like breakfast meetings, and invite your hottest leads. You could slowly grow your events in size; eventually buildingup to bigger networking events. If a physical event is beyond your budget, a webinar is a great way to interact with your audience, while giving them something of high value.

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Press Release: 100 years of start-ups: Where did it all begin?

The most prolific multinational corporations of today had to start somewhere. Years of hard work, investment and a little bit of good luck meant some of the budding startups of 100 years ago have gone on to become some of the biggest brands in the world today. But how did they do it?

The government-backed Start Up Loans Company has taken a look back at where it all began and produced an interactive timeline featuring some of the world’s major brands: Amazon, Jaguar Land Rover, IKEA, Marriot, Microsoft, Samsung, Starbucks, Tesco, Unilever, Walmart, Amstrad and Poundland.

The timeline shares some little-known facts and details some key turning points over the past 100 years that have shaped the businesses we know today.

For example, did you know…

Samsung’s initial offering in 1938 was exporting dried fish, fruit and vegetables to China
In 1990, Steve Smith opened the first Poundland thanks to a £50,000 loan from his father… and the store took in £13,000 on its first day
In 1983, a 31-year old Bill Gates became a billionaire following the release of Microsoft Windows and the company going public
Tesco began in 1919 when Jack Cohen opened a market stall in the East End of London and made £1 profit from sales of £4

David English, Chief Marketing Officer at The Start Up Loans Company, said:

“This timeline details the journey of some the biggest brands in the world. It just goes to show that it wasn’t always as glamorous as it is now, and often these companies started out doing something completely different.

“We wanted to show how hard work, business sense and the right amount of money can go a long way. Who knows where launching a start-up might take you?

You can read the piece here: www.startuploans.co.uk/100-years-start-ups

COMPANY BACKGROUND

– The Start Up Loans company is a government backed organisation that provides loans between £500 and £25,000 at a 6% fixed rate per annum to new and early stage businesses

– In addition to finance, all recipients are offered up to 12 months of mentoring support

– The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, first formed the scheme in 2012.

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Ways to Make Money Dog Sitting

If you’re searching for extra income or a brand new career path, dog sitting has become the new frontier of cool jobs.  This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill dog walking gig for your neighbor.  Dog sitting has the potential and scope to be the job of your dreams.  First, you have to love dogs — obvious but essential.  Now, how can you make money loving dogs?  Rover.com has the online platform and network available to make this business easy to launch.   Here’s why it’s time to get your own dog-sitting business started:

Clients Who Love You

This is the kind of job where your clients wag their tails when you arrive.  Sure, there will be barking too, but your job is to satisfy every dog’s love of playtime.  When the dogs are happy, their owners will be too.  Every pet owner needs a reliable dog sitter, and that’s where you come in.  Get connected online to hundreds of pet owners searching for their relief when they’re gone for vacation or need dog walking support.  Who doesn’t need more dog friends in their life?

Design Your Schedule

Looking for weekend work or ready to revamp your 9 – 5 work life?  As a sitter, you design your schedule.  When you create your profile on Rover.com, you post your availability so that pet owners know when they can book you.  Scheduling happens at the click of a button, so it’s clear and simple for everyone involved.  Whether you’re out of town or ready to ramp up your business, adjust your availability and work when you want!

Live An Adventurous Life

This job has no office.  Being a dog sitter gives you the freedom and flexibility to have a new adventure every day.  You may end up at the dog park, house sitting for a dog in their home, boarding a dog at your place, or out on a day hike with your new furry friend.  Welcome to your new desk-free life!  You even have the ability to live and travel to other cities across the U.S. and take your business with you.  Rover.com serves pet owners across the country.

Create Your Own Paycheck

You invent your own price tag.  Set your rate and your services according to your own budget goals.  Vary your rates according to each dog care service you provide.  You can also offer special services including bath time or light grooming for a little extra.  What’s a fair rate?  Check out the profiles of other local dog sitters to determine the competitive rates that pet owners are willing to pay.

It’s not rocket science to get this business off the ground.  To become a dog sitter with Rover.com, create your profile including your dog care services, rates, and schedule. Rover.com completes a background check for every new dog sitter to make sure you’re ready. After you’re accepted, you can begin accepting clients immediately. We want to get you out to the dog park soon!

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