Mohit Tater's Blog, page 664

5 Great Degrees for Young Entrepreneurs

Truth be told, you do not need a college degree to become an entrepreneur. And according to Peter Thiel, a self-made billionaire and the founder of PayPal, you should actually drop out of school to start a life in business. But unless you have sufficient funds to start a business, you should take this advice lightly. There are many reasons why you should get a college degree.

For one, you will acquire the business skills necessary to build a business to Thiel’s level. School is also a good place to network and learn social skills so vital in entrepreneurship. To give you an idea on where to start, here are five degrees for young entrepreneurs.

1) Computer Science

Computers run everything today. Thus, expect them to play a central role in any startup. And since startups are about building stuff, having tech skills lets you do just that. But keep in mind that running a startup needs some practical skills too. So, if entrepreneurship is your goal, do not specialize too much. Instead, be a jack-of-all trades who can handle any technical problem that arises in your business.

2) Communication

As a business owner, you must inform clients and investors about your products and services. A communication degree arms you with the skills you need to get your message across effectively. This could be in the form of a business proposal, blog post, or a business journalism article.

3) Marketing

No matter how good your invention is, no one will know about it unless you market it. A marketing degree teaches you how to generate interest about your products and services. And the better you are at it, the more your sales will be.

4) Finance

People with finance credentials rarely think of entrepreneurship. Instead, they pursue corporate careers with their MBAs or bachelor’s degrees. And who can blame them? The perks of lucrative corporate finance positions are hard to resist. But the few who do decide to get into business also find their credentials just as useful.

After all, financial management is also vital to any startup. According to Forbes, accounting and finance skills help an entrepreneur do three key things. One is to make financial predictions. The second is to increase efficiency. And last is to measure how the business is progressing.

5) Psychology

Yes, a psychology major is also important if you want to start a business. And this is how. User experience (UX) is a big thing in business today. It is about how people feel about and respond to different products and services. UX helps companies make practical and meaningful products that are easy to use.

In short, UX is about getting into the minds consumers to figure out what they want to see in a product. And to be able to give your consumers what they want, you must have a good understanding of the human brain. This is where your psychology major comes in.

Although you do not need a college degree to be an entrepreneur, having one does not hurt. It equips you with skills that actually make you better at business. So, consider getting one despite your itching to get into business.

The post 5 Great Degrees for Young Entrepreneurs appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Better to be Profitable than Right

If people are right, how come they often go wrong? This is a question affecting Forex traders but also affecting people as a whole. Because a trader tends to trade on his wits and battle with his temperament, he may feel a need to defend a position because he doesn’t want to be proven wrong.

This is in fact a very human situation. There is a tendency to tie in being right or wrong with our identity, (who we are), rather than our beliefs and values, knowledge and behaviour (things increasingly more flexible). So if we are proved wrong, we take it as a personal rather than a professional slight upon us.   Apply this attitude to the world of trading and you can really be asking for trouble.

If you look at an analysis of winning and losing trades you can now clearly see why traders lose money despite bring right more than half the time. They lose more money on their losing trades than they make on their winning trades.

Let’s use a sample of a very popular trade EUR/USD to illustrate this.Our analysis shows that EUR/USD trades were profitable 59% of the time, but trader losses on EUR/USD were an average of 127 pips while profits were only an average of 65 pips. While traders were correct more than half the time, their losses on losing trades  way outshone (if that is the correct expression) their gains on winning trades.

The old saying in the advertising industry “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies partially here.  The successful trader does need to respond but to do so in line with his carefully worked out plans and not his emotions. Everyone wants to be right, holding on to losses looking for a turnaround that may never come so that we will be proved to be right.”. Conversely , we call a halt to profitable trades for fear of losing the gains we’ve already made. Doing that is a good way to lose money. So in conclusion, yes when trading, it is more important to be profitable than to be right. Cut your losses and run with the profits. Cash in the bank is more important than pride.

The post Better to be Profitable than Right appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Cryptocurrency Becomes More “Real” with Physical ATMs: Atlanta Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency has been a polarizing paradigm shift; it’s a de-centralized source of influence at its core, the ability to exchange value in a free market. Money is a symbol of value, and its medium (currency) is useful only when low-barriers to entry exist. New web technologies and critical mass acceptance have helped facilitate bitcoin as the emerging cryptocurrency leader. A completely fictitious currency, backed by real world principles of finite supply, and de-centralization. The last major hurdle to winning hearts and minds of public opinion has been convenience and adoption; it’s not easy to acquire bitcoins on the go, exchanging with real life currency, dollars. One man, known as the Bitcoin Baron, Aaron Williams, is transforming the city of Atlanta, Georgia into a bitcoin renaissance. He is recognized as the first owner of a bitcoin ATM machine in America. By combining appealing aspects of bitcoin: investment, decentralization, inflation protected, with the convenience of real life ATM (Automated Teller Machines), Aaron has introduced bitcoin to the general public in Atlanta, Georgia, under his company Atlanta Bitcoin. As one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, Atlanta is headquarters to a revolution; cryptocurrency reaching a critical mass, everyday usage, hyper liquidity, between virtual bits and real life, fiat currency (American tender, dollars) lowering the last barrier to entry – instant access.

Natural Synergies and Bitcoin Expansion

(Aaron Williams, CEO, Atlanta Bitcoin)

Business opportunities arise with new technologies, transmuting subsistent reality, and usurping previous dynasties. Rather than replace the U.S. dollar, Aaron did not have the typical anarchist view, a romanticized version of a paperless society. It was his past experience in the payment processing sector and his knowledge in crypto-technologies which led to the cross-industry breakthrough. Just as Elon Musk leveraged two seemingly unrelated industries, Aaron combined traditional ATM principles and bitcoin. Today, Atlanta Bitcoin process hundreds of thousands of transactions. By partnering with respected restaurants, gas stations, rest-stops, Aaron has reached segments of the population who were previously uninterested, or unaware of bitcoin’s existence. These business have also experienced an uptick in foot-traffic, sales and revenue. It’s a rare Win-Win-Win: end user gets low-barrier bitcoin access, bitcoin receives wider adoption, and the ATM location’s business owner receives more business.

After its inception, bitcoin was sold on major website platforms. However, ordering bitcoins required registration, credit card information – a time sink, whereas modern ATM’s offer instant access to bitcoins without the need to input sensitive credit card information. In today’s modern world, society tends to undervalue consumer empowerment. Bitcoin has exploded in popularity not only for its ingenious system of finite units inside a virtual system, but for its liquid freedom applications, rather than big banks or corporations holding assets. In a deeper sense, bitcoin money is “in the cloud”, yet privately owned only by the “key” holder of the bit – which is you, the user who owns the actual bitcoin. Carrying around extra cash can cause you to be a target for theft, and exposed to risk if a wallet or purse is lost. Purchasing bitcoins helps ensure you always have money in an emergency, stored safely in a secure, virtual, cloud based wallet.

Atlanta is the perfect homestead to welcome bitcoin ATMs. It’s one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, and boasts a burgeoning financial district in Buckhead, Georgia. Tourism is also a major player, being the 5th largest employer and a huge revenue source for the entire state. When visitors travel through Atlanta’s highways they will inevitably need to stop for gas, snacks, meals; through foundations set by past successful ATMs, Aaron’s bitcoin ATMs are able to capitalize on a growing demographic; tech savvy individuals who want to diversify investment portfolios, while remaining completely liquid – as a nationally recognized currency of value, in a borderless world, where bitcoin is easily exchanged. Rather than deal in diamonds, or heavy hard assets such as gold, bitcoins are travel-friendly, extremely safe, and accepted in thousands of trusted ecommerce stores. Individuals in Atlanta are welcome to stop by Aaron’s ATMs to get bitcoins, or business owners can search Atlanta Bitcoin to inquire how to add more foot-traffic and proven revenue streams for their business.

The post Cryptocurrency Becomes More “Real” with Physical ATMs: Atlanta Bitcoin appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Tips for Becoming a Freelance Courier

One of the truly wonderful things about living on Great Britain is that you can literally travel from any point in England, Scotland or Wales to any other point on the island and back again all within a single day. For this reason, most companies offer same day shipments or courier deliveries and it’s all in a day’s work. This is not the case in many countries that are 20 or 30 times the size of these three put together and why so many young people find work as a commercial same-day delivery driver or courier of small packages and documents. If you are interested in becoming a freelance courier, here are a few tips to get you started.

What Kind of Driving Licence Do I Need?

This is the most frequent of the frequently asked questions when job seekers are wondering what it takes to be a courier. In most cases, you won’t need the Driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) because you won’t be driving a vehicle over 3500 kg nor will you be transporting passengers or what can be construed as goods. Yes, sometimes you’ll be carrying small packages but those are typically from one business to the next and aren’t exactly classified as ‘goods.’ Mostly you will courier documents that are time sensitive.

Many questions about full driving privileges can be found in the theory portion of your study materials. When you take practice tests such as those on toptests.co.uk, you should be ready to answer any questions about the CPC because they just might be on your ‘real’ exam when it’s time to take it. Just remember to study any ‘exceptions’ to the rules because these will almost certainly be on both the practice and the real exams. Learning the exceptions is one of the best ways to understand the basic rule.

Buy or Lease a Van or Hatchback

Since you may be required to transport small packages for same-day delivery, a small van or hatchback vehicle would be best suited for work as a freelance courier. Typically, you will carry documents that need immediate attention, such as papers for the courts or legal documents between businesses or legal teams. Sometimes you may be asked to carry small parts needed to complete a job and other times you might be delivering merchandise but a courier is best suited for carrying time-sensitive items.

How to Get Jobs as a Freelance Courier

Whist you could always set up your own website and begin promoting your courier service, this may take months if not years to gather a large enough clientele to keep you in regular work. Most freelance couriers begin by working through a company like SMP that lets you register with them to have access to same-day jobs for a fee. These companies advertise that you can easily make as much as £275 for a single trip, which is a great deal of money although it is not entirely clear what that would entail in terms of sizes of ‘loads’ you’d need to transport.

If you are a new driver, make sure you have proper insurance and always a good, state-of-the-art GPS system so that you can quickly find locations you are delivering to. Buy, rent or lease a reliable vehicle because you don’t want to be broken down midway between pickup and drop-off locations. In all, it’s a great way to get a lot of driving experience in and for those who are bored sitting in an office or on a production line, it’s an interesting way to pass your days. The next step up is to become a professional lorry or bus driver, but for now, this is a great job with better than average pay.

The post Tips for Becoming a Freelance Courier appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

4 Unusual Startups to Watch in 2017

The massive success of companies such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter, which some few years back were young startups, has inspired the growth of many new and unusual startups. With 2017 just a few days away, it will be interesting to see which startups will follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned companies. Below are four unusual startups that have the potential of becoming global players come 2017.

Massroots

Established in 2013, Massroots can best be described as Facebook for lovers of marijuana. This social networking platform is a Denver, Colorado-based company. The widespread calls for the legalization of marijuana and the subsequent legalization of the drug in Colorado inspired the creation of this company.

As a social networking platform, the company helps marijuana smokers stay abreast with trends in the marijuana industry. Additionally, using these platform marijuana smokers are able to follow the cannabis dispensary of their choice. The company is the first marijuana company to apply to be listed on the Nasdaq capital market.

Nextbit

NextBit is a company that is likely to cause some ripples in the smartphone industry with is revolutionary line of smartphones. Though the company is yet to launch its line of smartphones, the company has taken quite an unusual approach to smartphone manufacturing. Unlike conventional smartphones that offer limited storage, Nextbit has created a smartphone that gives users access to unlimited cloud storage. In essence, the company seeks to ensure its clients carry their data to wherever they go. The company is accepting preorders for its first smartphone. Codenamed Robin, the new smartphone will run on a Snapdragon 808 processor and will boast of 3GB of RAM.

Burner

Another unusual yet innovative startup to watch out for in 2017 is Burner. Through its innovative and revolutionary platform, the company aims to give mobile phone users disposable phone numbers. With this platform, users can send texts and make calls without having to disclose their numbers to third parties. In 2015, the company introduced a new feature that allows developers to build their own integrations. In essence, the company seeks to make the ubiquitous phone number a conduit for data.

3Scan

3Scan is a startup that aims to make it easy for doctors, researchers and bio tech companies to examine body tissues in 2D and 3D. The company offers a 3D rendering of body tissues for examination. The company uses its revolutionary Knife Edge Scanning Microscope. In the last four years, the company has raised over $7 million from different sources. 3Scan’s innovative microscope will help doctors transition from analog analyzing of tissues to digital analysis of tissues.

Conclusion

While not all startups make it past the fifth year, those that do go on to become trendsetters. Given the above-listed are among the most innovative and unusual startups they are bound to become huge successes. Thus, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for these startups. In conclusion, the above-listed startups are not the only innovative startups to watch out for in 2017. Thus, there are many others to watch out for. The above-listed companies have been selected based on their unusual approach or unusual innovation.

The post 4 Unusual Startups to Watch in 2017 appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

What to Do When Every Day Feels Like a Bad Day

The life of an entrepreneur is not always easy, no matter what the media would have us believe. Starting a business takes grit and determination, and the strength to survive brutal levels of stress. Nine out of ten businesses fail in the first twelve months, so unless you have a brilliant idea and the skill to bring it to fruition, your startup is battling against the odds from day one. Not everyone can cope with this, so if every day is starting to feel like Groundhog Day and you are falling apart at the seams, here are some coping strategies.

Acquire New Skills

There is a lot to think about when starting a business. You need a great idea for starters, but once you have one, the next step is to draw up a business plan, secure funding, and get the ball rolling.

Not everyone has the skills needed to become a business owner. Sure, you might be great at selling ice to polar bears, but if you don’t understand the fundamentals of accounting and cash flow, you are doomed. One way to prevent a skills gap from derailing your business is to learn the required skills. Go back to college, for example http://learn.cu-portland.edu/, and study for an MBA in business administration or similar. Business courses teach students what they need to know about running a successful business.

Find a Mentor

It’s a good idea to look for a mentor if you are struggling to cope with your business. Mentors are people who possess a wide range of applicable skills and have the time and patience to help other entrepreneurs. With a mentor on your team, you can ask questions and get help when you really need it. They have your back at all times, much like a guardian angel.

Take a Step Back

Sometimes, when it all feels too much, the answer is to take a step back. If you have problems you can’t fix, try to be more objective. The solution might be staring you in the face, but you just can’t see it.

Many business owners are too close to the problem to see the solution. Try hiring an outside consultant to see if they can figure out where you are going wrong. Business consultants are not cheap, but if this means the difference between success and failure, hiring a consultant could be a smart investment.

Talk to Other Entrepreneurs

Going it alone is never the answer during tough times. It really helps to talk to other entrepreneurs, many of whom might be going through similar issues. Make connections and forge a circle of acquaintances you can turn to for advice. Local networking events are very useful in this regard, but online sites such as LinkedIn are also worth a go.

Know When to Call It Quits

Sometimes, you have to know when to call it quits. If you have shackled your wagon to a dead horse, don’t keep flogging it. Instead, walk away and learn from your mistakes. Tomorrow is another day.

The post What to Do When Every Day Feels Like a Bad Day appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Financing To Consider For Your Business

Whether a business idea falls on your lap by happenstance or you’ve been trying to save up capital for your startup, financing is always a tricky aspect of the startup world. On one hand, there are countless options to choose from in terms of where you can finance your business, but on the other hand, the loan market becomes fairly complex from a consumer standpoint. This article aims to equip an inexperienced startup CEO and business owner the street smarts for getting the financing structure that best suits your business.

Factoring

Factoring pertains to a financing structure whereby a business entity, which is you, chooses to sell its receivables to interested parties. The price negotiated is usually at a discount in exchange for the ability to collect the cash upfront. Factoring is an option usually opted by borrowing companies with non-established credit scores or by companies, such as shoe manufacturers, which get paid long after they’ve delivered on orders. The drawback to factoring is that it’s often a relatively more expensive way to raise capital. Companies that sell receivables basically pay a certain percentage of the total loan value.

Traditional Loan

Traditional bank loans simply cannot be left out of any list that tackles financing options for both commercial and residential consumers. Bank loans are still one of the few most trustworthy financing tools a business has access to. Over the years, albeit, the lending standards have gotten more stringent, yet banks like JPMorgan Chase, are allocating more cash for business loans so it somewhat balances out your chances of getting approved. Filling out a loan application is made much simpler nowadays, with downloadable forms you can find online. Common questions you’ll need to answer on these loan forms include your current bank account data, contact details, gross annual income, and your business tax status.

Utilize Plastic

Credit cards may be a somewhat odd tool to bootstrap a business, but it’s definitely a feasible option for those who are prepared to take on some serious risk. Falling behind on your credit payments can be more destructive to your credit score as opposed to a regular consumer using his/her credit card and defaulting on monthly payments. While there are definitely caveats to using plastic to finance a business, it’s a tool that can save you from sticky financial situations, such as extending your payables deadline to maintain a desirable cash flow.

Consider Title Loan

It’s worth noting that title loan providers are not banks hence the process, policies, and requisites involved may not always be similar. Instead, title loans serve as a cash advance that use a borrower’s car or property deeds as collateral for the borrowed money. Business owners must submit an application for the loan and then present their car’s title and income information to the lender. It’s also worth mentioning that a title loan is a short-term contract, which usually lasts between a few days to a few weeks. If you are considering a title loan to finance your business, be sure to learn your state’s specific requirements prior prospecting for lenders. In addition, prepare a detailed business plan that will serve twofold – one, as a guide for your business’ future and two, as the blueprint from which your lenders will evaluate your risk worthiness.

Call in Angel Investors

Angel investors are risk-takers, which is what makes them highly favorable partners for startups who are yet to prove themselves in the market. With this comparably higher appetite for risk also comes their appetite for returns. In order to attract an angel investor or multiple investors, you’ll need to construct a very compelling case on why your business is worth taking the leap. Another benefit of working with angel investors is that they are comfortable investing large sums of cash, much higher than what any bank will be willing to offer. Of course, a drawback that deter many aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs is the fact that you are effectively giving a piece of your company’s future earnings to the investor. If you are looking for long-term partners who you can also bounce ideas off of and get industry advice, then an angel investor versed in the field is definitely the right partner for your venture.

Crowdfunding

A relatively nascent tool that’s giving birth to modern startups is crowdfunding platforms. In essence, entrepreneurs attempt to raise cash for a project they are trying to bring into fruition. Keep in mind that crowdfunding is only suited for projects that are relatively low cost and not for a Fortune 500 company in the making. To carry out a successful crowdfunding campaign, make sure to offer even small incentives for people who choose to pledge, like giving a copy of the book you’ve written or throwing in exclusive modules for the main product.

Most entrepreneurs get too fixated on how to raise money that they forget the business altogether. While scouting out financing options that give you the best scenario, cash flow-wise, allot time towards your business’ model, products, and services. A solid business plan backed with a good product/service can easily attract financing sources even with minimal effort.

The post Financing To Consider For Your Business appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

What You Can Expect From a Career as an Enrolled Agent

There are many ways in which you can embark on a career in finance.  Whether you are a student, someone looking to change their career, or you are already in finance and looking to diversify your job prospects, there are many options available to you.  For example, some people think that the only thing you can do with an accounting degree is just that—accounting.  Yet there are many more such as becoming an attorney, a financial analyst or even an enrolled agent.  Becoming an enrolled agent is unique in many ways, the most defining being that you do not need a college degree.  If you are interested in becoming an enrolled agent, here are a few tips on what an enrolled agent is and how to get there.

What is an Enrolled Agent?

To put it simply, an enrolled agent (or EA) is someone who is a tax expert.  These tax experts are unique in that they are the only federally licensed tax practitioners who specialize specifically in taxation and also have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS.  Yes, that means that an EA can appear in place of a taxpayer before the IRS.  An EA not only represents a taxpayer, but he or she can also advise them and prepare tax returns for many clients, including corporations, estates, partnerships, trusts, and even individuals with tax-reporting requirements.

Education Required

As mentioned before, it is not required by the IRS for an enrolled agent to have a bachelor’s degree.  There are, of course, many agents in the field authorized to work who do have a degree, but the IRS is primarily concerned with how knowledgeable the candidate is of tax law.  This opens the door for many people who wish to advance in their career but do not want or are financially unable to complete a degree.  However, it is not as simple as wanting to be an enrolled agent; the applicant has to complete an exam called the Special Enrolment Examination (or SEE), as well as complete other requirements.  Below is an outline of what to expect from the exam and how to best prepare for it.

The SEE

Studying and passing the exam can feel like an arduous task—especially for those who do not claim to be good test-takers.  However, getting a passing score on the exam is totally attainable. The SEE is a closed exam, which means that the official questions on the test are not available to the public.  However, there are study materials available to help prepare.  On the exam, you will be tested on your knowledge of technical tax matters.  The exam has three parts:

Part I – Individuals
Part II – Businesses
Part III – Representation, Practice, and Procedure

Luckily, there are many methods of studying for the exam. You can acquire enrolled agent training online or through published exam guides. If you decide to take the exam, you’ll need to register through a Prometric account.

Other Steps

Other steps in the process include:

Obtaining a personal Tax Identification Number, or PTIN
Passing the SEE
Apply for enrollment Form 23
Undergoing a background check, including and evaluation of the applicant’s tax history.

IRS Experience

Alternatively, if you already have IRS experience, you may become an enrolled agent simply because you have technical experience from already working with the IRS for a period of time.  This route requires that you:

Have a year’s worth of past experience in a specified Circular 230
Applied for enrollment Form 23
Undergo a background check

As you can see, the process is very similar to that of the other route, with the exception of replacing the SEE with a year’s experience under the employment of the IRS.

After Becoming Enrolled

Once you become an EA, you can now represent in the place of the taxpayer to the IRS.  As an entry level EA, you will make on average about $23,00 a year.  As you gain experience, you can expect a salary of an average of $45,000 annually.  Senior EA’s can make more—up to about $127,000. This can rival a CPA income over time.   If you are torn between being a CPA or EA, consider that the demand for EAs is growing quicker than that of CPAs. Check out local salaries on Indeed to see what you can expect to make in your areaAlso, an EA has a more flexible schedule, which may appeal to some people who have families or other interests.  An EA also gets to work independently for clients instead of in an office.  Therefore, CPA’s have a more predictable career and salary.

The post What You Can Expect From a Career as an Enrolled Agent appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

Top Online Tools for Use with Day Trading

Working out how the markets function can take a while, particularly in uncertain times like these. There’s no knowing when stocks, shares and commodities will be in demand or avoided by the savvier traders. If, however, you do keep up to date with financial news, you’re better prepared than most.

Anyone with an interest in day trading will really need to do their homework. Day trading is where a trader buys and sells a security (currency, stock or commodity) within the space of a day. The objective is to buy at a low price and sell at a higher price; if achieved, each day trade ends in a profit. It sounds simple enough, but help is needed to make it work. Here are some resources to assist with day trading.

Google News

Part of being a successful day trader is keeping up to date with the latest news stories. For this, Google News is your friend. It pulls in news stories from all over the globe, including updates on markets and businesses. You’ll see stories showing that are relevant to your interests too, so if you search for terms like “FTSE”, stories about the FTSE100 will probably appear on the first page.

Stock indices guides

For any day trading on individual markets, guides for stock indices like those from Sharptrader are handy to refer to. They provide potted guides to each of the major global stock markets – DOW Jones, FTSE, DAX, NIKKEI and so on. Using said guides, you can know about which companies make up each market and which ones you need to look out for.

Price calculator

Working out how much each day trade brings in is going to be difficult using nothing more than a handheld calculator or, worse still, your fingers. Price calculators are extremely useful, as they take the guesswork out of this process. All you need to know is the start price and current or finish price for each security and, at the end, you will have an idea of what you stand to make.

Live market data

To get a true idea of how much you stand to make or lose from day trading, what’s better than live market data? The BBC have an easy-to-follow page featuring graphs for all the major securities – markets, currencies and commodities. You can even check stats from individual listed companies too. Using the starting price of a chosen security, you can see how it moves on the spot and pick a point when to close your trade.

The post Top Online Tools for Use with Day Trading appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.

How Vehicle Wraps Can Increase Your Profits

It’s not easy finding success in the modern business world, especially if you’re a startup. Ninety percent of businesses fail in their first year of operation, and that’s largely because they need to find a way to get their brand out there in an already crowded marketplace. If you want to succeed and watch your business grow from its humble beginnings to an international player, you need to think about how to tell potential customers who you are, why you’re a good choice, what you do differently, and how to find you.

The Internet has made advertising to a large audience possible, but it often requires a substantial investment and time you simply may not have. However, you shouldn’t neglect the more traditional forms of advertising to capture attention in your local area. According to Landmark Signs, “vehicle wraps are one of the most effective forms of marketing for your company” because they target potentially thousands of customers in your local area. Still not convinced? Keep reading below to learn about the top benefits of vinyl wraps.

Capture Attention

Thousands of drivers use the road every day, and a vehicle wrap on your car or van will capture their attention. While nobody notices a plain white van or mass-produced car as they commute to work and back, they will see your vehicle if it’s laden with a brightly colored wrap that promotes your company.

You Can Reach a Huge Audience

We touched on this in the previous benefit, but if your business entails constantlydriving around a big city, you’ll show a vast number of potential customers that you exist. Of course, you won’t be able to boast all your company values on a wrap that drivers may only see for a couple of seconds, but a powerful message will stick in people’s heads and ensure they think of you next time they need your product.

A Non-Aggressive Form of Advertising

We’ve grown numb to TV and radio advertising because we sometimes find them annoying, and we can always grab a snack or flick between radio channels to pass the time. Vinyl wraps, however, don’t interrupt anybody’s time or provide a significant distraction, and as long as they look attractive, people might be happy to quickly turn their head to see the pretty picture on your vehicle.

Advertising On-The-Go

You can’t guarantee that people will be watching TV or listening to the radio when your advertisement runs. Similarly, it’s difficult to ensure your SEO marketing efforts are enough to find you before your competitors. On the other hand, vinyl wrap adverts featuring your contact details and company name will certainly be seen by your potential customers.

Vinyl Wraps Are Cost-Effective

Most forms of advertising are a reoccurring cost. You need to pay every time your TV advert runs, continually pump money into online marketing to rank high on the search engines and pay by the hour for billboards. Vinyl wraps are not only affordable, but they’re also a one-off cost and only need replacing periodically. As long as you hire professional graphic designers, your vinyl wrap could last years.

An Extra Layer of Protection for Your Vehicle

In addition to being a useful marketing tool, vinyl wraps can help protect your vehicle from small dents and scratches. It’s certainly cheaper to replace a wrap than it is to have your car’s bodywork resprayed. Plus, a car kept in good condition will better retain its value.

Targeting Your Local Area

You might have ambitions to grow your business by trading internationally, but you need to start by attracting local customers. Depending on the nature of your business, you may only be able to offer your services to the locals, so ensuring they know you exist is of vital importance – vinyl wraps are a fantastic way to do just that.

The benefits of vinyl wrap advertising are undeniable, though that’s not to suggest you should neglect other forms of marketing. The most successful marketing strategies take multiple platforms into consideration, but the return on investment on vinyl wraps could be much higher than you expect. Make sure you have your graphics designed by a professional if you want to feel confident they’ll prove effective and help you win new customers.

The post How Vehicle Wraps Can Increase Your Profits appeared first on Entrepreneurship Life.