Archives for August 2021

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Coming up with a professional, unique company name that draws the attention of prospective customers can be difficult, especially in today’s overcrowded markets.

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Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Nike allot yearly budgets for their marketing teams in the hundreds of millions. Very few businesses are able to compete with that level of advertising spending and brand development. Nonetheless, finding the perfect name is a hurdle that you will have to overcome if you want your business to succeed. But with the right tools at your disposal, the task of finding the best name for your company becomes far less daunting.

To help you along your naming process, we’ve gathered five of the most useful naming tools for choosing a winning company name. 

Shopify Can Help You Find a Company Name

Shopify is a business management program designed to help anyone start and grow their own company. From running ad campaigns to setting up your first ecommerce store, Shopify’s platform handles it all. And they have one trick up their sleeve that makes them particularly useful as a business naming tool.

What is one of the biggest difficulties most entrepreneurs face when coming up with a company name? It’s figuring out where to start.

Luckily, Shopify has a handy tool for that. Shopify’s business name generator tool is a great way to quickly develop a list of business names. This gives you the creative inspiration you need to continue workshopping and developing these branding ideas further. Your creativity (and copyright) are the only limits to what you can create.

Find a Company Name and Matching Logo at Brand Root

BrandRoot is a business name generation tool that creates registered .com domain names—and quite a bit more. After searching for a particular keyword, BrandRoot curates a list of unique domain names and then places them for sale, along with a professionally designed logo.

BrandRoot’s keyword search function allows you to set the price range you’re shopping under. This way, so you find the right domain names at a price that fits your budget. When you end up buying the domain you like, you also get the rights to the logo design that comes with it—and it will match your new company name.

Oberlo Is a One-Stop Shop

Oberlo bills itself as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are looking to start their very own ecommerce businesses. From drop shipping to design advice, Oberlo is home to a variety of media designed to teach people how to take charge and lead their own business.

Brand building is one of the foundational activities of forming a new business. Oberlo’s guides teach new users everything about the basics of forming a digital brand, all the way up to intricacies like managing an Instagram brand page and branding new product lines.

Oberlo also has a proprietary company name generator that operates off of a single keyword. Simply entering in the core concept of your business will generate a myriad of unique names involving that idea.

Oberlo offers free and paid membership plans. For people looking to trial the website and their courses, new users are able to access a limited number of courses free of charge.

Hover Offers Help with Finding Just the Right Domain Name

Hover is a great accessory tool for businesses looking to establish new brands. Hover’s search function enables users to look up domain availability. Going above and beyond showing the desired results, Hover also displays domains related to your target name.

This feature is incredibly useful for people looking to establish a firm digital foothold. This is because finding and securing a uniquely identifiable domain name that aligns with your company name is going to play a crucial role in growing your ecommerce market out of its infancy.

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In addition to offering a wide range of blog articles aimed at helping users develop their businesses, Hover also features an optional paid email service to go along with your new domain. They also boast an extensive and easily accessible help center to guide users through any questions they have and issues they may come across during their domain name search.

Conduct Research on Your Target Audience with Helpfull

Helpfull is a real-time feedback platform used by researchers and businesses to quickly gather opinions from real people. On Helpfull, users split test two or more variations of their designs. Then, surveys made up of these split tests are sent directly to your target audience member via email. On average, tests on Helpfull finish in 20 minutes or less. Users are also given immediate access to results the second a panelist presses submit.

There are a number of features on Helpfull’s platform that make it a premiere tool for designing and testing new company names for your business. Whether you’re looking for fresh ideas, feedback on existing names, or need to develop your concepts, Helpfull’s audience of real American panelists can help. Getting measured insights from a variety of different third-party respondents is guaranteed to leave you with a winning name that sells.

The utility of Helpfull’s platform doesn’t end at picking apart name ideas. You can incorporate feedback and use it to improve your customers’ experience throughout every stage of the buying process. This is true whether they’re shopping in your stores, browsing through your digital catalog, or viewing your social media outlets.

Additionally, you can:

• Test virtually any question or design element (including business names)
• Pick a winner using third-party feedback
• Gauge trends in real American consumers
• Use real-time feedback to gain immediate access to your insights
• Browse blog posts and articles featuring how-to guides, news, surveys, and more
• Export charts and graphs directly from the website
• Sign up for free

What makes Helpfull different is that it is built around the core principles of accessibility and functionality. The platform enables its users to conduct research and receive new customer insights on the fly.

What Makes A Good Company Name?

Forbes offers entrepreneurs looking for help with naming conventions a few useful tips. For example:

• Avoid names that are hard to spell
• Pick a name that is catchy
• Don’t pick a name that will limit the growth of your business

One of the most important pieces of advice Forbes offers is to get feedback on your name. However, make sure not to get just any feedback. Listen for sound, constructive advice.

When developing brand names, the best practice is to keep an open mind and develop a large, diverse pool of ideas. The more choices you have on the table, the greater chance you have of developing a brand-name that sticks. Keep the following considerations in mind when drafting your list.

A company name must have:

• Brand synergy
• Scalability
• Consumer resonance
• Visibility
• Uniqueness
• Simplicity
• Staying power

Keeping these few key elements in mind while drafting company names will dramatically improve your overall result.

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Every company that seeks to develop productive teams first needs to focus on building a business culture that is open, positive, and supports collaboration and creativity. When your staff works together to achieve the organization’s goals, everyone benefits—the employees, the customers, and the company. In addition, this kind of culture can help you attract top talent and reduce employee turnover.

However, creating a team-oriented business culture is different from team building. Here are six tips that will help you build a great team culture.

1. Set Clear Goals

Start by creating a detailed plan that contains goals for building individual and team expectations regarding tasks and performance. Be sure that each member of the team understands the company’s vision and objectives, as well as their role in achieving the goals.

Setting clear objectives will help individual employees and teams to collaborate to achieve the organization’s goals, creating common ground and increasing productivity.

2. Measure Your Team’s Productivity

Measuring your team’s productivity is the only way to make sure your objectives are understood and achieved. Be sure to monitor and measure your progress and collect regular feedback from your team members on how the plan is proceeding.

Measuring individual employee productivity, team productivity, and performance on a company level allows you to gauge the influence of a team-oriented business culture on employee progress as well as the organization’s bottom line. Some relevant metrics to take into consideration include increased production, increased sales, cost reduction, new customers added, and so on.

3. Celebrate Your Team

Recognizing individual and team performance is important. You need to make sure that every employee who contributes to the team’s success reaps a reward for their contribution to the company’s increased success. However, you should also celebrate them as a team and not just as individuals. Consider the fact that rarely is anything achieved only by the efforts of one person. By celebrating the entire team, you show them that they’re part of a larger collective. This is a great way to reinforce camaraderie and a team-oriented business culture.

Be sure to celebrate important dates, as well as your team’s milestones, with thoughtful gifts. You can choose, for example, buying lunch for everybody or presenting physical gifts to commemorate the moment. For instance, for the next holiday, consider giving your employees holiday gift boxes. Implementing benefits and rewards can help bring all the individuals and teams within your company closer together and help to cultivate a more positive business culture.

4. Invest in Training Toward a Team-Oriented Business Culture

Consider investing in cross-training, as well as training your HR team. The HR team plays an important role in implementing the processes and systems that shape and grow business culture. By hiring and training employees that fit your company culture, your HR and talent management team will help maintain the direction of team-oriented culture.

Another thing to consider is cross-training. Give all your employees a chance to learn other people’s jobs. When all employees have an idea about how different departments of the organization function, they will be better prepared to make decisions that benefit the entire company, not only their own team.

Don’t forget your top executives as well. Have members of your management spend some time working on the front lines with your products or customers. This way, they will understand what your regular workers go through on the job and have more appreciation.

5. Provide the Right Resources for a Team-Oriented Business Culture

Regardless of how qualified your individual employees may be, teams can’t achieve success without the right resources. Start by making sure your teams have a designated space where they can hold meetings on a regular basis. Each employee also needs to be given time to devote to these meetings. If possible, try to supply your teams with an adequate budget to spend as they see best for the organization.

In addition, make sure all your teams are provided with tools and best practices to collaboratively solve work issues, hold productive meetings, and improve communication. All of this will help to ensure a more productive business culture.

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6. Don’t Leave Your Remote Employees Out of the Business Culture

As remote work becomes more common, bringing your employees together is more important than ever. But it is also more challenging. Team-building activities, such as virtual happy hours, virtual parties, and games can be very helpful in reinforcing the behaviors that create a team-oriented business culture.

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Take Consistent Action Toward a Team-Oriented Business Culture

Growing and evolving a team-oriented business culture is possible. It all begins with identifying where you are now and defining where you want to be in the foreseeable future. The best way to make substantial change is to act as a united team.

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Whether you have decided to attend college because you intend to embark on a business career or you simply desire to better your lot in life, you want to give college your best shot. In this post we try to point you in the right direction by suggesting some healthy snacks to eat while you study.

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You’ll find, first off, that living your student life comes with so many perks. Finally, you are free to do what feels like your thing. From picking your major to finding new friends among your peers, you are in charge now. College, campus, parties, and even pulling the occasional all-nighter are all fascinating to many youngsters.

However, as with many things in life, there are two sides to this “student life” coin. Let’s brush up on the cons. You’ll need to write lots of papers, study huge amounts of materials, dip your toes into massive bodies of knowledge regardless of the field. How will you stay sane, effective, and happy while having so much on your plate?

Luckily, there are some working tips and tricks that you simply can’t do without as a student. These range from seeking qualified assistance to finding a take my test for me service to delegating some chunk of work when you need it to discovering something less obvious.

The less obvious thing we are talking about here is food. Specifically, we’re talking about snacking on brain food while studying.

“You Are What You Eat”

Although you might have heard the axiom, “You are what you eat,” many times already, lots of freshers, sophomores, juniors, and even postgrads disregard this saying completely. They go for easy options such as pizzas all the time, not occasionally but continually consuming fast food, along with lots of sugary drinks.

This is no way to go if you want to boost your academic performance and stay healthy. It is extremely important that you pay attention to what you consume as early as your college years. This article is dedicated to one goal only. It is to prove to you that study snacks can be both healthy and delicious.

5 Healthy Snacks College Students Need to Keep on Hand

Nuts Make a Great Snack

Knowing how to trick yourself into being less hungry—or not hungry at all—in times of need is an amazing skill. Here’s how you can do it: Just keep a small bag of nuts with you.

Really, having some almonds, cashews, pecans, or other nuts can save your day when a nutritious breakfast, lunch, or a combination of those that you called brunch is not on your list. Moreover, you can go not only with raw food but with something sweet or salted. There are many options.

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

However, we do recommend having a bite of raw food whenever your brain sends you an “I’m hungry” signal, as it might, for instance, during a tedious study session. Raw food will help you to feel full. You can also expect some cognitive sparks, too.

Drink Smoothies Instead of Coffee

There is hardly a student who doesn’t crave coffee. This magical drink gets you up and running in the morning after however few hours of sleep. That second cup lets you stay active throughout the day. And that old cuppa of cappuccino or latte in the afternoon can really brighten your evening.

It’s hard to be against an occasional dose of caffeine in today’s fast-paced world. But what if we suggest that you opt for a smoothie instead? Think about it. You will be getting a dessert (almost) together with the drink, all in one cup. Pick the fruit you like most or a seasonal option, mix it with your favorite milk, and voila! You have yourself a tasty booster.

Fruits Are Snacks That Will Brighten Your Days

This point should catch the attention of everyone out there who has a sweet tooth. On the other hand, regardless of whether you’ve seen the Explained docuseries about sugar or you read about it in a magazine article, you must already know that sugar is not your friend, especially added sugar.

Sure, fructose is sorta sugar, too. Yet, it’s much more beneficial than a candy bar, a can of fizzy soda, or spoonfuls of white sugar in your tea. Be smarter about it. Instead of buying chocolate-covered bars to keep your engine running, do your grocery shopping week by week and purchase fresh fruit instead.

This will allow you to always have some fruit on the table near you whenever you plan to cram, write, or study. An apple might not save you from a regular medical checkup and visiting a doctor from time to time, whatever they say. Still, it will give you a healthy energy boost. And you should not stick to apples only. There are way too many fruits on this planet to be so loyal to only the one.

Chocolate: The Darker It Is, the Better

While on the topic of healthy study snacks, we can’t omit the king of brain food as students see it. The snack in question is, undoubtedly, chocolate. True, having a bar with you and biting into it before some tough exam might be helpful. But are you ready to face issues like getting fat or having bad teeth, if chocolate is your thing?

Instead, to lift your mood and suppress your craving for something sweet and chocolate-coated at the same time, we propose a simple solution. Always go for dark, 90% cacao chocolates. At first, they might taste a little odd to you, because they have less sugar in them. But that’s exactly why they’re better. In fact, dark chocolate is really good for your blood pressure and your heart, not just your brain.

Photo by Kai-Chieh Chan from Pexels

Freeze the Grapes

Let’s say it’s the middle of an incredibly hot day in summer. You don’t know how to save yourself from melting away, let alone how to stay cognitively effective. Suddenly, you remember those ice cream cones you have in the freezer. How smart of you!

Yet, would that really make such a good snack? Many ice cream producers use incredibly large amounts of added sugar. Moreover, if you are no friends with milk, then you had better abstain from ice cream once and for all. To make this road to liberation smoother for you let us introduce a simple yet not very obvious alternative.

Buy some grapes! Choose your favorite type. Whether they’re red or green is not important here. Put them into the freezer, wait for a few hours, and there you will be, with a plate of healthy and comforting, cold and pleasing bite-sized snacks.

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Final Words

Nowadays, many health problems people of all ages face are directly linked to their food consumption. It was always the case. So you’d better start caring about your future and your health in general early on.

As a student, you will definitely need some brain food. But instead of opting for something unhealthy, unnecessarily sweet, or fatty, pick something from the list above. Whether you stick to nuts, enjoy a smoothie instead of coffee, pick up a dark chocolate bar, or grab some frozen grapes or any other fruit, you will be doing yourself a favor.

Remember these cool alternatives to your usual snacks. Then you can stay healthy and rock it at college.

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Featured image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay 

A holiday in Japan may not be feasible at the moment. However, if you’ve been working hard on your business and you just need a break, you could visit an online casino (オンラインカジノ).

It might not match your fantasy of visiting a land-based casino in Japan. However, doing so will give you a fun break from your work and put you in a good frame of mind.

What to Do When You Visit Japan

When you finally do get to visit Japan, you’ll likely arrive first at Narita Airport. From there, your natural first stop will of course be Tokyo, where you’ll find plenty to see and do.

After that, you might want to take the bullet train to Kyoto and Osaka, as many visitors do. While you’re in Osaka, be sure to enjoy some ramen or some of the other delicious food you’ll find there. You’re unlikely to be disappointed. This city is known as the “kitchen” of Japan, and the city is geared toward good times and fun.

A pleasant time to visit Japan is in the autumn. At this time of the year, the fall foliage will be colorful and the temperatures will be mild. If you’re an animal lover, you won’t want to miss the city of Nara, where deer roam free in a park of the same name. The deer will politely bow their thanks if you feed them crackers there.

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Following are more suggestions for places to visit in Japan.

You’ll Find No Casinos at the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto

The original building in this important shrine, one of the most famous in all of Japan, dates back to the year 711. Located in the prefecture of Kyoto, Fushimi Inari-taisha is one of many shrines in Japan that honor Inari, the deity of rice, considered important for business and success.

When you visit a shrine in Japan, it is important to pay your respects properly. To do so, ring the bell if there is one, then bow twice, clap twice, and finally bow once.

The famous red Torii gates of Fushimi Inari-taisha adorn many a postcard. And the shrine itself is truly lovely, as it sits at the base of Mount Inari. But while the scenery is breathtaking, you might not want a leisurely stroll when you visit this shrine. Instead, your outing could require arduous hiking on steep pathways, especially if you decide to hike to the top of the mountain.

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Enjoy the Colorful Nightlife in Tokyo’s Kabuki-Cho

In stark contrast to the quiet you likely found on the serene pathways of Fushimi Inari-taisha, the busy streets of Tokyo’s red light district will keep you up all night. The district got its name in the 1940’s when developers in China and Japan planned to build a kabuki theater here. The theater never materialized, but the district still bears the name Kabuki-cho.

Scores of small bars, shops, restaurants, and movie theaters line streets that beckon with colorful neon lights. Home as well to love hotels and host and hostess clubs, its busy nightlife has led Kabuki-cho to sometimes be called “Sleepless Town.”

Where Will You Find a Casino in Japan?

Most gambling is illegal in Japan. However, placing bets on horse racing and motorsports is legal. You can also find pachinko parlors where you can win prizes (but no cash).

Most people who live in Japan who want to gamble must go to foreign-owned online casinos. There, they can find traditional Western games such as blackjack, poker, roulette, and the like.

However, the laws in Japan are changing, and casino operators are now bidding to run casinos at certain resorts. In coming years, you may be able to find casinos in Japan in Osaka, Yokohama, and Tokyo. Current law will allow only overseas visitors to Japan to visit these casinos. They will be off-limits to Japanese citizens, at least for now.

Image by Sofia Terzoni from Pixabay 

You Will Find Lots to Do in Japan

Japan is a colorful and fascinating country, and you’ll find plenty to do among its vibrant cities, in its beautiful gardens, and around its rugged mountains. Nonetheless, when you reach your hotel room in the evenings, and you find you need to rest from your strenuous travels, be sure to take some time to visit an online Japan casino, too.

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Most of us have at least one difficult person in our lives. What’s more, if you own a small business you probably have several difficult people in your customer base right now. Here we delve into a brief review of several types of difficult customers. Which do you recognize? And how can you deal with such people?

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As the owner of a small business, you likely need occasional breaks from the stress of dealing with difficult customers, vendors, and others. To this end, perhaps you enjoy watching live sports on TV. If you do, then sport betting odds might also be of interest to you.

On the other hand, maybe you prefer to play an active game of tennis. Or perhaps you are a member of your neighborhood’s softball team. Alternatively, you might enjoy quieter pursuits such as making dinner for friends, gardening, or simply reading a book.

Types of Difficult Customers

Let’s take a look at some different types of difficult customers and speculate about some ways to best deal with each one.

The Complainer

It can seem as if some customers just won’t be satisfied, no matter how great your product.

However, your best bet with a customer who isn’t happy with their purchase might simply be just to listen, really listen, to their complaint. They might have a valid point, after all. Perhaps if you truly listen, you’ll hear in their complaint an opportunity to improve your product or service.

So ask this difficult customer how you can make things right for them. And if no matter what you do they’re still dissatisfied, consider refunding their money.

The Deadbeat

Creatives who offer their services online can easily fall prey to the deadbeat. So, too, can those who own rental properties, as well as independent local contractors who work in the trades.

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One way to short-circuit this type of difficult customer is to insist on partial upfront payment from all of your clients. Then once you have delivered your service you should expect to be paid in full. If the occasional deadbeat still catches you off-guard, consult with your attorney about a possible legal remedy.

The Fraudster

Online sellers can be vulnerable to fraudsters. One particularly galling type of this difficult customer is one who purchases an item from your e-commerce store and then returns it after using it, offering only the flimsiest of excuses.

The fraudulent customer differs from the complainer described above, whose complaints can be valid. However, it can sometimes be difficult for business owners to tell the difference between the two.

That’s why fraudsters continue to win at their games, even though their high jinks can be costly for legitimate retailers. Sadly, in order to maintain good customer relations with all of their customers, online retailers sometimes just accept occasional fraud as one of the costs of doing business.

If the problem persists, however, try to think of ways to tighten up your return policies without alienating your other customers.

The Indecisive One

Abandoned shopping carts are another significant problem for owners of e-commerce stores.

One of the most effective ways to deal with shopping cart abandonment is to target those customers with remarketing emails and other personalized approaches.

Also, make sure your shipping costs are reasonable and clearly visible. Ensure that your site’s pages load as quickly as possible and that you offer a guest check-out option. Finally, offer a money-back guarantee. This demonstrates that you believe in your product, and it can soothe the nerves of anxious buyers.

The Negotiator

Nearly every small-business owner runs into this type of difficult customer from time to time. No matter how reasonable your fee structure, they will ask for special treatment.

When it comes to the negotiator, it’s best just to show them the door. If you make the mistake of trying to work with them, they quite often become complainers, never satisfied with the quality of your product or service regardless of how many concessions you make.

Photo from Pixabay on Pexels

How to Take a Break from Difficult Customers

When you decided to go into business for yourself, surely you realized that you would have to deal with difficult customers occasionally. You’ll have more peace of mind if you learn to accept them as a part of the cost of doing business. Do what you can to control the damage to your business they can cause. Then find ways to relax, whether it’s through yoga and meditation or by watching sports on TV or by taking your chances with sport betting odds.

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When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, many people thought life would get back to normal in a few weeks at most. While we waited, we took refuge in Netflix, watched birds, and learned to bake sourdough bread from scratch.

As the pandemic stretched on, we read books and took up hobbies such as sport betting online and spent quality time with the people we lived with.

But when the virus really took hold and the world began to feel its dire consequences, a grim reality set in. People all over the world went into lockdown for well more than a year.

Life Got Tough for Small-Business Owners

During lockdown, the pandemic was especially hard on small businesses. More than 40% of small businesses in the US had to close their doors temporarily. Some even closed for good. Many workers lost their jobs. People everywhere began to wonder if life would ever get back to normal.

Some of the businesses that best survived the lockdowns were those that took a flexible approach. For example, some pivoted toward manufacturing hand sanitizer or face masks. Retail establishments that remained open installed plexiglass shields to protect employees and set up hand sanitizing stations for customers.

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Liquor stores thrived, as did meals-to-go services such as Grub Hub and Uber Eats. Other businesses, such as online retailers, were able to take things in stride and even flourish during this time. Their new normal looked a lot like the old one, except that they were busier and even more prosperous as shoppers began ordering more and more of the things they needed from online stores.

The Real Estate Industry Got Flipped on Its Head

One of the industries most deeply affected by the coronavirus pandemic has been residential real estate. Industry watchers believe this market has been forever changed. They assert that what was once normal life for real estate agents, brokers, and their customers has probably become a thing of the past.

Mainly, this is because a mass exodus has begun. Workers are migrating from downtown areas to suburbs and even rural areas. After all, some reason, why would they want to deal with the irritants of urban living when few of the benefits remain? Many stores and shops remain closed. Theaters, museums, and restaurants operate at limited capacity.

Moreover, why wouldn’t employees choose to move now to someplace where they have always wanted to live when their employers are allowing them to work remotely for the foreseeable future?

Conversely, some people chose to relocate to urban areas when rent prices dropped as young workers fled the cities. At the time of this writing, the changes in real estate continue to unfold. Realtors and others in that industry are learning to dance with those changes.

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Life Has Changed for Both Employees and Employers

The Washington Post has reported that around a third of US workers considered changing careers during the pandemic. In fact, many have either started their own businesses or moved on to more rewarding careers.

What’s more, workers in retail and manufacturing are refusing to work the long hours for low wages they felt compelled to accept before the pandemic began. This shift in the balance of power between employee and employer has forced business owners to begin offering workers higher pay and better benefits.

Photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash

Sport Betting and Other Pastimes Offer Relief from the Stresses of Life

As the owner of a small business, you may be finding it difficult to deal with the stresses of life today. But if you’re still waiting for life to get back to normal, don’t despair. First, be sure to take care of your health. Get plenty of rest and exercise outdoors whenever you can. But perhaps you just need a quick break from whatever has got you down at the moment. In that case, sport betting and other online gaming activities could offer all the stress relief you need.

As your business grows, finding BIM specialists is the key to an excellent result. Discover how to organize a hiring process and build your BIM team efficiently.

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How to Hire a BIM Team Successfully

BIM is the acronym for “building information modeling.” The global BIM market is set to double in the next five years, from $4.5 billion to almost $9 billion. Construction companies have stopped asking whether they need the BIM strategy. Instead, they are wondering how to implement a BIM team properly.

It is hardly possible to integrate a successful BIM strategy without hiring specialists within the industry. For example, Powerkh.com provides professional services that transform the way you design and construct your buildings. Their successful BIM team involves five major hires:

BIM Team Leads

The BIM team leads need to be involved in building projects. They are gatekeepers for how a company implements the BIM workflow. They often make key decisions on what operations, processes, and principles company leadership needs to apply.

The mission of BIM leads is to manage teams that are working either on site or remotely. Additionally, they manage sub-groups that fall under the BIM group’s jurisdiction.

BIM leads also set up project-specific standards. These cover file-naming conventions, coordination processes, project guidelines, accurate project formatting, and so on. At the same time, a BIP lead maintains the group’s core standards as determined by the BIM manager or director.

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BIM Coordinator

The BIM coordinators are responsible for data coordination. That is, they cover all available disciplines for project teams. Thanks to their architectural and engineering background, they can maintain visualization and digitalization of BIM projects. They also deal with the cross-discipline BIM manual. This includes BIM strategy, contact channels, corporate standards, and control measures.

The BIM coordinator also helps the architectural team with BIM information processing. In some cases, BIM coordinators communicate with customers directly to provide an overview of BIM-related software. They also recommend the potential workflow transformations.

BIM Detailer/Programmer

Construction companies can sit and wait for IT specialists to create and implement tools for them, but at what cost?

BIM detailers take responsibility for 3D software utilization and customization. They make your projects run efficiently by adding oil to your BIM machine. This is where they happen to be incredibly valuable for a BIM team. Their knowledge of programming codes allows them to adjust programs to individual processes and needs. Therefore, they can fully optimize BIM workflows.

To hire BIM detailers, check their previous projects and references. Be sure to ask about their work ethic. This will help you find candidates who have the skill set you are looking for.

Their software proficiency is also important, as this will make your construction processes run smoothly. In most cases, companies need at least one specialist for each program they are using. Hiring BIM detailers falls under the responsibility of BIM leads. However, BIM managers can also be involved in this process.

BIM Gamer

BIM strategies often involve software functions that are similar to gaming software. From virtual reality programs to 3D software, gamers have the competence to work in these fields. Whether the company is managing complex mechanical rooms or more simplified distribution mechanisms, BIM gamers will feel comfortable navigating the 3D modeling software.

Thanks to their extensive knowledge of the software, they employ valuable information about the most recent gaming software. For example, virtual reality technology has demonstrated proficiency in architectural planning. With a gamer on your BIM team, you will find it easier to follow the latest industry trends that affect your project.

BIM Team Consultant

Many building companies make the mistake of underestimating the role of BIM team consultants. They are not sure how to estimate their return on investment (ROI) when they hire a BIM consultant.

But if they hire these specialists at the right time, their investment can return considerable benefits for their projects and positions in the long run. Although BIM consultants are not always critically important for many BIM projects, an experienced consultant can still make a complex project run more smoothly.

BIM consultants are involved in developing recommendations for the administration and the employees. Professional BIM consultants should recognize areas for improvement and share them with the rest of the team. They should be able to fix causes, not symptoms.

In addition, they can make sure that you have a BIM implementation strategy that covers all four aspects of change: policy, people, process, and technology. This strategy should also involve the major process indicators (KPI) that determine success.

In order to measure the intangible benefits of hiring a BIM consultant, you should have a way to measure the difference in your team’s confidence level before and after hiring a BIM consultant.

BIM Team Manager

Effective BIM managers can be the key to success for a project. A BIM team manager does not necessarily need to be from the construction industry. Even if their prior experience is from consumer markets, tech startups, or the manufacturing sector, they will be able to organize work at the most proficient level.

BIM managers are crucial for developing internal workflows, customizing new software, or communicating with clients. Building companies should look for project managers who can meet their business requirements, match their corporate policies, and demonstrate a proficient background in managerial works.

These individuals will be the driving force of productivity within your BIM team. As long as there’s sufficient interaction with the design team, the project will have every chance of shining through. Being your eyes and ears, a BIM team manager will help you see construction projects from various perspectives.

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Conclusion

With the constantly changing construction technology environment, you need to follow the latest trends regularly. Hiring a strong team of BIM specialists is one of the crucial solutions that will help you successfully realize your project. Moreover, filling out your BIM team with the most competent individuals will let you stay at the forefront of the industry. Be ready to meet the best talents that can make your BIM strategy work.

Featured image by StartupStockPhotos on Pixabay

When it comes time to produce a product prototype, it means your business has reached the essential step between concept and mass production. Releasing a proper prototype is important because that means manufacturing in mass quantities is just around the corner.

That’s exactly why it’s important to do this step correctly. After all, the prototype of your new product is used to show potential retailers why they should do business with you.

Take a look at some things you should absolutely avoid doing before you produce your prototype.

Using the Wrong Technology

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what kind of products you plan on producing, using the wrong technology can happen to anyone.

Simply put, there are companies that pick the wrong programming language and platforms for their IT project, companies that pick the wrong material for their product, and there are even businesses that try to save money by ordering the prototype to be made overseas.

For instance, if you have a prototype that should be made out of firm materials, don’t opt for 3D printing. It may seem like a cheap but useful solution at the start, but it’s not. The worst thing that can happen during the demo is that your prototype breaks or stops functioning properly.

Instead, choose a better option even if it’s pricier. For this situation, consider aluminum extrusions. It is fairly simple. Aluminum bar stock is a square of extruded aluminum. The machine follows the extrusion process for a variety of shapes. This means that you’ll be able to use the design you want without a problem. The method is proven to be the preferred mechanical method of prototyping.

Making It Too Complicated

There are a few reasons why making a too complicated prototype for the first demo is important to avoid.

First of all, the more complicated the structure, the more difficult it is to create it. Also, the product prototype and the first production runs will cost more when a business doesn’t have extensive budgetary abilities.

So, select a design that is fairly simple for your prototype. That’s how you can get a working prototype quickly, but also get a decent quality product out at a fair price.

As soon as your business starts making decent money, you can go for a more complex design and experiment with new functionalities.

Striving for Perfectionism

The prototype you are about to create is a mockup of what will follow afterward. It’s not meant to be the perfect realization of your new product.

Instead of focusing on every detail and aiming at perfection, you should put your time and efforts toward building the main user flow you want to test and get feedback on.

If you have started to push pixels on your prototype, you should stop with the prototype and start getting people to test it out. Also, keep in mind that your definition of perfect might not be what your customers believe is perfect.

Remember, a prototype should get you a minimum viable product or basic version of your design out for product testing with consumers.

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Not Testing It Enough

Never make the mistake of not testing the prototype before the demo.

Many small businesses either fail to test the product prototype or do the wrong tests. It often happens when companies verify the product is easy to set up and works as it should without asking users for their opinion.

On the other hand, many companies perform product testing with consumers but fail to run performance tests.

In this situation, you should aim for the best of both worlds. Do the proper tests but also have some users try out the product.

Missing the Deadline

Since a prototype is an experiment that you have to come up with for a demo run, you need to create it in time for the show. Figure out approximately how long you’ll need to work on it just so that you don’t miss the deadlines.

Be careful, plan your work, and remain true to deadlines. That’s how you’ll keep the prototyping process focused and valuable.

Final Thoughts

Making mistakes during the prototyping phase will cost you valuable time and even more valuable money. As a responsible manager, you can’t let that happen.

Go through the article piece one more time just to get everything right. Remember, you need to create solid product. And, it must be marketed quickly and released to the general public in a timely manner.

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Featured image by Nikolay Tchaouchev on Unsplash

In a world of flashy online advertising and social media, it’s easy to forget about marketing staples like postcards. But it doesn’t matter what year it is, postcard marketing continues to work. The question is, are you getting the most out of postcards for your business?

Tap into the Power of Postcard Marketing

When it comes to marketing, are you more interested in flash and pretense, or results? Because at the end of the day, while postcards might not offer all of the pizazz that you get with digital marketing, it’s hard to argue with the results. Postcards are one of the few marketing mediums that have continued to work decade after decade. Here are some of the primary reasons why they’re so effective:

Postcards Are Cost-Effective

You can print and mail gorgeous full-color postcards for less than 75 cents per card (postage included). This makes this form of marketing a cost-effective option for any business that’s looking to make an investment in high-reach marketing without a massive budget.

They Have a High “Open Rate”

In email marketing, open rates are a key metric. This is because without a high open rate, it’s nearly impossible to have a high conversion rate. In postcard marketing, read rates are very telling. This metric tells you what percentage of people who receive a postcard actually read it. And according to the Postal Service, postcards are more than six times as likely to be read as a direct mail letter. In total, 94 percent of people read a postcard.

Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

Post Cards Are Versatile

Postcards can be used for almost any purpose. Whether you want to run a flash sale, send out a coupon, make an announcement, send a congratulatory message, or advertise a new product, a postcard can make it happen.

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They’re Trackable

Tracking the efficacy of a postcard marketing campaign is fairly easy. For example, if you’re running a sale, simply include a special code on the card. Then track this code at redemption to see what percentage of people are responding.

When you add up all of these benefits, it’s clear that postcard marketing works. If you aren’t getting results from postcards, then there are one of two things happening:

1. You’re not using postcards at all; or
2. You aren’t using postcards effectively.

The first step is to integrate postcard marketing into your strategy. The second step is to actually learn how to use them well.

3 Tips for More Effective Postcard Marketing

As you consider powerful ways to leverage postcards in your marketing strategy, here are a few helpful suggestions:

1. Choose the Right Size

One of the big challenges of postcard marketing is getting your postcard to stand out in the mailbox. You want your postcard to be the first thing someone notices when they pull their mail out and begin flipping through. There are numerous ways to do this, but size is one of the most important elements.

Most postcards fall under one of the following four basic sizes: 4.25 inches x 6 inches; 6 inches x 9 inches, 6 inches x 11 inches, and 9 inches x 12 inches. If you want your postcard to stand out, shoot for a minimum of 6 x 11 inches. Not only does this give you a tactile advantage, but it also provides additional space for copy, graphics, and calls to action.

2. Use a Simple, Bold Headline

An individual should understand what your postcard is all about within the first five seconds of viewing it. If they can’t, your postcard is too confusing.

One of the most important ingredients in a clear and convincing postcard is a simple, bold headline. The headline is located on the front of the postcard and usually has a font that’s 5 to 10 times larger than the rest of the copy on the card. It’s actionable and provides a clear benefit to the customer.

3. Include One CTA

It’s easy to overwhelm customers. If you want to generate maximum ROI, never include more than one call to action. A singular CTA keeps people focused and prevents confusion. You can include multiple variations of the CTA on the same card, but they should always drive people to the same desired action.

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Get the Most Out of Your Postcard Marketing Efforts

Postcards might not get all of the attention that today’s flashy digital mediums attract, but that doesn’t make them any less effective. As you look for ways to grow your marketing ROI, consider allocating a portion of your budget for postcard marketing. You’ll be glad you did!

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