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You are here: Home / Archives for Biz Opportunities

Budgeting Apps Can Be Your Best Financial Advisor

August 29, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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Whether for business or for personal reasons, budgeting your money shows a sense of responsibility for putting your finances on the right track. But if you feel you need a little help, check out the budgeting apps we describe in this post. Any one of them will empower you to manage your finances more easily.

Budgeting will help you to understand your current expenses and forecast future ones. Therefore, every business should go through this critical process.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: BEFORE YOU BEGIN: HOW TO CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET FOR YOUR STARTUP

 

To get started, simply download one of the budgeting apps we discuss here. They’re all created by top financial app development companies. And they will help you to make smarter decisions on the go, because they will give you flexibility with your budget. In other words, you’ll be able to adjust your expenses and revenue using real-time data.

 

budgeting apps 2

With its more than 20 million users, Mint is one of the more popular budgeting apps available today. Users love its accurate and instant calculations. What’s more, this app will track all of your financial operations and offer valuable advice, too, so you can manage your money more easily. Plus, iPhone or Android users can download this app for free. Additionally, iPhone users can synchronize the app with Apple Watch as well.

budgeting apps 3

Features

  • Create budgets and track investments quickly and easily
  • Get real-time access to reports and other information
  • Instant alerts
  • Budget for as many categories as you like
  • Works well with variable expenses
  • Generates customizable reports
  • Provides quick analysis
  • Secure access
  • Data encrypted
  • Intuitive features and powerful results
  • Personalized tips and advice
  • Makes it easy to track your credit score
  • Gives you real-time results
  • Free to download

A study from a top research company points out that end user needs are a key factor affecting mobile app development. Therefore, app developers need to keep users in mind while they are designing their apps.

Judging by the features and functionalities of the Mint app, this app appears to be driven by this logic. For example, just a few taps allow its users to perform various functionalities with regard to their finances. What’s more, the Mint app is an absolutely free budget planner that will walk with you wherever you go.

 

budgeting apps 4

“Managing your budget does not have to be stressful,” says Jesse Mecham in his book, You Need a Budget.

The YNAB app is an award-winning financial and budgeting app that helps you gain financial peace, control, and stability. Remarkably, PCWorld listed this app under its editor’s choice list. In their notable review they note that the app is more than a budgeting tool. That’s because it can also enable users to improve all of their money habits.

budgeting apps 5

Features

  • A complete budgeting app
  • Access to your real-time info
  • Easily syncs all your bank accounts
  • Real-time access to data
  • Quick sharing
  • Detailed spend report
  • Advice on trends
  • Debt Paydown tool
  • Simple goal tracking
  • All-time support
  • Free trial for a specific period

As the name suggests, the app lets you plan a budget with the finances you have and those that you may acquire. Further, the app has some of the best features to help you set a balance between your earnings and your spending. In other words, the app helps you to be proactive instead of reactive.

“Instead of spending more, spend better,” said one financial advisor. YNAB is an app that will help you to accomplish this goal. Along with helping you to create a proper budget, the app guides, educates, and coaches you to manage your money in the best way by keeping your income in consideration.

 

budgeting apps 6

Budgeting is boring no more. That’s because PocketGuard makes money management easier than ever. This app acts as an investment advisor, too, one that you can easily trust. With PocketGuard, you will control your money, your bills, and your budget on your phone. What’s more, you will do so anywhere and at any time.

budgeting apps 7

Features

  • Puts your budget on autopilot
  • Personalized budget based on your income, bills and goals
  • Connect with your credit cards and other investments
  • Sync with your existing loans
  • See all your finances in one place
  • Instantly tracks each of your transaction and spend
  • “In-my-pocket” facility allows you to understand your limit to spend
  • Advice to improve your financial health
  • Secured

This app will sync your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and other investments. What’s more, it will track all your bills and subscriptions. Plus, it will track your income, too. Then, it will automatically suggest to you a budget based on your spending patterns, and it will alert you to unwanted risks. Such features make this app a standout when it’s compared with other apps.

 

Conclusion

Mobile apps are transforming many aspects of modern life, and the financial sector is no exception. This transformation is driving a strong move toward self-service and improved functionalities.

Budgeting apps such as the ones discussed in this article will help you to manage your finances better. Plus, many of them are free to download.

In this digital age, a well designed mobile financial planner, such as these budgeting apps, can add a lot of value and help you to stick to the process of managing your money well.

 

About the Author

Meenakshi Krishnan is a content consultant. A techie at heart, Meenakshi is passionate about the start-up ecosystem, entrepreneurship, the latest tech innovations, and all that makes this digital world. When she is not writing, she loves to read, cook, and paint.

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Growing Opportunities In MHealth

August 27, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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At first glance, the marriage of healthcare and mobile apps may seem a strange one. Many older people have a fairly rarefied view of medical appointments and would never imagine incorporating their smartphones into the management of their personal health. But as access to — and acceptance of — digital solutions has become more commonplace the healthcare market has seen the beginnings of enormous disruptions to the status quo. According to a 2017 report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, there are currently more than 318,000 mobile health — or mHealth — apps available worldwide, with more added each day.

 

MHealth apps can take many forms, and even the most novice app user has almost certainly encountered at least one. Ranging in focus from nutrition and fitness to mental and medical health, the field is a broad one. Some of the more recognizable fitness apps include Youtube star Cassey Ho’s Blogilates, or Under Armour’s MyFitnessPal app, which helps track a user’s diet and count calories, but more and more developers are starting to see the opportunities that come along with creating apps geared towards medical health. Recent research by Accenture shows that 75% of surveyed consumers consider technology important to managing their health, and the number of people who use mHealth apps and accompanying wearable technology has more than doubled since 2014, from 16% to 48%.

 

The fact is that as consumers become more tech-literate on average, demand for mHealth apps will continue to increase. The “anytime, anywhere” factor of having tools to manage your health in your pocket is a major factor driving that demand, and Medical Economics reports that even as far back as 2010, 79% of survey respondents would be more likely to select a healthcare provider who allows them to conduct healthcare interactions either online or on a mobile device. And if all that doesn’t convince you that it’s an exciting time to be in the mHealth app market, then consider this: Research and Markets projected the 2018 value of the mHealth market to be US$28.320 billion and expects it to climb to US$102.35 billion within five years.

Of course, there’s always a catch.

Earlier, when we stated that there are more mHealth apps available each day, we meant it: some estimates hold that there are two hundred mHealth apps being added to the market each day. If you are aiming to enter the growing mHealth arena, it’s vital to enter with your best foot forward, and that means that you will want to get your mobile app professionally developed as soon as possible.

Going with an innovative, experienced app developer will help your app establish itself. Smaller mobile app developers, such as the highly regarded Guaraná Technologies, will provide the insight and know-how you’ll need to take your concept to market, and you’ll have the added advantage of not being lost in the shuffle of a larger app farm. While the market may be ripe for new entries, those entries will need to be as strong as possible before they are introduced, so don’t hesitate to get the professional insight that will make the difference.

Human health is a big field, and the opportunities to connect patients and mHealth apps are endless. The market is growing, and that growth shows absolutely no sign of slowing down anytime soon. From individual states launching their own mHealth app for state residents to apps and technology aimed at ever more specific medical purposes, there is plenty of yet-undiscovered territory, and now is the time to make it yours.

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How to SEO Optimize Content on Mobile for Search Engines and People

August 23, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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Photo by Matheus Bertelli from Pexels

A leading concern for any website in the modern online ecosystem is to optimize content for search engines. Further, optimizing for mobile is a key part of modern SEO.

In the past, mobile optimization was often an afterthought in web design. However, in 2018, optimizing content for mobile directly affects a website’s SEO metrics. Ever since Google’s mobile-friendly update, mobile optimization has been a factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. And any sites that haven’t optimized for mobile run the risk of penalties from the search engine.

But mobile content optimization isn’t just about pleasing Googlebot. Mobile devices account for more than half of all global web traffic. Therefore, mobile optimization is as much about making a site user-friendly as it is about pleasing search engines. Plus, search engines today use sophisticated ranking algorithms. This makes it easier than ever to optimize content on your website to appeal to search engines and users alike. This is true whether the traffic comes from a desktop computer, a mobile phone, or, yes, Googlebot.

Looking to soup up your website for mobile users and search engines in 2018? Here are a few key principles to optimize content on mobile for search engines and people.

 

Rely on Responsive Web Design

One of the central commandments of mobile optimization is responsive web design (RWD). Responsive design means that your website detects the size of the visitor’s device screen. Then it reshuffles and resizes the content automatically to suit that screen size. RWD stands in contrast to the two other primary methods for mobile optimization: dynamic serving and using separate URL’s.

Dynamic Serving

Dynamic serving involves using separate HTML code for your mobile and desktop site. You first program the website to detect the user’s device type. Then your website will serve either the desktop or mobile code accordingly. The URL stays the same with dynamic serving, but the CSS and HTML code change.

Separate URL’s

Separate URL’s, on the other hand, require the use of a subdomain for your mobile site. This means that if your website is normally located at www.exampleURL.com, your mobile site would live at m.exampleURL.com. Similar to dynamic serving, this involves using separate CSS and HTML code for both websites. Only this time, the URL changes as well.

Which Is Better?

From a user’s perspective, any of these approaches can work, but RWD and dynamic serving are preferable. Using separate URL’s can cause issues if users try to share your website by copying and pasting the link. If they send the mobile site to a desktop user, the desktop user may see the mobile site on their desktop. This could cause confusion. Dynamic serving allows for a streamlined experience on one URL. On the other hand, RWD is virtually seamless on any device.

From an SEO perspective, responsive design wins out. That’s because RWD is simpler and more elegant from a search engine’s perspective. Plus, it makes it entirely clear to Googlebot that your site is optimized for mobile. This alone will boost your rankings significantly. Responsive design is also entirely doable. Any reputable web development agency should have no problem implementing responsive design on your website. Even popular website builders like Squarespace offer responsive designs. Plus, Google recommends responsive design as a best practice.

 

Watch Your Page Load Times

One of the most neglected factors for SEO is the speed of your website. This is especially important for mobile optimization. Google carefully measures the speed of your website from a performance perspective. What’s more, this has a direct effect on your search rankings. But speed is about more than pleasing Googlebot.

Mobile users are often accessing content on the go. This means they’re likely to be impatient. If a page takes too long to load, users aren’t apt to wait around. In fact, one study found that 40% of users will leave if a page takes more than three seconds to load. Combine that with the fact that many mobile users are on slower, lower-bandwidth cell network connections. Therefore, it’s easy to see why speed is so important.

 

Optimize Content, Not Just the Website

Beyond back-end specifics like responsive design and site performance, how you structure and lay out the actual content of your site can have a dramatic effect on both search rankings and user experience (UX).

The easier your content is to read and interact with on a mobile device, the better your site will perform in terms of UX and SEO. This is largely because since Google’s RankBrain update, a big part of Google’s rankings is how users behave on a page. If Google thinks a website is frustrating mobile users based on user behavior, that will turn into a negative ranking signal to the algorithm. This means that the layout of your content—which is a major UX factor on mobile devices—can directly affect rankings.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: RANKBRAIN ALGORITHM FORCES MARKETERS TO DEVELOP NEW SEO STRATEGIES

 

So what does this mean in a practical sense? In short, if you want to optimize content for mobile, it needs to be easy to read on a tiny screen. Here are a few guidelines for making that happen:

15 or 16 point fonts are more than appropriate for body content. Don’t be afraid to write big and bold.

  • Optimize Paragraphs for Mobile Readers

This means using a line break after every one or two sentences, instead of the traditional four- to six-sentence paragraph you learned in English class. Because text wrapping is tight on a mobile device, these short paragraphs are much easier to read.

If you really want to optimize content, the color of text and the color of the background should be dramatically different. This is easier to read on mobile devices, which may get glare from the sun if a user is outside.

 

It’s All About the User

Following these tips will help make your site more enticing to search engines. Ultimately, however, it’s the user who really counts. Search engines like Google are increasingly determining page ranks based on user behavior. This means that the only true form of SEO is having an excellent website. As the ranking algorithms get more sophisticated, this will only be more true.

And as more and more web users migrate from traditional desktop PC’s to ever-smaller mobile devices, optimizing for the user is increasingly synonymous with optimizing for mobile. No matter what industry you operate in, mobile optimization is one of the highest-leverage ways to improve your website and make it more appealing—both for search engines and for people.

 

optimize content

Author Bio

Ben Lee is a tech influencer, one of Inc.’s 30 Under 30 Most Brilliant Entrepreneurs. He is also cofounder of Rootstrap, a digital creative studio that helps clients with strategy, development, and growth. Rootstrap works with clients to develop mobile apps, web platforms, chatbots, and emerging tech projects. Their clients include Fortune 100 companies and early-stage startups, and past clients range from Snoop Dogg to Google and Spotify.

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How to Integrate Email with Social Media for a Powerful Marketing Strategy

August 22, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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People think that email is dead. However, it’s not. In fact, it’s very much alive! By 2020, more than 3 billion people worldwide will be using email. That’s 3 billion potential customers you can reach via your email marketing software.

Every day people send billions of emails. This number is expected to grow to 246 billion by the end of 2019. In short, email is still powerful. Plus, it’s a great way to communicate with your customers.

One way to maximize email is to tie it in with an equally powerful platform—social media. There are around 2.46 billion users of social media worldwide. Even more are expected by the end of the year.

Making these platforms work hand-in-hand can make your marketing automation strategy even more powerful than it already is. Here are some ways you can do that.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: INBOX ZERO: MANAGE YOUR EMAIL INBOX EFFECTIVELY

 

1. Add Your Email List to Your Social Networks

Uploading your email list to your social networks helps you to understand the kind of customers you have. By putting a face to your current subscribers, you can create a deeper relationship with them. Relationships are important, especially between a business and its customers.

Another good thing you can draw from this exercise is that you can get a glimpse of your customers’ needs. Browse through their feeds. This will help you to understand what makes them tick or what they are looking for in certain products.

 

2. Show Social Profiles in Your Emails

One great way to integrate email marketing and social media is by showing in your email campaigns that you have active social media accounts. By dedicating a space for them, people will be aware of your business’s presence across different platforms.

Amp up your display by adding a short overview of your account  beside each social media logo. In this way, people will know which platform they will prioritize in terms of following or which one they will check more often.

 

3. Embed Email Newsletter Signup Form on Your Facebook Page

Social media pages give your customers a mix and mash of readily available information. Give them a menu they can browse through depending on their needs.

Add a newsletter signup form on your page. This will encourage existing customers to sign up if they haven’t already. In this way, you will add more subscribers to your existing list. Check with your email marketing automation software to see if they offer this kind of service.

 

4. Promote Your Email Content on Social Media

Make your content diverse and flexible. That’s because another great way to maximize your resources is to syndicate your newsletters on different social media platforms. You can post on LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, Twitter threads, and on other platforms as well. Why is this beneficial? You get to market your content to a different set of your audience on each of these platforms. This could then lead to new customers or subscribers to your email list, making them one step closer to converting them to your product.

Plus, you’ll save time in coming up with content. After all, you have the same message you want to deliver to each segment. This makes for a wise investment. At the same time, it’s a cost-efficient way to spread your presence over the digital space.

 

5. Create an Exclusive Social Community for Your Email Subscribers

Create an exclusive social community for your subscribers. This is a place where like-minded people can mingle, engage, and learn more about your business. In this way, you’ll have another avenue where you can build a more personal relationship with your customers.

Some great ways to keep it thriving are to:

  • Create exclusive content for these communities
  • Listen to their feedback about your business

This will give you a better understanding of how your current customers think and behave. Then use these insights to draft an even better strategy for promoting your business to your intended markets.

 

Wrapping Up

These are just a few tips for integrating social media with your email marketing.

Make your content work for you and don’t be afraid to explore options. For instance, you could embed a sign-up form on your social media pages.

Be creative so your customers and subscribers will actually engage with your content. Also, seek out an email marketing automation software that can help you seamlessly achieve your goals as quickly as possible.

 

Kimberly Maceda - email

Author Bio

Kimberly Maceda is a content writer for ActiveTrail. She writes for top online marketing sites and gives blogging advice on email marketing and marketing automation. ActiveTrail is a leading provider of professional-grade email marketing and automation software for growing businesses.



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Critical Business Aspects of Building an Authoritative Affiliate Site

August 22, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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Building a successful affiliate site today is more competitive and more difficult than it has been in the past. However, these higher barriers to entry aren’t necessarily a bad thing. They just mean that if you’re willing to put in the effort, you can isolate yourself from new competition in the long term.

Back in the day, simply having some keywords in your domain name and showing up with a few pages of content was enough. However, things are more competitive now. Therefore, you need to go above and beyond the types of sites that used to be good enough.

Throwing up a few pages of reviews and buying some spam backlinks might still work occasionally in the short term. But if you’re looking at building the type of authoritative affiliate site that can pay your mortgage, it’s going to take more than just showing up.

Let’s have a look at some successful affiliate websites, and then let’s talk about traits they have in common. We’ll talk about some things that make them unique, and what makes them so successful.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: AFFILIATE MARKETING: HOW IT WORKS AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU

 

Software: G2 Crowd

affiliate site 1

This website has nearly 500,000 validated user reviews of business software products. Targeting the business market is what works for them. To put it bluntly, software that’s geared towards businesses can be wildly expensive. However, businesses are willing to spend a lot more on software than individuals are in most cases. This leaves a lot of room for affiliates to grab a piece of the pie.

To succeed in this space, G2 Crowd needs a clean and easy-to-navigate interface. This gives viewers a way to quickly compare different software options. Further, viewers can put together their own comparisons to get an overview of the features that are the most important to them. What’s more, they also have access to in-depth reviews.

When businesses or individuals find software they’re interested in, they get a referral link. G2 says they have more than one and a half million active software buyers each month. Plus, this affiliate site encourages vendors to get in touch with them to become featured on their marketing platform.

 

Everything: Amazon

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This humble book website has grown to be one of the biggest forces in our economy. They sell just about any product you can imagine. And they run a lot of the Internet’s infrastructure on their hosting platforms.

While Amazon isn’t an affiliate site in the traditional sense, a large portion of their marketplace is filled with third-party sellers. Amazon essentially helps to promote and send visitors to these sellers in exchange for a fee from each sale. Additionally, for what it’s worth, Amazon’s growth has come in large part because they run their own affiliate program.

Whatever Amazon is, it’s worth paying close attention to this site and how they operate. Nothing on Amazon happens by accident. All of the categories, the design, the checkout process, the upsells, and more have been thoroughly tested for the best user experience and the strongest results.

 

iGaming: AskGamblers

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AskGamblers is a hub for online igaming. They collect user reviews and vet sites for trustworthiness. They feature the best deals and promotions currently happening across all of the popular sites. Further, they also help settle disputes between players and online casinos.

In short, they found a lucrative market and thereby managed to find a way to serve both the players and the casinos.

This affiliate site gives casinos a platform where they can address and respond to negative reviews. Therefore, the honest and trustworthy sites rise to the top. Players benefit as well. They get bonuses, valuable information, and the assurance that they are being treated fairly.

 

Computers: Tom’s Hardware

affiliate site 4

This affiliate site has a popular forum filled with user-generated content. It’s a popular place to ask questions and get educated responses quickly. This gives Tom’s Hardware a first-rate SEO ranking for multiple complex questions like this one: “Should I get a GTX 1050 or an R9 290?”

Tom’s Hardware has countless pages ranking for similar specific questions. People who are close to making an expensive hardware purchase are thereby drawn to this affiliate site. The site also offers trusted reviews, guides, news, and everything else that might appeal to people who are interested in computers and hardware.

 

Similarities Among These Successful Sites

User-Generated Content

Some traits you’ll notice in common among these sites is that they all rely on user-generated content. G2, Amazon, Tom’s Hardware, and AskGamblers all receive a considerable number of their visitors via content that was submitted by other users. This content might be reviews, forum posts, or something else.

Marketing Prowess

Additionally, they all have excellent SEO rankings. They’re all skillful with marketing in general. Plus, they are sites that people want to spend time contributing to.

What’s more, they rely on traffic sources beyond search engines. They’re often doing things that are media-worthy in order to get organic PR, too.

Take Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch, for example. When a popular Twitch streamer is playing a game, viewers could see a link to buy that game from Amazon. Also, they encourage viewers to connect their Twitch to their Amazon Prime accounts. This supports their favorite streamers and has certainly made the Prime offering irresistible to many Twitch users.

Customer Service and User Experience

Most smaller affiliate sites see themselves as static entities. In other words, they focus on getting the click and referring the sale. Then they’re done.

However, the top sites take a much bigger sense of ownership. They are a lot more connected to their users. For example, a strong affiliate site will create returning visitors, even actual fans. Their visitors are not people who are just going to click through to their site once and never think about it again.

What makes the difference? It’s great customer support. That’s what drives word-of-mouth advertising. These major players are all about building a positive relationship with their site’s audience.

What’s more, these sites have all worked hard to create the type of content that converts. If you’re looking for business software, for example, and you’re a savvy business person, you want to read reviews from other users. You don’t want to just read sales materials from the companies themselves.

To give another example, say you’re looking to gamble online. You find a site that has user reviews you can trust. What’s more, it highlights the current best deposit bonuses and other offers. Then you know you’re getting the information you need. In a nutshell, you get a value-added experience from that affiliate site. That’s something every affiliate site should aim for.

 

Learn from These Sites and Make Your Affiliate Site Stand Out

We’ve looked at some top-tier sites here. Granted, they all have huge teams and massive budgets, not to mention years and years under their belts.

So maybe your affiliate site won’t be the next Tom’s Hardware or Amazon. However, you can still borrow elements from these giants. Look for what helped these sites succeed and apply those attributes to your own affiliate site at an appropriate scale.

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What’s the Difference Between Federal and Private Student Loans?

August 21, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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Image via Flickr by GotCredit

Are you looking at going to school to boost your chances of succeeding in the business world? If so, you might be interested in obtaining student loans.

However, if you can get money for tuition through a grant or a scholarship, then you should definitely do so. If you can save up enough money to pay for classes by working, that works too. If your parents can afford to send you to college, you’re among the truly fortunate.

But for many college students, the best option available is a student loan. You can obtain student loans either from a federal institution or a private lender. Loans and interest rates work basically the same no matter who lends you the money. However, there are some fundamental differences between federal and private student loans.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: 6 REASONS WHY AN ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS A COLLEGE DEGREE

 

Different Student Loans Have Different Interest Rates

The federal government offers student loans for public benefit, not so they can maximize their profits. This means they keep interest rates both fixed and low.

Private interest rates are almost universally higher. They can have either fixed or variable interest rates. Variable-rate loans offer a lower initial interest rate. However, the numbers go up or down depending on the market and the prime interest rate. This the interest rate that is set by the Federal Reserve. Variable-rate loans tend to be a better deal since they let banks keep a consistent profit. However, that’s only as compared to a private fixed-rate loan.

 

There are Various Payment Plans

The payment plan on federal student loans is about as forgiving as they get. Payments only begin once you graduate from college. Plus, you can tie payment amounts to your current income. Therefore, your payment amount won’t overwhelm you even if you don’t get your dream job straight out of the gate. You also don’t have to worry about prepayment fees. And if you run into financial trouble, you can probably get a deferment.

With private student loans you can get some, all, or none of these benefits. Each institution has its own policies, and some of them are more forgiving than others. You also might qualify for some benefits based on where you live, what your credit rating looks like, and whether you can get a cosigner for your loan. The key is to make sure you shop around for the best private student loans.

 

Your Financial Background Matters

student loans 2

Image via Flickr by Daniil Vin

Not everyone is eligible for federal student loans. Most of them only go to students with a financial need, as proven by filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you and/or your parents are well off enough, the best loan terms won’t be available.

Private lenders may also use the FAFSA, but they’re also likely to use your credit rating to decide whether you’re eligible for the best interest rates and perks. And since most students have no real credit rating, you’ll almost always need a cosigner with a good credit rating to get decent loan terms.

Ultimately, there are as many differences between private student loans from different lenders as there are between federal and private student loans. No matter which kind of loan you pursue, however, make sure you know all there is to know about it. Know all your alternatives before you sign the dotted line.

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Replacing Point-to-Point Connectivity with Automation

August 20, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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Oracle’s Netsuite is a powerful solution. For example, it enables enterprises to manage various business operations over the cloud.

Organizations will get more value from NetSuite if it is integrated with other applications on a single interface. However, NetSuite integration can be a daunting task. Even teams with advanced competency centers face debilitating errors while developing its integration flows. Moreover, it is difficult to integrate NetSuite with legacy systems and on premise applications.

Nonetheless, many teams still use point-to-point connectivity for integrating NetSuite with other applications. But this approach is time-consuming. Plus, it requires a lot of engineering resources. Moreover, it is not feasible to connect NetSuite with hundreds of legacy systems using this approach. That’s because developers often code something and thereby change the behavior of another application.

Additionally, here are some disadvantages of this point-to-point approach:

 

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1. Cost Overheads

Imagine a situation where you need to integrate NetSuite with 500 applications. Hand coding each connection will take several months. Moreover, entities need to invest a huge amount of resources for recruiting and building teams. Costs will expand further because of down times and network breakdowns.

2. Maintenance

Organizations will need to expend enormous efforts to maintain systems and keep up the integration layer. Moreover, the integration layer is disturbed when teams change anything in the ecosystem. Teams have to spend huge cycle runs for incorporating minor changes. These changes keep the IT team busy. They also depreciate the quality of the service.

3. Rigidity

Point-to-point integration is difficult to scale. What’s more, the same coding cannot be used for developing other flows. Therefore, IT teams have to build new codes for accommodating new changes.

4. IT Complexity

Point-to-point connectivity is a good solution where two or three applications are involved. However, it is not a viable solution for an IT ecosystem where several new and old applications run in parallel.

 

An API-Led Approach for Integrating NetSuite

NetSuite offers several features for integrating with other applications. One feature is Suite Connect. However, there are several things to consider in this approach. Unfortunately, many organizations still view application development in binary. That is, they develop a single code and then send it to maintenance. However, developers generate several lines of coding just to bring data from other applications. Here is a use case of integrating NetSuite with Salesforce for a better understanding:

 

Step 1

Check remote site settings in Salesforce.

Step 2

Include NetSuite remote URL.

Step 3

Generate a script in NetSuite.

Step 4

Click Document → Files → SuiteScripts → Manual Script.

Step 5

Add a new customer by creating the JavaScript.

NetSuite1a

 Step 6

Add a new script with the Add File option.

Step 7

Click Customization → Scripting → Scripts → New.

Step 8

Click Select the type and Name the created script.

Step 9

Click Save. You will have created an endpoint in Salesforce in the form of a URL.

Step 10

Click Add Authentication Request.

Step 11

Use the Rest Call option in Salesforce for data transfer.

NetSuite2a

 

NetSuite3a

Note: The endpoint will be different for different use cases.

 

Teams encounter several scale and fail-over issues with this method. For example, the development team develops codes and testing teams validate them. This whole process is repeated several times.

However, teams can overcome all these issues if they can automate NetSuite integration with an end-to-end integration solution. This method thus empowers business teams to build workflows without needing to write a single line of code.

 

Automating NetSuite Integration

Automation augments the orchestration of technologies. Moreover, it allows teams to bring in data from any source. Therefore, teams can get a 360-degree view of data and integrate apps in simple steps. Also, teams can monitor and resolve IT complexity. This can prevent network breakdowns. Plus, they can access a number of business benefits by addressing pervasive integration needs.

 

A Simple Way to Integrate Cloud-Based Applications with an Enterprise-Class Integration Solution

 Step 1

Log into the platform and click “Projects” on the interface. The Projects page displays.

Step 2

Click “Data Interface” to create flows for any-to-any integration.

Step 3

Click “Create Interface.” Specify elements such as Name, Source Schema Name, Source Type, Source Name, Target Type, Target Schema Name, Data Mapping, etc.

Step 4

Drag and drop data. This will allow you to map data between the source and target elements.

Here is a video tutorial where you can get a more detailed integration approach.

In this way, organizations can beat back the challenges of IT complexity in an enterprise. Then, the IT teams can focus on other important issues. Additionally, business users can build integration flows for addressing unique customer needs.

 

Conclusion

A manual approach to NetSuite Integration is cumbersome, error-prone, and resource-intensive. Therefore, make use of automation instead.

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How to Write a Winning Proposal for Your Doctoral Dissertation

August 17, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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For prospective doctors of philosophy, writing a dissertation proposal is the first step on the way to their desired degree. If you are working on obtaining an advanced degree in order to further your business aims, you’ll need to understand this basic point.

The proposal for your dissertation is a plan for your further study. Therefore, it should convince professors that your topic is worth researching. Having a good proposal is half the battle. It is the thread that you will follow throughout the process of writing your dissertation.

Let’s take a closer look at this type of scholarly writing. It has its own features and peculiarities. Firstly, a dissertation proposal is not an essay or a mini-dissertation. It is an in-depth essay plan. It will provide you with guidance while you’re writing your dissertation. Therefore, you have to know how to differentiate between your dissertation and the proposal for it. This what we are going to explore in this article.

 

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Your Dissertation Creates a World

If a dissertation is a small world that you will bring into being, a proposal is a map of that space within the larger universe. The emphasis here is on the idea of mapping rather than creating. Before you can become a god and invent your own world, you have to become a cartographer. This means that the goal of your proposal is not to create your world, but rather to suggest what it will look like when you do create it.

 

What Does a Dissertation Proposal Do?

To begin with, let us look at the things dissertation proposal actually does for the future dissertation itself:

  • It puts forth your argument: Your proposal points toward how you will prove your argument. It should therefore give well chosen examples. However, you’ll omit any detailed explanation of these examples. The main idea is to present your general ideas and briefly describe the arguments without actually proving anything.
  • Your proposal describes how your argument fits together: What examples will you use, in what order, and why? How is the argument sequenced and subordinated? You will probably need to provide a chapter outline. However, you should offer a clear and extended overview of your argument long before you include that.
  • It outlines the research methodology: How will you state your argument? What theoretical, historical, contextual, and interpretative tools will you use? Will you employ any particular approach?
  • Your proposal fits your dissertation topic: You have to compose the proposal in accordance with the type of the dissertation you will write later.

 

dissertation

 

Follow Experts’ Basic Writing Tips for Your Dissertation Proposal

The whole academic system being built on the principle of the writing researches and papers, several experts continually suggest ways to be efficient in writing. For dissertation proposals it is worth remembering that this is not a traditional essay, however. It may look a lot like an essay. But its purpose differs crucially. Your proposal has to advance the topic while not explaining it or dwelling on it in detail.

Therefore, your dissertation proposal should include the following parts:

  • The literature
  • Your problem statement
  • The research question
  • Your methods of investigation
  • The main data sources
  • All references.

To begin writing a proposal, you should look for literature on topics that you find interesting and motivating with an eye for further examination. As you further explore these topics, you are likely to come upon some problem which has not yet been solved by other scholars.

 

Clearly Formulate the Problem You’re Studying

Upon finding the possible problem to study, you must next clearly formulate it into a problem statement and the subsequent research questions. Identify the core problem and main research question you will explore in your dissertation. Additionally, include some sub-questions that you can use to tackle the main question step by step. This will outline the entire body of your dissertation. Thus, it will become a convincing argument in favor of its approval.

The next step to do is to create a methodology for your research. This requires explaining how you will answer your research questions, including the methods and materials you will use. Apart from the methodology, sources of information are also of special importance. Outline where you will find the data you need, including how you will search the relevant literature. List the main journals that you will consult in the course of your writing.

 

Express Confidence

The last tip is to always be confident in what you do and what you are trying to achieve. Remember that your dissertation can make a huge difference in this world. If your research focuses on something you really believe in, then go for it!

Don’t hesitate to rewrite your proposal several times to make it convincing and strong. Trust us. There is no way your proposal will fail to get an approval then.

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Let’s Take a Look at a Few That Pay Big Bucks

August 17, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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It’s safe to say that entrepreneurship is a high-risk occupation. However, are you ever intrigued by other high-risk jobs?

When you’re looking for your dream job, one aspect to consider is the reward you get from the efforts you put in. The reward is usually in the form of salary or wages. For example, some high-risk jobs pay very well. However, the element of danger in high-risk jobs is quite high.

The risk might be due to the high number of injuries and even the risk of death. But what can you do to get that extra zero on your pay check? Top earners in the category of high-risk jobs enjoy six-figure salaries. What’s more, in some cases they don’t need a college degree.

Today we look at some high-risk jobs and what makes them so dangerous. Then you can decide whether to pursue them or not.

 

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1. Airline Pilot

Flying might be a safe way to travel compared to driving. However, sometimes gravity manages to win. The good thing is that the number of flights that go down is few. Nonetheless, due to the high level of risk, you get quality training. Plus, pilots earn a six-figure salary for a few hours of flight each day.

This career also proves to you that it is not only the “dirty” jobs that come with risks. Even those jobs you most admire can be high-risk jobs.

 

2. Working on an Oil Rig

Working on an oil rig comes with multiple dangers. The heavy equipment that you use on a daily basis is a danger in itself. Couple this with the grueling hours spent working in remote areas, plus tough conditions. At a minimum, the risk doubles.

Oil rig workers often find themselves working 12-hour shifts hundreds of miles offshore for a week or two at a time. If anything goes wrong, their life lies with the rescue teams that work these areas. What’s more, help might take hours to arrive. On the other hand, this is one of the high-risk jobs that will provide you with the maximum benefits for your injury or illness while at work.

 

high-risk jobs 1

3. Commercial Diver

Diving for a living is very different from diving in a pool. Commercial divers have to go deep into the water. What’s more, they face various risks. This even includes nitrogen poisoning if they dive deeper than 100 feet. This can severely interfere with their judgement if they descend more than 100 feet.

Then, too, there is decompression sickness. This can occur when nitrogen gets into the diver’s blood and saturates his or her tissues. If the diver makes the mistake of ascending too quickly, these bubbles grow in size. They can then lodge in the arteries and organs. This condition is painful and sometimes even fatal.

 

4. Nurse

You might be surprised to realize that nursing is a high-risk profession.

That’s because nurses are exposed to illnesses and injuries as they work. What’s more, most of their injuries relate to overexertion. However, studies show that as much as they suffer from overexertion, they still tend to miss fewer work days due to injury and illness compared to other workers.

 

5. Private Security Contractor

Many people fail to realize how lucrative the security business is. As a private security contractor, you are employed by corporations to guard facilities, personnel, and other property. You are always armed and given the necessary apparatus to stay safe.

However, security contractors put themselves in the line of fire. Therefore, we can consider these positions to be high-risk jobs. These jobs are in high demand, however, as the monetary rewards are high.

 

high-risk jobs 2

6. Professional Athlete

When the major part of your job is to exercise and compete with other people on a regular basis, your body gets run down. Moreover, professional athletes sometimes suffer life-threatening injuries. In other words, these high-risk jobs can even be fatal.

 

The Bottom Line

Earning good money for what you do to make a living is a great thing. However, if whatever you are doing is dangerous, you need to understand the risks. Moreover, you need to weigh those risks against the rewards before you jump in.

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6 Simple Steps for Beginners

August 9, 2018 by Asif Nazeer Leave a Comment

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A business proposal is critical in the expansion and growth of any small business. However, if you’re a beginner you might be wondering where to start.

It’s critical to note that business plans differ from business proposals. To be clear, a business plan functions as an overall plan for the business itself.

A business proposal, on the other hand, is intended to invite new business into the company. To that end, a business proposal must have a professional appearance. It also needs to provide for easy collaboration. It must be well protected. These things you can accomplish with PDFelement as shown below.

 

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1. Internalize the Proposal’s Requirements

Read the client’s requests and internalize them. Study the information they provide. Then you’ll understand what’s needed. The client’s information will help you to know how best to satisfy their needs.

Ask yourself who will be managing the entire project. Where and when will the proposal need to be delivered? At what location will the project be worked from? How will customer satisfaction and quality assurance be determined?

State the project’s start and end dates. Set the dates for milestone reporting. Explain your reasoning for the approaches you propose.

Finally, plan for how you will describe the qualities that make you the best candidate.

 

2. Calculate the Cost

It’s also critical to consider the full cost of the business proposal. Only in this way will you know what to charge.

To do this, go through the entire project in your mind. Come up with a realistic estimate of the number of hours each task will require. Total these hours, then multiply your total by 1.5.

For instance, if you estimate that the work in your proposal will take you 20 hours, multiply 20 by 1.5. This gives a total of 30 hours. Therefore, in the proposal, your estimated total time will be 30 hours.

Overestimation mitigates against the unexpected. If you complete before that time you can discount the final invoice and make your client happy.

 

3. Follow This Systematic Process

Once you have your estimates, begin writing.

Start with introduction. In the introduction, present your business and its goals in relation to the needs of the client. The introduction shouldn’t be longer than one page. Next, include an executive summary. In the executive summary clearly explain why you’re the perfect business or person for the job. State your case objectively but persuasively.

In the main body of your business proposal, take a deeper look into the specifics you indicated in the executive summary. Provide all details here, including:

  • Scheduling
  • Costs
  • Logistics
  • Data
  • Charts
  • Images
  • Illustrations of main concepts
  • Your website URL
  • Disclaimers and caveats

Conclude the main section by inviting the reader either to visit your site or give you a call.

You can include an optional table of contents for easier navigation. Additionally, if you have details such as customer testimonials, projections, or photographs, create optional appendices for them.

 

4. Revise the Business Proposal

Once you have finished with the first draft, put it aside for a while. After a few days, review it. Rectify typos and other errors. Ensure that all the numbers you have included are accurate.

Reread the client’s call for proposal. Ensure that your business proposal includes everything client has requested.

Where possible, make the proposal as short as possible. You want to ensure that the client can read it in less than 10 minutes. You can move charts, graphs, and images to the appendix. This will shorten the time it takes to read through the body.

 

5. Protect the Proposal and Give It a Professional Appearance

Next, give your business proposal a professional shine. You want the client to have a collaborative, professional proposal. Additionally, you want the proposal to be secure, especially given the information you’ve included.

Whether you’re an expert or a beginner, save your proposal in PDF format. This is essential. However, don’t settle for just any PDF. Instead, use a feature-rich tool such as PDFelement.

PDFelement allows you to collaborate efficiently and seamlessly. In this way, you can complete group work with your partners. It also makes version control and group collaboration super easy in real time, especially if you’re writing a shared proposal. Just create and split a single PDF draft into several parts. Once each group member has completed their individual section, PDFelement makes it easy and fast to merge the separate PDF’s into a single document again.

Also, the editing functions make correcting your business proposal quick and simple. The tool allows you to proofread the merged PDF. Then you can either make changes directly to the essay text, or you can circle questionable areas. Plus, you can leave notes for each other right inside the file.

Safety is key. This is a great reason to use PDFelement for your business proposal. Ensure that only authorized group members can edit the essay. Do this by using PDFelement’s protection functions. These include password protection of the document as well as user permissions set up for different levels of access.

business proposal

 

6. Submit the Proposal and Follow Up

Once you’ve given your business proposal these professional touches and added protective safeguards you can now hit send and deliver it to the client.

However, your work is not yet complete. After a short time, follow up with your prospective client. Use tracking tools for email to know when the recipient has opened the email.

The following morning or a few days later, ask your prospective client whether they have any questions or require any clarification. However, don’t wait too long to follow up. In other words, you want your business proposal to still be fresh in their mind.

 

Best of Luck with Your Business Proposal

Not every business proposal will bring new business into your company. However, you can increase your odds of winning new clients by carefully crafting your proposals. Then polish each of your business proposals to a professional shine with PDFelement. You’ll soon be winning new business like never before!

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