Surf the Cryptocurrency Wave with Your Own Cryptocurrency Business

Surf the Cryptocurrency Wave with Your Own Cryptocurrency Business

Some say the cryptocurrency phenomenon is the wave of the future. You could ride that wave to riches by starting your own cryptocurrency business.

The last several years have represented a boom for the fintech industry. This boom is due in large part to the much appreciated but little understood blockchain technology.

Basically, cryptocurrencies are created through the use of blockchain technology. Most often, people associate the term “blockchain” with Bitcoin, the first of the digital currencies. However, there are now multiple digital currencies, and new ones are created every day. And they are all based on blockchain technology.

People can use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for both online and offline purchases these days. However, most of the excitement around cryptocurrencies comes from stories about people getting rich trading in them. For example, the value of a single Bitcoin has risen from only a few dollars in 2009 to its current value of more than $10,000.

Numerous determined entrepreneurs have been consequently inspired to start their own cryptocurrency businesses.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: UNDERSTANDING WHY CRYPTO MARKETS SUFFER

 

Cryptocurrency Creation

Cryptocurrency creation is a 21st century phenomenon, and it’s only in its infancy. However, people can now use digital money for numerous transactions. What’s more, cryptocurrency ATMs have begun to pop up in key locations in several cities around the world.

Governments are starting to take notice. They are beginning to consider establishing norms for the creation and sale of digital coins. Regulation of the crytocurrency industry will further attract entrepreneurs who want to set up cryptocurrency businesses.

 

Initial Coin Offerings, or ICO’s

Some of the most successful of the cryptocurrency businesses revolve around the idea of selling digital tokens through a new process called initial coin offerings, or ICO’s. This is similar in concept to initial public offerings or IPO’s, in which owners offer shares of their company to stockholders for the first time.

In the case of ICO’s, however, investors purchase digital coins instead of shares in a publicly traded company. The sellers of these digital coins are small companies that are seeking to raise money for their activities. Cryptocurrency brokers assist in these trades, which are conducted through cryptocurrency exchanges.

 

The Technology Behind the Industry

The businesses behind the cryptocurrency industry are the IT companies that develop and refine the blockchain technology that underpins the entire industry. There are also businesses that focus on cryptocurrency mining.

Businesses in both of these sectors require numerous resources. This urgent need represents multiple opportunities for enterprising entrepreneurs.

 

Where and How to Start a Cryptocurrency Business

There are two pieces of good news for people who want to open a cryptocurrency business.

The first piece of good news is that registering a cryptocurrency business is pretty simple. Plus, you won’t have to go through any special licensing procedure.

The second piece of good news for aspiring entrepreneurs in this sector is that most countries in the world are open to these business ideas. This is thanks in large part to the positive effect that cryptocurrencies have on a country’s economy.

For example, the small European country of Estonia makes it easy for people to start a business, even for non-citizens. They do this by allowing citizens of other countries to take e-residency in their country.

Then, the process of starting any business in Estonia, including cryptocurrency businesses, is just a matter of filing a few papers with the authorities. What’s more, you can do it all electronically, and you can also manage your new Estonian business remotely.

Ireland is another of the countries in the world where small businesses thrive by selling digital money. Starting a cryptocurrency business in Ireland has many advantages. Among these are low tax rates, governmental support, and an abundance of outlets that accept digital coins as payment for their goods and services.

 

 

What Does the Future Hold for Cryptocurrency Businesses?

Some experts claim that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Others urge caution.

Meanwhile, more and more businesses are accepting cryptocurrency payments every day. Further, several countries around the world have either launched or will soon launch their own national cryptocurrencies.

So if you’re one of those risk-taking entrepreneurs who is ready for the challenge, you need only choose the right country for you and start your cryptocurrency business today.

The post Surf the Cryptocurrency Wave with Your Own Cryptocurrency Business appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/31/wave-cryptocurrency-business/

Should Your Company Offer Customers Warranties?

When you make a high-ticket purchase—whether it’s a house, new car, or even something as simple as a power tool—you’re generally offered some sort of warranty with the purchase. And while you probably have a personal take on whether or not you pay for warranties, have you ever considered offering them with your own company’s products?

 

The Benefits of Warranties

By definition, a warranty is “a written guarantee, issued to the purchaser of an article by its manufacturer, promising to repair or replace it if necessary within a specified period of time.”

While the advantages of warranties are clear for the consumer, what sort of benefits do they offer the business?

• Additional revenue. Sometimes warranties come standard with products, but many times businesses actually sell additional warranty coverage to customers. This creates an additional stream of revenue.
• Competitive edge. When you’re in a heated battle for customers with a close competitor, any little advantage helps. Offering a generous warranty may be enough to give you the edge you’re looking for.
• Long-term customer loyalty. Offering a warranty communicates to customers that you believe in your products and stand by them. One of the indirect effects here is long-term customer loyalty.

Some products are conducive to warranties, whereas it doesn’t make sense for other products. Cars are a great example of products that should be accompanied by warranties. Premier Automotive Group’s powertrain warranty for life instills confidence in the brand and makes customers feel like they’re getting more value and peace of mind with what is an incredibly important purchase.

On the other hand, it would be ineffective for an office supply store to offer a lifetime warranty on a roll of tape. The product is both cheap and dispensable—so there’s no point.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS TO YOUR BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORE

 

3 Tips for Maximizing the Value of Warranties

When you offer warranties to customers, you’re making an investment. In order to make the investment work, you have to see a return on the time, effort, and risk you put forth.

The following 3 tips will help you maximize this return.

 

1. Be Strategic With How You Offer the Warranty

Are you going to offer the warranty standard with the product, or will it be something that customers can add for an additional cost? Will the warranty only be offered for customers who join a membership club, or will it be available to anyone?

There’s strategy behind how a warranty is offered. You may have to play around with it until you find the right approach.

 

2. Only Include Elements You Can Afford to Support

You don’t have to offer customers a warranty, and you should only do so if it makes financial sense for your business. Only include elements that you can reasonably afford to support. The last thing you want is for a bunch of customers to come to you with an issue that negatively affects your bottom line.

 

3. Establish a Clear, Concrete Time Frame

The terms of a warranty should be very clear. Otherwise you’ll end up facing frustrated customers and legal action.

Perhaps the most important detail is the time frame. Customers should know exactly when a warranty starts and ends, as well as what (if anything) voids the warranty. The more transparent you are on the front end, the fewer issues you’ll deal with in the future.

 

 

Run the Numbers

You have to be the final judge of whether warranties would benefit your business. Do your due diligence, crunch the numbers, and figure out what the break-even point is. If they doesn’t have a positive impact on your bottom line, don’t offer warranties. But, as many other brands have discovered over the years, you’ll likely see a positive return.

The post Should Your Company Offer Customers Warranties? appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/30/company-offer-warranties/

Image credit: Hakan Dalstrom at Flickr

Dreaming of a Windfall? Would That Really Make You Happy?

Lots of people dream about winning a big windfall. As a matter of fact, many entrepreneurs go into business with the idea of making lots of money.

But what would you do if, say, you were to win big with the lottery? Would you retire early and live a life of luxury for the rest of your days? Take a trip around the world? Give money to family members? Donate to your favorite cause?

 

What Would You Do with a Million Bucks?

We often think of a lack of money in our lives as being a source of frustration and unhappiness. So we therefore conclude that a windfall that brought us lots of money would solve all our problems. One school of thought, however, suggests the results of winning large amounts of cash all at once might not always lead to happiness. You’ve probably heard the stories about lottery winners who ended up in bankruptcy courts a few years after their big win.

But are there people who fare well after coming into money they haven’t worked for? And how does their life satisfaction stack up against that of people who have worked hard for everything they have?

 

Would Lots of Money Make You Happier?

A couple of famous studies came to the conclusion that people were about as happy after their big windfall as they were before they won. It may even surprise you to know that most lottery winners continue to work after they win. What’s more, many of them resist the urge to spend lavishly, choosing instead to live modestly and look after their families. While they might work fewer hours than they did before their windfall, they put more money aside in savings and prudent investments.

 

What About the British Laborer Who Won Multiple Millions Online?

John Orchard, a 60-year-old laborer from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, won £5.9 million with a £30 bet at an online casino. The grandfather of three immediately quit his job. He purchased a house for his daughter and a £40,000 Jaguar for himself, then took a long vacation with his wife.

Others have become overnight millionaires in similar fashion, but there are many others who play and lose, time and time again.

 

 

What Do the Winners Say?

Other studies suggest somewhat grim results. For example, one source states that about 70 percent of all lottery winners, whether they win a lot or not so much, lose or spend all their money within 5 years. Winners report broken friendships and mistakes with lavish spending. Even worse, they complain of not fitting in anywhere.

In other words, they have a hard time hanging out with old friends as well as making new ones. This happens for a couple of reasons. For one thing, winners have the resources for extended vacations and the like. But their old friends simply can’t break away from their jobs and their lives for long enough to join them. And if those old friends do come along, they quite often must be subsidized. And this, oddly enough, can lead to resentments on both sides.

For another, winners often fear being thought of as easy marks by their old friends or liked by new ones only for their money. And when they try to make friends with the the truly wealthy, they say they are often snubbed. Others tire of the spotlight that often comes with winning a state or national lottery.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: STEVE WOZNIAK’S WORDS OF WISDOM FOR NEW AGE ENTREPRENEURS

 

What Kinds of Wins Lead to More Satisfaction in Life?

Does this mean it’s better to keep our noses to the grindstone, continuing to work hard, pay our bills, and build our businesses? If we do, we’re bound to meet with failure as often as we do success.

As a matter of fact, most of the entrepreneurs we look up to as role models did not reach pinnacles of achievement overnight. No, along the way, they trudged through dark times, rising time and again from defeat.

The likes of Richard Branson, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg are among these sturdy souls. Also included is Colonel Sanders, who founded KFC at the age of 56 after multiple failures. He once said, “One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping-stone to something better.”

Oprah Winfrey, who overcame childhood poverty to become one of the world’s most admired entrepreneurs, has had plenty to say about finding satisfaction in life. On the topic of choosing happiness, she said, “By transforming whatever work we choose into a mission—whether our job is to oversee a corporation, operate a till, or raise kids—we find fulfillment.”

Can we conclude, then, that money earned by the sweat of one’s brow leads to more satisfaction in life than money won through a lottery? What do you think?

 

About the Author

Carrol Strain is a Top Rated Premium copywriter on Upwork. She is also editor and on-call writer for the Business Opportunities blog.

The post Dreaming of a Windfall? Would That Really Make You Happy? appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/30/windfall-make-happy/

American Power and Gas CEO Talks about Energy Conservation

Energy conservation has become a controversial topic in the geopolitical space. Nearly everyone talks about it, and a lot of people are working to conserve energy. However, reports indicate that we continue to waste it.

American Power and Gas, a quickly growing energy company, is working hard to help people understand the importance of energy conservation. The company works to provide Americans with renewable energy at affordable prices. Its CEO, Tom Cummins, spoke to us about the venture and the importance of preserving energy.

 

Here’s what he had to say.

1. We Need to Think of the Future

The energy we use in our homes and businesses comes from natural resources. Therefore, it is limited.

Traditional ways of generating energy are becoming more and more expensive. This is simply because natural resources are becoming scarce. We therefore need to be careful about how much we use. If we’re not careful, we won’t have energy as we now know it in the future.

Think of natural gas, which is one of the most useful natural resources. It’s used to generate energy, but reserves of natural gas are continually decreasing because we are using that resource rapidly.

“The experts are not wrong. We have limited supplies, and if we are not smart about it, we’ll soon have no oil or other such resources left,” warns Cummins.

He adds, “This is why renewable energy is great. You don’t have to worry about wastage here. For example, sunlight is out there for all of us to use, so why not use it in a way that benefits us all?”

 

2. We Have to Control Costs

Energy bills are increasing day by day. According to Cummins, he started his company mainly because he wanted to provide people with affordable energy solutions. In addition, he wanted to prevent further damage to the environment.

Cummins says, “The start was not very easy for us. We only had a few sales callers about 15 years ago. But today our business is nearly half a billion dollars. This is great growth, and it also shows that people are looking for ways to reduce costs.”

In short, people are looking for affordable solutions.

Lots of consumers live in difficult financial situations, and they want to save as much money as they can. For some households, energy bills eat up 20% of the household’s total income. People have to work hard to pay for those energy costs.

 

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3. Energy Consumption Affects the Environment

If we want to live in a healthy environment, then we need to reduce energy consumption. Less energy use means less pollution. Less pollution means a healthier environment. And a healthier environment is important for every being on the planet.

The good news is that thanks to better technology, we use less energy today than we did even a few years ago. Energy-efficient products help us to save around 52 quads of energy each year. This amount of energy can power a dozen states for an entire year.

While this is good news, we need to save still more energy—or turn to alternative solutions. If we don’t, we will deplete our stores of natural resources.

Cummins says, “People have understood the importance of saving energy, but we need to do a little more.” He continues, “Nobody wants to live in an unhealthy environment. If we do not make a move today, it may be too late to save this planet.”

The use of renewable energy can help to reduce pollution as well as reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, according to reports, the US already produces fewer harmful gases than it did 10 years ago. This reduction in energy consumption has a lot to do with the use of renewable energy.

 

 

4. Energy Conservation Is Good for the Economy

“When we think about conserving energy, we only think as individuals. In reality, energy saving can help governments as well,” says Cummins.

Energy efficiency can save the government around $500 billion a year. Moreover, energy-efficient jobs create more jobs. As companies worked harder over the last few years to become more energy-efficient, they created roughly 10,000 jobs in the process. At the same time, they offered consumers more affordable options. Further, companies all around the world continue to work on finding innovations that will help save energy.

Cummins says of his company, “We entered the market at a time when renewable energy was not very heavily used. But today there are new businesses offering renewable energy for consumers. However, we still reign supreme, not only because we are pioneers in the field, but also because we have carved a niche and we know what customers really want.”

More and more people are becoming aware of the dire need for energy conservation, and things are beginning to change. However, says Cummins, “A lot of people don’t know how to save energy. Being educated about the benefits of sustainable forms of energy generation can make a lot of difference.”

The post American Power and Gas CEO Talks about Energy Conservation appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/ceo-talks-energy-conservation/

Your New Business Can Be About More Than Just Making Lots of Money

One of the reasons an entrepreneur decides to start a new business is because he or she likely has a knack for turning ideas into profits.

Many people are good with money. Still others are ingenious about coming up with ideas that resonate lots of people. But a good business owner can handle both of those extremes and tie them up in a single package. As a result, they can make an impact in the larger business world. This can be true even if their new business comes from humble beginnings. Further, they can become wealthy in the process, thereby making a better life for themselves and their families.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: PROFITABLE IDEAS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

 

Is That All There Is?

But a business should be about more than just making a hefty profit. Otherwise, the business world would be entirely self-interested. Everyday people would come to feel the brunt of this cutthroat attitude. Certainly, there are some companies that are only concerned with their own bottom line, as evidenced by their willingness to sacrifice their best intentions to service their profits.

However, you don’t have to allow your new business to fall into that trap. Ultimately, including notions like philanthropy and generosity in your business plan will be a boon to all involved. As the business owner, you will ultimately benefit, as will your employees who carry out your initiatives and the customers who benefit from those initiatives.

As an example of a businesswoman who has combined financial success with concern for her fellow human beings, Jamileh Kharrazi has few peers. Her work champions women’s rights and provides educational services for those who lack resources. However, her philanthropic pursuits do not in any way run counter to her business dealings. Here are some of the reasons you should follow her lead.

 

 

Public Support

When your customers see that you are providing something that may not increase your profits but works toward the greater good, they are more likely to give you their loyalty. In short, your altruistic tendencies can actually can make your business more profitable in the long run.

 

Community Impact

Even a well run business will have a hard time succeeding if the community which they are a part of is rundown and stricken by poverty or other social ills. However, your company could step into the fray and provide help for those less fortunate. When you do, your new business will help to create a better environment for everyone in your community.

 

Improving the World One Business at a Time

You might think you can’t have much of an effect on society’s problems, especially if you run a business of modest proportions. The problem is, if everyone thinks this way, no one will step up to the challenge.

But you could be that business leader who changes your customers’ lives for the better. You can do this by providing more than just the goods and services you offer for a fee.

These are just some of the ways that your new business can be successful while doing good in the world. What’s more, you won’t have to consult your profit-and-loss statement to make these efforts.

You can be someone who improves the business world as well as the world at large—and the community’s perception of your new business will improve as well.

The post Your New Business Can Be About More Than Just Making Lots of Money appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/new-business/

Website Vulnerabilities: Don’t Let Them Slow Your Business Down

Internet safety is more important now than ever. And if you want to keep your business running smoothly, you’ll take note of recent discoveries about major website vulnerabilities.

And what are these website vulnerabilities? They are serious flaws in some of the world’s most popular software, including Intel and Google Chrome. Currently known flaws are dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre.” These flaws could potentially be extremely damaging. That’s because, by exploiting them hackers can steal data and sensitive information from both individuals and businesses.

In this article we look into these website vulnerabilities so that you can take steps to reduce your risks.

 

Browser

Hackers aim generally to disrupt service, steal or compromise personal information, or distribute malicious content. They target vulnerabilities in web browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox so that they can modify settings in your browser’s security system without your knowledge.

They can then steal your information. Often they will even display a compromised version of your browser, causing a multitude of problems for you.

 

Server

When an attacker looks to exploit a well known vulnerability in a web server, they’re generally attempting to gain root access to your domain. From there, they know they will have access to any data you have stored within your website.

Once they gain control over your site, they will then go on to modify your current setup or corrupt it with malware. Then they transfer their harmful content onto your visitors’ computers. As you can well imagine, this poses a serious threat not only to your own and your visitors’ data, but also to your online reputation as well.

 

 

Web Applications

Website vulnerabilities are one of the most common avenues that attackers use, because websites are open to large numbers of Internet users. What’s more, as web applications become outdated, the risks increase.

Therefore, be sure to take advantage of regular updates. These updates tighten security and minimize your risks.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: WHICH CYBER SECURITY PROCESS IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

 

How to Minimize Your Risks

You may not be able to completely eradicate all risks. However, you can take preventative measures to tighten security and protect yourself from an attack. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions:

 

1. Switch to HTTPS

Making the switch to HTTPS is one of the best things you can do to increase your website security. This will ensure that all your connections and the data you send and receive will be secure. That’s because all of the exchanges between your browser and your website will be end-to-end encrypted.

You’ll need to purchase and install an SSL certificate in order to do this. However, this is highly recommended for all sites, especially those that gather data submissions.

 

2. Host Your Website with a Reputable Provider

Another way to reduce the risk of attack to your website is to ensure that you host your site with a trusted and reputable provider. Make sure that the provider you choose offers a good level of support and minimal downtime.

Most hosting companies offer shared hosting plans as their standard offering. However, your website will be more secure with a dedicated plan instead. A dedicated plan will help to localize your website to its own unique space. Therefore, it will be less likely to be affected by other sites should those sites become compromised.

 

3. Regularly Update Software

Lots of users fail to update the software they use every day. This can be a serious mistake.

Software developers deploy these updates not only to improve performance, but also to eliminate the vulnerabilities that they know about. Make sure that you’re always running the latest versions of popular software and web applications to reduce your risks.

 

4. Utilize Anti-Malware and Firewalls

Anti-malware and firewall tools are your first line of defense. These tools will help to flag any untrustworthy sites as well as sites that might have become compromised. Additionally, they will alert you when an attacker has attempted to install malware onto your site. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to take preventative action.

 

Summary

In short, a number of popular software systems and platforms have known vulnerabilities. However, you can reduce the risks of attackers gaining control over your website, browser or server by taking preventative measures.

While you might not be able to eliminate all risks, you can make it much more difficult for an attacker to exploit these vulnerabilities.

The post Website Vulnerabilities: Don’t Let Them Slow Your Business Down appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/website-vulnerabilities-slow-business/

3 Ways to Make Big Savings in Your Small Business

Starting out with your small business can be an exciting but stressful time.

Generally, any new venture requires a lot of time, capital, and passion to get it off the ground. A lack in any of these departments can land you in all kinds of trouble. The time and passion aspects of building your small business are central to your own work ethic.

However, making sure your cash flow is in the best possible shape can sometimes be a little difficult for anyone new to entrepreneurial circles. It might not be easy to stay on top of your cash flow at a time in business that is notoriously volatile. Nonetheless, there are ways to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep costs down and profits up when you’re starting out.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES TO INSPIRE NEW ENTREPRENEURS TO NEVER GIVE UP

 

Consider Your Choices with Telephony

Recent advancements in technology have led to a lot of change in the workplace. One thing has remained the same, though, and that is the need to communicate.

Without a phone line, your company runs the risk of looking amateurish and untrustworthy. Therefore, getting yourself a customer hotline should be a priority. This doesn’t, however, mean than you need to pay for an actual telephone line. With many online options available, the need to have a physical line tied to your company is long gone. In its place is a plethora of services that are cheaper, more functional, and infinitely more flexible.

The likes of Skype, RingCentral, and Vonage offer subscriptions for regular telephone numbers. Calls are routed to your smartphone, tablet, PC, or any other platform you desire. They also come with the added bonus of video calling. Plus, they can easily be expanded should you decide that you need another line for a new employee.

As long as you have a steady internet connection, the calls can be equal to, or even better in quality than a standard landline. All this comes at a price that is cheaper than your average landline package. And it’s a lot more useful.

If you’re a starting a business that is flexible in its locale, landlines make little to no sense.  Equally, being contactable while you’re on the go is fast becoming a necessity for the modern small business. As such, you have a choice between an expensive single-function service, or a more malleable cheaper one.

 

If You Need a Loan, Make the Right Choice

Getting your small business off the ground can in some instances require more capital than you personally have available. In situations like this, a loan is a perfectly respectable way of getting your business up and running.

Choosing the right loan, though, can be confusing. Various factors will affect the type of loan you’ll be able to acquire. These factors include how much money you need and how long you have been in business. Further, your lender will want to know how much you are making in profit.

What’s more, different lenders have different rates at which you have to pay them back, and how much you will have to pay back overall. Take your time to look around, compare business loans, and select the one that best fulfills your needs.

 

Choose Premises Appropriate to Your Means

Before you sign up to rent an office space for the next 12 months, ask yourself whether you really need to. An office could be a necessity for some small businesses, but not everyone needs to have one. Especially when your small business is in its fledgling stage you might be better off working from home.

However, if that is impossible or impractical, there are some companies out there who specialize in short term, rentable office spaces. This can be anything from a single desk in a small room to plush meeting rooms, or even entire floors for bigger teams. This approach can be great for small businesses for these big reasons:

• Firstly, you can rent on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
• Secondly, you can often find a space that’s near to wherever you happen to live.
• And thirdly, you can rent rooms that are more luxurious than anything you could currently afford with yearly leases.

If you have an important meeting with a client, rent the penthouse meeting room. The next day, simply rent the standard office desk. This way you look impressive to the onlooker when you need to exude the “wow” factor. But you’ll save money by renting only the more conservative rooms for the rest of the week.

 

 

Conclusion

With a little effort, research, and planning, you can save a lot of money for your small business by simply working within your means. You might find that don’t need to tie yourself down to long and expensive contracts, and it pays to look at the alternatives.

With so many options available, there has never been a more exciting time to start building that empire.

The post 3 Ways to Make Big Savings in Your Small Business appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/big-savings-your-small-business/

The Best Ways to Remove Time Stamps from Photos in 2018

Let’s say you have some photos on your phone that you want to use in some Facebook ads. The only problem is, they all have time stamps on them. This article will give you some solutions for getting rid of time stamps.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: MARKETING FOR NON-MARKETERS: GET GOOD AT IT BY LEARNING TO LOVE IT

 

Best Ways to Remove Time Stamps from Photos in 2018

Simple-to-use photo editing tools can help you to get rid of time stamps on your photos. Basically, there are two techniques you can choose from.

 

1. Crop to Remove Time Stamp

One of the easiest ways to remove a time stamp from a photo is to crop the photo.

There are two basic methods for cropping photos. If you’re using a PC with Windows, MS Paint will be your go-to tool. On the other hand, if you’re a Mac user, access the Photo app, where you can easily edit your images.

 

How to Crop Images on Windows with Paint

Windows Paint gives you one of the easiest ways to edit images on Windows. Since it comes as a built-in tool, you won’t need to load the app to your system. Cropping images on Paint is actually pretty easy to do.

First, open the app on your system. Then go to the file menu and open your editable photo file. Next, you can use either of the following two techniques:

• Crop your image in a rectangular shape. Do this by selecting the rectangular crop option from the Paint app. Click on the image and drag the cursor to select the area you want to crop. When you’re ready, hit the crop button and save your cropped image to your desired folder.

• Crop your image in a free-form shape. To do this, hit the black arrow below the Select button and choose a free-form shape. Crop the image by dragging the mouse on your desired path, then hit the crop button. Save your image.

How to Crop Images with the Photo App on a Mac

You can easily edit images on Mac using the Photo app. Before you can do this, you’ll have to update your Mac to the latest Mac OS X using Yosemite. It’s worth it, though, because you’ll find the Photo app simple to use. Load the image, then double click on it to start editing. Use the rectangular or square drag tool to crop the image. Hit the crop button, then save the image to your desired folder.

It’s worth noting that the crop tool is a basic tool that’s available in both the Mac Photo and MS Paint apps. However, it won’t provide you with ideal results. Most of the time, for professional-looking results, you’re going to have to use advanced photo editing tools.

 

2. Remove the Time Stamp with Fotophire

If you need a high-quality solution to deal with your photo editing and time stamp removal jobs, try Fotophire’s feature-rich photo editing toolkit as an inexpensive alternative to Photoshop. The company offers a free trial of their app. However, images edited in the free version will have a Fotophire watermark on them.

Therefore, to get the best results, you’ll need to turn to the paid version. Fotophire is easy to use, and it will remove unwanted elements from your image with just a few clicks.

There are two ways you can go about removing time and date stamps from images using Fotophire.

Method 1: Using the Erase Tool

Go to the Erase tab, which you’ll find on the right side of the toolbar. Choose the tool for date stamp removal. The selection rectangle tool will give you any geometric shape you need to cover specific areas of the image.

Also, you can use the Selection brush. This has a variable brush size slider to help you more precisely select the area on the photo that you wish to edit. Once you have selected the desired portion on your image, hit the Erase button and it will remove that element from your image.

Method 2: Using Clone Tool

The Clone tab is just below the Erase tab. In order to use this tool accurately, you have to choose right source point size and brush size. The size of a source point and brush will help to determine dimensions of the area that you want to copy. These values are specific to different segments of the image, so you’ll need to make accurate adjustments for editing. To clone the specific area, hold the Alt key and select the area. Then drag your selected portion over the unwanted time or date stamp. If you need more precision, you can simply zoom or pan the area.

 

 

Use Your Best Photos to Good Advantage

Hopefully, this article has given you the information you need. Now you can remove those unsightly time stamps and start using some of the great photos on your phone to help promote your business.

The post The Best Ways to Remove Time Stamps from Photos in 2018 appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/remove-time-stamps-photos/

Want to Start Working From Home? Now Is the Perfect Time to Move

Americans are increasingly working from home. More sophisticated communications technology and greater acceptance from mainstream workplaces make this possible. Last year, more than 43 percent of American professionals reported spending at least some time working from home. That number is expected to rise continuously over the next several years.

If you’re currently in a traditional work environment, or if you’re working from home only part of the time, this could be the year you fully transition to remote work. If it is, you have a critical opportunity on your hands. You could move, and now is the perfect time to do it.

 

 

Preparing for Remote Work

If you aren’t used to working remotely, there are a few things you’ll need to consider about the opportunity:

 

• Discipline

For most people, one of the hardest aspects of working from home is maintaining your discipline and motivation. Nobody will be looking over your shoulder, so only you are responsible for keeping yourself professional and on schedule. Therefore, finding the right office environment and going in with the right mentality are important.

 

• Communication

You might also experience some communication barriers. This can be especially the case if you’re used to engaging with your team in person on a regular basis. Fortunately, there are many channels and options to choose from, making communication easier.

 

• Lifestyle Optimization

Your remote working setup might also have an effect on your overall lifestyle. You could find yourself working different hours and making a new salary. And especially if working alone affects your mental health, you might find that you have different needs.

Fortunately, moving can help you with becoming more disciplined, being a better communicator, and landing in a lifestyle that’s genuinely right for you.

 

 

Advantages of Moving

 

So how, exactly, is moving advantageous for new remote workers?

 

• You can find a home with a perfect office

First, you’ll have the opportunity to find the perfect home—and one with the ideal office environment. It’s possible to retrofit almost any room and convert it into an office, but it’s often better to find a space that works as an office in its own right. For example, you might want a spacious room with ample natural lighting. Or maybe you want a soundproof (or soundproof-capable) room in the basement so you can work in silence. Because you’ll be buying a new home, you have the full range of options in front of you.

 

• You can choose somewhere quiet

If you work in an urban location, you might be tempted to buy a house that’s close to the city. Or perhaps you want to be in a suburban area with lots of neighbors. Unfortunately, either of those choices often means dealing with excessive levels of noise. Choosing a new location gives you the opportunity to settle down in a location that’s quieter and more conducive to concentrated work.

 

• You can lower your living expenses

You’ll make the same salary no matter where you live, so why not move to an area with lower living expenses? For example, if you currently live  in a large, densely populated city, a competitive salary will likely go twice as far in a sparsely populated Midwest town. Moving to a new location could stretch your salary much further. This will give you the opportunity to build up more savings for your future.

 

• You can go anywhere

Assuming your job is one that can be done no matter where you are, this is your perfect opportunity to go anywhere you want. You could even continue working from home and move outside the country if it doesn’t conflict. Opportunities like this rarely come along. Therefore, if there’s another location you’d prefer to live in, or even one that you’ve always wanted to try, this is your chance. And for as long as you remain a remote worker, you can keep moving, or travel to see the world.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO TRAVEL THE WORLD WHILE WORKING REMOTELY

 

• You’ll start a new life (and lifestyle)

This is also your chance for a fresh start. You can begin your job with a new frame of mind, a new set of goals, and perhaps most importantly, a new lifestyle to tie everything together. Moving into a new house can help solidify the psychological feeling that you’ve begun something new. Plus, choosing your new neighborhood and communities gives you a chance to define your place in them from scratch.

 

Conclusion

You don’t have to move when you start working from home, but it could help you out in both your personal and professional lives. Give some serious thought to the option, and look for homes in multiple areas before you finalize your decision.

The post Want to Start Working From Home? Now Is the Perfect Time to Move appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/start-working-from-home-move/

5 Helpful Retirement Planning Tips for the Self-Employed Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, business owner, or self-employed professional, retirement might not be something you spend a lot of time thinking about. Between keeping your business up and running and making enough money to pay your monthly expenses, retirement is your last concern.

Should it, perhaps, be a bigger priority?

 

The State of Retirement Planning

The sad truth of the matter is that most business owners and entrepreneurs are under-prepared for retirement. According to a recent survey by BMO Wealth Management, 75 percent of business owners have saved less than $100,000 for retirement. Just 3 percent have more than $1 million in retirement savings.

What’s most alarming is that it’s not just young entrepreneurs who are being careless with their retirement. Roughly 68 percent of those in the 45-64 age bracket have saved less than $100,000 for retirement.

A large percentage of business owners say they plan on eventually exiting their business and using the proceeds to fund retirement. However, 35 percent of those surveyed say they have no exit strategy at the moment.

Even for those entrepreneurs who do have an exit strategy, banking your entire retirement on the sale of a business is never a good idea. All it takes is one issue, a new innovation from a competitor, or a shift in the marketplace and a million-dollar business can turn into a worthless commodity overnight.

If business owners and entrepreneurs don’t get something figured out soon, we’re going to have a retirement crisis on our hands in a couple of decades. Thankfully, there are options—no matter what stage of your career you’re in.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: THE 5 HIDDEN COSTS OF BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR

 

5 Helpful Tips and Tricks

Retirement planning looks slightly different for every self-employed individual. However, the basic concepts and principles remain the same across the board. Let’s check out a few tips and tricks you’ll find helpful:

 

1. Open Up a Retirement Account

If you’re a self-employed individual, one of the best options you have is a Roth IRA.

“To open a Roth IRA you must meet certain eligibility requirements. At a minimum you must be employed and have income. After that condition is met, how you file your taxes and how much money you make will affect whether or not you are eligible for a Roth IRA,” Eligibility.com explains. “Because requirements for Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs and other investment vehicles change from year to year, you will need to do your homework, consult with a financial advisor or your bank to make sure you do qualify under the most current rules according to the Internal Revenue Service.”

Generally speaking, you’ll qualify for a Roth IRA if you have a modified adjusted gross income of less than $129,000 if you’re filing on your own. That figure rises to $191,000 if you’re filing jointly. You can contribute up to $5,500 per year ($458 per month) until you reach the age of 50. At that point you can contribute $6,500 per year ($541 per month).

If you’re a business owner, another option to consider is a Solo 401(k). One of the primary benefits of a Solo 401(k) is that you can contribute up to 25 percent of your net earnings per year (up to $53,000).

 

 

2. Develop a Personal Budget

Often, entrepreneurs and business owners don’t set aside enough for retirement because they aren’t telling their money where to go. They’re just pulling money out to cover personal expenses. But they’re not actually calculating how much they’re spending and where the money is being used.

If you want to cover your expenses now and live comfortably in the future, you need to be strategic with your money. Developing a budget is one of the first things you should do. This will help you to identify areas where you’re “bleeding” money. And it will also let you see how much you can contribute to retirement each month.

 

3. Invest What You Can

One of the bigger challenges self-employed individuals face is unpredictable income. One year you might make $200,000, while the next year you might barely scrape by with $45,000. Trying to make a consistent annual contribution might not work. That’s why you should take an “invest what you can” mentality.

One year you might only contribute a couple thousand dollars to retirement. But the next year could present an opportunity to max out your 401(k) and throw a little extra into a mutual fund. If you invest to the best of your ability each year, it will all average out over the long haul.

 

4. Be Willing to Take on Risk

As an entrepreneur, you have a stronger stomach for risk than most people. Make sure you keep this mentality in retirement investing, at least in the early years.

When you’re 25, 30, or even 40, you have plenty of time to ride out a stock market crash or bad investment. Having said that, set up your portfolio so that it has at least a few high-risk-high-reward investments. Then, as you get closer to retirement, you can begin to shift things to more stable stocks and bonds.

 

5. Set Goals

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you thrive when there are goals and objectives in front of you. In order to kick your retirement planning into high gear, come up with some very specific goals. Whether it’s having $5 million in retirement savings, or being able to retire when you turn 50, clear goals will keep you grounded when things get hard and tedious.

 

It’s Never Too Late to Start Saving

It doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s never too late to start saving for retirement. And this holds true even if you’re 55 and plan on retiring at 65. Simply maxing out your Roth IRA at $6,500 per year (the limit for catch-up contributions) for 10 years will yield close to $110,000 (assuming an average rate of return).

If you have a spouse who is also working, you could collectively save nearly a quarter of a million dollars in just a decade. That might not be a huge nest egg, but it’s better than nothing!

The moral of the story is to make a move. Start contributing money to retirement on a regular basis. It’ll take time, but one day you’ll look at your account statements and realize that you’re a millionaire.

Now that’s what we call living the American Dream!

The post 5 Helpful Retirement Planning Tips for the Self-Employed Entrepreneur appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/retirement-planning-tips-entrepreneur/

Learning the Advanced Features of Your Premium Trading Platform

If you think of trading as your profession but you’re not yet using all of the features of your premium trading platform, this article is written for you.

 

Most Retail Traders Are Losing Money

Often, retail traders don’t understand how hard it is to make a consistent profit in spread betting. And according to the statistics, most retail traders are losing money.

However, that’s only true because the majority of them are trading without the benefit of a solid trading system. That is, they place trades based solely on their gut feelings. Naturally, they lose money.

Of course, they might occasionally get lucky and have a big win. But over the long term, they have a tough time surviving in the extreme heat of the current market.

Most of the articles that are available online give lots of information about how to go about trading. In this article, however, we’re going to focus on helping you learn the advanced features of your premium trading platform. That’s because if you’re a new trader and you haven’t yet learned the advanced features of your premium trading platform, it will be nearly impossible for you to make a profit on a regular basis.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: THE INS AND OUTS OF TRADING SOFTWARE

 

Subscribe to a Professional Trading Platform

If you’re serious about trading as a profession, then you should definitely engage the services of a reputable broker in the online trading industry. If you don’t give yourself this advantage, you simply won’t be able to compete in a premium trading environment.

While it’s true that you’ll have to pay a higher fee to a professional brokerage firm, if you consider the benefits overall you’ll see that you’ll come out ahead. Experienced traders have been known to spend a good deal of money with these brokers, just so that they will be able to trade in a premium trading environment.

However, you can cut some of those costs by trading with a reputable broker such as ETX Capital. They will offer you a professional trading platform where you can do all the technical analysis yourself, by using their advanced trading tools.

Keep in mind, though, that if you are new to the trading industry, you should start out with a demo account. In this way, you won’t have to lose any real money while you’re learning about trading.

 

Learn to Place Pending Orders 

Do you know that many new traders stare at their trading chart all day long, trying to place their trade at precisely the right price?

No one can become a profitable trader by operating in this fashion. What the real professionals do is place pending orders in the best spread betting platform and let the market do its job. Then they take their profits if the trade goes in their favor.

In other words, they don’t spend all day staring at the price movements. They go about their trading in a systematic and organized way. However, if you trade in a random fashion, chances are low that you will make money in the long run. So learn how to use the pending features on your premium trading platform and utilize your time more efficiently.

 

Master the Advanced Trading Tools

Remember that you also have access to advanced trading tools on your premium trading platform. Learn to use them to your advantage.

Rookies often use these advanced tools simply as indicators in the market. But indicators will never help you to secure profitable trades. That’s because the prime function of these indicators is to identify the potential false trading signals in the market.

If you’re an active trader you should learn how to use the Fibonacci retracement tools. They can help you to predict price movements in favor of the long-term market trend. Some traders say that Fibonacci trading tools work best with the price action confirmation signal. Simply put, learn the price action trading system and become a more profitable trader.

 

 

Become a True Trading Professional

Learning all the ins and outs of advanced trading tools is not an easy task. However, begin with demo trades until you have a better feel for the market and learn to use the tools available to you. Then, focus on developing your trading skills and mastering the advanced trading tools in your premium trading platform. Before long, you’ll realize that you have become a true trading professional.

The post Learning the Advanced Features of Your Premium Trading Platform appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/premium-trading-platform/

Rideshare Drivers Share Information in Online Networks

Ever since the advent of Uber and Lyft, rideshare drivers have been complaining about employment issues. This was partially due to marketing by Uber and Lyft that exaggerated the incomes drivers could expect to make. Add to this the facts that drivers are self-employed and that calculations for drivers’ expenses were complex and difficult to understand, and you have some pretty disgruntled drivers.

On the other hand, when rideshare drivers find a way to share a few driving tips and share stories from everyday experience, you have a great algorithm for creating a helpful information network. This is exactly what happened when hundreds of blogs, vlogs, forums, and groups started to appear online and created a dialogue among themselves that’s also open to the public.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER BEING A FREELANCER?

 

My Personal Experience

I’m an experienced Uber driver with over 3.5 years of driving for Uber and Lyft. I believe it is essential to help the inexperienced driver build up confidence and skills, enhance their driving skills and improve their passenger interactions. Further, most of them need help with avoiding and resolving problems and issues with Uber or Lyft in situations where they do not understand company policy.

These online forums, which also function as support groups, can help inexperienced drivers find their way with issues such as:

• Dealing with difficult or unruly passengers
• Organizing their business, both legally and otherwise
• Managing and reporting their mileage and taxes
• Learning about company policy and keeping up with changes to policy
• Reporting accidents and handling traffic fines
• Maintaining a 5-star rating
• Staying informed about technical issues
• Dealing with all kinds of weather

Additionally, rideshare drivers can learn about new gadgets, apps, and accessories that can help them. For instance, there’s the Mystro app, designed by a rideshare driver.

Rideshare drivers primarily want to know how to drive better and how to increase their income. They want to understand what is happening with their contracts and the company they drive for. They need to know about emerging technologies and the future of the rideshare industry.

Drivers often ask themselves, “Do I need to entertain my passengers or just drive them from Point A to Point B? Which car is best suited for my work? Can I afford, and do I want to afford to be an UberBlack driver? Is pool driving cool or a headache? How about tips for making more money driving?”

In response to these questions, social networks have become populated with tips, blogs, and articles. There are numerous rideshare networks now, on local, national, and even global levels.

 

Local Networks

In the US this means by city and by state. Drivers are generally limited to driving within their own state, and each state and each city have specific laws and regulations relating to drivers. Further, incomes and incentives vary among regions. Questions such as, “Where is the best area for drivers in Denver, and what are the best times?” are common questions for all local networks.

 

National Networks

The national networks deal with corporate policies and tax issues. Rideshare drivers can also read about other drivers’ experiences on the national networks and learn how they handled them.

 

Global Networks

These networks deal with cross-border issues, such as tips for drivers starting out in Canada and driving into the US. Other discussions might concern, for instance, Didi’s expansion into Mexico and how it will affect US drivers. Or what is happening with SoftBank and all its rideshare holdings.

 

Uber and Lyft Apps

The rideshare apps do not allow for discussion groups, so social media and blog sites have stepped in to fill that gap. This online discussion has increased awareness among rideshare applicants. It has also educated Uber and Lyft executives about what is going on in their drivers’ minds and lives.

 

Policy Discussion

One interesting use of driver networking is the discussion of policy changes. When Uber fired founder Steve Kalanick from the CEO position and appointed Dara Khosrowshahi to replace him, forum participants from all over the world followed the changes closely. Hashing out the changes helped drivers better understand the issues and how to relate to them.

Naturally, though, the most popular topic on any of these networks is income. The discussion becomes especially heated when policy and technological changes affect drivers’ incomes.

 

Comparisons

Drivers are not afraid to share screenshots of their income, and they readily compare notes.

For example, when Uber introduced their lucrative up-front pricing system for customers, passengers paid the higher rate while drivers continued to receive the lower fare rate that was set by the app. When drivers compared notes and realized they were missing out on a percentage of this additional income, this led to an uproar.

Drivers felt so cheated that only about half of Uber drivers during Kalanick’s tenure lasted more than a year. This, however, did not stop Uber from becoming the world’s leading rideshare company during that time.

 

 

The Uber/Lyft Mix

There are about 700,000 Lyft drivers and 750,000 Uber drivers, with between 10%-29% driving for both. Since the models used for defining a driver’s income are different in Uber and Lyft, income rates vary between the two companies. However, driving for both is similar. In both, the customer is important, policies about handling unruly customers are roughly the same, and ratings make or break the driver.

 

Using the Network for Company Messages

The drivers’ network is not lost on Uber and Lyft. Both companies have asked drivers to post messages on their forums and boards so that drivers will be triply notified. That is, they will get a message through the app, their e-mail and on the network. On other occasions, drivers who have been selected to perform in company-specific pilot programs have shared the pilot data online with other drivers.

 

The Bottom Line

Driver networks are common and useful tools for the driver as well as for new applicants. Anyone who is interested in rideshare driving should join and read as many forums and sites as possible. Only in this way can you compare information and make an informed decision.

 

About the Author

Aman Bhangoo is the co-founder of RidesharingForum who helps rideshare drivers and riders to find answers to their most pressing questions. With over 3.5 years of experience, Aman brings a vast amount of knowledge, style, and skill to help fellow drivers. He has given over 18,000 rides with Uber and more than 6,800 rides with Lyft.

 

The post Rideshare Drivers Share Information in Online Networks appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/rideshare-drivers-online-network/

The Changing Nature of Innovation Funding Is Affecting R&D Tax Credits

The United Kingdom faces a productivity conundrum. Once one of the most powerful economies on the planet, the UK has seen its productivity and economic growth lag behind global peers in recent decades.

A government report in 2015 pointed out that labor productivity in the UK had nearly flatlined since 2007. The country’s productivity was 17% lower than the G7 average. And it was also 31% behind the US, 28% behind Germany, and 27% behind France in terms of productivity. Stagnant productivity growth has a negative effect on real incomes and living standards across the country. This issue is now at the core of the government’s economic plans.

Economists suggest a simple remedy for this problem: innovation.

Innovative countries thrive in the modern global economy. A focus on risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and invention has helped Germany stand out as the most resilient economy in Europe. Further, it has helped the United States sustain its lead on the world stage. Economists have measured a 2.2% gain in GDP growth rates for every 1% increase in research and development (R&D) expenditure in a country.  In other words, the only way to grow a developed economy is to keep innovating and inventing. Encouraging innovation should be the cornerstone of every new economic policy in the developed world.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: MORE COMPANIES CLAIMING R&D TAX CREDITS THAN EVER BEFORE

 

The Changing Nature of Innovation Funding

The UK government’s efforts to encourage innovation have changed over the past few decades. Meanwhile, companies have been inspired by tech giants and successful startups from across the pond to invest in new techniques and cutting-edge technologies. British businesses of all sizes now realize the importance of securing intellectual property, applying for patents, hiring researchers, and encouraging the development of new techniques.

In the modern economy, a technical breakthrough or a unique technique is invaluable.

Businesses tinker with ways to transform their operations and gain a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, the government is on a mission to encourage and support these efforts. The most important element of this mission is the government’s R&D Tax Credits scheme. This was launched in 2001 and has been expanded regularly since then. These tax credits offer businesses of all sizes from different industries incentives to boost research and development investments.

The scheme has been a resounding success. Since 2001, every pound of tax credits has encouraged between £1.53 and £2.35 in R&D investments. More than 28,500 small and medium-sized businesses have benefited from the scheme. The government has spent over £9.5 billion over the years trying to boost innovation.

Platforms like Tax Cloud help businesses apply for these credits. However, many are still unaware of the benefits and structure of this incentive scheme. Thousands of entrepreneurs lack the support they need to invest for the future and to secure their operations.

As international competition intensifies and Britain leaves the European Union, the structure of these tax credits is changing.

 

 

A Shift in Innovation Funding

In order to stay competitive, the UK government is updating many of these initiatives focused on innovation and research. In the next few years, the government will establish the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Office for Students (OfS), while modifying the Research Excellence Framework.

Meanwhile, Innovate UK continues to support and fund new startups in the four key areas of growth for the British economy. These are technology, healthcare, infrastructure, and manufacturing or materials sciences. This year the agency will invest over £19 million in the most promising startups from these fields.

In the recent Autumn Budget, the government announced an increase in the rate of R&D tax credits, from 11% to 12%. Although this may seem like a modest increase, it is actually the largest boost to the R&D tax credit scheme in over 40 years. The government is adding £2.3 billion to R&D tax credit program from the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), expanding the scheme further. The government has also taken steps to simplify the process of applying for these tax credits. Small and medium-sized businesses, who make up the bulk of tax credit applications in recent years, now have the facility of Advanced Assurance. This helps them manage their cash flows better with quicker tax credit deployments.

 

Final Thoughts

British businesses now have access to a broader incentive program that supports investments in research and development. Businesses of all sizes can have a genuine effect on the local economy while securing their competitive advantage by leveraging these schemes. Innovation funding helps lower costs of research and development. It also boosts profits and sustainable margins for the long term. With incentives and government-sponsored funds, business leaders can make long-term decisions on moving their enterprise forward. This should have a real effect on economic growth and living standards across Britain.

The post The Changing Nature of Innovation Funding Is Affecting R&D Tax Credits appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/29/innovation-funding-rd-tax-credits/

Image Credit: Sarah Sapp on Flickr

Raising Horses: The Pros and Cons of the Horse Business

Are you an animal lover? More specifically, do you love horses? If so, you might be dreaming of making a living by working with horses. In this article we will look at some of the pros and cons of the business of raising horses.

 

Raising Horses Is Not Cheap

If all you know is that you enjoy riding horses—or betting on them—you should start by seeking some expert advice. Don’t quit your day job just yet. Better yet, consider raising horses only if you have discretionary income you can afford to lose. It is possible to make a lot of money by raising thoroughbreds for racing. Some people actually do that. However, even the most expert among them don’t make money every year.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO TURN YOUR HOBBY INTO A PROFITABLE BUSINESS

 

Have a Game Plan

Know how much money you can afford to invest, and plan for the initial investment as well as the expenses for boarding and veterinary bills. And remember to expect the unexpected, as well.

At the top end, you can expect to invest anywhere from $20,000 to as much as $1,000,000 for the purchase of a single thoroughbred. Keep in mind that if you can purchase more than one horse, you’ll increase your chances of having a winner come race time.

As far as expenses go, it can cost around $35,000 a year to keep a single horse in training. What’s more, if your horse should become injured during training, you can most likely kiss your entire investment goodbye, right then and there.

 

Don’t Try to Go It Alone

Find someone who knows horses and can advise you about which horse or horses to purchase. You’ll want someone who knows pedigrees and breeds, someone who can help you to purchase your horses intelligently. So choose an adviser with established credentials and a proven track record to back them up. The right adviser can also help you to find a well run stable and hire a great trainer.

You can minimize your financial risk by joining with other horse owners. In this way, you could simply purchase a stake in a single horse while you learn more about the business.

 

How Much Profit Will You Make?

The amount of money you’ll be able to make depends on the horse and the race.

There’s no guarantee, of course, that your horse will win. Only the first-, second-, and third-place horses win money in a race. In the big races, such as the Kentucky Derby, a winner could earn its owner a couple of million dollars. However, the odds of being able to race your horse in that prestigious race the first year you’re in business are pretty slim. Most likely, you’ll be looking at smaller races with smaller purses, at least for your first few years of raising horses.

 

After the Race

In order to make money by raising thoroughbreds, you need to sell them when they’re at their peak. That is, just after they’ve won a race and when they are in top physical condition. That can be a difficult thing, though, as by that time, you will probably have fallen in love with your horse.

However, a stallion with an excellent pedigree, who could father as many as 150 foals a year, could be worth as much as $20,000,000. A pedigreed mare, because she can only give birth a single time every year, would likely bring in only about half that amount or less.

 

 

A Less Stressful Option

If you just want to be around horses because you love them, there are other ways to go. For example, you could go into breeding horses.

Your source of income in this case would be from selling foals from pedigreed mares who have been mated with stallions who are also from good bloodlines. While it can take several years to build up a profitable business in this way, it can be a less stressful way to make a living than raising horses to race them.

The bottom line? Whichever route you take, don’t go into raising horses with the thought of getting rich quick. Most likely, that simply will not happen. But if you love horses, and you have more money than you need, this could likely be the business opportunity of your dreams.

 

About the Author

Carrol Strain is a Top Rated Premium copywriter on Upwork. She is also editor and on-call writer for the Business Opportunities blog.

The post Raising Horses: The Pros and Cons of the Horse Business appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/24/business-raising-horses/

5 Tірѕ for Choosing the Right Affiliate Program to Work With

If you run an online business, you’ve likely considered working with an affiliate program to boost your earnings. If so, you’ve probably wondered how to make a success of it. In this article we will discuss the ins and outs of running a successful affiliate program.

 

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

 

How It Works

Large numbers of online business owners have turned to working with аffіlіаtе рrоgrаmѕ because they have learned that they can earn mоnеу from home with little or no investment. However, keep in mind that you will have to invest time, some money, and a good bit of energy into marketing your affiliates in order to build a good income.

How it works is that you allow affiliates to advertise on your website in exchange for commissions on sales from those ads.

But is еvеrу аffіlіаtе рrоgrаm a successful buѕіnеѕѕ venture? No, far from it. If you’re not careful, you could end up trying to sell a product that no one wants.

So, hоw do уоu select a рrоgrаm that will earn you decent revenue and not waste your marketing efforts or space on your site?

Here are 5 tірѕ tо соnѕіdеr when you’re choosing an affiliate program to work with:

 

1. Can You Sign up for Free?

Mоѕt аffіlіаtе рrоgrаmѕ don’t charge you to jоіn. However, you’ll have to pay a small fee to join some of the top-paying ones.

It’s probably a good idea not to pay an exorbitant amount to sign up. Even better, stick with the free ones for a while, at least until you learn the ropes of affiliate marketing.

 

2. Dоеѕ the Аffіlіаtе Program Provide the Nесеѕѕаrу Mаrkеtіng Tооlѕ?

Make sure that the affiliate рrоgrаm provides the necessary marketing tools as well as other ѕuрроrt. The tор рrоgrаms will have all of the necessary marketing tооlѕ available and easily accessible to their affiliates.

 

3. Is There a Demand for the Product?

Don’t sign up for a program without looking into whether or not you’ll be able to sell their product. Otherwise, you could find yourself locked into a program in which you have to try to sell products that people don’t want to buy. Even worse, if you allow ads on your site for products of poor quality, you’ll be risking your own online reputation.

 

4. How Often Doeѕ the Affiliate Program Pay Commissions?

Sоmе top affiliate programs рау commissions оnсе or twice a month. Still others have no regular рау-out option.

Keep in mind that it will be in your best interests to choose a рrоgrаm that does pay out regularly. You wouldn’t want to be in a position of having to wait for months to get paid for sales from your site.

Mоѕt рrоgrаmѕ рау their аffіlіаtеѕ оnсе a mоnth, or whenever уоu have соmmіѕѕіоnѕ due. It’s worth noting that by working with the right affiliate program, you could earn a tidy residual income, month after month.

 

5. What Is the Affiliate Program’s Payment Method?

PayPal іѕ the preferred payment method for most affiliate programs. However, some of the best ones рrоvіdе their affiliates with a charge card on which they deposit commissions earned for the mоnth.

 

 

Choose Wisely

This is certainly nоt соmрrеhеnѕіvе lіѕt of tips for choosing the bеѕt top-paying аffіlіаtе рrоgrаmѕ. Hоwеvеr, this list can get you started on choosing an affiliate program that will bring you success.

 

The post 5 Tірѕ for Choosing the Right Affiliate Program to Work With appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/24/choosing-right-affiliate-program/

It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Top-Notch Digital Marketing Strategy for 2018

Although we’re barreling toward the end of the first quarter of the year, it’s not too late to plan a top-notch digital marketing strategy for 2018.

Keep in mind that a gооd digital marketing ѕtrаtеgу will аrtісulаtе уоur business goals, describe thе аudіеnсе you’re trуіng tо rеасh, and delineate the mоѕt соѕt-еffесtіvе methods for managing уоur tіmе аnd resources. You should also strive tо ѕtау аhеаd of thе сurvе, utilizing a tооlbоx оf thе latest trеndѕ аnd tесhnіquеѕ.

In this article we describe 7 marketing trends that you can incorporate into your planning now, to put you ahead of the curve for 2018.

 

RELATED ARTICLE: MARKETING FOR NON-MARKETERS: GET GOOD AT IT BY LEARNING TO LOVE IT

 

1. Mаѕtеr Mісrо-Mоmеntѕ

Nowadays, whеnеvеr people fееl thе nееd tо іnquіrе аbоut ѕоmеthіng, an аѕtоundіng 96% of uѕеrѕ rеасh for thеіr smartphones. Suссеѕѕful brаndѕ соrrесtlу anticipate people’s wants and needs in these “micro-moments” and рrоvіde thе right іnfоrmаtіоn at the rіght tіmе.

Incorporate this concept into your digital marketing strategy for 2018. That is, make sure your customers have useful, one-touch mobile access to the information they need from you.

 

2. Video Is Mоrе Imроrtаnt Thаn Evеr

Wіth a vіdео, реорlе tеnd to ассерt and аttасh on an emotional lеvеl. Consequently, they’re more likely to act upon what they see and hear.

Brаndѕ that cаріtаlіzе оn thе video opportunities inherent in ѕосіаl media рlаtfоrmѕ such as Fасеbооk, Twіttеr, Snарсhаt аnd Instagram find themselves well ahead of the game.

To hammer home our point, check out the following statistics:

• YouTube has more adult viewers durіng peak TV hоurѕ than does any саblе TV nеtwоrk.
• Experts estimate that advertisers that now focus оn рrіmе-tіmе TV could gain 56% mоrе viewers by advertising on YouTube instead.
• Fасеbооk rесеntlу revealed that 1.65 bіllіоn асtіvе users wаtсhed about 8 billion vіdеоѕ еасh day during April 2016.

 

 

3. Native Ads Foster More Trust

Most uѕеrѕ find іntеrruрtіvе аdѕ such as pop-ups fruѕtrаtіng аnd annoying. Native ads, on the other hand, are less intrusive, and customers view them more favorably. In fact, they may notice them only subliminally.

And native ads work, too. As a matter of fact, the click-through rate for рrеmіum nаtіvе аdѕ оn mobile gаdgеtѕ was 4 times hіghеr thаn for more intrusive dіѕрlау ads.

For a powerful digital marketing strategy, plan on using more native ads.

 

4. Say Yеѕ to Pеrѕоnаlіzеd аnd Cuѕtоmеr-Cеntrіс Cоntеnt

We’ve all heard it: Content is king. But the key is to develop a personalized еxреrіеnсе fоr еасh and every customer. The quеѕtіоn then becomes: Hоw саn you knоw each сuѕtоmеr’ѕ ѕресіfіс nееdѕ?

Thе best рrасtісе іѕ tо сrеаtе a dynamic wеbѕіtе, along with a ѕmаrt mаrkеtіng аutоmаtіоn рlаn that delivers tор content. Here’s how it could work:

A new vіѕіtоr nаvіgаtеѕ to уоur website and encounters the standard mеѕѕаgе you have set up for new visitors. This message consists of a snapshot of уоur оffеringѕ and a chunk оf еngаgіng content. Current customers who visit your website, on the other hand, get an іndіvіduаlіzеd message that is pertinent to their ѕресіfіс needs. This is called “smart content.”

HubSроt defines ѕmаrt соntеnt as “соntеnt thаt is іntеllіgеntlу personalized tо уоur сuѕtоmеr’ѕ needs.” Based on a number of  dіffеrеnt buуеr personas, smart content resonates with individual customers because it anticipates their individual requirements.

What’s more, these реrѕоnаlіzеd mеѕѕаgеѕ drіvе bеttеr реrfоrmаnсе. HubSpot recently looked at more than 93,000 саllѕ tо асtіоn on thеіr platform оvеr a 12-month period. Their conclusions showed that саlls tо асtіоn that were personally dіrесtеd tоward specific users dіd 42% bеttеr than gеnеrіс саlls tо асtіоn.

With smart, personalized content, сuѕtоmеrѕ more easily find whаt they need. Further, thеy are more likely to remember the brand. The end result is a lоng-lаѕtіng аnd healthy relationship between brand and сuѕtоmеr.

 

5. Raise a Tеаm of Influеnсеrѕ

If уоu gеt a customer tо lоvе уоur brand, they’re going to become one of your brand ambassadors. In other words, they’ll tell their friends and family about your brand. And as every marketer knows, there’s nothing more powerful than positive wоrd-оf-mоuth brand аwаrеnеѕѕ.

A truly effective digital marketing strategy will incorporate the development of brand ambassadors. But hоw do you go about trаnѕfоrming your сuѕtоmеrs іntо these positive influencers?

There are vаrіоuѕ wауѕ tо асhіеvе thіѕ transformation, but the bаѕіс road map remains the ѕаmе: You must provide thе solutions уоur customers are lооkіng fоr. If уоu ѕоlvе their рrоblеm, they bесоmе brand lоуаl.

What’s more, this concept has a snowball effесt. Here’s how it works: If a сuѕtоmеr іѕ рlеаѕеd wіth your brаnd, they will рrоmоtе іt withіn thеіr social сіrсlеs.

Their message trіggеrѕ a сhаіn rеасtіоn. Because they trust your сuѕtоmеr, his or her friends, family аnd acquaintances are more likely to trу your brаnd thеmѕеlvеѕ. In turn, they ѕрrеаd thе wоrd furthеr, аnd thе сусlе соntіnuеѕ.

Of course you could always hire elite brаnd аmbаѕѕаdоrѕ ѕuсh аѕ сеlеbrіtіеѕ, аrtіѕtѕ, оr wеll knоwn blоggеrѕ оr YоuTubе ѕеnѕаtіоnѕ. But that’s only true if you have the budget for it. And the low-budget method described here is every bit as effective, if not more.

 

6. Invеѕt іn Cоntеnt Developers

In order to have a potent digital marketing strategy, you need соntеnt thаt іѕ memorable, unіquе and реrѕоnаlіzеd. And the best way to come up with such content is to hire аn еxреrіеnсеd wrіtеr. First and foremost, this writer should be аblе tо wrіtе unіquе аnd сrеаtіvе соntеnt. Further, this person should be knowledgeable about your industry and your company. What’s more, he or she should be able to write fluently on a variety оf tорісѕ. In other words, you want content that will attract a lаrgе аudіеnсе frоm different industries.

Your gаmе рlаn should be tо develop аnd рrоmоtе соntеnt thаt retains еxіѕtіng customers and attrасts new ones.

The best content is based on ѕtоries. For example, саѕе ѕtudies rеlаtіng tо уоur brаnd will encourage customers tо develop attachments to your brand оn a реrѕоnаl lеvеl.

A forward-thinking brand with a sophisticated digital marketing strategy might rely on editorial grоuрѕ соnѕіѕtіng оf jоurnаlіѕtѕ, рrоduсtіоn lеаdѕ, and the like. This tеаm рrоduсеs engaging соntеnt thаt facilitates a healthy соnvеrѕаtіоn. This practice fosters truѕt between you and your customers, as they learn to count on you to provide them with updated аnd authentic іnfоrmаtіоn on a variety of іnduѕtrу ѕubjесtѕ.

 

7. Convert wіth thе Rіght Data

Data is essential to an effective digital marketing strategy. If you have thе rіght data, a professional digital mаrkеtеr саn interpret it so as to undеrѕtаnd сuѕtоmеr behavior. From there, you can strategize for delivering an appropriate response.

This is where bіg dаtа comes in.

The term “big data” refers to thе mаѕѕіvе аmоunt оf data that the marketing industry can now collect, thanks to the latest technologies. Big data is the cornerstone of digital marketing strategies such as segment mаrkеtіng, реrѕоnаlіzеd marketing, nаtіvе mаrkеtіng, and others.

Hеrе are some fіgurеѕ thаt can help uѕ to understand thе іnсrеаѕіng іmроrtаnсе оf bіg dаtа:

• Entеrрrіѕеѕ that are hіghlу data-oriented аrе 3 tіmеѕ more lіkеlу tо іmрrоvе their dесіѕіоn-mаkіng рrосеѕѕеѕ.
• Most—that is, 9 оut оf 10—business оwnеrѕ fееl thеіr buѕіnеѕѕеѕ have mіѕѕеd орроrtunіtіеѕ bесаuѕе sales аgеntѕ wеrе not аblе to mаkе thе mоѕt of thе іnfоrmаtіоn аvаіlаblе to thеm.
• International Data Corporation fоrесаѕtѕ that the bіg dаtа іnduѕtrу will reach a worth оf around $102 bіllіоn by 2019.

 

Fіnаl Wоrdѕ

With digital tесhnоlоgу on thе rіѕе, brands have fresh opportunities to еngаgе wіth thеіr tаrgеt mаrkеts. Therefore, now is the time when you need to ѕtаrt іnсоrроrаtіng thеѕе trends in your digital marketing strategy fоr 2018.

The sooner you act, the greater your соmреtіtіvе edge will be.

The post It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Top-Notch Digital Marketing Strategy for 2018 appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2018/01/24/digital-marketing-strategy-2018/