Kristina Storey's Blog: June 2017

Wednesday 28 June 2017

How to Make Social Influencer Marketing Work for You

Even though it can seem quite complicated, the thinking behind influencer marketing is really quite simple.

An influencer is someone who has a large social following and a big influence on an industry. The idea is that if you pitch your content to an influencer, that person will share your content with his or her followers. Or, they might simply mention your account or your product to them.

When this happens, you get some attention and interest from their followers.

However, things don’t always go this smoothly, since there are other factors involved.

So how can you influence the way that social influencers to respond to you?

Have the Right Target

In order to appeal to a social influencer, you have to have a target that they have an interest in. For instance, if you want to pitch content to your influencer that is intended to sell products on Instagram and other social media channels, make sure that those ads show up to people your influencer wants to reach.

Additionally, ensure that your target is active and relevant to the industry your influencer specializes in. It’s also important to ensure that they don’t have already another similar collaboration.

Build Your Reputation

Naturally, the top names in your industry have hundreds, even thousands, of followers. It follows that they receive bushel baskets full of messages and notifications every single day. If you want an influencer to respond to your messages, you’ll need to find ways of standing out from the crowd.

This all begins with a great online reputation. You won’t be able to accomplish a great reputation in only a couple of days, but if you want to succeed with influencer marketing, you’ll make it a point to invest your time into making a name for yourself.

Use Your Best Social Skills

Imagine how you would feel if some stranger came to you and asked you to share their content on your site. It would be as if someone you didn’t know knocked on your front door and asked you if they could borrow your cell phone. Naturally, you would quickly close your front door. Or, if you were a social influencer, you would simply ignore that stranger’s request.

However, many people make this very mistake. They send direct messages to top influencers asking them to share their content.

Of course, the tweets and the social messages you send need to be on point, but being too demanding can have a different result than the one you wished for. Your influencer will end up feeling used.

Learn to introduce yourself politely to an influencer you wish to approach and find ways to contribute to them. Make comments on their blog posts. Be helpful. Be patient. Eventually, they’re going to want to reciprocate, but you will have earned it by then.

Give a Little, Gain a Lot

Generally, people don’t like doing favors for other people, especially if they know they’ll get nothing in return. Try to establish a friendly, reciprocal relationship with your influencer. Offer the influencer content that his or her followers will appreciate. Everyone will benefit from such an exchange. This is the heart of social influencer marketing.

Honor Their Time

A high-powered social influencer is a busy man or woman. The big names likely receive hundreds of requests each and every day. So if a social influencer is not responding to your messages, don’t take it personally. They might just be busy.

On the other hand, if you polish your influencer marketing skills and keep at it, you just might get your foot in the door with them one day.

The post How to Make Social Influencer Marketing Work for You appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/28/make-influencer-marketing-work/

Ecommerce Websites: A Look at 6 Success Factors

If you’ve never built an ecommerce website before, then there’s a lot that you need to learn before taking the leap. The difference between an average site and an excellent site can mean millions of dollars per year. But do you know which factors matter? The answers may surprise you.

Pay Attention to These Website Success Factors

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to building an ecommerce website, but some factors are more important than others. Let’s take a brief look at the ones that are most significant.

1. Site Builder

These days, you don’t need to hire some expensive web designer or developer to create an ecommerce site. There are plenty of online site builders that make it easy to create a site from scratch, even if you have little or no experience. But in order to make this process as seamless as possible, you’ll need to take careful consideration when selecting a site builder. Some are better than others. Check out these independent ratings to get an idea of which platform will work best for you.

2. Design and Layout

First impressions are everything in the ecommerce world. If you don’t wow your visitors from the start, you’re going to find it challenging to win them over. That’s why design and layout are so critical—particularly on the homepage.

As you’ll notice when you study top-performing websites in your industry, the best ones implement simple design choices. White space, minimal text, and scrolling designs work well, while text-heavy pages with compartmentalized sections often underperform.

3. Website Speed

According to research, roughly half of all internet users expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. If a page doesn’t load within 3 seconds, most will abandon the site. Even more frightening is the fact that 79 percent of shoppers won’t return to a website that they’ve had trouble with in the past. Be sure to build a lean and fast website, or you’ll find it nearly impossible to get the results you want.

4. Image Selection

Today’s leading ecommerce sites are prioritizing image selection in their content and design strategies. While listing copy still matters from an SEO perspective, user experience is arguably more important—and sourcing high quality images that are relevant to your products can give your conversions a massive boost in the right direction. Make sure you’re paying attention here.

5. Checkout Process

One of the things that Amazon does really well is offer a checkout process that is fast and painless. Because of the streamlined nature of their checkout process, shopping cart abandonment is much lower than on other websites.

How’s your checkout process going? In order to be successful and avoid losing sales at the last moment, work on removing as much friction as possible by requiring less information and fewer hoops to jump through.

6. Mobile Shopping Features

More customers are shopping via mobile devices than ever before. In quarter one of last year, 19 percent of all ecommerce spending came from mobile devices. If you aren’t accounting for mobile shopping, you’re missing out on a large segment of the consumer marketplace.

Avoid Shortcuts and Hacks

Regardless of what some guru may tell you in a course he’s trying to sell, there are no shortcuts or hacks that make building a successful ecommerce website easy. The only way to have real success is by following the appropriate steps and building a site that’s highly functional, easy to use, and visually pleasing. Nail these things—and focus on the success factors highlighted in this article—and you’ll stand a chance of being very profitable.

The post Ecommerce Websites: A Look at 6 Success Factors appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/28/ecommerce-success-factors/

5 Easy Ways to Get the Most Value from Data Science

In late 2016, Kalyan Veeramachaneni, an MIT researcher on Big Data and AI, highlighted some of the flaws of using data science to drive business growth. The conclusion of his study was that data analysts tend to view their jobs as an intellectual challenge. They are therefore disconnected from the economic questions they should strive to answer. Let’s find out the other reasons behind less than stellar results for companies that spend big money on big data without getting proportional returns on their investments.

Data Science Is a Tool, Not an End Goal

The first and most important aspect any organization needs to grasp is that data science is not a miracle cure for your company’s underlying problems, just a gauge.

Data science has a reputation for having saved some organizations thousands of dollars and for rocketing start-ups to worldwide recognition. But that only happens when it helps answer some well defined questions.

Hiring the best data scientists without giving them direction is akin to acquiring a fancy sports car without having a driver’s license.

Define Your Business Strategy

Answers are usually no better than the questions asked. Therefore, data science should be part of a coherent business strategy.

Top management should define the company’s issues they hope to find solutions for by using big data. Furthermore, the variables should be chosen not by the scientists, but by those with knowledge of the processes.

A data science project needs to have clearly defined goals, metrics, and milestones. This should be no different from opening a new branch or buying new equipment.

You will need to assess opportunity costs, decide why are you making such an investment and how soon you expect to see results. Have smart goals for your big data project and instruct the data scientists about those goals from day one.

Especially for start-ups, it can be smart to hire a data science company to conduct the project instead of creating a new department. In this case, it is even more imperative to know what to ask for in terms of your expected results and business goals.

Since most data science projects are in the experimental stage, they lack explicit control. The positive aspect of this is that data scientists have opportunities to try and develop a wide array of models. However, the downside is that without a minimal viable product (MVP) requirement, their work can become too academic and lack real-world applications. A possible solution includes using an agile approach with weekly and monthly progress reports related to the initial goal.

Sidestep Common Communication Breakdowns

Data scientists and analysts usually come from an academic background. They’re focused on mathematics, statistics and science. Managers, on the other hand, are involved in the economic aspects of the business. They want to know how to deal with clients, save costs and avoid legal problems.

Misunderstandings and other communication difficulties can result in a lack of trust between the two groups.

A possible solution to this problem is to create cross-functional teams. The first rule is that the teams should establish a common language with clearly defined terms.

Additionally, invest in helping the data scientists develop some business acumen.

Another solution involves appointing, as head of the data analysis team, a leader who makes the two worlds come together. This person needs to have relevant experience both as a business consultant and as a data scientist.

Imperfect Management Is Perfect

It is not the most beautiful or interesting model that matters, but the one that solves the problems with the fewest resources.

Data scientists are highly intelligent individuals who are not all that interested in climbing the hierarchical ladder. However, models they can refine into thought diamonds fascinate them.

Tap into their natural inclination to solve problems by defining the struggle for them and letting them solve it by whatever means they come up with. Resist the temptation to micro-manage them. Design opportunities to make data scientists feel valued. Reward their innovative ways with industry-recognized competitions and award galas.

Make them care about the projects they are working on by taking them out of the lab and getting them on site if possible. By looking at the phenomenon unfolding in front of them, they will become more receptive. They will likely even identify interactions or ask for new sets of data that are more appropriate for the job.

Understand That Less Is More

Analysts should focus on speed and pick big data’s low-hanging fruit. You want them to develop simpler models, test those models against diverse data sets and pick only the most relevant sets.

However, this approach requires combing through enormous quantities of data and readying that data to be used in algorithms. This work, although necessary, is not all that enjoyable or intellectually stimulating. Therefore, it is a perfect candidate for automation.

Keep in mind that the models don’t have to be perfect. They just need to be good enough to predict what they are built to predict. They also need to have a simple interface that non-technical staff, such as sales agents or shipment personnel, can easily use.

Final Thoughts

In the absence of clear management directives, human nature will take over, and data scientists will focus on what they’re good at. They will create and calibrate models. This value-added activity is important, but it should represent only about 10% of the entire work.

The teams should direct half of their efforts at interpreting the results and creating actionable insights. The rest of the project involves the hard work of selecting, preparing and cleaning the data.

Successful companies are helping their data scientist see beyond the numbers. And they’re helping members from other departments make sense of data science’s results.

The post 5 Easy Ways to Get the Most Value from Data Science appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/28/data-science-value/

How to Become Self-Employed—and a Business Idea for Londoners

Do you have a dream to become self-employed? Do you want to be your own boss? Do you think you’d be great at being a business owner? If so, read on. There are lots of things to consider, and we give you some tips here. And if you live in London, do we ever have an idea for you!

What’s Great About Being Self-Employed

There are a lot of reasons to become self-employed:

You don’t have to work for somebody else.
You become your own boss.
You have more flexibility with your time.
You can fit your work around your other responsibilities and commitments.
You can work on different projects simultaneously.
You might even earn more money, as day rates for freelancers and self-employed consultants tend to be higher than the average salaries in the same fields.

What’s Not so Great about Becoming Self-Employed

There are some other advantages of working for yourself, but there are some disadvantages too, including:

You’ll have no guaranteed income.
You’re the only one responsible for the success or failure of your business.
If you’re unable to work for some reason, including illness, you won’t get paid.

Think It Over

So you need to consider several things if you are thinking of becoming self-employed.

Have a plan for attracting customers or clients. Learn all you can about what it takes to manage a business, including how you’ll handle the finances, what legal documents you’ll need to file, and how you’ll establish your business relations with the various people and institutions you’ll need to interact with.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Mostly, you’ll learn as you go, and that’s okay.

Become Self-Employed and Live the Life of Your Dreams

Despite the drawbacks, many people still decide to work for themselves in London, in Sydney, in New York, and in Singapore.

To give an example, if you want to become self-employed in London, you must register for income tax and National Insurance contributions with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), within 3 months of beginning work on your business.

Getting Down to Business

One of the very first things you’ll need to decide before becoming self-employed is how you’re going to structure your business.

There are 3 main alternatives:

Become a sole trader. Becoming a sole trader is the simplest way to work for yourself. If this is your choice, you won’t need to pay any registration fees.
Establish a partnership. This is the flexible way for 2 or more people to run a business together. Partners are equally responsible for paying off the whole debt owed by the partnership. Presumably, they also share equally in the business’s profits.
Have a limited company. This means your business is separated from your personal affairs. It is noteworthy that a limited company needs to have at least one director and sometimes a secretary of the company.

A Great Business Idea

Once you’ve decided about the structure of your business, you’ll need to find a niche.

One popular business in London and, as a matter of fact, in the whole UK is locksmithing. Nowadays, more than 2,000 professionally qualified locksmith technicians are working in the UK.

Since this sector is highly competitive, you’ll need to do careful market research to find out if there is a need for locksmithing in your selected area. You can also check companies that offer locksmith services in London to have an idea what kind of solutions they offer to their customers.

Before entering the industry, you’ll need to choose where you will work, whether that will be in one particular area or within a certain radius. You’ll need to collect as much information as possible about that area, including its crime rate. Then you should think about your potential customers and about your competitors.

Furthermore, you need to think about the particular locksmith services you want to provide. Choose a specific direction, such as focusing on automotive, residential or commercial security issues.

Get Some Training

After you have chosen the particular direction and the working area, it’s time to get some knowledge and practice in this sphere. There are several locksmithing courses in London, including specific and general ones.

Your salary as a locksmith can vary from £13,000 to £30,000, depending on your knowledge, experience and qualifications.

With a positive attitude and dedication, you could become self-employed, the master of your own destiny and the owner of your own locksmithing service in London.

The post How to Become Self-Employed—and a Business Idea for Londoners appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/28/become-self-employed/

Monday 26 June 2017

What Are the Tax Ramifications on UK Buy-to-Let Properties?

Wherever in the world you purchase or own buy-to-let properties there are tax consequences, and the UK is no exception.

In the UK, you can avoid tax penalties on buy-to-let properties by complying with the rules of the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED). Property accountants and experts Alexander & Co are here to explain those rules.

ATED Guidance

In the past, companies often held high value residential properties within the company to help avoid hefty Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) charges on purchases. To prevent this loophole, the UK government introduced ATED rules in April 2013.

The rules apply to residential properties held by “non-natural persons,” which include partnerships, companies and other investment vehicles. Companies which have acquired residential properties for more £500k, or which own residential properties worth more than £500k, may be included in this definition. Naturally, this rule includes buy-to-let properties.

What Are the Consequences of Being in ATED?

Consequences of ATED include:

A 15% Stamp Duty Land Tax will apply to the acquisition price.
The UK government will impose an annual charge based on the property’s value.
Gains on disposal are subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at 28%.

From the GOV.UK website, the ATED annual charge depends on the value of the residential property. Here are the annual charges:

Property Value	Annual Charge
More than £500,000 but not more than £1 million	£3,500
More than £1 million but not more than £2 million	£7,050
More than £2 million but not more than £5 million	£23,550
More than £5 million but not more than £10 million	£54,950
More than £10 million but not more than £20 million	£110,100
More than £20 million	£220,350

On top of the annual charge, companies with residential buy-to-let properties can also be subject to Capital Gains Tax at 28% on the sale of the property. This applies where the value exceeds the threshold of £500k, and the property was subject to the ATED but did not qualify for one of the exemptions or reliefs.

A partial charge to Capital Gains Tax can apply in some cases. For example, this would be true if a shareholder occupied the residential property for some portion of the period of ownership, after which the property was then let out on commercial terms.

Exemptions and Reliefs

There are a number of exemptions and reliefs to these rules:

Development and trading as well as property rental companies are relieved from the charges. However, they are not exempt from reporting requirements.
Charities and public bodies benefit from a full exemption.
For residential buy-to-let or residential property development companies, there should be no tax liabilities arising from ATED. However, failure to comply with the guidelines can lead to strict penalties.

Filing Requirements

A company must submit a return to the UK’s Revenue and Customs department within 30 days of purchasing a residential property for more than £500k. In addition, a company which owns residential properties worth more than £500k must also submit an annual return by 30 April in advance of each tax year. For example, the return for the tax year ended 5th April 2018 will be due by 30th April 2017.

The potential penalties are:

Late return = £100;
Between 3 and 6 months late = £10 per day;
More than 6 months late = £300 (or 5% of tax, whichever is greater); and
More than 12 months late = £300 (or 5% of tax, whichever is greater).

There have been many cases confirming these charges, so make sure you are wary of the new rules.

Next Steps

If you think you need to file an ATED return, or if you are concerned about the new rules, make sure you get in touch with expert property accountants such as Alexander & Co.

The post What Are the Tax Ramifications on UK Buy-to-Let Properties? appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/27/tax-uk-buy-to-let-properties/

Marketing Tactics to Get Existing Customers to Spend More

If you are a business owner, you already know about marketing tactics.

You also know that marketing in general can be quite a challenge in today’s world. In fact, companies and businesses across the globe use pretty sophisticated techniques. With these tactics they draw consumers to their services and products.

If you want to be successful in today’s world you are going to need a sound marketing strategy. Here we discuss some unique marketing tactics that some of the most successful businesses in the world use. With these strategies they entice their customers to spend more money.

Lost and Confused

Have you ever noticed how some grocery store owners lay out their stores in a weird way? No matter how familiar you are with that store, you have to go back through the same aisles to get something. Either that, or you end up leaving without everything you wanted to get.

Store designers plan stores this way to make you lose focus. This is a marketing tactic you should take note of. Expert studies and research show that if shoppers are interrupted while shopping they become less concerned about prices and more likely to spend on impulse.

Handle with Care

Have you ever wondered why some stores display all their products out in the open, so that consumers can touch and feel them? Well, most people think that this marketing tactic works because it allows the customer to get a test run of the product. While this might be true, the real motive behind it is to jack up the price. Studies show that consumers who are able to touch and feel products are willing to pay up to 40% more for those products. What’s more, consumers often happily pay as much as a 60% markup on snacks and foods displayed in the open.

Store Beverages on the Back Wall

It isn’t unusual for customers to enter a store just to buy a gallon of milk and loaf of bread. By placing the milk, sodas, juices and alcoholic beverages in the back of the store, you will be encouraging the customer to add more items to their buggy.

Another marketing tactic you should consider is placing signs in the alcoholic beverage aisle, warning customers about DUI penalties. This will give the impression that you care about their safety and well-being. Warn customers that excessive alcohol intake will lead to the need for a divorce attorney.

Offer Bulk Items

Your customers will purchase more if you simply use the marketing tactic of offering bulk items. Consumers who live alone are less likely to buy in bulk. However, families will gladly invest because they believe that buying in bulk offers great savings.

Many supermarkets and retailers have begun offering a wide array of products in bulk, just so they can encourage their customers to make larger purchases more easily.

Consumers sometimes save up to 50% with a single bulk purchase, because it reduces the cost per unit. However, for the consumer there are several factors to take into consideration when deciding whether to go this route.

Move Bakery to the Front of the Store

Many customers purchase fresh baked goods just because they are readily available. Supermarkets and retailers have been using this marketing tactic for many decades now, and you should do the same. Move the bakery to the front of the store and your customers will be more tempted to put baked goods into their buggies, just because those buggies are empty.

The post Marketing Tactics to Get Existing Customers to Spend More appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/26/marketing-tactics-customers-spend/

Sunday 25 June 2017

How to Grow Your Wedding Planner Business with Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is far more effective for small businesses and startups than traditional marketing methods.

Traditionally, wedding and other events planners relied on direct mail to grow their business. Or they placed advertisements in local newspapers or on radio or TV.

Their mainstay, though, was word-of-mouth advertising. Back in the day, if you were an events planner, you would start your business by planning smaller events for your family, friends, and neighbors. Those people would then recommend your business to their friends and acquaintances. Or at least, you hoped they would.

However, modern day marketing methods, especially search engine marketing, have replaced those traditional methods.

What Is Search Engine Marketing?

Networking is still a great way of getting your business started, but that method will eventually plateau. That’s because your friends and family will run out of events to throw—at least for a while. Your business will take on a feast-or-famine disposition, and that’s not good for your bottom line.

Search engine marketing, on the other hand, is internet marketing that promotes your business by making your website more visible. With search engine marketing, commonly referred to as SEO, you optimize your website so that it ranks highly with popular search engines such as Google.

More and more people gain access to the internet every day. And many of those people use search engines to answer their questions or to look for what they want to buy. That’s why your business really must have a great website.

In addition, you need to employ experts who have the proper digital marketing skills. Only in this way will you increase your online visibility and reach more potential customers for your business.

Below are some tips and tricks to help expand your wedding planner business through search engine marketing.

Digital Ad Placement

Search engines have become synonymous with online advertising. Just like the traditional advertisements that were carefully placed in newspapers and sent through direct mailings, digital ads are also diligently placed on online platforms and websites and with social media.

The success of digital advertising relies on the level of ad customization. For instance, one common strategy involves placing ads that target a specific audience on sites that reach that demographic. Targeting a specific audience involves the use of various filters, such as location, the device being used, and whether or not someone has visited your site before.

You can also set up campaign ads that show up when people search similar keywords. For example, if you’re a wedding planner business located in central Arizona you can set up digital ads on Google so that when someone searches with the keywords “wedding planner Phoenix” your business’s website pops up.

Make Your Website SEO-Friendly

To be clear, having a website doesn’t guarantee search engine marketing success. You could have an exquisite website, but that won’t guarantee that it will become highly ranked by search engines. If your website doesn’t have a high ranking with search engines, those search engines won’t sent potential clients to your site. You will lose business that might have been yours.

However, help is at hand. There are several strategies for improving your website’s performance.

One of the first things you should do is pretend you are your own potential client, someone who has landed on your site for the first time. Then do a keyword search to make certain that every page on your site is well constructed and has content that answers your customers’ questions.

Make sure every page of your website contains relevant keywords, metadata, headings, image tags, and an intuitive flow of content.

One way to strengthen your SEO is to scatter internal links throughout your website’s pages. This will help search engines understand your site’s internal connections and its flow of information. To ensure success, consider employing the services of an SEO expert in Boca Raton, FL.

Get Active on Social Media

A lot of people don’t seem to understand how big an effect their social media presence has on their search rankings. Mostly likely, that’s because the effect is an indirect one. However, you can link information on your social media accounts to your website. This will allow you to connect informally with customers and drive traffic to your website.

Welcome Reviews

Invite online reviews from satisfied clients. Positive reviews go a long way toward attracting clients who are deciding which wedding planner they want to hire. If they see that you come highly recommended they will be more likely to give you their business.

Conclusion

Online marketing methods reach more people and take less time than traditional marketing methods. And search engine marketing has become the mainstay of online marketing. Add to that the fact that online marketing is not limited by location, and you can easily see that online marketing—particularly search engine marketing—is the way to go.

The post How to Grow Your Wedding Planner Business with Search Engine Marketing appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/25/wedding-planners-search-engine-marketing/

Why Using a Ready-Made e-Commerce Site Is Better Than Building Your Own

There are certainly compelling arguments for building a custom e-commerce site. After all, when you’re finished with building your own site, you’ll have a store that’s configured to your exact requirements.

Your store will have the precise throughput you’ll need to deliver outstanding results for your users. You’ll have an environment in which every aspect of your business is supported. If you do things right, your store will have strong performance and easy integration. You’ll be able to expand your store if and when you need to.

So, with all of that said, how could anyone convince you that using a ready-made e-commerce site is better than building your own?

1. Cost

Even if your site is built upon a preexisting content management system (CMS) engine, the time and expertise required to customize it to your specific needs will come at a price.

In addition to monetary expenditures, you’ll also be looking at time and opportunity costs. Coding takes time, so you’ll need to allow for that while your site is being built, tested and debugged. Granted, you can always use this interval to get other aspects of your business in order. But the fact of the matter is your store will take longer to go live when you choose to build your own.

Further, the financial and human resources you allocate to building your site might be used more effectively in another area. For example, to get started with your marketing.

2. Redundancy

You’ll spend several days mapping out the tasks your custom site will need to deal with. Then, you’ll convey all of that to your developer, who will then design your platform accordingly.

Meanwhile, software providers for the best ready-made e-commerce sites have had years of experience in dealing with the requirements of a wide variety of enterprises. Odds are, whatever you’re going need, they’ve already run across the issue and incorporated a solution. Why should you pay to create something that already exists?

3. Complexity

Yes, if you build your own site you will get you a platform that’s configured precisely to your needs. However, once it’s built, you’ll likely need to go back to your developer for updates, security fixes, added functionalities and the like. That is, unless you’re an experienced coder with the time to deal with such matters on your own.

Meanwhile, ready-made enterprise commerce platforms have the functionalities you’re most likely to need—and they’re already built in. For any of those functionalities a ready-made e-commerce site doesn’t have, you’ll find a robust selection of applications that are designed to work with that platform. In most cases, all you’ll need to do is download the apps and install them.

4. Easy Security Updates

Security breaches are a fact of life in e-commerce. Criminals work night and day to find new ways to overcome security protocols. If you’re using a ready-made e-commerce site, every time the bad guys find a new way to plunder it, the development team comes up with a countermeasure and issues a software update.

However, your custom system will be on its own. If hackers figure out a way to pillage it, you’ll have to go back to your developer to implement a fix, incurring an additional expense every time. With ready-made e-commerce software, security updates are generally offered gratis because they are part of the service.

These are but 4 of the many reasons why using a ready-made e-commerce site is better than building your own. Yes, when you go with a custom configuration you will have a site built specifically for your needs. But in all frankness, the site you need probably already exists.

The post Why Using a Ready-Made e-Commerce Site Is Better Than Building Your Own appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/25/ready-made-e-commerce-site-better/

How to Write an MBA Thesis

You decided a while ago that you wanted to give your business the best possible advantages. It’s your baby, after all. You need to stay ahead of the competition and really know what’s up, because you’re bound and determined to make your business a success.

So you set your sights on a master’s degree in business administration, an MBA, and you took a few classes in what you laughingly call your spare time. Then you took a few more. And now look at what you’ve done.

You’ve completed your course work and now it’s time to write your MBA thesis. Your thesis is all that’s left standing between you and your shiny new advanced degree.

You’ve met with your adviser, and you’ve studied the guidelines he or she gave you. You’ve talked it over with other students who have been where you are now, so you know a little about what’s up.

But what about the nuts and bolts of writing an MBA thesis? What now?

Not Just Another Essay

You already know that writing an MBA thesis is not like writing any other research paper. And it’s certainly not an essay. No, there is much more to it than that.

So where do you begin?

Choose a Topic You Really Care About

What an MBA thesis requires is that you take a stand about a particular idea or topic, state your belief about it clearly in the introduction to your thesis, and build your case in the remainder of the paper.

While your MBA thesis doesn’t require you to do original research—although you certainly can, if you decide to—it does require original thinking. And that may be the most difficult thing about it. You’ll need to investigate the topic thoroughly, develop your own opinions about it, and prove the rightness of your opinion with the bulk of your MBA thesis.

In the course of your studies, you have surely come across an idea or topic that sparked an interest in you. Choose a topic that is of great interest to you, because you’re going to be spending quite a bit of time together, this topic and you.

If you feel stuck, do some brainstorming, tossing out ideas and capturing them either on an audio recording or on paper. When you’ve settled on a topic, you’ll be ready to begin your research.

Be Creative with Your Research

You will need to compile a great deal of data in order to write a good MBA thesis, so it will help—a lot—if the topic you choose already has a lot of information available about it.

But don’t restrict yourself to the same old journals you used for your essays and other research papers during your advanced studies. Range far and wide to gather materials that will support the position you take for your MBA thesis. The internet can be a big help in finding data. And you can also conduct interviews or even visit businesses that embody something about your topic.

Be creative and have some fun with your research!

Build Your Argument

Build your argument point by point throughout your MBA thesis. One subsection should lead the way to the next, making the case for your point of view in an orderly way. In this way, you will steer your reader to draw the same conclusions you have drawn by the time he or she reaches the conclusion of your MBA thesis.

Finally, Check All the Details

Proofread your MBA thesis carefully for typos and transpositions. Check and check again every fact, detail, and number. A critical mistake can bring your whole argument to a screeching halt.

Your MBA thesis is one of the most important documents you will ever write. Approach it with enthusiasm and dedication and your MBA thesis is sure to be a success.

The post How to Write an MBA Thesis appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/25/write-mba-thesis/

Thursday 22 June 2017

Which Cyber Security Process Is Right for Your Business?

Now is the time for your business to be proactive about cyber security.

According to recent statistics, global cyber crime will cost businesses more than $2 trillion annually by 2019. To help put that into perspective, the average cost of just one breach to a major organization is more than $4 million.

While your operation might be smaller than that of a major organization, the threat is just as real for your business. What’s more, nearly half of all data breaches are malicious ones.

So How Does a Business Protect Itself from Cyber Crime?

First off, you need to identify your business’s cyber security weak spots. You can do this by means of security audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing. While some people use these terms interchangeably, they are different. Each of the three procedures is performed differently, and each will benefit your organization in different ways. Let’s look at some of those ways now.

Security Audits

A security audit assesses the types and levels of cyber security risk a company currently faces. It does this by measuring certain aspects of the business’s cyber system against rules that are required by law as well as generally accepted levels of security.

Those generally accepted levels of cyber security vary according to the industry and type of business, as well as to the specific business. For example, companies that handle extremely sensitive data are likely to need heightened security.

Security audits often accompany an overall audit, although sometimes they are conducted in preparation for a more official audit.

Vulnerability Assessments

Vulnerability assessments are reviews that look for weaknesses in a company’s data management system. These are either weaknesses that malicious individuals could take advantage of or those which could lead to human or technical errors. A vulnerability assessment looks at everything having to do with cyber security—from in-house computers, to networks and systems used by contractors, to mobile phones and tablets used by members of the team who work remotely.

Usually, if a vulnerability assessment encounters a weakness in the system, technicians pause the test and fix that vulnerability. They continue the assessment in this fashion until they have found and addressed all the weaknesses in the system.

Penetration Tests

A penetration test is not the same as a vulnerability test, although many people confuse the two. While both tests look for weak spots, experts believe that a penetration test is more effective than a vulnerability test. That’s because it enters a company’s cyber security system and attacks it, just as an actual malicious attacker would do.

It is likely that the number of actual risks is probably much lower than a vulnerability test would suggest. For this reason, penetration tests can cost less and be more effective than vulnerability tests.

Usually, a business will choose to run a penetration test to check for any remaining weak spots after they have tightened their security as much as possible. If a company has tightened their cyber security after an attack but then has been attacked again, they may choose to utilize penetration testing for large companies to find out more about how and why their system is still being attacked.

Protecting Your Business in the Future

Realistically, there will always be new methods available to help you protect your business. That’s because cyber protection has to continually change to keep up with cyber criminals’ ever-advancing techniques. In addition, the data and sensitive information that companies place online continues to grow at exponential rates.

To keep your company’s data and systems safe:

Complete penetration testing, security audits, and vulnerability testing regularly.
Get expert advice routinely. This is not something you should try to do yourself.
Get staff on board and engaged in assisting your company in its war against cyber-crime. Your employees have a vital role to play in helping you protect your business.
Prioritize cyber security. According to studies, more than 5 and a half million cyber offenses take place every year. Countless individuals are actively looking to commit cyber crime against your business all the time. Prioritize cyber security to avoid becoming more and more vulnerable to these criminals.

Finally

Prioritize cyber security, keep your staff informed and trained, and call on cyber security experts regularly. Those experts will assist you with employing weakness detection methods such as penetration testing, security audits, and vulnerability assessments. Follow these steps to protect your business from sophisticated cyber attacks, both now and in the future.

The post Which Cyber Security Process Is Right for Your Business? appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/23/cyber-security-processes/

Wednesday 21 June 2017

How to Turn Your Hobby into a Profitable Business

Have you ever heard that old saying, “If you truly love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”?

Well, you can take that saying to heart, because it couldn’t be truer. The only real problem is finding a job that allows you to do something you love. This is why many people are turning their hobbies into full-fledged businesses, and you can do the same. Whether you have a wood-working hobby, a sewing hobby, or an interest in teaching, you can take any of these hobbies and turn them into a profitable, working business. Below you will learn how.

Develop a Realistic and Effective Strategy

The first and most important thing that you need to know is that you will never get anywhere unless you develop and follow a proper strategy that will lead you to success.

If you wanted to turn your abdominal region into a chiseled masterpiece, you wouldn’t expect to get there by eating donuts all day long, would you? No, and the same thing applies to your business strategy. You need to think of a good target audience and then develop a strategy as to how you can reach that certain group of people.

Take Advantage of Social Media

In today’s world, everyone is online. Businesses from Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pop stores are taking advantage of this aspect. In order to get your hobby out into the world and turn it into a profitable business, you’re going to have to build and maintain a social media presence. There are numerous sites where business owners can market their wares and communicate with potential customers.

Draw in an Audience with Lucrative Offers

It is very likely that your hobby is something that has already been done before. It is not like you are reinventing the wheel and coming up with something that no one has ever seen before. Therefore, in order to be successful you do need to make your products or services stand out from the competition. There is no better way to do that than by making lucrative offers that your target audience can’t resist.

For instance, you can give away free samples or grant buy-one-get-one-free offers. Get creative and try anything you can think of to make your new business attractive and draw in a dependable customer base. Remember, though, don’t ever undersell yourself. Get yourself a reliable Orange County personal injury lawyer in case anything goes awry.

Advertise Your Hobby Through Expos

If you are considering turning your hobby into a business, you should take advantage of expos. These events are designed for people and businesses who want to advertise and demonstrate their products and services.

As a beginner, you will need to start low and work your way up. For example, if you craft handmade items such as ink pens, toys, or crocheted handbags, you should start with flea markets and festivals. These events are perfect for individuals who are working within a budget and not yet ready for an expo.

Setting up at festivals and flea markets is a great way to earn a little extra cash. What’s more, it can help you to develop some brand awareness among your target audience.

Who knows? You just might meet someone at one of these events who can help you take your hobby to the next level.

The post How to Turn Your Hobby into a Profitable Business appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/21/hobby-profitable-business/

The 5 Steps You Need to Take Before Writing Your Business Plan

If you want to start a business, you need to have a business plan. However, before you even begin the drafting process for your business plan, there are some steps you should take to get your personal finances, logistics, and ideas in order. Without that foundation, writing a business plan will be substantially more difficult, so take the time to organize yourself in advance.

Steps to Take Before Writing a Business Plan

Follow these steps to give yourself the best platform for writing a business plan:

1. Get your personal finances in order.

First, you’ll need to get your personal finances in order. If you’re going to start a business, you’ll need capital, which means you may need personal loans and funding. Use a credit score calculator to determine your current personal credit, and take the time to get it in good shape by paying down your debts and paying all your bills on time. Try to minimize your outstanding debts, and simultaneously build up an emergency fund. Your first few months and years as a business owner may not be especially profitable, so you need to be prepared.

2. Create a backup plan for your career and income.

Some people claim that 90 percent of businesses fail within the first year of operations. In reality, the figure is closer to 20 percent, but the majority of businesses do fail within 10 years. For that reason, you need to have a backup plan. Businesses aren’t a get-rich-quick scheme, so if you want to survive reliably, you’ll need to have a backup career in mind, or at least a source of income you can rely on as a temporary measure.

3. Do some baseline research.

You’re going to be doing a ton of research when you put your business plan together for the first time, but before you jump into that, do some baseline market and competitive research to make sure your idea is feasible. You may discover that another business is already doing what you had in mind, or that your intended target demographics just aren’t as interested in your products as you thought.

4. Talk to other entrepreneurs.

Remember, there’s a psychological component to being a successful entrepreneur. You’re going to be working in a high-stress environment, working long hours, and dealing with the threat of a potential business collapse. Talk to other entrepreneurs about their experience, and get an accurate glimpse into the world of entrepreneurship before you take the next steps.

5. Learn what makes an “effective” business plan.

Your business plan isn’t just an item on a checklist. It’s going to serve as the blueprint for your business and one of the best tools you have for pitching to both prospective investors and potential clients. Learning some of the most important fundamentals is essential if you want your draft to reflect what investors and clients are interested in.

Creating an Initial Draft

With all those pieces in order, you should be ready to begin the actual drafting process. Your formatting and direction will vary based on your business plan and personal preferences, but these tips should help you get started on the right foot:

Back everything with facts.

Back every statement in your business plan with verifiable facts. For example, don’t say that middle-aged men will be interested in your product; prove it with survey data or other demographic information.
Forecast conservatively.

In your business plan, you’ll need to forecast your financials, including your estimated revenue and profits. It’s tempting to get excited here and think of the best-case scenario, but it’s better for your future to estimate conservatively.
Scrutinize everything.

Second-guess yourself; it’s going to help you challenge your assumptions and craft a more fact-based document. Your potential investors are going to be scrutinizing every detail, so you need to stay a step ahead of them.
Get second opinions.

After your first draft (or perhaps while you’re writing), get second and third opinions on your work. You may learn some new things or think of alternate ways to present your information.
Stay flexible.

Your business plan shouldn’t be written in stone. Instead, write it to be adaptable to a number of unexpected turns. Write in a handful of alternative business paths and backup plans should your original plans fail. Doing so could open the door to new opportunities.

Once you have drafted your business plan, you can start the work of getting your business funded, staffed, and off the ground. Be prepared to make a number of changes to your original plan as you gather more information and gain experience, and rest easy knowing you’ve gotten the best potential start.

The post The 5 Steps You Need to Take Before Writing Your Business Plan appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/21/writing-business-plan/

Tuesday 20 June 2017

Why Business Owners Should Make Studying a Habit (and How to Do That)

Studying is a tool to acquire and store information, but the word is almost exclusively associated with its academic context. High school and college students need to make studying a habit so they can get good grades and pass their courses, but even after you graduate and start your own business, you shouldn’t stop studying—ever. Nobody will be grading you, at least not in the formal sense, but the breadth of information you have and how up-to-date you stay on current events will have a direct effect on the success of your business.

But what are business owners supposed to study, and how should they go about doing it?

Why Studying Is Important

Let’s start by looking at the practical benefits you as a business owner can enjoy if you make studying a habit:

News. First, you’ll be more aware of current events, both within your industry and on a broader scale. This will help you make more informed business decisions, take advantage of new opportunities, and even have better conversations with your prospective partners and clients.

Ideas. It’s notoriously difficult to generate ideas by brute force; you have to find a moment of inspiration. Immersing yourself in new subjects and learning new things is a great way to find that inspiration.

Skills. Finally, studying the right subjects will help you build a better skill set, which you can use in your current role, or to improve your business in some way. In any case, if you make studying a habit, it makes you more valuable as a professional.

What to Study

So what should you study to gain these benefits?

Other businesses. Start looking at other businesses, particularly ones in your industry. Their respective owners have found some combination of tactics that works for them, and you’d do well to understand how it works. What are they doing? How are they doing it? What can you apply to your own business?

New technologies. You’ll also want to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies, so you can use them for your business and/or harness them to come up with new ideas. TechCrunch and Engadget are two top news sites here, but you’ll need to dig a little deeper if you want to find out how all those new technologies work (and get inspired by how they can be used for your business).

Economics. No business can succeed without the entrepreneur’s baseline understanding of economic principles like supply and demand. You might have taken a class on introductory economics in high school or college, but there’s much to learn on the subject. Consider enrolling in a free online economics class, or series of classes like those offered by MIT, to learn more.

Other disciplines. There’s no real limit to what you can study to gain some benefit. You can study other disciplines, other industries, and other areas of expertise to learn a little more about how the world works or to expand your skill set. Online courses are a great way to start here, but if you’re serious about learning more, it’s advisable to find a mentor—or a peer with whom you can exchange information.

Tips for Studying More Effectively

If you want to take studying seriously, make sure you apply these tips to your studying regimen:

Maintain a list of recurring sources. You’ll be consulting several lists and recurring sources, including people who offer online courses, social media influencers, and news sites. Keep them bookmarked for easy access.

Dedicate at least 15 minutes a day to studying. If you want to be an effective studier, you have to make studying a habit. Finding time as an entrepreneur is hard, but try to commit to at least 15 minutes every day.

Make use of audiobooks and podcasts. If you don’t want to mess with your existing work schedule, try to fit in more studying in the form of audiobooks and podcasts, which you can listen to while you commute, exercise, or do anything else that doesn’t demand your full attention.

Keep high-level notes. While studying, jot down notes about key takeaways from each new subject. You don’t need to take detailed notes (after all, there’s no final exam). But it’s helpful to be able to review a course or book with a few summary sentences to jog your memory.

Bring up your new knowledge in conversation. One of the best ways to remember what you’ve learned is to try and repeat the information, in your own words, to someone you know. Try cementing new lessons into your memory by repeating them to someone else.

Studying may seem like a chore at first, but once you start gaining momentum in learning new things and improving yourself, you won’t want to stop. Make studying a habit so you and your business will continue to grow indefinitely on a steady upward trajectory.

The post Why Business Owners Should Make Studying a Habit (and How to Do That) appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/20/business-owners-make-studying-a-habit/

3 Tips for Having a Successful Business in a Highly Competitive Industry

If you’re a business owner, you probably realize the amount of work it takes to have a successful business. This is especially true if you’re in an industry that has a great deal of competition. For instance, if you provide consulting services to others there are likely to be many other providers in your area.

You should take time to find ways to market your business to aid you in getting and keeping clients. There are various ways you can accomplish this goal, and being aware of how to do so is essential.

Tip #1: Use Search Engine Optimization

In this day and age, you should utilize the Internet as much as possible to make your business more successful. That’s because millions of people complete online searches daily to find a business provider that can assist them with various issues.

Implementing search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the top ways for you to increase the amount of traffic to your website with the least difficulty. This technique will place targeted keywords in your content that will be picked up during a search. This can be helpful in allowing potential clients and customers to find your site.

Of course, you will need to use the right strategy to have the most success. This could mean relying on a professional such as Searchbloom. While you could educate yourself about SEO and try to implement it on your own, you do have a business to run. And working with qualified individuals who can write content for you and place the keywords correctly is important.

Tip #2: Rely on Social Media

Getting the word out about a new business that you’re launching or letting others know about a promotion you’re having can be done easily thanks to the Internet. There are several social media platforms where you can advertise your new company or notify others of discounted products.

Listed below are some of the top social media sites used today:

Facebook – Promoting your business is as simple as posting an update about what you have to offer others. There are various ways you can update your Facebook status. For instance, you can provide factual information, add a funny cartoon or post pictures of events or group gatherings. Statista states that Facebook has more than 1.94 billion active users globally. Connect with enough of those people and you’ll be almost guaranteed a successful business.

Twitter – Millions of businesses rely on Twitter to inform others of things that are going on in their companies. Tweeting has become one of the best ways to reach out to others.

LinkedIn -Professionals from all walks of life can instantly connect on LinkedIn these days. You can promote your business quickly and let others know who you are.

Instagram – This site will allow you to share photos and messages with people who follow you or are in your group.

Relying on social media is a top way to develop a successful business. Doing a little research beforehand can enable you to find the best ways to update your status or tweet about your latest promotion.

Tip #3: Safeguard Your Reputation

You will want to keep your customers and clients happy. Do this by providing a product or service that does what you say it will do.

One of the best ways to gain more business is as simple as having a good reputation. This can also enable you to have more referrals from clients who are happy with what you offer.

The benefits of doing all you can to help your company get the attention it deserves are many. You’ll be able to enjoy larger profits, for one thing. For another, hopefully you will have a successful business that will provide you with the income you require for many years to come!

The post 3 Tips for Having a Successful Business in a Highly Competitive Industry appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/20/3-tips-successful-business/

The Vital Importance of Confidentiality for Startups

Starting a business is not an easy task. Neither is it easy to maintain confidentiality over its most sensitive aspects.

An entrepreneur is an individual who is able to convert an idea into a profit-generating business. It can be tough to do this successfully. One of the chief reasons is that other people can so easily steal and use your ideas—if you are unwise enough to disclose the details heedlessly.

For this reason, you will need to take precautions. It is of vital importance to play your cards close to your vest. Below are some ways of doing so:

Maintain Confidentiality with Non-Disclosure Agreements

Among the ways you can protect your business ideas are to prepare a non-disclosure agreement for your employees and business partners to sign before they begin working with you.

Keep in mind that the information or idea you’re basing your business on has value. It’s every bit as valuable as currency, maybe even more so. Insist that your employees sign a non-disclosure document agreeing that they will not share information about your business with anyone, especially your competitors or anyone who might become your competitor.

For another example, let’s say you are working with other players on a single business idea. Each person in the group will contribute to the implementation of that business idea. You therefore need to disclose your idea to them to the degree that they can add to it with their own ideas.

However, if they have not agreed to respect the confidential nature of their work with you, they might decide to sell that idea elsewhere. With a nondisclosure agreement they will be obligated to keep valuable information about your business private.

Keep Your Business Idea Unique

Yes, it can be great fun to share about your ideas, almost as much fun as playing slots for free in the comfort of your own home. After all, you’re excited about your ideas—so excited, in fact, that you’ve started a business based on them. But don’t let your excitement get the better of you. Don’t tell anyone and everyone about your great new ideas. That’s just not smart.

Remember that if you make your idea public, then it is no longer your idea. If everyone can learn about it, someone else besides you could choose to implement it before you do. Keep such vital information private until you have fully executed your idea.

Share your best business ideas only as necessary and only with a few people you know you can trust. Keep access to vital information about your business within a small, tight circle.

Protect Your Intellectual Property

If your idea is truly unique and you believe it has great potential for generating profits for your company, it might be smart to register it for a patent. With a patent, your idea will be protected under the law as your intellectual property, at least for the foreseeable future. However, the process of obtaining and maintaining patents is an expensive one and not a wise choice for most small businesses.

It is not easy maintaining confidentiality around your business ideas. However, it is necessary if you want to retain possession of those ideas. When you’re starting a business, it is vital that you keep your sensitive information private.

The post The Vital Importance of Confidentiality for Startups appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/20/confidentiality-business/

Base Your Marketing Choices on Cost-Effective Solutions

Cost-effective marketing solutions can communicate the substance of your business and put you on the road to success.

For example, a focus on content marketing doesn’t have to be a huge expense. But it can give your business a much-needed boost. Just focus on providing quality content and the results are sure to follow.

When you upgrade your online content marketing to maximize SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you can be sure that you’re making the best use of your marketing budget. Such a strategy will give your business the cost-effective, long-reaching advertising it deserves. Additionally, you can employ SMO (Social Media Optimization), guest-blogging, and Google Reviews.

Cost-Effective Marketing Solutions Maximize Return on Investment

Many business owners allow costs to restrict their marketing strategies, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

Often, a single marketing expense can yield multiple benefits, maximizing effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) while minimizing the financial outlay. It might take you a few trials and errors to find your balance with this strategy, but by using your imagination and being creative you’ll eventually produce the results you’re after.

Expensive Architecture Versus Cost-Effective Architecture

Here’s an analogy that illustrates these points. You could purchase a top-of-the-line structure for your business’s base of operations. You’ll have all the modern amenities, the comforts required to make the daily grind less difficult to bear and prime construction designed to stand the test of time.

Going this route will provide some cushy pluses, to be sure, but will the additional expense ultimately yield the advantages your business could most benefit from?

Alternatively, you could take a completely different route. You could decide that substance beats style in the long run. In this case, you might consider prefabricated options for your business’s home base.

According to FidelitySteel.com, a maker of prefabricated metal buildings, “Any building that has been engineered or fabricated in a factory before shipment can be referred to as classic, pre-engineered, prefabricated, or prefab.”

Consider the advantages:

1. Prefabricated buildings are relatively inexpensive.

For example, aircraft can be stored in expensive buildings, and in most airports they are. However, some airports use less expensive options which essentially do the same job. Some of the best aircraft hangars are of the prefabricated variety. This is a cost-effective solution that additionally has great longevity.

2. Prefabricated buildings are constructed to withstand the elements.

Some even have an aerodynamic design known to stand the test of time. After all, Antarctica’s bases are mostly prefabricated structures.

Do you see what we’re getting at here? When it comes to architecture for your business, you have plenty of options. Some of those options are better than the most expensive ones—at a fraction of the cost.

You’ve Got to Work up to Rocco Moto Status

Marketing likewise benefits from substance over style. For evidence of this principle, just think of a Tommy Hilfiger ad.

For another example, take Rocco Moto, which produces designer clothes. As part of their branding efforts, this business employs top-tier, ultra-stylish—and most likely ultra-expensive—marketing. Ironically, though, their marketing choices limit their market. Only a select few can afford a pair of pants that cost as much as a low-end computer.

If you want your offerings to be available to a wider market than theirs, you’ll need to price your goods and services accordingly. In this way, the price itself acts as a marketing attraction. While your business is gaining traction in the marketplace, you’ll want to depend on other cost-effective marketing options, too.

After a while, once your business has gained enough momentum, you might choose to turn to high-end marketing for promoting, say, your new designer line. Perhaps you could even market that line under a new, trendier name that ropes in more affluent clients.

In other words, by employing cost-effective marketing solutions, at least in the beginning, you might just find that you can have your cake and eat it, too.

The post Base Your Marketing Choices on Cost-Effective Solutions appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/20/cost-effective-marketing-solutions/

Living It up in Atlanta

Are you thinking of moving your business to another location but you’re uncertain as to where? Which city would be a smart move for a young, business-savvy entrepreneur like you?

Haven’t you heard the latest news? Atlanta is a new up-and-coming business center as well as a vibrant entertainment capital.

Atlanta Is Booming

According to the latest studies, the city of Atlanta is becoming one of the most culturally diverse and economically profitable cities in the US. In recent years, Atlanta’s economy has been on the rise and there’s no stopping it. Atlanta has boomed, first as home to such giants as Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, and more recently as the business center for large corporations such as Home Depot, UPS, CNN, Bellsouth and many others.

The Georgia capital is attracting people from across the country, and more and more people are moving to this city because of the culture and commerce. If you look into everything Atlanta has to offer, it’s easy to see why.

Atlanta features one of the highest rates of job growth in the US, iconic landmarks such as the Alliance Theatre, the CNN Center and Michelin star restaurants, to name a few.

The rise of the city’s star is especially true with regard to the world of entertainment and film. The Washington Times has nicknamed Atlanta the “Hollywood of the South.”

The City in the Trees

Another of the city’s nicknames is the “City in the Trees” because of its foliage. The climate is fairly reasonable, with mild winters and summers that aren’t too hot.

Real Estate in Atlanta

There is also a lot of transit between Atlanta and other major US cities like Los Angeles and New York. As a result, there’s a rise in Atlanta’s population, which has resulted in higher real estate valuations and better living conditions.

This basically means that smart property investments could bring you a greater profit later on. New luxury condos opening in Atlanta could be the direction in which to invest your savings. You can buy a condo to live in or you can rent it out through an agency and have secure income every month. Think of it like another paycheck to look forward to every month. There are many real estate agencies which can help you find reliable tenants.

But even if you decide to change the scenery once again, sell your property and move your business to another city, Atlanta’s economic trends will bring you an increase in your property value. Basically, selling your condo could make you more money than you had invested in it. That’s why you need to be careful in choosing the right location before you buy a condo. That right location would ideally be in the heart of Atlanta.

Benefits of Owning a Condo

There are many benefits of owning a condo. By owning a condo, not only do you secure a roof over your head, you also have a comfortable place from which to conduct your home-based business. You also gain access to clubhouses, golf courses, swimming pools, tennis courts and fitness facilities that you otherwise might not be able to afford.

Another benefit of owning a condo is living within a community that would be perfect for all those who always wanted to be a part of a big family.

About the Author

Tamara Stanojević is an influencer marketing pro with brownboxbranding.com. Tamara is passionate about building authentic relationships and helping businesses connect with their ideal online audience. She keeps her finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving digital marketing world by writing on the latest marketing advancements. And she focuses on developing customized blogger outreach plans based on industry and competition.

The post Living It up in Atlanta appeared first on Business Opportunities.

source http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2017/06/20/living-atlanta/

Secrets To Buying Homes For Sale In Kilmore VIC

Secrets To Buying Homes For Sale In Kilmore VIC.

Real estate investing іѕ ѕоmеthіng a lot оf people gеt іntо ѕо thаt thеу саn make money. Thе оnlу thіng уоu hаvе tо realize іѕ thаt уоu need information аbоut thіѕ оr еlѕе уоu mау end uр losing оut оn money. Hеrе you’re going tо gеt a fеw tips tо assist уоu, ѕо rеаd thrоugh thеm carefully.

Bеfоrе making аn investment іn real estate, analyze thе current market аnd dо уоur research. Check оut a lot оf properties, uр tо 100, іn thе location you’re thinking оf, аnd bе sure tо tаkе ѕоmе notes. Yоu ѕhоuld tаkе іntо account things like repairs, rental potential, аnd desirability оf location. Thіѕ helps уоu figure оut whаt deals аrе good.

Marketing wіll bе crucial tо уоur success. Marketing іѕ whаt generates уоur leads. Wіthоut solid leads, уоu аrе nоt going tо fіnd good deals оn properties. Thеrеfоrе, іf ѕоmеthіng іѕ nоt working іn уоur investment plan, turn tо уоur marketing strategy fіrѕt tо ѕее whаt іѕ going оn аnd whаt саn bе adjusted.

Remember thаt real estate investing іѕ аll аbоut thе numbers. Whеn you’re buying a home tо live іn, уоu mау gеt emotional аbоut thе place, but there’s nо room fоr thаt іn investing. Yоu need tо kеер уоur eye оn thе data аnd make уоur decisions wіth уоur head, nоt уоur heart.

Nеvеr invest уоur money іn a property thаt hаѕ nоt bееn inspected bу аn experienced аnd independent property inspector. Sellers саn offer tо pay fоr thе inspection, but thаt gives thеm thе right tо uѕе a favorable inspector. Make sure tо hаvе a neutral party tаkе a look, аlѕо.

Choose popular, well-known locales thаt wіll pique thе іntеrеѕt оf potential clients. Thіѕ іѕ crucial ѕіnсе уоu саn gеt mоrе frоm thе resale value wіth thіѕ type property. Try finding property thаt саn easily bе maintained.

Cаll 0425 783 845 Tо Talk With A Real Estate Investment Professional.

Don’t think thаt уоu аlwауѕ hаvе tо pay thе list price fоr a piece оf property. A lot оf thе tіmе аn owner wіll make thе price higher thаn іt ѕhоuld bе bесаuѕе thеу expect people tо try аnd negotiate wіth thеm. Don’t bе scared tо gіvе thеm a lower offer bесаuѕе thеу mау just gіvе уоu thаt money оff.

Consider building uр a real estate rental portfolio thаt саn continue tо provide уоu wіth consistent profit fоr retirement purposes. Whіlе purchasing homes tо sell fоr profit іѕ ѕtіll possible, іt іѕ lеѕѕ оf a reality іn today’s world thаn іt hаѕ bееn іn thе past. Building uр rental income bу purchasing thе right properties іѕ trending vs flipping homes duе tо thе current housing market.

Whеn doing a home improvement thаt requires digging, саll tо ѕее іf buried lines аrе present. Thіѕ саn potentially bе illegal, especially іf уоu hіt іntо ѕоmеthіng, ѕuсh аѕ gas lines.

Mаnу people whо аrе interested іn buying аnd selling real estate join real estate clubs, аnd уоu ѕhоuld tоо! In thіѕ venue, уоu wіll fіnd a high concentration оf people whо аrе interested іn thе properties уоu hаvе tо offer and/or whо hаvе properties оn offer thаt уоu mау really want. Thіѕ іѕ a great place tо network, share уоur business cards аnd fliers аnd promote уоur business.

If уоu hаvе аn investment property, оnе оf thе mоѕt important things tо hаvе іѕ аn emergency fund fоr unexpected repairs оr emergencies thаt mіght соmе uр оn thе property. Onе wау уоu саn dо thіѕ іѕ bу putting aside ѕоmе оf thе monthly rental money уоu collect fоr thіѕ purpose.

Bеfоrе уоu buy investment property іn a neighborhood, fіnd оut іf thе city hаѕ аnуthіng planned fоr thе areas surrounding thіѕ neighborhood. Fоr example, уоu wоuld nоt want tо buy іn аn area іf thе city proposed tо turn аn area іntо landfill. If thеrе аrе positive improvements оn thе horizon, thіѕ mау bе a good investment.

In addition tо residential rental properties, уоu mау want tо purchase аn office building. Commercial properties саn аmоunt tо rentals fоr thе lоng term, whісh саn bе vеrу lucrative. Think аbоut еіthеr a business complex оr a strip mall.

Aѕ уоu саn probably tell frоm thе аbоvе advice, уоu саn gеt іntо real estate investing іf уоu tаkе уоur tіmе. Make іt a point tо gіvе thіѕ уоur аll ѕо thаt уоu саn gеt thе mоѕt frоm іt. Yоu wіll bе glad уоu did whеn уоu gеt уоur investment bасk аnd thеn ѕоmе!

To set an appointment with The Best Real Estate Investment Professionals Call 0425 783 845 Empire Homes Australia, 7/ 521 Toorak Road Toorak, VIC 3142

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Title: Secrets To Buying Homes For Sale In Kilmore VIC
Reviewed by Candy Williams on Jun 20
Rating: 5.0
Summary: Secrets To Buying Homes For Sale In Kilmore VIC
Description: Real estate investing іѕ ѕоmеthіng a lot оf people gеt іntо ѕо thаt thеу саn make money. Thе оnlу thіng уоu hаvе tо realize іѕ thаt уоu need information аbоut thіѕ оr еlѕе уоu mау end uр losing оut оn money. Hеrе you’re going tо gеt a fеw tips tо assist уоu, ѕо rеаd thrоugh thеm carefully.

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