If you are serious about wanting to launch a brand new business, there are a lot of things you can do to help you achieve this. Try to do as much as possible to help you improve and assess the different elements of the business, and try to look at the best ways of achieving this. There are so many factors that play a role in helping with this, and it is something you need to work on as much as possible.
Try to come up with ideas that are going to allow you to launch a business with the highest possible level of success. This is something that plays a massive part in helping you improve the process and launch a company that is going to hit the ground running. These are some of the key things to consider and work on when you want to launch your first business and make sure it is successful.
Create a Strong Business Plan
Creating a strong business plan is one of the most important elements of starting a brand new business. You need a sense of direction and a map for where your business is going to go, and a business plan is one of the best ways of being able to achieve this. You have to do as much as possible to make sure you have the strongest and most detailed business plan possible, as this is something that will help to give you a business blueprint.
Start Small and Look to Expand
You are going to have to do as much as you possibly can to try to develop a strong business when you first launch. This means you should look at how you can start small and work on making the business better and building up toward growing the brand. This is something you are going to need to work on as much as possible. Expanding and growing the business as much as possible is so important, and this is something you have to focus on right now.
Make Sure You Have Great IT Support
As a business, it is important for you to ensure you work on the best possible way of supporting yourself as a company. One of the best ways of being able to achieve this is to hire the right IT support company to help take charge of your company when it’s on a digital platform. You should visit this website for more information about how you can find the perfect IT support to help look after your business as much as possible.
Stand Out from the Competition
Something else you need to make sure you get right as a new business is to stand out from the competition. This is something you need to work on as soon as you can, and there are a lot of things you might consider doing if you are serious about achieving the right success and having this success over your rivals.
These are some of the key things you are going to need to look for and consider when it comes to improving the business and making the most of it. You are going to have to consider exactly what is involved when it comes time to launch a company in the right sort of way. If you can follow these ideas, there will be so much more you can accomplish as a new business owner.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/calculator-178127_1280.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-04-09 08:00:172020-04-09 09:37:53Starting a New Business is Easier Than Ever, But it Still Needs Work
When designing a business website, it is important that you get all of the front end aspects right. Things like navigation and the overall aesthetic, for example, are incredibly important because they impact the way that users view your business and a poorly designed website will not convert. However, it is important that you don’t neglect all of the back end web design elements as well. Even though these may not seem as important, mistakes with the background design of the website can cause you some serious problems. These are some of the biggest back end web design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Poor Hosting
Hosting your site in the right place is absolutely vital, and if you do not have enough server space to accommodate the number of visitors that your site gets, it will run incredibly slowly. Poor hosting services also increase the chance of errors and site crashes, which lose you money as well. There is nothing more frustrating than a slow website or a site that keeps crashing, and potential customers won’t stick around and wait for pages to load, they will just give up and go elsewhere. It’s vital that you find a reliable hosting service for your website so you can be sure that it is always running smoothly.
Lack of On Page Optimization
When Google is trying to rank websites and decide who gets the number one spot, it takes a lot of different factors into account. If you are going to consistently rank well you need an on page optimization strategy in place. Things like titles and keywords in your content are important, but you also need to manage a lot of back end things like meta tags, URL structure, and meta descriptions. If you are unsure about how to manage these things, you should call in a company like Integrity Marketing to help you develop a strategy. Carefully crafted content will help to rank fairly well, but if you want to hit the top spot, you need to consider all of the back end elements of on page optimization as well.
Not Optimizing For Mobile
Over 50 percent of all web traffic comes from mobile devices and that figure is only going to get larger in the coming years. When people are searching for a business, they are more likely to take out their phone than they are to open a laptop, which is why optimizing for mobile is so important. If you only design a single version of your site and it is optimized for a computer or laptop, it will not run well on a mobile device. Users will soon become frustrated and give up, so you need to create a specific mobile version of the website as well. When you are choosing a web designer, make sure that you find one that has good experience creating mobile websites. You could also consider developing your own app if you want to improve the experience for mobile users even more.
These common back end mistakes can seriously impact the effectiveness of your website, so it is important that you avoid them.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/gray-laptop-computer-showing-html-codes-in-shallow-focus-160107.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-04-09 07:00:372020-04-09 01:12:253 Back End Web Design Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Business Site
Most everyone these days has heard of the computer cloud, but many don’t really understand what it is or what it does. Let’s take a look at how the cloud got its name and then discuss the basics of how it works.
How Did the Computer Cloud Get Its Name?
There are several different stories surrounding the origins of the name, among them:
The cloud has long been a symbol of the Internet. Essentially, “in the cloud” for many years has referred to the software or other platforms on the Internet.
For decades, engineers have drawn networking diagrams that pictured the cloud to represent the internal structure of a large network of computers and storage devices “out there”.
A cloud was also used in diagrams to represent a network with endpoints connected by a data path.
So How Does Cloud Computing Work?
The cloud is not one entity, but rather it’s a huge system of servers, all around the world, that are connected to work together as one networked ecosystem. The servers can be designed to do a number of different things. Some of the main applications include:
Storing data – Businesses use the cloud to safely store data. The information can then be accessed with a password from any computer that has an Internet connection.
Delivering content – The content can include streaming services, software and social media platforms. Any computer or other Internet-accessible device can stream or download this content, provided proper password codes are entered.
What Are the Advantages of the Cloud For Businesses?
Businesses see many advantages of using the cloud to store data. Instead of bogging down the servers on location, the data is stored off-site, freeing up valuable storage on the company’s servers. This can save a lot of money in the long run. IUVO Technology states that the Federal government’s departments have saved upwards of 25-50% on the IT budget by moving data to the cloud.
Your company’s data is also much safer in the cloud. Because it is backed up, the chances of losing your data are very low. The information is usually encrypted as well, which makes it secure against cyber attacks. IT Services Boston are available to help you migrate your data to the cloud in the safest way possible.
Working with a trained professional to move your business data to the cloud will ensure that you find the right services at the right cost to keep your company safe and working at maximum capacity.
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As we all know, the world is coming to something of a halt courtesy of the recent coronavirus outbreak.
To say that it is unprecedented would be an understatement of the highest regard. Many countries have insisted that businesses have to be shut down and for the economy as a whole, this has monumental repercussions.
For self-employed individuals, this is a scary time. It’s going to be difficult, and for the time being at least not many people are going to hold many answers. Sure, the government might be pledging various support packages, but it remains to be seen what sort of difference this will make.
Bearing this in mind, today’s article takes a look at three areas which you should be considering if your business is bracing itself for a lockdown (or has already). Again, it might be of little consolation for the time being, but by keeping an eye on these areas it might do your chances of prevailing out of the other side of coronavirus the world of good.
Consider your storage options
Like it or not, this might be a time where you have to close your main premises. Some companies will decide to do this to cut costs, while others might decide that they just aren’t getting the footfall to merit staying open.
However, if you sell tangible products, you still need somewhere to store items. This is where you need to research storage units, or alternative smaller office space, as your business gets through this period. Both of these solutions can save you money in the short-term.
Be as flexible as you can with your employees
As we keep being told, this is going to be an almightily tough time for everyone in the world. Jobs will be lost, and some people really will be struggling to financially survive.
This is where you need to offer as much flex to your employees as possible. Granted, you can’t put the future of your business at risk and there will be times where tough decisions have to be made, but whenever possible try and add a degree of flexibility with your workers. It might be offering them the chance to take unpaid leave now, or even take their annual leave. Some people will realize the difficult positions that businesses are currently in and will accept these decisions, if they at least know in the back of their mind that they will have a job waiting for them when this crisis is over.
Communicate to customers whenever possible
We’ve entered an era into the unknown; nobody has ever experienced this before and it means a lot of issues are up in the air.
This is the time where communication is key. We’ve gone past the stage where we can stay quiet and hope for the best, customers will want updates as to where your business stands on the virus. This will largely depend on the nature of the industry you are involved in. For some, it might be the occasional email about stock levels, while for others it might be reassurance about the steps you are taking to minimize the risk of the virus spreading. Either way, communication is key during this period – people still need to know that your business is operating.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/chemistry-4932607_1280.jpg8511280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-04-08 08:00:452020-09-07 17:12:42Temporary lockdown: What to do if your business has been hit by coronavirus
It is safe to say that many businesses have had to adapt really quickly to the current situation. Businesses that had no idea how to incorporate remote working have had to do it quickly. But while we’ve all discovered new ways of working we’ve had to figure out how to keep our employees motivated during this difficult time. While it might not be top of your priority list right now, happy employees will continue to be productive ones. But this also means that you’ve got to learn how to manage them. You may very well be concerned about the state of the business but what can we do to make sure that our employees feel part of the organization despite what is going on?
Avoid Ambiguity
If we are more transparent our employees will know where they stand. It can prove to be challenging, especially when we have numerous employees to liaise with. But if we can find blanket ways to keep our employees on the same page this will go to alleviate some fears. Now, the benefit of work tools like Slack and Zoom have come into their own, and if we can increase our platforms for communication, whether this is incorporating a Coronavirus text alert so our employees are as up-to-date as humanly possible or improving our communication tools, we can work better at managing their anxieties. As simple as it is, being transparent can prove difficult, especially if we are worried about how long this pandemic will last and if our business will survive. But it’s not just about communicating the good things; it’s about communicating the bad but incorporating action plans so our employees know what will happen should things get worse. Ambiguity will breed anxiety so let’s minimize it.
Checking In With Them On An Individual Basis
It’s not easy to check in with them on an individual basis but while you may very well be having daily briefings where you can see them all, sometimes employees feel they can’t speak out on such an open forum. When our employees have individual stresses it’s crucial to ensure that they are focused and happy. And checking in with them on a semi-regular basis isn’t just being a good leader but it’s being a good friend. And this is something that we have to relax right now. Running a business is always at the forefront of our minds but when our employees feel so worried that they can’t do their job properly we must figure out a way to lessen their worries by providing a sympathetic ear or a friendly shoulder. When we get into the habit of checking in on an individual basis, like a quick phone call, the more we do this the more our employees will feel that they can open up. Some employees will keep everything bottled up and feel that they can’t speak their fears because you are “the boss.” But now is the perfect opportunity to incorporate a culture of sympathy and support. What’s more, this should be the perfect time to make it last well beyond the end of this crisis.
Understand Your Individual Stresses
If you are a good boss you will do everything you can for your employees to minimize their fears. And while it’s fantastic that you are doing everything for them, are you neglecting your own needs? You may feel hell-bent on keeping the business afloat which means that you are working overtime. And while in one respect it’s a very useful distraction considering the current climate, you’ve also got to realize if you are working yourself to the bone.
Managing your employees during a crisis isn’t just about giving them everything they need but it’s about them recognizing that you are focused and professional. If they see that you look like you’re about to break, this won’t fill them with confidence, so you need to lead by example. And it’s a lesson that we all need to learn anyway. If you look after yourself you will look after everybody else much better. Take the opportunity every single day, not just to look at the company and employees, but also look at yourself and see if you are looking after yourself properly. One of the great benefits of working from home right now is that we can have more control over our diet and our downtime. Use this as the perfect opportunity to instill some better habits.
It’s a time of the precariousness but we can also so use this as an opportunity for some introspection. Your employees need your support and you have to give them what they need. And if you struggled to support them before, this can be the best opportunity to draw a line in the sand.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/man-wearing-gray-long-sleeved-shirt-374598.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-04-08 07:00:312020-04-08 09:01:58Part Of The Team: Managing Employees Effectively During The Coronavirus
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Business Programs
Starting a New Business is Easier Than Ever, But it Still Needs Work
/in Starting Your Business/by StrategyDrivenTry to come up with ideas that are going to allow you to launch a business with the highest possible level of success. This is something that plays a massive part in helping you improve the process and launch a company that is going to hit the ground running. These are some of the key things to consider and work on when you want to launch your first business and make sure it is successful.
Create a Strong Business Plan
Creating a strong business plan is one of the most important elements of starting a brand new business. You need a sense of direction and a map for where your business is going to go, and a business plan is one of the best ways of being able to achieve this. You have to do as much as possible to make sure you have the strongest and most detailed business plan possible, as this is something that will help to give you a business blueprint.
Start Small and Look to Expand
You are going to have to do as much as you possibly can to try to develop a strong business when you first launch. This means you should look at how you can start small and work on making the business better and building up toward growing the brand. This is something you are going to need to work on as much as possible. Expanding and growing the business as much as possible is so important, and this is something you have to focus on right now.
Make Sure You Have Great IT Support
As a business, it is important for you to ensure you work on the best possible way of supporting yourself as a company. One of the best ways of being able to achieve this is to hire the right IT support company to help take charge of your company when it’s on a digital platform. You should visit this website for more information about how you can find the perfect IT support to help look after your business as much as possible.
Stand Out from the Competition
Something else you need to make sure you get right as a new business is to stand out from the competition. This is something you need to work on as soon as you can, and there are a lot of things you might consider doing if you are serious about achieving the right success and having this success over your rivals.
These are some of the key things you are going to need to look for and consider when it comes to improving the business and making the most of it. You are going to have to consider exactly what is involved when it comes time to launch a company in the right sort of way. If you can follow these ideas, there will be so much more you can accomplish as a new business owner.
3 Back End Web Design Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Business Site
/in Online Marketing and Website Development/by StrategyDrivenPoor Hosting
Hosting your site in the right place is absolutely vital, and if you do not have enough server space to accommodate the number of visitors that your site gets, it will run incredibly slowly. Poor hosting services also increase the chance of errors and site crashes, which lose you money as well. There is nothing more frustrating than a slow website or a site that keeps crashing, and potential customers won’t stick around and wait for pages to load, they will just give up and go elsewhere. It’s vital that you find a reliable hosting service for your website so you can be sure that it is always running smoothly.
Lack of On Page Optimization
When Google is trying to rank websites and decide who gets the number one spot, it takes a lot of different factors into account. If you are going to consistently rank well you need an on page optimization strategy in place. Things like titles and keywords in your content are important, but you also need to manage a lot of back end things like meta tags, URL structure, and meta descriptions. If you are unsure about how to manage these things, you should call in a company like Integrity Marketing to help you develop a strategy. Carefully crafted content will help to rank fairly well, but if you want to hit the top spot, you need to consider all of the back end elements of on page optimization as well.
Not Optimizing For Mobile
Over 50 percent of all web traffic comes from mobile devices and that figure is only going to get larger in the coming years. When people are searching for a business, they are more likely to take out their phone than they are to open a laptop, which is why optimizing for mobile is so important. If you only design a single version of your site and it is optimized for a computer or laptop, it will not run well on a mobile device. Users will soon become frustrated and give up, so you need to create a specific mobile version of the website as well. When you are choosing a web designer, make sure that you find one that has good experience creating mobile websites. You could also consider developing your own app if you want to improve the experience for mobile users even more.
These common back end mistakes can seriously impact the effectiveness of your website, so it is important that you avoid them.
Cloud Computing for Dummies
/in Managing Your Business/by StrategyDrivenHow Did the Computer Cloud Get Its Name?
There are several different stories surrounding the origins of the name, among them:
So How Does Cloud Computing Work?
The cloud is not one entity, but rather it’s a huge system of servers, all around the world, that are connected to work together as one networked ecosystem. The servers can be designed to do a number of different things. Some of the main applications include:
What Are the Advantages of the Cloud For Businesses?
Businesses see many advantages of using the cloud to store data. Instead of bogging down the servers on location, the data is stored off-site, freeing up valuable storage on the company’s servers. This can save a lot of money in the long run. IUVO Technology states that the Federal government’s departments have saved upwards of 25-50% on the IT budget by moving data to the cloud.
Your company’s data is also much safer in the cloud. Because it is backed up, the chances of losing your data are very low. The information is usually encrypted as well, which makes it secure against cyber attacks. IT Services Boston are available to help you migrate your data to the cloud in the safest way possible.
Working with a trained professional to move your business data to the cloud will ensure that you find the right services at the right cost to keep your company safe and working at maximum capacity.
Temporary lockdown: What to do if your business has been hit by coronavirus
/in Managing Your Business, Tactical Execution/by StrategyDrivenTo say that it is unprecedented would be an understatement of the highest regard. Many countries have insisted that businesses have to be shut down and for the economy as a whole, this has monumental repercussions.
For self-employed individuals, this is a scary time. It’s going to be difficult, and for the time being at least not many people are going to hold many answers. Sure, the government might be pledging various support packages, but it remains to be seen what sort of difference this will make.
Bearing this in mind, today’s article takes a look at three areas which you should be considering if your business is bracing itself for a lockdown (or has already). Again, it might be of little consolation for the time being, but by keeping an eye on these areas it might do your chances of prevailing out of the other side of coronavirus the world of good.
Consider your storage options
Like it or not, this might be a time where you have to close your main premises. Some companies will decide to do this to cut costs, while others might decide that they just aren’t getting the footfall to merit staying open.
However, if you sell tangible products, you still need somewhere to store items. This is where you need to research storage units, or alternative smaller office space, as your business gets through this period. Both of these solutions can save you money in the short-term.
Be as flexible as you can with your employees
As we keep being told, this is going to be an almightily tough time for everyone in the world. Jobs will be lost, and some people really will be struggling to financially survive.
This is where you need to offer as much flex to your employees as possible. Granted, you can’t put the future of your business at risk and there will be times where tough decisions have to be made, but whenever possible try and add a degree of flexibility with your workers. It might be offering them the chance to take unpaid leave now, or even take their annual leave. Some people will realize the difficult positions that businesses are currently in and will accept these decisions, if they at least know in the back of their mind that they will have a job waiting for them when this crisis is over.
Communicate to customers whenever possible
We’ve entered an era into the unknown; nobody has ever experienced this before and it means a lot of issues are up in the air.
This is the time where communication is key. We’ve gone past the stage where we can stay quiet and hope for the best, customers will want updates as to where your business stands on the virus. This will largely depend on the nature of the industry you are involved in. For some, it might be the occasional email about stock levels, while for others it might be reassurance about the steps you are taking to minimize the risk of the virus spreading. Either way, communication is key during this period – people still need to know that your business is operating.
Part Of The Team: Managing Employees Effectively During The Coronavirus
/in Managing Your People, Talent Management/by StrategyDrivenAvoid Ambiguity
If we are more transparent our employees will know where they stand. It can prove to be challenging, especially when we have numerous employees to liaise with. But if we can find blanket ways to keep our employees on the same page this will go to alleviate some fears. Now, the benefit of work tools like Slack and Zoom have come into their own, and if we can increase our platforms for communication, whether this is incorporating a Coronavirus text alert so our employees are as up-to-date as humanly possible or improving our communication tools, we can work better at managing their anxieties. As simple as it is, being transparent can prove difficult, especially if we are worried about how long this pandemic will last and if our business will survive. But it’s not just about communicating the good things; it’s about communicating the bad but incorporating action plans so our employees know what will happen should things get worse. Ambiguity will breed anxiety so let’s minimize it.
Checking In With Them On An Individual Basis
It’s not easy to check in with them on an individual basis but while you may very well be having daily briefings where you can see them all, sometimes employees feel they can’t speak out on such an open forum. When our employees have individual stresses it’s crucial to ensure that they are focused and happy. And checking in with them on a semi-regular basis isn’t just being a good leader but it’s being a good friend. And this is something that we have to relax right now. Running a business is always at the forefront of our minds but when our employees feel so worried that they can’t do their job properly we must figure out a way to lessen their worries by providing a sympathetic ear or a friendly shoulder. When we get into the habit of checking in on an individual basis, like a quick phone call, the more we do this the more our employees will feel that they can open up. Some employees will keep everything bottled up and feel that they can’t speak their fears because you are “the boss.” But now is the perfect opportunity to incorporate a culture of sympathy and support. What’s more, this should be the perfect time to make it last well beyond the end of this crisis.
Understand Your Individual Stresses
If you are a good boss you will do everything you can for your employees to minimize their fears. And while it’s fantastic that you are doing everything for them, are you neglecting your own needs? You may feel hell-bent on keeping the business afloat which means that you are working overtime. And while in one respect it’s a very useful distraction considering the current climate, you’ve also got to realize if you are working yourself to the bone.
Managing your employees during a crisis isn’t just about giving them everything they need but it’s about them recognizing that you are focused and professional. If they see that you look like you’re about to break, this won’t fill them with confidence, so you need to lead by example. And it’s a lesson that we all need to learn anyway. If you look after yourself you will look after everybody else much better. Take the opportunity every single day, not just to look at the company and employees, but also look at yourself and see if you are looking after yourself properly. One of the great benefits of working from home right now is that we can have more control over our diet and our downtime. Use this as the perfect opportunity to instill some better habits.
It’s a time of the precariousness but we can also so use this as an opportunity for some introspection. Your employees need your support and you have to give them what they need. And if you struggled to support them before, this can be the best opportunity to draw a line in the sand.