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Pushing Your Business Through a Period of Growth and Change

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Growth|Pushing Your Business Through a Period of Growth and ChangeYour business must change, and it must grow alongside your customers, marketplace, and industry. Suppose your business does not evolve and change over time. In that case, it will struggle to maintain its place within the industry and within customers’ and clients’ hearts, which could be detrimental to the future success of your business. To ensure that your business does not slide down the slippery slope into oblivion, it is important that you focus on change and growth and that you embrace and nurture it wherever possible.

Why Your Business Needs Change

If your business is to compete and grow, then change is required. You cannot expect to keep going the way you are, not changing a thing and in return, expect to reach new target markets and audiences. You have to be flexible and adaptable to your new target audiences and customers; you have to change to meet new growing market concerns. If you do not adopt change, then you will stay stagnant.

Seeking Adequate Funding

You can go down the route of organic growth, but this can be quite slow and unpredictable, and is this really what you want? Organic growth can be cheap, but cheap isn’t always the best route to take. To get the best results, you will need to seek adequate funding. Having funding in place will allow you to plan your business growth and change and be in control of whatever gets thrown your way. Having adequate funding and finance behind you can ensure that you can reach the new target markets and audiences you want to and, most importantly, need.

Adapting and Moving Forwards

Having a plan for growth and a plan for development is necessary no matter how much funding you are seeking. Understanding where your new markets are and how much cash it will take to reach them is essential for growth success. Having a plan in place also acts as a blueprint to which you can refer in periods of change. Change within business is not always welcome or appreciated, but change happens for a reason, and if you plan to welcome it, then you can be prepared to adopt it no matter how it changes your business.

Why Accurate Reporting is Essential

When you put together a plan for development, it is important that your report contains accurate data. Having all of your information together and collated in one place makes planning and execution a lot easier. Utilizing business intelligence and getting a provider on board to focus on training and consulting is essential if you want to achieve success. Inaccurate, difficult to read, or just downright messy data can put you off growth and change, which is not what you need in an everchanging world.

Staying Focused and Motivated

Driving your business through a period of change and through growth can take a lot out of you as a business owner, so it is important to remain motivated and focused. Keeping in mind what you want to achieve and why will help keep you on the track to success.

How to Monetize your Website and Blog

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Monetize your blog|How to Monetize your Website and BlogIf you have a website and you want to make it work for you, then you’ll be glad to know that this is now easier than ever to do. In fact, if you follow this guide, then you will soon find that you can generate a side-source of income with ease.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is quite possibly one of the most popular ways for you to make money from your website. Start by finding a product that you genuinely like and would be happy to recommend. You then need to put it on your website, so you can endorse it. If your product or service resonates with the audience you have, you’ll get a portion of the profit when they buy through your affiliate link. The commission may be 30% but at the same time, it can be as high as 70%. If you want to make this work for your business site, then advertise products that relate to your service. If you sell fish tanks for example, having links to tank cleaning products would be a good bridge.

Sell Advertisement Space

Incorporating AdSense on your website is just one of the many ways that you can make money by using advertisements. Another way would be for you to sell your advertisement space. You can sponsor different blogs and you can also come up with a price for each space. You will get paid depending on how many website visitors you get. The great thing about this approach is that if you get a lot of traffic from different sources, you can easily use this to your advantage and charge a much higher price.

PPC

AdWords are the ads that appear on the Google search result page. AdSense on the other hand gives publishers the chance to tap into the advertisement market network so that other advertisers are able to run ads on the website. The great thing about this is how simple it is. When you sign up, Google will put a simple code on your site that identifies the content. Relevant advertisements will then be shown. Remember, you can always look into private marketplace advertising as well, if you want to explore ads even further.

Sell a Digital Product

Another way for you to make money through your site would be for you to try and sell a digital product. The great thing about doing this is that there is no middleman between the buyer and you. You will also be able to use the money earnt, to invest in new products. This approach is relatively straightforward because you can sell through your site and everything will be available for immediate sale. On top of this, there is no inventory management required. You can set up as many downloads as required and you won’t have to worry about storing them or having a stock count. It’s a great way for you to make your blog or website work for you as well if you want to generate some side income for your business.

How To Strengthen Your Company’s Reputation

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Company's Reputation|How To Strengthen Your Company's ReputationYour company’s reputation will impact how consumers and customers view your business and if they’re willing to work with you or not. If you’re not doing a good job with this matter currently then be glad to know there are steps you can take to strengthen your company’s reputation.

You’ll notice that you begin to attract more customers and that your reviews improve when you follow through with these suggestions. You can hold your head high knowing that the company you work for is in good standing and isn’t only focused on making a profit.

Keep Your Word

You can strengthen your company’s reputation by keeping your word. Avoid making promises you can’t keep and deliver on what you say you can do. Breaking promises and telling white lies will only get you into trouble and may make people upset with your business. Do what you say you’re going to do and keep customers updated when there are obstacles or delays throughout the ordering process.

Show You Care About Others & the Environment

Another way to strengthen your company’s reputation is to commit to following through with your corporate social responsibility as a business. Show you care about others by giving back through volunteer work or making donations to causes that are meaningful to you. Also, make an effort to implement sustainable business practices and find ways to improve the environment. For instance, if you’re in the trucking industry you can visit this website to learn more about how to reduce waste and plastic consumption in landfills.

Offer High-Quality Products or Services

You must also offer high-quality products or services if you want to improve your company’s reputation. You want customers to be more than satisfied after making a purchase from your business. Doing so will also boost your reviews and ratings and make people feel motivated to shop with you again in the future.

Take Responsibility

Everyone makes mistakes, even businesses, but not everyone admits to them. Therefore, commit to taking responsibility for your errors and owning the mistakes you do make. It’ll help strengthen your company’s reputation and allow you to build trust with your customers. Use open and honest communication and treat your customers with respect by being forthcoming about any issues with their orders.

Showcase Your Expertise

Strengthen your company’s reputation by showcasing your expertise in your area of business. You can do this by publishing articles on your business blog, speaking at conferences, and through social media updates. Focus on ways you can add value to your customer’s lives and let it be known what problem you can solve for them.

Conclusion

These suggestions and ideas will help you strengthen your company’s reputation and drive more sales in the end. You’ll be glad you took the time to address these areas once you see the constructive outcomes they bring. Be confident in yourself and your business and continue to build and nurture your relationships so you can ensure others see you in a positive light and want to work with you.

A Smarter Approach for Upgrading Your Business Technology

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Technology|A Smarter Approach for Upgrading Your Business TechnologyTechnology is incredibly important for all of our businesses. No matter what kind of company you run, there’s probably some kind of technology that helps you manage customers, advertise your products and shorten the amount of time you spend on administrative tasks. Sadly, technology can get extremely expensive over time. With many companies switching to a subscription-based business model, it can be difficult to keep track of all the costs of keeping your business up to date.

So here are a few tips to help you approach your technology upgrades with a smarter and more streamlined strategy.

Identify problems before you consider upgrading

First, make sure you identify problems in your workflow before you go spending your company’s money on solutions. It’s extremely important that you take a slow and steady approach when it comes to upgrading your company’s technology, especially if your workflow is already well-defined. Attempting to upgrade portions of your work processes can lead to disaster if you’re not planning it correctly.

While technology can help you innovate, it needs to address a problem or challenge that you’re facing. For example, if you find that your employees are spending too much time on a particular task, then you need to focus on ways to assist your employees to finish said tasks. If you don’t identify a problem before you invest in new technology (or worse, you actively create an issue in order to “buy” a solution for it) then you’re going to end up wasting money and time.

Identify the companies that can help you innovate

It’s a good idea to identify what companies you can work with to help you solve your business challenges. There are some companies that operate at the forefront of technological innovation, constantly producing new products, machines, and software that actively solves challenges that real businesses are facing.

A good example of this would be Blue Iron Foundations & Shoring, LLC. The Giken Silent Piler is their latest machine that enables piling to take place with drastically reduced vibrations and noise. This has allowed construction companies to operate very close to homes without disrupting the neighbourhood. This has helped construction companies garner positive feedback from local communities, and it’s solved a challenge that is currently plaguing many companies in the same industry.

Find consultants that you can trust

One of the issues with hiring a consultant is that they’re often given a bit too much trust. It’s very easy for a consultant to abuse their position by introducing a problem and also suggesting a solution. This is something that entrepreneurs tend to do by accident because they’re not presented with the data that shows a problem in the first place. Instead, they blindly trust their staff or a consultant because they have too much faith in them.

If you’re the one in charge of decision making in your business, then you need to look at the data that points to a problem in your business. From here, you can start making smarter decisions by actually calculating the return on your investment and if it can make your team more productive.

How To Dress For A Job Interview

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Dress for a Job Interview|How To Dress For A Job InterviewNo matter whether you are a man or a woman, an entry level junior or a CEO, you need to dress well for work. Period. Although nowadays the rules on office attire are generally more relaxed than they used to be, these relaxed rules aren’t an invitation to slack off when it comes to your fashion choices!

When you are interviewing for a promotion in your current company, or for a new position elsewhere, your clothing is a super important aspect of how you come across. Like it or not, your aesthetic choices will be judged by the person interviewing you, even on a subconscious level.

Don’t be afraid to be bold!

Although you should be dressing in a professional way at your job interview, professional doesn’t equal boring. You shouldn’t be dressing in a classically professional way unless that is actually your taste. Instead, make sure you incorporate your individuality in with your professional attire, by wearing your favourite colours or statement jewellery, for example.

By dressing in a bold but elegant way, not only will you come across as more confident to your interviewer, but this will also make you more memorable. Wearing statement clothes that fit your personality and also adhere to the type of company you are interviewing with will make them remember you clearly!

Tidiness is more crucial than the actual clothes you wear

When it comes to presenting as the best version of yourself, tidiness and cleanliness should take priority. Even if you can’t afford to buy a whole new outfit for the interview, or you don’t own designer labels, none of this will matter if you present in an orderly, clean way.

This means making sure your clothes are free of stains, scuffs or loose threads; additionally, you should ensure your hair and makeup (if you wear makeup!) are neatly presented too. You don’t want to come across as messy or rushed, so make sure you prioritise looking neat and tidy when getting ready for a job interview.

Impress with accessories

When you are sitting in a job interview, you are across a desk (or nowadays, perhaps across a screen) from your interviewer. They will be able to see the details of the top half of your body, meaning that if you wear statement accessories or chic details, they will be able to see it!

What accessories should you wear to a job interview? Watches are a good place to start. The Audemars Royal Oak watch models on WatchBox are the perfect example of professional watches that will impress an interviewer who is sitting up close to you.

Similarly, if you want to be really impressive both professionally and aesthetically, carrying a high quality pen in your breast pocket makes you seem prepared and stylish simultaneously! A beautiful pen speaks volumes about your attention to detail and preparedness in case you need to make any notes during the interview.

Final Thoughts

If you are preparing for a job interview, use our advice to make sure you dress to impress on the day!